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MARCH 7-13, 2019 Volume 30 - No. 10 • 2 Sections – 16 Pages
T H E F I L I P I N O –A M E R I C A N C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R
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PDEA: 64 politicians on ‘narcolist’ seek reelection by NATHALIE
ROBLES
AJPress
THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) revealed on Tuesday, March 5, that 64 out of 82 politicians in the yet-to-bereleased “narcolist” are vying for reelection this upcoming midterm polls. PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino stated that the said politicians were all aiming for a local seat this election. He confirmed the number with the list of those who filed their certificates of candidacy. “I think it’s 64. They filed their COCs and the remaining 18 de-
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DATELINE
PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino
USA
FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
Senate expected to pass resolution blocking Trump’s national emergency Trump likely to veto the resolution FOLLOWING Senator Rand Paul’s announcements over the weekend that he intended to support a resolution to block President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on Monday, March 4 confirmed that there were enough votes in the Senate for the resolution to pass. If the resolution were to pass, Trump would be forced to veto the resolution that would otherwise prevent him from accessing approximately $8 billion for border wall construction. “I think what is clear in the Senate is there will be enough votes to pass the resolution of disapproval which will then be vetoed by the president and then all likelihood the veto
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‘Immigration rights in limbo’ say immigration reform advocates
AS President Donald Trump marked the completion of two years into his presidency just last month, immigration remains to be the biggest issue for his administration, which has remained persistent in its immigrant curbing efforts and the wall along U.S.-Mexico border. In an immigration rights briefing on Thursday, February 28, immigration reform and rights advocates highlighted what they saw were the key issues still yet to be resolved. “As we’ve seen, the White House has rolled out dozens and dozens of anti-immigrant policies over the last two years in everything starting with the Muslim ban, attacks on refugees, to last year’s family separations, anti-immigration legislative proposals, the public charge rule, and many other attacks,” said Kerri Talbot, director of federal advocacy at The Immigration Hub based in Washington, D.C. “The immigration community has just had so much to deal with within the last two years,” she added. Continuous DACA challenges Among the policies continuously challenged policies since Trump came into office were the
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Inquirer,net photo
ASH WEDNESDAY. A little boy joins his father as the priest applies ashes on their foreheads in the observance of Ash Wednesday at the Baclaran Church in Paranaque City on Wednesday, March 6. Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The practice includes the wearing of ashes on the head. The ashes symbolize the dust from which God made us. PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan
Manny Villar tops ‘Philippines’ richest list’ once led by Henry Sy Sy heirs enter ‘Richest Filipinos list’ after patriarch’s demise MANILA — Real estate tycoon Manuel “Manny” Villar is now the Philippines’ richest, according to Forbes magazine’s 2019 ranking of the world’s wealthiest that also showed a slump in both the number of billionaires and their total wealth amid global economic headwinds. Villar, 69, managed to grow his net worth to $5.5 billion as of March 5 this year from $3 billion in the same month in 2018 through his real estate business, placing him at the 317th spot in Forbes’ billionaire club. Villar is the chairman of Starmalls, one of Philippines’ largest mall operators,
and Vista Land & Lifescapes, one of the country’s leading integrated property developers. The Philippines’ richest list was previously dominated by Henry Sy, Sr. who was the country’s wealthiest man for 11 years in a row. The retail tycoon passed away last January 19 at the age of 94. In the second spot is 92-year-old JG Summit founder John Gokongwei, whose real-time net worth dropped to $5.2 billion from $5.8 billion a year ago. JG Summit has interests in air transportation, telecommunications, banking, food, power and property.
Next to Gokongwei is ports and gaming magnate Enrique Razon, Jr., whose fortune hit $4.8 billion as of this month from $4.9 billion last year. Razon chairs the International Container Terminal Services, the country’s leading terminal operator that, according to Forbes, has $1.1 billion in sales. Henry Sy’s legacy Despite the death of the family patriarch who dominated the richest Filipinos list for 11 years in a row, the legacy of the late Henry Sy Sr. continues to make waves in the business community, with Real estate tycoon Manny Villar
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Philstar.com photo
Sara Duterte responds to criticism over Imee Marcos’ degree: Everyone’s a liar
Lorenzana clashes with Locsin over PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty
MANILA — Hugpong ng Pagbabago head Sara Duterte-Carpio responded to criticism that their candidate Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Tuesday, Marcos wasn’t honest about her March 5, countered Foreign Secretary Teodoro “Teddysupposed university degrees. boy” Locsin Jr.’s pronouncement about the 1951 Mutual “Lahat sila sinungaling. Lahat Defense Treaty (MDT). ng tao sa mundong ito [ay] sinunLocsin stated “in vagueness lies the best deterrence” galing (All of them [Otso Diretso] on the decades-old defense agreement between the are liars. Everyone in this world Philippines and the U.S.. This was during a joint press is a liar),” Duterte-Carpio told conference with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reporters covering a campaign on Friday, March 1. event on Wednesday afternoon. Lorenza, who is pushing for a review of the MDT, reShe said Tuesday that Marcos leased a statement that contradicted Locsin’s argument. Sara Duterte-Carpio slams the opposition for also being “liars.” Philstar.com photo would address the issue of misu PAGE A3 by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA AJPress
representing her academic credentials after it was found she did not earn a degree from Princeton University and the University of the Philippines Diliman. Reporters covering Hugpong’s campaign events, however, reported that Marcos — once again — did not address the issue when asked on Wednesday, March 6. “Let’s just ignore their criticisms, I will focus on pushing for my public programs,” Marcos
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Measles cases surge in PH as health experts urge people to get vaccinated by
RAE ANN VARONA AJPress
Children with measles are confined at San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.
Inquirer.net photo
THE number of measles cases in the Philippines has skyrocketed within the first two months of this year according to health experts and government officials. As of Saturday, March 2, the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) reported 16,349 measles cases and 261 resulting deaths since the beginning of this year. Most measles cases came from Calabarzon with 3,877 cases and 78 deaths, followed by the National Capital Region with 3,617 cases and 76 deaths. In a report released Friday,
March 1, UNICEF warned that measles around the world were surging to “alarmingly high levels,” with ten countries—including the Philippines—accounting for the majority of the total increase. Outbreaks were also reported for several countries previously declared measles free. Despite measles being highly preventable, 98 countries saw an increase in measles cases in 2018 compared to 2017, according to the report. The top three countries with the highest increases between 2017 and 2018 were Ukraine (30,338), the Philippines
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From The FronT Page
Manny Villar tops ‘Philippines’ richest list’... PAGE A1 his children dominating Forbes magazine’s 2019 ranking of the Philippines’ wealthiest. Sy Sr. made his fortune with a Philippine shopping center conglomerate. According to Forbes, he had a net worth of $18.3 billion as of September 2018, making him the 52nd richest person in the world last year and beat-
ing out bold name tycoons like Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch and George Soros. His holding company — SM Investments Corp. — has interests in retail (The SM Store, SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, SaveMore, Walter Mart Supermarket, Inc., and Alfamart); property (SM Prime Holdings, Inc. and SM Development Corporation); and
The late Henry Sy, Sr.
Philstar.com photo
financial services (BDO Unibank, Inc. and China Banking Corporation). The Sy patriarch — who rose from being a penniless Chinese immigrant to leading a multi-billion dollar business empire — died last January 19 at the age of 94, leaving trusted allies as well as his children in charge of his empire. All six Sy siblings entered Forbe’s “Richest People in the World” for the first time in 2019, replacing their father. Forbes began separately tracking the wealth of the Sy heirs — who have a combined net worth of $13.3 billion — following the death of the patriarch. Based on Forbes’ latest count, there are 2,153 billionaires, 55 fewer than a year ago. Of those, a “record” 994, or 46 percent, saw their fortune decline from last year amid “economic forces and weak stock markets.” “In total, the ultra-rich are worth $8.7 trillion, down $400 billion from 2018. Altogether 11 percent of last year’s list members, or 247 people, dropped out of the ranks, the most since 2009 at the height of the global financial crisis,” the business magazine reported. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos took the top spot in Forbes world’s billionaires, even as his net worth fell to $131 billion as of this month from $160 billion in October 2018. Completing the top five richest are Bill Gates ($9.5 billion), Warren Buffet ($82.5 billion), Bernard Arnault ($76 billion) and Carlos Slim Helu ($64 billion). (Philstar. com)
SAVE MANILA BAY. Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, and former president and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada lead the launch of desilting operations under the Sagip Manila Bay Program at Baywalk Roxas Blvd., Manila on Tuesday, March 5. An estimated 225,000 cubic meters of silt will be removed initially from a 1.5-km. stretch of Manila Bay from the Manila Yacht Club breakwater to the United States Embassy in Manila. PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan
PDEA: 64 politicians on...
PAGE A1 cided not to file,” the PDEA chief said as reported by The Philippine Star. In a radio interview with DZMM, the PDEA director general admitted that he has no idea how the administration got a hold of the narcolist but he has assured the public that he ordered the verification of the intelligence reports. “Hindi ko alam kung anong klaseng proseso ang ginawa nila, kung mayroon pang intelligence effort ng ibang bansa dito na nakialam, kung mayroon bang wiretapping o kung anong pamamaraan ng pagkuha ng report. Wala po akong alam doon (I don’t know what kind of process they did if there was intelligence effort by another country that meddled here if there was wiretapping or what method they used in getting the report. I don’t know anything about that),” Aquino said as reported by ABS-CBN News. The PDEA chief was also vocal in his stand not to publicize the list. However, he maintained that, “if it will be ordered by the president, I should abide by that.” He added, “It’s really hard to build cases against these politicians. It’s easy to say why not make a case buildup.” “It’s not true that PDEA will release the narcolist. First and
foremost, we still remain on my stand from the start [that] I don’t want the list to be revealed or to be disclosed even before the filing of COCs,” Aquino said as reported by The Manila Times. The drug agency initially enlisted 83 narco-politicians. However, they crossed off Mayor Norodin Salasal of Datu Salibo, Maguindanao after he was arrested on February 24. They also said that they are yet to finish the validation of the said list. Law enforcement officials were also mandated to identify those candidates that are involved in the illegal drug trade. National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Major Gen. Guillermo Eleazar ordered the force to prove who among the candidates were narco-politicians. “So far, we have no reports as of now that a politician in Metro Manila is involved in the illegal drugs trade. But we wanted to be sure as the government is set to reveal a list of politicians involved in illegal drugs and we do not want to be caught with our pants down,” Eleazar said. “We should have strong evidence against politicians involved in the illegal drug trade so our cases could stand in court. We should not base our reports on hearsay,” he added. Precipice of destruction Presidential spokesperson Sal-
vador Panelo said that it is important for the public to be aware of the reputation of their to-beleaders. Since illegal drug trade is considered a threat to national security, he explained that narcoleaders should be revealed before they assume positions. “We have placed the drug problem as national security. In other words, we are on the precipice of destruction if we cannot stop this drug industry. We cannot allow people to run local governments — the barangay (villages) — by the destroyers of society,” Panelo explained. The spokesman said that releasing the list would give them the chance to prove to the public whether or not they are involved in illegal activities. He also noted that publicizing names of narcopoliticians doesn’t violate any constitutional rights. “You give people a chance to defend themselves, which is why there is a constitutional presumption of innocence. But how can you demand that you are presumed innocent when you are involved in something criminal?” he said. “The due process clause applies to life, liberty or property. The release of the list does not even enter any of these [categories,] because you do not deprive them of these three things when you release the list,” he added.
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UN rights chief criticizes Duterte’s drug war, calls for public health approach by RYAN
MACASERO Philstar.com
MANILA — United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet issued a statement slamming the Philippines’ deadly war on drugs and urged the government to take a “public health approach” to comply with human rights standards. Agnes Callamard, the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, shared the statement on a Facebook post on Wednesday, March 6. “I encourage the Philippines to adopt a public health approach, and harm reduction initiatives, that comply with human rights standards, as recommended to the 2016 General Assembly Special Session,” Bachelet, who was the president of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, said. “Despite serious allegations of extra-judicial killings, only one case – the widely reported killing of a teenage boy – has been subject to investigation and prosecution,” Bachelet added. While she didn’t name the case she was referring to, in 2018
Caloocan police officers were convicted of murder in the highlypublicized case of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos. She added that independent and impartial investigations into reports of “thousands of killings” attributed to the Philippines police and security forces should be conducted. President Rodrigo Duterte, however, has not taken kindly to international criticism. In 2017 Duterte threatened to slap Callamard for saying she would investigate the administration’s drug war. “People who have fallen into the trap of drug reliance need help to rebuild their lives; drug policies should not be more of a threat to their lives than the drugs they are abusing,” Bachelet said. Duterte, however, has rebuked the idea that drug addicts can be rehabilitated, hence the need for an iron-fist approach to the drug war. Since 2017, the president has repeatedly claimed that brains of shabu users shrink, despite expert opinion that it does not. Another South American politi-
cian, former Colombian President César Gaviria, was called an “idiot” by Duterte for urging the Philippine president not to repeat the mistakes of Colombia in a 2017 New York Times opinion piece. Bachelet also highlighted that special rapporteurs of the human rights commission, opposition politicians, human rights defenders and journalists have been the subject of threats, attacked or jailed for expressing dissent against the drug war. “And I am extremely concerned by Congress consideration of measures to reintroduce the death penalty for drug-related crimes, and reduce the age of criminal responsibility from 15, to 12 – or even 9 – years old,” she added. While the Philippines’ neighbors Sri Lanka and China are the only countries to praise the Philippines as a role model in fighting drugs, the UN commissioner said the opposite. “The drug policies in place in the Philippines, and its lack of respect for rule of law and international standards, should not be considered a model by any country,” Bachelet said.
Lorenzana clashes with Locsin over... PAGE A1 “I do not believe that ambiguity or vagueness of the PhilippineU.S. Mutual Defense Treaty will serve as a deterrent. In fact, it will cause confusion and chaos during a crisis,” he said. “The fact that the security environment now is so vastly different and much more complex than the bipolar security construct of the era when the MDT was written necessitates a review of the treaty,” he added. Lorenzana also argued that the review of the MDT should have been done after the U.S. bases were terminated in 1992 as the Philippines lost its “security umbrella.” “A couple years after the U.S. left the bases, the Chinese began their aggressive actions in Mischief Reef — not an armed attack but it was aggression just the same. The U.S. did not stop it,” he said. Unwanted war Pompeo on Friday assured the public that “any armed attack on any Philippine forces, aircraft, or public vessels in the South China
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.
