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resident Barack Obama says he intends to issue an order easing the threat against deportation for immigrants in the country illegally.
(Story cont. on page 10)
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Trillanes: Binay might have
me killed should he
become President
VOL. 3 ISSUE 3
VIEW US ONLINE: WWW.SF-POST.COM
NOV 13, 2014 - NOV 19, 2014
M
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV: Vice President Binay (inset photo)
ANILA, Philippines—Senator Antonio
Trillanes IV fears that Vice President Jejomar Binay might have him killed or jailed should
the latter become president in 2016.
“Alam n’yo po kung mananalo si Vice President Binay bilang pangulo baka ipapatay po ako
nito or kaya ipakuong,” Trillanes said in a radio
interview on Wednesday when asked if he was
willing to work with Binay if the latter becomes
president.
(You know, if Vice President Binay wins the
presidency, he might have me killed or jailed.)
Opo ipapapatay po ako o ipapakulong kaya sinasabi ko nga po hindi madali ang ginagawa natin,”
he said.
(Yes, he will have me killed or jailed, that is why
I am saying that what I am doing is not easy.)
It was Trillanes, who initiated the investigation
of the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee into the
allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall 2 parking
building involving the Vice Presi(Cont. on Page 15 )
dent. The investigation has
quarantine for
Santiago wants
Fisherman cuts Island
Philippine UN troops
‘Hacienda Binay’
penis of live-in from Ebola-hit Liberia distributed
to farmers
M
partner’s lover
M
AGUPAN CITY, Philippines—A fisherman in Bolinao town in Pangasinan province cut the sex organ of his live-in partner’s
lover after he caught them having sex in his
house early Wednesday, police said.
Superintendent Marcos Anod, Bolinao police
chief, said the 40-year-old fisherman had long
suspected that his partner had been seeing another man.
On Tuesday night, Anod said, the fisherman
told his partner that he would be out on a fishing trip. But at 2 a.m. Wednesday, the fisherman returned to his hut in Barangay Zaragoza
in Bolinao and caught his live-in partner having sex with a younger man, a resident of the
neighboring village of Catungi.
Anod said the fisherman immediately grabbed
the man’s sex organ and cut it with a bolo, as
his stunned live-in partner ran away naked.
The man, who was taken to a hospital here,
has not yet indicated whether he would file
charges against the fisherman, police said.
D
ore than a hundred Filipino UN troops
returning from Ebola-hit West Africa
were swiftly packed off to an isolated island on
Wednesday as part of extreme measures to protect the Philippines from the deadly virus.
The 108 peacekeepers, who had just finished
a 10-month tour of Liberia under United Nations command, arrived by chartered plane at a
restricted section of Manila airport Wednesday
evening.
The uniformed soldiers were immediately sent
to a naval base near Manila where they will
travel on to Caballo, a tiny uninhabited island
at the mouth of Manila Bay that will be their
temporary home for the next 21 days.
None of the soldiers have tested positive for the
virus, but they have been prevented from physical contact with anyone in the
(Cont. on Page 11 )
Philippines and are being
ANILA,
Philippines–
Sen. Miriam DefensorSantiago on Monday filed a
resolution expressing the Senate’s sense that a vast farm allegedly owned by Vice President Jejomar Binay should be
distributed to farmers if covered by the agrarian reform
program.
Quoting the Department
of Agrarian Reform (DAR),
Santiago said
Rosario town
in Batangas
province,
where
the
farm is located, was agricultural and hence covered by the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
In Rosario, some 632 hectares of land are subject to
CARP, she said.
“The Rosario, Batangas,
property—whether consisting
of 145 or 350 ha—should
(Cont. on Page 7)
IRS Announces Better
Offshore Amnesty
Program
Story on page 6
TRENDING
Can Kathryn Bernardo sing,
really? -page 13
PAGE 2
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
NATIONAL
FIL-AM POST
21-city bus tour touts affordable health
insurance for Californians
SACRAMENTO, California — Covered
California officials have begun a nine-day,
21-city bus tour to spread the word about
the opportunity for millions of Californians to buy affordable health insurance
beginning November 15.
The statewide tour led by Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee will
take place during the week leading up to
and the first few days of open enrollment, a
three-month window from November 15 to
February 15, when Californians who need
insurance cannot be turned away by health
insurance companies and when many can
get federal subsidies to dramatically lower
their cost of coverage.
Lee and other leaders of Covered California, community partners and elected officials will attend enrollment events and visit
storefronts to encourage the uninsured to
get health coverage during the open-enrollment period through Covered California.
“In communities of all sizes in our state,
we will share the stories of real people who
have benefited from the care and coverage
they have obtained and encourage those
without insurance to get covered,” Lee ex-
plained.
The tour, which started at the State Capitol on Monday, November 10, will include
stops in Petaluma, Gilroy, Fresno, San Bernardino, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo,
Salinas, Chico
and Redding, as
well as stops in
major cities such
as Los Angeles,
San Francisco
and San Diego.
A major media
event is planned
in Los Angeles
on November
14, the day before open enrollment begins,
at the historic
Grand Park in front of Los Angeles City
Hall.
The bus tour takes place as Covered California ramps up its “I’m In” statewide marketing campaign, with multilingual television ads running in every major market to
let Californians know that open enrollment
Parts of U.S. abruptly thrown into early
winter as cold snap sweeps through
An early blast of cold air will leave more
than half of the United States shivering
into the weekend.
About 200 million people will be affected
by the severe cold, CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri said.
The unseasonably cold temperatures associated with an arctic air mass will continue to surge southward through the central United States.
Temperatures are forecast to be 20 to 40
degrees below climate average for areas
east of the Rockies into the Great Plains.
The cold air will move toward the South
by Wednesday morning, bringing freezing
temperatures as far south as Oklahoma and
the Texas Panhandle.
It will reach the East Coast by Thursday,
forecasters said.
“Early season cold outbreak will drift
south and eastward across much of the
eastern half of the country over the next
several days,” the National Weather Service said in a statement. By the time the
weekend hits, hardly anyone in the eastern
two-thirds of the nation will be spared.
starts November 15.
The bus tour is part a $95-million community outreach drive supported by federal
grant funding for the implementation of the
Affordable Care Act in the second year.Lee
noted
that open
enrollment is
shorter
this year,
meaning
consumers will
have less
time to
consider
their options and
sign up
for coverage for 2015.
“We will need to work harder to enroll
those who are still uninsured,” Lee said.
“We want to get the word out to Californians not to gamble with their health by
going without insurance.”
Covered California anticipates a total en-
rollment of 1.7 million Californians by the
end of the coming open-enrollment period
— 1.5 million in subsidized coverage and
230,000 in unsubsidized coverage. This
forecast represents an increase of about
500,000 in total enrollment (43 percent).
Among improvements made by Covered
California for this year’s open enrollment
include:
•An experienced team of more than 28,000
people who can enroll Californians confidentially and at no cost, including more
than 12,000 Certified Insurance Agents,
10,000 county eligibility workers and
6,400 Certified Enrollment Counselors.
Consumers seeking help near them can
visit CoveredCA.com and click “Find Local Help” to search by ZIP code for free
help to sign up for coverage.
•More than doubling the number of Service
Center representatives — state employees
and contractors — to dramatically reduce
wait times and help consumers enroll.
•Expanded Service Center hours and adding more bilingual staffers to help consumers in their own language rather than using
interpreters.
Missouri governor outlines
Ferguson preparations
A small number of protesters attacked squad
WELDON SPRING, Mo. – Police will work
to protect peaceful protesters after a grand cars, tossed molotov cocktails at officers and,
jury’s decision in the Michael Brown shoot- in a few cases, shot guns in the direction of
ing case is announced, but those who cross police, who responded with tear gas, smoke
the line into violence will face consequences, canisters and rubber bullets. On many nights,
dozens were arrested.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon warned Tuesday.
St. Louis County police initially handled seMore than 1,000 police officers have received
special training ahead of a decision expected curity, but criticism of their tactics prompted
later this month about whether Ferguson Of- Nixon to put Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnficer Darren Wilson, who is white, will face son in charge. He and other police leaders said
the response was necessary
criminal charges
to protect officers, protestfor fatally shooters and the public.
ing Brown, 18,
This time around, officers
who was black
have undergone a combined
and unarmed.
5,000 hours of training and
The Nationpolice leaders have reached
al Guard will
out to civil rights and probe available if
test groups to urge cooperaneeded and a unition. Last week, a coalition
fied command of
representing more than 50
state, St. Louis
activist groups asked St.
city and St. Louis
Louis County prosecuCounty
police
tor Bob McCulloch for 48
will provide sehours’ notice before a grand
curity for projury decision is announced,
tests.
saying that will allow them
At a news conference with law Lesley McSpadden, the mother of 18-year-old to help prevent violence.
Michael
Brown,
wipes
away
tears
as
Brown’s
But some organizers fear
enforcement officials to outline father, Michael Brown Sr., holds up a fam- police will be heavy handed
p r e p a r a t i o n s , ily picture of himself, his son, top left, and a after the grand jury anNixon recalled young child during a news conference in Jen- nouncement.
Ashley Yates of St. Louis,
violent protests nings, Mo. (AP/Jeff Roberson, File)
co-creator of the group Milthat
occurred
lennial Activists United,
soon after Brown
noted that the vast majority of protests have
was killed in August.
“That ugliness was not representative of Mis- been peaceful and said Nixon should focus
on addressing the systemic problems faced by
souri and it cannot be repeated,” he said.
Weeks of protests followed the shooting and minority communities, “not reactionary policsome of the unrest included looting and riot- ing techniques.”
Organizers of her group and other protesting. Many businesses along West Florissant
Avenue in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, still ers gathered Tuesday for training that includes
how to take notes and shoot video of police
have boards on their windows.
During the first days of mostly peaceful pro- actions on the streets.
“There is a significant effort to make sure that
tests, police donned riot gear and patrolled in
armored vehicles, drawing widespread criti- people’s rights are protected and that there’s
cism and raising questions about a program no violence on either side,” said Andy Stepanthat supplies surplus military equipment to lo- ian, a spokesman for several protest groups.
cal police departments.
Credit card thieves take gas in ‘pump and
dump’ scheme
Lilburn, Georgia (CNN) -- The man in the
white shirt was pumping gas into an ordinarylooking white van. But he was no ordinary
customer.
For one, it took him a long time at the pump.
And then there were the stolen credit cards
police say he took out of his wallet. In the
17 minutes he was at the pump, he used two
cards to pump 95 gallons of diesel fuel.
What happened at this gas station outside Atlanta is part of a crime wave around the country, police say. It’s called “pump and dump.”
Thieves use stolen credit cards to get gas and
then sell it at cut-rate prices to truckers and
gas stations that are part of the scheme.
Authorities say it’s a multi-million dollar
crime with a quick payoff.
The criminals look as if they are pumping
gas like any other customer. But their vehicles
are vans, trucks and SUVs fitted with hidden
tanks that can hold several hundred gallons.
The hidden tanks range from sophisticated
contraptions to a simple plastic or metal container inside the vehicle.
“It’s a very lucrative way to make money. It
runs below the radar,” said U.S. Secret Service Agent Steve Scarince, who supervises
the agency’s Los Angeles Fraud Task Force,
and tracks the crime around the country.
Scarince said the gas theft rings in the Los
Angeles area typically resell the stolen gas to
gas stations for a fraction of the usual cost.
The stations then sell it on -- at full price -- to
the public. In other parts of the country, police have arrested thieves who resell the stolen gas to independent truckers or who use it
themselves. The crime typically starts with
the thieves stealing credit card information or
buying stolen numbers online. They then use
those cards to buy gas.
THEFT OF FREE NEWSPAPER IS A CRIME IN THIS STATE.
WORLD BRIEF
FIL-AM POST
Egyptian terrorists are linked to ISIS, YouTube message says
Cairo (CNN) -- ISIS has a new residency in Egypt, acNumerous checkpoints dot northern Sinai to prevent the
cording to a YouTube message posted Sunday.
movement of weapons and fighters. The threat to security
In the audio message, the Sinai-based militant group An- forces operating in this area is so severe that at times, a
sar Beit al-Maqdis, or ABM, allegedly announces its al- shoot-on-sight curfew goes into effect between Arish, the
legiance to ISIS, which calls itself the Islamic State.
largest city in northern Sinai, and the Rafah border crossThe roughly 10-minute clip blames tyrants and their ing with Gaza, according to security officials. After Octo“Jewish agents
ber’s attack, the government authorized a
and their allies”
three-month curfew for the northern part
for decades of
of the peninsula.
Muslim suffering.
Officials in Egypt blame Hamas in Gaza
The message also
for aiding the militant group, an accusacalls ISIS “the
tion Hamas denies. Recently, the governemergence of a
ment relocated more than a thousand famnew dawn.”
ilies away from the border in a move to
If verified,
eliminate cover for any tunnels between
this would be a
Egypt and Gaza and to create a buffer
new, dangerous
zone. AMB initially gained a foothold by
chapter for the
exploiting the long-entrenched mistrust
deadliest group
between local Bedouins and Egyptian auin Egypt. Since
thorities.
Egyptian group is swearing allegiance to ISIS, expanding the
2012, ABM’s at- An
The state of fear created by ABM eventerror group’s reach in the region. Jim Sciutto reports.
tacks have grown
tually started to alienate many of northern
more daring and
Sinai’s residents. ABM lost support after
sophisticated. The group has killed hundreds of Egyptian assassinating Bedouin leaders who disagreed with their
police officers and soldiers. The largest attack was last practices and beheading men accused of being informants.
month in the Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 31 soldiers.
