032219 - San Francisco Edition

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

T H E F I L I PI N O A M E R I CA N C O M M UN I T Y N E WS PAP E R

Volume 18 - No. 7 • 2 Sections – 16 Pages

MA R C H 2 2 - 2 8 , 2 0 1 9

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DATELINE USA FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

Fil-Am UC Irvine student confirmed to have died from alcohol poisoning Student’s father suspects “fraternity hazing” to be the cause as investigation continues THE Orange County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed alcohol poisoning to be the cause of death of a Fil-Am college student who was found unresponsive in January following an off-campus university fraternity Noah Domingo party.

Photo courtesy of Domingo family In a statement released Monday, March 11, the sheriff’s department said that Noah Domingo, 18, died as

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Fil-Am arrested in PH for child pornography FILIPINO-AMERICAN Joel Aquino Pasay was arrested in Angeles City, Pampanga on Saturday, March 16, due to his indictment from the United States District Court of Nevada for child pornography charges.

The U.S. court indicted Pasay on May 2, 2017, with his receipt of child pornography as it is in violation of the TItle 18 in U.S. Code 2252 (a)(2). He allegedly distributed copies of child pornography materials. He was nowhere to be found for almost two years.

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Also published in LOS ANGELES, LAS VEGAS, NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY

Duterte: Misuari to declare war if federalism is rejected

by RALPH

EDWIN U. VILLANUEVA Manilatimes.net

MORO National Liberation Front (MNLF) Chairman Nur Misuari has threatened to declare war against the government if federalism is not passed, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday, March 20.

The president said Misuari made the threat during a meeting in Malacañang late Tuesday, March 19.

Misuari met with Duterte upon his return from his

trip to the United Arab Emirates and Morocco.

The MNLF leader told the president that his group wants a federal system because it was an undelivered promise of former President Cory Aquino.

“Misuari said last night that if you do not give it to me, let me be very honest, I will go to war,” Duterte said in a speech during the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino- Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) campaign rally in Marikina City on Wednesday, March 20.

The president said he assured Misuari that he

understands his stand and that the government would form a panel since the two sides cannot negotiate secretly.

“I told him, day-to-day they will be briefed, how will they want the federal system? Will it be like the Bangsamoro Organic Law or a different type?” he said.

The shift to federalism was one of the campaign promises of Duterte.

The House of Representatives had passed its version of charter change bill but senators had declared that federalism was “dead in the water.” ■

Duterte threatens to fire water officials by

NATHALIE ROBLES AJPress

PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night, March 19, threatened to sack officials from Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), Maynilad and Manila Water for the water supply shortage experienced in certain areas of Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo disclosed among the media what transpired during the 40-minute meeting of the president with the officials of agencies responsible for the water crisis.

“In a stern message delivered without even once looking at the officials, the obviously outraged president threatened to fire the MWSS officials and terminate the concessionaires’ contracts,” the palace spokesman said as reported by The Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Panelo shared that the meeting became a “presidential monologue” since Duterte

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COMPROMISE. President Rodrigo Duterte gives a warm welcome to Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari at a meeting at the Malacañan Palace on Tuesday, March 19. This was their second meeting in a month following the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), a measure creating a new Bangsamoro region in Mindanao with greater autonomy. Duterte said that Misuari warned him of war in case government fails to meet the demands of the Moro separatist group.

Malacañang photo by Ace Morandante

Malacañang: ICC officials barred from Int’l lawyers note ‘severe’ rights violation vs PH lawyers entering country if caught probing drug war

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJ Press

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

MALACAÑANG on Monday, March 18, said International Criminal Court (ICC) officials and prosecutors would be barred from entering the Philippines if the nature of their visit is for conducting a probe into President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.

“If they say ‘We will be investigating.’ Perhaps they will be denied [entry] by the [Bureau of] Immigration,” said presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo in a press briefing.

“Huwag na. Matulog na lang sila (They should not come here.

They should just sleep),” he added.

However, Panelo said ICC representatives can visit the Philippines as tourists and “guests” but once they make moves to start a probe into the administration’s controversial drug war, they may face deportation.

“I’ll smile at them and tell them nicely ‘you can’t do it here. If you persist you will be deported. You will be violating (our sovereignty),” Panelo said.

“You’re interfering with the sovereignty. Because when you try to subject a country to your jurisdiction, then you’re interfering with that country because we have our own courts here. We can prosecute anybody if we feel (they violate or transgress) the law,” he added.

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda stressed the court continues to have jurisdiction over the possible crime against humanity committed during the period the Philippines was a state party to the statute.

Photo from Twitter/@Int’l Criminal Court

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Trillanes’ plea for reconsideration vs sedition case blocked

by NATHALIE

ROBLES

Jacinto “Jing” Paras, Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission Commissioner Manuelito Luna; LAWYERS on Monday, March lawyers Nasser Marohomsalic, 18, blocked Senator Antonio Eligio Mallari and Alvaro BernTrillanes IV’s motion for partial abe Lazaro were among the comreconsideration before the Pasay plainants.

City Prosecutor’s Office on his seThe group noted that the dition case over his alleged pro- statement issued by the senavoking comments in 2018. tor against Philippine President Department of Labor and Em- Rodrigo Duterte on September ployment (DOLE) Undersecretary 5, 2018, cannot be perceived as AJPress

acceptable despite his position in the legislation since “he was not performing his official duty” the moment he said it.

“Parliamentary non-accountability cannot be invoked when the lawmaker’s speech or utterance is made outside sessions, hearings or debates in Congress, extraneous to the ‘due functioning of the (legislative) process,”

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A PANEL of international lawyers on Monday, March 18, said there has been a “sharp increase” of rights violations against Filipino lawyers, prosecutors, and judges since the start of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The panel included lawyers from Belgium, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands and the United States, belonging to international lawyers’ groups International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA) and Day of the Endangered Lawyer Foundation (DELF).

The panel reviewed 13 incidents of attacks against members of the Philippine bar, conducting interviews and conferences with government officials, NGOs, the Commission on Human Rights, legal professionals, victims and families of victims in Metro Manila and Iloilo from March 14 to 18.

Since July 2016, legal professionals have been suffering from attacks. The killing of human rights lawyer Ben Ramos in November last year prompted the panel to come to the Philippines.

“We have visited other countries where there has been a high

degree of criminalization of lawyers because of the execution of their duties and defense of people but we have not visited any country where there has been such a high degree of extrajudicial killings, harassment and surveillance of lawyers, prosecutors, and judges, and also now we’re learning, paralegals as well whom we consider also to be part of the legal profession,” said lawyer Suzanne Adely from the United States’ National Lawyers Guild.

“That does not mean that we’ve looked into this matter in every country in the world but there are…the reason that we came here in the first place is there have been extensive reports about this,” she added.

Patterns in killings According to the panel’s review of data, there are “patterns” in kill-

ings.

“There are patterns suggesting a connection between the killings and the actions of the PNP and AFP. There are recurrent elements sustaining such connection,” the data revealed.

Among the elements they noted included Duterte’s public declarations targeting lawyers; lawyers being tagged, harassed and surveilled before being killed; a lack of sufficient investigation; and the killings involving masked, professional shooters on motorbikes who use .22 caliber guns with silencer.

A culture of impunity The panel pointed out that Duterte’s declarations and “almost complete impunity of offenders give police, military and effectively anyone a license to harass u PAGE A2

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MARCH 22-28, 2019 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL

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FROM THE FRONT PAGE

Duterte threatens to fire water...

PAGE A1 disregarded any insights from the other parties noting that “he was not going to listen to their explanation as to why there was a water shortage as such would be just plain excuses.”

“The chief executive told them he was not going to listen to their explanation as to why there was a water shortage as such would be just plain excuses. They simply did not do their job,” Panelo said as reported by Rappler.

‘All they care about is get profit from the water of the people’ and to their sufferance as well. The president told them they could have simply anticipated such shortage and could have done something about it,” he added.

Panelo said that the reprimanded officials were aware of how to resolve the water shortage crisis faced by the Metro Manila residents but they waited for Duterte’s order before doing something about it.

“They had to wait for him to threaten them with personally rushing to Manila from Davao to grapple with the crisis before they moved to end it. The chief executive bluntly told them to ‘shape up or ship out!,’” Panelo said.

“He said the officials knew of the problem leading to the stoppage of the flow of water but they did not resolve to prevent it from happening. They could have simply anticipated such shortage

and could have done something about it,” the spokesman added.

Lawmakers call to dismiss said officials Several lawmakers urged the president to hold the top officials of the water regulatory board — MWSS — accountable for failing to prevent the water interruptions among residents of Metro Manila and nearby areas.

A member of the House Committee on Metro Manila affairs and Bagong Henerasyon Representative Bernadette Herrera-Dy urged Duterte to appoint a qualified official who can better manage the regulatory board.

“We hope President Duterte appoints a new head of the MWSS who knows the ins and outs of the job. If MWSS top officials cannot find a solution, then they should resign and just enjoy the respite from the strenuous requirements of public service,” Dy said.

Caloocan Representative Edgar Erice said the water crisis cannot be attributed solely to the low supply from the water resources.

He emphasized that the water agencies were fully aware of the challenges but they failed to act on it in a timely manner.

“As early as January, Manila Water already knew that they will be needing (1.7 billion liters), beyond the (1.6 billion liters) allocated to them. Yet they did not do something about it. They waited for the March 6 water service interruption before they acted on

it,” Erice said.

Senators also mandated the water concessionaires to provide compensation for all the people who were affected by the said water crisis in the Eastern zone of Metro Manila and Rizal province.

Senator Risa Hontiveros shared that aside from the public apology issued, they must “demonstrate its firm commitment to public accountability and restore consumer trust and confidence.”

“While Manila Water’s public apology and act to hold itself responsible for the water shortage are recognized, fair and just compensation to the consumers is in order,” Hontiveros said as reported by The Manila Times.

“With over a million households deprived of access to clean water and exposed to numerous health risks, any apology without compensation is hollow and meaningless,” the senator added.

She also elaborated that it is constitutional to impose penalties once they fail to deliver the service they promised. She emphasized that “all penalties received by the regulatory body will be rebated to affected consumers.”

“Manila Water’s concession agreement clearly stipulates that the regulatory office can impose financial penalties on the concessionaire if its failure to meet its service obligation adversely affects public health or welfare,” Hontiveros added. n

Fil-Am UC Irvine student confirmed to have died...

PAGE A1 a result of “accidental acute ethanol intoxication.” It added that Domingo had a blood alcohol level of approximately 0.331 at the time of his death, more than four times the legal limit.

No additional substances were found in his system at the time of his death.

Domingo was found dead early morning of January 12 at a home near the University of California, Irvine where he was a first-year biology major on path to a career in sports medicine with goals of becoming a Lakers team trainer.

In the released 911 call recording, the caller said Domingo “just drank too much.”

“We remain shocked and saddened by Noah’s tragic death, and we offer our deepest sympathies to the Domingo family for their loss,” the university said in a statement. “His death brings an urgent focus on alcohol and

substance abuse, from the cultural pressures that encourage unhealthy behavior to the policies designed to mitigate danger.”

The cause of his death is still under investigation, but many have questioned the role of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, which Domingo was a member of. Following his death, the fraternity was put on interim suspension pending the investigation.

Domingo’s father, Dale Domingo, said in a statement to CBS News that he believed fraternity activities to have been the cause.

“We have discovered the horrifying truth about fraternity hazing,” said the father, according to CBS News.

The father said that the fraternity was holding its “big brother night” ritual where his son was “compelled to guzzle a so-called

‘family drink’ to become part of his big brother’s family.”

“It is why fraternities openly refer to this type of ritual as being one of the ‘deadly nights,’” said the father.

The university’s official campus newspaper, New University, reported that according anonymous sources, the freshman Domingo was attending an event during recruitment week for the university’s fraternities where â”drugs and copious amounts of alcohol” were present.

But the Irvine Police Department said on Monday that it was still actively investigating the case.

“At the conclusion of our investigation, we will present our findings to the District Attorney’s Office, which will determine whether charges are warranted,” said Irvine Police Department Lieutenant Mark Anderson. (Rae Ann Varona/AJPress) n

Malacañang: ICC officials barred from entering...

PAGE A1 PH never a party to Rome Statute The country officially withdrew from the ICC on Sunday, March 17, though Malacañang insists that the Philippines was never under the ICC’s jurisdiction in the first place.

“Our position on the matter remains clear, unequivocal and inflexible: The Philippines never became a state party to the Rome Statute which created the ICC,” Panelo said on Sunday.