Sea will trigger mutual defense obligations under Article 4 of our Mutual Defense Treaty.” The reassurance was noted by former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario as “one of the most important statements made in the many decades since the Mutual Defense Treaty was ratified in 1951.” Lorenzana, however, pointed out that it is not the lack of reassurance that worries him. “The Philippines is not in a conflict with anyone and will not be at war with anyone in the future. But the United States, with the
File photos
increased and frequent passage of its naval vessels in the West Philippine Sea, is more likely to be involved in a shooting war. In such a case and on the basis of the MDT, the Philippines will be automatically involved,” he said. “It is not the lack of reassurance that worries me. It is being involved in a war that we do not seek and do not want,” he added. The U.S.’ sustained freedom of navigation operations in the disputed South China Sea has continued to provoke angry protests from China and tense moments between the rival naval forces.
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FREE MEDICINE. A senior citizen gets her medicine during a free medical consultation and services program held at the Dapitan Sports Complex. The event which drew more than a thousand residents was sponsored by the Philippine-Chinese Charitable Association Inc., which owns and operates Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center. PNA photo by Ben Briones
Senate expected to pass resolution blocking... PAGE A1 will be upheld in the House,” McConnell said at a Monday press conference in Washington, D.C. Adding that it was unclear whether the resolution could be amended by the Senate given that it has “never been done before,” McConnell said he tried to dissuade Trump from making the declaration for reason that doing so would set up precedent for Democratic presidents to make their own declarations in the future. “That’s one reason I argued without success that he not take this route,” said McConnell. “I was one of those hoping the president would not take the national emergency route,” he added. “Once he decided to do that I said I would support it, but I was hoping he wouldn’t take that particular path.” Under the National Emergencies Act of 1976, which gives Congress the authority to end a national emergency declared by the president, McConnell is required by law to bring the resolution up for a vote. The resolution already passed in the House last week through a 245-182 vote, with thirteen Republicans voting in favor of the resolution. The Senate is slated to cast their votes by March 15. In an op-ed published by
Fox News on Sunday, Maarch 3, Senator Paul announced his intention to vote in favor of the resolution, becoming the fourth Senate Republican to do so following Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. “I support President Trump,” wrote Paul. “I support his fight to get funding for the wall from Republicans and Democrats alike, and I share his view that we need more and better border security.” “However, I cannot support the use of emergency powers to get more funding, so I will be voting to disapprove of his declaration when it comes before the Senate,” said Paul. He continued, “I would literally lose my political soul if I decided to treat President Trump different than President Obama.” In the op-ed, Paul cited the fact that Congress already refused to give Trump his requested amount of $5.7 billion when it approved a spending bill of $1.375 billion for border security funding. “Congress clearly expressed its will not to spend more than $1.3 billion and to restrict how much of that money could go to barriers. Therefore, President Trump’s emergency order is
clearly in opposition to the will of Congress,” said Paul. “Moreover, the broad principle of separation of powers in the Constitution delegates the power of the purse to Congress. This turns that principle on its head,” said Paul. But even if the resolution were to pass in the Senate, Trump is expected to veto it, and it’s unlikely that a two-third majority in Congress will be able to ban together to override Trump’s veto. In response to the likeliness that Trump will use his veto power, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that Democrats would continue to fight it. “We’ll fight him in the Congress, we’ll fight him in the courts and we’ll fight him in the court of public opinion,” said Pelosi while at an event in Texas. “What he’s doing is wrong and the Republicans know it. Pelosi said that Trump, in declaring a national emergency in order to get border wall funding, was “asking us to ignore the oath of office that we take to protect and defend the Constitution by this declaration.” The declaration, she added, was “undermining our system of checks and balances,” which she said were the “wisdom of our Constitution.” (Rae Ann Varona/AJPress)
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Duterte welcomes US guarantee to protect PH if attacked in South China Sea an armed attack on Philippine forces, aircraft or public vessels in the West Philippine Sea would PRESIDEnT Rodrigo Duterte trigger obligations under the hailed the United States’ assur- Mutual Defense Treaty. ance that it would defend the “America said, “We will proPhilippines from attacks but ex- tect you. We will — your backs pressed qualms about the pro- are covered I’m sure. I said, it’s cesses that require the approval okay,” Duterte said during a of American lawmakers. campaign sortie of the Partido U.S. State Secretary Mike Pom- Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng peo assured Philippine officials Bayan last Sunday, March 3, in that Washington would protect Zamboanga City. Manila if its forces are attacked “But the problem here is they in the disputed West Philippine would invoke the (Mutual DeSea (South China Sea). fense Treaty) which was entered Pompeo, who met with Duterte into by us, by our ancestors... in Manila last week, noted that But in America, it has to pass by Alexis
RomeRo Philstar.com
President Rodrigo Duterte and United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo pose for posterity during their meeting at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on Thursday, February 28. Presidential photo by Simeon Celi Jr.
through Congress. Any declaration of war will pass Congress. You know how b***s*** America’s Congress is,” he added. Duterte noted that U.S. President Donald Trump is facing a budget stalemate because of a disagreement with lawmakers. “They still do not have a budget. I almost experienced that. But our congressmen’s approval of the budget was timely,” he said. “We were nearing the same situation as with America. They do not have a budget... We gave similarities. America crafted our constitution,” he added. The U.S. government was forced to shut down because of disagreements over Trump’s appeal for funding of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent the entry of illegal immigrants. In a related development, Malacañang said it has to verify reports that Chinese ships drove away Filipino fishermen from sand bards near Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea. If proven, such action by Chinese vessels are “certainly” not correct, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said. “Our fishermen have been fishing there. So...nobody has the right to drive our fishermen away. But we’ll have to validate that,” he added. n
Sara Duterte responds to criticism over...
PAGE A1 t said in Filipino. Interaksyon first confirmed in October with Princeton University officials that Marcos did not complete her degree. When confronted by reporters on her credentials, the daughter of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos insisted on several occasions that she earned a degree. Duterte-Carpio deflected the issue off of Marcos during the ambush interview on Wednesday and said that the Otso Diretso opposition slate also allegedly spread lies about the administration of her father, President Rodrigo Duterte. “Inaatake nila ang TRAIn law. Ang dami dami nilang sinasabi (they are attacking the TRAIn Law. They’re saying so much) about the administration of President Duterte, which are untrue,” she said. “So that also reflects
on their honesty and credibility. So ano nang gagawin natin sa kanila (What should we do with them)?” Sara Duterte lashes out on oppo candidates: “Inaatake nila ang TRAIn law. Ang dami-dami nilang sinasabi abt the admin of Pres Duterte which are untrue. So that also reflects on their honesty and credibility so ano na ang gagawin natin sa kanila?” @ news5AKSYOn @onenewsph — marie ann los banos (@maeannelosbanos) March 6, 2019 “Kasi sinasabi nila (Because they’re saying), the issue is not about a college degree, but honesty,” the Davao City mayor said. She also hit Otso Diretso candidate and Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano, saying he has no proof on accusations that t-shirts of Hugpong candidate Christopher “Bong” Go distributed last
month during the Liga ng mga Barangay convention were purchased with public funds. “So anong gagawin nating sa kanila tulad ni Alejano? Wala naman siyang proof to say na galing sa public funds ang t-shirts (So what should we do with those like Alejano? He had no proof to say that the t-shirts came from public funds),” the coalition’s head said. Corrected: Mayor Sara Duterte: “nagsisinungaling si Alejano when he said that galing sa govt funds ang t-shirt na nilagay sa kits. Kinekwestyon nila honesty ng isang kandidato namin. What shall we do abt Alejano who is lying through his teeth?” @news5AKSYOn @onenewsph — marie ann los banos (@maeannelosbanos) March 6, 2019 Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año denied also these accusations. n
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FLOTUS IN LAS VEGAS. First Lady Melania Trump told the crowd that opioid addiction is an illness and replied to questions via social media with commentator Eric Bolling, staged at International Theatre Westgate Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 5. Photos by Raoul Gatchalian
Measles cases surge in PH as health experts... PAGE A1 t
(13,192), and Brazil (10,262). Though UnICEF’s own data differed from that collected by the DOH, it did show a sharp uptick in cases in a short amount of time. Looking at the Philippines alone, UnICEF reported 12,736 measles cases and 203 related deaths within the first two months of this year alone—just a few thousand less than its recorded 15,599 measles cases reported for the country in all of 2018. Health experts and government authorities urge for vaccinations Measles is one of the most highly contagious of airborne infectious diseases and can spread from an infected person’s breaths, coughs, or sneezes. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), measles is so contagious that someone can contract the virus from an infected person even two hours after the person has left a room. But measles is also highly preventable through immunization, and health experts say those not getting vaccinated are making themselves unnecessarily vulnerable to the potentially deadly disease. “This is a wake up call. We
have a safe, effective and inexpensive vaccine against a highly contagious disease—a vaccine that has saved almost a million lives every year over the last two decades,” said Henrietta Fore, UnICEF’s Executive Director. UnICEF joined others in citing “vaccine hesitancy” as being a major enabler of measles outbreaks in both developed and developing countries. “Almost all of these cases are preventable, and yet children are getting infected even in places where there is simply no excuse,” said Fore. “Measles may be the disease, but, all too often, the real infection is misinformation, mistrust and complacency. We must do more to accurately inform every parent, to help us safely vaccinate every child.” Vaccine hesitancy has been especially true in the Philippines where deaths allegedly caused by the now banned dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, triggered a vaccine scare. DOH undersecretary Eric Domingo said early February that vaccination rates among children were down to 60 percent as a result of the Dengvaxia scare. The Philippine government said Friday that it would file criminal charges against executives of the Dengvaxia-manufacturing phar-
maceutical firm Sanofi Pasteur over the at least 10 deaths allegedly connected to the vaccine. In addressing the vaccine hesitancy, Philippine government agencies have been working on mass immunization campaigns. It previously said it hoped to meet a coverage rate of 95 percent, or roughly 12 million people by March. According to the DOH, most affected to measles were children ages four years and younger with 4,911 cases and 124 deaths, and those under nine months old with 4,222 cases and 99 deaths. The department added that 9,975 of the 16,349 who contracted measles and 209 of the 261 people that died so far this year were not vaccinated. UnICEF said that it will support the Philippine government in conducting a campaign to vaccinate nine million children cross 17 regions. It said it will also utilize social media and other efforts to encourage apprehensive parents to vaccinate their children. “These cases haven’t happened overnight,” said Fore. “Just as the serious outbreaks we are seeing today took hold in 2018, lack of action today will have disastrous consequences for children tomorrow.” n
‘Immigration rights in limbo’ say immigration... PAGE A1 t
administration’s policies on those who have Dreamer-related protection, such as those under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and those with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Under the DACA program, which was enacted under the Obama administration in 2012 to protect those who came to the U.S. as children, approximately 800,000 individuals have registered with the vast majority having renewed once or more times since the program’s inception. But in September 2017, the Trump administration terminated the program and said the program would be phased out with no renewals or new applicants being accepted. But several lawsuits were immediately filed challenging the termination, with three federal courts issuing and concurring orders in January 2018 saying that DACA recipients should be able to renew their DACA status. That has been the status since. And while the Trump administration has since then petitioned the Supreme Court to take up the DACA cases and determine whether or not the termination was lawful, the Court has not yet made any announcement as to when or if that would happen. Allison Davenport, the supervising attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said that if the Supreme Court were to take the case, it wouldn’t be heard until fall of 2019 at the earliest, and thus would not get a decision until 2020. If the Supreme Court decides not to take the case, Davenport said federal orders would continue, but lawsuits challenging the termination would remain pending and would continue winding up through the legal system in different federal courts. But the big takeaway as of now, she said, is that all who have DACA or have had DACA at any time in the past, are eligible to renew status that would provide them a new two year period protection from deportation as well as a work permit. She said this is true regardless of when the status expired. “It doesn’t matter if it expired two weeks ago, or three years ago. They’re still eligible to apply for renewal,” said Davenport. “The rule of thumb is that if you have DACA, you should apply to renew that case six months in advance of that expiration date. That way, your case can be processed and you can receive a new approval, a new work permit without any
gaps between when your current case expires and your new case being approved.” She also urged that people get legal consultation with legal experts to explore options they may have in terms of protection. Davenport said studies have shown that among those who have applied for DACA and gone through consultations, between 15 and 25 percent were eligible for some other form of immigration status or protection but just didn’t know about it. “We really encourage people to go ahead and get a legal consultation with a quality legal service provider to see if they might be eligible for some other form of status or protection,” said Davenport. Threats to plus charge rule In October 2018, the Trump administration published a proposal to change “public charge” determinations for immigrants trying to adjust their immigration status in the U.S. While it has long allowed for immigrants to have their residency status rejected if they are seen to be a financial burden to the U.S. government, or a “public charge”—a term that has been used in immigration law since the 1800s—the Trump administration’s draft rule substantially broadens the definition to include immigrants who use one or more government programs that were previously excluded. These programs include health, nutrition, and housing programs, said Mayra Alvarez, president of The Children’s Partnership, a nonprofit children’s advocacy organization. The proposed rule also adds specific requirements to the public charge for income, health, age, and even English proficiency, added Alvarez. But while the change is just a proposal, she said it’s clear that much of the damage has already been done. “Too many families across California and across the country are living in fear, are confused about what policies have and have not changed, and are reacting in response,” said Alvarez. “For example, if the proposed change to public charge goes forward, hundreds of thousands of immigrant parents in California may disenroll their children from health insurance, food stamps, and other federally subsidized programs because they fear that receiving these benefits will make it impossible for them to become permanent residents in the United States,” added Alvarez. Based on an analysis conduct-