Before ISIS’ rise to power, ABM was often associated
Analysts put the group’s numbers at from the hundreds to with al Qaeda. Similar messages on social media proroughly a thousand.
claimed the group’s allegiance to al Qaeda leader Ayman
While ABM’s attacks, until now, have almost exclusively al-Zawahiri, only later to be denied by the militant group.
targeted the Egyptian government, there is growing fear
In an article in Atlantic Council by Zack Gold, he said
that an association with ISIS could expand the threat to there “appears to be an internal tussle in ABM over supcivilian and tourist sites.
port for these international organizations.” He also argued
Egyptian security forces have been aggressively battling that if the militant group associates itself with ISIS or al
ABM since the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsy Qaeda then it would lose its status as a “local hero” and
in 2013.
become a “foreign agent.”
Russia steps up nuclear plans
in Iran as talks near deadline
(CNN) -- Russia has announced
plans to build new nuclear reactors in Iran -- a move with international repercussions as a deadline looms.
The country will construct up
to eight new reactors for the
“peaceful use of atomic energy”
in Iran, Russian state news agency Ria-Novosti reported Tuesday.
The announcement came less
than two weeks
before Iran’s negotiations with
Western powers
over its nuclear
activities are set
to expire.
It also came a
day after a fresh
warning
from
Israel that the
regime can’t be
trusted, and a
fresh
promise
from Washington that Iran won’t
become a nuclear-armed state.
Russia said its agreement with
Iran includes a plan for the spent
nuclear fuel to be “returned to
Russia for reprocessing and storage.”
Both Iran and Russia are under
sanctions by the West. The announcement suggests Moscow
is demonstrating that it has no
plans to slow down its nuclear
cooperation.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Min-
ister Benhamin Netanyahu spoke
out against new statements from
Iran’s Supreme Leader calling
for Israel to be “annihilated.”
“There is no moderation in Iran.
It is unrepentant, unreformed, it
calls for Israel’s eradication, it
promotes international terrorism,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
“This
terrorist
regime in
Iran must
not be allowed to
become
a nuclear
threshold
power,”
the Prime
Minister
said. “And
I call on
the P5+1
countries
-- don’t
rush into a deal that would let
Iran rush to the bomb.”
P5+1 refers to the United States,
China, Russia, Britain, France -the five permanent members of
the U.N. Security Council -- and
Germany.
Iran insists it only wants nuclear energy. And Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while
calling for the elimination of Israel, said he opposes “a massacre of the Jewish people in this
region.”
Ukraine violence flares as
ceasefire collapses
(CNN) -- Gunfire
crackles and flames
scar battlefields in
eastern Ukraine -signs, officials warn,
of a crumbling ceasefire in the volatile region.
And there’s new fear
that the long simmering battle may be
about to explode to a
deadly new level.
Gen. Philip M.
Breedlove,
NATO
Supreme
Allied
Commander Europe,
said he’s concerned
about the escalating
violence and accused
Moscow of violating
the norms of Western
civilization.
“The ceasefire is
in name only at this
point,” he told reporters Tuesday. “The
violence continues to
increase day by day.”
Ukraine’s government and separatist leaders signed a
ceasefire deal in September, raising hope
that the monthslong
conflict in eastern
Ukraine was nearing
an end.
But now, fighting
between pro-Russian
rebel forces and the
Ukrainian
military
has returned to levels that preceded the
ceasefire, a British security source who has
detailed knowledge of
the matter told CNN.
Russia has amassed
some 8,000 troops
along the Ukraine
border, Pentagon officials and the British
security source said.
Russia has also
stepped up shipments
of heavy weapons to
separatists in recent
days, Pentagon officials say. And Moscow has again sent in
a convoy that it claims
is humanitarian, but
U.S. and Ukrainian
officials say went
through no independent inspection.
The situation has
come up in meetings
between U.S. President Barack Obama
and Russian President
Vladimir Putin on the
sidelines of the AsiaPacific
Economic
Cooperation summit
meetings in Beijing.
But even the Obama
administration admits
that -- so far -- U.S.led sanctions are not
deterring Russia.
Cut the shawl talk: Chinese censors wipe Putin’s
move on China’s first lady
Hong Kong (CNN) -- It was a fleeting moment, but one that Chinese
censors were quick to snuff out.
At an APEC event to watch the
fireworks in Beijing on Monday
night, Russian President Vladimir
Putin created a few of his own by
slipping a shawl over the shoulders
of Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese
President Xi Jinping.
A smiling Peng kindly accepted
the offer, but seconds later deftly
slipped the shawl off into the hands
of a waiting aide.
The small act of chivalry, quickly
but politely rebuffed, unfolded live
on state television, with voiceover
from a CCTV anchor stating simply: “President Putin has placed a
coat on Peng Liyuan.”
A hashtag based on the same words
quickly gained momentum on social media where the video was
posted and reposted, according to
Foreign Policy. However, by morn-
ing, there was little trace of it left.
ly translated comment: “China’s
Searches for the video and hashtag first lady’s boundless charm wins
on China’s twitter-like Weibo and over Mr. Putin.”
messaging service WeChat turned
A still image seems to show Putin
up
a
glancing in Xi’s dis m a t rection as he draped
tering
the shawl. There’s
of combeen no comment
ments
from Xi, who was
and brositting nearby, talkken links,
ing with an aide and
leaving
President Barack
users to
Obama during the
surmise
exchange, which
that Chihas been dubbed
na’s In- Cut the shawl talk: Chinese censors wipe “coatgate” by some
ternet po- Putin’s move on China’s first lady
media outlets.
lice had
China’s state news
deemed
agency,
Xinhua,
the material too potentially damag- had no reporting on the incident,
ing to share.
nor did state television network,
Some remained though, including CCTV.
this link to the photo with the loose-
PAGE 3
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
Rosetta mission: Philae lander is on
its way for comet touchdown
London (CNN) -- The Rosetta
mission to land a probe on
Comet 67P is past the point of
no return, the European Space
Agency (ESA) announced on
Wednesday.
“There is no going back
now,” the agency said after
the spacecraft’s lander was
released for its trip to the
surface.
If it succeeds it will be the
first time a spacecraft has
landed on a comet.
The Philae lander separated from the mother ship
Rosetta around 3:30 a.m.
ET to begin its 7-hour descent.
Philae, which has spent 10
years fixed to the side of Rosetta during the journey across
the solar system, cannot be
steered. Once it was released,
it was on its own.
Before the announcement,
ESA lander system engineer
Laurence O’Rourke told CNN
that the orbiter Rosetta has to
be in the right position to allow
the craft to “free fall” on the
correct trajectory to the chosen
landing site.
Scientists are hoping the
probe will help us learn a lot
more about the composition
of comets and how they react
when they get close to the Sun.
Weighing in at 220 pounds, it
might be the size of a domestic
washing machine but Philae is
considerably smarter.
It is equipped with an array
of experiments to photograph
and test the surface of Comet
67P as well as finding out what
happens when the roasting effect of the Sun drives off gas
and dust.
OPINION
PAGE 4
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
FIL-AM POST
Is the Philippines ready for Duterte
in 2016?
Antonio Montalvan II
Caballo: delicate balance
Editorial
W
hen the dreaded Ebola outbreak, which has now claimed nearly 5,000 lives in parts
of Africa, spread to Liberia, the Philippine government decided in August to pull
out Filipino troops stationed with a United Nations mission in that country. The 108
soldiers, plus 24 policemen and one jail officer, were serving as peacekeepers under the
UN program, which seeks to help Liberia rehabilitate its civil and defense institutions
after many years of war.
At no time during their stint were any of the soldiers and policemen reported to have
been detailed to hospitals treating Ebola patients, or in communities where they could
conceivably have come in close contact with those infected. Local and international
health workers were at the forefront of the fight to contain the disease; the soldiers under
the UN mission were tasked to keep the peace. But before repatriation to their home
country, all Filipino peacekeepers were required to undergo an Ebola screening test conducted by UN doctors as a precautionary measure. And all of them tested negative for
the virus.
That assurance, however, is not enough for the Philippine government, which has decided to quarantine the returning soldiers for three weeks on Caballo Island, a spit jutting
out of the mouth of Manila Bay some 2.6 miles east of Corregidor Island. Caballo hosts
a base of the Philippine Navy, and as such is not barren and uninhabited. The military has
put a happy spin to the peacekeepers’ quarantine by saying that they will have a relaxing time on the island; they can swim in the pristine waters, go fishing, or just wander
about. They will have Internet access in their bunkers, and good food and accommodations. “They risked their lives. They were at risk of being shot or stabbed by conflicting
groups. They were sent there to keep the
peace, risking their lives and limbs. When
they return, let’s reward them. We will follow the quarantine procedures while making our soldiers happy,” Gen. Gregorio
Catapang Jr., the Armed Forces chief, was
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No one would quarrel with the govern1290 B Street, Suite 203, Hayward, ment’s decision to put the soldiers in quarCA 94541
antine upon their return from a country
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struck by a deadly virus. But it’s a proposiFax # 510-538-7115
tion that must be handled delicately; at the
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very least, it risks giving rise to misplaced
conjecture and panic among the populace,
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www.sf-post.com
to possible discrimination and stigma, even
Teresita Estanislao
though they are not considered “high-risk
Editor-in-Chief & CEO
personnel.” As explained by the AFP public
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The question must be asked in the light of a
movement now in progress. The movement
seeks to field Davao City Mayor Rodrigo
Duterte as a presidential candidate in 2016.
There is, of course, some doubts about the
movement. No mayor has ever made the
long jump from City Hall to Malacañang.
In fact, no one has yet made a successful
leap from Mindanao to the presidential palace by the Pasig River, not to this day.
Where this advocacy is coming from does
not astonish. It is not difficult to see that it
is coming from a groundswell of despair
over the systematic thievery by government officials of pork barrel funds. It may
also be coming from chronic fatigue from
the endless, divisive bickering among politicians.
The issues currently hounding the Binays
of Makati only add fuel to the fire. The use
of dummy companies is standard operating procedure among many local executives who—no mystery here—bask in the
lifestyles of the rich and famous. In many
town and cities, local government does not
function effectively. In some others, there
does not seem to be any government at
all. The same is true in many barangays—
where peoples’ money trickles down to the
Sangguniang Kabataan, which has made
thievery part of the youth’s political training.
What people see in Davao City is the exact opposite. Out there, even ordinary citizens reprimand those violating the smoking ban. And the mayor’s daughter gets
apprehended for violating the city’s speed
limit regulations.
In Davao City, no one is above the law—a
seeming irony in the second Aquino presidency which has declared a “no wangwang” policy. Wang-wang is not just the
sound of a wailing siren, it is also the arrogant public display of one’s sense of “entitlement” borne out of nothing but a distorted, petty appreciation of power. It was
sense of entitlement that drove the mother
of Bulacan town Mayor Patrick Meneses
to brush off the incident where one of the
bodyguards identified with their family
pointed a firearm at a UP professor and her
family after a minor traffic brush.
That only members of the political opposition have been sent to jail does not lend
any credibility to the Aquino administration’s drive to prosecute thieves in government. His allies, especially the yellow
variety, are not really saints. They just have
wang-wang.
Davao City is perhaps the only city in the
country that has effectively prohibited firecrackers on New Year’s Eve. How Duterte
is able to do that without diminishing his
popularity (a commodity many mayors are
deathly afraid to lose) amazes people no
end. In Davao City, bars close at one in the
morning. An hour before midnight, waiters
inform habitués that it is time for the last
order. It is a functioning regulation that appalls many, especially the young. But no
one blames Duterte. At the end of the day,
many are impressed that the law can, after
all, be “unbelievably” enforced. And no
brawls ever take place there.
Davao taxi drivers see the speed limit as
actually limiting proceeds—the slower the
speed, the less time to carry riding passengers. Yet not one of them voices any protest. They don’t blame Duterte. They see
the need to enforce the law. Those who advocate the Duterte for President movement
agree on this: Political will is an extreme,
desperate necessity in public governance
in the Philippines.
The irony is, Duterte earns more points in
the public imagination each time he says
he will kill the person who started this
movement. Each time he says he will abolish Congress (or at least suspend it?) wins
him more support, never mind that it is an
“explosive” constitutional issue.
There actually is a precedent to the
“Duterte movement.” Noynoy Aquino was
not a presidential nominee in 2010. He was
in fact reluctant to run. Are we seeing the
same shades of that 2010 out-of-the-box
phenomenon? Has the absence of ambition
now become a criterion for choosing the
Philippine president? Should the Duterte
movement gain momentum in the next few
months, Mar Roxas and Jejomar Binay
better do a reality check.
To be sure, the issue on the so-called
Davao death squads will hound Duterte.
But there are those who deliberately gloss
over that issue. Is it because they do not
necessarily want a strongman president?
There is a paradox here. It appears that
the greater desire is for the rule of law,
for a no-nonsense style of governance.
But should it take a Duterte to accomplish
all that? The movement advocates do not
seem to see that angle.
Urban legends about Duterte abound.
The guy has a weakness for big bikes.
Shown a friend’s new one, Duterte testdrove but forgot himself in the process and
rode through with abandon. Before long, a
Davao traffic cop flagged him down. It was
evening and the mayor was incognito. Asking for the speeder’s driver’s license, the
cop was shocked to realize it was Duterte.
