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What you should know
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False testimony may
cause denial of naturalization application
See whole article on page 3 for
more details.
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Its Grace-Chiz, Trillanes says
VOL. 3 ISSUE 36
S
Supporters of Makati Mayor Junjun Binay throw plastic chairs and other objects to the
police to prevent the officer serving the suspension order on Binay at the Makati City
Hall on Tuesday. After police restored order, the DILG representatives were able to post
the notice. Full Story on page 2.
Purisima, Petrasanta,
9 other PNP officers
dismissed from service
HE Office of the Ombudsman sacked resigned police chief Alan
Purisima for his alleged
involvement in a P100million shady deal with
a private courier service
company.
In a 50-page decision
cited in a statement on
Tuesday, the Ombudsman
dismissed Purisima from
service following its investigation over the allegedly anomalous contract
with WerFast Documentary Agency, Inc.
Also dismissed from service is Police Chief Supt.
T
Raul Petrasanta, a former
official of the Philippine
National Police (PNP)
Firearms and Explosives
Office (FEO) and now
Central Luzon police director. Petrasanta is being
eyed as the next PNP chief
and was even endorsed to
the President by Speaker
Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
The others dismissed
from service are former
FEO officials Chief Superintendent
Napoleon
Estilles, Senior Superintendent Allan Parreño,
Senior Supt. Eduardo Acierto, Senior Supt.
(Cont. on Page 6 )
ENATOR Grace Poe,
who is leading the latest
surveys on voters presidential preference for the 2016
election, has already decided to run for president, according to Senator Antonio
Trillanes IV.
Speaking in an interview
on the ABS-CBN News
Channel, Trillanes said they
obtained the information
that Poe has made decision
to run, but he declined to reveal his sources.
Poe could be reached for
comment as she has been
out of the country with her
family and this was confirmed by her press officer
Mimi Gonzales who said
the senator is spending time
with her kids abroad.
Poe has remained mum
about any plan to run for
JULY 01, 2015 - JULY 07, 2015
higher office in the coming wait for a formal announcepolls even as she dislodged ment which they will make
Vice President Jejomar Bi- probably in September, furnay from the top position in ther said Trillanes.
voter preference surveys.
Escudero also could not
The neophyte senator has be reached for confirmation
maintained that she has no although he has repeatedly
resources to launch a na- said he and
(Cont. on Page 2 )
tional campaign and had
no political party. She has
NPA commander
reiterated that she will remain an independent can- Pitao tipster to get
didate although President
P5.6M bounty
Benigno Aquino III himself confirmed that he had
AGUM CITY, Davao—The
discussed matters with the
person who tipped off the military regarding the whereabouts of
senator.
In the same television New People’s Army (NPA) comLeoncio Pitao will get the
interview, Trillanes also mander
P5.6-million bounty offered by the
divulged Sen. Chiz Escu- government for the capture, dead or
dero will be fielded as Poe alive, of the communist leader, the
military said on Monday.
s running mate.
And they re going at it as Maj. Gen. Eduardo Año, commander of the Philippine Army’s 10th
independents. So that s Infantry
Division, said the tipster
their plan and we ll just directed security forces to Pitao’s lo-
T
Roxas, Duterte in 2nd
‘casual’ meeting
hat was how Interior
Secretary Mar Roxas,
the presumptive presidential candidate of the ruling
Liberal Party, described
his dinner with Davao City
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on
Friday night.
Roxas stayed overnight
in Davao City after distributing 33 brand new police patrol vehicles in four
provinces in the Davao region over the weekend.
“Chika lang (We just
talked),” he said.
T
It was apparently the
second meeting between
Roxas and Duterte in as
many weeks. They reportedly met when the interior
secretary visited Davao
City two weeks ago.
Speaking with reporters on
Saturday in Tagum, Davao
del Norte, Roxas sought to
play down his one-on-one
with the tough-talking local executive, whose uncompromising anticrime
policies
(Cont. on Page 6 )
cation in Davao’s Paquibato district,
helping end a months-long operation
targeting the most famous communist guerrilla leader in Southern Mindanao.
Año said the military and the Philippine National Police would process
the reward and release it to the tipster.
Pitao, leader of the NPA’s 700-strong
Pulang Bagani Command and also
known as “Commander Parago,” was
killed in a clash with Army Special
Forces in Paquibato around 2:30 p.m.
on Sunday, according to Col. Harold
Cabreros, commander of the Army’s
103rd Infantry Brigade.
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NEWS ROUND-UP
PAGE 2
July 1, 2015 - July 7, 2015
Malaysian state spares Filipina on
death row
The death penalty imposed on a Filipina
in Malaysia has been commuted to life
imprisonment, the Philippine Embassy in
Kuala Lumpur said Tuesday.
The embassy said Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al-Haj, chairman of the State of
Selangor Pardons Board, commuted the
sentence meted on Jacqueline Quiamno on
June 15, after the Philippine Embassy and
her family requested for a clemency.
“The Embassy conveys its heartfelt appreciation to the Sultan of Selangor and the
Selangor Pardons Board for this sterling
manifestation of benevolence and compassion,” the Embassy said in a statement.
Quiamno was arrested in June 2005 for
smuggling five kilograms of cocaine at
the Kuala Lumpur International Airport,
which was found in her luggage.
The Embassy said the Filipina did it on
the bidding of an African drug syndicate
based in Hong Kong.
