110619 - Southern California Midweek Edition

OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 1, 2019 Volume 29 - No. 83 • 2 Sections - 16 Pages

Duterte to Robredo: Be drug czar for 6 months, see what happens

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

Vice President Leni Robredo and President Rodrigo Duterte Malacañang photo by Ace Morandante

DATELINE

USA

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE BATTLE

Jerwin Ancajas set to defend IBF belt against Mexico’s Jonathan Rodriguez JERWIN “Pretty Boy” Ancajas, the 115pound fighting pride of the Philippines, is all set for the eighth defense of his IBF junior bantamweight world title this time against Mexican contender Jonathan Rodriguez.

This big boxing event will happen this Saturday, November 2 at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Ancajas-Rodriguez will be televised live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (Spanish) starting at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT. “I am looking forward to this fight because Rodriguez brings the Mexican style to his

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Gov. Newsom launches resource website for Californians impacted by wildfires and power shutoffs SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday, October 28, the launch of a new state website with tools and resources for Californians who have been impacted by wildfires and utility-directed power shutoffs.

The website, RESPONSE.CA.GOV, combines emergency response, recovery and resilience information into a single place for easy access by users. It is a one-stop portal that includes local and state resources, health services, shelters and housing, preparedness information, and more.

“California continues to rise to the challenge of power shutoffs and natural disasters,” said Governor Newsom. “RESPONSE. CA.GOV provides Californians with a unified portal for critical information during this state of emergency. This site will continuously be updated as needed to provide Californians with the resources they need.”

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, October 28, said that he would surrender his powers to enforce the law and hand it over to Vice President Leni Robredo for six months, following Robredo’s remark that his war against illegal drugs is “obviously, not working.”

According to the president, he would send a letter to Robredo through Executive Secretary Salvador MediLos Angeles City Hall was lit up in the Philippine colors on Friday, October 25 in a historic celebration of Filipino American History Month. aldea.

Photo by Jon Duede / Streets LA “As a matter of fact, I’m sending a letter to her through

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Robredo refuses to answer Duterte’s dare: I don’t know if he is serious

by GABRIEL

PABICO LALU

Inquirer.net

LA City Hall lights up in honor of Fil-Am History Month

by CHRISTINA

M. ORIEL

AJPress

FOR the first time, Los Angeles City Hall was illuminated in yellow, blue, crimson red and white to represent the Philippine flag on Friday, October 25 during a celebration for Filipino American History Month.

The momentous occasion was witnessed by over 200 Fil-Ams representing local government, businesses and community organizations who gathered at the City Hall rotunda.

Under the administration of

Mayor Eric Garcetti, there has been a record number of FilAms appointed to high positions in the city, including Board of Public Works Commissioner Jessica Caloza, Board of Water and Power Commissioner Susana Reyes, and Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation Miguel Sangalang, who all came together to host Friday night’s event.

“It was a team effort at City Hall, and I worked closely with my Filipino American colleagues to host a historic celebration

VICE President Leni Robredo has opted to not answer the challenge of President Rodrigo Duterte, who recently said he would “surrender” his law enforcement powers to her for six months.

In an ambush interview in Iloilo on Tuesday, October 29, the vice president instead stressed that important issues affecting the country should rather be confronted with solutions and not be countered with animosity and slurs.

“Ako kasi, ayaw kong sagutin muna iyon kasi hindi ko alam kung gaano kaseryoso. Pero iyong sa akin lang, iyong mga mahahalaga at mga importanteng mga problema ng ating bansa, hindi naman dinadaan sa pagkapikon, hindi naman dinadaan sa pang-iinsulto (I do not want to answer that for now because I do not know how serious that was. But for me, the significant and important problems of our country should not be addressed through antagonism or throwing insults),” she told reporters in Iloilo.

“Mahirap na papatulan ko, kasi hahaba lang iyong usapan. Iyong sa akin, parating solusyon iyong hinahanap natin (It’s hard if I react to his statements, it would only lengthen the discussion. For me, we always just seek for solution),” she added.

Duterte on Monday, October 28, said he would surrender his “powers to enforce the law” to Robredo, and specifically let her take over his administration’s war on drugs, after the vice president criticized his bloody antidrug campaign.

“The opposition, they always hanker on to riding on “Uh China doesn’t need our oil and gas. We do,” Foreign Affairs Secretary

that connected the community, business, and government, because it takes all three sectors to move the needle and make lasting positive change,” Caloza, who led the organization efforts, said.

Caloza, who previously was director of scheduling for Garcetti, was appointed and confirmed to the Board of Public Works last spring, becoming the first Filipina in that position.

Reyes, a 32-year public service veteran, was appointed by

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Locsin: China doesn’t need Philippines’ oil and gas

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Teodoro Locsin Jr. tweeted Monday, October 28.

DFA released photo

by PATRICIA LOURDES Philstar.com

VIRAY

THE Philippines, not China, needs oil and gas resources in the South China Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said.

“Uh China doesn’t need our oil and gas. We do. And China is the only one offering to help develop it,” Locsin tweeted Monday, October 28.

“A Filipino discovered humongous oil and gas just offshore Beijing. It’s rolling in minerals,” he added.

The Philippines’ top diplomat tweeted this in response to Vice President Leni Robredo’s statement that China should first acknowledge the July 2016 arbitral ruling before pushing

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LA Fil-Am community celebrates Larry Itliong Day at Unidad Park

by KLARIZE

MENDIOLA AJPress

OVER the weekend, the Los Angeles Filipino American community gathered at Unidad Park in Historic Filipinotown to celebrate the life and legacy of Filipino leader of the West Coast labor movement Larry Itliong.

On a sunny afternoon on Saturday, October 26, the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) hosted its Larry Itliong Day celebration that featured a special jam-packed lineup of musicians, spoken word performers, dancers and community leaders who honored A cardboard cutout of Larry Itliong is on display during Larry Itliong Day at Unidad Park in LA’s Historic Filipinotown on u PAGE A2 Saturday, October 26.

AJPress photo by Christina M. Oriel Itliong and the entire Manong

Generation for paving the way to opportunity and equity for future generations of Filipino Americans.

“Manong Larry, Philip Vera Cruz, Pete Velasco and all the Filipino manongs who organized taught us so much through their story,” PWC Executive Director Aquilina Soriano Versoza said in her opening remarks on Saturday. “The Filipino farmworkers were the ones who had the organizing power and knew how to make concrete changes by putting themselves on the line.”

Itliong, who at the age of 16

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Gov. Newsom launches resource website for... to Public Safety Power Shutoff information and preparedness tips. As incidents continue to evolve, the portal will be updated to reflect the latest information and any additional resources the state may develop.

The governor declared on Monday, October 28, a statewide emergency due to the danger-

ous weather conditions. Earlier today, Governor Newsom joined the state’s top fire and emergency management officials to provide an update on statewide fire and wind conditions, and announced that California has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant to help ensure the availability of resources to fight the Getty Fire. California has also secured Fire Management Assistance Grants to bolster the response to the Kincade and Tick fires, for which the Governor previously declared a state of emergency in Sonoma and Los Angeles counties.

Over the course of the past week, the Governor has met with emergency responders, health officials, residents and local leaders in Petaluma, Napa, Geyserville and Los Angeles, and held public briefings regarding the ongoing fire threats and the need to hold utilities accountable for the consequences of their power shutoff decisions.

The Governor has also announced a $75 Million Program for state and local governments to mitigate the impacts of power shutoffs, and unveiled a series of new partnerships and new tools to help secure medically vulnerable populations during these events.

Under Governor Newsom’s leadership, California passed AB 1054, wildfire safety and utility reform legislation that expands the CPUC’s ability to hold utilities accountable for their safety record — a central part of the Governor’s wildfire safety actions.

The legislation created a new wildfire safety division at the CPUC and a board of independent expert advisors to more effectively regulate the safety of publicly owned utilities. The law mandated that utilities tie executive compensation to safety performance, invest $5 billion in safety improvements without profit, and go through a new yearly wildfire safety review and certification process. It also requires new inspections of utility electrical equipment. Under the law, utilities must create a wildfire safety committee in their corporate board, and provide direct board-level safety reporting to the CPUC. n

A

Pacquiao challenges Mayweather in a video with Jack Ma

From the Front Page PAGE A1 RESPONSE.CA.GOV provides Californians with information and resources for current incidents, transportation impacts, vital health services information, shelter and housing locations, unemployment assistance and other state information.

The website also directs users

SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • OCtObeR 30-NOvembeR 1, 2019

by AJPress

PARTING GIFT. President Rodrigo Duterte receives a token from outgoing Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua during his farewell call to the president at the Malacañang Palace on Monday, October 28.

Malacañang photo by Robinson Niñal

Duterte to Robredo: Be drug czar...

PAGE A1 Secretary Medialdea. I will surrender my powers to enforce the law, ibigay ko sa vicepPresident, ibigay ko sa kanya ng 6 months (I will give it to the vice president, I’ll give it to her for 6 months),” Duterte said.

“Siya ang magdala, tingnan natin kung ano mangyari. Hindi ako makialam (She’ll take over, let’s see what happens. I won’t interfere),” he added.

Later that afternoon, Duterte clarified that he doesn’t actually want to surrender his powers to Robredo; instead, he wants to temporarily designate her as the Philippines’ anti-drug czar so she can find out for herself how hard it is to eradicate the country’s drug problem.

“I do not surrender anything. I said if she wants I can commission her to be the drug czar. Marami na siyang reklamo dun sa labas, o sige sabi nya you have to redirect, or whatever (She has many complaints, okay she said you have to redirect, or whatever).

Ngayon mas marunong ka man sa akin (Now if you know better than me), I’ll hand to you full powers sa

drugs. I’ll give you 6 months, tignan natin kung kaya mo (We’ll see if you can handle it),” he said.

“I am ready to concede to you powers that would cover all antidrug activities by the government...Clean slate para malaman nya kung gaano kadali mag-kontrol ng droga (Clean slate so she knows how easy it is to control drugs),” Duterte added.

Make it three years Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, meanwhile, suggested that instead of just giving Robredo six months, Duterte should extend it to three years for the sake of fairness.

“Bakit naman 6 months lang?

Gawin na nilang three years (Why only six months? They should make it three years),” he said in a Facebook post on Monday night. “(Six) months? Eh sila nga 3 taon ng nakaupo wala pa rin nahuhuling drug lord o kinukulong na opisyal ng BOC (Bureau of Customs) sa tonetoneladang pinalusot na shabu sa Customs (Only six months? In their 3 years in office, no drug lords have been caught or Custom officials jailed over the tons of shabu smuggled

into the country),” Pangilinan added.

“Yung mga Ninja Cops na sangkot sa iligal na droga binigyan pa ng pinakamataas na pwesto sa PNP (Philippine National Police).

Hindi naman patas ang usapan kapag 6 months lang. Dapat maging patas. Gawing 3 years para fair (Those ninja cops involved in illegal drugs are even given the highest position in the police force. It’s not fair if it will only be for six months. It should be fair.

Make it three years to be fair),” he continued.

According to Pangilinan, the daily killings of poor Filipinos under the drug war would end once Robredo gets the power to enforce law in the country.

“Wala (na) ang araw araw na patayan ng mahihirap nating mga kababayan habang mga ninja cops at sindikato ay binibigyan ng mataas na posisyon, pinalalaya dahil sa gcta (good conduct time allowance) o inaabswelto (There will no longer be daily killings involving the poor while errant policemen and drug lords are assigned to juicy posts and freed under the GCTA),” he said. n

Robredo refuses to answer Duterte’s dare...

PAGE A1 issues. Like Robredo, she is very persistent about human rights. As a matter of fact, I am sending a letter to her through Secretary Mediadea,” Duterte said during the appointment of new government officials in Malacañang. “I will surrender my powers to enforce the law, I’ll hand it over to the vice president. I’ll give it to her for six months. Let her take over. And let’s see. I won’t interfere. You want that? Are you smart enough?

Okay. You try it. I’ve been a mayor

for so long and nobody can fool me that easily.”

Robredo recently drew flak from Duterte’s supporters after supposedly telling members of a foreign media outfit that the drug war has to be stopped because “obviously, it’s not working,” pointing out that death toll from Duterte’s grisly anti-criminality program continues to rise but illegal drugs remain prevalent in the country.

But she clarified that what she was asking was a reassessment of

the drug war.

According to the Philippine National Police, 5,526 suspects have been killed in legitimate police operations, although critics claim the number could be even higher, as of July this year.

“If you check the interview, what I said was that the government should assess if proper strategies are being implemented [in the drug war campaign] because if not, then it needs to be tweaked,” Robredo said in a radio program last Sunday, October 27. n

Locsin: China doesn’t need Philippines’...

PAGE A1 through with the proposed joint exploration in the South China Sea. In a television interview Monday morning, Robredo said the country should not agree with China until it recognizes the Philippines’ sovereignty.

The vice president stressed

that the arbitral ruling favored the Philippines but China continues to reject the award.

“That should be one of our most basic demands: that before we enter into a contract with them, they recognize first our ownership and our sovereignty over those,” Robredo told ANC’s “Headstart.”

