122819 - Los Angeles Weekend Edition by Asian Journal Community Newspapers

DECEMBER 28-31, 2019 Volume 29 - No. 102 • 4 Sections – 30 Pages

USA

DATELINE The US officially raises the buying age of tobacco to 21 FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

The major public health move follows the national vaping crisis which resulted in lung injuries among vapers THE United States now prohibits the sale of tobacco products to anybody under 21 years of age, according to a new minimum age law signed into effect last week by President Donald Trump. The new law, called the Tobacco-Free Youth Act, was a part of a massive $738 billion spending bill that also included funding for the border wall, the newly-formed Space Force branch of the military and paid parental leave for federal employees. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noted on its website on Friday, Dec. 27 that “it is now illegal for a retailer to sell any tobacco product — including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes — to anyone under 21. FDA will provide additional details on this issue as they become available.” The new federal law follows that of 19 states that have raised the minimum age of tobacco purchases: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, u PAGE A4

10 Filipino WWII vets get US Congressional Gold Medal

Duterte to formally decline Trump’s invitation to visit White House the letter invitation and decline it. He also clarified that Duterte’s decision reportedly is not related to Trump’s signing of the U.S. PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will officially turn 2020 budget bill that included a provision barring down President Donald Trump’s invitation to visit the the entry of local government officials associated United States, Malacañang on Friday, December 27. with the detention of Senator Leila De Lima. In a press briefing on Friday, Presidential SpokesDuterte, for his part, ordered the entry ban on person Salvador Panelo said Duterte would reply to the U.S. senators who included the provisions in by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

the U.S. budget, adding that Americans planning to visit the Philippines would be required to secure a visa should the U.S. push through with the ban on local government officials. Nevertheless, Panelo assured that Duterte bears no ill feelings towards the American president. “He said he never intended to visit the U.S. ever u PAGE A2

96% Filipinos to welcome 2020 with hope - SWS survey by CONSUELO

MARQUEZ Inquirer.net

MANILA — Ninety-six percent of Filipinos will enter the New Year with hope instead of fear, Social Weather Stations (SWS) reported on Friday, December 27. The pollster said this record was higher by four points, from 92 percent in 2018 to 96 percent in 2019. SWS also noted that it tied the “all-time high” level in 2017. The survey, conducted from Dec. 13 to 16, also showed that four percent of Filipinos said they will welcome the New Year’s Day with fear. The fourth quarter of 2019 survey used interviews of 1,200 adults aged 18 years old and above nationwide, with 300 each were interviewed in National Capital Region, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The poll also used “sampling error margins of ±3% u PAGE A3

TEN Filipino World War II veterans were presented the US Congressional Gold Medal (CGM) in recognition of the valor and sacrifice of the Filipino soldiers and recognized guerrillas who fought alongside American troops during the war. None of the 10, however, were on hand to receive the award. The Philippine Consulate General in New York, working in close partnership with the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FilVetRep), presented the medals at a ceremony recently held at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center in New York. The veterans honored were Capt. Juan Bacani, Carlos Calub, Isidro dela Torre, Pelagio Fariñas, Benjamin Gonzales Sr., Capt. Enrique S.D. Manaois, Arcadio Nepomuceno, Cirilo Ofilada, Basilio Toledo and Johnson Villanueva. Of the 10 awardees, Nepomuceno is the only one who is still alive, but because of his advanced age, he could not attend the ceremony. Family members represented all the u PAGE A2 Sen. Dick Durbin and Sen. Patrick Leahy

SKY SPECTACLE. People along a swath of southern Asia gazed at the sky in marvel on Thursday, December 26 at a “ring of ﬁre” solar eclipse. Despite the gloomy and rainy weather, the annular solar eclipse offered a brief but stunning show in the Philippines. It was best viewed in the southern part of the country, especially in Balut and Batulaki, Sarangani Island in Davao Occidental. Inquirer.net photos Malacañang photo by Ace Morandante

PH bans 2 US senators from entering, considers visa requirement for American citizens by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

THE Philippines has ordered an entry ban on two United States senators who have been calling for the release of Senator Leila De Lima, and is considering tighter restrictions for U.S. citizens visiting the country, according to President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman on Friday, December 27. Photos from U.S. Senate

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Sandiganbayan justice says Marcos P200-B forfeiture case moot by PATRICIA

DENISE Inquirer.net

M. CHIU

MANILA — Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Maryann Corpus Mañalac said that while the Marcos family appeared to have won, after the antigraft court dismissed a P200 billion forfeiture case against them earlier this month, the government has already collected majority of the assets involved in that case. “A quandary exists as to what actually the remaining assets and properties are, if any at all, which can continue to be the subject of the present action,” said Mañalac, in a 38 page separate concurring Screengrab of U.S. documentary “The Kingmaker,” showing Imelda Marcos with her paintings. opinion attached to the deciInquirer.net photo sion penned by Associate Jus-

tice Alex Quiroz. Mañalac chided the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) for its lackluster record keeping when it comes to recovered assets from the Marcos family. “A clear and unambiguous listing of the remaining assets and properties in this case, especially the status of each and every one of them, given that significant supervening events had happened during the pendency of this case for more than 32 years, is necessary not only in order to avoid conflicting rulings but also for purposes of clarity, practicality and expediency,” Mañalac said. Mañalac said that while she agreed with the decision which u PAGE A3

Residents walk past a house damaged during Typhoon Ursula (international name: Phanfone) in Tacloban, Leyte on Wednesday, December 25. Typhoon Ursula pummeled the central Philippines on Christmas Day, bringing a wet and miserable holiday season to millions in the mainly Catholic nation. Philstar.com photo

Typhoon Ursula death toll climbs to 28 by AJPRESS

AT least 28 people have died after Typhoon Ursula swept across villages and towns in the Visayas, the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported on Friday, December 27. Of the 28, 13 were recorded in Iloilo, where six members of a family were found dead when strong floodwaters swept them away in the town of Batad. In Western Visayas, four people were killed in Capiz and two in Aklan; meanwhile, in Eastern

Visayas, three were found dead in Eastern Samar, two in Leyte, and one each in Southern Leyte, Biliran, and Samar. Central Visayas has so far only recorded one death in Cebu. According to the NDDRMC, the death toll is expected to climb even further. “The likelihood is present that the casualty count will still increase. We’re hoping against it,” national disaster agency spokesman Mark Timbal told u PAGE A3

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From the Front Page

PH bans 2 US senators from entering... PAGE A1 t tor Leila De Lima from coming Duterte has instructed the to the U.S. “The Philippines is immediPhilippine Bureau of Immigration “immediately” to deny ately ordering the Bureau of ImU.S. Senators Dick Durbin and migration to deny US Senators Patrick Leahy entry into the Dick Durbin and Patrick Leahy Philippines, after they pushed – the imperious, uninformed, for provisions in the U.S. 2020 and gullible American legislabudget that prohibit Philippine tors who introduced the subject government officials involved provisions into the 2020 budget with the imprisonment of Sena- – entry to the Philippines,” Pres-

idential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a media briefing on Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump signed the country’s 2020 budget earlier this week, which included the senators’ amendment that the U.S. Secretary of State “shall apply sub-section (c) to foreign government officials about whom the secretary has credible information have been involved in the wrongful imprisonment of… Sen. Leila De Lima who was arrested in the Philippines in 2017.” In response to the U.S.’ actions, the Duterte administration would require American citizens planning to visit the Philippines to secure a visa, Panelo explained. The implementation of the U.S.’ ban on Philippine officials has yet to take effect, however. “Should a ban from entry into U.S. territory be enforced against Philippine officials involved in — or by reason of — Senator de Lima’s lawful imprisonment, this government will require all Americans intending to come to the Philippines to apply and secure a visa before they can enter Philippine territory,” Panelo said. This will also include dual citizens or Filipinos who are now U.S. citizens, regardless of the purpose of the visit. “All Americans, if you are a U.S. citizen then you are an American,” Panelo said. Currently, the Philippines allows U.S. citizens to enter and stay in the country visa-free for 30 days. This year alone, 792,000 Americans visited in the first nine months, comprising 13% of foreign arrivals, according to government data. Panelo added, “We will not sit idly if they continue to interfere with our processes as a sovereign estate. De Lima, who is a vocal critic of Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, was charged with several drug offenses and has been imprisoned for the past two years. “No other state can dictate upon our officials, judges, and justices the method upon which we enforce or interpret our laws vis-à-vis those who are believed to have committed a violation against the same,” Panelo said. n

PROVINCIAL TRIPS. Thousands of passengers wait for buses bound for various provinces at the Araneta Center Bus Terminal in Cubao, Quezon City on Monday, December 23. Filipinos usually spend Christmas and New Year celebrations with their loved ones back home in the provinces. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

Duterte to formally decline...

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since,” Panelo said. In March, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Locsin said Duterte has a strong affection for the U.S. president. “He (Duterte) has a very strong affection for President Trump and the exact details, the arrangements will be made. Specific details will have to wait for the end of the elections because that’s important,” Locsin said, referring to the 2019 midterm elections. The U.S. president first extended Duterte an invitation to visit the White House in 2016 during a phone call following Trump’s election. n

President Rodrigo Duterte and his partner Honeylet welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump prior to the start of the gala dinner hosted by the Philippines for the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states and dialogue partners at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City last November 12, 2017. Malacañang photo by Ace Morandante

10 Filipino WWII vets get US Congressional... PAGE A1 t veterans and received the medals on their behalf. The grant of the medal was the result of many years of lobbying by the veterans and their supporters. The law granting the award was passed in 2015, 70 years after the end of WWII. In his speech during the ceremony, retired Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, FILVETREP chairman, recounted the struggle of his father, also a WWII veteran who, after enlistment and after having fought in the war, was

given his pay of $22.80. This unfairness was what drove Taguba to work tirelessly to make sure that the veterans are recognized, no matter how many years have passed. Taguba travels all over the United States, working closely with the Filipino community and the Philippine consulates to find opportunities to present the award to Filipino veterans. He emphasized that, with the march of time, it is also imperative to preserve the stories of the bravery and struggles

of the veterans, before they all pass and in order for present generations not to forget their sacrifices. Philippine Consul General to New York Claro Cristobal thanked the veterans’ family members for “braving the cold brought by the first snowfall” and expressed hope that the “patriotic acts of those veterans being honored tonight will bring a sense of warmth and camaraderie to those who are present.” (Pia Lee Brago/Philstar.com)

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New health laws for 2020 start on Jan. 1, including requirement that Californians have health insurance

CHRISTMAS FOR OFWs. Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Chief of Protocol Robert Borje and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola visited overseas Filipino workers in two separate venues in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The officials handed Christmas care packages and financial assistance to some distressed OFWs awaiting repatriation. Malacañang photo

Eyeing combat in outer space, US creates Pentagon Space Force WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump signed legislation on Friday, December 20, to create a full-fledged Pentagon force for combat in outer space — the first new military service in seven decades. Capping an ambitious order Trump issued in June 2018, the U.S. Space Force officially came into being when Trump signed the annual military budget, the $738-billion National Defense Authorization Act. The legislation will create the Department of Defense’s sixth force, a coequal of the five existing forces — the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. “Our reliance on space-based capabilities has grown dramatically, and today outer space has evolved into a war-fighting domain of its own,” said Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. “Maintaining American dominance in that domain is now the mission of the United States Space Force.” The new organization builds on the U.S. Space Command, already operating under the Air Force since it was created in August. And, like the Marines, which

operate within the umbrella of the Navy, the Space Force will be under the Air Force. The Space Command will focus on war fighting — akin to the Pentagon’s regional commands like CentCom — while the Space Force will encompass broader missions like training, procurement, long-term planning and other functions. The Space Force will be comprised of about 16,000 Air Force and civilian personnel, some already taking part in the Space Command, according to Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett. It will have its own uniform, shoulder patches and even, eventually, its own song, just like the other branches. “The U.S. Space Force will protect America’s national interests by its singular focus on space. The United States has the best space acumen in the world,” Barrett said. A staff of 16,000 would make it much smaller than the other forces, but Barrett said the technology-centric nature of the work requires fewer people. “It’s a different sort of portfolio than what we might be thinking of when we generally think about warfighting ma-

Sandiganbayan justice says... PAGE A1 t dismissed the case, she concurred simply because the case is moot. She said that it was clear that the amount involved is clearly ill gotten. “The fact that the Marcoses have ill-gotten wealth or illegally acquired properties has already been judicially established and settled in this jurisdiction,” said Mañalac, contrary to Quiroz’ opinion that a lack of original documents casts doubt on whether the P200 billion is in fact ill gotten. Mañalac added that if the properties were not ill gotten, the dictator would not have resorted to using dummies. “If all these financial transactions were lawful and legitimate, one wonders why the former President had to use dummies and trustees in the acquisition of assets and properties here and overseas,” Mañalac said. Marcos ill-gotten properties that Mañalac said the government has already recovered, but were still subject of the civil case, include the following: PTIC shares, Cabuyao property, Paoay property, Sto Niño shrine and People’s center, $658.17 million in Swiss deposits, Arelma money worth

$3.369 million, jewelries and paintings, Lindenmere apartments and Olympic Towers Apartments in New York and Hawaii property $653,856 in dollar deposits. While most of the assets have been awarded to victims of human rights violations during the martial law era, the Arelma money, from Arelma Inc., one of the Marcoses’ dummy companies, is still subject to litigation in New York. In an exhaustive discussion of past Supreme Court decisions against the Marcoses, Mañalac said it is clear that the former dictator and his family have failed to overcome the presumption that their wealth is ill gotten. Meanwhile, in the main decision penned by Quiroz, the antigraft court cited the Best Evidence Rule, and explained that the case was dismissed since “the bulk” of documentary evidence submitted by government prosecutors were “mere photocopies, most of which are barely readable.” “The Court cannot simply assume that the properties subject of this case were illgotten,” the Quiroz decision added. n

Typhoon Ursula death toll... PAGE A1 t AFP news. The agency also said 12 people remaining missing, while two are injured. Ursula made landfall in the eastern province of Samar and packed maximum sustained winds of 120 km per hour (75 miles per hour) with gusts up to 150 kph. Ursula, the 21st cyclone to hit the country in 2019, tracked a similar path to Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name, Haiyan) — the country’s dead-

liest storm on record which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing in 2013. As of 3 a.m. on Friday, the typhoon was seen 335 kilometers west of Subic, Zambales, packing maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 150 km/h. The tail-end of a cold front is affecting Northern Luzon. Over 185,000 people have been affected by the typhoon, while more than 43,000 have taken refuge in evacuation centers, according to the NDRRMC. n

96% Filipinos to welcome... PAGE A1 t for national percentages and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.” The SWS stressed that the survey items on New Year hope and New Year’s resolution are non-commissioned. The pollster added that it used the survey query: “Ang darating na taon ba ay inyong sasalubun-

gin nang may pag-asa o may pangamba? (SASALUBUNGIN ANG DARATING NA TAON NANG MAY PAG-ASA; SASALUBUNGIN ANG DARATING NA TAON NANG MAY PANGAMBA) [Is it with hopes or with fears that you enter the coming year? (ENTER THE COMING YEAR WITH HOPE; ENTER THE COMING YEAR WITH FEAR)].” n

chines,” she said. Leading the Space Force will be Air Force General Jay Raymond, who currently runs SpaceCom. “With the establishment of the United States Space Force, we’re elevating space commensurate with its importance to our national security and the security of our allies and our partners,” said Raymond. (Philstar.com)

WHILE a recent federal court ruling leaves the federal individual mandate in legal limbo, a state law will take effect on Jan. 1 requiring all Californians to have health insurance. Californians are encouraged to enroll by Jan. 31 or face a penalty if they choose to go without health care coverage in 2020. “Open enrollment is underway right now. That means now is the time to sign up for a quality health plan through Covered California so you are protected in case you get sick or injured, and so you do not have to worry about a possible penalty,” said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee. “Writing a check to the Franchise Tax Board when you file your 2020 taxes isn’t the real penalty — it’s getting hurt or ill and ending up with $50,000 hospital bill.” California created a new state individual mandate penalty that is similar to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s penalty. It will be administered by the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) and collected when people file their 2020 taxes starting in 2021. “It’s important that everyone acts now to get health insurance starting in January 2020 to avoid the penalty when filing state tax returns in 2021,” said FTB Executive Officer Selvi Stanislaus. For those facing a penalty, a family of four would pay at least $2,000, and potentially more, for not having health insurance

throughout 2020. The return of the penalty was an important element in Covered California’s record-low rate change of 0.8 percent in 2020, meaning consumers have already benefited from the new policy. In addition to the penalty, California is making new financial help available to eligible consumers to help further lower the cost of their coverage. On average, consumers between 200 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level will receive $21 per household, per month on top of their federal tax credits. Meanwhile, for the first time in the nation, people who earn between 400 and 600 percent of the federal poverty level will be receiving an average of $460 per household, per month. “More than half a million Californians have already found out they will benefit from this new money,” Lee said. “Consumers have through the end of January to see what plans are available to them and whether they qualify for financial help from the federal government, the state, or both.” Gov. Gavin Newsom also reiterated his support of the Affordable Care Act when he joined Covered California during a teleconference last week. “The Affordable Care Act is alive and well here in the state of California,” Newsom said. “We are saving lives, we’re expand-

ing coverage, we’re deepening subsidies, and we’re doubling down on our commitment to fulfill the law’s promise and its potential.” Recent court ruling California’s individual mandate and penalty remain in place as state leaders prepare to respond to the recent ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. On Wednesday, December 18, the panel ruled that the individual mandate was unconstitutional, but remanded the case to a lower court. “The court ruling will not impact California and should not deter anyone from signing up during the current open-enrollment period,” Lee said. “The legal battle will continue for the foreseeable future, and Covered California will be working to educate people about the penalty and enroll as many as possible.” Consumers can find out if they are eligible for financial help and see which plans are available in their area by entering their ZIP code, household income and the ages of those who need coverage into Covered California’s Shop and Compare Tool. California’s open-enrollment period continues through Jan. 31, 2020. New health laws for 2020 Critical new laws will affect Californians and their health care in 2020. Senate Bill (SB) 106 provides the appropriations for the state

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Pacquiao on list of super-rich athletes Stockton school to be named after California’s first Fil-Am teacher by Josef

T. raMos ManilaTimes.net

EIGHT-division world champion and Sen. Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao is on Forbes Magazine’s list of the Top 10 athletes who made the most money during the past decade. Forbes reported on Tuesday, December 24, that the boxer-turned-senator was No. 8 in the list with $435 million (P22,124,100,000), boosted by his 25 pay-per-view fights that generated 20 million buys for an estimated $1.3 billion in revenue. Undefeated but retired Floyd Mayweather Jr., who was Pacquiao’s long-time nemesis, topped the list with $915 million. He brought in over $500 million with dominating victories over Pacquiao in 2015 and Conor McGregor in 2017. Pacquiao was guaranteed a $10-million purse each in his two fights last year. He had a unanimous decision victory over Adrien Broner on January 19 and a split-decision win over Keith Thurman on July 20. Both fights were held in Las Vegas, Nevada in the United

The new elementary school will honor Flora Arca Mata, who was also the first woman of color to teach at Stockton Unified School District by Klarize

Medenilla AJPress

Manny Pacquiao is No. 8 in Forbes list of 10 biggest money earners in sports of this decade. Photo from Instagram/@mannypacquiao

States. Pacquiao also earned $6,260,275 in live gate earnings from the 11,436 tickets sold in his last fight with Thurman. In the Broner fight, he made $6,000,032 from the 11,410 tickets sold. The 2015 bout against Mayweather remains Pacquiao’s

highest-grossing fight in terms of pay-per-view buys with $4.6 million. There are speculations that a Pacquiao-Mayweather rematch could be arranged in 2020. Football megastar Cristiano Ronaldo was second in Forbes’ list with $800 million earnings,

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A NEW elementary school in Stockton, California will bear the name of Flora Arca Mata, the first Filipino teacher in the Golden State who laid the groundwork for Asian American educators to come. The Stockton Unified School District (SUSD) accepted name suggestions for the new K-8 school, which will be scheduled to be completed in June 2020 and occupied by the following August. The Stockton-based Filipino American organization Little Manila rising campaigned to put Mata’s name in the running and, according to the organization, the Filipina educator “overwhelmingly had the most votes.” “WE DID IT! The new K-8 school in Quail Lakes will be named after Flora Arca Mata! Thank you to all of you who filled out SUSD’s naming survey and reposted our campaign,” Little Rising Manila wrote in a Facebook post on Dec. 17. “Thank

you for being such a beautiful community and standing up for one of our own. Your voices matter.” Born on Dec. 19, 1917, Mata was originally from Honolulu, Hawaii but her family relocated to Stockton when Mata was two years old. Her older sister worked on the farms in the Central Valley to help pay for Mata’s education at UCLA. Mata was the first Filipino American to graduate from UCLA during a time when anti-Filipino sentiment was rampant across the state and opportunities were scarce for Asian Americans. After graduation, she worked as a tutor and as a maid, and then, in 1940, she and her husband moved to the Philippines where they stayed for the remainder of the Second World War. The couple returned to Stockton shortly thereafter and Mata continued to teach, this time at the schools she attended in her youth. She was the first woman of color to teach at the SUSD

and taught for 32 years before retiring in 1980; but, a teacher through and through, she continued to substitute teach into her 80s. Mata died in 2013 at 95 years old and is survived by her son, Eddie Mata; her daughter Vida Longely-Mata and her 21 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. One of her granddaughters, Sheree Mata, is a kindergarten teacher and said in 2013 that “education has just been a part of our family. I think it runs in the blood.” In her time, Mata broke many barriers and went above and beyond to become a beloved figure in education and among Asian Americans. But Mata believed that it isn’t enough just to break barriers; rather, it is more important to leave a legacy upon which others can build. “To be first is not that important,” Mata told the Stocktonbased news organization The Record in 1975. “It’s what you do after that’s important. n

Suspect identified in 1982 cold case murder of 2 Fil-Ams SAN FRANCISCO — Closure has finally come to the family of two young Filipino Americans murdered 37 years ago as their suspected killer has been identified through DNA and genetic technology. Cousins Jeffrey Flores Atup and Mary Jane Malatag, both 16, were found dead along roadways on the morning of Dec. 20, 1982, according to Fremont police. They were last seen alive walking home from a movie and a convenience store. Malatag was sexually assaulted. Their bodies were found eight miles apart at intersections in Fremont and Milpitas, California. Examination of DNA left the murder scenes, genetic genealogy research, and exhumation of Hudspeth’s remains led to his identity as the most likely killer of the teens. Hudspeth, aged 31 in 1982,

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Undated photo of cousins Mary Jane Malatag and Jeffrey Flores Atup, who were murdered in December 1982. Photo courtesy of Fremont Police

The US officially raises the buying age... PAGE A1 t

Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. A bipartisan group of lawmakers — including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sens Mitt Romney (R-UT), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) — helped push the inclusion of the TobaccoFree Youth Act in the must-pass spending package in order to avoid a government shutdown. “Passage of this lifesaving legislation is an enormous victory for the health of our young people,” Kaine said in a statement. “By raising the age to buy tobacco products nationwide, we can save 223,000 lives and reduce youth tobacco use. This is one

of many steps we should take to tackle the youth e-cigarette epidemic that touches every corner of our nation.” This past September, Trump promised to address the national vaping crisis and to curb the rising levels of vaping among youth, noting that the FDA would announce “some very strong recommendations” for the sale of flavored e-cigarette products. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2019, more than 6 million middle and high school students in the U.S. were current users of tobacco; 1 in 3 high school students and 1 in 8 middle schoolers said they have used some form of tobacco product in the last 30 days. Advocates for reducing vape and tobacco usage praised the Trump administration for its ef-

forts to reduce vaping among youth, but Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a statement that raising the minimum age “is a positive step” but it will not stop the epidemic in the long-term. “To reverse the e-cigarette epidemic, policymakers must prohibit flavored e-cigarettes and cannot be limited by what the tobacco industry says is acceptable,” Myers said. “The evidence is clear that flavored e-cigarettes are driving the youth epidemic. Most youth e-cigarette users use flavored products and cite flavors as a key reason for their use. As long as flavored e-cigarettes remain available, kids will find ways to get them and this epidemic will continue.” (Klarize Medenilla/AJPress)

New health laws for 2020 start on Jan. 1... PAGE A3 t

subsidy program, along with income eligibility and specified funding allocation by eligibility levels. (SB 106, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 55, Statutes of 2019.) SB 78 is the omnibus health trailer bill that establishes the individual mandate and penalty, as well as the requirements for the state subsidy program. (SB 78, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 38, Statutes of 2019.) Assembly Bill (AB) 1309 expands the individual market open-enrollment period to Nov.

