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What can you
expect during Sec.
341 Meeting of
Creditors?
WHAT YOU NEED TO
KNOW ABOUT MORTGAGE
FORGIVENESS AND DEBT
CANCELLATION
See whole article on page
6 for more details.
Read full article on page 6.
Denial of green card or
naturalization application if
you have a crime involving
moral turpitude (CIMT)
See whole article on page 3 for
more details.
ENTERTAINMENT
Despite injury, Angel Locsin won’t
leave show business- page 7
FREE
4 presidentiables
on FOI, Cha-cha,
VOL. 3 ISSUE 53
VIEW US ONLINE: WWW.FILAMPOST.COM
OCT 28, 2015 - NOV 3, 2015
corruption, tax reform
T
he presidential
forum hosted
by the Philippine
Chamber of Commerce and Industry
provided a glance
of the differing
stance of the four
leading presidential
aspirants in 2016.
(From left) Senator Grace Poe, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and
Vice President Jejomar Binay
Aquino laughs off claims on
‘resurgence’ of support for
Marcoses
P
resident
Benigno
Aquino III on Tuesday
laughed off and questioned
sources of the claim that the
Marcos family is experiencing widespread support
form the public.
“Resurgence of support?
By appearing on the cover
of a magazine? This demonstrates a resurgence of
support?” Aquino told a
reporter during a forum
hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Association of
the Philippines (Focap) at
Solaire in
Paranaque. (Cont. on Page 6 )
INQUIRER.net
gives a cursory
look at how the
four presidential
aspirants–
Vice
President Jejomar
Binay, Mar Roxas,
Senators Grace Poe
and Miriam
(Cont. on Page 2 )
Lacson: Poe dropped
me from slate in favor
of Edu Manzano
S
enatorial aspirant
Panfilo
“Ping”
Lacson disclosed on
Tuesday that he was
dropped from the
senatorial slate of
Senator Grace Poe in
favor of another candidate.
“Senator Poe called
me up last Friday and
requested that I be
substituted by Edu
Manzano. I said, no
problem, I’m okay
with it,” Lacson said
in a text message.
“As a background,
she (Poe) invited
me to meet with her
twice to request that
I be included in her
slate.
(Cont. on page 6)
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PAGE 2
Oct 28, 2015 - Nov 3, 2015
NEWS ROUND-UP
US Navy to sail near reefs claimed
by China
WASHINGTON, United States—The U.S.
Navy is preparing to sail a warship near artificial islands built by China in the South
China Sea in a long-anticipated challenge
to what it considers Beijing’s “excessive
claim” of sovereignty in those waters, two
U.S. officials said Monday.
The officials said the White House approved the movement by the USS Lassen, a
guided missile destroyer, around the Spratly Islands archipelago, a disputed group of
hundreds of reefs, islets, atolls and islands
in the South China.
The move is expected to take place within
a day or so.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to
discuss the matter in advance of the Lassen’s movement.
A Pentagon spokesman, Navy
Cmdr. Bill Urban, declined to
comment.
The Obama administration
has long said it will exercise a
right to freedom of navigation
in any international waters,
including in the South China
Sea. The point of sailing a
U.S. ship within 12 nautical
miles (22 kilometers) of any
of the artificial islands created
by China would be to demonstrate the U.S. assertion that
they are not sovereign Chinese territory.
“Make no mistake, the United States will
fly, sail and operate wherever international
law allows, as we do around the world, and
the South China Sea is not and will not be
an exception,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Oct. 13.
“We’ll do that at times and places of our
choosing,” Carter said. “And there’s no exception to that, whether it’s the Arctic or the
sea lanes that fuel international commerce
widely around the world, or the South China Sea.”
PNP to probe ‘Iglesia ni
Cristo plot’
THE PHILIPPINE National Police says it
will investigate the alleged involvement of
police personnel in the abduction and detention of expelled Iglesia ni Cristo (INC)
minister Lowell Menorca II.
“We will coordinate with the complainant and ask [him] to substantiate his allegations,” PNP Director General Ricardo
Marquez told reporters on
Monday on the sidelines of
the flag ceremony at the PNP
headquarters in Camp Crame
in Quezon City.
Menorca told a press conference in Manila on Sunday that
PNP personnel led by a former Quezon City police chief
had abducted him in Bulan,
Sorsogon province, in July.
“I know he is a ranking officer because of his uniform.
If I’m not mistaken it was the
former QCPD (Quezon City
Police Department) chief. If I
see his picture I can probably
confirm. He is a high-ranking officer because the other policemen were saluting
him,” Menorca said.
When a reporter showed him a picture of
the former QCPD chief Supt. Joel Pagdilao, Menorca declined to confirm whether
he was referring to the police official, saying he wanted to be shown other pictures
so he could be sure.
