122017 - Los Angeles Midweek Edition

December 20-22, 2017 Volume 27 - No. 102 • 3 Sections - 20 Pages

DATELINE

USA

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

US slams China for ‘unacceptable’ ongoing militarization in South China Sea THE United States has denounced China’s reported continuous militarization in the South China Sea, calling Beijing’s construction activities in the disputed waters “unacceptable.”

“It is not an acceptable – it’s not acceptable to us that these islands continue to be developed, and certainly not for military purposes,” said U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday, December 12.

Speaking before the 2017 Atlantic Council-Korea Foundation Forum, Tillerson said U.S. government told Chinese officials that Washington is hoping to “find a way to freeze” the militarization in the region.

“And we have differences, such as the South China Sea and China’s building of structures, militarization of these structures, and how that affects our allies in the region

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PH-US security, economy relations ‘robust’, says envoy

THE Philippines’ partnership with the United States on security and economic matters has been “robust” this year, according to Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose ManPH Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel uel Romualdez.

Romualdez Inquirer.net photo In his yearend briefing at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., Romualdez emphasized the importance of peace and stability between Southeast Asia and the U.S. “It is said that security and economic development are two sides of the same coin.

Our partnership with the U.S. on political and security issues are just as robust as the economic relationship I just mentioned,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez said that the cooperation of two countries in 2018 would focus on counterter-

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PH withdraws application for US grant to focus on rebuilding Marawi

by DANA

SIOSON AJPress

THE Philippine government has pulled out its application for a second grant from an independent United States poverty reduction agency,

Malacañang announced on Tuesday, December 19.

According to Palace Spokesperson Harry Roque, the Philippine government decided to withdraw its application from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in order to focus

on the rehabilitation of the war-torn Marawi City in Mindanao.

“We have opted to withdraw from the second Millennium Challenge…

The decision to withdraw was because of the urgent priority of the administration to rebuild Marawi,” the Palace

official said in a briefing.

He explained that the MCC grant would not cover projects that could be used for rebuilding Marawi City.

“MCC exists for other objectives.

They do not exist for rebuilding be-

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Duterte changes tune anew, says he supports samesex marriage

REVERSING his stance, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his support for the legalization of same-sex marriage in the country.

Speaking before the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Davao City on Sunday, December 17, Duterte suggested the possibility of legalizing the union between same sexes in the Philippines, as the current law provides that marriage is only between man and woman.

“Ako gusto ko (I want) samesex marriage. Ang problema we’ll have to change the law. But we can change the law. Eh ang batas kasi (Because our law states that) marriage is a union between a man and a woman,” Duterte said in his speech.

As stated by the Executive Order (E.O.) 209, marriage is “a special

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AFTERMATH. President Rodrigo Duterte does an aerial survey on board a chopper on the hard-hit areas of Typhoon Urduja on Monday, December 18. He then convened with some members of his Cabinet and local government officials to discuss the extent of the typhoon’s damage as well as the response and relief efforts on the typhoon-stricken areas.

Malacañang photo by Christopher Lawrence Go

Duterte signs tax reform, budget bills New guidelines on use

by LLANESCA

PANTI ManilaTimes.net

President Rodrigo Duterte is flanked by lawmakers as he leads the Ceremonial Signing of the 2018 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) at the Malacañang Palace on Tuesday, December 19.

Malacañang photo by Albert Alcain

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte signed on Tuesday, December 19, a tax reform bill reducing income taxes and increasing fuel and other excise taxes, as well as the P3.77-trillion national budget that seeks to upgrade the country’s infrastructure.

In remarks during the signing ceremonies in Malacañang, Duterte said the bills were his “biggest Christmas gifts” to the Filipino people and fulfilled his

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Pres. Pacquiao in 2022? Duterte supports it

by DANA

SIOSON AJPress

IF there is someone Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wants to succeed him, it would be boxing icon and Senator Manny Pacquiao.

In his remarks during the senator’s 39th birthday celebration on Sunday, December 20, Duterte expressed support for Pacquiao as he remarked that the senator is capable of becoming the country’s next chief executive.

“Sabi ko sa kanya one time noong kami lang dalawa nagusap, gusto kita gawing presiPresident Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday, Dec. 17, attended the 39th birthday celebration of dent. Alam ko kaya mo (One Senator Manny Pacquiao in General Santos City. Joining them in the photo are Pacquiao’s time in a private talk, I told him wife Jinkee and their children.

Photo from Instagram/@jinkeepacquiao I want him to be president and

said he could do it),” the president said.

This, however, was not the first time Duterte expressed support to Pacquiao for a possible presidential run in the 2022 elections. Last year, Duterte also tagged Pacquiao as “president-to-be.”

Duterte then lauded Pacquiao’s public service.

“As a senator, you have demonstrated the qualities of a true leader — someone who believes that in order to make the Philippines a better country, we have to keep our people on top of our priorities. I am glad that you are with me in this mission,” Duterte said.

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of P1-B OFW fund signed

by PIA LEE-BRAGO AND

PAOLO ROMERO

Philstar.com

MANILA — Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday, December 19, signed the new guidelines on the use of the P1-billion fund for distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The new guidelines were prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)’s Office of Migrant Workers Affairs after Congress approved President Duterte’s request to increase the Assistance to Nationals (ATN) Fund from P400 million to P1 billion and the Legal Assistance Fund (LAF) from P100 million to P200 million for 2018.

Cayetano said with the new guidelines on the use of ATN and LAF, the DFA is now in the position to more effectively respond to the growing number of distressed OFWs. Cayetano had ordered a review and revision of the guidelines after the President announced the budget augmentation for the DFA “to allow more flexibility in their disbursement, to expand the scope of the services covered and to be more responsive to the needs of our distressed kababayans abroad.”

“The rationale behind the revised guidelines is for us to be

Foreign Affairs Sec. Alan Peter Cayetano Philstar.com photo

able to help as many and as much without sacrificing the quality of our service.

“The LAF may be availed of by a distressed overseas Filipino who is unable to engage the services of private counsel, and who is in a country where there is no system of legal aid or public defenders, or where there is no access to counsel de officio, or any lawyer provided by the foreign host government,” he added.

The ATN Funds, on the other hand, will be used to cover wel-

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A december 20-22, 2017 • LA mIdWeeK ASIAN JOUrNAL

Duterte changes tune anew...

PAGE A1 contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life.”

But the president expressed that he does not have “any problems making it marrying a man, marrying a woman or whatever is the predilection of the human being.”

He continued, “If that is the trend of the modern times, if that will add to your happiness, I am for it. Who am I?” The president also assured the LGBT community in the country that he will not tolerate discrimination against all sectors of society.

In the same speech, Duterte likewise said he is willing to appoint members of the LGBT community to his Cabinet, giving them until the second week of January to choose their nominee.

“Now find me the brightest dito sa Pilipinas (here in the Phil-

ippines). Bigyan ninyo ako ng bright na tao (Give me a bright person). He might be gay, he might be lesbian. I’d like to nominate or appoint somebody upon the nomination,” Duterte said.

He added, “You nominate the representative from the LGBT sector kasi (because) I fired the entire [Presidential] Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP), the head for traveling so much in so short a time, as if he was using the money of the people like his own.”

Earlier this month, the president had fired all the commissioners of the PCUP, headed by its former chairman Terry Ridon, because of their alleged unnecessary trips and supposed failure to hold meetings.

It is not clear, however, which government body Duterte was referring to when he made the remark about appointing a member of the LGBT community to his Cabinet.

“I’d like a gay there somewhere or a lesbian… You nomi-

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From the Front Page nate somebody who is honest, hardworking. And I would like to show that any, any ma-bakla man o ma-tomboy (gay or lesbian) can—well, can always work just like an ordinary human being,” Duterte said.

During his taped TV appearance on “Gandang Gabi Vice” in 2015, Duterte told gay television host Vice Ganda that same-sex marriage is “good,” adding “everyone deserves to be guaranteed happy.”

But in his speech before the Filipino community in Myanmar earlier in March this year, Duterte insisted that marriage in the predominantly Catholic Philippines is between a man and a woman.

He clarified, however, that he respects the lifestyle of the people in the LGBT community, sharing that some members of his extended family are gay.

Following Duterte’s recent bid to legalize same sex marriage, some Catholic Church leaders in the country reiterated their stance against it.

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COVERED IN MUD. The Caraycaray Bridge in Biliran is impassable after it was destroyed when typhoon Urduja ravaged some parts of Eastern and Western Visayas over the weekend. President Rodrigo Duterte visited the hard-hit areas on Monday, December 18.

Malacañang photo by Robinson Ninal Jr.

PH withdraws application...

PAGE A1 cause of natural or man-made calamities,” Roque said.

The Palace official also made it clear that the decision has nothing to do with the Philippines’ failure to meet the MCC’s performance standard this year in terms of controlling corruption and of ensuring the rule of law.

In the MCC 2018 scorecard released last month, the Philippines scored zero in controlling corruption and -0.01 in ensuring the rule of law. The country’s percentile ranking in the lowincome group category was 50 percent.

Roque likewise clarified that the Philippine government has no objections to any of the conditions set by the MCC in granting the aid. He further added that the decision to withdraw, has nothing to do with the supposed interference from the U.S. “No, none at all, not at all. Not this instance. It was really just that Marawi happened. We did not expect it and it’s going to be very costly rebuilding,” the Palace official said.

The administration of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly said in the past that it will not accept any grants that have conditions perceived to violate the country’s sovereignty.

MCC is an independent U.S. foreign aid agency that provides grants to promote economic growth in poor countries that are committed to good governance, economic freedom and investments in citizens, as stated in its official website.

The Philippines received $434 million-worth grant from the MCC in 2010, which expired in May 2016. The country has been listed as a “candidate country” for a second grant.

While the Philippines has cancelled its application for a second MCC grant, Malacañang expressed optimism that the U.S. government “fully understands the decision to reallocate our funding priority for this year and that this will not, in any way, adversely impact our eligibility for another round of compact assistance in the future.”

‘Robust’ security, economic ties Both the security and economic relationship between the Philippines and U.S. this year has been “robust,” according to Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez.

“It is said that security and economic development are two sides of the same coin. Our partnership with the U.S. on political and security issues are just as robust as the economic relationship I just mentioned,” said Romualdez in a briefing held at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. For the year 2018, Romualdez cited counterterrorism and counter-narcotics as the primary focus of the countries’ bilateral cooperation. He stressed that it is to the interest of both Manila and Washington to eradicate threats posed by terrorism and illegal drugs trade.

The ambassador also encouraged the Filipino community in U.S. to contribute in bringing positive change on the two countries’ people-to-people ties. n

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LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • DEcEMbER 20-22, 2017

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A december 20-22, 2017 • LA mIdWeeK ASIAN JOUrNAL Rehiyonal na Awtoridad sa Riles ng Southern California (Southern California Regional Rail Authority-SCRRA) Paunawa sa Pampublikong Pagdinig / Paunawa sa Panukalang Pagbaba ng Pamasahe, Pagsasaayos ng Patakaran sa Pamasahe Ang Rehiyonal na Awtoridad sa Riles ng Southern California (Southern California Regional Rail Authority-SCRRA) ay magsasagawa ng isang pampublikong pagdinig sa Pagpupulong ng Lupon ng mga Direktor (Lupon), sa Enero 26, 2018 upang suriin ang mga potensyal na pagbabago sa patakaran sa pamasahe na may layuning magamit ng pinakaepektibo ang bilang ng mga pasahero na sumasakay ng pampublikong transportasyon (ridership).

Tatalakayin sa pagdinig ang kasalukuyang pangpromosyon na 25% na diskwento sa extension ng Perris Valley Line (PVL) na isinasagawa mula pa noong 2017. Ang Awtoridad ay kasalukuyang tinatrabaho kasama ang Lupon ng Transportasyon ng County ng Riverside (Riverside County Transportation Committee) at iba pang mga ahensya na miyembro na naapektuhan, na gawing permanente itong diskwento upang mapanatili ang mga kasalukuyang mananakay at patuloy na pagtaas ng bilang ng mga sumasakay sa PVL. Ang pampublikong pagdinig ay ililista sa pag-uusapan sa Pagpupulong ng Lupon ng mga Direktor ng SCRRA sa: Enero 26, 2018 sa 10:00 ng umaga.

Sa Conference Room ng Metro Board One Gateway Plaza, Ikatlong Palapag Los Angeles, CA 90012 Ang impormasyon tungkol sa mga panukalang pagsasaayos ng pamasahe, mga pagbabago sa patakaran sa pamasahe at mga pagpapatibay ng patakaran ay makikita para sa pampublikong inspeksyon sa website ng Metrolink sa www. metrolinktrains.com o sa opisina ng punong tanggapan ng SCRRA, na matatagpuan sa One Gateway Plaza, Ikalabindalawang Palapag, Los Angeles, CA 90012 sa regular na oras ng opisina Lunes hanggang Biyernes, mula ika-8 ng umaga hanggang ika4 ng hapon. Ang mga komento at suhestiyon ay maaring isumite nang pasalita o nakasulat sa pampublikong pagdinig, o i-post nang maaga sa pampublikong pagdinig sa pamamagitan ng pag-click sa pagpipiliang “eComment” upang isumite ang instant electronic comment sa w w w. m e t r o l i n k t r a i n s . com/ecomments , o sa pamamagitan ng koreo kung natanggap nang maaga ng pampublikong pagdinig sa atensyon ng Metrolink Fares sa punong tanggapan ng SCRRA, o i-fax sa atensyon ng Metrolink Fares bago ang pagdinig sa (213) 452-0421. Ang lahat ng mga komento ng publiko, anuman ang paraan ng komunikasyon, ay dapat isumite at matanggap nang hindi lalampas sa Enero 26, 2018. Ang ilan o lahat ng mga bagay na ito ay maaaring ipagpatuloy ng Lupon sa ibang pagkakataon o petsa sa sarili nitong pagpapasiya.

12/20/17 CNS-3080625# ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)

Dateline USa

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Arrested priest extradited from Philippines to North Dakota A priest accused of molesting two boys in the 1990s has been extradited from the philippines to North Dakota to face charges. the U.s. Attorney’s Office for North Dakota announced Friday that Fernando Laude sayasaya is back in the United states and will face child sexual abuse charges in Cass County.

Amid the allegations, sayasaya went to the philippines in 1998 and didn’t return. A philippines

court ordered his extradition in 2010. He appealed, lost and was ultimately arrested last month. the charges allege sayasaya abused two underage siblings from 1995 to 1998. He was assigned to the Blessed sacrament Catholic church and to st. Mary’s Cathedral at the time.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for sayasaya to comment on his behalf. (Philstar. com with reports from Associated Press)

Marquez claims rejecting $100-M for 5th Pacquiao fight Duterte signs tax reform...

HOLIDAY RUSH. People flock to street stalls in Baclaran in Pasay City to shop for Christmas gifts for loved ones on Sunday, December 17.

The Christmas holiday rush has brought heavy traffic in most areas of the metropolis.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

by

Dino Maragay Philstar.com

NO amount of money can convince Juan Manuel Marquez to fight archrival Manny pacquiao for the fight time.

Not even a jaw-dropping $100 million.