1 to Jan. 31. It sets Feb. 1 as the effectuation date for those who enroll between Dec. 16 and Jan. 31. This will give consumers additional time to sign up for coverage, thereby helping more Californians to become insured. (AB 1309, Bauer-Kahan, Chapter 828, Statutes of 2019.) AB 5 limits California companies’ use of workers as independent contractors rather than as employees. This bill may affect the provision of health insurance to these employees. (AB5, Gonzalez, Chapter 296, Statutes of 2019.) SB 104 authorizes the provi-

sion of full-scope Medi-Cal to adults aged 19-25 regardless of their immigration status. (SB 104, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 67, Statutes of 2019.) SB 276 standardized the provision of medical exemptions for vaccination by requiring the California Department of Public Health to develop a statewide electronic request form, tracking school immunization levels and addressing physicians who submit an unusually high number of medical exemption forms. (SB 276, Pan, Chapter 278, Statutes of 2019.) n

LAND OWNER. President Rodrigo Duterte leads the distribution of the Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) to qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) at Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex, Bangsamoro Government Center in Cotabato City. Assisting the President are BARMM Interim Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim and Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones. Malacañang photo by Albert Alcain

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twitter initiative combats fake news vs vaccines by Janvic

Mateo Philstar.com

MRT-3 REPAIR WORKS. Workers continue rail replacement activities at the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) at the corner of EDSA and Taft Avenue in Pasay City. The activity is part of MRT-3 rehabilitation works to improve safety and its service to the public. PNA photo by Jess M. Escaros Jr.

US agriculture exports to Philippines hit record $3 billion continue to have strong influence on Filipinos, supported by our shared history and peoTHE Philippines continues to ple-to-people exchanges,” the increase its dependence on ag- USDA said. ricultural products from the U.S. The U.S. continues to be the as imports are expected to reach Philippines’ largest supplier of a record $3 billion this year, the agricultural products, with a 28 United States Department of percent market share. Soybean Agriculture (USDA) said. meal, wheat, dairy, pork and According to the latest report pork products, and poultry are of the USDA Foreign Agricultur- the top five commodities. al Service (FAS), U.S. agriculThe Philippines, in turn, is tural exports to the Philippines the U.S.’ 11th largest global are expected to reach $3 billion, market. It is also the largest up 3.4 percent from the $2.9 bil- market in Southeast Asia for lion in 2018. U.S. consumer-oriented food “Despite slowdown in the and beverage products. first three quarters, sales of The USDA said Filipino conU.S. agricultural products to sumers have a strong preferthe Philippines will reach a re- ence for U.S. culture, as well cord $3 billion by yearend as as food and beverage products. shipments arrive in time for There is also a growing demand the holiday season,” the USDA for “healthy, organic, gourmet, said. and convenience foods.” “American culture and trends Another factor is the rapid exby Louise

Maureen Philstar.com

siMeon

pansion of modern supermarket chains and quick service restaurant franchises in key provincial cities, which brings increased access to imported foods and beverages. “The economy as a whole is growing faster than agricultural productivity, creating increased demand for imported foods and beverages. And real steps are being taken to improve the regulatory environment, including through the Ease of Doing Business Act,” the USDA said. The top 10 high-value consumer-oriented food and beverage products with best prospects for future export growth are pork, cheese and cheese products, frozen and powdered eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, processed fruits and vegetables, prepared food, wines, craft beer, seafood products, and dog and cat food. n PAGE A4 t had a criminal history of bank robberies, sexual assaults and attempted homicide, was 31 years old at the time of the crime, poAnother National Basketball lice said. He lived a 4-minute Association standout, Kevin Du- drive from where Atup’s body rant, was No. 9 with $425 mil- was found, according to an ABC lion. News report. Formula 1 racer Lewis HamAnyone with information can ilton was No. 10 with $400 mil- call Det. Jacob Blass at 510-790lion. n 6963. (Inquirer.net)

Pacquiao on list of super-rich athletes

PAGE A4 t

followed by footballer Lionel Messi with $750 million. The National Basketball Association’s superplayer LeBron James was at No. 4 with $680 million. James now plays for the

Los Angeles Lakers. Tennis legend Roger Federer was at No. 5 with $640 million, while international golfers Tiger Woods ($615 million) and Phil Mickelson ($480 million) were No. 6 and 7, respectively.

atty reyes 1/4v

SOCIAL media company Twitter has launched a new initiative seeking to address the spread of false information about vaccines in the Philippines and other AsiaPacific countries. Twitter, in a blog post last week, said it has expanded its #KnowTheFacts campaign to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The initiative would ensure that users who search for key words associated with vaccines will receive information from credible government public health resource, which provides critical information about immunization. “In addition to providing a prompt to a credible public health resource, when people use ‘Search’ on Twitter to look for details about vaccination, we will not auto-suggest results that are likely to direct individuals to non-credible information,” said the company. “We’re committed to protecting the health of the public conversation on Twitter – ensuring individuals can find information from authoritative sources is a key part of that mission,” it added. In the Philippines, the social media company partnered with the Department of Health and World Health Organization (WHO) regional offices covering the Western Pacific Region. The notification that would appear on search results would point people to the WHO website for credible information about vaccines. Twitter said its investment on the #KnowTheFacts campaign builds on its existing work to guard against the artificial ampli-

suspect identified in...

fication of non-credible content about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. “Our advertising policies prohibit health claims about the cure, treatment, diagnosis or prevention of certain diseases and conditions, including vaccines,” said the company. “At Twitter, we understand the importance of vaccines in preventing diseases and recognize the role that Twitter plays in disseminating important public health information. We think it’s

important to help people find reliable information that enhances their health and well-being,” it added. The initiative was previously rolled out in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan and Korea. n

A december 28-31, 2019 • LA WeeKeNd ASIAN JOUrNAL

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Dateline PMorehiliPPines women in HS, college than men in PH, says report

No more extension of Angkas pilot run after March 2020 by Ritchel

Mendiola AJPress

The inter-agency technical working group (TWG) conducting the pilot program for motorcycle taxis in the Philippines announced Thursday, December 26 that it no longer plans to have an extension for the study. According to TWG chairman Antonio Gardiola Jr., the interagency body believes that the three-month period is already “enough” for them to gather data. “For us, the three months is enough, because we have our own monitoring already. We will come up with a conclusive study,” he said in Filipino during an interview. The TWG is made up of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), Land Transportation Office (LTO), and Department of Transportation (DOTr). It decided to extend the pilot run of motorcycle taxis on December 18. Previously set to end on Dec. 26, the program will run now run from Dec. 23, 2019 to March 23, 2020, allowing two newcomers to participate. The pilot run is aimed to collect data on motorcycle taxis to help Congress evaluate pending bills seeking to legalize the use of motorcycles as public utility vehicles (PUVs). The TWG will submit the data they have col-

Not only are girls enrolled at a higher rate, data suggest they are outperforming boys in school

by Matthew

Reysio-cRuz Inquirer.net

Angkas-biker partners clad in their uniform gather along White Plains Avenue near Edsa Kalayaan Shrine for the protest rally. Inquirer.net photo by Daphne Galvez

lected and their recommendation to Congress after the pilot run ends. Motorcycle riders will have to cease transporting passengers until a law allowing them as PUVs is passed. “When the program is terminated on March 23, 2020, there will no longer be a study,

meaning no more motorcycle taxi will be authorized on the road,” Gardiola said. “It’s done already. The TWG will no longer have a role, we will submit our recommendation. So no motorcycle taxi will be allowed to run because there is no law yet that is allowing them,” he added. n

MANILA — Filipino women are enrolled in high school and college at significantly higher rates than men, according to an annual report that measures gender equality in 153 countries. The 2020 Global Gender Gap Report of the World economic Forum (WeF) found that 71.3 percent of women are enrolled in secondary education and 40.4 percent in college, compared to only 60.2 percent and 40.4 percent, respectively, among men. It also observed that enrollment rates in primary education were roughly identical, with 93.7 percent of girls and 93.9 percent of boys enrolled. The numbers were strong enough for the Philippines to rank 37th in the category of educational attainment, where its score of 0.999 is virtually unchanged from its perfect score of 1 when the annual report debuted in 2006. Drop in ranking The Philippines was actually No. 1 then in the category, although the drop in its ranking is likely more a function of generally low enrollment rates overall as barriers to access have persisted for poorer children.In Australia, which was top of the list in terms of gender parity in education, 96.7 percent of girls are enrolled in elementary and

92.7 percent in high school, both higher rates than men. Thirty-five countries achieved the highest score of 1 in the category. But the Philippines’ score was still good enough for the WeF to note that it had “closed both its educational attainment and health and survival gender gaps.” “Literacy is universal, with rates above 98 percent for both sexes,” the report noted. educational attainment and health and survival are two of four categories measured by the yearly report, the other two being economic participation and opportunity and political empowerment. The Philippines ranked 16th overall with a total score of 0.781. Outperforming boys This was a drop from eighth place in the 2019 report, but it remained the highest-ranking country in Asia, with secondplace Laos lagging far behind at 43rd.Not only are girls enrolled at a higher rate, there are also data that appear to suggest they are outperforming boys in school. Teenage pregnancy The results of the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment, which measures 15-year-olds in 79 countries in reading, mathematics and science, found that female test-takers in the Philippines scored 14 points higher on average than

male students. The rosy statistics, however, masked certain obstacles in schools that still disproportionately affect girls. According to statistics from the 2017 Annual Poverty Indicator Survey, 57 percent of female out-of-school youth were forced to drop out due to “family matters,” of which the biggest components are teenage pregnancy and early marriage. Dropout rates Family matters trounced even the cost of education, or financial concerns, as the biggest cause of school dropouts. This came in only second”cited by a considerably lower 14.3 percent of female dropouts. These dropout rates affect not just education but economic opportunities available to women, with Socioeconomic Planning Secretary ernesto Pernia estimating that the lifetime earnings women lose to early childbearing are between P24 billion and P42 billion. The WeF report coincided with this estimation, showing that only 47.7 percent of Filipino women were part of the labor force, compared to 76.2 percent of men. The report also noted that a higher percent of women than men were enrolled in courses such as health and welfare; natural science, mathematics and statistics; and social sciences, including journalism. n

10% of Filipinos fulfilled 2019 New Year’s resolution PH, 4 other nations on top of boxing world by consuelo

MaRquez ManilaTimes.net

MANILA — Only 10 percent of Filipinos said their promises for the year 2019 were fulfilled, recent results of Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed on Friday, December 27. In its survey conducted from Dec. 13 to Dec. 16, the pollster said of the 33 percent, 3 percent said nearly all of their 2019 resolutions were fulfilled while 7 percent said most of their New Year’s resolutions in 2019 were

fulfilled. Nineteen said only few of their resolutions were fulfilled while 3 percent said none of their resolutions were fulfilled, SWS added. The December 2019 survey also found that fewer Filipinos made promises for 2019 with 33 percent in 2019 while 46 percent in 2017. The survey used the question: “Last year, did you make a New Year’s Resolution or a list of things you want to do or change in 2019? (Noong nakaraang taon, kayo po ba ay

gumawa ng isang New Year’s Resolution o listahan ng mga gustong gawin o baguhin ngayong 2019?)” The poll used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 Filipinos aged 18 years old and above nationwide. 300 each were interviewed in National Capital Region, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The poll also used “sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.” n

by eddie

alinea ManilaTimes.net

WITh four international champions, bannered by eight-division titlist emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, the Philippines emerged as the fifth best boxing nation in the world this year. Joining the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight super titleholder and now senator Pacquiao in the elite list are World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight titleholder Johnriel Casimero, International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight Jerwin Ancajas and IBF mini-flyweight Pedro Taduran. The United States has the most world champions with 15, followed by Mexico with 10 and Japan and the United Kingdom with five each. The Philippines shares 5th place with Russia. Two other Filipinos were on the hunt for boxing glory this year but fell short. Fil-American Nonito Donaire, the former IBF flyweight, unified World Boxing Council and WBO bantamweight, IBF super-bantamweight, IBF/WBO/WBA super-bantamweight and WBA super-featherweight champ, made waves early in the year by reaching the finals of the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight classic. But the “Filipino Flash” lost to Japanese Naoya Inoue in the gold medal bout by unanimous decision. Four-division boxing world champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes vacated his WBO super-flyweight world championship to pursue

bigger fights against the other 115-pound champions, but at age 34 failed to sustain his wish. had the two held on to their crowns, the Philippines could have ranked higher. Pacquiao, who at 41 is the oldest 147-pound campaigner, can enjoy the New Year with more honors if the Boxing Writers Association of America anoints him as “Fighter of the Decade” and “Fighter of the Year.” he is one of five nominees for the titles. his 12-round unanimous-decision victory over Keith Thurman last July is also lined up for the “Fight of the Year” plum. equally successful this year are Filipino amateur fighters. Nesthy Petecio, who at 27 had been carrying the country’s flag in international tournaments for a dozen years, was crowned the AIBA world women’s featherweight champion last October in Ulan-Ude, Russia. A month earlier, eumir Marcial, now 24 and an ex-world junior champion, brought home the silver medal in the AIBA world men’s middleweight championships in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Petecio and Marcial presided over the Philippines’ domination in boxing at the recent 30th Southeast Asian Games. The boxing team delivered seven gold medals, three silvers and two bronzes to dethrone perennial champion Thailand. Other Filipino gold medalists at the Games were light-fly Carlo Paalam, flyweight Rogen Ladon, lightweight Charly Suarez, lightwelterweight James Palicte, all

in the men’s division, and lightflyweight Josie Gabuco, herself a former AIBA world champ, in the women’s side. The United States has the most number of world boxing champions with 431, three times more than Mexico, the second-best. The Philippines with 39 past and present world titlists is ranked sixth, according to shortboxing.com, behind the US, United Kingdom, Mexico, Russia and Japan and ahead of Ukraine and Germany. Besides having the distinction as the first Asian country to win a world boxing champion via the legend, Pancho Villa, the Philippines has the first fighter to be elevated to the International boxing hall of Fame. Villa, Francisco Guilledo in real life, was world flyweight champion on June18, 1923. Born Aug. 1, 1901, he died 18 days before his 24th birthday in the US. he was elected to the hall of Fame in October 1961, or 28 years after he knocked out Jimmy Wilde in seven rounds at New York’s Polo Ground. The Philippines is currently home to some of the best fighters on the planet. After Villa came Ceferino Garcia, the only Filipino to fight as a middleweight and became world champion. he is the originator of the now-outlawed “bolo punch.” Gabriel “Flash” elorde, the longest reigning world juniorlightweight champion at seven years, is the second Filipino boxer to be inducted to the hall of Fame. Pacquiao could be next. he is a first-ballot nominee to the hall. n

Crimes involving Chinese up 26% in south Metro Manila by Ghio

onG Philstar.com

MANILA — Crimes involving Chinese nationals in the southern cities of Metro Manila increased slightly from 2018 to 2019, the Southern Police District (SPD) revealed. As of December 25 this year, the SPD — composed of the police stations of Pasay, Makati, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Taguig and Pateros — recorded a total of 591 crime inci-

dents involving Chinese either as victims or as suspects. This was 26.28 percent higher compared to the 2018 figure of only 468 cases. According to records shown to The Star, crimes involving Chinese kept on increasing since 2016, with 157 cases in 2016 and 235 in 2017. Of the 591 crimes recorded this year, five were cases of abduction, 21 for illegal detention and 28 for kidnapping. The Pasay City police station

logged the most cases with 201, followed by Makati City with 163 and Parañaque with 140. There were 54 cases in Las Piñas City, 19 in Muntinlupa and 14 in Taguig. SPD spokesperson Major Jaybee Bayani said the Pasay, Makati and Parañaque police stations recorded the most cases as most casinos and gaming complexes could be found there. She added that most cases are related to unsettled debts incurred while playing in casinos. n

As of Dec. 25 this year, the SPD – composed of the police stations of Pasay, Makati, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Taguig and Pateros –recorded a total of 591 crime incidents involving Chinese either as victims or as suspects. Philstar.com photo by KJ Rosales

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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • DEcEmbER 28-31, 2019

Controversy prompts closer reading of GCTA by EvElyn

mAcAirAn Philstar.com

provided ample opportunity for (some), we saw how it was exploited by some. It was also a very touchy subject because, on the one hand, the slant in general of the law is in favor of prisoners to be given a second chance outside the prison cell,” he said. “On the other hand, you also saw even individuals who committed very serious offenses stood to benefit from that interpretation. So some sort of a balancing act was required of the department and the problem was it was only much, much later that I think everyone realized how significant and how difficult that balancing act was,” he added. The implementation of the GCTA law took centerstage and raised howls of opposition last Aug. 20 when it was reported that former mayor Antonio Sanchez of Calauan, Laguna, who was convicted in the rape-slay of University of the Philippines-Los Baños student Eileen Sarmienta and the murder of schoolmate Allan Gomez, would be among the thousands set to be released after availing themselves of the GCTA law. The impending release of San-

MANILA — The Department of Justice (DOJ) faced a daunting challenge in 2019 on the interpretation and implementation of the controversial law on the expanded good conduct time allowance (GCTA) that led to the early release of convicts found guilty of heinous crimes. The events that unfolded during the past months raised questions and showed that there might have been lack of foresight of lawmakers who crafted the GCTA law or Republic Act 10521, which was intended to reward convicts with early release for good behavior. CHRISTMAS TRASH. Between 50 to 51 metric tons (over 50,000 kilograms) of waste was collected during garbage hauling operations at The law took effect in 2013 Luneta or Rizal Park from Christmas afternoon up to Thursday, December 26 according to the Manila City Department of Public Services. during the time of former presiThe trash volume, as seen in photos provided by the Manila Public Information Office, was enough to form a mound that needed at least a dent Benigno Aquino III. couple of trucks to be hauled. Philstar.com photo DOJ spokesman Markk Perete said the GCTA was a “daunting challenge that approximated a crisis. If it was not handled properly, it could have risen to crisis levels.” “You already saw some problems with how to interpret the law, and you had an interpretaby GAbriEl PAbico lAlu kasi mag… I’ve been 21 mayors, tion of the law that somehow Inquirer.net hindi mo na ako maloko ng ganoon (I will surrender my powMANILA — After 18 days ers to enforce the law, I’ll hand it of a jampacked schedule and over to the vice president. I’ll give back-to-back meetings for Vice it to her for six months. Let her President Leni Robredo, how can take over. And let’s see. I won’t SERVING MY FELLOW KABABAYANS FOR people sum up her performance interfere. You want that? Are you as the co-chairperson of the In- smart enough? Okay. You try it. CIVIL AND PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION ter-Agency Committee on Anti-Il- I’ve been a mayor for so long and • Breach of Contract and Fraud legal Drugs (ICAD)? nobody can fool me that easily),” • Auto and Other Injury accidents Well, Robredo has jokes for ev- he added. erybody. In an ambush interview after IMMIGRATION “From drug czar to drug char,” that event, Duterte clarified that • Family and employment based green cards she said in a promotional video he was not surrendering any- Vice President Leni Robredo • Business and Investor Visas released by the Office of the Vice thing to Robredo. It was also the Inquirer.net photo • Deportation defense President (OVP) on Friday, De- first time that the idea of a “drug thinking twice about it — with cember 27. czar” was floated. • Motions to Reopen the chance to save lives was the For starters, the word “char” is Robredo — who was in a din- primary consideration. • Appeals a Filipino gay lingo term — taken ner with some Manila-based reWhat now? • Humanitarian Reinstatement of revoked petition from an older gay lingo “char- porters when Duterte made the Robredo was fired last Novem• Naturalization ing” — both meant to disclaim dare — refused to comment as ber 24, with Duterte citing the • H-1B and student visas that what a person just said is she claimed it may not be seri- former’s discussion with foreign merely a joke, and something not ous. However, she assured that agencies allegedly rebuked by FAMILY LAW meant to be taken seriously. when a formal document comes, the government. The vice presi• Divorce/Separation/Nullity Like, when you try to tell a per- she will respond properly. dent slammed this as fake news, • Property Division son that he or she looked better To accept or not as she claims to have discussed • Spousal Support months ago, but say “char” at the On November 5, Malaca- drug war matters to agencies al• Child Custody and Support end as a last-ditch attempt to sal- ñang released a letter signed by ready involved in the issue — the • Restraining Orders vage the friendship. Duterte saying that Robredo was United States embassy and the It may be a joke from Robredo, designated as drug czar until the United Nations. but the last two months showed end of his term “unless sooner With the word war between the that no amount of “char” can revoked.” OVP spokesperson two leaders, both figure heads of 3580 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 900, Los Angeles, California 90010 mend ties between the Vice Barry Gutierrez confirmed that the ruling party and the opposiPresident and President Rodrigo they have received the document, tion, there is little hope that RoDuterte, the person who appoint- but Robredo deferred deciding bredo would again work for the ed the former to the ICAD post. on the issue on November 6. administration. After all, this is Where it started But even before Robredo gave the second Cabinet stint for RoEmail: info@dtanlaw.com • Website: www.dtanlaw.com The hints from Duterte about her nod, some of her supporters bredo, previously spending time a possible spot for Robredo in and allies already expressed con- as the housing czar of the adminthe anti-drug campaign came in cern over the offer, with former istration. one of his speeches. In an Octo- Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and But past from the “czars,” the ber 28 event in Malacañang, the Liberal Party (LP) member and “chars,” and all the drug war President showed his frustration Albay 5th District Rep. Edcel issues, Robredo and Duterte’s with Robredo’s supposed inter- Lagman saying it could be a trap teams appear to be headed for a view with a foreign media outlet, set for her to fail. showdown in the 2022 presidenwhere she supposedly called for LP Vice President and former tial election, although Robredo the drug war’s stoppage. deputy speaker Erin Tañada even refuses to talk about the issue. “The opposition, they always released a statement prior to RoShe also insists that the 2022 hanker on to sasakyan nilang… bredo’s announcement that she elections was not a factor in Kagaya ni Robredo. Sige lang will not accept the ICAD post. deciding to accept the drug siya human rights-human rights. Of course people know what war post, despite presidential As a matter of fact, I am sending happened: Robredo took on the spokesperson Salvador Panelo a letter to her through Secretary challenge and met with vari- saying that it is a step ladder to Medialdea (The opposition, they ous administration officials and the presidency. always hanker on to riding on is- proposed to eradicate Oplan “Siguro kung inisip ko ‘yung sues. Like Robredo, she is very Tokhang, the Philippine National 2022, hindi ko ‘to tatanggapin persistent about human rights. Police (PNP) prime anti-drug kasi too much of a risk. Pero ‘yong As a matter of fact, I am sending program. sa akin kasi, nadedehado masyaa letter to her through Secretary She explained that Tokhang do ‘yong ating mga kababayan Medialdea),” Duterte said. — derived from the word “tok- ‘pag kaming naka-upo tinitignan “I will surrender my powers to tok” (to knock) and Visayan na ‘yong 2022 (Maybe if I was enforce the law, ibigay ko sa vice word “hangyo” (to plead) — has thinking about 2022, I would not president. Ibigay ko sa kanya gained a level of notoriety where have accepted the post because mga six months. Siya ang mag- it is being equated to senseless it is too much of a risk. For me, dala. Tignan natin kung ano ang killings. people are being shortchanged if mangyari. Hindi ako makialam. In a later speech, Robredo elected government officials like Sige gusto mo? Mas bright ka? insisted that she was firm in ac- us are already looking forward Sige. Ikaw. Subukan mo. Madali cepting the drug czar post, never u PAGE A10

