2 - The Manila Mail

Vol. XIX, No. 22
Online: www.ManilaMailDC.net
September 30, 2010
Tells world to use it to fight inequality
UNITED NATIONS - President Benigno Aquino III on Sept.
24 urged the use of a global version of Filipino People Power to
fight inequality and promote
equitable progress in the world.
Speaking for the first time
before the 65th United Nations
General Assembly in New York,
Aquino said equality can be
achieved with peaceful dialogue,
solidarity and communal responsibility.
The Philippine President
later met briefly with US President Barack Obama during the
meeting of the US-ASEAN (As-
sociation of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders at the Waldorf Astoria hotel.
In this meeting, Aquino
brought up the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, including the Philippines’ claim to
the Spratly islands, saying these
issues must be addressed by
peaceful means.
Aquino was seated at the table beside the US President during the closed-door meeting.
In his UNGA speech,
Aquino said, “the battle against
inequality requires balance of
both from those in authority to
be conscious of our responsibility to our own people and of our
duties to regions and the globe."
“For so many times in our
history, my people have shown
that united, nothing is impossible. We call this People Power. It
is my earnest hope and in the
greatest interest of humanity
that we harness the energies of
dialogue, solidarity and communal responsibility so that a
global people power towards
equitable progress may be
achieved," he said.
People Power was the
Continued on page 22
US President Obama meets President Aquino during the US-ASEAN meeting in NY Sept. 24.
A sweet victory for Kris
By Bing C. Branigin
PRINCE
GEORGE’S
COUNTY - “Oh, what a sweet
victory it is!” Maryland delegate
Kris Valderrama said after winning a grueling primary contest
in Prince George’s county Sept.
14. The victory virtually assures
her re-election to the Maryland
General Assembly in November.
With the help of volunteer
Filam campaigners, Valderrama
garnered enough votes in the
heavily Democratic District 26 to
win the third slot with a comfortable 1,163-vote margin over
the fourth place finisher. This
year, four other candidates ran
for the three delegate seats but
failed in their bid to unseat any
of the three incumbents.
“But it wouldn’t have been
possible without the hard work
of my dedicated supporters, endorsers and generous donors
who believed in me from the
moment I entered the race four
years ago. They put me over the
top again,” Kris told her cheering supporters who stayed up
till 3 a.m. Wednesday morning
(Sept. 15) to wait for the slow
election returns to be completed.
Overall campaign coordinator Kathleen Topacio Flores put
together a strategy that deployed hundreds of volunteers
to hit the neighborhoods of
Oxon Hill, Fort Washington ,
Camp Springs , Forest Heights
Continued on page 24
Why Ninoy risked his life in 1983
By A. M. Alfaro
(Second of a 3-part series
marking the 27th anniversary of
Sen. Benigno S. Aquino, Jr.’s martyrdom and the 38th year after the
proclamation of martial law. Author
recounts his coverage of Ninoy before and after martial law.)
WASHINGTON D.C.
What compelled Sen. Benigno
“Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. to risk his
life by going home to the Philippines on Aug. 21, 1983?
When Ninoy
came to
Washington D.C. in the summer
of 1980 to deliver his first speech
Continued on page 22
Obama picks 2
Pinoys P4
Author chats with Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. at the NPC in Washington DC in the summer of 1980.
Bongbong defends
martial law P8
Noynoy asks
Filams’ aid P10
State Secretary Hillary Clinton tells Noynoy to give better life to Filipinos
during signing of MCC grant.
Give Pinoys better
life, says Hillary
NEW YORK - US State Secretary Hillary Clinton has urged
President Benigno Aquino III to
work harder to create better opportunities so Filipinos dont
have to go abroad to seek a better life.
“I know how smart the Filipino are. I know how hard they
work,” Clinton said at the signing ceremonies for the $434 million Compact agreement with
the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) at the Waldorf
Astoria Hotel in New York Sept.
23.
The signing of the compact
was one of the reasons Mr.
Aquino undertook the trip, aside
from his scheduled address before the United Nations and
meetings with US businessmen.
The agreement was signed
by Finance Secretary Cesar
Purisima and MCC chief executive officer Daniel Johannes.
Clinton said she has observed that “Too many of them
(Filipinos) feel that they can not
progress in their own country.
Bishop bares
jueteng list P12
Pacquiao limbers
up for fight P25
Continued on page 23
2
September 30, 2010
NJ Pinoy pleads guilty to $300,000 Medicaid fraud
TOTOWA, NJ - Victor Napenas, 63, a Filipino-American
nursing home owner, has
pleaded guilty to bilking the
state Medicaid program of over
$300,000, some of which was
used for trips to the Philippines,
large family dinners, and ballroom dance lessons, while running a now defunct nursing
home in Totowa, N.J., according
to the Office of the New Jersey
State Attorney General.
Because of his admission,
the state has recommended that
Napenas be sentenced to only 90
days in a county jail as a condition of three years of probation.
Sentencing is Oct. 8. He
must pay $302,877 in restitution
to the Medicaid program,
$45,263 in penalties, and $31,859
in provider taxes owed to the
state.
He will also be prohibited
from acting as a Medicaid
provider for eight years.
Napenas, of Piscataway,
N.J. pleaded guilty on Aug. 16 to
Victor Napenas
third-degree Medicaid fraud before Judge Irvin J. Snyder in
state Superior Court in Camden
after an investigation revealed
he had billed the state for
$302,877 in “improper and unsubstantiated costs,” said State
Attorney General Paula T. Dow.
“This nursing home owner
treated the facility’s Medicaid
cost report like his own blank
check, fraudulently obtaining reimbursement for over $100,000
in personal expenses in a single
year," said Acting Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Riza Dagli.
“Fortunately, the Department of Health and Senior Services audited the facility and
detected irregularities in the cost
report," Dagli added.
Napenas has admitted that
while running the Valley Rest
Nursing Home in Totowa, he
obtained payment from Medicaid for more than $100,000 in
personal expenses unrelated to
patient care.
The investigation into Napenas began in 2007, when the
Department of Health and Human Services noticed severe deficiencies in the care delivered to
residents at Valley Rest, which
led to the closure of the facility
that year.
Further investigation by the
Office of Insurance Fraud revealed the facility’s cost report
included $302,877 in improper
charges to Medicaid Napenas
could not document or prove
were spent.
Authorities said Napenas
had been issuing business credit
cards to himself and his wife,
which were used for more than
$100,000 in personal purchases including trips to the Philippines, dance lessons and large
family dinners - that were then
inserted into the cost report and
reimbursed through Medicaid.
The case was prosecuted by
Deputy Attorney General Linda
Rinaldi and Deputy Attorney
General Erik Daab, director of
the Medicaid Fraud Control
Unit; Sgt. Frederick Weidman;
and auditor Kim Geis.
The Medicaid program,
which is funded by the state and
federal governments, provides
health care services and prescription drugs to persons who
may not otherwise be able to afford them.
3
September 30, 2010
APAICS launches Asian political database
WASHINGTON D.C. -The
Asian Pacific American Institute
for
Congressional
Studies
(APAICS) is proud to announce
the launch of the Asian Pacific
American Political Database, a
searchable online resource that
contains profiles of hundreds of
Asian Pacific American (APA)
elected officials and political
candidates. The database was
made possible through the generous support of Yum! Brands,
Inc., and will be hosted on the
APAICS
website
at
www.apaics.org.
2 NY doctors arrested
for state tax evasion
NEW YORK - Two Filipino
American doctors here have
been arrested and charged with
tax evasion as part of a statewide sweep on tax cheaters, according to the State Department
of Taxation and Finance.
Arrested and charged for allegedly not paying state income
tax are Dr. Gloria Syguia, 64, of
Brooklyn and Dr. Avelino
Rosales, 62 of Cedarhurst. Acting Commissioner Jamie Woodward said the two have been
charged with evading payment
of state income taxes for many
years.
Syguia is employed by various medical facilities as an anesthesiologist. She was charged
with one class E felony count of
repeated failure to file personal
income tax returns from 2003 to
2008 and four counts of criminal
tax fraud in the fifth degree for
failing to file a tax return for
2003 to 2008 and pay over
$77,372 in tax due.
Investigators said Syguia’s
income totaled $735,045 for the
delinquent years. She was arrainged in criminal court of
Kings county. If convicted, she
faces up to four years in state
prison.
Rosales, on the other hand,
practices geriatric medicine with
office at Sunnyside, Queens.
Woodward said Rosales failed to
file tax returns from 2002 to
2006. He was charged with repeated failure to file personal income taxes. During these years,
he reportedly earned $1,179,400
and failed to pay $44,010 in income taxes. If found guilty, he
also faces up to four years in
prison.
Brad Malone, spokesman of
the Department of Taxation, said
neither of the two cases have
been settled as yet.
The APA Political Database
is a comprehensive, national directory of Asian Pacific American politicians serving at all
levels of government, from local
school boards to the U.S. Congress. Database users can
browse through the full list or
perform targeted searches by
ethnicity, party affiliation, location, gender, and other distinct
categories.
“With the launch of the
Asian Pacific American Political
Database, anyone with an internet connection can instantly
locate and learn about APA
elected officials and candidates
throughout the country," said
Ruby G. Moy, Acting Executive
Director of APAICS. “Thanks to
our partnership with Yum!
Brands, Inc., APAICS is able to
offer a dynamic resource that reflects the latest political developments and provides a constantly
updated overview of the APA
community’s growing role in
government and public policy."
In the year 2000, there were
approximately 320 Asian Pacific
American elected officials nationwide. Today, that figure has
grown to over 450, with APA
candidates winning high profile
seats in new states like Louisiana, South Carolina, Connecticut, and Idaho.
“APAICS is pleased to see
the progress that’s been made
over the last ten years," said
Moy. “However, we are also
keenly aware of the fact that the
APA political community still
remains largely scattered. We
hope that the information and
contacts made available through
our database can serve as the
foundation for creating a national network of Asian Pacific
Americans in public service."
The Asian Pacific American
Political Database was built by a
team of 20 staff members, editors, and researchers. The notebook computers used for the
project were generously contributed by Dell Inc. The database
can be accessed online at
www.apaics.org/database.
4
September 30, 2010
Obama names 2 Filams to ACAAPI
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The
National Federation of Filipino
American Associations (NaFFAA) has applauded President
Obama for appointing the members of the Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders (AAPI), including two Filipino Americans.
“These are distinguished
and highly-respected leaders of
the AAPI community who have
demonstrated a strong commitment to the White House initiative’s goal of improving the lives
of underserved Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders,” said Greg
Macabenta, national chair of National Federation of Filipino
American Associations (NAFFAA).
The new members were formally sworn in at the US Capitol
on Sept. 21. The Commission is
aimed to improve the quality of
life and opportunities for Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders
through increased access to, and
participation in, Federal programs in which they may be underserved, by providing advice
to President Obama and the cochairs of the White House Initiative, Education Secretary Arne
Duncan and Commerce Secre-
tary Gary Locke.
Participants include Kiran
Ahuja, director, White House Initiative on AAPIs And Daphne
Kwok, chair, President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs.
Macabenta said “We are especially delighted that two Filipino American leaders - Rozita
Villanueva Lee and Hector Vargas - have been appointed to
serve in these very important
administration posts.
“Lee, currently national vice
chair of NaFFAA, has been a
dedicated community activist
for many years. Through her
leadership of ”FilVote," she has
been instrumental in bringing
thousands of Filipino Americans
to register and participate in this
country’s political process. With
energy and enthusiasm, she has
drawn upon her coalition building and networking skills to help
move our community’s empowerment goals forward. A passionate advocate for civil rights,
Rozita’s active engagement in
grassroots organizing inspired
our collective efforts to finally
win official recognition of Filipino World War II veterans as
U.S. veterans.
“Vargas is a tireless and
Las Vegas leader Rozita Lee (3rd from left, front) is congratulated by friends after she was sworn in as member of
the White House Advisory Commission on Capitol Hill.
committed advocate for Asian
American and LGBT communities. At NaFFAA’s founding in
1997 and in subsequent national
conferences, Hector worked diligently with community leaders
to ensure that NaFFAA would
be inclusive of the needs of its
LGBT community members. As
the current head of Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, Hector’s advocacy efforts are driven
by his goal to ensure that all
Americans affirm and embrace
equality and inclusion and value
43.6-M Americans live
in poverty in ‘09
WASHINGTON D.C. - The
nation’s official poverty rate in
2009 was 14.3 percent, up from
13.2 percent in 2008 â’80 the second statistically significant annual increase in the poverty rate
since 2004, according to the Bureau of Census.
There were 43.6 million
people in poverty in 2009, up
from 39.8 million in 2008 â’80
the third consecutive annual increase.
As defined by the Office of
Management and Budget and
updated for inflation using the
Consumer Price Index, the
weighted
average
poverty
threshold for a family of four in
2009 was $21,954.
It said the number of people
without health insurance coverage rose from 46.3 million in
2008 to 50.7 million in 2009,
while the percentage increased
from 15.4 percent to 16.7 percent
over the same period. These
findings are contained in the report Income, Poverty, and
Health Insurance Coverage in
the United States: 2009.
The following results for the
nation were compiled from information collected in the 2010
Current
Population
Survey
(CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC):Among race groups, Asian
households had the highest median income in 2009. Real median income declined between
2008 and 2009 for non-Hispanic
white and black households,
while the changes for Asian and
Hispanic-origin
households
were not statistically different.
On the issue of poverty, the
Census said the poverty rate in
2009 was the highest since 1994,
but was 8.1 percentage points
lower than the poverty rate in
1959, the first year for which
poverty estimates are available.
The number of people in
poverty in 2009 is the largest
number in the 51 years for
which poverty estimates are
available.
-In 2009, the family poverty
rate and the number of families
in poverty were 11.1 percent and
8.8 million, respectively, up from
10.3 percent and 8.1 million in
2008.
-The poverty rate and the
number in poverty increased
across all types of families: married-couple families (5.8 percent
and 3.4 million in 2009 from 5.5
percent and 3.3 million in 2008);
female-householder-with-no-h
usband-present families (29.9
percent and 4.4 million in 2009
from 28.7 percent and 4.2 million
in 2008) and for male-householder-no-wife-present families
(16.9
percent
and 942,000 in
2009 from 13.8
percent
and
723,000 in 2008).
By regions:
-In
2009,
households in
the West and
Northeast had
the highest median household
incomes. (The
apparent difference
between
the two regions
was not statistically
significant.)
Real
median income
declined
between 2008 and
2009 in the Midwest and West;
the changes for
the
Northeast
and South were
not statistically
significant.
-In
2009,
households
maintained by
naturalized citizens had the
highest median
income.
the diversity within their own
communities.”
Macabenta added that “We
are extremely proud of Rozita
Villanueva Lee and Hector Vargas. We know that they will be
strong voices and a dynamic
presence in this commission.”
Others appointed at Sefa
Aina, Debra T. Cabrera, Kamuela J. N. Enos, Frances Eneski
Francis,
Farooq
Kathwari,
Hyeok Kim, Ramey Ko, Sunil
Puri, Amardeep Singh, Unmi
Song, Dilawar A. Syed, Kampha
Thephavong, Doua Thor, Hector
L. Vargas, Jr., and Hines Ward.
Also appointed are Admiral
John B. Nathman, USN (Ret) and
ieutenant General Frank E. Petersen, USMC (Ret) as members
of the Board of Visitors to the
United States Naval Academy
President Obama said, “Our
nation will be well-served by the
skill and dedication these men
and women bring to their new
roles. I look forward to working
with them in the months and
years ahead."
5
September 30, 2010
Gen. Garcia’s sons plead guilty, forfeit $100,000
SAN FRANCISCO, California - The two sons of Gen. Carlos Garcia, former comptroller
general of the Armed Forces of
the Philippines, have pleaded
guilty to bulk cash smuggling,
United States Attorney Melinda
Haag announced.
The sentencing of the two Juan Paulo and Ian Carl - is
scheduled for 9 a.m. on November 29, before US District Court
Judge Marilyn Hall Patel. The
brothers were released from
electronic monitoring pending
that appearance.
Juan Paulo Garcia, 29, of
Pontiac, Michigan, and Ian Carl
Garcia, 32, of Las Vegas, were
indicted under seal on December
9, 2008, on bulk cash smuggling
and conspiracy charges.
Juan Paulo was also
charged with failing to file a
monetary instrument report and
making a false statement to a
government agency. The indictment was unsealed following
their arrest in February 2009.
In pleading guilty, the
brothers admitted that in December 2003 they smuggled
$100,000 into the United States
from Manila, Philippines by concealing it in their luggage, and
that they made false statements
to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers about the
amount of dollars they were carrying.
The brothers agreed to forfeit the $100,000 to the United
States government. In exchange,
the United States agreed to dismiss the remaining charges and
to recommend a sentence of time
served. The brothers have spent
approximately 100 days in custody and a year and a half on
electronic monitoring.
“This prosecution demonstrates our determination to
combat and deter bulk cash
smuggling, which is often a
Gen. Carlos Garcia
means of moving ill-gotten gains
into the United States," said US
Attorney Haag. “We applaud
the coordination and dedication
of the many agencies, including
those in the Philippines, that
joined forces to investigate this
case."
After CBP Officers discovered the undeclared currency,
federal agents initiated an international investigation in cooperation with the Philippines
Office of the Ombudsman and
the Office of the Special Prosecutors.
As a result of the investigation, their father, Gen. Garcia,
was found guilty in the Philippines of perjury for a false declaration of his assets and liabilities
in 2000.
Garcia, his wife and three
sons, including Juan Paulo and
Ian Carl, are also facing plunder
charges in the Philippines for allegedly illegally amassing more
than P300 million during the for-
mer general’s active military
service.
The maximum penalty for
each of the four counts in the Indictment, conspiracy to commit
bulk cash smuggling, bulk cash
smuggling, failure to report the
importation of monetary instruments and false statements to a
government agency, is five years
in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
The penalty for failure to declare
the importation of monetary instruments increases to 10 years
in prison if a defendant is convicted of this charge in addition
to one of the other three charges
in the indictment.
‘As the first line of defense
for America’s international border, CBP works closely with international law enforcement
agencies. This interception highlights the important work CBP
officers perform every day," said
Richard Vigna, CBP Director of
Field Operations, San Francisco.
Hartley West and Candace
Kelly are the Assistant US Attorneys who prosecuted the case
with the assistance of Wilson
Wong, Rawaty Yim, and Rosario
Calderon. The prosecution is the
result of an international investigation led by Special Agents
from CBP, the Internal Revenue
Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Defense, Defense
Criminal Investigative Service.
6
September 30, 2010
MD bet seeks Filam votes
By Rodney J. Jaleco
MARYLAND - The Republican senatorial bet in Maryland
for November’s mid-term elections is asking Filipino Americans to vote for him.
Eric Wargotz is a physician
by trade, and also the top commissioner of Queen Anne
county, Maryland. He is also
married to Filam Cheryl Ann
Llacer.
Cheryl Ann is the only
daughter of Drs. Rey and
Zorayda Lee-Llacer of Potomac,
Maryland. He originally hailed
from Masbate and she from Manila. The couple earned their
degrees from the University of
Sto Tomas.
Rey tells us that his daughter actually met her future husband because of their common
medical work.
Cheryl Ann is an economist
educated at the University of
Maryland and Georgetown
University in Washington DC.
Eric and Cheryl Ann have
been married 15 years and have
three children.
Wargotz won the Sept. 13
Republican nomination race in
Maryland. The state has two
seats in the US Senate.
He is running against incumbent Sen. Barbara Mikulski,
who according to the latest Rasmussen polls, is leading the race
54 percent to Wargotz’s 38 percent. The GOP is the minority
political party in Maryland.
“Filams will have a true
friend if he makes it to the Senate,” Wargotz’s father in law
and friends, which he believes
will boost Wargotz’s chances in
November.
He added that his son-inlaw is a pro-life activist who believes in traditional marriage
and secure borders. He described Wargotz as a “moderate
Dr. Eric Wargotz, Republican senatorial candidate in Maryland, is
seeking support from the Filipino American community. He is married to
Cheryl Ann Llacer, daughter of Dr. Rey and Zorayda Lee-Llacer of
Potomac, Maryland. Wargotz is running against incumbent Democratic
Sen. Barbara Mikulski.
stressed.
Wargotz is campaigning as
a “Washington outsider” who
promises to bring “realistic,
common-sense solutions to the
tough challenges facing us.”
Rey said they are courting
Fil-Am support because of their
close-knit network of family
Republican”.
He insists Wargotz shares
the same set of values and principles that many Filipinos live
by.
“It will be as if we had a
Filipino in the US Senate,” Rey
enthused.
Pinoy PTs will have
to wait until 2011
WASHINGTON D.C. _ The
US Federation of State Boards of
Physical Therapy will continue
to suspend exams for Filipino
graduates until it completes a
new set of exams by September
next year.
This was the message they
gave when they met with Ambassador Willy C. Gaa and Labor Attache Luziminda Padilla
on Sept. 3 to discuss the suspension of examinations for graduates from the Philippines and
three other countries. The results
of these talks were released by
the embassy only on Sept. 11.
To ensure the integrity of
their examinations, the FSBPT
claimed it was compelled to
temporarily suspend the conduct of examinations for candidates from the four countries.
Going forward, they would develop a separate set of exams,
using questions that have not
been used before (and would
most likely not be repeated
again in future exams). They expected the new sets of exams to
be ready by September 2011.
In July 2010, the FSBPT suspended National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) testing
for all graduates of schools in
Egypt, India, Pakistan and the
Philippines “in response to pervasive,
ongoing
security
breaches by significant numbers
of graduates" from PT schools in
those countries.
During the meeting, the
FSBPT said they have been conducting an investigation for the
past few years, and have found
evidence of systematic and methodical sharing and distribution
of recalled questions by significant numbers of graduates of
programs in the affected countries. This evidence was obtained
through
extensive
forensic analyses of exam performances, as well as a variety of
legal actions brought by the Federation in the United States and
abroad. Furthermore, the breach
goes beyond a single test preparation company, and that the
sharing of test items has also occurred through private access
websites, and the selling of copies of materials containing the
recalled questions. As a result of
its findings, FSBPT submitted
that graduates of PT schools in
the Philippines have an “undue
advantage”, and may be passing
the exam based on this undue
advantage, rather than actual
competence and knowledge.
It is relevant to mention that
the Philippine Government has
taken a number of proactive
measures on the matter.
2 Filipinos guilty of forced labor
WASHINGTON D.C. - The
US Justice Department has
found Filipino Americans Sophia Manuel, 41, and Alfonso
Baldonado, Jr., 45, owners of a
labor contracting firm, guilty of
forced labor.
It found the two, who own
a company based in Boca Raton,
Florida guilty of conspiring to
hold 39 Filipino migrant workers against their will to work in
country clubs and hotels.
The
department
said
Manuel and Baldonado “conspired to obtain a cheap, compliant and readily available labor
pool, by making false promises
to entice the victims to incur
debts.”
The DOJ said it was found
out that not only are the recruited workers made to pay
substantial recruitment fees, including their airfare, but once
they arrive at Manuel and Baldonado’s Florida residence, the
couple confiscated their passports and housed them in overcrowded,
substandard
conditions without adequate
food or drinking water; put
them to work at area country
clubs and hotels for little or no
pay; required them to remain in
the defendants’ service, unpaid
when there was insufficient
work.
Worse still is that the
wicked couple ordered the de-
dicted by a federal grand jury in
the Southern District of Florida
in April for holding the Filipino
workers in a condition of forced
Photo shows Filipino workers sleeping on floor of recruiter's house.
fenseless workers not to leave
the premises without permission
and “threatened to have the
workers arrested and deported
for complaining about these
terms and conditions," the statement said.
