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Volume 27 - No. 28 • 3 Sections - 20 Pages

T H E F I L I P I N O –A M E R I C A N C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R

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Duterte supporters call for Robredo’s removal during ‘Palit Bise’ rally

by DANA

SIOSON AJPress

THOUSANDS of supporters of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gathered on Sunday, April 2 at Manila’s Rizal Park calling for Vice President Leni Robredo to step down from office.

The rally, dubbed as “Palit Bise” (change the vice president), was reportedly led the president’s vocal supporters, including Mocha Uson, singer Jimmy Bondoc, and lawyer Bruce Rivera.

DATELINE

The rallyists, mostly clad in red shirts, slammed Robredo for her remarks against some of Duterte’s policies, particularly her video message sent to the United Nations last month in which she criticized the administration’s anti-illegal drugs campaign. They also called on the president’s critics to stop shaming him.

“To us, palit bise can mean three things. Some are saying palit bise means to impeach, some people say to resign.

Some people say to change VP, meaning magbago kayo VP something like that.

Whatever they choose among the options, we’re all united by one fact that the Vice President has not done [her] job in strengthening the administration,” Bondoc, an official for the Philippine Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Duterte, meanwhile, was tight-lipped when asked about the rally against the vice president.

“Ayaw ko mag-comment diyan, mahirap ‘yan (I do not want to comment, that is difficult),” he told reporters during a

press briefing in Cagayan de Oro City.

The president previously expressed his opposition to any impeachment attempt against Robredo and told her critics to “lay off.”

Robredo’s camp, on the other hand, downplayed the rally.

In a statement, the vice president’s legal counsel lawyer Barry Gutierrez noted that Duterte showed respect for Robredo’s mandate to serve in the country’s second-highest post.

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Marcos not being considered as new DILG chief

USA

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

ICE arrests two undocumented Filipinos in Pacific Northwest

TWO undocumented Filipinos were among the 84 foreign nationals arrested by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in late March for violating immigration laws or posing a public safety threat.

In an effort to crackdown on undocumented immigrants with criminal records, ICE conducted a three-day operation in Oregon, Washington and Alaska from March 25-27.

Of those arrested, 77 were men and 7 women. Sixty had criminal histories “including prior convictions for sex crimes, drug offenses, and domestic violence,” the agency said in a statement.

Nineteen had been previously convicted of driving under the influence.

Individuals targeted were “criminal aliens who pose a public safety threat and individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws, including those who re-entered the country after being deported and immigration fugitives ordered deported by federal immigration judges,” ICE explained.

Bryan Wilcox, acting field office director for

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PH-US relations still ‘robust’ — DFA

THE bilateral relationship between the Philippines and the United States “remains robust and very active,” according to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Acting DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo made the affirmation during a televised forum this week regarding the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

“Our relationship with the U.S. remains very robust and active,” Manalo told reporters on Tuesday, April 4.

Noting that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year, Manalo said that Manila is considering opportunities “to increase the number of discussions” with Washington.

“We are in touch with the United States in various levels. I think the opportunity for us here is to increase the discussion with US officials,” Manalo remarked. “The key is managing tensions while improving relations. Our goal is to make our region prosperous.”

According to him, the ASEAN ministers are also looking forward to have a meeting with

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Vice President Leni Robredo

Sueno dismissed over ‘loss of trust and confidence’

by DANA

SIOSON AJPress

‘PALIT-BISE.’ Thousands of supporters of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte demanded the resignation or impeachment of Vice President Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo during a rally at Rizal Park on Sunday, April 2, for supposedly besmirching the country’s reputation before the international community.

Photo by Russell Palma / ManilaTimes

NDF orders Aquino’s arrest, trial over violent Kidapawan dispersal

by AJPRESS The National Democratic Front (NDF) in Southern Mindanao is calling for the arrest of former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III and other government officials for crimes against humanity reportedly committed during the violent dispersal of protesting farmers in Kidapawan last year.

In a statement issued during

Solon warns Alvarez disbarment may lead to House, Supreme Court clash

by AJPRESS MOVES to disbar Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez over his extramarital affair may lead to a confrontation between the Philippine House of Representatives and the Supreme Court (SC), a lawmaker warned.

According to House Deputy Mi-

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the one-year anniversary of the incident on Saturday, April 1, the NDF claimed that Aquino and other officials perpetrated “war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.”

NDF said the indictment “effectively prescribed the arrest” of Aquino and the other individuals.

Among the officials tagged in

the allegations were North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, Kidapawan City Mayor Joseph Evangelista, North Cotabato Representative Nancy Catamco, several Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) civilian personalities, and other military and police officers.

NDF said that “after due trial by a People’s Court,” the respondents must “be meted out with appropriate penalties”

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FOLLOWING the firing of Ismael Sueno, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he is not planning to appoint former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as the new Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary.

Marcos, who came in second during the vice presidential election last year, would not be able to take the post as Ismael Sueno was fired as DILG it would affect his elec- chief on Monday, April 3 toral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo, according to the president.

“When you are appointed to a position, mawawala, wala eh (the appeal will be invalidated), for intents and purposes,” Duterte told reporters during a chance interview at the Philippine Army Headquarters in Taguig City on Tuesday, April 4, adding that he doesn’t think Marcos will abandon his appeal.

In June of last year, Marcos filed an electoral protest against Robredo before the Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET). He accused the vice president of committing massive poll fraud after she won the seat only by a slim margin.

“I am still scouting for another talent,” Duterte

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Immigration groups, advocates hold workshop as a guide to undocumented Filipinos ‘Know Your Rights’ urged after first Pinoy deported under Trump

by HEATHER

DOMINGO AJPress

FOLLOWING the deportation of Rey Galleon, Filipino-American community organizations like the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) in Los Angeles are urging undocumented Filipinos to know their rights in the event they are approached by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Galleon, an undocumented Filipino who had been living in San Bernardino, California for several years, was

taken by ICE agents after dropping his daughter off at school on Friday, March 17. He reportedly did not have a criminal record.

PWC said Galleon’s case was the first one it received regarding an undocumented Filipino being deported since President Donald Trump took office in January.

According to Galleon, ICE manipulated and coerced him into signing a document, which was actually a ‘voluntary departure form.’ He was able to persuade the officers to allow him

to go back to his home to get clothes, which presented him the opportunity to tell his wife to escape before the officers could reach them as well.

He then paid for a plane ticket himself and returned to the Philippines.

“He was a simple father trying to raise his family in the U.S and not trying to get attention,” said Lolita Lledo, associate director of PWC, whom Galleon contacted through Facebook messenger not long after he arrived in the Philippines. Galleon, who

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From the Front Page

Marcos not being considered as…

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said.

Though the president has yet to name a successor, Marcos — if appointed — would not be able to assume the role until after May, as the Constitution bans the appointment of losing candidates for any Cabinet post one year after the election.

Accusations against Sueno On Monday, April 3, Duterte fired Sueno from the top DILG post due to “loss of trust and confidence,” according to Malacañang.

The president had reportedly received a confidential letter from Interior undersecretaries — John Castriciones, Jesus Hinlo, and Emilie Padilla — detailing corruption allegations hurled against the former secretary.

While Sueno has been instrumental in convincing Duterte to run for the presidency last year, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement that “this did not deter the president from pursuing his drive for

a trustworthy government by addressing issues like corruption.”

The dismissal serves as a warning that Duterte “would not countenance any questionable or legally untenable decisions by any member of the Cabinet,” Abella added.

However, the spokesperson denied that Marcos is being eyed as Sueno’s replacement.

“There has been no comment, no mention and absolutely no reference to him, as far as I’m concerned and as far as the Cabinet is concerned,” he said.

Sueno addresses corruption allegations The sacked secretary maintained that he was not involved in corrupt activities; however, he said he “wholeheartedly accepts the decision of the president.”

“It is his call if he wants me in his Cabinet or not,” Sueno said in a statement. “But for the record, Mr. President, and I can say this with all honesty and sincerity, hindi po ako corrupt (I am not corrupt).”

He is accused of reportedly receiving grease payments from illegal gambling rings through his grandson and purchasing overpriced fire trucks from Austria — information that he hoped would be “validated.”

“If only the president asked DILG personnel from the central down to the regional and field offices, he would have known who amongst us are more credible and trustworthy,” Sueno said.

He admitted that he was approached to protect gambling syndicates in exchange for payola but said he rejected the offer.

“There is a group that insisted that I take the payoffs from illegal gambling. They got in touch with the gambling lords about the payola [and] I rejected their offer,” he said.

Regarding the purchase of the fire trucks, Sueno pointed out that the deal was approved during the previous administration of President Benigno Aquino.

“My role was to abide by the

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HIGH FIVE. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte interacts with one of the members of the Kabataan Imumulat Diwa (KID) Scout following a photo opportunity during the Baden Powell Day of the World Scout Organization of the Scout Movement and Investiture Ceremony of the Boy Scout of the Philippines (BSP) at the Rizal Hall in Malacañan Palace on April 3, 2017.

Robinson Niñal Jr./Presidential Photo

Duterte supporters call for Robredo’s…

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“Malinaw na batay sa huli nilang pagkikita, nakatutok ang Pangulo at Pangalawang Pangulo sa kani-kanilang trabaho. May kapwa paggalang sa mandato ng bawat isa (It was clear that based on their latest meeting, both the president and vice president are focused on their own jobs. They both respect each other’s mandate),” Gutierrez said.

The country’s two top officials last met during the graduating ceremony of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) on March 12 in Baguio City.

“Kung sa kabila nito may iilang supporter ng Pangulo na nagpupumilit pa ring lumihis sa pasya niyang ito, siguro sa kanya sila dapat magpaliwanag (If, despite

this, some of the President’s supporters still insist in contradicting his stance, then maybe they should explain it to him),” Gutierrez added.

Despite the criticism, Robredo said she did not regret decrying the alleged human rights abuses in Duterte’s drug war before the UN. In an earlier interview with radio DZMM on Tuesday, March 28, Robredo also said she was planning to meet with Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno after Holy Week to provide him details about “palit-ulo” or “exchange of head” scheme. Sueno, however, was removed from from his post as the DILG chief on Monday, April 3.

In her video message, Robredo

defined the alleged “exchange of head” as a police scheme in which “the wife, husband or relative in a so-called drug list will be taken if the person himself could not be found.”

While the Philippine National Police (PNP) confirmed the existence of the so-called “palit-ulo” (exchange of head) scheme in the government’s war against illegal drugs, insisted that it was far different from Vice Robredo’s definition.

Police Chief General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa clarified that “exchange of head” refers to a practice wherein arrested drug pushers can reveal their supplier or higher drug lords in exchange of being charged with a lighter offense. n

NDF orders Aquino’s arrest, trial…

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“The People’s Democratic Government found compelling evidence that the ‘gross neglect and apathy and willful acts and/of omissions’ of the named-respondents violated the fundamental rights of the civilians guaranteed in international tenets, covenants and instruments,” the group said.

On April 1, 2016, at least 6,000 farmers in Kidapawan City, Cotabato protested the alleged lack of assistance from the local government amid the worsening El Niño. Two protesting farmers were killed and more than a

dozen others were injured during the incident.