Apologizing immediately to the mayor, the
police officer got a dressing down instead.
True to form, Duterte insisted he violated
the law and thus should be arrested. Do
your job, he told the shocked police officer.
Duterte is said to drive a taxicab at night
to prowl Davao city’s streets as a hands-on
vigilante. One can safely walk Davao city
at night.
A sense of security—perhaps that is the
minimum people want the next president
to assure them. In these times it is an easily
understandable wish. But is this enough to
crowd-source and catapult Duterte? The
Duterte movement would be a curious test.
But test it we should. The Philippines has
become one huge carcass of failed governance. It must search new devices for
choosing leaders, especially because the
price of vote-buying has soared beyond
shame.
A Binay versus Roxas contest in 2016 is
getting to be boring in the public imagination. Same faces, same show, ho-hum.
Will Duterte lift us out of the doldrums?
Bellyaching won’t help, says Lacson
Bellyaching isn’t going to help even Superman rebuild Tacloban City.
Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation
and Recovery Panfilo Lacson made the
statement on Saturday as criticism of the
alleged slow pace of rehabilitation projects in areas walloped by Super Typhoon
“Yolanda” continued to mount, particularly in Tacloban.
Lacson was in Ormoc City, Leyte province, along with Interior Secretary Mar
Roxas, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin to commemorate the first anniversary
of Yolanda (international name: Haiyan),
which killed close to 7,000 people and left
a trail of unimaginable destruction.
“Let’s just help each other instead of
throwing brickbats. Nothing will happen if
we continue to complain and resort to bellyaching,” Lacson told reporters.
He denied claims by Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez and his cousin, Sen. Bongbong Marcos, that the city had not received
assistance from the national government.
Lacson also pointed out that it was only
in Tacloban where antigovernment protests
had been carried out during the commemoration of Yolanda’s first anniversary.
“I’ve been all over the place since three
days ago. I didn’t see any protests …. It’s
only in Tacloban where we hear bellyaching. So much bellyaching. So much complaints,” he said.
“Our message to Mayor Romualdez is:
Let’s help each other. This is not about politics. This is about survivors suffering from
the effects of Yolanda.”
The former senator, who was appointed
by President Aquino to lead the multiagency rehabilitation program in typhoonstricken communities, maintained that the
situation in Tacloban did not reflect the
government’s rebuilding efforts.
Not the microcosm
“Tacloban is not the microcosm or representative of the 171 cities and municipalities affected by Yolanda. It is just one of
the 171 areas,” Lacson said.
Led by the militant Bagong Alyansang
Makabayan (Bayan), thousands of survivors and their supporters marched in
Tacloban on Saturday as they called for
Aquino’s resignation for his supposed failure to ensure swift and comprehensive reconstruction in the disaster zone.
Lacson reiterated the importance of governors and mayors in identifying projects
the national government should prioritize.
“We are not omnipotent because we cannot see all the things that are happening.
That’s why we appreciate mayors who approach us about their concerns,” he said.
“We are not Superman who can just blow
the problems away. Rehabilitation work is
a very tedious job, especially so because
the President wants us to ‘build back bet-
ter.’”
Defending the Aquino administration
from allegations that it neglected Tacloban,
Lacson said the city had received the biggest chunk of public funds—initially P251
million for the repair of its City Hall, public market and civic center.
The national government, on the other
hand, earmarked more than P400 million
for rebuilding projects in Ormoc, including
P59 million for the repair of its civic center, according to Lacson.
“Let’s look beyond Tacloban,” said Lacson, who was in the Leyte provincial capital on Saturday.
At least 1.47 million families in the Visayas need shelter, he said. Tacloban accounts for 205,000 families, of whom
14,000 would be given priority.
“I’m tired of arguing but we need to
tell the people what is happening and we
should tell the people about the overall picture. Tacloban is just a minor part of the
whole corridor,” Lacson said.
In Cebu province on Sunday, Lacson
joined the turnover ceremonies for 200
permanent houses in Bogo City put up by
SM Cares.
This project was intended for families in
Barangay (village) Polambato that were
identified by Ramon Aboitiz Foundation
Inc. to be living in danger zones or in
coastal areas vulnerable to storm surges.
HOMELAND
FIL-AM POST
Drilon bares Aquino has relayed to Senate Binay’s
plea to end probe
MANILA, Philippines—Senate President Franklin Drilon revealed Monday that President Benigno Aquino III
has relayed to the Senate Jejomar Binay’s request to stop
the investigation into the graft and corruption allegations
against the Vice President.
“President Aquino called me and relayed the request
of Vice President Binay to suspend the hearings. I said,
‘Sir, you were part of the Senate before, you know that
nobody can dictate on the senators what to do, especially
when the matter of when to start and to stop an investigation is addressed to the chair and members of a committee. Not even the Senate President can tell them to stop,’”
he said.
That was how he replied to the President, he said, as he
stressed that he could not force the senators to suspend
the investigation “because conducting investigations is
based [on] our rules—the Rules of Senate – and the decision rests in the hands of the chair and the members of
the committee.”
Drilon noted that the President relayed Binay’s request
in a“straightforward” manner and that Aquino said he
would forward the Senate President’s reply to Binay.
The Senate President said that he could not recall when
the exchange between him and Aquino took place.
Drilon said it was the first time anyone had requested
the suspension of a committee investigation.
“I am talking from my own personal experience. I’ve
been the chair of so many committees; I have not received any request to stop an investigation,” Drilon said.
The Senate president shied away from stating his
opinion on whether the request made by Binay through
Aquino was appropriate but said he did not see it as an
“affront.”
“That’s a conclusion that I don’t want to get into. I’m
just dishing out what the facts are.”
Ona, Tayag probed for meds purchase
MANILA, Philippines–The Na- thing to do with the NBI probe.
tional Bureau of Investigation
According to De Lima, the De(NBI) is investigating alleged ir- partment of Health (DOH) bought
regularities in the purchase of an- Pneumococcal Conjugate Vactipneumonia vaccines in 2012 that cine 10 (PCV 10) contrary to the
involved Health Secretary Enrique recommendation of the National
Ona and Assistant
Secretary Eric Tayag, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima
said on Monday.
De Lima said
the investigation
stemmed from a
complaint filed directly in the Office
of the President
(OP) by the National Center for Pharmaceutical Access
and Management,
the
Formulatory
Executive Coun- Health Secretary Enrique Ona.
cil and the World
Health Organization (WHO) over the “inexplica- Center for Pharmaceutical Access
ble” change in the type of vaccine and Management, the Formulatory
purchased.
Executive Council and the WHO
“[They] went straight to the OP to purchase the PCV 13.
and complained about it, and the
“[PCV 13] is said to be more cost
OP referred it to me. [Then] I as- effective—cost effective in the
signed this to the NBI. I have not sense that more diseases will be
yet submitted a report to the Presi- covered, unlike the PCV 10 which
dent,” De Lima told reporters.
has limited coverage,” De Lima
De Lima said she ordered the NBI explained.
to conduct an “open” investigation
She said the vaccines were intendinto the matter after Ona recently ed for children with pulmonary
went on leave.
disease, particularly pneumonia,
“Apparently, it’s because of this meningitis, sinusitis, bronchitis,
particular issue,” she replied, when among others.
asked if Ona’s leave had some-
Senate may nix
budget ‘errata’ if not
justified
THE Senate will likely question and
reject the Aquino administration’s “errata insertions” in the 2015 budget if the
Department of Budget and Management
and concerned agencies cannot justify
the P43.64-billion increase in the P2.606trillion national government budget.
Senate Finance Committee chairman
Senator Chiz Escudero said Budget Sec.
Butch Abad and concerned government
agencies should justify their last-minute
changes to the 2015 budget and explain
the “specific details as to why and where
and when corrections were made.”
“Of course we will get down to the specifics of the errata since this has not been
discussed during the budget deliberation,” said Escudero, adding that senators
were not even made aware of the insertions which amounts to 1.65 percent of
the proposed budget.
Purisima’s 10-ha property in Batangas‎ bared but PNP chief says not
MANILA,
Philippines– spokesperson Chief SuperAside from a sprawling intendent Wilben Mayor,
4.7-hectare house in Nueva denied buying the agriculEcija, Philippine National tural land.
Police (PNP) chief Director
“The Chief PNP denies
General Alan Purisima al- these allegations and has
legedly owns a 10-hectare no knowledge whatsoever
land in Talisay, Batangas.
Revealed in
an exclusive
ABS-CBN
report by Anthony Taberna, the land,
from which
a picturesque
view of Taal
Volcano is
seen,
was
not declared
in Purisima’s
statement of PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima
assets, liabilities and net
worth (SALN).
about the acquisition or disThe report said that based position of the said properon the Civil Service Com- ty,” Mayor said.
mission’s records, Purisima Mayor said Purisima has
never included the land in ordered an investigation
his SALN since 2007 up to ‎as to how his name was
present.
dragged into the controPurisima reportedly ac- versy.
quired the land in Barangay
Purisima also vowed to
Caloocan in 2007 after its identify the person, or pertitle was transferred to his sons, behind the “scheme.”
name and Oscarlito MaPurisima’s ‘ordinary
palo, from a certain “Mala- house’ made of wood, has
banan.”
guest rooms, gazebo, algaeThe deed of sale obtained ridden pool.
by ABSCBN indicated that
PNP chief Alan Purisima:
the lot was worth P‎2 mil- My home is an ordinary
lion.
house, not a mansion
But Purisima, though PNP
‘Declare Ping unwelcome in Tacloban’
SURVIVORS of typhoon Yolanda demanded Tuesday that
rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson Jr. be declared persona non
grata in Tacloban City and Eastern Visayas for reducing their
grievances to a political feud between the Aquino and Romualdez families, and for misrepresenting their anger over the slow
pace of rebuilding efforts.
“Lacson is continuously spinning a crackpot’s tale that a lot
of rehabilitation funds have already poured into Tacloban, and
that the crisis of criminal negligence in the Yolanda experience
is a mere isolated case in Tacloban—that it is nothing but an
extension of the political clash between Aquino and the Romualdezes,” said Efleda Bautista, chairperson of People Surge,
the alliance of storm survivors.
Apec eyes adoption of pact on free trade
HUAIROU, China—Leaders of Asia-Pacific economies agreed on Tuesday to begin
work toward possible adoption of a freetrade pact proposed by China, the Chinese
president announced, giving Beijing a victory in its push for a bigger role in making
trade policy.
After a two-day Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (Apec) summit, leaders agreed
to launch a two-year study of the initiative,
President Xi Jinping said at a news conference. Xi, the meeting’s host, called the decision by leaders including US President
Barack Obama and Russia’s Vladimir Putin
a “historic step.”
China is promoting the proposed Free Trade
Area of the AsiaPacific (FTAAP)
despite US pressure to wrap
up other trade
negotiations.
Analysts see it
as a response to a
US-led initiative,
the Trans-Pacific
Partnership
(TPP), which includes 12 countries but excludes China.
The Apec leaders also endorsed a proposal
to work more closely to combat official corruption, Xi said.
Beijing has launched a series of trade and
finance initiatives in pursuit of a bigger role
in US-dominated economic and security organizations to reflect Beijing’s status as the
world’s second-biggest economy.
Apec was the first major international gathering in China since Xi took power. The
presence of world leaders gave Beijing a
platform to lobby for a bigger leadership
PAGE 5
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
role.
“Regional economic integration is the
long-term driving force for growth in the
Asia-Pacific region,” Xi said.
On the eve of the gathering, Beijing announced a free-trade agreement with South
Korea. Also on Monday, regulators approved
a plan to open Chinese stock markets wider
to foreign investors by linking exchanges in
Hong Kong and Shanghai. That followed
the weekend announcement of a $40-billion Chinese-financed fund to improve trade
links between Asian economies.
Earlier this year, Beijing launched a regional development bank with 20 other
governments. In
May, Xi called
for a new Asian
structure
for
security cooperation based
on a group that
includes Russia and Iran but
excludes
the
United States.
China says
its motives are
benign. But its
growing economic weight as the top trading partner for
most of its neighbors from South Korea to
Australia could erode US influence.
Tuesday’s meeting took place under elaborate security at a government conference
center in wooded hills north of the Chinese
capital, Beijing.
In an effort to appear more open, organizers took the unusual step of allowing access
from the press center to websites such as
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube that usually are blocked by China’s extensive Internet filters.
“The chismoso (rumor monger) has gone as far as claiming that our 20,000-strong protest last Nov. 7 to 8 calling for
Aquino’s ouster was a mere hakot crowd by the Romualdezes
from the ‘unaffected’ provinces of Samar,” said Bautista in a
statement.
“Lacson tries to portray the Nov. 8 protests as merely part of
local politics centered in Tacloban. What he fails to comprehend is that the protesters came from all over the region; from
Eastern Samar, Western Samar, Northern Samar and Leyte.
The thousands who marched were not just from Tacloban.
They were the voices of discontent,” said Bagong Alyansang
Makabayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr, whose group
also took part in the protest rallies.
PAGE 6
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
TAX CORNER
Plan Now to Get Full Benefit
of Saver’s Credit; Tax Credit
Helps Low- and ModerateIncome Workers Save for
Retirement
W
ASHINGTON
—
Lowand
by: Alvin C. Maglan, CPA moderate-income workers can take
steps now to
save for retirement and earn a special
tax credit in 2014 and years ahead, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
The saver’s credit helps offset part of
the first $2,000 workers voluntarily
contribute to IRAs and 401(k) plans
and similar workplace retirement programs. Also known as the retirement
savings contributions credit, the saver’s credit is available in addition to
any other tax savings that apply.
