081719 - Los Angeles Weekend Edition

AUGUST 17-20, 2019 Volume 29 - No. 64 • 4 Sections – 30 Pages

DATELINE

USA

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

Latest Philippine police numbers claim 6,847 killed in drug war

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

AT least 6,847 suspected drug offenders have been killed in alleged shootouts in association with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker and President Rodrigo Duterte’s three-year crackdown immigrant advocate Jose Antonio Vargas gives his a speech as on illegal drugs, according to the latest count by the school officials listen at the dedication ceremony for the newly- Philippine National Police (PNP). opened Jose Antonio Vargas Elementary School on Thursday, August 15.

AJPress photo by Joseph Peralta

Silicon Valley elementary school named after Filipino Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, immigration activist MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.— After seeing two schools close down in the city over the past 19 years, an elementary school named after a Filipino Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and immigration activist was officially opened in a dedication ceremony on Thursday, August 15 attended by district officials, faculty and community members.

The newly-built Jose Antonio Vargas Elementary School — which will initially offer kindergarten to 4th grade due to district rezoning — is named after Jose Antonio Vargas, who has roots in Mountain View.

Vargas was thrust to national prominence when he revealed in 2011 that he was an u PAGE A2

Data from July 1, 2016 to July 31 of this year — presented during the National Summit on Crime Prevention at the Manila Hotel on Thursday, August 15 —showed a total of 256,536 drug offenders were arrested in 163,767 police operations nationwide.

Meanwhile, 1,284,492 drug pushers and users surrendered under the government’s Oplan Tokhang campaign.

A total of 1,547,895 drug suspects have been accounted for since the start of Duterte’s presidency on July 1, 2016.

It can be noted that figure is higher compared to the 5,526 drug suspects killed in anti-drug operations that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported last month. u PAGE A2

PH, US to establish counterterrorism training center in Cavite

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

THE United States and the Philippines on Thursday, August 15 signed an agreement to establish a P520million center in the latter country to combat counterterrorism.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Police Gen. Oscar Albayalde and U.S. Embassy in the Philippines deputy chief of mission John Law signed the memorandum of understanding on behalf of their respective countries to create the state-of-the-art Regional Counterterrorism Training Center.

The funds for the multi-million dollar counterterrorism training center were secured by the U.S. State Department to establish and jointly operate the center, which would be constructed on the grounds of the PNP Academy in Silang, Cavite.

“The U.S. Department of State has secured Php 520 million ($10 million) in counterterrorism partnership u PAGE A3

Philippine National Police Chief Police Gen. Oscar Albayalde (left) and U.S. Embassy in the Philippines deputy chief of mission John Law (right) shake hands after signing a memorandum of understanding on Thursday, August 15 to establish a P520-million state-of-the-art regional counterterrorism training center in Cavite.

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Manila.

States, organizations file US visa application ‘easy’; issuance lawsuits against Trump in PH – embassy admin’s ‘public charge’ rule rate ‘high’ C M R that would affect immigrants by

STATES and organizations around the country are reacting to the public charge rule released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security earlier this week, which would affect immigrants who have received certain public benefits.

California, Oregon, Maine and the District of Columbia are among the states that have filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Trump administration for issuing this rule that could deny immigrants when seeking an extension of state, change of visa or lawful permanent u PAGE A5

HRISTIA ARIE Inquirer.net

AMOS

CONSULAR officials at the U.S. Embassy in Manila dismissed the perception that securing a visa is difficult, noting that the process is “easy and transparent” as seen in the “high” approval rate in the Philippines.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, the embassy’s deputy consul general Kimberly Kelly said the number of visas denied in the Philippines is “much lower” than that of the issuance rate.

“It’s actually not difficult to apply for a U.S. visa. We saw more than 250,000

applicants last year applying for U.S. visas and our approval rate is quite high.

Filipino applicants are actually very good visa applicants,” Kelly pointed out.

Figures from the embassy showed that in 2018, its consular section has issued 204,137 non-immigrant visas, 32,123 immigrant visas, 5,919 fiancé visas, and 929 student visas.

In relaunching m its #WalangSikreto campaign, Kelly noted that the U.S. Embassy in Manila houses one of the largest consular sections in the world.

“There’s no secret in getting a U.S. Vice President Leni Robredo visa; we welcome qualified legitimate

Robredo keeps options Palace: Defacation incident in Boracay open for 2022 presidency u PAGE A2

‘offensive’; tourists may face raps

by NESTOR

CORRALES Inquirer.net

A man puts up a sign to alert visitors that a 100-meter span of Boracay Island’s 4-kilometer beach has been closed for cleanup after a video of a mother allowing her child to defecate on the beach went viral on social media. The area was opened on Thursday, August 15.

Contributed photo

Philstar.com photo

MANILA — Malacañang felt offended over the behavior of two foreign tourists, who let her child defecate on the beach of Boracay while the other buried a diaper in the island’s powdery white sand.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the tourists could face charges.

“Well, there are rules and regulations in that place. So everyone is expected to — whether foreigner or Filipinos tourists alike, whatever — they have to follow rules and that obviously is a violation so they would be subject to suits,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

He advised tourists in the country to follow rules or face charges.

“So we would advise them, if they are here in the Philippines, they have to follow the rules,” he pointed out. “[If] there is, for instance, an ordinance prohibiting those kinds of actions, then they will be sanctioned by the local authorities. If there is such an ordinance, they could be sued or fined,” he also said.

The Palace official said Malacañang was dismayed over the incident given that the government has closed the island resort for six months for rehabilitation and clean-up after President Rodrigo Duterte compared Boracay to a “cesspool.”

“It’s a violation,” Panelo said, referring u PAGE A3

by AJPRESS VICE President Leni Robredo on Tuesday, August 13, said she is keeping her options open regarding the 2022 presidential race.

In a Bloomberg article written by Andreo Calozo, Robredo said she was ready for the presidency but would decide later on whether to stand as the opposition Liberal Party’s main candidate in elections three years from now, when Filipinos will vote on Duterte’s successor.

“If you ask me now, I have no plans, but I am leaving everything open,” she said.

“I wouldn’t have ran for the

vice presidency if I didn’t feel I was ready for the presidency,” Robredo added.

A 54-year old lawyer with an economics degree, Robredo first entered politics as a congresswoman in 2013 — a year after her husband, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, died in a plane crash.

She won the vice presidency with her anti-poverty platform, promising to help those in the fringes of society. She defeated former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. by more than 200,000 votes.

In a June interview, Robredo said her top priority is addressing the country’s present probu PAGE A3

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From the Front Page

US visa application ‘easy’; issuance rate...

PAGE A1 t

know where to find accurate intravelers in the United States,” formation,” she added. she said.

Alongside Kelly during the “The goal of the #Walang- press conference was the emSikreto information campaign bassy’s fraud prevention manis to warn people about scams ager, Leon Genbin, who said and risks of using visa fixers to that it is “important for the Fili[and] to encourage people to be pino public to be aware…and honest when applying for con- to make educated decisions to sular services and let everyone when they decide to apply.”

According to Kelly, applicants of tourist visas are only required to pay an application fee.

“You don’t have to pay a visa fixer or someone else to fill out your paperwork. It’s an online form. That form is universal for the whole world,” she noted.

She further said that the embassy does not “require any applicant coaching.”

“You come in and you see someone like one of us who does the interview. And we look at an applicant’s application.

We interview them based on their application and their purpose of travel and we make the determination if they qualify for that U.S. visa under law,” she explained.

In addition, Genbin said that while applicants are free to do so, there is no particular need to apply for a visa through a travel agency.

He said the problem arises when an agency or a visa fixer would provide fake bank statements or a fake employment history “claiming that that would improve applicants chances of getting a visa.”

“These claims are also patently false…Most of the nonimmigrant visa cases, these documents are certainly not required. So it’s a waste of money for the applicants to do that,” he said.

“We certainly don’t recommend anyone to use services of visa fixers to provide these additional services,” he added.

‘No secrets’ Kelly assured applicants that there are “no secrets” in terms of applying for a U.S. visa and “no special documents” needed to guarantee an issuance.

She reminded tourist visa applicants that they would just need to convince the consular officer that “they intend to abide by the terms of the visa” and “have strong social family and economic ties to their country of residence that will compel them to come back to their country of residence after a short trip to the United States.”

“That’s it, there’s no secret in terms of applying. There’s no special documents. Officers can choose and ask for supporting evidence if the feel the need to,” she said. n

Latest Philippines police numbers...

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The National Police Commission (Napolcom) spearheaded the two-day anti-crime summit that serves as a forum to assess the prevailing crime situation in the Philippines, to monitor the extent of the implementation of government projects, and to formulate strategies that will benefit the community.

Rationalizing the framework for crime prevention in the next three years based on the policy guidelines of Duterte is the summit’s objective.

“This is pursuant to a presidential directive that seeks to end all forms of lawlessness in the country,” Napolcom vice chairman and executive officer Rogelio Casurao said.

As reported by the Philippine Star, the summit ended on Friday, August 16, with the presentation of policy recommendations and closing statements from Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año.

The Napolcom said the summit not only seeks to rationalize the framework for crime prevention for the next three years based on the policy guidelines of the president but also to prepare the National Crime Prevention Program (NCPP) for 2020.

The framework hopes to address policy directions on crime prevention, corruption, criminal justice, counter-insurgency, drug abuse and control, as well as counterterrorism.

Members of the Napolcom Technical Committee on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice were among the participants in the summit.

The committee consists of representatives from the five pillars of the criminal justice system: law enforcement, prosecution, courts, corrections and community, and other sectors of society.

According to Casurao, the annual NCPP is submitted to the President within 60 days before the commencement of each calendar year.

The Napolcom is mandated by Republic Act 6975 and RA 8551 or the PNP Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998, to create a yearly NCPP with the help and cooperation of the agencies operating under the five pillars of criminal justice.

PUP drug test On Thursday, various youth organizations at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) condemned the reported implementation of the mandatory random drug testing for students at the university’s College of Engineering.

Student publication The Engineering Spectrum reported that 40 College of Engineering students were sent to the Mabini campus for testing after they were randomly called from their classes on Wednesday.

Several youth organizations such as Gabriela Youth, Anakbayan and the League of Filipino Students mobilized at the PUP Mabini campus in Manila to condemn the conduct of mandatory random drug testing.

The National Union of Students of the Philippines, meanwhile, noted that the drug testing was implemented despite the ongoing process to revise the student handbook that provides its guide-

lines.

“On top of giving the College of Engineering Council Board a late notice, the admin also did not provide a waiver to notify the parents and request their consent,” said the group.

“It cannot be denied that mandatory random drug testing in schools is just another avenue for the war on drugs to be waged in campuses. As the union stated before, in a political climate in which vigilante killing supersedes due process, everyone can be a victim,” it added.

Kabataan party-list pointed out that Oplan Tokhang would be institutionalized inside schools and universities by the policy.

“This also serves as a risk to the security and privacy of the students and will do nothing in addressing the root causes of dangerous drugs and criminality in the country,” it said.

Earlier, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) ordered all tertiary institutions to implement mandatory random drug testing on students in line with the provisions of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act. The guidelines aim to promote “drug-free” campuses and further the legitimate interest of the government in preventing and stopping dangerous drug use among the youth, according to CHED chairman J. Prospero de Vera III. He assured that the memorandum would see to it that the drug testing policies of higher education institutions are reasonable as well as not violative of the fundamental rights of students. n

A crowded school auditorium was on hand to listen to Vargas during the dedication ceremony of the Mountain View elementary school named after him.

AJPress photos by Joseph Peralta

Silicon Valley elementary school named after...

PAGE A1 t undocumented immigrant, having been brought to the United States in 1993 at the age of 12 to live with his grandparents. He has narrated his story in a 2013 film called “Documented” and in a memoir, “Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen,” published in 2018.

The undocumented Filipino journalist was among the list of individuals suggested as plausible choices for the school name.

The others were former U.S. President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, former Mountain View School Board member Gail Urban Moore, Bay Area philanthropist Ruth Clouse Chance and U.S. Navy Admiral Grace Hopper.

According to current school district Board of Trustees President Tamara Wilson, who was then Mountain View Whisman trustee, the Obamas and Vargas were neck-to-neck during the count, followed by Moore, and it all came down to a board vote.

“I believe it was four yes and one abstention on voting for Mr. Vargas as the name of the school,” Wilson told the Asian Journal.

For his part, Mountain View Whisman School District Superintendent Dr. Ayinde Rudolph related to the Asian Journal that the School Board of Trustees went into further deliberations as members wanted to also honor the other top choices.

“So they named the preschools after Barack & Michelle Obama, and dedicated the new boardroom to the former board member, which is now known as the Gail Urban Moore Leadership Center,” he said.

In his speech before a jampacked auditorium on Thursday, Vargas confessed to nerves as he was preparing the night before the dedication ceremony.

“I have been traveling nonstop all across the country. I’ve given a thousand speeches in eight years probably. I even speak to people who don’t like me, who don’t agree with me,” he said, to audience laughter. “You think that someone who gives that many speeches will be fine with this…This has been very nervewracking to write this speech, and I think I’ve been so nervous

The dedication plaque for the Jose Antonio Vargas Elementary School in the Mountain View Whisman School District.

District Superintendent Dr. Ayinde Rudolph (holding the dedication plaque), School Board of Trustees president Tamara Wilson and trustees Jose Gutierrez Jr., Devon Conley, Laura Blakely, and Ellen Wheeler, Principal Vernorris Taylor, and school staff and faculty pose with Jose Antonio Vargas at the dedication ceremony for the newly-opened Jose Antonio Vargas Elementary School in the Mountain View Whisman School District.

because I have never given a speech in front of an elementary school.”

But he received advice from a new friend, who has been a teacher for a long time, and who told him that “they [the students] are safe with you if you are honest with them.”

After stating “So, I’m going to be honest,” Vargas described himself as a storyteller and told the audience how he and his friends founded Define American.

“And since I am a storyteller, Define American was founded on the power of stories and the fact that all of us, regardless of where we came from and what we look like and what we sound like, all of us have a story. We tell stories to bring people together…regardless of what makes us dif-

ferent, we also have many things in common,” Vargas said.

It was then when he told his story of being brought to America as a 12-year-old to live in Mountain View, about a mile away from this new school. Despite not speaking English all that well, Vargas managed to become friends with a student who initially remarked to him that he was weird on his first day of school.

“School wasn’t just a place where I made friends. School was a place where I was mentored and encouraged…where I was protected and mentored by teachers who didn’t just care about my grades but they actually cared about who I was and where I came from. They cared about my story,” Vargas stated,

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A

In conversation: Tulsi Gabbard wants to restore America as a model for diplomacy, equality The U.S. congresswoman and 2020 Democratic candidate on what the Trump administration is getting wrong on foreign affairs

by Klarize

Medenilla AJPress

NAAC/NDC RALLY & PRESSCON IN CALIFORNIA STATE CAPITOL. The National Asian American Coalition and the National Diversity Coalition held a press conference and victory rally in front of the South Steps of the California State Capitol in Sacramento, CA on Monday, August 12 to celebrate their recent court victory that returns $331 million to the National Home Mortgage Special Fund (NHMSF) which is intended to aid distressed homeowners in California. Photo above shows NAAC/NDC officials, pastors, and members at the event.

AJPress photo by Joseph Peralta

National Asian group celebrates housing settlement victory at California capitol

NatioNal asian american organizations that sought the return of $331 million to a fund for struggling homeowners attended a victory rally in Sacramento on Wednesday, august 14. the National asian american Coalition and the National Diversity Coalition, which led the lawsuit against then-California Governor Jerry Brown and legislative Democrats who diverted the funds for debt repayment, recently won suits to have the money returned to its original intent. Several members of the Republican State Caucus from the assembly and the Senate attended the presscon and gave brief remarks, including assembly Republican leader Marie Waldron, assemblymember tom lackey, assemblymember Jim Patterson, assemblymemberJay obernolte, and assemblymember Devon Mathis; and Senate Republican leader Shannon Grove, Senator John Moorlach, Senator Patricia Bates and Senator ling ling Chang. the California Supreme Court upheld two lower court rulings which directed the State of California to return the funds to their original intent. in July, legislative Republicans delivered a letter to the current governor requesting him to outline a plan to repay the funds.

Current state Governor Gavin Newsom earlier this month announced that he would return the funds to the rightful fund. as previously reported by the Asian Journal, the State of California received $410 million in a 2012 settlement with the five largest mortgage services in the country: ally, Bank of america, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. after the na-

tional mortgage crisis, these companies were charged with multiple federal violations and agreed to pay more than $20 billion to affected homeowners. the companies also made a separate payment of $2.5 billion to states to be used for a mortgage fund as a resource for homeowners and renters, with California receiving $410 million. However, $331 million of what the state received was illegally diverted to pay off state debts. led by executive director NaaC/NDC president and CEo Faith Bautista, Robert Gnaizda, NDC General Counsel Steven Sugarman, pastors from different churches, and members of the NaaC/NDC, the organizers called on Newsom to consult with HUD-approved agencies and homeowners regarding the disbursement and distribution of the funds, and to follow through on his promise to assist distressed homeowners in the state. officials from the NaaC and NDC were also scheduled to hold meetings with state officials as well as Democrats and Republicans from both the assembly and the Senate to present their proposals to strategically and effectively use the funds to help distressed homeowners in California.

Faith Bautista, President and CEo of the National asian american Coalition said, “i am deeply grateful for the leadership of the Senate Republican Caucus and their advocacy for the past several years. Senate Republicans continue to press both former Governor Brown and Governor Newsom to do the right thing and repay the funds. this is a victory for all

PH, US to establish...

PAGE A1 t funds to establish and jointly operate the center with the PNP,” the U.S. embassy said in a statement. it continued, “once constructed, the center will provide counterterrorism training for law enforcement units and personnel from the Philippines and regional partner nations.” the embassy said the initiative of the project came following a request from the PNP for a state-of-the-art facility to provide

enhanced regional counterterrorism training. it also stated that the training center reflects the U.S.’ enduring commitment to support Philippine counterterrorism efforts and work together to address threats to peace and security in the region. the multimillion state-of-theart training center will also be a part of Manila and Washington’s deepening bilateral counterterrorism partnership. n

Robredo keeps options open...

PAGE A1 t lems, not the 2022 presidential elections.

However, she did not rule out the possibility of running for president, maintaining that the presidency is a matter of destiny.

“Everything is possible. But it’s not something that is planned, i think it’s destiny,” Robredo said.

“the presidential election is still very far. in a year, many things could happen, much more in three years,” she added. at present, Robredo is facing an electoral protest filed

by Marcos as well as a sedition complaint filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal investigation and Detection Group. n

Palace: Defacation incident...

PAGE A1 t to the two incidents. “of course we are not happy about that. that is not good because we are supposed to be cleaning it then some people are messing it up, right? that’s not good.” asked about the Palace’s take on the twin repulsive incidents, Palace said: “Whether they are Filipinos or tourists it’s offensive to the sight. it’s not a good scene.”

He then suggested: “Maybe there should be portable restrooms there. We also need to help the tourists.” insulted in a belated statement, Panelo called the acts of the foreign tourists in Boracay as “discourtesy.”

He said that “we feel insulted with such discourtesy done in the beautiful island this administration recently rehabilitated with intense and collective efforts employed by various de-

partments and agencies of the government.”

He commended the Department of Environment and Natural Resources “for the swift action in ordering an immediate clean-up” of the area.

He also hailed the Department of tourism “for taking the right step of coordinating with tour operators and travel agencies on the proper travel etiquette in the Philippines so as to avoid a similar occurrence from taking place again.”

He then asked heads of local government units to “strictly implement” the anti-littering ordinance in their respective jurisdictions and apprehend violators.

“We urge everyone – locals and foreign nationals alike – to help in making and maintaining our surroundings and our communities clean and safe for everyone’s appreciation and pleasure,” he said. n

Californians.” “the $331 million was only intended to help homeowners abused by lenders during the mortgage and foreclosure crisis, not to pay down the state debt.

Senate Republicans are committed to ensuring the original terms of the mortgage settlement are met and the State of California is in compliance with the court ruling,” said Senate Republican leader Shannon Grove. n

aMoNG the pool of Democrats vying for the White House, U.S. Rep. tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is on the younger side but that doesn’t mean she’s politically naive.

During a recent call with ethnic media, Gabbard, 38, discussed her plans for the presidency, focussing on a couple of issues on which Democrats are notoriously perceived as weak: foreign relations and nuclear disarmament.

From 2013 to 2019, Gabbard was a member of the House Committee on Foreign affairs. in 2015, she became a major in the U.S. army (she enlisted during the iraq War in 2003) and continues to serve in the Hawaii army National Guard.

Gabbard is the daughter of Samoan-american Hawaii State Senator Mike Gabbard. During the call, the 2020 hopeful acknowledged the significance of her candidacy as, not only a Pacific islander herself, but also as a representative of the only state that has a majority-minority population. “i didn’t know the fullness of my own ethnic background until i did an episode of ‘Finding Your Roots’ and i learned so much through that process and how my ancestors came from Southeast asia, they came across oce-

Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

ania and the Pacific ocean. i had no idea i was 26% asian before that,” she said. on promoting more asian american and Pacific islander (aaPi) representation in government, she praised the diversity she grew up with in Hawaii that “significantly shaped” her.

“Speaking from a personal perspective about the diversity of our country and understanding what unites us, understanding the values and principles that bring us together that cross party lines, racial divides, religious di-

vides and all these things that our president is unfortunately using to tear us apart,” Gabbard added. “this is the unifying principle that we have before that exists within our founding documents and the core of our democracy.” two years ago, Gabbard infamously traveled to Syria on a quiet “fact-finding” mission and met with the controversial Syrian President Bashar al-assad, after which she questioned the notion that assad ordered the use of chemical weapons on Syrian civilians. this drew outrage from Democratic leaders who criticized the Hawaii senator for meeting with a “murderous dictator.”

But that move propelled Gabbard into the national spotlight as a maverick in the foreign affairs arena and has elevated her as one of the more outspoken, daring figures in diplomacy. on the same day as this teleconference, the United States formally withdrew from the intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (iNF treaty), which was an arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia (then the Soviet Union). as a way to quell the growing tensions between the two nations and prevent nuclear warfare, the treaty banned landbased missiles, but in october 2018, President Donald trump announced the U.S. would be

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withdrawing from the treaty.

