LA Midweek Edition -- October 07 -- 09, 2015

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October 7-9, 2015

T h e F i l i p i n o –A m e r i c A n c o m m u n i T y n e w s pA p e r

Volume 25 - No. 78 • 3 Sections - 22 Pages

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Bongbong Marcos, Leni Robredo announce bids for PH vice president by agnes

COnstante AJPress

ferDINAND “Bongbong� marcos, Jr., the son of late former president ferdinand marcos, and Camarines sur rep.

Leni robredo, have joined the pool of Philippine vice presidential contenders for the 2016 presidential election. marcos, Jr., on monday, oct.

5, declared his bid for the position without attaching himself

DATELINE

to a presidential candidate. robredo, on monday, formally accepted the offer to run alongside Liberal Party presidential contender mar roxas. the announcement of the two new bids brings the total of vice presidential candidates to six. other candidates for the post include sens. francis escudero, Antonio tillanes IV, Alan Peter Cayetano and Gregorio “Gringo� honasan. robredo is the only female

USA

from the AJPress NEWS TEAM AcroSS AMEricA

Clinton criticizes Obama admin’s deportation policies

IN an interview with the spanish network telemundo, Democratic White house contender hillary Clinton accused the obama administration of breaking up families through an “aggressiveâ€? deportation policy, calling current immigration policies too “harsh.â€? her comments echoed long-running complaints of the immigration advocates, who argue that President obama’s immigration programs are “overly harsh,â€? said the Wall street Journal. “the deportation laws were interpreted and enforced, you know, very aggressively during the last six and a half years, which I think his administration did in part to try to get republicans to support comprehensive immigration reform,â€? Clinton said monday, oct. 5 to telemundo News’s maria Celeste ArrarĂĄs. “It was part of a strategy. I think that strategy is no longer workable.â€? “so therefore, I think, we have to go back to being a much less harsh and aggressive en-

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Gov. Brown signs historic right-to-die bill for California

CALIforNIA Gov. Jerry Brown on monday, oct. 5, signed landmark legislation that allows physicians to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to terminally ill patients wishing to end their lives. his signature comes about three weeks after the measure cleared the state Legislature and will make California the fifth state where aid in dying is legal.

In a signing statement, Brown, a lifelong Catholic and former Jesuit seminarian, said he carefully weighed the viewpoints of those opposed to and in favor of the right-to-die bill.

Among positions he considered were those of two of his former doctors, former classmates, friends, a Catholic bishop and Anglican Archbishop Desmond tutu.

Brown also read letters from the family of Brittany maynard, a 29-year-old Californian who was diagnosed with terminal brain can-

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candidate and contender from the house of representatives.

Ferdinand “Bongbong� Marcos marcos, in a statement announcing his bid, said he believes elected officials have an obligation to their people to help change the country’s history by eliminating “the politics of personality,� which he credits as a large reason the Philippines has become a corrupt state where

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IT’S OFFICIAL. Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo (fourth from right) formally accepts the offer of Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas to be his running mate in the 2016 presidential election. President Aquino (center) raises the hands of the LP standard-bearer Mar Roxas (third from left) and Robredo at the event held on Monday at Club Filipino in San Juan City. On the left are Roxas’ mother Judy Araneta-Roxas and wife Korina Sanchez. Robredo’s daughters Tricia, Jillian and Aika are shown on the right.

Inquirer.net photo by NiĂąo Jesus Orbeta

Homeland Security to create parole program for Filipino WWII veterans

by Christina

M. Oriel

AJPress

the Department of homeland security (Dhs) is gearing up to implement a program that allows certain family members of filipino and filipino-American World War II veterans to receive parole to come to the United states. following President Barack obama’s executive actions on immigration announced last November, a

White house report recommended a few ways that federal agencies can “modernize and streamline� the immigration system.

A July 2015 report entitled “modernizing and streamlining our Legal Immigration system for the 21st century� stated that certain family members can be eligible to come to the United states to provide support and care for aging filipino veterans who are Us citizens or lawful permanent residents.

“Parole, as provided for under the Immigration and Nationality Act, gives Dhs discretion, on a case-bycase basis, to permit individuals to come to the United states for a temporary period of time based upon urgent humanitarian reasons or for significant public benefit,� the Us Citizenship and Immigration services (UsCIs) said in a statement on friday, oct. 2. however, the parole does not grant the family member any permanent

right to remain in the United states. estimates indicate that as many as 26,000 filipino veterans (of the over 260,000 filipino soldiers who fought) are Us citizens, after long being excluded from a law that granted citizenship to foreign soldiers serving in the Us forces.  some of the veterans have petitioned family members from the Philippines to join them in the United states; however, wait times can last years, often times exceeding

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Philippines tells China: No Manny Pacquiao to run country can claim an entire sea for Philippine Senate

by Pia lee-bragO

as to which party, that’s still to be determined.� the 8-division world boxing mANNY Pacquiao is set on pro announced his bid for senate proving he’s more than just a during his state of the District king in the boxing ring.

Address to constituents at the the 36-year-old Philippine provincial gym in Alabel, capital boxing hero announced his plans of sarangani, the Philippine star to run for the Philippine senate reported. on monday, october 5. “In the coming days, I will be “Yes, I’m going to run for a embracing new levels of responsisenate post this coming 2016 bility. I will be confronting tough election,� said the fighter, who challenges,� said Pacquiao. “my was elected congressman in second term as your congress2010, representing the saran- men will soon be over, but I will gani province in mindanao. “But u PAGE A3 by allysOn

Philstar.com

esCObar

AJPress

mANILA – No matter how big or powerful a country is, it can never justify staking claim over an entire sea or use force to assert such claim, foreign Affairs secretary Albert del rosario said in an address before the United Nations General Assembly in response to China’s insistence that the West Philippine sea is theirs. “the world cannot allow a country, no matter how powerful, to claim an entire sea as its own nor should it allow coercion to be an acceptable dispute settlement mechanism,� Del rosario told the 70th UN General Assembly last oct. 2. he also asked China to join the deliberations on the case filed by manila with the hague-based UN arbitral tribunal contesting Beijing’s massive claim in the West Philippine sea. “With the growing support from the international community in peacefully resolving disputes in the south China sea,

“The world cannot allow a country, no matter how powerful, to claim an entire sea as its own nor should it allow coercion to be an acceptable dispute settlement mechanism,�

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told the 70th UN General Assembly last Oct. 2.

Philstar.com file photo

at ay

No membership required.

including through arbitration, the Philippines believes that the final outcome of this

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Duterte confirms arrest of two suspects in Samal abduction incident

DAVAo CItY – mayor rodrigo Duterte has confirmed the arrest of two suspected abductors of three foreigners and a filipina from the holiday ocean View samal resort last september 21. mayor rodrigo Duterte named one of the arrested suspects as one Bandahar Adona, also known as “Banonâ€?, who was identified by the Intelligence service of the Armed forces of the Philippines (IsAfP) as one of those who forcibly took one of the four victims, as seen on the CCtV footage. “I was privy to that‌I was invited to the briefing to listen,â€? Duterte told reporters

Lah

on monday, oct. 5 in an interview in sta.

Cruz, Davao del sur. he said he was invited by the IsAfP. however, Duterte refused to further reveal the details of the investigation, leaving it to the appropriate authorities to talk on the incident. he said it took time for the intelligence authorities to pick up and trace signals from cellular phone calls suspected to be coming from Bunawan District, this city. earlier, sources point to a certain tanum group from Patikul, sulu as responsible

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From the Front Page

Clinton criticizes Obama admin’s… Bongbong Marcos, Leni Robredo…

PAGE A1 t

forcer,” she added.

Beforehand, Clinton has faithfully defended the president, arguing that the deportations that occurred on his watch were not a matter of choice, but were all that he could do within the law, said CBS News.

The comments also contradicted a remark Clinton made in 2014 with CNN: “I also think that we have to understand the difficulty that President Obama finds himself in because there are laws that impose certain obligations on him.”

The number of deportations under the Obama administration in the past 12 months has been at a record low for the first

time since 2006, The Associated Press reported on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Though more than 2.4 million immigrants have been deported since he took office in 2009, they have declined by 84,000 between 2014 and 2015 -- marking the largest year-over-year decline since 2012.

In November 2014, President Obama ordered to prioritize the deportation of people with serious criminal convictions, gang members, and those who have crossed the border recently. The action all but directed that most other undocumented immigrants could continue living in the US without fear of removal.

Obama promised to push for immigration reform early in his

presidency, but the legislative battle did not begin in earnest until 2013, after he began his second term. Later, the Senate took up and passed a comprehensive bill, but not before deportation figures were climbing every year under Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the US border security budget surged. Many considered the president’s actions a way to show Republicans that he was serious about enforcement, so they would approve a plan that included a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, according to Huffington Post.

“I think we’ve learned that the Republicans, at least the current

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Homeland Security to create parole…

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20 years, due to statutory visa caps.

With the population of veterans rapidly aging—the White House estimates around 6,000 veterans are still alive in the US today—having family members by their sides would provide them with the necessary support and care.

The United States has set up similar parole programs, such as the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program and the Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program. Under those parole pro-

grams, the beneficiaries are allowed to come to the US and be eligible to apply for work authorization while waiting to apply for lawful permanent resident status.

Though the roll out date of the policy affecting Filipino veterans and their families is yet to be announced, the USCIS and State Department will provide the application process, and will be separate from the general familybased immigration system.

In the meantime, the USCIS is developing criteria and an application process for this parole program, and will announce

them in the coming months.

The agency warns, however, that individuals cannot currently apply and any application received before the program is implemented risks being denied. “[The] USCIS is not yet accepting applications for parole under this program and individu- als should not submit parole requests under this program at this time. People should avoid scams--anyone claiming that applications can be filed now should not be trusted,” Shin Inoyue, a USCIS spokesperson said in a statement. n

ippine Sea is based on historical and legal foundations.

“Given that the South China Sea is an international waterway, the stronger the reason to settle any disputes thereof at an international level, under international law, including arbitration under Annex VII of UNCLOS,” the DFA said, referring to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. “We cannot, moreover, accept China’s illegal actions on its artificial islands as fait accompli,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Navy and the navies of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore began on Monday a US-led joint naval exercise in the West Philippine Sea, includ-

ing in areas near Panatag Shoal off Zambales.

The Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) kicked off in the area within the operational jurisdiction of the Naval Forces NorthWest (NFNW).

“Exercise SEACAT is a scenario-driving tracking exercise which focuses on real time information exchange between navy units involved, coordinated monitoring and close observation on our respective maritime territories, tracking suspicious vessels and eventual conduct of visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS),” Navy spokesman Commander Lued Lincuna said Monday, Oct 5. (With reports from Jaime Laude) n

PAGE A1 t the wealth divide continually widens.

“I have decided to put my political fortune in the hands of the Filipino people. I humbly ask them to judge whether or not I am worthy of their trust to be vice-president on the strength of my performance as a public servant in the last 26 years,” he said.

While there have been talks of Marcos pairing up with Vice President Jejomar Binay, he said they were “mere speculations.”

Binay was a human rights attorney who battled the dictatorship of Marcos’ late father, former President Ferdinand Marcos. The vice president was also an ally of former President Corazon Aquino, Marcos’ rival.

“Any team-up with the Vice President must be rooted on a shared vision for our country, a common platform of government as well as political perspectives,” Marcos said.

The vice presidential candidate did not address allegations of mass corruption and rights violations against his late father, The Associated Press reported.

Every year, the Philippines still marks the anniversary of when the Marcos regime was overthrown in 1986 as a victory of democracy.

Philippines tells China: No country…

PAGE A1 t

arbitration process would pave the way for a settlement of the maritime disputes,” Del Rosario said.

He said Manila hopes to finally see Beijing’s actions match its declarations so there would be real easing of tensions in the West Philippine and South China Sea. In reply to Del Rosario, the Chinese delegation said that while China wanted peaceful settlement in accordance with international law, it reiterated its preference for direct negotiations and consultations.

China emphasized that its claim of sovereignty over the South China Sea and West Phil-

Manny Pacquiao to run for Philippine…

PAGE A1 t

continue to be of service to you and to our fellow Filipinos.”

Pacquiao is in the “Magic 12” of recent senatorial preference surveys, according to Rappler.

The latest Pulse Asia survey on next year’s elections determines who is being re-elected in leadership and returning to office.

Pacquiao is one of four first-time senatorial contenders.

According to the preference survey, 12 senators will be finishing their terms in 2016, to fill the “Magic 12.”

Pacquiao got 39.6 percent of the vote, and ranked 7th-11th, showing generally positive ratings.

He is reportedly under pressure from political advisors and allies to break free from the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) of Vice President Jejomar Binay, whom he has been publicly loyal to. He was present when the UNA proclaimed Binay as its presidential candidate.

Pacquiao is head of the People’s Champ Movement, a local political party that aligned with Manny Villar’s Nacionalista Party during the elections in 2010. He is a political rival of the Antoninos, who ruled General Santos City for 26 years, Rappler reported.

Pacquiao ran and lost to Darlene Antonino-Custodio for the 1st District of South Cotabato, covering several towns in South Cotabato and General Santos City.

In 2010, he moved to Sarangani, where he ran and won for

the lone congressional seat, and ran again unopposed three years later.

