110318 - Los Angeles Weekend Edition

NOVEMBER 3-6, 2018 Volume 28 - No. 87 • 4 Sections – 30 Pages

DATELINE

USA

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

Trump imposes quota on asylum claims at the border On Thursday, Nov. 1, President Donald Trump doubled down on his iron fist immigration proposals by announcing plans to call for new limits on asylum requests at the U.S.Mexico border.

In the same week that he announced his plans to eviscerate birthright citizenship, the president gave a speech from the White House announcing that he would sign an executive order “next week” designed to restrict asylum rules amid the yearly trek of Central American migrants heading to the border to flee violence and abuse in their native countries.

In Thursday’s address from the White House, the president meandered on about the perceived national security risks that come with welcoming the thousands of asylum-seekers at the border, mirroring much of the immigration rhetoric he’s touted since his presidential campaign. u PAGE A4

Duterte admits ‘militarization of government’

by ALEXIS

ROMERO Philstar.com

the appointment of retired soldiers to key posts makes the bureaucracy vulnerable to incomMANILA — Claims that the petence because the appointees government is being militarized are not suited for the tasks at under his watch are correct, hand.

But Duterte, who recently orPresident Rodrigo Duterte said, stressing this was his way of pre- dered the military to take over venting corruption from render- what he described as a “corrupt” Bureau of Customs (BOC), ing him inutile.

Duterte has drawn flak for ap- said his appointment of “honest” pointing retired military officers men from the military would to posts unrelated to national help him stamp out corruption.

“I will not sit as President and Filipino Soldiers stand in formation inside the 5th Division Training School security. in Upi, Gamu, Isabela.

ManilaTimes.net photo by Rene Dilan Opposition lawmakers said let you render me inutile as you

continue with your corruption there in Customs right in front of me. P***** i** niyo (Sons of b******). Now you have a problem. They say it’s militarization of the government. Correct,” Duterte said during the distribution of land certificates in Cagayan de Oro last Wednesday, October 31.

Duterte also admitted only a few people with no military background have remained in his administration.

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Duterte signs EO on nat’l drugs strategy

by CATHERINE

VALENTE ManilaTimes.net

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte institutionalized the Philippine Anti-Illegal Drugs Strategy (PADS) with the signing on October 29 of Executive Order 66 which directs all government agencies, bureaus, and offices, including government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and state universities and colleges (SUCs) to implement the national strategy on drug prevention and control.

The anti-drug strategy includes the implementation of “drug-free workplace programs” and “authorized drug testing.”

The president encouraged non-government organizations, civil society organizations, and private institutions to actively support the anti-drug programs.

“The proliferation of prohibited drugs and their precursors is a serious national concern, encompassing

by AJPRESS social, economic, psychological and economic interests, which necessitates the active and unified involveON Tuesday, November 6, in addition to ment of various government and non-government candidates for state and local positions, votu PAGE A3 ers in California will also decide on 11 statewide ballot propositions. There were originally 12, but Proposition 9 was removed from the ballot by the California Supreme Court. It had proposed splitting California into three different states. During the June 5 primary, four measures were approved while one was defeated.

Here’s a guide to the 11 propositions on the ballot and what a “yes” or “no” would mean: Proposition 1: Bond for veterans, affordable housing This would authorize $4 billion in general obligation bonds for existing affordable housing programs for low-income residents, veterans, farmworkers, manufactured and mobile homes, infill, and transit-oriented housing.

Fiscal Impact: Increased state costs to repay bonds averaging about $170 million annually over the next 35 years.

A YES vote means: Allows the state to sell $4 billion in general obligation bonds to fund veterans and affordable housing.

What’s on your ballot?

A look at the 2018 California propositions

ON A MISSION. President Rodrigo Duterte arrives at the Tactical Operations Group (TOG)-2 in Cauayan City, Isabela after conducting an aerial survey on the typhoon-affected areas in Isabela and the Mountain Province on Thursday, November 1. Malacañang photo by King Rodriguez

Tourists defy Boracay ban on parties, loud music PH named 5th

by ROBERTZON

RAMIREZ

Philstar.com

MANILA — Barely a week since Boracay was reopened, some tourists and business establishments have defied regulations set by the Boracay Interagency Task Force to help protect and preserve the island.

Parties, including loud music, smoking and drinking in Boracay are back, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said, citing reports she received on Wednesday, October 31.

“Nakakalungkot lang talaga na may mangilan-ngilan na mga paParties, including loud music, smoking and drinking in Boracay are back, Tourism Secretary Bernadette saway (It’s unfortunate that there

u PAGE A5 Romulo-Puyat said, citing reports she received on Wednesday, October 31.

Philstar.com photo

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Sister Fox’s parting shot: Don’t be silent amid abuses SISTER Patricia Fox, the elderly Australian missionary nun who is being forced to leave the country by the Duterte administration, is not going quietly.

On the eve of her departure on Saturday, Fox urged Filipinos to stand courageous and to not be paralyzed by fear and keep silent amid human rights violations in the country, which has been her home for nearly three decades.

Fox, 71, has been a target for deportation

by President Duterte since April for allegedly violating her missionary visa.

She has been accused of taking part in news conferences, labor-related fact-finding missions and protests calling for political prisoners to be freed, for human rights LAST DAY. Australian missionary Sister Patricia Fox spends Friday, the day before she leaves and land rights to be respected and for the the Philippines, showing support for an independent investigation of the Oct. 20 massacre of lifting of martial law in Mindanao.

She lost her appeal to stay in the country nine farmers in Sagay, Negros Occidental.

Inquirer.net photo by Lyn RIllon

after the Bureau of Immigration downgraded her missionary visa to a visitor’s visa, allowing her to stay for 59 days ending on Saturday, November 3.

‘Wake up the world’ In a statement on Friday, Fox urged Filipinos “not to succumb to fear and inaction” and to reflect on Pope Francis’ 2014 message challenging Catholics “to put the gospel into effect in our lives in service of the poor and oppressed.”

“This challenge is very relevant in our current situation. In ‘Evangelii Gaudium,’ Pope Francis states: ‘The pastoral challenge I see now to the church and all people of good will today—not to be silent in the face of massive human rights violations.’”

“The times call for us to ‘wake up the world’ as Pope Francis asks,” Fox said.

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worst country for the prosecution of journalists’ killings

by AJPRESS A REPORT from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) revealed that the Philippines, for the second time in a row, remained fifth among the countries with the worst prosecution of journalist killers.

In the recent CPJ’s 2018 Global Impunity Index report, the Philippines followed countries in the Middle East and African regions, namely Somalia, Syria, Iraq and South Sudan. The said report ranked countries that exempted and/or failed to prosecute alleged journalist killings.

Afghanistan, Mexico, Colombia, Pakistan, Brazil, Russia, Bangladesh, Nigeria and India ranked next to the Philippines in the same CPJ report.

For four years, specifically from 2011 to 2014, the Philippines ranked third on the same list. However, the rank favorably dropped to fourth in the years 2015 and 2016. In 2017, the country moved down to fifth place as reported by The Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The New York-based organization noted that at least 324 journalists worldwide have been murdered with 85 percent of those cases, or about 275 of them, having perpetrators who remain unconvicted of their crimes.

CPJ Impunity Campaign Consultant Elisabeth Witchel said that the report revealed that the majority of the crimes were concentrated only in the few countries listed in the index.

“It is an emboldening message to those who seek to censor and control the media through violence. More than three quarters (82 percent) of these cases took place in the 14 countries that CPJ

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A November 3-6, 2018 • LA WeeKeND ASIAN JoUrNAL

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From the Front Page

Duterte admits ‘militarization...

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He justified anew his preference for military men, saying they obey orders promptly unlike some civilians in the bureaucracy who question their superiors.

“They will really do it. You know, that’s why I like military men. There are very few of us remaining who are (not from

the military). Almost everyone is from the military except for me, Dabs (Presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers and Muslim concerns Abdullah Mama-o) and (Executive Secretary Salvador) Medialdea,” he said.

Duterte said soldiers are used to working under harsh condi-

tions and can perform their tasks despite the risks they face.

“The salaries of the military and the police have been doubled. But I’ll ask you now, what’s the job of the military? Fight the enemies of the state and die.

That’s their job,” Duterte said.

“Now if there’s a flood... who would you call? When the digging starts — you can see it on TV — who dug through the landslides in Cebu? Who? The military. They are utility boys. They are the first to die. They are the ones whom you call to pave the road if no one else is there to pave it. If there’s a civilian who would help with the digging, it would only be up until a certain point,” he added.

“You instruct the military to take turns sleeping and continue digging. That’s their job. So that’s why most of the people I face are generals.”

Duterte also noted that former military officials — interior and local government officer-incharge Eduardo Año and Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu — led the rehabilitation of world famous tourist spot Boracay.

“Do you think Boracay would have been cleaned up if it weren’t for Año and Cimatu?” the President said.

Duterte also praised housing chief and retired military general Eduardo del Rosario, who oversees efforts to rebuild areas affected by the Marawi siege.

“Would the project in Marawi have been done so quickly if I hadn’t assigned Del Rosario?

He’s a military man who was also assigned in Davao. Would there still be money? I’ve been in government for a long time so I know how funds can be manipulated,” Duterte said.

“The temptation to earn more money is really there. But if you tell the military, ‘Do that without corruption. Finish it in 60 days,’ then it’s done.”

Duterte has ordered a revamp in Customs’ leadership as the bureau is mired in controversy over the entry of about P11 billion worth of shabu in the country.

He appointed former customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña as chief of the Technical Education and Skills Development Author-

FIRE STARTERS. Residents of Sagada, Mountain Province light fires and pray on the tombs of their dearly departed on the eve of All Souls’ Day. The tradition, called ‘Panag-apoy’ or to light a fire, was started by the Kankanaeys, who used blessed pine wood instead of candles to start bonfires to remember their dead.

ManilaTimes.net photo by DJ Diosina

Tourists defy Boracay ban on parties...

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are still some who don’t follow the rules). It is hard... to believe that they do not know the guidelines because they were given an oath for a better Boracay upon entering the island,” Puyat told The Star.

The oath states that a tourist promises to ensure the preservation and sustainable development of Boracay and observe environmental laws and regulations.

Puyat had earlier warned visitors on the strict enforcement of a local ordinance prohibiting drinking of alcohol and smoking in public places as well as partying within the no-build zone easement. She said sandcastle making would be regulated while the use of kerosene lamps and bonfires are aprohibited.

The tourism chief expressed concern that some business establishments and Filipino tourists comply with the regulations only if police personnel are visible on the

island.

“We issue citation tickets for hard-headed tourists and business establishments, but we will be forced to close their business kung hindi sila makikinig sa amin (if they will not listen to us),” Puyat said.

Photos of garbage left on the island shortly after its reopening have also been posted on social media.

Puyat called on tourists and businessmen to report violations.

President Duterte closed Boracay for six months amid environmental issues hounding the island, including the lack of proper sewerage system.

Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism said fewer tourists arrived in Boracay during the observance of All Saints’ Day compared to those who came when the island was reopened on Oct. 26.

Puyat said the number of tourists is expected to increase in December.

Theft gangs As this developed, the Malay police is monitoring at least two gangs for alleged involvement in theft on the island.

Chief Inspector Ruel Firmo said initial investigation showed that the gang members are from Kalibo and Iloilo.

“Some of them entered Boracay even before its opening on Oct. 26,” Firmo said.

He said two suspected pickpockets were arrested earlier this week. An Italian tourist, who was with his Filipina girlfriend, said he lost his wallet which contained his credit and other cards, $60 and around P15,000 in cash in front of a restaurant on Oct. 26.

Reynaldo Buenafe, 39, and Carlo Vargas, 41, both residents of Oton, Iloilo, were arrested at Station 2 on Wednesday for illegal possession of firearms.

“They tried to blend with the crowd by joining a Halloween party, ” Firmo said. n

Extension denied: Sister Fox leaving...

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Defending her activities while in the country, Fox said the rallies she joined were in support of farmers and indigenous peoples and were “neither political nor partisan but part and parcel of my apostolate and missionary work.”

“In contrast, sitting idly, keeping one’s silence, doing nothing when injustice and oppression is happening … is repugnant to the social doctrines and teachings of the church for salvation and liberation to the poor and powerless,” she said. u PAGE A3 In her statement on Friday, No-

vember 2, Fox said “there seems to be no relief for the poor” in the face of rising prices while “a culture of impunity continues and democratic institutions are slowly being undermined.”

“Charter change threatens to institutionalize dictatorship. The Church and church people have come under attack with priests even being killed in front of the altar,” she added.

Duterte, who says he refuses to hear criticisms from people who are not Filipinos, had ordered Fox investigated, prompting immigration authorities to briefly detain

her.

Duterte accusations The president accused Fox of “disorderly conduct” and having a “foul mouth.”

“You come here and insult us, you trample with our sovereignty. That will never happen,” Mr. Duterte said in April. “I assure you, if you begin to malign, defame (the) government in any of those rallies there, I will order your arrest.”

Fox was to leave on a Philippine Airlines flight to Melbourne at 9 p.m. on Saturday. (Jovic Yee/Inquirer.net)

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DATELINE USA

Duterte signs EO on nat’l drugs...

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agencies,” the order said.

“To ensure the successful implementation of the PADS and to demonstrate our country’s resolve in confronting the issue on illegal drugs, it is necessary to ensure that government and non-government entities carry out their respective functions and tasks under the PADS,” it added.

The PADS, formulated by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), outlines the government’s comprehensive and integrated efforts to strengthen the campaign against illegal drugs and contribute to global efforts to counter the drug problem.

Under EO 66, the president designated the DDB as the lead agency in the implementation of the PADS. All government departments

and agencies were directed to formulate and submit to the DDB their respective implementing and operational plans relative to the PADS, within 60 days from the implementation of EO 66.

They were also required to formulate and adopt drug-free workplace programs, and conduct authorized drug testing among their respective officials and personnel, in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act. The Department of Labor and Employment, on the other hand, was instructed to ensure the formulation and implementation of drug-free workplace programs.

EO 66 also urged local government units (LGUs) to formulate and submit their own implementation and operation plans

and establish or strengthen their Anti-Drug Abuse Councils.

LGUs were also asked to work in partnership with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Philippine National Police in implementing the PADS. The President also directed the DDB, in consultation with concerned government entries and LGUs, to develop performance standards to ensure compliance of concerned agencies with PADS. “The PADS shall be continuously reviewed and studied by the DDB. For this purpose, all government entities shall submit to the DDB every month of February of each year, an Annual Report outlining or detailing accomplishments relative to their respective tasks, undertakings, programs and projects under the PADS,” the order said. ■

PH named 5th worst country for the...

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included in the index this year,” Witchel said.

The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS), however, saw the silver lining in the country’s ranking, claiming that the Philippines’ rating can be seen as an improvement.

PTFOMS Executive Director Undersecretary Joel Egco claimed that the results of the Global Impunity Index report were somehow predictable since

it made use of figures from unsolved media-related murders over a ten-year period.

The said period would include the Maguindanao Massacre that transpired in 2009 wherein 32 media workers were killed. The massacre has been named as the world’s deadliest single attack on media workers, journalists, civilians, and members of the Mangudadatu family.

The independent nonprofit organization is made up of about

40 experts around the world. CPJ is in charge of mobilizing a network of correspondents who will report and take action on behalf of those who are victimized and targeted especially when press freedom violations occur.

Its task is to report on violations in repressive countries, conflict zones, and established democracies alike. It is also composed of a board of prominent journalists from around the world that aid CPJ’s activities. ■

Duterte admits ‘militarization...

PAGE A1 t ity but officials insisted the reassignment was not related to the controversy.

The President also relieved all heads of customs units and directed the military to take over their functions. A former military chief, Rey Leonardo Guerrero, succeeded Lapeña as customs commissioner.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo previously said the military takeover at the BOC would remain as long as it is necessary and the President is satisfied that everything is in order at the bureau.

Duterte said his order to cleanse the customs bureau of corrupt personnel has something to do with the legacy he would leave behind.

“I will not end my political

career by leaving people something to talk about, particularly corruption. Bureau of Customs... do you want to apply? There are plenty of available positions in the Bureau of Customs now,” he said.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) supports Duterte’s move to place the BOC under the military to help curb corruption within the agency.

“I believe military will be there to help in the enforcement and adding better controls, lessening or eliminating corruption without affecting the smoother workflow and processing of documents in the BOC,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez told reporters yesterday.

The country’s largest business organization, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • NOVEMBER 3-6, 2018

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Fil-Am doctor eyes congressional seat in Florida

by CHRISTINA

M. ORIEL

AJPress

FLORIDA’S 1st Congressional District — which encompasses its western Panhandle — has long been considered the most Republican district in the state.

However, Jennifer Mijares Zimmerman, a Filipina-American pediatrician, is out to flip that seat this coming November 6 when she goes up against the incumbent Rep. Matt Gaetz.

“District 1 has always been ignored because no one wants to try here because it’s so Republican. But a lot of people have [asked] me, ‘Why even run?’”

Zimmerman told the Asian Journal in a recent interview ahead of Election Day. “I can’t sit back and enjoy my comfortable life knowing my patients are uncomfortable and dying — dying in poverty, dying in uncertainty.

You don’t literally have to lose your life.”

She had her sights set on retirement and perhaps even authoring motivational books, but witnessing firsthand how her patients and )district residents could barely obtain health insurance, in addition to rhetoric stoking a fear of “others”, propelled her to run for Congress.

“The political climate has become so toxic that I believe that decent human beings like myself and others who have run, we sorely need this kind of change,” she said.

As of 2017, 52.8 percent of the district were registered Republican, while 25.7 percent were Democratic. Though the district is over 70 percent White, there is a considerable Filipino-Ameri-

can community, Zimmerman noted, because of the military presence and of course, health care industry.

The Fil-Am Democrat entered the primary race after some hesitation, and with only $8,000 in funding compared to the six figures her opponents had raised, but ended up receiving 60 percent of the vote, putting her on the ballot for the November midterm.

“This is the first time ever that we have a female, immigrant, mother, physician, and actually someone who has stayed in the community for two decades, who is in the general election.

We’ve broken a few barriers already,” Zimmerman added.

“There’s something about my message that’s resonating with the district.”

Born in the Philippines, Zimmerman went to medical school at the University of the East College of Medicine and migrated to the United States on a J-1 Visa, which is typically given to non-immigrants receiving medical or business training. She finished her residency in general pediatrics at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and eventually met her husband to start a family with three children.

Since 1997, Zimmerman has been practicing as a pediatrician in the Sunshine State, with 19 years in Santa Rosa County, which is part of the 1st District.

“I have served this district faithfully. You might want to call me a public servant for District 1 because I serve the underserved children. I was one of the few who really accepted children who are on Medicaid and I still

and Industry (PCCI), in a statement said it also welcomes Duterte’s initiative as it may trigger an overhaul of the system with the BOC, perceived to be the most corrupt agency of government.

While the business group supports what it called Duterte’s bold initiative, PCCI said it is hopeful the move would not affect trade and transactions with the BOC. Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said yesterday the group is hopeful the military personnel who will be assigned at the BOC would help in trade facilitation, especially now that there are a lot of shipments expected for the Christmas season.

(With reports from Louella De- Zimmerman, a pediatrician for over 20 years, is the first female Democratic nominee for siderio/Philstar.com) Florida’s 1st congressional district.

Filipina-American Jennifer Zimmerman is the Democratic candidate for Florida’s 1st congressional district. She faces incumbent Rep. Matt Gaetz this November 6.

continue to do that. In fact, my practice is probably 80-90 percent Medicaid, underserved, or no insurance. I wanted to give back to the community, the America that welcomed me 25 years ago,” she noted.

She remarked, “My father was prisoner of war in the Pacific during World War II. My husband’s father served in Europe. I would be doing both of them an injustice if I don’t speak up when I could. They sacrificed so much and here I am— am I going to just going to watch this country go down the drain? I don’t think so.”

Being an immigrant herself and going through the process of becoming a U.S. citizen, Zimmerman hopes the government can continue to provide that pathway to those who want to live in the country for better opportunities.

But, she notes that calling for immigration reform doesn’t necessarily equate to wanting completely open borders and lack of security.

“It took me 11 years and over $25,000 to become...an American citizen. I feel strongly for those people who are trying to just get a better life for themselves and their families and don’t have my resources. I am not for completely open borders where you just run in and out as your please, which is what I hate when they say that because you can be for border security and you can be for law and pathways to be established. But we don’t have to be inhumane about it,” she said. “These are our fellow brothers and sisters in the eyes of God and these borders are

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A November 3-6, 2018 • LA WeeKeND ASIAN JoUrNAL

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Pricey precision medicine often financially toxic for cancer patients

by Liz Szabo Kaiser Health News

only a fraction of her care, forcing Kilmer to make an agonizing choice: stop taking a drug that costs nearly $17,000 a month or pay out-of-pocket, burdening her family with tremendous debt.

“When you are looking at your daughter, you ask yourself, ‘Do I take a medication that might allow me to see her graduate high school?’” asked Kilmer, of Spearfish, S.D. “Or do you stop taking it to avoid causing her financial harm?”

The high cost of cutting-edge tests and treatments is threatening to keep precision medicine — one of the most celebrated areas in cancer research — out of reach for many patients. Patients who pay for these new treatments on their own “could be in debt for decades,” said Dr. Scott Ramsey, director of the hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research in Seattle.

Already cancer care is hugely expensive. A recent study in the American Journal of Medicine found that 42 percent of

patients depleted 100 percent of their assets — an average loss of $92,000 — within two years of When Kristen Kilmer was didiagnosis. agnosed with incurable breast Precision medicine involves cancer at age 38, her first thought running expensive tests called was of her 8-year-old daughter. genomic sequencing, which scan Kilmer lost her own mother as the DnA of tumors to find mutaa teenager and was determined tions that might be susceptible to get more time with her only to available drugs. Although the child. field is relatively new, hundreds Kilmer searched for experiof thousands of cancer patients mental treatments, opting for have had their tumors sequenced an unproven approach in which to identify cancer-related mutaresearchers select drugs based tions, according to testing comon the genes in patients’ tumors. panies.

Doctors have selected her treatMedicare, the government inments for the past three years surance plan for people 65 and based on the unique, ever-changolder, announced in March that ing DnA of her cancer cells. now it will pay for genomic testing 41, Kilmer has responded better for people with advanced canthan anyone dared to hope. her cers — a decision that could add cancer has gone into hiding; her $2.5 billion to federal health care tumors are no longer visible on costs, according to a May analymedical scans. sis in health Affairs.

Researchers call the strategy Few private insurers cover the “precision medicine.” tests, leaving some patients with Kilmer’s insurance company surprise medical bills. calls it experimental. As a conseCarrie Wyman, who also has quence, her insurer has covered advanced breast cancer, discovered that her insurance plan doesn’t cover genomic sequencing only after she received a $5,800 statement.

“I just assumed it would be covered,” said Wyman, 50, a resident of La Plata, Md., who has six children and stepchildren. “I was blindsided, to be honest with you.”

Yet paying for that initial test is just the beginning. As Kilmer learned, finding the money for ongoing treatment is far more challenging, said Dr. Gary Lyman, who studies way to improve health care quality at Seattle’s Kristen Kilmer says she would rather go without her cancer treatment than financially burden Fred hutchinson Cancer Reher daughter and husband, Chet Kilmer. News search Center.

In some cases, genomic tests match patients to experimental drugs available only in clinical trials. Although these trials sometimes provide free medications, many cancer patients can’t afford to travel to participate in them. Kilmer drives 12 hours round-trip every month to participate in a clinical trial in Sioux Falls, S.D. The expenses add up quickly, she said.