From drug czar to drug ‘char’: Robredo contemplates on brief ICAD stint

DOJ spokesman Markk Perete Philstar.com photo by Russell Palma

chez prompted officials to suspend the implementation of the GCTA law and order its review. Critics said the 73-year-old Sanchez, sentenced to seven counts of reclusion perpetua (40 years in prison) in 1995 for killing Sarmenta and Gomez, does not qualify to be released for good behavior. In 2010, Sanchez was reportedly caught with P1 million worth of illegal drugs hidden inside a statue of the Virgin Mary, while

u PAGE A10

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16 dead after drinking toxic ‘lambanog’ by Ed

Amoroso Philstar.com

LAGUNA — The death toll from lambanog (coconut wine) poisoning continued to rise after another victim died in hospital on Thursday, December 26, according to police. Rene Vitangcol, 48, of Pook in Rizal town, died at past 3 a.m. at the Batangas City Regional Hospital, Lt. Col. Chitadel Gaoiran, spokesman for Calabarzon police, said. On Tuesday, December 24, 37-year-old Jun Lenard Clerigo succumbed to neurologic complications at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), bringing to 16 the number of fatalities from lambanog poisoning. Fifty-five patients remain under observation at the PGH. Police said Clerigo also drank lambanog bought from a retail outlet in Rizal and bearing the brand Rey Lambanog. Reports said the number of hospitalized victims rose to 494, but police said they were still checking the figures as the hospitals delayed the release of the data. Probers said some of the victims have been discharged from hospital after being treated. Rizal town police chief Capt. Lindley Tibuc said 12 persons died in Rizal and four in Candelaria, Quezon after drinking lambanog during a Christmas party last week.

Those who died in Candelaria were Ernesto, Fernando, Christian, all surnamed Aguilar, and Marvin Macatangay. Police said the fatalities in Rizal were Analyn Lanuza, Fiedra Cenon, Maricriz Lanuza, Jason Navarozza, Elmer Dorado, Ricky Vitangcol, Marlon Veridiano, Luis Urriquia, Rizalino Monserat and Benedicto Mendoza. Charges vs lambanog owners As five of seven samples of lambanog tested positive for methanol, Tibuc said they are still waiting for the copy of the results released by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the filling of cases against the owners of the coconut wine brand. The FDA said the five samples contained high levels of methanol. They were collected from Emma’s lambanog store, Orlando Mapa store and the Rey Lambanog brand. Tibuc said they are still consolidating the documents, including the testimonies of the victims and the results of FDA test. Charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and negligence are being readied against the lambanog owners, police said. The FDA pushed for stricter rules in the issuance of permits to liquor manufacturers amid the lambanog poisoning. FDA officer-in-charge Eric Domingo said local government

units (LGUs) should require liquor manufacturers to secure registration from the agency prior to issuance of license to operate. Domingo said there are municipalities, cities and provinces that have ordinances requiring manufacturers of food and drinks to secure license from the FDA before they can obtain business permit. “But there are LGUs that issue mayor or business permit to food manufacturers without registration from the FDA,” he said. Domingo said FDA registration is important, especially for products considered “high risk” to consumers. He said alcoholic beverages such as lambanog are considered high risk and should not be manufactured in an uncontrolled setup. Manufacturing of alcohol products, Domingo said, requires standards because these may contain methanol, which is poisonous and can lead to death. The FDA said methanol content in alcoholic drinks should not exceed one percent per liter of the beverage. Methanol is a by-product produced naturally when distilling lambanog. The substance should be removed because it cannot be metabolized by the body. Among the symptoms of metabolic acidosis are stomach ache, vomiting, nausea and dizziness. n

OVER 17 YEARS

Darrick V. Tan, Esq. Licensed in California for over 17 years Licensed in Nevada for over 12 years* UCLA, Bachelor of Arts, Political Science with Cum Laude honors Southwestern University Law School, Juris Doctor Admitted to U.S. District Court, Central District of California Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association Member, Consumers Attorney Association of Los Angeles Former Member, Board of Governors, Philippine American Bar Association *Inactive

A8 DECEMBER 28-31, 2019 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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OPINION

Breaking bad habits

FEATURES

DURING Christmas, one of the most popular venues for family outings is Rizal Park in Manila. And a common aftermath of such gatherings is the mountain of garbage left in the park. So this year before Christmas, environmental groups together with the Manila city government and the National Parks Development Committee reminded people to take their garbage with them and dispose of the trash properly. Typhoon Ursula dumped heavy rains in Metro Manila on Christmas Day, and by afternoon, the crowds had disappeared from Rizal Park. And yet Manila city officials reported that from Christmas Eve until Thursday morning, December 26, at least 60 metric tons of garbage were hauled from the park, with the bulk of 51 tons piling up from noon of Dec. 25. City officials said this was way above the volume of garbage collected last year from the park during the same period. And the city is expecting more trash during the New Year’s revelry. This highlights one of the biggest factors behind the garbage problem in the country: bad habits. Public awareness of the importance of proper waste disposal is abysmal. Filipinos generally keep their homes clean, but think nothing of discarding trash everywhere else. This not-in-my-backyard mindset is often

compounded by the lack of garbage receptacles in public places as well as inefficient garbage collection systems. Garbage is dumped anywhere, including in waterways, with the litterbugs thinking the trash would be washed away, never mind where, as long as it is far from their homes. The filthy habits cover all types of solid garbage — not just plastic but also metal, glass, paper, wood and pathological waste. Those tasked to clean up Manila Bay have lamented that despite all their earnest efforts in recent months, tons of garbage continue to turn up in the water. Solid waste also continues to clutter street drains, aggravating flooding. Can filthy habits be broken? New Year’s resolutions won’t be enough. The importance of proper garbage disposal must be inculcated in Filipinos at a young age, in schools and perhaps in community-based programs. This must be complemented by efficient waste management by the government as well as proper enforcement of laws against littering and improper waste disposal. With sustained effort on multiple fronts, it is possible to break bad habits. (Philstar.com)

Editorial

Philstar.com photo

Merry Christmas! Uplifting quotes about our favorite holiday

The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS CHRISTMAS, undoubtedly, is the Filipino people’s favorite holiday. It spans from September to January in the Philippines, and we take the same spirit with us even as many of us have already relocated to America and elsewhere around the world. As we find ourselves rushing to prepare for Christmas — the Christmas cards, the Christmas tree, the house decorations, the gifts, the noche buena, the Christmas dinner, texts, audio and video calls to our families back home — let us pause for a moment and find the true mean-

ing of Christmas in our hearts. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, the fulfillment of the prophecy, the coming of our Savior who delivered us all from sins, which to me is our disconnect with our Creator, our Heavenly Father, our Almighty God. When God became man in Jesus Christ, He showed us the Truth, the Light, the Way in His words, and in His deed as a human being on earth, so that we too will know what life really is all about and how we can live it abundantly. God has shown us through Jesus Christ that true love, peace, happiness and salvation is anchored on our faith in God’s eternal perfect love for us,

in trusting and obeying His will, in finding and realizing our life mission and purpose, in loving others as we love ourselves. So this Christmas, let us reflect on this truth. Let our own life be our gift back to God for all the blessings and miracles He has given us. Here are some more quotes as compiled by the staff of success. com: Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas. - Peg Bracken Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas. Dale Evans We are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime. -

Laura Ingalls Wilder What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. -Agnes M. Pahro He who hs not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. - Roy L. Smith Oh Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a frame of mind. - Valentine Davies (Miracle on 34th Street) Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. - Norman Vincent Peale Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand. - Dr. Seuss Peace on earth will come to stay, when we live Christmas every day. -Helen Steiner Rice

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love! -Hamilton Wright Mabie The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family wrapped up in each other. -Burton Hillis I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring jo and happiness and peace to this world. -Nortman Vincent Peale A good conscience is a continual Christmas. -Benjamin Franklin Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we’re here for something else besides

ourselves. -Eric Sevareid CHRISTMAS is a bridge. We need bridges as the river of time flows past. Today’s Christmas should mean creating happy hours for tomorrow and reliving those of yesterday. -Gladys Taber MALIGAYANG PASKO at mapayapa, pinagpala at mapagpalayang Bagong Taon 2020! *** Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public service and educational broadcasting since 1989 with ABS-CBN and is now serving the Filipino audience using different platforms, including digital broadcasting, and print, and is working on a new public service program for the community. You may contact her through email at gelrelos@icloud.com, or send her a message via Facebook at Facebook.com/Gel. Santos.Relos.

Duterte better call Trump on visa ban

Postscript

FEDERICO PASCUAL JR. ABUSIVE Philippine officials in panic over the U.S. Magnitsky law that could ban them from the United States and freeze their assets there could ask President Duterte to call his friend President Trump to go easy on them. That seems to be the most practical way out of their having been trapped by their involvement in corruption and human rights violations and/or their ganging up on Sen. Leila De Lima, who has been imprisoned and prevented from performing her duties as legislator. The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act allowing the U.S. to impose sanctions on foreign officials implicated in human rights abuses is to be enforced by the Executive department, not the U.S. Senate where an amendment on De Lima was approved recently. If Trump is indeed a good friend of Duterte, as the latter claims, the mayor could perhaps try picking up the phone and asking him for more time to sort out De Lima and related issues. But it does not look good that while Malacañang keeps secret the text of its alleged diplomatic protests against China’s unfriendly and aggressive acts in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, it broadcasts its objections to the U.S. Magnitsky law. We doubt if the lawyerly remarks of Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo or the press

releases of the Philippine embassy in Washington, DC, could prevent the denial of visas to abusive Philippine officials and stop the freezing of their assets in the U.S. Panelo said: “We are not bothered by it (the ban/freeze). It’s their process. We cannot intrude, in the same way that we react when they intrude into our processes. The very provision says there must be credible information before they ban any official in the Philippines. “But I notice in that provision that has been approved there is such a colatilla... When the U.S. Secretary of State receives ‘credible information’ in the so-called wrongful imprisonment. In the first place, it’s not a wrongful imprisonment, as we have repeatedly explained. “There must be a credible information. If the information is not credible, then the U.S. Secretary of State will not impose such sanction. That’s precisely what I am saying, there is none.” We agree that the Americans’ applying pressure on the De Lima case is meddling, but it does not alter the fact that the U.S. has the sovereign prerogative to ban aliens it deems undesirable or freeze their bank accounts and assets in the U.S. for valid reasons. In fact, on the level of a U.S. consular officer in Manila, a Filipino’s visa application can be denied outright without the consul’s going into a long explanation for his action, unless the denial is raised to higher authority. Even when a Filipino already holds a U.S. visitor’s visa, that

is no guarantee of hassle-free entry. The immigration or border officer at the port of entry can still bar him without a detailed justification, although the intending visitor has options for an appeal. The basic fact is that it is their country and they open/ close the door as they please. As regards bank accounts, real property and other assets of Filipino officials — including many senators and congressmen — these have long been documented. The U.S. government has access to all that information. We’ve long lost our privacy Once an individual fills out a form in the U.S., he can stop whining about invasion of privacy. His precious private domain has been invaded — sometimes for good reason, as in the Magnitsky law that provides another layer of protection for victims of oppressive foreign officials. So, as we said, instead of venting spleen over the travel ban and the asset freeze, our suggestion is to work on the problem quietly. Duterte’s cohorts can ask him to plead with Trump to go easy on them — kung totoong kaibigan nga niya at kaya niya. There is another option. If administration officials are blacklisted in the U.S., they can travel instead to China, hide their wealth there, and learn Mandarin while waiting for the Philippines to become a province of China under Duterte. But they should do so quickly before their assets in the U.S. are locked in. Their space in the democratic world is getting smaller, as point-

In this ﬁle photo, President Donald Trump speaks with Sailors in the hangar bay aboard Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). Trump visited March 2 to meet with Sailors and shipbuilders of the Navy’s ﬁrst-in-class aircraft carrier during an all-hands call inside the ship’s hangar bay. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication 1st Class Joshua Sheppard

ed out in our Postscript of Dec. 19: https://tinyurl.com/ wbwug6n After the U.S. Senate unanimously passed on Dec. 11 a bipartisan resolution banning the entry of persons behind EJK/HR violations and freezing their Stateside assets, the European Parliament moved closer to adopting a European “Magnitsky Act” modeled after the U.S. law. Other like-minded countries, such as the United Kingdom and Canada, have passed legislation along the same restrictive line but applicable only to Russian human rights violators. The coverage could be widened to include Asia and

other areas. Btw, Duterte, who is again suddenly talking peace with Filipino communist rebels, better be careful about describing them as terrorists. The U.S. government also freezes bank accounts and other assets of persons and groups categorized as terrorists. U.S. Senate Resolution No. 142 whose provisions had been worked into the Magnitsky law called on President Trump to impose sanctions on Philippine officials and security forces behind extrajudicial killings. The ban on officials involved in the imprisonment of De Lima is based on an amendment in the $1.4-trillion 2020 U.S. bud-

get signed Friday by Trump. It is in the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations section put in by Sens. Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy. A section titled “Prohibition on Entry” says that the Secretary of State “shall apply sub-section (c) to foreign government officials about whom the Secretary has credible information have been involved in the wrongful imprisonment of… Sen. Leila De Lima who was arrested in the Philippines in 2017.” (Philstar.com) *** NOTA BENE: All Postscripts can be accessed at manilamail.com. Follow author on Twitter as @FDPascual. Email feedback to dikpascual@gmail.com.

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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Dateline PhiliPPines

NO TO COMMUNISTS. Anti-communist groups, including former members of the New People’s Army (NPA), hold a rally condemning the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-New People’s Army (NPA) at the Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace, Our Lady of EDSA in Quezon City on Thursday, December 26. These groups demand the return of CPP-NPA-National Democratic Front (NDF) founder Jose Ma. Sison to the Philippines to face charges against him. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

Palace, PNP: No arrest if Joma Sison comes to Philippines for meeting with Duterte MANILA — The Malacañang on Friday, December 27, said Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison will not be arrested if he comes to the country for a oneon-one meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte. “We dare Mr. Sison to come to the Philippines for a one-onone meeting with the president to forge a lasting peace agreement,” the Palace said. “[Duterte] guarantees that he will not be arrested upon his arrival and after the meeting he can freely leave for Netherlands when he so desires,” it added. On Thursday, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a press briefing that Duterte wants Sison to discuss peace talks. “The president did not state any condition. He just said, ‘I want to talk to him one-on-one here,’” Panelo said Duterte told him last Tuesday, December 24. “He should take it or leave it — that’s the stand of the president.” But Sison told GMA news online that he is “willing to meet with President Duterte in a country near the Philippines.” Sison, who has been on self-exile in the Netherlands since 1987,

said it would be “premature” for him to go to the country pending the mutual approval of the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms. Panelo added that Sison’s refusal to talk with Duterte, his former student, “betrays his insincerity.” Sison was once Duterte’s college professor and the president claims he was once a member of Kabataang Makabayan, a nowunderground youth movement Sison founded in 1964. Last December 5, the president said he is sending Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to the Netherlands to talk to Sison in what the chief executive called his “last card” for the effort to revive the botched negotiations between the government and the communists. Duterte scrapped the peace talks between the government and the communists in 2017 after the rebels launched successive offensives against the military and the police. PNP to abide by directive Sison is facing an arrest warrant, issued by Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 32 last September, for 15 counts of murder in connection with the so-called 1985 Inopacan massacre.

Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison Philstar.com photo

The Philippine National Police said September that it will seek the help of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) for Sison’s arrest. Following the Palace’s latest order, Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac, PNP spokesman, told Philstar. com in a text message that the police will “abide by, and support the decision of the president.” He added: “Pursuant to this, we will make the necessary coordination with the DOJ for the proper guidance to work out [Sison’s] immunity from arrest in case he accepts the offer of the president and decides to return to the country.” (Kristine Joy Patag with reports from Alexis Romero/Philstar.com)

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Ampatuan relative, who helped convict his kin in Maguindanao massacre case, alive after ambush by edwin

FeRnandez Inquirer.net

More than 12 tons were gathered from Dec. 24 up to the morning of Dec. 25 while 51 tons were hauled from the afternoon of Dec. 25 up to 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 26, said Julius Leonen, city public information chief. Philstar.com photo by Krizjohn Rosales

SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao — Two bodyguards of a Maguindanao vicer mayor died on Thursday, December 26, after fighting for their lives following an ambush on the vice mayor, a member of the Ampatuan clan who had helped convict those involved in the killing of 57 people in the now infamous Maguindanao massacre case. Hadji Akmad Lumenda Ampatuan and Elham Khalid, driver and security aides of Shariff Aguak Vice Mayor Akmad Mitra Ampatuan, died due to multiple gunshot wounds, according to Maj. Erwin Tabora, Shariff Aguak police chief. They had fought for their lives

after an ambush on Vice Mayor Ampatuan here last Dec. 24, Christmas Eve. Tabora said Vice Mayor Ampatuan is now in stable condition. Tabora said the vice mayor and his companions were heading home at 1 p.m. on Dec. 24 from the town hall when gunmen riding a small van opened fire on them on the national highway at the village of Poblacion. The vice mayor was on the steering wheel which could have saved his life, according to Tabora. The assailants could have been deceived into believing that the vice mayor, their target, was at the passenger seat or behind the driver which showed in the trajectory of the shots. Most bullet

holes were found in the passenger side and back of the vehicle that the vice mayor had driven. Khalid died hours later at the Maguindanao provincial hospital and was immediately buried while Hadji Akmad died on Christmas Day. “We have persons of interest on this case,” said Tabora, without elaborating. “We are digging deeper,” he added. Vice Mayor Ampatuan, who survived an earlier ambush in 2014, cooperated with authorities in prosecuting his relatives who were implicated in the Maguindanao massacre case. “He was ambushed twice and he survived twice,” Tabora said. Vice Mayor Ampatuan is the father of Shariff Aguak Mayor Marop Ampatuan. n

Rizal Park visitors leave 60 tons of trash DND: Congress’ OK of key bills

ered from Dec. 24 up to the morning of Dec. 25 while 51 tons were hauled from the afMANILA — At least 60 met- ternoon of Dec. 25 up to 11 a.m. ric tons of garbage were hauled on Thursday, said Julius Leonen, from Rizal Park from Christmas city public information chief. Eve up to Thursday, December The volume of garbage was 26, according to the city govern- way above what was gathered ment of Manila. during the same period last year, More than 12 tons were gath- he added. by Rey

Galupo Philstar.com

to boost PH defense capabilities

Leonen did not give the figures on the number of visitors, but stressed that they came trickling by FRances ManGosinG in after the rains stopped before Inquirer.net midnight on Wednesday. The National Parks DevelopMANILA — The Department ment Committee said visitors of National Defense (DND) is to Rizal Park were reminded to looking forward to Congress’ ap“take their garbage with them or proval of priority bills next year dispose them properly.” n to further boost the country’s defense capabilities. The proposed bills are the National Defense Act, Defense Acquisition Act, Mandatory ReSouth. serve Officers’ Training Corps Martial law in Mindanao start- and Pension Reform/ Military ed when terrorist groups led by and Uniformed Personnel Penthe Islamic State-linked Maute sion. group seized Marawi City in May Defense Secretary Delfin 2017. Lorenzana on Thursday also The bloody siege lasted from cited the department’s accomMay to October and left some plishments for 2019 in his year168 soldiers dead with 1,548 of end message. them wounded in battle. “The dedication of the military President Duterte initially de- and uniformed personnel of the clared martial law only in the Department is manifested in the region to contain the problem excellent accomplishments for but eventually expanded it to the the year, significantly contributwhole of Mindanao. Congress, on the recommendation of national security officials, the military and the police, approved the extensions of the SEN. Emmanuel Pacquiao is implementation of martial rule pushing for the use of electric up to Dec. 31, 2019. The military claimed that dur- vehicles and the establishment ing the period, NPA fighters, of electric charging stations in supporters and symphatizers the country. Pacquiao cited a World Health voluntarily surrendered, which Organization report saying the weakened the communist rebel transport sector is the fastest group. n growing source of climate emissions. The senator cited the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s claim that the transport accounted for about 23 percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2010. These vehicle exhaust emissions prompt environmental costs such as acid rain, dust haze and photochemical smog in many cities contaminated by such emissions. While the Philippines has a minimal share in the global emissions, Pacquiao stressed that the perils brought by climate change

No more martial law in Mindanao in 2020 by Michael

punonGbayan Philstar.com

MANILA — After more than two years of martial law in Mindanao, President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to lift military control over the southern Philippines as a sign of returning “normalcy” in the region. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had asked Duterte not to extend the implementation of martial rule in the region, which will expire on December 31. The scheduled lifting of martial law in Mindanao comes more than two years after the Maute group’s siege in Marawi City and after the President’s order to place Mindanao under military control to counter terrorists and other threats, including communist insurgency. With the peace talks now being revived and the government declaring a Christmas ceasefire

from Dec. 23 to Jan. 7 with the communist New People’s Army (NPA), the coming year could hopefully be a more peaceful year for Mindanaoans. “Our security forces have determined that the purpose of implementing martial law has been attained and the prevailing condition in the entire Mindanao, including Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, has greatly improved since the defeat of Maute fighters in October 2017,” Lorenzana said. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) agrees, though it vows to continue its whole-ofnation approach in ending the NPA problem and addressing other threats like the terrorist Abu Sayyaf. Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, the President’s daughter, was among the local officials in Mindanao who have sought the lifting of martial law in the

ing to the peace and stability in the whole country,” he said in a statement. The defense chief said they have ensured the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity throughout the year. Some of the accomplishments he cited include the establishment of a permanent presence in Mavulis, Batanes, the country’s northernmost island. The outpost was designed to boost the Philippines’ maritime entitlements within its sovereign territory. The waters surrounding the island are a resource-rich area frequented by local fishers from the municipality of Itbayat. The DND also increased its internal security operations in 2019, in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s agenda to end communist insurgency and terrorism.