Trump reasoned that Russia had been “violating it for many years,” but foreign affairs experts have criticized Trump’s decision, including Gabbard who suggested that the move has kicked “off a new nuclear arms race.”

The congresswoman is an advocate for diplomatic negotiations, saying, “The only alternative to diplomacy is war, and that is why it is so critical to have leaders of countries with the courage to meet with adversaries or dictators with the understanding that it is only by doing so that we can reach these historic agreements to reduce the nuclear proliferation that is now kicked off by action from President Trump and keep us safe.”

Gabbard also condemned the current president’s decision in 2018 to withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR), the UN’s agency dealing with refugees and asylum seekers, on the grounds that it had been too reproving of the nation of Israel. She also criticized the notion and the history of the United States acting as

“the world’s police,” especially in regards to the U.S. role in other countries’ regime changes (notably in Central America and Venezuela) which contribute to the refugee crisis at the border and around the world.

“This really gets to the core of why it’s necessary to learn from the mistakes of the past because regime change efforts on the part of the United States have had such a destabilizing effect on these countries — the people in these countries are suffering the consequences of short-sighted, failed foreign policy,” Gabbard said, adding that the Trump administration’s move to cut off aid to these countries is a wrong that needs to be corrected in order to “bring positive change and empower these people.”

An opponent of war and as an active duty member of the U.S. Army, Gabbard relayed her longstanding belief that “sending and deploying more U.S. troops” to the Middle East and although the Trump administration has said it isn’t looking to start a war with Iran, “every single thing it does points directly toward a path to war,” including withdrawing

from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal framework.

Gabbard says that at the heart of her campaign is the goal of unity and bridging the divides made by the Trump administration in both domestic and foreign issues.

“Really what’s at the heart of this is what we in Hawaii call ‘aloha,’ a word people are really familiar with as a way we say hello and goodbye, but it means so much more than that. It really means, in the truest sense of the word, love,” Gabbard said.

She acknowledged the sparring between her and Sen. Kamala Harris of California on the debate stage in July and the differences that exist between and among party lines.

But, as president, she promises to “restore” the sense of community and the power of negotiation and compromise, and for that to make an impact, it needs to come from the White House.

She said, “When you greet someone with aloha, you’re saying, ‘I come to you with an open heart and respect and love and most importantly this recogni-

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after which he introduced Jill Denny, his choir teacher, who was in the audience.

Vargas revealed to Denny that he was an undocumented immigrant, which was the reason why he could not go and join the choir as they prepared for a trip to Japan. Denny changed the plan and instead moved the trip to Hawaii, telling Vargas that “we don’t leave anyone behind.”

School, Vargas revealed, was his safe place where he always felt he belonged: a venue where he enjoyed math and science, learned about geography and music, and where he learned how to read and write, the latter of which “makes me the most free and the most myself.”

“But here’s the truth. The truth is, this school is named for someone who some people think should not be here. The truth is, there was a time in our country in the early 1930s where, in the city Stockton, about two hours from here and where my cousin lives actually, there were signs outside restaurants, hotels…that actually read, ‘Positively no Filipinos alu PAGE A5 lowed,’” Vargas narrated.

However, he remarked that he “would not be the human being I am without my community.”

“So when people ask me how I define American, I define American as community – the community of people who see you and make you feel home,” he said, while adding how blessed he is to have the family he was born into, and fortunate to have a family of friends and mentors whom he has met since he came to the U.S. “This school, our school, represents the power of community – how to treat people with respect, how to show gratitude… how to live your life with love, how to live a loving life of continuous education, that we can never stop learning, and we can never stop learning about and from each other,” he continued.

For Vargas, the ultimate magic in life is finding a way of connecting to another person, and he feels confident that school officials and students together will write the new story of the school.

He ended his speech by saying, “I’m so proud to say, ‘Welcome to Jose Antonio Vargas Elementary School!’ and please have a magical new year.”

Proud community, Fil-Ams Meanwhile, Filipino Ameri-

Jose Antonio Vargas stakes hands with a young boy after the dedication ceremony.

Jose Antonio Vargas poses with family members beside the dedication plaque.

AJPress photos by Joseph Peralta

cans present at the dedication ceremony expressed their pride in having a school named after Vargas.

Sarah Reginaldo, who is president of the school’s Parent Teachers Association (PTA), said she feels happy that“we are being represented in the area because a lot of Filipinos live in Mountain View.”

Reginaldo said that if she gets asked who Vargas is and why this particular school is named after him, she will explain it this way, including to her son who will be attending this school: “When we choose names for our monuments and hospitals, we choose people who have done great things for this nation and for the world. And Jose is trying to do a lot of good things with immigration reform – there are a lot of people whose lives will be affected by what happens next.”

For her part, Aida Rivera, who is one of Vargas’s aunts, exclaimed, “No words can really describe how proud we are as a family, as a community. It is unusual to name a school after an individual who is still alive; normally it is when they have

passed away that they are given this recognition. This is a great honor given to a fellow Filipino who is humble and who continues to fight for the rights of undocumented persons.”

School Board of Trustees President Wilson said the choice of Vargas shows that “no matter what your background is, if you come here and you work hard in school, you will be able to succeed. And he is one of our most successful, renowned graduates.”

The school’s principal, Vernorris Taylor, told the Asian Journal that naming the school after Vargas was a great idea to honor an individual who has been a part of the community.

“He is a local hero who has had challenges that he’s overcome. He is someone who took a risk in a real way by coming out as an undocumented immigrant in an atmosphere that’s not necessarily friendly to undocumented immigrants. He showed what true bravery is, risking his own personal livelihood especially when he did not have to,” Taylor explained.

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Thurman: Nobody wants Mayweather-Pacquiao 2 States, organizations file lawsuits against Trump...

by Dino

Maragay Philstar.com

File photo shows Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao during their fight that took place on May 2, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather Jr. won the contest by unanimous decision.

Philstar.com photo

TMZ. Thurman, who lost his WBA “super” welterweight belt to Pacquiao via split decision last July 21 in Las Vegas, is positioning himself for another shot at Pacquiao.

But the Filipino icon’s camp isn’t keen on giving Thurman a rematch, instead preferring to move on to other fights.

That includes another showdown with Mayweather, who remains inactive in boxing since stopping UFC star Conor McGregor in 2017.

But Thurman said MayweatherPacquiao 2 will end up with the same result as the first fight — a victory by Mayweather.

“He’s just defensive. He’s gonna put Pac on the offensive and make him miss. He’s gonna make him pay,” added Thurman.

“I’m just not gonna pick Pacquiao. Floyd is just smart. Forever smart.”

“I think at the end of the day, nobody wants to see it (MayweatherPacquiao rematch),” Thurman continued.

Thurman, who gave a good account of himself in his 12-round war with Pacquiao, said fans would be better off seeing Pacquiao-Thurman 2 instead.

“I can’t say you can’t promote the (Mayweather-Pacquiao 2) fight, but real fight fans know it ain’t gonna be more exciting than what Keith Thurman did,” said Thurman. n

PAGE A4 t tion that we’re all connected regardless of our race, religion, ethnicity, orientation, where we come from and all these things

heal the divide that is unfortunately tearing our country and our world apart.’ That’s what I hope to bring to this country as your president.” n

will only be a cash grab, especially with the fact that when the two KEITH Thurman is joining the superstars first fought in 2015, it side of boxing fans who aren’t in- became the richest bout in boxterested in another fight between ing history “All they talk about is how much Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Maymoney they’re going to make. How weather Jr. Thurman said a rematch be- big the fight is,” the Clearwater, tween Pacquiao and Mayweather Florida-based fighter recently told

In conversation: Tulsi Gabbard wants to restore... that make up this beautifully unique fabric that is America, and that when we come together in the spirit of aloha it gives us the opportunity to bridge and

Silicon Valley elementary school named after...

PAGE A4 t Initially thought as a ‘joke’ Over multiple interviews with officials at the event, Rudolph revealed to the Asian Journal that when he contacted Vargas on Twitter about naming the school after him, the latter thought it was a joke.

“I said, ‘Hey, I wanna let you know this is what’s actually occurring.’ Then he told me when he got the message that [he thought] I was joking. So, then I responded back, ‘No, it’s not a joke.’ Then he checked the board minutes and he could hear the board president — she wasn’t president then — announce that she would like to name the school after him. From there, I asked

him, ‘Are you okay with that? I know that this would draw attention to you.’ He said, ‘It’s perfectly fine,’” the superintendent related.

This was confirmed by Vargas.

“I actually told him, ‘I’m not dead yet.’ This usually happens when they’ve died,” Vargas told the Asian Journal, while adding that he did not pay any attention to it because he felt sure someone was going to say that the school board should not do it.

“But to me, it’s incredible that it happened,” he stated. “It’s been such a humbling experience, and I hope I don’t do anything to screw it up.”

Vargas cautioned people

against putting him on a pedestal.

“That’s the thing, I don’t really want to be looked up to,” he revealed. “I am a human being, I’m imperfect, I’m totally flawed like we all are. And I think I’m just trying to do the best that I can. Hopefully, everybody can do what they can do in whatever community they’re in.”

“To me, the biggest message is, Filipino Americans have to participate and engage in America. We actually have to participate, we have to be civicallyinvolved… so I wish my own family would do more of that as well, and hopefully more Filipinos would do that,” Vargas said.

(Joseph Peralta/AJPress)

PAGE A1 t resident status if they have benefited from public services, such as Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers.

“The Rule stacks the deck against marginalized populations, such as children, students, individuals with disabilities, older adults, and low-wage working families,” Friday’s lawsuit led by California stated. It also alleges that it violates the Fifth Amendment and will “disproportionately block admission” of non-white, non-European immigrants such as those from Asia.

Thirteen other states, led

by Washington state, also filed a lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday, as have San Francisco and Santa Clara County in a separate joint lawsuit, arguing that it is a public health concern as the rule would deny access to health services.

“This cruel policy would force working parents and families across the nation to forego basic necessities like food, housing, and healthcare out of fear. That is simply unacceptable,” California Attorney General Becerra said. “In California we know that welcoming and investing in all communities makes our entire nation stronger. I know this being the son of hard-working, modest immigrants who likely would have been victims of this regressive policy. We will fight this unlawful rule every step of the way.”

The new rule, which is slated to go into effect in mid-October, expands who may be considered a “public charge” — a term used since 1996 to describe an individual likely to become “primarily dependent” on the government through public cash assistance or long-term institutionalized care funded by the government.

Whether one is a public charge determines if one can become a legal permanent resident.

Under the “totality of the circumstances” aspect of the new rule, factors like health, family status, assets, resources and financial status, and education are further among the considerations that may deem an individual to be a public charge.

Exempt from the change are asylum-seekers and refugees.

For supporters, the new rule is a way to modernize the family-based immigration system and save taxpayers billions of dollars.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli told the Associated Press that “We want to see people coming to this country who are self-sufficient. That’s a core principle of the American dream. It’s deeply embedded in our history, and particularly our history related to legal immigration.”

In addition to the states, advocacy groups the National Immigration Law Center, Western Center on Law and Poverty,

National Health Law Program and Asian Americans Advancing Justice also filed a lawsuit in California on Friday.

About 3.8 million Asian American and Pacific Islander immigrants relied on some form of public benefit to make ends meet, according to Heng Lam Foong, senior policy manager with the Health Access Project at Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles in a previous Asian Journal report. (AJPress)

A August 17-20, 2019 • LA WEEKEND AsIAN JOuRNAL

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Recto urges MMDA to prioritize hiring of more ‘round-the-clock’ traffic personnel by aJPress

PHILIPPINE Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Friday, August 16, said that employing more traffic management personnel is a top priority to alleviate the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila.

According to him, “Round-theclock and rain-or-shine” supervision of Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic personnel over major roads and critical intersections in the capital region is now needed due to the surge in the number of vehicles, Recto said.

He pointed out that some 11,530 vehicles were being registered monthly in Metro Manila alone, stressing that the “MMDA needs an active night brigade.”

Recto also noted that the increasing number of vehicular accidents, which in 2017 rose to

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto Inquirer.net photo

110,025 reported cases, is another reason why more MMDA traffic personnel should be hired.

The senator further said that the MMDA “must be allowed to tap a portion of the 168 million it collects in traffic and littering fines annually—specifically for the hiring of more personnel” if government rules prohibit the agency from using its internally generated income.

However, Recto stressed that

the best solution to the lack of traffic personnel is to increase the funds the MMDA receives from the national government through the General Appropriations Act. Last year, the MMDA was given a budget of P3.688 billion as well as P3.636 billion in mandatory contributions from its member towns and cities.

Recto said that after the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged MMDA’s failure to “obligate” P1.2 billion of its 2018 appropriations, the coming Senate hearing of its 2020 budget “would be a good time to discuss how its budget can be used efficiently, including funding new personnel items.”

The senator’s call was issued following a hearing held by the Senate committee on public services about the planned ban on provincial buses and the worsening traffic situation along EDSA, Metro Manila’s main road. n

BEST POLICE STATION. Col. Restituto Arcangel (3rd from left), acting chief of Marikina City Police Station, receives the Best Police Station of the Eastern Police District (EPD) award from San Juan City Representative Ronnie Zamora (2nd from left), and EPD Director, Brig. Gen. Nolasco Bathan (left), during the 45th anniversary of the EPD, held at the EPD Multi-Purpose Hall in Pasig City on Thursday, August 15. The Marikina CPS was also awarded as Best Station Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU) and Best Police Community Precinct.

PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

Roman hits senators who gave LAW OFFICES OF DARRICK V. TAN ‘irrelevant’ views over LGBT issues SERVING MY FELLOW KABABAYANS FOR OVER 17 YEARS

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by Pathricia

ann Inquirer.net

roxas

MANILA — Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman lambasted on Friday, august 16, Senators Vicente Sotto III and Panfilo Lacson for their respective comments following the arrest of a transgender woman after she was barred from using a women’s toilet.

On Wednesday, august 14, the Senate President said members of the LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders) community should be called “homo sapiens” instead.

“Why the lengthy letters? Why not just Homo Sapiens? We’re all the same,” Sotto said.

Meanwhile, Senators Panfilo Lacson and Aquilino Pimentel III reportedly worried that allowing transgender people to use toilets for the opposite sex might be exploited by voyeurs.

“I think Sen. Tito Sotto was trying to be funny, that is his usual self. But you know, the term homo sapiens is irrelevant really.

We want a toilet that will respond to the needs of all people regardless of their gender identity,” Roman, the first elected transgender woman in Congress, said in an interview over ABS-CBN New’s Headstart.

The congresswoman also said it is wrong to suspect transgender people of committing voyeuristic

Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman

acts when it can be done by any people, regardless of gender.

“Now, with regard to Senator Ping Lacson’s observation…

Only women are allowed to enter restrooms in many establishments in Metro Manila, how do we really guarantee that none of those have bad intentions? To my knowledge, we enter the restroom only to relieve ourselves, this is a right to health,” Roman explained.

Asked if suspecting a transgender would be wrong, she answered: “Yes, you don’t have to.”

“It’s stereotyping transgender women and it’s very difficult to guarantee this, it’s really a question that you have to ask of all people. It’s really absurd to have to ask this question,” Roman continued.

Roman also admitted being

Inquirer.net photo

“disappointed” with the Senate for supposedly “delaying” the passage of the sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE) equality bill during the past 17th Congress.

Gretchen Diez was arrested for unjust vexation after she documented how a janitress denied her entry to a women’s toilet at Farmers Plaza mall in Quezon City Tuesday. Roman said the discriminatory incident should prompt President Rodrigo Duterte to certify as urgent the SOGIE bill.

Despite an apology from the mall establishment and personnel, Diez said she would pursue filing charges for violations of the Quezon City “Gender-Fair City Ordinance.” Her lawyer is also eyeing civil suit of slight physical injuries and unjust vexation. n

Filipinos urged to avoid Hong Kong due to protests MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs advised Filipino travelers who have no urgent business in Hong Kong to steer clear from the semi-autonomous Chinese city for the meantime.

The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong has been monitoring the developments in the city due to ongoing protests.

Filipino travelers should avoid the Hong Kong International Airport as a destination or transit airport for now, the DFA said.

“Filipino travelers departing from Hong Kong are requested to contact their airlines at least five hours before their scheduled flights to check if their flights will push through,” the DFA said

in an advisory.

Below is a list of airlines’ hotlines in Hong Kong: Philippine Airlines: +(852) 2769.7123 Cebu Pacific: (+852) 3973.3800 Cathay Pacific: (+852) 2747.3333 The consulate also relayed the upcoming schedule of protests in Hong Kong: August 17 Chater Garden, Central to Central Government Offices, Admiralty Hung Hom Pier to Sung Wong Toi Garden, Kowloon August 18

Victora Park, Causeway Bay to Chater Road, Central August 19 “Clean up MTR carriages” August 25 Kwai Tiang Theatre, Kwai Chung to Tsuen Wan Park “Filipinos are asked to avoid these areas during protests, and refrain from wearing clothing and/or carrying anything that could mistakenly identify them as part of the protest action,” the DFA said.

The consulate general said it is ready to provide assistance to Filipinos who may need it. The office can be contacted on its hotline at (+852) 9155-4023. (Patricia Lourdes Viray/Philstar.com)

Filipino workers appeal ATM fee hike P10 to P15.

On Monday, August 12, Makati City Rep. Luis N. Campos, Jr. PARTIDO Manggagawa chair noted that ATM fees could inRene Magtubo on Tuesday, Au- crease by as much as 50 pergust 13, said workers are ap- cent. pealing to the Bangko Sentral The hike is expected to be ng Pilipinas (BSP) to suspend implemented by banks following the impending increase in fees the lifting of a six-year moratofor transactions conducted rium on fee increases enforced through banks’ automated teller by BSP. machines (ATMs).

“Charging P15 per withWorkers commonly withdraw drawal is already burdensome. from ATMs since salaries are Doubling the fee would be onernow received through them. ous on workers receiving their However, long queues at popu- wages through payroll ATM aclar banks force depositors to use counts,” Magtubo pointed out. the ATMs of other banks.

He also said that the P15 fee Currently, interbank fees on is almost 3% of the daily miniATM withdrawals range from mum wage rate in Metro Ma-

by aJPress

Workers commonly withdraw from ATMs since salaries are now received through them. However, long queues in popular banks force depositors to use ATMs of other banks.

Philstar.com photo

nila, so if the ATM fee doubled, it would take away 6 to 8% of the minimum wage of workers per withdrawal.

“This is highway robbery,” Magtubo said.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, meanwhile, gave banks a reminder that the cash they put inside the ATMs are actually cash they only borrowed from their depositors.

“This is why banks are paying interest on deposits,” he said.

Pimentel offered his support to calls led by Makati City Rep. Luis Campos for a House inquiry into the planned ATM fee increases.

“Offhand, we see no justification for banks to impose ATM charges in excess of the P10 to P15 that they are currently collecting per single interbank withdrawal transaction, considering that depositors are merely taking money that they lent to the bank,” Pimentel said.

“Besides, banks are already extracting way too many superfluous fees from depositors, including the P300 to P500 monthly charge slapped on accounts falling below the P10,000 to P25,000 minimum monthly average daily balance, not to mention the dormancy levies on inactive accounts,” he added.

Pimentel also urged the House committee on banks and financial intermediaries to investigate where the ATM charges go. n

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Ombudsman investigates Acosta, Erfe over corruption, Dengvaxia

by Kristine Joy

Philstar.com

Patag

MANILA — The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday, August 16, said it is conducting investigation into corruption allegations, including Dengvaxia issue, against Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Acosta and forensics chief Erwin Erfe.

In a statement, the Ombudsman said it “is conducting preliminary investigation and administrative adjudication against [Acosta] and [Erfe], Chief of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) Forensic Laboratory, on corruption allegations NEW RULES. U.S. Ambassador Sung Kim receives a copy of the revised law practice rules from Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin at the Supreme Court within the agency including the building in Manila. The revised rules allow law graduates from foreign schools to take the Bar in Manila.

ManilaTimes.net photo by DJ Diosina controversial Dengvaxia vaccine issue.”

Garrido complaint The Ombudsman said that the office received complaint from Wilfredo Garrido Jr. on April 11, 2019.

Garrido accused Acosta and MANILA — President Rodrigo lar establishments shall be dis- established or if such a mecha- Erge of illegally creating its forenDuterte signed into law a mea- tributed completely and equally nism is found inadequate, the is- sic laboratory and manufacturing sure requiring establishments among the covered workers ex- sue shall be referred to the Labor evidence for a Dengvaxia comdepartment’s regional office. to distribute in full the service cept managerial employees. plaint.

The law defined managerial In the event that the minicharges they collected to their mum wage is increased by law employees as any person with employees.

Republic Act 11360 signed or wage order, service charges powers or prerogatives to lay by the president last August 7 paid to the covered employees down and execute management amended Article 96 of the Labor shall not be considered in de- policies or hire, transfer, susCode, which stated that all ser- termining the employer’s com- pend, lay-off, recall, discharge, vice charges collected by hotels, pliance with the increased mini- assign or discipline employees or to effectively recommend restaurants and similar estab- mum wage.

The amended provision also such managerial actions. lishments shall be distributed at The amended provision the rate of 85% for all covered establishes a grievance mechaemployees and 15% for man- nism to facilitate the resolution should not diminish existing of any dispute between manage- benefits under present laws, agement.

The amended article states ment and employees on the dis- company policies and collective bargaining agreements. (Alexis that all service charges collected tribution of service charges.

If no grievance mechanism is Romero/Philstar.com) by hotels, restaurants, and simi-

Duterte signs law requiring full distribution of service charge to hotel, restaurant workers

DOT officials to submit to lifestyle checks, Puyat says MANILA — Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat directed all the department’s officials to submit themselves to the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission’s lifestyle check.

“Not only do I submit myself, I also bring with me the DOT’s officials, as we fully submit ourselves to the lifestyle check of the PACC,” Puyat was quoted in the DOT statement on Friday, August 16.

“This is our way of sending the message across that the DOT is one with the administration’s anticorruption drive,” she added.

In a bid to stamp out corruption, PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica earlier said they are con-

ducting lifestyle checks on government officials, including two Cabinet members.

While he withheld the names of the two top officials, Belgica said the PACC are looking into officials of the following agencies: •Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office • Bureau of Customs • Bureau of Internal Revenue, including its regional district officers • Department of Public Works and Highways • Department of Environment and Natural Resources •Department of Transportation Puyat said that the DOT is look-

ing forward to being part of the PACC’s report that they hope would be completed by the end of 2019.