In November 2010, the Shah Alam High
Court found her guilty of drug trafficking
and the verdict was affirmed by the Federal
Court in July 2013.
The Embassy said the last execution of a
Filipino in Malaysia was 22 years ago, in
June 1993, when a Filipino was executed
for the crime of murder in Sabah.
On April 29, Filipina Mary Jane Veloso,
a convicted drug mule in Indonesia’s death
row, was given a last-minute reprieve. IDL
Fil-Am teen arrested for plotting
terrorist attacks for ISIS
by Jun Medina
SAN FRANCISCO — Federal authorities
have arrested 19-year-old Filipino American Justin Nojan Sullivan of Morganton,
North Carolina for threatening to carry out
assassinations in the U.S. in support of the
Islamic State terrorist group.
According to a 12-page criminal complaint filed in court Monday (June 22) in
Charlotte, North Carolina, Sullivan plotted several domestic attacks hoping to kill
1,000 Americans and making a videotape
of his exploits to send to ISIL (a.k.a. ISIS)
leaders.
Authorities charged Sullivan with one
count of attempting to provide material
support to ISIL, one count of transporting and receiving a silencer in interstate
commerce with intent
to commit a felony and
one count of receipt and
possession of an unregistered silencer.
The charge for transporting and receiving
the silencer carries a maximum potential
penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of
$250,000 while its receipt and possession
carries a maximum potential penalty of 10
years in prison and a fine of $10,000.
Assault rifle
According to the criminal complaint, the
FBI became aware of Sullivan’s plans to
obtain a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle at the
Hickory Gun Show in Hickory on Saturday, which he planned to use to kill a large
number of U.S. citizens on behalf of ISIL.
He planned to kill at the end of the month,
according to federal documents.
It was the teen’s parents who tipped authorities that their
son was up to something, calling 911
on April 21 after
the young Sullivan
started burning sevChilling details
eral household items,
The criminal complaint
particularly religious
gave chilling details of
articles.
how the teen, who lived
After that episode,
with his parents at their
an FBI undercover
home in Rose Carswell
agent made contact
Road, was planning
with Justin, who deto shoot people with
scribed himself as a
cyanide-laced
bullets
Muslim convert and
and blow people up us“mujahid,” or one
ing a vehicle filled with
engaged as a guerilla
bombs.
warrior in Jihad or
“As alleged in the comholy war.
plaint, the defendant was Terrorist plot suspect Justin Nojan
“Justin Sullivan
planning assassinations Sullivan.
intended to commit
and violent attacks in the
violent acts against
United States and is charged with attempt- innocent people in the U.S. to support the
ing to provide material support to ISIL and terrorist organization ISIL,” said FBI Spefederal firearms violations,” said Assistant cial Agent in Charge John A. Strong.
Attorney General John P. Carlin. “[Our]
According to the affidavit, the teen asked
highest priority is counter terrorism and the agent for a homemade silencer to use
we will continue to pursue justice against for practice assassinations before the big
those who provide material support to des- attack saying, “I’ll be doing shootings of
ignated foreign terrorist organizations.”
my own before then … I’m excited.”
Sullivan, who is currently in federal cusThe undercover agent said he was invited
tody, faces a total maximum sentence of by Sullivan on June 6 to join the Islamic
40 years for the charges and $510,000 in State of North America.
fines. The charge of conspiring to provide
He also asked the agent to prove he was
material support carries a maximum po- serious by killing people. He also talked
tential penalty of 20 years in prison and a about using biological weapons, including
$250,000 fine.
coating bullets with cyanide.
FIL-AM POST
Kid Peña takes over Mayor Binay’s
post anew
Makati City vice mayor Romulo “Kid”
Peña was sworn in as
the city’s acting mayor
on Tuesday morning
after the second suspension order against
Mayor Jejomar Erwin
“Junjun” Binay was
posted at the entrance
of the Makati City
Hall.
Peña, a member of
the Liberal Party, was
sworn in at the old City
Hall Building. This
was the second time in
less than four months
that Peña was mandated to take over Binay’s post.
In March, he also served as Makati’s acting mayor when Binay was first ordered
suspended by the Ombudsman. He came
back to being Vice Mayor in April follow-
ing a temporary restraining order secured
by Binay’s
camp from
the
Court
of
Appeals which
stopped the
suspension.
Violence earlier erupted
among supporters of
Binay and
the police
after
officials
of
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) served the suspension order
at the city hall.
A defiant Binay, however, remained holedup in his office refusing to acknowledge
the suspension order. IDL
Roxas tells Mayor Binay: ‘You don’t
own Makati’
Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II
on Tuesday asked Makati Mayor Jejomar
Erwin “Junjun” Binay to respect the suspension order issued against him by the
Ombudsman.
“Hindi po ninyo pag-aari ang Makati,
Mayor Binay. Walang naghahari-hari dito
kung hindi ang batas. Batas po ang ipinapatupad at ‘yan din naman lang po ang
ginagawa ng DILG at PNP (Department of
Interior and Local Government and Philippine National Police),” he told reporters at
Camp Aguinaldo after a meeting on disaster preparedness.
(You don’t own Makati, Mayor Binay. No
one rules it except for laws. The rule of law
prevails there and the DILG and the PNP
are just carrying it out.)
Violence broke out at Makati City Hall
after DILG officials served the suspension
order. They were prevented from entering
the city hall so they just posted the order at
the building’s entrance.
Supporters of Binay also threw bottled
waters and chairs to police authorities.
