122818 - New York & New Jersey Edition

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DEC E M B ER 28, 201 8-JANUARY 3, 2019 Volume 12 - No. 10 • 2 Sections – 16 Pages

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DATELINE

USA

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

Fil-Am high school student named final 2018 Seahawks Athlete of the Week A FIL-AM high school student in Seattle, Washington has been named the final recipient of the 2018 Seahawks Athlete of the Week award which is given to student-athletes that display leadership, passion, and dedication both on and off the field or court.

Joshua Villarino, a junior football kicker at Ballard High School, was selected for the award based on his leadership through athletics, academics and community action, according to a Seahawks announcement.

On Sunday, December 2, Villarino was recognized at the Seattle Seahawks home game against the San Francisco 49ers on the CenturyLink Field. The football team presented an in-school presentation to Villarino a couple days before on Friday, November 30.

Part of the award is a $1,000 grant for the Ballard High School athletic department.

“It took me and my parents by surprise,” Villarino told the Asian Journal. His father said the family noticed their son’s talents from as

‘No cause for alarm’ says MIAA after US deems NAIA security inadequate

by RAE

ANN VARONA AJPress

THE Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said on Thursday, December 27 that there was no reason to be alarmed after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that aviation security at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was not up to par with

international security standards.

“Aviation security at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL), which serves as a last-point-of-departure airport for flights to the United States, does not maintain and carry out effective security consistent with the security standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),” the DHS said in its statement on Wednesday, December 26.

The DHS’ determination was based off assessments carried out by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security experts.

Airlines issuing tickets for travel between the U.S. and NAIA were immediately directed to notify passengers in writing of the determination. All U.S. airports offering regular flights to Manila were also directed to prominently display the advisory which was also to be published

in the Federal Register.

On Thursday, MIAA said that the agency had acknowledged the TSA’s concerns and said that there was “no cause for alarm.”

“All points raised by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) auditors have either been addressed or are in the process of being addressed. There’s no cause for alarm given as we put in place

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Filipina-American judge sentenced to jail for $1.4-M mortgage fraud

MORAL SUPPORT. President Rodrigo Duterte plants a kiss on the forehead of a pediatric patient during his visit to the Southern Philippines Medical Center’s Cancer Institute Children’s Unit in Davao City.

Malacañang photo by Toto Lozano

Duterte calls for ‘compassion, kindness and reconciliation’

Jessica Arong O’Brien had made history for being first Filipina judge in Cook County, Illinois

A FORMER Filipina-American judge in Cook County, Illinois this week has been sentenced to jail for one year for her involvement in a $1.4 million mortgage fraud scam.

Jessica Arong O’Brien — who made history when she was elected as the Jessica Arong O’Brien first FilipinaAmerican judge on the Circuit Court of Cook County in 2012 — received her sentencing from U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin on

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NEW YEAR LUCK. A vendor stacks round fruits at a Farmers Market stall in Cubao, Quezon City. Filipinos believe preparing 12 or 13 roundshaped fruits on New Year’s Eve brings luck and prosperity in the new year.

Philstar.com photo by Boy Santos

Poll: Young Filipinos most likely to leave PH option to migrate wherever they wanted, 13 percent of the young population aged 15 to 29, chose to live AJPress on countries other than the Philippines.

The poll measured the total potential net change A NEW Gallup survey revealed that the young Filipino population will possibly decrease by about 9 to the adult population by subtracting those who percent due to migration as more job opportunities would like to move out of a country from those who would like to move into a country. open abroad for the talented Filipino residents.

“The higher the score, the larger the potential net According to the data from the Potential Net Migration Index (PNMI), Gallup Inc. said that the population gain. Negative scores indicate net popuPhilippines has a PNMI score of a contraction of 9 lation loss. Developed countries such as Singapore percent, with a brain drain of 16 percent and youth would see an influx of highly educated people,” the poll stated as reported by BusinessMirror. population loss of 13 percent.

Educated residents constitute those who have This means that 16 percent of the Philippines’ highly educated people will possibly leave the coun- completed four years of education beyond high try to work or live abroad. Meanwhile, given the u PAGE A2

by NATHALIE

ROBLES

MANILA — Kindness and compassion should reign in the hearts of every Filipino as the nation celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ yesterday, President Duterte declared in his Christmas message.

“As we take part in the festivities during this joyous occasion, may we also contemplate on the wealth of lessons we can learn from the narrative of the Savior’s birth to the calls of compassion, kindness and reconciliation being echoed throughout the globe,” Duterte said.

“Let these ideals and aspirations guide us as we embrace our fellowmen in the spirit of our shared humanity and welcome the coming year with much hope and optimism,” he added.

He lamented that the Philippines has long been divided by “poisonous” and “murderous” politics that “festered decades of indifference, neglect and corruption.”

“Aside from commemorating the solemnity of Christ’s birth, Christmas is a wonderful time when we Filipinos gather with our acquaintances, friends and loved ones. We celebrate this tradition by exchanging gifts, enjoying feasts and holding auspicious events to partake of and share

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Old PH chancery in Washington now historical landmark

by PIA LEE

BRAGO Philstar.com

GATCHALIAN IN NYC. Philippine Senator Sherwin Gatchalian and Consul General Claro Cristobal held a meeting and discussion with the Filipino community in New York on Wednesday, December 26 at the Philippine Center in Manhattan where he shared news and developments in the Philippines.

AJPress Photo by Momar G. Visaya

THE old chancery of the Philippine embassy in Washington, where Filipino leaders presided over the transition from a Commonwealth to an independent republic in 1946, was designated a national historical landmark for the Philippines.

“It is with great honor and a deep sense of responsibility that the embassy accepts this solemn charge today of preserving the history, nationalism and dignity that this building embodies for the people of the Philippines,” said Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez.

Two historical markers, one in Filipino “It is with great honor and a deep sense of responsibility that the embassy accepts and another in English, were unveiled dur- this solemn charge today of preserving the history, nationalism and dignity that this

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building embodies for the people of the Philippines,” said Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez.

Philstar.com file photo

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december 28, 2018-january 3, 2019 • neW yOrK and neW jerSey aSIan jOurnaL

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From the Front Page

‘No cause for alarm’ says...

MAD RUSH. The influx of shoppers in this area of Baclaran in Parañaque City just never stops even during a downpour. People troop to this place either to get their last-minute gifts for the holidays or to visit the famed Baclaran Church.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

Poll: Young Filipinos most likely to...

PAGE A1 school or have acquired that of a bachelor’s degree. In Southeast Asia, Singapore fared well as it attracted more population while Vietnam fared worst in the region.

“Gallup’s Potential Net Migration Index does not predict migration patterns, but it provides useful information about the people these countries are attracting from around the world and the areas where leaders need to work to ensure they retain the talent already at home,” Gallup stated as reported by The Philippine Star.

As per all the countries rated, New Zealand got the highest

PNMI score at 231 percent and would likely see an influx of young, talented migrants.

Sierra Leone performed worst as 70 percent of its total adult population wants to leave their home country if they had the opportunity.

Results were based on telephone and face-to-face interviews with 453,122 adults — aged 15 and older — in 152 countries from 2015 to 2017.

The UN General Assembly last week formally ratified Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration that uses 23 objectives to cater legal migration and discourage illegal border crossings. It was agreed upon

by 152 countries, including the Philippines, while 12 countries abstained and five voted against.

“While critics of the agreement fear it would open the doors to unchecked mass migration, Gallup’s latest Potential Net Migration Index actually shows that in most of the countries that are refusing to sign, more people want to leave them than come to them,” the survey emphasized.

“Hungary, for example, which became the second country after the U.S. to withdraw from the compact, could see its total adult population shrink by as much as 16 percent if everyone around the world moved where they wanted,” it added. n

PAGE A1 security enhancements following the recommendations of the U.S. TSA,” said MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal during a Thursday press conference.

He added, “There’s nothing among these recommendations that cannot be addressed. Kaya po natin ‘to (we can do this).”

Monreal also urged passengers to cooperate with the ongoing security improvements and to “submit themselves to security inspections when warranted.”

“Standards are there so the global aviation community will have a common reference point, and it is highly important that our aviation security protocols in NAIA meet if not exceed. This is our obligation, and shall remain our commitment to the traveling public,” he added.

U.S Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim said in a Thursday statement that the U.S. was working closely with the Philippines’ Department of Transportation (DOTr) and related agencies.

He added that they “have every confidence in their leadership and their commitment to improve aviation security.”

“Philippines authorities have worked diligently to improve security measures and we fully expect that they will soon meet ICAO security standards,” said Kim. Kim also said that the U.S. State Department had approved $5 million to go towards airport security improvements at NAIA in both

Bomb sniffing dogs at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Inquirer.net photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta

technology and training.

Security improvements The DOTr said on Wednesday that the installation of new security equipment such as X-ray machines, walk through metal detectors, and alarm systems were among the given TSA recommendations. The equipment, it added, are expected to be installed and used by the second quarter of 2019.

The department also said that Transportation Secretary Art Tugade gave direct instructions to carry out manual interventions such as the hiring of additional 24/7 MIAA-contracted guards in the meantime.

New background check procedures for newly hired airport personnel, a change in “security culture” among longtime NAIA personnel in the area of consistent implementation and observance of strict security procedures, and the submission of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearances for all MIAA access pass holders, were also among other TSA recommendations.

“In this regard, re-trainings have been, and continue to be conducted to instill in every personnel [the] need to be consistent in every as-

pect of security,” the DOTr said.

Last week, Monreal told the Philippine government’s official news agency that management had already started security system improvements such as replacing single view X-ray machines with double view X-ray machines to comply with current international aviation standards.

Also last week, Immigration Port Operations Division chief Grifton Medina said that numerous electronic gates — meant to reduce long queues at immigration counters — were installed in NAIA and other major Philippine airports in Cebu, Clark, and Davao this year.

Tightened security, technical system improvements, and leadership training for immigration officers were other things Medina said were of focus for Philippine airport improvements.

In the Wednesday statement following the U.S.’ determination, the Philippine DOTr said it was fully committed to improving NAIA. “Rest assured that the government, the DOTr, the MIAA and the OTS are fully committed in employing all measures available to ensure the security and safety of the traveling public,” said the DOTr... n

Old Philippines chancery in...

PAGE A1 ing the ceremony last Nov. 9.

“As a people with a deep sense of nostalgia, Filipinos will ever be mindful of the hard work of our forefathers that have taken us to where we are today. We shall do what we can to protect and safeguard it with honor. And this building, this National Historical Landmark, no doubt, will constantly remind us of our sacred charge and of our solemn responsibility,” Romualdez added.

It was at the Old Chancery that stands at 1617 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington where Resident Commissioners Joaquin Elizalde and Carlos P. Romulo presided over the transition of the Philippines from being a Commonwealth into an independent republic.

For a time during World War II, the building also served as headquarters of the Philippine Commonwealth government-in-exile.

“Crucial meetings, such as war Cabinet meetings, were held in this building. These gatherings were attended by President Manuel L. Quezon and Vice President Sergio Osmeña,” said Rene Escalante, chairman of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

After independence, the build-

ing became the first Chancery of the Philippine embassy in Washington and was declared a national historical landmark by the National Historical Commission on April 16.

A national historical landmark is defined as a site or structure associated with events or achievements significant to Philippine history.

“With its storied past, this building, no doubt, needs to be preserved and promoted as an important cultural property,” Escalante added.

In his remarks, Hank Hendrickson, executive director of the US-Philippines Society, recalled “that Sunday, November 11th, is the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. In marking Armistice Day, now known here as Veterans Day, we remember not only the end of the war, but the beginnings of efforts to construct new global arrangements embodying the principle of ‘self-determination of peoples.’ This is the point that connects events of 100 years ago to this building and the people who worked here on a mission to achieve self-determination and independence of the Philippines, with support from the government of the United States.”n

Filipina-American judge sentenced...

PAGE A1 Thursday, December 20.

A federal jury found the 51year-old Filipina guilty earlier in February for lying to lenders to receive $1.4 million in mortgages and pocketing $325,000 during the purchase of two properties in Chicago’s South Side over a decade ago, before she was a sitting judge.

“I am an embarrassment,” O’Brien said in her statement in court on Thursday.

She also tearfully spoke of bringing shame to her family and ruining her career. (She is married to Cook County Judge Brendan O’Brien.)

“Of course, I have remorse as to my stupidity,” she also said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The former judge was born in Cebu, Philippines and migrated to the United States, where she first enrolled in community college and went on to pursue a bachelor’s of science in hotel and food management from Boston University, as mentioned in her Asian Journal feature in 2016.

“The best thing that ever happened to me was coming to the U.S. because before that, I never had any direction,” O’Brien said in that interview with the Asian Journal.

She then attended John Marshall Law School where she became the school’s first student to obtain a joint J.D./L.L.M joint degree in tax law. O’Brien became the first Asian elected president of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois and served on the Illinois State Bar Association’s board of

directors. In 2008, she co-founded a foundation that gives scholarships to law students from diverse backgrounds.

In his argument for probation on Thursday, O’Brien’s lawyer, Steve Greenberg, said, “It is an inspirational story. She has fallen as far as she can fall. She has lost everything…There is absolutely no reason to send this poor lady to jail.”

While the alleged fraud was taking place, O’Brien worked fulltime as a special assistant attorney general for the state Department of Revenue. She also worked parttime for Amronbanc Mortgage Corporation as a loan officer, and owned her own real estate company under the name of O’Brien Realty LLC, according to feds.