The Malacañang for its part said that it will wait for the final report and recommendation on the matter.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte is not aware of the ongoing probe against two of his Cabinet officials.

“He doesn’t have to be aware.

When the investigation is done that’s the time he will decide on its recommendation. He (Duterte) doesn’t interfere with the work of the PACC,” Panelo also said. (Kristine Joy Patag/Philstar.com)

File photo shows Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Acosta checking the rashes of a 12year-old girl during a press conference with the alleged victims of Dengvaxia.

Philstar.com photo by Boy Santos

He said that a forensic report from Erfe dated May 9, 2018 certified the results of an autopsy conducted on a 13-year-old girl who died in January 2018 due to “Dengue shock syndrome,” after receiving a “number of doses of Dengvaxia.”

“There was just one problem.

The deceased...was not actually administered the Dengvaxia vaccine,” the complaint read.

Acosta has become the face of those who claimed that their families died due to the controversial anti-Dengue vaccine.

The ombudsman said that Acosta and Erfe are facing complaints for graft, falsification by public officer, malversation and illegal use of public funds or property.

They are also facing administrative complaints for grave mis-

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A8 AUGUST 17-20, 2019 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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OPINION

Tread carefully on the issue of accepting gifts

FEATURES

LAST week, in a speech before Philippine National Police officials and police officers, President Rodrigo Duterte took flight again with his own self-styled interpretation of the law and regulations governing conduct in public office.

He told his audience: “Kung bigyan kayo tanggapin n’yo. (If you are given a gift, accept it). It is not bribery…What I mean is if there is generosity in them. Sabi ng anti-graft, you cannot accept gifts. Kalokohan! (Nonsense.)

In fact, it is not nonsense. It is an integral provision of Republic Act 6713, or the Code of “Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.”

In one sweep, the president managed to instruct our police officers to accept gifts if given them, and in the same breath dismiss as foolish the rules for ethical conduct of public employees.

It is understandable why his remark has triggered a serious debate within government ranks and the public at large concerning the propriety of the president’s opinion, and its potential harm to our police service.

No less than the Civil Service Commission (CSC) has reacted with alarm to the president’s words.

Civil Service Commissioner Aileen Lizada said in an official comment that there are laws that should be followed.

“The laws are Republic Act 6713 which is the ‘Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees,’ as well as Republic Act 3019, the ‘Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.’” RA 6713 prohibits public officials from soliciting or accepting gifts directly or indirectly.

Commissioner Lizada said, however, that Congress has made some exemptions, such as in the case of a gift received as a souvenir or as a mark of courtesy, scholarship, fellowship grants or medical treatment from foreign governments.

Lizada also cited Memorandum Circular (MC) 2016-002 of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) that prohibits cops from receiving gifts.

Under Section 1 Item 3 of the MC, it is considered a grave misconduct for cops to receive a fee, gift, or other valuable things in the course of official duties or in connection therewith when such fee, gift or thing is given with the hope or expectation of receiving a favor or better treatment.

Violators may face reprimand, withholding of privileges, restriction to specified limits, restrictive custody, forfeiture of salary, suspension, one-rank demotion or dismissal.

Some lawmakers and one anti-graft official have also reacted to the president’s statement.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former national police chief, said that the action by law enforcers of accepting gifts could trigger “insatiable greed” among cops.

Former PNP chief, now Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, however, said cops receiving gifts was no big deal as long as the gifts were given out of

Editorial

ManilaTimes.net photo photo

goodwill.

Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Commissioner Greco Belgica says gifts given in gratitude are okay, but not if these are given in exchange for a favor.

The problem with all these proffered views is that they reduce the issues to simply a matter of opinion.

That is not how the rules for official conduct are designed to be observed. The rules are strict and obligatory In the United States, where the bribery and corruption of public officials have been studied at

length, the government came out with the rule that bribery is permissible only to “the extent of something that can be eaten or smoked in a single day.”

(Source: William Safire’s Political Dictionary.)

The big problem with President Duterte’s statement is that as president he is our chief implementer or executor of the law. Congress makes the law. And the judiciary, led by the Supreme Court, interprets the law.

In our system of separation of powers, president Duterte has no authority to serve all three functions at once. He should defer to the constitutional order. (ManilaTimes.net)

Have you benefitted from publicly-funded services during your time of need? Your green card application may be in jeopardy

The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS KABABAYAN, this information has nothing to do with President Donald Trump’s intensified crackdown against illegal immigration. This piece is about his administration’s most aggressive effort yet to restrict LEGAL IMMIGRATION in the United States.

Depending on your specific circumstances, your chances of getting your green card or temporary visa — whether you are waiting for the decision in the Philippines or are already living and working in the United States — may be in trouble.

I have already written about the push of the Trump administration to move the United States to a system that focuses on immigrants’ skills and merits over family reunification — the immigration benefit that has made possible to bring our

Commentary LUISA BLUE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION NO matter where you came from and the color of your skin, all parents want what is best for their children. Except those, it seems, in the Trump administration. Because they have once again told immigrant families: we don’t want you, don’t try and live the American dream.

They have released a new, inhumane rule that targets people applying to get their green card, or legal permanent. It’s unfortunately just one in a long line of actions the Trump administration has taken to pit working people against each other. What they should be doing is putting families first, helping children develop into healthy adults and making it possible for every single person in this country to obtain healthcare, education and healthy food.

NO ONE should be penalized for legally safeguarding their family’s well-being because too many jobs pay poverty wages making working people rely on anti-hunger, antipoverty, affordable housing and

family members in the United States with us and make our American dream come true together.

You must have already heard about the news this week that the Trump administration has expanded “immigration inadmissibility,” which in effect says that if you are a “public charge,” then you are not worthy to be in the United States, not deserving to be issued a green card, and disqualified to eventually be provided the pathway to citizenship.

What is “public charge”?

Simply put in Filipino, you are a “public charge” if you are a “pabigat” to America.

This is a very complex problem which may be argued by many as “Pabigat ka sa America, bakit ka aasa ka pang dito manirahan? Aabusuhin mo lang ang America, makikisawsaw sa pinaghirapang buwis na inaambag ng mga U.S. citizen

at Legal Permanent Residents at ng mga legal na papeles na narito. Bumalik ka na sa Pilipinas!” We hear this a lot from our own kababayans.

Before we weigh in this issue, let me first help you with the understanding of what is “public charge” by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Q: What is “public charge?”

A: “Public charge” means an individual who is likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, as demonstrated by either the receipt of public cash assistance for income maintenance or institutionalization for long-term care at government expense.

A number of factors must be considered when making a determination that a person is likely to become a public charge.

Under Section 212(a)(4) of

Public charge rule – inhumane for families healthcare in order to thrive.

But that’s what this public charge rule does. Last year, the Trump administration received over 200,00 public comments on their proposed rule and of that amount, over 20,000 comments were from the Asian Pacific Islander community, 10% of the public comments submitted, illustrating the importance this rule is to our Asian Pacific Islander communities. If legal challenges are not successful, it will go into effect in October.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has close to 2 million members: hospital workers, public health and community-based clinic workers, long term care workers providing care at home for our seniors, mental health and emergency services, help educate our children from babies to college, just to name a few of the jobs and services SEIU members provide every day. We represent the largest number of Asian Pacific Islander union workers, over 110,000.

SEIU is a member of the OneNation AAPI coalition and I serve on the OneNation AAPI Commission.

Asian Health Services, is one of the

leading AAPI community-based organization and healthcare agency in the nation that is dedicated to providing quality culturally competent healthcare and other services in Alameda County, California and is a leader of the OneNation AAPI Coalition and the employees of Asian Health Services are SEIU members.

Manang Femy is a 79-year-old immigrant from the Philippines, a proud U.S. citizen and has been a patient at Asian Health Services for 23 years. Her son served in the U.S. Navy for 24 years, deployed multiple times, including 3 tours in Iraq and had to leave his family and miss his children’s college graduations in order to serve and protect our Country. Manang Femy continued to work and pay taxes to this Country and raised her family.

Upon hearing about the Public Charge rule, she remembered what it was like as a new immigrant, and Manang Femy worried about the patients at Asian Health Services and other immigrant families who work hard everyday, sometimes working two or more jobs to pro-

u PAGE A9

the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), an individual seeking admission to the United States or seeking to adjust status to that of an individual lawfully admitted for permanent residence (Green Card) is inadmissible if the individual, “at the time of application for admission or adjustment of status, is likely at any time to become a public charge.” Public charge does not apply in naturalization proceedings. If an individual is inadmissible, admission to the United States or adjustment of status is not granted.

YOU MUST BE THINKING, “Hindi ba dumaan na ako sa butas ng karayom sa screening process ng America? Hindi ba sumailalim na ako sa criminal, security, medical background checks? Hindi ba pinatunayan ko na sa application ko na Hindi aka pabigat? Hindi ba nagbayad na aka ng application fees

Commentary

RIGOBERTO D. TIGLAO READ on, and I guarantee you’ll be shocked and angry at the sanctimonious European and U.S. NGOs and media’s lies about our country and its President.

A few weeks ago, Global Witness, a UK-based entity purportedly championing issues, came out with its 2018 report, published like an expensive magazine with dramatic color photographs and graphs, and melodramatically titled Enemies of the State.

It claimed that last year, with “30 environmentalists” killed by state forces, the Philippines was the “world’s deadliest country for defenders of their land or the environment.” Global Witness is mainly funded by ideological imperialists, the tycoons George Soros and Pierre Omidyar. The two, through North Base Media and Omidyar Network, have also have been the main foreign investors in the stridently anti-Duterte website rappler.com.

Ours is the deadliest country, the report claimed, since Brazil

at filing fees at bayad sa abogado na tumutulong sa amin?

Ano ang mangyayari kung nagipit talaga kami? Ano pa and mangyayari sa mga susunod na applicants?”

The changes in the evaluation of whether an applicant will be a public charge depend on the new programs that will now be included in the list of what will be deemed as primary dependency on the U.S. government for subsistence.

As CBS News reported, “The new regulation, if enacted, would require caseworkers to consider the use of government housing, food and medical assistance such as the widely-used Section 8 housing vouchers and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, aka food stamps).”

“The rule would subject immigrant households who fall below certain income thresholds to the “public charge” test

— which would also consider how well applicants speak, read and write English. Under the proposed rule, any diagnosed medical condition that requires extensive medical treatment would also “weigh heavily” in evaluations by caseworkers.”

The Washington Post pointed out that in determining whether an applicant is a public charge, “immigration officials will look more thoroughly at the credit score, wealth, age, and educational background of immigration applicants to determine whether they are worthy of being here.”

(TO BE CONTINUED…Abangan) *** 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

‘PH, deadliest country’ report: A colossal fabrication — the country notorious for the killing of those resisting logging by businesses of its Amazon rainforest — had only 20 such deaths, Columbia 24, and India 23.

Western and local Yellow media bannered the claims, without taking an iota of effort to validate them. The New York Times even had a brutal piece by its editorial board that had a devious wordsmith’s trick, if you can detect it: “ In 2018, 164 defenders of the land and environment were killed, with the Philippines of the brutal President Rodrigo Duterte taking over from Brazil as the deadliest place to resist rapacious developers and governments.”* This indeed is another confirmation that Western media, especially those in the U.S., have long lost their professionalism and objectivity.

Fabrication The Global Witness report on the Philippines is such a colossal fabrication.

To pretend that its findings are based on data, Global Witness listed the names of the 164 killed in the 20 countries it reported on.

I checked each and every “victim”

in the Philippines it listed.

I was aghast at the data. At most, only one or two of the alleged “defenders” were alleged — and solely by communist propaganda fronts — to have been killed in the course of a struggle to defend their environment or even their land.

Global Witness claimed that “Duterte’s government has ramped up its campaign of ‘redtagging’ rights activists, including land and environmental defenders.”

But three of the victims it listed were with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) — Cagayan forest ranger Marcial Pattaguan and his assistant Bronsei Immpiel, killed probably by bandits, the police claimed. The third DENR employee, Dominador Lucas, was killed in Antipolo, with initial police investigation showing that he may have been killed by one party in a land dispute case he was handling.

Soros-Omidyar There’s worse. Out of the 30

u PAGE A9

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OpiniOn & Features

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • AUgUSt 17-20, 2019

A

‘PH, deadliest country’ report: A colossal...

GRIEVING PARENTS. Parents display a picture of their missing children allegedly recruited by leftist groups, during the Senate hearing Wednesday, August 14. One of the mothers, Relissa Lucena (right), calls on the Makabayan bloc, especially Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate, to help return her daughter recruited by Anakbayan.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

Fewer abused wives, deaths with higher alcohol taxes — lawmakers MANILA — Proponents of the proposed increases in levies on beer and other intoxicating drinks are citing the evils of alcohol use to make their case and win support for their proposal from their colleagues in Congress and the public.

There would be fewer wives crying of physical abuse by their drunken husbands and fewer Filipinos dying from booze with higher alcohol taxes, they said.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda told reporters on Thursday, August 15, that “more Filipinos are dying from alcohol than from tobacco.”

“Those aged 45 to 65, who are in their prime earning capacity, are most at risk,” he added.

Among the young (20 years to 29 years of age), he claimed that four out of five deaths are from alcohol consumption and only one from smoking.

Salceda and Department of

Finance (DOF) Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua, the administration’s poster boy for tax reform, gave journalists a briefing on the bill on higher liquor taxes and another proposed law reducing corporate income tax.

The bill is intended to discourage drinking and at the same time raise money for the government’s expanded health care program, which aims to provide all Filipinos with PhilHealth insurance coverage.

A document handed out by Salceda and Chua shows that based on a study by the Department of Health, at least 30,579 Filipinos are expected to die “from harmful use of alcohol in year 1” if taxes were not increased. Year 1 refers to 2020, when the government plans to start collecting the proposed higher rates.

The same document showed that 15,098 Filipinos could be saved from death from alcohol

abuse if higher rates were imposed.

Chua did not have figures on deaths for previous years but he estimates that this year’s fatalities from intoxicating drinks could be in the neighborhood of 29,000.

The figure on the number of Filipinos who could be saved with higher taxes is based on the version of the alcohol levy bill of the DOF, which is seeking a significantly larger increase than what the Salceda panel and the House of Representatives approved on Tuesday.

For instance, in the case of beer, the DOF is proposing a tax of P40 per liter while congressmen approved only P28, or a difference of P12. The DOF is projecting a revenue gain of P33.3 billion for next year and P249 billion up to 2024, versus the P15.6 billion and P110.3 billion total of the House. (Philstar.com)

PAGE A8 vide for their families. She took action and organized nearly 100 people to submit comments with their concerns on the new Public Charge rule and it was SEIU members working at Asian Health Services who educated her and other patients about the Public Charge rule and its impact on immigrant families. Manang Femy stood up and spoke out for her family and other immigrant families.

I am first-generation born to parents who immigrated from the Philippines; my father proudly served in the U.S. Army during WWII and

my mother retired from Bank of America. Both worked very hard to provide for my brothers and me to reach the American dream. I am a former Intensive Care Nurse who worked at San Francisco General Hospital for 9 years and served as president for SEIU Local 400-790 for four years while working for San Francisco General. I also worked at Asian Health Services for three years as their clinical coordinator and helped establish their patient advisory committee.

I am now an Executive Vice President of SEIU leading our Union’s Asian Pacific Islander

civic engagement and leadership program. As a former RN access to quality culturally competent healthcare will always be close to my heart.

Together with SEIU members and community allies, like the OneNation AAPI Coalition, we will continue to be advocates for the communities we serve no matter where they came from and the color of their skin. All we want is what is best for our families.

Stand up and speak out!

Public charge rule – inhumane...

*** Luisa Blue is the executive vice president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

PAGE A8 that the Soros-Omidyar research group claimed were ”defenders of the environment” killed by state forces, nine were landless sugarcane workers killed in the socalled Sagay (Negros Occidental) massacre in 2018.

While the case has not been definitively solved, local police had claimed that the victims were prodded by a Communist Party peasant organization to occupy lands in the area as part of its socalled “bungkalan” program of occupying private lands they claim are idle.

The gunmen, the police claimed, were most probably landowner’s goons. They initially wanted to frighten the workers to leave the area with gunshots, but then one worker fired back, and things got out of hand. Only communist representatives in government claimed that government was responsible for the massacre. Not by any semantics can Global Witness claim they were fighting for land: they didn’t own it, and weren’t even agrarian reform beneficiaries intent on claiming land given to them.

Out of the 30 killed that Global Witness claimed were “defenders of the environment,” five were in adjacent areas in Negros and 12 in three Mindanao provinces.

These cases had two common features.

First, they were in insurgency “hot spots” (Agusan, Bukidnon, Compostela Valley) where the communist New People’s Army (NPA) had sizeable bases and fighters, and where there have been in the past few years, intense operations by the military to suppress the armed communist group. Most of the reports on these killings were made solely by communist-linked propaganda venues.

Second, going by their descriptions by these communist-linked groups, mainly Karapatan, they were all members or officials of peasant organizations. It claimed they were killed by members of an Army infantry battalion (e.g., 66th Infantry Battalion in a case in Agusan and 8th Infantry Battalion in Bukidnon). Claims of army involvement by communist propaganda venues have always been a clear signal that they were either actually NPA members killed in firefights or sadly, assassinated by military intelligence units. In either case, the killings had nothing to do with the struggle to defend the environment.

The only conclusion one can have with these data, is that the so-

called “defenders of the environment” that Global Witness claimed lost their lives to state forces last year, were actually killed in rural conflicts that had nothing to do with the environment, with more than half of these casualties — killed in fire-fights or assassinated — in the government’s campaign against the NPA. None of these had anything to do with specific struggles to defend the environment, even if two were described by communist propaganda venues as members of rural associations “acting against the large-scale mining projects.”

What all these mean is that ironically, the communists have managed to get a Western rightwing ideological-imperialist entity, Global Witness, to disseminate its propaganda lies, with both having the same goal to topple the Duterte government.

The 30th If you’re counting, I’ve so far described in some detail the circumstances of the killing of 29 out of the 30 purported “defenders of the environment” that Global Witness claimed were murdered by agents of the Duterte government.

The 30th “defender of the environment” is Mark Ventura, a parish priest in Gattaran, a remote town in the country’s far-north Cagayan province, killed in May 2018. Although Ventura was reported by two Yellow media outlets as “known for his anti-mining advocacy,” Duterte had disclosed

that the police investigation indicated that the priest had at least eight “illicit affairs with the wives and daughters and paramours of big-time businessmen and politicians, who had the motive to kill him.” The Church has vehemently denied this, although the bishop in the province admitted there were widespread rumors about this illicit affairs.

While the case remains unsolved, there is no doubt that Ventura was killed for reasons that had nothing to do with any crusade of his to defend the environment.

So the reality that emerges from this detailed accounting is that “defenders of the environment” killed here is zero, not 30.

The campaign of the U.S. elite and its media, helped by the Yellows and the Reds here, has been to create outrage against Duterte by claiming that his government had killed “20,000” — a very false figure Global Witness also reports — in his war against illegal drugs. With that false accusation not having any adverse impact on his popularity, they’re now trying a new tack, as “saving the earth” has become a chic, noble cause: “He’s killing those trying to save the earth.”

Aren’t you convinced now, that they are in an all-hands-on-deck mode to topple Duterte? *Because of the proximity of “164 defenders” to “Philippines,” the impression of that sentence in a reader’s mind is that this is the number killed here, not for all the 20 countries. (ManilaTimes.net)

A10 August 17-20, 2019 • LA WEEKEND AsIAN JOuRNAL

Dateline PhiliPPines

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Chinese casinos near PH military camps worry DND

by Frances

Mangosing Inquirer.net

MANILA—Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Friday, August 16 raised concern over the location of Chinese casinos, also known as Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo), which appeared to be too close for comfort to Philippine military camps in Metro Manila.

“This is very concerning until such time I saw the map,” Lorenzana told reporters. “They are near,” he said.

He cited the locations of Chinese casinos at Araneta Center and Eastwood which are within striking distance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo.

Pictures of satellite maps showing the locations of the Chinese casinos near some of the Philippine military’s biggest camps in Metro Manila had gone viral on social media.

The Philippine defense installations near the Chinese casinos, which employ an army of up to 130,000 Chinese workers, included Camp Aguinaldo, the Philippine National Police headquarters Camp Crame, the Air Force headquarters in Pasay City, the Philippine Army headquarters in Taguig City and the Philippine Navy headquarters on Roxas Boulevard.

In Kawit, Cavite, a 36-hectare former resort is being transformed into a Pogo hub that can accommodate up to 20,000 Chinese workers. The site is just 3 kilometers from a facility being used by the Philippine Air Force’s 15th Strike Wing and Philippine naval base Heracleo Alano in Sangley Point, a former U.S. base in Cavite province.

Lawmakers have also recently expressed concern on the location of Pogo centers near military camps.

While it remains unlikely for now, Lorenzana said the Chinese workers in Pogo facilities can shift their operations to spying.

“Personally, I think there should be no need to worry,” Lorenzana said.”But if you see the huge number of people staying there, it’s very easy for these people to shift their activities to spying,” he said.

Pogos, the new jargon for online casinos, service mainly Chinese gamblers based in mainland China where gambling is illegal.

The industry has seen an influx of Chinese workers in recent years as online casinos need people proficient in Mandarin, the dominant language in mainland China.

The virtual invasion of Chinese workers into several urban locations in the Philippines has also led to a spike in real property costs. The Philippine National Police, in a report in INQUIRER.net on Thursday (Aug. 15), estimated the number of Chinese nationals who are already in the Philippines to be 250,000, nearly the same as the manpower of the AFP. The Chinese Embassy, in a recent statement, said since gambling is illegal in China, the operations of Pogos are a violation of Chinese laws. The statement also called on the Philippine government to crack down on the illegal recruitment of Chinese nationals for illegal casino operations.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), the Philippine casino regulating agency, has proposed to build Pogo hubs exclusively for the Chinese workers, which will give them housing and other needs and access to

government agencies with small offices in the hubs.

Lorenzana said he believed building hubs for the Chinese casino workers was a good idea. “I support the idea to put them in a hub,” he said.

“They would be far from the military camps so they can be controlled by authorities and finance and they can be monitored by immigration to see who’s getting in and out,” Lorenzana added.

The defense chief said if he had his way, casinos for Chinese should not be near Philippine military camps.

