LA Weekend Edition -- February 27 -- March 04, 2016

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February 27-March 1, 2016

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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 26 - No. 17 • 4 Sections – 32 Pages

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‘EDSA about right vs. wrong’

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Aquino: People power wasn’t about Aquino vs. Marcos

by Nikko

DizoN Inquirer.net

As if guided by his martyred father whose statue stood behind him at the People Power monument, President Aquino led the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the edsa People Power revolution thursday by countering attempts to revise history, saying martial law was “a painful chapter” and not a “golden age,” as the New York times put it in a front-page article. the only son of democracy icons

DATELINE

Ninoy and Cory Aquino, the President also took to the stage to warn people that sen. ferdinand “Bongbong” marcos Jr. could replicate the iron-fist rule of his father, the late dictator ferdinand marcos.

Yellow and white confetti rained on the crowd of several thousands who gathered at the People Power monument to recall the glorious day when filipinos drove away the marcoses in 1986, but the prospect of senator marcos being elected Vice President, a doorstep away from malacañang, hovered like a

USA

from the AJPress NEWS TEAM AcroSS AMEricA

Study: Undocumented Californians paid $3.2B in state and local taxes AN updated study by the Institute on taxation and economic Policy (IteP) found that undocumented immigrants who reside in California collectively paid almost $3.2 billion in state and local taxes in 2013. the nationwide analysis released on Wednesday, feb. 24, entitled Undocumented Immigrants’ state and Local tax Contributions, concluded that the obama administration’s executive actions (including the expansion of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA) would increase state and local tax contributions in California by at least $184 million.

An even more substantial increase of $450 million is projected under comprehensive immigration reform granting all undocumented immigrants lawful permanent residence, reported IteP and the California #health4All Initiative. “regardless of the politically contentious nature of immigration reform, the data show undocumented immigrants greatly contribute

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Asian Americans across nation call for leniency for convicted former NYPD cop A LIttLe over a week after a Chinese American former NYPD officer was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter and official misconduct in a November 2014 death of an unarmed black man, Asian Americans across the country rallied to protest his conviction. thousands of protesters on saturday, feb.

20, demonstrated in more than 30 cities to support Peter Liang. the 28-year-old former officer was convicted of the charges on feb.

11 for the death of Akai Gurley, 28, who died from a bullet that ricocheted off a wall in the stairwell of a housing project in Brooklyn.

In Los Angeles, a predominantly Chinese American crowd demonstrated in Downtown chanting and carrying signs in Chinese and english that read “save Peter Liang,” “Accident not crime” and “All lives matter.” In New York, a mostly Asian American crowd of nearly 15,000 rallied in Brooklyn, claiming Liang was prosecuted because he is a minority. many Asian Americans believe Liang, who had been with the NYPD for 18 months, was used as a scapegoat due to a lack of indict-

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dark cloud.

Around 500 protesters blasting the Aquino administration for purportedly allowing the marcos resurgence briefly clashed with riot police on edsa after the celebrations, but no injuries were reported.

In his speech, President Aquino belied senator marcos’ claims that the Philippines saw its best years during his father’s rule.

“As part of the generation who suffered under the dictatorship, I tell you just as directly: the time we

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Enrile hits Aquino, defends Marcos years

by ChristiNe

AveNDAño Inquirer.net

seNAte minority Leader Juan Ponce enrile last night said President Aquino did not know what he was talking about in condemning the marcos regime.

“I am sorry to say this, [the President] is very strong in blaming others, pointing his fingers at others, and [blaming] them.

But he’s very weak and poor in knowledge and understanding,” enrile told the Inquirer by phone. enrile was reacting to President Aquino’s statements during the 30th edsa People Power anniversary celebration where

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Senator Juan Ponce Enrile

EDSA JUMP. President Benigno S. Aquino III, former President Fidel Ramos and Bobby Aquino, son of former Senator Butch Aquino, re-enact the historic “jump” during the commemorative activities of the 30th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution on White Plains Avenue at the corner of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) on Thursday, Feb. 25. The event re-enacts the stopping of the tanks and the convergence of the military and civilian contingents. This year’s theme is “EDSA 30 Pagbabago Ipinaglaban Nyo Itutuloy Ku!” The 1986 peaceful and bloodless uprising ousted the dictatorship and catapulted the late Corazon C. Aquino to the Presidency.

Malacañang photo by Robert Viñas

Junjun Binay posts bail for graft, falsification charges Most livable cities: Philippines ranks low at 136th

by PAtriCiA LourDes Philstar.com

virAy

mANILA — Dismissed makati City mayor Jejomar erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr. on friday, feb. 26 posted bail for the graft and falsification of public documents charges filed against him. the office of the ombudsman earlier filed the cases against Binay Jr. and 22 others stemming from the alleged overpriced construction of the P2.28-billion makati City hall Parking Building.

Binay Jr. is facing two counts

of graft and six counts of falsification of documents for the project during the term of his father, Vice President Jejomar Binay. the dismissed makati mayor posted bail worth P204,000 while the sandiganbayan hears the cases filed against him. the special prosecutor of the office of the ombudsman recommended bail of P30,000 for every graft charge and P24,000 for every falsification charge.

Dismissed Makati Mayor Junjun Binay is facing two counts of Binay Jr. stressed that he is in- graft and six counts of falsification of documents in connection nocent and that there is no basis to the alleged anomalous construction of the Makati City Hall

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Parking Building.

US admiral says China will take ‘de facto’ control over disputed sea

by PAtriCiA LourDes Philstar.com

Adm. Harry Harris, Jr., US Navy Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Harris delivered some choice putdowns of China as tensions rise over Beijing’s build-up in the disputed South China Sea. AP/Cliff Owen, file photo

virAy

mANILA — A United states admiral expressed concern that China will exercise “de facto” control of the south China sea following its recent activities in the disputed sea. “short of war with the United states, China will exercise de facto control of the south China sea,” said Adm.harry harris, commander of the Us Pacific Command, in a press briefing at the Pentagon on thursday, feb. 25.

Beijing recently deployed surface-to-air missiles in the Woody Island of the Paracel group in the disputed sea. there have also been reports that China has been building radar systems in some of the features in the spratly Group of Islands. harris noted that these developments prove that China is determined to achieve military control in the

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AP/Bullit Marquez, file photo

mANILA — manila has retained its ranking in the lower half of the world’s most livable cities, behind Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and other capitals in the region, according to the latest international survey on quality of living.

Global consulting firm mercer’s 18th Quality of Living survey, released this week in London, showed the Philippines’ regional capital retaining its

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A FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1, 2016 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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

From the Front Page

‘EDSA about right vs…

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spent under Mr. Marcos was not a golden age,” Mr. Aquino said.

“It remains one of the most painful chapters of our history— it was why so many of our countrymen mustered the courage to gather at Edsa and in other places outside Metro Manila, armed only with their faith and their principles,” he said.

“We were able to unite as one people, and by the grace of God, we toppled the dictatorship without resorting to a bloody civil revolution,” he said.

“Today, if the surveys are right, then the son of the dictator who still cannot see the mistakes of the past has an increasing number of supporters,” Mr. Aquino said.

“If that is right, then does it also mean that we have forgotten what we once said, ‘Enough is enough; we have had it out with the lot?’” he said.

“Does this mean that, today, we are being asked, ‘Can we give the possibility of martial law taking power once more, and repeating all its crimes?’” he said.

“It is also true that the sins of the father should not be visited on the son,” Mr. Aquino went on.

“At the same time, what I cannot understand: The dictator’s own blood had all this time to say, ‘My father did the country wrong; give us the chance to make it right,’” he said.

“And yet, just think, this was what he said, ‘I am ready to say sorry if I knew what I have to be sorry for.’ If he cannot even see the wrong in what his family did, how can we be confident that he will not repeat the same?” he said.

“All I can say is, thank you,

TIAONG WELCOME. Vice President Jejomar Binay greets the crowd who waited for his caravan in Tiaong, Quezon. Hundreds of his supporters welcomed the candidates of the United Nationalist Alliance who visited the province Thursday, Feb. 25.

ManilaTimes.net photo

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Junjun Binay…

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for the allegations against him.

The dismissed mayor’s camp also filed a motion which seeks to dispute the evidence filed by the Ombudsman.

Ombudsman Conchita CarpioMorales ordered the dismissal from service of Binay Jr. in October 2015 following administrative cases. n

Most livable…

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136th place among 230 cities.

Austrian capital Vienna maintained its top ranking in overall quality of living, with war-torn Baghdad in Iraq rated the worst.

Zurich, Switzerland was behind Vienna. Auckland in New Zealand ranked third followed by Munich, Germany and Vancouver, Canada.

The city-state of Singapore was rated highest in Asia at 26th place. It was also deemed the safest in the region, ranking eighth globally, followed at 32nd place by five Japanese cities: Kobe, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo and Yokohama.

Mercer’s survey is considered

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From the Front page

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1, 2016

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Enrile hits Aquino, defends Marcos…

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the Chief Executive condemned the view of some people that the Marcos dictatorship was the golden years of the Philippines.

The President also reiterated that Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. should apologize for the human rights abuses of the martial law regime of his father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Enrile said the plans being implemented by the Aquino administration were made during the Marcos years.

He also said President Aquino was “inconsistent.”

“Why are we still enforcing the laws made in the Marcos years if he was really that bad,” Enrile said, referring to the late dictator.

He pointed out that the government was now using for its programs coco levy funds that were put up during the Marcos years.

At one point, Enrile also asked President Aquino who was Commander Felman to his late father, Sen. Benigno “Ninoy”

Aquino Jr. He said Commander Felman served as a bodyguard of the late senator but he was also a “principal” commander of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

Asked whether he was saying that the late senator had links to the CPP, Enrile said, “I’m just stating facts, not conclusions.”

On whether Senator Marcos should apologize for the past, Enrile said: “I don’t know if he has anything to be sorry for. You better ask him.” n

‘EDSA about right vs…

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because you have at least been honest in showing us that you are ready to emulate your father,” the President said.

“Do not [get me wrong]: This is not about the Aquinos versus the Marcoses; it is clear to me that this is about right versus wrong,” he added.

Peace deal derailed As an example of the likelihood of the senator doing as his father had done, Mr. Aquino said Marcos, along with Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, derailed the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

“And is it not true these two surnames were the ones who pushed for a military solution against the Moros during the dictatorship?” Mr. Aquino said, pointing out that the late dictator tolerated land grabbing in Mindanao, which was one of the biggest injustices to the Moro people.

Acknowledging that the efforts at revisionism had partly succeeded in fooling a number of young Filipinos, the President devoted nearly a third of his speech to recounting the horrors of martial law that his family and others experienced as well.

Nearly half of those at the monument were the so-called millennials, young people born after 1986.

The theme of the 30th anniversary of the bloodless coup that inspired similar movements across the world was for them—about the passing of the torch, for them to continue the change that their elders began at Edsa.

The President said the young enjoyed “different kinds of freedom” today—from being able to travel without having to be watched by authorities, having

no state-imposed curfews to being able to access information from smartphones.

Lucky to be alive He said the young were now “enjoying the freedoms that were taken away from the generation that came before you—where, if you reached your 30th birthday while fighting against the dictatorship, you were already lucky to still be alive.”

“Now, at 30 years old, your professional life has just started.

You have the freedom to earn and to save money, to love and to start a family—the freedom to dream,” Mr. Aquino said.

“You will benefit the most if we are able to protect our freedom so, God willing, you understand the responsibility you bear. God willing, we will all do our part so that darkness will never consume the Philippines once more. God willing, the freedom we so long dreamed of, will never, ever be taken away from us once more,” the President said.

He emphasized that the abuses of the dictatorship were neither “products of imagination” nor just the opinion of some.

“Martial law actually happened. There was a dictator who, along with his family and his cronies, abused his position, and the price for this was the lives and the freedom of Filipinos,” Mr. Aquino said.

The President said he expressed disappointment whenever he was told that there were those who say that the time of Marcos was the “golden age of the Philippines.”

In a lengthy article, “Yearning for the ‘golden age’ of Marcos, The New York Times said that fading memories were benefiting the dictator’s son in his vice presidential bid.

“In fact I have wondered: We have both been President— where might our country be today if he had just stayed true to his mandate during his time in

EDA CLASH. Members of BAYAN, Gabriela, CARMA, KMU, LFS and other activist organizations push policemen blocking their group along Ortigas Ave. corner EDSA highway preventing them from reaching the EDSA Shrine on the 30th anniversary of EDSA People Power. Inquirer. net photo by Lyn Rillon

Most livable cities: Philippines ranks low at…

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an authoritative basis for multinational companies and other employers in assessing compensation, including hardship allowances, for employees assigned overseas.

Living conditions are analyzed according to 39 factors, grouped in 10 categories: political and social environment, economic environment, socio-cultural environment, medical and health considerations, schools and education, public services and transportation, recreation, consumer goods, housing, and the natural environment.

Political stability, crime and law enforcement are included in u PAGE A4 the political and social environment while press freedom and civil liberties are under the sociocultural environment.

Western European cities domi-

nated this year’s most livable list.

In the US, San Francisco was the highest ranked at 28th place, followed by Boston at 34th and Honolulu at 35th.

In Asia, Japanese cities followed Singapore, with the capital Tokyo at 44th place, Kobe at 46th, Yokohama 49th, Osaka 58th and Nagoya 62nd.

Hong Kong ranked 70th overall in a tie with US city Detroit.

South Korean capital Seoul ranked 73rd followed by Taipei at 84th, Kuala Lumpur (86), South Korea’s Busan (91), Taichung (100), Shanghai (101), Brunei capital Bandar Seri Begawan (102), Malaysia’s Johor Baru (103), Beijing (118), Guangzhou (119), Bangkok (129), Sri Lankan capital Colombo (132) and China’s Chengdu (134).

Manila ranked ahead of China’s Nanjing and Shenzhen (tied

US admiral says China will…

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PEACEFUL RALLY. Military soldiers handed out flowers during the 30th anniversary celebration of the EDSA People Power Revolution on Thursday, Feb. 25.

Inquirer.net photo by Joan Bondoc

region.

“If China continues to arm all of the bases they have reclaimed in the South China Sea, they will change the operational landscape in the region,” Harris said.

The Philippines earlier filed an arbitration case against China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, Netherlands due to its massive reclamation activities in the South China Sea.

Beijing had refused to participate in the proceedings and insisted that they have indisputable sovereignty in the region.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi accused the Philippines of “political provocation” in filing a case over the territorial dispute.

Wang claimed that the Philippines violated the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea between China and Southeast Asian nations. n

at 137), Xi’an (139), Indonesian capital Jakarta (142), China’s Chongqing (146) and Qingdao (147), Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh (152) and capital Hanoi (155), Laotian capital Vientiane (170), Cambodian capital Phnom Penh (195) and Myanmar’s former capital Yangon (201).

In terms of personal safety, Luxembourg was named the safest city in the world, followed in a tie at second place by Swiss cities Bern and Zurich and Finnish capital Helsinki. Baghdad and Damascus, Syria tied as the world’s least safe cities at 229th place.

“Heightened domestic and global security threats, population displacement resulting from violence, and social unrest in key business centers around the world are all elements adding to the complex challenge facing multinational companies when analyzing the safety and health of their expatriate workforce,” said Ilya Bonic, Mercer’s Talent business senior partner and president.

Apart from safety and health issues, Mercer said obtaining suitable and well-secured housing and access to “reputable professional evacuation services” and medical support add to safety costs for expatriates.

Mercer, a wholly owned subsidiary of global professional services firm Marsh & McLennan Companies, has 20,000 employees in 43 countries. (Philstar.com)

A FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1, 2016 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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Obama bans US imports of slave-produced goods

by Allyson

EscobAr

AJPress

UNDER new provisions of a law signed by President Barack Obama this week, federal officials will enforce an 86-year-old ban on importing goods that were produced by children or slaves.

“This law slams shut an unconscionable and archaic loophole that forced America to accept products made by children or slave labor,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), who worked on the legislation.

The Tariff Act of 1930, which gave Customs and Border Protection the authority to seize shipments where forced labor was suspected and block further imports, was last used in 2000, reported The Associated Press.

The Act has been used only 39 times altogether largely because of “consumptive demand,” which

allows stiffer enforcement. US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske and federal agency leaders are planning a briefing to explain how they will implement the new law.

The provisions were linked to cases of US imports of fish caught by slaves in Southeast Asia, gold mined by children in Africa, and clothing garments sewn by abused women in Bangladesh.

“If the US government works President Barack Obama to really keep out goods made denotes that if there was not suf- with forced labor, this change ficient trade supply to meet the will have a profound ripple effect domestic demand, imports were on supply chains worldwide,” allowed, regardless of how they said David Abramowitz, who advocated for the change as vice were produced.

The Trade Facilitation and president for Humanity United.

To start an official investigaTrade Enforcement Act signed

by Obama on Wednesday, Feb. tion, Customs and Border Protecu PAGE A4 24 eliminated that clause and

Study: Undocumented Californians paid $3.2B in…

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(The top 1 percent of taxpayers to our nation’s economy, not just nationwide pay an average effecin labor but also with tax dollars,” tive tax rate of just 5.4 percent.) said ITEP State Tax Policy DirecThe analysis also found that tor Meg Wiehe in a statement. combined state and local tax Nationwide, undocumented contributions of the nation’s total immigrants contribute more undocumented immigrant poputhan $11.6 billion to state and lo- lation (around 11 million) would cal coffers each year, and pay an increase by more than $800 milaverage of 8 percent of their total lion, under full implementation incomes in state and local taxes. of President Barack Obama’s

2012 and 2014 executive actions to grant temporary protection for up to 5 million (1.52 million in California) eligible undocumented immigrants living in the US. Under comprehensive immigration reform, these contributions are estimated to rise to over $2.1 billion.

“With immigration policy playing a key role in state and national debates, and President Obama’s 2014 executive action [on immigration] facing review by the Supreme Court, accurate information about the tax contributions of undocumented immigrants is needed now more than ever,” Wiehe added.

While the report focuses on the financial and economic consequences of immigration reform on state and local-level taxes, ITEP reported, the results mirror those at the federal level.

According to a 2010 report from the Congressional Budget Office, full immigration reform at the federal level would decrease the deficit and generate more than $450 billion in additional federal revenue over the next decade.

Obama’s executive actions are also estimated to have overall positive effects on labor market growth, productivity, wages, and economic growth, said the Council of Economic Advisers and the Center of American Progress.

(Allyson Escobar / AJPress)

REENACTMENT. Actors reenact the EDSA rally at the People Power Experiential museum at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on the day of 30th celebration of People Power anniversary. The interactive museum, which is composed of nine halls, recreates the martial law victims struggle for democracy, including the events that led to the bloodless revolution in 1986.

Inquirer.net photo by Richard Reyes

Asian Americans across nation call for…

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ments of other police officers involved in fatal incidents, such as the 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner.

“There are two white police officers who didn’t even have a trial, in Ferguson and Staten Island,” said Tim Wu, 24, a Brooklyn protestor and student who came from China six months ago, according to the New York Post. “That makes Chinese people very nervous. It is obvious it was an accident.”

Xiayi Shirley Zhang, a 27-yearold who lives in Downtown Los Angeles, told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday she wondered why the NYPD assigned the rookie officer in a high-crime neighborhood.

During the 2014 incident, Liang was patrolling the Louis Pink Houses in East New York with his partner Shaun Landau. Vertical patrols require that officers first check the roof, where criminal activity often occurs, then descend the stairs floor by floor, according to testimony reported

by NBC News. The duo started on the eighth floor.

Liang said he had his Glock 9 mm gun in his left hand and a flashlight in his right on Nov. 20, 2014, adding it is officers’ discretion when to draw their weapon. He said he tried to turn the stairway door knob with his right hand, but it wouldn’t open so he pushed it with his right shoulder.

He said he then heard a “quick sound” to his left, which startled him, and that his gun subsequently went off.

Gurley had entered a stairwell from the seventh floor with his girlfriend Melissa Butler when the bullet fired from Liang’s gun bounced off the wall and hit Gurley, who made it to the fifth floor with Butler where he collapsed

and died, according to testimony reported by NBC. NYPD Police Commissioner William Bratton at the time of the shooting said the fatal shot “appears to be an accidental discharge” of Liang’s gun.

Prosecutors, however, argued that the shooting wasn’t an accident beyond Liang’s control and that he should be held accountable for his actions. They also said neither Liang nor Landau called their supervisors after the shot was fired, despite the fact they both had functioning radios and cellphones, and that Liang’s failure to perform CPR on Gurley demonstrated “callousness.”

Defense attorneys Robert Brown and Rae Koshetz argued during the trial that Liang was in a “state of shock” after his gun accidentally went off, that he did not know his bullet hit anyone and that he attempted to make several radio transmissions about the shooting that were incomplete or did not go through, NBC News reported.

In court, Liang testified that he felt unqualified to perform CPR on Gurley because he was given answers to the exam and never had the opportunity to practice on a mannequin at the Police Academy.

An important factor in the jury’s decision to convict Liang came after each of the jurors was able to pull the trigger on his service weapon. They all reached the consensus that there was no way the gun could have gone off the way Liang testified it did.

“It was very hard to pull the trigger,” juror Carlton Screen, a retired candy-store owner from Flatbush, Brooklyn, told the Post.

“They had another safety that’s on the trigger itself, so you have to pull it hard enough to release that safety in order for it

to fire.”

Liang is the first NYPD officer to be convicted in the last decade. In 2005, Bryan Conroy, who is white, killed an African immigrant during a police raid.

Conroy was sentenced to probation and 500 hours of community service.

Landau, Liang’s partner, was not criminally charged in the case and received immunity for his testimony. However, both were terminated from the NYPD. Liang is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

While many Asian Americans are calling for leniency for Liang, others say he and his partner did not execute their responsibilities as NYPD officers that evening, and must be held accountable.

“All the evidence presented before the jury demonstrates that Officer Liang is in fact guilty,” Cathy Dang, executive director of CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities, a group that addresses police hate and violence toward Asian immigrants and one that supported Liang’s indictment, said in a statement. “Now, what we have left is to hold the entire system accountable.”

Asian American writer Jay Caspian Kang expressed a similar viewpoint in an article he wrote for the New York Times Magazine.

“Even if you believe, as I do, that Liang should be in jail, the inevitable follow-up question – why only Liang? - suggests that the unjust protections routinely afforded to white officers should be extended either to everyone or to nobody at all. To ignore this suggestion is intellectually dishonest,” Kang wrote. (Agnes Constante / AJ Press)

‘EDSA about right vs…

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office?” Mr. Aquino said.

The President said that under his administration that followed the “straight and righteous path,” 7.7 million Filipinos had been lifted from poverty.

More than 4 million indigent households benefited from the conditional cash transfer program.

Ninety-two percent of the 100 million Filipinos enjoyed universal health coverage; The poorest 40 percent of the country receive free treatment from public hospitals.

The country has the lowest unemployment rate in a decade.