“These defendants victimized vulnerable individuals for
profit,” said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the
Civil Rights Division. These abusive couple, whether Filipinos
themselves or not, should be
nailed badly for a grave crime
against humanity.
Last April, the two were in-
labor.
From about November 2007
through December 2007 the
charges alleges that defendants
directed about 30 Filipino workers to sleep on the floor at their
residence in the living room,
dining room, kitchen, and garage until housing was located,
men and women, side by side.
From November 2007 through
February 2008, the defendants
allegedly forbade the Filipino
workers to open the refrigerator
except when tasked to cook;
screamed at and scolded workers if they ate food from the re-
frigerator without permission.
That defendants threatened Filipino workers at meetings that if
the Filipino workers left the
house, they will call the police or
USCIS and the workers would
be deported.
According to the indictment
from October 2007 through December 2007 that defendant Baldonado would wake up Filipino
workers in the middle of the
night and quiz them on table
setup and drink recipes, and
scold them or make them stand
in the corner for answering incorrectly.
The charges also alleged
that in the same period defendants
frequently
shouted,
banged on the table, and demeaned the Filipino workers.
That between or about October
2007 through February 2008 at a
meeting where some of the Filipino workers were housed that
workers complained to defendant Baldonado that they had no
food and Baldonado became angry, threw a chair and kicked a
garbage can and screamed at a
Filipina worker demanding to
know if she ate 3 meals a day in
the Philippines.
ICE’s Miami Office of Investigations Special Agent in
Charge Anthony V. Mangione
said, “Human traffickers target
vulnerable victims, including
minors, who desire a better life
and end up being lured into a
situation where they are deprived of their basic human
rights. These vicious conditions
will not be tolerated in this
country and ICE will continue
its commitment to rescue victims
of this form of modern day slavery and vigorously investigate,
identify and arrest the traffickers
that exploit them and bring
them to justice."
The charges also alleged
that the defendants used false
promises to entice the Filipino
nationals to incur debts to pay
up-front recruitment fees and
then compelled the workers to
remain in the defendants’ service, despite inadequate work or
income to pay off the debts. Using a scheme of threats to have
the workers arrested and deported with no way to repay
their debts, the defendants also
allegedly confiscated the workers’ passports and restricted
their freedom of movement and
communications with outsiders.
7
September 30, 2010
MILF no longer seeks independent state
MANILA - The chief of the
government peace panel negotiating with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Sept. 23
welcomed the pronouncement
of the rebel group that it is no
longer interested in demanding
an independent state.
Dean Marvic Leonen, chief
of the government panel negotiating a peace agreement with the
MILF, said that the pronouncement made by MILF chief peace
negotiator Mohagher Iqbal that
the group is no longer interested
in pushing for an independent
state is a good sign that efforts
by both parties of finding a lasting solution to the armed conflict in the southern part of the
country are on the right track.
He added that the latest development will pave the way for
the two parties “to finding an
understanding for a politically
feasible arrangement that maintains the territorial integrity and
the fundamental premise of people’s sovereignty in our Republic".
Iqbal earlier said that instead of pushing for an independent state, they will be
pushing for the establishment of
a sub-state in Mindanao as part
of the final peace agreement or
comprehensive compact with
the government.
Iqbal explained that under
the sub-state, the Moro people
will have control on all aspects,
except on four areas of concern foreign affairs, national defense,
currency and coinage, as well as
postal services.
Iqbal added that they are
also dropping their bid for
autonomy as there already the
existing Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
which was was established as a
result of the peace agreement between the government and the
Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF) in 1996.
Leonen, who was named by
President Benigno “Noynoy”
Aquino III as the Philippine government’s chief negotiator with
the MILF last July, also said that
they are willing to sit down with
their counterparts and listen to
their proposals so that lasting
peace in the south will finally be
achieved after decades of fighting between government and
MILF forces.
“We will listen to their
(MILF) proposals and are willing to work with them to find a
just, comprehensive and lasting
peace," he said.
8
September 30, 2010
Arroyo attends CGI
conference in New York
NEW YORK CITY - Former US President Bill Clinton
has launched the sixth year of
his annual conference to bring
together leaders from government and the private sector to
find ways to help the world’s
poor.
The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) was started in 2005
to help raise money and create
practical solutions for the most
intractable problems facing the
developing world.
One of those invited to the
2010 gathering was former Philippine President Gloria Arroyo,
also a former classmate of William Jefferson Clinton at Georgetown University.
Mrs. Arroyo, now a lawmaker representing the Second
District of her home province of
Pampanga, with her husband,
Jose Miguel Arroyo, flew to the
United States early this week to
attend the GDI.
The former First Couple
left Manila ahead of President
Benigno Aquino 3rd, who attended the UN General Assembly session in New York. “At
the end of last year’s conference, we had 1,700 commitments that have already had a
positive impact on 300 million
people," Clinton said as this
year’s meetings got underway.
“More than 60 million
women and children have better care, better access to education. We have had hundreds of
energy initiatives, micro credit
initiatives, cleaner water initiatives," he added, listing the effort’s achievements so far.
Over the years, the CGI
Annual Meetings have assembled more than 125 current and
former heads of state, hundreds
of chief executive officers of
major companies and leaders
from the philanthropic world
and nongovernment organizations, securing commitments
valued at some $57 billion.
Also among those attending this year’s meetings are
Google’s Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt, former president of Ireland Mary Robinson
and Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
US
President
Barack
Obama and his wife Michelle
were due to attend on Thursday, the last day of three-day
conference.
Ma. Elena Bautista-Horn
said Mrs. Arroyo’s attendance
at the CGI was upon the invitation of Clinton. She was also
invited by Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan to discuss
MDGs of women and children
during the 5th Important Dinner for Women.
Indra Nooyi, chairman of
Pepsi Co., and Wendi Mur-
doch, wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, are co-hosting
the event.
Horn said the events
Gloria Arroyo
would be held starting tomorrow
(Manila
time)
until
Wednesday in conjunction with
the UN Summit on MDGs that
will be attended by President
Aquino. It was not clear
whether the two will meet.
“These are important occasions for the aspirations and
causes of Arroyo in the achievement of the MDG goals in the
Philippines, particularly in her
district, by 2015," Horn said in a
statement.
In the CGI conference, Mrs.
Arroyo is a presenter of commitments on behalf of around
three to four selected individuals or organizations.
She is likewise expected to
share the conditions and opportunities in the Philippines.
The CGI conference last
year was voted the most important conference for chief executive
officers
of
private
companies,
non-government
and civil society organizations
and government present and
former leaders and decision
makers.
In its previous conferences,
a total of 170 projects on children’s education, safe water
and clean energy have been
drawn up and implemented,
improving the lives in 170
countries all over the world.
In the 5th Important Dinner for Women, Mrs. Arroyo
will be discussing with partners
and networking with worldwide organizations the situation of the sector in the
Philippines and how they can
be further improved, BautistaHorn said.
“The conference aims to
address girls and women’s
health, education and economic
empowerment. Mrs. Arroyo
hopes to get support and assistance from these organizations
to further attain significant improvement in the plight of girls
and women in the Philippines,"
she said.
Bongbong defends martial law
MANILA - Sen. Ferdinand
“Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. says
government leaders should learn
from his father, saying martial
law benefited the country at
home and abroad.
Bongbong said “objective
indicators” such as the poverty
rate, the Philippines’ international status, and the government’s financial situation while
his father was in power show
that the country was in better
days then.
Earlier, Rep. Imelda R. Marcos praised her son Bongbong
for acting like his father.
Bongbong said government
leaders should learn from his father. He said one of the lessons
taught by Martial Law is that “if
political will is properly exercised, nothing is impossible.”
Former political prisoners
during martial law, meanwhile,
urged the government on Tuesday to indemnify victims of the
Marcos dictatorship.
Fr. Dionito Cabillas, secretary general of the Samahan ng
Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA), said it
has been more than 20 years
since they filed a case against
Marcos in the US Federal District Court System on April 7,
1986.
“Justice delayed is justice
denied. In 1991, the U.S. Federal
Court system ruled that Marcos
was guilty of ‘crimes against humanity,’ which included torture,
summary executions and forced
disappearances," he said.
According to Cabillas, the
decision ordered Marcos to pay
human rights victims US$1.2 billion for exemplary damages and
In a decision released recently, the Sandiganbayan’s
Fifth Division said the late
strongman Ferdinand Marcos
Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.
US$7.76 million for compensatory damages.
“Until now, no enabling law
has been passed for the indemnification of Martial Law victims,"
he said. “It is quite ironic that
the current president, whose father and family became victims
of political persecution under
Martial Law, has not taken keen
interest in seeking justice for
Martial Law victims." *- with a
report from Ryan Chua, ABSCBN News *
THE anti-graft court has ordered former First Lady Imelda
Marcos to return P10 million in
government funds that her late
husband secretly took from the
National Food Authority on July
27, 1983.
pocketed the P10 million that
was withdrawn on his orders
from the agency’s account at the
Philippine National Bank and
transferred it to a private account in Security Bank.
Associate Justice and Fifth
Division chairman Roland Jurado said the fund transfer was
irregular and illegal.
Mrs. Marcos, now Ilocos
Norte representative, was also
ordered to pay 27 years? worth
of interest on the P10-million reimbursement on top of P1 million in moral damages, P500,000
in exemplary damages, P250,000
in nominal damages, P200,000 in
attorney’s fees, and litigation
costs.
Imelda not invited to join Pnoy in UN
MANILA - President Benigno Aquino III has not invited
locos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos
to join the delegation to the
United Nations. She had hoped
to be with the delegation because as chair of the House special
committee
on
the
Millennium Development Goals
of the UN, she was supposed to
attend the MDG summit in New
York.
Aquino has not invited any
legislator on his first overseas
trip. Reports are that Malacanang did not want her to share
the stage during his visit to the
UN.
on the Millennium Development Goals in New York.
At the same time, former
President and now Pampanga
Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is
also in New York to participate
in President Bill Clinton’s summit on the environment.
Imelda said she was not allowed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) from going
on an official mission in her capacity as chairperson of the
House special committee on
MDGs.
She said the Sandiganbayan
anti-graft court and the House
secretary-general had given her
the green light to attend the UN
summit to be held in New York
City on September 20-22.
Marcos said the DFA questioned her lack of official permission from Malacañang to
attend the gathering. She said
she will not question the government’s decision.
“It’s a matter of respect.
Let’s respect the President’s decision,” she said. She admitted
she had prepared for the trip.
“I was going there on my
own personal money and not on
government expense. Nang pumunta kami sa DFA, sabi hintayin daw ang go-signal from
Malacañang," she said.
Marcos, however, downplayed speculations that the Palace did not want her to share the
stage with President Benigno
Aquino III.
“Who can steal the limelight
naman from the President?” she
pointed out.
She also downplayed reports that former President and
now-Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will also be in
New York this week. “Siguro
dahil siya ex-President, ako exFirst Lady lang," she said.
Earlier, Marcos posted a
P700,000 cash bond and received
the anti-graft court’s blessings to
leave the country. The Sandiganbayan is trying graft cases
against her.
Marcos, chairman of the
House committee on Millennium Development Goals, had
not been invited by President
Benigno Aquino III to be part of
his official entourage during his
two-week visit to the United
States to attend the meeting of
the UN General Assembly,
House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said.
“President Aquino has not
invited any legislator to join his
party. I respect that. I am not
sending a separate party," Belmonte said.
“She worked so hard for
this, prepared so hard for this,
expecting that she could share
what she has learned and gathered from all government agencies
with
the
Philippine
government and the UN," said a
Marcos staff who refused to be
named.
9
September 30, 2010
Gaa, PABA honors 4 visiting RP SC justices
The Philippine embassy and
the Philippine American Bar Association of Metropolitan Washington
(PABA)
hosted
a
reception for 4 visiting Philippine Supreme Court justices at
the Romulo Hall of the Philippine embassy on Sept. 16.
The justices as well and
other SC officers were here for a
week-long knowledge sharing
and peer learning under the auspices of the World Bank-financed Judicial Reform Support
Project. The project aims to introduce ICT modernization system that will help facilitate
procedures such as docketing
and disposition of cases and
managing court backlogs.
The justices are Antonio
Eduardo
Nachura,
Teresita
Leonardo De Castro, Arturo
Brion, and Jose Mendoza. They
are joined by Supreme Court officials Atty. Emmanuel L. Caparas, Deputy Clerk of Court
and Chief of Management Information System (MIS) and Ms.
Milagros Ong, Chief of Library
Services.
Ambassador Willy C. Gaa
welcomed the visiting justices
and said that “An efficient legal
system and the effective delivery
of justice certainly redound to
the nation’s interest. We should
laud the Supreme Court for taking concrete and significant ac-
tions that will contribute to institution-building and better governance in the Philippines."
PABA
President
Ludy
Cabañas said it was an honor
for her group to co-host the reception for the justices. She informed them of the intention of
some of PABA’s members to go
back to the Philippines to practice.
Photo shows from left, front row: PABA President Ludy Cabanas, Justice
Teresita Leonardo De Castro, Ambassador Willy C. Gaa, Justice Arturo
Brion, Mrs. Antonietta Brion and Justice Jose Mendoza.
As the most senior member
of
the delegation,
Justice
Nachura expressed the gratitude
of the delegation to the Philippine Embassy and to PABA for
the warm reception. He also
congratulated the members of
PABA on their successful careers
and encouraged them to continue promoting the excellence
of Filipino lawyers.
Consular outreach
at Charleston, WV
The Philippine Embassy in
Washington D.C., in partnership with Fr. Carlos Melocoton
of the Parish of Sacred Heart
Co-Cathedral in Charleston and
Fr. Michael Lecias of the St. Michael Parish in Wheeling, will
conduct a consular outreach
program in Charleston, West
Virginia on Saturday, 13 November 2010. The Embassy’s
consular team will accept and
process applications for ePassport, notarization of documents, and registration of
births and marriages. The outreach program will also include
an oath-taking ceremony for individuals who will reacquire
their Filipino citizenship under
the Dual Citizenship Law.
Applicants for reacquisition of Filipino citizenship are
requested to submit the required documents to the Embassy by mail not later than
Friday, 05 November 2010. The
consular services will be held at
the Sacred Heart Center at 1114
Virginia Street, Charleston,
West Virginia 25301 from 9:00
a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:30
p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday,
13 November 2010*.
For details please contact
Dr. Lagrimas Sadorra at tel.
nos. 304-776-1583 (res) or 304206-6304 (cell) or Mrs. Amy Teleron at tel. nos. 304-925-6767
(res) or 304-389-7364 (cell).
10
September 30, 2010
PNoy seeks support on US textile bill
Loida bares 5-point plan to help Pinoys, RP
NEW YORK - President Benigno Aquino III Sept. 23 told
Filipino Americans gathered at
Baruch College auditorium to
plan to help the country, Filipino
Americans and the overseas Filipino workers.
The President set aside his
their support for his administration.
Later, the President addressed the UN General Assem-
dahil ito lang ho ang paraan
para talagang maging batas
itong panukalang batas na ito.
So, pwede ko ho bang asahan
and cotton.
On the other hand, US
yarns, textiles and fabrics will
also be granted duty-free status
Filipino students at Mt. St. Vincent College pose with the Aquino.
President Aquino addresses Filams at Baruch College in New York while businesswoman Loid N. Lewis and other
leaders look on.
actively support a bill pending
in the US Congress to save the
Philippine textile industry.
The Filipino American community, on the other hand, presented to the President a 5-point
prepared speech and talked extemporaneously in Tagalog to
the delight of thousands of Filipinos from all over the US, including Washington DC, who
came to welcome him and show
Despite packed schedule
President eats hot dogs
NEW YORK - Amidst his
jampacked schedule Sept. 23,
President Aquino and his entourage stopped to eat at a street
hotdog stand, while Secret Service agents watched.
His schedules since he arrived Sept. 22 included meetings
honor on the mother bestowed
the same recognition on the son
on Wednesday (Thursday in
Manila).
The packed schedule did
not prevent Mr. Aquino from
grabbing a hotdog for lunch at a
corner stand near Sofitel Hotel,
with World Bank president
Robert Zoellick; former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger,
newspaper, the RP-US Business
Council, receiving the Elizabeth
Ann Seton Medal from the College of Mount Saint Vincent, and
the Center for Foreign Relations.
Twenty-four years ago, the
college that conferred its highest
where he is staying.The presidential party paid $54 (about
P2,400) for the sandwiches that
Mr. Aquino and his group ate, a
sharp contrast to the millionpeso dinner his predecessor,
now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and her entourage had during a visit to New
York last year.
bly at 6 p.m., calling for international cooperation in addressing
global issues, vowing the Philippines’ commitment to fulfilling
the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) and pledging
continued support for UN
peacekeeping missions. (After
the address, the President left for
San Francisco where he spoke
before the Philippine Development forum and also met with
the Filipino community there.)
He urged Filipino Americans to support US House Resolution 3039 and Senate 3170,
known as “Save Our Industries
Act” which would revitalize the
Philippine textile industry. Both
bills are still pending in the US
Congress.
Earlier, the President also
invited foreign businessmen
from around the world to invest
in the Philippines during a
speech at the Citibank Economic
Conference in New York City.
At the forum organized by the
Council on Foreign Relations
Sept. 23, Aquino said he recognizes the importance of strengthened global engagement in the
country’s development. The
President said strong relations
with other countries and partnership with the international financial community will help
realize his administration’s goals
and objectives.
In the Baruch College meeting with the Filipino community, Aquino said the textile bill
pending in the US Congress
would create some 200,000 jobs
in the Philippines.
“So, kailangan, seryosongseryoso po, kailangan namin
ma-mobilize sa inyong tulong
Amb. Willy C. Gaa meets the President on his arrival at Teterboro airport
in NJ Sept. 20.
iyan?" the President said.
when exported to the PhilipOnce passed, the SAVE Act pines.
would grant duty-free status to
In her speech, Mrs. Lewis
garments and apparels wholly asked the President to help
assembled in the Philippines, on amend some provisions in the
condition that these are made of
Continued on page 11
US-made textiles, fabrics, yarn
$15,000 for PR firm?
WASHINGTON D.C. - Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima
says the government is only
paying Kreab Gavin Anderson,
a US-based public relations
firm, $15,000 during the weeklong working visit to the United
States!
He said hiring the firm has
ensured President Aquino gets
significant media exposure during his working visit to the US.
Purisima said hiring the
services of the PR firm was necessary because the government
wants to send a clear message
worldwide through the international business media, GMA
News reported from New York.
“It is very important that
the country’s message is explained properly outside, especially for the financial market.
It’s us the DOF (Department of
Finance) and the Central Bank
that really needs to make sure
that the financial community
thoroughly understands what
is good in our country,"
Purisima said.
“In the past administration
I think the contract was a million dollars a year and this was
$15,000," he said. “It’s nothing.
For this trip, it’s nothing."
Aquino previously said the
US visit, which includes several
business meetings, will generate tens of thousands of jobs for
Filipinos.
Energy Secretary Jose Rene
Almendras pointed out that the
Philippines needed assistance
to get attention for the Philippines, as dozens of other world
leaders are in New York with
Aquino for the United Nations
general assembly.
“We are in competition
with a lot of other people,” said
Almendras, who is also part of
the delegation. “We are not the
only one coming here.”
“There is nothing exorbitant about it. As we said it’s
prudent, it’s necessary. We
need the assistance of this
group," he said.
11
September 30, 2010
AFP bares plot to assassinate President Aquino
MANILA - The Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
is taking seriously the alleged
plot to assassinate President
Aquino, as revealed by Defense
Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, despite there having been no details of the alleged assassination
plot bared to a local executive by
the defense chief.
Despite the absence of any
detail on the alleged plot to kill
Aquino, AFP Chief of Staff Lt.
Gen. Ricardo David Jr. said he
immediately ordered the Intelligence Service of the AFP (Isafp)
to look into the alleged plot.
“I directed the chief Isafp to
look into it because even if it is
The President acts like a tourist as he poses in front of the NY Times
building.
only a rumor, we must be serious about that,” said David.
“Of course, we take everything seriously, especially a plot
of that sort,” added David.
Many have dismissed the
alleged plot as just another ploy
by the Palace through an Aquino
aide, Gazmin, to divert the public’s focus of attention from the
twin crises that have befallen
Aquino and wreaked heavy
damage to his presidency and
government, such as the botched
hostage rescue operations that
left eight Hong Kong tourists
dead, made worse by Aquino
having handed a full report to the Chinese government first and providing
the
Filipino
people with an expurgated De Lima probe report,
deliberately
withholding the recommendations and sanctions of those involved
in the hostage crisis.
There is also the
jueteng expose made by
Archbishop
Emeritus
Oscar Cruz with payoffs leading to the door
of Malacañang.
Past
administrations and their military
and police have also
come up with bogus assassination plots against
the president, mainly to divert
public focus from burning issues
of that time against several
presidents.
On Wednesday, an alleged
plot to assassinate Aquino
cropped up after Cagayan de
Oro City Mayor Vicente Emano
revealed that Gazmin had told
him about the supposed attempt
against the life of the commander in chief and pointed to a
friend of Emano as hatching this
slay plot.
Emano dismissed the plot,
saying that it was improbable
for the named alleged plotter to
engage in assassination plots.
But David also said that
Gazmin, who served as Presidential Security Group (PSG)
chief during the term of
Aquino’s mother, the late President Cory Aquino, told him
about the supposed assassination plot.
“He (Gazmin) informed me
about this, so immediately I
tasked Isafp to look into this,”
said David, adding “he did not
say anything about the source
except that he received this report through a friend. He did
not say who is that friend,”
Gazmin added.
However, subsequent validations yielded negative results,
David said.
PNoy seeks support... from page 10
Philippine
Overseas
Voting Act, support her
proposed Bayan Ko
bonds, lobby US President Barak Obama to
amend the US Medicare
law to allow Filipino retirees to go back to the
Philippines and provide
more funds to help distressed Overseas Filipino Workers abroad.
She thanked the
President for taking the
time to listen to the aspirations and desires of
the Filipino American
communities in the US.
At the end, she offered
a prayer for the President.
Loida thanked the
President for listening
to the Filipinos from all
over the US gathered at
the Baruch College.
“Since this is the only
time we can talk to you
about our aspirations
and desires, we thank
you in advance for taking time to listen the
five things we want to
tell you.
These are for him
to:
1. Endorse to Congress certain amendments to the Philippine
Overseas Voting Act;
2. Lobby with US President
Barack Obama to allow Filipinos
to use the US Medicare card if
they retire in the Philippines,
just as residents of Guam are allowed to do so in 5 accredited
hospitals in Manila.
3. Allocate a percentage of
the Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration (OWWA) funds
to assist workers encountering
legal difficulties abroad to hire a
lawyer to defend them.
4. Consider tapping the resources of Filipinos overseas
through the proposed peso-denominated Bayan Ko bonds as a
source of financing for the country. “We, overseas Filipinos are
eager to help reduce the foreign
debt if you call us to help the
country by borrowing from us,”
she said.
5. Pursue his war on corruption which causes poverty, deterioration of ublic education,
rampant contageious diseases,
illegal trafficking of women,
children and laborers and others.
“When we heard your campaign slogan: ”Kung Walang
corrupt, walang mahirap," we
knew you are were our man,
Loida said.
Then Loida led in a prayer
for God to protect the President.
