051719 - San Francisco Edition

Volume 18 - No. 17 • 2 Sections – 16 Pages

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Volume 18 - No. 20 • 2 Sections – 16 Pages

THE FILIPINO AMERICAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

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DATELINE

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FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

“Duterte and the war just won� — Locsin

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJ Press

President Donald Trump on Monday, May 13 signed executive order “Economic Empowerment of Asian Americans and PaciďŹ c Islandersâ€? in celebration of Asian PaciďŹ c American Heritage Month.

OfďŹ cial White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosianv

Trump signs executive order to reestablish AAPI commission

PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Monday, May 13 signed an executive order to advance the “economic empowerment� of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI).

The order, which comes during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, is intended “to empower Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to improve the quality of their lives, raise the standard of living of their families

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Asian Americans spent $1 trillion last year and brands are taking notice, says report

A NEW report released by Nielsen on Thursday, May 9 said that Asian Americans spent $1 trillion last year — a testament to the demographic’s growing spending power and influence in mainstream U.S. culture.

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

FOREIGN Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Tuesday, May 14, said President Rodrigo Duterte and his drug war won as administration-backed senatorial candidates led the race in the 2019 election polls. “The Senatorial elections were not a referendum in favor of Charter Change either, the death penalty, and jailing minors. The elections were a referendum on Duterte and his war on drugs. He & the war just won,� he posted on Twitter.

He also told the public to “shut up� about the subject already as the drug war “goes on.�

At least eight candidates endorsed by the presi-

dent are leading the race for 12 Senate seats in the latest update of partial and unofficial tally of votes from the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) — among them are reelectionist senator Cynthia Villar, former presidential aide Bong Go, Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano, former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Bato dela Rosa, reelectionist senator Sonny Angara, former Ilocos Norte governor Imee Marcos, former presidential adviser for political affairs Francis Tolentino, and reelectionist senator Aquilino “Koko� Pimentel III. The opposition senatorial candidates, however, believe that the midterm elections result is a “referendum on the Duterte administration.�

Duterte endeavored to achieve stronger lever-

age in the traditionally more independent Senate so as to bolster his legislative agenda — this includes propositions such as the return of the death penalty, lowering the age for criminal liability below the current 15, and revising Philippines’ 1987 Constitution to allow a shift towards federalism.

Opposition senators managed to block various proposed bills last year that they thought would undermine civil liberties.

To veto Duterte’s emerging majority in the upper chamber, the remaining opposition senators whose seats are not up for election need to get backing from leading independent aspirants since at least seven senators are needed to block any proposal by Duterte’s camp to revise the Constitution. â–

People urged to clean up ‘election trash’ after 2019 polls

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJ Press

ENVIRONMENTAL watchdog EcoWaste Coalition implored the candidates as well as the public to help clean up the remnants of the campaign season days after the 2019 midterm elections.

Aileen Lucero, the national coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition, said: “Regardless of the outcome of your election bid, we appeal to all candidates and parties to take down your campaign materials without delay.

Kabit, sabit o dikit mo, tanggal mo (If you posted it, you should remove it).�

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Partial and unofďŹ cial 2019 midterm election results from PPCRV-Inquirer Transparency Server as of 12:59 a.m. on Thursday, May 16, 2019.

AJPress graphics by Kendrick Tan

Admin-backed senators maintain lead, Bam Political dynasties crumble; Estrada clan shut out Aquino momentarily holds spot in Magic 12 J R R G C by

OSE

by AJPRESS SENATORIAL candidates endorsed by President Rodrigo Duterte maintained their lead in the partial and unofficial election results as of 10:44 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15, with 96.54 percent of the votes tallied.

The top five spots include Cynthia Villar (NP), who maintained her position with 24,840,806 votes, followed by Grace Poe (Independent) with 21,701,988 votes, Bong Go (PDP-Laban) with 20,181,552 votes, Pia Cayetano (NP) with 19,421.590 votes and Bato dela Rosa (PDP-Laban) with 18,550,282 votes.

Trailing behind the top five

are Sonny Angara (LDP) with 17,854,212 votes, Lito Lapid (NPC) with 16,696,563 votes, Imee Marcos (NP) with 15,579,663 votes, Francis Tolentino (PDPLaban) with 15,171,789 votes, Bong Revilla (Lakas-CMD) with 14,364, 559 votes, Koko Pimentel (PDP-Laban) with 14,360,769 votes and Nancy Binay (UNA) with 14,304,449 votes.

Otso Diretso bet Bam Aquino momentarily held the 12th spot among the leading candidates.

However, he recently dropped to 14th after the other votes were counted.

Palace backs VCM probe MalacaĂąang expressed its approval on the move of reelectionist Senator Aquilino “Kokoâ€?

Duterte: Vote buying an ‘integral part’ of PH polls

Monday, May 13, after casting his vote in his hometown of Davao City. “Well, ganito iyan (it’s like this), ACCORDING to President Rodrigo Duterte, vote buying is an if they are caught, they should be “integral� part of elections in the prosecuted to the full length of the Philippines, with the practice be- law. Now, the practice of buying ing fairly normal among Filipi- votes has been an integral part of an election in the Philippines,� he nos. u PAGE A3 He made the statement on

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJ Press

Pimentel III to launch a congressional probe on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) over vote counting machines (VCMs) glitches.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing that the administration would support a legislative inquiry on the voting discrepancies experienced in the midterm elections. “Well, anything that will be for the betterment of this country, we always support. Maybe if many are complaining with Smartmatic, let’s have a probe then by the Senate or the House of Representatives,â€? Panelo said as reported by The Philippine Daily Inquirer. â–

EY

ALUPO AND

ODEL LAPANO Philstar.com

THIS year’s midterm elections saw the downfall of some political clans in Metro Manila after they were toppled in their quest for top posts in different cities.

The decades-long reign of the Estradas ended after they were unseated in both Manila and San Juan.

Former president and incumbent Mayor Joseph Estrada lost by a wide margin to his former ally, Francisco Domagoso, more popularly known as Isko Moreno, in the mayoral race.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday, May 14, proclaimed Domagoso, a former scavenger from Tondo, as the 27th elected mayor of Manila at

the San Andres Sports Complex.

Domagoso received 357,925 votes against Estrada’s 210,605.

Alfredo Lim ranked third with 138,923 votes.

Domagoso’s running mate, incumbent Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna, also won with 394,766 votes. Her opponent, Amado Bagatsing, got 267,286 votes.

“I thank God and every ManileĂąo who participated in this democratic process. We have received the mandate of the people and we are faced with a great challenge to uplift the lives of the people of Manila,â€? Moreno told The STAR. Estrada could hardly believe

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MAY 17-23, 2019 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL

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From the Front Page

President Donald Trump on Monday, May 13 was joined by the co-chairs of the Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao; and its commissioners: Amata Coleman Radewagen, Delegate for the U.S. House of Representatives, American Samoa; Sean Reyes, State of Utah Attorney General; Dr. Paul Hsu of Florida; David B. Cohen of California; Y. Lee of Michigan; George Leing of Colorado; Jan-Ie Low of Nevada; Herman Martir of Texas; Prem Parameswaran of New York; and Chiling Tong of Maryland.

Official White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian

Trump signs executive order to reestablish...

PAGE A1 and communities, and more fully participate in our economy,” the White House announced.

It re-establishes the president’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs and the White House Initiative on AAPIs, which work to “broaden access by AAPI employers and communities to economic resources and opportunities” and collect data for AAPI populations through all agencies of the federal government.

The president’s signing in the Oval Office was witnessed by members of the Advisory Commission, including its co-chairs Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and its commissioners, who include two Fili-

pino Americans: Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and Herman Martir, a pastor from Fort Worth, Texas.

Reyes, whose father is of Filipino and Spanish descent, has been attorney general of his state since 2013 — during which he became the first ethnic minority to hold that position or any statewide office in Utah. Martir, a pastor at Nations Worship Center, is the president of the Asian Action Network and the Asian Prayer Network and founder of Emerging Leaders International. Both Martir and Reyes were part of Trump’s AAPI advisory committee during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Other commissioners present on Monday were Amata Coleman Radewagen, Delegate for

the U.S. House of Representatives, American Samoa; Dr. Paul Hsu of Florida; David B. Cohen of California; Y. Lee of Michigan; George Leing of Colorado; Jan-Ie Low of Nevada; Prem Parameswaran of New York; and Chiling Tong of Maryland. The commissioners were appointed

by Trump in January.

The first White House Initiative on AAPIs was established through an executive order by former President Bill Clinton in 1999 and subsequently renewed by former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

AAPIs, which are considered the fastest-growing racial group in the U.S., account for more than 6 percent of the country’s population. (AJPress) n

Political dynasties crumble; Estrada clan...

PAGE A1 the results of the elections after he lost even in his own barangay.

Poll results from precinct 2591B at the P. Burgos Elementary School in Barangay Sta. Mesa where Estrada voted showed that he received 451 votes while Moreno got 515.

Zamora defeats Ejercito In San Juan, Estrada’s granddaughter, incumbent Vice Mayor Janella Ejercito, was defeated by Francis Zamora in the mayoralty race.

Zamora ended the five-decade rule of the Estrada-Ejercito clan in San Juan.

Zamora garnered 35,060 while Ejercito got 24,813 votes.

Estrada started the family’s

rule of San Juan in 1969.

Ejercito’s bid was an attempt to continue the grip on power in San Juan from outgoing Mayor Guia Gomez.

Ejercito is the eldest daughter of former senator Jinggoy Estrada, who is trailing in the senatorial race.

The former president’s daughter, Jerica Ejercito, who ran for councilor in Manila, also suffered defeat.

Estrada’s nephew, ER Ejercito, lost in the gubernatorial race in Laguna.

Only Jana Ejercito, Estrada’s niece, won and topped the race for councilors in the Second District of San Juan.

“We have done our best. We have to accept it. The voice of

the people is the voice of God. I hope it is really the voice of the people,” the former president told his supporters.

Estrada refused to concede to Moreno.

“Why should I concede? I was the target of a project. All surveys from the start showed I was winning, and now all of a sudden Isko?” he said. “The numbers could have been manipulated.”

Sotto topples Eusebio A son of a showbiz couple ended the 29-year reign of the Eusebio political clan in Pasig City.

Victor Marie “Vico” Sotto won by a landslide as he registered 204,611 votes. Incumbent Mayor Bobby Eusebio got 118,571 votes.

Sotto is the son of comedian Vic Sotto and actress Connie Reyes.

Eusebio’s brother, incumbent Rep. Ricky Eusebio, was defeated

by Roman Romulo.

Sotto said he would establish a new kind of leadership as soon as he assumes office on July 1.

“All transactions at the city hall would be transparent as I promised during the campaign period,” he said.

The Eusebio patriarch, Vicente, won as Pasig mayor in 1992.

No sweep for Binays In Makati, former vice president Jejomar Binay lost to rival Kid Peña in the race for first district congressman. Peña got 71,035 votes against Binay’s 65,229.

Even Peña was surprised at his victory, calling Binay an institution in Makati politics.

Binay’s daughter Abby won the mayoralty race over brother Junjun. Her husband Luis Campos took the second district congressional race. (With Non Alquitran, Robertson Ramirez) n

COMMON POSTER AREA. Kids play at the Serbisyong Bayan Park, a designated common poster area of candidates running in the mid-term elections, in Barangay Batasan, Quezon City on Monday, May 13. Over 61 million Filipinos were expected to cast their votes in the recent polls.

PNA photo by Oliver Marquez

Asian Americans spent $1 trillion...

PAGE A1 Linking the correlation between the growing population number and high spending, the report — titled “Informed Influencers and Powerful Purchasers: The Asian American Consumer Journey” — added that at a current population of 22.6 million, spending power among Asian Americans is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2023.

It added that in the last decade alone, the Asian American population has grown by seven million people — the most of any ethnic group in the nation. Whereas the total U.S. population saw an 8% percent growth, Asian Americans saw an uptick of 45% for the same time period.

The report said that in addition to growing as a demographic, Asian American households are also 17% bigger than the average U.S. household.

“In fact, Asian American households boast the highest incomes of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S. — incomes that have boosted the buying power of Asian Americans by 68% since 2010,” said the report.

But at the core of what makes the growing ethnic group so influential is its ability to connect, said the report, which looked at the group’s internet usage and digital consumption trends.

Asian Americans as a group have a higher percentage connected to the internet with 99% having internet connectivity compared to the U.S. average of 93%.

Percentages are also higher when it comes to ownership of devices: 97% of Asian Americans own a smartphone compared to 91% of the total population, and 89%

own a computer compared to 76% of the total population.

“Given this demographic’s connected lifestyles, it should come as no surprise that Asian Americans’ usage of internet-connected devices outpaces the average U.S. consumer,” the report said.

Looking at media consumption practices, the report found that not only are Asian Americans spending the most time watching television at almost 23 hours a week, they’re also at the forefront of the shift from traditional cable and over-the-air viewing to “broadband only” viewing and consumption through subscription video on demand services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.

“These platforms are extremely popular with Asian American households, with 81% subscribing to at least one of them (19% higher than the total population),” said the report.

On social media where younger Asian Americans have been found to be especially savvy, the report highlighted that Asian Americans as a group particularly outpace the general U.S. when it comes to online shopping.

According to the report, 26% agreed that social media had an important role in their discovery about products, 19% agreed that rating or reviewing was an important reason for social media use, and 22% agreed that receiving offers and other discounts were important on social media.

Furthermore, Asian Americans said they enjoyed sharing advice on purchases and their opinions on products with others. With electronics and technology, 43% agreed that they gave advice to

others looking to buy new devices.