Pagdilao, now the head of the National
Capital Region Police Office, did not respond to calls by the Inquirer last night.
Lawyer Trixie Angeles said her client is
willing to identify the police official either
in court or from a police lineup, should
Menorca decide to file criminal charges
against those who abducted him.
At the press conference, Menorca accused
members of the INC governing council as
those behind his kidnapping so he could
be killed on the suspicion that he was the
blogger who exposed and wrote about corruption and other anomalies in the church.
He also revealed that “a lot more people”
suspected of being dissenters and their
families were being held against their will
at the INC Central Temple complex in Diliman, Quezon City.
Reminded that reports about abducted
INC ministers had surfaced months before, Marquez said that “during that time,
there was no perspective like this,” referring to Menorca’s complaint.
Marquez said he would task the Criminal
Investigation and Detection Group with
“finding out if officers are involved one
way or another in the alleged abduction.”
“The cleansing of the PNP is a daily activity. We continue to make sure that appropriate actions are instituted and implemented against our people involved in any
illegal activities,” Marquez said.
FIL-AM POST
OFW remittances face
downward risks
HOUSEHOLDS reliant on overseas remittances may have to tighten belts in 2016 as
a global recession could slow down such
valuable foreign exchange inflows, based
on a research from American banking giant Citi.
In a macroeconomic research dated Oct.
23 titled “Will OFW (overseas Filipino
worker) remittances stay resilient amid
global macro shocks?,” Citi economist for
the Philippines Jun Trinidad said a change
in the global macroeconomic backdrop remained a key driver of remittances by each
overseas worker.
Each one percentage point change in the
income indicator of the world’s wealthiest nations under the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) is seen translating to a 1.49 percent change in remittances per worker.
“Global income indicator has the largest
effect at 2.59 percent on per worker remittance in the region followed by a Philippine (PH) jobless rate that can elevate or
lower per capita remittance by 0.58 percent. More or less ‘migration’ to North
America—a favored destination of those
seeking overseas jobs permanently and
currently hosts the largest migrant OFW
population, is premised on the PH jobless
rate effect,” Trinidad said.
The economist noted, however, that the
country’s booming business process outsourcing (BPO) industry particularly in the
urban/commercial centers, including those
outside Metro Manila, offered an attractive
financial/employment alternative—assuming one has the appropriate skill set—to
seeking jobs overseas.
“As OFW remittances plateau with fewer
workers seeking overseas jobs, we expect
BPO and outsourcing/offshoring segment
with better quality jobs, to compensate for
foregone remittance earnings,” he said.
The economist noted that the decline in
workers seeking overseas jobs since 2011
had actually coincided with the BPO phenomenon. He said this could “reflect better domestic labor market conditions as the
BPO phenomenon takes hold.”
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
itself had said that it was only a matter
of time before BPOs would replace cash
transfers as the economy’s main economic
engine. Many are expecting the inflection
point to happen next year.
Obama to travel to Turkey,
Philippines, Malaysia
WASHINGTON, United States—President Barack Obama will travel to Turkey
for a G20 summit, followed by stops in
the Philippines and Malaysia for meetings
with world leaders next month, the White
House said Monday.
At the G20 summit, leaders from the
world’s major economies are due to give
final approval to a new plan to crack down
on tax evasion by multinational corporations that costs countries at least $100 billion a year.
The 15-point plan aims to tackle low
tax bills for the likes of Google, Apple
and McDonald’s, which have managed to
sharply reduce their taxes while remaining
within the law, provoking public outrage in
recent years.
Obama “will spur international efforts to
ensure strong, sustainable and balanced
global economic growth” during the talks,
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said
in a statement.
During the foreign travels November 14
to 22, Obama will also “emphasize the
importance of reaching an ambitious and
durable global climate change agreement
in Paris.”
The aim of the Paris conference is to ink
an agreement to limit global warming to
3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (two Celsius) over
pre-Industrial Revolution levels.
The meeting marks the culmination of six
years of work since the ill-fated 2009 Copenhagen climate summit, which failed to
lock down significant agreements.
Obama will also stop in the Philippines
for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
Summit and in Malaysia for the US-ASEAN and East Asia summits.
Meetings there “underscore America’s
support for Asia’s regional institutions,
President Barack Obama
which enhance security and prosperity,
while also advancing the US strategy to rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region in all of
its dimensions,” Earnest said.
“These visits also will support the president’s efforts to expand opportunities for
American businesses and workers to sell
their products in some of the world’s fastest-growing markets.”
