Latest news with #Lastimosa
GMA Network
21-07-2025
- Sport
- GMA Network
Jojo Lastimosa on SMB's Jericho Cruz after heated Game 4: 'He was showboating'
Emotions ran high in Game 4 of the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup finals between TNT and San Miguel, and Tropang 5G manager Jojo Lastimosa didn't hold back when addressing San Miguel guard Jericho Cruz's on-court behavior. Lastimosa called out Cruz for what he described as 'showboating' during the heated matchup, which saw San Miguel eking out a 105-91 win to move up 3-1 in the series. The loss dealt a major blow to TNT's Grand Slam hopes, as they now need to win three straight games to clinch their third title of the season READ MORE | Jericho Cruz, CJ Perez heat up late as San Miguel nears return to PBA Philippine Cup throne "Lahat naman tayo naglalaro ng basketball. He was showboating," an irate Lastimosa told reporters on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena. "The guy has problems, I know he has problems [at] dinadala niya na lang sa court. Wala munang kaibigan dito. He's just acting up. He's just like a little boy." [We all play basketball. He was showboating… The guy has problems. I know he has problems and he's bringing it onto the court. Let's set friendships aside first. He's just acting up. He's just like a little boy.] Cruz — who unleashed 15 of his 23 points in a fourth quarter surge — was animated all game long as he led San Miguel to within one win of the title. Cruz, though, was surprised by the remarks from Lastimosa, especially given the history between them. Cruz and Lastimosa were both with NLEX in the past. "Wala naman akong ginagawang masama e tsaka patapos na 'yung laro, syempre tumatalon ako kasi masaya ako kasi panalo kami e. Hindi naman showboating 'yun," Cruz said. "Hindi ko nga alam 'yun, ang alam ko nga si Chris Ross 'yung inaaway nila at hindi ako. Ako, wala talaga akong alam. Kilala ko naman 'yan, kilala ako niyan kaya nagulat ako nu'ng sinabi niya na ako." [I didn't do anything bad and the game was ending, of course I was jumping because I was happy that we won. That's not showboating… I didn't even know that, I know they were going at Chris Ross, not me. I didn't know anything. I know him, he knows me, so I was surprised that he said it was me.] —JMB, GMA Integrated News
CBC
02-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
'Dreams being lost' as many shut out of IRCC's permanent residency pilot, consultant says
Social Sharing Ghinger Marie Lastimosa wanted to become a Canadian permanent resident so she could keep working as a home support worker for Scarborough seniors without having to worry about her work visa expiring. This week, she got bad news. Lastimosa, a registered nurse in the Philippines who moved to Canada in 2022, is one of tens of thousands of people who went online to apply for one of the limited spots in the federal government's Home Care Worker pilot program at 10 a.m. on Monday. She said she was met with hours-long technical glitches in the online portal before it shut down and was unable to upload her documents. Lastimosa now fears she'll lose her job when her work permit expires next year, and she and her husband will have to leave Canada. "This was my only chance," Lastimosa said. Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) launched its latest pilot on Monday, and Lastimosa wasn't the only one to flag serious problems with the website. Immigration experts say thousands of experienced home workers like Lastimosa didn't have an opportunity to apply because of IRCC's website slowdown. Kevin Thibbles, an immigration consultant, told CBC News the program "froze" as he tried to apply on behalf of six clients. He said he was only able to successfully apply for two of his clients. "The whole portal froze and we were not able to get in," Thibbles said. "It was very unfortunate to just let them know that we couldn't upload their documents and we missed the whole submission and it was very frustrating." Sharing that news with his clients was difficult, Thibbles said. "They actually broke down and started crying … it was very, very sad," he said, adding that he worries people with only six months of training were able to take up spots compared to his clients with more than five years of Canadian work experience. WATCH | New 'chance of a lifetime' program will grant permanent residency — but spots are limited: New 'chance of a lifetime' program will grant permanent residency — but spots are limited 5 days ago Duration 2:41 Anxiety is high as tens of thousands of people are set to apply for the federal government's program that will offer permanent residency for home-care workers. As CBC's Saloni Bhugra explains, immigration advocates are concerned the first come, first served system will leave the most qualified applicants behind. IRCC's pilot invited home-care workers to apply on a first come, first served basis. The pilot was capped at 2,750 applications — 2,475 online and 275 by mail — in each of its two streams – one for child-care workers, the other for home support workers. On Monday, more than 45,000 people tried to apply but the limited spots filled in just over four hours, the IRCC said in an emailed statement to CBC Toronto. "We understand that people who were not able to submit an application are disappointed. Unfortunately, demand for this pathway is greater than spaces available," spokesperson Remi Lariviere said. Manan Gupta, another immigration consultant, expressed concerns that workers are being denied a chance at permanent residency at a moment when their skills are in demand, particularly in Ontario. Even though IRCC says another round of applications will open next year, Gupta says many workers might not be able to use that opportunity. "Many of the deserving candidates will become undocumented. They will be out of status. They will not be able to work in Canada," he said. "It leaves a lot of dreams being crushed, dreams being lost." The province of Ontario has said it needs nearly 51,000 new personal support workers (PSWs) by 2032, and those in the industry say pilot programs like these are key. Gupta and other immigration experts say they are left questioning why IRCC is not implementing a merit-based system to fill that gap. Applicants only needed to have six months of recent work experience or have completed six months of training, compared to last year when two years of work experience was required, according to IRCC. The language proficiency requirements were also lower, and all applicants needed a valid job offer from a private home or from an eligible organization that hires home-care workers. Lariviere said the IRCC lowered the eligibility requirements to accommodate workers who were not able to meet the criteria for previous pilots. The first-come, first-served approach "strives towards providing equal opportunities to anyone who meets the qualifications," it said. Thibbles says IRCC should have let everyone apply and then access applications based on merit. Gupta agrees. "People like Ghinger who had multiple years of experience, have been left out due to technical glitches," he said. "On a comparative basis, a six-month training or six-month experience holder who was able to use the fastest finger first or who was able to be in a stable Internet area was able to submit." Lariviere said "the annual application intake caps … are an important measure for managing pilot program inventory sizes and wait times."