ed by The Children’s Partnership and Kidsdata.org, it is estimated that between 113,000 and 311,000 children in California alone would be withdrawn from food stamps or Calfresh. Furthermore, an estimated 259,000 to 628,000 children would be withdrawn from critical health programs like Medical in California. “Today, we have the lowest uninsured rate of kids in the nation, but if this public charge change would move forward, we run the risk of increasing the risk of uninsured children from three percent to up above eight percent,” said Alvarez. “That is taking us backwards.” She added though that before the Trump administration would be able to finalize the proposal, the government would have to review more than 266,000 comments on the proposal. Just under 64,000 comments have been reviewed so far. Pushes through legislation In light of the continuous challenges to immigration rights, Talbot said pushes for constructive immigration reform has meant relying on litigation in protecting individuals from deportation. For example, the Supreme Court has not considered Dreamer related litigation until the next term which means the earliest a decision would be around February of 2020. “So at least through this litigation, Dreamers would have been able to be protected through most of Trump’s third term,” said Talbot. She pointed out that House Democrats will be re-introducing new language to the Dream Act on March 12, and that she’s hopeful another immigration reform bill may be introduced in the summer with House Democrats starting to talk about it covering the entire undocumented population. “Generally, we’re just trying to shine a light on all horrible policies that Trump has put into place,” said Talbot. Talbot said that while it’s unlikely that much change will come under the current administration, efforts in immigration reform, she hopes big change will come in the new 2021 administration. “It would be fantastic if the White House would actually decide to be more moderate and come to the table, but there’s really no reason to think that they’re going to change their ways. So frankly, we just don’t really trust the White House to be able to negotiate on issues of Dreamers and TPS,” said Talbot. (Rae Ann Varona/AJPress)
LAS VEGAS ASIAN JOURNAL • MARch 7-13, 2019
(702) 792-6678 • http://www.asianjournal.com
Dateline PhiliPPines
A
Duterte insists on PH name change, drops Maharlika by AJPress
PhiliPPine President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday, March 3, insisted on changing the name of the country but seems to have dropped his suggestion to rename it Maharlika. “Kaya sabi ng mga ano na papalitan ko, gusto kong palitan balang araw (That’s why I said I want to change it someday),â€? the president said as reported by The Philippine Star. The chief executive once again expressed his intent to change the Philippines’ name during a groundbreaking ceremony of a gymnasium in isabela City, Basilan. FACES OF PANABENGA. Senior high school students take part in the street dancing competition during the 24th Panagbenga Festival in “no particular name yet but Baguio City. ManilaTimes.net photo by Thom PicaĂąa sure, i would like to change the name of the Philippines because the Philippines is named after King Philip,â€? Duterte added. Duterte reiterated that the ba ang ‘di takot mamatay, sino ba quaintance of theirs had been a by Ritchel Mendiola victim, while 3 percent said it was ang ‘di takot mabiktima ng kri- country and its people were AJPress their neighbor. Other answers in- men? (It is wrong that you start stuck with the name since the A SuRvey released on Friday, cluded a relative (2 percent), best with “How worried are you.â€? Ev- Spaniards colonized the counMarch 1, revealed that 78 per- friend (2 percent), or officemate eryone will be scared, of course. try in 1521. They named the cent or almost 4 out of 5 Filipinos (2 percent). Who is not afraid of dying? Who country after King Philip ii who are worried that they, or someThe December 2018 survey is not afraid of being victimized one they know, will be a victim of was conducted through face-to- by crime?),â€? Albayalde said. extrajudicial killings (eJKs) in the face interviews with 1,440 adults, he added that the SWS should midst of the current administra- aged 18 years and above. SWS have explained the definition of tion’s war against illegal drugs. noted that there was a sampling eJK. The survey, which was con- error margin of Âą2.6 percent for eJK, based on Administrative ducted by polling firm So- national percentages, and Âą5 Order 35 of the Aquino adminiscial Weather Stations (SWS) percent each for Balance luzon, tration of which the PnP follows, by AJPress from December 16 to 19, 2018, Metro Manila, the visayas, and is committed by “state and nonnoted the increase in number Mindanao. state forcesâ€? to silence, “through from the June 2017 survey which The Commission on human violence and intimidation, le‘Something amiss’ showed 73 percent of Filipinos The Philippine national Police gitimate dissent and opposition Rights (ChR) on Tuesday, March worried about eJKs. (PnP), for its part, insisted that raised by members of the civil 5, said new reparation claims for According to the December the SWS survey was incorrectly society, cause-oriented groups, martial law victims will not be 2018 survey, anxiety over eJKs done. political movements, people’s processed despite the approval was highest in visayas (83 perDuring a Camp Crame briefing and non-governmental organiza- of a joint resolution extending cent). it was followed by Metro on Monday, PnP chief Director tions, and by ordinary citizens.â€? the validity of funds intended Manila (79 percent), Mindanao General Oscar Albayalde said, however, newly-signed Re- for victims of human rights (78 percent), and Balance luzon “i don’t want to dispute the sta- public Act no 11188 or the Act violations during the Marcos (75 percent). tistics derived from SWS except for Special Protection of Children dictatorship. The survey also revealed that there is something amiss with in Situations of Armed Conflict According to ChR spokesthe country is torn on who are the how the questions are framed in defines eJK as an “act and omis- person Jacqueline de Guia, the targets of the eJKs. Fifty percent relation to the perception [of] the sion of State actors that con- measure, which was signed by said only the poor are victimized, alleged police involvement in il- stitute violation of the general President Duterte last week, only while 48 percent said the problem legal drugs and alleged eJK.â€? recognition of the right to life covers the unclaimed checks of does not choose a class. The rehe also said the question of embodied in the universal Dec- victims that have been recogmaining three percent answered the SWS was bound to evoke laration of human Rights, the nized by the now-defunct human only the rich are victimized. fear from respondents due to its united nations Covenant on Civil Rights victims’ Claims Board in addition, 12 percent of Fili- phrasing. and Political Rights, the unCRC (hRvCB). pinos said they know someone “The signing of the resolution “Mali naman kaagad na ‘Gaa- and similar other human rights who was a victim of eJK. eight no kayo nangangamba.’ every- treaties to which the Philippines does not reopen the application percent answered that an ac- one will be scared of course, sino is a state party.â€? n for new claims and appeals pro-
4 out of 5 Filipinos worried about extrajudicial killings
funded the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan that led him to discover the Philippines. The president first mentioned his plan to change the country’s name last Monday, February 11 in Bulan town of Maguindanao where he distributed land titles to Agrarian reform beneficiaries. he affirmed that former president Ferdinand Marcos was right to propose “Maharlika.� “Actually, tama si Marcos. Panahon ni Marcos, tama talaga si Marcos. Gusto niya palitan (ng) Maharlika the Republic of Maharlika. Gusto niya palitan it means, more of concept of serenity and peace (Actually, Marcos was right. He wanted to change it to the Republic of Maharlika. He wanted to change it for the concept of serenity and peace),� he said. “We can’t do anything anymore. Philippines because it was discovered by Magellan using the money of King Philip. Kaya pagdating ng ulol ginawang Philippines. Pero okay na
‘yan, balang araw palitan natin (When they arrived here they named it Philippines. But it’s okay, we can change it someday),� he added. Former senator eddie ilarde filed a bill that aimed to rename the country to Maharlika in 1978. he emphasized that such word contains the term maha which means noble and likha which means create. however, some critics frowned upon Duterte’s plan noting that he must put emphasis on more important issues. Others criticized the suggestion stating that Maharlika literally means big phallus. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo reminded that changing the name of the Philippines would need a law and a referendum. “The Constitution provides that Congress may enact a law that can change the name of the country and submit it to the people for a referendum. it’s more on asserting our national identity,� Panelo said. n
‘No new reparation claims for martial law victims will be processed’ — CHR
Karagdagang kaalaman sa Filipino (Tagalog) ay makikita rin sa website ng Lalawigan ng Clark Kagawaran ng Halalan sa: www.clarkcountynv.gov/votetag NOTICE TO ELECTORS OF CLOSE OF REGISTRATION FOR THE MUNICIPAL PRIMARY ELECTIONS TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019 IN BOULDER CITY, HENDERSON, LAS VEGAS, NORTH LAS VEGAS, CLOSE OF REGISTRATION PERIOD BEGINS TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2019 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the close of voter registration period for the Municipal Primary Elections to be held on April 2, 2019, will begin on Tuesday, March 5, 2019 and end March 12, 2019. The deadline for online registration is Thursday, March 14, 2019. $Q\ TXDOLÂżHG HOHFWRU ZKRVH QDPH GRHV QRW DSSHDU RQ WKH RIÂżFLDO UHJLVWU\ OLVW PD\ DSSO\ WR UHJLVWHU E\ DSSHDULQJ DW WKH Clark County Election Department, 500 South Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas; Clark County Election Center, 965 7UDGH 'ULYH 6XLWH $ 1RUWK /DV 9HJDV WKH DSSURSULDWH &LW\ &OHUNÂśV 2IÂżFH DQ\ EUDQFK RI WKH 'HSDUWPHQW RI 0RWRU 9HKLcles; or by appearing before a Field Registrar in the manner provided by law. The Clark County Election Department is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Voter registration applications will be accepted by mail or in person up until 28 days before the election. Thereafter until 21 GD\V EHIRUH WKH HOHFWLRQ YRWHU UHJLVWUDWLRQ DSSOLFDWLRQV PXVW EH ÂżOHG LQ SHUVRQ DW WKH DSSURSULDWH &LW\ &OHUNÂśV 2IÂżFH RQO\ Online Registration $Q\ HOLJLEOH &ODUN &RXQW\ UHVLGHQW ZKR KDV D 1HYDGD GULYHUÂśV OLFHQVH RU DQ LGHQWLÂżFDWLRQ FDUG LVVXHG E\ WKH 1HYDGD Department of Motor Vehicles can now register or update his/her registration information online exclusively at only one website www.RegistertoVoteNV.gov, which is accessible through www.clarkcountynv.gov/vote in the “Online Registration Servicesâ€? box and click on the “Click Hereâ€? button. This service is available 24 hours a day. To be eligible to vote in the April 2nd Primary Election, online registration must be completed on or before March 14, 2019 by 11:59 p.m. 0DLO LQ YRWHU UHJLVWUDWLRQ DSSOLFDWLRQV DUH DYDLODEOH DW YDULRXV SRVW RIÂżFHV OLEUDULHV DQG XWLOLW\ FRPSDQLHV WKURXJKRXW &ODUN County. 7KH VFKHGXOH IRU WKH ÂżQDO VHYHQ GD\V RI LQ SHUVRQ UHJLVWUDWLRQ DW HDFK &LW\ &OHUNÂśV 2IÂżFH LV DV IROORZV %RXOGHU &LW\ &LW\ &OHUNÂśV 2IÂżFH 401 California Avenue Boulder City, Nevada Tuesday, March 5 Wednesday, March 6 – Thursday, March 7 Friday, March 8 – Sunday, March 10 Monday, March 11 – Tuesday, March 12
7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Closed 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
&LW\ RI +HQGHUVRQ &LW\ &OHUNœV 2I¿FH 240 Water Street Henderson, Nevada Tuesday, March 5 Wednesday, March 6 – Thursday, March 7 Friday, March 8 – Sunday, March 10 Monday, March 11 - Tuesday, March 12
7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Closed 7:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
&LW\ RI /DV 9HJDV &LW\ &OHUNœV 2I¿FH 495 S. Main Street, 2nd Floor Las Vegas, Nevada Tuesday, March 5 Wednesday, March 6 - Thursday, March 7 Friday, March 8 – Sunday, March 10 Monday, March 11 - Tuesday, March 12
7:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. 7:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Closed 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
&LW\ RI 1RUWK /DV 9HJDV &LW\ &OHUNœV 2I¿FH 2250 Las Vegas Boulevard North Suite 800 North Las Vegas, Nevada Tuesday, March 5 Wednesday, March 6 – Thursday, March 7 Friday, March 8 – Sunday, March 10 Monday, March 11 – Tuesday, March 12
8:00 a.m. – 5:45 p.m. 8:00 a.m. – 5:45 p.m. Closed 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
For more information, call the Clark County Election Department at (702) 455-8683. DATED: February 11, 2019 Joseph P. Gloria Registrar of Voters PUB: February 14, 21, 28 and March 7, 2019 Las Vegas Asian Journal
cess,� she said. “The signed legislation strictly pertains to pending checks from the previously granted applications that have not been encashed for varying reasons, such as the failure to give prior advice on the death of claimants and inability to comply with the process of extrajudicial settlement of estate, to name a few,� she added. earlier, former hRvCB head lina Sarmiento noted that 177 checks amounting to about P134 million went stale due to claimants failing to encash them on time. De Guia said at least two months will be needed by ChR to redistribute the checks as the money was reverted to the Bureau of Treasury. “At this point, the ChR is in
the process of coordinating with relevant agencies such as the Department of Budget and Management, Bureau of Treasury and landbank of the Philippines to restart the process of attending to stale, uncashed or unclaimed checks,� she said. “Our commitment is to ensure that we can proceed with the redistribution of financial reparations, mindful of the recognition and reparation that victims of human rights violations under martial law deserve,� she added. The ChR spokesperson also urged the public not to politicize the process. “Through this, we can honor the triumph of the victims of martial law and bring back to the people the ill-gotten wealth that was amassed during the dictatorship,� De Guia said. n
Date
Day
Location
Address/ Cross Streets
Time
March 16
Sat.
Albertsons
Boulder Hwy. / Lake Mead Pkwy., HEN
9am-5pm
March 16
Sat.
Albertsons
Craig / Decatur, LV
9am-5pm
March 16
Sat.
Lowe’s Parking Lot (Trailer)
2570 E. Craig Rd. / Losee, NLV
9am-6pm
NOTICE OF EARLY VOTING FOR THE CITIES OF BOULDER CITY, HENDERSON, LAS VEGAS, AND NORTH LAS VEGAS 2019 MUNICIPAL PRIMARY ELECTIONS
March 16
Sat.
9107 Del Webb Blvd. / Crown Ridge, LV
10am-6pm
March 17
Sun. Sun. Sun.
Craig / Decatur, LV
March 17 March 17
Mountain Shadows Community Ctr. Albertsons Lowe’s Parking Lot (Trailer) Mountain Shadows Community Ctr.
9am-5pm 9am-6pm
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that early voting for the April 2, 2019 Municipal Primary Elections will take place in the cities of Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas.
March 17
Sun.
Vons
Horizon / Horizon Ridge, HEN
9am-5pm
March 18 March 18
Mon.
Albertsons
Craig / Decatur, LV
9am-5pm
Mon.
Cardenas Market
March 18
Mon.
Lowe’s Parking Lot (Trailer)
2570 E. Craig Rd. / Losee, NLV
9am-6pm
March 18
Mon.
9am-5pm 2020 W. Horizon Ridge Pkwy., East of Green Valley Pkwy., HEN
March 19
Stephanie / Horizon Ridge, HEN 9am-5pm 2570 E. Craig Rd. / Losee, NLV 9am-6pm
March 19
Tue. Tue. Tue.
Sun City MacDonald Ranch Community Ctr. Albertsons Lowe’s Parking Lot (Trailer) Sahara West Library
9600 W. Sahara Ave. / Grand Canyon, LV
10am-6pm
March 19
Tue.
Veterans Memorial Leisure Ctr.
101 N. Pavilion Ctr. Dr., North of Alta, LV
10am-6pm 11am-7pm
Karagdagang kaalaman sa Filipino (Tagalog) ay makikita rin sa website ng Lalawigan ng Clark Kagawaran ng Halalan sa: www.clarkcountynv.gov/votetag.
RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT All voters who are registered to vote in the Cities of Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas are eligible to vote in this election. You cannot vote in municipal elections if you are registered to vote in unincorporated areas of Clark County.