(Cont. from page 1...4 PRESIDENTIABLES) tries in Asia. government has spent
P600 billion since 2011 and reducing
Defensor-Santiago–express their opin- taxes would only take away P30 billion. I
ions on the issues surrounding their pres- don’t think any programs in government
idency bid.
would be cut because of this,” Poe said.
Binay said he supports the move to reAs for Roxas, the election season is not
form the taxation system and lower the the time to discuss the issue of lowering
personal and corporate income tax. He income taxes.
said the Philippines has one of the highSkeptic about decreasing tax rates,
est income tax returns.
Roxas thinks that reducing income tax
“We are the second highest sa income will also lead to reduction of service, the
tax returns. Ang nangyayari diyan, you improvement of infrastructures and the
are depriving our kababayans the money economy people are benefitting from.
they can consume. Kasi mataas ang inBut as a senator in 2004, Roxas was
come tax returns. Ang ating income tax among the proponents of the bill reducreturns in 32 per cent na. Number 2 is ing tax and exempting minimum wage
it has come to a point, na yung those earners from tax.
receiving P500,000 ay kaparehas na laOf the four candidates, only Poe and
mang ng binabayaran ng mga well-to-do, Santiago specifically mentioned freedom
ng mga millionaires,” Binay said.
of information (FOI) bill as a priority
Santiago for her part also said the Phil- legislation in their presidency.
ippine tax system is outdated and it is
Poe said she sponsored the FOI bill
about time this should be updated to re- which passed on third reading in the Senflect the inflation of the country.
ate.
“The Philippine tax system is 20 years
“In the first 100 days in office, we would
old. It needs to be overhauled. But major prompt Congress for bills to be passed
tax reforms are best done at the start of with dispatch. First is the freedom of ineach administration when the President formation bill, which I have sponsored
has the clear mandate from the voters. I and debated on in the Senate,” Poe said.
promise to reform it within six months of
Santiago said her first act as president is
my administration,” Santiago said.
to pass the FOI bill.
Poe also said it is time to change the
“When elected, my first act is to have
taxation system to give the public more the Freedom of Information Act (FOI)
savings.
enacted into law. This is an important
“This would benefit a lot of our country- tool to promote public accountability,”
men. We’re one of the highest tax coun- Santiago said.
IMMIGRATION
FIL-AM POST
PAGE 3
Oct 28, 2015 - Nov 3, 2015
Denial of green card or naturalization
application if you have a crime involving moral
turpitude (CIMT)
W
hen a person applies for an immigrant or non-immigrant visa, for
adjustment of status to become a permanent
resident of the United States, or for citizenship or naturalization, a lack of good moral
character, a finding of moral turpitude, and
certain criminal offenses can result in a
finding of inadmissibility, denial of visa, or
denial of naturalization.
There are permanent and conditional bars
to the determination of good moral character.
We will discuss the conditional bars to
naturalization in this article.
Q:What do conditional bars to good moral
character mean?
A: Conditional bars are not permanent in
nature and are triggered by specific acts, offenses, activities, circumstances, or convictions within the statutory period for naturalization, including the period prior to filing
and up to the time of the Oath of Allegiance.
Some crimes bar you from naturalizing for
only the five or three years prior to your applying for naturalization. That’s because the
law requires a naturalization applicant to
prove five years of good moral character as
a condition for naturalizing, three years if
you qualify under the special rules that apply to certain spouses of US citizens.
Q: What crimes are considered conditional
bars to good moral character?
A: Crimes in this conditional bar category
include any crime involving moral turpitude, two or more gambling offenses, a drug
offense, two or more nonpolitical offenses
for which a judge sentenced you to five
years’ imprisonment or more, and any crime
for which you were confined to prison for
more than 180 days. So, if the crime is in
this group, but is not an aggravated felony,
you can naturalize five (or three) years after
having committed the crime.
Q: How can it be determined that an act is
a crime involving moral By Atty. Crispin C. Lozano against property that inturpitude?
volves fraud, whether it
A: Whether an offense is
entails fraud against the
a CIMT is largely based on whether the of- government or against an individual. Cerfense involves willful conduct that is mor- tain crimes against property may require
ally reprehensible and intrinsically wrong, guilty knowledge or intent to permanently
the essence of which is a reckless, evil or take property. Petty theft, grand theft, forgmalicious intent. The Attorney General has ery, and robbery are CIMTs in some states.
decreed that a finding of “moral turpitude”
requires that the perpetrator committed a Q: When are sexual and family crimes conreprehensible act with some form of guilty sidered CIMTs?
knowledge.