Marquez recently claimed he turned down a huge offer from investors to once again tangle with pacquiao in a bout to be staged in the philippines. “there was an offer for a fifth fight against pacquiao in the philippines for $100 million dollars, and i refused in order to keep my honor and the glory of the fourth fight from 2012,” the Mexican legend recently told espN Deportes.

Marquez, who recently retired from boxing, just sees no point in stepping in the ring again with pacquiao. After a close trilogy, Marquez registered the most convincing result of their storied rivalry when he knocked pacquiao out cold in 2012. it was Marquez’s greatest vic-

tory, and the 44-year-old former fighter stressed he’s already contented with what he has achieved. “it ($100 million) is a lot of money — but honor, pride and what we did is more important than doing a fifth fight,” he added.

“Let’s pretend that the fifth fight would happen. How about if i get robbed in the fight, we do not know what can happen, he’s capable of hitting me with the right shot and hurting me badly. so i would place myself at risk,” Marquez continued.

While Marquez has already called it quits, pacquiao, for his part, is far from done, eyeing to come back sometime next year. the Filipino icon is looking to bounce back from a loss to Jeff Horn last July.

He’s also open to another bout with Marquez. But the feeling isn’t mutual. “the glory and what we did in 2012 is worth more than that amount they were offering,” Marquez said. n

PAGE A1 campaign promise of “genuine fiscal policy.” “the bold and decisive effort of our economic managers [resulted in]a spending and tax plan embodied by the 2018 General Appropriations Act and the tax reform for Acceleration and inclusion Act or the train. these laws i signed today are the fulfillment of my campaign promise to institute genuine fiscal reform that would be felt by every Filipino, and the implementation of these laws will serve as our initial step in making the philippines an upper-middle-class country by 2022,” Duterte said. the Budget department described the 2018 outlay as “a budget that reforms and transforms,” and “represents the breadth of the ambition of the Duterte administration, funding the grand ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure program, free quality tertiary education, free irrigation, among other programs.” it is also the country’s largest

budget to date—12.4 percent higher than the 2017 national budget and 25.5 percent higher than the 2016 budget. equivalent to more than a fifth of gross domestic product (GDp), the 2018 budget will support the government’s objective of 7 to 8 percent GDp growth in 2018, the Budget department said. social services continued to have the biggest share of the budget with 38.7 percent, followed by economic services with 30.5 percent, general public services with 16.4 percent, the debt burden with 9.8 percent, and defense with 4.6 percent.

Tax reform the tax measure, the first package of tax reforms that the Duterte administration plans to implement, exempts those earning p250,000 or less in a year from paying income taxes. But it hikes fuel taxes by p6 per liter, staggered over the next three years. “it will spare 99 percent of our population from the payment

of income taxes because those earning not more than p250,000 per annum will now be tax exempt,” palace spokesman Harry roque Jr. told reporters. the tax reform law also doubled the mining excise tax from two to four percent, while the tobacco excise tax was increased from p31.20 per pack to p32.50 between January and June 2018, p35 per pack from July 2018 to December 2019, p37.50 per pack in 2020 and 2021, and p40 per pack in 2022 and 2023. to offset the increased fuel taxes as well as additional taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, the government will grant a monthly cash transfer worth p200 for each of 10 million households in 2018 and p300 per month in 2019 and 2020. the law, however, does not specify how the beneficiaries of the subsidy will be determined.

Of the p120 billion worth of government revenues that the tax reform law is expected to generate, 70 percent will be earmarked for infrastructure projects while the remaining 30 percent will go to social services. n

Amnesty: Martial law extension signals more rights abuses in Mindanao by auDrey

Morallo Philstar.com

22 million people.

However, Amnesty international said that the extension could mean more human rights violations which were already recorded during the monthslong battle of Marawi City which killed more than 1,000 people, most of whom combatants, and displaced hundreds of thousands of residents. “the length of this latest extension, until the end of 2018, is an ominous move that almost certainly signals further abuses in the months ahead,” James Gomez, Amnesty international’s Director for southeast Asia and the pacific, said.

He said that since military rule was declared in the region civilians in Mindanao had faced unlawful killings, destruction of their homes, ill-treatment and numerous other human rights abuses at the hands of the philippine military and islamic state-inspired militants. in a report on the siege of Marawi released last month, Amnesty said that both the Armed Forces and the islamist fighters committed violations of CONGRESS EXTENDS MARTIAL LAW. Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (left) exchanges pleasantries with House Speaker Pantaleon international humanitarian law, Alvarez during the special joint session of Congress on Wednesday, December 13. The Senate voted 14-4 while the House voted 226-3 in favor some of which could amount to of extending martial law in Mindanao and suspension of the writ of habeas corpus until December 31, 2018.

Senate photo by Ariel Cagadas war crimes.

Amnesty accused the military of using torture and ill-treatment of people in their custody especially those who were tryPAGE A1 ues to build defence “fortifica- pag-asa [island] we’re repairing. ing to escape the fighting. as well in terms of free and open tions” on Mischief (panganiban) Malaysia, Vietnam, China are the militants meanwhile, actrade,” tillerson said. repairing but everyone is saying and subi (Zamora) reefs.

He added, “As we’ve said to this, despite Chinese president it’s defensive,” philippine Forthe Chinese, we hope we can find Xi Jinping’s vow last year that eign Affairs secretary Alan peter a way to freeze this particular ac- Beijing did “not intend to pursue Cayetano said. tivity. Whether we can reverse it militarisation” in the region.

“We’ve never said that they PAGE A1 remains to seen. But it is not an But the philippine government, have stopped [building] or that rorism and counter-narcotics. acceptable.” for its part, downplayed the AM- there is nothing happening. the diplomat stressed that it is Last week, a U.s. think tank ti’s report as it pointed out that What we are saying is, they are to the interest of both the philipreleased a report showing that China has not occupied any new not occupying areas that are not pines and the U.s. to eradicate China has installed high-fre- area in the disputed region and inhabited, meaning, they are the threats posed by terrorism quency radar system and other has only been “building in areas not occupying new areas,” he and the illegal drugs trade. facilities at the northern end of they already occupy.” added. in addition, romualdez called Fiery Cross reef—locally known Defending its construction, on the Filipino community in the the philippine government in the philippines as the Kagitin- also noted that China is not the China, meanwhile, insisted that U.s. to contribute in their own gan reef—in the spratlys. sole country conducting activi- it is completely normal to “conin its report dated thursday, ties within the contested waters. duct peaceful construction and December 14, the Asia Maritime “in the old areas, we’ve moni- build essential defense equiptransparency initiative (AMti) tored that a lot are still building ment on its own sovereign terriPAGE A1 also claimed that China contin- in areas they already occupy. in tory.” (Dana Sioson/AJPress) fare assistance and repatriation of distressed, sick and deceased Filipinos abroad. it also includes the cost of cremation or embalming, transport of remains to the philipPAGE A1 pines and burial assistance. said. “MMA next.” of the current administration.

He also praised the boxUnder the new guidelines, the earlier in August, McGregor prior to the senatorial post, ing icon for bringing glory to pacquiao has served as a con- suffered a technical knockthe philippines in the world of gressman of sarangani prov- out loss in his boxing match sports. against undefeated Floyd Mayince.

“You have brought so much weather Jr. McGregor wants ‘true fight’ PAGE A2 pride and joy to our country in a social media post last there had been reports about in a statement, sorsogon Bishop for being a world champion in mixed martial arts star Conor November 23, pacquiao teased the field of boxing. the deter- McGregor as pacquiao’s poten- a possible match next year Arturo Bastes maintained that the mination you have shown and tial opponent but the irishman against McGregor when he Catholic Church will never approve the humility you embodied in has indicated that he’s not in- used the hashtags “2018” and the union between same sexes. He also called on the Filipinos to never the midst of glorious triumphs terested in a boxing match. “real boxing match.” are worthy of emulation by our “Happy thanksgiving! stay allow its legalization. in an interview with tMZ “the trivialization of marcountrymen,” Duterte added. last week, McGregor said that fit my friend. #realboxingmatch During the May 2016 election, he wants to enter the octagon #2018 @thenotoriousmma,” the riage is one of the fundamental pacquiao won the senatorial in his next match and not the Filipino boxer posted on in his reasons [for] the breakdown of race after getting more than 15 squared ring. instagram account along with individuals and human society,” million votes. He has emerged “i think a true fight is what a photo of the UFC Lightweight Bastes said. in a separate statement, the as one of the staunch supporters i want to do next,” McGregor Champion. n abuses in the coming months. the Congress, dominated AN international rights by allies of firebrand president group blasted the extension of rodrigo Duterte, granted the military rule in Mindanao for leader’s request toextend for another year, saying that the the second time the prevailing decision is an “ominous move” martial law in Mindanao until that signals more human rights Dec. 31, 2018.

Both the senate and the House of representatives gave their imprimatur for the move, which the president said was needed to address the threat of terrorism and rebellion in many parts of Mindanao, a southern island which is home to around

US slams China for ‘unacceptable’...

cording to the London-based group, committed numerous extrajudicial executions of nonMuslim residents, especially at checkpoints.

Both the military and the militants were accused of looting the deserted property of the residents. Military officials admitted in the past that some of their personnel were caught stealing and said that some had already been charged.

Amnesty said: “Violations in the battle of Marawi, in northern Mindanao, have been carried out with impunity, while there has been a disturbing rise in killings of human rights defenders and political activists across the region in recent months.” the group said that Duterte, already accused of orchestrating a brutal anti-drugs campaign which killed between 7,000 to 12,000 people, should not use martial law as a “pretext for further violations” in Mindanao without any accountability. it also called on authorities to take concrete steps to end violations, address those which had already taken place and prevent them from recurring.

Duterte first placed Mindanao under military rule on May 23 following an attempt by militants to transform the lakeside town of Marawi into the center of the islamic state’s caliphate in southeast Asia. n

PH-US security, economy... way to bring positive change on philippine-U.s. people-to-people ties. the “impressive” economic growth of the philippines would also make the country an even more attractive destination for American investors, romualdez said. (Julius N. Leonen/Inquirer. net)

New guidelines on use...

Pres. Pacquiao in 2022?...

DFA will not only provide care packages and basic supplies for Filipinos on death row and those serving life sentences abroad, but will also shoulder the cost of compassionate visits by their next of kin to the country of incarceration. n

Duterte changes tune anew... philippine Council of evangelical Churches (pCeC) also voiced its objection as it noted that such union was against the central teachings of both Christianity and islam.

“Union between the same sex, for instance, directly contradicts a central teaching of islam and Christianity—that marriage is only between a man and a woman,” the pCeC said. (Dana Sioson/ AJPress)

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LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • DEcEMbER 20-22, 2017

A

Dateline PhiliPPines

‘BBL unlikely to hurdle constitutional barriers’

by Dana

SioSon AJPress

PhiliPPine President Rodrigo Duterte has been pushing for the approval of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic law (BBl) but on Tuesday, December 19, the chief executive expressed doubt that the measure will be passed by Congress. in a speech after signing the tax reform program and 2018 national budget into law, Duterte admitted that he doesn’t think the proposed BBl can “hurdle constitutional barriers.” “i do not think that it will hurdle constitutional — binabasa ko paulit-ulit (i’m reading it again and again) — the constitutional barriers,” Duterte said, without specifying which provisions of the proposed BBl will violate the Constitution.

The BBl was crafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), which include

representatives from the Moro islamic liberation Front (MilF) and Moro national liberation Front (MnlF).

The proposed measure aims to abolish the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and replace it with Bangsamoro Region that will enjoy fiscal autonomy. it will also serve as the completion of the peace process with the Moro rebels.

Warning that the Moros will likely go to war if it failed to get nod from Congress, Duterte then urged to lawmakers to think of ways on how to free the proposed BBl from unconstitutional provisions.

“Pero kung di natin ibibigay ‘yan (But if we don’t give it), kindly help me think of ways on how to do it kasi (because) the other choice is — if we go to war, it opens the floodgates of Mindanao to everybody else,” the president said.

in a separate statement, Duterte urged the MilF and MnlF to not raise arms if the proposed BBl does not pass legal scrutiny.

“To my brothers in Mi, Mn, let us continue talking because both of these entities are for peace. As to how wide the concession we will give is something which has to be discussed,” he remarked in a speech during the birthday celebration of Senator Manny Pacquiao on Sunday, December 17.

Duterte continued, “But if it does not hurdle Congress, do not draw your guns right away.

We still can talk and maybe explore other areas. But i assure you that during my term, it will be addressed.”

Passing the proposed BBl has been among Duterte’s campaign promises. last month, the house of Representatives also vowed to pass the measure before Congress adjourns in March next year. n

LUMINOUS. Visitors take their photos inside ‘Lumina: Walkway of Lights,’ an installation of at least 100,000 multi-colored LED bulbs at Resorts World Manila.

ManilaTimes.net photo by John Micah Sebastian

Navy chief relieved over P16-B frigate contract ‘Paolo did not pay for debut photo shoot, gowns’

by Janvic

by FranceS

G. ManGoSinG & nikko Dizon

ing FOiC. Inquirer.net The procurement of the weapons system for the navy’s P16billion frigate acquisition pronAVY Flag Officer in Comgram has been causing a stir mand (FOiC) Vice Adm. Ronald within the command and the Joseph Mercado was sacked on Department of national Defense Tuesday, December 19, amid since last year. controversy involving a weapons A government official told the system procurement plan. inquirer that Mercado had conMercado’s relief was immedifided to him that he (Mercado) ate and surreptitious, shocking was being pressured into agreemany in the Armed Forces of ing to a frigate contract with a the Philippines, which was set to stipulation that hyundai heavy hold its founding anniversary on industries, the frigate contracWednesday, December 20. tor, had the right to choose the he was replaced by Rear Adm. weapons systems to be installed Robert empedrad, the AFP depon the warship. uty chief of staff for reserve and “normally, the [buyer], which retirees affairs (J9). is the navy, should have the sole Gen. Rey leonardo Guerrero, right to choose what it wants for the AFP chief of staff, swore in their ships. This was the reason empedrad at a change of comthat Mercado had been holding mand ceremony held at the the line, insisting that the navy hall of Flags of the AFP General must have the last say when it headquarters.

PH Navy Chief Vice Admiral Ronald Joseph comes to the weapons system,” Mercado, a member of the Mercado the official, who declined to be Philippine Military Academy Mr. Duterte appointed Mer- named, said.

Class of 1983, is set to retire in The official added that hyunMarch next year. empedrad is a cado as navy chief on nov. 12, last year. dai’s weapons system capabilimember of PMA Class ’86.

Who ordered sacking? ties have yet to be tested and empedrad’s first public funcit was not immediately known proven. tions as navy chief will be at the But another source from the AFP Day at Camp Aguinaldo with who ordered Mercado’s relief President Duterte as guest of and who signed the appointment defense department told the inpapers of empedrad as the acthonor.

PAGE A7

Mateo Philstar.com

MAnilA — The photographer who shot the photos of President Duterte’s granddaughter isabelle at Malacañang has broken his silence on the controversy. in a Facebook post on Monday, December 18, lito Sy said isabelle’s father, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, did not pay for the lavish photo shoot and gowns worn by isabelle, including one that may have cost as much as P600,000.

Sy made the clarification after the photo shoot received flak from netizens. he denied claims that he charged P250,000 for the photo shoot, saying he did not ask for a fee from the Duterte family as he is a friend of isabelle’s mother and Paolo’s first wife, lovelie Sangkola Sumera.

