August 22-24, 2018 Volume 28 - No. 66 • 3 Sections - 20 Pages
‘Duterte in kama, not coma’ by ALEXIS
ROMERO & EDITH REGALADO Philstar.com
DAVAO CITY — President Rodrigo Duterte’s trusted aide disputed on Monday, August 20, the claim of communist leader Jose Ma. Sison that the Chief Executive went into a coma. Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go said Sison must have been dreaming. “The president is in a kama (bed), not in coma,â€? Go said. “Sison must have mistaken his name as ‘Coma’ — exchanging the J in Joma to C to make it appear as coma.â€? Another MalacaĂąang official downplayed talks about the supposed deterioration of the president’s health. Presidential spokesman Harry
DATELINE
Roque Jr. said Duterte remains healthy and “as strong as a horse.� “Contrary to what Joma Sison said, the president is fine and well. He is participating in the Kadayawan festival in Davao. He will have a public appearance with the League of Cities in Cebu City,� Roque told reporters. Sison posted on Facebook that Duterte went into a coma on Sunday, August 19. Sison also claimed that those who saw Duterte during a gathering of Lex Talionis fraternity on Saturday, August 18, noticed that the alleged discoloration in the president’s face had worsened. The president’s walk and hand-
USA
FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
Fil-Am recognized as one of Cal State LA’s outstanding professors CAL State LA recognized Ray de Leon as one of the institution’s outstanding professors during the 2018 University Fall Convocation on Friday, August 17. De Leon, a professor of Fil-Am faculty Ray de Leon received Cal kinesiology in State LA’s 2018 Outstanding Professor the Rongxiang Award. Photo by J. Emilio Flores Xu College of /Cal State LA Health and Human Services at Cal State LA, was one of four outstanding professors honored for ex-
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Fil-Am community leader announces run for Artesia City Council Melissa Ramoso will be only woman on city’s November 6th ballot FILING her papers last week, Filipina-American Melissa Ramoso joins the race for Artesia City Council as the only woman to be on the November 6th ballot. Among Ramoso’s top priorities are to make City Hall more accessible to its residents, improve the quality of life for all of its neighborhoods, and strengthen Artesia’s local economy. Located in southeast Los Angeles Melissa Ramoso
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shake have become more unstable, the rebel leader added. In a statement posted on the National Democratic Front website, Sison said, “People are awaiting the public appearance of Duterte and a medical bulletin from his office.� Sison claimed that another report circulated that Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and key Cabinet men have formed a caretaker committee “to run the government while Duterte is indisposed.� “This report needs to be verified or negated by Duterte’s public appearance,� he said. Sison has been on self-exile in the Netherlands since 1987. “I don’t understand why Joma Sison said the president was in coma. He is in far away Neth-
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AVID FAN. President Rodrigo Duterte gets an emotional reaction from an avid supporter after signing his autograph on the sidelines of the Lex Talionis Fraternitas, Inc. (LTFI) National Convention at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City last Saturday, August 18. MalacaĂąang photo by Robinson NiĂąal
‘Cha-cha is dead,’ says lawmaker Hidilyn Diaz strikes gold in Asian Games women’s weighlifting
by LLANESCA
PANTI ManilaTimes.net
CHARTER change is not going to happen as long as the Senate is opposed to it, Deputy Speaker Prospero Pichay Jr. of Surigao del Sur declared on Monday, August 20, signaling an impending impasse in the efforts to amend the 1987 Constitution. Pichay, in a news conference, issued the statement in the aftermath of Deputy Speaker Prospero Pichay Jr. Inquirer.net photo Speaker Gloria Arroyo’s
pronouncement that there was no more time to do Cha-cha ahead of the 2019 polls, considering that Congress has yet to come up with a draft federal constitution that could be ratified by the electorate via a referendum. “If the senators are not willing [to do it], then there is really no time for Charter change. Not in
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Duterte: Filipinos should follow example of Ninoy Aquino by GAEA
KATREENA Philstar.com
CABICO
by DENISON
REY DALUPANG Philstar.com
MANILA — Hidilyn Diaz completed a storybook turnaround to her Asian Games arc after delivering the first gold medal for the Philippines in the 2018 Asian Games at the Jakarta International Expo on Tuesday, August 21. Diaz, who was unable to make the cut in the 2014 iteration of the meet in Incheon, South Korea, struck the top honors of the women’s 53kg division in weightlifting, edging Turkmenistan’s Kristina Shermetova. One of the country’s top bets to take home a medal, Diaz lifted a total of 207 kilograms, just a hairline above Shermetova’s 206. Diaz registered 92 kgs in the snatch, and then went for the
115 kgs in the clean and jerk for the victory. The Philippines has now won a total of five medals in the quadrennial meet, four of which came in the form of bronze medals from Pauline Lopez in Tae Kwon Do, Agatha Wong in Wushu, and the men’s and women’s teams in the Tae Kwon Do poomsae events. Diaz’s latest gold ties the National delegation’s total medal haul in the previous Asiad. The 27-year-old Mindanaoan was also the harbinger of the country’s lone medal in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, arresting the Philippines’ 20-year drought in the global event. Aside from the hardware to flaunt, Diaz takes home P6 million in cash incentives. â–
MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte urged Filipinos to emulate the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoyâ€? Aquino Jr., the outspoken opposition figure during the Marcos dictatorship, who was gunned down 35 years ago. In a statement marking the death anniversary of Aquino, Duterte reminded the public of the democracy icon’s “profound Ninoy Aquino, a staunch critic of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, fell to an love of countryâ€? that had altered Rio Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz grabbed the spotlight on the third day of the 2018 assassin’s bullet, shortly after he arrived at the Manila International Airport the course of nation’s history Indonesia Asian Games by winning the Philippines’ ďŹ rst Asiad gold medal on Tuesday in the (now the Ninoy Aquino International Airport).
MalacaĂąang ďŹ le photo
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women’s weightlifting competition.
Asian Games pool photo
DOT chief hopes NAIA chaos won’t affect tourist arrivals by CATHERINE
TALAVERA Philstar.com
TOURISM Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said she hopes the incident that paralyzed the operations of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will not affect tourist arrivals in the country. “I hope (it won’t affect arrivals) because this only happened once and I believe that we will not allow this to happen again,â€? Puyat said in a television interview Monday, August 20. Foreign arrivals in the first half of this year hit a record high of 3.7 million, a 10.4 percent rise from the 3.35 million in the same period last year. The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 check-in counters are back to normal operations after a Last Thursday, August 16, Xiamen Xiamen Airlines passenger plane that skidded off a NAIA runway last Thursday, August 16 causing ight cancellations Air Boeing 737-800 skidded off the and delays, stranding passengers over the weekend, had been towed off. PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan
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runway of the NAIA. It took authorities 36 hours to remove the aircraft off the strip. This paralyzed airport operations, affecting tens of thousands of passengers of delayed and canceled flights. Puyat said the NAIA incident still remains as an issue of the Department of Transportation. “As (Secretary Arthur Tugade) said they will be looking, improving all the protocols involved and I think what’s more important is that this doesn’t happen again. I believe that this, as he said, is an eye opener,� Puyat said. In the same interview, Puyat said the rehabilitation of Boracay island is on track.
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‘Duterte in kama, not...
PAGE A1 erlands, how would he know?” Roque said. Roque said the president’s face might have been dark during the fraternity’s anniversary because he passed on the powder. “Normally, the president wears powder. Maybe there was a photo taken of him without powder. I did not see anything extraordinarily different from the color of
the president’s face,” Roque said. Roque said there was no need to issue a medical bulletin since the president is not confined in hospital. “Joma Sison is a spent revolutionary, not a doctor. So let’s not listen to him as far as medical condition is concerned,” Roque said. He said former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who was
From the Front Page
present during the Lex Talionis event, had told him that Duterte was “in high spirits.” “I’d like to tell the critics of the president: stop wishing him ill as far as his health is concerned because every time you wish him ill, he becomes stronger,” the spokesman said. “The president is as strong as a horse.” Duterte would be staying in Davao City for the next two weeks prior to his state visit to Israel, according to Roque. With regard to claims that the president’s hands were shaking, Roque said, “He was shaking in anger, especially on the issue of corruption.” Duterte has sacked officials of the Nayong Pilipino Foundation and Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center for alleged corruption. Roque said spreading rumors that a person is afflicted with disease is libelous. Duterte previously admitted experiencing migraine and suffering from Buerger’s disease, a sickness caused by smoking. He has also revealed that he has spinal problem and an impaired hearing because of a motorcycle accident. Senators react Senators from the majority bloc dismissed claims that President Duterte fell ill. Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, who is Duterte’s partymate in PDPLaban, said Sison’s statements should not be taken seriously. “The president is healthy. Why believe in the report of someone hundreds of kilometers away in Europe?” Pimentel told reporters. Sen. Cynthia Villar said she was with Duterte last Friday, August 17, in Davao City and the president was his usual self: angry with corrupt officials and happy meeting ordinary people. “When you’re the president, there would be a lot of stories coming out, that’s expected but I don’t think that’s true and we should not be worried about it,” Villar said. House Deputy Speaker Prospero Pichay Jr. said the president should not dignify Sison’s statement. Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said Sison must be talking about a different president. (With Paolo Romero, Delon Porcalla, Jose Rodel Clapano)
QUEZON’S NIYOGYUGAN. Presidential Communications Secretary Jose Ruperto Martin Andanar delivers the message of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on the occasion of the 140th birth anniversary of the late former President Manuel Luis Quezon at the M. L. Quezon Monument, Perez Park, in Lucena City and the “6th Year Niyogyugan Festival 2018” on Sunday, August 19. PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan
DOT chief hopes NAIA chaos won’t...
PAGE A1 The Department of Tourism secretary, however, said she feels that it should be Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu who
must formally announce the reopening of the island. “I think he would be announcing it. I feel that he should be the one to formally announce it that
‘Cha-cha is dead,’ says... PAGE A1 even five or 10 years from now. That is why I am calling on the senators to be more open-minded about this so we can discuss it,” Pichay said. “They (senators) should stop thinking about themselves and think of what is good for the country,” he added. Arroyo filed House Resolution 2056 seeking to convene the House and the Senate as Constituent Assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution to shift to a federal system of government, with the House and the Senate voting separately. The 1987 Constitution does not explicitly state whether the House and the Senate should vote jointly or separately in amending the Charter. It merely provides that “any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution may be proposed by the Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members.” Among the senators who are opposed to Charter change are Panfilo Lacson, Grace Poe, Francis Pangilinan and Antonio
Trillanes IV. “The speaker said we are okay with voting separately, and yet the senators are still opposed to it, saying it is like a mouse trap. What are they so afraid of? Maybe deep inside, they know that the voting should be jointly, not separately,” Pichay said. A joint vote would render the senators’ votes useless, since the chamber only has 24 members, as against the House’s at least 292 members. The Duterte administration wants to shift to a federal form of government by establishing independent regions, each with the authority to manage its resources and craft laws, including those pertaining to taxation. Under the federal set up, each of at least 17 regions or federal states will retain 80 to 85 percent of locally generated income, while the remaining 15 to 20 percent will be subsidized by the national government through the internal revenue allotment. The House has yet to adopt Arroyo’s resolution, after Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas of Ilocos Norte
it will be opened Oct. 26. But I think it should be a soft opening because you cannot really rehabilitate an island in six months,” Puyat said. n
questioned it by arguing that the 292-strong House’s vote on Chacha cannot be held hostage by 24 senators. “Why would we be held hostage by 24 individuals [in the Senate] when it is us [representatives] who represent every nook and corner of our country?” Fariñas, a lawyer, said. Rep. Vicente Veloso of Leyte, who was defending the resolution in his capacity as chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, countered that the 1987 Constitution’s provision on voting in a Constituent Assembly should not be interpreted by the House but by the Supreme Court. “If the law does not distinguish, we should not distinguish. If the Honorable Fariñas is of the belief otherwise, he can’t bring this to the Supreme Court. But he cannot stop the House from taking this position [of approving a resolution holding a separate vote for Charter change under a Constituent Assembly],” Veloso, a former Court of Appeals justice, stressed. n
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Filipino priest in Texas disappears Californians living longer with cancer — some longer than others amid molestation claims DALLAS, Texas — A Texas priest who’s accused of molesting teens and stealing from his parish has gone missing. St. Cecilia Catholic Church officials believe the Rev. Edmundo Paredes may have fled to his native country of the Philippines, The Dallas Morning news reported . He’d been a pastor at the church for 27 years. Dallas police have found the sexual abuse allegations to be credible, said Bishop Edward Burns. Paredes is no longer allowed to function or present himself as a priest, he said. The church first began investigating Paredes in May 2017 over allegations he stole
$60,000 to $80,000 in cash from the parish. Paredes admitted to the financial misconduct and was suspended from the ministry and removed from the church in June 2017, Burns said. The Catholic Diocese of Dallas wasn’t aware of the sexual assault allegations at the time of the suspension, said a spokeswoman for the diocese. Church officials then received allegations in February that Paredes molested three teenage boys more than a decade ago. Burns disclosed the allegations to parishioners Sunday after consulting with the Di-
ocesan Review Board, a group of non-clergy Catholics who counsel the diocese on matters involving the sexual abuse of minors. The information wasn’t disclosed earlier because officials didn’t want to hinder the police investigation or compromise the victims’ identities, a church spokeswoman said. The information follows a recent report from Pennsylvania that said more than 1,000 had been abused by the clergy since the 1940s. The Catholic Church is hiring private investigators to find Paredes, Burns said. (Inquirer. net with reports from Associated Press)
Duterte: Filipinos should follow example...
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and given birth to the freedom Filipinos enjoy today. “May his dedication to his cause serve as a guidepost for our current leaders in government as they advance the welfare of our people, especially the oppressed and marginalized,” Duterte said. The president, who allowed the burial of dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, added that “more citizens like him (Aquino)” are needed to “steer our country toward the direction where a brighter and better future awaits us all.” Aquino, a staunch critic of Marcos, fell to an assassin’s bullet, shortly after he arrived at the Manila International Airport (now the Ninoy Aquino International Airport) on August 21, 1983. His assassination paved the way for the 1986 People Power Revolution in EDSA that toppled the Marcos rule and catapulted Aquino’s wife, Corazon, to the presidency. His son, Benigno “Noynoy”
Aquino III, was the chief executive before Duterte. Duterte has been identified as friendly to the Marcoses. Last week, Duterte said that should he step down from his post, the late strongman’s only son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., would be one of his preferred successors instead of Vice President Leni Robredo. Marcos is in the middle of an electoral protest against Robredo, whom he has accused of cheating in 2016. ‘Filipinos are still worth dying for’ Rep. Gary Alejano (Magdalo party-list) said Filipinos are still fighting the same fight that Aquino had fought “only this time under a different dictator.” “Our democracy is being challenged once more. We see today rampant killings, human rights violations, martial law in Mindanao, corruption in government, attack on press freedom and political persecution of the opposition. These are undeniably reminiscent of the Marcos authoritarian regime,” he said. The opposition lawmaker
Fil-Am recognized as one of...