The prosecutor back in February said O’Brien embellished her income when applying for loans — she once left out a $260,000 mortgage on her primary residence.

In 2012, she was elected to serve the court of Cook County, Illinois, the second-most populous county in the U.S. after Los Angeles County.

“I look at my position as an opportunity to be a part of the system that works,” O’Brien previously told the Asian Journal.

Following her indictment in 2017, O’Brien was reassigned to non-judicial activities before she was convicted in February of this year. O’Brien resigned in September, as Illinois law mandates that an elected official cannot remain in office following a felony conviction. (AJPress)

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China’s 1st completed project in PH: Gensan Rehab Center by ritchel

Mendiola AJPress

CHRISTMAS MASS. Thousands of devotees attend the early Christmas Day Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo City, Rizal on Tuesday, December 25. It is a tradition for Filipinos to attend Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

DEcEmbER 28, 2018-JANUARY 3, 2019

CHINA’S first infrastructure project here in the Philippines, a drug rehabilitation center, took less than a year to finish, according to Sarangani Governor Steve Solon.

The P350-million Chinesefunded Soccsksargen Dangerous Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (DDATRC) had its groundbreaking on January 12. It was then turned over last week to the provincial government, which provided the three-hectare property in the village of Kawas overlooking Sarangani Bay and nearby General Santos City.

“We are not talking about a rehabilitation center that looks good on paper but one that will really reform the patient,” Solon said.

A project briefer of the 150-bed

capacity rehabilitation center said the main façade of the central administration building is like a “window of hope facing the future.” It symbolizes the opening of each patient’s heart “so that they can have a new and bright future.”

A friend of the Philippines Among those who graced the turnover rites are Chinese Commercial Counselor Jin Yuan, Chinese Consul General to Davao Li Lin and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III. China’s commitment to help in the development of the Philippines despite the two countries’ dispute over the West Philippine Sea was also reaffirmed by Jin. In a statement, Jin said, “The completion of this cozy center fully demonstrates that the Chinese government will never let you down.”

“The Chinese people will always stand by your side and China will help within our capacity to boost the development of the Philippines,” Jin added.

According to the Chinese official, China is and will always be a good neighbor as well as a sincere friend and close partner of the Philippines.

The rehabilitation center project, Duque said, was launched to address the need for more rehabilitation centers for Filipino drug users.

He also said that the Duterte administration considered drug abuse and dependency as “a public health priority.”

The center will be managed by the Department of Health (DOH).

Data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency showed that as of November, the official

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2 Americans nabbed for dumping dead woman into Pasig River

by Gabriel

Pabico Inquirer.net

lalu

TWO citizens of the United States were caught after transporting a dead woman in box using a transport network vehicle service provider and dumping the box into the Pasig River in Manila on Sunday morning, December 23.

The Manila Police District (MPD) identified the suspects as Troy Woody Jr., 21, currently living in a condominium unit in Barangay Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City, and Mir Islam, 22, currently living in a condominium in Ermita, Manila.

The MPD said they booked a driver from Woody’s residence through an online app.

Both were identified as chief executive officers of Luxr Limited Liability Co.

Suspects Troy Wood Jr. and Mir Islam

According to the driver, the suspects loaded a huge brown box in his car’s trunk and asked to be transported to a mall in Ermita.

Along the way, the suspects asked the driver to first go to the Baseco Compound in Tondo, Manila, near the Pasig River, where they threw the box.

Then they asked to be taken to the original drop-off point.

Finding the incident weird, the driver reported it to the Manila Police General Assignment and Investigation Section and and they were referred to the Ermita Police Station.

Personnel from the MPD Homicide Team in coordination with the Mandaluyong City Police Station conducted a follow-up operation, which led to the arrest of Woody and Islam.

Both suspects were positively

Photo from the Manila Police District

Fil-Am high school student named...

PAGE A1 early as four years old and added that Villarino had been classified with a learning disability in 8th grade and was able to overcome the adversity through hard work.

On being recognized at the Seahawks vs. 49ers game, Villarino said it was the “most exciting experience to ever feel when you meet one of the most respected players in the NFL.” “During the leadership summit meeting, it was a great learning experience to listen to the Seattle Seahawks and CenturyLink Executives about their role in sports and the leadership role they play in their jobs in the Seahawks,” he added.

Aside from being a kicker on his high school football team — a position he stuck to after trying out his freshman year — the young Villarino is also a dancer and has been dancing since he was five years old. Among his biggest inspirations is Michael Jackson.

After high school, Villarino said he hopes to receive an athletic or academic scholarship and plans on majoring in either Business, Marketing, Aviation, or

Entrepreneurship. He said he’d like to own his own business as well.

On what he’s learned and on what he thinks other young FilAms also looking to succeed in athletics and leadership could take away from his experiences so far, Villarino said time management and being well organized are top priorities.

“You should continue focusing your efforts on hard work, and work ethics to achieve anything you set your mind to. You should look for your passion and dedicate your time to give back to your community. You should have a fighting spirit by taking on challenges of succeeding in your academics and excelling in athletics and extracurricular activities,” said Villarino.

“My biggest challenge is that I was labeled with a learning disability in Math, English, and Reading during my 8th-grade year,” added Villarino. “I turned my obstacles into personal drive and passion and if you focus on those goals you will be recognized for your achievements.”

(Rae Ann Varona/AJPress)

Joshua Villarino was named Seahawks Athlete of the Week earlier this month.

Photo courtesy of the Villarino family

identified by the driver.

Woody and Islam were turned over to the Mandaluyong City Police Station, which is under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Police District.

Authorities eventually recovered the box and were able to identify the victim as Tomi Michelle Masters, 23, also a US citizen from Indiana, who lived in the A bird’s eye view of the Soccsksargen Dangerous Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center at Barangay Kawas in Alabel, Sarangani. same condo unit with Woody. n Inquirer.net photo

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Dateline USa

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Manny Pacquiao back in LA, trains even on Christmas PH wants review of defense treaty with US MANNY Pacquiao showed no signs of slowing down even on Christmas as he continued his training camp in Los Angeles three weeks before his title fight against American challenger Adrien Broner.

Pacquiao went back to work upon his arrival in the U.S. and he brought his eldest son Jimuel with him apart from the usual members of his team during his morning workout.

Boxing’s only eight-division champion will make his keenlyawaited return on U.S. soil more than two years since he dominated Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas.

The 40-year-old Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs) is defending his WBA (regular) welterweight belt against a much younger Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs), a former champion in four different weight classes.

Pacquiao is coming off an impressive showing against Ar- “Good to be back in Los Angeles,” Sen. Manny Pacquiao wrote in his Instagram post.

Photo from Instagram/@mannypacquiao gentine fighter Lucas Matthysse Puerto Rican legend Miguel Cotto training exactly a month ago in five months ago in Kuala Lumpur, Manila. (Mark Giongco/Inquirer.

Malaysia where he delivered his in the 12th round in 2009.

The fighting senator began his net) first knockout win since stopping

Bills to protect youth, fight sexual harassment take effect Jan. 1, 2019 SACRAMENTO — After a busy year of legislative work, Sen. Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) will see several of her new laws take effect Jan. 1, 2019, including reforms in criminal justice that will protect youth and help shore up families and communities.

Much of Mitchell’s agenda in 2018 grew out of a two-year effort with Sen. Ricardo Lara to pass an #EquityAndJustice package. These bills focused on improving the way California treats youth and young adults caught up in the criminal justice system.

Mitchell also won the endorsement of Gov. Brown for new laws that will expand worker training to prevent sexual harassment and provide women potentially life-saving information about their health.

Below are the new laws that emerged from Mitchell’s legislative efforts in 2018: (Please note that while SB 1343, a plan to expand sexual harassment training for workers, goes into law soon it will take effect Jan. 1, 2020 to allow time to write and establish online-training procedures. )

• Senate Bill 439 – Minimum Age Incarceration Excludes children ages 11 and younger from juvenile court jurisdiction and promotes the rights, health and well-being of the child by curbing premature exposure to incarceration.

• SB 1034 – Dense Breast Tissue Extends to Jan. 1, 2025 the sunset on the current dense breast tissue notification, which was to expire at the end of this year.

• SB 1050 – Services and Support for Exonorees Provides services and support for exonerated people after prison, including healthcare, work training and updating records to reflect their wrongful convictions.

• SB 1083 – Resource Family Approval Reduces barriers in the Resource Family Approval process to make it more child centered and family friendly.

• SB 1343 – Sexual Harassment Training Expands mandatory sexualharassment training to all employers with five or more employees.

• SB 1391 – Juvenile Justice for Children Under 16 Ensures that youth ages 14 and 15 who commit crimes get the services and help they need by prohibiting them from being tried as adults and keeping them in the juvenile justice system.

• SB 1393 – Five-Year Judicial Discretion Allows for more judicial discretion on sentencing related to five-year enhancements for serious felony convictions.

Mitchell also had far-reaching impacts as chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee. SB 951, the California Film and television Production Jobs Act, was incorporated into the 2018-19 state budget. Also included in the budget was SB 982, which provided for the largest grant increase for CalWORKS recipients in 30 years.

SBs 439, 1050, 1391 and 1393 are part of the #EquityAndJustice2018 package carried jointly by Sens. Mitchell and Ricardo Lara as follow-up measures to six bills signed as part of their initial #EquityAndJustice bills last year. n

THE PHILIPPINES wants to review provisions of its mutual defense treaty (MDT) with the United States, to expand the 1951 pact’s coverage to the nine islands occupied by Manila at the Kalayaan Island Group (Spratly Islands) in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

Lorenzana made the statement as he clarified that Manila and Washington’s MDT only covers “Metropolitan Philippines,” which includes the three main islands — Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, and territories within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Cardozo Luna, Defense undersecretary, was invited to Hawaii to attend a conference where he raised before US officials the possibility of reviewing the MDT. “We are going to [review this]…We just need to look into the provisions and discuss with the end of reviewing it to make it stronger,” Lorenzana told reporters in a news conference at Camp Aguinaldo.

“This is also to strengthen our alliance with the United States because it is the only country we have an alliance with,” he added.

The Defense chief also believes it is high time for both nations to tackle once more their military partnership which has stretched for decades.

The Philippines wants US support in case of any confrontation that may be sparked by outside forces in the disputed South China Sea territories.

The nine islands and shoals occupied by the Philippines in Kalayaan Island Group are Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, Parola (Northeast Cay) Island, Kota (Loaita) Island, Lawak (Nanshan) Island, Patag (Flat) Island, Likas (West York) Island, Panata (Lankiam Cay) Island, Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal and Rizal (Commodore) Reef.

Ayungin and Scarborough (Panatag) Shoald are both within the Philippines’ EEZ. Panatag is occupied by China.

Lorenzana emphasized that the Philippine-occupied islands in the West Philippine Sea is outside the country’s EEZ, which is not included in the so-called Metropolitan Philippines.

The US, he added, had stated that it would keep its hands off when it comes to the sea dispute, noting Washington has been “ambivalent” when referring to the issue.

‘US, China tension concerning’ Recalling events that transpired this year involving the dispute in the West Philippine Sea, Lorenzana said the “concerning” issue was the tension between the U.S. and China in the contested

waters.

“That is very concerning because if they go into a shooting war, it will cause miscalculation and since it is being held at our backyard, we may get involve with them,” he said, citing the MDT with the U.S. Lorenzana said he wanted to build barracks for troops stationed at the islands within the Spratly archipelago, lamenting that soldiers were living in nipa huts.

“We want to give them a better home, such as barracks, especially in Pag-asa,” he noted.

As for the runway, it is expected to be finished by 2019 after repairs due to cracks found. The completion rate of the runway is 42 percent.

He also said BRP Sierra Madre, which has served as an outpost at Ayungin Shoal after running aground in 1999, would be maintained and troops would be continuously deployed to the area.

Marine troopers based in the vessel guard Ayungin Shoal.

Lorenzana said the Philippine military would continue patrolling in the area and “take actions” if the Chinese would make moves “inconsistent” with the country’s national interest.

“We will keep on protesting if we will see any actions from China that are not consistent with our national interest. We are going to protest to China,” he said. n

Philippines, 194 countries adopt Paris deal guidelines

by Helen

Flores Philstar.com

THE Philippines and 194 other countries have adopted guidelines to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement meant to guide efforts for global climate action.

The so-called Paris Rulebook was adopted by all member-countries at the recently concluded 24th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 24) following two weeks of negotiations in Katowice, Poland.

The Paris Rulebook includes the establishment of a new finance goal of $100 billion a year by 2020 to support developing countries in their disaster mitigation and resilience projects.

Climate Change Commission Secretary Emmanuel de Guzman, who led the Philippine delegation in the COP 24, said that more work still has to be done by all countries.

The Philippines, he said, reaffirmed its commitment to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and engaged in all climate talks

Climate Change Commission Secretary Emmanuel de Guzman, who led the Philippine delegation in the COP 24, said that more work still has to be done by all countries.

Philstar.com file photo

while protecting its key interests, including climate justice.

Countries are expected to resubmit or update their climate pledges known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2020.

The Philippines is set to submit its NDCs next year after it has completed ground work with all local stakeholders – both with the national government agencies and the non-state actors, De Guzman said.

In 2015, the Philippines committed to reduce its emissions by 70 percent by 2030.