The Philippines might have ratified the Rome Statute that created the ICC, but according to the administration, the government never published that in a newspaper or the official gazette, as required by law.

The ICC is an intergovernmental organization that investigates cases of genocide, war crimes,

crimes against humanity, and crimes of aggression. It was established by the Rome Statute, which was enforced in 2002.

The country decided to withdraw its ratification of the Rome Statute because of what officials described as “outrageous attacks” against Duterte by the UN and the ICC. Human rights groups and the president’s critics have already expressed concern that the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC would worsen human rights abuses in the country.

Panelo, for his part, dismissed them as “conspiracy theories.”

“It is open season of conspiracy theories by the political opposition, the Left and the human rights activists. Suddenly becoming experts in international law and sharing the common advocacy of demonizing the president

and his administration on the issue of human rights vis-a-vis the drug war, they make good media copy, which obviously is the intention,” he said.

According to him, the extrajudicial killings were caused by “drug syndicates killing each other either for their own protection or to exact revenge against whistleblowers,” and “turf wars among drug lords and drug pushers.”

“The anti-illegal drug campaign is anchored on national survival as well as accountability of those who bring the nation to the precipice of destruction,” Panelo said.

“There is no culture of impunity under this administration. The country’s criminal justice system continues to be operational and strictly compliant with the constitutional requirement of due process,” he added. n

or terrorists (used as) a strategy...

by State agents, particularly law enforcement agencies and the military, against those perceived to be ‘threats’ or ‘enemies of the State.’”

“We learned that lawyers in the Philippines have been red-tagged for defending human rights, defending political dissidents, and defending victims of human rights violations,” the panel said.

No hand in killing Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, for his part, dismissed the panel’s findings. He said they should not attribute the deaths to the president as the kill-

ings “could be personally motivated.”

“They cannot attribute the lawyers’ killing to PRRD (Duterte) and his administration. The killing could be personally motivated,” he said.

“What do they mean by their statement that the Administration should refrain from attacking lawyers? The administration has not attacked any lawyer in any way and/or manner. Coming as it does from lawyers who should know better, blaming the administration for the lawyers’ deaths is gross intellectually challenged,” he added. n

Int’l lawyers note ‘severe’ rights violation...

PAGE A1 and kill.”

They urged Duterte to “refrain from publicly attacking lawyers and instead publicly condemn all attacks against lawyers, prosecutors and judges.” They also urged the government to cease red-tagging and public disclosure of drug lists, as well as ensure the safety of lawyers and the independence of the judiciary.

Under the Philippine jurisprudence, red-tagging is defined as Law enforcement officials scouted “the act of labelling, branding, the area and failed to catch him. naming and accusing individuals On October 29, 2018, the Phil- and/or organizations of being leftippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) leaning, subversives, communists issued a deportation order for the 56-year-old in hiding. Danao said that they found him temporarily residing in Deca Homes Clark, Angeles City, Pampanga.

PAGE A1 “Pasay poses risk to public the group explained as reported safety and security being a fugi- by ABS-CBN News. tive from justice,” Bureau of ImThe lawyers’ group emphamigration spokesperson Dana sized that Trillanes’ comments Sandoval said as reported by The were “not absolutely privileged” Philippine Daily Inquirer. because it was done outside the The arrest was done with the senator’s legislative function “as collaborative effort of the MPD, a member of Congress or an ofBI and U.S. Department of Home- ficer of any Committee.” land Security via an arrest warrant “To participate in or respond as they arrive at the residence of to media interviews is not an ofPasay in Pampanga around 1:30 ficial function of any lawmaker; p.m. on March 16. it is not demanded by his sworn Aside from the U.S. Homeland duty nor is it a component of the Security Investigations (HSI) process of enacting laws,” the agents in Manila and Las Vegas, group added. the Philippine National Police The complainants believed (PNP) – Manila Police District that the former mutineer’s critiSpecial Operations Unit (MPD- cisms towards Duterte went as SOU) and the BI Fugitive Search far as calling the Chief Executive Unit (FSU) also helped in the said a “dictator.” They also emphaarrest. (AJPress) n sized that Trillanes perceived

Fil-Am arrested in PH for child...

PAGE A1 nao Jr. received a tip that the U.S. Manila Police District (MPD) fugitive was initially seen along Chief Superintendent Vicente Da- Pacheco Street, Tondo Manila.

DRY SEASON. A teenager walks along a parched rice filed in Baliuag, Bulacan province. The El Niño dry spell might last up to June, delaying the onset of the rainy season, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa). Pagasa Deputy Administrator Flaviana Hilario said the forecast indicated the onset of the rainy season toward late June instead of the usual late May to early June.

ManilaTimes.net photo by Rene Dilan

Trillanes’ plea for reconsideration vs sedition case... the alleged state-sponsored killings as a common occurrence in the country.

They also accused the senator of urging the armed forces and law enforcement not to do anything illegal and unconstitutional. They cited the former navy officer’s uprisings in 2003 and 2007.

They hinted the possibility that Trillanes could be secretly proposing to the armed forces to launch a coup against the President. However, the group was not able to issue pieces of evidence to back this claim.

Trillanes’ camp maintained that the statements he issued were protected by his parliamentary immunity. He believed that such complaints were done by those loyal to Duterte in order to

threaten and harass the leader’s staunch critic.

In a 66-page petition filed before the Court of Appeals (CA) requesting an injunction or a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the sedition case, the senator believed that the complaint charged against him is baseless.

“Petitioner is being needlessly and unduly exposed to the hardship and difficulties not to mention the physical and psychological rigors as well as the anxiety and great expenses involved in a baseless, extended and public trial,” Trillanes said as reported

by Rappler.

The trial for the sedition was scheduled last Wednesday, March 20 at the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 150. n

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Dateline USa

NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 22-28, 2019

A

Palace prefers to see ‘silver lining’ in US gov’t report on EJK DESPITE the United States government identifying extrajudicial killing (EJK) as the Philippines’ chief human rights concern, the Palace said it prefers to focus on the positive aspects of the report.

In a statement on Saturday, March 16, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the U.S. State Department’s 2018 report on human rights “reflects the U.S .government’s appreciation of the Duterte administration’s governance agenda anchored on fighting corruption, criminality and illegal drugs.”

“While the political opposition and detractors of the president, including some of those in the mainstream media, would dwell on what they consider as negative observations and milk the same for their political purposes, we prefer to see the glass half full and focus on the positive aspects of the report,” Panelo said.

Panelo then urged the public to read the entire report so “that they may not be deceived by intended negative and false commentaries.”

In his statement, Panelo pointed out how the report mentioned the developments in the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.

“Its assessment is respectful of the government’s deeper challenges, [like the] deaths of many law enforcement officers during operations, even as accountability of those from the same ranks is guaranteed through investigations of ‘any actions taken outside the rule of law,’” Panelo said.

“It recognizes the sentencing of three police officials involved in the Kian de los Santos killing,

IN FULL SWING. Personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways continue dredging operations in Manila Bay as the rehabilitation program enters its second month. The government hopes that the massive cleanup that would cost P47 billion would lead to the reduction of the coliform level to make the bay fit for swimming and fishing.

ManilaTimes.net photo by DJ Diosina

Philstar.com file photo

even as it noted that 1,274,148 individuals have surrendered for drug rehabilitation and clearance while our unprecedented war against illegal drugs and criminality has resulted in more detainees,” it added.

Panelo then cited how the report acknowledges government efforts to “promote speedy disposition of inmate cases, including the use of plea bargaining.”

Furthermore, Panelo said the U.S. State Department’s report “is also sympathetic to the government’s challenges in the peace process.”

The report, Panelo said, also touches on the milestones “in ad-

BI steps up drive against trafficking of minors

by AJPRESS THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday, March 18, started to step up its drive against the trafficking of Filipino minors in the wake of reports that trafficking syndicates are once again recruiting minors to work in other countries.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente ordered immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and other international airports in the country to carefully screen departing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“This syndicate has stopped deploying underaged women, following last year’s numerous interceptions, as well as arrests by local authorities. However, it seems that this scheme is making a comeback. I implore our kababayans (countrymen) who wish to work abroad, do not fall victim to these syndicates,” he said.

He instructed BI port operations chief, Grifton Medina, to alert BI personnel manning immigration booths at the airport to watch out for passengers who appear to be minors or below 23 years old as well as conduct strict

screening of departing OFWs to make sure they are of legal age and eligible for overseas deployment.

“In cases of doubt, passengers should be referred to the travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) for secondary inspection,” Morente said.

The measure was ordered after a 21-year-old Filipina household worker was intercepted on March 13 by BI officers at the NAIA terminal 1 before she could board a Philippine Airlines flight to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Filipina admitted during questioning that her real age is 21 and not 25 as indicated in her passport, according to Glenn Ford Comia, BI TCEU NAIA 1 head supervisor.

Comia added that the passenger only found out that her birthdate was changed when she received her travel documents from her recruiter on the day of her flight.

More than a hundred underage OFWs, many of them minors, were reportedly intercepted at NAIA by the BI last year. All of them possessed passports with falsified birthdates, although they had valid overseas employment permits, working visas, and job contracts. n

Dead whale’s plastic-filled stomach a ‘wake-up call’ vs pollution — Greenpeace

by GAEA

KATREENA Philstar.com

CABICO

THE case of a dead whale with 40 kilos of plastic trash in its stomach—said to be one of the worst cases of poisoning—should prod everyone to take drastic action against plastic pollution, an environmental group said on Tuesday, March 19.

A Cuvier’s beaked whale died in Compostela Valley on Saturday, a day after it was stranded in Mabini town. The animal died of starvation and was unable to eat because of the trash filling its stomach. The 40 kilograms of plastic trash included grocery bags and rice sacks.

Abigail Aguilar, Greenpeace Philippines campaigner, said whales, dolphins and turtles have been reported to have died in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia because of trash in the space of less than a year. “[This] is a clear proof how grave plastic pollution affects our environment, most especially ocean creatures,” Aguilar said.

She noted that three whales and a dolphin were found dead with plastic in their stomach in Davao Gulf this year.

A sperm whale died in Indonesia last year with nearly six kilograms of plastic waste discovered in its stomach.

A whale also died in Thailand last year after swallowing more than 80 plastic bags. A green turtle, a protected species, suffered the same fate there in 2018.

“It is unimaginable how many more animals are mistaking and ingesting plastic for food right now and how many more of them will be found beached and dead

soon,” Aguilar said.

She added: “One piece of plastic found in the stomach of a whale or a dolphin is one piece of plastic too many. How many dead whales, dolphins or sea turtles do we need before we wake up and take drastic action on plastic pollution?”

Call for action vs plastic pollution The death of the whale comes weeks after a study on the country’s pollution problem by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives revealed that around 59.8 billion pieces of plastic sachets are used by Filipinos a year.

The report also showed that more than 17 billion shopping bags are used across the Philippines every year. The use of smaller, thinner and often transparent plastic bags is at 16.5 billion.

The Greenpeace Philippines campaigner stressed the death of the whale is not just a cause for alarm, but an “urgent call for quick, effective, sustainable and large-scale action against plastic pollution.”

“We can never emphasize enough how urgent it is for corporations to reduce the production of single-use plastic and redesign packaging and systems to minimize plastic waste, for governments to ban single-use plastic products and for citizens to be mindful of a throwaway lifestyle and put pressure to both the government and the industry to take decisive steps to counter this crisis,” Aguilar said.

She added: “From production, to consumption, to disposal, we have to get our acts together.” n

dressing concerns of vulnerable groups” and “the free, fair and well-organized conduct of the local elections for barangay and youth officials in May last year.”

The U.S. State Department, in its annual global human rights report for 2018 released March 13, noted a “sharp rise” of extrajudicial killings with the onset of the Philippine government’s campaign against illegal drugs in 2016.

However, Panelo reiterated that “the president and this government have never sponsored any form of violation of human rights nor will they tolerate them.” (Inquirer.net) n

Rape cases linked to PH drug war - US report

by AJPRESS THE United States State Department revealed on Thursday, March 15, that there were at least eight reported cases of rape allegedly perpetrated by 16 policemen between January 2017 and July 2018.

The U.S. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2018 stated that “many of the rapes” were linked with the highly-criticized war on drugs of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. It stated instances wherein women under police custody were sexually abused and assaulted.

However, the US State Department failed to acquire the status of the filed rape cases against law enforcement officials due to limited and confidential data.

“Statistics were unavailable on prosecutions, convictions, and punishments for cases filed by the Philippine National Police (PNP),” the U.S. report stated as cited in ABS-CBN News.