12
September 30, 2010
Bishop names Versoza, Puno in jueteng payoffs
MANILA - Retired Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz
has named Interior and Local
Government
Undersecretary
Rico Puno and retired Philippine
National Police (PNP) chief Jesus
Verzosa as among the top officials getting payolas from
jueteng operators.
Puno, who was appointed
by President Aquino III as in
charge of the PNP, says he is
ready to resign. The bishop also
informed the Senate committee
hearing that Tonyboy Cojuangco, cousin of the President,
had told him to go easy on
Puno.
Senate President Juan Ponce
Enrile, a lawyer, has chimed in
saying the bishop’s testimonies
are all hearsay.
This was an affront on Sen.
Teofisto Guingona III, chairman
of the blue ribbon committee, is
leading the investiation. Bishop
Cruz submitted a list of jueteng
operators and recipients of
payolas to the committee.
Puno, who was present during the hearing last week, denied the allegation.
“Hindi naman tayo tumatanggap diyan, meron tayong
ginagawa nga para matigil itong
illegal numbers game na ito (I’m
not receiving jueteng payola, I’m
even doing something to stop
this illegal numbers game)," he
said in an interview after the
hearing.
Puno said there might be
some people who are making up
stories about him so that he
wouldn’t be able to put a stop to
the illegal numbers game.
Cruz, however, revealed
that Cojuangco, Aquino’s biggest campaign donor during the
May 10 elections, had even
hinted in one of their meetings
that he should “take it easy” on
Puno. Cojuangco contributed
P100 million to Aquino’s campaign kitty in the elections.
“Wala ako sinabi, di ako
nangako na susundin ko siya (I
did not say anything, I did not
promise that I would follow
him)," he said.
Puno admitted that he and
Cojuangco were friends but that
they haven’t talked in a while.
“My knowledge on jueteng is
based on the intelligence report
of the Philippine National Police," he said.
Puno is also among those
who have been tagged by an inter-agency probe body as “liable”
for
the
alleged
mishandling of the August 23
hostage crisis.
Meanwhile, Verzosa’s camp
also denied any involvement in
the illegal numbers game.
“The list provided by
Bishop Cruz is not legal proof of
accepting jueteng payola... This
whole circus is a war between
jueteng lords and STL (small
Retired Bishop Oscar Cruz shows list of jueteng payola recipients.
town lottery) operators," said
lawyer Benjie delos Santos,
spokesman for Verzosa.
Delos Santos added that
Verzosa “has presented a holistic solution to Interior Secretary
Jesse Robredo as early as July 26
and in Congress last September
6 to finally stop jueteng and its
derivatives."
Those named by Cruz as alleged jueteng lords and operators were:
# Governor Baby Pineda of
Pampanga;
# Paul Dy of Isabela;
# Retired general Eugene
Martin of Baguio City;
# Mayor Mauricio Domogan of Baguio City;
# Danny Soriano of Cagayan;
# a certain retired “General
Padilla” operating in Pasay,
Parañaque, Muntinlupa, and San
Pedro;
# Governor Amado Espino
in Pangasinan, and
# Boy Jalandoni of Bacolod.
Identified as a jueteng collector on the ground was a certain Eddie Fontanilla, with
retired General Rey Cachuela as
the
intermediate
recipient,
Cruz’s list said.
Those identified as “good
resource persons” for jueteng
were Atong Ang for jueteng and
jai alai and Manoling Morato for
STL.
During former president
Joseph Estrada’s term, Ang became a consultant of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming
Corp. (Pagcor) on jai alai operations.
At the Senate hearing, Cruz
was hesitant to divulge the
names on his list, saying he
would only disclose them in an
executive session. “The one who
should check this (list) out is the
executive branch," he said.
But Senate President Juan
Ponce Enrile insisted that the retired archbishop reveal the
names. “Let’s bring out the
truth. No matter how painful.
Let’s name names," he said.
Later, he said the bishop’s testimony were all hearsay.
Senator Francis Escudero,
thanked Cruz for revealing what
he knows.
“Thank you for leading this
crusade even if you are not part
of government, you have taken
the cudgels as far as weeding
Local Government Undersecretary
Rico Puno
out (jueteng lords)," he said.
Puno admitted that some
jueteng lords, including Pineda,
have tried to set appointments
with him through some friends,
who he refused to identify. “I
can’t remember the names of
those who mentioned the
jueteng lords (but) in passing
(PNP) chief Jesus Verzosa
they were telling me if I wanted
to meet with some people," he
said.
The undersecretary added
that he did not immediately divulge the names of the supposed
jueteng lords wanting to meet
him because the PNP is still investigating these people.
Aquino defers action on hostage
report recommendations
MANILA - President Benigno Aquino III has released
the report naming government
officials and individuals who
should be charged for the hostage incident that resulted in the
death of eight Chinese tourists in
Manila last month.
He also gave a copy of the
Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) to the
Chinese embassy but deferred
any decision on its recommendations to charge more than a
dozen persons for administrative or criminal action until he
comes back from his trip to the
United Nations in New York.
In a press conference before
leaving for New York, Aquino
said the IIRC recommended
charges against the following:
Undersecretary Rico Puno of the
Department of Interior and Local Government; Ombudsman
Merceditas Gutierrez; Former
Philippine National Police Chief
Director General Jesus Verzosa;
Former Manila Police District
(MPD) Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay; National Capital
Region
Police
Office
(NCRPO) chief Director Leocadio Santiago; Manila City
Mayor Alfredo Lim and Vice
Mayor Isko Moreno; Negotiator,
Superintendent Orlando Yebra;
Manila Police Special Weapons
and Tactics Unit head Chief Inspector Santiago Pascual; Erwin
Tulfo and Michael Rogas, from
Radyo Mo Nationwide Aquino
added that “three networks”
and a deputy ombudsman may
also be held liable, but did not
give details.
Justice Secretary Leila de
Lima, who conducted the IIRC,
told reporters that Deputy Ombudsman Emilio Gonzalez III,
the DZXL Station manager, and
television “channels 2, 5, and 7"
were also named in the report.
She did not specify the possible sanctions against the three
broadcast networks, but said,
“Hindi ganun kabigat but I
don’t want to disclose it... Yung
mga possible violations ng Code
of Ethics."
“As I am now leaving on an
important mission, I want to emphasize that I do not want make
decisions regarding such important matters without a thorough
review. I will study their findings upon my return, and decide
accordingly," Aquino said.
Aquino said he has ordered
Executive Secretary Paquito
“Jojo” Ochoa Jr. and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Ed de
Mesa to review the report before
he acts on the IIRC’s recommendations.
“I think reasonable people
will not begrudge me the time
necessary to go through the 83
pages and the 10-volume set of
annexes to find out if there’s evidence sufficient enough to file
[charges], especially criminal
proceedings. At the same time
I’m reminded there is presumption of innocence until proven
guilty. I don’t want to pillory
people who might not be guilty
or as guilty as they have been
portrayed to be," said the president.
“It’s possible that I may
subscribe to the entirety, I may
add to the recommendations, I
may diminish some of the actions," he said.
Aquino refused to comment
on the nature of the possible
charges against those the IIRC
said could be held accountable.
“I’d rather not discuss the
recommendations at this point
in time. Any comment on my
part will unduly influence those
who have been tasked to review
towards implementing the recommendations," he said when
asked if the media members implicated in the incident could be
held criminally liable.
Aquino, however, indicated
his dismay over the failure of
police negotiators to contact
Mendoza over the phone because the latter was being interviewed by a radio journalist.
“Why should the negotiator
be hampered in his ability to
communicate with the hostage
taker that he’s trying to talk
down because he has to wait in
line to other parties that are
communicating with him who
are not trained in negotiations?"
the president said. He reminded
the media that “rights should always come with responsibilities.”
Aquino, who had earlier
said that heads will roll over the
incident, assured the public he
would not spare his longtime
friend Puno if there is found to
be sufficient evidence against the
latter. Aquino had designated
Puno, the undersecretary for
peace and order, to be in charge
of police matters within the
DILG.
“Una kong obligasyon sa
taong bayan, hindi dun sa
friendship, hindi sa kamag-anak,
hindi sa kapartido. So kung mapapakita at nandon sa report,
may mga punto na na-raise
kung saan tila siya’y nagkulang,
tingnan natin kung masusuportahan nga ng facts and it will
stand up," he said.
Aquino said he is hoping
that Ochoa and De Mesa will be
done with the review of the IIRC
report after his week-long working visit to the United States.
13
September 30, 2010
34 recruiters, including foreigners, arrested
MANILA - Thirty-four persons, including three foreign nationals, were charged recently
for allegedly defrauding at least
19 jobseekers, mostly nurses, of
P300,000 each, in exchange for
high-paying jobs in the United
Kingdom.
Charged with syndicated
and large scale illegal recruitment and estafa in the Makati
Prosecutor’s Office were Timothy Malcolm Sargeant, 53, and
Karen Denise Wood, 38, both
British nationals; Kenyan Paul
Maundu Nyamai, 33, and the
Filipino staff of the employment
agency International Student
Advisors 4U Inc. (ISA).
The suspects were arrested
by operatives of the Anti-Transnational Crime Division of the
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group during an entrapment operation in their office at
Mavenue Building, Guerrero
Street, Makati Avenue, Makati
City.
Senior Supt. Gilbert Sosa,
chief of the CIDG-ATCD, said
several other officials and employees of ISA are still at large,
including the owners, Philip
Leonard, a British national, and
his wife, Bernalyn NacionalesLeonard.
Also named respondents
were officials and employees of
Faces and Shots Video Editing
Inc. and Sir Philip Leonard
Learning Center Inc.
Sosa said ISA, Faces and
Shots Video Editing Inc. and Sir
Philip Leonard Learning Center
Inc. serve as one-stop shops for
illegal recruitment activities of
the respondents through a student visa scheme.
Under its Securities and Exchange Commission registration,
the agency is only limited to providing advisory and marketing
consultancy services for training
college and university courses in
foreign countries.
However, on their official
website, the firm reportedly advertises their capability to bring
nurses and health care professionals to the UK on a “Study
and Work” program.
Many of the complainants
said they applied for on-the-job
training offered by the company
because it promised big salaries
as nurses and caregivers in the
UK.
Each was required to pay
amounts ranging from P300,000
to P650,000.
A verification with the
POEA showed that the respondents and ISA were not authorized to recruit and deploy
workers abroad.
Meanwhile, 13 Filipinos
were arrested in a series of
crackdown operations against illegal immigrants in the United
Kingdom.
In a press statement forwarded by the British Embassy
in Manila, the Home Office UK
Border Agency said it is taking
the necessary steps to deport the
13 from the UK.
“Seven of the arrests took
place during UK Border Agency
raids on a number of addresses
in Willesden, north-west London on Thursday, 16 September," the UK Border Agency
said.
It cited the operation in
Willesden where authorities visited 3 addresses and found 50
people inside and in constructed
accommodations.
Of the 50, 11 were arrested
including 7 Filipino women and
3 Chinese for a variety of immigration offenses.
“The 7 Filipinos remain in
detention pending their removal,” the Agency said.
The landlord of the property is also facing investigation
by council planning and health
and safety officials.
“This is the latest in a series
of operations designed to find
and remove those who have no
right to live or work in the UK,"
said Steve Fisher, head of the UK
Border Agency’s Brent local immigration team.
“We continue to work
closely with the police and other
agencies to target those who are
here illegally, and more raids
like this are planned across the
UK," he added.
In 2009, 85 Filipino nationals were removed from the UK
after being held in detention
solely for immigration offences.
Meanwhile, Filipino travelers are urged to strictly comply
with immigration laws when
visiting UK.
“While the UK welcomes
genuine visitors from the Philippines, we are also committed to
tackling immigration abuse
robustly, as evidenced by these
recent arrests and removals. We
also continue to work closely
with the Philippines Government to raise awareness of this
issue and to discourage people
from offending," said Ed Mackie,
Regional Manager in the Philippines for the UK Border Agency.
American, Pinay slain
in Lanao del Norte
MANILA - An American
from Michigan and a Filipiino
woman were slain in an ambush
in Lanao del Norte on Sept. 20.
Initial police investigation said
Steve Kindy, 41, may have been
killed due to “the man’s womanizing.”
Senior
police
supt.
Agrimero Cruz said two assailants opened fire on their passenger minibus at Mahayahay
village. He said another woman
who is said to be Kindy’s girlfriend was wounded in the attack.
Iligan police officer Alibsar
Daraba said Kindy was shot six
times.
Police said the American’s
possible womanizing could have
led to a motive. They were also
considering a Quran-burning
angle.
“We are looking at two angles. The first is if there is a connection to a statement regarding
the burning of a Koran. Secondly, we are looking at a probable love triangle," said Senior
Supt. Bernardo Reamon.
In Midland, Michigan, TV5
spoke with Kindy’s family and
they said this was his second
trip to the Philippines this year.
Kindy first went in January and
Steve Kindy
when he saw the conditions
much of the children were living
in, he wanted to return and find
a way to help.
Family members said he returned in late August to continue his work helping orphans.
Kindy was recently divorced and had lived in Saginaw
for some time.
In separate killing earlier,
motorcycle-riding gunmen shot
dead an American in broad daylight in the northern Philippines.
The incident was followed
by another attack on a foreigner,
a British ship captain, who was
shot on Sept. 21 while driving in
Angeles City, north of Manila.
Bruce Anthony Jones was in
a car when two men on a motorcycle fatally shot him and
wounded his Filipino wife.
14 U.S. News Briefs
September 30, 2010
RP History Month proclaimed in Long Beach
LONG BEACH - The City
Council has officially designated
October as Filipino American
History Month. First District
Councilman Robert Garcia, the
primary author of the council
resolution, said approximately
20,000 Filipino-Americans live in
the Long Beach area, and that
number is likely to increase once
2010 U.S. Census data is tallied.
October was originally selected
as the appropriate month to
honor Filipino Americans because the earliest documented
proof of Filipino presence in the
continental United States was in
October 1587. Another significant date in Filipino history was
Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s landing on Oct. 20, 1944, in Leyte,
which led to the liberation of the
Philippines from Japanese military occupation in World War II.
According to City Council
documents, the United States
Congress currently is considering legislation (H.R. 155) to
grant official status to Filipino
American History Month. The
Long Beach City Council declared the boundaries of the
city’s Filipino Neighborhood in
1992, which are Santa Fe Avenue
from 20th Street to Spring Street.
Census Bureau data show concentrations of Filipinos developed in west Long Beach in the
1940s because of the United
States Naval Shipyard.
Pinay wins Miss
Asia USA title
prior experience in pageants, she
swept the title over the other
Asian country representatives
from across the US. Ariana was
born into generations of Manibog beauties. Her mother, Lana
Manibog, was former Southern
California title holder and
placed top finalist in Miss California USA. Her aunt, Francel
Manibog Caracol, was finalist
and won Queen of Oceania in
Miss World 1988. And her main
coach and mentor and auntie
was former Binibining Pilipinas
USA and winner of Binibining
Pilipinas International 1982, Lisa
Manibog.
Varela’s lavender floral
gown and cultural costume
(terno) with head dress were
personally designed by FilipinoAmerican haute couture designer Joey Galon of Joey Galon
Atelier in Las Vegas, Nevada
and Los Angeles, California.
3 Pinoy San Bruno
razed in blast
SAN BRUNO, California At least three Filipino American
homes were razed by the gas explosion that hit San Bruno early
this month, but none of the some
3,000 Pinoys living in the area
were killed or injured. The suburban neighborhood, just 12
miles south of San Francisco,
turned into a raging inferno after the blast. Paulita Fandino
thought a plane had crashed.
She said, “We heard a loud
bang. It was so loud. We felt the
house shake," she told ABSCBN. Her son, Mike, thought it
was a terrorist attack. Martin
Mata and Valerie Concepcion
live just a few blocks away from
the worst hit area. “We took the
most valuable stuff. But lives are
more important,” said Danilet
Fandino. The Fandinos made
sure to bring their passports,
citizenship papers and especially
their mother’s medicines.
Filam in RI loses
bid as atty. general
Miss Philippines, Ariana Manibog
Varela
CALIFORNIA - Miss Philippines, Ariana Manibog Varela,
19, of Los Angeles, California
won the coveted title of Miss
Asia USA 2010. Varela also won
best in cultural costume and best
in swimsuit. The other winners
were: 1st runner up, Jenny Cho,
Miss Korea; 2nd runner up,
Sarah Makandura, Miss Sri
Lanka; 3rd runner up, Natalie
Dinatale, Miss Lebanon; 4th runner up, Jennifer Gonzalez, Miss
Taiwan. Varela is the daughter
of Lana Manibog Varela and Dr.
Gilbert Varela. She is also the
granddaughter of former Mayor
Monty Manibog and Jean Manibog of Monterey Park.
This is Varela’s very first
pageant. With absolutely no
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island - Joe Fernandez, a FilipinoAmerican, has failed to win the
Democratic party’s nomination
for attorney general of this state.
A graduate of Harvard University, Fernandez had close to half
a million dollars in his campaign
coffers. But he came out a poor
third in the Sept. 14 primary in
the state. Mayor David N.
Cicilline, who hired Fernandez
to be city solicitor in 2003, credits him with devising the legal
plan to revoke the pensions of
city officials and police officers
accused of corruption, including
former Police Chief Urbano Prignano Jr. and former Director of
Administration Frank E. Corrente who’ve waged court fights
to keep them (Prignano is still
getting his); and abolishing the
“tow list” that awarded lucrative
vehicle towing contracts to businesses based on political favoritism. Fernandez grew up in
Pennsylvania, a son of Filipino
immigrants. He worked nights
in a campus eatery to help pay
his Brown University tuition.
His wife Emily Maranjian, also a
Harvard Law School graduate,
has worked as a state prosecutor
since 1998. For the last year,
since Fernandez quit his city job,
her $70,982-a-year salary has
been supporting their family.
tal nude, it was hilarious, it was
nerve wracking but it was a
good experience." Roldan said
his biggest break so far is landing a Givenchy ad campaign.
Roldan is in New York for Fall
Fashion Week walking the runways for designers Phillip Lim,
Michael Bastian and Copper
Wheat.
Filams in NC
join int’l festival
Del Rosario as Reyna Elena, second place is Rachel Gulanes and
third place is Reanna Marquez.
The winners for Princess are Mia
Magalong as Princess Elena, second place is Alyssa Tungul,
third place is Kiara Villamor,
and fourth place is Alexis Magalong. The winners were crowned
by Unalaska Mayor Shirley Marquardt and Tonya Miller. We
had folk dances for entertain-
More Pinoys now
work in Canada
Jason Kenney, the Immigration minister of Canada, has said
the Philippines remains an important source of immigrant
workers to a country that is experiencing a low birth rate and
an ageing work force. In a
speech in Manila recently, Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism
Jason Kenney said around
450,000 immigrants arrive in
Canada daily.
He said Canada issued
more permanent resident visas
to Filipinos last year than to
other nationals worldwide. In
2009, the country issued 30,000
permanent resident visas to Filipino applicants and their families. In 2005, only 10,370
permanent visas were issued to
Filipinos.
“And we continue to welcome more people from the Philippines every year," Kenney
said. He said there are currently
450,000 Filipinos permanently
residing in Canada.
Kenney
said Filipinos, who have been
immigrating to Canada for more
than 50 years, have contributed
much to its economic growth.
Americans participate in the recent Myrtle Beach International festival.
Mari-Lou
Wong-Chong,
sixth from right, stands with the
Filipino American group of the
Lower Cape Fear during the
2010 Brunswick County International Festival at Brunswick
Community College in Supply,
N.C. Wong-Chong, co-chairwoman of the festival, with help
from the Brunswick Arts Council, said numerous organizations, representing music and
food from cultures from around
the world, attended. The theme
was “Bringing the World to
Brunswick County.” (Sun News)
Pinoys in Alaska
mark Santacruzan
ment and dinner for everyone. It
was another successful event
supported by the community of
Unalaska. Nolie Magpantay is
president of the Fil-Am Bayanihan Association. (Dutch Harbor
Fishermen photo)
Filam animator wins
1st Emmy award
LOS ANGELES - Joseph
Mateo, a 15-year veteran Filipino
American animator of Disney
has won his first Emmy Award
last month. Mateo received the
“Outstanding
Individual
Achievement in Animation”
Emmy for his work as a storyboard artist in Disney’s “Prep
Pinoy from Canada
models for Givenchy
MANHATTAN, NY - Filipino-Canadian Paolo Roldan
came to the US last year as a
fashion buyer. He was spotted
by Boss Models New York
founder and owner David Bossman and was asked to take test
shots. He was later signed up
and made to pose full frontal naked editorial photo for Givenchy
in the June issue of Vogue Paris
magazine. That photo brought
him international fame. He modeled for Givenchy, a French
brand of clothing whose popular
clients include Audrey Hepburn
and the Kennedy family. He
even closed for Givenchy’s fall
winter collection fashion show
in Paris last January. Asked
about the naked shot, he said:
“They just told me alright we’re
gonna shoot it. Take your robe
off, take your underwear off. I
was like, OK yeah sure, so I took
everything off, next thing you
know I was shooting it full fron-
Filipino American kids hold rare Santacruzan in Alaska.
The Filipino American Bayanihan Association held its second-annual
Santa
Cruzan
celebration last month in
Unalaska, according to the
Dutch Harbor Fishermen Publication. It said this year’s parade
on Aug. 28 was a challenge because the wind was blowing 30
mph and the children were all
dressed up, wearing their beautiful gowns with their crowns.
The community gathered on the
sidewalk cheering. This year’s
winners for Reyna are Ashley
and Landing,” an animated holiday special about two elves who
prepare the way for Santa.
Mateo has twice been nominated
for an Annie award, which is the
highest honor given in animation. He received a nomination
for Prep & Landing and Bolt before being recognized and winning an Emmy this year.
The 38-year-old University
of Santo Tomas graduate immigrated to the US in the early
1990’s and got his big break
when Disney hired him in 1994.
15
September 30, 2010
September 25, Ivy Rose
Band in “Kollaboration DC”,
also Kirby Asunto, 12-year-old
promising singer in an Asian
American Talent Competition.
GW Lisner Auditorium. Gen
Ad $15; Students & Military
and Children under 12- $12 .
Contact:
202.247.0117
or
202.631.8856.
October 2, 2010, Monte
Carlo Night sponsored by Philippine American Chamber of
Commerce of the Metro DC
Area (PACCMDC). $80 per person or $150 per couple. Contact:
John Cabrera 240-401-9138 or
[email protected].
st
October 9 (Saturday), 41
Anniversary Ball and Debutantes Reunion of Katipunan
(MD). Sheraton Hotel, 903 Dulancy Valley Road, Towson,
MD 21204. Contact: [email protected].
October 9 (Saturday) TerraPinoy Day sponsored by Filipino Cultural Assn of UMD.
The Armory, University of
Maryland, College Park, Maryland. Free for middle-school,
high-school students.
The
benefits to the young people —
networking and mentoring by
motivated young adults “who
have been there, done that”, appreciation of Filipino culture,
pride in being Filipino American, and the importance of staying in school — all wrapped in
a FUN package. Lunch and
snacks are provided. Contact:
www. fcaatumd.com
October
9
(Saturday)
6:30pm, Casablanca Dinner
Dance. The Springfield Hilton,
6550 Loisdale Court, Springfield, VA 22150. $65 per person
1940s or semi-formal. Contact
Rolly or Tess Saldana (202)
415-8360.
October
16
(Saturday)
6:00pm, Medical Mission of
Mercy USA Dinner Dance. Hilton Alexandria Mark Center,
5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA 22311. $80 per person.