A: It is difficult to discern a distinguishing
set of principles that the courts apply to deQ: What crimes can be considered crimes termine whether a particular offense involvinvolving moral turpitude?
ing sexual and family crimes is a CIMT. In
A: A crime involving fraud or dishonesty some cases, the presence or absence of viois usually considered to involve moral tur- lence seems to be an important factor. The
pitude.
presence or absence of criminal intent may
Other crimes the law considers to involve also be a determining factor. The CIMT demoral turpitude are: arson; assault with in- termination depends upon state statutes and
tent to kill or inflict serious bodily harm; the controlling case law and must be conbigamy; blackmail; bribery; bad check con- sidered on a case-by-case basis. Offenses
victions; burglary; counterfeiting; larceny; such as spousal or child abuse may rise to
perjury; prostitution; rape; drug crimes; the level of a CIMT, while an offense inreceiving stolen goods; robbery; and sexual volving a domestic simple assault generally
offenses. These crimes may be divided into does not. An offense relating to indecent
crimes against a person, crimes against exposure or abandonment of a minor child
property, sexual and family crimes, and may or may not rise to the level of a CIMT.
crimes against the authority of the govern- In general, if the person knew or should
ment,
have known that the victim was a minor,
any intentional sexual contact with a child
Q: When are crimes against a person con- involves moral turpitude.
sidered a CIMT?
A: Crimes against a person involve moral Q: When are crimes against the authority of
turpitude when the offense contains crimi- the government considered crimes involvnal intent or recklessness or when the crime ing moral turpitude?
is defined as morally reprehensible by state A: The presence of fraud primarily deterstatute. Criminal intent or recklessness may mines the presence of moral turpitude in
be inferred from the presence of unjustified crimes against the authority of the governviolence or the use of a dangerous weapon. ment.
For example, aggravated battery is usually,
if not always, a CIMT. Simple assault and SUCCESS STORIES
battery is not usually considered a CIMT.
1. On October 9, 2015, we received an approval of a waiver in Immigration Court for
Q: When are crimes against property con- a client who entered as single but actually
sidered a CIMT?
married.
A: Moral turpitude attaches to any crime 2. On September 30, 2015, we received an
OPINION
The best lion-tamer we have
O
mbudsm a n
C o n chita
Carpio
Morales
seems
to be on
a ramp a g e
these
by Solita Collas-Monsod
days,
d o ing an excellent job of leading the
country in its fight against corruption, and giving it a well-deserved
shot in the arm in the process. The
decisions she has made lately would
make your head spin.
Consider: She ordered dismissed
19 top officials of the Philippine
National Police, including, if I read
correctly, two with the equivalent
military rank of brigadier general
and the rest mostly colonels. Then
she also ordered dismissed (and
perpetually barred from holding
public office) the Capiz governor
and his son. She meted out a oneyear suspension on the governor of
Camarines Norte. The Bacolod City
administrator, she suspended for
one year (he beat her to the punch,
though, because he resigned to run
for Congress). And the former head
of the Technology Resource Center
(and four others) she also barred
from public office. All for cause,
which the Reader can very well read
up on elsewhere.
This, of course, on top of what she
meted out to Makati Mayor Junjun Binay and of course his father,
Vice President Jojo Binay, who has
been crying political persecution all
this time, claiming that what Ombudsman Morales has been doing
is aimed only at helping prevent a
successful bid for the presidency on
his part.
Well, the dismissed Capiz governor is an ally and good friend of
another presidential contender (Mar
Roxas), so does this mean that the
Ombudsman is making it easier for
Grace Poe to win? Ridiculous.
But then, the Binays tend to have
a humongous persecution complex,
as evinced by the spin they put on
the serving of the notice of dismissal on Mayor Binay—claiming that
the servers (three women) had made
something like a public scandal out
of the incident for maximum humiliation. It turns out that the women
were not even near the Binay house,
as they were told (by Binay underlings) to serve the order somewhere
else in the vicinity. And Mayor Binay’s children were in school. What
scandal and humiliation could have
been perpetrated? The only scandal
in the neighborhood would be involving the size and luxury of the
Binay house compared to his salary as a Makati Council member
(before he ran for mayor). And of
course, the size and luxury of the
Vice President’s house.
But I digress. Morales is the fifth
ombudsman we have had since
the restoration of democracy, succeeding Merceditas Gutierrez, who
succeeded Simeon Marcelo, who
succeeded Aniano Desierto, who
succeeded Conrado Vasquez. And
she has outshone them all (although,
admittedly, it is not hard to do, except for Marcelo).
What is the secret of her success?
Could it be that she was appointed
on the basis of what she knew, instead of who she knew? Gutierrez was the classmate of then First
Gentleman Mike Arroyo; Marcelo
(though he turned out well) belonged to the law firm that serviced
the Arroyo needs; Desierto was an
insider in the Office of the Ombudsman but was a judge advocate in the
AFP Judge Advocate General’s office when Fidel Ramos was around.