The group also said that the “willful shooting that resulted in multiple violent deaths and serious injuries, the incarceration and the maltreatment of civilians, were all deliberate acts of aggression against defenseless civilians and vulnerable sections of the civilian population long considered under IHL (International Humanitarian Law) as protected persons.”

In response, Malacañang assured that Aquino and the other officials tagged by NDF will be protected.

“Security measures are in place to guarantee the protection of the former president and other personalities mentioned by the announcement of the National Democratic Front,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

Refusing to recognize NDF’s “indictment,” Malacañang maintained that “only the appropriate body can rule on the issue.”

“We only have one government and one justice system in the Philippines,” Abella said. “Only the appropriate body can rule on the issue of the violent dispersal of farmers in Kidapawan.” n

Immigration groups, advocates hold…

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was a member of PWC until he moved from Los Angeles to San Bernardino, told Lledo he was unaware of how ICE found out his exact address.

He was later joined by his wife and their two U.S.-born children a week later.

Galleon’s story serves as an example of what the next four years may bring under the current administration.

However, his story is also a lesson that other Filipinos can learn from. In response to this, a “Know Your Rights” training and workshop — hosted by the Association of Filipino Workers and ICE Out of LA Coalition — was held at PWC on Saturday, April 1.

At the event, Emi MacLean, who is an attorney with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), discussed types of deportations and precautionary measures undocumented residents can take. She emphasized that ICE can raid communities, homes, jails, and workplaces; but cannot raid schools, hospitals, or places of worship.

Vanessa Deleon from the Youth Justice Coalition (YJC) also explained that undocumented workers who may have suggestive tattoos could get them a gang injunction or be placed on a database of suspected gang members, increasing their chances of deportation. Those with misdemeanors can qualify to have their charges expunged through YJC, she added.

Although Trump has said in the past that his primary focus is to deport those with criminal records, speakers on Saturday argued that Galleon’s story proves otherwise and that the basis for deportation has become broader.

“The Trump era brought a faster deportation process, a more regular use of immigration jails, and more raids in homes and work, and encouraged a better collaboration between the police department and ICE,” said MacLean.

She also explained that even those with a green card are not entirely exempt so it is important to attend a legal clinics or workshops to be well-informed

of one’s rights “I am not saying this to scare you. I am saying this because it shows we need to support one another, educate ourselves on our rights, and fight back,” she emphasized.

Lledo also spoke out about Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s stance that he would not ‘lift a single finger’ to help the undocumented Filipinos in the U.S. “And we want to remind you, President Duterte, that most of these undocumented are your supporters. They send you money during the election. [They] are still Filipino citizens,” Lledo said, adding, “You cannot ignore them. Even if they are far away, suffering, they have been helping [their] country. Why would [Duterte] not open the Philippines consulate to help us to provide legal service? They could organize immigration Filipino lawyers and send a lawyer to someone like [Rey].”

She went on to say that instead of “trying to cower in fear every time you read the news about an arrest,” undocumented Filipinos should attend legal clinics or seek advice from a lawyer about their cases.

Although she is single and has never had children, Alice (last name withheld), 52, said she still has so much family to help. Alice graduated from the University

of Santo Tomas with a degree in pharmacy, but is working in the U.S. as a caregiver.

“I am here to provide for my nieces and nephew. I am the one sending them to school. My niece and nephew are graduating college this March,” she said.

She added that undocumented individuals need support groups because “in times like this PWC, gives information of what to do and what not to do during this hard time. And if in case, whatever happens, PWC has a support system that can help the person.

It’s not guaranteed, of course, that a person will always get what they want but at least the person knows there is someone that will help throughout any case.”

For other participants, the workshop proved beneficial as it equipped them with the proper resources in case they encounter immigration officials.

“The workshop helped me because if ICE knocked on my door, I now know what to do. I love America and I don’t want to go home. I have been here 13 years.

My parents and brothers and sisters are all U.S. citizens but I was petitioned as married so it will take longer. I have to send three boys to school,” Ford (last name withheld), 56, said.

Another story that came to light was Rose (last name withheld), 62, who has been working

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ICE arrests two undocumented Filipinos…

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ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Seattle, said the three-day sweep highlights ICE’s “commitment to promoting public safety through the pursuit of targeted criminals residing in the U.S. illegally.”

“Our officers will continue in their efforts to create safer communities by identifying and removing those not willing to comply with U.S. laws,” Wilcox added.

Some of the individuals arrested during the enforcement action will be presented for federal prosecution for re-entry after deportation, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison,

ICE said.

However, those “not being criminal prosecuted will be processed for removal from the country,” while those who have outstanding orders of deportation or those who returned to the U.S. illegally after being previously deported are “subject to immediate removal from the country.”

The identities of the two Filipinos and their convictions have not been released, as of press time. These arrests come after Rey Galleon, an undocumented Filipino living in Southern California, was deported following an encounter with ICE agents earlier in March.

Galleon, who reportedly did not have a criminal record, is considered to be the first Filipino deported under the Trump administration.

In addition to the two Filipinos, nationals from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, United Kingdom, Cambodia, Brazil, Laos, Western Samoa, Myanmar, and Russia were also arrested in the Pacific Northwest.

ICE said it carries out targeted enforcement operations daily across the country.

“Those persons will be evaluated on a case by case basis and, when appropriate, arrested by ICE,” the agency added. (Christina M. Oriel / AJPress)

PH-US relations still ‘robust’…

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think we also have to give them U.S. Secretary of State Rex Til- some time but in the meantime we are, as much as possible trylerson.

“ASEAN Ministers are hoping ing to maintain contacts.”

With the Philippines as its chair, to have a meeting with Secretary Tillerson. It’s only a matter of the upcoming 30th ASEAN sumscheduling problems,” Manalo mit will be held from April 26 to 29 at the Cultural Center of the Philipsaid.

He went on to say, “I think the pines Complex in Pasay City.

Manalo said that the PhilipState Department is still in the process of reorganizing and I pine government is “trying to

maintain contact with the view of enhancing our bilateral cooperation with the United States” and also “at the regional level in the ASEAN context.”

“The U.S. should continue to be positively engaged in the (Southeast Asian) region,” Manalo added. “We hope U.S. would promote greater security cooperation.” (AJPress)

Solon warns Alvarez disbarment may lead to…

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nority Leader and Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque, while the SC has disbarred lawyers in the past due to immoral conduct, disbarring Alvarez may result in a conflict between the two branches of the government.

“It is my opinion that Speaker Alvarez should not be disbarred as this may lead the SC to a confrontation with a co-equal branch of government, which in turn may result in the possible impeachment of some of the justices,” Roque said in a statement on Sunday, April 2.

Roque argued that “immoral or not,” the Office of the Speaker “still commands numbers for impeachment.”

The possible disbarment case against Alvarez surfaces following his admission last week that he has a girlfriend despite being a married man.

Alvarez admitted during a phone interview on Thursday, March 30 that he is in a relationship with Jennifer Maliwanag Vicencio, amid reports that the graft case he filed against Davao del Norte 2nd District Representative Antonio Floirendo Jr. stemmed from an altercation be-

sure of his right to due process but these shall be the same standards against which his actions shall be measured.”

IBP reminded Alvarez to embody the “highest standards of morality, behavior and professionalism” as expected of lawyers.

Alvarez also drew flak for supposedly criticizing Senator Leila De Lima for having an affair with her driver, Ronnie Dayan.

In defense, Roque said “everyone knew in Congress” about Alvarez’s affair.

“I think that the difference is there is no concealment (of his relationship with Vicencio). Everyone knew in Congress. I knew from Day 1 that they (Alvarez and wife, Emelina) were estranged. I knew at some point that he had an affair with this woman. I’ve Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez seen her in functions so there was no attempt to conceal,” tween their respective lovers.

Alvarez also confirmed that he Roque explained.

Alvarez earlier clarified that it is no longer talking to his second was De Lima’s involvement in ilwife, Emelita Alvarez.

In a statement, the Integrat- legal drugs that he criticized, not ed Bar of the Philippines (IBP) her relationship.

Shrugging off threats of posthat “in the event that someone should file a complaint against sible disbarment case against Congressman Alvarez, he will, of him, Alvarez told his critics: “Go course, be granted the full mea- ahead, no problem with me.” n

LISTEN TO YOUR OWN PEOPLE. Progressive organization Bagong Alyansang Makabayan criticized President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday for hoisting several preconditions before peace talks between the government and communist rebels could resume, saying that these conditions were the very issues being negotiated and addressed in the talks. In a statement, Bayan said that demanding that these preconditions be met was “putting the cart before the horse.”

Bayan photo

Where there’s willingness, there’s a way for Congress and Trump to fix health law

by Julie

RovneR California Healthline

NOW that the GOP effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act is on hold, is there a way to make it work better?

Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on much when it comes to the controversial federal health law, but some party leaders from each side of the aisle agree it needs repairs.

“No one ever said the Affordable Care Act was perfect,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the Senate floor March 27. “We have ideas to improve it. Hopefully our colleagues on the Republican side do as well.”

A day later, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said, “We all want a system in health care where everybody can have access to affordable coverage, where we have more choice and competition.”

And several GOP senators have moved away from the party’s long-held call for a total repeal and are offering bills that would amend the measure.

Health policy analysts say that some of the health law’s marketplace problems could be improved with a bipartisan spirit.

Here are some of the possibilities: Stabilize The Insurance Market Insurance companies have only a matter of weeks before they must tell the federal government and/or individual states whether they plan to offer coverage in 2018 on the health law’s online marketplaces, which serve customers who don’t get job-based or government insurance.

As of now, many companies say the uncertainty of what the market will look like — or the rules under which they will operate — is making that decision difficult. At least one insurer, Humana, has already said it would not offer coverage.

Two key moves that insurers are looking for from the administration are a promise to continue providing certain subsidies for those with lower incomes and enforcing the requirement for most people to either have insurance or pay a tax penalty.

The subsidies — known as “cost-sharing reductions” — are different than the tax-credit subsidies that many marketplace customers get to help pay their premiums. The cost-sharing subsidies help those with incomes between the poverty line ($20,420 for a family of three) and nearly 2½ times that ($50,400 for that same family) pay their deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. The House of Representatives sued the Obama administration in 2014 for providing the subsidies without a formal congressional appropriation for the money, and a federal judge sided with the lawmakers.

The Obama administration appealed the decision, but if the Trump administration were to drop that appeal, the subsidies would disappear. At a House hearing March 29, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price would not say what the administration plans to do about the lawsuit or the subsidies.

“I’m a party to that lawsuit and I’m not able to comment,” he said. But Ryan, who is also a party to the suit, said March 30 that he believes the administration should continue paying the subsidies until the lawsuit is resolved.

The administration has been similarly quiet about how strictly it will enforce the “individual mandate” that requires most people to have health insurance or pay a fine. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to “minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens” of the health law. But other than the IRS backtracking on a plan to enforce the

mandate more strongly, little has happened on that front.

