July 4-6, 2018 Volume 28 - No. 54 • 3 Sections - 24 Pages
USA
DATELINE Thousands march in Downtown LA for nationwide ‘Families Belong Together’ protest FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
Fil-Am activists show solidarity for those affected by Trump’s highly-criticized immigration policies AFTER President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance policy” — which separated immigrant children from parents — sparked outrage across the country, hundreds of thousands of protesters partook in the national “Families Belong Together” march and rally this weekend, paralleling the same political outrage from the Women’s March and the March For Our Lives rallies earlier this year. In Los Angeles, a diverse gathering of thousands of activists flooded the streets of Downtown on Saturday, June 30, wielding colorful signs and shouting chants that called for the abolishing of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A rally in front of City Hall featured religious leaders, celebrities and California lawmakers who denounced Trump’s zero tolerance policy, a stringent immigration protocol that immedi-
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Duterte warns mayors: Get rid of crime, drugs or lose police control by CATHERINE
S. VALENTE ManilaTimes.net
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has warned mayors of crime-ridden cities and towns to shape up, or be stripped of control over the local police force. Speaking to reporters in Bohol, Duterte reiterated that he would rather keep his hands off jueteng or illegal numbers game operators, than let them fall to the illegal drug trade. The president lamented the supposed “nonchalant” attitude of local government units toward fighting crime and
PHILIPPINE Senator Grace Poe shared her experiences and thoughts on what it means to be a Filipino abroad during a recent visit to Los Angeles, California on Friday, June 30.
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in Bohol. “If you’re not doing anything, I will file charges against you, and I will tell Año to dismiss you,” he added. Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde on Friday said headquarters was ready to take control from mayors, if necessary, to solve the drug problem in towns and cities. “The president must have noticed that some local chief executives are not giving enough support to their chiefs of police in implementing programs on peace and order,” he said in a mix of
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Palace tells Joma: Go home if you want to help LOURDES Philstar.com
Sen. Grace Poe speaks of ‘Global Filipinos’ during Los Angeles visit
their alleged drug links or abuse of authority. Audit ordered Duterte reiterated his directive to interior department officer in charge Eduardo Año to conduct an audit on the performance of local government units in fighting illegal drugs and other crimes. “If you are the mayor, you are the president of your municipality. My God, how come your crime rates are high?” Duterte said in his remarks during the 25th Annual National Convention of the Vice Mayors’ League of the Philippines
National Democratic Front founding chair Joma Sison Philstar.com photo
by PATRICIA
PH Sen. Grace Poe spoke with Fil-Ams in Los Angeles about experiences living in the U.S. AJPress photo by Rae Ann Varona
illegal drugs. “If a mayor cannot enforce law and order in their municipalities, I will just withdraw his deputization. If you cannot do your job I will remove your power over the police,” Duterte told reporters. The Local Government Code of 1991 grants mayors supervisory powers over police operations, with the local chief executive acting as the deputized representative of the National Police Commission (Napolcom). The Napolcom had stripped some mayors and a governor of supervision and control over the police because of
VIRAY
MALACAÑANG on Monday, July 2, insisted that the Philippine government was not at fault for the continuous termination of peace negotiations with communist rebels. Last week, National Democratic Front founding chair Joma Sison said that the communist group could no longer negotiate with the Duterte administration. Sison said the Communist Party of the Philippines would rather join efforts to oust the president. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that Sison cannot overthrow the government while he is out of the country. “Joma Sison, wake up, you’re dreaming. You cannot overthrow a government while you are in Europe. You’ve been there for so long, go home and live here in the Philippines,” Roque said in Filipino during a press briefing in Southern Leyte. Roque added that the government gave the communist rebels a chance when CPP leaders were freed to join peace talks in
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FESTIVAL GUESTS. President Rodrigo Duterte greets former Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. on the sidelines of his attendance at the Sangyaw Festival of Lights held in Tacloban City, Leyte on Thursday, June 29. Also in the photo are Senator Cynthia Villar and Ilocos Norte Governor Malacañang photo by Ace Morandante Imee Marcos.
Sen. Lacson wants ‘stricter’ gun control rules after ‘brazen’ Tanauan mayor slay by MAILA
AGER Inquirer.net
ALARMED by the series of killings in the country even in broad daylight, Senator Panfilo Lacson on Monday, July 2, called for “stricter firearms control measures” even before these killings “reach ubiquitous level.” Lacson, who previously headed the Philippine National Police(PNP), made the call in a statement posted on Twitter, following the killing of
Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili. The local chief executive was gunned down while attending the flag ceremony at the city hall around 8 a.m. Monday, and authorities so far believed he was shot by a sniper. “The killing of priests, prosecutors, former and incumbent local officials in broad daylight and in full view of the public can only suggest brazenness,” Lacson said. “The PNP should immediately
64% of Filipinos support Boracay closure – SWS by HELEN
FLORES Philstar.com
In this March 17 photo, Boracay residents, workers, and business operators form a human chain along the islands’s famous white beach to Inquirer.net photo show support for cleanup efforts and to appeal to the government not to shut down the island.
MANILA — Three in five Filipino adults were in favor of the government’s move to close Boracay Island to tourists for a year for full rehabilitation, a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed. The survey, taken from March 23 to 27, found 64 percent of Filipinos who agreed with the closure of the entire island to tourists, while 20 percent disagreed, for a net agreement score of +44, classified by SWS as “very strong.” Seventeen percent of the respondents were undecided.
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Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili Inquirer.net photo
BISHOP URGES FAITHFUL
‘Don’t tolerate evil’
by CATHERINE
A. MODESTO ManilaTimes.net
MANILA Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo urged Catholics to wake up and stand up against evil in the aftermath of President Rodrigo Duterte’s “stupid God” remark, as he questioned the sincerity and “openness to truth” of a four-man government panel tasked to dialogue with the Catholic Church. “I am happy that many people are now speaking out. Duterte crossed the red line when he in-
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Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo Inquirer.net photo
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From the Front Page
Duterte warns mayors: Get rid of crime... PAGE A1 Filipino and English. “Some local chief executives and their chiefs of police are fighting like children. The former is recalling the latter’s mobile services, cutting gas supply, and removing the intelligence fund… How can we perform our duty if we are not receiving support
from them (mayors)?” Albayalde said. Albayalde admitted that the drug problem had been reduced because of local anti-drug programs. But he said he was still receiving reports of illegal drug activity from residents in Metro Manila, particularly in Pasig and Quezon City. President Duterte also said he
was not keen on stopping the illegal numbers game jueteng as doing so could worsen the illegal drug trade. “Itong jueteng, it’s a centuriesold na laro, sugal (Jueteng is a centuries-old game), and it has a very extensive and intensive network… Ang magpapalit diyan `yung mga drug lord. Sasakyan na lang nila `yung mechanism mismo (Drug lords will take over and will just adopt the mechanism),” Duterte told reporters. The president also said there should be livelihood options for those who would be affected in case of a crackdown on jueteng. Duterte said he would rather have jueteng than drugs, even though the numbers game is illegal. “Now, between drugs and jueteng, the other administrations were not able to stop it, anyway. I’m not saying I won’t take any action, I will. But I am aware of the RAINBOW WARRIORS. Gays, lesbians and their supporters join Pride March held in Marikina City on Saturday, June 30 to promote gender ManilaTimes.net photo by DJ Diosina danger of what will develop after equality. you stop jueteng,” he said. The president said that one of these days he would summon the jueteng “lords” to Malacañang. “Then I’ll ask them to choose if PAGE A1 Adelberto Silva, Rafael Baylosis, anti-peace talks policy. they will stop or will they be my Norway. Lorenzana earlier told Sison Randall Echanis, Vicente Ladlad enemy. Because if they will bethat he was irrelevant without the The government also guaran- and Alan Jazmines. come my enemy, then it’s up to teed Sison that he would not be Meanwhile, Sison accused peace talks and that the governthem,” he said. arrested if he decides to go home Duterte of being the “biggest ment would instead focus on loOn June 25, Duterte said the il- for the peace negotiations, Roque spoiler” of the peace talks. calized peace talks in the absence legal numbers game was helping said. “He continues to repeat ad of the NDF founding chair. improve cash flow in the provinc“Mr. Sison, you know that the “But Joma Sison is arrogant, nauseam his demand that the es, where he noted that economic he thinks that he is the country’s venue of negotiations should be peace talks is the only thing that activity was “in the doldrums.” savior,” the Malacañang spokes- in Manila under his control, sur- is keeping you in the limelight. Lacson: Jueteng illegal veillance, manipulation and du- Without it you are irrelevant. man said. Sen. Panfilo Lacson insisted Amid botched peace talks be- ress,” Sison said in a statement You also know that the president that jueteng is illegal and not ex- tween the communist rebels and released Saturday. can terminate the talks, and this empt from being pursued by law the government, the Department The CPP also called Defense is why you are desperately usenforcement authorities. of Justice has moved for the can- Secretary Delfin Lorenzana a ing reverse psychology and in“There is an existing law declar- cellation of temporary liberty of “war promoter and consummate timidation to save it,” Lorenzana ing jueteng, among other forms of NDF consultants Benito Tiamzon, militarist” after backing Duterte’s said. n gambling, as illegal and it is not exempt from being pursued by law enforcement authorities,” the senator, who heads the Senate na ang araw araw na patayan reporters. Committee on Public Order and PAGE A1 “They have always been bold. ng ating mga kababayan ay Dangerous Drugs, said. consider stricter firearms conLacson, who served as PNP trol measures before these kill- This one is a coward. Sniper hindi solusyon at hindi masochief during the term of President ings reach ubiquitous level,” he ang ginamit,” said the Senate solusyunan ang problema sa droga.” leader. Joseph Estrada, said the illegal added. Pangilinan noted that after For opposition Senator Frannumbers game bred corruption Senate President Vicente among law enforcement agen- “Tito” Sotto III, meanwhile, cis “Kiko” Pangilinan, the inci- two years of allegedly killing dent was another case of extra- drug suspects, there are still cies. called Halili’s killers “coward.“ “There can be no legal justifica“Criminality in the country has judicial killing (EJK) under the illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison, and that no syntion not to arrest an offender who always been alarming that’s why government’s war on drugs. “Maliwanag na ito ay isa dicates or drug lords have been is committing a crime in the pres- we want government to come ence of a law enforcer, be it a drug down hard on the criminals and pang EJK o patayan sa drug arrested yet in connection with offender or an illegal gambler,” he not contradict efforts to do so,” war na inilunsad ng gobyerno,” the P6.4 billion shabu smugpointed out. n Sotto said in a text message to Pangilinan said. “Uulitin natin gling controversy. n
Palace tells Joma: Go home if you...
Sen. Lacson wants ‘stricter’ gun control rules after...
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Minimum wage increases in several LA County cities by AJPress SEVERAL cities in Los Angeles County saw their minimum wage rates rise at the beginning of this month. Los Angeles, Pasadena, Santa Monica and Malibu’s minimum wage jumped on Sunday, July 1 from $12 per hour to $13.25 per hour for businesses with 26 or more employees. For businesses with 25 or fewer employees, the wage increased from $10.50 to $12 an
hour. These rate changes apply to unincorporated parts of LA County as well. The increase is the third hike in LA since Mayor Eric Garcetti signed a measure back in 2015 that calls for the minimum wage to gradually go up to $15 per hour by 2020. In a statement, Garcetti said, “We fought to raise the minimum wage because hard work should always be met with the dignity, respect, and opportu-
nity that fair pay brings into the lives of working people.” He added, “Cities across America have joined LA on the climb to $15, and I’m proud that hundreds of thousands of Angelenos can look forward to bigger paychecks for all that they do to make our lives easier and keep our economy moving.” Currently, the California minimum wage is $11 an hour for businesses with 26 employees or more, and $10.50 for those will fewer employees. n
Sen. Grace Poe speaks of ‘Global Filipinos’ during...
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“What we all went through is universal,” said Poe in Fili-
pino, after warming up attendees with a few Filipino jokes in honor of late Senator
Philippine Senator Grace Poe (middle) with members of CSI Professionals Inc. including VP Marge Ordiales (left) in Los Angeles on Friday, June 30. AJPress photo by Rae Ann Varona
Miriam Defensor Santiago who like Poe was a 2016 Philippine presidential candidate and was known for her humor. She added, “Whether you’re here in the U.S., or you’re in the Philippines, we struggle everyday to provide for our families.” Hosting the event were employment advocating organizations Los Angeles County Filipino American Employee Association, CSI Professionals Inc., and SEIU Local 721. On moving to the US After studying at the University of the Philippines Manila, Poe and her husband moved to the U.S. in the 1990’s where she studied in Massachusetts’ Boston College and earned her degree in political science. Her husband, Neil Llamanzares, went to San Francisco and then Washington D.C. for undergraduate and later master’s studies. The two then went to live in Virginia for 12 years where Poe gave birth to her three kids. “As soon as we got here, my husband and I had to work very hard because we were determined to live our lives in this country without having to rely on our parents,” shared Poe who worked as a preschool teacher and part time as a scientific equipment salesperson — jobs she said gave her enough pay and flexibility to be around her family. Aside from experiencing economic differences, Poe spoke of the struggles of homesickness shared by many Filipinos living abroad. “It was exciting to be around new surroundings, but we missed our families and the Filipino culture that we had
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March attendees standing in front of LA City Hall on Saturday, June 30 await speakers at the rally. Several high-profile lawmakers, religious leaders and celebrities delivered remarks condemning the Trump administration’s immigration practices and policies. AJPress photos by Klarize Medenilla
Thousands march in Downtown LA for nationwide...
PAGE A1 ately convicts all immigrants (most of whom are Central American) illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. As extensively covered by the Asian Journal, that policy has reportedly included separating migrant children from their parents and placing them in large cage enclosures. “If you are pro-family, you cannot separate families,” LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said in his address to the crowd. “We’ve got a message for the White House: We care, and so should you.” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-South LA), a veteran congresswoman who has been deep in a war of words with the president in the last couple weeks, took to the stage and did not mince words when decrying the administration’s handling of the border crisis. “How dare you take the babies from mothers’ arms?” Waters said at the rally. “How dare you take the children and send them all across the country into so-called detention centers? You are putting them in cages; you are putting them in jails, and you think we’re going to let you get away with that? I don’t think so!” Saturday’s march brought together people from all walks of life who share a common ideology: Trump’s immigration policy, especially his zero-tolerance policy, is “inhumane.” “We see that this zero tolerance policy is really a zero humanity policy, and we wanted to be there to say that families should be reunited and end this policy,” Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) Executive Director Aquilina Soriano-Versoza said in an interview with the Asian Journal. “The situation at the border is so urgent because so much harm is being done to the children and the families who are refugees who are fleeing from violence and should not be treated as criminals, but as refugees and as victims who we can support and who we should have compassion for.” PWC is a non-profit organization that serves Filipino immigrants in Southern California and advocates for migrant workers rights and provides them resources for employment. Although the crisis at the border doesn’t directly impact the Fil-Am community, SorianoVersoza emphasized the diversity of family separation and that Filipino immigrants are often separated from their families because of the convoluted U.S. immigration system that predates the Trump administration. “This is something that has impacted our community greatly,” Soriano-Versoza added. “A lot of Filipinos are separated from their families because of the way that the immigration policies are set here where we have so many that are left behind. It’s different from what’s happening at the borders right now, but it’s still family separation.” Although the march was centered around family separation
Members of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), an LA-based immigrants’ rights organization, showed up in droves to protest the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policy and its family separation practice.
at the border, participants took advantage of the platform to protest other controversial Trump policies. The march was planned weeks ago, but Saturday’s march capped an eventful political week during which the Supreme Court voted to uphold the travel ban, which prohibits travel from five majority-Muslim countries. The Philippines, in which 11 percent of its citizens are Muslim according to the National Commission of Muslim Filipinos, is not an affected country in the current travel ban, but SorianoVersoza remarked that this ban could bring forth more bans of the global Muslim community. “There is a significant Muslim population in the Philippines, and it’s impacted by this because it’s based upon these different stereotypes of branding all Muslims as terrorists and possible terrorists when you know this is not the case,” she said. “Once we start discriminating and having a precedent of discriminating, especially with immigration policies like [the travel ban], it can continue — even though we’re not directly impacted by this specific ban — by uplifting the framework as a basis for it, which could promote more discriminatory practices.” Alana Gomez, who is half-Filipina and half-Jordanian, said that the travel ban angered her more than any other Trump policy. She attended the march with her Jordanian cousins and held signs that read, “MUSLIM BAN: ‘ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS,’” referencing the rulings of several federal judges who stopped the ban before the Supreme Court ultimately voted for it. “Half of my family is Muslim, so I took that personally,” Gomez, 32, told the Asian Journal. “It was really shocking. Banning entire countries from coming to the United States just because they happen to be mostly Muslim isn’t the American way. Barricading the country isn’t going to make us safer. And it’s just plain discriminatory.” Although she doesn’t practice the religion, she feels “culturally Muslim” and still celebrates Muslim holidays and remains close to her family members who practice the religion. “Peace and civility are two of
the main tenets of Islam, which is something a lot of Americans don’t know,” Gomez continued. “Those who use the name for terrorism are not Muslim just like white supremacists who claim Christianity are not Christians. It’s insane that lawmakers, who presumably went to school to learn these things, support such a ban. Just like any other religion or ethnic groups, there are bad, evil people and even terrorists, but they don’t represent an entire people.” Other “Families Belong Together” rallies in the Southern California area included those held in Carlsbad, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Malibu, Moreno Valley, National City, Palm Springs, Pasadena, Riverside, San Diego and Temecula. Much like the March For Our Lives rally in March, which centered around gun control at the fore of several school shootings in the U.S., Saturday’s march featured an overwhelmingly young attendance. One of those young people was 18-year-old Billy Garcia, a FilipinoAmerican high school graduate who said that he wants to major in political science. Flanked by his friends, Garcia carried a sign he made that said, ‘Take Back Congress - Vote Blue!’ and said that his main motivation for coming to the march was to show support for immigrants at the border and to be a part of the chorus of dissenters against the Trump administration. “It’s insane that it took [public] outrage for [the Trump administration] to sign that executive order,” Garcia told the Asian Journal. “That means that they, Trump and Sessions and all those other [people in the administration], knew about the policy and let it happen anyways.” Garcia admitted that he’s felt disillusioned after Trump’s election, but he said that he and his friends have begun canvassing for Democratic candidates and have encouraged their peers to get involved in politics and “stay woke.” When asked if he will be casting his first vote in the November midterm elections, he simply said, “Hell yes.” His friends nodded in agreement. (Klarize Medenilla/AJPress)
64% of Filipinos support Boracay...
