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Vol. 4. No. 35

LOS ANGELES

A Balita Media Publication

Wednesday - Tuesday, May 27 - June 2, 2015

PHL to fly over disputed South China Sea: Aquino

“We will still exercise our rights over our exclusive economic zone...Bottom line is, it has to be clear, we will defend our rights to the best of our abilities,” says President Benigno Aquino III despite continued threats from Chinese vessels over the disputed area.

Duterte confirms ‘ties’ with Davao Death Squad MANILA, May 25 (Mabuhay) – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is asking the Filipino electorate to not elect him as the country’s next president because he does not want to kill more people.

In an interview in the local television program “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa” which aired on Sunday, Duterte admitted his link to the infamous Davao Death Squad (DDS).

“They say I am the death squad?

True, that is true,” Duterte said.

The DDS is allegedly responsible for the killing of more than 1,000 suspected criminals in the city since Duterte became mayor in 1988.

Duterte, who is tied with Interior Secretary Mar Roxas in third place in the recent Social Weather Stations electoral survey, warned that the number of dead crime suspects would shoot up to 100,000 if he got elected.

“If by chance, God will place

me there, the 1,000 will become 100,000,” he said.

“Diyan mo makita na tataba ang isda sa Manila Bay. Diyan ko kayo itatapon (You will see bigger fish in Manila Bay because that is where I will dump your bodies),” he added.

“I do not want to be president. I do not want to kill people so do not elect me as president,” Duterte said.

The local chief executive re-

Manila, Philippines (AFP) Monday 5/25/2015 – Philippine military and commercial aircraft will keep flying over disputed areas in the South China Sea despite Chinese warnings over the airspace, President Benigno Aquino said on Monday.

“We will still fly the routes that we fly based on the international law from the various conventions we entered into,” Aquino told reporters when asked whether the Philippines accepted China’s position.

The Chinese military last week ordered a US Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance plane away from airspace above the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea. The Chinese foreign ministry later insisted it had sovereign rights to those waters, maritime features and the airspace above.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters approaching the coasts of the Philippines and other Asian neighbors.

In recent years it has caused alarm with increasingly aggressive actions to assert its claims.

It is undertaking giant land reclamation works in the Spratlys, located between the Vietnam and the Philippines, to turn reefs into islands that can host airstrips and other military facilities.

The Spratlys, about a thousand kilometers (620 miles) from the nearest major Chinese landmass, are one of the biggest and most strategically important archipelagos in the sea.

Aquino said the Philippines would not give up its territory to China, even as he acknowledged major differences in the capabilities of their militaries.

“We will still exercise our rights over our exclusive economic zone,” he said.

“Bottom line is, it has to be clear, we will defend our rights to the best of our abilities.”

Aquino said the Philippines was also working closely on the issue with the United States, his nation’s longtime ally and mutual defense treaty partner, but declined to elaborate.

“Even in basketball, you don’t See FLY OVER, page 12

Aquino says Mar tops his list of presidential choices in 2016 MANILA, May 25 (Mabuhay) – President Benigno Aquino III on Monday revealed that Interior Secretary Mar Roxas is “on top of the list” of his choices for his preferred presidential bets for the 2016 polls.

In an interview with reporters after inspecting classrooms in Marikina, Aquino described Roxas as a “valuable” Cabinet official and a leader of the ruling Liberal Party.

The President also pointed out that Roxas showed his “ability to sacrifice” when he gave way to Aquino’s presidential candidacy in 2010.

“He [Roxas] has demonstrated quite a wide range of expertise in so many different assignments,” Aquino said. “All of these traits should point out that he is, to my mind, as far as our coalition is concerned, he is at the top of the See MAR TOPS LIST, page 12

See DUTERTE, page 12

Aquino: VP Binay’s chances in 2016 depend on how he’ll answer corruption allegations

President Benigno Aquino thinks Binay remains as the man to beat in the 2016 presidential race, however, Binay’s chances of winning the 2016 presidential elections will largely depend on how he will defend himself from accusations that he was involved in corrupt practices when he was Makati mayor.

Australia to allow autistic Filipino boy to stay Sydney, Australia (AFP) Monday 5/25/2015 – An autistic Filipino boy whose fight against deportation from Australia prompted tens of thousands to petition the government on his behalf will be allowed to stay, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said Monday.

Tyrone Sevilla arrived in Australia as a two-year-old with his nurse mother Maria Sevilla.

But after eight years in the country, the pair were denied continuing visas due to the probable cost of providing for Tyrone’s care, with Maria Sevilla saying they had been labelled a “burden” to taxpayers.

Dutton said he had overturned the decision.

“I looked at the case and I have determined we will provide these people with a permanent arrangement and permanent outcome in

Australia and I think that’s good for them,” he said.

“I’m very pleased we can provide the assistance to a young boy who is in need of medical and educational support and as a generous country that’s what we do.”

The case made headlines after one of Tyrone’s young friends raised a question about the case on a live national television program.

“If he can get along with us and we can get along with him, why does he have to leave?” the child, who went to after school care with Tyrone, asked.

More than 120,000 people subsequently signed a petition addressed to Dutton to keep Tyrone and his mother, a registered nurse at Townsville Hospital, in Australia.

See AUSTRALIA, page 12

MANILA, May 25 (Mabuhay) – Vice President Jejomar Binay’s responses to corruption allegations being hurled against him will make or break his chances in the 2016 presidential polls, President Benigno Aquino III said Monday.

Asked during an interview if he still perceives Binay as the man to beat in the 2016 presidential race, Aquino acknowledged that the vice president has been leading pre-election popularity surveys.

Aquino, however, said that Binay’s chances of winning the 2016 presidential elections will largely See VP BINAY, page 12

Echoing Abraham Lincoln’s praise for those who offered the “last full measure of devotion,” Obama praised “everyday heroes” who died in the “mountains of Korea, the jungles of Vietnam, the deserts of the Middle East” and in countless other conflagrations.

President Barack Obama participates in a Memorial Day wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., May 27, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Obama praises ‘fallen heroes,’ touts end of Mideast wars Washington, United States (AFP) Monday 5/25/2015 – US President Barack Obama paid a Memorial Day tribute to America’s “fallen heroes” Monday, stressing the heavy burden of perennial wars and underscoring his decision to pull troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Echoing Abraham Lincoln’s

praise for those who offered the “last full measure of devotion,” Obama praised “everyday heroes” who died in the “mountains of Korea, the jungles of Vietnam, the deserts of the Middle East” and in countless other conflagrations.

While looking to the past, Obama’s address was tinged by See FALLEN HEROES, page 12

Metro Manila less than 50 percent ready for big earthquake, says MMDA chief MANILA, May 22 (Mabuhay) – The National Capital Region is less than 50 percent ready to deal with the fallout of a highmagnitude earthquake, the head of the Metro Manila Development Authority said in an earthquake preparedness forum on Friday.

Speaking at the GMA News Online-I M Ready Earthquake Preparedness Forum, MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said Metro Manila’s earthquake readiness leaves much to be desired.

“Kung ige-grade ko ang kahandaan natin para sa isang lindol, siguro below 5 (out 10),” said Tolentino.

See READY, page 12

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino (right) demonstrates on Friday newly acquired search-and-rescue cameras that can penetrate through small holes to find victims trapped by rubble in case of an earthquake. New maps on the East and West Valley fault prompted government agencies to assess their readiness. (MNS photo)

1-877-35-NOPAY 818-334-5445 818-552-4500 (1-877-356-6729)

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China declares victory in US surveillance overflight Beijing, China (AFP) Friday 5/22/2015 – China declared victory on Friday over an encounter with a US surveillance aircraft overflying the contested South China Sea, saying its military “drove away” the intruder with radio warnings.

Beijing is in the throes of a rapid land-reclamation program in the area, building artificial islands and facilities including an airstrip – raising tensions with Washington and the risk of a standoff on the high seas.

China regards almost the whole of the South China Sea as its own and the foreign ministry condemned the overflight as “highly irresponsible and dangerous”, warning that such actions could cause “unwanted incidents”.

The US Navy has released video footage taken from the P-8 Poseidon surveillance plane, which received several warnings from the Chinese military to retreat as it flew over the South China Sea—home to vital shipping lanes.

The footage showed a flotilla of vessels carrying out reclamation works in one lagoon, and an airstrip under construction on another island.

A CNN crew on board captured a tense radio exchange between the US aircraft and Chinese forces.

“This is the Chinese navy... This is the Chinese navy... Please go away... to avoid misunderstanding,” a voice can be heard telling the Americans.

The Chinese navy issued eight such warnings during the P-8’s flight near Fiery Cross Reef, one of the sites of Beijing’s land reclamation effort, CNN reported.

American pilots replied in each case that they were flying through “international airspace”.

Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular briefing in Beijing: “China garrison troops drove it away by radio in accordance with relevant regulations.

“US actions have posed threats to the security of Chinese maritime features, it is highly likely to cause unwanted incidents, it’s highly irresponsible and dangerous. We are strongly dissatisfied with this.”