Yet those two provisions together — the cost-sharing subsidies and the individual mandate — could result in 25 to 30 percent increases in premiums if they were to disappear, said Andy Slavitt, who oversaw the health law for the final years of the Obama administration. Assuring that the subsidies will remain and the mandate will be enforced “would send a strong signal to (insurance companies) that they should continue to participate in the market,” he added.

Some GOP health policy analysts — including economist Gail Wilensky, who previously ran the Medicare and Medicaid programs — have proposed replacing the individual mandate with penalties for signing up for insurance late, which is what Medicare does. Republicans did that in their proposed replacement bill, by adding a 30 percent premium surcharge to those with a break in coverage longer than two months. But insurance actuaries and the Congressional Budget Office said that might eventually prompt fewer people to enroll because it would encourage healthy people to remain uncovered.

Entice People To Enroll Getting young and healthy people to sign up for coverage is not just a benefit for them. If there are not enough healthy people in the insurance pool, then premiums rise for everyone, because risk is being spread across a mostly sicker population. And someday even the healthy people will need medical care.

But it takes more than just the requirement for coverage to get people to enroll. Slavitt said it requires a real effort by both federal and state officials to reach people and help them understand that having health insurance is a good thing, even if they are healthy.

“What they should be doing is increasing marketing and the outreach budget,” he said. “You’re trying to reach people who are uninsured and are unsure how it all works, and it does take a lot of hand-holding.”

So far, however, the administration’s only move on that front was to cancel ads encouraging people to sign up at the end of the enrollment period that overlapped with Trump’s first days in office. The HHS Inspector General is now investigating the results of this action. Some analysts have estimated canceling the last-minute push lowered enrollment in the exchanges by as much as a half-million people.

Help Offset Insurer Losses Democratic lawmakers who wrote the Affordable Care Act knew that the market might be hard for insurers to navigate for the first few years, and they built in several programs to help reimburse those who lost money.

Republicans, however, blocked funding for one of the major programs, which was intended to reimburse insurance plans that enrolled sicker-than-average populations for the first three years of the marketplace operations. Republicans called the money “insurer bailouts.” The loss of that money was a major reason for the collapse of many of the nonprofit insurance co-ops created under the law and some other insurance companies said it contributed to their decisions to leave the marketplaces.

Now, however, there are indications that Republicans might support some efforts to provide more funding for insurers.

On March 13, Price sent a letter to governors encouraging them to apply for waivers of the ACA rules in order to make insurance more affordable and available in their states. Among the state innovations singled out in the letter is a “reinsurance” program in Alaska that helps insurers pay for extremely high-cost patients. That plan, said Price,

“significantly” offset what was a projected 40 percent premium increase in the state, and might be an option elsewhere under the waivers, which could allow states to get federal funding for such a program.

And the GOP health bill, the American Health Care Act, included $100 billion for a “Patient and State Stability Fund” that states with limited insurer competition could use to lower costs and help encourage insurers to stay in the market.

“They have a potential fix staring them in the face,” said Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation of the GOP proposal for a stability fund. “It was a clever mechanism because the states could use it for any of a variety of purposes.” (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent project of the Foundation.)

Assist Patients With High OutOf-Pocket Costs Democrats and Republicans agree that people who buy their own insurance are paying too much out-of-pocket, in premiums as well as deductibles and cost sharing.

Democrats mostly want to increase federal subsidies to help with affordability — something Republicans are not likely to embrace.

But there are other ways to lower consumer spending.

For example, Sabrina Corlette of Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms calls for “smarter, not skimpier benefit design.” One way to do that is to set federal rules to push insurers that offer coverage with high deductibles to add more benefits that would be available without paying thousands of dollars first, like a few trips to the doctor or urgent care center or a few prescriptions. She writes that could keep people from dropping coverage because they feel they are not getting any value for their premiums. And if those mostly healthy people feel they are getting benefits they might use, they are more likely to continue to purchase coverage, thus reducing premiums for everyone.

Another potential way to lower insurance costs is to lower health care costs. Even if there are multiple competing insurers in an area, if there’s one dominant hospital system, it can pretty much charge whatever it wants.

“There’s no other price in the U.S. economy that’s growing as fast as a hospital price,” said Bob Kocher, a former Obama administration health official now at the venture capital firm Venrock. And in areas with not much hospital competition, “prices are 30 to 50 percent higher for everything.”

But how to get hospital prices down is almost as hard as regulating insurance. Kocher said one way would be for federal regulators to be more discriminating about approving hospital mergers, which tend to give hospitals more negotiating power over insurers.

More controversial would be to require hospitals that dominate their markets “to just accept Medicare prices” from marketplace insurers, Kocher suggested. While that would tend to bring prices down, it’s not likely to fly with free-market Republicans.

This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.

Marcos not…

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provision of the contract which says that I should ensure that the fire trucks to be delivered are in good condition so my team and I had to go to Austria to inspect them,” Sueno explained. “If we did not do that, we cannot anymore complain if they delivered defective firetrucks to us.” n

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Dateline PhiliPPines

Japan donates P826-M for Philippine drug rehabilitation

by Sheila

cRiSoStomo Philstar.com

WOUNDED. Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. (right), Western Mindanao Command chief, visits wounded troops at Camp Navarro General Hospital in Zamboanga City on Monday, April 3. At least three dozen soldiers were wounded after fierce clashes with Abu Sayyaf rebels in Sulu.

The reports said the weekend fighting broke out in the remote village of Upper Laus in Talipao town where troops clashed with about 150 rebels under Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan.

PNA photo

Corruption in PH courts a trade barrier – US regulators to stray beyond matters of legal interpretation into policymaking, as well as about MANILA, Philippines — The the lack of transparency in judiprevalence of corruption in the cial and regulatory processes,” Philippines – including in the the USTR said in its 2017 Najudiciary – has remained a sig- tional Trade Estimate Report on nificant barrier to trade with the Foreign Trade Barriers.

United States, a report by the Of“Concerns also have been fice of the US Trade Representa- raised about courts being intive (USTR) shows. fluenced by bribery and their “Corruption is a pervasive improperly issuing temporary and longstanding problem in restraining orders to impede lethe Philippines. Both foreign gitimate commerce. The United and domestic investors have ex- States will continue to urge the pressed concern about the pro- Philippines to address these ispensity of Philippine courts and sues,” the agency said.

by Richmond

S. meRcuRio

Philstar.com

The USTR said reports of corruption and irregularities in customs processing likewise persist, including in the valuation process. The report also cited customs officials seeking payment of unrecorded facilitation fees.

“In particular, despite a firm commitment to the United States from the Bureau of Customs to use transaction values to assess duties on imports, as provided for in the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement, importers have reported that the Bureau of Customs continues to use reference

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Immigration groups, advocates hold…

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as a caregiver. In August 2015, she was assigned to a woman in her 90s, who was diagnosed with dementia. The patient lived on a large estate by herself and was being cared for by undocumented caregivers because of her mental condition.

One night, the patient claimed Rose stole her money and was sent by her daughters to kill her. The elderly woman chased Rose around the property with a knife.

“The knife was near my right shoulder so I called 911. A lot of tears falling down,” she recounted. “I screamed and yelled out-

side hoping someone would hear me. The neighbors just opened the lights, but no help.”

Eventually, the police came to take the patient to a mental institution and Rose stayed with a friend that night. When asked if she plans to stay here, she said, “If God allows me, I will have a U Visa.”

A U Visa is for individuals who have been victims of certain crimes who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse and are willing to assist law enforcement and government officials in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity.

The psychological trauma that Rose endured has made a lasting impact until today.

Even though she would prefer to go back to the Philippines, she said has many family members she still needs to help. Out of 11 children, she is the youngest daughter and is the only one in her family who has a college degree.

To the undocumented workers, Lledo said, “You belong to this country. Who will take care of your kids? We need to support each other especially in this crisis where [people] are singled out by a racist government.” n

MANILA, Philippines — The Japanese government on Tuesday, April 4 donated some 1.85 billion yen (P826 million) to the Department of Health (DOH) for the upgrading of rehabilitation centers and enhancement of treatment protocols for drug dependents.

An agreement signed by Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) chief representative Susumo Ito formalized collaboration of the two countries to build a drug-free society under the Consolidated Rehabilitation on Illegal Drug Users (CARE) program.

Susumo said JICA recognizes the role of international cooperation in spreading a common message to all to be more vigilant in the campaign and effort to curb illegal drug use.

“We stand together with DOH in enhancing rehabilitation and treatment protocols. And with these interventions, we hope that the program can contribute in reducing relapse risk and eventually integrate them back into the communities,” he added.

JICA said the program is aligned with the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

“As a long standing friend and development partner of the Philippines, JICA supports DOH towards working for a common vision of a drug-free society,” said Ito. “Through this development cooperation, we aim to help provide rehabilitation support for drug dependents.”

There are currently 44 DOHaccredited treatment and rehabilitation centers for drug dependents in the country.

JICA is Japan’s comprehensive development institution that handles technical cooperation, ODA loans, investment and grant aid, as well as cooperation

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A

PAUNAWA NG PAMPUBLIKONG PAGDINIG Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Awtoridad sa Transportasyon ng Kalunsuran ng County ng Los Angeles) Ang Independiyenteng Komite sa Pagpapayo at Pagbabantay ng mga Mamamayan (Independent Advisory and Oversight Committee, ICAOC) ay magsasagawa ng isang pampublikong pagdinig sa ika-26 ng Mayo, 2017 sa 9:00 a.m. sa Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Boardroom na matatagpuan sa One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles.

Ang ICAOC ay itinalaga sa ilalim ng Batas ng 1998 sa Reporma at Pananagutan ng Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), inaprobahan ng mga botante noong Nobyembre 1998. Ang pagdinig ay ginaganap bilang pagsunod sa pederal na mga iniaatas sa pampublikong pagdinig na nakabalangkas sa Seksiyon 9 (e) (3) (H) ng Batas ng 1983 sa Transportasyong Pang-ibabaw, gaya ng sinusugan at mga patnubay sa pampublikong pagdinig na pinagtibay ng Lupon ng mga Direktor ng LACMTA noong 1993, gaya ng sinusuggan.

Ang layunin ng pagdinig na ito ay upang tumanggap ng mga komento ng publiko tungkol sa resulta ng independiyenteng pagsusuri na isinagawa sa pananagutan ng LACMTA sa mga kita at paggasta sa buwis sa pagbebenta sa ilalim ng mga ordinansang Proposisyon A at Proposisyon C mula ika-1 ng Hulyo, 2015 - hanggang ika-30 ng Hunyo, 2016.

NAKARAAN Ang Proposisyon A at Proposisyon C ay mga ordinansang inaprobahan ng botante na nagtatadhana ng kalahating porsiyentong buwis sa pagbebenta sa County ng Los Angeles, ang mga nalikom nito ay gagamitin para sa layuning pantransportasyon gaya ng tinukoy sa dalawang ordinansa.