For food, 71% said that they typically recommended food products they liked to people they knew.

And while online shopping was found to more importantly offer a sense of cultural connection for Asian Americans in that many reported using the internet to buy hard-to-find products from Asia, the report further found that such purchase trends were making a hit in U.S. mainstream culture.

For example, trending among non-Asians in the U.S. are Japanese snack box subscriptions and Korean baby seats. Market sales of Asian sauces and condiments also each grew 6% last year.

“Products such as ready-todrink green tea and curry spices have seen impressive dollar and unit volume far outpacing that of overall beverages and spices,” said the report which included ghee, kombucha, naan, Asian dumplings, sushi, sesame cooking oil, jasmine rice, and curry paste among Asian foods finding mainstream appeal.

“Asian Americans are reshaping the American path to purchase, traversing the consumer journey fortified with their status as trailblazers in innovative internet connectivity, e-commerce with a global perspective, and holistic views of diet and consumption,” concluded the report.

“Despite a greater percentage of Asian Americans under 35 being U.S. born, culture sustainability driven by multigenerational influences and the ability to blend cultures to create an evolved U.S. culture in their own image is having a profound effect on American society.” (Rae Ann Varona/AJPress) n

People urged to clean up ‘election trash’...

PAGE A1 Echoing her sentiments, Department of the Interior Local and Government Secretary Eduardo Año encouraged local government units and candidates to start with their own circles and conduct cleanup drives across the country.

“Tapos na po ang halalan at nakapili na ang mga mamamayan kung sino sa palagay nila ang karapat-dapat na magsagwan sa kanila tungo sa tunay na pagbabago (Elections are over and the people have chosen who they think should lead them toward change).... Win or lose, show that you are a good sport and that you have the best intentions for your communities by being part of the clean-up drive in your areas,” Año said.

He also stated that candidates, elected or not, should show their commitment to conserve and improve their communities by helping clean up the waste produced during the elections.

Photo courtesy by ecowastecoalition.org

“Ipakita natin na masinop at may disiplina tayong mga Pilipino.

Alisin na natin ang anumang bahid ng katatapos na eleksiyon at magsimula tayo nang malinis ang ating kapaligiran at malinis ang ating hangarin sa paglilingkod (Let’s show that we Filipinos are neat and disciplined. Let’s remove all traces of the recently concluded elections and start with a clean de-

sire and environment to serve),” Año added.

Ecowaste Coalition also suggested to exercise upcycling of elections campaign materials aside from conducting cleanup drives.

Some of its benefits include decreased garbage volume, lowered disposal cost, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, conservation of rePAGE A3

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Duterte: Vote buying an ‘integral part’...

PAGE A1 said. “‘Yang pagboto, lahat yan.

Walang hindi nagbibili ng boto dito, maniwala ka... Ituro mo kung sino ang hindi nagbili ng boto (Everybody is guilty of vote buying here. Believe me. Tell me who here never bought votes),” he added.

Under the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines, vote buying is defined as: “Any person who gives, offers or promises money or anything of value, gives or promises any office or employment, franchise or grant, public or private, or makes or offers to make an expenditure, directly or indirectly, or cause an expenditure to be made to any person, association, corporation, entity, or community in order to induce anyone or the public in general to vote for or against any

candidate or withhold his vote in the election, or to vote for or against any aspirant for the nomination or choice of a candidate in a convention or similar selection process of a political party.”

At least 147 people — including Vincent “Bingbong” Crisologo, Duterte’s candidate for Quezon City mayor, and several alleged supporters of incumbent Mayor Abigail “Abby” Binay — were arrested for buying and selling votes ahead of Monday’s midterm elections.

However, Duterte stated that giving money does not automatically mean that one is vote buying.

“You know when you start to give money, as I told Comelec (Commission on Elections), that’s not because I’m buying the vote of the fellow. It’s because I’m giving him money to go to the precinct,

cast his vote, and go home. Not all people have money. Or you send food to your leaders who are here sacrificing and waiting for the food to eat so they can last until the last vote is counted,” he explained.

The president also said that vote buying will persist as long as Filipinos are poor.

“It can take many forms... for as long as the Philippines remains to be a poor country, for as long as the feudal system exists lalo na sa (especially in) rural areas aggravated by the communists... We are becoming poorer and poorer,” he noted.

Filipinos on Monday voted for the 12 members of the 24-seat Senate, the entire House of Representatives, the country’s governors and vice governors, provincial board members, mayors and vice mayors, and councilors. n

Global parliamentarian group calls for De Lima’s immediate release People urged to clean up ‘election trash’...

ELECTED. Mandaluyong City Board of Canvassers chairperson, lawyer Antonette Aceret (2nd from right) and vice chairperson, lawyer Bernabe Augustus Solis (left), proclaim incumbent Carmelita Abalos (2nd from left) as mayor-elect of Mandaluyong City, at the City Hall grounds late Monday, May 13. Abalos, who got 128,661 votes, is set to serve her second term as city mayor. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

by Bernadette

tamayo ManilaTimes.net

THE Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) renewed its call for the immediate and unconditional release of Sen. Leila de Lima, whom it cited as one of the 187 persecuted members of parliament (MPs) worldwide.

De Lima was detained in February 2017 at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center on drug charges which were filed before the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court.

The IPU claimed that the drug charges against the opposition senator were based on unsub-

Sen. Leila de Lima

stantiated statements of convicted felons.

With 178 members and 12 associate members, the IPU is an organization of national parliamentarians worldwide. Formed in 1889, the IPU aims to “protect and build global democracy through political dialog and concrete action.”

During its 140th assembly in Doha, Qatar in April, the IPU adopted a resolution urging the Philippine government to drop all politically-motivated charges against de Lima.

In a statement, the IPU expressed concerned that, “more than two years after her arrest,

ManilaTimes.net photo

State bans pesticide linked to develop mental problems

Photo courtesy of khn.org by ana

B. IBarra Kaiser Health News

CALIFORNIA will ban the use of a widely used pesticide in the face of “mounting evidence” that it causes developmental problems in children, state officials announced on Wednesday, May 8.

Several studies have linked prenatal exposure of chlorpyrifos to lower birth weights, lower IQs, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism symptoms in children.

The chemical is mostly used on crops — including citrus, almonds and grapes — but is also applied on golf courses and in other non-agricultural settings.

The ban “is needed to prevent the significant harm this pesticide causes children, farm workers and vulnerable communities,” Jared Blumenfeld, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), said in a statement.

California’s ban comes as federal regulators fight to keep the chemical on the market.

Almost two decades ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates pesticides at the federal level, prohibited the sale of chlorpyrifos for residential use.

But under the Trump administration, the agency rejected a proposal to ban its use altogether, ignoring the recommendations of its own scientists. It continues to defend the use of chlorpyrifos in court.

Some states aren’t waiting for

the federal government to act, California Healthline reported last month. The New York legislature last week sent a proposed ban to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo for consideration. A bill in the California legislature to ban chlorpyrifos was pending at the time of the CalEPA’s announcement. Oregon and Connecticut lawmakers also are considering bans.

Hawaii was the first state to enact a state ban last year.

“Because the science is pretty clear that this a dangerous chemical, it’s long past time to get it off the market,” said Virginia Ruiz, director of occupational and environmental health at the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Farmworker Justice. “There’s momentum now, and people and policymakers are becoming better educated about chlorpyrifos.”

Chlorpyrifos can be inhaled during application and as it drifts into nearby areas or ingested as residue on food. People also can be exposed through drinking water if their wells have been contaminated by it.

Globally, several companies make chlorpyrifos products. In the U.S., the most recognized brand names are Dursban and Lorsban, manufactured by Corteva Agriscience, formerly known as Dow AgroSciences.

Corteva Agriscience did not respond to requests for comment.

California citrus growers are among the groups that oppose the ban. They worry that elimiPAGE A4

Senator Leila de Lima is still in detention despite the absence of any corroborated evidence to justify the charges against her.”

“The IPU calls on the authorities to release her immediately and for the legal proceedings against her to be dropped,” it added.

According to the IPU human rights panel, 84 percent of the 187 persecuted MPs across the world are members of the opposition.

In several countries with records of human rights violations against MPs, it noted that 25 percent are women. n

PAGE A2t sources, cleaner surroundings, and an enhanced environmental awareness.

“Upcycling, or the creative reuse of discards, is a practical way of saving resources from being burned or sent to the dumps and landfills for disposal,” Lucero said.

The environmental watchdog listed down possible ways to upcycle campaign materials like repurposing paper-based campaign materials into bookmarks,

envelopes, folders, drawing pads, memo pads, name plates, and scrap books; meanwhile, tarpaulins used can be turned into bags or cases for pencils and mobile phones.

With the amount of trash produced during the elections, EcoWaste Coalition called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to think of long-term solutions like upgrading existing rules to lessen the use of materials that are toxic and are difficult to reuse or recycle.

Año emphasized that post-election trash should immediately be cleaned as it might clog canals and waterways and may later cause flooding.

“Mas magiging malala ang sitwasyon kapag umulan dahil siguradong magdudulot ng baha ang basurang ikinalat natin kaya kumilos na agad tayo (The situation might become worse during rainy seasons, as scattered waste will definitely cause floods. Immediate action should be done),” he said. n

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MAY 17-23, 2019 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL

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Global road traffic deaths hit 1.35-M annually

ROAD traffic deaths continue to rise, reaching 1.35 million fatalities annually, according to the United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO).

Children and young people aged five to 29 are now the main victims of road traffic accidents, according to WHO. Globally, of all road traffic deaths, pedestrians and cyclists account for 26 percent and motorcycle riders and passengers make up 28 percent.

The risk of a road traffic death remains three times higher in low-income countries than in high-income countries, with rates highest in Africa (26.6 per 100,000 population) and lowest in Europe (9.3 per 100,000 population).

“Road traffic deaths and injuries are an unacceptable price to pay for mobility,” said WHO director Etienne Krug. “There is no excuse for inaction. This is a problem with proven solutions.

Governments and their partners must demonstrate leadership and accelerate action to save lives by implementing what works,” Krug said.

In settings where progress has been made, WHO cited strong

Philstar.com file photo

leadership around legislation on key risks such as speeding, drinking and driving, and failing to use seat-belts, motorcycle helmets and child restraints; safer infrastructure like sidewalks and dedicated lanes for cyclists and motorcyclists; improved vehicle standards such as those that mandate electronic stability control and advanced braking; and enhanced post-crash care.

In the context of the Fifth UN Global Road Safety Week from May 6 to 12, thousands of road safety advocates from around the world highlighted the need

for more effective leadership for road safety. “WHO’s vision is a world free from road traffic deaths and injuries,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“It’s also a world in which ELECTION WOES. Militant groups rally in front of the Commission on Elections office in Intramuros, Manila on Tuesday, May 14 to voice their all people benefit from univerdismay against the defective vote counting machines.

ManilaTimes.net photo by Rene Dilan sal health coverage, including trauma care, rehabilitation and psychological support for road traffic victims. This week and every week, play your part in making the roads safe for everyone.

A safer road for others is a safer ON Monday, May 6, Acting turn to the same employer year are available to meet employers’ road for you,” he said. (Pia Lee- Secretary of Homeland Security after year on a seasonal basis, temporary needs throughout the Brago/Philstar.com) n Kevin K. McAleenan announced are vetted, trusted, and can have year.”

Details on the increase in H-2B that the Department of Homeland their visas approved more rapidly Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2019 Security (DHS) and the Depart- given their known history.

“The Department of Home- can be found alongside the temment of Labor (DOL) published a joint rule making available an ad- land Security continues to urge porary final rule, which is posted ditional 30,000 H-2B temporary lawmakers to pursue a long-term at www.federalregister.gov/docnonagricultural worker visas for legislative fix that both meets uments/2019/05/08/2019-09500/ Fiscal Year 2019. These supple- employers’ temporary needs exercise-of-time-limited-authormental H-2B visas are available while fulfilling the President’s ity-to-increase-the-fiscal-yearonly to returning workers who Buy American and Hire American 2019-numerical-limitation-forreceived an H-2B visa, or were executive order to spur higher the for public inspection.

DHS is committed to ensurotherwise granted H-2B status, wages and employment rates for during one of the last three fiscal U.S. workers,” said Acting Sec- ing that our immigration system years (FY 2016, 2017, or 2018), retary McAleenan. “The truth is is implemented lawfully and that and availability is restricted by that Congress is in the best po- American workers are protected. prioritizing only those busi- sition to establish the appropri- If members of the public have nesses who would suffer irrepa- ate number of H-2B visas that information that a participating rable harm without the additional American businesses should be employer may be abusing this allocated without harming U.S. program, DHS invites them to workers.

Returning H-2B workers have workers. Therefore, Congress submit information to ReportHdemonstrated their ability to abide – not DHS – should be respon- 2BAbuse@uscis.dhs.gov and inby the terms and conditions of the sible for determining whether the clude information identifying the H-2B program and, therefore, are annual numerical limitations for H-2B petitioning employer and less likely to remain in the United H-2B workers set by Congress relevant information that leads States and work without authori- need to be modified and by how them to believe that the H-2B pezation after their legal status has much, and for setting parameters titioning employer is abusing the expired. H-2B workers often re- to ensure that enough workers H-2B program. (DHS.gov) n

DHS, DOL to publish joint rule for additional visas for returning foreign workers

Dutertes cement grip on Davao City politics after a widely expected victory

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President Rodrigo Duterte’s children: Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, Sara “Inday” Duterte-Carpio and Paolo “Pulong” Duterte.