He said the locations of the Chinese casinos should hopefully not be near the camps. “But these are the areas who offered spaces for casinos like Araneta Center, it’s a huge area then Eastwood,” Lorenzana said. He said Island Cove, which is now becoming a Chinese casino hub, is very near a Philippine naval facility where “we are going to park our capital ships in the near future.”

While recognizing the economic contribution of Chinese casinos to the Philippines, Lorenzana said defense officials are also looking at the industry’s national security implications. “We encourage these people to come here to invest. We are making a lot of money from Pogo industry,” he said. “And to now question why they’re here is like a contradiction of policy,” he added.

“It’s just probable. We are looking forward because of the distrust now prevailing against China n the South China Sea,” Lorenzana said. “We are a little hesitant to be trusting. We are just being cautious,” he said.

“It’s always good to think ahead so we won’t have regrets,” said the defense chief. n

Ombudsman investigates Acosta, Erfe over...

PAGE A7

conduct, serious dishonesty, grave abuse of authority and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

The ombudsman said that Acosta and Erfe filed their consolidated counter-affidavit on April 30.

‘PAO lawyers’ manifestation The ombudsman said: “During the course of investigation, several other pleadings were filed by the respective parties.”

It added that it received on August 8 a pleading entitled “Manifestation with Prayer for Public Respondents Immediate Preven-

tive Suspension from Office.”

The manifestation was signed by “alleged ‘DOJ PAO lawyers.’”

Unnamed PAO lawyers reportedly urged the ombudsman to investigate and suspend Acosta and forensics chief Erwin Erfe of scheming to receive extra budget.

The manifestation was submitted to supplement Garrido’s complaint.

But on Thursday night, August 15, more than 100 lawyers of PAO disowned the statement and called it “fake news.”

In a signed manifesto, PAO lawyers said: “Obviously, the manifes-

tation was fabricated by someone else; unscrupulous person/s who resort to shady schemes and strategies to advance their personal cause.”

Ombudsman Samuel Martires for his part said: “[T]he corruption allegations against the high-ranking PAO officials will be judiciously scrutinized and the cases shall be resolved solely on the basis of the evidence presented by the parties.”

Malacañang and the Department of Justice said they will let the ombudsman handle the complaint against Acosta. n

STORES ASIA EXPO 2019. Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (center), leads the ribbon-cutting and opening ceremonies of the 26th National Retail Conference and Stores Asia Expo (NRCE) 2019 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City on Thursday, August 15. The annual event was organized by the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA), the country’s biggest organization of top-notch retailers and prime movers, to enhance the competitiveness of the country’s retail sector.

PNA photo by Gil Calinga

Congress to expand government wiretap powers

by Paolo

roMero Philstar.com

MANILA — The Senate committee on national defense and security is finalizing a draft antiterrorism bill that includes giving authorities wider latitude in conducting surveillance and eavesdropping on suspected enemies of the state.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the committee, said on Friday, August 16, the panel was already consolidating the inputs made by security officials and other resource persons to come up with a final version that will be presented in plenary “ASAP” for deliberations and approval.

The committee held last week a hearing on Senate Bill 21, which seeks to plug loopholes in Republic Act 9372 or the Human Security Act of 2007, which is seen to be a toothless anti-terrorism law compared to similar statutes in other countries.

With the Senate supporting the bill, the measure is expected to be approved. The “super majority” in the House of Representatives is seen to approve its own version.

Lacson said the Senate bill aims to give the government an effective legal framework in fighting to terrorism.

“This measure seeks to provide our law enforcement with enough tools to conduct investigations that would enable them to prevent terrorist attacks before they happen, or in case they are unable to do so, at least bring the perpetrators to justice,” Lacson said in his bill.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Thursday told “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s One News that a new anti-terrorism law should extend the legally sanctioned wiretapping of suspects to a period of up to 90 days. He said this period was reasonable for the complicated task.

RA 9372 provides for an initial period of 30 days, with one extension of up to 30 days.

The Human Security Act allows wiretapping, with the consent of the Court of Appeals (CA), only for terror suspects, and expressly prohibits it in the case of lawyerclient communication, between doctor and patient, and between journalists and their sources.

The senator told reporters on Tuesday there was an urgency in passing the proposal given the resurgence of terror-related incidents.

He said he will press his colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass a counterpart measure so Congress can approve the bill for enactment into law.

Lacson’s bill touches on provisions of Republic Act 4200 or the Anti-Wiretapping Law and Republic Act 10168 or the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act. The senator also earlier filed Senate Bill 22 or the proposed Expanded Anti-Wiretapping Act, which seeks to include other heinous crimes not covered by the 54-year-old RA 4200.

Under the proposed anti-terrorism bill, military personnel are allowed to request for authority not only from the CA but from regional trial courts (RTC) “to secretly wiretap, overhear, and

listen to, intercept, screen, read, surveil, and record and collect, with the use of any mode, form, kind or type of electronic, mechanical or other equipment or device or technology” data, information or messages of members of judicially declared terrorist organizations.

Records of the application as well as documents submitted to the CA or the concerned RTC are considered classified, according to the bill.

The authorization should specify the persons to be eavesdropped; and the telephone number or electronic transmission system that will be monitored.

The measure also provides the duration of wiretapping shall not exceed 60 days, with the option of continuing the surveillance by a “non-extendible period” not exceeding 30 days.

All materials, data and information gathered from the wiretapping are to be deposited before the court that authorized the surveillance.

If no case is filed within 30 days after the lapse of the authorized wiretapping, the police, military or law enforcement official who sought the authority is mandated to inform the person subjected to surveillance. The concerned official who will not comply will be penalized, including possible imprisonment.

In the event of an actual or imminent terror attack, the AntiTerrorism Council may compel telecommunications companies to immediately produce all call, text and internet records of terror suspects.

‘Subversion law will not be abused’ Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said should it be reinstated

by Congress, there would be safeguards to ensure that there would be no abuses to the antisubversion law, whose revival was sought to fight the supposed communist “indoctrination” of youths in schools and universities.

Año tried to allay fears that the revival of the anti-subversion law would lead to a crackdown on the legitimate opposition.

“There are no problems with critics, dissenting groups and political opposition. They aren’t communists, no problem,” he said during an ambush interview.

The retired general said that the proposal would only declare illegal the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), its armed wing New People’s Army (NPA) and allied groups.

The CPP and NPA have been declared as terrorist groups by President Duterte. The Department of Justice last year filed a petition before the Manila Regional Trial Court seeking to declare the communist group as a terrorist organization.

However, Lorenzana has already said that the law could cover supposed front organizations of the CPP, including the “legal Left” such as the Makabayan bloc of party-list organizations.

Año noted it is up to lawmakers to make sure there will be provisions in the law that would distinguish the CPP from dissenting groups, parties of the Left and activists.

He added that supposed members of the CPP are already lobbying before congressmen and senators opposing the revival of the anti-subversion law.

Still, Año said that he already has the support of some lawmakers but refused to name who they were.

Año also declined to name the lawmakers that could sponsor the bill for the revival of the law, which is being strongly opposed by several sectors.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) backed the proposal, saying it was high time for the antisubversion law’s revival.

Maj. Gen. Benigno Durana, director for police and community relations, said the controversial law should be reinstated to quell the threat of communist terrorism to the country’s security.

Durana likened the CPP and its allied groups to termites during a Senate hearing on the alleged recruitment of student minors to leftist organizations.

“They will continue to use the law to circumvent or violate the law. Using democracy to destroy democracy,” he said during his testimony.

PNP chief General Oscar Albayalde said the revival of the law needs further study to ensure that it will not be used to camouflage human rights abuses.

Still, Albayalde said they support its revival as this would augment President Duterte’s Executive Order 70 that aims to end the decades-long communist insurgency in the country.

Informants on CPP now millionaires As this developed, five tipsters whose information led to the neutralization of key CPP-NPA members became instant millionaires courtesy of the government reward system against known enemies of the state.

The faces of the five tipsters were covered to hide their real identities while receiving the cash reward out of the P14,250,000 total cash handed to them by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the event led by AFP chief Gen. Benjamin Madrigal held at Camp Aguinaldo.

“Through the information shared by these tipsters, five CPP-NPA leaders were either killed or arrested in law enforcement operations conducted by the AFP in coordination with the Philippine National Police,” Madrigal said.

Madrigal also declined to name the key CPP-NPA personalities that government security forces have already neutralized.

However, he said all five were directly involved in heinous and atrocious crimes against the Filipino people.

Despite this development, Madrigal admitted that much has to be done to finish the country’s insurgency problem stressing that the military is just part of the solution in attaining total peace.

“While the AFP sustains its focused military operations against the communists and other local and foreign terrorists, we call on our people to help us. The fight against terrorism and the attainment of lasting peace for our country are a shared responsibility of each and every Filipino,” Madrigal said. n

EU envoy: No funding for groups linked to CPP MANILA — The European Union (EU) has never funded local groups linked to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), contrary to claims by a Palace official.

In an interview on “The Chiefs” Tuesday night on One News-Cignal TV, EU Ambassador Franz Jessen said they have been “extremely cautious” about dealing with groups seeking EU assistance.

“For many years we are extremely cautious and very careful in making sure that it will not happen and this does not happen so we have not supported (communist-affiliated groups),” Jessen said.

“Of course we have no intention and will not support any group that’s affiliated with the Communist Party of the Philippines,” he said.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy earlier claimed that EU is funding groups with communist ties.

Badoy, head of the strategic communications for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, said European funding for several non-government organizations allegedly linked to communist rebels had been shut off almost completely.

Brig. Gen. Antonio Parlade, deputy chief for civil military op-

erations, earlier said EU funding for some groups had been placed on hold after the regional bloc was informed about its supposed ties with the rebels.

In June, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he ordered all Philippine embassies in Europe to make sure that all donations to non-government organizations in the Philippines were cleared with the Philippine government.

Locsin issued the order after getting information that EU donations ended up in the accounts of groups considered fronts of the CPP and its armed wing the New People’s Army. (Pia LeeBrago/Philstar.com)

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UP students discover potential cancer treatment in horn snail

by JanviC

mateo Philstar.com

EPD ANNIVERSARY. San Juan City Rep. Ronaldo Zamora (in white), and Eastern Police District (EPD) chief, Brig. Gen. Nolasco Bathan (left), troop the police line during the 45th EPD Founding Anniversary and 118th Police Service Anniversary held at the EPD Multi-Purpose Hall, Barangay Malinao, Caruncho Avenue, Pasig City on Thursday, August 15. This year’s event, which carried the theme “Pinaghusay na Serbisyo, Alay sa Sambayanang Pilipino”, featured the awarding of certificates of recognition to deserving police officers and their civilian counterparts.

PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

PhilHealth eyes international firm to conduct audit

by Sheila

CriSoStomo Philstar.com

MANILA — The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. is looking for an international consultancy firm to conduct a thorough audit of the agency’s account books, saying P154 billion in PhilHealth funds that are allegedly missing could not be found.

According to PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Ricardo Morales, there was no mention of such losses even in the reports of the Commission on Audit (COA).

“There are some figures being brought up, like the P154 billion. You know, COA has not found it,” he noted in a chance interview.

Morales claimed it could be because the mandate of COA is to look into the “efficiency” of government agencies and not “corruption” so he deemed it necessary to get a third party to review the transactions of PhilHealth.

The official revealed that he is in talks with a “consulting firm with global reputation” and in three months’ time, “we may already have something to report.” He refused to name the firm until their negotiation is final.

“We need another to do an audit and I’m looking at that – to get an outside agency to do it from as far as records are available... We will have the best available and there will be no compromise,” he added.

In a privilege speech two weeks ago, Sen. Panfilo Lacson estimated that PhilHealth had incurred losses of P154 billion because of overpayments and other irregularities from 2013 to 2017.

Morales said the works of the audit team would not overlap with the investigation being conducted by the Senate on the irregularities.

“We will participate in the Senate or House (of Representatives) investigations and we will cross-reference whatever we can get from one thread to the other and back,” he added.

In a statement, PhilHealth said it “fully supports” the investigation of the joint Senate Blue Ribbon committee and the committee on health and maintained that under a new management, it has started looking into official reports and news reports on fraud.

PhilHealth added that this has resulted in 753 administrative cases filed against various health care providers and members for violation of the National Health Insurance Act of 1995 and the amending law from January to July this year.

Aside from this, 921 formal charges were lodged against various health care providers while 6,138 counts are now up for resolution of the prosecution department.

The agency gave assurance that more cases will be filed “if warranted” while plans are afoot to implement systemic reforms

to prevent opportunities for future corruption such as intensified identification of fraudulent providers, institutionalizing automated data analytics strategies and strengthening and fasttracking legal processes.

PhilHealth said that “transparency is important in restoring public trust in the corporation and we will strive to be as transparent as possible in these investigations.”

“We assure the general public that the corporation is doing everything and exhausting all efforts to minimize any loss and resolve issues we are currently being confronted with,” it added.

Anti-fraud mechanism Senators said that strong mechanisms to detect fraud and anomalies in PhilHealth must be immediately put in place to help stop the bleeding of billions of pesos due to corruption.

Sen. Sonny Angara, chairman of the finance committee, lamented the situation in PhilHealth where some individuals and health care providers defrauded the government of billions in funds that should be going to Filipinos struggling to cope with their medical needs.

He said based on the testimonies of resource persons at the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon and health committees on Wednesday, it was clear that some unscrupulous PhilHealth officials, who have access to the database of members, are manipulating the processing of claims for their own benefit. n

MANILA — Compounds extracted from a species of horn snails, locally known as bagongon, were discovered to have properties that may be used for the development of a cancer treatment.

Students from the University of the Philippines-Manila, in a study published in the journal Acta Medica Philippina last month, found that certain extracts from locally abundant horn snails (Telescopium telescopium) may prevent angiogenesis or the formation of blood vessels from existing ones.

The blood vessels, according to the authors, supply oxygen and nutrients for the growth of cancer cells, making angiogenesis a significant mechanism of growth and spread of cancer cells in the body.

“By preventing angiogenesis, cancer cells are starved and do not grow and spread,” read an abstract of the study released by the UP office of the vice president for academic affairs.

“Therefore, the use of anti-angiogenic agents has been an advantageous therapy for cancer.

This study evaluated the potential antiangiogenic activity of Telescopium telescopium locally known as Bagongon,” it added.

The paper was co-authored by industrial pharmacy graduates Milany Anne Luay, Mary France Gonzaga and Sharmaine Kae Po, along with their adviser Erna Arollado, currently the director of the UP Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Po, in an interview with The STAR, clarified that their research is only an initial step into finding an actual cure or treatment for cancer using extracts from horn snails.

She said more studies and trials are needed in order for a cure to be made available to the public.

‘For Filipinos’ Po, who is now a medicine student, said they worked on the research in 2017 as their undergraduate thesis for the Bachelor of Science in Industrial Pharmacy program of the university.

They also presented the results of the study at a conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2017.

She said they decided on the topic as they wanted to address a major issue affecting Filipinos, noting that approximately 59,000 people in the country die due to different types of cancer every year.

By looking at the potential of locally abundant organisms like the horn snail, Po said they wanted to establish initial research that

may pave way to the development of an anti-cancer treatment that could benefit Filipinos.

Asked why they specifically selected bagongon, she cited research showing the potential of horn snails for various antitumor agents and medications for the immune system.

“The marine ecosystem is recognized as an important source of bioactive compounds having medicinal potential,” added the authors in the paper.

“About two percent of the major sources of biomedical compounds obtained from invertebrates come from the phylum Mollusca,” they noted, referring to the taxonomic category where horn snails belong.

To determine the antiangiogenic properties of horn snails, the researchers obtained extracts from bagongon from Iloilo and tested it on partially opened fertilized duck eggs.

Po said these enabled them to observe the growth of the blood vessels, or the lack of it in those that had the horn snail extracts applied on them.

The researchers concluded that a certain type of compound called sterols or steroidal alcohols found in horn snails primarily contributed to its antiangiogenic property. n

ban with no clear scope,” they said.

The ban started on Feb. 20, 2018 when a member of the PSG barred reporter Pia Ranada from entering Malacañang complex.

On March 1, 2018, Duterte said in a speech that he is banning Rappler reporters. The announcement came a day after former presidential aide Christopher “Bong” Go, now a senator, said the news site delivers “fake news”—a comment often used for reports seen as critical of the administration.

Rappler stressed the petition is not just about the organization but “about every journalist’s mandate to cover without prior restraint or threat of punishment the Office of the President and scrutinize the tremendous power it holds.”

Interventions The Supreme Court also allowed journalists from various media organizations to intervene in Rappler’s plea to end the president’s directive.

In their petition-in-intervention,

the 41 journalists said Duterte’s ban or Rappler reporters would also cover journalists who might publish stories which the president deems to be “fake news.”

They asked the SC to hold an oral argument on the case.

“Press freedom is a preferred right that stands on a higher level than substantive economic freedom or other liberties. As such, any attempt to restrict it must pass a high standard of constitutional scrutiny,” the journalists said.

Among the petitioners include Melinda de Jesus, Vergel Santos and Luis Teodoro of Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, broadcasters Tina MonzonPalma, Solita Monson, Lourd de Veyra and columnists John Nery and Ceres Doyo.

The high court also granted the separate petition for intervention filed by media advocates led by artist-activist Bart Guingona, convenor of Media Nation. (Gaea Katreena Cabico with report from Kristine Joy Patag/Philstar.com)

Supreme Court orders gov’t to comment on Rappler petition vs Duterte coverage ban MANILA — The Supreme Court has ordered the Office of the President and other government agencies to comment on the petition to lift President Rodrigo Duterte’s ban against reporters of online news site Rappler.

In a notice of resolution dated August 14, the tribunal directed the Office of the President, Office of the Executive Secretary, Presidential Communications Operations Office, Presidential Security Group and Office of the Solicitor General to file their comments on the petition filed by Rappler and its reporters.

Last April, Rappler reporters filed a petition for certiorari before the high court to assail the chief executive’s order to prohibit the news organization and its reporters from covering his public events.

The petitioners argued the ban is unconstitutional for violating the right to due process.

“Without prior notice or hearing, the president imposed the

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Journal

Bea gets international attention for Netflix film

by Deni roSe M. afiniDaD-BernarDo Philstar.com

DESPITE being caught in an alleged “cheating” controversy with ex-boyfriend Gerald Anderson and fellow actress Julia Barretto, Bea Alonzo continues to reap attention as her 2018 horror flick “Eerie” has been getting rave reviews from different media organizations abroad.

“Filipino horror film Eerie has left fans so terrified they can’t sleep with the lights off,” said writer Roxy Simons in an article published by United Kingdom-based news site, Daily Mail.

Simons compared “Eerie” to

Hollywood movies and series on Netflix such as “The Haunting Of Hill House” and “American Horror Story.”

“Viewers were petrified by the horror film so much that they even struggled to sleep in the dark, and took to Twitter to share their struggle,” Simons added.

Another UK-based news site, The Independent, said that “several viewers admitted on social media that the film left them terrified.”

In her article titled “Netflix Horror Film ‘Eerie’ Has People Sleeping With the Lights On,” Nerisha Penrose of American fashion and lifestyle magazine Elle said: “A scary movie can’t

be considered great unless it’s full of jump scares, unpredictable twists, and leaves you so afraid you refuse to sleep with the lights off. According to thriller-obsessed folks on Twitter, Netflix’s new horror film Eerie checks off all of the above.”

According to Penrose, since the flick was released on Netflix last month, it has been getting reviews such as “forced to sleep with the lights on” and “screamed 3 times in 20 minutes.”

Likewise, Ale Russian of American entertainment magazine People described the movie as a “really good horror.”

Originally premiered at Singapore International Film Festival

Marian says she wants another baby

by Lhar

Santiago ManilaTimes.net

SECOND-time mom Marian Rivera-Dantes is taking her time going back to work after giving birth to Baby Ziggy. But before anyone worries, she’s perfectly well and practically back to her pre-pregnancy figure, and is only doing so because she feels that her son with hubby Dingdong Dantes is still too little to be left at home in the care of their trusted yayas. Just like she did when they had eldest girl Zia, the hands-on celebrity mom wants to give Ziggy — who turns four months today — the time and nurturing only a mother can provide.

“Ang hirap talaga iwan ng baby,” she told Showbuzz. “The first reason, of course, is because I’m breastfeeding. Alam mo naman ako, sobrang advocate ng breastfeeding because I believe it’s best for babies. Kaya hangga’t maaari, gusto ko nasa bahay ako para mag-breastfeed kay Ziggy, just like I did with Zia.” Marian has, in fact, received two awards for advocating

Marian Rivera

breast feeding. On August 10, the Mother and Child Nurses Association of the Philippines (MCNAP) named her the organization’s official Celebrity

Photo from Instagram/@marianrivera

Breastfeeding Influencer, after previously giving her the Breastfeeding Advocate Award for her efforts in spreading awareness PAGE B3

last December, “Eerie” tells the story of a school guidance counselor, Patricia Consolacion (Bea), who set out an investigation on the death of a student, Erika, who has been haunting the school, Sta. Lucia Academy, a Catholic school exclusive for girls.

During her investigation, she encounters the school’s “strict and borderline abusive” head, Mother Alice, and the “monster” that lurks in the shadows of the school.

The Mikhail Red-directed Star Cinema film was screened at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival and has reportedly earned over P200 million in box office worldwide.

Bea Alonzo

Photo from Instagram/@beaalonzo

EntErtainmEnt

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Sharon admits refusing new shows as daughter Frankie moves to NY by

Krissy AguilAr Inquirer.net

AS her daughter Frankie Pangilinan moves to New York City for college, Megastar Sharon Cuneta has admitted turning down show offers to keep her family as top priority.

Cuneta revealed this in a video blog posted Thursday night over her Youtube channel titled “My Kakie’s leaving for college in NYC :-(“ “I have really been declining, not even considering, offers for a new show, because I don’t want to be tied down here weekly,” Cuneta said. “So I have a long break when I’m not doing a movie.”

“I felt really bad when I found out about this,” Frankie chimed in.

Now that she is “secure enough,” the seasoned singeractress said she is now able to consider what she truly feels and be able to visit Frankie without worries.

“It’s priorities. I’m old enough and I think I’m secure enough, thank God, to decide on things like that and take my real feelings into consideration and follow my priorities in order,” Cuneta said.

“I want to be able to go for a couple of weeks without worrying,” she added.