PAGE A1 The survey was undertaken almost a month before the six-month closure of the world-renowned beach destination, which started on April 26. SWS said stronger support for the closure of Boracay was registered in Mindanao, urban areas and among those with higher education. It was highest in Mindanao at an “extremely strong” +55 (68 percent agree, 13 percent disagree), followed by Metro Manila at a very strong +49 (69 percent agree, 20 percent disagree), balance Luzon at a very strong +45 (64 percent agree, 20 percent disagree), and the Visayas at a moderately strong +26 (53 percent agree, 27 percent disagree). Net agreement was an extremely strong +50 (68 percent agree, 18 percent disagree) in overall urban areas, compared to the very strong +38 (59 percent agree, 21 percent disagree) in overall rural areas.
Support for the closure of Boracay was stronger among those with higher educational attainment, the SWS said. It was highest among college graduates at an extremely strong +54 (70 percent agree, 16 percent disagree), followed by high school graduates at an extremely strong +50 (69 percent agree, 18 percent disagree), nonelementary school graduates at a very strong +34 (55 percent agree, 20 percent disagree), and elementary school graduates at a very strong +33 (57 percent agree, 23 percent disagree). Majorities in all areas say the closure of Boracay “would help rehabilitate the nature in the island” (64 percent) and “increase the number of tourists in the future” (61 percent). The proportion of those who said the closure of Boracay would help rehabilitate nature in the island was highest in Metro Manila at 71 percent, followed by balance
Luzon and Mindanao, both at 64 percent, and the Visayas at 61 percent. On the other hand, the percentage of those who said the Boracay closure would help increase the number of tourists in the future was highest in Metro Manila at 68 percent, followed by Mindanao at 61 percent, Visayas at 60 percent, and balance Luzon at 58 percent. The survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults, 18 years old and above, nationwide. President Duterte ordered the closure of Boracay for six months so establishments may improve sewerage systems and remove illegal structures. An inter-agency task force in charge of Boracay’s rehabilitation had recommended that the island be closed for a maximum of one year. Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu earlier said the rehabilitation effort at the island resort was “50 to 60 percent” complete. n
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Roque talks with Papal Nuncio during ‘no holds barred’ meeting
BORACAY CLEANUP. Local residents participate in a massive cleanup drive on Boracay Island as part of the 6-month rehabilitation program PNA photo by Alan Jay Jacalan to bring back the tourist destination’s beauty.
‘Don’t tolerate evil’ PAGE A1 sults our God. People have come out of their stupor. I say to all, wake up and stand up. Evil should not be tolerated,” Pabillo said in his blog. The prelate said a person “who has no respect for others and even for God is himself not respectable.” Although people are entitled to their own beliefs, this does not give a person the privilege to attack and publicly shame other beliefs, “even if he is the highest official in the land.” “Some continue to tolerate Duterte on the ground of freedom of speech and even of freedom of religion. Freedom of speech should not be given as a reason for such a blasphemous attack. Freedom of speech brings out with it responsibility to respect what others hold dear. If Duterte does not believe in the teachings of our faith, we cannot do anything about that. He can believe what he wants,” he said. “Each one of us will stand in front of the judgment seat of God one day. But he should not call our God stupid! He should not denigrate our faith in a public forum,” Pabillo said. Pabillo questioned the Duterte government’s sincerity in reconciling its differences with the Church and other religious
groups, citing its debatable track record in terms of “openness to the truth.” “Unfortunately the track record of this government does not point to this. First, the persons that are asked to conduct this dialogue on their part do not have a good record of openness to the truth,” Pabillo said, referring to the members of the dialogue panel formed by Palace. The panel members are Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr., political strategist Pastor “Boy Saycon,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernesto Abella, and Secretary to the Cabinet Leoncio Evasco, a former priest. Saycon had claimed that Church leaders could be involved in a destabilization plot against the government, a statement he later took back and rejected by the Palace. “Do Roque, Saycon and Panelo have the ability to understand their dialogue partners and not jump to conclusions and false accusations as they are doing now?” Pabillo said. Dialogue should have happened even before President Duterte criticized Church teachings and the Christian faith, he said. “We cannot then fault people who see this offer for dialogue as a damage control measure for the strong protests against Duterte and his cohorts. It may just be of-
fered as a face-saving strategy. Is there really sincerity in this offer of dialogue?” A CBCP official, Fr. Jerome Secillano, talked to Saycon in a preliminary. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. also had a meeting with Archbishop Gabriel Giordano Caccia, Apostolic Nuncio in the Philippines on Friday night, and it was agreed that CBCP President Romulo Valles and Duterte would have a “one-on-one” dialogue. Sen. Panfilo Lacson agreed that Duterte crossed the line when he insulted God. “I believe that he crossed the line. So he should make amends. After all he is the leader of our country,” Lacson said. He added that the creation of a government panel to talk to various Christian groups offended by the President is a good move. The senator said the President should work on his statesmanship and watch his statements because these could be misunderstood. Pabillo also lamented delays in the peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA). “The peace negotiations with the CCP-NPA have shown the inability of the government in coming to any agreement,” he said.. Pabillo said President Duterte could “whimsically cut-off negotiations and pull away from hardearned agreements with flimsy reasons and accusations.” n
MANILA — Top Church officials “welcome” any dialogue with President Rodrigo Duterte, his spokesman said Saturday, June 30, after a “no holds barred” meeting with Papal Nuncio Gabriel Giordano Caccia. Duterte sparked public outrage in the predominantly Catholic Philippines after he called God a “stupid son of a bitch” for creating Adam and Eve only to allow their purity to be destroyed by temptation. “In my meeting with the Papal Nuncio it was agreed that both State and Church should work together for the benefit of the people,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement. Roque said Duterte will have a one-on-one dialogue with the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. The Papal Nuncio was also willing to have “further meetings” with the
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque had a no holds barred talk with Papal Nuncio Gabriele Giordano Malacañang photo Caccia where they discussed President Duterte’s remarks against the Church.
president, he added. The hugely popular Duterte and the Church, which has a significant political and social clout in the Philippines, have repeatedly locked horns amid mounting death toll in the government’s bloody war on drugs. Duterte early this week clarified he was calling the God of Catholics “stupid” and not his God who he said had common sense. For his
part, Roque said the feisty leader was venting his rage as a victim of sexual abuse by a priest when he was a student. The Palace has formed a fourman committee that would dialogue with the Catholic Church and other religious groups to ease the tension sparked by Duterte’s controversial remarks about God. (Ian Nicolas Cigaral/Philstar. com)
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OPINION
Stopping impunity
FEATURES
THE deadly attack might not be related to journalism, according to initial reports. The only way to find out, however, is to catch the killers of Manuel Lacsamana, a propety developer and quarry operator who contributed to the local monthly The Media Messenger and chaired the Central Luzon Media Association. Lacsamana was on his way home from a business meeting and was driving his pick-up truck along Mabini Street in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija before midnight of June 23 when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire. He was able to continue driving a short distance but eventually died. Whether or not the attack was related to journalism, the killers must be brought to justice. With Lacsamana’s murder, the Philippines will likely retain its ranking among the worst countries in the Impunity Index drawn up by the Committee to Protect Journalists. The Philippines ranked fifth worst in the latest index, which rates countries based on the number of deadly attacks on journalists and ability to bring the killers to justice. The inability has made the country one of the most “murderous” and dangerous for media work-
ers for many years now. A Presidential Task Force on Media Safety has been formed, but the solution rate for journalist killings remains disappointing. The poor solution rate for all murders and homicides in this country, with thousands perpetrated in the past two years alone, has bred the impunity that guarantees more killings. Journalists aren’t the only targets. Left-leaning activists, legal professionals and, recently, even priests have been shot dead, mostly by gunmen on motorcycles. With an election year approaching, deadly violence is expected to escalate as politicians, believing they can get away with any crime, use murder as the ultimate weapon for permanently eliminating rivals. Solving crime means not only arresting a suspect but also securing final conviction and sending the
Editorial
Philstar.com photo
offender to prison. Hired guns and masterminds alike must be brought to justice. This should warrant the urgent attention of an administration that
professes to give priority to fighting crime. As long as people believe they can get away with breaking the law, impunity will reign. (Philstar.com)
Fil-Am formerly with CIA now with Secretary Pompeo
Babe’s Eye View BABE ROMUALDEZ LAST week, I accompanied Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and National Security Adviser Jun Esperon to the U.S. State Department for a meeting with State Secretary Mike Pompeo. I was pleased to learn that a Filipino-American, Brian Bulatao, has been nominated by President Donald Trump as the State Department’s Under Secretary of State for Management – a position that was held by Patrick Francis Kennedy from 2007 to January last year. Bulatao and Secretary Mike Pompeo are very close, having been classmates in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point where they graduated in 1986. Both men also went to Harvard – Pompeo finishing law at Harvard Law School while Bulatao finished his MBA at the Harvard Business School. In 1998, Pompeo and Bulatao, along with some
other West Point alumni, founded Thayer Aerospace where both stayed on until 2006. Although the military school mates eventually ventured into other business pursuits – with Pompeo eventually going into politics as Kansas Congressman from 2011 to January 2017 – it’s obvious that they have remained close because one of the first things that Mike Pompeo did when he became Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director in January last year is to bring along Brian Bulatao, first as a senior adviser and then as chief operating officer (a position formerly known as “executive director”). As the CIA’s Number 3 man, Bulatao brought his expertise in business management to institute reforms in the Agency and make it more efficient management-wise – streamlining operations, cutting down programs perceived to be non-essential and pushing for greater autonomy in decision making for agents on the ground. As some described it, Bulatao gave the CIA a “business-style makeover,” asking program heads under his juris-
diction to outline their strategic plans and objectives as well as priorities. When President Trump named Mike Pompeo as the new State Secretary following the departure of Rex Tillerson last March, speculations ran high on whether Bulatao would join his army buddy at the State Department. The answer came a few weeks ago when President Trump named the former U.S. Army Ranger as among those who would be occupying senior positions in his administration. The Under Secretary of State for Management serves as the principal adviser to the State Secretary and Deputy State Secretary on management issues and matters pertaining to budget, personnel, facilities, technology, logistics, the day-today operations and other matters necessary for the U.S. to carry out its foreign policy mission. Naturally, the Filipino-American community is very proud of Brian and his accomplishments. People like him are a source of pride for Fil-Ams because they help reinforce the positive image of Filipinos in the U.S.
Last Thursday, June 28, I had an open forum session with The Washington Diplomat (an independent monthly publication on various issues that include foreign policy, international relations, politics, trade and diplomacy) and one of the questions was about the new immigration bill and how it would affect Filipinos. I told them that Filipinos are known for being industrious and hardworking – the kind of image U.S. legislators have about Filipinos. The assurance I get is that the new immigration bill will be more than fair for new immigrants including Filipinos. Aside from Brian Bulatao, another Filipino-American, Richard Buangan who has been with the State Department since 2000, will join Secretary Pompeo as Executive Assistant. No doubt, there are also many other Filipino-Americans who have distinguished themselves in their respective professions, such as former White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford, the first woman and the first of Asian descent to hold such a position, serving under the administration
of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. And then there is Dr. Connie Mariano who is the first female to head the White House medical unit, serving presidents George H. Bush, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. Dr. Mariano also has the distinction of being the first Filipino-American to reach the rank of Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy. Other well-known Fil-Am doctors in the U.S. are Dr. Jorge Garcia whom I get to play golf with. Jorge has the reputation of being one of the best heart surgeons in the world whose patients include state leaders and celebrities; another golfer is Dr. Alex Aquino, a distinguished kidney transplant specialist; and Dr. Elwin Bustos, a nephrologist based in Washington, D.C. who also happens to be my personal physician. In the U.S. military, one of the most distinguished is retired Lt. General Edward Soriano who has the distinction of being the highest Filipino-American to have served in the military and the first one to be promoted to the rank of general. Just recently, he
was with retired U.S. Army Major General Antonio Taguba for the presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal to Filipino World War II Veterans at the War Memorial Veterans Building in San Francisco. Another Fil-Am and a good friend is USAID Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia Dr. Gloria Steele, who played a very critical role as USAID Philippines Mission Director supervising the agency’s Rebuild project in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda. There is really a great sense of pride when you meet many Filipino-Americans who have done well in the U.S. As the Philippine Ambassador here in DC, I really feel good when I meet many U.S. officials, private individuals including colleagues in the diplomatic corps who tell me that they are fortunate to have Filipinos in their staff. Indeed, as former Ambassador to Japan Manolo Lopez told me, “it is both fulfilling and rewarding.” * * * Email: babeseyeview@gmail.com (Philstar. com)
DU30 must meet priests for dialogue and healing
Opinion
FRANCISCO TATAD PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte says he never called God “stupid,” it’s only the biblical story of creation and original sin and why people naively believe in it, he says, that he finds “stupid” and called it so. But his rant was completely offensive and unprovoked, and has offended Catholics and evangelicals alike. One Evangelical leader — Brother Eddie Villanueva of the “Philippines for Jesus Movement,” father of the sitting young senator Joel Villanueva and a one-time presidential candidate — wrote DU30 a letter demanding a public apology for his tirade. The Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches has also expressed its own unhappiness over DU30’s rant. But presidential spokesman Harry Roque says DU30 will not apologize. To apologize should have been the easiest thing to do, if only DU30 truly understood his real duties as president of a predominantly Christian Catholic country. He could have easily said, “I am so sorry that the little I have said has caused so much unnecessary confusion and misunderstanding among our people, and I deeply apologize for it.” He would have quickly laid the whole matter to rest. But false pride and conceit intervened. He was apparently determined to “liberate” the na-