The U.S. State Department hailed the responsiveness of the country’s law enforcement in addressing rape charges. They emphasized that most police forces treat rape charges “seriously.”

“In August a witness reported a rape and murder to authorities.

Authorities asked the witness to identify the suspects, which he did, and police arrested the suspects in less than 24 hours,” the report explained.

However, they also stated that rape cases in rural communities and remote areas “sometimes used personal relationships with local authorities to avoid prosecution.”

In the Philippines, a convicted rape felon is sentenced to 12 to 40 years imprisonment. The law mandates a lifetime ban from political office for perpetrators in government posts.

The report mentioned that the government had “provided PAGE A4

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MARCH 22-28, 2019 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL

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DATELINE PHILIPPINES

House will not recall budget bill – Arroyo Palace: No correlation between

THE House of Representatives has yet to withdraw its version of the 2019 budget bill, Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Tuesday, March 19. “We have not withdrawn our version. We’re in discussion about what is the proposed new version,� Arroyo told reporters at the sidelines of a business event in Taguig City.

The Speaker is set to meet with other House members late Tuesday, including San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, her delegated negotiator with the Senate on the 2019 General Appropriations Act. Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Monday, March 18 said the House agreed to keep the version of the bill approved in the bicameral conference committee report.

Arroyo, who signed the budget measure last week, maintained that the House will keep its version with line-itemized projects, contrary to the proposal of the Senate to have a lump-sum budgeting. “We will insist on no lump sum because that is what is unconstitutional. That’s what we will insist, no lump sum. Now, as to the details, that’s the one that we’ll see,� she added.

The P3.757-trillion national budget impasse continues as

human rights, economy

Philstar.com file photo Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

Senate President Vicente “Tito�

Sotto 3rd remains firm on not signing a bill allegedly tinkered by the House post-ratification.

At least P95.1 billion were supposedly realigned and a portion of the P15-billion budget for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program were itemized to at

Manilatimes.net file photo

least 62 favored districts, Lacson noted. “If we don’t come to an agreement and then Tito Sotto does not sign the bill, then there’s no bill to send to the president. So I do not know if we will but I would wish we would,� Arroyo said.

(Glee Jalea/ManilaTimes.net) n

PWDs in PH continue to face discrimination

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

ACCORDING to the U.S. State Department in its annual human rights report released Thursday, March 14, persons with disabilities (PWD) in the Philippines “continued to face discrimination�in 2018 as a policy crafted to help them “was not effectively enforced.�

The report, entitled “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2018,� said the National Council for Disability Affairs crafted a policy for the rehabilitation, self-development, and selfreliance of PWDs but the “law was not effectively enforced, and many barriers remained for persons with disabilities.�

It also noted that majority of public buildings remained inaccessible to PWDs. “Many schools had architectural barriers that made atten-

dance difficult for persons with disabilities. Government efforts to improve access to transportation for persons with disabilities were limited,� it said. “The Department of Education’s 648 separate education centers did not provide nationwide coverage, and the government lacked a clear system for informing parents of children with disabilities of their educational rights and did not have a well-defined procedure for reporting discrimination in education,� it added.

The report also said policies for PWDs were ineffective due to weak implementation, insufficient funding, and inadequately focused integrative government programs, citing information from advocacy groups in the country.

Services for 3,374 PWDs were provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development

in 2018 which is “significantly more� than estimated figures in 2017. However, only 60 percent of local government units had an office dedicated for PWDs, the report further noted.

It also pointed out that among the policies that level the field for PWDs were the Mental Health Law and a constitutional provision that prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities.

However, PWDs still faced discrimination in seeking jobs. “Persons with disabilities experienced discrimination in hiring and employment. The labor department estimated that only 10 percent of employable persons with disabilities were able to find work,� the report said.

Since 1977, the US State Department has been producing annual human rights reports on all countries receiving assistance and all United Nations member states. n

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affected� by the issues on human rights and extrajudicial killings. “As our economic managers succinctly expounded, foreign investments are anchored on principal considerations, they are: macroeconomic fundamentals, no or minimal restriction on foreign equity on investment areas and activities, ease of doing business, good infrastructure, non-restrictive labour laws, and consistent policy milieu,� he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte, a former city mayor, beat his more moneyed rivals and won the race to Malacaùang in 2016 promising to eradicate crime and solve his country’s drug menace in three to six months.

But human rights watchdogs at home and abroad say most of the fatalities in the government’s anti-narcotics drive are extrajudicial killings committed by cops, accusing Duterte of inciting violence and “steamrolling the rule of law.�

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show foreign direct investments net inflows ended

last year at $9.802 billion, down 4.4 percent from the $10.256 billion received in 2017.

It was the first drop of such inflows in three years. The amount is also lower than the $10.4 billion net inflows which the central bank expected for the full year.

Meanwhile, the economy grew 6.2 percent in 2018, below the state’s 6.5-6.9 percent goal for the year and the weakest in three years amid high inflation.

Last year, London-based Capital Economics said the “much bigger concern� for the Philippine economy over the long term is “a string of inflammatory comments and policy changes by Duterte that have raised concerns in the minds of investors over the president’s judgement and commitment to the rule of law.� “The president’s war on drugs, which has claimed an estimated 20,000 lives, has generated negative headlines across the world... The Philippines’ own history shows how poor leadership and political uncertainty can hold back an economy,� it added. (Ian Nicolas Cigaral/Philstar.com) n

MANILA — More than half of Philippine companies expect the Expanded Maternity Leave Law to affect their decision in hiring women, a survey of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) showed.

Preliminary results of the ECOP survey were presented at the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc.’s first quarter general membership meeting Tuesday, March 19 which showed 68 percent of the 70 respondents saying the new law would affect their decision in hiring women.

Signed into law in February, the EML grants additional maternity leave benefits to working mothers to 105 days from 60 days.

The law also gives an option to

mothers to extend their leave for an additional 30 days without pay once they give birth.

Out of the 34 respondents who were in favor of the EML, four said it would affect their decision in hiring women.

As for the 24 respondents who were against the new law, 10 said the passage would not affect their decision in hiring women.

Those who said the new law would have an impact in their decision to hire women cited compromises in the productivity of the company and higher cost implications in terms of benefit and cost of hiring and training a temporary replacement as reasons for their response.

Meanwhile, some respondents said the new law would not affect their decision to employ women as they want to promote equal

employment opportunity and gender equality, want qualifications to be the basis for hiring, and as women make good employees for they are more organized, detail-oriented and generally more reliable.

The survey, conducted from March 11 to 15 this year, covered 70 businesses, with 51 percent comprising large scale companies and 27 percent accounted for by small enterprises.

Most of the respondents were engaged in either manufacturing, services, and logistics and transportation.

ECOP director general Jose Roland Moya said the results of the survey are still preliminary as the group is still waiting for the responses of other businesses.

The deadline for responses is on March 30. n

PAGE A3 shelter, counseling, and health services to female survivors of rape.� However, it highlighted that victims have a fear of coming forward due to “cultural and social stigmatization.�

In 2017, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) recorded a total of 7,584 rape cases, a 12 percent decrease from the data in 2016.

EJKs chief human rights con-

cern Another report from the State Department issued on Wednesday, March 13, revealed that extrajudicial killings proved to be the primary human rights concern in the Philippines. “Extrajudicial killings have been the chief human rights concern in the country for many years and, after a sharp rise with the onset of the anti-drug campaign in 2016, they continued in the reporting year, albeit at a

lower level,� the report stated. “Significant concerns persisted about (the) impunity of civilian national and local government officials and powerful business and commercial figures,� it added as reported by The Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The report noted that “slow judicial processes remained an obstacle to bringing government officials allegedly involved in human rights abuses to justice.� n

MANILA — MalacaĂąang on Tuesday, March 19, said human rights concerns raised by “detractorsâ€? of the Duterte administration were not hurting the economy, adding that investor sentiment remains favorable for the Philippines. “There is no direct correlation between human rights and the economy, as some quarters particularly two international lawyers groups would like to point out,â€? presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement. “While we continue to adhere to the rule of law and uphold international humanitarian law and the protection of human rights, the critics and the detractors of the administration continue to vilify the president and the government, even raising the issue of human rights in connection with the drug war to other issues such as trade, business and the economy,â€? he added.

Panelo said he was responding to claims made by international groups of lawyers that the Philippines’ foreign investments “have been or will be adversely

Longer maternity leave impacts decision to hire women — ECOP survey

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A5

Mainland Chinese overtake OFWs as top buyers Sara Duterte backs Martin in Philippine residential market — report Romualdez as next House speaker MANILA — Buyers from mainland China had dominated residential sales in the Philippines amid improving ties between Manila and Beijing, real estate services firm Leechiu Property Consultants said.

In a report dated March 18, Leechiu Property said overseas Filipino workers are no longer the top buyers in the residential market following a surge in mainland Chinese buyers, which is expected to continue in the long-term amid rekindled relations between the Philippines and China.

Leechiu Property added that residential projects in the Bay Area, Makati, Manila, Ortigas and Quezon City, as well as in other areas near Philippine offshore

gaming operators (POGO) and existing Filipino-Chinese communities are “experiencing brisk take-ups of 12 units a month.”

Strong demand has also led to tenants dictating record high prices for rental units, Leechiu Property said. Rental units in the Bay area have climbed by 80 percent in the last three years.

“Assuming a constant aggregate take-up of 7,757 units, the remaining inventory in projects preferred by mainland Chinese buyers will be depleted in three months,” CEO David Leechiu said.

Overall, Leechiu Property said it expects “brisk growth rates” in office, residential and industrial real estate markets in the first

quarter of 2019.

It also projected continued demand from the IT-BPM sector in Manila, as well as in the regions “provided there is a continuous stream of PEZA accredited spaces.”

PEZA, or the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, is tasked to promote investments, extend assistance and grant incentives to investors in export-oriented manufacturing and service facilities inside selected areas throughout the country.

“We expect transaction values to keep climbing this year not only in the office market but also in the residential and industrial arenas,” Leechiu said. (Ian Nicolas Cigaral/Philstar.com) ■

PH can’t quit ICC — Drilon

by BERNADETTE

E. TAMAYO RALPH VILLANUEVA Manilatimes.net

SENATE Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Monday, March 18 said the Philippines’ withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) “must be [done] with the concurrence of the majority of the senators.”

He noted that 18 senators in 2018 signed a resolution that stated that the withdrawal from the ICC “cannot be done without the concurrence of the Senate.”

“My reading of the statutes indicates that indeed cases filed before the withdrawal will not affect the jurisdiction of the ICC in trying the case if in fact [it finds] probable cause,” Drilon said.

When asked how he would treat a pending resolution signed by the 18 senators, Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd said, “We have not passed that resolution.

So, as long as we do not pass a resolution in plenary, that resolution is a piece of paper. Did we ratify that? When?”

A day after the Philippines officially moved out of the ICC on Sunday, March 17, Malacañang said the government’s “merciless” fight against enemies of the state would continue.

On March 17, the Philippines’ membership in the Rome Statute, which created the ICC, was revoked.

President Rodrigo Duterte in March last year pulled the Philip-

by EDITH

REGALADO Philstar.com

DAVAO CITY — Presidential daughter and Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio is endorsing the bid of former Leyte congressman Martin Romualdez as speaker of the House of Representatives.

Carpio introduced Romualdez as the next speaker during a campaign rally of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) in Tacloban City, Tuesday, March 19.

Romualdez, who heads the Tingog Sinirangan local party, is running as representative of the first district of Leyte in the midterm elections.

“Si Congressman Martin Romualdez ang susunod na speaker ng (will be the next speaker of the) House of Representatives,” Carpio said on stage with Romualdez.

Romualdez led local officials in welcoming Carpio and the senatorial candidates of the HNP

Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio Philstar.com file photo

chaired by the mayor.

Aside from Romualdez, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco have expressed their intention to succeed Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Earlier, Cayetano said President Duterte gave his blessing for him to become the next speaker.

Duterte had also endorsed the speakership bid of Velasco, who has been attending HNP sorties in the provinces.

Carpio clarified that she would back those aspiring to be speaker if they are supportive of President Duterte’s policies.

“I think we also support Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano because he is also interested to be speaker.

I think the best time to talk about that is after the May elections as those who are aspiring to lead the House still have to hurdle the polls,” she said.