Since she wants a lighter schedule, Cuneta said she now

Twenty-six-year-old Los Angeles-based Filipino filmmaker Valfrie Tabian Jr. living out his dream in the U.S.

Valfrie Tabian Jr. on pursuing passion in LA by izA iglesiAs ManilaTimes.net

Sharon Cunete with daughter Frankie Pangilinan Photo from Instagram/@reallysharoncuneta

prefers doing concerts and movies now.

“I’m in a singing, performing in a concert and doing movies mode now. I don’t want to have that weekly heavy schedule,” she shared.

Frankie and Cuenta have already arrived in New York when she posted the video, as indicated in its description.

It read: “As I upload this, we have just arrived in New York.

Praying we all make it through having to leave her here when it’s time for the rest of us to go back home in Manila.”

It was last June when Frankie graduated from high school and Cuneta bared her daughter’s plans to continue school abroad.

Erich quits ‘Love Thy Woman’ by

Krissy AguilAr Inquirer.net

ACTRESS Erich Gonzales has exited from upcoming series “Love Thy Woman” starring Kim Chiu and Xian Lim. Dreamscape Entertainment cited “creative differences” as the reason for Gonzales’ withdrawal from the show.

“Due to creative differences, Erich Gonzales has resigned from ‘Love Thy Woman,’ a Dreamscape Production from ABS-CBN,” Dreamscape said in a statement on Thursday, August 16.

It was also announced that Yam Concepcion, best known for her role in series “Halik,”

Contributed photo

will be replacing Gonzales in the show.

“Yam Concepcion will be taking the role of Dana Wong in the series,” Dreamscape said.

It was back in April when Dreamscape announced real life sweethearts Chiu and Lim will be reuniting in a new series alongside Gonzales.

Erich Gonzales

Photo from Instagram/@erichgg

FOR an individual to find their calling and be fortunate enough to pursue it as a living doesn’t happen too often. If it eventually does, it would mean the person endured a lot of patience and sacrifice to turn his passion into a viable career.

Take for example 26-year-old Los Angeles-based Filipino filmmaker Valfrie Tabian Jr. who left his comfort zone to chase after his dream.

Admitting that it has not been a walk in the park, the Tuguegarao native decided to move to Manila to pursue what he always wanted to be — a director. To get a headstart, he studied Filmmaking at De La Salle–College of St. Benilde and there, he got to explore the craft he eventually made a career into.

“In college, we started making short films and collaborated with other students in different programs. I was having a lot of fun filming with my classmates, and as I progress, one of my instructors gave us a film to watch and write something about it, ‘Cinema Paradiso’ by Italian Filmmaker Guiseppe Tornatore.

All I remember writing about it is how simple the cinematography was, yet, it gives justice to the characters and the story. That’s the time when I started to love cinematography and pursue it as

a career,” Tabian shared to The Manila Times in an interview.

After graduating in 2014, Tabian worked in a commercial production house as a Creative Associate, where he mainly did editing, before leaving the company to focus on his career as a Director of Photography for a year and a half.

Decided to improve his passion even further, Tabian flew to Los Angeles, California campus of the New York Film Academy (NYFA) in mid-2017.

“With the support of my family, they helped me pursue that dream. Because as an artist, you’re always seeking ways of how to improve yourself and your craft, and I took advantage of that here in Los Angeles.

Through the guidance of my mentors at NYFA, it helped me set a path that break those barriers and with constant practice you progress quicker than you realize,” Tabian added.

However, things didn’t happen in a blink of an eye for the young cinematographer. After graduating in NYFA, he had a difficult time getting into production houses because of his immigrant status.

“It’s very understandable because of the possible high cost of the sponsoring company.

Perhaps it’s true about they say that, ‘Patience is a virtue” because I just kept myself busy by helping out and doing free

projects as a cinematographer, although that helped me grow my network here in LA, it got me to where I am right now,” Tabian enthused.

“Los Angeles is a very diverse city, I met people from different countries around the globe.

There’s not much difference compared to the industry we have in Manila, it’s very open and what matters the most is the attitude you bring on set and that comes on top of your talent.

Focusing on shooting narrative scripts at first to be able to find the right look or style, Tabian eventually had his most successful project as a Directector of Photography for the short film “Benjamin” written and directed by his friend, Ayush Soni.

With determination and perseverance, he got selected to multiple festivals in Los Angeles and in other states. For the said short film, Tabian won an award for Cinematography at the Los Angeles Film Awards.

“One of the best feeling or moments I always get is whenever I get to watch a film that I’ve shot as a cinematographer in the big screen. And sharing that moment with the people you worked with is just priceless.

Getting this kind of award is a plus,” Tabian told The Manila Times.

With the brighter future PAGE B3

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Journey to the Promised Land in 2020 by

THE THIRD BATCH OF KAPAMILYA WHO CAME TO THE “CITIZEN PINOY” TAPING IN ILLINOIS GET THEIR QUESTIONS ANSWERED THIS SUNDAY! Can a mother still use the same petition she filed for her son back in 1992, even if the son did not pursue the case back then because he got married?What is the fastest way for a mother to bring her two aged-out children to the U.S.? What happens if an applicant diligently completed his Employment-Based Visa Application (EB3), only to find out that his lawyer never filed the case? Get answers to these and more on an encore episode of — “Citizen Pinoy,” this Sunday at 6:15 p.m. PST/EST (9:15 p.m. EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers).

(Advertising Supplement)

Moira reveals risk of going blind due to nose job gone wrong by

Niña V. GuNo Inquirer.net

Moira Dela Torre Photo from Instagram/@moirarachelle

MOIrA Dela Torre opened up on the difficulties she faced after undergoing a nose job gone wrong.

The “Tagpuan” singer went through a non-invasive rhinoplasty for her nose about two months after her January wedding to Jason Marvin Hernandez, she revealed in a press conference for her upcoming concert “Braver” as featured in a report by “Umagang Kay Ganda” on Wednesday, August 14.

“Well, basically, may nagkamali (someone made a mistake).

And my nose went on necrosis.

And it was a very simple procedure. It’s non-invasive. But it went wrong,” she said. “Hindi po siya naagapan agad (It was not taken care of) because we had no idea what was happening. I

was at high risk of being blind, of aneurysm, of heart attack, and stroke.”

The “Idol Philippines” judge said she spent nearly three months recovering at home, and assured that she is doing better. “I’m 85% healed, I feel like I’m 100% healed internally. I feel like this whole season really did make me so much braver.”

Despite missing projects while she recovered, Dela Torre said she has forgiven the person and will not file a case.

“Napatawad ko na rin naman po (I have forgiven him) and I know that that person didn’t mean to do that. I’ve forgiven that person. That person helped me fix everything.”

Dela Torre’s concert “Braver” will take place on Sept.

13 at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Underarm botox is the best gift you can give yourself before summer ends Image Spa Imee Ong-maghanOy YOU would think that there is nothing worse than getting baked under the Southern California sun with its record-breaking heatwave, gusty winds, hot air and low humidity but there is! And that is sweating excessively in the middle of a client meeting, having to repeatedly raise and extend your hand.

You find yourself silently praying that the wet circles under your arms don’t seep out onto your shoulders or down your sleeves. It’s one of the most embarrassing experiences ever.

I hear you – and I come bearing the BeST gift you could give yourself to get out of this “sweaty situation.”

I’m pretty sure you’ve heard the term Botox injections. It’s been used in treating a variety of medical conditions but is quite known as a cosmetic treatment for wrinkles. And because of its ability to treat neuromuscular conditions such as migraines and muscle spasms, it can also block the nerves that are responsible for activating your sweat glands. It is a new treatment option for people who are prone to excessive sweating otherwise known as

hyperhidrosis. Hyperhidrosis is the medical term for excessive sweating. It refers to any abnormal sweating, such as sweating when it’s not hot. People who sweat excessively often soak through their clothing or drip sweat. regular antiperspirants don’t work well for those with this condition.

This is where Botox swoops in to save the day!

Botox has been FDA-approved for people who sweat excessively from their armpits.

It is injected in the problem area and it stops the nerves from sending stimulating sweat messages to the glands in the skin. So no more sweat, no

more wet circles under the arms, no more buttock-clenching moments with your elbows tucked tightly to your waist or with crisscrossed arms as you dig your soaking hands under your armpits to keep the “secret” from spilling out.

The way that Botox injections work is that they paralyze the nerves that cause your sweat glands to produce too much sweat such as in the case of one suffering from hyperhidrosis. Normally, your nervous system activates your sweat glands when your body temperature rises. This is how your body automatically cools PAGE B4

Marian says she wants another...

PAGE B1 on the importance of nursing babies.

Proudest of her accomplishments is Dingdong who is grateful to his wife for always prioritizing the health and well-being of their babies. In an Instagram post where Marian is holding her recognition, he wrote, “Higit pa sa anumang Best Actress Award ang hawak niya at ‘yan ang pagkilala sa inspiration na ibinibigay niya sa breastfeeding community. Sa lahat ng mga roles na nagampanan niya, paborito niya ‘yung sa totoong buhay — ang pagiging isang Padede Mom! I am so proud of you, @marianrivera! Isang malupit na commitment ‘yang ginagawa mo, at suporta kami sa ‘yo hangga’t kaya mo.”

Marian also posted a message on her Instagram page where she encouraged all mothers to keep breastfeeding: “Sa lahat ng mga mapagmahal na nanay, para sa atin ang pagkilalang

ito! Sabi nga nila, ‘If you want it, work hard for it.’ Alam kong nakakapagod, mahirap, kaila­ ngang maraming isakripisyo — pero walang susuko! Laban, mga Padede Mom! Kaya natin ito!”

Her commitment to breastfeed Ziggy as long as she can is clearly the reason why Marian isn’t taking on too many assignments from her mother studio, GMA Network.

“Kaya gusto ko, I take it slowly. I know I have to return to my shows but my priority is my family, lalo na si Ziggy. I want to give him more time. Gusto ko ‘yung pag nagutom siya, i­ bre-breastfeed ko siya as much as possible. Iba pa rin ang gatas ng ina at lalong iba if mismong sa akin siya sususo.”

For now, Marian has chosen to resume hosting her GMA Public Affairs show “Tadhana.”

“This is one show that I really love,” she shared. “I’m so happy to work again with my Tadhana

family. Na-miss ko sila. I’m just happy to be back and nakaka­ touch because in the middle of taping, bigla silang nag-surprise ng cake and sang happy birthday to me.”

Moreover, her return to the show is also very timely as Tadhana is about to celebrate its second anniversary on air.

“From what I know they’re preparing a special episode. I don’t have an idea what the story is kasi kababalik ko lang but I’m really, really excited about it.”

With her hands full at home and with carefully-scheduled tapings for Tadhana, Marian says she feels so happy and blessed she can continue to work while taking care of Ziggy, Zia and of course, Dingdong too.

“I’m busy but I can’t complain,” she enthused.

Asked if she’d want another baby, Marian replied in a heartbeat, “Why not? Children are blessings from God. Gusto ko pa rin siyempre.”

Emil PErito

A PIlGrIMAGe is a trip like no other. It’s an important aspect of one’s religious life, for no act of devotion is as rich in history, traditions, and spirituality. One goes on a pilgrimage to build a stronger relationship with God, readily moving within the geography of faith and in places where Heaven met earth.

And as profound as the reasons for pilgrimages are, so are the destinations along the way.

In 2020, join Air Plus Travel in its journey to the Promised land. For 13 days, traverse through egypt, Jordan, and Israel, and witness where God’s grace has been shown with particular splendor and holiness.

The pilgrimage begins in Cairo, where you can marvel upon the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Sphinx in Giza Plateau.

A celebrated feat of human ingenuity and engineering, the Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It stands as a monumental tomb constructed some 4,500 years ago, and now remains as an echo of egypt’s Old Kingdom era. The Sphinx, meanwhile, is a monument of a lion in repose featuring a pharaoh’s head.

The second destination takes you climbing Mount Sinai, also known as the Mountain of Moses. It is a holy site believed to be the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. Several small chapels rest at the top of the mountain, from where you can experience a stunning view of the sunrise.

Another highlight of the pilgrimage is a trip to the ancient lost city of Petra in Jordan. A city half-built, half-carved into vibrant red, white, pink, and sandstone cliff faces, Petra is considered as one of the world’s most famous archaeological

Great Pyramid of Giza

Ancient lost city of Petra in Jordan

sites, boasting of ruins painted on a natural stone backdrop that changes color every hour. It was declared a UNeSCO World Heritage site and was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Other sites you will have a chance to see in the pilgrimage are the House of St. Peter and the ruins of the ancient Synagogue where Jesus preached, the Church of the Miracle of the

Unsplash photo by Les Anderson

Unsplash photo by Andrea Leopardi

loaves and the Fishes, Nazareth, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus endured his Agony. established in 1995, Air Plus Travel specializes in religious travel. Join us in one of our pilgrimages and private tours. For more information, contact Air Plus Travel at (562) 863-0624, or visit www.airplustravel.net.

(Advertising Supplement)

Valfrie Tabian Jr. on...

PAGE B2 ahead, Tabian is now working on possibly his first full length film as a cinematographer called “The Cursed.” It will be directed by another good friend of his, Gowtham Namasivayam and will be filmed in los Angeles in the middle of 2020. He also hopes to do a science fiction story or an action film in the future.

When asked what is the most important lesson he had to learn so far in his growing career, Tabian shared, “In my opinion, working in either a film or a commercial always come in group, and that group branches out to different departments with department heads to specific jobs and the goal is to execute the director’s vision. And being

a team player is a huge factor to a film’s success, getting the right people for the job and the right attitude.

“One thing I always tell myself at least, is always be patient and it will always come if you work hard, and if it’s yours then take the opportunity, if not then there’s always a reason for it,” he ended.

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Underarm botox is the best gift you... Embracing the loss of youth PAGE B3 itself. In people with hyperhidrosis, however, the nerves that signal the sweat glands are overactive. With Botox injections, the overactive nerves are essentially paralyzed. When your nerves can’t signal your sweat glands, you don’t sweat.

You may be a candidate for this procedure if your sweating fails to improve with prescription antiperspirants.

There are also a number of

studies that have proven the safety of Botox. Most people tolerate it well. Some possible side effects include: pain or bruising at the injection site, headache, or flu-like symptoms.

A couple of things to remember before considering this procedure: one is that Botox only prevents sweating in the specific area where it’s injected. And two: I would recommend an experienced

practitioner to administer your Botox injection, such as the ones we have in our clinics.

The injections don’t take long and can be completed during an office visit.

As soon as you’re done with your Botox injections, you can return to your normal life and start high-five-ing your boss without the fear of the sweaty armpits.

Also, it will take between two and seven days for you to stop sweating in the treated area.

We may ask you to schedule a follow-up appointment to check-in and touch up any missed spots. The effects of Botox are temporary, which means you’ll need more injections in the future. But the dryness can last anywhere from four to fourteen months. About two weeks after your treatment, once you have seen the full effects of the Botox, you should see us for a follow-up appointment.

As a professional esthetician, I am always after the well-being of my clients. Underarm botox is a highly effective treatment for excessive sweating and for many people, it has drastically improved their quality of life.

If you suffer from excessive sweating in that region, I highly suggest you give yourself the gift of confidence that is brought about by having this procedure.

At iSkin Face and Image Spa MD, we are more than happy to get to know you and your specific needs. More importantly, we love you to love your skin and the body you are in, whether it’s spring, winter, fall and especially this summer season.

See you soon! High five!

Visit iSkin Face and Body or Image Body Spa for a free consultation. iSkin is located at 8709 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood, CA. Image Spa MD is located at 9227 Haven Ave. Suite 120 in Rancho Cucamonga, CA and 499 N El Camino Real, suite c-200 in Encinitas, CA. *** Imee is an established aesthetician, a business owner and a managing partner for Image Spa MD and CEO of Image Body SPA. She has a degree in Biology and Doctor of Dental Medicine. Image Spa is now one of the most reputable medical spa facilities in LA and has branches in Rancho Cucamonga and Encinitas for Image SPA MD and iSkin in West Hollywood. Imee has been in the aesthetics industry for over 20 years.

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MOONLIGHTING

by MYLAH DE

LEON

YOU want to be young? But you can’t be — older is what we all get.

Getting old is a natural thing and we must not be afraid of the natural. Trees, animals, and everything else that is alive age.

I am not afraid to look old.

I don’t know indifference, I ignore bitterness. If something unpleasant happens to me, I put it behind.

Women in that certain age are in their oneness: their hands brushed tears away, hands that were once held by and warmed husbands. Indomitably they are widowed by men who couldn’t cry or touch and died of heart attacks.

I never expected to be such a poor sport about aging, because I never expected to be old, or at least accept aging very badly.

But I am not clutching it in highpitched sighs and smiles that tell of pain forgotten. In a fragile package are my age spots, menopause and arthritic hormones.

Many times, during this examination of the woman of a certain age and the world she lives in, I’ve asked myself, who cares?

The only reason that I’m adding words to this subject is to clear away what I consider to be a thicket of misconceptions if not timidities. Bernard Shaw (GBS) said that it’s a pity, youth in wasted on the young.

This is untrue! Youth is wasted on the old if all they do is pine

Brilliantly aging with my grandchildren, Ezekiel and Eliana.

fragile than youth.

Be unduly dignified, having earned the right to dress and sing and dance anyway you please. I could even take up belly dancing, and unlock all my inhibitions.

Our identities are not tied to our age. We’re never our own age, as we come to terms with aging, we create our identities in our own terms.

Now, I can demand the freedom to take life less seriously. I will flaunt my gray hair, wrinkles, double chin and falling wombs with the acceptance that beyond age, lies a gentler joy and peace that sanctifies old age, I shall stop reflecting on such things as the nature of melancholy, or how sickness could be caused by the state of mind.

I shall transfer my illusions to more attainable men, and forego men who out of range like Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Henry V, or Clint Eastwood. Perhaps, at some point, throw away the books, along with self-restraint. But in no time will I throw away a sense of fierce independence as a human being and the desire to attain distinction in terms of mind and spirit and expression, and its existing horizons. I am not going to be worried of what others think of me, or by what standard of morality I am judged.

By the time a woman is 70, she is either wanted as a woman of 70 or not really wanted at all. She doesn’t have to fool anyone and accept the fact that competing with women for younger than she is over anything, and is not only degrading, but futile.

The affection I now receive is for me, the real me. This was worth waiting for. ***

away to be young again. By embracing the loss of youth, I’ve transcended my anxieties and the dread of growing ancient.

I speak of growing old not gently, perhaps not even gracefully; but with a wonderful outrageous sense of style. I will wrap a scarf around my neck to hide a turkey’s neck, flutter my bosom with bold Swarovski beads that will blind an eagles gaze, be swathed in glitz and glamour. I’ll be sweating glitters.

My voice will be lighter, and I will dress myself: Christian Dior-ed, Valentino-ed and buttered with flowers in an Oscar de la Renta — if you have the taste and money to acquire it.

I will defy the grave with bright colors and perfume (guaranteed to wake the dead and kill the livE-mail Mylah at moonlightingmdl@aol. ing), tending time, which is more com.

‘Hello, Love, Goodbye’: Not just another OFW movie

BY MONET

LU

THE trailer of the movie “Hello, Love, Goodbye” says it all. Or so I thought.

I’ve seen countless local and foreign films “dressed” as a love story but they are actually “travel movies” sans the documentary — the kind where the plot focuses on the location whilst putting a bit of the cliché love story to avoid being stereotyped as “just another movie with a great location.”

On the other hand, there are filmmakers in likes of Cathy Garcia-Molina who know how to combine a great location and great story without overshadowing one or the other by injecting a concept so familiar and captivating especially to Filipinos: the untold story of Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW). And after watching the film, I am happy to say that the movie “Hello, Love, Goodbye” is indeed an “OFW movie,” and so much more.

The story revolves around Joy (played by Kathryn Bernardo), who is the quintessential OFW, working hard in Hong Kong to provide for her family in the Philippines, with aspirations of migrating to Canada.

Ethan, played by Alden Richards, is the less driven bartender who, while waiting for his residency to push through, meets Joy. They develop a friendship – thanks to the persistent and slightly stalky moves of Ethan. They then slowly find themselves falling in love.

I came to the theaters expecting heavy drama-filled scenes centering on the personal sufferings of a domestic helper; followed by the typical opening up of stories by “kababayans” who (also) perceive Hong Kong as a “pass-thru” place wherein you stay awhile and expect to leave when you have to. The film opens up with that exact sentiment as Joy’s voiceover talks of transience and how Hong Kong is a place that is not meant for long-term dedication as it is just a stop-over. The scenes were of bustling life on the streets of Hong Kong, in their workplaces and family homes; where Joy and her friends commiserate about their trials, but also gossiping and laughing.

My expectation was met in that the movie truly brought out complex social structures and personal sufferings that describe the life of an overseas domestic helper. But it had more depth than I gave it credit for. The movie offers a compelling, detailed, compassionate look at the little-known lives, and hopes, of domestic workers.

As expected, Director GarciaMolina knows exactly how to depict such testimony while honestly exposing the inequity that domestic helpers experience. She seamlessly peppered the film with

scenes and exchanges that tug at your heartstrings. So be warned.

Make sure you bring more tissues.

And just let your tears well up coz they will.

The lead actors—Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards— were exceptional in delivering their characters that you’d forget that this is their first time to team up and step away from their respective loveteams. I still miss “Kathniel” but I have to admit, “Kathden” shows undeniable chemistry, all things considered. Both were able to communicate conflicting emotions without saying anything.

As Inquirer writer Armando Chavez review’s says, “Applause as well to the musical editor for the musical thread through each of the non-speaking sequences between Alden and Kathryn. The close-ups are pure art as executed by the actors and captured by the director.”

Ricky Lo in his Philippine Star column also wrote: “…I can give 10 more reasons why I like the movie: The chemistry between Kathryn and Alden who are so convincing as young lovers on distant shores, with eyes speaking volumes even after they exchange kilometric dialogue — you know, to paraphrase a line from the popular song, they say it best when they say nothing at all… [also] The soundtrack that helps dramatize the characters’ dilemma, with the songs that heighten the immediacy of the lovers’ ‘stolen’ times together the oft-tackled plight of OFWs in the former Crown Colony related with unblinking clarity in the 2000 Rory Quintos movie Anak in which Vilma Santos plays an OFW in Hong Kong, enduring loneliness and homesickness for

the sake of her family back home who depends on her for their survival (Joy and Ethan in the same situation).”