tion from religion, as one of his supporters puts it, after he had liberated himself from the Constitution and from basic good manners. Thus, his insistence on his utterly erroneous take on the Bible. Not DU30’s competence As president, DU30 has no business trying to critique what Christians, especially Catholics, believe as a matter of Faith, assuming he completely and accurately understood what they believed. The State, in whose name he speaks, is not the source, nor the enforcer, nor the interpreter of moral or religious doctrine, and he does not have the recognized personal or professional competence to speak on the subject. There are a thousand and one things he could talk about that are germane to the business of the state, he had absolutely no reason to be bungling his way into any biblical narrative. Even if, as he insists, he did not call God stupid, his half-literate statement “questioning why God created something perfect only to destroy it later with original sin” has created so much uproar that he should have made amends for it. There is nothing in the biblical narrative that allows him or anyone else to say God “created” or “caused” original sin. What the Bible says is that God put everything he had created at the service of the first man and woman, but forbade them to eat of one particular fruit. They were free to choose. And they chose
not to follow this particular directive. The woman listened to the tempter and ate of the forbidden fruit, then gave it to the man to eat. Man’s original sin This act of disobedience became the original sin, which marked the Fall of Man. But because of God’s love for man, He decided to redeem him from his fall. In the fullness of time, He sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ to redeem fallen man by dying on the Cross for him. This is the long and short of the biblical narrative as the faithful have come to believe. DU30 misquotes this by saying God created original sin after creating a “perfect” universe, and calls “stupid” God and those who believe in him. The whole thing could have been avoided if only DU30 had a little more respect for others and for the duties of his office. But he clearly does not, so he goes to a particular place or event unprepared to say anything worthwhile, grabs the microphone as soon as the TV camera is on, and says whatever vulgarity comes to his mouth. Despite the anger DU30’s rant has caused among the laity, some of whom would like to see him excommunicated and exorcised, the Catholic hierarchy has shown greater forbearance and called for prayers and healing instead of any punitive response. Archbishop Romulo Valles, Archbishop of Davao, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, and a personal friend of
DU30, has maintained a position of dignified silence, preferring a friendly dialogue to a spirited confrontation. Cardinal Tagle’s statement From Geneva, where he is attending the UN Conference on Migrants and Refugees, sponsored by the Holy See, Caritas Internationalis, World Congress of Churches and International Detention Coalition, etc., Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Archbishop of Manila, has written to the priests of his archdiocese, upon the request of Monsignor Jose Clemente Ignacio, the vicar general of the archdiocese, a letter urging them to “be at peace, to be calm, not to let things disturb their inner peace,” and “not to be distracted from addressing other pressing concerns.” The Archbishop of Manila is an extremely popular cardinal whom the Vatican watcher John Allen likes to describe as “the next Pope.” I fear, however, that his message to his priests could cause as much unhappiness as DU30’s original statement. I will quote the letter at length. “2. Vatican II stressed that we Catholics should respect nonCatholics and other religions. We also respect those who do not believe in God. All people should strive to respect those who differ from their beliefs. Religions are not to be used for conflicts but for mutual understanding and peace.” Who is disrespecting whom? Comment: The problem is
not about Catholics disrespecting non-Catholics. Rather, it is the President of the Philippines, disrespecting the faith of Catholics and other Christians alike while priests are being killed in broad daylight. None of us are using religion to promote conflict; DU30 is the one trying to create conflict where there is none. “3. Questioning God and God’s ways is not new. It is as old as humanity and religions. In the history of the Church they have become moments for study, reflection and clarification of doctrine. Creation and evolution, God’s goodness and evil, God’s grace and human freedom, God’s mercy and eternal punishment — these topics have been raised at various moments of the Church’s history. In my visits to colleges and universities, I have been asked similar questions by young people. Their scientific and technological education calls for a review of the relationship between Faith, science and reason. Remember Glyzelle, the young girl who asked Pope Francis at UST, why does God allow children to suffer? These questions are always raised and will continue to be raised. As a constructive step, perhaps we can invite our philosophers, scientists, theologians, bible scholars, catechists and social workers to revisit these concerns and present responses appropriate to our contemporary sensibilities. Maybe a renewed apolo-
getics is needed for those who are sincerely searching for the truth.” Comment: Catholics are not averse to a continuing reexamination of their Faith. But they have to denounce any attempt by anyone to use political power to dictate their own interpretation of the truths of the Faith. Is God now a mere distraction? “4. While these questions are extremely important for the dialogue between Faith and current concerns, let us not be distracted from addressing other pressing concerns with the fervor of faith and love: for example, the increasing prices of goods, job security, exploitation of women and children, violence in homes and neighborhoods, different types of addictions, crimes, vulnerabilities of OFWs, the daily paralyzing traffic in big cities, flooding, reconstruction of destroyed cities, combatting terrorism, corruption and others. We need to come together and contribute to positive responses according to each one’s capability. We cannot address these problems by just blaming someone. Those who believe in God must work faithfully and joyfully for the Lord. Those who do not believe in God must serve out of human decency, generosity and concern for neighbors.” The greatest commandment Comment: This is extremely saddening. I cannot imagine any well-formed Catholic agreeing that defending the honor of God
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Dateline PhiliPPines
Sen. Grace Poe speaks of ‘Global Filipinos’... PAGE A4 left behind,” said Poe, again eliciting laughs from attendees through the mentioning of Filipino personality traits — pointing with their lips, having a balikbayan box as another piece of luggage, collecting hotel items for souvenirs, and seeing a meal as incomplete if it didn’t have rice. Poe also reminisced on the days before internet when she and her husband would look for the cheapest calling cards in Filipino stores to stay in touch with their family back home in the Philippines, and how they would similarly search for the cheapest balikbayan box delivery company to send home sought after American goods. And then there were trips to Filipino markets for “Boy Bawang, patis, and sinigang mix” to give them a taste of home. “Kung ano ano pa ang comfort food (whatever else was comfort food),” said Poe. She added that having faith and determination was what helped her family in starting a life in the U.S. “What saved us I guess was our faith and resilience — our determination,” said Poe. “I think Filipinos are resilient people and can easily adapt to new surroundings.” On responsibility Speaking of social responsibility, Poe encouraged Filipinos to be involved in bettering the Philippines, despite living elsewhere. “You’re all here today I’m sure not because you love the Philippines less, but because we have a responsibility also to better ourselves so that we can be a positive force to any community that we a part of, whether here or whether we choose to retire in the Philippines someday,” said Poe. She said that doing good in one’s community abroad was a good way of bringing pride to the Philippines. Stressing the importance of being respectful, she said, “It doesn’t matter who you are or who you dealt with. It’s important to disagree without being disagreeable.” “And it’s also important for you to set a good example,” she added. The adopted daughter of the King of Philippine movies, national artist and later 2004 presidential candidate
Fernando Poe Jr., the senator said much of her inspiration to enter public service came from her father who was a big advocate of fighting poverty. After her father passed away in 2004, Poe returned back to the Philippines permanently to help her mother actress Susan Roces. Moving back, she said, opened her eyes again to the “harsh realities of Philippine society.” She decided to further her father’s mission and served as chair of the FPJ for President Movement which after his death continued advocacy for political and social programs, offering services like free legal advice and medical missions. “Even if my father was never officially a part of government, in his own personal capacity, he was able to help many of our country,” said Poe. Poe further encouraged Filipinos to exercise both support and criticism when needed, adding that she herself would support the president if whatever program he is pushing is right. “But I’m also a critic,” said Poe. “Especially when I feel that it is not just.” She said in Filipino, “It’s hard when you’re always mad. You need to be supportive too. But, there are many things in the Philippines that we know need to be fixed. Don’t lose your vigilance. It’s important for democracy.” Speaking specifically of Filipinos living in the U.S., she said its numbers had the ability of influencing the future of the Philippines. “The sheer number of Filipino-Americans alone make us a force to be reckoned with,” said Poe, citing the U.S. Census Bureau’s population numbers gathered from the 2010 census. Fil-Ams are currently the largest Asian American population in California. In Los Angeles County alone, Filipinos account for 606,657 of its people. “Imagine how much is spent on clothes and groceries,” said Poe, adding that some of her favorites places to shop and eat are Ross Dress for Less, InN-Out Burger, and a number of Filipino joints like Barrio Fiesta and Island Pacific. On Philippine future Often seen at senate hear-
ings in cases such as last year’s University of Santo Tomas hazing death, and cases regarding extrajudicial killing investigations stemming from the current administration’s controversial anti-drug campaign, Poe reminded that a lot of work was being done outside of hearings. Among the most recent efforts Poe has been involved in include the recently signed Balik Scientists Act which is expected to encourage Filipino professionals to come back to the Philippines, and the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) which Poe pushed to include support for the country’s poor population. Poe emphasized the importance of the Philippines’ younger population in the country’s future, describing them as an “advantage.” “The median age is 23 years old,” said Poe. “In other countries, the median age is like 40 plus. Tayo bata (We are young.).” She gave the example of focusing on the first 1,000 days of children’s lives — providing parents with access to vitamins, supplements, and checkups during the children’s’ developmental years. “What kind of children are we going to have if they are hungry?,” she asked. Poe also touched on the opportunities of tourism, explaining that roughly six million tourists visit the Philippines annually, generating roughly five billion dollars. When compared to Thailand which gets around 26 million tourists a year and generating around 48 billion dollars, she said there’s room for improvement. “We’re an English speaking country. We’re an archipelago. We’re surrounded by beautiful beaches. Our countrymen are warm by nature. Why can’t we compete?” she asked. Ending her speech, Poe again encouraged Fil-Ams to do their part in improving the Philippines. “Like you, I’ve lived here,” said Poe. “And we still continue to love our country, so whatever you can do to contribute, you can go home, do community service work, medical missions, anything. I’m sure our kababayans will be very grateful.” (Rae Ann Varona/AJPress)
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DU30 must meet priests for...
PAGE A6 from the libel thrown by any irresponsible demagogue is a “distraction” from other necessary cares and concerns. It is a Catholic’s first duty, and everything else is a distraction. In Matthew 22:36-40, when asked which is the greatest commandment in the Law, Jesus answers: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” As for ”the increasing prices of goods,” etc., which the good Cardinal would like to commend to his priests, these are not among their basic duties. They are among the one thousand and one things that should primarily occupy DU30, who has promised to solve most if not all of those problems. DU30, not the priests, is the one who has distracted himself from his basic duties by talking about the Church’s teaching on original sin, which is outside his competence. As Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, so eloquently puts it, “the Church, by reason of her role and competence, is not identified in any way with the political community nor bound to any political system, nor does she claim competence in proposing solutions to concrete political and economic problems. The Church and the political community in their own fields are autonomous and independent of each other. [Although] both under different titles, are devoted to the personal and social vocation of the same person.” The Church cannot remain silent in the face of error being propagated by the most dangerous sources. Every priest must speak. This is the message we heard from the Magisterium when on June 2, 2001 then Archbishop (now Cardinal) Jean-Louis Tauran, then Secretary of Relations with States, addressed 70 Filipino bishops in Manila on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the Holy See. He said: The priest as prophet “It is only right that at all times and in all places the Church should have true freedom to teach her doctrine and to pass moral judgment in those matters
which regard the common good and fundamental rights and freedoms… The People expect something else from their Pastors, that they be witnesses to Christ, giving force to the Lord’s teaching by being the ‘conscience of the nation,’ by being prophets in the biblical sense of the word, whose charism is to denounce evil wherever it is to be found and to call all men and women back to God in true conversion.” To call on the religious and the clergy to be silent in the face
of grave abuse is to ask them to renounce their right of prophetic denunciation at a time when even the stones should speak. That DU30 has agreed to dialog with the Church is a welcome development. But for him to name three individuals to represent him, instead of personally meeting with the bishops himself, is certainly absurd. He must meet with the priests and bishops himself if there is to be genuine dialogue and healing. (ManilaTimes.net)
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Pernia: PH to diversify funding sources by ed
VeLasco Manilatimes.net
THE Philippines is now looking for other countries as funding sources to avoid relying on perennial lenders like China, the National Economic and De- NEDA director general Ernesto Pernia Manilatimes file photo velopment Authority (NEDA) similar to what happened to Sri said. “We want to diversify as Lanka. Sri Lanka was forced to turn much as possible our funding sources,� NEDA director gen- over its Hambatota port to Chieral Ernesto Pernia said in a na years ago after failing to pay recent briefing. He mentioned more than $1 billion in loans Korea as one of the countries from the giant lender. The loan the Philippines will tap to fi- was meant to rebuild the port. “Given the various experinance future projects. “Korea is interested now in ences felt by other countries, funding our projects,� he said. we are more cautious, more exHe didn’t specify though what tra careful,� Pernia said. Only one project, a construcprojects are being eyed by Korea. Pernia was reacting to a tion project, has been signed growing concern that the coun- with China,� the NEDA chief u PAGE B4 try might fall into a ‘debt trap’
DOF: Peso depreciation not a sign of economic weakness by Mary
Grace Philstar.com
Padin
THE depreciation of the peso should not be considered as a sign of a weak economy, according to the Department of Finance (DOF). The DOF, in its latest economic bulletin, also maintained that the local currency should be allowed to move flexibly amid several developments in the market, helping sustain economic growth. “Exchange rate movements – whether depreciation or appreciation – should not be taken as a sign of structural weakness in the economy,� the DOF said. “In an environment of global uncertainty where domestic macroeconomic fundamentals are sound – real GDP growth is higher than six percent, inflation is within the neighborhood
The DOF, in its latest economic bulletin, also maintained that the local currency should be allowed to move flexibly amid several developments in the market, helping sustain economic growth. Philstar file photo