PAGE A1 cellence in teaching and significant achievement in scholarly inquiry or creativity, as well as professional activities and community service at the event held at Luckman Fine Arts Complex. An expert in exercise therapies for spinal cord injury, de Leon pioneered the use of robotic devices for gait rehabilitation in rodent models. His findings led to the development of new devices used to treat paralysis after spinal cord injury and stroke. A resident of Glendale, de Leon received his Ph.D. in physiological science from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has secured grants totaling more than $4.2 million, which have supported more than 80 Cal State LA students in research projects, and he has authored over 50 papers that were published in top journals, such as The Journal of Neuroscience and The Journal of Neurotrauma. He is director of the university’s School of Kinesiology and Nutritional Science. He is also
the founder of the Mobility Center at Cal State LA, which has helped more than 300 people with disabilities get access to exercise therapy. De Leon helped develop Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Exercise curriculum in kinesiology. This curriculum emphasizes community service and has received multiple awards and special recognition from Congress, the California Legislature and the City of Los Angeles. Additionally, three Outstanding Professor Awards went to Cal State LA faculty members Nana Lawson Bush, V, Dionne Espinoza and ChorSwang Ngin, and an Outstanding Lecturer Award was given to Howard Lum. A President’s Distinguished Professor Award was also presented to Daphne Liu, who was a previous outstanding professor recipient. This award recognizes the faculty member’s superlative teaching and exceptional commitment to students, as well as professional accomplishments and services. n
WREATH-LAYING RITES. Senate Secretary Myra Villarica (left) is joined by Hon. Kevin Lamoureux (middle), Member of Parliament (MP) for Winnipeg North in the House of Commons of Canada, during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Rizal Monument in Luneta Park, Manila, on Monday, August 20. Lamoureux is the chair of the Canada-Philippines Inter-Parliamentary Group. Senate photo by Jun David
urged the public to speak up and stand firm. “While our supposed leaders today are styling themselves as dictators, the responsibility to keep democracy alive in our hands—ever Filipino’s hands,” Alejano said. Borrowing the famous words of his uncle, Sen. Paolo “Bam” Aquino said that Filipinos are still worth dying for. “We are worth the trouble and the struggle. No matter how difficult or dangerous times may get, let’s take the lead from Ninoy’s life,” the senator said. He added: “The Filipino is worth dying for, worth fighting for.” n
by AnnA
GormAn Kaiser Health News
AS he grew older, Dale Kunitomi paid closer attention to his health — and to his doctor’s advice. When he noticed rectal bleeding in 2010, he went to see his physician, who ordered a colonoscopy. The diagnosis: colon cancer. Kunitomi, now 74, underwent surgery, radiation and chemotherapy — and now he has been cancer-free for seven years. “The things that are said about early detection and living a healthy lifestyle are important,” said Kunitomi, a resident of Ventura County, Calif. “You are foolish if you don’t pay attention.” Californians are living longer with most types of cancer, due to earlier detection and more effective treatments, according to new research from the University of California-Davis. But racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities persist, the report found. The study, published this week, shows that 65 percent of people diagnosed with cancer between 2006 and 2010 survived five years or more from the time their disease was discovered, up from 58 percent for those diagnosed between 1990 and 1994. The researchers drew from data on 1.4 million California adults diagnosed with 27 different kinds of cancer. They found improved survival rates for patients with all but five
Source: Institute for Population Health Improvement, University of California-Davis Infographic by Lydia Zuraw/Kaiser Health News
types of cancer. Non-Latino whites had the highest five-year survival rate for all cancers combined, followed by Latinos — though Pacific Islanders and Asians, like Kunitomi, had the highest rates for 13 of the cancers studied, including breast, colon, liver and lung. African-Americans had the worst overall prognosis. The California numbers echo a national trend of significant improvement in cancer survival, one also tempered by racial and ethnic disparities. A recent analysis in the journal Cancer, which relied on death rather than survival rates, found a 26 percent decline in cancer mortality in the United States between 1991 and 2015 — translating to nearly 2.4 million cancer deaths avoided. The
study showed mortality rates declined for all the major cancers, including breast, colorectal and prostate. Dr. Otis Brawley, one of the authors of that report and chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society, attributed the improvement to better screening, detection and treatment — and a decline in smoking. He said cancer deaths likely would drop even further if there were more equal access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the UC-Davis data show that poor Californians don’t live as long with cancer as those of greater means. About three-quarters of the patients at the highest socioeconomic level, with all cancers PAGE A7
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US Army welcomes nearly 90 future soldiers in LA DFA appeals to Filipinos abroad to ‘verify’ AJP posts on social media to avoid disinformation by
by Jefferson
AntipordA
20, appealed to Filipinos abroad ManilaTimes.net to avoid posting unverified information on social media that may THE Department of Foreign Af- unnecessarily strain Philippine refairs (DFA) on Monday, August lations with the host state. A social media post about a Filipina household service worker in Bahrain who was supposedly subjected to genital mutilation by her employer went viral but turned out later that the alleged incident did not happen. DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola in a statement said that while the concern was appreciated, Filipinos abroad should exercise caution in posting such information “without first checking its veracity.” Ambassador to Manama AlfonForeign Affairs Sec. Alan Peter Cayetano so Ver, in a report to the DFA, said Inquirer.net photo the woman had returned to the
Philippines when the post went viral. Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano had the Filipina located and brought immediately to the hospital for medical examination. “Doctors said that upon examination, the victim had no indication whatsoever of genital mutilation,” Ambassador Ver said. Arriola said that every complaint need not go viral on social media because the DFA would always take it seriously and have it investigated. “We have to protect the interests of our kababayan victim and at the same time make sure we do not unnecessarily strain our relations with the host state,” she added. n
Fil-Am community leader announces run... PAGE A1 County as one of the county’s Gateway Cities, Artesia is home to a number of different ethnic enclaves including those of the Portuguese and Dutch who settled into the area in the early 1920s and 1930s. The burgeoning South Asian community can be seen along Pioneer Boulevard which marks the largest Indian enclave in southern California. Then there’s, of course, the Filipino community, which makes up a majority of Artesia’s Asian population. “I love the hometown feel that it has and the people and pride that many of residents show and express,” Ramoso told the Asian Journal in a recent interview.. “I want to keep that spirit, in addition to making the city grow and be innovative as our families grow as well.” Born in neighboring Downey, Ramoso has long been a local to the area, having received her education at the ABC Unified School District’s Richard Gahr High School before attending the University of California, Irvine. Of her favorite things about Artesia, Ramoso recalled it being where she first experienced a strong sense of community that was brought forth by culturally diverse businesses, including those Filipino-owned. “Goldilocks first opened its doors in Artesia, not too far from where I currently live,” Ramoso said. “They’re in Cerritos now,
but it was where I knew I felt like I was home and was experiencing my culture.” On why she decided to enter public service, Ramoso said her passion comes from her immigrant family. “It first started with my grandfather,” she said, sharing that he enjoyed talking about American politics and how important it was to vote. Her retired registered nurse mother, and U.S. Army veteran and retired postal worker father, both also were of big influence, she added. “When I grew up and was able to register to vote, my whole family would all go vote together — my lolo and lola, my mom, my dad, and my sister. Just the whole voting process itself was how I got involved,” said Ramoso. Currently working for the California State Assembly as district director to Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, Ramoso has achieved 14 years of government work representing federal and state legislatures in serving their constituents. Being the only woman on the upcoming November 6th ballot, Ramoso said that while it wasn’t a deciding factor, it was something she saw as an encouragement to take another shot at city council. The first time she ran in 2013, she was the youngest FilAm to run for office in the whole State of California. “I feel incredibly empowered
and also sad at the same time that no other women wanted to step up and be at the table,” expressed Ramoso. Currently, Artesia has one woman on the council being Mayor Sally Flowers. Without Ramoso, it would be all men on the council. “That’s not representative of the community and the government,” shared Ramoso. To the Fil-Am community, Ramoso encouraged them to be a part of the government process simply by getting engaged with their communities. “Learn about who is representing you because they can also change your neighborhood and your lifestyle,” said Ramoso. “It’s important to engage yourself with your local government, and in all levels of government.” Encouraging other Fil-Ams to consider running for positions, she added, “It shouldn’t stop with me and other folks. There is definitely a line of leaders that we’re looking forward to in the future.” Among Ramoso’s endorsers are Artesia Councilmember Miguel Canales, Cerritos Mayor Mark Pulido, Cerritos Councilmember Frank Aurelio Yokoyama, Cerritos Planning Commissioner Tatiana Yokoyama, former Cerritos Planning Commissioner Becky Lingad, and Cerritos Fine Arts and Historical Commissioner Nora Benzon. (Rae Ann Varona/ AJPress)
ress
NEARLY 90 young men and women joined the U.S. Army on Thursday, August 16 during a mass swearing-in ceremony in Los Angeles. The U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion in LA brought together 83 future soldiers, from the five areas it overseas — LA, San Gabriel, Long Beach, San Fernando Valley and the coastal cities — at the Woman’s Club of Hollywood, where they took the Oath of Enlistment. The ritual was witnessed by the recruits’ families, Army leaders, as well as community members. Among those who took the oath were Filipinos Jamil Dancel and Brandon Antolin, who migrated to the U.S. from the Philippines within the past year. Both said they were set on joining the Army for educational and future opportunities. “I joined for security and personal interest,” Antolin, who came to the U.S. in December and enlisted in May, told the Asian Journal. Dancel said that back in the Philippines, he was part of the color guard so that was part of the reason why he decided to sign up for the Army when he moved to a new country. “I also joined because I want to get an education in engineering,” he added. To Filipinos who are considering to join, he said, “they should have the will and passion for it.” Becoming a soldier In joining the Army, enlistees go through a process that involves: taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery which is an exam to help determine a career path, a physical examination, and undergoing a career counseling session. Then they are able to take the oath. Nationally, about 23 percent of young people are qualified to join the Army. The branch is eyeing to welcome 76,000 citizens into the active force, 140,000 across the active guard reserve, Lieutenant General Thomas C. Seamands said. Seamands, who is the deputy chief of staff, G-1, of the Army delivered the keynote speech and administered the oath on Thursday. Coming from an Army family himself, he has been in the service for 37 years. “We’re 17 years into our war and yet these young men and women today are stepping up, wanting to be part of something bigger than themselves. Many of them know that signing up today, they might very well be in combat at some point in the future. But what guided them here are the recruiters...who play a key role in the success of bringing in over 100,000 soldiers in the formation stage,” he told media prior to the ceremony. About the lasting effects of being a member of the Army, Seamands said the greatest one is coming back to the community as a “better citizen.” “Because what they’ve done while in uniform is experience, I would tell you, the world’s premiere leadership experience,” he said, listing ways the branch takes care of its soldiers once they leave the service, including job training, a credentialing program, higher education options, or how to start a business. “The parents and family members present today are probably concerned about their sons and daughters or brothers and sisters who are taking a step in the unknown. But the fact of the matter is, the Army takes care of our own. While you’re in, we’ll take great care of you and after you leave, whenever that is, we’ll make sure you’re set up for the future,” he added. “We really want to holistically take care of the family. If the family is happy, often times, the soldier will continue to serve.” Lt. Col Patrick M. Flood, who took charge as the recruiting battalion commander in LA last July, also addressed the new soldiers. “Just being able to meet all the folks who are here, the parents and the children who want to commit their lives to serve this nation,
Young Filipinos Jamil Dancel (center) and Brandon Antolin (second from right) were among the 83 soldiers who took their oath on Thursday, August 16 in Los Angeles.
The national anthem is performed before U.S. Army Los Angeles Recruiting Battalion Commander Lt. Col Patrick M. Flood, Janet Chin, civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army, and Lieutenant General Thomas C. Seamands, the deputy chief of staff, G-1, of the Army, give their speeches to the new soldiers during a mass swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, August 16 in Los Angeles.
Lieutenant General Thomas C. Seamands administers the Oath of Enlistment to 83 soldiers at the Woman’s Club of Hollywood on Thursday, August 16. Photos courtesy of Fernando Sanjurjo of U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion - Los Angeles
New soldiers Brandon Antolin and Jamil Dancel are joined by Sergeant First Class Julius Williams of the Los Angeles Recruiting Battalion. AJPress photo by Ivy Manalang
a place where a lot of them were not even born, is to me, pretty impressive,” Flood told the Asian Journal following the ceremony. In the past two years, the recruiting battalion observed the highest regular Army enlistment two-year average in LA history (about 1,000 a year) and highest combined regular Army and Army reserve enlistment average in LA history (2,165 per year), as previously reported by the Asian Journal. “Part of the reason why I chose to serve was because of how much this country had given my family. Being able to give back that to other people and now to be able to connect with all the different diverse communities... [like] the Asian Pacific Islander community and the Latino community... and to see that they’re all sitting next to each other, there’s no difference. It doesn’t matter that someone is from Koreatown or San Gabriel, the fact that they’re talking together to me is a big deal about serving in the Army,” Flood said. Given the demographic diversity of Southern California, the battalion has been working to ensure that new recruits reflect those backgrounds. “I think the most successful thing we can do is have a soldier to tell their story because if a soldier goes out there and says why they joined [and] why they stayed, there’s nothing more powerful than that because it’s personal. It’s not an advertisement, it’s not a billboard, it’s actually a personal story,” Seamands told the Asian Journal about the recruiting tactic that he finds most effective. “When you meet an officer who’s in uniform and believes in what
they do, that’s the best selling point to help tell the story.” The audience also heard from Janet Chin, a civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army, who based in the Los Angeles area. Chin, who is a former soldier herself and has seen her own child go through the recruitment process, shared her advice to family members who are sending their children off. “Find every opportunity you can to connect with the Army, attend the ceremonies that are happening in your local area, talk to your neighbors or individuals who have already served, whether it’s the Army or otherwise,” she said. Flood said that the recruiting battalion will increase its efforts to organize town halls, have parents of new soldiers share their experiences and answer questions for prospective families. Chin added that what she learned during her time of service continues to guide her daily life, “you learn how to be resilient, your grit, you learn that failure is just the process of success and that the Army will always be there for you regardless.” At the ceremony, each new soldier was given two tickets to an LA Dodgers baseball game. After the oath, the recruit reports to basic training or may enter the delayed entry program (DEP), which is a commitment to basic training in the future, generally within one year. “At the end of the day, what we want is an Army that is capable of doing what our nation asks us to do, whether it’s fighting wildfires, whether it’s deploying people to Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, whatever our nation needs us to do,” Seamands said. n
The U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion in LA brought together 83 future soldiers, from the five areas it overseas — LA, San Gabriel, Long Beach, San Fernando Valley and the coastal cities — at the Woman’s Club of Hollywood, where they took the Oath of Enlistment.
