The Filipino Express v28 Issue 13

Transcription

VOL. 28 w NO. 13 w NATIONAL EDITION w NEW JERSEY w NEW YORK w MARCH 28 - APRIL 3, 2014 w (201) 434-1114 w $1.00
THE PEACEMAKERS. President Aquino and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (center) applaud as peace panel chairs Miriam Coronel-Ferrer of the Philippine government and Mohagher
Iqbal of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front exchange copies of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro that they signed on March 27 in Malacañang. Also witnessing the event are
Malaysian facilitator Ab Ghafar Mohamed, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles (right), and MILF chair Murad Ebrahim (left). Lyn Rillon
Bangsamoro rising
FBI links Sen. Yee to plan
to smuggle guns from PH
By Nimfa U. Rueda
California State Senator Leland Yee
LOS ANGELES -- A
California senator was
arrested Thursday, March
27 on charges that
included conspiracy to
smuggle firearms from
the Philippines into the
United States.
S e n . L e l a n d Ye e
(Democrat, San
Francisco) and 25 others
were named in a federal
complaint charging them
with firearms trafficking,
money laundering,
murder-for-hire, drug
distribution, trafficking
contraband cigarettes
and honest services fraud.
The supplier of the
weapons was a Filipino
national “who previously
sold guns to individuals
from Florida and
delivered through the
Port of Cagayan de Oro,”
according to the 137-page
criminal complaint.
The complaint said
u Page 8
Fil-Am Marine survives
Afghanistan but is killed
by drunk driver
of Union City, was killed on
Fremont Blvd. and Decoto Road.
Police arrested Alexander Yohn,
23, of Emeryville. He is married
and has a young child.
Silva was a U.S. Marine
reservist who had returned from
Afghanistan in February.
The incident began about 1
a.m. when an employee of a Taco
Bell restaurant near Fremont
Boulevard and Bonde Way saw
Yohn, who was driving a Mini
Cooper in the drive-through,
acting belligerently and
appearing intoxicated .
Yohn tried to pay for food
with a health care card and then
left his wallet behind, police said.
u Page 9
exhorted Filipinos to trade “bullets for
a ripening fruit.”
In the signing of the breakthrough
agreement with the MILF,the President
laid down the road map to the
ratification of the Bangsamoro basic
law, and the eventual participation of
the Bangsamoro people in the 2016
elections.
“If we sustain the momentum for
peace, by 2016, the MILF will have
shed its identity as a military force,and
transformed itself into a political entity,
casting its stake in democracy by
u Page 4
Fordham Honors the
Philippines' Cardinal Tagle
By Bob Howe
His Eminence Luis Antonio G.
Cardinal Tagle
Lance Cpl. Andrew Silva
FREMONT, California -- A
Filipino-American U.S. Marine
who had returned from
Afghanistan only last month,
was killed in vehicular crash
March 25 when a drunken
driving suspect rammed into the
motorcycle the victim was
riding.
Lance Cpl. Andrew Silva, 23,
MANILA -- Where before his
predecessor has failed, President
Aquino on Thursday, March 27
presided over the signing of a historic
peace agreement with Moro Islamic
Liberation Front rebels after 17 years
of negotiations carving a new,
autonomous Bangsamoro region in
Mindanao.
Exuberant over the signing of the
Comprehensive Agreement on the
Bangsamoro in Malacañang, the
President warned dissenters against
“ s n a t c h i n g p e a c e away ” f ro m
Filipinos, but at the same time,
Fordham University will confer an
honorary degree upon His Eminence Luis
Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of
Manila, the Philippines, on Friday, March
28.
This is Cardinal Tagle's first official
visit to the United States as a cardinal and
the first time that a U.S. university will
award him an honorary degree. Fordham
u Page 9
Obama legalizes tax-deductible
donations to 'Yolanda' victims
By Nestor Corrales
MANILA -- United
States President Barack
O b a m a s i g n e d
Wednesday, March 26 a
law that would allow
American taxpayers to
claim deductions for
donations they made to
support rehabilitation
efforts for the victims of
Super Typhoon Yolanda
(International Name:
Haiyan).
The Philippine
Embassy in the US said in
a statement that Obama
signed the Philippine
Charitable Giving
Assistance Act to allow
American Taxpayers to
continue making taxu Page 6
March 28 - April 3, 2014
Page 2
THE FILIPINO EXPRESS
Key points on Philippine Muslim peace pact, rebels
Agence France-Presse
MANILA -- The Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) ended
four decades of armed struggle in
the Philippines on Thursday when
it signed a peace pact with the
government.
Here are key facts on the MILF
and the peace deal:
MILF: The MILF has about
10,000 armed followers,
according to the military, which
makes it easily the biggest Muslim
rebel group in the Philippines.
It has long fought for an
independent homeland for the
nation's Muslim minority to be
carved out of the southern
Philippines. It split in the 1970s
from the-then main rebel group,
the Moro National Liberation
Front (MNLF). The MNLF had
agreed to autonomy, and founding
MILF leader Hashim Salamat was
intent on fighting for
independence. Internal rivalries
were another reason for the split.
Peace Pact
TITLE: Called the
“Comprehensive Agreement on
t h e B a n g s a m o r o .” T h e
Bangsamoro refers to people who
at the time of Spanish conquest
and colonisation were considered
natives or original inhabitants of
the southern Philippines. Their
descendants and spouses are
An estimated 6,000 Bangsamoro supporters join a prayer rally in Banggolo,Marawi City, on Thursday, March 27 to
celebrate the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. Richel V. Umel
recognized as Bangsamoro
people. Bangsa is a local word for
nation. Moro derives from the
term “Moors” used by Spanish
colonialists to refer to Muslims.
AUTONOMY: The MILF drops
its claims for a separate state in
the southern region of Mindanao
and settles for parliamentary selfrule in the Bangsamoro
autonomous region. This will be
established by 2016. The
Bangsamoro will replace another
Muslim autonomous region that
was brokered in the 1990s with
the MNLF, which the government
says has failed.
DISARMAMENT: The MILF
will “gradually” decommission its
forces and put the weapons
“beyond use.” A local police force
will assume law enforcement
functions from the Philippine
police and military.
POWERS: The Philippine
Government will retain exclusive
powers on defence, foreign policy,
currency and citizenship matters.
TA X E S / R E V E N U E S : T h e
autonomous government will
receive 75 percent of all local
taxes, fees and charges, 75 percent
o f reve n u e s f ro m m e t a l l i c
minerals and control of fishing
areas up to 12 nautical miles from
the coastline.
ISLAMIC LAW: The region will
not be an Islamic state, rather a
secular government. Sharia law
will apply only to Muslims and
only for civil cases, not for criminal
offences. All residents are
guaranteed basic rights to life,
movement, privacy, and freedom
of religion and speech.
TERRITORY: To cover five
provinces, plus two cities, six
towns and 39 villages in the south,
comprising about 10 percent of
the Philippines' total land area.
ENABLING LAW: Philippine
President Benigno Aquino will
seek to steer through parliament a
“Bangsamoro Basic Law” for the
autonomous region by the end of
this year.
PLEBISCITE: People living in
areas to be included in the
autonomous region will need to
ratify the law in a plebiscite to be
held in 2015.
T R A N S I T I O N A L
AUTHORITY: After the basic law
is approved and ratified by the
plebiscite, a 15-member
“Bangsamoro Transition
Authority” will govern the region
until a regional parliament is
elected. Aquino appoints the
members of the transitional
authority, but the MILF will have a
majority and the chairman.
E L EC T I O N S : A re g i o n a l
parliament, expected to have 50
s e a t s , i s to b e e l e c te d i n
conjunction with national
elections in May 2016.
Inquirer.net
Page 3
Fil-Am murder suspect won't
face the death penalty
By Bert Eljera
LAS VEGAS, Nevada -Prosecutors have decided not to
seek the death penalty in the case
of a Fil-Am former chef accused of
stabbing to death his 28-year-old
wife in their Las Vegas apartment
early this year.
Prosecutor Richard Scow said
that a district attorney's office
panel decided not to seek capital
punishment for Richard Magdayo
Dahan in the slaying of nurse
Daisy Casalta Dahan on Jan. 10.
In a case that rocked the
Filipino-American community
here, the 40-year-old Dahan killed
his wife after she allegedly asked
for divorce two years after getting
married in the Philippines.
Dahan, who claimed that he is
suffering from kidney failure
following a transplant, said that
divorce is unacceptable because
it's against Filipino tradition.
Friends of his wife suspect that
domestic violence may have
contributed to the killing, and
Daisy Dahan did not have an
opportunity to seek help. The
same friends and co-workers at a
nursing home facility raised the
money to send Dahan's body back
to Bohol, where she grew up.
Joe Biden: Undocumented Immigrants
Are 'Already Americans'
By Elise Foley
Murder suspect Richard Magdayo
Dahan. Las Vegas Metro photo
Richard Dahan had waived a
preliminary hearing of evidence in
the slaying before Las Vegas
Justice of the Peace Deborah
Lippis, who turned the case over to
state court.
In his arraignment in Clark
County District Court Dahan, on
March 12, pleaded not guilty to a
single count of murder. Deputy
Clark County Public Defender Ed
Kane represents him.
Prosecutor Scow said Clark
County District Attorney Steve
Wo l f s o n a n d a p a n e l o f
administrators decided that
u Page 6
WASHINGTON -- Vice
President Joe Biden gave an
impassioned defense of
comprehensive immigration
r e f o r m - a n d t h e
undocumented immigrants it
would help - during a speech
on Thursday, March 27,
saying it would boost the
economy and improve
foreign relations.
Speaking at a U.S.
Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce event, Biden said
undocumented immigrants
should be given the chance to
become citizens and
contribute to the country.
"These people are just
waiting, waiting for a chance
to be able to contribute fully,"
h e s a i d . "A n d b y t h a t
standard, 11 million
undocumented aliens are
already Americans, in my
view. They just want a decent
life for their kids and a chance
to contribute to a free society,
a chance to put down roots
and help build the next great
American century. I really
believe that. That's what
they're fighting for."
Biden's speech came as
Vice President Joe Biden
House Democrats attempt to
reignite reform efforts that
have been stonewalled in the
lower chamber since the
Senate passed its
comprehensive immigration
bill last year.
On Wednesday, they
launched a longshot
maneuver called a discharge
petition to try and force a vote
on their version of the bill,
though House Republican
leadership has said it won't
get a vote.
The White House was
supportive of that move, and
Biden's speech on Thursday
r e i t e r a t e d
t h e
administration's backing of
the Senate-passed bill upon
which the House Democrats'
legislation is based. Biden
specifically cited its
economic benefits. The
u Page 7
Page 4
European Union lauds signing of
peace pact between Philippine
government, MILF
By Arvin Mendoza
MANILA -- The European
Union (EU) on Thursday,
March 27 lauded the signing
of the long-awaited peace
pact between the Philippine
g ove r n m e n t a n d M o ro
Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF).
“I would like to extend
m y
w a r m e s t
congratulations to the
government of the
Philippines and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front for
the signing of the
Comprehensive Agreement
o n B a n g s a m o r o ,” s a i d
Catherine Ashton, EU High
Representative for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy, in
a statement issued
Thursday.
Ashton said the event is a
historic and welcome
moment for the Filipino
people and it will re-enforce
the willingness of all parties
to take the necessary steps
to implement the
agreement.
European Union foreign
policy chief Catherine Ashton.
AP FILE PHOTO
She added that as a long
supporter of the peace
process in Mindanao, EU will
continue to support the
a g r e e m e n t ' s
implementation.
President Benigno
Aquino III, together with
Malaysian Prime Minister
Najib Razak, witnessed the
signing of the five-page
Comprehensive Agreement
on Bangsamoro, held at
Malacañang grounds on
Thursday afternoon.
MILF chief Al Haj Murad
and Presidential Adviser on
the Peace Process Secretary
Teresita Quintos Deles spoke
about lasting peace in
Mindanao.
The agreement, after 17
years of peace talks, is
expected to end the
relentless armed conflict in
the region. It encompasses
all the negotiated and signed
agreements, including the
framework agreement
signed in 2012 and the four
annexes and addenda that
came after.
It will also be the basis of
the soon-to-be Bangsamoro
r e g i o n' s b a s i c l a w o r
constitution for the Muslim
minority in Mindanao.
The establishment of the
autonomous Bangsamoro
territory will replace the
existing political entity of
Autonomous Region of
Muslim Mindanao.
Inquirer.net
evacuees, no more lost schooldays or
school months, no more injustice, no
more misgovernance, no more poverty,
From page 1
no more fear and no more want.
“Tama na (enough), we are all tired
vying for seats in the Bangsamoro
of it,” she added, her voice cracking.
elections,” he said.
“The Bangsamoro shall form a
perimeter of vigilance against the Agreement for all
“The comprehensive agreement is
spread of extremism; it shall act as a
bridge of moderation among the great not only for the MILFit is for the MNLF
faiths of the various constituencies in as well,” Murad said in a speech during
Asean (Association of Southeast Asian the signing ceremonies, referring to the
Nations). From this shared security, we Moro National Liberation Front, a
shall enhance the era of prosperity that faction of which has rejected the peace
is dawning upon our region, and accord.
He maintained that the agreement,
harness its energies towards creating a
regime of opportunity and inclusivity signed in the presence of President
where no one is left behind. As the Aquino and Malaysian Prime Minister
Bangsamoro matures, it shall serve as Najib Razak whose government acted
the gateway to trade, investment and as facilitator of peace talks between the
cultural exchanges within the Brunei Aquino administration and the MILF,
Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia- was also “for all the Muslim ethnic
Philippines East Asean Growth Area tribes, the Christian settlers and the
and its environs igniting a virtuous indigenous peoples in the prospective
cycle of security, development and Bangsamoro government.”
“I would like to impress upon all of
equitable progress for the peoples of
you that the MILF does not, and will
the entire region,” the President said.
“Today, the Bangsamoro rises with never, claim sole ownership of the
Mindanao, the nation, the region and Comprehensive Agreement on the
Bangsamoro,” Murad said.
the world.”
“To be overly emphatic, it will not
Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita
Deles could not have found better be a government of the MILF, but a
words to describe the significance of government of the Bangsamoro.”
the moment.
MILF chair Murad Ebrahim Bangsamoro aspiration
Murad acknowledged the amount
described the Comprehensive
Agreement on the Bangsamoro as “the of work that still had to be done to
realize the “intents and contents” of the
crowning glory of our struggle.”
But he made it clear that the peace agreement, which he described as “the
deal was a “shared victory of the most fitting solution to the undying
Bangsamoro and the Filipino people,” aspiration of the Bangsamoro.”
“We keep our awareness that the
his group acting only as a “gatekeeper”
during the transition toward the negotiated political settlements such as
eve n t u a l e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e [this agreement] are never by
themselves implement[ed]
Bangsamoro.
Deles was just as optimistic, saying automatically,” he said, citing the need
a “new dawn has come, the dawn for for both the government and the MILF
books, not bullets; for paintbrushes, to “give concrete forms to intents and
not knives; for whole communities, not contents” of the deal.
“But we have not come this far only
evacuation centers; and for rewarding
to be dampened by doubts and worries.
toil, not endless strife.”
In her own speech, she recounted In our midst is the confluence of
the story of child refugees (“bakwits”) favorable situations of abundant
who had to cross a raging river in North goodwill and tangible supports that put
Cotabato while fleeing gunfire near to rest all uncertainties, misgivings and
even fears of what the future has in
their home six years ago.
store for us.”
There was thunderous applause
Women, kids running for safety
They found themselves at the after government chief negotiator
doorstep of one Ibrahim Rahman, a Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, MILF chief
village leader, who gave them negotiator Mohagher Iqbal and
temporary shelter and later lent his 10- Malaysian facilitator Ab Ghafar
hectare property to the children's Mohamed signed the agreement.
Behind them President Aquino,
families, the story went on.
Deles' account drove many of the Najib, Murad and members of the two
guests to tears, among them, a Muslim n e g o t i a t i o n p a n e l s c h e e r f u l l y
applauded.
woman wearing a hijab.
“If our goals as a nation are fulfilled,
“We stand here today to declare
that, henceforth, no family shall be my brothers, Al Haj Murad, Mohagher
forced to drive their children away for Iqbal, and myself can all look forward to
fear of their being maimed and that one day in the not-so-distant
wounded by conflict; and that no child future, when we will all sit back and
has to cross a raging river and knock on enjoy a quiet sunset in Mindanao,” the
a stranger's door to beg for protection,” President said, pausing to applause,
then continued: “perhaps in the
the peace adviser said.
“The signal is so strong and company of friends such as Prime
unrelentingno more war, no more Minister Najib Razak.”
children scampering for safety, no more
u Page 5
Bangsamoro ...
Page 5
Najib: Today belongs to the Philippines
By TJ Burgonio
M A N I L A
- T h e
Comprehensive Agreement on
Bangsamoro holds the promise of
a “ b e t te r f u t u re ,” b u t t h e
government and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) must not
waver in seeing through its
completion, Malaysian Prime
Minister Najib Razak said on
Thursday, March 27.
“After so many years of conflict
and so many lives lost, it is a
momentous act of courage. And it
will change their nation's history
forever,” Najib said during the
signing of the pact in Malacañang.
Malaysia, which has served as
facilitator of the talks for years,
drew praises from President
Aquino.
Najib, who flew in on
Thursday afternoon to witness
the signing, agreed that the
agreement secured the “rights of
the Bangsamoro people” and the
sovereignty of the country. He
expressed hope that both would
work together to make sure it
succeeded.
“Forty years ago, darkness
came to Mindanao. In a struggle
that bridged a generation,
150,000 lives were lost,” he said.
“Today we turn to face the
light. Today belongs to the
Bangsamoro ...
From page 4
“That day, we will look back to the
27th of March 2014, and allow
ourselves a little pride. For now, more
work needs to be done, and I look
forward to building a peaceful,
prosperous and inclusive Bangsamoro
with all of you.”
Leaders of the Senate and the
House of Representatives, diplomats,
Cardinal Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato
province and dignitaries including
Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah,
Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Naci Koru
of Turkey, State Minister Maria
Boehmer of Germany, Director Salem
Ali Othman of Libya, Malaysian Foreign
Minister Anifah Aman and
Administrator Helen Clark of the
United Nations Development Program
as well as MILF members and MNLF
representatives also witnessed the
signing.
Example to the world
“Together, we have set an example
for the entire world,” Aquino said,
referring to the Philippines and
Malaysia.
“This agreement stands as a
testament to how far trust and
earnestness can move humanity
forward. It shows how righteousness,
reason and goodwill are the mightiest
of instruments in ending conflict. It
proves that the search for common
ground is infinitely more productive
than hegemonic ambition,” Aquino
said.
As if to say that history was on the
side of Filipinos for the realization of
t h e h o p e s a n d d re a m s o f t h e
Bangsamoro, the President sent a terse
message to the nay sayers and cynics.
“Are you really that confident that
we will have another singular
opportunity like the one we have
today? Do you really think that the
PALACE GUESTS. The wife of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak signs the Malacañang guest book against the
backdrop of Juan Luna's Blood Compact as Najib, President Aquino and his sister Kris watch. The Comprehensive
Agreement on Bangsamoro holds the promise of a “better future,” Najib said on Thursday. RYAN LIM/MALACAÑANG
PHOTO BUREAU
Philippines and to the people
of Bangsamoro.”
He said that by engaging in the
talks, the MILF repaid the people's
trust in them while the
government affirmed the rights of
the Bangsamoro to determine
their destiny by negotiating in
good faith. Both sides, Najib
stressed, sacrificed so that the
Bangsamoro people may live free
from violence, suffering and fear.
“In the pages of this
agreement, we see the promise of
a better future,” he said. “A future
where classrooms ring with
laughter, not gunshots; where
young men fight poverty, not each
other; [and] where people work
hand in hand to build a new
confluence of factors such that exists
today will happen againwhen the
Filipino people and their government
are committed to redressing a historic
injustice; where the international
community has thrown its full support
behind the achievement of peace; and
when we have already fixed an electoral
system that was designed to subvert
the sovereign will of the people?”
Aquino said.
The President warned dissenters
against “snatching peace away” from
Filipinos, but at the same time,
exhorted Filipinos to trade “bullets for a
ripening fruit.”
Aquino laid down the road map to
the ratification of the Bangsamoro
b a s i c l a w, a n d t h e e v e n t u a l
participation of the Bangsamoro
people in the 2016 elections.
While the Aquino administration
and MILF were leaving the conflict
behind, both sides must “steel”
themselves for the “difficult work of
development” ahead, Najib said.
“Decades of fighting have robbed a
generation of healthcare, of education,
of income. With peace must come not
just prosperity but opportunity. Only
then will Bangsamoro's future be
assured,” he said.
Vigilance
Aquino reckoned that the signing of
the peace deal could “lead to a