Kilmer’s genomic tests identified a rearrangement in the PALB2 gene. Preliminary studies suggest that tumors with this genetic rearrangement could be susceptible to the drug LynFC_2018CutoffAJ_11p5x10p5inBigger.pdf

1

10/31/18

7:37 AM

Kilmer spreads out her daily medications, including Lynparza (center).

Photos by Kristina Barker/Kaiser Health News

President Donald Trump delivers remarks on immigration on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian

Trump imposes quota on asylum claims...

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Generally, the U.S. recognizes the right of asylum pursuant to international and federal law which grants asylum to people who justifiably fears persecution in their home country on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, political opinion (i.e. opposition to a political party) or particular social group. Applicants for asylum must also reason that the government is either involved in said persecution or unable to control the persecution of a private entity. every year a caravan of Central American migrants — most of whom are women and children are from honduras, Guatemala and el Salvador — travel through Mexico en route to the U.S. border, traveling in thousands for protection; migrants are often kidnapped by drug and human traffickers on their journeys to the U.S. As of press time, the migrant caravan continues to press on toward the border and have crossed through the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

It’s unclear how the administration plans to carry out the forthcoming executive order on, but it has already dispatched U.S. troops to the border to buttress border patrol.

On Friday, nov. 2, the president backtracked from a suggestion that the more than 5,000 troops would be allowed to fire freely on migrants who throw rocks at them but said that rockthrowers would be arrested.

“They won’t have to fire. What I don’t want is I don’t want these people throwing rocks,” the president told reporters outside the White house. “If they do that with us, they’re going to be aru PAGE A6 rested for a long time.”

On Thursday, Trump suggested that he would authorize the use of military force on caravaners if they throw rocks at them as some did at the Mexican military and police force when they reached Mexico.

Trump said that he hopes that the administration won’t resort to military action, but said if migrants attack that “we’re not going to put up with that. If they want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back.” his reasoning behind the possible use of firearms on caravaners by the military is “because there’s not much difference when you get hit in the face with a rock,” later adding, “When they throw rocks like they did at the Mexico military and police, I say [to the military], consider it a rifle.”

Per the regulations of the Defense Department, “deadly force is justified only when there is a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm to a person.”

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jamie Davis said after Trump’s remarks that the military “will not discuss hypothetical situations or specific measures” and emphasized that the military forces “are in support of” the Department of homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection.

Thursday’s address comes at the heels of his controversial announcement of ending birthright citizenship by way of, once again, executive order, a proposal panned by Democrats and Republicans alike.

As previously reported by the Asian Journal, house Speaker Paul Ryan refuted the president’s claim that he can end birthright

citizenship (wherein a U.S.-born child of undocumented parents is automatically a U.S. citizen) by saying Trump “obviously” doesn’t have the power to end a law supported by the Constitution.

Both announcements — which, unlike most of the president’s statements, sparked outrage — occurred days before the historic midterm election where the Republican-majority Congress could flip blue, which has been a thesis for Democrats since the 2016 election.

Many interpreted these announcements as a last-ditch effort to pander to GOP voters who respond well to fearmongering and consider immigration to be an important issue. (Polling data from RealClearPolitics, which aggregated multiple results from prominent pollsters, said that Democrat candidates running for all offices are averaging a 7.5-point lead against Republican candidates.)

This week, the president tweeted a campaign ad that featured an undocumented Mexican immigrant who murdered two California sheriff’s deputies in 2014 and laughed about it in court, to which the ad states, “Democrats let him into our country.”

Democrats and Republicans alike lambasted the ad for demonizing immigrants by exploiting the stereotype that all undocumented immigrants of color are violent.

“It’s all about revving up the base, using fear to stimulate people to come out at the polls,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), who has voted with Trump on a number of issues, told The Tennessean on Thursday after Trump’s White house address. (Klarize Medenilla/AJPress

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What’s on your ballot? A look at the 2018...

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A NO vote means: The state could not sell $4 billion in general obligation bonds to fund veterans and affordable housing.

Proposition 2: Bond for housing for those with mental illness This would amend the Mental Health Services Act to fund No Place Like Home Program, which finances housing for individuals with mental illness. Ratifies existing law establishing the No Place Like Home Program.

Fiscal Impact: Allows the state to use up to $140 million per year of county mental health funds to repay up to $2 billion in bonds.

These bonds would fund housing for those with mental illness who are homeless.

A YES vote means: The state could use existing county mental health funds to pay for housing for those with mental illness who are homeless.

A NO vote means: The state’s ability to use existing county mental health funds to pay for housing for those with mental illness who are homeless would depend on future court decisions.

Proposition 3: Bonds for infrastructure projects This would give $8.877 billion in state general obligation bonds for various infrastructure projects. Fiscal Impact: Increased state costs to repay bonds averaging $430 million per year over 40 years. Local government savings for water-related projects, likely averaging a couple hundred million dollars annually over the next few decades.

A YES vote means: The state could sell $8.9 billion in general obligation bonds to fund various water and environmental projects.

A NO vote means: The state could not sell $8.9 billion in general obligation bonds to fund various water and environmental projects.

Proposition 4: Grants for children’s hospitals This would allow $1.5 billion in bonds, to be repaid from state’s General Fund, to fund grants for construction, expansion, renovation, and equipping of qualifying children’s hospitals. Fiscal Impact: Increased state costs to repay bonds averaging about $80 million annually over the next 35 years.

A YES vote means: The state could sell $1.5 billion in general obligation bonds for the construction, expansion, renovation, and equipping of certain hospitals that treat children.

A NO vote means: The state could not sell the $1.5 billion in general obligation bonds proposed for these purposes.

Proposition 5: Expand tax benefit for certain homeowners This would remove certain transfer requirements for homeowners over 55, severely disabled homeowners, and contaminated or disaster-destroyed property. Fiscal Impact: Schools and local governments each would lose over $100 million in annual property taxes early on,

growing to about $1 billion per year. Similar increase in state costs to backfill school property tax losses.

A YES vote means: All homeowners who are over 55 (or who meet other qualifications) would be eligible for property tax savings when they move to a different home.

A NO vote means: Certain homeowners who are over 55 (or who meet other qualifications) would continue to be eligible for property tax savings when they move to a different home.

Proposition 6: Repeal gas tax This would repeal a 2017 transportation law’s taxes and fees designated for road repairs and public transportation. Fiscal Impact: Reduced ongoing revenues of $5.1 billion from state fuel and vehicle taxes that mainly would have paid for highway and road maintenance and repairs, as well as transit programs.

A YES vote means: Fuel and vehicle taxes recently passed by the Legislature would be eliminated, which would reduce funding for highway and road maintenance and repairs, as well as transit programs. The Legislature would be required to get a majority of voters to approve new or increased state fuel and vehicle taxes in the future.

A NO vote means: Fuel and vehicle taxes recently passed by the Legislature would continue to be in effect and pay for highway and road maintenance and repairs, as well as transit programs. The Legislature would continue not to need voter approval for new or increased state fuel and vehicle taxes in the future.

Proposition 7: Changing daylight saving time The Legislature would have to ability to change daylight saving time period by two-thirds vote, if changes are consistent with federal law. Fiscal Impact: This measure has no direct fiscal effect because changes to daylight saving time would depend on future actions by the Legislature and potentially the federal government.

A YES vote means: The Legislature, with a two-thirds vote, could change daylight saving time if the change is allowed by the federal government. Absent any legislative change, California would maintain its current daylight saving time period (early March to early November).

A NO vote means: California would maintain its current daylight saving time period.

Proposition 8: Regulating kidney dialysis clinics This would regulate the amounts outpatient kidney dialysis clinics charge for dialysis treatment. It would also require rebates and penalties if charges exceed limit and annual reporting to the state. Simultaneously, clinics would be prohibited from refusing to treat patients based on payment source. Fiscal Impact: Overall annual effect on state and local governments ranging from net positive impact in the low tens of millions of dollars to net negative impact in the tens of millions of dollars.

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A YES vote means: Kidney dialysis clinics would have their revenues limited by a formula and could be required to pay rebates to certain parties (primarily health insurance companies) that pay for dialysis treatment.

A NO vote means: Kidney dialysis clinics would not have their revenues limited by a formula and would not be required to pay rebates.

Proposition 10: Repealing rent control restrictions This would repeal state law that currently restricts the scope of rent control policies that cities and other local jurisdictions may impose on residential property.

Fiscal Impact: Potential net reduction in state and local revenues of tens of millions of dollars per year in the long term. Depending on actions by local communities, revenue losses could be less or considerably more.

A YES means: State law would not limit the kinds of rent control laws cities and counties could have.

A NO vote means: State law would continue to limit the kinds of rent control laws cities and counties could have.

Proposition 11: Private ambulance employees on call during breaks Law entitling hourly employees to breaks without being oncall would not apply to privatesector ambulance employees.

Fiscal Impact: Likely fiscal benefit to local governments (in the form of lower costs and higher revenues), potentially in the tens of millions of dollars each year.

u PAGE A6

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • NOvEmbER 3-6, 2018

A

US Navy pushes ASEAN sea code

by Dempsey

Reyes ManilaTimes.net

THE United States Navy is pushing for the Code of Conduct between Southeast Asian countries and China to prevent any miscalculations in the South China Sea. Admiral John Richardson, U.S. Navy chief of naval operations, said in a telephonic press conference that Washington will welcome the drafting of the Code of Conduct, which is considered as a “very positive development.� “These codes of conduct serve to, as I said before, with this operational arrangement, the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (Cues), they serve a tremendous benefit in terms of providing for safe and professional passage (in) high seas,� Richardson said, noting that the U.S. Navy and

the Chinese Navy had been sailing in the same waters.

Richardson explained that it was “not uncommon� for Washington and Beijing to encounter each other in high seas.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have not concluded the formation of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. In August, Singapore Minister of Defense Ng Eng Hen urged ASEAN and China to conclude the formation of the Code of Conduct for maritime stability and maintenance of centrality.

Richardson, meanwhile, highlighted the importance of understanding freedom of navigation, since it is being used to contest maritime claims.

The South China Sea is being claimed in whole and in part by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson Photo from Defense.gov Philippines and Vietnam. n

‘PH stands with Israel and US in fighting anti-Semitism,’ says DFA chief

by Consuelo

maRquez Inquirer.net

NEWLY-appointed Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy “Boy�

Locsin Jr. on Friday said the Philippines “stands with Israel and U.S. in fighting anti-Semitism� as he extended the nation’s condolences to victims of the synagogue bombing in Pittsburgh, United States.

Anti-Semitic gunman Robert Bowers opened fire on Jewish

congregants at a synagogue in Pittsburgh last October 27.

In a tweet, Locsin branded anti-Semitism or discrimination against Jews an “ugly motivation� which, he noted, “all decent mankind condemns.� “The ugly motivation is anti-Semitism which all decent mankind condemns. PH stands with Israel and U.S. in fighting anti-Semitism,� he wrote.

Locsin also said that de-

spite differences in policies, the Philippines will join the fight against such discrimination. “Whatever foreign policy differences we have with the U.S., on fighting Islamic fundamentalist terrorism we stand foursquare with the U.S. and with the great state of Israel with which we have historic ties of blood and friendship. We will fight anti-Semitism to the very end of it,� he said. n

A November 3-6, 2018 • LA WeeKeND ASIAN JoUrNAL

Dateline USa

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World leaders urged to end violence vs journalists

by Pia Lee-Brago Philstar.com

A GROUP of independent, United Nations-appointed human rights experts has called on world leaders to stop inciting hatred and violence against the media, citing the hundreds of journalists killed or detained for doing their job.

In a statement released ahead of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists on Nov. 2, UN experts David Kaye, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Agnes Callamard, special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; and Bernard Duhaime, chair of the working group on enforced or involuntary disappearances, said political incitement to violence against journalists is “toxic.”

The experts also asked world leaders to ensure that those re-

of commitment to the safety of journalists,” the statement said.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said that between 2006 and 2017, over 1,000 journalists were killed for reporting the news and bringing information to the public; an average of one death every four days.

In nine out of 10 cases, the killers go unpunished and this impunity, said the UN experts, triggers further violence and attacks. The experts said perpetrators must be brought to justice and victims and families should have access to remedies.

High-level international commitments already exist, such as a resolution on the safety of journalists, adopted by the Human Rights Council in Septem- BANNED ITEMS.Manila Police District personnel seize cigarettes, matches, lighters and colognes from visitors of the Manila North Cemetery during the All Souls’ Day on Friday, November 2.

PNA photo by Joey O. Razon ber.

The UN experts called on world leaders to implement such resolutions and end their role in inciting hatred and violence against the media. n PAGE A4 t “It’s not worth it,” Kilmer said. women with advanced breast parza, but those effects haven’t “I will not put my family into that cancer — presented at a Sepbeen definitively proven in large- kind of debt.” tember meeting of the Ameriscale studies. The Food and Drug Uncertain benefits can Society of Clinical Oncology Administration has approved Insurers say costs aren’t their — found that 54 percent had Lynparza only for breast cancer only concern. Evidence is lack- stopped or refused treatment patients with a mutation called ing that the precision medicine due to cost. The women in the BRCA. approach will work consistently, study may have been more vulLegally, doctors can prescribe they argue. nerable than most, because 30 Lynparza “off label” to anyone America’s Health Insurance percent were uninsured, about with cancer. But insurance pro- Plans, an industry group, said twice the national rate. grams are reluctant to cover off- genetic sequencing remains unIn an August study in JAMA, label treatments, unless they’re proven. researchers found that relatively specifically recommended in exCathryn Donaldson, the few of those who hoped to benpert guidelines. group’s spokeswoman, de- efit from precision medicine acKilmer has spent much of the scribed recent scientific advanc- tually ended up on a medication. past three years battling insur- es as “remarkable and notewor- Just 15 percent of those who ance officials and begging drug thy.” But she said insurers “need underwent genomic sequenccompanies for financial assis- a more definitive answer” about ing ended up taking a targeted tance. The drugmakers have whether the tests help the aver- therapy, according to the study. been generous, allowing her to age patient live longer.

The study didn’t ask participants take a rotating cocktail of experiThe South Dakota State Em- why they failed to get a targeted mental drugs for free because of ployee Health Plan — which runs drug, but Presley, the lead auher modest income.

Kilmer’s insurance plan — said it thor, said it’s likely that some paIn September, however, Astra- bases its coverage decisions on tients couldn’t afford them.

Zeneca decided to end Kilmer’s science and reviews “published, “We’re finding the mutations, Boxing world champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes.

Inquirer.net photo by Mark GIongco financial aid. Kilmer appealed randomized data about the safebut patients aren’t getting the ing without a champion in the ning titles in the flyweight, light the drug company’s decision. ty and efficacy of the requested drugs,” Presley said. Without Paying thousands of dollars a drugs.” flyweight, and minimumweight division. insurance, she said, “you and I month is not an option, Kilmer Ioka (23-1), who is seven divisions.

Although genetic testing has would not be able to afford these “It won’t be an easy fight either said. Her family already carries become the standard of care for medications. It’s a huge barrier.” years the junior of the 36-yearold Nietes, ended a 16-month way but Donnie has always been significant credit card debt from melanoma and a common type Within hours of the publicaretirement when he scored a confident,” said Aldeguer. “Ioka earlier cancer treatments. She es- of lung cancer, no one knows if tion of this story, AstraZeneca unanimous decision win over is a bigger name and comes from timates that she has spent about genomic sequencing will extend called Kilmer to notify her that it McWilliams Arroyo after 10 a respected country like Japan.” $80,600 out-of-pocket treating the lives of people with other would continue to provide finan“Nietes wants the biggest her illness, including $23,600 on types of cancer, said Dr. Carolyn cial aid. Her medication arrived rounds in his first fight in the junior bantamweight division and fights out there and this fight is a her early breast cancer therapy Presley, an assistant professor at in the mail the next day. and $57,000 treating metastatic the Ohio State University Comstep towards it.” in the United States.

“It’s a huge relief,” Kilmer If Nietes wins the bout, he will disease.

Nietes and Ioka were actually prehensive Cancer Center. said.

Kilmer said she would rather in the same SuperFly 3 card on join fellow Filipino IBF World suWithout insurance coverage, This story was produced by per flyweight champion Jerwin stop taking Lynparza than finan- some cancer patients simply Kaiser Health News, an editoriSept. 8, 2018.

Both Nietes and Ioka are three- Ancajas as titlists in the 115-lb cially burden her daughter and give up on treatment. ally independent program of the husband, a truck driver. division World champions win- division. n A study of more than 1,000 Kaiser Family Foundation. n sponsible are held accountable.

“These last weeks have demonstrated once again the toxic nature and outsized reach of political incitement against journalists, and we demand that it stop,” the group said.

It strongly urged states to “take firm steps to ensure accountability for violence and attacks against journalists, reversing and resisting the appalling trend of impunity.”

The experts particularly highlighted the killing last month of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi and condemned the failure to address his enforced disappearance and apparent murder.

“The only way forward is to establish an independent, transparent and credible investigation into his murder, one authorized by and reporting to the United Nations. Anything short of a complete investigation, recognized as such by the international community, will make a mockery of government claims

Pricey precision medicine often financially...

Donnie Nietes set to face Kazuto Ioka for WBO junior bantamweight title

by Bong Lozada Inquirer.net

FILIPINO boxing icon Donnie Nietes can get another chance to become a four-division World champion after the World Boxing Organization ordered him to fight Japanese star Kazuto Ioka.

The bout will be for the sanctioning body’s vacant World junior bantamweight (the super flyweight division in the WBC, IBF, and WBA) belt.

As per Ring Magazine, the ruling was brought upon during the WBO Convention in Panama with Nietes’ promoter Michael Aldeguer of ALA Promotions confirming the news.

“In principle, the fight is done is a done deal,” said Aldeguer.

Ring added that Aldeguer and Ioka’s promoter TLAROCK and manager Taku Nagashima discussed everything and that the contract signing was a mere formality.

Nietes (41-1-5) had his first chance at the WBO junior bantamweight belt when he took on fellow Filipino Aston Palicte (24-2) but the judges ruled on a split decision draw in the Sept. 8, 2018 fight that left the sanction-

Fil-Am doctor eyes congressional seat in Florida PAGE A3 t temporarily set by men. While that is important to maintain for safety and due process, we have to implement these laws in a humane manner.”

With a few days left until November 6, Zimmerman and Gaetz faced off in a final debate and reiterated their respective views on issues from immigration to gun control.

Aside from the issues, Zimmerman says that a candidate who will be present in the district is one important consideration voters should look at.

“Just a few weeks ago, we had Hurricane Michael hit the area.

Thankfully, our district did not incur as much damage as what happened to the east of us. And where was our incumbent? He flew to D.C. and I once again stayed in the area to make sure my staff and volunteers were okay,” she said, adding that she made training videos on first aid safety and emergency planning.

She continued, “Immediately after the hurricane, we mobilized and were able to the next day use my old clinic to collect items and distribute them to the nursing homes...I went out of the district and even though it wasn’t my area, as a fellow human being, you need to care. Our incumbent only cares when there’s a camera and a photo-op.”

As she continues to talk to constituents in the final moments, she said she hopes that “my message is hope, and not fear, is actually out there. I stand for trust and respect, not lies and deceit.”

One of the ways, she believes, American can be less divisive

Zimmerman with Gina Ortiz Jones (left), who is also running for Congress in Texas, at an event for the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA).

is for eligible voters to actually cast their ballots in the upcoming election.

“One person, one vote. In that polling place, rich or poor, right or left...you have a say on who represents you...The ballot box doesn’t care if you’re white or black or brown— it is one of the greatest equalizing factors…We need to change the face of Congress and Senate. It’s one way we can bring sanity back. It’s one way we will stop and enable a dictatorship to flourish,” she said.

In addition to Zimmerman, other Fil-Ams are vying for congressional seats across the country, including Gina Ortiz Jones

in Texas, and TJ Cox, Cristina Osmeña, and Kenneth Mejia in California.

Beyond her impact on District 1, being a Filipina in Congress will be a historic feat for representation.

“There is a lot of responsibility weighing on my shoulders but I would proudly barge into Congress. I don’t hide the fact that I’m Filipina and an immigrant... because I want to empower not only my fellow Filipino Americans, but I want this to reach all the way to the Philippines where there might be a little girl thinking, ‘if she can do it, maybe I can too,’” she said. “It doesn’t matter where you came from.” n

What’s on your ballot? A look at the 2018...

PAGE A5 t

A YES vote means: Private ambulance companies could continue their current practice of having emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics stay onduty during their meal and rest breaks in order to respond to 911 calls. Private ambulance companies would attempt to reschedule meal and rest breaks that are interrupted by a 911 call.

A NO vote means: Private ambulance companies would be subject to labor laws for this industry. Based on a recent court decision, these laws likely would require ambulance companies to provide EMTs and paramed-

ics with off-duty meal and rest breaks that cannot be interrupted by a 911 call.

Proposition 12: Standards for farm animal confinement This establishes minimum requirements for confining certain farm animals, and prohibits sales of meat and egg products from animals confined in noncomplying manner. Fiscal Impact: Potential decrease in state income tax revenues from farm businesses, likely not more than several million dollars annually. State costs up to $10 million annually to enforce the measure.

A YES vote means: There

would be new minimum requirements on farmers to provide more space for egg-laying hens, breeding pigs, and calves raised for veal. California businesses would be banned from selling eggs or uncooked pork or veal that came from animals housed in ways that did not meet these requirements.

A NO means: Current minimum space requirements for confining egg-laying hens, pregnant pigs, and calves raised for veal would continue to apply.

Current ban on businesses in California selling eggs not meeting these space requirements for hens would remain in effect. n

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A

D ateline PhiliPPines Filipina saved from UAE death row comes home Duterte transfers 8 agencies to DILG, DSWD, DTI

MANILA — A Filipina domestic helper, who has been acquitted of murder in the United Arab Emirates, boarded her flight home on Thursday evening after spending almost four years in prison.

Jennifer Dalquez arrived in Manila on Friday, November 2, along with 86 undocumented Filipinos who availed of the UAE’s three-month amnesty program, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

In a handwritten note to the Philippine Embassy, Dalquez expressed her gratitude to the government for getting her out of death row.

“Taos puso po ako nagpapasalamat sa embahada na tinulugan po ako nila sa kaso ko hanggang makalaya at sa gobyerno ako po’y taos pusong nagpasalamat sa inyo sa tulong na ginawa nyo sa akin (I thank the embassy for helping me with my case until I am freed and to the government, thank you for helping me),” Dalquez said.

Ambassador to UAE Hjayceelyn Quintana reported to the DFA that the acquitted Filipina was grateful to the Philippine Embassy for ensuring that she would return home to the Philippines.

“Jennifer was indeed very thankful for all the assistance, the support, and most especially the prayers that she said led to the reversal of the death sentence that was meted out on her three years ago,” Quintana said.

Jennifer Dalquez breaks into tears upon seeing her parents following her arrival from Abu Dhabi this morning. In her statement upon arrival, Jennifer expressed her gratitude to President Duterte, the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and all those responsible for her acquittal and return to the Philippines.

Photo courtesy of DFA

Quintana talked to Dalquez on the phone before boarding her flight to Manila as the latter did not have the chance to personally thank the Philippine envoy.

In 2014, an Abu Dhabi court found Dalquez guilty and sentenced her to death for stabbing her employer to death. The incident happened after the employer threatened to kill the Filipina after refusing to have sex with him, the DFA said.

The Philippine Embassy immediately appealed the court decision, which was later on overturned by a local court in 2017.

The DFA Office of Migrant Workers Affairs has provided

Dalquez with a lawyer since her case first started in March 2015, Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said.

