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Trump wins the presidency, Clinton concedes Fil-Ams react to Trump’s stunning victory by MoMar
G. Visaya, Christina M. oriel and Klarize Medenilla / AJPress
After a long, heated and hard-fought campaign season, the American people have made their choice: GoP candidate Donald J. trump is the next president of the United states. “I just received a call from secretary Clinton. she congratulated us on our victory and I congratulated her and her family for the campaign. We owe her a debt of gratitude for her service to this country,” trump said in his
DATELINE
victory speech, delivered in front of his supporters who gathered at the hilton hotel in midtown manhattan. As of this writing, trump took 279 electoral votes, versus secretary hillary Clinton’s 228. Clinton, however, won the popular vote with 59,796,805 votes. the real estate billionaire garnered 59,590,426. “As I’ve said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign,
USA
from the AJPress NEWS TEAM AcroSS AMEricA
Fil-Ams share experience voting for the first time in US election YeY Coronel has been a southern California resident since 1981, but this year marks her first time voting in an election. Despite her decades-long career in civic service, which includes serving under two Los Angeles mayors, it may come as a surprise that it was only this past september when she was sworn-in as a U.s. citizen. “Doing immigration for the filipino American service Group, Inc. (fAsGI) made me start thinking that all these people wanted to be citizens as soon as they’re eligible. I’ve been eligible for years, but I’ve been shunning it,” Coronel, the current executive director of non-profit organization fAsGI in Los Angeles, told the Asian Journal. “It made me go through a self-realization that I’m actually more American than filipino.” though she contemplated voting by mail, she opted to physically go to a precinct near her home in the san fernando Valley on election Day to undergo the entire experience of lining up, filling out the ballot, and PAGE A4
Filipina-American philanthropist denies plot to oust Duterte A fILIPINA-American philanthropist and community leader based in New York has denied allegations that she is spearheading a plan to remove Philippine President rodrigo Duterte from power. Loida Nicolas Lewis brushed the president’s accusations off as “a complete fabrication and totally false,” following his speech on friday, November 4 in which he publicly addressed the supposed plot. “I am concerned that the president is being given misinformation designed to divide the country and advance the interests of a certain political group while casting filipino Americans in an unfavorable light,” Nicolas Lewis said in a statement. In his remarks before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ regional convention in manila, the Philippine president said that “those who are of Western persuasion” are working to unseat him from office. PAGE A2
but rather an incredible and great movement made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their families,” he continued. President Barack obama delivered a speech at the rose Garden early Wednesday afternoon, November 9. obama said that he had a chance to talk to PresiPAGE A2
Duterte congratulates Trump: Mabuhay ka! by dana
sioson / AJPress
In this July 18 photo, real estate billionaire Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, take the stage on the first night of the Repiblican National AJPress file photo by Christina M. Oriel
IN his speech before the filipino community in malaysia, Convention in Cleveland. Trump won the election as America’s 45th president. Philippine President rodrigo Duterte congratulated Donald trump on his election win as president of the United states. “Ayaw kong makipag-away kasi nandyan na si trump (I don’t want to quarrel anymore because trump is now there). I would like to congratulate President trump.” Duterte said on Wednesday, November 2, a few hours after the U.s. election poll results were announced. PAGE A2
Former Nevada Attorney General Cortez Masto becomes first Latina in US Senate Democrats win key seats in Southern Nev.
by Christina
M. oriel
masto won 47.1 percent (520,658) of the votes, while heck garnered former Nevada Attorney Gen- 44.7 percent (494,427). eral Catherine Cortez masto beIn addition to being the first Lacame the first Latina elected to the tina, Cortez masto will be the first U.s. senate beating out republican woman to hold one of Nevada’s rep. Joe heck in what was one of senate seats. the Las Vegas native the tightest races in the nation dur- and granddaughter of a mexican ing this election cycle. immigrant served as the state’s atfor the seat that will be vacated torney general from 2007 to 2015. by sen. harry reid (D-Nev.), Cortez “I want you to know this isn’t my win, it is our win. We did this together” Cortez masto said on Philstar.com photo tuesday night, November 8 at the ArIA resort and Casino in Las Vegas, where the Nevada Democratic Party held its party. Both Cortez masto and heck previously spoke with the Asian Journal AJPress
Pres. Rodrigo Duterte
Supreme Court: Marcos can receive hero’s burial by dana
sioson / AJPress
LAte President ferdinand marcos can be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (heroes’ Cemetery) in taguig, the Philippine supreme Court ruled on tuesday, November 8. With a vote of 9-5-1, the court dismissed the petitions that sought to stop the former president’s interment. the petitioners, including the martial law victims, argued in summary that the burial is allegedly against the law, citing r.A. 10368 or the human rights Victims reparation and recognition Act as a basis. the court, however, said marcos was not convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude and the cases against him Catherine Cortez Masto PAGE A2 AJPress photos by Robert Macabagdal Dina Titus
about their outreach and involvement with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population, particularly filipino Americans. As the fastest-growing minority group in Nevada, AAPIs comprise about 9 percent of Nevada’s electorate. several reports stated that this population would be the swing vote for many of the state’s races. Cortez masto, who was handpicked as reid’s successor, had high-profile leaders stumping across the state for her, including President Barack obama, who traveled to Las Vegas two weeks before election Day for a campaign speech. PAGE A3
Ruben Kihuen
Jacky Rosen
Pacquiao back in Senate after victory against Vargas Arum says rematch with Mayweather likely by aJPress
Manny Pacquiao wins match against Vargas
AJPress photo by Robert Macabagdal
fILIPINo boxing champion and senator manny Pacquiao arrived in manila on tuesday, November 8, to continue his legislative duties after dominating mexican-American boxer Jessie Vargas during their match at thomas & mack Center in Las Vegas. Pacquiao reclaimed his World Boxing organization (WBo) welterweight title after defeating Vargas via unanimous decision last sat-
urday, November 5. the filipino boxer won on all three scorecards, 114113, 118-109 and 118-109, in his comeback fight after his several months of retirement from boxing to focus on his senate duties. In a ringside interview, Pacquiao said he is very happy regarding the outcome of their match but expresses a little regret for being unable to knock Vargas out. he then thanked his fans and the filipino people for
their support. meanwhile, for Vargas, his fight with Pacquiao was like a “chess match.” “We were on our toes trying to catch a big shot. he caught me a couple of times, I caught him a couple of times. It was an entertaining fight,” Vargas said. “It was very interesting for me. It’s a good learning experience being against one of the best such as manny Pacquiao. this automatically PAGE A3
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Trump wins the presidency... PAGE A1 dent-elect Trump about 3:30 am on Wednesday and invited him to come to the White House to talk about a successful transition between their presidencies. “Now, it is no secret that the President-elect and I have some pretty significant differences. But remember, eight years ago, President Bush and I had some pretty significant differences,� Obama said. The president also said that he had a chance to speak with Clinton. “I could not be prouder of her,� Obama said. “Her candidacy and nomination was historic and sends a message to our
daughters all across the country that they can achieve at the highest levels of politics.� Earlier on Wednesday, Sec. Clinton delivered her concession speech at the Wyndham New Yorker Hotel’s grand ballroom, in front of hundreds of her staff, friends and supporters. “This is not the outcome that we wanted and we worked so hard for and I am sorry that we did not win this election for the values we shared and the vision we hold for our country,� Clinton said in her first public address after the results of the elections became apparent. Clinton was supposed to speak in front of thousands of her sup-
The scene inside Javits Center in New York, where the Clinton campaign held its official election night party. Contributed photo by Joshua Ang Price
porters who gathered at the Jacob Javits Convention Center on Tuesday evening, a setting that her campaign chose primarily because of the steel building’s glass ceiling and structure which is symbolic of the Democratic nominee being elected as the first woman president of the United States, and thus being able to “shatter the highest, hardest glass ceiling.� Thousands of supporters gathered inside and outside of the Javits Center and the mood was fun and electric as early as 6:00 p.m. when the gates opened. As the evening progressed, however, some people began leaving when it was apparent that Sec. Clinton’s path to the presidency was becoming narrower as results from the swing states came in. Most of the people inside the Javits Center opted to stay. Eventually, campaign staff told the people who remained inside the convention center that Sec. Clinton would not make an appearance anymore. At around 2:00 a.m., John Podesta, her campaign manager, said that there would be no announcement until the morning. “This is painful and it will be for a long time. Our campaign was never about one person or even about one election. It is about the country we love,� Clinton said. “Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind a chance to lead. Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transfer of power and we don’t just respect that, we cherish it.� Fil-Ams for Hillary A number of Filipino-American supporters braved the cold weather as they stayed outside the Javits to wait for the results to come in. Some of them expressed dismay at the results. Joshua Ang Price, a Fil-Am from Arkansas who was a delegate for Clinton during the Democratic National Committee, describe the mood inside the convention center. “The atmosphere at the Javits Center began on a high note in anticipation of an easy victory for PAGE A3
Duterte congratulates Trump... PAGE A1
“Mabuhay ka (May you live)!� Duterte remarked. The Philippine president also drew comparison between him and the new president-elect of the United States. “Pareho tayo nagmumura. Konting rason lang, mura kaagad. Medyo pare-pareho kami, (We are both foul-mouthed. We curse even the smallest things. We were kind of alike),� Duterte pointed out. Duterte, known for his profanity-laced speeches against the U.S., also seemed to receive an advice to lower his hostile remarks against the United States.
“Ayaw ko po ng kalaban, but I cannot also – sabi kasi nila, ‘tutal tapos na ang election, nanalo na si Trump, why don’t you just shut up? (I don’t want an enemy, but I cannot also – because they said, now that the election is over, Trump already won, why don’t you just shut up?),� he related. For the past few months since he took seat, President Duterte repeatedly lashed out the United States for the latter’s alleged interference in the Philippine government’s war on illegal drugs. Duterte also previously expressed his intent to severe ties with the U.S. and pursue an
independent policy. Meanwhile, hours before Duterte’s congratulatory remarks in Malaysia, the MalacaĂąang expressed its wish for Trump’s success in his next four years as Chief Executive and commanderin chief of the U.S. military. Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said President Duterte “looks forward to working with the incoming administration for enhanced Philippines-U.S. relations anchored on mutual respect, mutual benefit and shared commitment to democratic ideals and the rule of law.â€?
VICTORY SIGN. Ilocos Governor Imee Marcos gives the victory sign after the favorable decision of the Supreme Court on the burial of her father, former President Ferdinand Marcos, at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Voting 9-5, the high court dismissed the petition filed by human rights groups and victims of martial law on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Inquirer.net photo by Lyn Rillon
Supreme Court: Marcos can receive... PAGE A1 were all civil in nature. The court also lifted its status quo ante order (SQAO) that temporarily halted the Department of National Defense (DND) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) from the burial preparations for the late dictator. With permission from President Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos’s burial was supposedly set in September, but the court initially issued an SQAO at the request of petitioners who sought to stop the burial. The SQA, which originally should have expired on September 12, was extended twice until November 8. The court also said there was no grave abuse of discretion on the part of Duterte in ordering the burial of Marcos, and that the president has the power to decide on how to use land with-
in the public domain, including the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Those who voted to dismiss the petitions include Associate Justices Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Lucas Bersamin, Arturo Brion, Leonardo-De Castro, Mariano Del Castillo, Jose Mendoza, Diosdado Peralta, Jose Perez, and Presbitero Velasco Jr. On the other hand, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno and Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Antonio Carpio, Marvic Victor Leonen, Francis Jardeleza dissented. Justice Bienvenido Reyes abstained from voting. In a statement, former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong� R. Marcos Jr. thanked the Supreme Court for its decision. “We also would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to President Rodrigo Duterte as his unwavering commitment to this
issue sustained us these past several months. Our family will forever be thankful for his kind gesture,â€? he said. The younger Marcos said he hopes that his father’s burial will “lead the nation towards healing as we endeavor to move the country forward to give every Filipino a better life.â€? On the other hand, several rallies were conducted in different parts of the country, including Quezon City, Makati, Baguio, Los BaĂąos, Cebu, and Davao, to protest against the court’s decision regarding the internment. Former President Marcos died of kidney, heart and lung ailments in 1989 while in exile in Hawaii after being ousted during the 1986 EDSA Revolution. His remains were brought back to the Philippines in 1993 and have stayed remained in a glass coffin in Ilocos Norte.
Filipina-American philanthropist denies... PAGE A1 “Yung ayaw sa akin, madali yan‌ (It is easy to deal with those who are against me‌), no need for coup d’etat‌you are wasting your bullet,â€? he said. The president went on to say that he is ready to step down from his post without being coerced. “Go to MalacaĂąang, we’ll have coffee and I myself will swear you to run this Republic and solve the problem. Walang problema (No problem). Next year, there will be mass demonstration, for all I care. Wala akong illusions (I don’t have illusions). Do not give me a reason to go out because you might get your wish,â€? he said. Though he did not directly name Nicolas Lewis, he mentioned that a prominent funder of the ouster is “an affluent businesswoman.â€? He also mentioned billionaire George Soros’s financing
New U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim receives a letter from NY-based philanthropist Loida Nicolas Lewis after he was sworn in at the U.S. State Department on November 3. Lewis suggested drug rehabilitation assistance for the Philippine government. Photo by Eric Lachica
of Human Rights Watch, one of the many organizations that has raised alarm over the Philippine government’s controversial crusade against illegal drugs. “They have funding money. They will really attack to justify. They chose me... they’re pounding on me. That is fine, editorials every day,� the president said. “I can swallow that.� Rumors of a plot first came to light in September when Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar revealed that Fil-Ams in New York were “hatching a plan to oust the president by January 2017.� He said that the information came from a cabinet secretary who was visiting the city at the time. Despite the accusations, Nicolas Lewis wrote a letter to Sung Y. Kim — the new U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines who was officially sworn in on Thursday, November 3 — asking the U.S. government to support Duterte’s anti-drug campaign with rehabilitation programs. “With all due respect, may I suggest that you offer him assistance in the rehabilitation of the 800,000 drug addicts and drug dealers who have surrendered and are now in prison all over the country?� she wrote. She added that she met with
the Philippine president in June and remarked that “he has the genuine intention to lead the Filipino people out of poverty, criminality and corruption.� Nicolas Lewis was married to the late Reginald Lewis, the first African American to own a billion-dollar company, TLC Beatrice International Holdings. Since taking office, Duterte has made remarks against the United States, one of the Philippines’ long-time allies. Following his first state visit to Beijing, he suggested a military and economic break from the U.S. in favor of aligning with China and Russia. On Friday, he also slammed U.S. President Barack Obama anew for the latter country’s “threats of aid withdrawal.� “Mr. Obama, what went wrong? Get your dictionary. Find out the right meaning of dignity,� Duterte said. The U.S., however, has reiterated its commitment to maintaining its relationship with the Philippines. In three and a half months, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has recorded more than 3,000 individuals killed, which include deaths from both legitimate police operations and vigilante killings. (Christina M. Oriel / AJPress)
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LAS VEGAS ASIAN JOURNAL • NOVEmbER 10-16 2016
A
Trump wins the presidency...