Mr. Aquino said infrastructure

that took “decades in the making” had finally been completed under his term, such as the 180meter Aluling Bridge in Ilocos Sur province that took 35 years to build.

“Let me ask: Is it right to play at being blind, especially now that we have a government that truly cares for the citizenry?” he said.

“I believe that it is not our fate to repeat the grim parts of our past; our fate is the sum of the decisions we make in the present,” the President said.

“I believe in the greatness of our people. I believe that, even if we are known for our patience, it has its limits—and if those limits

are reached, then no one will be able to stop the wave of solidarity that will follow,” he added.

Loretta Ann Rosales, former chair of the Commission on Human Rights, Thursday said during a visit at the People Power Experiential Museum at Camp Aguinaldo, “Let us never allow the Marcoses to return. We should not let another Marcos again in Malacañang.”

Rep. Leni Robredo, the Liberal Party’s vice presidential candidate, told reporters: “If you don’t have acceptance of the wrongdoings done before, you are bound to repeat these once you are given power.” (With a report from Julie M. Aurelio)

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Dateline USa

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1, 2016

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Uber driver charged for murder, assault

by Agnes

ConstAnte AJPress

RELIEF OPERATION. Volunteers from the Philippine Muslim Teachers College prepare relief supplies for distribution to evacuees from conflict-stricken Lanao del Sur villages. Relief workers are scrambling to deliver food to no fewer than 10,000 villagers displaced by the spate of hostilities that rocked two Lanao del Sur towns in the past six days.

Philstar.com photo by John Unson

Obama bans US imports of slave…

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tion needs to receive a petition from anyone—business, agency, even a non-citizen—showing “reasonably but not conclusively” that imports were made at least in part with forced labor.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who offered the amendment eliminating the “consumptive demand” clause, said that his office is already asking Customs and Border Protection to ensure that they begin enforcing the new rules.

“It’s embarrassing that for 85 years, the United States let products made with forced labor into this country, and closing this loophole gives the US an important tool to fight global slavery,” Brown said.

A Labor Department list of more than 350 goods produced by child labor or forced labor provides a detailed breakdown that human rights groups plan to use as they petition the government to take further action. The list includes peanuts from Tur-

key, gold from Ghana, carpets from India, and seafood imports from Thailand.

An expose by The Associated Press in 2015 found Thai companies ship seafood to the US that was caught and processed by trapped and enslaved workers.

As a result of the reports, more than 2,000 trapped fishermen have been rescued from illegal fishing islands, while more than a dozen alleged traffickers were arrested and millions of dollars’ worth of their fishing vessels seized.

A month after the investigation, Pres. Obama promised to repeal the consumptive demand exception’s loophole, and ensured “swift, strong and effective enforcement.”

Gavin Gibbons, a spokesman for National Fisheries Institute (which represents about 75 percent of the US seafood industry), said their members want to see the ban implemented and enforced.

“We support the closing of this

thiS Week in RevieW US California gas prices expected to jump over weekend CALIFORNIA’S streak of slipping gas prices is set to end this weekend, with prices possibly jumping 30 cents a gallon due to seasonal changes in the state’s refinery operations, according to predictions from Consumer Watchdog. “The move marks an end to fire-sale prices on remaining winter stocks of gasoline,” the advocacy group. Although gas rates have tumbled in recent weeks due to surplus, the prices often climb in California around the early part of the year. Refineries will suddenly switch from the winter blend of fuel, to the pricier summer blend required in the state, and Southern California will be first to experience the prices, according to GasBuddy.com. SoCal drivers could see pump costs spike 20 to 35 cents over the next week. The average retail price of gas in California on Thursday was $2.31 a gallon, down 36 cents from a month ago, and about 70 cents below last year’s average.

Apple vs. FBI

APPLE has plans to fight back against a court order that requires it to help FBI agents unlock the iPhone of San Bernardino killer Syed Rizwan Farook, who opened fire last December at a regional center for people with disabilities. The tech company said the order infringes on its First Amendment rights, and overreaches in the All Writs Act as the legal basis. The act, first passed in 1789 and updated regularly, allows judges to issue orders if other avenues are unavailable. Prosecutors said the act provided legal grounds to force Apple to write new computer software, which would allow FBI agents to unlock the phone’s four-digit security passcode. Attorneys from Apple said that writing a new computer code is a form of “expressive activity,” which is speech protected by the First Amendment. Apple would argue in court that Congress is the more appropriate venue for a debate about “the security and privacy of citizens and law enforcement needs…It is not appropriate for the government to obtain through the courts what they couldn’t get through the legislative process.”

Polls: Trump has overwhelming lead on Rubio in his Florida

According to a new presidential poll, Donald Trump’s popularity is growing to new levels. The survey by Quinnipiac University shows Trump leading Florida Sen. Marco Rubio 44 to 28 percent, less than three weeks before Florida’s primary on March 15. The winner-take-all primary awards all 99 delegates to the first-place candidate, making the win secure for the Republican nomination. Advisers for Rubio have said the Quinnipiac numbers are “way wrong,” and even Rubio himself predicted to win in Florida. Another leaked poll showed Trump still in the lead among men and voters who want a strong leader, with the Florida senator drawing the same amount of support. Ted Cruz drew 12 percent of the vote, John Kasich 7 percent, and Ben Carson with 4 percent. It was the first poll conducted since former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush dropped out of the race over the weekend.

anachronistic loophole and look forward to fair and judicious implementation,” he said.

According to a study by the WWF, over 85 percent of the world’s fish stocks are at significant risk of unreported, illegal fishing tactics, associated with slave labor, drugs, and arms smuggling.

Obama also signed the Port State Measures Agreement earlier this month, which bars foreign vessels from accessing ports if suspected of illegal fishing, reported The Independent. n

AN Uber driver was charged Monday, Feb. 22, for six counts of murder, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder and eight charges of using a firearm while he committed a felony.

Jason Dalton, 45, randomly shot six people at three locations in between fares while moonlighting as an Uber driver in and around Kalamazoo, Mich. on Saturday, Feb. 20, in a rampage that lasted for nearly seven hours.

Dalton “admitted his involvement” in the killings, said prosecuting attorney Jeff Getting, although Dalton remained quiet during his brief hearing on Monday and did not enter a plea.

Among victims in the fatal shooting attack were a father and son who were sitting in their cars at a Kia car dealership at about 10 p.m. Dalton also critically wounded a 14-year-old girl in a parking lot.

The shootings began at about 6 p.m. when Dalton shot a woman four times at an apartment complex parking lot, USA Today reported.

He was arrested without incident at about 12:45 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 21.

Less than three hours before the shootings began, Dalton went to Southwick’s, a gun shop where he was a regular customer. He purchased a “heavy duty” jacket that could hide a small

pistol. Gun shop owner Jonathan Southwick said Dalton did not give him any reason to be alarmed, according to CNN. Before the attack, a man named Matthew Mellen said he took an Uber ride with Dalton at about 4:30 p.m. He said Dalton began driving erratically after receiving a telephone call when they were about a mile away from Mellen’s house.

“After that call, he started driving erratically, running stop signs,” Mellen told CNN affiliate WWMT. “We were kind of driving through medians, driving through the lawn speeding along and then finally, once he came to a stop, I jumped out of the car and ran away.”

Mellen also said Dalton had picked him up in a different vehicle than the one in which he was apprehended.

Dalton, a married father of two, had no lengthy criminal history or mental health issues, was not on any medications and was not on anybody’s radar for any reason, Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley told CNN. He also passed a background check, according to Uber. “[This] individual had the background check completed and there was nothing in his background to indicate he was a problem. He had no record whatsoever,” Davis said.

On Wednesday, Feb. 24, Hadley told CNN Dalton legally purchased the 9mm handgun he allegedly used in the attacks, but he did not possess a concealed pistol license. Au-

thorities also found 11 rifles at his home in Kalamazoo, according to CNN. If convicted, Dalton could face life in prison without parole.

Dalton’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 3.

“The Kalamazoo community is reeling from these senseless acts of violence that took so many innocent lives from us,” Getting said in a statement Monday. “Our hearts are saddened for all of the victims, their families and friends who are dealing with this on a much more personal level.”

Uber issued a statement about the incident and said the company is cooperating with police.

“We are horrified and heartbroken at the senseless violence in Kalamazoo, Michigan,” said Joe Sullivan, chief security officer at Uber. “Our hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this devastating crime and those recovering from injuries. We have reached out to the police to help with their investigation in any way that we can.”

Members of the Dalton family said they are baffled by what happened and said in a statement they would cooperate in the investigation of the shooting.

“This type of violence has no place in our society, and we express our love and support for everyone involved,” the statement read. “We intend to cooperate in every way that we can to help determine why and how this occurred.” n

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AAPI voters energized after Nevada caucuses

by Christina

M. Oriel

AJPress

ASIAN American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) across Nevada aggressively mobilized voters leading up to the Democratic and Republican caucuses on Saturday, Feb. 20 and Tuesday, Feb. 23, respectively.

With 100 percent of the votes counted, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump proved victorious yet again on Tuesday night, capturing 45.9 percent of the vote.

“Now we’re going to get greedy for the United States,” Trump said in his victory speech.

“We’re going to grab and grab and grab.”

According to poll data, Trump appealed to various demographics, especially caucus-goers without a college degree.

“We won with the young. We won with old. We won with highly educated. We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated,” he added.

For Filipino-American Dolly De Leon, Trump’s win in Nevada was “expected.”

“Donald Trump is a phenomenal candidate,” De Leon told the Asian Journal. “Donald’s supporters like what they’re hearing and he’s a fighter. He tells it like it is and that’s what people like to

hear. He doesn’t hold back.”

She added that Trump’s offers promise for business owners like herself.

“A year ago, I was already preparing myself for…the 2016 election. The last eight years have been so bad. I’m a business owner and I was deeply affected by the bad economy,” she said.

At Desert Oasis High School in Las Vegas, a line formed ahead of the 5 pm start time on Tuesday afternoon, stretching around the block.

Rand Paul supporter Sharon Pascual shared why he would have been a suitable nominee for the Republican Party. Though Paul dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucus earlier this month, Pascual expressed her enthusiasm for voting and participating in the political process for the first time.

“This is my first time to get involved in politics,” Pascual told the Asian Journal. “I felt passionate enough this year to register for the caucus and general election.”

Aurora Hornbuckle, a staunch Republican voter, said it was her first time to participate in the caucus.

“I see Ted Cruz in the White House,” Hornbuckle said, as she waited for her turn to cast the

ballot. “I believe in [him] and his policies.”

Trailing behind Trump on Tuesday were Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (23.9 percent) and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (21.4 percent).

Republican National Committee (RNC) APA Press Secretary Ninio Fetalvo shared that Republicans have been engaging with AAPIs in Nevada through caucus trainings, meeting with community leaders on recruitment for the Republican Leadership Initiative, conducting voter registration and knocking on doors.

“It’s clear that the Republican Party’s continued engagement with Nevada’s Filipino-American community contributed to Tuesday night’s historic voter turnout in the Nevada Republican Caucus,” Fetalvo said in an email.

“We are excited to continue our work with the Filipino-American community to ensure a Republican president is elected in November.”

Prior to Nevada, Trump took the lead in the South Carolina primary on Saturday with 32.5 percent. Rubio narrowly took second (22.5 percent), before Cruz (22.3 percent). Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush trailed in fourth at 7.8 percent, just ahead of Ohio Gov. John Kasich (7.6 percent) and retired Michigan neurosur-

Pacquiao gets back to work, in shades by rOy luarCa Inquirer.net

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Manny Pacquiao made up for lost time yesterday, putting up a spirited display of speed and power in his mitts work with chief trainer Freddie Roach at his Pacman Wild Card Gym here.

Wearing dark shades to protect his irritated eye from the glare, a red bandana and black Mizuno training shoes, Pacquiao reported for work after skipping two days of training.

Pacquiao’s appearance put the smile back on Roach’s face as they trained for 13 rounds.

“Very good,” Roach said of yesterday’s workout. “He punched Pacquiao trains with shades after dealing with eye problem during Thursday’s training.

Photo by Roy Luarca/inquirer.net

hard and he moved well.”

So hard in fact that the mitts flew off Roach’s hands thrice— in the fourth, seventh and 11th rounds.

“I tell you, those sounds mean hard punches,” assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez told the Inquirer in Filipino. “Those punches hurt. I’ve felt them before. Everything will be back to normal.”

While admitting that his hands ached after the mitts session, Roach said he’s happy now that Pacquiao’s irritated eye is OK. “If he’s OK, we’ll spar tomorrow (today),” added Roach.

Canada-based Congolese Ghislain Muduna, he said, is wellrested and well-acclimatized to square off with Pacquiao.

Reinvigorated by two days of rest, Pacquiao also ran in the morning, circling the track oval 15 times or an equivalent of 6 km, according to assistant trainer Nonoy Neri. n

3/1/16

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump

geon Ben Carson (7.2 percent).

Bush, who entered the race last year as the Republican frontrunner and reportedly spent the most funds in campaigning and attracting high-profile endorsements, dropped his candidacy after a poor showing in the South Carolina primary, reported CNN. “I firmly believe the American people must entrust this office to someone who understands that whoever holds it is a servant, not the master, someone who will commit to that service with honor and decency,” Bush said in his exit speech.

Clinton triumphs in Silver State As the Asian Journal previously reported, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton succeeded in Nevada with 52.6 percent of the vote on Saturday, Feb. 20.

Days before Saturday’s caucus, AAPI organizers and volunteers — from throughout Nevada, California and even the East Coast — launched a week of action that involved training sessions and canvassing around AAPI-concentrated areas. These efforts, they say, helped Clinton secure the state.

“We walked door-to-door in heavily AAPI districts…pretty much they were Hillary supporters. But we had to remind them to get out and caucus,” Melissa Ramoso, who came from Southern California, said.

Ultimately, according to exit polls, AAPIs made up 4 percent

of the Democratic caucus-goers.

“We were thrilled that Clinton did win. We are not going to stop [until she is elected]. We did a lot of phone banking, calling friends, relatives and Democrats who are registered to vote. We are going to remind them to vote for her,” Fil-Am grassroots political leader Rozita Lee told the Asian Journal.

CAPA21, a national AAPI political action committee, launched a $50,000 outreach campaign using direct mailers, ethnic media ads and a new website (NevadaAAPI.com) to target AAPI voters in Nevada and encourage them to support Clinton.

Filipino Americans for Hillary organized walks to over 50 FilAm businesses through the Las Vegas area.

“We asked owners if they would support, come caucus and put up signs. Many people were really receptive so it was an overall successful outreach [effort], especially to Filipino Americans,” Ramoso added.

With election season in full gear, grassroots leaders will be continuing on the efforts already started.

The Nevada Republican Party reported a record turnout of 75,000 voters this year (compared to only 33,000 in 2012).

Meanwhile, the state Democratic Party estimated around 80,000 turned out on Saturday.

“It was amazing for both caucuses to have those numbers. I’m

glad that people are engaged.

This is a hotly contested race,” Lee said.

According to APIA Vote data, 8.5 percent of Nevada’s voting age identifies as AAPI. “Hillary is known in Nevada and the Clinton name resonates well with the Filipino-American community,” Ramoso said.

“They’re really energized and ready to elect her…because she would be the best representative for our community.”

De Leon added that Fil-Am voters need to be aware of candidates’ platforms and what the parties stand for.

“Filipinos, and even other ethnic groups, need to be educated…It goes back to the fact that [some] are not aware of the differences between where the Republicans stand and where the Democrats are,” she remarked.

“I would say, even if you are Democrat or Independent, know what your candidate stands for.

Do they believe the way you believe? Does it goes within your values as a Filipino American?”

While Republicans were focused on Nevada, Clinton and Sanders participated in a town hall in South Carolina on Tuesday night. Democrats in that state will select their candidate on Saturday, Feb. 27, and will send 59 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this July. (With reports from Robert Macabagdal and Allyson Escobar / AJPress)

Ethnic and low-income communities easy target for scammers

by Jenny

Manrique NewAmericaMedia

MARIA Magdalena Juarez picked up the phone. A voice on the other end told her that she was being sued for an uncollected debt of $4,000.

Maria was sure she didn’t owe that money, but the caller said he was a court official. Several harassing calls followed, in which the man threatened to seize her property and send her to jail if she didn’t pay up. Scared, Juarez purchased a money order but told her son about it before sending it off. He did an online search and told her it could be a possible scam.

“Whenever consumers face calls from someone insistent on seeking a payment of money, they need to be very suspicious, they should pause and consult someone in their family or friends,”

Photo by David Bacon

said Edith Ramirez, chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), who shared Maria´s story during a Feb. 11 news briefing about Scams and Frauds targeting ethnic communities, organized by New America Media.

“If they are victims of fraud, they should always come to the FTC and file a complaint (by phone or online), so we can collect information and potentially start a law enforcement action and be able to recover money for the affected consumers,” she said.

The FTC is an independent agency with a dual mission: to protect consumers from “unlawful, unfair and deceptive practices,” and to promote competition.

Attorneys and lawyers working in the consumer protection area have found that fraudulent practices affect mostly low-income, racial and ethnic communities.

“Language can be a significant barrier and that is why ´affinity scams´ happen a lot within our communities”, explained Ted Mermin, executive director with the Public Good Law Center in Berkeley. “People who knock on your door and speak to you in your own language and offer you a deal that is too good to be true...You sign up for a service that you never receive, or agree about paying $49.99 a month without understanding, and that happens because you are members of the same community and they are abusing this trust.”

Mermin stressed that “we are all consumers” who can find free help in different legal clinics in community centers, and through broader coalitions like the California Consumer Justice Coalition, that focuses primarily in issues related to consumer debt.

According to a 2014 Urban Institute study, 35 percent of adults with a credit file are ostensibly in debt. Not surprisingly, this is the area in which consumer protection agencies, including the state Attorney General’s Office, receive more complaints. The office sponsored the “Fair Debt Buying Practices Act” that went into effect on January 2014. Among other things, the Act requires “all settlement agreements between a debt buyer and a debtor to be documented in open court.”

The promise of a green card

“Some of these same predatory businesses engaging in unfair and deceptive debt collection practices, threaten to report individuals to ICE or INS or other immigration authorities,” said Nicklas Akers, Senior Assistant Attorney General of the Consumer Law Section of the California Department of Justice.

Akers said it was important that victims file a complaint with his office, even anonymously if they so choose. “We will not report anybody to the authorities and we help everybody regardless of their immigration status,” he said.

Akers pointed out that there was an “explosion” of immigration-related scams, where individuals are promised a green card. In many instances, the scammers take the money up front, and then threaten to report the victims to immigration authorities unless they give more money.

Federal agencies have noticed an increase in notarios and immigration scams every time there are changes in immigration law, according to Mermin. They warn in handouts that notarios are not lawyers, and therefore not qualified to offer legal help. Consumers should rely on immigration forms which are free and available in different languages.

Contracts without translation In California, there is a piece of legislation helpful for ethnic communities: the Foreign Language Translation of Consumer Contracts. Under it, a person in a trade or business, who negotiates a contract primarily in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog/Filipino, Vietnamese, or Korean, “must give the consumer a written translation of the proposed contract in the language of the negotiations.”

“A common type of scam is buying a car. The negotiations are done in Chinese. They push the client to sign the contract very fast and you don’t have time to review it. So a lot of times they slip in extra services you didn’t agree to, or set a higher price for the car than the (amount) you agreed to pay,” said Rose Chan, consumer advice coordinator at Consumer Action.

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Ethnic and low-income communities…

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Steven Shi, who migrated from China 20 years ago, was a victim of such fraud. Last October, he went to a Toyota dealer in Sunnyvale, Calif., intending to purchase a Prius. The sales representative persuaded him to buy the car by paying in installments, and to purchase a $1,750 dollar extended warranty that would include an “anti-theft system on my new car.” However, Steve was later charged an additional $800 for that “gift.” When he complained, the dealer offered to return the money in five years.

“I asked help from the Sunnyvale Consumer Council, and they helped me to recover the money… It was an unpleasant experience,” Shi said.

100 percent guaranteed False advertising is another area where federal authorities are constantly cracking down on.

They include weight-loss miracle products to get rich quickly home-based job opportunities.

“We recently filed a lawsuit against DeVry University regarding a statement they made that was not accurate: that 90% of their graduates actively seeking employment land a job in their field within six months of graduation,” said Thomas Dahdouh, FTC western regional director, who showed a commercial of DeVry University in Spanish during the media briefing.

“We challenged this ad as deceptive. We asserted in federal court that they don’t have the data to back up that claim. Our aim is to get money back to students who were harmed by that deception,” Thomas said.

Occasionally, for-profit schools as well as high school diploma mills, market their services to immigrant communities, making false promises on high jobs placement, transferability of credits or low costs of enrollment.

“There are red flags like schools putting pressure to enroll before you have a chance to

Victim of fraud testified

research the program or confirm the financial aid. The students have the right to cancel the contract but its particular hard for foreign students who don’t know about this,” said Dahdouh.

Home loan scams People in communities of color in the Bay Area, who have longed to become homeowners or were trying to modify their existing loans, were targeted by lending institutions.

“We have almost no homeowners now in our database who were not approached, or who didn’t pay a scammer,” said Maeve Elise Brown, executive director of Housing and Economics Right Advocates (HERA). “Despite the fact that we have a state law that prohibits the advance collection of fees for loan modification work, people are still getting asked to pay money up front for loan modification. The work does not actually get performed.”

HERA filed six complaints on behalf of six different Latino fam-

ilies who were approached by an organization called Home Loan Auditors, with the promise to save their homes and lower their mortgage payments.

“All of them were approached in Spanish, but received documents in English that forced them to pay (up) thousands of dollars to save their most precious asset.

“We are going to federal court charging discrimination, because one of the key aspects why people are ripped off is based on

who they are. They are selected as seniors, people of color, women and immigrants. That is discrimination.”

In spite of the big effort of authorities and advocates to punish the scammers, oftentimes individuals or institutions are not traceable and simply disappear with the victims’ money.

“It could be a challenge to try to get money back in the hands of the consumer,” said FTC Chairwoman Ramirez. “That is why prevention is so key.” n

Photos by David Bacon

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OpiniOn

Features

Fear of cheating

STEALING a voting machine and replacing the ballots may be farfetched, but other concerns on election cheating deserve to be addressed by authorities. A survey conducted by pollster Pulse Asia last month showed four in 10 Filipinos expected some form of cheating to occur in the May elections.

The nationwide survey taken from Jan. 24 to 28 showed 48 percent of Filipinos believing that the elections would be clean and credible. But the 39 percent who believe otherwise is a disturbing number and the fears must be addressed.

Of the 39 percent, the biggest concern was vote buying, according to the survey. The second concern was tampering with the precinct count optical scan machines, now called the optical mark readers, followed by attempts to manipulate the vote count and the deployment of flying voters. Also cited were the possible replacement of ballots in the voting machines, harassment of voters and election officers, and blackouts.

Officials of the Commission on Elections and Malacañang assured the public yesterday that there would be no cheating in May. The Comelec has constantly reassured the public that the voting machines are tamper-proof and hack-resistant.