He urged the US not to take “any risky and provocative actions”, saying China would “take proper and necessary measures to guard against any harm to China’s maritime features and incidents in waters and airspace,” he added.

China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, played part of the CNN footage showing the Chinese navy ordering the US plane out of the area with Chinese subtitles.

The US does not recognize China’s claims to the artificial islands.

But China has repeatedly said it has “indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha islands and adjacent waters”, using its name for the archipelago known as the Spratlys.

US Marines to Honduras for hurricanse season

Washington, United States (AFP) Tuesday 5/26/2015 – Troops from a 250-strong contingent of US Marines will start to deploy to Honduras this week to provide help if needed during the region’s hurricane season and to train local forces, officials said Tuesday.

The special purpose Marine air-ground task force will be equipped with four CH-53E Super Stallion cargo helicopters and will be advising Central American armies on efforts to counter narcotics trafficking.

“The Marines will deploy in various stages starting this week with the majority of the force arriving the first week of June,” according to a statement from Marine Corps forces in US Southern Command.

Wednesday - Tuesday, May 27 - June 2, 2015

THE US ASIAN POST

US planes keep distance from Chinese ‘islands’ – for now

Washington, United States (AFP) Thursday 5/21/2015 – US surveillance aircraft and naval ships have yet to test China’s territorial claims around artificial islands built in the South China Sea, but the Pentagon warned Thursday that could be “the next step.” Although the United States does not recognise China’s claims of sovereignty around the manmade structures, American P-8 surveillance planes and naval vessels patrolling the area have not ventured within 12 nautical miles of the artificial islands – the standard territorial zone around natural land.

“That would be the next step,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters.

Asked if the military would move to within that sensitive zone, he said: “We don’t have any announcement to make on next steps. We are going to continue our routine flights.”

US officials have said they are weighing sending warships and

surveillance aircraft within 12 nautical miles of the man-made islands in the South China Sea to test Beijing’s controversial territorial claims.

But the move could raise tensions and lead to a standoff on the high seas—in an area vital to global shipping lanes.

Beijing regards almost the whole of the South China Sea as its own. The US Navy has released video from a P-8 Poseidon surveillance flight in the South China Sea which received several warnings from the Chinese military.

It showed a flotilla of vessels carrying out reclamation works in one lagoon, and an airstrip under construction on another island.

“You can see here the landing strip and on the back side there is the taxi way,” an officer says, pointing at a screen, adding that “hundreds of meters” have been built in “the past couple of months.”

The officer explained the huge

dredging operation, taking material from the seabed as part of the reclamation project to provide fresh space for construction.

‘Great wall of sand’ The new video came after a CNN television crew aboard a P-8 Poseidon plane captured a tense radio exchange between the US aircraft and Chinese forces in the area. “This is the Chinese navy...

This is the Chinese navy... Please go away... to avoid misunderstanding,” a voice can be heard telling the Americans.

The Chinese navy issued eight such warnings during the P-8’s flight near the Fiery Cross Reef, one of the sites of Beijing’s massive land reclamation effort, CNN reported.

American pilots replied in each case that they were flying through “international airspace”.

Journalists are rarely allowed to fly in a sophisticated P-8 spy plane, much less permitted to film inside the cockpit, as the CNN crew was.

Europe migrant terror threat overblown: experts

By Danny Kemp with Richard Carter in Paris

Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Thursday 5/21/2015 – The arrest in Italy of a terror suspect posing as a boat migrant has fuelled nightmare scenarios of jihadist infiltration of Europe, but experts say the threat is overblown and attacks by homegrown extremists are more likely.

Right-wing parties have seized on the incident as proof that groups like Islamic State (IS) are taking advantage of Europe’s migration crisis, in which thousands of refugees are making the risky Mediterranean crossing to flee war and poverty.

NATO’s chief Jens Stoltenberg also warned this week that battle-hardened “foreign fighters” who have joined jihadist outfits in Iraq and Syria could smuggle themselves into Europe by hiding on asylum-seeker vessels.

But analysts say extremist groups are more interested in holding territory in the Middle East than risking their men in

flimsy dinghies, especially when they can rely on radicalised Europeans to do the work for them in their own countries, they say.

“To send their fighters in migrant boats that are just going to sink is not very smart,” Christian Nellemann, of the Norwegian Centre for Global Analysis told AFP. “Putting high value fighters on a migrant boat that’s likely going to sink, so they might die, or being picked up by a naval vessel where they would get interrogated, is not a very effective way of sending fighters to Europe.”

‘The threat exists’ Italy on Wednesday seized a Moroccan man suspected of involvement in a deadly attack in March on a Tunis museum in which 21 foreign tourists were killed, three months after he arrived on a boat full of refugees.

Marc Pierini, a researcher at the Carnegie Europe institute and former EU ambassador to Turkey and Libya said that “the

threat exists, there has at least been a threat of this kind by Islamic State, and there is the recent arrest in Italy.”

“But still this is not the biggest terrorist threat, as the terrorist attacks in 2014 and 2015 in Europe were carried out by European citizens. It is this method that is the real game-changer,” he added.

Recent attacks like the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris in January and the attack on a Jewish synagogue in Copenhagen the following month were all carried out by Europeans on home turf, added Charlie Winter, a researcher at the London-based think-tank Quilliam.

“In terms of the whole desire of Islamic State to carry out terrorist operations abroad, it’s proven it doesn’t need to send people abroad,” he told AFP. “Islamic State’s priority right now, above all else, is consolidation in the areas that it has a presence in.”

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, May 27 - June 2, 2015

Asia, Europe migrants putting our humanity to the test: Red Cross

By Nina Larson

Geneva, Switzerland (AFP) Thursday 5/21/2015 – Surging numbers of migrants risking their lives on rickety boats both in Southeast Asia and on the way to Europe are a test of the world’s humanity, the Red Cross chief told AFP in an interview.

“The tolerance, the generosity, the openness, the solidarity of the world will be tested,” said Elhadj As Sy, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

“Simply put our humanity will be tested. The question is, will we pass the test?” he told AFP in his office in Geneva this week, after a visit to Asia, where he took part in a summit on migration.

Nearly 3,000 migrants have swum to shore or been rescued off Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand over the past 10 days after a Thai crackdown on human-trafficking threw the illicit trade into chaos, with some of the syndicates involved abandoning their helpless human cargo at sea.

Malaysia on Thursday ordered search and rescue missions for the thousands more believed to be stranded at sea, in the first proactive official move in the region aimed at saving the boatpeople.

And Malaysia and Indonesia have said they will end a much-condemned policy of turning away boatloads of starving Muslim Rohingya fleeing from Myanmar, and economic migrants from Bangladesh.

“We are pleased to witness that so many people from Myanmar and Bangladesh are being hosted... while longer term solutions to this problem are being found,” Sy said, adding that next time “we hope it will not take so long for that to happen.”

More than 88,000 people have attempted the dangerous sea voyage across the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea since 2014, including more than 25,000 so far this year, according to UN numbers.

Nearly 1,000 are believed to have died at sea during that period due to precarious conditions, and an equal number from mistreatment at the hands of traffickers and abusive smugglers.

“The hygienic conditions on such boats are horrible... Women get abused... Children witness horrific things that they should never see in their entire lives. And you know men are reduced to their minimum, unable to defend their families,” Sy said.

Red Cross and Red Crescent workers were doing their best to help, providing food, water and shelter, but also just extending “a friendly hand” to help people to “recover some sense of humanity and dignity,” he said.

Sy added it was paramount to address “the situations that are really pushing people out,” like the Myanmar government’s treatment of its Rohingya minority.

Show more generosity The migrant crisis in South East Asia has ballooned at a time when Europe too is reeling from a flood of migrants risking their lives on the Mediterranean to reach its shores.

More than 5,000 people have died in the past 18 months while trying to make the dangerous crossing in flimsy dinghies and fishing boats.

The European Union agreed this week on an unprecedented naval mission starting next month to fight the human traffickers behind the deluge of migrants and refugees attempting the crossing from chaos-wracked Libya.

While acknowledging that “all the criminal activities around people that would exacerbate their vulnerabilities and their risks (must) of course be handled,” Sy stressed that in both Southeast Asia and Europe the main focus should be on saving lives.

“We are not in the business of destroying boats but we are in the business of how we can care for the migrants,” he said.

He called for known migrant routes to be “secured” with search and rescue teams and for destination countries to have apparatuses in place to care for them when they arrive.

“Our expectation is that (they) show more generosity and humanity,” he said.

“There is a humanitarian imperative to care for people who are searching for peace, who are searching for better conditions... and nothing less is expected from Europe,” he said, when asked about a controversial plan for European country quotas for refugees cross the Mediterranean.

In the long term, he said, countries need to open up legal and safe means of migration, “so that the room for traffickers and smugglers gets more and more reduced.”

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OPINION

Church unnerved by Ireland’s huge ‘Yes’ to gay marriage

By Conor Barrins And Robin Millard

Dublin, Ireland (AFP) Sunday 5/24/2015 – The once-dominant Catholic Church in Ireland was trying to come to terms Sunday with an overwhelming vote in favour of gay marriage, saying it needed a “new language” to connect to people.