SHE’S HAD ENOUGH. SAYING that she needed to get rid of the “demon” who has turned her life into a “nightmare,” Senator Leila De Lima on Monday, Nov. 7 asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop President Rodrigo Duterte from making public statements that malign and degrade her dignity as a woman and as a human being. ManilaTimes.net photo by DJ Diosina
Former Nevada Attorney General Cortez... PAGE A1 “As I look at the room right now, I can see there is just an incredible, incredible group of people out here. The multicolored fabric of Nevada, the diversity here, is our strength and I can see from your faces that we are going to continue to be strong and continue to fight for our families, for our future — here in Nevada and across this country,” Cortez Masto continued in her victory speech. Following his defeat, Heck — a physician, small business owner and brigadier general in the U.S. Army Reserve — released a statement congratulating Cortez Masto. “Our race for the Senate was always about the people of our wonderful state. For months, I had the privilege of traveling to all corners of Nevada. I met patriotic Americans from small towns like Goldfield and populous cities like Reno. My life is better for it,” Heck said. In the past month, Heck’s numbers slid in the polls, after he
distanced himself from Republican candidate Donald Trump, following the release of the controversial tape in which the real estate billionaire bragged about sexual assault. Democrat and political newcomer Jacky Rosen beat Republican Danny Tarkanian in the race for the 3rd Congressional District, which Heck has represented since 2011. Rosen, who has built a career as a computer programmer and software developer, was personally tapped by Reid to run for this position. “Our government should fundamentally be about the people, your dreams, your hopes, your challenges, and our collective future. For too long, a dysfunctional Congress has forgotten that. In the aftermath of this divisive and often ugly campaign season, I hope that every person elected tonight will remember that behind every problem, there are people back home who are suffering,” Rosen said in a statement. She added, “Now, the hard work
begins of healing our country. The work of crossing the aisle and finding solutions, rather than retreating into partisan corners. I pledge to begin that work right now. I got into this race to make a difference, not just to hold an office. I can’t wait to take your stories to Washington and fight for you.” Also in Southern Nevada, Dina Titus (D-Nev.) of the 1st Congressional District easily retained her seat with 62 percent of the votes. Her district is home to the city’s Chinatown and has one of the largest concentration of AAPI businesses in Southern Nevada. Democrat Ruben Kihuen won by 48 percent for the state’s 4th Congressional District, triumphing over Republican Cresent Hardy who finished with 45 percent of the votes. “Thank you, Nevada, for making this son of a housekeeper & a former farmworker your next representative in the U.S. Congress. #AmericanDream,” Kihuen tweeted following his win.
Pacquiao back in Senate after... ever my promoter gives to me, I will fight,” Pacquiao said. On the other hand, promoter elevated my game and I know I Bob Arum told ESPN on Monhave more potential,” he added. Asked about his next match, day, November 7, that there’s a Pacquiao said he doesn’t know 75 percent chance that Pacquiao yet who’s going to be his next will have a rematch against Floyd Mayweather Jr. contender. The retired American boxer “I don’t know, whoever the people wants to fight me. Who- earlier surprised the crowd as PAGE A1
he made an unexpected appearance at Thomas & Mack Center to watch Pacquiao’s match. In May 2015, Mayweather was declared the winner by a unanimous decision in his match against Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and announced retirement later in September.
PAGE A2 Hillary as suggested by national polling data. Jubilation however soon turned to tension once the final data began to roll in. As Trump’s electoral votes began to mount, so did the fear of the crowd. A lot of people were crying. Others angry. As the long night progressed, few remained hopeful that a victory for Hillary was still possible, but I was one of the ones who remained optimistic,” he said. Though Clinton’s defeat may come as a blow to many FilAm supporters, Price called on them to unite and work together to make sure their voices are heard as the new administration comes in. “For better or ill, Donald Trump is our president elect and should be treated with the respect accompanying that highest position. We must work with our president not against him to make positive changes in America for all of us. I believe the Fil Am community should work to form a healthy dialogue with the Trump administration to enlighten them on the issues which affect us so that our needs and concerns can be addressed and not forgotten,” he said. Emily Supil, a New York City resident, said she felt “a little defeated” by the results. “I voted for Clinton today and I had hoped she would be president tonight,” Supil said. Supil believes that the FBI and email issue were major factors, along with the possibility that the campaign became a little overconfident because they were leading in most of the polls. “The email issue was a factor and some people questioned who they wanted to vote for. It’s tricky because some people would prioritize certain things over other issues,” she added. “Half of the country would be upset either way,” Vincent Ganzon said. “I just feel disheartened because I was thinking that the election would go a certain way based on what I have been reading on the internet and seeing in polls.” “We need to accept the results because that’s how democracy works. Moving forward, I would like to see both parties work together,” Ganzon added. Wayne Regencia, a resident of Jersey City also expressed his disappointment about the poll results.
“Not just about the election results but about the country as a whole,” Regencia said. “I wasn’t really enthusiastic with Clinton as our candidate but at least we should elect someone who is qualified. He has no knowledge about the issues and gives a good sound bite and people buy it.” The Filipino American Democratic Club of New York released a statement congratulating Secretary Hillary Clinton for winning the popular vote in last night’s presidential elections and commending her for her historic campaign and candidacy, and her lifetime of public service. They also expressed disappointment about the results of the polls. “While FADCNY is deeply disappointed and will be in mourning long after today with the overall results of the election, it is time now to roll up our sleeves to protect our political and policy priorities, including DACA and DAPA at the Federal level. We have no time to waste. These executive actions are now in jeopardy. 4,800 Filipinos who were undocumented have already benefited from a legal status provided by President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, with many more still eligible. We call on Filipino Americans whose immigration status is in question to make a plan to apply for relief, and for green card holders to naturalize as soon as possible, and to organize with immigrant organizations to fight for their rights,” the statement said. “The results of this election have made one thing clear: Our families are on the line, but we as Filipino Americans are here to stay. We are here to build and protect our community, our families, and our loved ones. We stand ready to safeguard the progress that we have already accomplished, to build our political power, and to rise to the immense challenge before us,” the statement added. “It is critical that our community must step up, and show up, not just for ourselves but for others, so that our needs and priorities are represented. And not just every four years, but every day. Democracy must be our duty practice, and not a chore.” Fil-Ams praise Trump Leading up to Election Day, the National Asian American Survey
(NAAS) reported that over a quarter of Filipino registered voters favored Trump, comprising the largest support out of any of the groups surveyed. Given the support Fil-Ams had for Trump and the Republican Party, the Republican National Committee (RNC) continued its outreach to the community, especially in battleground states. “Through the RNC’s historic data-drive ground game operation from the past three years, Republicans up and down the ballot worked with the Filipino-American community, and played a significant role in the success in this year’s election. Republicans will continue to work with the Filipino-American community to ensure their voices are heard, and create policies that will make them easier to have the opportunity to live their American Dream. Under a Trump Administration and a GOP majority in both chambers of Congress, our nation will thrive and be a huge improvement from the failed liberal policies of the last eight years,” Ninio Fetalvo, APA press secretary of the RNC, said. “I voted for a change in America,” Cecile Ramos, a Fil-Am community leader in Los Angeles, said. “And I believe Donald Trump represents that.” Dolly De Leon, a business owner and avid Trump supporter in Las Vegas, said the Republican’s win was a “real surprise.” “The ‘Silent Majority’ is not silent anymore after Trump wins. Many were shocked not just surprised. Pollsters were wrong and even lied to the public for the purpose of swaying voters or intimidating Trump’s supporters. Many Filipino Americans did not vote for Trump because they were not really informed of the platform of the Trump campaign,” she said. Ron Villaneuva, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, congratulated Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence for their win. “As a member of your Asian Americans for Trump Advisory Board, I was honored along with my colleagues from all the Asian American communities to work alongside you and help advance our communities and America. We have a lot of work ahead of us as we work to fix a broken PAGE A4
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Trump wins the presidency... PAGE A3 national government. We look forward to working with you and your administration in helping to create and sustain jobs here in America, fix a broken immigration system, restore our prominence in the international community, and have government working for us instead of against us. On behalf of our Filipino-American community, America is great because of its people so let’s all unite, work hard, and move our country forward,” he said in a letter addressed to Trump and Pence. Villanueva was one of five FilAms on Trump’s Asian Pacific American (APA) advisory board, a group tasked with briefing the campaign about issues relevant to the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population. “Filipinos in America should rejoice with those who believed in Donald Trump from the beginning I honestly believe that President Trump will be the president for all and will do what he had promised during his campaign,” De Leon added. Poll: Clinton wins AAPI vote Although Trump won the election overall, exit polling shows that Hillary Clinton won over more Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) voters by a landslide. An exit poll conducted by Asian American Decisions on the eve of the election showed that Clinton won over 75 percent of the AAPI compared to Trump’s 19 percent -- 5 percent voted for another candidate.
Across all the surveyed groups -- Filipino, Chinese/Taiwanese, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese -- Clinton received the most votes in the poll, titled 2016 Asian American Election Eve Poll. Clinton handily won the AAPI electorate in eight key states: California (79 percent), Nevada (60 percent), Texas (73 percent), Florida (72 percent), North Carolina (73 percent), Illinois (84 percent), Pennsylvania (83 percent) and Virginia (78 percent). Researchers also measured “emotional drive” in this survey. When asked whether each candidate ever made them feel angry, afraid, proud or hopeful, 51 percent said that Clinton made them feel “proud” and 62 percent made them feel “hopeful.” In comparison, 68 percent of AAPI voters said that Trump made them feel “angry” and 54 percent said he makes them feel “afraid.” “Roughly one out of every three Asian American voters nationwide lives in California -- that’s 1.8 million Asian American voters in California alone,” Dan Ichinose, Director of the Demographic Research Project at Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles, said in a statement. “This poll showed that Asian American voters in our state were particularly angry at Trump and afraid of the consequences of him being elected,” he added. Asian Americans are the fastest growing demographic in the United States, according to
Census Bureau statistics. Moreover, they are the fastest growing electorate in the country, meaning the Asian American vote becomes more influential with every coming election, according to Jill Hanauer, President of Project New America. “Despite the results of last night’s election, this poll shows that the Asian American electorate is quickly becoming a significant factor in national elections and only underscores the need for progressives to invest more research on AAPI voters,” Hanauer said. She added: “Like the Latinos, AAPI voters are not monolithic, and both parties will need to better understand the community if they want to tap into unrealized potential in this growing electorate moving forward.” The poll comprised of a sample of 2,391 registered voters and was conducted from November 1-7. The group samples included Chinese or Taiwanese (496), Filipinos (329), Indian (589), Japanese (216), Korean (217), Vietnamese (380) and “Other Asian” (164). Participants were contacted through phone calls and online polling. The national margin of error was 2 percent. The poll was initiated by AAPI Civic Engagement Fund and was sponsored by Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Education Association and Service Employees International Union.
MARCOS BURIAL PROTEST. Militants protesting the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani are blocked by layers of police personnel near the Supreme Court in Manila. The Supreme Court has allowed the burial of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB). Voting 9-5, the high court dismissed the petition filed by human rights groups and victims of martial law. Inquirer.net photo by Lyn Rillon
Fil-Ams share experience voting for... PAGE A1 wearing an “I Voted” sticker. California’s ballot, which included 17 propositions in addition to the races on the federal, state, and local levels, was overwhelming, Coronel said. “My life experiences have shaped who and what I am voting for. For the candidates, I’m looking at their qualifications. I am looking at not just capability, but for someone who is more trustworthy,” she said. However, she revealed that she chose not to vote for a commander-in-chief. “By not voting for president, I am making more of a statement that the [Democratic and Republican] parties need to be more
responsible in choosing their candidates,” she said. “I worry about people who say they’re voting for one because they don’t want the other to win, and I think that’s not right either because it could skew the votes to the other candidate.” FASGI — an organization based in LA’s Historic Filipinotown that benefits low-income individuals in areas, such as immigration, health and wellness and rider relief — got over a dozen Filipinos in the area to register to vote and educated them on how to physically fill out their ballots. One of the individuals the organization has helped is Florencio S. Mallari Sr., a 78-year-old Filipino who migrated from the Philippines eight years ago. “I came to the U.S. to save my life. If I stayed in the Philippines, I would have died by now. All of my friends are dead,” Mallari said. “Being a citizen now makes me so happy.” Since becoming a citizen in March, he has been working to improve his English skills. However, he said he wasn’t aware that Los Angeles offers election materials in Tagalog, which would have made the voting process easier for him. He shared that he was bombarded with mailers that had contrasting messages on how to vote for the various propositions. “It’ll be a good feeling if who I voted for wins,” Mallari said, though he didn’t reveal which presidential candidate received his vote. “But that’s a secret.” Fil-Am millennials’ perspectives Eron Constante, a 20-year-old Filipino-American student in Glendale, California, thought everything went smoothly on Election Day, given that he took the time to extensively research all of the ballot issues and candidates. That is, until he realized that he forgot to cast his choice for president after he submitted his ballot. “I would have voted for Hillary Clinton because the argument of her being the lesser of two evils, I find, is more convincing than Trump is the lesser of two evils,” Constante said, adding that the economy and education are among the top issues he’s most concerned about. Katrina Villacisneros, 20, went to a nearby retirement center in Arcadia, California to also vote for Clinton. “As a woman, I feel very proud because when I woke up today, I thought about the 19th Amendment and how lucky I am that I get to vote,” Villacisneros, who moved from the Philippines when she was 10 years old, said. “There might be a chance that I could see the first female president of the United States and I could say that I participated in creating history,” she added. Though it’s commonly believed that millennials tend to be more progressive and vote Democratic as a whole, several young firsttime Fil-Am voters shared why they voted for Republican nominee Donald Trump. For Francine Celis, a 19-yearold pre-nursing student from Fort Myers, Florida, in particular, being raised as a Catholic shaped her political beliefs. One of the issues she disagrees with Clinton on is abortion. “I voted for Trump, even though I don’t agree with him 100 percent,” Celis, who migrated to the Sunshine State from the Philippines in 2006, said. “I think that he can protect our country, our safety, and help increase jobs and opportunities for everybody.” As a naturalized citizen, she added that immigration is another area in which she believes Trump can fix. “My family and I are immigrants, but we came here the right way. I feel that if anyone wants to come to this country for freedom and opportunity, they should come here the same way others do because if you’re going to pardon everyone who comes here illegally, then that’s just sending a message to everyone else to come here illegally and we’ll forgive you,” she said, though she acknowledged that undocumented immigrants contribute to the economy and take jobs that others usually don’t want.