Carpio said she would support anybody but former speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

The ruling PDP-Laban, the President’s political party, is also grooming Reps. Ronaldo Zamora (San Juan City), Lucy Torres Gomez (4th District, Leyte), Alex Advincula (3rd District, Cavite), Bambol Tolentino (7th District, Cavite) and Ricky Sandoval (Malabon) for the speakership post. ■

Filipina quantum physicist honored in Paris

by JAN

MILO SEVERO Philstar.com

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon

pines out of the treaty, preempting cases he was facing connected with his bloody anti-drug war before the tribunal.

In a statement, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said the administration’s drive against “destroyers of society” was based on the president’s constitutional duty to serve and protect the people.

He added that nothing would stop Duterte from pursuing the objective.

“The fight against the enemies of the state will be continuing with merciless constitutional force and unstoppable scorching motion until the republic and the people are secure from their evil and destructive clutches,” Panelo said.

He added that Filipinos continue to long for policies with immediate results, which he claimed is happening through the Duterte

Manilatimes.net file photo

administration.

The spokesman said the supposed extra-judicial killings committed under the Duterte administration were not statesponsored and that they were a result of a deadly war among drug syndicates, drug lords and drug pushers.

“The anti-illegal drug campaign is anchored on national survival as well as accountability of those who bring the nation to the precipice of destruction,” Panelo added.

He said the country’s justice system was “operational and strictly compliant with the constitutional requirement of due process.”

Panelo cited a Social Weather Stations survey wherein 7 of 10 Filipinos voiced satisfaction with the government’s anti-drug war. ■

FILIPINA quantum physicist Dr. Jacquiline Romero was honored with an international award in Paris last March 14 after she was selected for the L’OréalUNESCO International Rising Talent grant for 2019.

Apart from Romero, the award was also given to 14 other promising young women internationally who are making important contributions in science.

According to the UNESCO website, the Brisbane-based, Filipino doctor specifically works in the field of quantum physics, which explains the nature and behavior of matter and energy at the atomic and subatomic level.

She is exploring how an infinite number of possible shapes of photons — particles of light — can be used to encode information at a higher capacity.

Her works could lead to reliable and secure communication, help conserve data privacy, guard against the growing risk of cyber attacks, and deliver more powerful computation.

“Winning a L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science fellowship has given me a national platform to show that women, particularly

Dr. Jacquiline Romero

mothers, can succeed in science.

People are inspired by stories, and I think my journey is a story that could do so much to inspire young girls and young women scientists,” said the physicist, who works for EQUS and the University of Queensland.

“Her journey to push the boundaries of quantum information began in the Philippines, where she was encouraged by her school teachers to pursue science, even participating in national physics competitions,”

Contributed photo

EQUS said of Romero.

“As part of a minority of women in quantum science, she believes improving the representation of women in science requires a fundamental cultural change, starting at school, where girls’ and boys’ sense of wonder and curiosity should be equally nurtured.”

As part of the award, Romero will receive €15,000 as prize money for her outstanding contributions to the advancement of science. ■

A6

MARCH 22-28, 2019 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL

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OPINION

Out of the ICC

FEATURES

COUNTRIES that withdraw from the International Criminal Court can return, but this isn’t going to happen for the Philippines under the Duterte administration, much to the dismay of human rights advocates. Burundi, The Gambia and South Africa also withdrew from the ICC and remain out. Indonesia withdrew but later changed its mind, so this can be done by the Philippines.

The Duterte administration is not alone in wanting to keep the country out of the ICC. The United States, China, Russia and Israel – countries that leave large footprints in the global arena – have stayed out of the ICC, mainly over national sovereignty concerns. So have Libya and Qatar.

ICC proceedings leading to a formal probe are not stopped by a notice of withdrawal, which takes effect only a year after the notification is submitted.

The Philippine government is expected to argue that the ICC cannot proceed with a formal investigation of President Duterte on charges related to his bloody war on prohibited drugs. The argument is that all three branches of government are still functioning and judicial courts and the legislature are still providing checks and balances to abuses of the executive branch, so the ICC cannot step in.

An alternative for the Philippines is to strengthen the institutions that hold public officials accountable for their actions. The system of checks and balances for all three branches of government is enshrined in

the Constitution and other laws. But implementing the system is weak and unreliable.

Even if a sitting president escapes impeachment, which is a political process and a numbers game, there are laws that can be applied in various cases of abuse of power once a chief executive steps down from office. Those who carry out unlawful orders can also be brought to justice under existing laws. The challenge is to gather sufficient evidence that can stand in court, and to ensure that justice will be rendered fairly and with reasonable speed. These are the areas where the country is weak, but such flaws are not beyond repair.

The strength of several of the states that have ratified the Rome Statute is that their institutions are strong enough to allow them, on their own, to prevent their people from committing offenses covered by the ICC, and to punish anyone who breaks the law and abuses power. This must be the ultimate goal of the Philippines. The laws are there; what’s lacking is enforcement. (Philstar.com)

Editorial

The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS PRESIDENT Donald Trump: “Why will they impeach me? I am doing a great job?”

To which his supporters and fans say, “The American people elected Trump not because he is perfect. They elected him because they know the economy will boom under the billionaire business mogul reality show superstar.”

Or, “Who cares about the issues against him? The economy is doing great! That’s all that matters!”

NO, President Trump! It is not just the economy. Your supporters and ever loyal avid fans may blindly take every word you say without question, but they are not MOST of the American people.

The FACT is, a majority of the

Trump’s disapproval rating slides to new low: It is not just the economy, Mr. President — character is important for Americans American people disapprove of the way you do your job as president. This is according to a new CNN Poll, which is also revealed in previous results of all credible polls.

Your favorability rating is on the negative, Mr. President. A majority of Americans - 51 percent - disapprove of your job performance, the lowest share since CNN began polling at the beginning of your term.

Only 42 percent of respondents said they approve of your performance, while the remaining respondents said they have no opinion.

IT IS NOT just the economy, President Trump, because the same poll revealed that a majority of Americans- 51 percent -gives you a thumbs up in the way you

are handling the economy. What then accounts for the deficit?

It is not just the economy, Mr. Trump. The American people are demanding that the President of the United States has character and demonstrates true leadership as well.

You fail the character test not because of the press and your critics that you love to demonize only because they are demanding accountability from you and calling you out for your incessant lying to the American people.

You fail the character test because you betray the public trust accorded to you as president.

You fail the character test because you insult the intelligence of the American people with your falsehoods and twisting of facts just to fit your narrative which is

Battles in Syria and revisiting Beirut PeaceMaker FORMER SPEAKER JOSE C. DE VENECIA, JR. WE journeyed to Beirut, Lebanon and then to Homs, Syria from February 25 to March 2, 2019 on invitation by my good friend Alex Fu, a business leader in Australia, China, and the Philippines, and his business partners Tony Lam, a young Chinese business executive based in Sydney, and Sam Fayad, a Lebanese but has lived in Australia since he was 17 years old.

Mr. Fayad is a leading real estate developer in Australia and is looking for investment opportunities in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. We were joined in this trip by Alex Fu’s lovely Filipina wife, Anne Fu of Davao and Pangasinan, and my Assistant, Aldwin Requejo, who worked as junior executive in the Secretariat of the Philippine House of Representatives for 17 years.

The last time we visited Beirut was some 40 years ago, when we pioneered as prime contractor in port operations in Jeddah on the Red Sea and Jubail on the Persian Gulf (Arab Gulf), as well as in oil drilling, infrastructure, and mass housing in the Middle East and North Africa. So when Alex Fu invited us to join him in Beirut, we thought it was an opportunity to set foot once again in the “Paris of the Middle East” and rekindle old friendships, established more than four decades ago.

Philstar.com photo

Lebanon was once part of the great Phoenician Empire, composed of states located along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea stretching through what are now Syria, Lebanon, and northern Israel. The Phoenicians were considered “the best sailors of the Ancient World, exploring the Mediterranean region and made advances in shipbuilding, maritime trading, and maritime technology.” (Wikipedia) They also invented the alphabet in 1200 B.C., which is the basis of the alphabet we use today.

Today, Lebanon is the most religiously diverse country in the Middle East, composed of the two divisions of Islam (Sunni and Shia) and Christianity (the Maronite Church, Orthodox Church, Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Protestant Church, and the Armenian Apostolic Church).

In Beirut, we met with Speaker Nabih Berri of the Parliament of Lebanon, perhaps the longest serving Speaker in the world, as he has been holding the post since 1992 or for 27 years. Berri, a Shia Muslim, is most knowledgeable in geopolitics and religious history. We exchanged ideas on the prospects of peace in the Middle East.

We also invited him to address the 20th Founding Anniversary and 11th General Assembly of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) to be held in Manila next year.

The ICAPP, which we founded and launched in Manila in September 2000, is now composed of more than 300 ruling, opposition and independent political parties from 52 countries in Asia, including the political parties of Lebanon. In fact, Lebanon’s Fu-

ture Movement Party and Free Patriotic Movement Party are represented in the ICAPP Standing Committee, which we Chair.

It is interesting to note that in Lebanon, the President must be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of Parliament a Shia Muslim. This agreement helps provide unity and stability in a country of diverse religions.

We also exchanged views with the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Elie Ferzil, an Eastern Orthodox Christian and former Information Minister, who is also very conversant in geopolitics. Ferzil reminisced to us his visit in Manila in the late 1970s and said he looked forward to visiting Manila again. We also invited him to attend the ICAPP conference in Manila next year.

We also paid a courtesy call on Maronite Church Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, who told us that our own beloved Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle was arriving in Beirut shortly to address the Conference of the Caritas Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa.

Cardinal Tagle serves as President of Caritas Internationalis.

We remembered meeting the then Cardinal Patriarch Anthony Peter Khoraish, who became a friend, during our visit in Beirut in the 1970s. Cardinal Khoraish passed away in 1986.

We were also happy to meet with a dear friend of some 40 years, Hany Salaam, who is one of the successful business leaders in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Hany Salaam, who has been living in London for many years, flew to Beirut to welcome us. His daughter, Ghida, is marPAGE A7

fabricated to massage your ego and serve your personal interests, regardless of the facts.

You fail the character test because you discriminate against people, a blatant violation of the Constitution.

You fail the character test because you cannot rise above your pettiness and self-centered mindset that is why you, without shame, attack people who do not bow down to you and feed your insatiable ego.

You fail the character test because you bring out the worst in people, dividing instead of uniting the nation.

It is not just about the economy, Mr. President. Because with your style of governance that is based not on intelligent analysis of facts and data but on the whim, instinct

and manipulation of people, and a sense of white supremacy, you are leading this great nation to isolationism. You have pulled down this nation from its leadership position in the world, and you are pulling down the economy because of your myopic and shortsighted thinking.

The economic numbers may be good now, for the well-to-do Americans, but what about the ordinary hardworking people? What will happen to the economy with the unprecedented budget deficit you created when you give out more handouts to your billionaire and millionaire Americans while depriving quality social services like health care, education, safety nets to the ordinary hard working class?

Do you even care? Perhaps not.

During a 2017 briefing with senior officials, you responded to a presentation of charts and graphics showing concerns about rising national debt by saying, “Yeah, but I won’t be here”. This was because you did not think it will erupt until after you leave office, according to a source The Daily Beast said witnessed the comment.

It is not just the economy, Mr. President, but even in that department, you have already betrayed the American people. *** Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFilAmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook. com/Gel.Santos.Relos

COPA, an innovative policy to stabilize communities in San Francisco

by SOMCAN AFFORDABLE housing and rent-controlled apartments are dwindling in San Francisco while tenants are in constant threat of being evicted by landlords seeking higher yields and profits for rents as dictated by the current housing market. The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) gives communities a leg-up in fighting against displacement by allowing non-profits to more easily purchase existing housing to permanently take it off of the private housing market—stabilizing tenants in place against evictions.

Rents and land values in San Francisco have skyrocketed in the last few years. Currently, the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $3,690. The demand for housing has increased in a more rapid rate with the influx, for the most part, of the tech industry after expanding its operations beyond the confines of Silicon Valley with tech industry workers, among others, who come in droves to live close to where their jobs are.

This boom to the city’s housing market and economy may seem well and good until we consider the disparity this has produced and, in the process, has led to the displacement of vital communities of low and moderate income residents. These are the very communities and its members that have made San Francisco what it is and what has drawn everyone to it: a progressive place that spans many different cultures and diversities.

In recent years, many longtime residents have been forced to move away from the city to live

elsewhere while some, who are even less fortunate and with nowhere else to turn to, end up on the streets. The large and increasing amount of homeless encampments in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area is proof of this social inequity and imbalance, which is where the root of the current housing crisis lies—the housing market, that views housing as a commodity, with its standards and rates, has shifted its focus to catering almost exclusively to highly paid individuals who can pay very high prices for housing.