After winning eight world championships in different weight divisions, Pacquiao lost the most expensive fight in boxing history (with a record 4.4 million pay-per-view buys) by unanimous decision to his American rival, Floyd Mayweather Jr., in the May 2nd “Fight of the Century.”

Controversy arose when Pacquiao later reported a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder, for which he underwent surgery. He is not expected to be able to fight until next year.

Pacquiao has been harshly criticized for his performance, or lack thereof, in the House of Representatives, said Agence France-Presse. The congressman has been listed among the legislators with the most absences from meetings and events.

On social media, the reaction to Pacquiao’s bid was largely negative.

“Pacman, you’re my idol. But in the boxing ring. Not in Congress. Sorry,” one fan posted on Twitter.

“You can’t even go to sessions in Congress. Now you want to go to Senate? What are you going to do there?” said another Twitter user.

“PH government is indeed a circus,” one tweet read.

Pacquiao’s wife Jinkee is not seeing re-election as vice governor of Sarangani, but his brother Rogelio (Roel) Pacquiao is slated run for the congressional seat that Manny will vacate next year.

His promoter, Bob Arum, said in September that he expects the boxer to get back in the ring once more before he retires to focus on his political career.

“I believe he’ll take one more fight, then run for the Senate in the Philippines,” Arum told the Los Angeles Times. “He could fight twice more, I guess, but it sets up better for him to fight, then run.” n

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Leni Robredo Robredo, the widow of former Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, was initially hesitant about accepting Roxas’ offer, particularly given her three daughters’ opposition to her running for the position. However, she said she decided to move forward with it because she was certain it is what her husband would have wanted, Inquirer reported.

“I am not Jesse. But when he died, it was clear to us, his family, that he was hoping that we too will have to sacrifice to the best of our abilities, similar to his sacrifices, to contribute to our nation,” she told Inquirer.

As the sole female running for vice president, the Carminas Sur representative is likely to receive little criticism from her male rivals, Majority floor leader Neptali Gonzales II said in a press conference.

“It’s going to be a problem for the men in next year’s elections.

In our culture, women are usually spared from criticism by men,” Gonzales said in Filipino, according to Inquirer.

Gonzales also called Robredo “a breath of fresh air” for the Liberal Party.

“Nakikita ko sa kaniya yung manner that she speaks, sincere at makikita mo ang kaniyang intelligence (I can see in the man-

ner that she speaks that she is sincere, and you can see her intelligence),” Gonzales said, according to Inquirer.

Binay without a running mate With the new announcements and as the 2016 election edges closer, Binay remains the only presidential candidate without a running mate.

The selection committee of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) announced Tuesday, Oct. 6, that it is formally requesting for Sen. Gringo Honasan to become Binay’s running mate in 2016, Philstar reported.

Honasan rejected a potential partnership with Binay in late September, but his party mates said he would probably change his mind for the UNA, where he serves as vice president, Rappler reported.

“Senator Honasan is very easy to talk to because he is a party member,” UNA Secretary-General JV Bautista previously told Rappler. “It just takes some negotiation. In the case of Senator Bongbong, it’s more complicated because he is a member of the Nacionalista Party.”

Binay had previously considered Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, Sen. Grace Poe and

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Gabi ng Paragal para sa Pamilyang Pilipino Filipino-American family bags the Global Pinoy Family of the Year Award in the recent 5th Jollibee Family Values Awards (JFVA) Pasay City — The family of a 63-year-old OFW was the recipient of the Global Filipino Family of the Year Award at the fifth Jollibee Family Values Awards (JFVA) for its outstanding commitment in helping the impoverished through rondalla music.

George Gange, a US Navy retiree, founded Pagyamanin Likas Musika (PLM) in 2010, an organization that promotes the preservation of the iconic rondalla tradition by loaning instruments to select schools and marginalized communities in the Philippines.

PLM has also gone beyond its loaning program by fundraising to help victims of natural calamities, particularly the recent Nepal earthquake, Super Typhoon Yolanda, the Zamboanga seige in the Philippines, and the typhoon Ondoy and Pablo, through busking and private perfor-

mances. To date, PLM has reached 70 communities and schools, including an orphanage in Davao, indigenous tribe in Tibi-Tibi, Kapalong, Davao Del Norte, three indigenous tribes in Roxas, Palawan and two National Schools for the blind serving hundreds of underprivileged children.

Gange credits his passion for music as his motivation to create PLM, and his parents for showing him how to give back.

“My inspiration are, actually, my parents. [They] taught me how to get back to the community,” he told Asian Journal.

The Gange family was among the six top families awarded at this year’s fifth JFVA. Together with his wife Melinda, Gange received the prestigious honor at the JFVA awards night held Sept. 24 at the Philippine International

Convention Center’s Plenary Hall. “[This award] means a validation of everything we do as a family. I’ve received recognitions from different places and bodies, but this one, I will treasure the most because it involves the whole family. Only Jollibee is the entity that is giving importance to what a good organization really is doing for the world and that is the family,” he shared. “I’m hoping this award would bring a lot of good will to our organization.

I’m hoping other people will embrace our advocacy and make it their own.”

The couple has two sons, Michael and George, Jr., who were not present at the ceremony.

The five other winners in the fifth JFVA who received awards for Outstanding Families in the Philippines were the Domulot family of Zam-

Photos by Noel Ty

Photo by Nykko Santos

bales, whose work focuses on uplifting the lives and solidifying the Aeta tribes; the Tiosa family of Rizal, for its dedication to the employment and self-sufficiency of the blind; the Mambuay family of Misamis Oriental, for seeking peaceful ways to inculcate unity between the Christian and Muslim faiths; the Rojas family of Quezon City, for giving a new voice to cancer survivors; and the Peña family of Cavite, for empowering people with Autism.

In addition to the six awardees, another five families were honored with special citations for advocacy work in multiple areas: the Basa family was bestowed the Special Citation for Environment was accorded for a project called “Sagip Kalikasan, Sagip Buhay” that aims to provide alternative life vests using recycled plastic bottles; the Capilos family received the Special Citation for Education for its EducAid advocacy program that benefits public school teachers and their students; the Catanghal family was awarded the Special Citation for Minority Groups for its continuing dedication in caring for the Mangyan tribe in Mindoro; the Mendoza family was honored with the Special Citation for Persons with Disabilities for its commitment to helping people with special needs; and the Ramirez family was presented the Special Cita-

Photo by Nykko Santos

Photo by George Gange

tion for Children for creating free toy libraries throughout the Philippines.

Distinguished personalities composed this year’s esteemed JFVA board of judges, including: Sen. Bam Aquino as jury chairman, Sen. Grace Poe- Llamanzares, Camarines Sur Third District Representative Congresswoman Leni Robredo, professor and economist Winnie Monsod, MOWELFUND trustee and president Boots Anson-Rodrigo, columnist and child advocate Audrey Tan-Zubiri, Jollibee ambassador and Ulirang Ina awardee Carmina VillaroelLegaspi, ANC news anchor Edric Mendoza, parenting and relationship consultant Maribel Sison-Dionisio, CocaCola Export Corporation Director for Public Affairs and Communications Atty. Adel Tamayo, and ABS-CBN consultant for Public Service Integration and Chaplaincy Fr. Carmelo “Tito” Caluag, S.J. They were also joined by Jollibee Global Brand Chief Marketing Officer Francis Flores, Vice President of Marketing Harvey Ong, Vice President of Human Resources Ruth

Angeles, and Jollibee Group Foundation Vice President Belen Rillo.

During the awards night, the top six exemplary families each received a cash prize of P300,000, a trophy designed by renowned sculptor Michael Cacnio, and a Jollibee gift certificate worth P10,000.

Special citation recipients each received P50,000 cash, a plaque, and P5,000 worth of Jollibee gift certificates.

The Gabi ng Parangal para sa Pamilyang Pilipino was hosted by Maricel and Anthony Pangilinan. It featured performances from Jollibee ambassadors Sarah Geronimo (who sang the official Fifth JFVA theme song, “Pamilyang Pilipino”), The Voice Kids Lyca, Darlene and JK, and Asia’s songbird Regine VelasquezAlcasid.

“Music helps people in so many ways. It helps them to relax. In any disagreements, if words fail, music always reunites and rocks. People may have different languages but when they listen to music, the message is universal.”

-George Gange

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OpiniOn

Features

Royal rumble

TURNING out to be an even more exciting race than the presidency in next year’s elections is the competition for the second most powerful seat in the country between some of the biggest names in Philippine politics.

The vice president’s responsibilities are akin to that of the president’s. This highly coveted position, according to the Office of the Vice President, is guided by objectives such as the pursuit of political stability and economic goals of the country. The vice president is also responsible for the promotion of foreign investments, international trade and diplomatic relations, peace and order, safety and welfare in coordination with law enforcement agencies. And much like the president, the vice president is expected to protect the interest of national constituency.

Among those who have already confirmed their bid to be next vice president are Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Camarines Sur Representative Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo. Senator Gregorio Honasan II is expected to join the roster to run alongside Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is gunning for presidency, under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

Leading the pack is Sen. Escudero, who could be a runaway vice presidential winner if the election was held today. Based on the latest Pulse Asia survey, he topped the list for the most preferred candidates for vice president and would win 23 percent of the votes. In his announcement last Sept. 17, Escudero said that he and running

mate Sen. Grace Poe will establish a “Gobyernong may Puso (Government with a Heart)” that will raise the bar of public service by removing “slow and inefficient” people in the government. He added that by using the national budget as a framework, their administration would prepare a platform for every department to address problems of all sectors.

Sen. Marcos declared his bid earlier this week and said he leaves it up to the Filipino people to judge whether he deserves another shot at another position. “I believe that elected officials have an obligation to our people to help change the course of our nation’s history by banishing the politics of personality, which to me is one of the primary causes why our country today has become a soft state where the rich become richer, the poor become poorer, graft and corruption is endemic, the drug menace pervades, injustice is the norm and government incompetence is accepted,” Marcos said. He is currently courting Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to be his running mate.

Sen. Cayetano, who is also courting Mayor Duterte to be his running mate, has formally announced his bid for vice presidency.Duterte earlier lauded Cayetano for his “good grasp of practical solutions” for the country’s problems on poverty, poor infrastructure, and lack of inclusive economic growth. While they have yet to formalize a partnership, Cayetano “continues to pray for a president

Editorial

Inquirer.net photo

who will take on the challenge of creating genuine change in the lives of Filipino families.”

Running under the Magdalo Group, Sen. Trillanes said his decision to run as vice president is a big challenge to widen the scope of his service to the Filipino people. While he expects his bid to be a long shot, Trillanes believes that his mission to uplift the nation, fix the government and help the Filipino people will help him win the race.

After her earlier reluctance to seek a higher position, Rep. Robredo finally accepted the administration’s offer to be the vice president of Manuel “Mar” Roxas II under the Liberal Party. While she vowed to continue the achievements of President

Benigno Aquino III’s “Tuwid na Daan (Straight Path)” policy, the unassuming congresswoman said her platform will focus on the poor and disenfranchised. “I offer myself fully especially to those who wear slippers, who are downtrodden and those who are neglected by society,” Robredo said.

Based on this preview it is clear that the campaign season leading to next year’s elections will be a grueling journey for both candidates and voters. Although by adopting popular platforms to gain more popularity and votes, seem to be an easy route, even the most accurate polls cannot predict how the race will pan out. For these contenders, the test has just begun. (AJPress)

Who is your VP pick: Robredo, Escudero, Cayetano, Marcos, Trillanes or Honasan?

THERE may only be three candidates who have officially declared that they are seeking the highest office in the Philippines, but as of press time, it may be (at least) a six-way fight for the position of vice president for the May 2016 Philippine Elections.

The Liberal Party has found a co-pilot for Sec. Mar Roxas in his quest to stir the Philippine government toward “Daang Matuwid”: Cong. Leni Robredo. The reluctant widow of the much beloved DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo has finally embraced her new calling, after getting the blessings of her daughters who were opposed to her running for higher office.

The Robredos’ eldest daughter Aika posted a quote on social media that somehow encapsulates why the family decided to heed the calling for Leni to run for VP: “‘It’s impt, Dumbledore said, to fight & fight again, & keep fighting. For only then can evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated.’”

Sen. Chiz Escudero, long time friend of presidential polls frontrunner Sen. Grace Poe, has been on board with Poe from the beginning and the two are running as Independents while seeking the

I HAD a chance to watch the movie Heneral Luna with Street my wife and family Talk members and I was truly impressed with the crowd that it pulled. The lines at SM BF on Sukat Road GreG B. MacaBenta were long and we couldn’t get seats for the mid-afternoon screening. We had to buy tickets for the next screening three hours later and had to kill time waiting for it. We also had to make do with seats so close to the screen, it was practically like watching a show on a big screen TV with our faces a few inches from the set.

But I enjoyed every minute of the movie, the discomfort was well worth it.

In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I wouldn’t mind watching it again, although I would prefer better seating.

I found the film very entertaining.

It reminded me of the dozens of films I wrote for Jun Aristorenas, Tony Ferrer and Ramon Revilla decades ago. I realize, that sounds almost blasphemous, talking about Heneral Luna in the same breath as Harabas, Agent X-44 and Nardong Putik. I don’t mean any disrespect. It’s just that, as an old hand in movie making, I couldn’t help noting how the makers of Luna applied familiar cinematic touches that my late director friend, Tony Santos, referred to as “Approved kwela.”