Fellow young first-time voter Felipe Victorino Cataquiz of San Diego was eager to participate in this election, crediting his “love for this country and civic duty” as his main driver to register and vote. “Growing up in America, I have been blessed with the freedoms and opportunities that other people in countries do not have easy access to,” Cataquiz said. “I have also been blessed to be raised in the beautiful city of San Diego and witnessed the exceptionalism of America, which has been displayed from American citizens from all walks of life. All of these factors are all due to the principles in which the country is found upon and the free enterprise oriented system that grants them the opportunity to do so.” He added: “The elections gave me the opportunity to defend these principles that I hold dear today by giving my voice to where I want America to go in based on candidates or propositions.” Cataquiz, a student at the University of California, San Diego studying biology, also voted for Trump for his positions on taxes, health care, “certain aspects of immigration” and foreign policy. “While he is not my ideal candidate, he’s better than Hillary Clinton based on policy positions that I find integral to the office,” Cataquiz said. The future of the Fil-Am vote Meanwhile, just a few streets away from FASGI in Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) has also been doing its part to reach out to voters by organizing 40 volunteers to phone bank three times a week. In the last month, the group made over 10,000 calls to Filipinos, and released a voter guide stating its preferences on the propositions and measures. Though PWC did not use its resources to register new voters, the organization’s Executive Director Aquilina Versoza observed that many more Filipinos were motivated to vote on their own. “We did see more people excited to vote because of all the media coverage,” she said. “We also got people coming to us asking for help processing their citizenship so they could vote, but unfortunately some of them came to us too late.” In addition to the language barriers seen with older Filipinos, Versoza said several had difficulty reaching the polls. “Some seniors had challenges actually getting out to the polls physically, but they were excited to vote so we helped them request their mail-in ballots so they could still participate,” she said. Mallari said even if fellow Filipinos didn’t get to vote during this election cycle, the coming years will be crucial for them to do so. “Just vote [and] you can help our country here...so the United States can know you voted and you did your part,” he said. A month before the election, the National Asian American Survey (NAAS) found that 54 percent of registered Filipino voters surveyed said Clinton was their “presidential vote choice.” 27 percent reported that they preferred Trump, the highest favorability rating of the Republican nominee among all surveyed ethnic groups. “I think predicting voter behavior in this election is very difficult and...this election is more unstable than any other we’ve seen before. If anyone’s predicting who will win, it’s still impossible to tell,” Constante said a few hours before polls closed on November 8. In California, 410,000 Filipino Americans registered to vote, according to Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles’ analysis of the Secretary of State’s statewide voter file. “We see this as a start. For us, this was our first bigger effort to try to see how we can get out the Filipino vote,” Versoza said. “We want to continue to do this every year, whether it is a presidential election year or not...This connected with other issue campaigns, advocacy campaigns, I think, it’s not just about voting but being engaged civically overall so we can get issues addressed that are important to our community.” (With reports from Klarize Medenilla / AJPress)
LAS VEGAS ASIAN JOURNAL • NOVEmbER 10-16, 2016
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D ateline PhiliPPines SC orders probe on search warrant against Espinosa Revilla alive, says lawyer by Dana
by Ma.
M. SioSon
AJPress
THE Philippine Supreme Court ordered an investigation on the issuance of an arrest warrant for Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., who was killed last week while the warrant was being served. “The Supreme Court has ordered an investigation on the circumstances relevant to the reported issuance of a search warrant directly to the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) that has led to the death in custody of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa,” SC spokesperson Ted Te announced in a press conference on Tuesday, November 8. The warrant for the illegal possession of firearms was issued by Basey, Samar Regional Trial Court Branch 30 Judge Tarcelo Sabarre Jr. According to the initial police report, Espinosa was fatally shot inside his cell at the Leyte SubProvincial Jail in Baybay City after allegedly resisting arrest and exchanging shots with the CIDG on Saturday, November 5. The CIDG was also carrying a separate warrant of arrest for the alleged possession of illegal drugs against another inmate, Raul Yap, who was also killed during the supposed resistance. However, the deaths of Espinosa and Yap raised questions after the regional police office confirmed that the CIDG did not coordinate with jail personnel. Some inmates also reportedly testified that Espinosa and Yap were both unarmed and did not fight back during the operation. The CCTV footage of the operation had also gone
by Dana
M. SioSon
AJPress
THREE of the largest banks in the Philippines suggested that the peso to dollar rate could reduce from P49 to P51 versus the U.S. dollar by the end of the year. According to Metrobank, the Philippine peso might depreciate P48 to 1 dollar. The BDO Unibank also expected a depreciation between P48-P48.50. On the other hand, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) suggested the peso could close up at
P49, and possibly even at P51, by the end of 2016. In the past few months, the Philippine peso has declined P1.225 from its 47.06 finish in 2015. On Wednesday, November 2, the peso hit P48.37 per dollar. Some economic analysts said that the decline has been attributed to President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial remarks against America. However, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez downplayed the slide in the Philippine currency.
He noted that the weakening of peso would boost the peso value of dollar remittances, particularly of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. “When the peso slides 50 centavos, you have P25 billion more in the Philippines for people to spend, buy condos. It’s not all bad. Agricultural products will certainly benefit,” Dominguez added. Other analysts also suggested that the dollar is just getting stronger and the peso is not necessarily getting weaker.
Robredo on Duterte’s remarks: Right to be offended by it by RoSeTTe
aDeL
Philstar.com
MANILA — Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday, Nov. 9 said she deliberately chose to ignore what she calls are inappropriate remarks of President Rodrigo Duterte due to more pressing is- sues at the time. Saying she was thinking of the Supreme Court’s decision on the burial of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, Robredo said she chose to look the other way when Duterte admitted to be smitten with her looks and “nice legs” at the public commemoration of the third anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban City. “When President Duterte made inappropriate remarks, I deliberately chose to ignore these. There are larger and more urgent issues we confront as a nation that demand our collective attention,” Robredo said in a statement. “But many were bothered and offended by it. As we all rightly should. Tasteless remarks and inappropriate advances against women should have no place in our society. We should expect that most of all from our leaders,” she added. Duterte said there is nothing
Reina Leanne ToLenTino discharged. So, graciously the ManilaTimes
FORMER Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla is alive and is under observation at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City where he was rushed on Saturday because of erratic blood pressure and severe headache, his lawyer, Reody Anthony Balisi, said Tuesday, Nov. 8. The Sandiganbayan’s First Division allowed Revilla to stay at the hospital for further tests. On Monday, Nov. 7, the defense filed a three-page Manifestation and Urgent Motion informing the court about the former lawmaker’s transfer to the hospital. “We just filed a manifestation to report to the court the recommendation of the PNP and their action MAYOR’S WAKE. Residents of Albuera town in Leyte province, pay their respects to their mayor, on bringing Senator Revilla to St. Rolando Espinosa Sr., who was killed under doubtful circumstances by police officers inside Luke’s Global on an emergency the Baybay jail. Inquirer.net photo by Robert Dejon case. So as a matter of procedure, investigation would also include since he’s still confined at the PNP, missing. Among the CIDG personnel looking at why a search warrant it was incumbent upon us to report who were serving the warrant was issued to someone who was to the court and ask the court to allow him to stay there until all include Chief Insp. Leo Laraga, already in jail. Apart from the PNP-IAS, the the tests are done and until he’s the team leader; Supt. Santi Noel Matira, Senior Insps. Deogracias National Bureau of Investigation Diaz III and Fritz Blanco; Se- (NBI) was also conducting a parnior Police Officers Juanito Du- allel investigation “to avoid any arte and Melvin Cayobit; SPO2s suspicion of whitewash,” accordBenjamin Dacallos and Alphinor ing to Justice Secretary Vitaliano Serrano Jr.; PO3s Jhonny Ibanez Aguirre II. Last August, Espinosa surrenand Norman Abellanosa; PO1s Bernard Orpilla, Lloyd Ortiguesa, dered himself to the PNP after President Rodrigo Duterte issued and Jerlan Cabiyaan. The Philippine National Police a “shoot out” order if the former Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS) did not surrender within 24-hours. said the supporting members of Espinosa was earlier tagged in the the operation will be investigated president’s narcotics list. The mayor resumed his post as well, including Chief Insp. Calixto Canillas, Senior Insp. Lucre- and was later detained in Baybay cito Candilosas; SPO2 Antonio after he was charged in court. Before he was killed, Espinosa R. Docil; SPO1 Mark Christian Cadilo; PO2 Jhon Ruel Ducolan; was supposed to provide authorities a list of drug protectors and and PO2 Jaime Bacsal. PNP chief Director General government officials allegedly inRonald dela Rosa earlier said the volved in narcotics.
Peso-dollar rate might depreciate to P51-$1 in 2017
wrong if he admires Robredo, a widow, since his marriage with his first wife, Elizabeth Zimmerman, had been annulled. “Pupunta rin ako dito kasi nandito ang Vice President (I will come here because the Vice President is here). Wherever she goes, I will follow. She is a widow and my marriage had been annulled,” the president in his speech at the event. Duterte’s remarks earned negative reactions from netizens while some present at the venue laughed it off. Others found it as a sensitive issue on sexism and objectification of women. The president is known to make informal comments and jokes in his speeches. He also mentioned in the same speech that he sometimes inserts jokes when meeting with Robredo to avoid a serious mood. Robredo, for her part, said the president’s remarks only strengthened her resolve to fulfill her duties as the country’s vice president. She said she is committed to help alleviate poverty and uplift lives of the Filipinos through building homes and communities. “I have spent many years as an alternative lawyer fighting for the
rights of women, myself included. That commitment will never waver,” the vice president said. Duterte defends comments as ‘appropriate’ Duterte on Wednesday defended his remarks to Robredo saying it was a suitable compliment to break the ice. “It’s appropriate. As a matter of fact, it was good,” he said at a media conference prior to his departure for Malaysia. He also slammed the reporter, who asked him to react on Robredo’s statement, saying the media wants to depict him as “sexist.” “Unless umakyat ka sa tuhod hanggang diyan [points to upper part of body] then that could be (an) extreme bad take,” the president said. Asked if it was necessary to make such comments at a commemoration event, Duterte replied it was necessary to make people laugh and enjoy the occasion. He added that he was also angered to learn that despite billions of budget for the Yolanda victims, there is little progress in the rehabilitation efforts. “Do not cast aspersion sa mga biro ko. Kasi ako hindi ako heneral, politiko ako. Natural samin ang magpatawa lalo na after magalit,” he said.
In this July 2016 photo, Vice President Leni Robredo paid a courtesy visit to President Duterte to personally convey to him her full support.
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court granted our request for humanitarian considerations,” Balisi told reporters in an interview after the hearing. Balisi dismissed reports of Revilla’s death. “Wala pong katotohanan. In fact, nung nag-report ako kanina lang, nakausap ko siya sa ospital. Mukhang okay naman siya, stable, and still resting so wala pong katotohanan iyan (There’s no truth to that. In fact, when I reported a while ago, I was able to talk to him. He seems okay, stable, and still resting),” Balisi said. “Buhay naman siya (He is alive). It’s just that he has these health conditions that we have to address so walang katotohanan iyang sinasabing patay na siya (there is no truth to those reports that he has passed away).” Revilla is detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame for plunder and graft charges in connection with the Priority Develop-
Former Sen. Bong Revilla
ment Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam. The anti-graft court allowed Revilla to undergo laboratory tests until he is discharged. Based on the manifestation filed by the defense, Revilla was rushed to the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame on Saturday, Nov. 5 “after he experienced vomiting, severe headache and erratic high blood pressure, and swollen right hand.” “During his stay at the PNP General Hospital, Senator Revilla again vomited twice for unexplainable cause, necessitating his transfer to a private hospital,” it said. The former lawmaker was transferred to St. Luke’s upon the recommendation of the PNP hospital’s head doctor.
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november 10-16, 2016 • LAS veGAS ASIAn JoUrnAL
OpiniOn
Judgment
Features
THE burial of Former Pres. Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) was given a go signal by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Voting 9-5, the high court has put an end to the highly contested and heavily debated issue, dismissing the petition filed by human rights groups, and victims during the Martial Law from 1972 to 1981. The petitioners argued that the atrocities committed under the despotic leader’s regime invalidated his right to a burial at the Heroes Cemetery. Marcos died in exile in Hawaii in 1989, three years after the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution toppled his two-decade rule. Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, daughter of the late President, welcomed the high court’s ruling and acknowledged that Pres. Rodrigo Duterte supports the favorable ruling. “Malaki ‘yung naging tulong ni President Duterte kahit ‘di namin hiningi ‘yung tulong niya. (President Dutere helped a lot even if we didn’t ask for it),” she said adding that the family has no plans for the burial and is waiting if there would still be a motion for reconsideration. “Minsan hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit kailangan pa sa Libingan. Marami namang iba diyan. Sa Ilocos, ang laki-laki. Pero sundalo po ang tatay ko e. (Sometimes I do not understand why [we need to bury him] at the Heroes’ Cemetery. There are many other out there. In Ilocos, it’s vast. But, my father is a soldier),” she explained.