Eligible workers still have time to
make qualifying retirement contributions and get the saver’s credit on their
2014 tax return. People have until
April 15, 2015, to set up a new individual retirement arrangement or add
money to an existing IRA for 2014.
However, elective deferrals (contributions) must be made by the end of
the year to a 401(k) plan or similar
workplace program, such as a 403(b)
plan for employees of public schools
and certain tax-exempt organizations,
a governmental 457 plan for state or
local government employees, or the
Thrift Savings Plan for federal employees. Employees who are unable
to set aside money for this year may
want to schedule their 2015 contributions soon so their employer can begin
withholding them in January.
The saver’s credit can be claimed by:
Married couples filing jointly with
incomes up to $60,000 in 2014 or
$61,000 in 2015;
Heads of Household with incomes
up to $45,000 in 2014 or $45,750 in
2015; and
Married individuals filing separately and singles with incomes up to
$30,000 in 2014 or $30,500 in 2015.
Like other tax credits, the saver’s
credit can increase a taxpayer’s refund or reduce the tax owed. Though
the maximum saver’s credit is $1,000,
$2,000 for married couples, the IRS
cautioned that it is often much less
and, due in part to the impact of other
deductions and credits, may, in fact,
be zero for some taxpayers.
A taxpayer’s credit amount is based
on his or her filing status, adjusted
gross income, tax liability and amount
contributed to qualifying retirement
programs. Form 8880 is used to claim
the saver’s credit, and its instructions
have details on figuring the credit correctly.
In tax year 2012, the most recent year
for which complete figures are available, saver’s credits totaling $1.2 billion were claimed on more than 6.9
million individual income tax returns.
Saver’s credits claimed on these returns averaged $215 for joint filers,
$165 for heads of household and $127
for single filers.
The saver’s credit supplements other
tax benefits available to people who
set money aside for retirement. For
example, most workers may deduct
their contributions to a traditional
IRA. Though Roth IRA contributions
are not deductible, qualifying withdrawals, usually after retirement, are
tax-free. Normally, contributions to
401(k) and similar workplace plans
are not taxed until withdrawn.
Other special rules that apply to the
saver’s credit include the following:
Eligible taxpayers must be at least 18
years of age.
Anyone claimed as a dependent on
someone else’s return cannot take the
credit.
A student cannot take the credit. A
person enrolled as a full-time student
during any part of 5 calendar months
during the year is considered a student.
Certain retirement plan distributions
reduce the contribution amount used
to figure the credit. For 2014, this rule
applies to distributions received after
2011 and before the due date, including extensions, of the 2014 return.
Form 8880 and its instructions have
details on making this computation.
Begun in 2002 as a temporary provision, the saver’s credit was made a
permanent part of the tax code in legislation enacted in 2006. To help preserve the value of the credit, income
limits are now adjusted annually to
keep pace with inflation. More information about the credit is on IRS.gov.
Alvin Maglan is a CPA licensed in California
and Nevada. After working for SyCip, Gorres,
Velayo and Company, he emigrated to California and had varied experiences as an audit manager of a regional accounting firm, an internal
auditor and controller of Dole, Inc., a fortune
500 company and three decades experiences as
a tax consultant for various individuals, professionals, small business firms, corporations,
partnerships, and other non-profit entities. You
may contact him @510 432 7438 for your tax
problems. You may e-mail tax questions @
[email protected].
FIL-AM POST
Adults Under Age Age 65 Now
Eligible for Medi-Cal Without Asset
or Disability Test
By Gene L. Osofsky, Esq.
Q. My wife and I are both age 60, in good
health and have very modest incomes. We
are not yet eligible for MediCare. In the
past, we were told that we were not eligible for Medi-Cal because we have some
savings and because we are not disabled.
Has any of this changed under the new
health care law?
A. Yes, indeed. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”),
aka Obamacare, Medi-Cal coverage will
now be available to individuals aged 19 to
64 based upon their incomes, alone, and
without regard to the value of their assets
or whether they are disabled. The goal
is to expand health care coverage for an
estimated one million Californians who
could not previously qualify because of
the traditional asset or disability test. This
provision of the ACA is called “Medi-Cal
Expansion”.
This expansion coverage – available only
for those under age 65 and not on MediCare — represents a significant break
with traditional Medi-Cal. Formerly, to
qualify for Medi-Cal, all applicants had to
show that they were disabled or over age
65 and that they had less than $2,000 in
the bank.
To qualify for coverage, annual household income must be less than 138% of
the Federal Poverty Level, which calculates as follows for 2014: One person:
$15,856; Two Persons: $21,404; Three
Persons: $26,951; Four persons: $32,499.
Persons whose household modified adjusted gross incomes are less than these
ceilings will now be eligible for Medi-Cal
regardless of the value of their assets and
regardless of disability. Further, they will
not be obliged to purchase private health
care insurance, will have no premium
cost for healthcare coverage, and will incur no share of cost (“co-pay”) for health
care services.
This Expansion Medi-Cal coverage will
potentially benefit all persons under age
65 with modest incomes. However, the
coverage groups that will likely most benefit will be the following:
a) Long-Term Unemployed: persons in
this group no longer have employmentbased health coverage and typically have
very modest incomes, even though they
may have significant savings from prior
employment;
b) Persons Caught in the Two-Year Medicare Wait Period: persons under age 65
who become disabled and qualify for Social Security Disability find that there is
a two-year wait before they qualify for
Medicare. These individuals may now
qualify for Medi-Cal during this coverage
gap;
c) Disabled Persons with Some Assets:
formerly, disabled persons who needed
Medi-Cal coverage could not accumulate
savings of more than $2,000. In order
to preserve eligibility, excess resources
would have to be spent down or transferred into a Special Needs Trust to be
managed by others. Under the new rules,
disabled persons under age 65 will now
be able to accumulate savings and, if able
to do so, manage their own resources
without disqualifying themselves from
Medi-Cal healthcare coverage.
IRS Announces Better Offshore
Amnesty Program
The IRS has rolled out important
changes to its successful offshore account amnesty programs. How successful have they been for the IRS?
More than 45,000 taxpayers have
fixed their tax problems via the IRS
programs, paying about $6.5 billion in
taxes, interest and penalties.
As FATCA and global bank transparency kick in July 1, 2014, the IRS
can expect even more mea culpas. But
one group unhappy with the rules so
far has been expats. Americans abroad
have long complained that they have
foreign accounts for legitimate reasons and shouldn’t be penalized for
technical reporting failures.
Expats should be pleased that the
IRS’s Streamlined Program, a big
disappointment when announced in
2012, is now a good deal broader. The
original streamlined procedures announced in 2012 were available only
to non-resident, non-filers. For many,
that was a non-starter. Plus, there were
different degrees of review based on
the amount of tax due and the taxpayer’s response to a risk questionnaire.
The revamped Streamlined Program
is broader. It can even apply to some
people living in the U.S. Moreover,
the expanded streamlined procedures
are available to more U.S. taxpayers
living abroad. The changes include:
•Eliminating the rule that the taxpayer
have $1,500 or less of unpaid tax per
year;
•Eliminating the required risk questionnaire;
•Requiring the taxpayer to certify that
previous failures to comply were due
to non-willful conduct.
For eligible U.S. taxpayers residing
outside the U.S., all penalties will be
waived. For eligible U.S. taxpayers
residing in the U.S., the only penalty will be a miscellaneous offshore
penalty equal to 5% of the foreign financial assets that gave rise to the tax
compliance issue.
Expat or not, for many U.S. persons
with foreign income and accounts, it’s
clear that compliance is required. But
a primary fear is precisely how to be-
gin in a way that is not too expensive
and not too risky. The IRS view is that
either the OVDP or the Streamlined
Program is best.
That remains true. After all, the IRS
programs are certain which is worth a
lot. But some taxpayers still want to
explore alternatives.
“Quiet Disclosures.” A “quiet” disclosure is a correction of past tax returns
and FBARs without drawing attention
to what you are doing. The IRS warns
against it. See “Quiet” Foreign Account Disclosure Not Enough.
Prospective Compliance. Some people consider filing complete tax returns and FBARs prospectively, but
not trying to fix the past. However, the
risk is that past non-compliance will
be noticed and it may then be too late
to make a voluntary disclosure.
Voluntary Disclosure. The two IRS
programs are worth considering, especially under the Revised IRS Voluntary Disclosure Practice. Each
program is worth a look. After all, although criminal cases are rare, FBAR
violations and tax violations can both
be criminal.
But even civil penalty cases can be
catastrophic. The non-willful FBAR
penalty is $10,000 each. Willful violations are hit with $100,000 or 50%
of the amount in the account for each
violation. A Florida man was recently hit with 150% of his account. See
Court Upholds Record FBAR Penalties, Exceeding Offshore Account
Balance.
You can have money and investments
anywhere in the world as long as you
disclose them. Get some professional
advice and try to get your situation resolved in a way that makes sense for
your facts and your risk profile.
Alvin Maglan is a CPA licensed in California and
Nevada. After working for SyCip, Gorres, Velayo
and Company, he emigrated to California and had
varied experiences as an audit manager of a regional accounting firm, an internal auditor and controller of Dole, Inc., a fortune 500 company and three
decades experiences as a tax consultant for various
individuals, professionals, small business firms,
corporations, partnerships, and other non-profit
entities. You may contact him @510 432 7438 for
your tax problems. You may e-mail tax questions @
[email protected].
BANKRUPTCY
FIL-AM POST
You must disclose all your
properties when filing bankruptcy
. When you have
Some filers consider exdecided that you By Atty. Crispin C. Lozano
cluding creditors whom
want to file bankruptcy,
they like -- such as a relathe first question that pops into your tive or a friendly local business person -mind is what information to disclose in to avoid having that debt wiped out or a
the bankruptcy petition?
certain credit card company just because
. Using the golden rule in bankrupt- he wants to continue using the account
cy “disclose everything and hide for daily needs. This is called “creditor
nothing” there are five major types of in- preference”. This is a bad idea, no matter
formation that needs to be disclosed such how worthy your intentions. Bankruptcy
as your:
doesn’t allow you to play favorites. In
1 Assets
fact, a central purpose of bankruptcy is
2. Liabilities
to make sure that all of your creditors get
3. Income
their fair share of what you have, and that
4. Expenses
certain obligations (like child support)
5. Financial Affairs
has to be paid. If the bankruptcy trustee
learns that you’ve omitted creditors from
. Why is it extremely important your list, you’ll have to add them, and
disclosing this information in your it will raise suspicion about other statebankruptcy petition?
ments on your bankruptcy forms.
. When you sign your bankruptcy
. Do I have to include money that I
petition, you are swearing under
am expecting to receive after filing
penalty of perjury, that everything writ- bankruptcy?
ten on your paperwork is true and correct.
. When listing your property on the
One of the things you are swearing to is
bankruptcy forms, you must include
that your forms are complete, because not only the properties you have upon
the forms ask you to list and disclose filing, but also properties that you are
everything (“all” property, income, and expecting to receive later after filing.
debts). Filing incomplete or inaccurate This will allow the trustee to decide if
bankruptcy petition can lead to your case the money you will receive are exempt
being dismissed. If the court finds you properties of property of the bankruptcy
omitted important information or made estate. Here are some examples:
false statement intentionally, you may be • inheritance from a recently deceased
liable for fraud. If you purposely attempt relative that you have not yet received,
to hide your assets, misstate your income • stock options, trust funds, or tax re, or use a false social security number, funds,
it will probably come back to haunt you • pensions, retirement funds, annuities,
more than your current debt and financial and life insurance,
crisis.
• judgments from lawsuits you’ve filed
. What happen if I have forgotten or could file, and
to include certain property in good • claims arising from a personal injury or
faith?
other matter.
. If you accidentally missed something off your papers or misstate
ankruptcy Basics
something on your forms, you can usually correct and amend your papers or 1. Bankruptcy will actually improve your
explain the mistake to the trustee. The credit within one year because your unlaw is not supposed to punish those who secured debts are discharged. Although
make one or two honest mistakes. How- the bankruptcy will be in your records
ever, if you leave out so much that it ap- for 10 years, not filing bankruptcy will
pears that you were careless, the court make your credit even worse until most
can find that your actions show an indif- your debts are paid.
ference to the truth and can dismiss your 2. If you are being sued by your credicase on that basis.
tors, most money judgment can be elimi. Can I exempt one card company or nated in bankruptcy.
my relative in my List of Creditors? 3. Collection actions continue and you
. Bankruptcy cannot help you if you can be sued if you are in debt settlement.
conceal information. If you fail to 4. Chapter 7 will eliminate all unsecured
list creditors, the debts you owe them debts. If you are near retirement age,
may not be wiped out by your bankruptcy you must eliminate most of your debts.
discharge. So, review your list carefully 5. Bankruptcy will stop foreclosure acand make sure to list every person who tions. If your trustee sale date is 10 days
claims that you owe them money -- even before, you can still file for bankruptcy.
if you don’t think you owe them a cent. 6. If your salary is being garnished, you
In this situation, you can indicate that the have a court case about debts or you are
debt is “disputed.” If the debt is already being harassed by creditors, bankruptcy
the subject of a pending lawsuit, the debt can stop garnishment, court cases, hacan be listed as “contingent” -- that is, it rassing creditors and eliminate the debt.
depends on how the lawsuit comes out.