Inaprobahan ng mga botante ng County ng Los Angeles ang Batas ng 1998 sa Reporma at Pananagutan (ang Batas) ng Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) noong Nobyembre ng 1998. Ang layunin ng Batas ay upang magtadhana ng pananagutan sa paggasta ng kita sa buwis sa pagbabenta ng Proposisyon A at Poposisyon C sa pamamagitan ng mga tauhang independiyenteng pagsusui ng mga paggasta ng buwis sa pagbebenta para sa transportasyon, ang paglikha ng isang Independiyenteng Komite sa Pagpapayo at Pagbabantay ng Mamamayan, at mga pampublikong pagdinig tungkol sa mga ulat ng independiyenteng pagsusuri. Ang Batas ay nag-aatas ng isang taunang independiyenteng pagsusuri ng mga Kita at Paggasta ng mga buwis sa Pagbebenta ng mga Proposisyon A at C. Ang Independiyenteng Komite sa Pagpapapayo at Pagbabantay ng mga Mamamayan alinsunod sa Batas ay nagkakaloob ng buod na ito ng independiyenteng pagsusuri para sa taon ng pananalapi na natapos noong ika-30 ng Hunyo, 2016.

ULAT NG INDEPENDDIYENTENG TAGASURI Ang Ulat ng Independiyenteng Tagasuri ay nagkakaloob ng mga iskedyul ng mga kita at paggasta para sa mga Proposisyon A at C para sa taon ng pananalapi na natapos noong ika-30 ng Hunyo, 2016, nagpapakita ng mga halaga ng mga kita ng buwis sa pagbebenta sa transportasyon na natanggap at ginasta ng LACMTA. Ang mga iskedyul na ito ng mga Proposisyon A at C ay inihanda ng LACMTA at sinuri ng independiyenteng kompanya ng pagsusuri na BCA Watson Rice, LLP (BCA). Ang BCA ay nagsagawa ng pagsusuri ng mga iskedyul ng pananalapi ng mga Proposisyon A at C alinsunod sa pangkaraniwang tinatanggap na mga pamantayan sa pagsusuri sa Estados Unidos ng Amerika.

Batay sa mga resulta ng pagsusuri, ang Ulat ng Independiyenteng Tagasuri ay nagkakaloob ng: • opinyon ng independiyenteng tagasuri tungkol sa kung ang mga iskedyul ng Proposisyon A at C ay nagpapakita nang makatarungan, sa lahat ng mahahalagang bagay, ng mga kita at paggasta ng mga kita sa buwis ng buwis sa pagbebenta ng Proposisyon A at C; • mga nagpapaliwanag na tala sa mga iskedyul ng mga kita at paggasta; • ulat ng independiyenteng tagasuri tungkol sa pagsunod at panloob na kontrol sa paguuulat na pananalapi ng Proposisyon A at C; Opinyon ng Tagasuri Tungkol sa Paghaharap ng Iskedyul ng Pananalapi Ang Ulat ng Independiyenteng Tagasuri ay nagkakaloob ng opinyon para sa taon ng pananalapi na natapos noong ika-30 ng Hunyo, 2016, ang mga iskedyul ng mga kita at paggasta para sa Proposisyon A at C na nagpapakita nang makatarungan, sa lahat ng mahahalagang bagay, ng mga kita at paggasta ng kita sa buwis sa pagbebenta ng Proposisyon A at C. Iskedyul ng mga Kita at Paggasta ng LACMTA sa Proposisyon A at C (Ang mga halaga ay ipinahayag sa mga libo) Mga Paggasta Mga Kita $ 763,636 $ 317,241 603,843 806,713 $1,570,349 $ 921,084 Mga Nagpapaliwanag na Tala sa Iskedyul ng mga Kita at Paggasta Proposisyon A Proposisyon C

Ang mga nagpapaliwanag na tala ay nagkakaloob ng impormasyon sa nakaraan tungkol sa LACMTA, mga Proposisyon A at C, at mga patakaran sa pagtutuos ng LACMTA. Ulat ng Tagasuri Tungkol sa Pagsunod sa mga Tadhana ng Proposisyon A at C Ang ulat tungkol sa pagsunod ay nagsasaad na ang independiyenteng pagsusuri ay nagsama ng mga pagsubok sa pagsunod na may mga partikular na tadhana ng mga batas at regulasyon, hindi pagsunod na maaaring magkaroon ng tuwiran at mahalagang epekto sa pagpapasiya ng mga halaga at kita at paggasta sa loob ng mga Iskedyul. Ang mga resulta ng mga pagsunod ay hindi nagsiwalat ng mga pagkakataon ng hindi pagsunod na iniaatas na iulat sa ilalim ng Mga Pamantayan sa Pagsusuri ng Pamahalaan.

Ulat ng Tagasuri Tungkol sa mga Panloob na Kontrol sa Pag-uulat ng Pananalapi Ang ulat tungkol sa mga panloob na kontrol sa pag-uulat ng pananalapi ay nagsasaad na bilang bahagi ng pagsusuri, isinaalang-alang ng BCA ang panloob na kontrol ng LACMTA sa pag-uulat ng pananalapi upang malaman ang mga pamamaraan sa pagsusuri na angkop sa mga kalagayan para sa layuning ipahayag ang kanilang opinyon tungkol sa pagiging mabisa ng panloob na kontrol ng LACMTA. Ang BCA ay walang itinalagang mga bagay na may kaugnayan sa panloob na kontrol sa pag-uulat ng pananalapi at sa pagpapatakbo nito na itinuturing ng BCA na mahahalagang kahinaan.

Ang mga nakasulat na komento tungkol sa bagay na ito ay tatanggapin hanggang ika-19 ng Abril, 2017. Lahat ng mga komento ay dapat ipadala sa Board Administration, LACMTA, One Gateway Plaza, Mail Stop 99-3-39, Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952. Ang mga Kopya ng Ulat ng mga Independiyenteng Tagasuri tungkol sa mga Iskedyul ng mga Kita at Paggasta para sa Kita sa buwis sa Pagbebenta ng Proposisyon A at Kita sa Pagbebenta ng Proposisyon C ay makukula mula sa Records Management Center sa LACMTA Plaza Level sa (213) 922-2342.

CNS-2991543#

A APRIL 5-7, 2017 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL

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OpiniOn

Features

Airport woes

FOR a country that has been branded with the “worst airport in the world” tag in 2011 and 2013, the last thing it needs is another reason to inconvenience its travelers.

Last year, a survey released by “The Guide to Sleeping in Airports” ranked the Philippines’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in fifth place. Complaints included the prevalence of the tanim bala (bullet planting) scheme that victimized NAIA passengers, frequent power outages, poor air-conditioning, lack of seats and complicated terminal transfers.

NAIA was not included in the world’s list of worst airports in 2014 and 2015 after major renovations were implemented at the country’s main international gateway.

“Some travelers noted improvements in the airport structure and facilities such as cleaner bathrooms, more chairs and some general organization of taxis in front of the terminal,” the travel website noted.

Travelers rate their airport experience on factors such as comfort (rest zones and gate seating), facilities and things to do, food options, immigration or security, customer service and cleanliness.

On Tuesday, April 4, cutout photos of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno were seen in place of immigration officers at the counters of NAIA. Many immigration windows were vacant as a result of the looming crisis as more Bureau of Immigration officers (IOs) assigned at NAIA terminals

have already left their posts—while more are expected to quit—after a recent order was issued to stop the overtime pay of IOs at the airports.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II reported that 32 IOs had left since January.

Fifty more IOs had informed the bureau that they would go on leave for six months in preparation for their resignations and to look for new jobs. At least 17 to 18 IOs are absent almost daily at the four NAIA terminals.

“Many of them have stopped going to work or have gone on leave because their overtime will not be paid anyway,” Aguirre said. “The economy will be affected by this. Hopefully, we could find a temporary remedy to this situation.”

Aguirre is referring for a compromise to President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to bar the bureau from using the funds collected from airport express lanes for overtime pay. Express lane funds are generated charges are additional costs being paid by a foreigner who wants to fast track processing of permits and documents.

Duterte vetoed the use of express lane charges collected by the BI for payment of salaries of casual and contractual personnel, confidential agents and job order employees, augmentation of salaries and the health insurance premium of personnel

Editorial

ManilaTimes.net photo

who render services beyond office hours. Records showed that immigration personnel were paid P784 million in overtime pay last year, which was five times bigger than their basic salaries.

Under R.A. 10924, the said funds collected from use of express lanes will now go to the national treasury and will be allocated to other government agencies.

If this problem continues, expect to see longer lines of domestic and foreign travelers at the country’s international gateways. Until a solution becomes available, this will have significant effects on the economy and security, and will be a great concern for travelers who will now think twice before making the Philippines their next destination.

(AJPress)

Trump smoke and fire: Spies, lies, and the Russian ties

“SOME people in the Trump campaign may end up in jail,” revealed Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro in a CNN interview on Tuesday, April 4.

The congressman’s declaration comes after more classified information was presented to the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into the allegations that the Trump campaign and Russia conspired to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

With probes also being performed by the Department of Justice, FBI, the National Security Agency and the Senate Intelligence Committee to get to the bottom of the assault of Russia on U.S. democracy, new deep connections between members of the Trump campaign and transition team and Russian officials have been coming to light.

The Trump camp had initially denied the numerous secret meetings that various members had with Russian officials here in the United States, in Russia and other parts of the world. Some even lied under oath and recently, evidence has revealed that those meetings actually occurred.

These Trump associates included, among others: National Security adviser Michael Flynn who lied about meeting with Russian officials and failed to disclose payments from Russian companies; Attorney General Jeff Sessions who lied under oath that he met with the Russian ambassador to the United States twice; Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort was found to have worked to help Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government push its interests around the world; Former campaign associate Carter Page was targeted for recruitment by Russian spies; Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared

Kushner met with the Russian ambassador during transition and met with a Russian bank The Fil-Am chairman with ties to Putin; Perspective Major campaign donor, Erik Prince — founder of government service and security company Blackwater and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos gel SantoS-ReloS — reportedly had a secret meeting arranged by the United Arab Emirates at the Seychelles islands, just nine days before Trump’s inauguration. U.S., European and Arab officials revealed that the meeting was with a Russian close to Putin as part of an apparent effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and President-elect Donald Trump.

The questions that need to be answered: Why did the Trump campaign have to make these meetings “secret”? Why did they have to lie about these, with Sessions even being not forthcoming under oath? Was there coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia in hacking and leaking damaging information about the Democratic National Committee and nominee Hillary Clinton to help Trump win? Were there talks between the Trump campaign and Russia about easing sanctions imposed by President Barack Obama against Russia for interference in the 2016 election? What did Trump know? When did he know them? What did he do when he knew about any of the talks?

On March 4, as the Russian probe went deeper, Trump shocked the world with his early morning tweets accusing Obama of wiretapping him without offering any evidence to support his allegations. This accusation was debunked by the U.S. intelligence community to be unfounded.

And then Trump dropped another smoke screen: that British spies did it for Obama. This was an allegation that was vehemently denied by America’s closest ally and the U.S. intelligence community.

And then this past week, another smoke screen — allegations that Obama’s former National Security Adviser Susan Rice illegally unmasked names of Trump’s associates in surveillance against him and leaked information for political expediency.

This accusation against Rice was debunked by members of the intelligence community who said that as an adviser, she was just doing her job in requesting to unmask (get to know) the identities of individuals who arose to be in communication with foreign entities believed to be a threat to U.S. national security.