“The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) institutionalizes the whole-of-nation approach to end the local communist armed conflict and places the burden of security and development on the LGUs supported by all the national agencies of the government,” Lorenzana said. He also commended the military for its “excellent efforts” to attain the objectives of martial law in Mindanao. Early this month, Duterte said he would no longer extend martial law in Mindanao this year following the recommendations of the security sector. The entire Mindanao region was placed under martial law in May 2017 by President Duterte after ISIS-inspired terrorists laid siege on Marawi City. It was extended three times. n

Pacquiao campaigns use of electric vehicles vs CO2 transcended and affected all the nations. “Moreover, our country has committed to reduce our carbon emissions by 70 percent by 2030 under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which the Philippines ratified on March 2017,” he said. The European parliament reported that there were two ways to reduce CO2 emissions from vehicles — by making cars more efficient and by changing the fuel used. The use of electric cars has proven to be cleaner than vehicles running on petrol, it said. “Accordingly, there is an urgency to actively intensify the use of electric and hybrid vehicles, and impede the use of gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles to lower the country’s carbon emissions and improve our air quality,” the European

Union added. Pacquiao filed Senate Bill (SB) 1223 or an Act providing the national energy policy and regulatory framework for the use of electric vehicles, and the establishment of electric charging stations. He said his bill would also promote foreign investments, given the global trend of gearing toward the use of environmentalfriendly vehicles. SB 1223 seeks to promote the use of electric and hybrid vehicles by providing incentives to both end-users and manufacturers. This measure, Pacquiao said, would lead us a step closer to our commitment in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and encourage sustainable and environment-friendly alternatives to the current mode of transportation. (ManilaTimes.net)

Duterte-Carpio as both were leading their respective senatorial slates. “Lahat naman posible. Lahat posible dahil iyon nga, iyong history pinakita na — ako, hindi ko naman pinlano kahit ano, eh (Everything is possible. History has proven it. I didn’t plan anything),” Robredo said, referring to her election as vice president in 2016.

“Tingin ko kasi iyong presidency, ano iyon, destiny. Kahit anong paghahanda mo, kung hindi iyon para sa iyo, hindi talaga para sa iyo (I think the presidency is destiny. No matter how hard you prepare for it, if it isn’t meant for you, it won’t happen),” she added. “Masyado pang matagal iyong presidential elections (The presidential election is still a long way off).” n

From drug czar to drug ‘char’...

PAGE A7 to 2022),” she told reporters in an ambush interview after a program in a mountaintop community in Tanay, Rizal. But she also said that she is keeping her options open. During the campaign period for the 2019 midterm elections, people speculated on a possible face-off between Robredo and Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara

Controversy prompts closer reading... PAGE A7 in 2015, he was caught with an air-conditioning unit and a flat screen television during a raid inside his prison cell. In 1996, he was also reportedly convicted of double murder for the killing of father and son Nelson and Rickson Peñalosa. Reports of his impending release brought the families of Sarmienta and Gomez out of their seclusion to vehemently oppose his release from prison. A week after reports of Sanchez’s release came out, President Duterte ordered the DOJ and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) not to allow his release. Joint committee review This also prompted Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año to create a joint committee that revised the GCTA’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR). The newly crafted IRR excludes all recidivists, escapees, habitual delinquents and those convicted of heinous crimes from benefitting from the GCTA law. However, those convicted of heinous crimes could still avail themselves of the law but with lower time credits under the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and not because of GCTA. The IRR also defined heinous

crimes based on jurisprudence and as enumerated in Republic Act No. 7659 that imposed the death penalty on certain heinous crimes such as murder, rape, destructive arson, parricide, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, and drug-related offenses. The imposition of capital punishment in the country has been suspended since 2006. Eight inmates of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City filed petitions before the Supreme Court (SC) to legally challenge several provisions of the GCTA’s revised IRR. They asked the SC to declare invalid the recently introduced rules disqualifying persons charged with heinous crimes from earning time allowances for good conduct, study, teaching and mentoring, and loyalty for “going beyond the law and being tantamount to executive legislation.” Guevarra had said he welcomes the filing of the case because “some important provisions of Republic Act 10592 have been interpreted differently by various groups, I have as much interest as anyone in knowing the correct legal interpretation. Only the Supreme Court (SC) has the final word on the issue.

“I want an affirmation by the SC that my reading of the law was correct. And if it was wrong, I want to take corrective measures right away” together with the DILG, he added. The controversy also raised the fact that the DOJ had very little control over the operations at the BuCor that runs the NBP. Republic Act 10575 or the BuCor Act of 2013 only allowed the DOJ to exercise administrative supervision over the bureau. The confusion surrounding the GCTA found its way into the House of Representatives and the Senate’s Blue Ribbon committee under Sen. Richard Gordon. During the grilling at the Senate, it was discovered that aside from the GCTA, there were allegedly other anomalies taking place inside the NBP such as the “hospital pass for sale” wherein inmates, for a fee, are allowed to stay at the NBP hospital by faking an illness. Some of these inmates reportedly conduct their illegal drugs business while confined in the hospital. This prompted President Duterte to remove then BuCor director general Nicanor Faeldon from his post last Sept. 4. Faeldon was replaced by Gerald Bantag. n

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SHOWBIZ&STYLE

Journal Catriona speaks up on ‘Don’t stop’: Raymond looks back on weight loss journey romantic links with Sam, Alden By Ryan

By Jan

Milo SeveRo Philstar.com

aRcadio

Inquirer.net

AS the year nears its end, TV host and entrepreneur Raymond Gutierrez reflected on his fitness journey, saying he’s ending this decade with a fit body after leaving behind “poor lifestyle choices.” He posted a photo of him showing off his current fit physique alongside an old one of him before he made the decision to lose weight, as seen on his Instagram page on Friday, December 27. “How I’m ending the decade vs. how I started,” Gutierrez said. “Sometimes I still can’t believe it.” The TV host first pointed out that he “started this decade disliking a lot of things about [himself].” “Poor lifestyle choices caused me to gain a lot of weight in my 20’s,” he said. “I was battling with inner demons and I turned to drinking and eating as a form of escape.” Gutierrez also revealed that his poor lifestyle choices had led him to such a point that he could not walk a flight of stairs without having difficulty breathing. However, his situation turned around when he made the “best decision of [his] life” three years ago. “I took charge of my situation and focused on my health and taking care of my body,” he stated. “I didn’t stop until I reached my goal.” Despite his already fit and strong figure, Gutierrez said that his fitness journey is still an “everyday battle.” He noted that “it doesn’t get easier, you just get stronger.” Addressing those who may be struggling with their own health journey, he said: “So if you’re reading this and feel-

MISS Universe 2018 Catriona Gray addressed rumors linking her to Kapuso actor Alden Richards and Kapamilya actor Sam Milby. In an interview with Boy Abunda in “Tonight With Boy Abunda,” Catriona said she never met Alden before. “I feel like the fans are really shipping us, which I think is a thing that fans do. I’ve never met Alden before,” Catriona said. The Filipino-Australian beauty queen also said that she is just friends with Sam. She denied that the actor is courting her. “Sam naman, we go to the same church, we’re under the same management, so friend naman siya,” Catriona said. Catriona’s last relationship was with model-actor Clint Bondad. But the couple’s relationship turned sour during Catriona’s bid for the Miss Universe crown. When asked by Boy if she’s in love right now, Catriona said: “I am in love with the possibilities Catriona Gray of the new chapter.”

Photo from Instagram/@catriona_gray

Derek on bumping into ex-flame Cristine with girlfriend Andrea By deni RoSe M. afinidad-BeRnaRdo Philstar.com

WHAT will you do if you bump into your ex and his new girlfriend? ing hopeless, know that it’s declaring he was “sick of beDuring the recent launch of never too late to turn your life ing fat” in a vlog post on his Ayala Malls’ Stylescapes, actor YouTube channel in February Derek Ramsay was a guest, and around.” “Drop the excuses you’ve cre- 2017. Throughout his weight- so was his ex-girlfriend Cristine ated for yourself, focus on your loss journey, he cited his close Reyes. goals, gain that momentum, and friends such as siblings Erwan Derek was with his new girland Solenn Heussaff as good friend and “The Better Woman” don’t stop,” he added. Gutierrez began document- influences on his overall fit- co-star Andrea Torres. The In photos are Derek Ramsay and Andrea Torres, Cristine Reyes and daughter at the recent ing his workouts online after ness. PAGE B2 launch of Ayala Malls’ Stylescapes. Philstar.com photos by Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo Raymond Gutierrez posted photos of his fitness journey on his Instagram page. Photos from Instagram/@mond

EntErtainmEnt

B DECEMBER 28-31, 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

Glaiza De Castro

http://www.asianjournal.com â&#x20AC;˘ (818) 502-0651 â&#x20AC;˘ (213) 250-9797

Photo from Instagram/@glaizaredux

Glaiza counts and returns her blessings Part IV: A pilgrimage to Central Europe by lhar

Santiago

ManilaTimes.net

THE week before Christmas, Showbuzz joined Glaiza De Castro in preparing for her special project every Yuletide season â&#x20AC;&#x201D; her annual gift-giving to the elderlies. The first stop was Greenhills tiangge to shop for clothes. With â&#x20AC;&#x153;One Of The Baesâ&#x20AC;? regular Joel Palencia and new GMA artist Anna Vicente volunteering, they went from one store to another to score the best bargains for dusters, underwear, shirts and shorts that the elderly in a facility for the aged in Quezon City could use. Glaiza and her team also went to Divisoria after Greenhills to complete her shopping list. There, they got big discounts and afforded to add towels as well. But clothes and towels were not the only items Glaiza wanted to assemble for these special people. As such, while completing her shopping, she also asked her manager Manny Vallester and his staff to buy fruits. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want them to feel really good. May damit na sila, may fruits pa. We will be visiting the old people living in Graces [home for the aged] in two days. Tomorrow, we will be packing everything kaya baka walang tulugan. Marami-rami rin ang mga napamili namin,â&#x20AC;? she told Showbuzz in between breaks. Charity is one of Glaizaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passions and she has a special spot for the elderly in her heart. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lumaki kasi ako sa loloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lola ko. I experienced how it is to be loved by grandparents. Sobrang maasikaso sila sa akin na halos spoiled na ko pero at the same time they also know how to

discipline. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ng nawala sila, I was so affected that it took me time to adjust to a life without them. So now, I also want to help old people. Yung mga lolo at lola na wala nang pamilya, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;yung mga nakatira sa facilities.â&#x20AC;? This passion project is not Glaizaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first as she has been supporting institutions that help people in need. In fact she would often go out of her way and get extra thoughtful like that time she visited the elderly of Emmaus in Bulacan and sang for them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I do it because I believe they are special. In their lives, they have done a lot of good things. Meron sa kanila, nagtaguyod ng mga anak. Meron pa kong nameet na dating teacher who did not marry because of her dedication to her work that she calls [her] vocation. These people have contributed to the society, they have been very good and supportive family members. But look where they are now? I really feel for them.â&#x20AC;? During the gift-giving at Graces, Glaiza, Joel and Anna were joined by Rocco Nacino who also took time-out from his taping of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Descendants Of The Sun.â&#x20AC;? But besides material gifts, they would also share their precious time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I see to it that I give them time. I listen to their stories kahit paulit-ulit. Sa kanila, big deal yung may nakaka-usap sila, may nakikinig sa kanila. So I make sure that I have no other commitments because I want to spend more time with them.â&#x20AC;? Sharing is a way for Glaiza to give back the out pour of blessings the Lord has been granting unto her: a string of acting and

singing projects and, outside showbiz, her resort in Baler. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am not rich but I live comfortably. I believe it is my duty to share. There are many people in need, not only of material things but of attention too. Maraming matatandang gusto ng makakausap. Ako, willing talaga kong magbigay ng time sa kanila and since pwede ko naman silang regaluhan din ng mga kailangan nila, nagbibigay na rin ako.â&#x20AC;? Like Glaiza, Rocco, Joel and Anna have the heart for people in need specially the elderly too, making the outreach a meaningful bonding for them too. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Natutuwa nga ako that I am not alone in my desire to help. I also admire the selflessness of Rocco and Joel. Mga lalaki sila pero they have the heart to extend help. Si Anna naman, I believe sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only 17 but she already carries that love for the elderly. I found out that, like me, she was also raised by her grandparents,â&#x20AC;? Glaiza noted. With a golden heart like Glaizaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, it is no wonder that blessings keep coming her way. In fact, as 2020 opens, she has already two shows in line â&#x20AC;&#x201D; one of which is a new series which already held a story conference. The other one is GMAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Sunday show, â&#x20AC;&#x153;All-Out Sundayâ&#x20AC;? which gives Glaiza a different kind of excitement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I actually prayed for it. Siyempre gusto ko rin namang magamit kahit paano yung ibinigay ng Panginoon sa aking talent sa pagkanta. So eto na â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;yung answer to my prayers. In Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perfect time, He gave me the desire of my heart and I just feel so blessed. It really is a blessed Christmas for me,â&#x20AC;? the actress ended.

by Emil

PErito

ON the fifth day of our tour, our next destination was Krakow, Poland. Approximately six hours away by land from Budapest, Krakow is the largest city of Poland, and was the official capital dating back to the 7th century until 1596. It is considered as one of the leading centers for academic, economics, and cultural and artistic life. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and boarded our bus. Among the places included in our itinerary, Krakow is where we were slated to stay longer because of the many tourist attractions it has to offer. En route, we stopped in Nitra to visit St. Emmeramâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral. The entire cathedral is located in the Nitra Castle precinct. The cathedral was built originally in the Gothic style, but it later was expanded in different styles. The mail rotunda dates back to the 11th-12th century, which houses a silver reliquary made

in 1674 of saints, popes and well-known leaders, similar to Saint Cyril cathedral we previously visited. After lunch, we continued our trip to Krakow arriving in the evening. We had our dinner served at 7:00 p.m., then retired early for the next day activities. We began the day after breakfast with a guided city tour to explore Wawel Hill to see Wawel Royal Castle, which is one of the most beautiful Renaissance residences in central Europe and served as the seat of power for the Polish monarch for centuries. We visited also the Wawel Cathedral, one of the most important Catholic Shrines in Poland. Then, we proceeded to Krakowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Market Square, which is the largest market place in Europe. Although, each and every place we visited has its own landmark worth remembering, this one location of Krakow is so special that UNESCO declared it as World Heritage Site.

Another attraction is the St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tower where Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest wooden altar made by Wit Stwosz is be found. After lunch, we continued our drive to Lagiewniki to enjoy our guided tour to Divine Mercy where St. Faustina, one of the three Polish saints, lived and died during her life as a nun at the Convent of the Sisters of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mother of Mercy, the Apostle of Divine Mercy. We were fortunate enough to attend the public mass. A short distance from Divine Mercy, we visited the Sanctuary dedicated to St. John Paul II, which contains relics of the saint and the new center. Then we returned Krakow for our overnight at the hotel. Established in 1995, Air Plus Travel specializes in religious travel. We have our next Central Europe Tour in July 27August 6, 2020. For more information, please contact Air Plus Travel at (562) 863-0624. Or visit www.airplustravel.net.

(Advertising Supplement)

The Great Warm Up: Fight Aging With Tea By Grace O

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ABOUT GRACE O

GRACE O is the creator of FoodTrients, a unique program for optimizing wellness and longevity. She is the author of two award-winning cookbooksâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;The Age Gracefully Cookbook and The Age Beautifully Cookbook, which recently won Gourmandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Best in the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Award for Innovation. She is a fusion chef with a mission to deliver delicious recipes built on a foundation of anti-aging science and her 20 years in the healthcare industry. Visit FoodTrients.com to learn more. Email us at info@FoodTrients.com

Solenn Heussaff with husband Nico Bolzico

Photo from Instagram/@solenn

Solenn and Nico celebrate 1st Christmas together after 9 years

brate the Holidays in Argentina,â&#x20AC;? Heussaff said. The French-Filipina actress SOLENN Heussaff and Nico added that her husband did Bolzico celebrated their first not fly out this year as she was Christmas together on Wednes- expected to give birth to their day, December 25, and appar- daughter anytime soon. ently, it will also be their last with â&#x20AC;&#x153;So happy to be able to spend just the two of them. our first and last Christmas just In an Instagram post, the the two of us,â&#x20AC;? Heussaff exheavily-pregnant Heussaff said pressed. that she and Bolzico finally were Bolzico, being the funny man able to get together for the holi- that he is, meanwhile shared in days after nine years. his own post that it was his first â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nico usually always leaves time to be part of the Heussaff first week of December to cele- family Christmas photo, and deBy Katrina

hallarE Inquirer.net

lightedly joked that he was finally the favorite in-law. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since 2011 that I have been part of the Heussaff Clan, and after all my efforts I can proudly say today that I am the favorite in-law of Cynthia and Louis (Heussaffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents),â&#x20AC;? Bolzico joked. Apart from the traditional family photo, Heussaff and sisterin-law Anne Curtis, who is also pregnant with a baby girl, also had fun with their photoshoot, as they were shown being playful with their growing bellies.

Derek on bumping into ex-flame... PAGE B1 eventâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guests saw him introduced Andrea to Cristine and the three even had their photos taken together. It could have been an awkward moment for many onlookers, but Derek said he did not feel that way. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Remember the relationship with the good things that happened in it. I have much respect for her, she has much respect for me. So I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel awkward or anything like that,â&#x20AC;? he said in an exclusive interview with Philstar.com. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think when I saw her, there was no hesitation. I greeted her, met her beautiful child. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nice, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m actually very happy to see her because I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen her in a while.â&#x20AC;? Derek and Cristine starred alongside Anne Curtis in the 2011 romantic drama â&#x20AC;&#x153;No Other Woman.â&#x20AC;?

In 2013, Derek and Cristine reportedly dated briefly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The relationship between Cristine and I, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s funny, because we were best friends,â&#x20AC;? Derek recalled. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We both came from a breakup and maybe decided that we became boyfriend-girlfriend. And we both realized na magkaibigan lang talaga kami. So, I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really call it na it was a real relationship na boyfriendgirlfriend.â&#x20AC;? Although his relationship with Cristine did not last, he assured that there were no ill feelings between them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And until this day, she is my good friend. So when I saw her here, I was excited for the two of them (Andrea and Cristine) to meet for the first time.â&#x20AC;? Should one bump into oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ex-lover, his advice is to be man enough to greet the person. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have to be mature about

these things. Ako, I believe na even if things donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work out, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still some good times. So why dwell on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work outâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;?â&#x20AC;? he pointed out. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have naman an ex na if I saw them in public I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make them bati. First off, lalaki ako, it would be disrespectful.â&#x20AC;? The actor also shared that he is excited to spend his first Christmas with Andrea and their families in the Philippines. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Christmas is always my most favorite time of the year. I really look forward to this time of the year. Throughout the year, nagtratrabaho ka, pero â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;pag Pasko na, babawi ka sa sarili mo, magpapahinga ka. And I really look forward to sharing that with her kasi sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very close to her family. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m very close to my family. Now, our families are very close to one another, so magiging masaya â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tong Pasko na â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;to.â&#x20AC;?

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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • DECEMBER 28-31, 2019

AN EMPLOYMENT SPONSORSHIP WAS FILED BACK IN 2004. YET 15 YEARS LATER, NO UPDATES HAVE BEEN RECEIVED. IS THERE A WAY TO CHECK ON THE STATUS OF THIS CASE? THIS QUESTION AND MORE WILL BE ANSWERED ON “CITIZEN PINOY: YOUR TANONG, MY SAGOT!” It is the turn of the second batch of Kapamilya who came to the Citizen Pinoy taping in Virginia to get answers to their immigration questions answered this Sunday. Be sure to watch this encore episode of — “Citizen Pinoy,” this Sunday at 6:15 p.m. PST/EST (9:15 p.m. EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers). (Advertising Supplement) Richard Gutierrez on wife Sarah Lahbati and their kids Kai and Zion: The more your family surpass those challenges, the closer you’ll become. Photo from Instagram/@sarahlahbati

Richard describes his family as ‘unbreakable’ by

BOY ABUNDA Philstar.com

AS part of the fourth anniversary celebration of “Tonight with Boy Abunda (TWBA),” Richard Gutierrez bared his truth regarding personal life in the Kapamilya late-night talk show’s special 12-minute 4Real Dressing Room Exclusive interview. “Unbreakable,” also the title of the Star Cinema movie that he starred in with Bea Alonzo and Angelica Panganiban, was how Richard aptly described his family for being able to remain strong despite having gone through rough patches in life many times over. “Growing up, my family has always been in the limelight. Parang hindi naman masyadong normal ‘yung situation namin. There were so many struggles when my dad decided to go to the States. He tried to live a normal life there and my mom

was left behind here. That was tough and then my mom followed. Eventually, we started living in the States for a while and it was there where our family became whole again. I think throughout the years, you’ll get to realize that the more your family surpass those challenges, the closer you’ll become,” he declared. His mom Annabelle Rama and sister Ruffa are very much involved in the preparations of his and fiancée Sarah Lahbati’s wedding next year. The actor shared some details and explained why it took them seven years before finally deciding to swap I dos. He also admitted having a hard time choosing his Best Man “because I have so many friends, hahaha!” Richard and Sarah previously announced that they are tying the knot in March 2020. Excerpts: Who is the biggest star in the family?