When your bankruptcy is finished, all Crispin Caday Lozano is an active
your debts will be discharged and you member of the State Bar of Califorwill no longer owe them. If a disputed nia, the American Immigration Lawdebt is discharged, the entire dispute will yers Association and the National
be irrelevant. The creditor will be legally Association of Consumers Bankruptbarred from collecting anything more cy Attorneys. He specializes in immigration law and bankruptcy law.
from you.
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
B
Q
A
(Cont. from page 1... SANTIAGO WANTS )
be properly assessed by the Department of
Agrarian Reform, and if it falls under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, should be
immediately acquired and distributed to farmerbeneficiaries,” she said in her resolution.
Businessman Antonio Tiu has come forward to
claim ownership of a 150-ha property in Rosario that a whistle-blower claimed was part of the
P1.2-billion, 350-ha farm of Binay.
Tiu is the owner of Sunchamp Real Estate Development Corp. that manages the 150-ha property, called Sunchamp Agri-Tourism Park.
Santiago, a former agrarian reform secretary,
said the size of the farm, whether 150 ha or 350
ha, indicated a possible violation of the agrarian
reform law, which limits land ownership to 5 ha.
The intent of the law was to break up haciendas
or agricultural estates and give them to farmers,
she said.
Under this law, the DAR has to issue a certificate of land ownership award (Cloa) or emancipation patent (EP) before a person can claim
ownership of an agricultural land, the senator
said.
The only exception to the sale of an agricultural
land under agrarian reform is when it is convert-
ed into commercial or residential land, but this
needs DAR approval, she said.
“Even assuming [Laureano] Gregorio is a landowner or a farmer-beneficiary, he could not have
sold the property within
10 years from registration without DAR approval,” Santiago said.
Gregorio could not also lease the property because it requires prior clearance from the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC), she
added.
Tiu claimed that he bought a 150-ha property
from Gregorio and advanced P11 million for the
P446-million property.
Santiago also urged the blue ribbon subcommittee to investigate officials over the apparent
conversion of the farm from agricultural into
commercial land.
The DAR has approved only 87 ha in Rosario for conversion and Gregorio has not filed for
conversion, the senator said.
“The subcommittee should also investigate the
DAR officials and other persons responsible for
what appears to be the conversion of the classification of the land from agricultural into
commercial,” she said.
The subcommittee has been hearing
charges of corruption and ill-gotten wealth
against the Vice President.
PAGE 7
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
How Will Bankruptcy
Affect Your Credit
Filing bankruptcy is not the end of
your credit, but a new beginning. In
fact, bankruptcy eliminates much of
your debt and gives you a “freshstart”. The credit rebuilding process
can truly begin following a bankruptcy, and all of your debts discharged
in bankruptcy
should
be
reported as
having a
zero balance.
The
overall
effect
on your
credit
depends
on how
good, or
bad,
it
was prior to the
bankruptcy. Typically, most people who
file for bankruptcy already have bad
credit, or are at least heading in that
direction. For these people, filing
bankruptcy can actually benefit their
credit in the long-term.
Filing Bankruptcy May Improve
Your Ability to Obtain Credit in the
Future
While filing a bankruptcy petition
demonstrates to lenders that you had
some financial problems in the past, it
also shows that you took the initiative
to repair these past debts to get your
finances back on track. As a result, it’s
likely that a large number of creditors
will offer loans to you immediately
after your bankruptcy is discharged.
Initially, most loans for which you
qualify are offered at a higher interest rate and lower credit limit, but
over time and with a good payment
record, you eventually receive better
interest rates
and qualify
for
additional types
of loans. It
is also much
easier
to
maintain a
good credit
record
after you have
filed bankruptcy
because you no
longer have
to
juggle
payments on
debts
discharged in
your bankruptcy.
In some instances, lenders may
even consider you as more “creditworthy” after your bankruptcy is discharged since you most likely have
more disposable income available to
meet your monthly obligations and
pay your bills. What’s more, creditors also know that you can’t file
more than one Chapter 7 bankruptcy
in an 8-year period, so any new loans
you incur with them following a
bankruptcy discharge must be repaid
– they can’t be eliminated in a second
bankruptcy for a substantial period of
time.
PAGE 8
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
FIL-AM POST
IMMIGRATION
FIL-AM POST
PAGE 9
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
Have you received a USCIS decision of
marriage fraud?
I
f you were petitioned by your spouse and
you received a decision from USCIS stating a finding of marriage fraud you should
immediately consult an experienced immigration attorney. The Immigration and
Nationality Act Sec. 204 (c) prohibits the
approval of a subsequent petition if the
alien committed marriage fraud in a prior
petition. It also prohibits the approval of
the first petition if the Attorney General determined that the marriage is a sham.
The finding of marriage fraud usually
happen during the adjustment of status interview mostly in marriage cases. If there
are inconsistencies in the responses of the
petitioner and beneficiary to the questions
raised by the USCIS officer, it will likely
trigger a conclusion of marriage fraud. If
you received a decision stating your marriage is primarily for the purpose of obtaining immigration benefit, then, your case is
likely a marriage fraud case. The result of
this decision is that even if your succeeding petition is not marriage case such as
employment based or petition by your son
or daughter, or parent, the petition will not
be approved. There are limited remedies
available but you have to act immediately
as soon as you received this kind of decision.
One exception to this rule is that if the
alien has already obtained an immigrant
visa or already adjusted status before he
or she is sent to removal proceedings.
The prior finding of marriage fraud can be
waived and the original entry or adjustment
of status as an immigrant can be made valid once the waiver is granted. But if you
have not yet received a visa or adjusted
your status, then, you have a big problem.
Question: I was charged with fraudulent
marriage when I applied for an immigrant
visa at the U.S. Embassy in Manila as
spouse of a U.S. citizen. I was denied a
visa at that time. My spouse divorced me
afterwards. Later on my mother petitioned
me as single daughter to a lawful permanent resident. When the priority becomes
current I applied for immigrant visa and I
was approved. When I was applying for
naturalization, the USCIS found out the
marriage fraud in my record. I was denied
my naturalization application and they sent
me to removal proceedings. What is my
relief from removal?
Answer: You are inadmissible as a Lawful Permanent Resident at the time you
obtained your immigrant visa based on
the petition of your mother because of the
marriage fraud you initially committed.
The good news is that you can request for
a waiver of the fraud or misrepresentation
you have committed.
The requirements for this waiver are:
1. Must be the spouse, parent, son or
daughter of a U. S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
2. Was in possession of an immigrant visa
or equivalent document and was otherwise
admissible to the U.S. at the time of such
admission except for the grounds of inadmissibility which was the result of his or
(Cont. from page 1... DRILON’S KLEPTOCRACY )
of the Senate investigation into the reportedly overpriced Iloilo Convention Center
(ICC) on Thursday.
A copy of the letter by former Iloilo Representative Augusto Syjuco Jr. was sent to
reporters by the office of Senator Miriam
Defensor-Santiago, who was requested by
the former lawmaker to have him invited to
the blue ribbon hearing on the ICC.
INQUIRER.net confirmed through Syjuco’s secretary on the authenticity of the letter entitled “Drilon’s Kleptocracy,” which
exposed the Senate president’s alleged
brand of “Ilonggo public ‘hulidaps’ that
now you see it, now you don’t.”
“Through the use of his position, Drilon brings home government funds, announced these to all and sundry, to get the
public credit and adulation, and identifies
the projects,” Syjuco said in his letter.
“He then delegates these funds to be used
by whichever Local Government Units
(LGUs) or Executive Departments or
Agencies for purposes Drilon has direct-
her fraud or misrepresentation.
You may qualify for a waiver because you
are the daughter of a U.S. citizen. At the
time of your admission to the U. S. you are
in possession of an immigrant visa and you
are otherwise admissible except for your
prior fraud or misrepresentation. The Immigration Judge has the discretion to grant
a waiver in this situation. The Judge will
weigh the positive factors about your case
and compare them with the negative factors.
Note: This is not a legal advice.
S
who entered the U.S. as
single but actually married.
17. On January 24, 2014, we received another approval for waiver of misrepresentation from the Immigration Court for an
alien who entered as single but actually
married.
18. On January 14, 2014, we received an
approval from USCIS of a green card under law on Registry for a person who has
been in the U.S. since before 1972.
19. On January 6, 2014, we received an approval of waiver of misrepresentation from
Immigration Judge for a client who entered
as single but actually married.
20. On November 21, 2013, we received
an approval from USCIS for adjustment of
By Atty. Crispin C. Lozano
UCCESS STORIES
1. On October 7, 2014, we received an approval from the U.S. Embassy in Manila
an immigrant visa for a client who entered
the US without inspection under the Provisional Waiver Program.
2. On September 26, 2014, we received an
approval from the Immigration Court for
waiver of misrepresentation for a client
who entered as single but actually married
at the time of entry to the U.S.
3. On September 9, 2014, we received an
approval from Immigration Court of adjustment of status for a client who was previously denied an asylum.
4. On September 8, 2014, we received an
approval from USCIS of Form I-601A provisional waiver for two clients.
5. On September 5, 2014, we received an
approval from USCIS for Fiancée visa
based on same sex petition.
6. On September 4, 2014, we received an
approval of DACA for a client who has
problem in her birth certificate.
7. On August 28, 2014, we received an
approval of green card based on spousal
abuse.
8. On August 25, 2014, we received an
approval of green card based on same sex
marriage with big age difference.
9. On August 1, 2014, we received an approval of waiver of joint filing of I-751
based on spousal abuse. With the approval
she was granted permanent residence.
10. On July 21. 2014, we received an approval of green card based on marriage that
was initially denied due to inconsistencies
in interview response.
11. On July 19, 2014, we received an approval of I-751 removal of condition on
residence waiver based on battered spouse.
12. On June 11, 2014, we received an approval from USCIS of green card under
Violence against Women Act.
13. On May 12. 2014, we received an approval from USCIS of green card under the
same sex marriage law and the corresponding waiver of certain misrepresentation.
14. On April 21, 2014, we received an approval of green card after the denial was
appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
15. On March 31, 2014, we received an
approval of green card for a client under
Violence against Women Act.
16. On March 25, 2014, we received another approval from the Immigration Court
for waiver of misrepresentation for a client
ed,” he said.
It was public knowledge, Syjuco said,
that it was Drilon who directed the LGUs,
departments or agencies on “exactly how
the projects will be implemented, who is to
win the bidding and who will get the kickbacks (said understandably to be mostly
for Drilon’s)
“To complete the circle graft, when things
go wrong as they do, Drilon puts on his
magical cape of protective invisibility, and
claims that he has had nothing to do with
the bidding whatsoever. His only role, he
says, is that of sourcing funds,” said the
former lawmaker.
Syjuco also brought up the 1, 542-square
meter Forbes Park Mansion property that
Drilon’s step-daughter, Eduarda Genuino,
allegedly acquired in 2004 for P50,000.
“Miss Genuino, aged only in her 20s at
that time, is a step-daughter of Senator
Franklin Drilon. She was a simple wage
earner then, and could not on her own produce that amount of money. Did her job
pay her enough for her to purchase a P50
million Forbes Park house?” he asked.
status under SAME SEX MARRIAGE.
Crispin Caday Lozano is an active member
of the State Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and
the National Association of Consumers
Bankruptcy Attorneys. He specializes in
immigration law and bankruptcy law. He
earned his Juris Doctor at Western State
University College of Law in Fullerton,
California. He is also a Certified Public Accountant, a Real Estate Broker and
a Bachelor of Business Administration
Cum Laude graduate. He has offices in
San Francisco, Hayward, San Jose, and
Cerritos, California. You can contact
him at 1-877-456-9266. Email questions
to [email protected]/. Visit our
website at www.crispinlozanolaw.com.
PAGE 10
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
IMMIGRATION
Obama Rejects Republican Warnings
on Immigration
President Barack Obama says he intends
to issue an order easing the threat against
deportation for immigrants in the country
illegally.
He’d act despite warnings from Republican leaders that he would be poisoning the
well with a newly elected GOP-controlled
Congress.
Obama tells CBS’ “Face the Nation” that
even if he goes ahead, there still would be
room for Congress to pass immigration
legislation.
He says if Congress does act, it would
take the place of whatever he puts into
place by his own authority.
Obama is expected to issue an order before the end of the year.
It’s a step that incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House
Speaker John Boehner both warned against
in postelection news conferences.
Poisoning the well? Obama’s immigration
vow complicates AG nomination, budget bill
President Obama’s vow to press ahead plans are constitutional and legal.”
with executive action on immigration may
On another front, conservatives want to
already be poisoning the well, as House use the lame-duck session’s budget debate
Speaker John Boehner warned last week.
to strip funding for any executive action
The president, in a TV interview aired One of the major priorities of the lameSunday, repeated his pledge to sidestep duck session is to pass a spending bill to
Congress to change U.S. immigration keep the government running beyond Dec.
law. “I’m going to do what I need to do,” 11.
Obama told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
National Review reports that Rep. Matt
Amid expectations that Obama will act Salmon, R-Ariz., is circulating a letter
before the end
building support for
of the year – and
language that would
before Repub“prohibit funding for
licans take the
the President’s reported
Senate majorintentions to create work
ity in January
permits and green cards
– the debate has
for undocumented imswiftly complimigrants currently in the
cated other top
United States.”
agenda items.