Generators are also on standby for blackouts par-

ticularly in Mindanao, the Comelec has said.

The other concerns raised by the survey respondents are beyond Comelec control, but it can coordinate with government agencies to curb underhanded campaign practices. Various forms of vote buying may be difficult to stop, but the use of public resources for partisan purposes can be closely monitored.

Harassment of voters and election officers can involve violence including assassination, which is the worst form of undermining a free vote. The government can do more to bring down the level of election violence, which gives Philippine democracy a bad name.

The voter’s list is purged periodically, but eternal public vigilance is needed against flying voters.

Care is needed particularly in allowing national prisoners and local jail inmates to vote, since they padding to ghost voters to rampant vote buying are likely to be registered elsewhere as voters.

The nation has had a long experience with elec- and outright snatching of ballot boxes. The survey tion fraud, from dagdag-bawas or vote shaving and is a reminder to authorities that the credibility of

Guest Editorial

Philstar.com photo

the vote remains a concern for a large number of Filipinos. Every effort must be made to ensure that the worst fears do not materialize. (Philstar.com)

Kababayans react to Pacquiao’s remarks comparing same-sex couples to animals I WONDER if Manny Pacquiao anticipated such strong backlash regarding his controversial interview, wherein he compared gays and lesbians to animals. If you have not heard or read what he actually said, here is the quote: “Kasi para sa akin ito lang, common sense lang.

Makakita ka ba ng any animals na lalaki sa lalaki o babae sa babae? Mas mabuti pa ‘yung hayop.

Marunong kumikilala, kung lalaki o lalaki, babae, babae. (For me, it’s common sense. Will you see any animals where male is to male and female is to female? The animals are better. They know how to distinguish, male or female),” the Philippines’ Pambansang Kamao said.

Being born again Christian, the Pacman humbly apologized but stood by his principles anchored on what the Bible says. His own words: “Ako po ay humihingi ng paumanhin sa lahat ng mga nasaktan dahil sa aking pagkumpara ng tao sa hayop. ‘Yun po ay kamalian ko at ako po ay humihingi ng paumanhin sa lahat ng nasaktan,” Pacquiao said.

“Hindi po nagbabago ang aking desisyon na against po ako sa same-sex marriage at iyan po ang

paniniwala ko,” said the fighting congressman. “Ang pagkaka- The Fil-Am mali ko lang po ay ikinumpara Perspective ko ang tao sa hayop.”

In the high-tech world we now live in, such controversial statements made by Pacquiao reverberated not only in the Philippines but throughout the Gel SantoS-ReloS world as well, thanks to satellite TV and the social media. Major networks and publications picked up the story, and popular celebrities in the Philippines and around the world, especially in the United States, did not mince words to express their opposition to and disgust with Pacquiao’s statements.

As I wrote last Wednesday in the Asian Journal’s Midweek edition, the loudest and most fiery backlash was from a Filipino American who lives in New Jersey. Aries Dela Cruz spearheaded an online petition for Nike to drop Pacquiao after his statement.

Consequently, Pacquiao was fired by Nike, and many big corporations have distanced them-

Pakikipagkapwa and understanding gays’ self-worth as equal to straights “ALL genuinely Filipino values thrive on sharing, rather than Rhizomes comparing, and operate within fields: the core concept kapwa considers the social field as much as the individual by sharing the Self.” — Katrin de Guia, Ph.D., author of “Kapwa: The PRoSy abaRquezDelacRuz, J.D. Self in Other”, 2005.

Veteran journalist Cokie Roberts was introduced as a ‘Living Legend’ at Mount St. Mary’s University on Jan. 27, a title bestowed on her by Library of Congress in 2008. What does it mean to be a living legend? For Cokie, who has received 25 honorary degrees and wrote several New York Times’ bestsellers, she underscored “living.” It was a self-effacing statement, without calling more attention to what she has achieved.

She stood tall at the lectern, with her turquoise blazer and a matching turquoise stoned-necklace, “an opaque, blue to green mineral, the de facto stone for the millennia, in Persia.”

It struck me how she carried herself -- her accessibility to the audience, as folks joined her for photos -- but also how she responded with formal ease: smiling, waiting for you to ask the questions and then, responding. Perhaps, the schooling she got from the nuns, The Religious of the Sacred Heart developed her to her regal self?

She told the stories of Catholic nuns, two had become saints, St. Elizabeth Seton and St. Francesca Cabrini. She spoke of their roles in setting up schools for girls. Within a week of arriving in New Orleans and later, at a Midwestern state, Elizabeth set up a school for girls, as she understood the value of education in forming one’s self-worth.

She was simply sharing, much like what we Filipinos know, as pakikipagkapwa, sharing the Self and seeing the self in Others.

“You do not own my humanity” Fast forward to 2016, when the words of Manny Pacquiao reverberated beyond the Philippines and enraged netizens and citizens when he compared those in same-sex relationships as “worse than animals.”

The usually unflappable Boy Abunda made a statement on Feb. 16, 2016: “I am not begging Manny Pacquiao for dignity. I am not begging you

for respect. I am not begging you for my humanity because you do not own my humanity. Akin iyon.

That’s my birthright.”

Pacquiao’s comments were deemed offensive by netizens, including this writer, as he passed judgment on gay folks as less than human beings.

To be compared as “worse than animals” when gay folks are fully contributing citizens and highly respected in many circles?

Coming from a guy whose adultery, gambling and alcoholism were publicly known? Does that make Manny Pacquiao more respectable than an animal, a much better human being?

Now he wants us to perceive him as a much better person, for he is now a congressperson, a celebrated sports figure, an endorser of various sports products, a preacher, and as a senatorial candidate who might win in May 2016?

Gays in America and their social spaces In America, gays are equally respectable, for they are sports figures, actors, fashion designers, publicists, theater directors, musicians, producers, singers, teachers, makeup artists, military officers, professionals, social works, chefs and more. Even some serve as reliable White House staffers and goodwill American ambassadors to the world. There are no longer any limitations on the roles they can have to serve the American people.

Americans have now matured enough to recognize that gays are equally God’s beloved, deserving of our collective high-regard and respect. Yet, not all, as in southern states, they are seeking to exclude gays and redefine their human rights.

When the US Supreme Court ruled that civil marriages of gay couples are valid and protected, Pres. Obama tweeted, “Today is a big step in our march toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else. #LoveWins.” That was June 26, 2015, a historymaking event for the gay community.

For the decision conveyed that if Americans are deemed equal under the law, then their love

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selves from Pacquaio. Now, this kababayan from New Jersey is getting death threats online.

One of the most high-profile transgender models and LGBT advocates in the world, Filipina Geena Rocero, has spoken up against Manny Pacquiao in a Balitang America report by North America Bureau Chief Paul Henson.

Rocero urged not just corporations but the whole LGBT community in the Philippines to rise up against so-called bigoted public personalities.

Rocero told Henson that Pacquaio’s words are not just homophobic but dangerous, citing the high suicide rate among members of the LGBT community, who say they are born this way — as gays and lesbians. Statements made by powerful high profile personalities and politicians like Pacquiao only add to the the isolation and discrimination against gays and lesbians.

But it seems a majority of Filipinos, whether in the Philippines or here in the United States, are more forgiving and even supportive of the Pam-

bansang Kamao, and in my view, this is a reflection of the Pinoys’ loyalty to their idol Pacquiao.

More importantly, it is how much they share his views opposing gays and lesbians engaging in sexual relationships and getting married.

In an online poll, The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang America” asked its viewers: “Were you personally offended by Pacquiao’s comments comparing people in homosexual relationships to animals?”

A big majority of those who voted, 66 percent, said NO. Some said Pacquiao was just expressing his opinion because of his religious convictions, and he has the right to do so because of free speech.

34 percent said YES. They opined that Pacquiao’s comments were hurtful, homophobic and unworthy of someone who is known as “The People’s Champ.” *** 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

Post-script to the first Philippine presidential debate WHAT was billed as a debate among the candidates in the May Street presidential elections turned out to be a race against the clock for Talk each speaker and an occasional exchange of light jabs.

It wasn’t really much of a “debate” as typified by the war of innuendos and insults in the US GreG B. MacaBenta between the Republican presidential wannabes, as well as the cogent explanation of plans and policies that have marked the exchanges between Democratic contenders, Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders.

Given the 90-second time limit set for each candidate to respond to a question from the moderators, the 30-second limit set for what was supposed to be a rebuttal from a rival candidate and another 30 seconds for a counter-rebuttal, there was very little by way of depth that could have been expected from the first Philippine presidential debate.

Indeed, there was more meat in the 30-second spots that some of the candidates managed to air within the two-hour session, 48 minutes of which were allotted to commercials.

Perhaps due to her show business upbringing, Senator Grace Poe had obviously spent a lot of time preparing and memorizing her responses to the predictable topics. She delivered her lines well and one could concede that she did a good job of acting presidential.

Of course, between acting and knowing what to do in a real-life presidential environment, there can be a humongous gap.

I’m reminded of the inaugural speech of President Noynoy Aquino which a delegation of Filipinos from the US (of which I was a part) had the privilege of listening to, up close (we had special seats in front of the Luneta grandstand). Aquino also delivered his lines well and some of them were quite memorable – things like “Wala nang wang-wang.” (No more sirens, meaning no more special treatment).

Unfortunately, between that impressive speech and his actual performance as leader of the country, there has been a wide and disappointing gap.

This prompted the late Senator Joker Arroyo to describe the Aquino presidency as OJT or on-the-

job training and to compare it to a college student council.

This was also obviously what LP standard bearer Mar Roxas meant when he patronizingly reminded Poe that the presidency is not meant for OJT. In the next breath, Roxas then rattled off his credentials as a public official, trying hard to impress his rivals and the audience with them. Too bad, Poe’s 30-second rebuttal was rather tentative and not forceful enough. She could have shot back, “With all of that experience, why haven’t you learned to do your job well?”

She did try to point that out but her statement was diluted by an effort to sound civil. Referring to the problems in the DILG and DOTC, Poe quipped, ‘I don’t need extensive experience to understand our transportation problems.’

That, of course, was a mouthful. True, Poe doesn’t need any experience to know that there is a transportation problem in Metro Manila but it will take more than memorizing a prepared spiel to get at the root of the mess and untangle it.

In that exchange between Roxas and Poe, VicePresident Jejomar Binay could have butted in with, “Bakit hanggang ngayon, palpak ka pa rin?” (Why are you still incompetent up to now?).

But the format of the debate did not allow that kind of verbal cross-fire. According to the papers, Binay did subsequently take a direct dig at Roxas in a campaign stop in Iligan City, the day after the debate. He reportedly described Roxas as “Secretary Palpak.”

He should have said that line during the debate.

Some of the most memorable responses came from Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. Asked to rebut the 90-second answer of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago to a question from the moderators, Duterte quipped, “There’s nothing to rebut. I agree with what she said.” Or words to that effect.

And when it was Duterte’s turn to respond to a question from the moderators, this time concerning his reported penchant for extra-judicial killings and his alleged loose morals, he denied the first and attributed the second to “biological” needs.

Like Poe, Duterte also said a mouthful when he

u PAGE A9

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OpiniOn & Features

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1, 2016

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Pakikipagkapwa and understanding… The failure of agrarian reform under Cory Aquino

PAGE A8 t

for one another must be equal to anyone else’s as well.

Catholics and gays No less than Pope Francis made this assertion, “Who am I to judge?”

CNN reported on June 29, 2013 that “Pope Francis said Monday that he will not ‘judge’ gays and lesbians, including gay priests, signaling a shift from his predecessor and offering another sign that the new pope is committed to changing the church’s approach to historically marginalized groups. ‘If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?’ Francis said in a wide-ranging news conference aboard the papal plane.”

At a Hollywood café, I interviewed a Catholic priest. I am not sure how we got into the topic of gays. He said, “I did not know you have a gay son,” to which I replied, “I don’t hide that fact. He is quite active in the gay community. I am as proud of him, as my daughter. They are equal in my view and I love them both, dearly!”

He then described that Pope Francis changed the Church’s approach to gays such that Catholics should be welcoming and inclusive of gays.

But, the caveat, he added that Pope Francis did not change the definition of church marriage as still between that of a man and a woman. The effect to me was an implied half a sacred God’s

creature.

Our discussion came to a natural stop. I kept quiet, so did he. It was as if the space of our discussion was purposely left open for both to consider: do you treat gays with consternation, with judgment, and with offensive hatred, much like Manny Pacquiao did and label their behaviors as beneath animals?

Or equally offensive, as the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia did by relegating gays, as second-class citizens?

Or would you as a self-respecting individual with self-worth recognize that gays also have selfworth as contributing citizens of this country and accord them the requisite respect and dignity, as others?

Are they not God’s beloved as well, created by the Maker in His image, and certainly not half of God’s beloved?

One Catholic family gathering During a get-together many moons ago, relatives -- many of whom are devout Catholics -- gathered around the table. In this family, three cousins are gay.

One mother, a woman in her 50s, was crying.

She just read her son’s journal and found out that he is a gay, forbidden in her perspective.

She wasn’t quite ready for the family discussion on gay rights at that gathering. The rest were lis-

MEMBERS of the yellow tribe marked the 30th anniversary of Opinion what they call people power revolt on Thursday, Feb. 26. Hopefully, their numbers will be small enough to confine themselves to a road which is perpendicular to the 23.8-kilometer Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA, formerly EmEtErio PErEz called Highway 54.)

The restriction may be justified by the fact that not many Filipinos believe anymore in EDSA’s spirit of unity against the alleged dictatorial regime of the late President Ferdinand Marcos. To some who choose to forget EDSA day even if February 25 has been declared a holiday, the late President Marcos was even a better leader than the first woman president who succeeded him.

This piece, however, is neither about EDSA nor about the yellow followers of the late President Corazon Aquino, whose son is the present temporary occupant of Malacañang Palace. I prefer to write again about the failed legacy of the first woman president of the Philippines, which was Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI), as I did on February 27, 2014.

Stock corporation Why HLI? Why don’t I write about the uprising that had, as claimed by the yellows, successfully u PAGE A10 driven the Marcoses out of Malacañang Palace?

I am sticking to the topic that is HLI to illustrate how, as the Supreme Court has ruled, shares of stock could never replace a piece of farmland that the hacienda’s tenant farmers truly deserve to you choose someone you have known for a long time, someone who has never taken advantage of you, and someone who comes with a good recommendation from a former employer?”

This left him wide open for a reminder from Binay that Roxas had been the epitome of incompetence in dealing with the Yolanda disaster.

Defensively, Roxas protested that he was in Tacloban the day before, on the day of and in the days following the tragedy. He claimed staying for 16 days attending to the problem.

Well, Roxas’s presence was not much help. Millions in Yolanda relief funds are missing, tons of relief goods and food were left to rot, and to this day, thousands of missing persons have not been accounted for in the government’s desperate effort to minimize the official casualty count. .

I myself wrote a piece on the Roxas-Soliman-Gazmin management principle which they called, “The Convergent Approach” – meaning, no one was really in charge and each one was left to his or her own devices. No wonder, the result was SNAFU – Situation Normal. All F*cked Up. As a native of that city, I know that Taclobanons have not forgiven Roxas for his heartless remark, “Bahala na kayo sa buhay niyo.”

One of the most significant exchanges between Roxas and Binay was when the former pointed out that “there are two Makatis.” He referred to “the Makati of the Ayalas” and the poor sections of the city governed by the Binays.

Someone could have added that, in truth, there are also two countries in our hapless Philippines. The country of the wealthy and the influential and the country of the poor, the jobless and the homeless.

Hopefully the next two presidential debates will focus on that without the forced civility and politeness. (gregmacabenta@hotmail.com)

Post-script to the first Philippine…

PAGE A8 t

vowed to stop corruption and criminality, including drug trafficking, “in three to six months” from assuming the presidency.

If Duterte had such a talent, he would be the crime fighter of choice for the United States which has had difficulty getting rid of the mob and is not getting far in combating the problem of drugs.

Someone could also have reminded Duterte that when the New People’s Army collects “revolutionary taxes” and demands payment for “permits to campaign,” those are criminal acts – yet he has abetted them. That makes him an accessory to the crime.

At any rate, it was Poe who was designated to react to Duterte’s statement, but she tried too hard to be polite. She only managed to remind Duterte to be careful because the women he dealt with could have a boyfriend or could be married. It was the former teacher in Poe telling a naughty pupil to behave. Spank. Spank.

One almost wished that it was Santiago who had been asked to make the rebuttal – she with her convoluted English and barbed tongue – but then, Duterte and Santiago had nice words to say to each other, early on, and could not have been expected to throw verbal daggers.

Mar Roxas was the most pugnacious of the five presidential contenders. Perhaps owing to his poor survey ranking, behind Binay, Poe and Duterte, Roxas tried to come on very strong, both in his attacks on his rivals and in his claim to an impressive record of performance.

At one point, Roxas offered an analogy as quoted in media: “I have a simple question with a simple answer. Who will you choose as your daily driver to entrust your child: Is it someone with a case of corruption, a hot-head who is prone to accidents, or someone who is just learning to drive? Or will

own.

HLI was a circumvention of the agrarian reform law. It was not only a frustration even as it was mandated under the governing provisions of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) of the late first woman president.

The agrarian reform version of Aquino the mother was bound to fail from the day HLI farmers agreed to become its stockholders on May 11, 1989. After 22 years, however, the high court upheld the Department of Agrarian Reform’s decision which declared as illegal the stock certificates instead of farm lots in complying with the law on agrarian reform.

Not beneficial to farmers Here are the reasons why Cory’s version of agrarian reform was intended to benefit her family’s hacienda and not the tenants: Aside from not being compliant with the agrarian reform law, HLI deprived its tenants the opportunity to own a piece of the property. Shares of stocks could never replace farm lots, which the Cojuangcos tried to impose on most of their tenants.

Those who agreed to become HLI stockholders did not know what they were getting in exchange for farm lots. The company in which they were to own 37 percent, or even more, would eventually collapse with an accumulated deficit of more than P1 billion.

What happens to a company that has incurred that kind of deficit and continues to lose money?

u PAGE A11

A10 FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1, 2016 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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Kerry cites US-Philippines ties, calls Del Rosario a statesman

by Pia Lee-Brago Philstar.com

MANILA — US State Secretary John Kerry has called Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario a statesman whose leadership helped steer the course of events in the Philippines and around the world in the right direction.

Kerry expressed pride in calling Del Rosario a “trusted colleague and a personal friend.”

This was contained in a letter addressed to Del Rosario and read by State Department Counselor Kristie Kenney during the inauguration of the newly renovated Philippines Chancery annex in Washington on Feb. 24.

“There’s simply no doubt that today’s close US-Philippines relationship is thanks in large part to your sound judgment and EDSA Experential Museum’s Hall of the Lost or the Disappeared (Desaparecidos). The EDSA People Power Commission (EPPC) hopes to strong commitment to diplomadebunk myths and misconceptions about the People Power Revolution, especially among the new generation of Filipinos, through an cy. Your steady leadership not experiential museum set up at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. The interactive museum, which is composed of nine halls, recreates the only ensured the vitality of our martial law victims’ struggle for democracy, including the events that led to the bloodless revolution in 1986. countries’ friendship, it has also Inquirer.net photo by Yuji Vincent Gonzales helped steer the course of events in the Philippines and around the world in the right direction,” Kerry wrote.

“As we live in an increasingly would it be far fetched to expect today’s schools PAGE A9 t tening, including the moms of other cousins, who to likewise nurture today’s individuals’ self-worth, uncertain and complex world, the international community will already came out. She struggled from her percep- gays and straight?

Shouldn’t schools contribute to altering the so- need more statesmen like you. tions of conflict between what she believes Catholics must do and what her mother’s heart feels, cial landscape, as much as our institutions, toward equal and fair treatment of gays, with straights? love for her gay son.

And for us, voters, should we not elevate hateful One of her relatives said to her, “Judge not, as God makes the final judgment, and He is the final politicians into positions of power (though some argue that Pacquiao was simply ignorant), when authority.”

Another asked, “Would you allow folks to judge public figures are usually held to higher standards what you and your husband do inside your bed- of demeanor?

Voting for Manny and others who make ignoby Nestor CorraLes room? Should that be anyone’s concern, as citiInquirer.net zens of a civil society? Isn’t bedrooms zones of pri- rant, offensive remarks make us citizens behave vacy for couples, much like a woman’s body is hers less than our own God-given self-worth and digTHE tandem of Davao City nity, who are deserving of respectable public leadto control and not the government’s?” ers who can work for our collective public good, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and SenShe did not say much, but her tears flowed.

Fast forward to 2014, she has accepted her gay a person of good character, a living legend like ate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano has vowed to ensure an son and his partner, including helping out the gay Cokie Roberts?

We had to learn that enviable value of seeing orderly health care system in the couple purchase their own home. Presumably, mom has now conveyed to her son and his partner the Self in others, through Cokie Roberts’ sharing country if elected in the upcomthat they too, have self-worth, and should not be of herself. By his actions, that is not Manny Pac- ing national elections in May. Citing a 2013 report by the quiao, by any stretch of truth or imagination, who judged.

At gatherings, this gay son (Christopher, for compared gays to beneath animals, and did not Philippine Society for General Internal Medicine, Cayetano said this piece) and his partner interact with ease and embody the Filipino value of pakikipagkapwa.

6 out of 10 Filipinos die without *** contribute to the family dynamics.

The elephant, once an invisible body of animos- Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian seeing a doctor.

“This is simply unacceptable! ity in the room and an unconscious guest, is no Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for AJ Press for 9 years now. She contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her Sobra na ang gulo at hirap sa bulonger invited.

Love is love, amongst gays and straight citizens, training and experiences are in science, food technology, law and hay ng tao. Pati serbisyong panand equal under the law. We must not allow politi- community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree gkalusugan, hindi maaasahan ng cians or public figures to demonize gay citizens, from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier maraming Pilipino ,” he said in a College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century statement. whom they are supposed to serve.

(This is simply unacceptable!

If French nuns then helped to nurture the Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She has self-worth of thousands of American young girls been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter The chaos and poverty besetthrough education, such that one is now a great Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, ting the lives of our people are living legend, like Cokie Roberts (who celebrates Holland, Belgium, Japan, Mexico and 22 national parks in the US, in too much. Filipinos cannot even u PAGE A11 her 50 years of marriage to her husband this year) pursuit of her love for arts.

Pakikipagkapwa and understanding…

Thank you for being a tireless champion of US-Philippines relations and, always, a true gentleman.”

According to Kenney, it was through Del Rosario and his wife Gretchen that she “first came to know and love the warmth, the charm, the grace and the dignity of the Filipino people.”

Kenney was ambassador to the Philippines from 2006-2010. She was the first woman US ambassador to Manila.

Del Rosario, who will be stepping down from office on March 7, took the opportunity to thank members of the Washington community at a reception hosted by the Philippine embassy in recognition of his faithful service to the Philippines and the Filipino people.