Considering how the audience loved the irreverent depiction of familiar historical figures and the overdose of invectives spit out by the Luna character I’m not surprised that Donald Trump is leading in the GOP presidential derby and Davao’s Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has endeared himself to many Filipino

support of other parties.

As of press time, VP Jejomar The Fil-Am Binay – who is running under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) Perspective – is still in a quandary over who will be his running mate, after failing to get the “matamis na OO” from Sen. Grace Poe and Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Gel SantoS-reloS Marcos Jr. Though it has been much publicized that the Binay-Marcos tandem has been shaping up, the Marcos camp reportedly decided that it would be to their candidate’s best political interest to abandon such option because of Binay’s diminishing approval and trust rating in recent polls, following corruption allegations against him and his family.

As of press time, the UNA camp has reportedly been wooing Sen. Gringo Honasan to be his running mate.

Sen. Bongbong Marcos has decided to run on his own without a president, although he has reportedly been seeking to be in tandem with Rodrigo Duterte, if the popular Davao City Mayor decides

to join the race to Malacanang.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano is another VP candidate who has been waiting to run with Duterte, having announced his own VP bid in Davao City, with Duterte “almost” endorsing Cayetano when in effect he said Cayetano could beat all other VP bets.

Finally, there is Sen. Antonio Trillanes, another VP-wannabe running without a president.

This VP race that is getting to be more crowded than the presidential race is something absurd for us Fil-Ams who vote here in the United States.

Here in America, the presidential and the vice presidential candidates of each party run and campaign together as a “team”. A vote for one is the vote for the other.

When a tandem wins, the president and the VP work together to fulfill their campaign promises to the people, guided by their collective ideological and philosophical rationale in their quest for public office.

In contrast, candidates for president and vice

Heneral Luna, the movie

voters looking for someone to elevate to the presidency. The present generation has become so jaded that one needs to use the shock tactics of Trump and Duterte or Tony Santos’ approved kwela techniques to gain attention Heneral Luna does that with dialogues and scenes intended to elicit spontaneous laughter or jolt the moviegoers in their seats (“Puñeta” has the same recall potential as Ramon Revilla’s “Bwakang ina” in Nardong Putik). And then, there’s the sequence where Luna dragged a Kawit Katipunero captain before his troops by the poor fellow’s balls.

The audience loved that. I did too. Who cares about authenticity? And to rub it in, the officer was earlier shown in bed with a woman – as in, “How could he do that while fellow Katipuneros were being slaughtered?Ummmm. Buti nga!

Having said that, I would like to caution the serious students of motion picture art or of history to lower their expectations of the film because they could be in for some disappointment.

I would suggest that, whatever their filmic or academic background, they should just go watchHeneral Luna for its entertainment value. I guarantee that they will enjoy it as I did.

I also hope that the producers don’t feel too discouraged if they don’t win any awards at the Oscars where, I understand, they plan to enter the film.

But, I’m hoping I’m wrong. Maybe it will gain some critical acclaim for the novelty of a movie where Americans are presented as the bad guys.

I feel like an odd man out writing like this about a piece of creative work that

a lot of people I know have been heaping with glowing praise. And let me tell you, these are folks who don’t normally watch Filipino movies and who have genuinely good tastes.

Like me, I’m sure they were prepared to take a positive attitude towards a film that had enjoyed a lot of good reviews in social media (pretty much like perceiving Grace Poe as the great possibility for the Philippine presidency and Leni Robredo for the vice-presidency because of all the positive press).

Unlike them, however, I can’t watch a movie without subsequently asking myself if it was really well-made or if I enjoyed it because I wanted a no-brainer to relax with. To be frank, I regard Heneral Luna as a no-brainer – but, in that context, it is a thoroughly enjoyable and well-made one, especially with the costumes and production design. .

From a more serious perspective, the character of Antonio Luna could have used more in-depth development. There was an attempt to do that by means of soliloquys (a-la Hamlet’s “To be or not to be”) as well as in the sequence where Luna’s mother asked him to close his eyes and recall his blissful childhood with his brother Juan. I can almost see the director and the screenplay writers discussing the need for such a scene “in order to depict the complex character of the hero and soften his harsh, explosive persona.”

But that technique reminded me more of the dream sequences that oldtime Tagalog movie makers employed to provide relief from too muchbakbakan and patayan.

There was an opportunity for the writers to have portrayed with more depth Los Indios Bravos in Europe - Jose Rizal and the Luna brothers

president in the Philippines may run together or as independents. The emerging winners for the two top posts of the executive branch of government may come from two opposing parties. Ergo, history has proven time and time again how this set up has caused the president and the VP to work against each other and not together in performing their duties for the country.

I wonder when this will ever change. I hope the Philippine Constitution will be amended so that the president and VP may really work together for the Filipino people; to make this happen, the election laws should mandate that a vote for the president means a vote for the vice president counterpart.

In the meantime, who are you inclined to vote for the position of vice president: Leni Robredo, Chiz Escudero, Alan Peter Cayetano, Bongbong Marcos, Antonio Trillanes or Gringo Honasan? *** 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

among them - as a background for the Filipino intelligentsia’s incipient struggle for freedom. This could have been a better setting to explain the motivations behind Antonio Luna’s characterization. But then, even Vivencio Jose, the author of the book, The Rise and Fall of Antonio Luna, on which the movie was based, apparently failed to do that, too.

According to a scholarly review of the book, “its failure to situate Luna within the organized nationalist activity of Filipino activists in Europe makes Luna’s activities during this period seem rather unconnected and gives little idea of the progressive evolution of his thought.”

This probably left the screenplay writers with no other option but to depict Luna’s mercurial character and military genius in the most obvious manner like commandeering a train and riding straight into the enemy lines on horseback.

Having said that, it makes me wonder why Emilio Aguinaldo was shown as such an impotent figurehead caught in the midst of the wrangling and the screaming of Philippine history’s most prominent personalities. Was this also the way Aguinaldo was depicted in Jose’s book? I wonder.

One can hardly believe that this was the same revolutionary leader who declared Philippine independence in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. I’m no big fan of DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya, but I can appreciate his discomfort with the cinematic treatment of his great grandfather’s role in Philippine history.

Come to think of it, I’m wondering what prompted the producers to make Heneral Luna. Was it intended as an art film (what movie scribes refer to as “pang-award)? Or did they produce

it for its box-office potential because of the way the source material overturned the cookie-cutter versions of Philippine history and exposed our heroes as having feet of clay? If it was for the last reason, they have apparently succeeded.

The movie is a bona fide box-office hit.

The opening titles did acknowledge that the producers had blended historical facts with cinematic fiction. About that aspect, historian Ambeth Ocampo had this to say in his newspaper column: “Everyone who comes out of Heneral Luna blames Aguinaldo—an oversimplification because history is more complex than our textbooks make it out to be. History is not about memorizing ‘facts’ or reacting emotionally, but being critical of facts and narratives. Aguinaldo is a soft target in a complex story where there are other villains. Some of the villains are not people but flaws in human nature and Philippine society.”

Oversimplification may be the best way to describe Heneral Luna as a portrayal of history and of historical figures. Even the way the dialogue was delivered by such characters as Gen. Arthur MacArthur and by John Arcilla’s Luna was much like a zarzuela - like hitting you on the head with a hammer, in a case you didn’t get the point.

And in the scene where Luna was killed, the director really went all out to squeeze it for all its gory potentials.

Steve Reeves as Superman couldn’t have remained standing that long from all the bullets pumped into Luna at close range, not to mention being hacked with bolos.

Eventually Luna died, of course. And this was where you could almost hear someone in the audience moan, “Sayang, namatay ang bida.” (gregmacabenta@hotmail.com)

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From the Front Page

LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • OCTOBER 7-9, 2015

A

Gov. Brown signs historic right-to… Clinton criticizes Obama admin’s…

PAGE A1 t

cer and moved to Oregon last year to legally end her life.

“In the end, I was left to reflect on what I would want in the face of my own death,” Brown wrote.

“I do not know what I would do if I were dying in prolonged and excruciating pain. I am certain, however, that it would be a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill.

And I wouldn’t deny that right to others.”

California’s End of Life Option Act is modeled after Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act, which was enacted in 1997. It requires that two doctors approve patients’ requests to die, that patients submit several written requests, that patients are physically capable of taking the medication, and that there are two witnesses present, one of whom is not a family member.

The act is scheduled to go into effect next year.

The act ends 23 years of efforts aimed at legalizing aid in dying in California. Similar measures introduced in 2005, 2006 and 2007 failed in the Legislature.

It also follows attempts from at least 24 states that introduced such legislation this year, though the measures stalled elsewhere, according to The Associated Press.

Other states that allow doctors to prescribe patients life-ending drugs are Oregon, Montana, Vermont and Washington.

Advocates react Proponents of the legislation rejoiced upon learning of the news. The Los Angeles Times reported that the action brought tears of joy to former LAPD Detective Christy O’Donnell, who testified in favor of the new law and was diagnosed with a few months left to live due to lung cancer.

“I’m overjoyed for all the terminally ill people in California, who can now relax knowing they finally have the choice of aid in dying as one of their end-of-life options,” said O’Donnell, mentioning she does not think she will live to see the day the law is implemented. “No more worrying that they will suffer great physical and emotional pain at the end of their life when they have already suffered painfully for so long as a result of their terminal illnesses.”

For other advocates of ABX215, the governor’s signature was a victory that came too late.

“I’m sorry it’s taken so long,” Deb Reuter-Zsarko, whose wife Michelle died earlier this year after a six-year battle with vulvar cancer, told the Asian Journal.

She also recounted waking up one morning to a pool of blood, and how having the choice the new law provides would have been helpful earlier on. ““People need a choice. She never had a choice in any of this.... [This law] is the right thing to do. And ultimately it comes down to the fact that it’s an option...There’s no one forcing you to do anything,” ReuterZsarko said.

Compassion & Choices, a group that advocated for the new law, told the Times it hopes other states will follow in California’s footsteps.

“This is the biggest victory for the death-with-dignity movement since Oregon passed the nation’s first law two decades ago,” Barbara Coombs Lee, the group’s president, told the publication. “This victory is hugely significant in both substance and scope. Enactment of this law in California means we are providing this option to more than one in 10 Americans.

Opponents cite moral and religious reasons Lawmakers who opposed the act included Republicans for moral reasons and Democrats who cited religious views and experiences where family members were given months to live but survived for years, the Times reported.

Tim Rosales, a spokesman for a group called Californians Against Assisted Suicide, spoke against the governor’s decision.

“This is a dark day for California and the Brown legacy,” Rosales said in a statement. “As someone of wealth and access to the world’s best medical care and

doctors, the Governor’s background is very different than that of millions of Californians living in healthcare poverty without that same access – these are the people and families potentially hurt by giving doctors the power to prescribe lethal overdoses of patients.”

Religious groups, including the Catholic Church and disability rights advocates, also opposed the bill, contending it legalizes premature suicide and puts terminally ill patients at risk for coerced death, the Christian Science Monitor reported.

“Today the State of California is making it legal for a doctor to write prescriptions for the express purpose of killing another human being,” Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez said in a statement issued Monday.

“This is a new path for the State and we have no idea where it will lead.”

“How does the State plan to prevent lethal prescriptions to commit suicide from becoming the only ‘option’ available for the poor?

“We should not say to future generations that we responded to human pain and suffering by making it easier for those who suffer to kill themselves. We are a better people than that,” he said.

Before the measure passed, the Church addressed Catholic lawmakers and urged Brown to veto it, according to the AP. “Pope Francis invites all of us to create our good society by seeing through the eyes of those who are on the margins, those in need economically, physically, psychologically and socially,” the California Catholic Conference said in a statement after it cleared the state Legislature.

“We ask the governor to veto this bill.” (Agnes Constante / AJPress)

PAGE A3 t

crop, are just not acting in good faith,” Clinton said Monday.

Clinton also said that she would continue to deport violent people and felons, but said too many “upright, productive people with a minor offense had been hauled in and deported. And I’ve met their wives and their children-and I just don’t believe in that.”

To her supporters, Clinton said she would order these changes within her first 100 days in office by directing her Department of Homeland Security to “take a hard look about how we change the way the laws are applied.”

Over the past few months, the former secretary of state has worked hard to win the hearts of her Hispanic voters--an important constituency in the Democratic Party.

She also repeated her promise to expand upon Obama’s DREAM Act, as well as his earlier attempt to grant temporary relief for eligible undocumented immigrants, and issue work permits to some

Bongbong…

PAGE A3 t

Roxas as possible running mates, but each of them rejected offers to join him.

In August, Binay indicated Marcos was his preferred partner, despite contradictions that would exist given their political histories.

Should a Binay-Honasan partnership emerge, it would also contain its own set of discrepancies. Both politicians participated in support of the EDSA People Power Revolution that ousted former president Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, but Honasan led two unsuccessful coups against Aquino; Binay defended Aquino from those attempts. n

Duterte confirms arrest of two suspects…

PAGE A1 t

for the abduction. Tanum is reportedly a village in Patikul, the main base of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). The same sources said the group arrived onboard a white speedboat in Barangay Kaunayan in Patikul around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22.