Morales, on the other hand, was
not a personal friend of President
Aquino. In fact she was surprised
when he wrote to her, asking her
to be the one to swear him in as
president. So obviously, he chose
her to be ombudsman on the basis
of her qualifications alone. And she
has guarded her independence ferociously, thank heavens. At the very
least, there is no chance for “Hello
Garci” type telephone calls and secret deals.
Actually, P-Noy has been very
lucky with his women appointees
(Morales, Sereno, Pulido-Tan, Mendoza, Henares, De Lima, Soliman;
his only “palpak” choice was an assistant secretary). They were all excellent choices. And they have done
him proud.
But that was another digression.
I checked the Office of the Ombudsman website, which I urge the
Reader to likewise do. It is one of
the most transparent and readerfriendly websites, which is part of
the 7-year roadmap, so don’t be
afraid. There, you will find, for instance, that 49 percent of cases filed
in the Sandiganbayan are against
high-ranking officials (one of the
objectives mentioned in the roadmap), with the rest divided among
low-ranking officials (28 percent)
and private parties (23 percent). As
it should be. And 41 percent of the
cases filed in or taken cognizance of
the Office of the Ombudsman result
in penalties of suspension for more
than a month, while 28 percent of
those cases result in dismissal from
service. The Ombudsman is no
pushover.
approval from U.S. Consulate of an immigrant visa for a seaman based on approved
I-601A waiver.
3. On August 27, 2015, we received an approval of naturalization for the recipient of
waiver of misrepresentation we litigated in
the Immigration Court.
4. On August 19, 2015, we received an approval of Immigrant Visa from the U.S Embassy for a crewman who has approved I601A waiver.
5. On August 11, 2015, we received an approval of Stay of Removal from the DHS
for parents of DACA recipients.
6. On August 3, 1015, we received an approval of I-751 for an alien in removal proceedings.
7. On July 30, 2015, we received an approval of Fiancée visa based on same sex for
an alien in the Philippines.
8. On July 24, 2015, we received an approval from the Immigration Court of
waiver of misrepresentation for securing green card as single son but actually
married. With the approval, alien now
qualifies to apply to naturalization.
9. On June 22, 2015, we received an approval of I-601 waiver for a client who
overstayed in the U.S. for more than ten
years based on hardship to U.S. citizen
spouse.
10. On June 5, 2015, we received an approval from U.S. Embassy Manila for
an I-601A waiver for two clients who
first entered the U.S. on a crewman visa.
Crispin Caday Lozano is an active member
of the State Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers Association
and the National Association of Consumers Bankruptcy Attorneys. He specializes
in immigration law and bankruptcy law.
([email protected]/
1-877456-9266)
PAGE 4
Oct 28, 2015 - Nov 3, 2015
FIL-AM POST
FIL-AM POST
PAGE 5
Oct 28, 2015 - Nov 3, 2015
PAGE 6
Oct 28, 2015 - Nov 3, 2015
FINANCE CORNER
BANKRUPTCY
TAX Q & A
WHAT YOU NEED TO
KNOW ABOUT MORTGAGE FORGIVENESS AND
DEBT CANCELLATION
W
hen you
owe
a
debt to someone else and
the debt is canby: Alvin C. Maglan, CPA
celled or forgiven, the canceled amount
may be taxable. The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows taxpayers to include income from the discharge
of debt on their principal residence. Also,
debt reduced through mortgage restructuring as well as debt forgiven in connection with foreclosure
qualifies for the
relief. The provision applies to debt forgiven in calendar years 2007 through 2014.
Amounts up to $2 million of forgiven debt
is eligible for this exclusion ($1 million if
married filing separately).
Q
A
uestion: What is the duration of this
special relief?
nswer: It applies to qualified principal residence indebtedness forgiven in
calendar years 2007 through 2014.
Q
A
uestion: If the debt forgiven is excluded from income, should this be
reported on the tax return?
nswer: Yes. The amount of debt forgiven must be reported on Form 982
and the form should be attached to the tax
return.
CANCELLATION OF DEBT
When you borrow money and the lender
later cancels or forgives your debt, you
may have to include the cancelled amount
in income for tax purposes, depending on
the circumstances. If that obligation is
subsequently forgiven, the amount you
received as loan proceeds is normally reported as income because you are no longer have an obligation to repay the lender.
The lender is usually required to report the
amount of the canceled debt to you on a
Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt.
Q
A
uestion: Is Cancellation of Debt income always taxable?
nswer: Not always. There are some
exceptions, such as:
-Qualified principal residence indebtedness, the exception created by the Act and
applies to most homeowners.
-Bankruptcy. Debts discharged through
bankruptcy are not considered taxable income.