permanent change in the status quo” in
Muslim Mindanao, but its success
hinged on “our continuous vigilance.”
Mincing no words, the President
warned dissenters that they would be
dealt with as the government had dealt
with the followers of MNLF founding
chair Nur Misuari that laid siege to
seaside villages in Zamboanga City in
September last year.
“May this also stand as a warning to
those who wish to derail our path to a
final, lasting peace those who wish to
sow divisiveness for self-interest, and
u Page 7
consensus, a new identity - the
Bangsamoro.”
The prime minister, however,
conceded that much work and
setbacks lay ahead, and that was
why both the government and the
Bangsamoro people must not
waver.
“The commitment to peace the commitment I see today - must
not waver. We must be steadfast
and resolute,” he said.
The prime minister said the
commitment to peace was
“binding” and must be honored
and protected.
“All parties must stand by the
spirit and letter of the agreement.
We should work to ensure respect
for religion and live by the
principle of nonviolence. We
should protect human rights,
embrace the rule of law and
practice moderation,” he said.
While they were leaving the
conflict behind, both sides must
“steel” themselves for the
“difficult work of development”
ahead, Najib said.
“Decades of fighting have
robbed a generation of healthcare,
of education, of income. With
peace must come not just
prosperity but opportunity. Only
then will Bangsamoro's future be
assured,” he said.
But as it has done the past
several years, Najib promised
Aquino that Malaysia would help
build institutions, strengthen
education and improve
agriculture, as it remains “a
partner for peace.”
“This promise stands for as
long as it is needed. Malaysia
remains a partner for peace,” he
said. Inquirer.net
Page 6
Cargill to support coconut
farmers in Yolanda-hit areas
Noodle vendor in Tacloban
City impresses UNDP head
By Bong Lozada
By Tarra Quismundo
M A N I L A - - N e a rly f ive
months after Super Typhoon
“ Yo l a n d a” n e a r ly l e ve l l e d
everything in its path, one
international agriculture
company is set to lend a helping
hand to those knocked down to
their feet.
Cargill Philippines is set to
help coconut planters in Eastern
Visayas, the area that “Yolanda”
struck the hardest, get back up to
normalcy and to improve the
region's production of copra.
Deepak Gupta, Business Unit
Leader, Grains and Oilseeds
Supply Chain Asia Cargill
Singapore, said that they are
willing to support local farmers
in producing copra in Eastern
Visayas once the latter expresses
the intention to join the program.
“ C a rg i l l s t a r te d i n t h e
Philippines in the copra business
in 1947,” Gupta said whose new
corporate social responsibility is
only fitting to the company's
origins.
“Farmers need to experience
the economic benefit of growing
copra,” Gupta said. “We also
produce copra in other countries
and we take the best practices
from one country to another.”
Gupta said that local farmers,
who would join the program, are
not required to sell the copra to
TACLOBAN CITY -- For longtime
vendor Roger Mabingnay, life in his
typhoon-ravaged village has
brightened.
“At least now, I have a livelihood
again. From zero, now I'm No. 1,” the
42-year-old father of eight told the
Inquirer, his eyes as wide as his
smile as he tended to his new stall at
Fisherman's Village in Barangay 88,
one of the areas hardest hit by
Super Typhoon Yolanda.
After some four months of
depending on rations, Mabingnay is
back in business, his mami (noodle
soup) stall standing on a prime spot
at the entrance to the village, where
displaced families have been
staying in temporary shelters.
Among recipients of livelihood
assistance from the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP),
Mabingnay kick-started his store on
Monday with a P4,000 capital, plus
a new stall made out of lumber
salvaged from coconut trees felled
by the Nov. 8 typhoon.
“This is the only source of living
for my family. This is a big help…. We
used to have none, and sometimes,
my wife and I would fight,” said
Mabingnay, whose house was
completely washed out and now
stays in a makeshift hut.
A day's work earns him
P300about a third of what his three
Cargill but to the market of their
choice.
Cargill, on its part, could
export quantities of copra to the
United States and Europe with
the farmers themselves
benefitting from the profits of the
raw materials.
According to the company,
“Yolanda” ravaged 441, 517
hectares of land and within the
area were some 33 million
coconut trees, 15 million of which
were utterly destroyed.
Cargill Philippines president
Philip Soliven said that after the
typhoon, the ripple effect
reached the US and Europe.
To start from the ground up,
Cargill would provide farmers
with 600 hectares to produce not
only coconut but also other cash
crops like corn in between the
trees, while waiting for the trees
to produce the fruit, to start the
development.
Soliven added that they
would provide 35,000 seedlings
for the farmers as their start-ups.
“Cargill does not work in
isolation,” Soliven said. “These
are established sources of
i n c o m e f o r t h e f a r m e r s .”
Inquirer.net
US President Barack Obama. AP FILE PHOTO
Obama legalizes ...
From page 1
deductible donations to “Yolanda”
victims until April 15 this year.
The embassy said taxpayers who
donated in this timeframe but have
already filed their taxes can amend their
tax returns to receive these benefits this
Fil-Am ... From page 3
Dahan will not face the death penalty.
The Dahan case is the second of two
horrific murder cases that involved
members of the Filipino-American
community, now the largest Asian
community in Las Vegas.
Late last year, 31-year-old Eleanor
Indico was accused of stabbing to death
her pregnant sister-in-law following a
domestic quarrel.
Indico could face the death penalty
when her trial begins in August.
year.
“The immediate signing by
President Obama of the Philippine
Charitable Giving Assistance Act
underscores the importance of the US
government places on the immediate
recovery of typhoon-devastated areas in
the Philippines,” Philippine ambassador
to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. said in a
statement. Inquirer.net
Dahan, former chef at a resort and
casino on the Strip, walked into a police
station shortly after the slaying and told
detectives he killed his wife because he
could not accept that his wife wanted a
divorce.
He provided a detailed account of
the bloody attack with a serrated chef
knife, a meat cleaver and filet knife,
police said.
Showing no remorse, Dahan told
police that if he were to go back in time,
he'd do all over again what he did to his
wife. Inquirer.net
“rolling stores” used to make before
the storm.
Mabingnay's disposition so
impressed UNDP Administrator
Helen Clark that the official took her
own snapshot of the vendor with
her smartphone.
Clark, former New Zealand
prime minister, visited UNDP
projects here for about two hours
on Wednesday, the second day of a
three-day visit to the Philippines.
“For me to see this recovery is
very, very encouraging…. I am
impressed with what I've seen. I
know how deep the scars in their
hearts are,” said Clark of the
typhoon survivors she encountered
during her visit.
Livelihood training
“I think, given the incredible
severity of what happened, we can
only be amazed at how quickly the
community has recovered so far,”
Clark told reporters in an interview.
While here, the UN official
visited a livelihood training site,
where workers built coco lumber
stalls similar to the Mabingnay's
kiosk.
She also dropped by San Jose
Central Elementary School, a public
school of some 3,800 pupils, where
the UNDP supported debris
clearing and provided learning kits
as well as water and sanitation
facilities.
u Page 7
Page 7
PH set to sign P23.7-B
worth of aircraft deals
Noodle vendor ...
From page 6
“In that school, listening
to t hose hea rt - ren din g
stories of the people there,
but knowing that the school
was back up again operating
i n J a n u a r y, t h a t w a s
impressive. So, I think this is a
tribute to the resilience of the
people by those who have the
determination… to get things
moving again,” Clark said.
Clark also opened a new
hub for UN agencies at a local
government office just across
from City Hall, an integration
of organizations involved in
rebuilding work that seeks to
“consolidate all our efforts on
rehabilitation and
construction,” said Tacloban
City Mayor Alfred
Romualdez.
Biggest concerns
Clark's visit here sought
to highlight the agency's
commitment to stay and keep
working with local
communities throughout the
recovery process, as
embodied in the UNDP's
t h re e - ye a r $ 6 5 - m i l l i o n
program. The plan aims to
support the operations of the
local government, restart
livelihood among the worstaffected and continue cashfor-work activities.
Currently, the agency has
some $15.5 million in funds,
pooled aid from Japan,
Joe Biden:
Undocumented ...
From page 3
Congressional Budget Office
estimated last year that the
bill would reduce the deficit
by $685 billion over the next
20 years.
"The single most
important thing we can do
f o r o u r e c o n o m y, f o r
America's future, is to pass
immigration reform now,"
Biden said.
“It's the single most
important thing we can do.
I've heard for too damn long
about how this was going to
bankrupt us, that Social
Bangsamoro ...
From page 5
Those who continue to
wield arms to pursue their
own agendas: So many people
have suffered for so long; so
many of our stakeholders
have worked so hard to arrive
at this point. I will not let
peace be snatched from my
p e o p l e a ga i n ,” h e s a i d ,
drawing applause.
“Not now, when we have
already undertaken the most
difficult and most significant
steps to achieve it. Those who
want to test the resolve of the
state will be met with a firm
response based on
righteousness and justice as
we demonstrated in
Zamboanga City,” he added.
By Frances Mangosing
VIP IN LEYTE. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who
now heads UNDP, inspects stalls made with lumber salvaged from
coconut trees felled by Supertyphoon “Yolanda.” Tarra Quismundo
Ecuador, Russia, the UN
Central Emergency Response
Fund plus its own. It requires
some $49.5 million more.
Lesley Wright,
communication and
information specialist of
UNDP's Typhoon Yolanda
response Team in Tacloban,
s a i d t h e re s to ra t i o n o f
livelihood and providing
shelter remained the biggest
concerns in the disaster zone.
She cited the “unified
approach” of organizations,
local officials and the national
government in helping the
transition from relief to early
recovery, saying “the thrust
forward has been quite
positive.”
“You can pick apart certain
things. You can be critical of
certain things of course… I just
know on the ground here, the
response has been
phenomenal and the
movement to the next phase
has been great,” said Wright.
She was referring to
recovery efforts in Haiti after
the 2010 earthquake and in
Banda Aceh, Indonesia,
following the Indian Ocean
quake and tsunami of 2004.
“(I)t's a testament to how
the Philippine government and
the Philippine community has
been able to really bounce
back, whether we're (UNDP)
here or not.
I really felt that there's a
strong sense of bounce-back
and resilience that isn't in a lot
of places I've been to,” she said.
Inquirer.net
Security was going to take a
nose dive and so on. ... Well
guess what, it's a game
changer financially for the
country."
Biden urged House
Speaker John Boehner to let
members vote on an
immigration bill, a plea
House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and
Rep. Xavier Becerra (DCalif.) made as well, earlier in
the event.
They noted that reform
must be passed this year in
order to be combined with
the Senate bill during the
current Congress, making
the issue more urgent than
ever.
"It is more important to
pass comprehensive
immigration reform, to me
and to my caucus, than to win
the election in November,"
Pelosi said.
She said she wants to
work with Republicans, but
laid down one line: she said
she would not accept a bill
that bans undocumented
i m m i g ra n t s f ro m e ve r
attaining citizenship.
"I want this bill
desperately, I'm willing to
make almost every
compromise possible," she
said. "But we cannot
compromise on a path to
citizenship." Huffington Post
Aquino flew to Zamboanga
City to oversee the military
operations to flush out
Misuari's followers. The siege
left nearly 200 people dead,
and forced close to 120,000
people to flee their homes.
Even with the peace deal
signed, the President said
there were individuals who
would champion the status
quo to keep themselves in
power and wealth.
“Maintaining fear and
insecurity allows them to prey
on the entrepreneur whose
success is rewarded by
kidnapping; the farmer who
improved the rough land only
to have it grabbed; the student
whose very promising future
is cut short by a bomb; the
pensioner who, seeking
security, falls prey to the
unscrupulous pyramid
scammer; or those mired in
desperate times and
desperate situations who fall
victim to false prophets from
either side,” he said.
Basic law
With the signing over, the
President said the
B a n g s a m o r o Tr a n s i t i o n
Commission was now drafting
a Bangsamoro basic law that
“is equitable, practical and
empowering” and served the
country's interest.
“It is a law that will have to
pass muster as a President
pledged to do justice to all,
before it is submitted to
C o n g r e s s ,” h e s a i d .
Inquirer.net
MANILA -- The Philippines will sign
P23.7-billion worth of aircraft deals
amid the military's efforts to attain a
minimum credible defense.
The deals to be signed include the
12 lead-in trainer jets from South Korea
(P18.9B) and eight combat utility
helicopters (P4.9B) from Canada. The
signing will be held on March 28 at the
Department of National Defense
Headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo.
“Well, we tasked the protocol of the
Office of Secretary of National Defense
or the Department of National Defense
to coordinate with the contracting party
for those that will be invited in the
signing,” Defense Undersecretary
Fernando Manalo told reporters Friday.
“Definitely mandatory will be the
[Defense] Secretary because he will be
the approving authority for the
contract, the chief of staff, the major
service commanders and probably the
commanding general of the Air Force,
and the president of KAI (Korean
Airspace Industries), the president of
Kotra (Korea Trade-Investment
Promotion Agency) and probably the
ambassador of South Korea to the
Philippines,” he added.
Kotra is the agency of the Republic
of South Korea in charge of the
commercial transaction in behalf of the
government.
The signing will also be held amid a
heightened territorial conflict with
China over the resource-rich West
Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
The acquisition of fighter jets is one
of the two big-ticket items in the P85billion AFP Modernization Program.
The other is the purchase of two brand
new frigates worth P18 billion.
The combat utility helicopters,
meanwhile, were acquired through the
Canadian Commercial Corporation, the
designated agency in behalf of the
Canadian government.
“Three of these eight helicopters
will be configured as a VIP helicopter
and the delivery we are able to
negotiate that if the contract will be
signed within the month of March, first
quarter of 2014, then they'll be able to
deliver at least three of the helicopters
in September in time for the hosting of
the Philippines of the APEC,” Manalo
said.
The Philippines will host the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit
in November 2015. The jets,
meanwhile, will be delivered 18 months
after the contract signing. The delivery
is expected to be completed in 2017.
The Philippine military is one of the
weakest in Asia, and retired the last of
its US-designed F-5 fighters in 2005.
“This is significant because we need
it to give our armed forces the minimum
capability to show that we are
competent to do our responsibilities in
the military,” Manalo said. Inquirer.net
Page 8
Olongapo, Virginia Beach engage
in student exchange program
By Nestor Corrales
MANILA, March 26 -Olongapo City and Virginia
Beach City in the United
States have embarked on an
educational exchange
p ro g ra m to g ive t h e i r
students invaluable crosscultural experience while
pursuing their studies.
N i n e s t u d e n t s f ro m
public schools in Zambales
are in Virginia Beach City as
part of an educational
exchange program with
Olongapo City.
The students from the
Re g i o n a l S c i e n c e H i gh
School and Olongapo City
National High School in
Zambales arrived in the US
last week.
The students who
attended classes at Tallwood
High School described their
experience as “once in a
lifetime and rewarding.”
The students said they
discussed Philippine history,
culture, song, and dance to
their American classmates.
Philippine Ambassador
to the US Jose Cuisia who
Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. congratulates the students from
Olongapo who are participating in the first ever exchange
program between Olongapo City and Virginia Beach. Philippine
Embassy Photo by Majalya Fernando
initiated the exchange
program said in a statement,
“I wish to congratulate you,
your parents, your school,
and Olongapo City for this
milestone in your academic
life. I hope youth exchanges
like these help build
friendships between
students, families, schools,
and cities as well as renew
and reinvigorate our
bilateral ties with the United
States.”
The students had the
chance to visit the White
House where they were
received by Filipino
Executive Chef Cristeta
Comerford.
In June, a delegation of 10
students from Tallwood
High School will be going to
Olongapo City for their
educational exchange
studies in the Philippines.
Inquirer.net
FBI links Sen.
Yee ...
From page 1
Yee's associate, 60-year-old Daly
City resident Wilson Sy Lim, had
access to Israeli assault weapons,
which could be purchased
through a captain in the
Philippine military.
Lim's contact had allegedly
also been the source of firearms
supplied to Muslim rebels in the
Philippines.
“Lim's associates in the
Philippines were trying to
overthrow the current
government and needed money,”
the complaint said.
“Senator Yee advised (that)
the Philippines was a very corrupt
country” and that the buyer of
firearms “needed to be prepared
to pay people at every level during
the life cycle of the deal,” it said.
Yee talked about a trip he took
to the Philippines where he had
“armed guards with machine
guns,” according to the complaint.
Yee also told the undercover
agent that “the Philippine
government was secretly funding
some of the Muslim rebel groups
in an effort to create a distraction
so the people would not focus on
all the corruption within the
Philippine government.”
The agent told Yee he wanted
up to $2.5 million worth of
weapons for shipment to Newark,
New Jersey, in transit to North
Africa or Sicily, the complaint said.
The undercover agent had
made a $5,000 contribution to
Yee's campaign for secretary of
state in exchange for access to the
firearms dealer, according to the
complaint.
Yee, Lim and the other
defendants are facing conspiracy
charges for their alleged roles in
the gun-trafficking scheme.
Yee was arrested on Thursday
in a series of raids in the Bay Area
and Sacramento targeting an
alleged corruption conspiracy
involving arms trafficking and
campaign fraud to fund his
candidacy for secretary of state.
He was released on $500,000
bail on the same day. His lawyer
said the senator plans to plead not
guilty to corruption and gun
charges.
Also arrested in the raid was
54-year-old Raymond “Shrimp
Boy” Chow, a former Chinatown
gangster who now heads the Chee
Kung Tong masonic organization
in San Francisco.
The charges against Yee
include conspiracy to deal
firearms without a license,
conspiracy to illegally transport
firearms, six counts of a scheme to
defraud citizens on his services,
and wire fraud. Inquirer.net
Page 9
Fordham honors
Cardinal Tagle ...
From page 1
will confer a Doctorate of Humane
Letters, honoris causa, upon the
cardinal at an invitation-only
ceremony on Fordham's Rose Hill
campus in the Bronx. Cardinal
Tagle, who is a member of the
Vatican's Pontifical Council on the
Pastoral Care for Migrants and
Itinerant People, will address the
a udience on t he plight of
immigrants and refugees. It is
estimated that more than 10
million Filipinos have left their
homes in search of jobs overseas.
On March 29, Cardinal Tagle
will be the main celebrant and
homilist at a private Mass in the
University Church. During Mass
the Cardinal will bless a memorial
to John F. Hurley, S.J., a 1914
Fordham alumnus who was
among the first American Jesuits
to serve in the Philippines in 1921.
On behalf of President Harry
Truman, General MacArthur
awarded Father Hurley the Medal
of Freedom in 1946 for his many
heroic acts during the war time
occupation of the Philippines.
“Fordham's ties to the people
of the Philippines are deep and
longstanding,” said Joseph M.
McShane, S.J., president of the
University. “Likewise, the Society
of Jesus has a distinguished
history in the Philippines.
Therefore, it is with delight
compounded that we celebrate
today our ties to, and history with,
the people of the Philippines.
When Cardinal Tagle accepts his
honorary degree, he may be
assured that the honor is ours.”
Fordham has close ties with
the people of the Philippines and
with its sister Jesuit institution,
Fil-Am Marine ...
From page 1
The employee called police.
Yohn left in his car at a high
speed. A police officer who saw
the suspect tried to stop him. The
suspect reportedly ran a red light
and crashed into Silva, who was
thrown several feet in the air.
Silva died at the scene.
Yohn crashed his car into a
the Ateneo de Manila University,
which counts Dr. José Rizal, the
Philippine national hero, and
Cardinal Tagle among its alumni.
Cardinal Tagle is the 32nd
archbishop of Manila, and when
Pope Benedict XVI named him a
cardinal in October 2012, he
became the second-youngest
cardinal in the world. Born in
Manila in 1957, he was raised in a
devoutly Catholic environment.
Pope John Paul II appointed him to
the Vatican's International
Theological Commission, where
he served from 1997 until 2002.
Currently he serves on the
Permanent Council of the Synod of
Bishops and the Congregation for
Catholic Education. Pope Francis
recently appointed him to the
Pontifical Council for the Family
and the Pontifical Council for the
Pastoral Care of Migrants and
Itinerant People.
On Sunday, March 30, Cardinal
Tagle will also concelebrate the
10:15 am Mass with Cardinal
Timothy Dolan at St. Patrick's
Cathedral. This Mass is open to the
public.
Founded in 1841, Fordham is
the Jesuit University of New York,
offering exceptional education
distinguished by the Jesuit
tradition to more than 15,100
students in its four undergraduate
colleges and its six graduate and
professional schools. It has
residential campuses in the Bronx
and Manhattan, a campus in West
Harrison, N.Y., the Louis Calder