Sen. Mazie Hirono expressed appreciation for Del Rosario’s leadership and continuing commitment in view of the large Filipino population in Hawaii and the growing importance of the Asia Pacific region in world affairs.

Del Rosario thanked colleagues and partners in the Philippine and US governments for contributing their time and effort in enhancing ties between the

Philippines and the US. The secretary cited the highlights of the bilateral relationship such as the gradual increase in US Foreign Military Financing for the Philippines, the inclusion of the Philippines in the Global Security Contingency Fund and the Partnership for Growth, and its selection as a recipient of a $434-million grant under the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

“As I relinquish my position next month, I think about how we managed our partnership with the United States. Joey (Cuisia) and I ask ourselves whether we will leave the relationship in a better state now than when we began. Working with friends such as your good selves, we believe, we can confidently say, ‘absolutely, but there will always be room to further enhance this relationship,’” Del Rosario said.

“Even if it is our belief that Philippines-US relations have never been better, we must still persist in working together to further strengthen our alliance so that we can proactively, effectively and strategically address our shared formidable challenges in the Asia Pacific region,” he stressed. n

Duterte, Cayetano vow ‘orderly’ health care system to Filipinos

Vice presidential candidate and Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, along with presidential bet Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, discusses their tandem’s platform of government as workers at the Mactan Export Processing Zone Authority (MEPZA) in Cebu City listen intently.

Photo by Duterte-cayetano Team

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A11

It’s final: Mayor who used US passport disqualified

by Edu

Punay Philstar.com

MANILA — A candidate who uses an American passport after renouncing US citizenship is not qualified to hold public office as a natural-born resident.

This landmark ruling of the Supreme Court (SC), which laid down standards on eligibility for election of candidates who used foreign passports, is now final and executory.

It is seen to have implications on the disqualification case filed against Sen. Grace Poe over citizenship and residency requirements.

In a two-page resolution promulgated on Feb. 9, the SC issued an entry of judgment in the case of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte Mayor Rommel Arnado.

The SC ruling, which became final last December, affirmed the disqualification of Arnado in the 2013 elections for using his American passport after renunciation of US citizenship.

The SC considered the use of a foreign passport by dual citizens as proof of ineligibility to hold public office as natural-born residents with undivided allegiance to the Philippines.

The ruling is seen to set a precedent that will have a bearing on the disqualification case against Poe in her bid for the presidency.

“Only natural-born Filipinos who owe total and undivided allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines could run for and hold elective public office,” stressed

the ruling penned by Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo, who has been tasked to also write the draft decision on Poe’s case.

“By using his US passport, Arnado positively and voluntarily represented himself as an American, in effect, declaring before immigration authorities of both countries that he is an American citizen, with all attendant rights and privileges granted by the United States of America,” the high court pointed out.

The SC held the use of a foreign passport after renouncing one’s foreign citizenship “is a positive and voluntary act of representation as to one’s nationality and citizenship” and “does not divest one of the reacquired Filipino citizenship but recants the Oath of Renunciation required to qualify one to run for an elective position.”

“When Arnado used his US passport just eleven days after he renounced his US citizenship, he recanted his Oath of Renunciation that he ‘absolutely and perpetually renounce(s) all allegiance and fidelity to the United States of America’ and that he ‘divest(s) (him)self of full employment of all civil and political rights and privileges of the United States of America.’ This act of using a foreign passport after renouncing his foreign citizenship is fatal to Arnado’s bid for public office, as it effectively imposed on him a disqualification to run for an elective local position,” it stressed.

The SC explained that renunciation of foreign citizenship “is

not a hollow oath that can simply be professed at any time, only to be violated the next day” and “requires an absolute and perpetual renunciation of the foreign citizenship and a full divestment of all civil and political rights granted by the foreign country which granted the citizenship.”

In Poe’s case, which has been submitted for resolution by the high tribunal after five hearings, it was learned that she continued to use her US passport until March 2010 after supposedly returning to the country in 2005.

Poe renounced her American citizenship only on Oct. 20, 2010, a day before she took her oath of office as chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

But Manuelito Luna, lawyer of former senator Francisco Tatad, one of four disqualification petitioners against Poe in the Commission on Elections, earlier cited records of US State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs possibly showing Poe still used her US passport after renouncing her American citizenship.

Luna said the documents indicated Poe used her US passport in September 2011, a month before her passport expired.

He said the SC should apply its Arnado ruling on Poe’s case.

“We’ve pointed out in our memorandum that two evidence show the use of US passport from 2006 to 2011 – Questionnaire Info on Possible Loss of US Nationality and motion for reconsideration of Poe on resolution of 1st Division of Comelec,” he said

The failure of agrarian reform under Cory…

PAGE A9 t

Definitely, it is bound to end in liquidation by the time its creditors start filing collection suits against it.

So, what happens to stockholders of such a bankrupt company?

In the order of priorities of claims against the assets of financially distressed corporations, the government enjoys the right to be paid ahead of other claimants, then the suppliers, workers, secured creditors and finally, the unsecured creditors, in that order. Being the tail-enders among claimants, the stockholders would get nothing.

Liquidation In the case of Hacienda Luisita, had it been liquidated, the Bureau of Internal Revenue would have run after it for unpaid taxes, if it had any. Unluckily for the hacienda’s tenants-turned stockholders, as owners of a stock corporation, they would have been at the tail-end of the list of claimants.

Luckily, the high court ruled against the Cojuangcos by outlawing CARP’s stock distribution

scheme that could have been a strategy to preserve one family’s ownership of 4,915 hectares of farm lands instead of distributing them to their tenants.

Had the SC’s ruling gone against the farmers, HLI would have served as the model for other wealthy families with vast tracts of tenanted farm lands. Unfortunately for the very rich, the high court saw in the Cojuangcos’ hacienda a diversionary tactic against the successful implementation of the Agrarian Reform law.

Today, the temporary resident of Malacañang Palace will probably join the yellows’ celebration of a forgotten EDSA spirit. He would probably wish his late mother were still alive to witness what to him would be a historic event, which it is obviously not.

Some, if not many, of those who were at EDSA on February 25, 1986 also wished that his mother should have lived long enough to have witnessed how the high tribunal led by Chief Justice Renato Corona nullified the distribution of stock certificates that she had conceived to protect the inheritance of her children. (esdperez@gmail.com.)

The Supreme Court considered the use of a foreign passport by dual citizens as proof of ineligibility to hold public office as natural-born residents with undivided allegiance to the Philippines.

AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File

in a text message.

The Constitution requires presidential candidates to be naturalborn citizens with residency in the country of at least 10 years prior to Election Day. Records showed Poe got married to Teodoro Misael Daniel Llamanzares on July 27, 1991.

Two days later, they went to the US together and decided to start a family there.

It was only on Oct. 18, 2001, or about 10 years later, when she became a US citizen.

After her father, the late movie actor Fernando Poe Jr., died in December 2004, she and her family decided to return to the

Philippines for good sometime in the first quarter of 2005 to be with her mother, veteran actress Susan Roces.

In July 2006, Poe took her oath of allegiance to the Philippines.

The Bureau of Immigration recognized her reacquisition of natural-born Philippine citizenship that same month. She and her children then became dual citizens.

It was found during oral arguments, however, that Poe was recognized by the BI after she claimed she was the biological daughter of FPJ and Roces.

On the issue of residency, the Comelec held Poe failed to re-

establish her domicile in the country that she had lost when she became a naturalized American citizen.

The poll body stressed that Poe’s intention to stay in the country for good was absent since she decided to keep her US citizenship, continued to use her US passport until 2010 after returning here in 2005 and was ambivalent on residing in the country.

The Comelec insisted Poe reacquired her domicile in the country only on Aug. 31, 2006, which means her residency eligibility would still fall short by about three months. n

Duterte, Cayetano vow ‘orderly’ health…

PAGE A10 t

depend on the health services offered [by the government].)

During the duo’s visit to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu on Thursday, Feb. 25 Cayetano said the lack of proper health care adds to the disorder and suffering afflicting the Filipinos.

He then vowed to ensure the full coverage of the Philippine Health Insurance Company (PhilHealth), the same promise made

by President Benigno Aquino III in 2010.

Furthermore, the senator said he would push for the full implementation of PhilHealth’s “zero billing” services to its members.

He slammed the government “for telling the people that they have 100% coverage and for advertising its zero billing health services, when this is simply not

true.”

“Pinaasa ninyo ang tao (You made false promises to the people). This had been the DOH (Department of Health) and PhilHealth system in the last few administrations. It’s time for real change,” Cayetano said.

However, even with a PhilHealth coverage, Cayetano said this would be useless without proper facilities in hospitals.

The vice presidential candidate laid out their plans to establish regional specialty hospitals in Visayas and in Mindanao if elected into office.

He said Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao should have their own heart center, kidney center, lung center, orthopedic center and children’s hospital and cancer research and treatment center.

These are national hospitals/

centers found only in Metro Manila, Cayetano said.

“Through PhilHealth, sin taxes and the national budget, Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao should have specialty hospitals. It is technically and financially viable and good for the people,” he said.

He said problems in the health care sector could only be remedied by leaders who have the courage and strength of character to create real change.

“Kailangan ng matapang na solusyon at mabilis na aksyon. Ito ang dala ko at ni Mayor Duterte sa eleksyong ito,” he said.The tandem of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano has vowed to ensure an orderly health care system in the country if elected in the upcoming national elections in May. n

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SHOWBIZ&STYLE Journal The Global Kababayan

B

Super Starlet meets and dances with Madonna

G. TönGi

JOINT FORCES. Thousands of people jammed Edsa on Feb. 23, 1986, and witnessed how then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile crossed the street to Camp Crame, where he consolidated forces with then Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos.

Photo from People Power Book, The Philippine Revolution of 1986.

FILIPInO stylist Shahani Gania – also known as drag queen Super Starlet (@superstarlet_xxx on Instagram) – recently experienced the “moment she has been waiting for all her life” when she had the amazing opportunity to be the Queen of Pop’s “unapologetic bitch” for her first concert night in the Philippines this past week.

This was when Queen Madge selected one lucky fan to join her on stage to sing and dance to her PAGE B4

Photo from Shahani Gania’s Instagram account (superstarlet_xxx)

Pinoy celebrities recall heady EDSA days

by Bayani

San Diego Jr. anD allan PolicarPio Inquirer.net

EvEn movie stars and Tv celebrities felt the spirit of the EDSA People Power Revolution 30 years ago as they joined fellow Filipinos on those four heady days that changed the course of the nation’s history.

Tessie Tomas, who used to spoof former first lady Imelda Marcos in her comedy shows, recalled joining “other performers Freddie Aguilar and the Apo Hiking Society on the roof of the (government station) PTv 4 building (now ABSCBn), entertaining the crowds so they would continue to protect us from government troops. The next day, I went to EDSA with my son, Robin, who was 10 years old then.

We both wore yellow shirts.”

Stand-up comic Willie nepomuceno said he was hosting the launch of a pizza restaurant in Makati when news of the coup led by (Marcos defense minister) Juan Ponce Enrile and (Armed Forces vice chief of staff) Fidel v. Ramos broke out. On his way back to Marikina, he saw opposi-

Ces Quesada

Jose Javier Reyes

tion leader Butz Aquino in front of Isetann department store, said the performer who said he was “a constant figure” in the four-day revolt.

Jon Santos, another comic who spoofs politicians, said he was a college senior at UP Diliman at the time. “I went to EDSA with my classmates. After three decades, we still reflect on EDSA and how we are continually challenged to fight for clean and honest elections and leaders who won’t betray our

trust.”

Never forget Ces Quesada, a former UP Diliman teacher who went on to portray Cory Aquino in the seminal gag show “Sic O’Clock news” post-EDSA, recalled following the news on Tv in her parents’ house. “(Earlier, I had gone) to Crame to bring sandwiches for the (rebel) soldiers,” she said.

Pop singer Celeste Legaspi, who joined 14 other performers PAGE B2

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The agonizing malady of a writer’s block! Toni Gonzaga still mum about rumored pregnancy Moonlighting

by Mylah de

leon

How strange is this demented feeling when I realize that I have spent agonizing days before a pen and a notebook, with nothing better to do but jot down notes at random. I rap out sentences and it does not help me think, but only eases my crabbed heart. I wish a notebook could laugh.

Every writer scrounges for inspiration in different places when the gods of creativity aren’t there.

I poached from current events, embellished to suit my reportage and felt no shame in raiding the headlines.

You move on and try writing humor. It is necessary, I’ve been taught, when attempting contemporary satire, as sharp-eyed humor relies on topical reference points.

True enough, some facts can not be improved on, or cannot be

delicately twisted.

So you try fiction writing, but you’ll need a sanctuary where you can escape, and create.

Writing fiction is a weird procedure of telling artful lies. It is a peculiar habit of inventing imaginary people who talk and sleep, dream and wake up, kick and kiss another—which is bizarre in itself.

That is why writers find ways to make it possible, from lent literary to variations on the hypothesis that a writer’s style may resemble her person as well as her nature.

What if the possibility that a writer’s style reflects her preoccupation as well? How does one learn how to write naturally?

How do you make something publishable or worthy of your editors respect? Charged with dreams and glory, artists tend to be more cheerful than writers. The prose is inexhaustible—you try to cobble out riveting portraits of these eccentrics on rage.

How far can you broaden the boundary that is permissible in terms of language (for we are always puritanical on that) once we have the idea?

In my efforts to give a clean

copy, I become complicated, as I stubbornly pay small heed to my faults and vulnerability, because they are stronger than I am.

The deadline flashes and the pressure are wicked. Susceptible and confusing, sometimes when it threatens my sanity, I wish I had listened to my mother and did something practical by becoming a doctor or lawyer. It is said that to come up with a copy during a writer’s block is like pushing the waves. One needs a cool, calm, credible intelligence and unending lesson in tenacity, perseverance—with a lot of vision and imagination.

The strangeness of life and the world are stories worth telling.

You’re watching a circus of human behavior, marvelous movements and curious minds, passing your village.

Sometimes, what they call creative breakthrough, especially when worked out metaphors have been milked to the limits, is just a pipe dream.

Sometimes and with reason, writing can be a prolonged and disenchanting misery: imprisPAGE B4

MANILA—Toni Gonzaga would rather not talk about about her rumored pregnancy yet.

“I think this is not the right place and moment to talk about it,” she replied when asked about her pregnancy, in an interview aired in the ABS-CBN late night talk show “Tonight with Boy Abunda” aired on Tuesday, Feb. 23.

The Kapamilya actress said that there’s “tamang

panahon” to talk about the issue.

It was early this month when a report came out about her pregnancy, eight months after her wedding with Paul.

In previous interviews, the actress-host said that they haven’t planned to have a baby yet and that she would still finish her projects with her home network even after she got married. (Joyce Jimenez/Philstar.com)

Pinoy celebrities recall heady EDSA...

Joel Lamangan

PAGE B1 in recording the EDSA anthem “Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo,” recounted how she went to EDSA on the first night and brought freshly baked pan de sal for the soldiers. “It is good to observe the 30th anniversary of EDSA … We must never forget,” she said.

Singer Kuh Ledesma recalled that she sang “Bayan Ko” one night on EDSA. “We should be proud of EDSA. We got together for a common and worthy cause— to topple a dictatorship and regain democracy.”

Scriptwriter-director Jose Javier Reyes likewise shared “vivid memories” of those four days.

“My best friend (actor) Manny Castañeda and I were among the first people to join (TV director) Johnny Manahan and his group at the PTV 4 studios along Mother

Ignacia Street, monitoring troop movements and relaying the latest developments to the public.”

It was a time for unwavering, if sleep-deprived, valor. “Fueled by adrenaline, we survived on only two hours of sleep,” Reyes recalled, adding that he now regards the events of February 1986 with “a greater sense of objectivity.” He added: “The personalities deemed as heroes then were not saints, (but) were just historical necessities who had their own agenda better understood decades later.”

Activists Filmmaker Joel Lamangan, who was on EDSA with the late director Lino Brocka and other artists, said that “the young people who sacrificed their lives for freedom (before EDSA) must be remembered as well. We must also honor the heroism of activists who were jailed or killed so that EDSA could happen.”

Scriptwriter Ricky Lee said he was a regular on EDSA who would stay till late at night, “sometimes with Brocka, sometimes with (actress) Chanda Romero and other friends and workshoppers. I told them that people power happened because, during martial law, many Filipinos risked their lives, took to the streets and opposed the dictatorship.They paved the way.

And I am proud to say that I was one of them.”

Singer-actress Ali Sotto, another Imelda impersonator on TV, said she was an Ateneo law student who later joined the National Movement for Free Elections in the 1986 snap polls. She was monitoring the canvassing of votes when the revolt broke out.

Rushing off to EDSA, she “ran into and joined the group of (the late director) Marilou Diaz-Abaya.”

Today, the radio commentator PAGE B3

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B

Kiss from Clive Owen, love from Meryl Streep

by Bayani

San Diego Inquirer.net

THIS WEEK ON “CITIZEN PINOY!” Leading US immigration lawyer Michael J. Gurfinkel continues to answer questions from Kapamilya in Rosemont, Illinois, such as “I petitioned my son without legally adopting him, can he still qualify for a visa?,” “Once I become a US citizen, can I invite my parents and siblings to come to the US as tourists?” Get answers to these and more on an encore episode of the information-packed, award-winning public service program -- “Citizen Pinoy,” this Sunday, February 28 at 6:15 pm PST/EST (9:15 pm EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers).

Pinoy celebrities recall heady EDSA...

PAGE B2 conceded that the “euphoria had long since died down… but what is inarguable is that we regained many of the freedoms we had lost during martial law, including freedom of speech. Had I done then the kind of political satire and commentary that Arnold Clavio and I are doing now, I would have been a desaparecida.”

Mass action Before he played Gen. Antonio Luna in the 2015 film “Heneral Luna,” actor John Arcilla was already a revolutionary in his own way, a regular in the parliament of the streets and president of the cultural arm of a student organization.”

When EDSA happened, some student leaders cautioned Arcilla that it was not a true people’s revolution. “But I wanted to give Filipinos credit for that triumphant day,” he said, adding that EDSA was a “culmination of our tireless community-organizing and massaction efforts.”

Singer Bituin Escalante was only 8 in 1986, whose parents would go to EDSA after bidding “real goodbyes because there was uncertainty in the air.” When the crowds swelled and the soldiers switched sides, her parents brought her along to EDSA with her grandparents and uncles. “We wore homemade shirts that read: ‘Veteran February 1986.’”

Actor Juan Rodrigo went to EDSA with his mom and siblings and brought sandwiches to share with others. “The feeling was indescribable. People were friendlier.

You could feel the love and sincerity. How I wish that kind of unity still exists now.”

Stuck at home Singer Ogie Alcasid was a college freshman at UP Los Baños, but would motor all the way to Manila, to join the crowds on EDSA. “I am now part of the EDSA People Power Commission, which sees to it that its ideals will never be forgotten.”

Others celebrities, who were stuck at home or based miles away, made sure they were part of the fiesta revolution, too—as

concerned citizens who monitored the event as it unfolded on radio and television.

Among them were high-schooler Cooky Chua who recalled watching everything on TV as her parents did not allow her to go out on the streets. “One of the things that struck me was the music,” said the singer who later joined the cast of “Lean,” the musical on the life of murdered student leader Lean Alejandro in 1997.

Singer Bayang Barrios, also based in Mindanao in the 1980s, remembered the “curfew and (not being) free to speak out against the government.” She felt happy when the people prevailed on EDSA, she said. “It showed us that there’s power in unity.”

Folk singer Lolita Carbon was also at home monitoring the news on EDSA. “Through my music and songs, I try to embolden people and encourage them to piece everything together.”

Poetic justice Singer Martin Nievera recalled being glued to the TV and “feeling the tension in the air.” His mother had already booked plane tickets for his sisters, he said, adding: “Being close to the Marcoses didn’t help.”

Jr.

IT was “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

And since actor Bernardo Bernardo was not the type to decline such a golden prospect, he somehow scored a kiss from Oscar nominee and Berlinale juror Clive Owen at a dinner party in honor of the winners—which included the Filipino film, Lav Diaz’s “Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis,” which won the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize.

The way Bernardo recalled it, the “kiss” was part of a dare the film’s Tres Tikbalangs (halfmen/half-horse creatures played by him, Angel Aquino and Cherie Gil) concocted after the Philippine contingent’s heady victory. “We dared Cherie to ask for a kiss,” he reminisced. “She could and she did. Angel did the same. So, why not me?”

Owen was game. “He smiled and said: ‘Yes, of course!’” They had to do it thrice “because the first two photos were blurry. I was so embarrassed. Char!”

Owen was so gracious that he even invited the PH team to the “after-party party.” “He said he was done with jury duty!”

Bernardo also snagged a little face time with jury president and three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep.

The Filipino cast and crew

Folk singer Joey Ayala recalled being in Davao province, monitoring developments on radio and playing mah jong with his in-laws.

“What remains relevant is the idea that power resides in the people,” he said.

Gary Valenciano, a young father then, was unsure of what would happen, “but certain of the need to be at EDSA.” He recalled: “I thought we were going to war. It was a trying time for me because I didn’t know what the future held.”

His son Paolo was only 4 months old then, while his wife, Angeli Pangilinan, was in Hong Kong for a surgery, he said.

Musician RJ Jacinto, whose family was persecuted by the martial-law regime, was “on exile in Hawaii” when the revolution happened. “I watched everything on CNN,” he said.

When Radio Veritas went off the air, a station called Radyo Bandido took over and appealed for support for the rebel soldiers.

“Turned out Radyo Bandido was my old rock ’n’ roll station dzRJ, Angel Aquino gives Clive Owen a kiss. which was taken over by the (Marcos) military in 1972. It was poetic justice,” he said. “A radio station I put up became a voice of democracy.”

by Joyce Jimenez

Mery Streep chats with John Lloyd Cruz.

were called onstage by Diaz after the awarding. Executive producer Paul Soriano then took them to Streep.

“All I could muster was: ‘Miss Streep, you’re the favorite actress of the Philippines.’ Her eyes lit up, and she said, ‘You were amazing!

You were all wonderful!’ That was my chocolate high for the year.”

The Filipinos were in a “delightful daze” on the red carpet, he recalled. They were dressed to the nines—Bernardo in a barong, “a gift from the late German Moreno”; the other gents in suits; and the ladies in gowns. Gil wore a red Oliver Tolentino dress. “I wanted to wear creations by

Photos courtesy of Bianca Balbuena

Filipino designers,” she said. At the premiere, she wore an aqua Michael Cinco.

At the postawards party, the jury gave the “Hele” contingent a standing ovation, Bernardo said.

Streep made it a point to chat with the Filipino actors, including Hazel Orencio and Susan Africa, and told them that “Hele” was “fantastic and… rearranged the molecules in her mind.”

She explained that the long scenes allowed her “to appreciate the changes of emotions in the actors’ faces.”

Bernardo reported: “She told Lav that she was drawn to the film… that she became part of the action, and the action became part of her—just like what movies used to do when she was a newcomer.