Philstar.com photos

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte’s three children won their respective races in local elections—a proof that the family’s hold on its southern bailiwick of Davao City politics is nowhere near over.

As expected, Sara “Inday” Duterte-Carpio retained her post as the mayor of Davao City after overwhelmingly defeating her lone opponent Jun Marcellones.

Carpio—running under Hugpong ng Pagbabago, the regional party she founded—obtained 570,499 votes as of 11:26 a.m. against independent bet Marcellones’ measly 4,190 votes.

Her younger brother, Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, ran unopposed as vice mayor. He got 548,508 votes as of press time.

The Dutertes would once again penetrate the Congress with the victory of Paolo “Pulong” Duterte. The former Davao City vice mayor seized first legislative district seat of Davao City with 195,074 votes.

The eldest child of the president tagged in illegal drug trade bested independent rivals Susan Uyanguren (5,081 votes) and Rex Labis (2,112 votes).

Dutertes’ hold of Davao The widely-expected victory of the three Duterte siblings is seen to further cement the influential family’s reign in Davao City.

“The wins speak of the high regard for the Dutertes in their home turf. Of course, this also means the entrenchment [of] the dynasty in the place,” political

analyst Mon Casiple told Philstar. com in a text message.

The elder Duterte, before becoming the most powerful man in the country, served three terms as mayor, three terms as vice mayor and one term as the representative of the city’s first district.

Sara is eyed by some as the potential successor of his father in the 2022 presidential elections.

On election day, the president advised his children to leave politics as he decried what he described as “paid hacks” and “hyenas” in the media who are “dishing out lies.”

“The earlier that they go out of politics, the better,” the president told reporters after casting his vote in Davao City. (Gaea Katreena Cabico/Philstar.com) n

MANILA — After 27 years of the Eusebio clan dominating Pasig City, a new name will take over the city’s leadership — Vico Sotto.

Sotto, an incumbent councilor, won the mayoral race against incumbent Mayor Robert “Bobby” Eusebio of the Nacionalista Party.

As of posting time, Sotto is expecting an official proclamation from the Commission on Elections. “Sulit po ang pagod at effort natin. Narinig na ng bayan ang ating tinig,” he writes on Facebook past 5 a.m. on Tues-

day.

The 29-year Pasig mayor-elect is a Political Science graduate from Ateneo de Manila University. He is the son of actors Vic Sotto and Coney Reyes.

In the congressional race for the lone district of Pasig, Roman Romulo won against incumbent Rep. Richard Eusebio.

Both Sotto and Romulo are candidates from Aksyon Demokratiko party.

As of 4:20 a.m., 93.74% of precincts in the city have transmitted results to the Comelec. The Pasig City Board of Canvassers granted

the motion of the camp of Sotto and Romulo to lower the threshold of the proclamation to 90%.

The latest update from the transparency server showed Sotto has garnered 202,403 votes against Bobby Eusebio’s 117,063 votes. Romulo claimed a landslide victory with 210,837 against Richard Eusebio, who got 92,089 votes.

Unopposed vice mayor bet Iyo Christian Bernardo of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan claimed his victory with 253,607 as of 2:46 a.m.. (Patricia Lourdes Viray/Philstar.com) n

Vico Sotto ends Eusebios’ 27-year hold on Pasig

State bans pesticide linked to develop mental...

PAGE A3 t nating chlorpyrifos could result in disease outbreaks among their fruit trees.

Casey Creamer, president of California Citrus Mutual, pointed to the Asian citrus psyllid, a tiny insect that feeds on citrus leaves that can transmit a disease known as Huanglongbing, or citrus greening, as one risk.

“The impacts are potentially significant,” he said. If farmers “don’t have the tools to effectively manage the psyllid, people are going to switch out or stop growing citrus.”

Implementing the ban in California could take up to two years

as the state wades through the administrative process and tries to find safer options, CalEPA said in its announcement.

On Thursday, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to propose $5.7 million as part of his 2019-20 budget to support the transition to “safer, more sustainable alternatives,” the announcement said.

The agency added that its decision to ban chlorpyrifos “follows mounting evidence … that the pesticide causes serious health effects in children and other sensitive populations,” even at low levels of exposure.

The California Farm Bureau

Federation warned that food may get pricier as a result of the ban, leaving state residents more dependent on produce grown in states with less stringent regulations.

“Protecting our food supply, rural economy and the many jobs that depend on California agriculture will require state agencies to be open-minded and realistic in evaluating ways to fight pests and plant diseases,” said Jamie Johansson, the federation’s president.

This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation. n

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

NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • MAY 17-23, 2019

Dateline PhiliPPines

A

‘Erap’ brand not enough power to secure seats for kin Jejomar Binay fails to make political comeback

by Kristine Joy

Philstar.com

Patag

MANILA — When Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Ejercito Estrada held the highest position in the land, he was dubbed as a populist president. The popularity of the action star turned politician did not dim amid an ouster in 2001 and a plunder conviction as he ran and won the Manila mayor seat in 2013.

Fast forward 2019, the patriarch’s bid for re-election for the city’s leadership was foiled by his fellow actor turned politician, former Department of Social Welfare and Development Undersecretary Isko Moreno Domagoso.

The political careers of his two sons seeking re-election in the Senate look bleak as well.

At 5:53 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14, the partial and unofficial tally of the 2019 midterm polls showed no sign of re-election for incumbent Sen. JV Ejercito Estrada nor a comeback for former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.

The patriarch’s fate As of 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Domagoso enjoyed a wide margin, receiving 348,425 votes cast against Estrada’s 204,084. Alfredo Lim, who similarly served as a Manila mayor in the past, earned 134,631 votes despite running under the Duterte-led PDP-Laban ruling party.

But the clan patriarch did not want to accept defeat easily.

He was quoted in an ABSCBN report as saying: “Bakit ako magko-concede? Talagang pri-noject ako. Lahat ng survey from the start panalo ako. Tapos ngayon biglang si Isko nanalo.

(Why would I concede? They were targeting me. In all surveys, from the start, I was the winner but now Isko is suddenly the winner).”

Sons fall back in Senate race The “Estrada” brand, a source of a riff between half-brothers JV Ejercito and Jinggoy Estrada, was also not strong enough to get the two inside the winners’ circle.

JV, whose legal name is Jose Victor Gomez Ejercito, previously acknowledged Jinggoy enjoys the edge of using the “Estrada” surname, the popular name of a political dynasty in San Juan City previously held by their father, Erap.

For this year’s elections, JV opted to use the name “Ejercito Estrada JV” on the ballot and “JV Estrada” as a campaign nickname, in the hopes of capitalizing on the “brand.”

The latest partial, unofficial tally from the Commission on Elections, however, showed both “Estradas” outside the Magic 12.

JV is currently ranked at 13th while Jinggoy placed at 15th.

Erap’s daughter, Jerika Estrada Ejercito, also failed to win the councilor’s seat for the fourth district of Manila.

Grandchildren, nephews lose too In San Juan City, where the clan patriarch first built his political career in the 1960s, Erap’s brand also did not sway enough voters to bring Janella Estrada Ejercito to the mayor’s seat.

MANILA — The Marcos clan continues to hold the Ilocos province as its stronghold in 2019.

At the start of the new term for local candidates, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos will hand over the leadership of the province to her son, Matthew Marcos Manotoc.

Manotoc ran unopposed after Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas (Ilocos Norte, 1st District) withdrew his candidacy on May 2, less than two weeks before the polls.

Clan matriarch, Rep. Imelda Marcos (Ilocos Norte, 2nd District), initially filed her candidacy for the gubernatorial race in Ilocos Norte but she withdrew November last year.

By Tuesday noon, May 14, 100% of the election returns in Ilocos Norte have been tallied, and it showed that, even with Fariñas’ withdrawal, Manotoc obtained 260,938 votes.

Manotoc’s vice governor is Ce-

cile Araneta-Marcos who ran in the stead of his late husband, Ilocos Norte Board Member Mariano Marcos II. Manotoc and Marcos were fielded by the Nacionalista Party.

Another Marcos kin, Ilocos Norte Vice Gov. Eugenio Angelo Barba is poised to become Ilocos Norte’s 2nd District Representative having secured 87,725 votes.

Barba, Imee’s first cousin according to a STAR report, also ran under the Nacionalista Party.

Ria Fariñas, daughter of the incumbent Ilocos Norte 1st District representative, meanwhile took over her father’s post. She obtained 106,780 votes.

Meanwhile, Imee is poised to enter the Senate as she currently ranks 8th in the race with close to 5% votes remaining to be tallied. (Kristine Joy Patag/Philstar. com) n

Former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada

Marcoses retain grip on Ilocos Norte bailiwick

IBP sets ‘Bikoy’ investigation

Peter Joemel Advincula, who claims to be “Bikoy,” appears before a press conference at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines on Monday, May 6. Advincula, the hooded figure in the “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos where he linked President Rodrigo Duterte and his family to illegal drugs, said he wanted to seek legal advice from the IBP. ManilaTimes.net photo by John Orven Verdote

by Jomar

Canlas ManilaTimes.net

THE Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) is set to investigate how Peter Joemel Advincula or “Bikoy” gained access to the group’s headquarters in Pasig City to hold a news conference there on May 6, 2019.

Incoming IBP president Domingo Egon Cayosa ordered a formal investigation after Kabalikat party-list asked the Supreme Court to sanction IBP President Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo and Cayosa for violation of Rule 1.02 of the Code of Professional Responsibility, which states that “a lawyer shall not counsel or abet activities at defiance of the law or at lessening confidence in the legal system.”

The group, represented by

Tomas Jose Cabrido, slammed the IBP leadership for allowing Advincula to use the office and resources of the lawyers’ group in his press conference to attack President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.

Cayosa said the probe would look into reports that some IBP officials sanctioned the press conference and determine if there were rules violated.

“Be assured that we will responsibly do our job as elected leaders of the organization and safeguard the interests and integrity of the IBP,” Cayosa said in a statement.

The IBP is under the supervision and control of the Supreme Court. This year, it will receive P100 million from Congress, through the high court, for its operations, primarily in giving legal aid. n

Philstar.com file photo

Janella lost to Zamora by 10,000 votes.

Meanwhile, Estrada’s nephew Emilio Ramon “ER” Ejercito suffered a loss at the gubernatorial race in the province of Laguna.

Ejercito obtained only 390,543 votes, which were only half of those obtained by leading gubernatorial candidate Ramil Hernandez who got 815,246 votes.

Another of Erap’s nephew, actor Gary Estrada also lost to Ace Servillon in the vice mayoral race in Cainta, Rizal by more than 40,000 votes. n

In this May 13, 2019 photo, former President Jejomar Binay cast his vote in San Antonio Highschool in Makati.

Philstar.com photo by Mong Pintolo

FORMER Vice President Jejomar Binay lost his bid to represent the first district of Makati City at the House of Representatives.

Former Makati Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña was proclaimed as Makati City’s first district representatives after gaining 71,035 votes in the 2019 midterm elections.

Binay, who was seeking a political comeback after stepping down in 2016, only got 65,229 votes.

Citing glitches in the voting pro-

cess and alleged disenfranchisment of voters, the camp of Binay contested Peña’s victory as the latter won by more than 5,000 votes.

Makati City Board of Canvassers, however, denied the appeal of the Binay camp and advised them to file an appeal before the Commission on Election en banc.

In 2015, Peña took over as acting mayor of Makati City after the suspension of then Mayor Junjun Binay.

The younger Binay was sus-

pended over alleged irregularities in connection to the construction of the Makati City Hall Building 2 project.

Peña used to be an ally of the Binays under the United Nationalist Alliance but had transferred to the Liberal Party.

Meanwhile in the Makati City mayoral race, Abby Binay retained her post with 179,522 votes, beating her brother Junjun who obtained 98,653 votes. (Patricia Lourdes Viray/Philstar.com) n

A6

MAY 17-23, 2019 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL

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

OPINION

Ugly traditions must end

FEATURES

VOTE buying, according to President Rodrigo Duterte, is an “integral part” of Philippine elections. Having spent much of his adult life as a politician, the President must know whereof he speaks.

He issued the statement in a chance interview, near the end of voting, when the Philippine National Police had arrested hundreds of people, including candidates and supporters, on charges of buying and selling votes.

The president did say that vote buying is an election offense and violators would be prosecuted. But he said all candidates engage in some form of vote buying. Last week he said he saw nothing wrong with giving voters P50 each for their transport fare to and from the polling centers.

He may be correct about vote buying being a tradition in this country, but this does not mean that people should stop trying to put an end to it.

This is why laws were passed against buying and selling votes. What is lacking is enforcement.

Candidates themselves should welcome the strict enforcement of the law, since it would mean lower expenses for them. Problems, however, crop up when the law is selectively enforced.

The country imposes tough penalties for election-related offenses, particularly for the relatively new crime of electoral sabotage. But if even one candidate with the right connections is allowed to break the law and regulations of the Commission on Elections, giving the candidate an edge over political opponents, then the floodgates are open for electoral offenses.

The president has said that those arrested for buying and selling votes would face prosecution.

People have taken the trouble of reporting cases of vote buying, believing that their complaints would be acted upon, as indicated by the Comelec.

The PNP has done its part; now the prosecution service, which is under the executive, should pursue the cases. Candidates who engaged in buying votes must be disqualified and permanently barred from holding public office. Unless offenders are convicted and punished, vote buying will never stop. (Philstar.com)

Editorial

The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS PRESIDENT Donald Trump is yet again engaged in a Twitter war with Filipino American attorney and conservative leader George Conway, after the president declared the 22-month long Mueller probe, “sick and unlawful.”