Center Biological Field Station in
Armonk, N.Y., and the London
Centre at Heythrop College,
University of London, in the
United Kingdom.
Bob Howe is the Senior Director of
Co mmu n ication s at Fo rd h am
University
utility pole and tried to flee. Police
caught him and took him into
custody.
He is charged with gross
vehicular manslaughter while
intoxicated and hit-and-run
causing death or injury. His bail
was set at $150,000. Yohn is to
appear March 27 at the Fremont
Hall of Justice pending a review of
the case by Alameda County
prosecutors. Inquirer.net
Resource speakers for the Talakayan sa Konsulado discuss domestic violence (left to right) Lt. Randy Caturay of the
San Francisco Police Department, Raymond Tang, District Attorney Investigator, Glen Sylvester, Filipino American
Law Enforcement Officers, and Robert Yabes, Program Director at the Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
San Francisco cops, immigration
experts talk to Filipinos about
domestic violence
SAN FRANCISCO -- “One out
of four people is or will become
a victim of domestic violence,”
Lt. Randy Caturay, member of
the San Francisco Police Force
and the Alliance for Community
Empowerment, recently told
the audience at the Philippine
Consulate in San Francisco.
As part of International
Women's Month activities,
several organizations joined
forces to tackle the issue of
domestic violence at Talakayan
sa Konsulado: the Philippine
Consulate in San Francisco,
Philippine American Press Club,
Filipino-American Law
Enforcement Officers (FALEO),
Alliance for Community
Empowerment (ALLICE), and
the Catholic Charities of Santa
Clara County.
Lt. Caturay stressed that
domestic violence is considered
a crime in the United States, and
that the police will file criminal
charges once it has been
established that one partner has
committed violence against
another.
“The first step is calling 911,”
District Attorney Investigator
Raymond Tang reminded the
audience. “Calling 911 is the
number one deterrent to the
cycle of domestic violence.”
Both officers emphasized that
charges could be filed against an
offender regardless of the
victim's civil or immigration
status in the United States.
Robert Yabes, program
director and Roela Vasquez,
immigration counselor at the
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara
County, supplemented the talk
with information on
immigration solutions for
victims of domestic violence.
“A U-visa may be issued for
[undocumented] persons who
have become victims of a crime,”
Yabes said. On the other hand,
victims who are permanent
residents or are married to US
citizens are covered under the
VAWA (Violence Against Women
Act).
Both courses of action
provide immigration relief to
immigrants and undocumented
or out of status individuals who
have become victims of
domestic violence by providing
them with options that would
facilitate their applications for
legal status in the US.
The speakers welcomed
questions from the audience
following their talk, including
one from a woman whose niece
was in an abusive relationship.
Acting Head of Post, Deputy
[email protected]
Consul General Jaime Ascalon,
informed the audience that they
would be available for a short
time afterward for private
consultations.
“Our view on the matter has
always been that domestic
violence is not just a women's
issue it's an issue that deeply
affects our entire community,”
Ascalon said. “We are aware
that domestic violence is one of
the problems that stem from
unequal treatment of women,
particularly in the home.”
Ascalon said there are ways
to get out of abusive
relationships regardless of
one's immigration status, civil
status or gender. “In that
context, we deeply appreciate
our community partners
FALEO, ALLICE and the Catholic
Charities of Santa Clara County
for coming out here and sharing
valuable information with our
community,” Ascalon added.
Talakayan sa Konsulado is a
monthly forum held at the
Philippine Consulate General in
San Francisco and organized in
partnership with the Philippine
American Press Club (PAPC) to
discuss issues relevant to the
Filipino community in the Bay
Area. Inquirer.net
Page 10
Promises
If there's one thing that the Aquino administration can be
proud of, it's the remarkable economic growth of 7.2 percent and
6.8 percent in 2012 and 2013, respectively. But if there's one
thing that should keep it from bragging, it's the fact that this
prosperity has yet to be felt by those who need it most.
The inroads in terms of economic development cannot be
denied. The Philippines got three investment-grade ratings in
2013 because of the government's success in keeping its fiscal
house in order. Then there was the passage of higher taxes on
alcohol and tobacco products, despite stiff lobbying. Another
major accomplishment was in improving the ease of doing
business in the country by cutting not only red tape but also the
time needed for entrepreneurs to set up their businesses. The
Philippines was the “most improved” last year in the World
Bank's annual “Ease of Doing Business” report, jumping 30 slots
to 103rd place.
Still, much needs to be done. Unemployment remained high
at 7.5 percent as of January - just marginally better than the 8
percent at the end of the previous administration. President
Aquino's flagship public-private partnership infrastructure
program launched in 2010 is another disappointment. Only one
project - a 4-kilometer, P2-billion toll road - has been successfully
bid out (aside from the classroom projects that Congress is
threatening to investigate). Bigger ones such as the P17.5-billion
redevelopment of the Mactan Cebu International Airport and the
P60-billion Light Rail Transit line 1 extension are mired in legal
and technical issues.
The President's vaunted influence on Congress did not seem
to work as far as key economic measures were concerned. In
2010, he announced in his first State of the Nation Address
(Sona) a package of economic reforms, including the
rationalization of fiscal incentives, amendments to the BuildOperate-Transfer Law, and passage of legislation on antitrust
and national land use. Today, the bills rationalizing fiscal
incentives and on land use remain pending in Congress.
Proposed amendments to the BOT Law are also pending, and
several versions of the antitrust bill, aimed at restraining
monopolies, are still languishing.
In his 2011 Sona, the President touched on the energy sector,
boasting that the construction of a new power plant for the Luzon
grid could lead to lower power rates by 2014. This did not
happen. In fact, Manila Electric Co. sought controversial rate
hikes for December 2013 and January 2014. The furor generated
by this move led to investigations and the eventual
recomputation of the rate increases.
In 2012, infrastructure was part of the President's Sona: new
airports in Bohol, Legazpi and Laguindinganall to be completed
by the end of his term. He also promised the repair of structural
defects of Naia Terminal 3 by 2013, as well as the completion of
the LRT Line 1 Cavite extension project and two new NLEx-SLEx
connector roads by 2015. While the upgraded airport in
Laguindingan opened in 2013, the completion of new airports in
Legazpi and Bohol is not expected until 2017. Naia 3's original
contractor, Japan's Takenaka, started work to remedy the
structural defects in the facility only last year; work on San
Miguel's portion of the connector road began just this year; and
Metro Pacific Investments Corp. has yet to start work on its own
connector road.
Filing Pointers for FY
2015 H-1B Cap Petitions
The number of H-1B cap filings
for fiscal year 2015 during the first
five business days of the filing
season (April 1-7) is expected to
exceed the annual quota of 65,000
for foreign workers in specialty
occupations and the 20,000
allotted for graduates with
advanced degrees from the U.S.
If the USCIS receives H-1B
petitions that exceed the numerical
cap, the USCIS will conduct a
lottery which would randomly
select the number of petitions
required to reach the cap. It must
be noted that petitions postmarked
on the fifth day may not be included
in the lottery. Only those properly
filed petitions with the correct fee
that are received by the USCIS by
April 7 will be considered. Thus, it
is best to file the H-1B petition on
April 1.
Columnists: Reuben S. Seguritan, Esq.,
Juan L. Mercado, Joseph G. Lariosa
Correspondent: Grace G. Baldisseri
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do
not reflect the opinion of the paper nor that of the publisher.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 201-434-1114 Fax 201-434-0880
2711 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ 07306
know more quickly whether or not
it was included in the lottery.
Premium processing will not start
until April 28.
Aside from early filing, the H1B petition should be carefully
reviewed to avoid rejection.
Mistakes made on H-1B petitions
may result in the rejection of the
petition in the USCIS mailroom.
Also, in preparing the H-1B
petition, employers are reminded
to indicate their true intention
regarding the work site of the H-1B
worker. If the H-1B worker will not
work at their headquarters but in a
client worksite, they must indicate
it in the petition. The Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) has
filed criminal cases against
employers who indicated their
headquarters as the work site in
the petition even though the true
intention was to put the H-1B
worker in another worksite.
An employer who intends to
u Page 12
3-strand rope?
u Page 12
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief: Lito A. Gajilan, Jr.
Petitions not selected during
the lottery will be rejected along
with those filed after April 7. The
petition and fee shall be returned.
Multiple filings by an employer
for one H-1B worker will result in
the denial of all petitions. USCIS
will not refund filing fees in this
case. Related employers such as
parent and subsidiary companies,
however, are not precluded from
filing petitions on behalf of the
same H-1B worker so long as it is
for different positions and based
on legitimate needs of the
employers.
If the H-1B petition is
accompanied by a request for
premium processing, it will not
increase the chances of obtaining
a n H - 1 B n u m b e r. H oweve r,
applications filed under premium
processing will be issued receipts
faster than those filed under
regular processing. If the USCIS
conducts a lottery, the petition filed
under premium processing will
“A rope of three strands takes
some breaking,” a Malay proverb
says. Tali lega lembar tak suangsunang putus. Does that fit a onceunthinkable interfaith gathering,
last week, in Kuala Lumpur, after
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
(MH370) disappeared?
The imam cupped his palms to
invoke Allah for the 239
passengers and crew. “The prayer
was not unusual,” wrote Associated
Press' Eileen Ng. But “the setting
was”a Damansara Perdana
shopping mall. Last Tuesday's rites
“would have been inconceivable,”
before March 8 in a country of 29
million people “where religious
bigotry (was) often openly
displayed.” Ethnic Malays form
two-thirds of Malaysia's
population; Chinese and Indians,
2 2 p e rc e n t a n d 7 p e rc e n t ,
respectively; and Christians, about
9 percent.
“Today is a rare occasion for us
to bring unity and harmony,”
prayed a Buddhist monk. “We are
all in tears waiting for you,” said
Shantha Venugopal, the Hindu
representative. The Taoist priest
beseeched for divine intervention,
while the Sikh leader pleaded for
closure. A Catholic read from the
bible.
Yet, in January this year,
authorities confiscated 300 bibles
in Selangor State. In late 2009, it
impounded 15,100 bibles
imported from Indonesia. “Two
Bible Society officials were
investigated for breaking a state
law that bans non-Muslims from
using the word Allah,” BBC
reported. At the storm's vortex is
Catholic weekly Herald editor
Lawrence Andrew, a Jesuit priest.
He said Christians in Malaysia and
other parts of the world used
“Allah” long before the country's
formation in 1965. Lawrence is not
the only one shellacked.
Conservative Catholics flayed the
then new Pope Francis for Holy
Thursday's 2013 rites. There, he
washed the feet of 12 prisoners
including two Muslim women.
As in any other country, there is
the political angle. Kuala Lumpur's
Prime Minister Najib Razak won a
hair-thin majority last time
around, parliamentarian Yusof
Rawa wrote. The parties play the
“radical and religious card” to woo
votes.
Did MH370 defuse this
controversy? “In the shared
sadness of loss, the tragedy has
u Page 12
Page 11
Making
life worth
living
Ellen Tordesillas
H o p e f u l l y, t h i s l a t e s t
controversy involving
broadcasters in a government
corruption case would result in
reforms in the media industry.
A Philippine Daily Inquirer
report said three broadcast
journalists received payments
from National Agribusiness Corp.
(Nabcor), an agency under the
Department of Agriculture that
was used as conduit for the release
of Development Assistance Fund
(PDAF) money that went into ghost
projects.
The anomalous operations
were the handiwork of Janet
Napoles in connivance with
lawmakers including Senators Juan
Ponce-Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and
Is it ethical for a journalist to also solicit ads?
Bong Revilla.
Based on the affidavits of
former Nabcor officials Rhodora
Mendoza and Victor Cacal, Inquirer
named Erwin Tulfo of TV5 and
Carmelo del Prado Magdurulang of
GMA7. A third broadcaster who
allegedly got P2 million was not
named in the report although the
name is being mentioned in the
media circle.
The Inquirer report said Erwin
was issued a Nabcor check in the
amount of P245,535 drawn from
the agency's account at United
Coconut Planters' Bank (UCPB),
Tektite Branch PSE Center, Ortigas,
Pasig City on March 10, 2009.
In the case of Magdurulang
known as Melo del Prado, who
hosts a radio show in GMA7's
DZBB, three checks were issued
dated April 27, May 14, and July 6
totaling P245,535.
GMA-DZBB Radio Operations
Group consultant Mike Enriquez
Erwin Tulfo
Melo del Prado
said they will conduct a thorough
investigation into the news report.
“Due process will be observed and
we will ensure that full sanctions
will be applied if determined to be
necessary.”
I talked with Erwin yesterday
and he explained that in 2009,
Radio Mindanao Network offered
him the job of hosting a radio show
with Doris Bigornia (now back in
ABS-CBN) for a talent fee of
P25,000 a month, which he found
measly.
He and RMN-DZXL agreed that
he be given advertising spots in the
program which he could market.
The proceeds from those spots
would be his. He said it's an
“industry practice” and the spots
are called “premium
advertisements.”
He said it's a legitimate practice
and the kapisanan ng Brodkaster
ng Pilipinas knows about it. The
Nabcor ads in his DZXL program, he
said, were “supported by a
contract, a CD of the commercial,
withholding tax documents,
receipts and vouchers…just like
any other government ads such as
PAG-I BIG,PAGCOR etc.”
Erwin insists it's legal and he is
determined to clear his name. He
said he will go to court. (Tulfo filed
a suit vs PDI Monday March 24,
2014)
I will leave the legal aspect of
this controversy to the lawyers
because Justice Secretary Leila de
Lima said “It concerns public funds,
and may kasama kang public
officials, then you are part of it, you
can be charged with such offenses
as direct bribery and malversation
of public funds.”
u Page 12
What did Estrada and Arroyo promise China?
China escalated its already
heightened maritime conflict with
the Philippines on March 9 by
blocking two Philippine vessels
from delivering fresh supplies and
troops to its marine outpost in the
sunken ship Sierra Madre beside
the Ayungin Shoal. Two days later,
when the Philippines summoned
China's Charge d'Affairs in Manila
to protest China's provocation,
Beijing immediately countered
that it was the Philippine ships that
“infringed China's territorial
sovereignty.”
A week later, on March 17,
C h i n a' s Fo re i g n M i n i s t r y
spokesman Hong Lei revealed in a
press conference in Beijing that
two previous Philippine
presidents had made an
“unequivocal commitment to
China” that the Philippines would
tow away the Sierra Madre from
t h e Ay u n g i n S h o a l . C h i n a
demanded that Pres. Aquino “heed
the promises” made by his
predecessors otherwise, Hong Lei
warned, the Philippines risks
losing its “credibility.”
According to Hong Lei, the
promises were made in 1999 by
Pres. Joseph ”Erap” Estrada and
reiterated in 2003 by Pres. Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA). Estrada
and Arroyo have yet to respond to
this new Chinese allegation. Did
they make such commitments to
China? If so, why and what did they
hope to get in return?
Many observers doubt this
new Chinese claim because the
Ayungin Shoal did not attain any
strategic value to China until after
GMA entered into a Joint Marine
Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) with
China in 2005-2008 allowing
China the authority to explore the
waters within the 200 mile
Exclusive Economic Zone
boundaries of the Philippines
around Palawan.
China's exploration led to its
discovery of the presence of large
Opinion
By Rodel Rodis
deposits of oil and natural gas in
the area around the Recto Bank
which is just 85 nautical miles
from Palawan. The Ayungin Shoal
is considered the “gateway” to the
Recto Bank and China did not
express any interest in occupying
it until after the JMSU was entered
into.
According to a Newsbreak
report in 2008 (“Arroyo Gov't
Pleasing China since Day 1”), GMA
“clinched the most number of
bilateral agreements with China in
the two countries' 30-year
relationship.” GMA signed 65
bilateral agreements with China,
far surpassing the eight
agreements signed by former
President Ferdinand Marcos.
Could one of these agreements
have included a promise to tow
away the Sierra Madre off Ayungin
Shoal and turn over all the Spratly
Islands to China?
In a special “Correspondents”
documentary, Ricky Carangdang
claimed that GMA sold the Spratlys
t o
C h i n a .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Gd8MEsT5zfE.
Almost on the same day that
China's spokesman disclosed the
Philippine presidential
commitments to China, GMA's
former press secretary and
spokesman, Rigoberto Tiglao, Jr.,
launched yet another scathing
attack on Pres. Aquino in his
column in the Manila Times.
In a previous column, Tiglao
h a d b e ra te d Aq u i n o a s a n
“ignoramus” for comparing
China's moves to annex the islands
and reefs in the West Philippine
Sea to Hitler's annexation of the
Sudetenland in 1938.
In his latest column in the
Manila Times (March 16, 2014),
Tiglao attacked Pres. Aquino for
his “ridiculous, belligerent stand in
our dispute with China,
represented by his juvenile slogan
What's ours is ours.”
In his column, “A more
'nuanced' approach to our China
dispute,” Tiglao wrote: “In his
clumsy effort to rouse our
'patriotism' against China, Aquino
even declared two years ago,
obviously confusing a shoal barely
above the sea in an uninhabited
a r e a c o n t e s t e d b y s e ve r a l
countries with a heavily populated
street in the Republic's capital:
“We will defend Recto Bank as if it
were Recto Avenue.”
Nowhere does Tiglao
acknowledge that underneath that
u Page 12
autonomous Mindanao, according
to most foreign affairs observers,
has to do with the Asian “pivot”
policy. The renewed American
presence in the region would
require having in place a more
pliable Bangsamoro government
that does not have the noisy,
contentious institutions of Manila
which are only too willing to
protest American basing and other
expansionist plans.
As for Malaysia, a more
independent Bangsamoro that
owes its establishment to Kuala
Lumpur would certainly help in
quieting down that pesky claim of
the Sultanate of Sulu to the
territory of Sabah. And Aquino, as
K i t Ta t a d a n d o t h e r s h ave
observed, seems only too willing to
let go of the Sabah claim, instead of
fighting for the sultanate's longheld right to the territory.
***
Personally, I support real and
expanded autonomy for the Moros,
if only because it will lead to the
rise of federalism in the
P h i l i p p i n e s . I f B a n g s a m o ro
becomes the template for more
regional autonomy and
independence from the central
government in Imperial Manila,
then I'm all for it.
I've long believed that, for
development and progress to reach
the provinces, each region should
become more independent financially, especially - from the
national government. The more
funds remain in the regions, the
better off they would be, I'm
certain.
But I fear that Bangsamoro,
because it is hobbled by the same
problems of MoA-AD that created
the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity,
A R M M a n d t h e M a rc o s - e ra
Au to n o m o u s Re g i o n i n t h e
Southern Philippines, isn't going to
u Page 14
Not the solution
To hear him talk, some people
can be forgiven if they think that
President Noynoy Aquino has
single-handedly found the
permanent solution to centuries of
Muslim rebellion in Mindanao. But
to those who have actually given
some thought to the problem,
Aquino's stab at the role of
peacemaker is clearly unoriginal,
probably fatally flawed and most
likely doomed from the very
beginning.
Today, in the presence of the
Malaysian prime minister, the
Philippine government and the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front will
sign the comprehensive agreement
creating Bangsamoro, the latest
incarnation of the decades-old
proposal to put up an autonomous
Muslim state-within-a-state in
Mindanao. Of course, the granting
of the expanded powers of self-rule
to Muslims in the south will still
require the passage of an enabling
law from Congress and the
hurdling of legal and constitutional
challenges in the Supreme Court.
Congress is easy; Senate
President Franklin Drilon has
already promised the speedy
approval of an enabling
Bangsamoro law, as if he owned the
place - which to a certain, palacelarded extent, he does. The
Supreme Court is not so easy to
read, since only a few years ago, the
tribunal shot down the
Memorandum of Agreement on
Ancestral Domain (or MoA-AD)
that the Arroyo administration
pushed to replace the Cory-era
Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao with a Bangsamoro
Juridical Entity.
The new Bangsamoro
agreement, analysts say, is a virtual
clone of MoA-AD, which the high
court declared unconstitutional.
And it is certain that the same
people and groups that opposed
the Arroyo-MILF agreement,
knowing that the new agreement
pact is plagued with the same legal
infirmities, will lodge similar
complaints in the coming days.
However, the government of
President Noynoy Aquino does not
only have its own powerful
resources to ensure the approval of
Bangsamoro, in Congress, the
Supreme Court or elsewhere. Apart
from the backing of Malaysia,
which has long acted as an “honest
broker” in the peace negotiations
between Manila and MILF, Aquino
also has the unqualified support of
Washington - which is pushing
Bangsamoro autonomy for reasons
of its own, not necessarily related
to the internal peace and order
