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Vol. 4. No. 29 LOS ANGELES

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Wednesday - Tuesday, April 15 - 21, 2015

Trillanes names 2 CA justices in alleged Binay bribe Senator says each got P25M to halt Makati Mayor Junjun Binay’s suspension

The Blue Ribbon Sub-Committee, chaired by Sen. Koko Pimentel (right), resumes its inquiry with Sen. Antonio Trillanes on the alleged overpricing of the new Makati City II Parking Building, the 22-storey Makati City Hall Building and related anomalies. (MNS

MANILA, Apr 13 (Mabuhay) – Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Monday accused two Court of Appeals (CA) justices of accepting P25 million each to halt Makati Mayor Junjun Binay’s suspension.

In a resolution calling for a Senate probe on the alleged “justice for sale” system at the CA, Trillanes cited “reliable sources privy to the matter” in alleging CA Associate Justices Jose Reyes Jr. and Francisco Acosta of receiving P20 million each to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Binay’s suspension.

Trillanes also accused the two CA justices of receiving an additional P5 million each upon the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction to stop Binay’s suspension.

The senator said these “transactions” were allegedly facilitated by lawyer Pancho Villaraza, who

is supposedly supporting the presidential campaign of Vice President Jejomar Binay, Mayor Binay’s father.

Makati Rep. Abigail Binay, the vice president’s daughter, earlier said that their camp is planning to file contempt charges against Trillanes for accusing her father’s camp of bribing CA. justices.

“Senator Trillanes is now destroying the reputation and integrity of an institution. Hindi birobiro ang ginagawa nya. Dapat ang ipakita nya yung patunay na hindi dinuktor at pang-media lang,” Rep. BInay earlier said.

Last March 11, the Office of the Ombudsman preventively suspended Mayor Binay and 15 others for six months over the alleged overpricing in the construction of the Makati City Hall Building II. Days after the Ombudsman’s order, the CA Sixth Division granted Mayor Binay’s petition for a 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) against the suspension.

Despite the TRO, the DepartSee TRILLANES, page 12

UNA slams Trillanes for ‘baseless’ allegations vs justices MANILA, Apr 13 (Mabuhay) – United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) interim president Toby Tiangco slammed Senator Antonio Trillanes IV for throwing “baseless and malicious allegations,” this time against justices.

In a statement, Tiangco said Trillanes’ alleged “lust for power has pushed him to lose his mind.

Now he wants the Senate to investigate the courts which is a co-equal branch without offering any credible evidence but merely on the word of ‘sources.’”

Tiangco said Trillanes is once again hiding behind parliamen-

tary immunity.

“He is prosecutor, judge and executioner and those he has maligned cannot defend themselves because he will bully them into silence,” Tiangco said.

He said Trillanes should just file bribery raps in court if he indeed has evidence.

“But this is not about evidence. This is all about perception and painting a negative picture of Vice President Jejomar Binay through lies and innuendoes,” Tiangco said.

Citing sources, Trillanes alleged on Monday morning that

Court of Appeals Justices Jose Reyes Jr. and Francisco Acosta received P25 million each in exchange for issuing a temporary restraining order and a writ of preliminary injunction in the suspension case of Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay.

Atty. Pancho Villaraza of the Villaraza and Angangco Law Office allegedly facilitated the deed.

These allegations are part of a four-page resolution filed by Trillianes to investigate the supposed “justice for sale” in the judiciary. (MNS)

Fire fighters battle the blaze that struck two abandoned vessels docked in Manila Bay near the Mall of Asia shopping complex in Pasay City on Sunday. The fire set off thick black smoke rising behind the mall, the biggest in the country, and can be seen several kilometers away. (MNS photo)

Chinese hackers targeted PHL accuses China of damaging reefs SE Asia, India for last Manila, Philippines, AFP, Mon- Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing day 4/13/2015 – The construction ground that it has controlled since decade: report works have destroyed 300 acres 2012, following a tense maritime

By Martin Abbugao

Sen. Bongbong Marcos, chair of the Committee on Local Government, reviews the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law focusing on the ceasefire mechanisms to be implemented between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). (MNS photo)

MILF leader Iqbal asks Senate not reveal his true name MANILA, Apr 13 (Mabuhay) – Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal on Monday pleaded with senators to not compel him to reveal his true identity citing security risks to him and his family.

Attending the resumption of the Senate hearing on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), Iqbal explained the situation behind his using an alias was “complicated.”

Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., chair of the Senate committee on local government, insisted that Iqbal reveal his true name to no avail.

“We use nom de guerre to protect myself, my family, and the

Singapore, Singapore, AFP, Monday 4/13/2015 – A cyber espionage group most likely sponsored by China has been snooping on governments and businesses in Southeast Asia and India undetected for the last 10 years, Internet security company FireEye said Monday.

FireEye said the hackers, dubbed APT30, have been systematically stealing “sensitive information” since 2005, targeting governments, corporations and journalists with interests involvSee CHINESE HACKERS, page 12

Delfin Lee links VP Binay to P200-M extort try, attempts to implicate ex-VP De Castro

struggle. If I was harmed and killed, perhaps I would not be here in this august body,” Iqbal said.

Marcos retorted, “It does not inspire confidence in anyone, when you’re sitting across the table and you’re not sure of the identity of the person you’re talking to.”

Iqbal said he would reveal his true identity once the BBL, which seeks to create the Bangsamoro political entity, was signed into law.

“When the BBL is passed by Congress and hopefully ratified, that will be the time everything will normalize and we will disclose that,” Iqbal said.

“But at this point in time, I re-

MANILA, Apr 13 (Mabuhay) – Detained businessman Delfin Lee has linked Vice President Jejomar Binay to a P200-million extortion attempt supposedly in exchange for dropping the P6.6-billion syndicated estafa case against him.

In a sworn statement read by his lawyer during a Senate blue ribbon subcommittee probe on Monday, Lee alleged that Vice President Binay’s close associate, Gerry Limlingan, asked P200 million from him so that the Globe Asiatique founder’s estafa case will not proceed.

“Ako ay biktima ng panggigipit sa pamumuno ni Bise Presidente

See MILF LEADER, page 12

See DELFIN LEE, page 12

of coral reefs, resulting in an estimated $100 million in annual economic losses to coastal states, Philippine foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose said.

Three hundred acres is roughly three times the size of Vatican City.

“China’s massive reclamation activities are causing irreversible and widespread damage to the biodiversity and ecological balance of the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea,” Jose said.

He also accused China of tolerating environmentally harmful methods among its fishermen in

standoff with the Philippines.

Satellite photos from the USbased Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released last week also showed a flotilla of Chinese vessels dredging sand onto Mischief Reef – which is claimed by Manila.

Jose said this highlighted the speed of China’s massive reclamation which threatens to dilute rival claims of smaller governments like the Philippines.

On Monday he raised alarm over his Chinese counterpart, Hua Chunying’s, comments last See PHL ACCUSES, page 12

Where Manny Pacquiao sees himself ten years from now

By Jannelle So

He trains hard from Monday to Saturday. But on the Lord’s day, Sunday, Philippine fighting congressman Manny Pacquiao focuses on his family and his faith, making it a point to attend Sunday worship service at Westside Shepherd of the Hills.

“Before I came to this church, I was praying and crying to the Lord. ‘Lord, I don’t know where I’m going. Where will I go every Sunday, what will I do?’ The Lord brought me here,” said Pacquiao who has been attending this particular church since he was introduced to it by his Aunt Lillia.

Pastor Dudley Rutherford, leader of the church, had this to say about meeting the 8-division world boxing champion: “I know that God has the future lined up for both of us. I don’t know when he’s done fighting, if I’d see him again. If I’ll go to the Philippines, to help start a church over there. But I do believe that God put it in my heart just to help him. I don’t want anything from him. I don’t need anything from him. I just want to hep him. I want to help him grow spiritually. Because so many people are pulling on him. And I just want to help him to be the man God wants him to be.”

The one-on-one live interview Rutherford had with Pacquiao, started with the Filipino pride narrating how he started in boxSee PACQUIAO, page 12

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Wednesday - Tuesday, April 15 - 21, 2015

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Hollywood stars back Clinton 2016 bid Los Angeles, United States, AFP, Monday 4/13/2015 – Hollywood stars have chorused support for Hillary Clinton’s US presidential campaign, indicating Tinseltown will be firmly behind the former first lady as she targets the White House.

Within hours of Clinton confirming her plans to stand in 2016, celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Scarlett Johansson and Magic Johnson gave a stamp of approval to her bid to become the first female commander-inchief.

“I’m very excited by the news,” singer Jennifer Lopez was quoted as saying by Eonline at Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles. “I think it’s time for a woman (president)” she added.

Basketball legend Johnson, a staunch Democrat, meanwhile took to Twitter to give his support.

“I feel @HillaryClinton will be a great President for the American people and she will make sure that everyone has a voice!”

Johnson said.

“@HillaryClinton will fight for the poor, middle class and embrace young people!”

Actress Johansson meanwhile suggested Clinton would be battle-hardened and more prepared for a second tilt at the White House following her bruising battle with Barack Obama for the Democratic ticket in 2008.

“It’s very exciting to see Hillary,” Johansson said.

“Now is the right time. She needed to get through what she did to get to this point to run again. Now she’s ready for it.

“I think she’s a very good politician,” Johansson told an Access Hollywood reporter at Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards.

Lena Dunham, creator and star of HBO’s hit series “Girls” posted an image of Clinton on Instagram scrutinizing a cellphone.

“This is Hillary reading a text from me that says ‘with you every step of the way, gurl’ #mypresident,” Dunham wrote above the photo.