Conway has called out Trump more than the president’s enablers in Congress and in the administration — including his own wife, Senior Advisor Kellyanne Conway — for being a “malignant narcissist” who could only view special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation “purely in terms of your own ego.” The Fil-Am lawyer argued that the actions Trump took in his own self-interest to win the 2016 presidential election against Hillary Clinton should be enough to remove him from office.

Conway, known for his work in defending conservative principles, had been one of the most outspoken critics of Trump. He organized a group called “Checks and Balances” in November

Commentary

YEN MAKABENTA ROLAND Simbulan’s lecture, “The CIA in Manila: the CIA’s Covert Operations and Hidden History in the Philippines” was delivered at the University of the Philippines Manila on Aug. 18, 2000.

Simbulan opens the talk with these words: “For a long time, Manila was the main station, if not the regional headquarters, of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for Southeast Asia. This is perhaps so because the Philippines has always been regarded as a stronghold of U.S. imperial power in Asia. Since the Americanized Filipinos were under the spell of American culture, they were easy to recruit without their realizing they were committing treason to their own people and country.”

“Easy to recruit,” “committing treason to their own people and country.” The lecture hurts at the get-go. It gets worse and worse as you read the entire story.

Simbulan’s revelations are extensive and explosive. I will summarize here the key observations and highlights.

Marcos rule and Marcos’ health 1. CIA human intelligence assets in Manila are said to have provided vital information to Washington at crucial times. According to declassified documents under the

Philstar.com photo

Filipino American lawyer George Conway calls Trump a ‘malignant narcissist’ for approach on Mueller probe 2018, made up of more than a dozen members of the conservative-libertarian Federalist Society, which had been instrumental in selecting candidates for the Trump administration to appoint to federal courts.

According to the report of The New York Times, “Checks and Balances” is “urging their fellow conservatives to speak up about what they say are the Trump administration’s betrayals of bedrock legal norms.”

One of the members of the group, John Bellinger, contended that “Conservative lawyers are not doing enough to protect constitutional principles that are being undermined by the statements and actions of this president.”

Conway had previously posted on Twitter that Trump has “narcissistic and anti-social personality disorders,” which allegedly incapacitate him in discharging the duties and obligations of the Office of the President.

Trump replied on Twitter: “George Conway, often referred to as Mr. Kellyanne Conway by those who know him, is VERY

jealous of his wife’s success & angry that I, with her help, didn’t give him the job he so desperately wanted. I barely know him but just take a look, a stone cold LOSER & husband from hell!”

Here is the thread of the Twitter war between Trump and Conway on May 12, 2019: TRUMP: “Think of it. I became President of the United States in one of the most hard fought and consequential elections in the history of our great nation. From long before I ever took office, I was under a sick & unlawful investigation concerning what has become known as the Russian…” “…Hoax. My campaign was being seriously spied upon by intel agencies and the Democrats. This never happened before in American history, and it all turned out to be a total scam, a Witch Hunt, that yielded No Collusion, No Obstruction. This must never be allowed to happen again!”

CONWAY: “Think of it. The Russia investigation was a legitimate investigation, with a legit-

imate basis, into how a hostile foreign power tried to interfere with and undermine our democracy. It was in the best interests of the nation—in the interests of all Americans, no matter who …” “they voted for—that this investigation be allowed to proceed to its rightful conclusion, without improper attempts to obstruct it, if only so that we could all know what really happened and take steps to see that it never happens again. But because ….” “… you are a malignant narcissist—a person with both narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders—you couldn’t view it that way. Instead of complying with your oath of office, and instead of taking stock of what was in the best interests of…” “the nation whose Constitution and laws you swore to uphold, you viewed the matter purely in terms of your own ego: You viewed the investigation as casting doubt on what you perceive as your great election victory (in which your opponent garnered…”

“... nearly three million more votes than you did), and so you took multiple steps to obstruct, and repeatedly lied about, the investigation from the outset.

Even today, despite the wellfounded assessments of the intelligence community, and despite the …” “... damning evidence laid out in the Mueller report, you refuse to take what the Russians did seriously. Instead, you continue to lie, calling the investigation a “hoax” and an “attempted coup,” and you didn’t even mention Russia’s …” “... conduct in your recent 90minute conversation with Putin, the man who seeks to undermine our institutions. Put simply, you put your own perceptions of your self-interest above the national interest, which you seem unable to comprehend or respect…” “... That is your greatest offense against the country, an offense that incorporates but vastly exceeds the statutory crimes you’ve committed. It is the ultimate high crime or misdemeanor under the Constitu-

tion, and under the Framers’ wise design,…” “... it is an offense for which you should pay with your office, regardless of whether you are ultimately brought to justice in the courts of law.”

Last April, Conway said Trump’s misconduct was “worse” than the misconduct that led to former President Nixon’s resignation.

KUDOS to George Conway for having the testicular fortitude to call out Trump for his transgressions against the country, something that his spineless enablers like his staff in the White House, his cabinet secretaries in the Executive Department, and the Republican leadership in Congress would not do because of their hawkish grip to power and personal political expediency and interests and power play. *** 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.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https:// www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos

The CIA and Namfrel: Should this dog survive its scandalous past?

Freedom of Information Act, on Sept. 17, 1972, a CIA asset in the Philippines who was in the inner circle of Marcos informed the CIA station in Manila that Ferdinand Marcos was planning to proclaim martial law on Sept. 21,1972. The CIA station in Manila was also provided in advance a copy of Proclamation 1081—the proclamation that declared martial law in the country.

The CIA’s assessment of the Sept. 21, 1972 declaration of martial rule boosted the prestige of the CIA station in Manila.

In 1982, the CIA was able to verify from a high-ranking Philippine immigration officer the names of the two doctors who visited the Philippines to treat Marcos for kidney failure, giving the CIA a clear picture of Marcos’ health problems.

CIA goes beyond original mission 2. The CIA is the covert overseas intelligence agency of the United States government and is likewise an “action-oriented” vehicle of American foreign and military policy.

The 1975 Church Committee Report of the U.S. congressional investigations into the CIA’s covert activities abroad revealed how countless foreign governments were overthrown by the CIA; how the CIA instigated a military coup d’état and assassinated foreign political leaders like Chilean President Salvador Allende, who merely tried to safeguard the interests of their own country;

and how “special ops” and paramilitary campaigns contributed to the death, directly or indirectly, of millions of people, as a result of those actions.

The CIA has gone beyond its original mission of gathering intelligence and was conducting Mafia-type operations not only in its own territory but against foreign governments and their leaders.

CIA covert action in the Philippines The CIA in the Philippines has engaged in countless covert operations for intervention and dirty tricks, particularly in Philippine domestic politics. On top of all this is the U.S. diplomatic mission, especially the political section that is a favorite cover for many CIA operatives. CIA front companies also provide an additional but convenient layer of cover for operatives assigned overseas.

The agency’s assets and technical infrastructure in Manila were drastically affected by the withdrawal of the bases in 1992 because, before this, the CIA operated jointly with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) major listening posts into most of Indochina and southern China.

The loss of the bases in the Philippines was a tremendous blow to the CIA’s Asian infrastructure, if not a major setback.

Legitimation of colonial domination The U.S. places a high premium on the ideological legitimation of its continuing neocolonial

domination over the Philippines and, as such, depends heavily on U.S.-financed and U.S.-sponsored institutions, especially on the ideological front. Thus, grants are generously poured in by such agencies like USAid, National Endowment for Democracy, Asia Foundation and the big business-sponsored Ford Foundation. The objective is to constantly lure and lull the masses into the elite-dominated electoral process, thus legitimizing the neoliberal economic system and its political apparatus, producing a fragile social peace and a “peaceful mechanism for competition among the Filipino elite and oligarchy.”

CIA fronts in Manila Among the most prominent CIA fronts in Manila is the Asia Foundation with offices at Magallanes Village, Makati. According to a former U.S. State Department bureaucrat William Blum in a recent book, the “Asia Foundation is the principal CIA front” and funding conduit in Asia. The Asia Foundation funds and supports known anti-communist groups or influential personalities, i.e. academics, journalists, local officials and institutions.

Simbulan said his interviews with former CIA operatives in the Philippines in 1996 confirm the active use of this foundation for the “Agency.”

A complete cut-off after 1967, however, would have forced the foundation to shut down, so the agency made it the beneficiary of

a large “severance payment” in order to give it a couple of years to develop alternative sources of funding.

Tancangco report In her 1992 book, The Tancangco Report: The Anatomy of Electoral Fraud (Matrix Manila, 1992), Luzviminda G. Tancangco, a former commissioner of the Commission on Elections, provides firsthand documentation on Namfrel’s work as a watchdog of Philippine elections.

Because of its well-documented association with the CIA in the Philippines, Namfrel tried to scrub its history by alleging that it started election watching only in the snap elections in 1986. This way, it sought to wipe away its shadowy activities in previous national elections.

But even the historical revisionism was insufficient for cleansing. In the 1986 snap elections, it promptly returned to its old ways. It became a partisan for the presidential campaign of Corazon Aquino. It took part in a plot to deprive Marcos of victory and propagandize a fictitious Cory Aquino victory.

No matter what it did Namfrel could not credibly document the alleged Aquino victory in a way that would invalidate the official Comelec count of the votes, which saw Marcos as the victor. The most that the Aquino partisans could do was claim that Marcos had stolen the snap election.

To this day, foreign correspondents like Tony Lopez of the de-

funct Asiaweek, will swear that Marcos won the snap 1986 elections.

Tancangco in her book documents Namfrel’s numeracy.

She noted: “Comelec charged that Namfrel tabulated spurious election returns and that it withheld results from the Kilusan ng Bagong Lipunan bailiwicks.

“Namfrel was finally charged with engaging in trending or extrapolation of results, and hiding of election returns favoring the KBL, and resorting to selective posting.”

In the subsequent 1987 election, Tancangco noted a twist in the image of Namfrel. Its image as a countercheck on possible fraud by the ruling KBL as changed to that of a possible collaborator with the ruling coalition under the Aquino administration.

The shortcomings of Namfrel as an election watchdog in the 1986 and 1987 elections are documented in the Tancangco Report. It could never attest to the credibility or accuracy of its election count. It had no authentication process in the various stages of vote tallying and vote aggregation.

To this day, the questionable and incomplete Namfrel count is the only documentation available for Cory Aquino’s alleged victory in the February 1986 snap elections.

Was Namfrel in 1986 still doing work for the CIA? Was it receiving U.S. funding? (ManilaTimes. net)

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 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 17-23, 2019

Sotto ready to vacate post

A

by Javier

J. ismael ManilaTimes.net

SENATE President Vicente â&#x20AC;&#x153;Titoâ&#x20AC;? Sotto III on Monday, May 13, said he would vacate his post once his colleagues elect a new leader of the chamber in 18th Congress. â&#x20AC;&#x153; I serve at the pleasure of my peers. All you have to do is tell me that you have 13 votes and you can have my resignation as Senate President. Madali â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;yun (Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy). I have been here since 1992, I have witnessed eight or nine coup dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;etat in the Senate, so I am familiar with how itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s done, the goings on,â&#x20AC;? said Sotto after casting his vote in Quezon City.

Sotto took over the Senate leadership on May 21, 2018 after Senate President Aquilino â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kokoâ&#x20AC;? Pimentel 3rd stepped down.

Fifteen senators closed ranks and agreed to have Sotto replace Pimentel.They were Senators Loren Legarda, Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay, Emmanuel Juan

Senate President Vicente Sotto III

ManilaTimes.net file photo

GUARDING THE VOTES. Soldiers from the First Marine Brigade keep watch as voting is held at the Dalican Pilot Elementary School in Datu Odin ManilaTimes.net photo by DJ Diosina

Sinsuat, Maguindanao on Monday, May 13..

Last week, Sotto endorsed his Senate candidates â&#x20AC;&#x201D; reelectionist senators Paolo â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bamâ&#x20AC;? Aquino 4th, Angara, Binay, Ejercito, Pimentel, Poe and Villar.

He also backed former senators Manuel â&#x20AC;&#x153;Litoâ&#x20AC;? Lapid and Pilar Juliana â&#x20AC;&#x153;Piaâ&#x20AC;? Cayetano, and MANILA â&#x20AC;&#x201D; The National former top aide Christopher LawUnion of Journalists of the Philiprence â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bongâ&#x20AC;? Go. n pines on Tuesday, May 14, said President Rodrigo Duterteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s insult to veteran journalist Ellen Tordesillas and other members of the press was meant to â&#x20AC;&#x153;intimidate his targets.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no question Duterteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tiresome habit of spewing personal insults is intended to intimidate his targets into silence or submission,â&#x20AC;? the NUJP said in a statement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;His are the tactics of the thug who resorts to the bludgeon because he cannot reason, even then he fails miserably,â&#x20AC;? they added.

Duterte vouched for the credibility of the latest diagram of people, including Tordesillas and other journalists, allegedly plotA complaint for violation of Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code was filed before the Quezon City ting against him on Monday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The matrix is true, also that on Regional Trial Court against Venancio Borromeo, executive producer of news program Bandila, former Bandila anchor Ces Drilon and former showbiz reporter Marie Lozano. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bikoy,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Duterte told reporters in Philstar.com file photo a mix of English and Filipino, in a male TV Patrol anchors on the of blackmail, knowing that others chance interview after he cast his complainantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;body, manner of could take her place, especially vote in Davao City. dress or behavior,â&#x20AC;? which she felt since she had never produced He, however, declined to go constituted sexual harassment. quality work.â&#x20AC;? into details of the supposed ouster Drilon also stated that she The resolutions were approved plot and said that he would rather heard Fullido saying she â&#x20AC;&#x153;was by Quezon City prosecutor Vimar have presidential spokesperson willing to wear a bikini with an Barcellano.