March 19
2570 E. Craig Rd./ Losee, NLV 9107 Del Webb Blvd. / Crown Ridge, LV
10am-6pm
4421 E. Bonanza Rd. / Lamb, LV 10am-6pm
March 20
Wed.
Alexander Library
1755 W. Alexander Rd., West of M.L. King Blvd., NLV
March 20
Wed.
Green Valley Library
2797 N. Green Valley Pkwy. / Sunset, HEN
10am-6pm
March 20
Wed.
Sahara West Library
9600 W. Sahara Ave. / Grand Canyon, LV
10am-6pm
March 20
Wed.
Veterans Memorial Leisure Ctr.
101 N. Pavilion Ctr. Dr., North of Alta, LV
10am-6pm
March 21
Thu.
Alexander Library
1755 W. Alexander Rd., West of M.L. King Blvd., NLV
11am-7pm
March 21
Thu.
Mountain Crest Community Ctr.
4701 N. Durango Dr., South of Lone Mountain, LV
9am-5pm
March 21
Thu.
Solera Anthem Community Ctr.
2401 Somersworth Dr. / Solera Sky, HEN
9am-5pm
March 21
Thu.
Veterans Memorial Leisure Ctr.
101 N. Pavilion Ctr. Dr., North of Alta, LV 10am-6pm
10am-6pm
March 22
Fri.
Alexander Library
9am-5pm
EARLY VOTING
1755 W. Alexander Rd., West of M.L. King Blvd., NLV
March 22
Fri.
Mountain Crest Community Ctr.
4701 N. Durango Dr., South of Lone Mountain, LV
9am-5pm
VOTING IS EASY! Eligible voters may vote at any of the convenient early voting sites listed below OR on Election Day at ÂŹany of the City of Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas or North Las Vegas Vote Centers, which replace the traditional Municipal Election polling locations.
March 22
Fri.
Rainbow Library
3150 N. Buffalo Dr. / Cheyenne, LV
10am-6pm 9am-5pm
LONG-TERM MALL EARLY VOTING SITES
VOTING BY MAIL Any registered voter who is eligible to vote in this election may choose to vote by mail. A written request for a mail ballot must be received by 5 p.m. on March 26, 2019. Mail ballot requests may be obtained from the Clark County Election Department at 702-455-8683 or online at www.clarkcountynv.gov/vote. If you received a ballot by mail, you may surrender that ballot at any Early Vote location and vote in person.
GALLERIA AT SUNSET - KOHL’S COURT, 1ST FLOOR 1300 W. Sunset Rd. / N. Stephanie St., Henderson Saturday, March 16 and 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10am-7pm Sunday, March 17 and 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11am-6pm Mon.-Fri., March 18-22 and March 25-29. . . . . . .10am-7pm MEADOWS MALL - JCPENNEY COURT, 1ST FLOOR 4300 Meadows Ln. / S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas Saturday-Friday, March 16-29 (every day) . . . . . . 10am-6pm
March 22
Fri.
Solera Anthem Community Ctr.
2401 Somersworth Dr. / Solera Sky, HEN
March 23 March 23
Sat. Sat.
Albertsons Alexander Library
Farm / Durango, LV
9am-5pm
1755 W. Alexander Rd., West of M.L. King Blvd., NLV
9am-5pm
March 23
Sat.
Skye Center at Skye Canyon
10111 W. Skye Canyon Park Dr. / 10am-6pm Skye Village Rd., LV
March 23 March 24
Sat. Sun.
Vons Albertsons
Windmill Pkwy. / Pecos, HEN College / Horizon, HEN
March 24
Sun.
Albertsons
Farm / Durango, LV
March 24
Sun.
Deer Springs Town Ctr. (Trailer)
N. 5th St. / W. Dorrell Ln., South of CC-215, NLV
March 24
Sun.
Skye Center at Skye Canyon
10111 W. Skye Canyon Park Dr. / 10am-6pm Skye Village Rd., LV
March 25 March 25
Mon.
Albertsons
Buffalo / Vegas, LV
Mon.
Deer Springs Town Ctr. (Trailer)
N. 5th St. / W. Dorrell Ln., South of CC-215, NLV
March 25
Mon.
Doolittle Community Ctr.
1950 J St. / W. Lake Mead Blvd., LV
9am-5pm 9am-5pm
9am-5pm 9am-5pm 9am-5pm 9am-6pm
10am-6pm 9am-6pm
LONG-TERM PUBLIC BUILDING EARLY VOTING SITES ALIANTE LIBRARY 2400 W. Deer Springs Way, East of Aliante Pkwy. North Las Vegas Saturday, March 16 and 23 ......................................... 9am-5pm Wed.-Thurs., March 20-21 and 27-28 ....................... 11am-7pm Friday, March 22 and 29 .............................................. 9am-5pm
March 25
Mon.
Paseo Verde Library
280 S. Green Valley Pkwy., South of Paseo Verde, HEN
March 26 March 26
Tue.
Albertsons
Buffalo / Vegas, LV
10am-6pm
Tue.
Doolittle Community Ctr.
1950 J St. / W. Lake Mead Blvd., LV
9am-5pm
March 26
Tue.
Nevada State College
Rogers Student Ctr. 1300 Nevada State Dr., HEN
9am-5pm
March 26 March 27
Tue. Wed.
Silver Mesa Recreation Ctr. Centennial Ctr. (Trailer)
4025 Allen Ln. / Alexander, NLV
9am-6pm
Home Depot Parking Lot, 7881 W. Tropical Pkwy., LV
10am-6pm
BOULDER CITY, CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 401 California Ave. / Arizona St., Boulder City Wed.-Thurs., March 20-21 .......................................... 7am-6pm Friday, March 22 .......................................................... 8am-6pm Saturday, March 23 ..................................................... 8am-6pm
March 27 March 27
Wed.
Silver Mesa Recreation Ctr.
4025 Allen Ln. / Alexander, NLV
Wed.
Sun City Anthem Ctr.
2450 Hampton Rd. / Anthem Pkwy., HEN
9am-6pm 9am-5pm
March 27
Wed.
March 28
Thu.
Westminster Presbyterian Church 4601 W. Lake Mead Blvd., West of N. Decatur Blvd., LV Centennial Ctr. (Trailer) Home Depot Parking Lot, 7881 W. Tropical Pkwy., LV
HENDERSON CITY HALL, CITY CLERK’S CONFERENCE ROOM 240 S. Water St. / W. Basic Rd., Henderson Mon.-Thurs., March 18-21 and 25-28 ......................... 8am-5pm
March 28
Thu.
East Las Vegas Community Ctr.
250 N. Eastern Ave. / Stewart Ave., LV
March 28 March 28
Thu. Thu.
SkyView YMCA Sun City Anthem Ctr.
3050 E. Centennial Pkwy., NLV
9am-6pm
2450 Hampton Rd. / Anthem Pkwy., HEN
9am-5pm
March 29
Fri.
Centennial Ctr. (Trailer)
Home Depot Parking Lot 7881 W. Tropical Pkwy., LV
10am-6pm
March 29
Fri.
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OPINION Narco list
FEATURES
IT’S supposed to help voters make informed choices in the midterm elections in May. The presumption of innocence, however, is guaranteed under Section 14 of the Constitution. So if the government pushes through with the release of a list of so-called narco politicians when the local campaign period starts, it should be prepared for lawsuits related to constitutional violations. The list has been trimmed to over 80 names, with the Department of the Interior and Local Government reportedly still waiting for President Duterte’s approval to delist six individuals following vetting by anti-narcotics agents. No amount of vetting, however, can replace the need for judicial determination of guilt if the DILG intends to describe anyone in public as a narco politician. At the very least, there must be formal criminal complaints filed against anyone who is described as a suspected drug offender. Judicial conviction in a criminal case must be based on the establishment of guilt beyond reasonable doubt. In the absence of such a verdict, being tagged as a narco politician could be dismissed as black propaganda in an election season. Drug trafficking is a serious offense that can warrant life in prison. Those who engage in this criminal activity must be meted appropriate pun-
ishment. Instead of simply subjecting those on the list to public shaming, the DILG, which has supervision over the Philippine National Police, should order the police to gather certified intel, file appropriate criminal charges and arrest drug traffickers. Government prosecutors should then work to secure the conviction of the suspects. More effort is also needed to prevent drug money from financing election campaigns. In this, law enforcement agencies must work closely with the Anti-Money Laundering Council and the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Drug trafficking and narco politics can destroy a country. If there is solid evidence against narco politicians, simply putting them on a list and outing them to prevent their election would not be enough to protect society. There should be no place in government for proven narco politicians; their place is not just on a list, but behind bars. (Philstar.com)
Editorial
Philstar.com photo
Congress investigates: Did Trump abuse executive power and obstruct justice? The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS TWO YEARS. It took that long for Congress to finally do one very important function the U.S. Constitution has mandated it to do: to fulfill its oversight responsibility, making sure co-equal branches of government provide checks and balances among each other so that no one individual or institution abuses its power and betray the public’s trust. TWO YEARS. And now the 45th President of the United States again plays the victim role, crying against what he calls “presidential harassment,” when in fact the Democrats in the House, who reclaimed leadership of Congress through the American people’s sacred vote in the midterm elections, are just working hard to make President Trump account-
Street Talk GREG B. MACABENTA THE recently concluded “Abuse Summit” at the Vatican convened by Pope Francis frontally addressed the problem of priestly sexual abuse - a problem and a challenge set against the extremely difficult-to-meet standard of priestly celibacy. Priestly celibacy, according to the rules of the Catholic Church, means being unmarried. In practical terms, it actually means sexual abstinence - which, frankly, is a denial of a basic human urge. If one were to attempt to interpret the Bible, sexual abstinence is also a virtual denial of what the Lord God Himself urged Adam and Eve to do shortly after their creation: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” Simon Peter, the first pope, was a married man. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ healed Peter’s mother-in-law, which suggests that he had a wife. In the history of the Catholic Church, there were Popes who were married and who had children. Pope Saint Silverius (he was later canonized) was the legitimate son of Pope Saint Hormisdas (who was married before becoming Pope and who was also canonized later on). And we must have all read about the infamous Borgias, particularly Alfons de Borgia who became Pope Callixtus III and
able. Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning! After two years, this is a new day. On Monday, March 4, the House Judiciary Committee has launched a sweeping probe into President Donald Trump to determine if his administration and associates obstructed justice and engaged in public corruption or any other abuse of power. The House Judiciary Committee announced Monday that it had sent out 81 requests for documents to start building its record for the investigation. As TIME reported, included in the requests were the Trump Organization, as well as several employees invoked by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen during his hearing last week before the House oversight committee: Chief Financial Official Allen Weisselberg, Executive Vice President Matthew Calamari, and President Trump’s longtime personal assistant Rhona Graff. The President’s two sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., also received requests, as did the White
House and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Before we get lost and confused in the complicated web of investigations on Trump and his orbit, let me present the big picture. The Mueller probe was launched to determine if there was a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to damage the campaign of Hillary Clinton and help Trump win in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The mandate given to Mueller was to turn over any evidence of crimes not within its purview of national security concerns to the appropriate government institutions to do further investigations and file charges if they find probable cause. Consequently, the Southern District of New York has launched criminal investigations and filed charges to include federal campaign and financial reporting laws, fraud, corruption and cover-up of the violations of the law. The House Oversight Com-
The curse of Adam and Eve
Rodrigo Lanzol Borgia AKA Pope Alexander VI. It was not until the Second Lateran Council in the twelfth century that the Church established the rule forbidding priests to marry. This was reaffirmed in 1563 by the Council of Trent. So, if being sexually active is being human, if even the Lord God mandated it, and if celibacy was not imposed by the Church until centuries after Peter became Pope, what was the Abuse Summit all about and why the hassle? Firstly, being sexually active is different from being sexually abusive. The first is part of human nature. The latter is a violation of both Church law and criminal law. Members of the clergy who use their position to take advantage of sacristans, school boys and women are violating the law of God and of society. Secondly, the priesthood is not for everyone. It is a call to virtual sainthood. If, as Jesus said, it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, how much more difficult would it be for a human being-priest to resist the call of the flesh and the carnal temptations confronting him? What is, in fact, remarkable is how few cases there are of confirmed, recorded or reported cases of priestly abuses in the Catholic world compared to the number of Catholics (1.2 billion) and priests (414.313 as of 2012). In the Philippines, a country
of over 100 million, the Catholic Church reportedly “apologized for sexual abuses, including adultery, homosexuality and child abuse by 200 priests over the previous 20 years.” Granted that hundreds – even thousands – more abuses have not been reported (excluding Padre Damaso’s affair with the mother of Maria Clara, which Dr. Jose Rizal recounted in the Noli and the Fili), that would still pale in comparison with the incidence of graft and corruption in all sectors of Philippine politics, public service and business Of course, these numbers are irrelevant. As Bishop Michael C. Barber, SJ, of the Archdiocese of Oakland, California, rightly put it in his pastoral letter read last Sunday by our pastor, Fr. Geoffrey Baraan, at St. Joseph Church in Pinole: “The only acceptable number is zero.” Bishop Barber had released the names of “20 diocesan priests. 22 religious order priests, deacons and brothers and three priests from other dioceses who have worked in the Diocese of Oakland and have had credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors.” The release of the names of the culprit clerics appears to be a direct result of the Abuse Summit in the Vatican. While the Church hierarchy wrestles with the mandate of Pope Francis, one significant move that the Diocese of Oakland has taken has been to unravel the “pontifical secret,” described as “a policy
mittee, headed by Rep. Elijah Cummings and the Committee to which Trump’s former long-time personal attorney/fixer Michael Cohen recently gave sworn testimonies to, focuses on determining whether Trump is improperly profiting from his office. The focus of the House Intelligence Committee headed by Rep. Adam Schiff is on questions of money laundering, financial leverage foreign entities might have over Trump and his businesses, and whether Trump sought to use his political and presidential contacts to improve his own bottom line, during the campaign and since becoming president. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee focuses on investigating threats to the rule of law is a core function of the House Judiciary Committee. Nadler defined obstruction of justice as any interference from President Trump and his associates in criminal investigations and any “alleged cover-up violations of the law,” and public corruption as any possible violation
of the emolument clause and “conspiracy to violate federal campaign and financial reporting laws.” Abuse of power was defined in part as “attempts to misuse the power of the Office of the Presidency,” which also included attacks on the press, law enforcement and judiciary. Findings from the investigations being conducted by the Executive Department (Mueller probe under the DOJ), the Judiciary (Southern District of New York, plus Maryland), and the Legislature (House Oversight and Reform, Intelligence and Judiciary Committees) all function in accordance to the mandate of the Constitution, seeking evidence to move forward and determine if Trump and his people violated the laws. While many might overlap, the committee chairmen and chairwomen say they are working together on the investigations. The House cannot file criminal charges but appropriate institutions may use the findings of the probe along with their own probe to bring charges to court. Congress will likewise use the find-
ings to write laws as needed so that these abuses will never happen again. Meanwhile, the latest news on Tuesday, March 5, is that the White House rejected a request from the House Oversight Committee to hand over documents and make officials available for interviews for a probe into how Jared Kushner got a security clearance. WHAT IS TRUMP HIDING? If he, his family, and his associates are not hiding anything, don’t you think they should gladly cooperate in these investigations? After all, their actions, lies, denials, retractions, and hard evidence have led to these probes. This is the accountability mandated by the Constitution. Nobody is above the law, not even President Donald Trump and his cohorts. .* * *
of confidentiality in the Church, regarding cases of sexual abuse of minors.” According to Church leaders, “while the Church has acknowledged for decades the seriousness of the crime of abuse of minors by clergy, this was the first time there has been an equally clear acknowledgment of the gravity of cover-up” - which, in plain language, is what “pontifical secret” means. Clearly, this “pontifical secret” has practically condoned priestly abuses, by allowing the culprits to remain anonymous. So why not just fire or defrock the predatory priests, one might ask? It appears that separating someone from the priesthood is not as easy as terminating a layman-employee. An article in The Sun, a newspaper in Seattle, Washington, reporting on the “resignations of two priests who were removed from active ministry amid allegations of decades-old sexual abuse” stated: “Both will remain on the archdiocese payroll unless they are ‘defrocked,’ or laicized - a cumbersome process that requires Vatican approval.. “Unlike secular employers, who may summarily terminate the position of an employee accused or suspected of misconduct, bishops have made a lifelong commitment to provide spiritual, intellectual and financial support to the priest,’ The Very Rev. Anthony Bawyn of Seattle, a canon lawyer and consultant on canon law for the archdiocese, said in testimony for a 1996 court case. “’Even valid allegations of
misconduct are not in and of themselves grounds for terminating the virtually irrevocable obligations that the bishop has assumed vis-a-vis the priest.’” In the wake of the Abuse Summit, the Catholic hierarchy must now confront a problem that it has had to contend with – and at times, chosen to ignore – for centuries. It is not an easy problem to deal with. The problem goes back to Genesis. While God gave Adam and Eve a lot of latitude in the Garden of Eden, they were forbidden from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. But God also gave them free will, thus making them vulnerable to temptation. Worse yet, God also exposed them to the wiles of the serpent. These conflicting circumstances were a challenge and a curse that Adam and Eve had to deal with – and they failed. This is the sort of “imperfection” for which His Perfect Excellency President Rodrigo Duterte called the Lord God “stupid.” I hope some clear-minded aides have subsequently explained to Duterte that God could not have made Adam and Eve perfect because there can only one perfect being – God. That means everyone else is imperfect – including Duterte. At any rate, the curse Adam and Eve had to bear is the same curse confronting the Catholic clergy. While they possess the power to forgive sin and thus open the gates of Heaven – they themselves are vulnerable to sin. Just as Adam and Eve were warned against eating from the
forbidden tree, these priests are forbidden from availing of the fruit of the flesh because of the rule of celibacy – in conflict with their human-ness. However, according to scholars, the Catholic Church “distinguishes between dogma and regulations.” The male-only priesthood is said to be Catholic dogma, irreversible by papal decree. The ban on marriage is considered a regulation that the Pope can rescind. But will Pope Francis do it. Should he do it? I guess depends on how one regards his obligations to God. When Jesus confided to His apostles that he would surely go to His death in Jerusalem, Simon Peter protested and declared that he would not allow it. Jesus tells him: “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men”. His crucifixion was the commitment of Jesus Christ to mankind. The burden being borne by Catholic priests is a symbol of their own commitment to their vocation. How much of that burden can they bear? This brings to mind something that I wrote many years ago as a prologue for Malvarosa, a film produced by LVN Pictures: “How much can the human spirit bear Of the muck and the mire to which flesh is heir? Can a flickering ember still burst into flame? Must a frail child, falling, be held to blame?” Heaven only knows. (gregmacabenta@hotmail. com). ■
Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFilAmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.