The Ombudsman issued a second suspension order to Binay over the allegedly overpriced Makati City Science High School.
“Nananawagan po ako kay Mayor Binay na bumaba na po. Hindi po ito isang
telenovela. Hindi po ito drama tungkol sa
inyong pamilya, sa inyong paghahari-hari
sa Makati. Ito po ay tungkol sa batas. Ang
batas po ay nagsasabi na sinuspende kayo
ng Ombudsman,” Roxas said.
(I am calling on Mayor Binay to step
down. This is not a telenovela. This is not
a drama about your family and your reign
in Makati. This is about the law. And the
law says you have been suspended by the
Ombudsman.)
Roxas said that Vice President Jejomar
Binay, father of JunJun, could help by telling his son to follow the order. He added
that the Makati mayor is no different from
other officials included in the suspension
order.
“Batas ang po ang pinaiiral dito…Hindi
po espesyal ito…..Si Mayor Binay special
lang siya sa tatay niya. Hindi siya special
sa batas. Ipapatupad po namin ang batas,”
Roxas said.
(The law prevails. There are no sacred
cows here. Mayor Binay is special only to
his father. He is not the law. We are going
to implement the law.)
The Interior Secretary also said they will
file charges against the people involved in
the violence which erupted in the city hall.
“Ang bawat isa sa inyo na networks ay
may mga camera at formal na hihingin
ito ng PNP para makita ‘yung videotapes.
Makita kung sino nangwelyo, nanuntok at
kung sino ang humawak sa kamay at nagtulak sa babaeng pulis…Lahat naman po
ito ay nasa video,” he said.
(The PNP will ask media networks a
copy videotapes. We will see who collared whom, who punched whom, and who
pushed a female police officer. All of these
were caught on video.) IDL
Violence erupts as DILG serves
suspension order vs Mayor Binay
Violence erupted Tuesday at the Makati
City Hall after the officials of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) served the suspension order
against Mayor
Jejomar Erwin
“Junjun” Binay.
The DILG officials serving
the suspension
order were not
allowed to personally provide
the order so it
was posted at
the entrance of
the city hall.
Tension started to arise after supporters
threw bottled
waters
and
chairs to police
authorities in
the area.
A Radyo Inquirer report said at least eight
people were injured including three policemen.
(Cont. from page 1...ITS GRACE-CHIZ)
he and Poe have not yet reached a decision
on their plans for 2016.
Interviewed over radio DZBB on Sunday,
Escudero said he has not yet talked to Poe
since she is abroad, but in case she decides
to run for President, he will support her.
Escudero claimed he has yet to think about
his political plans and will come out with
a decision a few days before the October
deadline for the filing of certificates of can-
Earlier, tension also broke out between
police and Makati City Hall employees
when the latter were prevented from entering their office.
Thousands of
supporters
trooped
to the city
hall as early as Monday after
the Ombudsman
issued
B i n a y ’s
second
suspension order
over the
alleged
O v e r priced
Makati
City Science High School.
A defiant Binay, however, remained
holed-up in his office refusing to acknowledge the suspension order. IDL
didacies.
Trillanes also said he is very sure to
run for vice president although he acknowledged that Escudero will be the force
to reckon with if the latter runs for same
position.
Unlike Poe and Escudero, who have yet
to publicly declare their plans for 2016,
Trillanes is bent on running for vice president in 2016 and said he will run even
without the support of the Nacionalista
Party to which he belongs.
IMMIGRATION
FIL-AM POST
PAGE 3
July 1, 2015 - July 7, 2015
False testimony may cause denial of naturalization application
e will discuss false testimony and
W
other conditional bars to good moral
character in this article.
Q:Does false testimony constitute bar to
good moral character?
A: An applicant who gives false testimony
to obtain any immigration benefit during the
statutory period cannot establish good moral character (GMC). False testimony occurs
when the applicant deliberately intends to
deceive the U.S. Government while under
oath in order to obtain an immigration benefit. This holds true regardless of whether
the information provided in the false testimony would have impacted the applicant’s
eligibility. The statute does not require that
the benefit be obtained, only that the false
testimony is given in an attempt to obtain
the benefit.
Q: What other acts constitute false testimony?
A: While the most common occurrence of
false testimony is failure to disclose a criminal or other adverse record, false testimony
can occur in other areas. False testimony
may include, but is not limited to, facts
about lawful admission, absences, residence, marital status or infidelity, employment, organizational membership, or tax
filing information.
Q:What are the elements that constitute
false testimony?
A: There are three elements of false testimony established by the Supreme Court that
must exist for a naturalization application
to be denied on false testimony grounds,
namely:
1.Oral Statements - The “testimony” must
be oral. False statements in a written application and falsified documents, whether
or not under oath, do not constitute “testimony.” However, false information provided orally under oath to an officer in a
question-and-answer statement relating to
a written application is “testimony.” The
oral statement must also be an affirmative
misrepresentation. The Court makes it clear
that there is no “false testimony” if facts are
merely concealed, to include incomplete
but otherwise truthful answers.
2. Oath -- The oral statement must be made
under oath in order to constitute false testimony. Oral statements to officers that are
not under oath do not constitute false testimony.
3. Subjective Intent to Obtain an Immigration Benefit -- The applicant must be pro-
By Atty. Crispin C. Lozano
U.S. on a crewman visa.
viding the false testi3.On May 22, 2015, we
mony in order to obtain
an immigration benefit. False testimony for received an approval of I-751 waiver of
any other reason does not preclude the ap- joint petition based on spousal abuse.