Amid the vice president’s remarks, Malacañang said the Philippines will push through with the proposed joint exploration with China in the South China Sea. “We will proceed provided the terms are in our favor,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said. n

Jerwin Ancajas set to defend IBF belt against...

PAGE A1 fights, and Mexican and Filipinos make the best fights,” Ancajas said. “I want to thank Top Rank, Senator Manny Pacquiao and my manager, Joven Jimenez, for their continued support. It is going to be a war, and to my Filipino fans, I look forward to putting on a show for you in Carson.”

The 27-year-old Ancajas (311-1, 21 KOs) is one of boxing’s longest-reigning and most active champions, as only two current world champions (Deontay Wilder and Wanheng Menayothin) have more title defenses.

“I plan on taking full advantage of this opportunity,” Rodriguez

said. “Ancajas is a great champion, but my time is now. It is time for a new face at 115 pounds.”

The dynamic Filipino southpaw won the title in September 2016 and defended his belt three times apiece in 2017 and 2018.

He last fought May 4 in Stockton, California, knocking out Ryuichi Funai in six rounds.

This will be Ancajas’ fourth consecutive bout in California, but the first time he’s showcased his skills in Southern California.

Rodriguez (21-1, 15 KOs) is considered as a dangerous foe because has won five in a row since a split decision defeat

spoiled his unbeaten record. He is coming off a career-best win June 7 in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, when he knocked out former twotime world title challenger Felipe Orucuta in the 10th round.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zanfer Promotions and Peltz Boxing, tickets for this world championship event are priced at $125, $85, $65 and $30 (not including applicable fees). Tickets can be purchased by visiting AXS.com, charge by phone at 888-9-AXS-TIX (888929-7849) and in person at the Dignity Health Sports Park Box Office (Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. PT to 6 p.m. PT). n

Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas, the 115-pound fighting pride of the Philippines, is all set for the eighth defense of his IBF junior bantamweight world title this time against Mexican contender Jonathan Rodriguez.

Inquirer.net photos

Reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight champion Sen. emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao challenged Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a rematch in an instagram video alongside China’s richest man, Jack Ma. in the video, Pacquiao and Ma were seen hitting the pads.

“Floyd Mayweather if you want a real fight, fight me. if you want an exhibition, my guy, my friend Jack Ma will take care of you. The real Manny team,” Pacquiao said.

“Yeah, i’m ready anytime, anyplace. Manny team is ready,” Ma responded.

“Yes, that’s right,” the senator said before ending the video clip.

Illustrations depict the timeline of Larry Itliong’s life and work in one of the biggest labor movements in U.S. history.

The video was also shared on Pacquiao’s official Twitter and Facebook page.

This is the second time PacPAGE A1 nized strikes for fairer wages, in- for farmworkers and his part in came to the United States from cluding the famous 1965 Delano making history for all the Filipi- quiao met Ma, who is the 21st the Philippines in 1929, organized grape strike, which lasted more nos here to learn and, hopefully, wealthiest man in the world with cannery and agricultural unions than five years and secured a vic- [for] our young people, this gives a networth of over $38 billion, in along the American West Coast tory for the UFW. them the spark to keep them go- Hangzhou, China. throughout the mid-20th cenKnown as “one of the fathers of ing and learn more about their tury. itliong founded the Agricul- the West Coast labor movement,” culture,” said Patty itliong Serda, tural Workers Organizing Com- itliong and his legacy have been daughter of the celebrated labor mittee (AWOC) which merged in largely eclipsed by Chavez and leader.

1965 with Latino American labor the Latino American labor conSaturday’s celebration also leader Cesar Chavez and his na- tingent, but in recent years, the featured a special theatrical pretional Farm Workers Association Filipino American community sentation of the new book “Jour(nFWA) to form the United Farm has been working to keep the ney For Justice: The Life of Larry Workers of America (UFW). legacy of itliong and the Manong itliong” by the late Dawn Mabain the late 1940s, itliong settled generation alive. lon and gayle Romasanta. in Stockton in California’s Central “it’s been an exciting time and “Thank you to all the organizValley where he and other Fili- i’m glad that finally he’s being ers and to all of you for coming pino farmworkers fervently orga- recognized for his contributions to celebrate Larry itliong and his contributions to American history, not just Filipino American history,” Romasanta told the audience. “We tried to finish this book before anyone else could tell our story and tell it differently and to water it down.”

Romasanta said that the book is the first-ever published book about itliong and that Malabon spent 20 years researching for it. She added that the book was “vetted by historians and librarians and UFW journalists” and she hopes it’ll serve as a jumping-off point for Filipinos to, not only keep itliong’s legacy alive but to tell their own stories and to refuse to be erased from history.

“This was a community-based book that was written and vetted by our community, and we are controlling our narrative for the Larry Itliong’s youngest daughter Patty Serda and granddaughter Hailey Serda came from very first time in honor of Larry Delano to join the festivities.

AJPress photos by Christina M. Oriel itliong,” Romasanta said. n

LA Fil-Am community celebrates Larry Itliong Day...

Him or me? Sen. Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Pacquiao poses with China’s wealthiest man, Jack Ma. The senator and his wife Jinkee (not in photo) visited the Chinese billionaire to thank him for his pledge of donation to Pacquiao’s foundation. The couple was also accompanied by Chinese actor and producer Jet Li. Photo from Instagram/@mannypacquiao

Meanwhile, a reliable source inside Pacquiao’s camp shared that negotiations for a possible

rematch between Pacquiao and Mayweather were indeed ongoing. n

A october 30-November 1, 2019 • Socal ASIAN JoUrNAL

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DOT celebrates PH 8th travel destination ranking LA City Hall lights up in honor of...

by JEroME

aning Inquirer.net

THE Department of Tourism is celebrating the designation of the Philippines as the 8th favorite country of the readers of Conde Nast Traveler (CNT), a New York-based luxury and travel magazine.

“Gaining yet another prestigious recognition as the 8th favorite country in the world speaks well of concerted efforts of the Philippine tourism industry stakeholders in nurturing the many natural wonders the country is blessed with,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette RomuloPuyat said.

The Philippines ranked eighth among the 20 most favorite countries in the world of the CNT Readers’ Choice Awards 2019.

The Philippines scored 90.63 from among 600,000 readers of the magazine. Indonesia topped the list, followed by Thailand, Portugal, Sri linka, South Africa, Peru and Greece. n

CJ Peralta wants security team patterned after US marshals

by EvElyn

Macairan Philstar.com

AmID reports that there have been justices and judges who have been victims of killings, newly appointed Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta said he would want to create a security team patterned after the United States marshal Service.

During his first flag ceremony, Chief Justice Peralta bared his 10-point program and mentioned that there is a need to provide protection to judges and justices, as well as increased security at the halls of justice in the country.

“We hope that we can devise the system either through legislation or through court initiative, the creation of a security system patterned after the U.S. marshals,” said Peralta.

According to its website, the U.S. marshals Service and its Judicial Security Division (JSD) protects the judicial process by protecting federal judges, jurors and other members of the judiciary.

One of the programs of the JSD is the National Center for Judicial Security (NCJS) and one of its functions is to provide protection

for its judicial family.

It was reported that 30 judges have been killed since 1999.

Peralta, who was appointed

by President Duterte as the 26th chief justice last Oct. 23, promised to be a public servant who would lead by example.

“I have emphasized before that my judicial philosophy has always been to start from home and lead by example. Thus in order to achieve this first point, clerk of court will be required to conduct periodic inventory of all the cases pending in their divisions and consult with the court en banc as to how to solve the issue of backlog and other concerns,” he said.

All other courts are expected to continue to comply with existing rules and guidelines pertaining to prescribed periods for trial dates, including promulgation of decisions and other rules geared toward the realization of speedy disposition of cases.

The 67-year-old Chief Justice said they would sustain the program to weed out misfits from the judiciary and adopt a system where the court may initiate, on its own, the investigation of cases being handled by members of the judiciary even in the absence

Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta attends his first flag ceremony on October 28.

of complaints.

“In order to do this, I plan to impose timelines in resolving administrative complaints, including complaint initiated by the court and timelines for the court to resolve these complaints,” he added.

Peralta also intends to strengthen the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) and implement the judicial integrity board as soon as possible. This would help the OCA monitor and effectively address the concern of the lower courts on matters of infrastructure, communication, lack of personnel, equipment and supplies issues.

He added they would also want to address problems on the inequitable distribution of cases in the lower courts, to create an audit office dedicated to the conduct of judicial audits and to appoint more judicial supervisors to conduct and oversee these audits and implement the judicial integrity board and possibly harmonize its functions with the OCA. They would also create a round-the-clock help desk in the office of the chief justice and other offices to receive the concerns of court users. n

Philstar.com photo by Edd Gumban

PAGE A1 the mayor in April to sit on the city’s Board of Water and Power Commission. meanwhile, Sangalang has served as deputy mayor since 2017.

Caloza and Reyes called on FilAm community leader and Department of Building and Safety Commissioner Jocelyn GaegaRosenthal to help press the button to turn on the lights.

The energy-efficient lights on the building — designed by Filipino electrical engineer Fidel Onate of the Board of Public Works — continued to be on display throughout the weekend after sunset.

“They asked to me design the lighting here at City Hall…using energy-efficient lighting with the colors changing. It’s very ambitious but I said, ‘let’s do it.’ I’m very proud to be Filipino,” Onate told the crowd.

After the lights turned on, Filipino global icon Jollibee made a surprise appearance to the amusement of the crowd.

A Filipino Jeepney courtesy of the Pilipino Workers Center was parked at the bottom of the steps of City Hall for photos.

“From the Jollibee appearance to having a Jeepney present to the lighting itself, we could not have done this without the love and support of so many people and organizations. That’s ultimately what this event is about — community,” Caloza added. “most importantly, we want to continue to make City Hall accessible to everyone and raise the bar for how we recognize the contributions of Filipino Americans who play a critical role in shaping our beautiful city, and we are truly grateful to mayor Garcetti for his ongoing support.”

With this year’s theme of “Pinay Visionaries,” Reyes highlighted how Pinays have contributed to the fabric of lA as well as the local community.

“We have plenty of them here in the city of los Angeles and they are the backbone of our community and we want to acknowledge the work of Filipino American women and men in our communities today,” she said.

In previous years, the City Council has passed resolutions to mark October as Fil-Am History month but this is the first year that a major event to honor the Fil-Am community and its his-

Board of Public Works Commissioner Jessica Caloza, Department of Building and Safety Commissioner Jocelyn Gaega-Rosenthal, Board of Water and Power Commissioner Susana Reyes, and Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation Miguel Sangalang pose before lighting the building up in Philippine flag colors.

Photos by Jon Duede / Streets LA

Jollibee makes a guest appearance at City Hall on Friday, October 25.

tory has taken place on City Hall grounds.

Councilmember Paul Koretz, lA County Assessor Jeffrey Prang and Board of Public Works President Kevin James also delivered remarks.

The program included a panel about engaging different sectors with the Filipino community and investing in Historic Filipinotown featuring Caloza, Gaega-

Rosenthal and Dan lin, whose production company Rideback Ranch has set up its offices in the neighborhood.

Prior to the program, guests enjoyed Filipino dishes and entertainment by Broadway performer Joan Almedilla and a cultural dance by malaya Filipino American Dance Arts, and a DJ set by micah mahinay, who goes

by DJ Noodles. n

Dateline PhiliPPines

SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • OCtObeR 30-NOvembeR 1, 2019

Solo Exhibition of Professor Yuhua Shouzhi Wang, International PreeminentArtist of First Class Standing, at Palais du Louvre Stuns the French Art World PARIS, France – Professor Yuhua Shouzhi Wang is a worldrenowned painter. Throughout Asia, she is the only artist to whom the New York Academy of Art conferred the title of international preeminent artist of first class standing. Her art exhibition Seeing Two Worlds in One Flower was held at Palais du Louvre in Paris between October 10 and 12. The exhibition was located at the Hall des Maréchaux of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

The art world has classified the quality of ink painting into four different levels: Class of Proficiency, Class of Wonderment, Class of Divinity, and Class of Ease. Paintings of the Class of Proficiency has the ability to present a resemblance of objective reality, achieving likeness in form. This is the first stage of artistic creation. The art world calls it the stage of sketching. This is a stage that an artist cannot skip, yet they also cannot remain at this status quo, because this is an elementary stage.

The next level is the Class of Wonderment. Artworks of this Class demonstrates highly skilled techniques. The artist is able to paint anything at will without revealing any trace of effort. However, one also cannot remain stagnant at this stage.

The next level after the Class of Wonderment is the Class of Divinity where the art carries likeness of ‘form’ and likeness of ‘spirit.’ In ink painting, the highest state of accomplishment is the Class of Ease where the artist attains natural ease by using simple brushstrokes to fully capture the form. With the most succinct brushwork and the most superb technique, the artist depicts objective reality and attains a state of miraculousness where both form and spirit are fully captured. This is the kind of art that viewers never get tired of appreciating; it leaves a wonderful aftertaste.

Simply put, the art of Professor Yuhua Shouzhi Wang has attained the highest level of art-

istry in ink painting which is the Class of Ease.