Contact
Yoly
Arzadon
703.750.3768.
October 16 (Saturday) 8:30
a.m. Filipino-American Republicans
of
Virginia
(FARV) Breakfast with Gov.
Robert F. McDonnell, Governor
of VA and Hon. Ron Villanueva, the first Fil-Am
elected to the Virginia General
Assembly. Virginia Beach Re-
sort Hotel and Conference Center, 2800 Shore Drive Virginia
Beach, VA 23451. Contact: Lynn
Francis
[email protected] or 703-9670295.
October 22 (Friday) 6:30pm,
Kababayan, Inc. 21st Anniversary & Halloween Party. Harvest Moon, 7260 Arlington
Blvd., Falls Church, VA.
October
23
(Saturday)
6:30pm, “Handog 2010” Feed
the Hungry, Inc. 18th Annual
Dinner Dance. Marriot Crystal
Gateway Hotel, Arlington, VA
22202, VA. Contact Tess Alarcon 571.333.5327.
October
30
(Saturday)
6:00pm, University of the Philippines Alumni Association of
DCMDVA
Maskara
Ball.
Westin Tysons Corner, 7801
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church,
VA 22043. $80 per person, $85
after Oct. 15. Contact: Liza Virata-Theimer 301.294.2705.
October
30
6:00pm, PAFAIs
(Saturday)
Halloween
Party.
Lincolnia Senior Center,
4710 North Chambliss Street,
Alexandria, Va. 22312. $25 Contact: Carl Abella 301.907.8688.
October 30 (Saturday) FilAm Ministry of St. Michael
Halloween Dinner Dance, Williamsburg Rm., 805 Wayne
Ave., Silver Spring, MD.
October
30
(Saturday)
6:30pm-10:30pm. Marinduqueneos Halloween Costume Party,
Argyle Recreation Center, 1030
Forest Glen Rd, SIlver Spring
MD 20901. Contact: Cugie Dela
Santa : 301-728-1684, Blanca S.
Ho: 301-919-0753.
November 6 (Saturday)
6:00pm APODCAAs Dinner
Dance. Fort Myer Community
Center, McNair Bldg, Arlington, VA 22211. $35. Contact:
Beth Wong 301.395.1039.
November 13 (Saturday)
11:00am -10pm. Migrant Heritage Commissions International Festival, $15. RSVP:
[email protected]
202.247.0117.
November
27(Saturday)
4:30pm. Carlos Alberto Ibay
Concert, sponsored by the
Medical Mission of Mercy,
Thomas Jefferson Theater, 125
S Old Glebe Road, Arlington,
VA 22204. $25. Contact Lydia at
703.801.8654.
November 27 (Saturday)
5:30 pm. University of Santo
Tomas Quadricentennial Ball
celebrating 400 years of the
Universitys legacy. Sponsored
by the UST Alumni Association
in America Metro Washington,
DC. Double Tree Hotel (Crystal City), 300 Army Navy Drive,
Arlington, VA 22202.
Amy
Quinto 240.260.1802.
December
5
(Sunday). Paskong Pinoy co-sponsored by Philippine American
Foundation
for
Charities
and Filipino Organization of
Catholic
University
Students with the Embassy of the
Philippines. Edward J. Prysbyla
University Center, Catholic
University of America, 620
Michigan Ave. NE, Washington, DC. Free admission. Contact:
Ador
Carreon:
[email protected] or
corina.apostol@philippinesusa
.org.
December 18 (Saturday)
7:00pm. Simbang Gabi sponsored by Our Lady of Good
Counsel Filipino Ministry,
OLGC 8601 Wolftrap Road, Vienna, VA 22182. Contact: Verna
Samson 703.281.7718.
Please submit your organization’s event information to
[email protected] for inclusion in the Community Calendar.
16 Around DC
September 30, 2010
5 in DC area are among TOFA awardees
Five Metro DC residents
were among the Twenty Outstanding
Filipinos
Abroad
(TOFA) awardees who were
honored at the awards gala held
at the JW Marriott in Washington D.C. Sept. 14. TOFA founder
Nonoy Mendoza was given a
standing ovation by the crowd
of about 400 guests. This year
marks the 20th year that FilAm
Image is honoring the men and
women who epitomize positive
core values through their significant contributions to society.
Ambassador Willy C. Gaa was
the keynote speaker.
The honorees from the
Solita Wakefield
Jesse Gatchalian
Pablito Alarcon
metro area are Feed the Hungry
Board members, Pablito Alarcon
and Solita Wakefield, who is
also president of the World
Bank-IMF FilAm Association;
Carl Abella of Bethesda, Maryland; Jesse Gatchalian of Washington, DC; and Dino Doliente
III of Owing Mills, Maryland.
Other awardees are Angeles
City Mayor, Ed Pamintuan; Dr.
Romualdo “Jun” Aragon, Las
Pinoy priest inspires parishioners
Fr. Pete Literal, retired
chaplain of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons, is the only Filipino priest at the Cathedral of
Mary our Queen in Baltimore,
Maryland, where he serves as
the new Associate Pastor and
Director
of
Evangelization.
Many Filipinos, including teachers, nurses and doctors, reside in
Baltimore. With his profound
homilies punctuated with homegrown jokes, Fr. Pete has inspired his listeners everywhere
he was posted, including those
belonging to the Bukas Loob sa
Diyos Covenant Community
(BLD) which originated 25 years
ago in Manila. Photo shows Fr.
Pete (3rd from right) with, from
left: Ben Villagracia, Midgie Cajayon, Jun Raymundo, Enrico
and Angelyn Marzan with
daughter Anjelica Misyel T.
Marzan, and Joanne and Boots
Pardo. Not in photo are: Doug
and Charette Hosford, Manny
and Lita Dialino, Oscar and
Pinky Hernandez, She Raymundo, Dong and Tess Jomuad,
Geoff and Chat Ampoyo, Jimmy
and Liza Almendrala, and Fr.
Dave Sison of Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Juancho Cajayon)
The DC chapter of the US Pinoys for
Good Governance met on September 9th
at the Celia Donahue Residence in
Arlington,
Virginia
to
discuss
preparations for the US visit of President
Noynoy Aquino. The newly-formed
organization hopes to help bring about
political and economic empowerment to
Filipinos and good governance in the
Philippines. From left are: Ben Aquino,
Ding Marcelo, Eric Lachica, Jun
Glorioso, Toni Dacanay, Zeny Marcelo,
Celia Donahue, and Manila Mail's Au and
Frank Redondo. Standing, from left, are:
Rey Gan, and World War II veteran
Celestino Almeda. Not in photo are Jun
Razul and Fe Lazo. (Photo by Angelyn
Tugado Marzan)
Filipino American veteran Rey Cabacar and a friend roast a pig at the backyard of Ador and Nanette Carreon
during the Fund Raising Luau for the Veterans at their residence last September 5. (Bing Cardenas Branigin)
Vegas; Jorge Ortoll of New York;
Renato Gorospe of Nassau, Bahamas; Evelyn Ferguson of
North Carolina; Felix Agraan of
Waipahu, Hawaii; Juanita Cacanindin of Virginia Beach; Edna
Concepcion of San Diego, California; Norma Vohra of Quebec,
Canada; Joni Redick-Yundt of
Mililani, Hawaii; Lito Alcantara,
also of Hawaii; George Samson
of Sterling Heights, Michigan;
Antonio Ramil of Maui; Nida
Cortez of Elmhurst, NY and
Linda Mayo of Jersey City, New
Jersey.
Tutubi Evolution Band
debuts in Arlington
Tutubi Evolution Band,
founded by Julian Oteyza, made
its debut performance at the
American Legion in Arlington,
Virginia September 18. The All
Star band is made up of the
drummer, Ramon Yrure from
the legendary Pinoys band, lead
guitarist Tony Villarma, bassist
Jimmy dela Noche both former
band members of Rene Ibanez
band, Eddie Lozano and Julian
Oteyza from the Tasadays Band,
the first all filipino band in the
DC area. The band will be per-
forming again at the same location on Saturday, October 9,
2010, 8 pm - 12 midnight.Musicians and artists are invited to
bring their musical instruments
and paint brushes. You can learn
more about the band and future
events at www.julianoteyza.com
They also celebrated the birthdays of Phil Lopez and Nancy
Rufusan. Photo shows, from left,
Tony Villarma, Eddie Lozano,
Trifee Miaco, Ramon Yrure, John
Malon, Jimmy dela Noche, and
Julian Oteyza.
AILA thanks Filam
lawyer Riedmiller
WASHINGTON D.C. - The
American Immigration Lawyers’
Association (AILA) has thanked
Filipino
American
lawyer
Miriam Riedmiller for her recent
participation in the annual convention held at the National
Harbor in Maryland two months
ago. At the same time, the
Board on Professional Responsibilities of the District of Columbia has also appointed her as an
alternate Hearing Committee
member in DC. Her term expires
in 1013. Elizabeth J. Brenda, executive attorney, said the Board
“wishes to express to you its appreciation for your willingness
to continue this important public
service.” Riedmiller is the only
Asian female in this group.
Riedmiler said that “what I
try to do is to contribute ideas
that will help lawyers help our
people.”
Riedmiller was also thanked
by AILA “for sharing your insights and expertise with over
2,600 attendees in the annual
conference.” She was one of the
speakers at the AILA conference.
It said evaluations from the
attendees “were excellent and
the conference was very well-received. ” We are also very grateful
for
your
personal
contributions to the success of
this year’s AILA annual conference."
Attendees earn continuing
legal education that is required
by the bar.
17
September 30, 2010
September Memories
Washingtonian’s are truly
blessed with the perfect autumn
weather we are having recently.
As we prepare for the fall and
winter seasons, we are reminded
of last year’s snow blizzards that
lasted until February of 2010.
I’d rather enjoy this cold
mornings, with sun shining,
blue skies, and In the afternoon
a light breeze. Days are shorter,
and nights longer. How I wish
it’s always like this all year long.
September is a good month
for me. Not only is my birth
month, but because in the Philippines, it’s the beginning of the
“ber” month.
This is ridiculous now, but
when I was there, this is the time
they do the count down for
Christmas.
You see, Philippines claims
to be the country with the longest Christmas holidays, from December 16 until the feast of the
three kings on January 6th.
But the air waves start to
play Christmas songs. Divisoria
and other shopping institutions
like Greenhills, Central Market,
Shoe Mart, etc. are now selling
Christmas ornaments.
Last year when I was in Manila in October, the big Christmas sale was on. Fake Christmas
Trees covered with fake snow in
different colors was the best sellers.
Uhm, I told myself, Christmas Tree with snow flakes in a
tropical country?
Another best sellers are the
Santa Clause ornaments. They
are really cute, and adorable that
you want to buy them.
My favorite is a Santa in full
gear, climbing a bamboo tree,
another holding a basket, another in Barong, and the lists
goes on.
And when you are driving
in Metro Manila, seating in traffic, radio stations playing Christmas carols, vendors selling
sampaguita leis, and also selling
Christmas ornaments and gifts.
But for us Filipino Americans in this area, we just sit-back
and relax and enjoy our four
season’s.
Spring, Summer, Fall, and
Winter. Great if you don’t have
allergies.
Consolation is that people
like me who wants a change not
only politically, but change in
the atmosphere, fashion, food,
and climate, to name a few, that
makes me new all the time.
As an adult living in Washington, D.C., September reminds
me of my family back in the
Philippines. They are preparing
for the Christmas holidays; me,
I’m preparing for the cold winter
season.
This is also the month I was
born, and this the month I
missed most my father and
mother.
Yes, it’s been years since my
Mom and Dad passed away, but
I still missed them dearly. I am a
grown woman with my own
family now but every time I celebrate my birthday I remember
them. Dad was always the first
to greet me on my birthday,
even when I was living overseas.
No matter where I was, how old
I was, my Daddy’s card of greetings was there first.
I am indeed very lucky to
have parents who knows to be a
parent, specially my Daddy.
No matter how busy he
was, he always remembers special days. When he died, I remember one of my nephews
said, “ I feel guilty for not taking
his calls very early during my
birthdays".
Well, I did too, and others.
Let’s face it. No one would
love to take an old man’s call
just to say Happy Birthday, very
early in the morning.
My nephew told me recently, “I missed Mamita and
Garanpa’s early call on my
birthday now. Everyone just text
or greets me on my FB account.
It’s so different when you
hear them say, Happy Birthday!
And then the physical thing of
touching the greeting card".
That’s why September, is
my favorite month. This is the
month I was born to a wonderful couple. I owe them everything that I have today. And no
matter how many years that
they have gone I still missed
them.
My Dadm Pablo, and my
Mom, Agnes, gave me so much.
I don’t know how they did it. Six
children, they were all equally
loved up to their last breath.
Funny thing is, I really
looked like my Dad, I had his
dreams. In fact, when I was
working in Malacanang, it was
easy to get things done, they see
my last name looked at me and
they’d say, “anak ka ni Boss, or
ni Capt., or Pablo, then I would
just nod or give a smile.
Yes it did worked.
With my Mommy, she was
independent, beautiful, and social. She’s 10 years junior from
my Dad, and that she loved it.
She was the ultimate partner to
my Daddy.
When I was in elementary
and high school, she would
come to school meetings because
Dad would be overseas or some
place on a mission. Teachers and
friends thought she was my sister. She was tall, slim, mestiza
and fashionable, so different
from me and Dad.
They were a perfect match.
Like a pea in a pod.
I see myself in them when I
looked into the mirrors now. I
wish I told them more often
then, how I was proud to be
their daughter.
I still cry when I think of
them, specially in this September
morning.
18
September 30, 2010
Aquino cuts own budget, abolishes 10 offices
line sources. Previous cards had
photos of then President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo.
Reyes disqualified
as congressman
President Aquino III has
slashed his own budget to
P4.075 billion in 2011 following
the abolition of 10 redundant offices under his wing and other
cost-cutting measures. Executive
Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said
the proposed outlay of the Office
of the President (OP) is P183.9
million lower than this year’s
budget in line with the government’s plans to streamline the
operations in the executive department. Ochoa said that the
abolition of 10 locally funded
projects (LFPs) will save the government a total of P304.62 million in expenditure budget for
2011. Abolished are the Mindanao Development Council,
Office of the North Luzon Quadrangle Area, Office of External
Affairs, Presidential Anti-Graft
Commission, Minerals Development Council, Presidential AntiSmuggling Group, Luzon Urban
Beltway Super Region, Bicol
River Basin Watershed Management Project, Office of the Presidential Adviser on Global
Warming and Climate Change,
and the Office of the Presidential
Adviser on New Government
Centers.
BI to scrap 3-M cards
with Noynoy photos
THE Bureau of Immigration
is hurriedly trying to dispose of
some 3 million copies of arrival
and departure cards bearing the
photograph of a smiling President Aquino after being apprised that the President is
strongly averse to seeing his image on any government-related
project signage or document.
He has also ordered all government agencies to remove any
billboard, streamers, signs or announcement bearing the name
or photograph of any government official claiming sponsorship of any project. At his
departure for a working trip to
the United States Sept 20, he was
shocked to see his photo in the
departure card while filling it up
before boarding the PAL plane
for the United States. He ordered his photograph removed.
The BI predicament now is that
it would cause a heavy financial
burden to airlines, as there are
no immediate replacements for
the 30,000 copies needed daily at
the Naia for arriving and departing passengers, according to air-
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has disqualified
former Energy Secretary Angelo
Reyes as the first nominee of
One-United Transport Koalisyon
(1-UTAK) party-list at the House
of Representatives. Comelec
ruled that Reyes does not truly
represent 1-UTAK since the retired general failed to prove that
he was an advocate of the transport group despite presenting a
long list of evidentiary documents looking to prove that he
promotes the advocacies of the
party-list group. “In sum, all the
actions of respondent Reyes,
which he claims as proofs of his
advocacy to the transport sector
were done not in his personal
capacity but in his official capacity as secretary of departments
concerned," said the 13-page ruling penned by Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento.
200,000 jobless
nurses in RP
The Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) says there are
now close to 200,000 jobless
nurses in the country and the
number is expected to rise further with the measly budget allocated for public hospitals next
year. “There are 37,679 nurses
who passed the licensure examination last July and these board
passers will compete for jobs
with an estimated 160,000 unemployed nurses in the country,”
PNA
executive
director
Maristela Abenojar said. Due to
the continuing rise in the
number of jobless nurses,
Abenojar said many nurses are
forced to work and receive only
“certificate of volunteerism” and
“training experience” as payment. While the number of unemployed nurses on the rise,
Abenojar said an average of
8,000 to 10,000 health professionals leave the country to work
overseas.
Pnoy stops shanty
demolition in QC
President Aquino III has instructed Executive Secretary
Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. to put on
hold the relocation of thousands
of informal settlers in a property
owned by the National Housing
Authority (NHA) until the housing agency puts in place a comprehensive and orderly plan.
Ochoa asked NHA to suspend the relocation of families
living in the government property in Sitio San Roque II in
North Triangle, Quezon City to
Rodriguez, Rizal. The suspension does not cover families that
have opted to be relocated voluntarily.
Peso grows stronger
as deficit drops
The peso has been rising
lately after the government reported its first budget surplus in
four months, boosting optimism
this year’s deficit target will be
met. As of Sept. 20, the unit rose
0.1 percent to 44.013 to the dollar
as of the 4 p.m. close of trading
in Manila, appreciating for a
third day, according to Tullett
PrebonPlc. The currency earlier
touched 44.007, the strongest
level since Sept. 13, when it
reached a two-year high of
43.878.
There are predictions that
the peso will reach the P40 to $1
rate. But the Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas is trying to stop the rise
because this would be bad for
the export business.
Man rapes daughter,
gets 14,000 years
A father in the Philippines
has been sentenced to 14,400
years in jail for raping his
daughter. A Philippine court
sentenced the father to 14,400
years in prison after he was convicted of the near daily rape of
his teenage daughter over the
course of a year, reports the
Daily Express. A trial court
originally condemned the man, a
rickshaw driver, to die in March
2006, four years after he was formally charged with 360 counts
of rape. But the Court of Appeals in Manila commuted the
sentence to 40 years for each
count, according to a court decision.
The then-13-year-old victim,
now 22, said her ordeal began in
January 2001, when her mother
left for work in Hong Kong as a
domestic helper and left her
three children with their father
in Los Banos. The ordeal only
ended after she and her siblings
spent a holiday with their
mother’s relatives. Reluctant to
return to her father at the end of
the holiday, she broke down and
told her family about the abuse.
Her mother returned home from
Hong Kong and helped her file
the case.
12-M tots living
in poverty in RP
A new study by the Philippine Institute for Development
Studies (PIDS) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), estimates that 12.8 million children
under the age of 15 are living in
poverty, an increase of one million over a three-year period.
“Forty-four percent of all Filipino children are living in poverty and also suffer from other
dimensions of poverty like deprivations of food, shelter, health
and education," Vanessa Tobin,
UNICEF country representative,
told IRIN. It said 9.2 million of
the 12.8 million children live in
File photo shows Filipino teens participating in a mass gathering in
Manila.
rural areas.
It said 5.4 million children
were deprived of at least one of
the three dimensions of well-being - shelter, sanitation, and
water - in 2006.
Sunico elected new
cultural center head
Internationally
acclaimed
concert pianist and music educator Raul Sunico was elected
president of the Cultural Center
of the Philippines (CCP) during
the regular monthly board meeting. He takes over from Isabel
Caro-Wilson on Oct. 1.
Sunico is currently the
CCP’s vice president and artistic
director, and was appointed to
the CCP board by President
Aquino last month. Sunico holds
bachelor’s degrees in Piano (cum
laude) and Mathematics from
the University of the Philippines;
master’s degrees in Piano (from
the Julliard School of Music in
New York) and Statistics (from
the UP); and a doctorate in Piano Performance from New
York University.
Business visas
in tourist zones
Foreigners who have set up
businesses within the tourism
enterprise zones or tourist spots
in the country will be required
to secure a special investor’s
resident visa (SIRA) from the
Bureau of Immigration (BI). The
BI and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone
Authority (TIEZA), formerly
Philippine Tourism Authority
(PTA), are fine tuning the implementing rules and regulations
that will facilitate the issuance of
visas to these foreign investors.
BI officer-in-charge Ronaldo
Ledesma said that by coming
out with the SIRA they hope to
help in the government’s efforts
to boost the country’s image not
only as a prime tourist destination, but a favored place to do
business. The memorandum of
agreement between the BI and
TIEZA was formalized recently.
Unemployment rate
in RP is 6.9 %
THE unemployment rate
fell to 6.9 percent in July, the
lowest since October 2008, as the
faster-than-expected economic
growth in the first half of the
year translated to more jobs, the
government said. A total of 2.7
million Filipinos were jobless in
July, with about 36.3 million of
the estimated 60.9-million population aged 15 years and over being employed during the month,
the National Statistics Office
said. July’s unemployment rate
was lower than the 8 percent
that was recorded in April,
when 3.1 million Filipinos were
unemployed, and the 7.6 percent
jobless rate that was recorded in
July 2009.
The unemployment data,
which the Statistics Office releases every three months,
showed that the number of people in the labor force rose to 39
million in July from 38 million in
April. Analysts attributed the
lower jobless rate in July to the
7.9-percent growth in the total
economic output as measured
by the gross domestic product in
the first half of the year, beating
government and market estimates.
1% of extrajudicial
killings solved
Only 1 percent of the extrajudicial killings during the nine
years of the Arroyo administration and the first two months of
the Aquino administration has
been resolved in court, a recent
study showed.
Curiously, most of the killings occurred in Pampanga,
home province of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
who now sits as one of its representatives in Congress. According to the study conducted by
human rights lawyer Al Parreño
in partnership with the Asia
Foundation, only four of the 305
cases of extrajudicial killings
from 2001 to August this year
have attained conviction in
court. Of the 305 cases, 21 percent are undergoing trial, 18 percent are being investigated, and
Continued on page 19
19
September 30, 2010
Hometown News ... from page 18
16 percent had been dismissed.
The study likewise labeled
32 percent of the cases as “unsolved.”
“Thirty-two percent of the
cases have been categorized as
unsolved. This is due to the fact
that the identities of the assailants are still undetermined.
Thus, no case can be filed in
court," Parreño said in his study.
He attributed the high number
of unidentified suspects to the
pattern on how extrajudicial killings are carried out in the country.
12-M told living
in poverty in RP
A new study by the Philippine Institute for Development
Studies (PIDS) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), estimates that 12.8 million children
under the age of 15 are living in
poverty, an increase of one million over a three-year period.
“Forty-four percent of all Filipino children are living in poverty and also suffer from other
dimensions of poverty like deprivations of food, shelter, health
and education,” Vanessa Tobin,
UNICEF country representative,
told IRIN. Released on 16 September, but based on data compiled from 2003 to 2006, the key
findings of the study demonstrate clear trends across the
country, with 9.2 million of the
12.8 million children living in ru-
ral areas. According to the
study, 5.4 million children were
deprived of at least one of the
three dimensions of well-being shelter, sanitation, and water - in
2006.
Pope wants more
bishops in RP
Pope Benedict XVI is inclined to appoint more bishops
than cardinals to the Philippines.
Vatican Ambassador Mercedes
Reinares-Arrastia Tuazon, in an
interview over church-run Radio
Veritas 846 recently, said the
Pontiff is more inclined to appoint more bishops since they
are more involved in the parishes in the communities. In
2007, Senator Joker Arroyo filed
a resolution urging Archbishop
Adams and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to look into the
“disproportionate” number of
Filipino cardinals to the huge
Catholic population of the country. In the resolution, Sen. Arroyo lamented that the country
have only three cardinals while
other countries with smaller
Catholic populations such as the
United States , France, and Spain
, have more or less triple number
of cardinals than the Philippines.