situation in strife-torn Mindanao.
The US' renewed interest in an
Page 12
What did
Estrada ...
From page 11
“shoal barely above the sea in an
uninhabited area” lies what the US
Energy Information Agency (EIA)
estimates to contain approximately
126 billion barrels of oil worth
trillions of dollars along with 25.5
trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Furthermore, contrary to what
Tiglao wrote, that shoal is not
“contested by several countries”; it
is only contested by China which
seeks ownership over the entire 1.4
million square nautical miles of the
South China Sea
and the
Philippines.
What Tiglao is conflating is the
dispute over the entire chain of the
Spratly Islands consisting of more
3-strand ...
From page 10
revealed and reinforced a strong
sense of community,” wrote Bridget
Welsh, a political scientist from
Singapore Management University.
“If anything, this is a silver lining of
the tragedy.”
“For Malaysians the sight of nonMuslims bowing respectfully as
Imam Hilman Nordin said prayers
was an incredible step toward unity.”
There have been interfaith prayers
before. A Muslim representative
always failed to show upuntil now.
This is a waft of fresh air in what
New York Times Thomas Fuller
claims is “an ethnically polarized
society.” Talent often does not rise to
the top of government because of
patronage politics within the ruling
party dominated until now by the
United National Malays Organization.
A system of ethnic preferences
blocks minorities, mainly ethnic
Chinese and Indians, from
government service. Ethnic Malays
corner nearly all top government
positions and receive a host of
government preferences.
Authoritarian laws help keep an
ascendant opposition in check, as
opposition's Anwar Ibrahim found in
recycled sodomy charges. “The
government is accustomed to getting
its way. When you are not challenged
in any meaningful way, you get
than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and
islands in the South China Sea. But
the Philippines only claims 12 of
those islands and reefs and doesn't
dispute Vietnam's claim to those
Spratly Islands within its 200 mile
EEZ and neither does Vietnam claim
ownership to those within the EEZ of
the Philippines. Only China disputes
the EEZ boundaries of its Asean
neighbors.
Tiglao includes in his column the
position paper of the Center for
People Empowerment in
Governance (CenPeg), which,
according to Tiglao, “explains lucidly
the flaws in our government's
approach to our dispute with China.”
The CenPeg position paper
essentially justifies “Chinese
aggressiveness in asserting its
claims over the disputed islands”
because it “has been provoked by
what it sees as an American
containment policy towards the rise
of China as a major power in the
region.”
According to CenPeg, China's
“aggressiveness” will only be
enhanced if the Philippines
continues its “military alliance with
the US such as the expansion of the
so-called rotational presence of
American troops and their
increasingly uninhibited access to
Philippine military facilities and
resources.”
To appease China, the paper
argues that the Philippines should
abort its military alliance with the US.
Tiglao would undoubtedly charge
that only an “ignoramus” would
compare this move to Neville
Chamberlain's appeasement policy
towards Hitler just before WWII.
While the CenPeg paper does not
fault the government for its moves to
modernize its military capabilities, it
“decries (it)… if doing so is the most
effective response to the current
crisis.”
This is a straw man argument as
no one is claiming that modernizing
our military capabilities is “the
most” effective response to the
current crisis with China.
There are other effective
responses that must also be
undertaken. In his article, Rally to
the Flag, written on July 28, 2012,
Rafael Alunan III (former Ramos
DILG Secretary) described the steps
that must be undertaken to respond
to the current crisis with China:
“Our preparedness has to be
total as well: we need to “harden”
our economic defenses by, for
example, actively expanding our
markets and trade partners; ensure
our food and energy security; and
industrialize to generate jobs that
may be lost abroad. We need to forge
unity by settling the civil wars that
divide us; that means removing the
root causes of our discontents to
prevent its exploitation and our
division. And we need to build a
credible defense shield over the next
10 years, particularly our navy and
air force, something we've neglected
for decades.”
Tiglao and CenPeg support
China's position that the Philippines
should reject UN and Asean
intervention in arbitrating its
dispute with China and instead
states: “We believe that opening up
bilateral talks with China is worth
pursuing. The usual objection to this
response is that we will always be on
the losing side since we will be
negotiating with a far more
powerful state.”
That's true but that's not
actually the “usual objection.” The
u Page 13
complacent,” the Times quotes
observers. The MH730 crisis
“highlighted a lack of competence
related to deference to authority and
reluctance to take initiative.”
The local press is muzzled by
licensing laws. “There has always
been a kind of wait-for-instructionsfrom-the top attitude. Malaysia never
faced pressure to perform like this,”
the Times adds. “Now, international
eyes are on them. And they have
nowhere to hide.”
As of 2012, at least 17 nations (9
percent worldwide) have police that
enforce religious norms, according to
a new analysis of data, says the Pew
Research Center.
“In Malaysia, state Islamic
religious enforcement officers and
police carried out raids to enforce
sharia law against indecent dress.
(They) banned publications, alcohol
consumption and khalwat (close
proximity to a member of the
opposite sex), according to the US
State Department.”
Kuala Lumpur's row over a single
word “Allah” tarred the country's
image for tolerance. Some sermons
identified Christians and Jews as
enemies of Islam. Hardline Muslims
have called for bible bans, and in
January, firebombs were hurled into a
church compound. Some stomped on
the severed head of a cow outside a
Hindu temple. Cows are sacred to
Hindus.
Have such differences been set
aside for good? Or is this just a
temporary respite? Did MH370 sear
into the Malay Muslim mindset the
indelible need for broader freedoms?
Perhaps part of the answer lies
with the young Malay Muslims who
are far better educated than the
previous generations. They have
access to worldwide information,
d e s p i te t h e c e n s o r s . “ Yo u n g ,
educated, urban Malays, in particular,
are deserting this brand of politics in
droves,” wrote Waleed Aly. “They're
becoming increasingly skeptical of
t h e i r o w n p r iv i l e g e d s t a t u s .
Upwardly mobile, they are unlikely to
be swayed by a Mecca-oriented
compass.”
Not the “old guard.” They
confront the fact that “the privileged
position they've held for the first 50
years of independence won't hold for
the next 50. Now they're lashing out,
as if trying to resist the death throes
of their own supremacy.”
Did Waleed Aly write that in
Malaysia? Of course, that would have
never seen print there. But the
Sydney Morning Herald in Australia
published it.
“Because of the (MH370) tragedy,
we stand as one and respect one
another's religion,” AP quotes Nurul
Arfarina Nasir, a 28-year-old
housewife who wore a headscarf and
held a white balloon. “I see this as
Allah's wisdom behind this tragedy to
reunite all Malaysians.”
Is it ethical ...
advertising department is
separate from the editorial
department.
Independence is a basic
journalism value. For journalists to
be credible and effective in their
role of society's watchdog, they
have to be independent and that
includes from the influence of the
publication or network's
advertisers. A journalist reports
something he discovered that
would be of interest to and benefit
the people and not because
someone paid him to do it or it's a
requirement from advertisers.
From page 11
I'm more concerned about the
ethical aspect of the what it seems
has become a standard media
practice: journalists doubling as
advertising solicitors. Erwin said
there's even one broadcast
practice called AOB (Air on Board)
, where anchors read the press
release of advertisers for a fee. He
said he does not do that.
It is a fact that advertisements
are the lifeblood of media. But the
Filing pointers ...
From page 10
assign the H-1B worker in another
work site on October 1 should state
it in the petition and the Labor
Condition Application (LCA) even
if the employer is still unable to
specify the work site at this time.
If the H-1B petition comes with
a request for change of status, the
petition must be accompanied by
documentary evidence of the
nonimmigrant status of the
beneficiary through September 30,
2014.
Work authorization for F-1
students under Optional Practical
Training (OPT) who have timely
filed an H-1B petition and
requested for change of status
shall be extended until September
30 when the petition is approved
or while the petition is pending.
Students who completed their OPT
but are within valid grace period
will receive automatic extension of
their authorized stay. However,
they will not be allowed to work
during this period.
(Editor's Note: REUBEN S.
SEGURITAN has been practicing law
for over 30 years. For more
information, you may log on to his
website at www.seguritan.com or
call (212) 695-5281.)
Promises
From page 10
Among industries, it is in the mining sector
where government action has been missing. In
2010, the government extracted P145 billion in
income from mining but only P13.4 billion (or 9
percent) went to the national treasury. “These
natural resources are yours. It shouldn't
happen that all that's left to you is a tip after
they're extracted,” the President told the
Filipino people in his Sona in 2012. But to date,
not one lawmaker has filed a bill that will
change the tax regime for the local mining
industry.
The President just needs to look back at the
promises that he made to the nation over the
last four years and direct his economic
managers and allies in Congress to work more
than double-time to translate those promises
into action. They should focus on jobgenerating and poverty-alleviating projects,
mostly in infrastructure, agriculture, mining
and tourism.
The investment-grade ratings and all the
other statistics touted as proof of a resurgent
economy mean nothing if a quarter of the
population remains mired in poverty and
millions are without jobs. Inquirer.net
Page 13
What did Estrada ...
From page 12
Philippine government's objection is that
it had “patiently engaged Beijing in
bilateral talks over the past 17 years; and
at least 50 talks were held between
parties since the April 2012 Panatag
(Scarborough) Shoal standoff alone.”
Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary
Albert Del Rosario even went to Beijing to
have “bilateral talks” with China's then
Vice President, now President, Xi JinPing,
about their Spratly Islands dispute.
Bilateral negotiations have always
failed, according to the Philippine
Department of Foreign Affairs, because
“China insists on claiming indisputable
sovereignty over nearly all of the South
China Sea through its nine-dash-line
claim.”
How can you negotiate with China
when it insists at the very outset of
negotiations that its sovereignty over the
entire South China Sea is “indisputable”?
What is there left to dispute? What is
there left to negotiate…the times of the
week when Filipino fishermen will be
allowed to fish in China's waters?
China is not the party to talk about
sticking to commitments and losing
credibility if one fails to do so. China
should recall that in June of 2012, it made
a commitment to withdraw its ships from
the Scarborough Shoal if the Philippine
Navy withdrew its ships as well, in a deal
brokered by the US. When the Philippine
ships left, China's ships remained as
China said it had never agreed in writing
to leave.
The Filipino people must reject
whatever commitments were made by
Estrada and GMA to China.
(Send comments to [email protected]
or mail them to the Law Offices of Rodel
Rodis at 2429 Ocean Avenue, San
Francisco, CA 94127 or call 415.334.7800).
The US promises to go to war
for more than 54 countries
Source: PressTV.ir'
There are 54 different
countries on Earth that the US is
legally obligated to militarily
protect and defend if they get
into their own conflicts.
Below is the State
Department's list of them (via
Micah Zenko):
NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY
A treaty signed April 4, 1949,
by which the Parties agree that
an armed attack against one or
more of them in Europe or North
America shall be considered an
attack against them all; and each
of them will assist the attacked
by taking forthwith, individually
and in concert with the other
Parties, such action as it deems
necessary, including the use of
armed force.
PARTIES: United States,
Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovak Republic,
Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United
Kingdom
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE
UNITED STATES AND
AUSTRALIA AND NEW
ZEALAND
South Korea and US warships participate in their joint military drill Foal
Eagle in South Korea's West sea on March 17, 2013.
A Treaty signed September 1,
1951, whereby each of the
parties recognizes that an armed
attack in the Pacific Area on any
of the Parties would be
dangerous to its own peace and
safety and declares that it would
act to meet the common danger
in accordance with its
constitutional processes.
Australia, New Zealand
PHILIPPINE TREATY
(BILATERAL)
A treaty signed August 30,
1951, by which the parties
recognize that an armed attack
in the Pacific Area on either of
the Parties would be dangerous
to its own peace and safety and
each party agrees that it will act
to meet the common dangers in
accordance with its
constitutional processes.
Philippines
SOUTHEAST ASIA TREATY
A treaty signed September 8,
1954, whereby each party
recognizes that aggression by
means of armed attack in the
treaty area against any of the
Parties would endanger its own
peace and safety and each will in
that event act to meet the
common danger in accordance
with its constitutional processes.
Australia, France, New Zealand,
Philippines, Thailand, and the
United Kingdom
JAPANESE TREATY
(BILATERAL)
A treaty signed January 19,
recognizes that an armed attack
against either Party in the
territories under the
administration of Japan would
be dangerous to its own peace
and safety and declares that it
would act to meet the common
danger in accordance with its
constitutional provisions and
processes. The treaty replaced
the security treaty signed
September 8, 1951.
Japan
REPUBLIC OF KOREA TREATY
(BILATERAL)
A treaty signed October 1,
recognizes that an armed attack
in the Pacific area on either of the
Parties would be dangerous to
its own peace and safety and that
each Party would act to meet the
common danger in accordance
with its constitutional processes.
Korea
RIO TREATY
A treaty signed September 2,
1947, which provides that an
armed attack against any
American State shall be
considered as an attack against
all the American States and each
u Page 14
Page 14
US budget cuts could
hurt readiness in Asia
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Top U.S.
military officers in the Asia-Pacific
said Tuesday, March 25 that budget
cuts could hurt the ability of
American forces to respond to a
security crisis, including on the
Korean peninsula.
Pa c i f i c c o m m a n d e r A d m .
Samuel Locklear said U.S. allies are
carefully watching American
defense spending, and are starting
to question U.S. “staying power” as a
guarantor of security.
Locklear and Gen. Curtis
Scaparrotti, who commands U.S.
forces in South Korea, were
testifying before the Senate Armed
Forces Committee on the defense
budget for 2015 that trims spending
and aims for a smaller, more modern
force rather than a larger one less
prepared for combat.
Some in Congress, however, see
that as an approach that weakens
U.S. capabilities in a period of
growing uncertainty in Europe and
Asia. Senators in particular voiced
concern about the double-digit
annual growth in China's defense
spending and development of more
and better warships and
submarines, and the threat posed by
a nuclear North Korea.
In prepared testimony, Locklear
said budget uncertainties
“ultimately reduce our readiness,
our ability to respond to crisis and
contingency as well as degrade our
Admiral Samuel Locklear III,
commander of US Pacific
Command. AFP
ability to reliably interact with our
allies and partners in the region.”
Scaparotti said U.S. forces in
Korea are “fully resourced” but he
voiced concern about the readiness
of “follow-on” forces that would be
needed if a security crisis broke out
on the divided peninsula. The U.S.
retains 28,500 troops in South
Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53
Korean War that ended in an
armistice rather than a formal peace
treaty.
Scaparotti said North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un is less
predictable than his predecessor
and so poses a greater threat.
He said a recent spate of tests of
Scud missiles from a new, rapid-fire
multiple rocket launcher were
intended to demonstrate North
Korea's capabilities to the U.S. and
South Korea as they hold annual
military exercises.
Senators questioned Locklear
about China's increasing military
capabilities that the Pacific
commander said would not
challenge America's global military
supremacy for decades but were
giving the Asian power “the ability to
influence the outcome of events
around many of our partners and
our allies.”
Although U.S. defense spending
still far exceeds China's, U.S. forces
are spread much further afield.
Budget pressures have added to
doubt about the Obama
administration's ability to follow
through on its rebalance of forces as
it winds down military involvement
in the Middle East, and the size of the
U.S. Navy as it looks to deploy more
ships to the Pacific.
Asked about tensions between
U.S. ally Japan and China over
disputed islands in the East China
Sea, Locklear said the potential for
miscalculation “could be high and
very dangerous” if the Asian nations
don't manage their differences, but
he didn't think a confrontation was
likely in the near term.
The U.S. has nearly 50,000
troops based in Japan and its treaty
obligations mean it could be drawn
into any conflict over the Japaneseadministered islands that are also
claimed by China. Inquirer.net
The US ...
Not the solution
From page 13
From page 11
one undertakes to assist in
meeting the attack.
Argentina, Bahamas, Bolivia,
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Cuba, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras,
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay,
Peru, Trinidad & Tobago,
Uruguay, Venezuela
This illustrates rather well
the sheer magnitude of US
commitments around the
world. It's worth remembering,
too, as Nima Shirazi noted, that
not every state that Washington
commits itself to militarily is
listed here (Israel is
conspicuous for its absence).
So, US military commitments go
beyond even this lengthy list.
Why? Politicians will tell
you this is about defending
f re e d o m a n d d e m o c ra c y
(right…). Policy wonks will
rattle off old chestnuts about
global security and
international cooperation.
More accurately, this helps
institutionalize US hegemony
(that is, unrivaled power over
all other states in the system).
This doesn't merely
demonstrate how taxpayer
money and resources go to the
defense of other countries. It
illust ra tes t he perva sive
conviction in Washington that
there are few, if any, spots on the
planet that aren't vital US
interests that require military
interventionism. America's
mandate is limitless, it would
seem. Antiwar.com
be the final solution to the centuries-old
problem that Aquino believes it is. In
particular, I am concerned that because
the Manila government has once again
ignored the other stakeholders in
Mindanao - the indigenous lumads and
the transplanted Christians, both of
whom make up sizable portions of the
island's population - in its haste to
hammer out an agreement with MILF, this
latest experiment is bound to fail.
Even more dangerous than the shaky
legal foundations of Aquino's
Bangsamoro project, is the potential for
renewed and intensified conflict between
the lumads (who were in Mindanao
before the Moros), the Christians (who
moved in in droves as part of previous
governments' campaigns to dilute the
Moro population) and the Muslims. And
when the Muslims, as the agreement
provides, start having their own police
forces - contrary to the constitutional
prescription of one national police force,
civilian in character - it's almost a recipe
for mayhem.
Aquino's Bangsamoro sounds more
like minimum compliance to the demands
of outside forces to me, more than true,
expanded autonomy. If he wins the Nobel
Peace Prize for it (as the most
enthusiastic of his boosters say he will), it
still doesn't make it the solution to
conflict in Mindanao that he claims it will
be - not by a long shot.
It will take more than a copycat
agreement that has already been declared
unconstitutional to bring lasting peace
and development in Mindanao. And this
administration - which cannot even
improve the lives of Filipinos in its own
impoverished Manila backyard - doesn't
seem like the one that will make peace
and prosperity come about in the strifetorn frontiers of our land.
Page 15
First Catholic International School in Manila teaches kids to “Care”
B O N I FAC I O G LO BA L C I T Y,
Philippines (March 24, 2014) – A
premier school at the Bonifacio
Global City in Taguig is attracting
parents and educators alike. Everest
A c a d e m y
M a n i l a
(everestmanila.com), a Catholic
international school present in over
20 countries worldwide, boasts not
of its international curriculum,
highly qualified faculty and staff or
exclusivity. Its most important
feature, says school principal
Rosano S. Landar, is a strong focus on
“integral formation.” Integral
formation consists of four pillars
from the intellectual formation
(academics), the human formation
(character, virtues and behavior),
the apostolic formation (leadership
and social awareness), and the
spiritual formation (faith and
prayer).
“Everest Academy puts a lot of
emphasis on human formation,
which is why we have specific
programs to help cultivate virtues,
values and character,” says Grades 1
to 2 dean of students, Pinky
Garrovillo. “Our virtue program
revolves around the school's core
values: Integrity, Commitment,
Ac c o u n t a b i l i t y, Re s p e c t a n d
Excellence or I-CARE. We want our
students to care about being the
best person they can be.”
“Sometimes conversations with
students and parents become
apostolic projects that the children
come up with on their own, such as
a G r a n d p a r e n t s ' D a y, Ya y a
Appreciation Day, or assorted party
games with Everest's sister school,
Mano Amiga, where the fortunate
Everest kids help and play with
their less fortunate counterparts,”
says Garrovillo.
Sabrina, mother of first grad