Duterte has already appealed to the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) not to harm the hostages. He even expressed willingness to go

to Talipao, Sulu to appeal for the safe release of Canadian nationals John Ridsdel, and Robert Hall, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, and Filipina Marites Flor.

The Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Ocean View however refused to comment on the mayor’s revelation as it is still completing its investigation.

Philippine National Police (PNP) XI spokesperson, Antonio Rivera said probers are focusing on some personalities but would

not say anything until SITG will complete everything.

He said if there is a report on the arrest of suspected abductors, he does not know about it yet or SITG might not have received any report yet from the military.

When asked how much time is given for SITG to complete its investigation, Rivera said it would be soon because authorities are still verifying all information.

(ManilaTimes.net)

four million who have been in the US for at least five years and have naturalized or LPR (legal permanent residents) children.

Obama’s policies--in the form of executive actions--are now being challenged in court.

“I want to do more on an individual basis by putting more resources, more personnel into the system to try to help as many people as possible get a different status,” Clinton told Arrarás, adding that she would consider additional people for deportation

relief who are not currently covered.

She also repeated that she would keep fighting to get approval in Congress for an immigration bill that was already tried

by Obama.

“In the meantime, I’m not gonna be breaking up families,” she said. “I think everybody is entitled to a second chance. I don’t want to see families disrupted, families deported. I want to see comprehensive immigration reform.”

(Allyson Escobar/AJPress)

A OCTOBER 7-9, 2015 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL

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COMMUNITY Journal

B

Business News

Survey: Out-of-network ATM fees Pulse Asia: Pay hike, prices hit record $4.52 per transaction urgent concerns for Pinoys by aGnes

constante AJPress

THE average out-of-network ATM fee is now about the cost of a six-inch Subway sandwich or grande mocha cappuccino at Starbucks.

In the last five years, the cost of withdrawing cash a local ATM has jumped 21 percent to a record $4.52 per transaction, according to a survey from data provider Bankrate Inc. Atlanta and New York top the list of cities with the highest average ATM fees, at $5.15 and $5.03, respectively, per transaction.

The spike comes in part because of more stringent regulations that came after the financial crisis, as well as pressure from consumer advocates to reduce certain fees, including overdraft and credit card charges, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Along with higher fees, however, has come a drop in the number of people obtaining money from ATMs, according to a survey by consulting firm Oli-

ver Wyman. Individuals pulling cash from these machines has dropped 41 percent in the last 10 years. Furthermore, the survey found that in the last decade, individuals have decreased their monthly ATM withdrawals from 3.4 times per month to two.

As a result of the reduced frequency of use, ATM owners and banks have had to raise fees to cover their costs.

“Someone has to pay to maintain these ATM networks, and so that burden is falling on the noncustomers,” said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate, according to the Journal.

Consumers have turned to other methods of obtaining cash for free, including going to their own banks, and opting for cash back when making purchases at supermarkets or drugstores.

In a consumer survey conducted by consulting firm Mercator Advisory Group, nearly 75 percent of 3,000 participants said they would take whatever measures they can to avert ATM surcharges.

“I can see no reason to pay a fee unless there’s some emergency,” retired computer programmer and Wells Fargo customer Steve Cohen told the Journal.

In the same survey, 29 percent of participants said they have never paid an ATM fee, and 26 percent indicated they were willing to pay a fee to use an ATM in a convenient location.

Alongside higher ATM surcharges, overdraft fees have also been on the rise. Since 2010, the average fee has spiked 9 percent to a record $33.07. Residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Atlanta, Georgia are subject to the highest charges, at $34.79 and $34.57, respectively.

“A lot of those consumers with routine overdrafts rely on it, it’s a form of credit for them,” McBride said, according to Q13 FOX. “It’s easier for them to pay a $33 overdraft fee [than] to have their mortgage payment not clear.”

Cities averaging the lowest in ATM surcharges are Cincinnati ($3.86) and San Francisco ($3.85). n

Infra, investment constraints hinder business in PH – World Bank by ted

torres Philstar.com

MANILA – The World Bank said the biggest constraints to improving the business climate in the Philippines are policy reforms revolving around investments and infrastructure.

“The most important priority is improving the business and investment climate, especially affecting infrastructure and investments,” World Bank chief economist for the East Asia and Pacific Region Sudhir Shetty said in a teleconference Monday, Oct. 5.

Due to slowdown in public investments, the World Bank said Philippine economic growth would Shetty said the Philippine gov- be in the vicinity of 5.8 percent in 2015, picking up to 6.5 percent in 2016 and six percent in

u PAGE B3

2017.

Philstar.com file photo

by Helen

Flores Philstar.com

MANILA – Controlling inflation and increasing the pay of workers remained the two most urgent national concerns of Filipinos, according to the third quarter survey of Pulse Asia.

The poll, taken from Sept. 8 to 14, also showed that most Filipinos still disapproved of the government’s efforts to reduce poverty (41 percent) and control inflation (46 percent).

Pulse Asia said Filipinos continue to be most concerned with increasing workers’ pay and controlling inflation at 47 percent and 46 percent, respectively.

The other urgent national concerns which the Aquino administration must immediately act on are graft and corruption (39 percent); jobs (37 percent) and poverty (32 percent), Pulse Asia said.

A quarter of Filipinos (25 percent) mentioned crime as the most urgent national concern, followed by peace (18 percent), rule of law (16 percent), environmental degradation (13 percent)

Pulse Asia said Filipinos continue to be most concerned with increasing workers’ pay and controlling inflation at 47 percent and 46 percent, respectively.

Philstar.com file photo

and rapid population growth (11 percent).

Filipinos were found least concerned about territorial integrity (seven percent), Charter change (four percent) and terrorism (three percent), Pulse Asia said.

By area, 50 percent of respondents in Metro Manila said the top urgent national concern is workers’ pay, while 42 percent

mentioned corruption.

In the rest of Luzon, the most often mentioned concerns are workers’ pay (48 percent), inflation (46 percent), corruption (39 percent) and jobs (38 percent).

In the Visayas, the most often cited national concerns are workers’ pay (49 percent), inflation (46 percent) and corruption (40

u PAGE B2

World Bank cuts 2015 PH GDP growth forecast to 5.8%

by Paolo

G. Montecillo Inquirer.net

THE Philippine economy will grow at a slowerthan-expected pace in 2015 after being dragged down by lackluster government spending and weak demand for the country’s exports in the first half, the World bank said.

In a report released Monday, Oct 5, the World Bank said it still considers the lowered projection for Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth as healthy. The Philippines, which is among Southeast Asia’s five largest economies, is expected to outperform neighbors like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

For 2015, the Bank said it revised its projection for the Philippines to a growth of 5.8 percent, low-

er than the previous forecast of 6.5 percent. Next year’s growth is seen at 6.4 percent, before tempering to 6.2 percent in 2017.

“This takes into account the relatively weak first half growth brought about by slow government spending, negative net exports, and the initial impact of El Niño,” the World Bank said in a statement.

The Philippine economy grew by 5.3 percent in the first half of 2015, falling short of the government’s full-year growth target of 7 to 8 percent.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan last week said growth of above 6 percent would still be “quite doable,” given recent efforts to ramp up spending. From 2011 to 2014, full-year GDP growth for the Philippines has stayed above 6 percent. n

Business news

B OCTOBER 7-9, 2015 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL

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PH banks lead in retail financial services Metro Manila fast running out of mall space

by LawRence

agcaoiLi Philstar.com

MANILA – Singapore-based publication The Asian Banker sees the Philippines leading the strong growth in the retail financial services market in Asia Pacific on the back of increasing consumption and improved access.

A study conducted by Asian Banker Research showed the income of commercial banks from retail financial services in Asia Pacific growing 77.5 percent to $824 billion by 2020 from the projected $464 billion this year.

“Asia Pacific’s retail financial services market will be worth $824 billion by 2020. Increasing consumption and improved access to financial services in combination with mobile banking technologies, will be key catalysts in driving retail banking income between 2015 and 2020,” The Asian Banker said.

Retail banking income was defined as business from retail deposits, mortgages, credit cards/ unsecured lending, wealth management and, wherever possible, small and medium enterprises banking.

“The ability to generate gross income in any given market is regarded as a key indicator of wallet share and a determinant of a bank’s bench strength in retail financial services,” said Mobasher Zein Kazmi, head of research at The Asian Banker.

The study showed the Philippines is expected to book the highest compound annual growth rate and total income generated among emerging markets between 2015 and 2020 with 18 percent followed by Indonesia with a little over 15 percent, and Thailand with 15 percent.

Malaysia is seen to post the slowest income growth with a growth rate of six percent for the five-year period.

“Since 2014, the Philippines has outpaced China and Thailand and is becoming one of the key growth engines in the Asia Pacific,” The Asian Banker said.

However, China would continue to generate higher earnings by 2020.

“Currently, China’s retail financial services industry alone generates 48 percent to total regional income, followed by India with 12 percent and Australia with nine percent,” it added.

The Asian Banker sees income from retail financial services of commercial banks in Asia post-

by Richmond

S. meRcuRio

Philstar.com

“Asia Pacific’s retail financial services market will be worth $824 billion by 2020. Increasing consumption and improved access to financial services in combination with mobile banking technologies, will be key catalysts in driving retail banking income between 2015 and 2020,” The Asian Banker said.

Philstar.com file photo

ing a CAGR of 12 percent from 2015 to 2020.

“There are, however, stark variances in growth rates between the mature markets of Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore and developing markets,” it said.

On the other hand, income growth in mature markets is lower and expected to grow by an average of five percent this year and by the same amount in subsequent years until 2020.

Developing markets have grown on average by 13 percent annually to 2015. However there have been dramatic changes since 2014.

The fastest growing markets up to 2013 were Thailand and China after having grown by more than 20 percent annually.

Both markets, however, have been slowing down due to economic woes.

The Asian Banker noted that retail banking income is shifting focus on high yield businesses but sees tightening of consumer banking regulations as a key threat.

The greatest change in regulations is a shift away from a principle-based regulatory framework to a rule-based framework.

As a result regulators have much more power to intervene.

In particular, in emerging markets, financial authorities often want to control everything down to the product level, including loan pricing and fee income.

Commercial banks have managed the impact of new regulations imposed on banks’ wealth management businesses in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, but a second wave of regulatory scrutiny, initiated in

2012, into interest rates and fee structures, compounded by recent macro-economic weaknesses, continues to pose ongoing threats to income expansion.

“Regulators are increasingly worried about rising consumer debt so they have resorted to tightening unsecured lending, credit cards and home loans. In addition, consumer protection and optionality, which requires banks to seek a customer’s consent to opt in or out of services, are becoming key agenda items for financial regulators in this region,” Kazmi said.

According to The Asian Banker, the most profitable banks in Asia include Bank of Mandiri in Indonesia, Union Bank of the Philippines, and Siam Commercial Bank in Thailand. n

MANILA – One of the country’s largest mall developers believes Metro Manila is nearing its saturation point in terms of shopping centers, causing less established names to be out of business in a few years’ time.

Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) commercial centers division general manager Arlene Magtibay told The STAR Metro Manila may be facing saturation levels in mall space in the next three to five years.

“I cannot say that we have already reached a saturation point at present but given that there are many more malls that will be coming up soon, it’s very possible that competition will be stiffer. There will be some that will definitely be affected. The ones that are less differentiated. So there should be better differentiation between the malls, better customer service, better facilities, and more interesting tenant mix,” Magtibay said.

RLC, the property arm of the Gokongwei family, operates 11 malls in Metro Manila to date.

Magtibay said reaching saturation levels would have a positive impact to consumers but it would likewise result in a tougher business climate among retail players.

“It’s good for the consumers because the malls will definitely try to provide better service and stores. Overall it’s going to be good for them. On the other hand, we, the mall developers, have to be very creative to deliver better service to customers,” she said.

With Metro Manila getting too crowded with various shopping centers, Magtibay said RLC is gearing up its expansion towards the provincial areas and the second-tier cities.

Still, she said RLC sales and foot traffic across its 11 malls in Metro Manila remain robust.

But while RLC feels Metro Manila is fast running out of spaces for new malls, the country’s largest shopping center developer, the SM Group of the Sy family, thinks on the contrary.

SM Supermalls president Annie Garcia told The Star saturation point for Metro Manila is still far

Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) commercial centers division general manager Arlene Magtibay told The STAR Metro Manila may be facing saturation levels in mall space in the next three to five years.

Philstar.com file photo

from happening.

“I don’t think it will be happening anytime soon.

Space is really available and opportunities will never run out. It’s a transactional thing. If the price is right, maybe someone can sell his property and may be someone can turn it into a commercial property,” Garcia said.

SM has 18 out of its 52 malls located in Metro Manila.

Garcia said while the company is looking for expansion opportunities outside Luzon, it still has several sites within Metro Manila.

“When competitors try to outdo each other, it’s very good for the consumers. In fact, consumers stand more to gain by having more options because they don’t have to go too far to reach something. As an industry we remain vibrant and creating more options for consumers,” Garcia said. n

Pulse Asia: Pay hike, prices urgent concerns…

PAGE B1 t

percent).

In Mindanao, the respondents are most concerned about inflation (50 percent) and workers’ pay (42 percent).