Salmon reportedly
Over the weekwrote: “President Obama
end, GOP lawhas spoken publicly and
makers linked Mixed Message? Obama strikes bipartisan privately about his intentheir immigra- tone after GOP wins, vows exec action on im- tions to use executive action concerns to migration
tion to create these work
Obama’s nomipermits for those who
nation of federal
are here illegally. This
prosecutor Loretta Lynch to replace Attor- would be in direct violation of U.S. law.
ney General Eric Holder.
As you know, the Congress has the power
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, of the purse and should use it as a tool to
R-Utah, aside from wanting the Senate prevent the President from implementing
to wait until the Republican-led Senate is policies that are contrary to our laws and
seated to take up the nomination, put out a the desire of the American people.”
statement urging Lynch to declare whether
Some analysts had expected Republicans
she supports the president’s use of execu- to eventually use the appropriations protive action.
cess to combat Obama’s immigration ac“The Attorney General is the President’s tion. But their leverage is limited until the
chief law enforcement officer. As such, the party takes the majority in the Senate next
nominee must demonstrate full and com- year. Until then, any stand-off between the
plete commitment to the law,” they said. GOP-led House and Democrat-led Senate
“Loretta Lynch deserves the opportunity over immigration in the budget process
to demonstrate those qualities, beginning runs the risk of another partial government
with a statement whether or not she be- shutdown, which congressional leaders
lieves the President’s executive amnesty have little appetite for.
FIL-AM POST
Talking Past Each Other on Immigration Reform
Everybody’s talking about immigration reform, but with the Congress about to switch
from divided control to two Houses united under Republican leadership, it’s not really clear
that anybody even knows what it means anymore.
Mitt Romney: Republicans will pass immigration reform if they take the Senate The
Week (RSS)
A GOP Congress Will Face 12 Million Pleas
for Immigration Reform The Fiscal Times
Mitt Romney: GOP Senate Will Put Immigration Reform On President’s Desk Huffington Post
The point was hammered home on Sunday
morning in an exchange between Tea Party
favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) who appeared on a
panel during CNN’s State of the Union.
Coons complained that after the Senate passed
a bipartisan package of comprehensive immigration reforms in 2013, the House of Representatives did nothing.
“They’ve had more than a year almost a year
and a half now since the Senate passed a broad
bipartisan bill – that was led in part by Republican senators – and have taken no action on
it.”
HEALTH
Ebola’s Rippling Consequences
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the latest numbers: 4,922 deaths due to
Ebola as of October 23, 2014. This number reflects nearly half of the known cases -- 49 percent, to be exact -- in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra
Leone, Senegal, Nigeria, Mali, United States,
and Spain, with 99.7 percent of the confirmed
deaths from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The number of affected people for this
outbreak is four times higher than any other
of the recorded Ebola outbreaks combined
since 1976. However, many have decried the
international response as deplorably slow. As
a result, the consequences are jarring. The biggest lament is the obvious and horrific death
toll. Along with a sick, dying and orphaned
population, the crippling fear of being infected has rippling consequences on
the affected
countries
and beyond.
Food insecurity and
declining
economic
growth are
two further
quantifiable
problems
hurting
West Africa, the poorest region of the world.
A longer-lasting issue will be trauma and mistrust that will surely linger.
Access to food has declined due to there being fewer people working in the fields and
fewer people transporting the goods. Given
that Ebola has hit rural areas the hardest,
people are either too sick to work or too worried of getting sick. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has reported that 90
percent of key farming land in Sierra Leone
has been abandoned and people have fled to
areas less likely to be affected. Furthermore,
neighboring countries have set up travel and
import/export restrictions, a big issue for the
three hardest-hit countries, since they rely
heavily on several imported foods, such as
cereal. As a consequence of the lack of production and diminishing imports, food prices
have naturally increased. Guinea, Liberia and
Senegal already had food-insecurity issues before Ebola hit. Now the FAO has warned of a
potential food-security crisis. Due to the sluggish response of the international community
to help contain Ebola, another effort by the
international community is needed to address
the issue of malnutrition for the wider popula-
tion living in affected areas due to rising food
insecurity.
Agriculture is one of three major sources of
employment and contributors to GDP along
with other sectors (industry/mining, services)
which have been negatively impacted, slowing down the economic growth of already extremely poor countries. Guinea, Liberia and
Sierra Leone are three of the poorest countries
in the world (in the bottom 10 percent), and
the World Bank predicts a decrease in their
economic growth for 2014 and 2015 as a consequence of Ebola. The impact can be seen in
the decrease in production and exports, which
are vital for the countries to generate incomes
and revenue. For example, the second-largest
mining company in Liberia, China Union,
closed all production in
August, most likely due to
fear of contagion. The African Development Bank
(AfDB) also reported that
the service industry suffers
from a lack of international
traffic, production in sectors like rubber and palm
oil are slowing down, and
the expat community is
leaving, creating a loss of
important skills. As the
AfDB predicted, international donors are not able
to carry out important projects in the region
due to there being fewer people willing to
work in those countries. The economy is facing many problems and, as a consequence, the
populations of the affected countries as well.
The high number of deaths is the biggest tragedy of this Ebola outbreak. However, when
looking beyond the death toll, it becomes
clear that the issue those countries face is even
worse. Not only does the lack of production in
agriculture threaten their food security, but it
also means less income and less revenue for
the countries. When combined with the decrease in production in the industry and services sectors, the affected countries face economic consequences beyond the obvious issue
of not being able to afford proper health care
for their population. Since cases of Ebola have
been detected outside West Africa, the international response is finally picking up, and
more money has been pledged and committed to fight the epidemic. However, due to the
shortsighted and lackadaisical initial response
and the fear of contracting the disease, Ebola
has had rippling consequences on the affected
countries.
FIL-AM POST
AROUND TOWN
PAGE 11
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
fter
a
A
hotly
contested
INC RADIO USA. The Iglesia Ni Cristo recently inaugurated their INC Radio USA and is
made public thru the magic of the internet. This was very much displayed during an instance
when members from different parts of the world converge on Google Hangout. From left is
Cindy Bautits of Milpitas, Angela Odulio of Paris, France; Reiner De Vera of Irvine, Southern
California; Malou Francisco from Bonn, Germany; Jennifer Dayrit from Oxnard, California; Mirel Roman of Calgary, Canada and from INC Radio Studio in Quezon City, Philippines are Jay Valdez, Arnel Solano, Mack Almedina and Marlou Ruallo.
50TH BIRTHDAY. Ms Emy G Bautista of San Jose, California celebrated her birthday last
November 11, Veteran’s Day. In this file photo, she is with husband Edgar Bautista and children Ella Mae and Edison. All are active church officers of the locale of San Jose.
Mayoral
race in the
City of San
Jose, Santa
Clara County District
3 SuperviLET’S HAVE COFFEE
sor
Dave
By
Don Augusto Orozco
Cortese has
conceded
victory to
San Jose Council member Sam
Liccardo. It was a great gesture
coming from a guy whom a lot of
members of the Filipino American community in the Santa Clara
County believe will win hands
down in this race. We salute you
Supervisor Dave Cortese and congratulations to Mayor - elect Sam
Liccardo. You may expect the
whole Filipino American community to support you in all your
undertakings. Meantime, let me
provide you the statement issued
by Dave Cortese in his decision
to concede in this mid-term election. (the Article/statement can
be found on http://thelefthook.
com/2014/11/10/dave-corteseconcedes-san-jose-mayoral-race/)
A statement from SJ Mayoral
candidate Dave Cortese First, thank you for the role you
played in helping us mount a
campaign where thousands came
together, calling for a new culture
at City Hall. Thanks to our efforts, I’m confident that you will
see a more conciliatory approach
by the City’s new leadership than
we would have seen had our voices been absent from this election.
Out of respect to our supporters
and the voters, we have waited
until the final outcome was clear
and all mail ballots have been
counted before putting out this
statement. We missed a majority by less than a 1.08 % margin,
which clearly means our message
was heard by voters. While I was
certainly in this race to win, in a
larger context my duty was ultimately to carry the torch for a new
conversation at City Hall, standing for equity and fair play. That
(Cont. from page 1... ISLAND QUARANTINE )
NARCING DATUIN. A picture collage of birthday celebrant Narcing Datuin together with his children, Maryfe Sagabaen, Irene Gallo, Narissa Laoeng, Rachel Red and the boys Manny, Angel and
Narciso Datuin Jr. Greetings from your lovely wife Corazon Avila Datuin.
quarantined for the incubation period of
the virus.
“We were asked to make this sacrifice for
the safety of our countrymen,” one of the
soldiers’ wives told Agence France-Presse
as she watched live television footage of
the arrival with her 3-year-old daughter
from a nearby air force base.
Almost 5,000 people have been killed by
Ebola mostly in West Africa, according to
official data from the World Health Organization (WHO), which says the true scale of
the epidemic could be much greater.
The virus kills around 70 percent of its
victims, often shutting down their organs
and causing unstoppable bleeding.
was my job and I did it—we did
it. For that we can claim victory.
There has been some speculation about the handling of ballots
in this election. I have full faith
in the abilities of the Registrar of
Voters, who has, as a department,
called for an audit to ensure the
integrity of the process. We have
had members of our campaign at
the ROV serving as monitors as
votes were being counted, but we
will not be taking any active role
in the audit process. It’s time to
move on.
This campaign was about bringing San Jose together and we have
done that. Let’s keep the momentum going! I invite you to ask
yourself what you can do as an individual or in your neighborhood,
faith community, or workplace
to help create a community that
works for everyone. I’ve called
my opponent to congratulate him
and let him know I’d like to work
together. I hope you will do the
same.
As for me, my primary mission is
to be the best public servant I can
be, regardless of the role. I continue to be blessed with that opportunity, serving the residents of
Santa Clara County on the Board
of Supervisors, where I will persist in striving to give voice to the
voiceless, to move people out of
poverty, to ensure taxpayer dollars are invested wisely, and to see
to it that local government works
for everybody.
As always, I am here for you
and would love to hear from you.
Please contact me [email protected] or 408-2995030 if there is anything I or my
office can do for you. It’s a joy
to be your partner in making this
Valley one of the best places in
the world to be.
Gratefully,
Dave Cortese
Next, week we go back and honor those Fil-Am’s who won handily in their respective areas covering the Bay Area.
(For comments, please email me
at [email protected]. We
are now FilAm Post)
More than 10 million Filipinos working
abroad and the Philippines has said there is
a serious threat of the epidemic hitting the
Asian country.
The government has also ruled that anyone coming from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone—the countries most affected
with the epidemic—must undergo 21 days
of isolation.
Thelma Barrera, psychosocial program
chief for the health department’s National
Center for Mental Health, said the soldiers
will be put up in air-conditioned tents with
access to recreational and telecommunications facilities.
“They (the facilities) were set up to make
it as comfortable as can be for them,” she
told Agence France-Presse.
ARE YOU CELEBRATING YOUR BIRTHDAY, ANNIVERSARY,
GRADUATION OR BUSINESS GRAND OPENING?
Fil-Am Post can cover an exclusive feature of your event!
Call us at
1-855-454-7678
or email us at [email protected] to learn more.
PAGE 12
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
The latest trend in housing?
Roommates
With rents rising faster than most American’s paychecks, finding a roommate to split the bills with
isn’t just for kids straight out of college anymore.
The percentage of adults living with someone other
than a spouse or partner hit 32% nationwide in 2012,
up from 26% in 2000, according to Zillow’s analysis
of the latest Census Bureau data.
And, judging by the ongoing decline in homeownership rates and tightened supply of rental vacancies,
the trend appears to be gaining momentum.
People start pairing up when rents are climbing and
incomes aren’t keeping up -- and in recent years,
rents have really been on a tear. They rose 6.5% over
the 12 months ended in September, according to Trulia. Meanwhile, wages have remained more or less
flat.
The numbers make the case for sharing space.
In Brooklyn, N.Y., for example, the average onebedroom apartment rents for more than $2,600 a
month, according to Jonathan Miller, president of
appraisal firm Miller Samuel. Renters willing to live
together, however, pay an average of $3,200 for a
two bedroom, each saving $1,000 a month. Those
living in three bedrooms, which average $4,200 a
month, save even more at $1,200 per person.
Working adults in doubled up households tend to
earn less, according to Zillow. So sharing a place enables them to afford and compete for more attractive
housing.
Writer Dina Wilcox and executive coach, Ann Fry,
live in Manhattan, one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets. Both in their late 60s, most of
Wilcox’s and Fry’s peers live with significant others
or by themselves.
FIL-AM POST
REAL ESTATE
First-time homebuyers abandoning
the housing market
Young America’s love affair
with homebuying has hit a
low point.
The percentage of homes
that were sold to first-time
homebuyers dropped to 33%
this year, the lowest percentage in almost three decades,
according to the National
Association of Realtors.
Typically, first-time homebuyers comprise about 40%
of all purchases.
This is despite the fact that
mortgage rates are hovering
near record lows and home
prices are still off about 15%
compared to the housing
boom peak, according to the
S&P/Case-Shiller
20-city
home price index.
It’s not that young adults,
who make up the lion’s share
of first timer buyers, don’t
want to own; many do. According to a Zillow survey
released in October, respondents ages 23 to 34 were, in
fact, very bullish on home
buying, with 83% of young
renters expecting to buy a
home someday.
So what gives? Blame it on
heavy student debt loads and
incomes that aren’t keeping
up with rising home prices
--- especially in the urban areas where young Millennials
would want to buy, the NAR
said.
“Rising rents and repaying student loan debt makes
saving for a down payment
more difficult, especially for
young adults who’ve experienced limited job prospects
and flat wage growth since
entering the workforce,” said
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief
economist.