Yet despite their charm, the typical cliché romance-in-a-travel-movie still seeps thru. Their backstories seem predictable as most lead characters in an OFW movie are. Nothing is surprisingly different in how their love story was told and I honestly think that the trailer already gave it away.

But that is what makes the movie a must-see. You see the trailer and expect it to be a certain way then Boom! It turns out a lot better than you expect.

So much better is the news that the movie has reportedly earned 500 million in the Philippines, and sold out in theaters abroad.

That is quite a feat considering both Alden and Kathryn came from two of the most sensational loveteams that have the most loyal and devoted fans of their generation. I guess there’s no stopping a wonderfully executed story even if it means stepping out of their comfort zones.

To the cast and crew of “Hello, Love, Goodbye,” congratulations and I hope you turn more OFW movies into brilliant masterpieces such as this. *** Monet Lu is a Marikina-born, award-winning celebrity beauty stylist with his own chain of Monet Salon salons across Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada. Ultimately, Monet is known as an all-around artiste who produces sold-out fashion and awards shows as well as unforgettable marketing campaigns. Monet is also the founder of the revolutionary all-natural beauty products such as Enlighten, your solution to discoloration . To contact Monet, please visit www.monetsalon.com or email him at monetsalon@aol.com.

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • AUgUSt 17-20, 2019

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B August 17-20, 2019 • LA WEEKEND AsIAN JOuRNAL

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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • AUGUST 17-20, 2019

COMMUNITY

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Journal

Large alumni gathering in Los Angeles looks ahead to University of the Philippines’ future

2019-2021 UPAAGLA Executive Officers and Board of Directors hold a retreat planning event on July 27, 2019. (L-R) Eric Panuncialman, Natalia Matitu-Mercado, Jackie Rivera, Relson Banas, Joji Bautista, Atty. Mary Lyn Sanga, Gil Guinto, Atty. Lovee Sarenas, Monette Carranceja, Ivy Manalang, Ethel Rubio, Weny Khan, Dr. Lourdes Capulong, Annie Nepomuceno, Gary Paglinawan, Maribel Catala, Michael Melendres.

LOS ANGELES — Three distinguished delegates from the University of the Philippines have all confirmed their attendance and will be among the guests of honor at the UP Alumni Association of Greater Los Angeles (UPAAGLA)’s upcoming event.

UP President Danilo Concepcion, along with External Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia and Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs and Director of Alumni Relations Rica Abad will be present at the installation ceremony and endowment fundraising gala to be held on Saturday, September 7 at the Los Angeles Grand Hotel.

UPAAGLA is a 501 C3 nonprofit alumni organization that aims to engage UP Alumni in Southern California and to raise funds to support the various academic programs and capital improvement projects in the eight campuses of the University of the Philippines.

UP has educated and produced hundreds of thousands of graduates in different academic fields which includes movers and shakers of our society.

Every two years, UPAAGLA holds its major fundraiser. This

year, as it celebrates its 20th year, with the theme ‘Taking UP to the Future,’ UPAAGLA intends to raise at least $25,000 for its Endowment Fund.

Around 300 guests, the majority of whom are UP alumni, are expected to come and support this dinner-dance event.

With less than a month before the gala night, UPAAGLA President Ethel Rubio said, “We are getting closer and closer to reaching the goal that we have set out to do,� also crediting the volunteer leadership team. This so far is the biggest (in terms of attendance and money raised) UPAAGLA fundraiser in recent

years.

Through the years, UPAAGLA has supported the following projects: UP Professorial Chair; five-year full scholarship of Armel Lugod, B.S. Architecture, Class of 2018, U.P. Mindanao; Lend-A-Laptop Student Assistance Program; UP College of Engineering Thesis Grants.

UP alumni and friends can still be a part of this historical event. Please visit the UPAAGLA website at www.upaagla. org to purchase gala night tickets (few more seats available), to become a sponsor or to make a donation towards the Endowment Fund. n

FOOTSTEPs OF ST. ANTHONY mary CLARET 6HSW WR ĹĄ Spiritual Director: REV BILL CAO

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C AUGUST 17-20, 2019 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

Minding Your Finances Atty. RAymond BulAon IF you’ve ever found yourself financially broke or buried in debt at one point in your life, I’m sure you still remember how it felt.

The feelings of despair and helplessness, the sleepless nights, the endless anxiety about the futureA lot of people will never understand until they have experienced it for themselves.

From personal experience and from my work as a bankruptcy attorney, I’ve learned that the first step to financial recovery is to acknowledge responsibility for where you are. I find that much energy can be wasted on trying to assign the blame on someone, the economy, the government, etc. but that doesn’t get you anywhere. You can also keep wishing that things were different and ignore your present reality but until you accept things for what they are at the moment, you will remain powerless to make a change. Leave the past where it belongs and focus only on what you can control.

I am not in any way diminishing the magnitude of your problem if your situation is overwhelming and complicated. To the contrary, I realize that you didn’t end up where you are overnight so it may

Barrister’s Corner Atty. Kenneth uRSuA ReyeS CERTAIN aliens are barred from adjusting to legal permanent residents by virtue of having entered the United States under the following conditions: Entering the US as an alien crewman (C-1 visa/ jumpship) Accepting unauthorized employment Entering the US without inspection (No I-94 or crossing the border without a visa) Remaining in the US past the expiration of their status (overstays) Status/ Visa violations Admitted in the US in transit without a visa Admitted in the US as a non immigrant visitor without a visa

http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797

To people who are facing a financial crisis take time to find a solution. There are usually no magical transformations. But every step you make in the right direction beginning right now will help. In some cases it takes months or years for people to recover from a financial crisis and that’s perfectly OK if that’s the best possible outcome under the circumstances.

For example, during the peak of the foreclosure crisis from 2008-2011, I’ve helped hundreds of clients who were facing the loss of their home. While a lot of people were able to do so, there were others who simply could no longer afford their mortgage payments. I encouraged the clients who lost their home that foreclosure was not the end of the world and that eventually, they will be able to buy a home again. I have seen a lot of clients do just that just a few years later. Remember: Nothing in life is ever permanent and the one thing you can be sure of is that things change all the time. You may be down right now but up again before you know it.

Eventually, the pendulum of life swings back.

If you’re already too deep in debt and you have no other choice but to file bankruptcy, realize that our laws were designed in order to give you a fresh financial start when you can no longer help yourself. If you have made

some financial mistakes that led to your present situation, bankruptcy laws serve to help you get back on your feet so that you can become productive again. Some people are afraid that once they file bankruptcy, they are financially ruined forever.

This is one of the biggest lies told by creditors and their bill collectors. The fact is that people who file for bankruptcy only need a few years to regain their credit although the bankruptcy still appears on their record. Remember that future lenders don’t care too much about what happened to you 3 years ago as much as they care about what appears on your credit in the last 12 months. Yes, your credit can become normal again much sooner than what other people might have led you to believe.

For a free CONFIDENTIAL attorney consultation, please call Toll-Free 1-866-477-7772. We have offices in Glendale, Cerritos and Valencia. *** None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped thousands of clients in getting out of debt. For a free attorney evaluation of your situation, please call Ray Bulaon Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1 (866) 477-7772.

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How can INA section 245(i) benefit you?

These bars will prevent an alien from getting their green card inside the US even if they are eligible to receive a green card through a Petition that is current.

Aliens that with the above issues who try to adjust may encounter problems with the USCIS. INA section 245(i) waives these inadmissibility grounds for aliens that are grandfathered (covered) by INA section 245(i).

How does someone get grandfathered by section 245(i)? An alien is grandfathered if the alien is a beneficiary of a qualifying petition filed prior to April 30, 2001 and the principal beneficiary was physically present in the US on 12/21/2000. For petitions filed on or before 1/14/1998, no physical presence in the US is required. Qualifying petitions are I-130s, I-140s, some I-360s

and I-526s, labor certification applications, that are filed and approvable when filed. In addition, under Matter of Jara RIERO and Jara ESPINO L, 24 I&N Dec. 267(BIA 2007), the applicant must demonstrate bona fide marriage for I-130 filed based on marriage.

Derivative beneficiaries that existed at the time the qualifying petition was filed are independently grandfathered under section 245(i). They may adjust under a separate petition. After acquired dependents may adjust under 245(i) but are not independently grandfathered. After acquired dependents must adjust pursuant to the original qualifying petition that grandfathered them under section 245(i). If an alien is covered by section

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Tax & Stock Tips VictoR Sy, cPA, mBA

INVESTMENT guru Warren Buffett said that when the going gets tough, the tough goes shopping. No, he didn’t say that actually, but he did suggest that when the stock market plunges, go buy stocks - dirt cheap stocks.

1. Go shopping: See? I told you, he did say that.

Instead of selling, buy. Go on the offense. In bull markets, investors occasionally find reasonably priced, wonderful businesses.

But they can rarely find wonderful businesses trading at a significant discount to their fair value.

Stock market crashes are the rare times when high-quality businesses can be found in the clearance aisle. Go shopping! Tell your spouse that Warren said so.

2. Resist an emotional urge to unload stocks during a downturn: It’s human nature to sell as

Warren Buffett’s advice during a market crash Part 1 of 2 stocks fall for fear of falling fur- return is for people who stayed in ther. Resist that urge. Remain the market, not those who liquicalm. As Buffett has said, “In- dated during downturns.

5. Resist irrational and emovesting is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy tional urges during a downturn: with the 130 IQ. To be able to make good deIt’s a game where temperament and patience are more val- cisions during a stock market crash, you have to remain calm. ued than IQ. 3. Recognize that stocks can That’s how you enjoy high returns from the stock market. fall far and fast: There’s always a risk that a *** major downturn. Stocks not only Victor Santos Sy graduated Cum Laude fall, they fall often. There is sim- from UE with a BBA and from Indiana State ply no telling how far stocks can University with an MBA. Vic worked with fall in a short period. Stock mar- SyCip, Gorres, Velayo (SGV - Andersen ket declines are inevitable - and Consulting) and Ernst & Young before they will come in all shapes and establishing Sy Accountancy Corporation forms. So be prepared. in Pasadena, California.

4. Stay invested: *** While stock market crashes He has 50 years of experience in and major downturns have prov- defending taxpayers audited by the IRS, en to repeat throughout history, FTB, EDD, BOE and other governmental they bounce back and do so even agencies. He is publishing a book on his stronger. For example, the Dow expertise - “HOW TO AVOID OR SURVIVE Jones Industrial Average has IRS AUDITS.” Our readers may inquire risen an average of 10.3% annu- about the book or email tax questions at ally over the last 100 years. That vicsy@live.com.

The power of Mary’s prayers AS my parish in Glendale, California celebrates my installation this weekend as its pastor, I think of Mary, our Blessed Mother. She is the model of what it is to be a leader and member of a Catholic Christian community: faithful, willing, humble, heroic, and generous in service to God and His people.

Mary’s “yes” to God resulted in Incarnation (from which we derive the name of our parish church)! Through her fiat, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, descended from heaven to earth to be one like us to save the whole humanity and the world.

As Fr. Ed Bloom states in his book, Total Consecration Through the Mysteries of the Rosary, “Mary’s yes to God changed the world for all times; in fact, her yes redounds to eternity!”

In today’s critical period of the Catholic Church in different parts of the world, I contend that we also assert Mary’s role in our present lives as the great intercessor.

We need her prayers to bring back faith in Jesus Christ to many people, particularly the youth who are influenced by the strong forces of secularism and liberal-

The Prophetic Voice ReVeRend Rodel G. BAlAGtAS ism. We need her to pray for our pope, bishops, and priests that they may be faithful to their vows, be holy and become true shepherds of their flock.

It is Mary’s powerful intercession that will purify our church and defend her from all harms and attacks. For throughout the of her apparitions, she came to rescue a people who suffered persecution, plagues, and poverty.

So I suggest that we bring back the fervor of Marian devotions in our parishes and reintroduce Mary to our youth as a mother who cares for our needs and accompanies us in our aspiration for holiness. I suggest that we evangelize people through meaningful and inspiring Marian piety by traditional practices such as praying the Holy Rosary and novenas and candlelight processions.

One of my priest-friends argues that we don’t have to come up with another magic formula to bring life to our church. We merely have to uncover the richness, beauty, and glory of age-old traditions of liturgy, prayers, and ascetic practices.

I now agree with him. I think that even in this digital world, our young people are clamoring for substance, profundity, and mysticism in prayer. Mary’s life and Marian devotions provide us with these needs.

Now that I’m back to parish ministry, I am convincing my parishioners about the power of Mary’s prayers, her role as a great intercessor. I am telling them that to grow in holiness, love, and generosity, and most of all, love for Jesus, they need to be close to Mary and seek her help.

After all, history tells us this was true for the past generations of Catholic Christians and other people who fought against the evil forces of the material world and found peace and healing.

Mary, Immaculate, pray for us! *** Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas is the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale, California.

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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • AUGUST 17-20, 2019

C

Are you entitled to ‘show up pay’? Maximizing recovery in peronal injury cases Q: I WORK as an on-call employee for a healthcare facility.

My employer often calls me to report for duty but when I arrive to work, my assignment is cancelled and I am sent home.

This has happened several times and I was not paid for a single canceled work even though they scheduled it and I showed up for it. What are my rights?

A: For every day that you reported to a scheduled workday, you may be entitled to reporting time pay. If the employee is required to work, reports to work, and is not put to work, or does not work half of the employee’s scheduled day’s work, the employee is paid a half-shift reporting wage of at least two hours but not to exceed four hours.

Generally, if an employee is required to report to work a second time in any one workday and is furnished less than two hours of work on the second reporting, he or she must be paid for two hours at his or her regular rate of pay. These hours must be paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay.

Reporting time pay or “showup pay” is compensation that employers are required to pay to hourly employees for certain unworked but regularly scheduled time, in addition to the hours the employee actually worked. The employer’s legal obligation to pay reporting time pay stems from California’s objective to encourage employers to properly schedule employees, and not waste employee’s

Protecting Employee & Consumer Rights Atty. C. Joe SAyAS, Jr. time with haphazard scheduling.

Employers do not have to pay reporting time pay when the following situations occur: 1. Business operations cannot begin or continue due to threats to employees or property, or when civil authorities recommend that work not begin or continue; 2. Public utilities fail to supply electricity, water, or gas, or there is a failure in the public utilities, or sewer system; 3. The interruption of work is caused by an Act of God or other cause not within the employer’s control (e.g., earthquake, rain, or inclement weather); 4. The employee has requested to leave work early for personal reasons; 5. The employee is not fit to work (e.g., the employee reported to work while drunk); 6. The employee has not reported to work on time and is fired or sent home as a disciplinary action; 7. The employee is paid on standby status and is called to perform standby work on nonscheduled time.

Some employers may find it convenient to schedule employees only when there is a need for them, thus, keeping employees

“on-call” and scheduling them to work with maybe a few hours’ notice. If these employees show up for a scheduled work, but then were sent home without being put to work, should they be paid for showing up? Some employees who work in the retail industry have filed lawsuits so they could be paid their show-up pay.

“On-call” scheduling may happen not only in the retail industry but other industries as well, where the demand for workers may fluctuate, such as in healthcare, manufacturing, hotels and restaurants, or sales.

Employees who are “on-call,” on unpaid “stand-by” or “per diem,” who find their scheduled work canceled after they show up, and who do not get paid for the cancellation, would be smart to speak with a knowledgeable employment attorney to find out if they’re entitled to additional wages. *** The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost.

You can contact the office at (818) 2910088 or visit www.joesayaslaw.com” www.joesayaslaw.com. [C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is an experienced trial attorney who has successfully recovered wages and other monetary damages for thousands of employees and consumers.

He was named Top Labor & Employment Attorney in California by the Daily Journal, consistently selected as Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a Presidential Awardee for Outstanding Filipino Overseas in 2018.]

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Senior wants Chapter 13 to stop foreclosure by 2nd mortgagee for $50K and annul judgment lien of $60K THE client is 72 and appears to be a widow. She previously operated a business, which closed down in 2006. She borrowed $50,000 from her friend in 2004 secured by a second mortgage on her residence for the business.

Unfortunately, the business failed in 2006 and it stopped operating. The client did not pay the monthly payment of $500 monthly plus interest on the $50,000. Her friend did not collect the monthly installments for several years.

This month, the client received a recorded notice of default to foreclose her residence, if the $50,000 was not paid in full in the next 90 days.

The notice of default (NOD) is the first step to foreclose the house. It gives homeowners 90 days to pay the default before the foreclosure sale date can be set.

The foreclosure sale date cannot be set earlier than 21 days from the expiration of the 90 days from the date of recording of the NOD. The client shows me the NOD and I verify that there is a recording date. The recording date means that this notice has been recorded with the recorder of deeds, and thus the 90 days pre-foreclosure has commenced. Without this date of recording, the foreclosure does not begin. So any other document that you receive that says you are in default on your mortgage and giving you a computation of what you owe is not the formal recorded document required to start the foreclosure process. For instance, you are three months in arrears on your mortgage. You receive a letter from the bank entitled default

Debt Relief

Atty. LAwrenCe yAng with intent to foreclose. The letter does not have a recording date. Four months from your date of receipt of that letter, can the bank foreclose your house?

NO, because the official recorded NOD does not exist.

The client says she wants to save her house from foreclosure by the second trust deed holder,

My first impression was that paying off the $50,000 while at the same time avoiding the judgment lien of $60,000 was going to be impossible given the fact that residential values today are sky-high. But lo and behold, after determining the current fair market value of the house and what is owed by client on the first mortgage even though she was on loan modified mortgage where $200,000 was deferred but nevertheless owed, plus the second mortgage of $50,000, there was zero equity left to support the judgment lien, meaning on Chapter 13, a motion to avoid the third lien of $60,000 while paying off the second of $50,000 through the Chapter 13 plan would be successful indeed.

She would not have to pay any part of the $60K judgment lien that would just be invalidated because her plan would be a zero percent plan to unsecured creditors.

Upon granting of the motion to avoid the judgment lien, the $60,000 becomes unsecured, thus it does not have to be paid a single cent.

The only problem is that client’s social security is only $1,000 a month. However, she says that her son is a doctor and he will help her pay the first mortgage and the plan. So that takes care of the shortage of funds because son can participate as a family contributor to make the plan feasible. Her son takes care of her. That’s good.

Company receives $200K lawsuit by landlord & files for Chapter 7 The next client is a California company doing business out of state. It was in the import dis-

“This is very important for your financial well being in the future in case your company fails.

Your company’s business failure should not affect your personal assets in any way.” and her friend who is no longer her friend. Or, let’s just say, her friend wants her house because she did not pay her back the $50,000. The problem is that her house is worth $600,000. It doesn’t seem fair. Further, the client says that there is also a judgment lien of $60,000 on her house. I ask her, which came first, the $50,000 second, or the $60,000 judgment lien. According to her, the judgment lien came later. Therefore, the judgment lien is the third lien on her house. She wants to prevent the foreclosure by the second trust deed, and she wants to get rid of and invalidate the judgment lien of $60,000. Can she do this?

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News on Filipino WW2 Veterans Parole Program

SA ilalim ng Immigration and Nationality Act, ang Kalihim ng Homeland Security ay may discretion na magbigay ng parole.

Ang parole ay nagpapahintulot sa ilang mga dayuhang inadmissible o may ineligibility na ma-admit sa US na pisikal na pumasok sa US nang pansamantala. Ang Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ay maaaring magbigay ng parole kapag may determinasyon na: (1) mayroong mabilisang pangangailangan, makataong dahilan, o makabuluhang benepisyong pampubliko para ang dayuhan pumasok sa US; at (2) ang dayuhan ay nababagay sa kanais-nais na paggamit ng pagpapasya.

Ang mabilisang pangangailangan ay maipapakita kung ang aksyon ay time-sensitive, tulad ng kritikal na kondisyong medical ng kapamilya, ang pagbisita at pag-alaga sa isang miyembro ng pamilya na nasa katapusan ng sakit sa yugto ng buhay, ang pagpunta sa libing o para ayusin ang mga gawain ng kamag-anak na namatay sa US. Ang parole na base sa makabuluhang benepisyong pampubliko ay tulad ng partisipasyon ng dayuhan bilang testigo sa isang kasong sibil o kasong kriminal dahil masasabing ang pagtestigo ng dayuhan ay magbibigay ng hustisya. Kung ang parole ay ibibi-

Tapat Sa Batas Atty. rheA SAmSon gay, ito ay para sa panahon na pansamantala upang maisakatuparan ang layunin nito.

Bilang karagdagan sa normal na parole process, ang DHS ay nagtatag ng mga special parole programs. Isa na dito ang Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program (FWVP) na naging epektibo noong Hunyo 8, 2016.

Sa ilalim ng FWVP, may mga Filipino World War II veterans (at kanilang mga asawa) na US citizen o lawful permanent resident na maaaring humingi ng parole para sa mga pamilya na nasa labas ng US ngunit mayroon nang aprubadong immigrant petition.

Kung ang parole ay maaaprubahan, maaari na silang pumunta ng US upang muling magkasama-sama ang pamilya sa US bago pag maging available ang kanilang visa number.

Ang pagbigay ng parole ay hindi automatic ngunit sinusuri ng case-to-case basis. Ang USCIS ay maaaring mag-expedite

ng proseso dahil sa urgent humanitarian reasons. Bukod sa pagsunod sa mga alituntunin ng FWVP, ang beneficiary ay kailangang: (1) pumasa sa criminal at national security background checks; (2) pumasa sa medical exam; at (3) nababagay sa kanaisnais na paggamit ng pagpapasya.

Kung ang parole application ay maaaprubahan, ito ay ipapasa ng USCIS sa National Visa Center. Pagkatapos nito, ang kaso ay ililipat sa US Embassy in Manila para sa interbyu ng beneficiary.

Mga 6 buwan ang proseso mula sa pag-file ng FWVP application hanggang sa pagbigay ng travel document ng US Embassy sa beneficiary.

Kapag na-parole na sa US sa ilalim ng FWVP Program, ang parolee ay maaaring mag-apply ng work authorization at pwede na ring mag-antay sa US para sa availability ng familybased green card.

Noong Agosto, 2019, ang USCIS ay nagpahayag ng intension nito na tapusin na ang FWVP sang-ayon sa Executive Order 13767, Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements. Ito ay isang kahina-hinayang pangyayari na sumasalamin ng mga kasalukuyang immigration policies.