Sy also denied that the gowns were bought, noting that these were given by sponsors to the Duterte family at no cost.

“The red gown used by isabelle was sent through lBC from Dubai. it was sponsored by a Dubaibased Davao designer who is a good friend of isabelle’s mom,” Sy said, referring to designer

Instagram images from her stylists show presidential granddaughter Isabelle Duterte posing with make-up artist Frankie Bacierto (left) and wearing a red gown during a pre-debut pictorial at Malacañang.

Garimon Roferos.

The other gowns were provided by stylist Jeff Galang, who borrowed them from famous designers in exchange for credits and mileage, the photographer added.

Sy noted that the expensive shoes worn by isabelle were provided by Viva, which is expecting to launch the presidential granddaughter as one of its new artists.

According to Sy, the payment of P25,000 was made for Galang and an unspecified amount for make-up artist Winn Ramos. “it was not Paolo Duterte who paid for the suppliers because

isabelle’s mother is a businesswoman,” he said.

Family wealth in spotlight earlier, novelist and New York Times columnist Miguel Syjuco said the photo shoot could have cost the Duterte family as much as P1.1 million, citing the cost of the gowns and the other services.

Syjuco said Sy’s clarification provided answers to questions that have been raised about isabelle’s photo shoot at Malacañang.

“Yet new questions remain.

Are these free services considered gifts given to a relative of PAGE A7

A december 20-22, 2017 • LA mIdWeeK ASIAN JOUrNAL

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

OpiniOn

Gangsters

Features

AT LEAST 90 “gangsters” involved in corruption in the Philippine National Police (PNP) would be fired, President Rodrigo Duterte announced the other day. A common reaction to the announcement was: why only 90? It must be just the first batch, with the 90 mostly members of the PNP officer corps.

The President surely believes that there are more than 90 “gangsters” in the police service. He had once described the PNP as “rotten to the core.” Besides corruption, cops have been implicated in criminal activities including kidnapping, carjacking and drug trafficking. The President’s so-called narco list includes police officers including generals. In his bloody war against illegal drugs, vigilantes executing civilians are widely suspected to be the socalled “ninja cops” who are permanently silencing potential witnesses

against them. Purging the PNP of such scalawags is overdue.

The President should not limit his anti-corruption purge to the PNP. It can be extended to other agencies notorious for corruption such as the Bureau of Customs. The Department of the Interior and Local Government also has disciplinary powers over barangay offices. In local governments, the President can prod his political allies to conduct similar purges. A thorough housecleaning is always welcome as the nation rings in a new year. (Philstar.com)

Editorial

Philstar.com photo

No peace among nations, unless there is peace among the religions

Peace-maker FoRmeR SpeakeR JoSe C. de VeneCia JR. We were at the United Nations headquarters in New York last week where we watched with admiration our articulate Philippine Ambassador to the U.N. Teodoro Locsin, Jr. deliver a well-researched speech on Refugees and Human Rights at the U.N. General Assembly.

He spoke of the 10 million Filipinos “working in every corner of the world; many in perilous places; throughout our history we have opened our own doors to waves of refugees, when other countries have turned them away.”

He cited “white Russians fleeing Communism in Russia (at the time); Loyalists fleeing fascism in Spain; We took in Jews fleeing europe, Vietnamese boat people, and Nationalist Chinese, offering them citizenship. We offered unconditional asylum to Rohingyas in Myanmar, not once but twice, most recently by President Duterte, who said he ‘would not

Jose De Venecia Jr., Special Envoy for Inter-Cultural Dialogue

mind refugees, filling the country to the brim’.”

We told Ambassador Locsin we were reminded of our own address at the U.N. Security Council in 2004, when we proposed the establishment of an Inter-Faith Council at the U.N. to replace the U.N. Trusteeship Council, since we agreed almost all the Trust Territories in the world have already became independent. But this could not be done without

amending the Charter of the U.N., a most difficult exercise. We succeeded partially in any case. As a compromise, the U.N. created an Interfaith Unit in the Office of the U.N. Secretary General to take care of inter-religious initiatives and issues.

Since then, Interfaith discussions, previously taboo in the U.N. system, are today regularly held at the U.N. and in the associated interfaith conferences in

various parts of the world.

We noted that these initiatives should help to reconcile the politico-religious, ethnic and communal conflicts that have raged over the centuries and again exploded in our midst in the first years of the 21st Century in Lebanon, Palestine, Chechnya in Russia, Mindanao, Southern Thailand, Aceh in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Kashmir, Northern Ireland, Sudan, Nigeria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

We wrote about these problem areas extensively in 2007 in our presentation at the ASeAN Leaders Summit in Cebu City on January 13, 2007 when we were Speaker of the House and Chairman of the ASeAN InterParliamentary Assembly (AIPA).

Of course since then progress had already been made in Aceh, Chechnya, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and in the Catholic-Protestant conflict in Northern Ireland.

In the Philippines, the local inter-faith counterpart was the Bishops Ulama Conferences in Mindanao, where Catholic and Protestant Bishops held occa-

sional consultations-meetings with the Muslim Ulama leaders, and who were quite helpful when we assisted negotiations for the successful MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) talks wich which led to a formal peace agreement in 1996 and in the many early rounds of the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) peace negotiations which followed afterwards.

Truly, we believe more than ever these Bishops-Ulama meetings in Mindanao should be reactivated today and held from time to time to assist Government in dealing with the politico-religious conflict, insurgency, and violent extremism issues in Mindanao, which led to the bloody Marawi uprising, and which, thank God, President Duterte and the Armed Forces have finally subdued at great cost. Complex problems in other parts of Mindanao remain, thus the rationale for Congress’ extension of the declaration of Martial Law for Mindanao until Dec. 31, 2018.

As part of the world community’s efforts to support moder-

ate groups and isolate religious extremists, the U.N., individual governments and religious-civil societies began to promote interfaith dialogues, as mandated by a U.N. General Assembly resolution which we in the Philippines initiated in 2005.

We believe that multi-religious understanding could be the only basis for the long-term security of the global community, and the only basis for global peace that will endure.

For there is some truth in what we said then and we say it again: there can be “no peace among nations unless there is peace among the religions.”

In our next column, we will try to revive our old proposals in letters we sent then to the King of Saudi Arabia and Iran’s two highest officials, the Supreme Religious Leader and the President of Iran on the need to revive the centuries-old historic Sunni-Shiite talks, a most difficult undertaking, but the indispensable key to the solution of genuine peace in the Arab world, the Middle east, and parts of Asia and Africa. n

On the Dengvaxia debacle, Bro. Luistro betrayed his flock Commentary

RigobeRto tiglao BRO. Armin Luistro, the previous regime’s education secretary, is as much to blame as President Aquino and his health secretary, Janette Garin, for risking the health and even lives of over 800,000 Grade 4 pupils inoculated with the faulty Dengvaxia anti-dengue vaccine. Its manufacturer Sanofi itself last month admitted that its product could worsen those who had never been ill with dengue before.

While embracing the faulty Dengvaxia, Luistro in 2015 blocked a vaccination program to counter a much deadlier disease in the country, cervical cancer, which kills much more Filipinos than dengue.

On March 28, 2016, Luistro issued Memorandum No. 50, ordering that Dengvaxia be administered to “all Grade 4 learners, nine years old and above, currently enrolled in public elementary schools in the National Capital Region, Region III, and IV-A (Calabarzon).”

“Regional directors, school division superintendents, and other school officials are enjoined to provide full support in the conduct” of the mass vaccination program, the memo read.

The Department of Health (DoH)

has no authority to order the education department to allow any kind of vaccination of the publicschool students it supervises. It is the education secretary’s sole prerogative.

If Luistro had not ordered his department to undertake the Dengvaxia vaccination program, Garin would have had to rely on community health centers to implement it, which in the past had been extremely slow in undertaking such mass vaccination. Some 800,000 schoolchildren would not have been vaccinated so swiftly, probably just 80,000 and she and Aquino would not be able to justify to the public why 1 million doses of Dengvaxia were ordered costing P3 billion.

A new administration – with a new health secretary – with no pecuniary interest in Dengvaxia that cost billions of pesos, would have suspended the program that was so rushed that it reeked, at best, of criminal negligence.

Using the religious images Luistro would be familiar with, he betrayed his flock, the students under his care as education secretary.

Astonishing support Two things make Luistro’s support of the Dengvaxia program quite astonishing.

First, before joining government, he had been president for four years of the De La Salle University, which has a College of Medicine. This college had been doing research on dengue for

many years, and was even awarded P20 million in 2014 by the science and technology department for such studies.

Did Luistro even bother to call his former colleagues to give him a memo on Dengvaxia’s safety and efficacy? No. He was apparently told by Aquino to implement the Dengvaxia program, and he said, “as soon as possible, sir.”

More importantly, Luistro before had demonstrated he could just ignore any of the health department’s vaccination program if he had questions on it.

In 2015, he blocked that department’s mass vaccination program, also for Grade4 schoolchildren in the country’s 20 poorest provinces to inoculate them against the human papilloma virus (HPV) which has been scientifically proven to cause cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancer in women and anal cancer and testicular warts in men. (Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths here and in the world. In the Philippines, more than 6,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed every year. HPV infection causes more than 99 percent of cervical cancer cases among women.)

The health department eventually abandoned its efforts to get Luistro to authorize its anti-HPV program. It had to rely on the health centers under the local government units, so that to this day less than 50,000 schoolchildren have been vaccinated against the virus.

Fortunately, Luistro was no longer education secretary when President Duterte’s first health secretary, Paulynn Ubial, launched in August a school-based mass antiHPV vaccination program targeting 700,000 nine-year-old girls in 47 provinces, with education Secretary Leonor Briones’ enthusiastic support.

Anti-HPV Luistro didn’t even bother to explain why he blocked the antiHPV program. However, columnist Rina Jimenez-David reported in August 2015 that Luistro in a phone conversation had told her: “I did not rule out the HPV vaccine program. I merely asked for more time to study it.” But Luistro never completed his “study” so that the health department just gave up on trying to convince him, and shelved the entire program entirely.

If Aquino was determined to improve the health of Filipinos, as he justified his rush to implement his Dengvaxia plot, then why didn’t he order Luistro to support the program against cervical cancer, which has been far more deadly than dengue?

David also reported that Luistro told her: “I talked with Secretary Garin and asked her if we could have more time to discuss the logistics and the science behind the program.”

His comment is astonishing, if placed in the context of his total support for Dengvaxia, which he obviously didn’t bother to study

“the science” behind it.

In 2015, the anti-HPV vaccines (Gardasil and Cervarix) had been commercially available for nine years, produced by two competing big pharmaceutical firms, Merck and GlaxoSmithKline. They were approved and even recommended by the World Health Organization for routine mass vaccination. Over 100 countries use the anti-HPV vaccines.

This is in sharp contrast to Dengvaxia, which became commercially available only in 2015 and hadn’t been recommended by the WHO for mass vaccination programs. It was used by only one country in a mass vaccination program– Brazil – when Aquino ordered P3 billion worth of the vaccine.

In 2016, just a bit more than 1 million dosages of Dengvaxia had been injected into people, 300,000 in Brazil and 800,000 in the Philippines – in contrast to the 100 million doses of the anti-HPV administered all over the world.

Moralistic beliefs The anti-HPV vaccines had been approved in early 2015 by both our Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Formulary executive Council when Luistro claimed that he would still need to study whether it was safe.

In contrast, the FDA was rushed—and pressured—to approve Dengvaxia three weeks after Aquino met in December 2015 with its manufacturer’s executives. The FeC only gave it a one-

year approval, and required that it be used only in a phased manner.

This purported man of God, who’s back as president of De La Salle University, obviously was lying on the reason why he blocked the anti-HPV vaccination program.

As columnist David and several others have disclosed, the real reason for his opposition—which should teach government never, never to appoint a cleric to a key position—is his moralistic belief that vaccinating women against HPV, which is transmitted mostly through sex, will make them promiscuous. It would also, in Luistro’s mind, encourage homosexuality as HPV is also transmitted through anal sex.

Luistro should be condemned not only for the Dengvaxia fiasco but for the many thousands of deaths in the next few years that could have been prevented if he had junked his moralistic ideas on sex and homosexuality, and allowed mass vaccination with the anti-HPV vaccines.

Deaths due to dengue are about 1,000 yearly; those due to cervical cancer are more than 2,000.

Worse, of course, is that dengue is a usually self-limiting illness, and most of the time can be overcome with proper medical care for replacement of the body’s fluids.

Cervical cancer on the other hand is mostly a death sentence.

This is the kind of Yellow cleric that Aquino had unleashed on the country. (ManilaTimes.net)

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

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LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • DEcEMbER 20-22, 2017

A

Families claim Dengvaxia vaccine deaths

by Edu

Punay Philstar.com

MANILA — Parents of two schoolchildren who allegedly died due to the controversial anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia on Tuesday, December 19, surfaced at the Department of Justice (DOJ) to demand accountability for their loss.

Department of Health officials, however, stressed that there has been no confirmed death in the country from Dengvaxia.

Assisted by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), the parents of Christine Mae de Guzman and Anjielica Pestilos faced the media and detailed how the two girls — both 10 years old — died months after being injected with the anti-dengue vaccine.

De Guzman’s father Nelson submitted a sworn affidavit that would be used in pursuing cases against those liable for the P3.5billion immunization program.

He recalled that Christine Mae received Dengvaxia vaccine on April 16, 2016 through a school vaccination project at Sisiman Elementary School in Mariveles, Bataan.

“While we were being asked for information, we were told that we should be thankful to the government because the anti-dengue vaccine is free. If we would get

it from private hospitals, it would cost around P4,500 to P5,000,” Nelson’s affidavit read.

Almost six months later, on Oct. 11, 2016, Christine Mae complained of headache and had high fever. After two days, she was taken to the Mariveles Health Service Cooperative Hospital where she was diagnosed with severe dengue.

The girl, who would have been 12 years old, died on Oct. 15, 2016.

Pestilos’ parents Ramil and Liza, on the other hand, said Anjielica died last Dec. 15, three months after receiving the vaccine also through an anti-vaccination program in school last September.

While her death certificate indicated that she died of systemic lupus erythematosus or an autoimmune disease, PAO forensic expert Erwin Erfe believes that it was also a case of death by severe dengue.

“When we reviewed her clinical abstract, there is a manifestation that Anjielica died of severe hemorrhagic dengue,” Erfe explained, citing symptoms of the disease like edema, rashes, bleeding and low platelet count.

Both girls did not have dengue prior to immunization.

“In both cases, the victims never suffered previous dengue exposure before, were both vaccinated with Dengvaxia and have

‘Paolo did not pay for debut...

PAGE A5 direct consanguinity to the President? Is it lawful or even ethical for this professional exchange between service providers and the politically powerful who each stand to benefit? And if her mother can afford Isabelle’s lavish lifestyle, are her assets clearly delineated or accounted for in the vice mayor’s SALN (statement of assets, liabilities and net worth)?” Syjuco said.

“Old questions still stand, too – who pays for the luxury goods Isabelle sports on Instagram, worth more than half-a-million pesos in bags and shoes, not to mention the travel and helicopter flights?” he added.