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Dateline PhiliPPines
Robredo camp: Spare Naga City from allegations MANILA — The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday said that allegations of Naga City as “hotbed” of shabu may have been a jab against Robredo’s competence. “If she is the target, she is ready, but [Naga] should not be dragged into this because many people have put their stake here, many people have benefitted from the efficient administration of the city,” Barry Gutierrez, Robredo’s spokesperson, said in Filipino. Last week, the president claimed that Naga City — bailiwick of Robredo — is a hotbed of shabu, proving that Robredo is incompetent of succeeding him. Robredo and the Naga City Council expressed indignation over Duterte’s statement, but palace spokesperson Harry Roque said that the local government should prove the president wrong. Gutierrez also dismissed the allegation that Butch Robredo, brother of the late Jesse Robredo, has drug links. It has been circulating since the late Robredo, former Interior and Local Government chief and husband of the vice president, was still alive. In a report by the DZRH, former Naga City councilor Luis Ortega claimed that the vice president’s brother-in-law is behind the illegal drug trade in Naga. But Gutierrez said that the ru-
Reyes ManilaTimes.net
Filipino Muslims mark ‘Feast of Sacrifice’ by JulmuniR JannaRal ManilaTimes.net
Vice President Leni Robredo
Photo from the Office of the Vice President
mor first got out when Jesse was still a mayor, but the spokesperson said that not a pinch of evidence was presented. “Sinasakyan na naman, obvious na obvious, iyong binitawan ni presidente last week na salita na “hotbed of shabu” ang Naga—isang statement na kinundena na ng Naga City Council bilang isang pawang kasinungalingan. Walang batayan, at mismong Southern Tagalog PDEA Director sinabi nang walang basis. (It is very obvious that they were riding the momentum of President Duterte’s pronouncement that Naga is “hotbed of shabu”—a statement condemned by the Naga City Council as lies. No basis and something that the PDEA South-
ern Tagalog director said has no basis),” Gutierrez added. Those who claim that Robredo’s projects in Naga were inefficient are also welcome to file cases before courts, Gutierrez added. It was said that Ortega is preparing to file a plunder case against Robredo over multimillion infrastructure projects that collapsed. The projects were initiated during the vice president’s stint as a congresswoman. But Gutierrez said that whatever evidence may be put forth, the courts will appreciate them. “We are confident that all the projects by Vice President Leni are efficient,” he added. (Kristine Joy Patag/Philstar.com)
PH to bring up sea incident with China by Dempsey
2 MILLION FLOCK TO MECCA
to expedite all engagements, projects, investments and loans FOREIGN Affairs Secretary with the Philippines. Alan Peter Cayetano will raise On Friday, August 17, in Davao the Chinese Navy recently shoo- City, President Rodrigo Duterte ing away Filipino pilots patrol- called on China not to throw ling the South China Sea (West “nasty words” at the Philippine Philippine Sea) before his coun- Air Force (PAF) conducting paterpart in Beijing, Defense Secre- trols in Philippine territories in tary Delfin Lorenzana said. the South China Sea. “I already talked with Secretary Duterte’s rare criticism came Cayetano. He said he will bring it a week after a U.S. Navy’s Pup when he speaks with his Chi- 8A Poseidon surveillance plane nese counterpart,” Lorenzana received a radio message from told The Manila Times in a text China’s People’s Liberation message. Army Navy asking the U.S. to Cayetano is set to visit China to leave the areas. discuss the framework of a joint The U.S. Navy, according to a exploration by Manila and Bei- report from the BBC, overheard jing in the South China Sea and another radio message that also
asked a PAF plane to leave the Spratly archipelago or face the consequences if it insisted on continuing with its patrols. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), had said seemingly hostile verbal exchanges between Filipino and Chinese pilots are a “daily occurrence” whenever the PAF patrols waters in the contested sea. Despite the incident, Lorenzana said the AFP will continue to patrol areas in the South China Sea that are part of the Philippine territory. “We will continue with our regular patrols, we will not decrease [them],” he said. n
COTABATO CITY — AN estimated 1.8 billion Muslims around the world are set to celebrate Eid’l Adha or “Feast of Sacrifice,” the culmination of the performance of the fifth pillar of Islam, which is the Hajj or pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca) in Saudi Arabia. Adherents of Islam constitute the world’s second largest religious group. According to a study in 2015, Islam has 1.8 billion adherents, making up about 24 percent of the world population. Most Muslims are either of two denominations: Sunni (80-90 percent, roughly 1.5 billion people) or Shia (10–20 percent, roughly 170-340 million people). Eid’l Adha is the second major festival of Islam aside from Eid’l Fitr that marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. Eid’l Adha commemorates
Prophet Ibrahim or Abraham’s unwavering faith in God or Allah and Ishmael’s acceptance of his fate. Hence, the “feast of sacrifice” or “Festival of Sacrifice” or “Greater Eid” is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his son Ishmael (Isma’il) as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened and provided him with a sheep to sacrifice instead, according to Aleem Said Ahmad Basher, the chairman of the Imam Council of the Philippines. Ibrahim, known as Abraham in the Christian and Jewish traditions, was commanded by God to sacrifice his adult son. He obeyed and took Ishmael (Ismail or Ismael) to a mount near Mina. Just as he was to sacrifice his son, an angel stopped him and gave him a ram to sacrifice in place of his
son. Some claim that the son of sacrifice was Isaac (Ishaq). But the Muslims have the firm belief it was Ishmael who was about to be sacrificed by Prophet Ibrahim. At Eid’l Adha, many Muslims make a special effort to pray and listen to a sermon at a mosque. They also wear new clothes, visit family members and friends and may symbolically sacrifice an animal in an act known as qurbani. This represents the animal that Ibrahim sacrificed in the place of his son. Aleem Basher said Eid’l Adha is one of two major Eid festivals observed by Muslims, the basis of which is Sura 2 (Al- Baqara) Ayah 196 in the Qur’an. Like Eid’l-fitr, Eid’l Adha begins with a prayer of two Raka’ah (units), followed by a sermon (khutbah). The word “Eid” appears in Sura al-Mai’da (The Table Spread, PAGE A7
A6 AUGUST 22-24, 2018 • SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL
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OPINION
Remembering
FEATURES
IN 35 years, a generation has reached adulthood. Events before the birth of members of this generation are relegated to their history lessons. Each year that passes makes remembering more difficult. And yet this country cannot afford to forget former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and what he was fighting for, which drove him to return home from exile on that fateful afternoon, 35 years ago today. Who ordered Aquino’s assassination together with alleged communist hit man Rolando Galman remains a mystery. The truth eluded the country even after Aquino’s widow and their only son became president. What has always been certain was Ninoy Aquino’s cause: to free his country from the yoke of dictatorship. The cause still resonates as certain public officials in this country even in remote municipalities continue to behave like dictators, trample on human rights and treat public coffers like their personal piggybank. Younger generations did not experience those days when the state controlled people’s movements, the flow of information and even men’s hairstyles and women’s hemlines. But the youth – and the older generations — can still be reminded about those days, when plunder was committed on such a large scale that a new word had to
be coined for it. The “kleptocracy” and authoritarian rule held back economic development. By the time democracy was restored in 1986, with Ninoy Aquino’s widow Corazon taking the helm of government, the country — which was second only to Japan in the level of development when Ferdinand Marcos became president — had fallen behind several of its neighbors in many human development indicators. Today the country is still trying to catch up and recover its place in the region. Ninoy Aquino risked his life to return to the country and lead the movement against the abuses of the Marcos dictatorship. Aquino did not make it past the airport that now bears his name. But his death awakened a nation from apathy and galvanized a movement to end an oppressive regime. It’s a story worth retelling, and remembering, decades after Aquino’s murder. The admonition often given in those dark days of oppression remains relevant to this day: freedom is like air — you take it for granted, until it is taken away. (Philstar.com)
Editorial
Philstar.com photo
Trump implicated in open court as a co-conspirator in campaign finance violations to influence the 2016 presidential election
The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS UNDER OATH, President Donald Trump’s fixer and long-time personal lawyer Michael Cohen surrendered to the FBI and pleaded guilty to eight counts related to tax fraud, excessive campaign contributions, making false statements to a financial institution, and unlawful corporate contributions at a court hearing in New York on Tuesday, August 21. Trump has been implicated in two of these counts of the crime that the president has been denying and lying about since this was reported by media he has been calling “fake news.” THIS IS NOT FAKE NEWS.
Cohen admitted — under oath in an open court, substantiated with hard evidence, to be corroborated by other evidence pursuant to the rule of law — that he paid hush money to two women (Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal) in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate running for federal office (Donald Trump) to influence the outcome of the election. These payments were made to silence these women about their alleged affairs with then-private citizen Trump just before the 2016 elections in order to conceal material information to the public to help him win the presidency. As CNBC reported, “Cohen pleaded guilty to one count of
causing an illegal corporate contribution in 2016 by working with the CEO of a media company, at the direction of a federal candidate for federal election, to keep information from the public. Cohen said he paid a woman $150,000 ‘for the principal purpose of influencing the election.’” The second admission implicating Trump was “making an excessive campaign contribution. He said he used a company under his control to pay $130,000 to a woman at the direction of the same candidate.” Trump refused to comment when reporters asked him about this news, but just responded to the other news of the day
headlining his former campaign manager Paul Manafort who was found guilty on eight criminal counts by a jury in Virginia. This is the first to come as a result of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation in the alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign and help Trump win. “I think the whole Manafort trial is very sad...I think it’s a very sad day for our country,” the president said at the White House. “He happens to be a very good person, and I think it’s very sad what they’ve done to Paul Manafort.” The questions:
What will now happen to President Donald Trump? Will he also be indicted for the crime Cohen pleaded guilty to? After all, this criminal act was meant to benefit Trump, not Cohen. What did the president’s men and women in the White House and in the Republican Party know about this? Were they ordered by Trump to conceal this from the public? Would this constitute obstruction of justice? Were they complicit in covering up this violation as they continued to lie to the American people? And now that this has come out under oath in court, what will the honorable men and women of the Republican Party do to prove to the American peo-
ple that the party of Lincoln believes in the rule of law, and that no one — not even the president — is above the law? How would this development be part of the bigger picture of the Mueller probe? How does the evidence coming from this relate to the other pieces of evidence already in the hands of Mueller? How will this news affect the 2018 midterm elections? ABANGAN… *** Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https:// www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
Why not ‘build, build, build’ the new int’l airport of the Philippines? Commentary
YEN MAKABENTA I SUBMIT that there is a major difference between the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the needed new premier international airport of the nation. The difference is between a “can’t-do/better-not-try” pessimism, and a ”can-do”/yes, wecan” spirit. I believe it is time for President Duterte to order the injection of the “build, build, build” spirt (which is set to build a railway system throughout the country and construct a subway in the metropolis) into the solution of our perennial nightmare over NAIA. Can’t-do vs can-do agencies NAIA is a can’t-do institution and facility of the government, saddled with operational and management problems, stinking toilets, and burdened by a sorry/ tragic history. It is often named as one of the world’s worst airports. The new international airport is a challenging infrastructure need or fantasy project that will submit to engineering knowhow, financial analysis and financing, project management, and a nononsense construction timetable. It is a must-have project, and will most likely be built in a hurry. As an institution, NAIA has become a conundrum, a problem that is intractable or difficult to solve. It is like the perennial flooding of Metro Manila and neigh-
boring provinces; the serpentine clogged traffic at EDSA; the invincibly corrupt and inefficient government bureaucracy; the sclerotic party system and Philippine political culture; the ageless communist insurgency and militancy. These problems share one quality in common; they have been around us for generations, but they have stonily defied solution. Filipinos now expect to see them every time they wake up. A traumatic jolt The airport incident on Thursday, August 16, involving a Xiamen Air plane, which caused the temporary closure of NAIA to air traffic, is paradoxically a blessing or traumatic jolt. It has loosened many tongues. Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said on Saturday that the mishap serves as an “eye-opener” for airport authorities, and presumably his department. “This incident served as a reminder for us to take a second look at the processes, procedures, and protocols of concerned agencies, as well as airlines, so that we may all improve in the future,” Tugade said. House transportation committee chairman Cesar Sarmiento seemed to leap out of his chair. He declared that it is time to build a new international airport outside Manila. He zeroed in on NAIA’s single runway facility as the root of our problems in our premier international airport. He pointed to the existing Clark International Airport in Pampanga, which has rapidly emerged as a “complementary” airport for NAIA. Clark is huge and it can be developed to handle all that NAIA cannot cope with
Meanwhile in the Senate, Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the committee on public services, wants to conduct an inquiry into the Xiamen incident, but only if there is live TV coverage. She will not be satisfied until she is able to ask questions herself of pilots, engineers and airport officials, if she would understand their vocabulary. It is as if this country does not have an airport authority to investigate such incidents. Urgent necessity, national sanity Seriously, I submit that more than another Senate inquiry, we need a policy decision to adopt “build, build, build” in bringing our substandard premier international airport into the modern world. As a matter of urgent necessity and for the sake of national sanity, our sovereign government must finance and build posthaste a new international airport to serve our national capital and the entire country. Congress and transportation officials have long discussed various proposals to address the problem, but so far nothing has availed. The repeated building of new terminals at NAIA has solved nothing, because the fundamental problem of NAIA is its single runway. Until this problem is met, we should expect no relief or change. In other countries in Asia, notably South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong, governments have built second airports outside the main city, that are located an hour or more away. The key to making this work in our case is to plan this infrastructure right, build a facility with
NAIA INCIDENT PRESSER. Philippine Airlines Vice President for Corporate Communication Josen Perez de Tagle (right) gives a statement to the media about the cancellation and delayed flights in a press conference held at the NAIA Terminal 1, in Pasay City on Monday, August 20. Also in photo are Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Ed Monreal (3rd from left), and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Director General Capt. Jim Sydiongco (2nd from left). PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan
several runways and the capacity to serve several million passengers. Most important is the construction of fast rail system, which can speedily move passengers to and from the airport. We will only add that the new international airport should be built according to the highest design standards and specifications, as befit our fast-growing nation of over 100 million. It is to compete in our real division. New mindset, new day The Duterte administration is admirably moving now with
its “build, build, build” policy to modernize and provide longneeded infrastructure to the entire country from north to south. The program will lift the country to the upper rungs of economic development, and drive the economy to new heights. It makes no sense to modernize highways, railways and build a subway, upgrade our armed forces and police, overhaul our political system, and leave our international airport in the shadows, like a black sheep. I submit that adding a second international airport for our capital region fits squarely into
this new national mindset. The cost, whatever it may be, can be afforded and easily financed. If government wants the private sector to do it, several investors will readily line up to take on the burden. That is how acutely the need is felt by all. There is paramount national interest in building another international airport for our capital region and the nation. The time to start building is now. When the new airport is finished, should we call it the Ninoy Aquino International Airport? Good heavens, no! This is a new day. (ManilaTimes.net)
The views expressed by our Op-Ed contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the predilection of the editorial board and staff of Asian Journal.
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Dateline PhiliPPines
SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • AUgUSt 22-24, 2018
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Sison wants Duterte arrested rather than dead PH, Clarkson come up short against China, 80-82 EXILED communist leader Jose Maria “Joma” Sison on Tuesday, August 21, denied he wished President Rodrigo Duterte dead but said he would rather see him get arrested. In a statement, Sison said he was also “gratified” to see a video of Duterte posted by Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go where the Chief Executive, rumored to be ill, was dining with a “beautiful lady.” “I am also gratified that the… video shows Duterte truly look-
ing very tired and dispirited, his face still very dark and his right eye dropping,” Sison said. “[Duterte] looks like he just came from dialysis or some other kind of treatment on Sunday,” he said. In an earlier Facebook post, the chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), who is in self-exile in Amsterdam, said that Duterte fell into a coma — a claim denied by Malacañang and some of the president’s allies in the Senate. For Sison, Go’s live video feed
of Duterte taunting him “confirms” the report that last Saturday, his face looked “darker than usual” and was “slow and unstable” while offering a handshake to his brothers at the Lex Talionis fraternity in San Beda College. Sison said that Duterte was suffering from “some serious illness,” such as the aggravation of Buerger’s disease, wherein blood vessels were inflamed, particularly in the legs, which may lead to gangrene. (Dempsey Reyes/ManilaTimes.net)
Californians living longer with cancer...