“Jennifer’s acquittal underscores just how serious the Duterte Administration is in promoting the rights and protecting the welfare of our people abroad,” Arriola said.

Aside from legal assistance from the Philippine government, Dalquez also received assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. (Patricia Lourdes Viray/ Philstar.com)

22 Filipino truck drivers working and living deplorable conditions in Denmark rescued TWENTY-TWO Filipino truck drivers who were reported to have been living and working in deplorable conditions in the southern part of Denmark were rescued, the Philippine embassy in Norway said.

The embassy, which has jurisdiction over Denmark, reported the rescue of the Filipinos by Danish police who raided the camp in Padborg on Tuesday, October 30.

Upon the request of Ambassador Jocelyn Batoon-Garcia,

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III instructed Geneva-based Labor Attaché Delmer Cruz to proceed immediately to Copenhagen to look into the situation of the Filipino drivers.

The embassy has been coordinating with the United Federation of Danish Workers, authorities, and other contacts as soon as it was informed of the drivers’ situation.

Batoon-Garcia flew to Denmark with a team to determine the status of the drivers whose living conditions, the

embassy said, “were unacceptable by any standard.”

“The Embassy will make sure the Filipinos are treated humanely and with dignity,” Batoon-Garcia said.

She said the embassy, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) will assist the Filipinos until an appropriate and amicable solution could be reached with their employer.

(Bernadette Tamayo/ManilaTimes.net)

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the transfer of eight agencies under the Office of the Cabinet Secretary to three departments, two of which are headed by retired military officials.

Through Executive Order No. 67, Duterte transferred eight agencies to the Department of Trade and Industry Department of Interior and Local Government and Department of Social Welfare and Development—the DILG and DSWD are currently headed by former military generals.

The reorganization of the agencies under the Office of the Cabinet Secretary comes as Rey Leonardo Guerrero, yet another former general, takes the helm of the Bureau of Customs.

The president has explained his preference for appointing former military officers to government posts, saying he prefers them because they follow orders and get things done.

He has pointed to the closure, subsequent reopening and continued rehabilitation of Boracay island to make his point. The Department of the Interior and Local Government and Department of Environment and Natural Resources, key agencies in the cleanup of the island, are led by former military generals.

Duterte’s EO 67 effectively revamped the Office of the Cabinet Secretary as it ordered the transfers of: Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Cooperative Development Authority, to the Department of Trade and Industry; National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, Philippine Commission on Women and the National Youth Commission, to the Department of Interior Local Government, and National Anti-Poverty Commission, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor, to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The DTI is led by Secretary Ramon Lopez, while retired soldiers Eduardo Año and Rolando Bautista head the DILG and DSWD respectively.

Liza Maza, former lead conve-

nor of NAPC, said on her Facebook account that the reshuffling is a “horror story.”

Duterte, in a speech on Wednesday, October 31, said there is indeed a “militarization” of the government.

“They say it’s militarization of the government, [they are] correct,” the president said.

Aside from the appointment of former generals to government agencies, the president earlier said that troops would “take over” corruption-ridden Bureau of Customs although his spokespersons have since clarified that the military would only be there to help.

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A8 NOVEMBER 3-6, 2018 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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OPINION

FEATURES

Facilitating business

MAKING it easier to do business has always been a priority of President Rodrigo Duterte. From the start of his presidency, he has been telling government agencies to cut the processing time for actions or official documents needed by the public to just a few days for simple transactions. He has stressed that if this can be done in his home city of Davao, it can be done throughout the country.

Despite the enactment of the Anti-Red Tape law or Republic Act 9485 in June 2007, the country has continued to rate low in international rankings on ease of doing business. In line with the President’s agenda, Congress passed an enhancement of the Anti-Red Tape Act. RA 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business Act, was signed by the President in May this year.

It took a few more months before the Department of Trade and Industry finished the implementing rules and regulations. Last week the IRR was submitted to Malacañang, and now awaits the appointment of a director general of the Anti-Red Tape Authority. This appointment cannot be bogged down in red tape.

After the appointment has been made, the bigger challenge is implementing the law. It is a sad fact that the country has many tough laws, but enforce-

ment is weak. Cutting red tape is a problem particularly because there are people who benefit from inefficiency in the bureaucracy. Delays encourage the payment of “facilitation fees” or grease money.

The amounts involved can be considerable if collected on a daily basis. Many local government units have gained notoriety for this. In agencies such as the Bureau of Customs, fortunes can be built on facilitation fees.

Other agencies have shown that it’s possible to drastically cut red tape. It has become much faster, for example, to obtain passports, birth certificates and driver’s licenses, although it took a long time before the license cards became available. But the improvements show that dramatic reforms are possible. The Ease of Doing Business Act must be made to fully achieve its purpose. (Philstar.com)

Editorial

Philstar.com photo

Voters’ issue #1: Health care but Trump responds with lies and scare, hate & divide tactics about immigration The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS is on Tuesday, Nov. 6 and the issues that voters are most worried about is health care and the economy, based on polls from Pew Research, Gallup and the Kaiser Family Foundation, among others.

People worry about not having health care coverage when they need it, and are concerned about what may happen to them and their family with pre-existing conditions.

Yet, President Donald Trump responded to this top concern with lies and scare tactics as his closing argument before voters cast their their sacred votes on November 6.

After polls reveal how important health care is to voters, and how popular the Affordable Care Act has been to this day, Trump and the Republican candidates are now saying in the campaign trail they will protect Americans with pre-existing conditions and blame the Democrats for the health care problems, conveniently covering up the fact that the Republican Party has been obsessed with

repealing the Affordable Care Act passed by the Democrats in 2009, which has insured millions of Americans and have protected for the first time those with preexisting conditions from being deprived insurance coverage or for going bankrupt because of exorbitant medical expenses.

While Trump touts about the booming U.S. economy, high GDP, and low jobless rates, these numbers do not translate to the concern of ordinary hardworking Americans — not having a decent living wage to provide for the basic needs of their family. Wages have not caught up with the rising cost of living, and many Americans need to take double jobs to afford decent housing, health care, and help their children go to college.

WORSE, Trump has now been using scare and hate tactics to compel his base and the Republicans to go out and vote, fabricating immigration crises, demonizing immigrants and the Democrats, and the news media to further sow division in America.

Trump wanted to shift the narrative to immigration, an issue that has mobilized his base to vote in 2016, and he is doing it again now using taxpayers money and without regard to the truth, the rule of law, and the life of people.

He said he will send 15,000 active duty troops to the southern border to stop the 3,500+ asy-

lum seekers — families including children fleeing violence and hunger in Central America. He would scare people calling this an “invasion”, demonizing these asylum seekers to be criminals infiltrated by terrorist middle eastern people.

As ABC News reported, “For the first time, Trump also seemed to threaten the use of force against migrants at the border.

“They’re throwing rocks viciously and violently,” he claimed, referring to an encounter between the migrants and Mexican police.

“They want to throw rocks at our military, our military is going to fight back.”

Trump said the White House is finalizing plans to require migrants to “present themselves lawfully at a point of entry,” changing the current law that allows immigrants to apply for asylum regardless of how they enter the country.

Refugees International said in reaction that the president’s plan violates a United Nations treaty that the U.S. ratified, which says applicants entering illegally should not be penalized if they present themselves without delay and show good cause for their illegal entry.

“President Trump did not announce an immigration policy this afternoon, but repeatedly lied about the asylum system, his family separation policy, and his

largely unfunded wall. If he plans at some point to prohibit people from applying for asylum between the ports of entry, that plan is illegal,” Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement as reported by ABC News.

Trump also announced that he will terminate birthright citizenship using an executive order, and this is in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment Chapter One of the U.S. Constitution. Only an Act of Congress has the power to do this, and despite attempts since this was adopted by the Constitution more than 200 years ago, no bill has progressed to amend this provision.

The Constitution mandates: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

This, of course Trump knew, but he reignited this issue again to make his base angry with women who come to the United States to give birth, and acquire US citizenship for the child and the family

eventually as a result. “Anchor babies” the Republicans would call them, but according to Fil-Am community leader and immigration attorney, Atty. Lou Tancinco, there are already provisions in U.S. immigration laws to serve as safety nets against abuses.

The U.S.-born immigrant cannot petition his family until he reaches the age of majority and will have to prove he is qualified to support those he will be petitioning for immigration benefits, and that these family members should also meet requirements and qualifications to be approved.

Trump has also intensified his already toxic vilification of immigrants, Democrats, the news media based on lies. Just this week, he tweeted a shocking video that falsely compared members of a migrant caravan heading to the U.S. to an immigrant cop-killer, and falsely blamed Democrats for their letting this immigrant in, for setting him free for crimes he committed and for enabling him to return again.

The truth: this cop killer initially entered the U.S. illegally in 1993 and was deported in 1997 following a drug sentence. A year later, he was back in the US and was again arrested on another drug charge in Phoenix. However, as HuffPost reported, he “was released for “unknown reasons” under Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s custody and continued to live in the

U.S. (Remember Arapio? He is an ardent Trump supporter who he has endorsed to run for office. ) This cop killer immigrant was deported again following another drug charge in 2001 and returned soon after to marry in the U.S. during the Bush administration years, the Sacramento Bee reported. He killed the deputy and detective 13 years later.

Again, lies. And more lies from Trump. Just to win. And guess what? Even some people he endorsed like”Lyin’” Ted Cruz has used Trump’s playbook, using conspiracy theories against political opponents. Cruz suggested his popular Democratic opponent has been funding the migrant caravan with his campaign contributions.

How low can they go?

This midterm elections, we all have the chance to regain back decency, the truth, and give the power back to “WE, the People.

Exercise your right to vote. Protect our democracy and our democratic institutions by voting out people who condone and enable these dirty political tactics coming from the top. We deserve a better government.. *** Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFilAmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook. com/Gel.Santos.Relos

How women can change America If Filipinos could walk on water (Part I of II)

“You can’t be what you can’t see.” - Marian Wright Edelman “If they see it, they can be it.”

- Geena Davis, March 19, 2015 at Mount St. Mary’s University.

“To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights.

It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America.” - Patricia Arquette, acceptance speech for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (2015).

ALL three women converged in aspirations that the time has come for women to lead. For far too long, we have been relegated to the background, in support of, and behind men in many organizations.

The time is now for women to be in parity with men. For far too long we have toiled and worked hard, and contributed to growing businesses, non-profits, foundations, and even government institutions, including tending to a home and children, while for every dollar that the man gets paid, a fraction of 84 cents goes to a woman.

The Report on the Status of Women and Girls, unveiled before a crowd of 1,000 at Skirball Museum, valued lost wages and unrealized gains at $450 billion.

Close to half a trillion dollars that women are not paid, even as

Rhizomes

PROSY ABARQUEZDELACRUZ, J.D. they work hard and perform, in the workplace.

The Los Angeles Times’ Feb. 22, 2015 business front page headlined “Not a woman’s place: Many are leaving tech, citing a hostile environment.”

It is a world where women are made to prove themselves over and over again, “The continuous pattern of all these people treating me like I didn’t know what was going on, or excluding me from conversations and not trusting my assertions, all these things added up and it felt like there was an undercurrent of sexism,“ according to Tracy Chou, 27, a Pinterest engineer.

It is a world where Code.org claims that computing jobs will more than double to 1.2 million in 2020. So in the high tech world of Facebook, Instagram, Yahoo, Google, Snapchat, Pinterest and more, the LA Times reports that men outnumber women by 4 to 1.

What can be done towards gender parity and women empowerment?

In California, the state legis-

lature has the fewest number of women since 1998 and ranks 17th in women’s representations in state legislatures (The Report on Status of Women and Girls

by Mount St. Mary’s University, March 19, 2015).

In the 2014 election, the report found that women won 5 out of 20 Senate and 19 out of 80 Assembly races.

In California’s 58 counties, women represent just about 255 of all county board supervisors and 28 percent of the all city council seats in the state’s 482 cities.

When I worked at a state public health agency, I was the only female of color out of three regional administrators, two of whom were white males. That was in 1992.

Since Mayor Eric Garcetti was elected to serve LA in 2013, 54 percent of his appointees to boards and commissions have been women. That mayoral action transformed gender inequality into making LA a model city where gender parity exists in executive positions.

No longer the media-profiled city of gangbangers and driveby shootings, Los Angeles City is coming into a healthy bloom, symbolized by the revitalized Echo Park, where lotuses are again alive and will be blooming in the summer.

We just wish that bloom and new life is reflected in all areas of

THERE is a caravan of an estimated 4,000 men, women and children from Central America hiking hundreds of miles from their home countries to Mexico and from there to the United States. The “invasion” is one of the main themes of the alarmist rhetoric of President Donald Trump in his desperate effort to drive his voter base to the polls to save the Republican party from decimation in the November 6 mid-term elections.

To spice up his horror stories, Trump has added on the lie that “Middle Eastern terrorists” are mixed in with the refugees, warning that this could mean a wave of bombings and killings once the caravan crosses over into U.S. territory.

In truth, the refugees are planning to seek asylum in America, a legal process that U.S. immigration laws allow. Of course, a large percentage of those seeking asylum are subsequently disapproved and are either forced to return to their homelands or to seek refuge elsewhere. They are reminiscent of the thousands of Vietnamese boat people who fled their country following the fall of Saigon. The refugees may also be likened to the thousands who fled Cuba, after Fidel Castro’s revolucionarios took over Havana.

Mercifully, Trump has not also claimed that Filipino illegal aliens

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Street Talk GREG B. MACABENTA are also among the refugees.

However, the spectacle of thousands desperately trying to enter the U.S. has given rise to the joke that if Pinoys could walk on water, a large percentage of the 100 million-plus Filipino population would make their way to America, too, as well as to Canada, Australia, Europe and the wealthier countries in Asia.

Faraway places with strange sounding names — as the lyrics of the song go — have always held a fascination for our people.

The reason is that, to use wellworn clichés, the grass always looks greener on the other side, and America and the other great cities of the world are perceived as “lands of milk and honey.”

Some 10 million Pinoys are said to be working overseas, and this number probably does not include the 4 to 5 million naturalized citizens, green card holders and TNT’s (Tago Nang Tago) in the U.S. The reason for the diaspora is mainly economic.

Not enough jobs and not enough wages to feed the family are said

to be the principal motivation for wanting to work overseas.

Of course, many eventually realize that they could have been much better off at home in the Philippines, back in their native provinces, if they had been willing to work as hard as they are forced to work in strange lands, just to be able to survive. For some, this is in addition to the harsh treatment that they have to bear under their foreign task masters.

Quite frankly, the situation is not as bad in the Philippines as the usual critics (mainly fellow Pinoys) portray it. Aside from the advantage of having families and friends to run to, anyone willing to work with his hands can actually scrape up enough to live on in the provinces (surviving in Metro Manila is another matter altogether).

But even the hardships in Manila are not as bad as the reasons for the horde of refugees fleeing Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, wanting to seek asylum in America.

In a June 2018 article for the Atlantic, journalist Sofia Martinez wrote: “The killing of a loved one. An attempt at gang recruitment. A rape. Harassment by a police officer. A death threat over an outstanding extortion payment. Amid the justified uproar at the Trump administration’s policies on Amer-

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How women can change...

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the city, not so much in new buildings, but in neighborhoods with less trash, more parks, and betterpaved sidewalks and streets.

LA’s First Lady, Amy Elaine Wakeland, reported that 3 out of 4 deputies to the mayor are women, and that of the 12 department general managers, six are women.

The first lady asserts that if inequality of women’s status is not being monitored, then the problem of women’s inequality is not being addressed.

Yet, she is the first to admit that the two critical and significant departments, fire and police, have yet to address gender parity in their hiring practices.

Perhaps that lack of gender parity is also contributing to the surge of $18 million in settlements, from lawsuits filed by LAPD officers against the department.

The LA Times reported that from 2005 to 2010, officers sued the department more than 250 times over workplace issues, exposing crude behavior and retaliatory mindsets of supervisors.

Just recently, the LA Times reported a captain being retired from his position when sexual harassment allegations came up during his watch. When I read that he was allowed to retire on a five-figure pension, one must ask — was he rewarded with early retirement for his rogue, demeaning behaviors? No wonder men keep doing it, because they lose nothing of value.

To change that culture in the LAPD will require a mindset change where officers at the top are trained to provide good leadership practices, contributing to a professional workplace culture and a consciousness of sexual harassment prevention.

Back to the film industry: Two easy ways to address sexism in the film industry, according to Geena Davis, is first, when crowds are cast, 50 percent go to women and before casting is done for the actors, consider half of the roles written to be for women and change the character names to that of women.

By doing so, you will find women doing non-traditional roles in film and television and we can start seeing women in positions of visibility, echoing what she said, “If they see it, they can be it.”

Recall the television program where Geena Davis played Commander-in-Chief Mackenzie Allen, created by Rod Lurie? That show ranked #1 in ratings in 2005, until its contender, “American Idol”

outranked it. Had the network, ABC, supported it beyond its first season of 18 episodes, who knows how far we would have been prepared to watch and to visualize a woman president in the White House?

Consider for example CBS’ “Madam Secretary” and we now expect foreign policy decisions can be done by a woman and more so, we can expect her to qualify as a future president.

Have you seen Netflix’s “The Bodyguard” where the secretary of state is cast as a woman, though still portrayed as a devious, manipulative, ambitious one until she is assassinated? Not a good scenario for a woman in a high position of power — to be a victim of a murderous coup by males who conspire to have her position — good thing that is fiction!

Davis spoke of how in the 129 top-grossing films in 2006 -2011, the ratio of females to males is 2:5.

“California is one of the largest producers of film,” according to the report, yet women in the film industry occupy fewer than 20 percent of the critical behindthe-scenes occupations, serving primarily as producers.

Moving forward to gender parity and empowerment In California, 61 percent of the female population are women of color: Latinos, Asians, African Americans, who can determine the outcome of its elections, if all of these women of color voted.

In 2018, I am optimistic as I see women candidates running in every level of public position, which we hope after the midterm elections in November would create a tsunami of potential substantive change for America.

“Latinas make up the state’s youngest and second-largest ethnic group under the age of 25,” according to “The Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California” in 2015.

Which means, elections upon elections, if Latina women under age 25 registered, voted and informed themselves to vote as a group, Latina women might determine the outcome of elections in California.

For the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the candidate who communicated her vision persuasively to these Latina women, and addressed their concerns towards reunification of their families through immigration reform, did not become the next White House resident.

Yet, even if the demographics

OpiniOn & Features

changed to reflect more of these young Latinas, their voting rights have been restricted in 22 states.

American Prospect reported “of the 22 states with new restrictions, 18 passed them through Republican-controlled bodies. After Republicans took over state houses and governorships in 2010, voting restrictions typically followed party lines.”

But, hope is always alive. As young women are now earning 170,000 more bachelor’s degrees each year than men, according to the Millennial Legacy’s website, “today, women represent roughly half of the nation’s law and medical students and 55 percent of the nation’s professionals overall.”

Education will empower these women to design their own lives and to take charge of their communities and later, even leading their own city council districts and legislative assembly positions, Senate races, business establishments, foundations and non-profit leadership positions.

Carlos Bulosan wrote, “…history has determined our lives, and we must…work hard for what we believe to be the right thing…life is something we borrow and must give back richer when the time comes.”

In time, and hopefully in our lifetimes, we can witness not just gender parity in the city of LA’s executive part of the municipal government, but also in the LAPD, in the LAFD, and see that realized as well in California, in Washington, DC and throughout the U.S. If Iceland, Finland, Philippines, Belgium, Germany and United Kingdom have all been led by women presidents, we too can elect a woman to be U.S. president, a woman to lead us from the Oval Office and to be our Commander-in-Chief.

As Amy Wakeland said, “Talent is universally distributed, but opportunities are not.”

*** Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.”

She has been writing for AJ Press for 10 years.

She also contributes to Balikbayan Magazine.

Her training and experiences are in science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium, Japan, Costa Rica, Mexico and over 22 national parks in the US, in her pursuit of love for nature and the arts.

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • NOvEmbER 3-6, 2018

A

URBAND LEGEND. People visit the Padang Memorial Shrine in Albay. Twelve years ago, Barangay Padang was a thriving community in the southern portion of this city. It became a ghost village after Super Typhoon ‘Reming’ battered the area on Nov. 30, 2006. Motorists believe that a white lady reigns over the national highway that passes the village. According to those who have encountered her, the “ghost” appears between midnight and dawn. The white lady was reported to have emerged from the destroyed village’s ground zero.

ManilaTimes.net photo by Rhaydz Garcia

If Filipinos could walk...

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ica’s southern border, often lost are the reasons many Central Americans leave their homes, and are prepared to brave the perils of the journey north, in the first place. Families arriving at the border from countries like Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala leave behind a myriad of stories, many of them connected to their homelands’ plague of armed violence.”

For sure, the Philippines is not the land of opportunity that America is, but neither is it the killing fields that the refugees from Central America characterize their homelands. And while President Rodrigo Duterte has been portrayed by his critics as a murderous monster, with former PNP Chief Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa as a blood-thirsty executioner, the Philippines is a whole lot safer than those countries that the fear-stricken members of the U.S.-bound caravan are fleeing from.

According to media reports, families in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are caught between two deadly groups. On one side are such gangs like the Mara Salvatrucha (the MS-13 that Trump has been telling doomsday stories about) and, on the other side, are the police, specifically the anti-gang task forces.

The police are said to indiscriminately round up young men in poor areas, in the government’s

efforts to contain the gangs. If this reminds you of the tokhang in the early months of Duterte’s war on drugs, you wouldn’t be wrong.

Indeed, so many bloody crimes are committed by the authorities in the name of “restoring peace and order.”

On the other hand, it is said that the Central American gangs have become so pervasive and powerful that the police and government authorities privately admit that they are no match for the criminals. These gangs are constantly recruiting boys and forcing them into lives of crime or are making sex slaves of young girls.

The Atlantic article relates how, in countries like El Salvador and Honduras, “parents living in what are popularly known as ‘red zones’—usually communities plagued by gangs—have to spend hard-earned money on private transport or after-school programs to avoid their kids coming into contact with criminal groups.”

The article quotes the parents: “It’s really complicated for us [the parents] ... because we need to work more hours to pay for the security of our children and also spend enough time at home to talk with them and make sure they are not hanging out with the wrong people.”

“In El Salvador,” the article continues, “where there are around 65 thousand active gang

members, with a social support base of half a million people, boys from 12 years up are prime targets for recruitment. Girls can also be targeted at an early age, either to be sexually abused or to become gang members. The eventual fate of a girl—whether she is left alone, harassed into joining the gang, or forced into becoming a sex slave—depends entirely on the local leaders, or palabreros, who run the local cells or clicas (cliques) of the two largest gangs, MS-13 and Barrio 18.”

In sum, we Filipinos are so much better off, in spite of our meager means and in spite of official corruption and incompetence, than the unfortunates in Central America — and in other parts of the world. I once wrote in a documentary script that the Philippines is so rich in natural resources that if we throw a net into the sea, we will catch a fish, and if we stick a seedling into the soil, we will grow food to eat. We just need to use our head, work hard and (as I said in an earlier column) be willing to plant kamote.

In other words, we don’t need to be able to walk on water.

Comparing the plight of our fellow Filipinos to that of the people in Central America, I am reminded of a saying I chanced upon in Cursillo: “I complained because I had no shoes…until I saw a man who had no feet.” n

A10 November 3-6, 2018 • LA WeeKeND ASIAN JoUrNAL

Dateline PhiliPPines

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Bill banning corporal punishment against children nears approval

by Janvic

Mateo Philstar.com

MANILA — A children’s welfare organization is hopeful that Congress will ratify the bill that seeks to ban corporal punishment on children before the end of the year.