Salvador Panelo answer more of inflatable pool and bubbles on TV With the filing of the cases in the reportersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; question so that his Patrol to increase its ratings.â&#x20AC;? court, the prosecutors said war- words would not be twisted. The The prosecutors explained that rants are expected to be issued president did not cite evidence to Drilon â&#x20AC;&#x153;jumped into conclusion for the arrest of the defendants. substantiate the claim of a conthat the complainant could easily Last year, Fullido filed a com- spiracy. ignore such unpleasant acts, as if plaint for sexual harrassment Duterte resorts to insulting she welcomed the same.â&#x20AC;? against Favila and Asprec for than explaining â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;matrixâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Lozano and Borromeo de- allegedly sending her text mesThe NUJP hit Duterte for resortscribed Fullidoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s filing of a ha- sages requesting for sexual fa- ing to insult Tordesillas when he rassment complaint as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;form vors. n could not explain the supposed

Edgardo â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sonnyâ&#x20AC;? Angara, Emmanuel Joel Villanueva, Gregorio â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gringoâ&#x20AC;? Honasan 2nd, Panfilo â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pingâ&#x20AC;? Lacson, Juan Miguel â&#x20AC;&#x153;Migzâ&#x20AC;? Zubiri, Emmanuel â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mannyâ&#x20AC;? Pacquiao, Cynthia Villar, Francis â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chizâ&#x20AC;? Escudero, Richard Gordon, Ralph Recto, Mary Grace Poe and Joseph Victor â&#x20AC;&#x153;JVâ&#x20AC;? Ejercito.

Duterte â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;insultâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to journo meant to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;intimidate targetsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201D; NUJP

News exec, 2 others indicted for libel by edu

Punay Philstar.com

MANILA â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Government prosecutors have indicted a news executive and two journalists of ABS-CBN for libel over statements against their colleague, showbiz reporter Gretchen Fullido, on the sexual harassment complaint she filed against the network executives.

A complaint for violation of Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code was filed before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court against Venancio Borromeo, executive producer of news program Bandila, former Bandila anchor Ces Drilon and former showbiz reporter Marie Lozano.

In three separate resolutions issued on April 29, prosecutors found probable cause to indict the three for libel.

After preliminary investigation, prosecutors held that the defendants acted in bad faith when they made statements against Fullido during the networkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s internal investigation on her sexual harassment complaint against former news executive Cheryl Favila and segment producer Maricar Asprec.

In her affidavit, Drilon said she witnessed Fullido laugh off and disregard side comments from

Philstar.com file photo

ouster â&#x20AC;&#x153;matrixâ&#x20AC;? against him. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Once again, the foul-mouthed misogynist who is the leader of our nation turns to personal insults when he will not or, most likely, cannot offer a credible explanation to his badly concoct and fictitious accusations against critics,â&#x20AC;? the statement further read.

While Duterte referred the media to his spokesperson for â&#x20AC;&#x153;equivocalâ&#x20AC;? issues such as the matrix, he however vented his ire at Tordesillas, VERA Files president and called her a prostitute.

The veteran journalist dismissed Duterteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest tirade against her and said the firebrand leader resorts to vulgar words due to lack of evidence to prove the supposed ouster plot.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since Duterte does not have evidence to support his silly matrix, he is now resorting to vulgarityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the only language he knows,â&#x20AC;? she said in a statement.

The president also insinuated that other journalists are paid hacks, receiving payment from â&#x20AC;&#x153;Western.â&#x20AC;?

But the NUJP stood by Tordesillas and other journalists who received Duterteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ire. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mr. Duterte may choose to ignore the lessons of history but does so at his own peril. But of one thing we are sure, as history has amply proven. Despots come and eventually go. The truth and freedom will always outlast them,â&#x20AC;? the journalistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; group also said. (Kristine Joy Patag/Philstar. com) n

FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS

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SF The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - May 17, 2019

Friday, May 17, 2019

cover story

SF

The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - May 17, 2019

‘Post Colonial Survival Kit’: Addressing the challenges brought by centuries of colonization by

AJPress

COLONIALISM is defined as a system in which “one country creates an empire by taking over other lands and making them into colonies.” As such, colonies don’t have the power over themselves, as the colonizing country takes over resources and money.

The Philippines has a long history of being colonized. Majority was (and longest) by Spain from 1565 to 1898, then by the Americans in 1899. In between there also was the British, when they declared war on Spain in 1762 and occupied Manila and Cavite. But this was short lived when the expansion into other Philippine islands was met with resistance from British Forces.

As a result, Spain and Great Britain made an armistice agreement to withdraw the British from Manila and return control to the Spaniards again.

With such history of colonialism, it is no surprise that we Filipinos have struggled and questioned our independence.

Through the years, even after Spain has left the country and Americans no longer have military bases in the Philippines, we still feel “lost.” How did — or can — we survive, as Filipinos, the colonialism we grew up in, and continued to grow in?

To address the issue of colonization and the challenges it has within the Filipino diaspora, Kularts, the premier presenter of contemporary and tribal Filipino arts in the U.S., presents “Post Colonial Survival Kit,” from May 3 through May 31 at the Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco. The exhibition explores survival tactics of contemporary tribal and diasporic Filipino against the historical and ongoing inequities of cultural erasure, and marginalization, brought on by centuries of colonization. It will also feature tribal soil paintings, sculpture, installation and media art.

This group exhibition features artists Kimberly Arteche (U.S.), Wilfred Galila (U.S./Philippines), Caroline Garcia (Australia), and visiting artists Marcelino “Balugto” Necosia Jr. and Salima Saway Agra-an of the Talaandig Tribe in Mindanao, Philippines).

“To assimilate is to disap-

pear into a colonial culture and system — a system that was created not to welcome its colonial subjects but in order for its subjects to serve it. Our power lies in our various ways of being, and our embrace of our hybridity,” said featured artist Galila in a press release. “By reconciling the postcolonial with our indigenous selves, we go beyond the mere survival and towards a healing process and the manifestation of our utmost potential that lies dormant within all of us.”

The exhibition comes at a time when there is increasing visibility of the Filipino voice in America, considering the national recognition of recent works such “Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong,” written by the late historian Dr. Dawn Mabalon, and Gayle Romasanta; the fiction “America is Not the Heart” by Elaine Castillo; the debut of Nicole Ponseca and Miguel Trinidad’s cookbook, “I Am Filipino: And This is How We Cook;” as well as media coverage such as National Geographic ’s recent feature on the “estimated 10 million Filipinos...who work overseas as a way of escaping unemployment, low wages, and limited opportunities at home.”

Being staged in SOMA Pilipinas is also significant, since the location has been recently recognized as the Filipino Cultural Heritage District of San Francisco. Focused on fostering a thriving, sustainable community of Filipino residents and businesses, it opens conversations around gentrification and colonization not only in the Bay Area but the U.S.

Kimberley Acebo

About featured artists Kimberley Acebo Arteche is an educator, cultural worker,

and interdisciplinary artist working in photography, installation, social practice, and performance. Her work explores the hybrid cultures formed by technology, movements of immigrants in America, and the way movements through space and spaces has been affected by these two. Arteche received her BFA from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and MFA from San Francisco State University where she received the School of Art’s Distinguished Graduate award.

She has been awarded the Murphy Cadogan Contemporary Art Award by the San Francisco Foundation, was Kearny Street Workshop’s Featured Visual Artist in the 2015 APAture Festival, and residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and the Growlery.

Wilfred Galila

Wilfred Galila makes use of various media for storytelling and art making as a means of gaining a deeper understanding of postcolonial identity and culture through a transpacific diasporic lens, framework, and experience.

He collaborated with multiawarded dance artist Alleluia Panis on the multimedia dance theater productions, “She, Who Can See” (2015) and “Incarcerated 6x9” (2018), and the dance film “She, Who Can See” (2017) that was screened at the 2018 CAAMFest. Their latest collaboration is “In the Belly of the Eagle: Man@ng is Deity.”

Galila is the lead artist for “Kodakan: Pilipinos in the City,” a photography and media project that explores the

Julia: Solo act

Julia Barretto is ready to stand on her own as an actress to the same person and do films again.”

Philstar.com The actress shares that filming in Japan was one of the THIRTEEN years an actor, best experiences of her career.

Julia Barretto — now 22 — was Working on a movie, in the born into celebrity and started winter, on a Japanese island? following in the footsteps of her Why wouldn’t it be? The film parents at age 10. That gives was shot in idyllic Saga, a city in her some kinship with Hazel, the Kyushu. If you’re following Julia’s character she plays in her latest Instagram, you’d know by her film, “Between Maybes”. photos that it’s a charming little In the Black Sheep produccity, seemingly unaffected by tion, she plays a famous actress the trappings of modern life. It’s who escapes to Japan to regain the best place to escape to and control over her life, which is not relearn a few things — for Julia, an unlikely scenario in this day it was a location free of distracand age, especially for someIn her latest film “Between Maybes,” Julia Barretto tions, which allowed her to focus one constantly in the spotlight. plays a famous actress who escapes to Japan to on work and herself.

“I feel like everybody goes “It was quiet. It was easier to through the same thing at some regain control over her life.

Philstar.com photo by Regina David get things done. It was also winpoint,” shares Julia. “I definitely ter; maybe that also made things “It’s nice to get to share the relate to my character in so lighter. It got really cold, though journey and watch both of our many ways. Maybe just going — but I’d rather be cold!” she dreams come true, be there for through that phase in your life says with a laugh. “There was each other and help each other when you want to escape and just so much teamwork because out. I’m grateful for that optry new things, find peace and clarity. No matter how far we go, portunity to just have somebody we all had to help each other, given that we were only 20 though, we always end up going to run to because you’re going people, compared to being in through the exact same thing back home.” the Philippines and working with and same season in life… To For quite some time now, have somebody’s hand to hold.” a hundred-plus people. I gained “home” for the young actress, new friends and a new family. It’s Then she’s quick to clarify: apart from her family, has been the best thing that happened to JoshLia, her award-winning part- “But it’s not like it’s gone!” me this year, so far.” She adds, For “Between Maybes”, nership — or, as we call it in here “Honestly I would even consider on our shores, love team — with Julia worked alongside Gerald going back to Saga, to see it actor Joshua Garcia. While some Anderson, whose character she might presume being paired up meets and eventually falls in love again.”

A new phase with in Japan. Julia shares, “It at such a young age would be Working on a movie outside counterproductive, the opposite was something that had been of JoshLia was a learning experiis true for JoshLia, which has col- decided on even before they ence for the actress. “There’s a went on with the love team. It lectively gained projects, not to world out there that you should mention a legion of followers, as was met about, it was talked a tandem. As Julia ventures into about, and it was a mutual deci- go and explore. Get out of your sion to be open to do solo films comfort zone. Take some risks. a new phase of her career as a Have faith in yourself,” she with other people. But the love solo actress, she reflects on the shares. “I think I’m in a stage relationship and the whole Josh- team remains. You go out and Lia phenomenon with gratitude. do something, but you go home of reinvention. I am constantly

by Chonx TibAJiA

Marcelino ‘Balugto’ Necosia, Jr. is a multi-talented visual artist, musician, and instrumentmaker, who grew up in the foothills of Mt Kitanglad fully immersed on his Talaandig culture. His strong influence would come from the gentle mentoring of his uncle, Datu Rogelio “Waway” Saway.

Despite the lack of formal education, the Talaandig School of Living Tradition prepared Balugto to participate in a much larger artistic platform. He received the prestigious 2010 Philip Morris Philippine Art Awardee.

He has performed and exhibited throughout the Philippines, including the National Museum of the Philippines and internationally at the Singapore Biennale, Singapore National Museum, International Music & Art Festival-Nami Island-Korea, and The Lower Caroline Garcia Branch Gallery-San Francisco, Caroline Garcia is a culturally CA. This intimate familiarity with the land and its people propromiscuous, interdisciplinary vides him with opportunities for artist. She works across live artistic expression. He is approperformance and video priately nicknamed “Balugto” through a hybridised aesthetic of cross-cultural dance, (Talaandig for rainbow), as his talent is a true kaleidoscope of ritual practice, new media, various arts: visual, performand the sampling of popular ance, and music. Balugto reculture and colonial imagery. corded an album which features Caroline was one of the eight artists curated into Primav- his musical talents as a percussionist. era 2018: Young Australian Artists at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, and is the 2018/19 recipient of the American Australian Association’s AUSART Fellowship Award. She is currently undertaking a Master of Fine Arts at The New School (Parsons) in New York City in 2018-20. diverse identities of Filipinos in San Francisco through time, exhibited at the San Francisco Main Library (2013-2014), the IHotel Manilatown Center (2015), and the A.C.T. Strand Theater (2015).

Galila was nominated for a 2019 Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design.

Datu Rodelio

Marcelino Balugto Necosia Jr.

He has been creating visual art since 1997, a practice that includes painting, sculptures, and constructing the best sounding drums in the community. Balugto prefers to use natural pigments, and pen and ink in his paintings. Moun-

tain soil itself provides Balugto with a vast variety of hues for his palette. Balugto performs as percussionist with Datu Rogelio “Waway” Saway in national concerts and cultural festivals in the Philippines. His vision is to share the perspectives of the Talaandig tribe with the world.