She confessed that she felt sad that this film experience had changed through time.”

Soriano confirmed that Streep was keenly interested in “Hele.”

Recounted Soriano: “She said she enjoyed the film and felt calm as she watched and relished the experience. She was great! She also asked me why I decided to produce an eight-hour film. I simply replied that I wanted to learn from the great Lav Diaz. As a young filmmaker, I always strive to never stop learning and, in this movie, I got to pick the brain of a PAGE B5

Derek Ramsay a ‘happy’ Kapatid

their talents.

“It’s great that we’re getting MANILA – Derek Ramsay is more talent, we need that,” he happy with his home network, explained. “We can’t rely on one TV5. person to help this network deThis despite being focused velop. We need more talent.” with hosting projects.

“We’re all here to help the netTwo of his shows with the work, not just me,” he added. network are the Sunday noonThe Kapatid talent clarified the time variety show “Happy Truck reason behind the reformatting of Happinas” and the upcoming the variety show “Happy Truck reality challenge show “Tough & Happinas.”

Rough.”

“Maybe that’s why they wanted “I’m very blessed that I was to invest more money and time chosen by TV5 to do this project. to make the show better. Kung I’m very happy to be part of this ang network hindi nakikita ang family,” he said in an interview on potential ng show, hindi ma-reWednesday, Feb. 24. format ito. They’ll just scrap it,” He even revealed that he’s he added. looking forward about the plans Aside from his TV projects, of making another book of his Derek is also busy doing films. One fantasy show “Kidlat,” which he is a movie with Shaina Magdayao did in 2013. under Quantum Films, and another He added that he’s happy to is with Anne Curtis. He’s also under give new talents a chance to star talks with Viva and Star Cinema for in their own show and showcase two other separate movies.

Philstar.com

Ricky Lee

Derek Ramsay: “I’m very blessed that I was chosen by TV5 to do this project. I’m very happy to be part of this family,

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A happy wife is a happy life:

Meet Lilian Masaya

By Monet

Lu

Happiness is the first thing you would think of once you meet her. aside from the obvious english translation of her last name (i kid you not, it is really her actual surname), you would definitely want to know her after you’ve tasted her bestselling rice cakes (kakainin) and “cebuchon” (cebu lechon or roasted pig). To quote a famous adage that “[we] are what [we] eat,” would suggest why Lilian’s food creations are as sweet as its maker. presenting the sequel to my previous column on La’s Filipino Food destination, is the story of the sweet and charming baker of Lilian’s Breads & sweets in northridge, California. Meet owner and baker, Lilian Gutierrez– Masaya.

A happy tummy means a happy hubby Lilian Masaya had one dream when she was young. Being the youngest among 8 siblings, Lilian watched her sisters grow up and have families of their own. she loved hearing people complement her (older) sisters’ cooking and telling their husbands about it. it was then that she started wishing that she’d receive the same kind of praises when it’s her turn to become somebody’s wife.

Beaming she says, “pag ako nagasawa ako, gusto ko ganun din. sasabihin din ng mga kaibigan ng asawa ko na magaling din ako magluto. Matutuwa siguro yung asawa ko.” (When i get married, i want the same thing; that friends of my husband’s will tell him i am a great cook. That would’ve make my future husband happy). it wasn’t unlikely for Lilian to have the same talent in cooking.

Her aunts and her mother are known for their culinary skills, especially in making rice cakes.

However, among the sisters, it was only Lilian who tried her hand at rice cakes – and it was a hit! soon, people complemented her baking skills. and as she had wished, it was her husband that received the commendation. Lilian’s dream of making her husband happy became the foundation of what is now, by far, the best Filipino bakery in san Fernando Valley.

A bakery inside a car wash station When Lilian and her husband, Maxwell Masaya, decided to put

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up a bakery, it did not initially include a strategic—not to mention, unique—location such as the inside of a car wash station. a friend of mine raved about it when she and her husband had their car oilchanged (and washed), which led them to check out Lilian’s bakery. she said she now looks forward to having their car washed because that would mean she could eat at Lilian’s while waiting – not a bad reason, i thought. it might be the smell of coffee or the freshly baked chicken empanadas and pandesal that lure anyone into leaving their cars (in good hands, so far) to enter the hidden gem inside the car wash station. One small bite off their bibingkang kalamay will make you want to stay there the whole afternoon (yeah, even when your car’s all washed up and cleaned). “it’s like hitting two birds with one stone,” as one customer says. ‘Car wash duties and dining pleasure!’

A labor of love if Lilian is the hand behind all those delicious treats, her husband is the brain and the “wind beneath her wings” – or hands.

Lilian and Maxwell got married in 1992. she had vowed to lovingly submit to her husband as the head of their family. On the other hand, her husband, who is more strong-willed and determined, promised to give her all that he could out of love for her – one of them is to put up a food business or a restaurant for her lovely wife.

19 years later and after a series of trial-and-error-recipes, their labor

of love and commitment birthed Lilian’s Breads and sweets. and guess who pushed, urged and consistently supported the passion – even researching and going through all recipe notebooks, testing and modifying ingredients? it was Lilian’s husband. The menu that started with a tasty pandesal, was then followed by mouthwatering rice cakes. Later, they added roasted pork belly as part of their catering menu. since then, they have been supplying rice cakes to a Filipino grocery, bakeries, as well as catering to parties and events.

A happy Life means a life that honors God Behind the thriving business of the Masaya’s, is a loving Christian home led by a super supportive husband and great father to their teenager son named, psalm.

Throughout their journey, and in everything they put their heart into, it is their desire to always bring honor to God. The joy that is so evident (not only in their last names) comes from serving God who has blessed them so abundantly. *** Monet Lu is a Marikina-born, award-winning celebrity beauty stylist with his own chain of Monet Salon salons across Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada. Ultimately, Monet is known as an all-around artiste who produces sold-out fashion and awards shows as well as unforgettable marketing campaigns. Monet is also the founder of the revolutionary all-natural beauty products such as Enlighten, your solution to discoloration. To contact Monet, please visit www.monetsalon.com or email him at monetsalon@aol.com

The agonizing malady of a writer’s...

PAGE B2

oned in that darkness of the unconscious, no matter how much you scream for the muses, it is only a sound above the groan, so you just keep on going, amass-

ing thousands of words and find credence.

But as a contented inmate of this singular institution of pen pushers, that makes you unemployable.

i will try to cram the paragraphs full of facts and give them weight and shape. Then i’ll worry about my editor who has a marvelous sensitivity to verbal phrasing and structure—and patience.

Super Starlet meets and dances with...

PAGE B1 “Unapologetic Bitch” track.

Madonna was in the philippines for a two-day concert as part of her asian tour entitled “Rebel Heart”. arriving ahead of schedule, Madonna visited charitable organization “Bahay Tuluyan Foundation” which works with street children by providing them food and shelter.

On the day of Madonna’s arrival to the philippines, super starlet curated an exhibit of local artists called #MadonnaCubao1982, a series of parties and art events that celebrated the image and likeness of Madonna in partnership with aDHD Magazine. When posting on her instagram page, super starlet made sure to tag all the people on the tour, including @ Madonna herself.

Tickets to the concert were not easy to come by this devout and loyal super fan, whose obsession with Queen M began as an 8-yearold boy. super starlet had to save up as much of shahani’s earnings as a wardrobe stylist for television, committing to the 50/30/20 rule – 50 percent of all funds earned went to paying bills, 30 percent were put to savings, which evolved into the Madonna fund and 20 percent was left for the miscellaneous “fun” expenditures. shahani made sure that super starlet was going to score a ticket come hell or high water. The first day tickets went on sale, shahani went to the sM Marikina and forked over p37,000 (equivalent to $805) because to his reasoning “this is a now or never moment for super starlet”.

However, the Vip tickets were $500 more at p57,500, which shahani referred to as the golden triangle because one can actually make eye contact with Madonna. shahani also prepared not only monetarily for months for this concert but physically as well, making sure to diet and jog around the Up circle in Quezon City. His alter ego, Drag Queen super starlet was going to go to Madonna’s concert with every intention of getting noticed by the Queen herself.

On the night of the concert, shahani wasn’t sure super starlet was going to make an appearance because being she would be alone in the second row of the lower box seats dressed in drag, she might not feel comfortable. at the last minute, however, he chose to get ready at JuJiin samonte’s place in a nude swimsuit by Louis Claparols and a blonde wig. Upon sitting in her seat, depression kicked in because being so far away from the stage, the opportunity for Madonna to hand her the microphone was next to impossible. super starlet decided to walk around the sM Mall of asia arena, in hopes to find

Programming of Kababayan Today, February 29-March 4, 2016 Monday, Feb. 29 - Dr. anthony Ocampo, ph.D., a sociology professor, shares an exclusive reading of his book “The Latino’s of asia.”

Tuesday, March 1 - Call us at Kababayan Today on La18 for the first live show of March. You may ask attorney allison aquino silva and attorney Richard Loew questions over the air!

Wednesday, March 2 - Midweek news Updates from the asian Journal and Mia Mcleod of McLeod and associates gives real estate advice. southern California pilipino american student alliance (sCpasa), the umbrella organization of Filipino-american student organizations, shares highlights from its recent event. professor Brandon Reilly will discuss the history of the eDsa Revolution.

Thursday, March 3 - We air a recap of the winners and losers of the recent academy awards. Our Fil-am panel discussion will talk about hair, makeup, and fashion trends on the carpet.

Friday, March 4 - pulitzer prize-winning journalist Jose antonio Vargas leads a discussion with the cast of east West players “Criers For Hire” production.

Photo from Shahani Gania’s Instagram account (superstarlet_xxx)

other friends to grab a beer with and cheer her up.

Lo and behold, as she was making “alig aligid” (standing around), super starlet was approached by two white women, who she recognized as @secretagentM from instagram, one of Madonna’s managers, asking if she wanted a better seat for super Vip. she could even bring her friends with her! super starlet cried giving them hugs and profuse thank yous! she was positioned at the end of the ramp, at the bottom most tip of the heart. The biggest philippine celebrities started to arrive, all dressed in tribute to Madonna but super starlet made sure to never leave the tip of the heart and stood the entire time (in heels of course), anxiously waiting for the concert to begin. super starlet had also researched Madonna’s song lineup and made sure to know every song by heart so she count sing and dance along. she was completely and utterly engaged as the concert began knowing all the dancers names and calling them out when

they made their way close to her. she also made it a point to put her phone away so she could be totally present for the performance she had been waiting for all her life. at one point during the show, Madonna locked eyes with super starlet for an entire chorus. super starlet was ready in all ways to pay tribute to the Queen!

During the 1920s portion of Madonna’s concert, the same people who had given her access to the sUpeR Vip ticket requested her to step aside to ask if she knew the “Unapologetic Bitch” song and if she was ready to dance her heart out. if so, she would have to proceed back to the side of the stage where Bruno, the security guard would escort her up on stage during the “La Vie en Rose” portion of the concert. and true to her wildest dreams, super starlet got the thrill of her life, when she got to sing and dance with Madonna on stage. after the song number, Madonna asked “What is your name, young lady?” to which super starlet exclaimed her drag queen alter ego name super starlet. By being who she truly was and not being sorry or unapologetic about it, she captured not only Madonna’s attention, but the hearts of many. Madonna not only gave super starlet a banana but the straw in which she drank from and concluding that: “You are brave, you are fearless and fierce, which is why you are the unapologetic bitch of the night!” a moment forever etched in super starlet’s life that may convince shahani Gandia that it’s time to let her alter ego drag queen live and dance more often! *** Giselle “G” Töngi is the host and producer of Kababayan Today, a daily talk show that features relevant topics for Filipino’s living in America. Her aim is to bridge not only the cultural gap between America & the Philippines but to help with the generational gap between our own people. She is married with two children and is based in Southern California and makes frequent trips in the Pacific Rim to Hawaii and Manila to feature fellow kababayans who are empowering the FilAm community.

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Features

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • fEbRUARy 27-MARCH 1, 2016

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Wi Spa: An urban sanctuary in the heart of LA

THINK of a spa and the immediate perception is an air of pretense and privilege that only a select few can indulge in, given the exorbitant prices.

However, if you live in Los Angeles, Korean spas have sprouted up, contributing to the idea that pampering oneself and affordability are not mutually exclusive.

Though the options are abundant, among the best is Wi Spa, known as the “Disneyland of Korean day spas.” While there are no shiny bells and whistles to it, the spa certainly lives up to its reputation as an urban sanctuary, and it’s family-friendly too.

Prior to venturing into a Korean spa, one must understand the significance it plays in Korean culture: a communal place for friends and families to gather, bathe and receive the therapeutic benefits rooted in ancient bath-

house traditions.

Conveniently located in between Koreatown and Downtown, Wi Spa itself is an expansive, multi-level facility (48,000 square feet, to be exact) that blends the bathhouse tradition with the modernity of marble and glass interiors. It is open 24/7, so you can go anytime, even on a whim.

Enter Wi and the process of unwinding begins. For starters, valet parking is complimentary to relieve you of the stress of having to find parking, especially when there are a lot of guests checked in.

With the $25 admission fee, you gain full access to amenities like a fitness room, pools, showers, saunas, a restaurant, and the rooftop deck. A wristwatch is given as your locker key and form of identification during your stay.

Jonalyn Viray now a Kapamilya

by ChuCk Smith Philstar

MANILA—Jonalyn Viray surprised members of the press when she appeared during the press conference for ABS-CBN’s upcoming TV show “We Will Survive” on Wednesday.

The singer, who is known to be connected with GMA-7 and a product of the network’s “Pinoy Pop Superstar” singing competition, was tasked to perform the song’s theme song, “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor.

After her performance, it was announced that Jonalyn is now a Kapamilya.

The 26-year-old singer also said she now goes by the name of Jona.

“Syempre, very happy. At kinakabahan po ako,” Jonalyn said of her transfer to ABS-CBN. She added: “Kinakabahan po ako kasi syempre bagong environment po, bagong makakatrabaho.”

Jonalyn shot to fame as GMA-7 singer; for years, she was known as one-third of the female singing group La Diva with Maricris Garcia and Aicelle Santos.

Asked why she decided to

Jonalyn Viray performs “I Will Survive” during the press conference for the upcoming ABSCBN TV show “We Will Survive” on Wednesday, Feb. 24. Philstar.com photo by Chuck Smith

move from GMA-7 to ABS-CBN, she said: “Siguro po kasi, mas nabigyan nila ako ng tiwala sa ngayon. Saka meron talaga nakaline up na project for me.”

As for the name change, she said: “Jona, actually, nickname ko po kasi siya. So yun po ang binigay sa aking pangalan ngayon kasi it’s a fresh start.”

“Bagong home rin po, bagong environment. So, Jona.”

Anne Curtis approves of Jasmine’s non-showbiz date

by JoyCe Jimenez Philstar

MANILA—Anne Curtis likes the non-showbiz guy whom her sister Jasmine Curtis-Smith is dating.

According to reports, the guy’s name is Jeff Ortega, a businessman in La Union.

“Basta kung saan masaya ang baby girl ko,” Anne replied when asked to react about the new guy Jasmine’s dating, in an interview

Anne Curtis approves of the non-showbiz guy whom her sister Jasmine is dating.

Philstar.com photo by Joyce Jimenez

on Friday, Feb. 26. “Ayoko magconfirm or mag-deny ng anything for her. Basta ako, anything, I’m so happy.”

What she liked about the guy is that “plus factor kasi sa akin ‘yong nagri-reach out sa family.

Hindi lang sa akin, sa mommy at daddy ko.”

Meanwhile, Anne reiterated that she’s not settling down anytime soon with Erwann Heussaff.

“Ako kasi, napaka-career driven ko, and once you decide na handa ka ng magpakasal, dapat handa ka na rin i-give up kung anong mayro’n ka sa career mo,” she explained. “Ngayon kasi Erwann and I are very much happy, pero we’re very much career-driven. So hindi namin minamadali ang mga bagay na ‘yon.”

Anne is one of the hosts of the talent search show “I Love OPM,” together with Erik Nicholas. The judges are Martin Nievera, Lani Misalucha and Toni Gonzaga. It airs every Saturday after “Maalalaala Mo Kaya” and Sundays after “Rated K.”

Kiss from Clive Owen, love from...

PAGE B3 great storyteller.”

Bernardo remembered that there was only one Filipino waving at them on the red carpet. “He was rain-drenched and cold, but kept cheering us on: ‘Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!’”

Bernardo witnessed how Diaz was worshipped like “a rock star” in Europe. “Autograph seekers hounded him; reporters chased him with cameras; colleagues went out of their way to meet him; critics savored his philosophy and appreciated his aesthetics.”

Bernardo exclaimed, with a tinge of sadness, that their European experience was in stark contrast with the treatment of artists in the Philippines. “It’s a

cinematic variation of a well-worn biblical phrase: ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own country,’” he said.

Producer Bianca Balbuena asserted that Diaz’s award (named after a film historian and Berlinale stalwart) was “well-deserved.”

“After four years of struggle, and looking for financiers, we finally made it. It’s the first Bear for the Philippines. Lav has sacrificed a lot for his cinema. It’s about time,” she said.

Soriano agreed, “Winning the Silver Bear is an honor for the country. I am so happy for, and proud of, Lav because he deserves this recognition. He stands by his unique way of storytelling and sticks to it!”

The rush of cramming in the day spa experience and trying out all the rooms is practically gone, as you are welcome to stay for hours on end. There are spaces to lounge in between services and even designated “sleeping rooms” for those who want to doze off in peace.

Wi is divided into gender-specific floors, where the spa and other facilities are located, as well as locker rooms and changing areas. For Korean spa newbies, it’s best to take a shower once you get settled in to wash away the day’s grime (dirt and the tubs do not make a great combination) and to ensure you get the maximum benefits of anything you decide to do, like sweating it out in the sauna.

Outside the bathing areas, you’ll find changing rooms, complete with vanities and toiletries.

And take this as a fair warning to expect nudity from guests of the same gender, but any judgments and awkwardness should be left at the door.

If you want to treat yourself further, the spa offers a menu of body treatments at the fraction of the price tag you’d find at a spa elsewhere in the city. Better yet, if you purchase a treatment worth $110 or more, the entrance fee is waived. The usual spa treatments, like acupressure massages, facials, manicure/ pedicure, can be booked by reservation. But one must try the full-body scrub, perhaps Wi’s signature offering.

Based on the traditional Korean technique of buffing, the scrub entails a procedure of sloughing off

dead skin cells with an exfoliating towel, as you lie down on a table and get doused with water every so often. It may take a few minutes to get accustomed to the intensity, but the person (of the same gender) administering the service repeatedly asks you if you’re doing fine. The service can last 35 minutes ($30) or can be reserved as a $90 package complete with the scrub, aroma oil massage, a face mask and hair shampoo, which all lasts for 90 minutes. Depending on one’s pain tolerance, the impression afterward may vary, but you’ll feel cleaner after the dead skin is washed off to make way for the lasting effects of radiating, supple skin.

On the co-ed floor (called the Jimjilbang, which translates to “bathhouse”), guests are required to wear the yellow T-shirt and khaki shorts received upon check-

in. There you’ll find families and couples convening at one of the five specialty sauna rooms, noshing on Korean cuisine staples at the full-service restaurant, or taking in fresh air on the rooftop deck.

The floor also features a kid’s area, a library and computer room.

It’s worth noting that the five sauna rooms—Bulgama, Salt, Clay, Jade and Ice—boast unique characteristics that contribute to the detoxification and healing powers. The Bulgama is set at 231 degrees, inviting guests to lie down somewhere between 10 to 15 minutes to sweat out toxins from the body; Salt features minerals to purify and strengthen the body; layers of clay improved from Korea are placed in the Clay sauna to aid in lymphatic stimulation and heavy metal detoxification; the Jade room is hot to relieve any tension and stress; and the

Ice sauna is recommended to end your visit to cool the body’s temperature, tighten the skin and improve circulation.

If you felt like you’ve detoxed enough from technology, free Wi-Fi is provided throughout the building to bring you back from your moment of zen, as are TVs in lounge areas.

Before you leave, don’t forget to take another shower and close out your tab. Whether you stay for an hour or the whole day, it’s nearly impossible to not feel rejuvenated and make you itch for another visit. Good thing, Wi won’t leave holes in your wallet. (AJPress) Wi Spa is located at 2700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057 (on the corner of Rampart). Visit http://www.wispausa. com/ for more details on spa services and specials.

(Advertising Supplement)

B february 27-MarCH 1, 2016 • La WeeKeND aSIaN JOurNaL

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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1, 2016

COMMUNITY Journal

Why naturalize: To vote and for much more!

Your Immigration Solution Atty. RobeRt Reeves RAfAel toRRes, III And nAncy MIlleR ELECTION season is upon us! There are estimates that over 8 million people here in the United States are eligible to embark upon the naturalization process to become citizens and, if they submit their applications in the very near future, may be able to participate in the upcoming election in November of this year. This year, citizens of the United States will have the opportunity to select the next President – the person who will lead us for the next 4 years.

Citizens from various states, including California, will also have the opportunity to decide who will represent them in the Senate and the House of Representatives. And, of course, as is usually the case in California, citizens who reside in this state will be asked to weigh in on many, many propositions.

The ability to participate in the election of a United States President (and a member of the Senate) is incredibly powerful.

Article Two of the United States Constitution imbues the power of appointing Justices to the United States Supreme Court to the President of the United States. A presidential nomination is then confirmed by the Senate. As we are seeing, which party controls the Senate can have a tremendous impact on when, or if, a presidential nominee is voted upon.

As the President normally nominates Justices in line with their own ideologies, and as Justices serve for life, the impact of a citizen’s vote for a particular presidential candidate can be felt many years after their elected President leaves office.

Justice Scalia, whose death resulted in the current vacancy on the bench, was appointed over 25 years ago. Several presidents of both parties have lived in the White House since he first took his seat on the Supreme

Court. It is not unreasonable to expect his replacement to sit on the Court for a similar length of time.

Most people who come to the United States do so because they want to become full-fledged contributing members of the American society. What better way to do that than to become a citizen. But that does not happen automatically or by magic.

One has to be statutorily eligible and has to apply.

In general, the following individuals are eligible to naturalize and become citizens of the United States. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) who are over the age of eighteen (18), who have been continuous residents for five (5) years after retaining Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) Status, and who can meet the good moral character requirement are generally able to apply for naturalization.

It should be noted that one who committed a misrepresentation to get a green card may still be able to naturalize. They may be eligible for various waivers that will validate their green card from the time it was initially issued. This will allow them to apply for naturalization as soon as the waiver is granted. Others who have been convicted of various crimes may find that changes in law have resulted in the removal of the dreaded aggravated felony bars so they can now apply to naturalize.

Special consideration is also

given to those LPRs who are married to, and residing with, their United States Citizen spouses. They are eligible to apply for naturalization three (3) years after obtaining lawful resident status.

There are special considerations given to those LPRs or non-LPRS who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States. In fact, some non-LPRs who have served in a time of conflict can get citizenship without obtaining a green card.