The views expressed by our Op-Ed contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the predilection of the editorial board and staff of Asian Journal.
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11 of 15 cities in Southeast Asia with cleanest air are in Philippines — report by GAEA
KATREENA Philstar.com
CABICO
MANILA — Eleven of the cities in Southeast Asia with cleanest air are in the Philippines, with Calamba in Laguna taking the top spot. This is according to Switzerland-based IQ AirVisual and Greenpeace’s 2018 Air Quality Report, which measured the amount of fine particulate matter known as PM2.5 (µg/m³) in cities in 73 countries. PM2.5 is a particulate matter (ambient airborne particles), which measures up to 2.5 microns in size and causes a wide range of short and long term health effects. Common sources of PM include combustion as well as through other pollutants reacting in the atmosphere. The Philippines ranked 48th on the list with an average of 14.6 µg/m³ of PM2.5, classified as “moderate.” The country fared
better than its Southeast Asia counterparts such as Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Bangladesh was the most polluted country last year (97.1 µg/ m³ ), while Iceland was the cleanest (5 µg/m³). The nation’s capital, Manila, ranked 42nd with moderate 14.3 µg/m³. New Delhi in India (113.5 µg/m³) had the world’s highest recorded air pollution in 2018, while Wellington in New Zealand (6 µg/m³) was the cleanest. Calamba as the cleanest city in SEA Calamba led the 11 Philippine cities on the list of cleanest cities in Southeast Asia. It had 9.3 µg/m³ of PM2.5, which is pursuant to the annual mean exposure threshold of the World Health Organization at 10 µg/m³. Valenzuela City (9.9 µg/m³) and Carmona City (10.9 µg/m³) ranked second and third, re-
spectively. Other Philippine cities on the list were Parañaque (12.2 µg/m³), Davao (12.2 µg/m³), Makati (13.7 µg/m³), Manila (14.3 µg/m³), Mandaluyong (14.5 µg/m³), Balanga (16.1 µg/m³), Quezon (17.5 µg/m³) and Las Piñas (17.9 µg/m³). Meanwhile, Jakarta (45.3 µg/ m³) and Hanoi (40.8 µg/m³) had the highest recorded air pollution in the region. Meycauyan (32.4 µg/m³) and Caloocan (31.4 µg/m³) were included on the list of most polluted cities. “Air pollution steals our livelihoods and our futures, but we can change that. In addition to human The country’s ranking dipped following a 10 percent drop in the percentage of Filipino women in senior management to 37.46 percent this Philstar.com photo lives lost, there’s an estimated year from 47 percent last year. global cost of 225 billion dollars in lost labor and trillions in medical costs. This has enormous impacts, on our health and on and chief operating officer (53 regularly revisited to assess their by LOUELLA DESIDERIO our wallets,” Yeb Sano, executive percent). effectiveness and, when that is Philstar.com director of Greenpeace Southeast Filipino businesses are also combined with real commitment Asia, said. ■ MANILA — The Philippines taking steps to improve or pre- from senior leadership, you begin saw its overall ranking drop to serve gender balance in senior creating a truly inclusive culture,” fifth place in the Grant Thornton positions by making sure there is she said. International Ltd.’s Women in equal access to development work Españo added that diversity Business report this year from first opportunities (70 percent), pro- in senior management would place a year ago, but it still topped viding mentoring and coaching help improve the performance of the list in Asia. (66 percent) and allowing flexible businesses. The country’s ranking dipped working hours (56 percent). “Furthermore, women and following a 10 percent drop in While companies are imple- men are equally capable of good the percentage of Filipino women menting such measures, there is leadership; the critical point is that in senior management to 37.46 a need for women leaders to take diverse leadership teams tend to percent this year from 47 percent action as female executives said outperform their socially homoglast year. there are still barriers from acquir- enous rivals,” she said. Grant Thornton’s latest report ing skills or to be successful in For her part, Grant Thornton is based on a survey of more than their roles due to lack of access to International global leader Fran4,900 senior executives and deci- developmental work opportunities cesca Lagerberg said the figures sion-makers in 35 countries. (55 percent), finding time along- are encouraging and a strong The report did not take into ac- side core job responsibilities (51 indication that gender parity is count the Philippine government’s percent) and caring responsibili- starting to be taken seriously by recent measures to provide flex- ties outside work and lack of ac- businesses. ible working arrangements for cess to networking opportunities “External factors, such as inwomen. (both at 47 percent). creasing organizational transparTopping this year’s list is New Globally, the percentage of ency, gender pay gap reporting Zealand, with 43.90 percent of businesses with at least one and highly visible public dialogue Newly-appointed Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas women in senior management. woman holding a senior manage- like the #MeToo movement ap(BSP) governor Benjamin Diokno Australia placed second with ment post went up by 12 percent pear to be making businesses Inquirer.net photo 41.94 percent of women in se- to reach 87 percent this year from wake up to the change that is needed,” Lagerberg added. budget reformer, these questions nior management, followed by last year. Overall, women now account Despite increasing number of will continue to hound Diokno Nigeria with 38.47 percent and for as long as he fails to account Botswana in fourth spot with for 29 percent of senior leadership women occupying senior posipositions globally, higher by five tions in companies, there are only for his role in the so-called flood 38.25 percent. While the Philippines saw its percent from last year. 15 percent of businesses globally control scam,” he said. Españo said more deliberate with a woman holding the top Meanwhile, House Committee overall ranking dip, it was number action is necessary to continue post either as CEO or managing on Banks Chairman Henry Ong one in Asia. P&A Grant Thornton chairper- to see the rise in women taking director. described Diokno as a “respected “Hopefully, the sharp increase economist” and veteran in public son and chief executive officer senior positions in companies. “Policies that address equal in the representation of women service with decades of wisdom (CEO) Marivic Españo said Filipino women still play significant opportunity in careers, bias in in senior leadership we’re seeing on public finance. recruitment and flexible work- globally this year is not purely a “I hope that is enough for the roles in organizations. The top three roles of Filipino ing conditions cannot just be a knee-jerk reaction to the current banking community and the investing public to trust Dr. Diokno women in business are as human nice thing to have. To achieve social climate and that we’ll see at the helm of the Bangko Sentral resources director (75 percent), meaningful progress, they must similar progress in the coming chief finance officer (66 percent) be adhered to, enforced and years,” Lagerberg said. ■ ng Pilipinas,” Ong said. ■
Philippines slips in global ranking on women in business
Diokno not off the hook in House probe on budget mess amid BSP appointment by GLEE JALEA ManilaTimes.net
DESPITE the appointment of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno as the new Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor, he will still be summoned to the House of Representatives investigating his alleged involvement in numerous budget irregularities, Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said on Tuesday, MArch 5. “May pending issues pa siya sa House eh. Wala pa kaming closure (He still has pending issues in the House. We still don’t have closure)…I intend to continue hearings [on the matter and summon Diokno] if there is a need for it,” Suarez told reporters in a news briefing. Cooperative-National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO) party-list Rep. Anthony Bravo added that Diokno would still be questioned despite his new appointment. Before the congressional break last February, House leaders said they were tired of being constantly snubbed by Diokno. House Appropriations Chairman Rolando Andaya Jr. previously said that if Diokno had noth-
ing to hide, he would show up to clarify his side on the matter. Diokno never showed up in any of the hearings since he was grilled in December’s Question Hour. He still has to answer pending issues on budget irregularities, including the alleged P75 billion insertion of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for 2019. A portion of the amount allegedly favored his in-laws. Diokno allegedly even offered P40 billion to make the House “shut up” about the insertion, Andaya previously revealed. A total of P198-billion worth of government contracts were also reportedly procured by the DBM in 2018 for big-ticket infrastructure projects. Diokno was also accused of keeping P370 billion in budgetary savings, but he claimed that the amount was reverted to the Treasury. ACT Teachers party-list Antonio Tinio opposed Diokno’s appointment, citing the above-mentioned allegations. “Despite styling himself as a
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Fil-Am singer wows ‘The Voice’ judges with his rendition of Drake’s song by Krissy
AguilAr Inquirer.net
Jej Vinson
Photo from Instagram/@jejvinson
A FILIPINO-AMERICAN singer has wowed the judges of “The Voice US” as he received a four-chair turn during his blind audition. Jej Vinson, a Filipino based in Los Angeles, impressed judges Adam Levine, John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, and Blake Shelton with his rendition of Drake’s “Passionfruit.” “You’re a better singer than all of us,” Levine said after Vinson’s performance. Meanwhile, Legend said he was initially worried about Vinson’s song choice, but the Filipino singer was able to sing the notes “with precision.” “That was like a wild inspired song choice. Drake is kind of
like monotone normally, and I was worried that you would stay in that little zone, but then you soared,” Legend said. “You showed us these really precise beautiful runs. It’s like you knew the note you wanted and just picked it out in the air. And you hit every single one with precision and beauty and excitement. You’ve got the whole crowd going,” he added. Levine, on the other hand, assured that he would help Vinson put more feelings and connection to his performance if given the chance to coach the Filipino singer. “What I would wanna do as your coach if I were to be so lucky as to make sure we can get to a place where people can feel PAGE B3
Maine: Arjo makes me extra happy
it was her first time to introduce someone to her parents. Philstar.com “He went to our house in AFTER months of speculations, Bulacan to personally talk to my oKapuso from, actress Maine Mendoza parents and tell them that he has admitted that she and Kapamilya nothing but good intentions for actor Arjo Atayde are dating. their daughter. My parents also In her blog post on Sunday, gave him a warning that they’d March 3, Maine also said that their kill him if he does something bad friendship is “growing deeper to me. Haha,” she said. with time.” Maine also addressed her “Al“Again, without waiting any Dub” fans as she explained that longer, here’s the statement and she and Alden Richards are just confirmation you have been waitfriends. The actress said she reing for: It’s true, I am dating Arjo,” spects her fans’ feelings but spoke Maine revealed. against online bashing. “You might be waiting for an “[It] will never be right and explanation as to why I chose him. acceptable to resort to personal Arjo Atayde with Maine Mendoza Excuse me for saying this but... Photo from Instagram/@arjoatayde attacks to get back at anyone or why not?” she said. to relieve your frustration.” “You may have listed a long list Maine described Arjo as a guy Arjo and his family have been of reasons why I shouldn’t but we who makes her extra happy. the center of attacks online from all know it’s made out of hatred, “He always goes out of his way “AlDub” fans since Arjo admitted anger and disappointment. I to make me extra happy and actu- recently that he and Maine are choose not to judge his character ally puts in effort in everything he exclusively dating. for whatever he’s done in the past does. I appreciate everything he “A lot of people close to me because that does not define him does for me and I am happy that I have experienced the immense as a person. I was raised to never get to experience such wonderful bashing from some ‘fans’ and judge a person, to always see the things,” Maine said. haters combined, including my goodness of people no matter how The “Phenomenal Star” also family and friends. It has to stop. other people see them,” the “Eat added that Arjo already met her You may not be required to love Bulaga” host added. family and friends. She said that PAGE B3 by JAn
Milo severo
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How Entrepinayship is creating a promising platform for Filipina entrepreneurs in LA — and globally By Christina
M. Oriel
ing Self Care.â€? After the sessions — during which cheers, tears, hugs, and numbers were exchanged — a lunch was prepared by Filipina-owned food companies like Spread the Love, Ninong’s Pastries & Cafe, CrĂŠme Caramel and Cafe 86. Organized by LA-based Entrepinayship, this gathering for Filipina entrepreneurs, those thinking of starting a business, and those juggling a side hustle with a 9 to 5 job, was the first time many would be surrounded by this amount of Filipina professionals and feel spoken to through shared experiences. As several remarked, the energy was unparalleled, especially in a women-dominated environment that could stereotypically be competitive and catty. “It was empowering to be around these women. You’re crying and sharing stories but you feel safe,â€? reflected Ginger Lim-Dimapasok, owner of dessert shop Cafe 86. “You see an owner you admire who’s always strong and doing everything to make her business work, but then all of a sudden, she’s there so vulnerable.â€? Lim-Dimapasok was intro-