Actress America Ferrera, best known as the star of the sitcom

“Ugly Betty” posted a picture on Twitter of her campaigning for Clinton in 2008. “I believed in her then, I believe in her now. @ HillaryClinton #mypresident,” she added.

Uzo Aduba, one of the stars of award-winning Netflix series “Orange is the New Black,” opted for a one-word message of support, with a Twitter message reading simply: “Hillary.”

Singer-songwriter Carole King was similarly sparing in a tweeted message, responding to Clinton’s announcement with the reply: “I’m in.”

While support of Hollywood and entertainment industry power players are an important source of campaign fundraising, surveys have shown that the backing of celebrities holds little sway over the the way Americans vote.

A 2012 poll for CBS News and Vanity Fair reported that 89 percent of respondents said the celebrity endorsement of a particular candidate made no difference to them when it came to voting.

THE US ASIAN POST

Sarah Jane ‘SJ’ Gandia, the secret behind Balita’s new ad jingle Sj is a young breed of Filipino songwriter who was born in Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite and is now based here in Los Angeles.

The development of her unique songwriting style is the result of a lifetime of musical influences, coming from her late mom’s side of the family as she witnessed the family sing at church services. Her dad on the other hand injected his love for deep vocabulary with his unique use of words in stage plays. A music loving mom plus a talented playwright dad makes for what Sj is right now.

Her first foray into learning the piano herself came when she was in preschool, about 5 years old. She tried to have formal training but because she was too eager to tap the piano keys, she defied her teacher’s musical notes teaching and went on doing what she wanted to do Sj’s musical journey began in the Philippines, in her hometown of Cavite where she developed her musical taste and interests. It wasn’t long after tapping those keys that she found herself experimenting with the musical instrument.

After meeting with the world renowned and respectable singer/ songwriter, Mr. Jose Mari Chan, she began to showcase her talents in various competitions. Growing up in Las Pinas, she represented the city at the then renowned, Metro Pop Music Festival. Garnering the 1st runner up award, she got lucky when a representative from Octo Arts approached her and asked if she would be interested in submitting her song to the said recording company. She was quickly noted for the unique style that her song was chosen.

As her confidence grew and her style developed, she soon saw an opportunity to keep on writing more songs. She wrote songs for Jamie Rivera (Each Time I See you), Shirley Fuentes (You’ll Always Be) and Angelika dela Cruz (My Only Wish), Jessa Zaragoza (Bumabalik Ang Nagdaan), and other various Filipino artists here in the United States. She also received an honorary distinction as the Best Composer of the Year here in the Los Angeles area from Celebrity Chronicle 2008. Thereafter, she wrote the theme song for the Filipino Town in Los Angeles, CA. SJ also collaborated with Mista Ty (Ty Perkins), an R&B singer who sang one of her songs, “Could Have Been”.

But although her name was continuing to grow, it was not where she pursued her career. As her parents would always say, “you need to pursue a college degree before you can think of pursuing a hobby”, she instead, fulfilled her obligation as a child to her parents by graduating from college and pursuing a post graduate degree. After picking up a Bachelor’ degree in Communication Arts in DeLa Salle UniversityTaft, she then went on working at the Diamond Hotel in Manila and at the same time had to put her first love aside.

Here in the United States, she pursued Nursing but after merely

Sarah Jane ‘SJ’ Gandia

two years working in the medical field, she left and returned to her first love, writing music and producing concerts.

Finally, after honing her unique sound over recent years, she released her debut album together with Divo Bayer, entitled, “Divo Bayer sings Sj Gandia”, which underlies the changes and experiences that Sj has gone through over the years.

SJ’s talent in writing music made her the official songwriter of the one of a kind children’s competition, Singing Champ from November 2012, which is patterned towards American Idol wherein the top 2 finalists will have a sing off using her original song composition.

She became one of the prestigious judges of three age categories in the competition: 8-11, 12-14 and 15-18.

SJ’s composition, “My Journey” was the theme song of 2012 competition and “Build A Better World” during the 2013 Singing Champ competition.

On December 12, 2012, LA Karilagan Lions Club 2012-13 recognized Sarah Jane Gandia as the “Most Fascinating Person of the Year 2012-Singer/Producer/Songwriter Composer” at Celebrity Centre International.

SJ then began producing successful concerts, as follows: “Three’s A Crowd” with Miguel Vera, Joseph Gelito and Miriam Pantig (February 2012); Aiza Seguerra Live in LA (March 2013), Erik Santos: The Greatest Theme Songs (September 2013) and Richard Poon and Juris Fernandez “Just The Two of Us” (November 2013), Stephen Bishop Live in LA (Feb 2014), John Ford Coley Live (May 2014), Aiza Seguerra 2nd concert in LA (Sept 2014), “In Nomine Matris” premiere (Dec 2014).

December 29, 2013, The City of Carson represented by Mayor Jim Dear and MPT Santarina awarded SJ Gandia a Certificate of Recognition in the field of songwriting for writing the official theme song of the first annual commemoration of Dr. Jose Rizal Day. Her song: “Tayo Ay Pilipino” (Tagalog Version) / “We Are The Filipinos” (English Version) will unite the Filipino Americans and promote friendship and look back to their root, Philippines.

She was given different recognitions by different Filipino-American organizations including Kalayaan, “Outstanding Composer” Filipino Veterans awarded by Former Fidel V Ramos, “Ambassador of Goodwill” as a songwriter

by Historic Filipino Town, Certificate of Recognition from CSDFAEA (San Diego) and was awarded a certificate from the Senate (San Diego).

Her song entry, “Bumabalik Ang Nagdaan” was chosen from about 6,000 entries of the prestigious songwriting competition, Himig Handog 2014 from Star Music and was one of the Top 15. SJ represented Los Angeles and bagged the first award given during the competition, “Star Music’s Choice Award”.

Since then, SJ received offers to write for different artists. She also wrote several commercial jingles of different companies like “Manila Sky”, gourmet ice cream company; “Balita Weekend, US Asian Post”, one of the leading newspaper companies in LA; “Smart Lipo͇ DW 9HU PRQW +HDOWKFDUH DQG ͆7KH 0HOWLQJ &KHHVHFDNH͇ RI D FKDULWDEOH RUJDQL]DWLRQ For inquiries on commercial jingles or songs, you can call her at 424232-6781 or email her at sjgandia@yahoo.com. You can check her website at www.thesgproductions. com.

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, April 15 - 21, 2015

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Security at stake with China’s reclamation activities in Mischief: Gazmin MANILA, Apr 13 (Mabuhay) – Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin has denounced anew China’s massive reclamation works in South China Sea or West Philippine Sea, saying that these reclamation activities have huge effects on security in the Asia Pacific region.

In an interview with reporters at the military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Monday, Gazmin specifically hit China’s latest dredging activities in the Panganiban Reef also known as Mischief Reef, one of the mineral-rich islands in the disputed Spratlys.

“Malaki ang epekto noon sa regional security.

Maaapektuhan ang region in terms of freedom of navigation, freedom of the air space,” Gazmin said.

“We are worried and we continue to stick to our initial reaction which is to apply the rule of law,” Gazmin added.

In a photo released last month by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), it can be seen that China has built small artificial land formations, fortified seawalls and has set up construction equipment along Mischief Reef.

Although Department of National Defense spokesman Peter Paul Galvez said no permanent structures have been spotted yet in Mischief Reef, China’s activities not only post threats on security but also have dire consequences on the Philippine economy. “(Ang) pwede nilang gawin diyan, e mangingisda sila. Uubusin nila lahat ng isda diyan. Kontrolado na nila ‘yung lahat ng natural resources.

With what they are doing, parang gumagawa sila ng pader,” Galvez said.

Meanwhile, Gazmin welcomed US President Barack Obama’s denouncement of China’s activities in the disputed territory, as well as the latter’s expression of support to the smaller claimantcountries including the Philippines. “’Di ba very significant ‘yung one of the most powerful countries in the world supporting a small country, ‘di ba?” Gazmin said.

In a speech delivered in Jamaica last week, Obama said the US is “concerned” over China’s rapid reclamation of several reefs in the South China Sea. Obama said China is not abiding by international norms and rules and is using “its sheer size and muscle to force countries into subordinate positions.”

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Gregorio Pio Catapang had earlier confirmed that China is doing reclamation works in seven reefs in the South China Sea, three of which are within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

While alarmed by China’s latest activities, Gazmin admitted that the most that the country can do right now is to continue with its monitoring activities, especially in Mischief Reef.

“So ganun lang muna tayo. ‘Di mo maaksyonan ang mali ng isang mali,” Gazmin said.

He said the Philippines also continues to push for the passage of a legally-binding code of conduct on exploration of the South China Sea. The Philippines has a pending diplomatic protest against China before the United Nations (UN) for the latter’s reclamation works in the South China Sea. Gazmin said that while the case is pending with the UN, the military will refrain from any action that may further escalate the tension.

Although he admitted that the military will intensify its monitoring activities in the disputed reefs, Gazmin was mum on whether the military will send additional troops for patrol operations. “’Yung pagdadagdag ng tropa, hindi na namin dapat sabihin sa inyo, but we continue to monitor.

We will increase our monitoring capability in these areas,” Gazmin said.

Aside from China and the Philippines, other countries who have claims over islands in the West Philippine Sea also referred as the Spratly Islands are Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei. (MNS)

3

OPINION

World should fear China’s actions in South China Sea: Aquino

By Karl Malakunas

Manila, Philippines, AFP, Tuesday 4/14/2015 – China’s efforts to stake its claim to most of the South China Sea should spark fear around the world, with military conflict possible, Philippine President Benigno Aquino told AFP on Tuesday.