The cardinals are Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal
Rosales, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and prefect
emeritus of the Congregation for
the Clergy in the Vatican, Jose
Cardinal
Sanchez.
Tuazon,
meantime, revealed that the Filipino family will be represented
for the first time this year in the
traditional Christmas Belen (nativity scene) in the Vatican.
“This is the first time that the
Filipino family is represented in
the Belen this Christmas. We
will be on the site. It will be a
great event,” she said.
Ombudsman
suspends 3
customs officials
The Ombudsman has suspended for six months without
pay three officials of the Customs bureau for their alleged involvement
in
the
illegal
importation of melamine-laced
milk in 2008. Ombudsman Ma.
Merceditas Gutierrez said there
was basis for the suspension of
Customs operations officers Emmanuel Reyes, Akmad Noor,
and Dante Crisostomo. Crisostomo was tasked to examine the
goods and ascertain the duties
and taxes. His findings were reviewed by Noor, the principal
customs examiner. Reyes, the
principal customs appraiser,
went over the findings of Noor
and
Crisostomo.
Deputy
Ombdusman Jose De Jesus said
the three are undergoing preliminary investigation, following
the criminal and administrative
charges filed against them by the
field investigation office.
2 tourists didn’t
pay hotels, nabbed
Two foreign tourists were
recently arrested for failing to
pay hotel bills worth more than
1,000 dollars, police said. Australian Susan May Jennifer Taylor and Moroccan Youssef
Mouflih have been billeted at the
Millionaires Hotel in the suburban city of Pasay in metropolitan Manila since August 11.
Asian newspapers
survive meltdown
Asian newspapers are defying the global print media meltdown while their counterparts
in the West spill red ink and lay
off staff in droves as readers
flock to online news. Print advertising — the lifeblood of a
newspaper’s revenue base - has
plunged 47 percent in the hardhit North American market since
2005, while the outlook for
Europe, Middle East and Africa
(EMEA) remains tepid, says a
new study by global consultancy
Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
However, Asia’s newspaper
advertising is expected to rise 3.1
percent annually through 2014
to 27.3 billion US dollars, according to PwC’s “Global Entertainment and Media Outlook
2010-2014.” The trend toward
online news has been slower in
Asia where newspapers remain
popular, including Japan which
has the world’s highest newspaper readership.
White-clad lady
traffic officers
There will be a big change
in the landscape of major streets
in key cities of the country beginning September 20 when the
Land Transportation Office
(LTO) start deploying lady traffic enforcers in white uniforms
to restore order in traffic-prone
streets. The deployment of these
mostly attractive traffic enforcers is one of the few innovations
being introduced by newly appointed LTO Chief Virginia Torres. The lady traffic enforcers are
expected to restore order and
sanity in the usually chaotic traffic situations in major urban centers
nationwide,
especially
during rush hours. “We are optimistic that the deployment of
these lady enforcers should
serve as a clear signal to the public of our sincere desire of not
only solving perennial traffic
problems but also one of our
first steps toinitiate reforms
within the agency” Assistant
Secretary Torres said.
Miss Major Major
adopted by Manila
The Manila City Hall presented Miss Universe fourth
runner-up Venus Raj the key to
the city of Manila recently and
declared her an adopted daughter of the city when she paid a
courtesy call on Manila Mayor
Alfredo S. Lim. Lim led city offi-
Continued on page 20
20
September 30, 2010
Hometown News ... from page 19
cials in welcoming Raj and presented her with the key to the
city. The adoption of Raj and the
key mean she is welcome to all
the privileges that Manila residents enjoy. Also present to welcome Raj was another beauty
title-holder, former Miss International Gemma Cruz-Araneta,
who now heads the city’s tourism and cultural affairs bureau.
In a statement, the mayor said
“in his heart and the hearts of
many Filipinos,” Raj was their
Miss Universe, as he acknowledged the beauty queen’s efforts to bag the crown.
RP maid poisoned,
stabbed in Saudi
The Philippine government
will hire the best lawyers to
prosecute the abusers of a Filipino woman from Mindanao
who died Sept. 8 in Saudi Arabia
from apparent chemical poisoning and multiple stab wounds
on her body, the Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. DFA
has not named any suspects yet
in the death of Romelyn Eroy
Ybanez who was found by local
police authorities dying in the
kitchen of her employer’s home
in Al-Khobar. She was deployed
to the Middle East only last May
31 supposedly as a nursing aide
but ended up a domestic helper.
The embassy in Riyadh said
she was found by the police with
stab wounds on her neck, abdomen and wrist, as well as acid
burns on her mouth area, arms
and legs. A nearly empty container of sulfuric acid was recovered from the scene.
Ybanez was immediately
taken by the Red Crescent to the
King Fahd Hospital but she soon
died from loss of blood and acid
outmaneuvered Gomez to complete a championship run from
ingestion.
Yanks bullish
on RP business
Majority of American businessmen are bullish on the Philippines this year with about 86
percent of them expecting overall expansion in the local economy that could even top the
Asean average of 73 percent.
These Americans’ optimism
is anchored on their projection
that profitability of their companies here would be better. The
survey showed that 72 percent
of the American companies expect increased profits for 2010.
This was more than the number
of optimistic Americans, or 42
percent of them, saw better profits in 2009. The chamber’s survey also extended the good
news to 2011 as 76 percent of the
association’s members believe
their profitability of the local operations will extend to next year.
Results from the 2010 survey highlight more strengths
than concerns in the Philippines,
a fact that further demonstrates
the increasingly positive outlook
held by the respondents about
their location of business.
Bata Reyes wins
Predator World tilt
Efren “Bata” Reyes, a pool
great who has won practically
all the major tournaments in the
world, has improved his legacy
as he rallied from a 1-5 deficit
and beat out heartbreak kid
Roberto Gomez, 10-9, in a classic
finale of the 10th Predator
World 10-Ball Championship at
The Block of SM North EDSA in
Quezon City Sept. 18. In a match
that boiled down to one final
rack for all the marbles, Reyes
is finally allowed, it could earn
the country an estimated P700
million in taxes and duties annually.
Outsourcing meet
slated in Manila
Efren “Bata” Reyes
the losers’ bracket. Earlier, Reyes
outlasted Jeff de Luna, 9-7, in the
quarterfinals then routed American Rodney Morris, 9-5, in the
semifinals.
Solons want Ukay
Ukay legalized
The Bureau of Customs
(BOC) is coordinating with lawmakers on the proposal to legalize importation of second-hand
clothing into the country. Customs Commissioner Angelito
Alvarez said he already had a
meeting with Oriental Mindoro
Rep. Rey Umali, Leyte Rep. Andres Salvacion andBatangas Rep.
Tomas Apacible on the study to
legalize importation and selling
of used clothes, popularly
known as “ukay-ukay.” Alvarez
noted the garments industry sector did not raise any objection
against the proliferation of ukayukay stores. A law has declared
the importation of used clothing
as illegal to protect the local garment industry. Alvarez said that
if importation of used garments
At least 15 countries in 5
continents will be sending delegates and speakers to this year’s
International Outsourcing Summit, scheduled on October 26-27
at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in
Pasay City. Over 250 attendees
have been confirmed to date,
and more are expected to attend,
especially from emerging outsourcing locations such as Africa
and South America, as well as
from established hubs such as
India, and outsourcers such as
North America and Europe.
“We are seeing increased interest from locations that are
seeing the value of outsourcing
both as prospective clients, and
as providers of outsourced services," said Oscar Sañez, CEO of
the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP).
Dolphins’ savers
awarded by WWF
Three Filipinos, including
eight-year-old Carl Andrei Leuterio, have received World Wildlife
Fund
Hero
of
the
Environment awards for their
roles in saving a stranded dolphin in San Teodoro, Oriental
Mindoro.
Pelted by heavy rain, the
2.5-meter-long Grampus griseus
dolphin was found ailing by the
shoreline of Poblacion village on
Sept. 2. The dolphin appeared
weak, and had noticeably red
eyes and heavy skin secretions.
Leuterio, a third-grader, was the
first to report the stranding to
authorities. A member of Bantay
Dagat [Sea Watch], Terence
Panado, and Municipal Fishery
Management
officer-incharge Jacinto Abdon were
the first to arrive on the
scene. Members of the National Police and the Municipal Agriculture Office
later joined the pair. After a
challenging three hours,
the dolphin was safely
guided to deeper waters
and released.
Tutor taunts boy,
is stabbed dead
Teacher Teodoro Sona,
34, was stabbed to death by
a high school student he
berated earlier for having
long hair in school. Sona
was on the way to school in
Caloocan City when his 15year-old
male
student
stabbed him several times
with a 30-centimetre knife.
Sona died while being
rushed to a nearby hospital, the report said. The suspect, whose name has not
been released, was detained by the police. He allegedly became angry after
Sona reprimanded him in
class for his long hair.
LUZON
Bicol NPA leader
slain in clash
LEGASPI CITY - top leader
of the New People’s Army
(NPA), a major anti-government
orce in the Philippines, was
killed following a recent clash in
Goa town in northern Camarines Sur province, the military
announced. Elmer Osila, secretary of the Front Committee 75
operating in Camarines Sur, was
killed by forces of the government during a security operation
at the village of Lamon in Gao
town. Osila led an ambush on
government forces while engaged in combat operations in
Presentacion town, also in
Camarines Sur, in May this year
that resulted in the death of four
soldiers.
56 studes hurt
in dance blast
SUBIC -Fifty-six students
and bystanders were injured after a soft drink bottle containing
gunpowder accidentally exploded in a covered court during a cheer dance competition in
Barangay Asinan. The Kolehiyo
de Subic was having its cheer
dance competition for their intramurals when one of their
props, a bottle filled with gunpowder, suddenly exploded.
Most of the victims that were
brought to James Gordon Hospital in Olongapo have been discharged while four are in serious
condition and are still being
treated.
VISAYAS
Antique picked
as NCI center
BARBAZA, Antique - Central Antique, which is composed
of the municipalities of Bugasong, Laua-an, Patnongon, Valderrama, and Barbaza is now the
country’s model for national
convergence initiatives (NCI)
launched here recently. Under
the NCI, three government
agencies, the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Department of Agrarian Reform
(DAR) are to pool their resources to be able to respond to
the indicative investment requirement for the local convergence agro-enterprise cluster in
this part of Antique. Long conceptualized, implementation of
said convergence project was
just realized, with Antique province as the national choice, said
Marriz Agbon, NCI Secretariat
head. As the country’s NCI
model, Central Antique will
now serve as pilot area for the
scaling up of projects from being
agri-based to an agro-enterprise
cluster.
Continued on page 21
21
September 30, 2010
Unforgettable experience
By Royd Alimusa
I have been a huge fan of
Manny Pacquiao since I first saw
him fight in 2003. I have followed him throughout his career
on the way to superstardom
while ordering all of his PPV
fights along the way. Through
that time I have admired not
only his boxing ability and
sportsmanship, but also his life
as a philanthropist and humanitarian. He is a true definition of
an idol and hero.
On September 2nd, I was
sitting at my work desk and I received an email from a family
member saying “fyi - Manny
Pacquiao”. As we are all Manny
Pacquiao fans, I assumed it was
just another email talking about
his accomplishments as a boxer
or his new seat in the Filipino
Congress. I was amazed to find
that it was a forwarded email
from a family friend stating that
Manny Pacquiao would be in
Mclean, Va for a press conference and meet-and-greet. Without hesitation, I eagerly asked
my manager if I could leave
work a little early and head over
to the Gannett Building and
with the same spontaneity and
enthusiasm, he agreed to let me
go.
I called as many family
members as I could to see if they
could join me but most were tied
up at work, however my
younger cousin met me in
Mclean to join. After a quick
stop at the Tysons Corner Sports
Authority to buy a pair of Everlast boxing gloves, we walked
into the main lobby of the Gannett building, picked up our visitor’s badges and we were
immediately greeted by a crowd
of onlookers along with, none
other than Manny Pacquiao
himself! We didn’t waste any
time and tried to “fall in line” for
a photo and autograph. As I
was waiting, I looked over my
shoulder and saw Freddie Roach
right next to me which was icing
on the cake. Within minutes, it
was my turn to meet Manny and
he happily signed both of my
gloves and we took a few photos
together as well. As I walked
over to Freddie for his autograph, some of the Gannet Staff
said “Ok Freddie, Manny, we
need to get you into the press
conference”. So off we went....
The conference lasted about 30
minutes beginning with a dis-
Hometown News ... from page 20
AFP capture NPA’s
camp in Samar
SAN JOSE DE BUAN - The
military has captured one of the
big camps of the communist
New People’s Army (NPA) in
the hinterlands of Samar province, a senior military officer disclosed. Lt. Col. Noel Vestuir,
commanding officer of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said the operating military
troops were able to seize the
camp after an encounter with
members of the NPA in the
mountainous area of San Jose de
Buan town on September 18.
The insurgents, Vestuir
said, were forced to abandon
their camp after suffering heavy
casualties. The rebel casualties
were reportedly taken by their
comrades while withdrawing
during the firefight. The NPA
camp has 43 bunkers with two
classrooms that can accommodate a large number of people.
Iloilo joins global
Millennium goals
ILOILO CITY - The Iloilo
City
Government
joined
Wednesday’s global call in response to the world’s shared targets to achieve the United
cussion about his fight negotiations with Floyd Mayweather Jr,
his current fight with Antonio
Margarito, and a Q & A session
for anyone willing. I even had
the privilege of being able to ask
a question myself! I asked
Manny if his past ulcer might affect him in training or in the
fight. With some translation
from Freddie, Pacquiao responded “Yes, I had an ulcer but
I took medicine and it is ok
now”. After a little more questioning from the staff and public, the conference was over and
I walked over to Freddie Roach
and got my gloves signed by
him as well. To top it all off, as
everyone walked out I found
myself walking next to Manny
and asked him “Manny, so what
is your favorite Filipino food?”
With a shy grin, he turned to me
and responded “Nilaga”, then
he was immediately escorted
into a private room.
From a personal perspective, I just want to add that both
Manny and Freddie Roach were
amazingly humble, respectful,
and kind to all of the staff and
visitors. It’s refreshing to see
two people as famous as Manny
and Freddie, also be so down to
Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that seek to
alleviate poverty.
City officials and stakeholders attended the launching of an
exhibit, dubbed “Stand Up, Take
Action, End Poverty Now” on
the second floor of Robinsons
mall in downtown Iloilo City.
The display runs until Friday.
Various local government
offices, including city health, district health centers, urban poor
affairs, public employment service, city environment and natural resources, city social welfare
and development, executive assistant for education and general
services joined in to showcase
local programs and projects attuned to further advance MDGs
since 2000.
The photo exhibit highlighted the city’s initiatives and
endeavors to strengthen the promotion of MDGs, manifesting
Photo shows the author, J. Royd Alimusa , with Manny Pacquiao during
his visit to USA TODAY Sept. 2. In the Sept. 15 issue of the Manila Mail, p
12, “Manny Pacquiao was here in DC ” carried the wrong picture of
Alimusa. This is the correct photo of Alimusa with Pacquiao. (Our apologies for the error.-ED)
forget.
earth and pleasant.
So in hindsight, within 2
hours I went from staring at a
spreadsheet at my work desk
during a “normal” work day, to
meeting Manny Pacquiao and
Freddie Roach, getting their
autographs, asking Manny a
question during a press conference and walking shoulder to
shoulder with him talking about
Filipino food. WHAT A CRAZY
AND AMAZING DAY. That
was one experience I will never
collective efforts towards the
achievement of anti-poverty
goals locally, said Mayor Jed
Patrick E. Mabilog.
MINDANAO
USAID sets $190-M
for Cagayan de Oro
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY
- The country has signed a development agreement, in which
the United States (US) government will pour in some $190
million aid to accelerate and sustain peace and development initiatives in Mindanao. The
signing of the amendment increasing the Mindanao Peace
and Development (MPAD) assistance was led by newly appointed Mindanao Development
Authority (MinDA) Chairman
Luwalhati R. Antonino and US
Agency for International Development (USAID) Philippines
Corrections
In the Sept. 15 issue of the
Manila Mail, page 12, the story
and photo about Manny Pacquiao’s visit to USA TODAY
carried the wrong photo of J.
Boyd Alimusa. This is the correct picture. The photo that
was used was that of a friend
of Steve Saldana.
Mission Director Gloria D.
Steele. “This agreement stands
for our continuing partnership
with the development programs
funded by the US government,”
Steel said after the signing of the
agreement that took place during the 19th Mindanao Business
Conference at the Limketkai
Center, this city. The MPAD is a
joint effort of the Philippines
and the US since 2007 in a bid to
build more infrastructures, improve governance and social
services, as well as expanding
economic opportunity in vulnerable and conflict-laden areas in
Mindanao.
3 troopers die
in Abu ambush
TIPO TIPO, Basilan -Three
soldiers and two suspected alQaeda-linked Islamist militants
were killed recently in a clash
with Abu Sayyaf terrorists. The
terrorists
got
two assault rifles from the
dead
soldiers
and fled. Army
chief
Major
General Arturo
Ortiz said two
Abu Sayyaf rebels were also
killed and several more guerrillas
were
wounded in the
fighting. More
troops were dispatched to the
area to conduct
pursuit operations,
Ortiz
added.
22
September 30, 2010
P-Noy Urges ... from page 1
peaceful weapon used by Filipinos to oust Dictator Ferdinand
Marcos and install Aquino’s late
mother, Corazon Aquino, as
president in 1986.
Aquino noted that among
the globalized challenges nations face today include climate
change; pandemics; terrorism
and weapons of mass destruction; transnational organized
crime such as human trafficking
and the illicit drug trade; the
continuing vulnerability of migrants, women, persons with
disabilities, and the poor; and
the challenges posed by increasingly interconnected economies.
All these issues, Aquino emphasized, call for a further
strengthening of international
cooperation.
“All of us here, representing
our respective nations, are stewards entrusted with the well-being of our respective peoples.
We are also called to be responsible and responsive members of
the community of nations.
Clearly, we are already aware
that the problem of one poses a
problem for all. Any solution,
then, depends on us recognizing
that each of our nations does not
exist in a vacuum, but rather, in
an increasingly interdependent
global milieu," he said.
“The central revelation here
is that for humanity to progress,
all nations must progress as one.
The quest for universal human
dignity should not be defined by
geographical, racial, or cultural
boundaries, nor should it be set
back by our desires to move our
own nations forward. Global
progress means equitable progress," he added.
“Already we are witnessing
a rethinking of traditional paradigms, a shifting of our focus towards ensuring the global
system does not leave anyone
behind," he said.
On the other hand, he said
that while the Philippines and
other developing countries benefit from the aid of the wealthier
nations, they will not be passive
players in pushing progress.
“This is what our people
put us in power for. This is what
the world expects of us as leaders, to be exemplars of what it is
to be compassionate human beings and vanguards of hope for
our common humanity," he said.
He called on his fellow leaders to promote hope that allows
them to break down walls of destruction which may take the
form of intolerance, fear or violence.
“It is the same hope that
leads us to gather in this hall as
our predecessors did. It is the
same hope that will give our
generation of leaders the
strength to elevate this global assembly to a place where collectively the nations of the world
could find ways to make a better
life possible for all," he said.
In the Philippines, he said
his administration had pledged
to channel the gains from publicprivate partnerships to improve
social services like health, education and poverty alleviation.
The Spratly Islands are a
group of small islands believed
to be rich in natural resources,
and contested by countries in the
region, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and China.
Aquino said his administration remains committed to the
Why Ninoy risked ... from page 1
at the National Press Club, he
never gave any hint that going
home was uppermost in his
mind. He told me he would only
devote his time to his fellowship
at Harvard, write a book on how
to restore the democratic institutions that President Marcos had
destroyed and deliver lectures
and speeches around the US.
I was among the first Filipino newspaperman to continue
“covering” Ninoy after he delivered his democracy speech at the
Press Club in August, 1980. I last
saw him when the Philippine
Senate adjourned sine die on
Sept. 21, the date Marcos proclaimed martial law. On that
date, Ninoy and other political
leaders were arrested by the
military.
Although he was sentenced
to death by a kangaroo military
court in the mid-70s, Marcos did
not carry out the sentence. He
even allowed him to leave in
May, 1980 for a heart bypass
operation in Texas.
Three months after that op-
eration, Ninoy came to Washington to deliver his first speech
calling for the restoration of democracy in the Philippines and
for the US to stop supporting
Marcos.
This time, I covered Ninoy
not for the pre-martial law
Lopez-owned “Manila Chronicle, but for the government’s
Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Ninoy had suffered a stroke
in March 1980 while in prison
but refused to have an operation
at the Philippine Heart Center
for fear the operation would be
botched, Probably afraid to let
him die, Marcos allowed him to
leave provided he returned after
the operation and did not carry
out an anti-Marcos campaign in
the US.
Ninoy reneged on both
these conditions and started his
campaign for the restoration of
democracy in the Philippines.
Waiting for him at the NPC in
the summer of 1980 was a big
crowd. Among them were his
relatives, members of the Ameri-
Declaration on the Conduct of
Parties in the South China Sea
and strongly supports the drafting of a formal code for the
South China Sea in which claimants vow to adhere to diplomatic
processes to resolve territorial
disputes.
“I believe this is consistent
with [US] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?s pronouncements
on the South China Sea made
just in July of this year, supporting collaborative diplomatic
processes. As a peace-loving
country, the Philippines supports any efforts to deal with potential irritants in the most
peaceful way possible," he said.
On the other hand, he said
the US has been the Philippines’
staunchest partner in security
cooperation in the region, and
will remain so throughout the
course of his administration.
He thanked the US government for participating in joint
counter-terrorism efforts in Mindanao; for its support in developing
Philippine
defense
capabilities through assistance
and training programs; and for
its assistance in times of natural
disasters.
“There are many more opportunities for us and the United
States to work together on initiatives such as human rights cooperation, science and technology,
biodiversity conservation, and
disaster management to build a
cohesive Socio-Cultural Community," Aquino said.
Aquino also recognized the
United States’ commitment to
reinvigorating its relationship
with the ASEAN region and individual nations, at a time of
ever-increasing complexity in
global affairs.
“We, in turn, welcome this
re-invigoration as it leads to
timely clarity, allowing all of us
to fully engage with each other.
This can only lead to the fulfillment of our dreams for our peoples, which in the simplest
possible terms is a better, more
dignified life,” he said.
“The individual histories of
our nations have led us to this
point, where old enmities have
given way to new friendships,
even as old friendships have matured. We are at a point where
our respective peoples can look
forward to deepening their
ties?political, commercial, and
cultural not only with their
neighbors, but with all the nations of this world. All our citizens ask of us to keep the peace,
to be prudent stewards of our
planet, and to ensure that the
benefits of growth redound to
all, and not merely a few,” he
added.
Aquino said the US and ASEAN’s common desire to intensify their partnership comes at a
“particularly crucial time” and
should reach a consensus that
will promote not only a deeper,
more harmonious US-ASEAN
partnership, but also continued
can media, the Movement for a
Free Philippines, and other antiMarcos groups. Also in the gathering were Geni Lopez, the
Manila Chronicle publisher, who
earlier escaped from prison
along with Serge Osmena of
Cebu. I approached Geni and
introduced myself as a former
Chronicle reporter. I said, “Sir, I
am glad you are out!”
