Wow Pilipinas Movement (WOW PILIPINAS)

128 days of Christmas Notary thumbprints and privacy issues

IF THERE IS ONE thing that I really miss in the Philippines, it is Christmas. It’s a day – nay, four months – of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Yes, Filipinos celebrate Christmas from September 1 to January 6, the Day of the Epiphany. It’s called the “Ber Months” because they all end with PerryScope “Ber” --September, October, PERRY DIAZ November, and December. It’s the longest Christmas season in the world. The season starts in earnest and picks up in December when most Filipinos will be in a festive spirit.

The Philippines has the largest population of Catholics (about 80%) and arguably the most religious. Going to mass on Sundays is a special day for Filipinos. Churches are jampacked with people – young and old. And Filipinos observe the Sabbath as God has commanded in his fourth commandment: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. For Catholics, Sunday is the Sabbath day. It’s a day of rest and worship. The four preceding Sundays mark the Advent, a period of spiritual preparation in which many Christians make themselves ready for the coming, or birth of Jesus Christ. Celebrating Advent involves a season of prayer, fasting, and abstinence (no meat on Fridays), and repentance. It is followed by anticipation, hope, and joy. But make no mistake, Filipinos start observing these Christian traditions way back in September.

Indeed, Christmas in the Philippines is truly one of a kind. The overwhelming amount of food and presents, it’s time to celebrate family, friends, and community. It’s also time to renew old friendships. Most family reunions, school reunions, and offi ce reunions happen during the Christmas season.

The Philippines also has adopted western traditions such as Santa Claus, Christmas trees, Christmas cards, and Christmas carols.

And come September the fi rst to go up are the nativity scenes – called the “Belen.” Most Filipino households will have their Belen set up early to signify the start of the Christmas festivity. Some towns hold competitions for the best Belen. A complete set of Belen is composed of baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the Three Kings. Some Belens have shepherds and barn animals.

Then the Christmas lanterns – parols -- start showing up in the windows of homes. The parol is a Christmas ornament unique in the Philippines and it is one of the most signifi cant and oldest Christmas traditions in the country.

It’s commonly star-shaped but they could come in every shape, color, and material imaginable. The parol was originally made to hang on lamp posts to guide mass-goers to Simbang Gabi -- which starts on December 16 -- but now the parol can be found everywhere like outside houses, in malls, and offi ces.

Simbang Gabi means “Night Mass.” Filipinos attend mass nine days before Christmas either at night or in the early hours of the morning. It’s a religious practice and Filipinos believe that attending all nine masses will grant them their wishes.

Getting up for Simbang Gabi makes you hungry. The two most popular treats are rice cakes (bibingka and puto bumbong), two delicacies that Filipinos love. They usually are sold outside churches after mass.

Simbang Gabi is also one of the longest running traditions in the country. This is a “must” for any devoted Christian to do, which is one of the most cultural experiences you can get. It is done to honor the Virgin Mary and the farmers who worked in the country during the Spanish colonization of the country. The farmers worked very early in the morning to avoid the heat of the sun at noon.

Caroling is very popular in the Philippines. Filipino kids form groups called “cumbanchero” and they go from house to house with their makeshift instruments. The adults are more formalized with some groups wearing a uniform of the same color and style. Of course the favorite color is red. Although caroling is a western tradition, it has become very popular among adults. The caroling group usually starts practicing in November. They get together every week on a Friday or Saturday evening at one of the members’ houses. As usual it’s a potluck and everybody brings his or her favorite food. They practice for two to three hours and then eat their food with gusto. It’s another feast day! (Continue on page 27) As founder of Mobile Signing Services(MSS)and accredited and commissioned Notary Public in California since 1981, I’ve encountered some old and new clients who asked me why I required them to put their right thumb marks in my Journal of Notarial Acts. ART GABOT MADLAING Health & Wealth

As answer and clarifi cation, I am sharing to our readers and the general public excerpts of the article “Notary Tip: Thumbprints and Privacy Issues” by Kelle Clarke published in the NNA (National Notary Association) monthly magazine for information and guidance.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, biometrics, such as thumbprints, are the “measurable biological (anatomical or physiological) or behavioral characteristics for the identifi cation of an individual.”

As a biometric identifi er, a signer’s thumbprint affi xed in a Journal of Notarial Acts off ers irrefutable identifi cation of the signer and helps Notaries prevent impersonation and/ or forgery.

It is for this reason that the practice is still heralded and required, particularly for transactions involving real estate and powers of attorney documents.

However, currently only one state, California, requires a journal thumbprint record for all documents aff ecting real estate, as well as all powers of attorney. (Government Code, Section 8206).

This strict requirement in California is for the protection of the general public, the customers and Notaries who are honest, ethical and professional.

It’s not just state governments that are seeking to regulate the collection of thumbprints. A couple of years ago, a major mortgage lender issued a bulletin prohibiting Notary Signing Agents handling its loans from collecting thumbprints in their journals if they did not have a Notary Commission in the states of California or Illinois.

In states that do not require Notaries to keep a journal and do not have a thumbprint requirement, such as Florida, Notaries may not refuse to notarize because a signer does not wish to provide a thumbprint.