Rent-controlled apartments have been prime targets for investors and developers who are taking advantage of the current state of the housing market to profit off of existing housing. Long-term landlords, whose primary market in the past were other investors who sought ongoing rental income, are doing their share in perpetuating this crisis by doing business with speculators and cash buyers who are purchasing rent-controlled apartments with the purpose of turning over the units for extraordinary profits by renting them at market rates or converting them to short-term rentals, tenancy in common’s, and condominiums. Tenants and longtime residents are then subjected to Ellis Acts, Owner Move-ins, and various harassment tactics in order to be evicted and removed from the buildings.

There has been an ongoing need to balance the scales when it comes to the inequitable housing market and the ensuing displacement and eviction crisis. A tangible solution is at hand, though, through a new piece of legislation.

On December 11, 2018, San Francisco District 1 Supervisor, Sandra Lee Fewer, introduced legislation to establish the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA). The legislation will give rights for qualified non-profit organizations to have a prioritized negotiation process to purchase multi-unit apartment buildings and Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels.

COPA will apply to the sale of non-condo residential buildings of three or more units. It will grant a first-right-to-purchase for qualified non-profits that includes a right of first offer and a right of first refusal over multi-unit residential buildings for the purpose of preserving those units as permanently affordable and stabilizing those tenants living there against evictions.

San Francisco has recently implemented an acquisition program that has preserved dozens of buildings, saving many tenants in the process from the threat of Ellis Act evictions, but there has not been a clear pathway that allows non-profit organizations to buy those buildings even with the means to match the seller’s market-rate price. With COPA, the sale of a rental building becomes an opportunity for the community through qualified non-profits to protect existing residents from eviction and preserve residential buildings as permanent affordable housing.

COPA will first be heard in front of the Budget and Finance Committee and then will head to the Full Board of Supervisors for a vote. If passed, COPA will be a crucial step in addressing the PAGE A7

The views expressed by our Op-Ed contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the predilection of the editorial board and staff of Asian Journal.

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NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • mARCh 22-28, 2019

Boracay residents to SC: Reconsider ruling on resort island’s closure

by TETCH

TORRES-TUPAS Inquirer.net

MANILA – Residents and a worker from Boracay have asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its February ruling that affirmed the legality of the closure for six months last year of the resort island.

In a 36-page motion for reconsideration, petitioners Mark Anthony Zabal, Thiting Estoso Jacosalem and Odeon Bandiola through their counsel, Angelo Karlo Guillen of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) urged the High Court to reconsider its February 12 decision.

The Feb. 12 ruling affirmed Proclamation No. 475 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte which ordered the closure of Boracay last year to pave way for its rehabilitation.

The petitioners insisted that their rights, however “fleeting” were impeded by president’s order.

“The curtailment of a fundamental right is no less serious merely because it is temporary, It should also be pointed out that the temporary nature of the infringement does not change the fact that the damage had been done, with the livelihoods of thousands of workers—petition-

File photo shows workers in Boracay Island.

Philstar.com photo by Miguel De Guzman

ers included—being affected or lost, all to the detriment of these workers and their families,” they said.

Petitioners added that there is no national security, public safety or public health situation that called for the curtailment the public’s right to travel.

“Curtailment of these fundamental rights cannot be taken lightly. In the vast ocean of State power and authority, the Bill of Rights serves as a lifeboat for citizens who may find

themselves drowning in government excesses,” the petitioners added.

In upholding the president’s order, the SC agreed with Solicitor General Jose Calida that the president issued the closure order in exercise of his power as Chief Executive under Sections 1 and 17, Article VII of the Constitution and declared Boracay under state of calamity upon recommendation by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. n

Battles in Syria and revisiting...

PAGE A6 t ried to Prince Talil bin Muhammad of Jordan, first cousin of the current King Abdullah II. If we wanted to, with his experience in economics, entrepreneurship, and diplomacy, he could have been a great Prime Minister which had been offered him in the past as were his uncles who served in Lebanon.

In the course of our visit in Lebanon, we drove to Homs Governorate in Syria, a three-

hour drive from Beirut and met with its intrepid and far-sighted Governor Talal Barazi, who told us that seventy percent of Homs was ravaged during the war with ISIS. We saw up close the atrocious damages in the community. Some residents have returned to their homes and are beginning to rebuild their lives.

As of this writing, some 500 ISIS fighters have surrendered to Syrian military forces in Baghouz, in eastern Syria, near the

Iraqi border, the jihadists’ last remaining enclave. We hope the vicious fighting there will have come to a close when this column appears but we are afraid the ISIS cells will move to other regions as they have small cells infiltrating parts of Europe and who recently intruded in force into our Marawi City, leading to its near destruction and is today in the midst of successful rebuilding by the Duterte government. n

COPA, an innovative policy to...

PAGE A6 t

city’s housing crisis and the inequity and disproportion of the housing market. While it may not be an all-around solution to the housing problem, it will bring needed balance in the field where the community can fairly compete in the open market in the acquisi-

tion of rental buildings that are on sale. With successful precedents in other cities such as Washington DC, Chicago, Seattle, and Boston, COPA is an innovative policy designed to stabilize communities. It will be a major step in creating a system that will be more equitable and inclusive.

*** The South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN) is a multi-racial, community-based organization, serving low-income immigrant youth and families in SoMa and greater San Francisco since 2000.

To stay involved with COPA, sign up for SOMCAN’s mailing list at www.somcan.org or contact David Woo at dwoo@somcan.org

A

A

MARCH 22-28, 2019 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-5160

SF1 The A s i a n J o u r na l SF M A GA Z I N E - M a rc h 2 2 , 2 0 1 9

Friday, March 22, 2019

SF2

cover story Th e As ia n J ou r nal SF MAG AZINE - March 22, 2019

Woman on a mission: How this Fil-Am engineer rose through the ranks at NASA BY

CHRISTINA M. ORIEL

“I REALLY wasn’t interested in space,” confesses Josephine Santiago-Bond, while reflecting on her engineering education during a recent interview with the Asian Journal.

The Filipina-American engineer never anticipated that her experiences would culminate in a career revolving around missions and exploration in outer space.

It was 15 years ago when Santiago-Bond first landed an internship at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Today, she’s the head of the Advanced Engineering Development Branch at the center, a division she helped create that extends engineering support to the agency’s various missions in space, on Earth and other planets.

Budding engineer Born in the United States to parents pursuing their Ph.D. studies, the family moved back to the Philippines a few months later, where Santiago-Bond would grow up and study until college.

Coming from a family of scientists and doctors, she was naturally curious about the science field as well. One of her earliest memories was testing acids and bases on indicators her mother had brought home.

“I loved the color combinations that I got from playing with that kit, but it created a really vivid memory that I think really influenced me to get into sciences,” she says in a NASA video.

At 12 years old, SantiagoBond passed the national competitive exam and was accepted as a scholar at Philippine Science High School, a selective public high school that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and is considered the top science school in the country and one of the best in the ASEAN region.

When it was time to apply for college, she said she was “undecided” about a major but was attracted to engineering, particularly electronic and communications, after speaking to a former schoolmate who was a freshman studying that discipline at the University of the Philippines (UP).

“I couldn’t tell you what she said but I remember feeling really excited about taking electronic and communications engineering,” Santiago-Bond recalls. She enrolled in the five-year program at UP, where she graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree in

that engineering specialty.

Other profiles written about the engineer have dwelled on her difficulty in some math courses as an undergraduate, but those shortcomings didn’t detract her from graduating and proving that she was meant to be in this field.

“I take pride in being a product of Philippine education as it speaks to the high quality of education that is available in the Philippines and how graduates can successfully compete internationally,” she says.

Her first engineering job out of college brought her to South Dakota for Daktronics, Inc., which designs sports products like scoreboards. She simultaneously pursued a master’s degree in electrical engineering at South Dakota State University (SDSU).

“To be frank, my motivation was to get a U.S. education because not only was I trying to get a job here in the U.S. but also because I had mediocre grades in undergrad and this was a do-over for me to go to grad school and get better grades,” Santiago-Bond says.

NASA calling She took on a second job as a research assistant under an advisor who received funding from NASA’s Space Grant Consortium. An opportunity to spend a summer at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), one of NASA’s 10 field centers in the country, presented itself because the university didn’t have a facility for the project she was working on that involved hazardous gases.

“That was the second winter I had spent up there [in South Dakota] and it was pretty frigid so I was excited to spend the summer with him at KSC,” she recalls.

Her period at KSC, coupled with the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, further piqued her interest in NASA — as did applying her engineering expertise to aerospace research and development.

“I’m kind of embarrassed to say prior to that incident, I didn’t really know about space shuttles and that there was an International Space Station orbiting around us,” SantiagoBond says. “I felt very sad about the lives that we lost with Columbia and became in part obsessed with the TV coverage of the recovery.”

She adds, “If any good can come out of a disaster like that, I can say that was the point at which I truly started learning and getting interested about NASA and space in general.”

After spending the summer in Florida, she applied and was

After graduate school, Santiago-Bond was offered a position as an electronics engineer at Kennedy Space Center, where she continues to work today 15 years later as the head of the Advanced Engineering Development Branch.

accepted as a graduate intern at NASA in 2004, where she would go on to spend two semesters.

It soon translated into a full-time, post-grad offer a year later as an electronics engineer in which she had a hand in the design of new technologies and Constellation subsystems, and space shuttle ground system operations.

“I chose to work here and I’ve stayed...I’ve been here about 15 years. The people around me are great…to work with,” Santiago-Bond muses. “I enjoy living on Florida’s coast and really the biggest thing is that I want to contribute to some way to the mission of space exploration.”

Through the years, NASA has offered continuing education and professional development, which she says have helped her become “more self-aware.”

She later transitioned to systems engineering with a graduate certificate program, which the agency subsidized, to hone into more of her identified underlying strengths, such as being able to communicate with a team of people and solving technical problems.

“It’s great to come to work every day because I can be myself and my values align with the organization’s values.

They always emphasize safety, integrity, teamwork and excellence and those are things I line up behind,” she says. “It’s very rare to find an organization that carries a mission to drive and advance in science and technology, aeronautics and space exploration with just the very simple desire to enhance knowledge all for the benefit of mankind.”

Another career milestone was being part of the agency’s Systems Engineering Leadership Development Program (SELDP) in 2012, a competitive agencywide program for high-potential system engineers to have access to courses, workshops, coaching and mentorship.

The program placed her in a year-long assignment at Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, which was a slower-moving and smaller environment compared to KSC. While there, Santiago-Bond was on the mission systems engineering team for the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), a spacecraft mission that orbited the moon in 2013 to gather detailed information on the moon’s thin atmosphere and whether dust is lofted in the lunar sky. Her responsibilities included ensuring that the LADEE passed its follow-up review and communiJosephine Santiago-Bond, left, chair of Kennedy Space Center’s Asian Pacific American Connection (APAC) cating with other NASA centers Employee Resource Group, and Alyssa Garcia, the group’s co-chair, speak to attendees at the annual involved with the integration.

Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month special event in 2016.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett “I’m proud to have been part of the integration and test of LADEE. It’s a spacecraft that orbited the moon for five months and intentionally crashed on the far side of the moon. The mission actually far exceeded the 100 days that it was meant to,” she reflects. The mission lasted 160 days after it crashed onto the lunar surface in mid-April 2014.

In her nearly two decades at the space agency, she quickly beams a list of several projects she’s worked on: the tail-end of the historic Space Shuttle program, which ended in 2011; and the formulation and As a graduate research assistant, Santiago-Bond had the opportunity spend a summer at John F. Kennedy launch of the Ares I-X in 2009, a Space Center, which turned into an internship and then a full-time position.

Photos courtesy of Josephine Santiago-Bond 327-foot tall unmanned rocket

Santiago-Bond poses in front of Space Shuttle Discovery in 2007.

Josephine Santiago-Bond and her husband Chris Bond stand next to the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer propulsion structure at NASA’s Ames Research Center.

Photos courtesy of Josephine Santiago-Bond

that was part of the research on the future of space exploration post-space shuttle.

She also contributed to another lunar exploration mission called Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatiles Extraction (RESOLVE), which had aimed to put a rover on the surface of the moon in 2017 for nine days to map water ice and other compounds.

After the year at Ames, she returned to KSC under the Ground Systems Development and Operations program and went on to be the chief of the newly formed Advanced Engineering Development Branch.

“Out of all of those, my greatest source of pride is in establishing my current branch from scratch,” Santiago-Bond says. “The organizational culture change that goes with establishing a new branch is by far more challenging to me than any of the technical issues that we had to address as a group.”