4.On May 18, 2015, we received an applicant from establishing GMC.
proval of adjustment of status for a client
Q:Does prostitution constitute a conditional based on marriage with big age gap between spouses.
bar?
A: An applicant may not establish GMC 5.On May 6, 2015, we received an approval
if he or she has engaged in prostitution, of PROVISIONAL WAIVER for a Mexiprocured or attempted to procure or to im- can national in Ciudad Juarez based on petiport prostitutes or persons for the purpose tion by US citizen spouse.
of prostitution, or received proceeds from 6.On April 30, 2015, we received an approstitution during the statutory period. The proval from the Immigration Court of I-751
BIA has held that to “engage in” prostitu- review based on spousal abuse.
tion, one must have engaged in a regular 7.On April 20, 2015, we received an appattern of behavior or conduct. The BIA has proval from USCIS of green card for a clialso determined that a single act of solicit- ent who used three names in her lifetime.
ing prostitution on one’s own behalf is not We submitted numerous documents to
prove proper identity.
the same as procurement.
8.On April 14, 2015, we received approval
Q: Does smuggling a person constitute a of naturalization for a client who has three
DUI and a civil harassment case. The DUI
conditional bar?
A: An applicant is prohibited from estab- and civil harassment has all been cleared
lishing GMC if he or she is or was involved before.
in the smuggling of a person or persons by 9.On April 10, 2015, we received an apencouraging, inducing, assisting, abetting proval of immigrant visa for a client who
or aiding any alien to enter or try to enter originally confessed marriage is for immithe United States in violation of law during gration benefits only but later on had a serious relationship with petitioner.
the statutory period.
10.On March 30, 2015, we received an approval from the Immigration Judge for a
Q:Is there an exception to this?
A: This bar to GMC does not apply in cer- waiver of misrepresentation involving martain cases where the applicant was involved riage fraud that happened at the U.S. Emin the smuggling of his or her spouse, par- bassy. The alien subsequently get a green
ent, son, or daughter (and no other individu- card from a petition by her mother. She
al) to enter the United States in violation of could not naturalize unless a waiver of misrepresentation is granted. With the waiver
law before May 5, 1988.
she is now qualified for naturalization.
11. On March 10, 2015, we received an apQ: Is gambling also included?
A:An applicant who has been convicted of proval from USCIS for an adjustment of
committing two or more gambling offenses status for SAME SEX MARRIAGE.
or who derives his or her income principally 12. On February 18, 2015, we received an
from illegal gambling activities during the approval by USCIS of green card based on
statutory period is precluded from establish- self petition by an abused spouse. Her miing GMC.[31] The gambling offenses must nor children are now qualified to immigrate
have been committed within the statutory based on this approval.
13. On February 10, 2015, we received an
period
approval of green card for a client who entered without inspection. We first sought an
Note:This is not a legal advice.
advance parole with USCIS so that she can
travel to her country legally and come back
SUCCESS STORIES
to the U.S.
1.On June 22, 2015, we received an approv- 14. On January 20, 2015, we received an
al of I-601 waiver for a client who over- approval of immigrant visa under the Provistayed in the U.S. for more than ten years sional Waiver program for a seaman client.
She successfully arrived to the U.S. without
based on hardship to U.S. citizen spouse.
2.On June 5, 2015, we received an approval problem.
from U.S. Embassy Manila for a I-601A 15. On January 7, 2015, we received an apwaiver for two clients who first entered the proval of adjustment of status from USCIS
OPINION
Will it be a Roxas-Duterte team
next year?
s it going to be
a RoxasDuterte
team
in
next
year’s
by Neal Cruz
presidential election? This possibility cropped up
when Interior Secretary Mar Roxas
had a second tête-à-tête with Duterte
in Davao City last Friday night. Although Secretary Roxas said it was
only “chika-chika” between friends
and they did not talk politics at all,
nobody believes that. It is impossible for two politicians not to talk
politics when they get together in
private, like Roxas and Duterte have
done twice already.
Most likely, Roxas, the presumptive Liberal Parry standard-bearer
next year, is toying with the idea of
having Duterte as his running mate.
Why not? Both Roxas and Duterte
rank third in presidential poll surveys.
Sen. Grace Poe is No. 1; Vice President Jejomar Binay is far behind
in second place. A Roxas-Poe or
Poe-Roxas team would have been
ideal. But with Poe yet undecided
to run for higher public office, it is
prudent to make sure of getting the
next best vice presidential running
mate—Duterte. True, Duterte has
said that he definitely is not running
for president, but he did not say that
he won’t run for vice president.
For a local city mayor to place third
in a national survey of voter preference for president is surprising. But
Duterte is no ordinary mayor of a
I
hick town. He has made Davao City
the ninth safest city in the world, according to an international survey.
The way he did it was to scare
criminals into leaving this world
prematurely. Many notorious criminals in Davao City, especially drug
traffickers, died suddenly during
Duterte’s terms as city mayor. The
criminals still alive were left with
two choices: Leave town or leave
this world in a coffin. Many chose
the first, so Davao is now almost
crime-free.
Some say Duterte has a secret death
squad that sends criminals to meet
their Maker early. The mayor denies
this. He said DDS does not stand for
Davao Death Squad but for Davao
Development System. Duterte has
not explained how his DDS works,
but some say part of it is to develop
the funeral industry in the city.