As chair of the Climate Vulner-

able Forum in 2015, the Philippines, on behalf of 48 developing countries, led the advocacy for the ambitious global warming threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius, which is now enshrined in the Paris Agreement as its long-term temperature goal.

The Paris Agreement aims to strengthen global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature increase “well below” two degrees Celsius relative to pre-industrial times and preferably within 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The climate pact is set to come into effect in 2020. n

China’s 1st completed project in PH...

PAGE A3 death toll of the government’s all-out war against illegal drugs already reached at least 5,050 since President Duterte assumed power in July 2016.

Recipients The government’s gratitude

to the Chinese government “for the assistance and support for this administration’s campaign against illegal drugs” was extended by Duque.

During the talks between Mr. Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in October

2016, one of the agreements reached was about Sarangani being one of the recipients of “China-aid Philippines” DDATRC projects.

Agusan del Sur is the other beneficiary, where construction of a rehab center is still ongoing. n

Duterte calls for ‘compassion...

PAGE A1

life’s many blessings,” Duterte, who spent Christmas with his family in Davao City, said.

“Truly, it is a season of joy and happiness that is enjoyed by everyone, whether they are Christians, non-Christians or non-believers alike,” the President added.

Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo expressed hope that Filipinos would set aside their differences to work for the good of the country.

“As the New Year ushers in, it is high time that we set aside practices that destroy the dignity of the country and collectively act as one people and one nation towards peace and progress,” Panelo said in a statement.

“Together, let us think and care for our fellowmen and usher in a new era of hope, peace and development. Let us remember that we are all parts of one whole, the injury to one limb affects the entire body. ‘Ang sakit ng kalingkingan ay

dama ng buong katawan (Pain in the pinky finger is felt in the entire body),’” he added.

In Davao City on Saturday, the President spent more than three hours with young patients of the pediatric section of the Cancer Institute of the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).

SPMC executive director Leopoldo Vega told The Star the president arrived at around 8 p.m. and left past 11 p.m. after entertaining and giving comfort to some 30 cancer-afflicted children. He shared dinner with the children and distributed gifts to their parents and guardians.

“He wanted the time to be private and personal. I was instructed to keep the number of people down because he wanted the time only for the children,” said Dr. Mae Dolendo, the lead pediatric oncologist at the SPMC. “The president talked to each of the children. He listened to their every story that they eagerly told him.

And the President was a gracious listener as he communicated with them by also showing them, doing something about their problems,” Vega said.

“Each child has a story to tell and the President listened to them with his ears full only to them,” Vega said.

During his visit, Duterte facilitated the extension of the leave of absence of the father of one of the children by calling the father’s immediate superior officer in the armed forces.

The father of another child who is working in Bukidnon was offered a job at the Department of Public Works and Highways here in Davao City so he could be near his cancerstricken child.

At one point one of the child patients asked how the president was doing. “I should be the one asking you that question,” the President said in response.

(Alexis Romero and Edith Regalado/Philstar.com)

CHRISTMAS TRADITION. A woman gives presents to children in Molino Homes II, Barangay Salitran III, Dasmariñas City, Cavite on Christmas Day, Tuesday, December 25. It is a tradition for Filipino children to visit their ninongs and ninangs and other relatives on Christmas Day and get gifts from them.

PNA photo by Gil Calinga

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A

Palace: Communists’ 50-year rebellion a ‘failure’ by aJPress

HOLIDAY TRASH. National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) personnel on Wednesday, December 26 collect tons of garbage left behind by thousands of people who went to Rizal Park in Manila on Christmas Day. PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

Filipino jobseekers not employable - poll

by Nathalie

Robles

AJPress

A ReCeNT study revealed that the majority of Filipino jobseekers — students and fresh graduates — have to go through additional training to become work ready and employable.

The Philippine Talent Map Initiative conducted by the Department of Labor and employment (DOLe) showed that 31.7 percent of job seekers or a total of 18,928 have to undergo further training.

The labor department administered the study among private companies as it aimed to examine the current trends in the academe and the industry. It also explored the issues that plague the employment world in terms of workforce development. “(The) results of the study shall serve as the basis for our

policymakers to create and fund relevant laws or initiatives that can bridge the workforce skills gap and support curriculum development,” DOLe said as reported by The Philippine Star.

The said study that involved about 90,000 respondents will be used to further develop the existing education and training system for the benefit of Filipinos who will soon join the labor force.

DOLe said that the results of the study would be presented to the Commission on higher education (CheD), Department of education (Deped) and Technical education and Skills Development Authority (TeSDA).

According to DOLe, the study is meant to resolve the country’s unemployment and underemployment issues by addressing the prevailing problem of the job and skills mismatch in the

Philippines. They will do so by identifying talent, skills and training needed by the Filipino workforce.

On another note, the findings from the study showed that 68.3 percent of the students, employed, unemployed and trainees involved in the study are employable with english language functional skills as top competency. however, Filipinos did not fare well in three categories.

Creative problem solving is consistently the lower skill among the respondents and must be improved, along with innovation and decision making skills. earlier, DOLe released the Labor Market Information (LMI) Report 2022 enumerating the industries that will create jobs and skills. The Jobsfit LMI also included in demand occupations from 2013 to 2020. n

The communist insurgency in the country is dismissed by Malacañang as a “failed rebellion” on Wednesday, December 26, as the the rebel group celebrated its 50th founding anniversary.

The statement was made by presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo who criticized leader Jose Maria “Joma” Sison’s previous comment about the Philippines’ deterioration under President Rodrigo Duterte.

“The 50 years of Joma Sison’s rebellion speaks for itself. It’s a failed rebellion,” said Panelo in a statement.

“It only resulted in loss of lives of Filipinos, specially the numerous young students who were killed in battles, skirmishes, and battled sickness in the hills, who could have served their country well in peaceful and productive means, as well as destruction of properties,” Panelo added.

According to him, the rebel returnees were “coming in droves, responding to the call of the government to return to the fold of the law, while Sison remains ensconced in his ivory tower of comfort and luxury while his comrades die for a lost cause.”

Sison is founding chair of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). he has has been in exile at the Netherlands after peace talks with government failed in 1987.

“No wonder the forces on the ground no longer follow him hence his regular rants against PRRD (Duterte) to give himself

the appearance of relevance,” Panelo said.

“It’s time for him to wave the white flag before his physique gives up on him. There is honor in returning back to a democratic society and embracing the constitutional order,” he added.

Previously, Sison said that the communist movement remained

relevant, leading “a vibrant revolution” 50 years after it was founded.

Sison, in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel on Wednesday, also said that that Duterte was a “modern maniac in power trying to put on a national scale [for] his bloodthirsty kind of character.” n

Defense chief on West PH dispute: ‘China is on my mind every day’

by Nathalie

Robles

AJPress

DePARTMeNT of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana admitted that the country’s issues with China over the West Philippine Sea will be best resolved through President Rodrigo Duterte’s strategy of not provoking China.

“China is on my mind every day because of what they are doing in the West Philippine Sea. I wish I could make it go away but they are not, even if we are going to show them our arbitral ruling document, that they have no business there, they will not even honor it. So that’s it,” Lorenzana said as reported by The Philippine Star.

In his interview with ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) earlier this week, the defense secretary noted that he already worked with former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Albert del Rosario as he tried to garner the support of all claimant-countries to issue one unified statement with regard to the sea dispute. “he (Del Rosario) tried to get all to issue a statement but no, two countries are always resisting the overture of secretary Del Rosario so we don’t have any statement because there’s no solid statement,” Lorenzana explained.

“There are five claimants from Asean: Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philip-

confront them. What will I send there? A frigate with several cannons versus the better equipped – even their coast guards are Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo better equipped than our Navy.

Inquirer.net photo huge coast guard ships,” he added.

Lorenzana also commended former DFA secretary Alan Peter Cayetano for his effort to diplomatically discuss an agreement with the foreign minister of China, that the Chinese “can just stay there and no one builds anything new.”

“Where you are, stay there. Nobody’s occupying new features.

C<>8C @DD@>I8K@FE `j X 9@> @JJL< k_\j\ [Xpj% D8EP `e fli Zfddle`kp E<<; So we have nine islands occupied pfli j\im`Z\j% K_\i\ Xi\ k_fljXe[j n_f dXp nXek kf \og\[`k\ k_\`i i\j`[\eZp fi by our troops. So we are there, improving the islands, improving glijl\ ]lcc Z`k`q\ej_`g Ylk [feËk befn _fn kf Y\^`e Xe[ n_\i\ kf ^f% the runway in Pag-Asa, it could

be finished next year, cemented, so we can go there anytime we want,” he said.

“We have ships going there, airplanes flying. They just chal8J@8E AFLIE8CËJ GIF=<JJ@FE8C J<IM@:<J ;@I<:KFIP# n`cc efn Y\ lenge our airplanes but we reply ilee`e^ n\\bcp# \m\ip =i`[Xp f] E\n Pfib& E\n A\ij\p <[`k`fe% back that we are flying over Philippine territory,” he added as reported by The Manila Bulletin.

The defense secretary also 8AËj GJ; ZXe _\cg PFL i\XZ_ flk kf k_\d X]]fi[XYcp Xe[ \]]\Zk`m\cp% emphasized that the UNCLOS decision will in no way affect nor override our historical claim.” “even with the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), there’s this running discussion between me and the ambassador of China. I said 8jb XYflk fli GIFDFK@FE8C @EKIF;L:KFIP G8:B8>< GI@:@E> n_`Z_ ilej that you signed the UNCLOS in pfli X[ n\\bcp ]fi dXo`dld \ogfjli\ Xk kilcp X]]fi[XYc\ iXk\j% 1981 and that gave us 200-nautical mile eeZ,” Lorenzana said. n

:8IG< ;@<D

8KK<EK@FE @DD@>I8K@FE C8NP<IJ

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana Inquirer.net photo

pines. If these five countries will have one voice, I think it will be strong enough,” the defense chief added as reported by The Philippine Daily Inquirer. however, Lorenzana assured that the said dispute will not compromise the Filipinos freedom of navigation in the West Philippine Sea as China does not prevent the Philippines from moving around.

“We can go to our islands scattered there in the Spratlys, outside our eeZ (exclusive economic zone), and we can resupply our people there anytime we want. We have ships going there, airplanes flying. They just challenge our airplanes but we reply back that we are flying over Philippine territory,” Lorenzana stated.

“We don’t have any force to

JK8E; FLK =IFD K?< G8:B%

:8CC PFLI 8::FLEK D8E8><I )() -,,$,+)-

Congress challenged to restore death penalty

by JavieR ismael ManilaTimes.net

The founding chairman of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), now the chairman of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), has dared Congress to reimpose the death penalty for heinous crimes to instill fear in “contract” killers.

Dante Jimenez made the challenge as he condemned the killing of Rep. Rodel Batocabe and his security escort on December 22, in Daraga, Albay by still unidentified gunmen.

Jimenez asked President Rodrigo Duterte to certify as urgent the restoration of capital punishment for heinous crimes when Congress resumes session early next year.

The PACC chief, in a statement, said he cannot imagine the pain being experienced by the family of the slain congressman especially this Christmas season over the loss of a loved one, Jimenez expressed his sympathy to the Batocabe family and that of his security aide Senior Police Officer 2 Orlando Diaz as well as to those injured in the

incident.

“Are we going to wait for another lawmaker or a senator to be killed like Rep. Batocabe and other victims of senseless killings?” he said.

Jimenez’s brother Jaime “Boboy” Jimenez Jr. was shot dead on Dec. 20, 1990 by guns-for-hire in a killing masterminded by a “drug queen.”

Batocabe’s slaying strengthened the resolve of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs to investigate recent killings when congress resumes session in January.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the committee, said that when persons in authority are being killed in a brazen manner in broad daylight, that is cause for concern.

“If these personalities who have security detail are not safe, what more the ordinary Filipino?” he asked.

The senator was referring to the killing of Batocabe, former Kadingilan, Bukidnon mayor Joelito “Jukens” Talaid, Tanauan City mayor Antonio halili, businessman Dominic Sytin, and Richard Santillan.

Sen. Richard Gordon said the

Dante Jimenez

ManilaTimes.net photo

series of violent events that occurred in less than a fortnight may be an indication that a culture of violence and impunity has been adopted in the country.

Gordon has called on the Philippine National Police to act swiftly in resolving these killings.

“There is a culture of violence and impunity that must be stopped immediately by ensuring that the police and the people are reminded that we are a country that follows the rule of law. Such appears to have been forgotten as shown by violent events that occurred in the past ten days,” he stressed. n

Fli gi`ek \[`k`fej ile `e kXe[\d n`k_ 8AËj Gi`ek <[`k`fe Fec`e\% Fec`e\1 _kkg1&&`jjll%Zfd&Xj`XeaflieXc[`^`kXc\[`k`fe

A6

DECEMBER 28, 2018-JANUARY 3, 2019 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL

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FEATURES

OPINION

Steep price for celebration AFTER Christmas Day, people are preparing for the New Year revelry, and authorities can’t remind the public enough that it’s better to be safe than sorry. The reminder is aimed at those who still want to greet the New Year with a bang.

Adults in particular must be mindful of the need to keep children safe.

Last Saturday, the Department of Health reported that a three-year-old girl in Valenzuela was taken to the Philippine General Hospital after accidentally swallowing the contents of a flash bomb. The DOH said another child was injured after exploding a piccolo.