of projected levels, gross international reserves are in excess of eight months of imports of goods and services, BOP (balance of payment) and fiscal deficits are financeable and the debt ratios are declining – the exchange rate should move flexibly so that economic players are able to adjust promptly to market dynamics, thus sustaining economic growth,� it
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What good credit ratings mean to Filipino consumers Less risk of defaulting and getting more loans are just two of the advantages
Manilatimes file photo
THE typical man or woman on the street, always hard-pressed to make ends meet even in what some have described as a growing Philippine economy, just might find that his access to credit in the next few months might become easier and more affordable. That is one positive consequence of the recently increased credit rating given by the New York-based Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings on the country’s banking and financial systems. A few months ago, S&P raised their assessment of the latter’s capability to honor its obligations a notch higher, from 7 to 6. While the banks undoubtedly will profit from this evaluation, the Filipino workercum-consumer might likewise find that his life might have made a turn for the better.
Pia L. Arellano, President and CEO of TransUnion Philippines, elaborates, “ A high credit rating means that the risk of defaulting on payments is significantly less. A good credit rating for the banking industry means that its members are in a good position to extend credit.� As a result, individual consumers acquire growing access “to high-quality credit products. Credit portfolio delinquency rates in the industry fall to all-time lows, providing the Filipinos a better financial infrastructure and a better future to be had as well.� If S&P measures an institution or sector’s capacity to pay its obligations on a macro level, information solutions provider TransUnion Philippines weighs the pecuniary strength of their individual customers by
by anna
Leah h. GonzaLes Manilatimes.net
THE Philippines remains to be one of the most attractive auto production bases in Asia but its small labor force and uncertain long and short-term political environment continue to weigh on its attractiveness as a manufacturing hub, a Fitch group unit said in a report. In its Autos Production Risk Reward Index (RRI) released on
Madaba,Mt Nebo,Petra,Aqaba,Jordan
(Tiberias, Ceasarea, Haifa, Meggido,Magdala, Nazareth, Cana, Mt Carmel, Capernaum, Mt Beatitude, Jericho, Bethany, Mt.Tabor, Mount Zion, Mt. of Olives, Old & New Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Qumran, Masada Dead Sea,Allenby Bridge, Madaba, Mt Nebo Petra, Aqaba Jordan)
June 29, BMI said that while the Philippines was still notable for its low labor costs and strong automotive policy, rising risks affect the country’s attractiveness as an auto center. The report said that the country’s auto production RRI score dropped to 52.6 out of 100 from last quarter’s 55.1. “This means the country’s score is lower than the Asia region average score of 56.9 out of a possible 100,� said BMI.
Oct 20, 2018 (Sat) Day 3 – Tiberias/ Meggido/ Nazareth/ Cana/ Mt Tabor We will have short stop in Meggido and the Plains of We will have short stop in Meggido and the Plains of Armageddon, known in Hebrew as Meggido, a giant fortress and City built by King Solomon.
+ 1%" "4 "01 *"+1 ,,( ,# "3") 1&,+Çž &1 &0 /"#"//"! 0 1%" 0&1"0 ,# 1%" ČŠĆœ + ) 11)"Č‹Ç˝ /,* 1%"/"Çž 4" 4&)) ,+1&+2" ,2/ !/&3" &+1, Nazareth, where we will have Mass in the Church of the Annunciation ,the Cave of the Annunciation and and visit Joseph’s Work0%,- +! %"+ 4" 4&)) *,3" ,+ 1, + ,# )&)""Çž 4%"/" 2/ ,/! -"/#,/*"! &0 Ćœ /01 *&/ )"Çż % +$&+$ 4 1"/ &+1, 4&+" 1 1%" 4"!Č’ ding feast. We will invite couples to Bless their marriage vows,Con1&+2" 1, ,2+1 ,/ Çž0&1" ,# "020 / +0Ćœ $2/ 1&,+Ç˝ Ćž "/4 /!Çž 4" will head to Tiberias. Dinner and overnight in Tiberias. (B/D). Oct 21, 2018 (Sun) Day 4 – Tiberias/Mount Beatitude/ Multiplication / Primacy/ Capernum/Boat Ride “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heavenâ€? Early AM departures to Mt. Beatitude Drive up to Mount Beatitudes, visit the site of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus preached to the people., Eucharistic Celebration . "+',6 0 "+& , 1 /&!" /,00 1%" " ,# )&)"" 1, -"/+ 2*Çž %,*" ,# 2/ ,/! !2/&+$ %&0 *&+&01/6Ç˝ Ćž "/ 3&0&1&+$ 1%" 6+ $,$2" where he taught, proceed to Tabgha, the site of the miracle of the ), 3"0 +! Ćœ 0%"0Ç˝ %"+ 1, 1%" %2/ % /&* 6 ,# 1 "1"/0Ç˝ Č› Çž Čœ Oct 22, 2018 (Mon) Day 5 – Magdala 2)) ! 6 /"1/" 1Çž , 20 4&)) + )2!" -/,$/ *0 0"! ,+ 1%" %&01,/&Č’ ) +! ")&$&,20 3 )2" ,# 1%" $! ) 0&1"0 More info coming up as we get closer to the dates Çž 0/ ") Č” Ç—Ç•Ç•Çž &0 ,3"/&"0 #/,* +"4 / % ",),$& ) !&$ are creating excitement in the area where Jesus began his ministry. The village is called Magdala (Migdal in Hebrew), and it’s the %,*" ,# /6 $! )"+"ǽȋ %" )&3"! %"/" +! 0%" *"1 "020 %"/" and she continued with Him. Yes, it’s that place The most important discovery in Magdala has been a synagogue dating back to the 1&*" ,# "020Ç˝ ,/!&+$ 1, / % ",),$&010Çž &1ȉ0 1%" Ćœ /01 ,+" !&0 ,3Č’ "/"! &+ 1%" )&)""Ç˝ Oct 23, 2018 (Tues) Day 6 – Jordan Valley/ Jericho/ Bethany/ Jerusalem Mass at the Church in Bethany Ćž "/ /" (# 01Çž 4" %" ! 1, "/& %,Çž 1%" ,)!"01 &+% &1"! &16 &+ 1%" 4,/)!Ç˝ &"4 1%" ,2+1 ,# "*-1 1&,+Çž 4%"/" "020 0-"+1 ǙǕ days fasting in the desert. We will visit the ancient ruins of the wall. We will continue to Bethany and will have mass to celebrate Holy 2 % /&01 1 1%" %2/ % ,# 1Ç˝ 7 /20Ç˝ %"+ 4" 4&)) 3&0&1 1%" -Č’ 1&0* ) 0&1" &+ &3"/ ,/! +Ç˝ -,+ //&3 ) &+ ,2+1 ,-20 *" +&+$ Mount of the Watchmen/Sentinels, is a mountain in northeast Je/20 )"*Ç˝ +',6 1%" Ćœ /01 3&"4 ,# "/20 )"*Ç˝ Ćž "/ 1%" ! 6ȉ0 1,2/Çž 4" will check in at our hotel in Jerusalem (B/D) Oct 24, 2018 (Wed) Day 7 – Jerusalem (Old City)/ Via Dolorosa/ Mount Zion Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher “And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place ,# 0(2))Çž 4%& % &0 ))"! &+ 1%" " /"4 ,)$,1% ǽȋ Č› ,%+ Ç–ÇžÇżÇ–ÇœČœ We will enter the Old City of Jerusalem and will follow the Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross) and say the Station of the Cross to the holiest shrine in Christendom, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 3&0&1 ,)$,1% +! 1%" ,* ,# 2/ ,/!Ç˝ Ćž "/ * 00Çž 4" /"12/+ 1, the hotel for breakfast. Ćž "/ /" (# 01Çž 4" 4&)) "+1"/ 1%" )! &16Çž 0&+$ %6*+ &+ 1%" Church of St. Anne and view the Pool of Bethesda. Then we will 3&0&1 1%" % -") ,# ) $")) 1&,+Çž &1%,01/ 1,0 Č›4%"/" 1%" 0,)!&"/0 -) 6"! 1%" *" ,# &+$0Čœ +! 1%" / % ,# 1%" ČŠ " ,*,Č‹Ç˝ Dinner/Overnight
Oct 25, 2018 (Thurs) Day 8 – Jerusalem Mass at the Holy Eucharist Church of St Peter in Gallicantu ČŠ %" ,/! " *" Ć? "0% +! !4")1 *,+$ 20ǽǽǽȋ Č› ,%+ Ç–ÇżÇ–Ç™Čœ " 4&)) 4 )( 1, 3&"4 1%" ,*" ,# 1%" , ( #/,* 1%" ,210&!"Çž +! visit the Western Wall,( Wailing Wall ) the only part of the Herodian Temple still standing and the most sacred place in the world for "40Ç˝ %"+Çž 4" 4&)) !/&3" 1, 1Ç˝ &,+Çž 1, 3&0&1 1%" --"/ ,,*Çž /"Č’ 3"/"! 0 1%" 0&1" ,# 1%" 01 2--"/Çž 1%"+ 02/3"6 1%" ,/*&1&,+ "6Çž +! 1%" %2/ % ,# 1Ç˝ "1"/ &+ ))& +12Çž %" 0&1" 4%"/" "1"/ !"+&"! "020 1%/"" 1&*"0Ç˝ Ćž "/ 1%" ! 6ȉ0 1,2/Çž we will return to our hotel for dinner and overnight. Jerusalem (B, D) Oct 26, 2018 (Fri) Day 9 – Mount of Olives/ Gethsemane/ Bethlehem/ Jerusalem (New City)/ Ein Karem Mass at the Church of Nativity ČŠ *,2+1 &+ ,# ,!Çž /" "&3" *"Çž *,1%"/Çž 4&1% *6 %&)!ǽȋ Č› /,1,Č’ "3 +$")&2* ,# *"0 Ç—Ç—ÇżÇ˜Čœ " 4&)) //&3" 1 1%" ,2+1 ,# )&3"0Çž 1, "+',6 +,1%"/ 3&"4 ,# "/2Č’ salem, visit the Chapel of Ascension, Pater Noster Church and the ,*&+20 )"3&1 țȊ ,! 4"-1Č‹Čœ 0 + 12 /6Ç˝ "51Çž 4"ȉ)) 4 )( 1%" )* 2+! 6 , ! 1, 1%" /!"+ ,# "1%0"* +"Çž +! 3&0&1 1%" , ( ,# $,+6 +! 1%" %2/ % ,# )) 1&,+0Ç˝ + 1%" Ćž "/+,,+Çž 4"ȉ)) !/&3" to Bethlehem, a city whose name is recognized around the world. Ćž "/ ")" / 1&+$ 00 1 1%" %2/ % ,# 1&3&16Çž 4" 4&)) 0"" 1%" +$"/Č€ 3&0&1 1%" %2/ % ,# 1Ç˝ 1%"/&+"Çž 1%" /,11, ,# 1Ç˝ "/,*" +! 1%" %"-%"/!0ȉ &")!0Ç˝ Then we will return to Jerusalem (New City), to view the Temple Model to see how it looked during the time of Jesus. Here, we will gain a better understanding between the old and new cities of "/20 )"*Ç˝ - +"51 &0 1/&- 1, &+ /"*Çž &/1%-) " ,# 1Ç˝ ,%+ the Baptist, to see the Visitation Church, where Mary proclaimed %"/ # *,20 ČŠ $+&Ćœ 1Č‹Ç˝ " 4&)) "+! ,2/ ! 6 6 /"12/+&+$ 1, ,2/ Hotel. (B/D) Oct 27, 2018 (Sat) Day 10 – Jerusalem/ Dead Sea/ Qumran/ Masada Mass at the Church of all Nations Ćž "/ /" (# 01Çž 4" 4&)) ")" / 1" * 00 1 1%" %2/ % ,# )) 1&,+0 and then we will drive to Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth. Visit Qumran; see the caves where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered. Continue to Masada, visit Herod’s fortress and the Jew’s last 01/,+$%,)! $ &+01 1%" ,* +Ç˝ "12/+ 1, "/20 )"* #,/ !&++"/ and Overnight (B, D) Oct 28, 2018,(Sun) Day 11 – Jerusalem/ Allenby Bridge/ Madaba /Jordan/ Mt. Nebo/ Aqaba Mass at Mount Nebo On this day, we head to Allenby Bridge and cross into Jordan. We 4&)) $, 1, 1%" -1&0* ) &1" 1 "1% +6Çž 4%& % ,-" ,%+ 2)
3&0&1"! &+ Ç—Ç•Ç•Ç•Ç˝ %"+Çž &1ȉ0 ,+ 1, ,2+1 " ,Çž 4%"/" ,0"0 3&"4"! 1%" /,*&0"! +!Ç˝ 2/ +"51 01,- 4&)) " 1%" %2/ % ,# 1Ç˝ ",/$" &+ ! Çž 4%& % %,010 1%" # *,20 *,0 & * - ,# 1%" ,)6 +!Ç˝ Then we will drive down to Aqaba. Overnight in Aqaba (B/D). Mov"+-& ( "0,/1 Ç” "0&!"+ "Ç˝ Oct 29, 2018 (Mon) Day 12 – Aqaba/Petra Mass at Stella Maris Church – Aqaba Ćž "/ /" (# 01Çž 4" 4&)) ',2/+"6 1%/,2$% 1%" &.Çž 2+1&) 4" $"1 ,2/ Ćœ /01 $)&*-0" ,# 1%" % 7+"% Č› /" 02/6ČœÇ˝ %"+ 4&)) 4" 4 )( !,4+ 1, visit the Temple and view the many caves all around the Theater. At the end of the tour, we will drive back to Aqaba for overnight and !&++"/ Č› ČĄ ČœÇ˝ ,3"+-& ( "0,/1 Ç” "0&!"+ " Oct 30, 2018 (Tues) Day 13 – Aqaba/ Jerusalem We Cross the Jordanian Border to return to Jerusalem. Dinner/ Overnight Oct 31, 2018 (Wed) Day 14 – Jerusalem /Yad Vashem Museum/ TLV/ LAX Ćž "/ /" (# 01Çž 4" 4&)) 3&0&1 1%" ! 0%"* 20"2*Çž&0 0/ ")ȉ0 ,Ć› & & ) *"*,/& ) 1, 1%" 3& 1&*0 ,# 1%" ,), 201Ç˝ 1 &0 !"!& 1"! to preserving the memory of the dead; honoring Jews who fought $ &+01 1%"&/ 7& ,--/"00,/0 +! "+1&)"0 4%, 0")Ć? "00)6 &!"! Jews in need; and researching the phenomenon of the Holocaust in particular and genocide in general, with the aim of avoiding 02 % "3"+10 &+ 1%" #212/"Ç˝ Ćž "/ 1%" "01"/+ ))Çž ! 0%"* &0 1%" 0" ,+!Č’*,01Č’3&0&1"! 0/ ")& 1,2/&01 0&1"Ç˝ "12/+ 1, 1%" %,1") #,/ )2+ % +! /") 5 1&,+ &+ -/"- / 1&,+ #,/ ,2/ /"12/+ Ć? &$%1 ( 1, 1%" Ćž "/ !&++"/ 4&)) " 1/ +0#"//"! 1, 1%" &/-,/1 #,/ ǖǿǕǕ * )&$%1 ,3 ǖǞǗǕǖÇ? Č› %2/0! 6Čœ
The country’s auto production RRI ranked 9th out of 13 in the region and 27th out of 56 countries globally. “That being said, the Philippines still ranks in the top 10 most attractive autos production bases in Asia,� BMI said. BMI said the drop in the Philippines’ score happened partly due to a 6.9 point drop on its Vehicle Production Growth indicator which is now at 78.6 out
Manilatimes file photo
of a possible 100. “A further reason for the drop
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Pilgrimage to Some of ITALY’s Highlights and Miracles of the Eucharist Nov 12, 2018 to Nov 22,2018 Spiritual Director REV.JOEL BUGAS
OCTOBER 18 to Nov 1, 2018 SPIRITUAL CHAPLAIN: REV. ANTONIO FLORES
Oct 19, 2018 (Fri) Day 2 – Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv/ Tiberias Ćž "/ 4" )" / **&$/ 1&,+ +! 201,*0Çž 4" 4&)) *""1 ,2/ ), ) $2&!"Çž 4%, 4&)) " 4&1% 20 !2/&+$ ,2/ 01 6 &+ ,)6 +!Ç˝ "+',6 1%" - +,/ *& 3&"4 ,# 1%" "!&1"// +" +Ç˝ " 4&)) 0-"+! ,2/ Ćœ /01 +&$%1 in Tiberias. Dinner and overnight (D). Beach Holy Eucharist
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Rising risks hamper PH bid to become auto hub
FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS Oct 18, 2018 (Thur) Day 1 – Lax to Tel Aviv, Israel / +0Č’ 1) +1& Ć? &$%1 #/,* 1, "+ 2/&,+ +1"/+ 1&,+ ) &/-,/1Çž ") 3&3Çž 0/ ")Ç˝ Č› " )0 0"/3"! &+Č’Ć? &$%1Čœ
checking the latter’s credit reports and credit risk cores. It separates the ‘good borrowers,’ who consistently pay their loans, from the riskier ones who fail to do and frequently default on them. Continuous and rigorous payment of credit from the consumer can result to savings from the bank, which otherwise would have had to deal with interest payments. The bank can then use the saved funds to introduce more cost-effective and accessible loans to their depositor or bank holders. Rewards and perks can also be offered to retain consumer loyalty. The payment of credit does become a cycle, but in this case is a productive one that shields both companies and consumers from the consequences
Day 1 – 12 Nov 2018 – (Mon) Day 2 – 13Nov 2018 – (Tues)
- USA - ROME - Rome -,+ ,2/ //&3 ) &+ ,*"Çž our Tour Escort will wel,*" 20 1, 1 )6Ç˝ ,*" &0 the heart, home and the spiritual capital of over one billion Catholics all ,3"/ 1%" 4,/)!Ç˝ Ćž "/ short panoramic orienta1&,+ ,# 1%&0 1"/+ ) &16 1, 20 ,* + 1%,)& 0Çž 4" 4&)) have our dinner and overnight rest at this great ancient City.
Č› Çž Čœ Day 3 – 14 Nov 2018 (Wed) – Rome / Papal Audience/ Rome
This morning before we continue with our tour, we will % 3" - ) 2!&"+ "Ç˝ %"+ Ćž "/Çž 4" 4&)) 3&0&1 1%" # Č’ *,20 ,)&0"2* +! 0"" 1%" ,/2*Çž 1%" /"3& ,2+1 &+ and the Pantheon, one of the best preserved ancient monuments in the world. Celebrate the Holy Eucharist at St Peter Basilica St Joseph Chapel .Short stop in Trevi ,2+1 &+Çž "#,/" %" !&+$ 1, ,2/ ,1")
Č› Çž Čœ Day 4 – 15 Nov 2018 (Thurs) – Rome / Basilicas We will visit the Vatican Museum this morning and the Sistine Chapel to admire the awesome masterpieces of Michaelangelo, +! "3"+ + &"+1 /""( +! ,Č’ man artists. the largest church &+ ,* + 1%,)& &0*Çž 1Ç˝ "1"/ȉ0 Basilica. Holy Eucharist at ST Mary ',/Çž ,)),4"! 6 3&0&1 ,# 1%" Č’ silica. We continue to visit the rest ,# 1%" * ',/ 0&)& 0 4&1%&+ 1%" 4 ))0 ,# ,*"Çž +! 1Ç˝ ,%+ 1"/Č’ an, St Paul Outside the Wall. We will also pray at the Scala Santa or the Holy Stairs. St. Helena transported the steps from Jerusalem; the same 01"-0 1% 1 %/&01 0 "+!"! 1, /" "&3" &) 1"ȉ0 2+'201 ,+Č’ demnation.
Č› Çž Čœ Day 5 – 16 Nov 2018 (Fri)–Rome /San Giovanni Rotondo Ç—Ç•Ç–Ç? &0 1%" Ç–Ç•Ç•1% ++&3"/0 /6 ,# 1%" 01&$Č’ matization of St Pio. Church Will have Monthly Pastoral Program of Activities for the whole year . + &,3 ++& ,1,+!,Çž 1%" %,*" ,# 1 Č’ !/" &, ,# &"1/") &+ #/,* Ç—Ç? 2)6Çž ǖǞǖǛ 2+Č’ 1&) %&0 !" 1% ,+ Ǘǘ "-1"* "/Çž ǖǞǛÇ?Ç˝ +',6 1%" !/&3" $,&+$ 1, + &,3 ++&Çž Ćž "/ 4" check in our Hotel. We visit the Shrines of St Padre Pio of Pietralcina as well as the places associated 4&1% %&* Çž 02 % 0 1%" %/&+" ,# 2/ !6 ,# / " 1% 1 contains his tomb. Here, we spend some time meditat&+$Çž 0"" %&0 /,,*Çž %&0 ,+#"00&,+ ) ,5 +! 1%" /2 &Ćœ 5 that gave him his supernatural Crucifying stigmata, Cel" / 1" ,)6 2 % /&01 Č› ,1") / + / !&0, Čœ
+ &,3 ++& ,1,+!, (BB,D) Day 6 – 17 Nov 2018 (Sat) – SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO This Morning we visit the new and Modern Basilica of St Padre Pio, See his uncorrupt body .Celebrate Holy Eucharist Spend some time meditating in this awesomeBasilica.
Č› ,1") / + / !&0,Čœ Day 7–18 Nov2018 – (Sun) – San Giovanni Rotondo / Lanciano /Loreto Ç˝ " //&3" 1 + & +,Çž # *,20 #,/ 1%" &/ )" ,# the Eucharist. Near the Piazza Plebiscito, the Miracle is inside the Sanctuary of the Eucharistic Miracle. The mira)" 1,,( -) " !2/&+$ 1%" Ç?1% "+12/6 when a Basiline monk doubted the " ) /"0"+ " ,# ,2/ ,/! &+ 1%" 2 % /&01Ç˝ " #,2+! %&*Č’ 0")# %,)!&+$ 1%" %,01 1% 1 % ! % +$"! &+1, " ) )"0% +! 1%" &+" ,+ 1%" )1 / % ! % +$"! &+1, " ) ),,!Ç˝ We continue our pilgrimage to the great Marian shrine ,# ,/"1, 1, 0"" 1%" # *,20 0 /"! %,*" ,# 1%" *,01 ,)6 *&)6Çž "020Çž /6Çž +! ,0"-%Ç˝ &+ " ǖǗǞǙ 1%" %,)6 %,*" % 0 ""+ ), 1"! &+0&!" 1%" 0&)& ,# ,/"1,Ç˝ ")" / 1" ,)6 2 % /&01 &+ + & +, DINNER AND OVERNIGHT IN Assisi Day 8 –19 Nov 2018 – ( Mon) Loreto/ Assisi ,! 6 4" "5-),/" 1%" %&))1,- &/1%-) " ,# 1 / + &0 ,# 00&0&Ç˝ + 1%" /6-1 ,# 1 / + &0 0&)& )&"0 1%" 1,* ,# one of the most humble and beloved Saints of all times, 1Ç˝ / + &0 ,# 00&0&Çž ,)6 2 % /&01 1 1%" /6-1 ,# / + &0 "" 1%" 0&)& ,# 1 ) /"Çž 4&1% %"/ &+ ,//2-1 body, and the little Church of St. Damiano and its Cru&Ćœ 5 #/,* 4%& % "020 0-,(" 1, / + &0 ,21 %&0 *&0Č’ 0&,+ &+ ǖǗǕǛǿ ČŠ ,Çž / + &0Çž +! /" 2&)! *6 %,20"Çž 4%& % 0 6,2 0"" &0 # ))&+$ &+1, /2&+ǽȋ " 3&0&1 1%" 0&)& ,# 1Ç˝ Mary of the Angels, located in the lower plains of Assisi, and the place where the miracle of the Eucharist of Assisi 1,,( -) " &+ ǖǗǙǕǽ %" 0* )) %2/ % ,# 1%" ,/7&2+ ,Č’ ) &0 &+0&!" 1%" 0&)& &10")#Ç˝ ,-" ,+,/&20
$/ +1"!
a plenary indulgence for those entering this humble %2/ % ,+ 2$201 Ç–01 +! Ç—+! "3"/6 6" /Çž 4&1% ,+#"0Č’ sion, reception of the Eucharist and no attachment to venial sins. (BB,D) Day 9 – 20 Nov 2018 – (Tues) – Assisi / Siena / Florence We will spend half day in Siena. Begin in the old town center with a visit to the Basilica of San Domenico. Built &+ 1%" ǖǘ1% "+12/6Çž &1 &0 1/" 02/" %"01 ,# 1%" "+ &0Č’ sance art and dedicated to St Catherine of Siena. You will learn about the city’s history while admiring it’s cathedrals, Museum, and libraries .Also you will admire the famous piazza del Campo, one of Europe’s great *"!&"3 ) 0.2 /"0Ç˝ ,+1&+2" 1, ),/"+ "Ç˝ Č› Çž Čœ " 01 /1 4&1% $2&!"! 4 )(&+$ 1,2/ ,# ),/"+ "Çž 1%&0 # 0Č’ cinating city with its Piazza, the Cathedral of Santa Maria !") &,/"Çž &,11,ȉ0 ")) ,4"/Çž 1%" -1&01"/6 ,# 1Ç˝ ,%+ the Baptist. "01 ,# 1%" ! 6 #/"" Č› Çž Čœ Day 10 – 21 Nov 2018 (Wed) – Florence / Rome " 3" ),/"+ " /,2+! Ç— //&3"! ,*" )*,01 !&++"/ time (BB.D) Day 11 – 22 Nov 2018 (Thurs) – Rome / USA End of our wonderful Pilgrimage .