“I don’t think I am the biggest star in the family because if it wasn’t for my dad, and also, my mom, my sister, (they) paved the way for me to be where I am today. I mean, we are very supportive to each other.” I have sensed that you never made any of the family members feel like, “I am the star in the family.” Walang ganun? “Walang ganun.” Do you admit favorite ka ng Tita Annabelle? “Press release na lang ‘yun, hahaha!” What is the truth? “It depends on her mood. But I think it’s not really me who is her favorite.” Why do you say so? “Feeling ko si Elvis. I don’t know if Elvis would admit it also. But it really depends on my mom’s mood because feeling ko minsan ‘yung Ate ko ’yung favorite n’ya (laughs).” Publicly, Ruffa has had difPAGE B4

LizQuen spend Christmas at Liza’s new US home by IAN

BIONG Inquirer.net

C E L E BR I T Y couple L i z a S ob er a no a nd E n r i q ue G i l celebrated their Christmas for the first time ever at Soberano’s new home in the United States. The Filipino-American actress expressed her gratitude to those who helped her achieve her dream of having her own home in the U.S., as seen on her Instagram post earlier on Thursday, December 26. “First Christmas in our new home. Finally have a place to call my own back in the USA,” she said. “Couldn’t have done it without ABS-CBN and all the brands that have given me their complete trust.” Soberano’s message of gratit u d e w a s a c c o m p a n i e d by snippets of t heir Chr ist mas celebration, which the LizQuen couple had w it h fami ly and friends. The new home was adorned w it h color f u l de cor at ion s , as seen on t he act ress’ series of photos. Their tree had Christmas balls with “Our first Chr istmas in our new home 2019” written on it. “To all of my LizQuen and L i z a suppor ter s out t her e. T han k you for t he unconditional love,” Soberano said.

Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil celebrating Christmas at Soberano’s new home. Photo from Instagram.com/@lizasoberano

“Last but not least, thank you papa God. You have provided a home for me and the people most dearest to my heart. I will forever give you thanks and

praise,” she added. The couple also celebrated t hei r Chr ist mas in t he U.S. last year with Soberano’s family.

Toyota Prius Prime on display at Cravings by 99 Ranch

99 Ranch Market hosts 2020 Toyota Prius Prime Awards Ceremony

IN time for the holiday season, 99 Ranch Market held its 2020 Toyota Prius Prime Awards Ceremony. The sweepstakes ran from October 21st through November 23rd in all of 99 Ranch’s Southern California stores (excluding San Diego). With over 20,000 entries, the market narrowed them down to eight contestants who played a game of bingo to determine their fate on Saturday, December 21 at Cravings by 99 Ranch Market in Chino, California. Round one consisted of the eight contestants playing bingo. The first six contestants who will have bingo will advance. In round two, the remaining six contestants played bingo and the first three contestants who called bingo advanced to the third and final Potsang Chen of Santa Ana, CA won the Toyota Prius Prime during 99 Ranch Market’s awards round. The three finalists were ceremony on December 21. He is shown alongside his wife and daughter. blindfolded and drew a car key from the drawing box. Everyone went outside to the display car as each contestant pressed the alarm to see who would win the car. Ultimately, Potsang Chen (Eric Chen) of Santa Ana, CA won the car for his wife who has had her car for over 20 years. His father just passed away about a month ago and he was really depressed. Winning this car was just one thing that was starting to look up! In addition to the special awards ceremony, there were special dance performances by the Chino Hills Dance Team, drinks, and snacks for all contestants. This contest was made possible through Southern California Toyota Dealers and Davis Elen. (Advertising Supplement)

Eight ﬁnalists out of 20,000 entries take part in bingo.

MUSIC AND MORE! GANAP DONATION $25 COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OF THE VALLEY

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NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA 91601 (BURBANK BLVD. CORNER LANKERSHIM)

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B4 DECEMBER 28-31, 2019 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

Richard describes his...

PAGE B3 ferences with your mom, even Mond (short for Raymond, his twin brother). Have you had public spats with your mom? “We had in the past but I don’t think it’s as public as my sister. Mas tahimik kami ng mom ko. If ever we have a misunderstanding, ang bilis din naming nare-resolve. I always try to understand her side and wala s’yang tinatago.” You and Sarah are getting

married next year. You are together for like seven years. Of course, the logical question is, bakit ngayon lang kayo nagdesisyong magpakasal? “Matagal na naming gustong magpakasal but initially when Zion came into our lives, we didn’t want to just get married for the sake of, you know, kasi may anak na kami, the traditional way of thinking na ah dapat magpakasal na kayo kaagad. We just wanted to take our time.

We wanted to get married in a perfect time.” Just tell me what you can tell us. Where the wedding is gonna be? “Here. Initially, we wanted in a different country but then it seems difficult to gather the whole family and then travel with everyone. We have such a big family. Sarah has a big family also so we decided to make it in Manila so everybody can join us in our celebration.” How about the theme? “We don’t really have a theme. We just want a beautiful wedding; a beautiful celebration. You know, Sarah has done a lot of research at kung ano ‘yung gusto n’ya, gusto ko rin.” If you just can mention to us some members of the entourage, meron na? “We’re still finalizing the list. We’re finalizing everything.” Including the Best Man? “It’s kinda hard to choose.” What are your considerations in the process of choosing? “It’s hard because I have a lot of friends.” And the wedding gown? “She went to Paris last month. The gown is bawal daw makita but it’s here now.” How involved is Tita Annabelle? “My mom is very involved actually but she lets us decide. She gives her inputs which are very helpful and also my sister. Hands-on sila sa pagtulong so we appreciate their help.” You have a movie and you have a serye, how grateful are you? “Very grateful. I can’t ask for more. All the blessings are given to me that’s why I’m so thankful and also I’m grateful that my family is there, they’re very supportive.” But three or four years ago was a different story. Nasaan si Richard? Was there a point in your life when you wanted to walk way? “Yeah. I was about to live in a different country. Nag-plano na ko to start a new life like, you know, my dad did that. My dad walked away and started a different life, and I asked myself maybe I could do the same.” What stopped you? “My real destiny is to be here and when opportunities came, I grabbed them and sunod-sunod na.”

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December to remember

MOONLIGHTING by MYLAH DE

LEON

THE gift of the yuletide comes to us wrapped, not in tissues and ribbon but in cherished events of ceremony, celebration, connections and parties that constellate about the holiday season. Guests troop in all sizes and shapes, of race, color and creed in effulgence that intoxicates, sizzles and electrifies the holiday revelers. It could be a small cozy, intimate gathering or there are the large parties that generally abound. Some of these parties are an institutional imperative, often likely that the ratio between the people you know, and the people who are there becomes smaller and smaller. Upon entering, you scan the horizon anxiously in search of a familiar face; and once you find one – you’re not even qualified to defend yourself with panache, on how to deal with that party’s dizzying phase.

The author with her grandchildren this December

So, here we go again, gearing up for the holidays upon us. Who said holidays-in-laws summit and alcohol don’t mix? Try explaining why people seem to be pretty giggly for no apparent reason. Singing what is to ride on a one-horse open sleigh. That’s ludicrous! I have never roasted chestnuts on an open fire. And what of the Wandering Wise Men, that could truly make one suspicious. Why is it called ‘the Epiphany’? There have been stars in my

eyes lately. But I’ve never seen an angel, just the addicting ruckus of my Holy Terrors aged 8 and 10. Dreaming of a White Christmas, I’ve never known. You see, the Christmas that I’ve known lately, has never been really great. I am too old to believe in it, yet too young to give it up. And for the sake of what it brings, the grace of humility is the most precious gift! *** E-mail Mylah at moonlightingmdl@aol. com.

GMA Network seeks reversal of P890K fine on Eddie Garcia case by

ROSETTE ADEL Philstar.com

GMA Network said it submitted an appeal to reverse the 890,000-peso fine meted by the Department of Labor and Employment over the death of veteran actor Eddie Garcia. In a statement, the network said it received the copy of the order from DOLE National Capital Region office dated Dec. 2, 2019. “In response, the network submitted an appeal with the Secretary of Labor within the allowed period seeking to annul and reverse the said Order,” the network said. The network added that it would “proceed with the necessary steps as soon as the DOLE resolves its appeal.” Garcia passed away in June days after falling into coma after an accident on the set of “Rosang Agimat”, a TV series since shelved. DOLE earlier said the network committed three violations. The fi rst is failure to fi le a

Late actor Eddie Garcia tripped in a cable wire and broke his neck while taping a gun ﬁght scene in Tondo, Manila, for the now-shelved GMA series, “Rosang Agimat.” Philstar.com photo

work accident or illness report under 24 hours while the second is failure to “employ or designate a safety officer.” The

third is the failure to employ or designate a certifi ed fi rst aid responder at the location of the shooting.

Kathryn, Daniel go on impromptu Intramuros date by

KATRINA HALLARE Inquirer.net

KATHRYN Bernardo and Daniel Padilla surprised and thrilled Intramuros visitors when they recently went on an impromptu date at the historic walled city in Manila. In Kathryn’s Instagram post Monday night, the Kapamilya stars shared photos of their date. One photo showed the two of them hand in hand amid the bright lights of the historic walled city. Kathryn said the impromptu date happened after they attended a Christmas party. Daniel also wanted to show her the beauty and charm of old Manila. She added that while strolling in the historic area, they also went looking for “bibingka.” “Went on an impromptu In-

Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo

tramuros date last night after our Christmas party because he wanted to show me what old Manila looks like at night, especially during the holiday season,” Bernardo wrote on Instagram. Fans and followers, as well as

Photo from Instagram/@bernardokath

their celebrity friends Tim Yap and Darren Espanto, even commended the couple for choosing to explore Intramuros. The couple is known to jet-set around the world when not tied up with showbiz commitments.

Max and Pancho announce Christmas surprise by

RATZIEL SAN JUAN Philstar.com

COUPLE Max Collins and Pancho Magno on Christmas Day revealed they have a baby on the way, wishing fans a Merry Christmas from their “growing family.” Pancho, who is seen holding what appears to be a sonogram in the identical photos posted by him and Max, said in his caption: “Thank you Lord our God for giving us the gift of love and Life on your birthday!” The celebrity couple has been married for just over two years and recently celebrated their second wedding anniversary on December 11. Max initially expressed hesitations between her and Pancho to start a family, but she told Pang-Masa earlier this year that this changed after she learned more about motherhood from her role in the

Kapuso couple Max Collins and Pancho Magno on Wednesday, December 25 revealed they have a baby on the way, wishing fans a Merry Christmas from their “growing family.” Photos from Instagram/@maxcollinsofﬁcial

afternoon prime drama series “Bihag.” The actor-model duo also moved into their dream home fit for a family, one of the prerequisites listed by Max before

deciding to have a baby. “It’s more of a family vibe. Number one, space for our future baby or babies,” Max described her home in a May interview with the media.

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COMMUNITY Journal

FilAm Arts presents GANAP Singers in concert on January 4 Performance raises funds for the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture 2020 and GANAP Scholars

AFTER a year hiatus, the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture will be relaunched in late summer of 2020! FilAm Arts, the backbone of this annual event that has run for almost three decades, is getting into gear to present Filipino American artists once again. FilAm Arts is doing this through the concert Music and More! with the GANAP Singers at the Community Auditorium of the Church of Scientology of the Valley on Saturday, January 4 at 5 p.m., produced in cooperation with Philippine Patrons of the Arts USA. The GANAP Singers are the choir of the GANAP Performing Arts Foundation, comprised of underprivileged students based in Quezon City. Each singer is a scholar, who benefits from the musical and artistic activities of the pro-

gram that enables them to raise funds for school. Their talents have taken them to Singapore and Taiwan, with an entertaining mix of English pop, Filipino Hits and popular choral works which they perform with choreography. The GANAP Singers have been awarded this 2019 as a Manuel L. Quezon Gawad Parangal awardee for Most Outstanding Institution (Culture and the Arts). The 13-member choir is led by their Artistic Director, Dr. Alexis Jan “Agoy” Patacsil, formerly of the famed University of the Philippines Concert Chorus. Patacsil emphasizes the inspirational stories of these singers who hail from poor communities, who wholeheartedly participate in the Performing Arts Program, which builds their self-esteem, con-

fidence and stage presence. The GANAP Singers undoubtedly bring pride and joy to the Philippines, having been sent abroad to perform at prestigious choral festivals. Proceeds shall benefit the relaunch of FilAm Arts Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture (September 2020) as well as the improvement of the Erehwon Center for the Arts facilities in Quezon City, and the continuous training and education of the GANAP Singers. Ticket donation is $25 at the door or at https://ganap.eventbrite.com. Concert venue address is 11455 Burbank Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601. For more information, email info@musicartsevents.com or text or call Music Arts Events at (818) 538-4033. Please arrive early, seating is firstcome, first-serve. n

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Minding Your Finances Atty. RAymond BulAon ACCORDING to a recent study, a majority of people in this country are living way beyond their means. In keeping up with the Jones’s, these people have resorted to using credit cards to buy things that they normally can’t afford with their income. They buy everything with the plastic cards they keep in their wallets. It’s the familiar “Vegas mentality” that if you are using chips, it doesn’t even feel like real money. As a bankruptcy attorney, I am often shocked to see that a lot of people use more than half of their take-home income just to be able to make the minimum payments on their credit cards each month. Now, in the eyes of the world, these people seem to be doing fine financially. Some people may even be misled into thinking that they are “wealthy”. They have nice homes, nice cars and the latest toys or gadgets that everyone else has. But if you look at their finances, it is evident that they have stretched themselves too thin. The truth of the matter is that these people are not even close to the real definition of being “wealthy”- They simply have a “high-consumption” lifestyle. Everything they have is “owned” by the bank that financed the purchase. The moment they lose the ability to make payments, they

The Prophetic Voice ReVeRend Rodel G. BAlAGtAS NOW that Christmas passed by, we look at the photos of families and friends shared on Facebook and Instagram and express a profound gratitude to God. Thank God for another beautiful Christmas! Thank God for parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, and other family members who drove or flew from far places to be with us. Thank God for the exchange of gifts, the laughter and joy, the food and drinks. Indeed thank God for a beautiful family celebration! Thank God for the Christian community we belong to—for fellow worshipers and the witnessing

Excessive debt makes people look ‘wealthy’ even when they’re poor could lose everything overnight. Their current lifestyle has become a “disaster waiting to happen.” Wake up and smell the coffee. If you have to borrow money from a bank to buy something, that thing is not YOURS until you have made all your payments. Someone said that if you are living in a mortgaged house, driving a mortgaged car, sleep in a mortgaged bed and keep your food in a mortgaged refrigerator, you have practically mortgaged yourself and your life to your creditors! Remember this: Wealth is not what you spend or borrow, it’s what you accumulate. Having a lot of things in your life- be it a house, a car, nice appliances, etc- doesn’t mean anything if you do not own them. The things that you truly own are your assets. The things that you can only afford if you get a bank to finance the purchase are nothing but a liability. And in most cases, the collateral depreciates more quickly than you are able to pay off the debt. According to a recent research, the average credit card debt of U.S. households with at least one credit card was $9,205 in 2003, up from only $2996 in 1990. That’s a 310% increase! What is the reason for our propensity in using those little plastic cards? Sure, it’s nice to eat at those fine restaurants and buy all the latest gadgets and toys that other people have- as long as you

can afford to pay the bill when you get your next monthly statement. But as I stated above, using credit cards to finance these luxuries is a long-term loser if most of the stuff you buy with your credit cards depreciates rather than rises in value. To add fuel to the fire, consider the outrageous interest that the credit card companies are charging you every month. On a $2750 credit card balance with an 18% APR interest rate, it would take you 15 years to pay off this debt making minimum monthly payments. If you are experiencing serious debt problems and don’t know where to turn for help, call our office so we can help you determine whether Bankruptcy is right for your situation. In some cases, filing for bankruptcy or debt consolidation may be the answer. In some cases, it may not be. For more information and to schedule a free consultation, please call Toll-Free 1-866-477-7772. Let us evaluate your situation and recommend possible options. We have offices in Glendale, Cerritos and Valencia. n *** None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped thousands of clients in getting out of debt. For a free attorney evaluation of your situation, please call Ray Bulaon Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1 (866) 477-7772. (Advertising Supplement)

The blessing and challenge of Christmas and New Year

of their faith. Thank God for the priests who celebrated the liturgies and inspired us with their well-thought homilies. Beneath the joy and laughter of Christmas gatherings and photos of family and friends is the reality that there is no perfect family and perfect community. Deep inside us are our struggles and pains in family and community relationships. We’re concerned about our health and those of other people. We deal with our insecurities and anxieties about our jobs, our children’s future, and the political climate of our country and other parts of the world. And so, our continuing challenge is to keep striving for love, under-

standing, forgiveness, and peace in families and communities throughout the year It’s the challenge that St. Paul Sunday (COL 3:12-21): “Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Mary and Joseph are great examples of faith and virtues for us. They too faced challenges of safety and security for their new family as they fled to Egypt. Let’s welcome this New Year filled with hope and trust in God who is ”Emmanuel” — God with us. Happy New Year! *** Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas is the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale, California.

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Tax & Stock Tips VictoR Sy,

cPA, mBA (RetiRed)

CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is the largest trade fair for consumer electronics. It’s presented by Consumer Technology Association (CTA) annually in Las Vegas. It has been our tech bell weather for more than 50 years. CES features the latest products from 4,500 exhibiting companies from around the world. CES gives us a glimpse of the next megatrend. It’s a proving ground for new innovations. Our visit to last year’s CES started with downpours and flash floods as we dashed from one hotel to another in an attempt to visit 3,800 booths. That’s right – 3,800 booths. I sat down to catch my breath barely into 10% of booths. But we kept going because it was exciting to see new stuff. CES gives us a history of technology – from the drawing board to our kitchen, cars, workplace, our kids, our planet, our lives. Join me for a walk down mem-

The Metamorphosis

History of CES in Las Vegas ory lane… • 1967 The first CES in New York. • 1970 The first-ever home VCR. • 1976 CB radio. Remember Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit? • 1979 Atari 400. • 1982 Commodore 64. • 2002 Windows XP Media Center Edition. • 2004 Blu-ray Disc format. • 2005 102-inch plasma television. • 2006 The first HD movie, standards competition between HD DVD and Bluray Disc. • 2009 Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) televisions. • 2010 Intel Core i7 processor, giant screens, computer screen in the movie Minority Report, 1st prototype of Parrot A/R Drone which streams video via Wi-Fi to an iPhone. • 2011 Motorola Xoom tablet, 4G phones, 3DTV channel by Discovery Communications, Sony, and IMX. • 2013 Driverless cars, digital home safety and technology, Snapdragon 600 & 800 proces-

sors, a wide range of smart TVs, Razer Edge tablet PC, Blackberry 10 touch screen phone. • 2014 iPhone 5S and 5C, iPad Air, iPad Mini 2 and Galaxy S4, Laser diodes for high-beam headlights. • 2015 The Internet of Things, Wearables involving health trackers as the smartwatch, robotic hostess iRobot, driver-free technology from parking to advanced object recognition, 3D printing, 4K TV. • 2018 Buddy robot by Blue Frog Robotics, HP’s 3D Camera, wireless charging and WiCharge’s Long-Range Wireless Power Technology. *** Victor Santos Sy graduated Cum Laude from UE with a BBA and from Indiana State University with an MBA. Vic worked with SyCip, Gorres, Velayo (SGV - Andersen Consulting) and Ernst & Young before establishing Sy Accountancy Corporation. *** He retired after 50 years of defending taxpayers audited by the IRS, EDD, BOE and other governmental agencies. He published a book on “How to Avoid or Survive IRS Audits.” Readers may email tax questions to vicsy@live.com.

Personal reflections during Advent and Christmas season Part 1 of 2

eRnie d. delfin “Jesus tells us that the love for others — for foreigners, the sick, prisoners, the homeless, even our enemies — is the yardstick by which God will judge our actions, our eternal destiny depends on this.” - Pope Francis It’s Christmastime again! It has been 40 plus years that I have witnessed and celebrated the birthday of Christ in America, a nation built on Judeo-Christian traditions. Over those four decades, I have seen the gradual transformation and the obvious commercialism of Christmas that may have contributed to the decline of the true essence of the Holy days, as the name of Christ is gradually separated from CHRISTmas. To be politically correct, people including Christians and Catholics greet or decorate their offices or homes with “Happy Holidays” greetings, instead of the traditional “Merry Christmas” signage. I often wonder why people are afraid or hesitant to say “Merry Christmas” whereas some nonChristians like our Muslim brothers or sisters are unabashedly proud to wear their hijab, niqab or burga as a part of their garments. Although America was founded as a Christian nation, it appears that it is shying away from those Christian beliefs and traditions that our forefathers have dearly paid for. Now, the vocal minority non-Christians want America to forget its glorious past by demanding the deletion of Christ name and all things that pertain to Him. These demands include but not limited to the banning of prayer in schools and other public places, Christmas trees, stars and decorations and even the Ten Com-

Tapat Sa Batas Atty. RheA SAmSon ANG U classification ay nagbibigay ng nonimmigrant status sa mga dayuhang biktima ng “qualifying criminal activity”. Noong naging batas ang Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 na siyang naglikha ng U nonimmigrant status, ang layunin nito ay protektahan ang mga biktima ng mga ilang krimen dahil ang mga biktima ay naglakas-loob na iulat ang krimen, tumestigo tungkol dito, at tumulong sa imbestigasyon at pag-uusig ng kaso. Kapag naaprubahan ang U nonimmigrant status, ang dayuhang biktima ay maaaring manatili sa US ng 4 na taon bila U nonmmigrant, kasama ang kanilang derivative family members. Pagkatapos ng 3 taon bilang U nonimmigrant, maaari na siyang mag-apply ng green card. Ang dayuhan ay eligible para sa U nonimmigrant status kung maipapakita niya lahat ng sumusunod: (1) Ang dayuhan ay nagdusa ng malaking pisikal o mental na pang-aabuso dahil siya ay naging biktima ng “qualifying criminal activity.” Ang malaking pang-aabuso ay maaaring madetermina ayon sa katangian ng pinsalang naranasan ng dayuhan; bigat ng kilos ng may kasalanan; kalubhaan ng pinsalang naranasan; at tagal ng pagbibigay-hirap sa biktima. Susuriin din kung may pangmatagalan o malubhang pinsala sa hitsura, kalusugan, o pisikal o mental na katinuan ng biktima, kasama na ang pagpapalubha ng kanyang

mandment signs in public! And they are winning slowly but surely. Removing such old fashioned reminders of our faith, regardless of one’s religion, and challenging our rights to practice them or pray to a supreme moral and higher power, I believe, have some direct correlation with lawlessness and many crimes committed against persons and property in our country today. People who conveniently remove Christ from their Christmas celebration probably means that Christ may not be really present in their lives during the other months of the year. To be a believer and follower of Christ means doing our best to follow His teachings and admonition that are taught since Catechism school. What we do daily becomes a habit. That’s faith in action, exemplified by the way saints lived their lives. Christ was not only a revolutionary individual but also a great servant leader during His time on Earth. He was not just great teacher but our Savior by dying on the cross, to redeem us from our sins. The story of Jesus Christ — from His birth in Bethlehem in a lowly manger to His Death in Calvary and His Resurrection on the third day — is the greatest story ever told. Our faith in Christ gives us hope and hope gives us life. Without HIM, our human life will be meaningless. JesusOthersYourself spells JOY. Christmas is a season that motivates us to think more of others, hence we take precious time to buy and wrap many gifts for our loved ones, family and friends. And we do our best and take precious time to “feed the homeless, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty and visit those in prison” (Matthew 25:36-46). Even donations to charities and churches

surge during this season. Practicing century old tradition, families and friends get together to celebrate this joyous occasion of Jesus’ birthday. Service to others becomes more common and has become a tradition for many families. Serving others without expecting anything is a universal truth that keeps countless of non- profit organizations continue their mission of volunteerism and servicing the needs of others from America to Africa. For instance, just this last December 21, about fifty volunteers from our 26-yearold Federation of Filipino Rosary Groups of Orange County (FFRGOC) again gave a well-planned and implemented Christmas party for over 250 “special” children in the Orangewood Childrens Home in Orange. One can easily witness that children of all colors, nationalities and creed enjoyed the abundance of food, plenty of toys, gift card, a professional magician, and yes, holiday music courtesy of the FFRGOC choir. What I enjoyed most was not the food, but the spontaneous taking over of a dozen kids over the microphone and karaoke machine and their impromptu singing and dance. Indeed, even for a few hours, they probably forgot that they were not in the presence of their relatives, but total strangers from the Philippines who gave up their time to share the real spirit of Christmas: to give good tidings and share real JOY (JesusOthersYourself) that is often lacking in the lives of these housed children at Orangewood. (To be continued) *** Email: ernie.delfin@gmail.com Websites: www.gkerc.org www.pagudpudsands.com www.kannaway.com/5236768