PAGE A3 combined, survived five years or more. Just over half the patients at the lowest levels lived that long. Age was also a major factor: The younger patients were at the time of the diagnosis, the better their chance of survival. Separate research from UC-Davis, published in 2015, showed the impact of health insurance status: Uninsured patients and those on Medi-Cal — California’s version of the federal Medicaid program for low-income people — had worse cancer care and outcomes than people with private insurance. The research published this week showed the most critical factor in survival was finding the cancer early, which the report said underscores the importance of screening. One hundred percent of breast cancer patients survived at least five years if their disease was detected at stage 1. Only 28 percent of patients lived that long if their cancer was found when it was at stage 4, the most advanced stage. Most types of cancer show similarly stark disparities. Stages, which depend in part on the size of the tumor and whether the cancer has spread, are a gauge of how serious the disease is. “The earlier things are picked up, the more likely it is that treatment is successful,” said Dr. Kenneth Kizer, senior author of the study and director of the UC-Davis Institute for Population Health Improvement. Cancer screening and treatment for African-Americans lag behind other racial and ethnic groups, said Dr. Nancy Lee, who is on the board of Black Women’s Health Imperative, a
national organization that seeks to improve the health of black women. Long-standing and sometimes unrecognized bias in the health care system disadvantages black patients in a way that can compromise their medical outcomes, said Lee, who previously led the cancer division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. White women in California are more likely to get breast cancer, the most common cancer among women, but black women are more likely to die from it, the UC-Davis report found. Bobby Smith’s wife, an African-American, died 13 years ago after her breast cancer moved into her lymph nodes and eventually metastasized to her brain. Smith said he doesn’t believe doctors gave her all the information she needed to make the best decisions about her treatment. “Health care professionals treat and serve people of color differently,” said Smith, who lives in Los Angeles. The UC-Davis report used data from the California Cancer Registry, a repository of data on cancer patients dating to 1988 that contains information on patient demographics, diagnosis, initial treatment and outcomes. The rates reported in the study measure “relative” survival, which represents survival in the absence of other causes of death. The study showed patients with prostate, breast, melanoma and uterine cancers had among the highest survival rates: More than 80 percent of them lived at least five years after their diagnosis. Survival did not improve for
patients with some cancers, including bladder, cervical and testicular. And fewer than 20 percent of patients with cancers of the lung, liver, pancreas and esophagus lived past five years. For breast cancer patients, five-year survival improved from 85 percent among those diagnosed between 1990 and 1994 to 90 percent among those diagnosed between 2006 and 2010. The patterns were similar for lung cancer, the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in California and the leading cause of cancer deaths nationwide. The disease tends to be diagnosed late, and patients with stage 4 cancer had just a 4 percent survival rate after five years. Kizer of UC-Davis said new treatments offer great promise for cancer patients, but how much money they have and who their insurers are may well determine whether or not they reap the benefits. Cancer is hard enough for people with means and education, said Susan Lasker Hertz, 61, a Colorado nurse who was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2009 and then developed leukemia three years later. Hertz, who is now in remission from both cancers, said her knowledge and experience helped her navigate the health care system and get treated quickly after her diagnosis. But it wasn’t easy. “I am an educated, white, highly knowledgeable health care professional,” she said, “and it is still overwhelming.” This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation. n
THE Philippines came up short against China, 80-82, on Tuesday, August 21, even with Jordan Clarkson in the line-up during the men’s basketball event in the 2018 Asian Games at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Central Jakarta. Clarkson, who plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association (NBA) proved to be a huge boost as he scored 28 points, hauled down eight rebounds and dished out four assists, while Christian Standhardinger added 18 points
and eight rebounds. The Philippines’ defeat in the preliminary round of Group D comes after winning the opener against Kazakhstan, 96-59, last week. The Philippines, however, has qualified for the quarterfinals and would most likely meet the Koreans. The Filipinos trailed 12-20, after the opening quarter, but kept the game close. Paul Lee, who contributed 10 points, nailed a game-tying triple late in the fourth quarter, 74-all, while Stanley Pringle even gave the
Filipinos the lead, 80-77. After Zhou Qi split his free throws, Pringle turned the ball over to the Chinese who tied the count at 80-all on a Zhao Ru layup. Zhao’s go-ahead free throws with 13 seconds left gave the Chinese a two-point advantage before Lee muffed a game-winning triple at the buzzer. Pringle tallied 14 points also for the Filipinos, while Qi had an impressive performance with 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks. (Josef Ramos/ManilaTimes.net)
Filipino Muslims mark ‘Feast... PAGE A5 Chapter 5) of the Qur’an, meaning solemn festival, he added. Eid’l Adha is observed annually on the 10th day of the 12th and the last Islamic month of Dhu alhijjah of the lunar Islamic calendar. Hence, Eid’l Adha celebrations start after the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide. Aleem Basher urged Muslims to open their hearts to “piety, humility and God’s remembrance.” “The spiritual spring of Hajj has arrived with its freshness, purity and God given grandeur and majesty, gathering again the faithful and eager hearts like butterflies encircling the Ka’bah of Divine Unity and Islamic solidarity,” the head of the Imam Council of the Philippines said. Camped at Makkah, Mina, and Arafat are the “fortunate human beings who have responded to the call to proclaim the Hajj to all the people,” he stressed. He said the pilgrims performed the Hajj ritual in the plain of Arafat known as Uqowf on Monday. Today, Tuesday, the pilgrims are slated to go to Mina to slaughter goat or sheep. It is followed by another ritual
which is the stoning of the devil in a place known as Jamarat, where Satan supposedly asked Ibrahim not to follow the commandment of Allah in offering his son Ishmael as a form of sacrifice. 2 million flock to Mecca More than 2 million Muslims from around the globe started the hajj pilgrimage on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest annual gatherings in a country undergoing unprecedented change. The ultra-conservative kingdom — where religion remains a guiding force amid dramatic social and economic reforms — has mobilized vast resources for the six-day journey, a pillar of Islam. “It’s the dream of every Muslim to come here to Mecca,” said Frenchman Soliman Ben Mohri. “It’s the ultimate journey. What worries me is the return to my normal life. For the moment, I am in a dream,” the 53-year old told Agence-France Presse. Every Muslim is required to complete the hajj journey to Islam’s holiest sites at least once in their lifetime if they are healthy enough and have the means to do so. Tens of thousands of security personnel have been deployed
for the pilgrimage, which was struck by its worst ever disaster three years ago when around 2,300 worshippers were crushed to death in a stampede. This year, the Saudis have launched a “smart hajj” initiative, with apps to help pilgrims with everything from travel plans to medical care. The interior ministry said on Saturday that the number of pilgrims arriving in Mecca had already surpassed the two million mark, mostly from abroad including large contingents from Egypt, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The hajj comes more than a year into the worst political crisis to grip the Gulf, pitting Saudi Arabia against Qatar. Saudi Arabia — the world’s largest exporter of oil — and its allies accuse Qatar of cozying up to both Sunni Islamist extremists and Shiite Iran, Riyadh’s main rival. They have cut all ties with Qatar — which denies the charges — and banned all flights to and from Doha. Qatar said Sunday that its citizens were unable to take part in the hajj because of the diplomatic dispute. n
EID’L ADHA PRAYER. Hundreds of Muslims celebrate the Eid’l Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) by offering a prayer at the Quirino Grandstand, Rizal Park in Manila on Tuesday, August 21. Eid’l Adha commemorates Ibrahim’s (Abraham’s) willingness to sacrifice his son to show his obedience to and trust in God. PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan
A August 22-24, 2018 • soCal AsIAN JOuRNAL
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ADB lends $300 million to boost PPP flow In a statement, the multilateral finance institution said the government reforms it supports under the Expanding Private Participation in Infrastructure Program (EPPIP) Subprogram 2 aims to create the enabling policy environment that would allow PPP projects to flourish through public sector expertise and innovation. Photo by Miguel De Guzman/Philstar.com by Czarina
ValenCia Philstar.com
THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $300 million policy-based loan to support the strengthening of the country’s public-private partnership (PPP) framework. In a statement, the multilateral finance institution said the government reforms it supports under the Expanding Private Participation in Infrastructure Program (EPPIP) Subprogram 2
aims to create the enabling policy environment that would allow PPP projects to flourish through public sector expertise and innovation. “PPPs can raise the quality of life for citizens by providing reliable public services through efficient infrastructure. Reforms under the EPPIP program have been successful in stimulating the PPP market and improving the quality of infrastructure projects in the Philippines,� said ADB senior trade specialist Cris-
tina Lozano. The government aims to raise infrastructure investments to 7.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2022 from 5.1 percent in 2016 to respond to the connectivity and transportation needs of a fast-growing economy confronted by expanding population and rapid urbanization. ADB noted that the administration’s ambitious Build Build Build program requires around $168 billion in investments for
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Filipino-Chinese business group backs TRABAHO, substitute bill of TRAIN 2 A FILIPINO--CHINESE business group has expressed their approval of the proposed Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities or TRABAHO bill. The Federation of FilipinoChinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. said it is in favor of the proposed TRABAHO as the contemplated reduction in corporate income tax rates “would improve the competitiveness of domestic corporations, particularly compared to ASEAN neighbors, and allow domestic firms to reinvest tax savings in their businesses.�
“Lower taxes could make businesses pass on the tax savings to consumers by way of lower prices to stay competitive,� FFCCII said in a statement Saturday, August 18. FFCCII President Domingo Yap added that the group agrees that rationalization of fiscal incentives reform is long overdue in the Philippines. “The TRABAHO bill is meant to be revenue neutral and will rationalize granting of government incentives. We reaffirm our support for tax reforms in the TRABAHO bill to sustain fast and inclusive economic growth for the
A rice store is pictured at Kamuning Market on July 26, 2018. Photo by Michael Varcas/Philstar.com
Philippines,� he added. TRABAHO is the substitute bill to the second package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN. It was approved by the House of Rep-
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Pilgrimage to Some of ITALY’s Highlights and Miracles of the Eucharist 6SLULWXDO 'LUHFWRU 5(9 -2(/ %8*$6 ĹĄ 1RYHPEHU WR 1RYHPEHU 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 0RQ Ĺ&#x; 86$ 520( 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 7XHV Ĺ&#x; 5RPH Upon our arrival in Rome, our Tour Escort will welcome us to Italy. Rome is the heart, home and the spiritual capital of over one billion Catholics all over the world. After a short panoramic orientation of this Eternal City to us Roman Catholics, we will have our dinner and overnight rest at this great ancient City. DINNER AND OVERNIGHT IN ROME (BB,D) 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY :HG Ĺ&#x; 5RPH 3DSDO $XGLHQFH 5RPH This morning before we continue with our tour, we will have a Papal Audience. Then after, we will visit the famous Coliseum and see the Forum, the Trevi Fountain 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 Fountain, before heading to our Hotel. DINNER AND OVERNIGHT IN ROME (BB,D)
'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 7KXUV Ĺ&#x; 5RPH %DVLOLFDV We will visit the Vatican Museum this morning and the Sistine Chapel to admire the awesome masterpieces of Michaelangelo, and even ancient Greek and Roman artists. the largest church in Roman Catholicism, St. Peter’s Basilica. Holy Eucharist at ST Mary Major, Followed by visit of the Basilica. We continue to visit the rest of the major Basilicas within the walls of Rome, and St. John Lateran, 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 steps that Christ ascended to receive Pilate’s unjust condemnation. DINNER AND OVERNIGHT IN ROME (BB,D) 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY )UL Ĺ&#x; 5RPH 6DQ *LRYDQQL 5RWRQGR 2018 is the 100th Anniversary of the stigmatization of St Pio. Church Will have Monthly Pastoral Program of Activities for the whole year. San Giovanni Rotondo, the home of St Padre Pio of Pietrelcina from 28 July, 1916 until his death on 23 September, 1968. Enjoy the drive going to San Giovanni, after we check in our Hotel. vWe visit the Shrines of St Padre Pio of Pietralcina as well as the places associated with him, such as the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace that contains his tomb. Here, we spend some time meditating, see his room, his confessional box and the cruciďŹ x that gave him his supernatural Crucifying stigmata, Celebrate Holy Eucharist (Hotel Gran Paradiso) DINNER AND OVERNIGHT IN San Giovanni Rotondo (BB,D) 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 6DW Ĺ&#x; 6$1 *,29$11, 52721'2 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 awesome Basilica. DINNER AND OVERNIGHT IN SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO (Hotel Gran Paradiso)
'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 6XQ Ĺ&#x; 6DQ *LRYDQQL 5RWRQGR /DQFLDQR /RUHWR MASS AND BREAKFAST. We arrive at Lanciano, famous for the Miracle of the Eucharist. Near the Piazza Plebiscito, the Miracle is inside the Sanctuary of the Eucharistic Miracle. The miracle took place during the 8th century when a Basiline monk doubted the Real Presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. He found himself holding the host that had changed into Real Flesh and the Wine on the altar had changed into Real Blood. We continue our pilgrimage to the great Marian shrine of Loreto to see the famous sacred home of the most Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Since 1294 the holy home has been located inside the Basilica of Loreto. Celebrate Holy Eucharist in Lanciano. DINNER AND OVERNIGHT IN Assisi. 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 0RQ Ĺ&#x; /RUHWR $VVLVL Today we explore the hilltop birthplace of St Francis of Assisi. In the Crypt of St Francis Basilica lies the tomb of one of the most humble and beloved Saints of all times, St. Francis of Assisi, Holy Eucharist at the Crypt of St. Francis See the Basilica of St Clare, with her incorrupt body, and the little Church of St. Damiano and its CruciďŹ x from which Jesus spoke to Francis about his mission in 1206: “Go, Francis, and rebuild my house, which as you see is falling into ruin.â€? We visit the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, located in the lower plains of Assisi, and the place where the miracle of the Eucharist of Assisi took place in 1240. The small Church of the Porziuncola is inside the Basilica itself. Pope Honorius III granted a plenary indulgence for those entering this humble Church on August 1st and 2nd every year, with Confession, reception of the Eucharist and no attachment to venial sins. (BB,D) 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 7XHV Ĺ&#x; $VVLVL 6LHQD )ORUHQFH We will spend half day in Siena. Begin in the old town center with a visit to the Basilica of San Domenico. Built in the 13th century, it is a treasure chest of the Renaissance art and dedicated to St Catherine of Siena. You will learn about the city’s history while admiring it’s cathedrals, Museum, and libraries .Also you will admire the famous piazza del Campo, one of Europe’s great medieval squares. Continue to Florence. (BB,D) We start with a guided walking tour of Florence, this fascinating city with its Piazza, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistery of St. John the Baptist. Rest of the day free (BB,D) 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY :HG Ĺ&#x; )ORUHQFH 5RPH Leave Florence around 2PM Arrived Rome almost dinner time (BB.D) 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 7KXUV Ĺ&#x; 5RPH 86$ End of our wonderful Pilgrimage
Please call QTS Tour and Travel NOW at 1 (714) 288-0800 or (714) 761-6280 1095 N Main St. Suite O, Orange, CA 92867
B2 AUGUST 22-24, 2018 • SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL
BUSINESS NEWS
Policy uniformity crucial if PH adopts federalism by ANNA LEAH
E. GONZALES Manilatimes.net
A FEDERAL form of government might work for the Philippines but authorities need to ensure policy uniformity, the European Union’s envoy to the country said. Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of an infrastructure forum on Friday, August 17, EU Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen said investors would prefer to deal with one set of laws and incentives if the country decided to adopt federalism as sought by President Rodrigo Duterte. “I think it’s important that the security of the investments is, of course, maintained and the eco-
look at this as one legal framework for the investment rather than different frameworks…”. “On the business side, of course it is easier when you have one set of labor laws rather than different sets of labor laws hen we talk about incentives. If you start having different rules for different regions then it’s complicated for me,” Jessen added. Asked to comment if the shift would be beneficial for the Philippines, Jessen said “it’s not for us (the EU) to judge whether it’s Franz Jessen - EU Ambassador to the okay or not.” File photo by Manilatimes.net Philippines “In Europe we have 28 member nomic environment is compa- states with different traditions in rable with the different regions,” terms of federalism. We have difhe said, noting that “when the ferent models in Europe and our European investor looks at the view is that different models can Philippines it’s much easier to u PAGE B5
What’s new: Tax cuts and jobs act (Part 1)
• PERSONAL exemptions: the personal exemptions for you, your spouse, and dependents are suspended. This line item may not even show on your 2018 Form 1040. • Credits for child and dependent • Child tax credit increased to $2,000 for each qualifying child and $1,400 for additional tax credit and is subject to phase out of $200,000 for single and $400,000 for married filing jointly. • $500 credit is available for each dependent who does not qualify for child tax credit. This is also subject to the same phase out. • SSN is required for child tax credit and additional tax credit. • Family leave credit: The credit is effective for wages paid during taxable years beginning January 1. 2018 and before December 31, 2019. The credit amount is a percentage of qualifying employees’ wages for up to 12 weeks annually while the employee is on family leave or medical leave. The family leave credit is available if the leave is for employee to care for employee newborn, care for family member serious health condition, employee serious health condition, and employee or family member called for duty in the armed forces. Employer must: have written policy, provide at least two weeks of paid family and medical leave annually, provide at least 50% of employee wages, and be available to qualifying employees
What’s New ARLENE AL-OS, CPA, MBA who work full time or prorate for part-time. Employee must: be employed for at least one year, and must have not earned more than $72,000 in 2017 for 2018 or compensation in prior year do not exceed the threshold amount. • Changes that affect high-income taxpayers • Standard deduction almost doubled: $24,000 for married filing joint filers and $12,000 for singles. • $10,000 cap for tax deduction: combining state and local property, sales and income taxes. • New limits on deductions for some mortgage interest and home equity debt. •Higher limits on the percent of income a taxpayer can deduct as charitable contributions. • Zero deduction for miscellaneous expenses: include investment expenses and un-reimbursed employee expenses such as travel, meals, entertainment and uniforms. In the past, this had to exceed 2 percent of taxpayer’s income to qualify. • Itemizing versus standard deduction: taxpayers previously itemized in the past may be bet-