On the other hand, in Class ABC, the leading urgent national concerns are corruption (44 percent), workers’ pay (39 percent), inflation (39 percent), crime (34 percent) and jobs (33 percent).

In Class D, the most often mentioned national concerns are workers’ pay (48 percent) and inflation (47 percent).

Among Class E, the most urgent national concerns are workers’ pay (48 percent), inflation (47 percent) and poverty (37 percent).

The least often mentioned urgent national concerns across geographic areas and socioeconomic classes are territorial integrity (five percent to eight percent and six percent to seven percent, respectively), Charter change (two percent to five percent and four percent to six percent, respectively) and ter-

rorism (three percent to four percent and three percent, respectively).

In addition, less than one in 10 of those in Class E (eight percent) considered rapid population growth as an urgent national concern.

“During the period June to September 2015, there are no significant changes in public opinion concerning urgent national concerns,” Pulse Asia said.

The increase in the level of concern about the need to fight criminality (5 percentage points) is considered marginal in light of the survey’s overall error margin, it said.

Areas of strength Meanwhile, out of 11 issues rated, the administration obtained only one majority approval rating in September – protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) at 51 percent.

Approval is the plurality sentiment regarding the current dispensation’s work in the areas of promoting peace (46 percent), fighting crime (44 percent), defending the country’s

territorial integrity (43 percent) and protecting the environment (43 percent).

Nearly the same percentages of Filipinos either approve of or are ambivalent regarding the administration’s initiatives to enforce the rule of law (39 percent versus 37 percent) and to create more jobs (37 percent versus 33 percent).

The Aquino administration scored almost the same approval and disapproval ratings with regard to fighting corruption in government (39 percent versus 36 percent) and increasing workers’ pay (33 percent versus 37 percent).

For Malacañang, the latest Pulse Asia survey showing an improved approval from the citizenry regarding government efforts to address key issues on upholding the rights of OFWs, promoting peace, curtailing crime, protecting territorial rights and nurturing the environment proves that programs implemented are on the right track. (With reports from Delon Porcalla)

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com

Debt Relief Atty. LAwrence yAng SOMETIMES debtors cannot decide whether they should seek debt relief through Chapter 7 wipe out of all dischargeable debts or personal reorganization through Chapter 13, or business reorganization though Chapter 11. All of these methods get rid of unwanted and burdensome debt while allowing debtors to keep most if not all of their assets. Thus, a fresh start in life without debt. The individual or the business enterprise becomes productive again because debts have been erased. Clients usually ask me what they should do in their situation. First of all, debtors should look at their financial problems objectively.

They should choose the solution that best serves their needs.

They should seek to protect their own interest and their own futures. They should not succumb to the pressure of differing opinions from friends or relatives, or the pressure of being ‘ashamed’ for instance. I had one client recently who decided to withdraw her Chapter 7 petition because her sister did not approve of it. She had a mountain of debt, which she had absolutely no way of paying unless she worked ten jobs and she was three months behind on her mortgage payments. In other words, objectively speaking, the right solution is Chapter 7 relief so she can get a fresh start without the burden of accumulated debt. Instead, she wanted to make her sister happy and chose not to protect her own interest and her own future. She was not thinking clearly. I asked her if her sister was going to give her $80K to pay her credit card debt? She said no, it’s just that her sister did not approve of her filing for Chapter 7. Realistically, where is the legal or moral sense of sister’s disapproval? And why should client subject herself to sister’s approval when it’s client who is being sued by creditors and it’s her wages being garnished, and it’s her house that is going to be foreclosed?

Eligible debtors should consider the following objective criteria to seek BK relief: • Based on debtor’s net income and expense analysis, debtor has no ability to pay off his or her unsecured debts. In other words, even if debtor’s intention is to pay off debt, realistically speaking, debtor cannot pay off those debts over a reasonable period of time. This means that debtor will be locked in permanent indebtedness, being a debt slave forever. So, it

Barrister’s Corner Atty. Kenneth UrsUA reyes BENEFICIARY spouse of marriage based immigrant petition’s where the marriage was less than 2 years old at the time of the immigrant visa or status was approved are issued a 2 year conditional green card. In order for these immigrants to obtain their permanent green card, the immigrant has to either file a joint petition to remove the conditional permanent residence before the end of the 2 years or file a waiver.

What immigration petition and applications can a conditional permanent resident file? Can a conditional permanent resident file an immigrant petition for a qualifying relative? Other than the requirement to file a joint petition or a waiver, a conditional

Community Journal

Who should seek bankruptcy relief is morally and logically correct that debtor should find a way of getting out of debt as soon as possible, by all legal means. And the most effective and legal way of getting rid of debt is through bankruptcy. Even very large companies resort to Chapter 11 when they can no longer pay debt. Mr. Trump’s businesses have filed for bankruptcy, several times, to get out under the burden of debt. He’s still running for president now. His businesses are leaner and profitable because of bankruptcy.

• Too much debt destroys the household’s ability to save and invest money to secure the family’s future. If debtor makes $5,000 net a month but has to pay out all of the $5,000 for his monthly overhead and to make minimum payments on his credit card debt of say, $30,000, debtor is living a hand to mouth existence. Debtor saves nothing and invests nothing year in and year out. By the time debtor realizes that he has worked for twenty years with nothing saved and invested, it will be too late because by that time, debtor will be pushing fifty or sixty. Most people save and invest money while in their twenties to forties.

Debtors who have too much debt are robbed of the ability to save and invest for decades.

Thus, an intelligent and serious person who has too much deb but wants to save and invest must immediately correct his debt situation or else he or she will get old poor.

• Minimum monthly payments do not reduce the principal owed.

If you make $5,000 a month but use $4,000 to pay your monthly overhead including mortgage, car, insurance etc payments but owe $40,000 of credit card debt, you will not be able to get rid of the $40,000 of debt even if you are current on the minimum card payments for twenty years. You need at least 3% of $40,000 or $1,200 a month to be current on all minimum monthly payments. Thus in one year, you would have paid $14,400 to your credit card masters in interest payments only, no principal.

In three years, you would have paid $43,200 in interest payments but you would still owe $40,000 of principal. This is certainly a good deal for the credit card companies. But it is obviously a bad deal for your family.

So open your eyes and be courageous for your own family’s sake. When they garnish your bank accounts and your wages to exact payment, your plea for mercy that you have paid them so much over the years, will fall

on deaf ears. Why even subject your family to this possibility in the future? They will call you early in the morning and late at night, ten times a day, even at your place of work, and they will even call up your mother in law to collect their pound of your flesh when you don’t pay them on time. Why subject your family to this kind of disrespectful treatment?

• Most debtors keep their houses, cars and other assets anyway. The beauty of BK relief is that debtors keep all if not most of their assets while being able to wipe out unwanted debts.

Objectively speaking, this is a very good and an appropriate solution for debtor because he gets a fresh start with no debt while keeping all of his assets. I mean, why should Walt Disney file for Chapter 7 when his business failed the first time if bankruptcy was not good for him? Even Orange County filed for Chapter 11 when it had problems with pension liabilities, as did certain Catholic dioceses file for Chapter 11 when errant priests created hundreds of millions of molestation liabilities?

Bankruptcy is actually a defensive move that the debtor undertakes to “protect” himself and his family from creditors who want everything that they can get from them, including their integrity and humanity.

• Reestablishment of credit can start immediately. Debtors are able to begin reestablishing credit after bankruptcy. Yes, you will receive new credit cards within a few months after obtaining your discharge. Sounds ridiculous but its true. The reason is that debtors who have a bankruptcy no longer have debt, and they can’t file for bankruptcy for another 8 years so they are actually very good credit risks.

They still have good income, will not have any debt, and are now more careful in their financial affairs. In fact, BK filers qualify to buy houses again on the second year after BK filing. Buying a new car is also no problem as long is the discharge has already been obtained.

“The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.”

– Psalm 147:11 *** Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in bankruptcy, business, real estate and civil litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California.

Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S. Fremont Ave, Mailstop 58, Building A-1 Suite 1125, Alhambra, CA 91803.

(Advertising Supplement)

Can a conditional greencard holder file an immigrant petition? permanent resident does not affect any aspect of the immigrant’s immigration status. The conditional permanent resident may file an immigrant petition for any qualifying relatives such as family based second preference as any permanent residents. 8 CFR 216.1. 8 CFR 216.1 provides …”

Unless otherwise specified, the rights, privileges, responsibilities, and duties which apply to all other lawful permanent residents apply equally to conditional permanent residents, including but not limited to the right to apply for naturalization (if otherwise eligible), the right to file petitions on behalf of qualifying relatives, the privilege of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant in accordance with the immigration laws, such status

not having changed;…” However there is one exception to a conditional permanent resident’s ability to petition, the conditional immigrant cannot petition for another spouse in the second preference within five years of first immigrating to the US as a conditional permanent resident unless the first marriage was terminated by death of the other spouse or the petitioner shows the USCIS that the earlier marriage which was the basis of the conditional green card was not a sham. This rule applies even after the immigrant’s condition has been removed.

In addition to filing immigrant petition, a conditional immigrant may also apply for naturalization three years from the date the im-

u PAGE B4

Infra, investment constraints hinder…

PAGE B1 t

ernment must take another look at the revenue picture, collection levels, and increasing the country’s tax base.

The World Bank economist also cautioned the Philippines and the rest of emerging Asia in being too eager in giving tax incentives to new investments.

The World Bank had always maintained tax incentives should benefit the poorer segment of a nation.

Nevertheless, the country’s economic growth remains fairly robust although slower than expected.

Due to slowdown in public investments, the World Bank said Philippine economic growth would be in the vicinity of 5.8 percent in 2015, picking up to 6.5 percent in 2016 and six percent in 2017.

Meanwhile, Shetty said the World Bank forecasts economic growth in the East Asia region would be slightly moderate this year until 2017. For China, it would also slow to 6.7 percent

in 2016.

Among the Asean nations, Vietnam and the Philippines would show relative robust growth while Thailand is expected to move in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, Karl Kendrick Chua, senior country (Philippines) economist of the World Bank, said the second half economic performance would outdo the first semester as government ramp ups spending.

Weak public spending especially in infrastructure was one of reasons for the slower 5.3 percent growth in the January to June period.

Chua said the major risk factor is the El Nino weather phenomenon.

“A stronger El Nino is a major risk factor as this could hurt agriculture severely, much like the 1983 and 1998 episodes,” he said.

Chua said that the key response to El Nino in the immediate term is to ensure adequate food stock, especially through timely importation of rice and other key food

items. “In the medium term, reforms in food policy and disaster-proofing infrastructure are essential.”

In response to the tax issues, the economist made several recommendations, including lowering the top marginal income tax to 25 percent.

He said that the World Bank recommendations intend to lower the rate while broadening the tax base.

Another recommendation is to rationalize tax incentives by making them more targeted, transparent, performance-based, and temporary, including the timely release of a tax expenditure statement, which enumerates all existing and proposed tax incentives and who benefits from them.

Chua also mentioned a reduction in the gap between the regular and special corporate income tax rates, and simplification of the tax regime for micro and small enterprises by moving to a single tax on turnover, for example, six percent in lieu of all other taxes. n

LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • OCTOBER 7-9, 2015

Calendar of Events across

B

America

ADVERTISE YOUR EVENTS! PRE-EVENT AND POST-EVENT GO DEEPER. GO WIDER. LET THE WORLD KNOW. CALL ASIAN JOURNAL: (818) 502-0651 DISPLAY AD SIZES AT SPECIAL RATES FOR NON-PROFIT GROUPS O C TO B E R 1 0

LA Builder Lions Club 25th Anniversary The Los Angeles Builder Lions Club will celebrate their 25th Anniversary and Annual Outstanding Parents Night on October 10, 2015 at the Almansor Court banquet hall (700 S Almansor St, Alhambra, CA 91801). Music will be provided by The Midnight Motion Band.

For further questions, please call Lion Bill Menor (323) 465-0613, Lion Yoli Ramo (213) 3051332, chairpersons or Lion Tita James, co-chair at (818) 203-2325.

O C TO B E R 1 5 -1 8

Legionarios del Trabajo in America Triennial Convention The Legionarios del Trabajo in America, Inc. will hold its 18th Triennial Convention, October 15-18, 2015, at the Clarion Inn and Suites in Stockton, CA (4219 Waterloo Rd, Stockton, CA 95215). For more information, please contact Cora Gines at (209) 957-0217 / (209) 4065438, or Elena Gabriel at (209) 598-1436.

O C TO B E R 1 6 -1 8

CANA in Galilee Couples Retreat The CANA Marriage Renewal Movement will have their 59th couples retreat at the Holiday Inn & Suites, Fullerton, CA (2932 Nutwood Ave Fullerton, CA 92831) on Oct. 16-18. It is a 3-day experience designed to revitalize the interpersonal growth of the couple towards each other and God. Through a particular method of communication and dialogue, they discover their “coupleness” and couple power in a new way. The retreat starts on Friday evening with registration and orientation at 6 pm, and ends with the celebration of Eucharist on Sunday evening. We request a donation of $300 per couple to cover hotel accommodations, meals and snacks. No one is refused the opportunity to attend the retreat because of lack of funds, but prior arrangements must be made. Registration is still open, please contact Alain or Cecile Graziani (818 421-6505), email cnagraziani@charter.net, or St Lorenzo Ruiz Parish Office (909) 595-9545.