Salima Saway Agra-an

Salima Saway Agra-an is from the Talaandig tribe of Bukidnon. She has been practicing art for 15 years. She uses soil, grass, leaves, latex paint, acrylic, and watercolor as her medium. She wants to tell the world about the existence of their tribe. Salima has worked with tribal elders to document the epic chants and mythologies of her people and layer them into her paintings along with Talaandig cultural practices, symbols, and metaphors. She has exhibited works in the Philippines and internationally, with notable exhibitions including with the Kalinawa Art Foundation, and the 2013 Singapore Biennial. Salima’s contemporary soil paintings are included in collections in both the Philippines and abroad.

“Postcolonial Survival Kit” runs from May 3-31 at the Luggage Store Gallery, 1007 Market Street, San Francisco, 94103. Gallery hours are Wednesday - Saturday, 12-5 p.m. and by appointment.

For tickets and more information, please visit https:// postcolonialsurvival.eventbrite.ca and www.kulartssf.org/postcolonial.

Mariel Rodriguez announces baby no. 2 with Robin Padilla HOST Mariel Rodriguez announced that she is pregnant with her second baby with husband Robin Padilla.

During the Mother’s Day special of her noontime show, “It’s Showtime,” Mariel recounted her journey to motherhood, saying she thought Mother’s Day back then was just an ordinary day.

“A few years ago, kapag Mother’s Day, akala ko isa siyang ordinaryong araw. And kasama ko kayo madlang pipol sa journey ko. From heartbreaking losses until finally I had my baby girl, my Isabella. Doon ko po nalaman na iba po talaga ang hirap at ang saya ng pagiging isang ina,” Mariel said.

She also took the opportunity to announce that she and

Robin are happy that she is pregnant again.

“Today, I am so happy to share with all of you isang espesyal na balita na nalaman namin ng asawa ko a few months ago.

Si Isabella ay magiging ate na. I am three months pregnant with baby number two,” Mariel said.

“Ngayon pa lang, gusto ko talagang magpasalamat sa inyong lahat na alam ko kasama ko po kayong magdadasal, magmamahalan sa suporta,” she added.

Mariel also posted on her Instagram a photo of her showing her baby bump while wearing a yellow dress.

“The perfect Mother’s Day gift. Hello baby #2,” she captioned the photo.

After Mariel previously suffered miscarriage, she and Robin welcomed their first baby Mariel Rodriguez in 2016.

Photo from Instagram/@marieltpadilla

looking for change; at the same time, I’m glad I am being given these opportunities where I could improve and better myself, learn more about my craft.

In trials, triumphs, success, you learn so much.”

Part of this new outlook is a renewed focus on herself, on self-love. “Just recently, I learned to reprioritize my soul. I didn’t feel like that was important up until a few months back.

I think it’s really important to surround yourself with good people because you feed off of their energy. People around you mold you also, so you have to be careful.”

As she enters a new phase in her career, possibly opening new doors to more solo projects, the invigorated actress carries with her a maturity that even she is surprised by. “I started out so young,” she says.

“I had no choice but to mature so that I could understand situations and find solutions to them.

At 22, you’re not supposed to be worrying about so many things, but I feel like I have goals that I have achieved and then goals just get added and added. It just doesn’t stop. Your life can change in a week, in a month, and it’s crazy because I can’t believe how much change

by JAn Milo severo Philstar.com

can happen in such a short time.

So my perspective on love, life and work constantly changes.

That’s what’s scary — it keeps changing and then you keep having to adjust and you keep surprising yourself.”

With her entire career ahead of her and as a self-confessed workaholic, the actress has no plans of escaping from work anytime soon. But if she did, where would she go? “Maybe the ocean with one friend,” she shares. That should be enough for JoshLia fans to rest assured that, no matter how far her career takes her, there will always be home.

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The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - May 17, 2019

Immigration Corner

June 2019 priority dates The Priority dates for the Philippines are as follows: Application Filing Date

Visa Issuance Date

April 22, 2008

June 22, 2007

March 08, 2019

July 15, 2017

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

July 01, 2008

November 15, 2007

Third Preference

Married sons and daughters of US Citizens.

November 01, 1997

February 01, 1997

Fourth Preference

Brothers and sisters of US Citizens.

March 01, 1998 June 01, 1997

FAMILY CATEGORY:

Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ

HER “AMERICAN DREAM” SHATTERED WHEN HER CASE WAS DENIED AND HER TWO ATTORNEYS TOLD HER THE ONLY SOLUTION WAS TO JUST “HIDE.” Mariel (left) was devastated when her adjustment of status was denied after USCIS concluded she was out of status. Distraught and lost, especially after her first two lawyers’ only advice was to “hide,” Mariel decided to consult with “Attorney-of-Last-Hope” Michael J. Gurfinkel who sought reconsideration and was able to get Mariel her elusive green card in record time. Watch Mariel’s dream come true on an encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy” – on Sunday at 6:15 p.m. (PST) on TFC. (Advertising Supplement)

Zsa Zsa not giving up on (delayed) wedding

by Ricky Lo Philstar.com

IF Zsa Zsa Padilla has started to sound like a broken record when asked about her (much-delayed) wedding, it’s understandable because of a stumbling block beyond her control.

Asked if she has given up on the possibility of (finally!) marching down the aisle, Zsa Zsa said, “No, but it has taken a while to finalize all legal papers, especially on my end.”

It’s on record that the same “legal impediment” has prevented Zsa Zsa from marrying Dolphy, her late beloved, and now she’s officially free to realize her long-cherished dream.

(A Funfare source confirmed that Zsa Zsa’s marriage to Dr. Modesto Tatlonghari has been annulled.) According to unconfirmed reports, Zsa Zsa and her current flame Conrad Onglao (first marriage annulled) are eyeing Italy as the venue of their wedding. (Note: Zsa Zsa’s reported marriage to a Japa-

Despite unexpected stumbling blocks, Zsa Zsa Padilla is excited about her and sweetheart Conrad Onglao’s wedding (in Italy?). It will be a long-delayed dream come true.

Photos courtesy of Zsa Zsa Padilla

nese turned out to be fake, a hoax, and Zsa Zsa was the last to learn about it.)

Meanwhile, let’s hear it from Zsa Zsa: Have you ever wondered why you are called Divine Diva (how “divine” are you)?

“The title was given to me

by Martin Nievera when we did a concert at Araneta Coliseum

called Divine Madness. How divine am I? I’m as human as can be.”

You have different repertoire in your concerts and what one or two songs do you include all the time?

“Two songs that people always love to hear are my originals, ‘Kahit Na’ by Willy Cruz and ‘Hiram’ by George

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 it will use the Application Filing Date for that month). This could allow people to obtain work authorization much sooner than before, where they had to wait for the priority date to be current (in the Visa Issuance Date column) in order to both file for adjustment and be eligible for a green card. *** Canseco.”

What song do you sing to Conrad at home?

“I don’t really make him listen to me sing. But we listen to Spotify Top Hits during our weekend trips to Lucban where we are building a farm. I always smile when he sings a few lines from current songs.”

How are you affected, if

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

LABOR CERTIFICATION:

Application Filing Date

Visa Issuance Date

Second Preference Advanced Degree (Masters)

Current

Current

Third Preference

Professional/ Skilled Workers

January 01, 2019

November 01, 2018

Other Workers

Non-Skilled Workers

January 01, 2019

November 01, 2018

Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 35 years and is licensed, and an active member of the State Bars of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California.

Each case is different and results may depend on the facts of the particular case. The information and opinions contained herein (including testimonials, “Success Stories”, endorsements and re-enactments) 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

ever, when Conrad is in the audience?

“He inspires me so I am very happy when he is part of an audience.”

Which singer are you “afraid” to perform with and why?

“Working at ASAP for so many years have taught me to

be a team player. So, I think I have worked with most musicians. In the show, I also get to work with the new generation of singers.”

Any embarrassing incident during a concert?

“I have had my share of incidents. I performed with a broken zipper and a broken shoe Continued on Page SF7

(Advertising Supplement)

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celebrityworld The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - May 17, 2019

Showbiz personalities who won and lost in the recent election

celebrity world

By Ferdie Villar A LOT of showbiz personalities decided to run this election — some for the first time, others looking to be reelected.

Now that results that have come out, we look into those personalities who are part of showbiz directly or are associated with celebrities, who have been proclaimed winners, losers and those who are in the lead.

In the senatorial race, even with the partial unofficial results, there is no doubt that Grace Poe (daughter of Susan Roces and the late King of Philippine Movies Fernando Poe Jr.) will continue serving the public.

Two other celebrities who have (unofficially, as of writing this piece) made it to the Magic 12 are action stars Lito Lapid and Bong Revilla. Both have served as senators for two terms before, from 2004-2016.

Those that didn’t make the cut in the race for senator include the Estrada brothers — JV Ejercito and Jinggoy Estrada, singer Freddie Aguilar, and GMA 7 news anchor Jiggy Manicad.

Star for All Seasons Vilma Santos-Recto was reelected as representative of Lipa City, Batangas, while Lucy TorresGomez is surely going to serve another term in Congress for the 4th district of Leyte with a landslide win.

Other celebrities who won a seat in Congress are Alfred Vargas (5th District-Quezon City, his third term), Dan Fernandez (1st District-Laguna, second term and ran unopposed), former actress-newscaster Precious Hipolito-Castelo (2nd District-Quezon City), Yul Servo (3rd District-Manila, second term), Sol Aragones (3rd

EMPLOYMENT

District-Laguna, third term) and Senator Loren Legarda, ending her last term in the Senate with a win as representative for Antique.

Unfortunately, there were a number of personalities who didn’t win a seat in Congress including actor Edu Manzano (City of San Juan), Long Mejia (1st District-Camarines Sur), Rommel Padilla (1st DistrictNueva Ecija), Richard Yap (1st District-Cebu City), Yeng Guaio (1st District-Pampanga) and former Vice President Jejomar Binay (1st District-Makati City).

Heart Evangelista’s husband, Senator Chiz Escudero won as governor for the province of Sorsogon, while Bulacan Vice Governor Daniel Fernando was reelected for the third time.

Actor ER Ejercito lost his bid for reelection as governor of Laguna.

It was a “walk in the park” for Jolo Revilla, as he ran unopposed and was reelected for a third term as vice governor of Cavite. Jukebox Queen Imelda Papin also won as vice governor of Camarines Sur. Other celebrities who won in the local level are: Isko Moreno - Mayor, City of Manila Vico Sotto - Mayor, Pasig City (son of Vic Sotto and Coney Reyes) Richard Gomez - Ormoc City Lani Mercado - Mayor, Bacoor, Cavite Andrea Bautista-Ynares - Mayor, Antipolo, Rizal Ina Alegre (Jennifer Cruz) - Mayor, Pola, Oriental Mindoro Vergel Meneses - Mayor, Bulakan, Bulacan Gian Sotto - Vice Mayor, Quezon City (son of Sen. Tito

Sotto and Helen Gamboa) Jestoni Alarcon - Board Member, 1st District-Rizal Province Angelica Jones-Alarva - Board Member, 3rd DistrictLaguna Jhong HIlario - Councilor, Makati City Hero Bautista - Councilor, Quezon City JC Parker - Councilor, Angeles City Charee Pineda - Councilor, Valenzuela City Jomari Yllana, Wahoo Sotto, Ryan Yllana and Vandolph Quizon - Councilors, Paranaque City Ato Agustin - Councilor, San Fernando, Pampanga Dondon Hontiveros - Councilor, Cebu City Yoyong Martirez - Councilor, Pasig City Paul Artadi - Councilor, San Juan Franz Pumaren - Councilor, Quezon City Mark Macapagal - Pampanga A number of candidates who are celebrities — or have showbiz connections — unfortunately did not make the win.

One is Bonoy Gonzaga, father of Toni and Alex Gonzaga, who lost his bid for mayor in Taytay Rizal.

Ara Mina’s father, Chuck Mathay, also did not win as Mayor of Quezon City. Lito Lapid’s son, Mark, lost the mayoral race in Porac Pampanga.

Losing their bid for vice mayor are Gary Estrada (Cainta, Rizal), Roderick Paulate (Quezon City), Andrea del Rosario (Calatagan, Batangas), Jeremy Marquez (Paranaque) and Monsour del Rosario (Makati City).

EMPLOYMENT

Incumbent Sen. Grace Poe, daughter of movie queen Susan Roces and the late King of Philippine Movies Fernando Poe Jr., is at the no. 2 spot in the unofficial results for senator.

Star for All Seasons Vilma Santos-Recto was reelected as representative of Lipa City, Batangas.

Lucy Torres-Gomez is going to serve another term in Congress for the 4th district of Leyte after a landslide win. Her husband, actor Richard Gomez, also won as mayor of Ormoc.

Isko Moreno, won as mayor of Manila, beating former mayor and president Joseph “Erap” Estrada.

Beautiful actress Janine Gutierrez shows her acting prowess as one of the lead stars of GMA 7’s toprated primetime series, “Dragon Lady.”

Handsome actor Benjamin Alves is the lead actor of the newest teleserye on GMA 7, “Nang Dahil Sa Pag-ibig,” which will premiere on Monday, May 20.

SERVICES

Holiday Inn in San Francisco catering and event manager Marc Garvida arrived this week from the Philippines where he attended their family reunion in Ilocos Norte.