duced to Entrepinayship in July 2015, when Kristine de la Cruz of CrĂŠme Caramel invited her to an ON a Saturday morning in after-hours meet-up with seven January, 92 Filipina women conother Filipina entrepreneurs in gregated at the backyard of a the food industry. It was co-hosted hillside home east of downtown by Anna Marie Cruz, who was Los Angeles for a half-day busithen the small business coach at ness and wellness retreat. Search to Involve Pilipino AmeriThey spread out their yoga cans (SIPA) and had the idea of a mats, where they would spend the group for this specific segment next two hours being led through of entrepreneurs in the Filipinoan opening ritual by an albularya American community. (a traditional folk herbalist and Building a movement spiritual healer), a 40-minute yoga Numerous reports have nopractice, a guided meditation, ticed the trend of women starting and a talk about creating a vision businesses more than ever in the for 2019. United States — from 2017 to “You have to lead from love and 2018, an American Express report rig your environment for success,â€? found that there were 1,821 new preached Kamille Rose Soler, a women-owned businesses started motivational speaker and ‘CEO on an average day. It also illusWhisperer’ behind The Ultimate trated that 12.3 million firms were LYFE. “Without a clear vision, we owned by women, generating $1.8 would perish‌What is it that pulls trillion in revenue last year. you so much you can’t resist it?â€? When looking at the Asian Each participant signed up for American population, 51.1 percent three of nine workshops (called of Filipino businesses in the U.S. “Kumare Circlesâ€?) centered on identify a woman owner. That’s business, personal development 98,849 out of 193,336 Filipino and wellness. Options included businesses, according to Census “Plant Based Cooking for the Busy Bureau data between 2007 and Queen Bee,â€? “Manage Your Mon2012. ey Like a Boss Babe,â€? “Creating Despite the rise, barriers still Intention Through Mantras and hinder women entrepreneurs, Mala Beads (by TV personality such as the lack of role models Giselle Tongi),â€? and “Decolonizand mentors; the gender pay gap; and unequal access to funding. Co-working spaces (The Wing), online communities (Ellevate Network), conferences (Create & Cultivate) and female-founded venture capital funds (Female Founders Fund) are some of the platforms addressing these obstacles. While Entrepinayship — a portmanteau of the words ‘entrepreneurship’ and ‘Pinay’ — is not a new term nor is a women-only space a novel concept, no group has been directed at Filipina entrepreneurs here in the U.S. to connect with one another and provide access to tools to launch and grow their businesses. “For Filipinas, we’re the ones who leave the country to pursue work outside of the Philippines. I can’t think of anything more entrepreneurial than that‌we’ve been entrepreneurial from day one and Anna Marie Cruz, a health and business coach, began Entrepinayship back in 2015 as a platform these platforms for [women] are to connect Filipina entrepreneurs with resources to build their businesses. Contributed photo long overdue as are these moveAJPress
Mia McLeod Mercado facilitated a leadership workshop at the Entreprenayship retreat in January, which featured business, personal development and wellness components. Photo by Lyka Gozon
92 Filipinas gathered at the Entrepinayship retreat in late January. Another retreat is scheduled for this summer. Photo by Roslynn Alba Cobarrubias
ments like The Wing and Create & Cultivate,� said Cruz, founder and ‘Chief Elevate-Her Officer’ of Entrepinayship. “But what does it mean for women of color too? When we look at these movements, they’re often the mainstream, which is fine, but focusing on what we need specifically as a community allows us to target the resources even better.� Considerations for this niche would, for example, include understanding credit when immigrant families generally don’t pass down this knowledge and defeating the crab mentality, all of which wouldn’t be acknowledged elsewhere. Entrepinayship as the budding movement it is today comes from nearly a decade of Cruz’s work with small business owners. After earning her MBA in 2012, Cruz diverted from the corporate route and was a marketing consultant for the International Labor Organization, which assigned her
to a remote village in central Vietnam where she worked with 19 female weavers for six months to create market linkages and products to sell to incoming tourists. Coming back to Los Angeles, where she grew up after migrating from the Philippines at a young age, Cruz landed at SIPA to oversee its small business programs. “I was supporting micro-entrepreneurship in the LA community. Even though it looked a lot different from that community in Vietnam, it was still about providing the resources and the tools to help them launch and create a sustainable business,� she said. “Part of the reason why I chose to work with the Filipino community was because I’d been working on my own identity.� Though local Fil-Am businesses have existed, Cruz said owners were not receptive when she asked them to speak to the entrepreneurs undergoing SIPA’s training. It was one Sunday when
she saw a stand called CrĂŠme Caramel at a farmers market that sold leche flan and ube desserts. She reached out to owner Kristine de la Cruz, who was enthusiastic about the idea of sharing her business story and mentoring others. “That was one of the indications that there was more support if I’m finding the right people,â€? Cruz said. De la Cruz reflected that while there are chambers of commerce for Filipino Americans, there was nothing “inclusive of people who had the ideals that we Filipino Americans had growing up versus what our parents grew up with.â€? Second-generation Fil-Ams are more open to collaboration and encouraging other businesses to thrive by buying from them, she said based on her observations. The two planned the 2015 intimate meet-up to get a pulse of the needs and concerns of some women founders in the food busiPAGE B3
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Engaged? Nadine Lustre on real score with James Reid How Entrepinayship is creating a... by Jan
Milo Severo Philstar.com
MANILA — Kapamilya actress Nadine Lustre denied speculations that she and on- and offscreen partner James Reid are engaged. In an interview with Boy Abunda in the talk show “Tonight With Boy Abunda,� Abunda asked Nadine: “Are you engaged? Are you secretly married? Nag-propose ba si James sa farm?� Nadine answered “No� to all of Boy’s questions. The “Ulan� star, nevertheless, said that she cannot imagine her life without James: “Parang no. Iiyak ako. Kasi iba talaga. I’m really, really thankful that he came in to my life. It was so different before.� “‘Yung naging transition ko from who I was before to the person I am now is so beautiful na kahit hindi na kami ni James, he will always have a place in my heart,� Nadine said. Since her relationship with James began three years ago, Nadine said she changed a lot
PAGE B2
Nadine Lustre and James Reid
Philstar.com photo
for the better. “I can say that I changed a lot in the relationship for the better. Before po kasi ‘yung mga small things, sobrang nagwo-worry ako palagi kasi I’m an over-thinker. So madalas akong nag-anxiety,� Lustre said. “But now kasi, I’ve learned how to handle it properly, to
let the bad stuff go. I don’t hold grudges anymore, I’m always positive. If something bad happens, hindi na ko ‘yung, ‘Oh my God, ano gagawin ko?’ I think logically na and I strategize kung ano ang gagawin ko at kung paano ko lalampasan. I’m very calm now. And I learned how to communicate and open up.�
James thinks he deserves to be an ‘Idol’ judge by allan
PolicarPio Inquirer.net
I DON’T want to look at the comments—but I’m sure I already know what they’re saying,� James Reid said of online critics claiming he’s not deserving or fit to sit as a judge in the upcoming singing competition, “Idol Philippines�—a local version of the popular “Idol� franchise. But despite some people questioning his credentials, the 25year-old star appeared up to the task and secure about what
he has achieved in his career, so far. “I had my own insecurities before I was tapped to become a judge in ‘Idol.’ But they got me for a reason ‌ I made it in my own field in show biz,â€? the singer-songwriter told reporters at a recent press conference for “The Cr3wâ€?—an upcoming show he will headline with Billy Crawford and Sam Concepcion on April 5 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. “I have my own opinion, and
they’re entitled to theirs,� added James, who will be joined by Regine Velasquez, Vice Ganda and Moira dela Torre. The inclusion of the latter two artists also raised some eyebrows. But Billy, who will be hosting “Idol Philippines,� came to his colleagues’ defense. “They have my full support. What’s important is we have to be proud of our own talents,� he said. “People need to stop, look at themselves in the mirror and ask, ‘Perfect ba tayo?’�
ness. Though the gathering was “magical,â€? Cruz said there was a period of “self-doubtâ€? — where it’s common for entrepreneurs to remain stuck in between idea and execution — that kept Entrepinayship dormant. “It took a while over the years to solidify the idea because I knew the ‘why’ and ‘what’ from the very beginning‌The ‘how’ was still kind of shaping up because while that meet-up was effective, I looked at operational challenges,â€? she explained. “That was my main focus: How do I make this really sustainable? Are there enough people in the community who would want this and who would continue to give it momentum?â€? To experiment with other mediums, Cruz uploaded a series of video interviews with Filipina entrepreneurs in 2016, but then thought it was too narrow so she called it “FoundHerâ€? and expanded to any female entrepreneur, regardless of race and background. “There was one side of me that doubted if it was going to be a success if it was just focused on Filipinas,â€? she recalled. “There was another part of me that said that I can’t do it unless it’s just Filipinas. It didn’t feel 100 percent aligned with my passion.â€? After SIPA, Cruz went on to her current role as a business development officer for CDC Small Business Finance, which offers low-interest financing for small businesses.
Reignited purpose Cruz was a panelist at a Filipina entrepreneurship event in Long Beach last summer, which “was validation that I needed to speak directly to Filipinas,� she said. So she became more vocal about Entrepinayship again and started sharing stories on Instagram about Entrepinays and ‘Intrapinays,’ Filipinas who are taking the lead at other organizations and are entrepreneurial by nature. Social media has led Entrepinayship to discover Filipinaowned ventures in far flung areas, from London-based Lunes shop, which creates Filipino-themed greeting cards, to Theo & Brom in Belgium, a chocolate company by Filipina Myey Moyens that makes the world’s first Belgian tableya. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in LA. Even if we’re born in LA, we are being raised by so many cities and communities around the world,� Cruz said. “I’m finding women everywhere, literally in all parts of the world. The incredible amount of talent we have in every industry...I can’t think of one industry where we don’t shine, whether it’s tech, beauty, the arts. It’s overwhelming. Sometimes I want to cry and ask, ‘Why hasn’t this been done before?’� In the Bay Area, LEAD Filipino’s 2017 Fly Pinays summit borrowed the ‘Entrepinayship’ term from Cruz for a panel of Filipina entrepreneurs. Gina Rosales, an event planner in San Francisco who coproduces the UNDISCOVERED SF
in the SOMA Pilipinas district, was on the panel and was inspired to start the similarly named ‘Entrepinays’ group. It held a summit last year with 130 attendees and plans to do so annually. “The focus of Entrepinays is to support and encourage Pinay business owners, yes, but the real heart of our summit is to promote the idea of Pinayism,� Rosales said, referencing the work of professor and community leader Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales. “It is rooted in the concept of sisterhood, and how as Pinays we’re actually taught to fear/hate each other and compete against each other, but really what we need is to join together and support each other.� Though two separate groups, the emergence of Pinay entrepreneurs across California is promising. Fast forward to this past fall, Cruz ran into Philippine Vice Consul Dyan Pastrana at a Women’s Entrepreneurship Day event hosted by the LA Mayor’s Office, with the latter encouraging Cruz to re-launch Entrepinayship. It took about three weeks for them to plan a day-long Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum under the Philippine Consulate General on December 11, 2018, which featured speakers from business institutions and two panels on women changemakers and how to start a business. Pastrana said that initiatives on PAGE B4
Fil-Am singer wows ‘The Voice’ judges...
PAGE B1 you, as well as they can hear you. That to me is the number one thing moving forward for you to make sure you can navigate to the competition and keep everybody connected to your heart,� Levine said.
Shelton predicted Vinson would be the winner for the competition, saying, “You know, I think everybody here is probably a little bit nervous talking to you right now. We all feel like we’re looking at the winner of ‘The Voice’ this season.�
“American Id o l� alumna Clarkson likewise assured Vinson she can help him win the show: “I can win this show with you. You’re incredible, man. I turned around, and I was like ‘What?!’ and it was like so effortless.�
Maine: Arjo makes me...
PAGE B1 the people around the person you idolize but I don’t think it’s too much to show them at least some respect,� she added.
Maine added that she knew how their fans invested so much in the “AlDub� love team but added that their romance is just on screen.