Relief for alien victims of criminal activities

pre-existing conditions; (2) Ang dayuhan ay may pinanghahawakang kapani-paniwala at maasahang impormasyon tungkol sa “qualifying criminal activity” na pinagbabatayan ng kanyang U nonimmigrant status application. Ang biktima ay kailangang may nauukol na kaalaman tungkol sa criminal activity na magbigigay daan para madetermina ng certifying officer na ang dayuhan ay magbibigay ng tulong sa imbestigasyon at pag-uusig ng “qualifying criminal activity”; (3) Ang biktima ay tumutulong o nagiging matulungin sa certifying agency sa imbestigasyon o pag-uusig ng “qualifying criminal activity” na pinagbabatayan ng U petition, at noong magsimula ng kooperasyon sa biktima, hindi pa ito tumanggi na magbigay ng impormasyon; (4) Ang “qualifying criminal activity” ay nangyari sa U.S. (kasama ang Indian country at U.S. military installations) o sa mga teritoryo ng U.S., o may paglabag ng U.S. federal law na nagbibigay ng extraterritorial jurisdiction para iusig ang krimen sa US federal court. Ang dayuhang biktima ay kailangan ding admissible sa US o eligible sa waiver of inadmissibility. Ang mga “qualifying criminal activity” ay kailangang isa sa 28 na krimen na nakalista sa Section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii) ng Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Maaari rin na ang krimen ay kapareho ng isa o ilan sa 28 na krimeng nabanggit, na labag sa federal, state o local criminal law. *** The U classification affords nonimmigrant status to alien victims of qualifying criminal activity. When

Congress created the U nonimmigrant status under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act of 2000, the intention was to protect victims of certain crimes who have gathered the courage to come forward, report the crime, and assist in criminal investigation and prosecution. The U nonimmigrant status allows alien victims of crime to stay in the US for up to 4 years if approved, apply for lawful permanent resident status after 3 years of U nonimmigrant status, and help derivative family members to obtain nonimmigrant status as well. An alien is eligible for U nonimmigrant status if he or she demonstrates all of the following: (1) The alien has suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of being a victim of “qualifying criminal activity.” Whether the abuse is substantial is based on a number of factors, including but not limited to: the nature of the injury inflicted or suffered; the severity of the perpetrator’s conduct; the severity of the harm suffered; the duration of the infliction of the harm; and the extent to which there is a permanent or serious harm to the appearance, health, or physical or mental soundness of the victim, including aggravation of pre-existing conditions; (2) The alien possesses credible and reliable information establishing that he or she has knowledge of the details concerning the “qualifying criminal activity” upon which his or her petition is based. The alien must possess specific facts regarding the criminal activity leading

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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • DECEMBER 28-31, 2019

When your boss lies about the reason for firing you Q: I was diagnosed with early stage cancer a few weeks ago. I can still do my job but I will need about 5 hours off from work every week for 3 months for medical treatments. I asked my manager for intermittent leave. When he refused, I emailed him information from the Labor Commissioner’s office regarding my leave rights. My manager got mad and refused to talk to me. Yesterday, I was fired for poor performance but it wasn’t explained what I did wrong. I worked for this company for 10 years and my evaluation has always been “above expectations.” Is my firing legal? A: Your firing may be illegal, even though the employer said it was due to poor performance. The firing seems suspicious given the close proximity between the firing, and the time that you asked for intermittent leave. Here, it is worth investigating to determine if your former manager was motivated by a discriminatory reason (your medical condition) that is being covered up with a purported business reason instead. An employer may not terminate an employee for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons. Doing so may give rise to a wrongful termination claim. In order to skirt around the law, the employer may claim that it had a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for firing the employee (such as poor performance or customer complaints). It is then up to the employee to prove that the employer’s stated rea-

Debt Relief

Atty. LAwrenCe yAng ACCUMULATING debt is the easiest thing you can do in America. Even your dog can get credit cards with a fake social security number. If you are an immigrant and have just arrived, you will have no history of credit here. Chances are that in your country of origin, you probably had no credit card debt, or if you did, maybe you had an insignificant amount. In other countries, most people are on a “cash” basis. In other words, you buy everything in cash, not credit. If you buy a house abroad, you either paid cash for it, or you put a substantial cash down payment and have a small mortgage on it. Outside of the U.S., the objective in life is to accumulate cash and assets but have no debt. But here in America, MasterCard, Visa and other credit card companies, sell you the American lifestyle, which is to bury yourself in debt to get all the things you want. Want a brand new 80-inch flat and thin high definition TV, the one that curves on both ends of the screen to let you watch it clearly from almost any angle?

Barrister’s Corner Atty. kenneth UrSUA reyeS COUPLES get divorced for various reasons. California is a no fault state. The reasons why a couple is getting divorced are often irrelevant to the issues of the family law case. Divorce is often a difficult and negative experience for most families. However, getting divorce may have some unintended benefits in the immigration law arena. Four situations in which filing for divorce can be beneficial to your immigration case are as follows: Married sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens If you were petitioned for legal permanent residence by your U.S. Citizen parent as a married son or daughter 21 years old or over, you are classified in immigration law under family sponsored third preference (F3) which usually carries a long wait time. The wait time for Filipinos for example is currently 22 years. The priority date is normally the date the petition was initially filed by your U.S. Citizen parents. If you get divorced, you revert back to single status and your category automatically becomes reclassified to first preference (F1) where the waiting time is substantially shorter. For example, for Filipinos the wait time under F1 category is 10 years shorter than F3 category. This means if your parents filed your immigration petition 12 years ago, then you can adjust to a green card now instead of waiting another 10 years.

Protecting Employee & Consumer Rights Atty. C. Joe SAyAS, Jr. son for the firing was a “pretext.” To prove pretext, the employee may show that the stated reason: is false, did not cause the firing, or is not enough to cause a firing (i.e., people are not usually fired for this reason) (Instead of firing the employee, once a disability or medical condition is known by the employer, it has a duty to provide reasonable accommodation to employees to enable them to work despite their disability. Depending on the employee’s specific restrictions and the employer’s circumstances, reasonable accommodations may include providing medical leave, offering part-time or modified work schedules, reassigning to a vacant position or job restructuring, or acquiring or modifying equipment or devices to allow the employee to do their job.) Aside from discrimination, an employer may also be retaliating against an employee who tried to assert the right to take a medical leave. In order to prevail on a retaliation claim, an employee must prove that: 1) The employee engaged in protected activity, such as reporting a violation, testifying as a witness, or asserting a legal right. 2) The employer knew that the

employee engaged in such protected activity. 3) The employee suffered an adverse employment action, such a demotion or termination 4) The employee’s protected activity caused the employer to take adverse action. Unlawful retaliation may be inferred from timing, especially if the firing occurred soon after the employer learned about the protected activity. It is true that employers generally have the power to terminate employees at will. However, employers must not be motivated by a discriminatory or retaliatory reason for doing so. In this instance, the termination becomes unlawful, and may subject the employer to liability for damages. Employees who prove they were retaliated and wrongfully terminated may recover loss of earnings, emotional distress, and in certain cases, attorneys’ fees and costs, and punitive damages. *** The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost. You can contact the office at (818) 2910088 or visit “http://www.joesayaslaw. com” www.joesayaslaw.com. [C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is an experienced trial attorney who has successfully recovered wages and other monetary damages for thousands of employees and consumers. He was named Top Labor & Employment Attorney in California by the Daily Journal, consistently selected as Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a Presidential Awardee for Outstanding Filipino Overseas in 2018.] (Advertising Supplement)

Avoid the bondage of debt, especially seniors It’s only $3,000. Don’t have the $3,000? No problem. Just charge the $3,000 on your credit card. Bring the TV home today for your whole family to enjoy! You don’t have to pay $3,000 upfront. Next month, just set aside $90 to make a minimum monthly payment on the $3,000. Instant gratification! This is the American way. Want to bring the family to Hawaii for Christmas? Let’s see. It’s $1,500 for a week’s stay at one of the five-star resorts in Waikiki, including the round-trip plane fare and hotel per head. Since you are a family of four, that would be a grand total of $6,000 for a oneweek Christmas and New Year vacation in paradise. LA gets cold in winter even if it doesn’t snow but the climate in Hawaii is a comfortable and breezy 80 degrees. “Mele Kalikimaka” — that’s how they say “Merry Christmas” in Hawaii as you probably know. And the food, the luaus are terrific. The scenery is spectacular. Plan on riding a helicopter to look at the Big Island Volcano, which only adds another $1,000 to your vacation budget for your family of four. So, the one-week Christmas vacation will cost about $8,000, all expenses accounted for, with firstclass accommodations. There’s only one problem. You didn’t have

$3,000 for the big screen TV that looks so good in your family room, so where will you get the $8,000 for your Christmas vacation? No problem. In America, the credit cards keep on giving and giving. They are perennial Santa Clauses. The wife wants to go. The kids want to go. You want to go. So go. I mean, former President Obama spent a lot of his vacations in Oahu where he was born, so why can’t you bring your family to paradise this Christmas? By all means, go and give the family a great time this Christmas. With the brand new TV at $3,000 and the Hawaii Christmas vacation at $8,000, you will owe $11,000 at the end of this year. So what? You got the TV and you’ll still have your Hawaii tan for a couple of weeks when you get back right after the New Year. Your coworkers will envy you when you say you just got back from paradise and you feel totally relaxed and ready to face the challenges of 2018 head-on. Yes, that’s right, everything is still status quo but then, at the end of January 2018, you will have to take $330 out of your take-home pay and pay the minimum for the TV and Hawaii trip. At the end of 2018, you will have paid your credit card mas-

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4 ways filing for divorce can benefit your immigration case Married sons and daughters of legal permanent residents If your parents are legal permanent residents, getting divorced will convert you back single status making you eligible to be petitioned by your legal permanent resident parents under the family based second preference (F2b) category if you are 21 years old or older or under the family based second preference A (F2a) if you are under 21 years of age. For those who married after they were petitioned by their LPR parents (F2A and F2B), the petition is automatically revoked under operation of law the moment you get married and cannot be reclaimed by a divorce. In theory, it can be argued that filing a subsequent petition after your divorce under the same category inherits the previous petition’s priority date under 9 FAM 42.43 N10 and 8 CFR 204.2(h), Part 205. However, success of such argument is not clear since the old petition was automatically revoked the moment you married. The best thing that can be done in this situation is to have your LPR parent repetition you as an F2A or F2b even if you are unable to reclaim the previous petition’s priority date. Conditional legal permanent residents in failed marriages For those who obtained their legal permanent residence status through marriage based petition by their US Citizen spouse of less than 2 years marriage, the legal permanent residence status conferred is usually a “conditional legal permanent residence” valid only for 2 years. The cou-

ple would need to sign and file a joint petition to remove this condition prior to the expiration of the 2 years or the conditional legal permanent resident spouse would fall out of status. The problem arises when the marriage is in trouble. Often it becomes difficult to obtain the cooperation of the US Citizen spouse specially when the couple has separated. US Citizen spouse often refuse to sign the I-751 for or appear at the I-751 interview if one is set by the USCIS. Filing for divorce would terminate the marriage and allow you to file a “waiver” of the joint petition to remove the conditional LPR status based on entering into the marriage in good faith. Terminating the marriage by filing a divorce is a requirement in order to file the “waiver.” It is important to time this correctly as soon as the marriage starts falling apart because by terminating the marriage early on, you might be able to file the waiver before the expiration of your 2 year conditional LPR thus allowing you to extend your LPR status in 1 year increments until a final decision is made in your case. Married aliens in non-immigrant visas and those without status For those who enter the US as a non-immigrant and are separated from their spouse but still married, filing a divorce would open up opportunities in case they meet a new significant other who is a US Citizen and who can petition them as an immediate relative. This is

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Can I get a green card if I had a previoius marriage petition denied based on fraud? DEAR Attorney Tan, I recently married a US Citizen, who is my second husband. He has filed an immigrant visa petition and green card application for me. My husband recently received from USCIS a Notice of Intent to Deny the petition that he filed on my behalf. The Notice indicated that the immigrant visa petition could not be approved since the USCIS had determined that I previously entered into a fraudulent marriage to get a green card several years ago. My ex-husband previously filed an immigrant petition on my behalf several years ago, which was denied since USCIS determined that I only married him to get a green card. My second husband and I truly love each other. What are my options? -- In Love but Out of Status Dear In Love but Out of Status, Under INA Section 204(c), a person who “attempted or conspired to enter into a marriage” in order to receive permanent resident status in the US is prohibited from obtaining USCIS approval of an immigrant visa petition. Simply stated, Section 204(c) prohibits approval of any immigrant visa petition if there has been a finding of “marriage fraud” in a prior marriage-based petition. Based on the above law, your case seems at first glance like an “open-and-shut” case in favor of denial. However, you still have hope of getting a green card—a person can apply for and get

Legal Advice Atty. DArriCk tAn his immigrant petition approved despite the prior finding of “marriage fraud” under certain circumstances. You may ask, how is this possible? Isn’t Section 204(c) straightforward? Not quite. The answer lies in the fact that USCIS must independently examine the prior finding of “marriage fraud” in considering the subsequently filed immigrant visa petition. Before invoking the Sec. 204(c) bar to approval of a subsequent visa petition, USCIS must make an independent determination of fraud based upon the record, including but not limited to any evidence gathered during adjudication of the prior visa petition, but may not parrot or rely on the conclusions made by other adjudicators. USCIS must have “substantial and probative” evidence of “marriage fraud.” Matter of Tawfik, 20 I. & N. Dec. 166, 168. The determination is to be made by the USCIS district director while adjudicating the subsequent visa petition. Matter of Samsen, 15 I. & N. Dec. 28, 1974 WL 29995 (B.I.A. 1974). The district director should not give conclusive effect to the determinations made in the prior proceedings, but should reach his own

independent conclusion based on the evidence actually before him. Matter of F-, 9 I. & N. Dec. 684 (BIA 1962). Therefore, in cases such as yours in which the USCIS has indicated it intends to deny the subsequent immigrant visa petition due to the prior finding of “marriage fraud,” new evidence can be submitted that demonstrates that the prior finding of “marriage fraud” was incorrect—i.e., evidence that shows that the prior marriage petition was based on a bona fide marriage, or that explains that the prior denial was based on an incomplete or inaccurate assessment of the facts. In cases in which the subsequent immigrant visa petition has already been denied, this new evidence should be submitted as part of a motion to reconsider. I recommend that you seek an experienced attorney to assist you in properly presenting the law and facts to the USCIS adjudicator to address the Section 204(c) bar. *** Darrick V. Tan, Esq. is admitted to practice law in California and Nevada. Mr. Tan is a graduate of UCLA and Southwestern University School of Law. He is a member of American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Consumers Attorney Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), and is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Philippine American Bar Association (PABA). LAW OFFICES OF DARRICK V. TAN, 3580 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 900, Los Angeles, CA 90010. Tel: 323-639-0277. Email: info@dtanlaw.com (Advertising Supplement)

Relief for alien victims of criminal...

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a certifying officer to determine that petitioner has, is, or is likely to provide assistance to the investigation or prosecution of the “qualifying criminal activity;” (3) The alien has been helpful, is being helpful, or is likely to be helpful to a certifying agency in the investigation or prosecution of the “qualifying criminal activity” upon which his or her petition is based, and since the initiation of the cooperation, has not refused or failed to provide information and assistance reasonably requested. This is shown by a certification from a federal, state or local law enforcement authority certifying the alien victim’s helpfulness; and (4) The “qualifying

criminal activity” occurred in the U.S. (including Indian country and U.S. military installations) or in the territories and possessions of the U.S., or violated a U.S. federal law that provides for extraterritorial jurisdiction to prosecute the offense in a U.S. federal court. The alien should also be admissible to the U.S. or be eligible for waiver of inadmissibility. Qualifying criminal activity must involve one or more of the 28 types of crimes listed at Section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) or any “similar activity” in violation of federal, state or local criminal law. *** ATTY. RHEA SAMSON is a Partner at

LINDAIN & SAMSON LAW FIRM. Atty. Lindain and Atty. Samson are both licensed to practice law in California and in the Philippines. Both Attorneys were also professors. LINDAIN & SAMSON LAW FIRM aims to provide excellent and efficient legal representation to clients, and support clients in achieving their goals and dreams. As professors, Atty. Lindain and Atty. Samson wish to educate the younger generation, as it is through education and continuous study that one can achieve success and serve others. Please visit our office: LINDAIN & SAMSON LAW FIRM 3580 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1710, Los Angeles, CA 90010 Call or text us: (213) 381.5710 Email us: attorneys@lindainsamsonlaw. com. (Advertising Supplement)

C4 DECEMBER 28-31, 2019 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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People & Events SIPA and #Hashtag Lunchbag join FACCGLA to award entrepreneurs forces to feed Historic Filipinotown of the year at January 12 gala

On Sunday, December 29, SIPA will be hosting a Food Drive with #HashtagLunchbag to create letters of encouragement, decorate lunch bags, and assemble sandwiches for those in need in Historic Filipinotown. When finished, volunteers will be giving out lunch bags to homeless youth, women, and families. The event will be happening from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at 3200 W Temple Street, LA, CA 90026. Parking is available on Dillon/ Temple and Robinson/Temple. Donations of $10+ are not required, but are highly suggested so that SIPA can continue to have community service events like these. You can donate in person, through our Venmo: @ SIPA-LA, or our Square Store at: squareup.com/store/sipacares. More information is at: www. hashtaglunchbag.org/mcvalendez95/sipa_x_hashtaglunchbag If you have any questions or concerns, contact Maria Carmel Valendez at maria@sipacares. org or (213) 382-1819 ext. 107 ■ GET ready for retro dance music debauchery this coming New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2019! Modern Classic Records presents Makati Nights NYE - 80s, Early/Late 90s, happening at the 18 Social Penthouse, Hotel Indigo Los Angeles Downtown. This New Year’s Eve, Makati Nights will be headlined by its resident DJs, Josh Evangelista formerly of Venezia Bar, Cary Carreon, formerly of Hard Rock Cafe Makati, plus guest DJs. All of them will be providing killer retro sets for the evening that will guarantee you flashback fun while welcoming the year 2020! Makati Nights is a roving 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s nightlife event based in Los Angeles. Hosted by veteran Manila and Los Angeles DJ, producer, and remixer Josh Evangelista (https://www.facebook.com/joshevangelistamusic), Makati Nights pays tribute to the glorious Makati nightlife of the past by reconstructing its nightclub atmosphere at some of Los Angeles’ chic and modern nightclub venues. On each event, Makati

DUBBED “Shining Shimmering Splendid Gala,” the annual fundraiser of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Greater LA (FACCGLA) on January 12 at the Hilton Woodland Hills will be the occasion when Entrepreneur of the Year Awards will be bestowed on three Filipino Americans. Entrepreneur of the Year Awards are given to persons or businesses who have made a positive representation of Filipino Americans, inspirational progress and visibility. Recipients of the award are nominated and evaluated by the Board of Directors of FACCGLA. FACCGLA regularly opens the year with its fundraising gala.

Throughout the year, the Chamber presents monthly business events for the benefit of its members. There are formatted as networking mixers with inspirational talks from business owners or resource persons. Attendance for these events has almost doubled throughout 2019. Hence, FACCGLA is doubling down on its fundraising so it can continue to be a business resource for the thriving Filipino American business community. This year’s Gala will open with live music from Jazz pianist Tateng Katindig, and songs from LA Opera’s Sal Malaki. Dinner will be served while the new Board of Directors will be

installed along with its new President, Annie Nepomuceno, by the Philippine Consul General Adelio Angelito S. Cruz. Awarding ceremonies for the entrepreneurs will be held after dinner, capped by fun raffle drawing and dancing. Everyone is welcome to attend. Guests are encouraged to attend in their dazzling best, with the theme “Shining, Shimmering Splendor.” Tickets are $75 until January 5, $85 thereafter, available at www.faccgla.org. Please RSVP by January 10. Contact info@ faccgla.org for more information. Venue address is 6360 Canoga Ave, Woodland Hills, CA 91367. ■

4 ways filing for divorce can benefit... PAGE C3 t Nights feature the best DJs that have played at Philippine nightclubs, DJs from notable mobile DJ groups of the 90s, as well as DJs visiting from the Philippines. These original Makati selectors will dish out some of the best

Calendar of Events across

dance music hits from each era for us to experience the authentic manila club vibe. For the latest updates, please check the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ makatinights. ■

America

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UPAGGLA holiday celebration in LA Pasko Pa Sa UPAAGLA will be held on Saturday, December 28 from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. at the San Antonio Winery in Los Angeles. It is the annual Holiday party of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Greater Los Angeles. All are welcome, simply purchase online at www. upaagla.org/events/pasko-pa-sa-upaagla. There will be a silent auction and raffle drawing. Tickets are $28. Venue address is 737 Lamar St, Los Angeles, CA 90031. For inquires, connect with Monette Carranceja at (818) 585-1115 or upaagla.rsvp@gmail.com.