For Former Sen. Bongbong Marcos, the Supreme Court decision was a fulfillment of his wishes. “As a son, it is something that I have been praying for for many, many years,” Marcos told CNN Philippines in a phone interview. “Even equally, it’s important with the belief that this was for the healing process in this country,” he added. The younger Marcos also thanked Pres. Duterte for his support. “This is a recognition of the rights of my father as a veteran of the war and a president for 20 years and we thank the justices of the Supreme Court for recognizing that right,” he said. The former senator also called for the healing and reconciliation of “whatever differences or schisms there might be in the political arena in our country. Several groups have already mounted rallies across the country to express indignation and protest the Supreme Court’s decision. Could it be that the very branch of government seeking to determine what is “Constitutional” is the very same body finding ways to circumvent it? In its decision the Supreme Court said it “must uphold what is legal and just and that is not to deny Marcos his rightful place at the LNMB.” However, it should have also recognized Republic Act No. 10368,
Editorial
the Philippines? This ruling effectively junked seven consolidated petitions to block Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s move to allow the burial gel SantoS-ReloS of the late dictator in the Libingan THE headline back home in the ng mga Bayani. According to the Supreme Court Philippines eclipsed the U.S. Presidential Election last November 8. ruling, Duterte did not abuse his The Supreme Court of the Philip- executive power in giving the go pines just ruled that the remains signal for Marcos to be buried in of the deposed dictator Ferdinand the Libingan, as advocated by the Marcos may be buried in the Lib- Marcos family. The High Court explanation ingan ng mga Bayani. The highest court’s 9-5 decision concurred with Duterte’s rationale, ended a decade-long debate: did stating that Marcos is qualified to Marcos deserve to be buried with be buried in the Libingan because heroes who fought and died for he was a former president, com-
RigobeRto tiglao IT’S been three days (as of this writing) since more than 15 policemen of the Eastern Visayas Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) motored for several hours from their headquarters in Tacloban City, to arrive in Baybay City in the wee hours of the morning, occupied the sub-provincial jail, disarmed its warden and guards, and executed Albuera mayor Rolando Espinosa with their Armalite rifles. The detained mayor had been awakened by the surprise visit of the police search team and asked if he could first go to the toilet. The scene was like shooting a goldfish in a fish bowl, or a sick dog in a pen. Espinosa, as everyone in the country would know by now after Duterte himself named him as a drug lord, was to become a star whistleblower for the President’s anti-drug campaign. His alleged ‘affidavit.’ This alleged ‘affidavit’ pinpointed protectors of his son’s illegaldrug syndicate, with Senator Leila de Lima at the top of the list and 225 others, including 19 politicians, four judges, 38 policemen, seven CIDG agents, a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency operative, three from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, one Army man, and three from the media. I haven’t heard of a case that had involved such a brazen execution of a star witness, or anybody else for that matter. In a cell, by policemen? Even in the most imaginative mafia movie, the assassins of a stool pigeon were hardened inmates — not a platoon of policemen disarming jail guards. Even Marcos and his henchmen at the apex of the dic-
manner that will promote civil liberties and provide a ground for peaceful resolution of political conflicts. Today, Filipinos celebrate one of the world’s most vibrant democracies. This ideology gives the people the power to demand for greater and social and economic equality. We must never forget that in order to get here, it took enduring and toppling 20 years of draconian dictatorship. Many lives were sacrificed to achieve the freedom and equality Filipinos enjoy today. (AJPress)
Does Marcos deserve a hero’s burial?
The Fil-Am Perspective
Commentary
ManilaTimes.net photo
which allows for the “reparation and recognition of victims of human rights violations during the Marcos, regime, documentation of said violations, appropriating funds therefor and for other purposes.” The law guarantees that the State “acknowledges its moral and legal obligation to recognize and/or provide reparation to said victims and/or their families for the deaths, injuries, sufferings, deprivations and damages they suffered under the Marcos regime” to restore their honor and dignity. The high court must handle this situation in a
mander-in-chief, a soldier, Medal of Valor awardee, legislator, and Secretary of National Defense. Not many kababayans are happy about the Supreme Court decision, even among those who voted for Duterte. But Malacañang said the Duterte administration hopes the matter will finally be laid to rest so that the nation can move forward. Among the many arguments against the Supreme Court decision was that of Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who was then head of the UP student government during the Marcos regime. His message
articulated the disgust and opposition of Filipinos about this issue. To quote Sen. Pangilinan: “This is a horrible day for democracy. Thanks to the Supreme Court, the Philippines will be a laughing stock of the world. We kicked out a reviled dictator and now we are honoring him by burying him in our national heroes cemetery. No less than our Supreme Court wants our citizens, our children to honor a plunderer and tyrant. This is shameful and deplorable. Now the Supreme Court wants Mr. Marcos, who it previously
called a “dictator…who caused twenty years of political, economic and social havoc in the country”, buried alongside our heroes. Rather than effect closure as the final arbiter of all disputes, the Supreme Court has reopened old wounds. If the Supreme Court thinks it has the final say on the matter, then they are terribly mistaken. Burying Marcos in the Libingan has created a huge divide that will haunt the nation for days and years to come. The law creating the Libingan ng mga Bayani, Republic Act 289, reserved its sacred grounds for
heroes to be emulated by “this generation and of generations still unborn”. Marcos is not a hero. His burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani desecrates our democracy and the memory of those who fought for freedom and justice in our country.” *** Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are 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 is Duterte so quiet about the rubout of the century? tatorship couldn’t have thought of such an execution. The killing of Espinosa would, without a doubt, be known as the ‘rubout of the century,’ the most brazen ever here or even elsewhere in the civilized world. And to think that Espinosa on nationwide television appealed to his son in August: “Surrender na lang tayo kasi tutulungan naman tayo ng ating Presidente at ng ating PNP chief (Director General) General Ronald Dela Rosa.” (Let’s just surrender, because you see, the President and the PNP chief would help us.) Marcos had a search warrant What should add to our outrage is that the head of the Eastern Visayas CIDG, Police Superintendent (Lt. Col.) Marvin Marcos, who approved the operation led by Chief Inspector (Major) Leo Laraga, takes us for fools. They claimed he was holding a search warrant, and based on the claim of an informant he wouldn’t name, there were guns in Espinosa’s cell. Obviously so that it wouldn’t appear the CIDG platoon’s aim was to exterminate Espinosa, another inmate, Raul Yap, was also killed as he allegedly had a gun and even illegal drugs in his cell. Such ruthless slaughter was undertaken with a very bad script, as Senator Panfilo Lacson and Rep. Romeo Acop, both former police generals familiar with these things, said. Bad, I think since these people think they can either fool us, or frighten us to believe their preposterous story. I find it strange that the PNP chief, after presumably having been told of the execution, didn’t rush home from his junket in Las Vegas to watch Manny Paquiao’s championship. After all, he had given Espinosa and his son Kerwin his personal protection, that they wouldn’t be killed if they became state witnesses.
What I found stranger, though — and worrying — is that the usually loquacious President Duterte has been totally mum over this crime, which is really a slap on his face, as executed by the police who have been undertaking his war on drugs, his overarching project since he assumed office in July. He had blown his top and called Ambassador Philip Goldberg an idiot and a gay when the US envoy said that extrajudicial killings threatened our rule of law. He went into a paroxysm of anger and blurted out “putang ina” when a reporter baited him with a question about what to say if President Obama raised in an upcoming APEC meeting with him the issue of extrajudicial killings. But over the Espinosa killing, he has been as timid and quiet as a sheep. I would have cheered him if he appeared on national TV hours after Espinosa’s killing and shouted putang-ina several times, and addressed a crisp curse at his factotum PNP Chief Ronald de la Rosa (Who was in Las Vegas three days before to watch Manny Pacquiao’s championship fight): “Putangina ina mo Bato, huwag mo nang panoorin si Pacquiao at umuwi ka na at pinatay ng mga bata mo ang star witness ko laban kay de Lima.” It’s been surreal that not a single word has been heard from our crime-busting President, as if he had not even been informed or heard of the Espinosa execution. Two speeches, not one word on Espinosa He made two speeches the other day. In that one on the occasion of the swearing in of the new officers of the National Press Club (NPC), he rambled for over halfhour on various topics – from his view that not all the media men who were gunned down were targeted because they were do-
ing their job but for some other reason, to why he doesn’t support the past administration’s commitments to the world to reduce its carbon emissions but would still have to honor it. In both speeches, Duterte has said not one word on the Espinosa rubout. It’s a demonstration of the sorry state of the media that the new officers of the NPC didn’t approach him to ask him about the mayor’s brazen murder. While he hasn’t said a word on the killing, the PNP has been in disarray, with its top officials sending conflicting messages on what happened. Police Chief Inspector (Major) Jovie Espenido, Albuera municipal police chief, was livid as he asked, sarcastically, why Espinosa was killed over one gun. “It will have a chilling effect on the other witnesses against police and government officials,” he added. Guards of the municipal jail narrated over TV news broadcasts how they were disarmed and threatened to be shot if they resisted, how the CIDG cut the cell’s chains with a bolt cutter they brought with them, and how one police officer shot Espinosa, right after he asked if he could go to the toilet. The CIDG agents, they claimed, very methodically ripped out the hard disc that contained the closed-circuit TV video of those hours, and took it with them. Police Superintendent Marcos, the CIDG officer who led the raid, arrogantly claimed during a TV interview that he and his men had no choice but to kill Espinosa because he fought back. As if oblivious to the consequences of such brazen slaughter of a whistleblower, Police Deputy Director General Francisco Uyami Jr. said the incident would be investigated as “a matter of standard procedure.” Duterte cannot underestimate the consequences of the Espinosa killing and his lack of leadership
– so far – in this episode. Even Senators Panfilo Lacson and Richard Gordon — who defended him against the onslaught of Senator Leila de Lima to prove him responsible for the extrajudicial killings since he assumed power — wouldn’t accept the PNP’s absurd explanation. The Yellow Cult has smelled blood, with its leader, former President Noynoy Aquino, apparently waking up from his stupor to arrogantly tell the media that he is “monitoring the case.” Duterte’s apparent paralysis in the past three days over the Espinosa slay would be in the same scale as those of President Benigno Aquino 3rd in the Luneta hostage crisis and the Mamasapano massacre. A strong response needed While I would think that Duterte and his advisers, especially the veterans of so many political crises, would certainly know how to handle the crisis, a strong response would involve the following steps: 1. Duterte must order the suspension of all officers of the CIDG’s Eastern Visayas command and policemen involved in the raid on the Baybay jail, and have them taken to Camp Crame to be “kept” in circumstances that they would be unable to communicate with each other or with anyone else for the whole duration of an official inquiry into the case. This would ensure that they would be unable to concoct a false explanation or threaten or bribe those such as the jail personnel who witnessed the raid. The Baybay City jail’s warden and staff must also be brought to Manila and kept in secret locations to ensure their safety. 2. Duterte must order the CIDG, the PNP’s Internal Affairs, and even the National Police Commission to stop their announced plans to investigate the incident.
Instead, it is solely the justice secretary, using the NBI, which is under his authority, or any other government agency that should investigate the case. Duterte must use his persuasive powers over Congress to request them to wait for the Justice Secretary’s report before they undertake their own investigation in aid of legislation. 3. Duterte must require the justice secretary to submit his report in 15 or even 30 days at most. This wouldn’t be at all difficult. Those involved wouldn’t number more than 30 — the CIDG national head who approved the raid, the CIDG Region 8 head, Marcos, CIDG officer Laraga, who led the team that executed Espinosa, together with his officers and men, the Baybay City jail warden and staff, and the inmates who witnessed the rubout. How would that be difficult? The highest officer who is really accountable for this shame on the nation is of course, PNP Chief Director General Ronald de la Rosa. What kind of a message did his behavior send to the PNP, appearing unruffled by the rubout back home and staying on to enjoy watching the Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas? Just five months in his high-profile strategic job, with the war against illegal drugs still unwon, and he takes a one-week vacation? The strongest message Duterte could send – that he is undaunted in his war against crime – is to fire de la Rosa. But there seems to be no other such person Duterte can trust, or follow his orders without question. The nation and I, myself, have been cheering Duterte’s fight against illegal drugs and crime. But then his own police officials undertook one of the dastardliest crimes this nation has seen. What a pathetic country we’ve become. *** E-mail: tiglao.manilatimes@gmail.com Facebook: Rigoberto Tiglao and Bobi Tiglao
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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Journal Blind Filipina singer makes Anne Curtis joins New York Marathon, judges cry in ‘France Got Talent’ dedicates run to Filipino youth by Arlo
Custodio ManilaTimes.net
Katchry Jewel Golbin wows ‘em in France.
TWenTY-five-year-old Filipina singer Katchry Jewel Golbin, also known as Alienette Coldfire, had the judges of “la France a un incroyable Talent” (“France Got Talent”) in tears on Tuesday, nov. 1 with her rendition of l”es Miserables’” “i Dreamed A Dream” in French no less. Golbin, who just so happens to be blind, was sent off to the competition’s next round with a lengthy standing ovation from the judges and the live audience. in perfect French, Golbin told the panel she is originally from the Philippines and learned how to speak their language with the help of online friends for three years. “i learned with my friends
through the internet. When i heard edith Piaf’s ‘la vien en Rose,’ i wanted to understand the lyrics. That’s how i learned French,” the lass from iloilo said. The only female out of the four judges, French singer Helena segara Helene was in tears through the last half of Golbin’s performance. “Thank you, it means so much…” said the celebrity. Gag show Just For laughs founder Gilbert Rozon was just as touched by the performance. “i’m usually cold-blooded but now, i’m emotional. You have a gift from angels,” he said. French illusionist eric Antoine next remarked, “i’m speechless. From the first note, i got chills. it’s rare for me to not know what to say, i do not know what to say, PAGE B3
Television host and actress Anne Curtis has crossed an item off her bucket list as she finished the new York Marathon, dubbed as the largest marathon in the world that coursed through five boroughs of the city. Curtis, UniCeF Philippines’ celebrity advocate for children, dedicated her first ever marathon, which she called a “dream come true and personal milestone,” to the Filipino youth. “i did it! My very first marathon in nYC! What a bucket list moment. i can’t explain how fulfilling it is when you cross the finish line. it certainly isn’t easy but the whole experience is worth the physical pain. each borough (there were 5) had a different feel, music and vibe. The spectators are there to cheer you on, give you power up
Photo from Anne Curtis’s Instagram account
high-fives and push you when you “To all the kababayans that feel like you want to stop,” Curtis were out there today to cheer wrote on instagram, sharing a me on… screaming and some photo of her wearing a medal. PAGE B2
Joseph Lim’s ‘Half of My Life: The Testimony of a Father and His Special Needs Child’
A true story of unconditional love and unwavering faith By MAlou liwAnAg-Bledsoe AJPress
one of the things that parents wish for is for their child to grow up normal and healthy. so when Joseph lim and his wife first found out about their son Jordan’s autism, they were devastated, even though they had a feeling about it. “We noticed for some time that Jordan was behind his social development and his speech was delayed. But our fears were finally confirmed with the diagnosis of autism,” said Joseph in an e-mail interview with the Asian Journal. “But still, our hearts broke for him.