In an exclusive interview, Aquino also warned that China’s increasingly assertive actions raised the specter of other nations having access cut to vital international shipping lanes and rich fishing grounds in the sea.

“Does it engender fear? Yes, I think it should engender fear for the rest of the world,” Aquino said when asked to assess Chinese government moves in recent years to assert its sovereignty claims over the sea.

Aquino said that while he did not believe China intended to engage in a military conflict over the territorial disputes with the Philippines and other Asian nations, there was a possibility of one breaking out.

“The question of it escalating to something beyond everybody’s control should be at the top of the minds of all world leaders,” he said.

China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, including areas just off the coasts of other Asian nations, using vague demarcation lines that first appeared on Chinese maps in the 1940s.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims.

The contested claims have for decades made the sea one of Asia’s flashpoints, and tensions have risen in recent years as China has moved to assert its authority over the areas.

Following a tense standoff between Chinese maritime patrol vessels and the Philippine Navy in 2012, China took control of a rich fishing ground called Scarborough Shoal that is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Satellite images have also shown China recently embarking on major construction activities to expand Chinese-controlled reefs and islets in the Spratly Islands, one of the sea’s biggest archipelagos.

Some of those images, published this month on the website of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, showed a flotilla of Chinese vessels dredging sand onto a feature known as Mischief Reef.

The reef is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the southwestern Philippine island of Palawan, and

roughly 1,000 kilometers from the nearest major Chinese landmass.

Images of other outcrops in the Spratlys showed aircraft runways appearing from jungle, smoothsided solid masses where there once was coral, and man-made harbors replacing natural reefs.

Security fears Aquino said China was building two airstrips on the expanded land formations – the first to be sited so far south of the Chinese mainland – which posed major defense concerns for the Philippines.

“With these new features, the two airstrips that come to my mind, once operational, puts into effective (Chinese military) range the entire country,” Aquino said.

“The (Chinese) turnaround time, the sustainability of operations, etcetera, are enhanced by all of these airstrips, and potentially other naval ports.”

Emphasizing repeatedly that he did not believe China intended to start a war over the competing claims, Aquino said it was nevertheless successfully intimidating other nations.

“When you have to use the power, then you are really not powerful, when the mere threat of using the power is sufficient to achieve your aims. And that is where they’re successful,” he said.

Aquino also said that if China did succeed in taking control of all the areas of the sea that it claims, there was no guarantee that shipping lanes vital to global trade would remain open.

“There is an estimate of something like 40 percent of world trade passing through this body of water,” he said.

He also referred to China’s announcement it had imposed fishing restrictions in the sea last year, which included foreign boats having to register to fish there.

Aquino said that although China had not yet enforced the requirement to register, it loomed as a threat for foreign vessels.

“At an appointed time they can suddenly say they are enforcing this and everybody who wants to transit has to register with our (Chinese) authorities,” Aquino said.

The Philippines has infuriated China by appealing to the United Nations for a ruling on the Chinese claims. A ruling is expected early next year, although China has refused to take part in the proceedings.

China last week defended its construction work in the Spratlys, while insisting it has sovereign rights to most of the sea.

Marco Rubio: Cuban heritage, American Dream

By Ivan Couronne

Washington, United States, AFP, Monday 4/13/2015 – As a child, Marco Rubio assured his exiled Cuban grandfather that he would overthrow Fidel Castro and lead Cuba. Today, at 43, he harbors a new aspiration: to be president of the United States.

The Republican senator from Florida, told voters Monday that he was in the race to start a “new American century,” ending two years of speculation about whether he will pursue a 2016 campaign for the White House.

Back in February, 12 months ahead of presidential primaries, he was already an all-but-declared candidate, publishing a big ideas book and launching a tour of the states that vote earliest in the nomination process.

Rubio was born in Miami in 1971, the son of poor Cuban refugees who had fled the island 15 years earlier to escape poverty.

After Castro seized power in 1959, the family decided never to return to Cuba, a country Marco Rubio has never known.

But Cuba is a recurring theme for the first-term senator, whose ambitions reflect those of generations of refugees eager to carve out better lives in America.

“I am the son of immigrants, exiles from a troubled country,” he wrote in his 2012 memoir, “An American Son.” “They gave me everything it was in their power to give. And I am proof their lives mattered, their existence had a purpose.”

Rubio has chosen Freedom Tower, a Miami landmark known as the “Ellis Island of the South” for processing thousands of Cuban refugees, as the location for his campaign launch.

Cuban son The son of a bartender and a housemaid, Rubio grew up in Miami’s Cuban-American communities, although the family spent five years in Las Vegas, where they converted briefly to the Mormon faith before returning to Catholicism.

Influenced by his grandfather, who spoke no English, Rubio developed a passion for politics. He was a fan of Senator Ted Kennedy, a Democratic icon, before falling hard for Republican president Ronald Reagan.

Americans nationally learned of Rubio in 2010 when as an underdog he spectacularly won election to the Senate, riding the Tea Party wave that sent several small-government conservatives to Congress.

While some Republicans privately argue it is too early for a Rubio presidential run, many envision him becoming the nation’s first Hispanic commander-in-chief, a rags-to-political-riches story embodying the American Dream.

Just two years after earning a law degree, he was elected in 1998 to the West Miami City Commission.

A year later, it was Florida’s House of Representatives, where he rose to become speaker in 2006.

In his memoir Rubio offers inexhaustible detail of his political maneuverings that boosted his career, at the risk of appearing motivated more by power than political ideas.

Rubio is a compelling package: handsome with an engaging smile and charismatic oratory, despite an occasional rapid-fire delivery and a visible impatience.

He breaks the traditional social conservative mold: he goes to church with wife Jeanette and their four children, but since childhood he has been a hiphop fan, often hailing genre pioneers Grandmaster Flash and Tupac Shakur.

And he is bilingual, a major asset for the Republican Party, which has felt the sting of Hispanic voter abandonment.

Interventionist On his arrival in Washington, conservatives traumatized by Barack Obama’s election believed they had found their savior.

But his Tea Party support plunged in 2013 after he helped craft comprehensive immigration reform that would have legalized millions of undocumented migrants.

Rubio has sought to recover. While backing off of his immigration plan, he engages in other substantive legislative efforts, ostensibly to prove that beyond his formidable communication skills he can lead a conservative ideological renewal.

Rubio has unveiled proposals to reduce poverty and introduced pension system reforms—without forgetting fundamental conservative values like traditional marriage.

“We need to recognize societal breakdown, the fact that too many Americans in childhood are not acquiring values like hard work and sacrifice and self-control. We need to reinvigorate American society,” he told AFP in a 2013 interview.

It was Rubio’s championing of aggressive foreign policy and a muscular defense that opened him to criticism from his party’s isolationist camp, particularly from a 2016 rival, Libertarian-leaning Senator Rand Paul.

“The world is at its safest when America is at its strongest,” Rubio said in September, invoking Reagan.

On foreign affairs Rubio sometimes aligns with hawkish Senator John McCain, arguing that global flashpoints including Iran, Syria and Ukraine require Washington be more engaged abroad.

Such positioning has led him to place Cuba in the same category as Iran – isolate the regime at all costs.

Rubio’s kickoff notably comes just days after Obama shook hands with Cuban strongman Raul Castro at a Latin American summit, the visual symbol of a detente to which Rubio is fiercely opposed.

Obama’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton ‘not automatic’

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Washington, United States, AFP, Monday 4/13/2015 – Barack Obama will not automatically endorse Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, the White House said Monday, indicating he will wait until the general election before formally backing a candidate.

Keeping up the tradition of sitting presidents not publicly weighing in on the selection of their party’s next nominee, the White House said Obama would wait until after the Democratic primaries to make his views known. Asked if Obama would automatically back his former secretary of state, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said “No.” “The president has not offered up any sort of endorsement at this point,” said Earnest, despite Obama’s glowing words for Clinton on Saturday.

During a visit to Panama, Obama described Clinton as “a formidable candidate,” “a great supporter,” “an outstanding secretary of state” and a friend.

“I think she would be an excellent president,” he added. To most ears that would sound like a fullthroated endorsement.

But the White House and the Democratic Party will be keen to get as much political mileage out of Obama’s backing as possible.

Official endorsements play a pivotal role in US electoral politics, with candidates going out of their way to woo would-be supporters – with promises of plum positions if necessary.

With no more elections to run, Obama may simply seek assurances that Clinton will safeguard key aspects of his legacy.

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UTREACH Indoor pot farms can be electrical houses of horror for firefighters Illegal grow houses are among the hazards highlighted at SCE’s electrical safety class for first emergency responders.

By Paul Griffo Southern California Edison

Photo shows LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis (left photo) awarding certificates of Recognition to WW II Veterans. Other photo shows (standing from left) Dr. Jenny Batongmalaque, Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim and LA County Supervisor Solis with Fil-Am and American WW II Veterans.

ConGen graces 73rd Anniversary of The Fall of Bataan Los Angeles, 13 April 2015 – on 09 April 2015, Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim attended the 73rdAnniversary of the Fall of Bataan (Day of Valor) also known as “Araw ng Kagitingan” organized by the Filipino Veterans Foundation held at the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, led by its Executive Director Dr. Jenny Batongmalaque.

In his remarks, Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim acknowledged the important role of Filipino American WW II Veterans and American Veterans who courageously fought side-byside, until the Fall of Bataan.

Consul General Herrera-Lim promised the Veterans that he JOINS them as they struggle for full recognition from the U.S.

Veterans Office for benefits due them.

LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis, in her remarks praised the WW II Veterans in the significant role to protect and serve the COUNTRY .

She said she will support and ASSIST the Veterans in their claims for their Benefits from the U.S. Veterans Office.

Right photo above shows (from left) XYZ Express Cargo COO Andy Uy, PNBRCI President and CEO Ricky Villacisneros, Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim, PNB First Senior Vice President & Global Filipino Business Head Benjamin Oliva and Mango Tours Inc. Business Development Head Juan Francisco III. (Right photo courtesy of Joe Cobilla.)

PNB Remittance Center opens newest branch in LA Los Angeles, 13 April 2014 – Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim spearheaded the ribbon-cutting ceremony of PNB Global Remit attended by the Filipino community, Filipino business leaders and ACTIVE community leaders in Los Angeles, California on 10 April 2015.

PNB is one of the biggest companies in the Philippines and is the only BANK fully licensed in the United States. It is the pioneer in the remittance industry with more than 130 centers in the United States and present in various countries around the globe.

“We are proud that PNB breaks ground and OPENED its doors to the people of Los Angeles and to the community. It is a sign that

there is progress both in our country and in our community” stated Consul General Herrera-Lim. President and CEO Ricky Villacisneros affirmed that “The opening of the PNBRCI new LOCATION will be closer to our Filipino community so we can better serve our Kababayans in a more convenient way.” He shared his joy and gratitude on this latest accomplishment together with PNBRCI team and partners. He added that PNB will CONTINUE to expand throughout the country to offer top-quality products and services to the Filipinos.

The new remittance center will serve mainly overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Filipino-Americans, entrepreneurs and Kababayans by providing

them a FULL suite of services. In addition to remittance services, the office’s other services include document authentication of Philippine-based bank ACCOUNTS . Customers may also book their travel plans in the branch through Mango Tours, send packages and balikbayan boxes through XYZ Global Cargo.

Filipinos who wish to do business within the branch will find no trouble finding the LOCATION . Equitable Plaza is home to the Philippine Consulate General Office and is accessible by commute at 3435 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 102, Los Angeles, CA 90010 with phone NUMBER (213) 401-1825.

PNB CONTACT : Nina Masangkay, Branch Manager.

Red Cross visits Ridgecrest Community to install smoke alarms, teach fire safety Nationwide campaign aims to reduce the number of home fire deaths, injuries RIDGECREST, CALIFORNIA, Monday, April 13, 2015 –The American Red Cross Los Angeles Region canvassed the community of Ridgecrest on Saturday as part of its Home Fire Preparedness Campaign. Red Cross workers, Kern County firefighters, fire department cadets, and CERT members visited homes in the neighborhood where the fire occurred on April 2. Volunteers taught residents what to do if a fire breaks out, inspected smoke alarms, and installed smoke alarms where needed.

Seven times a day someone in

this country dies in a home fire.

Countless others suffer injuries.

To combat these tragic statistics, the Red Cross has launched a nationwide campaign to reduce the number of deaths and injuries due to home fires by 25 percent over the next five years.

The Home Fire Preparedness Campaign is taking place all over the country and involves Red Cross workers joining with local fire departments and community groups to visit neighborhoods at high risk for fires. Those visits include educating people about fire safety through door-to-door visits and installation of smoke alarms in some of these neighborhoods.

“Installing smoke alarms cuts the risk of someone dying from a home fire in half,” said Jarrett Barrios, CEO, American Red Cross Los Angeles Region.

Simple Steps to Save Lives The Red Cross asks everyone to take two simple steps that can save lives: check their existing smoke alarms and practice fire drills at home.

There are several things families and individuals can do to increase their chances of surviving a fire: • If someone doesn’t have smoke alarms, install them. At a minimum, put one on every See RED CROSS, next page

There’s one thing Los Angeles County Fire Battalion Chief Veronie Steele-Small says she won’t forget: responding to fires at illegal indoor pot farms, or “grow houses,” is deadly serious business.

Illegal marijuana-growing operations, which can be electrical houses of horror, were among the many electrical hazards SteeleSmall learned about at a recent electrical safety class for first responders held in Covina.

The class, taught by Scott Brown, a fire management officer for Southern California Edison (SCE), is held at a number of fire stations throughout the utility’s 50,000-square-mile service territory each year.

Showing photos of attics and basements full of tangled, jerryrigged wiring used to power special lighting, watering and airfiltration systems, Brown told the class: “If you are out on a call and you see that it’s a grow house, you need to make sure that everyone on that call knows it because there are things in there that can kill you.”

One of the major dangers posed by grow houses is that illegal pot growers are notorious for stealing power from utilities. To do so, they bypass meters and circuit breakers – which means firefighters can still get electrocuted even though they have shut off the power at the main panel.

Pointing to a picture of an unauthorized power line, Brown said, “This is energized – 240 volts. So you can imagine feeling your way around during a fire in the dark when it’s smoky and you’re soaking wet. If you get your hand on something like that, you’re going to take current through your body.”

California law enforcement authorities uncover a few hundred grow houses every year. Responding to a fire can be tricky because they often look like any other house in a residential neighborhood, hiding the dangers that lurk inside. Steele-Small says that added risk means exercising extra caution when responding to fires at grow houses.

“Ordinarily when we respond to a house fire, we want to get in there really fast, and if there’s

anyone inside, we want to get them out,” Steele-Small said.

“But when we approach a house where marijuana is being grown, it’s important that we assess the whole area first because we can’t electrocute one of our own guys in our haste to help.”

The class also addresses a number of newer electrical hazards beyond grow houses that may not have been an issue just a few years ago. These new hazards require strategic assessment of a situation before rushing in to extinguish flames and save lives.

In recent years, tens of thousands of homeowners in Southern California have installed solar on their rooftops and, working with SCE, they are now connected to the grid.

Having these installations on rooftops can complicate access for firefighters.

“When you shut off solar, you’re only breaking the tie to the utility,” Brown told the class. “If there’s light, the solar panel is still producing electricity, and the only way you’re ever going to stop a panel is to cover it.”

When properly installed and connected to the grid, these systems have safeguards in place to protect first responders, but not every installation is guaranteed safe. Do-it-yourself solar panels, which may be installed improperly, causing backfeed, or electric current flowing in reverse direction from the house onto power lines, could cause electrocution.

Brown urges the class, “If you see a solar panel on a roof that looks improperly installed, call Southern California Edison at 800-655-4555.”

During the two-hour session, Brown gave first responders dozens more practical tips for avoiding electrical hazards, such as: • Always assume that a downed power line is live.

• Watch for live wires that may be camouflaged in high-vegetation areas.

• Never touch objects that are in contact with a downed wire, including sign posts, metal fences, pools of water or even wood if it’s wet or dirty.

Regardless of the situation, Brown’s message to firefighters: “When it comes to high voltage, rely on the experts. Our troublemen are able to de-energize any line for you at any time. Just call us and tell us what you need, and we’ll be racing to get to you.

Stolen power and jerry-rigged wiring at illegal marijuana grow houses often results in house fires. Photo: Scott Brown

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Watch AARP webinar on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders age 50-plus WASHINGTON, D.C., April 7, 2015 – AARP convened a panel to discuss key issues – caregiving, economic security, health and healthcare – impacting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) age 50-plus. The webinar was open to the public and transmitted live from Washington, D.C. earlier today. Watch it online at hƩps://aarp.webex. com/aarp/ldr.php?RCID=740eĩ030b01c7b7ed3c9c0090 03fd33 “There is a lack of disaggregated data about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Yet data is the key to unlocking policy, resources, and solutions that address the critical needs of AAPI communities,” said Daphne Kwok, AARP Vice President, Multicultural Markets & Engagement for Asian American and Pacific Islander Audience.

“We are committed to bringing attention to the gaps in knowledge about these groups and hope that our research will help individuals, non-profit groups, and funders make informed decisions about the concerns of our communities.”

The panelists discussed AARP’s recent threepart research series (available for free download at www.AARP.org/AAPI), including data that AAPIs age 50-plus: Are more likely to provide caregiving for older family members at home Appear more financially secure than the general population, but many more Asian ethnic groups are at or below poverty levels compared to the general population of the same age Lack health insurance and access to quality, affordable health care compared to other Americans the same age The other panelists were Dr. Xenia Montenegro, AARP Research Team Lead for Multicultural Mar-

kets; Angela Houghton, AARP Research, Senior Research Advisor; and Ron Mori, AARP Manager, Multicultural Markets & Engagement for Asian American and Pacific Islander Audience. The presentation (available here) was followed by a lively Q&A with inquiries from interested community members from around the country.

About AARP AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real possibilities, strengthens communities and fights for the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare, employment and income security, retirement planning, affordable utilities and protection from financial abuse. We advocate for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services. A trusted source for lifestyle tips, news and educational information, AARP produces AARP The Magazine, the world’s largest circulation magazine; AARP Bulletin; www.aarp.org; AARP TV & Radio; AARP Books; and AARP en Español, a Spanish-language website addressing the interests and needs of Hispanics. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates.

The AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Learn more at www.aarp.org.

USCIS reaches H-1B cap set at 20,000 visas; More petitions received than allowed by law WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the congressionally mandated H-1B cap for fiscal year (FY) 2016. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the U.S. advanced degree exemption.

USCIS will use a computer-generated process, also known as the lottery, to randomly select the petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 visas for the general category and 20,000 for the advanced degree exemption.

USCIS will first randomly select petitions for the advanced degree exemption. All unselected advanced degree petitions will become part of the random selection process for the 65,000 general limit. The agency will reject and return filing fees for all unselected cap-subject petitions that are not duplicate filings.