The small firecracker, a favorite among children possibly because of its size, is nevertheless banned like watusi because of the high risk of injuries from mishandling. Wounds from firecrackers can develop into potentially lethal tetanus if not treated promptly.

Piccolo and watusi, however, continue to be sold all over the country along with larger and more powerful firecrackers such as pla-pla. Since the DOH started its registry for firecracker injuries on Dec. 21 until Christmas Eve, 13 cases have been recorded. The DOH has warned that the number continues to rise.

While household use of fireworks has been on a

steady decline nationwide and some local government units have banned firecrackers, many Filipinos still keep the tradition alive. Fireworks are legal and the industry is regulated, but there are several types that are banned for causing serious injuries and even deaths in the past years.

As is usual in this country, however, enforcement of the ban has been spotty. Banned fireworks are openly displayed in the streets, with vendors playing hide-and-seek with police raiders. Manufacturers of banned items cheekily give the banned products new names, usually after the most controversial figures of the year.

The three-year-old girl at least is on the mend, but several others have died from firecracker injuries, either directly from explosions or because of tetanus.

The public must remember that losing a finger, an eye or a life is too steep a price to pay for ringing in the New Year. (Philstar.com)

Editorial

Philstar.com photo

National budgets are a self-portrait of a country

Commentary

MARLEN RONQUILLO IN our country, where the budget philosophy is a collection of trite and turgid words and not the definition of a great aspiration, the hard-numbers men and women who write our national budgets are just that — hard-numbers men and women. But a national budget vested with no great purpose is not the general rule.

After Jack Lew ended his second stint as Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director under United States President Barack Obama (Lew held that same post under Bill Clinton), he summed up his feeling about the budget process in these noble words: “Budgets aren’t a book of numbers. They are a tapestry, the fabric of what we believe. The numbers tell a story, a self-portrait of

what we are as a country.”

Take a long, hard look at the history of our contemporary budget process. Can you vest even just a sliver of loftiness, or nobility, or a sense of purpose into the Philippine budget process? No. That question is even laughable.

If the current budget process is, indeed, the self-portrait of our country, what do we have? The straight-up answer is this: The brazen attempt to corrupt it. A “corrupted budget” is the shorter version.

The P3.76-trillion General Appropriations Bill that has passed the House of Representatives and is currently with the Senate for deliberation is not a cornucopia of good intentions and good projects, but a collection of political fiefdoms currently grabbing what they could grab of the choice infrastructure component of the proposed budget. With the control will come the expected commissions, billions of pesos

greasing every power faction that manages to corner the juicy component of the funds.

Boy, Oh, boy. One gets the feeling that the Napoles scam, so far the most scandalous story of congressional corruption, a crass, unprecedented Saro-for-Cash Exchange that cost P10 billion in squandered public money, is just Little League in comparison to the grubbiness that is taking place today, budget process circa 2019, the P3.76-trillion version.

Let us visit the crime scene and itemize the fund grab. Or, let us start with the story of CT Leoncio Construction and Trading, a single proprietorship based in Sta, Maria, Bulacan, but with major public work projects mostly in Bicol, with Sorsogon as its base of operations.

Under the rules of bids and awards as specified under the Government Procurement Act, CT Leoncio is good for small projects, such as farm-to-market roads,

Time to reboot our US defense ties Commentary

FRANCISCO TATAD DRIVEN by security concerns over the Philippines’ South China Sea dispute with China, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has proposed a review of our Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the United States. This has not been formally endorsed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, which speaks for the government on such matters, but neither has the DFA nor Malacanang disowned it. It is the most significant statement on the subject to date. It cannot simply be disregarded.

Concluded in 1951, the MDT remains the basic defense instrument between the Philippines and the U.S., after the 1947 Military Bases Agreement (MBA) expired in 1991 and the Senate rejected its proposed extension by a further 10 years. The 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement and the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement are but the MDT’s implementing agreements.

MDT background The MDT came at a time of serious security challenges in Asia. In 1949, Mao Zedong’s communist forces took over China and drove Chiang Kaishek’s nationalist forces to Taiwan. In 1950, the Korean war broke out and left the Korean peninsula divided between North and South. As Japan rose from the nuclear ashes of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the communists threatened to engulf Indonesia, and the Vietnamese moved to defeat the French colonial forces at Dien-BienPhu, resulting in the partitioning

of Indo-China. Under President Elpidio Quirino and later, Ramon Magsaysay, the Philippines faced an armed rebellion by the Hukbalahap — the Filipino fighters originally organized against the Japanese occupation army.

The threat of a communist hegemony emerging in the Pacific provided the glue to the Philippine-U.S. military alliance, first in the MBA, and then in the MDT. In the MDT, the two allies agreed to act together to repel any armed attack on the metropolitan territory of either of the parties, or on the island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific, or on its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific. “Metropolitan territory of the Philippines” means all of the land areas and all adjacent waters subject to the sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines, in accordance with international law, lying with the area delineated by Spain and the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris of Dec. 10, 1898, and in the Treaty of Washington concluded by the U.S. and Great Britain on Jan. 2, 1930.

In case of attack Under Article IV of the MDT, an armed attack in the Pacific area on either of the parties would be “recognized” as “dangerous” to the other’s peace and safety, and this party will have to “act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes.”

Any armed attack and any attempt to repel it should be immediately reported to the UN Security Council, which shall take the measures necessary to restore peace and international security. Thereafter, any counter-measures taken by the affected party shall cease. his provision was strongly repudiated by Filipino critics who found it vague and meaningless.

To the nationalist Sen. Claro M. Recto, who chaired the con-

stitutional convention that crafted the 1935 Philippine Constitution, the core article of the MDT was much too weak, compared with the counterpart article of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Where the MDT merely provides for consultations according to its constitutional process after one of the parties is attacked, the NATO treaty provides for automatic retaliation by all its members.

Article V of the NATO treaty provides: “The Parties are agreed that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all; and consequently they agree that if, such an attack occurs, each of them, in the right of individual or collective self-defense recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually or in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.”

Recto vs Romulo The late Gen. Carlos P. Romulo, who headed the Philippine panel that negotiated the MDT, tried to assure Recto that the U.S. would not fail to respond if the Philippines were attacked.

Recto remained unconvinced. In 1954, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (Seato) was established in Manila, with the U.S., France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan as members. It was intended to prevent communism from gaining ground in Asia, but it did not add anything new to the Philippine-U.S. security alliance.

On its every anniversary, the Seato secretary general would say, because of Seato, not an inch of

small flood control and drainage projects, one school buildings or two — minor projects that befit its lowly status. Projects P50 million and above are done by contractors with Triple A accreditations.

Yet, according to Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr,. himself a former budget secretary, CT Leoncio has already bagged 30 major infrastructure projects worth billions of pesos even while the Senate was still deliberating on the budget.

How did this happen? Andaya said the premature awards to CT Leoncio, single proprietorship, were courtesy of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). In 2018, CT Leoncio, single proprietorship, got P10 billion worth of projects, Andaya said.

How can the DBM embed projects and the specific contractor of these projects with the P3.76 trillion budget yet to pass the Senate? The answer to these miraculous awards may be a place

— Sorsogon.

According to a family tree drawn

by Andaya et al, the vice governor of Sorsogon, Ester Hamor, has a son from a previous marriage.

That son is married to a daughter of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno. The current husband of the vice governor is Edwin Hamor, the mayor of Casiguran town in Sorsogon province. Most of the big projects done by CT Leoncio were in Casiguran, Sorsogon.

Andaya said the Hamors have been the backers of CT Leoncio.

You can readily identify the axis of the connections: Diokno-Hamors-CT Leoncio.

Of course, Andaya himself does not come clean in the whole “pork barrel” mess.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, after his routine scrutiny of the national budget, claims that Andaya has pork barrel projects worth P1.9 billion, the 2nd biggest pork beneficiary in the House. My place in Pampanga, the 2nd congressional district represented by Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is on top with P2.4 billion of pork.

The bloc of Andaya and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez has made a counter-claim. A P5 billion pork has been cornered by former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Farinas and a few others in the deposed House leadership.

Mr. Alvarez just broke his silence. He said that he was ousted from the House leadership because of an ulterior motive — control of the multi-billion road users fund.

At the Senate, the story of a senatorial staff promising major budgetary allocations to congressmen who will allow the senatorprincipal of the staff to identify the contractor is the big story. So far, no names. But still with the same brazen story of “pork parking.”

The rot of corruption is evidently widespread and across the two chambers. What the two chambers of Congress is about to pass is a P3.76-trillion national budget unblemished by integrity.

It is, truly, the story of our sad and corrupt country. (ManilaTimes.net)

territory had been lost to the communists. But France and Pakistan eventually started taking “independent” positions vis-a-vis the other members. They eventually withdrew, prompting the Philippines and Thailand to move for the dismantling of the alliance in1975.

By then the communists had won in Vietnam.

Dulles’ assurance The strongest assurance of an appropriate U.S. response to an armed attack under the MDT came from Dwight Eisenhower’s Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, when he said that because of the U.S. air and naval dispositions in the Philippines, “an armed attack on the Philippines could not but be also an attack upon the military forces of the United States. As between our nations, it is no legal fiction to say that an attack on one is an attack on both. It is a reality that an attack on the Philippines is an attack on the United States.”

Eisenhower reiterated this assurance in his joint communique with then President Carlos P. Garcia on the latter’s state visit to Washington, DC on June 20, 1958. It was later incorporated in the so-called Bohlen-Serrano Memorandum of Agreement of 1959, and reaffirmed by the Ramos-Rusk exchange of notes of 1966.

But in his monumental book, A Question of Sovereignty, Ambassador Eduardo Romualdez, who headed the Philippine panel during the 1976 renegotiations of the bases agreement with the US, points out that this assurance was not based on what the MDT provides, but rather on the fact that “the dispositions of U.S. air and naval forces in the Philippines were “such” that an armed attack on the Philippines “could not but be an armed attack upon the military forces of the United States” and therefore, would be repelled.”

Romualdez points out that in 1954, when Dulles issued his statement, U.S. forces were scattered

throughout the archipelago, from Aparri in the north to TawiTawi in the south, and from Palawan in the west to Samar in the east. Any attack on any part of the Philippines would certainly endanger some American units, writes Romualdez. But would Dulles’s reassurance still hold, if the US air and naval dispositions were altered, as in fact, they have been altered upon the end of the bases agreement in 1991? Would the U.S. feel obligated to respond if the Philippines were attacked, without inflicting damage on any U.S. public vessels or aircraft?

Cyrus Vance reiterates In a letter to Romulo on Jan. 6, 1979, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance stated: “Article V of the MDT states that for the purpose of Article IV, an armed attack on either of the parties is deemed to include an armed attack on the metropolitan territory of either of the parties, or on the island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific or on its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific. All elements of this definition are of equal validity in terms of U.S. commitment under the treaty. Metropolitan territory is defined below. However, as provided in Article V, an attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific would not have to occur within the metropolitan of the Philippines or inland territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific in order to come within the definition of Pacific area in Article V.” Never has there been any doubt that the U.S. has no commitment to the defense of the Philippineclaimed territory in the Spratlys, even if attacked by the Chinese. In 1969, during the so-called Symington Senate hearings on “U.S. security agreements and commitments abroad,” Sen. William Fulbright, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, while questioning Rear Admiral Draper Kauffman, the commander of the U.S. naval forces

in the Philippines, expressed doubt that the U.S. had any real commitment to defend the Philippines.

Fulbright’s assertions “Maybe this is the point,” Fulbright said, “we are really not there to protect the Philippines. We are there to serve our own purpose, to maintain a base for what we believe to be our forward protection against China or anybody else. That is our purpose.” To which Kauffman replied, “Oh, yes, sir.” So it’s all window-dressing? Fulbright asked.

One thing is certain: The U.S. military bases are gone, and the MDT has not been put to the test.

The Chinese geopolitical and geostrategic threat, for which reason we entered into the MDT 67 years ago, has evolved. So has national response. We no longer have a unified response. While Lorenzana and the defense establishment may still consider China a continuing security concern, President Rodrigo Duterte looks to China as a source of economic aid and investments and of unquestioning support for his authoritarian policies.

Lorenzana apparently believes the MDT could be made to work if it were given NATO’s automatic retaliatory clause, and the U.S. commitment to defend its ally in case of attack were extended to the contested territories in the Spratlys.

But aside from DU30’s change of heart with respect to the Philippines’ rightful claim in the Spratlys, we must also now contend with the unpredictability of U.S. policies toward America’s allies.

President Donald Trump’s unvetted decision to withdraw all of the U.S.’ 2,000 fighting men from Syria, without consulting the U.S. defense establishment, the leaders of Congress and America’s allies, has created an enormous uncertainty in the area of military cooperation with the U.S. Lorenzana may have no one in Washington, DC left to listen to his MDT proposal after Secretary James Mattis left the Pentagon.

(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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DEcEmbER 28, 2018-JANUARY 3, 2019

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december 28, 2018-january 3, 2019 • neW yOrK and neW jerSey aSIan jOurnaL

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An Asian Journal Magazine

The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY D EC E M B E R 28 , 20 1 8

Why do so many of us fail at our New Year’s resolutions? FilAm consultants weigh in Tips on how we can stay married to our New Year resolutions and the importance of being gentle with yourself and your goals

by Klarize

Medenilla / AJPress

AS 2018 wraps up, the ageold adage “new year, new me” makes its yearly spike across social media. It’s a time of self-reflection and taking stock of what we’ve achieved and what we’d like to achieve. There’s always that hope that next year will be better than the last, and the thought of a fresh start feels liberating.

