Old clients sell properties in PHL without going home

As an accredited and commissioned Notary Public and a licensed Real Estate Broker in California (DRE #00635976) since 1981, I’m delighted to know that two of our old clients were able to sell their properties back home without traveling to the Philippines.

Last week, Lawrence and his wife, clients from Vallejo/North Bay had an appointment with me in our home office in San Francisco for the signing and notarization of Special Power of Attorney (SPA) needed in the sale of several parcels of land and house and lot located in Dumangas, Iloilo and Iloilo City.

During preliminaries, Lawrence informed me that their property in Pangasinan was already sold through the Special Power of Attorney I notarized and had apostille follow-up at the Secretary of State, Notary Public Section, in Sacramento the other month.

“Nabenta na pala yung property ko sa Pangasinan. Salamat sa inyong tulong sa pagnotarize at pag-apostille ng Special Power of Attorney. (My property in Pangasinan was already sold. Thank you for your help in the notarization and apostille follow-up of the Special Power of Attorney).

Mabilis pala ang pagbenta. Hindi na kailangan ang escrow kagaya dito sa California.. (It was quick to sell. There was no need for escrow unlike here in California.)

“Malaking conveniente at savings dahil hindi na kami umuwi sa Pilipinas,” (It was very convenient and we got savings because we didn’t’ go to the Philippines anymore).

Last week, Patricia and her 89-year-old husband, another old clients from South San Francisco/Peninsula, called Mobile Signing Services (MSS) for the signing and notarization of Special Power of Attorney (SPA) needed in the sale of their property in Las Pinas City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

I met Patricia and her husband last Saturday, November 11, 2023 for the signing and notarization of the SPA prepared by their lawyer. After some preliminaries, Patricia informed me the good news.

“Nabenta na yung property namin Art. Itong SPA na lang ang kailangan para matapos ang bentahan (We just sold our property Art. We only need this SPA to complete the sale.).

“Salamat sa inyong tulong dahil hindi na kami makalabas. “(Thank you for your help because we can’t go out anymore).

I had Patricia and her elderly husband signed the SPA prepared by their lawyer. Then I had them sign my Journal of Notarial Acts and put their right thumb marks.

After notarization, my beloved wife Virginia Jimenez Madlaing and I submitted the notarized SPA for apostille at the Secretary of State Notary Public Section, in Sacramento, California last Tuesday, November 14, 2023. We waited at the Front Desk for the release of the apostilled SPA in the afternoon.

We subsequently delivered the apostilled SPA to Patricia at their residence in South San Francisco, California. Patricia and her elderly husband were very happy for the prompt, efficient and complete services at MSS.

We, at MSS, are committed and dedicated to assist and help old and new clients, especially the elderly, veterans and those physically handicapped, in the signing and notarization of Affidavits, Special Power of Attorney (SPA) DEED OF ABSOLUTE SALE, Proof of Life, Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate, DEED OF DONATION, Parental Travel Permit (PTP) and other documents needed in the Philippines and the other member nations of the Hague Apostille Convention. Here are some advantages and benefits of MSS:

1. AVOID TAKE OFF FROM WORK – You don’t need to take off from work and drive to Sacramento, California just to submit notarized documents for apostille at the Secretary of State, Notary Public Section. MSS will take care everything for you just like what we did for Patricia and her elderly husband.

2. DISCOUNTS FOR THE ELDERLY AND VETERANS –We offer special discounts for the elderly and veterans.

3. VERY FLEXIBLE APPOINTMENTS – We have very flexible appointments for old and new clients during regular office hours, after office hours and weekends except on Sundays.

4. FREE PARKING – When we had our Office at the Philippine Center near the Philippine Consulate Office, our old clients were complaining for the expensive parking fees. With our home office in San Francisco, California, old and new clients can now have FREE parking in our driveway and the available street parking spaces nearby.

5. FLEXIBLE LOCATIONS - For those who can’t come to our home office in San Francisco, we can do signing and notarization in the privacy of homes (like what we did to Patricia and her elderly husband), offices, hospitals, schools, BART lobby, restaurants, Post Office Station lobby and other locations.