Duterte said that when he started
touring the country to campaign
for a federal system of government
similar to that of the United States,
some people laughed. But as he
made the rounds, his popularity rating rose. That’s because people like
the way he talks tough.
I personally like it when he said
that along with ordinary criminals,
he would feed to the fish in Manila
Bay corrupt public officials. Since
that may include Vice President Binay, people clapped their hands and
explained: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, go
man go.”
So a Roxas-Duterte team would
definitely continue the Aquino administration’s anticorruption campaign. Roxas is proven to be a
squeaky clean public official (he has
not been involved in any scandal
during his long public career) and
Duterte has proven that criminality
can be erased.
The people are fed up with crime
and corruption. The latter is the
No. 1 problem of the Philippines.
All other problems emanate from
it. People are poor because corrupt
public officials steal their tax money. Funds that should go to services
for the people end up in the private
pockets of corrupt public officials,
as witness the billions of pesos in
public funds stolen by high-ranking
officials in the pork barrel scam.
Theft and robbery cases increase
when people are poor and have no
jobs. So do kidnap-for-ransom cases and bank robberies. When poor
people have jobs, they don’t have
to steal. But corrupt public officials,
although they already have goodpaying jobs and are already wealthy,
still steal the people’s money because they can.
The Aquino administration has
done a good job in putting highranking public officials before the
bar of justice. At no time in the history of the Philippines have so many
senators and congressmen, a chief
justice, even the incumbent vice
president, been charged in court for
corruption.
The danger is what would happen
when the Aquino administration
ends and a new president like Binay
takes over. Most certainly, the cases
against his partners in the United
Nationalist Alliance like Sen. Juan
Ponce Enrile and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada would be dropped; and even
if they are convicted, Binay would
pardon them.
for a client who entered without inspection
but reentered on a parole visa. Parole visa
became the basis of legal entry to allow for
adjustment of status.
16. On January 5, 2015, we received two
approvals of I-601A waiver under the Provisional Waiver Program.
17. On December 17, 2014, we received an
approval from USCIS of a green card under
the Violence against Women Act.
18. On December 16, 2014, we received an
approval of DACA for an alien who has a
final order of removal.
19. On December 11, 2014, we received an
approval of immigrant visa for an alien who
entered the U.S. as a seaman under Provisional Waiver Program.
20. On October 7, 2014, we received an approval from the U.S. Embassy in Manila an
immigrant visa for a client who entered the
US without inspection under the Provisional Waiver Program.
21. On September 26, 2014, we received an
approval from the Immigration Court for
waiver of misrepresentation for a client who
entered as single but actually married at the
time of entry to the U.S.
22. On September 9, 2014, we received an
approval from Immigration Court of adjustment of status for a client who was previously denied an asylum.
23. On September 8, 2014, we received an
approval from USCIS of Form I-601A provisional waiver for two clients.
24. On September 5, 2014, we received
an approval from USCIS for Fiancée visa
based on same sex petition.
25.On September 4, 2014, we received an
approval of DACA for a client who has
problem in her birth certificate.
26. On August 28, 2014, we received an
approval of green card based on spousal
abuse.
27.On August 25, 2014, we received an
approval of green card based on same sex
marriage with big age difference.
28.On August 1, 2014, we received an approval of waiver of joint filing of I-751
based on spousal abuse. With the approval
she was granted permanent residence.
Crispin Caday Lozano is an active member
of the State Bar of California, the American
Immigration Lawyers Association and the
National Association of Consumers Bankruptcy Attorneys. He specializes in immigration law and bankruptcy law. ([email protected]/ 1-877-456-9266)
PAGE 4
July 1, 2015 - July 7, 2015
FIL-AM POST
FIL-AM POST
PAGE 5
July 1, 2015 - July 7, 2015
MORE TAXSAVERSPRO, INC. CLIENT TESTIMONIALS!
- Tax clients had their residential home foreclosure misclassified resulting in tax liabilities on short sale amounting to $60,000. We
looked at the history of the property and determined that it was a residential property for 3 of the last 5 years and thusqualified
for the $500,000 Exemption on the cancellation of debt, thus negating the tax liability previously computed by other tax preparers.
- Taxsaverspro, Inc. was able to comply with the FBAR filing requirement(s) of several taxpayers who were not
aware of this IRS regulation by amending multiple years of income tax returns and filing online FinCen statements.
PAGE 6
July 1, 2015 - July 7, 2015
FINANCE CORNER
BANKRUPTCY
TAX Q & A
Supreme Court upholds
Obamacare
he
U.S.
Supreme
Court
today
voted 6-3 to
uphold
the
provision of
the Affordable
Care Act that
allows people
using the federal health insurance market
T
by: Alvin C. Maglan, CPA
to receive tax subsidies.
Wisconsin is one of 34 states that have
adopted a federally run exchange as opposed to a state-run exchange. If the Supreme Court had ruled against the Obama
administration in the King v. Burwell case,
184,000 people in Wisconsin and 6 million
people nationwide could have lost their
health insurance.
The Supreme Court’s decision was considered by many to have boiled down to
four key words in the Affordable Care Act:
“established by the state.” The plaintiffs
in King v. Burwell claimed those words
meant the tax subsidies were intended
only for those in state-run exchanges. The
Obama administration said “the state” refers to the government in general, whether
state or federal.
Reaction to today’s ruling was mixed.
According to the Wisconsin Hospital Association, 33,469 Milwaukee County residents were enrolled in the exchange as of
April.