One of Professor Yuhua Shouzhi Wang’s small paintings Pomegranates in a Basket realized a top auction price of US$1.27 million at the Gianguan Auction House in New York on March 13 of this year. It clearly shows that the art of Professor Yuhua Shouzhi Wang is recognized by art collectors and people of foresight alike.

This exhibition showcases 27 of Professor Wang’s extraordinary artworks each of which has reached the height of the Class of Ease. The painting Birds Resting on Rocks and Bamboo is created with abstract brushwork that puts aside the intention to achieve likeness. The color is light and elegant. The lively flock perching on top of the rocks is full of spirit and vivacity. There is not a trace of mundane sentiment. The application of ink is natural and carefree, leaving much room for imagination.

In Knowing the Flavor from Tasting It, the artist uses broad freehand brushstrokes to depict a basketful of loquat and watermelon. On the top of the basket handle stands a blue jay.

While the ripened melon makes people salivate, the blue jay is contentedly pecking at the ripened loquat. It is so enviable.

The little bird is portrayed in free style brushwork and at the same time with meticulous details. The beauty of the feather can be vividly seen. This painting is so powerfully captivating that it is unforgettable. It brings such joy to both body and mind.

Looking at this painting, it is not hard to comprehend the virtue and artistry of the artist behind such creativity. No wonder Prof.

Yuhua Shouzhi Wang is such an extraordinary international virtuoso of our time.

Adorable is of a style of its own. With broad freestyle brushstroke, the artist rendered the two little birds being totally at ease, not having a care in the world. The more one looks at it, the more adorable they are. The

marvel lies in the unpredictable strokes and penetrating charm offered by the forceful brushwork. With profound calligraphic skills, the artist rendered ink in different shades that are fused and distinct at the same time, creating a natural composition. There is not a trace of affectedness from deliberate embellishment. With just a few brushstrokes, the pine tree, pine leaves, pine cones and stones are depicted. This painting, filled with reminiscence of home, openly displays the rejuvenation of a seasoned virtuoso returning to a childlike state of mind. The few budding red flowers are mutually enhancing. The artistic conception is elegant and profound.

Auspicious Charm is created with broad freestyle brushwork.

The artist’s use of ink splashes renders the lotus full of life. The bright red lotus and the faintly yellow lotus pods convey a sense of auspiciousness, peace and tranquility. The way the artist uses brush, water, ink and color is mesmerizing. There is a natural appeal that radiates liveliness at the same time. The different shades of ink and color create a kind of richness and sumptuousness that nurture the heart. This painting delivers the beauty of the vivacity of spirit.

In True to Life, the artist is not just painting but expressing an otherworldly aura through ink and brush. The form and the spirit vivaciously leap off the painting. Needless to say, this is how comfort emanating from a charming spirit is displayed on paper. In Tending a Buffalo, the layout of the buffalo, the shepherd, and the background; as well as the use of ink and brush in this painting absolutely display the oneness of form and spirit. The vigor of the brushstrokes and the charm of the ink are mutually enhancing like heavenly music that is natural and free of any restraint.

Such a composition is unheard of, and it essentially becomes a rare world treasure of art that surpasses the Class of Divinity

to stand at the Class of Ease.

Pomegranates in a Basket Portrayed in a Scholarly Spirit is a painting that captures both the form and spirit of the subject matter without any trace of ordinariness. Charming energy radiates from the ink and the color.

The brushstrokes carry a vigor reminiscent of ancient stone and bronze inscriptions. In addition, this work of art exudes a scholarly essence, the highest state of artistry that most artists yearn to attain.

Arriving at Natural Ease from Painting Mindlessly displays a grand scale of distinguished artistry. The artist has created the work with a minimal use of ink; as if ink were as precious as gold. With simple brushstrokes, the images are effectively represented. This painting has successfully achieved oneness of form and spirit; and its artistry has reached the Class of Ease.

Ancient Castle is a landscape painting rendered by messy yet composed brushstrokes.

The black and white colors are

Metro Manila worst to drive in, says Waze ranking

by Franco luna Philstar.com

mANIlA is the worst city in the world to drive in, according to a ranking by traffic navigation app Waze.

According to Waza data, it took 4.9 minutes to drive a full kilometer in metro manila in September 2019, marking a significant increase from April’s recorded figure of 3.8 minutes.

The nation’s capital is set to repeat as the worst in the world to drive in according to Waze’s 2019 ranking, country lead Sarah Rodriguez said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Waze’s 2017 Driver Satisfaction Index, which surveyed data among its claimed 90 million active users, also labelled metro manila drivers as the most miserable in Asia in a list spanning 39 countries.

President Rodrigo Duterte in June promised to secure a fiveminute travel time from Cubao to makati for commuters and motorists. The two cities are about eight kilometers apart, or about a 40-minute drive, according to Waze.

66 minutes a day spent in traffic However, a study by the Boston Consulting Group commissioned

by Uber shows that metro manila motorists wait in traffic for an average of 66 minutes every day on top of 24 minutes spent looking for parking at their destinations.

The study listed manila as the

third worst in Asia, just behind Bangkok and Jakarta.

Data from the mmDA revealed that in 2018, Epifanio delos Santos Avenue serviced 402,000 vehicles per day, far exceeding its supposed capacity of 288,000 daily.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has assured the public that infrastructure projects under the administration’s Build, Build, Build program are underway to help decongest traffic in the metropolis.

According to the BCG study, Filipinos will spend a little over 16 days stuck in traffic in one year. Urban planner Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr furthered this number in an interview with ANC, saying that this stacks up to “at least nine to fifteen years taken from your life” given the full 40 years of one’s economic life.

And according to Waze’s Rodriguez, this is only going to get worse as the country inches closer towards Christmas season. “This is the time of the year when Filipinos travel the most and also spend the most time per drive,” she said.

Rodriguez noted that traffic congestion has begun to constantly build up throughout the day and then peak in the evening, according to recent Waze data.

“Two years ago, there were two spikes — morning rush hour and evening rush hour — then in-between there was a dip,” she

said.

“Now, it has changed. There’s no more midday dip.”

20-percent increase in traffic after August mmDA traffic head Edison Nebrija has warned the public that EDSA traffic increases by about 20 percent in the months after August. According to him, the usual figure is expected to balloon to 487,058 cars a day in the coming months, much higher than the recorded volume this time last year.

In an attempt to alleviate the coming holiday traffic, the mmDA has called for a ban on weekday sales from November 11 until January 8, 2020. mall operators also agreed to open their establishments at 11 a.m. on weekdays.

The metro Rail Transit line 3 earlier announced that it would not be extending its operating hours during the Christmas season as it typically does to give way to its scheduled rail replacement. They promised better services for commuters once the repairs are finished.

Professor Yuhua Shouzhi Wang artworks exhibited at the Louvre Museum; the opening ceremony was attended by an overwhelming number of distinguished guests.

The light Rail Transit-1 line on the other hand said they would still hold longer hours. meanwhile, three lRT-2 stations remain out of commission by glee Jalea after a rectifier-transformer ManilaTimes.net along the line caught fire in early October.

HOUSE Speaker Alan Peter Cayby Frances Mangosing This comes in the midst of Inquirer.net etano said on Monday, October what transport and worker 28, he was willing to serve as full groups have called a mass trans- MANILA — At least five people term leader of the lower chamber portation crisis. n were reported dead while 173 if Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan others were injured after a magVelasco would forego their termnitude 6.6 earthquake jolted censharing pact. tral Mindanao on Tuesday morn“Well I’m open to the possibility ing, October 29. if Congressman Velasco himself for the Ifugao Peasant movement Nestor Narciso, 66, a resident would say, ‘You do it.’ I won’t conin the Cordillera, shot repeatedly of Koronadal City, died from invince him otherwise anymore,” on August 6 by two men in front juries, initial reports from the Cayetano told the media in English of their house in lagawe, Ifu- National Disaster Risk Reduction and Filipino. gao, after fetching his child from and Management Council said.

Under the deal, Cayetano would A total of 173 people were school. sit as speaker for 15 months while After a security breach at the injured from Lanao del Norte, The municipal hall of Magsaysay town in Davao del Sur was damaged by the strong earthquakes Velasco would have 21 months.

Baguio General Hospital, where Cotabato, South Cotabato and that hit Mindanao this month.

“Having said that, [Velasco] Philstar.com photos by John Unson he was initially confined, he was Sarangani. has his own leadership, following, surreptitiously transferred to St A father and his child were and he also heads the party of our luke’s medical Center in Tagu- killed in Arakan, Cotabato, local officials said. ig.

“It took a movement – here in In Tulunan town, a pregnant the Bay Area and U.S.-wide, in woman was also killed after beTHE Department of Health the Philippines, and internation- ing hit by debris, according to (DOH) confirmed on Monday, ally – to bring him back to safety. the mayor.

October 28 that another case of Thank you everyone for your Twenty-three local governpolio had been detected in Magusupport and advocacy for Bran- ment units have also suspended indanao. don and his family,” Haney said. classes, the NDRRMC added, Health Secretary Francisco Aside from a GoFundme that The earthquake struck 26 kiraised more than $15,000 of the lometers northeast of Tulunan, Students and teachers in Daig Elementary School in Tulunan, North Cotabato gather at their Duque III said the patient was a four-year-old girl in Datu Piang $200,000 needed to airlift lee, Cotabato at 9:04 a.m., the Philip- campus ground after their classrooms were destroyed by the earthquake.

Tuesday’s earthquake came town. there was also a masquerade, a pine Institute of Volcanology and 14 were felt — ranging from magnitude 1.6 to 6.1 and In- about two weeks since a 6.3 The child’s stool test result sent love Parade fundraiser, for him Seismology said. last October 25 in Oakland, Cali- As of 3 p.m., a total of 114 were tensity of I to VII, the NDRRMC magnitude tremor jolted Tulu- on October 24 to the National Inrecorded — 75 were plotted and said. nan town. n stitute of Infectious Diseases in fornia. n

US human rights volunteer shot in Cordillera returns home by ritchEl

MEndiola AJPress

BRANDON lee, a ChineseAmerican volunteer worker and journalist who was shot by unknown gunmen in Cordillera in August, has returned home, two members of the board of supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco in California confirmed on Saturday, October 26.

According to Rappler, a crowdfunding campaign was launched to raise the money needed to airlift him from manila. KTVU, meanwhile, reported that lee’s family took out a loan as well as received a donation from a Europe-based environmental organization for this purpose.

The arrival of lee was announced by supervisors Gordon mar and matt Haney.

“Welcome home, Brandon!”

Haney posted on his Facebook page.

“I joined the friends and family of Brandon lee at the airport and hospital to welcome him home early Saturday morning from the Philippines. Brandon and his mom louise lee, who has been by his bedside in the Philippines for 10 weeks, left manila on Thursday night (October 24), and travelled on a small air ambulance plane for 24 hours, making stops in Japan, Russia, and Alaska before they landed safely at SFO,” he added.

“Early Saturday morning, surrounded by friends, family, and community, Sunset native Brandon lee arrived safely home to San Francisco on a medical transport following the assassination attempt in the Philippines that nearly claimed his life in August,” mar said. lee, who married an Ifugao native and sired a child while working as a paralegal volunteer

A

mutually enhancing, creating a cohesion between the depicted and the implied. The spirit and sentiment are ever-changing.

With a childlike state of mind and without using a pinkish white color, the artist rendered the white exterior and red roofs of the ancient castles just by using simple application of ink and very few brushstrokes.

The ancient castles, captured in just a few strokes without embellishment, sit atop the mountain. The appearances of such historic architectural forms from ancient time and unknown years leave plenty of room for imagination. All in all, each of the paintings in this exhibition has reached the height of the Class of Ease.

More than 200 distinguished members of society, artists, collectors, entrepreneurs, and art lovers attended the exhibition opening; including representatives from French museums, professors from French art institutes, French nobilities, renowned artists, celebrities, representatives from auction houses, art critics and journalists from major news media. They all marveled at the artworks and expressed their praises. They considered this an unprecedented experience for French people.

From my understanding, this is also the second time that an exhibition of an Asian artist has ever been held at the Louvre Museum. Previously, Chinese painter Yan Peiming’s small scale exhibition Funeral of Mona Lisa was held at the Denon Wing. According to the archive of the Louvre, when Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi exhibited at the Louvre, only one of his paintings “From 1830 till Now No.4” was exhibited next to Eugène Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People” in the Denon Wing as an exchange of dialogue, but it was not the artist’s solo exhibition.

Renowned art critic Aude de Kerros acclaimed: “I have curated so many painting exhibitions, yet I have never seen an exhibition like this where all the guests are so touched and amazed by the art, and all of them expressed praises. I truly cannot describe their surprise and joy. The art experts don’t even want to leave after seeing

such exquisite artworks. You can see that so many people are staying this late and they are not leaving. Normally, people would have been long gone by now.”