The proposed legislation, which will promote positive discipline rather than physical and

verbal abuse on children, is set for third and final reading at the House of Representatives by mid-November, according to Save the Children Philippines.

If approved, it will be consolidated with the Senate version, which was approved last Oct. 8.

Barring any obstacle, the organization said the consolidated bill is expected to be ratified and submitted for signature of the

president by December.

Alberto Muyot, chief executive officer of Save the Children Philippines, said the bill is expected to be passed amid rising cases of violence against children at home.

Citing the 2015 national baseline study on violence against children conducted by the Council for the Welfare of Children, he said three out of five children in the Philippines suffer one or two forms of violence at home, which are often perpetrated by parents, siblings or other relatives.

“Parents should realize that children are not their possessions, thus, hitting them is wrong and is never acceptable,” said Muyot. “Violence begets violence…

Young children who experience corporal punishment are left with feelings of fear, shame, rage, revenge and hostility.”

Muyot said parents are usually outraged when other people hurt their children, but many believe that when they hit their own child, it’s proof that they care for them.

He said physical and verbal punishments on children leave lifelong scars, noting that children who suffer corporal punishment face mental health issues such as depression and alcohol abuse.

“Positive discipline focuses on open communication with children, which guides them to understand that certain behaviors are acceptable, but some others are not,” he said.

Existing laws only prohibit the use of corporal punishment in schools and alternative care settings but not at home, where a majority of physical abuse cases occur but remain unreported, said Muyot.

The proposed law would prohibit physical and verbal violence on children as a form of discipline and provide parents with support on how to discipline their children positively.

Muyot said the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child cites the important role of parents in raising and disciplining their children, but it does not allow corporal punishment and other forms of violence in carrying out this responsibility.

“Children must be treated with dignity and respect and not as property of their parents,” he said. n

The Manila International Airport Authority announced a hike on terminal fees charged to passengers, bringing terminal fees to P300 from P200 for domestic passengers and P750 from P550 to international air travelers.

Philstar.com photo by Rudy Santos

Poe questions hike in airport terminal fees MANILA — Sen. Grace Poe on Thursday, November 1, questioned the increase of terminal fees for passengers boarding flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The Manila International Airport Authority announced on Tuesday a hike on terminal fees charged to passengers, bringing terminal fees to P300 from P200 for domestic passengers and P750 from P550 to international air travelers.

Poe, in a statement, said that there should be “real public consultations” before this move that would affect 42 million people, which is the number of passengers who flew through the Philippines’ main airport in 2018.

“Another reason why the holding of public hearings is a must is the recent imposition of fuel charges on Filipino air travellers. There are multiple taxes and fees embedded in a ticket, including travel tax,” she also

said.

MIAA general manager Ed Monreal said that hiked terminal fees would be collected starting next year. He added that the increase is necessary to cover the rising maintenance and operational costs at the NAIA. But Poe questioned where would the fund collected as terminal fees or “passenger service charge” go. “What are they going to do if ever it increases? We can’t simply take it hook, line and sinker and give it them,” she said.

The senator also raised that it has not been long since the Xiamen Airlines incident happened that left paralyzed operations at NAIA for nearly 36 hours. She added that passengers who testified at the Senate legislative inquiry said that NAIA’s sound system was not working and they were not informed of their boarding time and gates.

“Before focusing on the

‘charge’ part, maybe it is best for MIAA and NAIA to first focus on ‘passenger service,’” she also said.

Monreal said that air travelers will be notified of the new terminal fees through publication on newspapers. The increase would also be included when they purchase their plane tickets.

In September, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific announced that they started the imposition of fuel surcharge in their ticket prices.

Alexander Lao, president and CEO of Cebgo Inc., a unit of Cebu Pacific, was quoted in a Star report as saying: “It is quite important because of the soaring fuel prices and the weakening of peso against the dollar.

Actually, the Philippines is one of the last few countries, at least in destinations where we are flying, that implemented the fuel surcharge.” (Kristine Joy Patag/Philstar.com)

Manila among world’s least sustainable cities – report

by Darryl John

esguerra

Inquirer.net

MANILA has made it to the list of the world’s least sustainable cities, a study from an Amsterdam-based design and consultancy firm showed.

In its 2018 Sustainable Cities Index (SCI) report released Thursday, Arcadis revealed that the Philippine capital was 95th out of 100 cities in overall sustainability.

The study ranks the world’s cities based on three main factors of sustainability: people, planet and profit.

Manila ranked 93rd for the “people” factor, which refers to the cities’ social mobility and quality of opportunity and life.

For “planet” factor which de-

scribes the cities management of energy use, pollution and emissions, Manila settled for the 91st place.

Meanwhile, Manila was at 98th spot in terms of “profit” or the factor that assesses business environment and economic performance.

Topping the list as sustainable cities are London (1st), Stockholm (2nd) and Edinburgh (3rd).

For Asia, Singapore tops the list as the most sustainable city, followed by Hong Kong and Seoul. Manila, on the other hand, ranks 21st out of 23 Asian cities in the list.

In spite of the low ranking, the report noted “opportunities” for Manila to improve its sustainabil-

ity and livability, thus categorizing it as one of the “evolutionary cities.”

“Evolutionary cities,” according to Arcadis, is a “very diverse group that includes rapidly growing cities in emerging markets as well as cities in developed economies that are changing rapidly in response to new circumstances.”

“A key challenge that Evolutionary Cities face is the level of disruption affecting cities that are at a turning point in their trajectory. This disruption might affect jobs, crime levels and even mobility choices. As a result, the citizen experience can be focused much more on the downside associated with the change,” the report said. n

Imelda Marcos on husband: I miss him

by DeMpsey

reyes ManilaTimes.net

THE Marcos family on Thursday, November 1, visited the tomb of their patriarch and recalled memories of happier days with him.

Ilocos Norte 2nd District Rep. Imelda Marcos, the widow of former president Ferdinand Marcos, said she has been missing her husband “a lot” and added that Filipinos miss him, too.

“All the more, I miss him, I miss him a lot and I think the country [does], too,” the lawmaker told reporters in a chance interview at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) in Taguig City.

Imelda, along with her daughters Imee and Irene, attended a Mass at the cemetery that started at 10 a.m. and ended at 11 a.m., according to Col. Edmundo Suficiencia, commanding officer of the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Suficiencia said members of the family, except for former senator and the late leader’s namesake Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., arrived at the cemetery at 9:30 a.m.

He described the visit as quiet, with some supporters joining the Mass and taking pictures with the family.

Imee, governor of Ilocos Norte, said another Mass will be held in Batac, Ilocos Norte, where their grandmother was buried, for the All Souls’ Day on

Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos and daughters Irene and Imee (right) light candles at the tomb of former president Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

ManilaTimes.net photo by Rene Dilan

Friday, November 2.

She added that it was important to remember the good times with those who had departed.

“Kahit saan naman, kailangang gunitain ‘yung buhay ng mga nasawi, mga nauna sa atin at alalahanin kung bakit natin sila minahal at kung paano binago at ginawang makabuluhan ang buhay natin (Regardless of the place, we need to remember the lives of those who have died and remember why we loved them and how they changed and made our lives meaningful),” Imee said.

During the Marcos-imposed

martial law from 1972 to the early 1980s, thousands of dissenters were said to have disappeared or been tortured and killed.

Marcos was ousted in 1986 after the military and the police decided to turn against him, including then-Armed Forces chief Fidel Ramos and then-Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile.

The remains of the Marcos patriarch were moved to the Libingan ng mga Bayani in 2016 on orders of President Rodrigo Duterte, who said the late strongman had served the country as a soldier. n

Duterte transfers 8 agencies to DILG...

PAGE A7 t

The 1987 Constitution states: “No member of the armed forces in the active service shall, at any time, be appointed or designated in any capacity to a civilian position in the Government, including government-owned or controlled corporations or any of their subsidiaries.”

Guerrero, who was head of the Maritime Industry Authority before moving to the Customs bureau, has assured the public there would be no militarization in the BOC. “There will

be personnel from the [Armed Forces of the Philippines] that would support the BOC but that does not mean that the BOC would be taken over by the military because, clearly, I’m civilian and I am the head of the agency.”

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo has justified the pending AFP “takeover” of Customs by saying that the massive corruption at the bureau constitutes “lawless violence.”

While Panelo claimed that corruption at the bureau equates

to the “lawless violence” that prompted Duterte to declare a state of national emergency in September 2016 and which, he said, would justify sending soldiers to the Bureau of Customs, other lawyers disagree.

Law professor and legal expert Tony La Viña said on Tuesday categorically said that corruption is not lawless violence.

“They cannot do anything there unless there’s war, rebellion or lawless violence where people are killing each other.” (Kristine Joy Patag/Philstar.com)

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)ROORZ XV RQ

A11

A12 November 3-6, 2018 • LA WeeKeND ASIAN JoUrNAL

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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • NOVEMBER 3-6, 2018

SHOWBIZ&STYLE

B1

JOURNAL Anne Curtis expresses excitement to be a mom

by KRISSY

AGUILAR Inquirer.net

ANNE Curtis became emotional after the topic of motherhood was brought up during “It’s Showtime� segment “Tawag ng Tanghalan.�

Contestant Del Maica Papas shared her experiences as a mother and how satisfying it is to see her child smile even after struggles and sacrifices. “When I hear stories like this, it makes me even more excited to be a mom,� a moved Curtis said.

What initially started as a

banter became a heartfelt exchange between co-hosts Vice Ganda and Curtis who treat each other as “sisters� and “best friends.�

Vice Ganda said: “It won’t be such a big surprise na makita ka namin kung gaano ka kagaling na nanay. You don’t have to be a perfect woman to be a perfect mother. All you have to do is have a beautiful heart and that is enough.� “Your kid, I am very sure, will be very proud of you. You will be such a perfect mother,� the comedian added.

A tearful Curtis, in turn,

expressed her support to Vice Ganda, who once admitted to the later his fear of growing old alone: “When we all grow old together, kami ni Erwan, we will always be here for you.� “We can take you in, we will take care of you. Isa ka na rin sa magiging anak namin, eventually, when that time comes,� she added.

The episode on Thursday was shot ahead of the Undas holiday.

Curtis is in a “long overdue honeymoon� with husband Erwan Heussaff in Africa for their Anne Curtis with husband Erwan Heussaff first wedding anniversary.

Photo from Instagram/@annecurtissmith

Janella Salvador, Elmo Magalona first seen together after controversy

by KRISSY

AGUILAR Inquirer.net

JANELLA Salvador and Elmo Magalona were first seen together a week after the controversy of alleged physical abuse by the latter on the former.

A video posted by the “One Magical Night� Facebook page o n T h u r s d a y, N o v e m b e r 1 showed “ElNella� and “KathNiel� seated beside each other as they invite Filipinos in Canada to see their concerts.

A photo of the two, alongside Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, was also posted on Friday, November 2 via Star Magic’s Instagram page.

Salvador and Magalona are part of shows in Canada billed as “One Magical Night� with Bernardo and Padilla, which has stops in Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto.

Despite Salvador admitting she does not see herself working with Magalona, the two have chosen to remain profes-

Elmo Magalona and Janella Salvador with Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla.

Photo from Instagram/@starmagicphils

sional about their commitments amid the controversy.

The 20-year-old singer and actress first broke her silence about Magalona’s alleged abuse in a series of interviews last October 24.

She claimed that the “Born For You� leading man physically abused her twice and that she was seeing a psychologist.

Magalona and his camp have yet to speak about the matter.

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B NOVEMBER 3-6, 2018 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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Celebrities who have gone ahead too soon

by Nika

Roque ManilaTimes.net

SO far, 2018 has been a year of controversy and heated exchanges in show business. Even not personally knowing the celebrities, fans would still express their emotions if their favorites won awards, landed new roles, released new songs, got into legal trouble, or sadly have passed away.

On this day to remember the dead, The Manila Times looks back on those favorites who have gone too soon.

Spanky Manikan After battling Stage 4 lung cancer, the veteran film and theater actor succumbed to the disease on January 14 at the age of 75. Manikan’s rise to fame began when he portrayed Orly in “Himala,” the filmmaker doing a documentary on Elsa (Nora Aunor) and her struggling town.

The iconic film led him to receive a Best Supporting Actor Award at the 1981 Metro Manila Film Festival. Since then, Manikan has had 59 film and television credits to his name, all highlighting his talent as an actor who can portray diverse characters.

Pitoy Moreno

Called the “pillar of Philippine fashion” and the “Fashion Czar of Asia,” the world-renowned designer died from heart attack on January 15 at the age of 92.

Moreno was one of the first advocates of preserving and advancing the use of Maria Clara or terno, helping pave the way for Filipino fashion designers to be known worldwide. Moreno’s signature includes beading, embroidery, and hand paintings, which have been worn by both Filipino and foreign first ladies, and some queens and princesses. His creations have been published in international fashion magazines Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.

Maryo J. Delos Reyes The popular film and television director died on January 27 after suffering a heart attack at 65 years old. Being a director for almost 40 years, Delos Reyes made films that left a huge impact on the youth. The 1984 coming-of-age film “Bagets,” featuring an all-star cast made up of Aga Muhlach, Herbert Bautista, William Martinez, and Yayo Aguila became a classic during its time and the future generations. He also helmed “Magnifico,” starring Jiro Manio

Spanky Manikan

Inquirer.net photo

AJ Ad 120_Layout 1 9/8/18 2:31 PM Page 1 Rico J. Puno

Inquirer.net photo

Photo courtesy of Star Cinema

as the nine-year-old determined to give his family a better life.

This 2003 film bagged numerous local and international awards during its time and is considered as one of the best Filipino films ever made.

Bernardo Bernardo Due to pancreatic cancer, the veteran theater and film actor, comedian, and director passed away on March 8. Apart from being respectable in the theater scene, Bernardo has also gained acclaim for his film roles. His portrayal of Manay Sharon in the film “Manila By Night,” earned him a Gawad Urian Award for Best Actor. His passing was considered a loss to the entertainment industry due to his numerous contributions, which in turn has led to tributes by actors and directors. In fact, Lea Salonga called him “my very first leading man,” pertaining to his role as the King of Siam in “The King and I,” Salonga’s first theater role as one of his daughters.

Mark Salling The actor once played a tough

age gracefully

Foods That Fight a Pain in the Joint Summer is almost here. That means the days are longer and it’s time to get active. If the thought of picking up that tennis racquet or tying on those hiking boots makes you dread achy knees and shoulders, start thinking about how what you eat can help protect your joints and other moving parts.

Obesity and age also contribute to the degeneration of joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease where the body’s defenses attack itself, in this instance, cartilage surrounding the joints. Unlike osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis presents in both sides of the body—both knees, both hips, etc. RA is thought to be caused by a combination of factors including genetics, environmental conditions and hormones.

The good news is that there are many foods that can help prevent or slow the progress of arthritis, all of which are delicious and lend themselves to tasty, healthful meals:

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS – Found in

wild salmon (fresh or canned) and other oily fish such as sardines, mackerel and trout. Almonds, flaxseeds, walnuts and olive oil are also good sources.

BROCCOLI – The family of cruciferous vegetables includes broccoli (see my Tofu & Vegetable Stir Fry on FoodTrients.com), cauliflower and the beautiful romanesco.

OLIVE OIL – Olive oil’s anti-inflammatory properties are attributed to oleic acid, which contains polyphenols and omega-3 fatty acids, both of which are antioxidants.

GINGER AND TURMERIC – Useful for soothing nausea and migraines, ginger contains compounds called gingerols which act very much like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Turmeric is in the ginger family and is also high in antioxidants. It’s also one of

the most potent anti-inflammatories available.

NOTE: Ginger acts as a blood thinner, which could interact with blood thinning medication.

Check with your physician before adding ginger to your diet.

VITAMIN C – Rather than popping supplements which can irritate the stomach and in high doses aggravate symptoms of arthritis, get your vitamin C from antioxidant-packed food sources such as kidney beans, oranges, papaya, bell peppers, mangos, and pineapple.

Cherries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, and eggplant – The intense reddish color of these fruits indicates the presence of anthocyanidins, which are potent antioxidants and free radical fighters. Studies associate these foods with cardiovascular health, but these same properties have been shown that they may help reduce arthritis inflammation as well.

Sweet peppers, squash, pumpkin, orange sweet potatoes, papayas, tangerines, collard greens, and apricots – All these foods contain considerable amounts of beta-cryptoxanthin, a powerful antioxidant related to betacarotene found in carrots. Beta-cryptoxanthin is converted to vitamin A in the body and may help prevent inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

A big part of keeping joints healthy is as simple as eating right and making moderate daily exercise a habit. Aim for a diet high in fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes while minimizing intake of red meat, dairy, saturated fats and simple sugars. You’ll find plenty of delicious recipes with these ingredients in my new cookbook, The AGE BEAUTIFULLY Cookbook, which is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

© 2018 by FoodTrients.com

BY GRACE O

Inquirer.net photo

Bernardo Bernardo

Philstar.com photo

Inquirer.net photo

Mario J. Delos Reyes

Anthony Bourdain

Pitoy Moreno

GRACE O is the creator of FoodTrients®, a unique program for optimizing wellness and longevity. She is the author of two award-winning cookbooks — The Age Gracefully Cookbook and The Age Beautifully Cookbook, which recently won Gourmand’s ‘Best in the World’ Award for Innovation. She is a fusion chef with a mission to deliver delicious recipes built on a foundation of anti-aging science and her 20 years in the healthcare industry.

Visit FoodTrients.com to learn more. Email us at info@FoodTrients.com

but kindhearted Noah Puckerman in the teen musical “Glee,” and has been facing legal issues for years before his death on January 30. Not long before, Salling pleaded guilty to child pornography charges with the consequences of being a registered sex offender, entering a treatment program, and spending four to seven years in prison beginning in March of this year.

The 35-year-old was declared to have died from suicide by hanging.

Rolly Quizon The former actor and son of comedy king Dolphy died on March 15. He reportedly slipped into coma after collapsing in a supermarket. His passing happened a week after his younger paternal half-brother Dino, who also joined showbiz for a while.

Avicii The critically acclaimed DJ and music producer died from unnatural causes on April 20, only at 28 years old. Starting from his retirement from touring in 2016 and a 2017 documentary titled “Avicii: True Stories,” the “Wake Me Up” producer became more open with his physical and mental health struggles. His family released a statement saying, “He really struggled with thoughts about meaning, life, happiness. He could not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace.” Tributes to the DJ were present all throughout the year’s biggest music festivals, most notably BBC’s “Biggest Weekend” and “Tomorrowland.”

Kate Spade After battling depression and anxiety, the renowned fashion designer and businesswoman died by hanging herself on June 5. Gaining inspiration from working at a fashion magazine, Spade saw a large market in handbags that were functional but also had a luxurious look. This led to her fashion empire that included stationary, phone cases, shoes, beauty products, and eyewear.

Following Spade’s death, the company announced that they would be donating a $1 million to mental health organizations.

Anthony Bourdain Perhaps the most popular chef, traveler, writer, and TV host rolled into one, the celebrity gourmand took his own life on June 8 also by hanging. The death of the “Parts Unknown” host received a large outpour of sentiments from foodies and travelers alike, saying that he played a large role in making people appreciate food and destinations despite these not being glamorous. Former US President Barack Obama paid a tribute to the late chef on Twitter writing, “He taught us about food but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown.”

Aretha Franklin Despite struggling with her health for years, it was pancreatic cancer that was the singer’s cause of death. Franklin was also considered a historical icon as she provided financial assistance to civil rights groups, performed at protests and benefits, and was the first black woman inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Ariana Grande, Bill Clinton, and Stevie Wonder were among those who attended her memorial service.

Burt Reynolds Rising to fame as an action star for his lead television roles in the 1960s, Reynolds suffered a heart attack on September 6. His rebellious yet likeable characters most notably in “Gunsmoke,” led to even more hits at the box office. Reynolds’ debut and breakout film was “Deliverance,” in 1972 followed by “Smokey and the Bandit,” in 1977. After another short television stint in the 90s, Reynolds returned to film in the controversial “Boogie Nights,” for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his

Regine Velasquez and Marian Rivera

role as Jack Horner.

Chelsi Smith The 1995 Miss Universe titleholder succumbed to liver cancer on September 8 at 45 years old.

In her first major pageant Miss Texas USA, Smith was one of the first winners to be of mixed race.

She continued being a frontrunner in Miss Universe, also being the first mixed-race American who won. Her pageant wins were followed by a career as a TV host.

Smith was named an Influential Multiracial Public Figure in 2011 for breaking barriers in the beauty pageant industry.

Rico J. Puno Just two days before All Saints Day, fans, colleagues and the whole nation were in shock upon the news of the singer’s death on Tuesday morning due to heart failure. He was 65. Born Enrico de Jesus Puno on February 13, 1953, he made a breakthrough in the music scene with his rendition of the Barbra Streisand song, “They Way We Were” but incorporated spoken lines and Tagalog lyrics. His other hits included “Kapalaran.” “Buhat,” “May Bukas Pa,” “Macho Gwapito,” “Lupa,” “Ang Tao’y Marupok,” “Sorry Na Pwede Ba,” and “Magkasuyo Buong Gabi,” a duet with Elissa Chan. He was known for his tongue-in-cheek comedy and adult humor. Puno also entered politics by becoming a city councilor of Makati City in 1998 until his last term on 2007.

He ran but lost in the vice mayoralty race of the country’s prime municipality in 2010. He ran and won anew as councilor in 2016 and was gunning for reelection in 2019. His last concert performance was in the “Aliw@40: The Ruby Anniversary Concert” on October 4 with fellow veteran singers that included Imelda Papin, Hajji Alejandro and Pilita Corrales. He met the press on October 18 for his supposed concert with Marissa Sanchez and Giselle Sanchez titled “Sana Tatlo Ang Puso” on November 23.

GMA photos

Regine Velasquez defends Marian Rivera over trending ‘Unfaithful’ video

moved to the rival network.

On her Twitter account, the Philstar.com “Asia’s Songbird” defended RETURNING Kapamilya sing- Marian when a netizen posted er Regine Velasquez defended the video and captioned it, Kapuso actress Marian Rivera “Asia’s Quail char.”

As a wedding godmother of over her resurfaced video in which she can be seen singing Marian and husband Dingdong Dantes, Regine defended MarRihanna’s “Unfaithful.”

The five-year-old video shows ian and commented on the post: Marian singing the song with “Please guys wag na, inaanak “Temptation of Wife” co-stars ko yun please at love ko sila so Rafael Rosell and Glaiza de please stop na. Besides Hindi Castro in the now defunct vari- naman talaga singer ang lola nyo she’s an actress and very ety show “Party Pilipinas.”

The video has been trending good one so please stop na.”

“Queen natuwa lang po kami again among netizens speculating on who will sing GMA’s sa Unfaithful version ni Miss station ID, now that Regine has Marian, not really bashing her

by JaN

Milo SeveRo

though, I admire her as an actress. Peace po, Miss Reg,” the netizen replied.

“Ok but please no more na kasi hindi natin alam baka naman na hurt na rin sya diba please napag katuwaan na naman ok na yun,” Regine replied to the netizen.

The netizen’s tweet has now been deleted.

The Marian video resurfaced after Regine came back to ABSCBN. Netizens are looking for singers who will replace Regine in GMA, so the video resurfaced as well as the video of Kapuso star Barbie Forteza singing “Meron Ba.”