student Sebastian, said she enrolled
her son to Everest Academy when
she observed that her neighbors'
kids who went to that school were
very kind and well-behaved. Now,
Sabrina said her son is always
happy to go to school.
The best part of going to school
for Grade 5 student Amara is when
teachers mix fun and learning and
being a part of the community. “I
like my school because the teachers
are very nice and know what they
are doing. They make each class fun
and we really learn a lot. Also we
have clubs that teach us things
outside the usual subjects… The
school has helped me a lot not only
in the academic aspect but also in
leadership, human and spiritual
formation. It has helped me become
a well-rounded young girl.” Five
years after her parents enrolled
Amara to Everest Academy, her little
sister has already started schooling
as a first grader.
Transferee student Weenter
said it's not simple to choose a
school for one's self. “I wanted a
school with a small class size,
teachers with impressive
u Page 19
Eastern International College is pleased to announce the opening
of our new, affordable Dental Hygiene Clinic in Jersey City!
All Under the Supervision of a
Licensed Dentist.
Affordable, Insurance not Necessary.
Services Include:
♦ Routine Cleaning and Polishing ♦ Dental XRays ♦ Oral Cancer Screening and Risk
Assessment ♦ Fluoride Treatment ♦ Medical
and Dental History Questionnaire and
Evaluation ♦ Dental Assessment (charting of
teeth, conditions in mouth and cavity risk
assessment) ♦Nutritional Counseling
(analyzing patient's diet to optimize oral health)
♦ Patient Education (on techniques and current
products available) ♦ Education and referral for
tobacco cessation
For more information or to
schedule an appointment, call
our Jersey City Campus today.
Happy Birthday to
Miss Anning Cabreros.
Greetings from someone
who cares.
201-216-9901
Our Dental Hygiene Clinic will
leave you with a healthy smile!
Convenient location by Five Corners
and a short walk from Journal Square!
684 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey 07306
TO ADVERTISE, PLEASE CALL
201-434-1114
Page 16
SA METRO HONDA
MAYROON PO TAYONG
FILIPINO SALES TEAM NA
HANDANG TUMULONG AT
PAGLINGKURAN KAYO.
HALINA PO KAYO SA AMING
PINAKA-MALAKING
NUMERO UNONG
DEALERSHIP SA BUONG
METROPOLITAN AREA!
Page 17
Scuba divers enjoy the waters off Cape Engaño on Palaui Island in Santa
Ana town in northern Cagayan province. The place was ranked by CNN
10th among the Top 100 beaches in the world in 2013. It highlights a wellpreserved beach and a Spanish lighthouse on top of a hill. Chen ReyesMencias/Contributor
Palaui Island
'Raw beauty' in Cagayan
For the adventurous who are willing to endure the more than 12-hour,
600-kilometer road trip from Metro Manila to Palaui Island, a piece of
paradise awaits you in the Babuyan Channel in northeastern Luzon.
By Melvin Gascon
SANTA ANA, Cagayan -- For the
adventurous who are willing to
endure the more than 12-hour, 600kilometer road trip from Metro
Manila to Palaui Island, a piece of
paradise awaits you in the Babuyan
Channel in northeastern Luzon.
The 2,439-hectare Palaui Island
offers a virtually untouched
landscape of grass meadows, rice
fields and thick tropical forests,
enclosed by a 10-km shoreline with
stretches of white sand and coral
beaches, mangroves and jagged rock
formations.
Last year, its beaches were ranked
by the US-based media company
CNN 10th best in the world for their
“raw beauty.”
“[It is where] glorious white sands
meet volcanic rocks and blue-green
waters topside, while coral gardens
and a rich marine reserve meet
divers under the surface,” CNN said
on its website.
When 65-year-old basket weaver
Catalina Baloloy, her husband, Sixto,
and their four children moved out of
Camiguin Island in the Babuyan
Channel in 1986, all they hoped for
was to find a better life in one of the
towns of Cagayan province.
As their boat reached Port San
Vicente in Santa Ana town on a clear
Sunday noon, they were captivated
by the beauty of Palaui Island.
“As we approached the port, our
attention was glued to the beautiful
island to our left, captivated by the
view of the mountains and the thick
forest that covered them. In an
instant, we decided we wanted to live
here,” Catalina said.
Palaui Island has since become the
Baloloys' home.
The same attractions lured other
villagers here who have chosen to
settle in Palaui, joining a small Agta
community decades ago.
They are the residents of Punta
Verde, a sub-village of about 100
households and the only inhabited
portion on the southwest edge of the
island that has been declared a
marine reserve.
But it seems nature has a grand
design to put Palaui Island in a
remote location because this deters a
possible tourist invasion, something
that officials of the local government
and the Cagayan Economic Zone
Authority (Ceza) are wary about.
Remote location
“Much as we would like to promote
it, we are also aware of any possible
abuse due to the anticipated heavy
volume of visitors. Besides, we need
to provide more amenities so that
tourists who have high expectations
from all the publicity will not be
disappointed once they get here,”
said Santa Ana Mayor Darwin Tobias.
Grace Berbano-Ruiz, who heads
the Ceza tourism promotions
department, said they deliberately
made the prices of tour packages a
bit steep in order to regulate the
arrival of visitors and stop the
exploitation of the island's tourism
potentials.
“We had to consider the high value
of the [tourism] product that we are
offering here, so the prices are also
higher than usual,” she said.
The island can accommodate 175
people on a single day, so she said
they had to limit the number of
visitors.
Jump-off point
To reach Palaui Island, visitors may
also take commercial flights to the
Cagayan capital of Tuguegarao City
and a three-hour drive to Santa Ana.
The road reaches a dead end at the
San Vicente fish port, the jump-off
point to the island.
From the fish port, visitors can
drop by the tourist information
center where they can be briefed on
what the island has to offer before
they take a 30-minute boat ride to
Palaui.
Natural wonders
The island's main attraction is
Cape Engaño, located on the
northern tip of the island, which
boasts of a white coral beach laid out
on a cove and an 18th-century
lighthouse on top of a hill
overlooking the northeastern edges
of the island. Inquirer.net
Page 18
PAFCOM Invites the Fil-Am Community to the Gala
and Inauguration of the 2014 Grand Marshals
JERSEY CITY, NJ -- With great
pleasure, the Philippine-American
Friendship Committee, Inc. (PAFCOM)
cordially invites the Filipino-American
community in the tri-state area as they
give honor to Dr. Edgar Lerias and Mrs.
Mary Jane Lerias on their formal
inauguration as the 2014 Grand
Marshals of the Philippine-American
Friendship Committee, Inc.
The much-anticipated gala and
dinner-dance A Salute to the 24th
Grand Marshals will be held on
Saturday, April 5 at the Astoria World
Manor, 25-22 Astoria Boulevard,
Astoria, New York 11102. The cocktail
hour will start at 1 pm; ball, program
and dancing from 2 pm to 6 pm. The
event is strictly black suit for men and
long gown for women (optional colors
are purple, lavender or lilac); donation
is $85. Proceeds from the event will
fund the 24th Grand Parade and Festival
in Jersey City, New Jersey on June 22,
2014 in celebration of the annual
Philippine American Friendship Day.
Hudson County Freeholder William
O'Dea is an Honorary Grand Marshal.
Mr. O'Dea has been a staunch supporter
of the programs and activities of the FilAm organizations in New Jersey.
Among those expected to attend
are Philippine Consul General in New
York Mario de Leon, Jr. and his wife
Eleanor. The sons and daughter of
Edgar and Mary Jane will be there too:
Brandon and wife Courtney; Nicholas
and girlfriend Nikki; and Tara. Lito A.
Gajilan, Jr., founder of PAFCOM, has
confirmed his attendance. Nena Smith
Dr. Edgar and Mary Jane Lerias
and Medy Taeza are the gala committee
co-chairs with Dr. Dolly Rivera as
honorary committee chair. For more
information, please call Nena Smith
917-528-1212, Medy Taeza 646-4153040, Mario Garcia 732-354-3084,
Helen Castillo 201-920-9441, Gani
Puertollano 908-230-6468 and Ledy
Almadin 201-755-3084.
Dr. Edgar Lerias is a long-standing
community leader and practicing
physician. He was born in Davao City,
Philippines and received a Medical
Doctor Degree from Southwestern
University College of Medicine in the
Philippines in 1980. He migrated to the
United States in 1981, and worked as a
house physician in Union Hospital in
Bronx, NY. He received a pediatric
internship at Long Island Jewish
Medical Center, and then completed his
Freeholder William O’Dea
residency at Nassau County Medical
Center. Dr. Lerias completed a
fellowship in Ambulatory Pediatrics at
Winthrop University Hospital. He is a
diplomate of the American Board of
Pediatrics.
Currently, Dr. Lerias has two
Pediatric offices - in Farmingdale and
Deer Park, NY. He is also a Pediatric
Attending and Consultant at St. Francis
Hospital Heart Center.
He is married to Mary Jane Lerias,
another community leader, and
currently First Vice President of
Sterling National Bank, managing the
multi-million dollar Global Trade
Finance Department. She was the past
President of Auxiliary to the Philippine
Medical Association in America and
Northern Mindanao Association. The
couple is blessed with three beautiful
children: Brandon, who completed his
biology degree at Boston University,
Nicholas a pediatric resident at Good
Samaritan Hospital, and Tara, who
completed her communications
bachelor's degree at Colorado
University at Boulder last year.
Dr. Lerias and his wife have a long
history of community service and
charity work. He has coordinated
medical missions in Cebu City in 2013,
and Vigan Ilocos Sur earlier this year.
He also coordinated medical missions
in remote areas in Mindanao,
partnering with local governments. He
pioneered a program for indigent
patients from the Philippines to come
to the United States for congenital
heart defect repairs through the Gift of
Life Program of the Rotary Club of New
York.
Some of the beneficiaries of Dr. and
Mrs. Lerias' charity work were 4 burnt
victims from different islands in the
Philippines, who were brought to the
United States and treated for
reconstructive surgeries at Hilton
Head, South Carolina - a joint effort
with Hilton Head Rotary.
The couple also financially support
scholars in the Philippines and send
medicines and equipments to various
local hospitals in the Philippines
Dr. Lerias is a member of the
American Pediatric Society; member of
the Board of Directors for the Home
Reach Foundation; past President of
the Philippine Medical Association in
America; past President of the
Philippine Physicians of New York, past
President of the Northern Mindanao
Association of Eastern Seaboard; and
past President of the Fil-Am Golfer's
Association.
ABOUT PAFCOM
Established in 1990, the
Philippine-American Friendship
Committee, Inc. Is a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization comprised of
Filipino-American community leaders
from the tri-state area (New York, New
Jersey and Connecticut).
The aims of the founders of
PAFCOM are: (1) to enhance a better
understanding of the Filipino culture
and activities and be of service to the
community and the general public in
order to gain for themselves that
recognition due them as an ethnic
group in the United States of America
and (2) to enhance the integration of
Filipinos into mainstream America by
engaging in socio-cultural, charitable
and educational undertakings.
PAFCOM's dedication to serve the
community continues to attract a
diverse crowd of spectators and
participants to its festivities each year.
The annual parade and festival,
held in the month of June, is an
opportunity to share and showcase
Philippine culture to mainstream
America, through decorated floats, folk
dances, arts and exhibits, assortment
of native dishes, indigenous and
modern music, and performances of
Filipino American talents. A crowd of
up to 30,000 people gather and
celebrate the annual PhilippineAmerican Friendship Day celebration.
Page 19
An Invitation for Entrepreneurs
Jersey City Fil-Am Chamber of Commerce
Dinner Meeting
Tuesday, April 1, 2014 @ 6:30 pm sharp
Pal Inasal Resto & Grill
663 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306
To register, please call 201-434-1114
Sponsored by:
VICTOR D. REYES, ChFC, CLU
Co-founder and President
Envision Strategic Financial Group
JERSEY CITY FIL-AM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The Business Owner's voice in matters of commerce, industry & development
2713 Kennedy Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ 07306 Phone: (201)434-1114
ABOUT JCFACC
The purposes of the JCFACC are: a) To serve
as the voice of the Filipino-American
business owners in Jersey City in matters
of commerce, industry and development;
b) To serve as a forum for social interaction
and discussions of legal, financial and
economic issues affecting the business
interests of members; c) To stand united
for or against the passage of law,
ordinance or regulation beneficial or
detrimental to the business of any
member; and d) To hold, sponsor, or
support any social or community
activity that will enrich the cultural
heritage of the Filipino-American
population in Jersey City.
More Businessmen Join Jersey City
Fil-Am teacher honored Fil-Am Chamber of Commerce
It was a big surprise for Mr.
Justo B. Bautista of Jersey City,
New Jersey when Benedictine
Academy in Elizabeth, New
Jersey honored him during the
celebration of Saint Benedict's
Day on March 11, 2014 as an
awesome teacher, according to
his students.
Mr. Bautista was honored
by the administration, faculty,
staff, and students for his
dedication, commitment, and
outstanding job as a high school
mathematics teacher. He
serves as a model to his
students and the entire school
community. He inspired his
students in acquiring
knowledge and improving their
mathematical skills in such
ways that everyone admired
him of what he has done and
continues to do for his students
to achieve their goals.
Mr. Bautista was also
awarded the Outstanding
Teacher of the Year in 2000 by
the Archdiocese of Newark. He
was presented with a
Certificate of Honor, a Crystal
Apple Award, and two
thousand dollars during a
recognition dinner held at the
Sheraton Hotel in East
Rutherford, New Jersey by the
Archbishop McCarrick.
Mr. Bautista was also
nominated for the National
Teacher Awards sponsored by
Radio Shack as an Outstanding
By Grace G. Baldisseri
Mr. Justo B. Bautista
Teacher in Mathematics for
1999-2000.
Mr. Bautista has been a
teacher for forty-five years. He
taught in the Philippines for
nine years and another nine
years in Nigeria. Mr. Bautista
has then been teaching in the
United States of America for the
past twenty-seven years.
Mr. Bautista is the son of the
late, Librado and Lecina
Bautista, from Altavas, Aklan in
the Philippines. His wife,
Dolores Alonzo Bautista, is
from Bantay, Ilocus in the
Philippines. She is now a
retired elementary school
teacher. They are both blessed
with three sons Jeffrey,
Jayhdeeh, and Jerrimie and an
only daughter, Jennifer three
daughters-in-law, Thea, Noemi,
and Joyce. They are proud
grandparents to seven Jhaelin,
B r i a n n a , J u s t i n , J u l iya h ,
Jhaeden, Jared, and Jhian.
TO ADVERTISE, PLEASE CALL
201-434-1114
Lito A. Gajilan, Jr, the 2014
President of the Jersey City Filipino
American Chamber of Commerce, will
present the new members of the 2014
Jersey City Filipino American Chamber
of Commerce (JCFACC) in a dinner
meeting on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 at
6:30 p.m. at Pal Inasal Resto & Grill. 663
Newark Avenue. Jersey City, NJ, 07306.
The primary purpose of Jersey City FilAm Chamber of Commerce is to serve as
the voice of the Filipino American
business owners in Jersey City in
matters of commerce, industry and
development.
New Members:
Alexander V. Baldonado, MD is
the owner of Angelicum Medical
Services located at 65-07 Roosevelt
Avenue, Woodside, NY, next to Red
Ribbon. He works there seven days a
week from Monday to Sunday ( 9am to
8pm). Dr. Baldonado treats Cardiac
Disease, Hypertension, Diabetes,
Arthritis, Chronic Pain, Pediatric
Diseases and Women's Issues. He also
treats patients at 47 E. 67th St. Bronx,
NY by appointment. Dr. Alex Baldonado
offers quality medical
care and accepts Private Paying,
Medicaid, Medicare, Most HMO
Insurances. Tel. 347-642-3069 or 347642-3168.
Martha C. Baltazar, President of
First Catholic ...
From page 15
credentials, a school that teaches good
Christian values, a school that has nice
students (and no bullies), and most
importantly, a school where I would be
happy… So in April 2012, I made the best
decision of my life. I chose a great school
over a good school. I chose Everest
Academy.”
Often parents working in schools
transfer their children where they work
for convenience. For Corinne Medrana,
manager of admissions at Everest, the
reverse happened. “My three older kids
were students here and I really liked how
the school was helping us raise and form
our kids. Most schools teach your child to
be a good student. We teach your child to
be a good person,” says Medrana, who
Handmaiden Services Inc. which is
licensed in the tri state areas located at
656 Newark Ave., Jersey City. Ms.
Baltazar sends caregivers, home health
aides to seniors who do not only help
patients physically but also spiritually
pray for the seniors wellness and
assurance of salvation. A Pastor of
Haven of Worship Christian Center, she
also hosts Breakfast for Women Over 60
every 3rd Saturday of the month. The
company's telephone numbers are 201598-3235.
Fernando Mendez, President &
CEO of Fiesta in America, a trade and
cultural festival held this year on August
16-17 at the Meadowlands Expo Center.
He is one of the leading personalities in
Filipino events such as the 2014 Spring
Fest for Little Miss & Little Master
Philippines USA. Coronation is on April
27 at Astoria World Manor in Queens,
NY. Other events include the People's
Ball at Double Tree on August 15.
Nanding is the art director of his
company's Special Edition, Press Inc. He
had won many awards of excellence in
advertising, graphics design, publishing
and photography. As a community
leader, he supports many fundraising
activities.
Rommel del Rosario, business
owner of RDR Cargo Express of NY and
NJ. He has established himself as a
young but serious businessman in the
field of door to door service. During the
Typhoon Haiyan, he helped deliver
goods for free to the Philippines as a
way of helping our kababayans. A
dedicated and hardworking guy, he is
able to have three offices in just a short
period of time. These are the RDR Air
Travel Services at 63rd St., Woodside,
NY 11377; Balikbayan Service NJ office
a t 7 6 S o u t h Wa s h i n g t o n Ave . ,
Bergenfield, NJ 07521 and Jersey City at
449 Hoboken Ave., Jersey City.
Michael A. Urbino, CEO of Pal
Inasal, Jersey City. As a pioneer of a
conglomerate of businesses in New
York & New Jersey, Mike has positively
impacted various sectors in finance,
healthcare, education, technology and
the economy in general. Presently, he is
the President of Axis Point Alternative
Solutions, Inc. located at 80 River St.,
Suite 5A, Hoboken, NJ. He is also
chairman of American Healthcare
Facility Management Group (AHFMG)
and Administrator of Adriland Institute.
His most recent business is Pal Inasal
Resto Grill in Jersey City. His active
involvement in the socio-economic
activities of the country had earned him
a US Congressional Award in August
2011.
The Tuesday, April 1, 2014 event,
An Invitation for Entrepreneurs, is
being sponsored by Victor D. Reyes,
ChFC, CLU. He is co-founder and
President of Envision Strategic
Financial Group.
decided to help out with Everest since
August 2013 after being a parent in the
school since 2007.
Medrana explained the child's
individualized plan that the Everest
faculty works on with his or her
parents. Each of the school's four pillars
of human formation has sample goals
which the parents may choose to want
to develop more in their child. The
personalized mentoring and
relationship that comes from a small yet
great school contributes to its holistic
approach to teaching.
Founded in 2007 in Manila, Everest
Academy belongs to a network of more
than 200 schools around the world
directed by the Regnum Christi
Movement and the Legionaries of
Christ, a priestly congregation. The
curriculum is designed by the National
Consultants for Education (NCE) in the
United States, and is now being framed to
blend with the Department of
Education's K-12 curriculum and an
advance placement program for high
school. Starting with just 19 students in
Grades 1 and 2, Everest Academy has
grown to 287 students from Grades 1 to
8. For this school year, Everest is opening
their campus to high school students for
those who're graduating from their class
or who wish to transfer from other
schools at 13 or 14 years old. They also
ex p a n d e d t h e s c h o o l t o a c c e p t
Kindergarten levels for kids 4 or 5 years
old.
The Everest Academy Manila is
located at 3846 38th North Drive,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City 1634,
P h i l i p p i n e s .
V i s i t
www.everestmanila.com or contact
Corinne Medrana at (+632) 882-5019
and [email protected].
Page 20
Aquino to businessmen:
Avoid knee-jerk reactions
By Kristine Angeli Sabillo
MANILA -- President Benigno
Aquino III on March 24 told the
business sector to refrain from
“knee-jerk reactions” and instead
look at the long-term prospects of
the Philippine economy.
“While I know that monitoring
internal and external
developments is an important
part of any successful business
strategy, [but] perhaps it would be
wise to shun a culture of myopia
and temper the urge for knee-jerk
reactions,” Aquino said at the
oath-taking ceremony of the
officers of several business
organizations.
The President said that while
things such as currency
fluctuations may cause
apprehension, government and
business alike should “think
strategically” and look at longterm trends.
“Together, we can focus on
solutions that redound to stronger
industries and stronger working
relationships between
government and the private
sector,” he said.
Aquino said, citing an
observation by Budget Secretary
Butch Abad, that while there is a
“general disconnect between the
front page and the business page”
President Aquino. Inquirer file photo
of newspapers, the optimism felt
by the sector is not unfounded.
“The Philippines has made
huge jumps in various
competitiveness rankings, and
has also received a unanimous
investment grade rating from all
three major credit ratings
agencies. Investments are up: for
example, net FDI increased by 20
percent, from $3.22 billion in
2012, to $3.86 billion in 2013,” he
said.
Aquino said that “All this is
happening because your
government has leveled the
playing field and created an
environment where capabilities,
rather than connections, are at the
forefront.”
He said the public should
expect more opportunities for
competition that will in turn
prevent “inefficient monopolies