The Artistic Director of Musée Cernuschi Eric Lefebvre said: “The creativity in these artworks comes from the innate creative abilities of the artist. The artwork presents such sense of ease and pleasantness to the viewers. This exhibition is of very high standard.” Francesca Baldi of Centre Pompidou said: “The artist’s skillset and the multiplicity of her techniques are astonishing.” President of Académie International de Peinture à l’Encre Mr. Robert Faure commented: “The skill of the artist is profound. She is presenting many different painting styles all at once. This is an incredible show!” Several representatives from the Pompidou Center stayed from 7 PM until after 10 PM and they still haven’t left. They were stunned by how shockingly impressive and gorgeous the paintings of Professor Wang’s were, and how inconceivable that the artistic conception of Eastern ink painting can surpass a few hundred years Western tradition.

Professor Wang is the only artist who achieved it.

During this trip to Europe, I have seen the original artworks of Gauguin, Cezanne, Monet, Van Gogh, and Renoir. I made a comparative analysis of the form, the spirit, and the brushwork between the paintings of Professor Yuhua Shouzhi Wang and their works. After appreciating and evaluating all the works, I only have one conclusion: I am deeply convinced that Professor Yuhua Shouzhi Wang being honored as a preeminent international artist of first class standing is absolutely befitting.

The fact that viewers are staying on for such a long time to appreciate the art is the most unequivocal testament!

(By Xingyi Gu, Professor and Master’s students supervisor of Guangzhou University School of Humanities, a supervisor to master students, a member of the Guangdong Writers Association, and Director of the Guangdong Province Collectors Association)

Cayetano eyes longer term as speaker At least 5 dead, 173 injured after powerful Mindanao quake – NDRRMC

President (Rodrigo Duterte) so I have to also respect that,” Cayetano said, referring to the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) headed by Velasco in the House.

Cayetano still has 12 months to serve as speaker.

“I am planning for 12 more months. So hopefully, we can work on full blast during that time and until that time, it would be good to focus on what we need to do because if not, there will likely be disunity,” he said.

Cayetano, who was appointed speaker in July, garnered a 64-percent approval rating and a 62-percent trust rating in the third quarter survey of Pulse Asia.

Some of his allies in the lower chamber attributed these high rat-

House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano ManilaTimes.net photo

ings to his strong leadership.

“I’m very proud of the 18th Congress, but we have an agreement.

And so far, the President is not changing it,” Cayetano said.

The Manila Times reached out to the camp of Velasco but has not gotten any response as of posting. n

DOH confirms third polio case Japan came back positive. It was a vaccine-derived poliovirus linked with a confirmed polio case in Morogong, Lanao del Sur. The patient did not receive oral polio vaccine and was first reported as a case of acute flaccid paralysis in September.

The Health department will conduct a vaccination drive for children up to 59 months old in Datu Piang on November 4 to 8.

Meanwhile, officials of the DOH and representatives of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Childrens’ Fund will meet with the local officials of Datu Piang on October 28 to 29 to discuss the outbreak response.

The Health department again called on parents to have their children vaccinated under the “Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio” program. (Manilatimes.net)

A6 OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 1, 2019 • SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL

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

O PINION On a roll

FEATURES

ARE government lawyers so incompetent, or is justice being undermined by mind-boggling wealth? Just within this year, the Marcoses have won three major cases, setting back efforts to recover billions of dollars in assets amassed during the 20-year regime of dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The latest victory was handed to the Marcoses by the Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division, with Associate Justice Alex Quiroz penning the decision and Justices Reynaldo Cruz and Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega concurring. The three ruled that most of the documentary evidence submitted by state lawyers were not part of public record but “mere unauthenticated photocopies.�

The ruling courtesy of the Fourth Division brings to 22 the number of civil forfeiture cases against the Marcoses and their cronies that have been dismissed. Nineteen wealth-related cases remain pending.

The wholesale dismissal can be confusing when juxtaposed with established evidence that massive wealth has been accumulated illegally during the Marcos years. The Swiss government has turned over to the Philippines $680 million in assets, after determination of their illegal nature, which were deposited in Swiss banks by Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, signing as William Saunders and Jane Ryan for the accounts. Prime pieces of real property in the United States have been seized and forfeited in favor of the government. A law has been passed, provid-

ing reparation for human rights victims of the Marcos dictatorship, to be taken from recovered stolen assets including the Swiss accounts.

In the vaults of the central bank, Imelda Marcos’ eye-popping collection of expensive jewelry worthy of royalty is being readied for auction. The government is still trying to recover priceless paintings by the masters from the former first lady.

There’s so much corpus delicti lying around, but how come no one has been convicted and sent to prison for illegally amassing such wealth in a country where about 30 percent of the population lives in poverty?

It’s not just the judiciary that seems to have a soft spot for the Marcoses. A former official of the Presidential Commission on Good Government lamented this year that even the Anti-Money Laundering Council failed to act on a PCGG request to go after Marcos’ heirs for possible money laundering.

At the rate the wheels of justice are turning in the Marcoses’ favor, one day history may be rewritten to declare that the king’s ransom accumulated by a in his time, was handed to his family as a gift by the president of this country, classified as low-income people themselves.

Editorial

Dateline PhiliPPines

PH businesses still upbeat amid uncertainty – report

by Mayvelin

Caraballo

ManilaTimes.net

OPTIMISM about the Philippine economy continues to be maintained based on local companies’ expectations on government spending and remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

This is according to a quarterly global business survey whose findings are contained in Grant Thornton International’s International Business Report, which was released by P&A Grant Thornton last week.

In a statement, the professional services firm said Philippine companies continued to maintain “their optimistic outlook on the domestic economy� despite increasing uncertainty worldwide.

Quoting the IBR, P&A Grant Thornton said data on the first half of 2019 showed that optimism, revenue expectations and profitability forecasts were down in economies around the world, compared with that on the second half of 2018. “Yet there are pockets of resilience seen across mid-sized Philstar.com photo companies, such as in export expectations, which fare well globAnd every judicial court will uphold the historical ally amid the United States-China trade war,� it added. revision. (Philstar.com) P&A Grant Thornton also said

the outlook continued to vary among emerging and developed economies in the Asia-Pacific, reflecting the differing levels of their exposure to the trade war.

Optimism is generally down in the region, falling 8 percentage points since the second half of 2018 and more than 50 percent lower than the first half of 2018, it said. “Less-developed economies such as the Philippines, however, have rosier prospects,� the firm added.

P&A Grant Thornton also said Philippine businesses are “more upbeat than anywhere else in the region,â€? with 84 percent of those polled expressing optimism about the local economy. “It’s important to heed the signs of volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, but it’s also worth highlighting that local business leaders choose not to be paralyzed or get sidetracked by the grim possibilities,â€? Maria Victoria EspaĂąo, P&A Grant Thornton chairman and chief executive officer, said in the statement. “It’s likely because with strong economic fundamentals still in place, their business is poised to grow and more opportunities will surface,â€? she added.

She cited increased state

spending and the steady flow of money sent home by OFWs as factors that continue to boost overall economic growth and optimism.

Latest data showed that state spending in September grew by 39.01 percent to P415.1 billion from P298.6 billion a year ago.

This brought year-to-date disbursements to P2.62 trillion, 5.5 percent higher than the actual disbursements recorded for the same period of 2018.

Personal remittances from OFWs reached $21.99 billion in January to August, up 3.6 percent from the $21.22 billion posted a year earlier. “Investor sentiment in the country is generally positive, paired with a pickup in business confidence, as reflected in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ third-quarter Consumer Expectations Survey (CES),� P&A Grant Thornton said.

According to the third-quarter results of the central bank’s CES, consumer confidence reverted to positive territory at 4.6 percent from 1.3 percent in the previous quarter as respondents expect improvements in the peace and order situation; availability of more jobs; additional and high income; and good governance in the country.

In demanding delicadeza, accountability, justice from public officials, Improved Philippines ranking in ease of doing... there’s NO gray area: Either you call them out OR you enable them

The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS BREAKING NEWS: PBS reported, “The U.S. House of Representatives plans to hold a formal vote Thursday, October 31, on the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump over his alleged abuses of power while in office.� “In a letter explaining the decision, Speaker Nancy Pelosi told House Democrats that she wanted to push back on claims

by Trump and Republican lawmakers that the impeachment inquiry is not valid without a floor vote. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a key Trump ally, introduced a resolution last week condemning the inquiry as ‘illegitimate’.� “While Pelosi said Monday that the Trump administration ‘made up’ the argument that the

impeachment inquiry is illegitimate, she said she wanted to take the vote to ‘eliminate any doubt.’� “This week, we will bring a resolution to the Floor that affirms the ongoing, existing investigation that is currently being conducted by our committees as part of this impeachment inquiry, including all requests for documents, subpoenas for records and testimony, and any other investigative steps previously taken or to be taken as part of this investigation,� Pelosi said in the letter.

MEANWHILE in Japan, BBC News reports: “Japan’s new Minister of Trade Isshu Sugawara quits after gifting melons, oranges, roe and royal jelly to constituents. “He is also said to have offered “condolence money� of 20,000 Japanese yen ($185;

ÂŁ145) to the family of a supporter. It is customary in Japan to give money as a condolence to grieving families - what is known as ‘incense money.’â€? “Japan’s election law bans politicians from sending donations to voters in their home constituency.â€?

Despite any defense he can use, the public official resigned just the same, after being accused of violating election law.

MEANWHILE in the Philippines, politicians who give away dole outs, free goodies, cash gift, abuloy sa patay, pera sa binyag, regalo sa kasal while campaigning — they usually win in elections. In fact, many voters expect this kind of generosity from politicians and are deemed to be signs of their being pro-people and compassionate.

YET, voters openly say they

abhor politicians corruption, bribery, yet expect to continue to get these freebies from the elected officials who, through their salaries only, will not be able to sustain this handing out gifts and money to their constituents.

But many people don’t seem to care however these public officials are able to get the funds to give away. What matters to them is that they get them.

If the politician they voted for in the past do not deliver on this expectation, many of them lose their luster and popularity among many voters and get voted out in favor of new more generous political candidates.

For political survival, politicians justify and rationalize corruption. And therefore, the pattern of corruption continues to be perpetuated.

If we do not call out public

officials for their transgressions against the Constitution, against the rule of law, against moral decency, against the attack on the truth and our democracy, then we are in effect enabling them.

If we pride ourselves of being “apolitical� , and would not speak up nor speak out and just leave it up to more politically engaged people the task of making our leaders accountable, then our silence is also complicity. This silence means we side with the aggressor, we condone the abuser.

If we refuse to call out the public official we elected because we hate the “other side� of the political aisle more, or because we think it is being more patriotic to give our 100 percent loyalty to the candidate we voted for despite the transgressions, then we ourselves

Digong to visit US?

Commentary

REYNALDO ARCILLA SHORTLY after his visit to Russia, the subject of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte aka Digong visiting the United States came up.

It was as though someone had been prompted to ask Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo about it.

It was a reasonable question though, considering that Digong has already visited Russia twice, although the first one had to be aborted because of the Marawi crisis. He has also been to China four or five times.

Panelo’s reply was that a visit to the U.S. was still “unsure� because Digong dislikes cold weather and long flights. That may be so but we know that there are other more significant reasons why Digong is averse to visiting the U.S. In my view, a visit to the U.S. may not be advisable at this time for two reasons: 1) President Trump is very much preoccupied with the impeachment process against him, the crisis concerning Syria, Turkey, Iran and the Kurds, the trade negotiations with China, not to mention his bid for reelection; and 2) the prevailing hostility toward Digong (and Trump) of the U.S. mainstream media, some members of the U.S. Congress and human rights organizations in the U.S. I think Trump would not really want a visit from Digong at this

time as it could exacerbate his present problems. Also, in light of the recent report that his telephone call in April 2017 congratulating Digong for an “unbelievable job on the drug problem� left many in the White House “genuinely horrified.� One may expect those people to violently object to a Digong visit.

It is no secret that several members of Digong’s Cabinet and some in his coterie of friends, advisers and businessmen would only be too happy to see him go to the U.S. to please their U.S. masters.

In any case, above all other considerations, we, the Filipino people, would not want our President to be insulted and vilified while he is in a foreign land upon the invitation of its head of state, period!

Digong should heed doctors’ advice I truly felt so bad and sad for Digong when I saw him in a photo grimacing in what must have been excruciating pain in front of his daughter Sara, and another photo showing him sitting down with his head bowed and propped up on his cane.

The pain was caused by the motorcycle spill he had at the MalacaĂąang grounds a few days before.

Many of us who have experienced some kind of intense physical pain in the course of our lives can readily sympathize with what he was going through.

Only his must have been worse. He is 74 years old — old by any standard, physically that is. And with all the problems of

the country borne on his already slightly stooped shoulder.

At his age, it is also likely he had not fully recovered at the time from the jet lag he got from his trip to Russia the week before.

It was, therefore, quite a relief when Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bongâ€? Go said that Digong had consulted doctors after going to the wake of the late former senator Aquilino “Neneâ€? Pimentel Jr. “Sabi ng mga doktor niya, mga expert ito, ang mga neurosurgeon niya before pa, ay wala daw pong dapat ikabahala. Purely muscle spasms,â€? Go said. “Binigyan lang po siya ng gamot, pain reliever‌at kailangan po magpahinga ang Pangulo. He was advised to rest, rest, rest, kailangan talaga,â€? he added.