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Weaker peso to spur tourist spending by CatherIne
talavera Philstar.com
A WEAKER peso is seen boosting tourism receipts as foreign tourists spend more as they get more value for they money, an official of the Department of Tourism(DOT) said. “A stronger U.S. dollar against the Philippine peso will mean more purchasing power for foreign tourists visiting the country,”Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon told The STAR. Last Thursday, June 28, the peso closed at a fresh 12-year low of 53.515 to $1, four centavos lower from the 53.475 recorded the previous day. This was the lowest since the peso finished at 53.55 to $1 on June 29, 2006. Data showed visitor receipts
What’s New Arlene Al-os, CPA, MBA IN February 2018, the IRS will start certification of individuals with delinquent tax debt to the State Department. How will the IRS certification impacts you? • Upon receipt of certification. The State Department will either deny application or revoke current passport or both. • You are overseas. Limited validity passport for direct return to the US maybe issued by the State Department if you are overseas. • Serious delinquent tax debt. IRS tax debt of more than $51,000 inclusive of penalties plus interest for which all administrative remedies under IRC § 6320 has been exhausted, and federal tax lien and levy notices have already been issued. Liabilities limited under Title 26 of the United States Code. • Tax debt not considered serious. A tax debt is not considered serious if there is: a) installment agreement; b) offer in compromise; c) timely collection due process hearing related to the levy; d) innocent spouse relief under IRC § 6015 has been requested and collection is suspended; e) under settlement agreement with Justice Department.
nearly doubled in the first two months of the year to P78.82 billion from P40.08 billion in the same period last year. This was driven by the Korean market with a total of P21.98 billion worth of receipts in the first two months of 2018. Colliers International Philippines Research manager Joey Roi Bondoc echoed Bengzon’s sentiment as he emphasized that the strong U.S. dollar may allow tourists to stay longer in the country. “An American tourist’s dollar, for instance, can buy more pesos so this should translate to purchase of more souvenirs and longer stay,” Bondoc told The STAR. He added households receiving remittances would also benefit as well as returning OFWs,
which should drive the staycation market. “This aside from the fact that average daily rates of foreign branded hotels in Manila are relatively cheaper compared to other major cities in Asia,” Bondoc said. Bondoc said a weaker peso would make the tourism sector more price-competitive, which will help the sector achieve it’s target of 7.4 million international tourists this year. DOT has not released an official target for its visitor receipts, but it earlier said it is targeting higher-spending markets such as China. While the weaker peso may help make the country more price-competitive, Bengzon said there is still a need to improve the products of the sector. n
Delinquent tax debt could mean revocation of your passport • 90-Days hold of application. You will be given 90-days to resolve and enter into payment options with IRS to resolve certification issues by the State Department and will hold your application prior to denial of passport application. • Be aware of Notice CP 508C. You will receive notice CP 508C upon certification of IRS to the State Department of serious tax debt, by mail. • Certification reversal CP 508R. The State Department will be notified within 30-days by the IRS to reverse previous certification of serious tax debt once assessed tax debt is no longer serious in 3. above, no longer enforceable, and or due to erroneous certification. • Certified debt no longer seriously delinquent. The certified debt previously delinquent is no longer delinquent when: 1) there is timely request for collection due process; 2) has been suspended due request of innocent spouse relief under IRS § 6015; 3) the IRS accepts the installment agreement or offer an in compromise. • IRC § 7345 failed or error in certification and notification. You cannot sue the State Department for erroneous notification. You may file a suit in the U.S. Tax Court and have the court determine if the certification is erroneous and order the IRS to notify the State Department of
the erroneous certification. The court does not have authority to release a lien, levy, or award for damages. • Passport application is denied. You will be notified in writing by the State Department if your passport application is denied or revoked. • You owe taxes and cannot pay in full. Apply for installment agreement or offer in compromise if you qualify, to reverse the certification and for issuance of passport. • Disagreement with the tax amount. Call the number provided on notice CP 508C: 1-866519-4965; for international callers: 1-267-941-1004. For proof of payment, mail to the address on the notice.
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Jollibee to bring Smashburger to Asia by IrIs
Gonzalrs Philstar.com
ASIANS will soon be able to grab a bite of the trademark 100 percent Angus beef burgers of Colorado-headquartered Smashburger, the casual burger brand acquired by Jollibee Foods Corp. Jollibee is set to bring Smashburger to Asia, starting in the Philippines, said Jollibee CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong. “We will bring it to Asia. We don’t have a definite plan yet, probably we will in two years,” he said. The expansion is set to cover Singapore and other countries in the region, Tanmantiong said. Smashburger serves fresh 100 percent Certified Angus beef burgers. It currently has 349 restaurants. Outside the U.S., it has
presence in Panama, Costa Rica, Canada, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and we signed up to England and Egypt. Jollibee through its wholly owned subsidiary, Bee Good! Inc. (BGI) has an 85 percent stake in SJBF LLC, the parent company Smashburger. The stake grew to 85 percent from just 40 percent previously as the conglomerate said its acquisition of more shares in Smashburger would allow it to have a more significant business in the United States. Furthermore, it would increase the sales contribution from the U.S. to Jollibee’s worldwide system wide sales to 15 percent from five percent and the sales contribution from foreign business to worldwide system wide sales to 30 percent from 20 per-
Philstar file photo
cent at present. The acquisition is expected to help the company achieve its target of having a 50:50 revenue contribution from overseas and domestic stores by 2023. About 30 percent of the group’s revenues currently come from stores overseas. “We see still there is a strong potential for the Philippine growth..We expect to have a 50-50 ratio (Philippine, foreign ratio). From 70, 30 at present,” Tanmantiong said. Jollibee CFO Ysmael Baysa said based on the latest project,
u PAGE B4
The bucket list
Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond
The world is your oyster - Go travel
Monette AdevA MAglAyA
[Select a handful of those things on your bucket list that have the highest chance of coming to fruition given your time frame. In tech speak, this means before your life’s energy goes into ‘low batt mode’ and life has run out of sockets to plug into.] Life is, indeed, “a moveable feast” to borrow verbiage from Hemingway. Travel makes it so. Do it while you can. I ask friends at random what is on the top tier of their personal bucket list. A consistent response is that they want to travel *** — to see the world —whether Disclaimer: Any accounting, business the world as their oyster, is loor tax advice contained in this cal or global: just their city, their communication is neither intended as state, the length and breadth of a thorough, in-depth analysis of specific their native land, or the world at issues, nor a substitute for a formal large. One friend said that she and opinion, nor is it sufficient to avoid taxher family have been to 22 of the related penalties. states in the US and would very *** much like to go visit all 50 states. Al-os & Associates Accountancy This is at the top of her bucket Corporation provides accounting and list. Another said that she would tax services to individuals, corporations, like to travel to Europe except she LLCs and business entities. The Firm has could not find the time while she a niche in defending taxpayers audited is still working. There are those by the IRS and other governmental who list the Via Dolorosa in the Holy Land and would like to take agencies. the time to travel to pilgrimage (Advertising Supplement) sites: Lourdes in France, Fatima
(Sixth of a series) iday season in a different country every year. They travel light (perhaps the first rule of travel) and have become savvy on the art and science of world travel: planning in advance, budgeting, dealing with foreign currency, being aware of the local culture, booking planes and trains and arranging transport, choosing hotels and navigating their way in strange countries. Their experiences over the years can fill a travelogue but they go for the sheer love of adventurous travel, having gone to Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas in Peru and other exotic destinations. There are 3 things required for least once in their lifetimes, braving the freezing temperatures travel. These include health, time in the Arctic regions to witness and money. You need to be in first hand the dancing, mesmer- relatively good health to have the izing Northern lights, the Aurora stamina for the rigors posed by Borealis. To them, it is a sort of walking, hefting luggage, prepspiritual experience. I’m a warm- ping and being on your toes for blooded creature so I’ll take their activities and the stresses that word for it and experience the come with travel. Particularly post 9/11, travel Northern lights vicariously. Then there are those who have has become so tiresome because been permanently bitten by the of tight security measures to travel bug and have accumulated counter terrorism. The second travel mileage to circle the moon factor, especially for those who are still working for a living, is and back. A married couple I know have finding the time to squeeze travel made it a point to travel exten- in the limited amount of vacation sively and have visited more than days. The third factor is, of course, 50 countries thus far, making it a u PAGE B4 point to spend the Christmas holin Portugal, Medjugorje in Bosnia and other sites where the Blessed Mother has appeared to children.The Grand Canyon is a sight to behold. The Great Wall of China is a must-see. Hongkong rocks and Palawan beckons. Bali says hi. What’s up with Cambodia’s Angkor Wat? Among the Japanese where the love of nature is deep, one of the more popular trips among the very hip, is to experience, at
”The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” –Marcel Proust
BUSINESS NEWS
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Grounds for annulling a marriage Most couples that want out of a marriage in California usually file for Divorce. There are circumstances though that allow a couple to have their marriage “voided” rather than “dissolved.” There is a big difference between the two concepts. With a voided marriage, it restores the couple to status of unmarried person as if they have never been married before. In a divorce, the couple would always be regarded to as married during the period of the marriage. Unlike Divorce which can be obtained regardless of the reason. Voiding a marriage may only be obtained based on certain grounds. It is void in cases of incest and bigamy. It is voidable in cases of minority, Unsound Mind, Fraud, Force, or Physical Incapacity. Marriages between parents, children, ancestors and descendants, brothers and sisters, half brothers and sisters, uncles and nieces, and aunts and nephews are incestuous and are void from the beginning. So are bigamist marriages where either party was still married to another person when they entered the marriage. Nevertheless, it is best to obtain a Nullity Judgment to clarify the legal status of the parties under these circumstances. Certain situations does not necessarily make a marriage void but makes it voidable on the parties option. One such circumstance is when the petitioner was under 18 years old when the petitioner married and the parents did not provide their consent. The Nullity petition based on this ground has to be filed within four years after the party turns 18. The parent of the minor may also file the Petition provided it is filed prior to the minor turning 18. Another situation is a bigamist marriage
Barrister’s Corner ATTY. KENNETH URSUA REYES where the first spouse has been absent and not known to be living for 5 years prior to the second marriage or if the party believed the spouse to be dead at the time of the second marriage. A Nullity based on this ground may be filed during the life of the other party. A marriage may be voided if either party was of unsound mind at the time of the marriage. Unsound Mind means a person is incapable of understanding the nature of the marriage contract and the duties and responsibilities it creates which depends on the degree of mental capacity of the party. This may not be a ground if the party later on came to reason yet continued to freely cohabitate with the spouse. Fraud is another ground for voiding a marriage. The false representation or concealment must relate to a substantive matter and directly affect the purpose of the party deceived in entering the marriage. The fraud must go to the very essence of the marital relation before it is sufficient for an annulment. It is not sufficient simply to contend that your spouse turned out to be a lazy, drunken disappointment. Nullity based on fraud has to be filed within four years of discovering the fraud. Certain marriages that are entered into by force are voidable. Circumstances that meet these standards requires that
the forced party’s free will to have been overcome by the spouse such as through the use of threats. These type of Nullity must be filed within four years from the date of marriage. A marriage where the spouse was found to be incapable of physically engaging in copulation may be voided. It can only be filed by the spouse that does not have the physical incapacity and must be filed within four years of the marriage. Before deciding weather a divorce is the appropriate avenue to end your marriage, parties should evaluate if a Nullity is a viable alternative and weather it serves their best interest. *** Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, P.C. This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, P.C. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kureyeslaw@gmail.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com. (Advertising Supplement)
Homeowner files last-minute Chapter 13 without credit counseling as loan modification is denied THE client is 59 and single. He has a decent job where he makes $4,000 a month gross. He doesn’t owe any credit card debt. He only owes three secured debts. He owes a mortgage on his house for $400,000 plus he has arrears of $83,000 on this mortgage. His mortgage payment is $2,000 a month, which means that he has not paid his mortgage for 41 months or 3 ½ years. He tells me that he has been working with a non-profit consumer advocacy group (whatever that means) to get the bank to give him a loan modification on his mortgage. Apparently, he’s been trying to get the loan modified since four years ago and received multiple prior denials. This explains why he hasn’t paid his mortgage for four years. Finally, the bank sets the foreclosure sale date for July 6, 2016. Whoever he is talking to at the non-profit consumer advocacy group tells him that he has to file a Chapter 13 to stop the foreclosure on July 6. Unfortunately, he is not told that he has to do credit counseling first before he can file for Chapter 13. On July 1, without a lawyer, he files his incomplete emergency Chapter 13 petition. The clerk looks for the credit counseling certificate and he says he doesn’t have one. Nevertheless, the clerk accepts the incomplete petition, which doesn’t have credit counseling, and has no schedules and gives him a list of deficiencies that have to be filed within 14 days otherwise his case will be dismissed. So, he ended up in my office and asks me to take over the case as his lawyer. Although I agreed to help him out, I had to explain to him that he has to give a satisfactory explanation to the court why he did not do credit counseling before he filed his case. If the court believes that the facts
Debt Relief
ATTY. LAWRENCE YANG
he alleges amount to exigent circumstances, the court may let him proceed with the case. Otherwise, his case will be dismissed for lack of pre-filing credit counseling. On the other hand, if the client had a disability that prevents him from taking credit counseling, he would be exempt from the requirement. Although the client is legally blind, that may not qualify as a disability to exempt him from the requirement to take the course because this course is also given over the phone. To be sure, many judges do not consider a foreclosure an exigent circumstance because the foreclosure process takes at least four months to complete before the house can be auctioned off in a non-judicial foreclosure proceeding. In any event, aside from explaining why he did not do credit counseling within 14 days from filing date, the client still has to do credit counseling within 30 days from filing date assuming the court agrees that he was faced with exigent circumstances that prevented him from doing credit- counseling pre-filing. As you can see, you have to go through a lot of hoops if you don’t do credit counseling pre-filing so why even get into this dire situation in the first place. Therefore, make sure you do credit counseling first before you file for bankruptcy, any kind of bankruptcy so you don’t have this kind of problem to deal with. And avoid filing incomplete petitions.
If you fail to file in one missing document, your case will be dismissed on the 15th day. So why even assume this kind of risk by filing an incomplete petition? Senior files Chapter 7 to discharge $35K in credit cards The other client is 70. He owes $35,000 of credit card debt. According to him, he is “sick” of paying for these cards. He has been paying for 20 years. He has been paying $1,000 a month for 20 years. He has paid only $240,000 in the last 20 years! But he still owes the same $35,000! But he is now 70 and living on social security, which is less than half of what his salary was. I told him that he should have filed at least ten years ago and saved $120,000. And he would still have perfect credit now at 70. I mean, file at 60, the 670 credit score will be 730 and on year 10, at 70, the credit bureaus remove the fact of filing from their credit reports as required by law; but better late than never. With Chapter 7, the client will have peace of mind at 70, because all of his $35,000 credit cards will be discharged. Who wants to have credit card debt when you now rely on social security? With social security income, credit card payments are a big drain on your budget. Getting rid of credit card debt with Chapter 7 is like surgery to remove a cancerous growth. It has to be done as soon as possible. Otherwise, you lose the capacity to save money every month. ***
Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in bankruptcy, business, real estate and civil litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S. Fremont Ave, Mailstop 58, Building A-1 Suite 1125, Alhambra, CA 91803. (Advertising Supplement)
What good credit ratings mean...
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of bad or unpaid debts. Arellano explains further, “Banks can offer loans and other products without having to factor in a large loan loss reserve buffer for credit losses. As such, a good credit rating often results in the ability of banks to borrow at lower interest rates, which affords them to offer lower lending rates, which ultimately benefits
bank clients.” Given the expanding fiscal access, the next step would be fiscal responsibility. Financial literacy or teaching the consumer how to manage their money, keep tabs on their credit, and pay punctually and in the right amount would keep the aforementioned cycle running. Consumers can also be taught how to assess their own credit and financial health and
keep it robust, open to any platform that can maximize their profits and revenues, while alerting them to any risk. Arellano sums it up, “A wellinformed consumer results in a more responsible customer who can forge better relationships with their chosen financial institution, giving him access to better products at better rates.” (Manilatimes.net) ■
Rising risks hamper PH bid to become... PAGE B1 t
in the Philippines’ score is due to a change to one of our indicators from “Reliability of Electricity” to “Cost and Availability of Utilities” in the Country Rewards pillar,” BMI said. BMI said that in addition to incorporating electricity costs, the new category now evaluates the availability and costs of other utilities, such as fuel, thus giving a more holistic picture of the input costs of production in each country. Here, the Philippines score dropped 25.8 points to 17.9 out of 100.
The report however noted that the Philippines’ low labor costs (scoring 91.1) and strong automotive policy (scoring 81.3) make it an attractive destinations for automakers. BMI said the country also benefits from having a sound short- and long-term economic outlook (with scores of 71.4 and 73.2 respectively) and a well diversified automotive competitive landscape (68.8). The country however lags behind its regional peers in terms of vehicle production volumes, with a score of 37.5 on this in-
dicator, compared with the Asia average of 59.5. “We forecast vehicle production volumes in the Philippines to remain below 200,000 units by the end of 2022, remaining well below its ASEAN peers Thailand (2.6 million units) and Malaysia (close to 593,000 units),” said BMI. The report said weighing on Philippines’ attractiveness is its small labor force (28.6), and uncertain long- and short-term political environment (scoring 42.9 and 17.9 respectively) with elevated operational risks (17.9). ■
SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • JULY 4-6, 2018 B3
Calendar of Events across
America
ADVERTISE YOUR EVENTS! PRE-EVENT AND POST EVENT GO DEEPER. GO WIDER. LET THE WORLD KNOW. CALL ASIAN JOURNAL: (818) 502-0651 DISPLAY AD SIZES AT SPECIAL RATES FOR NON-PROFIT GROUPS J U LY 4
Grand Park + The Music Center’s Fourth of July Block Party in Los Angeles Grand Park + The Music Center’s Fourth of July Block Party returns as the county’s largest free July 4th celebration from 3 to 9:30 p.m. Featuring picnicking, games, art-making, music, dancing and a stunning fireworks show high above Downtown L.A., Grand Park + The Music Center’s Fourth of July Block Party is the ultimate summer holiday celebration. The highly popular event offers activities for all ages including soccer, tag, bubble fun and chalk art. Two stages featuring DJs and live musical performances will entertain audiences throughout the celebration. Fireworks begin at 9:00 p.m. from the roof of The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and soar nearly 500 feet, making them visible throughout Downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods. The event offers a multitude of dining options from more than 40 vendors including the return of gourmet food trucks. Grand Park + The Music Center’s Fourth of July Block Party will encompass the entire park, from Grand Avenue to Spring Street, plus the surrounding streets.
J U LY 6 -26
Solo exhibit of Fil-Am Artist Lynda A. N. Reyes in Burbank The Betsy Lueke Creative Arts Center, the municipal gallery of Burbank, is proud to present the Solo Exhibit of artist Lynda A. N. Reyes from July 6 to the 26,2018. The public is invited to the opening reception on Friday, July 6 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. The gallery is located at 1100 West Clarke Avenue, Burbank, California 91506. The exhibit will highlight her watercolor and oil paintings that have been featured in museum exhibits in California, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Montana and in national juried shows in Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Burbank, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana, Sta. Monica, Glendale, Brea in Orange County and in international shows in Kentucky, Canada, Maryland, Wisconsin, Colorado and New York. Paintings that have given her recognition, as well as new works will all in one big venue. For more information about the artist, visit www.lyndaanreyes.com or contact her at lyndaanreyes@gmail.com. For information about the gallery, call 818-238-5397 or visit www. burbankca.gov/cac. The gallery hours are Mondays through Thursdays 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and closed on Sundays.