-Insolvency. If you are insolvent when
debt is cancelled, some or all of the can-
celed debt may not be taxable to you. You
are insolvent when your total debts are
more than the fair market value of your total assets.
-Non-recourse loans. A non-recourse loan
is one for which the lender’s only remedy
in case of default is to repossess the property being financed or used as collateral.
In such case, the lender cannot pursue you
in case of default. Forgiveness of a nonrecourse loan resulting from a foreclosure
does not result in a cancellation of debt income which may result in other tax consequences.
Page 2
Q
A
uestion: Does the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act apply to all forgiven or cancelled debts?
nswer: No. The Act applies only to
forgiven or cancelled debt used to buy,
build or substantially improve your principal residence, or to refinance debts incurred for those purposes. In addition, the
debt must be secured by the home. This is
called qualified principal home indebtedness and the maximum you can treat as a
qualified principal residence indebtedness
is $2 million or $1 million if married filing
separately.
Q
A
uestion: Can I exclude debt forgiven
on my second home, credit card or car
loans?
nswer: Not under this provision. Only
cancelled deb used to buy, build or improve your principal residence or refinance
debt incurred for those purposes qualifies
for exclusion.
Q
A
uestion: I lost money on the foreclosure of my home. Can I claim a loss
on my tax return?
nswer: No. Losses from the sale or
foreclosure of residential property are
not deductible.
Alvin Maglan is a CPA licensed in California. After working for SyCip, Gorres,
Velayo and Company, he emigrated to
California and had varied experiences as
an audit manager of a regional accounting firm, an internal auditor and controller
of Dole, Inc., a fortune 500 company and
three decades experiences as a tax consultant for various individuals, professionals,
small business firms, corporations, partnerships, and other non-profit entities. You
may contact him @510 432 7438 for your
tax problems. You may e-mail tax questions @[email protected].
FIL-AM POST
What can you expect during
Sec. 341 Meeting of Creditors?
Q
. What is Sec. 341 meeting of creditors?
A. Every debtor, regardless of the
chapter, must make one appearance
in the case, though it is not really in
“court” since the judge is not present.
The court schedules a meeting of creditors in each case, usually about 30 days
after the filing. The meeting is called
the “§341 meeting” after the section of
the bankruptcy code that requires it.
Q.Who presides at the meeting of creditors?
A. The trustee assigned to the case
presides and asks questions about the
contents of the bankruptcy schedules.
The debtor must appear at the meeting and answer questions under oath
about his assets and liabilities. In cases where there are assets with value in
excess of the available exemptions, the
trustee tries to gather information to
aid in his liquidation of those assets for
payment to creditors. He may ask for
the business records (if any) or other
documents concerning the assets or the
debtor’s financial history.
Q.What happens in a Sec. 341 meeting?
A. The §341 meeting is not a test or
an inquisition. Neither the trustee nor
the creditors can take any action at
the meeting that decides any question
central to the case. It is a fact finding
meeting. Of course, if new or troubling facts come out at the meeting, the
trustee or a creditor can file a motion or
an adversary proceeding in the bankruptcy court for the judge’s consideration. The trustee swears you in and
begins his questioning. The meeting is
either tape recorded or recorded by a
court reporter.
The trustee may also ask how you
reached the values on your assets and
for more information about unusual as-
sets or business interests. If the trustee
needs more information or documents
that aren’t available at the meeting, the
meeting may be continued until another date when the information can be
provided and any questions answered.
B
ankruptcy Basics
1. Bankruptcy will actually improve
your credit within one year because
your unsecured debts are discharged.
Although the bankruptcy will be in
your records for 10 years, not filing
bankruptcy will make your credit even
worse until most your debts are paid.
2. If you are being sued by your creditors, most money judgment can be
eliminated in bankruptcy.
3. Collection actions continue and you
can be sued if you are in debt settlement.
4. Chapter 7 will eliminate all unsecured debts. If you are near retirement
age, you must eliminate most of your
debts.
5. Bankruptcy will stop foreclosure
actions. If your trustee sale date is 10
days before, you can still file for bankruptcy.
6. If your salary is being garnished,
you have a court case about debts or
you are being harassed by creditors,
bankruptcy can stop garnishment,
court cases, harassing creditors and
eliminate the debt.
7. Bankruptcy is cheaper, faster and
safer than debt settlement which has
no guaranteed success.
8. Preserve your health, eliminate
stress and live a happy life by eliminating your debts which is the root of all
problems.
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.