Digong should heed the doctors’ advice. He still has a plateful of things to do in the remaining two-and-a-half years of his term.

That is just around the corner.

Digong’s Man Friday Speaking of Go, people are quite aware that Digong has not really “released� him from being his special assistant after his election as a senator. It does appear that wherever Digong is, so is Go. To the detriment of his duties as a senator? Perhaps. But, if at all, no one can fault him for that.

From where I sit, I think he has become like a putative son to the President. Their very long association and Go’s work ethic did that. The President obviously feels at ease and comfortable with Go around, as he has proven himself to be an efficient and

PAGE A5 tions of the report, as the country looks to implement more reforms. “While not all reforms were accepted by the World Bank in this cycle, we are counting on the newly established Anti Red Tape Authority (ARTA) to ensure that the agencies continue the EODB reforms already initiated. These reforms must create a positive impact on our stakeholders,� he added.

Apart from the ease of doing

are attacking the Constitution, the rule of law, our values and moral compass.

Mga kababayan, the choice is ours to make. There is NO gray area here. It s either we call out our public officials for their lack of delicadeza, abuse of power, corruption, attacks to the truth and our democracy, OR, we enable, empower them more to continue committing their transgressions.

WE DESERVE THE GOVERNMENT THAT WE GET..

PAGE A5 *** Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public lic safety and access to medical service and educational broadcasting since services.

People in the capital also high1989 with ABS-CBN and is now serving the Filipino audience using different platforms, lighted mobility issues in the including digital broadcasting, and print, and city, especially traffic congestion is working on a new public service program and insufficient public transport. for the community. You may contact her Governance was likewise an isthrough email at gelrelos@icloud.com, sue among Manila citizens due or send her a message via Facebook at to corruption. “In the city of Manila, efforts Facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos. should hence focus on how to

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manage a metropolis of some 13 million by improving traffic and pollution/waste management, and providing better access to fundamental services such as safety, health and good governance,� Lanvin said. “A better integration of urban priorities (re-balancing modern areas like Makati and suburbs/ slums) with national (demography, diversification) and region-

al ones (erosion and pollution in Manila Bay) will also need to be pursued,� he added.

According to the report, being a globally-recognized ‘smart’ city is now critical in attracting investment, talent and trade.

The top 10 smartest cities in 2019 are: Singapore; Zurich; Oslo; Geneva; Copenhagen; Auckland; Taipei; Helsinki; Bilbao; and Dusseldorf.

LUNGSOD NG CERRITOS PAUNAWA SA HALALAN AT PANAHON NG NOMINASYON NG KANDIDATO ANG PAUNAWA AY IBINIBIGAY SA PAMAMAGITAN NITO na isang Pangkalahatang Munisipal na Halalan ang gaganapin sa Lungsod ng Cerritos sa Martes, Marso 3, 2020, para sa mga sumusunod na Opisyal at Panukala: Para sa tatlong (3) Miyembro ng Konseho ng Lungsod – Buong panunungkulang apat (4) na taon Dapat bang pagtibayin ang panukalang magtatakda ng isang pangkalahatan, tatlong-kapat na porsyento (0.75%) ng mga lokal na transaksyon at use tax (buwis sa pagbebenta), na mangangalap ng tinatayang $11.4 milyon taun-taon, at magtatapos kung kailan mapagpapasyahan ng mga botante, na napapailalim sa mga malayang pag-o-odit at mga pampublikong ulat ng paggasta, upang magkaloob at magpanatili ng mataas na antas ng mga serbisyo sa Lungsod, kabilang ang, ngunit hindi limitado sa, kaligtasan ng lokal na syerip at komunidad, pagpapanatili at pagpapaayos ng bangketa at kalye, pagpapaganda ng mga puno, mga serbisyo sa aklatan, at mga serbisyo sa mga parke at lugar na libangan?

OO

HINDI

Ang panahon ng nominasyon para sa Pangkalahatang Munisipal na Halalan para sa tatlong (3) puwesto sa Konseho ng Lungsod sa Martes, Marso 3, 2020 ay magsisimula sa Martes, Nobyembre 12, 2019 sa ika-8 ng umaga at magtatapos sa Biyernes, Disyembre 6, 2019 sa eksaktong ika-5 ng hapon, sa Tanggapan ng Klerk ng Lungsod/Opisyal ng mga Halalan ng Lungsod ng Cerritos.

President Rodrigo Duterte with House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano

reliable Man Friday.

I quite appreciate their relationship. I was once in a somewhat similar situation with one of my former bosses.

Locsin on plastics For once, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Tweeterboy�

Locsin Jr. made a sensible suggestion in his usual acerbic manner — criminalize the sale and use of plastics in the country. “Just criminalize the production, sale, use and very possession of plastics. Period. The Philippines is the No. 3 plastics polluter. Enough talk. Just do it‌ No discretion on the part of government officials who take bribes like they breathe in and out,â€? he tweeted.

Let us hope someone in Congress will pick up his suggestion.

Reminders This segment is intended to remind the Duterte administra-

tion of some of its yet unfulfilled promises and matters that need attention and/or follow-up action. More importantly, the people are entitled to know what’s being done about them.

1. Digong’s promise to rid the country of foreign troops. This, of course, necessitates abrogating the untested and unproven worth to us after seven decades of the Mutual Defense Treaty with the U.S., along with the lopsided and constitutionally infirm Visiting Forces Agreement and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

2. Reciprocal visa arrangements with the U.S. What is the Department of Foreign Affairs doing about this? Our embassy in Washington? No less than President Digong has said he wanted this done more than three years ago. Has he changed his mind? If not, Locsin should be directed to start

MalacaĂąang photo

things moving.

Needless to say, such reciprocal arrangements should also be pursued with all other countries.

I know that certain offices in the government, the Department of Tourism for one, and some members of the private sector resist such a move for the cockeyed reason that it will lessen the number of tourists coming here.

That’s pure hogwash! As long as we get our act together and make the country attractive to foreigners, they, including Americans, will come with or without visa fees.

Incidentally, now that a modified visa upon arrival will continue to be given to Chinese nationals, we should ask China to extend the same privilege to our travelers, that is, if no such arrangement yet exists. (ManilaTimes.net)

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airports in Visayas and Mindanao should further entice foreigners to visit the country, improve Philippine tourism’s competitiveness and eventually boost demand for tourism-related establishments and services,� he added.

Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. earlier cited the need to improve the country’s airports. “If we want to improve our competitiveness, we have to continue to work on air connectivity,� Bengzon said. n

Manila ranks lowest in Asia in ‘Smart City’...

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business, Bondoc earlier cited the need to boost the tourism sector’s competitiveness in order to attract more hospitality investments into the country. “This, in turn, should boost hotel occupancy rates and entice local and foreign businessmen to ramp up their leisure-related investments in the country,� Bondoc earlier said. “Colliers believes that the development of an alternative international gateway in Luzon as well as the expansion of regional

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Kung hindi maihahain ang mga dokumento para sa nominasyon para sa isang karapat-dapat na kasalukuyang nanunungkulang opisyal bago o sa mismong araw ng Biyernes, Diyembre 6, 2019 sa eksaktong ika-5 ng hapon (ika-88 araw bago ang halalan), ang mga botante ay mayroong hanggang ika-83 araw bago ang halalan, Miyerkules, Diyembre 11, 2019 sa eksaktong ika-5 ng hapon, para magnomina ng mga kandidatong bukod sa mga karapat-dapat na kasalukuyang nanunungkulan sa ika-88 araw bago ang eleksyon, para sa elektibong katungkulang iyon ng kasalukuyang nanunungkulan. Ang pagpapalawig na ito ay hindi inilalapat kung saan walang karapat-dapat na kasalukuyang nanunungkulan ang ihahalal.

Kung walang sinuman o isang tao lamang (1) ang nominado para sa isang elektibong katungkulan, ang paghirang sa elektibong katungkulan ay maaaring isagawa gaya ng isinasaad sa § 10229, Kodigo ng mga Halalan ng Estado ng California.

Magbubukas ang mga botohan sa pagitan ng ika-7 ng umaga at ika-8 ng gabi. /s/Vida Barone Vida Barone, Klerk ng Lungsod/Opisyal ng mga Halalan Lungsod ng Cerritos Pinetsahan: Oktubre 30, 2019

SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • OCTOBER 30 - NOVEMBER 1, 2019

A

World Bank encourages PH to use innovations

by Mayvelin

Caraballo ManilaTimes.net

THE World Bank (WB) is encouraging the Philippines to use innovations like digital technology to expand financial inclusion in the country, according to the Department of Finance (DoF).

In a statement on Monday, October 28 the Finance department quoted WB President David Malpass in a recent meeting held in Washington D.C. with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd, as saying the Philippines’ robust economy offers many opportunities for the government to “reguide� its digitalization efforts to empower Filipinos.

Malpass also commended the country’s efforts to kickstart its digitalization program with the passage of a National Identification (ID) Law that aims to unify and streamline an identification system for all Filipino citizens.

The use of new technologies, particularly digital currency and remittances, “can open new avenues� for marginalized sectors to participate in the economy, he said.

The WB head added this is why the multilateral lender is now studying how these innovations

can directly benefit people while encouraging them to avail themselves of state-provided social services, such as healthcare. “This is an opportunity because you have so many things going on where you can reguide the program,� Malpass said.

For his part, Dominguez welcomed Malpass’ support for digitalization as a way to expand financial inclusion in developing economies.

He told Malpass, that the Philippine government has long been implementing a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, in which low income households in the country receive cash grants, provided they fulfill certain conditions, such as ensuring their children go to school or that pregnant mothers get regular medical checkups.

This CCT program “has worked pretty well� because of the assistance extended by the WB and the Asian Development Bank to the Philippine government, the Finance chief said.

He also stressed that the passage of a national ID Law, which will be implemented on a pilot basis starting the first quarter of next year, will significantly improve the delivery of the CCT program.

“That’s all good,� Malpass was quoted as to have commented after learning from Dominguez the Philippines’ efforts to digitalize its government services.

The Finance department added that WB Country Director for the Philippines Mara Warwick said the multilateral institution is providing technical assistance to the Philippines for the rollout of its national ID system.

WB Regional Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific Region Victoria Kwakwa also informed Dominguez of the institution’s new policy that supports the Philippines’ reform initiatives in enhancing its fiscal stability, global competitiveness, and economic resilience.

In response, the DoF chief said the World Bank can assist the Duterte administration’s ongoing efforts to help the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao set up its government and adopt the best practices of other independent political entities in other parts of the world, which have been successfully set up and effectively run their regional governments.

Malpass, for his part, responded the WB “would like to work on that.�

CITY OF CERRITOS NOTICE OF ELECTION AND CANDIDATE NOMINATION PERIOD NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a General Municipal Election will be held in the City of Cerritos RQ 7XHVGD\ 0DUFK IRU WKH IROORZLQJ 2I¿FHUV DQG 0HDVXUH For three (3) Members of the City Council – Full term of four (4) years Shall the measure to establish a general, three-quarters percent (0.75%) local transactions and use (sales) tax, raising an estimated $11.4 million annually, and ending when voters decide to do so, subject to independent audits and public reports of spending, to provide and maintain a high level of City services, including, but not limited to, local sheriff’s and community safety, sidewalk and street maintenance and repair, tree-trimming, library services, and parks and recreation services, be adopted?

YES NO

The nomination period for the Tuesday, March 3, 2020 Cerritos General Municipal Election for three (3) City Council seats begins on Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 8 a.m. and closes on Friday, December 6, 2019 DW S P VKDUS LQ WKH 2I¿FH RI WKH &HUULWRV &LW\ &OHUN (OHFWLRQV 2I¿FLDO ,I QRPLQDWLRQ SDSHUV IRU DQ HOLJLEOH LQFXPEHQW RI¿FHU RI WKH &LW\ RI &HUULWRV DUH QRW ¿OHG E\ Friday, December 6, 2019 at 5 p.m., sharp (the 88th day before the election), the voters shall have until the 83rd day before the election, Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at 5 p.m., sharp, to nominate candidates other than the person(s) who are the eligible incumbents on the 88th day EHIRUH WKH HOHFWLRQ IRU WKDW LQFXPEHQWœV HOHFWLYH RI¿FH 7KLV H[WHQVLRQ LV QRW DSSOLFDEOH ZKHUH WKHUH is no incumbent eligible to be elected. ,I QR RQH RU RQO\ RQH SHUVRQ LV QRPLQDWHG IRU DQ HOHFWLYH RI¿FH DSSRLQWPHQW WR WKH HOHFWLYH RI¿FH PD\ EH PDGH DV SUHVFULEHG E\ † (OHFWLRQV &RGH RI WKH 6WDWH RI &DOLIRUQLD 7KH SROOV ZLOO EH RSHQ EHWZHHQ WKH KRXUV RI D P DQG S P V 9LGD %DURQH 9LGD %DURQH &LW\ &OHUN (OHFWLRQV 2I¿FLDO City of Cerritos 'DWHG 2FWREHU

A OCTOBER 30 - NOVEMBER 1, 2019 • SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL

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

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entertainment #MagandangMorenx: How Asia...