As jubilant “Yes” supporters nursed their hangovers after partying late into the night following Saturday’s referendum result, the faithful attended mass to hear their priests reflect on the new social landscape in Ireland.

“The Church has to find a new language which will be understood and heard by people,” Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, a senior Irish cleric, told reporters after mass at the city’s St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral.

“We have to see how is it that the Church’s teaching on marriage and family is not being received even within its own flock.”

He added: “There’s a growing gap between Irish young people and the Church and there’s a growing gap between the culture of Ireland that’s developing and the Church.”

The majority of Irish people still identify themselves as Catholic but the Church’s influence has waned in recent years amid growing secularization and after a wave of clerical child sex abuse scandals.

During the campaign, bishops spoke against changing the law, while older and rural voters were thought to have accounted for much of the “No” vote.

Final results showed 62 percent in favor and 38 percent against introducing gay marriage in a country where being homosexual was a crime until 1993.

As Sunday’s newspapers marked the result with colourful pictures of partying “Yes” supporters, they noted the heavy blow to Church authority.

Niall O’Connor wrote in the Sunday Independent: “The once unshakeable influence of the Catholic Church over Middle Ireland has been confronted.”

Ireland will become the 19th country in the world to legalize same-sex marriages once the necessary legislation is approved as expected. The first weddings could happen within six months.

AlienaƟng young people Tony Flannery, co-founder of the Association of Catholic Priests, was stripped of his ministry in 2012 due to his outspoken liberal views on contraception and the ordination of female priests.

The Redemptorist priest, who voted Yes, said the Church needed to rethink how it approaches Ireland’s youth if it is to reverse its waning position in society.

“The last thing the Irish bishops should be doing is further alienating the young generation who the

Church, to a fair degree, has lost already,” he told AFP. All of Ireland’s 43 constituencies except one voted in favor of the measure and the 60-percent turnout was far higher than in previous referendums, as thousands of expatriates returned to cast their ballots.

It was the first time ever that gay marriage had been approved by popular vote.

The gay marriage landslide has led some politicians to seek a further referendum on the Irish constitution’s eighth amendment, which bans pregnancy termination.

Abortion is illegal in Ireland except where the mother’s life is in danger.

Deputy Prime Minister Joan Burton told public broadcaster RTE that in the junior coalition party’s 2016 general election manifesto, “we will be seeking, on behalf of women, to repeal the eighth amendment.”

The Labour leader said Ireland was “now a rainbow nation, and that means a nation of inclusion and diversity”.

Friday’s referendum asked voters whether or not they approved the statement: “Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.”

Congratulations poured in to Ireland from around the world, including from British Prime Minister David Cameron and US Vice President Joe Biden.

In Australia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Sunday his country would not follow Ireland’s lead and hold a referendum on gay marriage, adding that any decisions would be made by parliament.

Gay marriage was explicitly outlawed in Australia under a 2004 revision of the national Marriage Act. In Germany, Jens Spahn, a member of the executive committee of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, appeared open to change.

“One should think, what the Catholic Irish can do, we can too,” he was quoted by Welt Online as saying, adding: “The population is often more ahead in these matters than we think.”

Some citizens voiced mixed feelings as they went about their business in Dublin on Sunday.

“I’m saddened, because I don’t think it was a good idea. I think there are much more important things to be looked after in this country,” said one woman, Bernadette.

Another, Caroline, told AFP: “While I’m happy with the result, I don’t think we should be voting necessarily on something which should be a human right anyway.”

Malaysia PM ‘deeply concerned’ by mass graves Wang Kelian, Malaysia (AFP) Monday 5/25/2015 – Prime Minister Najib Razak said Monday he was “deeply concerned” by the first discovery of mass graves of suspected illegal migrants in northern Malaysia and vowed to find those responsible.

“I am deeply concerned with graves found on Malaysian soil, purportedly connected to people-smuggling,” he said on his Facebook and Twitter accounts.

“We will find those responsible.”

Malaysia’s home minister announced Sunday that mass graves were found near jungle camps along the border with Thailand, further evidence of the lethal nature of a human-trafficking trade that has blown up in to a regional crisis.

Police in neighboring Thailand in early May had found secret human-trafficking camps on their side of the border and dozens of shallow graves. These are the first found in Malaysia.

Officials have yet to say how many bodies are in the Malaysian graves or their precise locations, but the country’s police chief was expected to hold a press conference at 11:00 am (0300 GMT).

There may be dozens or even hundreds of corpses in the graves, Malaysian media reports have said, citing unidentified sources.

Malaysia’s Perlis state, where the graves were found, is near where Thailand found its graves.

The area is said by anti-trafficking groups to be a key stop on a route that funnels migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar into Malaysia and beyond.

Thailand launched a crackdown on human-smuggling following the discovery of its mass graves.

The move appears to have caused nervous traffickers to abandon their human cargo at sea, leaving boats filled with hundreds of starving migrants seeking to land in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

After initially turning them away, Malaysia and Indonesia last week bowed to international pressure, saying they would admit boat people pending their repatriation or resettlement elsewhere.

Rights groups have long accused Malaysian authorities of not doing enough to contain humansmuggling.

Dutch immigrant kids take to street demanding ‘white’ classmates

By Charlotte Van Ouwerkerk

Amsterdam, Netherlands (AFP) Friday 5/22/2015 – Faced with an increasingly segregated education system, Dutch immigrant children have taken to the streets of their ethnically mixed Amsterdam neighborhood seeking “white” pupils to attend their schools and help their integration.

Around 100 schoolchildren – Arabs, Turks, Africans, Moroccans – accompanied by their parents and teachers, wore provocative dazzling white Tshirts emblazoned with “Is this white enough for you?”.

Dutch native Annelies, 10, and immigrants’ daughter Aminata, 11, have been friends since kindergarten and are also wearing the shirts, which have “All children have the right to integrate” written on the back.

They “want more white children in the school to learn about each other’s cultures,” said Aminata, her smiling face framed by dangling African braids during Friday’s protest.

“It’s important for later,” said the blonde-haired Annelies. “When we’re grown up we will have to deal with different cultures, we should already start learning to live together.”

“At the moment there’s only one boy in our class who is 100 percent Dutch, although we live in a mixed neighborhood, it’s ridiculous,” she said.

The pupils’ two schools - De Avonturijn and Catharinaschool – are considered “black” in this ethnically mixed southern Amsterdam neighborhood, as more than 90 percent of their pupils are from immigrant backgrounds.

‘Black schools’ The number of new pupils signing up continues to drop and the schools are now threatened with closure, so today they’re going door-to-door, ringing doorbells and delivering flyers saying “We’re looking for white pupils”.

“When, for different reasons, a school ‘becomes blacker’, it’s very difficult to reverse the trend,” said Diane Middelkoop, spokeswoman for the two

schools.

“White children’s parents no longer want to be part of the school. I can understand that: we all want to feel at home and that means that we want to see people who share our origins and culture,” she said.

For some, the phenomenon shows that racism is rampant in Dutch culture.

“It’s shameful that it’s come to this, that children have to take to the street to go to school with white children,” said resident Joan, 80, originally from the former Dutch colony of Suriname, tears in her eyes.

She blames parents who take their children out of what Dutch media call “black schools”.

“It’s racism and I’m ashamed. There was always a bit of racism in this country, but today it’s serious, it has to stop,” she said.

Racism or demographics?

At the other end of the street, florist Wim Barlag has worked here for 50 years, has a son at one of the schools and has a different explanation.

“More and more families are leaving, making way for students—the problem is there’s simply not many children left,” he said.

The Netherlands has a reputation for tolerance, but racial tensions and discrimination are on the increase.

“I want my children to be integrated in Dutch society and to learn about different cultures,” said 35-year-old mother and housewife Majda Khatibi.

The Netherlands calls on immigrants to take part in Dutch society, through work or study. Once they have learnt the language, they must take an integration exam to make sure they fit in Dutch society.As immigrant numbers have risen, so has the popularity of far-right politicians, including antiIslam politician Geert Wilders who criticises immigrants for not integrating enough.

Marching door to door, the children chant: “Don’t think black, don’t think white, don’t think black and white: think the colours of your heart.”

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Wednesday - Tuesday, May 27 - June 2, 2015

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UTREACH Consulate launches iRehistro online application for PHL docs 14 May 2015 – The Philippine Consulate General launches the iREHISTRO Online Application Form Accomplishment and Submission.

All Filipino citizens, at least 18 years old on May 09, 2016 and not otherwise disqualified by law, who expect to vote during the 2016 Presidential Elections may avail of the iREHISTRO system to apply for registration as an overseas voter from 13 May to 31 October 2015.

The iREHISTRO is an online

system which provides Filipino registrants another way of accomplishing the Voters Registration Application Form before coming to the Embassy or Consulate or any Registration Venue. The aim of the project is to lessen the time of the registrants when applying for voter’s registration. The applicant must present the printed accomplished form to the OV Operator and have their biometrics taken to complete the registration process.

To access iRehistro, log on

to www.irehistro.com and do the following steps: On the upper right side, click “For Overseas Filipinos, proceed to this page�

Select the type of application from the list.