“Sadly, I cannot stay as Yaya Dub forever. This is Maine, the real me. And this is real life. And I cannot go on with my life behind a Sara Meredith of Kaya Essentials in February organized a “kumare circle,� an intimate meet up with less than 30 women. fictional character,� she said. Photo by Project Mirror Booth LA
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Features
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http://www.asianjournal.com • (702) 792-6678
How Entrepinayship is creating a... PAGE B3
women’s empowerment, leadership and entrepreneurship like Entrepinayship align with her work as the gender and development lead at the Philippine Consulate in LA. “Women’s empowerment and gender equality [are what] we truly strive for, as we still see a lot of issues affecting women and children in our diplomacy work,” said Pastrana, who handles cases of Filipina women trafficked and abused in the Consulate territory. “Through Entrepinayship, we can build on programs on financial literacy, reintegration and women’s entrepreneurship for our community of women here and we hope this is replicated in other areas as well.” Invigorated by the momentum from the December conference, Entrepinayship went into 2019 with the opportunity to set the tone and position itself where a hole had existed for so long. It was clearer now that Entrepinayship, as intended, would concentrate on: inspiration, connection, and resources. The group’s founder, who is also a health and business coach for high-performing women, envisioned the January retreat to be a small barbecue at a park, but scrapped that to intentionally have programming and an experience that would provide value for participants. In addition to the business and personal development side, it was essential to include a wellness component and how to incorporate mechanisms that would fit into the lifestyle of the Entrepinay. “I’m sure there are other cultures like this but the idea of martyrdom is so big in our community that we run ourselves ragged to our own detriment just to serve others. It is embedded in us,” Cruz said. “For me, wellness in our community is not just taking the day off and pampering yourself. It’s changing the mindset about how you’re going to continually take care of yourself before you can be there for your business, your community, and your family.” Selecting speakers and facilitators for the retreat came easily because Cruz tapped into her growing network of Entrepinays and saw who would be a good fit for each topic. “Finding people who aligned with the vision, the why and the purpose is so important. That’s really what’s allowed this to have
EMPLOYMENT
a life of its own. It’s not me and the idea,” Cruz said. “It’s people understanding that this is for something bigger…Just like any entrepreneur says, you have to identify a gap and you have to figure out what that need is and what you’re going to create to serve that need.” The retreat was publicized on social media and sold out a few days before. Participants who drove to the ‘secret’ location in LA came from throughout Southern California, like the Inland Empire and Orange County, or flew in from the Bay Area. The posts were meant to highlight that this event would not put speakers on pedestals, tout their accolades and accomplishments, and breed that insecurity. “At the end of the day, why would you go to an event only to hear about how great someone is? You’ve got to feel it’s for you. You’ve got to know you’re getting your money’s worth and that investment is a self-investment. That was the message about everything I put out there. This is for you, a special day for you, and only you,” Cruz said. Marketing advisor Roslynn Alba Cobarrubias, who co-founded and sold global talent discovery platform mydiveo for $7.4 million, said a platform like Entrepinayship has made her feel less alone and is a safe space to ask questions — which she still has a lot of despite being a serial entrepreneur — without being judged. “For a long time, I felt that there wasn’t a group of women that understood exactly the challenges that I went through. A lot of the times in other rooms, [I would be] afraid of being judged so we have to pretend to know everything in fear of not being taken seriously,” Cobarrubias said, adding “I didn’t have this support throughout my career nor in recent years so it was great to be surrounded by Pinays who are welcoming, sensitive and helpful [because] we care in a different kind of way.” While a majority of retreat participants have established brands and services, there were many who have side hustles or leadership positions within their workplaces. Entrepinayship, despite the entrepreneurial slant, has a place for them too and is not to “shame” those who are still testing the waters because “we still have day-to-day expenses,” Cruz said.
Professional development sessions and memberships can tend to be expensive, but Entrepinayship seeks to be accessible no matter what stage a Pinay is in her career or business journey. (The January retreat was priced at $45 per person, while similar mainstream events can bear a price tag in the hundreds, for instance.) “Access and transparency are important for me and Entrepinayship. Transparency, especially when it comes to business ethics, is a topic that as a community we can start talking about. Another thing is fairness. I never want to put someone in the spotlight at the expense of somebody else,” Cruz said. “If you go to an Entrepinayship retreat, you know you go there as an equal. Even if someone has more expertise in a particular area, you are going to feel that you are as valuable as the next person…The idea of democratizing access and also the resources and the way we see ourselves is huge.” Sustaining the spark The feedback after the retreat has been constructive, like programs targeting specific concerns or allowing more time to talk with other Entrepinays. De la Cruz, who co-hosted the retreat and is an advisor to Entrepinayship, said that professional networking environments can be daunting but she hopes that future events are welcoming to those who are not as extroverted or may be shy to pose questions to the more seasoned entrepreneurs. “I like sharing and helping someone learn from the mistakes I made. If there’s one thing about experience, the value isn’t from what retains in your own head. The value is how it helps other people avoid those same mistakes,” she said. That’s why the organization will have Kumare Circles throughout the year, which can range from wine nights or skill-based workshops for a smaller set of women. Sara Meredith, founder of coconut oil-based skincare line Kaya Essentials, hosted a circle in February that had a yoga practice and conversation between women who represent a range of fields from law to fashion. “Our Galentine’s Kumare Circle brought 24 women together. We had a gentle heart opener sequence followed by a self-love workshop,”
EMPLOYMENT
PSYCHIC
Giselle Tongi led a mala beads workshop at the Entrepinayship retreat in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 26.
Meredith said. “We got to hear from each and every one of us and focused on the positive and what superpower we brought into our personal and professional lives.” These circles are meant to be organized by members themselves and to be an exchange of ideas and support group on a faceto-face level. They’re not meant to be transactional and peddling products to a group of women, but rather creating a relationship and support system organically. One recent collaboration was when Lim-Dimapasok met Carissa Ortega of Ninong’s Pastries & Cafe at the retreat. It led to selling the latter’s ube cookie butter jars at all Cafe 86 locations for one day in February. “[Ortega] and I discovered how much we had in common…and it only made sense to help my new sister out by broadening her reach out to the Inland Empire and Las Vegas where my stores are situated,” Lim-Dimapasok said. Beyond the attendance at the live events and the number of shares online, examples of deeper connections like measure the impact and facilitation of a group like Entrepinayship. In the first quarter of 2019, Entrepinayship has been active with its programming and visibility. The FoundHer interviews from 2016 have been repurposed and relaunched as a bi-monthly podcast available on Spotify, iTunes, and the organization’s website. The group held a panel with five Entrepinays at the Southern California Pilipino American Student Alliance (SCPASA) summit this past February and had a workshop with Cobarrubias focused on “marketing Filipinos to a global
stage.” “It’s our time. We won Miss Universe, a Golden Globe as a Filipino character, [and] a Grammy after being raised in a karaoke household singing Sharon Cuneta. The stars are aligning for us to reach the global stage. We can’t hide behind the scenes anymore,” Cobarrubias said. “We need to work together to push our Filipino movement further in music, film, TV, arts, science, and more. We need to own our history, our work and be proud of it. Most importantly, we need to stop bringing one another down with the crab…mentality but instead stand proudly next to each other and offering guidance, support and opportunities in the exact way Entrepinayship is.” This March, the first online Entrepinayship Academy program led by Elisa Estrera of Gratefruit Consulting was unveiled. The four-week online course every Tuesday night is targeted for Entrepinays who want to experiment with their business ideas. “Through Hatch, we hope to debunk the misconceptions of how scary and difficult it is to test a product or service in the real world, and especially that it doesn’t have to be perfect. The program is only a month long to show that progress can be made in that little time,” Estrera, a business consultant with a background in tech product management, said. Participants will have that accountability and peer support to stay on track. “After four weeks, they will have done a proof of concept, walk away with a solid business plan, financial plan, [and] action plan for the next three
SERVICES
Photo by Lyka Gozon
months to keep momentum, and an understanding of when to keep improving or when to pivot. Most importantly, they’ll learn how to introduce more play and experimentation in bringing their ideas to life,” she added. As its purpose is to build a sustainable and thriving business network for Pinays, Entrepinayship is a business in itself and puts Cruz in the position of considering how it can be a viable, legacy organization for the community. Partnerships with corporations and organizations are being eyed. Other offerings and services will be rolled out within the year, as well as a second retreat at a surprise location, Cruz teased. “At its core, women’s entrepreneurship is women’s empowerment. For me personally, I’ve always been interested in women’s empowerment but that had changed for me over time... In some ways, it focused on victimization, whereas women’s entrepreneurship is this revolution of women’s empowerment because it really is about independence. I get so excited about it because it’s like the parable about teaching someone to fish versus giving them the fish,” Cruz said. “Entrepinayship takes on that principle that we’re not here to solve every problem and we’re not here to give you a blanket to keep you warm for one night, but we want you to be able to build the home that you need so that you have shelter forever. It’s a movement that anyone can gravitate to because it’s our own independence and supporting each other to reach their own independence. Maybe that’s why people are interested in it.”
COMMUNITY JOURNAL
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LAS VEGAS ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 7-13, 2019
B5
Working in the United States with an L-1A visa
Your Immigration Solution GEOFFREY J. LAMOUREUX THE L-1A new office visa allows foreign companies to send a beneficiary to the United States to establish a new office and commence business. The new office must be related to the foreign company as its parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate. This relationship is called the qualifying relationship. A typical example of this qualifying relationship is a foreign company that sends a beneficiary to set up a subsidiary company in the United States. In that case, the new office would issue a majority of its shares to the foreign parent company, thereby creating the parent-subsidiary relationship. A new office is defined as an organization that has been doing business in the United States for less than one year. Therefore, timely applying for the visa after the new office’s operations have begun is crucial and requires careful planning and professional advice. The new office visa application does not require proof of extensive business activity. However, because the new office must actually be “doing� business, the mere presence of an agent or an office mailing address is insufficient. Instead, the applicant must submit evidence that sufficient physical space has been secured to house the new office. The required size of the physical space will vary according to business needs and the type of industry of the business, and a lease agreement with specifications will ordinarily satisfy this requirement. The applicant must also show that the new office will support a managerial or executive position within one year. The manager or executive must have authority over the new operation. Although the manager or executive will initially be involved in running some day-to-day operations of the new office, it is expected that he or she will hire staff to take over running the day-to-day operations once the business is established. The L-1A new office visa applicant must describe the proposed nature of the new office, its organizational structure, and its financial goals. It must also describe the size of the new office investment, demonstrate the financial
“The L-1A new office visa applicant must describe the proposed nature of the new office, its organizational structure, and its financial goals. It must also describe the size of the new office investment, demonstrate the financial ability of the foreign company to compensate the beneficiary and begin business, and explain the organizational structure of the foreign company. The visa application must also include a professionally-prepared business plan projecting staff levels by the end of the first year.�
ability of the foreign company to compensate the beneficiary and begin business, and explain the organizational structure of the foreign company. The visa application must also include a professionally-prepared business plan projecting staff levels by the end of the first year. As mentioned, the L-1A visa applicant must be coming to the United States to perform managerial or executive duties. In exercising these duties, he or she must have wide latitude in making decisions about the management and goals of the organization. Managerial duties are those in which an employee manages the company, supervises and controls the work of others, has the authority to hire and fire, and exercises discretion over the day-to-day operations of the company. Executive duties are those in which an employee directs the management of the company, establishes the goals and policies of the organization, exercises wide-latitude in discretionary decision-making, and receives only general supervision from higherlevel executives. The beneficiary must have one continuous year of employment abroad as a manager or executive during the three-year period before the application is filed. They are also allowed to be accompanied by his or her spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age. The L-1A new office visa is initially approved for one year. To extend the visa, the applicant must produce substantial evidence demonstrating that the new office has become an established business. The evidence should show that the foreign and United States companies maintain a qualifying
relationship, and that the new office continues to do business. It should also show the duties performed by the beneficiary in the previous year and the duties to be performed under the extended petition, staffing of the new operation and payroll records, and the new office’s financial status. Other factors considered in extending the visa for the new office include the number of employees, significant growth in cash flow, and the presence of significant customers and clientele. There are unfortunately many fatal mistakes that people make when applying for an L-1A new office visa. These mistakes include the failure to timely file the visa application within one year of commencing business in the United States, submitting a business plan that lacks required details or specifications, or submitting a poorly structured visa application. Fortunately, all of these mistakes are avoidable. Be sure to consult with an experienced and knowledgeable immigration attorney so that you can achieve success with your L-1A new office visa application. *** REEVES IMMIGRATION LAW GROUP is one of the oldest, largest and most experienced immigration ďŹ rms in the United States with ofďŹ ces in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Manila and China. For more Information please call (800) 7958009 or visit www.rreeves.com. Telephone: (800) 795-8009 E-mail: immigration@rreeves.com Website: www.rreeves.com. *** The analysis and suggestions offered in this column do not create a lawyer-client relationship and are not a substitute for the personalized representation that is essential to every case. (Advertising Supplement)
MISSIONARIES ON A BREAK. Members of the medical mission team of the Philippine American Association of Nevada (PAAN) and the Filipino United Network – USA (FUN-USA) on their annual humanitarian project in Alaminos, Laguna, January 2019, where they ministered to 1,244 indigent patients, pose for a photo. Their mission to Kamay ni Hesus, Lucban, Quezon, was re-scheduled for January 2020 in view of the renovation on this famous pilgrimage shrine.
Calendar of Events across
America
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LolaLand: The Grandmother of All Shows in Los Angeles Rejoicers Events brings to Los Angeles, “LolaLand: The Grandmother of All Shows,� the show that sold out in Manila, and soon restaged in New York and the Bay Area. It will be held on Saturday, March 9 at the Aratani Theatre (244 San Pedro St, Los Angeles, CA 90012) at 7 p.m. Headlined by comedienne Fe delos Reyes, award-winning songwriters Cecile Azarcon and Odette Quesada are joined by singers Jam Morales and Chiqui Pineda, who popularized numerous OPM Songs. Part of the proceeds of this much-anticipated concert benefit Philippine Patrons of the Arts USA, a non-profit organization that helps bring Filipino Artists to U.S. stages.
MARCH 30
Philippine Medical Society of Northern California installation of ofďŹ cers in Foster City, CA The Philippine Medical Society of Northern California will hold its 47th anniversary and installation of officers for 2019-2021 at the Crowne Plaza in Foster City, CA on Saturday, March 30. For sponsorship information, please contact Dr. Clementina Manio at drtina0427@gmail. com or visit https://www.pmsnc.org/.
United Bicolandia Los Angeles induction in Montebello, CA United Bicolandia Los Angeles will hold its 45th Anniversary and Induction Ceremony at Quiet Cannon in Montebello, CA on Saturday, March 30. For tickets and sponsorship information, please contact Lanie Berrei at lanieberrei@hotmail.com or (818) 281-3169.
APRIL 7
Ryan, Ryan! The Maestro and the Ryan Cayabyab Singers in Glendale, CA Recently proclaimed National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab’s works will be showcased on Sunday, April 7 at the John Wayne Performing Arts Center (1440 E Broadway, Glendale, CA 91205) at 6 p.m. by his multi-talented singing group, the Ryan Cayabyab Singers joined by some local artists like Mon David, Annie Nepomuceno, Louie Reyes and many more. Come and hear how his work that spans five decades has made an indelible impact on Filipino culture. Copresented by Philippine Patrons of the Arts USA, a 501 (c) 3 organization that brings exemplary Filipino Artists to U.S. stages. For ticket information ($35-$125) visit www.philpatrons.org and to learn about other tour stops in Las Vegas (April 7), San Diego (April 12) and Seattle (April 14).