Ngunit sinabi din ng USCIS na lahat

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UNDER Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions (2011) 52 C.4th 541, the California Supreme Court ruled that persons who are injured and who are pursuing a personal injury claim cannot recover the full amount of medical bills incurred if an insurer paid a smaller, negotiated amount to the medical provider. The Court’s ruling further limited an injured person’s right to recover for past medical expenses.

In light of the Howell decision, it is even more important for a person who suffered injury to develop his/her claim for other economic damages.

The term “economic damages” means “objectively verifiable monetary losses including medical expenses, loss of earnings, burial costs, loss of use of property, costs of repair or replacement, costs of obtaining substitute domestic services, loss of employment and loss of business or employment opportunities.” Civil Code Section 1431.2(b)(1). A person’s claim for economic damages apart from medical expenses are often overlooked and not pursued by inexperienced counsel.

Loss of earnings are often a significant part of an injured person’s claim for economic damages. Damages are recoverable for both past and future lost earnings. To recover for

Legal Advice Atty. DArriCk tAn past lost earnings, a person must prove the amount of income or earnings that he/she has lost to date. To recover damages for future earnings, a person must prove the amount of income or earnings that he/she will be reasonably certain to lose in the future as a result of the injury.

CACI No. 3903C. How are past lost earnings proven? Medical records, which show the doctor authorizing a release from work or giving instructions to restrict work activities, can support the time taken off from work due to the injury.

For those self-employed, medical providers typically do not provide a release from work; however, medical records should record work restrictions placed by the medical provider.

After showing that the time off was justified, the next step is to value the lost earnings. A letter from a person’s employer that outlines the amount of time that one has lost as a result of his/her injury, the loss of benefits, and the rate of pay during the time

of loss is evidence of the value of one’s loss of earnings claim.

Other supporting documents include pay stubs, time cards, and tax returns. The monetary value of sick leave and vacation time that are used due to the injury are also recoverable. For those self-employed, earnings history as reflected by tax returns and profit and loss statements can help prove the value of lost earnings. Similar supporting documentation must be presented for future lost earnings.

If you were suffered injury in an auto accident or someone’s premises, please contact our office to discuss your case. To maximize monetary recovery, it is important to have the assistance of an experienced attorney in presenting your personal injury claim. *** Darrick V. Tan, Esq. is admitted to practice law in California and Nevada. Mr. Tan is a graduate of UCLA and Southwestern University School of Law. He is a member of the Consumers Attorney Association of Los Angeles and is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Philipp ine American Bar Association. *** LAW OFFICES OF DARRICK V. TAN, 3580 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 900, Los Angeles, CA 90010. Tel: (323) 639-0277.

Email: info@dtanlaw.com.

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How can INA section 245(i)...

PAGE C2 t

245(i), the alien can adjust to a legal permanent resident by paying a $1,000 penalty and submitting evidence that the alien was a beneficiary of a qualifying petition.

Being covered by section 245(i) makes a lot of difference for aliens who lost their I-94. It is a common situation for aliens not to have their I-94 and passports if they entered the US many years ago.

Sometimes, the I-94 and old passport are lost through the years when the alien move from one residence to another. The problem with this is the alien might have problem proving inspection into the United States specially if the alien is unable to obtain a replacement I-94 or present other proof of inspection such as the immigration admission stamp or a copy of the visa.

Another common situation are crew men under a C-1 visa

that were inspected but admitted as “in transit.” Many of these crew men never make it to their final destination. The crew men instead decides to remain in the United States. What they do not realize is that they cannot adjust to legal permanent residence even if they end up marrying a US Citizen. However if they are grandfathered by section 245(i) such as if their parents were petitioned when they were minors, the crew men will be able to adjust inside the United States and get their green card by paying a $1,000 penalty and presenting evidence of the qualifying petition. *** Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice.

The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information.

This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed.

The specific facts that apply to your

matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, P.C. This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, P.C. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail “mailto:kenneth@kenreyeslaw. com” kenneth@kenreyeslaw.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com (Advertising Supplement)

C4 AUGUST 17-20, 2019 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

A nation in crisis: Ora et labora urgently needed now

The Metamorphosis

Part 2 of 2

ERNIE D. DELFIN IN my book, the major factors for these manmade tragedies are: DIVORCING OF GOD and His two great commandments — Loving God with all your mind, body and spirit and Loving your neighbor as yourself, coupled with the BREAKDOWN OF THE FAMILY UNIT, where more and more families not having father figures who can exact DISCIPLINE AND PROPER MOLDING OF CHILDREN when they are young.

I believe these tragedies have some roots from this lack of spiritual or religious education, good nurturing and proper disciplining of young children. Those early years when children learn what is right and wrong seem to be missing in so many families. These factors are quite evident among the incarcerated in our Prison Ministry classes in Orange County jails (More on this topic in another column).

Another factor is the easy purchase and accessibility to guns, including automatic weapons to almost everybody, without adequate precautions and backgrounds checks. The NRA and the gutless politicians who are often the beneficiaries of NRA lobby money are also to be blamed. If you are hunter, you do not need automatic weapons to enjoy your hunting hobby!

Another factor is the loose and lackadaisical management, monitoring or treatment of mentally disturbed people who have serious issues in handling their illnesses. In their times of frustrations and boiling anger, they become incapable of handling or managing their predicament.

Many commit suicides but some vent their anger by using their automatic guns killing innocent victims randomly.

The cumulative effect of thousands of hours playing seemingly “innocent” violent video games of killing, maiming people and deriving joy from it is another factor, as well as violent movies

where young people can make the violent hero their role models. These games or movies — although appear very innocent and harmless —numb the senses and cloud the minds of young people.

Then subconsciously, maybe, they become violent themselves without even consciously thinking about it.

Last but not the least, I believe is the prevailing “Mind your own business” culture, where there seems to be no real neighbors watching for each other’s welfare. The sickness of one member is a concern of the entire community. The work one member in the kitchen is as important as the professional work of a doctor in the community. As a true community of believers, they are

pecially automatic weapons and require adequate background checks and have a reasonable waiting period.

• Address the poor and inadequate monitoring and treatment of mentally ill people.

• Spend more money in the needs of pre-school kids, programs for children before and after school to have more productive time, molding them to become good citizens. As it is now, the government budget for inmates and prisoners is over three times than students in public schools!

• Require reasonable education for couples before they get their marriage license, to learn good basic parental skills to raise a child, especially in their first 10 years at home. If there the government has a requirement of passing a written test and then actual driving test before a person is given a license, why not some kind of testing or some kind of Family Values Formation seminar before they produce babies?

• Request our government leaders to use some of our taxes to train and form small “common benefit organizations” (CBOs) like Neighborhood Watch; to teach a group of citizens how to organize and teach them proven success stories of other communities that are doing them.

• Report all “suspicious” and unusual behavior of people especially in areas that a person may not have a genuine reason to be there, like a person or a gunman loitering in school grounds or public places.

The rule of thumb maybe is what a reasonable good citizen must do to protect others in the community whenever he or she observes somebody acting odd or unusual in a normal setting.

May God, that Almighty Power help us live in peace and tranquility! *** Email: ernie.delfin@gmail.com Websites: www.gkerc.org www.pagudpudsands.com www.kannaway.com/5236768

“I believe these tragedies have some roots from this lack of spiritual or religious education, good nurturing and proper disciplining of young children. ” all brothers and sisters to each other *** With these horrific tragedies that just happened in Texas and in Ohio, where is the outrage, especially in the seat of power in Washington, DC? Churches admonish more prayer (ORA).

However, I believe prayer is not enough, and action (LABORA) is also needed very badly!

What then can we do in our personal capacity to stem the tide of these violent tragedies? From the top of my head, here are a few that cumulatively can curtail the rise of these violent acts: • Influence, write, call our socalled leaders in Congress and the White House to do something positive, and not just do nothing. Doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result is a definition of INSANITY. Congress should ban the easy purchase of guns es-

Calendar of Events across

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Liliw Association of East Coast USA Celebrates 30th Anniversary The Liliw Association of East Coast USA is calling on their fellow Liliweños to join the organization as it celebrates its 30th Anniversary with a number of events. On August 17, Saturday, a welcome picnic will happen at the Ross Dock Picnic Area of the Palisades Interstate Park in Fort Lee, New Jersey from 12 noon to 7:00 pm. The following day, Sunday, August 18 is the anniversary lunch from 12 noon to 4:30 pm at Waterside Restaurant (7800 River Road in North Bergen, NJ). From August 19 to 30 is an optional East Coast Sightseeing Bus Tour. Send an email to Liliw Association of East Coast USA President Teresita Guina at tessguina3@gmail.com or call her at (201) 913-7800. visit naffaa.org/2019nec, or email us at nec@naffaa.org.

AU G U ST 1 8

University of the Philippines Alumni Association of New Jersey Annual Picnic UPAA-NJ cordially invites all UP alumni, families and friends to its annual picnic on Sunday, August 18, 2019 from 1:00 pm until dusk at the Liberty State Park, Pavilion B, 20 Theodore Conrad Dr., Jersey City, New Jersey. Enjoy an afternoon of fellowship, games, prizes, music, dancing and of course savory Filipino food as we celebrate the summer outdoors. For more details please contact: Daisy Macadaeg, (201) 446-7767, keanemac@yahoo.com; Lani Benedicto, (201) 745-6829, benedicto78@yahoo.com; Minnie Corpuz-Castillo, (551) 587-2815, mcorpuzcastillo@gmail.com, Grace Concepcion, (201) 281-6271, feynman834@gmail.com or Johnny Ferrer, (201) 323-1303, juancferrer09@yahoo.com.

AU G U ST 3 1

Ramon Magsaysay Cubao High School reunion in Las Vegas The Ramon Magsaysay Cubao High School (RMCHS) International will hold its fifth biennial reunion and we are calling all graduates or former students to come out and join up at the “2019 RMCHS International Reunion (Several Paths … One Reunion)” on Saturday, August 31, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. at Gold Coast Hotel and Casino (4000 W. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89103). For reservations or information, please contact the following: Rommel B. Fajardo (Batch ’78) at (301) 655-4469 or e-mail: rommelbf@gmail.com or Lamberto Glory (Batch ’74) at (210) 542-7575 or e-mail: threeglories@msn.com. You may also visit the RMCHS 2019 International Reunion Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1302890069812234.

SEPTEMBER 7

UPAAGLA Grand Gala in Los Angeles The University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Greater Los Angeles (UPAAGLA) celebrates its 20th anniversary on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 5 p.m. at the LA Grand Hotel (333 S. Figuera St, Los Angeles, CA). With the theme “Taking U.P. To The Future” the event will have Distinguished U.P. Alumni Guests including Philippine Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo, Philippine Consul General Adelio Angelito S. Cruz and current University of the Philippines President Danilo L. Concepcion. All U.P. Alumni are invited and encouraged to attend. To RSVP and for Gala details, visit https://upaagla2019gala.eventbrite.com. Early Bird pricing is $85 until July 15, Regular pricing is $100. Sponsor packages are still available to get better pricing plus perks, please inquire by contacting upaagla.sponsor@gmail.com. Special Booking rate at the LA Grand Hotel for Sept 7 is available for $189/night at https://bit.ly/310GWWY. To inquire about UPAAGLA, please send email to upaagla.prez@gmail.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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People and Events

Filipino attorney Roman P. Mosqueda among 2019’s 10 best high verdict and settlement attorneys in California THE American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys (AIOPIA) has selected Los Angeles Attorney, Roman P. Mosqueda, for membership in its exclusive high verdict & settlement list of the “10 Best Attorneys” for California for Client Satisfaction in the practice area of Personal Injury Law for 2019.

Mosqueda has obtained numerous judgments and settlements in Personal Injury cases amounting to millions of dollars to the satisfaction of his clients. He has a doctorate law degree in products liability and specializes in serious injury cases.

This is a significant achievement because each selected attorney must: Be formally nominated by the Institute, clients, and/or a fellow attorney; Have attained the highest degree of professional achievement in his or her field of law; and Have an impeccable Client Satisfactory rating.

Membership in its “10 Best High Verdict & Settlement Winners” for California is exclusive and extended to those select few who have reached the top of their profession while doing so with the client’s satisfaction being of the most paramount importance.

Mosqueda, who holds Master of Laws and Doctor of Science of Law (SJD) degrees from The University of Michigan Law School has been previously recognized by and as: Million Dollar Advocates Forum; Best Attorney in America; National

Attorney Roman P. Mosqueda

Advocates Top 100 Lawyers for California; 10 Best Family Law Attorney; Trial Masters Lifetime Member; Top 10% U.S. Attorney of Distinction; and Super Lawyer in Immigration in Southern California for the past 5 years.

He is also a Proctor In Admiralty, as well as a California-licensed Real Estate Bro-

ker. He has published two law books on family law and products liability and numerous legal articles. He gives free and confidential consultation at his law office at 7136 Haskell Avenue, Suite 302, Van Nuys, CA 91406; Tel. No. (213) 2610816.

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News on Filipino WW2 Veterans...

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ng pending cases ay tatapusin, kaya’t lahat ng kwalipikado sa ilalim ng FWVP ay hinihikayat na mag-apply habang epektibo pa ang FWVP. *** Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security has discretion to grant parole. Parole allows certain aliens who may be inadmissible or otherwise ineligible for admission into the US to physically enter the US for a temporary period. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may grant parole it determines that: (1) there are urgent or humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit reasons for a person to be in the US, and (2) that person merits a favorable exercise of discretion. An applicant may demonstrate urgency by establishing that a reason to be in the US that calls for immediate or time-sensitive action, for example, critical medical action of family, or the need to visit, assist or support a family member who is at an end of life stage of an illness or disease, or coming to attend a funeral or to settle the affairs of a deceased relative in the US. Parole based on significant public benefit includes law enforcement and national security reasons, or foreign or domestic family considerations.

For example, an applicant’s participation in civil or criminal legal proceedings may constitute a significant public benefit because the opportunity for all relevant parties to participate in legal proceedings may be required for justice to be served. If the parole is authorized, the parole is specified for a specific duration or a

temporary period to accomplish the purpose of the parole.

In addition to the parole process, DHS has established special parole programs, one of which is the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program (FWVP).

Under the FWVP, which became effective on June 8, 2016, certain Filipino World War II veterans and their spouses who are US

“The grant of parole is not automatic but evaluated on a case-to-case basis.

USCIS may consider an expedite request based on urgent humanitarian reasons.” citizens or lawful permanent residents may request parole for family members outside the US who have approved visa petitions. If approved for parole, these family members will be able to reunite in the US before their immigrant visas become available.

The grant of parole is not automatic but evaluated on a caseto-case basis. USCIS may consider an expedite request based on urgent humanitarian reasons.

Aside from meeting FWVP guidelines, beneficiaries must also: (1) pass criminal and national security background checks; (2) pass a medical exam; and (3) warrant a favorable exercise of discretion. If the application is approved, it will be forwarded to the National Visa Center, which will then transfer the case to the

US Embassy in Manila where the beneficiary will be interviewed.

It takes around 6 months to process an FWVP application from receipt of application to issuance of travel document. Once paroled into the US under the FWVP Program, the parolee is eligible for work authorization and can wait in the US for their family-based green card to be available.

On August 2, 2019, USCIS announced its intention to terminate the FWVP consistent with Executive Order 13767, Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements. This is an unfortunate development reflecting current immigration policies.

However, USCIS has also stated that all pending cases will be processed to completion, so all those qualified under FVWP are encouraged to apply while the program is still effective. *** ATTY. RHEA SAMSON is a Partner at LINDAIN & SAMSON LAW FIRM. Atty.

Lindain and Atty. Samson are both licensed to practice law in California and in the Philippines. Both Attorneys were also professors. LINDAIN & SAMSON LAW FIRM aims to provide excellent and efficient legal representation to clients, and support clients in achieving their goals and dreams.

As professors, Atty. Lindain and Atty. Samson wish to educate the younger generation, as it is through education and continuous study that one can achieve success and serve others.

Please visit our office: LINDAIN & SAMSON LAW FIRM 3580 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1710, Los Angeles, CA 90010 Call or text us: (213) 381.5710 Email us: attorneys@lindainsamsonlaw. com.

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Senior wants Chapter 13 to stop...

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tribution business, which was good until last year. The company leased a large warehouse out of state. The business became so bad that it could not pay the lease of the warehouse.

The company closed its doors recently and stopped doing business. However, it still owed the landlord two years of the future lease at $100,000 a year. So it owed the landlord $200,000 for the next two years lease.

Is this correct? The company still owes the future rent of $200,000 even though it has stopped operating and has moved out of the leased premises.

Yes, it is correct because client-company signed a lease contract that is still valid for two more years. The landlord has the right to demand that the future lease of $200K be paid. Nonpayment of the lease is a breach of the lease contract; therefore, the landlord can sue the client-company for $200,000 of future lease payments.

The client just received an

out of state lawsuit for $200,000 for unpaid commercial lease.

It decides to file for Chapter 7.

What happens to the lawsuit for $200,000? The lawsuit stops and the plaintiff can file a claim in the Chapter 7 case. The Chapter 7 trustee administers the case.

If there are assets, the trustee liquidates those assets into cash and the cash is distributed to all creditors of the bankrupt company pro-rata. If there are no assets, creditors collect nothing and an order of NO ASSET is entered. With the bankruptcy filing, the out of state lawsuit stops and the landlord is required to file its claim in the bankruptcy.

The company bankruptcy does not affect the officers or stockholders in any way.

Fortunately for the president of the company, he only signed the commercial lease as an officer of the company. He did not execute any personal guaranty of the lease. The best news for him: the landlord cannot sue the president for the $200,000 as an individual guarantor, therefore, he has no liability whatso-

ever for the lease. As I said many times before, do not personally guarantee commercial leases or promissory notes of the company, just sign as an officer of the company. This is very important for your financial well being in the future in case your company fails. Your company’s business failure should not affect your personal assets in any way. Follow this principle and never forget it. Otherwise, you will have to see me twice, once for the company bankruptcy and a second time, for the personal bankruptcy.

If you need debt relief, set an appointment to see me. I will analyze your case personally. *** Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in bankruptcy, business, real estate and civil litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S. Fremont Ave, Mailstop 58, Building A-1 Suite 1125, Alhambra, CA 91803.

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Petition denied based on World Bank commits $840 M for agri projects petitioner’s prior fixed marriage

by LOUISE

MAUREEN Philstar.com

MANY people believe that once they obtain a green card through marriage, they are “home free” as far as their legal status is concerned. They are now green card holders. They can get divorced, remarry, file a petition for their new spouse, seek naturalization, etc.

Imagine a green card holder’s surprise when USCIS “reopened” his file, dug into his past, and concluded he obtained his green card through a fixed marriage. This may be a sign of things to come under Trump, where a person’s immigration status and file (whether green card holder or US citizen) could be reopened, re-examined, and revoked.

In that case, a Filipino married a U.S. citizen and obtained lawful permanent residence through her petition in 2013. The couple later divorced in 2015, and he married another woman in 2016.

He then petitioned his second wife in the F-2A category as the spouse of a lawful permanent resident. Unfortunately, USCIS denied the petition based on the petitioner’s prior “fixed marriage” with his first wife.

What was interesting in the denial was USCIS concluded that the petitioner had “submitted sufficient evidence that established a bona fide relationship” between himself and his

Immigration Corner ATTY. MICHAEL GURFINKEL, ESQ new wife. However, the problem was he “did not establish by clear and convincing evidence” that his marriage to his U.S. citizen first wife was bona fide.

In other words, even though he had a green card for several years, and, in approving the green card, USCIS was satisfied his first marriage was bona fide, USCIS reopened HIS adjustment case as part of processing his petition for his second wife, and concluded his first marriage was fixed.

USCIS noted that “little evidence was submitted to establish the claimed relationship.” In other words, he supposedly did not provide sufficient documentation concerning the bona fides of his first marriage. If that were the case, why did USCIS approve the case in the first place? Why was the documentation and evidence sufficient when it was originally submitted, but now, years later, USCIS said it was not?

The Denial noted that even

though he had submitted evidence/proof of joint documents in connection with his first marriage, including joint tax returns, joint utility bills, joint bank statements, dozens of pictures, etc., this evidence/documentation now did “not reflect an ongoing relationship existed outside of the documentation.” The Decision concluded that because the person did not establish by clear and convincing evidence that he had a bona fide marriage with his first wife, or that he and his first wife shared the emotional, economic or domestic bonds normally associated with marriage, his current petition for his second wife was being denied.

What can also happen is he could now be placed in deportation/removal proceedings, with USCIS attempting to revoke his green card on the basis it was obtained “unlawfully” through a fixed marriage.

Given this new era of Trump’s strict immigration enforcement, including going back and reopening a person’s old immigration file, people should consider seeking the advice and representation of attorneys, rather than trying to do it themselves. In the past, it may have been considered a relatively simple case of a spouse petitioning a spouse.

Who would have thought, that a PAGE D2

Business Quote of the Week “It’s not about having a specific set time; both personal and professional lives are 24/7.

It’s simply, more about making the right allocation to each one and recognizing that it’s going to be different every single day.”

— Ellen Kullman, CEO of Dupont

SIMOEN

THE World Bank has committed $840 million in assistance for the development of the local agriculture sector to cover more areas and projects in the country.

“The commitments are already there and we will work on it in the next two weeks,” said Agriculture Secretary William Dar. Of the $840 million (P43.68 billion), $500 million will be allocated for the provincial agricultural extension system to allow local governments to develop their own agriculture programs and policies.

The program is expected to be inclusive and will follow the agribusiness approach.

Another $240 million will go to the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), which has been cited by the World Bank as one of the most outstanding programs implemented that is worth replicating by other nations.

So far, PRDP received a total of $760 million in funding from the World Bank since it began in 2013 as a farm-to-market road initiative and was eventually added with several livelihood components to ensure stakeholders participation.

The PRDP, which was jump-

Citing the results of the Sheroes Landmark Study on Women, InLife executive vice president and Insular Health Care president Noemi Azura said most Filipinas are careful spenders who prioritize their families, but most of them don’t have savings for future needs.

Philstar.com photo by Joven Cagande

started by former agriculture secretary Proceso Alcala, is known to have revolutionized ways of doing business in and with the DA, introducing innovations in enhancing transparency, accountability and participation mechanisms.

It was designed to establish the government platform for a modern, climate-smart, and market-oriented agri-fishery sector, focusing on expanding market access and improving competitiveness while introducing reforms in the internal operations of the DA.