or oligopolies.”
The President, however,
reminded the businessmen that
their interests and that of the
common Filipino should not
compete.
“After all, it is the Filipino
worker that populates your
offices; it is the Filipino wageearner that spends money on your
products and services; it is the
Filipino parent that instills values
and knowledge in their children
who will then sustain the virtuous
cycle of prosperity and
empowerment that we are
experiencing now,” he said.
Among the guests at the event,
held in Malacañang, were Trade
Secretary Gregory Domingo,
Senator Sonny Angara and newly
elected officials of the Philippine
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, the Philippine Exporters
Confederations, Employers'
Confederation of the Philippines,
and the Anvil Business Club.
Inquirer.net
Spanish companies urged
to make Philippines their
Asian production hub
By Bernie Magkilat
Spain, the Philippines former
colonizer, yesterday said its
former colony is the best place for
Spanish companies to establish
their production hubs for the
Asian region and vowed to make
up for the lost time by
participating in the country's
i n f ra s t r u c t u re p ro j e c t s t o
accelerate trade and investments
with the country.
Visiting Spanish Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo Y
Marfil said this during an open
forum following his keynote
address at the Makati Business
C l u b G e n e ra l M e m b e r s h i p
Meeting wherein a trade and
investment promotions
agreement was signed between
MBC and two Spanish business
groups
High Council of
Chambers, Industry and
Navigation of Spain and
Confederation of Employers and
Industries of Spain.
“The Philippines is the best
hub we can think of to introduce
our companies in Asia to
strengthen our trade relations. I
hope we can start very soon. I
have to admit that Spain is too
late, but we are here to recover
the time we have lost,” said
Garcia-Margallo, who brought a
50-man business delegation
representing Spain's top 12-15
companies from various sectors
to explore business opportunities
and to do one-on-one meetings
with their Filipino counterparts.
According to the minister,
Spanish businessmen are
exploring various business
opportunities. Most of the
businessmen, however, have keen
interest to participate in the
country's infrastructure projects
like roads, railways and airports
noting that 37 percent of whole
world's transport infrastructure
works have been undertaken by
Spanish companies.
Socio-Economic Panning
Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan
also recommended to the Spanish
minister some Philippine
investment opportunities in the
areas of industrial
manufacturing, infrastructure,
tourism and agribusiness. He
noted that while some Spanish
businessmen have tourism
investments in Vietnam, but they
have not explore the investment
potential in the Philippines
tourism sector.
MBC Executive Director
Angelo V. Perfecto also told
reporters the Spanish delegation
has strong interest to participate
in the government's projects
u Page 21
Fitch affirms Philippine
investment grade rating
MANILA -- The
Philippines' “investment
grade” status was affirmed
by Fitch on March 25, citing
the country's strong
m a c r o e c o n o m i c
fundamentals.
In a statement, Fitch
Ratings said its outlook for
the Philippines' sovereign
debt rating was “stable,”
which meant the country's
grade would likely stay
where it has been for the next
12 to 18 months. Fitch's BBBgrade for the country's longterm foreign and local
currency IOUs is the firm's
minimum “investment
grade” rating.
“The Philippines has
maintained strong economic
growth, underpinned by a
steady inflow of overseas
Filipino remittances, the
expansion of the business
process outsourcing sector,
and low interest rates,” Fitch
said. Inquirer.net
January imports
Bill would turn government grow by 22%
retirees into entrepreneurs
By Edu Lopez
Tarlac Rep. Susan Yap. Www.congress.gov.ph
M A N I L A - - G ove r n m e n t
service should also prepare public
officials and employees for an
entrepreneurial life, so they could
continue being productive in a
legitimate way once they leave
their jobs.
Under a bill that the House of
Representatives recently
approved on second reading, all
government offices and agencies
would be required to put in place a
Government Service
Entrepreneurship Development
Program to help employees learn
what they need to know to
develop ideas and turn them into
successful businesses. At the same
time, it should teach them how to
increase entrepreneurial
opportunities in their
communities. Tarlac Rep. Susan
Yap, the main proponent of the
bill, said the government must
take part in preparing employees
for better economic opportunities
once they leave public service.
u Page 21
The country's imports grew
by 22 percent in January, 2014 to
$5.8 billion recovering after a
slow performance in full-year
2013, according to the National
Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA).
“The three-month moving
average growth in January, 2014
suggests that imports could be
trending upwards in line with the
expected recovery in exports,”
said Economic Planning
Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.
The total trade-in-goods
deficit widened to US$1.4 billion
in January, 2014 from US$716.3
million in January, 2013.
“Raw materials and
intermediate goods and mineral
fuels and lubricants largely
contributed to the robust import
growth during the month,” said
Balisacan.
Import of raw materials and
intermediate goods reached
US$2.2 billion in January, 2014,
up by 27.3 percent from US$1.8
billion in January 2013. This was
due to increased payments of
semi-processed goods that grew
u Page 22
Page 21
2 Filipinas among '25 most The paradox of a strong Philippine
influential in Asia-Pacific's economy & worsening unemployment
asset management'
By Andrew James Masigan
By Doris C. Dumlao
MANILA -- Two Filipino
women are among the 25 “most
influential” women in AsiaPacific's asset management scene,
based on a list drawn up by
financial publication
AsianInvestor Magazine.
Maria Theresa Marcial Javier,
senior vice president and head of
asset management and trust group
at Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine
Islands, and Ramona Gertrudes
Santiago, assistant governor and
head of treasury at Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas, were cited by Asian
Investor as among the female
movers and shakers in the region's
asset management industry.
The list is the second of its kind
published by AsianInvestor, a news
source for asset management,
mutual funds, alternatives, private
banking and more for financial
service providers in the AsiaPacific. It was published after the
International Women's Day
celebration on March 8.
Javier leads the unit in BPI with
close to P600 billion assets under
management while Santiago leads
Spanish ...
From page 20
under the Public Private Partnership
(PPP) scheme.
“They're really interested in
strengthening the trade relation with
the Philippines because they believe
it is quite easy to do business with
Filipinos and if they can make this
country their hub, they would be
very happy to do so with the rest of
ASEAN,” said Perfecto.
In addition, the Spanish
delegation cited the strong historical
and cultural ties between the two
countries and the good governance
thrust of President Aquino's
administration.
“In fact, the memorandum of
understanding we have signed is for
the private sector from both sides to
be able to work together on a longterm basis,” he said.
The Spanish minister and his
business delegation are also set to
meet with Finance Secretary Cesar V.
Purisima, Trade and Industry
Secretary Gregory L. Domingo and
P u b l i c Wo r k s a n d H i g hways
Secretary Rogelio Singson.
The group will also visit Typhoon
Yolanda victims in Tacloban, Leyte
Bill would turn ...
From page 20
The bill seeks to ensure the creative
utilization of highly competitive and
resourceful government employees
whether in or out of the service, and
the continuous flow of innovative
and development-oriented
government programs for
entrepreneurial development.
The newly approved measure
the treasury operations of the BSP.
In an article published on
March 24, AsianInvestor said the
selection process was conducted
by its editorial staff in consultation
with senior industry practitioners.
The final list was handpicked from
a shortlist of 100 candidates.
“Where our list differed this
year was that we did not try to
ensure representation of markets
where there are very few women at
the top businesses, meaning we
excluded distributors and service
providers,” the publication said.
The list included one regulator,
Alexa Lam deputy chief executive
officer of the Securities and
Futures Commission, who was
described to be driving Hong
Kong-China mutual fund
recognition, which the publication
said was a “scheme that could
become the cornerstone of a
regional funds passport.”
AsianInvestor said it would
host a lunch to award these women
on May 20 in Hong Kong.
The list includes CEOs and
chief investment officers from
large institutions across the
region. Inquirer.net
before proceeding to Vietnam and
Malaysia.
Bilateral trade between the
Philippines and Spain went up to
$362 million in 2012 from $304
million in 2010. Two-way trade in the
first semester of 2013 already
reached $225 million making Spain
the Philippines seventh largest
European trading partner. In 2012,
there were 17,000 Spaniards who
visited the country as against 50,000
Filipinos, mostly pilgrims, who
visited Spain in that same year.
Garcia-Margallo further noted
that Spain is the bridge between
Africa and Europe and is the world's
12th largest recipient of foreign
direct investments, 4th largest in the
Euro Zone and fifth largest economy
in the European Union. It is the
second largest investor in Latin
America after the US.
Spain is already recovering from
its long and deep economic slump in
2007 after the government
implemented fiscal and economic
reforms.
“Our GDP is growing for the first
time in many months, employment is
improving and exports growing and
external account posting surplus
since 2006,” he said. Manila Bulletin
also encourages the setting up of
c o o p e ra t ive s i n g ove r n m e n t
a g e n c i e s , wh i c h wo u l d h e l p
employees generate financial
resources and hone their business
skills.
Aside from this, the agencies
must also network with government
financial institutions to provide
financing for their employees'
entrepreneurial projects. Leila B.
Salaverria Inquirer.net
The economy is in a pickle.
Amid the much ballyhooed 7.2
percent growth in 2013, the
Philippine Statistics Authority
(PSA) reported last week that
unemployment actually increased
from 7.1 percent last year to 7.5
percent this year. In other words,
2.97 million more Filipinos are
without jobs today than there
were last year despite robust
growth.
Underemployment, or a
condition where an employee is
e i t h e r ove rq u a l i f i e d o r i s
employed on a part-time basis, is
also a festering problem. The PSA
reports that 2.8 million Filipinos
are now underemployed and
seeking better livelihood
situations.
Clearly, the growth we are
ex p e r i e n c i n g to d ay i s n o t
translating to jobs. It's
unfortunate because jobs are
precisely what we need to
alleviate poverty. The economy
has so far been unable to absorb
the 1.2 million new graduates that
enter the workforce every year, let
alone provide better work
opportunities for those
underemployed, informally
employed, or working in the
underground economy.
Last year, only 240,000 jobs
were created - a situation that left
200,000 of our people with no
choice but to seek employment
abroad. The rest have stayed
unemployed or involved in the
informal economy. I attribute our
worsening employment situation
A worker cuts a wire in a construction site along Mindanao Avenue in Quezon
City. East Asia is expected to remain the fastest-growing region in the world,
according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects
2014 (WESP) Report. Photo by Linus Guardian Escandor II
to two factors: first, the shrinking
contribution of the industrial
sector to the economy; and
second, the failure of the
agricultural sector to show
substantive gains and/or rise in
the value chain.
Manufacturing Is The Key
Nine percent of our workforce
rely on our industrial sector for
their livelihood, but the pie has
shrunk from 30 percent of GDP in
the '70s to just about 22 percent
today. The more senior among us
would remember our industrial
heyday in the '70s, when we were
the first nation in ASEAN to
manufacture our own automobile
the Sakbayan; how we were the
only nation with several fully
integrated steel manufacturing
p l a n t s l i ke t h e P h i l i p p i n e
Blooming Mills, APO Steel and
Puyat Steel, to name a few; and
how our very own Construction
Development Corporation of the
Philippines or CDCP was the
largest integrated industrial
company in Southeast Asia. Well,
all these have gone kaput today,
thanks to successive errors in
policy. Along with its demise came
the loss of millions of jobs.
The need to revive the
industrial sector cannot be
overemphasized. Plants and
factories are what provide jobs, en
masse, as well as opportunities
for workers to gain tenure and
rise in the chain of command.
There are early signs of an
industrial recovery but we have a
u Page 22
10 Things MBA Students Can
Learn from Infantry School
Military Principles Significantly Complement Business
Tactics, Says Straight-Talking Texas Entrepreneur
In many ways, the
knowledge gleaned from four
years of college does not
compare to what a person can
learn at infantry school, says
successful Texas businessman
David M. Smith.
“The Army provided me with
more fun and interesting
experiences and principles than
college. I spent a lot of time in the
c o m p a ny o f o f f i c e r s a n d
immersing myself in reading
military classics,” says Smith,
author of “The Texas Spirit,”
(www.TheTexasSpiritBook.com).
Texas businessman David M. Smith
“Most students in MBA
programs nationwide will never
have that military experience,
which is why I've condensed
what I've learned into 10
essential principles.”
Smith says the following
aphorisms apply to both military
and business endeavors.
Take the offensive to win.
Defense alone never wins.
There have been numerous
efforts in history to construct
some form of “impregnable”
defense that will withstand all
invaders; ultimately, none were
successful. Whether in war,
sports or the business world,
victory depends upon taking
some kind of offensive initiative.
When defense is
necessary, fall back carefully,
with a plan and while firing.
Cancer, for example, is a war
millions face. If a patient is to
survive, he or she must take
proactive measures to fire and
fall back with treatments such
as chemotherapy. In other
words, your best defense is often
your best offense.
Be prepared to use your
last option to decimate an
invader, but only if you must.
Infantry officers call it the FPL
final protective line, which acts
like an overdrive on a vehicle. An
FPL uses all weaponry to fire at
once, continuously firing down a
single pre-planned, narrow lane.
Depending on the stakes, parties
at a business negotiation, for
example, should know their FPL
option.
The counterattack.
Remember, the easiest time to
resume the offensive is
immediately. If you've been
forced off a hill or into an
undesirable position, regroup
and counterattack!
A good general always has
enough troops. Whether you're
a general, lieutenant, private or
middle manager make sure
you're marshalling your
u Page 22
Page 22
EVA Air Cargo Wins Air Cargo
World Gold Award for Excellence
TAIPEI, Taiwan 24 March
2014 -- EVA Air Cargo won Air
Cargo World's Gold Award in its
th
10 annual Excellence Survey. The
respected global news authority
on airfreight logistics invited
forwarder customers from
a ro u n d t h e gl o b e to ra n k
airfreight carriers in four critical
areas and evaluated results to
establish below or above average
performances. The awards were
presented during the IATA World
Cargo Symposium in Los Angeles
on 10 March, 2014. Evaluation
results are posted on the
publication's website at
www.aircargoworld.com.
Air Cargo World established
its ranking survey in 2005. The
s u r vey exa m i n e d c a r r i e r s '
performances over a 12-month
period. The publication identified
an average score and indexed it to
a value of 100. Scores above the
100 index indicate above-average
performance.
EVA Air Cargo earned a rating
value of 108, based on four
criteria:
1. Customer Service: Handles
claims with expedience; solves
problems in a prompt and
courteous manner; has a
professional and knowledgeable
sales force.
2.
Performance: Fulfills
promises and contractual
agreements; dependable;
January
imports ...
From page 20
by 37.5 percent during the period.
“This positive performance
may be reflective of the optimistic
outlook of businesses on their
own operations as their next
quarter outlook index is higher,”
said Balisacan.
This outlook, according to the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas'
accomplishes transit within
scheduled times.
3. Value: Offers competitive
rates; sets rate commensurate
with required levels of service;
provides value-added programs.
4. Information Technology:
Enables shippers to track and
trace their airfreight; offers
electronic commerce services.
EVA is continuing to enhance
its air cargo operations, providing
freight forwarders with
increasingly convenient and
comprehensive services that
include all of the ease and
advantages of e-commerce. After
establishing its customer-friendly
website at www.brcargo.com, the
carrier created and introduced
the EVA Air Cargo APP in 2012.
The APP gives shippers and
consignees fast, easy access to the
most up-to-the-minute shipment
information with simple task
bottoms such as My Cargo, My
Flight, Flight Status and more.
With each step of the air transport
process right at their fingertips,
shippers and consignees can
quickly and efficiently track
movement of their airfreight.
Business Expectation Survey for
the first quarter of 2014, was
based on new construction
projects, both public and private,
boosted by rehabilitation efforts
from Typhoon Yolanda. Also
contributing to the outlook are
the brisk business prospects
arising from companies'
competitive marketing
strategies.
Imports of consumer goods
also expanded in January 2014,
growing by 23.2 percent to
US$766.9 million from US$622.4
million in January 2013. Also,
capital goods grew by 7.9 percent
to US$1.5 billion in January 2014
from US$1.4 billion a year ago.
In terms of imports source,
China was on top with a 14.7
percent share, equivalent to
US$844 million followed by the
US with a 10.6 percent share,
South Korea (8.7%), Taiwan
(7.5%), France (6.3%), Japan
(6.2%), Saudi Arabia (6.2%),
Singapore (5.7%), Thailand
(5.3%), and Indonesia (4.5%).
Manila Bulletin
The paradox ...
From page 21
long, long way to go. In the last four
quarters, the growth of the
manufacturing sector averaged 9.8
percent, topping at 10.6 in the
fourth quarter of 2013. Still, it would
take billions of dollars in
investments in new factories to
significantly ease our
unemployment situation.
But local investments can only
go so far. We need investments from
abroad to build these factories and
create jobs investments that still
elude us. To give you an idea of how
poorly we were faring in attracting
foreign direct investments (FDIs),
our share was barely four percent of
what was invested in ASEAN last
year. Sure, our haul of $3.86 billion
was a 20 percent increase from
2012, but it still falls short of our
true requirement. Studies show that
we need $7.5 billion in fresh
investments every year, at least, to
significantly improve our
unemployment situation.
The restrictive laws of the
constitution still stand as the single
biggest factor keeping foreign
investors from putting their money
in the Philippines. Unfortunately,
Malacañang is not so keen on
amending these laws. One thing is
for sure, for as long as our laws
remain insular, we will never realize
the FDIs we need, and neither will
we be able to bridge the
unemployment gap.
Agriculture Is The Drag
The agricultural sector accounts
for a measly 13 percent of GDP, but is
the source of livelihood of 30
percent of our workforce,
representing 10 million households.
To make matters worse, the sector is
growing at a snail's pace of just 1.1
percent annually. Literally millions
of households are scrambling over
such a small pie that is hardly
growing.
Our entire agriculture sector
needs rethinking. No longer can we
simply rely on providing irrigation
and farm-to-market roads while
leaving our farmers to use hand or
animal driven methods to farm.
What we need is a real commitment
to mechanize and rise in the value
chain by processing our raw farm
a n d f i s h e r i e s p ro d u c t s i n to
processed food. This necessitates a
serious financial commitment on
the part of government to partly
subsidize mechanization and
training. Only then will the
agricultural pie be large enough to
uplift the lives of those who rely on it
and generate more jobs for others.
Economic think tanks estimate
that it would take 14.6 million jobs
to bridge the unemployment gap
within five years. Unless we get our
act together in the industrial and
agricultural fronts, our workers will
continue to migrate to neighboring
countries where jobs abound. In
which case, the young, creative and
English-speaking workforce that we
are so proud of will actually be
working for the benefit of our
“competitors” in the region, to the
detriment of the homeland. How
painful that will be. Manila Bulletin
Andrew is an economist, political
analyst and businessman. He is a 20year veteran in the hospitality and
tourism industry.
10 things MBA ...
From page 21
r e s o u r c e s w i s e l y. Fo r t h e
layperson, that might translate to
never making a purchase you can't
afford.
Never take a weak front. In
war, a weak front is often just a lure
to tempt the opponent to attack;
taking a weak front is like taking
the bait in a trap. In business and in
advertising, we are confronted
with proposals that are too good to
be true. Be skeptical of potential
weak fronts.
Never sleep while on guard
duty. At Texmark Chemicals,
sleeping, dozing, napping or
drifting off is an unforgivable sin
for a shift operator, which is the
equivalent of guard duty during
wartime. Vigilance is the key to
surviving and winning war, even
during lulls in the action.
Do not heed the voices of
caution too much. If the general
listens mainly to the
quartermaster, who is in charge of
supplies, the army will never
maneuver. While supplies are
essential for survival, it is the risk
takers who enjoy victory.
Have a primary and a
secondary objective. In a military
unit or in a business team, you
should have one clearly defined
primary objective, understood by
all persons in the unit. If a
secondary objective is absolutely
essential, it is better to have one
preplanned, and not created
during the heat of combat.
“Clean the lint off the helix.”
This quote refers to the screen on
clothes dryers that catches lint and