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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • NOVEMBER 3-6, 2018

B3

Kyline’s star to shine even brighter in new soap

by LHAR

SANTIAGO ManilaTimes.net

AN ENCORE EPISODE ABOUT A ‘SPECIAL CHILD’ ON CITIZEN PINOY! When Mommy Conchita (center) immigrated to the U.S. in 2007, she had to make a difficult decision of leaving her special needs daughter, Nina (left) behind in the Philippines. It was a difficult time, because mother and daughter had never been separated before. Nina was left behind with her older sister Ruth, who was later about to migrate to Australia in May 2016. With Mommy Conchita and Ruth gone, who will take care of Nina? Find out how leading U.S. immigration attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel was able to bring Nina to the U.S. through Humanitarian Parole, on an encore episode of Citizen Pinoy on Sunday 6:15pm PST on TFC. (Advertising Supplement)

MOONLIGHTING

by MYLAH DE

LEON

IT’S not just the celebrity allure. It’s the cut above all.

It’s the public acclaim, the attention, and the limelight.

Every time you turn around, someone’s winning an award for something. There are many reasons why the nation seems caught in an obsessive pursuit of recognition. There seems to be no field of human endeavor without them, and no shortage of groups eager to give their version of a statuette with a funny name, trophies to knock you out. Every year these inanimate objects of recognition command audience and speak incalculable joy, jealousy and gaiety.

These passing of awards essentially over the same things — the movie business, arts and entertainment, civic or professional excellence…journalism, perhaps even worse, because in addition to the Pulitzer Prize, there are scores of national awards meant to praise outstanding media coverages, from the presidency to a plane crash, even a coup d’etat and bone surgery. It was always the more the merrier.

Considered the grandest of awards, is the National Artist Awards, proclaimed by Pres.

Rodrigo Duterte. Here in California, the Philippine Heritage International now on its 29th year.

Awards can be quite unusual and inventive, but tokens of recognition could be doubleedged swords — it can swathe through it. There are real risks of resentment and jealousy if it is viewed as just a latest gimmick, in a process dominated by the politics of a specific field, people can be cynical. But the untold amount of good buzz that it produces outweighs the sentiments of those who are supposed to mock the pretensions and self-importance of awards when they have been seduced by the siren call of

The human obsession for acceptance and recognition

Ella Madrigal Warner, Maestro Dexter Grey, Sid Guerrero, Lydia V. Solis and Romeo Balboa

acclaim that no mantlepiece should be bare.

In the Fil-Am community, the most popular, renowned and the biggest following in the Southland derive part of their appeal from the format which closely resembles the classic variety shows which can serve up music, dance, or a prestigious beauty pageant in the same program. As the night rolled, there were a few pleasant surprises that continue to draw a widely diverse audience.

The show, far beyond their astute awardees and all its glitter and its ferocious supporters, only needs a host and awardees themselves. The best part is that some producers can draw and charm celebrities usually without pay. As their productions become big, huge self-promotions among the awardees, the crème de la crème of the community, but nevertheless those who regard peer acknowledgment as the basic full force of fulfillment of the deepest human desire, that yearning for acceptance and recognition and indescribable addiction for affirmation.

And if the audience is lucky, there were no feigned humility or mammoth egos or blinding pieces of jewelry that can feed a small nation. The real gems of the show might be but just, a supply of rare glimpses into the very human and unscripted side

National Artists Awards proclaimed by Pres. Rodrigo Duterte at Malacanang Palace.

Philippine Heritage International Awards celebrating its 29th year.

The moonlighter, Mylah de Leon

of the awardees as their family friends scream their greetings.

Like a compass through the storms of art and other noteworthy human endeavors, the awards culture, that human obsession for recognition and accolade is here to stay, at its own price.

But we will still worship the fantasy that its great panacea is when doors open and new friends ooze out of the woodwork and when it becomes the stepping stone, that one may collect its rose. *** E-mail Mylah at moonlightingmdl@ aol.com

FROM “La Nueva Kontrabida” to “La Nueva Bida.” That is how young actress Kyline Alcantara’s career is shaping up to be.

Kyline got the moniker “La Nueva Kontrabida” because she has proven how effective she was as the villainess Cheska in “Kambal Karibal.” In fact, her convincing portrayal was adjudged national winner as Best Actress in a Supporting Role in the Philippines by the the first Asian Academy Creative Awards (AACA).

With this win, she is now competing with other actresses from other Asian countries for the region-wide competition whose winner will be announced in a two-night gala awards ceremony on December 6 and 7 in Singapore.

Besides being a finalist at the AACA, Kyline also won Best Supporting Actress in the recently concluded Star Awards for Television, validating her acting mettle.

“I am just so thankful and humbled,” Kyline humbly states.

“When I came to GMA and was given that role in ‘Kambal Karibal,’ I was already happy. Now, after ‘Kambal Karibal,’ I am given this new project. I just can’t thank GMA enough.”

Unknown to many, though, the role of Cheska in “Kambal Karibal” was not as important of a role in the original concept.

However, as the story progressed and as Kyline sank her teeth into the character, viewers took notice of her powerful way of portraying her character. Cheska has become the character they loved to hate and she started to build a fan base.

Before everybody knew it, Kyline was packing her mall shows with her millennial fans.

Of course, the people behind “Kambal Karibal” took notice of the fast-rising actress in their show and gave her character, Cheska, more prominent participation in the story until she became the ultimate villainess.

Ultimately, the La Nueva Kontrabida was born!

With her increased popularity came more projects. She is now a regular in “Sunday Pinasaya” and concurrently one of the headliners of GMA’s Sunday night musical-

Kyline Alcantara

variety show “Studio 7.”

Her musicality was also utilized what with a solo album and her hit debut solo concert. The venue was jampacked that many fans were not able to get in.

But that’s not all. Kyline has turned into an in demand endorser with the likes of Symply G shampoo and Soap, Dickies Apparel and Converse signing up the teen star as their ambassador.

Now, the biggest challenge in Kyline’s acting career has come — a lead role in GMA’s new afternoon prime offering, “Inagaw Na Bituin.”

A drama-musical show, “Inagaw na Bituin” is in the tradition of Sharon Cuneta’s “Bituing Walang Ningning.”

Showbuzz is not allowed to reveal the story and Kyline’s character yet but there is no doubt that this is one role that will endear her more to televiewers.

With Kyline are Sunshine Dizon, Gabby Eigenmann, Angelika

Photo from Instagram/@itskylinealcantara

dela Cruz, Marvin Agustin, Angelu de Leon and international awardwinning young actress Therese Malvar who will be the nemesis of Kyline’s character.

“I feel pressured,” Kyline told The Times after the story conference for the series. “I’m given the lead role here. I hope makaya ko. I’m so thankful that I am surrounded by very good actors like Ate Shine and Kuya Marvin.

I worked with them in ‘Kambal Karibal’ so I know them already.

I have also worked with Therese in an indie movie and I know how good she is as an actress. Now, I would like to study how I would give life to my character, how I would attack my scenes. I really want to be good.”

Now that she leads the cast if her own show, Kyline is determined, more than ever, to make their series successful.

“I will not let this opportunity pass without giving my all,” Kyline finally shared.

B NOVEMBER 3-6, 2018 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

Health@Heart

Entertaining trivia

and not after fifty.

• Cholesterol and saturated fats (from pork, beef, eggs and other dairy products) have killed PhiliP S. Chua, more people around the world MD, FaCS, FPCS than all the battles and wars HERE are some remarkable, combined.

• Rice, almost like sugars educational, and attention-grabbing bits of medical and general and sweets, has a high glycemic factoid that could enrich your index, which makes it unhealthy.

Eating rice frequently increases cerebral armamentarium: • Arteriosclerosis (hardening the risk for the development of of the arteries) starts when a metabolic and cardiovascular child is five or six years of age, illnesses down the line. Healthy

lifestyle now includes super low carbohydrate and high protein (plus generous vegetables and nuts, virgin olive oil) diet.

• The female ovum (egg) is the largest cell in her body, about 175,000 times heavier than the male sperm cell.

• Our kidneys filter and clean blood about 300 times daily, producing urine that contains waste.

• Urine of healthy persons, who are not on medications, is an effective fertilizer for vegetable and fruit trees.

• Equal amounts of 3 percent peroxide and water are used to treat tree root rots.

• Mosquito repellents don’t repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito’s sensors so they don’t know you’re there.

• Contrary to popular belief, fish do drown.

• Dentists recommend that toothbrushes be kept at least 6 feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.

• The juice inside young coconuts, and other natural fluids, are undergoing laboratory investigation as possible substitute for blood plasma.

• Donkeys are said to kill more people annually than plane crashes.

• Eating brown rice, instead of the white variety, can help prevent and control arthritis pains.

• A person has an average of 100,000 hair on the scalp.

• You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.

• The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley’s gum.

• The king of hearts is the only

Life Coaching in a Different Perspective Stargazer SINCE we spoke of the aura as a field of energy surrounding a living and non-living thing, it follows that this energy is also open to being corrupted. It interacts with other energies, too.

As it interacts with other energies, it absorbs both positive and negative energies of other auric fields, making it vulnerable and sometimes weak.

http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 king without a mustache.

• The plaques that causes blockage inside the arteries are as hard as teeth or bones.

• A Boeing 747s wingspan is longer than the Wright brothers’ first flight.

• American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating 1 olive from each salad served in first class.

• Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

• Without the mucous membrane of the stomach, it would digest itself.

• Apples, which are healthier than caffeine, are most efficient at waking you up in the morning.

Coffee is a healthy drink.

• Soft drinks, all variety of them, are toxic to the body.

They all increase the risk for the development of Metabolic Syndrome.

• The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer.

• Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.

• Secondhand cigarette smokes contains 4,000 chemicals, 200 of them are known poisons like benzene, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide.

• All U.S. presidents have worn glasses. Some just didn’t like being seen wearing them in public.

• Walt Disney was said to be afraid of mice.

• Pearls melt in vinegar (acetic acid).

• The three most valuable brand names on earth are Marlboro, Coca-Cola, and Budweiser, in that order — very sad, indeed.

• Pinot Noir red wine has the highest level of resveratrol, the

cardio-protective antioxidant.

• Richard Millhouse Nixon was the first U.S. president whose name contains all the letters from the word “criminal.”

The second was William Jefferson Clinton.

• Cardiac surgeons use surgical loop magnifying lenses to do coronary bypass surgery (joining two arteries with super fine sutures) on arteries as small as the size of round toothpicks.

• Turtles can breathe through their butts.

• Butterflies taste with their feet.

• In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all of the world’s nuclear weapons combined.

• On average, 100 people choke to death on ball-point pens every year.

• In general, people seem to fear spiders more than they do death.

• Heart attack can cause sudden death in people without any obvious symptoms.

• Elephants are the only animals that can’t jump.

• Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.

• Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

• A snail can sleep for three years.

• We have about 59,652 miles of blood vessels (arteries and veins) in the body.

• The heart beats an average rate of 103,860 per day for most people.

• It might seem the heart does not rest, but it does, during the split second between beats.

• The electric chair was said to be invented by a dentist. And the dental chair by an electrician? No way.

Cleansing the aura (Part III of III)

What happens then when we absorb the energies of other people? A lot!

When a person is experiencing grief or depression and you keep him company, the tendency is that you get drained or tired easily. You feel the sadness of your friend and it translates to tiredness or laziness. The same holds true when a person is angry or irritable. You become short-tempered and for no reason angry at everyone else. A transference of emotions is done through the aura.

Being positive on the other hand brightens everyone’s day.

When people smile, good energies are transferred to another person. You lend them good vibes and their aura brightens and becomes more positive. Wear positivity in your aura to welcome blessings in your life.

How to cleanse the aura To cleanse the aura, we have various simple ways to do it. We can use the 3 S’s of cleansing.

SMOKE. One can use incense to clear the aura. First, light about seven sticks of incense and “smoke” your aura. Let the incense smoke sweep the aura.

This means you have to circle your body with the lit incense sticks so that the smoke cleanses the aura.

Start from the topmost part which is the head area and in a clockwise motion, circle the

aura.

SALT. After taking a bath, dissolve one tablespoon of rock salt in a pail of water. Then pour the water slowly from the head and let the whole body be covered by the mildly salted water.

SPIRITUALITY. Meditation and visualization techniques help clear not just the aura but the energy centers as well. Find a quiet place and sit comfortably with your spine erect. You must be comfortable but be careful not to fall asleep. Close your eyes and start focusing on your breathing.

Inhale... and exhale. Focus on your breathing. If thoughts come in your mind, just let it pass and focus on your breathing alone.

Continue to inhale and exhale.

Visualize a bluish-white light on top of your head. Let it swirl in a clockwise manner cleansing the outer area of your head.

As it swirls, let the bluish white light make the head area become much lighter.

Let the light now descend to the level of the throat area. Let it swirl and cleanse till you feel light.

Allow the light to go further down to the shoulder area in a clockwise manner — whirling and cleansing the aura.

Then the bluish white light will proceed to the chest area. Let it stay there for a while because the chest is the seat of emo-

• In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes as part of their ritual.

• An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.

• “Typewriter” is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

• “Go,” is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

• A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

• The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.

• Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.

• One person in the United States dies of a heart attack every 60 seconds.

• In every 1000 babies born, one comes out with a tooth.

• In our lifetime, we each shed about 22 kilos (48.5 pounds) of skin.

• Hand shaking transfers germs to a greater extent than kissing does. Perhaps we should change the way we greet each other with the opposite sex.

Take good care of your body.

It’s the only one you’ve got! Life is impossible without one. *** Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus in Northwest Indiana and chairman of cardiac surgery from 1997 to 2010 at Cebu Doctors University Hospital, where he holds the title of Physician Emeritus in Surgery, is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the Philippine College of Surgeons, and the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society. He is the chairman of the Filipino United Network – USA, a 501(c)(3) humanitarian foundation in the United States. For more data, visit philipSchua.com; Email: scalpelpen@gmail. com

tions. Cleanse it, feel it becoming lighter and lighter.

Then it goes down to the stomach area. This is the seat of intellect and aggression. Cleanse it well and thorough. Then let the light cover the pelvis area. Now the light has enveloped the whole torso area.

The bluish-white light is halfway the cleansing and is making you feel light and ok. Like an inverted egg, the bluish white light is now covering us.

Let the light now go to the thighs. Then to the calves and finally to our feet.

Now we are covered with the white light of protection. You have now completed the aura cleansing procedure.

Finish the whole process with positive affirmations.

Say in your mind: I am beautiful. I am positive. I am ready for challenges. I am abundant. I am happy. I am healthy. I am kind.

I am compassionate. I am protected. I am with God. *** Stargazer is a life coach, aura reader, psychic/clairvoyant, and lecturer on the paranormal. She uses the aura, energies & vibrations as focal points of her psychic readings. Using several techniques involving the psychological, spiritual, paranormal and her own experience of the intricacies of life, Stargazer makes one get in touch with his inner and understand life in a positive manner.

Faith in God and belief in self is what Stargazer emphasizes on. Currently, Stargazer is a radio anchor of DZMM Teleradyo, the radio arm of ABS-CBN. Her show “Pinoy Vibes” has been airing every Sunday morning since Sept.

2007. For more information, please visit http://stargazer.ph/.

Andi Eigenmann’s Best Actress win in Manhattan film fest ‘unexpected’

by Alfred

BAyle Inquirer.net

ANDI Eigenmann couldn’t believe her role in “The Maid in London” would get noticed, let alone honored with a Best Actress award.

Eigenmann received the award during the annual Manhattan International Film Festival held last Oct. 23. In an interview with Push during the red-carpet event of horror film “All Souls Night,” Eigenmann said, “I’m in this industry because I’m really passionate about what I do. I don’t expect anything in return, but because I did get something like this, sobra po ako nagpapasalamat, (I’m in this industry because I’m really passionate about what I do. I don’t expect anything in return, but because I did get something like this, I’m really, really thankful.)”

“The Maid in London,” by Danni H. Ugali, also starred Matt Evans, Polo Ravales, Alexis Navarro and Joshua de Guzman. The story followed Margo (Eigenmann) and her friend Faye (Navarro) as they work as “TNT” maids in London. TNT or “tago ng tago” refers to illegal immigrants or workers without proper work permits, who risk deportation if discovered.

After the heavy drama of “The Maid in London,” Eigen-

Photo from Facebook/@TheMaidInLondon

mann shifts to a more sinister atmosphere with “All Souls Night.”

Eigenmann described the new horror film as something out of the ordinary.

“With horror films, it’s normal that may scare factor siya talaga mapapasigaw tayo o magulat tayo because of the certain scenes na pinapanood natin, pero itong horror movie na ito

it doesn’t really try so hard to do that (With horror films, it’s normal to have a scare factor, which really makes you scream or jump, but this horror movie doesn’t really try so hard to do that),” said the actress.

“All Souls Night” was directed by Aloy Adlawan and Jules Katanyag under Viva Films. It also stars Yayo Aguila, Alan Paule and Lhian Gimeno.

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Marcelito Pomoy gets standing ovation on ‘The Ellen Show’

by Iza IglesIas ManilaTimes.net

ANOTHER Filipino talent drew international attention through the generosity of popular talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

“Pilipinas Got Talent Season 2” grand winner Marcelito Pomoy received a standing ovation from the audience of DeGeneres’”The Ellen Show” on Tuesday, October 30, after showcasing his singing ability in both a male and female voice.

Pomoy performed Celine Dion’s “The Prayer” and “Beauty and the Beast” which impressed the world-famous talk show host.

In the interview, Pomoy told DeGeneres that he didn’t expect that he will get the chance to be invited to appear on the show until he received the ticket for him to fly to the U.S. “Actually, hindi ko po talaga ini-expect. Tapos one time may nag-message po sa akin sa Facebook (yung) EllenTV.com.

Hanggang dumating po yung nag-Skype kami, hindi pa rin ako naniniwala. Then dumating sa akin yung ticket going to Ellen,” Pomoy said.

“Here you are because you are amazing,” DeGeneres told Pomoy.

Asked when did he discover that he could sing both the male and female parts, Pomoy told DeGeneres, “Hindi ko rin alam sa sarili ko. Siguro ito na ang bigay ni God so ipinagpatuloy ko na lang.”

Pomoy also shared the story of his humble beginnings and recalled how he was able to become a famous singer in the Philippines. According to him, he started singing at the age of seven and further discovered that he can switch his voice and sing in a higher range when he was 18 while doing chores at a poultry farm. This talent of his paved the way for him to join different contests in both amateur and professional leagues.

“First time ko kasing lumayas seven years old, tapos nagtrabaho na ako (bilang) pin boy.

Then, ang kita ko sa pin boy ay P50 in US dollars ay $1 yun ang nagpa-survive sa akin na pangkain ko sa araw-araw at natulog na ako sa kalye,” said

Marcelito Pomoy

Photo from Instagram/@marcelitopomoy8

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Oyo Boy Sotto breaks silence on parentage of oldest child with Kristine Hermosa

by Jan

MIlo severo Philstar.com

ACTOR Oyo Boy Sotto clarified an intriguing comment by a netizen on his Instagram account.

In the post, Oyo showed a photo of his child riding a mini motocross bike.

“Congratulations to the both of you, Kiel and Ondrea! so proud of you! Thank you Lord for keeping them safe,” Oyo wrote.

A netizen commented that she is proud of Oyo for accepting his eldest son. The netizen also claimed that the child is the son of his wife, Kristine Hermosa, with another man.

“So proud of you @osotto kahit na anak si Kiel sa ibang lalaki ni Kristine, tinuring mo pa rin syang own flesh and blood mo.

Bihira sa ibang lalaki ganito,” the netizen commented.

Oyo replied to the now deleted comment, clarifying that Kiel is not from another man, but their adopted son.

“Hindi sya anak sa ibang lalake,” Oyo said on the first comment.

Oyo Boy Sotto and Kristine Hermosa

GMA photo

“Kiel is our adopted son,” Oyo added.

Other netizens commented on the thread and showed support for Oyo, Kristine and their family.

“Ooops! Someone is not updated. Lol,” a netizen commented.

“Ke totoo o hindi, WALA KANG KARAPATAN magcom-

ment ng ganyan. Hindi ka lang tactless at misinformed. BASTOS ka pa!” another netizen wrote. “mga tao nga nmn katok katok muna! D mo nasubsybayan buhay nyan ni kristine. Ako nasubaybayan ko kya mssabi ko n hndi nya yan anak sa ibang lalaki,” commented another netizen.

Derek Ramsay on rumored Angelica Panganiban, Carlo Aquino rekindled romance

by Jan

MIlo severo Philstar.com

ACTOR Derek Ramsay hoped that the rumored reawakening romance between his former girlfriend Angelica Panganiban and fellow actor Carlo Aquino are true.

In a video posted on Instagram

by CarGel fans, Derek said he is happy on how the “Exes Baggage” stars maintained their friendship and he is hoping that the rumored rekindled love is The ‘Pilipinas Got Talent 2011’ winner with popular American TV host Ellen DeGeneres on ‘The Ellen Show.’

Photo screen grabbed from Ellentube.com true.

“It’s nice that they maintain appearing on television will the friendship throughout the Pomoy.

Pomoy added that he was help fulfill his lifelong dream to years, even nung kami nga ni initially hesitant to join Pilipinas reunite with his family.

Angelica. So I hope... I’d be a fan.

As a gift to Pomoy, DeGe- They look really, really good toGot Talent in 2011, the show where he got discovered, at neres gave the Filipino singer gether, look very sweet together, first since he did not believe in tickets to Celine Dion’s Las Ve- and I hope it’s true, I hope the his talent. However, he decided gas show and set up a meet and rumor is true na nagkabalikan na to join the contest hoping that greet with the pop diva.

sila,” Derek said.

Since Angelica was his girlfriend for five years, Derek said he wants Angelica to find the right guy for her.

“I’ve always said I hope that Angel will find the right guy. They used to date each other before. Carlo used to come to the house when Angel and I were dating back then. So kilala ko si Carlo,” he said.

Although he has not seen the two’s blockbuster movie, Derek sends his congratulations for them.

“Congratulations to them.

I heard they did really, really well in the movie. Hindi ko pa napapanood pero I want to see it, I heard a lot of great things about the film,” he said.

“Exes Baggage” stars Angelica Panganiban and Carlo Aquino at the ABS-CBN Ball.

Philstar.com photo by Kat Leandicho

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Your Immigration Solution Atty. Devin Connolly A NON-CITIZEN who is granted permanent resident status (green card) based on their marriage will only be granted conditional permanent resident status if they have been married less than two years at the time their application is approved. Conditional resident status is nearly identical to permanent resident status. However, a major distinction is that the conditional resident’s status is only granted for two years. It expires on the second anniversary of having been granted permanent resident status.

In order to prevent the automatic termination of their status, the conditional resident and their petitioning spouse are required to file a joint petition in the 90-day period preceding the second anniversary of the date the non-citizen became a conditional resident. A joint petition requires the conditional resident and their spouse to prove that their marriage is “bonafide.� The term “bonafide� refers to a marriage between two people who had the intent to establish a life together. This can be contrasted from a “sham� marriage, where the only purpose of the marriage is for one of the parties to obtain an immigration benefit. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will obviously only remove the conditions on a person’s residency when that person has sufficiently demonstrated they are in a bonafide marriage. The conditional resident and their spouse should therefore attach sufficient documentation proving the validity and bonafides of the marriage.

Despite the requirement for a conditional resident to file a joint petition with their spouse, it is sad reality that marriages are sometimes terminated before they reach their second anniversary. In these instances it is not possible to file a joint petition. There may be other reasons as well why a joint petition

Removing the conditions on your permanent resident status is not possible, such as because the conditional resident’s spouse has passed away or because they refuse to sign a joint petition.

The USCIS therefore allows the conditional resident to request a waiver of the joint filing requirement.