For so many years he was misunderstood. i can only imagine how hard it must have been on him to be misjudged all this time but unable to speak up for himself.” With all the frustration, anger and pain in watching his son fight through the challenges as well as battling hard for Jordan’s services and care, Joseph decided to write a poem entitled, “Half My life.” Years later, it grew into a biographical journal of Jordan and his family. “Being autistic, Jordan is not able to communicate effectively. He can speak fine, but cannot express his thoughts and feelings well. He can’t hold a lengthy
Joseph and Jordan with the rest of their family
conversation,” he said and then added, “And i can clearly see the frustration in his eyes and body language when he can’t get his point across properly. so with this book, i have the opportunity to speak for him. i can be his voice when he cannot speak for himself. i know my son better than most anyone else, and with this book i hope to do him justice.” Joseph shared that the challenges in writing the book was
mainly emotional. There were positive experiences, but of course there were difficult ones. one thing that stands out for him was the chapter when he talked about Jordan’s diabetes. “interestingly, when i first started writing my book, Jordan only had autism. But in the middle of writing it, he developed Type 1 diabetes. All of a sudden his health issues became more than just social and developmental, they are
also physical. His life is at stake now. This added an entirely new level of difficulty to his challenges and a whole new dimension to his story that i needed to tell. “i recall numerous times during the editing process and even as i read through my book today when i had to take a break because it was too difficult.” Published by Christian Faith Publishing, “Half My life: The PAGE B2
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Direk Louie turns Ai-Ai from comic to dramatic A true story of unconditional love... by Ricky Lo Philstar.com
When direk Louie Ignacio thought of doing “Area” for Baby Go’s BG Productions International, he had no other choice for the role of casa (a prostitution den) owner-manager but Ai-Ai delas Alas. Why a comedienne for a serious, heavy-drama role? “Bagay na bagay sa kanya ang role,” Louie told Funfare. “I really pushed for her, I begged her, talagang nag-makaawa ako sa kanya. na-challenge ako to bring out her dramatic side. There’s a place in Pampanga called Area where aging prostitutes continue with their business. My writer, Robby Tantingco, and I went around the place for more than a month and we talked to a former prostitute now running three dens. The women there were aging like her, they are called mga laos na sa field, but still at it. nakita namin kung ano ang mga activities sa loob. Our film is a product of thorough research and not of imagination.” After the airing of “Sunday Pinasaya,” her noontime show on GMA, Ai-Ai would go to Area to see for herself what’s going on there. She mingled with the prostitutes and interviewed them, and patterned her acting after the life of an old prostitute. “You will be surprised by Ai-Ai’s performance,” assured Louie who made Ai-Ai the comedienne disappear into the character, as credible a drama actress as she was in Ronda, her first indie starrer in which she plays a roving policewoman. “Ai-Ai would come to the set in character, very focused. I am very happy with her performance, very restrained, and there’s not a trace of her being a comedienne. In some scenes, Ai-Ai makes you laugh but she’s not cracking a joke.” The idea for Area came from Ferdy Lapuz (producer of indie films and this corner’s contributor), a native of Pampanga, who had broached the project to a few directors but only Louie took it. “I was attracted by the story which is very disturbing and thought-provoking,” said Louie. “It mirrors the life of people who use their bodies in exchange for an electric fan, cans of sardines and a little money to survive. It’s a grim reality that we must face.”
Direk Louie Ignacio (rightmost) at the 12th Eurasia International Film Festival last September where Area won Special Jury Prize. Among those in photo are Allen Dizon and Ai-Ai delas Alas (fourth and fifth from left) and BG Productions International producer Baby Go (second from right).
Graded “A” by the Cinema evaluation Board (CeB) and the official selection to the AList Film Festival Tallinn Black nights Film Festival in estonia, “Area” won the Special Jury Prize for Direction at the recent World Premiere Film festival under the ASeAn Skies Section. having made a name as TV director (“Sunday Pinasaya,” “Sarap Diva,” etc.), Louie ventured first into doing mainstream movies (“Pangarap Kong Ibigin Ka” with Regine Velasquez and Christopher de Leon, “Love Struck” and “Annie B.” remake with Jolina Magdangal) before shifting to doing indies. his indie “debut,” “Asintado,” got mixed reviews at the 2014 Cinemalaya and harvested awards at the International Film Festival Manhattan for the actors (Aiko Melendez Best Actress in London and Jake Vargas Best Actor in houston), a first-timer luck repeated by his second indie, Child haus (about cancerstricken children) which won Best Children Film at the 14th Dhaka International Film Festival in Bangladesh (and is slated to be featured in the Children Section of the 22nd Kolkata International Film Festival in India this month). Louie’s third indie, “Laut,” got Special Mention honors for Jury Prize at the 36th Fantasporto International Film Festival in Portugal where lead actress Barbie Forteza won Best Actress and Special Jury Prize for Direction at the World Premiere Film Festival under the ASeAn Skies Section and an honorable Mention for Best Fea-
ture Film at the All Lights India International Film Festival. While his mainstream movies looked more like, as Louie put it, “MTV ang dating, very commercial,” his indie work is socially relevant. “I want to do movies which mirror reality,” said Louie, “just like the movies of my idols such as Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal, Peque Gallaga, Joel Lamangan. Lahat ng movies nila pinanonood ko. I’m happy doing indies because they give me freedom to choose the material. I’m thankful to Baby Go for trusting me. She produced my first three indies. Gawa siya nang gawa ng movies; she really takes risks. So kami namang mga directors n’ya, we make sure that she will be proud of our work.” Louie is all praises for Allen Dizon who plays a pimp and Ai-Ai’s son Sancho delas Alas a young pimp under Allen. “For a newcomer, Sancho did very well; mahusay umarte just like his mom. Allen’s role was based on a real person who owns a casa. The character is a good provider, a good son who loves his family dearly, strict with his girls but treats them nicely. Allen used his expressive eyes in his performance; his acting came out raw and effortless.” The cast includes Kapampangan actors Cecille Yumul, Francisco Guinto, Bambalito Lacap and eufrocina Peña. “Those playing Area girls were all ‘game,’ walang pakialam…Sue Prado, Sarah Brakensiek, Tabs Sumulong and Ireen Cervantes.”
PAGE B1 Testimony of a Father and his Special needs Child” is a vivid chronicle of the highlights and struggles one family experiences with a special child diagnosed with autism and diabetes. Despite the challenges, Joseph and the rest of the family consider Jordan to be one of their greatest blessings on earth. Joseph also acknowledges that although he lets all his children know that he will always be there for them, it was his wife who did majority of the legwork in dealing with Jordan’s autism. “...She took the bull by the horns,” he said. “She did the research, attended seminars, read books, talked to experts and other parents. Through her diligence motivated by her love, Jordan has several services provided to him.” It was also his wife who completely opened his eyes about the reality of Jordan’s condition. “She said, ‘You know what…If you can’t even try to understand your own son, then how can you expect others to?’ That statement whipped me back into place. Because I realized that if anything is to happen for Jordan’s benefit, and if anyone’s attitude is to improve towards him, then it has to begin with me. From that point forward, I would never misunderstand
Jordan again, not intentionally. I already loved him as my son, but I became his biggest fan under all circumstances. Of course, ultimately, they turn to God for strength and guidance to push through all the challenges. “We don’t know what his purpose is in Jordan being the way he is, but we put our full trust in him,” Joseph said. “ I realize that not everyone reading this may share the same religious beliefs as I have, or even believes in God. But I know that every family deals with their struggles their own way. And I’m just explaining the way that I dealt with mine; it’s through my faith in God.” Joseph wants to reach out and ask for people’s support by purchasing the book and spreading the word about it. explaining that it’s not about him personally, but is actually for a good cause because a portion of the book sales goes to selected charities for autism, diabetes, and special kids. “(Certainly,) I want to reach the special ed community – in particular, the families of other special needs children. To inspire them and let them know that they’re not alone in their struggle. I know every child is unique, every situation is different, and the dynamics of every family vary by household.
Joseph with Jordan.
But for the most part, I believe we can relate,” Joseph explained and then added, “After all, we share a common challenge in working through our children’s conditions, and we share a common desire to obtain the best services and benefits for them. And to the general public, I’m hoping that my book brings about greater awareness of special conditions, and compassion towards these awesome kids and their families.” At present, their family is working hard to prepare Jordan for the future. “ Jordan has many awesome qualities. he’s loving and friendly, he loves greeting people, he likes to read people’s name tags at stores, and he’s a stickler for schedule and routines. We plan to use these characteristics to get Jordan a viable job when he becomes an adult. he will still need full time supervision, but at least he’ll be working. We’re trying to get him to be as independent as possible even though we know he will need total care for the rest of his life. This is actually one of our biggest concerns. What will become of Jordan when my wife and I are no longer earth? Fortunately, my wonderful daughters have agreed to care for their brother when we’re gone. Furthermore, whoever they marry will need to love Jordan too. They can never mistreat him. If they truly love my daughters, they will also love my son. My daughters have agreed to find men who are willing to make that commitment, and I trust my girls completely.” “half My Life: The Testimony of a Father and his Special needs Child” is available at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, Kobo or Barnes and noble. On social media: www.facebook.com/half-My-Life-The-Testimony-of-a-Father-and-his-Special-needs-Child-619100761589 405/?fref=ts.
Anne Curtis joins New York Marathon... PAGE B1
even with posters, Maraming Salamat. nakakaiyak and yan po ang dahilan kung bakit halos hindi nawala ang ngiti ko (Thank you so much. It’s touching and it’s why I the smile never left my face). After my first… I would like to conquer more! 26.2 or 42.165 dedicated
and inspired by the FILIPInO YOUTh and it’s through God’s grace, I FInISheD,” she added. Aside from finishing the race, Curtis also targeted to raise at least P42,000 for the 42 kilometers she ran, proceeds of which will go to UnICeF Philippines. As of writing, Curtis has raised
P52,353 from 22 donors. Curtis’ “It’s Showtime” cohost Kim Atienza also joined the marathon, but had gastrointestinal issues. “It was still a good race nevertheless, definitely the best marathon in the world,” Atienza wrote on Instagram. (Inquirer.net)
why ORGANIC? Organic products meet stringent standards Healthier for you & kids Organic food tastes better Organic farming respects natural resources Avoids pesticides & are artificial-fertilizer-free Non-GMO, no synthetic pesticides, no growth-promoting antibiotics There are many, many more reasons to go Organic. But in short: You’ll leave the world a better place than when you found it
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Kris Aquino to interview Pres. Duterte Alfred Vargas finds fulfillment in family life and public service
THe “Queen of All Media” Kris Aquino on Sunday, nov. 6 revealed that she will return as a television host starting with an interview with President Rodrigo duterte. The actress-host has stopped hosting seven months ago due to health reasons. “(I spent) seven months of not hosting on TV. I promised myself, babalik ako for a once in a lifetime, one-on-one interview,” Kris said in an Instagram post. Kris posted the photo of a teaser her anticipated interview comeback titled “Kris at duterte.” It will be aired over TV5 and state-owned People’s Television-4 networks following her seven months of absence. duterte is the successor of Kris’s brother, President Benigno “noynoy” Aquino III, and the rival of Mar Roxas, the presidential
Kris Aquino is set to make a television hosting comeback with an interview with President Rodrigo Duterte.
network for 20 years. She later on announced that The Kris-duterte sit-down she will do a project with APT, was also shared by host organi- a subsidiary Tape Inc. The latter zation Go negosyo on Twitter. is also the producer of noontime Last September, Kris confirmed show “eat Bulaga.” (Rosette Adel/ that she formally left ABS-cBn, her Philstar.com) candidate she campaigned for the May 9 elections.
Misses U beauties on the pageant’s return to Manila ALL systems go for the mounting of the Miss Universe pageant in Manila on Jan. 30, 2017 the third time over (first was in 1974 won by the late Amparo Muñoz of Spain and the second was in 1994 won by India’s Sushmita Sen). Funfare asked what the homegrown Misses U beauties have to say. • Gloria diaz, Miss U 1969: Actually, I don’t know for sure. I am not even sure we can afford it or rather if we should afford it. According to several people, it will be all private money. Wish that together with the pageant also some new MRT and LRT trains. or something which many people will benefit from. I am allowed to dream, no! • Margie Moran, Miss U 1973: It’s good for a short-term tourism marketing exposure. our cities
and tourism venues will be exposed to millions of viewers. It will also be a fitting homecoming for Pia (Wurtzbach) when she passes on the title. • Ariella Arida, Miss U 2013 third runner-up: As a Filipino, I am very happy that the pageant will be held here. After two decades,
the pageant fans will witness this historical event right at home. of course, it will also boost tourism in our country. I can’t wait for everyone to see how beautiful our country is. As a friend, I am very happy that Pia will crown her successor here. It’s a dream to bring the pageant here. (Philstar.com)
PAGE B1 your strength and vulnerability is absolutely sublime.” even if she’s visually impaired, Golbin said she is out to prove she can succeed in whatever she sets her heart, mind—and in this case, her voice—to. “At home [in the Philippines], it is said that the blind are unable to do great things. They are wrong. There is always another way to live like everyone else.” Golbin may already be familiar to some netizens as her YouTube video singing Mariah carey’s “I’ll
Be There” effortlessly in a mall videoke outlet went viral two years ago. With her impressive audition this week, Golbin’s fame can now be likened to that of Rose Fostanes on “X Factor Israel,” Marlisa Punzalan and cyrus Villanueva on “X Factor Australia,” and the 4th Impact on “X Factor UK,” making Filipinos all over the world ecstatic at the prospect of another compatriot hogging the limelight in the international music scene. Incidentally, Golbin joined GMA network’s talent search
“Pinoy Idol” in 2008 but failed to make it to Top 12. Singer-songwriter ogie Alcasid, who was one of the judges of the show, came forward of late and said he is a fan of the blind Filipina singer, revealing that Golbin was invited by “France Got Talent” to join the show in 2014, but was unable to get a visa. With his wife Regine Velasquez, Alcasid sought the assistance of Solenn Heussaff and her French father for help at the embassy in Manila, and Golbin was granted a visa in just a matter of days.
1969 Miss Universe Gloria Diaz (with her good friend, Thailand’s first Miss Universe [1965] Apasra Hongsakula, during a recent visit to Bangkok)…1973 Miss Universe Margie Moran…and 2013 Miss Universe third runner-up Ariella Arida.
Blind Filipina makes judges...