ter off and pay less tax in 2018 by taking the standard deduction. • Why you should check your withholding now and complete Form W-4? In response to the new law, it is recommended you review your paycheck withholding to avoid too little tax withheld ending huge tax liability plus penalty when file your taxes in 2019. IRS provided an enhanced withholding tax calculator in their website. Please visit IRS website: https://apps.irs.gov/app/ withholdingcalculator/ • Section 199A deduction for qualified business income: The 20% deduction of qualified business income is available to sole proprietors, partnerships, trusts, and S-Corporations. Eligible taxpayers are those whose 2018 taxable income are below $315,000 for married filing joint and below $157,500 for single and other filers. Refer to Notice 2018-64 for methods for calculation and FAQs on Section 199A at IRS. gov. *** Disclaimer: Any accounting, business or tax advice contained in this communication is neither intended as a thorough, in-depth analysis of specific issues, nor a substitute for a formal opinion, nor is it sufficient to avoid taxrelated penalties. *** Al-os & Associates Accountancy Corporation provides accounting and tax services to individuals, corporations, LLCs and business entities. The Firm has a niche in defending taxpayers audited by the IRS and other governmental agencies. (Advertising Supplement)
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Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond MONETTE ADEVA MAGLAYA (Continued from last week …) YOU hope that a smattering of beautiful memories, yours as well as of those you leave behind, are indelibly marked in a few hearts and minds for a generation or two — strong enough to move them to bring you flowers on your gravesite long after you’re gone. If your life were to be compressed to a 60-second video, you hope that the awful parts were edited out and landed on the cutting room floor permanently deleted. The saddest thing about a life is to be forgotten as though you never lived. But what seems clear is that this phase of life which may be aptly called the pre-departure stage before the final journey should still be filled with purpose. Without a goal, we tend to be rudderless, aimless blobs floating in an ocean of nothingness. There is no force to push or pull us into a port of call. Without a plan, we hit the doldrums. Without a reason to get up in the morning and seize the day, our body and soul tend to wither
The Metamorphosis
ERNIE D. DELFIN PART 2 of 2 what made Gawad Kalinga become very popular and effective? There are many factors that have contributed to the dramatic rise of GK. Let me capsulate some of the reasons why GK has become a symbol of hope of eradicating poverty by 2024, one village at a time. Most GK Villages are a joint effort of several organizations/leaders who sincerely want a radical change to uplift the poor to become useful citizens of the community. GK, the catalyst, invites compassionate local leaders, cooperative local government public officials and seeks land donor with the objective of building a village in that community or town. The process of finding the worthy and deserving poor
The bucket list Grazing in the grass
(12th of a series - conclusion of 2 parts)
“...The saddest thing about life is to be forgotten as though you never lived...” away. Such is our nature as human beings. When the purpose that drove our lives for decades, such as the family’s well-being or any other purpose, is gone, we tend to lose our bearings and we begin to drift. Suddenly, no one needs us. No one calls except those darn polling, marketing and political calls asking for donations. UGH!!! No one seems to care. Our sense of self worth dissipates and is gone with the wind. But it does not have to be. If there is anything we learned about life in the trenches, we don’t surrender without a fight. We can harness what we made of ourselves and put our life skills to good use. In short, we adapt to our circumstances or go extinct like the dodo bird. So how does one repurpose one’s life? One way is to set a new goal. In hitting the bullseye, experts in darts and archery advise to set your aim just a tad higher. The concept probably
works the same way in achieving one’s goal during this stage of life. Set a goal bigger than one’s self. A goal bigger than one’s self could be spending time reading to young ones in the library or bringing hot lunch and the Holy Eucharist to the elderly and homebound, or bringing joy to wherever and whomever may appreciate the gesture and spread the cheer in a ripple effect. Or we can write letters of encouragement to those who live in darkness. Get savvy with social media skills and engage in battle. Your 2 cents worth, if reinvested and repeated by like-minded people of light, can resonate and capture minds and hearts and amount to great value over time. We can engage in symbolic or actual skirmishes and battles that abound on earth where there is a perpetual struggle between good and evil where you know without
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Gawad Kalinga continues to eliminate poverty one village at a time (Second of a series on the writer’s Philippines visit)
among so many homeless, landless and sometimes underemployed or unemployed people, is both challenging and daunting. Many poor families “disqualify” themselves along the way, as many are not willing and capable of completing the Values Formation Seminars required, as well as the tenacity to give hundreds of volunteer labor hours to Gawad Kalinga Village build-up. When the GK house is given to the deserving family, however, their human dignity is regained, and their self-respect rises, commencing the long process to self-independence and economic freedom. The heads of families metamorphose into becoming more responsible and begin to dream better things for their families. After a couple of years, one can see profound and significant transformation of most
beneficiary families: their self esteem is up, their children becoming more sociable and more enthusiastic to go to school, and they work harder to keep improving their economic and financial status. Some eventually leave their small house and move up to a bigger house and the family will never be homeless again. For Gawad Kalinga advocates like this writer, it is very heartening to witness that in a few years, the “poor” family is transformed into “middle class,” where a son or daughter goes to high school or college, have a more stable job, and sometimes even have a economy car to be more mobile and thereby eligible for higher income jobs and or to engage in a small business activity. To paraphrase Dr. Jose V. Abueva, the 16th president of
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BUSINESS NEWS
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Debt Relief
ATTY. LAWRENCE YANG I REPRESENTED a foreign company with a $250,000-claim for a 40-foot container of manufactured goods that it delivered to the debtor, a California company, on December 30, 2014. The debtor had been in Chapter 11 for a year before the trustee was able to convert the case to Chapter 7 on April 4, 2015. The client continued doing business with the debtor while it was in Chapter 11, shipping the latter millions of dollars worth of merchandise, and up to a week before the debtor converted to Chapter 7. When debtor converted to Chapter 7, it owed the client $250,000 of unpaid merchandise, and a trademark that the client had paid debtor $120,000 for. The court had previously ruled in favor of the client for the $120,000 trademark, saying that it belongs to the client since they paid $120,000 for it. The trustee argued that the transfer to the client of the trademark occurred after the case was converted to Chapter 7, even though the client had paid $120,000 for it two years prior. Hence, the transfer was void. That issue went to the court on a motion, and the court ruled that the trademark belonged to the client since they paid for it. It did not matter that the transfer was made after conversion to Chapter 7, implying that debtor no longer had any legal or equitable interest on the trademark as of payment date. The court, however, left the issue of client’s claim for $250,000 hanging. A hearing was heard on this second matter after discovery was completed, and still the court could not decide one way or the other. The objecting creditor argued that the forty foot container did not exist and that the shipment was never made to the debtor, or even if the shipment was made, the debtor had paid the $250,000 in full. Needless to say, I found the argument rather strange. The client presented invoices signed by the owner of the company, the truck receipt for the 40foot container, and an accounting summary showing a net unpaid amount of $250,000. So, the
Barrister’s Corner ATTY. KENNETH URSUA REYES COUPLES get divorced for various reasons. California is a no fault state. The reasons why a couple is getting divorced are often irrelevant to the issues of the family law case. Divorce is often a difficult and negative experience for most families. However, getting divorce may have some unintended benefits in the immigration law arena. Four situations in which filing for divorce can be beneficial to your immigration case are as follows: Married sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens If you were petitioned for legal permanent residence by your U.S. Citizen parent as a married son or daughter 21 years old or over, you are classified in immigration law under family sponsored third preference (F3) which usually carries a long wait time. The wait time for Filipinos for example is currently 22 years. The priority date is normally the date the petition was initially filed by your U.S. Citizen parents. If you get divorced, you revert back to single status and your category automatically becomes reclassified to first preference (F1) where the waiting time is substantially shorter. For example, for Filipinos the wait time under F1 category is 10 years shorter than F3 category. This means if your parents filed your immigration petition 12 years ago, then you can adjust to a green card now instead of waiting another 10 years. Married sons and daughters of legal permanent residents If your parents are legal permanent residents, getting divorced will convert you back single status making you eligible to be petitioned by your legal permanent resident parents under the family based second preference (F2b) category if you are 21 years old or older or under the family based second preference A (F2a) if you are under 21 years of age. For those who married after they were petitioned by their LPR parents (F2A and F2B), the petition is automatically revoked under operation of law the moment you get married and cannot be reclaimed by a divorce. In theory, it can be argued that filing a subsequent petition after your divorce under the same category inherits the previous peti-
Bankruptcy court rules in favor of client for $250K after trial
court set just this issue, whether or not the $250,000 was owed to the client for trial on September 12, 2016. Three weeks before the trial date, my client informs me that the foreign government, which owns the company has decided that the client, the president of the company, will not be allowed to appear and testify before a U.S. court for political reasons. I filed a motion to allow the client’s testimony by telephone. The creditor objected that they would not be able to observe the demeanor of the witness if he is allowed to testify by phone. This became moot because the government also prohibited the witness from testifying by phone. So, all the evidence we submitted for trial, including the declaration of the witness was thrown out the door on the day of trial because the witness was not around to testify and be cross-examined. In other words, we had no evidence, documentary or testimony, supporting our position at trial, while the other party had all its evidence coming in since its witness appeared to testify. On September 12, trial promptly started at 9.30 a.m. and I was sitting there on my side all by myself (and God the Holy Spirit who is invisible but there nevertheless, giving me aid and comfort). The other side had two lawyers and their expert witness on international trade documents. First order of business, the judge said that the declaration of our witness was stricken off the record since our witness was not around to be cross-examined, meaning, we had no evidence! The creditor called their expert witness to testify. I objected that he was not a percipient witness. The judge agreed with me. They insisted that their expert witness would testify on the redaction of information on the bill of lading and customs entry. I saw the loophole and I withdrew my objection to the testimony of their expert witness. My plan was to bring our evidence in by crossexamining the witness as an adverse witness. Lo and behold, I was able to cross-examine the witness for two hours with pinpoint precision on all relevant documents using his expertise against the other party. This is
what happens when God the Holy Spirit is helping you out. They tried to salvage the damage done by a series of direct questions to their own witness. But it was too late. Just before noontime, the judge gave his ruling. He said that this was indeed a strange case as there was no witness for my client to testify and there was no evidence to support our position. But during the crossexamination, the evidence slowly crept in. By a hairline, the judge ruled in favor of my client for $250,000. For me, this was a miracle, indeed. I had zero chance of winning this case but at the last minute, the situation reversed itself with God’s help. 87-year-old senior seeks Chapter 7 relief The second client is 87 years old. We filed his first Chapter 7 case 20 years ago when he was 67 and his wife was still alive. They owed about $50,000 in credit cards 20 years ago. Those were all discharged and they built up their credit again. However, they now owe about $20,000. The wife passed last year. They were able to travel the world in the last 20 years. But since the wife has passed away, he doesn’t feel like paying the $20,000 anymore. He’s just tired of paying for it. They used the cards to travel the world, but that was their last time around. Last week, one credit card sued him for $10,000. With his social security at $1,000 a month, there really is no money to pay the cards. So, the only logical step is the get rid of his cards with a Chapter 7 discharge. The client is still able to drive around by himself at 87. He has chronic back pain and has four stents in his heart arteries, but he still praises the Lord for his relatively good health! *** 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)
4 ways filing for divorce can benefit your immigration case tion’s priority date under 9 FAM 42.43 N10 and 8 CFR 204.2(h), Part 205. However, success of such argument is not clear since the old petition was automatically revoked the moment you married. The best thing that can be done in this situation is to have your LPR parent repetition you as an F2A or F2b even if you are unable to reclaim the previous petition’s priority date. Conditional legal permanent residents in failed marriages For those who obtained their legal permanent residence status through marriage based petition by their U.S. Citizen spouse of less than 2 years marriage, the legal permanent residence status conferred is usually a “conditional legal permanent residence” valid only for 2 years. The couple would need to sign and file a joint petition to remove this condition prior to the expiration of the 2 years or the conditional legal permanent resident spouse would fall out of status. The problem arises when the marriage is in trouble. Often it becomes difficult to obtain the cooperation of the US Citizen spouse specially when the couple has separated. US Citizen spouse often refuse to sign the I-751 for or appear at the I-751 interview if one is set by the USCIS. Filing for divorce would terminate the marriage and allow you to file a “waiver” of the joint petition to remove the conditional LPR status based on entering into the marriage in good faith. Terminating the marriage by filing a divorce is a requirement in order to file the “waiver.” It is important to time this correctly as soon as the marriage starts falling apart because by terminating the marriage early on, you might be able to file the waiver before the expiration of your 2 year conditional LPR thus allowing you to extend your LPR status in 1 year increments until a final decision is made in your case. Married Aliens in Non-Immigrant Visas and those without Status For those who enter the US as a non-immigrant and are separated from their spouse but still married, filing a divorce would open up opportunities in case they meet a new significant other who is a US Citizen and who can petition them as an immediate relative. This is usually the fastest of process in obtaining legal permanent residence. In countries such as the Philippines where there is no divorce, many
people come to the US to start a new life after they have been separated from their old spouse (often still married to them). Even if the alien over stays their status as a visitor, the alien can still adjust to that of a legal permanent residence if petitioned by a US Citizen spouse. If the alien was never inspected, the alien can still adjust to legal permanent residence if they are grandfathered under INA 245(i) and there are no special restrictions on their status. To be grandfathered under INA 245(i), the alien must have been a beneficiary of a legal permanent residence petition filed no later than April 30, 2001. Finally, a common concern of divorcing immigrants is “What happens if my spouse refuses to sign the divorce papers?” The truth is you do not need your spouse’s signature to obtain a divorce in California. You only need to provide your spouse notice that you filed a divorce by personally serving your spouse the divorce petition and summons. In countries that are members of the Hague Convention, special procedures need to be followed to effect service. So yes it is possible to divorce your spouse even if your spouse is in a country that does not recognize divorce among its citizens such as the Philippines. For some immigrants, filing for divorce opens up opportunities in this land of milk and honey. *** 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 (Advertising Supplement)
SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • AUGUST 22-24, 2018
Calendar of Events across
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Performance Artists Talk with Daito Manabe and Mikiko in Los Angeles Top Japanese DJ, designer, producer, creative genius Daito Manabe of Rhizomatiks + top choreographer and founder of Elevenplay, Mikiko Mizuno will be speaking. Mikiko was featured in 2016 America’s Got Talent. It will take place on Thursday, August 23 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles (6801 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028) at 5F Salon space (located at Hollywood & Highland). For more information, please contact (800) 516-0565 or visit https://www.japanhouse.jp. Admission is free.
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Fil-Am of SCV holds annual cultural festival in Valencia, CA You are cordially invited to Fil-Am of SCV’s biggest event of the year, its annual FACE (FilAm Academic & Cultural Enhancement) Program’s Cultural Festival on Saturday, August 25! This year, the organization has partnered with the Santa Clarita Valley’s International Program. This year’s theme is “KULTURA PILIPINAS, Kasaysayan at Sayawan”, celebrating the history of Philippine cultural dances. The popular and inspiring Malaya Filipino American Dance Arts dancers will beautifully interpret the renditions of Philippine history and culture through the art of dance. The event begins at 5 p.m. at West Ranch HS Theater (26255 Valencia Blvd, Valencia CA 91381). $50 for VIP Seats / $25 General Admission. For tickets & sponsorship information, please call: Cecile Ocampo at (818) 439-9392; Zeny Justiniano at (661) 645-0948; Josie Maglalang at (661) 607-5665 or Zony Gordon at (661) 312-3422. This event will benefit Fil-Am of SCV’s Scholarship Program and SCVIP’s Sister City Program for Sariaya City, Philippines.
One La Salle of Southern California Soiree in LA One La Salle of Southern California will host a dance party, Soiree 2018, on Saturday, August 25, from 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm at St. Casimir’s Parish Hall (3855 Evans Street, Los Angeles, CA). Live music will be provided by The Quantum Wave Band along with mixes by DJ Ernie. Alumni from all schools are invited to attend. Drinks, tacos and unique bar snacks will be available at the event. Tickets may be purchased online at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/onela-salle-presents-soiree-2018-tickets-45496546395.
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Grand Opening of JAPAN HOUSE in Los Angeles The public is invited on Saturday, Aug. 25 and Sunday, Aug. 26 to participate in tea ceremonies and ikebana floral arrangements, and see the Prototyping in Tokyo exhibition. Kids can take pictures and interact with Pepper, an adorable Japanese humanoid robot providing helpful information about JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles – roaming between the 2nd floor gallery and shop. He is capable of recognizing the principal human emotions and adapting his behavior to the mood of his interlocutor. He’ll make for the cutest robot selfie you’ve ever posted! Times are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Address is JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 (located at Hollywood & Highland). For more information, please contact (800) 516-0565 or visit https://www. japanhouse.jp. Prototyping in Tokyo Exhibition: a Visual Story of Design Led Innovation at Japan House Los Angeles runs from Aug. 17th - October 10, 2018. Admission is free.
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“Phlavor of Success” in Van Nuys, CA “Phlavor of Success” on Tuesday, August 28 will feature and expert panel on food retail at the business mixer hosted by the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Los Angeles (FACC-GLA) at the Van Nuys State Building Auditorium (6150 Van Nuys Blvd, Suite 300, Van Nuys CA, 91401). Networking and light dinner at 5:30pm, program at 6:30-8:30pm. $15 for members, $25 for non-members, tickets available at www.faccgla.org Street parking, or $10 at State Building on Calvert St.