The Immigration and Nationality Act permits requests for waivers to be granted in the following situations: (1) the marriage was entered into in good faith but the qualifying marriage has been terminated; (2) the non-citizen will suffer extreme hardship if removed to their native country; and (3) the marriage was entered into good faith but the non-citizen was subject to battery or extreme cruelty during the marriage.

A good faith waiver requires the conditional resident to dem-

during the conditional status period. There are many examples of hardship, including the separation of family members, inability to treat their medical conditions outside the U.S., or lack of employment opportunities in their native country.

Finally, a conditional resident may also request a waiver of the joint filing requirement based on the extreme cruelty they were subjected to by their spouse.

Extreme cruelty often includes physical violence at the hands of their spouse, but it does not have necessarily have to include physical violence. Extreme cruelty also includes psychological and emotional abuse. Though extreme cruelty based on psychological and emotional abuse is often difficult to establish, it may still be done through welldrafted declarations and detailed psychological evaluation.

If a non-citizen believes they have suffered extreme cruelty, it is important for them to seek assistance for their personal safety onstrate that the marriage was as well as help with their imminot entered into solely for im- gration status. migration benefits. Rather, they Removing the conditions on a must prove that they entered into person’s residency is a difficult the marriage with the intention process. It becomes ever more of creating a life together with challenging when a request for a their ex-spouse. The USCIS will waiver is required. Conditional deny the waiver request unless residents should therefore conthe conditional resident is able to sult a knowledgeable and experisubmit sufficient evidence of the enced immigration attorney. bonafides of the marriage. Also, *** a good faith marriage waiver can only be granted after the mar- REEVES IMMIGRATION LAW GROUP is riage is terminated. This some- one of the oldest, largest and most times causes problems for the experienced immigration fi rms in conditional resident because they the United States with offi ces in Los may be in the middle of a divorce Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, when it is time to file a petition. Manila and China.

However, an experienced immi- For more Information please call (800) gration attorney will be sure to 795- 8009 or visit www.rreeves.com. file the request for a waiver prior Telephone: (800) 795-8009 to the conditional resident’s sta- E-mail: immigration@rreeves.com tus being terminated while also Website: www.rreeves.com. making sure that the request is *** accepted.

An extreme hardship waiver The analysis and suggestions offered in requires the conditional resident this column do not create a lawyer-client to establish that they would suf- relationship and are not a substitute for fer extreme hardship if deported the personalized representation that is from the U.S. The USCIS will essential to every case. only consider hardship to the conditional resident that arose (Advertising Supplement)

“Removing the conditions on a person’s residency is a difficult process.�

Pilgrimage to Some of ITALY’s Highlights and Miracles of the Eucharist 6SLULWXDO 'LUHFWRU 5(9 -2(/ %8*$6 ĹĄ 1RYHPEHU WR 1RYHPEHU 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 0RQ Ĺ&#x; 86$ 520( 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 7XHV Ĺ&#x; 5RPH Upon our arrival in Rome, our Tour Escort will welcome us to Italy. Rome is the heart, home and the spiritual capital of over one billion Catholics all over the world. After a short panoramic orientation of this Eternal City to us Roman Catholics, we will have our dinner and overnight rest at this great ancient City.

DINNER AND OVERNIGHT IN ROME (BB,D) 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY :HG Ĺ&#x; 5RPH 3DSDO $XGLHQFH 5RPH This morning before we continue with our tour, we will have a Papal Audience.

Then after, we will visit the famous Coliseum and see the Forum, the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, one of the best preserved ancient monuments in the world. Celebrate the Holy Eucharist at St Peter Basilica St Joseph Chapel .Short stop in Trevi Fountain, before heading to our Hotel. DINNER AND OVERNIGHT IN ROME (BB,D)

'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 7KXUV Ĺ&#x; 5RPH %DVLOLFDV We will visit the Vatican Museum this morning and the Sistine Chapel to admire the awesome masterpieces of Michaelangelo, and even ancient Greek and Roman artists. the largest church in Roman Catholicism, St. Peter’s Basilica. Holy Eucharist at ST Mary Major, Followed by visit of the Basilica. We continue to visit the rest of the major Basilicas within the walls of Rome, and St. John Lateran, St Paul Outside the Wall. We will also pray at the Scala Santa or the Holy Stairs. St. Helena transported the steps from Jerusalem; the same steps that Christ ascended to receive Pilate’s unjust condemnation.

DINNER AND OVERNIGHT IN ROME (BB,D) 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY )UL

Ĺ&#x; 5RPH 6DQ *LRYDQQL 5RWRQGR 2018 is the 100th Anniversary of the stigmatization of St Pio. Church Will have Monthly Pastoral Program of Activities for the whole year. San Giovanni Rotondo, the home of St Padre Pio of Pietrelcina from 28 July, 1916 until his death on 23 September, 1968. Enjoy the drive going to San Giovanni, after we check in our Hotel. vWe visit the Shrines of St Padre Pio of Pietralcina as well as the places associated with him, such as the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace that contains his tomb. Here, we spend some time meditating, see his room, his confessional box and the cruciďŹ x that gave him his supernatural Crucifying stigmata, Celebrate Holy Eucharist (Hotel Gran Paradiso) DINNER AND OVERNIGHT IN San Giovanni Rotondo (BB,D) 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 6DW Ĺ&#x; 6$1 *,29$11, 52721'2 This Morning we visit the new and Modern Basilica of St Padre Pio, See his uncorrupt body. Celebrate Holy Eucharist Spend some time meditating in this awesome Basilica. DINNER AND OVERNIGHT IN SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO (Hotel Gran Paradiso)

'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 6XQ Ĺ&#x; 6DQ *LRYDQQL 5RWRQGR /DQFLDQR /RUHWR MASS AND BREAKFAST. We arrive at Lanciano, famous for the Miracle of the Eucharist. Near the Piazza Plebiscito, the Miracle is inside the Sanctuary of the Eucharistic Miracle. The miracle took place during the 8th century when a Basiline monk doubted the Real Presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. He found himself holding the host that had changed into Real Flesh and the Wine on the altar had changed into Real Blood. We continue our pilgrimage to the great Marian shrine of Loreto to see the famous sacred home of the most Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Since 1294 the holy home has been located inside the Basilica of Loreto. Celebrate Holy Eucharist in Lanciano. DINNER AND OVERNIGHT IN Assisi.

'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 0RQ Ĺ&#x; /RUHWR $VVLVL Today we explore the hilltop birthplace of St Francis of Assisi. In the Crypt of St Francis Basilica lies the tomb of one of the most humble and beloved Saints of all times, St. Francis of Assisi, Holy Eucharist at the Crypt of St. Francis See the Basilica of St Clare, with her incorrupt body, and the little Church of St. Damiano and its CruciďŹ x from which Jesus spoke to Francis about his mission in 1206: “Go, Francis, and rebuild my house, which as you see is falling into ruin.â€? We visit the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, located in the lower plains of Assisi, and the place where the miracle of the Eucharist of Assisi took place in 1240. The small Church of the Porziuncola is inside the Basilica itself. Pope Honorius III granted a plenary indulgence for those entering this humble Church on August 1st and 2nd every year, with Confession, reception of the Eucharist and no attachment to venial sins. (BB,D) 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 7XHV Ĺ&#x; $VVLVL 6LHQD )ORUHQFH We will spend half day in Siena. Begin in the old town center with a visit to the Basilica of San Domenico. Built in the 13th century, it is a treasure chest of the Renaissance art and dedicated to St Catherine of Siena. You will learn about the city’s history while admiring it’s cathedrals, Museum, and libraries .Also you will admire the famous piazza del Campo, one of Europe’s great medieval squares. Continue to Florence. (BB,D) We start with a guided walking tour of Florence, this fascinating city with its Piazza, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistery of St. John the Baptist.

Rest of the day free (BB,D) 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY :HG Ĺ&#x; )ORUHQFH 5RPH Leave Florence around 2PM Arrived Rome almost dinner time (BB.D) 'D\ Ĺ&#x; 1RY 7KXUV Ĺ&#x; 5RPH 86$ End of our wonderful Pilgrimage

Please call QTS Tour and Travel NOW at 1 (714) 288-0800 or (714) 761-6280 1095 N Main St. Suite O, Orange, CA 92867

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Are you feeling hopelessly stuck in debt?

A lot of people who consult with me about their debt problems are going through the worst time of their lives. Unlike other problems in life that sometimes just go away on their own, debt problems will only get worse unless you do something about them. While dealing with debt and coming up with a solution can be challenging and nervewracking, there are usually options available.

You don’t need to remain stuck where you are if you are willing to do what it takes to change your life for the better. Don’t confuse “hard” with “impossible” Some things may be hard but they are not impossible. Sometimes you need to adjust your thinking to gain a better perspective of your situation.

Life is all about making choices. The choices we make today determine our future. What will my life be like 3, 5 or 10 years for now? Will I be financially secure?

Will I remain in the same deadend job or perhaps move somewhere else that makes my time more worthwhile? Will I be able to send my children to college?

Will I be able to retire comfortably and enjoy my older years?

These are questions that go through our minds all the time.

Unfortunately, when you’re in debt, it’s not easy to come up with the answers to them. Why? Be-

The Prophetic Voice ReveRend Rodel G. BAlAGtAs MY recent Marian pilgrimage to Fatima, Lourdes, and the other Marian shrines in Spain convinced me even more of the importance and the urgency to bring back Catholic fervor in our homes and families. By “Catholic fervor” I refer to the intense practice of our Catholic faith, which we can show through our authentic love and observance of the Sacraments, devotions, and other forms prayer and discipline.

I say this because the strong forces of secular values and beliefs have influenced our thoughts, decisions, and everyday lives. They have affected the minds of our young people, making them question our practices and moral beliefs and distant

Minding Your Finances Atty. RAymond BulAon cause being in debt restricts your options most of the time. When you’re in debt, you’re basically just in “survival mode” all the time- just trying to live paycheck to paycheck. There’s no planning for the future. You barely make it from month to month. Your mind is just filled with money worries all the time that you can’t even enjoy your time with loved ones when you’re home. At the end of the day, you’re dead tired and just want to go to bed. The cycle repeats itself every single day.

Sounds familiar? Well, I’m telling you that things don’t have to be this way. There is a better way to live. There is a way to take control of your finances again so that you are not just scraping by from month to month. If your debt problems have taken over your life, something needs to changeand the sooner you take action, the sooner you will turn things around.

As a bankruptcy attorney, I understand that NO ONE ever wants to file bankruptcy. It’s al-

ways a last resort. But if you’ve done your best on your own and your situation hasn’t changed until now, let me ask you this question: What are you going to do about it? Are you simply going to remain stuck in debt with no way out, wait until your creditors take everything you’ve worked hard for and have nothing left for yourself and family after all your long years of hard work? Is this your only plan? I know this may seem harsh but sometimes, reality is harsh. And if this is your reality staring you in the face, you need to do something about it or hate yourself later.

Instead of hopelessly trying to pay your debts and not making progress, you may be better off just filing bankruptcy now to start fresh and rebuild your credit sooner than later. If you need help in getting out of debt, I would like to help you. Please call Toll-Free 1-866-477-7772 to schedule a free consultation. 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.

(Advertising Supplement)

On bringing back Catholic fervor from the Church.

I believe that prayers and genuine faith that show a deep love for God and neighbor are our weapons to fight the influences of secularism and materialism. I also think of the vital role of fathers and mothers in nurturing lasting faith in their children.

They have to work hard together to enliven family life with healthy practices of the Catholic faith.

After all, as the Church says, parents are the “primary teachers” of their children in their growth as Catholic Christians.

Some parents may argue that this can be “easier said than done.” But I am convinced that we can’t make this as an excuse.

In recent years, our Catholic faith has suffered dramatically, especially with many scandals in the Catholic Church. If we love our Catholic faith and if we want it to continue to grow, then all of us—lay people, priests, and bishops—must do everything possible to inflame our families and

homes again with faith in God through prayers, devotions, and a better understanding of our Catholic beliefs and practices.

The Gospel this Sunday (Mark 12:28-34) brings light to my point. Our love for God can’t be half-hearted. We must love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength.

We can’t get discouraged either by our weaknesses and failures.

We must get up when we fail and persevere in prayer and our deep love for God and other people.

There is a critical person in our life as Catholics that would help us to become stronger in faith.

It’s Mary, the Mother of God. It has always been her role to bring us closer to her son Jesus and to intercede for us. She’s our ally and friend, our mother and confident. In the wisdom of God, she can help us have easier access to mysteries of our faith and to grow in our love for God and

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Stock market benchmark indices

Tax Tips victoR sy, cPA, mBA

If you plan to trade stocks, it helps to get an understanding of basic terms that are mentioned frequently on TV, radio, and social media.

There are three Major indices: 1.Dow Jones Industrial Average.

2. S&P 500.

3. Nasdaq Composite.

1. Dow Jones Industrial Average is the oldest index, dating back to 1896. It tracks the movement of 30 large public US companies. It represents “largecap” (very big companies) like Johnson & Johnson, McDonalds and Coca-Cola. Although the companies within the Dow Jones represent only about 25 percent of all stocks, the DJIA is widely accepted as the leading indicator of market health.

Today, the index is not really as industrial as it used to be. Many

of the companies included in the index such as Goldman Sachs, Visa, or McDonald’s focus their business in other categories such as finance or consumer goods.

The Dow is popular because companies in this index represent a huge chunk of the U.S. economy. While there are thousands of publicly traded companies, these big firms are large enough to represent all other large caps.

Companies listed in Dow Jones Industrial Average include Exxon, Home Depot, Dow DuPont, Johnson & Johnson, and Procter & Gamble.

2. S&P 500 is composed of 500 large companies. Founded in 1923, it is now considered one of the best overall indicators of the US stock market. “S&P” stands for “Standards and Poor’s,” the name of a market research firm.

Companies listed with S&P 500 include Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Berkshire Hathaway and Boeing.

3. Nasdaq Composite represents 3,000+ technology and high-growth companies. Founded in 1971, the Nasdaq Compos-

ite has grown popular because it’s commonly accepted as an indicator of tech-sector and innovative companies. Listed companies include Adobe, Altaba, Cisco, and Microsoft.

We also have The Russell 2000 that tracks 2,000 of the smallest players in the stock market. You can also check out its sister index, the Russell 3000 that tracks larger, more representative snapshot of the tech sector. *** Victor Santos Sy graduated Cum Laude from UE with a BBA and from Indiana State University with an MBA. Vic worked with SyCip, Gorres, Velayo (SGV - Andersen Consulting) and Ernst & Young before establishing Sy Accountancy Corporation in Pasadena, California. *** He has 50 years of experience in defending taxpayers audited by the IRS, FTB, EDD, BOE and other governmental agencies. He is publishing a book on his expertise - “HOW TO AVOID OR SURVIVE IRS AUDITS.” Our readers may inquire about the book or email tax questions at vicsy@live.com.

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Will incorporating a separate property business during marriage make it community property?

YOU own a successful business, as a sole proprietor, prior to marriage. You later meet the love of your life and decide to marry her. Years into the marriage, you decide to incorporate the business. A common question when the couple later divorces becomes 1) did your separate property business become community property by virtue of incorporating it during the marriage? 2) Was your separate property business “transmuted” to community property by incorporating it during the marriage?

No Community Property Presumption Family Code §760 defines “Community property” as “Except as otherwise provided by statute, all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in this state is community property. However under Marriage of Koester, the Court held that the community does not “acquire” a separate property business simply because the business is incorporated during the marriage. The mere incorporation of a business operated by spouse is not a change in its character, for purposes of division of community estate following divorce. In Koester, the Court stated that he incorporation simply effects a change in the legal form under which the business is conducted and property does not change its character merely because of a change in form or identity. Marriage of Koester (1999) 73 CA4th 1032, 1035, 1038, 87 CR2d 76, 79, 81.

The Court in Koester also stated that “In contrast with the way title is taken when a married couple own residential property, the in-

Debt Relief

Atty. lAwRence yAnG THE client is 53 and recently widowed. She works as a caregiver and met her now-deceased husband through her job.

At first, the husband was her patient. She provided caregiving services to the man in his house.

He was 70, divorced and lived by himself. As part of caregiving, she drove him to eat at various restaurants that he wanted to go to. While they ate at those restaurants, he would talk to her about his life and eventually popped the question, saying that if she would marry him and take care of him, he will be a good husband to her. The client was previously divorced but felt an affection towards him so she said yes. Apparently, they were pretty happy living together as husband and wife until he slipped and fell in their house, hitting his head on the floor. He fell into a coma and never recovered.

After a week, he died in the hospital.

The husband had placed her name as the joint tenant on the house, which was almost fully paid. The current fair value of the house was $400,000 while the unpaid balance of the mortgage was $150,000, leaving $250,000 of equity. The client automatically became the sole owner of the house because, upon the death of the joint tenant, the surviving joint tenant owns the other half that was owned by the deceased joint tenant.

As a result, the client now owns 100 percent of the $250,000 equity of the house. The adult children of husband complained about being left out in the cold as far as the ownership of the house was concerned, but the

Barrister’s Corner Atty. Kenneth uRsuA Reyes corporation of a sole proprietorship business is typically done for reasons extrinsic to the marital relationship. To say ... that an asset was ‘acquired’ by the community ... because some aspect of corporate formation took place during the marriage is to elevate semantics over substance” No Transmutation Incorporation of a sole proprietorship business during the marriage can trigger a family code § 2640 tracing right of reimbursement only when it is also accompanied by an unambiguous express written transmutation of the business to community property as required by Family Code § 852. Marriage of Koester, supra, 73 CA4th at 1036–1037, 87 CR2d at 79–80 & fn. 5. Under Family Code §852, a transmutation of real or personal property is not valid unless made in writing by an express declaration that is made, joined in, consented to, or accepted by the spouse whose interest in the property is adversely affected. In Koester, the act of changing the legal form under which a business is conducted does not meet the requirements of family code § 852 for a valid transmutation. Marriage of Koester (1999) 73 CA4th 1032, 1037, 87 CR2d 76, 80 & fn. 5. Incorporation of a sole proprietorship business is typically done for reasons extrinsic to the marital rela-

tionship.

Although the mere act of incorporating a separate business during the marriage does not change the character of the business to community property, the community may still acquire an apportionment interest if the value of the business substantially appreciated during the marriage due to the labor and hard work of the managing spouse during the marriage. The apportionment calculation is done using the formula in the Pereira or Van Camp case where the contributions of effort and return on capital are separated from the value of the business. *** 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 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 kureyeslaw@gmail.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com.

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Widow needs Chapter 13 to handle $40K credit cards

client’s claim of ownership is clear because the husband who was of sound mind, quitclaimed the house to himself and client when they got married. It’s almost impossible for children to prove that it was not their father’s intent to give the house to the client.

The client’s problem right now is that she has too much debt. She owes $40,000 of credit card debt. The mortgage on the house is $1,500 a month. Her net income from her caregiving services is not a lot. She nets about $2,500 a month. After paying the mortgage there is $1,000 left before food and other monthly necessities. But minimum credit card payments alone are $1,200 a month. Obviously, the $40,000

cured creditors such as credit cards. In the client’s case, the trustee can sell her house at least for $400,000, pay off the mortgage of $150,000, give client $100,000, leaving a surplus of $150K of cash. The trustee will use the $150,000 to pay himself for his trustee services for administering the bankruptcy estate, pay his lawyers and other professional services incurred, and will use the unused balance after these expenses are paid to pay the $40,000 of credit cards, in exchange for a discharge order for the client.

The Chapter 7 trustee can rack up trustee, legal and other professional fees in no time. Just to hire a broker to sell the house can cost $10,000 to $15,000 in legal fees for the trustee, separate from the selling commission of the broker.

The right choice for the widow is Chapter 13, which will allow her to pay $40,000 over 60 months without interest. The plan payment will be about $700/month.

After 60 payments, the court will enter a discharge order to wipe out all of her debts. No more minimum payments forever. And her house is protected from judgment liens by the bankruptcy court as long as she is current on the plan payments.

Widower seeks Chapter 13 for $50K credit cards The next client is 66 and a widower. His house worth $400,000 is almost fully paid, except for $25,000 of the 2nd mortgage.

He owes $50,000 of credit cards.

He has been paying $1,500 a month on these cards for the last 10 years. He has paid more than $180,000 to keep them current but still owes the same principal of $50,000 today.

“It’s becoming clear that the choice she has to make is to be able to make the mortgage payment or the credit card payment.” credit cards have to be wiped out. It’s becoming clear that the choice she has to make is to be able to make the mortgage payment or the credit card payment.

The house gives her shelter and has equity of quarter million dollars while credit card debt is just a heavy burden to carry forever.

Although the client wants a Chapter 7 discharge of the $40K of credit cards, I cannot recommend a Chapter 7 for her. In Chapter 7, she would lose the house and keep only her exempt equity of $100,000. A chapter 7 trustee has the power to sell debtor’s house if the net proceeds will yield an amount that will yield a distribution to unse-

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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • NOVEMBER 3-6, 2018

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Remedies for employees who blow “Super Sarap”: An exhibit featuring the whistle on employer misconduct art inspired by Filipino food SUSANNA Smith worked as a superintendent, and Cleve Pell worked as an operations officer for the Montebello Unified School District (MUSD).

In the course of doing their jobs, Smith and Pell discovered that Ruben Rojas, the Board of Education and Chief Business Officer of the school district, obtained his position by misrepresenting his past employment history. Rojas was in charge of the school district’s $300 million annual spending budget. Due to this finding, Smith and Pell investigated Rojas and further uncovered that within a year of his hiring, Rojas awarded many lucrative MUSD contracts to people favored by him. This was a violation of the state’s Public Contract Code and other laws.

Smith then placed Rojas on leave and she and Pell brought their finding to the school board. However, the school board ignored their concerns and instead acted to cover up Rojas’ corruption and “engineered his return from leave by false pretenses and then voted to terminate Smith and Pell in retaliation for their whistleblowing.”

After their firing, Smith and Pell sued MUSD and members of the school board for Whistleblower Retaliation and Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy. The employees claimed that the employer’s conduct was a substantial factor in causing them harm, including past and future lost

Protecting Employee & Consumer Rights ATTY. C. JOE SAYAS, JR. earnings, past and future lost benefits, emotional distress, mental suffering, and reputational damage.

The California Whistleblower Protection Act protects employees from being retaliated against after reporting to a government agency that their employer has violated a state or federal law.

This law also protects employees who report of a suspected violation internally (for instance, to a supervisor within the organization) or externally to “any public body” conducting a hearing or investigation. Employees are protected if they truly believed the conduct they complained about was unlawful, even if it was not.

The employer is also prohibited from retaliating against an employee who refuses to participate in activities that violate the law.

How does an employee prove to the court that the employer has engaged in illegal retaliation?

First, it must be shown that the employee engaged in a protected activity, such as report to management or a government agency about suspected violations.

Second, it must be shown that the employer subjected the employee to an adverse employment action, such as a demotion

or termination.

Finally, it must be shown that there is a ‘causal link’ between the conduct of employee and the employer. A causal link may be established if the employer knew that the employee engaged in protected activity, and immediately after fired the employee.

The employer defended Smith’s and Pell’s firing as due to a legitimate business reason, i.e., due to the terms of their employment contract. During trial, Rojas denied any wrongdoing.

The jury decided in favor of the employees. Smith was awarded $2.7 million, and Pell was given $567,665. These awards represented past and future lost wages, emotional distress damages, and civil penalties for retaliation. *** The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic.

All inquiries are confidential and at nocost. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www.joesayaslaw.com or our Facebook page Joe Sayas Law. [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 the recipient of PABA’s Community Champion Award for 2016.]