Syjuco had questioned the luxury items shown by the presidential granddaughter on her social media account, including a gray Celine mini ($3,100), Chanel quilted ballerina flats ($750), another Celine handbag ($2,700), a Chanel Boy bag ($4,100) and Gucci Ace embroidered sneakers ($620) – totaling $11,270 or P568,147.

“That’s a lot for clothes: more than twice the total median income for one year for an average Filipino, which is P264,000.

So this year, the 17-year-old Isabelle Duterte has been sporting about P1.5 million worth of fashion goods on social media,” he said.

The Davao vice mayor was implicated by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV in drug smuggling, which he vehemently denied.

During a Senate investigation into the shabu shipment that slipped through the Bureau of Customs, Paolo was seen sporting a luxury Audemars Piguet watch, which he later claimed

was fake and a gift.

“He claims it is fake and a gift.

But that would still make him a public official receiving questionable gifts and wearing counterfeit goods that would have found him held and punished at any customs desk anywhere in the world,” wrote Syjuco.

“So where do the Dutertes, who’ve been on government salaries for more than two decades, get their money? And why won’t they be transparent about their finances? As citizens, we have every right to demand answers to these questions from our government officials and their families,” he added.

16 or 18?

In addition to the questions on the legality of the photo shoot that showed the presidential seal contrary to an existing executive order, netizens also cast doubt on the real age of the President’s granddaughter.

Journalist Raissa Robles noted a page in the Davao City website, which shows that Isabelle was born on Jan. 26, 2002, which if true will make her only 16 next year.

“She had a photo shoot at the presidential palace. She tweeted she was 17,” wrote Robles.

“But then the official Davao city government website states she is only turning 16 next year.

Which is an age that is not celebrated in the country as a rite of passage. And therefore does not seem to merit that kind of grand celebration with four designer gowns,” she added.

But in a tweet, ABS-CBN journalist Gigi Grande said Isabelle is indeed turning 18 next year based on the 2014 SALN filed by her father. n

Navy chief relieved over...

PAGE A5 quirer that it was unclear why Mercado would complain about Hyundai being a choice to provide the management control system program, which includes the weapons system.

Part of the contract The source said the management control system of the ship was included in the contract awarded to the company or supplier.

“The Navy’s own bid requirement said that there should be a specific control program or what the manufacturer will develop,” the source said, emphasizing the “or” in the contract.

The source wondered why it was only after the contract was signed in September last year that Mercado, already as FOIC,would say that the Navy wanted a specific command module system made by one company.

“It is a commonly used control management program, which will also control the weapons system and other systems on the ship,” the source said.

The source said that if Mercado and the Navy wanted this specific control management program, they should have said it before the contract was signed.

“The point is, the contract was already signed. FOIC (Mercado) wanted to cancel the entire contract. The people in the [defense department] had several meetings to discuss this, but after assessing everything, they decided that it would really be impossible to cancel the contract. They told FOIC that we will just have to go with what the contract states,” the source said.

Unprecedented A former major service commander told the Inquirer that Mercado’s relief was “unprecedented in the manner, timing, and reason.”

He recalled that the last relief of a major service commander took place in 2003, when then Navy FOIC Rear Adm. Guillermo Wong incurred the ire of some Marine officers, prompting the then AFP chief of staff, Gen. Angelo Reyes, to move him to a different post.

Wong, just three months into his job as Navy chief, instead offered to retire early.

“But at least, they had a proper and public turnover of command and it was not unceremonious.

This time, it felt that [the AFP] was hiding something because there was no prior official announcement,” the retired military official said.

Reporters got wind of Mercado’s relief hours after Guerrero swore in Empedrad at around 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

Military change of command ceremonies are usually elaborate, following military tradition, and, most important, are public events.

At 1:59 p.m., the AFP spokesperson, Col. Edgard Arevalo, sent a text message to the Defense Press Corps, stating: “The AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Rey Leonardo Guerrero has implemented the instructions from higher authorities to: assign VADM Ronald Joseph Mercado to the office of the Chief of Staff, AFP on Special Duties, and install Rear Adm. Robert Empedrad as Acting Flag Officer in Command, Philippine Navy.” n

died from severe dengue,” Erfe pointed out.

Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III said his department had not received any report of a confirmed death from Dengvaxia.

“We are now closely monitoring this and any possible case will have to be investigated,” Duque said.

PAO chief Persida RuedaAcosta said they would provide legal assistance to the two families as the agency plans to gather information on similar cases and file a class suit against those liable for the vaccine controversy.

VACC founding chair Dante Jimenez, for his part, revealed that they would also file a string of criminal cases against officials of the previous administration.

2 dengue cases in Pampanga?

In Mabalacat City, Pampanga, Mayor Cris Garbo ordered officials to look into reports that two of nine pupils who were given their third dose of Dengvaxia a few months ago actually suffered from a bout of dengue.

“I have asked our district health office to get in touch with the doctors of the two students who have been absent from their classes for about two weeks and reported later that their doctors confirmed their ailment as dengue,” Garbo told The Star.

Nine Grade 6 pupils who had fallen ill simultaneously at the city’s Lakandula Elementary School have recovered and started attending classes this week, but two of them had suffered from dengue, according to their

doctors.

The two were identified by a school official as Cirila Tagle and Kristine Regala. Their teacher said they had been absent from classes for about two weeks.

The two girls could not be immediately contacted for the identities of their physicians.

Garbo commended their teachers for their transparency about the cases, as he pointed out the need for the Department of Health to “have a clearer picture of the situation and adopt a corresponding response.”

PAO tapped to assist Dengvaxia victims The DOJ has tapped the PAO to provide legal assistance to victims of deaths and severe illnesses stemming from the public immunization of Dengvaxia.

In Department Order No. 792 released, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II has given the PAO the authority to “represent possible victims of Dengxaviarelated injuries, illnesses and deaths.”

“In the interest of the service and pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act 9406 and its implementing rules and regulations, the Public Attorney’s Office is hereby authorized and directed to extend free legal assistance in civil, criminal and administrative cases to all possible victims of Dengvaxia-related injuries, illnesses and deaths,” the order read.

In a press conference, Acosta revealed that she has tapped a team of PAO lawyers to gather statements and documentary evidence from parents and guard-

Parents claiming their children died after receiving Dengvaxia are accompanied by Public Attorney’sOffice chief Persida Rueda-Acosta at the Department of Justice on Tuesday, December 19.

Philstar.com photo by Edd Gumban

ians of children who developed severe dengue after getting the Dengvaxia vaccine.

She further bared that several parents from Bataan and Quezon City as well as Cordillera Administrative Region and Region 7 have already reached out to her office.

Acosta, however, said she could still not say which charges could be filed against officials or personalities.

“We just started building up cases and gathering evidence.

We haven’t finalized yet what charges could be filed against whom. But we’re looking at possible criminal, civil and administrative cases,” she explained.

Asked if high officials of the previous administration could be held liable for the vaccine mess, Acosta replied without naming names: “When it comes to command responsibility, it cannot be erased by good faith.”

In the same press conference,

lawyer Ferdinand Topacio of the VACC had a more definitive response to the issue.

“We believe there is a case for plunder here,” he stressed, citing evidence that have already cropped up in the Senate inquiry.

‘No dengue vaccine procurement in 2018’ Meanwhile, the newly signed 2018 budget law prohibits the DOH from procuring dengue vaccine next year, Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, chairman of the House committee on appropriations, said.

He said the DOH is barred from using any part of its P107.3-billion budget for next year to buy dengue vaccine “until we clear the air on the controversy.”

The DOH, under its former secretary Janette Garin, purchased P35 billion worth of the newly developed vaccine Dengvaxia from French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi. n

A december 20-22, 2017 • LA mIdWeeK ASIAN JOUrNAL

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LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • DECEMBER 20-22, 2017

BUSINESSJ& COMMUNITY OURNAL

B1

Faster internet possible, says Globe

by MIGUEL

R. CAMUS

Inquirer.net

INDUSTRY giant Globe Telecom said it had sufficient bandwidth to provide better quality internet in the Philippines—but noted it could only use a fraction of the amount, as regulatory bottlenecks such as burdensome permits prevented it from quickly rolling out crucial infrastructure.

Globe said in a statement Friday that it could activate over 16 terabits per second of international bandwidth, which it noted would “satisfy the market’s hunger for faster internet services.”

The figure was much larger than the 2 Tbps combined capacity that government regulators said was available from Globe and main rival PLDT Inc. Despite the high figure, Globe noted it could only use “less than” 3 Tbps, or just 19 percent of the available figure.

This is due to insufficient “last mile” infrastructure—the part of its network that Globe needs to build to directly connect to users, homes and businesses.

In its statement, Globe highlighted its long-running issue

over the large number of permits needed at the local government unit level, and the slow pace of processing. The telco also cited inconsistent fees and property tax issues.

“Our biggest hurdle in delivering consistently good internet [service] is the cumbersome number of permits and right of way issues that prevent us from building the last mile connectivity that would allow world class internet services to be enjoyed by the ordinary household or any person using a mobile phone,” Globe CEO Ernest Cu said in a statement.

“We have repeatedly called on the government to help address these issues that are prevalent at the local government level. Now with more people adopting to internet use much faster than the infrastructure can be built, then the problem gets exacerbated,” he added. ■

More flights needed between PH, China to lure more Chinese tourists

by CATHERINE

TALAVERA Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — More flights between the Philippines and China are needed to further grow the number of Chinese arrivals, a tourism official said.

“For me, connectivity is key,” Raymund Glen Agustin, Department of Tourism (DOT) chief tourism operations officer of the market development group, told reporters on the sidelines of the Xi’an Tourism Administration promotions event.

Agustin said with the Visa Upon Arrival

(VUA) option for Chinese nationals visiting the Philippines now available, the next step is to improve accessibility between the two countries.

Connectivity should not only be offered from the main gateways of China, but also from tier 2 cities, he said.

“That would also give a big boost to the arrivals so that connectivity is not only in Metro Manila, but also in our other destinations like Cebu, Davao even Kalibo, Caticlan, Bohol as well,” Agustin said.

Last week, Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo said the Philippines has been

receiving a lot of interest for chartered flights from Chinese groups. She disclosed she had a meeting with a Chinese group planning to operate chartered flights from Nanning City in China to the Philippines.

Teo said most of the operators are always asking for chartered flights to Manila, but she urged them to consider other airports in the country such as Clark, Davao, Palawan and Cebu.

“I told them to do their chartered flights (in these areas) so that it is spread out (to the entire country),” Teo said.

HSBC raises Philippines Investment pledges hit record P617 B this year growth forecasts

by MAYVELIN

U. CARABALLO ManilaTimes.net

BANKING giant HSBC has raised its Philippine growth forecasts for this year and the next on account of a betterthan-expected third quarter.

The country remains on solid ground as one of Asia’s growth leaders and will likely remain in that position in 2018 as well, it said in a report released on Monday, December 18.

HSBC said the country contributed to Asia’s host of upside growth surprises in the third

by RICHMOND

MERCURIO Philstar.com

quarter, posting a 6.9-percent expansion year-on-year.

“The composition of this growth suggests that the country is firing on all cylinders, with all expenditure components contributing positively for the first time since 2014,” it said.

Banking giant HSBC has raised its Philippine growth forecasts for this year and the next on account of a betterthan-expected third quarter.

The country remains on solid ground as one of Asia’s growth leaders and will likely remain in

MANILA, Philippines — Investment approvals by the Board of Investments (BOI) soared to an all-time high this year, surpassing by nearly a quarter the full year target of P500 billion.

The BOI said on Monday, December 18 that investments approved this year hit P617 billion, the highest in the agency’s 50-year history and 39.5 percent more than the P442 billion recorded in 2016.

The BOI‘s previous record for approved investments was

u PAGE B4

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posted in 1997, at P570.1 billion, which came mainly from investments due to the privatization and deregulation of public utilities such as water supply and telecommunications.

This year’s investment pledges, meanwhile, came from a total of 426 projects mainly in infrastructure and power.

The agency said these projects would generate around 76,065 jobs upon full operations.

“This validates business confidence in President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic programs to ensure inclusive growth and shared prosperity for the coun-

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try. The influx of investments is definitely steamrolling, as we are expecting sustained higher investments for the next five years,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.

“The momentum of our 6.9 percent The BOI said on Monday, December 18 that investments GDP (gross domestic approved this year hit P617 billion, the highest in the 50-year history and 39.5 percent more than the product) growth in agency’s P442 billion recorded in 2016.

Photo file by Philstar the third quarter and 6.7 percent overall growth for further boosted with the frenthe first nine months have defi- zied economic activity given the nitely carried over in the fourth holiday season,” Lopez added. quarter, investment-wise, and u PAGE B4

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Business news

Local bank deposits hit record P11.3 trillion — PDIC

by Ben

O. de Vera Inquirer.net

THE total deposit liabilities of the domestic banking system further rose to a fresh recordhigh P11.307 trillion at the end of the first nine months, the latest Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) data showed.

The end-September deposits across commercial, thrift and rural banks jumped 15.3 percent from P9.806 trillion a year ago, as well as grew 2.8 percent from P11 trillion a quarter ago.

“Year-on-year, all bank types registered a positive growth.

Commercial banks registered the fastest expansion in domestic deposits at 15.9 percent, followed by rural banks at 11.2 percent and thrift banks at 9.8 percent,” the PDIC said in a report.

End-September deposits in commercial banks reached P10.223 trillion or 90.4 percent of the industry total; in thrift banks, P918.6 billion (8.1 percent of the total); and rural banks, P165 billion (1.5 percent of total).

sources of bank funds, which jointly accounted for 75.5 percent of the total domestic deposits” at the end of the first nine months.

“Nearly half of the domestic deposits, equivalent to P5.4 trillion, were savings deposits. Time deposits reached P3.1 trillion, accounting for 27.7 percent of the total doPhoto file by Inquirer mestic deposits,” according to the PDIC. “Individuals, private corpo“The total domestic deposit accounts increased by 3.4 million, rations, and government were or 6.5 percent, from the 53.1 mil- the largest groups of domeslion accounts as of end-Septem- tic depositors in the Philippine ber 2016, to reach 56.5 million banking system. Together, their as of end-September 2017,” the aggregate domestic deposits totaled P10.6 trillion or 93.9 perPDIC said.

Deposit accounts in rural cent of the total domestic deposbanks grew 12.2 percent year- its,” the PDIC added.

By currency type, peso acon-year to 7.6 million at endSeptember; in thrift banks, up counts, which accounted for 82.5 6.4 percent to 6.8 million; and percent of the total, climbed 14.9 commercial banks, up 5.5 per- percent year-on-year to P9.3 trillion, while foreign currency decent to 42.2 million.

The PDIC said “savings and posits increased 17.2 percent to time deposits were the main P2 trillion.n

Duterte wants 3rd telco player in PH ‘up and about’ by first quarter of 2018 by nestOr

COrrales

Inquirer.net

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to ensure that the third telecommunications player in the Philippines would be up by first quarter of 2018.

“The president has issued a directive to the NTC and the DICT to ensure that the third telco player will be up and about by the first quarter of 2018,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Palace briefing.

“If it is not approved within seven days, it is deemed approved. That’s how serious the president is in the entry of a third telecoms player,” Roque added.

Asked why the entry of the third telecommunications company in the country is being coms in this country.”