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - October 30, 2019

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - October 30, 2019

#MagandangMorenx: How Asia Jackson is igniting a mission to end colorism and challenge Filipino beauty standards IntervIew by ChrIstIna M. OrIel / AJPress BY 2024, the skin lightening market is projected to reach $31.2 billion as the popularity of these products continues to soar in Asian countries like the Philippines, Korea and Japan.

In the Philippines, products ranging from creams to pills still get smuggled in and have reportedly been found to have dangerous amounts of mercury, which causes side effects such as skin infections and kidney failure. If you’re stuck in traffic in the capital city of Manila, you’ll see massive billboards promoting such products and glorifying fairer skinned celebrities, continuing to drive this systemic cultural perception that lighter skin tones equal beauty and success.

This notion hasn’t been confined to the Philippines.

Filipino Americans share stories of hearing seemingly harmless comments about not staying outside for too long in fear of getting “too dark” or being scrubbed with papaya soap.

There’s one half-black and half-Filipina millennial who’s trying to challenge colorism— the prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group.

“Colorism runs rampant amongst cultures all throughout Asia but it is especially pernicious in countries that were colonized by Europeans,” actor, YouTuber and activist Asia Jackson wrote on Twitter.

“Philippines was under Spanish rule for 333 years. During that time, the Spanish established a caste system the way they did in Latin America.”

It’s been three years since the 25-year-old started “#MagandangMorenx” — meaning “beautiful brown skin”— during Filipino American History Month to open up a conversation and highlight the skin diversity within the Fil-Am community.

Born to a black father in the military and a Filipina mother from Baguio, Philippines, Jackson heard a lot of microaggressions about her skin while growing up and moving around places like the Philippines, Japan, Montana and Texas.

“While brainstorming, I just kept going back to when I was living in the Philippines and being bullied for having darker skin. It also reminded me of my Filipino friends here in the U.S. whose moms would tell them, ‘Don’t go outside because you’ll get dark’ or would give

The launch of Asia Jackson’s zine and line collaboration with Asian American, woman-owned streetwear brand Uprisers was held on Sunday, October 27.

AJPress photo by Christina M. Oriel

Asia and her mom Melinda proudly show off the zine.

AJPress photo by Christina M. Oriel

Asia and models wear her capsule collection for Uprisers, an LA-based streetwear brand.

with a platform. I noticed that there has been an imbalanced representation of Asian people in western media. Usually, it’s East Asian or even within that, mixed Asians are usually mixed with white. In any way, I want to get South and Southeast Asians and Asians that are mixed with black or Latino the representation that they deserve,” she said.

Along with the collection, Jackson released a zine entitled ‘Cool Asians Doing Things,’ featuring the stories and quotes from several Asians, including fellow Fil-Ams, actor Megan Batoon, entrepreneur Vanessa Lee, and artist Kristian Kabuay.

Recognizing the platform she has, Jackson hopes to help others become comfortable in their own skin, as well as educate why it’s problematic to perpetuate this colonial mentality.

A current video she’s working on for her YouTube channel (where she shares fashion, skin care and self-care tips to over 360,000 subscribers) is why skin whitening and tanning aren’t the same concepts.

“The sociopolitical context and histories are different so I wanted to create a video around that because that’s a common misconception people have,” Jackson explained.

“Colorism is systemic whereas tanning is something people do to look or feel prettier. With colorism, you can lose your job for having darker skin or you can not get a job because of your skin color, whereas with tanning, I’ve never heard a white person say, ‘I lost my job because I forgot to apply tanner.’ It’s important to make that distinction.”

In addition to her vlogging and activism, Jackson is also a budding actor with credits including “Superstore,” “Modern Family,” “The Young and the Restless,” and “The Goldbergs.” She recently completed filming an Amazon movie set to be released next year. Through acting, she sees it as contributing to multicultural representation, as she didn’t see many faces that looked like her growing up.

“A lot of projects that are in production right now that are very progressive, especially for young people and that is amazing because those are the types of projects I want to be in,” Jackson added.

Photos courtesy of Asia Jackson AJ: What has surprised you

them papaya soap to whiten their skin,” Jackson said. “I remember all the skin whitening ads and things like that and no one was really talking about it so I decided to create my own conversation with the hashtag on Twitter.”

Little did she anticipate that #MagandangMorenx would become a global movement that Filipinos, regardless of location or gender, would chime in and share their own episodes of skin discrimination.

“I didn’t think it would singlehandedly end colorism but I wanted to get people talking and social media is a place where we could engage young people,” Jackson told the Asian Journal.

For this year’s #MagandangMorenx Day, Jackson collaborated with Uprisers, a Los Angeles-based streetwear brand started by Japanese American Michelle Hanabusa, to create a capsule collection of clothes and accessories with messages like “morenx” and “You Can’t Tell Me Who I Am.” Underneath the shirt with the “morenx” logo are symbols meaning “maganda (beautiful)” in Baybayin, an ancient pre-colonial Filipino script.

“I wanted people to be able to put something on and feel represented. I want the world to see that I am proud of who I am and being in my skin color,” Jackson said, adding that Uprisers was a fitting brand to do this with given Hanabusa’s similar mission.

Jackson also made it a point to include South Asian, Southeast Asian and mixed Asians in the photoshoots for the line.

“It is part of my purpose as an entertainer and as someone

Asia Jackson’s childhood photos

Lovi Poe

Lovi’s dating rules

dictating, asking me to stop what I’m doing. I can’t see myself sacrificing my career for love,” she told reporters THAT person has to accept the path I’m taking—that at a recent press conference career is one of my priorities,” for the upcoming dramatic flick, “The Annulment,” which Lovi Poe said of her nonopens in cinemas on Nov. 13. negotiables when it comes Sense of humor is also a to dating. “That should be automatic. I shouldn’t need to must, she added. “He has to be funny.” But looks and tell him that.” other physical aspects? Not “I don’t want someone

by AllAn

PolicArPio Inquirer.net

the most about this hashtag movement? People of various backgrounds and genders have joined in the conversation.

Asia: It was more than self-identified females using the term. One of the reasons why I used ‘x’ was so men and women could join in at the same time, but also those who are non-binary. I wanted to be inclusive of all genders and it was cool to see people respond really well to that.

To be clear, the responses to the hashtag have been very positive for the most part but it was still interesting to see how many Filipinos from the Philippines deny that colorism exists.

To me, it was very apparent because I had experienced it firsthand and also the fact that there are so many skin whitening ads should’ve been the biggest clue.

AJ: Your time in the Philippines was really formative.

How long were you living there?

Asia: I was only [living] there for a year, but before that, we went back during the summers almost every year. I’m so glad my mom made it a priority to go back because I feel connected to the culture in a way that a lot of Filipino Americans don’t. It’s a privilege to have been able to do that.

AJ: How have you challenged the remarks you got growing up?

Asia: Thankfully, my family was very understanding of the fact that I was half black and they didn’t make comments about my skin color like that. It was usually my classmates. Even being here [in the U.S.], my best friend from high school is Cambodian and colorism is a huge issue in that community as well. Sometimes when I’m hanging out with her and her sister would go outside, she’ll tell her, ‘Don’t be outside too long because you’ll get darker.’ It is so normalized in the culture that she didn’t even realize what she was saying so I made a comment questioning what was wrong with being darker and she didn’t really have anything to say after that. Just questioning what they said — not even in an aggressive way or in an illintentioned way — and hearing how they respond to it and creating a conversation around that. I’ve found some success in that, especially with the older generation.

AJ: Has this movement reached the attention of any

Asia in Uprisers ‘morenx’ tee

makeup/skincare brands?

Asia: That’s something I definitely want to work toward in the future because I’ve thought about it. Last May, there was a Filipino skin whitening brand called SkinWhite that created an advertisement that I thought was ridiculous because the messaging behind it was ‘Dark or white, you’re still beautiful.’ I felt like that was so hypocritical of them to try to hop on this movement when they themselves are creating skin whitening products for people to whiten their skin. I created a video talking about it and it was very well received. In the comments, a lot of people disagreed with what I had to say but what’s important was that it created conversation.

AJ: We’re seeing a lot of Filipinos highlighted for pushing the barriers in different industries and sharing their stories on social media more than ever.

Asia: There are so many Filipinos across industries — like the head of global marketing for Revolve is Filipina, Raissa Gerona. When I was growing up, I didn’t really see that and a lot of it now is thanks to social media. You can see that, ‘Oh, the person who does this for my favorite brand is Filipino.’ I can go on their Instagram and see the cool things they are doing.

My mom loves watching Bretman Rock and Patrick Starrr, and even though they’re younger than she is, she has a connection to them because they’re Filipino and she loves seeing their moms in their videos. I love what social media has done to the world. There is a lot of negativity but for the most part, it has opened doors for so many people. I’m so glad even just for women in general, women from working-class backgrounds have been able to succeed without any prior connections or nepotism. In the beauty industry, for example, we see women from workingclass backgrounds creating empires just because of how they’ve done on social media.

AJ: Do you think the accessibility of social media has changed what the American Dream means?

Asia: What people think of ‘American’ is just changing in general. With that, the American Dream changes. Now, we’re able to pursue things that we’re passionate about more than our parents could have.

Our parents have sacrificed so much with the limited resources that were available to them.

Now with social media, it’s provided so much for everyone. Other people have been able to create better lives for themselves and a better world for others.

AJ: It’s been a common experience for many Filipino Americans of having to balance two cultures and identities. Being biracial and multicultural, how has that shaped your identity and how you’ve defined yourself?

Asia: Being biracial is a whole thing. My parents didn’t really have conversations about what it was like to have a mixed identity, mostly because I don’t think they thought anything of it. They loved each other and had a child and made a family.

As a child, I knew my parents looked different and I knew that I looked like both of them but neither of them at the same time. It didn’t really mean to One of the shirts Asia designed in collaboration with Uprisers with the message, “You Can’t Tell Me Continued on Page 3 Who I Am.” AJPress photo by Christina M. Oriel

From Page 2 me at the time, but as I got older and started to realize the way my environment was interacting with me was when I realized I was different from everyone else.

AJ: You moved around a lot growing up. Did that also form the way you viewed yourself?

Asia: I didn’t find out I was black until I was in the second grade. I was living in a small Photo from Instagram/@lovipoe town in Montana and one of my white classmates referred to me as African American. I remember being super confused because my dad is black and I knew I was black because I so much. looked like him, but I was being “You have to be a good referred to as African American person. You have to have the when my mom is Asian. Why heart and the soul, the right am I being referred to as one amount of love, loyalty and thing when I’m something else understanding,” she said. too? When I moved to Asia — I The 30-year-old actress is lived in Japan and the Philipcurrently in a long-distance relationship with Monty Blen- pines — people made it very clear there that I was half-black cowe, a Los Angeles-based because they would make fun English movie producer and of my skin color and hair. When Continued on Page 4 I moved to Houston, Texas, my school was predominantly black and Latino and the black students didn’t consider me as one of them because culturally I wasn’t black the way they were. It wasn’t until I moved to Long Beach, which is very diverse and had a lot of mixed kids so that’s when I realized that it’s okay to be this — it’s okay to be black and Filipina at the same time. That’s when I started to be comfortable with my mixed identity.

As far as Filipino versus American culturally, that was interesting because when I lived in Long Beach, I met other black Asians but they were born and raised here and had no connection to their Korean or Filipino or whatever culture.

They didn’t speak the language or know what it’s like buy Boy Bawang at the sari sari store.

It was interesting being able to relate to them based on our ethnic or racial background but not on a cultural level. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that it’s not inherently problematic that we’re culturally different, it’s just a different experience.

Diversity is a gift in every comPhoto from Instagram/@itspokwang27 munity.

Why still no wedding bells for Pokwang and Lee

by AllAn

PolicArPio Inquirer.net

POKWANG doesn’t have a dream wedding—she just wants a wedding, period.

“Basta maikasal lang, OK na! But as a Catholic, of course I want to get married in a church, in Antipolo preferably, where I grew up. So my townmates can watch, too!” she told reporters at her recent launch as the first celebrity endorser of the liquefied petroleum gas company Regasco.

The 46-year-old television host-comedian, who’s in a four-year relationship with American actor Lee O’Brien, isn’t keen on going on a honeymoon, either. “Wala nang honeymoon. Let’s save up money!” she shrieked.

But when will they actually tie the knot? It’s a quesContinued on Page 4 Pokwang and Lee O’Brien

AJ: Going back to the zine you launched, what was the production of that and the storytelling you wanted to convey?

Asia: The funny thing with producing is that you have to reach out to so many people to get one response. I handselected a long list of people that I felt would be perfect to be in the zine…I specifically chose Southeast Asians, South Asians, East Asians, Asians that were mixed with white, Asians that were mixed with Latinos, Asians that were mixed with black, LGBT Asians and there is also body diversity. I wanted to include a wide variety of people to get their stories out there. I feel like it’s super inspiring for young people to see something like that because when I was growing up, my idol was apl.de.ap from Black Eyed Peas because he’s black and Filipino also. That helped me embrace who I am and it made me realize that being myself is my superpower. No one can be me and my own unique experiences are what make me, “me” and they go into my art and what I create. We asked each person advice they would give their younger selves and young people who are reading the zine.