Before running the lottery, USCIS will complete initial intake for all filings received during the filing period, which ended today. Due to the high number of petitions, USCIS is not yet able to announce the date it will conduct the random selection process.

USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions

filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, will also not be counted toward the congressionally mandated FY 2016 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to: Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States; Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers; Allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in occupations that require highly specialized knowledge in fields such as science, engineering and computer programming.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Facebook (/uscis), Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/ uscis) and the USCIS blog The Beacon.

California laments ‘dismal’ water cuts after drought call Los Angeles, United States, AFP, Tuesday 4/7/2015 – Californians cut their water use by a “dismal” 2.8 percent in February, officials said Tuesday, days after the state’s governor demanded 25 percent reductions to counter a historic drought.

The cut compared to the same month in 2013 was the lowest since California began recording reductions in response to the western US state’s worst drought since records began, now in its fourth year.

“Today’s ... results are very disturbing and provide even more support for the governor’s call for an immediate 25 percent mandatory reduction in urban water use statewide,” said State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus.

“Californians need to step up now—especially those who have not been doing their share .. We are in a drought like we’ve not seen before, and we all need to step up like never before,” she added.

It said the “dismal conservation rate is the lowest monthly figure since the State Water Board began tracking the data in July 2014.”

Governor Jerry Brown last week announced sweeping statewide water restrictions for the first time in history in order to combat the region’s devastating drought.

Despite the drought—which has seen lakes and reservoirs sink to historic lows—

many Californians continue to water their lawns and fill their swimming pools as if nothing was happening, according to a recent study.

On average wealthier neighborhoods like Beverly Hills consume three times more water than less affluent ones, according to the study by researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

“With income and water use so tightly bound together, further incentive must be given to higher water users – and thus higher-income customers – to conserve more,” said the study.

Brown’s 25 percent reductions would be achieved by ramping up enforcement to prevent wasteful water use, while investing in technologies designed to make California more drought-resilient.

The order also set out new measures to reduce water use, including the replacement of 50 million square feet (4.6 million square meters) of lawns with drought-tolerant landscaping.

The measure orders campuses, golf courses, cemeteries and other large consumers of water to significantly cut use.

The drought has left swathes of California’s landscape unrecognizable, with normally brimming lakes and rivers now dry and losses to the state’s agricultural industry estimated at several billion dollars.

RED CROSS From page 4 level of the home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Local building codes vary and there may be additional requirements where someone lives.

• If someone does have alarms, test them today.

If they don’t work, replace them.

• Make sure that everyone in the family knows how to get out of every room and how to get out of the home in less than two minutes.

• Practice that plan.

What’s the household’s escape time?

The Red Cross responds to nearly 70,000 disasters each year in the United States and the vast majority of those are home fires.

You can help people affected by disasters like home fires and countless other crises by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your

gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800RED CROSS or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

For more Red Cross fire safety and preparedness information visitredcross.org/ homefires.

About the American Red Cross Los Angeles: As a community-based, humanitarian organization, the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region provides re-

lief to those affected by disasters and empowers individuals in our community to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.

By helping people in Los Angeles, Inyo, Kern, and Mono counties learn how to take care of their families and neighbors, the Red Cross strengthens communities and makes them ready for all types of disasters, including home fires, earthquakes, wildfires and health emergencies. Visit redcrossla.org to learn more, or find us on Facebook and Twitter.

A Border Patrol agent inspects man-made tunnel near Nogales, Arizona. Such tunnels are used to transport drugs under the US border. Photo: Josh Denmark/US Customs and Border Protection

Mexico catches drug tunnel diggers red handed Tijuana, Mexico, AFP, Wednesday 4/8/2015 – Nine people in Mexico were caught red handed Tuesday digging a tunnel that was apparently to be used to sneak drugs into California, officials said.

The detainees had been digging from inside a house in the northwest border town of Tijuana and tried in vain to flee, the National Defense secretariat said.

The tunnel was about 20 meters (66 feet) underground and reachable by climbing down a ladder

through a closet in the house.

Army troops also seized a truck that the detainees had been using to take away soil from the digging operations.

Mexican drug traffickers use a variety of techniques to try to smuggle drugs into the United States, from undocumented migrants carrying it in backpacks to catapults to sophisticated tunnels.

Earlier, a US-bound drone carrying an unspecified drug crashed at a shopping center in Tijuana.

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LA City Attorney launches new initiative to keep tobacco out of the hands of minors

Hollywood actors and community leaders join hands to launch the indiegogo campaign and public awareness of the Return the bells movement at the Pilipino Workers Center in LA. Among those in the photo: Actors Martin Kove (Karate Kid), John Savage (The Deer Hunter), Michael Pare (Eddie and the Cruisers), Logan Clarke, President of the Committee, writer/actor Ferdinand Galang, writers Lou Sabas, Cecile Ochoa, Evelyn Portugal, Lawrence Ochoa, jazz artist Carlos Zialcita, author Oscar Penaranda, PWC Executive Director Aqui Versoza. Photos by Tet Valdez and Evangeline Rodriguez.

The Committee to Bring Back the Bells to Balangiga launches Indiegogo campaign and national awareness Hollywood actors and personalities joined hands with Filipino community groups on Saturday, April 4 at a “launch party” at the Pilipino Workers’ Center (PWC) in Los Angeles to revitalize the campaign to return the Bells of Balangiga from Wyoming to Samar, Leyte.

Led by campaign President Logan Clarke and hosted by PWC Executive Director Aquilina Versoza, the launch was led by well known actors John Savage (Oscar winner and star of the Deer Hunter), Martin Kove, best known for his portrayal as the evil karate sensei John Kreese in The Karate Kid trilogy, Michael Pare’ (Eddie and the Cruisers), award winning author and professor Oscar Penaranda, and dozens of community activists writers, actors and philanthropists.

Some 114 years ago the Bells of Balangiga, church bells in a Filipino church in the town of Balangiga and Filipino spiritual relics were seized as war booty.

The Bells have been in U.S. custody in F.E. Air force Base, Wyoming up to now.

Over the years, numerous high-level efforts have been made to recover the bells, including the promises of two U.S Presidents.

At the PWC, The Committee to Return the Bells has launched an Indiegogo campaign, “A 100 Year Journey home” with the intent to raise awareness about the Bells.

The campaign features a short film narrated by Danny Glover,

interviews with US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, conversation with Hollywood Actors, and conversations with the grandchildren of both American Soldiers and Filipino villager’s protagonist of the 1901 episode.

The Committee includes actors Danny Glover, Rosario Dawson, Nastassja Kinski, John Savage, Martin Kove, and Ronnie Ricketts, award winning Filipino Writer Oscar Penaranda, and many other professionals, politicians, journalists, actors, musicians, private investigators, directors, philanthropists and Philippine American history advocates. .

Manny Pacquiao, world boxing champion is the Committee’s Honorary Chairman and Logan Clarke, famous private detective is the Committee president.

The Committee to Return the Bells intends to create international awareness of the history of the Balangiga church bells and to bring about their return to the rightful owners – the Filipino people.

According to Campaign President Clarke thousands of Filipinos and Americans are working together to make this dream true. “With a committed campaign, well managed with a specific timetable we will launch a lobby in US Congress, with the support of the people from the Philippines and the U.S.”

The Indiegogo campaign will last 45 days and will continue to release interviews and controversial conversation with both Americans and Filipinos, some of who are actors, writers, military personnel and politicians.

The funds raised through Indiegogo will finance a short documentary produced in Hollywood, among others.

US authorities announce arrest of 976 gang members Miami, United States, AFP, Wednesday 4/8/2015 – Nearly 1,000 gang members were arrested in the US after a major operation, federal authorities said Wednesday.

The operation arrested 976 people with ties to 239 gangs in 282 American cities, reported the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).

The arrested were mostly Americans who were wanted for crimes including murder, rape and drug trafficking, authorities said. Many of the gangs had ties to Latin America.

Arrests took place in February and March as part of ICE’s antigang efforts. “Criminal gangs inflict violence and fear upon our communities, and without the attention of law enforcement, these groups can spread like a cancer,” said ICE Director Sarah Saldana in a statement.

LOS ANGELES – Calling it a key to protecting children and keeping neighborhoods safe, City Attorney Mike Feuer today launched a new city-wide initiative to keep cigarettes out of the hands of minors.

The City Attorney’s Responsible Retailer Initiative is a collaboration with parents, public health officials, and retailers including Ralphs’ and Food4Less, to raise awareness and provide education about preventing tobacco sales to youth.

Made possible through a $175,000 grant to the County Department of Public Health from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the program is the latest salvo in Feuer’s ongoing efforts to protect children and enhance the quality of life in Los Angeles neighborhoods.

“Our new initiative will protect kids by empowering parents and engaging retailers in an ongoing program to keep cigarettes out of the hands of minors,” said Feuer. “This project goes handin-hand with our Neighborhood School Safety Program, which collaborates with key stakeholders to enhance the health and safety of our youth.”

“Creating a healthy retail environment benefits everyone.

Children who go into convenience stores to buy food and drinks are already confronted with many unhealthy choices.

Allowing tobacco and alcohol advertisements that target children to be included in this environment is unacceptable,” said Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, Interim Health Officer, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “The Department of Public Health applauds the efforts of the LA City Attorney’s Tobacco Enforcement program to make our communities safer and healthier for everyone.”

“Ralphs and Food 4 Less are proud to support the Responsible Retailer Initiative as we all work together to build safer, healthier communities, said Kendra Doyel, VP, Public Relations and Gov-

ernment Affairs, Ralphs Grocery Company. “It is our hope that all retailers will join in this effort, supporting our City Attorney Mike Feuer and law enforcement, to make our city a healthier place for our children.”