Steve
Psinakis, Geni’s brother-in-law,
tried to stop me. He told Geni,
“don’t talk to him, he is a Marcos agent.” Geni ignored him ,
shook my hand. and thanked
me for greeting him. Then Geni
said: “I heard there are many of
you former journalists who are
now in the US.” I said, “yes sir,
we have to survive.”
I was at the NPC despite a
warning from Philippine embassy Deputy Chief of Mission
Mario Belisario that I should
stay away from it. I told Belisario that as the PNA bureau
manager in DC, I had to “cover”
Ninoy’s speech. My intention
was to write a short news story
about it for PNA. (Of course, I
was probably also doing the
work of intelligence agents by
reporting about that gathering.
My story was not published in
Manila.)
I was surprised when above
the din of the crowd of welcomers, Ninoy recognized me from
afar and shouted: “Padre, I’ll see
you after this.” (He called me
Padre, short for compadre, a
Filipiino term for godfather. I
had intended to make him godfather of my youngest son, Jeff,
when it was cut short by his arrest.) I was surprised that after
so many years, he still recognized me.
True enough, after his
speech, Ninoy left his scores of
well-wishers and US mediamen
to come me.
Smiling, I said, “I’m so glad
to see you after so many years!
I’m glad you are out.” Then he
led me to a corner of the large
NPC hall and we sat down to
talk. Lee Lescaze, a reporter of
the Washington Post, tried to interrupt us, but Ninoy told him:
“I’ll talk to you later.”
Although he knew I was
now working for the govern-
President Aquino is swamped by fans on his arrival in San Jose, California
Sept. 25.
stability and peace in the region.
He said the first and second
generations of ASEAN leaders
have transformed association
from a regular gathering of leaders into a fully multilateral organization.
‘The task of our generation’
the first generation of leaders to
be born as independent citizens
of our respective nations’ is to
turn this Charter into a more
binding commitment to our mutual economic and political interests," Aquino said.
Since the ASEAN Charter
came into being in 2008, the ASEAN has been conscious in pursuing initiatives to build the
ASEAN community along three
pillars: political-security; economic; and socio-cultural.
Aquino welcomed and appreciated the United States’ support for the strengthening of
ASEAN’s regional architecture,
from the US? interest in joining
the East Asia Summit, to its participation in such mechanisms as
the ASEAN Defense Ministers
Meeting Plus and the ASEAN
Regional Forum.
ment news agency, Ninoy had
no qualms about opening up.
Ninoy told me about his successful heart operation by a Filipino
doctor in Texas. He pulled up
his shirt to show me the long
scar in his chest and said “I’m
feeling much better now.”
Ninoy was no longer the
ebullient, talkative and self-assured politician that I knew
when I covered him in the Philippine Senate before martial law.
Turning serious, Ninoy said:
“Padre, I have no more ambition
to become president. My only
objective now is to restore democracy in the Philippines.” He
said he was going to Harvard on
a fellowship, write a book and
give speeches and lectures
around the United States about
the death of democracy in the
Philippines.
Then he somberly recounted how he had suffered so
much in the military prison. He
spoke about the deprivations,
the lack of privacy even when
Cory visited him and his fasting
that almost led to his death. He
Continued on page 23
23
September 30, 2010
Why Ninoy risked ... from page 22
said he spent most of his time
reading books. Showing me his
rosary, Ninoy said, “Padre, I
have found my God. I now pray
constantly.” He said he was serious when he launched his hunger strike because “I felt that
was the only way out.”
However, after more than a
month of fasting, he was forced
fed by his military captors because his life was in danger. But
other reports said he relented
when Cory, nuns and priests implored him to stop the fasting.
(Malacanang sources told me
later that Marcos had called his
generals to ask them if he should
let Ninoy die. “All the generals
said, Yes. But Marcos cut them
short and said:“Gentlemen, do
you know the implications of his
death in prison? Force feed
him.”)
In our talks, Ninoy did not
give any hint that he planned to
return to the Philippines. In all
his early speeches, he merely
stressed the need for restoring
democracy in the Philippines
and for the US to stop supporting Marcos.
Before we parted, Ninoy
asked me for my home phone
number. He also gave me his
number in Boston.
For the next three years,
from 1980 to 1983, the telephone
became our constant means of
communication. He was calling
me almost every week, giving
me updates of what was happening in Manila. At one time,
he borrowed a book about the
Sabah Claim because he said he
was going to Syria to meet the
Moro
National
Liberation
Front’s chair, Nur Misuari. I
sent it to him and after two
weeks he promptly returned it
with a thank you note.
In the summer of 1981, Ninoy returned to Fort Washington in Maryland to address the
Filipino community. Before he
came, he called and asked me to
bring PNA stories from Manila.
On the way into the auditorium,
I met Heherzon Alvarez, his aide
who used to call me a Marcos
tuta. But this time, Heherzon
was more friendly. He said Ninoy was waiting for me. When
Ninoy came out, we talked for a
while and I handed him the
PNA news reports. I didn’t wait
for him to address the big
crowd.
In early 1982, Ninoy’s calls
began more frantic. “Malapit
na,” he said. “Padre, the situation in Manila is growing serious and Marcos is dying of an
incurable disease.” He said his
Malacanang sources have told
him that anti-Marcos forces have
become more active and started
a rash of bombings, including
one at the Cultural Center of the
Philippines. He even mentioned
a Malacanang insider, Carmelo
Barbero, as among his informants.
One evening, Ninoy called
me with an urgent message. He
said Marcos was threatening to
retaliate against all relatives of
anti-Marcos leaders in the US if
any of his children studying in
Princeton University in New Jersey was harmed or kidnapped.
Ninoy told me he wanted to assure Marcos that there were no
such plots. Ninoy then dictated a
message to be transmitted to
Manila via the PNA telex machine that I had installed in my
house in Falls Church, Virginia.
A few minutes after I transmitted Ninoy’s message, I was
surprised when an official from
the US State Department called
to inquire if Ninoy had dictated
the statement. When I said yes,
he asked me to read it.
When the embassy learned
that I was getting frequent telephone calls from Ninoy, Ambassador Belisario told me that
Ambassador Benjamin “Kokoy”
Romualdez wanted me to refer
all calls from Ninoy to the Philippine embassy. I ignored the
order.
Ninoy’s calls became fewer
when I was transferred to New
York in the spring of 1982. At
this time, preparations were being made for the state visit of
Marcos in September. When
Amb. Romualdez took over, he
ordered the PNA telex in my
Give Pinoys better... from page 1
Too many of them feel that the
elite in business and politics basically call the shots.”
She continued: “Theres not
much room for someone whos
hardworking but not connected.
Too many of them believe that
even if they get the best education they can, that there wont be
an opportunity for them and so
they take that education and
help build someone elses economy, very often here in the
United States.”
In response, Aquino said the
MCC Compact grant intended
to fight poverty and corruption
in the Philippines was “no ordi-
nary aid agreement.” He described it as “a solemn agreement covenanted by its two
entities in a common objective.”
The $434 million will be
spent for three projects to build a
modern highway that would cut
through the poorest villages of
Eastern Visayas; boost a barangay-based self-help program to
provide livelihood in depressed
communities across the archipelago; and enhance the capabilities
of the Bureau of Internal Revenue to identify and prosecute tax
cheats.
“All the aid, all the assistance in the world would be
home transferred to the embassy. He asked his information
group led by the Reynaldo Naval with Jennie Ilustre and Gene
Ramos as members to take over
the Filipino Chronicle newspaper which I started in 1979 with
Eddie Caparas as editor.
In New York, the PNA office was located at the Philippine
consulate and Ninoy did not call
me there because he knew the
phones were tapped. He only
called when I went home to Virginia every weekend. Sometimes, my wife would receive his
calls.
On Sept. 16, 1982, a group
of Filipino newspapermen arrived in Washington D.C. to
cover the official visit Marcos to
Washington D.C. They were all
billeted at the Holiday Inn in
front of the Philippine embassy.
Amb. Romualdez gave them instructions not to talk to Ninoy or
to write anything about him if
he visited them.
Ninoy was able to sneak
into the hotel and talk to the
newspapermen, including columnist Doroy Valencia and Federico Pascual of the Philippine
Daily Inquirer. Both wrote a
brief item about Ninoy. Doroy
reportedly got a scolding from
Kokoy for mentioning the meeting.
A few months after the state
visit, Ninoy called to say that
Marcos was dying. He said Marcos had a transplant that failed
and that he was in serious condition. Ninoy told me about the
danger the country faced if Marcos died. He said the country
would undergo a bloodbath if
First Lady Imelda Marcos or
Gen. Fabian Ver took over the
reins of government. (Marcos,
by this time, had already issued
a decree making Imelda his successor.)
Ninoy said it was urgent for
him to try to talk to Marcos, his
“brod” (fraternity brother). He
said he may be able to convince
to him to lift martial law as his
legacy to the nation. He emphasized that it was only Marcos
who could prevent bloodshed.
When I warned him of the danger if he tried to go home, Ninoy
confidently said, “the most that
could happen to me is for the
military to arrest me again.”
In my first month in New
York, I also met Sen. Ernesto
Maceda who was in a pub with
an anti-Marcos group led by
Perfecto Yasay. He asked me
why I was in NY and I told him
Kokoy did not want to see my
face in DC. “If he knows you
met me, he will assign you to
Timbuktu,” Maceda laughingly
said. When I started telling the
group about our meeting at the
National Press Club in Manila
when martial law was declared,
Maceda immediately changed
the subject. Obviously he did not
want Yasay’s group to hear how
close he was to Marcos.
At this time, Ninoy was already telling everybody he was
going home. He tried to get a
passport from the New York
consulate headed by Ambassador Ernesto Pineda. (Pineda’s
deputy at that time was Minister
and now Ambassador Willy C.
Gaa). Because of this, First Lady
Imelda Marcos met Ninoy in the
consulate in NY in early 1983 to
tell him to desist from going
home because there were elements who wanted to kill him if
he returned. While I was not
privy to what transpired, the report from insiders was that
Imelda tried to convince Ninoy
to stay and even offered Ninoy
substantial support if only he
changed his mind.
But Ninoy was adamant. In
late July, a circular was passed
to all consulate officials in the
US warning that the situation
was serious. At this time, there
were reports that Marcos was seriously ill and could die at any
moment. And this was the time
reports circulated that Ninoy
would be going home using the
name of “Marcial Bonifacio.”
At about 4 p.m. on Aug. 13,
1983, I got a call at the consulate
which to this day I can never
forget. “Padre, “hinde ko sinabi
kung sino ako. Si Ninoy ‘to. I
just called to say goodbye.” Surprised at the call and fearing my
phone was tapped, the only
words I could utter was, “Good
luck, padre.” I had intended to
call him that evening from my
apartment in Queens, but unfortunately friends invited me to a
dinner that lasted way past midnight. It turned out that that
evening Ninoy started his circuitous route to Manila.
Up to now, nobody knows
who was behind Ninoy’s assassination. Marcos did not want
Ninoy to die because he knew
the implications of his death. Investigators should therefore focus on those who would have
succeeded Marcos if he died in
1983.
Ninoy was a martyr for democracy and his wife, Cory, was
the reluctant beneficiary of that
martyrdom. Now, the people expect his son, President Benigno
S. “Noynoy” Aquino III, to carry
on with his ideals.
(Next: From the Chronicle
to PNA)
meaningless if it ended up stolen
or misspent,” Aquino said.
Aquino agreed that a beneficiary-country of the MCC should
prove itself worthy of the assistance.
“If the American people,
through their government, can
commit resources to their
friends, their friends owe it to
those pledging assistance and to
themselves to be worthy stewards of what they will receive,”
he said. “We will do our part to
use this grant wisely,” Aquino
said, pledging to “effectively
address” the issue of corruption.
The Compact agreement
with the Philippines has been
ready since late last year but the
MCC decided to wait for the
outcome of last Mays elections.
They made it clear they
wanted the new administration
to commit first to MCC goals, especially after the administration
of President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo flunked the all-important corruption test year after
year.
Clinton said the Compact
grant “has the potential for assisting in the transformation that
President Aquino has spoken
of”.
In response, Aquino said: “My
visit to the United States has a
key objective to inform investors that the Philippines is indeed open for business not the
under-the-table kind, but the legitimate kind; not the kind of
business that thrives in corrupt
deal-making, but which thrives
because of sensible and enforceable and fair contracts.”
“We hope that, Mr. President, the people of your country
will be able to make a good living in their own country. And in
order to do that, there must be a
partnership that creates the conditions for economic opportunity,” Clinton said.
“I know how smart the Filipino people are. I know how
hard they work.
I’m not sure theres any
group of people anywhere in the
The author with Ninoy and Lee Lescaze, Washington Post reporter, at the
NPC.
Continued on page 24
24
September 30, 2010
A sweet victory for Kris... from page 1
and Temple Hills - areas that
constitute District 26.
“This was the best volunteer
operation ever,” Flores said.
“Despite the scorching heat this
summer, our volunteers hit the
streets, knocked on doors, made
phone calls, gave out fliers,
waved signs and vigilantly
watched the polls on Primary
Day.”
The 39-year-old mother of
two, Kris grew up in the Oxon
Hill area. She is the daughter of
David Valderrama who served
for more than a decade in the
Maryland Assembly as the first
Asian American to win a state
legislator post in the mainland.
Kris succeeded him after he retired six years ago.
“This was a significant victory for Filipino American empowerment,” says Jon Melegrito,
a community activist and former
executive director of the National Federation of Filipino
American Associations. “Kris’
re-election victory will encourage other young people to pursue public service and hopefully
increase our community’s level
of civic participation."
Kris said her win is also a
victory for the Filipino American
community. The circumstances
of my re-election campaign having been picked off the Senate/Incumbent slate — were
very trying, both mentally & financially. But the men and
women and children of our community(ies) - Dems, Rs and Independents alike - rallied together
and fought AS ONE in order to
continue ‘our’ presence in the
Maryland political arena. And
oh what a sweet victory it is!
By Rodney J. Jaleco
PRINCE
GEORGE’S
COUNTY
-Despite
being
dropped from the Democratic
incumbent ticket, Kris captured
over 19% of the vote compared
to fourth-placer Ollie Anderson’s 14.8 % in the Sept. 14 primary election.
Based on this partial, unofficial tally, Kris fared better than
her last campaign four years
ago. The 26th District, which is
part of Prince George’s County
and encompasses the large Filam
communities in Fort Washington
and Oxon Hill, is predominantly
Democratic so last Tuesday’s
nomination race is widely seen
as the real contest for the November midterm elections.
Her fellow incumbents Veronica Turner garnered 25% of
the votes and Jay Walker, nearly
23% of the votes.
On the eve of the primaries,
she allowed us an interview at
her home in Fort Washington
where she stressed the importance of Filams getting out to
vote and having a voice in the
Maryland legislature.
Aside from the large Filam
population, Prince George’s
county is also one of the fastest
growing and economically dynamic regions in Metro DC, and
is one of the top employers of
Filipino teachers and professionals here.
She is the only Filipino
American and one of 4 Asian
Americans in the bicameral
Maryland General Assembly.
The lawmaking General Assembly has 47 senators and 141 delegates elected from 47 districts.
Kris is one of three delegates for the 26th district. It was
a post held by her father David
before she took over in 2007.
But for unknown reasons,
she was dropped from the
Democratic incumbent slate in
the legislative district, and despite being an incumbent, was
left to struggle to nail one of the
three seats up for grabs in Tuesday’s party nomination contest.
“I’m fighting an uphill bat-
Give Pinoys better... from page 23
world that works harder than
Filipinos,” she added.
Clinton, however, said Filipinos were prevented from
achieving economic success by
corruption in government.
“But lets be very honest
here. Too many of them feel that
they cannot progress in their
own country. Too many of them
feel that the elite in business and
politics basically call the shots,
and theres not much room for
someone whos hardworking,
but not connected,” Clinton said.
Clinton said the signing of
the compact had become possible because for the past few
years, we have seen evidence of
a commitment to deliver for the
people that we believe is represented in the promise of President Aquinos election.”
The signing of the compact
was one of the reasons Mr.
Aquino undertook the trip, aside
from his scheduled address before the United Nations on Friday and meetings with US
businessmen.
The agreement was signed
by Finance Secretary Cesar
Purisima and MCC chief executive officer Daniel Johannes.
“This was a negotiated
agreement. This was not a decision just to give the Philippines
some money ... This was a negotiation. Because that’s the whole
idea behind the MCC,” Clinton
said.
“There are certain principles
that we believe in, and the Philippines has made a commitment
to these principles. We believe
that you can unleash the human
potential in a country like the
Philippines by tearing down the
barriers to economic growth and
fighting corruption, which is like
Kris Valderrama poses with her scores of volunteers on the eve of voting.
Kris hugs her father, David, whom
she succeeded in the Maryland
Assembly. David served as delegate
for over a decade.
tle this time around,” Kris conceded, “so I’m running this campaign as it were my first one.”
Filam groups from Northern Virginia and Washington
DC have responded to the call
by pounding the streets and
working the phones to boost her
campaign.
The 26th district covers one
of the fastest growing regions of
Prince George’s County, which
includes the large Filam enclaves
in Fort Washington and Oxon
Hill.
“The Filipino American
vote is very significant in the
district,” she averred.
“We definitely have an effect on the outcome of elections,” she added. But their
numbers have never really translated into votes and the political
clout that emanates from them.
Kris recounted how during
the last elections, she captured
a cancer in the economy and society,” she said.
Aquino agreed that a beneficiary-country of the MCC
should prove itself worthy of the
assistance.
“If the American people,
through their government, can
commit resources to their
friends, their friends owe it to
those pledging assistance and to
themselves to be worthy stewards of what they will receive,”
he said.
He said this was the reason
the Philippine proposal to the
MCC underwent rigorous consultative processes.
“We will do our part to use
this grant wisely,” Aquino said,
pledging to effectively address
the issue of corruption.
“We will continue ... lifestyle checks programs,” he said.
Of the total amount, $214.4
million will be used to rehabilitate 222 kilometers of the Samar
Kris thanks her volunteers gathered at the Philippine Cultural Center in
Oxon Hill, Maryland.
the third and last delegate seat
with a 90-vote margin. But an estimated 1,000 Fil-Ams who were
eligible to vote failed to cast
their ballots, she revealed.
“I think a lot of this is because of the fact people are not
as familiar with the voting process here, for whatever reason,"
she explained.
Most Filams are reportedly
anxious about registering to vote
for fear they may be called for
jury duty. The older Filams, Kris
surmised, are turned off by their
experience with Philippine politics, believing politicians here or
back home are birds of the same
feather. Many are simply too
busy to vote (voting days here
are regular working days).
“I live and represent a predominantly African-American
community but it’s pretty diverse and now we’re getting an
increased population of Hispanics.
“Some in the AfricanAmerican community feel I only
help the Filipino community.
Then, on the other side of the
spectrum, I have a Filipino community who think I don’t help
them enough.
“You can never please everyone and I don’t try to,” Kris
said.
“Whoever is their representative, it’s their job to represent
everyone
in
their
constituency whether you’re
black, white, Asian or Hispanic,"
she explained.
“If there is any hesitation
for whatever reason they don’t
want me to be representative,
they should realize who better to
look out for their (Fil-Ams’) issues than another Filipina or
Filipino," she said.
Driving the obvious, Kris
declared “the Filipino American
community has an advantage
because I know and I understand the issues they’re confronting."
Road. It will connect 15 towns of
one of the countrys poorest
provinces and reduce transportation costs for farmers, fishers
and small businessmen who
bring their goods to the markets.
“(The) investment will increase commerce in and between
the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar, and ultimately increase incomes,” the MCC said
in a brief.
Some $120 million will go to
the Kabisig Laban sa Kahirapan-
Comprehensive and Integrated
Delivery of Social Service project
for building water systems, clinics and school buildings.
Approximately $54.4 million will be used to computerize
the collection of taxes by the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The
MCC said the project “addresses
the need to raise tax revenues
and reduce tax evasion and revenue agent-related corruption.”
25
September 30, 2010
PALM Trapunto session at the Bunoan residence in honor of Pacita Abad. Front: Josie Cruz. L-R
Seated: Jane Vergel, Lyta Sese, Evelyn Bunoan, Aida Peck, Linda Yangas. Standing: Rody Cruz,
Malcolm Peck, Ric Sese, Nilo Santiago. (Photo by Oscar S. Bunoan)
Roach expects Pacquiao
to KO Margarito fast
MANILA - Freddie Roach
won’t be surprised if Antonio
Margarito goes down as fast, as
hard like Ricky Hatton.
“That’s what I’m
improve on something. But I
can’t say this is an easy fight. I
don’t want Manny to think that
way," he said.
“I don’t know. But I don’t
thinking about,” said
the certified champion maker recently
as he sat by the edge
of the ring.
Roach arrived at
the Elorde Gym more
than an hour ahead
of Manny Pacquiao
who later on put on a
two-hour show as the
gym was packed
with fans, friends and
members of the media.
Roach
thinks
Margarito won’t be
able to take it if he is
caught with the same
punch that left Hatton in a trance after
taking a solid left
from Pacquiao in the
Manny Pacquiao grimaces as he is being
second round of their limbered up by his trainer in Manila.
2008 showdown.
“If we catch him,
want to kill the fight until we
that happens,” said Roach.
The American who once blow him (Margarito) away,"
trained Mike Tyson said he’s said Roach.
“The thing is, once you
not losing sleep over the Nov.
quit,
it’s easier to quit the sec13 fight with Margarito for the
vacant WBC super-welter- ond time,” he added, thinking
weight crown at the Cowboys of Erik Morales who quit in the
Stadium.
10th round of his second fight
He said he never had, since and in the third round of his
the fight was sealed more than third fight with Pacquiao.
a month ago, and never will.
“In your life you pray it
“The thing is I’m not wor- (quitting) would never happen.
ried about this guy. I’m not losBut when that happens, it’s
ing sleep over Margarito," said
much easier to quit the second
Roach of the 5-foot-11 Mexican
who once was probably one of time," said Roach This is not
the most feared boxers in the part of a psywar, he assured.
“I can tell this to his face: I
welterweight class.
Roach, however, wouldn’t bet you will quit,” said Roach.
Moments later, Pacquiao
listen to that, saying Margarito
came in, and soon after, Roach
was never exceptional.
“He’s so slow. They better was up in the ring.
Evelyn Bunoan’s birthday celebration and Medical Mission of Mercy fund-raising at the
Bunoan residence. L-R: Henry Balagtas, Alice Santos, Irma Montero, Sally Rosal (partial),
Aurora Redondo, Miriam Reidmiller, Becky Ramos, Mommy Aveling Bustamante, Caring Ines,
Celebrant Evelyn, Oscar Bunoan, Florence Hansen (partial), Linda Inejosa, Yolly Arzadon,
Marvin Santos.
UN praises RP commitment
to peacekeeping
UNITED NATIONS - UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
has praised the Philippines’ continued active role in promoting
global peace and security.
Meeting for the first time
Sept. 24, Aquino and Ban discussed the country’s leading role
in the areas of peacekeeping and
nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.
Aquino told the UN chief
that the Philippines remains
ready to support the UN
peacekeeping
operations. The
Philippines is
the third largest
troop contributing country to
the
UN
peacekeeping
force in Southeast Asia and
23rd
worldwide.
He also expressed
the
country’s commitment to continue playing a
vital role in
building on the
success of the
2010
Review
Conference of
the
Nuclear
Non-Proliferat
ion
Treaty
(NPT).