D EC E M B E R 29

#HashtagLunchbag/SIPA food drive in LA The Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) and #Hashtag Lunchbag are joining forces to create positive changes in Historic Filipinotown on Sunday, December 29 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. SIPA will be hosting a Food Drive with #HashtagLunchbag to create letters of encouragement, decorate lunch bags, and assemble sandwiches for those in need in Historic Filipinotown. When finished, they will be giving out lunch bags to homeless youth, women, and families. Registration contact and link: Maria Carmel Valendez at maria@sipacares.org or (213) 382-1819 ext. 107

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Feast of Infant Jesus of Prague in LA The public is all invited to a Special Celebration of the Feast of Infant Jesus of Prague on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (555 West Temple Street, Los Angeles. CA 90012). Bishop Alex Aclan will be the main celebrant. Bring your Infant Jesus Statue to touch the Holy Robe that the Holy Infant wears in the Shrine of Prague. The history of the devotion to the Miraculous Infant Jesus of Prague dates back more than four hundred years when the statue of the Holy Infant in the guise of a king was brought to Prague, Czech Republic. Miraculous healings were attributed to the Child Jesus, as was the protection of Prague when it was laid siege to by the Swedes in 1639. The mass event is sponsored by the Holy Trinity Ministry Fellowship.

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FACCGLA’s gala in Woodland Hills, CA The ‘Shining Shimmering Splendid Gala’ is the annual fundraising event of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Los Angeles (FACCGLA) on January 12, 2020 at 6 p.m. at the Hilton Woodland Hills. Everyone is welcome to attend to enjoy good food, music and dancing plus raffle prizes and other entertainment. Installation of the new President and Board precedes the merriment. Tickets are only $75 for all this enjoyment ($85 after Jan. 5), available online at www.faccgla.org, select ‘Events’ and select the Jan12 event. Sponsorships available. Venue address is 6360 Canoga Ave, Woodland Hills, CA 91367. Email info@faccgla. org for inquiries.

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

usually the fastest of process in obtaining legal permanent residence. In countries such as the Philippines where there is no divorce, many people come to the US to start a new life after they have been separated from their old spouse (often still married to them). Even if the alien over stays their status as a visitor, the alien can still adjust to that of a legal permanent residence if petitioned by a US Citizen spouse. If the alien was never inspected, the alien can still adjust to legal permanent residence if they are grandfathered under INA 245(i) and there are no special restrictions on their status. To be grandfathered under INA 245(i), the alien must have been a beneficiary of a legal permanent residence petition filed no later than April 30, 2001. Finally, a common concern of divorcing immigrants is “What

happens if my spouse refuses to sign the divorce papers?” The truth is you do not need your spouse’s signature to obtain a divorce in California. You only need to provide your spouse notice that you filed a divorce by personally serving your spouse the divorce petition and summons. In countries that are members of the Hague Convention, special procedures need to be followed to effect service. So yes it is possible to divorce your spouse even if your spouse is in a country that does not recognize divorce among its citizens such as the Philippines. For some immigrants, filing for divorce opens up opportunities in this land of milk and honey.

This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, P.C. This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certiﬁed Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, P.C. is located *** at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Please note that this article is not legal Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or advice and is not intended as legal advice. e-mail kenneth@kenreyeslaw.com or visit The article is intended to provide only our website at Kenreyeslaw.com general, non-speciﬁc legal information. (Advertising Supplement)

Avoid the bondage of debt...

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ters $4,000, but you would still owe them the same $11,000. But the reality of life here in America is that you will buy a lot more good stuff on credit. Maybe two brand new computers for the kids? A brand new leather sofa set? Maybe you need a new fridge? Or, even a new roof because the roof leaks. There is a high probability that in 2018, you will add another $10,000 of credit cards because you don’t really feel the pain when you buy stuff on credit, isn’t this true? It’s not like you have $10,000 of cash in the bank and you have to take $8,000 from it to pay for Hawaii, right? That would be painful. On the other hand, charging $8,000 on credit cards is practically painless. You just have to take the card out of your wallet and swipe it. It’s so easy to spend money that you don’t have here in America. One can easily get addicted to credit cards the same way that a person can get addicted to drugs. Just like cocaine and LSD, using credit cards gives the user a “high”. Just like drugs, it’s addicting. In a couple of short years, starting from a $3,000 for your TV, and $8,000 for your Hawaii Christmas vacation in 2017, you will owe $30,000! You would have added a trip to Europe, a trip to China, Japan, Thailand and Bali for the family. These trips do not even include the family trip back to your country of origin which requires a lot more money because as everyone knows, family back home expect to get a lot of expensive gifts from their now “rich” American relatives, not to mention paying the tab for all the restaurant food that you and your family back home will be enjoying. If all of these scenarios took place 10 years ago, mark my words: you would now owe maybe $30,000 in credit card debt. These now cost you $1,000 a

month of minimum payments. For the next 12 months, you will pay $12,000 of minimum payments, but at the end of the 12 months, you will still owe $30,000. In 24 months, you will pay $24,000 of minimum payments, but you will still owe $30,000. Then, if you are objective enough to see you own financial situation, you will know that you are now in what is called “financial bondage.” You are now a debt slave. What’s worse than being a debt slave? Being a senior debt slave is the worse. Let’s say that you are now 62 and you owe $30,000 in credit cards. Social security and retirement are just around the corner. You’re looking at $1,800 of social security, which is not too bad. But you’re also on the hook for $1,000 of minimum monthly credit card payments. This is more than half of your social security benefits. Imagine the hardship caused by having to fork over more than half of your social security to pay $1,000 to your credit card masters every month for the rest of your life during your golden years. It sucks! But as you have now learned, after paying your credit card masters $120,000 in the last 10 years, you still owe your masters the same $30,000 of credit card debt! Just like “Django Unchained,” it’s time to break free of credit card debt! What you need now is the full legal power of a Chapter 7 petition to give you a fresh start without the $30,000 in credit card debt. Break free from your credit card masters and live with freedom and joy and be productive again and start fresh again without accumulated debt. Turn you back on the $30,000 and nuke them with a bankruptcy discharge. You won’t regret it. It’s the right thing to do. Even Pres. Trump has said that Puerto Rico’s $70billion debt must be discharged. Well, he should know, the Trump

companies filed for bankruptcy four times, discharging hundreds of millions of debt. Even Walt Disney filed for Chapter 7 twice before he became successful. Milton Hershey of Hershey chocolates, now a global multi-billion dollar business, filed for Chapter 7 before he became successful. M.C. Hammer, Francis Ford Coppola, Kim Basinger and Mickey Rooney — these celebrities all filed for Chapter 7 to get a fresh start in life. It’s easy to get into debt in America. But it’s really hard to get out of debt in America. That’s why you need the full legal power of Chapter 7 to get out of debt and get a fresh start. It’s a federal right given by law to the debtor who needs relief from accumulated debt. Why be embarrassed to exercise a right given by law? Life after bankruptcy is great, you still keep everything you own as long as you qualify for applicable exemptions. You will be able to save money again every month. Anyway, the cards have enabled you to bring your family around the world already and you still have the big screen TV in your family room. Have your cake and eat it too and get a fresh start with no debt. Only in America! Get back on solid financial footing, get rid of your accumulated debt with Chapter 7, and face your retirement years with peace of mind! If you need debt relief, set an appointment to see me. I will analyze your case personally. *** Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in Bankruptcy, Business, Real Estate and Civil Litigation and has successfully represented more than 5,000 clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 20274 Carrey Road, Walnut, CA 91789 or 1000 S. Fremont Ave., Mailstop 58, Building A-10 South Suite 10042, Alhambra, CA 9180 (Advertising Supplement)

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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • DECEMBER 28-31, 2019

My Unforgettable Camino Experience by I want readers to imagine and reflect on a world devoid of suffering. absolutely no suffering, just a perfect world to live in. a world where sacrificing in the name of love for another does not exist. a world where there is no pain nor adversity, where the possibility of learning and growing a family without overcoming obstacles would be denied. would you consider living in that world? I would not live in such world. we have and still experience situations that cause us to suffer, but the benefits of finding real meaning in suffering remain. Sometimes we have to endure pain and suffering, which in turn translates into a joy that we might not have otherwise felt. no one likes to suffer. But it helps us grow and mature as a person. I also believe that suffering is an important part of any journey. Exerting a great deal of effort, every pilgrim experiences difficulties, both physical and emotional. Some overcome extreme knee pain and excruciatingly painful blisters on their feet, while others get knocked out as they navigate through rocks and crevices in bad weather. For many, just catching their breath and feeling their lungs about to implode while struggling to scale new heights that appear to endlessly torment them can be among the many forms of sacrifices. These are some of the most common experiences shared by thousands of pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago. Known in English as the way of St. James, it is a network of pilgrim’s ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the Cathedral of the Santiago de Compostela where tradition has it that the remains of the saint are buried. This is the biggest and most important pilgrimage known to the Catholic faith as it draws 250,000 pilgrims from all over the world annually. Many follow its route as a form of purification or retreat for their spiritual growth. If millennials have a powerful symbol in “YOLO or You Only Live Once,” this group of talented baby boomers (55 to 75 years old) comprising golfing buddies affiliated with the Cebu Country Club have their own version, “wwC,” a symbolic cry that stands for “while we Can!” They are collectively known as the “Caminoans,” highly successful entrepreneurs and C-level executives that recently completed their annual Camino pilgrimage in Europe (their fifth year in a row). I joined this group, got inducted and the experience blew me away. after walking the equivalent of a third (80 kilometers in three days) of what my fellow Caminoans went through, I experienced a life-altering en-

counter that will forever change the way I view life. By walking an average of six to eight hours daily, I placed myself in deeper seclusion, enabled me to contemplate about my personal life journey minus all the distractions. when you meditate, it gives you a lot of introspection and provides one the opportunity to discover oneself. as you reflect, you begin to notice the things that really matter most in life are those that come from your heart like being a good parent, a spouse or a sibling. I am sure I was not the only pilgrim that felt this longing for a meaningful existence. My interest started when Gothong Southern Shipping founder Bob and Joy Gothong shared a movie of “The way,” an inspiring film about a father (Martin Sheen) that walked the Camino de Santiago with his son’s ashes. His estranged son had died

while traveling the “El Camino” from France to Spain. what piqued my curiosity further was when Finisterre Memorial and anseca Group Chair Jun Selma regaled me with remarkable stories of the Caminoan’s past experiences. On Being a “Caminoan” Finisterre Memorial and anseca Group Chair Jun Selma casually asked me late July if I can squeeze a few days off to join him in Europe for a visit to a mystical place called Finisterre, a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times, the place was believed to be the end of the known world. Jun explained to me that he was completely awed during his first visit that it inspired him to mount and develop an exciting project in Minglanilla, Cebu called Finisterre Memorial Gardenz in honor of his late and beloved mother, narding Selma. after a couple of weeks, Jun excitedly followed it up with a formal invitation for me to join their annual pilgrimage walk in September. He told me that I will be joining distinguished fellow “caminoans” headed by Cebu Country Club President Bob Gothong, Joe Soberano, nonoy tirol, Vic Yuvallos, Ramon Villordon Jr., Kim Kwang Seok, Shean Bedi, and Fr. Joe Quilongquilong (JQ). I was also told that this was an all-male pilgrimage as an all-female group led by Joy Gothong were also en route to Europe to do their Camino walk. naturally, I was honored but I felt it would take a miracle for me to clear

Prof. EnriquE Soriano, Family Business Coach my schedules as my calendar for 2019 and half of 2020 have already been booked for engagements in asia. Despite the constraints and what looked like an unseen hand working to clear my schedule, everything fell into place and I was given the green light to join the group. In the weeks leading to the El Camino walk, I was impressed by the commitment and devotion of the “caminoans” going about their assigned tasks. Their send-off and get together event hosted by Jun on the eve of their departure to France plus the way the two-week event was thoroughly organized was a pleasant surprise. and to top it off, if not for the constant bugging of top John Hay Golf executive Shean Bedi, a colleague during my property days a decade ago, I our desire on being the most would not have made it. He was successful chief executive offithe quintessential project man- cer (CEO) in our industry. ager, making sure all logistical Sadly, I became a victim of all these material obsessions more than 20 years ago. These fixations happened early on in my corporate career and I paid dearly for it. I suffered a complete depletion of energy and had to retire at a relatively early age of 40. Ominously, it happened when I was at the peak of my corporate career either as country CEO, president and or a member of the board of directors of market-leading organizations. all throughout our life journey, we always think we cannot live without them. But in reality, we really have a lot of things that we don’t need. In fact, these material desires distract us and slow us down. Ultimately, they take out the happiness and love issues were covered. There were moments where for family. In my years coaching famiI ask myself, how can this band of successful individuals un- ly-owned businesses in asia, I characteristically subject them- have witnessed how founders selves to the grueling walk for and business owners callously two consecutive weeks? Clear- drive their children to excel in ly the group’s enthusiasm and business, but regrettably and their willingness to go through woefully failing to inculcate pain and suffering moved me. good old-fashioned family valThe most authentic moments in life are not the comforts that we all experience in our daily lives but what happens once we have been tested and after enduring and overcoming a crisis. In essence, real life is the real pilgrimage and it actually began even before we started the walk. to my mind, there is no such pilgrimage without experiencing setbacks and difficulties. and there is no pilgrim that will embark on a journey without a purpose or goal. Our respective journeys in life is our authentic pilgrimage and I believe the Camino de Santiago walk is meant to inspire and re- ues such as good parenting, mind us that our sacrifices are love, family unity and stewnothing compared to what the ardship. applying these valpilgrims went through more ues will determine the kind of family and business we all have than a thousand years ago. long after the senior leader has We Can Live Without Them In the days leading to the passed on. when parents do Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, not express real love towards I constantly asked myself, “Do I their children, family harmony is threatened. In the end, real need everything I have?” The insignificant load that we wealth is all about simplicity actually carry take up so much and real happiness comes from space in our hearts starting the heart. as St. Ignatius once with the way we live our lives, said, “Happiness does not dethe compulsion to have more pend on how many things you wealth by working so hard at have but on how much we love the expense of family time, our God and others.” Our problems are nothing penchant to have an extravagant During my Camino de Sanlifestyle, our insatiable craving to keep up with the Joneses and tiago walk, there were times I wanted to stop, but for as long as my wobbly legs could still manage to hold up, even if I fall one more time, I knew I will rise up and walk. It was my desire to continue walking. Just as in life, you just can’t quit. whatever curveball is thrown at you, you just can’t stop. You can pause but you just can’t say I’ll stop as life’s challenges will keep coming at you. I can’t do this anymore was never an option. Though my days were limited, all the sacrifices I went through during the walk and the brutal climb at the Pyrenees (the mountain range that separates the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of Europe) was a test of my faith and endurance. and being a first-time Caminoan, I felt like I was experiencing my own

calvary. Overall, the exhaustion we felt during the journey was a striking resemblance to the sacrifices that millions of pilgrims experienced in their Camino journey during the past 12 centuries. as Joe Soberano, a fellow Caminoan and founder and CEO of listed firm Cebu Landmasters, said, “Everytime I embark on this pilgrimage, I am constantly reminded that I am nothing compared to the thousands of pilgrims who have suffered and endured more adversities.” So true. Our problems are just a shred compared to the challenges of others. Suffering Passes The first time I came in contact with pain and suffering during the Camino de Santiago walk, it was really traumatic. But the realization that you can still continue despite pains felt from all over your body, that you can’t wait for the pain to subside before taking the next step the following day is in itself a lesson. For some pilgrims, having horrible blisters during the walk was an ordeal.

Thankfully, I did not suffer any but the pain and exhaustion were so difficult to bear. when faced with pain, there is a temptation which leads us to become self-centered. It’s a situation where you always think about yourself and indulge in self-pity. I considered the last day, the scenic St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles (navigating the scenic but very brutal route napoleon) the most difficult part of my pilgrimage (I only joined the group in the last phase but still managed to log in almost 80 kilometers). The morning started with a really steep climb of 1,450 meters and downhill of 500 meters. Midway into the walk, one can easily get lost as the road becomes narrow, rugged and very muddy. There was a point where the high altitude became so torturous and my lungs were ready to surrender. But meditation and introspection and pulling myself into a state of silence made the walk more bearable. I then found my rhythm and stayed focused. For the distinguished Caminoans who braved the 10-day, 206 kilometers walk, it is just but fitting to recognize their own journey of pain and sacrifice. Congratulations to Jun Selma, Bob Gothong, Jose Soberano III, nonoy tirol, Vic Yuvallos, Ramon Villordon Jr., Kim Kwang Seok, Shean Bedi, and Fr. Joe Quilongquilong (JQ). to Caroline, our skill-

Day 1 - 08 kilometers Day 2 - 19 kilometers Day 3 - 24 kilometers Day 4 - 18 kilometers Day 5 - 23 kilometers Day 6 - 18 kilometers Day 7 - 18 kilometers Day 8 - 22 kilometers Day 9 - 26 kilometers Day 10 - 30 kilometers ful French guide and driver Stephan, thank you! You all have my respect and admiration! Suffering passes, but having suffered remains In our life journey, we do encounter difficult and tense moments because of personal tragedy, family conflict or a reversal of fortune. But whatever pain and suffering that we are all going through must never defeat us. The expression “whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger” is completely true. The way a person deals with emotional pain or any type of pain shows a person’s true c h a r a c t e r. How an individual overcomes these challenges with hope will define his or her resiliency and strength in the face of mounting adversity. I can forget many things about the pilgrimage, but I will never forget the masses or rosaries on the bus, while walking on uneven roads, on top of a mountain or in several Romanesque centuries-old churches. It was an experience like no other! It dawned on me that the masses are really special as it puts ourselves in deeper seclusion because we distance ourselves from all distractions. The purpose of the pilgrimage is not to get to Santiago, the real purpose is all about self-discovery and an encounter with someone. I have noticed that the goal we seek happens during the Holy Mass officiated by our spiritual advisor, a well-loved Jesuit priest and theologian Fr. JQ as he connects our daily Camino of life. Summarizing the regular homilies and trying to make sense of our daily physical struggles, Fr. JQ contextualized a pilgrim’s journey by connecting all our sacrifices to our life journey, constantly making us realize that “suffering passes, but having suffered remains.” His messages are personal and really hit home! to those who are contemplating on embarking on this Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, do it. It is an opportunity of a lifetime. It is like a vitamin for your soul. as fellow Caminoan, Jun Selma would forcefully say, wwC (while we can)! BUEn CaMInO!

C DECEMBER 28-31, 2019 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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MARKETPLACE SHOWROOM Guidance on petition revocations Duterte wrath, water woes mark 2019

Immigration Corner ATTY. MICHAEL GURFINKEL, ESQ

ALMOST 20 years ago, the U.S. State Department (DOS) provided guidance to consular officers that they should be “judicious” (use good judgment or common sense) about returning approved petitions to USCIS for revocation. In other words, they should not be “trigger-happy” in returning approved petitions. DOS warned that Posts “should not use the revocation request process as a means of disposing of problematic cases in which fraud, misrepresentation, or in eligibility for status is only suspected but cannot be clearly established.” Instead, petitions should only be returned to USCIS when the ineligibility has been “clearly established.” The DOS guidance reminds consular officers that USCIS’s approval of a petition is “prima facie evidence of the applicant’s entitlement to visa status, and that consular offices should not attempt to readjudicate petitions.” Unless a consular officer has clearly established evidence of fraud, they should not be second-guessing USCIS’ approval. Consular officers should “seek revocations “sparingly,” to avoid inconveniencing the petitioners and applicants and creating an additional administrative burden

for USCIS.” In “the absence of hard, factual evidence of fraud, misrepresentation or ineligibility for status, consular sections are advised to issue the visa…” I believe this DOS guidance applies not only to petitions, but also to provisional waivers and other immigration applications and benefits. I’ve discussed in my newspaper columns and on my television show, “Citizen Pinoy,” how the Embassy has been charging people with fraud for having overstayed in the U.S., despite the fact that USCIS had already APPROVED the person’s provisional waiver, thereby forgiving or waving that overstay. When the Consular officers charges a person with fraud, it results in that person now having to file another waiver with USCIS, where they effectively demonstrate the same “extreme hardship” on their qualifying relative which they had already done when they filed for their provisional waiver. The USCIS already found extreme hardship and approved the provisional waiver!!! By returning the case to USCIS, consular officers are doing exactly what the DOS guidance advised them against doing: second-guessing USCIS’s previous finding and approval, inconveniencing the petitioner and applicant, and most importantly, creating additional administrative burdens for USCIS by having them readjudicate or re-approve a waiver with the same finding of extreme hardship. I hope consular officers will

take to heart this DOS guidance and not be trigger-happy in finding fraud, based on mere suspicions, and especially in provisional waiver cases based on a person “overstaying.” If you (or your relative) returned to the Philippines on an approved provisional waiver, and were charged with fraud for having overstayed, I would recommend you seek the assistance of an attorney, who can assist you in rectifying the situation. *** 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: 1-866-4873465 (866) – GURFINKEL Four offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES · SAN FRANCISCO · NEW YORK · PHILIPPINES (Advertising Supplement)

Business Quote of the Week “I don’t look at business as a zero-sum game. I don’t. I’ve never seen it play out that way in our industry, and I think you innovate and you add value, deliver value back to customers, and you get value back from the world.”

— Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce

Last March, Metro Manila suffered the worst water crisis in years, leaving families to wait hours to get their daily water supply from tanker t rucks. Philstar.com ﬁle photo

While the water shortage problem eased, concerns still persist as Ayala-led Manila Water Co. MANILA, Philippines — This and Maynilad Water Services year was marked by two ma- Inc. face an uncertain future afjor stories in the water sector: a ter the government moved for a waterless Metro Manila and the review of their contracts, which country’s major utility firms in- Duterte alleged were laden with curring the wrath of President provisions that were disadvantageous to the public. Duterte. Maynilad president and chief Last March, Metro Manila suffered the worst water crisis in executive officer Ramoncito years, leaving families to wait Fernandez said 2019 has been hours to get their daily water challenging for the company and the industry as a whole. supply from tanker trucks.