Second-term Quezon city Representative and actor Alfred Vargas recently held a thanksgiving luncheon just before the long Halloween-All Souls day weekend to celebrate the many blessings he received and achievements he made as he turned 37-years-old on october 24. “At 37, I have a lot to be grateful for—my beautiful wife, Yasmine, whom I will marry again in church next year, two wonderful daughters, and a career in public service that is surely one of the most fulfilling careers in one’s lifetime,” Vargas said. The actor-politician proposed for the second time to his Filipino-Italian wife in July, and received an overwhelming yes. They had a civil wedding in 2010 and are busy preparing for their church wedding ceremony in July 2017. Fatherhood has played a big role in Vargas’ life. “I make sure I wake up extra early during weekdays so I can personally bring my kids to school, and I strive to be home by 7 p.m. everyday so my family and I can have dinner together,” shared Vargas. “nothing beats spending quality time with the family.” Vargas has also been busy working on his legislative agenda soon as he assumed his second term in congress. He was recently appointed Vice chairman of the committee on Appropriations, a coveted position in congress that brings with it the enormous responsibility of defending the budgets of the Metro Manila development Authority (MMdA), the national Housing Authority (nHA), and the Pasig River Rehabilitation commission (PRRc). All three government agencies’ budgets gained approval. While Vargas may be one of the younger lawmakers in the Lower House, and has no political lineage to back his ascent in politics, he continues to impress the more senior members of congress with his legislation initiatives. during the 16th congress, he was able to pass into law 15 Republic Acts, including the Mandatory Philhealth coverage for All Senior citizens. Another feather to his cap is his perfect attendance record, as well as being included among the top
Vargas with wife Yasmine and daughters Aryana and Alexandra
congressmen in terms of legislative performance. Today, barely five months into his second term, he has submitted over 100 principally authored bills. Vargas may have a lot of things to be proud of but said he is far from being accomplished and complacent, as these things
are only pushing him to outdo himself. Quoting the mantra of sociocivic organization Jaycees International, of which he was recently elected as chapter president, “Service to humanity is the best work of life,” Vargas concluded. (ManilaTimes.net)
B November 10-16, 2016 • LAS veGAS ASIAN JoUrNAL
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Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa: Get the best price for your valuables at Nevada Coin Mart Eat right, pray regularly & love your body With tons of places to choose from to bring your old jewelry, there’s only one place in Las Vegas that will pay the best amount for these valuables. At Nevada Coin Mart, customers can rest assured that they will be properly compensated for the precious stones and metals they bring in. Neil Sackmary, the owner of the store, is a graduate gemologist from the Gemological institute of America (GiA) with more than 20 years of experience in buying these items. “When it comes to myself, this is my passion. this is what i went to school for,” Sackmary said. GiA is the world’s foremost authority on diamonds, colored stones and pearls. it was established in 1931 and strives to protect the jewelry and gem buying public by setting quality standards worldwide. As a certified GiA specialist, Sackmary points out that simply because a business that purchases these stones has been around for decades, that does not make it an expert source. this is a particularly important fact for members of the Asian American community to note. “in the Asian community, people don’t buy cheap stones. they always spend really good money and when they do, they want to sell them for good money and they want someone who’s an expert. You don’t want to take it to someone who says they’re in the business for 35 years. that does not make them an expert,” Sackmary said. Nevada Coin Mart purchases
AUCTION
EMPLOYMENT
by
Mylene Mendoza-dayrit Philstar.com
FiLiPiNAS are taking the world by storm. the latest lady to make headlines is Kylie Verzosa. her loyal fans may have been disappointed when she didn’t take home the title of Bb. Pilipinas Universe 2016, but it may have been a blessing in disguise. the 5’9 stunner just brought home the Miss international crown from tokyo, making her the sixth Filipina to hold the title. She draws strength from within, attributing her success to her balanced physical, emotional, and spiritual health and wellbeing. that means working out, eating right, reading, volunteering, and praying regularly for holistic wellness. We caught up with her before she left for tokyo at her cover shoot for Shape Philippines to talk about contest preparation, health and fitness. The Philippine Star: How does it
Neil Sackmary
a wide variety of items, including coins, bullion, diamonds, jewelry, gold, silver and watches, at premium prices. At the shop, Sackmary has the latest technology, including a $9,000 diamond microscope and $30,000 X-ray spectrometer, which allows him to thoroughly examine how much the metals and stones customers bring in are worth. “Most people want to rip off customers because they don’t care. they look at them and say, ‘Well, if i can, i’ll take advantage. i’m never going to see you again’,” Sackmary said. that’s not what happens at Nevada Coin Mart. in one instance, Sackmary paid a customer $1,510 for two rings that were quoted for $150 at a competitor store. it’s because of its transparency and fairness to those who walk into Nevada Coin Mart that about 70 percent of its clients are repeat customers who come back for the value they receive for their items. the business takes it a step further by providing security guards who are former police of-
ficers and 47 cameras to monitor the entire building. Visitors can also request to have a guard walk them in and out of the building free of charge. Sackmary and his wife have been in the business of buying jewelry and other metals for many years and have been online selling costume jewelry for about 15 years. they are also present every day the shop is open, which is located on the corner of Jones Boulevard and Flamingo Road. in addition to putting their customers’ interests first, the Sackmarys are active community members who have participated in charity event Operation FirehEAt and are founding sponsors for the Anthem Women’s Club. Nevada Coin Mart was established in 1971 and is licensed by Clark County to legally purchase jewelry from the general public. Nevada Coin Mart 4065 S Jones Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89103 Phone: (702) 776-7061 hours: Monday through Sunday, 9am to 5 pm Advertising Supplement
EMPLOYMENT
feel to be crowned Bb. Pilipinas International 2016? Kylie Verzosa: indescribable! it surprised me and it’s a rollercoaster of emotions, but i’m so grateful for everything that has happened. i’m really happy. We heard you are a teacher and an advocate for depression and suicide awareness. i used to teach kids. i love kids. Recently, i was a volunteer for iVolunteer Ph, a website where you can volunteer for different organizations. i volunteered for Bayanihan and these are out-ofschool kids. i did this because last Sunday, i really missed kids since i used to teach preschool and it’s really happy when you’re with the kids. For depression awareness, i found the foundation through a friend and i decided to volunteer for it and be part of it. Depression is something very close to me because it’s something that i don’t think people really talk about and it’s a stigma. i want to speak out about it because not many people focus on mental well-being; instead, they focus so much on the physical aspect of the person. it makes me happy that i get to speak out about it and in return, a lot of people come to me as well to share their experiences and it makes me feel better. i’ve been doing all this starting after college. How do you keep yourself fit despite your busy schedule? i go to the gym as often as i can. i try to move every day. i try to do cardio every day. i balance it between Pilates, cycling, yoga, going to the gym, lifting weights, and resist a n c e traini n g . Sometimes, i work out with a trainer, sometimes not. it’s really all about balance and finding time for it. We saw your upside-down Pilates photos on Instagram. How did you manage to do that? i started Pilates just recently.
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PSYCHIC
People were wondering how did i do that? i’ve been doing yoga for three years now. it was something i did more for me and realized it helped me improve myself, find calmness and serenity. i became more flexible through yoga then because of Pilates; i found out “Oh, i can do this” and it became one of my favorite workouts because while you’re doing Pilates, you get to target parts of your body that you don’t always get to work out in the gym. it’s quite dynamic and i enjoy it a lot plus it’s a whole different environment from something i was used to. What aspects of your physical fitness do you think got developed from Pilates and yoga? Flexibility, that’s one. But for me, what works is i find myself more peaceful when i go to yoga and as cliched as it may sound, it may not be for everyone, but it has helped me. And i think that’s what’s important in fitness. You have to be experimental and know what works for you and what doesn’t. that’s also the beauty of having your own body — you get to experiment what’s good for you and what’s not and that goes for fitness as well. What are the advantages of living a fit and healthy lifestyle aside from the aesthetic benefit? it helps manage your stress and balance your life. When you’re healthy, it also affects the way you feel about yourself, which i feel is very important, especially among young girls today. it keeps you also mentally active and it gets rid of your stress, that’s what’s good about it. What kind of eating habits did you start out with before preparing for competitions? i have to say it’s so difficult because i love food! We have to be at our very best. i watch what i eat now very much, but i try not to deprive myself of anything. My diet right now is low carb and high protein. Fruits and vegetables. i stay away from sugar, salt, mostly sugar. i try not to snack in between meals. i try to have enough protein in every meal because i know it helps burn fat. i don’t have any rice, but i do try and eat my complex carbs because our body PAGE B6
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Your Immigration Solution
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try, at the time of entry, or within 5 years of entry) knowingly has encouraged, induced, assisted, abetted, or aided any other alien to entry or to try to enter the United States in violation of law is deportable. Here a waiver may be available for one who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the alien has encouraged, induced, assisted, abetted, or aided only an individual who at the time of the offense was the alien’s spouse, parent, son, or daughter (and no other individual) to enter the United States in violation of law. Simply put, this means that a non-citizen who tries to help someone enter the U.S. in violation of law can be refused admission, denied a green card or deported. Those aliens may still be able to get or keep their green cards under limited circumstances if the person whom
PeoPle come to the United States to make a better life for themselves and their families. Sometimes, they sacrifice time they could spend with their families in order to be able to earn money to provide food, clothing, shelter, medical care or an education to their loved ones. When, for whatever reason, they can’t bring their family members with them, they come alone. It is hard. Sometimes, the loneliness becomes too much to bear. They go home and persuade their family members to join them in the U.S. If the family members can obtain and enter with a valid visa, all may be good. But where that is not possible, the family may
Health@Heart
Drinking your own urine?
PhiliP S. chuA, MD, FAcS, FPcS IF you are, hold that glass and do not say “cheers or ganbei” yet until you read the information on urine therapy in this column. Informational technology is a wonderful gift to humankind. But just like anything else which makes access to tons of data easy and widespread, interpretation of the information or its abuse could negatively impact some people’s lives, especially those who are gullible or those who do not do due diligence and simply believe everything they read on the internet. one example of this is the widely-circulated claim (in a dozen or more websites) that urine has a wide range of medicinal use. Why do we urinate? Urination is one of the detoxification processes of the body. Humans and other animals urinate to eliminate the toxic byproducts of the body’s physiology. The system is eliminating these waste materials contained in the urine through the kidneys in order to get rid of them. This is the same when we move our bowels. The body is excreting the stools (feces) from our body because it contains toxic waste.
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Attempt to reunite family can result in deportation choose to enter unlawfully. They may be caught at the border during the attempt. And, even when they actually enter without being caught, all is not well. Instead of the problems being over, they may just be beginning. The Immigration & Nationality Act states that any alien who at any time has knowingly encouraged, induced, assisted, abetted or aided any other alien to enter or to try to enter the United States in violation of law is inadmissible. The Act provides a waiver of the ground of inadmissibility for an alien who is a green card holder who temporarily and voluntarily left and is eligible to re-enter the U.S. or an alien who is applying for a green card through a family petition, and the person he brought in was, at the time of entry, his (lawful) spouse, parent or child. The Act also states that an alien who (prior to the date of en-
Atty. NANcy Miller
LAS VEGAS ASIAN JOURNAL • NOVEmbER 10-16, 2016
What is the basis for this claim? Urophagia (drinking urine) and urine therapy or urotherapy (also known as urinotherapy or auto-urine therapy) is a practice that dates back to the ancient times in countries like egypt, India, China, and the Aztec empire. Some of the uses for urophagia are for ceremonial services, sexual practice, for survival, and as an alternative cure for illnesses. even today, some misguided people think urine is beneficial for teeth whitening, migraine, asthma, skin wrinkles, skin allergies, as hormonal therapy, or for prevention or treatment of arthritis and other diseases, including cancer. The Ayurveda ancient holistic healing practices of India advocate uro-therpay. There is no scientific basis for the belief or assertion espoused by “practitioners of urophagia” that urine has medicinal benefit. Is drinking urine safe? Drinking your own urine or other people’s urine – even infant’s urine – is as safe as drinking the urine of dogs, cats, mice, or other animals. It is just like recycling waste material: out from your kidneys and bladder, and back into your mouth and gastrointestinal tract, with all the toxic ingredients in the urine your body is trying to get rid of through your kidneys. Urination,
like bowel movement, is a part of our body’s natural processes (physiology) to cleanse the blood and the body of toxic waste to maintain health. Swallowing back the urine, or vomitus, or feces our body has eliminated does not make sense, and certainly is not safe, besides being repulsive. one does not even have to be a physician to understand the fallacy of urophagia. What are the risks in drinking urine? Urine could be contaminated with bacteria. Urine normally contains urea, sodium, potassium, creatinine, magnesium, calcium, ammonia, sulfates, phosphates, hippuric acid, citric acid, glucoronic acid, hormones, and drug metabolites for those on medications. These waste products, when reintroduced to the body by drinking urine, will put a stress on the kidneys. The adverse effect is worse among those who are dehydrated. If one is allergic to, or could not tolerate, a certain medication and drinks the urine of a person taking that specific medication, the drinker might develop allergic or a worse reaction to the metabolites of that drug in the urine. Drinking the urine of a drug addict or a patient with cancer is obviously more scary than drinking one’s own urine. either way, urophagia is
they sought to help is a relative as defined above – at the time of the attempt to enter. The person who brought or attempted to bring someone else (even his parent, wife or child) into the U.S. is considered an alien smuggler. Under case law from the Ninth Circuit, he cannot be found to have good moral character. In Sanchez v. Holder, the court held that, under the Act, no person shall be found to be a person of good moral character who, during the period for which good moral character is required to be established is, or was, a person whether inadmissible or not, a smuggler. The court held that, even if the waiver would cure the ground of inadmissibility, it would not allow the alien to be found to be a person of good moral character. This finding impacts those who might be eligible for an-
other form of relief. For instance, someone who does not qualify for an immigrant visa may seek to remain in the U. S. and seek status by means of cancellation of removal for certain non-permanent residents. Cancellation has four requirements: (1) that the alien have been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of not less than 10 years immediately preceding the issuance of a notice to appear in immigration court; (2) that he has been a person of good moral character during that period; (3) that he not have been convicted of various crimes that would render him inadmissible or removable; and, (4) that he have U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident parents, spouse or children who would suffer exceptional and extremely unusual hardship if he had to leave the U.S. Based on the holding in San-
chez, he cannot meet the statutory grounds for cancellation because he cannot show good moral character. The desire to reunite families is understandable. Aliens who wish to bring family members to the U.S. should consult a knowledgeable and experienced immigration attorney to accomplish this goal legally. ***
not medically accepted and is unhealthy, even in a desperate marooned situation. Is urine therapy effective for cancer? No, urine is useless in the treatment of any disease, including cancer. The American Cancer Society states that “available scientific evidence does not support claims that urine or urea given in any form is helpful for cancer patients.” Some cancer clinics in Mexico and other countries are offering urine therapy as an alternative to treating cancer, which is obviously inspired only by financial greed, giving false hope and victimizing desperate cancer patients and their family who are already suffering. If urine could effectively cure cancer, there won’t be any cancer left in this world, and its advocates would win the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Who are some celebrities doing urophagia? Some popular personalities drinking their urine posted on the internet include Madonna, the 5th prime minister of India Morarji Desai, British actress Sarah Miles, former major league baseball player Moises Alou, martial arts fighter lyoto Machida, and boxer Juan Manuel Marquez, who fought Mayweather. of course, everybody has the right to consume anything he/she wants, but common sense dictates that what our body rejects and kicks out must
remain out. Medical science is lucidly clear on this. How about urine for topical use? There are also claims that urine could be used effectively as a topical agent (applied directly to parts of the body). Some examples of the asserted topical application is for jellyfish bite or insect bites, eye infection, skin allergy or ulcer, acne, ear infection, etc. No, urine is not effective or beneficial for any of these conditions, or for any disease at all. Is urine totally useless? No. Urine is very useful as a plant fertilizer. According to ModernFarmer, “Across the Atlantic, studies have long established urine as a powerful fertilizer. A study conducted by the Stockholm Water Company in the late 1990s diverted urine from four housing projects to a grain farmer outside the city. The scientists concluded not only that urine could replace quickacting mineral fertilizers, but also calculated that one Northern european adult pees enough plant nutrients to grow 50 to 100 percent of the food requirement for another person. other successful trials have taken place in China and Mexico, though none as detailed as the Swedish one. In other studies, urine-treated farms had twice the productivity compared to unfertilized ones.” What is NASA’s FOB urine filter?