“We are pleased with this decision,” said
Wisconsin Hospital Association president
and chief executive officer Eric Borgerding. “The loss of premium assistance
would most certainly have triggered a
large increase in the number of uninsured.
The disruption to our health care system
and broader insurance markets would have
been substantial.”
Borgerding said thousands of people in
Wisconsin who were previously uninsured,
or who were made ineligible for Medicaid,
connected with health insurance coverage
on the federal exchange. The subsidies
reduced the monthly cost of buying insurance on the exchange to an average of
$125 per month in Wisconsin, he said.
Brett Healy, president of the John K.
MacIver Institute for Public Policy, a Madison-based conservative advocacy organization, disagreed with the court’s interpretation. “It is disappointing that the Supreme
Court failed to stand with taxpayers today,”
he said. “The Affordable Care Act says in
plain language that individuals who purchase insurance through Obamacare only
qualify for subsidies ‘established by the
state,’ and the Court’s decision today unfortunately endorses a flawed law that has
driven up health care costs exponentially.
Instead of interpreting the law for what it
actually says, the Court interpreted it for
what they wanted it to say. The Affordable Care Act is severely broken, and this
activist result will only continue the negative impact the law has had on taxpayers in
Wisconsin and the country.”
The impact of today’s ruling means that
the Affordable Care Act in its present form
is here to stay, according to Charlie Stevens, an employment attorney at Milwaukee-based Michael Best & Friedrich LLP.
“The upshot is the Affordable Care Act
will continue to be enforced, low-income
individuals will continue to get subsidies,
employers are still subject to the pay-orplay mandate, and the rules that are part
of what Congress drafted and the rules and
regulations the federal agencies came up
with to enforce it will still be in effect and
will be enforced,” Stevens said.
Stevens added that large employers will
still be required to offer coverage to employees who average 30 or more hours a
week. If they do not offer coverage to 70
percent of full-time employees, they will
be subject to the pay-or-play penalty. Next
year, he said the percentage of full-time
employees who must be offered coverage
will be 95 percent.
Besides Healy, others who were disappointed by today’s decision included Sen.
Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). “That decision
upholds legislation that was falsely marketed and forced through Congress in a
completely partisan fashion and that has
harmed millions of Americans,” Johnson said. “The court’s decision cements a
system costing millions of Americans the
health plans they chose and liked and access to doctors they knew and trusted. The
Supreme Court is sustaining higher health
care costs for patients and taxpayers, a law
that makes it costlier for employers to hire
and harder for workers to keep full-time
jobs.”
Alvin Maglan is a CPA licensed in California. After working for SyCip, Gorres, Velayo
and Company, he emigrated to California and
had varied experiences as an audit manager of
a regional accounting firm, an internal auditor and controller of Dole, Inc., a fortune 500
company and three decades experiences as a
tax consultant for various individuals, professionals, small business firms, corporations,
partnerships, and other non-profit entities. You
may contact him @510 432 7438 for your tax
problems. You may e-mail tax questions @
[email protected].
FIL-AM POST
What you should know about
reaffirmation in bankruptcy
I
n a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the debtor must
submit to the court a schedule (Schedule D- Creditors Holding Secured Claims)
indicating all of their secured debts (mortgages, vehicle loans, and purchase money
loans for furniture, jewelry, or household
goods, as well as any other debt for which
you have pledged property as collateral to
the creditor). In addition to filing a list of
all secured debts, Chapter 7 debtor also file
a form called the ‘Statement of Intention’.
Q. What is a Statement of Intention?
A. The Statement of Intention is required
to be filed in Chapter 7 cases. It is not required in Chapter 13 cases. Statement of
Intention is a form completed by the debtor
that advises the court, the Trustee, and your
creditors what you intend to do with your
secured collateral such as your home or
car. This document also applies to leases.
It must be filed within thirty (30) days after the debtor files a petition under Chapter 7 or on or before the 341(a) Meeting of
Creditors. It requires the debtor to state the
following:
1. whether the property will be surrendered
or retained,
2. whether it will be claimed as exempt,
3. whether the debtor intends to redeem the
property, and
4. Whether the debtor intends to reaffirm
the debt secured by the property.
Q. What is redemption in bankruptcy?
A. In redeeming a debt, a Chapter 7 debtor pays the fair market value of the collateral, usually in one lump sum — in full
satisfaction of the debt. This option can be
especially helpful when the debtor’s collateral is underwater, meaning the value is
less than the loan amount.
Q. What is Reaffirmation in bankruptcy?
A. In reaffirming a debt, the debtor agrees
to remain responsible on the debt after
bankruptcy and will continue making payments to the creditor, while keeping the
collateral. Once the debtor signed the reaffirmation agreement, he or she will have
60 days from the date of the signing or up
until the day the court discharges the case,
whichever is later, to change his or her
mind and withdraw the agreement.
However, once the court enters the Chapter 7 discharge, the agreement is binding
and in effect. If the debtor defaults on a
reaffirmed debt after the court entered the
discharge, the creditor can repossess the
collateral and sue the debtor for any deficiency balance, fees and costs.
Q. What are the disadvantages of Reaffir-
mation Agreements?
A, The following are the disadvantages of
reaffirmation agreements:
1. Instant Liability - A reaffirmation agreement binds you in contract. If you missed
payments in the future, it could mess up
your new credit, cause you to lose the property, and make you responsible for the balance of the loan.