China the privilege of becoming Malacañang had earlier an- the third telecommunications rushed, Roque said “we need desperately to have better tele- nounced that Duterte has offered carrier in the country. n

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Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond Monette AdevA MAglAyA HERE’S my prayer as we approach the end of 2017: May the next chapter of our individual life stories in the coming year include the grace of discernment to finally figure out our life’s purpose and the courage and strength to fulfill it.

A circle is perhaps the perfect geometric structure there is.

Although some would claim the triangle or a square to be better structures because of their stable nature, the circle and all its derivatives — the orb, the sphere, the globe and every structure on earth and in the universe with a core, circumference and radii emanating from the core — can teach and even help us to understand much about nature, about ourselves and human life and its cycles and seasons, from the most profound to the most mundane levels.

From the micro to the macro levels, every creative urge on every level, in the intellectual and the physical realms, begins as a thought and if tenaciously pursued and fleshed out by one’s strength of will, proceeds from concept to completion as a circle.

Like riding a bicycle: Circles, cycles and movement

“ Life is like riding a bicycle. Tokeep your balance, you must keep moving.”

–Albert Einstein Even in the mundane reality of living an ordinary life from day to day, circles and cycles mark the patterns of our lives, from sunrise to sunset. Note nature’s seasons and cycles of birth and death, of sleep and wakefulness, of ebb and flow, of the waxing and waning of the moon and of the quarter million year rotation of the solar system around the core of our home galaxy, the Milky Way and in the grandest of levels, the movement of a nearly infinite number of galaxies in the universe, the edge of which only the Creator knows.

On the minutest level, the astounding movement of electrons around a nucleus and the wondrous flow of the human bloodstream to and from the heart are cyclical.

As science has found out, blockages, either man-made or natural to the flow or movement in the processes existing in nature at all levels, can create anomalies, abnormalities and mutations, resulting in pain and illnesses in the human body and if uncorrected, result in diseases, debilitation and ultimately,

death.

This presents a strong argument for regular exercise and consistent movement in our daily lives at any age. Movement pumps the blood flow in the neurons of our brain and in the capillaries in our extremities to and from the heart. The action in turn, strengthens the muscles of the heart and maintains blood pressure at healthy levels.

Nature moves in cycles. While the earth’s atmospheric cloak adheres to the surface because of the gravitational pull of the earth’s mass, the hydrologic cycle will continue to maintain our seas and give us rain to sustain all planetary life — that is, for the time being —unless something unforeseen and catastrophic, like a rogue asteroid with the earth’s name on it as its target, upsets and upends this delicate and rare homeostatic balance.

If and when that happens, as scientists theorized is the reason dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago, it would

u PAGE B3

Arlene Al-os, CPA, MBA

2017 guide for rental property owners and managers

THE bills described in this Rental Property Owner and Mangers Guide are rental housing related bills that were signed into law in 2016 and become effective January 1, 2017 unless otherwise specified.

Certified Access Specialist Inspections AB 2093. Beginning January 1, 2017 to make sure that properties are in compliance with disability access laws, commercial property owners/lessors are required to specify in the rental agreement whether or not Certified Access Specialist has inspected the premises.

Bed Bugs AB 551. After July 1, 2017 and beginning January 1, 2018, the law require new leases to include notice on bed bug de-

tection, importance of cooperation for prevention and treatment.

Sub-metering and Residential Utility Billing Service Requirements SB 7. Water sub-meters are to be installed beginning January 1, 2018 in multifamily construction or commercial properties.

Landscape Irrigation Equipment AB 1928. Beginning January 1, 2019, the bill requires new labeling requirements for manufacturers to make sure that irrigation equipment sold after the effective date established by California Energy Commission is water efficient.

Environmental Hazard Disclosures AB 1750. The law encourages but does not require managers and property owners to provide tenants with

What’s New

booklet about property-related environmental hazards like asbestos, radon gas, lead-based paint, formaldehyde, fuel and chemical storage tanks, and water and soil contamination.

Development Bonus AB 1934.

The local government will grant a development bonus to a commercial developer in partnership with an affordable housing developer for the construction of affordable housing projects.

Accessory Dwelling Units AB 2299 & SB 1069. This bill permits property owners to build accessory dwelling units or in-law or granny flats in sin gle family and multifamily residential zones. Local cities and counties are required to ap

u PAGE B4

Need health insurance? Now is the time to sign up for coverage

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AFTER months of debate and questions about our health care system, it is understandable if some Californians are confused about what is happening to their coverage and whether financial help is still available to get health insurance.

Here’s what consumers need to know. The Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land, and Covered California is rock solid and open for business.

Covered California is the state exchange established under the Affordable Care Act, where Californians who do not have health insurance can sign up for quality health coverage and find out whether they qualify for financial help in paying for their premiums.

“Covered California remains strong, and the good news is that for most consumers, the price of their coverage is going down in 2018,” said Peter V. Lee, executive director of Covered California. “If you do not currently have health insurance, now is the one time of the year when you can enroll without needing to meet special qualifying conditions.”

Covered California’s open-enrollment period began on Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 31, 2018.

However, if consumers want their coverage to begin on Jan. 1, they need to sign up for coverage by Dec. 15. Consumers who sign up after Dec. 15 will have their coverage start in either February or March.

Having health insurance is im-

portant because it protects cosumers and their families againstpotentially enormous medical billsif they get sick or injured.

Covered California’s new ad campaign focuses on day-to-day examples of how life can change in an instant. Whether it is falling off a ladder while putting up Christmas lights, stumbling off a curb while checking your phone, or discovering that there will be a new addition to the family, being covered is the best plan when life changes.

“More than 28,000 Filipinos are currently enrolled in a plan through Covered California,” Lee said. “We want to make sure everyone in the Filipino community knows about their options and the financial help that is available to help bring that health coverage within reach.”

Consumers can see their options and find out if they qualify for financial help in just a few easy steps. All they need to do is visit www.CoveredCA.com and click on the “Shop and Compare” button. With their ZIP code, household income, household size and the ages of those who are applying for coverage, they will quickly find out which plans are available and whether they qualify for financial assistance.

For example, an individual could earn up to $48,240 a year, and a family of four up to $98,400, and qualify for financial help that would lower the cost of their monthly premium. Not only do a majority of

Covered California consumers benefit from financial help, but a new analysis shows that the price they pay for their coverage is going down this year.

“Even if you have checked Covered California out before, check again,” Lee said. “Finding out whether you qualify for financial help only takes a few minutes and the prices could be more affordable than you think.”

In addition to signing up online, consumers can get free, confidential in-person assistance to find out more about their coverage options. Covered California has partnered with insurance agents and community organizations across the state, who speak Tagalog and a variety of other languages, to help consumers find the best fit for their health care needs.

Consumers interested in speaking with someone in person can visit the “Find Help” page on www.CoveredCA.com and enter their ZIP code to locate a certified enroller near them. They can also contact Covered California’s service center at (800) 300-1506. Covered California provides resources in Tagalog on its website at https:// www.coveredca.com/tagalog/.

“California is the most diverse state in the country and we want to do everything we can to make sure that people in every community can get the coverage they deserve and the care they need,” Lee said.

(Advertising Supplement)

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LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • DECEMBER 20-22, 2017

B3

Client with nondischargeable judgment Grounds for annulling a marriage Barrister’s of $80K needs Chapter 13 relief Corner

THE client is 50 and operates a business. There is a state court judgment against him for $80K. Is this judgment dischargeable in bankruptcy?

The answer is: If the judgment is for breach of contract only, the $80,000 is dischargeable. If the judgment is affirmative for FRAUD, then the $80,000 fraud judgment is not dischargeable. In this case, client accepted $80,000 in cash, which was wired to him by the plaintiff. The deal was that client would use the $80,000 to buy a brand new Tesla and ship the car to plaintiff’s country.

Plaintiff was a foreigner who did not live here. In his defense in state court, the client said that the plaintiff owed him commissions for previous transactions.

However, at the state court trial, the client failed to offer sufficient evidence that the plaintiff owed him anything. The client never bought the Tesla so the plaintiff wants his $80,000 back and sued the client for breach of contract and fraud.

Well obviously, there’s something amiss when one receives $80,000 in cash to buy a car but doesn’t buy the car despite representing to the guy who gave him the money that he was

Debt Relief

ATTY. LAWRENCE YANG

going to use the money to buy him a brand new shiny Tesla. I mean, the client should have sold him the London Bridge and the bridge to Alaska too for a little bit more of cash, right? When you give somebody $80,000 to buy a car that you could have bought yourself, that says something about yourself right?

So, the State court judgment found that client defrauded plaintiff of his $80,000 since he misrepresented to the plaintiff that he was going to buy the Tesla but never did. If there is a fraud judgment, that judgment is not dischargeable. Otherwise, people would be able to perpetrate a fraud on others to get their money then, discharge their liability for stealing the money in bankruptcy. Even our beloved POTUS, Mr. Trump, would agree that money fraudulently obtained should not be dischargeable in bankruptcy even if it were fake

news resulting from Russian collusion that never happened.

Since the judgment is not dischargeable, the client cannot get Chapter 7 relief. The only thing that the client can do is file for Chapter 13 so he can pay off the $80,000 over five years without interest. Chapter 13 will protect client’s house from judgment creditor’s forced sale of his house to satisfy the judgment. The Chapter 13 will require a plan payment of $1,400 more or less monthly, and after 60 months, the judgment would be fully paid off. This is a lot better than having the judgment accrue legal interest of 10 percent a year, that would make the $80,000 double in about six or seven years since the interest is compounded.

If you need debt relief, set an appointment to see me. I will analyze your case personally. ***

Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in bankruptcy, business, real estate and civil litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S. Fremont Ave, Mailstop 58, Building A-1 Suite 1125, Alhambra, CA 91803.

Like riding a bicycle: Circles...

PAGE B2 t

be a complete cycle. It would be ADIOS to human life as we know it. Fortunately, such occurrences happen in geologic time, in millions of years.

The prophets of doom heralding climate change, backed by some pseudo scientists) include themes of global cooling or global warming (take your pick).

For a number of years, they have been trying to scare the living daylights of present day earth inhabitants with stark doomsday scenarios.

Someone claimed with arrogant certainty a few years back that because of global warming the polar ice caps would be completely gone by now. The seas will rise and cities along the coast will be plunged in chaos.

Guess what? The ice caps are still there and the polar vortex of the past year which brought one of the most severe and bitter winter seasons in memory belie such claims.

The fact remains there is no predicting the weather or for that matter, the end of the world with absolute certainty and infallibility. Climate is part of science that is still evolving. There is nothing settled about it. We can track its patterns and draw some educated guesses so we can prepare for catastrophic disturbances to mitigate destruction. The world is a sphere and there is still so much about our planet that needs to be discovered.

Who knows when the next Krakatoa or Vesuvius will erupt and spit out so much sulfur to envelop the world for years that temperatures drop significantly because sunlight is blocked. It

has happened before with Mount Pinatubo and other volcanoes along the Ring of Fire through the centuries. The only thing certain is that volcanic eruptions will happen again. We just don’t know when.

Who knows when the Big One for California will happen? It is not a matter of if but when. That is a given. The last big one in San Francisco was over a hundred years ago and scientists say California is due for the next big one.

Who knows when the next Katrina will come and wreak havoc?

Who knows the direct path tornadoes will take? All we know is that there are things that humans can predict with some degree of accuracy but on the whole, there are things that are random and beyond the realms of prediction.

One thing that is becoming clear is that nature has become part of a global political agenda.

I consider such thought manipulations suspect. When nature is being used by groups to advance dubious political motives so that laws can be enacted that will essentially line the pockets of certain economic interests and thus ensure political power, it is time to tune out of the madness and see it for what it is. We need to maintain equilibrium in the face of untruths.

When it comes to nature, what will be, will be. Its cycles are dictated by something much more powerful than any human mind can conjure. Earth’s 23.5 degree tilt which dictates earth’s seasons as it spins like a wobbly top along its orbit around the sun, which in turn orbits the center of the Milky Way readjusts and is tweaked ac-

cording to some cosmic cycle.

In a way, the life of our living, breathing planet is reflective of human life from birth to death.

The human story is cyclical. Every civilization goes through periods of beginnings, progress, full flowering, decay, stagnation and ultimately, death. Planet earth will die too along with the sun, one day, the human race and all living carbon-based creatures will be gone by then.

As a historical footnote, there are clear indications the American story, as a result of its increasing divisiveness and seismic shifts in its values and national psyche, has has gone through a protracted period of decay and stagnation phase of its cycle.

For three decades, America may have lost its way as it drifted away from its core Christian values made manifest through its decadent culture.

This may have played out already. By God’s grace and miracle for millions who bent down their knees and prayed fervently and asked for divine intervention, a new beginning is sprouting.

The promise of resurgence to new life and an era of hope and worthwhile accomplishments is dawning.

MAY 2018 BRING US GOD’S BLESSINGS OF PEACE, HEALTH AND PROSPERITY! May these blessings fill our hearts with overwhelming gratitude to God and create kind, humble and loving hearts in each of us. .* * * Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette. maglaya@asianjournalinc.com

Philippus Hendrata Herkata 1932 - 2017

Philippus Hendrata Herkata, age 85, went home to be with the Lord at Los Robles Hospital, in Thousand Oaks, California, on Wednesday, December 13, 2017, after a heart attack.

Born January 3, 1932, in Semarang, Indonesia, he lived in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, before emigrating to the US and settled in Calabasas, California. He was an accomplished business man and deeply religious man.

Philippus is survived

by Flora, his wife of 57 years, daughters Anne Tangkilisan and Ina Herkata-Kusuma, sons-in-law Yopie Tangkilisan and Gideon Kusuma, grandsons Vincent and Alex.

Rosary and Viewing will be held at St. Bernardine of Siena Catholic Church on Friday, December 22, 2017 at 7:30 pm. Funeral Mass will be held at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetary Chapel in Culver City on Saturday, December 23, 2017 at 10 am.

Friends are welcome at the service and burial after Mass.

MOST couples that want out of a marriage in California usually file for Divorce. There are circumstances though that allow a couple to have their marriage “voided” rather than “dissolved.”

There is a big difference between the two concepts. With a voided marriage, it restores the couple to status of unmarried person as if they have never been married before. In a divorce, the couple would always be regarded to as married during the period of the marriage.

Unlike Divorce which can be obtained regardless of the reason. Voiding a marriage may only be obtained based on certain grounds. It is void in cases of incest and bigamy. It is voidable in cases of minority, Unsound Mind, Fraud, Force, or Physical Incapacity. Marriages between parents, children, ancestors and descendants, brothers and sisters, half brothers and sisters, uncles and nieces, and aunts and nephews are incestuous and are void from the beginning. So are bigamist marriages where either party was still married to another person when they entered the marriage. Nevertheless, it is best to obtain a Nullity Judgment to clarify the legal status of the parties under these circumstances.

Certain situations does not necessarily make a marriage void but makes it voidable on the parties option. One such circumstance is when the petitioner was under 18 years old when the petitioner married and the parents did not provide their consent. The Nullity petition based on this ground has to be filed within four years after the party turns 18. The parent of the minor may also file the Petition provided it is filed prior to the minor turning 18. Another

ATTY. KENNETH URSUA REYES situation is a bigamist marriage where the first spouse has been absent and not known to be living for 5 years prior to the second marriage or if the party believed the spouse to be dead at the time of the second marriage.

A Nullity based on this ground may be filed during the life of the other party.