“It was a very challenging year, but we would rate good performance in terms of how the company has handled the crisis. What happened in March was not even caused by us, that should be very clear,” Fernandez told The STAR. Too little rain, a growing demand, and delays in expanding water infrastructure caused the water supply crunch. The water supply crisis has put a severe dent in Manila Water’s PAGE D2

Fitch Solutions said the revocation of the agreements by the Metropolitan Waterworks and MANILA, Philippines — The Sewerage System (MWSS) exresearch arm of the Fitch Group emplifies high regulatory risk, said investor confidence is ex- which contracts between the pected to take a hit in the short government and the private secterm after the government de- tor are subjected to. Concessions for the provision cided to revoke the extension of concession agreements with of water and waste services for Manila Water Co. and Maynilad Metro Manila were awarded to Manila Water and Maynilad back Water Services.

in 1997.An extension was granted during the 2009-10 period for the two companies to provide their services for an additional 15 years from 2022. However, a lengthy legal dispute between the companies and the government, and years of sub-par services in some cases caused the revocation of the concession agreement with the govPAGE D2

by LOUISE

MAUREEN Philstar.com

SIMEON

Investor confidence takes hit after concession mess

by LAWRENCE

AGCAOILI Philstar.com

D DECEMBER 28-31, 2019 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

DOF sees big push for remaining tax reform packages in 2020 by Ben

O. de vera Inquirer.net

The Philippine Department of Finance (DOF) will make a big push for the passage of the remaining packages of the Duterte administration’s comprehensive tax reform program in 2020, Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said. “The task of bringing forth change is a long and painful one.,” Dominguez told DOF employees recently. “We will have to deal with the vagaries of our politics, the inertia of the bureaucracy, and the resistance of those who would rather have things stay as they are,” Dominguez said. “The reforms we seek to achieve will require resilience, endurance and persistence. I ask you to remain firm in the tasks we have to accomplish, especially next year as we push for the remaining packages of the tax reform program,” Dominguez added. At least three more tax reform packages remain pending in Congress. The DOF had already succeeded in passing the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Act and the ongoing amnesty on delinquency and estate taxes. It was also just awaiting President Rodrigo Duterte’s signa-

ture on a measure ratified by Congress containing package “2 plus” to further hike excise on “sin” products such as cigarettes and alcoholic drinks. The second package, called Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act (Citira), sought to rationalize fiscal perks currently being enjoyed by investors while gradually reducing corporate income tax from 30 percent, the highest in the region, to 20 percent. Time ran out on the Citira measure at the Senate which took a week-long break for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. The DOF had wanted to pass Citira before yearend, but some senators were concerned about business chambers’ warnings over potential job losses if existing locators scale down operations and new investors pull back. Also pending Congress’ approval were tax reform packages concerning capital markets and land valuation. Dominguez had said that the third reform package, dubbed as the Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (Pifita), will “level the playing field and develop our capital markets to attract more investors to take part in our infrastructure program.” He said it would also “simplify the tax system in the financial

sector to also help lower insurance costs, [and] encourage more Filipinos to avail themselves of financial protection from loss of life, property and damages incurred from natural disasters.” Dominguez had said package four on land valuation reform will “help local governments collect the right taxes and clear the way for many right-of-way issues that languish in our courts, sometimes for decades, delaying for too long the efficiency and relief that good infrastructure brings to businesses and commuters.” On a general tax amnesty— which was vetoed by Duterte in Republic Act (RA) No. 11213 or the Tax Amnesty Act of 2019– Dominguez was hopeful that it would include lifting of bank secrecy for tax purposes and automatic exchange of information. Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua had said the third and fourth packages were for passage within Dominguez’s 15-18 month time frame from the start of session of the 18th Congress in July. If Congress could move faster, Chua had said it might as well pass measures aimed at increasing the motor vehicle users’ tax; higher mining taxes; and general tax amnesty with lifting of bank secrecy for tax-fraud cases and automatic exchange of information. n

Investor confidence takes hit after concession...

PAGE D1 t ernment. President Duterte ordered the cancellation of the concession extension agreements and their renegotiation. The research arm said the sudden revocation of the concession agreements derails any long-term plans of the two companies and would create a high degree of financial difficulties, in aspects such as borrowing and attracting new capital, due to revenue uncertainty. The proprietary Project Risk Index (PRI) of Fitch Solutions that measures the risk of carrying out an infrastructure project from a financing, construction and operation angle shows that the Philippines has one of the largest regulatory risks compared to other major markets in the region.

Based on the regulation subcomponent, the Philippines scored 48.2, lower than other emerging Southeast Asian markets such as Vietnam‘s 59.4, Indonesia’s 49.1, and Malaysia’s 70.2. “The risks of retroactive changes in government policy and more pertinently, government intervention in deals which had previously been signed between public and private stakeholders, is comparatively higher in the Philippines, which will undermine investors’ confidence, especially that of foreign companies who are less familiar with the Philippine regulatory and business environment, possibly leading to a higher cost of doing business and deterring inflows of foreign direct investment,” Fitch Solutions said. It said the revocation of water

concessions also highlights deficiencies in the due diligence and contracting processes in the past and present. “We believe other deals signed between the government and the private sector are also at risk of scrutiny. The government had alluded to ‘onerous provisions’ within the existing concession which disadvantaged taxpayers, as a basis for revocation, review and re-negotiation,” Fitch Solutions said. It warned similar agreements signed between the government and private companies may come under the spotlight, as the water concession revocation case paves the way for the review other, possibly disadvantageous agreements, putting long-term financial viability of companies relying on such contracts at risk. n

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Philippine hotel market lags behind neighbors by Catherine

talavera Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine hotel market is still lagging in comparison to its Asian neighbors mainly caused by lower foreign arrivals, a property services firm said. “We still pale in comparison,” Colliers International Research manager Joey Roi Bondoc said when asked on the Philippine hotel sector’s performance in the region. “In the first 10 months of 2019, only 6.8 million foreign tourists threw a glance at the Philippines, way below Indonesia’s 13.6 million, Malaysia’s 20 million, Singapore’s 14.3 million, Thailand’s 33 million, and Vietnam’s 13 million,” Bondoc said. The 6.8 million foreign arrivals is still on track with the Department of Tourism (DOT)’s 8.2 million arrivals target under the National Tourism Development Plan(NTDP) 2016-2022. With the lower foreign arrivals

in the regional market, rates of foreign branded hotels in Manila continue to be lower compared to their counterparts in other Asian economies, according to Bondoc. He said the average rate of selected five-star hotels in Manila was $190 in the first half of 2019 vs $315 in Singapore, $226 in Bangkok, $247 in Shanghai, $689 in Tokyo, and $355 in HongKong. “Colliers attributes this to the relatively lower number of foreign arrivals in the Philippines compared to other Asian economies,” Bondoc said. “This results in the Philippines receiving the least amount of tourism receipts versus other comparable Asian Countries,” he said. Tourism receipts have already reached P379 billion from January to September this year, around 67 percent of the fullyear target of P564 billion. DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat earlier stressed

that more emphasis should be given on tourism receipts over arrival figures. “Of course (arrivals) numbers are very important, but for us, the revenues on how much was earned is more important,” Puyat earlier said. In line with this, Puyat said the DOT is boosting its effort to generate more revenues and is planning a number of initiatives to encourage tourists to spend more, Among these efforts is the launch of the first Philippine Fun Sale in March during which all malls will hold sales for one month. Puyat said that the nationwide sale would attract tourists to the country, as well as encourage more spending from local tourists. Based on data from the DOT in 2017, shopping was the number one activity done by tourists visiting the country, with 51.60 percent of tourists taking part in the sale. n

Duterte wrath, water woes mark...

PAGE D1 t bottom line. Adding to its woes is the P1.13 billion penalty imposed by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for failure to provide 24/7 water supply to its customers. Angat Dam Metro Manila sources 96 percent of its supply from Angat Dam, which has been receding over the last years. In 2019 it hit record lows, after exacerbated by the El Niño episode. The dam started declining in April amid El Niño and eventually reached the critical level in June. This triggered several weeks of interrupted water service connection across Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces. “We responded positively to the reduced allocation of Angat and we have identified mitigating measures to help us address effects of possible continued low water source allocation,” Fernandez said. According to the National Water Resources Board, lesser allocation is needed to preserve the dam’s water elevation and reach the target yearend level of 212 meters. And if even the Philippines experiences typhoons moving forward, projections showed

Angat Dam

Angat would continue to operate below its maximum normal capacity until June 2020 when the next dry season would have culminated. Until 2021, Metro Manila’s water demand is expected to outstrip supply by as much as 13 percent during peak days. It is only in the next three years that projected water supply of 5.89 billion liters a day will begin exceeding demand of 5.24 billion liters a day, but this is highly dependent on the controversial P12.2 billion Kaliwa Dam becoming operational. Kaliwa Dam “If you look back at history, Kaliwa dam has been in the masterplan of government for

Philstar.com file photo

decades, unfortunately, because we have ample rains in the past, the government did not focus on getting another source,” Fernandez said. “But with climate change here and real, the government is realizing that they should have acted faster,” he said. The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System already asked the Department of Interior and Local Government to speed up the issuance of permits for new water sources projects amid the continued supply crunch in the metro. Despite it being a new water source, the China-funded mega dam continues to face resistance PAGE D3

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Ramon Ang lands on Bloomberg 50 list Duterte wrath, water woes mark... RAMON S. ANG, president and chief operating officer of San Miguel Corp. (SMC), has made it to the annual Bloomberg 50, an elite list of top innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders who have changed the global business landscape, as compiled by Bloomberg Businessweek. He is the first Filipino to make it to the unranked list. The Bloomberg 50 represents the most influential thought leaders in business, entertainment, politics, finance, fashion, and science and technology, whose accomplishments were particularly noteworthy and defined 2019. “It’s a great honor, and I’m grateful to Bloomberg for taking note of our work and the developments here in the Philippines,” Ang said. “I hope this helps to showcase the many great and positive things happening in our country. Joining Ang in the list are Warner Media News and Sports Chairman and CNN President Jeff Zucker, television host Jon Stewart, pop star Rihanna, Shopify Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tobias Lutke, Glaxosmithkline CEO Emma Walmsley, Marvel Studios President Kevin Fiege, American gymnast Simone Biles, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Disney International Chairman Kevin Mayer, celebrity and Kylie Cosmetics CEO Kylie Jenner, and climate activist Greta Thunberg, among others. In the last decade, Ang engineered the massive diversification and transformation of the more than-hundred-year-old San Miguel from a beer, food, spirits and packaging company with market-leading positions to a diversified conglomerate with interests in industries crucial to Philippine economic growth: food and beverage, oil and fuels, power, infrastructure, and banking. SMC is one of the Philippines’ largest companies in terms of revenues and profits. In 2018, its revenues breached P1 trillion, equivalent to about 5.9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Reinvesting in the Philippines Much of San Miguel’s earnings are reinvested in the Philippines in the form of growth-generating manufacturing facilities and infrastructure projects aimed at improving people’s lives, decongesting cities and sustaining

Manilatimes.net file photo

economic growth. Currently, SMC’s food and beverage business is implementing the largest capacity expansion program in its 129-year history. It is building additional breweries, new feed mills, flour mills, food processing plants, poultry facilities, and a ready-toeat plant across the country. These new facilities bring direct and indirect jobs and livelihood opportunities, as well as boost local economies. SMC, under Ang, is also managing, operating and constructing some of the country’s biggest infrastructure projects. Its expressways include the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), Skyway 1 and 2, Southern Tagalog Arterial Road, the NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) Expressway, and the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway. It is building Skyway Stage 3, which will connect SLEX and Skyway 1 and 2 to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) from Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City; Skyway Stage 4, from Skyway FTI in Parañaque City to the Batasan Complex in Quezon City and San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan province; and the Skyway Extension from Alabang to SLEX Susana Heights. SMC is also set to build the SLEX TR4 project, which will extend SLEX from Santo Tomas City, Batangas province to Lucena City in Quezon province.

The conglomerate is also building the Metro Rail Transit 7 project, which will stretch from North EDSA through Quezon City to San Jose del Monte. The project includes an intermodal transport terminal and a road component that will connect to the NLEX. Most ambitious project SMC’s biggest and most ambitious upcoming project to date is the New Manila International Airport project in Bulacan’s Bulakan town, just north of Metro Manila, and accessible via an expansive infrastructure network. Worth $15 billion, the project is the company’s single largest investment to date, and the largest in the country. Once constructed, the new air hub will be the Philippines’ largest and most modern. To be built on 2,500 hectares of land, the airport will have four runways that can be upgraded to six, and world-class facilities seen to boost the country’s competitiveness as an investment and tourism destination. Philanthropy, sustainability Ang is also a known philanthropist. Through the San Miguel Foundation, he has channeled billions of pesos toward building housing communities for thousands of families affected by natural calamities and armed conflict. The foundation has also built community hospitals, schools PAGE D5

PAGE D2 t from groups due to the issue of ancestral domain rights of indigenous peoples. in the area. MWSS recently secured its environmental compliance certificate, a requirement needed by any project in the country that poses potential environmental risk or impact. The ECC covers the construction and operation of a gravity dam along Kaliwa River located in the towns of Teresa and Tanay in Rizal province, and General Nakar and Infanta in Quezon. The dam will be 60-meter tall with a riverbed elevation of 100 meters. Its reservoir surface area will cover some 291 hectares at full supply level volume of 57 million cubic meters. MWSS has reoriented its priorities and adopted a raw water security roadmap that will provide potable and sustainable water supply in the next five to 50 years which will translate to at least 1,518 million more liters per day by 2022. Among the projects being fast tracked are the 150 MLD Putatan, 100 MLD Cardona, 188 MLD Sumag, 50 MLD Rizal Wellfield, 80 MLD Calawis Wawa, 100 MLD Putatan 3, and 250 MLD Lower Ipo. All these projects including the Kaliwa Dam are expected to be completed in 2023. Eyed as medium-term water source projects from 2023 to 2027 are the 420 MLD Wawa Dam, 250 MLD East Bay, 350 MLD Bayabas Dam, 550 MLD Angat Norzagaray Phase 2, 250 MLD East Bay, 750 MLD Sierra Madre, and 1,800 MLD Kanan River Phase 1. MWSS also expects too complete by June 2022 Aqueduct 7 and Tunnel 5 which are now on stream to provide another 1,600 MLD to flow towards La Mesa. An off take agreement between Manila Water and Prime Metroline Infrastructure Holdings Inc. has also been approved to pursue the development of a water supply source east of Metro Manila, the Wawa Bulk Water Supply Project. Government vs. water firms Above it all, President Duterte’s tirade against the two concessionaires had caused public alarm. The MWSS cancelled the extension of the concession agreement forged with the two firms, which is seen to result in higher water rates after 2022. “The price of water is related

to the capacity of the company to invest and to improve, that’s what needs to be talked about. Everytime we are challenged, our capacity to invest, to get financial support will also be challenged,” Fernandez said. Duterte’s latest rage stemmed from the decision of an international abritral court which directed the Philippine government to pay the two utility firms over P10 billion for non-implementation of rate hikes. Duterte sought for a review of the concession deals and the removal of onerous provisions. “We have already done our spending plan in the presumption that we can recover what we have spent and that the longer the recovery period is, the lower the tariff that can be passed on to consumers,” Manila Water Board Member and former president and CEO Tony Aquino said. “The government as represented by the Regulatory Office and MWSS are always a party on the setting of rates. It is not unilateral and we are not the only ones computing the tariff,” he added. The MWSS board revoked the resolution granting the 15-year extension of the contracts of the two concessionaires until 2037. This means the contracts will end by 2022, which was the original expiration date. “There has to be a lot of discussion and cooperation moving forward. We have expressed willingness to sit down so we could understand the rationale behind it and make solutions together,” Fernandez said. “For now, we motivate our people to not be distracted by the noise, and just focus on giving good service to our customers. Customers are more demanding, the climate change has been erratic affecting our operations and the regulatory environment has also been unpredictable,” he added. The real deal with privatization Amid all the mess, IBON Foundation, a non-profit research, education and information-development institution, maintained that things would remain unsettled if the government sticks to its water privatization policy. It was in 1997 when former president Fidel Ramos solicited bids for concession agreements with MWSS to address the water crisis in Metro Manila that existed due to the failure of the MWSS to maintain viable opera-

tions owing to technical inefficiencies and financial debts. IBON Foundation executive director Sonny Africa said water rates increased by seven-fold under Maynilad and ten-fold under Manila Water. The United Nations Development Programme believes water costs should not exceed three percent of household income. Yet a study conducted by the Water for People Network found out that poor families in Metro Manila are paying as much as 22 percent of their household income for water. “Under an unchanged framework of privatization, there are reasons to doubt whether government’s renegotiated concession agreements will be able to completely rectify the problems. The basically profit-driven approach is inappropriate and will inevitably result in contracts still unnecessarily skewed towards ensuring private profit even at the expense of social objectives,” Africa said. “Privatization means having public utilities and social services run by the private sector. The private sector is assumed to be inherently more efficient than the public sector and, hence, able to provide the utility or service better. The better services, it is argued, justify the more expensive prices and resulting profits,” he said. IBON Foundation argued that there are around 500 large cities worldwide with a population of over one million, including the big cities in Metro Manila. Despite the wave of water privatization starting in the 1990s, 82 percent of these cities and their populations are actually still served by public providers. “Nationalization is the real alternative to water privatization. It is the best way to ensure that water is provided as a service instead of operated as a business,” Africa said. “The concession agreements should be terminated as the starting point for returning Metro Manila water services to full public ownership, management and control. Government officials and the water firms should also be held accountable for over two decades of water service misdeeds,” he said. Until such time the government decides on what to do with the country’s water services, or if it could actually do something about it, consumers might still have to brace for waterless days. n

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DTI to launch new livelihood program by LoueLLa

DesiDerio

Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines â&#x20AC;&#x201D; The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will begin implementing next year a P350 million livelihood program. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez told reporters the agency has secured approval for the P350 million allocation for the livelihood program. Under the program, he said the DTI would be giving P10,000 to every beneficiary and the amount would be used to start a business. Beneficiaries of the livelihood

program could sell products by setting up sari-sari stores. There will be 35,000 beneficiaries and they will be chosen from the fourth to sixth class municipalities, as well those in calamity stricken areas. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Initially, we will give to those who previously had businesses. Not everyone is ready to go into business,â&#x20AC;? Lopez said. The funds will be disbursed through a card system. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What is important is we are able to control this, there would be data on where we should go, and monitoring,â&#x20AC;? Lopez said. The DTI decided to come up with a livelihood program next

year based on the agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience of holding seminars. Attendees want to immediately start a business, but could not do so because they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have capital. While the DTI is implementing the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pagasenso (P3) lending program, it only extends loans to existing businesses. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This (livelihood program) is to jumpstart business,â&#x20AC;? Lopez said. Once the beneficiaries of the program are ready to expand, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when they can avail of loans under P3. P3 serves as an alternative to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;5-6â&#x20AC;? money lending system. n

Filipinos prefer installment payments to cash transactions

by Lawrence

agcaoiLi Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Filipino borrowers prefer installment payment plans for their transactions with corresponding interest rates instead of cash payments, according to data from the Credit Information Corp. (CIC). CIC president and chief executive officer Jaime Casto Jose Garchitorena said installment transactions remain significant as it accounted for 65.2 percent or 36.83 million of the available 56.48 million contract data in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sole public credit registry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Until now, most transactions captured by other credit bureaus were credit card transactions which may not necessarily reflect

an accurate picture of the broader type of lending that is happening in the Philippines,â&#x20AC;? he said. Garchitorena said credit card transactions cornered 33.3 percent with 18.82 million, followed by non-installment contracts with a share of 1.5 percent or 633,192 transactions. Installment transactions cover everything from microfinance institution (MFI) loans to vehicle and housing loans. Being the Philippinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; foremost repository of credit information, the CIC prides itself with having the largest credit database with the most diverse set of contributors. As of Dec. 16, the CIC database captured 9.02 million unique data subjects and 81,364 companies.

ING sees lower Philippine growth target Budget catch-up plan to help meet 6% GDP

Philstar.com file photo by Lawrence

agcaoiLi Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Dutch financial giant ING Bank said the catch-up plan for government spending continues to work with the goal of meeting the lower end of the revised 6% to 6.5% gross domestic product (GDP) growth target. Nicholas Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank Manila, said government expenditures jumped 22.4% in November, making up for lost time due to the delayed implementation of the 2019 national budget. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So far, spending in the Q4 of 2019 posted 11.7% growth, keeping hopes alive for a strong 4Q GDP finish for the Philippines,â&#x20AC;? he said. Mapa said the budget deficit Philstar.com file photo widened 17% to P60.9 billion as the growth in spending outWhile access to this database paced revenue collections. is not a requirement under the He said the strong expendilaw, the CIC chief underscored ture showing by the government how going beyond compliance adds another case for fourth is a valuable tool for financial in- quarter GDP to zoom to 6.6%, stitutions to become more competitive in the market. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the case of the CIC database, salary loans, housing loans, car loans, and other more typical PAGE D3 t credit type transactions offer CIC and libraries, among others. Its data users a better view of true thrust today is to address hunger credit behaviors versus a pre- and education. It recently comdominantly credit cards-based pleted its first learning and feeddatabase. In the case of the CIC, ing center and food bank in the the ratio is nearly double in favor poorest district of Tondo, Manila, of non-card data,â&#x20AC;? Garchitorena where Ang grew up. Under Ang, SMC has also said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Statistically, if a lender wants pushed for greater sustainability, to get a relevant view of credit initiating a landmark water susand lending in the Philippines, tainability project that calls for a the sampling has to be broader â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 50-percent reduction in the utility not just credit cards,â&#x20AC;&#x153; he said. n and domestic use of water across

helping bring full year growth to the lower end of the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 6% to 6.5% target. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Expect a photo finish to Q4 GDP growth with full year growth likely at six percent for 2019,â&#x20AC;? he said. The countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s GDP growth averaged 5.8 percent in the first three quarters of the year, lower than the target set by economic managers due to soft global markets resulting from the USChina trade war, the delayed implementation of the 2019 national budget, and the tightening cycle by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in 2018. The GDP expansion accelerated to 6.2 percent in the third quarter after slumping to a fouryear low of 5.5 percent in the second quarter from 5.6 percent in the first quarter. Inflation averaged 2.5 percent from January to November, well within the BSPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two to four percent target, despite picking up to a three month high of 1.3 percent in November from a 43month low of 0.8 percent in Oc-

tober. The benign inflation environment allowed the central bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Monetary Board to slash interest rates by 75 basis points, partially unwinding a tightening episode that saw rates rise by 175 basis points. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Consumption activity should remain robust with inflation subdued, all the more powered by the more than eight percent pickup in overseas Filipino remittance flows,â&#x20AC;? Mapa said. BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno has signaled further rate cuts next year for a cumulative reduction of 50 basis points as well as the resumption of the reduction in the reserve requirement ratio for banks to free up liquidity in the financial system. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Two months of decent car sales growth coupled with a resumption in construction activity points to revitalized investment activity as the sector recovers from two straight quarters of negative growth as Diokno dials back the 2018 rate hike cycle,â&#x20AC;? Mapa said. n

Ramon Ang lands on Bloomberg... all its businesses by 2025. In 2017, he announced the discontinuation of San Miguelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plastic bottled water business as part of efforts to reduce the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s solid waste footprint. This year, he announced several major sustainability initiatives: a P1-billion donation to clean up the Tullahan River; building the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first recycled plastics road, and adopting the Philippinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; first fully-certified biodegradable plastics for various

packaging requirements. From an early age, Ang possessed an entrepreneurial spirit. He started in business importing and reconditioning heavy equipment for the local construction industry. He is a mechanical engineering graduate and an avid car aficionado and collector. The Bloomberg 50 2019 list is published in a special issue of Bloomberg Businessweek released on December 6. (ManilaTimes.net). n

60 COUNTRIES. OVER 100 CITIES WORLDWIDE. THATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S INTERNATIONAL.

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