Given this heightened caution about guarding personal identifying information, it is important for the Notaries as well as the clients to know ahead of time if their state allows or regulate the collection and usage of signer thumbprints and proceed accordingly.

ADVANTAGES AND BENEFITS OF MOBILE SIGNING SERVICES

We at the Mobile Signing Services (MSS) are committed and will continue to assist and help old and new clients particularly the veterans, elderly and those physically handicapped in the notarization and apostille follow- up of Affi davits, Power of Attorney, DEED OF DONATION, Proof of Life, Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate, DEED OF ABSOLUTE SALE and other documents needed in the Philippines and the other member nations of the Hague Apostille Convention. Here are some advantages and benefi ts with MSS:

AVOID TAKE OFF FROM WORK – You don’t need to take off from work and drive to Sacramento or Los Angeles just to submit notarized documents to the Secretary of State, Notary Public Section, for apostille. MSS will take care everything for you.

SAVINGS ON GAS AND MILEAGE FEES - We encourage all our old and new clients to come to our home offi ce in San Francisco, California for savings on gas and mileage fees ($50-$120).

DISCOUNTS FOR THE ELDERLY AND VETERANS – We off er special discounts to the ederly and veterans.

MULTIPLE DOCUMENTS AND MULTIPLE SIGNATURES DISCOUNT – We give 10% discount on multiple documents and multiple signatures for old and new clients.

VERY FLEXIBLE APPOINTMENTS - We off er very fl exible appointments for old and new clients during offi ce hours, after offi ce hours and weekends except on Sundays. For those who can’t come to our home offi ce in San Francisco, we can do notarization of documents in residences, offi ces, hospitals, schools, restaurants and other locations.

FREE PARKING – When we (Continue on page 27)

What’s wrong with PhilHealth?

“ So young, yet so corrupt.” Thus said Mayor Arsenio Lacson of the then 23-year-old Councilor Ernesto Maceda as he was fi ghting graft and corruption in Manila where the “Arsenic” was mayor from 1952 to 1962. That admonition was never proven, of course, and Maceda went on to become senator for many years and closed his political career as Senate President. “ VAL ABELGAS On Distant Shore The remark would most certainly also fi t an institution like the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), which was created in 1995 and at 26 years old, has been at the center of numerous scandals since 2007, when it was just 12 years old. The mess at PhilHealth came to the fore again last week when seven hospitals in Iloilo City said it would cut off ties with the state health insurance agency starting next month over unpaid claims amounting to over P545 million. That would mean even PhilHealth members would have to pay the full hospitalization bills to the hospitals.

Earlier, the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Medical Association, and the Philippine Hospital Association warned that their ties with PhilHealth was on the verge of collapse after it suspended payment of claims to the hospitals over allegatiuns of fraud. PhilHealth already owes hospitals more than P80 billion, according to PHA.

The hospital administrators said it is another excuse by PhilHealth offi cials to delay payment of claims, which were mostly for services rendered to Covid-19 patients. Hospitals have been hard-pressed to provide medical services to thousands of Covid-19 patients with their limited resources that have now been further depleted by the non-payment of their claims. And yet, PhilHealth was able to provide cash advances under the agency’s Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) to several favored hospitals, including those in Davao, home province of President Rodrigo Duterte, last year even before they could provide the services. The Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City, for example, received the biggest amount, with P326 million. Another hospital in Davao, the Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City, got P209 million.

Congressional investigations revealed later that as of June 9, 2020, PhilHealth had released more than P14 billion under the IRM to diff erent hospitals and clinics all over the country – when it should have taken eff ect only on June 11. And yet, PhilHealth has refused to pay the $545 million for services already provided by the seven Iloilo hospitals. Why? Is it because Iloilo is the home province of administration critic and opposition leader Sen. Franklin Drilon? The Iloilo hospital administrators have been trying to collect from PhilHealth for several months now, and all they got are excuses like “lacking supporting documents and signatures, etc.” We all know that bureaucratic red tape breeds corruption, and it seems PhilHealth thrives in corruption. PhilHealth was created in 1995 to implement universal health coverage in the Philippines by providing health insurance coverage to Filipinos who don’t get medical benefi ts from their employers. A monthly premium of P1,800 is shared by the employee and the employer, while overseas Filipino workers, self-employed individuals and domestic helpers pay the full premium.

What started as a well-intentioned program has in a few years become a milking cow for many corrupt doctors, hospitals and health facilities obviously in connivance with some PhilHealth offi cials and employees.

According to an article in Spot.com, as early as 2007, PhilHealth has been embroiled in corruption scandals. In 2007, a congressional hearing revealed that some hospitals and health care facilities had been overcharging PhilHealth for services rendered. One eye doctor claimed and was paid P16 million for an astounding 2,017 eye surgeries in one year. A hospital in Davao was claimed to have charged PhilHealth for services to patients who were later found to be non-PhilHealth members. In 2014, an employee who exposed anomalies in the agency’s Davao regional offi ce was fi red allegedly for incurring too many absences. (Continue on page 27)