A marriage may be voided if either party was of unsound mind at the time of the marriage.

Unsound Mind means a person is incapable of understanding the nature of the marriage contract and the duties and responsibilities it creates which depends on the degree of mental capacity of the party. This may not be a ground if the party later on came to reason yet continued to freely cohabitate with the spouse.

Fraud is another ground for voiding a marriage. The false representation or concealment must relate to a substantive matter and directly affect the purpose of the party deceived in entering the marriage. The fraud must go to the very essence of the marital relation before it is sufficient for an annulment. It is not sufficient simply to contend that your spouse turned out to be a lazy, drunken disappointment. Nullity based on fraud has to be filed within four years of discovering the fraud.

Certain marriages that are entered into by force are void-

able. Circumstances that meet these standards requires that the forced party’s free will to have been overcome by the spouse such as through the use of threats. These type of Nullity must be filed within four years from the date of marriage. A marriage where the spouse was found to be incapable of physically engaging in copulation may be voided. It can only be filed by the spouse that does not have the physical incapacity and must be filed within four years of the marriage. Before deciding weather a divorce is the appropriate avenue to end your marriage, parties should evaluate if a Nullity is a viable alternative and weather it serves their best interest. *** Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, P.C. This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, P.C. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kureyeslaw@gmail.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com.

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More flights needed between...

PAGE B1 t

Last September, the DOT inked an agreement with Chengdu-based charter operator Hanglv International Travel Group to further boost the thriving route between mainland China and Manila.

The Philippines has seen an influx of Chinese tourists this year, mainly driven by the improved diplomatic relations between the

two countries as well as the VUA option for Chinese nationals.

For this year, the DOT expects Chinese arrivals to hit the one million mark.

From January to October, Chinese arrivals have reached 810,807, accounting for 14.81 percent of the total arrivals.

China is currently the Philippines’ second top source market, following South Korea.

Calendar of Events across

Apart from its impact on the arrivals numbers, the Chinese market also pushed visitor receipts up.

Based on latest available figures from the DOT, visitor receipts surged 36.28 percent in the nine months to September to P243.23 million.

China was the top spending market for September with estimated receipts of P10.6 billion.■

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 D EC E M B E R 27-29

Ateneo de Naga High School Class ’67 celebrates 50th anniversary in Naga City The Ateneo de Naga University (ADNU) High School Class 1967 is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2017 from December 27 to 29 with various activities lined up for its 153 alumni members. (ADNU is a leading Jesuit university in the Bicol region located in Naga City, Camarines Sur, Philippines). The activities include the publication of its 50thAnniversary Yearbook, a coffee table book which features the individual life stories of the class members after high school, tributes to their mentors, and various articles about school life in the 1960s. Also scheduled for the middle of the year is a golf tournament which — aside from fostering camaraderie — will essentially be a fund-raising activity for planned alumni projects such as a medical mission to a remote provincial town, scholarships, and donations for other worthy causes. This year’s reunion will be at the ADNU main campus in Naga City with various fun and commemorative activities lined up for the occasion. All batch members, wherever they are domiciled, including those residing in foreign countries, especially those in the USA and Canada, are enjoined to contribute their life story articles for the anniversary book as soon as possible, to participate in the various identified activities and outreach projects, and attend the grand homecoming in December. For coordination and for details about the events and activities, please email or call up any of the following batch members: Jojo de Jesus (email: jvdejesus6@yahoo.com; cell: 09772114750); Nilo Ezequiel (email: nilo. ezequiel0977@gmail.com; cell: 09257200926; Antonio Sibulo, MD (email: assjrmd@gmail. com).

D EC E M B E R 28

Immigration forum in Anaheim, CA Global Law Centers will be hosting an immigration forum on Thursday, December 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. It will be held at Brookhurst Community Center (2271 Crescent Ave., Anaheim, CA 92801); admission is FREE. The forum is about employment-based immigration, information regarding fast-track work visas ( H-1B1, TN, E-3), green card by Marriage, familybased immigration, employment sponsorship for green card, and work visas after graduation. Candidates with H-1B, TN, F-1, OPT & other visas issues are encouraged to attend for FREE immigration consultation & immigration assistance. For more information, please contact Global Law Centers at (714) 657-7460 or www.globallawcenters.com.

D EC E M B E R 3 1

Fil-Am Council of Ventura County to host New Year’s Eve celebration in Oxnard, CA The Filipino American Council of Ventura County, Inc. invites the community to an evening of GLAM and GLITTER as we ring in the new year on Sunday, December 31, from 6 p.m. - midnight at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center located at 800 Hobson Way in Oxnard, California. This year, the Fil-Am Council has taken over OPACC to provide guests with two options to celebrate! The Oxnard Room: Glam & Glitter — The magical evening will include dinner, a short program featuring the induction of officers for the Filipino American Council, raffles, and a lot of dancing to live music by Boyd Elston which includes the latest cha-cha, ballroom, and tunes to line dance to! Donation: $45 presale, $50 at Door; $25 children 12 years and below. Attire is semi formal. The second option is the Ventura Room: THE FLIP SIDE! Local deejay, DJ CARL10 will be mixing the hottest tracks for our GENX guest to groove to, from old school to new school and everything in between! Donation is $25, doors open at 9 p.m. Sponsorships are available. For more information, please call Myrna Viloria at (805) 236-8901 or Grace Tuazon at (805) 766-3231. To purchase tickets, please visithttps:// www.eventbrite.com/e/fil-am-council-of-ventura-county-new-years-eve-celebration-tickets39771817577?aff=es2.

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

B DECEMBER 20-22, 2017 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL

HSBC raises Philippines growth...

PAGE B1 t that position in 2018 as well, it said in a report released on Monday.

HSBC said the country contributed to Asia’s host of upside growth surprises in the third quarter, posting a 6.9-percent expansion year-on-year.

“The composition of this growth suggests that the country is firing on all cylinders, with all expenditure components contributing positively for the first time since 2014,” it said.

“With this growth dynamic expected to continue, we have raised our GDP forecasts to 6.7 percent for 2017 and 2018 from 6.5 percent for both years. Further, we expect the economy to remain robust in 2019, with growth moving up to 6.8 percent for the full year,” it added.

The forecast for 2017, which is lower than last year’s actual expansion of 6.9 percent, falls within the government’s 6.5-7.5 percent target. The 2018 and 2019 projections, meanwhile, are lower than the official 7-8 percent goal.

HSBC said strong private consumption and fixed investment

EMPLOYMENT

were continuing to lead growth as has been the case since 2014.

It said that private consumption and fixed investments contributed 3 percentage points (ppt) and 2 ppt to third quarter growth, respectively, making up the lion’s share of economic expansion.

The lender also noted that government spending was a substantial contributor to growth this year, adding 0.9 ppt in both second quarter and third quarter, above the long-term trend of 0.4 ppt.

“This in an important development, if it persists, as it could suggest that the government is finally curbing its historical pattern of underspending,” it said.

But not all is rosy, HSBC said, noting that one concern arising from this year’s growth trend was a moderation in fixed investments, which slowed for the fifth straight quarter.

“We focus particularly on the construction sector, where the private sector accounts for about 80 percent of the total figure. Private construction grew just 0.6 percent year-on-year in the third quarter (second quarter: 5.1 percent) while public construc-

tion picked up some of the slack, growing 12.6 percent year-onyear (second quarter: 12.1 percent),” it said.

This was due partly to the government’s shift from public-private partnership (PPP) projects, the bank said.

With this, it expects public construction to expand further in 2018 as the government embarks on a more aggressive infrastructure program and boosts infrastructure spending to 7.2 percent of GDP by 2022.

Private construction will need to remain a steady contributor to investment, however, or it could become a drag on growth in 2018.

In terms of headline inflation, which averaged 3.2 percent for the year so far, HSBC said it was worth noting upside risks for the upcoming year given rising oil, electricity and food prices.

“Most importantly, there may be signs of demand-pull inflation. We have thus moved up our expectation for a rate hike from first quarter 2019 to second quarter 2018 and raised our inflation forecast to 3.4 percent in 2018 (from 3.3 percent) to reflect these risks,” it said. n

EMPLOYMENT

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

2017 Guide for rental property...

PAGE B2 t prove the accessory dwelling unit if the standards are met.

Junior Accessory Dwelling Units AB 2406: The bill permits local governments creation of junior accessory dwelling units laws in a single-family residential neighborhood.

Price Gouging AB 2820. The bill revised the definition on state of emergency and local emergencies for the purpose of criminal price gouging—increas-

ing prices, including residential rental rates and towing services by more than 10 percent.

Water Efficient Landscaping AB 2515. The bill requires the Department of Water Resources to update water efficient landscaping ordinance every three years to make sure water efficient landscaping remains current and updated. This will impact property owners who remodel or improve exterior landscaping. ***

Disclaimer: Any accounting, business or tax advice contained in this communication is neither intended as a thorough, in-depth analysis of specific issues, nor a substitute for a formal opinion, nor is it sufficient to avoid tax-related penalties. *** Al-os & Associates Accountancy Corporation provides accounting and tax services to individuals, corporations, LLCs and business entities. The Firm has a niche in defending taxpayers audited by the IRS and other governmental agencies.

(Advertising Supplement)

Investment pledges hit record...

PAGE B1 t

The BOI has targeted an ambitious investment approval level of P500 billion for 2017 to mark the agency’s 50th founding anniversary.

“We were happy then to just reach our P500 billion target. But to blitz past the P600 billion mark is something we are definitely ecstatic as this only proves the continuing confidence of the investors in making their business grow in the Philippines,” Lopez said.

Trade Undersecretary and BOI managing head Ceferino

Rodolfo attributed the surge in investments to the designation of focused strategic sectors under the 2017 Investments Priorities Plan (IPP), as well as influx of infrastructure and power projects and the strong growth of domestic demand.

Power and energy projects accounted for the largest chunk of the approvals at P268.168 billion, followed by infrastructure and public-private partnership (PPP) projects at P127.66 billion.

The resurgence of the manufacturing industry likewise contin-

EMPLOYMENT

SCHOOL

FOR RENT

ued as investments in the sector almost doubled to P96 billion this year from P49.26 billion in 2016.

Real estate and mass housing projects reached P86 billion, while projects in the transportation and logistics sector were valued at P15.91 billion.

“The increase in infrastructure projects this year supports the BOI’s push for the growth in economic activities outside Metro Manila and the Build Build Build or the massive infrastructure program of the administration,” Rodolfo said.n

B DECEMBER 20-22, 2017 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL

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LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • DECEMBER 20-22, 2017

B

The Asian Journal

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cover story The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - December 20, 2017

How Fil-Ams carry on Filipino Christmas traditions by rae ann Varona AJPress

CHrISTMAS Day is fast approaching and for many in the U.S., that means hustling to finalize Christmas gifts, finding the perfect tree, and sending out family Christmas cards. For the millions of Filipinos living in the U.S., it also means making sure balikbayan boxes are arriving on time to their loved ones back in the Philippines, placing lechon orders, and hanging up the parol.

The Philippines is famously known for having the longest Yuletide season, with stores decked out in Christmas decor, and new and Original Pilipino Music (OPM) Christmas songs playing in homes, malls, offices, and public transportation as early as September.

In the U.S., where holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving take up the beginning “Ber” months — as many Filipinos refer to September onward as — Fil-Ams have their own ways of kickstarting an early season.

For one thing, there’s the famous balikbayan box, which Fil-Ams start sending out in September to arrive in loved ones’ homes in the Philippines

by December. It’s no surprise that balikbayan shipments spike during Christmas time, according to the Port of Manila.

As any experienced boxer would say, packing a balikbayan box comes with a few techniques. Inside the boxes that often stand at two feet tall, are carefully curated and strategically organized nonperishable items like shoes, Betty Crocker cake mixes, toothpaste, soap, American chocolates, Nutella, American chips, pasta, Spam, and other various canned goods. Shampoos, conditioners, perfume, and other liquid items are put in plastic grocery bags. Fragile items like fine china, dinnerware, and jewelry are carefully wrapped in t-shirts which act as cushioning. The remaining gaps are then filled with things like toilet paper and paper towels, stuffed toys, and more pieces of clothing.

And then there’s the Spanish influenced holiday tradition of Simbang Gabi (night/dawn Masses), a nine-day series of Masses leading up to Christmas Day. Every year from December 16 through 24, many Fil-Ams join in the Philippine tradition of attending the holiday services, with the most devoted attending all nine days.

“My grandma told me that when you complete Simbang Gabi, you’ll have good luck for the next year,” said Coleen

Belen (Nativity scene)

Christmas, more fun in the Philippines!

Artwork by Jillian Peñalosa

Esguerra, a Fil-Am from San Diego, California. “I know of a great aunt of mine that completes it every year.”

In Southern California for example, hundreds of Filipinos, primarily Catholic, gathered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Downtown Los Angeles to kick off the Mass tradition. The service ended with a parade of parols (Philippine star-shaped lanterns) which were then blessed.

While not everyone may complete the full nine days, it is without a doubt that everyone shows up at Noche Buena (the Good Night). Noche Buena, essentially a Filipino Christmas Eve celebration, is the biggest reunion of the year for many Fil-Am families. It isn’t uncommon for families to have relatives visiting from as far as the Philippines — Esguerra’s two cousins and aunt from the Philippines come over every year.

And as the lively Tagalog holiday song “Kay Sigla ng Gabi” or Noche Buena suggests, food is a major part of the night with relatives proudly bringing their own specialties to the table.

Like at other Filipino gatherings held throughout the year, dishes like pancit, chicken adobo, pinakbet, kaldereta, and lumpia make up the table spread. But no ultimate Noche

by Jennifer Soriano/AJPress WHILE the days leading to Christmas Day are usually festive, there is no denying that this season makes one wistful and sentimental. I recently received a message from a relative who moved to the U.S. from the Philippines earlier this year.

She said she was Parols (lanterns) feeling homesick and that the American Christmas season is not as merry as compared to how Filipinos celebrate it back home.

I’m sure many Filipinos who are abroad share the same feeling.

But, wherever you are, you need to remember that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. While you may not be able to celebrate it in the Philippines this year, remember that there’s always a next year.

To help you plan your next Christmas vacation, here are some reasons why celebrating the holidays back home is worth your after showing respect for their Buena is complete without week-long or month-long vacation leave. elders through the gesture of items like hot tsokolate (hot Kids singing your favorite Christmas carols pagmamano. chocolate) made with tablea I remember being ecstatic every time December hits the calen“Also having karaoke is (chocolate tablets) from native dar. Because it is during this time you would hear kids sing wellsuper Filipino,” Gapur added.

Philippine cocoa beans, salabat For many Fil-Ams, including loved Christmas songs such as “Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit”, “Pasko Na (warm ginger tea) which is Naman”, “Christmas In Our Hearts”, “Jingle Bells” and many more.