Fill up the application form.

Print the accomplished application form. DO NOT SIGN THE PRINTED FORM Select the preferred appointment date and time for biometrics capture. (OPTIONAL) Go to the Philippine Consul-

LeBron James urges calm as Cleveland rocked by verdict Los Angeles, United States (AFP) Sunday 5/24/2015 – Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James hopes the team’s playoff run can be a rallying point for a city divided by the acquittal of a white police officer in the shooting of an unarmed black couple.

The verdict, which triggered minor protests, comes amid widespread tensions in the United States over police treatment of blacks following the deaths of a number of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement.

Just a month ago, riots erupted in Baltimore over the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in police custody – a case in which six officers have been charged. “Violence is not the answer,� James said when asked about the verdict after a Cavaliers practice in Cleveland on Saturday.

Cleveland patrolman Michael Brelo was one of 13 officers who opened fire on Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams during a police chase in 2012, thinking their car backfiring was a gunshot.

James did not comment specifically on the verdict, saying he didn’t know enough about it.

But the player stressed that the focus should be on the families of the victims. “For me, in any case, anything that goes on in our world, in our America, the only people that we should be worried about is the families (who) lost loved ones,� he said.

ate for biometrics (picture, finger print and signature). Present the duly accomplished application form to the OV operator.

Sign the accomplished form in the presence of the OV Operator.

The Philippine Consulate General recommends that the registrant choose Los Angeles in the field for “Embassy/Consulate� and disregard the other options.

The Philippine Consulate General reminds the Filipino communities in Los Angeles and its areas of jurisdictions that iRehistro on-

line application does not confirm their registration. Applicants still have to appear personally at the Consulate or during the Outreach Programs to complete the registration process.

The current procedure of manual Overseas Voting Registration is still being implemented at the Consulate.

For more information on iRehistro, click on the following link: http://www.comelec.gov. ph/?r=References/InformationMaterials/iRehistroAd

Los Angeles City Council approves $15 minimum wage LOS ANGELES – This week, the Los Angeles City Council voted 14-1 to raise the minimum wage in Los Angeles to $15.00 an hour by 2020, plus an additional one-year “phase in� period for small businesses, bringing all workers to $15.00 by 2021. Councilmember Paul Krekorian played a leading role in shaping the legislation. “This is a historic day in the City of Los Angeles, and a step forward in our national dialogue on income inequality,� said Councilmember Krekorian. “We are showing that Los Angeles is leading by increasing our citywide minimum wage for hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers. Los Angeles has become one of the most unaffordable cities in the country. Our wages have not kept pace with the cost of food, the cost of housing and the cost of transportation.

Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020 for large businesses and 2021 for small businesses will help close that gap and bring more people

into the middle class.�

Krekorian continued: “I want to thank Mayor Garcetti for starting the discussion last September and consistently challenging the City Council to do the right thing and raise the minimum wage. His leadership was absolutely critical to this entire process.�

New Minimum Wage Schedule Beginning July 1, 2016, the minimum wage in the City of Los Angeles will be as follows: 2016: $10.50 2017: $12.00 2018: $13.25 2019: $14.25 2020: $15.00 Increases will happen on July 1 of the calendar year. Starting on July 1, 2022, the minimum wage will be indexed to THE Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

SMALL BUSINESS WAGE SCHEDULE

Businesses with 25 or fewer employees will receive an additional year to phase in the City’s minimum wage, putting all businesses on the same wage scale on July 1, 2021.

2017: $10.50 2018: $12.00 2019: $13.25 2020: $14.25 2021: $15.00 The full motion approved by the City Council is attached to this email.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian, chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee and vice-chair of the Economic Development Committee, represents Council District 2, which includes North Hollywood, Studio City, Valley Village and other communities in the east San Fernando Valley. His website is paulkrekorian.org, where you can sign up for news updates. Visit him on Twitter (@PaulKrekorian) or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ krekorian

Racquel Custodio Furbeyre, L.A. social worker LOS ANGELES – Racquel Custodio Furbeyre peacefully passed away Monday, May 18, in Los Angeles. She was 64. Racquel had been battling breast cancer for the past four years.

Since the 1980s, Racquel was known in the L.A. Filipino and Asian community as a caring social worker who counseled troubled immigrant youths, parents, elderly and terminally ill patients. For two decades, she was a dedicated lay disciple at the Kanzeonji Buddhist Temple in Mt. Washington and the editor of their “The Spiritual� journal.

She was also a community activist and a mentee of prominent Filipino American community organizer Royal “Uncle Roy� Morales, MSW, at the Asian American Community Mental Health Training Center of Los Angeles.

She was a licensed clinical social worker at the L.A. County-funded Asian family counseling center and later at the St. Vincent’s Medical Center. Racquel was regular visitor at our community service center at SIPA (Search to

Pilipino po tayo!

LAW OFFICES OF

KENNETH U. REYES, P.C.

- Certified Family Law Specialist - Certified Public Accountant (Inactive) - J.D. Southwestern University Law School, Los Angeles, CA - B.S. Accounting, California State University, San Bernardino, CA

FAMILY LAW • Divorce • Community Property Division • Child Custody and Spousal Support • Domestic Violence Restraining Order • Legal Separation and Nullity • Parentage • Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

CALL OR E-MAIL FOR AN APPOINTMENT

213-204-6366 or

kureyeslaw@gmail.com

LAW OFFICES OF

KENNETH U. REYES

*Kenneth U. Reyes, Esq. CFLS

IMMIGRATION • Marriage Petitions • Relative Petitions • Removal of Conditional Green Card • Humanitarian Reinstatements • Child Status Protection Act Issues • Deportation Defense • Employment based Petitions and PERM • H-1B Visas

Involve Pilipino Americans) to help our troubled kids and also to counsel FASGI (Filipino American Service Group, Inc.) seniors.

In the 70s, she helped in the United Farm Worker’s Agbayani Village project and in the Movement for a Free Philippines with PH Senator Raul Manglapus.

Racquel was born in San Francisco CA. However, she

Catanduanes Int’l Association 24th Anniversary and 9th Grand Reunion Aug. 7

* Certified Family Law Specialist The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization

Racquel Custodio Furbeyre

grew up in Makati, Philippines and graduated from St. Paul’s College High School in Manila.

Racquel received a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Southern California. She is survived by her only daughter, Mishel, an older sister Dr. Maria Ana Custodio and three younger brothers: Guy, Louie and Anthony. Her sister and two older brothers reside in the Philippines. Her father Greg Custodio was a noted Filipino portrait artist in Manila and whose murals were displayed in the city hall, churches and other buildings in Stockton, California.

On Saturday, May 30, 2015, from 5 to 7 PM, her family and friends will celebrate her life and work. The memorial will be held at the SIPA community hall at 3200 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90026 http://www.sipaonline.org/facility (213) 382-1819 x103.

Kindly RSVP with ERIC “Furbeyre� LACHICA, her former husband (1974-93) by email or by mobile: 202-246-1998.

ESTATES AND TRUST • Living Trust • Wills • Probate • Conservatorship

CIVIL LITIGATION • Contract Disputes • Business Disputes • Corporate and Partnership Disputes

3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747 Los Angeles, CA 90010

www.kenreyeslaw.com kureyeslaw@gmail.com

The Catanduanes International Association (CIA), Inc. will celebrate its 24th Anniversary and 9th Grand Reunion on August 7 to 9, 2015 at the Hilton Hotel Pasadena, Los Angeles, CA. This year’s festivities are being sponsored by Catanduanes USA(CAUSA)/LA Chapter.

This 3-day event will be highlighted with “Western Style Night�, “Grand Gala Night Hol-

lywood Style and “Mass and Picnic.�

Be a part in celebrating our extraordinary heritage at this spectacular gathering and reminisce the time we spent with our fellow Catandunganons and friends.

You will also make it a pleasant and a sentimental journey to visit friends and relatives in the Golden State of California.

Proceeds from donations of this event will benefit the next Medical Mission to Catanduanes, Philippines.

All donations are tax deductible. For more information and details, please contact Ms. Dolly Dalusong, President, CAUSA Inc., telephone number (909)5398111.

We hope to see you at this momentous occasion!

Home electrical systems don’t have to show their age

By Paul Netter Southern California Edison

May 19, 2015 – It’s a fact that about half of today’s homes were built before 1970.

It’s also true that many of the appliances and electronics used in those homes today did not exist when they were constructed.

It is a combination that can compromise safety. Hairdryers, computers and video games can stress and overwhelm aging home electrical systems, creating the potential for fires, shocks and electrocutions. During National Electrical Safety Month and beyond, it is a good time to be aware of the potential hazards. Each year, home electrical problems lead to an estimated 53,600 fires, 500 deaths,

1,400 injuries and $1.4 billion in property damages. Many of those fires start in older homes unequipped to handle today’s technology overload, according to the Electrical Safety Foundation International. Rick Flores, an inspector with the LA County Fire Department, says overloaded older electrical systems and overused extension cords are the leading causes of electrical fires for his department. “It’s all education mostly that people need to understand and if they don’t, a qualified electrician will explain it,� he said. “If you have an older-style home, it’s probably just a good idea to get an upgrade to the newer style of breakers.�

One of those upgrades includes more power outlets. Older

homes generally have fewer outlets than newer homes, which can lead to an overuse of extension cords. “Overusing extension cords is probably the No. 1 fire threat,� said Flores. “The first step is not to use them long-term. If you need more outlets, have a professional come and add them.�

Another important upgrade to older homes is the installation of Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters that immediately shut off power and prevent fires when they detect arc faults. These advanced circuit breakers protect against the unintentional release of electricity from aging, damaged or improperly installed home wiring, cords or appliances.