SEPTEMBER 8
Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Greater LA hosts photoshop training “Adobe Photoshop Training” on Saturday, September 8 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. is a crash course for beginners to intermediate hosted by the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Los Angeles (FACC-GLA). It will be held at BFG Boardroom (5121 Van Nuys Blvd), with instructor Peter Galace. Call to reserve your seat ($100) with Angelo Varsobia (818) 6469453 or Mary Trinidad at (661) 713-0014. Participants should bring their own computers, download a free version of Photoshop (https://bit.ly/2NYPbLW), and bring one USB thumb drive.
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Golden Jubilee Anniversary celebration for MVGFC ’68 in Las Vegas CLECSN (now MVGFC) class of ’68 in Cabanatuan City, Philippines will have its golden jubilee anniversary celebration in Las Vegas, Nevada from Thursday, Sept. 13 to Wednesday, Sept. 19. For more information, please contact Eddie C. Talusan at (415) 583-1300 or Cindy Frando Reyes at (949) 705 - 9324.
SEPTEMBER 16
Los Angeles Skyline Lions Club holds masquerade ball The Los Angeles Skyline Lions Club (District 4-L3) cordially invites guests to join the masquerade ball to celebrate its 15th anniversary of continued support to local and global communities, alongside the annual fall harvest festival and installation of new club officers. Please join the fun celebration on Sunday, September 16 at the Signature Banquet Hall, 11130 Balboa Blvd., Granada Hills, CA. Doors open at 4 p.m. For any inquiries, you may call PDG Sol “Sunshine” Santiago at (213) 500-1927. See you all there and be ready to unmask your night!
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Sto. Tomas Batangas Association of Southern California to celebrate 36th anniversary The Sto. Tomas Batangas Association of Southern California will celebrate its 36th anniversary & coronation Night on Saturday, September 22 at the Los Serranos Country Club (15656 Yorba Ave. Chino Hills, CA 91709). Music will be provided by The Midnight Motion Band. For attendance, please call Willie Manacsa at (818) 400-7391, Offie Villanueva at (626) 9608407), Mylee Moncada at (818) 322-9429, Rosalie Nasu at (909)631-9356 or Rosie Sancianco at (951)898-7628.
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Serenata Filipina Ver. 2 at LA’s Ford Amphitheatre “Serenata Filipina Ver. 2” is the only Filipino music concert at the famed Ford Theatres’ Summer Season. Features female OPM stalwarts: jazz diva Louie Reyes, vocal powerhouse Annie Nepomuceno, hitmaker Odette Quesada and many more, backed by a live band. Part of the proceeds benefits Philippine Patrons of the Arts USA, and other community partners. Grounds open for picnicking at 4:30 p.m., show is at 6:30pm. Tickets are $100 VIP, $70, $55, $40 and $35 for students. Buy online at www.fordtheatres.org or by calling the box office at (323) 461-3673.
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
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Filipino-Chinese business group... PAGE B1 t
resentatives’ Ways and Means Committee last August 7. The TRABAHO bill seeks to gradually slash the current 30 percent corporate income tax by 2 percent every other year starting 2021 to 2029, provided that the cut would not reach lower than 20 percent. The passage of TRAIN 2 was among the legislative priorities President Rodrigo Duterte mentioned in his third State of the Nation Address last July when he urged Congress to pass the bill. “I hope to sign Package 2 before the year ends. I urge Congress to pass it in a form that
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satisfies our goals and serves the interests of the many, not just the wealthy few,” Duterte said. Lawmakers, however, expressed apprehension in passing it amid the effects of the first TRAIN package, which exempted those earning an annual taxable income of P250,000 and below from paying the personal income tax and hiked the tax exemption for 13th-month pay and other bonuses to P90,000. The package also imposed new taxes on diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, kerosene and bunker fuel for electricity generation and higher taxes on other oil products. TRAIN 1 has been blamed
for the rising prices of goods. Inflation rose to a fresh five-year high in July at 5.7 percent. The government, however, points at changes in global oil prices and the weak peso as the reason for the hike in prices of commodities. Malacañang last month assured that the second package of TRAIN would be different as it would not impose new taxes. “It will lower the corporate tax so we won’t have the highest corporate tax in Asia. TRAIN 2 is different so there is no need to be afraid,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said. (Philstar. com) ■
enjoy longer, healthier lives. They seem to have found a way to circumvent the laws of nature for the time being staving off the body’s time clock as long as possible. The argument they give to their Maker is that their lives are still useful to do His will. Those passionate about living may even pray to God and beg: “Will you Lord, pretty, pretty please let me hang on for dear life just a little
while longer? Let me come home when I’m good and ready without unduly burdening my loved ones and, more importantly, until you say it is time.” Next week: Another idea to consider for The Bucket List …
The bucket list
a doubt that good and light will always prevail. There is always a call for devout prayer warriors who spend their lives in silence and in deep prayer and meditation. I have observed with fascination that those who welcome retirement years with a zestful purpose bigger than themselves and their needs seem the happiest. The dividend is that they
EMPLOYMENT
*** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette.maglaya@ asianjournalinc.com
EMPLOYMENT
People and Events
Makati Nights is back! GET ready for retro dance music debauchery as this coming Saturday, August 25, the authentic Makati club vibe is back! Makati Nights Part 3 - 80s 90s and Disco is happening at the 18 Social Lounge, Hotel Indigo in Downtown Los Angeles. Makati Nights Part 3 features former Makati nightclub resident DJs Josh Evangelista of Venezia, George Garcia of Planet Mars, and Cary Carreon of Hard Cafe Makati. All three DJs will be providing killer retro sets for the evening that will guarantee you flashback fun! Makati Nights is a roving 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s nightlife event based in Los Angeles. Hosted by veteran Manila and Los Angeles DJ, producer, and remixer Josh Evangelista (https://www.facebook.com/joshevanmusic), Makati Nights pays tribute to the glorious Makati nightlife of the past by reconstructing its nightclub atmosphere at some of Los Angeles’ chic and modern nightclub venues. Each event, Makati Nights feature the best DJs that
have played at Philippine nightclubs, DJs from notable mobile DJ groups of the 90s, as well as DJs visiting from the Philippines. These original Makati selectors will dish out some of the best dance music hits from each
EMPLOYMENT
FOR RENT
HOME AGENCY
era for us to experience the authentic manila club vibe. For the latest updates, please visit Facebook at http://www. facebook.com/makatinights or on the web at http://makatinightsla.com ■
B AUGUST 22-24, 2018 • SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL
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SeaWorld set to get ‘eelectrified’ this summer with new coaster
Policy uniformity crucial if PH... PAGE B2 t
work very well so it depends on the country and the specific circumstances,” he added. “If that’s what the [Philippine] ed on an approximately 2-acre government and the people want site on the eastern side of the then we will have to work with park between Ocean Explorer it. I don’t know if that could hapand Journey to Atlantis. The new pen or not. I’m not predicting coaster is an expansion of the any outcome. Let’s see what the park’s Ocean Explorer realm, government decides.” A draft federal charter drawn which opened in summer of 2017 as part of the park’s largest new up by a Duterte-appointed conattraction premiere in its his- sultative committee has been tory, also including the inspiring criticized by economic managdocumentary-style Orca Encoun- ers and local business chambers ter; and the summer nighttime extravaganza Electric Ocean, a nighttime transformation of the park into a sea of glowing color and energy, inspired by the PAGE B2 t phenomenon of ocean biolumi- the University of the Philippines, nescence. Electric Ocean is set Gawad Kalinga mirrors the valto ignite at SeaWorld on June ues, stellar work ethic and vision 16 and light up the park on se- of Tony Meloto. Meloto, who is lect dates through Sept. 2, 2018. a “transforming” leader whose SeaWorld is open 365 days conscious and determined fua year and is located on Sea- sion of his religious faith and World Drive off of I-5. Park ad- his secular idealism, combines mission is $89.99 for ages 10 God’s teaching to love and help and older; $84.99 for ages 3–9. the poor among us with secular The 2018 SeaWorld Fun Card is vision of building a just and huan incredible value that pays for man society in which all enjoy itself after only one visit, pro- their human rights through good viding guests with a year full of citizenship, and a good leader fun at SeaWorld through Dec. and good governance. It is also 30, 2018 with minimal blackout a practical Alliance of Businesses dates. For more information, visit with the community, churches, www.SeaWorldSanDiego.com.n and colleges for the common good! In my brief comments last July 21 during blessing and turnover of housing units in GK Laoac Namnama Village II, I prayerfully spoke the need to dream and work collectively for a bet-
Electric Eel will be San Diego’s tallest, fastest coaster
SEAWORLD San Diego will debut Electric Eel—San Diego’s tallest and fastest roller coaster with astounding loops, twists and airtime—just in time for summer 2018. Featuring multiple- launch experiences, Electric Eel will propel riders forward and backward as they speed through the ride’s station house accelerating to more than 60 miles per hour in seconds. Riders then rocket skyward nearly 150 feet where they will brave an inverted “heartline” roll and a twisting loop for an exciting feeling of airtime as riders crest the top before breathlessly returning to the station. This adrenaline-pumping coaster also offers riders the only upside-down view of Mission Bay! “Electric Eel will bring a whole new level of excitement to SeaWorld,” said SeaWorld San Diego’s Park President Marilyn Hannes. “This new, first-of-itskind coaster at SeaWorld will give riders the rare opportunity to feel what it’s like to move like an eel as they twist and flip along nearly 900 feet of undulating track.” Complementing the Electric Eel roller coaster is a hypnotic live eel habitat featuring a collec-
tion of moray eels. The eel habitat, located at the eastern edge of the Ocean Explorer realm and already part of the guest experience at SeaWorld, features large viewing windows where visitors can plunge into the world of the eel as they swim and dart through the caves and crevasses of their naturalistic deep-ocean environment. The Electric Eel attraction area will also feature an interactive educational experience called Mission: Deep Discovery, which will allow a team of one to four players to embark on a virtual deep sea adventure aboard a mannedvehicle while they encounter the marvels of the deep ocean. “We always strive to provide new reasons to visit SeaWorld and give our guests experiences that matter with a blend of exciting rides and incredible animal and educational experiences,” said Hannes. “We want our guests from around the world to not only have a great time, but be inspired to care about the ocean and the animals that live there.” Electric Eel joins Manta and Journey to Atlantis as the third coaster-type ride experience at SeaWorld San Diego. It is locat-
have also raised concerns. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III told the Senate earlier this month that the Philippines could lose its investment grade credit rating given confusing fiscal provisions in the draft charter, while Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia warned that the shift could cost the government at least P120 billion. Both have come under fire for their comments but have found support with the business community, which issued a joint
statement last week urging lawmakers to carefully weigh the costs and risks of federalism. “We encourage full, open and dispassionate dialogues on this proposed shift in form of government, keeping in mind its long-term impacts on future generations of Filipinos. As always, the business community stands ready to work with our political and economic leaders to bring about sustained and inclusive economic growth in the country,” seven of the country’s largest business groups said.n
Gawad Kalinga continues to eliminate... ter tomorrow. But it takes a village to uplift a village. The poor needs a lending hand but no one can gather the produce, nor cook, chew and swallow the food for them! The more fortunate, “richer” members of society must also increase their daring, sharing and caring more. When the economic high tide occurs, all boats in the community must also rise. The “Walang Iwanan” (No one is left behind) motto of Gawad Kalinga says it all! As Christians we must not only believe what Christ admonishes us to do (Matthew 25) but to live out our faith through deeds and action. In an ideal world, it is possible to eliminate poverty among us when every citizen starts practicing social justice, where the world’s resources are shared more equitably without human greed or exploitation. It is possible to live a joyful simple life, so
others can simply live. As more and more people know and learn what Gawad Kalinga is doing for the poor and deserving families, more benefactors and donors are pitching in; as far as Virginia, and New York, Los Angeles and San Jose, California in the U.S. and also in Europe. We hope and pray that our 30-housing GK Laoac Namnama Village II will soon be completed by May 2019, before the beloved Mayor Boying Alarcio steps down. We have a few more units that need funding, so if you are moved to be a part of this Gawad Kalinga Movement, eliminating poverty by 2024 one village at a time, \please email or call this writer-Rotarian at (714) 7463088. ***
Email: ernie.delfin@gmail.com websites: www.gkerc.org www.edelfin.globalgn.com
ADB lends $300 million to boost...
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PIH Health opens Montebello urgent care center WHITTIER, Calif. — PIH Health on Monday, August 20 opened its Urgent Care Center in Montebello located at 2205 W. Beverly Blvd. Local community members who have an urgent medical need and cannot get in to see a doctor will now have access to high-quality medical services closer to home and their places of work. Urgent Care is the newest service to be added to the building that also houses Family Medicine and Ear Nose and Throat services. The Montebello Urgent Care Center will offer care for minor illnesses, such as earaches,
persistent coughs or minor wounds that may need stitches. Sports physicals are also offered at this facility. “Urgent Care is a faster and more cost-effective way to access care for non-life threatening emergencies,” says Andrew Zwers, vice president of PIH Health. “The opening of the Montebello Urgent Care Center gives us an opportunity to expand the hours of our care for patients who live and work in or near this great community.” Patients can also visit the Urgent Care Center for the following conditions: Animal
bites, asthma, broken bones, burns, cold & flu symptoms, coughs, cuts & bruises, headaches, infections, sprains and strains, stomach or abdominal pain, and urinary tract infections Montebello’s facility joins other PIH Health Urgent Care Centers in Santa Fe Springs, Hacienda Heights and Whittier. The Montebello Urgent Care Center is open every day from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., including holidays. No appointment is necessary. To view a list of all PIH Health Urgent Care Center locations or to check wait times, visit PIHHealth.org/UCC. n
75 high-impact priority projects nationwide, hence the need for the government to use an optimal funding mix of government spending, official development assistance and private capital. ADB country director for the Philippines Kelly Bird said public participation in the BBB program remains a viable option because of the huge funding requirement and expertise to carry out big-ticket projects. “The Philippines has made significant progress since the PPP program was launched in late 2010,” he said. “With a huge pipeline being rolled out under the BBB program of President Rodrigo Duterte, leveraging public resources via private sector participation remains relevant,”
Bird said. ADB has been supporting reforms aimed at improving the environment for PPPs such as long-term infrastructure planning, strengthening the government’s capacity to manage the PPP program, and enhancing the legal framework for PPP preparation, approval and implementation. Reforms have also helped facilitate the use of PPPs by local government units (LGUs) in infrastructure development. The bank has partnered with the government-run PPP Center in providing technical support to LGUs in developing and implementing PPP projects in priority sectors such as water supply and sanitation, solid waste management and urban transport.
Since 2010, the government has awarded a total of 16 national PPP projects worth around $6.2 billion, of which 12 were tendered and awarded during the implementation of EPPIP. Feasibility studies for six projects were also completed during the program period. ADB noted the improved assessment of the international community on the country’s PPP environment. In 2014 for instance, the Infrascope report of The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the Philippines seventh in the group of developed PPP markets, joining India, Japan and Korea. It also noted the positive review of the Philippine PPP market by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. n
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Think outside the box: When to consider a new career by AJPress
WHETHER you’ve been at your job for a few years or longer, there is some point during your career when you feel lukewarm about what you’re doing. Having been in the same job for years boxes you in an environment that makes it acceptable for you — good or bad. This is also regardless of age, background or accomplishments, because a lot of people have probably fantasized about the possibility of a new career. Those who haven’t are the exception. According to the Harvard
Business Review (HBR), in 2015 the professional networking site LinkedIn reported that of its 313 million members, 25 percent are active job seekers. Another 60 percent were considered as passive job seekers — those not proactively searching for a new job, but will seriously consider opportunities. Watch for red flags — major signs that it’s time to consider a new career. Although it’s not going to be an easy decision to leave your job, it is probably about time to make a serious assessment about your future. Here are telltale signs that it’s time to move on and consider a new job or career:
1. You don’t feel challenged. Your job has become boring and uninteresting, and you’ve hit a plateau. You are not learning and your mind is no longer stimulated. If you feel there’s still hope, ask for new projects and training, if possible. 2. You’ve been skipped for a promotion. If feel that you’ve done a good job to deserve an upgrade in your position then just passed over for someone else is disappointing to say the least. Find out why management has decided to give the promotion to someone else, as you could have missed the right training or certification.