The program aimed to increase annual real household incomes of farmer beneficiaries, annual marketed output and the number of farmers with improved access to DA services.

Meanwhile, the remaining $100 million will be allotted for several projects in Mindanao.

“We will pour more resources and investments in Mindanao.

It is not getting the right budget based on what they are contributing to the economy. We want to give back through additional investments,” Dar said. ■

Power consumers get P1.7-B refund – PEMC

by JORDEENE

B. LAGARE ManilaTimes.net

POWER consumers in the country can expect some relief in paying their electricity bills after the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) reported that the P1.774-billion refund ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) because of overbilling has been implemented.

In a statement on Tuesday, the operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) said it had complied with the staterun power regulator’s order on the net settlement surplus (NSS) allocation adjustment that would result in either a refund for some market participants or collection

from others.

“As the governing body of the electricity market, our interest is in securing the integrity of market transactions, which include settlements, while upholding consumer protection. With this, we promptly complied with the directives detailed in the ERC Order on the NSS issued on August 1, 2019,” PEMC President Oscar Ala said.

“We are rectifying the misallocation of the NSS through a refund to the market participants who received less than what was due them while collecting from the others who have received more,” he added.

PEMC said a rate adjustment cap of P0.05 per kilowatt-hour

(kWh) would be applied to all distribution utilities (DUs) to cushion the impact of the allocation adjustment on those who have to collect.

The market operator said collection for non-DUs would also be expedited to one month to ensure that customers would immediately feel the refund due to them.

It also submitted to the ERC an action plan on the settlement of the remaining balance of the allocation adjustment for the next 11 months beginning in the August 2019 billing period.

NSS is the power surplus or deficit remaining after all market transactions have been accountPAGE D2

D AUGUST 17-20, 2019 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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Slowdown in foreign investments continues PCC says ride-hailing sector still uncompetitive

by Roy

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

by Daxim

L. Lucas

Inquirer.net

THE entry of long-term capital into the Philippines continued to slow down in May, confirming a consistent trend of weak investment inflows since the start of the year that was interrupted only by a slight uptick in February.

According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, foreign direct investments registered a net inflow of $242 million in May 2019, representing an 85.1-percent decline from the $1.6 billion in net inflow posted in May 2018.

This was the weakest monthly inflow of long-term investments into the country since March 2015—or more than four years ago—which saw foreign direct investment inflow of only $200.4 million.

“This resulted mainly as net investments in debt instruments declined from $1.3 billion in May 2018 to $149 million during the month due mainly to higher prepayments and repayments

Inquirer.net file photo

of debt owed by resident enterprises to their foreign affiliates, coupled with the decline in their borrowings from their foreign affiliates,” the central bank said in a statement.

Moderate net inflow of equity capital amounting to $1 million from $241 million a year ago also contributed to the decline in foreign direct investments.

The central bank said that the bulk of the equity capital placements during the month were from the United States, Japan, Singapore, China and Hong Kong, and were invested largely in the real estate, manufacturing, financial and insurance, construction, and human health and social work industries.

Meanwhile, reinvestment of earnings amounted to $92 million, 15.9-percent higher than the $80 million recorded in the same month last year.

As a result of these developments, foreign direct investments recorded $3.1 billion in net inflow in the first five months of

2019, lower by 37.1 percent than the $5 billion in net inflow in the comparable period last year.

“This was due mainly to the drop in net equity capital investments as placements declined to $787 million from $1.5 billion, while withdrawals increased to $451 million from $139 million during the period,” the central bank said.

Net investments in debt instruments also decreased by 26 percent to $2.4 billion from $3.2 billion in the January to May 2018 period.

For the first five months of 2019, equity capital placements originated from Japan, the United States, China, Singapore and South Korea and went largely to financial and insurance; real estate; manufacturing; transportation and storage; and administrative and support service industries.

Reinvestment of earnings grew by 12.9 percent to $418 million from $371 million in the same period last year. n

ney 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,

Inquirer.net

THE antitrust body will renegotiate the conditions that Grab Philippines had previously agreed to, a year after the same conditions paved the way for the approval of the company’s deal to buy Uber out of the market.

These conditions, which are called voluntary commitments, took effect in August 2018 with the hopes that they would improve market conditions in a way that would feel as if Uber were still a competitor.

The voluntary commitments, which included keeping Grab’s fares close to how they were when Uber was still a competitor, were supposed to expire last Aug. 10.

But instead of disclosing how Grab met or failed its yearlong commitments, the PCC said in a statement on Tuesday that the voluntary commitments would remain in effect for 71 days, or from Aug. 11 to Oct. 20.

The PCC said that the new commitments might include adjusted metrics to hold Grab in check for its price surges, driver discrimination through booking cancellations and service quality.

“Exactly a year after PCC rendered a Commitment Decision on Grab’s acquisition of rival Uber on Aug. 10, 2018, the competition authority finds that the dominance of the merged firms remains unchallenged and competition has not improved in the ride-hailing market,” the statement read.

The market remains uncompetitive despite the entry of a number of transport network companies, which had big shoes to fill when Uber exited the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia.

It was not clear, however, why

Inquirer.net file photo

the PCC chose to take this route despite noting that the market still has not recovered.

Last year, PCC officials warned that failure to comply with these commitments would have been met with a fine of P2 million per breach, “or even the unwinding of the transaction” — a threat that might now seem unlikely for some given the long time since Uber’s exit.

On one hand, the commitments could keep Grab in check from exercising its market power as a virtual monopolist, said PCC Chair Arsenio M. Balisacan. “On the other hand, we also advocate for allowing smaller players to grow or formidable new competitors to enter the market, which will be more beneficial to the riding public.”

But this is not the only issue that faces the ride-hailing industry. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), which regulates the ride-hailing industry, also faces charges under the Ease of Doing Business law, according to the Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta).

This is in light of how the LTFRB handled the accreditation of transport network vehicle services

(TNVS), which left an unnecessary long backlog that inconvenienced drivers, including Grab drivers who even held a protest against it.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, August 13, Arta Director General Jeremiah Belgica said that some applicants even waited for their approval for a year, even though their applications have already been completed.

He said that LTFRB board officials, including Chair Martin Delgra III, could be liable for not following the prescribed timeline of the law in processing applications and for imposing additional requirements.

Whether or not Arta will push for this is not yet sure. Also on Tuesday, Arta said it has issued an order to automatically approve the TNVS applications that have been completed, duly paid and duly heard from July 7 last year to July 24, 2019.

The Arta directed the LTFRB to submit a list of these TNVS applications three days after the agency received a copy of the order. Arta also recommended to remove some of the additional requirements such as a bank certificate of conformity. n

Power consumers get P1.7-B refund – PEMC

PAGE D1 t ed for.

This accounts for price differences occurring between genwarranty, guarantee or legal advice re- erator and customer locations or garding the outcome of your legal mat- nodes due to losses and congester. No attorney-client relationship is, or tion, given the WESM’s locationshall be, established with any reader. al marginal pricing scheme.

WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com The allocation is distributed to Follow us on Facebook.com/Gurfin- trading participants that are entikelLaw and Twitter @GurfinkelLaw tled to receive a share of the surCall Toll free to schedule a consulta- plus or deficit in accordance with tion for anywhere in the US: 1-866-487- ERC-approved methodology.

3465 (866) – GURFINKEL This comes after the commisFour offices to serve you: sion directed the PEMC last week LOS ANGELES ∙ SAN FRANCISCO ∙ NEW to immediately provide refunds YORK ∙ PHILIPPINE worth P1.403 billion to Luzon (Advertising Supplement) and Visayas customers by recti-

Petition denied based on petitioner’s prior fixed...

PAGE D1 t person who was already granted a green card because the evidence was sufficient at that time, that USCIS would take a “second look” and determine the previous evidence is now insufficient, and the person (even if now a petitioner) obtained a green card unlawfully, his green card could be revoked and be placed in removal/deportation? *** Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attor-

stephen c. caniveL

fying the miscalculation on the NSS apportion and corresponding settlement calculations for the June 2018-to-May 2019 billing period.

Of that amount, 77 percent or P1.08 billion will be refunded to customers in the Manila Electric Co.’s franchise area and 23 percent or P321.36 million will be returned to customers covered by other DUs and electric cooperatives.

The remaining P371 million will be given to generation companies, retail electricity suppliers and directly connected customers.

The ERC issued the order after noticing inconsistencies in the share of generators and customers in the NSS allocations issued by the PEMC. Upon validation, the PEMC told the agency the miscalculations were caused by its erroneous application of the formula in its software used to determine the allocations. Corrections were applied by the PEMC since then.

PEMC said it would strengthen existing mitigating measures, including conducting periodic audits to market systems and implementing a stringent changemanagement process. n

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SMC taps 3 foreign partners for Bulacan airport BSP: ATM fee increase to encourage e-transactions

by Mayvelin

U. Caraballo ManilaTimes.net

THE looming adjustments in automated teller machine (ATM) fees should encourage the public to consider using other modes of banking transactions, like electronic channels (e-channels), a senior central bank official said on Wednesday, August 14.

“This development is [telling] the banking public to consider other channels, as well. So it couldn’t be just ATM. We have InstaPay [and] PESONet, and later on we’ll have the QR code, as well for retail payments,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said in a briefing.

PESONet and InstaPay are the two priority automated clearing houses launched under the National Retail Payments System (NRPS), which was established to transform the country’s payments systems and increase retail e-payment transactions from 1 percent of total transactions to 20 percent by 2020.

PESONet is a batch electronic fund-transfer payment system that is expected to provide an alternative to the still widely used paper-based check system. Funds will be made available to recipient accounts within the same banking day or immediately upon clearing.

InstaPay allows customers to transfer peso funds almost instantly between accounts in participating BSP-supervised banks

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier

Manilatimes.net file photo

and non-bank electronic money issuers.

“I think our call for the public is to also keep an open mind, considering electronic channels for (their) mode of payments,” Fonacier said.

Her latest statement came amid concerns raised by some lawmakers over the lifting of the moratorium on ATM fees last month.

They warned that this could jack up ATM charges to as much as P15 to P30 for every single interbank withdrawal from the current P10 to P15.

But the Bangko Sentral was quick to clarify that banks needed to secure regulatory approval before jacking up these fees.

“Banks cannot increase the

ATM fee on their own. In fact, any bank that intends to adjust ATM fees must file its request with the BSP, indicating their proposed fees, as well as the costs currently incurred by the bank with respect to its ATM activities,” Fonacier said.

Pressed for further details, she told reporters that fewer than 10 banks had applied for an ATM fee adjustment since the lifting of the moratorium.

Most of these banks are seeking higher charges, but their proposed fee does not exceed P20, according to the official.

She noted that there were some applicants who want to reduce their fees to be more competitive than their peers. n

panel invoked Section 48 of the House Rules, which speeds up the approval of bills that have alTHE Department of Finance ready been passed on third and (DOF) will make a last-minute final reading in the 17th Conappeal to the House of Repre- gress. sentatives to approve the proSince the passed bill was the posed increase in excise taxes of same as the one approved in the alcopops and electronic cigarette last Congress, Finance Undersecproducts in the plenary level, ac- retary Karl Kendrick Chua said cording to a top official. it does not yet have provisions Last Monday, August 12, the to adjust sin taxes on alcopops House ways and means commit- or flavored alcoholic beverages, tee approved and endorsed to and e-cigarettes, such as vapes the plenary the House Bill 1026, and heat-not-burn devices. which seeks to raise excise taxes Chua, however, said the DOF on alcohol products. would still push for the House to This was after members of the amend the committee-approved

bill during plenary deliberations to ensure the inclusion of the missing provisions and the adoption of the original DOF proposal.

“They invoked Section 48 so that it won’t go through the usual hearings. Because that’s a rule, that if it’s approved in the previous Congress, you can approve exactly the same. So we will take up with the plenary our proposed amendments,” Chua said.

The DOF official noted that there’s no need for the additional provisions to go through the House committee’s scrutiny, and PAGE D5

DOF pushes higher taxes on alcopops, e-cigarettes

by Mary

GraCe Philstar.com

Padin

This is an artist’s rendition of the planned Bulacan airport. by riChMond

MerCUrio Philstar.com

Food-to-infrastructure conglomerate San Miguel Corp.

(SMC) is tapping three international companies involved in building world-class airports to design and construct its P734-billion airport project in Bulacan.

SMC said Tuesday, August 13, it has engaged the services of global firms Groupe ADPi, Meinhardt Group and Jacobs to design and build its proposed New Manila International Airport project.

All three companies were involved in building world-class airports including Singapore’s Changi Airport, Atlanta Airport and France’s Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Aside from the three firms, SMC said it would also engage a world-class airport operator to help manage the country’s future premier gateway.

“This is our biggest investment in a single project to date, one that will definitely impact the lives of millions of Filipinos and the country in general – all the more reason for us to push for greater sustainability and choose the best people to work with us,” SMC president and COO Ramon Ang said.

SMC said the airport’s initial designs envision “a future-ready

gateway focusing on overall passenger experience and sustainable technologies consistent with the needs of the environment and the local communities of Bulacan and nearby provinces.”

The Swiss challenge period for the New Manila International Airport project ended last July 31, with SMC’s proposal going unchallenged.

Transportation Undersecretary for aviation Manuel Antonio Tamayo earlier told The STAR that the government is poised to issue the notice of award to SMC anytime this week.

Meanwhile, Ang assured fisherfolks who will be affected by the project that they will have better homes in relocation sites with fishing power boats where then can easily re-establish their livelihood.

As soon as SMC gets final approval from the government, he said it would officially start meaningful and productive engagement with all concerned stakeholders, especially the affected communities.

“This project’s success is anchored on helping support the local fishing industry. We are in the process of identifying areas where together we can build a fishing community that will last for generations to come,” said Ang, noting the company’s plan to make Bulacan the country’s

Philstar.com file photo

seafood capital similar to what happened to Japan’s Tsukiji.

Ang said the project would “provide more and better livelihood opportunities and not to take them away.”

SMC will build the proposed airport on a 2,500-hectare property in Bulakan, Bulacan, about 30 kilometers northeast of Metro Manila, at no cost to the government.

The proposed airport, which will be capable of accommodating 20 million passengers a year, is designed to address congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

SMC said the project is expected to fuel trillion of dollars in economic activity annually, create an estimated 20 million direct and indirect jobs, bring in 30 million foreign tourists in the country, and decongest Metro Manila with plans to integrate the complex to a larger infrastructure ecosystem that includes new and existing expressways and mass transit systems.

“Bulacan’s local industries will not only survive, they will also grow. With a major international airport at their doorstep, fisherfolk, micro entrepreneurs, and local businesses will have a huge, ready market for their products, and even a means to ship them to other provinces or export them,” Ang said. n

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Top economist urges gov’t to tap PPP as ‘Build, Build, Build’ sputters

by Ben

o. de VerA Inquirer.net

A LEADING economist urged the government to tap the private sector for partnership programs again as the Duterte administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure campaign appeared to sputter with key agencies enforcing it continuing to underspend.

“The absorptive capacity of infrastructure agencies need to be given an earnest look,” said economist Cielito Habito, a columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Build, Build, Build’ seems to be at risk if we can’t make it work,” said Habito, also an Ateneo de Manila University professor, at an Ateneo Eagle Watch forum on Thursday (Aug. 15).

The slowdown in public construction at the start of 2019 had been attributed to a delay in approval of the P3.7-trillion 2019 national budget by a Congress squabbling over corruption-ridden pork funds.

Habito also cited a recent Commission on Audit (COA) report showing that the two departments central to Build, Build, Build—transportation and public works and highways—had difficulty spending their annual budgets.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) spent only a third of its budget in 2017 while the Department of

Transportation (DOTr) spent only 26 percent in 2017 and lower, or 21 percent, in 2018, said Habito, citing the COA report.

“There’s something wrong with the absorptive capacity of infrastructure agencies. If we trust these two agencies, we need to worry,” he said.

Tapping PPP again, he added, would boost Build, Build, Build, an ambitious plan to splurge more than P3 trillion on public infrastructure to stir eco- Economist Cielito Habito Inquirer.net file photo nomic growth.

The Duterte administration, port.

He said the Duterte adminishowever, had been shunning the PPP mode because of the pro- tration’s openness to PPP could gram’s record under the admin- be gleaned from approval of istration of President Rodrigo San Miguel Corp’s mega airport Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno project in Bulacan province.

“The body language is telling Aquino III, during which only 10 projects were carried out in six us that there’s a move backward toward PPP,” said Habito. “Why? years.

Duterte’s economic manag- Because they have no choice,” he ers were instead pushing for a said.

“If your DPWH and DOTr can“hybrid” PPP model wherein the government rolls out the projects, not deliver, nothing will happen,” then bids out operations and the economist said. “We have to maintenance (O&M) to the private rely more on PPP,” he added.

He said while the government sector.

But Habito said “if you look at might be awash with cash through the entire landscape, the PPP per- increased revenue collection and formance has been good,” citing foreign borrowing, mostly from high-profile projects such as the China,“thequestionisimplementaMactan Cebu International Air- tion—capability is the problem.” n

e. GonzALes Manilatimes.net

AUTOMOBILE sales posted double-digit growth in July on the back of strong sales campaigns and stable supply of units, an industry report revealed on Wednesday, August 14.

Data from a joint report of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that 31,810 units were sold last month, up 13 percent from 28,038 in the same month last year, but down from 31,950 in June 2019.

Sales in the passenger-car segment increased by 34.7 percent to 9,397 units in July from last year’s 6,975, while those in

the commercial-vehicle segment grew by 6.4 percent to 22,413 from 21,063 in July 2018.

Year-to-date, total industry sales increased by 3.16 percent to 205,945 units from 199,628 units on the back of the higher sales of commercial vehicles.

“It is noteworthy that positive factors, such as continued and strong sales campaigns and stable supply of units, have outweighed the unfavorable effects of the off-peak season to the overall sales growth,” Campi President Rommel Gutierrez said in a separate statement.

“Historically, July is considered as one of the lean months of the industry. Nonetheless, we are optimistic that if we are able to sustain this growth trend, we will be able to exceed our sales performance of last year,” he

by LAwrence

AGcAoiLi Philstar.com

DOLLAR remittances from Filipinos working abroad declined in June after increasing for nine straight months, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported Thursday, August 15.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said personal remittances decreased by 2.7 percent to a nine-month low of $2.54 billion in June from $2.61 billion in the same month last year.

The amount of personal remittances was the lowest since the $2.49 billion recorded in September last year.

For the first half, Diokno said personal remittances composed of cash and non-cash items that flow through both formal or via electronic wire and informal channels such as money or goods carried across borders rose by only 2.9 percent to $16.25 billion from $15.79 billion in the same period last year.

Diokno said personal remittances from land-based workers with contracts of one year or more inched up by 1.8 percent to $12.4 billion, while remittances from sea-and land-based workers with short-term contracts went up by 8.8 percent to $3.5 billion.

Diokno said cash remittances coursed through banks also slipped by 2.9 percent to a ninemonth low of $2.29 billion in June from $2.36 billion in the same month last year.

This was the lowest since the $2.24 billion booked in September last year.

“This was attributed to the 5.4 percent year-on-year drop added. in cash remittances from landCars sold by Toyota Motors based workers, which was Philippines Corp., which has mitigated by the 6.3 percent a 44.39-percent market share, increase year-on-year from seajumped by 25.3 percent to 14,120 from 11,265 a year ago.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., with a market share of 17.31 percent, came next with PAGE D3 t 5,507 units sold, up 3.5 percent that it can go straight toward plenary deliberations “because it’s from 5,321 a year earlier.

Nissan Philippines Inc. sold part of the same subject, which 3,651 units in July, a 27.3-per- is amending the Tax Code.”

Aside from the non-inclusion cent improvement from 2,869 last year, accounting for 11.48 of the alcopops and e-cigarette provisions, Chua said the compercent of total auto sales.

Year-to-date, Toyota re- mittee-approved bill also promained the market leader, with vides lower alcohol excise tax sales reaching 87,574 units, up rates than the original DOF pro3.8 percent from the year-ago posal.

“What they approved is a lowfigure, Mitsubishi followed with 35,977 units, down 7.3 percent; er rate, which is like P30 to P32 and Nissan, 24,711 units, up per liter. What we proposed is P40 per liter,” he said.

53.6 percent. n

Auto sales jump 13% last month – report

by AnnA LeAh

Remittances slip to 9-month low in June

Philstar.com file photo

based workers,” he said.

The BSP chief said countries that contributed to the decline in June were Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Despite the decline, Diokno said cash remittances still went up by 3.2 percent to $14.64 billion in the first semester from $14.18 billion in the same period last year.

During the period, cash remittances sent by land-based workers inched up by 1.8 percent to $11.4 billion, while transfers from sea-based workers went up by 8.7 percent to $3.2 billion.

According to Diokno, the U.S. registered the highest share of overall remittances in the first half with a share of 36.4 percent followed by Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Germany and Qatar.

“The combined remittances from these countries accounted for 78 percent of the total cash remittances from January to June,” Diokno said.

The BSP has retained the growth target for both personal and cash remittances at three percent for this year.

Remittances usually fuel personal consumption helping sustain a steady economic growth.

The amount of money sent home by overseas Filipinos usually account for 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Strong inflows from remittances, earnings of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector as well as tourism receipts continued to boost the peso that recovered strongly late last year.

The peso has been broadly stable after emerging as the third worst performing currency in the region, shedding 5.4 percent to end at 52.58 to $1 last year from 49.93 to $1 in 2017.

It strengthened to pierce the 50 to $1 level but has weakened since then, returning to the 52 to $1 level due to the worsening trade war between the US and China as well as the depreciation of the Chinese yuan. n

DOF pushes higher taxes on alcopops...

As a result, Chua said the estimated revenue gain from the House panel-approved version was cut by almost half.

“The revenue difference is almost half. Our version is around P33 billion, what they approved is around P15 billion,” he said.

If the proposed amendments do not go through the House plenary, Chua said the DOF can still try in the Senate or bicameral conference committee to ensure the adoption of the original DOF version of the bill.

The proposed adjustments in

the excise taxes of alcohol and e-cigarette products are part of Package 2 Plus of the administration’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program.

In particular, the package seeks to raise the taxes on various alcoholic beverages, including distilled spirits, sparkling wines or champagnes, still and carbonated wines, and fermented liquor.

The DOF eventually decided to add alcopops to the proposal to discourage young Filipinos from drinking alcoholic beverages. n

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