APRIL 13
2nd annual Filipino mental health well-being summit in LA
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The 2nd annual Filipino mental health well-being summit will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 13 at The Center of Cathedral Plaza (555 West Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012). In partnership with the LA County of Department of Mental Health, registration begins on March 11. This is a FREE event for all. Breakfast and lunch included with registration. Please email FilipinoWellBeing@Gmail.com or visit https://www.facebook.com/FilipinoWellBeing for more updates.
A P R I L 25 -28
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Philippine Nurses Association of America - North Central Regional Conference in Columbus, Ohio The Philippine Nurses Association - Central Ohio will hold a regional conference from April 25 to 28 at the Embassy Suites (2886 Airport Drive, Columbus, Ohio). For more information, please visit http://www.mypnaa.org/.
M AY 1 7-1 9
Santa Maria Ilocos Sur 12th Global Reunion in Honolulu, Hawaii
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The Santa Maria Ilocos Sur Global Association (SMISGA) and the Santa Marians of Hawaii are sponsoring the Santa Maria Ilocos Sur 12th Global Reunion in Honolulu, Hawaii from May 17-19, 2019. The festivities will start with a meet and greet on May 17 at 5 p.m. at the Ala Moana Hotel Hibiscus Ballroom to be followed by a gala night on May 18 at 5 p.m. at the Dole Cannery Pomaikai Ballroom. A picnic is also scheduled at Ala Moana Beach Park’s Magic Island on Sunday, May 19 starting at 10 a.m. The ticket to attend all the events is $130.00 per person. Due to limited space, reservations must be made not later than March 31, 2019. Hats and t-shirts will also be on sale for $20. For further information, call Nena Empleo at (808) 384-0394, Carlito Soria at (808) 487-3370, Alex Pena at (702) 373-9522 or Orlino Baldonado at (865) 789-8324. Leave a message if there’s no answer. Additional information is also on SMISGA.com and Facebook @ SMISGA19FB. Proceeds from the events will be for various projects in Santa Maria Ilocos Sur and in Hawaii. Donations are tax deductible since SMISGA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization approved by the Internal Revenue Service.
JUNE 1
7th Historic Filipinotown Kalayaan Parade and Festival in LA
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The 7th Historic Filipinotown Kalayaan Parade and Festival Committee (7KPFC) announced that it will holding the 7th Kalayaan Parade in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 1, 2019 in commemoration of the 121st PH Independence Day on June 12, 1898. This will be the 7th Kalayaan Parade and Festival in Historic Filipinotown, as the first was held in 2013 in cooperation with the PH Consulate General in Los Angeles. This is the only Independence Day parade and Festival in Los Angeles and is held every year in Historic Filipinotown. For more information, please call Freddie at (818) 220-2075 or email at jfavusa8@gmail.com.
Kalayaan Incorporated’s annual Philippine Independence Day gala in LA Kalayaan Incorporated invites the community to its celebration of the 121st Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence on Saturday, June 1, 2019, at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel (5855 W. Century Blvd. Los Angeles, CA). Kalayaan is extremely proud to have Honorable Risa Hontiveros, an incumbent senator who assumed office on June 30, 2016, as the grand gala’s guest of honor and speaker. For tickets to the Gala Night, please contact Annie Cuevas-Lim, Kalayaan President at (213) 447-7078. For more information, contact KI PROs Violet Mislang at vmislang@gmail.com or Lady Hope Robillos at lhopepr@yahoo.com.
J U LY 2 0
The Ibaan Association USA-Canada gala dinner in LA
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The Ibaan Association USA-Canada will hold its 32nd Annual Gala Dinner & Dance July 20, 2019 from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. at the Hilton Los Angeles / Universal City - Ballroom A at 555 Universal Hollywood Drive, Universal City, California 91608. For reservations call Monica Benitez at (323) 697-3731 / email: monica_benitez03@yahoo.com or Irene May Villafranca at (323) 423-2299 / email: imay02@ yahoo.com. Tickets are $85 for Adults and $40 for Children (3 to 10 years old). Please make checks payable to: Ibaan Association USA-Canada and mail to: Merly Pagunsan at 5025 Heintz St. Baldwin Park, CA 91706. For sponsorship information on our 2019 Souvenir Program please contact President Noli Reyes at homesbynoli@gmail.com or call (818) 458-7888. Please RSVP by April 12, 2019.
If you have an upcoming event and would like us to post it, please email us the details at info@asianjournalinc.com or calendar@asianjournalinc.com
B march 7-13, 2019 • LaS VEGaS aSIaN JOUrNaL
Health@Heart PhiliP S. ChuA, Md, FACS, FPCS OuR health and life, believe it or not, depend on the consistency of our blood. Our blood has to be just right — not too thin, not too thick. When blood is too thick, it sticks to walls of the arteries and accumulates to block them as time goes by, as in heart attack and stroke. When it is too thin, bleeding could occur. As a general rule, the blood of the newborn or young children is simply “perfect,” not too thin or too thick, clean and unadulterated, and these youngsters are in terrific health. Some of us adults who behave by watching what we eat and by exercising, managing stress properly, abstaining from harmful substances like tobacco and dope, and who drink alcoholic beverages only in moderation, are reaping the benefits of better health and “a more prolonged and sustained youth,” compared to those who abuse themselves. Blood’s vital roles Besides carrying oxygen our blood also carries with it important hormones and other substances our body manufactures in its built-in “pharmacy,” in response to our daily activities, reactions to situations, or reactions to illnesses. Example of this is the auto-production of insulin by the Islets of Langerhans in the beta cell of our pancreas when we ingest carbohydrates (sugar) like rice, bread, and sweets. As long as we do not persistently overeat and abuse this wonderful privilege of having these God-given “perfect” and mindboggling organs and systems, our inherent ability to maintain homeostasis (good internal physiologic balance) will keep us in good health. When we eat cholesterol-laden or fatty food, especially red meat, egg-yolk, dairy products, butter, etc., our blood becomes thick. When the blood is extracted and tested, it will have the consistency of milk. It is thick and white with fats, and prone to clotting. The other situations which will thicken the blood and promotes clotting are: cigarette smoking, fear and anxiety, stress, following and accident or injury (where our body tries to protect itself from bleeding, or at least, minimize
PeoPle and events
Sticky blood is a risk bleeding by making the blood thick, instantaneously and automatically). The thick blood that circulates within the arteries will then act like a fresh sticky, gooey, cement substance that is painted against the intima (inner wall) of the arteries throughout the body. This layer of “cement” that coats the arterial channel accumulates and becomes thicker and thicker as years go by. When the tiny caliber of the coronary (heart) arteries, or the carotid and cerebral (brain) arteries is so compromised by this build-up of cholesterol plaques, it will make the arterial channel tight and obstructed. This then restricts and prevents normal flow of blood to the heart (causing chest pains or heart attack), to the brain (causing stroke), etc. Thick blood that clots in the leg veins could travel to the lung and cause fatal pulmonary embolism (massive clots blocking the artery to the lungs). Inflammation The other enemy of our body is inflammation. Anything that causes inflammatory response from our immune system, like dental carries, gum diseases, wound in any part of the body, infection in general (including gastro-intestinal illnesses) and auto-immune conditions, negatively impacts the cardiovascular system, and new studies show any of those infection could increase the risk for dementia, like Alzheimer’s. Inflammation also leads to thickening of the blood. Although the body is normally strong, “tough,” and resilient, the constant insults and aggravation we subject it to usually cause us health problems, sooner or later, and especially as we grow older. Indeed, the human body is amazing, to say the least. The organs are “normal” in size and function in a marvelous, almost magical way, very efficiently. The human body is really “perfect,” until we, humans, repeatedly abuse it, a self-destruct behavior majority of us are guilty of most of the time, knowingly or unknowingly. What manmade invention can do these marvels, or even come close to what God has created? The human body never ceases to amaze me, even at this time in my career as a cardiac surgeon. More than ever, I have learned to respect and admire the human body. The artificial kidneys (dialysis
machine), for example, is about the size of small refrigerator, as compared to our natural kidneys, which are smaller than our clenched fist but which function a lot more efficiently (for free), with no bad side effects as they work, unlike the man-made kidney. The artificial heart, about 8 times the size of an adult heart, is a lot less efficient, cannot function without a power source, not as durable as our natural heart, and has a lot of complications with its use. Indeed, nothing can beat the magnificence of the human body. This also goes true with our blood, which no artificial or experimental blood can match, much less, beat. It is the precious liquid “gold” in our circulation that sustains us and keeps us alive and healthy. However, if we abuse our body and allow (actually induce) our blood to thicken dangerously by our bad habits and unhealthy lifestyle, we will eventually get what could be expected. While there are available blood thinners (like aspirin, other more potent pills, and fish oils) and cholesterol-lowering drugs like the “statins,” there is nothing more natural, safer, cheaper, and with negligible “side-effects” than watching our diet (low carb, a lot of vegetables, high protein, and pushing ourselves away from the table less than full), daily exercises, good hydration, stress management and relaxation, abstinence from tobacco, disciplined alcohol intake, taking low-dose (81 mg) “baby” aspirin daily if prescribed by your physician, and having a regular medical and dental check-ups. These are indeed practical natural DIY (do-it-yourself) ways to maintain good health and maximize longevity. Artificial means could be risky, life-threatening, and quite cost prohibitive. The million-dollar question now is: How thick is your blood? *** Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus in Northwest Indiana and chairman of cardiac surgery from 1997 to 2010 at Cebu Doctors University Hospital, where he holds the title of Physician Emeritus in Surgery, is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the Philippine College of Surgeons, and the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society. He is the chairman of the Filipino United Network – USA, a 501(c)(3) humanitarian foundation in the United States. Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com
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The bucket list
Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond
Become your own style icon
Monette AdevA MAglAyA (Ninth of a series) WHILE appearances may deceive, more often than not, what you are is reflected on the outside. Becoming your own style icon does not mean maxing out your credit cards just to follow the latest fashion trends. Don’t do it. It’s a fool’s errand. You can never get caught up with it anyway. Fashion, like technology, will push the latest trend just to keep and grow market share. It’s all about money and profits. Who says you have to buy every season’s new fashion? Don’t let those so-called fashion Nazis dictate how you dress. First, get comfortable in your own skin. Focus on the positive features and accept and mitigate what you consider as flaws. Then find the style that suits you — something well within your means and makes you comfortable and confident while you do the things you love to do, or in many cases, have to do, on a daily basis. Experiment with the clothes you already have in your closet. Chances are, with the exception of underwear, you probably have all you need. Test combinations of cut, color, texture and style. Take a photo of the combinations that work for you and make you feel good and confident. Browse through magazines and pick a few that appeal to your own sense of who you are. Stick to the time-tested classics and it is more than likely, you will hit the bullseye of being your own style icon. Dump the Hollywood
“ ...As within, so without...” –Hermes Trismegistus look. Entertainment industry stylists push trends that are flashy, show far too much skin and wobbly, jiggly bits of flesh. Notice how they almost have the same cookie cutter look and the same frozen faces botoxed to the max? No, you don’t want to go there. Keep mixing and matching. Discard the ones you know in your gut you will never, ever use. Reclaim valued space in the closet. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. There is no fashion police to issue you a ticket. Pretty soon, you will know in your gut the look that telegraphs who you are without saying a word. You’ve heard it before. “Dress for success! Dress to impresss!” Or that famous line: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit!” (Okay, I am going off tangent here.) But the point is you must regard slogans with a bit of caution. Catchy rhyming slogans are not necessarily true. Discernment is key. When you dress to impress, you will simply get stressed trying to top each ensemble you put together with the next one. Your ego becomes the driver plus your wallet is lighter. Life is just too short to obsess on this matter. The focus becomes the dress not on how your style makes you comfortable allowing you to function without having to fuss preening all day in front of a mirror. The right style projects the person quite easily, making you your own unique style icon. There may be clones of you, but no one is quite like you.
God and your choices make it so. If you work for an organization, it means you have to blend your style and comply with the company dress code. Looking professional and competent is key. Remember that as an employee, you are a reflection of the company you work for. If casual jeans and tees are the norm in the company or because the nature of your work requires you to be holed up all day in some obscure cubicle and does not have to face the public, then wear them. It doesn’t mean, however, that you are required to dress down at all times. Predictability is boring. From time to time, make an effort to look really good just to make yourself feel good. Why buy clothes and let them hang by their lonesome in the closet? Believe it or not, it does your psyche good to receive compliments from time to time, particularly on down days. Do you know what is the cherry on top of a unique style icon? It’s a killer smile. A smile that comes from your eyes is a light bulb that dispels darkness and negativity. It is essentially a sneak preview of the wellspring of goodness and love busting to get out from within you. Next week: Back to yet another idea to consider for The Bucket List … *** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette.maglaya@ asianjournalinc.com
Palm Eastern Mortuary and Cemetery prepares for Ching Ming by hosting Feng Shui seminar VIP Ching Ming open house event set for Saturday, March 23 LAS VEGAS, NV - March 1, 2019 - Feng Shui Master Peter Lung presented “The Art of Feng Shui” during a two-hour seminar at Palm Eastern Mortuary on Tuesday, February 26, where attendees learned how to enhance good energy flow and protect against negative energy flow in any space. The presentation reviewed each of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs and highlighted the pig, as 2019 is the Year of the Pig according to the Chinese zodiac calendar. Peter Lung was born into a family with a strong feng shui background and travels worldwide providing consultation services. Lung believes feng shui can make a difference in everyone’s life. Attendees received a 2019 Year of the Pig commemorative medallion and enjoyed a traditional lion dance performance from the Lohan School of Shaolin, which offered good blessings on the Palm Eastern offices and chapels. Palm Eastern Cemetery will host a VIP Ching Ming Open House event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 23. Feng Shui Master Peter Lung will provide complimentary consultation on the selection of cemetery property and there will special event pricing for the Garden of Eternity; the special Feng Shui garden. Attendees will be able to take advantage of some of the best discounts offered, a chance to spin the promotion wheel for extra savings, 0% financing will be offered for new cemetery property purchases and all who attend will be entered into the lucky drawing for a 43” television. Also known as “Remembrance of Ancestors Day” or “GraveSweeping Day,” Ching Ming rituals include cleaning gravesites, replacing flowers, lighting incense and burning of imitation paper
money for the deceased to use in the afterlife.The holiday recognizes the traditional reverence of one’s ancestors in Chinese culture and has been observed by the Chinese for over 2,500 years. During the Ching Ming Observance days
in April, Palm staff will be available to assist visitors. For more information and to R.S.V.P. for the VIP Ching Ming Open House, call 702-464-8308 or visit ChingMing2019.eventbrite. com.
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