3. You don’t get along with your boss. Employees who are actually good friends with their boss are rare. In a research done by HBR, they found that 75 percent of working adults find that most stressful part of their job is their immediate supervisor or manager. However, there should be somewhat a relationship between the two that requires respect and trust. If there’s none, then most likely your chances for success are limited. 4. People have stopped talking to you. You’re not included in management meetings, and people are making decisions without your
input. It’s possible that you are being shut out on purpose, and you’ve become the office wallpaper — you’re there but they don’t care. If this is happening, then you will need to decide whether it’s better to ask what’s going on or simply start looking for a new job. 5. The stress has become unmanageable. A heavy workload plus other outside stress like having a family (or personal life) is something most people are unable to balance. Some people don’t leave their jobs because the pay is good, but realized later on that the stress wasn’t worth it. 6. You have nightmares about your job. Of course it’s
normal to have dreams about your job once in awhile. But if it is a recurring bad dream about your office, then your brain might be trying to tell you something. Another sure sign that your work has become a nightmare is when you get depressed when you think about it. We are naturally set to fear and avoid change, even it is obvious that we are undecidedly happy with our current situation. Although it’s hard to tell the difference between short-term dissatisfaction and a lingering, deep-seated unhappiness about your job; it’s always clear when you have had enough.
Reinvention and continuing Building your skill set and easing education: Maps toward your job search: Tips from career development a veteran work and life coach
PEOPLE spend most of their lifespans in a career to be able to sustain their daily needs. As one is set out into the world to learn its complicated crooks and patterns, one is conditioned by family, school, community and society to understand the ins and outs of the path they will soon tread upon. As one sets forth on a trip towards self-discovery and career development, it is a common protocol to be enamored with two essential must-haves - reinvention and continuing education. But first we must understand, what exactly is a career? Career is commonly associated with two other terms - job and work. All three are usually used interchangeably despite their differences in meaning and application. Work is defined as the domain of life in which people, paid or unpaid, provide labor for an outcome of a service or a good. Job, on one hand, pertains to a specific work position which may be permanent full-time or parttime and in a particular role or organization. On the other hand, career is the sequence or collection of jobs held over an individual’s life, a linear sequence of jobs which have a vertical ‘advancement related’ trajectory. What is career development? According to the Career Development Association of Alberta (CDAA), career development is the lifelong process of managing learning, work, leisure, and transitions in order to move toward a personally determined and evolving preferred future. In short, it is about navigating your journey through life and work. Career development encompasses not just occupation but also the whole person. More than that, it concerns him or her in the ever-chang-
ing contexts of his or her life. Every environmental pressures and constraint play an important role in the career progress one makes. From the bonds that tie them to their significant others to their responsibilities to children and aging parents. All these add up to the total structure of one’s circumstances. Therefore they are factors that must be understood and taken into consideration. If the convergence of self and external situations lead to career development, then reinvention and continuing education must be maps that lead us to a well-developed career. How does reinvention aid in career development? Reinvention is a process wherein one recreates their image. As applied to career development, it is when an individual tries to reassess their career path and takes on another direction. It usually happens when the person is not satisfied with the career anymore. Normally, when one spends a lengthy amount of time on a certain career, one finds it difficult to pursue another task. Let alone swerve in a whole different direction. As part of the reinvention process, it is important to have the courage to explore new things career-wise. May it be something you have not done before or a certain aspect you are afraid to try your way into. Yes, there is a chance you will go through some rough patch. But where else would those chances be gone? The reward is great when you get past the hesitations. In order to do such, smalls steps must be taken to ensure at least a minimal improvement. Below are some of the ways one can reinvent their careers. 1. Volunteer to work on new projects that are outside of your usual duties. 2. Take part in initiatives
that expose you to different aspects of the organization. 3. Communicate well with peers you do not normally interact with on a regular basis. 4. Participating in new projects and teams. How about continuing education, how does that help? Continuing education is composed of learning activities that cater directly to the certain specialization one is already employed in. They are typically taught in institutions such as a college or university, city employment agency or corporation specializing in a certain skill. These courses delve more deeply into the specializations that are relevant to your career more than a college course will. Fundamental skills are also taught in a continuing education. These additional skills augment the degree and major one had finished. Typical continuing education classes vary depending on industry and specialization. Some of the classes include Computer Operating Systems, Microsoft Office, Office Management and Productivity, Adobe Creative Suite and Project Management. Education classes help advance one’s career and standing in a competitive workplace. More often than not, it is an arena out there where employers would eliminate those who no longer contribute to the progress of the workforce. Reinvention and continuing education are both helpful ways to aid in career development. People who take the time to engage in such activities would always have something new and innovative to offer on the table. The benefits of reinventing and educating oneself outweigh the struggles and risks that come with the territory. After all, as Arthur Golden once suggested. (AJPress)
Mother Lily: 80 Carats by ricKy lo Philstar.com
REGRETS I’ve had a few But then again too few to mention I did what I had to do And saw it through without exemption I planned each charted course. Each careful step along the byway. And more, much more than this I did it my way When Paul Anka wrote that song for Frank Sinatra, he must have had in mind people who hurdled the stumbling blocks of life, hit rock bottom with a thud before scaling the peaks of ecstasy and taking the blows with head held high, chin up, dreaming the impossible dream and emerging triumphant, doing it their way all by themselves. Like Regal Matriarch Lily Yu-Monteverde who recently turned 80 years young(er), an event she celebrated with family, relatives and friends at the grand ballroom of a five-star hotel. The affair looked like a big scene from a Regal movie with the Leading Lady wearing a dress by Paul Cabral before fading out and fading in in
During her 80th birthday party tonight at the ballroom of a five-star hotel, Mother Lily will wear two gowns alternately, one by Patty Ang (right) and the other by Paul Cabral (far right). Philstar.com photos
another gown by Patty Ang. “I feel like I’m 18,” she told Conversations three days before the Big Day. “So I am having my debut.” The truth is that Mother Lily has had her “coming out” long, long ago, back into the early ‘60s when she started to put up the Regal Empire with P10,000 that she borrowed from her older brother Jessie Yu to buy the rights to the tearjerker movie All Mine To Give that raked in over P500,000. That was called, in showbiz lingo, tubonglugaw, a huge sum equivalent to today’s box-office hits. As a
nod to that iconic movie about a poor mother who gives her children away, Mother Lily produced a local version titled Araw-Araw, GabiGabi with Charito Solis as lead actress and Didith Reyes singing the haunting theme song. Araw-araw, gabi-gabi, day in and day out, Mother Lily has been at it, working and thinking of new ventures as if she hadn’t achieved enough, more than enough. “It has been a long journey,” she says, her eyes lighting up with new ideas. “And the journey continues.”
looking to work in), professional connections are valuable relationships to keep when looking for new career opportunities, IN the digital era, searchde Guzman says. ing for a job is easier than ever. Especially if you’re new to a A simple Google search for field or fresh out of college and “jobs” will lead you to a horde you have little to no profesof job search sites like Indeed, sional experience, leveraging Glassdoor and Snagajob. But searching for the right fit your network — whether that be your college’s alumni office isn’t always the easiest task especially with the rising expecta- or internship or other professional connections you may tions of job applicants. And the number of moving parts needed have — can be helpful in job searching. to fine-tune when searching for “For the first timers, clearly, jobs, submitting applications they’re looking for opportuniand handling interviews can ties that align with your trainseem stressful, but if you know ing, lifestyle and ambition, so what you’re doing, it doesn’t they’re a little more limited in have to be. terms of how wide they cast Filipina-American Terry their net,” de Guzman shares. Samala de Guzman, a New “So regardless if they’re firstYork City-based work and life coach whose clientele comprises time job market seekers, one thing that helps in casting a primarily of company execuwider net is to very thoughtfully tives and author of “Here I Am: think of your network and leverLearning Along The Way,” says age all your possible connecthat people ought to expand tions. One might not give you their approach when it comes job, but the next one might, or to searching for the right job the next one, so every contact because the ultimate goal is to you make, you can expand your find the job that is the suitable network three or four times fit for them. forward. The truth is people “I think one common miswant to help, so don’t be shy. take people make is they get Make a list of your network, and stuck with the same thing,” de if they cannot help you directly, Guzman shared with the Asian ask if you can get connected to Journal. “They have a preconothers for more opportunities.” ceived notion of what kind of Before making a massive job they can get and that they career change, take time to get into some tunnel vision of reflect and act with intention their approach in their efforts, “The first thing I tell people that they limit their ability to find is to don’t quit your current the opportunity that fits well job right away, especially if you with them.” So in order to streamline the need the income. Don’t just quit because you hate your job and process of landing your next don’t act based on emotional job, establishing a more nuincidence,” de Guzman says. anced way to search for opporShe says if that if you’re out tunities and branding yourself of a job already, networking, as a viable candidate for any given position is essential. Here again, as much as you can is esare some of de Guzman’s tips to sential. But if you’re still at your current position, “confidentially help with your job search. talk to people” in your profesTake advantage of your sional network (who aren’t at connections your current job) about your No matter what level of possible career change. experience you have and what If you’re looking into taking industry you’re working in (or by KlArize
MedenillA AJPress
on a whole new different career path, time needs to be taken before making moves. Ask yourself: Why do I want to change careers? What will that look like? What about this current position do I no longer like? Taking time to reflect on yourself and the reasons for this desired shift is essential, de Guzman says. This means taking stock of all your training and skills and really thinking about how those characteristics could apply to other opportunities in order to make that transition as smooth as possible. “Hunker down, get a piece of paper, list out your skills and really do a deep dive into your own aspirations, likes and strengths and you will find that those skills are applicable to an opportunity to be appealing to you,” de Guzman added. Expand your skill set and training while highlighting experience If you’re of a certain age, searching for a job could be harder. Ageism toward older Americans is common in many industries, but de Guzman says that harnessing your age and wisdom and emphasizing experience could actually be an advantage in your job search. “I think there’s a lot of merit to the wisdom and experience that sort of demographic offers,” de Guzman says In a sense, a person could truly leverage that, that depth of experience that a person may have, in terms of projects completed and life cycle at a business. At the end of the day, companies want people to stay. Turnover is very expensive and that is an advantage of anybody who has been working for more than 10 years.” Among the older demographic, keeping up with technology and maneuvering around electronically could be a roadblock, so learning basic computer software and getting Continued on Page 5
the same way.” Here are some of what she would “do the same way all over again” (italicized excerpts from The STAR’s previous interview included in my book, Conversations With Ricky Lo, Volume 1): • “I will still court Remy” (her husband, Remy Monteverde whose father was known as the Copra King of Quezon). “Pinaghirapan ko ‘yan kaya never ko siyang iiwan. Today, we have five children who have given us seven grandchildren (one of them a lawyer who graduated summa cum laude from a school in California).” Ako ang nanligaw sa kanya. He was a basketball player at Today, the Lovely Lady behind the Regal Empire celebrates her 80th birthday with family, relatives and San Beda and at the same time friends, retracing a long journey that has not ended. ‘I feel like I’m 18,’ she says. ‘Today is my debut.’ he was playing for the team burger) on her way to her Her typical day, Monday of my father, Yu Chu. I would favorite beauty parlor. Then through Saturday, starts at watch him practice every night. she’s all set for a busy day 6:30 a.m. She prays, plays her Remy stood 5’8” and it was until 6 p.m. when she relaxes favorite tune on the piano considered tall at that time. by, so to speak, shooting and spends the next two He has smiling eyes. He’s the the breeze with close friends hours being briefed on the quiet type, my exact oppo— that is, if she’s not attenddevelopment in her subdivisite because I am noisy. I was ing a friend’s birthday dinner sion in Baguio (“Overlooking then studying at UNO High or some such special occasion. School (a Chinese school in the China Sea”), her live“Sundays are for my famstock (bakahan) in Tagaytay, Binondo owned and managed ily,” she adds. her resort in Batangas and by the Yu Family) and I would If she were to live her 80 (even if she has relegated skip classes to go on dates years all over again, would the task to her daughter with him. Our theme song Mother Lily do it the same Roselle) the progress of three was From Candy Store on the way, with nothing changed? (or more) movies being shot Corner to the Chapel on the “Yes, I would,” she says simultaneously. She drivesHill. He would wait for me at with conviction. “It is a wonthru McDo (owned by her the corner so people wouldn’t derful life, a beautiful life, and see us and make sumbong to good friend George Yang) for I would spend every single day a breakfast of (usually cheeseContinued on Page 3
Arnel Pineda doesn’t believe he’s ‘voice’ of Journey, prefers to be ‘messenger’ than ‘a legacy’ by CODY
CEPEDA
Inquirer.net
ARNEL Pineda remains humble and unassuming despite his success as the frontman of famous rock band Journey. Pineda recently took to his social media to address some sentiments of fans regarding Steve Perry, Journey’s former lead singer, and his return to the stage this 2018 after being out of the spotlight for many years. Perry, dubbed as “The Voice” in the music scene, decided to permanently leave Journey in 1998. Perry was then replaced by Steve Augeri, formerly of Tyketto and Tall
Stories, as the new lead singer of Journey. This, however, only lasted until 2006. Pineda didn’t come into the scene until 2007 when he was hired by Journey after seeing him cover songs of the band on YouTube. Today, Pineda remains as Journey’s lead singer. It’s no secret, too, that Pineda is still the same staunch fan of Perry, taking to his Twitter last Aug. 15 to pay homage to the band’s original singer by sharing Perry’s latest album. “Watch out now tweetyfwends,” Pineda wrote after sharing Perry’s latest album, “Traces”, to be released this October. “From the man w/
#TheVoice I so adore…” Some netizens reacted to Pineda’s tweet, with a certain Rebecca (@shroats) telling Pineda that he is now the voice of Journey. “Steve Perry was the voice of Journey while he was with them,” wrote the netizen on the same day. “He left. YOU are the voice of Journey now. It’s your time to shine.” Pineda, however, told the commenter that he prefers to be a messenger than a legacy. “Forgive me but I have to disagree with you,” Pineda wrote back. “I’d prefer me a #messenger to a #Legacy.” Another netizen, a certain
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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - August 22, 2018
Karen (@karendunna), told Pineda that he should’ve been included when Journey was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last April 2017. It’s known that Perry reunited briefly with the band for the induction, although chose not to perform with them in respect of Pineda. “Agree 100 [percent] and I think @arnelpineda also should’ve been inducted into the RRHOF,” wrote the netizen. “He earned it with dedication, a love for the music and delivering it to the fans with his heart, soul and genuine spirit.” Pineda, however, replied to the fan by asking her not to push too hard, saying he is happy just being able to perform with the iconic band members. “Ooopps… let’s not push
that too hard my friend… I’m happy enough that I am a part of these bunch of #RockAndRollHallOfFamers…” Meanwhile, Pineda shared on his Twitter on Aug. 20 that he can never mimic Perry’s voice. This was after another netizen, a certain Diane (@dianet1954) told him that he should sing his own way without mimicking Perry. As Perry explained, “All I was doing all these years w/ @JourneyOfficial was singing this unique #Soul he left behind w/ the band.” Arnel Pineda
Photo from Instagram/@arnelpineda2007
Aubrey Miles not worried Mother Lily: 80 Carats... about getting back into shape after pregnancy
“Just happy to be able to have my energy back. Being Inquirer.net pregnant is something that I’ve been looking forward to after BEING pregnant for the 10 years. Yes my [second] son third time sure has its advanis almost 10 now,” wrote Miles tages. Unlike new moms who are frantic and nervous in their last Aug. 18. “I truly love being pregfirst foray into pregnancy, nant and feeling what was television host and actress going on inside my body plus Aubrey Miles can rest easy in the fact that she, more or less, watching it change. I’m on my knows what goes on during the [fifth] month and I can feel her nine months of carrying a child moving and doing some karate moves.” and after. Miles shared that she only It was last July when Miles has nine months to be pregand long-time partner Troy nant, but all the time to be Montero announced that they sexy and fit after giving birth. were expecting another child. As she pointed out, “For me The couple already have two getting back in shape is the sons: Maurie from Miles’ least I’m worried about.” former boyfriend JP ObligaShe, too, gave tips on getcion and Hunter, who was born ting back to one’s ideal weight in 2008. after pregnancy. Today, Miles and Montero “If you want tips getting couldn’t be any more elated back into your ideal weight after discovering this August that they are expecting a baby after giving birth? TAKE your TIME, REGAIN energy, SET a girl. It had been 10 years after GOAL and COMMIT.” all since Miles gave birth and Miles stressed that it was for her, getting pregnant again — and at 40 years of age, too, not about losing weight that no less — is something she had inspires, but the “journey that gives us hope.” been looking forward to. by CODY
CEPEDA
Aubrey Miles Photo from Instagram/@milesaubrey
“Respect to all the pregnant ladies out there,” Miles said. “That Big bump is not easy to carry especially getting out of bed every morning.”