The Philippines led the
successful 2010
Review Conference last May
under the presidency of Ambassador
Libran
N.
Cabactulan, the
Philippine Permanent Repre-
sentative to the United Nations.
The two also discussed the
Philippines’ progress in meeting
the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
The MDGs are a set of eight
time-bound, concrete and specific targets aimed at significantly reducing, if not decisively
eradicating poverty by 2015.
With only five years left until the deadline to achieve the
MDGs, Secretary-General Ban
called on world leaders to attend
a summit in New York on September 20 to 22 to accelerate progress towards the MDGs.
The 4th MDG Progress Report indicated that the Philippines is likely to meet the goals
on food poverty; gender equality
in education; child mortality;
malaria morbidity; detection and
treatment success and cure rates
of tuberculosis cases; and access
to sanitary toilet facilities.
26
September 30, 2010
HERB-PAN-GRILLED MILKFISH
For fish lovers, here is a recipe that can be enjoyed all year
round and can be served even
for the fanciest of parties.
Ingredients:
1 frozen boneless milkfish
(available at most Asian grocery
stores)
1/4 cup canola oil (for
brushing and greasing)
1 large red onion, cut in
wedges
8 pieces button mushrooms,
quartered lengthwise
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
Salt and freshly ground
pepper
1 handful cilantro, for garnishing
Methods:
Thaw the milkfish under
cold water (leave the scales on).
After thawing, thoroughly pat
dry with paper towels. Remove
the fin and tail of the fish and
cut in 4 equal pieces (once crosswise and 2x lengthwise).
Brush generously both sides
of the milkfish with canola oil
then slightly season with salt
and pepper and sprinkle the
thyme over the fish. Press the
fish gently with your palm to
help the seasoning stick. Preheat
the oven to 400 degrees.
While preheating the oven,
grease a heavy gauge pan and
preheat until hot. Pan-grill the
fish with the flesh side down
and cook until there are black
grilled spots. Turn the fish over
and cook the scaled side down
for 3-5 minutes or until cooked.
(Test for doneness - the fish
breaks easily when forked.)
Transfer the fish including
the onions and mushrooms into
a greased baking sheet and bake
for another 3-4 minutes or until
the onion and mushrooms are
wilted.
Lightly cover the fish with
aluminum foil and rest for 10-15
minutes before serving with
cilantro.
Household Hints:
I live by my motto "Clean as
you go", especially when cooking. It makes cleaning after
cooking sessions a lot easier to
do. This is most applicable especially when preparing sushi or
any other complicated dishes, as
there are a number of plates,
small bowls, kitchen utensils,
etc. being used during preparation.
I find it very practical to use
disposable cups, plates or plastic
spoons when preparing ingredients and cooking dishes. All I
have to do is throw them in the
trash after use. I also found it
very convenient to have a small
bin (lined with plastic bag) by
the sink on the countertop so I
do not have to go back and forth
to the main trash can area. By
the way, my little trash bin is
kind of decorative so it can stay
there permanently.
Editor's note: Mrs. Evelyn S.
Bunoan is Owner/Master Chef,
Philippine Oriental Market & Deli
(with more than 32 years of service
to the Filipino-American community) - 3610 Lee Highway, Arlington, Virginia; (703)528-0300;
Master Chef (French cuisine), Le
Cordon Bleu, London, UK; recipe
creator, improviser, food stylist,
cake designer, and culinary writer;
kitchen-tested and mastered more
than 400 recipes, and counting.
Member of International Cake Exploration Societe. Host of the cooking show - "Evelyn's Kitchen Cooking with Friends".
BEAUTY
A wife asked her husband:
"What do you like most in me,
my pretty face or my sexy
body?"
He looked at her from head
to toe and replied: "I like your
sense of humor!"
CHILD CHIVALRY
Son: Mom, when I was on
the bus with Dad this morning,
he told me to give up my seat to
a lady.
Mom: That was very nice of
you, son. You have done the
right thing.
Son: But mom, I was sitting on daddy's lap.
SKINNY DIPPING
There were two boys playing by a stream. One of the
young boys saw a bush and
went over to see what's behind
it. The second boy couldn't figure out why his friend has taken
so long to come back, so he went
over to the bush to find out for
himself. The two boys ended up
looking at a woman bathing naked in the stream. All of a sudden the second boy took off
running. The first boy couldn't
understand why he ran away so
he took off after his friend. Finally, he caught up to him and
asked why he ran away. The boy
said to his friend, "My mom told
me if I ever saw a naked lady I
would turn to stone. I felt something getting hard, so I ran."
MEDICAL EXAM
A man told his doctor that
he wasn't able to do all the
things around the house that he
used
to
do.
When
the
examination was complete, he
said, "Now, Doc, I can take it.
Tell me in plain English what is
wrong with me."
Well, in plain English," the
doctor replied, "you're just lazy."
"Okay," said the man. "Now
give me the medical term so I
can tell my wife."
DOUBLE THAT
A guy finds a magic lamp
on the beach. The genie informs
him that he gets three wishes,
but whatever he gets his ex-wife
will get twice as much.
"How about one million
dollars" he asked.
"Your ex-wife now has two
million dollars in her bank account as well", said the genie.
"I've always wanted a
Mercedes Benz, how about
that?"
"Your wife now has two of
those cars."
For the last wish he had to
think hard for a minute, then
said… "Could you beat me half
to death?"
EXAM
Parent: How did you do in
your exam?
Son: I think I did fine. They
have given questions that I didn't know the answers to. So I
wrote answers that they don't
know..!!
MABISA
Dalawang
mag-barkada
nag-uusap:
Mike: Bakit lumaki yung
paa ni Amy?
Jun: Sinipa yung punso!
Mike: Eh, bakit lumaki
naman yung nguso ni Fe?
Jun: Dinuraan yung punso...
O, pare, ba't saan ka pupunta?
Mike: Iihi ako sa punso!
ILIGAW
Misis: Dear, iligaw mo nga
itong pusa. Nakasako na siya.
Dalhin mo sa malayo!
Mister: Ok!
Misis: Bakit ka ginabi?
Niligaw mo ba ang pusa?
Mister: Buwisit na pusang
yan! Kundi ko siya sinundan, di
Juan: Bakit, gagaling po ba
ako nakauwi!
KAAWAY
Kapag may kaaway ka,
tandaan mo... dito lang ako.
Dito lang talaga ako... tapos
diyan ka lang, huwag kang
pupunta dito, baka madamay pa
ako sa away mo!
ako nun dok?
Dok: Hindi,
pero
mas
gugustuhin mo pang mamatay
kaysa mabuhay!
SUMPA
Spinster: Iho, tulungan mo
HILING
ako. Isa akong prinsesa, at ako'y
Husband:
Pag namatay
ako, ipamamana ko sa 'yo 50
hectares ng lupa't bahay at 350
million pesos sa banko. Ano pa
ang mahihiling mo?
Wife: Gusto ko mamatay ka
na. Sana ngayon na!
isinumpa. Kung makikipagtalik
TANING
hindi ka pa nagbabago ng anyo?
Spinster: Ilan taon ka na ba,
Dok: Iho, may taning na ang
buhay mo ng isang taon.
Juan: Wala na ba akong
pag-asa, dok? Ano po ba ang
dapat kong gawin?
Dok: Mag-asawa ka na lang
ng pangit at bungangera.
ka sa akin, babalik ako sa maganda kong anyo at tuluyan
nang mapuputol ang sumpa.
Binata: (Pagkaraan ng ilang
saglit) Ayan, tapos na! Bakit
iho?
Binata: Thirty-two po.
Spinster: 'Yang tanda mong
'yan, naniniwala ka pa rin sa
fairytales?
27
September 30, 2010
Take Time to Sit and Watch
the Leaves Turn Gold
What is emphysema?
Emphysema is a condition
where the alveoli (air sacks) of
the lungs are overinflated as a
result of the destruction of the
walls of the alveoli. These air
sacs are responsible for the oxygen transfer from the inhaled air
from the atmosphere to the
blood stream of the person, as
the alveoli get the carbon dioxide from the blood stream to be
exhaled and elimnated. These
damages from emphysema reduce the respiratory function of
the lungs causing severe (dyspnea) shortness of breath. With
this disease, the lungs become
very inefficient in oxygen diffusion and renders the blood low
in oxygen content. Hence the
shortness of breath.
How common is emphysema?
Emphysema
is
found
worldwide, mostly among cigarette
smokers,
who
have
“burned” their lungs. In the
United States alone, more than 2
million people have emphysema. Medical literature records
that 70,000 to 100,000 Americans
were born with a deficiency of
alpha 1-antitrypsin (AAT), a
special and important protective
protein, which is responsible for
the inherited form of emphysema. Among chronic illnesses,
emphysema, which debilitates
the person, ranks the 15th . Men
with emphysema outnumber the
women by 22%, but since
women have also started smoking, the gap is becoming narrower.
What causes emphysema?
The deadly poison (smoke
and chemical) from cigarettes is
responsible for 82% of chronic
lung diseases, including emphysema. Air pollution, irritating
fumes and dust are factors in the
development of emphysema.
Majority of lung cancers are
from smoking.
What is COPD?
COPD is Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease, a group of
respiratory illnesses that are
long-standing,
obstructive
(blocking normal air flow), leading to severe shortness of breath
due to poor oxygen exchange
and a resultant poor blood oxygenation and poor elimination of
carbon dioxide in the body.
Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema,
Bronchial Asthma are some examples.
How severe can the shortness of breath be?
Dyspnea
(shortness
of
breath) and orthopnea (shortness of breath when lying down)
can be moderate to severe, to the
point that the person cannot
breather (nor survive) without
oxygen. When the lungs are
burned and destroyed by smoking, their capacity to absorb oxygen
and
oxygenate
the
circulating blood is greatly diminished. This explains why the
person with severe emphysema
is huffing and puffing, gasping
for air, and is having a hard time
coughing up collected phlegm in
his lungs and throat.
Is emphysema contagious?
No, emphysema is not an
infectious disease, so it is not
contagious and cannot be transmitted from one person to another. Someone who is a chronic
smoker and has emphysema,
could adversely affect others
through the “passive” smoke
that these people inhale for a period of time. As a result, these
“passive smokers” could also
develop emphysema or even
lung cancer.
How does emphysema develop?
The normal lungs function
well with a remarkable balance
between two chemical systems
with opposing action. The lungs
have elastic fibers that allow
them to expand and contract, as
we inhale and exhale. When the
chemical balance is affected by,
say, cigarette smoking, fumes,
etc., the lungs lose their ability to
protect themselves against the
damages to these elastic fibers.
The walls of the air sacs become
thin and fragile, get destroyed
and then become overinflated,
losing their efficiency in oxygencarbon dioxide diffusion. A
small percentage of people have
emphysema due to deficiency in
AAT, as we have alluded to earlier.
What is chronic bronchitis?
Chronic bronchitis is the
frequent, long-standing, inflammation of the air passages or
bronchi (breathing pipes), causing frequent coughs. Among
smokers, chronic bronchitis
(And the so-called smoker’s
cough) is usually a prelude to
the development of emphysema.
The combination of bronchitis
and emphysema affect more
Autumn prepares us as we
depart from the smoldering
summer to the bitter cold winter.
Mother Nature knows best.
The days are shorter with cooler
temperature at night, and the
humidity has dropped.
The
turning of the leaves transforms
the sceneries like no other. Fall,
my favorite season, is a symphony of color as trees turn
spectacular shades of red, yellow, and orange, creating a stunning
backdrop
to
the
surrounding.
This is the time to take a respite from the hustle-bustle of
summer, calming down both
body and mind.
What an inspiring time to
be quiet and take a stock of our
busy life. For our psyche and
health, what an appropriate time
to examine where we are now
with our mind set in great consideration. With this kind of attention
we’re
giving
to
ourselves, a follow through is a
welcome treat. After an honest
assessment, whether life is good
to us or there’s a stumbling
block, we have to move on.
Sharing my own mind set with
the others, I shall look beyond
the roadblock and move through
it. Constant holding back will
make us permanently unhappy.
Bless all those who are able to
start on a better path during the
uncertain times.
There’s always something
to look forward to. Once again,
the beauty of winter wonderland will surround us and the
air of Christmas will soon be felt
and without fail, the promise
and splendor of spring will suddenly explode. With confidence
and strength, we are ready to
tackle and face the challenges in
the coming year. Again, I say
autumn is my favorite season.
While we are quieting down
after the crazy summer, the community calendar for fall is bursting with events and activities. It
seemed that the dates in the second half of the year became
popular with the different associations. At the tail end of summer,
Mabuhay,
Inc.
commemorated its 25th Anni-
versary with a gala ball at Marriott Hotel in Beltsville, Maryland.
The following day at 3:00 PM,
the grandson of Fred and Viqui
Embuscado was presented with
a baby shower by family and
friends, then, in the evening,
Vice Consul Robert Borje was
given a farewell party sponsored
by the Ateneo Alumni Association.
The energetic Filipino
American Institute of Accountants in Washington, D.C. flew
out-of-state to attend the nationwide accountants’ three-day
convention in Las Vegas on September 3 to 6. Then, the following
weekend,
the
Bicol
Association had its gala ball at
the Navy Yard Recreation Center in Washington, D.C. On the
same night, the Travelers of
Washington, D.C. had a dinner
dance at Martin’s Crosswind in
Maryland. The following Friday, a fundraising event was
held at Fortune Restaurant in
Gaithersburg, M.D. supporting
the candidacy of Ben Fraiser,
husband of Zeny Fraiser, as
congressman in South Carolina.
On September 21, the Medical
Mission of Mercy, USA conducted a golf tournament in
Bristow, VA.
On September 25, the Ivy
Rose Band will hold “Kollaboration DC” at George Washington
Listner Auditorium in D.C. On
October 2, there’s the Monte
Carlo Night to be sponsored by
the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce. Going a little
outside of DC, on October 9, the
Katipunan will hold its 41st Anniversary Ball and Debutantes
Reunion at Sheraton Hotel in
Towson, MD. The following
week, there’s the “Casablanca
Dinner Dance” at the Springfield
Hilton on October 16. Also on
October 16, the gala ball of the
Medical Mission of Mercy USA
at Hilton Alexandria Mark Center; October 22- the 21st Anniversary of Kababayan, Inc. at
Harvest Moon Restaurant in
Falls Church, VA. October 23Handog 2010 and 18th Annual
Dinner Dance of Feed the Hungry at Marriott Crystal Gateway;
October 30- PAFAI’s Halloween
Part at Marriott Crystal Gateway; the same night, October
30- University of the Philippines
dinner dance at Westin Tyson’s
Corner; the same night, October
30- Fil-Am Ministry of St. Michael Halloween Dinner Dance
at the social hall of St. Michael
Catholic Church.
The events in November
and December: November 6APODCAA’s Dinner Dance at
Fort Myer Community Center;
November 13- Migrant Heritage
Commission International Festival; November 27- University of
Santo Tomas Quadricentennial
Ball at Double Tree Hotel in
Crustal City; December 5- Paskong Pinoy co-sponsored by the
Philippine American Foundation
for Charities, Inc., Filipino Organization of Catholic University Students with the Embassy
of the Philippines at Catholic
University of America Prysbyla
University Center; December 11PAMWE
Christmas Dinner
Dance at Fort Myer in Falls
Church; and finally, December
18- Simbang Gabi sponsored by
the Our Lady of Good Counsel
Filipino Ministry in Vienna, VA.
While we take stock of ourselves in the fall, it will not hurt
if we attend events of our choice
to help and support the organizations of our mga kababayan in
the community.
than 15.8 million people in the
United States alone. More than
100,000 people die each year
from COPD.
What effect do cigarettes
have on our bronchi?
The local adverse effects of
smoking on our breathing pipes
and lungs include, among others, the destruction of the ciliary
motion on the mucosa (wall lining) of our bronchi. Normally,
this ciliary function acts like
strands of brushes (hair like
structures that move in a wavy
fashion) that moves secretion
(phlegm) upwards and outwards, so the person could
cough it out. With smoking, this
action ceases to function, so that
whatever phlegm is in the lungs,
remain there (causing more
damages as it get infected), the
person having great difficulty
coughing it out, without the help
of the cilia. The constant irritation from the fumes is also carcinogenic (cancer-causing).
Can emphysema affect the
heart?
Yes, when the emphysema
is severe and the oxygen level in
the blood is low as a result, then
the heart will also suffer from
lack of oxygen, besides being
overworked by the lungs that
are inefficient. The heart tries to
compensate for the low oxygen
level in the blood stream by
beating harder and faster.
Happenings in the
Community
28 Editorial
September 30, 2010
A Challenge to Others
Kris Valderrama has captured one of three slots in the Democratic ticket
during the recent primary, practically assuring her reelection as representative
of the 26th district in the Maryland House of Delegates in November.
Filam leaders Rozita Villanueva Lee and Hector Vargas Jr. have been appointed by President Obama to the White House Advisory Commission on
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Rozita, a familiar face on Capitol Hill during the fight for Filipino World
War II veterans rights, is national vice chairperson of the National Federation
of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) and a top player in Nevada politics. Vargas is executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
(GMLA) that has a membership of over 2,000 medical professionals spread
over 50 states and 12 countries.
They have provided an added dimension to Filipino Americans today.
Other Filams have equally been adept at working in banks and hospitals and
the corridors of power, as they are in America ‘s battlefields.
They are soldiers like retired Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, culinary artists
like White House chef Cristeta Comerford, businesspersons and civic leaders
like Loida Nicolas-Lewis, lawmakers like Ohio Congressman Steve Austria,
bureaucrats like USAID executive Gloria Dino-Steele and inspirations like
armless aviatrix Jessica Cox.
Kris waged an uphill battle to keep her seat as the only Filam and one of
only four Asian Americans in the Maryland legislature. Metro DC Filams rose
to the challenge by helping Kris in her time of need. It was especially heartening to see Filipino teachers - not able to vote - offer to be her foot soldiers in
the battle to retain her seat.
Kris, Lee, Vargas, Taguba, Comerford, et. al. have demonstrated that we
can achieve anything with a lot of hard work, courage and sacrifice.
Besides bringing honor to the Filam community with their accomplishments, they are also challenging others to offer a picture of what we could be.
(Rodney J. Jaleco)
Tribune
Washington Tsismis
A ‘lean’ DC delegation
Because President Noynoy Aquino is
in New York with a “lean” delegation,
the local followers have also sent a lean
delegation to join the community welcome for him there. Instead of “the busloads” of DC folk that were originally
planned, according to some Tsismosos,
the number of fans was not even enough
to fill up a bus.
And because Noynoy has taken to
eating hamburgers instead of the expensive steaks eaten by Gloria, his fans in the
DC area have also started eating Burger
King or Macdonald’s.
The first photos from New York
show President Noynoy strolling the
streets like a tourist. One photo shows
him posing for picture in front of the
New York Times building.
***
People are asking why Loida Nicolas
Lewis, a lawyer and the main convenor of
the Noynoy-Mar campaign fund raising
in the United States, proceeded with raising funds knowing that the Philippine
Commission on Elections expressly prohibits candidates from accepting contributions from foreigners. Some are asking
why Loida or her group did not check
with the Comelec first before launching
the campaign. Some are now saying that
the some $100,000 collected from hardworking Filipino Americans should have
been returned to the donors.
“Hoy, mayaman si Loida,” is the
common response of defenders of the NY
businesswoman when they hear some canards being spread around about her using the money for herself or for her
business.
***
Will somebody please tell Tsismoso
what US Pinoys for Good Governance
(USP4GG) is? What is its purpose? If its
aim is to ensure good governance in the
Philippines, how does it propose to do
this? How can US citizens influence Philippine politics? By donating dollars to
unintended recipients?
It seems that some members of the
group lack governance themselves. Take
for instance the quarrel in San Francisco
over the venue of Noynoy’s meeting with
the Filipino community. Because the consulate ignored their recommendations to
hold the meeting in a bigger place, the
good governance people are now moving
to replace all Arroyo-appointed diplomats. Is that good governance?
Reports are that USP4GG has appointed a point man for the visit of
Noynoy to the US. But because obviously
no one listens to him or her, USP4GG is
up in arms.
“This looks like there is still a
shadow of ‘palakasan’ and power struggle here…” writes one supporter, referring to the community and the consulate
staffers. “I would like to see the USP4GG
not as a threat to these remnants of past
administration and bad governance but a
group that can help make the changes envisioned to put the Philippines back
when it used to have credibility and
strength.” Amen.
***
While millions of Americans have
been going under the sun to get a nice tan
during the summer months, millions of
Filipinos were buying skin whitener
cream to make themselves white. Now
that the Philippine government has
banned the sale of the whiteners, Filipinos will remain just as they are, BROWN.
Unless, of course, you are a mestiza.
***
The editor has told yours truly that
he is glad the Manila Mail is again running its much-read Calendar of Events,
thanks to volunteer Manila Mail contributing editor Maurese O. Owens. According to embassy moles, a certain Consul
Borje of the Philippine embassy took it
upon himself to do this chore. At one
point, a volunteer contacted him to put
his own calendar in the Manila Mail for
the benefit of the Filipino community.
Nothing happened. Maybe this consul
thinks the calendar is a state secret that
should not be divulge to the public. Calling USP4GG!
***
An angry caller who did not authenticate himself recently asked the Manila
Mail editors why they have ignored the
Twenty Outstanding Filipinos Abroad
(TOFA) award gala at the JW Marriott
early this month. It appears that the editors did not receive any press release
from TOFA about the awards this year.
They said that last year, Nonoy Mendoza
sent a press release and even advertised
in the newspaper. The volunteer editors
promised to do better next time.
Opinion 29
September 30, 2010
Cold
November?
The Joy of Walking
Ringing the bell takes a lot
of nerve. You’re a stranger
knocking on someone’s door.
You don’t know what to expect.
It’s Saturday morning and some
people are still asleep. You’re
rousing them out of bed. Or it’s
a Sunday afternoon and you’re
rudely disrupting someone’s
day of rest. That someone’s
about to growl at you and slam
the door in your face. Worse,
you hear a dog snarl and you’re
not sure if the animal is on a
leash.
Sure, they happen sometimes, but rarely. It’s more likely
that no one’s home.
Take my word for it. I’ve
been street canvassing for years,
your candidate’s name and a
message: “Re-elect Valderrama.”
The hundreds of Valderrama volunteers who phonebanked,
lit-dropped,
precinct-walked and fanned out
in Prince George’s County
neighborhoods for several weekends before the September 14
primaries were mostly first-timers. They included teachers and
their spouses, community leaders, students, senior citizens,
neighbors and friends. They can
tell you that for the most part
walking was fun. And there
were a few delightful surprises.
Like this one. A door opens.
Lo and behold it’s an old friend
Mya Talavera, Rita Gerona Adkins and Ben de Guzman hitting the streets
for Kris.
dating back to when Al Gore
and George W. Bush were running for the White House. My
last stint was in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, pounding the
pavement for Barack Obama.
The experience may vary
from place to place, but whether
it’s a national or a local campaign, nothing beats door
knocking to get voters’ attention.
They can ignore the phone and
just let it ring, but nine times out
of ten they’d open the door if
only because someone knocked
and that’s usually enough to
make them curious. Fowl or fair,
their mood will determine your
candidate’s fate.
And that’s when you make
your pitch. In 30 seconds or less,
you try to win them over and
you want to leave with a “Yes!”