Esguerra, incorporating Philipespecially popular as the sun Simbang Gabi (dawn Masses) comes up, queso de bola (large pine holiday traditions are an Christmas season in the Philippines begins early as the month ode to how they’re celebrated Edam cheese ball),hamón of September. These nine-day traditional dawn Masses start on Dein the Philippines. (ham), puto bumbong (a marcember 16 and end on Christmas Day. Some say, that completing “The feeling is different, garine and brown sugar topped the Simbang Gabi—by attending all nine Masses—will grant wishes. purple-colored sticky rice cake), and the whole Christmas Puto bumbong and bibingka spirit is more pronounced bibingka (coconut-rice cakes), A perfect way to cap your early morning habit during the in the Philippines,” said and of course,lechon (whole Simbang Gabi is to treat yourself to a warm soft and chewy treat by Esguerra. “When Filipinos roasted pig), which if not made eating puto bumbong and bibingka! Bibingka is made from galasay that Christmas decoratat home, is pre-ordered in pong (rice dough), baked in a special clay pot, lined with a piece of ing starts in September in the advance. banana leaf, with live coals on top and underneath. Puto bumbong Philippines, they are telling Beyond the food, there are meanwhile is a made from purple-colored ground rice cooked in the truth. Everyone in the the typical Christmas activities Philippines takes Christmas on bamboo tubes that are placed on a custom-made steamer-cooker. most families enjoy, but with These Filipino treats are best paired with hot chocolate. another level, and I love it.” unique Filipino nuances.

Creative parols (lanterns) But like any Christmas “Seeing parols and the Filipino Christmas is lively and colorful. This is why during this celebration, Fil-Am or not, celfood definitely differentiates a season, bright and twinkling parols (lanterns) adorn almost every ebrating the holiday is about Fil-Am Christmas to a traditionhouse in the country. The parol represents the star of Betlehem making new personal tradial American Christmas,” said which guided the Three Wise Men to the manger of the newly-born tions with loved ones. This is Nadia Gapur, a Sacramentothe case for Filipina travel and Jesus Christ. based Fil-Am. Belen (nativity scene) lifestyle blogger Camie Juan There’s the Christmas music Aside from the parols, another popular decoration in the who just recently moved from of Holiday favorites like “Jingle Philippines during Christmas season is the belen (nativity scene). the Philippines to New York.

Bells” or “White Christmas”, The belen depicts the Holy Family during the birth of Jesus Christ, “It’s going to be our first but also of classic Filipino songs Christmas together and without displayed mostly at churches, homes, schools, and various establishlike “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit ments. our families. We just plan to (Christmas Is Coming)” or Noche Buena stay home and cook a nice “Pasko Sa Nayon (Christmas Celebrations aren’t complete without a gathering of family and dinner together, very laid back, in the village)”. There’s the friends over a sumptuous meal. This is what Noche Buena (Christmaybe watch a Christmas Christmas tree, holly, and garmas eve dinner) is all about—togetherness, love, and gratitude. movie,” said Juan. lands, but also the colorfully lit Who can resist that sparkly lechon (roasted pig), the once a year “We’re looking at it as like parol— an iconic Filipino Christhamon (ham), and the creamy queso de bola (ball cheese), the starting our own traditions mas symbol. Then there’s the sweet Pinoy-style spaghetti and the much-loved barbeque, anyway? now that we’re married,” she gift giving in which kids finally Receive and give gifts added. receive their presents, but only As a kid who grew up in the Philippines, Christmas was (and still is, I think) my favorite time of the year. Back then, I always received more gifts during Christmas than I do on my birthday, which happens to be a couple of weeks before Christmas.

People are happier and are most generous during this time of the year. As a little kid, I kept on thinking that this is Jesus’ manifestation of love for me; that instead of Him receiving gifts for His birthday, He just let me gave them all—regardless if I was naughty or nice that year.

As I grew older, I learned that gift-giving is deeply inculcated in the Filipinio Christmas tradition, especially when you are a ninong/ ninang (godfather/godmother).

Sociologist Niño Tobias told Inquirer that, “Filipinos have the propensity to be more generous, especially during Christmas.”

“Hospitality is a way of Although Christmas Day celebrations are meant for fellowship and happiness, it can be quite stressful and can sharing yourself with other go wrong very, very quickly.

Philstar.com photo people. We enjoy giving, togetherness.

— avoid discussing very divisive that’s why Christmas in the Host a potluck topics that could alienate some Philippines is exaggerated.

Christmas is definitely most of the guests. Christmas is all You see, even the poor will stressful for whoever is hosting about friendly communion and spend just so he can give,” the family celebration. There’s getting along with all your loved said Tobias. a lot of pressure in the food ones, even those whose political “We want to make ideologies may differ from yours. spread, so to help out the host other people happy. This family, organizing a potluck So, keep it lighthearted and, for trait, which is primarily could bring some ease. As now, forget about your misgivreflected by our hospitality stated in the Thanksgiving feaings over the GOP tax bills and culture, trickles down to ture, it might help — and be fun your hot takes on immigration how we celebrate the holi— to set up a Facebook event or “Filipinos have the propensity to be more generous, espepolicy and just remember the day season,” he added. cially during Christmas.” real reason for the season: Continued on Page 5

How to have a hassle-free, drama-free celebration

Organize gift exchange games like Secret Santa or AJPress White Elephant EvErYONE loves the Buying gifts for the whole holiday season, and for good family is stressful, especially for a reason. Generosity, kinship and Filipino family which includes an family are in the air. Christmas endless list of cousins, nieces and decorations always put a twinnephews, titas and titos and lolos kle in your eye, no matter what and lolas. So rather than burning your age. Christmas Day gathyour bank account, coordinating erings are meant to be fun-filled Secret Santa, White Elephant or celebrations for gift exchanges, other creative gift exchange gifts elaborate lunch/dinner spreads could be a more affordable alterand reconnecting with loved native; and that way, everyone ones that you perhaps haven’t gets a gift. seen in a long time.

Secret Santa, for example, Although Christmas Day entails putting all the names of celebrations are meant for felthe participating members in a lowship and happiness, it can hat and each person picking one be quite stressful and can go at random. You only buy one wrong very, very quickly. Here gift for that person, and you all are some tips to ensure that exchange gifts on Christmas Day. your family’s Christmas Day There are many different ways gathering goes smoothly and to do Secret Santa: you can set with no hassles. a minimum or maximum price Stick with themed outfits limit, you can have each person Since copious photos on post a wishlist of what they want Facebook are pretty much on a Facebook group or you can expected in any Filipino family just let each Secret Santa get gathering, there’s always preswhatever gift they want for that sure for what to wear. Picking person. That’s the fun of Secret the right outfit can be stressful, Santa! You can tailor it to your but Christmas is the perfect oc- family’s unique preferences. casion to set a fun dress-code Avoid political talk and announce a theme for the I mentioned this in our party. Ugly Christmas sweaters Thanksgiving feature, but it are always a classic. You can needs to be said again: avoid even raise the stakes and hold talking about politics! In general, an Ugly Christmas Sweater talking politics isn’t appropriate contest to really get everyone’s for most social gatherings. But creativity going. Other themes Christmas is all about kinship appropriate for Christmas are and it’s important to keep the pajamas (up the ante with paja- lively, friendly vibe going. If you ma onesies), Santa hats, flannel want to have a cordial, easyor, simply, red and green. Have going Christmas celebration fun with it!

— and I’m sure that’s everyone

by Klarize Medenilla

Inquirer.net photos

Stocking stuffers we’re eyeing

Looking for the perfect stocking stuffers for those with a sweet tooth? Look no further than these packaged candy cubes from Sugarfina. “Penguin” Party ($8.50) is a box of penguin-shaped gummies flavored like peaches.

“Santa” Gingerbread Cookie Bites ($8.50) are miniature cookies in creamy white chocolate and infused with cinnamon and sugar. “Reindeer” Noses ($8.50) are sweet, raspberry-flavored gummies dressed in nonpareils.

Whether they’re for children or adults, these holiday-themed candies are sure to please and hit the spot!

AJPress photos by Rae Ann Varona with styling by Christina M. Oriel

Pasko na at Fresh Catch Seafood Market: A Pinoy-centric one-stop shop IT has been properly documented that Pinoys everywhere around the world know how to do Christmas. It is a season that Pinoys stretch as far as they can stretch it. In the Philippines, Christmas begins in September and ends on the Feast of Three Kings on the first week of the new year. It is said that the Philippines can rival Disneyland as the happiest place on earth come Christmas time. The joy of the season is deeply imbued in many Filipinos specially here in America.

FRESH CATCH MARKET has become a welcome addition specially this Christmas season to the lives of many members of the Filipino American community in the neighboring cities around the CerritosArtesia area.

These days, FRESH CATCH is getting so much attention not just about its unbelievably low and affordable pricing but also because of the many ways it has taken to making the food shopping experience in that part of the busy megalopolis such a great experience.

Its great location that is so close and accessible to the Cerritos Mall, its ample parking spaces offers a valuable ONESTOP-SHOP convenience to the hurried, harried yet fulfilling lives of many Fil-Ams, who must

juggle many roles.

It is located right off the 605 freeway on busy South Street, seconds away from the newly renovated Cerritos regional mall. It is, by design, a center that aims to become the cultural hub for many. What’s not to like?

Fresh Catch is a large-scale Filipino supermarket boasting an extensive array of fresh and live seafood selections. Its wide array of live seafood tanks are impressive. They offer live lobsters, crabs, fish, shellfish and many more seafood delights that Fil-Ams crave, not only for parties but in their daily lives.

Fresh Catch Market aims to carry on the 20-year tradition of the famous Sea Palace Market, its predecessor, which made a pioneering mark in the live seafood business decades ago. But with a fresh management team that is steeped in both traditional and modern management techniques, Fresh Catch intends to do so in a much cleaner and contemporary environment while fully cognizant of the food needs of the communities it serves.

TAKE NOTE SEAFOOD LOVERS! The market provides FREE SEAFOOD FRYING AND STEAMING SERVICES. Particularly for those who are on a healthy living binge, the FREE

STEAMING SERVICE ought to be BIG. So check out the seafood section and have seafood entrees ready in time for lunch or dinner.

There is a TAKE-OUT BAR. YAY! This is BIG particularly for weary office and healthcare workers who simply do not have the time and energy to cook at home after a long, arduous day at work. This is certainly a feature that is in complete alignment with the lifestyles of many in a workaday world. Customers can request for items to be grilled at the take-out bar, but this time, for a small fee.

And with the Christmas season in full swing, Fresh Catch is geared and ready for the culinary demands of the holidays. Let’s face it. Filipinos love to party a lot. The market has a catering menu and is available for pre-orders during

Fresh Catch offers an extensive array of fresh and live seafood selections. Prepare to be impressed with their wide array of live seafood tanks. You can find live lobsters, crabs, fish, shellfish and many more seafood delights that Fil-Ams crave.

This market offers a TAKE-OUT BAR. Who has the time and energy to cook at home after a long, arduous day at work? This is in complete alignment with the lifestyles of many in a workaday world.

Simbang gabi: A revered Filipino Christmas tradition “SIMBANG gabi”, which literally means “evening or night mass” is a Filipino Christmas tradition. As a devotional practice in the tradition of the novena, it is a series of nine evening Masses usually celebrated during Advents from December 16-24, in preparation for Christmas Day. Simbang gabi originated from the Missa Aurea (golden Mass or Angel’s Mass) practiced by the Roman Catholic Church.

The tradition was introduced by the Spanish friars at the start of the Catholic evangelization of the Philippines, specifically to allow farmers to hear mass before going to the fields in the morning.

Originally, Simbang Gabi Masses were held in the early hours of the morning — around 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. — when roosters crowed to announce the dawning of the new day, thus the name Misa de Gallo. Today, it is still celebrated the same way in most places in the Philippines as the Roman Catholic churches across the nation open their doors shortly before the break of dawn and church bells would ring to summon welcome the faithfuls to the Simbang Gabi mass.

In celebration of of Simbang Gabi — which is a preparation for Christmas — most churches are decorated with colorful lights and beautiful parol lanterns to welcome the churchgoers. In addition, a nativity scene is displayed in preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day. Shortly after the mass, traditional delicacies awaits the church goers, there are food stalls right outside the church, popular favorites are bibingka, puto (rice cakes), puto bumbong, suman sa Pasko, suman sa ibos, and usually served with tea or coffee. Hot pan de sal (breakfast rolls) are also very popular.

Today, even in this digital age, the tradition of Simbang Gabi continues not only in the Philippines but also observed in many Filipino communities overseas.

Simbang Gabi is not just a tradition that is celebrated because we need to do so. It is a way for us to worship and praise God. It is the spiritual preparation for Christmas, in commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. For many, observing Simbang Gabi is a way of offering sacrifice and requesting blessings from the Lord, as they believe that if one completes nine dawn masses, their wishes will be granted. Furthermore, this religious tradition encourages community development and camaraderie among parishioners through a common effort of prayer, celebration, fellowship and charity. Finally, for Filipinos living overseas — especially in the United States — observing Simbang Gabi helps maintain a connection with their roots in the Philippines.

Over the years, Filipino communities in the United States have made changes in the way that Simbang Gabi is celebrated with some parishes observing the tradition around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m instead of dur-

ing the early morning in order to accommodate the needs of the members of the community.

But no matter the language, the place or the time this revered Filipino tradition is observed and celebrated, when you pray and attend the Simbang Gabi, you realize how truly universal, significant and important the Christmas spirit is for every Christian. Simbang Gabi in its very essence provides a very strong indication of the depth of faith among the Filipino people. *** Manny V. Ilagan is a Tourism Specialist with over 23 years professional experience in the overseas tourism and travel industry.

He is currently the Director for Business Development and Marketing of GTT International/Majestic Vacations, one of the biggest airlines consolidators in the United States, and wholesaler of package tours worldwide. He also provides travel consultancy services to some of the biggest wholesalers and tour operators in the country as well as to some airline companies. He is the former Tourism Director-OIC of the Philippine Department of Tourism-Los Angeles, where he worked for over two decades. As a writer, he has written numerous articles about travel and tourism, which have been published in various FilipinoAmerican newspapers in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Las Vegas and New York, and other Manila-based newspapers as well. For comments or questions, you may reach him at milagan@majestic-vacations.com

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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - December 20, 2017

FRESH CATCH SEAFOOD MARKET is located right off the 605 freeway on busy South Street, seconds away from the newly renovated Cerritos regional mall.

So come and make FRESH CATCH SEAFOOD MARKET located at 11618 South Street, Artesia, CA 90701your go-to place for great food shopping experience on a regular basis. You will be glad you did! You can call (562) 402 2133 for more details.

the holidays.

Aside from the great seafood selection, Fresh Catch carries fresh meat cuts that Filipinos love, farm fresh vegetables and pantry favorites at truly competitive prices.

And Fresh Catch doesn’t stop here. Look around the plaza and you find trusted, long-time Filipino brands that answer the needs of the typical Fresh Catch Market patron. This place is well and truly A ONESTOP-SHOP! • LUISA & SONS BAKESHOP, serving traditional Filipino baked items such as ensaimadas, pan de sal, hopia. A bite reminds you of grandma’s recipes.

• PNB REMITTANCE CENTER, (Philippine National Bank) LA’s no 1 Filipino remittance agency boasting of 12 branches in Los Angeles.

• CAFÉ 86 pays tribute to American-born Filipinos who look to Filipino favorites and mashed it with modern American culture. Top sellers include its calamansi jasmine tea, ube monster drink, ube tres leches cake, ube bundt cakes, ube crack cookies etc.

• ATLAS CARGO, is one of the longest- serving, trusted balikbayan brands in the community. Who can forget family back in the Philippines?