With the new year comes an opportunity to improve our lives in one or more ways by making New Year’s resolutions, or setting goals to reach throughout the year. Whether it’s losing weight, eating healthier, becoming more organized or giving up smoking, these goals seek to That being said, we’re terrible at keeping these resolutions.

According to U.S. News and Reports, 80 percent of New Years resolutions fall through by February. So, how can we ensure that we stay committed to our New Year’s resolutions?

Filipina-American health, wellness and career coach Anna-Marie Cruz — who works primarily with high-achieving women — takes an integrative approach to wellness coaching and says that we often approach these resolutions with negative rhetoric or “with an attitude of deprivation.”

Reframing the way we see our goals by using more positive language to describe them can make them feel less like chores

and more like something to look forward to, Cruz says.

“For example, ‘I resolve to give up sweets or alcohol’ can feel like punishment. The guilt associated with giving into cravings could lead us to abandon our goals entirely,” Cruz told the Asian Journal. “How many times have we told ourselves “I can’t have chocolate” and somehow all we see around us are giant chocolate bars? Rather than deprivation, re-frame these resolutions in the positive. Instead of ‘I can’t eat sweets,’ we can ‘resolve to eat more vegetables to keep the skin even clearer and healthier.’ Who doesn’t want that?”

Cruz adds that it would benefit us to cut ourselves a little slack when it comes to working towards these goals, saying that we often adopt a “perfectionist mindset” that might convince that we’re failing when we don’t 100 percent adhere to our goals every day.

“It takes at least 21 days to develop a new habit, so instead of giving up once you leave the box unchecked for the day, use the next day to start fresh and approach your goals without the guilt of feeling of failure from the previous day,” Cruz recommends.

A popular New Year’s resolution that many adopt at the start of a new year is to be more organized: in home, in work and in mind. Moreover, the goal extends to be intentional with

Personal and home organizer Katrina Green of Badass Home Life

the possessions we keep and the purchases we make.

Filipina-American personal and home organizer Katrina Green — who runs Badass Homelife, a home organizing business in the greater Sacramento and Bay Area —follows a minimalist approach that transcends beyond just home organizing.

“When I purchase things, there is a purpose for it; I don’t just shop for funsies,” Green told the Asian Journal. “People have a misconception of minimalism.

They think that we live with no decor in our homes or what, which isn’t true, at least for me. I decorated my home with intent and for as long as it isn’t cluttered and everything has a home it works. I’ve adapted this concept as a lifestyle because I find beauty in simplifying things. When you

Filipina-American health, wellness and career coach Anna Marie Cruz

live a simplified and organized life, you get to do more and enjoy more non tangible things.”

As Filipinos, we tend to put a lot of value on material things and oftentimes because of that, there’s a tendency to hoard items.

On that note, Green said that “a lot of our elders have ingrained in us” that keeping certain “antiques and heirlooms” is a way to keep the tradition or family spirit alive, but that can result in keeping items we don’t necessarily need.

“I would want Filipinos to see beyond the material aspect of [these things] and see that what truly matters are the memories and teachings you leave behind,” Green says, adding that Filipinos could benefit from regular decluttering.

Although the process of organizing your work or home

space may feel overwhelming, starting off slow and working at your own pace could help you set off a routine, Green says, adding that treating your organizing goals like a workout routine could turn new practices into habits.

“Be kind to yourself. Don’t get frustrated when something doesn’t work the first time,” Green says. “Take it slow, start with one area like your desk or a drawer. I do a 3-step method, Toss, Donate and Keep. Treat being organized as starting a workout routine. It’s something that’s difficult to start but once you get into the habit of doing it every day and week, it becomes a part of your routine.

The key is to keep going, when it doesn’t work the first time, try something else, when that doesn’t work you can always count on us Organizers.”

Like Green, Cruz advises to approach your goals with kindness towards yourself and that if something doesn’t go as planned, try another method. But the key is to keep on going and remembering making mistakes is a part of the process, and that there’s always going to be a tomorrow.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.

Be 100 percent committed at the beginning of the day, but also 100 percent forgiving and 100 percent curious at the end of the day,” Cruz recommends. “We are on this planet for a finite amount of time.

If you don’t get your 30-minute exercise in today, channel that attitude of gratitude and count the things that went right today, rather than what went wrong. This alone can keep us motivated to conquer the next day!”

Filipino recipes to usher in the New Year Filipino traditions in welcoming the New Year

By Shobee

By ritchel

Mendiola AJPress

THE New Year has always been a countrywide celebration that is nothing short of fun, dynamic, and loud. Filipinos love to welcome the new year with as much fanfare as they can, partaking in traditions they believe will help in making the new year better, happier, and more bountiful for them. Here are some of those traditions: 1. Eating media noche Filipinos love eating — but more than that, they love eating together with their families.

New Year’s eve gives them that opportunity to celebrate, complete with an impressive spread to welcome the incoming year.

Roughly translated as “midnight,” Media Noche is a Filipino custom where family members, their relatives, and friends all gather together to eat

and drink. The menu differs for every family but there will always be some food that remain a staple in every household such as pancit (long noodles), which represent good health and long life; and sticky rice, which represent tighter family bonds.

2. Having circles/round shapes everywhere Filipinos and Chinese alike believe the round shape is a symbol of prosperity, so it’s common to see circles during New Year’s Eve. More often than not, you’ll see 12 round fruits displayed on the dining table (one fruit per month for a prosperous year) or people wearing polka-dotted clothes.

3. Jumping when the clock strikes 12 The most popular tradition that Filipino adults and kids do as soon as the clock strikes January 1. Jumping as high as you can

is believed to be a way to help you grow taller in the new year — there’s no scientific explanation to support this belief, but it’s fun and exhilarating to do anyway.

4. Opening doors and keeping all the lights on When the new year arrives, Filipinos would open all the doors in their houses to allow good energy and good fortune to come in, and turn on all the lights to welcome a brighter year.

5. Making loud noises to drive off evil spirits Firework displays are a common sight in every country when they welcome the new year, but in the Philippines, fireworks light up the sky because it is believed loud sounds would scare off evil spirits that bring bad luck.

Aside from this, Filipinos usually play loud music in the open, and use horns or toy instruments to produce ear-piercing noises.

dayrit

IT has been 17 years since I came to the United States and now I am a mom of two. My eldest just left for college and the other is in 8th grade. I work full time in a neurosurgery center while balancing being a mom and wife and blogging while on my days off.

When I was growing up, my family had this tradition of cooking meals that symbolize prosperity for the coming year, and I am trying to inculcate that to my children.

Although, they think it is just for fun.

My blog, www.theskinnypot. com, is about easy and simple Filipino recipes for busy moms.

During the holidays, especially the New Year, I have these three go-to recipes that I can rely on.

Getting in shape in 2019

Fitness and health trends and tips for the New Year By rae

ann Varona AJPress

“NEW Year, new me,” is a saying we’ll most likely be hearing or saying as 2019 comes around, and chances are we’ll also be searching for some new ways to get where we want to be.

Just like in all things, how we approach fitness and health has gone through many changes throughout the decades with some sticking around to be used in years after, and others not so much. For example, while hula hooping blew up in the 1950s as an exercise that was also a lot of fun, vibrating belts and other crazy workout machines meant to do all the work in the 1960s proved to be not so efficient.

But one thing remained constant in that people have been looking for ways to make working out and getting fit as fun and efficient as possible. The 1970s had jazzercise and rollerskating, while workout videos via VHS tapes featuring energetic instructors like Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons were becoming all the rage in the 1980s. By the 1990s, workout equipment like the Bowflex and the ThighMaster became fitness household names.

As the new year comes in full swing, below are some ways pros and trends are seeing health and

fitness playing out in 2019.

Wearables Wearable technology like smartwatches have become valuable tools in integrating health consciousness into our everyday busy lives, but the trendy and useful accessories aren’t reserved for our wrists.

While Fitbits and Apple Watches are still the rage when it comes to health tracking accessories, other types of “smart jewelry” are coming out as demand and curiosity for the accessories go up.

In fact, an annual survey of health and fitness professionals published in the American College of Sports Medicine’s

Bibingka Bisaya

Bibingka Bisaya Giving a nod to bringing SWEETNESS to life ahead, I make this Bibingka Bisaya. This dessert is made of rice flour, cooked rice and coconut milk. It is round which represents money, and sweetness to bring harmony.

Ingredients 2 1/4 cups rice flour 2 cans, 13. 5 fl oz coconut milk (2/3 cup to mix with the cooked rice, 1 cup mix with the rice flour, left over for latik) 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup cooked rice (put in a blender with 2/3 cup of coconut milk) Unsplash.com photo 1 Tablespoon baking powder (ACSM) November issue reported 1/4 teaspoon salt fitness trackers, smartwatches, 1 tsp yeast and other wearable technology 1/4 cup warm water as being the number one fitness 1 tsp pure vanilla extract trend for 2019. (optional) Aside from watches, bracelets, 1 tsp coconut oil or any cooking brooches, necklaces, rings, and oil even earrings are being equipped Wilted banana leaf, cut in circles to track a variety of health Instructions measures like active minutes, Prepare the banana leaves: calories burned, sleep duration, Using a 5-inch round bowl as sleep quality, and distance pattern, cut leaves into and line in traveled. a medium-sized muffin pan. Set The stylish, sleek, and discreet aside.

Motiv ring, for example, sits Prepare the yeast: comfortably on your finger, tracks Mix yeast with 1/4 cup of warm the health measures, lasts three water, add a pinch of sugar and let days from full charge, is water stand until bubble forms. resistant up to 150 feet, syncs Bibingka batter: Continued on Page 5

1. Prepare the cooked rice and 2/3 cup coconut mixture by blending them on high. Set aside.

2. In a medium sized bowl, add the rice flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, baking powder and salt.

Whisk and stir to mix and add 1 can coconut milk. Stir until there are no lumps.

3. Add in the blended cooked rice with coconut milk to the bowl Add the fermented yeast and mix to incorporate. Cover bowl with cling warp and let sit for 30 minutes.

4. When ready, stir batter gently and pour1/3 cup batter into the lined pan and bake at pre heated oven 375 F for 30 minutes, or until Bibingka is cooked through ( insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake and see if there is no batter stick to it.) I usually start checking 20 minutes into baking.

For the latik: 1. Put the coconut milk leftover in medium-sized saucepan and mix with ½ cup sugar. Cook in a low heat until it will be thick in consistency.

2. Brush the latik on the cooked Bibingka, and broil on high for 5 minutes OR LOWER. Broil until the top is gently charred.

Note: While broiling, watch it.

OR YOU’LL BURN YOUR BIBINGKA.

Filipino Spaghetti

Filipino-Style Spaghetti You can cook this spaghetti in less than 30 minutes. I make this for our New Year’s meal for a long and healthy life ahead.

Ingredients 1 1/2-2 lbs ground pork or beef 5-7 cloves garlic (minced) 1 medium onion (minced/ chopped) 20 pcs hotdog (sliced diagonally) 32 oz spaghetti sauce (I use Hunts brand- Four Cheese) 1 small can (6 oz) tomato paste 4 small bottles of banana ketchup (I use UFC tamis anghang banana ketchup) or Jufran 2 tbsp fish sauce 3 tbsp cooking oil 5 tbsp sugar salt & pepper to taste grated cheese Instructions

1. Heat the cooking oil and in the garlic and saute’ for a minute.

Add in the onion and saute’ until transparent. Add the ground beef and cook through (you can tell if it is not pink any more.Add the fish sauce and hot dog. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste, ketchup and sugar. Cook for a few minutes until sauce is thick.

2. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Serve with spaghetti noodles topped with cheese.

Note: This recipe was adapted from Pinoy Cooking recipe 3-Ingredient (no bubbles)

Leche Flan

Filipino Leche Flan It’s super easy to make. Don’t be intimidated with this. It is a crowd pleaser. This dessert is made with egg yolks, condensed milk and evaporated milk. It is soft, fluffy and sweet. Nothing represents unity for family than this dessert.

Ingredients 1 12 fl oz can evaporated milk 1 14 fl oz can low fat condensed milk 10 egg yolks separated from the white For the caramel 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup water Instructions Prepare your steamer by pouring about 6 to 8 cups of water and let the water boil before steaming the Leche Flan.

For the caramel Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Let it boil until the sugar has melted. Turn off heat and pour and divide the caramel into 2 6-inch round mold. I used a 6-inch cake pan in this.

For the Leche Flan Mix the evaporated milk, condensed milk and egg in a medium sized bowl. When the mixture is mix thoroughly, divide and pour into the 2 prepared mold. Make sure that the caramel is cool, you do not want to cook your egg yolk. Cover the mold with tin foil and steam for 40 minutes to an hour.

For more recipes, visit www. theskinnypot.com.