2. Approval of Lawyer is Needed - Your
lawyer must review and examine all the
circumstances and only sign the reaffirmation agreement if he believes it will not
inflict an undue hardship on you and your
family. Your lawyer must determine and
decide if you are in a good financial position to repay the debt.
3. Approval of the Court is Needed - Reaffirmation Agreement is not accepted until
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approves the
terms. Usually, bankruptcy courts are not
delighted to let you carry on personal liability when you have already shown that
your expenses go beyond your post-bankruptcy income.
Note: This is not a legal advice and you
should consult with an attorney about your
case.
Bankruptcy Basics
1. Bankruptcy will actually improve your
credit within one year because your unsecured debts are discharged. Although the
bankruptcy will be in your records for 10
years, not filing bankruptcy will make your
credit even worse until most your debts are
paid.
2. If you are being sued by your creditors,
most money judgment can be eliminated in
bankruptcy.
3. Collection actions continue and you can
be sued if you are in debt settlement.
4. Chapter 7 will eliminate all unsecured
debts. If you are near retirement age, you
must eliminate most of your debts.
5. Bankruptcy will stop foreclosure actions. If your trustee sale date is 10 days
before, you can still file for bankruptcy.
6. If your salary is being garnished, you
have a court case about debts or you are
being harassed by creditors, bankruptcy
can stop garnishment, court cases, harassing creditors and eliminate the debt.
Crispin Caday Lozano is an active member
of the State Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers Association
and the National Association of Consumers Bankruptcy Attorneys. He specializes
in immigration law and bankruptcy law.
(1-877-456-9266. Email: crispinlozano@
gmail.com)
(Cont. from page 1... PURISIMA, PETRASANTA) out undergoing through the
procurement, accreditation and
The Ombudsman said they are liable for qualification process.
the administrative charges of grave misIn June 2011, Petrasanta as the technical
conduct, serious dishonesty and grave working group chairman recommended
abuse of authority.
that the courier system as the sole responThe Ombudsman sacked the former po- sibility of Werfast.
lice officials following its investigation
In Nov. 2012, Retired Police Director Gil
over the complaints filed by private citi- Meneses then chief of the PNP Civil Secuzen Glenn Gerard Ricafranca and the fact- rity Group ordered the creation of a Firefinding investigation bureau of the Deputy arms and Explosives Office-Courier SerOmbudsman for Military and Other Law vices Accreditation Board with Petrasanta,
Enforcement Office for their involvement Parreño, Acierto, Reyes, Fabia, Calixto,
in the shady deal for a private courier firm. Bautista, Tuazon and Zapata as members.
The Ombudsman in its decision said in
Meneses in Feb. 2013 submitted to PuriMay 2011, Werfast, in the deal for the cou- sima the memorandum accrediting Werfast
rier delivery system for renewal of firearms and recommending that the delivery of liand licenses, entered into a memorandum cense cards by courier service be mandaof agreement with the PNP’s Estilles with- tory.
(Cont. from page 1...ROXAS, DUTERTE)
Golf, Duterte’s kids Roxas said he and
Duterte —whom he referred to by his nickname “Digong”—talked about golf and the
mayor’s children.
He said they also discussed the situation
in Davao and the issue of federalism, which
Duterte has been pushing as an alternative
to the contentious Bangsamoro Basic Law.
“We also spoke about other things and
other topics,” Roxas said in the interview,
a transcript of which was provided by his
office.
When asked who initiated the meeting, he
replied: “There was no need to initiate the
meeting because Mayor Digong and I are
friends. I meet with him whenever I go to
Davao. We also see each other when he’s
in Manila.”
“There’s nothing more to it. Two longtime
friends seeing each other,” Roxas added.
But he declined to categorically say if
they talked about their political plans for
2016.
The meeting occurred a day after Duterte
told a gathering of businessmen in Makati
City that he had already shelved the idea of
running for President.
In Digos, Davao del Sur, which he visited earlier on Friday, Roxas was asked if
Duterte’s decision not to seek the presidency had to do with a meeting the two of
them had in Davao City two weeks ago.
SHOWBIZ
FIL-AM POST
Claudine Barretto on Raymart Santiago:
We’re friends
MANILA, Philippines – Claudine
Barretto is now friends with estranged
husband Raymart Santiago.
The Kapamilya actress said she even
confirmed this to him before announcing it in her interview with ABSCBN’s late night talk show “Aquino &
Abunda Tonight” on Monday.
“Tinawagan ko siya, sinend [send] ko
muna ‘yong mga questions. Sabi niya,
‘Kaya mo ‘yan,’ tapos thumbs up. Tapos tumawag siya tapos sabi ko, ‘Mart,
questions lang, friends ba tayo?’ Tawa
siya nang tawa tapos sabi niya, ‘Oo,
friends na.’” she recalled.
“Kasi hindi ko alam kung ano isasagot civil ba o friends na, tapos oo
friends na daw. So friends na kami,”
she added.
It was in 2013 when Claudine affirmed that she got separated from
Raymart. This even lead to the estranged couple filing legal complaints
against each other.
But this year, the actress said that
Geraldine Macaraeg from Marikina
Regional Trial Court Branch 912
helped them settle their issues.
Body Talk with Kris Bernal
Has Kris Bernal become, heaven forbid,
anorexic?
That’s what everybody seems to be suspecting, Kris herself included.
You see, Kris looks much too thin at
90 lbs. (from 105) and people have been
wondering: What’s eating Kris Bernal?