In addition, certain individuals born outside the United States may be able to acquire United States citizenship based on their birth to one or both parents who are citizens of the United States.

Of course, there are many more reasons to apply for US citizenship. A citizen can petition for their married children, for their parents and for their siblings. Petitions from US citizens for spouses and children under the age of 21 have no numerical limitation in the number of visas issued per year and that lack of visa-backlog can keep families together or reunite them in a short time. At this time, only US citizens can be the qualifying relative for the provisional waiver that allows persons to get their unlawful presence waiver approved before they leave to consular process.

Those people who are potentially eligible to become citizens

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C FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1, 2016 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

Minding Your Finances Atty. RAymond BulAon SLEEPLESS nights. Stressed out. Worried about the future.

Always broke.

This is what most people are going through when they are considering bankruptcy in order to get out of debt. The word “bankruptcy” often produces negative feelings because some people equate it with failure. But nothing can be further from the truth. Bankruptcy is not about failing; it’s about starting again and putting the past behind you.

A lot of creditors will lie to you when you’re in debt and tell you that bankruptcy is the ‘worst mistake’ you can ever make because your credit will be ‘ruined forever’ and that you will never be able to buy a car or house again.

Wrong again.

The truth is that bankruptcy is a fact of life. At one time or another, everyone experiences financial difficulties. When you’re in a situation where you have done everything you can to pay your creditors but nothing has worked, bankruptcy may be your only option so you can start a new life. And this is exactly what Congress intended

Barrister’s Corner Atty. Kenneth uRSuA ReyeS ON June 26, 2013, the US Supreme Court struck down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional in the landmark case US. V. Windsor. The BIA shortly thereafter issued a decision in Matter of Zeleniak holding that DOMA is no longer an impediment in recognizing same-sex couples under the immigration and Nationality Act. Matter of Zeleniak, 26 I&N Dec. 158 (BIA 2013). This means a same-sex marriages are now valid for immigration purposes as long as the marriage is recognized in the “place of celebration.”

This means a same- sex marriage is valid for immigration purposes even if the couple intends ultimately to reside in one

Community Journal

Why bankruptcy may not be as bad as you think when they passed bankruptcy laws. So with bankruptcy, you get another chance. You wipe the slate clean and move on with your life, free from the burdens of debt.

Can you just imagine what would happen if we had no bankruptcy laws that can help people get out of debt when they can no longer help themselves? Filing for bankruptcy means filing a petition for relief from the bankruptcy court. The court reviews your application and determines whether on not you are entitled to the relief you are seeking. It is not for dishonest people who are trying to cheat the system.

Contrary to what others think, most people who file for bankruptcy are honest, hard-working people who have gotten themselves in a big financial mess.

In some cases it is caused by factors beyond their control. In other cases, it is a result of making bad financial decisions. But who hasn’t made a bad decision in their life at least once. Life is not perfect. Neither are you.

Filing bankruptcy can help you regain your footing if you have lost control of your finances. If you are living your life without a financial plan for the future, you

will never achieve financial security. So you can say that bankruptcy is a tool that allows you to reorganize your finances so you can plan a better future for yourself and your family. It is neither good nor bad in and of itself. You can use a tool for the wrong or right reasons. Using it for the wrong reasons is NOT the intent of our bankruptcy laws.

Is it for you? Maybe yes; maybe no. It is not for everyone. But when appropriate for your situation, it could be the best thing that ever happened to you and could be a big turning point in your life if you are drowning in debt.

If you need some straight talk about bankruptcy and get all your questions answered, I will give you a free initial consultation. Just call 866-477-7772 and schedule an appointment. I have offices in Los Angeles, Cerritos, Pasadena and Valencia. ***

Tax Tips VictoR Sy, cPA, mBA

1. DO not boast about how you got away with undeclared income or manufactured deductions.

Ever heard of whistleblowers?

They earn rewards of 15% to 30% of your assessments. If you have a tendency to be creative, keep it to yourself. Just shut up.

Better yet, stop being creative.

Remember the law of averages.

Remember Murphy’s Law. 2. Do not hide interest and dividend income from the IRS, even if your spouse may not be aware of some savings and stock brokerage accounts. Remember Murphy’s Law—he/she will come to know about it at a worse time later when IRS sends notice of unreported income or notice of audit. Whew.

3. Similarly, do not estimate income from interest, dividend, independent contract, partnerships, S-Corporations, or LLCs. None of the information herein is in- Banks, stock brokers and entitended to give legal advice for any specific ties send exact amounts of your situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has success- income to IRS via form 1099s fully helped thousands of clients in getting and K-1s. Estimates are bad. out of debt. For a free attorney evaluation They generate mismatch - the of your situation, please call Ray Bulaon main source of correspondence Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1 (866) 477-7772. audits.

(Advertising Supplement) 4. Do not estimate mortgage

What immigration benefits are available to same-sex marriages post DOMA? of the 37 states that do not recognize same-sex marriages as long as it was valid in the place of celebration. The same-sex marriage is valid even if the applicant is applying in a country in which same-sex marriage is illegal.

In the area of immigrant visas, a same sex US Citizen spouse or legal permanent resident spouse may now petition for an immigrant visa for their spouse as long as the marriage was valid in the place of celebration. Validity of the marriage is not based on the place of domicile.

Stepchildren acquired through the same sex marriage can also qualify under the same requirements as stepchildren acquired through opposite sex marriages.

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

Same sex spouses and qualified children or step children can also qualify as dependents of employment-based categories and family-preference categories as derivatives.

Same-sex partners off US citizens may also apply for K-1 fiancé non-immigrant visa the same way opposite sex partners may petition for a fiancé visa. The same sex US Citizen spouse may then file an immigrant petition and adjustment of status after the fiancé enters the US and marries the US citizen spouse.

Widows and widowers of samesex spouses can also qualify for immigration benefits under INA 204(l). Generally, this is done by filing a self-petition within two

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To Live With Faith ReVeRend Rodel G. BAlAGtAS JESUS, can we drink the cup that you drink or be baptized with the baptism with which you are baptized? Can we really do this?

Can we accept failures? Can we accept imperfections in people, in church, in government and in business? Can we forgive and understand those who annoy us, who do not share our thoughts, who we consider idiots, old-fashioned, liberal or traditional?

Can we be content with being average, simple, anonymous or ordinary? Can we take the back seat and become mere followers?

Can we be patient with long lines, long waits and long conversations? Can we withstand criticisms, face our enemies and

12 ways to avoid an IRS audit

interest because lenders send exact amounts via form 1098 to IRS. TIP: Request copy of form 1098. Go online to lender website for interest paid.

5. Do not claim unsupported charitable contributions or use big round numbers that look like guesstimates.

6. Do not dump amounts into “miscellaneous” deductions that can accumulate and catch attention.

7. Do not exceed national averages for donations, mortgage interest, or taxes if you do not have documentation. IRS computers compare your deductions with others in your income bracket.

Excess deductions could increase your DIF score, a secret IRS formula to select returns with the highest probability of helping reduce budget deficits via audits.

8. Do not be careless in organizing records and preparing tax returns if you belong to an industry that traditionally transacts in cash. Recent studies have identified small business owners and independent contractors that do not declare cash collections and therefore are inviting targets for IRS agents.

9. Do not be complacent about submitting Schedule C (Income from Business or Profession)

with an attractive net loss. Avoid low gross receipts and few but unusually high expenses.

10. Do not consistently file late returns. It speaks of a taxpayer who disregards tax laws. It points to a taxpayer who is fair game for scrutiny.

11. Do not submit shoddy tax returns. A shoddy return speaks of a disorganized person who probably does not keep good records—a good catch for an IRS agent.

12. Do not go to unprofessional tax preparers who promise big refunds even if you have little withholding. You could be solving a tax dollar problem with bigger taxes, penalties, and interest.

Mas problemas. *** Victor Santos Sy graduated Cum Laude from UE with a BBA and from Indiana State University with an MBA. Vic worked with SyCip, Gorres, Velayo (SGV - Andersen Consulting) and Ernst & Young before establishing Sy Accountancy Corporation in Pasadena, California. *** He has 50 years of experience in defending taxpayers audited by the IRS, FTB, EDD, BOE and other governmental agencies. He is publishing a book on his expertise - “HOW TO AVOID OR SURVIVE IRS AUDITS.” Our readers may inquire about the book or email tax questions at vicsy@live.com.

(Advertising Supplement)

A Lenten examination of conscience follow our peers? Can we compromise, meet in the middle, share resources and be in the same room? Can we let go of our opinions, listen without arguing, agree without defending and be silent instead of fighting back?

Can we accept our mistakes, relate back to someone and work as a team player? Can we leave our biases behind, associate with those who don’t speak our language or who don’t share our culture or color of skin? Can we throw out our arrogance, feelings of superiority and prestige?

Can we be at peace with being old—with having wrinkled faces and disproportionate body parts, poor eyesight and weak legs? Can we listen to the young, allow others to take charge, celebrate the achievements of others? Can we accept changes in family, society, religion or faith

community?

Can we take care of old people and deal with their idiosyncrasies? Can we be compassionate with the sick, the alcoholic, the drug addict or the lunatic?

Can we tolerate bad odor and pollution of all kinds, whether it is air, noise or water? Can we deal with poor conditions without sacrificing our ideals?

Can we be happy with personal achievements and be content with one’s fate? Can we support and affirm our leaders? Can we motivate those below us and recognize their gifts and contributions?

“Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized in the baptism with which I am baptized?”

This was the question of Jesus to his two disciples, James and John, who were jockeying for the best seats in heaven. Jesus

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Protecting Employee & Consumer Rights Atty. C. Joe SAyAS, Jr. Q: I WORK in a company where a supervisor bullies employees into working long hours without extra pay, threatening to fire them if they refuse. I complained about this to HR. Last week, one manager told me in secret that there will be lay-offs in the company due to financial reasons but that I will be the first to go because I’m a trouble-maker. What are my rights?

A: Employees have the right to be paid proper wages or the right to be free of workplace harassment. If an employee complains to management that their rights are being violated, the employee should not be punished for doing so. Such punishment may be considered unlawful retaliation.

The law prohibits retaliation by an employer against an employee who has asserted, or who assisted another in asserting their legal rights. Retaliation is prohibited even if the employer may have a business reason for terminating employees. The above inquiry states the employer needs to lay-off some employees because of financial difficulties.

Even if this is true, the employer cannot have retaliatory motives in deciding whom to let go.

How to tell if retaliation exists?

Employees should ask themselves the following questions: 1) Did I do a protected activity, such as complain about unpaid wages, report discrimination, file a grievance, testify as a witness, or some other action to help enforce the law?

2) Did the employer know that it was me who complained?

3) Did I experience an “adverse employment action,” by being fired, demoted, or disciplined?

4) Did my complaint or testimony cause the employer to fire,

Community Journal LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1, 2016

Can a lay-off be used as excuse to fire a ‘complaining’ employee?

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People and Events

(Nurse fired for reporting safety issues awarded $1 million verdict) demote, or discipline me?

If the answer to all of the above questions is yes, then the employee would be wise to consult with an experienced employment attorney for help in obtaining available remedies. Consider the following case: In 2011, Vilma Dinham, then Chief Nursing Officer at Encino Hospital Medical Center, complained to the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Muhammad Anwar, about the hospital’s director of respiratory services, Hershee Cajigal. Cajigal boasted to co-workers about having an affair with Dr. Anwar and that Cajigal could get any of the employees at the hospital fired.

When Ms. Cajigal’s comments didn’t stop, Ms. Dinham and other nurses complained to CEO Robert Bills, who in turn reported the problem to corporate. However, instead of dealing with the complaint, the company promoted Cajigal. On the other hand, Ms. Dinham was later terminated.

Dinham sued the employer for wrongful termination based on retaliation for her reporting about the affair between the CMO and Cagigal, for opposing Cajigal’s harassment of the employees, and for reporting patient safety issues.

The employer countered that Dinham was terminated for poor performance and due to a reduction in workforce. However, during trial, the CEO (Bills) testified that Dr. Anwar got mad at him for reprimanding Cajigal about her unprofessional work attire. Dr. Anwar also repeatedly told Bills to fire Ms. Dinham. Dr. Anwar, who was allegedly close friends with the hospital owner, told Bills

“If you don’t get rid of her [Dinham], they are going to get rid of you.” (Bills was fired before Dinham.) As for Ms. Dinham’s alleged poor performance, the CEO said Ms. Dinham was “without question…the best chief nursing officer I’ve ever worked with in my career.”

The case went on to a jury trial, which lasted 20 days. After about one day of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the employee, finding that although the hospital had to reduce staff for financial reasons, retaliation was a substantial motivating factor in Dinham’s firing. The jury awarded Dinham $1,008,089 in damages ($120,000 for past emotional distress, $333,432 for past lost earnings, and $554,657 for future lost earnings).

Lay-offs cannot be used as an excuse to retaliate against employees who are trying to do the right thing at work. Employees who prove they were retaliated and wrongfully terminated may recover loss of earnings, emotional distress, and in certain cases, attorneys’ fees and costs, and punitive damages. *** The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www. joesayaslaw.com. *** C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is an experienced trial attorney who has successfully obtained significant recoveries for thousands of employees and consumers. He is named Top Labor & Employment Attorney in California by the Daily Journal, consistently selected as Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.

(Advertising Supplement)

Retention of priority date of old employment-based I-140 petition cuts wait time for green card Dear Attorney Tan, I AM a Filipino who is presently in the US under an H1B visa, working as a bookkeeper/accountant. My employer would like to retain me as a permanent worker. My understanding is that if my employer were to petition me, there would be a wait time of approximately 6 years before I could file a green card application. I have a previously approved I-140 petition under the 3rd Preference (Skilled Worker) category that was filed by another company on my behalf, which has a priority date of January 2009. I did not get a green card based on that previously approved I-140 petition since the company closed.

If my current employer does petition me, will I have to wait 6 years before I can apply for a green card? S.S.K. Dear S.S.K. Under 8 CFR Sec. 204.5(e), the priority date for an approved I-140 employment-based petition in the 1st through 3rd Preference categories can generally be used for any subsequently filed I-140 petition in any of those categories. The only exception to this would be if the previously-approved I-140 petition was revoked due to fraud or misrepresentation. If the previously-approved I-140 petition was not revoked due to fraud or misrepresentation, the priority date can be used for your current employer’s I-140 petition.

Retention of the priority date under 204.5(e) can come into play for persons such as yourself. The retention of the priority date of a previously-approved petition benefits those: 1) who are now seeking a green card via an I-140 petition in the 3rd Preference (Skilled Worker) category, AND 2) who have a previously-approved I-140, but did not obtain a green card though that previous I-140 for one reason or another. Under Section 204.5(e), the priority date for the previously-approved I-140 petition can be used for any subsequent employment-based green card case, even if the new petition is with a different employer or a different job.

In your case, you have an approved I-140 through a previous company, but did not obtain a green card because the business closed. The priority date on that previously-approved I-140 is January 2009. If, in March 2016, your current H1B employer begins the I-140 petition process in the 3rd Preference (Skilled Worker) category, you would have a priority date of March 2016. If your I-140 is approved, you normally would have to wait until the priority date advances and becomes current to file your green card application, which would take approximately 6 years (as of March 2016, the current application filing date for petitions in the 3rd preference category is January 1, 2010, which means only persons who have a priority date of January 1, 2010 or earlier can file a green card application). However, under 204.5(e), you can retain the January 2009 priority date of the previous I-140 petition, and use it on the new I-140 petition filed by your current employer. Since the priority date of your previous I-140 petition (i.e. January 2009) is earlier than the current application filing date (i.e. January 1, 2010), you will not have to wait approximately 6 years (i.e. the time for the application filing date to advance from January 1, 2010 to March 2016) to file your green card application.

It is also worth noting that for those who have an employer willing to petition him/her for a green card, but do not have a previously-approved petition from which he/she can retain the priority date, the possibility of being petitioned under the 2nd Preference (Advanced Degree) category should be explored. For 2nd Preference employed-based petitions, there is currently no wait time. It is accordingly advised that you consult with an experienced attorney if you have an employer who is willing to petition you. *** Darrick V. Tan, Esq. is admitted to practice law in California and Nevada. Mr. Tan is a graduate of UCLA and Southwestern University School of Law. He is a member of the Consumers Attorney Association of Los Angeles and is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Philippine American Bar Association.

LAW OFFICES OF DARRICK V. TAN, 3580 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 900, Los Angeles, CA 90010. Tel: (323) 639-0277. Email: info@ dtanlaw.com.

(Advertising Supplement)

A Lenten examination of… Why naturalize…

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realized that the two ambitious brothers did not have a clue as to what they were asking. Before they could take the right and the left seats in God’s Kingdom, they must prove that they are well-deserving—that is, only after carrying the crosses and inconveniences of life and ministry with love, faith, hope, and patience; that is, only after imitating the Teacher and the Master of all in His life of total self-abasement.

Once again, the Gospel reminds us that to be the greatest in the Kingdom of God, one must be the least of all.

Can we? *** From a Filipino immigrant family, Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas was ordained to the priesthood from St. John’s Seminary in 1991. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Augustine, Culver City (1991-1993); St. Martha, Valinda (1993-1999); and St. Joseph the Worker, Canoga Park (1999-2001). In 2001, he served as Administrator Pro Tem of St. John Neumann in Santa Maria, CA, until his appointment as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, in 2002, which lasted 12 years. His term as Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education at St. John’s Seminary began in July 2014.

PAGE C1 t

of the United States and who would like to participate in this historic election should consult with an experienced and knowledgeable immigration attorney to evaluate their eligibility to get that treasured US citizenship status. *** Atty. Reeves has represented clients in numerous landmark immigration cases that have set new policies regarding INS action and immigrants’ rights. His offices are located in Pasadena, Irvine, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Makati City.

Telephone: (800) 795-8009 E-mail: immigration@rreeves.com Website: www.rreeves.com. *** The analysis and suggestions offered in this column do not create a lawyer-client relationship and are not a substitute for the personalized representation that is essential to every case.

(Advertising Supplement)

OLLY SILVERIO’S RETIREMENT PARTY. Olly worked at Monrovia Convalescent Hospital for 18 years. In the picture, (seated) Marissa Gerolaga, Lucre Lalata, Gloria Jones, Eve Garcia & Rozik Katchatourian; (standing) Joseph Cruz, Arturo Aquino, Ana Marie Levita, Mrs. Lydia F. Cruz, Olly Silverio, Joyce Carey & Jane Jardiniano.

‘An Enchanted Evening’ Dinner-Dance for Gawad Kalinga AS part of the GK USA National Summit, you are cordially invited to a dinner-dance, themed “An Enchanged Evening,” to benefit programs of Gawad Kalinga and GK Enchanted Farm.

The Dance will take place on Saturday, March 5, 7:00pm, at

the Radisson Midtown at USC, Los Angeles (3540 S Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90007).

The cost is $100, with formal attire. The all-night program will include dinner, induction of the GK-USA Board of Directors, remarks from the Chairman of the

Board, and all-night dancing.

For more details on sponsorship packages for Gawad Kalinga builders and feeding programs, as well as GKEF programs and scholarships, please visit gk-usa. org. For tickets, please visit gkusa.org/dinnerdance. n

Prisoners of War Day at the Filipino Veterans Education Center ALL WWII veterans and families, please join us as we commemorate the historic 74th anniversary of Prisoners of War Day and the Fall of Bataan, the Day of Valor, on Saturday, April 9th.

In the spirit of reconciliation, friendship and international cooperation, let us leave the past behind us as we move forward with joined hands to attain peace for all mankind.

The formal Commemoration and remembrance ceremony will start at 2:00pm in the Filipino Veterans Education Center, at the War Memorial Performing Arts Veterans Building (401 Van Ness Ave. San Francisco, CA 94102).

This event is open to the public. Please RSVP RudyAsercion@gmail.com; naffaasf@gmail.com.

Tel: 415 564 6262. n

What immigration benefits are available…

PAGE C2 t

years of the death of the US citizen same sex spouse.

In the area of non-immigrant visas, same-sex spouses and their children are now eligible for nonimmigrant visa as a derivative.

Same sex spouses and their children can qualify as derivatives in non-immigrant visas including H, E , L , O , R visas, etc.

For aliens with final removal orders issued prior to the Windsor decision, the recognition of the validity of same sex marriage

makes available new relief for their case. It may be possible to file a motion to reopen the deportation/removal case even if the removal order was issues past 90 days. ***

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)

C FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1, 2016 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

Debt Relief Atty. LAwrence yAng Business owner files chapter 7 as losses mount CLIENTS are spouses who own and run a business together. They own an S-corporation that has been in business for 20 years. They have 10 employees. An S-corporation, as distinguished from a C-corporation, is one where the profits of the business “flows through” to the 1040 of the individuals, unlike a C-corporation that pays its own income tax based on corporate profits.

For instance, if the S-corporation business makes a net profit of $100K for 2015, that net profit is added to the gross income of the stockholders of the S-corporation. If you own 20% of that Scorporation, you will have to add $20K to your gross income for 2015 in addition to your income from all other sources. Whereas if that were a C-corporation, the corporation would pay income tax by itself on the $100K profit for 2015, and either keep the net profit after tax in the coffers of the corporation as retained earnings, or distribute the net profit to the stockholders, in which case, the profit distribution becomes a dividend to the stockholder which the stockholders declares as dividend income in his individual tax return. Other than this differentiation in the treatment of corporate profit, both S and C-corporations have all the same benefits that a corporation provides.

Both S and C corporations are legally separate entities from their stockholders. Liabilities of the S and C corporations and deemed liabilities of the corporations themselves and do not transfer to the individual stockholders. This is called the “corporate shield” given to stockholders. For all intents and purposes by law, the corporation is treated as a separate and distinct “legal person” from the individual stockholders. For example, Volkswagen was recently found cheating on emissions.

The company programmed the computers in their diesel cars to act in a way that it appeared that emission standards were being complied with. In fact, they were not. In other words, Volkswagen, the corporation told a

Community Journal

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

Business owner files chapter 7 as losses mount Young client seeks chapter 7 relief for $$70K credit card debt

bold face lie. When it was found out, there was a big scandal and its stock tanked. Massive penalties for fraud soon followed levied by the Feds in the billions.

There were multiple lawsuits filed against Volkswagen. Buyers wanted to return what they bought. If you were a stockholder of Volkswagen, can you be sued for this corporate fraud with millions of victims worldwide? If you were a stockholder of Volkswagen, do you have to worry about being sued by the victims because you own shares in Volkswagen, certainly not.

Because the fact that Volkswagen is a corporation means that the company is legally a separate and distinct entity from you as a shareholder. Therefore, you cannot be sued as a stockholder of Volkswagen for the corporate wrongdoing of the company.

This is called ‘corporate legal fiction’ which is actually quite a brilliant idea that allows free enterprise to prosper. Without this ‘corporate shield and legal fiction’ people will be afraid to invest in businesses for fear of having their individual assets exposed to liability for anything that goes wrong with the corporation that causes damage to anyone.