On a typical day, her day is structured with scheduled meetings and administrative and technical tasks, but she keeps an “open-door policy” for those under her supervision or spends time with them in their workspaces. “I listen to them, problem-solve with them and provide them with constructive suggestions and I ask for feedback. When I’m not with them, I advocate for them with our stakeholders and to our management,” she says.

Her leadership position comes with overseeing 21 engineers and three interns across various engineering disciplines, providing that “support for exploration, research and technology across the agency.”

She and her team currently have a portfolio of 70 projects that have to do with Earth (“to improve tasks…so they can be more accurate, faster and safer”), Mars, the moon, and space in general.

For the more complex operations in space or another planetary surface, SantiagoBond facilitates engineering support where she can “find maximum alignment between what the project needs in term of skill and what the strengths of my employees,” she explains, mentioning that she takes their career goals into consideration.

“On rare occasions when I find that there is no good fit with anyone in my branch, then I identify where I can find a better fit and I facilitate the negotiation,” she says. “Out of all the different things I do in my job, the care of my engineers is the most important aspect…I have the responsibility of removing and identifying the obstacles in my engineers’ way so that they

can focus on being the highperforming engineers that they are.”

There are a handful of activities Santiago-Bond discloses that her team is brewing, such as sending hardware to lowEarth orbit and a moon exploration mission set for 2020 that could go into testing by later this year.

“You might see our contribution in a satellite servicing mission that’s set to launch in 2020. You’ll see us extend the life span of an existing satellite even though that satellite wasn’t meant to be serviced in orbit. You’ll see some in-situ resource utilization — different projects that allow us to plan long-term human presence on the moon or Mars,” she hints.

Taking the giant leap Santiago-Bond bears a sense of duty with her identity as a Filipina-American and the perspective she contributes to a large organization like NASA. She previously served as the chair of the center’s Asian Pacific American Connection Employee Resource Group.

“My leadership position also points to how NASA values diversity and practice of inclusion on a daily basis. I always feel that I am valued, not only for my engineering and leadership skills, but also as an Asian American and as a FilipinaAmerican, who brings a unique set of experiences and ideas to the table every day,” she says. “I’m not the only female Filipina-American, nor am I the first, who is in a leadership position at NASA, which in itself makes me proud.”

Recent data from 2012 show that one-third of NASA’s employees are women, with 30 percent supervisors and 20 percent engineers, according to the National Women’s History Museum. Five years later, 37 percent of the agency’s new hires were said to be women.

The increase comes as some progress when the agency and STEM fields as a whole are traditionally male-dominated.

While the agency, like other STEM-related organizations, pushes to employ more women and individuals from diverse backgrounds, Santiago-Bond says women who are interested in being in the field need to see other women already doing it. “I would advise them to find a mentor, someone who is capable of helping them overcome, either real or perceived obstacles preventing them from entering the STEM field,” she says.

“The biggest obstacle in having more women in STEM is the lack of interest. Being interested requires them to

picture themselves in that situation,” she says. “I would say to them, ‘don’t be afraid of being the only woman in the class...or the only woman in the meeting’ if they’re actually practicing a technical profession. A second woman will come along and they would have done her a favor by being the first. Believe that they bring value and just go do it.”

With Women’s History Month this March, it’s fitting to remember the women who became before Santiago-Bond like Kitty O’Brien Joyner, the first woman engineer at NASA; Dorothy Vaughan, the first African American manager at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NASA’s predecessor); Mary Jackson, the agency’s first African American female engineer; Katherine Johnson, a mathematician whose calculations were critical to the success of the first U.S. manned spaceflight; Sally Ride, the first American woman in space; and the late Angelita Castro-Kelly, a Filipina who was the first woman to be NASA’s Mission Operations Manager for the Earth Observing System.

(At the end of this month, two women astronauts on the International Space Station, directed by woman flight controller, are expected to mark the first time in history that an all-female crew will do a spacewalk.)

“That’s very empowering to work in a workplace that embraces that diversity and inclusion and gives us an opportunity to give back to the nation and the world,” Santiago-Bond says.

As for more career benchmarks to hit? Another goal of hers is to do more community outreach and be a shining example that there’s no straight trajectory for a STEM education — and that there’s redemption after not-so-perfect grades because learning is a life-long journey — as well as proving that having a career in the agency is possible while being a mother.

“It’s me now trying to follow my pursuit of work-life balance.

My priorities have shifted over the years. I became a wife 10 years ago and a mother five years ago,” Santiago-Bond says.

“I love that NASA’s policies have assisted me in both as an engineering supervisor and as a wife and a mom. I can work anywhere and my time is pretty flexible within the policies and that allows me to continue to give my best to NASA and be there for my family when it matters. Looking back, I never thought I would get as far as I have.”

community SF3 Entry with C-1 visa does not always bar Adjustment of Status

T h e A s i an Jo u r n al S F M AG A Z I N E - M a rc h 2 2 , 2 0 1 9

Your Immigration Solution

ATTY. BEN LOVEMAN

“ATTORNEY, I entered with a C-1 visa, so I can’t adjust my status, right? We hear this basic question all the time from clients hoping to adjust their status and be granted permanent resident status (green card). Unfortunately, many people mistakenly believe that entering the U.S. with a C-1 visa is an automatic bar to getting their green card in the United States. To help dispel this myth we devote our discussion this week to the nuances of the C-1 visa.

The C-1 and C-1/D visa category is an often-utilized visa used to enter the United States for various reasons.

The most common use of a C1 visa is for a person to enter the U.S. to pursue employment aboard a vessel. These bona fide ‘crewmen’ are generally issued C-1/D visas and are prohibited from adjustment of status under Section 245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. But what if you enter the U.S. with a C-1 visa but are not a crewman?

The C-1 visa category is not exclusively for crewmen and exceptions to the general rule apply. One exception is for a person who was issued a C-1 visa because they will be transiting through the United States to a third country.

There is not a prohibition on adjustment of status for C-1 visa holders who were simply transiting through the United States. An example: a Filipino citizen named Ramonito is planning to work at a military base in Guantanamo Bay. His itinerary requires a layover in Los Angeles. Ramonito uses his C-1 visa to enter the United States with his “transit visa,” before he is ultimately required to continue his journey to Guantanamo Bay.

If Ramonito fails to timely leave the U.S., he may still be eligible for adjustment of status despite his entry with the C-1 visa. This exception might also apply for bona fide crewmen who have finished their contracts.

A second exception arises for people who enter the U.S. with a fraudulent C-1 visa.

Federal regulations define “crewman” as someone entering the U.S. to serve on board a vessel or aircraft in pursuit of their calling as a crewman.

Does the adjustment of status bar apply to the person who enters the U.S. under an assumed name, and who has no intention of working as a crewman? The Board of Immigration Appeals has stated that the “focal issue in determining whether an alien qualifies as a crewman is whether the person entered the United States in pursuit of his calling as a seaman.” It is an argument that “substance over form” should control. Thus, there is a strong claim that a person who uses a C-1/D or D visa and falsely claims to be joining a ship is still eligible for adjustment of status.

With this exception, there is no doubt that the foreign national will require a waiver for fraudulently obtaining their visa. An example: Ramonito seeks entry to the U.S. after acquiring a fraudulent C-1/D visa from an agent. Ramonito also claims at entry that he will be joining a ship after his arrival in the United States.

Even if no such ship exists, Ramonito may still be eligible for adjustment of status so long as he is able to acquire a waiver of his misrepresentation.

Bona fide crewmen can also adjust their status if cov-

ered by Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. A person is most commonly covered by previously having a petition or labor certification filed on their behalf (or perhaps on behalf of their parents) prior to April 30, 2001. In addition, if the petition was filed between January 14, 1998 and April 30, 2001, the foreign national must have been physically present in the U.S. on December 21, 2000.

Finally, crewman not meeting any of these exceptions may still be eligible for a ‘Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver.’ This waiver may be granted upon a showing of extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent.

Before seeking this waiver though, find out for sure whether an exception applies in your case so that you can potentially apply for adjustment of status.

Crewman visas can be complex. Consult with a knowledgeable and experienced immigration attorney to thoroughly discuss your options before automatically assuming you are not eligible for adjustment of status. *** REEVES IMMIGRATION LAW GROUP is one of the oldest, largest and most experienced immigration fi rms in the United States with offi ces in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Manila and China.

For more Information please call (800) 795- 8009 or visit www.rreeves.com.

Telephone: (800) 795-8009 E-mail: immigration@rreeves.com Website: www.rreeves.com. *** The analysis and suggestions offered in this column do not create a lawyer-client relationship and are not a substitute for the personalized representation that is essential to every case.

(Advertising Supplement)

SF4

celebrityworld The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - March 22, 2019

celebrity world

FAMAS announces nominees for 67th awards night

By Ferdie Villar IT was a breath of fresh air to see this year’s list of Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) nominees because surprisingly, non-popular movies were the choices for Best Picture. The list of nominees for acting categories is also interesting, as it was a mix of young, old, popular and non-mainstream artists.

Nominees for this year were chosen by a selection committee headed by multi-awarded screenwriter Ricky Lee. Judy Ann Santos (“Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes”), Angelica Panganiban (“Exes Baggage”), Glaiza De Castro (“Liway”), Sarah Geronimo (“Miss Granny”), Nadine Lustre (“Never Not Love You”) and Anne Curtis (“Sid & Aya: Not A Love Story”) were among the nominated for Best Actress. They are joined

by Gabby Padilla (“Billie & Emma”), Perla Bautista (“Kung Paano Hihintayin Ang Dapith-

apon”), Iyah Mina (“Mamu, And a Mother Too) and Marietta “Pokwang” Subong (“Oda Sa Wala).

Best Actor nominees include Arjo Atayde and Levi Ignacio for “BuyBust,” Teroy Guzman and Gabby Eigenmann for “Citizen Jake,” Joem Bascon for “Double Twisting, Double Back,” Publio J. Briones III for “A Short History of a Few Bad Things,” Soliman Cruz for “Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus,” Menggie Cobarrubias (Domingo Cobarrubias for “Kung Paano Hinihintay ang Dapithapon,” Richard “Ebong” Joson for “Liway,” Aaron Villaflor for “Mamu, and a Mother Too,” and Nanding Josef for “Signal Rock.”

“BuyBust,” directed by Erik Matti, Jerrold Tarog’s “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral,” Timmy Harn’s “Dog Days” and Dwein Baltazar’s “Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus” and “Oda sa Wala” led the nominees with

seven nods each.

Here is the complete list for Best Picture: • “Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes” • “Ang Panahon Ng Halimaw” • “A Short History Of A Few Bad Things” • “Dog Days” • “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral” • “Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus” • “Kung Paano Siya Nawala” • “Never Not Love You” • “Never Tear Us Apart a.k.a. Fisting” • “Oda Sa Wala” One of the highly distinguished film award bodies in the country, FAMAS is celebrating its 67th year. The awarding ceremony called “Gabi ng Parangal” will be held at The Meralco Theater in Pasig City on April 29.

Kathryn shuts KathNiel breakup rumors

Judy Ann Santos has been nominated for Best Actress in this year’s 67th FAMAS Awards for her film, “Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes.”

Angelica Panganiban is one of the Best Actress nominees in this year’s 67th FAMAS Awards for the film “Exes Baggage.”

Filipino community leader and nonprofit photographer Rey Guarin will celebrate his 65th birthday on Monday, March 25. How wife, Natty, and his children will give him a birthday party at their residence in Belhaven Avenue in Daly City.

Arjo Atayde has been nominated for Best Actor in this year’s 67th FAMAS Awards for the movie, “BuyBust.”

by JAN MILO SEVERO Philstar.com

KATHRYN Bernardo wrote an open letter that revealed her secret to “becoming a superstar in her own right.”

In an article published in Preview, Kathryn wrote the letter titled,“Confessions of a Former Teen Queen: An Open Letter by Kathryn Bernardo.”

Kathryn, who is turning 23 this month, began her letter by opening up about her struggles in starting a showbiz career, Continued on Page SF6 Kathryn Bernardo Photo from Instagram/@bernardokath

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

GMA Pinoy TV’s newest teleserye “Sahaya” will be the comeback vehicle of unforgettable teleserye stars of Kabal Karibal, Miguel Tanfelix and Bianca Umali. “Sahaya” started last Monday, March 18.

Versatile actor Raymond Bagatsing has returned to his acting roots in the well-liked GMA teleserye, “TODA One I Love.”

PSYCHIC

SERVICES

Handsome-debonair actor Jeric Gonzales shows his acting abilities as he plays the lead actor in the GMA teleserye “Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko,” which also stars the original movie queen Gloria Romero.