J U LY 7
Pangasinan Brotherhood-USA celebrates 40th anniversary in Long Beach, CA Pangasinan Brotherhood-USA (PB-USA), one of the oldest non-profit and tax-exempt umbrella organizations in the U.S., will celebrate its 40th foundation anniversary coinciding with the induction of its officers on Saturday, July 7 from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Marriott Hotel Long Beach on 4700 Airport Plaza Dr. This year’s PB-USA theme is, ”Believe it can be,” and will present the induction of new officers. Proceeds of this gala night are earmarked for the social programs of the organization that includes charitable projects, supplemental scholarship grants, Gawad Kalinga affordable homes, livelihood programs, disaster relief and youth projects, among others. For further inquiries, interested parties may call Bong B. Soriano at (909) 851-1493 and Jackie M. Ferrer at (714) 757-3502.
J U LY 1 3
LA Veterans Resource Expo in Pomona, CA On Friday, July 13, LA County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis presents the LA Veterans Resource Expo from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Pomona Fairplex Bldg. 4 (1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona, CA 91768). The day will feature information on jobs, health & resources. FREE admission and parking at Gate 17 entrance. Participant registration also available the day of the event. For more information about the event, please visit www.LAVetExpo.com.
J U LY 1 4
COFACC to host SoCal Family Picnic in San Dimas, CA The SoCal Family Picnic organized by the Coalition of Filipino American Chambers of Commerce (COFACC) will be held at 4 p.m. at J. Bonelli Park, San Dimas, CA. Friends and family are invited to join in some fellowship and camaraderie to strengthen bonds with the five Filipino-American Chamber chapter members from Greater LA (FACCCGLA), Orange County (FACCOC), San Bernardino, LA and Riverside (FACC-Tri-County), San Diego (FACC San Diego) and Hollywood (FACCHollywood).
J U LY 1 8
FACC Tri-County to hold presentation in Ontario, CA The Filipino American Chamber of Commerce Tri-County (Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties) will host a ‘Land Banking Presentation,’ a free workshop on July 18, 6 p.m., at the Inland Valley Church of Christ Conference Room (1550 N. Palmetto Avenue, Ontario, CA 91762). “Southern California’s next major land boom is underway!” says speaker Tony Taverrite, Director of Sales & Marketing-Professional Land Corp. “Don’t you owe it to yourself to learn more?” added another speaker, Femie Cupit, Land Banking Sales Agent, a member of FACC Tri-County. For more information, contact Femie (858) 220-5487 or FACC Pres. Merwynn Montenegro (909) 319-3145.
J U LY 1 9
FACCGLA hosts import and export seminar in Sherman Oaks, CA Join the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Los Angeles (FACCGLA) on Thursday, July 19 for the e-commerce, logistics, and compliance seminar. Learn how to import and export to and from the Philippines! This will be a prelude to the Trade, Trade & Consumer Roadshow on Aug. 4-5 at the SouthBay Pavilion. It will be held from 6:30 to 8:20 p.m. at 5121 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403. To join and register, please go to www.faccgla.org or call (888) 670-7717 or visit www.ecferrer.net / call (562) 422-6492.
J U LY 2 1
UPAAGLA Boodle Feast Fiesta in North Hills, CA University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Greater Los Angeles (UPAAGLA) welcomes alumni of the University of the Philippines and their friends and family to meet, mix, mingle at this fun afternoon at 4 p.m. at 15255 Knapp St, North Hills, CA. Register on eventbrite.com or call President-Elect Ethel Rubio (818) 640-2946 or (800) 611-5705. Connect with UPAAGLA on Facebook or visit www.upaagla.org.
J U LY 2 2
Valentine in July concert in Los Angeles This two-and-a-half hour concert on Sunday, July 22 will feature two of the music industry’s best Singer-Songwriters then and today, David Pomeranz and Rey Valera. Their timeless and classic love songs became the movie/tele-serye themesongs in the Philippines. The event will be held at the Aratani Theater (244 S San Pedro St, Los Angeles, CA 90012) at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available via www.thesgprod.com or by calling (424)232-6781.
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
B4 JULY 4-6, 2018 • SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL
http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797
People and Events
City of South El Monte Summer Concerts 2018 THE City of South El Monte Community Services Department presents the Summer Concerts in the Parks 2018 Series! The family-oriented concerts with crowd-pleasing entertainment will take place on Thursdays, from 6-9 p.m. at: Dean L. Shively School, 1431 Central Avenue and Mary Van Dyke Park, 1819 Central Avenue. All concerts are FREE! Concertgoers are asked to bring blankets and lawn chairs for seating. Bring a picnic dinner or buy delicious food and beverages from a variety of concession stands at the concerts. 2018 Summer Concerts Schedule: • July 12 - Shades of LA at MVD Park • August 2 - Mariachi Sol de
Mexico de Jose Hernandez & Mariachi National Student Groups at MVD Park • August 9 - Chico at MVD Park • August 23 - Steel Rod at
MVD Park • September 6 - Soto at Shively For additional information, call the Community Center at (626) 579-2043. ■
Household Hazardous Waste collection event THERE will be a household hazardous waste collection event on Saturday, August 4, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Santa Anita Race Track (Gate 6), 285 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia, Calif. Sponsored jointly by the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts and County Department of Public Works. The Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Program gives Los Angeles County residents a legal and cost free way to dispose of unwanted household chemicals that cannot be disposed of in the regular trash. Things we want you to bring: • Motor oil, antifreeze, paint, paint thinner • Turpentine, cleaners with acids or lye • Pesticides and herbicides • Household and car batteries • Old computers and television sets • Sharps or used needles • Expired pharmaceuticals and mercury thermometers Things we don’t want you to bring: • Explosives, ammunition or radioactive materials • Waste from businesses will NOT be accepted • Trash or old tires • White goods such as washers, stoves, refrigerators or air conditioners How to prepare: • In general, there is a limit
City of Artesia hosting Free Summer Food Program at AJ Padelford Park
IN partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Education, the City of Artesia’s AJ Padelford Park is serving as a Summer Food Service Program meal site this summer. The Summer Food Service program provides free, nutritious meals to children in the summer months that they may not otherwise have access to while school is out. The City is operating its Sum-
mer Food Service Program Monday through Friday, from June 13 through August 22. Children 18 and under, as well as persons with disabilities 19 and older, can enjoy breakfast daily from 9:30–10:30 a.m., and lunch daily from 12:30–1:45 p.m. Individuals can stick around after meal time to enjoy the park, play board games, do arts and crafts, and generally have a good time. In its first week, the City served
an average of 20 meals at each breakfast, and an average of 50 meals at each lunch. The City would like to thank the volunteers from the Teen Center and the community in general, that volunteer their time each day to serve meals at AJ Padelford Park. The City of Artesia is proud to provide a safe, inviting Summer Food Service Program meal site this summer for the community’s youth. ■
Safe Exchange Zone now open in Santa Clarita THE City of Santa Clarita and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are excited to announce a new Safe Exchange Zone for the public at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, located at 23740 Magic Mountain Parkway. The Safe Exchange Zone provides residents with a secure, safe environment for those who buy, sell or trade items to complete transactions, as well as a neutral location for child custody exchanges. The designated Safe Exchange
Zone at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, is located in the station’s parking lot, directly opposite of the entrance to the station. The area is also under 24/7 video surveillance. “The Safe Exchange Zone will provide an environment with added security for our residents,” said Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station Captain Robert Lewis. The goal of the Safe Exchange Zone is to also reduce the number of fraudulent transactions taking place, as well as act as a
level of protection against theft and other crimes. Residents are encouraged to use the Safe Exchange Zone for all private party transactions and are reminded that the exchange of drugs, alcohol, weapons and other illegal items is strictly prohibited. For more information about the Santa Clarita Safe Exchange Zone, please contact Sergeant Dan Dantice, of Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Crime Prevention Unit, at DLDantic@lasd.org or (661) 255-1121 ext. 5804. ■
Pernia: PH to diversify funding... PAGE B1 t
of 15 gallons or 125 lbs. per vehicle. • Bring items in a sturdy box, preferably in their original labeled containers. • Be prepared to leave your
containers. • Do not mix products together. For more information, call: Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County at (800) 238-0172.■
added, referring to the more than P3-billion Chico River rehabilitation plan. He said unlike Sri Lanka, the Philippines didn’t avail of loans covered by equity, meaning
when payment defaults, there’s no taking away of properties from which the loan was utilized. “China notes are into lending-financing. If there’s a failure in payment, they’re not in a way tied to the ownership of the land
or any property where the loan is used,” Pernia added. Pernia said the Philippines is avoiding Sri Lanka’s experience. “China now owns that port because the loan is covered by equity.” ■
DOF: Peso depreciation not a sign... PAGE B1 t
said. Last Thursday,June 28, the peso closed at 53.515 to $1, four centavos lower from the 53.475 recorded the previous day. This was the lowest since the peso finished at 53.55 to $1 on June 29, 2006. According to the DOF, the peso is moving in tandem with global currencies amid ongoing turbulence in the financial markets, brought about by the trade war between the U.S. and China, the rise in U.S. interest rates, and the shift in the monetary stance of the European Central Bank. Year-to-date, the DOF said the depreciation of 13 major
Asian currencies averaged 2.66 percent, with the fastest growing countries experiencing the weakest depreciation. “Since January, the Indian rupee depreciated by 7.46 percent, Philippine peso by 7.42 percent, Korean won by 5.13 percent and Indonesian rupiah by 4.97 percent. Note that in the first quarter, GDP growth in India was 7.7 percent; in the Philippines, 6.8 percent; and Indonesia, 5.1 percent. These are among the highest economic growth rates in the world,” the DOF said. Month-to-date depreciation of Asian currencies also averaged 1.76 percent since the trade war between the U.S. and China in-
tensified, the DOF said. The most depreciated currencies are Korean won at 5.13 percent, Chinese yuan at 2.9 percent, Thai baht at 2.88 percent and Singapore dollar at 1.93 percent. These are followed by the Philippine peso at 1.73 percent and Indian rupee at 1.68 percent. “The most affected countries are the direct victims of the exchange of tariff increases. The Philippines and India are relatively less affected because exports of goods account for a smaller percentage of their economies but their financial markets continue to ride with the whirlwind,” the DOF said. ■
Jollibee to bring Smashburger... PAGE B2 t
the company may reach the 5050 sharing by 2023 or 2025. The conglomerate continues to expand abroad including Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia. It opened the first Jollibee
PAGE B2 t
store in Milan, Toronto, and Macau this year. As of end-May, the Jollibee group has 4,239 stores in the Philippines and abroad comprising of 1,297 Jollibee stores; 586 Chowking outlets; 276 Greenwich stores; 464 Red Ribbon branches;
504 Mang Inasal stores; 96 Burger King stores; 310 Yonghe King stores; 42 Hong Zhuang Yuan outlets; 15 Dunkin Donut shops; 262 Highlands Coffee; 30 outlets of Pho24; eight Hard Rock Café branches and 349 Smashburger outlets. ■
The bucket list
probably easier than the first two — finding the money required to fund travel. If still employed, then you can still make the money to fund the trip. Depending on the destination and the duration chosen, travel can require very little money or a lot of it. The most basic of travel gear is a good pair of broken-in walking shoes. Your feet will love you for it. While you can travel alone, it is certainly much more fun and safer, if you go with a traveling companion who shares your spirit of fun. If you are straddling the issue of whether to travel or not and you have at least 2 of the 3 basic requirements, I say, GO FOR IT, while you can still walk on two feet and have good eyesight and in relatively good health. If this is important to you, don’t hesitate. You can perhaps wangle the time, save the money or charge it to your credit card and pay it down later. But if one has serious health challenges that require being close to a medical facility, it can be a bit tricky to pull this off as part of your bucket list. It is still possible to travel even if wheelchair-bound or if one uses a walker or a cane, but the level of difficulty for yourself and your companions will be a tad higher.
Still, it may be worth a try. As in any circumstance. the mind can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven. A lot of people wait for retirement age to do this because there is available time and more often than not, there is expendable money for travel. The problem in many cases, is that when the time comes, there may be health challenges to contend with But who says one has to travel far in order to check this off from our bucket list? You can certainly explore the wonders in your own backyard or in your own neck of the woods. If you live in California, the possibilities for day trips and short trips are endless. Become a tourist in your own backyard and explore places like there is no tomorrow. There are mountains, deserts, coastlines, forests and camp grounds to explore. There are observatories, museums, restaurants parks and trails to discover. The truth is, we are only limited by our own sense of adventure. There are so many places that can be explored everywhere around the world but it is probably wise to start where we are right now. Or we can experience things vicariously as we read about travel adventures or watch travel shows or even surf virtually through the internet.
But if life gives you the chance to physically travel and the spirit of adventure is in you, just do it. Getting there is half the fun; being there with all your senses engaged in the moment is the other half. The best thing about any kind of travel, local, domestic or international, is that it opens our eyes to the richness of our life here on earth. Yup, there is an embarrassment of riches right where we are. We just need to open our eyes and see and take it all in. Travel widens our horizons and broadens our understanding of human nature. We become aware of people of every stripe, color and persuasion. Above all, we learn to take nothing for granted. We come home appreciating our awfully tiny place in the universe and realize how blessed and fortunate we are to be part of all these. Don’t do it for show to post on social media. If done in the right spirit, there is something about travel that makes us more deeply thankful of just about everything in a quiet way. Next week: 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
B JULY 4-6, 2018 • SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL
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South Pasadena Council adopts City’s first Capital Improvement Plan Five-year strategy calls for street, water, facility upgrades
THE South Pasadena City Council has adopted the City’s first Capital Improvement Plan, outlining about $104 million in proposed investments during the next five years. Under the plan, most of the spending would go to improving streets, roadways, and water and sewer systems. The Capital Improvement Plan, or CIP, will be a critical guiding document as the City undertakes much-needed upgrades to its aging infrastructure, said City Manager Stephanie DeWolfe. The plan was informed by a recent community survey, which asked residents to rank their top spending priorities. “Creating a CIP allows us to think proactively and prioritize based on the needs of the community,” DeWolfe said. “It examines our infrastructure needs in a more comprehensive manner,
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crease, many of the projects may not come to fruition, she added. Highlights of the CIP include: • About $67 million in street and roadway investments, including major street rehabilitation projects and a system of interconnected bikeways on major thoroughfares throughout the City. • About $33 million Courtesy photo of www.ci.south-pasadena.ca.us for water and sewer and allows the City to plan ac- projects, including critical seismic upgrades to the City’s two cordingly.” As part of the municipal bud- aging reservoirs. • About $1.5 million in street get adoption on June 6, the Council approved the CIP along lighting improvements. • About $2.7 million in strucwith a first-year budget allocatural and technology upgrades tion of about $14 million. Not all of the investments to municipal buildings and Citycalled for in the CIP are fully owned facilities. To view the full Capital Imfunded, DeWolfe explained, and will be dependent on the City’s provement Plan, go to http:// ability to maintain its revenues www.southpasadenaca.gov/ through 2023. If revenues de- modules/showdocument. n
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SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • JULY 4-6, 2018
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Support Signal Hill’s new public library: 2018 Library Capital Campaign IN 2019, the City of Signal Hill will open its brand new, state-of-the-art public library in Signal Hill Park. The 14,000 square foot multi-use facility will replace the old library which was built as a fire house in 1931 and served as the City library for many years. The new Signal Hill Public Library will serve as an anchor in the civic gateway which includes City Hall, the Signal Hill Park Community Center, the Signal Hill Youth Center, the Concerts in the Park amphitheater, and the beloved Spud field. The Signal Hill Community Foundation invites you to join us in the 2018 Library Capital Campaign. The campaign will help to create an endowment of funds for the new Signal Hill Library and support the community for years to come. The Library Capital Campaign offers two opportunities to leave your lasting legacy and support the Signal Hill Public Library: Naming Opportunities and the
Legacy Wall. Naming opportunities are available for several features of the future Library, including a large multi-purpose community
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room, a dynamic children’s area, a technology lab, conference rooms, a beautifully landscaped outdoor patio area, a rooftop terrace, and more. The Signal Hill Public Library Legacy Wall is another great way to support the Library, while recognizing, celebrating or commemorating a special person in your life or our community. Acrylic tiles will be beautifully engraved with names and be mounted among others in a stunning display that will adorn the entryway of the new Library. Gift Levels start at $1,000. For full details, check out the 2018 Library Capital Campaign Booklet (PDF) at http://www.cityofsignalhill.org/DocumentCenter/ View/5949/Signal-Hill-Public-Library-Capital-Campaign-Booklet?bidId= or visit the Library Capital Campaign web page at http://www.cityofsignalhill.org/602/Library-CapitalCampaign. n
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cover story The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - July 4, 2018
Fil-Am Elaine Castillo’s debut novel earns rave reviews by momar
G. Visaya/AJPress
“[AMERICA IS NOT THE HEART is] a love story, a multi-generational family epic, and a deeply personal, lavishly painted portrait of lives in revision . . .With a sophistication rare in a first novel, Castillo recognizes a larger network of suffering—an understanding that trauma is, along with our mutual need for love, food, sex, and a coherent sense of self, one of humanity’s least exclusive clubs . . . [AMERICA IS NOT THE HEART] has an offhand vitality that startles on every page with its compassion and humor.” — Megan O’Grady, Vogue The chorus of praise for Elaine Castillo’s debut novel “America is Not the Heart” is a symphony of adoration from mainstream publications and critics such as the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Cosmopolitan, Elle and Vulture, among others. Castillo has been called “one of the most promising new voices in fiction” and her book, published by Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House as “extraordinary, exquisite and evocative”. The 33-year-old Milpitas, California-based author was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and received her MA in creative and life writing from Goldsmiths, University of London. Her dad, from Ilocos Sur, was a surgeon before she was born and when she was growing up, she remembered him working as a security guard. Her mom, from Pangasinan, worked as a nurse. “I have one younger brother and three older half-siblings from my father’s first marriage, we’re a little mixed family. Minsan baby ako, minsan ate,” she shared in between bites of longganisa. We were at Jeepney with a big group enjoying a hearty kamayan feast. For someone who has already read the book, the kamayan dinner was most appropriate. Castillo wrote unapologetically about Filipino language, culture and food, the one she grew up eating, particularly dinuguan, pinakbet, daing na bangus, Pinoy pork BBQ and of course the classics: pancit, lumpia, and lechon. She recalled writing about 1,000 pages for the book’s first draft. By the time it was ready for publication, it was whittled down to 400 something pages. “It was surreal and I was in denial. If you’re a writer and you’ve been writing for so long, you don’t really believe that it exists in the universe. You just know it as something that exists in your Word document,” she reminisced the moment she turned in her final draft. “I felt a kind of detachment from it – okay, this is for the readers now, there’s some alienation from it.” She said it took three years of editing, starting in 2013 when she wrote the prologue. She thought she was going to write it from another perspective but she couldn’t write
from that same point of view anymore after writing about 200 pages of text. Then she shifted to a POV of someone from the NPA or New People’s Army, one that has always been at the back of her head. “We have a family member – who I never met - who is a high-ranking NPA official. I knew I had to write from her perspective. It was a seed planted in my head. That character knows Roni and the other characters and that was when the entire world sort of opened up,” she shared. Back from PH Castillo was still giddy with excitement when we met. She was just in Manila a little over 24 hours earlier as part of her book tour where she headlined the Philippine International Literary Festival and World Book Day celebrations. She was there for about eight days. “It was absolutely life changing for me,” she admitted. Her first time was when she was kidnapped - spoiler alert – much like a character in the novel. Second time was 22 years later and obviously, she said there was some trauma about going to the Philippines. Besides, going back to the Philippines for vacation was unheard of for her and her family. “The only people I knew who regularly went back were in a middle class family or upper middle class who could afford to do it. My parents couldn’t afford to do that. I’ve never been on a vacation,” she said. This year it was totally different. “This was my first time going back as an adult, without my family, not as a daughter or cousin of somebody. It gave me a relationship with the Philippines, with Manila that I hadn’t anticipated ever really happening,” Castillo admitted. Aside from meeting new friends and starting relationships she never imagined she’d be able to make, Castillo is ecstatic to learn about the state of the literary world in the country her parents call home. “The things that I learned, the literary scenes in the regions and not just in Manila, and the kinds of comics atmosphere there; and the real, radical resistance to a regime,” she quipped. “It was deeply nourishing and revivifying in a way where I now think, when do I go back?” She mentioned buying
Elaine Castillo with Nicole Ponseca, owner of Jeepney and Maharlika.