In clients’ case, their business was doing well for 17 years. But the last 3 years was bad. Clients had to refinance their house to put in another $80K in the corporation to finance the loss of the last 3 years. Refinancing their house was actually making a bad situation worse. Why suck out the equity in your house causing you to pay a higher mortgage to keep a business that is hemorrhaging to keep it afloat? You’re letting the business loss drag your house down too. The corporation is supposed to be separate from your personal assets, but by refinancing your house, you combine the two together. In other words, if the business is sinking, why let your house sink with it too? You business can sink and die, that happens many, many times in the world of business. But to link your house to the business, that’s the same as getting a gun and shooting yourself in the leg.

Clients’ S-corporation owes $120K of bank loans and suppliers credit, which it can no longer pay. Clients decided to

discontinue the business because of mounting losses. I ask them if they want to continue the business with a Chapter 11 and perhaps get away without paying any of the $120K. They decide for a Chapter 7 because too much competition has made the future of the business very bleak. Will the S-corporation Chapter 7 affect the stockholders as individuals, of course it will not. The stockholders keep their good credit and everything else. They are not affected by the bankruptcy of the S-corporation, because after all, even an S-corporation is a legally separate and distinct entity under the law, therefore, it can file a bankruptcy by itself without affecting the individual stockholders.

Young client seeks chapter 7 relief for $70K credit cards Client is 33, and recently married. He also dabbled into business, using his credit cards to fund the business. The business never turned a profit. He maxed out his credit cards at $70K. One credit card sued him to collect $14K of credit card debt. At that time, he was still optimistic that his business would turn around and become profitable. But that was not to be. He entered into a stipulated judgment agreeing to pay $200 a month until the $14K was fully paid off. He just got married and wants a fresh start without debt, and opts for Chapter 7 relief. This will wipe out the $70K of credit card debt including the $14K stipulated judgment. Without debilitating debt, client can look forward to a fresh, new and productive life, and can even start another business that has a better chance of being successful from all the mistakes he learned from his failed business. This is what happened to Mr. Walt Disney who also sought Chapter 7 relief twice before his Disneyland business became successful.

From two bankruptcies, Disney is now a global multi-billion dollar business with the new $6.0 billion theme park opening in Shanghai this June. Who knows, my young client may be another Disney in the making, learning from his previous mistakes.

Maybe 10 years from now, client may become a business tycoon.

Further, client’s decision to seek chapter 7 relief is completely confidential. Nobody needs to

know unless he discloses it himself. His new wife is totally not affected even if she has her own assets. Those are her sole and separate assets.

“A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life,

which God (Adonai/Yahweh), who does not lie, promised before, the beginning of time.”

— Titus 1:2 *** 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)

People and Events

L-R: Liwayway Macapinlac, (Ms. Joy), Remedios Reyes, (Ms. Hope) , Helen Casipe, (Ms. Valentine 2016,) Nimfa De Paz, (Ms Faith), and Leonila Pimentel, (Ms. Love).

Coronation of Ms.Valentine 2016 and Her Court Feb. 23, 2016 at the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall

THE Coronation of Ms. Valentine 2016 and Her Court was held at the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall on Feb. 23. Cmdr. Emeterio Corpuz, assisted by Dr. Jenny Batongmalaque, Executive Director of the Filipino Veterans Foundation. Assisting in the coronation were Olive Piamonte, Chair of the Coronation Committee and Rose Bueta, CoChair. Soledad Vigilia, the Ms. Valentine 2015 pinned a sash to each of the winning beauties of the popularity contest. Angelina Tomines handed a bouquet of roses to Ms. Valentine.

The Filipino Veterans Foundation has an affiliate, Veterans Center Association, headed by

WWII Veterans headed by Cmdr.

Corpuz. The members present were Rogaciano Dagdag, Eliseo Tomines, Constantine Pontillas, Ismael Mortel, Marcelino Gawat, Tita Gawat, as Secretary Treasurer, Alfredo Lorenzo, Juanito Piamonte and Nocolas Casipe.

The Auxiliary members were Aurea Corpuz, Gregoria Pontillas, Jovita Alejandrino, Vernie Tan, and Rosita Sanchez, Angelina Tomines together with the coronation committee headed by Olive Piamonte, namely Rose Bueta, Linda Organo, Juliet Balaoro, Ben and Coreen Ramos.

The consorts were Cesar Librodo, for Ms. Valentine, Eliseo Tominies for Ms. Faith, Romeo

Bejo for Ms. Hope, Jun Andaya for Ms. Love, and again Mr. Romy Bejo, later Mr. Roger Dagdag.

Music was provided by the Disco Band of Noli Cruz and singer, Lily.

The Filipino Veterans Foundation is a 501 (c ) 3, charitable organization providing support and community to all Veterans who visit and participate in programs at the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall every Tuesday for 10 AM to 2 pm. There are planned monthly events which are dedicated to memorial military historical events. Such as this Ms. Valentine 2016 is dedicated to the young fallen Veterans in all wars. n

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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1, 2016

A Celebration of Asian Tradition

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Island Pacific Supermarket Opens First Store in Washington State Seattle Store Grand Opening On February 8, 2016, Island Pacific Seattle held its Grand Opening and Lunar New Year Celebration in Seattle, WA. The event started with a traditional ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by a series of speeches given by distinguished guests and Filipino-American community leaders. Among the speakers were Consul General Henry Bensurto from the Philippine Consulate of San Francisco, Seattle City Mayor- Mr. Edward Murray, EVP of Banner Bank – Ms. Cindy Purcell, President of the Filipino Community of Seattle- Mr. Alan Garcia, CEO of National Asian American Coalition (NAAC) Ms. Faith Bautista, and of course, Founder and CEO of Island Pacific – Mr. Nino Jefferson Lim.

As customary in Filipino tradition, a store blessing was performed by a local parish priest.

Fr. Alex Pablo of St. Edwards Parish led profound prayers of blessing for the store and its employees and blessed the entire store with holy water. After the blessing, guests and customers were virtually transported to Asia as the festivities began with the sound of fireworks crackling outside the store. This was then followed by a lion and dragon dance, intricately performed by a team of 35 members, to a musical accompaniment of gong, drums and cymbals.

A real and fully operational jeepney was also made available for guests to take pictures with and actually ride around the block. However, unlike the jeepneys in the Philippines, this jeepney is equipped with seat belts, glass windows and a glass door for safety. By riding the jeepney, the guests had an experience reminiscent of actual market shopping in the Philippines. The jeepney is a great representation of the Filipino culture and a celebration of Filipino ingenuity, which is also what Island Pacific is all about.

Lunch was served in the theme of the Lunar New Year. The dishes served were believed to bring good luck and prosperity for this year of the monkey and were all prepared in Island Pacific’s in-store fast food - Philhouse. During the luncheon, the guests were also serenaded and entertained by International singer, Ryan Gallagher.

Other key attendees of the event include: Ana Mariza Sanchez-Bensurto, Consul Reggie Bernabe (Philippine Consulate of San Francisco), Joaquin Uy (Seattle City Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs), Bob Trujillo (Banner Bank), Lee Salas (Crossings TV), Joy Fowler (Umpqua Bank), Gustavo Montoya, President & CEO of El Mundo Hispanic Newspaper, MundoSheila Burrus (Filipino Community of Seattle), Alma Kern (FCS Village Project), Eddie & Ellen Abellera (Fil-Am Resources for Educational Advancement Culture & Technology).

This new Island Pacific store sits at the heart of the Filipino and Vietnamese community in Seattle. Local residents in the vicinity are thrilled to have easy access to food that they grew up in. Founder and CEO, Jeff Lim aims to open more stores in the various underserved Filipino and Asian communities in the United States; as he is very passionate in his involvement in the Filipino-American and Asian communities.

Island Pacific Seattle and Philhouse is located in 6040 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S, Seattle, WA 98118. Open daily from 8:00 am – 9:00 pm. Bakery soon to Open.

For more info visit www.islandpacificmarket.com

Fr. Alex Pablo

Ms. Cindy Purcell

Mr. Alan Garcia

Mr. Henry Bensurto

Mr. Edward Murray

C FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1, 2016 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • fEbRUARy 27-mARch 1, 2016

MARKETPLACE SHOWROOM

&

You cannot make up your own marriage laws Forbes lists 10 Filipinos The USCIS and Embassy follow the in ‘30 Under 30 Asia’ official laws on marriage in the Family Code,

Immigration Corner Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ

married to the citizen. It doesn’t matter that your first spouse may have already married someone else.

That is why it is important that you seek the advice of a repuered legally married, notwith- table attorney, who can analyze standing the relative or friend’s your situation and guide you ac“promise” not to record the mar- cording to laws that are “on the riage contract. Even if a marriage books”, as opposed to mythical contract is not recorded, it does laws, made up by friends, relanot affect the marriage’s validity tives, gossip, rumors, or misconand you could still be considered ceptions. legally married. *** The above are only a few of Michael J. Gurfinkel is licensed, and an the excuses or rationalizations active member of the State Bar of California that people give as to why they and New York. All immigration services are believe they are single despite a provided by, or under the supervision of, an marriage, or their marriage has active member of the State Bar of California. been properly terminated. Re- Each case is different. The information lying on myths and misconcep- contained herein including testimonials, tions could have devastating ef- “Success Stories,” endorsements and refects. For example, if you were enactments) is of a general nature, and is not petitioned by an immigrant par- intended to apply to any particular case, and ent as “single” but you were mar- does not constitute a prediction, warranty, ried, your petition is void. Reli- guarantee or legal advice regarding the ance on the fact that the marriage outcome of your legal matter. No attorneycontract was not supposed to be client relationship is, or shall be, established recorded does not erase the fact with any reader. that you are married. If you are WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com married to your first spouse, and Call Toll free to schedule a consultation for then marry a second spouse (who anywhere in the US: is a US citizen), but you have not (866)—GURFINKEL properly terminated your first Four offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES marriage, the citizen cannot pe- · SAN FRANCISCO · NEW YORK · PHILIPPINES tition you, as you are not legally (Advertising Supplement)

by AlixAndrA

CAole Philstar.com

not the “laws” that you create or invent.

MARRIAGES are usually governed by the laws of the place of celebration. In the Philippines, the Family Code deals with the validity, invalidity, and termination of local marriages. Despite these laws, some people “invent” their own marriage laws, based on gossip, rumors, hearsay, or statements from friends, relatives or barangay captains.

However, this can be dangerous, as the USCIS and Embassy follow the official laws on marriage in the Family Code, not the “laws” that you create or invent.

Here are some typical rationalizations people offer, why their marriage is valid or invalid, despite the Family Code: My father-in-law “forced” me to marry his daughter. Therefore, the marriage is not valid.

While sometimes a marriage can be annulled due to fraud, duress, or mistake, the “forced” party must take immediate legal steps to annul the marriage. Any person who continues living with his or her spouse for many years, has children, celebrate anniversaries, etc., cannot claim later that he or she was “forced.” It is difficult to reconcile a lengthy marriage with an alleged lack of consent based on force or duress.

I haven’t seen my spouse in several years, so he must be presumed dead, and I am automatically “single,” and free to remarry. While there is a law in the Family Code concerning “presumptive death,” it is not something that happens automatically.

You still have to go to court, and obtain a judgment declaring the marriage terminated because the spouse may be presumed dead, based on his absence, unknown whereabouts (despite good faith search), and total lack of communication and contact. And even a “presumptive death” court decree is no guarantee. I know of several cases where people used this presumptive death basis and even obtain a court decree.

However, the Embassy investigated, and found out that the “dearly departed” spouse was very much alive, and the spouse

who obtained the court decree was in regular contact with that “dead” spouse. If your spouse is alive, your “presumptive death” termination of marriage will not work or be accepted by the Embassy.

My former spouse has already remarried and has another family. Therefore, I can remarry now. Unless you or your spouse obtained a court decree terminating your marriage (annulment/divorce), you are not free to remarry. If no court-ordered termination of your marriage was obtained, your spouse is committing bigamy. That doesn’t entitle you to also commit bigamy.

When your former spouse married a second time, he or she may not have disclosed to the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) he or she had an existing marriage, and so was able to obtain a marriage license. That doesn’t make that second marriage legal, nor would it terminate your existing marriage.

I obtained a church annulment, so I may remarry. While a church annulment may be acceptable for religious purposes, you need a court annulment to legally terminate your marriage for US immigration purposes.

A church annulment would not be recognized for immigration purposes. Therefore, if you had only a church annulment of your first marriage, and then married a US citizen, the marriage to the citizen may not be recognized for US immigration purposes.

I was promised that the marriage contract would not be recorded. Therefore, even though it was recorded, I should still be considered “unmarried.” Many people believe they can obtain a marriage license, go through a ceremony, say “I do,” but somehow remain “single,” because a well-connected relative or friend promised that the marriage contract would not be recorded.

However, by law, if you satisfied the legal requirements of the marriage (marriage license, ceremony, solemnizing officer with authority to perform weddings, etc.), then you would be consid-

Incoming government does not need to impose new taxes

by Prinz

MAgtulis Philstar.com

MANILA—Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima sees no need for the incoming administration to impose new tax measures in order to boost collections.

“I think we need to continue to use and implement technology to make sure that we improve the efficiency of tax collection,” Purisima said in an interview with bloomberg.

He made the suggestion when asked what the incoming administration should prioritize to raise more revenues.

The Aquino administration has PAGE D2

“The fiscal situation has been well-managed and the macro fundamentals is a source of stability for the past 10 years,” Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said.

Pinoy technology startup to compete in Washington in June by rAinier

AllAn Philstar.com

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MANILA—A Filipino financial technology startup, which has set up a web-based application offering health and insurance coverage, is one of five Asian startups chosen to join an international competition in Washington in June.

Horsepower.ph will compete in the 1776 Challenge Cup. The company specializes in providing benefits like managed healthcare, mobile health and life insurance and travel and consumer protection.

The 1776 Challenge Cup is an international competition that identifies promising startups tack-

ling global-scale challenges. It is run by 1776, a business incubator in Washington.

The incubator’s expertise is how to grow a startup in an industry where there is heavy regulation.

Horsepower.ph is among the five regional winners in the competition held in Tokyo, Japan.

The Filipino company competed against startups from high-tech laden cities like Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and bangkok.

Some of the competitor startups are into cancer detection, malaria cure, smart books, smartwatches, millennial jobs platform, interactive storybooks, metal nano ink, robots and next generation genetic sequencing.

Business Quote of the Week “If you’ve got an idea, start today.

There’s no better time than now to get going.

That doesn’t mean quit your job and jump into your idea 100 percent from day one, but there’s always small progress that can be made to start the movement.”

— Kevin Systrom, Founder of Instagram

VilA

FoRbES released on Thurs- Filipinos who excel in their reday, Feb. 25 their first-ever “30 spective fields.

Under 30 Asia” list, citing ten PAGE D2

Charice Pempengco, singer (entertainment and sports)

Ronson Culibrina, artist (arts)

Rachel de Villa, founder and Xyza Cruz Bacani, photographer CTO, Cropital (finance and (arts) venture capital)

Koh Martinez Onozawa, founder of LoudBasstard (retail and e-commerce)

D february 27-march 1, 2016 • La WeeKeND aSIaN JOurNaL

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PNBRCI expands its presence in Seattle PH tourism ‘could easily double’ Recognizing the growing Filipino-American population in Seattle, Washington, PnBRci recently opened an agent branch inside Seafood city in Tukwila to the delight of many residents in and around the location.

PnBRci’s goal is to serve the needs of customers for remittance and travel with a personal touch, so rare and precious during these impersonal technological times. Husband and wife team, Ron and Mayette Delgado, have been long-time partners of the company. The couple opened their own agent branch, combining the twin enterprises of remittance and travel right smack dab in Seafood city.

Mayette started with PnBRci as a teller and worked her way up professionally, helping the company gain market share against stiff competition. Her customers are loyal and respect her witty nature. Ron, on the

by Kristyn

niKa M. ManilaTimes.net

PNBRCI MAKES ITS PRESENCE FELT. GRAND OPENING of the Seattle, Washington Agency Branch of PNBRCI sometime during the past Christmas season. Seen enjoying the great Filipino fare consistiting of pancit, empanada, barbecue and puto are (L-R) Ron Delgado, Joanne Rivera, First Vice President of PNBRCI based in Los Angeles, and Mayette Delgado. Ron and Mayette Delgado have been serving the remittance and travel needs of the growing Filipino-American community in Seattle.

other hand, started his business in the Philippines long ago. His passion for travel made it second nature for him to give out tips and

recommend places to visit to his circle of friends. combining his passion with a can-do attitude, he launched his own travel agency.

This dynamic duo has been serving the Filipino community of Seattle for several years now.

They are determined to offer their best in both their travel and remittance businesses in two of their locations. They recently hired more tellers to adapt to the growth of their businesses.

The agency branch location is in Seafood city, 1368 Southcenter Mall #110, Tukwila, Wa 98188. Their hours of operation are Monday to Sunday, from 10am to 6:30pm. You can call them at (206) 242-0743.

DURING THE INAUGURATION, customers, friends and family gather around for a group photo For more information, log on to in front of the Seattle, Washington PNBRCI agency branch located in Seafood City, 1368 http://www. pnbrciseattle.com or Southcenter Mall #110, Tukwila, WA 98188. Their hours of operation are Monday to Sunday, email info@pnbrciseattle.com. from 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM. For more information please call: (206) 242 0743.

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Lazo

THe Philippines is likely to achieve its original target of 10 million tourist arrivals by 2020 if the tourism sector bottlenecks such as infrastructure constraints, regional airports improvements, the need for more hotel rooms, and the upgrade of local products are addressed. international Monetary Fund (iMF) Resident Representative Shanaka Jayanath Peiris noted in particular the need for regional connectivity and more hotel rooms.

He made the statement during a panel discussion at the 3rd Manila Times Business Forum on Tuesday, Feb. 23.

The Department of Tourism (DoT) targeted 10 million visitors The country logged 5.36 million visitors in 2015, which generated $5 billion in tourism revenues. for 2015, but the numbers were 2015 was already a record year for the industry in terms of arrivals and revenues, compared adjusted to 5.5 million as the goal with 4.83 million in arrivals and $4.8 billion in revenues in 2014. laysia. But it could easily double in airlines and airports, and hotel was deemed “too ambitious.”

The country logged 5.36 million five years . . . The country should rooms coming in the future, we can visitors in 2015, which generated have an increase if we address the see an increase if we can [achieve] $5 billion in tourism revenues. airports, liberalize service sectors,” that environment,” the iMF official 2015 was already a record year Peiris said. said. “it is not easy to fly in the islands, for the industry in terms of arrivals on the output side, Peiris said loand revenues, compared with 4.83 even Palawan [which is a world cal production can benefit from the million in arrivals and $4.8 billion renowned tourist spot]. Regional current china rebalancing which airports improvements would be a can boost tourism. in revenues in 2014. comparatively, Thailand re- very important aspect. That would “The china rebalancing will corded 29.88 million visitors in be very helpful if there are flights continue to help local consumption.

2015, generating 2.21 trillion baht from Hong Kong, Thailand or china it is a strong sector. The product or more than $60 billion in tourism direct to these regional airports. it is there. if we can increase capacrevenues. Malaysia recorded 27.44 will be a big plus,” he added. ity and come up with very good Then there the issues in logistics products, there’s no reason that million arrivals in 2014, with matching revenues of 72 billion Malaysian and infrastructure that need to be the Philippines will not go to the ringgit or $17.76 billion in revenues. addressed, Peiris noted, saying level of Thailand and Malaysia,” Malaysia’s 2015 figures were not that a lot of areas in the provinces Peiris said. still lack proper roads, bridges and yet available.

The Philippines targets 6 million “The Philippines is underper- other transportation modes which tourist arrivals in 2016 and P300 bilforming compared to regional impede connectivity and faster lion or $5 billion in revenues. neighbors like Thailand and Ma- journey.

Thailand aims for 32 million Peiris cited government’s effort visitors this year over $60 billion in to pursue the regional airports revenues, while Malaysia expects to projects under the public-private hit 30.5 million tourists and $24.5 partnership (PPP) scheme, as well billion in revenues. as private sector investments in Korea was the largest source of provincial tourism hubs and resorts tourism arrivals for the Philippines to contribute to the growth of the last year, capturing a fourth of total sector in the long run. tourist arrivals. This was followed “if we continue the infrastruc- by the US at 14.5 percent and Japan ture investments, regulation of at 9.6 percent.

Forbes lists 10 Filipinos in...

PAGE D1 The list is divided into ten categories, namely: Arts; manufacturing and energy; entertainment and sports; consumer technology; finance and venture capital; enterprise technology; media and marketing; health care and science; social entrepreneurs; and retail and e-commerce. The list features 300 “promising young leaders and game changers” across Asia.

According to Forbes, over

a dozen of reporters did their research in finding the best and brightest millennials in Asia. After reviewing nominations, a short list was then submitted to their panel of 30 judges.

“The criteria for honorees making the list included leadership and disruption in their field; entrepreneurial mind-set and results; and the likelihood of changing their field over the next half-century.,” Forbes said in a statement.

Valenice Balace, founder of Raphael Mijeno, founder dating app Peekawoo (consumer and chief finance officer of tech) Sustainable Alternative Lighting (social entrepreneurs)

Leandro Leviste, founder of Solar Philippines (manufacturing)

Henry Motte-Muñoz, cofounded the anti-corruption NGO Bantay.ph (social entrepreneurs)

Amin Hataman,inventor of biodegradable bags from a coconut by-product (healthcare & science)

Incoming government does...

PAGE D1 not introduced any major new tax measures. instead, it focused on improving efficiencies in tax administration and collection in order to boost tax receipts.

The Bureau of internal Revenue, which is under the Department of Finance, has raised tax revenues through the regular filing of charges against tax evaders and smugglers as well as policy and information technology improvements.

The country’s budget deficit has been kept in check, thanks to double-digit growth in revenues and below-target spending.

Purisima said it is important for the next administration to continue with the fiscal policies of President Aquino.

“They will have to continue along the path of President Aquino’s program: fiscal health and macroeconomic stability and most importantly, increased investments in infrastructure,” he said.

“The fiscal situation has been well-managed and the macro fundamentals is a source of stability for the past 10 years,” the finance chief added. internal Revenue commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares said there remains ample room to boost tax collection efforts.

“There’s always space to improve. The question is how much

improvement or growth will you target,” Henares said over the phone.

“Keeping the budget deficit in check also depends on the level of expenditures you have,” she added. only one revenue-raising law was passed during Aquino’s term.

This was RA 10351 which raised and restructured tobacco and alcohol excise taxes.

Presidential candidates, meanwhile, earlier expressed their support to a measure that seeks to reduce personal income taxes.

Sought for comment, Terence conrad Bello, immediate past president of the Tax Management Association of the Philippines, said a “holistic” tax reform was necessary.

“We are not totally opposed to the idea of (new) taxes. But our view is that before you consider raising taxes, consider first plugging the loopholes that hinder effective tax administration,” Bello said.

