LOS ANGELES
Regine Velasquez relishes close bond with stepdaughter Leila Alcasid See ENTERTAINMENT, page 19
VOL. XXIII, NO. 58 LOS ANGELES
Feb. 25 - Mar. 03, 2017
The leading source of news and information for Filipino-Americans
NEARLY 1M ASIANS IN US UNDOCUMENTED
Asian Americans Advancing Justice calls new immigration action ‘unconscionable’ LOS ANGELES — “Unconscionable.” This was the response of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice) to the breaking news that Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly unveiled aimed at detaining and deporting many more immigrants living in the U.S. regardless of their ties to communities.
An overstaying immigrant from the Dominican Republic is escorted by ERO officers via an ICE Air Ops charter flight on his way back to the Dominican Republic. ICE says the deportee entered the United States legally, but failed to depart the U.S. as required.
The Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations said, “Asian Americans Advancing Justice is outraged that under the guise of national security, the administration is yet again scapegoating immigrants,” that could affect some “900,000 undocumented Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI)
in this country and many more AAPI immigrants who all contribute to their families, communities and our economy.” The group said the administration has outlined a mass deportation action targeting all immigrants, including those on student visas, work visas, and the undocumentSee UNDOCUMENTED, page 8
Speaker: De Lima arrest a victory on war vs drugs MANILA, Feb. 23 (PNA) – House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Thursday night said the issuance of a warrant of arrest against Senator Leila De Lima over drug charges is a victory in the government’s relentless war against drugs. “The issuance by the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court of a warrant of arrest for Sen. Leila De Lima for her alleged participation in the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison was a victory of the war against drugs,” Alvarez said in a statement. Alvarez claimed that this is also proof that the country’s criminal justice system is working.
The House of Representatives led a congressional inquiry last October into the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City. Several inmates-turned-witnesses tagged the embattled lady senator as having received millions in drug kickbacks in a bid to allegedly bankroll her campaign kitty. “The House inquiry in aid of legislation into the matter where witnesses tagged her as having received millions from convicted drug lords purportedly for her senatorial (bid) yielded enough evidence to show that indeed she has violated the Dangerous Drugs Act,” See DE LIMA ARREST, page 8
Lascañas’ new testimony a ‘slap in the face’ to Senate By Azer N. Parrocha MANILA, Feb. 22 (PNA) – Senators who voted against opening a probe into the new testimony of retired SPO3 Arthur Lascañas – alleged head of the so-called vigilante group Davao Death Squad -- on Wednesday said that the move was a “slap in the face” to the Senate. Among them was Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate Committee on Justice, who previously led the Senate probe into the alleged extrajudicial killings last year. His
committee report later ruled out any proof of a death squad and state-sponsored killings. In the previous hearing on October 2016, Lascañas denied the existence of a death squad. However, on Monday (February 20), the retired cop retracted his first testimony and claimed that there was indeed a death squad hired to kill criminals and non-criminals in Davao City. “It’s not a slap in the face to Dick Gordon, it’s a slap in the face to the Senate,” Gordon See LASCANAS, page 8
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Senator Leila De Lima tries to hold off tears while giving a statement on her arrest warrant during a press conference at the Senate on Thursday (Feb. 23, 2017). De Lima said she will voluntarily surrender to authorities at the Senate on Friday morning and her lawyers would file remedies after the Regional Trial Court of Muntinlupa City issued on Thursday an arrest warrant over drug charges. (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)
First ASEAN ministers’ meeting highlights importance of regional unity By Karen V. Bermejo
BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan, Feb. 21 (PNA) – Foreign ministers of the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) underscored the need to maintain unity in the Southeast Asian region during their first meeting for this year’s summit. Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said that Southeast Asian ministers agreed on the need to maintain ASEAN centrality and unity during the ASEAN See UNITY, page 8
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