Strict lending
standards
have
also made it more
challenging for
Millennials
to
qualify for mortgages, especially
since many are
carrying
thousands of dollars in
student loan debt.
This has stirred
debate. In a survey of 1,000 Millennials by online
mortgage lender loanDepot,
almost half said it was unfair
to treat student loan debt the
same way as debt from credit cards or other consumer
lines of credit.
Strict lending protocols
have also added costs to
mortgage borrowing for
many young buyers. With
limited credit histories, they
usually have lower credit
scores and lack the funds to
make large down payments.
Homebuyers using low
down payment FHA loans,
for example, pay about $50
more a month for mortgage insurance on loans of
$100,000. And borrowers
with 640 credit scores getting Fannie Mae- or Freddie Mac-backed loans pay
fees that are three percentage
points higher than borrowers
with 740 credit scores.
In San Francisco, for example, home prices have soared
35% in the past two years to a
median of $880,000 according
to the National Association of
Home Builders. And competition is so stiff that open houses
spark bidding wars.
Other markets, including Los
Angeles, San Jose, Seattle and
Austin, have also seen home
prices climb by high doubledigit percentages.
For more info, contact Genex
Realty office at 510 432 7438.
You may e-mail tax questions at
[email protected].
Reverse mortgages: Are they worth it?
I‘ve seen a lot of commercials on TV about reverse mortgages. How do they work and who should consider a reverse
mortgage, if anyone? -- Judith Y., New York
It’s hard to miss those commercials. They typically feature
some B-list celebrity with an avuncular demeanor touting
the advantages of getting cash from your home. But while
reverse mortgages can be a useful retirement planning tool
under the right circumstances — helping you to boost retirement income, pay off debt or or even buy a home — there are
potential downsides.
Toward that end, here are five things you need to consider
before signing up.
1. The basics. You must be 62 or older to take out a reverse
mortgage and the amount you can borrow depends on your
age, interest rate and the value of your home.
Under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program — which is the program used most often by reverse
mortgage lenders — a 65-year-old who owns a house worth
$250,000 with no outstanding mortgage debt might be able
to borrow as much as $127,000, according to the Boston
College Center for Retirement Research, although fees and
other restrictions may reduce the amount of cash you can
initially get your hands on.
SPORTS
NBA: Father of Lakers player
League takes away LeBron’s
triple-double
shot dead
LOS ANGELES–The father of Los Ange-
les Lakers player Wayne Ellington was shot
dead inside his car on Sunday night, the
National Basketball Association team said.
The 26-year-old Ellington, who goes by
the same name as his father, has taken a
leave of absence from the team.
Wayne Ellington Sr. was found in his car
in Philadelphia. He
was 57 years old.
“Our players are
upset for their friend
and teammate. Additionally, ownership and all Lakers
employees are also
saddened by this
tragedy,” said Lakers general manager
Mitch Kupchak.
“Those of us who
work with and have
gotten to know
Wayne
(junior)
have come to know
what a wonderful
and caring person
he is. Our hearts go
out to Wayne and
his family, as do our thoughts and prayers.”
Ellington is in his first season with the lastplace Lakers after spending the last season
with Dallas. In five games this
season, Ellington is averaging
7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds.
PBA: Talk ‘N Text beats
Meralco for 3rd straight win
MANILA, Philippines — Talk ‘N
Text edged Meralco, 80-72, for its
third straight win in the 2015 PBA
Philippine Cup Tuesday night at the
Cuneta Astrodome.
Tropang Texters forward Ranidel de
Ocampo drained a dagger of a triple
to beat the shot clock off a broken
play that made it, 76-68, with 2:10
remaining.
“We just squeaked by the game.
We were not very aggressive at the
start,” said TNT head coach Jong
Uichico. “We didn’t play the way we
should’ve played today.”
“We got crucial rebounds at the end
and we got good stops at the end but
I just wished we played like that the
entire game,” Uichico added.
Rookie Matt Ganuelas-Rosser gave
the Texters extra possessions late
that led to crucial baskets including
de Ocampo’s 3-pointer.
Jimmy Alapag sank two free throws
for a 78-72 cushion with 36.8 seconds left. TNT hiked its record to
4-2.
Gary David posted 17 points for the
Bolts, who shot just 33% from the
field.
Ryan Reyes also scored 17 for the
Texters while de Ocampo had 15.
CLEVELAND — The NBA has stripped maintain the integrity of statistics.
LeBron James of a triple-double.
With 3:27 left in third quarter, James was
After reviewing film of the Cavaliers’ 118- incorrectly awarded an assist when he tipped
111 win Monthe ball to
day night over
Tristan ThompNew Orleans, the
son, who passed
league took away
to Kyrie Irving
a rebound and asfor a layup. In
sist from James,
the fourth quarwho initially had
ter, James was
been credited with
given an offenhis 38th career
sive
rebound
triple double — at
that
should
least 10 points, 10
have gone to
rebounds and 10
teammate Mike
assists.
Miller.
James finished
League spokeswith 32 points, 11
man Tim Frank
rebounds and nine
said the changes
assists as the Cavs
have been made
improved to 3-3.
to the official
The league roubox score.
tinely
reviews leveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James. AP
videotape
to
SHOWBIZ
FIL-AM POST
Amy Perez weds long-time partner
Maja sad after John Lloyd backed out of soap
MANILA – regrets that John Lloyd Cruz has
backed out from ABS-CBN’s upcoming drama
series that would have starred the two of them
along with Jericho Rosales.
Salvador, however, told ABS-CBN News that
she understands Cruz’s decision.
“Siyempre lahat tayo gusto natin makatrabaho
ang A-List actor na si John Lloyd Cruz. Pero
may mga valid reasons siya at kailangan natin
tanggapin ‘yun. Kung soon makakatrabaho natin siya ulit, kung mabibigyan ng chance, mas
okay,” she said.
Despite this, Salvador remains certain that
viewers will love the new series, citing its compelling story.
“[Wala akong] sama ng loob [kay John Lloyd].
May valid naman siyang mga rason. Nakakahinayang pero sa ganda naman ng kwento ng
aming teleserye, kahit sinong gaganap, talagang
magugustuhan niyo,” she said.
It has been rumored that Xian Lim will be replacing Cruz in the upcoming series with the
working title “Bridges.” The ABS-CBN management, however, has yet to make an official
announcement.
Meanwhile, Salvador feels honored to be
among the nominees for Best Actress in the upcoming PMPC Star Awards for TV for her performance in “The Legal Wife.”
“Ang daming magagaling na nominated din.
John Lloyd and Maja Salvador
Ako sobrang happy na ako na napansin ng
PMPC ang teleserye namin. I’m very happy and
maswerte na nakasali ako, na-nominate ako sa
Best Actress award. Very thankful ako sa nomination. ‘Yung mapansin ang talent mo, winner
na doon,” she said.
Robin Williams’ autopsy found no illegal drugs
SAN FRANCISCO—Robin Williams’ autopsy found no alcohol or illegal drugs were in his
body when he killed himself at his Northern
California home in August, sheriff’s officials
said Friday.
The results released
by the Marin County sheriff’s office
found that the actor
had taken prescription medications,
but in “therapeutic
concentrations.”
The coroner ruled
Williams’ death a
suicide that resulted
from asphyxia due
to hanging.
Sheriff’s officials
have said Williams
was found in the
bedroom of his Robin Williams
home in Tiburon on
the morning of Aug. 11. His death had been
preliminarily ruled a suicide, with sheriff’s officials saying he hanged himself with a belt.
Williams’ wife, Susan Schneider, has said
the actor and comedian was struggling with
depression, anxiety and a recent Parkinson’s
diagnosis when his personal assistant found
him dead.
Williams had publicly acknowledged periodic struggles with substance abuse, and he
had entered a substance abuse program shortly
before his death. According to the coroner’s
report, his wife told an investigator Williams
did not go there because of recent drug or alcohol abuse, but rather to reaffirm the principles
of his rehabilitation.
According to his
wife, Williams was
having trouble sleeping and had shown
increased signs of
paranoia before he
committed suicide,
the autopsy report
said. Medical records
confirmed he was
diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in
November 2013 but
had symptoms since
2011, including a left
arm tremor and the
slowing of left hand
movements. Treatments with drugs in
May 2014 led to some improvement, according to the report, and he remained physically
active until his death.
Williams had two types of antidepressants in
his system when he died, as well as a Parkinson’s medication, caffeine and another ingredient found in tea and cocoa, the autopsy found.
Authorities have said Williams was last seen
alive by his wife when she went to bed the
night of Aug. 10. She woke up the next morning and left, thinking he was still asleep elsewhere in the house.
MANILA, Philippines — Television and radio
personality Amy
Perez married her
long-time partner,
news anchor Carlo Castillo, in a
wedding ceremony held at Mango
Farm in Antipolo
City Wednesday
afternoon.
Perez was with
her and Catillo’s
son Kyle as she
walked down the
aisle.
Hours before the
wedding, Perez
posted photos of
her dressed in a Amy Perez
wedding gown
and the wedding venue on her official Instagram account (amyperezp).
She announced her wedding with Castillo, her
partner of eight years, last October in her morn-
al procedure should not have been done but
it was necessary.
“Hindi talaga dapat gagawin ng procedure. Pero hindi rin puwedeng hindi gawin
‘yung procedure. So, parang I made a deal
with God na kung hindi magwu-work
‘yung baby, kunin na lang Niya at this early stage kesa naman mabuhay siya tapos
maraming damage,” Jaya said.
She said that they had discovered the
death of her unborn baby last Nov. 6. She
then had the fetus removed.
Jaya’s unborn baby would have been the
singer’s third child.
The singer said she was hurt by the loss
and would sometimes blame herself for the
death of her baby.
“Masakit kasi parang ang unang bugso na
papasok sa isip mo, kasalanan mo. Kasalanan ko, ‘di ba?” Jaya said.
ing show on ABS-CBN.
Perez is a mother of three kids: two from Castillo and one from her ex-husband musician
Brix Ferraris.
It’s Angel vs Maja for Best TV Actress in
Star Awards
MANILA - Angel Locsin and Maja Salvador, stars of ABS-CBN’s primetime hit
“The Legal Wife,” are among the seven vying for the Best Actress award in this year’s
Star Awards for Television.
The list of nominees for the 28th edition
of the annual event was released Wednesday by organizers Philippine Movie Press
Club (PMPC) and Airtime Marketing, Inc.
The awards night will be held on November 23 at Solaire Resorts and Casino in
Paranaque City, and will be telecast on November 30 on ABS-CBN’s Sunday’s Best.
It will be hosted by Piolo Pascual, Enchong
Dee and Kim Chiu.
Locsin and Salvador are nominated in the
Best Drama Actress category for their respective roles in “The Legal Wife,” along
with Bea Alonzo, Lovi Poe, Maricel Soriano and Dawn Zulueta.
Their leading man in the primetime series,
Jericho Rosales, is similarly in the running
for Best Drama Actor, alongside Gerald
Anderson, Dingdong Dantes, Enchong
Maja Salvador and Angel Locsin
Dee, Gabby Eigenmann, Coco Martin,
Kristoffer Martin and Miguel Tanfelix.
ABS-CBN, which is nominated for Best
TV Station, has several of its programs vying for trophies in their respective categories, including the aforementioned “The
Legal Wife,” “Ikaw Lamang,” “Be Careful With My Heart,” “ASAP,” “It’s Showtime,” and “TV Patrol.”
Can Kathryn Bernardo sing, really?
THERE aren’t too many big celebrities whose
focus is on one area of the entertainment industry. A lot of the stars have dabbled in music, too.
A case in point is Kathryn Bernardo.
Just last Friday, Kathryn had her final record-
Singer Jaya loses unborn child after
undergoing gallbladder removal
MANILA, Philippines—Singer Maria
Luisa Ramsey-Gotidoc, famously known
as Jaya, admitted that she lost her threemonth-old unborn baby after undergoing a
gallbladder removal.
In a
Philipp i n e
Entertainm e n t
Portal
(PEP)
report,
J a y a
s a i d
that the
gallbladder
Jaya
remov-
PAGE 13
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
Kathryn Bernardo
ing session for a self-titled debut album, which
includes renditions of “Mr. DJ” and “Love Has
Come My Way.”
On Nov. 5, Star Records made a slightly lackluster fanfare to tease fans via a lyric video of
“You Don’t Know Me” released on its official
YouTube channel. In less than 24 hours since it
was shown publicly, the video garnered more
than 100,000 views and almost 500,000 as of
this writing.
Penned by budding songwriter Marion Aunor,
the song is the carrier single of the album that
also features a total of six songs including bonus
tracks.
Interestingly, a lot of things have been said
about how the teen star prepared for the album,
how excited she is to finally realize a childhood
dream and how supportive her mother studio is
in making this project even possible. But not
very much has been said about Kathryn´s voice.
It was as if it were taken for granted or overlooked though an integral part of coming up
with an album.
The song perfectly suits Kathryn’s voice. It
allows her to hum the words and hit the notes
comfortably. The expectations about her vocal
ability are not that high though so we can still
forgive the people who were behind this whole
idea. We have seen Kathryn lip-synching numerous times on television but we have yet to
hear her sing live. We will reserve our full judgment when that time comes.