(Cont. from page 1...LACSON: POE DROPPED) ) longer be part of her slate, Poe
said she would just make the an. I agreed with a clear understanding that
nouncement soon. Her runningthere will be no obligations imposed on ei- mate, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero,
ther party,” he said.\
earlier said they would announce their senaLacson first made this disclosure in an in- torial line up probably this Thursday.
terview over ABS-CBN News Channel’s
Senatorial bet Ping Lacson (left) says presi“Headstart” where he categorically said dential aspirant Grace Poe dropped him from
that Poe called him and requested “that I her slate to welcome Edu Manzano.
be dropped from the senatorial slate to give
Senatorial aspirant Panfilo “Ping” Lacson
(way) to another candidate, Edu Manzano.”
disclosed on Tuesday that he was dropped
“And I said yes, no problem with me. In the from the senatorial slate of Senator Grace
first place, being invited to be a guest candi- Poe in favor of another candidate.
date is a privilege and it can be withdrawn
“Senator Poe called me up last Friday and
anytime,” he said during the interview.
requested that I be substituted by Edu ManAfter their conversation last Friday, Lacson zano. I said, no problem, I’m okay with it,”
said he thinks he is no longer part of Poe’s Lacson said in a text message.
senatorial ticket next year.
“As a background, she (Poe) invited me to
Sought for comment, Poe explained that at meet with her twice to request that I be inthat time, they were still finalizing the slate cluded in her slate. I agreed with a clear unand they took into account that the former derstanding that there will be no obligations
senator was already endorsed by two major imposed on either party,” he said.
parties— the administration’s Liberal Party
Lacson first made this disclosure in an in(LP) and the United Nationalist Alliance terview over ABS-CBN News Channel’s
(UNA).
“Headstart” where he categorically said
“Senator Ping is a strong and worthy candi- that Poe called him and requested “that I
date and we were considering also those that be dropped from the senatorial slate to give
had no party or less resources who would (way) to another candidate, Edu Manzano.”
welcome our support. In fact, Toots Ople is
“And I said yes, no problem with me. In the
also one of those we spoke with,” Poe said in first place, being invited to be a guest candia separate text message, referring to senato- date is a privilege and it can be withdrawn
rial bet Susan Ople.
anytime,” he said during the interview.
Asked then if Lacson and Ople would no
if he shared the view that there is a
(Cont. from page 1...AQUINO LAUGHS OFF) Asked
“resurgence of support” for Marcos and his
“And social media an unquestioned source of information? It cannot be manipulated?” an incredulous
Aquino said when the reporter cited social media
groups expressing support for Senator Ferdinand
“Bongbong” Marcos Jr. who is eyeing the vice
presidency.
The Marcos and Aquino families have long been
at odds after the President’s father, the late Senator
Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was assassinated after
returning from exile in the US. Ninoy Aquino was
one of the staunchest critics of the senator’s father,
the late former President Ferdinand Marcos. It was
during Marcos’ administration that martial law was
declared. It ended when a people power uprising
catapulted Ninoy’s wife and the President’s mother,
Corazon Aquino, to the presidency.
sister, Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos,
who was recently featured on the cover of a high
society magazine, Aquino said, “No. I think the answer to that is very obvious. I don’t think so.”
The President said he had faith in the Filipino
people.
“There is nothing that has caused me to change the
faith. That they are able to discern,” he said when
asked about the Marcoses’ possible return to power.
“What we should demonstrate or highlight is the
fact that there was a period in time that contrary
opinions were not encouraged. That somehow they
were involved…In our watch, contrary opinions…
are protected in the democratic space that we have
managed to really strengthen,” he pointed out.
RAM
FIL-AM POST
SHOWBIZ
Avi Siwa accuses Vina Morales of
preventing French ex-boyfriend to
visit their baby
Naglabas ng kanyang saloobin ang 2009
FHM cover girl na si Avi Siwa laban sa actress-singer na si Vina Morales.
Itio ay dahil diumano sa pagharang ni Vina
sa dating ka-live in ni Avi na si Marc Lambert na madalaw ang kanilang anak.
Si Marc ang kasalukuyang boyfriend ni
Vina.
Samantalang kasisilang lamang ni Avi ng
anak nilang babae ng French businessman
noong October 12, 2015.
Sa kanyang Instagram post, bandang alauna ng hapon ngayong Lunes, October 26,
binatikos ni Avi ang diumano’y maling asta
ng Kapamilya star bilang girlfriend ng ama
ng kanyang anak.
“So let me be d one to give u a ‘very friendly
reminder’, know ur position (Only 2 months
w/ Marc), recognize AVI SIWA d mother
of ur current BF’s child is NO SUCKER &
don’t stop Marc again frm seeing his child.
“If ur game is destroying families, then u
made d wrong move on destroying mine.
Don’t u ever talk to me that way again.
“Watch what u say next
if u don’t want d whole
country knowing ur
dirty little secrets Ms.
Pa-InnocentFace. Ur
disgusting.”