An Asian Journal Magazine

The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY D EC E M B E R 28 , 20 1 8

Immigration Corner Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ DEAR Attorney Gurfinkel: I’ve been told by friends that having an attorney handle your immigration case is a sign that you are “guilty” or not entitled to the immigration benefit. After all, if you’re A JOURNEY THAT FELT LIKE GOING “TO HELL AND BACK” REACHES A HAPPY CONCLUSION WITH ATTY. MICHAEL J. GURFINKEL’S HELP. Roselyn entitled or eligible, then why do you (center) married her U.S. citizen husband and acquired her green card. Unfortunately, their love did not last forever, and Roselyn left her need an attorney? abusive husband. Unknowingly, she became involved in felony forgery – a crime that made her subject to deportation. When she applied I thought my immigration case for citizenship, it was denied because of this past crime. After hiring three other attorneys and consulting with Atty. Gurfinkel at least four was simple and straightforward, and times, Roselyn decided to finally retain leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel. Watch this success story on how Roselyn retained her green card, terminated her deportation, and paved the way for her naturalization in a brand-new episode of “Citizen Pinoy” I could handle it myself. Besides, I – on Sunday at 6:15 p.m. (PST) on TFC. (Advertising Supplement) thought it would make me look guilty to hire an attorney, and I would also save money and attorney fees.

But now my case has been dragging on for years, I’ve gone to multiple interviews, USCIS keeps asking for more evidence, and when I try to find out what’s going on, I her green card and become a U.S. can’t get a clear or straight answer or and she was placed in removal ROSELYN obtained her green citizen. proceedings. card through marriage to a U.S. explanation. I don’t know what to do.

Watch how the Law Offices She first went to three other citizen. However, their marriage Is it true USCIS will hold it against of Michael Gurfinkel was able to attorneys, and the case dragged turned sour and love was lost a person if the person has an attorney take Roselyn from deportation to represent them and handle their on for years. The Law Offices of between the two. Roselyn U.S. citizenship on a brand-new Michael J. Gurfinkel took over left her husband, and became case? episode of “Citizen Pinoy” –– on and convinced the court that unknowingly involved in felony Very truly yours, Sunday 6:15 pm PST/EST (9:15 her crime should not make her forgery, a crime that made her TG pm EST thru select Cable/Satellite subject to deportation. The subject to deportation. When Dear TG: providers). court agreed and terminated her she applied for U.S.citizenship, it It is not true that hiring an (Advertising Supplement) deportation, allowing her to keep was denied because of the crime, attorney to handle your case or represent you is a sign of guilt. In my opinion, having an attorney Immigrant represent you greatly increases your chances of success. I believe Living: 101 the USCIS has no problems with and Beyond attorneys handling a person’s case, as it may even make USCIS’s job Monette much easier.

AdevA MAGlAyA An attorney knows the law and the requirements for the THERE are countless things to particular immigration benefit you chance to restart a new life after be grateful for this year. the rising of the sun to its setting. are applying for. The attorney can you’ve gone through some lifeThe Christmas season If we are blessed with a evaluate your case and knows the changing, miraculous experience, necessary and relevant supporting grateful heart, we will see becomes even more meaningful you will know exactly what I beauty and light amid darkness. particularly for those whose lives documents, cite the applicable mean. are suddenly shattered by a life A grateful heart is one that is law, and package your application If you survived a horrific mindful of the abundant blessings changing experience. To be fresh slate, a clean paper, what accident when everyone else of family, friends, and other given the chance to find one’s perished, or if you found yourself the Greeks call tabula rasa, on purpose in life and rewrite one’s people who orbit our lives. A inexplicably healed from a deadly which you can start writing grateful heart is well aware of all story midstream is a rare and your new story. Or if you use a the infinite number of graces, precious gift coming directly from disease, then you’ll know what it computer, click on a new blank feels to be given a reprieve. seen and unseen, that abound above. document and chase the cursor It is a new lease on life — a and permeate our daily lives, from If you’ve been given the

From felony deportation to US citizenship, on a brand-new episode of ‘Citizen Pinoy!’

Thank God for the Chance to Rewrite Our Own Story “A useless life is an early death.”

—Goethe

Hiring an attorney does not mean you are ‘guilty’ or did anything wrong

so that it meets the appropriate requirements.

An attorney can accompany you to any interview or hearing to make sure there’s no misunderstandings or miscommunication resulting in a denial or deportation/removal proceedings. The attorney can also argue or discuss the legal issues with the officer, demonstrating your entitlement to the immigration benefit you are applying for.

If the officer has any questions or suspicions, the attorney can help gather the necessary evidence to address those questions or suspicions and demonstrate your eligibility.

When a person represents themselves (and doesn’t have attorney assistance) they may not know what the requirements are, and may provide documents that are not necessary or may actually be harmful to their case, or they don’t include necessary documents, or fill out the forms incorrectly.

Homeland Security is taking a very tough and aggressive position on immigration, with policy memorandum stating that cases can be denied outright if lacking certain documents or required information. After that, the person could be placed in deportation. So, it is not safe to assume that, “I’ll try it on my own, and if I get denied, then I’ll go to an attorney.” By then, it may be too late.

One of the most important things in a person’s life is their immigration status. It means their future (and their family’s future) in

the U.S., working at a well-paying job, the ability to travel to the Philippines and back, etc. With something as important as that, a person should not be looking for ways to cut corners or save money by trying to get status by themselves, and possibly messing up their case.

Simply put, having an attorney handling your case is not a sign of guilt or wrongdoing. It simply shows you want it done correctly because you’re entitled to the benefit. *** Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 35 years and is licensed, and an active member of the State Bars of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California. Each case is different and results may depend on the facts of the particular case. The information and opinions contained herein (including testimonials, “Success Stories”, endorsements and re-enactments) are of a general nature, and are not intended to apply to any particular case, and do not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.

WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com Follow us on Facebook.com/GurfinkelLaw and Twitter @GurfinkelLaw Call Toll free to schedule a consultation for anywhere in the US: 1-866-487-3465 (866) – GURFINKEL Four offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES ∙ SAN FRANCISCO ∙ NEW YORK ∙ PHILIPPINES

until the rest of your life story unfolds.

How does one use this new lease on life?

Most people lucky enough to be given a second chance, will

quickly realize that this new lease can just be an extra few months or years, and in the most blessed scenarios, a decade or two.

Each day beyond that critical Continued on Page 6

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An Asian Journal Magazine

The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY D EC E M B E R 28 , 20 1 8

Travelogue: (THIrD of 4 parTs)

Discovering the less known gems of Croatia, slovenia, and Montenegro On the PEP Front

St . Tr y p h o n’s Ca t h e d ra l i n Ko to r, Montenegro

People, Events, Places

The album is titled “Bahaghari,” which is Filipino for rainbow. Released locally by Curve Entertainment, Inc., it was produced by National Artist Ryan Cayabyab for GLP Music.

Lea Salonga looks forward to already ‘filled up’ 2019

BoBBy T. yalong LOOKING back: After having initially explored parts of Croatia like Opatija (a charming coastal town along the Adriatic Sea enormously lined with elegant Habsburg-era villas and chateaus); Pula (the biggest archeological find in the Istrian Peninsula since the Roman Empire in Europe and known for its well-preserved arena which is the only remaining Roman amphitheater in the world); Rovinj (a stunning fishing port with immense Italian influence); Rejeka (a principal seaport and Croatia’s 3rd. largest city known for its shipyards and soccer sport); Rab (a multi-awarded tourist destination known for its four-mast bell towers); Zadar (an ancient urban town believed to be older than Rome and home to the world-famous Sea Organ); Split (Croatia’s 2nd. largest city popular for its 4th century Diocletian Palace); and Neum (a resort town in Bosnia-Herzegovina with two-border checkpoints), I instantaneously realized that every negative notion about this paradise-on-earth was false.

Moving on: From Split, we passed by Korkula, one of the most populated Croatian islands not connected to the mainland by a bridge located in the DubrovnikNeretva county and founded in the 12th century BC, which had great Venetian and Austrian influences.

The Valamar Lacroma Dubrovnik Hotel became our twoday residence (November 27-28), a luxury hotel on the Babin Kuk Peninsula known for its peculiar fusion of nature and modern

EMPLOYMENT

By BaBy

a. Gil

Philstar.com

Dubrovnik’s Old City and the booming town set against lofty limestone mountains

A night scene in one of the busy alleys in Dubrovnik’s Walled City

facilities.

After a hearty hotel breakfast we boarded our tour bus for a fifteen-minute drive to Dubrovnik’s Old City fortification.

The Old City of Dubrovnik, dubbed as the “Pearl of the Adriatic Sea,” is situated along the Dalmatian coast and became an important Mediterranean sea power since the 13th century onwards. The Old City was founded in the 7th century as a refuge for coastal residents fleeing the advancing barbarians. For centuries, Dubrovnik rivaled Venice as a trading port with its huge well-built stone walls affording protection to this former city-state.

Originally called “Ragusa,’ this UNESCO World’s Heritage Site

A whole-day Kotor, Montenegro tour won’t be fulfilling without a cup of hot cappuccino

Dubrovnik, Croatia’s bell towers inside the Old City

(listed in 1979) is predominantly Catholic yet surrounded by Islamic and Orthodox neighbors.

Despite the severe damage brought about by the catastrophic 1667 earthquake that destroyed a huge amount of Renaissance arts and historical architecture, Dubrovnik managed to restore and preserve its beautiful Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces, and fountains. It was damaged again in 1990 by the armed conflict during the civil uprising for the acquisition of independence from Yugoslavia. A remarkably meticulous UNESCO preservation program is still currently undergoing to fully restore every single spot to its original form.

EMPLOYMENT

PSYCHIC

Regarded as one of the world’s finest and most perfectly preserved medieval cities, the Old City of Dubrovnik is set against a picturesque backdrop of rugged limestone mountains facing a vast open sea.

Dubrovnik’s well-preserved “treasures” are all intertwined with gleaming wide marble-paved squares, steep cobbled streets, and antique residential houses that remained unchanged for centuries.

The massive walls of this fascinating Old City were constructed between the 14th and 15th centuries during the French occupation.

Dubrovnik’s Old City, due to its authentic centuries-old setting, became a favorite filming site for Continued on Page 6

HOW nice that Lea Salonga has recorded an album of traditional Filipino music. It is really about time. She has already had a blessed 40 years in show business that have seen her pave the way for the entry of Filipino artists on Broadway and London’s West End. So now is a right time for her to take a look at her true musical roots and the result is this noteworthy project.

The album is titled “Bahaghari,” which is Filipino for rainbow. Released locally by Curve Entertainment, Inc., it was produced by National Artist Ryan Cayabyab for GLP Music. The label is not your usual hitmaking entertainment outfit. Its main goal is to introduce children of all races to world languages and culture through music. GLP record releases are intended to encourage kids to dream and explore a world of music. Not just their own but from everywhere. One excellent example of the kind of work that GLP does is “Coloreando” featuring Spanish artist Marta Gomez. It won the Latin Grammy for Best Children’s Album.

And now it is Lea’s turn with “Bahaghari.” This is where her celebrated voice is heard singing

SERVICES

native tunes that we grew up with representing various regions and cultures of the Philippines.

These songs are set against simple arrangements with just the basic instruments to encourage children to sing along. Hopefully, their parents, too.

Like it or not, it is a fact that Filipino kids nowadays are more familiar with foreign songs. I do not mean just the likes of Jack and Jill went up the hill but also of the latest by Post Malone or Cardi B. Maybe with “Bahaghari,” they can be enticed into also singing “Bahay Kubo” like Lea does. Her rendition, as always is in her famous perfect pitch.

Aside from “Bahay Kubo,” which unfortunately children have come to know as a “listahan ng gulay,” the album also includes the Visayan classics “Pobreng Alindahaw” and “Matud Nila”; folk songs like “Paruparong Bukid”; “Tinikling”, “Atin Cu Pung Singsing” from Pampanga; “Magtanim Ay Di Biro”; the Ilonggo lullaby “Ili Ili Tulog Anay”; “Sarung Banggi” from the Bicol Region; “Leron Leron Sinta”; “Pamulinawen” of the Ilocos; “Si Filemon, Si Filemon”; “Sitsiritsit Alibangbang”; “Sampaguita”; and “Waray Waray”.

“Bahaghari” is now ready for downloading or streaming online.

Continued on Page 6

Health@Heart PHILIP S. CHUA, MD, FACS, FPCS WHAT triggers hunger and satiety?

The urge to eat (hungry or not) is, to a large extent, controlled and regulated by hormones in our body. And these hormones fluctuate depending on how much sleep we get, what types of food we eat and how much calories we take in, and on how much physical activities we indulge in daily.

Scientific researchers are focusing on four specific substances they call “fat hormones,” which our own endocrine glands in the body produce. There are hormones that make one eat and there are also hormones that signal the brain to tell the person to stop eating.

These substances control hunger and satiety.

Which is the “hunger hormone”?

The hunger hormone is Ghrelin, which is secreted by our guts (stomach and intestines).

When its level goes up, we feel hungry and have the urge to eat. The level of Ghrelin goes up when we get less sleep or not enough sleep. This is the reason why those who are trying to lose weight should get adequate amount (about 8 hours) of sleep.

An imbalance meal and stress also elevate the Ghrelin level. Food deprivation obviously increases the Ghrelin level, hence it is better to keep the level of this hormone on an even keel and not fluctuate too much by eating regularly (or even more than 3 times a day) but at a controlled total calorie ceiling, to maintain health and body weight.

So, starving oneself is not a good way to lose weight, since this will lead to a Ghrelin “boomerang” in the latter part of the day.