AJ: What would you say to your younger self?

Asia: I would say what I keep saying: It’s okay to be different. It’s okay to be yourself because that’s your superpower. You don’t have to emulate another personality or try to be another person to be well-liked or successful.

AJ: Where do you see the beauty and skincare industry going as conversations like yours are becoming more prominent?

Asia: I think the beauty industry, in general, is moving away from makeup and there’s a big emphasis on skincare right now. When that change started happening, the emphasis was on better-looking skin and now I’m seeing it shift in focus on healthy skin, which I think is important. When your skin looks better, it’s not necessarily healthy so I’m really glad that there are companies

that are focusing on maintaining a healthy skin barrier and are putting out products with ingredients that are beneficial for the skin. There are also a lot of beauty companies that are not retouching their photos. It’s important to see skin texture, pores and breakouts because most of us deal with it and I personally like to see that in advertisements. I think we’re moving in the right direction.

AJ: You talk about the privilege of having these close relationships with your Filipino side of the family and getting to go back to the Philippines and learn about where your mom is from. For some Fil-Ams who didn’t have those opportunities but want to learn about their heritage and culture, how can they go about that?

Asia: Getting involved with Fil-Am organizations and events is a great way to stay connected to the culture. But what I would like to see in the future is expanding beyond food and dance. Food is such a staple in every culture and it’s amazing to see Filipino food getting so popular. Sometimes we’ll showcase dances like the tinikling but not everyone in the Philippines dances that. The Philippines is so diverse and how can we broaden the conversation and get Filipino Americans to understand that there are many different indigenous groups?

There’s the Bontocs, the Aetas, and so many other groups of people. How can we teach them about that in a way that they’ll be excited about it? How can we make learning about that as fun as dance and food?

AJ: With your work, what kind of legacy and impact do you want to leave?

Asia: In a general sense, I want to leave the world in a better state than when I came in. Colorism is such a huge issue for me and it’s something I will continue to be passionate about. In my lifetime, I would like to see skin whitening companies disappear. I want to work as hard as I can to make sure that no one feels bad about their skin color. That’s the legacy I want to leave in this world.

entertainment The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - October 30, 2019

Lovi’s dating rules...

From Page 3 medical researcher. She described him as an “old soul,” a “nice and good person.”

“I met him in Los Angeles a while back. And our friendship just grew,” she said.

“We’re sharing this moment together. And while

we’re far away from each other, we make sure to be part of each other’s life,” related Lovi, who was just on a five-month vacation in the United States, where she and Monty got to spend some quality time together. “We’re just hoping for the best.”

In Monty’s first visit to the Philippines, Lovi showed him some of the country’s most scenic and popular tourist spots, like Samal Island in Davao and Boracay. “He has already met my mother, who has nothing but good words for him,” she related.

Meanwhile, Lovi clarified that she and her FilipinoFrench ex-boyfriend, Chris Johnson, are still on good terms.

“He has been good to me. He’s a friend, still. It has always been nice, and I have nothing but good words for him. It just didn’t work out,” she said of Chris whom she dated for two years.

While she does feel “inspired” seeing and being surrounded by happily married couples, Lovi said the idea of settling down has yet to cross her mind.

“I believe in people who love each other, and make things work after making that commitment,” Lovi said. “But there’s still a lot of things I want to do … It’s inspiring seeing people who are so in love. It makes you think that it really is possible.”

Besides, more and more people nowadays, Lovi observed, are no longer in a mad rush to get married.

“People take their time now.

The world has become more open—traveling is easier and you meet new people. So it’s just about finding that one person whom you click with,” she pointed out.

“The Annulment”—produced by Regal Entertainment and directed by Mac Alejandra—follows the lives of Gari (Lovi) and Sherwin (Joem Bascon) whose whirlwind romance leads to marriage. The relationship starts to crack shortly after, prompting Gari to seek annulment.

“Making this movie made me realize just how hard it is to keep a relationship going.

You have to make sure that you’re right for each other,” she said. “What happens to our characters is something I wouldn’t wish even on my worst enemies.”

Iza comes clean about mother’s suicide: It’s liberating

by Marinel

r. Cruz

Atty. LAwrence yAng

Inquirer.net

NOW, I can be a true and authentic advocate for mental health,” declared actress Iza Calzado, who recently admitted in a 28-minute video uploaded on Facebook by She Talks Asia that her mom, Mary Ann Ussher, “committed suicide” in 2001.

“It feels liberating. I cannot be [an advocate] without talking about it,” said Iza. “In some ways, it comes from a place of triumph. I can say that I am now starting to heal. I’m more complete now, compared to when I joined the business at 19. How could I talk about it then, while feeling shame, fear and guilt at the same time? I was still processing all those feelings with the grief.”

The actress added: “What’s important is that I get to use my mom’s story to help others.

She was very vocal about her condition. She talked about her depression openly, it’s just unfortunate that not a lot of people understood it. She did a lot of reading on it, but there was hardly any help. There was a lot of misdiagnosis, as well. I guess she would have loved for her story to be an instrument to help others.”

Iza chose to tell her story on Oct. 10, which was Mental Awareness Day. “I never lied about it when I was asked before. I would just always say I couldn’t talk about it,” she said, adding that there were media people who knew about what really happened to her mom, but chose not to publicize it as a sign of respect to her dad, the late director-choreographer Lito Calzado. “I also didn’t want to talk about it on television for the sake of high ratings.”

She said there were times when she had to call people’s attention for erroneously reporting that her mom died of cancer. Iza said the confusion

Debt Relief

THE first client is 75. Her husband passed four years ago and left her with $30,000 of credit card debt. She has been making minimum payments on their credit cards for the last 15 years as far as she can recall at the rate of $800 a month.

So in one year, she pays about $10,000 of minimum payments to keep the $30,000 current. In 10 years she paid $100,000 to keep them current. In the last 15 years, she has paid $150,000 to keep her credit card masters happy. Mastercard and Visa are very happy with her. They lent her $30,000 15 years ago. After 15 years she paid them $150,000, and she still owes them the same $30,000! Well, of course, that a great business profit for Mastercard and Visa, right? Borrow $30,000 and pay back $150,000 in 15 years but still owe the same $30,000!

Just imagine the client was only 60 when she got her $30,000 of credit cards with her

Repo deficiency causes senior to seek Chapter 7 relief

husband. Now, her husband has gone on ahead of her. Together, they have paid $150,000 on the $30,000 starting at the age of 60.

At 75, she has paid $150,000 and still owes the very same $30,000.

Never mind that she could put the $150,000 to much better use now at 75, if she did not owe the $30,000 in the first place. Now that she is retired and receiving social security of $1,300, forking over $800 a month to make these minimum payments to Mastercard and Visa means that 61% of her retirement income goes to minimum payments. Now that doesn’t sound good, does it? She rents a room for $500 a month, so just the credit card payments and the rent use up all of the social security of $1,300!

So get this, at 75 she has to get part-time work at Walmart, to have money for food and other necessities. Without the $800 paid to credit cards, she literally would not have to work anymore. $800 a month after rent is paid is more than enough for food and other necessities for a single person.

The client has been living this

way, until two months ago, when her 2015 Lexus RX330, which she leased for $450 a month was repossessed. She thought she wouldn’t owe Toyota anything since they took the car back. But last week, Toyota sent her notice that, she owed them a lease deficiency of $18,000. This, of course, is the proverbial last straw that broke the camel’s back. Mastercard and Visa already takes more than half her social security, forcing her to continue working at Walmart at the age of 75, but now owing another $18,000 to Toyota for a car that she has already returned to them that she can’t drive anymore, these circumstances put her financial situation into a more accurate perspective. At the age of 75, she needs a complete makeover of her finances.

Chapter 7 will wipe out the $30,000 of credit card debt, and the $18,000 owed to Toyota. She will wipe out $48,000 of debt that she totally doesn’t need to be burdened with at 75. We are talking about the quality of life here. Nobody wants to live like Continued on Page 6

community 5 The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - October 30, 2019

Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond Monette AdevA MAgLAyA THIS is one of my favorites since I constantly have to remind myself about the wisdom of logging off and living in real time. So here goes — Once more with feeling ……

I am doubling down and taking my own piece of advice. Unless absolutely necessary, I intend to be logged off for longer periods of time. How else can I SAVOR THE MOMENT except by living real life in real time with as fewer hours as possible spent on the internet? Plus my eyes are getting fried with too much screen time and I am bent out of shape.

Communication has become efficient, almost done by rote, and sometimes borders on the cold and impersonal. I still don’t enjoy being part of a global network to be used for someone’s nefarious purpose.

Log off and enjoy your hot chocolate

“The happiest people don’t have the best of everything… They just make the best of everything that they have.”

—Author Unknown I REFUSE TO BE A PRODUCT TRADED ON WALL STREET. Yes, I am kicking and screaming. There’s a stubborn part of me that rebels and chafes at becoming part of a statistic. I resent being used for the purpose of advancing some corporate, progressive, manipulative, globalist, evil agenda.

There are giant companies who really don’t produce anything of real value. These are companies who mine data, yours and mine, from social networking sites. They store this gigantic hoard of public information in mega databases.

These are then sold to interested parties as valuable psychographic information. Companies package, repackage and sell personal infor-

Iza Calzado Photo from Instagram/@missizacalzado

was caused by the fact that she lost two mothers to breast cancer. “My dad’s second and third wives both died of cancer, but not my mom,” she stressed.

In December, while reading reports about her wedding to British businessman Ben Wintle in the papers, Iza recalled finally telling herself: “I cannot have her death written that way all the time. I have to come forward and talk about what happened.”

Iza found the “proper venue” via She Talks Asia, a women’s movement of which she is a cofounder. “It’s good that I came out with the story in that manner,” she said, referring to the video, which she herself edited, along with videographer Carmen del Prado and host Bianca Gonzalez. She Talks Asia cofounder Sarah Meier did the

two-hour interview with Iza. “While editing, I would ask Ben and my friends for advice because it was a two-hour conversation that we had to trim to 28 minutes. Sadly, we had to leave out a lot of details,” she shared with the Inquirer.

When the video went public, Iza said people reached out to her. “I realized that this can happen to anybody. We are not glorifying it—I want to stress that. I’m alarmed by the large number of teen suicides.

It’s something that I want to understand and help with.

“Hopefully, we can find real solutions to this in the same way that we’re so gung ho at finding a cure for cancer or HIV/AIDS. There’s a lot that we still don’t understand, but we’re learning. There’s still hope.”

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

‘Eerie, creepy’ shoot triggers Carmina’s anxiety attacks

by Marinel

r. Cruz

Inquirer.net

CARMINA Villaroel, who has not been seen on the big screen for two years, said she experienced anxiety attacks while making her latest film project, the horror flick “Sunod.”

“I can’t reveal what the scene is all about. Let’s just say my character is with her daughter there. I already knew what I was supposed to do when I read the script and practiced our blocking for the scene, but for some strange reason, while doing it, I suddenly couldn’t breathe and felt anxious. You see, ours isn’t your typical Pinoy horror film. Its attack is very different. It’s eerie and creepy,” she told the Inquirer.

Carmina said she had asked that they stop shooting for a while. “I already know what to do during panic attacks. So, I just had to pause and do some deep breathing. I also applied aromatic oil on my forehead,” she explained.

“Sunod,” with Carlo Ledesma at the helm, is a replacement of the horror movie “(K)ampon” as an entry in the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) in December.

“I only found out that we’re included in the lineup on the day it was announced, and that we’re the only horror film entry. I’m super excited,” the actress said. “I grew up watching ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll.’

FOR RENT

Carmina Villaroel

Matatakutin ako (I get scared easily). It’s been a while since I made a horror film, and when I read the script, I said it was time to face my fears.”

Asked whether she felt that her performance in “Sunod” would warrant an acting award, the 44-year-old actress said she would like it better for the film to do well in the box-office race than get trophies.

“Doon ako sa producer’s side. I don’t have expectations.

The fact that we got included as an entry already made me happy,” she said. “I just want to say that I hope the audience will give the film a chance.

The festival is long, anyway, and there are only eight films to choose from. Even during the years that I wasn’t part of the MMFF, I supported it by watching as many films as I could.”

Inquirer.net photo

Despite always getting scared of horror movies, Carmina said she hoped to make more in the future. “Kahit hindi horror. There’s a different kind of fulfillment in making a movie. I’m happy to be working with Team Ten17P (Films, producer of ‘Sunod’) and with Direk Carlo,” she declared.

“Sunod” was shot inside the old Quezon Institute, which was built in the 1930s.

Carmina said she was excited to see the film with her husband Zoren Legaspi and their twins Cassy and Mavy.

“Ako na ang pinakaduwag sa amin. They’re all super excited, since this also shows the relationship of a mother with her daughter. We’re just not sure what its rating will be.”

“Sunod” also features Mylene Dizon, Susan Africa and Kate Alejandrino.

Why still no wedding bells...

From Page 3 tion that has been hounding Pokwang since giving birth to Malia—her baby girl with Lee—last year.

“I’m still fixing things. My mom has a health condition, too. I just want to make sure that everything’s in place before that (wedding) happens,” pointed out Pokwang, who’s not so optimistic about having another baby.