(Advertising Supplement)

People and Events

Jose Antonio Vargas, author of “Dear America, Notes of An Undocumented Citizen,” to speak at Philippine Expressions Bookshop SAN PEDRO, CA - Jose Antonio Vargas, celebrated author of “Dear America: Notes of An Undocumented Citizen,” will speak at Philippine Expressions Bookshop on Saturday, November 10, 2018 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The bookshop is located at 479 West Sixth Street, Suite 105, Historic Arts District, San Pedro, CA 90731.

Linda Nietes-Little, owner of the bookshop said that, “Everyday, national media gives us their perceptions of the undocumented people. Who are the undocumented people? Now, we will have a chance to listen first hand to one of them. The author is the poster boy of the undocumented.”

Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winner, journalist, filmmaker and activist. He is also the co-founder & CEO of Define America, the nation’s leading non-profit media and culture organization that fights injustice and anti-immigrant hate through the power of storytelling.

The author said that his book is “not about the politics of immigration. It is about homelessness, not in a traditional sense, but in the unsettled, unmoored psychological state that undocumented immigrants like him find themselves in. It is about lying and being forced to lie to get by; about passing as an American and as a contributing citizen; about families, keeping them together, and having to make new ones when you can’t. The book is about constantly hiding from the government and, in the process, hiding from ourselves.”

In short, the book is about what it means to not have a home.

The Book Talk will be moderated by Dr. Anthony Christian Ocampo. He is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at California State Polytechnic University-Po-

mona, a Ford Foundation Fellow and author of “The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race.” His book will likewise be available for sale during the event. Giselle Tongi Walters will be the host and emcee.

This is a ticketed event. Since seats are limited, order your tickets immediately. Call (310) 5488148 or (310) 514-9139 or email: info@philippinebookshop.com.

Ticket cost is $35.00, which includes a hardbound autographed copy of Dear America, sales tax included, and a catered reception

by Chef Jean Cordero. $28.00 for students with valid school ID. $15.00 for Talk & Reception only.

Reception starts at 5:00 p.m. and talk begins at 6:30 p.m. RSVP before Nov. 7th at https://bit.ly/ 2y6LBd7 The bookshop accepts orders for autographed copies by mail — $28.00 per copy which includes the sales tax and cost of shipping and handling. Prepaid order must be received by Nov. 7th.

The event is the ongoing community outreach program of the bookshop aimed to increase awareness for the Filipino-American presence in America. The bookshop sponsors thought-provoking Book Talks and literary soirees regularly to encourage intelligent conversations and elevate the consciousness of the citizenry. ■

Widow needs Chapter 13 to handle $40K ...

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At 66, he is just tired of paying for these cards that never diminish in principal. He cannot file a Chapter 7 because he has the same problem as the widow in the first paragraph. His equity in the house is over $175,000, way over it. He sees no problem paying about $900 of plan payment for the next 60 months and looks forward to the last pay-

ment on the 60th month when the court enters a discharge order saying that he doesn’t owe any credit card debts anymore.

Compare that to $1,500 a month for minimum payments only such that he would pay $90,000 in the next 60 months but still owe the same $50,000.

At 66, he sees very clearly the advantage of Chapter 13 for him now to get rid of his credit card

debts.

*** 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.

(Advertising Supplement)

On bringing back Catholic fervor PAGE C2 t the Church. Her role is to help us develop an intimate relationship with Jesus, to fight temptations, and to protect us from the snares of the enemy of Christ.

Furthermore, if we want to grow in the virtues of humility, charity, purity, and sacrificial love, we should turn to Mary who exemplified these virtues during her earthly life. Mary is not only an intercessor but also a

source of wisdom for us to practice a genuine faith.

Our role as Catholic leaders and parents has never been more challenging and demanding than today. With the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, with the intercession and examples of Mary and all the Saints, we’ll bring back glory to God and our Catholic faith in our homes and society! ***

From a Filipino immigrant family, Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas was ordained to the priesthood from St. John’s Seminary in 1991. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Augustine, Culver City (1991-1993); St. Martha, Valinda (1993-1999); and St. Joseph the Worker, Canoga Park (1991-2001). In 2001, he served as Administrator Pro Tem of St. John Neumann in Santa Maria, CA, until his appointment as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, in 2002, which lasted 12 years. His term as Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education at St. John’s Seminary began in July 2014.

Group exhibit highlights works of Mik Gaspay, Jeanne Jalandoni and O.M. France Viana

WITHIN the last several years, chefs and foodies from around the country have hailed Filipino cooking as the “next big food trend.”

Although, trendify-ing a cuisine allows it to enter into the larger cultural consciousness, it also raises the question: A trend for whom? It is a label that often appears only on “ethnic” cuisine or non-white food and classifying it as such dismisses the historical nuances and communities that develop it. For many, a trend is not new or alien; it is familiar and the norm.

In “Super Sarap” — from November 3 to December 15 at Gallery 6/67 — three artists Mik Gaspay, Jeanne Jalandoni, and O.M. France Viana revisit commonplace objects and food within Filipino cooking. Through sculpture and photography, the artists elicit personal and collective memories and offer cultural connections that go beyond the Philippine diaspora.

Mik Gaspay’s artistic practice aims to understand our material culture. He examines mass produced objects and explores it in relation to capitalism’s effects on

migration and assimilation, class, and identity. In “Super Sarap,” he recalls the prominence of the large, decorative wooden spoon and fork sculptures hanging in Filipino kitchens. Playing with scale and texture, Gaspay uses a faux, wood-grain-patterned textile to construct a delicate, pillarsized replica.

Jeanne Jalandoni also utilizes textile to evoke memory of home by making “objects of comfort.”

Using soft and plush material, she creates covetable toy rice cookers. In the exhibition, she also premieres a series of quilts that stitch together the ingredients to create traditional Filipino dishes. With a keen focus on food is O.M. France Viana’s “Color Palate” series, where minimalist photography looking like extraterrestrial landscapes reveal themselves to be Filipino ice cream—purple ube, green avocado, pink guava.

Viana’s vibrant neon “UBE” sign seduces with an intense violet color natural to the purple yam, ubiquitous in Filipino and South East Asian desserts.

The exhibition title, “Super Sarap,” fuses both English and

Tagalog together, to hold multiple meanings. It can convey something that is extremely delicious, an expression of excitement and affirmation. Artists in “Super Sarap” play with these definitions and mutate symbols, making them both strange and familiar, challenging the expectations of cultural norms. It is guest curated by Patricia Cariño Valdez, an independent curator based in Oakland, CA. In addition to the exhibit, there will be two art and culinary events: an intimate fourcourse gourmet dinner prepared by acclaimed Orange County Chefs, Ross Pangilinan of Mix Mix Kitchen Bar on November 15 and Chef Ryan Garlitos of Irenia Restaurant on December 9 combined with an exhibition walk-through.

The opening receiption for Super Sarap will be on Saturday, November 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. Gallery 6/67 is located at 404 West 4th St., Suite K (2nd floor), Santa Ana, CA 92701. Gallery visits are by appointment. For more information about the exhibit and related events, visit https://www. gallery667.com. ■

C4 NOVEMBER 3-6, 2018 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

Calendar of Events across

America

ADVERTISE YOUR EVENTS! PRE-EVENT AND POST EVENT GO DEEPER. GO WIDER. LET THE WORLD KNOW. CALL ASIAN JOURNAL: (818) 502-0651 DISPLAY AD SIZES AT SPECIAL RATES FOR NON-PROFIT GROUPS O C TO B E R 3 0 - N OV E M B E R 9

FASGI presents FAIR art exhibit in Los Angeles FASGI is pleased to announce FAIR – FASGI Artists Impressions & Reflections – an art exhibit to be held from October 9, 2018 to November 9, 2018 at the FASGI Bayanihan Center (135 N. Park View St., Los Angeles, CA 90026). FAIR is presented as part of FASGI’s Arts Incubator Program. FAIR will showcase five internationally-acclaimed artists who will unveil new and original artworks: Rafael Maniago, Cesar Devera, Johnny Otilano, Mat Relox, and Tiinz Taruc. FASGI’s Arts Incubator Program was created in 2016 to promote and uplift Filipino and Filipino American arts and culture. The program’s mission is to: (1) help Filipino American artists to be properly recognized and given economic opportunities for advancement; (2) enable Filipino Americans to get in touch with their culture; and (3) to educate mainstream America on Philippine/American art. The program currently includes a permanent gallery, special exhibits, portraiture, parol-making, and an artist-in-residence program. Art workshops, instruction, and live projects are currently being planned for commencement in 2019.

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JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles features Sou Fujimoto: Futures of the Future exhibition JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles is pleased to announce the upcoming SOU FUJIMOTO: FUTURES OF THE FUTURE exhibition, taking place Oct. 27 - Dec. 12, 2018 at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, located at Hollywood & Highland. Named the Wall Street Journal’s Architecture Innovator of The Year in 2014, Fujimoto has designed public and private buildings around the world since establishing his atelier in 2000. This exhibition is a showcase of over 100 models and large-scale photographs of past and current projects by the celebrated Japanese architect. Fujimoto addresses many opposite concepts, including the recurring theme the “primitive future.” This apparent contradiction refers to the primordial, intuitive moments that reconnect us with our own humanity, and open us up to new possibilities. His designs often feature juxtapositions of outside and inside, nature and urbanity, objects and spaces, public and private. And, his work considers the macro and micro: when does an object become a space? Exhibition dates from Oct. 27 to Dec. 12 are from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, except Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Closed Thanksgiving Day 11/22). JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles is located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 (inside Hollywood & Highland).

Admission is free. For more information, please call (800) 516-0565 or visit https://www.japanhouse.jp/losangeles/events/.

O C TO B E R 3 1

SIPA hosts halloween carnival in Los Angeles SIPA is having its Halloween Carnival once again! Come by on Halloween, Wednesday, October 31 from 5-9 p.m. for some spooky fun! Children and families can have fun with our bouncy house, games, arts and craft booths, food, performances, and Haunted House! Candies and treats will be given to attendants! Open to all. Admission is free. Booths and attractions may cost some money. We accept cash, card, or venmo. The address is 3200 W. Temple Street, LA, CA 90026 at the Robinson St. and Temple St. parking lot. Limited parking is available for attendants on Dillon St. and Temple St. The Facebook event page can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/events/173670190179734.

N OV E M B E R 3

Association of Calambeños of Southern California holds gala night in Monrovia, CA The Association of Calambeños of Southern California (ACASCA) invites you on Saturday, November 3 to its gala night at The Courtyard by Marriott (700 W. Huntington Dr., Monrovia, CA 91016). Entertainment and music will be provided by Maricar and the 4700 Band with Val Villar. The attire is formal and cost for prepaid ticket is $55. For tickets, please contact Marcie Reyes at (323) 528-5672 or Junea Carritos at (818) 235-4155. For souvenir book sponsorship, please email fides.nagpala@cox.net. For more information, please visit http://acasca.org.

FASO@10 at Alex Theater in Glendale, CA The Filipino American Symphony Orchestra (FASO) presents, “FASO@10: A Decade of Music, Harmony and Community,” the 10th anniversary concert of the only Filipino symphony orchestra outside of the Philippines, will be held on November 3 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California. The program will include Fil-Am Broadway performers Deedee Magno Hall and Cliffton Hall, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjadja, the WIN (Waraynon Initiative Network) Chorale, FASO Children’s Ensemble and Alumni, and more guests! The show, presented by Espina Lawyers, APLC and Silver Saddle Ranch and Club, begins at 7 p.m. Alex Theatre is located on 216 N. Brand Blvd. Tickets and other details at: https://www.alextheatre.org/event/filipinoamerican-symphony-orchestra-presents-faso-10th-anniversary-concert.

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Art exhibit inspired by Filipino food movement in Santa Ana, CA In “Super Sarap” — from November 3 to December 15 at Gallery 6/67 — three artists Mik Gaspay, Jeanne Jalandoni, and O.M. France Viana revisit commonplace objects and food within Filipino cooking. Through sculpture and photography, the artists elicit personal and collective memories and offer cultural connections that go beyond the Philippine diaspora.

The exhibition title, “Super Sarap,” fuses both English and Tagalog together, to hold multiple meanings. It can convey something that is extremely delicious, an expression of excitement and affirmation. Artists in “Super Sarap” play with these definitions and mutate symbols, making them both strange and familiar, challenging the expectations of cultural norms. It is guest curated by Patricia Cariño Valdez, an independent curator based in Oakland, CA. In addition to the exhibit, there will be two art and culinary events: an intimate four-course gourmet dinner prepared by acclaimed Orange County Chefs, Ross Pangilinan of Mix Mix Kitchen Bar on November 15 and Chef Ryan Garlitos of Irenia Restaurant on December 9 combined with an exhibition walk-through. The opening reception for Super Sarap will be on Saturday, November 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. Gallery 6/67 is located at 404 West 4th St., Suite K (2nd floor), Santa Ana, CA 92701. Gallery visits are by appointment. For more information about the exhibit and related events, visit https://www.gallery667.com.

N OV E M B E R 8 -1 1

2nd annual Cinematografo International Film Festival in San Francisco The second annual Cinematografo International Film Festival will be held from November 8 to 11 in San Francisco. The Cinematografo International Film Festival is the premier event for Filipinos abroad to tell their stories and the platform to bring these films to the world stage. The festival is an annual celebration of film and culture, highlighted by Cinematografo Originals – a co-production initiative to help filmmakers realize their stories on the big screen.

On its second year, the festival’s theme is “Breaking Down Walls,” which refers not only to divisions along global political lines but also aims to empower storytellers in breaking through barriers in film and story whether in terms of subject matter, representation and cultural limitations. For more information, please visit https://cinematografofilmfestival.com/.

N OV E M B E R 1 0

LA Department of Public Works to host recycling event for used oil and filters in Alhambra, CA Attention all Alhambra residents — Free Oil Filter & Motor Oil Recycling Event! Everyone is invited to bring in their used motor oil and used oil filters. All those who recycle their used oil filter will receive one FREE new Oil Filter. Recycling motor oil and filters helps save our environment and keeps our water clean. So don’t miss out – we’re making it easier for you to keep your car running smoothly and efficiently. It will be held on Saturday, November 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at O’Reilly Auto Parts (800 E. Valley Blvd. Alhambra, CA 91801).

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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C

Fil-Am Kyla Fajardo returns to Change your clocks, change your batteries Clippers Spirit Dance Team

Photo courtesy of Los Angeles County Fire Department

Kyla Fajardo returns for her second year as a member of the 2018-19 Clippers Spirit, the dance team of the NBA’s L.A. Clippers.

AS residents prepare to change their clocks on Sunday, November 4, for daylight saving time, the Los Angeles County Fire Department reminds everyone to change the batteries in every smoke and carbon monoxide detector in their homes.

When properly installed, working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors can mean the difference between life and

death.

“A working smoke detector in your home greatly increases your chances of survival during a fire,” says Fire Captain Tony Imbrenda.

“The device can alert sleeping family members and provide them with critical seconds to escape.”

Carbon monoxide poisoning can be fatal; symptoms include severe headache, dizziness,

mental confusion, nausea, and fainting.

California law requires the installation of carbon monoxide detectors outside of each sleeping area in a home. For maximum protection against carbon monoxide gas, the Los Angeles County Fire Department also recommends installing a carbon monoxide detector inside each bedroom.

The Clippers Spirit is an elite dance team, led by Creative Director Petra Pope, made up of world-class professional dancers.

Photos courtesy of the LA Clippers

Election Day 2018 reminder

Photo courtesy of www. clerk.lacity.org

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles City Clerk Holly L. Wolcott reminds voters that the November 6, 2018 General Election is less than three days away. The City of Los Angeles has three (3) measures on LA County’s November ballot, which also includes County, State and Federal contests. All registered voters are encouraged to review their Sample Ballot and City’s Voter Information Pamphlet before going to vote.

Voters have multiple options to cast and submit their ballot.

Prior to Election Day: Vote-By-Mail (VBM) voters can mail in their completed ballot, no postage necessary.

Voters can Vote Early, in-person, the weekend before Election Day at selected sites. For locations and hours, go to https:// lavote.net.

Voters can drop off their completed Vote-By-Mail ballots at designated drop off locations.

For locations and hours, go to https://lavote.net/home/votingelections/voting-options/vote-by-

mail/vbm-ballot-drop-off.

Voting on Election Day: Polling place locations can be found on the back cover of the Sample Ballot or on the LA County website.

Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. VBM voters who have a VBM ballot, but don’t have time to mail it back in time, can drop off their VBM ballot at any polling place by 8:00 p.m., or at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s (LARR/CC), at 12400 Imperial Hwy., Norwalk, CA 90650, by the close of polls (8:00 p.m.) on Election Day, November 6, 2018. VBM ballots postmarked

by Election Day will be counted if received within three days.

For more information about City-related measures, contact the Office of the City Clerk-Election Division between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at (213) 978-0444 or tollfree at (888) 873-1000. More information can be found on the City Clerk’s election website at clerk.lacity.org/elections.

City of Walnut 2018 Holiday Home Decorating Contest DOES your house or block have the best holiday decorations in the City? The Community Services Department invites Walnut residents to participate in the City’s Holiday Home Decorating Contest. You may nominate your own home, or get together with your neighbors and nominate your block. One individual winner and one block winner will be chosen as the Best Overall (based on curb appeal). Please note, all homes must be located within the municipal boundaries of the City of Walnut.

Entry Acceptance Deadline is

5:00 pm on Thursday, December 6, 2018. Applications can be submitted at Walnut Recreation Services Office (MDRS) at 21701 Valley Blvd (M-Th, from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm) or at the Walnut Senior Center (M-F, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

The judging will take place on Monday, December 17, 2018 and winners will be notified by phone or email no later than Thursday, December 20, 2018. The winner(s) will receive a special “Best Holiday Decoration” yard sign and recognition at a City Council meeting.

Dear Family and Friends,

V. Muñoz palomo Oxnard School District Trustee Area 5

I am excited to officially announce my race for Oxnard School District Trustee Area 5. I advocate kids better academic advancement, accountability, and parental empowerment. Parent Participation for our Children’s success in school will be a priority of mine. I am Violet a.k.a Vi Ganda Muñoz Palomo. I want to help and support parent input into the right direction of Oxnard School District. I want our children to always have a better education with family empowerment. I believe that the School Board of Trustee and Oxnard School District should work for the students, parents and our community. The limelight should be placed on the goal of our students, parents and community. We succeed when our children learn. Nepotism should no longer drive our educational institution. Qualified and progressive instruction should be driven by our mission, not by relatives. It’s time for learning! Let’s remove dstraction and place academic advancement as our goal. We can be better served with school partnership with parents, agencies and higher educationn. I will serve the students towards succeess. I hope to have your support by helping me connect with voters, by making a contribution to my campaign, with your moral support and encouragement for those who live in Area 5 and with your vote this November 6, 2018. Thank you!

- Violet Munoz Palomo: graduated with a B.S. in education major in English, physical education and music in the Philippines - Studied accounting and business management at Ventura and Oxnard Community College - Worked and resides in Oxnard for 45 years - A retired civil servnt in accounting from Naval Facility Port Hueneme - Entrepreneur Thank you! Gracias! Salamat!

C NOVEMBER 3-6, 2018 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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MARKETPLACE SHOWROOM

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D1

What is ‘extreme hardship’? First Metro Investment, UA&P:‘PH economy likely grew in Q3 on investments, exports’

Immigration Corner ATTY. MICHAEL GURFINKEL, ESQ IF a person commits certain immigration violations (such as fraud, or overstaying in the U.S. for over six months and then departing, etc.), the person may not be eligible to receive a green card, unless the person applies for, and is granted, a “waiver of inadmissibility” (or “forgiveness”) on a Form I-601.

To be eligible for the waiver, the person must demonstrate he or she has a spouse or parent who is a U.S. citizen or a green card holder (“qualifying relatives”), and the qualifying relative would suffer “extreme hardship” if the applicant is not granted the waiver.

But what is extreme hardship?

How does a person demonstrate or prove extreme hardship on the qualifying relative? How should the immigration officer evaluate the qualifying relative’s extreme hardship?

The USCIS has a policy manual (PM), to provide some guidelines on establishing extreme hardship.

In the past, applicants had to rely on published immigration cases that discussed extreme hardship, memos, etc. to figure out what constitutes extreme hardship and how to prove it. USCIS’s PM on extreme hardship aims to clarify

how USCIS should make extreme hardship determinations.

But even with this PM, figuring out what constitutes extreme hardship can still be confusing.

Even USCIS admits that the term “extreme hardship” is not expressly defined in the law, regulations, or in case law. USCIS further states that to meet this “extreme hardship” requirement, the person must show that the refusal of admission would “impose more than the usual level of hardship that commonly results from family separation or relocation.” That’s an important point: “extreme” simply means “more than usual,” or more likely than not, or 51% probability.

Among the items to be considered are: • Hardship to the qualifying relative if they had to relocate overseas (to be with the applicant), or, in the alternative, remain in the U.S., (separated from the applicant).

• Strong family ties in the U.S. • Social and cultural impact if the qualifying relative had to relocate overseas to be with the applicant • Economic impact on the qualifying relative if the hardship waiver is not granted • Health conditions and medical care of the qualifying relative • Country conditions, and State Department travel warnings for the country where the qualifying

relative would have to relocate.

The PM lists dozens of specific factors which could constitute extreme hardship on a qualifying relative, and points out numerous factors which would not be considered extreme hardship. The PM provides some hypothetical examples where the claimed hardship would be considered normal or a “common consequence of relocation”, as opposed to being “extreme.”

Many people, when faced with having to file a waiver of inadmissibility, do it on his or her own, rather than seeking the advice or guidance of an attorney.

While hiring an attorney does not “guarantee” approval, the determination and evaluation of extreme hardship can be a complex and complicated task.

Putting together an effective presentation is also critical.

The PM is 48 pages long. The instructions for filling out the Form I- 601 are 21 pages. The I601 form itself is 13 pages long.

The stakes are so high in applying for the waiver. If a person is not granted a fraud waiver, it could result in a lifetime ban. If the 3/10 year bar waiver is not approved, the relative may not be able to apply for a visa to come to the US for at least 10 years.

That is why when you have something as complex as a waiver of inadmissibility, you should seek the advice and guidance PAGE D2

Business Quote of the Week “Often the difference between a successful man and a failure is not one’s better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on his ideas, to take a calculated risk, and to act.”

—Maxwell Maltz, author of “Psycho-Cybernetics”

CARABALLO Manilatimes.net

by MAYVELIN

ROBUST private and public spending, as well as increased exports, likely caused the Philippine economy to rise by more than 6 percent in the third quarter of 2018, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) said in a joint report on Tuesday.

In its latest issue of “The Market Call,” FMIC and UA&P said the “economy likely expanded faster in Q3 (third quarter) than the 6 percent posted for Q2 (second quarter), as red-hot investment spending and robust manufacturing sector stepped up on the accelerator.”

The “country’s investment-led

story remains solid” as imports of capital goods rose by 39 percent year-on-year in July, much faster than June’s 30-percent expansion, it added.

The report’s authors also suggested that government spending “added fuel to growth” with a 28.7-percent uptick in August, likely driven by infrastructure and capital outlays, which grew by 70.5 percent in the month.

“We have indicated our view that growth in Q3 will be supported by strong investments, especially with the [Duterte] administration’s unrelenting effort to push for faster completion and faster delivery of the ‘Build Build Build’ projects they have lined up,” they added, referring to the government’s massive infrastructure program.

FMIC and UA&P, meanwhile, underscored a “more robust” growth in exports in the third quarter.

They emphasized that the Philippines’ export performance bucked the previous lackluster trend, recording its second monthly gain at the start of the quarter.