Which is the “satiety hormone”?

The opposite or counterhormone, which is called Leptin, signals the brain when to stop eating. It controls the appetite. This “satiety hormone” is produced by fat cells in the body. When a person loses weight, the leptin level in the blood stream also goes down.

As a result, there is a “rebound” weight gain. The best strategy in losing and maintaining a desired weight level is to lose in a slow and steady pace, about one to two pounds a week, and not more. In this manner, there will still be an effective level of leptin in the body to control the urge to eat.

What’s the effect of imbalance meals?

Appetite regulators

High carbohydrate diet (rice, bread, sugar, pop drinks, ice cream, and other sweets) leads to a faster metabolism of these food items that have high glycemic indices and floods the blood stream with high glucose level.

This is why those who eat a lot of these food items (rice is a great culprit!) are feared to have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Personally, much as I loved rice (a 3-meal rice addict), I had decided to give it up following all the convincing scientific evidence today of its link to diabetes.

Could this be the reason why the incidence of diabetes is very high among Asians, especially among Filipinos? The research on this is still in progress.

How about emotional stress?

When one is high on stress and low on energy, the body tries to compensate by producing more cortisol hormone. This substance mobilizes the blood sugar transformation (glycogen into glucose) and increases the blood sugar level to provide energy.

But it makes the person hungry.

And so the person eats more.

The connection between cortisol level and obesity is not a settled question yet. Physical stress, like regimented physical exercises daily, is another story. This has a positive effect on our body in more ways than one. While it also raises the cortisol level and increases blood sugar, exercise burns calories and also helps put our body hormones in good balance. As a matter of fact those who do daily exercises have lower risk of developing heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.

What is Obsetatin?

This is a hormone recently identified by researchers at Stanford. This substance has been shown to slow down the digestive process. While the studies on Obsetatin are still ongoing, it is postulated that this hormone, like the first three above, could be held in check by adequate sleep, balanced diet, physical exercise and minimizing stress.

Are appetite suppressants safe?

Most appetite control pills, juices, solutions and powders on the market are not physiological and unnatural way to suppress (by force) the appetite for weight control. While they are readily available and very popular, they have potential adverse side effects on the heart, liver, kidneys and brain in the long haul. Some serious complications, and even deaths, have been reported from the use of these diet substances.

Since greater calorie intake than

output is the cause of increase in body weight, the safest, most natural, strategy is to eat less and burn more calories with physical exercises, making the output of calories (energy) greater than the intake of calories (food). The use of appetite suppressants could be dangerous. There are hundreds of items on the market shelves and so-called well-ness, health, stores that are untested, unregulated and unscreened for safety, side-effects, and complications, that they are downright scary. Consult with your physician before using any of them.

What strategy helps?

For any of us, who have normal weight (BMI) or overweight, exercise and calorie control are the healthiest way to maintain our weight and health.

This, of course, needs sacrifice and discipline, but the dividend is tremendously worth it. Health and longevity are priceless commodities we must work hard for. One technique my wife Farida and I learned from our late world-renowned mentor in Pediatrics, Dra. Fe del Mundo (who was seeing patients up to age 94, and died on August 6, 2011, shortly before turning 100) was this wise counsel and simple brilliant common sense: “Pull yourself away from the table LESS THAN full.” What a sage advice!

My mother, who celebrated her 100th on November 17, 2018, in Raleigh, N. Carolina, had been “calorie-estimating” (selfcontrolled dieting) for decades as far as I can remember. She still does her own finger-stick glucose monitoring and measuring her own blood pressure every single day. But what is more remarkable about her is her beautiful mind, vivid memory, remembering all the birthdays of my five children and 10 grandchildren, to my envy and frustration. While the birthday of my wife and our wedding anniversary are indelibly etched on my mind (for my own personal safety and longevity), I could hardly memorize all those other dates.

Seriously, in the final analysis, the best health manager and appetite regulator for you are none other than YOU. *** Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is a medical lecturer/author, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. Websites: FUN8888.com, philipSchua.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com

By RICKY LO Philstar.com

LIKE with others, Christmas is a family affair for the Gutierrezes, with heads Eddie Gutierrez and Annabelle Rama presiding over six children and seven grandchildren (two from Ruffa: Lorin, 15, and Venice, 14; two from Elvis and wife Alexa Uichico: Aria, 4, and Ezra, one year and eight months; two from Richard and Sarah Lahbati: Zion, 5, and Kai, eight months; and one from Rocky: David, 14).

This is how they celebrate Christmas, according to matriarch Annabelle: “We celebrate Christmas on the night of Dec. 24. We have a party at home (White Plains, Quezon City) including the kasambahay from three households…Richard’s, Ruffa’s at sa amin nina Eddie with Richie Paul (Raymond has been spending Christmas Eve abroad due to his work). There’s a raffle of gifts consisting of cash and other goodies, pati na rin cash bonuses, and lots of games for everybody.

“At 11:30 p.m., tapos na ang party of the kasambahay, the drivers, off-staff and PA’s (Production Assistants). At 12 midnight, the family members open the gifts with the help of Lorin, Venice, David, Zion and Aria who read the names of the recipients.

The gifts are those gathered under the Christmas Tree. The affair lasts until 2:30 a.m. of the next day, Christmas Day. Super saya kasi palaki na nang palaki ang family.”

Said Richard, “I have a lot to thank God for.” And he tells why in the following Conversation.

How would you assess year 2018 as far as your career is concerned?

“I can say that 2018 was a good year for my career. We wrapped up our successful teleserye La Luna Sangre during the first quarter of the year. Then I signed an exclusive contract with ABS-CBN and my new management Star Magic Philippines. Also, I signed an exclusive contract with Star

The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY D EC E M B E R 28 , 20 1 8

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America

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UP Alumni Association Berkeley Chapter Celebrates 50th Anniversary The University of the Philippines (UP) Alumni Association (Berkeley Chapter) is celebrating its Golden Jubilee with a luncheon party from 11am to 4pm on December 29, 2018 at the Oakhurst Country Club in Clayton, California. All present and former members are invited, including alumni or graduates of the university’s high schools in Manila and Diliman, and the different institutes, colleges and campuses of the University. Interested parties are requested to get in touch with the following: Daisy Rodriguez (916) 768-9955, Henrietta Fajardo-Boyd (925) 433-3359, Diosy Rey (707) 315-2351 or Jay Castro (925) 899-8881.

D EC E M B E R 3 0

SIPA and #HashtagLunchbag host food drive in LA Give back to the Los Angeles community by volunteering with Search Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) and #HashtagLunchbag on Sunday, December 30 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. as we spread love by making sandwiches for those who need it the most! Join us as we assemble sandwiches, create notes of encouragement, decorate bags, and ensure that homeless people have a meal. The event will be happening at 3200 W. Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026. Parking is available on Dillion/Temple and Robinson/Temple. Donations of $5+ are not required, but are highly suggested so that we can continue to have community service events like these. For any questions, contact Maria Carmel Valendez atmvalendez@esipa.org.

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

Getting in shape in 2019...

From Page 2 with your smartphone, and can even help you find your phone.

Fashion and jewelry brands like Tory Burch and Swarovski getting in on the tracking action by coming out or helping out with designs that match their brand.

“At home” gym experiences Working out at home is nothing new, but again thanks to technology, working out at home is becoming way more efficient and fun through apps and even streaming services that provide (Advertising Supplement) more virtual options for working out from the comfort of your home.

Apps like Aaptiv, Nike Training Club, Sweat, and Sworkit have so far been proving that workouts kids to have the same.” through our smartphones are How soon is your mucheffective in giving instruction and delayed wedding going to encouragement. happen?

Streaming services through “Planning a wedding is not an booming Peloton which easy task, but a very exciting one. started off selling boutique We are targeting early 2020.” level stationary bikes with If and when, what kind of accompanied live and onwedding would you have and demand indoor cycling classes where (here or abroad)? have been becoming a hit after it “We are still finalizing the quietly launched its app Peloton location that will match the date Digital in June, allowing videothat we want. We also have to based workouts and outdoor consider our families. Sarah and running classes without the big I want our families to attend the equipment. ceremony and both of us come ClassPass, which gained fame Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati with from big clans, so the location is their son Zion and Kai from allowing members to access something that we are currently Photo from Instagram/@richardgutz a variety of workout classes and working on.” studios with one membership, Cinema for films. I also extended Tell us about your funny also recently launched their own my contract with my Bench family. experiences filming Fantastica. streaming service ClassPass Live In the middle of the year, I was “Filming Fantastica was such a which brings live-streamed classes able to do my first TFC (The Filipino great experience for me. There’s a Channel) shows, going to Canada lot of bloopers and funny moments. right into the home in addition to on-demand sessions. and the US. In the last quarter of One scene that is unforgettable Our Body Electric (obé) has the year, I was offered the movie for me is seen on the trailer where also been gaining popularity for Fantastica co-starring Vice Ganda Vice asked me to call her ‘Mahal,’ not only bringing home the gym and Dingdong Dantes. I can say and then I put out my tongue. I that it was a blessed year for my felt…I don’t know how to describe experience, but bringing in one you’d find at a boutique workout career.” it, hehehe!!! Basta, I screamed after class complete with enthusiastic What about your personal doing that scene. I was relieved!” life?

Is your rivalry with Dingdong instructors, upbeat music, and bright neon lights. In addition to “In terms of my personal life, I Dantes for real or just for show? its live signature classes held every can’t ask for more. Sarah and I are “Dingdong and I are actually day of the week, obé has a library blessed to have another happy and good friends, the rivalry was of over 500 on-demand classes. healthy baby boy in Kai. I was able created years ago during our time Even more emphasis on to spend a lot of quality time with in GMA, but in reality there has healthy eating my family this year and was able to never been any rivalry. We both Healthy eating is also nothing travel despite our busy schedules.” worked hard to achieve where we new, but it’s definitely something How are you as a father? are now in terms of our careers.”

“As a father, I can say that I What can we expect from you that will continue to be at the forefront of ways to stay healthy. am a loving and hands-on father in year 2019?

Johanna Marie of the healthy to my two kids. They are my first “2019 is an exciting year for cooking show Momma Cuisine priority and I always find time to sure. I am currently preparing for a said she sees 2019 filled with more spend with them. I consider myself teleserye with Bea Alonzo and Ian blessed to have my two boys.”

Veneracion that will start filming by and more people normalizing the “healthy lifestyle” and integrating Are you and Sarah raising January. A movie with Star Cinema it into their daily lives your children the way you were is also lined up.”

“Fresh pressed juices, fasting brought up by your respective How is Richard today once in a while, cooking more at parents? different from Richard when you home — it’s all those little things ”We try to have our own style were 15? out together that add up and help of parenting but we also apply “The Richard today is a grown everyday people to eat healthy,” everything we learned from our man…a family man that knows said Marie told the Asian Journal. parents. I can say that Sarah and I what he wants and what his She emphasized cooking for were raised well and we both had a priorities are, but also knows how yourself as being one sure way happy childhood and we want our to live life to the fullest.”

Richard on 2018: It was a good year

5

An Asian Journal Magazine

to get more mindful of what we put in our body. Her blog, Momma Cuisine, is all about great everyday meals with simple ingredients and basic cooking techniques.

“Cooking for yourself doesn’t have to be stressful. And when you start cooking for yourself and your family, you naturally being to care about fresh ingredients, making things delicious and healthy,” she said.

Holistic approaches to workouts While workouts like Crossfit and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) among others have gained strong followings for their ability to really get people sweating, many are seeing recovery and other concepts of holistic exercise being just as important in staying healthy and fit.

After experiencing an accident in the past year, Julie Ann, a Body Arts and Science International (pilates) instructor atpilatesinlosangles.com, has made it her personal goal to working towards a more toned physique.

She predicts the next year to be filled with more holistic approaches to exercise with more people learning of how the body can heal itself given proper tools — how exercise is a tool not only for losing weight or looking good, but making sure bodies are doing the most they can.

“I believe we all need to work on our abdominal muscles, not for the looks, but to help alleviate day-to-day pains such as back pain, posture issues and imbalances in movement,” she said.

Looking at the wide field of recovery, more places are offering recovery tools and services from steam rooms and sports massages, to more extensive treatments like infrared saunas and NormaTec compression therapy.

Mindfulness or “spiritual fitness” While the focus on mental health is something we saw grow a lot in popularity during the past year, it’s looking like the focus on obtaining mindfulness is just getting started.

Anita Nacion, a life coach for nurses at nacionvita.com, sees meditation — or what she likes to call “spiritual fitness” — as continuing to play a big role in 2019.

From Nacion’s personal experience working with nurses who experience the regular stresses and demands of the job, she’s found that those who have

attended her sessions found a 20 percent decrease in stress in just four weeks of meditation.

“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, affirming that healthcare workers need to learn to find pauses in their days, especially during their workdays,” said Nacion.

She hopes more people will be open to learning about mindfulness and relaxation tools to battle against exhaustion and burnout, and to relax, reboot, and find calm in stressful days.

Aside from meditation which she emphasizes can be done anywhere to reset our sympathetic nervous system, Nacion says mindful running or walking are also great ways to get in the right headspace.

“Going for a solo run has been one of my go-to movement meditations when I don’t feel like sitting still,” she said, adding yoga as another go-to.

Surrounding yourself with those who practice a healthy lifestyle is another thing she recommends.