Health@Heart PhiliP S. Chua, MD, FaCS, FPCS WEDNESDAY last week, while waiting at O’Hare Airport in Chicago for our flight to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to attend the graduation of our granddaughter Sydney; my wife, Farida, and I saw a cute, cheerful, very active toddler, who reminded us fondly of our five children and ten grandchildren at that age. As a pediatrician, Farida guessed the baby girl’s age correctly, as we overheard the father telling a lady “16 months old.” Personally, I find them most enjoyable and adorable between ages one to three, and especially challenging at age two: Terrible Two, when they start to develop their personality and love to say “no!,” asserting their independence.

The stage I truly marvel at, even today, is the initiation of life when the sperm meets the ovum which starts fertilization from one cell, geometrically and progressively dividing, eventually growing into an embryo, then fetus. How a new human being comes to life and how DNA maps and guides the entire process are amazing and mind-boggling, to say the least.

To me, it is nothing short of a miracle. The progress of the fetal development compounds the excitement and interest. And the curiosity and the queries abound.

What is the timeline of fetal development?

The cells in the embryo begin to organize themselves into the fetus’s brain, face, eyes, ears, and nose between the 4th and 5th week of pregnancy. The heart starts to beat at about 22 days after conception, but on the ultrasound, the beating heart of the fetus is seen in about 5 weeks from the last menstrual period of the mother.

At 18 weeks, the baby begins to hear, more sensitive at week 24 when the ears are developing better. Between weeks 25th and 26th, it responds to voices and noise in the womb.

The baby at this stage is able to

Miracle of life

hear music, the mother’s breathing, motion, stomach growls, and heartbeat. Outside sounds are muted by half in the uterus, muffled by the amniotic fluid (like a shock absorber), where the baby floats. Constant exposure to loud noises could cause hearing defect in the fetus.

The mother’s voice is the most significant, familiar and soothing sound the baby hears, which the baby in the womb can recognize by the third trimester (28 weeks).

Its heartbeat increases when the mother is speaking, showing their awareness and alertness.

How large is the fetus at 25 weeks?

At 25 weeks of gestation, the fetus is about 13.1 inches tall and 1.7 pounds in weight.

They already look like a human being, a very tiny version of a full term baby. Normal full term delivery is 40 weeks (10 months).

Those born at 25 weeks are tiny and fragile, but with modern neonatology care, most make it, but some do not survive.

What are the items not to eat/drink when pregnant?

Some of the foods/drinks to minimize or, better yet, to avoid during pregnancy, a vital and truly delicate stage in the life of a woman and her baby, include: high-mercury contaminated fish (swordfish, tune, especially albacore tuna, king mackerel, shark.

The US-FDA recommends 8-12 ounces of fish low in mercury, like salmon, shrimp, cod, catfish, tilapia, canned-light non-albacore tuna. These fatty-fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids, healthy, and important to the growing fetus.

Soft drinks are toxic. To avoid bacterial and parasitic infections for herself and the baby, expectant mothers should totally avoid undercooked or raw fish, raw meat, raw eggs, raw sprouts, unwashed produce, unpasteurized milk and dairy products, processed meats (hot dogs, ham, bacon, sausages), and organ meats. Some of the infections from any foods could lead to premature or stillbirth.

Caffeine intakes should be less than 200 mg, about 2 cups a day. Of course, smoking (cigarettes or e-cigs) and alcohol intake are absolutely prohibited,

since they increase the risk for premature/still birth, low-birth weight, mental deficiency, increased risks for respiratory and many other diseases.

Why the title of my book?

I have been asked countless times why I chose to title my book “Let’s Stop ‘Killing’ Our Children,” when in fact it is a home health reference manual for healthy lifestyle and disease prevention at the cellular (DNA) level of children and adults as well. It is a pre-emptive-proactive strategy for parents to save their children, no matter the age, from unhealthy habits and behaviors and illnesses. It has nothing to do with abortion or murdering children. My rationale: If we do not teach our children by example (like parents who smoke, drink alcoholic beverage beyond one or two drinks a day, who do not watch their diet and weight, who do not exercise, and who allow their children to consume soft drinks of any kind, which are literally toxic), are obviously exposing their children to bad habits and unhealthy behavior…thus contributing to, and increasing, their to risk to develop diseases, shortened life span and premature death. The word “killing” (as in killing or pampering or spoiling children in the name of love) is in quotation marks as a metaphor. Children are best nurtured with wisdom-guided love and care. Parents and guardians not positively contributing to their children’s health by default are certainly shortening their potential longevity. (Reference available at philipSchua.com, amazon.com, and at central. com.ph) How should society manage population growth?

The total world population is more than 7.7 billion and the global population clock is continuously ticking (about 200,000 growth a day) as new births and deaths are officially counted. If society wants to manage global (or even domestic) population growth for the survival of the human species, it is certainly wiser and more compassionate to achieve the goal by avoiding pregnancy and providing excellent environment and healthcare

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The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - May 17, 2019

Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond

The Bucket List Let the Music Move You 10th of a Series

Monette aDeva Maglaya

“ … And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”

— Ascribed to Friedrich Nietzsche

CARE to dance?

Most people have rhythm embedded in their DNA. Music moves them emotionally and physically. Music is a powerful gravity-defying force that can speak to the soul.

Watch when people listen to an upbeat Michael Jackson tune or even a Strauss waltz piece and before long, they will transform any empty space into a dance floor, dancing by themselves, or even trip the light fantastic if they are lucky enough to be with someone who shares their love for music and dancing.

Test yourself if you have rhythm in you. See if a few strains of any kind of music move you emotionally and get you busting a few moves yourself.

Want to see real honest to goodness dancing? Check out the video on youtube titled “Old movie stars dance to Uptown Funk” sang by Bruno Mars. It is this wonderfully edited and seamlessly spliced YouTube video of the Hollywood stars of a past golden era, exhibiting real talent in dancing.

I just love watching the mixing of dance talent and current modern beat. The video editor, whoever he or she may be, deserves praise. Kudos!

Fred Astaire, in my opinion, is beyond compare. There will never be another Astaire on earth who can take to the dance floor and make it look so easy.

Sigh … The music he danced to seemed welded into his bones.

But such perfection in movement didn’t come without a price. He must have practiced until his bones and muscles at the end of each rehearsal day cried out for mercy. He must have burned out so much energy that accounted for his lean physique and lightness of feet.

But we don’t’ have to be that great of a dancer to enjoy the music and move to its beat.

Dancing is exhilarating. If you want real justification to ‘bust a move’ as they say, dancing is real good exercise and is fun! Exercise, as you probably know, is one of only 2 ways (laughter being the other one) that the body naturally produces endorphin — that feel-good, healthy hormone that is still by far, the best medicine for both body and spirit. We all have it in us and is absolutely free.

So go ahead, even if you have two left feet, and tend to step on your partner’s feet when dancing. Shed your inhibitions and DANCE! Let the music move you. With dedicated repetition and practice, you might even surprise yourself one day with a dance routine.

Cut back the time spent online. We fritter away much

of our time browsing and imbibing toxic things from the internet that wear away and erode the joy of our souls during our time here on earth. Get off your backside and listen to music that resonates with your body as you cook, clean your car, clean out the garage or do other mind numbing chores.

If all else fails, start humming as you work. My cousin, who has been a dentist for decades and has just retired in her early eighties, used to hum as she worked on her patients’ mouths. She was passionate about her work and it showed.

The music pours out of her.

When her husband was still alive, they would hit the dance floor at parties whenever they could.

Music makes things easier as the arduous tasks get done.

If you do mental work like writing or analysis that needs intense focus and you tend to get easily distracted, listen to soft, unobtrusive instrumental music so the words don’t get in the way. On hot summer nights when sleep is elusive and the air conditioning is busted, listen and fall asleep to the sounds of gentle rain on your smartphone. It’s hypnotic. This beats Continued on Page SF7

for all people, especially for children and our senior population. Not by ethnic cleansing, murder, or any form of termination of life. The most important tenet in the Hippocratic Oath we took as physicians is Primum non nocere, a Latin phrase meaning, “First, to do no harm,” a sacred, solemn, and poignant promise

healers thousands of years ago and today have made. If we are unable to do anything to help a fellowman or any living creature, the least we can do, as healthcare providers, or even as ordinary people anywhere in the world with integrity and compassion, is to respect life and do no harm.

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 foundation in the United States.

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

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SF6

people & events The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - May 17, 2019

McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wakes up breakfast with award-Winning dance team Kinjaz

The CTV Files

ATTY. LILLI BERBANO BACULI, ESQ

RECENTLY, I was reminded that our law firm will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary this May 2019.

Though I joined this amazing band of legal warriors only in 2012, I have witnessed first hand what good lawyering is as itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supposed to be. Here in storytelling through dance and new media.

Chicago, Ill â&#x20AC;&#x201C; McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is reminding San Diego where I am based, customers there is a better way to breakfast by Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve expanded their roles on this campaign the county seal bears the to encompass their DIY mentality as the spot celebrating some of its most iconic breakfast words: The Noblest Motive is not only showcases the unique sleepwalking menu items, including the English McMuffin, the Public Good. I do believe style created by Kinjaz but also their original made with a freshly-cracked USDA Grade A that we here at Chua Tinsay music, visual and creative direction, and proegg paired with extra lean Canadian bacon and Vega embody exactly duction force. The key team behind the scenes that, lawyering in service to and a slice of melty American cheese on a are Jon Shih and Gerald Nonato on visuals, warm toasted English muffin with real butter. our community, for the public For this campaign, the Golden Arches has part- Kinjaz co-founder Mike Song, manager LeeJ good.

Razalan, and producer Addy Chan on pronered with award-winning dance team Kinjaz What I have learned is duction, all Asian Americans known for their in its latest television commercial promoting that part of what it means to extensive contributions to dance. its freshly made breakfast menu items. The be a good lawyer and advoMcDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s has been a leader in the break- cate, is to remain calm. This spot features Kinjaz co-founder Anthony Lee fast category since the innovation of the iconic is especially important as we and members Lawrence Kao, Vinh Nguyen, JD sandwich that transformed it in 1971 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Egg navigate through the uncerMcElroy and Justin Valles, caught sleeping on McMuffin. McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moved to give custom- tain and uncharted waters in breakfast and waking up to a hot and delicious ers more of their favorite breakfast items at McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s breakfast sandwich.

Immigration policies of late. any time of the day when it introduced All Day This collaboration is the latest McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Did you know that the Breakfast in 2015 in response to consumer de- most part, things are opcommercial that features Asian American mand. Other positive changes include McDon- erating as usual at the U.S. talent, following the recent spot with global Kaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s move from margarine to real butter and pop star Amber Liu and digital influencer Mike Immigration and Citizenship Bow for the Bacon on Classics campaign earlier a commitment to fully transition to cage-free Services (USCIS)? In fact, in eggs in the U.S. and Canada by 2025. The U.S. some District Offices, things this year. Working with the Kinjaz continues is already 33% of the way toward fulfilling its the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to promote diversity have moved very quickly for commitment, which means we will serve more across its marketing campaigns and reflecting some cases. For example, we than 726 million cage-free eggs in 2019. the communities it operates in and serves. have seen Adjustment InterAbout McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s USA â&#x20AC;&#x153;Breakfast is an important part of the day view schedules and NaturaliMcDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s serves a variety of menu opfor all Kinjaz members and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re honored to zation Interview schedules set tions made with quality ingredients to more work with McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s again, from our first in about 4 months. However, than 25 million customers every day. Ninetylocal breakfast delivery for All Day Breakfast we are still seeing delayed five percent of McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 14,000 U.S. restau- processing times in more popin 2015 to the current national campaignâ&#x20AC;? said rants are independently owned and operated Anthony Lee, co-creator of Kinjaz. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inspirular District Offices like Los ing and uplifting to see McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s continuing by businessmen and women. For more inforAngeles and San Francisco. mation, visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us to supporting our community of talented and Because timing is eveon Twitter @McDonalds and Facebook www. diverse performers. rything, here are the most facebook.com/mcdonalds.

The Kinjaz were formed in 2010 and are common applications that (Advertising Supplement) individuals should pay close known for intricate choreography and creative attention to for eligibility requirements and filing window.

Removal of conditions on residence alendar of Events Removing conditions on residence is a requirement: this application must be filed before deadline. This application is specific to those who were initially given a â&#x20AC;&#x153;CRâ&#x20AC;? or conditional resident status, typically for individuals who acquired permanent resident status through marriage to a

Inspired by their original â&#x20AC;&#x153;sleepwalkingâ&#x20AC;? choreography, Kinjaz kickstarts their day with craveable and delicious McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s breakfast

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across

America

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The calm in the eye of the storm: Celebrating 10 years of service to our community U.S. citizen. Current processing times for Removal of Conditions on Residence is estimated to be around 17 to 35.5 months. Individuals who are required to file for their Removal of Conditions should file their applications as soon as they are eligible to do so, during the specifically limited 90-day filing window.

Deferred Action (DACA) renewals The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) reports that as of January 22, 2019, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the U.S. Supreme court had not taken action on the Trump Administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s request to expedite a ruling on the court decisions that keep DACA program in place.â&#x20AC;? The new term for the Supreme Court starts this October 2019. For now, â&#x20AC;&#x153;DACA protections will likely remain in placeâ&#x20AC;? under current court rulings.

Individuals who were previously granted DACA may request renewal of their deferred action and their employment authorization with the appropriate fee or approved fee exemption request at the USCIS designated filing location, and in accordance with instructions in the Form I-821D and form I-765 applications. The filing window is between 150 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 120 days from the expiration of the current DACA grant.