Unmasking was legal and was necessary to know the context of the communications between the U.S. person and the foreign entity. Rice never leaked the information to anybody, disproving accusations she and the Obama administration had used it for political reasons.

The Bloomberg story by Eli Lake that broke the news implicating name of Susan Rice in this development concluded: “Rice’s requests to unmask the names of Trump transition officials do not vindicate Trump’s own tweets from March 4 in which he accused Obama of illegally tapping Trump Tower. There remains no evidence to support that claim.

But Rice’s multiple requests to learn the identities of Trump officials discussed in intelligence reports during the transition period does highlight

a longstanding concern for civil liberties advocates about U.S. surveillance programs. The standard for senior officials to learn the names of U.S. persons incidentally collected is that it must have some foreign intelligence value, a standard that can apply to almost anything. This suggests Rice’s unmasking requests were likely within the law.

The news about Rice also sheds light on the strange behavior of Nunes [Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, also part of Trump’s transition team] in the last two weeks. It emerged last week that he traveled to the White House last month, the night before he made an explosive allegation about Trump transition officials caught up in incidental surveillance. At the time he said he needed to go to the White House because the reports were only on a database for the executive branch. It now appears that he needed to view computer systems within the National Security Council that would include the logs of Rice’s requests to unmask U.S. persons.

The ranking Democrat on the committee Nunes chairs, Representative Adam Schiff, viewed these reports on Friday. In comments to the press over the weekend he declined to discuss the contents of these reports, but also said it was highly unusual for the reports to be shown only to Nunes and not himself and other members of the committee.

Indeed, much about this is highly unusual: if not how the surveillance was collected, then certainly how and why it was disseminated.” *** Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel. Santos.Relos

‘Duterte raking in cash for the Philippines’

The article in full: NOT all American Since his electoral media coverage is fix- Commentary triumph last summer, ated on EJKs, or on the man famous for President Duterte’s cursing foreign leadbloody war against ers and calling for illegal drugs. The mass killing seems to Washington Post— be raking in the cash yes, the newspaper for the Philippines. that brought down a RigobeRto tiglao A tidy $24 billion in US President, Richard Nixon, in the 1970s—chose to report deals with China.

Fresh billions from Japan. Not to instead on the bigger picture, in the following article on Duterte’s playing the mention the tens of millions in military superpowers to get billions of dollars and development aid the United States sends each year—despite his call for a (renminbi?) in development aid.

Of course, you’ll have somebody like BS “separation.”

Indeed, eight months into his tenure, Aquino III’s so pro-American ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia belittling Duterte in with President Trump in power and the article and bad-mouthing China as if Asian affairs in flux, Duterte’s devilmay-care diplomacy and relentless talk he’s the White House press secretary.

The article titled “Duterte finds ‘stra- of “slaughter” seem to be paying off, tegic sweet spot’” was reported as the propping up his domestic popularity Washington Post’s second front-page even as an International Criminal Court banner in its March 28, 2017 issue. prosecutor warns of a possible warCompare that to the front-paged but crimes investigation against him.

Will the PDI ever use this as their banleast important article in the New York Times March 22 that was a hatchet job ner story, like they did NYT’s hatchet on Duterte, but which the Philippine job on Duterte?

Courting the President of the PhilipDaily Inquirer made as its screaming banner story. (See my recent column pines are new friends such as China, “New York Times takes over Philippine which last week sent a vice premier to Daily Inquirer”.) But of course we have Duterte’s hometown, and Russia, which recently dispatched two warships to freedom of the press in this country.

The Washington Post article was Manila on a goodwill visit. Both see headlined in the inside pages with, Duterte as an ally against the US mili“Duterte’s volatile policies paying off”. tary’s Asian ambitions.

Old partners such as the United States and Japan might bristle at Duterte’s rhetoric and rights record, but they are willing to speak softly because they need his help countering Chinese claims to most of the South China Sea. Duterte, meanwhile, seems happy to flirt with his various suitors, alternating between swearing and sweet talk, backtracking as required.

As a presidential candidate, the longtime mayor of Davao City promised Filipinos an “independent” foreign policy, vowing to stand up to the Americans and make money from everyone else.

With deals and dignitaries streaming in, Duterte can credibly say he delivered — at least for now.

But much of the Philippines prefers the United States to China; Duterte may want to align himself with Beijing’s “ideological flow,” as he put it, but swaths of the country’s establishment do not.

Duterte’s defense secretary, Maj. Gen. Delfin Lorenzana, recently expressed concern about Chinese survey ships lingering in waters off the Philippine coast. Faced with questions from reporters, Duterte seemed confused; he eventually asserted that he would ask the military to tell Beijing to back off — but in a friendly way.

There is a growing sense that his foreign policy is a short-term fix, said Herman Kraft, a political scientist at the University of the Philippines. “We have a tiny window

when we can still play both sides.”

Duterte has a flair for the dramatic, and his entrance to the foreign policy stage was nothing short of spectacular.

Casting insults at President Barack Obama, he made a show about finding new “best friends” in Moscow and Beijing — although his calls to curtail the decades-old US-Philippine military partnership were quickly played down by members of his own cabinet.

China, seeing an opportunity to curry favor with a key US ally, invited him to the Chinese capital, where he signed billions in deals. Duterte thanked his hosts by railing against the United States.

Not a month after his speech in Beijing, Donald Trump’s triumph had Duterte singing a different tune. The two countries could now stop feuding, he said — a turnaround that gave him room to quietly reach out to the United States.

While Trump prepared for his inauguration, a US ally stepped in. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid a visit. He toured Duterte’s home in the southern Philippines, reportedly admiring his bed and mosquito net, and announced $8.7 billion in aid.

Duterte’s diplomatic maneuvering allowed him to press ahead with stateled killings of alleged drug dealers and users while securing billions of dollars worth of deals. “Despite all his shenanigans, he hit a strategic sweet spot,” said Richard Javad Heydarian, an as-

sistant professor of political science at Manila’s De La Salle University.

“But,” Heydarian added, “this may be a bit of strategic beginner’s luck. If he keeps at this for a few years, he will be seen as a flip-flopper.”

Filipino and foreign experts are skeptical about whether big promises from China and Russia will actually materialize and, if they do, whether the money will keep coming.

China will eventually make a move in the South China Sea that Filipinos find unpalatable, said Jose L. Cuisia Jr., who, until June, was the Philippine ambassador to the United States. When that happens, it will be hard for Duterte to do as China pleases, and those Chinese pledges could dry up, Cuisia said.

“I am not sure that we will see a strong relationship with China and Russia in the long term,” he said.

For now, Duterte seems likely to woo as many allies and investors as possible, said Aileen S.P. Baviera, a China expert at the University of the Philippines’ Asian Center.

“Because of Trump, most countries want to hedge their bets and remain as flexible as possible,” she said. “And right now, China looks like a more stable partner than the US.” *** Email: tiglao.manilatimes@gmail.com Facebook: Rigoberto Tiglao Twitter: @bobitiglao

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LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • APRIL 5-7, 2017

A

PH included in list of most dangerous countries for American tourists

by AJPress

THE Philippines is among the top most dangerous countries for Americans to visit, according to analysis released by content marketing agency Priceonomics Data Studio.

In an article published last month, Priceonomics listed the top 25 most dangerous countries for American travelers based on both by the number of State Department travel warnings and by actual deaths in the area.

From 2009 to 2017, Mexico has led the list with the most number of issued travel warnings, which “are issued when lasting turmoil in a country poses such a danger that the State Department discourages any travel there at all.”

“Mexico tops the list with 28 warnings in an 8-year period. It’s worth noting that these warnings are regionally specific, targeting sites where crime syndicates are particularly active,” the article read.

However, popular tourist destinations in the country — like Mexico City and the Yucatán peninsula, including Cancún — “are generally regarded as safe.”

Second to Mexico is Mali (26); ranking third are Israel and Pakistan (25); fourth Iraq (24); fifth Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Syria (23); sixth Algeria, Iran, and Yemen (22); seventh Burundi and Central African Republic (21).

Priceonomics said that most countries ranked are “participants in ongoing international conflicts,” citing Israel, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, or are “sites in which extremist groups regularly carry out terrorist attacks” like Mali, Nigeria, and Syria.

The Philippines, ranked 8th alongside Kenya and Lebanon, has 20 travel warnings.

“We found that Mexico, Mali, and Israel have been targeted by the most travel advisories in recent years, but that Americans are more likely to face lifethreatening danger in Thailand, Pakistan, and Honduras. Indeed, warnings and deadly violence are correlated on the whole,” the article read. “And fortunately, some travelers — at least those headed to the Philippines or Egypt — seem to heed these advisories, as those countries see dropoffs in tourism following warnings.

Coming in ninth are Chad, Libya, and Sudan (19); followed

by Colombia and Congo (18) as tenth.

North Korea, on the other hand, has been listed as an “interesting exception” since “the government itself presents a danger to American travelers.”

Quoting the State Department, Priceonomics said foreigners in North Korea “are liable to be jailed for unspecified reasons, or for seemingly innocuous infractions like interacting with the

locals or taking unauthorized photos.”

Based on the number of Americans killed between 2009 and 2016, ranking first is Mexico (584); followed by Afghanistan (84); Philippines (74); Haiti (65); and Honduras (46).

These were followed by Dominican Republic (45), Jamaica (39), El Salvador (34), Costa Rica (27), and Guatemala (26). Cases include only homicides, executions, deaths in terrorist attacks, and drug-related deaths.

“More Americans die in Mexico because vastly more Americans travel to Mexico than any other country,” the article read. “This holds true to a lesser degree for some of the other countries near the top of this ranking, including the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.”

In an adjusted version of the ranking to account for the volume of tourism from the United States, Priceonomics calculated the number of Americans murdered in a country per 100,000 American tourists.

Data excluded any countries that received fewer than 100,000 American visitors between 2009 and 2016.

In the new list, Pakistan ranked first with 3.54 per capita, followed by Thailand (3.2), Philippines (2.28), Haiti (1.96), Honduras (1.66), Nigeria (1.28), Belize (1.02), Guyana (0.97), Egypt (0.86), and Mexico (0.84). n

Corruption in PH courts a trade barrier…

PAGE A5 t

prices for valuation of meat and poultry,” the USTR said in its report. “Traders have reported that reference prices are frequently well above the transaction prices, which has the effect of imposing an artificially high tariff.”

According to the USTR, trade barriers can be broadly defined as government laws, regulations, policies or practices that protect domestic goods and services from foreign competition, artificially stimulate exports of particular domestic goods and services, or fail to provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR).

The report indicated that despite significant improvements in the Philippine IPR environment in recent years, US rights remain

concerned about the continued availability of pirated and counterfeit goods in the Philippines, slow investigation of IPR-related cases by the Department of Justice and judicial inexperience in handling IPR enforcement cases, both civil and criminal.

“US rights holders report some concerns, including increasing online piracy, counterfeit drugs and weak provisions in patent law that may preclude the issuance of patents on certain chemical forms unless the applicant demonstrates increased efficacy,” the USTR said. “The United States has also been monitoring the development of new regulations related to geographical indications.”