Immigration Corner

Application Filing Date

Visa Issuance Date

EACH month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment based categories. A priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below. If your priority date was “current,” but later retrogressed (or “moved backwards” and became unavailable) before your immigrant visa was issued (or before you adjusted status in the U.S.), you would have to wait until it becomes current again.

Beginning last October 2015, the format of the Visa Bulletin changed, in that a new column was added, called the “Application Filing Date.” If a person’s priority date is earlier than the Application Filing Date, they can already file for adjustment of status and work authorization (provided they are otherwise eligible and USCIS indicates on its website

April 08, 2008

April 08, 2007

December 15, 2017

March 01, 2017

(2B) Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years old or older) of green card holder

March 01, 2008

August 01, 2007

Third Preference

Married sons and daughters of US Citizens.

September 01, 1997

June 01, 1996

Fourth Preference

Brothers and sisters of US Citizens.

January 15, 1998

June 01, 1996

LABOR CERTIFICATION:

Application Filing Date

Visa Issuance Date

Second Preference Advanced Degree (Masters)

Current

Current

July 01, 2018

March 01, 2018

First Preference

Unmarried sons and daughters of US citizens (over 21 years of age)

(2A) Spouse and Second Preference minor children (below 21 years old) of green card holder

Third Preference

Professional/ Skilled Workers

A CREWMAN WHO JUMPED SHIP WENT HOME TO THE PHILIPPINES ON AN APPROVED PROVISIONAL WAIVER, BUT WAS CHARGE WITH FRAUD FOR OVERSTAYING, AND COULD NO LONGER RETURN TO THE U.S. Jimmy (right) entered the U.S. in 1999 and jumped ship. When the provisional waiver regulations came out, allowing crewmen to legalize, (which also included crewmen), Jimmy applied for it immediately in his desire to “do the right thing” and legalize his status. He traveled back to the Philippines for his medicals and immigrant visa interview, thinking he would be back in the U.S. in a few weeks. However, the new 90-day rule implemented by the U.S. State Department resulted in Jimmy being charged with fraud, unable to return to the U.S. to his wife who is comatose. Leading U.S. Immigration Attorney “Michael J. Gurfinkel (left) never left Jimmy’s side and kept fighting for him. Witness a heart-tugging homecoming and reunion on an all-new episode of “Citizen Pinoy” – on Sunday at 6:15 p.m. (PST) on TFC. (Advertising Supplement)

State Bars of California and New York.

All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an it will use the Application FilIssuance Date column) in order active member of the State Bar of ing Date for that month). This to both file for adjustment and California. Each case is different and could allow people to obtain be eligible for a green card. results may depend on the facts of the work authorization much *** particular case. The information and sooner than before, where Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an opinions contained herein (including they had to wait for the priority attorney for over 35 years and is testimonials, “Success Stories”, date to be current (in the Visa licensed, and an active member of the endorsements and re-enactments) Other Workers

Non-Skilled Workers

July 01, 2018

March 01, 2018

US Embassy charges crewmen with “fraud” for overstaying, despite an approved provisional waiver – on an all new episode of ‘Citizen Pinoy’

JIMMY entered the U.S. as a crewman in 1999 and jumped ship. When the provisional waiver regulations came out (which included crewmen as being eligible), Jimmy applied and was approved. This allowed him to go back to the Philippines for his immigrant visa interview without being subject to a 10-year bar. Crewmen are not eligible to be interviewed for their green card in the U.S. (even if married to a U.S.

citizen) unless they had been petitioned before April 30, 2001.

When Jimmy went for his interview at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, he was shocked when the Embassy charged him with fraud for having “overstayed” his 29-day crewman visa and having worked within 90 days of his arrival in 1999. In other words, he was being charged with fraud for overstaying, even though the provisional

waiver “forgave” him for that same overstay.

What Jimmy thought would be just a few short weeks stay in the Philippines for his immigrant visa interview, turned out to be a lot longer, because the U.S. Embassy required him to now file a fraud waiver. Jimmy faced a mountain of uncertainties. He was diabetic, and his insulin supply was only good for a few months. At the same time, his wife lay in comatose

SF5

The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - March 22, 2019

The Priority dates for the Philippines are as follows: FAMILY CATEGORY:

ATTY. MICHAEL GURFINKEL, ESQ

community

April 2019 priority dates

after suffering a stroke.

All this time, leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel never gave up on Jimmy. He staunchly defended Jimmy, fought for him, and stood by his side all the way, enabling Jimmy to finally return to the U.S. Watch this brand-new episode of “Citizen Pinoy” – on Sunday 6:15 p.m.PST/EST (9:15 p.m. EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers).

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are of a general nature, and are not intended to apply to any particular case, and do not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.

WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com Follow us on Facebook.

com/GurfinkelLaw and Twitter @ GurfinkelLaw Call Toll free to schedule a consultation for anywhere in the US: 1-866-487-3465 (866) – GURFINKEL Four offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES ∙ SAN FRANCISCO ∙ NEW YORK ∙ PHILIPPINES (Advertising Supplement)

SF6

people & events

Health@Heart

The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - March 22, 2019

The CTV Files

Just say no: Legal advice from the internet

could lead to the issuance of a Notice to Appear (NTA)? In September 2018, changes in policy were put in place allowing im“MY brother’s neighbor’s girlfriend’s uncle had the same migration officers to reject visa exact case and it got approved applications immediately due to missing or inaccurate informaand they did not use an attion. Previously, USCIS will issue torney.�

I’ve heard this many times to “Requests for Evidence� (RFE) if there are missing information, have developed a well-curated allowing applicants to address response: Nothing. A person gaps in their paperwork. “Noticwho has set out to hear only es of Intent to Deny� were also what s/he wants to hear can hear nothing else but what s/he issued, as per prior guidance, wants to hear. Reason and logic which gave applicants a 30-day warning that their application be damned. would likely be rejected.

For the most part, technolApplications affected by ogy has allowed us to gather these policies and its recent as much information as we are changes in policy apply to: (i) able to handle at the tip of our applications and renewals of fingertips. Yet, neither Google nor Siri nor Wikipedia can stand temporary (non-immigrant) visas, and (ii) permanent resident in front of a Judge as your adstatus (immigrant) visas. Securvocate. Most attorneys cannot speak about cases they have not ing such visas are required in order for non-U.S. citizen foreign handled. Each case is unique nationals to legally live and work – one tiny fact, one tiny detail in the United States. could change the course of a Can USCIS refer a file to case. And, in immigration cases deportation for the issuance of where the threat of deportaa Notice to Appear after it the tion is very real why would you case has been denied? gamble with your life? Or your Yes. The U.S. Citizenship and family’s life?

New policy for rejecting in- Immigration Services (USCIS) may also issue an NTA when it complete or inaccurate filings. finds a noncitizen has not comDid you know that a single plied with regulations governing error could mean a rejected admission or maintaining lawful application? And, more importantly, that a rejected application status after admission.

ATTY. LILLI BERBANO BACULI, ESQ

Kathryn shuts...

From Page SF4 which included traveling long hours from Cabanatuan to Makati to attend auditions that only lasted for a few minutes, and worrying that she is not “tisay� or pretty enough to get the job. “While other children my age were busy trying to master the periodic table, I was memorizing lines for a VTR, which—fingers crossed—could potentially land me a short role in a drama or a TV commercial,� Kathryn wrote.

“While waiting for my turn beside fair-skinned girls who were vying for the same role, there I was, worrying that I might not be ‘tisay’ enough or pretty enough to actually get the job.

It’s okay, though, my parents would say. There’s always a next time,� she added.

She also shared what advice she would give to her sevenyear-old self after her struggles. “If I could travel back in time and give that seven-year-old girl a pat on the shoulder along

Consult with a licensed and experienced immigration attorney before filing anything.

First things first, do not file anything with USCIS or any other government entity without first seeking advice. Filing for applications “frivolouslyâ€? can and will come back and haunt you. While certain applications are available online making it easy to access, individuals must nevertheless proceed with caution when filing for any application with USCIS. Just because it is easier now to file for an application does not mean that you should. We urge individuals to pause and take the time to consult with a licensed and experienced immigration attorney before submitting any application with USCIS. *** Atty. Lilli Berbano Baculi is an associate attorney with Chua Tinsay & Vega, A Professional Legal Corporation (CTV) - a full service law ďŹ rm with ofďŹ ces in San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento and Philippines. The information presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (619) 9556277; (415) 495-8088; (916) 449-3923; lbaculi@ctvattys.com; www.chuatinsayvega.com.

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with some sisterly advice: ‘Don’t worry too much and take things slowly,’ I’d tell her for sure. ‘You have to be tough. You have to be strong. It won’t be easy, but if you’re patient, you’ll get there eventually’.�

Though her early career robbed her of a “normal� childhood, Kathryn said she is glad she experienced those “because nothing worth it ever comes easy.� “And throughout that tough climb, I was lucky to have a strong support system. My family was with me every step of the Continued on Page SF7

PHILIP S. CHUA, MD, FACS, FPCS B wise, B safe Vitamin B is one of the most essential vitamins our body needs, but excess of this vitamin is unhealthy. Many food items in the market are fortified with Vitamin B, and some people who take a one-a-day multivitamin/ minerals pill which already contains vitamin B and take added vitamin B supplements are overdosing on B. This could lead to obesity or difficulty in losing weight for those who are overweight, skin blemishes, nerve damage, kidney issues, etc.

The B-complex (8 of them) includes B-1 to B-12 (there are no B-4, B-8, B-10 and B-11).

Their names are thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, biotin, folic acid and cobalamin.

The kidneys normally filter out excess vitamins, but they could only do this to a certain level, and kidneys of individuals vary in efficiency. The best is to B careful and B well informed, not only about B vitamin but about all other vitamins, including minerals.

The formulation of most onea-day multivitamins/mineral pills meets the daily requirements for most people. Read the label or Google them, or check with your healthcare provider. For those diagnosed with specific deficiencies or extra needs, the attending physician would prescribe accordingly.

Liquid candy: a toxic drink All varieties of soft drinks, cola or un-cola — regular or diet, caffeine-free or not — are all toxic to our body. Phosphoric acid is a major component of cola drinks, and citric acid, of the un-colas. Carbonated water provides the carbonic acid in soft drinks. Phosphoric acid is used to flush out car engines and for cleaning toilet bowls. It dissolves calcium, as it does in our body as we consume soft drinks adversely affecting our bones and teeth. The caramel coloring for coke is a contaminant from 4-methylimidazole, a carcinogen to humans, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. And so with the artificial sweeteners in diet drinks.

All soft drinks are unhealthy for everyone, especially for children.

They increase the risk for dental carries, osteoporosis, arthritis, metabolic syndrome, obesity, heart attack, and stroke in the long run.

Unlike cyanide poison, which kills instantly, soft drinks do it softly and slowly, the reason

Vital medical tips

people don’t care‌until the disaster hits.

Obesity kills This is another subtle killer.

Obesity (mostly from eating too much, exercising too little or not at all‌some due to genetic defect). The following health problems are more common among those who are overweight or obese: High blood pressure, diabetes T2, heart disease, sleep apnea, stroke, osteoporosis, increased blood pressure and Caesarian rate (toxic pregnancy) among obese mothers, kidney disease, fatty liver, and some cancers. Those who are overweight or obese also have higher mortality risk for surgeries and, in general, less healthier and have shorter longevity. Besides whatever strategy one is using to maintain normal weight, there is one simple common sense technique my wife, Farida, and I learned from our famous professor in medical school, the internationally renowned Filipina Pediatrician, the late Dr. Fe Primitiva del Mundo, which is safest, most effective, and cheapest: “Push yourself away from the table less than full.â€? As far as I can remember, she always appeared to be no more than 110 pounds.

To digress a bit: This amazing icon was treating patient up to age 94 on her wheelchair, and died August 6, 2011, two months shy of 100. She was the first woman admitted to Harvard Medical School in 1936, founder of the first pediatric hospital in the Philippines, and the inventor of the Bamboo Baby Incubator for rural areas without electricity. She was honored with the Lakandula Award and the Ramon Magsaysay Award (Philippine equivalent of the Nobel Prize).

The basic principle in weight maintenance is caloric intake must be equal to caloric output via exercise, etc. If food intake is more than exercise, the result is obvious. So, I strongly recommend we all push ourselves away from the table less than full. A bit hungry is healthier. And drinking water can fill in the gap, making the kidneys happy too.