Nonetheless, Kathryn deserves an album that
her hardcore fans can consider as a souvenir
from their idol. If Anne Curtis and Daniel Padilla were both able to sell thousands of CDs,
Kathryn has all the right to have her own record
as well. But she must prepare herself for the less
kind words from legitimate music critics, who
would frankly tell her that she’s better of as an
actress.
Kapuso’s busiest male star
EVER since Alden Richards
was launched as an actor, the
GMA Artist Center star has
been on a roll. His momentum
continues, and this time, the
Primetime Prince takes on a
more challenging role as Dr.
Jose Rizal in Ilustrado.
Alden’s acting prowess first
gained notice in the afternoon
soap, Alakdana. His performance as a leading man earned
him an award at the Golden
Screen TV Awards as Outstanding Breakthrough Actor
in 2011.
Not long after, Alden was enlisted to be part of Indio. He
played the role of the teenaged indio, the title character.
Eventually, Alden established
himself as a serious actor, appeared in a string of Magpakailanman episodes, where he
even shared his life story and
playing as himself.
Alden also emerged as one of
the most sought after leading
men in the Kapuso Network.
He has charmed the audiences
in Mundo Mo’y Akin, and Carmela, where he worked with
the network’s crowned primetime queen, Marian Rivera.
So the guys over on Edsa also
call him “Primetime Prince.”
Well, why not? Alddn has
proved that his on-screen talents go far beyond the confines
of acting. His pursuits include
entertaining audiences in the
musical variety show Sunday
All Stars.
Nowadays, he’s also taking
the hosting route in Bet ng
Bayan, a reality talent search.
He is Asia’s Songbird Regine
Velasquez’s co-host.
For Alden, his most challeng-
ing undertaking is probably
his latest on-screen effort, and
that is portaying Dr. Jose Rizal
in GMA News and Public Affairs’ Ilustrado. For his role
as the national hero, Alden
did not only undergo physical
transformations—he also adjusted his acting approach.
“I had to study Rizal, at the
same time, kumuha ako ng
pointers from experts. This is
something new for me, pero
I have to give justice to the
role, bilang respeto at pagbigay-pugay na rin kay Dr. Jose
Rizal,” shared Alden.
Alden Richards
CLASSIFIED
PAGE 14
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
To advertise, call (510) 885-8827 or
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GAMES & ENTERTAINMENT
CROSSWORD
SUDOKU
To solve a Sudoku puzzle, place a number into each box
so that each row across, each column down, and each
small 3x3 square within the larger diagram (there are 9
of these) will contain every number from 1 through 9. In
other words, no number will appear more than once in any
row, column, or smaller 3x3 square. Working with the numbers already given as a guide, complete each diagram with
the missing numbers that will lead to the correct solution.
(Answers for Crossword and Sudoku on page 15)
Across
1. Org. that
safeguards pets
5. Tubular fare
10. Place for a
cooling pie
14. She played
Joanie on
“Joanie Loves
Chachi”
15. “___- a Grecian Urn”
16. Baseball’s
Felipe, Matty or
Jesus
17. Social
hangout
19. Bird with a
weird cry
20. He runs the
show
21. Zimbabwe’s
former name
23. Revlon
targets
26. Canadian
statesman
Pearson
27. Kitchen
gadget
32. Singer
DiFranco who
records on the
Righteous Babe
label
33. Of a period
of time
34. Get-off-drugs
facility
38. Not even
once, in a poem
40. Half a ‘60s
group
42. First opera
composer
43. Begets
45. Big name in
baseball cards
47. Big I.R.S.
mo.
48. Mixes greens
and dressing
51. Sales
come-on
54. Certain
M.I.T. graduate
55. Comedians
Bob and Chris
58. A proper
senor has one
62. Major rug
exporter
63. Golfer Palmer, familiarly
66. McIntosh’s
middle
67. Prior to, in
poesy
68. Darkroom
images, for
short
69. “Jezebel”
actress on TV:
1950’s
70. African
capital
71. Prof. rank
Down
1. Late ruler Mobotu ___ Seko
2. Decorous
3. B Clinton title
4. Activist Davis
5. “Rue Morgue”
writer
6. Staff of Life, for
short
7. Cornhusker’s
state: Abbr.
8. Ark builder
9. Sign up
10. One on a force
11. Also-ran’s
words
12. Sarge’s superior
13. Moon-related
18. Firth of Forth
port
22. “Home on the
Range”
animal
24. Palindromic
ship deck
25. Jack and the
missus
27. Prospectors’
receptacles
28. “The ___ Love”
29. Layer of a wedding cake
30. A Lee’s creator
31. Tick away
35. Recuperate
36. Strumento at
La Scala
37. Robin or
swallow
39. It’s paid upfront
41. Extend over
44. “And ___ bed”-Pepys
46. Certain
noncoms
49. Attacks
50. Richards of
“Jurassic Park”
51. Robert of the
Clinton
Cabinet
52. Jetsons kid
53. Trumpet
56. High-protein
food
57. Promptly
59. Soapmaking
substances
60. Ph.D. and
L.L.B.
61. Prefix with
“while”
64. Cycle beginning
65. “For ___ a
jolly ...”
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HOROSCOPE
Aries March 20 - April 18
Do you feel as though your self-expression
is being stifled, Aries? Perhaps you need
more time to choose a direction in life. Today, you can expect to feel a lot of pressure
from someone close to you. You will feel
forced to satisfy this person’s demands.
Taurus April 19 - May 19
Is there someone persecuting you, Taurus?
Is there a situation that feels unbearably oppressive? Today you won’t have any trouble
identifying the source of your problems. And
the great news is that is the first step toward
obtaining release from them.
Gemini May 20 - June 19
Although your current mood is somewhat
reserved and modest, you probably feel
tempted to strut your stuff every once in a
while. However, if you try to show off today,
Gemini, you may not be very pleased with
your reception.
Cancer June 20 - July 21
Obviously, you have an important role to
play, Cancer. The mood today may be
somewhat frustrating, but the way you handle it will earn you rewards and recognition
in your workplace or at school.
Leo July 22 - August 21
You will feel as though your back is against
the wall, Leo. And this particular wall is impeding your progress. Others will ask you
questions and ask for your opinion. You may
want to tell them the “truth” as you understand it, and you could be tempted to do so
humorously.
Virgo August 22 - September 21
Today is likely to be a bit gray, Virgo. You
won’t be able to see how you can get out
of your current situation. You may have
some financial or physical problems at the
moment. If this is the case, it’s because you
don’t rely enough on your abilities and good
sense to pull you through.
Libra September 22 - October 21
You’re wasting your energy, Libra, and you
know it. You go out to dinner, attend parties
and shows, but you’re never really present.
You listen to people but what they’re saying
doesn’t interest you in any fundamental way.
Scorpio October 22 - November 20
It isn’t always easy to think about how your
life is going, Scorpio. Imagine if you were
alone in the world, with nothing to hold you
back or force you to do anything. At least
once a month dedicate an hour to visualizing what your life would be like under these
conditions.
Sagittarius November 21 - December 20
Now is the time to be thinking about your
professional orientation, Sagittarius. You
may need to get some more fun in your life
and experience pleasures that you’ve never
had before.
Capricorn December 21 - January 18
You may be worn out, Capricorn, but you will
have to push forward anyway. You’re entering a long period of work and perseverance.
This definitely isn’t the moment to be late or
balk. If you’re still in your pajamas at noon,
you should be ashamed!
Aquarius January 19 - February 17
In a series of days that have tested your patience to the limit, here comes the moment
of truth that could make or break you. You
can expect a high-pressure day when you
will be induced to express your deepest motivations. A confrontation with an authority
figure could trigger an outburst.
Pisces February 18 - March 19
Are you hankering for a little fun and longing for a little experimentation and perhaps even childish play?
Tempting as these prospects are, you will have to
ignore them. Pisces, you simply don’t have the time,
at least not today. You will be too busy coping with
numerous little emergencies that crop up and having
to justify your decisions throughout the day.
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AUTOMOTIVE
FIL-AM POST
PAGE 15
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
GM drops shift at Michigan Cadillac plant to match car supply, demand
DETROIT -- General Motors is eliminating one production shift at the Michigan
plant where the Cadillac ATS and CTS
are made, a reflection of new brand chief
Johan de Nysschen’s vow to fix excess
production and high inventories that have
plagued Cadillac over the past year.
GM will cut production to one shift, from
two, at its Lansing Grand River plant,
spokesman Bill Grotz confirmed Tuesday.
He said about 350 workers will be laid
off beginning in January. GM will seek to
move some of those people to one of the
company’s two other plants nearby, he
said.
The move will leave the facility with
about 1,075 production workers on one
shift. The line speed will be accelerated to
produce more vehicles on that remaining
shift than usual, Grotz said.
GM expects to resume a second shift at
the start of production for the next-generation Camaro, which is being moved
to Lansing from Canada.
Grotz wouldn’t say when
that would happen.
“We see this shift coming back when the Camaro
comes online,” Grotz said.
Sources have told Automotive News that production of the next-gen sports
car, which is moving to the
same platform as the ATS
and CTS, is scheduled for
late 2015 or early 2016.
The move comes amid continued high inventories of the ATS and CTS, as sales of
those cars have fallen short of GM’s forecasts. Many dealers have said that price in-
(Cont. from page 1... TRILLANES: BINAY MIGHT)
extended to other anoma- that should have been
lies allegedly committed spent for the people of
when Binay was still the Makati City.
mayor of Makati City.
“Opo dahil sa nakita
But Binay has repeatedly nating mga karumal
denied the allegations.
-dumal na anomalya at
Trillanes pointed out that talagang pinagkakitaan
he ended up in jail the last po talaga ‘yung mga
time he went against a taga-Makati na sa bawat
powerful official.
piso ho talaga na binibigThe senator was refer- ay nila sa mga mahihirap,
ring to his more than sev- milyon-milyon ho ‘yung
en years of imprisonment binubulsa nila so sa akin
when he led the failed ‘yung mga ganyang tao,
mutiny against then Pres- kelangan po silang nasa
ident and now Pampanga kulungan,” the senator
Representative
Gloria said when asked about
Macapagal-Arroyo, who his earlier statement that
has been under hospital Binay should be put in
arrest for plunder charg- jail.
es.
(Yes, because of the deBut if there is someone testable anomalies that
that should be in jail, we have witnessed. He
Trillanes said it should be has to be jailed because
the Vice President, whom for every peso he has
he has accused of pock- given to the poor, he has
eting millions of money stolen millions.)
creases of $10,000 or more on many CTS
models, redesigned for the 2014 model
year, have driven away some returning
customers.
On
Nov. 1,
there
was a
151-day
supply
of ATS
models
on dealership
lots or
en route to stores, down from 166 a month
earlier. Supply of the mid-sized CTS fell to
113 days, from 161, after Cadillac offered
heavy incentives in October to help clear a
persistent glut of cars.
The move to cut production is in keeping with de Nysschen’s promise of creating more “product exclusivity” for Cadillac and avoid the need for heavy incentives
that ultimately damage brand value.
“Either you have to bring your volume
aspirations into alignment with reality and
accept that you will sell fewer cars, or you
have to drop the price,” de Nysschen told
Automotive News in September. “It’s better to build off a very solid base in terms of
product credibility, charge a fair price for
the car, and realize you have to wait until
the volume comes.”
GM idled the Lansing Grand River plant
for three weeks in late August and early
September to align supply with weakerthan-expected demand.
Chrysler to begin replacing Takata airbag inflators in
U.S. in Dec.
DETROIT (Reuters) -- Chrysler
Group will begin replacing potentially defective airbag inflators made
by Takata Corp in more than 371,000
U.S. vehicles in early December, according to documents filed by the automaker with U.S. safety regulators.
The Chrysler vehicles, from model
years 2003-2007, are among an estimated 4.2 million involved in a series
of regional recalls in high-humidity
regions announced in June by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Chrysler, a unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, said in documents filed
with NHTSA that Takata “has made
no determination of a safety defect”
in the inflators being studied by the
safety agency, but it would nonetheless begin replacing them no later than
Dec. 19.
It could start the recall in parts of
Florida in early December, according
to the NHTSA documents.
The Chrysler vehicles include the
Dodge Ram, Durango, Dakota, Char-
ger and Magnum, and Chrysler Aspen
and 300.
Takata was not immediately available
for comment.
The group of Takata inflators NHTSA is studying -- the so-called Beta
series -- totals 37.8 million, according
to NHTSA documents. Of those, about
25 million are passenger-side inflators
made from 2000-2004 and about 12.8
million are driver-side inflators made
from 2004-2007.
Other manufacturers involved in the
June regional recalls include Honda
Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Mazda Motor Corp.,
Ford Motor Co., General Motors,
BMW AG, Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
and Fuji Heavy Industries’ Subaru.
Takata’s airbag inflators are being
investigated because, if exposed to
moisture or improperly manufactured, they can explode, rupturing
and sending metal shards into vehicle passenger compartments. The
issue has been linked to four deaths
and 160 injuries.
Since 2008, more than 11 million
U.S. cars equipped with Takata airbags have been recalled because of the
inflator issue.
Chrysler told NHTSA that it conducted a joint investigation with Takata of
the Beta inflators, including samples
obtained from Florida junkyards.
Takata’s analysis showed the Florida
inflators “exhibited slightly elevated
levels of moisture,” Chrysler said.
The automaker said Takata has been
conducting a series of tests on suspect inflators, including CT scans,
“live dissections” and live deployments, while measuring performance,
moisture level and other physical and
chemical properties.
PAGE 16
Nov 13, 2014 - Nov 19, 2014
FIL-AM POST