The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been working on a FoB (Forward osmosis Bag) system to transform urine and gray water into water that is safe to drink, “to address one of the challenges of outer space travel.” The FoB system uses a semi-permeable membrane and a concentrated sugar solution. This appears to be very promising but studies are still ongoing. What is the latest on urine therapy? Down here on earth, all available scientific data and information from evidence-based medicine today clearly confirm that urine has no medicinal value whatsoever and people are advised not to practice urophagia. Future technology might change all this. In the meantime, for me, I will stick to drinking filtered water, regular coffee, and my Pinot Noir.
Reeves, Miller, Zhang & Diza Law Corporation’s offices are located in Pasadena, Irvine, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Makati City. Telephone: (800) 795-8009 E-mail: immigration@rreeves.com Website: www.rreeves.com. *** The analysis and suggestions offered in this column do not create a lawyer-client relationship and are not a substitute for the personalized representation that is essential to every case. (Advertising Supplement)
*** Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus in Northwest Indiana and chairman of cardiac surgery from 1997 to 2010 at Cebu Doctors University Hospital, where he holds the title of Physician Emeritus in Surgery, is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the Philippine College of Surgeons, and the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society. He is the chairman of the Filipino United Network – USA, a 501(c)(3) humanitarian foundation in the United States. Email: scalpelpen@ gmail.com
Features
B November 10-16, 2016 • LAS veGAS ASIAN JoUrNAL
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Criminal convictions and consequences Immigration Corner Atty. MAriA ritA reyes-stuby And bernAdette bretAnA
ANNIVERSAY. Fidela’s Dance Club (FDC) held its 10th Anniversary Gala Celebration at Gold Coast Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 5,. The grand occasion was a tribute to Fidela G. Rosario, founder and benefactor of FDC. The night was dedicated to Fely to honor and thank her, and acknowledge her role in sponsoring monthly dances all these years. Fely’s passion for dancing inspired her to form a dance club which has become to be her unforgettable legacy to all her friends.
Smith’s offers convenient way for customers to donate to Three Square Food Bank this holiday season
SMITH’S Food & Drug is again offering customers a convenient way to reach out and help others during the holiday season. Beginning November 14 and continuing through December 31, customers may add a $1, $5 or $10 donation to their grocery orders. 100 percent of the contribution will then be converted into Smith’s gift cards for Three Square Food Bank to then purchase meat, grocery items, dairy or other needed items at cost. Smith’s helps fight hunger throughout its seven states of operation. In addition to cash
support, each day stores donate nutritious but unsellable foods to local food banks. In 2015, enough food was contributed this way to create 1.1 million meals through food bank and pantry networks in Nevada. “This is yet another way in which our resources, combined with the support of our associates and customers, work together to make a positive impact in our communities,” said Marsha Gilford, Smith’s vice president public affairs. “Even a few dollars creates a nutritious meal for another person who otherwise
would go without.” Smith’s is a division of the Kroger Co. (NySE:Kr), one of the nation’s largest grocery retailers, operates 140 stores in seven western states including 7 in northern Nevada and 37 in southern Nevada. Smith’s charitable giving, in partnership with more than 5,000 Nevada associates, generous customers and suppliers totaled $4.2 million in cash and food products to nonprofit organizations in 2015. More information may be found at www.smithsfoodanddrug. com.
Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa... PAGE B4 needs them to keep us going and to keep us happy. Protein also helps you feel full throughout the day, and fruits and veggies give you vitality. I go for fish. I love chicken. I like chicken, fish, and nuts. Tell us more about your thoughts on the mind-body connection. It’s the thing that not many people are open about. We focus too much on the physical aspect. your happiness comes from outward things, not knowing
you have the power to control everything that you can. The things you put into your body and the things you do to your body are heavily influenced by the way you think. With a healthy mind, you get to think well, you become happier, you become stress-free, you think deeper, you make better connections. you become more whole as a person. It’s well-being. Also I wanted to put in the spiritual aspect of it. It’s also very important. Prayer helps. Why do you love your
shape? I think it’s all about knowing what’s best to do for your body and what not to do. Doing the very best you can and then accepting it and also putting so much effort into it. And I love Immigrant my body and I think everyone Living: 101 should love their body because they are already beautiful. you and Beyond should love your shape. People come in all shapes and sizes. Monette Girls come in all shapes and AdevA MAglAyA sizes so they have to accept that. And also don’t compare yourself (NOTE: I feel compelled to to others. hold off comment extensively on yesterday’s event — ELECTION DAY in America. It is still much too early for me to process and see if history turned a corner.) Just a few thoughts though… Has the country decided to head in a different yet bold direction of self-determination based on TrUTH, just like it did 240 years ago in 1776? Or has it decided to still pretty much remain mired in the muck of the horrendous world order of elitist, soulless corporatism and globalism of the last quarter century? One thing is clear. The politics of our time is not for the fainthearted. We have entered uncharted territory where the story of a pitched battle and a long, drawn-out arduous struggle between the forces of good and evil rages just as they have from the very beginning when the Archangel Michael drove the forces of Satan and his minions to the deep bowels of hell. Only this time, the scene takes place on earth and in the ballot box. Do take note as we watch this story in real time. There seems to be unforeseen forces in the mix. Where did this ragtag band united by a common desire for TrUTH and TrANSPArENCy to prevail come from? No human author could have thought of such forces as Wikileaks and citizen journalism like Project veritas and a multitude of others to coalesce, EACH ACTING ON ITS OWN, yet acting as one army of truth tellers. Truth, like sunlight is a disinfectant in this season of darkness, death and moral depravity. Truth is also a light saber that can cut through lies, damned lies and statistics. Students of literature know about the concept of deux ex machina, a factor in story-telling, where an unexpected power or event, moves quietly in the background or dramatically comes into play just when the situation becomes dire and hopeless. As multitudes bend their knees and humbly pray for deliverance, help comes in God’s perfect timing. Actually, for many believers who do not require explanation of why things are, it is divine intervention, help from above, pure and simple, an implicit faith and belief that a loving God IS patently involved in the affairs of men throughout much of history. While taking time to process the events of the last 24 hours, here’s my take on the correlation between luck, gumption, hard work and the good life. ) Do you believe in luck? And if you do, have you got the moxie to be lucky?
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(Part 2 of 2) EvEry nation’s immigration rules and regulations seek to weed out ‘undesirables’ or ‘deplorables’ maybe – those with the propensity for malicious mischief or simply, to do harm. The United States is no exception. When a foreigner commits a crime and gets convicted, the steps toward the path to citizenship will be an obstacle course or at worst, a dead end. A standard process to obtain a green card, could stretch to additional years of filing waivers, motions, appeals, or appearances before an immigration judge, depending on the situation. Having a criminal conviction, whether of a serious nature or not, will determine an applicant’s admissibility into the United States, whether the visa is processed abroad or the applicant is present in the U.S. and qualifies for adjustment of status. Other routine procedures such as applying for a renewal of one’s green card or for citizenship, could be delayed or derailed. DACA applicants and Provisional Waiver applications may be denied because of a criminal record. If the criminal conviction is severe enough as prescribed by the rules to merit removal from this country, one may find himself clinging to the last straw; begging the immigration judge for a chance to be allowed to stay in the U.S. While waiting in immigration purgatory, there are applications/reliefs that are crucial to foreigners who need to stay in the United States with their family when they are placed in removal proceedings. These reliefs/applications imposes a code of behavior within the stan-
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dards of “good moral character” to avail of asylum, cancellation of removal, withholding of removal or voluntary departure. In certain cases, a conviction for a felony after naturalization (where the case was pending but not disclosed during the citizenship proceedings), could cause the naturalization to be revoked as it is considered illegally obtained or obtained by deceit and fraud. This is the ultimate punishment – divestment of a hard-earned U.S. citizenship because of a disqualifying criminal conviction. Crimes involving moral turpitude (such as theft, fraud, false statement, assault, voluntary manslaughter, etc.) is a determinant of “good moral character”. Failure to prove GMC for the last 5 years prior to filing of the application, will lead to its denial. For those who have been convicted of an aggravated felony such as murder, rape, sexual abuse of a minor, crime of violence where the term of imprisonment is more than a year, etc., the applicant will be permanently barred from becoming a US citizen. If the applicant is found to have deliberately misled the U.S. government and withheld the information and still obtained U.S. citizenship, the penalty to this separate offense is jail time of 15-25 years plus fines. The terms ‘crime involving moral turpitude’ and ‘aggravated felony’ are specially defined under immigration law. Federal and state legislature could classify offenses as a ‘misdemeanor’ but under immigration law, it could be classified as an ‘aggravated felony’ for which mandatory detention could be imposed. The need to consult an immigration attorney when confronted with criminal charges cannot be overstated. As a foreigner, you are constantly bombarded with questions contained in the immigration forms relating to criminal offenses. For instance, the question in the Application
to Adjust Status asks whether you have ever (in or outside the United States) been arrested, charged, convicted of a crime (excluding traffic violations)? If an applicant feels at times that an arrest or conviction that occurred in his life was not significant enough or was just a traffic violation, the tendency not to disclose could have serious consequences. If the immigration officer checks public records and your name appears with an arrest or conviction, this is a problem because being caught in a ‘lie’ makes you also inadmissible. What if the offense is indeed insignificant because it is not a ‘crime involving moral turpitude’ or the list of crimes are misdemeanors, then being honest and candid will be appreciated. In the worst case scenario that the green card application is denied because of the criminal record, one can probably apply for a waiver of inadmissibility. In some instances, waivers are likewise available to those who have already obtained their lawful permanent resident status (green card holders) but who become deportable because of criminal convictions. Waivers are available in order to preserve ‘family unity’, but not in all cases. The fate of those who commit ‘aggravated felonies’ as defined by immigration laws is harsh; i.e., mandatory detention (without bail) and eventually, removal from the United States. As I always tell my clients, “Just stay out of trouble”. *** Maria Rita Reyes-Stuby is a licensed attorney in Michigan. She is a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Law. She specializes in immigration and practices in Las Vegas, Michigan, California and other states. Bernadette Bretana, a graduate of the Ateneo Law School and Ms. Stuby are licensed attorneys in the Philippines. Please call @702-403-4704 or email her at stubylaw@aol.com or go to www. mrstubylaw.com for any questions on this article.