“Expired na nga [matris ko]!

But despite that, my sex life is happy. Masaya ‘yan!” quipped Pokwang, who has an elder daughter from a past relationship.

Right now, she has her hands full with work and raising Malia, who at 1 year and 9 months, is already quite a crowd-pleaser. “She loves getting up on stage during my shows. She would cry when you take her away. Nang-aagaw ng eksena!” Pokwang related. “When I do photo

shoots, she’s always there, emoting!”

It’s still too early to say whether or not Malia would grow up wanting to become an actress, she said. “But I wouldn’t mind if it happens.

I will support her in whatever she wants to do in life. I want her to finish her studies, of course.”

Pokwang considers herself blessed to be with someone like Lee, who “has a great heart,” and whom she described as her “No.1 fan.”

“What I love about our relationship is that there’s balance. We give and take. We listen to each other. We support each other when it comes to work,” she said. “We make sure to give each other space.

Just because you’re partners doesn’t mean you have to be in each other’s business all the time. It’s all about respect and trust.”

Aside from an upcoming

series, Pokwang is also part of the comedy flick, “Mission Unstapabol: The Don Identity”—an entry in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), which stars Vic Sotto and Maine Mendoza.

“Working with Bossing and Maine has been fun. We’re all happy on the set. Magaan lang,” said Pokwang, who previously worked with Vic in the 2011 comedy “Pak! Pak! My Dr. Kwak!” “Both Bossing and Maine have busy schedules. But we see to it that we adjust to each other. That’s why I had a great time working with them.”

Lee, on the other hand, is part of the drama film “Culion,” which is also an MMFF entry. So it looks like it’s going to be a hectic Christmas season for the couple. “He has spent four Christmases here, so he knows how crazy the MMFF can get. We will be on different floats!” she said.

mation with the sole purpose of manipulating the mass behavior of citizens in a free society.

It stinks to high heaven when the powers that be use information for social engineering and political purposes. We don’t have journalists seeking truth. We have “narrative engineers” spin doctoring, hoaxing and scamming entire populations. Information has become gold nuggets. He who controls information has POWER. In the hands of evil manipulators, information has become a tool that can be used by network owners to enrich themselves. They can skew election results to grab and stay in power and ensure the Continued on Page 6

6

Log off and enjoy your hot chocolate

community

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - October 30, 2019

Barrister’s Corner ATTY. KENNETH URSUA REYES WHAT is the difference between a divorce and an annulment?

Many people think these concepts are the same and interchangeable. There are many differences between the two concepts. A divorce ends a valid existing marriage. In a nullity, a determination is made about the validity of the marriage itself. When a marriage is annulled, it has the same effect as if the marriage never existed. A nullity results in a void.

In California, any spouse can obtain a divorce regardless of the reason. A common basis used is a catchall phrase “irreconcilable differences.” However, anyone who wants to end a marriage can end the marriage and there is nothing the other spouse can do to stop that. However in a petition for nullity, the court will not automatically grant you the nullity. There has to be a legal basis for seeking the nullity as outlined in the family code.

Some of the basis are 1) entering into a bigamous marriage 2) incestuous marriage 3)fraud in obtaining the other spouse’s consent to marriage 4) incurable physical incapacity 5) unsound mind among others. The petitioner would have to prove one of these grounds in court to be able to get a nullity.

In a Nullity, there is a statute of limitations. That means you have to file your nullity within a certain time period depending on the basis for seeking the Nullity. Each ground has a different statute of limitation. For example, if you are filing the nullity based on fraud,

What is the differnce between an annulment and a divorce? you have to file within 4 years of discovering the fraud. If you blow the statute of limitation, this can be used as a defense to dismiss your case. On the other hand there is no statute of limitation in a divorce. You can file a divorce at any time regardless of how long you have been separated from your spouse.

In a divorce, husband and wife are presumed to be the parents of children born during the marriage.

In a Nullity, the marriage has no validity so it will affect the presumption of parentage of the children.

The Court will have to make a finding of parentage for the children on a different basis before it can make orders relating to custody, visitation, and support.

The treatment of spousal support (alimony) is different between the two. In a divorce, the spouse that has less earning capacity and access to resources may seek an award of spousal support. This is not available in a Nullity since the marriage is invalid and there is no spouse as a result.

The division of property is also different. In a divorce, community property is divided equally between the spouses. In a nullity, since there is no valid marriage, there is no community property created and properties are not divided between the spouse. Similarly, neither party can receive survivorship benefits and inheritance rights from the other party in a Nullity.

Finally, there are different immigration consequences between a divorce and a nullity when an immigrant spouse is involved. In a divorce, the immigrant spouse

who obtains a greencard from a US Citizen spouse stands a bigger chance of keeping his or her greencard and ultimately become a US Citizen. In a nullity, the immigrant spouse may lose their greencard status when the marriage is found to be invalid since it is the basis for the greencard. It can jeopardize the immigration status of the legal permanent resident spouse. *** Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice.

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

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

The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, P.C. This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, P.C. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010.

Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail: kenneth@ kenreyeslaw.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com (Advertising Supplement)

Rain water harvesting class and rain barrel sale THE City of Alhambra will be hosting a Rain Water Harvesting Class and Rain Barrel Sale on Saturday, November 2, 2019. Topics of discussion will include the importance of rainwater harvesting, the installation and benefits of a rain barrel, cultivating native plants, how to apply for a rain barrel rebate and general water conservation tips.

The rain barrels cost is $65.00 per barrel, plus tax, and all resi-

dents qualify for a $35.00 rebate.

There is a limit of four per household. Please order your Rain Barrel in advance by visiting www. rainbarrelsintl.com.

Rain barrels capture water from a roof and hold it for later use such as on lawns, gardens or indoor plants. It’s a great way to conserve water and its free water for use in your landscape. For rebate information call 919-602-6316 or email Info@RainBarrelsIntl.com.

From Page 5 flow of money into their bank accounts.

With blatant, unlawful NSA snooping on anything electronic by any citizen these days, can the Gestapo thought police be far behind?

I doubt if my opinions on a twitter account holds any gravitas to twitterverse users. Saying something by tweeting on anything can and will be held against you.

A screen grab of your comment makes it permanent. Why give anyone any ammo? The number of users following you is supposed to be an indication of your fan base.

Few things on the net, particularly regarding the ego, are real, however.

I heard some enterprising company lets you claim thousands of fake twitter followers who purportedly follow your tweets. That goes for a fee, of course. The internet has become the de facto hothouse for growing gigantic egos.

We’ve all become easy targets for privacy intruders. Nothing seems sacred or private anymore.

There’s more than enough out there in the public records to fill a dossier on anyone with an SSN or a pulse. We are living in the throes of the Information Age and the currencies being traded are bits and bytes of information. It’s like living in glass houses these days. There’s too much naked transparency.

As an ordinary, private individual, I am downright resentful. Celebrity is now a curse rather than a blessing. Witness the public meltdown of Hollywood celebrities whose lives more often than not, serve as cautionary tales. Because obscurity is becoming rare these days, it has become all the more precious. The lesser known you are, the better for you in many instances.

No wonder our sense of mystery and awe at anything in this life is fast eroding. I regard social networking with a bit of trepidation and suspicion. And frankly, who’s got the time? I am probably one of a vanishing breed, always itching

to get out of the virtual world and into the real world of doing things in private, without fanfare: creating, fixing, cooking, gardening, making memories and connecting personally and laughing until my sides are nearly split. By choice, I would prefer to be offline and often unwired on the weekends. My personal motto: LOG OFF AND LIVE. There’s so much living yet to do: so many recipes to try, seeds to plant, topiaries to shape, weeds to pull, walls and blank canvasses to paint, places to see, photos to shoot, plays to watch, games to play, puzzles to solve and mysteries to unravel, books to read, people to meet, goals to achieve, skills to learn and courses to take, stuff to give away, stories to write, naps to take and a thousand and one more things to feel, see, touch, taste, hear and soak in before the end game. With all that’s in the past, life still feels like a tabula rasa —lots of living to do, so little time.

BIG SIGH …

I am picking and choosing from the constant flow of messages in my inbox, only this one below.

Some of these forwarded messages are for laughs, others inform while some can make you think harder or even move you to take action. Pet peeves are those that are pure drivel and chain emails with a punitive clause, like a curse of bad luck, if you fail to forward.

For malevolent messages and all the rest of the junk from scammers promising riches, simplify your cyberlife and hit DELETE. DO NOT ENGAGE. Better yet, mark them as SPAM. Sometimes a golden nugget comes through that deserves to be amplified. So simple, it hits you right between the eyes. I searched for the author’s name but like many other pieces flung by anonymous, creative beings in Cyberville, authorship is largely unknown and unclaimed. To the originator of this metaphor then, whoever you are and wherever you may be, please accept a profound THANK YOU,

from the rest of us. Here it is.

THE HOT CHOCOLATE STORY A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups-porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite -- telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: ‘Notice that all the nice looking; expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you’re drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other’s cups.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate we have.

The happiest people don’t have the best of everything… They just make the best of everything that they have.

Live simply. Love generously.

Care deeply. Speak kindly. = LOG OFF. *** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette. maglaya@asianjournalinc.com

Repo deficiency causes senior to seek...

From Page 5 this. Her creditors own her life!

This is no way for anyone to live, no matter what age. I am sure that her beloved husband would agree that they should have filed for Chapter 7 at least 10 years ago, so that now, the client at least would have saved $100,000 in retirement funds instead of being saddled with debt.

Debtor opts for Chapter 7 Client no. 2 is still young. She is barely 50. Her husband suffered a stroke two years ago. His hospital bill was $200,000. Well, that obviously is one problem. And he owes about $40,000 of credit cards. That’s another burden you

don’t want to have even if you are completely healthy and able to work. She needs $1,200 a month to keep her husband’s $40,000 of credit cards happy and current.

The problem is that the husband cannot work anymore because of the stroke. The husband is still ok in that he is still able to talk and not paralyzed, but I believe he is depressed because of his condition. He’s a lot younger than I am, but I feel that he’s lost the will to continue living. I feel bad for him and her.

I can help him discharge the $200,000 of medical bills and $40,000 of credit cards. That’s a no brainer. But I wish I could

Calendar of Events across

do more for him healthwise. But that’s now between our Almighty Father in heaven and him.

If you need debt relief, set an appointment to see me. I will analyze your case personally. *** Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in Bankruptcy, Business, Real Estate and Civil Litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 20274 Carrey Road, Walnut, CA 91789 or 1000 S. Fremont Ave., Mailstop 58, Building A-10 South-Lower Level Suite 10042, Alhambra, CA 91803.

(Advertising Supplement)

America

ADVERTISE YOUR EVENTS! PRE-EVENT AND POST EVENT GO DEEPER. GO WIDER. LET THE WORLD KNOW. CALL ASIAN JOURNAL: (818) 502-0651 DISPLAY AD SIZES AT SPECIAL RATES FOR NON-PROFIT GROUPS N OV E M B E R 2

Oil filter exchange event in Alhambra, CA ATTENTION ALL ALHAMBRA RESIDENTS – Free Oil Filter & Motor Oil Recycling Event on Saturday, November 2! 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. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at O’Reilly Auto Parts (800 E. Valley Blvd. Alhambra, CA 91801).

N OV E M B E R 22-24

World Education Summit on Sustainability and Transformation in Las Vegas AThe World Education Summit on Sustainability and Transformation is a call to action and transformation to finding solutions to the challenges of our times. Join on November 22-24 for three days of activities, learning, networking and events, such as panel discussions and presentations, industry leader keynote speeches, and a dinner and gala featuring an eco-fashion show. The summit aims to gather stakeholders from educational institutions; business and civic organizations; government agencies and international development organizations to galvanize collaborative and strategic partnership to achieve a common goal in environmental sustainability. We are expecting delegates from different countries. The Summit will serve as a collaborative platform to achieve a unified mission. The venue is The Convention Center at The Orleans Hotel (4500 W Tropicana Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89103). For more information and to register, please visit http://worldsummit.info.

D EC E M B E R 1

Kalayaan Incorporated’s Christmas Party and induction of officers in Monterey Park, CA Kalayaan Incorporated’s Induction of Officers 2019-2020 will be held during its Christmas Party on Sunday, Decemeber 1, from 12 to 4 p.m., at the Monterey Hill Event Center. The hilltop venue offers a spectacular view of the San Gabriel Valley, and is located at 3700 Ramona Blvd., Monterey Park, Calif. 91754. Kalayaan Incorporated, a non-profit public benefit corporation in the State of California, classified as a public charity organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, holds the annual celebration in Southern California of the anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence. Chairing the Induction and Christmas Party is Violet Mislang with Lady Hope Robillos, Co-chair, and Nonie Belarmino, Program Coordinator.

Cost of lunch is $40.00. For more information, please contact Violet at (562) 644-4073, vmislang@gmail.com; Lady Hope at (310) 500-0917, lhopepr@yahoo.com; or Nonie (310) 357-0222, Idancenonie@outlook.com.

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

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - October 30, 2019

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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - October 30, 2019

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