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Drought face-lift: California paints lawns green California beach town cleans up after oil spill

By Veronique Dupont

By Sara Puig

Escondido , United States (AFP) Monday 5/18/2015 – The heat is stifling, the soil dry as a bone, and a new law in droughtstricken California restricts sprinklers.

But far from saying farewell to their beloved lawn, some Californians are coping with the drought by... painting it green.

With a simple squeeze of a spray gun, dried-out yellow grass regains its lush green color before the eyes of its proud owners.

It is a kind of make-over which is becoming increasingly common among home-owners in California, which is now in the fourth year of a historic drought.

Paula Pearson, who lives in Escondido, just north of San Diego, is one of those who has turned off her sprinkler faucet. She took the plunge after governor Jerry Brown announced unprecedented water-saving measures in April.

Unsurprisingly, her lawn rapidly turned yellow. But she is determined to fight against nature.

“If I wanted yellow I’d throw rocks down there. Green grass is supposed to be green in my

opinion,” said Pearson, her eyes protected by shades from the dazzling midday sun.

“I love it! This is the color of my grass when I water it every day. I absolutely love it. I am thrilled,” she told AFP. A way of life The first time she heard about the possibility of painting her lawn, she laughed—before admitting, maybe it could be a good idea.

Neat houses with green front lawns are a traditional part of American culture and the landscape in suburbs across the country.

Taking care of your garden is a question of pride – and can impact on home prices.

“We want to have a perfect lawn, it’s a reflection of you,” said Jim Power, founder of Lawnlift, a company specialized in painting grass.

“It’s like if your car is dirty all the time, or your house is messy all the time, or if your lawn is overgrown or dead. It just shows that you don’t take care of things.

People want it to look nice and it’s an instant fix to that problem.”

California’s extreme drought also has made many homeowners swap their lush lawns for desert plants like cacti or agaves, which need hardly any water.

Some California cities have offered financial incentives, like Los Angeles with its “Cash for Grass” rebate scheme, which offers homeowners $1-2 for every square foot of grass replaced with waterefficient landscaping.

In San Francisco they have an “Ugliest Yard” contest, the winner of which gets a yard makeover featuring drought-tolerant and native plants.

But Power says classic lawnbased yards can survive the drought.

“We had similar drought conditions in the 1970s – people ripped out their lawns and then lawns came back. So lawns are here to stay,” he said.

Like magic Wasting no time, a Lawnlift employee gets to work in Pearson’s yard by mixing up a potion of water and natural pigments which bring to mind cosmetics used by women every day.

Within minutes, the dessicat-

ed lawn is rejuvenated before its owner’s astonished eyes.

“I love it! This is the color of my grass when I water it every day. I absolutely love it. I am thrilled,” she said.

The product is non-toxic, lasts for 12 weeks and is water-resistant – even if the lack of rain is the main threat to California’s gardens.

Power acknowledges that his company is cashing in on the drought, in particular over the last 12 months.

“Sales from last March to this March have easily doubled and in fact we are 150 percent higher than last year and we attribute most of that to the drought,” he said.

California is not the only market for his products: he also sells in Canada, and a few weeks ago made a $15,000 sale to Algeria.

“Most people that buy the product are looking for an instant cosmetic fix to their lawn problem.

They don’t want to look at a dead lawn every time they leave the house and come back to the house.

“They want to look at a green lawn,” he said.

Santa Barbara, United States ( AFP) Saturday 5/23/2015 – A small army of clean-up workers toiled Friday to scoop up crude oil deposits from a picturesque California beach, three days after a pipeline rupture unleashed thousands of gallons into the ocean.

The scenic Refugio State Beach and its neighbor El Capitan would usually be swarming with tourists over America’s Memorial Day weekend, but were closed until further notice following Tuesday’s spill.

Plastic bags filled with blackened sand piled up, and the stench of oil could be smelled from miles around. Workers had made significant progress on the beach but rocks remained coated in oil.

“The beaches are starting to look a lot better than they did a couple of days ago, but still it will be a long process,” said David Mosley, a Coastguard spokesman.

“Something like that, it can take days or weeks to get back to pre-spill.”

Some 300 clean-up workers have been mobilized and new teams are still arriving. Their ranks are boosted by many volunteers, but these need equipment and to undergo a brief training session before they can get to work. Clean-up operations also aim to pump slicked oil from the ocean. About 105,000 gallons (40,000 liters) are estimated to have spilled.

Only a portion of this made it to the sea, but this was enough to form an oil slick about nine miles (14 kilometers) *On select models. See dealer for details. long.

Workers were also cleaning the hill overlooking Refugio beach, the site of the rupture.

The leak affected a pipeline operated by Plains All America Pipeline.

Patrick Hodgins, a senior director with the CAR WASHES $3,000 AIRPORT PARKING/SHUTTLE $5,760 company, said it could COMPLIMENTARY WEEKLY HAND CAR WASH @ $15 EACH AVERAGE TRAVEL USAGE 4X DAYS MONTHLY AT $30 EACH take months to find out what happened to the MERCEDES-BENZ LOANER CAR $800 two-foot (60 centimeESTIMATED FOUR-YEAR OWNERSHIP SAVINGS: $9,500 BASED ON 2X SERVICE APPOINTMENTS PER YEAR @ $100 EACH ter) wide pipeline which dates back to 1987.

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Authorities are monitoring closely how the spill will impact the area’s rich wildlife, which includes populations of sea lions, pelicans, dolphins and whales.

Until now, the only animals to have been rescued are five pelicans, a young sea lion, a dolphin and two other marine mammals.

Kyra Mills-Parker, deputy director of the network that rescues wild animals, noted the spill would have adverse impacts on wildlife that would be hard to document.

Since the spill, lobsters, pelicans and other animals coated in oil were found along beaches.

Fishing is prohibited until further notice in the area, even though authorities had not been immediately able to assess the spill’s potential impact on the food chain.

V V The cost to the local economy is also un* known. A spokeswoman 2-month Payment Credit up to $900.00 applies to 2011, 2012, and 2013 Certified Pre-Owned C-Class & GLK-Class vehicles financed through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and 2-month Payment Credit up to $1,200.00 applies to 2011, 2012, and 2013 Certified Pre-Owned E-Class & M-Class vehicles financed through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. 2-month Payment Credit up to $2,000.00 applies to 2011, from the Santa Barbara 2012, and 2013 Certified Pre-Owned S-Class & GL-Class vehicles financed through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. CPO APR Payment credit offers are valid through June 1, 2015.See dealer or Mercedes-Benz tourist office said there financial services for complete program details. 1.99 percent APR applies to Mercedes-Benz Model Year 2011, 2012, and 2013 Certified Pre-Owned C-Class & E-Class, GLK-Class, M-Class, S-Class and GL-Class vehiQualified customers only. Not everyone will qualify. Excludes leases and balloon contracts. Minimum finance term applies. Available only at participating authorized Mercedes-Benz dealers through Merhad not been any signifi- cles. cedes-Benz Financial Services (“MBFS”). Subject to credit approval by MBFS. Must take delivery of vehicle between May1, 2015 and June 1, 2015. See your authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer for complete details on cant cancelations in the this and other finance offers. Complimentary Pre-Paid Maintenance contract available on select Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned C, E, S, GLK, M, and GL-Class vehicles. Excludes AMG models. Must take delivery of vehicle between May 1, 2015 and June 1, 2015. See your authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer for complete details on Pre-Paid Maintenance. Offers expire June 1, 2015. †This vehicle not Platinum Certified Pre-Owned. area’s hotels.

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USCIS suspends Premium Processing for H-1B Extension of Stay petitions Starting May 26, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B Extension of Stay petitions until July 27, 2015. During this time frame, petitioners will not be able to file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, requesting an extension of the stay for an H-1B nonimmigrant.

USCIS will continue to premium process H-1B Extension of Stay petitions filed with Form I-907 premium requests prior to May 26, 2015.

USCIS will refund the premium processing fee if: A petitioner filed H-1B peti-

tions prior to May 26, 2015, using the premium processing service, and USCIS did not act on the case within the 15-calendar-day period. Premium processing remains available for all other Form I-129 H-1B petitions, including petitions subject to the H-1B cap that are requesting a change of nonimmigrant status or consular notification.

This temporary suspension will allow USCIS to implement the Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Spouses final rule in a timely manner and adjudicate applications for employment authorization filed by H-4 nonimmigrants under the new regulations.