6. SAVINGS ON GAS AND MILEAGE FEES – For those who can drive, we encourage old and new clients to come to our home office in San Francisco, California for savings on gas and mileage fees. Lawrence and his wife drove to San Francisco and came to our home office for savings of $90 on gas and mileage fees.

They’re both lying

There are two persons widely believed to be eyeing the presidency after Bongbong Marcos. Unfortunately, both are playing coy about their future plans. Actually, they’re plainly out and out lying about what they want to happen when Marcos Jr steps down.

The two are none other than Vice President Sara Duterte and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. In the past few days, both have stated that they have no interest in running for president in 2028.

Accidents happen, for better or for worse – the Alvarico way!

Yes, they do happen, for better or for worse! In the case of 2024 California Teacher of the Year Joseph Alvarico, it happened for the better.

Beting Dolor

I have a compound word for their statements. Half of the word is bull and the other half is sh!t.

The pair are typical Filipino politicians who say one thing and mean the exact opposite.

When the time comes, they will both claim that they have no choice but to heed the clamor of the Filipino people.

They are typical of the worse of the worst of Filipino politicians who believe it’s some kind of crime to be honest and say that yes, they would like to be president.

In a perfect world, targeting the presidency is a valid goal for politicians who have a record to fall back on. All they need do is to convince the electorate that they are the best person to handle the extremely difficult job.

In some rare instances, they can be honest just like then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. He did say that the people would regret electing him to the highest post in the land, and he was absolutely right.

What Duterte did not say was that he was a maniac who had no respect for human rights and who was perfectly willing to sell the country down the drain to China. Oh, and his spiritual leader was a money hungry lecher who would be involved in all sorts of crimes in the US.

There was also some uncomfortable talk by both Digong and Sara involving rape, which made for some very awkward conjecture regarding father and daughter. But everything that Daddy Duterte actually did was bothersome enough, and practically says that he did not raise any of his kids right.

Sara has not helped when her actions from the start said that she was more than willing to take a job that had a huge budget and for which she had no qualifications.

Assuming the Education portfolio which has either the biggest or second biggest budget among all government agencies was something that didn’t quite smell right.

To paraphrase an old saying, if it looks like a skunk and it acts like a skunk, it must be awful smelly.

At least Sara did not get the Defense portfolio that she was originally eyeing. Marcos Jr may not be the sharpest knife in the kitchen, but at least he knew enough not to give her what is turning out to be the single most important portfolio these days.

I shudder to think what she would have been capable of had she been named Defense chief. The country would have taken multiple steps to become a province of China, for sure.

During the budget hearings, Sara showed that she was capable of not lying but also not speaking the truth. Her flaws became all too obvious when she refused to answer the simplest of questions, preferring to pass the buck to her undersecretaries and assistant secretaries.

The Speaker, on the other hand, has been playing it smart, if also quite devious.

Romualdez has stated the standard replies to most questions asked of his future plans. He says again and again that the job of Speaker is the most important task at hand. Correct, of course. It’s the best generic reply that he can give.

But his actions – done in his behalf by his subalterns – show that he is paving the way to a presidential run, and it all began with demoting Sara’s #1 supporter, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Romualdez knows that the sly ex-president is more than capable of playing dirty, which is why he originally gave her a cushy sounding title at the House, then demoting her twice.

Romualdez has also cut the already short lady down to size by pirating the majority of Macapagal-Arroyo’s partymates to join his Lakas-CMD. The PDP Laban of Arroyo and Duterte senior used to have more than a hundred congressmen in its fold. Now there are only 15 left, and that number is expected to shrink further.

Thus, Sara’s hold on the House of Representatives is so weak now that loose talk of impeaching her may come to fruition sooner rather than later.

Sara’s hold on power has become so precarious that Daddy Digong last week warned that the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police were “uneasy” now, even as he further warned that the Speaker was forging links with the underground communist movement in preparation for 2028.

Alvarico is a FilAm resident of Antioch, California and an engineering teacher and robotics instructor at Ygnacio Valley High School. He was selected one of five 2024 California Teachers of the Year, according to Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey.