O C TO B E R 1 7

UNITED LAB-USA 32nd Anniversary The UNITED LAB-USA will celebrate their 32nd Anniversary on Saturday, October 17, 2015 at Royal Garden in Cerritos. The association is headed by Rey Guieb, President. Music will be provided by The Midnight Motion Band. For other questions, please call Felix Belen, outgoing president at (626) 839-0736.

UERMMMC - Medical Alumni Association Inaugural Ball The University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center - Medical Alumni Association of Southern California (UERMMMC - MAASC ), a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation which participates in many humanitarian projects and medical missions to barangays in the Philippines, will hold its Inaugural Ball and Dinner=Dance on October 17, 2015 at the Manhattan Beach Marriott (1400 Parkview Avenue; Manhattan Beach, CA 90266). Proceeds from the event will benefit underserved areas and families in Lucena, Quezon and District 2 of Pampanga (Lubao, Sasmuan, Guagua, Floridablanca) who are in need of medical and surgical care. The theme of the Inaugural Ball will be “A Black and White Event.” The evening starts at 6:00pm. Tickets are $90 per person and are tax deductible; VIP packages ranging from $500 and up are also available. For more information, please call Dr. Teri Pastor at 310-707-8480, Gloria Legaspi at 951-496-0536 and Lucy Babaran at 818-395-9348. We thank our guests and sponsors for their generous support!

O C TO B E R 24

Mandacal 26th Anniversary Dinner-Dance MANDACAL (Mandaluyong Civic Group of Southern California) would like to invite you to attend its 26th Anniversary Dinner Dance on Saturday, October 24, 2015 at the Embassy Suites Glendale (800 North Central Ave. Glendale, CA 91203). The event is a sit down dinner with live music by the Hill Tops Band #1, providing your favorite dance music from 5pm until midnight. There will be raffle prizes and many fabulous door prizes to be given away. Come enjoy a night of great food, excellent music, and pure fun with your family and friends! Tickets are $55 each. For tickets and information, please call: Becky 818-572-3261, Espee 626-3833621, or Julie 858-337-9224.

Bohol Children Bamboo Ensemble in Concert Presented by Bible Christian Fellowship Church, the one-of-a-kind Bohol Children Bamboo Ensemble, hailing from Alicia, in Bohol province, will perform at various locations during their first-ever tour in the US. 23 young performers from Katipunan Elementary School and the Bohol community will perform using traditional bamboo instruments, including a ukulele, drums, flutes, and bass. There will also be special guests, inspiring music, and traditional dances of the Philippines. For many of these young performers, it is their first time to visit the US, and they are eager to share their talents with the community. The show on Saturday, Oct. 24 will take place at Rosemont Elementary School Auditorium (421 Rosemont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90026) at 6:30pm; on Saturday, Nov. 7 at Bible Christian Fellowship Church (456 Rosemont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90026) at 6:30pm; and on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA - 3200 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90026) at 6:30pm. Light refreshments will be served. Ticket prices vary from $10, $25, and $50. For tickets and more information, please call 213-249-6672.

O C TO B E R 25 -27

Paco Catholic High School Class of 1964 Reunion sa Amerika” at the Gold Coast Casino & Hotel (4000 Flamingo Rd. Las Vegas, NV 89103) in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 25-27, 2015. Reminisce with your schoolmates from 50+ years ago and re-live memorable high school days! Reconnect with your old friends and make some new ones! This is the first reunion gathering in the US since our 50th grand reunion. For more information, please contact: Dan Hidalgo - danielh616@hotmail.com; tel. (914) 3100864 / (914) 740-7028. Ester Tadeo Celestino - cesarucelestino@yahoo.com; tel. (201) 4330727/ (551) 574-8511. Minda Cuario Cameron - meandatwo@aol.com; tel. (813) 633-5642. Ed Bondoc - bondoced@yahoo.com; tel. (415) 342-9877. Gertrudes “Nette” Descallar Collyer - mycolly@roadrunner.com; tel. (818) 767-8175.

N OV E M B E R 1 -3

Calapan Central High School Reunion Please save the date for the 60th anniversary year of Calapan Central School in Oriental Mindoro.

Where: Oakland, CA When: November 1-3, 2015.

Contact: Luz Yu (luz_yu@yahoo.com)

N OV E M B E R 7

FPAC 24 - “Balik tanaw, Pananaw bukas” Save the date! The 24th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (FPAC) will be celebrated on Saturday, November 7, 2015 at El Pueblo de Los Angeles (125 Paseo De La Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012). and will feature contemporary and traditional Filipino food, music, dance, crafts and culture. FPAC is the longest-running Filipino cultural celebration in Southern California. This year’s theme for the City of Los Angeles’ Filipino American Event is “Balik tanaw, Pananaw bukas” a Tagalog phrase meaning “looking backward, looking forward, and celebrates the rich experiences of being Filipino American. As a community we honor the culture paved by our ancestors, and move forward with a grateful understanding of our Filipino American history. This is the spirit that keeps FPAC going. Please check www.filmarts.org for more event updates. For Sponsorship Inquiries please contact us at 213-380-3722; or info@ filamarts.org. For exhibitor (food and business) information, contact John Swing at jswing@ esipa.org. #FPAC24

If you have an upcoming event and would like us to post it, please email us the details at info@asianjournalinc.com or calendar@asianjournalinc.com

B OCTOBER 7-9, 2015 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL

Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond Monette AdevA MAglAyA (Part 2 of 3)

VIGAN has pedigree. And tons of character. It was founded 438 years ago in 1572, a half century after Magellan first stumbled onto our shores and made the fatal mistake of messing with the feisty Lapulapu. But I digress and apologize for sounding flippant about history.

Vigan’s name is derived from “bigaa”, a tuberous root plant related to the edible “gabi” with big, bright green fronds common to the place. Vigan is the third Spanish city to be built in the Philippines, after the first one in Cebu and the second, in what is now Manila. Once in Vigan, you can take a calesa just for the experience but a hale and hearty visitor equal to the task, can do a walkabout in comfy sandals, shorts and T-shirt, an anahaw fan, a bottle of water, a camera, a cellphone and a wide-brimmed hat. Nearly all the points of interest, are within walking distance of each other: the St. Paul’s Metropolitan Cathedral; Plaza Salcedo; the Burgos House—the best by far in the region—which was also called the Ayala Museum at one point for the family’s role in its preservation; the Archbishop’s Palace; the Crisologo Museum; Plaza Burgos, Syquia Mansion among others.

But the core of a visit to Vigan must be focused on the Kamestizoan district, also known as Heritage Village, along Calle Crisologo where one will find the few remaining ancestral houses on a street showing the classic lines of Spanish architecture. On the street level are shops and persuasive sellers peddling souvenirs, local crafts and antiques.

Of the goods available, the cotton Ilocano blankets locally woven in simple plaid patterns and in varying thread counts and quality deserve some attention. They are not as collectible as the hand-made, colorful Amish quilts that command top dollar but these are blankets that are meant to be used to give one a warm, fuzzy feeling, not unlike Linus’ security blanket, on a hot summer’s day or blustery winter’s night. These pure organic cotton blankets woven the

Community Journal

http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797

Bagnet and Vigan People and Events empanada, anyone? Announcing... the 24th Annual Festival “Lay out all your clothes and all your money.

Then take half the clothes and twice the money.”

— Susan Butler Anderson

old fashioned way is breathable fabric that loses its form and sheen when washed but sure feels wonderful on the skin after repeated uses. Perhaps only India and other cotton-growing countries have something similar. Burnay pottery in natural or stained earth tone colors has primitive appeal and is perfect for homes and gardens but quite cumbersome to lug around if you’re traveling light. Leave them for the locals instead.

Find delight in Ilocano cuisine. Like the people in the region, there is nothing bland or tentative about it. It either grabs that part of the brain that controls your taste buds or not at all.

A trip to Vigan is not complete without tasting its famous langgonisa, tiny bite-sized pork links with distinctive vinegar, garlicky taste that puts the kielbasa in the dust.

Then there is delicious bagnet, Ilocano chicharon, deep fried pork meat, best eaten with garlic rice, big red tomatoes with pure Sukang Iloko as dipping sauce while other food fanciers use freshly cooked bagnet crushed and sprinkled generously on top of any pancit recipe “to kick it up a notch”, as Emeril would say; chichacorn for snacking, tastes very much like the commercial Boy Bawang brand; crunchy empanada—Vigan style—is not the regular empanada you know and scrumptious okoy prepared fresh and deep fried in black woks in the many tiny food stalls in Plaza Burgos is something you have to check out while sitting on the park benches as you chow down on your order.

You pretend to be oblivious of the townspeople openly gazing at you with wide-eyed curiosity while you fumble in your purse for some chump change, feeling guilty about panhandlers with babies in their arms asking for money or food.

Counterbalance all that cholesterol by dipping everything dripping in fat that you put in your mouth in genuine Sukang Iloko much like Drano’s action to clogged plumbing. Or chase

it down with jasmine or green tea as the Chinese do after a 10-course lauriat banquet. For added measure, be sure to sweat out all those nasty cloggers with aerobics exercise. If not, eat in moderation following the RULE OF PALM, which the dietary experts say, is to eat only what you can fit in the palm of one hand.

Sigh …

You can dine alfresco on a moonlit night at Café Leona.

The café is named after Leona Florentino, the creative dame who lived centuries ahead of her time. She has the distinction of being a noted poetess, the product of an educated, illustrious family headed by Isabelo delos Reyes, with a verifiable claim to being a distant relative of Jose Rizal. Her statue with a sprig of laurel on her head and garbed in native “saya” sits pensively in front of Max’s Restaurant.

The famous fried chicken restaurant which has gone global following the hordes of Filipinos who have left the country for greener pastures, is housed in a modern, stylized version of a Vigan House right down to the capiz windows—a deliberate effort to blend in with the Vigan character— but more than likely, in compliance with a mandated city ordinance. For those leery of leaving the tech world for protracted periods of time, it is comforting to know that Max’s Vigan is a wi-fi zone, combining the best of the old and new worlds.

Of course, you can find the omnipresent MacDonald’s, Jollibee’s, Greenwich Pizza and a few well-known restaurant chain branches that jockey for position and market share in Vigan. Many visitors with less than adventurous taste buds and a hankering for what’s safe and familiar, can simply go to these restaurants for predictable, affordable fastfood fare and come out happy. (To be continued) *** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette.maglaya@ asianjournalinc.com

of Philippine Arts and Culture (FPAC)

WHAT: The 24th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture WHEN: Saturday, November 7, 2015, 10am - 6pm WHERE: El Pueblo, 125 Paseo De La Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 628-1274 The 24th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (FPAC) will be celebrated on Saturday, November 7, 2015 at El Pueblo de Los Angeles and will feature contemporary and traditional Filipino food, music, dance, crafts and culture. The festival, the City of Los Angeles’ Filipino American Event, is the longest-running Filipino cultural celebration in Southern California.

This year’s theme for the City of Los Angeles’ Filipino American Event is “Balik tanaw, Pananaw bukas” a Tagalog phrase meaning “looking backward, looking forward.” While rooted in the native tongue of the motherland, this year’s theme celebrates the rich experiences of being Filipino American. As a community

we honor the culture paved by our ancestors, and move forward with a grateful understanding of our Filipino American history.

This is the spirit that keeps FPAC going, largely sustained by the dedicated audiences that return to the fest every year.

Check www.filmarts.org for more event updates.

For Sponsorship Inquiries contact us at 213-380-3722. or emai l info[at]filamarts[dot]org For exhibitor (food and business) information, contact John Swing at jswing[at]esipa[dot]org http://www.filamarts.org/ @FilAmArtsLA #FPAC24 #FPAC2015 #OnPilipinoTime About Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture (FPAC): The Annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (FPAC) was first conceptualized in 1990 as part of the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department’s Festivals Program, an arts program designed to address the multicultural constituency of the

city.

Organized by about 100 artists and community leaders, the first FPAC took place at Los Angeles City College on Mother’s Day, May 14, 1992, where 3,000 participants braved the aftermath of the L.A. riots that occurred the week before. Since then, FPAC has only grown stronger and bigger, moving to Cabrillo Beach in 1994, then to Pt. Fermin Park in 2001. This year FPAC will take place at the official birthplace of the City of Los Angeles where Filipino Americans can trace their heritage in the city to its founding.

About Fil-Am Arts: Embracing the value of KAPWA (shared being), the Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture’s (also known as FilAm ARTS) mission is to facilitate community synergy and transformation by advancing the arts and diverse cultural heritage of Filipinos through arts services, presentation, and education. n

UERMMMC - Medical Alumni Association Inaugural Ball THE University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center - Medical Alumni Association of Southern California (UERMMMC - MAASC ), a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation which participates in many humanitarian projects and medical missions to barangays in the Philippines, will hold its Inaugural Ball and Dinner-Dance on October 17, 2015 at the Manhattan Beach Marriott (1400 Parkview Avenue; Manhattan Beach, CA

90266).