He claimed that for the past six years, the Aquino government has in fact “made tax compliance more difficult.”

“This is actually counter-productive. There are a lot of things you can still fix in tax administration and my opinion is no changes were implemented under Aquino,” Bello said.

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WIN Hyundai and WIN Chevrolet: Three giant locations to serve you There’s no better place for kababayans to shop for hyundai vehicles than WIN hyundai in Carson, Calif. established in 2011, the young dealership started with the goal of becoming the premiere hyundai dealership. since then, it has lived up to its aim by consistently ranked among the top five dealers in the district.

In 2012, the dealership, which is also equus Certified, was also ranked No. 1 in district sales.

WIN is proud to carry hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power and Associates ranked the automaker No. 2 among nonpremium automakers in the 2015 Automotive Performance, execution and Layout (APeAL) study.

“Finishing among the top two non-premium brands in this year’s J.D. Power, the APeAL study shows hyundai takes design, technology, features, and performance seriously across the entire lineup. having the bestselling sonata ranking among the top two in its class is a remarkable accomplishment and we are committed to delivering the highest customer experience possible to our owners,” said Mike O’Brien, vice president of corporate and product planning at hyundai.

WIN hyundai offers a wide selection of quality hyundai vehicles and extends its offerings across the Los Angeles area with its two locations: one in Carson and another in el Monte. On both sites, customers can find new and certified pre-owned vehicles – including the santa Fe, sonata, elantra and Genesis Coupe – to meet a variety of budgets and preferences.

Because the Carson and el Monte locations serve just about anyone and everyone in southern California, its experienced sales representatives are prepared and eager to help customers find the cars that best fit their preferences and needs.

When it comes to purchasing a hyundai, WIN specializes in working with all types of credit, good or bad, and has the ability to refinance current loans.

Additionally, although it sells hyundai cars, the dealership services vehicles of all makes and models and currently has an oil change special of $19.95 For Chevrolet owners and

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shoppers in Los Angeles, you may check out WIN’s third location at WIN Chevrolet, which will make sure to handle everything from helping you purchase a new or used Chevy. schedule an appointment or just stop on by to take any of our 2015 Chevrolet models for a test drive including the 2015 Chevrolet Camaro, 2015 Chevrolet Impala, and 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe.

Beyond the highly-praised brand WIN offers southern California residents, it has departments dedicated diverse groups found throughout the Los Angeles region, including Chinese, Korean, hispanic and Filipino communities. “ We w a n t t o m a k e t h e buying process as easy as possible, so we understand communicating in your native language can be important to completely understanding the purchasing and financing of your vehicle,” said Munir Younis, general sales manager of the dealership.

Younis, who is of Middle eastern descent, grew up in the Philippines and can speak Tagalog fluently, just as the Filipino sales representatives at the dealership.

“We have a dedicated team that serves the largest Filipino community in the U.s. We believe in giving back to the community and have participated in multiple sponsorship opportunities with multiple Filipino groups and organizations, including the Philippine Independence Day Foundation,” he said.

Among Filipino members of the WIN hyundai Carson team include long-time car industry veterans Jun Milan and Jay Trinidad.

“WIN is a great dealership and customer service is the best it can be,” Milan said.

Also on the Filipino team is Franklin Magarro, the dealership’s internet sales manager.

In addition to its on-location offerings, those shopping for hyundai cars can browse WIN’s inventory online with userfriendly filters. Whether you know specifically what make and model you’re looking for, are trying to shop based on a budget, or simply want to browse through what is available, the dealership website makes it easy to shop around from home. Live chat is also available and sales representatives are happy to assist customers via phone.

WIN Hyundai Carson 2205 e 223rd street Carson, CA 90810 (877) 354-4253 Monday through saturday: 9am to 9pm sunday: 10am to 8pm WIN Hyundai El Monte 3462 N Peck road el Monte, CA 91731 (877) 290-2164 Monday through sunday: 9am to 9pm www.winhyundai.com Win Chevrolet 2201 e. 223rd street Carson, CA 90810 (818) 639-1216 www.winchevrolet.com 8[m\ik`j`e^ Jlggc\d\ek

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • fEbRUARy 27-mARch 1, 2016 D

D february 27-march 1, 2016 • La WeeKeND aSIaN JOurNaLMarketplace

Jollibee buys out partner in Yonghe King supplier

by Katrina

Mennen Manilatimes.net

Valdez

HOMEGrOWn fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) said Wednesday it was buying out the remaining interest held by a partner in its China supplier, Happy Bee Foods Processing Pte. ltd., through an equity share and asset swap agreement. in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), JFC said the company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. ltd., (JWPl) had entered into an agreement with Hua Xia Harvest Holding Pte. ltd (Hua Xia) to acquire the latter’s 30-percent stake in Happy Bee Foods. the transaction will result in JWPl owning 100 percent ownership of Happy Bee. Hua Xia owns 30 percent while JWPl holds 70 percent of the registered capital of Happy Bee, full owner of Happy Bee Foods Processing (anhui) Co., ltd., a

wholly foreign-owned enterprise organized in China.

Under the terms of its agreement, Hua Xia shall sell and convey to JWPl its 30 percent equity interest in Happy Bee, while Happy Bee (anhui) shall sell and convey to Hua Xia’s nominee entity the assets and contracts related to the third party supply business. the fast-food giant, through its subsidiary, will acquire the 30 percent share of Happy Bee for about $10.4 million in the form an equity share and asset swap related to the production of food products intended for institutions outside of JFC brands in China.

“JFC will not have a net cash outlay for the acquisition of the 30 percent share,” the company said. “the transfer of shares and assets shall be subject to appropriate governmental and regulatory approvals, which are expected to be completed within 2016,” it added.

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Happy Bee anhui operates a manufacturing facility in anhui, China that services the requirements of JFC’s Yonghe King business and produces and sells food products for business institutions other than JFC’s brands. “the objectives of the acquisition of the 30 percent ownership of Happy Bee . . . are for JFC to concentrate on supporting the growth of its Yonghe King business and further improving its food quality and increasing assurance on food safety,” JFC explained.

JFC said the acquisition would likewise pave the way for its Yonghe King business to accel- The PACE leadership team presents the Innovative Spirit Award to Mr. Tianxiang Zhang of Panda Green Technology, Inc. SBA and PACE celebrate erate its store network growth their partnership during the Ninth Annual Lunar New Year Asian Entrepreneurial Spirit Celebration & Awards Luncheon. in China.

Yonghe King is JFC’s largest business in China, comprising tHE Pacific asian Consortium California; the Passionate Spirit from PaCE. of 321 stores and contributing 10 Speaking about the importance percent of its system-wide sales in Employment, PaCE, in partner- award, given to Ms. Yong nam worldwide. Conversely, Happy ship with the SBa held its ninth Kim of Sunny Market in los of awarding entrepreneurs; Mr. naBee anhui produces the food annual lunar new Year asian angeles; the Enthusiastic Spirit moch Sokhom, Director for PaCE’s products sold at Yonghe King Entrepreneurial Spirit Celebration award, to Ms. aksarapak Bondu Business Development Center, and awards luncheon on Febru- for her Sawadee thai Spa in los said, “it sends out positive encourstores. ary 19, 2016 at the new Capital angeles; the Determined Spirit agement to families and friends.

Seafood restaurant in San Ga- award to Mr. Herbert alvarez there is not enough recognition briel, California. PaCE hosts one Wong for HDKa transport llC in for what they do. they create jobs of the SBa’s Women’s Business Monterey Park, California; and the for themselves with the possibility PaCE winner for the innovative of creating jobs for others – that is Centers, WBC, in los angeles.

PaCE awarded entrepreneurs Spirit award went to Mr. tianx- very significant, especially in low in several categories including; iang Zhang, President of Panda income communities.” the Confident Spirit award, which Green technology, inc. in los For more information on PaCE, went to Mr. Hogquan li and Ms. angeles. SBa’s lender relations please visit: www.pacela.org Xiumin Zhu for their Energy Specialist, Kenneth Crawford For more information on SBa, Massage business in torrance, received a token of appreciation please visit: www.SBa.gov.

PACE and SBA celebrate Asian entrepreneurs

Tax Bureau to run after PH schools next

by Prinz

Magtulis Philstar.com

SCHOOlS are next on the Bureau of internal revenue’s (Bir) radar, reminding them to provide proof of tax exemptions every year or risk being subjected to audits.

Under revenue Memorandum Circular (rMC) 24-2016, non-stock, non-profit educational institutions were reminded to prove their income tax exemptions every time they file their information returns. the Constitution exempts all assets and revenues of non-earning schools from final income taxes of 7.5 percent and 20 percent, depending on the type of income.

But the Department of Finance, Bir’s mother agency, issued Department Order (DO) 149-1995 instructing schools to provide Bir documents proving these exemptions during tax filing season. “it has been observed that there are educational institutions organized and operated as non-stock, non-profit educational institutions that no longer comply with the DOF DO 149-95...,” the Bir circular dated February 24 noted.

Under DO 149-95, certifications showing the school’s passive investment income, projects funded by the income, and board resolution of future projects, must be submitted. revenue district offices (rDOs) must ensure all documents are

In this Feb. 4, 2014 file photo, Bureau of Internal Revenue chief Kim Henares, talks to the Associated Press during an interview at her office in Quezon City.

Photo by Bullit Marquez

present every tax filing season.

Sought for comment, anthony Coloma, advocacy officer at the Catholic Educational association of the Philippines (CEaP), said the group would review the new order.

He recalled CEaP won a court case against Bir over another order in 2013 that required schools to submit additional documents in applying for tax exemptions.

While the Constitution and certain laws provide for tax exemptions, the Bir ask concerned parties to apply for these rights for monitoring purposes.

SBA LADO Lender Relations Specialist,

the Bir, which accounts for 80 Kenneth Crawford receives a token of percent of tax revenues, has been Ms. Aksarapak Bondu, owner of Thai Spa, receives the Enthusiastic Spirit Award from the PACE appreciation from PACE Vice President and issuing a number of clarifications leadership team. PACE hosts a LADO WBC in Los Angeles.

COO, Rachelle Pastor Arizmendi with regard to certain entities’ tax treatment.

Even the Catholic Church was not spared. lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Socrates Villegas earlier said the Bir has been sending “feelers” that it would soon look into taxing religious stores operations.

Bir Commissioner Kim Henares, however, had clarified that under the law, religious entities in profiting business are already being taxed.

New homes at Five Knolls in Santa Clarita now open Santa Clarita—it’s time you discovered a place that has everything. Welcome to Five Knolls by Brookfield residential, Santa Clarita’s newest community of six stylish neighborhoods.

Visit today to tour the new model homes and experience a scenically inspiring small world designed around a refreshing new lifestyle. With miles of trails, a resort-style club, community park and five signature knolls, this is your chance to live life where you belong.

Five Knolls brings a great scope of new home options and opportunities to the Santa Clarita Valley, offering homes that are well built, well priced and in demand. Home shoppers can enjoy a location that caters to a lifestyle of both recreation and convenience with a new home that delivers style, innovation and function. Five Knolls is simply one of those rare opportunities to have it all. along tree-lined streets, the six new home collections at Five Knolls provide a host of choices from an all-star lineup of homebuilders.

With timeless architectural styles, including Santa Barbara, Spanish, american Farmhouse, Monterey and more, each home is defined by elegance.

Highglen by Brookfield residential welcomes two-story detached homes behind gates, with floorplans ranging from approximately 3,788 to 4,235 square feet. With up to six bedrooms and five-and-onehalf baths, Highglen also offers three-bay garages as well as a host of desirable features. Highglen is priced from the $800,000s.

Monterra by Christopher Homes presents gated living with beautiful two-story detached homes.

Priced from the $700,000s, designs span from approximately 3,583 to 3,858 square feet with up to seven bedrooms and six baths as well as two- and three-car garages.

Priced from the $700,000s,

Brighton by Brookfield residential delivers two-story detached homes in a gated neighborhood. a variety of options offer from approximately 3,116 to 3,470 square feet with up to six bedrooms and four-andone-half baths. Brighton residents also enjoy three-bay garages and premium appointments.

Everett by Meritage Homes pleases homebuyers with an array of floorplans to choose from. two-story detached designs feature approximately 2,724 to 3,131 square feet in addition to up to five bedrooms and four-and-onehalf baths. Priced from the high $500,000s, Everett also provides two-bay to three-car tandem garages and stunning interiors. new two-story detached residences at Grayson by tri Pointe Homes are designed for homebuyers. With approximately 2,121 to 2,470 square feet, up to five bedrooms and three baths and two-car garages, Grayson is priced from only the $500,000s.

Haywood by KB Home affords a new collection of two-story detached residences priced from the high $400,000s. ranging in size from approximately 1,856 to 2,388 square feet, designs include up to five bedrooms, up to three baths and two-car garages in addition to a multitude of great features. at Five Knolls, the great outdoors is just outside your door, from the array of walking and biking trails to the five signature knolls the community is named for.

Golden Valley Park brings a mixture of open spaces and gathering places as well as picnic enclaves, a shaded playground, basketball half-court and big and small dog park. and the Club is a haven for all things fun, where residents can splash around in the pool, relax in the spa or meet up with friends for wine tastings, get-togethers or celebrations. to live at Five Knolls in Santa Clarita is to be close to everything.

Connecting Golden Valley road all the way through to Bouquet Canyon road means a faster, more direct route to everyday destinations across the Santa Clarita Valley.

Within moments of home, everything from shopping and dining to entertainment, great schools and employment is accessible. More than 25 city parks, theme parks, art and culture offer opportunities for adventure, and the Metrolink and local transit make just about anywhere within reach. residents are close to all the things they love, from the easygoing community to the bustling world beyond. Five Knolls is the place to be.

Models are open daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more details on the new community of Five Knolls, please visit the website at FiveKnolls.com.

Brookfield residential los angeles is a premier lifestyle provider comprised of a dedicated, knowledgeable team of professionals with the passion and experience to craft exceptional new homes, neighborhoods and communities.

From the goals of first-time buyers to the prestige of luxury homes, we are proud to offer opportunities that embrace a diversity of aspirations. respected as an award-winning innovator, we are recognized for delivering consistent quality, design details and an outstanding customer experience.

Brookfield residential Properties, inc. is a leading north american land developer and homebuilder. We entitle and develop land to create master-planned communities and build and sell lots to third-party builders as well as to our own homebuilding division. We also participate in select strategic real estate opportunities, including infill projects, mixed-use developments and joint ventures. For more information, please visit Brookfieldresidential.com.

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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • fEbRUARy 27-mARch 1, 2016 D

Longo Lexus offers the ultimate Longo Toyota delivers world class experience conveniences in customer amenities

We all know that the process of buying a car is not just as simple as buying a new pair of shoes at the mall. It is a long process that involves careful comparison between vehicle models, reviewing the car’s specifications with regards to the needs of the buyer, and of course, the negotiations for the financing packages and promos.

As such, it is very important for Longo Lexus that its customers are supremely comfortable and well-pampered if they are going to make that important decision of which Lexus they will drive home.

As a car dealership, there are many reasons why Longo Lexus has been an elite of Lexus dealer since 1992. One of those reasons includes the ultimate conveniences that they offer in customer amenities. As one of the leading Lexus car dealerships, Longo Lexus provides not only pre-sales conveniences, but also noteworthy post-sales services.

Longo Lexus is known for the unique amenities that they offer to dealership customers.

One of those unique amenities include an on-site Auto Club of Southern California (AAA) center. The AAA branch offers DMV services, airline, car, and hotel reservations, discounted movie and local attraction tickets, AAA membership application processing, OnBoard Teen Safe Driver Program, auto and home insurance, and more. Sign up at our AAA branch in Longo, and you’ll receive a special $13 discount off the original membership price.

Aside from from the on-site AAA branch, Longo is also the first dealership in the US to offer Verizon Wireless and Verizon Wireless Neighborhood services on-site. Offering the latest technologies in telecommunications, mobile accessories, and services, Longo’s on-site Verizon branch makes it even more convenient for customers to stay connected with the world. Our Verizon Wireless Premium Retailer is open from Monday to Friday, 7am-7pm; Saturday, from 7am to 5:30pm; and Sunday, from 8am to 4pm. Please call (888) 8115201.

While waiting for your car to come out of our premium carcare service lines or while you’re going through our wide inventory of luxurious Lexus vehicles, you can enjoy a quick bite at Sub-

way or a nice refreshing drink at Starbucks.

If you want to pamper your car, you can also shop at the Longo Lexus Parts Boutique, which carries a wide selection of genuine Lexus parts and accessories for your vehicle. M`Zkfi I\p\j With over 31,000 parts and accessories in stock, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for.

The after-sales services of a dealership is just as important as the pre-sales amenities. And it these after-sales services that make buying a vehicle at Longo Lexus a truly rewarding experience.

We offer complimentary loaner vehicles for your use while your car is in our service center. For inquiries, on our loaners, please call our coordinators at 1-800-5970813.

For your convenience, we also offer complimentary shuttle service to take you to your office, home, or even the mall—basically anywhere within a 15-mile radius—while your vehicle is being serviced.

If you don’t have time to make the drive to our dealership, our Longo Lexus Mobile Service Van and Truck can provide routine maintenance services, such as oil changes and tire rotations, right at your home or office. Appointments can be made up to 6 months in advance.

Similarly, if your service requirements need the car to be physically present at our Longo service center, we offer complimentary flatbed truck pick-up and delivery of your vehicle to and from our dealership. Our Longo Lexus Mobile Service Van and Truck, and our complimentary flatbed truch pick-up and delivery service are exclusively for cars that are purchased from Longo Lexus, and are located within 60mile radius from Longo.

Please call 1-800-597-0813 to schedule your appointment.

Also, for every service appointment, each vehicle receives a complimentary car wash in our Longo Lexus Car Spa. For our clients who wish to use other cars, aside from those among our fleet of loaner Lexus cars, they can avail of the services of our enterprise Rent-A-Car offices.

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With two branches on the Longo Premises, enterprise is ready to address all your car rental needs.

Please call (800) 969-6519 for more information.

We understand that life’s daily grind requires our customers to be always on top of everything while keeping up with an onthe-go lifestyle. Which is they are more than welcome to work at our Longo Business Center where they can work on our computer terminals, free of charge.

We also offer complimentary Wireless Internet Access (Wi-Fi) to our customers throughout the facility. This is particularly useful for our customers with mobile devices, laptops, and tablets.

While you wait for your car to come out of our service center, your kids can enjoy and have a good time at our Children Play Area, where we offer video games and other activities for the young ones.

Longo Lexus customers will also be offered complimentary use of our iPads while they are waiting for their vehicle.

For more information on our Longo Lexus Guest Services, please log on to www.longolexus.com/GuestAmenities or call (626) 539-2956.

Longo Lexus is located at 3530 North Peck Road, el Monte, CA 91731.

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Being the premiere Toyota retailer in the nation, Longo Toyota aims to deliver a truly world-class experience to our guests on every transaction, everyday. it all starts with our friendly and welcoming staff, a clean and modern environment, and a wide range of services to make your visit pleasant and convenient. Here are some of our key amenities at Longo Toyota: Auto Club of Southern California (AAA) in november 1999, Longo Toyota became the first automotive dealership in the US to have the Auto Club on its premises. For 14 long years, our Auto Club branch has served countless satisfied Longo customers with its wide array of services Today, our on-site branch offers DMV services, airline, car and hotel reservations, discounted movie and local attraction tickets, membership processing, OnBoard Teen Safe Driver Program, and more. Sign up at our Longo Toyota branch and get $13 off the original membership application price. Located in our new car showroom, our AAA branch is open Mondays thru Saturdays, from 11am to 7pm.

Verizon Wireless Premium Retailer Longo Lexus is the first car dealership in the US to provide Verizon Wireless and Verizon Wireless neighborhood services on-site.

Our Verizon branch offers the latest in telecommunications, mobile devices, accessories and services. We also offer complimentary cellphone charging stations for our customers. Our Verizon retailer is located inside our parts retail center. Our Wireless Playground is open Monday-Friday, 7am7pm; Saturday, 7am-5:30pm; and Sunday, 8-4pm. Please call (888) 623-2133 for more information.

Starbucks and Subway While waiting for your car to come out of our car-care service lines, you can enjoy a quick bite at Subway or a nice refreshing drink at Starbucks.

We offer healthy dining options with Subway’s wide variety of sandwiches, salads, and wraps. if you’re thirsty and you’re looking for that quick coffee

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fix, you can grab a refreshing Hazelnut Macchiato or a smooth Caramel Frappuccino at Starbucks. Offering only the finest coffee specialties, teas, juices, and assortment of pastries, there’s something for everybody at our on-site Starbucks branch.

Both our Subway and Starbucks branches are available for catering services.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car Longo Toyota also has two enterprise Rent-A-Car offices on its premises. One is located adjacent to the Service Drive in the Pre-Owned Vehicle Showroom, and the other is in the Collision Repair Center.

Customers are welcome to utilize the enterprise rental services, regardless of whether or not they leave their vehicle in Longo for any car service.

Complimentary Vehicle Delivery Service Longo Toyota also offer complimentary vehicle delivery service. Our delivery service is available 6 days a week, Monday thru Saturday, anywhere within a 60-mile radius of Longo Toyota.

Longo Toyota Parts and Accessories Department You can also shop at the Longo Toyota Parts and Accessories Department, which carries a wide selection of genuine Toyota parts and accessories for your vehicle. With thousands of parts and accessories in stock, we definitely have whatever it is you’re looking for. Our boutique also carries a selection of RayBan and Oakley sunglasses, women’s and men’s apparel, and so much more.

Shuttle Service For your convenience, Longo Toyota offers complimentary shuttle service while your vehicles are being serviced.

Our shuttles can take you to virtually anywhere within a 15mile radius of Longo Toyota – be it your home, work, the mall, or even the parlor!

Anywhere!

An engaging stay While we understand that our customer’s time is precious, we realize that many of them may need internet connectivity at all times. As such we are more than happy to provide FRee WiFi throughout our facility, and FRee use of our great business center. in our business center, we provide a quiet setting where our guests can work on our computers or on their own laptops.

We also provide free use of an iPad for Longo guests who are waiting for their vehicles. Our guest Check-in representative will be more than happy to arrange this for you. if you decide to bring the kids to the dealership, boredom will never be a problem. We also offer a variety of video games and DVDs just for kids so that they can also enjoy their visit to Longo Toyota.

For more information on our Longo Toyota guest Services, please log on to http://www. longotoyota.com/dealership/ amenities.htm.

Longo Toyota is located at 3534 north Peck Road, el Monte, CA 91731. Call (626)539-2584 to set up your appointment.

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D february 27-march 1, 2016 • La WeeKeND aSIaN JOurNaL

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

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

EMPLOYMENT

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

EMPLOYMENT

FOR RENT

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • fEbRUARy 27-mARch 1, 2016 D

FOR SALE

SERVICES

FOR SALE

D february 27-march 1, 2016 • La WeeKeND aSIaN JOurNaL

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