Gumamit pa si Iwa
ng mga sumusunod
na hashtags: “#homewrecker
#divaturnedugly #part2 #and
#action #imnojudy #bitchon”.
Nag-comment si Vina
sa post na ito ni Avi.
Sabi ni Vina: “Congratulations avi , welcome to motherhood, I
have read all your emails to marc, he tells
me everything and I know everything, you
posted his photo where you promised him
not too...
“Maybe you just got too excited 😊 we
understand ... Anyway hope to meet you and
Victoria soon... God bless you - @empressavisiwa”
Kasunod na mensahe ni Vina: “Just want
to remind you that you have been separated
with marc for about 9 months now and we
are very much together, marc showed all
your emails to me as he doesn’t keep secrets
from me , just a friendly reminder , thank
you.”
‘AlDub’ posts record-breaking
41-M ‘Tamang Panahon’ tweets
It’s official: the phenomenal tandem of
Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, also
known as “Yaya Dub,” has posted a new
Twitter record.
Figures from Twitter Asia Pacific showed
that 41 million tweets were posted using
the hashtag #ALDubEBTamangPanahon
from October 23 to October 25.
The tweet volume of the said hashtag has
trumped AlDub’s previous record of 26
million tweets last Sept. 25 and the 35.6
million tweets sent during the Brazil vs
Germany World Cup semi-final last July 8,
2014.
AlDub fans went into a tizzy at 2:24 p.m.
on October 24 when Alden was singing
“God Gave Me You” to Maine and the
couple hugged onstage. During that scene,
fans were posting 48,000 tweets per minute.
PAGE 7
Oct 28, 2015 - Nov 3, 2015
Despite injury, Angel
Locsin won’t leave show
business
She said she was rushed to hospital at that
ACTRESS Angel Locsin has no regrets
doing strenuous activities for her job in time. “Kinabahan na ako kasi iba siya sa
the past that caused her to have a “bulging mga dating nararamdaman ko.”
disc.”
“Nakatakot ako kasi kinabukasan ko buIn an interview with Boy Abunda on hay ko, nakasalalay kung paano ako puMonday night, Angel publicly broke the punta sa trabaho ko, kung paano ko ikilos
news that she has to give up her upcoming
Star Cinema movie “Darna” as she was di- ang sarili ko,” she told Abunda.
At present, Angel is undergoing therapy
agnosed with an injury to her intervertebral
disc, where the disc bulges out between the and also considering having a medical opvertebrae and presses on a nerve causing eration abroad.
severe pain and numbness.
She said she started having a therapy back
“Kapag may trabaho, binibigay ko talaga
‘yong best ko. Ganun ko kamahal
‘yong craft. ‘Yong role inaalagaan
ko…so kapag may ni-require na
mga stunts, ginagawa ko talaga
lahat…iniiwasan ko gumamit ng
double. Kasi gusto ko ipakita sa
mga tao, ako ang binabayaran mo
dito. Ako ang gagawa ng mga mahihirap na bagay,” Angel explained.
“Kaya habang tumagatagal sa
dami ng mga stunts na ginawa ko,
sa dami ng harness and all…nagkaroon ako ng problema sa spine,”
she said.
For Angel, she enjoys doing her
work as an actress and always giving the best that she can so she could
make her fans happy. “Yun ang rason kung bakit ako nag-artista, to
give happiness and inspiration.”
BB“Kapag ginagawa ko ‘yong mga
role na superheroes, nakapagbibigay ka ng hope sa tao. Enjoy ako…
happy ako..wala akong nire-regret
sa kahit anong stunts na nagawa
ko,” she said.
Angel admitted that it’s really Angel Locsin
painful on her part that she would
no longer be doing “Darna.”
VVShe said she was now speaking so that when she was doing her 2008 film “Love
people would understand the truth behind Me Again” where she fell off the horse a
her decision.
couple of times.
“Kami po ng ABS-CBN, nagkapag-usap
“Good thing naman yung last MRI ko,
kami na mas nakakabuti para sa lahat, na
hindi ko nap o gagawin ang Darna,” she wala naman nagbago sa resulta. Hindi siya,
said. “Nagpapasalamat ako sa ABS kasi na-aggravate,” she said.
In the end, Angel assured her fans that
iniisip nila ang future ko.”
Angel also shared that the pain she feels she’ll be OK, she’s not leaving show busiis unbearable.
ness and she would do those actions scenes
“May time na ilang days, hindi ako na- again in the future.
kalakad. May isang araw gumising na lang
“Don’t worry, magpapagaling lang ako.
ako, hindi na ako makatayo…ni gapang, ni Magpapalakas ako,” she said.
hatak sa sarili hindi ko magawa.”
PAGE 8
Oct 28, 2015 - Nov 3, 2015
FIL-AM POST