frequently needs to be cleared.
Cutting corners, like overlooking
the helix, can ruin an officer's
uniform an important part of the
military and business community.
Little details are often very
important; when overlooked they
may have large consequences.
About David M. Smith
David M. Smith is the author of
“The Texas Spirit ,”
www.TheTexasSpiritBook.com
(2014; Halcyon Press). He's the
founder and owner of Chemical
Exchange, Inc. and Texmark
Chemicals of Galena Park, Texas. An
El Paso native, he attended the
University of Texas in Austin. Early
in his career, he moved east to
Houston and established himself in
the petrochemical industry. His
new book, “The Texas Spirit,”
features a series of essays about the
ways in which the United States can
benefit from Texas' example,
including economic models and
moral fiber.
Page 23
Manila in shock over model
Helena Belmonte's death
By Cheche V. Moral
COVER GIRL. Belmonte in
2007. COURTESY OF MEG
MAGAZINE
Manila's social and fashion
scene got a shock on March 20
when news spread that one of
the city's prettiest faces had
died. Model Helena Belmonte,
touted as one of Manila's
eligibles, fell to her death from
her 28th-floor condominium in
Pasig City in the early morning
of Thursday. She turned 28 only
last month.
Those who had the chance
to meet and spend time with
the young woman, including us
in Inquirer Lifestyle, knew her
to be a bright, fun-loving
person. Quite likable, she was
bold and easy-going and never
backed away from a challenge.
“Bubbly” and “giggly” are
words that are often used to
describe her in remembrances.
There was an outpouring of
grief by friends and
acquaintances on social media
where they expressed their
regret for the loss of a girl many
saw grow up before their eyes.
Helena, only daughter of
former magazine executive
Lorraine Belmonte, used to
hang out after school at her
mother's Mega Magazine
office, according to accounts.
Pretty soon, she would be
gracing the covers of glossies.
No one expected the tragic
end of the model, who, just a
day before she died, had posted
an Instagram photo of herself
getting her nails done. On the
eve of her death, she even
attended an event hosted by
editor Liza Ilarde, her
godmother.
On her Facebook page,
Ilarde posted a screen cap of
her last phone chat with her
goddaughter. Helena was
inquiring about the dress code
to her ninang's event. Ilarde
lamented that she didn't get to
see Helena that night.
We h a d t r a v e l e d o n
assignments abroad with
Helena. On one trip to Macau,
she was with us for a magazine
cover shoot. The girl was no
diva; she did her own makeup,
styled her own wardrobe and
was a breeze to work with,
judging from her rapport with
the photographer. She must
have been only 21 or 22 then,
the youngest in our group, and
the only one who dared to
bungee-jump off Macau Tower.
She was the same vibrant
girl on a trip to Tokyo, who
cajoled us older girls in the
media group to chaperone her
clubbing. She relished a good
meal and enjoyed the good life.
Her vivacity and lovely smile
will be sadly missed.
Inquirer.net
Dawn enjoys working
with new leading man
MANILA -- After her
s u c c e s s f u l re u n i o n w i t h
Richard Gomez on "Walang
H a n g ga n ," a c t re s s D aw n
Zulueta is now being paired
with actor Albert Martinez in
ABS-CBN's newest fantasy
series "Dyesebel."
In a recent interview,
Zulueta noted that it's only her
second time to work with
Martinez after she did a cameo
appearance years ago.
"We spend a lot of time
together kasi nag-taping kami,
naka-lock in pa nga kami sa
Batangas. Ang masasabi ko
lang talaga, he is so dedicated
to his work. I admire him
because he is one of the few
actors we have in our
generation that takes his craft
seriously," Zulueta said.
Aside from being
professional, Zulueta said she
admires Martinez' intelligence
when it comes to developing
his role.
"Talagang hindi
nagrereklamo. Ang hirap ng
trabaho tapos ang galing
Dawn Zulueta
galing. Tapos ang dami niyang
ideas, actually ang dami kong
natutunan sa kanya. And it
made working with him in as
far as our characters were
developing, it made easier for
me. Kapag ang kasama mong
artista ay intelihente, he is
interested in developing his
character, masarap 'yon kasi
may katapunan ka at 'yung
chemistry siguro doon
lumalabas," she said.
Aside from working with
new a leading man, Zulueta
said she's also thrilled to work
with young stars including
Anne Curtis, who plays the title
character.
"I'm always excited to work
with new blood. Aa tinagal ko
na sa industriya ay marami ka
ng makakatrabaho. I always
look forward working with
veterans but I also look forward
working with the young ones
and these young ones they are
also talented. To be part of this
wonderful production at
Dreamscape pa ang
naghahandle siyempre
talagang exciting for me. At ang
ganda ng role na ibinigay sa
akin, 'yung role ng nanay ni
Dyesebel," Zulueta said.
The pilot episode of
"Dyesebel," which aired on
Monday night, focused on the
love story between the parents
of the lead character - Tino (
Martinez), a prince of the
merfolk, and Lucia (Zulueta), a
young woman from a fishing
village.
Zsa Zsa (third from left) and former husband Modesto (second from
right) with family (Instagram)
Zsa Zsa, ex-husband make peace
By Pau Aguilera
Karylle's wedding proved to be the
key to Zsa Zsa Padilla and former
husband, dentist Modesto
Tatlonghari, finally burying the
hatchet.
Zsa Zsa took to Instagram on
March 24 - a couple of days after
Karylle married her boyfriend of over
three years, band vocalist Yael Yuzon,
to post a photo that showed her with
her daughters and ex-husband.
“We are an unconventional family.
But these days, conventional can be a
rarity. These were precious moments
taken before Karylle walked down the
aisle and became Mrs Yuzon,” part of
her caption read.
The 49-year-old singer-actress
thanked God “for having a hand in
giving us the grace of forgiveness and
love on this precious day. It's as if a
heavy burden has finally been lifted.”
In the same post, she added, “I can
finally say that I am friends with my ex
husband.”
On Friday, Zsa Zsa and the doctor
were all smiles as they walked their
daughter down the aisle and brought
her to Yael, whose eyes teared up at the
sight of his approaching bride.
Zsa Zsa continued, “As they say,
everything happens in God's time. I am
grateful to God for the greatest gift he
has bestowed upon us - our precious
baby girl, Ana Karylle Padilla
Tatlonghari-Yuzon. I am overjoyed
beyond words. God bless us all in our
journey through life. May love,
blessings and peace abound!”
The former couple separated
when Karylle was only 6. Their
marriage was annulled in 2011.
Manila Bulletin
Melanie Marquez to release book
on 'Melanisms'
MANILA -- Former beauty queen
Melanie Marquez is planning to
release a book about “Melanisms” a
collection of erroneous expressions
attributed to her. “I just hope this year.
In the right time. Timing lang po iyan,”
Melanie said. She says she is creating
the tone simply, “para lahat mag-enjoy
isa na 'ko roon.”
Melanie gained notice when she
won the Miss International crown in
1979. It was during the same pageant
that she made the first of many
seemingly innocent linguistic
mistakes.
Asked by one of the judges,
American actress Angie Dickinson, if
she would want her legs insured for a
million dollars, she responded, “I
won't change my legs…because I'm
contented with my 'long-legged.'”
She uttered the latest of these
goofs when interviewed after
surviving a vehicular mishap in the US
last February. “Nagpapasalamat lang
ako sa Diyos na walang complication,
kasi pwede ako ma-parasite dahil
sa car accident ,” she quipped,
meaning to say “paralyzed.”
Melanie Marquez
Of her lapses, the 49-year-old
beauty queen-actress-personality
development coach explained, “Eh
kasi naman, may pagkabulol ako, na
sometimes po, 'yung gusto ko
talagang sabihin, iba 'yung nabibigkas
ko.” Melanie doesn't mind that some
find it funny, “as long as I can express
myself and you guys can understand
me.” She added, “It's nice also to laugh
at yourselves, lalo na sa mga mistake
sa grammar ko, sa dami ng problema
rito, sa buhay natin, I don't think I
should be negative.” “So what? I'm not
an American! Pilipino ako, and I'm
proud to be Pilipino. Yehey!”
Page 24
Jeremy Passion talks about Gary V's 'With You,' a
music and Filipino hospitality potential hit album
By Crispina Martinez - Belen
By Janine Villagracia
MANILA -- In a press
conference Thursday, March 20,
Jeremy Passion shared with
INQUIRER.net some of the
names that helped ignite his
passion for music, and also,
what he loves about his Filipino
roots.
When asked who his biggest
influences were back in his
teenage days, Brian McKnight
and Stevie Wonder were the
iconic names that the 27-yearold singer/songwriter instantly
gave. Now it is no wonder why
this YouTube sensation exudes
so much soul in his
performances, jet-lagged or not.
But apart from his
international favorites, some of
the country's local artists also
made it to Passion's list of
a d m i re d s i n g e r s . S i n g e r songwriter Julianne Tarroja,
Hip-hop and R&B artist Quest,
and multi-awarded Pop-R&B
singer Jay R are fellow singing
sensations who Passion also
takes time to listen to.
Music of his own
The Filipino-American
singer describes his own music
as “honest and message-based.”
Instead of going for catchy lyrics
and tunes, Passion says his
muses in song writing are his
Jeremy Passion
family, his faith, and also, his
heartbreaks.
When asked what fans can
expect from his March 21 show
at The Music Museum, Passion
said it can only be “honest,
o r g a n i c , v u l n e ra b l e , a n d
truthful.”
On his Filipino roots
Though he cannot respond
in straight Tagalog, Passion
proved that he can understand
the Filipino language when he
swiftly answered “27” when
asked “Ilang taon ka na?” which
means “How old are you?” in
English. But more than the
language, Passion says that what
he loves most about Filipinos
are the people's hospitality and
caring nature. “I've always loved
that [aspect]. The world needs
that kind of love” shares the
YouTube star who is set to play
two more shows in Asia after
Manila.
Passion is scheduled to treat
his Singaporean fans to an
nd
intimate show on the 22 of
March, and his Indonesian fans
o n t h e 2 3 rd . Fo r m o re
information on his shows, check
his official Twitter account
https://twitter.com/jeremypas
sion or his Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/Jer
emyPassionMusic. Inquirer.net
Gary Valenciano, “Mr. Pure
Energy” himself, continues to inspire
millions of Filipinos through his
music via his new album “With You.”
Produced by Gary himself for GV
Productions, Inc. in cooperation with
Manila Genesis Entertainment and
Management, Inc. and Universal
Records, “With You” mostly consists
of original songs. It sees Gary
c o l l a b o ra t i n g w i t h s o m e t h e
industry's best acts including AKA
Jam, Young JV and daughter Kiana,
who won Best Child Recording Artist
and Best Christmas Recording in
2001 at the age of 7, for the song
“Once Again It's Christmas.”
Gary composed “With You” for
the wedding of his eldest Paolo to
Samantha Godinez in February of
2013.
Apart from composing and
arranging “He's Enough” which he cowrote with Ray An Fuentes with
additional lyrics by Novacaine, Gary
also wrote and arranged “The
Answer.” Another cut he arranged
was “In You.”
Jonathan Manalo contributed
“Kahit Pinoy” for the album. New
York-based Dodgie Simon, who
wrote “Close Your Eyes” for Gary 28
years ago, contributed “No Mount
Too High,” while award-winning
songwriter Jungee Marcelo who
wrote “Sa Yahweh Ang Sayaw” for
Gary in 1995, contributed the
powerful “Saytay.”
Gary Valenciano
The first song recorded for the
album was Juan Miguel Salvador's
“Para Sa 'Yo Ama,” a tribute to fathers.
Gary's father, Vicente Valenciano,
passed away in May of last year.
Fans can also look forward to
Gary's 30th anniversary concert
titled, “ARISE Gary V 3.0” that
happens at the Smart Araneta
Coliseum on April 11 and 12. Gary codirects both shows with Paolo. It will
also feature a performance from his
other son, Gab. Manila Bulletin
'Teleserye' may need
to rethink its values
By Andy Bais
Ina Cusi, televiewer: “The
scriptwriters of the new teleserye,'
'Ikaw Lamang,' should rethink the
values they want to impart to young
viewers. Where on earth can you
find a child as vindictive and
scheming as the one playing the rich
son of Tirso Cruz III? And, a love
triangle involving kids? Really now.”
Other notes:
Ronz Maceda, cinephile: “If a
four-hour film can effectively shush
my screaming bladder, then Lav
Diaz's 'Norte, Hangganan ng
Kasaysayan' must be a compelling
movie. It isn't perfect, but the film is
one of the best I've seen in a long
time. “Hazel Orencio, Sid Lucero,
Archie Alemania, Mae Paner and the
theatrical Miles Kanapi deliver
knockout performances.”
Doubts
Liza Daguman, housewife: “I
have doubts about Vice Ganda
clinching the Best Actor trophy for
'Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy' at this
year's Star Awards over Joel Torre
('On The Job'). No contestVice's
performance suffers in comparison.
But, then again, this isn't something
new for Star Awards.”
Marlon de Guzman, accountant:
Vice Ganda. Was his performance
better than Joel Torre's?
“My wish list for some of our
singers: Angeline Quinto can reach
those high notes with ease, but she
has to work on how to interpret her
songs and fully understand their
lyrics, not just memorize them. It
would also serve her well if she
learns to judiciously rein in the
'birit.'
“Erik Santos is also a fine singer.
But, his singing style is too paimpress. Come on, you've already
won that singing competition!
“As for Martin Nievera, perhaps
he should lower the key of his songs,
because it isn't nice to see him
struggling for the high notes all the
time.” Inquirer.net
Page 25
Bruno Mars roars in Manila leg
US shows feature
concert tour; donates $100,000 Filipino YouTube star
to Yolanda survivors
By Bayani San Diego Jr.
By Allan Policarpio
MANILA -- American singersongwriter Bruno Mars' concert
Saturday (March 22) night at the
SM Mall of Asia Arena only lasted
a little over an hour, but it was
nonetheless packed with
numbers that prompted nonstop
roars of approval and loud singalongs throughout.
The 28-year-old music artist
from Hawaii set the night's tone
with “Moonshine,” a mid-tempo
d i s c o - p o p t ra c k f ro m h i s
sophomore album “Unorthodox
Jukebox.” The show was part of
his ongoing world tour “The
Moonshine Jungle.”
Backed steadily by his
bouncy live band, The Hooligans,
Mars sustained the energy with
“Nathalie,” before urging his
thousands of thrilled fans to put
their camera phones for a while,
and dance along to the funky
beats of “Treasure.”
Mars, Peter Gene Hernandez
in real life, marched on with a
medley of “Money (That's What I
Want),” “Billionaire” and “I Need
a Dollar.” He then sampled Ghost
Town DJ's “My Boo,” Ginuwine's
“Pony” and R. Kelly's “Ignition” in
another mash-up.
Photo courtesy of Sandy Prieto-Romualdez
Deafening screams pierced
through air when Mars sang
“Marry You” and altered a few
words of its lyrics: “Manila, I
think I'm gonna marry you!” He
slowed things down with “If I
Knew” and “It Will Rain,” and
then let crowd sing their hearts
out in “The Lazy Song,” “Grenade”
and “Just the Way You Are.”
On “When I Was Your Man,”
meanwhile, Mars said: “This was
the hardest song for me to write
and sing.” For his encore, Mars
emerged onstage behind the
drums and displayed his chops
on the instrument in an exciting
solo. All the while the huge
screen behind him displayed the
Philippine flag. He ended the
concert - replete with laser lights,
confetti and fireworks - with the
hit “Gorilla.”
“Thank you guys so much,
you have no idea how much this
means to me performing right
here, being a Filipino, and seeing
my people,” Mars told the rapt
crowd. “I promised you all before,
and I promise you all again - we'll
be back very, very soon.”
A day before the concert,
Mars, who was born to a Filipino
mother and Puerto Rican father,
donated a check worth $100,000
to “Yolanda” survivors through a
local charity foundation.
Inquirer.net
Filipino-Canadian YouTube
sensation Mikey Bustos' latest video,
Avicii's “Wake Me Up,” was featured
over the weekend in top-rating TV
shows in the United States.
Bustos, who is currently based in
Manila and under contract with GMA
7, told the Inquirer that he
“screamed for a good 10 minutes”
when he received an e-mail inquiry
from producers of the “Today” show,
aired on NBC.
Bustos' a cappella rendition of
Aloe Blacc's song was shown twice,
on Friday and Saturday (March 21
and 22), in the “Today” segment
d u b b e d “ We b s t a t i c ,” w h i c h
spotlights videos that are trending in
the Net.
Bustos' video was shown as well
in the rival show, “Good Morning
America” on ABC, on Saturday. The
US news website The Huffington
Post found the video “mind-blowing
[since] all sounds were produced
exclusively by [his] mouth or voice.”
Bustos played 14 characters and
laid 36 vocal tracks for the video,
including guitar and drum sounds.
“Some sounds are doubled, or
combine one or more sounds,”
Bustos explained. “To achieve the
same effect, you'll need a choir of 36
people.”
It took seven and a half hours to
Mikey Bustos laid 36 vocal tracks for viral vid.
record the song, another day to
shoot and edit the video - all in all,
three days “from start to finish, from
planning to editing.”
Blacc, the original singer and
cowriter of the song, shared the
video on his fan page, Bustos related.
“He said the video was great and
made him smile.”
Bustos, who first broke into the
scene as a finalist on “Canadian Idol”
in 2003, is no stranger to cyberfame.
u Page 26
Page 26
Beauty queen as
community worker
'Loveless' Venus Raj enrols in a master's program to
help her province mates in the future
By Bayani San Diego Jr.
Venus Raj, fourth runner-up
in the Miss Universe pageant in
2010, went back to school last
year.
She is taking up a master's
degree in Community
Development in UP Diliman.
“I'm almost done with the
second semester (this month). I
have two more years to go,” she
told the Philippine Daily
Inquirer.
Before becoming a beauty
queen, she graduated cum laude
with a degree in Journalism
from Bicol University in Albay.
After breaking up with TV
host Andrei Felix, Venus said she
kept herself busy with her
studiesto keep her mind off the
heartbreak.
“I am very happy with my
life,” she remarked. “I'm single. I
am open to dating. But I am not
in a rush.”
She denied rumors that
she's seeing a politician and
pointed out that she'd rather go
steady with a noncelebrity - so
that “the relationship would be
more peaceful.”
Going back to school had
Venus Raj dreams of becoming a
teacher and setting up a
scholarship foundation for the
young people of Bicol.
always been her dream, she
said.
“I chose Community
Development because I want to
h e l p my p rov i n c e m a te s
someday,” she related. “My goal
is to put up a foundation for the
youth - with special focus on
education.”
Coming from a small town
(Bato, Camarines Sur), she said,
made her painfully aware of the
struggles of common folk.
“I'm the product of a
foundation, too,” she owned up.
“I was a scholar of the Francis
Padua Papica Foundation.
That's why I want to put up a
scholarship fund to send young
people to school.”
Beyond the glamour of show
biz, she sees herself moving
back to Bicol and becoming a
mentor to kids.
“I'd like to teach also,” she
explained. “Aside from being a
beauty queen, I know that being
a teacher is something I can be
proud of…I want education to be
my legacy…it's something
substantial that I can leave
behind to my future
grandchildren.”
She has returned to
television, meanwhile,
cohosting a travel show,
“ B u s i n e s s F l i g h t ,” w i t h
businesswoman Cristina
Decena. (“Business Flight”
premiered March 23 on GMA
News TV.)
Doing the show has been a
great learning experience so far,
Venus noted. She and Cristina
recently traveled to Japan, to
interview Filipinos who have
u Page 27
Andi Eigenmann and
Jake Ejercito touring
Malacca recently (Jake's
blog)
Andi and Jake agree on
label-free relationship
By Jecelyn V. Macahindog
Andi Eigenmann respects Jake
Ejercito not wanting to talk about their
relationship, with the latter saying they
are “a couple without a label” just last
January.
As an explanation, he told PEP, “I
guess we just don't like talking about it
anymore, kasi laging ginagawan ng
issue or nami-misunderstand. And
people end up thinking we're either
lying or being pretentious.”
Ejercito's statement doesn't bother
Eigenmann. “Hindi naman sumama
'yung loob ko. Para sa akin, kung ano
'yung komportable si Jake na sabihin,
kung ano lang po 'yung kaya niya
ibahagi sa mga tao, kailangan
respetuhin natin 'yun,” she told “Buzz
ng Bayan” on Sunday.
The 23-year-old Kapamilya actress
added, “Lagi niyang sinasabi na, 'Sinabi
ko friends tayo pero nakikita din
naman 'yung posts ko sa Instagram, it's
public. We are always together.' It's
basically 'what you see is what you
get.'”
She also reiterated that Ejercito is
not a showbiz personality and should
be allowed privacy.
“Kung ano ang nangyayari sa buhay
namin, sa aming dalawa na po 'yun.
Lagi ko pong hinihingi na sana
respetuhin natin 'yung privacy ni Jake
bilang hindi naman siya celebrity. He's
not obligated to share his personal life
to the world if he doesn't want to,”
Eigenmann.
With regards to the supposed issue
with Ejercito's parents, the daughter of
veteran actors Mark Gil and Jaclyn Jose
also vowed in an earlier interview, “I'll
do my part and prove na I don't need to
be disliked.” Manila Bulletin
“Salakot” and “walis tambo” are highlighted in the video. Videograb
US shows feature ...
From page 25
His YouTube channel has become
very popular largely due to his comedic
“Filipino tutorial” series, which went
viral in 2011.
Being featured in “Today” and
“Good Morning America,” however, is
particularly significant for Bustos,
“because it showed once again that
Filipinos live and breathe music and
art.”
Pinoy details
Bustos, who grew up in Canada,
made sure to insert proudly Pinoy
details in the video, which has scored
234,285 hits since going online on
March 15. In it, he wears a salakot and
brandishes a walis tambo and walis
tingting. He said he wanted to remind
Filipinos “that we are world players,
recognized [around] the globe as
talented entertainers. The world
embraces us and our skills. They don't
see us as a race … they just hear good
music.”
The video is likewise meaningful
on a personal level, he noted, because it
showcases his vocal ability. “Music is
my No. 1 passion, even before comedy.
I'm obsessed with music and singing.”
He described the exposure on
mainstream US television as
“wonderful.” It's just starting to sink in,
he said, “[but] now that I have an even
bigger audience, I am thinking of new
ideas.” Inquirer.net
Page 27
Megan Young honored with
limited edition stamps
By Pau Aguilera
Dennis Trillo, Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez of 'My Husband's Lover’
Kapuso stars, shows reign at
5th Golden Screen TV Awards
By Rowena Tan
There's been a lot of heart at the