Luck, moxie and the good life “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
— Unknown
On its face value, being in the right place at the right time seems to be completely random and impersonal, much like a lightning strike. We have all heard of the incredible luck of people who have won the lottery multiple times and each time, they at least, bought a ticket, took a chance and made themselves available for Lady Luck to smile at them. Some people modestly attribute their success to luck; others, to hard work but more than likely, it is a combination of both. They were lucky because they had gumption, persisted against all odds and worked their tails off. The truth is, in some ways, we can influence good fortune with the attitude, motivation and oftentimes, with sheer moxie, with which we face our individual daily lives. If you expect bad things to happen to you or if you yourself confirm that you are unlucky, more than likely, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. you might as well admit it. you’re a sad sack Eeyore with a permanent, black rain cloud hanging over your head. The negative energy you emit repels people who would otherwise be of help to you. you just might be the person who can brighten up a room simply by leaving it. Perhaps, it’s your personality and there’s nothing you can do about it. you were wired to be negative and pessimistic and no motivational speaker can get you out of that rut. you’re one tough customer for the Holy Spirit to work wonders with. Fine. But for as long as you think that you have nothing to do with the ill fortune that seems to bedevil your life, you can just live with the dire consequences of fear, anxiety and unhappiness which result from being toxic and always believing the worst of things or of people. Particularly during these uncertain times, no one can afford the luxury of a negative thought. But much more so for vulnerable immigrants who are on survival mode, an optimistic can-do attitude is a must. With this current economic morass, a big chunk of the immigrant population along with many more in the middle class, have regressed back to survival mode, quite by default. Many who have moved to more comfortable levels but were caught by the real estate slump and lost their homes, may find themselves sliding back to square one and engaging in the daunting prospect of finding a job. Choosing what one does to make a living and still live a good life in the process, requires one to strike a delicate balance. Will he choose a career in govern-
ment service or work in the private sector? Should he go into business or set up a professional practice? Should he pursue the arts? Should making money and achieving higher status, weigh more than fulfilment? What are the trade-offs? An accurate assessment of one’s talents, gifts, skills, training and calling will help him make the right choice. If you have the moxie to make the right choice, it is amazing to note how luck always dovetails. Money will always be a major consideration. However in choosing a profession, the soul must be nurtured just as well, if not more. Never confuse soul with ego. The question is: are you doing what you were born and meant to do? If you are, then work is no longer work and every moment of every day holds the potential for joy. you begin to discover the sacred in the ordinary. you begin to notice the blue of the skies and the seamless flow of life, even in the mundane. you see what’s special about people. you no longer take anything for granted. The connections snap into place. Just imagine waking up thankful to your Maker for the amazing privilege of doing what it is you do every single day of your life. What you label as sheer, impersonal, random luck is actually a personal blessing just for you from above given to you freely and generously, without strings. All that is required is a bone marrow deep, boundless gratefulness that spills out as pure joy in practically everything you do. you are not just lucky, you are among the blessed ones. Few things in life can be more satisfying. If you notice yourself singing or humming while you do the work that earns you money that allows you to live the life you love, consider yourself one of the blessed ones who are living the life they were meant to live. On the other hand, if you have to drag yourself every single morning and pop a Tylenol to numb some kind of pain that won’t go away everyday at work and long for the end of the day on the first hour, plan to heave yourself out of that sinkhole, just as soon as you can safely do so. Plan the great escape and find the work that blesses you within as it blesses you with the physical needs of your life. A caveat: Jobs to your liking may be harder to find these days. Bide your time. Be patient. As in all fortuitous events, timing is everything. *** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette.maglaya@ asianjournalinc.com
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EntErtainmEnt
Carla Abellana feels secure with Tom Rodriguez by Lhar
Santiago
ManilaTimes.net
There’s no room for jealousy in Carla Abellana’s heart with regards to her boyfriend Tom rodriguez’s intimate scenes with leading lady Lovi Poe in the GMA primetime soap “someone to Watch Over Me.” In the earlier episodes of the series, people were saying that Carla will surely feel that way what with all the passionate kissing scenes and caressing between Lovi and Tom. But Carla is so secure with her relationship with Mr. Mott (Tom’s real family name). Instead of getting jealous, the actress even promoted “someone to Watch Over Me” on her Instagram account, with photos of Tom and Lovi. In this case, to be both actors has worked for Carla and Tom as they are both understanding of one another’s situation. Carla knows the demands of the kind of story that “someone To Watch
Carla Abellana with Tom Rodriguez
Over Me” has on its actors. Add to that Tom is very open with Carla, and they apparently even discuss the scenes he has to do with Lovi. On the set, Tom and Lovi play husband and wife TJ and Joanna Chavez. Neither have any qualms about their intimate scenes, because right after a long workday,
Tom goes back to Carla, and Lovi to being single with a very ardent suitor. Tom and Carla told showbuzz they are already planning how to celebrate Christmas this year, and have agreed to go together to Arizona, UsA to visit Tom’s Dad who is recuperating from his bout with lung cancer.
Camille Prats: A proud single mom to her little star by iza igLeSiaS ManilaTimes.net
FOrMer child star Camille Prats continues to prosper in showbiz as a dramatic actress. But despite her hectic TV schedule, her priorities are far from just being in the spotlight. Best known as “sarah ang Munting Prinsesa” from the ‘90s adaptation of the Japanese anime, Prats considers herself a mom first of all these days to her eight-yearold son Nathan. Nathan is her only child by husband Anthony Linsangan who tragically died of cancer in september 2011. A widow at such a young age, Prats faced her fate bravely and has since succeeded in raising her little boy with the help of her close-knit family. Talking with The Manila Times at the launch of new Japaneseinspired street wear brand swag Junior, Prats was a proud mom as she talked about Nathan, who
was also launched as the line’s endorser. she generously shared parenting style in the interview, explaining how she simply strives to “balance” her approach, with being a single parent in mind. “I have to be the disciplinarian when the situation calls for it. sometimes I am the barkada-type of parent, and I also make it a point that we enjoy doing things together,” the 31-year-old mom related. “I am into positive parenting but I make sure that I also have to be strict in some cases since my child is a boy and I want him to be responsible and independent. But because I am a single parent, I also want to be the kind of mom he enjoys being with.” Asked for advice on how to bond with one’s children, Prats said there is no need to plan something special every time. “We don’t really need to leave the house or go elsewhere. There
Former child star Camille Prats now has her own little star in son Nathan
are so many things that we can do together, like watch his favorite clips on YouTube or playing soccer in the garden. What is most important is quality time—to make your time bonding memorable even if limited because of work.” Prats also told The Manila Times that she also has to consider the “celebrity factor” in raising Nathan, with an actress for a mom, as well as John Prats for an uncle. she never made him feel entitled to anything just because she and her brother are from showbiz, and thankfully, the boy grew up humble and well rounded. “That’s why I allowed him to join [ABs-CBN children’s gag show] ‘Goin’ Bulilit’ because I know he can handle it,” the doting mom continued. “he’s actually shy so I’ve had to guide him–like when people ask to have photos with him, I remind him to say yes because they might think he’s snobbish if he says no. he accommodates everyone naman,” she shared. Asked whether she will allow Nathan to appear in more shows, Prats replied, “I will when he’s much older because now, our focus is school and sports. I really want him to engage himself in sports because it instills a different kind of discipline.” she added, “Growing up in the limelight and I really know how hard it is to juggle being young and being in showbiz. I am just very lucky that my parents were very supportive of what I wanted to do, but at the same time, guided me to study and balance work with school.” Learning from her own experiences, Prats feels confident she will be able to show Nathan the most ideal path to pursue. And come 2017, she will also have the help of a new dad for the young boy as she marries her boyfriend of three-years, John Yambao, with Nathan’s all-important blessing of course.
Derrick a carefree, wisecracking superhero by honey
orio-eScuLLar Philstar.com
DerrICk Monasterio is playing a superhero not quite like his idol superman or Captain Barbell, but more like the carefree, wisecracking Deadpool and hancock, in the latest Pinoy superhero comedy adventure “Tsuperhero” on GMA 7’s sunday Grande premiering on Nov. 13. The kapuso actor is more than willing to do the project because playing a superhero is apparently every man’s dream. Derrick is grateful to his mother network for entrusting him a role that’s close to his heart. “I’m the type of superhero who saves but asks for something in return because of his ‘laking kanto’ behavior. he is more like Deadpool or hancock. I’m not like Captain Barbell who is goodygoody. Yung pang-kanto talaga na superhero. I like it!” Derrick told The Star. “It is my first time to play such a role. It’s nerve-wracking yet challenging and so I’m giving my best for this project. It is also flattering that GMA handpicked me for this role so I have to really work hard at this,” said Derrick, who had an immersion as a jeepney driver. Being a jeepney driver for a day made him realize that it is not just driving per se. “Mainit sa jeep kaya hindi biro yung ginagawa nila. honestly, I get easily annoyed by jeepney drivers because some of them are rude but now I’m learning to understand them because of their situation. It’s not easy driving a jeepney, especially that it’s manual driving. Marunong din po akong mag-drive ng manual.” he also shared that to prepare for the role he had to study their
gestures and mannerisms. “I observed how drivers behave and how alert they are sa kanilang paligid and with the passengers. I also did boxing and weightlifting.” The GMA management revealed that it was Michael V who conceptualized the Tsuperhero title character specifically for Derrick. Derrick, for his part, surmised that he was chosen to topbill the show because he can assume a “maangas” persona. “siguro nakikita nya parang medyo siga yung mukha ko, mayabang ang dating,” he quipped. Meanwhile, doing comedy is a whole new experience for Derrick. he was, however, able to showcase comedic timing when he guested in “Vampire ang Daddy ko” with love team partner Bea Binene. “siguro naipakita ko duon yung natural acting ko sa comedy. Actually in ‘Tsuperhero,’ I do ad libs. I don’t follow everything in the script. Whatever that comes out of my mind na pinaka-natural, yun na po yung ginagawa. “It’s more difficult doing comedy compared to drama because somehow pwede pang dayain e. But in comedy, you have to be spontaneous para nakakatawa ka, pag di ka nakakatawa kumo-corny po minsan,” related Derrick. “Tsuperhero” is about Nonoy, a “laking kanto” and street-smart jeepney driver who will transform into his alter-ego Tsuperhero when he encounters a mysterious object from a distant planet. Derrick said that the best lesson his character will impart to the viewers is being a loving son to his mom and that he will do everything for her. “kung ano yung ikinasiga ko sa kalye, yun yung nilambot ng puso
LAS VEGAS ASIAN JOURNAL • NOVEmbER 10-16, 2016
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University of Baguio High School 40th anniversary in Chino Hills, CA Come join us in celebrating University of Baguio High School’s 40th Anniversary on Saturday, November 12 in Chino Hills, California. For more information please contact, Romy Vidal at (951) 733-7140.
Hyatt Baguio/Manila/Palawan Reunion in Las Vegas Former and current employees and guests of Hyatt Terraces Baguio, Hyatt Manila and Hyatt Palawan are having a dinner/dance reunion on November 12 in at the Hampton Inn Tropicana in Las Vegas. The address is 4975 Dean Martin Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89118. For more details, please send an email to: Beng Paraguas-Flores (Hyatt Terraces Baguio) at bengparaguasflores@gmail.com or Marian Nobleza (Hyatt Terraces Baguio) at minobleza@ yahoo.com.
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Film showing of “Curiosity, Adventure & Love” in New York The Philippine Consulate General New York invites the public to a film showing of “Curiosity, Adventure & Love,” a film by Sunshine Lichuaco de Leon and Suzanne Richiardone. The showing will be on Monday, November 14 at 6:40 p.m. at the Kalayaan Hall, Philippine Center at 556 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10036. To reserve a seat, please send an email to events@newyorkpcg.org (Subject: Fil-Am History Month) or call 212-764-1330 ext. 3866.
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Build a shelter project appreciation and book launch in New York Build a shelter project appreciation and book launch in New York The Philippine Consulate General New York in cooperation with the Assumption Alumni Association invites you to Build a Shelter Project (BASP) Appreciation and a book launch on “Yolanda: An Oral History in Verse” by Tim Tomlinson. The event will be on Tuesday, November 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Kalayaan Hall, Philippine Center at 556 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036. To reserve a seat, please email events@newyorkpcg.org (Subject: BASP Appreciation) or call 212-764-1330 ext. 3866.
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Consular outreach mission in Pensacola, Florida The Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., in cooperation with the Philippine Nurses Association of America, Inc. - Central Florida Chapter, the Filipino-American Association of Pensacola, Inc., and the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Miami, is pleased to announce that it will conduct a consular outreach mission in Pensacola on Saturday and Sunday, November 19 and 20 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Services offered include: Philippine passport applications; legalization of documents (acknowledgment, authentication, etc.); and receipt of reports of birth, marriage and death; and administration of oath of allegiance for dual citizenship. For an appointment, please email consular@philippineusa.org and indicate “Pensacola FL Outreach” in the subject line. In the body of the email, indicate the complete name(s) of the applicant(s) and the corresponding service(s) required by each application. The outreach will be held at the Fil-Am Community Center at 234 West Oakfield Road, Pensacola, FL
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FASO’s Christmas Concert in Glendale, CA The Filipino American Symphony Orchestra (FASO), the only Filipino symphony orchestra outside of the Philippines, as it presents “A Christmas Concert” on Saturday, December 3, 6:00 p.m. at the John Wayne Performing Arts Center in Glendale, California. FASO will play Christmas carols, accompanied by the voices of various choir groups. John Wayne Performing Arts Center is located at 1440 E. Broadway, Glendale, California 91205. For tickets, call Andy Tecson (323) 467-5096; Bob Shroder (818) 395-8936; and Arlene Ferrolino (213) 248-9850. Tickets are also available athttp://fasochristmas.eventbrite.com/. Tickets are at $25, $45 and $75. More information at www.fasofoundation.org.
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Aurora Inter-organizational Alliance-USA celebrates 8th anniversary in Granada Hills, CA Aurora Inter-organizational Alliance-USA announces its 8th anniversary celebration on Saturday, December 10 in Granada Hills, CA. It is an annual gathering of immigrants from the Aurora province’s 8 towns, aiming to further strengthen the camaraderie and spirit of the members. This year’s celebration hopes to gather 100 members and guests, who will be treated with traditional Filipino dishes as well as entertainment amid the sounds of Christmas carols. The night will be capped by the election of new officers for the new year. The event will be held at the Granada Hills Pavilion at 11128 Balboa Blvd., Granada Hills, CA 91344 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, please contact Atty Al Nabor at (951) 818-8172 or Luchie Cuento at (818) 300-3212.
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Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Greater LA (FACC-GLA)’s 15th year anniversary
Derrick Monasterio as Tsuperhero: I’m the type of superhero who saves but asks for something in return because of his ‘laking kanto’ behavior.
ko sa mommy ko. I have to really take good care of her, especially that she has an eye ailment. We have to listen to our parents so we would not go astray. Para umayos ang buhay natin.” When asked how he feels about celebrities being considered role models or personal heroes by young people, Derrick replied, “Being looked up to is a responsibility more than anything. It’s difficult to be one because you have to maintain that image and avoid the things that will damage it. Di ka pwedeng uminom or be involved in negative issues. It’s a very big responsibility.”
The Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Greater LA (FACC-GLA) is celebrating its 15th year anniversary by recognizing businesses and community partners and installing officers and board members on Sunday, December 11 from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. The event will be held at the Courtyard by Marriott Los Angeles Westside at 6333 Bristol Parkway, Culver City, CA 90230. The cost to attend is $50 and formal attire is required. Please make your check payable to FPACC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) corporation. A portion of the proceeds will go toward the educational scholarship funds and to help the underprivileged children in the Philippines. For any inquiries, please email info.faccgla@gmail.com.
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Consular outreach mission in Miami, Florida The Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., in cooperation with the Philippine Nurses Association of America, Inc. - Central Florida Chapter, the Filipino-American Association of Pensacola, Inc., and the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Miami, is pleased to announce that it will conduct a consular outreach mission in Pensacola on Saturday and Sunday, October 17 and 18 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Services offered include: Philippine passport applications; legalization of documents (acknowledgment, authentication, etc.); and receipt of reports of birth, marriage and death. No applications for dual citizenship will be accepted at this time, as oaths of allegiance must be administered by the Philippine Consul General or Consul. For an appointment, please email consular@philippineusa.org and copy furnish honcon.miami@gmail.com. The Philippine Honorary Consulate in Miami is located at 12/F 1200 Brickell Ave., Miami, Florida 33131.
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B November 10-16, 2016 • LAS veGAS ASIAN JoUrNAL
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