Elaine Castillo with Elda Rotor, Vice President and Publisher for Penguin Classics about to enjoy the kamayan feast prepared by Chef Miguel Trinidad at Jeepney. Filipino food is almost on every page of her book, something that Castillo said she did not realize at first. AJPress photos by Momar G. Visaya
books of the amazing writers and authors she met, among them Glenn Diaz (“The Quiet Ones”), Kristine Ong Muslim (“The Drone Outside” and “Black Arcadia”) and Emiliana Kampilan (“Dead Balagtas Tomo 1: Mga Sayaw ng Dagat at Lupa”). Memorializing Milpitas Growing up in the Bay Area, she said there were only a few Filipino-American authors that she knew of. Castillo grew up in what she describes as a very Filipino neighborhood in a very Filipino atmosphere. Her town, Milpitas in California is a majority minority and there’s a large Filipino, Vietnamese, Mexican, Taiwanese communities there, which is why she said she didn’t grow up thinking of herself as a minority. “I read quite a lot of translated works, which I realize now probably is a sub-conscious political response to a white mainstream canon. I read a lot of Filipino American writers from Jessica Hagedorn to Carlos Bulosan. That book, “America is in the Heart”, was the first time I ever read about someone from Pangasinan,” she said. Castillo had read books about the Philippines but most of them focused on Manila and the rich people who lived there. She found it hard to reconcile that with the stories of her parents about provincial life, which is why she immediately related to Bulosan’s description of rural life in his own hometown of Binalonan, Pangasinan. Asked if her novel is her response to Bulosan’s classic masterpiece, she replied, “To be honest, I didn’t actually think of the title as the grand, ambitious answer to Bulosan.”
American dream over three generations in one family. It is also a deeply affecting, modern love story about two young women struggling to forge their identities after shedding past versions of themselves. “The main character is a bisexual woman who is a former NPA rebel. For me personally, I am a bi woman myself. I would love to see more bi characters in fiction, I don’t think I see enough,” she lamented. The novel follows Geronima (“Hero”) de Vera, a Filipina doctor and communist rebel who is captured from a remote insurgency outpost by the military. After enduring isolation and torture, she is finally released from prison and her wealthy family helps her escape the country. Hero finds refuge with a favorite uncle now living in a tight-knit Filipino-American community in Milpitas, California. Slowly, Hero adjusts to her new life as an undocumented immigrant. Unable to immediately mend the bonds shattered by class difference and misunderstood vulnerabilities with her blood relatives in Milpitas, Hero finds surprising refuge in the larger Filipino
“As a Filipino, I like a pun. So whenever I read the title America is in the Heart from Bulosan, I always thought, ‘America isn’t the Heart’ just as a rhyming joke that I used to say to myself. It was never a big thing. It came from that private, personal joke,” she said. At the Asian American Writers Workshop in New York a few days later, Castillo shared the stage with poet Joseph Legaspi and author Luis Francia in a panel moderated by another author, Gina Apostol. The event was sponsored by Kundiman and PAL / Pilipinx American Library, a moveable non-lending library that celebrates Filipinx narratives. “I was a very big reader as a kid but at that point, I didn’t know I was going to be a writer. I didn’t read him (Bulosan) in class, I found him in a library and I was around 13, 14,” she shared. “We are all in some way kids of Bulosan. It was the first Filipino book I read that talked about Pangasinan and the rural poverty that my mom came out of.” Hero’s Story Loosely based on Castillo’s family history, “America is Not the Heart” is a fierce, heartbreaking novel that traces the promises and limitations of the
community--who welcome her with a gentle compassion and easy acceptance that she has never experienced before. The book reveals a side of the San Francisco Bay Area that is sorely lacking in representation. Castillo’s Milpitas is not the glittering techscape most often portrayed in the media; it takes place in strip mall beauty salons, church multi-purpose rooms, and Filipino restaurants. Castillo’s characters speak in English and Tagalog, Pangasinense and Ilocano. They visit emergency rooms and faith healers. They work graveyard shifts and over-mortgage their homes, supporting a rotating cast of family members in need. Castillo is at once generous and incisive in how she writes about the inequality, immigration, sexuality, multiculturalism, and power in contemporary American life. Exuberant reviews aside, “America is Not the Heart” is a great addition to the growing diaspora’s own literature since it presents not just a snapshot of Filipino immigrant life in America but also one that is rich and replete with details of Filipino culture and history.
Coco Martin: ‘Ang Probinsyano’ Getting to know Philippine Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat still has a long way to go by Jan
by Büm
D. Tenorio Philstar.com
milo seVero
Philstar.com
KAPAMILYA actor Coco Martin clarified “the kiss” between him and “Ang Probinsyano” co-star Yassi Pressman at a backstage tent while shooting the teleserye. The photos and videos of that incident have been circulating in different social media sites. In an interview with the media during the launch of King Cup sardines, Coco said that the viral photo of the kiss is only on the cheeks. “Hindi naman kiss iyon, beso-beso lang iyon. Alam n’yo naman siyempre lahat kami nagbabatian. Nabigyan lang ng malalim na kulay. Nakakataba ng puso kasi siguro tinatangkilik nila iyong ‘Ang Probinsyano,’ iyong tandem namin ni Yassi. Nakaka-proud kasi nagugustuhan nila,” he said. The “King of Primetime” also said that the longest teleserye today still shows no signs of packing up. “Hanggang gusto ng mga manonood. Hangga’t may kwento kaming maibibigay sa mga Pilipino, nandyan pa rin ang ‘Ang Coco Martin as Cardo Dalisay in “Ang Probinsyano”
ABS-CBN photo
Continued on Page 3
Philippine Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat Philstar.com photo
Jr.
A REPUTABLE name is worth more than all the riches in the world. It sounds like a cliché until you meet Berna Romulo-Puyat, the secretary of tourism. From the Romulo clan that puts dignity to public service, Berna maintained an unsullied reputation in the almost 12 years she was agriculture undersecretary. She was in charge of the country’s agribusiness, promotion of local products and organic agriculture. At the DA, Berna, who, before the passing of her husband Dave Puyat in 2010, admits to being a creature of comfort, found herself in the fields around the country, relating with farmers under the sun, helping them in marketing their produce. “On May 8, at 4:30 p.m., I was in Malacañang because I accompanied former Sen.
Serge Osmeña for a meeting with the president. Of course, I took it as an opportunity to discuss with President Duterte a written agenda for the next National Food Authority council meeting. “He read the paper. It was already the second draft. Like the first draft, he read it like an editor. He’s very meticulous.” After that, Berna recalls, President Duterte put down the paper and asked her, “Have you heard Wanda (Teo, former tourism secretary) is no longer with the Department of Tourism?” She answered, “I read about it.” Berna remembers the president telling her, “Alam mo, bagay sa iyo ang position. You’ve been in government for so long and there’s no corruption issue about you. The way you are, bagay sa iyo ang DOT position. Do you want it, Berna?” “Binibiro mo ako,” she told Continued on Page 4
JC de Vera shares photos of new baby with non-showbiz girlfriend by Jan
Milo seveRo
In his Instagram account, JC de Vera posted photos of him together with girlfriend Rikkah Cruz and daughter Lana Athena. Photo from Instagram/@akosijcdeberat
account. “Ninang Duties! Congratulations inaanak Lana athena
and proud parents (JC and Rikkah). Love you guys! Beautiful Family,” nadia captioned.
aBs-CBn on John lloyd Cruz comeback: Fake news by Deni
Rose BeRnaRDo Philstar.com
aBS-CBn has broken its silence in response to news reports and blind items saying that actor John Lloyd Cruz asked the TV network to get him back and the station allegedly either denied or accepted him. in a press statement released to Philstar.com on June 29, aBSCBn Head for integrated Corporate Communications Kane Errol Choa said: “There is no truth to reports that John Lloyd Cruz approached aBS-CBn to request that he return to work, and that the network turned him down.” This is in reaction to reports that circulated online on June 29 that the actor is allegedly ready to return into the limelight. Some reports said John Lloyd begged for work from aBS-CBn and the network turned him down; while other reports claimed that the network welcomed him back with open arms and is actually cooking up something big for him. according to one news re-
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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - July 4, 2018
2018 H Mart taiwan Food Festival
enjoy taiwan Culture and Cuisine at H Mart!
Philstar.com
KaPaMiLYa actor JC de Vera finally showed to the world his own family by posting photos of them on social media. in his instagram account, the “Since i Found You Star” posted photos of him together with girlfriend Rikkah Cruz and daughter Lana athena. “My Strength. My happiness. My inspiration. My motivation. My Love. My Life,” the hunk actor wrote. “#weout #FamilyFirst #MyFamily #ThedeVeras #Lanaathena #MyVeryOwn,” he added as a hashtag. Recently, JC’s daughter has been baptized with celebrity godparents such as “Banana Sundae” co-actors John Pratts and Pooh, together with nadia Montenegro. nadia posted photos of the baptism on her instagram
entertainment
“nobody can give justice to the character except John Lloyd.” But all these have been denied by aBS-CBn. This means that contrary to reports, there is no comeback project slated yet for John Lloyd. according to Choa, “John Lloyd is still on an indefinite leave to attend to personal matters.” Some news reports claim that these “personal matters” refer to John Lloyd’s girlfriend Ellen adarna, who allegedly gave birth to the actor’s son in a private hospital in Cebu sometime in June 28 or June 29. There are also reports that claimed the actress gave birth last april in Singapore. none of these reports, however, have been confirmed. The network, nonetheless, stressed that it never closed its doors to the actor. “aBS-CBn values its strong John Lloyd Cruz Philstar.com photo relationship with John Lloyd built port, John Lloyd has been signed through the years. aBS-CBn’s to star in a big Star Cinema mov- doors are always open to John ie. Star Cinema allegedly offered Lloyd, and he will always be a Kapamilya,” Choa assured. the role to the actor because
Taiwan is known as one the food paradise in asia, the culinary philosophy here is to eat often and eat well. Yes, those delicious Taiwanese snacks are so good that you can’t resist eating all time of the day! This summer, Hmart has picked the hottest, the freshest, the most authentic, Taiwanese food for the customers. if you are looking for spending a quality time with your family while enjoying exclusively selected Taiwanese dishes this summer, H Mart invites you for its Taiwanese Food Festival. From July 13 to July 22, H Mart will corporate with The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TaiTRa), sponsored by the Bureau of Foreign Trade, to promote high quality food products from Taiwan. Three main stores of H Mart: H Mart arcadia Ca, H Mart San Jose Ca, H Mart austin TX will be hosting the festival this year by setting up a Taiwan Food Zone in their stores. aside from the three main stores, over 20 other stores will also carry the buzz items of 2018 Taiwan Food Festivals this time. Besides seasonal food,
customers can also purchase authentic Taiwan sauce, frozen foods, popsicles, beverages and pasta. Come in with an open heart, and you will leave with an unforgettable cultural experience. according to H Mart, this 10-day feast will present customers with the most typical Taiwanese dishes, snacks and drinks. Customers will be able to enjoy the most traditional Taiwanese food without traveling across the world. no matter if it is the eye catching Kuo Yuan Ye Foods Oh Bear Cookie, or chewy and appetizing YiMei flaky scallion pancakes, or the traditional and pure Daebete tea with variations on the taste include jasmine oolong tea, ginger lily oolong tea and Magnolia Oolong Tea. For those of you who love Taiwanese snacks, this is a festival you will never want to miss. On July 6, the festival will feature a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the Jericho H Mart store. Brian Kwon -the President of H Mart, andrew YangDeputy Director General from Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in nY, Ming Chiang- the President of the Taiwanese
Chamber of Commerce of nY, Joseph L Sun- the Director from Taipei Economic and Cultural Office nY and other 5 community leaders and representatives are set to participate and celebrate the festival. On July 1 to July 22, we look forward to seeing you in H Mart! Enjoy your cuisine adventure at H Mart Taiwan Food Festival! H Mart is an asian american supermarket chain that has been in business for 35 years, specializing in asian and western groceries, meats, seafood, produce, housewares, and RTC (ready to cook) items. Since the 1st H Mart was opened in woodside, nY in 1982, Hmart has expanded its market continuously. as a result, H Mart has expanded over 90 stores across 14 difference states. in 2014, H Mart was recognized as one of the fastest growing retailers in the national Retail Federation’s HOT 100 RETaiLERS (#13 HMaRT). Supermarket news has listed H Mart as one of the TOP 70 Food Retailers & wholesalers in the United States & Canada (2015 Top 75 List).
(Advertising Supplement)
Coco Martin: ‘ang Probinsyano’ still has... From Page 2
Probinsyano’,” Coco announced. The teleserye, which has been on air for almost three years now, remains unbeatable in ratings as it is still the number one primetime show nationwide, according to media ratings provider Kantar Media. Currently in the series, Cardo, played by Coco, and alyana, portrayed by Yassi, are trying to bring back the fire in their extinguished relationship. “Pinapakita namin dito sa
pagkakataon na ‘to ano ba ‘yung stand ng mag-asawa na nagkasira at kung paano dahan-dahan binubuo, pinoproseso talaga namin kung ano ‘yung tamang proseso kung paano sila magkakabalikan,” Coco said. “Ito iyong chance para maipakita namin na hindi puro aksyon, hindi puro drama, na kapag romance, romance. Kapag comedy, comedy,” he added. Martin has proven that the Filipino taste has not really changed much over the years
especially when it comes to entertainment. His show, which is a mix of action, suspense, drama and comedy, has that distinct Filipino flavor stamped all over it. So, it came as no surprise when he became the face of King Cup. “Naalala ko, bata pa lang ako, excited talaga ako umuwi sa lola ko– at ang paborito kong ginisang sardinas na hinahanda n’ya. Simple lang pero mapapauwi ka talaga sa lasa at sarap!” Coco excitedly shared.
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features
The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - July 4, 2018
Because of Siwon? Pia Wurtzbach, Marlon Stockinger unfollow each other by Jan
Milo Severo
Philstar.com
IS racer Marlon Stockinger jealous of Super Junior member Choi Siwon? That has been what fans
have been asking themselves after celebrity couple Pia Wurtzbach and Marlon “unfollowed” each other merely days after the Miss Universe 2015 met her crush Siwon at the latter’s concert at the Mall of
Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach met Choi Siwon of K-Pop boy group Super Junior during the Super Show 7 on Saturday, June 30. Photo from Instagram/@piawurtzbach
Asia Arena on June 30. Earlier this month, Pia uploaded a video of her asking her boyfriend if she can go to the arena to watch Super Junior’s concert. Marlon repeatedly said “no” to that question. Fans tried to help convince Marlon by pleading for Pia on social media. After the concert, Pia posted on her Instagram account a photo of her with Siwon at the backstage of the arena. “Finally! A true fan girl moment for me! @siwonchoi #SS7Manila,” she captioned. Last year, Pia and Marlon also “unfollowed” each other on Instagram due to unknown reasons. Recently, the couple appeared in a BlueWater Day Spa event where they are the new endorsers. They said they are not yet ready to tie the knot anytime soon because they are not rushing things between them. “Not in the near future, no. We’re not there yet. I still feel like we want to achieve a lot individually. Marami pa kaming plano individually. Marami pa kaming gustong ma-achieve, ako sa career ko and siya sa racing career niya,” Pia said. Marlon agreed with his girlfriend, although he stressed that the beauty queen is a “wife material.”