5th Golden Screen TV Awards held last
March 21 at The Teatrino in Greenhills,
San Juan City, with the Kapuso network
taking home a total of 28 awards,
including Outstanding TV network.
Among its winning shows were
“My Husband's Lover” (Outstanding
Original Drama Program),
“Temptation Of Wife” (Outstanding
Adapted Drama Program), “Born To Be
Wild” (Outstanding Natural History
Wildlife Program), “Wish Ko Lang”
(Outstanding Public Service Program)
and “Tropang Potchi” (Outstanding
Education Program).
Some of its stars also took home
acting awards like Dennis Trillo
(Outstanding Actor in a Drama
Program), Carla Abellana
(Outstanding Actress in a Drama
Program), Kevin Santos (Outstanding
Supporting Actor in a Drama
Program), Glydel Mercado
(Outstanding Supporting Actress in a
Drama Program) and Michael V.
(Outstanding Performance by an
Actor in a Gag or Comedy Program).
Meanwhile, ABS-CBN picked up
24 awards, among them the
Outstanding Showbiz Talk Program
Award for “The Buzz,” Outstanding
Crime/Investigative Program Award
for “SOCO,” Outstanding Public Affairs
Program Award for “Failon Ngayon”
and Outstanding Lifestyle Program for
“Kris TV.”
TV5, on the other hand, received
two awards: Outstanding Adapted
Reality/Competition Program for
“Amazing Race Philippines” and
Outstanding Showbiz Talk Program
Female Host , for “Ang Latest
Updated's” Cristy Fermin. Manila
Bulletin
Reigning Miss World Megan
Ly n n e Yo u n g i s n o w
immortalized via a special
edition postage stamp issued by
the Philippine Postal
Corporation (PhilPost), the
third Filipina beauty queen
given the distinction following
1969 Miss Universe Gloria Diaz
and 1973 Miss Universe Margie
Moran.
The limited edition stamps,
showing Bong Tan's photos of
Megan's coronation in Bali,
Indonesia on Sept. 28last year,
were made publicly available on
Monday, March 24. There were
80,000 pieces released, costing
P30 for the stamp depicting her
in portrait and P40 for those
showing her seated on a throne.
Seven thousand embossed
souvenir sheets carrying
Megan's image were also issued
at P100 each.
These, and Official First Day
Covers (stamps on a card or
envelope marked as
postallyserviced), will be
available at the Post Shop,
Philately and Museum Division,
Manila Central Post Office, Door
203, Liwasang Bonifacio, 1000
Manila and at all regional offices
of the PhilPost.
Megan, who was born in
Alexandria, Virginia to a Filipino
mother and American father,
entered local show business via
the second season of the talent
reality search “StarStruck.” She
is the country's first Miss World
title holder.
Other Filipino celebrities
commemorated on stamps
were former First Lady Imelda
Marcos (in 1973 and 1975) and
boxing icon and Sarangani
representative Manny Pacquiao
(2008).
Sarah wants what Yeng has - someday
By Jecelyn V. Macahindog
While she wouldn't confirm or
deny her supposed blossoming love
life, Sarah Geronimo has admitted to
being envious of her friend and fellow
”ASAP” mainstay Yeng Constantino,
who recently got engaged to her
boyfriend, Yan Asuncion.
“Naiinggit ako kasi nakakainggit
'yung love story nila. First boyfriend
niya si Yan (Asuncion), first girlfriend
niya si Yeng tapos parehas sila ng
paniniwala sa Diyos. So napakainspiring ng love story nila. Naiinggit
talaga ako,” Geronimo told ABS-CBN
News.
That said, Geronimo maintained
that although she's of marrying age,
she is not in a hurry to follow in the
footsteps of Yeng.
Beauty queen as ...
From page 26
established their own successful
businesses there.
“Their stories are inspiring,” Venus
said. She singles out Babylyn “Mama
Kei” Fetalvero - who started a
carinderia that became a thriving
restaurant venture in Nagoya, Japan.
“She went through a lot of
hardships, but never gave up,” Venus
said of Mama Kei. “I see myself in their
stories. I experienced the same
obstacles. Working on this show has
made me realize that we may have
different situations in life, but our
“Napakabilis ng panahon. Hindi ko
naisip na marrying age na pala ako, 25.
Pero siyempre kailangan pag-isipan
talaga ng mabuti dahil lifetime
commitment 'yan. Ipinagdadasal
naman 'yan,” she explained.
Geronimo said that she would like
to have children on or before she turns
30.
“Siyempre naman darating at
darating tayo sa pagkakataon na
m a g k a k a p a m i lya a t h o p e f u l ly
mabibiyayaan ng sariling anak. When?
Siguro sana in my early 30s or before
mag-30. Tingnan natin,” she said.
Geronimo is currently busy
working on a film opposite Coco
Martin and as returning coach for the
kids' edition as well as Season 2 of
“The Voice of the Philippines.” Manila
Bulletin
dreams are all the same.” Venus looks up
to her cohost, who not only built a
business empire on her own, but also
survived two tumultuous show biz
affairs and an assassination attempt last
year.
“In the short time that I've known
her, I've observed that when she
commits to something, she buckles
down to work and never rests until
everything is done excellently,” Venus
said of Cristina. “She truly values her
work, her goals. She also motivates her
team to accomplish any given task. She
encourages convergence of the best
ideas. She never dictates or micromanages. She looks out for the whole
team.” Inquirer.net
A scene in 'Ekstra”
7 Pinoy films at Southeast
Asian Film Festival
By Michael Joe T. Delizo
Filipino filmmakers will get
the chance to showcase their
wo rk a t t h i s ye a r ' s 4 t h
Southeast Asian Film Festival in
Singapore.
The Pinoy films screening
at the festival are: Jeffrey
Jeturian's “Ekstra, (The Bit
P l a y e r ) ,” M i k h a i l R e d ' s
“Rekorder,” Gutierrez “Teng”
Mangansakan II's “Cartas de la
Soledad (Letters of Solitude),”
A r n e l M a r d o q u i o' s “A n g
Paglalakbay ng mga Bituin sa
Gabing Madilim (The Journey
of the Stars into the Dark
Night),” Adjani Arumpac's “War
is a Tender Thing,” Christian
Linaban's “Aberya,” and Pam
Miras' “Pascalina.”
“Ekstra” follows the trials of
single mother Loida (played by
Vilma Santos), who is trying to
put her daughter through
school while working as a bit
player or “extra” in films.
“Rekorder” is about a
drifter who earns a living by
selling films he captures
illegally in theaters using his
trusty camcorder. His routine is
interrupted when he witnesses
a senseless crime.
“Cartas de la Soledad” tells
the story of a balikbayan who,
upset to see the rampant
corruption and widespread
poverty in Maguindanao, starts
writing letters to himself as a
form of escape.
“Ang Paglalakbay ng mga
Bituin sa Gabing Madilim” is
about two women wanting to
leave behind their life as rebels
in order to protect a young boy
whose parents have been killed
in a gun battle.
“War is a Tender Thing”
explores the many facets of
how the centuries-old conflict
in Mindanao started.
“Aberya”is described as a
“time-tripping psychedelic
film.” Set in Cebu, it tells the
story of several characters: a
Filipino-American rising star
trying to rediscover his roots;
an ex-nun turned prostitute; a
self-styled vigilante; a drugdealing son of a senator; and an
accidental porn star who longs
to find Mr. Right.
“Pascalina” is about a girl
finding some sense in her
complicated life. Meanwhile,
Arumpac, Mardoquio and Red,
along with “Rekorder”
producer Pamela Reyes, will
join other filmmakers and
screenwriters from across the
globe to share filmmaking
knowledge during the festival.
According to its website,
the Southeast Asian Film
Festival aims to provide “a
window into the core issues
and concerns of Southeast
Asia” and “a space for intercultural and philosophical
sharing, and for art and film
friendships to form.”
The festival will run from
April 11 to May 4 at the
Singapore Art Museum. Manila
Bulletin
Page 28
Bay Area's Ana Julaton
mulling jump into MMA
Julaton is the first and only ethnic Filipina world champion pro boxer
Gilas Pilipinas Team. Photo by Noy Morcoso lll/INQUIRER.net
Gilas PH 5 main
goal: Asiad gold
By June Navarro
MANILA -- While everybody is
thrilled at the prospect of seeing the
men's national basketball team in
the world championship, the real
target for Gilas Pilipinas is to bring
home the gold medal in the Asian
Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Samahang Basketbol ng
Pilipinas executive director Sonny
Barrios said nothing would please
SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan
more than seeing the Filipinos
reclaim the Asiad basketball gold.
“When was the last time we
won the championship in the Asian
Games? Fifty years ago? It's been a
long time,” said Barrios.
According to Barrios, the Fiba
World Cup in Spain from Aug. 30 to
Sept. 14 will be the climax of the
Nationals' training program for the
Incheon Games, set Sept. 19 to Oct.
4.
“The World Cup is a first-class
training ground for the Incheon
Games,” he said.
“Mr. Pangilinan wants the team
to get into the second round in the
Wo r l d C u p , t h e n w i n t h e
championship in Incheon. That's
how tough the goals are.”
The Philippines last won the
Asian Games cage title in 1962 in
Jakarta and placed second to China
in 1990 in Beijing when the PBA
began to support the national team.
Inquirer.net
Selected young players from the Philippines greet Miami Head coach Erik
Spoelstra. Photo from Miami Heat Instagram Account
Spoelstra leads Yolanda youth
survivors in Heat homecourt tour
By Celest R. Flores
MANILA -- Instead of going
straight to work Saturday (March
22) morning (Manila time), Miami
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra
went out of his way to spend time
with young Filipino athletes first.
The Filipino-American
Spoelstra spearheaded the once-ina-lifetime tour of the American
Airlines Arena in Miami for 16
young athletes from the Typhoon
Yolanda-stricken towns in the
Philippines.
Spoelstra's mother hails from
San Pablo City, Laguna.
The young coach has been
actively involved in fundraising
efforts for the survivors of Yolanda
since last year, even starring in a
Public Service Announcement for
Unicef.
In photos posted on Miami
Heat's official Instagram page, the
kids, who donned in Filipino
colored-shirts had smiles plastered
on their faces and were greeted by
coach “Spo” before the Heat's game
against the Grizzlies.
The young Filipinos also got a
grand tour of the AAA, whose walls
are decorated with photos of the
special moments in the Heat's
recent championships, before
interacting with the biggest hoop
stars like LeBron James, and
Dwyane Wade during the pre-game
warm-ups.
The tour, which will also take the
delegation to Washington DC for
basketball clinics, was in
partnership with the US State
Department where Spoelstra
s e r ve d a s a n e nvo y t o t h e
Philippines in 2009. Inquirer.net
DALY CITY, California -- Bay
Area boxing star Ana “The
Hurricane” Julaton is planning to
test her fighting skills in the
tougher and more rugged mixed
martial arts (MMA).
Julaton, who started out as a
martial artist before shifting fulltime to boxing, would be most
welcome in the MMA because of
her popularity and skills, said
Filipino Canadian promoter
Victor Cui, chief executive of ONE
Fighting Championship, which
manages a big stable of MMA
fighters.
“A natural home for her is ONE
FC,” Cui told Balitang America's
Dennis Gasgonia. “If she's ready
and that I'll say that if she does
fight soon, we shouldn't be
surprised.”
Julaton, who was born and
raised in Daly City to Filipino
immigrant parents, has posted
pictures of her training in MMA,
indicating she could be preparing
to cross over to another blood
sport.
The 33-year-old Julaton holds
the distinction of being the first
and only ethnic Filipina world
champion pro boxer. She won the
International Boxing Association
and World Boxing Council super
bantamweight in just her seventh
Ana Julaton. PHILBOXING.COM PHOTO
and eighth fights in September
and December 2009.
Since losing her WBO crown
in 2012 on points to Argentina's
Yesica Partricia Marcos, Julaton
has won three of four fights in a
bid to take another crack at a
world title. As a kid, Julaton was
introduced to martial arts by her
father and later became a bok-fu
instructor at the West Wind
Martial Arts and Boxing School in
Berkeley, California. It was there
that she met and was introduced
to serious boxing by her current
trainer-manager Angelo Reyes, a
FilAm like her.
“I've talked to AJ (Ana Julaton)
over the last two years,” said Cui.
“We follow each other on Twitter.
I'm a big fan of her and we know
each other well. She's been
thinking about a career in mixed
martial arts for a long time.”
The Singapore-based ONE FC
is currently expanding its stable of
women MMA fighters, which
includes Ann “Athena” Osman of
M a l ay s i a , S h e r i ly n L i m o f
Singapore and the Philippines'
Jujeath Nagaowa. Its website says
that ONE FC has more than a 90
percent market share in the Asian
MMA market. Inquirer.net
Page 29
CEO pushes colleagues to adopt Filipino Olympians
By Michelle V. Remo
The chief executive officer of the
Philippine unit of British American
Tobacco (BAT) is pursuing another
daunting goal besides keeping the
cigarette firm profitable in the wake
of rising excise tax rates.
Possessing a keen interest in
sports, James Michael Lafferty wants
to see at least one Filipino athlete
win a gold medal in the 2016
Summer Olympics.
“ B e i n g C E O o f a to b a c c o
company is just my job. It is not what
defines me,” Lafferty says.
A former track and field coach,
Lafferty confesses that he is
passionate about athletics because
this is a potential venue through
which a country can significantly
boost its reputation to the world.
The annual increase in the excise
tax rates on all cigarette brands that
started in 2013, as mandated by the
Sin Tax Reform law, is widely
believed to drag profits of tobacco
firms operating in the Philippines
like BAT. This is also seen to put
pressure on industry CEOs like
Lafferty.
BAT, however, already has
dismissed fears of income decline.
The company earlier expressed
support to the government's tax
reform and said doing business in
the country would continue to be a
sound move.
With the company's positive
income outlook despite the rising tax
rates, Lafferty does not have to spend
all his time trying to figure out how
to maintain BAT's market share.
A believer of having a balanced
life, Lafferty intends to dedicate a
portion of his spare time to helping
the Philippines win an Olympic gold.
He believes the Philippines has
enough talent to make it big in the
global sports competition. However,
he opines, the country falls
substantially short in the area of
funding training programs for its
athletes.
An initiative that involves
gathering of financial support for the
training of its athletes should boost
the country's chances of winning its
first gold when competitors from
around the world gather in Rio de
Jainero, Brazil two years from now,
he says.
“The Philippines has not won an
Olympic gold not because of lack of
talent but because of lack of funding
support for its athletes. It is about
the time the country steps up,” he
tells economic reporters in a recent
briefing that was expected to revolve
only around BAT's market share and
the company's economic outlook.
Adopt an Olympian program
Putting money where his mouth
is, the 51-year-old American
executive is gathering other CEOs to
realize his “Adopt an Olympian”
program.
Under the program, one CEO
ought to fund a full-range training of
one Filipino athlete. The objective is
to help the country win the elusive
gold, preferably as early as 2016.
The Adopt an Olympian program
is not just about giving away money,
he explains. The program also entails
helping out in the setting up of an
e n t i re sys te mwh i c h i nvo lve s
selection and hiring of a coach, a
y o g a i n s t r u c t o r, a
nutritionist/dietician, and a sports
psychologist, as well as the design of
a training program meant to develop
skills of an athlete.
“Adopts” Torres
I n h i s c a s e , L a f fe r t y h a s
“adopted” long jumper Marestella
Torres, whom he believes has a great
potential to win an Olympic gold
medal.
According to Wikipedia, the 33year-old Torres won the 2009 Asian
Championships with her leap
measuring 6.51 meters. She also won
the silver medal in the 2005 Asian
Championships.
Also, Torres participated in the
2008 Olympics held in Beijing, China,
and in the 2012 Olympics held in
London. “She [Torres] is very good,
but she has never been given proper
training. She would have been a gold
medalist by now if she had been
sufficiently supported before,” he
says.
Lafferty is funding the training of
Torres out of his own pocket. He says
he already has selected people who
will form Torres' training team.
An Olympian from Nigeria was
scheduled to go to the Philippines at
the time of this writing to start her
formal training, he says.
Lafferty says the achievements
of Torres so far were encouraging
given that she had never been given
fully funded training. He has high
hopes that Torres will make it even
bigger in the field of long jump now
that she has a team hired to develop
her skills.
EXPRESS SUDOKU
HOW TO PLAY: Place a number from 1 to 9 in each empty cell so that each
row, each column and each 3x3 block contains all the numbers from 1 to 9
Solution to Issue 12 Sudoku
Solution to Issue 12 Crossword
Sports psychologist
In a top-level competition such
as the Olympics, Lafferty says, the
difference between a winner and a
loser could be very slim. That is why
ensuring an athlete undergoes
proper training and fitness program,
and is given ample psychological
conditioning is crucial, he says.
Hiring a sports psychologist is
necessary in order to help an athlete
manage his or her fear when
performing before a large audience,
he says.
Because fear of performing
before a huge crowd is one of the
most common forms of fear and
because athletes are meant to
perform in front of a live and
television audience hiring a sports
psychologist is as important as
hiring other trainers, he adds.
“That is why a full training can be
expensive,” Lafferty says.
“I can sponsor one athlete, but I
cannot financially support many
Filipino athletes. That is why I am
soliciting help from my fellow CEOs,”
he says.
20 CEOs supporting 20 athletes
Lafferty is targeting to convince
19 other CEOs to join him in his
advocacy. As of this writing, Lafferty
says, he would already have spoken
to 10 corporate heads whom he
expects to commit to the Adopt an
Olympian program.
He is out to convince 10 more.
“I already have spoken with 10
other CEOs and I told them: 'I want
you to come on board with me. Our
goal is for the Philippines to get at
least one gold in Rio',” Lafferty says.
His Adopt an Olympian program
is patterned after a system in Cuba
where 20 athletes believed to have
the greatest Olympic winning
potential are funded by individuals
who have capacity to financially
support athletes.
Lafferty says having 20 fully
funded athletes may be enough to
boost a country's chance of winning
a gold medal in the Olympics.
If the aim is to get a gold medal,
he explains, it is wiser to spend on
full training of 20 athletes rather
than spend on partial training of 100.
He says the Philippine Sports
Commission (PSC) will be asked to
recommend the 19 other athletes
who will be beneficiaries of the
Adopt an Olympian program. The
athletes should be those who have
the biggest winning potential, he
says.
“The athletes to be chosen
should be those who are young and
experienced in competitions,”
Lafferty says.
Endearment for the Philippines
Lafferty could have opted to
pursue his Adopt an Olympian
program in any country, but he has
chosen the Philippines where he has
been based for quite some time.
Having worked for the
Philippine units of Procter & Gamble
and Coke prior to his stint at BAT,
Lafferty, who is now on his eighth
year in the Philippines, says he is
eager to be of service to the
Philippines in his own way,
p a r t i c u l a r ly t h ro u g h s p o r t s .
Inquirer.net
EXPRESS CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1. Lukewarm
6. God of love
10. Matured
14. Small African
antelope
15. Pervert
16. A ball of yarn
17. Frighten
19. Center
20. Decrease
21. Lay turf
22. Train track
23. Meddle
25. Tropical nut
26. Catholic church
service
30. New
32. An abusive word or
phrase
35. Pixies
39. High regard
40. Clothing
41. Hopelessness
43. Receive from a
predecessor
44. Brook
46. Sleep in a convenient
place
47. Foundation
50. Of the highest quality
53. Flows
54. Soviet space station
55. Financial
60. Modify
61. Dental medicine
63. Assistant
64. Certain
65. Carcinoid
66. One who
accomplishes
67. Nipple
68. Platform
1. Hard work
2. Sea eagle
3. Quarries
4. Nile bird
5. 10 cent coins
6. A late time of life
7. A rational motive
8. Devilfish
9. Outbuilding
10. Recognized
11. Boast
12. Creepy
13. Inhabit
18. Hotel
DOWN
24. Not in
25. A bed on a ship
26. A fitting reward
(archaic)
27. Church alcove
28. Seats oneself
29. Daughter of a
step-parent
31. Extent
33. Warms
34. Arab chieftain
36. Novice
37. Twin sister of
Ares
38. Collections
42. Ash
43. Evil spirit
45. Dawn goddess
47. Slang for money
48. Sound
49. Malicious
51. Eastern newt
52. Violent
disturbances
54. The bulk
56. A promiscuous
woman
57. Unwakable state
58. All excited
59. Stringed
instrument
62. Mesh
Page 30
Rentals
PSYCHIC
LOUISE
Spiritual Leader and
Adviser.
Help all problems of
life.
One free question by
phone.
Also palm and card
reading.
Address:
1265 Forest Avenue
Staten Island, NY
10302
Telephone:
718-720-1865
u
Help Wanted
u
HOUSEKEEPER
WANTED
Live-in full day
nanny for 3
month old boy,
light housework.
Infant care
experience with
valid ID essential.
Immediate
employment
possible
Call:
973-251-2428
Or
732-236-4226
u
Personal
u
HOUSEMAN
WANTED
Housekeeper
needed in
Morganville, NJ
Driving, cleaning
and occasional
meals. Other help in
household. Sleep in.
Must be legal.
Live in or out
Call Christine
Live in must
work 1 weekend
day
Please call
Felicia
732-688-9392
The Filipino Express is only
$40 a year for 52 issues
LIVE-IN
NANNY
WANTED
Jobs
Eric's
Steakhouse in
Palisades Park,
NJ is looking to
hire experienced
sous chef,
waiters,
waitresses and
busers.
Off Grand Ave
at Palisades
Park.
Public
transportation is
stress free.
Ask for Eric.
201-960-3770
201-767-8000
SECRETARY
WANTED
With driver license.
Data entry, some
accounting,
ecommerce experience
Call:
David Tawil
732-996-5395
Services
CHEAP SHARE
East Village,
Manhattan
$325 monthly
(including utilities),
plus help around the
house.
SEEKING:
A neat, reliable young
lady with few
belongings.
OFFERING:
A small, but beautiful
and comfortable 1
bedroom apartment to
share with a mature,
working woman from
Western Europe and
her 2 cats.
References and security
deposit requested.
Replies to:
[email protected]
Page 31
Page 32

The Filipino Express v28 Issue 13

Transcription

Similar documents

Philippines 101 - House of the Philippines

POST-WAR PHILIPPINE FICTION IN ENGLISH

PhiliPPines - lara brunt

The Philippines: A New Awakening

oplan bantay laya

The Filipino Express v28 Issue 05

The Filipino Express v27 Issue 31

Please click here to read full press release.

F Hope and Faith for 2013

The perception of neocolonial relations with the United States

`Just economy` and inclusive growth

a PDF of the BDP - Bangsamoro Development Agency