Kobe Bryant done after next season: Lakers GM Los Angeles, United States (AFP) Friday 5/22/2015 – Kobe Bryant will make next season his last with the Los Angeles Lakers after 20 years that have produced five NBA titles, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said.

“He has indicated to me this is it,” Kupchak told SiriusXM NBA Radio. “He’s on the last year of a deal. There have been no discussions about anything going forward. I don’t think there will be.”

The 36-year-old guard has played for the Lakers for his entire NBA career, but has been nagged by injuries in recent seasons and unable to display the form that made him a 17-time All-Star, twotime NBA scoring champion and two-time Olympic champion.

Bryant suffered a torn Achilles tendon in April of 2013 to end his season, but signed a two-year contract extension worth $48.5 million that kept him the NBA’s top-paid player and set him up to become the first player to compete for the same club for 20 seasons.

Only six games after returning from his tendon injury, Bryant suffered a fractured left knee and missed the remainder of the 2013-14 season.

Bryant returned for this season and became the third-highest all-time NBA scorer last December, passing Michael Jordan’s 32,292 points. Nagged by sore knees, feet, tendons and back, Bryant continued until suffering a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder last January, forcing him to undergo season-ending surgery that was expected to sideline him for nine months.

“We expect a full recovery but yeah, he’s much closer to the end than the beginning,” Kupchak said.

Kupchak left open the idea that Bryant could return, saying “a year from now, if there’s something different to discuss, then it will be discussed.” The uncertainty over his status leaves in doubt the question of a “farewell tour” by Bryant next season.

“It’s kind of up to the player if they want to do something like that,” Kupchak said. “And it also may take away some options a year from now and put a player in an awkward position.

“But he will be recognized appropriately with great gratitude when it’s time.” Bryant himself sounded weary of the whole subject when he tweeted about it on Friday, hours after Kupchak’s comments. “My thoughts on next season being my last season are the same as the last time the media asked me last season,” he posted. “#nadanew”

Wednesday - Tuesday, May 27 - June 2, 2015

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Mexico arrests man smuggling 13 South Asia migrants Mexico City, Mexico (AFP) Friday 5/15/2015 – Police have arrested a Honduran man in southern Mexico who was attempting to smuggle 13 undocumented Bangladeshi and Pakistani migrants into the United States, US authorities said Friday.

The 29-year-old suspect was detained while driving a van above the speed limit near Tapachula in the state of Chiapas, the US Im-

migration and Customs Enforcement agency said in a statement.

“The occupants acted erratically, ducking their heads to avoid detection,” the statement said.

“Law enforcement determined the 13 passengers were unlawfully present in Mexico. All were arrested and processed for removal,” it said.

The migrants included six Bangladeshi men and one minor and

six Pakistani adult males.

The US immigration agency’s Homeland Security Investigations office in Merida, Mexico, worked with Mexican police in the arrest.

Migrants from as far away as Asia and Africa are periodically caught in Mexico while attempting to reach the United States.

Their route often begins in South and Central America.

Boy smuggled into Spain in suitcase allowed to stay Madrid, Spain (AFP) Thursday 5/21/2015 – An African boy found hidden in a suitcase that was smuggled across the border into Spain has been granted temporary permission to stay so he can be reunited with his mother, officials said Thursday.

Police found eight-year-old Adou Ouattara on May 7 curled up and covered by blankets inside a suitcase without air vents at a border checkpoint in Ceuta, one of two Spanish enclaves in North Africa.

The suitcase was being taken through a pedestrian border crossing by a 19-year-old woman, whose identity has not been released, when a border security scanner detected the boy inside.

A picture of the boy curled up in the suitcase served as a shocking reminder of the lengths migrants take to try to seek a better life in Europe.

Several hours after the young-

ster was detected his father, Ali Ouattara, was arrested at the same border crossing on charges of human rights abuse, for trying to have the boy smuggled into the country.

The man, who is from the Ivory Coast, lives legally with the boy’s mother and sister on Spain’s Canary Islands, but his son lacked permission to join them there because the family’s income was deemed too low.

Immigration authorities have now granted the boy authorisation to live in Spain for one year “for extraordinary reasons” allowed for under the law, a spokesman for the central government representative in Ceuta said.

The boy has been staying at a centre for underage migrants in Ceuta and he can now be turned over to his mother once DNA tests ordered by a judge prove that they are biologically related.

At the same time a Spanish

court ruled that the boy’s father will remain in custody while the case is investigated because of the possible risk that he may flee.

Ali Ouattara’s lawyer Juan Isidro Fernandez Diaz has said his client did not know the boy would be smuggled in a suitcase, believing that he would cross the border with his Ivory Coast passport and that a visa would be bought.

Thousands of migrants each year risk their lives trying to enter Ceuta and another Spanish territory bordering Morocco, Melilla, in search of a better life in Europe.

Many Africans try to scramble over the seven-meter (23-foot) fences that separate the Spanish cities from Morocco.

Others smuggle themselves over the border hidden in vehicles and cargoes or try to swim or sail from shores on the Moroccan side.

Canada’s expulsion of mentally ill Jamaican ‘inhuman’: UN Geneva, Switzerland (AFP) Thursday 5/21/2015 – Canada’s deportation of a mentally ill Jamaican man who had lived in the country for three decades constitutes “cruel and inhuman treatment”, a UN watchdog said Thursday. Canada’s 2011 decision to deport the man, identified in the media as 52-yearold Audley Horace Gardner, left him “without the medical and family support he depended on,” the UN Human Rights Committee ruled.

The 18-member committee called on Canada to allow Gardner to return to the country if he wished and to give him adequate

compensation.

He had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 1993, and Canadian authorities deported him in August 2011 over “serious criminality”, including his conviction six years earlier for assault with a weapon. Gardner came to Canada when he was aged 18. The Genevabased committee, which oversees countries’ adherence to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, said Canada had a right to protect the general public, but stressed that Gardner’s crimes were recognised to be related to his mental illness.

The Jamaican had been evicted from his home in 2005, and experts said he subsequently faced difficulties in accessing medicines and suffered psychotic relapses.

The committee said his deportation breached the international covenant that stipulates: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”.

Canadian authorities had argued that the deportation was needed on security grounds and was “reasonable in the circumstances and proportionate to the gravity of the crimes committed, and the danger posed to the Canadian public.”

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, May 27 - June 2, 2015

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MOTORING Americans tweet, text, surf ... while driving Wednesday May 20 2015 (Washington-AFP) - It’s not just texting: American motorists admit to surfing the Web, posting tweets and even taking selfies while behind the wheel, a new survey shows.

The poll released by AT&T as part of a safety campaign found almost seven out of 10 US smartphone users acknowledged some kind of smartphone activity while driving.

That included 61 percent who texted, 33 percent who read or sent emails, 27 percent who used Facebook and 14 percent who viewed or posted on Twitter. More than one in four had surfed the Web behind the wheel, 17 percent said they had

Autonomous braking really does cut car crashes Sunday May 24 2015 (Relaxnews) - If you’re in the market for a new car, new research highlights why you should pick one that comes with autonomous emergency braking (AEB).

Thatcham, the UKbased automotive technology and research body has been studying insurance claims to discern if the technology is already making a tangible difference to road safety. It found that third-party injury claims are 45% lower on drivers of the latest-generation VW Golf – which comes with AEB as standad – than on an equivalent vehicles, such as a Ford Fiesta or Audi A3.

“When we saw figures based on an initial small sample, we were surprised, as they exceeded our own performance testing. However the figures held up, even after almost doubling the sample group,” said Matthew Avery, Director of Safety at Thatcham Research.

AEB systems are designed to scan the road ahead for signs of a potential collision, and perform an emergency stop if the car is traveling at lower speeds, typically below 50km/h or 30km/h, depending on the system in question.

“Low-speed bumps and shunts account for three-quarters of all collisions, typically at speeds of under 20mph (32kph) in city driving scenarios. This is where AEB systems perform best, avoiding crashes of up to 15mph (25kph) and reducing the severity of those up to 25mph (40km/h). This includes collisions at junctions, roundabouts and in stopstart traffic where one car runs into the back of another,” said Avery.

Thatcham’s UK-only findings come at the same time that Euro NCAP, the European organization tasked with crash-testing new cars, published the results of its first research into autonomous vehicle safety systems. Working in partnership with its Australian counterpart, the ANCAP, the organizations pooled their ‘realworld’ data and discovered that there is a 38% overall reduction in rearend crashes for vehicles fitted with an autonomous emergency braking system.

Dr Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP, said: “These findings strongly support our decision to make AEB technology a key discriminator in the safety rating of new vehicles.”

taken a “selfie” picture with their phone during their driving and 12 percent had recorded a video.

Other activities on the road included using Instagram, Snapchat or videochat services, the survey found.

Among the other findings: 62 percent keep their smartphones within easy reach while driving, 30 percent of people who post to Twitter while driving do it “all the time” and 22 percent who access social networks while driving cite addiction as a reason.

The survey released Tuesday by AT&T polled 2,067 adult smartphone users and was conducted by Braun Research.

AT&T said it would use the

findings to boost awareness of the dangers of smartphone use behind the wheel under its “It Can Wait” campaign.