Proceeds from the event will benefit underserved areas and families in Lucena, Quezon and District 2 of Pampanga (Lubao, Sasmuan, Guagua, Floridablanca) who are in need of medical and surgical care. The theme of the Inaugural Ball will be “A Black and White Event.”

The evening starts at 6:00pm.

Tickets are $90 per person and are tax deductible; VIP packages ranging from $500 and up are

Can a conditional…

PAGE B3 t

migrant received the conditional permanent residence. A conditional immigrant may apply for naturalization even if the I-751 joint petition is pending. However, the naturalization application cannot be approved before the joint petition is approved. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He has extensive

CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, P.C. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kureyeslaw@gmail.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com.

***

Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information.

This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, P.C. This article is not a solicitation.

(Advertising Supplement)

also available.

For more information, please call Dr. Teri Pastor at 310-7078480, Gloria Legaspi at 951-4960536 and Lucy Babaran at 818395-9348. We thank our guests and sponsors for their generous support! n

LA Builder Lions Club 25th Anniversary THE Los Angeles Builder Lions Club will celebrate their 25th Anniversary and Annual Outstanding Parents Night on October 10, 2015 at the Almansor Court banquet hall (700 S Almansor St, Alhambra, CA 91801).

Music will be provided by The Midnight Motion Band.

For further questions, please call Lion Bill Menor (323) 4650613, Lion Yoli Ramo (213) 3051332, chairpersons or Lion Tita James, co-chair at (818) 2032325. n

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com

LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • OCTOBER 7-9, 2015

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People and Events Filipino-American History Month (FAHM) celebrated in the SouthBay LA area

FOR the fifth consecutive year in a row, the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce – SouthBay Los Angeles Area (FACCSLAA) will be collaborated with the SouthBay Pavilion Mall in hosting the Maxi Award winning Filipino-American History Month (FAHM) in the SouthBay LA Area on Saturday, October 3rd.

FAHM, alternatively known by some as the Filipino American Heritage Month, is celebrated in the United States during the month of October to commemorate the landing of the first Filipinos in the Continental United States. This happened during the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade era, when the Manila Galleon Nuestra Senora de Esperanza, commanded by Pedro de Unamuno and manned by Luzon Indios, landed in Central California’s Morro Bay back in Oct. 18, 1587.

This year, #CarsonFilAmMonth is being presented in association with Carson Adult Day Healthcare Center, New York Life, Bayani Campaign, Bakit-

EMPLOYMENT

A huge “Thank You!” to all the organizers, performers, vendors, awardees, and participants who helped to ensure the success of the 5th annual #CarsonFilAmMonth that our Chamber of Commerce hosted this past Saturday at the SouthBay Pavilion Mall in celebration of Filipino American History Month (FAHM)

Why.com, FJ’s Events, Docdocil Brothers Photography, Motion Plus Aquatic & Therapy Center, Law Offices of Jaime G. Monteclaro, Rose Hills Memorial Park, USANA, and YFSC, through their respective affiliation with the Chamber of Commerce.

This fun and family friendly event was emceed by the lovely and talented GG Starr, and will feature a wonderful lineup of talented performers including Voices of Guardian Angels singers Danielle & Dominique Adapon, “Ang Nagkahiusang

EMPLOYMENT

pundok sa mga Sugbuanon,” Top Rated singer Malou Toler, Zumba by Sweeney, FilAms Got Talent winner Sara Mislang, Regina Nufable, International Martial Arts & Boxing (IMB) Academy, Singer and Composer Mon Concepcion, and the Music and Magic of Cecile & Mighty Show! Additionally, Attorney Jaime Monteclaro provided free consultations on immigration matters, personal injuries, etc.,

and Dr. Henrick Macalintal, DPT provided free physical therapy consultation and cold laser treatment. This year’s Community Leadership Awardee was Dr. Clarence Monteclaro, MD, MBA, who was recognized for the work that he’s doing with the youth in the community.

The vendors included California Credit Union, Heartland Payment Systems, Solarvast, Rose Hills Memorial Park, Law

EMPLOYMENT

FOR SALE

offices of Attorney Jaime Monteclaro, Carson Adult Daycare and Health Center, Rocky Pavone - World Financial Group, USANA, Regal Corporation-Janice Jimenez, Mishawn Smith, Motion Aquatics Therapy, New York Life, Forest Lawn, YFSCPIA/Bayani Campaign, California Mentor, Pommerenck Chiropractic & Wellness Clinic, Arbonne Cosmetics, and CSULB Health Fair. n

B OCTOBER 7-9, 2015 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797

The Asian Journal

MDWK

Wednesday, OctOber 7, 2015

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cover story The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - October 7, 2015

Celebrating October as Filipino-American History Month

by AJPress THE Filipino-American communities in the United States gather together twice a year to celebrate history and heritage – first in June to commemorate Philippine independence and again in October to celebrate Filipino American History Month.

History books taught us that the Philippines declared independence from Spain in June 12, 1898 but not a lot of people know why the Fil-Am communities celebrate history month every October.

Well, this is due to the first recorded presence of Filipinos in the United States. It was October 18, 1587 when the “Luzones Indios” came ashore from the

Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Esperanza and landed at what is now Morro Bay, California.

The late Dr. Fred Cordova, who along with his wife Dorothy founded Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), first introduced October as Filipino American History Month in 1992 with a resolution from the FANHS National Board of Trustees.

“The Cordovas wanted to commemorate Filipino-American history and they wanted the contributions of the FilipinoAmerican community to the United States be highlighted,” said Dr. Kevin Nadal, FANHS National Trustee. “Somewhere,

President Barack Obama’s statement on Filipino American History Month

The “Slut,” a coddled egg dish

people started mistaking it as Heritage Month and people started to make it about the Philippines – which is great, but the month is really meant to be about Filipino American history.”

Celebrating Filipino American History Month In November of 2009, both the United States House of Representatives and Senate passed laws – House Resolution 780 and Senate Resolution 298, respectively — officially recognizing October as Filipino American History Month in the United States.

The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) and the White House Office of Public Engagement (OPE) hosted a Celebration of Filipino American History Month (FAHM) on Friday, Oct. 2 at the White House.

The three-hour event, which was streamed live, featured discussions from administration officials and prominent Filipino-American leaders and performances by distinguished Filipino-American artists.

“Events like these show the power and resolve of the Filipino,” Jason Tengco, deputy director of the WHIAAPI said, kicking off the celebration.

It was the first time the occasion was celebrated in the White House, let alone recognized by a US president.

In a letter that was read aloud at the celebration, President Barack Obama recognized the “struggles and victories of the many Filipino Americans who have helped shape our Nation.” Among them: the Filipinos who fought in World War II and the farm workers in Delano.

“Generations of Filipino Americans have lent their unique voices to the vibrant

diversity of origins, cultures, and communities that make America what it is. Their legacy speaks to the extraordinary spirit of common purpose — of unity forged through the ideals that bind us together as one people — that has always been central to our Nation,” the letter continued.

FANHS announced that the theme of this year’s celebration would be “1965: Tipping Point for the Filipino American Community” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of three momentous events, the organization’s national president Mel Orpilla said.

In 1965, the Immigration and Nationality Act was passed and Filipino farm workers (Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz and many more manongs) lead the Delano Grape Strike. Additionally, at that time, Filipino American men were either enlisting in the military or fighting in the Vietnam War. The highest-ranking Filipino American in the Obama administration, Nani Coloretti, delivered a keynote speech in which she spoke of how her family came to Maui from the Philippines to work with sugar cane workers.

“I’m really happy to take the time to celebrate my roots,” Coloretti said. “Those who forget where they come from will never reach their destination.”

Last year, she was nominated by Obama and confirmed by the Senate as deputy security of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, a position that requires her to work to end homelessness, secure access to quality, affordable housing and improving businesses within communities.

Coloretti noted that Obama has appointed twice as many Asian Americans to leadership positions than any other adminContinued on Page 3

The lunchtime crowd at Eggslut

Photo courtesy of Gail Prado

The Delano Grape Strike of 1965

This year, the community is also commemorating a couple of significant milestones in the Filipino American history – the 50th anniversary of the immigration Act of 1965 and the 50th anniversary of the grape strike in Delano, California.

The immigration and Naturalization Act (iNA) of 1965 was signed

by President Lynden B. Johnson on October 3, 1965. it dramatically changed the demographic landscape of America. The law abolished the National Origins Quota system; made family-based immigration the basis for Us immigration policy; and established a preference system for people with special occupational skills to become permanent residents.

The Philippines, after Mexico, has been the largest beneficiary of the liberalized immigration law. According to Us Census and homeland security sources: in 2008 there were in the Us approximately 1.7 million foreign born Filipinos; and approximately 1.4 million native born Filipinos, most who were the children or grandchildren of one or both parents who arrived after 1965.

50 years ago today, elderly Filipino men working in grape fields in Delano, California decided to go on strike to fight for better wages and working conditions. That courageous decision would have effects far beyond the grape fields. in New York, the 50th anniversary of the Delano Grape strike of 1965 will be celebrated with a conference that will be held on October 24 at the san Damiano hall of the Church of st. Francis of Assisi in midtown Manhattan. The conference aims to celebrate the 1965 strike as a victory of the migrant workers’ solidarity. This was when agricultural workers from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds were waging their own battle in the farmlands of California and about the same time when the Civil Rights Movement was sweeping through America. in 1965, grape workers in Delano – mostly Filipinos and Mexicans – joined forces and went on strike to demand better wages and better working conditions. After five years, grape growers agreed to sign union contracts, granting workers better pay, benefits, and protections.

Al Rojas and Roger Gadiano, two veterans of the strike, will be the main speakers of the conference. Dr. Albert Bacdayan, former chairman of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kentucky has done an extensive research on the strike and will give an overview of this historic event.

Current leaders of various migrant workers’ groups will also speak out and provide an overview of the plight of migrant workers today.

features

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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - October 7, 2015

The Filharmonic at the White House for the Celebration of Filipino American History Month

Photo from The Filharmonic’s Twitter

Celebrating October as...

From Page 2

istration and has made advances that benefit the lives of Filipino americans, such as immigration programs, the affordable Care act and recognizing the valor of Filipino nationals who fought in WWII and the Vietnam War. Leon Rodriguez, director of the us Citizenship and Immigration services (usCIs), estimated that 7,000 Filipino americans have benefited from the Deferred action on Childhood arrivals (DaCa) program.

However, close to 26,000 are still eligible to take advantage of the opportunity.

Fil-Am trailblazers During a panel session, billy Dec, a member of the President’s advisory Commission on asian americans and Pacific Islanders, stressed the importance of “celebrating now, the future and how we got here.” among the panelists were White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford, apl.de.ap of the black Eyed Peas, singer Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, transgender model and advocate Geena Rocero, comedian Jo koy and Pixar animator and “Inside Out” co-director Ronnie del Carmen.

“as the first female minority executive chef of the White House, it’s not only a great challenge for me, but also an opportunity to share my roots, and to share everyone else’s roots, because I have to be inclusive to everyone,” said Comerford, who started working in the White House in 2005.

Though she couldn’t disclose what type of food she cooks the president, she said Obama is open to different cuisines and “loves being surprised.”

For apl.de.ap, Geena Rocero, Cassie and Jo koy, the Filipino american community’s willingness to encourage and publicly support one another is powerful and goes a long way, especially since there are only a handful of successful Fil-ams in their respective fields. “as a community we need to collaborate, reach out, and not be ashamed to represent our culture,” apl said.

“When I first started doing standup, I told the story of my mom. People identify with that, those characteristics [and] my mom does that to me too…[In] telling relatable stories during standup, people identify with

them,” Jo koy added.

Del Carmen shared that it’s been a long journey from being in the Philippines to working with top Disney executives.

With a childhood dream to become an animator, which wasn’t supported by his father, del Carmen grew up hiding his drawings and asking his parents if they could go to Disneyland.

Today, del Carmen’s illustrious resume includes, being codirector of “Inside Out” and an animator on movies like, “Finding Nemo”, “Wall-E” and “up”.

He is also part of “PixNoys,” a group of Filipinos who work at Pixar. as for Filipino representation in a Disney/Pixar movie, del Carmen said, “a story about a Filipino american or a transgender character... I don’t think we’re that far behind.” community events Various states, counties and cities in the us have since followed suit and have established proclamations and resolutions declaring observance of Filipino american History Month in their regions.

Throughout the month of Continued on Page 5

Wagyu Beef Wrapped Onigiri by

Hakubaku’s Mochi Mugi is the number one barley brand in Japan*. It pairs well with many kinds of food, and one easy way you can enjoy it is by simply adding it to rice before cooking. Did you know that barley contains four times

Hakubaku MocHi Mugi (barley rice) as much fiber as brown rice**?

That is twenty-five times more than white rice! barley also contains both insoluble and soluble fiber, which work together to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and help improve your overall

health. Hakubaku’s Mochi Mugi is a wonderful complement to Wagyu beef, as you will see in the recipe provided. Try Wagyu beef wrapped onigiri using delicious Mochi Mugi barley for a quick and easy meal!

IngredIents: • 3 cups rice • 1 packet Hakubaku Mochi Mugi • 4 servings of thinly sliced wagyu beef for sukiyaki • Choice of seasonings (salt, pepper, and/or soy sauce) • 1 pk shiso leaf for garnish (optional)

recIpe: 1. Prepare rice according to package.