Hot multi grain cereals I have been eating old-fashioned Quaker Oats since I was a kid and just switched to Bob’s Red Mill 5-grain rolled hot cereals (whole grain oats, barley, rye, wheat, triticale, and flaxseed) last year. Having multigrain cereal with berries and nuts for breakfast and snacks, instead of rice or bread and bacon, ham, or sausages, is healthier. The rice flake and corn flake cereals contain too much sugar, which is not good for us, especially for children. For cold cereals, those made of barley, oats, millet,

Calendar of Events across

quinoa, are best. Also, watch out for unhealthy fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and additives. Always read the food labels. For me, nothing beats hot multi-grain cereals. They also maintain a healthier gastrointestinal microbiome for better metabolism, boosting our immune system, and lowering our risk for cardiovascular illnesses and cancer.

Red meat and pancreatic cancer Worldwide, there were 460,000 cases of pancreatic cancer, highest in Hungary. In the United States, 55,440 adults have been diagnosed to have this malignancy. Incidence appears to be 25 percent higher among black than white. Because of its anatomical location, pancreatic is hard to diagnose.

Among those diagnosed early (10 percent of them) where the pancreatic cancer is removable, the 5-year survival rate is 32 percent, 12 percent if it has spread to the surrounding tissues, and 3 percent after it has already metastasized to distant parts of the body.

A new study reveals that eating processed meats like bacon and sausage (or red meat in general) increases the risk for the development of cancer of the pancreas by 29 percent, compared to those who do not eat them. Nitrosamines as food additives and N-nitroso compounds in cigarettes catapults the risk for pancreatic cancer, while diets free of red meat and high in vegetables and fruits lower the risk.

Cooking meats on a grill, pan, or broiler at high temperature produces heterocyclic amines (HAs), which are carcinogens (cancer-causing substances). Even frying meats at over 300 F increases cancer risk.

Barbeque fumes resulting from oil drips from the meat down to the coal fire below produces polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which is also a toxic chemical. Using charcoal is worse than propane. The black burned parts of the meat are also suspected to be carcinogenic. It is best to scrape or cut off those burned parts. The use of the new copper-color grill liners could help prevent oil from dripping onto the fire below. Better still is to limit or avoid eating red meats. Life is precious. *** Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/ author, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian and anti-graft foundation in the United States.

Websites: FUN8888.com, philipSchua.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com (Advertising Supplement)

America

ADVERTISE YOUR EVENTS! PRE-EVENT AND POST EVENT GO DEEPER. GO WIDER. LET THE WORLD KNOW. CALL ASIAN JOURNAL: (818) 502-0651 DISPLAY AD SIZES AT SPECIAL RATES FOR NON-PROFIT GROUPS M A R C H 23

Free oil ďŹ lter and motor oil recycling event in Rosemead, CA ATTENTION ALL SAN FERNANDO RESIDENTS – Everyone is invited to bring in their used motor oil and used oil filters in exchange for a free new oil filter on Saturday, March 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will be held at AutoZone (8350 Garvey Ave. Rosemead, CA 91770). Recycling motor oil and filters helps save our environment and keeps our water clean. So, don’t miss out – we’re making it easier for you to keep your car running smoothly and efficiently.

MARCH 30

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Philippine Medical Society of Northern California installation of ofďŹ cers in Foster City, CA The Philippine Medical Society of Northern California will hold its 47th anniversary and installation of officers for 2019-2021 at the Crowne Plaza in Foster City, CA on Saturday, March 30. For sponsorship information, please contact Dr. Clementina Manio at drtina0427@gmail. com or visit https://www.pmsnc.org/.

United Bicolandia Los Angeles induction in Montebello, CA United Bicolandia Los Angeles will hold its 45th Anniversary and Induction Ceremony at Quiet Cannon in Montebello, CA on Saturday, March 30. For tickets and sponsorship information, please contact Lanie Berrei at lanieberrei@hotmail.com or (818) 281-3169.

City of San Fernando, La Union Association-USA ball in Brea, CA The City of San Fernando, La Union Association-USA will hold its 29th Fiesta Ball — “A Reunion to Remember� — on Saturday, March 30 at the Embassy Suites (900 East Birch Street) in Brea, CA. It will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 12 midnight. For more details, you may contact ball chairman Noel Nabua at (949) 323-3873 / nsnabua@gmail.com; outgoing president Samuel Chee at (909) 662-7501 / samnlynnndchamp@yahoo.com; incoming president Vicky Neri at (562) 394-6293 / vickybneri@gmail.com; and director Vangie So at (626) 485-3110 / vangieso@aol.com.

If you have an upcoming event and would like us to post it, please email us the details at info@asianjournalinc.com or calendar@asianjournalinc.com

Cristine as a single mom: No one helps me, financially

by ALLAN POLICARPIO Inquirer.net

NOW that she’s 30 and a mother to a 4-year-old girl, Cristine Reyes said that life, for her, is not about seeking personal happiness anymore.

“Many things have changed. My outlook in life is different now. It’s no longer about having fun—I just want to be with my daughter (Amarah) all the time,” Cristine, who has dyed her side-shaved hair flaming red, told reporters at a press conference for “Maria”— her first action-thriller, which opens in cinemas on March 27.

The actress admitted that work was something that didn’t particularly excite her when she was just starting in the biz. It’s the complete opposite now.

“I used to dislike working.

Now, all I want to do is work, work, work—for my loved ones. I value it more these days,” Cristine said. “When something is asked of me, I study.”

For her 30th birthday last month, Cristine went on vacation in Thailand with her sisters, Ara Mina and Heidi Gatmaytan, then flew to Boracay for mother-daughter bonding with Amarah.

“I just wanted to travel and spend quality time with my family. That’s a blessing,” she said. “Being with Amarah, sobrang sarap sa feeling. I wish I could be with her every day.

But, I’m a working mom. I just explain to her that I have to do it, so we can book hotel rooms when we go on vacations!”

Noticeably absent from both outings was her husband, mixed martial artist Ali Khatibi, from whom she has allegedly separated.

The entertainment press was cautious and did not to pry. Her reply, however, leaves something to the imagination, when she was asked if the reason she has been working so hard as of late was the fact that she’s raising her kid alone.

“Well, ever since, it’s just me who has been working for

Ken’s show is helping his dad fight illness Inquirer.net

Cristine Reyes

myself. And I can really say that I’m self-made,” she said.

“I have been working for 15 years. I started in 2003, and I have been helping my family ever since,” she added. “No one helps me, financially.”

Directed by Pedring Lopez, “Maria” follows a disgraced cartel assassin named Lily (Cristine), who fakes her own death and flees to a far-flung province after a failed mission, earning the wrath of the organization she works for. She changes her name to Maria and starts a new life: She marries a businessman and gives birth to a daughter.

But just when she thinks everything is going well, the cartel manages to find Maria, forcing her to return to the life of bloody violence she used to thrive in.

“I didn’t expect I would be asked to do an action movie, because here in the Philippines, it’s the men who usually get such roles,” said Cristine, who underwent a month of extensive training for her fight scenes and stunts.

“I’m also a big fan of Angelina Jolie,” she added. “Ang astig niya. So, when I learned

to pursue our individual growth this time around. It’s a risk, and I’d be lying if I told you that the idea doesn’t scare me, but at the same time, I’m excited to discover what kind of opportunities await us both in this journey,” Kathryn said.

“Needless to say, DJ and I will still be here; I will always have his back in the same way that I know he always has mine.

It’s just that, in the meantime, we want to support each other off-cam,” she added.

For Kathryn, “Maturity takes courage, and courage takes maturity. Because I know myself better now, I’ve learned that it’s okay to take a leap of faith sometimes and trust in the process.”

“Because, I’ll let you in on a secret: It’s impossible to make everyone love you. No matter how good you are, no matter how talented, it will never be enough. Ultimately, people will love who they choose to love and hate who they choose to hate. So given that, we can all use a little kindness and compassion in this world,” she said.

To conclude her letter, Kathryn thanked her fans and said: “I hope it’s because you see yourself in me. I hope you know that we’re just the same—the only difference is I happen to be an actress.”

“I’m not perfect at all. Sometimes I cry, sometimes I laugh, sometimes I get hurt. I hope I don’t disappoint you with my flaws, because at the end of the day, I’m just a human being like everyone else,” she added.

She also thanked her family, especially her mom. She said she is glad that her mom stood by her side and guided her the best way she can.

“Thank you for giving me so much of your time, to light my way and to ensure that I become a responsible person who isn’t blinded by the spotlight. And now that I’m old enough to stand on my own two feet, my wish is for you to finally be able to give time for yourself. I’ll be okay now, I promise, because you’ve made me stronger all these years.”

SF7

The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - March 22, 2019

by OLIVER M. PULUMBARIT

Kathryn shuts...

From Page SF6 way, always reminding me to look at the bigger picture. It was because of them that every single rejection and failure seemed fleeting,” she said.

On being dubbed as “Teen Queen,” Kathryn said she does not anymore remember when it started as she first does not know how to react on her alias.

“I’m flattered as I think about it now, because now I see it as a testament that people respect me as an artist. I realize, they must have given me such a title because they acknowledge my hard work. And for that, I’m eternally grateful,” she said.

“Sadly, though, I can’t forever remain as your Teen Queen.

Like everything else in this world, change is inevitable. And I, too, need to grow,” she added.

Kathryn said if there is anything she learned while working in this industry all these years, it is the constant need to evolve.

“I’ve seen stars rise and fall, and more often than not, the greatest tragedy is when they choose to live in a box. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I became an actress at an early age and yet I took my time before deciding to take on more mature roles—my first kissing scene, in fact, was in 2016, for the movie ‘Barcelona: A Love Untold’,” she said.

“I didn’t want to rush things.

I didn’t want to do anything I wasn’t prepared for. I took things gradually because I felt it was the right thing to do. But as I grew older, I felt it was about time to finally break out of that shell. While I don’t regret taking my time to grow, I also don’t intend to get left behind,” she added.

Kathryn also shared her and boyfriend Daniel Padilla’s mutual decision not to accept projects together this 2019 to pursue individual growth.

“We both know it’s going to be tough for both of us and maybe even tougher for our fans, but we really gave it some thought, and while there’s nothing we want more than to make you happy, we’d appreciate if you can give us this year

people & events

IN the afternoon drama series “My Special Tatay,” actor Ken Chan plays Boyet Villaroman, a young father with autism. The show, which continues to be thespically and personally important for the Kapuso talent, gets impassioned feedback on social media, he says.

“Every night, I read comments—all of them,” he tells the Inquirer in Filipino. “Most of the time, we receive positive reactions. We can’t avoid getting negative comments, but those are about three in a thousand.”

He is especially moved by fans’ response to his output, according to Ken. “I feel touched that people Photo from Instagram/@cristinereyes appreciate our hard work,” I was going to do action, I was says the actor, who was previlike, deal!” ously featured in the rom-com Asked if she showed some series, “Meant to Be.” “That’s skin in the movie—as in many a winning feeling. Honestly, of the sexy romantic films she every time I feel down, I just has done in the past—Cristine read comments to boost my said there’s no need for that energy. I draw strength from this time around. “And you them.” don’t really have to do that to Viewers of the half-hour appear sexy,” she pointed out. show, he adds, express their “It’s all about how you carry gratitude to his network as yourself.” well, for creating such a pro-

cess, and how has it changed him?

“I’m so blessed and thankful that the Lord has made my dreams come true,” he shares.

“One thing that I’ve learned from all this is to live simply, like most people—that’s where I find happiness. I don’t want to be overwhelmed by materialism.”

Ken, whose father has stage 2 esophageal cancer, reveals that there is a marked improvement in his health.

“He’s getting better now.

His chemo treatment is ongoing. ‘My Special Tatay’ is a big help to my family financially and emotionally. My dad is happy for me. Just seeing his children happy and successful makes him happy, too—it Ken Chan GMA photo helps, whatever the family may gram. “There are mothers who be going through. Ilalaban ko si Papa kahit anong mangyari.” have children with situations He admires his father’s similar to Boyet’s, thanking us fighting spirit, Ken wrote in for showing how their lives rean Instagram post a couple of ally are,” he says. months ago, because the latter That way, Ken explains, continues to laugh and smile he feels that it is giving real people proper representation: despite the medical struggles.

Fast forward to now: The “It’s an honor for me to be 26-year-old actor tells us, “Betheir voice.” cause of the show, my daddy Ken has been acting since is happy. And I know that with 2011, and has become one of the help of happiness, he’ll GMA’s most popular talents.

What is he learning about suc- recover from this.”

SF8

The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - March 22, 2019