The carrier plans a nationwide virtual reality tour to help people understand that it’s not possible to drive safely while using a smartphone.

“When we launched ‘It Can Wait’ five years ago, we pleaded with people to realize that no text is worth a life,” said AT&T global marketing officer Lori Lee. “The same applies to other smartphone activities that people are doing while driving. For the sake of you and those around you, please keep your eyes on the road, not on your phone.”

A poll released by AT&T found almost seven out of 10 US smartphone users acknowledged some kind of smartphone activity while driving. ©Victorpr/shutterstock.com

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KITCHENOMICS Give outdoor fare a kick of heat (Family Features) Gathering around the grill never gets old, but standard burgers and bland sides do. Throwing in an unexpected mix of sweet and heat is the key to transforming traditional foods into mouth-watering masterpieces.

To kick things up a notch this summer, bring flavor and spice to your outdoor fare with simple recipes using extraordinary sauces. Aged cayenne pepper, red chili peppers and garlic are savory additions that can easily elevate the flavor of any item on or off the grill, especially in burgers and dips.

A great summer burger is all

about the toppings. Revolutionize a basic bacon burger into a Spicy Crunchy Burger with Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce, which is made with a premium blend of aged cayenne peppers that adds a kick of heat and a whole lot of flavor.

While you wait for the grill to heat up, score extra points with your hungry guests by offering a quick and creamy dip. Again, the secret is in the sauce – in this case, Frank’s RedHot Sweet Chili Sauce, a slightly sweet, pulpy and zesty sauce made with fresh chilies. Just combine and serve with crackers, chips or vegetables for a snack that has just the right

amount of sweet and heat to make taste buds come alive.

For more grilling and summer recipes, visit www.FranksRedHot.com.

Spicy Crunch Burger 1 ½ pounds ground beef 6 slices American cheese 6 hamburger rolls or Kaiser rolls, split 6 tablespoons Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce 12 slices bacon, cooked 1 cup French’s Crispy Fried Onions Lettuce and tomato, optional Form ground beef into 6 burgers.

Grill burgers over high heat until juices run clear (160°F internal temperature).

Top each burger with one slice cheese and cook until cheese melts.

Arrange burgers on rolls. Top with Frank’s RedHot sauce, bacon and crispy fried onions, and add lettuce and tomato, if desired.

Sweet Chili Cream Cheese Dip 1 cup Frank’s RedHot Sweet Chili Sauce 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened Place cream cheese on serving dish.

Pour Frank’s RedHot Sweet Chili Sauce evenly over cream cheese.

Serve with crackers, chips or vegetables.

Celebrate dad with grilling and golf (Family Features) This year for Father’s Day, skip the tacky tie and give dad something he truly wants – quality time with the kids who gave him such an honorable title.

Plan an intimate family gathering with all his favorite foods and a few special touches that reflect his other passions in life, such as golf.

Let dad savor some grilled goodness (and a healthy dose of antioxidants) with colorful fruit and veggie kabobs. Healthy, hydrating watermelon is the star ingredient of these colorful skewers, which also include marinated chunks of pork.

Add a low-calorie, fat-free side by serving watermelon balls in a fun golf ball-shaped vessel carved from a watermelon rind.

For more recipes and carving ideas using versatile watermelon, visit www.watermelon.org.

Pork and Watermelon Kabobs Servings: 8 6 tablespoons brown sugar 6 tablespoons soy sauce 6 tablespoons diced red onion 3 garlic cloves, minced 3 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon olive oil ¼ teaspoon ground thyme Pepper to taste 1 pound boned, lean pork chop, cut into 1-inch cubes (approximately 38-40 pieces) 32 cubes watermelon (1 inch each), plus extra for garnish if desired 16-24 zucchini rounds (1/2 inch) 16 pineapple chunks, fresh or canned (1 inch each) 24 yellow or orange peppers chunks (1 inch each, approximately 3-4 peppers total) Cooking spray Sesame seeds for garnish

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FHM wants pregnant Marian to join ‘sexiest’ bash?

It’s been done before, notably by Hollywood actress Demi Moore, who agreed to pose in the nude even while she was pregnant.

But Marian Rivera is not likely to follow suit.

The expectant mom said she has already decided not to join year’s FHM party even if she tops the men’s magazine poll of sexiest women.

Aside from her condition, Rivera said she is also thinking of her husband, actor Dingdong Dantes.

“Actually napag-usapan namin ‘yan ng FHM at saka ng management ko. Naka-receive ako ng letter sa management.

Sabi ko huwag na, tama na. Kahit lumalabas sa FHM – kung palarin ulit ako, may bumoto ulit sa akin at maging number one ako, for example – hindi ko kayang rumampa. Mahiya naman ako sa asawa ko, buntis pa ako. So huwag na muna,” Rivera said at a press conference for this year’s PEP List.

Rivera and Dantes were hailed the Pepsters’ Choice for Newsmaker of the Year.

Rivera admitted that a lot of things have changed after she got married last December.

“Iba ang buhay ng may asawa, iba ang buhay ng buntis,” she said.

“Nagpapasalamat ako sa lahat ng biyayang ipinagkaloob sa akin ng Panginoon pero ito talaga ang buhay na pinapangarap ko at inaasamasam ko – ang ikasal at magkaroon ng isang anak at magkaroon ng pamilya. ‘Yun talaga.”

Mike Hanopol to become first Filipino rabbi MANILA, May 23 (Mabuhay) – OPM icon Mike Hanopol revealed that he is set to be ordained as the first Filipino rabbi in 2016.

On the sidelines of his May 14 reunion concert at the Hard Rock Cafe in Makati with other music legends Wally Gonzales and Rene Garcia, Hanopol revealed the culmination of his life with excitement.

In the ‘70s, he belatedly discovered his Jewish roots when his father was introduced to the Russian Hanopol family in New York. From Kiev, they were forced to migrate to the United States due to the persecution of Jews in the 1920s.

For more than a decade now, Hanopol has been teaching Judaism to Filipinos seeking a new spiritual way of life.

More famous for his anthems “Laki Sa Layaw (Jeproks),” “Balong Malalim” and other songs, Hanopol started as a band member and later formed the trailblazing Juan dela Cruz band with Gonzales and Joey “Pepe” Smith.

His prolific career also includes the ‘70s disco album of the macho group Hagibis, which he produced and recorded with his own vocals.

Hanopol sees no conflict with Judaism and his music, emphasizing that everything is “God’s never-ending creation.”

(MNS)

“Sabi ko nga, ‘yung showbiz parte ng buhay ko, minahal ko ‘yan.

Madami akong nakilala madami akong natutunan.

Diyan ko nakilala ang asawa ko. Pero, at the end of the day, ang importante sa akin ay nagkaroon ako ng pamilya at bubuuin ko pa siya at gusto ko madaming anak. ‘Yun ang pangarap ko.

Madaming adjustment kasi marami kang kailangang isacrifice eh,” added Rivera, who recently also gave up her role in a TV series.

“Mas importante sa akin

(MNS)

na maging healthy ‘yung anak ko, hindi ako mapuyat, ‘di ako ma-stress. Sabi ko nga ang soap, madali ‘yan.

Kahit next year kaya kong gawin pero kapag may mangyari sa anak ko, ‘di ko mapapatawad ang sarili ko.

So mas pipiliin ko na safe siya,” Rivera explained.

Rivera also said Dantes is fully supportive of her decision to put her showbiz career on hold.

“Naku baka umiyak pa ako,” she said, as she recalled their conversation on the topic. “Bihira daw

ang babaeng igi-give up ang lahat para magkaroon ng pamilya. Nagpapasalamat siya sa Panginoon na natanggap niya ang babaeng ‘yon. Sumisipa po ang anak ko, nasiyahan.”

Rivera and Dantes are set to find out the gender of their baby next week.

Asked if they would allow their child to be a celebrity baby, Rivera said: “Naku huwag na muna mag-aral na muna siya. Depende din po kasi. Pero sa ngayon ang punto ko sa buhay ko, sa naranasan ko sa showbiz, gus-

to ko ang anak ko ay magaral muna. Ewan ko sa tatay niya, mukhang stage father si Dong. Mas mukha siyang stage father kaysa sa akin.”

“Minsan mahirap pangunahan ang mga bagay-bagay. Malay mo kapag lumabas ang anak ko, ayaw niya maging artista. Malay mo, doktor ang gusto niya,” she continued.

“So hintayin ang paglaki niya. Basta kami ni Dong ay susuportahan namin siya.

Mamahalin namin siya at papalakihin namin siya ng maayos,” Rivera vowed.

Marian Rivera

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Longer, stronger: Study reveals more reasons to take your vitamin E

Fast heart rate could point to diabetes risk Friday May 22 2015 (Relaxnews) – Researchers from the US and China have found an association between resting heart rate and diabetes that could help identify those with a higher future risk for the disease.

In a study of 73,357 Chinese adults, they found that faster heart rates were associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes, as well as impaired fasting glucose levels.

More precisely, according to study senior author Xiang Gao of Penn

State University, “Each additional 10 beats per minute was associated with 23 percent increased risk of diabetes, similar to the effects of a 3 kilogram per meter square increase in body mass index.”