Meat handling, import clearance Also included among barriers

to trade are the country’s meat handling rules and import clearance system.

For meat handling rules, the Philippines currently maintains a two-tiered system for regulating the handling of frozen and freshly slaughtered meat for sale in local wet markets.

“Under this system, the Philippines imposes more burdensome requirements on the sale of frozen meat, which is primarily imported, than it does on the sale of freshly slaughtered meat, which is only from animals raised domestically. The United States continues to press the Philippine government to remove the unscientific requirements placed on frozen meat,” the USTR said.

As far as import clearance is concerned, the Department of

STILL GRIEVING. Families of drug suspects killed during police anti-drug operations grieve at the Santo Niño Parish Church in Caloocan City on Sunday, April 2. Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias offered Mass for the alleged victims of summary killings.

ManilaTimes.net photo by Ruy Martinez

NBI to probe Tourism Promotions Board ‘anomalies’

by Arlo

Custodio ManilaTimes.net

CESAR Montano, chief operating officer of the Tourism Promotions Board, has asked the National Bureau of Investigation to probe the alleged anomalies that he and his team unearthed at the agency as well as those who are behind moves to besmirch his reputation.

The former actor denied the corruption allegations recently levelled against him.

“Only an insider could know about the projects and the amounts involved. The JaDine [James Reid and Nadine Lustre] project was just a proposal, and it did not materialize,” he clarified, referring to the alleged P12-million sponsorship of the top tandem’s US concert tour. “So that should be out of the question, although it could have been a great venue for tourism promotions as the tour went to 12 destinations with 70percent of the shows pre-sold.

Sayang (What a pity). Just think how many foreigners could be Agriculture requires importers to obtain a sanitary and phytosanitary permit prior to shipment of any agricultural product and to transmit the permit to the exporter.

The USTR said such requirement adds costs, complicates the timing of exports and prevents the transshipment to the Philippines of products intended for other markets. n

invited by those shows or be interested to visit the Philippines,” he said in a roundtable with mediamen.

He maintained that all his transactions are above board.

“Everything goes through a process. All the department heads and the board of directors need to sign the documents before I get to affix my signature,” he pointed out.

The board’s department heads joined the roundtable to show their support to Montano.

Maricar Ebron, head of the TPB’s International Promotions Department and who has been with the agency for 39 years, admitted that it was the first time the TPB became the center of media attention.

“We want to move on — we have to move on and focus on our work, just like soldiers,” Ebron said.

Montano said he wants everyone in the agency to be loyal to their work and not beholden to anyone.

“You can’t please everybody, that’s the reality, you can’t

have everyone like you. For me, whether they like me or not, what’s important is they do their work. It should be loyalty to the service, and not to a person,” he added.

He also denied charges of nepotism, saying that an appointed government official like him is allowed to hire three relatives to fill up confidential positions. “[My brother] Rommel’s position is confidential so I haven’t even used up my three [relatives] privilege. The other person they are singling out, no, she’s not a relative,” he said.

Legal officer Venancio Manuel 3rd confirmed that the Civil Service Code allows up to three relatives to be hired by an appointive government agency head.

“It’s the President who put me in this position, and I’m happy that I can use my skills and passion in developing tourism for the country. If the President is willing to die in discharging his mandate, it’s my desire to bring change to the agency, [and am] even willing to die for it, too,” he added. n

Japan donates P826-M for…

PAGE A5 t volunteers and disaster relief programs.

The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) said on Monday that of the estimated four million drug users in the country, only 1.6 million have surrendered as of February,

DDB chairman Benjamin Reyes said they are looking at the participation of the community to reach out to the rest of the four million drug dependents so they could be covered by the rehabilitation program of the government. (With Czeriza Valencia)

A APRIL 5-7, 2017 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL

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LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • APRIL 5-7, 2017

BUSINESSJ& COMMUNITY ournal

B

Jollibee jumpstarts Europe entry with first Italy branch

ership in the business. GPPL shall have full management control of the JV and operations of the first store.

According to the plan, GPPL and Blackbird would incorporate a Singapore company to be 75 percent owned by GPPL. Blackbird, a Singapore company incorporated in 2014, currently has various investments both in Singapore and in the Philippines in the F&B, human resource, agriculture and biotechnology sectors.

“The JV partnership will facilitate the entry and the opening of the first store will create the desired awareness for the Jollibee brand in the market,” JFC said. Italy is home to roughly 200,000 Filipinos, said to be the largest population of overseas Filipinos in Europe.

by IrIs

Gonzales Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines - Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) is making its debut in Europe, starting with its first branch in Italy.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, April 3, JFC said its wholly owned subsidiary Golden Plate Pte. Ltd. (GPPL) entered into a joint venture agreement with Blackbird Holdings Pte Ltd. to own and operate the first Jollibee store in Italy.

GPPL and Blackbird have committed to invest up to 1 million euros or $1.06 million at the prevailing exchange rate to the joint venture, of which up to 750,000 euros or roughly $800,000 will be contributed by GPPL in proportion to its own-

Foreign traders upbeat on philippine economy ism will see large increase in visitors from China,” American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (Am Cham) senior advisor John Forbes said. “We expect an increase in GDP because of the administration’s continued policy commitment in increased public infrastructure spending, which we hope will have spillover effects into consumption and investment growth,” Guenter Taus, president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) said.The economy expanded 6.8 percent in 2016 and the government expects it to accelerate between 6.5 percent and 7.5 percent this year. FDI inflows, meanwhile, reached $7.93 billion last year,

by rIchmonD

mercurIo Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign businessmen are bullish on the economy this year despite citing some backslide in key sectors in the first quarter.

In a poll conducted by The STAR on some foreign business leaders in the country, all of them have indicated a rosy forecast for the economy as well as positive outlook on foreign direct investment (FDI). “We are optimistic that GDP (gross domestic product) growth will continue at about the current level, although there is no national election to stimulate campaign spending.

Manufacturing will continue its higher growth rate and tour-

u PAGE B3

TM

Ayala Group still interested in NAIA rehab project by louella

DesIDerIo Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines - The Ayala Group remains interested and is ready to bid for the P74.6-billion upgrade of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) even as the government has decided to put the project on hold.

“We are very interested in NAIA. We have a consortium ready for NAIA. It’s a very interesting consortium. We are actually excited if the government ever decides to push through with the NAIA rehab project because we

think we can improve NAIA in 24 months,” AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. president and CEO Jose Rene Almendras told reporters.

The project under the public-private partnership program involves the financing, design, rehabilitation, expansion, as well as operations and maintenance of all existing terminals of NAIA covering both landside and airside (except air traffic services).

The winning private bidder and the government will have a cooperation period of 15 to 20 years for the project. Apart from Ayala Corp., other groups which have expressed in-

terest to participate in the bidding of the project include San Miguel Corp. (SMC), Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., and the joint venture of Megawide Construction Corp. and India’s GMR Infrastructure Ltd. PPP Center executive director Ferdinand Pecson earlier said the government has decided to put the project on hold for now as it needs to have a complete or holistic approach for the development of airports for the Greater Capital Region.

u PAGE B2

Villar expands food, beverage business home baked breads and pastries and offers made to order cakes including wedding cakes.

MANILA, Philippines - Prop- The first branch in Vista Mall in erty and mall tycoon Manuel Vil- Taguig will soon be followed by lar Jr. has successfully expanded the opening of a second outlet in his food and beverage business Vista Mall in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Depending on market recepwith his foray into the brasserie type bread shop industry. tion, the Villar Group will still deLast March 7, Villar opened termine how many Bake My Day Bake My Day, which serves branches it will open in its difby IrIs

Gonzales Philstar.com

ferent malls across the country, company insiders said.The café with a European style ambience carries the famous Okonomiyaki bread, which is a Japanese savory pastry containing a variety of ingredients. It also carries a wide selection of bread and pastries including Danish pastries, croissants, soft bread and other

u PAGE B2

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Asia seen to weather impacts of Trump protectionist policy, Brexit

by Cris

EvErt B. Inquirer.net

Lato

LAPU-LAPU CITY – Asia is poised to withstand the impacts of US President Donald Trump’s protectionist policy and the looming Brexit with the region’s growing domestic demand and the financial structures and measures set by Asian’s policymakers gained from experiences from the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis.

This was the main discussion during the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) – Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) Debate, an event attended by Central Bank Governors and their deputies.

The event, held at the Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort and Spa, also opened the first day of the 3rd ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Joint Meetings and Related Meetings.

It was moderated by international broadcast journalist Rico Hizon.

Day one of the weeklong ASEAN event was an exhaustive debate on whether or not Asia is bound to follow the “new mediocre” narrative – a phase of relatively low growth for a long period – of advanced economics such as the United State and countries in Europe.

“Emerging Asia has been the doing the heavy lifting of global growth at an average of 7.5 percent between 2009 and 2014.

While the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees near-term outlook for Asia is strong and robust, updates are telling us that we’re no longer seeing doubledigit growth for Asia,” said Tetangco in his opening remarks.

Citing IMF data, Tetangco said global growth rate is at 3.4% in 2017 and 3.6% in 2018. This is only a few point higher than the 2010-2016 after-crisis rate of 3.8% but lower than the pre-crisis growth rate of 4.5 percent.

But former Bank of Thailand Governor Tarisa Watanagase said most of the ASEAN economies are in the “long-term growth path” because policymakers have learned to install

internal measures to make them resilient.

Watanagase said the regional economy will remain resilient with a strong banking sector and limited, non-heavily indebted corporate and consumer sectors.

“In this part of the world, we have high reserves. This is our insurance, our self-protection that we have put into place. (Because of these measures), we will have fewer sleepless nights,” she said.

Watanagase said the ASEAN economic block, composed of 625 million people with an industry totaling 2.4 trillion US dollars, “very well embedded regionally and globally.”

But growth will still depend on how each respective country hurdles challenges.

BSP Monetary Board Member Felipe Medalla said Asia in general is more conservative than the rest of the world in terms of reserve accumulation.

“The reserves that we’ve accumulated between 2008 [and] 2013 have now become our buffer,” he said.

But the future looks bleak for the “fragile five” countries of Turkey, Brazil, India, South Africa and Indonesia. Fragile five was a term coined by a research analysist from Morgan Stanly to describe economies which have become overly dependent on foreign investments to finance their growth.

Growth Watanagase said growth will happen if countries invest in productivity enhancement, innovation, research and development, manpower, and technology.

“But they (countries) need patience, investment and policy continuity… and these factors can be easily disrupted,” she said.

Citing data from the Asian Development Bank, Watanagase said Asia will need $1.7 trillion annual investment to sustain its growth, reduce poverty and address climate change issues.

She also noted that education

reforms have to be implemented to fill the gap in digital divide in the regional and international market.

Mindset shift In the midst of the discussion, Danny Quah, professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of S ingapore, told fellow economists to look within to see the strength of Asian countries.

“The idea that Asia grows because the West buys needs to be placed at the back of history.

Asia grew by five trillion dollars between 2008 [and] 2012 when the US economy flattened on its back at less than $1 trillion dollars. We will continue to tell that story if our policymakers continue to be wise,” said Quah.