From Page 2 my parents. My parents were against Remy. Our wedding was simple. I wore a gown by Pitoy Moreno worth P5,000 which I paid by installment for one year. • ”I will still be a movie fan.” My No. 1 favorite was Nida Blanca but I also liked Gloria Romero. When a Nida Blanca movie opened at Dalisay Theater, uma-absent ako sa school. My friends and I would hire a bus to visit the set of Nida’s movie with Nestor de Villa. Remember that scene in Luneta na nagsasayaw ng ballet sina Nida at Nestor sa spiral staircase? We were there when that was shot. It was a dream sequence and it was beautiful! When I was 12, I went to Zurbaran to buy a petticoat, four layers, and then I wore it and stood in front of the mirror, whispering, “Sana maging Nida Blanca ako!” Nagsasayaw-sayaw pa ako! Parang dream sequence, hahaha!!! (Trivia: One time, Mother Lily was made to wait…for hours!...at the sala of an actress’ house. “Someday,” she told herself, “I will own this house!” True enough, only a few years later, she bought the house with a back door into
which the indianera actress escaped.) • ”I will still start my business the same way.” Because my parents didn’t approve of Remy, I started doing business from scratch. I put up two popcorn machines, one at the Cherry Foodarama (on Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City) and the other at Good Earth (on Avenida Rizal). I was very happy when I made P100 a day. There was a a moviehouse (Ideal Theater) near Good Earth and I always prayed that a woman’s movie would be shown dahil maraming babaeng manonood at bumibili ng popcorn. Kapag action picture, mostly men would watch at kokonti ang bumibili ng popcorn. Malungkot ako siempre. The most that I would earn was P30. I also sold blouses at the Zurbaran Market. I would consign the blouses at the Corazon Dry Goods Store, P24 per dozen, at five percent lang ang tubo ko. How does Mother Lily end her busy day(s)? Does she go to bed clad in her “magic camison” (worn on film by Cherie Gil, Gina Alajar, Rio Locsin and other Regal actresses) that spelled magic at the box office)? “Sira na!,” she laughed. “I
bought it for our honeymoon.” It must be noted that Mother Lily introduced the pito-pito system (films shot in seven days) which discovered two of today’s top directors, Lav Diaz and Jeffrey Jeturian. The system was maligned when, in fact, Lino Brocka shot Insiang, one of his classic works, also in seven days, proving that what matters is not the number of days you shoot a movie but the product. It’s true: she used to talk to three different people on three different landlines)…angry on one, tsismising on another and checking a shooting on the third…without missing a beat. Today, she owns two celfones, one worth P1,200 which she hurls to the floor when she loses her temper over “misbehaving” or non-functioning employees. Come to think of it, if her life were made into a Regal movie, who would Mother Lily choose to portray her multilayered, multi-colored and highly-dramatic life? She broke into a regal smile. “Kim Chiu as the young Mother Lily, Bea Alonzo in my (post-teenage year), Vilma Santos in my 50s and Susan Roces as me today.”
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entertainment The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - August 22, 2018
Maine Mendoza all praises for Anne Curtis’ ‘Annekulit’ by JAN
MILO SEVERO Philstar.com
“EAT Bulaga!” host Maine Mendoza was all praises for her rival noontime show host
Anne Curtis as the former watched the latter’s concert celebrating her 21st anniversary in showbiz at the Araneta Coliseum. On her Instagram account,
Maine posted photos of Anne in her concert, bearing the caption “#fangirlmode muna!” She said the “It’s Showtime” host was amazing on stage that night. “So happy I got to watch your concert, Ms. @annecurtissmith. Congratulations on your 21st year! You were amazing on stage! And can I just say.. sobrang cute mo po. Anne kulit mo; Anne adorable! I am just so glad to be able to witness how great of a performer you are,” Maine wrote. “Tonight was filled with lovely songs and lit live performances. Anne galing mo! There are so many things to admire about you. Continue being an inspiration to many, Ms. Anne! ?” she added. Maine also posted a selfie with Anne in another Instagram post and captioned it with hearts emojis. Celebrities such as Liz Uy, Ruffa Gutierrez, Joey de Leon, Gary Valenciano, and Jasmine Curtis commented on Maine’s posts, saying sweet words and heart emojis.
Joining Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto in the show is a mix of veteran and up-and-coming actors led by Alice Dixon, Iza Calzado and Ina Raymundo
Joshua and Julia: The pros and cons of two young lovers who work together by MANILATIMES.NET
YOUNG celebrity couple Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto are doing things backwards—career-wise, that is. While other teen actors build up their tandem via television roles, and with the ultimate goal of headlining a movie, JoshLia starred in four successful movies before finally landing their first prime time series. Indeed, it has been a pretty impressive ride for this twosome whose chemistry first exploded on the big screen via “Vince, Kath and James” (2016), then in their blockbuster follow up, “Love You To the Stars and Back” (2017), and finally in a four-way lead with Robin Padilla and Sharon Cuneta in “Unexpectedly Yours” (2017) and the recent movie comeback of Kris Aquino, “I Love You, Hater” (2018). Nevertheless, Joshua and Julia faced the press with the same excitement that a TV loveteam given a movie break bursts with when they officially announced the premiere of “Ngayon at Kailanman” on ABS-CBN. Replacing Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano’s “Bagani” beginning tonight, the pair is ready to display their acting prowess, honed in succeeding movie sets, in a dramatic and timeless story about starcrossed lovers. Joshua is Inno, an heir of a rich and powerful clan, who falls in love with Julia who plays Eva, a streetsmart girl who grew up in the slums. While they have proven Maine Mendoza and Anne Curtis during the their worth as actors in their latterʼs ʻAnnekulitʼ concert at the Araneta past projects, The Times asked Coliseum last Saturday, August 18. Photo from Instagram/@mainedcm them if indeed they find that it works to their advantage to share special feelings in real life and act them out in front of the camera. First to reply, the very ar-
Joshua Garcia and Julia Garcia
ticulate Julia said, “Because in real life we’re so comfortable with each other, it means even sa trabaho namin, parang mas nakakapag-explore kami with each other and mas komportable kaming gumagawa ng eksena with each other. More importantly, especially when the scenes have to be more intimate for example, the trust I have in him really helps a lot.” As Julia went on to say, they should have more “intimate and sensual scenes” in Ngayon at Kailanman. “Honestly, because we’re both past 20—we’re 21, turning 22—I feel that it’s healthy to be able to explore and take a little bit of risk [in our acting]. Because in reality naman talaga, when you fall in love, there are no limitations. I’m sure the creatives [of the show] will do something [to show that]. Definitely sa Ngayon at Kailanman, mas nagiging mature na yung roles namin. We’re both adults already so I’m very open to scenes that will challenge the both of us.” With Julia ably outlining the advantages of young lovers working together, The Times
ABS-CBN photos
also had to ask if there is any downside to spending too much time together. “Are you ever scared Julia seeing you every single day might affect your personal relationship?” we ventured. “As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.” “Totoo po yon, natatakot din ako na magsawa siya sa akin,” the ever endearing Joshua openly and humbly replied. “Pero awa naman po ng Diyos, tuwing nakikita niya ako, mas natutuwa naman po siya sa akin!” As this young and beautiful couple laughed at one another, it was clear that the pros outweigh the cons in their real and reel life relationships, making yet another thing certain: Ngayon at Kailanman is worth a watch come prime time tonight. Directed by Mae CruzAlviar and Elfren Vibar, the series also stars a veteran cast in Rosemarie Gil, Rio Locsin, Iza Calzado, Christian Vasquez, Alice Dixon, Ina Raymundo, Dominic Ocha, and TJ Trinidad, with Jameson Blake and Joao Constancia.
Donita moves on from failed marriage by HONEY
ORIO-ESCULLAR Philstar.com
DONITA Rose exuded a positive aura when she appeared before the entertainment press during the recent launch of her cooking show Jolly Heart Mate Kitchen, which is now on its second season, held at GMA’s Executive Lounge. This made reporters, including The STAR, wonder if she has fully moved on after going through a rough patch in her married life. She and now ex-husband Eric Villarama have a 14-year-old son named JP. “We’re now friends. There’s no more pain and I have moved on finally,” said Donita confirming that she and Eric have finally patched things up between them. She admitted that she was touched when Eric said sorry to her last Valentine’s Day. Donita recalled, “I guested on Magandang Buhay for a Valentine episode and the hosts asked me about my love life and if I have already moved on. Then, I told them I’ve already moved on and forgiven everything but there’s no replacement since then. Eric, meanwhile, wondering why he was getting social media requests asked me what I said in the interview. Since it’s for Valentine’s, he must have been reminded about our break-up which happened on that occasion. “Then he apologized at naiyak naman ako. But you see, these words that are spoken are powerful and they do something... they bring healing to the heart.” As a single mom, Donita said that it was difficult but exciting at the same time to make a fresh start, sans regrets. “I could say that it’s been a hard journey but I have no regrets,” she said. “This is the first time that I’m really focused on myself like having my own place na, going back to working out and just focusing on my son. It was hard at first but I think I’m fully recovered na. And since coming back to the Philippines, I just reestablished myself and financially, I’m getting back on my feet na.”
Donita Rose Basta Happy Everyday
Asked if she’s ready to fall in love again and if she has entertained suitors already, she quipped, “No suitors yet. Pero bukas na bukas na ang puso ko hahaha! Pero hindi ko naman siya hinahanap sa ngayon. I’m happy being where I’m at right now.” What Donita really looks forward to is to have more work so that “I can save a lot because I wanna finish paying off my place and I want to be able to renovate my kitchen so that I can also do shoots from home. ’Yun talaga ‘yung dream that’s taking a bit longer than expected,” she shared. Donita also wishes to release her own cookbook. “This is my fourth year of working with Jolly Heart Mate, and next year as I celebrate my fifth year with them, I’m really hoping that they wanna sponsor a cookbook because, so far, I already donated 50 recipes which are not just something you grab from the Internet because that’s copyright infringement so all of these recipes na meron ako talagang pinag-isipan ko nang mabuti.” Asked if she has plans to put up her own restaurant, the chef mom said, “As of now, I think it’s hard for me because, I mean, I don’t have that much to invest into a restaurant. When you do, you have to put your heart and soul into it and you have to really focus on that. “I kinda like what I’m doing right now. I have time to spend with my kid at home and then I also get to do the cooking, hosting. I like the variety. And
if someday I’m able to save up some money to put up a restaurant, definitely that would be something I’d love to do. I have had offers from people who would like to invest but I’m afraid of investing with other people’s money. We’ll see, maybe later down the road.” Donita added that for the meantime she’d like to focus on her showbiz career. “I still love showbiz. I still love stuffs like this. This is like my dream project, ‘yung Jolly Heart Mate Kitchen.” And once again, the celebrity chef returns to its second season for a new batch of easyto-follow and heart-friendly Filipino recipes which Donita guarantees to be delicious and healthy for the whole family with the use of Jolly Heart Mate Canola Oil. The program features 12 episodes where Donita cooks dishes and solves kitchen problems with the help of some of the Kapuso stars like Camille Prats, Mikael Daez, Rocco Nacino, Jason Abalos, Julie Anne San Jose, Zoren Legaspi and Yasmien Kurdi.
Donita Rose Let he love (mario)
Bong Duterte meets with LA community members
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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - August 22, 2018
Susan Roces leads celebrants at ‘balik-samahan’ by Ronnie
CaRRasCo iii
ManilaTimes.net
Tina Cruz, Trinity Foliente, Edeley Duterte
Bong Duterte, Edeley Duterte, Michael & wife “Lady Anne” Duterte & children
STARS IN their 50s or way below—regardless of their film outfit or TV network affiliation—may want to adopt their senior colleagues’ tradition of holding regular get-together sessions called balik-samahan. Last July 29, at her New Manila residence in Quezon City, Pempe Oreta hosted a quintuple celebration for the June- and July-born namely her brother lawyer King Rodrigo (with wife Boots Anson in tow), Liberty Ilagan (ex-wife of restaurateur Rod Ongpauco of the famous Barrio Fiesta chain), Lollie Mara (mother of former actor Lorenzo or Tata), Baby O’Brien (daughter of the late Paraluman and mother of erstwhile sexy star Rina Reyes) and certainly not the least, Queen of Philippine Movies Susan Roces. “Balik-Samahan has been for more than 10 years now with Pempe’s house and the Sampaguita Gardens (of the Vera-Perez) as alternating venues. So you can just imagine how many times a year these
veteran stars get together,” an attendee-source told Vignettes. That night, it was Pilita Corrales—a regular attendee—who opened the program with a song. Later that evening, what caught the attention of the other guests, however, was the Asia’s Queen of Songs’ huddle with estranged son-in-law Ricky Davao (probably the youngest in the group) “as if they’re still connected.” Damage for the guests was P300 each which was spent on cakes while the birthday celebrators brought food. Joining the occasion which lasted until about 11 p.m. were (in no particular order) Robert Arevalo with wife Barbara Perez, Pepito Rodriguez (former screen partner of Rosemarie Sonora, Susan’s younger sister), Caridad Sanchez, Lilia Dizon (mother of Pinky and Christopher de Leon who, contrary to rumors, isn’t suffering from dementia), Gloria Sevilla, Gloria Romero and Nova Villa who played raconteur in the group. Since the venue was in New Manila where fellow veteran actress Amalia Fuente lives, Vignettes curiously asked why
Susan Roces
the former movie queen was nowhere in sight. “I think, ever since, Amalia wouldn’t get invited. But there was one time when Pempe and her company made a surprise visit at Amalia’s house para mangumusta. But you know what, seeing these veteran stars from Sampaguita and LVN bond together, ke active pa ngayon or hindi na, is one heartwarming experience,” Vignettes’ source said wishing that today’s crop of stars do the same when they grow old.
Building your skill set and...
(L-R) Sonny Bautista, Gary Maldia, Ron Saguin, Rey & Rory Perez, Dante Varona, Benjamin Duterte, Paul Muego, Edith, Ralph Lauren, Trinity Foliente
Benjamin “Bong” Duterte, the younger brother of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, recently visited Los Angeles. He was joined at Noypitz Bar and Grill by extended family members, friends, and members of the Filipino-American community.
From Page 2 training in various technological courses could be helpful. Even language courses, de Guzman says, could help some people feel more confident in their communication skills and ability to conduct themselves in a professional manner. “Technological skills are key now and everybody needs to know things like Microsoft Office or manage an electronic calendar,” de Guzman advises. “These are things that have become necessary, so get up to speed with those. I think you can also consider training courses at community college in these aspects could be beneficial.” Embrace all parts of you and be yourself The process of making
ourselves look viable to employers, we can often feel pressured to show a carefully-curated version of ourselves, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but we shouldn’t completely deviate from who we are when presenting ourselves to prospective employers. De Guzman shared a story about someone she knew who had training as an actor in college as an undergraduate and then went on to a “very good” graduate school and earned his MBA and then landed a great job. “I told him, ‘Well, congratulations on that job,’ but don’t forget that your acting training helped you get there,’” she shared. “So when you tell someone that you were an actor who got into an MBA program, that’s
a much more interesting story than someone who just got their MBA in grad school. It gives the person on the other side of that interview a glimpse into how you overcome challenges in a very indirect, but direct way how you think and how you make decisions.” “At the end of the day, just be yourself and you need to be happy with whatever it is you want, whether that’s balance and be honest and realize that you can’t have it all,” de Guzman added. “You can have most of what you’re looking for by making the choices that are important to you and what you need. You can get there but you have to be honest with yourself and not be shy to tell your story because your story is important.”
The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - August 22, 2018