You want them to thank you for
stopping by, thank you for braving the cold or the heat. Chances
are, you may just have helped
them make up their mind. At the
very least, they’ll remember that
you showed up wearing a yellow T-shirt emblazoned with
whom you haven’t seen for
more than 20 years. That’s what
happened when Virginia residents Maurese Oteyza Owens
and Elvi Bangit knocked on
someone’s door in Forest
Heights. After some chit-chat,
she thanked the canvassers for
dropping by and assured them
of her vote. She probably
wouldn’t have bothered without
the friendly prod. That’s how we
fight for every vote. Because
each one counts.
Still another door opens. It’s
a young man in his underwear.
A woman joins him, wearing the
same thing. Joye, the door
knocker, is blushing with embarrassment but manages to mention Kris’ name as she looks
away. The couple, totally devoid
of inhibitions, said they will cast
their ballots for Kris. No inhibitions there. Joye hastens to depart. Maybe they were up
partying all night, she wonders.
But, hey, who cares if they run
around naked in their own
house so long as they run to the
Continued on page 31
At a recent town hall meeting in Washington, DC, Pres.
Barack Obama was stunned by a
complaint from a supporter who
bluntly told him that she is tired
of defending him and his administration and that her vote
for hope and change has yielded
nothing to cheer about so far.
What happened to the
promise of the stimulus? Pass
this or else unemployment will
climb to 8.2%. That was
Obama’s ominous warning. It
was passed and unemployment
surpassed 10%.
The administration would
like us to believe that the stimulus money which were borrowed funds for the future
generation to repay, have created or saved over two million
jobs. Where are these jobs?
Here is a sample of job creation by stimulus money as reported by LA Times and Fox
News. The City of Los Angeles,
CA received $111 million of
stimulus money. After an audit
was conducted, the city controller Wendy Greuel released a 40page report indicating that the
stimulus only created or retained 55 jobs.
The Los Angeles Department of Public Works spent $70
million but created only seven
private sector jobs and saved
seven workers from layoffs. This
translates to taxpayer cost per
job at $1.5 million. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation spent $40 million but
created only nine jobs costing
the taxpayer $4.4 million per job.
The Mayor of San Francisco,
Gavin Newsome, a very liberal
Democrat candidly lamented
that the stimulus money dispensed by the Obama administration stimulated public sector
jobs, but had little impact on private sector jobs. I wonder if this
is coincidence. Public sector jobs
are heavily unionized. Guess
who the unions support?
Now that Pres. Obama and
the Democrats are tanking in the
polls, the White House is unleashing their not so secret
weapon. First Lady Michelle
Obama will now hit the campaign trail. Will she make a difference? Perhaps. If only she will
use her passion in her campaign
against obesity to convince her
husband to reduce his appetite
for spending the money that the
people doesn’t have.
You don’t have to believe
the polls pointing to the downward slide of Obama’s approval
ratings. The body language of
his supporters are more telling.
Several Democratic candidates
for congress are running ads emphasizing their independence
from the White House. After he
spoke at the UN General Assembly in New York, Democrats organized an appearance for him
at the Roosevelt Hotel. Even as
the tickets for the reception were
lowered to $50 and $100, only
450 people came to a room that
could accommodate 650. And
when he spoke, he was heckled
by a couple of gay activists.
Is it Republican attacks that
is bringing Obama’s public approval down as reflected in the
polls? Hardly. The people are
smart enough to see who is digging us further into debt with no
glimmer of light at the end of the
tunnel. When they think there is
no more hope, they will opt for
change.
What goes around comes
around.
***
The bachelor President of
the
Philippines,
Benigno
“Noynoy” Aquino, also known
as P-noy is in the US for an offi-
Continued on page 31
Naughty Bill
Clinton
MANILA
Was Bill Clinton being
naughty when he invited Gloria
Arroyo to New York at the same
time President Aquino was visiting the United Nations last
week?
And was Arroyo being
naughty too when she agreed to
be in the Big Apple during
Aquino’s visit? What was
Gloria’s purpose, to upstage
Noynoy?
I used to like Clinton. He’s
bright and I thought he had progressive ideas, compared to
other US politicians of his time.
But, as we all know, Clinton
also is a flawed individual. I
don’t have to list Clinton’s
weaknesses and frailties because
they’re known by all. Priapic by
nature, he couldn’t resist a
chance to bed women that he
fancied, even risking shame just
to be able to satisfy himself. I
need not go on, we all know
about Clinton’s flaws. We all
know he’s naughty, if you know
what I mean.
Majority of Americans evidently didn’t mind Clinton’s
sexcapades
because
they
reelected him as President despite the embarrassment he
caused to himself, his family and
his country.
And, since the Observer column isn’t a spot to peddle morality, I am not about to
horsewhip Clinton for his excesses. It’s none of my business
if Clinton likes to chase skirts,
even until this time, if published
news is accurate about him still
active in his usual pursuits.
I stopped liking Clinton
when he said during Gloria Arroyo’s presidency that “everybody in the Philippines is afraid
of Gloria.”
Arroyo was able to cling to
office despite her unpopularity
because she was able to buy off
enough politicians to remain in
power. It wasn’t that all Filipinos were scared of her, it was
that politics in the Philippines is
a money game.
In any case, what kind of
statesman, if Clinton is one,
speaks that way, maligning a
whole nation like that, calling all
Filipinos scared stiffs? Clinton
may be bright but he apparently
isn’t all that bright. A person
who’s truly bright doesn’t talk
that way.
And now, Clinton invites
Arroyo to New York at the same
time the new President of the
Philippines will be in town. Is
that sabotage or what?
Worse, Arroyo accepts the
invite. For what, to take away
the spotlight from Aquino?
As we all know, Clinton
and Arroyo were batchmates at
that Jesuit educational enclave in
Georgetown overlooking Key
Continued on page 31
30
September 30, 2010
Immigration Notes
By J.G. Azarcon, Esq.
Love visa
Street Talk
The most striking anecdote
on command responsibility and
delegation that I can recall is that
one told by my late boss, Tony
de Joya, chairman of Advertising & Marketing Associates.
When he was just EVP and CEO
of the agency, he was upbraided
by his president, Jesus V. del
Rosario, for typo errors in a
press release issued by the
agency.
Tony reasoned that the
press release had been reviewed
and proofread by the agency’s
general manager, his second in
command.
“Can he proofread better
than you?” Del Rosario asked.
“No,” replied Tony. “That’s
why I’m CEO.”
“Well then,” shot back Del
Rosario, “until he can proofread
better than you, I will hold you
responsible for proofreading
every document that comes out
of this agency."
Of course, Del Rosario did
not mean that literally. But the
message was clear. Tony
promptly cracked the whip on
the entire agency to make sure
that there would be no more embarrassing typo errors.
As I rose through the ranks
in the same ad agency, that
proofreading anecdote influenced the way I handled projects
for which I was accountable. I
rationalized that, since the buck
would stop with me, anyway, it
was better to personally do the
job myself rather than delegate.
It was, thus, with some confusion that I took Tony’s unflattering
assessment
of
my
performance as a manager, and
his terse advice: “If you want to
build a team, you must learn to
delegate."
In effect, he told me: You’re
damned if you delegate. And
damned if you don’t.
It would take me a while to
appreciate this harsh reality that
confronts everyone who leads or
manages others. In a much
larger sense, this is the same
harsh reality confronting President Noynoy Aquino. Leadership has a price.
Whether corporate manager
or president of a country, a
leader has no choice but to delegate, to work with a team, to
pass on functions down a chain
of command. A one-man army
only happens in Rambo movies.
But while a leader can delegate
functions and authority, ultimate responsibility and accountability cannot be delegated.
If operations bog down for
lack of proper delegation, the
leader has to take the heat. On
the other hand, if he delegates
and his subordinates mess
things up, he still needs to the
heat.
In both cases, he must accept full responsibility and be
answerable to the boss, the person above him on the corporate
ladder. If he’s the CEO of a corporation, he answers to the
board or the stockholders. Thus,
Tony Hayward, the CEO of British Petroleum, got the axe for
the massive oil spill in the Gulf
of Mexico.
If the leader is president of
the country, he is answerable to
the citizenry. It may be assumed
that P-Noy was aware of this
when he took the job. It should,
therefore, be no surprise that he
took full responsibility for the
hostage tragedy.
Remember what he said in
his inaugural speech? He said
that the Filipino people were his
bosses. Thus, he had no choice
but to take the blame.
But the kibitzers and pundits are dead wrong when they
conclude that, taking responsibility means absolving everyone
else. The manager or leader who
takes ultimate responsibility
must also exercise both his
authority and his duty to crack
the whip on his subordinates, to
chop heads, to get to the bottom
of the foul-up, and to ensure that
it never happens again.
Thus, everyone below PNoy - and I mean, EVERYONE who had anything to do with the
mishandling of that tragic incident must, in turn, not only be
made to answer for it, they
should step forward and accept
their share of the blame.
Now, this is where you
separate the warriors from the
cub scouts. The managers from
the gofers. The nobles from the
peons. The leaders from the followers.
In this regard, we have reason to be disappointed - nay,
disgusted - at the buck-passing
and blame-dodging that have
marked the aftermath of this national embarrassment. The Filipino people have a right to
expect a certain quality in their
Continued on page 31
True love may pave the way
for a ticket to the United States.
An alien who is the fiance(e)
of a U.S. citizen petitioner may
be issued a K-1 visa which will
allow entry to the U.S. for the
purpose of marrying the U.S.
citizen petitioner.
To qualify for a K-1 visa, the
petitioner and the alien must satisfy the following requirements:
(i) the parties have personally
met within two years preceding
the date of filing of the petition;
(ii) they must have a bona fide
intention to marry; and (iii) they
are legally qualified and actually
willing to conclude a valid marriage in the U.S. within ninety
days after the fiance(e)’s arrival.
The requirement for a personal meeting within two years
preceding the filing of the petition may be waived by the Immigration Service if the parties
can establish that the meeting
would result in extreme hardship to the petitioner or would
violate the traditional customs of
the beneficiary’s foreign culture
or social practice, as in marriages
arranged by parents. Health reasons, travel restrictions or financial burdens are circumstances
that may merit a waiver based
on extreme hardship.
The documentation necessary to prove contact and intent
to marry includes, among others,
photographs of the parties being
together, letters, e-mail, tele-
VISA PRIORITY DATES FOR THE PHILIPPINES
SEPTEMBER 2010
• FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES
First: Unmarried sons/daughters
of US citizens
Second:
A: Spouses/minor children of
permanent residents:
B: Unmarried sons/daughters 21 years of age
or older of permanent residents
Third: Married sons/daughters of citizens
Fourth: Brothers/sisters of citizens
Jan. 01, 1997
Jan. 01, 2010
Aug. 01, 2002
Jan. 01, 1995
Jan. 01, 1991
• EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES
First: Priority workers
Second: Professionals holding advanced degrees
or persons of exceptional ability
Third: Skilled workers, professionals
Other Workers
Fourth:
Certain Religious Workers
Fifth: Employment creation/
(Million or half-million dollar investor)
phone bills and affidavits of relatives who have personal knowledge of the relationship.
If the alien beneficiary has
minor children, the children can
come with the principal beneficiary under a K-2 visa, either accompanying or following to join
within one year of the issuance
of the K-1 visa.
If the alien or the petitioner
fail to marry within 90 days of
the alien’s arrival, the alien then
becomes subject to removal. A
K-1 visa holder will not qualify
for an extension of stay or
Current
Current
Dec. 01, 2004
Mar. 22, 2003
Current
Current
Current
change to another immigration
status, i.e. B-2, H-B1 or employment based immigrant petition.
If the alien marries another U.S.
citizen instead of the petitioner,
the alien cannot apply for adjustment of status while remaining
in the U.S. The only way for a K1 visa holder to adjust status to
permanent resident in the U.S. is
by marriage to the petitioner
within 90 days of arrival.
(Any questions pertaining
to this article may be addressed
to 703 893 0760)
What’s a
Filam?
Filipino Americans (Filams
for short) have often defied definition. They can be white, black
or brown. Their looks are often
confused with one or another
race; they’re equally fluent in
English as they are in speaking
any of a dozen Philippine dialects (some of which sound
eerily like Spanish). And they’re
equally adept working in banks,
laboratories and hospitals, as
they are in America’s battlefields.
They are soldiers like retired Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba,
culinary artists like White House
chef Cristeta Comerford, businesspersons and civic leaders
like Loida Nicolas-Lewis, lawmakers like Ohio Congressman
Steve Austria, bureaucrats like
USAID executive Gloria DinoSteele and inspirations like armless aviatrix Jessica Cox; they are
scientists, accountants, engineers, journalists, entertainers,
caregivers, nannies.
They are Americans who
recognize and embrace their Filipino roots, celebrating it like
they did at the Philippine Vil-
lage at the recent Asian Festival
in Reston, Virginia. There was a
rich variety of Philippine arts
and crafts, from fruit carvings by
Paete food carvers, to arnis demonstrations, to folk dances like
the tinikling and pandango sa
ilaw. And also liked their heroes
like Manny Pacquiao and Cory
Aquino whose faces were embossed in T-shirts that sold like
hotcakes.
And there was the bayanihan spirit (helping each other)
that led to the building of the
Village at the festival. There
were delegations from scores of
Fil-Am organizations from as far
north as New Jersey and as far
south as Richmond, who traveled hundreds of miles to join
the Filams at the festival. There
were enough Fil-Am stage artists to fill two stages. Alfa Garcia, a singer-songwriter from
New York, was nine when her
family immigrated to America.
She sings mostly about love and
the pursuits of youth, but some
of her songs delve on the struggles of a young Fil-Am searching
for identity in the already diverse American landscape.
Indie rockers The Speaks
has been recognized here as an
Amercian band, even if it’s made
up of Filams. They signed up
with Warner Music (Asia) in
2005, and their video is often
seen in MTV and MYX, among
others.
Vocalist Raf Toledo put his
spin on the Filipino rock anthem
“Ang Himig Natin” (to see their
performance, click here).
Stephanie Reese played Kim
in the German production of
Miss Saigon and portrayed Princess Tuptim in the King and I at
Continued on page 31
31
September 30, 2010
The Joy of Walking ... from page 29
polls, appropriately dressed of
course.
My own pleasant surprise
happened on a very hot Sunday
afternoon in Oxon Hill. I am
sweating, profusely. I could use
a cold glass of water. A familiar
face opens the door, calls out my
name and invites me in. The
family is having a crab feast. The
offer is very tempting, but I have
miles to go and more doors to
knock. I leave with a bag of
crabs and a nod for Kris.
On Labor Day weekend,
more than a dozen community
leaders from Virginia and Maryland put on their walking shoes.
It didn’t matter that Kris is a
Democrat with liberal views.
This was not about party affiliations. They knew only too well
that if Filipino Americans don’t
close ranks behind one of their
own, she’s not only going to
lose. The community loses as
well. They remember Ron Villanueva, a young Filipino
American who ran for state legislator in Virginia last year. He
barely won, by less than 20
votes. The FilAm community in
Norfolk and Virginia Beach was
divided.
And so we walked. And
talked. Journalist Rita Gerona
Adkins of Arlington, Va., who
usually stays up all night, had
only an hour of sleep. But the
talking kept her awake Saturday
morning. The adrenalin was
flowing. She had armed herself
well, diligently researched Kris’s
impressive legislative record on
the Web, and persuaded quite a
few Fort Washington residents
to at least consider sending back
to Annapolis this young mother
of two who’s a strong advocate
for kids and young families.
She’s learned the ropes of policy
making. And she’ll do even better. Rita said all that about Kris. I
paired her with Ben de Guzman
to make sure she doesn’t spend a
minute more in one house.
I have no doubt the walking
and the face-to-face encounters
made a significant difference in
Kris winning her re-election bid
in the Democratic Primary by
more than 1,500 votes, much
more than the 100 she won four
years ago to edge her closest rival, the same candidate who
tried to unseat her this time
around. She’s virtually assured
of victory in the general election
come November in heavilyDemocratic District 26, which
Naughty Bill Clinton... from page 29
Bridge and the Potomac.
Gloria Arroyo (I repeat her
full name, contrary to journalistic practice to avoid confusion because Arroyo and Aquino
sound similar) has always baffled me. She’s a strange person.
Like, I could never understand
why she chose to rule as imperiously and almost as a dictator
when that was a sure ticket to
being hated, as indeed she’s become. She’s the most despised
President since Ferdinand Marcos.
Had Gloria chosen to govern justly and with concern and
compassion for the vast majority
of Filipinos, she would have
been showered with love and
admiration by her countrymen.
What a wasted opportunity!
Gloria is anti-people, antipoor. She carried herself like an
empress, a sovereign ruling a
captive realm when she was
Cold November?... from page 29
cial visit. I think he really
wanted to have a one-on-one
meeting with Pres. Obama. It
did not happen. Not that Barack
ignored the Philippine president. I suspect that Michelle vetoed the meeting because she is
afraid that the two would end
up chatting under a tree outside
the White House blowing cigarette smoke at each other.
P-Noy would like to project
himself as a simple man. He
does not like imperial trappings
that come with his high office.
While Erap and Gloria would
wine and dine in fancy restaurants, P-Noy walked to a hot-
Street Talk... from page 30
leaders. Call it integrity. Pride.
Manliness. Professionalism. A
sense of responsibility. Courage.
Call it balls.
Sadly, that quality appears
to be lacking in many of those
involved.
Watching Justice Secretary
Leila de Lima strive to get to the
bottom of the incident has been
liked watching an arbularyo
pulling teeth. I’m reminded of
two vice-presidents at the ad
agency where I used to work,
from whom I demanded an explanation concerning an important project that was fouled up.
Each one vigorously explained
his side and what he did right.
I cut them both short. “Even
if it’s 99%, I’m not interested in
what you did right," I said. “I
want to hear about the one percent that you did wrong."
But the two VPs lacked that
key quality of leadership. Balls. I
asked them to leave my room.
Similarly, what we have
she represents.
AFSCME activist Kathleen
Topacio Flores mapped out a
brilliant strategy of targeting
those precincts where Kris lost
in her first election. That’s where
we walked and showed our
sweaty but smiling faces, engaged voters and reminded
them what this election meant
for themselves and for their kids.
We walked the streets of Potomac Knolls in Fort Washington
where one of the challengers
live.
“How can they resist our
smiling faces,” an elated Minnie
Rosenthal of Gaithersburg said
after a three-hour walk around
the neighborhoods of Temple
Hills. “I really enjoyed talking to
people and telling them about
Kris.”
The re-election campaign
was an uphill battle from the get
go. State Senator Muse dropped
Kris from the “official” Democratic ticket, replacing her with a
first-time candidate. The Washington Post did not endorse Kris
either. All the reasons defy credulity.
But that only spurred Realtor Mya Talavera of Fort Washington to jog up the hilly streets
of Panorama Drive, fired up on a
mission to counter the omission.
Taking time off from showing
houses, she went door to door,
deploying her arsenal of interpersonal and networking skills.
“I believe in turning threats into
opportunities,” she says cheerfully. “A door closes, but another one opens. We defy the
odds by not surrendering to defeat or despair.”
That spirit may well have
driven Filipino American voters
from Kris’ district
many of
whom didn’t vote before to
come out this time and put her
on top.
Walking the walk is what
civic engagement is all about: to
change the future one voter at a
time, to breathe life into a democratic process and renew our
faith in the ability of government to serve the public good.
The win is Kris Valderrama’s. But it’s also ours, especially our young people whom
we want to encourage to pursue
a life of public service. I had the
rare privilege of walking with
20-year-old Rim Radwan, a student at Frostburg State University. It was her first time to door
knock. The experience inspired
her to emulate Kris’ example
and possibly run for elected office someday. For now, she’s involved in student government
and looks forward to more political training opportunities.
Kris’s father David was a
trailblazer when he first ran for
delegate in the Maryland General Assembly and held the seat
for more than a decade. By following in her dad’s footsteps,
Kris provides us with valuable
lessons on the basics of political
empowerment. We want to see
more of Kris’ generation elected
to school boards, city councils,
state legislators and, of course,
the U.S. Congress.
But that requires a heightened political consciousness, one
that considers being political a
good thing, not something to be
avoided. We can start by keeping abreast of issues that affect
us, learn about what candidates
stand for and make them accountable. It doesn’t matter
whether we choose to become
Democrats, Republicans or Independents. Being active is what
counts.
Last but not least, take time
to volunteer in political campaigns and truly experience the
joys of walking. You won’t
know the thrill of a door opening until you’ve worked up the
nerve to knock. It never ceases to
amaze me the many pleasant
surprises I discover.
E-mail your comments to
[email protected]
President. It’s like a defense
mechanism for her, to be aloof
and stuck up. Is this what people call a Napoleonic complex,
you know, the insecurity borne
out of being small in physical
stature?
So, Gloria went to New
York even though the President
of her country, her successor, indeed her President now, was going to be officially in the same
city. Why compete for attention
with Aquino instead of letting
him have the limelight to himself?
Arroyo is now just one of
the 300 members of the Philippine Congress, no longer the allpowerful President
she was
before. It must be a devastating
come-down for someone so used
to, and who craved for, power.
Nobody pays attention to her
anymore.
But she still has her old network of allies (even though
many of them had abandoned
her in the last election for
Noynoy Aquino, the new rising
political star). So she could still
be a threat to Aquino. Better be-
lieve it, she will move against
Aquino if the opportunity presented itself.
But for now, Arroyo must
be dreading her much-reduced political status. In the
Philippines there’s a term for
people who feel insecure and
crave attention. It’s called KSP,
kulang sa pansin, literally, lacking
attention.
How does someone who’s
KSP gain the spotlight? Steal the
spotlight, that’s how.
dog stand and bought lunch for
his entourage.
P-Noy fans in America who
are scratching each other for the
glory
of
hosting
their
idol
should heed his message. Make
it simple. Pot luck is okay. Perahin niyo na lang, then he can
bring home the bacon.
heard from those who had a role
in the tragedy have been reasons
why they were not at fault or, in
the tradition of the weasel, why
they were NOT COMPLETELY
at fault.
Only P-Noy has taken the
hit squarely on the chin. And
rightly so. But one would have
expected the other members of
his team to walk courageously
into the gauntlet and stoically
accept their share of the blows.
([email protected]
om
What’s a Filam? ... from page 30
the Palladium Theater in London’s West End.
The all-girls band Ivy Rose
continues to leave its mark in
the Metro DC entertainment
scene.
Three members are sisters
who learned to play musical instruments after their father, Tito,
who like this writer is a product
of the Salesian’s Don Bosco
schools, transformed their basement into a makeshift music studio.
They’re just a sampling of
the pool of Filam talents in the
Washington metro area.
And then there was the
Philippine carabao! “Hailed in
the Philippines as ”Pambansang
hayop" (national animal) the
slow-moving but gentle beast of
burden performs like a 2,000pound machine, forging through
mud up to its belly and working
continuously for years. Silent
and docile, it never complains
despite the oppressive heat.
“When my father moved
our family to a farm in Davao in
the 1950s, the first thing he did
was to buy a carabao. He
worked that beast all year
round. Then one day he turned
over the reins to me. At nine
years old, I learned to plow the
field the old fashioned way. I
and the carabao bonded well.”
The carabao was resurrected and given a fresh coat of
paint through the bayanihan efforts of Fil-Am stalwarts and
volunteers from the Philippine
Embassy.
It stands sturdy and strong,
with a splash of colors that
speaks as much about the Filam
community in America’s capital
region. Just like many Filams,
it’s searching for its unique identity. But in the end, the carabao
got its name: “Prince Masipag
(Hardworking Prince).” Will the
Filams be next?
32
September 30, 2010