Among the audience, Quah also introduced the concept of a geopolitical narrative, which Asia should start to formulate as it takes a more prominent role in

the global economy.

“America’s school children were told that we need to grow and save the world because we have the responsibility to the world. America is not anymore interested with that narrative while Europe is challenged (by several issues),” he said.

Win-win Lord Desai, professor of the London School of Economics and Political Science, said President Trump’s protectionist policy may have shaken the world but eventually, he will need to work with economic players.

“Nobody can control an economy as large as America,” he said.

Quah said Asia believes in a world of full of win-win propositions. This narrative should be shared to President Trump.

“Trump thinks that America is losing because Asia is winning.

We need to tell him of this winwin proposition,” he said.

PAGE B1 t

international airport, seaport, as well as mixed use development on reclaimed land off the coast of Sangley Point in Cavite.

ARRC is likewise planning to rehabilitate the present Danilo Atienza Airport in Sangley, as well as build a terminal and operate it to accommodate general aviation aircraft and low-cost carriers, at a cost of P1 billion.

SMC has also proposed to build a new international airport for Metro Manila to be located in Bulacan. Asked if the Ayala Group would be interested to join any of the two proposals for a new international airport, Almendras said “we’ll make the decision when the time comes.”

As the government wants to position Clark as an alternative to the NAIA, there are also plans to implement projects to support the Clark International Airport’s development. Roberto Lim, DOTr undersecretary for the aviation sector earlier said the department is reviewing airport proposals from the private sector, including those covering the development of the Clark International Airport. The group of GMR-Megawide submitted a proposal to the government to develop the Clark International Airport over a period of 50 years for close to P200 billion. The development will enable it to handle up to 100 million passengers per year.

pastries and cakes at Bake My Day, our newest bakeshop located at Vista Mall Taguig,” Villar said during the opening of the maiden branch last March 7.

Prior to Bake My Day, VIllar also introduced his very own coffee concept through The Coffee Project, which he opened more than a year ago with its first branch in Alabang.

He is targeting to have a total of 23 branches brewing by the end of 2017 for the coffee chain. As such, the Vil-

lar Group is planning to pour in P225 million to roll out 15 more branches in the next 15 months. Coffee Project has at least seven branches including Wil Tower in Quezon City, Metropolis Mall in Alabang, Vista Mall Sta. Rosa, Vista Mall Pampanga and Vista Mall Bataan.

New branches in the group’s properties in Legaspi and Salcedo Villages in Makati, Bonifacio Global City, Lakefront in Muntinlupa, Parañaque and Vista City in Daanghari will also open.

Ayala group still interested...

“The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is looking at these various options they now have on the table. So, they have to decide this together with the airport, the Clark development and the NAIA because these are all going to affect each other,” Pecson said.

Other groups are also interested to build new airports to serve the country’s capital given congestion at the NAIA. The NAIA handled 39.5 million passengers last year, well above its designed capacity of 31 million passengers.

All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp. (ARRC), composed of the Tieng family and SM Group’s Belle Corp., intends to build an

Villar expands food and beverages...

PAGE B1 t

offerings including chocolates and its own coffee. Bake My Day expands the Villar Group’s Food Service Group, which also includes a McDonald’s and Dunkin Donut’s franchise as well as Villar’s now famous Coffee Project, the coffee chain he developed. Bake My Day is the former Senate president’s newest “baby.”

Villar has said in the past that he has already quit politics to concentrate on his different businesses.

“Try our freshly baked bread,

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Community Journal

LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • APRIL 5-7, 2017

Love as the center of gravity Calendar of Events “All you need is love.” across

Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond

- Lenoon-McCartney

Monette AdevA MAglAyA This Lenten season, it is a good idea to ponder the life of Saint Paul.

Paul, aka Saul of Tarsus, lived more than two thousand years ago. He had something to say about what does matter in life.

He spoke about a special kind of love that in Greek is called Agape (ah-gah-pay).

Agape is unconditional love, a kind of love that has no agenda or motivations, a kind of love that is exemplified in God sending His only Son, a kind of love that if emulated by humans, sets us apart from all of God’s creatures, makes us a little closer to the angels and truly created in God’s own image and likeness.

But Paul didn’t start out as a defender of the Christian faith.

He was, in fact, an avid persecutor feared by early Christians. As a Jew and a Pharisee who was also an educated man and a class above because he was a Roman citizen, he used everything in his power and position to quash the growth of the church persecuting the members of the then budding Christian church.

Saul was his Jewish name. Paul was his Roman name. Paul stood by watching the cloaks of the stone throwers, tacitly approving the stoning of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

Paul was a young, rising brilliant star of his time eager to make his mark in the Judaic tradition. At first, Paul was hot and bothered by the intensity of the love and fervency of the Apostles and early believers.

This start-up movement was a threat to his career track and his Judaic core belief system.

Paul thought he was going to

make it his life’s work to eliminate Christ’s early followers and eradicate what Christ himself has started. If murder and mayhem were the tools to get it done, he was going to use them.

But God had other plans for Paul. On his way to Damascus on a mission to arrest and persecute Christians, a blinding light shone on him. He fell off his horse while Jesus’ voice is heard asking him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” This dramatic, miraculous conversion when he temporarily became blind was a critical juncture for the Christian church.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit who suffused his entire being when the scales of his blindness fell off his eyes, Paul’s teachings and writings have an eternal shelf life - true today, as it was then, and will be for much of human history.

In the quiet of your soul during this holy season amid troubled times, read the gospels. Also, you just might discover the exquisite beauty, range and depth of human emotions made known to God, contained in the Psalms, all 150 of them. And then read Paul.

You’ll be surprised at the clarity and current relevance of many of his writings to today’s unfolding history. He has a wealth of wisdom to share with anyone seeking meaning in a confusing world seemingly bent on self-immolation.

In a swirling fast-paced technological world full of self–love, vanity, illusions and artifice that only tend to distort and act as centrifugal forces pushing God away as the center of our lives, Paul’s directives make absolute sense. His words have the power to keep us all centered, as they

were intended to be, not on ourselves, but on God. Ironically, it’s like being in the eye of the storm where there is peace while swirling forces rage about in the periphery.

This one below, if etched in many hearts and minds and lived out in our daily rounds through thoughts and more specifically in even the tiniest of actions, particularly in couples, already married or planning marriage in the foreseeable future, could remarkably bring down the alarming rate of break-ups and a whole universe of heartaches among couples.

This has the power to preserve FAMILIES, the last best hope of humanity on steroids.

These days, the very structure and integrity of the family unit are heavily assaulted from many fronts with popular culture, Hollyweird, media and the internet leading the charge at a time when the church is weakened by internal abuses and scandals and when persecutions of Christians around the world are at a terrifying, alarming rate and intensity.

Fear not. Let not our hearts be troubled. As history will bear and as written in the song, “Canticle of the Turning,” which is based on the Blessed Mother Mary’s “Magnificat,” it is when the church is at its most vulnerable when the forces of heaven align to defend itself and go on the offensive in subtle yet dramatic ways. The blood of early Christians spawned the rise of the early Church. History does repeat itself.

Marriage as a bedrock institution between man and a woman is in serious danger, as manmade laws masquerading as civil liberties, are enacted to challenge

u PAGE B5

Planning for the custody and care of your children in case immigration detains you

Barrister’s Corner Atty. Kenneth UrsUA reyes PART of the new Trump administration’s agenda is a tougher and more aggressive stance on immigration enforcement. This may be in the form of more detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Many of the undocumented immigrants have established families in the United States including minor children. One has to plan in advance what would happen to your minor children if you were detained and/or deported by immigration under the current administration’s policy.

With no parents to take care of your minor US Citizen children, a friend or extended family member would have to Petition for Guardianship in Court in order to obtain the right to take care of your children and make decisions as to their health, education, and welfare in your absence. Fil-

ing a Petition for Guardianship will take time and resources which the detained parents may not have. In addition, the Court process of obtaining a temporary guardianship for the children would take time.

If you are at risk of being detained by immigration, you should seriously consider making plans for the care and custody of your children as a contingency plan. There are ways where you can plan in advance to name one or more persons to perform any and all acts necessary for the day-to-day care, custody, education, recreation, and property of your children including any and all medical and dental care decisions. You may also give your designated person the right to travel with your children should the need arise.

Planning in advance can avoid the delay and expense of having to open up a Guardianship case

in Court. Of course, you may revoke this designation at any time should the need no longer arise. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, P.C. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kureyeslaw@gmail.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com. *** Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed.

The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, P.C. This article (Advertising Supplement) is not a solicitation.

Common misconceptions about bankruptcy

Debt Relief

that debtor’s mistress, Ms. Bimbo, lives in a house in Bel Air that debtor paid for in cash two years HAVING literally represented ago. Ms. Bimbo admits that, the several thousand clients in success- house she lives in is owned by ful bankruptcy cases in the last 35 debtor because she has no monyears in California, I have distilled ey of her own to buy the house. the common misconceptions about Ms. Bimbo testifies that debtor asked her to sign a declaration bankruptcy into the following: 1. Will debtor go to jail for fil- that she is merely holding title to the house for and on behalf of ing bankruptcy?

NO. Debtor will not go to jail debtor who is the true owner of for filing bankruptcy provided the house. By hiding this transhe or she is an honest debtor. An action, debtor has committed a honest debtor is one who truth- bankruptcy crime, therefore he is fully discloses his financial affairs, looking at jail time. Further, the income and expense, assets and trustee will file an adversary case liabilities in his bankruptcy petition. An honest debtor does not hide facts in his petition and testimony that materially alter information regarding his financial situation. Suffice it to say that most debtors are honest in bankruptcy so most debtors do not to get the house into the bankhave to worry about going to jail. ruptcy estate.

Honest and truthful debtors Sometimes debtors go to jail because they committed a bank- get a fresh start in life without ruptcy crime. For example, debt- debt and become productive citior declared in his bankruptcy zens again while keeping most if petition that he does not own a not all of their assets. This is the house. But the truth is that some- purpose of bankruptcy law. Honone is on title to a house with a est debtors can look forward to large equity that actually belongs a new and happy life after filing to debtor. Debtor’s name does for bankruptcy. They keep their not appear on title but the one on income, house, cars, retirement title is merely holding the house accounts and most everything in trust for and for the benefit of else they own with applicable exthe debtor who is the true owner. emptions. Yet they get rid of all Let’s be more specific. The state- unwanted debt. Many successful ment of financial affairs of the pe- people have gone through banktition asks if there is anyone who ruptcy at one time or another in holds any asset in trust for debt- their lives. Walt Disney filed for or. Debtor answers that there is Chapter 7 bankruptcy twice beno such person. However, upon fore his famous mouse became further investigation, it turns out a successful business venture.

Atty. lAwrence yAng

“

Henry Ford filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1903 but pushed on thereafter to become the biggest car manufacturer in America. Milton Hershey who established the chocolate factory with products that world loves to eat so much filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy before his chocolate business became successful.

And of course, Pres. Trump is no stranger to bankruptcy. His companies have filed for bankruptcy four times during the nineties.