Mackey acknowledged that Alvarico’s achievement made the county proud and served as a living example of quality education in the area. “I am proud that one of our Contra Costa County teachers of the year has been named one of the state’s top educators. Joseph is a great example of the high-quality teaching and learning going on in Contra Costa County schools every day and it’s a great honor for him to be selected as a California Teacher of the Year. Congratulations to him, his colleagues and Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) for the support they have given him throughout this process and the career,” Superintendent Mackey said.

Alvarico was born in his parent’s ancestral home in Guiguinto, Bulacan but was raised in Manila where he took his elementary and high school in private and public schools.

His parents Oscar and Gloria Alvarico are both public school teachers in Metro Manila, but Joseph never dreamed of being one like them until such time that he got a full scholarship in De La Salle University.

In a telephone interview in his residence in Antioch, he said that he landed as an educator just like his parents by accident. “Actually, I applied at DLSU to take up medicine, but I was informed by the admissions office that with both parents in public school as teachers it may not sustain a medical course at DSLU. However, when they saw my grades in my high school in Manila Science High School, they offered me a full scholarship on condition that I have to take education courses and teach in the university for at least a year after graduation. I agreed and that’s how, by accident, I landed in education, although after teaching for a year, I learned to love the profession.”

While under scholarship, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (BS-Biology) and a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education (BSSE).

Alvarico went to Francisco Balagtas Elementary School; Manila Science High School; and De La Salle University - Manila.

His students were lucky because he combined real world experiences with his on-the-job training in the tech industry into his lessons beyond what the book says because to him “teaching is more than just textbooks.” He spent many years in instructing his middle and high school students in the subject of robotics at Ygnacio Valley High School belonging to the Mt. Diablo Unified School; district (MDUSD). He spent time with them building robots and joining robotic competitions in the district and neighboring communities. His strength as a teacher is involving his community. He said: “I work with non-profit organizations (like Mount Diablo Education Foundation, Rotary Club, and Bay Area LEEDS); large and mid-size corporations (Chevron, Marathon, PG & E, Bishop Wisecarver); and local businesses to bring industry partners in my classroom for guest speaking, informational interviews, mentorship, and internships. These community collaborators also help with providing funds for the different programs I run in school.”

Alvarico said “My job experiences while I was in the Philippines were: Philippine Cultural High School - high school biology teacher (1996-1997); Chiang Kai Shek College high school biology teacher (1997 - 2000); Programmer for Fujitsu; and Technology Integration Specialist for Net Curricula, Inc.; and Multimedia Designer for Universal Worker, Inc.

I currently work for the Mount Diablo Unified School District as an engineering teacher at Ygnacio Valley High School. I am the advisor for the FIRST Robotics team 7137, Femineer - an all-girls engineering club, and Interact - Rotary International’s service club for young people. I am also the coordinator for the College and Career Access Pathway (CCAP) STEM at Ygnacio Valley High. The CCAPSTEM program is a dual enrollment program in partnership with Diablo Valley College, where students earn college credits while in high school. I am also an adjunct professor at DVC.”

He is also an adjunct faculty at Diablo Valley College.

He worked for four years at De La salle University and then spent four years in the tech industry. He was employed as a programmer, a graphic designer and as a Trainor for teachers by a start-up company, NetCurriculla based in MM, sending teachers and nurses abroad.

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7. DISCOUNTS ON MULTIPLE DOCUMENTS AND MULTIPLE SIGNATURES – We offer 5% to 10% discounts for old and new clients on multiple documents and

He, or course, should be the last one to talk. During his time as Davao City mayor, Digong Duterte openly welcomed the New People’s Army top his turf, going so far as to attend the founding anniversary of the armed wing of the

He also worked at Universal Worker, a company involved in nurse recruitment abroad, doing print ads, preparing curriculum for nurses and producing multimedia materials. “It is here where I saw the ad from Mt. Diablo looking for teachers. As a media tech submitting materials to the various daily newspapers for publication, I buy the copies and submit the ad materials for publication myself. I responded to the ad and then Mt. Diablo recruiter came to the Philippines to interview me. Then the rest is history,” Alvarico said.

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Alvarico is married with one child (Continue on page 20)