Asia Society survey probes barriers in the US workplace facing Asian Americans
NEW YORK — Asian and Asian Pacific American (APA) employees in the United States are less likely to attain senior leadership positions, according to Asia Society’s 2018 Asian Corporate Survey. The survey suggests this is partly because APA participants self-reported being less assertive and less likely to speak up and share their perspectives compared to their non-APA counterparts. Indeed, among the five most frequently cited barriers to workplace advancement by APA survey participants are “cultural background” and “communication skills”. “There is a cultural mismatch that many U.S. employers may be unaware of, with many APA employees stating they believe they are less likely than their non-APA counterparts to be considered for senior roles at their companies due to cultural differences. This is a great opportunity to make sure that both direct and indirect communication channels are available between employees and
managers to accommodate and address such differences,” said David Whitelaw Reid, Executive Director, Corporate Programs and Talent Initiatives at Asia Society. To explore the nature, severity, and possible ways to address this gap, for the first time the 2018 survey included 400 non-APA employees in addition to 2,800 APA employees across the United States working in various industries. “Bamboo Ceiling” The 2018 survey also found that APA employees were more likely to report a shortage of role models, executives and board directors representing their cultural backgrounds. Over a third of respondents reported no APA presence in the leadership. “We are seeing a vicious cycle in the workplace. APA employees often do not get considered for senior positions. In turn, this means aspiring Asian employees do not have role models to look up to,” noted Reid. In comparison to their
non-Asian counterparts, Asian employees had a much lower favorability on a set of measures: • Asian respondents felt that their companies did not comprehensively implement initiatives as stated in their company’s mission statement, programs, policies and procedures. • Asian respondents also indicated lower favorability on how their managers support the professional growth of employees of Asian background. • Due to this dissatisfaction, Asian respondents were less likely to care about their company’s overall success and less likely to stay if offered a comparable position somewhere else. The Asian Corporate Survey is developed in consultation with Asia Society’s Global Talent and Diversity Council, which is comprised of more than 20 diversity leaders from Fortune 500 companies. It includes direct responses from APA employees as well as Diversity & Inclusion/HR departments.
Mainstream it is at 2018 MMFF by MJ
Marfori ManilaTimes.net
IT looks like mainstream movies will dominate the Metro Manila Film Festival anew, the second consecutive year since the controversial snub of big budgeted productions in 2016 when an all-independent line-up of titles were chosen for the annual Christmas cinema extravaganza. How can In The Know be sure? Because the first four films officially announced as finalists for this year’s MMFF come from the country’s major movie studios. Chosen from 24 submissions, they are: “Aurora” from Viva Films, a horror-thriller starring Anne Curtis and directed by Yam Laranas; fantasy-comedy “Fantastica: The Princess, The Prince and The Perya” from ABS-CBN Productions and Viva Films, starring Vice Ganda, Maris Racal, Loisa Andalio and Maymay Entrata and directed by Barry Gonzales; romance-drama “Girl in the Orange Dress” from Quantum Films and MJM Productions, starring Kim Chiu, Jessy Mendiola, Jericho Rosales, Sam Milby, Tom Rodriguez and Keith Thompson, and directed by Jay Abello; and last but not the least, action-comedy “Popoy En Jack: The Puliscredibles” from CCM Film Productions, MZET Productions and APT Entertainment, featuring the much awaited tandem of Coco Martin and Vic Sotto, and directed by Rodel Nacianceno (yes, that’s Coco’s real name, which he uses as director). According to selection committee head and National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera, the first four finalists were chosen based on the following criteria: Artistic Excellence—40 percent, Commercial Appeal—40 percent,
Photos courtesy of Metro Manila Film Festival
Filipino Cultural Sensibility—10 percent, and Global Appeal— 10 percent. Lumbera said the next four finalist will among completed movie submissions deadline is on September 21.
Guess indie fans will have to wait and see if the next four choices will balance out the first batch of mainstream productions. Meanwhile, the submission for the Short Film Category is scheduled on August 31.
Getting to know Philippine Tourism... From Page 2 the president. But the president was not joking. Apparently, when he was still mayor of Davao City, Duterte asked Berna if she ever wanted to become the agriculture secretary, “because you also fit the job.” She said no but added that, if ever, she wanted to become the tourism secretary. “And the president remembered that, even if we discussed it in the past. He told me, ‘Remember, a long time ago, that was what you wanted. Take the job. You’re very credible’.” So, on May 8 at 5 p.m., Berna was appointed the secretary of tourism, took her oath on May 14, started working at the Department of Tourism on May 15 and, on May 30, after six minutes, was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. Included in her short-term plans is the continuous use of “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” slogan of the DOT. For long-term, included is the promotion of sustainable tourism “with more responsible tourists.” She names the Top 5
countries that love the Philippines: Korea, China, the U.S., Japan and Australia. She works hard to hit the target of 7.4 million tourist arrivals in the country by the end of the year. When Boracay closed in April, people started trooping to other breathtaking destinations like LU or La Union, Siargao, Bohol and Mactan. “But Boracay will open on Oct. 26.” At the end of her frenzied day at work, Berna comes home to the warm embrace of her daughter Maia, 22, a writer. She also gets to talk on Viber to her son Vito, 21, who is graduating next month from the Newcastle University in London with a degree in Psychology with Honors, minor in Neuroscience. For two years now, she has had a steady relationship with Charlie Cojuangco, who, because Berna has been busy at the DOT, good naturedly “sets an appointment” with the secretary so they would see each other. Asked the state of her heart, she answered, “Contented.”
Berna comes from the family who knows how to genuinely love each other and celebrate each other’s accomplishment. “One good thing that came out from my being secretary now is that it brought a smile to my father’s (former Foreign Affairs and Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo’s) face. Ever since the passing of my sister Lupe last November, Dad has been crying every day. He is smiling now,” says the loving daughter of her dad, who taught her to always protect the Romulo name. Her mom Lovely taught her to always be supportive of her loved ones. In a chance meeting with the Romulo patriarch on his way to visit the crypt of Lupe in Makati, The Star asked him if he would give advice to Berna now that she is secretary of tourism. “No,” he said with a smile. “She is on her own because she is her own person. I am just a flower vase.” Berna is on her own. And on her own she will prove her mettle. The lady secretary is not known to disappoint when it comes to public service.
Miss Universe out, Miss Intercontinental in: Manila to host pageant in 2019 by Jan
MiLo Severo Philstar.com
SInCe many Filipinos love beauty pageants, many were dismayed after Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat announced that Miss Universe 2018 will not be held at the Philippines. But a report from Mis-
sosology will surely brighten pageant-loving people in the country as the website recently announce that the 47th Miss Intercontinental will be held in the country on January 2019. “IT’S OFFICIAL! The 47th Miss Intercontinental beauty pageant will be held in the beautiful Philippines on January
Miss Intercontinental Philippines 2017 Katarina Rodriguez.
Philstar.com photo
2019. The competition is sponsored by a team from Japan,” the website wrote. “Veronica Salas Vallejo of Mexico will be crowning her succesor in Manila. More details to be revealed soon only here on Missosology,” it added. The Philippines came so close to winning the said pageant twice, first, when Christi McGarry won as first runner-up in 2015, and when Katarina Rodriguez won as 1st runner-up last year in egypt. Filipino-Australian and education advocate Karen Gallman will try to win the country’s first Miss Intercontinental title on the 47th edition of the pageant, in front of her countrymen. established in Aruba in 1973, Miss Intercontinental is considered as among the world’s major beauty contests in which one representative from each continent is chosen to be on the top five, which will later on compete for the grand title.
MiLo Severo Philstar.com
In the hit TV series “Game of Thrones,” the northern people always say, “the north remembers.” In the real world, the motto is now “the Internet remembers.” Such an adage can be said of the Philippines’ so-called “King of Rap,” Andrew e. Andrew came to fame after his hit song “humanap Ka ng Panget” became a household song in 1990. Since then, the rapper had many studio albums, movies, TV shows and hit songs that include “Banyo Queen,” “Binibirocha,” and “Mahirap Maging Pogi,” to name a few. But social media has been abuzz nowadays after Andrew was accused of copying
American group Cash Money Marvelous’ song “Find An Ugly Woman” to create his hit song, “humanap Ka ng Panget.” The plagiarism issue was reportedly revived by netizens on social media platform Reddit. According to the Reddit users, the song by the American Group, which was released in 1988, was “Tagalized” or translated into Tagalog by Andrew e. The first stanza of “Find an Ugly Woman” says: “If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life Man, find an ugly woman, and make her your wife I mean ugly, so bad you can’t look in her face So fat she can’t go down and tie her shoe lace Now the reason that I say Continued on Page 6 Andrew E.
The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - July 4, 2018
Joey G beyond three decades of music by Leah
C. SaLterio Philstar.com
When former Side A vocalist Joey Generoso recently marked his 30th year in the music business, the event was indeed a cause for celebration. Joey staged a well-received and highly-successful concert, “Joey G Beyond: Three Decades of Music,” at the Theater at Solaire. The crowd was clearly Side A’s generation of music lovers. There were hardly any teenagers seen in the audience. Giant LeD screens provided every needed backdrop, from photos to apt colorful images, that there wasn’t any need for elaborate stage designs. Joey emerged onstage and immediately did a back-to-back Motown medley. When he crooned the earth, Wind and Fire classics, Joey’s repertoire was clearly embraced his audience that night. By the time he dished out After the Love has Gone, his falsetto was soaring and the crowd sang with him. It was the same falsetto heard when Side A was doing its regular gigs in places like Conway’s Bar or Strumm’s. If you frequented those places, you’ll remember Side A’s original members — including drummer ernie Severino, bassist Joey Benin, lead guitarist Kelly Badon and keyboardist naldy Gonzales. Joey rendered favorite songs from the ‘80s — human, Sarah, Man in Motion — “noong bumibyahe pa ako,” he uttered one of his many cryptic spiels. no wonder, when his only guest that night, Sharon Cuneta, joined him onstage, the latter chastised him, albeit kindly. “Nagulat ako, papasok na pala ako. Ang iksi kasi ng spiels mo.” Sharon laughed. The Megastar didn’t accept any talent fee that night, according to Joey. Sharon was featured in two duets with Joey, did her own spot numbers and readily ABS-CBN photo even offered to be an instant
Netizens call out Andrew E. for alleged ‘Humanap Ka Ng Panget’ plagiarism by Jan
entertainment 5
Side A vocalist Joey Generoso with special guest Sharon Cuneta.
back-up singer, when the latter rendered well-loved tunes by the Side A Band. Reportedly, Sharon requested for merely apples and grapes in her dressing room that day. She came out onstage halfway into the show and rendered her signature hit, Kahit Maputi na ang Buhok Ko, a duet with Joey, much to the thrill of adoring fans. Their other duet was “All This Time,” a Joey Benin composition. Sharon said Joey simply requested to sing a duet with her. however, she giddily told him, “Sayang naman ang damit ko!” Careful not to upstage the main artist, Sharon modestly donned a dark blue suit when she sauntered onstage as the only guest in the concert. She had her own screaming fans in the audience, needless to say. “Nasa Calesa Bar pa lang ang Side A noon, at the old hyatt hotel,” Sharon shared. “1989 at si Richard (Gomez) pa ang boyfriend ko noon. Pinapa-
Philstar.com photos
nood ko na sila.” Sharon extended their time together onstage, much to everyone’s delight. “I will do 10 million duets with Joey if he asked me to,” she unhesitatingly exaggerated. She appointed herself as Joey’s instant back-up singer that night. “I’ll do a Babsie Molina,” Sharon said, referring to the veteran back-up singer. Meanwhile, Joey gave his own spin to timeless OPM tunes — Ogie Alcasid’s nandito Ako, Ariel Rivera’s Sana Kahit Minsan, Basil Valdez’s Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka. Backing-up Joey was a six-member band, including guitarist Gino Aguas, son of session musician Cesar Aguas — “My criminal guitarist,” Sharon teased. Bobby Velasco was the musical director. Perhaps, one of the muchawaited parts that night was Joey’s rendition of Side A’s greatest hits. “Nasa palengke Continued on Page 6
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entertainment The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - July 4, 2018
Susan Roces: Little-known facts about the movie queen as a mom by Dolly
Anne CArvAjAl Inquirer.net
SuSan Roces is such a credible endorser. Tita Susan’s rendition of the catchy jingle of her RiteMed commercial for unilab is so effective. It makes us feel like singing that familiar tune every time we’re in a drugstore. Even at 76, everything is still coming up roses for Madame Roces. Let’s get to know more about the Queen of Philippine Movies through the eyes of her unica hija, Grace Poe. Their motherdaughter tandem is a celebration of woman power, indeed. Here’s my chat with Grace: During your younger years, what were the home remedies and comfort food that your mom gave you when you were sick? My mom would insist that I eat pospasor lugaw. I didn’t particularly enjoy it, but she was unrelenting. She would rub manzanilla on my belly when I had stomach ache. She would call for a hilot and a magtatawas when I had high fever. She hardly left my side when I was hospitalized. If I had a bad cold, she would apply a gooey pink substance on me. She would spread the paste evenly on a mesh of cloth, stick it on my back, and I felt better afterwards. Maybe it was all psychological, but it was really about having a loving mother that truly mattered. You and your mom are always so poised. Any deglamorized moments? She’s very down to earth. We ride our old Sarao jeepney to the farm, with our mattress tied on top of it. On our way back, we would be sharing the ride with sacks of buko and bananas harvested from our farm. How did your mom spoil and discipline you? My mom didn’t spoil me, materially. On the contrary, she was generous with her time
Susan Roces with daughter Sen. Grace Poe
and undivided attention. She still is. She’s the best listener. When I am done pouring my heart out, she’ll share her thoughts on the matter, which are always spot-on. She is wise and insightful. Her favorite line is “Papunta ka pa lang, pabalik na ako.” She tells me to always remain humble. She detests any pasosyal attitude, and shows this by saying, “Ang langaw, nakatungtong lang sa kalabaw.” Disciplined? You bet. She may seem meek and patient, but if she gets mad, it’s best to stay away. She would ground me, but she was also quick to forgive, as long as she saw that I was truly remorseful. What ticks her off? My mom is pleasant, but if you provoke her, she will stand her ground. When she was writing her speech (on index cards) in response to the “I am sorry” statement of GMa (former President Gloria Macapagal-arroyo), she seemed very serious and calm. In fact, when she read it to me, she said it quite monotonously. So, we were all shocked when she finally delivered the speech with such fire
PH bags Mrs. Universe-International crown by riCky
CAlDeron ManilaTimes.net
FaYE Tangonan, a native of Claveria, Cagayan, has just been crowned Mrs. universe-International 2018 at the Mrs. Earth International pageant in Las Vegas, nevada’s South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa. The 38-year-old is a businesswoman, humanitarian, Ilocano recording artist, and wife and mother of two based in Kauai, Hawaii. There she blooms in beauty, coupled with a perceptive mind and a charitable heart. Born on September 10, 1979 in Cagayan, Faye is the daughter of retired Regional Trial Court Judge Eugenio Tangonan, Jr. and a humble homemaker who chose to quietly support her husband and devotedly take care of their brood. Faye pursued a Hotel & Restaurant Management degree and in 2000 graduated with honors at St. Paul College Quezon City. Presently, she is a realtor at Kauai Realty Inc. and CEO of Lakay Lakay Beach Resort. Faye first won a beauty title as Mrs. HawaiiFilipina in 2017 before competing in Mrs. Earth Inquirer.net photo International. She has also been recognized as one of the Outstanding Women of the Philippines and passion. this year. What don’t people know a truly empowered woman, Faye believes evabout Susan Roces? eryone can do great things, no matter how small, She seems poised, but she given great passion. She further believes in giving can be fiery. She hates spending back to the community through volunteerism and on anything luxurious, but she meaningful advocacies. Newly-crowned Filipina Mrs. Universe-International 2018 Faye Tangonan will not scrimp on food and a good education. She loves roughing it out. She is a weekend farmer and is From Page 5 most comfortable in the provday, a DJ would play ‘Humanap mo matanggap ince, close to nature, where she this, is simple and plain At h’wag ang lalaki na iyong ka ng Panget’ and ‘Find an eats with her hands. All the pretty girls, man, ugly Woman,’ back to back, to pangarap When I was a child, I will they just play games insist his theory that andrew E’s Ngunit handang-handang never forget the best picnic I’ve With your mind and your version was a copy. But nothing iwanan ka naman sa sandali ever had. She propped a recttime, they’re not with it happened after that. Deadma Na ikaw ay wala nang ibiangular table across a shallow ‘Cause if you ain’t got no lang si andrew E.” gay, ‘di ba?” brook, and we ate adobo and money, then you might as well” another netizen, TtedPylon, netizens on Twitter reacted salted eggs laid out on banana Meanwhile, andrew E.’s tweeted: “apparently, plagiaon the alleged plagiarism by leaves. “Humanap Ka ng Panget” goes: andrew E., saying: “Wow! Even rized yung ‘Humanap ka ng My mother is probably the “Kung gusto mong lumiPanget’ ni andrew E. My childjust the title is a direct translawisest and most intelligent gaya ang iyong buhay hood is ruined.” tion. In the end the truth will person I know. She’s realistic Humanap ka ng pangit at netizens are still waiting always come out.” and practical, but she is always ibigin mong tunay for andrew E. to answer the netizen @seendee08 postguided by a deep sense of Isang pangit na talagang ‘di ed: “I remember back in the allegations. conviction. She told me once, “Sometimes, the best way to fight your battles is with silence.” From Page 5 She instilled in me the imporhis career, particularly his erstence was on their feet and the tance of independence, being ako noon, narinig ko ‘yung ‘Hold play of colorful lights onstage while managers, Lito Fugoso self-sufficient and developing a On’ kinakanta ng tricycle driver,” was simply awesome. and the late Wyngard Tracy. strong work ethic. Joey proudly recalled. Joey has undoubtedly Before “I Don’t Wanna Miss She encouraged me to More Side a hits followed — a Thing,” aerosmith’s monentrenched himself in the music express my views. Early on, “Set You Free,” “Tell Me,” industry through his songs and strous hit that Joey can easily she would remind me: “Huwag “Forevermore”. When Joey belt out, the guy acknowledged the familiar music he is known mahiyang magtanong.” sang “Tuloy Pa Rin,” the audito render. the people who helped him in
Netizens call out Andrew E. for alleged...
Joey G beyond three decades of...
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