So come and make FRESH CATCH SEAFOOD MARKET your go-to place for great food shopping experience on a

regular basis. You will be glad you did!’

FRESH CATCH MARKET is located at 11618 South Street, Artesia, CA 90701. For information on available rental spaces, you can call (562) 402 2133.

(Advertising Supplement)

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features The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - December 20, 2017

Cocktail recipes to make spirits brighter Recipes prepared by Tim Walters / Instagram: @barmansmix

Miss Universe supports Camiguin’s jewelry made of ‘trash’ sea glass

With holiday celebrations underway, preparations around how to decorate and what dishes to serve at parties may be stressful. however, finding beverages to fit the season and ambiance doesn’t have to be. Get into the festive mood with simple, yet inventive twists of traditional winter drinks using tanduay, rum proudly produced in the Philippines.

The SalabaT - Toddy IngredIents: • 6 oz. hot Sweetened Ginger tea/“Salabat” • 2 oz. tanduay Gold Rum

InstructIons: 1. Pour 2 oz. of tanduay Gold Rum in a tempered glass or mug 2. top Off with 6 oz. of piping hot “Salabat” 3. Garnish with lemon wheel

AJPress photos by Noel Ty

The hoT apple pie IngredIents: • 6 oz. hot Spiced Apple Cider • 2 oz. of tanduay Gold Rum

hoT CalamanSi wiTh Tanduay Silver IngredIents: • 6 oz. hot calamansi juice (use fresh calamansi & sweetened to taste or calamansi concentrate diluted with water) • 2 oz. of tanduay Silver Rum

InstructIons: 1. Pour 2 oz. of tanduay Gold Rum in a tempered glass or mug 2. Add 6 oz. of piping hot, spiced Apple Cider 3. top off with whipped cream and fresh, grated nutmeg

InstructIons: 1. Pour 2 oz. of tanduay Silver Rum in a tempered glass or mug 2. top Off with 6 oz. of piping hot, sweetened calamansi juice 3. Garnish with calamansi (if available)

Tanduay Rum is made from world-class, heirloom sugarcane from the tropical islands of the Philippines. With two expressions, Tanduay Gold Rum is aged in used bourbon barrels for up to 7 years and Tanduay Silver Rum, is aged in used bourbon barrels from 3-5 years. These two expressions are crafted exclusively for the USA market for export quality. Now available at your local Seafood City. (Advertising Supplement)

TURKEY EMBUTIDO

With cranberry sweet and sour sauce By

yana gIlBuena

IngredIents: • 1 small shallot, finely chopped • ½ cup of celery, brunoised • ½ cup of carrots, brunoised • 2 tbsp freshly ground pepper • 2 lbs of ground turkey • 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce • 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce • 3 tablespoons of sweet soy • 1 teaspoon of soy sauce • 2 slices of spam ¼” thick, in batons • 2 century eggs, deshelled (regular hard boiled eggs can be substituted) • 1 cup rice flour, sifted (cornstarch can be substituted) • 1 cup panko • 1 egg, beaten • 2 cups canola oil (vegetable oil can be a substitute)

• ½ cup of chopped garlic, fried • 1 can of whole cranberry sauce • ½ cup of pinakurat or sina-

mak (spiced coconut vinegar) • 1 tablespoon of calamansi • 1 tablespoon of sugar • Microgreens or edible flowers for garnish

InstructIons: 1. toss shallot, celery, carrot and ground turkey in a bowl to combine; add fish sauce, oyster sauce, sweet soy and soy sauce and pepper. Massage well.

2. Preheat oven to 425F. 3. in a small pan, test your embutido mix by frying a small spoonful. Add salt if needed.

4. On a flat surface, layout a 12” X 12” piece of aluminum foil. Spread your turkey mixture flat and even on the center

Yana Gilbuena

about ½” thick. Put the two century eggs and spam slices in the center and roll into a log, using your foil as a wrap. Make sure they’re even and all the ends are closed.

5. in a baking pan, put your embutido log in the oven for 20 minutes. Check the internal temperature to be 165F before taking it out.

6. Meanwhile, heat 2 cups of canola oil in a wok or

Photo by Celeste Noche

deep pan. in a separate sauce pot, add the cranberry, spiced coconut vinegar, calamansi and sugar. Put on low/simmer heat.

Stir occasionally.

7. Once the log is out of the oven, remove foil and let cool. in two separate plates, put rice flour and panko accordingly. Do not mix. Coat your log with rice flour first, then add the 1 beaten egg as another coat, then coat with panko. Fry in oil until brown on all sides.

8. Cut the log on a bias and drizzle the cranberry sauce on generously on top and garnish with microgreens or edible flowers and fried garlic. ***

Yana Gilbuena, a Filipino-born, critically acclaimed global nomadic chef, started Salo Series to share with the world the vibrant food culture of the Philippines. The Salo Series hosts Filipino Kamayan dinners, in which food is served on communal tables decked with banana leaves, and guests are asked to eat with their hands. In her American tour, Yana hosted popup dinners in 50 states in 50 weeks, as well as across Canada, Mexico, Colombia and her home country, Philippines. She is a 2017 Stone Barns Exchange Fellow and has also been featured in major publications such as The New York Times and National Geographic. She’s been published in The Cherry Bombe Cookbook, Feed the Resistance and is self-publishing her own: No Forks Given this February 2018. This global culinary nomad aims to further her mission and aims to host a Salo on every continent.

Piolo Pascual named among Asia’s hottest and most deserving talents JUST as he started the year with a bang when he hit a milestone birthday in January, showbiz A-lister Piolo Pascual is wrapping up 2017 with another major achievement in his career.

On December 14, the ABSCBN leading man was honored as part of the first ever “10 Asian Stars: Up Next” list at the 2nd International Film Festival and Awards Macau (IFFAM) held at the Macao Cultural Centre. The recognition was jointly given by IFFAM and Variety magazine.

Looking every bit a star in an impeccably tailored suit, the only Filipino who made it to this glamorous list did his country proud as he stood side by side with counterparts across the continent, namely “Arrow” actress Celina Jade and “Power Rangers Reboot” actor Ludi Lin, Bollywood celebrity Rajkummar Rao, “Detective Conan Live Action’s” Shioli Kutsuna, “Bad Genius’” Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, and “Okja” actress Ahn Seo-hyun.

According to festival officials the new list aims to profile and recognize Asia’s hottest and most deserving talents who have brought pride to their respective countries.

Pascual has been active in show business for the last 25 years as a multi-awarded actor, TV star, recording artist and as of late a movie producer.

In 1994, Pascual started his career in GMA Network’s “That’s Entertainment,” and was thereafter spotted for such TV shows including “Mara Clara,”

Best Supporting Actor category.

He was promptly given special recognition for a rare grand slam award feat by the GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards.

In 2003, Pascual ventured into music with his debut album “Piolo” which went platinum.

His second album “My Gift” hit Platinum status as well. His fifth solo album “Timeless” hit Triple Platinum status.

In 2008, he starred in a fantasy TV series “Lobo” together with Angel Locsin. The show gained accolades from Banff World Media Festival and International Emmy Awards.

In 2009, Pascual became a producer for “Manila,” an independent twin bill film under Bicycle Pictures. After its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2009, Manila had its official Philippine premiere The only Filipino who made it to the glamorous in cinemas in July 2009 as the list, Pascual looks every bit a star in Macau.

ManilaTimes.net photo opener of the 5th Cinemalaya Film Festival. and “Gimik” on ABS-CBN. His In 2013, Pascual went to team up with fellow network Cannes once again with the talent Judy Ann Santos became movie On The Job. phenomenal in early 2000s.

In 2016, he proudly joined Their four movies, “Kahit Isang co-star John Lloyd Cruz and Saglit,” “Bakit Di Totohanin,” director Lav Diaz for the world “Till There Was You, and “Don’t premiere of the eight-hour Give Up on Us,” earned more “Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis” at than P100 million at the box the 66th Berlin Film Festival. office. It was his movie with Together with some direcClaudine Barretto, “Milan,” tors and writers, Pascual created which became his top-grossing his movie outfit, Spring Films, film of all time. which is known for its popular In 2002, Pascual played the “Kimmy Dora” movie series and role of Jules in the award-winthe 2017 box office phenomning film, Dekada ‘70 for which enon “Kita Kita.” (ManilaTimes. he received eight awards in the net)

Luis Manzano: He’ll make you laugh and feed you

by ERNEST

GALA Philstar.com

Cooking with Chef Erns When Luis visited our stateof-the-art culinary school Gala “A WANNABE comedian,” Stars Culinary, he felt totally at proclaims the Twitter profile home. In his own words, he said of Luis Manzano (twitter.com/ being here feels like a “homeluckymanzano). He wasn’t jokcoming.” ing. While cooking at the Gala Luis graduated with a Stars Culinary recently, the actor degree in Hotel and Restaurant was true to that aspiration. At one point, while doing a demo, Institution Management. “So, I he picked one of two dishes we was always inside the kitchen… and it’s been a while since I got prepared, a festive crown roast to hold pots, pans, utensils… and choco chip oatmeal cookIt’s a one big homecoming for ies, he playfully picked up one of our students, the petite Kath. me.”

While Luis confesses to hav“Sorry, akala ko rekado ka,” said the 36-year-old actor. “Hu- ing a decidedly sweet tooth, his food favorites are wide ranging wag ka kasing masyadong madikit, muntik na kitang maisama from Italian, to Mexican, to Thai dito.” By everyone’s laughter, it while admitting to having what was pretty obvious Luis isn’t just he calls a “Pinoy Palate.”

Which is exactly how we do a “wannabe” but a full-fledged a homestyle handaan during comedian. Ask his 5.81 million occasions like family reunions.

Twitter followers.

Everyone’s favorite has a place Not everyone knows on the table — well-loved famthat Luis — and he did not ily recipes such as the heirloom mention this in his Twitter prokaldereta together with a gooey file is that he cooks and makes people laugh at the same time. “carbonara” with cream and lots of bacon and the comfortJust last month, Luis posted a ing familiarity of buko pandan shirtless photo of himself right next to a photo of a wagyu and and your favorite niece’s frozen mango graham pie, alongside captioned it: “Kung masarap pricey Ladurée macarons (one ang karneng WAGYU, walang piece only per member of the mas-sasarap pa sa katawan family!). We all are Luis Manzakong pang LuvYu.” Okay. So it’s a little bit corny no’s palate — and that’s a good thing because it proves how and a little bit cheesy. But his post pokes fun at himself in the open we are to the deluge of same kind of humor his dad Edu new cuisines now teasing and challenging the flavor profiles is a master at.

Luis Manzano with girlfriend Jessy Mendiola

we’re used to. Korean spicy noodle challenge, hello. (And with that, learning that milk is the best thing to soothe a mouth on fire.)

Meal in one In fact, Luis’ go-to comfort food is something that mirrors our predilection for mixing up tastes and dishes. He simply calls it a Meal in One, and credits his mom for making imbento the dish or at least, serving it to him first.

Just last November, he posted photos of the Meal in One on Facebook with the caption: “Sa sobrang sarap binenta ko yung isang pinsan ko pambili sangkap ulit.”

So we asked him to tell us more about this special dish.

“As a kid, one dish that my mom would always prepare even up to now, it’s still my main dish to go to — it’s called Meal in One,” said the actor also known as Lucky. “It’s basically a pasta dish that has corned beef, cream of mushroom, corn and lots of cheese on top.”

It’s a combo for the ages and Luis loves this Meal in One so much that he requests his mom to whip up the dish on Sundays, holidays, family visits, nights with the barkada, when he would ask for one of twollaneras of the dish.

“My friends love it,” he said.

“Wala pa akong nakikilala that did not like the Meal in One.” Salpicao: The family favorite When asked what he’d cook for his mom for Christmas, Luis said without hesitation: “Salpicao pasta. My mom loves salpicao — my whole family loves salpicao… my brother, my Tito Ralph. And it’s something very, very different. I remember an old restaurant a long time ago, they served really good salpicaopasta.”

“I tried doing that dish a few times, but there was a lot of hits and misses,” he confessed.

“So, hopefully, through Erns, I Photo from Instagram/@luckymanzano get to do it properly.”

How to have a hassle-free...

From Page 2 Google Sheet page to organize who’s bringing what. This could bring out a wide variety of tasty treats — and it’s easier on the host family.

Tailor the celebration to who’s coming to the party For family parties, this isn’t usually a problem. It’s usually the same crowd that shows up and you all have kept some kind of tradition for your typical family get-togethers. That being said, if your family is religious, saying a prayer before everyone digs into the food is a common tradition for Christian families. Even setting up a fun little play detailing

the birth of Christ could remind guests of the real reason for the season.

However, if your party crowd is a little more variable with people of different religious backgrounds with varying degrees of piousness, it might help to keep the party secular.

To some people, Christmas has become a pagan celebration surrounded by gift-giving, yuletide decor and an excuse to invite people over to a party.

Toning down on the religious decor and playing up more non-Christian elements of the holiday is ideal for a more secular crowd.

Leave your dirty laundry at the door Just for one day, forget about your sister that owes you money or your cousin with whom you fought on Facebook over politics. ‘Tis not the season to be petty or argumentative so let it go for now because the holidays aren’t meant to hash out issues that could lead to potentially explosive encounters. The worst time to discuss ongoing family issues over Christmas dinner. If there are any grievances you simply can’t get over, or if someone tries to provoke you, be the bigger person and don’t give in. Organize a time after the Christmas party for these matters that could ruin the party.

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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - December 20, 2017

Solenn Heussaff: ‘I love Christmas!’

Pero nung makita ko ‘yung mga gagawin ko for next year, sabi ko kay Nico na it’s not yet time.

May one week off ako, pero papuntang Argentina 30 hours na ‘yung trip. Not worth it na nandun lang ako ng four days.”

The two have gotten used to being apart during the Christmas holidays but still cannot help

Solenn Heussaff

GMA photo

FOR celebrity multi-slashie Solenn Heussaff, the holiday season is such a welcome treat what with a full year of non-stop work for her flourishing career. Besides getting to slow down for a few days, she also admitted to The Manila Times she is a true fan of Christmas.

“I love Christmas!” she gushed like a little girl. “Christmas decorations, Christmas songs, I love!”

She enthused, “Every year para sa akin, pinaka-masaya talaga ang Christmas. Para sa akin, pinaka-important na nandoon kaming lahat as a family so I make sure na I spend time with them and that we eat, eat, eat together! No diets at Christmas!” the ever-svelte Franco-Filipino personality added laughing.

And so like every other year, Christmas will be spent with the growing Heussaff clan.

“Usually, every Christmas Eve, si Erwann (her brother) ang nagluluto. So, it will be him, me, Anne (Curtis, her new sister-inlaw), my other sister and her husband, and another sibling is coming home from Singapore!” she added excitedly.

Asked if her Argentinian husband Nico Bolzico—whose funny antics have made him more popular this year all on his own—will be with them, Heussaff said he will be flying out to see his family as he always does for the holidays.

“It’s the only time he gets to go home,” she explained.

“Dapat pupunta ako since it’s part of my duty din as a wife.

missing each other. Fortunately, technology today makes it easier for them to communicate.

“OK lang naman sa amin kasi siyempre his family, nandun. And hindi naman ako selfish or possessive. Buong year nandito na siya sa akin. It’s just one month — every December.” (ManilaTimes.net)

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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - December 20, 2017