The City Attorney’s effort includes increasing its compliance checks of tobacco retailers from 446 in Fiscal Year 2013-2014 to 700 in Fiscal Year 2014-2015.

In 2014 the Tobacco Enforcement Program suspended 17 tobacco retailers throughout the City.

A 30-day suspension of the tobacco retailer permit occurs when a retailer sells to a minor for a second time in a five year period.

First violation results in a warning letter – a Letter of Reprimand.

A third violation results in a 90-day suspension, a fourth violation results a year suspension.

The City Attorney will soon request that the City Council amend current city regulations to include increased penalties for retailers found in violation.

The Responsible Retailer Initiative is designed to educate parents and tobacco retailers near schools about tobacco laws and responsible retail practices and create safe, healthier neighborhoods for children.

The initiative is comprised of three main components including: educational presentations to students and parents; outreach to retailers; and a partnership with LAUSD, LAPD, and the City Attorney’s Neighborhood Prosecutor and Neighborhood School Safety Programs.

The City Attorney’s Office has conducted educational presentations to parents of students at Barack Obama Global Preparatory Middle School, Joseph Le Conte Middle School, and John H. Liechty Middle School. The schools are part of Feuer’s Neighborhood School Safety Program.

In addition, the City Attorney’s Office has conducted student assemblies and held poster contests on tobacco awareness at the schools.

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MOTORING Only 24% of people said that they felt excited after buying a car. ©Dasha Petrenko/ shutterstock.com

Buying a used car is too stressful for most consumers

(Relaxnews) – Nearly nine in 10 people believe that there should be an easier or better way of shopping for or selling their car.

Whether it’s via a dealership, from an independent garage or an online listing service, American consumers believe that the playing field isn’t level and that the odds are stacked against them when searching for a quality used car.

That is, according to a survey of 1000 US adults, commissioned by online peer-to-peer marketplace Beepi, who had bought or sold a pre-owned car in the past 12 months.

When asked, 85% of all respondents and 88% of women quizzed said they believed women were more likely to be taken advantage of when buying or selling a car.

Fewer than one in three (28%) of men said that they feel illequipped or too intimidated to negotiate with a dealer or sales representative when it came to buying or selling, compared with 42% of women.

However, the perception of car salespeople at a dealership isn’t helping matters with 66% of respondents saying that they see salesmen as self-centered and

out for themselves. Only 22% described car dealers as trustworthy.

Yet, when the situation moves from a garage forecourt and from face-to-face negotiations onto the web, emails and messaging, things don’t become any easier; in fact, when it comes to using web services like Craigslist, three in four women said that they worried for their personal safety.

But despite the fears of inadequacy and of ending up with more, or less, than they bargained for, the majority of people, according to the survey, set out on their journey to buy or sell a car with excitement and optimism.

However, 52% say that this excitement soon turns to a fear of being taken advantage of. As a result, only 24% of consumers still feel excited once the deal is done, while 44% describe themselves as feeling relieved.

So, what needs to change? Nine in 10 respondents said that they want a haggle-free experience and most respondents said that a comprehensive vehicle inspection (95%) and guaranteed pricematching (91%) as part of the service should be included in the process.

DCH Toyota of Torrance Filipino Department Manager and Senior Sales Consultant Loyd Aler (rightmost) proudly acknowledges the first sold vehicle to Filipino customers thru Weekend Balita who saw and read the dealership’s top deals in the newspaper. The new proud Toyota car owners are Kuya Jompong Sotto, niece Monique Menaria and Marc Sotto – the buyer.

Uber overtaking taxis in the US (Relaxnews) – Based on business expense claims the ‘disruptive’ app-based ride-hailing service now accounts for 46% of all paid-for and claimed-for car rides in the US. According to the most recent SpendSmart Report from Certify, an expense reports software company, Uber only accounted for around 12% of paid-for rides – i.e., taxis, limousine hire and airport shuttles etc – as recent-

ly as January 2014 but over the past 14 months its popularity has grown steadily as use of traditional taxis has waned.

The research notes that over the past five quarters, car rental expenses have remained constant but taxi, limousine services and other ride-hailing companies are taking the hit.

Certify data shows that as Uber carves out a larger niche it is also bringing down prices –

the average Uber fare was $31.24 over the first quarter of 2015, compared with $35.40 for taxis.

As for which cities have the most love for Uber, San Francisco is number one. Less than one in three rides (29%) are now by traditional cab, the other 71% are via Uber. Dallas comes in second – Uber accounts for 56% of fares – and Los Angeles and Washington DC are tied in third place – 49% of rides are with Uber.

The pickup truck that thinks it’s a supercar (Relaxnews) – The Shelby Baja 700 is based on the already agreeably aggressive Ford SVT Raptor pickup but whereas Ford’s version develops 411hp this one, which is being limited to just 50 individually numbered examples, has over 700hp on tap.

That’s because Shelby American has fitted the 6.2-liter V8 with a 2.9-liter Whipple supercharger, ditched the standard exhaust, added new injectors and throttle bodies and crucially, a better heat exchanger.

The company, founded by the late great Carroll Shelby, has a habit of doing this sort of thing.

Alongside its supercar-baiting pickup trucks it offers heavily overhauled 1000hp+ Mustangs and a host of other cars.

“The Shelby Baja 700 is striking in looks and most of all, its capabilities,” said Vince LaViolette, Shelby American Senior Designer and Test Driver. “The off-road performance suspension system allows the Shelby Baja 700 to go most anywhere and stand out as it does so. We believe that we’ve built a truck with ultimate performance and off-road capabilities.”

Taking what was conceived as an automotive beast of burden and endowing it with the sort of performance levels more commonly associated with exotic, usually Italian motoring marques may seem like a mild form of insanity.

But when one considers the limitations of a pure-blooded supercar, then maybe the Shelby

Baja 700 isn’t such an affront to common sense after all.

Supercars new Shelby are so low to The Baja 700: Prothe ground they duction is limited can’t cope with to 50 examples. ©Business Wire a speed bump, a pothole or even the gradient of some off-ramps and car park entrances.

Looking out of the rear window can be like looking through your letterbox and as for parallel parking, or finding somewhere for the shopping, or what to do in the event of a puncture, well...

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France’s ultra-thin ideal is passe but not a problem says plus-size model

French plus-size model Clementine Desseaux poses in Paris on April 9, 2015. ©AFP PHOTO / THOMAS SAMSON

(Paris-AFP) – France’s waif obsession means its fashion sector snubs many women with bigger body types, but there is no need for a ban on ultra-thin models, said the patron of a plus-size Paris catwalk show under way this weekend.

“It’s a cultural blockage,” explained Clementine Desseaux, a 26-year-old French model who lives in New York.

The size-44 brunette gets year-round catalogue and campaign modelling work in the US, where she emigrated four years ago, compared to rare jobs in France as American department stores recognise that most women aren’t slim, she says.

“In the United States, it’s a market apart. You can make a career as a plus-size model. In France, it’s not a career, it’s a hobby; there are no clients” Desseaux said.

But, she added, “it’s not for lack of demand: there are a lot of round women here. Parisian women are round, too.

You mustn’t think they are all small and thin!”

The data back her up. According to the French Insti-

tute for Textile and Clothing, size 40 is the most-sold size in France, and 40 percent of Frenchwomen wear size 44 or over.

Third Pulp Fashion Week In an effort to rebalance the scales, Desseaux is the star model at the third Pulp Fashion Week, an event held over Saturday and Sunday in Paris that features larger women on the catwalk.

Twenty-four models will be walking the podium in some 20 labels to show that fashion is not only for the slimmest of customers.

Such initiatives are also held in the US, Britain and Germany, with greater success.

The organiser of the Paris event, Blanche Kazi, said the refusal by major plus-size fashion labels was the main stumbling block.

“They are the ones who could really shake things up with big sponsor budgets and financial partnerships,” she said.

She and the models, though, are determined to instill a sense of pride in plus-size women in France, and to push French clothing stores to cater to larger sizes.

“Here, the image of big-size women is horrible.

There’s a lot of work to be done,” Desseaux said. “I want to make things change. One day I’d like to return to Paris, but I’m not ready yet.”

In France, the model said, “I don’t fit into anything. And yet, I’m not huge. In the United States, I fit into size M or L. There are a lot more sizes – nothing stops at size 42 in the US.” Against ban on thin models For all her morphological militancy, Desseaux is against France’s mooted legislation to ban ultra-thin models who are under a certain body mass index (BMI).

The measure was voted last week by lawmakers in the French parliament’s lower house, and could well become law if the upper house backs it.

Desseaux, like other professional models, believes that the natural thinness of many top catwalk models is being wrongly mixed up with the medical condition of anorexia.

“For me, it’s just as dumb to say you’re too thin as it is too say you’re too fat – it’s the same thing,” she said.

“The problem is not a model’s BMI,” she said, adding that a more concrete issue was the insistence of certain fashion labels to hire only underfed models.

Desseaux said a friend who used to work at one of France’s most recognizable top fashion houses told her about a heavy door it had at its entrance.

“If a model arrived and was able to open the door by herself, they didn’t hire her – that meant that she was too strong.”

That belittled strength, however, is exactly what Desseaux and other XL models are now using to open the door for the French fashion world to accept larger frames – and it’s a door they intend to open wide.

Nano-nose sniffs out precursor risk for stomach cancer Paris, France, AFP, Monday 4/13/2015 – A low-cost electronic “nose” designed to detect stomach cancer molecules in the breath can also spot signatures of lesions that herald the disease, according to a study published on Monday.