USCIS is not accepting requests from individuals who have never been granted deferred action under DACA. Moreover, USCIS will not accept or approve applications for Advance Parole request from DACA recipients.

Naturalization applications Naturalization applications are currently estimated at 10 to 19.5 months. Applicants who are eligible to file for their Naturalization application â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at the 3-year mark or the 5-year mark â&#x20AC;&#x201C; are encour-

aged to file their application at the soonest time they are able to do so, especially given the long wait times to be scheduled for an interview.

Note that Naturalization Applications are highly scrutinized, and individuals should consult with a licensed and experienced immigration attorney with regard to potential issues in their immigration history that may come up in the Naturalization process.

Credit card payments now accepted for filing fees This may be a relief for some. USCIS announced last year that it will accept credit cards as a form of payment for certain applications, such as Adjustment Applications. Previously, USCIS had begun to accept credit cards as a form of payment for Naturalization applications.

Consult with a licensed and experienced immigration attorney before filing We urge individuals to pause and take the time to consult with a licensed and experienced immigration attorney before submitting any application with USCIS. We here at Chua Tinsay and Vega are dedicated to providing our clients with competent service. We look forward to working with you and on your case. Thank you for 10 years of your trust and loyalty. *** Atty. Lilli Baculi Collins is an associate attorney with Chua Tinsay & Vega, A Professional Legal Corporation (CTV) - a full service law firm with offices 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) 955-6277; (415) 495-8088; (916) 449-3923; lbaculi@ctvattys.com; www. chuatinsayvega.com.

(Advertising Supplement)

M AY 1 7-1 9

Santa Maria Ilocos Sur 12th Global Reunion in Honolulu, Hawaii The Santa Maria Ilocos Sur Global Association (SMISGA) and the Santa Marians of Hawaii are sponsoring the Santa Maria Ilocos Sur 12th Global Reunion in Honolulu, Hawaii from May 17-19, 2019. The festivities will start with a meet and greet on May 17 at 5 p.m. at the Ala Moana Hotel Hibiscus Ballroom to be followed by a gala night on May 18 at 5 p.m. at the Dole Cannery Pomaikai Ballroom. A picnic is also scheduled at Ala Moana Beach Parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Magic Island on Sunday, May 19 starting at 10 a.m. The ticket to attend all the events is $130.00 per person. Due to limited space, reservations must be made not later than March 31, 2019. Hats and t-shirts will also be on sale for $20. For further information, call Nena Empleo at (808) 384-0394, Carlito Soria at (808) 487-3370, Alex Pena at (702) 373-9522 or Orlino Baldonado at (865) 789-8324. Leave a message if thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no answer. Additional information is also on SMISGA.com and Facebook @ SMISGA19FB. Proceeds from the events will be for various projects in Santa Maria Ilocos Sur and in Hawaii. Donations are tax deductible since SMISGA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

M AY 1 8

Free oil ďŹ lter & motor oil recycling event in East Los Angeles ATTENTION ALL EAST LA RESIDENTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Everyone is invited to bring in their used motor oil and used oil filters in exchange for a free new oil filter on Saturday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will be held at Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly Auto Parts (722 S. Atlantic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90022). Recycling motor oil and filters helps save our environment and keeps our water clean. So, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss out â&#x20AC;&#x201C; weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re making it easier for you to keep your car running smoothly and efficiently.

Pan Asian Citizenship Event in Monrovia, CA Advancing Justice - Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA) will be hosting a free Pan Asian Citizenship Clinic on Saturday, May 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Santa Anita YMCA (501 South Mountain Avenue, Monrovia, CA 91016). The clinic will provide attendees free citizenship services, including: eligibility screenings, application assistance, and legal review by qualified immigration attorneys. Services will be offered in seven Asian languages and Spanish. Appointments are required - for more information, or to schedule an appointment, please call: (888) 349-9695 for English or (855) 300-2552 for Tagalog.

M AY 1 8 - J U N E 29

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tagolilong: Hidden in Plain Sightâ&#x20AC;? exhibit in San Pedro, CA An interactive homage to Indigenous California Habitat will be on exhibit from May 18 to June 29, 2019. Created by LA-based artists-collaborators, champoy and Sarita Doe, it will open on Saturday, May 18th, 2019 from 3:00pm-6:00pm at Pinta*Dos Philippine Art Gallery which is located at 479 W Sixth Street, Suite 108, Historic Arts District, San Pedro, CA 90731. Tagolilong: Hidden in Plain Sight will be the sixth exhibit at Pinta*Dos Gallery since it was inaugurated in June 2017. The Gallery is open from Wednesday to Friday, 3:00pm to 6:00pm except on First Thursdays when it is open until 8pm. It is also open by appointment.

For further information, email Linda Nietes-Little, Founder of the gallery at info@pintadosgallery.com Also visit their website: http://www.pintadosgallery.com , facebook and instagram pages.

M AY 25

Marist School Marikina to celebrate 55th anniversary in Buena Park, CA Marist Alumni Abroad, coordinated by Arthur â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Jojoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; P. Armada â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;77, invites alumni, family and friends, and the public who are interested, to the 55th anniversary grand reunion of the Marist School Marikina, to be held on Saturday, May 25, at the Knottâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Berry Farm Hotel (7675 Crescent Ave., Buena Park, CA 90620). The eventâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Celebrating Our Marist Life...

The Legacy Continues,â&#x20AC;? hosted by Marist Alumni Abroad. Dinner and dance: 6 pm to 11 pm; donation: $55/pax (per person). Contact person is overall chair Jojo P. Armada at (626) 2163529 or email: armadaarthur@yahoo.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

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Obando Fertility Rites to be recreated in Burlingame

by Rudy M. VieRnes THE Obando Fertility Rites is an age-old ritual held during summer in Obando, Bulacan, Philippines. The festivities will be re-created for a day in Burlingame, California, on Saturday, May 18, at Our Lady of Angels parish and sponsored by the Obandenian Association of Northern California in cooperation with the OLA Filipino American Community of Burlingame.

The traditional festivities are held in a three-day fair in Obando, north of Manila, in mid-May to honor its trio of patron saints, each day with its quaint anecdotes. But in the end, it encapsulates one wish list of the revelers — many whom are childless couples coming from out-oftown — to grant a spirit of life into the wombs of their infertile wives.

They pray and sashay in the streets with replicas of the saints on their shoulders to the tune of a fandango dance “Santa Clara Pinong Pino” (Saint Clare, Most Refined).

And lo and behold, after nine months, they got what they wanted: a child. That’s the reason why Obandenians throughout the world are nostalgic about these dance rituals in mid-summer in their homeland. In testimony to the magic and mystery of the ritual, a fertility and dance monument was installed in front of the Obando municipal hall, while the National Historical Commission put a historical marker between the church and municipal building.

The funny lyrics of the song sung by the revelers during the procession are: “Santa Clara Pinong Pino/Ako po ay bigyan nyo/Ng asawang labintatlo/Sa gastos ’di magreklamo.”

The first day, May 18, is for St. Pascual, the patron saint of fertility, wealth and abundance. St. Pascual’s surname, Baylon, was taken to mean “one who likes to dance” because the Spanish word “bailar” is the verb form of dance. The origin of this festival goes back to the Kasilonawan, an ancient fertility dance said to promote pregnancy in barren women.

May 19 is for Santa Clara (St. Clare, a 13th century nun of Assisi, Italy) who became the first patron saint of Obando and eventually evolved as the patroness of couples satiating for a child. Clara, in Spanish means “claro”

which is the brightening of the skies after a long season of bad weather. This later became the start of a tradition when Obandenians offered eggs to Saint Clare to bring good weather. This belief was replicated in many towns and cities of the country by enthusiasts asking for fine skies when they stage special outdoor celebrations.

May 20 is for Nuestra Senora de Salambao, also known as Our Lady of Salambao, the saint to whom fishermen beseech for a beautiful catch.

Local lore narrates of a miraculous discovery of an image of the Virgin Mary in the net called “salambao” owned by three fishermen. When they thought of bringing the image to neighboring Navotas town their raft suddenly became immovable. They didn’t know the reason. When they decided to deviate to bring the image to Obando their boat quickly lightened and easily navigable. This was to mean that the Virgin wanted her image enshrined at the Obando church and eventually became the patroness of fishermen.

A few years after WWII, then Archbishop of Manila and the Obando parish priest at that time forbade the practice of the ritual because of its pagan origin. There was an outcry. Who would deny the testimonies of many grateful childless couples who soon bore children after joining in the dance ritual? So in 1972, Rev. Fr. Rome R. Fernandez and the Commission of Culture of Obando lifted the ban and revived its practice.

The local tourism industry welcomed it and businesses flourished.

The affair in Burlingame will start with a mass at 11 a.m. to be celebrated by Rev. Fr. Michael Mahoney, OFM, pastor of Our Lady of Angels, followed by a procession of religious replicas borne on the shoulders of the revelers, lunch, games for kids and adults and folk singing to be held in the gym. The public is invited.

The Obandenian Association of Northern California was founded in 1981. Its present officers are Edgardo San Diego, president; Thelma Sy, vice-president; Josephine Claridades-Sanchez, secretary; and Nelia Oblea, treasurer.

Gene Rebosura is the leader of the Fil-Am Community of Our Lady of Angeles of Burlingame.

Zsa Zsa not giving...

From Page SF3 heel but I didn’t let it bother me. I just made jokes about it during the performance.

“I’ve also had my share of hecklers. Once, I was reprimanded when the show didn’t start on time. I had to explain that the delay was caused by a broken amp and that I was also waiting backstage for the bass amplifier to be replaced. But the lady wouldn’t hear me out

and just kept shouting from the audience and blaming me! After much explaining and she was still relentless, I just had to face the audience and went on with the show.”

Since you are past childbearing age, any plan to adopt a child?

“I think raising three girls are good enough.” (Aside from Karylle, Zsa Zsa’s two daughters are Zia and Nicole.)

The Bucket List...

From Page SF5 having to drink those dangerous sleep aids with horrid side effects.

Not all music soothes the soul though. Choose wisely.

There is a smorgasbord of music to choose from and like anything else, our choices determine the outcome. It is no wonder that the younger generations who grew up listening to that so-called music genre of troubling, raspy, jagged sounds that focus on the seedy side of life such as blood, sex, violence, gang culture and others have strayed so far away from what is good.

It was said that there were celestial strains of music by a host of angels floating above the stable in Bethlehem at the time Christ was born more than two thousand years ago. My wild guess is it may have been musical strains of Handel’s “Messiah.”

Was there music in the Garden of Eden? Perhaps yes before sin came to be and Eden

went dank and dark. And if you are living and trying to get to heaven, you may wonder if there is going to be music and dancing there as well.

If lightness of being and freedom from the stranglehold of gravity and earthly concerns characterize life beyond death, the answer is probably a big resounding YES. So while alive and your body and limbs are functional, dance with sheer abandon as you let good music move you. It is purely speculative but I have a gut feeling there is going to be a lot of dancing on an immense celestial dance floor as you bust your heavenly moves on a conga line.

Stand aside, Fred. You’ve got some serious competition up there.

Next week: Another idea to consider for The Bucket List… *** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette. maglaya@asianjournalinc.com

people & events

SF

The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - May 17, 2019

San Francisco Board of Supervisors approves historic Face Surveillance Ban and Oversight Law SAN FRANCISCO — On Tuesday, May 14, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the Stop Secret Surveillance Ordinance, a historic law that brings accountability and oversight to surveillance technology and makes San Francisco the first city in the United States to prohibit government use of face surveillance systems.

The law was authored by Supervisor Aaron Peskin.

In response to the vote, the coalition supporting this legislation, comprised of advocates for civil rights, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, the unhoused, and immigrants’ rights, released the following statement: “We applaud the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for bringing democratic oversight to surveillance technology, and for recognizing that face surveillance is incompatible with a healthy democracy.

By passing this law, the city gave the community a seat at the table and acted decisively to protect its people from the growing danger of face surveillance, a highly invasive technology that would have radically and massively expanded the government’s power to track and control people going about their daily lives. Supported by Bay Area voters, and a broad coalition of privacy, civil rights, and racial justice groups, this powerful measure will protect the safety and civil rights of all San Franciscans who deserve to live their lives without being targeted by dangerous high-tech surveillance.

In the hands of the government, face surveillance would supercharge discriminatory policing, stifle civic engagement, and entangle people with ICE. This law sets a strong standard for public safety in

the digital age. We encourage other communities to say no to face surveillance, and to put rules in place to make sure technology works for the people, not against them.”

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ vote comes as Oakland and Berkeley, California, and Somerville, Massachusetts are also considering a ban on government use of face surveillance.

Polling data shows that California voters overwhelmingly support laws that require public debate and a vote by lawmakers before government agencies can obtain or use surveillance technology. The same data also demonstrates that these voters strongly believe that the government should not be able to deploy face and other biometric surveillance against the public.

The coalition in support of the Stop Secret Surveil-

lance ordinance includes the ACLU of Northern California, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Asian Law Alliance, CAIR California, the Center for Media Justice, Centro Legal De La Raza, the Coalition on Homelessness San Francisco, Color of Change, Data for Black Lives, DSA San Francisco, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Faith in Action Bay Area, Fight for the Future, Freedom of the Press Foundation, the Greenlining Institute, the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, Indivisible San Francisco, Justice for Mario Woods, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Right SF, Media Alliance, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Oakland Privacy, San Francisco Latino Democratic Club, the San Francisco Public Defender Racial Justice Committee, Secure Justice, the Tenth Amendment Center, and the Transgender Law Center.

SF8

The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - May 17, 2019