With relief, Kris said, “I was worried
nga that I was suffering na from anorexia
nervosa. But I’m glad
that I’m not. Kasi hindi
ko pa naman niri-reject
ang kinakain ko.”
Kris had to undergo a
crash diet after she saw
herself in Nandito Ako
Nagmamahal Sa’yo,
the Regal Films/GMA
Films romance-drama
directed by Maryo J.
delos Reyes in which
she had perennial
loveteam-mate Aljur
Abrenica as leading
man.
“They asked me to
wear a two-piece,”
said Kris, “and when I
saw the movie, parang
na-conscious ako sa
katawan ko dahil ang Kris Bernal
feeling ko ang tabataba ko. Since then, I stopped eating rice
and cut down on my food intake.”
Nandito Ako, Kris’ first-starring movie
with Aljur, was a good one. Unfortunately, it suffered at the box office because it
opened at the time Ondoy struck Metro
Manila.
“But 2009 was a good year for me,”
confirmed Kris who was discovered in
the GMA talent search StarStruck (Batch
3) three years ago. “I did two TV series,
Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin? and All My Life
(both with Aljur) and one movie (Nandito
Ako).”
Kris and Aljur open 2010 with the GMA
fantasy-adventure The
Last Prince, directed by
Mac Alejandre, in which
she plays a princess (and
Aljur a prince). Premiering on Monday, Jan. 11,
The Last Prince will take
televiewers to Paladino,
the magical kingdom
found atop the clouds. It
marks the comeback of
Princess Punzalan (back
from the US where she
stays with her husband)
and also stars Carmina
Villarroel, Eula Valdez,
Emilio Garcia, Angelu
de Leon, Benjie Paras, Bianca King, Bubbles Paraiso, Chanda
Romero, Paolo Paraiso,
Chynna Ortaleza, Elvis
Gutierrez, Steff Prescott, Karen delos
Reyes, Joey Paras, Nicole Sanoy and Rita
Iringan, plus the hit Rosalinda loveteam
Geoff Eigenmann and Carla Abellana.
PAGE 7
July 1, 2015 - July 7, 2015
Sex on TV
For two TV seasons now, some drama series tations that such adult fare has to operate unhave been enticing viewers with the tantaliz- der. But, they are advised that the regulations
ing promise that they intend to be “sexier” aren’t against adult TV programs per se,
they just limit them to the post-primetime
than the shows we usually find on free TV.
Last year, it was “Moon of Desire” that screening slots.
This is a big change from how things were
strove to heat things up on the small screen,
while for 2015, it’s “Pasion de Amor” that’s in the past, when child viewers were startled to get exposed to “green” and “brown”
doing the sensual honors.
Alas, the “hotter” series are more seduc- jokes—even on noontime TV programs!
Those most unwelcome and inappropritively intended than actually achieved, with
their directors limited by TV’s “for general ate intrusions were made by “super-macho”
patronage” rule to “sexy” indirection and program hosts who loved to underscore their
insinuating rather than forthrightly “hot” de- randy sense of “humor” by polluting the
airwaves, not just for kids’ impressionable
piction!
To stay within prescribed and proscribed minds and psyches, but even those of their
limits (because children are always watching alarmed parents and teachers!
After years of fruitlessly “warning” the
on primetime), visualizations of the “sexier”
shows are
restricted to
“symbolic”
silhouette
shots of implied ardor,
“lip-biting”
reaction
shots in bed
scenes that
are limited
to “medium
close-up”
framing
that avoids
s h o w ing
sensual body
parts—etc.!
In light of
this limiting reality,
the pasion
on the local version
of “Pasion
de Amor”
is perforce
more muted
than in the
Latin American original.
“PASION de Amor” hotties (clockwise from left) Ellen Adarna, Ejay Falcon, Arci
Muñoz, Jake Cuenca, Joseph Marco and Coleen Garcia
Hot to trot
We recall,
when we were a member of the Movie and
Television Review and Classification Board
(MTRCB), watching a string of really hot
Latin American melodramas for an entire
day—and, boy, were they really hot to trot!
Well, that sort of graphic depiction and exposure simply won’t pass officially sanctioned
muster in these parts, so cool it, hotsy-totsy
lasses and lotharios!
“Pasion de Amor” is especially “controlled”
by the fact that it’s shown before the evening
newscast. For it to be as hot as intended, it
should be pushed back to a late-late slot,
when only a few kids are expected to watch.
That, by the way, is why other “controversial” or “edgy” drama series like “Bridges of
Love” and “The Rich Man’s Daughter” are
more appropriately situated later in the evening.
Of course, exponents and advocates of
“mature TV dramatic arts” chafe at the limi-
filthy-mouthed miscreants to toe the prescribed line for the poor children’s sake, the
MTRCB decided to much more firmly lay
down the law and handed out some suspensions—message received, loud and clear!
Sleazy shockers
After their cushy livelihood was directly
threatened, even the most ferociously macho of the errant program hosts, “suddenly”
discovered that they could be funny in much
less shocking ways—which is why we have
the current TV situation, which is more acceptable than the sleazy shockers of the past.
This happy outcome proves that regulation
in terms of the appropriate telecasting slot
for a particular program can be effective in
upholding the right of kids to child-friendly
TV entertainment—without curtailing the
corresponding right of mature TV people to
tackle adult themes and issues.
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July 1, 2015 - July 7, 2015
FIL-AM POST