Exports increased by 0.3 percent year-on-year to $5.8 billion in July, following the 2.8 percent gain in June. Outbound shipments declined from January until May. GDP growth fell below expectations in the second quarter at 6.0 percent, bringing first-half expansion to an average of 6.3 percent, lower than the government’s revised 6.5-6.9 percent target.■

Foreign investment rules eased

by BEN O. DE VERA ROY STEPHEN C. CANIVEL Manilatimes.net

AFTER several months of delay, Malacañang finally released the latest foreign investment negative list (FINL), giving clarity on the kind of welcome foreign investors can expect when doing business here in the country.

The 11th FINL, which was issued on Wednesday, drew a mixed reaction from foreign and local business groups interviewed by the Inquirer.

The FINL, which is reviewed every two years, lists down sectors where foreign investors have only limited participation. The 10th FINL was issued under the Aquino administration in 2015.

The FINL, however, could only do so much, given that it could not change prior laws on foreign investments, a limitation that some business groups also acknowledged.

“Overall, it falls short of the ‘aggressive’ changes pursued by Neda (National Economic Devel-

opment Authority),” said Guenter Taus, president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.

He said the latest negative list had only “modest gains” such as the liberalization in insurance adjustment and the slight expansion of practice of professions.

John Forbes, senior adviser of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, had a different opinion.

“The new FINL reflects the first time any administration has seriously sought to shorten the list.

Appearances can be deceptive because the new FINL is a longer document, but it has added more clarity and exceptions,” he said.

What kind of business can now have a 100-percent foreign participation?

According to Neda, these sectors are the following: internet businesses, teaching at higher education levels provided the subject being taught is not a professional subject or included in a government board or bar examination, training centers that are

engaged in short-term high level skills development that do not form part of the formal education system, adjustment companies, lending companies, financing companies and investment houses, as well as wellness centers.

The list, as released under Executive Order No. 65, also increased to 40 percent the participation of foreigners in the construction and repair of locally funded public works as well as private radio communications networks from 25 percent and 20 percent, respectively, previously.

Barrier to entry in local retail market is still the same, a “victory” for small local players, despite an initial plan by economic managers to do so.

Prior to the release of the FINL, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said that the government was planning to lower the paid-up capital requirement for foreign retailers setting up shop in the country to $200,000 from $2.5 million at present.

PAGE D2

D NOVEMBER 3-6, 2018 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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PH ‘ease of doing business’ rank Automakers see sales recovery in 2019 falls to 124th out of 190 countries

by Catherine

talaVera Philstar.com

by Ben

O. de Vera Inquirer.net

THE Philippines fell farther in its “ease of doing business” ranking from 113th last year to 124th this year in a field 190 countries covered by an annual World Bank report. The country’s score, however, posted a slight improvement on the back of recently introduced reforms.

The flagship “Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform” report released by the Washingtonbased multilateral lender Wednesday night Manila time showed the Philippines, represented by Quezon City, garnering an ease of doing business score of 57.68 from a possible perfect score of 100.

The Philippines’ score this year was actually higher by 1.36 points compared with last year’s.

The Philippines was behind its Asean neighbors Singapore (second place), Malaysia (15th), Thailand (27th), Brunei Darussalam (55th), Vietnam (69th), and Indonesia (73rd). Cambodia was in 138th place, Laos 154th, and Myanmar 171st.

For this year’s report, the World Bank used the new “ease of doing business score,” which it explained was “a score indicating an economy’s position to the best regulatory practice.”

In the Doing Business 2018 report released last year, the Philippines scored 58.74 using a different scoring system dubbed as the “distance to frontier” (DTF), which measured how far the

Image courtesy of the World Bank

economies covered by the report were to the best performing economy on each of the indicator.

This year, the country ranked 166th in starting a business; 94th in dealing with construction permits; 29th in getting electricity; 116th in registering property; 184th in getting credit; 132nd in protecting minority investors; 94th in paying taxes; 104th in trading across borders; 151st in enforcing contracts; and 63rd in resolving insolvency.

While the Philippines “made starting a business easier by simplifying tax registration and business licensing processes,” the World Bank lamented that the country nonetheless hiked tax registration costs.

With regards construction permits, the World Bank said there was improvement in the construction sector’s risk management practices, “with latent defect liability insurance now commonly

obtained by industry players” to make it safer.

The Philippines also made inroads in strengthening minority investor protection as it increased shareholders’ rights and role in major corporate decisions as well as clarified ownership and control structures for companies listed on the stock exchange.

Under the new Philippine rules for listed firms, “shareholders can now approve the appointment and dismissal of the auditor and companies must establish an audit committee composed exclusively of board members,” the World Bank noted.

However, a downfall was the “more difficult” trading across boarders after the country increased the number of inspec- PAGE D1 Trade and Industry Secretary tions for importation, which the World Bank said jacked up the Ramon Lopez, who backed the average border compliance time. move to lower the threshold, said that it was not included in /atm n the FINL because it would require amending the law.

Nevertheless, Roberto Claudio, vice chair of the Philippine trading community.

Retailers Association, called this “It is our estimate that our a “victory for the small Filipino businessmen could have saved as retailers.” much as 3 percent of transaction Pernia, for his part, also said value if we had a trading platform that restrictive laws needed to be for both our currencies. That will add up to a substantial sum given the exponential growth of our business partnerships,” DominPAGE D1 guez added. of an attorney, rather than With the direct conversion of doing it on your own. Learning the two currencies set to start this immigration law (or figuring out month, Dominguez said “we anwhat is “extreme hardship” and ticipate a significant reduction in Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III Photo courtesy of www.dof.gov.ph how to prove it) by doing the the cost of doing business across our two economies as a result of using the price discovery process waiver on your own could have this.” created by this mechanism,” ac- lifetime consequences on your “This currency trading platform cording to the finance chief, who relative. *** will bring benefit to both private had said the government plans to enterprises as well as the gov- tap the panda bond market ev- Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney ernment. We foresee improved ery 12-18 months. —BEN O. DE for over 35 years and is licensed, and an active member of the State Bar of access to China’s bond market VERA n

PH-China trade, investment flows seen to rise

THE head of the Duterte administration’s economic team expects more trade and investment flows between the Philippines and China following the rollout of the peso-renminbi trading platform.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III on Tuesday noted that in the past, transactions involving the two currencies involved pricing each according to their respective exchange rates with the US dollar.

“This process implied unavoidable costs to the transactions. It created friction that slowed down trade and investment,” Dominguez said in his speech during the signing of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) among 14 banks to establish the Philippine renminbi

MANILA, Philippines — Vehicle makers and assemblers are expecting a sales recovery in the market next year as consumers would have adjusted to price changes caused by the new excise taxes.

In an interview, Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) president Rommel Gutierrez told reporters that they are projecting a conservative 10 percent growth in vehicle sales in 2019.

“We are positive about next year. So whatever is the figure for this year, we’ll project a better figure next year,” Gutierrez said.

CAMPI earlier said it expects sales for this year to drop between 10 percent to 15 percent this year as demand continue to weaken due to rising inflation and higher vehicle excise taxes.

A joint report report by CAMPI and the Truck Manufacturers Association Inc. (TMA) showed that aggregate sales reached 261,057 units as of end-September, 14 percent lower than the 302,869 units sold in the same period last year.

Gutierrez described 2018 as a transition year, with a number

In an interview, Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) president Rommel Gutierrez told reporters that they are projecting a conservative 10 percent growth in vehicle sales in 2019.

Philstar.com file photo

of factors weighing in on vehicle sales such as the excise tax and inflation, among others.

“By this time, I think the market has already adjusted in terms of pricing. It will already be stable,” Gutierrez said.

“We are starting to see positive signs now,” he said.

Vehicle sales hit its lowest last July with a 24.1 percent drop.

Sales picked up in August with an 8.16 percent gain, but fell anew in September.

“We initially were expecting the drop will only be in the first and second quarter, but it continued,” Gutierrez said.

“From our perspective, first and second quarter could be attributable to the excise tax, not

the excise tax itself, but the anticipation at that time. It’s the uncertainty at that time of what will come up.”

He pointed out that the lower vehicle sales this year may also be attributed to the higher base set by the “abnormal” increase in sales in the last quarter of 2017.

In 2017, vehicle sales accelerated by 18.4 percent to 425,673 units, exceeding CAMPI’s fullyear target of 400,500 units.

Moreover, CAMPI vice president Dante Santos emphasized the impact of the country’s economic conditions on vehicle sales such as higher interest rates.

“You cannot really debate on this. These are forces beyond our control,” he said. n

Foreign investment rules eased amended. Nevertheless, he said that the latest FINL would help make the country more competitive.

However, these measures are still considered “marginal improvements in our effort to attract foreign direct investments (FDI).”

Under the new FINL, President Duterte allowed foreign ownership of internet businesses and greater foreign equity in private radio communications

networks and contracts for the construction and repair of locally-funded public works. He also updated the list of professions that foreigners could practice in the Philippines.

The new list keeps the 40 percent foreign equity cap on public utilities but adds a new exception that covers “power generation and the supply of electricity to the contestable market.”

—Wiht a report from Leila B. Salaverria n

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WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com Follow us on Facebook.com/GurfinkelLaw and Twitter @GurfinkelLaw Call Toll free to schedule a consultation for anywhere in the US: (866)—GURFINKEL Four offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES · SAN FRANCISCO · NEW YORK · PHILIPPINES

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Peso still under pressure, may drop further – DBS Filipinos face growing cyberthreats Caraballo Manilatimes.net

by mayvelin

U.S. interest-rate increases will continue to put pressure on the peso, Singapore-based bank DBS said as it sees new lows for the local currency next year.

In its monthly “Economic & Strategy Research” report released over the weekend, DBS claimed that the dollar’s uptrend would extend into the middle of 2019, as the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is expected to keep increasing rates every quarter to 2.50 percent by end-2018 and 3.50 percent by end-2019.

“The [dollar’s] recovery since 2Q18 (second quarter of 2018) has been attributed to [the] shift in the Fed’s monetary stance from accommodative to neutral,” it said.

Economies that relied the most on external borrowing would see the most pressure on their exchange rates, DBS said.

The lender also said the peso was one of three Asian currencies that would face sustained pressure next year if US rates continued to rise.

“The twin (current account and fiscal) deficit currencies — Indian rupee, Indonesian rupiah and Philippine peso — are expected to keep depreciating throughout the Fed hike cycle that ends in 4Q19 (fourth quarter of 2019),” it added.

While noting that the Philip-

A money changer counts P1,000 bills over a picture of $50 bill in this Jan. 28, 2005 file photo.

AFP file photo

pines’ twin deficit is likely to be structural, DBS warned that the peso was likely to continue its plunge.

“The current account’s return into a deficit position is likely to be structural… The Duterte administration has rejected the IMF’s (International Monetary Fund) advice to lower its fiscal deficit to [the] more neutral targets of 2.4-2.5 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) from 33.2 percent,” the bank said.

The country’s current account — a major component of balance of payments — hit a deficit of $3.087 billion in the first half of 2018, equivalent to 1.9 percent of GDP. Meanwhile, the government’s budget deficit widened by 78 percent in January-to-September

to $378.2 billion from $213.1 billion a year ago, based on latest available data.

Despite its positive view, DBS pointed out that “the odds of the Philippine peso hitting a new alltime low over the next 12 months cannot be fully discounted.”

It projected that the currency would likely end this year at P54.5:$1 before plummeting to P55:$1, P55.55:$1, P56:$1, and P56.50:$1, respectively, from the first to fourth quarters of 2019.

The peso has fallen to near 13-year lows to the P54:$1 level and is often described as Asia’s worst-performing currency this year. But the local unit has been showing signs of recovery in the past weeks, closing at P53.64:$1 on Friday, up 16 centavos from the previous day’s figure. n

Depts to World Bank: Correct PH’s biz ranking by anna leah

e. Gonzales Manilatimes.net

THE Finance and Trade departments are demanding the World Bank to revise the Philippines’ ranking in its 2019 Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) report, which saw it fall 11 places from 113th to 124th out of 190 economies.

“We demand that the World Bank review the Philippines’ rating, and make a correction immediately, given our country’s increases in the EoDB scores, which was, unfortunately, offset by the grossly inaccurate and understated findings in the gettingcredit indicator of the report,” the department of Finance (DoF) and Trade and Industry (DTI) said in a joint statement on Wednesday night.

“This correction should be done soon, as the report could unduly compromise the Phil-

ippines’ standing among the investment community and negatively impact the country’s development, considering that this document is widely used as a reference by investors and survey organizations,” they added.

That report should “reflect the realities on the ground,” both departments said.

In the report, the Philippines got an EoDB score of 57.68, with 100 as the highest. It ranked 29th in getting electricity, 63rd in resolving insurgency, 94th in dealing with construction permits, 94th in paying taxes, 104th in trading across borders, 116th in registering property, 132nd in protecting minority investors, 166th place in starting a business, and 184th in getting credit.

“We believe that the World Bank has gotten this one wrong.

This is regrettable, considering the significant headway made by the Philippines on the other indi-

cators,” the statement said. “The Philippines registered a +1.36 increase in [the] EoDB score at 57.68, yet received a lower ranking.”

“While the World Bank has taken governments to task by fostering an enabling environment characterized by efficient business regulations, so must the World Bank exercise responsibility and greater transparency in its methodology,” it added.

“The Philippines’ drastic slide in the rankings was attributed mainly to the country’s gettingcredit indicator, where the EoDB score significantly fell from 30 to 5, because of the failure of the World Bank’s survey team to gather the correct information on the country’s credit information database.”

Both departments noted that the country registered a substantial decrease in credit bureau PAGE D5

North Koreans raise their fists during a military parade in Pyongyang. by ed

velasCo Manilatimes.net

LOOTING online has become more prevalent because the perpetrators are either state-sponsored or wickedly brilliant techies who target financial institutions and credit-card holders, according to anti-cybercrime agencies and security experts.

FireEye Inc., a private agency that fights cybercrimes, reported that APT was one of the most dangerous groups operating today, adding that this outfit was backed by the North Korean government.

APT was suspected in the 2014 hacking of Sony that led it to cancel the release of The Interview, a movie about a fictional plot to assassinate the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. APT was also the prime suspect in the recent cyberattack on the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, as well as the $81-million heist from the Bangladesh central bank that was funneled to the Philippines in 2016.

Various media reports said North Korea earned about $1 billion a year from hacking highvalue targets, including highroller credit cardholders.

Experts claim that Pyongyang uses hacking for two main purposes—to finance its nuclear proliferation program and to wage cyberwarfare against its enemies, like South Korea and the United States and their allies, which includes the Philippines.

Anti-crime agencies have been quoted as saying that some 6,000 North Korean hackers have been deployed worldwide, even in Southeast Asia—a report confirmed by Recorded Future, another cybersecurity company.

Recorded Future reported heavy Internet activity in India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nepal, Kenya and Indonesia that could be linked to North Korea.

India, in particular, has gained notoriety, because of the North Korean students who have attended graduate-level information-technology (IT) programs there and who have been suspected of leading cyberattacks on behalf of Pyongyang.

An expert based in Southeast Asia reported that this “India Group” has been successful in cyber stealing money forNorth Korea.

This expert said North Korea was exploiting the goodwill of India and many countries that accept foreign students from that isolated country. Unwittingly, those countries become the trainers of North Korea’s cyber army, the expert added.

Credit cards vulnerable The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has set up a cybercrime division as part of the defense against this growing threat.

The NBI told The Manila Times that local financial institutions were probably not yet being targeted, because the Philippines was still a developing country, but Filipino credit-card holders

Manilatimes.net file photo

may not be spared.

Atty. Victor Lorenzo, the NBI chief of the cybercrime division, explained that there were two types of hackers: “white hat” and “black hat.”

He described white hat as the so-called intelligence agents of a cybercrime syndicate and black hat as commandoes who attack institutions after casing it.

“Whites are like burglars,” Lorenzo explained. “They just enter the database or system to observe, monitor and possibly guard if there are funds or vital information that can be stolen.”

He added that black-hat operatives were hackers who steal or destroy computer systems.

“They are the assault team of cybersyndicates.”

He said no successful cyberattack would happen without the operation of both white-hat and black-hat operatives.

“If an attack is [launched], it’s either from a state-sponsored operation or just a group of whiz kids who try their luck in hacking,” Lorenzo told The Times.

He said the most successful cyberattack involving the Philippines happened when $81 million was stolen from the Bangladesh central bank, then channeled to a Philippine bank and eventually to local casinos.

Lorenzo explained that the heist didn’t actually happen here, which was why it was officially classified as money laundering.

Even with that incident, Lorenzo said the Philippines had been PAGE D5

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PH still Asia’s biotech leader – USDA

by EirEEnE JairEE

GomEz

Manilatimes.net

THE Philippines continued to be Asia’s leader in biotechnology as sustained developments in science and technology greatly contributed to the advancement of its farm sector, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.

In the Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report made by its Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in Manila, USDA cited the country’s lead in terms of plant and animal biotechnology.

The study recognized the Philippines as the first Asian country to allow the planting of a genetically engineered (GE) crop and move forward on a regulatory framework for GE animals.

However, the USDA expressed fear a change in GE plant regulations, as embodied in Department of Agriculture (DA) Administrative Order No. 8 (DA-AO 8) to the Joint Department Circular (JDC) in April 15, 2016, may further worsen the slow processing of biosafety applications.

“There have been no major trade disruptions, but the delay in approvals has the potential to disrupt U.S trade. It likewise may gradually erode the country’s GE leadership status in the region,” the report said.

It was in 2003 when the Philippines introduced its first GE crop–Bt corn. Since then, GE corn area planted has reached over 5.9 million hectares.

From April 2016 to March 2017, GE corn was planted on an estimated 655,000 hectares, relatively flat compared to the previous year’s level.

Through the years, the country has produced more Bt crops including the fruit and shoot borerresistant eggplant (Bt eggplant) from the Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the Philippines at Los Banos (IPB-UPLB), the beta-carotene-enriched rice or Golden Rice (GR2E) from the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), the delayed ripening papaya with ring spot virusresistance from IPB-UPLB, and the Bt cotton which is currently being promoted by the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Administration.

While these developments are highly recognized worldwide, the USDA emphasized the need for the government to closely look at plant biotechnology marketing issues to keep the firm support of local farmers as well as consumers for GE products.

“Support for GE products remains strong among local corn farmers, hog and poultry raisers, feed millers, food processors, academe, and other end users.

Although supportive, large domestic food and agribusiness companies that are already using GE products prefer to remain silent on the issue,” the USDA said.

“On the other hand, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including environmental groups, organic agriculture advocates,

and other civil society groups represent vocal opposition to agricultural biotechnology. The overwhelming majority of Filipinos remain indifferent,” it added.

In animal biotechnology, meanwhile, the USDA projected there would be no Philippine genome-edited animals (clones) introduced in the market within the next five years due to being stuck in the conventional techniques.

“The Philippines uses conventional techniques to improve livestock, including artificial insemination, embryo transfer, in-vitro embryo production, and ovumpick,” the agency said.

“There is currently no legislation or regulations in place covering the development, use, import, or disposal of livestock clones, GE animals, or products derived from these animals or their offspring in the Philippines,” it added.

The USDA recommended that for the Philippines to start progress in animal biotechnology, the country must invest on a variety of studies and later on work on market acceptance to increase revenues.

Earlier this month, House deputy speaker Sharon Garin called on the government for the passage of House Bill 7926, or the Modern Biotechnology Act of 2018.

The bill seeks the creation of a Biotechnology Authority of the Philippines (BioAP), which shall serve as the policy-making body on biotechnology in the country.

Filipinos face growing cyberthreats PAGE D3 fortunate to not be included on any cybercrime watch list.

Still, the NBI director said they were vigilant against cybercriminals that may be targeting credit cards. He added that the NBI was yet to receive any intelligence report of an online theft from any of the 15 local banks that issue credit cards.

Lorenzo did not believe that the North Koreans were operating in the Philippines, but he added that the NBI was monitoring Russian, Ukrainian and Romanian groups that may be stealing from automatic teller machines (ATMs) through a practice called skimming.

The NBI told The Times that credit cards attract cybercriminals, because of the sheer number of potential targets—about eight

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million Philippine credit-card accounts.

Security suggestions Simon Calasanz, president and chief executive officer of Bankard, the RCBC card, said the best deterrent against cyberattacks was the Europay, Mastercard, Visa or EMV implant. It provides additional protection against unauthorized online access to accounts, and that the EMV was four times harder to hack than credit cards with only a magnetic strip as a security feature, he added.

“Because of [the] EMV standard encryption, as well as 3D Secure Online transactions, credit cards are now very secure,” Calasanz told The Times.

In a recent NBI raid, authorities caught a suspect with fake credit cards that had magnetic strips.

That seems to reinforce the claim

criminals are yet to upgrade their skills to overcome the EMV technology.

For credit-card holders making online transactions, experts recommended that they check whether their bank uses OTPs or one-time passwords, which are issued to authenticate transactions.

The OTPs offer another layer of security, experts explained.

Experts also added that was important for credit-card holders to update their mobile numbers, to which an OTP would be sent by a bank.

Calasanz explained that even if hackers access a credit-card holder’s information, his or her account would still be secured so long as the criminal does not know the OTP or have access to the mobile phone where it was sent. n

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Rice prices continue to ease

Inquirer.net file photo

by Karl

r. ocampo Inquirer.net

RICE prices continued to decline as of the second week of October, although by a modest amount from the first week, as the harvest season and the arrival of cheaper rice imports continued to help stabilize prices.

The latest price monitoring report of the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the farmgate price for palay declined by 3.16 percent from the previous week to P21.17 a kilo, although still higher by 13.03 percent from the average price a year ago.

Average wholesale prices of regular-milled and wellmilled rice also decreased by 1.03 percent and 0.64 percent,

respectively, to P42.20 a kilo and P45.16 a kilo. Compared to prices a year ago, these were higher by 18.34 percent and 15.38 percent.

Retail prices also declined, although at a slower pace from last week.

A kilo of regular-milled and well-milled rice were sold at P45.72 a kilo and P48.83 a kilo, respectively. These were lower by 0.33 percent and 0.35 percent from a week ago but higher by 20.22 percent and 15.68 percent from last year.

The departments of agriculture and of trade and industry have imposed suggested retail prices (SRPs) on rice starting last weekend and rice prices are expected to drop further thereafter.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said on his Facebook page that the implementation of the SRPs would effectively solve rice hoarding and market speculation—two reasons that were seen as the major drivers for prices to spike as they resulted in the volatility of supplies and prices of the staple in the market.

Rice has been one of the major drivers of the country’s inflation this year with its contribution rising 10 times to 1 percentage point of the inflation rate, according to the Department of Finance.

Economic managers said the deregulation of rice imports was expected to tame prices further and reduce the inflation rate by 0.4 percentage point.n

Depts to World Bank: Correct PH’s biz ranking PAGE D3 coverage, from eight in 2018 to 2.7 in 2019, and reduced scores on depth of credit information, from five to 0.

“Considering that higher borrower coverage is associated with larger share of adults with credit cards and borrowing from financial institutions, we find the report grossly inaccurate and the coverage severely understated,” they

said.

The DTI and DoF believe the country should have received a higher score if the World Bank included data from not only the BAP Credit Bureau Inc., but also the TransUnion Information Solutions Inc. and Microfinance Information Data Sharing Inc. The global financial institution only obtained its data from the BAP Credit Bureau, which only

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has 1.7 million borrower-entrepreneurs, they said.

The departments believe the goveenment must let the public know that it is implementing reform to make doing business in the country much easier.

For the 2020 report, the DTI and DoF said the government would continue to pursue reforms and implement an effective communication campaign.n

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