They then combined their results with those of seven previous studies and found that those with a fast heart rate had a 59 percent increased risk of diabetes compared to those with a slow heart rate. The results were published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

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Researchers have identified a fast heart rate as a possible risk factor for diabetes. © haveseen/shutterstock.com

Saturday May 23 2015 (Relaxnews) – Long established as a powerful antioxidant, vitamin E is important for the membrane that envelops your muscle cells, promoting proper healing from the natural tears that take place when you work out, according to a new study.

“Every cell in your body has a plasma membrane, and every membrane can be torn,” says corresponding author Dr. Paul L. McNeil, cell biologist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.

The study, which was published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine, has implications for muscular dystrophy, traumatic brain injury, common diabetes-related muscle weakness and – of course – body builders.

“Part of how we build muscle is a more natural tearing and repair process – that is the no pain, no gain portion – but if that repair doesn’t occur, what you get is muscle cell death,” says McNeil.

“If that occurs over a long period of time, what you get is muscle-wasting disease.”

Working with rats, McNeil and his team established their natural ability to run downhill on a treadmill, a challenging exercise called eccentric contraction and it helps lengthen muscles, according to the study.

Next, they fed them either normal rodent chow, chow in which the naturally occurring vitamin E had been filtered out, or a diet lacking in vitamin E save for a synthetic supplement.

Vitamin E deficient rats had trouble running compared to their healthy counterparts and were more likely to visit a rest area despite receiving a mild electric shock upon doing so.

The research team administered a colorant that they believed was incapable of passing through the muscle cells’ plasma membranes, yet it did so in the vitamin E deficient rats.

When comparing the quadriceps muscle fibers of the rats fed normal chow against those of the rats that had been fed vitamin E supplemented chow, the research team found little difference.

The important thigh muscle fibers in the vitamin E deficient rats were smaller and inflamed compared to those in the two other groups.

Dry roasted sunflower seeds, almonds, cooked spinach and safflower oil are all examples of foods rich in vitamin E, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

What’s more, overdoing vitamin E is not the same health concern that excess of other vitamins can be, according to a 2013study from Oregon State University in the US. “Toxic levels of vitamin E in the body simply do not occur,” says author Maret Traber of OSU, an internationally recognized expert on vitamin E. “Unlike some other fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A and D, it’s not possible for toxic levels of vitamin E to accumulate in the liver or other tissues.”

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FALLEN HEROES

From page 1

The forum was organized in light of the recent release of the Valley Fault System (VFS) Atlas by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), which mapped the areas affected by earthquake faults in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. The VFS is composed of two segments: the East Valley Fault running through Rizal, and the West Valley Fault, running through Bulacan, Rizal, Metro Manila, Cavite, and Laguna.

PHIVOLCS has previously warned about possible impending activity from the West Valley Fault. The West Valley Fault could possibly generate a mag-

From page 1

nitude 7.2 earthquake, almost as strong as the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Nepal last month, while the East Valley Fault could generate a magnitude 6.2 earthquake.

Tolentino said that a highmagnitude earthquake could end up devastating Metro Manila.

In case of a magnitude 7.2 earthquake from the West Valley Fault, 31,000 to 33,500 people could die, according to estimates based on previous studies conducted by PHIVOLCS in partnership with the the Metro Manila Development Authority, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and Geosciences Australia.

AUSTRALIA From page 1

The Queensland Nurses’ Union, which helped campaign on their behalf, said the pair were yet to be officially notified of the decision but were thrilled with the news.

“A formal and final sign-off from Minister Dutton’s office in coming weeks will bring to an end many months of uncertainty and stress,” union secretary Beth Mohle said.

“We all appreciate the minister’s compassion on this issue and look forward to celebrating the

final approval of Maria and Tyrone’s permanent visas.”

Australia takes a hard line against asylum-seekers arriving by boat, refusing them resettlement in the country even if found to be refugees and sending them instead to Pacific states.

Australia generally requires applicants seeking a visa to meet certain health criteria designed to protect the community’s standard of public health and safety, health expenditure and access to services.

FLY OVER From page 1

reveal all your moves to the other coach,” he said.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have competing claims to parts of the South China Sea. All claimants but Brunei have military facilities on Spratly islands that they control.

Philippine Air Force spokesman Colonel Enrico Canaya said its planes flew over the sea, including the route taken by the US Navy plane.

He declined to give more details.

The Philippine civil aviation authority said local carriers also flew over parts of the sea that were considered international air lanes.

Meanwhile, in another sign of growing Philippine security con-

cerns, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said he would ask Japan for defense equipment during an upcoming visit to that country.

“My agenda, when my group speaks with the Japanese officials... is the probability of transferring military equipment,” he told reporters.

Gazmin, who will accompany Aquino on a visit to Japan next month, said that details of the type of equipment, as well as other forms of cooperation, were still being ironed out.

The Philippines, which has one of the weakest militaries in the region and has been seeking defense assistance from other countries, earlier this month held its first bilateral naval exercise with Japan.

war politics that have pervaded Washington for a generation and which are still alive today.

“For many of us, this Memorial Day is especially meaningful; it is the first since our war in Afghanistan came to an end,” he said.

“Today is the first Memorial

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Day in 14 years that the United States is not engaged in a major ground war.”

The Nobel Prize-winning president fulfilled an election promise to wind down the wars in Afghanistan that killed 2,200 Americans and Iraq where there are now fewer than 10,000 non-combat troops.

But Monday’s comments come

as criticism of his actions in Iraq reach a fresh crescendo.

Republicans in particular accuse Obama of creating a dangerous power vacuum that has been filled by jihadists from the Islamic State group.

The group now controls swaths of Iraq and Syria and looks poised for further offensives against an outmatched Iraqi army.

Laundering Council’s to undertake such actions.

Binay is being investigated by the Ombudsman and a Senate blue ribbon subcommittee for several controversies, including the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall Building II and Makati Science High School, and an allegedly disadvantageous land deal between the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and Alphaland.

Binay is the opposition’s presumptive standard-bearer in 2016. He is the only politician who has formally declared his intention to seek the presidency next year. Shortly after Aquino’s in-

terview on Monday morning, Binay already released a statement thanking the President for what he said.

Although he said that he has yet to get an official copy of the AMLC report on his frozen bank accounts, Binay said that he can answer the council’s findings. “I am very confident that we can debunk all the false, erroneous, and misleading conclusions of AMLC, which is just part of a conspiracy of the Liberal Party to unleash government agencies against my family and private individuals in their efforts to malign me,” Binay said.

alliance for the 2016 polls. The President said he is open to the possibility of Poe running in tandem with Roxas. The President declined to answer when asked to choose if he is more inclined to support a Roxas-Poe or a PoeRoxas tandem.

Aquino, who chairs the LP, further said that he may have to push back his announcement of his preferred successor to July to

be able to conduct more consultations. “There might be a little more delay when we announce, probably after the SONA [State of the Nation Address]… We just want this dialogue to be as thorough and encompassing as possible with all the sectors that are involved in the coalition,” he said.

Aquino had earlier said he is planning to announce his presidential bet by end-June. (MNS)

in the DDS, Duterte urged the group to come to Davao in a faceoff in court.

“Gusto ko sila pumunta dito. (I want them to come here). File directly in court. Then I’ll place you under oath. Just execute an affidavit. Then I’ll call you when it’s my time for cross-examination.

And I will show to the world how stupid you are,” the mayor said.

The HRW said that Duterte should be investigated because he has “continued to espouse the kill-

ing of criminal suspects to combat crime” in Davao City.

“The long official tolerance of Duterte’s advocacy of summary killings as effective crime-fighting strategy needs to stop. The government should send an unambiguous message to Duterte and other officials that support for extrajudicial killings results in an investigation – not in speaking tours,” HRW deputy Asia director Phelim Kline said in a statement.

(MNS)

VP BINAY From page 1

depend on how he will defend himself from accusations that he was involved in corrupt practices when he was Makati mayor.

“Iyong the impression has been that he has been at the forefront of the challenge, if we look at all of the surveys. At the same time, I think that question rest on his ability to be able to answer all of the allegations that he is being confronted with at this present time,” he said. Last week, 242 bank accounts belonging to Binay, his family members and his supposed allies were reported frozen, after the Court of Appeals granted a petition from the Anti-Money

MAR TOP LIST From page 1

list,.”

LP leaders have consistently identified Roxas as their standard-bearer for the 2016 polls, despite him lagging behind pre-election presidential popularity polls.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, the opposition’s presumptive standard-bearer, and Senator Grace Poe remain as top choices in these surveys. Aquino recently met with Poe to discuss a possible

DUTERTE From page 1

mains firm in his mission to kill everyone “who makes the lives of Filipinos miserable.” “Papatayin ko talaga kayo (I will kill you),” he stressed, referring to criminals.

“I will kill all of you who make the lives of Filipinos miserable. I won because of the breakdown in law and order,” he said.

Meanwhile, after calling the Human Rights Watch a “hypocrite” following the group’s statement urging the Philippine government to probe his alleged role