The Israeli-designed tester uses gold nano-particles to detect so-called volatile organic

compounds (VOC) that are a tiny telltale in the breath of cancer patients.

In a study published in the journal Gut, the nano-array device was compared against the benchmark for VOC assessment— a more complex and expensive lab technique using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.

Each method was used to screen breath samples taken from 484 volunteers in Latvia, 99 of whom had already been diagnosed with stomach cancer but had not yet been treated for it.

Both methods accurately spotting those with the cancer, as well as the “breath prints” of high-risk patients who had lesions that often develop into gastric tumors.

The research – published in a peer-reviewed journal – was led by Hossam Haick, a professor at the Israel Institute of Technology where the nano-array was developed.

Cancer specialists are interested in VOC testers because they offer the possibility of non-invasive screening for a disease that, tragically, is often spotted too late.

A device that would be cheap, portable and also pinpoint precursor conditions would be especially welcome.

For patients with suspected stomach cancer, a useful breath test would avoid the discomfort of an endoscopy, saving the resource for those who need it.

The problem, though, is to overcome concern about accuracy—the telltale amounts are only 10 particles per billion or less in a sample of exhaled breath.

In an independent comment, French gastro-enterologist Jean-Christophe Saurin of the University Hospital Centre in Lyon urged caution.

“More tests are needed” to prove the nano-array’s accuracy, he said.

Trials should also confirm whether a precursor condition actually developed into cancer, in order to avoid unnecessary treatment, he told AFP.

reduce. reuse. recycle.

Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen. ©AFP/Nelson ALMEIDA

Gisele’s farewell at Sao Paulo’s summer shows Sao Paulo, Brazil, AFP, Monday 4/13/2015 – Sao Paulo Fashion Week was off and running Monday focused on the summer 2016 season and this week’s planned last turn on the catwalk for local girl-turned-supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

Designers are showing their next season through Friday at a park in this sprawling megacity, from Osklen to Ellus, to Alexandre Herchcovitch, Ronaldo Fraga and Joao Pimenta.

Now 34, Bundchen started her career two decades ago at SPFW, when it too was just starting out.

Bundchen has stressed that she is not retiring but will continue off-the-runway work and spend more time with her family.

The blonde Brazilian beauty, who has already reduced her number of appearances, is mar-

ried to New England Patriots star Tom Brady, with whom she has two young children, Benjamin and Vivian.

Bundchen – who Forbes says has been the world’s highestearning model for the past eight years, with $47 million in earnings last year – is expected to turn her focus to print ad campaigns.

Only recently, she signed her largest ever contract – worth more than $25 million, according to Forbes—with US sports apparel firm Under Armour.

She has worked with the likes of Chanel, Valentino, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Alexander Wang, Balenciaga and Carolina Herrera. She has also many times been a Victoria’s Secret “Angel.”

Sao Paulo Fashion week lasts from April 13-17.

Study uncovers unhappy side effect of pain relievers (Relaxnews) – An active ingredient in commonly used pain relievers blocks positive emotions, according to a research team from Ohio State University in the US. Acetaminophen, the ingredient, is found in Tylenol and similar products and has been used for over 70 years in the US, yet the study is the first to document this side effect.

According to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association,

23 percent of adults in the US, or 52 million people take a medication that contains acetaminophen.

The study’s evidence comes from two experiments in which 82 and 85 university students participated, respectively.

Previous research indicates that Tylenol can reduce fear and anxiety. The paper “Over the counter relief from pains and pleasures alike” was published in the journal Psychological Science.

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, April 15 - 21, 2015

ENTERT

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INMENT

Will Toni, Paul get married on June 12?

Director Paul Soriano neither confirmed nor denied rumors that he will marry his fiancée, actress-host Toni Gonzaga, on June 12.

Soriano merely noted that June 12, which is their anniversary, is a very significant day for him and Gonzaga.

The two have been dating for eight years.

“June 12 is your eighth year together. Independence Day din ‘yan,” he said.

Soriano went on to say that he and Gonzaga are excited for their big day, although they barely have time to plan and prepare for the wedding due to their busy schedules.

“Of course, very excited ako. It’s a new chapter in my life. Parang you know, forever na ‘yan.

Empress Schuck

Empress Schuck is pregnant .The 22-year-old Filipino-German confirmed the news, which has been circulating on social media over the past few weeks, in an episode of GMA’s “Startalk” on Saturday.

According to Schuck, she is now three months into her pregnancy.

She also broke her silence about her nonshowbiz boyfriend, who she referred to as “Vino.”

They have been together for over a year now, Schuck said.

Schuck first started out as an actress as part of ABS-CBN’s “Star Magic.” The former Kapamilya featured on “Super Inggo,” “Apoy Sa Dagat,” and “100 Days to Heaven,” among other television projects.

She also starred in films such as “Shake, Rattle and Roll 14,” “Pagpag: Siyam Na Buhay,” and “On The Job.” Schuck transferred to GMA Network last November. (MNS)

Gary V leaving ‘Your Face’; replacement named Veteran performer Gary Valenciano will temporarily not be seen on the hit celebrity impersonation contest “Your Face Sounds Familiar,” wherein he sits as judge along with Sharon Cuneta and Jed Madela. Valenciano confirmed the development shortly before his departure for Papua New Guinea where he will hold a concert for the first time. He will continue on an international tour with stops in Spain and Qatar, among others, and cited this as the reason he won’t be returning the panel of judges in a number of episodes of “Your Face Sounds Familiar.” “’Yung pinaka magandang message na nakukuha ko for the show is that napapasaya namin sila kahit sa maiksing panahon lang, and it’s good to hear that,” he said. The weekend program, a local franchise of the Endemol format that originated in Spain, debuted last March 14 with eight celebrity contenders.

But to be honest, Toni has been very busy, I’ve been very busy. I just came from LA, Toni left for Australia,” he said.

“So, the only time we’re going to really sit down and plan this wedding is when she comes back,” added Soriano, who is the director of the upcoming Manny Pacquiao biopic, “Kid Kulafu.”

Despite this, Soriano said Gonzaga has already chosen a gown for their wedding.

“I know she chose a dress already. I’m very behind. I haven’t picked up a suit yet or anything like that. I’m going to work on that, I think, after ‘Kid Kulafu’ comes out,” he said.

(MNS)

Paul Soriano and Toni Gonzaga

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KITCHENOMICS Chicken Paella with French Green Beans Hands-on: 30 minutes Total: 60 minutes Servings: 6 (1 2/3 cups each) 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 small onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons smoked paprika 1 1/2 cups parboiled white long-grain rice, uncooked 2 cups chicken broth 1 can (14.5 ounces) Hunt’s Diced Tomatoes, undrained 1 package (11 ounces) Alexia French Herb Green Beans 1/3 cup sliced ripe olives 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley Lemon wedges Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large deep skillet or Dutch oven over mediumhigh heat. Add chicken, salt and pepper. Cook 7–9 minutes or until golden brown on all sides. Transfer to plate.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet and heat. Add onion, garlic and paprika. Cook 3–5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring often.

Stir in rice; cook 1–2 minutes or until coated well.

Stir in broth, tomatoes and chicken; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook 12 minutes.

Stir in frozen green beans; cook covered 8–10 minutes more or until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat; let stand covered 5 minutes.

Stir in olives. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

FAMILY FEATURES

usy weeknights call for meals you can prepare quickly, but there’s no need to compromise on flavor and quality.

One way to save time is combining fresh ingredients with frozen sides, such as those offered by Alexia Foods. Made with premium, natural ingredients and creative flavor combinations, they lend a deliciously gourmet complement to any meal.

Don’t be fooled by the complex flavors of these dishes — they’re surprisingly fast to prepare, requiring only about thirty minutes of hands-on time (or less).

For more time-saving recipes featuring real ingredients that serve-up exceptional taste, visit www.alexiafoods.com.

B

Italian Herb Corn and Rice Zucchini Boats Hands-on: 25 minutes Total: 50 minutes Servings: 4 (2 halves each) 4 medium zucchini 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 package (12 ounces) Alexia Italian Herb Corn with Sundried Tomatoes 3/4 cup cooked white basmati rice (or quinoa for added protein and fiber) 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, optional Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise.

Using melon baller or spoon, scoop out zucchini flesh, leaving about 1/4-inch border.

Brush zucchini halves with oil.

Sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper.

Place zucchini on parchment paperlined baking sheet. Bake 13–15 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, prepare corn according to package directions. Toss corn with rice and cheeses. Spoon mixture evenly into zucchini halves.

Return to oven. Bake 8–10 minutes more or until filling is hot. Place zucchini under broiler for golden brown top. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Almond Crusted Tilapia with Parmesan Peas Hands-on: 30 minutes Total: 30 minutes Servings: 4 (1 filet and 1/2 cup peas each) 1/3 cup dry unseasoned bread crumbs 1/3 cup finely chopped almonds 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 4 tilapia fillets (6 ounces each), or any white-fleshed fish such as cod, haddock or sole 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 egg, beaten 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 package (12 ounces) Alexia Parmesan Peas Lemon wedges Combine bread crumbs, almonds and cheese in shallow dish.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on fish. Coat fish with flour; shake off excess. Dip in egg until coated well. Place in bread crumb mixture and turn to coat completely.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add fish; cook 3–4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with fork and is golden brown (145°F internal temperature).

Meanwhile, prepare peas according to package directions. Serve peas and lemon wedges with fish.