“Find the mentors and experts whom you admire and seek counsel or guidance from them,” said Nacion, giving credit to her own mentor Kamille Rose Soler.

Apps of course — think Headspace, Calm, Happify, and Booster Buddy — may be great tools in helping achieve a better sense of mindfulness.

Fitness for seniors As the population ages with baby boomers entering retirement, many health services like gyms are looking to cater to older adults and their fitness needs.

In the same ACSM survey that predicted Wearables to being the number one fitness trend for 2019, the survey showed that fitness programs for older adults jumped five spots on the list from ninth place to fourth this year.

“These individuals, in general, have more discretionary money than their younger counterparts, and fitness clubs may capitalize on this growing market,” reasoned the study.

“People are living longer, working longer, and remaining healthy and active much longer,” it added.

As the New Year approaches and we begin thinking of what steps we’ll be taking to getting healthier in the future, it’s good to keep in mind that while fitness trends have changed many times throughout the years, there are more than just a few ways to get healthy. Explore what works and enjoy the process.

Thank God for the Chance to...

An Asian Journal Magazine

The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY D EC E M B E R 28 , 20 1 8

Sunshine Cruz with daughters Samantha Angeline, Angel Francheska and Angeline Isabelle

Photo from Instagram/@sunshinecruz718

tough!”

As the Kapuso actress shared the things she learned and realized this year, she noted: “I also got my freedom. One of the best gifts I got this year.”

Cruz said she always believed that as long as one does not hurt others, “life will reciprocate and the truth shall always prevail.”

She may have lost people she thought were true, the actress remained positive saying she “gained better friends who stuck by me while others believed in hearsay.”

Cruz ended her post by expressing thanks to her family and friends: “To my family (thank you Mama, Ates, my beautiful princesses, my Macky and his children for the love and support, all of you inspire me to be a better version of myself), friends and followers, Maligayang pasko po sa inyo and may God bless us all!”

Cruz’s petition to annul her marriage with Cesar Montano was granted by a court in September 2018. She filed the annulment petition in 2014.

Sunshine Cruz counts her blessing

By Krissy

AguilAr Inquirer.net

AS the end of 2018 nears, actress Sunshine Cruz recounted the blessings she has received this year and said “freedom” was among her “best gifts.”

“I am really excited and looking forward to what 2019 has in store for me. This year was definitely truly colorful,” she wrote in an Instagram post on Monday.

“I have had my share of trials but was able to overcome them,” she admitted. “Yes! Because I am

Lea Salonga looks...

From Page 4 But I hope that Curve makes the physical CD available soon. It is said to come with a booklet containing facts about the songs and would make a very good Christmas gift.

It would be very good for our children to sing a “Paruparong Bukid” or “Sitsiritsit Alibangbang” once in a while instead of “Letting Go”.

Again, I say how nice of Lea to do “Bahaghari” and I hope that it becomes the start of her closer relationship with our native music.

Just think, there exists a massive catalogue of classic Filipino songs just waiting to be sung again. And wouldn’t it be great if Lea were the one to sing them again now.

Songs, unsung and unheard for a

long time die, I hope it does not happen to ours.

By the way, the local release of “Bahaghari” caps what was truly another remarkable year in Lea’s career. Remember, she sold out the Plenary Hall of the PICC during her two-night concert celebrating her 40th year in show business.

Before that she was in New York performing as Erzulie, the goddess of love in the Tony-winning musicaI and now also Grammynominated for Best Theater Show Album, “Once On This Island”. She also went on a solo concert tour and was a judge in the talent show “The Voice”.

Lea’s 2019 is also pretty much filled up. Her last one was so successful that she is set to go on

another long concert tour. Titled “The Human Heart Tour”, this time around she starts off in Hong Kong and Singapore in February and then continues on to around the UK in March. These shows will be followed by gigs in the U.S. and Canada.

Then there is “Sweeny Todd”.

The Stephen Sondheim musical will be part of Atlantis Theatrical’s 20th anniversary celebration and Lea is taking on the role of Mrs. Lovett. She is the one who makes the worst, the most shocking, the craziest pies in London and she is one totally unhinged woman.

It is an actress’ dream role and I am sure that Lea will give a truly fantastic performance. Playdate is in October.

From Page 3 turning point is a bonus, every single moment, a gift. Sometimes, God mercifully knocks some sense into us through drastic means by throwing us a curve ball to bring us down on our knees so that we have no choice but to look above and beyond our own petty, selfish concerns and total self-involvement in order to grasp the concept of our own mortality and to know that we are here for a purpose.

We’re not here to merely consume resources or take up space. Consider the fearsome dinosaurs. Grazing the earth for millions of years, that is essentially what they did — consumed resources and took up space.

Not by intelligence but by sheer size and numbers, they had dominion over all other species for millions of years, until one day, as scientists try to explain their extinction, a rogue asteroid about 7 miles long, possibly got unhinged off its orbit in the asteroid belt, hit the earth with such impact, setting off a series of volcanic eruptions that covered the atmosphere with ash far above the stratosphere, so that sunlight could not penetrate through the haze for years, killing off the plant life, upsetting and destroying the food chain balance and effectively starving and wiping the dinosaurs off the face of the earth 65 million years ago.

Here is earth’s tabula rasa story — starting on a clean slate, a new lease on life. When the reptiles died, mammals, of which we are classified under, began their ascent. Human beings with purpose came to be.

Yet each man’s purpose is nebulous and not always obvious.

Purpose does not come as clear as the light of day. We have to seek it out. Either by choice or circumstance, some exceptional ones find their purpose early enough and proceed to fulfill it. Sometimes, it is as simple as blooming where God planted us.

But the great majority of people on the bell curve don’t have the nose to sense their true north. Most of us of the garden variety meander about our lives trying different things until we finally stumble upon it by trial and error. The annals of history are rife with such stories.

St. Paul played a critical role in the beginnings of the early Christian church through his travels and forays into Gentile territories. But he didn’t start out that way. He was just as passionate about persecuting Christians before he was tapped from above to do what he did.

Edwin Hubble, the great astronomer who lived in the nineteen twenties and for whom the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is named for his outstanding achievements in expanding our view of the universe, tried different things before finding out what he was meant to do. In college, he played championship basketball and even tried boxing. After fighting in World War I, he studied law, tried lawyering for a year and obviously didn’t like it.

Something must have happened because he went back to college to study astronomy and finally found his footing and his purpose in life.

That’s what most of us do.

We try different lives until we find the one that matches heaven’s purpose. Just don’t run out of

time. No one wants to leave with unfinished business.

If our stations in life allow us the luxury of choice, then more than likely, we will be meandering too and trying different things before coming on board to the ship that will likely bring us to the port of our purpose. .

We don’t really have to wait for something dramatic, traumatic or tragic to happen to get us on track to finding that purpose. But do go to the right source. Nix the harebrained ideas coming from most of the media about what that purpose might be. When it comes to things that matter, most of the agendadriven mainstream media has proven itself to be unworthy of trust. It pushes its own agenda of power that comes from profit.

Media is now propaganda. Ditch it.

Tune out of the external world and go deep within. If you pray hard enough and long enough and live in the silence for a little while, chances are, you’ll find it. You can then begin rewriting your own story on a new document page — your own life story which will probably get heaven’s stamp of approval.

HAPPY, BLESSED, PROSPEROUS, HEALTHY 2019 TO EVERYONE!!! *** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette.maglaya@asianjournalinc. com. To read past articles, click on the link Online: http://issuu.com/ asianjournaldigitaledition or you can do searches in the least invasive search engine duckduckgo or bing or yahoo even before google.

Travelogue: (Third of 4 parts)...

From Page 4 King’s Landing, a fictional city in “Game of Thrones,” the famous TV series based on the fantasy novel “A Song of Ice and Fire,” and widely distributed by HBO. Several sites inside the Old City were perfect location sites for the popular TV series’ seasons 1-6 which included the Pile, the Palace Gate, the St. Dominika Street, the Bokar fortress, the Minceta Tower, and the Lovrijenac fortress aside from the outdoor scenes that showed the full view of the Old City from the waters.

There was a non-stop heavy cloudburst that day but the worldfamous heritage site was never empty of tourists that braved the inclement weather if only to justifiably explore every nook and cranny of this magnificent place.

Actually, the heavy precipitation significantly added a dash of dramatic touch to the ambiance especially when one takes a glance at the blurry limestone mountains that were almost cowering over the grand fortification while, on the other side, giant waves simultaneously walloped against the massive rocks and well-built stone walls as if wanting to escape from the tempestuous sea.

Lunchtime found me and my wife at an old-fashioned residential house converted into a welcoming eatery, the Sesame Fine Dining, just a few blocks from the Old City.

Cozy with just the right amount of antediluvian pieces embellished here and there, the place offered the best from a typical Dubrovnik kitchen plus, of course, the specially brewed to-die-for cappuccino coffee.

The other remaining spots on that day’s itinerary were cancelled due to the inclement weather that seemed to get worse after lunchtime so back to the hotel we went. The long vacant time allowed us to sort out and repack our suitcases before dinner time. Since dinner was on our own, we decided to have it in the hotel ‘though the rest chose to go out to further explore the vicinity’s nightlife.

Laku noc svijete! (Good night, world!) Dubrovnik je doista bio veliko iskutsvo! (Dubrovnik is, indeed, a great experience!)

The following day, Wednesday, November 28, our next destination was Montenegro, a little more than two-hour drive (92.7 km). After crossing the borders, we reached the town of Kotor where we were met by our local tour guide, Vuk… a towering slender-bodied Montenegrin.

Like Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia, Montenegro was liberated by the Yugoslav Republic in 1944 and became one of the six constituent republics of the Communist Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). Its capital was Podgorica but was renamed Titograd in honor of

Game of thrones’ filming location in Dubrovnik’s Old City

President Josip Broz Tito.

Montenegro has no official currency of its own. From 1996 to 1999, the Deutsche Mark was the de facto currency in all private and banking transactions and was replaced by Euro in 2002 as authorized by the European Central Bank (ECB)… although Montenegro isn’t yet officially admitted to the European Union.

Montenegro was initially known as Crna Gora (Serbo-Croatia: “Black Mountain”) a derivation originally from the Venetians during the 1200s due to the appearance of Mount Lovcen when thickly covered with dense evergreens.

The high mountains of Montenegro have the most rugged terrains in Europe and as a Balkan country, it is at the crossroads between Europe and Asia and known for its shipyards, fertile agricultural soil, fishing, and tourism.

Geographically, Montenegro is bounded by the Adriatic Sea and Croatia in the southwest, Bosnia and Herzegovina at the northwest, Serbia at the northeast, Kosovo at the east, and Albania at the southeast. Its soil is reddish (terra rossa) due to the weathering of dolomite and limestone rocks with dry summers and mild, rainy winters.

Similar to Dubrovnik, Kotor, Montenegro’s Old Town (also known as Cattaro), is surrounded by extremely colossal rocky mountains that could seemingly be reached by touch…with the Bobotov Peak as the highest elevation measuring 8,274 feet (2,522 meters) in height while the Boka Kotorska Bay, the northern part of the Adriatic Sea, offers contrasting elements of serenity and bounty.

Kotor is considered a little fairytale place, the most beautiful, and the best preserved town of Montenegro, tucked away in the heart of southern Europe. A rare place in the world where the past and present perfectly merged.

Lonely Planet, an ace tourism guide, named Kotor as the Number One city to visit in the world in 1996.

Kotor’s Old Town, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built between the 12th and the 14th centuries, hasn’t lost its authentic charm despite being ruled by the Venetian Empire for nearly 400 years and currently being a major tourist destination.

We were first ushered into the

main square upon entrance by the walled city where we were oriented and given a vivid background of the place. From where we were the breathtaking view of the Fortress of San Giovanni could be seen. Then we walked through narrow streets to Saint Tryphon’s Cathedral and the St. Nicholas’ Church, Kotor’s impressive pseudo-Byzantine Serbian Orthodox church which towers over the town. Nearby is the smaller framed St. Luke’s Church built in 1195 in the popular southern-Italian architecture.

Then we were brought to the Maritime Museum with an excellent collection of exhibits from the Bay of Kotor and extensively toured the Old Town’s fascinating souvenir shops, deli stores, and mushrooming eateries in every corner. The Cats Museum (Museo del Gatto di Cattaro), initiated after the donation by Countess Di Montereale Mantica of a huge collection of period images of cats, houses one of the world’s largest collections of feline images, lithographs and paintings, postcards, stuffed, plaster casts, porcelains, and every possible imagery of the furry felines. The money earned from the museum entrance fees does more than keep maintaining the facility but partly funds and supports the local feline community.

Amazingly, there were numerous cats of all sizes, colors, and breeds freely roaming or quietly napping the streets and doorways of the Old Town.

According to Vuk, our local tour guide, the proliferation of cats started when sailors and fishermen constantly brought home cats from different places where they worked and sailed. Residents of Kotor spoiled the lovable felines to the extent of feeding, bathing, housing, and dressing them up.

There was never a grimy, grubby, and malnourished cat around the walled town. A funny gag even went circulating that goes: “Sometimes, it’s better to be a cat in Kotor… you don’t need to work, pay taxes, and worry about your day’s meal…and you’re even hugged and kissed!”

Next on the fourth and final part: Discovering Slovenia and partly, Venice, Italy.

For comments and suggestions, please email to: gemini0646@ yahoo.com.

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