2. before setting rice to cook, add one packet of Mochi Mugi and an additional ½ cup of water.

Let cook and mix well. *Note: be sure to add an additional ½ cup of water for every packet of Mochi Mugi used.

3. Roll the rice mixture into bite-sized rice balls.

4. Wrap each rice ball with thinly sliced Wagyu beef. Depending on the size of the rice ball, you may use one or two pieces of beef.

5. Pan fry the wrapped rice balls until the beef turns brown.

6. season the rice balls with your choice of salt, pepper, and/or soy sauce.

7. Place each rice ball on a shiso leaf and serve! * Source: Intage, Inc. - SRI Data 2015 ** Japanese Food Composition Database 2010 *Advertising Supplement

4

features

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - October 7, 2015

OPM icon Odette Quesada performs on Oct 11 Fil-Am singers to join the hitmaker at the Aratani Theatre on Sunday at 6pm

Music lovers are in for a treat when singer/songwriter Odette Quesada returns to the stage with her hit songs “Friend of Mine”, “Don’t Know What To Do”, “A Long, Long Time Ago”, “i Need You Back” and many more. “OPM Then and Now” on October 11 will be a sunday evening filled with nostalgia and G Tongi, host of TV show “Kababayan fresh interpretations from the Today” will sing a Quesada hit show’s Filipino-American cast.

Pop tenor Erwin Andaya and vocalist Annie Nepomuceno, who have graced Los Angeles’ prestigious stages shall interpret Quesada favorites “Give Me A chance” and “You’re My Home.” Popular TV host G Tongi is glad to be back at the Aratani Theatre, when several years ago OPM hitmaker Odette Quesada she performed as an actress in Vocalist/producer Annie Nepomuceno “The Vagina Monologues”. This time, Tongi shall sing a certified Quesada hit on the Aratani stage. cellist extraordinaire Matthew John, who only recently got acquainted with Quesada’s music, shall bring his own brand of virtuoso to the concert. The Fil-Am prodigy had a quick apCellist extraordinaire Matthew John Pop tenor Erwin Andaya preciation for Quesada’s music.

Being that most of Quesada’s cultural center, 244 south san her own album releases, as well songs are in English, the concert as those popularized by Kuh Pedro street, (between 2md shall be enjoyable for multiLedesma, Ric segreto, Raymond and 3rd streets) Los Angeles, generational Filipino families to cA 90012. The show starts at Lauchengco, and Ariel Rivera. enjoy.

6pm on a sunday, October 11.

A 4-piece band with guest Quesada’s songs have won The event benefits the sax player Amin Baghallian shall many competitions, like the scholarship Fund of the uP bring to life the hits from iconic Metro Manila Popular Music Fes- songwriter’s illustrious career.

Alumni of Greater Los Angetival, but what is more important This concert is produced by les (uPAAGLA) and ABs-cBN is that her songs won the hearts Foundation international.

Philippine Patrons of the Arts of music lovers. Her enduring Valuable support is provided in cooperation with Music Arts songs remain on the playlist of

by Asian Journal, Get Assured Events which strives to present Baby Boomers and Generation inc., VisionQwest Accountancy quality events to the commuX-ers from the 80s-90s. Remakes nity, with the music, stories and Group, Dr. Benny Elepano DDs, and revivals have been recorded soulful renditions only a live The Law Offices of chris Naby Lea salonga, Rachel Alejanvarro, Teesignature, Wanderlust performance can give. dro, Jed Madela and Angeline Advance prices are in effect: creatives, Mosquera MultimeQuinto among others. dia, island Pacific supermarket, $80 ViP, $55, $40 and $30. At A renewed interest in Odette the door, on October 11, tickets LA Rose café, Leelin Bakery and Quesada’s songs was proven last will sell at the marked price of café, David’s salon Los Angeles, January 2015, when the singer/ Kalesa Grill, Waling-Waling by $100 ViP, $60, $45 and $35. call songwriter returned to the stage or text (818) 587-6123, or email Edgardo, JLao salon Rancho after a 20-year absence. The au- tickets@musicartsevents.com. cucamonga, World Finance dience at the sold-out show was Venue address is The Aratani Group, and The social Eagle. thrilled to hear songs culled from Theatre at the Japan America *Advertising Supplement

features 5 Regine will support husband Ogie if he decides to enter politics Celebrating October as...

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - October 7, 2015

by Joyce Jimenez Philstar.com

MANILA—Regine VelasquezAlcasid will give her full support to husband Ogie Alcasid if he changes his mind and decides to enter politics.

Recently, rumors came out that there have been offers for the singer-songwriter to join the senatorial race in 2016. However, reports claim he turned it down since his wife Regine is against it.

“You know, hindi totoo ‘yan,” she said in a press conference on Tuesday at the Luxent Hotel in Quezon City for her upcoming concert “Regine at the Theater.”

“I’m very supportive. If he wants to run even if I don’t want him to run, I will support him. He knows that,” she added. “[But] he has decided a long time ago that he wants to be a public servant, not a politician. You can ask him yourself.”

Ogie is currently the president of Organisasiyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM) and is doing several shows in TV5, namely “No Harm, No Foul,” “Tropa Mo Ko Unli” and “Happy Truck ng Bayan.”

From Page 3

Regine Velasquez-Alcasid will give her full support to husband Ogie Alcasid if he decides to enter politics.

When it comes to having a second child, Regine said they’re not feeling pressured.

“We’re trying pero hindi ko ine-expect,” she said. “Kasi like before, lagi kong sinasabi, if God wants to grant us another child then we’ll be happy. ‘Pag hindi naman, I’m okay. Hindi ko po siya kina-career. Mas mahirap ‘yon, e, kapag kina-career ko tapos ayaw. It would be more frustrating.”

It was in Nov. 8, 2011 when the Asia’s Songbird gave birth to their first child Nate, who will turn four this year.

Regine admitted that before their marriage, they have considered undergoing artificial insemination for her to get pregnant. Their “honeymoon baby” came without them planning it.

“Talagang Nate is a gift from God, talagang hindi na ako dumaan doon. Kasi it’s really painful for the girl,” she said about artificial insemination.

“So now, my motto is the same. If God wants us to have another child, we’ll be so happy.

If hindi, okay lang. Nate is more than enough,” she concluded.

October, communities here in Los Angeles and beyond, will be hosting various events.

Fifty years ago, predominately Filipino farm workers in Delano — led by Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, Benjamin Gines and Pete Velasco — organized a strike, by walking off grape farms and demanding fair wages.

This year also marks the first time “Larry Itliong Day” will be commemorated statewide, following Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing of AB7 into law. AB7 called for celebrations for the labor organizer, including encouraging public schools to teach about Itliong’s life and contributions to California.

Last weekend, the SouthBay LA Filipino American Chamber of Commerce held its fifth annual Carson Fil-Am Month celebration. On Sunday, Oct. 25, Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), along with councilmember Mitch O’ Farrell of LA’s 13th district and

various community partners, will have a FAHM and “Larry Itliong Day” celebration. The activities include a film screening of Marissa Aroy’s “The Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farm Workers,” a community roundtable and Q&A with Aroy and cultural performances from LA artists.

National heritage is described as “anything of national significance which is handed down and preserved through

generations, especially architecture, landscapes, documents and other artifacts.”

This month, FilipinoAmericans are encouraged to experience and appreciate their national heritage with a sense of pride and a sense of belongingness. It is the time to have a full appreciation of our roots so we could grow to our full potential. (Momar G. Visaya, Christina M. Oriel, Allyson Escobar and Agnes Constante contributed to this report)

James Reid on ‘AlDub’: It’s cool

by Arvin

mendozA Inquirer.net

WHAT does actor James Reid have to say about the AlDub tandem singing his song?

For quite sometime now, Eat Bulaga’s Kalyeserye couple Alden Richards and Maine “Yaya Dub” Mendoza, known together as “AlDub,” have been dubsmashing to James and Nadine Lustre’s pop song “Bahala Na.” “It’s cool,” James told INQUIRER.net on Sunday, Oct. 3 during the Cadbury Dairy Milk #ChooseYourJoy concert at Eastwood Central Plaza, Quezon City.

It seemed James appreciates that AlDub, one of the country’s hit tandem, is endearing Filipinos through one of his songs.

“Siguro gusto din nila yung song. It’s cool… I don’t mind

(them using the song)” James said.

Since the AlDub couple has become phenomenal in the country, netizens have been comparing them to JaDine (the James and Nadine loveteam) and even pitting them against each other.

James, meanwhile, admitted that he has no qualms baring his flesh on ABS-CBN’s primetime series “On the Wings of Love.”

“I’ve always been comfortable with my body,” he said.

But James is getting shy now that he finds it hard to pump up his muscles. “(I’m) so busy all the time. I don’t have time for gym. I can’t work out.”

“So I’m losing it,” he said as he gestured to his abs. “It’s gone. It’s not there anymore,” he added.

James Reid

James recently made his fans go crazy when he was seen exposing his lean body and flexing his muscles, together with his costar Albie Casiño, in one episode of the series.

Would there be other sexy and topless scenes fans must watch out for?

“There are still some,” James said.

Photos courtesy of Filipino American National Historical Society (www.fanhs-national.org)

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‘Felix Manalo’ premiere bags 2 Guinness World Records

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - October 7, 2015

When a man turns 70 Moonlighting

by Mylah de

leon

TOday, he seemed only slightly older than himself. In his heart, he doesn’t judge the pace of time, only its effect on others. He knows age does not come in strictly metered increments, it comes in waves.

On some Thursdays he is

younger than on the Mondays of those weeks. He is faster, stronger, wilder, more romantic. But there are days when age comes crashing upon his rocks where it rises like a tide, eroding perceptions and desires fogging like the morning seas. yet, he recovers, as a separate natural tide within him flows.

We measure age, for easiness of speech, by clocks or calendars, but he knows that is not the way. In fact, it comes with something very much like patience—it wins and washes him away. The number doesn’t matter now, although 70 is our favorite number. The years are coming fast. What matters more is their quality, and which shall be that last. I wish you well, in any case. If I could improve your coming days, I’d happily take the worst.

In the present, we have life which men see as a gift, though no two see it quite the same. Some minutes you know happiness, certain days are strung, like beads.

So here’s to hope, which never turns its eyes to what is past but runs into future years. It unearths joy every every day, where he gains new understanding, to see beauty, feel love, or know the richness of watching his youngest granddaughter express her every like and dislike with force and sweetness, who is consumed in making soft, confiding noises that bend the heart of the hearer to her. Then, she looks at the world unblinking, unhurried with the dignity that should have been the rite of Queens. and he knows he had been in the presence of unblemished happiness, perfect naturalness. He feels chastened and uplifted.

Happy Birthday, Castle.

THe world premiere of the biopic “Felix Manalo” has broken two new world records on Sunday, Oct. 3.

Felix Manalo now holds the Guinness World Records for “Largest attendance For a Film Screening” and “Largest attendance For a Film Premiere” as 42,624 people attended the premiere.

Guinness World Records representatives Marco Frigatti and Victoria Tweedey confirmed that the Iglesia ni Cristo was able to secure the world records.

The record for “Largest Dennis Trillo as Felix Manalo attendance For a Film Screen“Largest attendance For a ing” was previously held by Film Premiere” was previously Stars and Stripes Honor Flight (USa) for the world premiere of held by “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” where “Honor Flight” in 2012 which 10,000 people attended its had 28,442attendees. premiere at the O2 arena in Meanwhile, the record for

Piolo overjoyed at Sharon’s glee over end of his rift with KC “NakakaTaBa ng puso.”

This was how actor Piolo Pascual described his feelings after actress Sharon Cuneta said she was happy over his reconciliation with her daughter kC Concepcion.

“It’s a thorn off my chest,” Pascual told reporters in a press conference on Tuesday, Oct. 6 in Quezon City.

Pascual and Concepcion ended their relationship in 2011

***

E-mail Mylah at moonlightingmdl@ aol.com

London in 2008.

The film, which has dennis Trillo and Bella Padilla as its lead actors, will be shown on October 7 in theaters. (Inquirer. net)

Piolo Pascual

after more than a year of being together.

On Monday, Cuneta, in an interview, said she was “very happy” over their reconciliation. “ay, I’m very happy. I’m very happy!” Cuneta said, adding she regretted whatever she said against Pascual before.

Pascual, meanwhile, said he “always makes sure that I am at peace with everyone in the show business industry.”

“Sino ba naman ang ayaw ng ganun. Napakaliit ng industiya natin. Napakaliit ng mundo ng show biz para magkaroon tayo ng kaaway, ng iniiwasan. yun ang iniiwasan ko sa lahat, ayokong pumapasok sa trabaho with a heavy heart,” he said.

Pascual and Concepcion in September ended their rift four years after their breakup.

The former celebrity couple patched things up while they were in London during the europe tour of aBS-CBN variety show “aSaP 20.”

The two celebrities, who played lead roles in the Philippine remake of korean drama “Lovers in Paris,” went public about their relationship in 2010 but broke up a year later.

Both did not reveal the reason for their split, but in an emotional interview with talk show “The Buzz,” Concepcion said she was looking for something that a woman would normally look for in a boyfriend. (Inquirer. net)

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - October 7, 2015

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