Southern Sweet Potato Hash Hands-on: 35 minutes Total: 35 minutes Servings: 4 (1 1/4 cups hash with 1 egg each) 1 pound fresh hot Italian turkey sausage, casings removed 2 packages (11 ounces each) Alexia Southern Sweet Potato Blend 2 green onions, sliced 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar 4 cold eggs Heat large skillet over medium-high heat; add sausage. Cook 5–7 minutes or until crumbled, stirring occasionally. Drain.

Add sweet potato blend. Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook 5–7 minutes more or until vegetables are cooked, stirring occasionally. Stir in onions and cilantro.

Meanwhile, fill saucepan with about 3 inches of water. Heat until water simmers gently; stir in vinegar. Break 1 cold egg into small dish or saucer. Holding dish just above simmering water, gently slip egg into water. Repeat with remaining eggs.

Cook eggs in gently simmering water 3–5 minutes or until white is set and yolk is cooked to desired doneness. Remove eggs with slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels.

Divide sweet potato mixture among 4 plates.

Top each with poached egg.

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PRAYERS

PRAYERS

PRAYERS

PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

PRAYER to the BLESSED VIRGIN

NOVENA of CONFIDENCE

Holy Spirit Thou who make me see everything and show me the way to reach

(Never known to fail)

O Lord, Jesus Christ, to Your Most Sacred Heart I conÂżde this intention. (Here,

my ideal, You who give me the divine gift to forgive and forget the wrong that

Oh most beautiful Àower of Mt. Carmel, fruit wine splendor of Heaven.Blessed

is done to me and who are in all instances of my life with me. I, in this short dialogue, want to thank You for everything and conÂżrm once more that I never

Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh Star of the Sea. Help me and show me here you are my Mother. Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the

want to be separated from You no matter how great the material desires may be. I want to be with You and my loved ones in Your perpetual glory. Amen. A

bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity. (make request). There are none that can withstand your power. Oh Mary conceived without sin, pray for

mention your request) Only look upon me, then do what Your Heart decides....I count on You...I trust in You...I throw myself at Your mercy...Lord Jesus! You will not fail me. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in You. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in Your love for me. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I have asked for many favors, but I earnestly implore this one. Take it, place it in Your Sacred Heart.

person must pray this for three consecutive days without stating his wish. After

us who have recourse to Thee (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your

When the Eternal Father sees it covered with Your Precious Blood, He will not

the 3rd day the wish will be granted, no matter how difÂżcult it may be. Promise

hands (3 times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days and then you must

refuse it. It will be no longer my prayer but Yours, O Jesus. O Sacred Heart of

to publish this as soon as your favor has been granted. Grateful Thanks -KEN

publish and it will be granted to you.Grateful Thanks.-DALYA

Jesus, I place my trust in You. Let me never be confounded. Amen. -ANNE

12

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MILF LEADER

PACQUIAO

From page 1

From page 1

quest the Honorable body not to compel me to reveal my identity,” he added.

Iqbal was backed by government peace panel chair Miriam Coronel Ferrer and Presidential peace adviser Teresita Deles who both said Iqbal’s use of an alias was part of his right to privacy.

“He is a very public person. He does have a family and children that carry his name. We know that the MILF still has enemies,” Deles said. “There are privacy and security issues here (There is a) right to privacy of any public official,” Ferrer said.

Deles, however, said she did not know Iqbal’s real name, noting she had not read it in any document. For her part, Ferrer said she had known Iqbal’s real

name due to her study of the Moro struggle.

Senators critical of Iqbal’s use of alias said the nom de guerre puts to question the sincerity of the MILF in the peace process that will be implemented by the BBL. Senator Tito Sotto even walked out of the hearing, saying he would not talk to people he did not know the true identity.

“The BBL is a very important piece of legislation. I prefer discussing it with persons I know.

Therefore I will just talk with you, Mr. Chairman, during the plenary,” Sotto said.

Iqbal is accused of using different names in his passports especially after the Bureau of Immigration said the name Mohagher Iqbal was not in its records.

PHL ACCUSES From page 1

week saying the reclamation would serve Beijing’s military and defense needs.

“Such statements by China only serve to raise the specter of increasing militarization and threaten peace and stability in the region,” he said.

The Philippines maintains that China’s claim to almost the entire South China Sea, based on its nine-dash-line map, is illegal, he added. “We call on China to stop the reclamation activities and to be mindful of its responsibilities as a claimant state and an important member of the international community.”

US President Barack Obama has criticized China’s use of “sheer size and muscle” to enforce its territorial claims.

The Philippines is a military ally of the United States. During

a visit to Manila last year, Obama said America had an “iron-clad” commitment to defend the Philippines.

Aside from the Philippines and China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have competing claims over the South China Sea, home to vital shipping lanes and believed to hold vast oil and gas reserves.

The Philippines has asked a United Nations-backed arbitration body to decide on its competing claims with China.

But Beijing has refused to participate in the proceedings, claiming it had “indisputable sovereignty” over the South China Sea. The Philippines is also pressing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to forge a binding code of conduct with China.

TRILLANES From page 1

ment of Interior and Local Government refused to re-install Binay, prompting the latter to file a contempt plea. Makati Vice Mayor Romula Peña had also earlier been sworn in as acting mayor.

Earlier this month, the CA issued a writ of preliminary injunction against the Ombudsman joint order preventively suspending

Mayor Binay, which indefinitely extended the earlier TRO. Ombudsman Conchita CarpioMorales earlier filed a petition before the Supreme Court defending Binay’s suspension. The petition is up for oral arguments on Tuesday during the Supreme Court’s summer session in Baguio City.

(MNS)

ing. He said that at a young age of 12, even without knowing what boxing was, he put his name in a signup sheet, “because all I know [sic] is you can get money. And I needed money to give to my mother to feed our family.”

He said that he ended up actually winning that day, earning himself PhP100; “that’s $2,” he said, with his popular smile. The crowd cheered. “If you lose [sic], you get [sic] PhP50. That’s $1.”

Rutherford also showed clips from the “Manny,” the movie about Pacquiao’s life, documenting his rise to fame and fall to vices, “gambling, drinking, girls and womanizing,” Pacquiao said.

Through the whole hour or so of the interview, Vice Governor Jinkee Pacquiao got emotional while watching her husband’s testimony.

“Kasi naiisip ko ‘yung buhay

DELFIN LEE From page 1

Jejomar Binay. Dalawang beses kaming nagkita ni Mr. Gerry Limlingan, na kilalang malapit kay Bise Presidente Binay, sa isang gusali sa Makati, kung saan ako hiningan ng halagang 200 milyong piso para hindi ituloy ang kaso laban sa akin.”

Lee also accused Limlingan of asking him to implicate former Vice President Noli de Castro in the Pag-IBIG fund scam.

“Hinimok din ako ni Mr. Gerry

namin dati and now; more on the happiness side. Answered prayer talaga, na ‘yung mga pinagdaanan namin, nakayanan namin,” she said in an interview, after the service. And even offered an advice to people going through Manny Pacquiao”: The Sunday Easter lull had boxing hard times: “Be “Director hero Manny Pacquiao display his other talents, this time at distrong. If you recting, as he put his skills in the production of a video that will have a relation- also showcase his singing talent. The video features him singing ‘Para Sa ‘Yo Ang Laban Na ‘To’ (This fight is for you) and shot ship with God, with Team Pacquiao in the cast will serve as the rallying visual you can do ev- presentation at his May 2 encounter with Floyd Mayweather in erything when Las Vegas. you have God by your side. Just serving God. never give up.”

When Rutherford asked him As for their family, husband where he saw himself 10 years and wife agree in separate inter- from now, Pacquiao replied: “Servviews that their future includes ing God and serving the people.”

Limlingan na gumawa ng hindi totoong kwento upang makasuhan si dating Bise Presidente Noli de Castro, ngunit hindi ako pumayag.”

The Senate blue ribbon subcommittee earlier summoned to Lee to testify in its probe on alleged anomalies involving Vice President Binay, concurrent chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC).

Lee, who has blamed Binay for his legal woes, was initially al-

CHINESE HACKERS From page 1

ing China.

“Based on APT30’s confirmed targets and their intended victims, the group’s interests appear to concentrate on Southeast Asia regional political, economic and military issues, disputed territories and topics related to the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party,” the report said.

It said the campaign differs from other hacking outfits mostly in its scale and longevity, leading researchers to believe that it must be state-sponsored.

It also said the main objective appears to be data theft as op-

THE US ASIAN POST

posed to financial gain.

“Such a sustained, planned development effort, coupled with the group’s regional targets and mission, lead us to believe that this activity is state-sponsored – most likely by the Chinese government,” said the report released by California-based FireEye’s Asia office in Singapore.

Swift denial -China swiftly denied any involvement.

“The Chinese government firmly opposes hacking attacks, this position is consistent and clear,” said foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei in Beijing.

FireEye said the cyber espio-

lowed by the San Fernando Regional Trial Court Branch 42 handling his case to appear before the subcommittee.

Last week, however, presiding Judge Maria Amifaith FiderReyes reversed a resolution she earlier issued upon the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s objection, barring Lee from attending the Senate subcommittee hearing.

Lee is currently detained at the Pampanga Provincial Jail while facing his syndicated estafa case.

(MNS)

nage group has consistently developed and refined its tools over the past 10 years.

Bryce Boland, FireEye’s chief technology officer for the AsiaPacific, said in a blog post that the region has some of the highest levels of targeted cyber attacks worldwide, and many of these go undetected.

“This group (APT30) has been able to operate successfully and remain undetected for many years and has not even had to change their attack infrastructure – a clear sign that their victims don’t realize this is happening,” Boland wrote.