His casinos failed and could not pay hundreds of millions of debt.

Even Orange County filed for bankruptcy reorganization not too long ago. And several Catholic diocese filed for bankruptcy reorganization to handle the child molestation lawsuits that hit the church with $600M of liabilities. It was Lucifer’s handiwork no doubt.

2. Will debtor be able to borrow money again after bankruptcy?

YES. Most car dealers will finance a car purchase right after debtor obtains his discharge. In fact, debtors do get offers to finance car loans even while the bankruptcy is going on. Clients usually bring me flyers mailed to them saying that their pending bankruptcy is no obstacle to buying a car in the dealership. They ask me if that is true or a scam.

I tell them it’s true. The interest rate will be higher than someone with good credit. Some clients ask if they can buy a house after bankruptcy. The normal wait is

An honest debtor is one who truthfully discloses his financial affairs, income and expenses, assets and liabilities in his bankruptcy petition.

”

B

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APRIL 8

Filipino Cursillos’ Kalbaryo show in San Diego, CA The Filipino Cursillos in Christianity of Los Angeles, CA (FCIC-LA) will present a Kalbaryo (Lenten) show about the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus on Saturday, April 8. It will be held from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Pala Mission Church, San Juan Diego Center at 3015 Pala Mission Rd., Pala, CA 92059. For further information, please contact any of the following: Tess Tan Torres at (213) 249-1507; Agnes Golingay at (818) 599-8401; Len Balino at (310) 203-3639; Genie Bagsic at (858) 472-9338; or Oddie Sabas at (760) 670-5868.

APRIL 14

Greenlining Institute Economic Summit in Oakland, CA On Friday, April 14, the Greenlining Institute’s 24th annual Economic Summit will boldly tackle local and national controversies as it focuses on the theme, “Racial Justice on the Frontlines.” With Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza moderating the opening discussion, community activists, political and business leaders will take on such challenging issues as gentrification, tech diversity (or the lack thereof), possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act and the impending arrival of Uber in downtown Oakland. It will be held at Oakland Marriott City Center at 1001 Broadway, Oakland, California. Registration opens 8 a.m., program starts at 8:30 a.m. and runs to 5:45 p.m. For more information, please visit www.greenlining.org.

APRIL 15

“A Musical Odyssey” in Cerritos, CA Pangasinan Brotherhood-USA, Inc. and DreamAgeGroup presents Rudolf Paleaz Golez, an internationally acclaimed Filipino virtuoso pianist in “A Musical Odyssey” on Saturday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. Other local singing talents will be present at the concert, such as recording artist Sean Collado, aspiring actress and singer Sheila Tejada, Sabrina Oxciano and Samantha Murray. Ticket prices are $35, $65 and $100. Proceeds of this performance will go toward the Pangansian Brotherhood-USA’s scholarship funds, which helps academically successful seniors who are college-bound in both the greater Los Angeles area and the Philippines. The performance will be at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts’ Sierra Room at 12700 Center Court Drive South, Cerritos, California 90703. Interested parties may contact project managers Dan E. Nino at (562) 921-5116 or denino1951@gmail.com; E. Mendoza at (623) 341-6247 or thedreamagegroup@gmail.com; Lino F. Caringal, Jr. at (714) 808-2642 or linojr.caringal@gmail.com; Bong Soriano at (909) 851-1493 or believe1156@gmail.com; Neil Estrada at (562) 301-9972 or bluezero2sixty@yahoo.com; or Feliz Lopez at (562) 572-2301 or fblopezinsurance@msn. com.

APRIL 20

CAUSE’s annual gala in Los Angeles Join Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE) for its annual gala on Thursday, April 20. It will be held at LA Hotel’s California Ballroom at 333 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071. The event begins at 5 p.m. with a VIP reception.

For more information and sponsorship opportunities, please contact kim@causeusa.org or visit www.causeusa.org.

APRIL 21

Fundraising event to benefit the first-ever Filipino American Heritage and Arts Museum in Las Vegas The Filipino American Heritage and Arts Museum (FAHAM) will host “Heritage Celebration - Filipinos Landing in California,” a fundraising event on Friday, April 21, starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Dallas Ballroom of Texas Station Hotel and Casino. Festivities include a buffet dinner, arts exhibits, vendor booths, cultural entertainment a native fashion show, a Philippine history presentation, and dance performances. The cultural entertainment will be provided by the FAHAM Cultural Dance Group, Heart of Polynesia, Gina Kim Korean Dance Group, Filipiniana Dance Company of Las Vegas, Sophia Ramos, Sharon Tanyag, and DJ Mike. Emcees will be Amie and Leo Belmonte. The donation is $50 / person. Attire is formal. FAHAM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is currently America’s first Filipino American Museum, Archives, Legacy, Culture, Innovation Research Center, and Library Garden founded in Delaware by Mrs. Ditta Camomot, M.Ed., M.A. Its holdings are artifacts, ethological materials, and ecclesiastical, historical, arts and ephemera collections, as well as environmental projects. Texas Station is located at 2101 Texas Star Ln, North Las Vegas, NV 89032. For tickets and more information, please contact Salve Edelman at (702) 418-8968.

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

Foreign traders upbeat on...

PAGE B1 t

$2.29 billion higher than the $5.64 billion recorded in 2015 and exceeded the $6.7 billion target set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. “We still see a lot of optimism and feel that we have an excellent economic team in place. With all the hardwork by the team that is being done, we see better results in terms of GDP and FDI being achieved. As long as we honor contracts then it should do very well,” Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce Philippines Inc. (FICCP) president Rex Daryanani said.

“There should be no reason why FDI should exceed 2016 figures.

The long term development plan and growth potential in the Philippines is simply too attractive for foreign investors to ignore,” Nordic Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (NordCham) president Bo Lundqvist said. Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines president Julian Payne believes the country’s economic outlook continues to look good with FDI inflows increasing and current credit ratings holding. “The longer term outlook will depend very much on the administration delivering its 10-point economic agenda, in particular the reductions in corporate and personal income tax and easing of restrictions on foreign direct investment. The continuation of sound monetary management under the next BSP governor will al In terms of investor interu PAGE B5 est in expanding or investing in

the Philippines, however, each group had varying prospects.

Small and medium enterprises from Europe are still interested in entering the Philippine market while multinational corporations have expressed hesitation, according to ECCP’s Taus, adding that European companies already in the country are largely still on a “wait-and-see” mode. For American companies, AmCham’s Forbes said firms engaged in the domestic market have long expanded in line with the expansion of the Philippine economy. Exporters of goods and services to the US, however, face considerable uncertainty about a possible border tax.

Meanwhile, majority of Nordic investors are optimistic about their growth prospects in 2017 in the Philippines and are expected to expand their operations in the country, both in terms of selling to the local market, as well as providing in-house services out of the country, according to NordCham’s Lundqvist. FICCP’s Daryani said Indian investors, for their part, are bullish in general but are closely monitoring developments.Among the key developments that transpired in the country in the first quarter which the groups identified as “negative” is the order for the closure of 23 mines by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. NordCham’s Lundqvist also cited concerns about the continuing negative news headlining international press about

the law and order situation and human rights abuses in the Philippines. ECCP’s Taus said the excise tax eyed to be imposed on automotive is an area of concern for his group as this negatively affects the European automotive brands and burdens the public with higher car prices. For AmCham’s Forbes, NAIA and ground transportation congestion remain serious while MRT3 continues to operate below capacity. Meanwhile, positive developments in the first quarter of the year identified by the businessmen include progress in major infrastructure projects such as the opening of the NAIA Expressway Phase II and commencement in the construction of MRT-7, approval of the National Broadband Plan, and the release of a comprehensive Philippine Development Plan by the National Economic and Development Authority and the department order on contractualization by the Labor department.

Last week, results of the Makati Business Club’s First Semester Executive Outlook Survey for 2017 showed that local business executives in the country remain highly optimistic in their outlook on the Philippine economy despite anticipation of higher inflation and interest rates this year coupled with a critical outlook on trade.The bullish outlook on the economy is prompting most of these local firms to continue pouring big investments into the country in the coming year.

Community Journal

B APRIL 5-7, 2017 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL

What’s New

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Foreign person NRA People and Events tax withholding Fifth Historic Filipinotown Kalayaan Parade slated on Saturday, June 3 Los Angeles Part 1

Arlene Al-os, CPA, MBA Nonresident Alien NRA tax withholding is applicable to U.S sourced income paid to foreign person and does not apply to payments made to U.S. persons.

Foreign persons include nonresident alien individual, foreign partnerships, foreign corporations, foreign estates, and foreign trusts. The tax generally must be withheld from the payment made to the foreign persons.

If you are a withholding agent, you are responsible for withholding tax on payments made to a foreign person and are generally personally liable for any tax required to be withheld and is subject to penalties and interest for failure to withhold.

What You Need to Know: 1.

NRA withholding generally requires 30% withholding on payment of US sources income.

2.

A reduced rate and exemption may apply if there is an existing tax treating between the US and

EMPLOYMENT

NRAs country of residence.

3.

Income is subject to withholding if it is fixed or determinable annual or periodical (FDAP) income. These are: interest, alimony, dividends, royalties, pensions and annuities, original issue discount, and compensation for personal services.

4.

Requires filing of Form 1042-S to report payments subject to NRA withholding and file a tax return on Form 1042.

5.

Payments to all foreign persons, including nonresident aliens, foreign entities and governments, could be subject to NRA withholding.

6.

When to withhold: At the time you make payment to amount subject to withholding.

7.

U.S. tax identification number TIN is generally requested from the payee by the withholding agent.

8.

TIN could be: SSN, SS-5, ITIN, and EIN. 9.

If the requirements for exceptions are met, a foreign person may not have to provide a US TIN. You may re-

quest a foreign TIN issued by NRAs country of residence.

10. Foreign person provides the withholding agent Form W-8 to claim for treaty benefits.

11. Form 1042-S information return reporting must be filed by every withholding agent to report payments to foreign persons for U.S source income even if there is no tax withheld or is exempt from tax under U.S. tax treaty.

12. A separate Form 1042-S is required for each type of income that was paid to the foreign person but only one Form 1042 has to be filed consolidating all Form 1042-S recipient information.

13. Total amount is less than $200: The Forms 1042 and 1042-S must be filed by March 15 of the year following the calendar year in which the income subject to reporting was paid. If total amount is more than $200, taxes should be deposited within 15 days after the end of the month.

THE 5th Historic Filipintown Kalayaan Organizing Committee (5KOC) proudly announced that the fifth annual Kalayaan Parade for Historic Filipinotown will be held on Saturday, June 3.

This day will celebrate the 119th Philippine Independence Day, when the Philippines was declared independent from Spain on June 12, 1989.

The 5KOC is comprised of member organizations led by the Justice For FiIlipino American Veterans (JFAV), Knights of RizalHFT; BANTAY PILIPINAS-USA; the legal Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA); Philippine Institute of Language, Arts and Culture (PILAC Inc), TALAKAYAN CLUB and AlliancePhilippines (AJLPP).

The 5KOC is now reaching out to Filipino-American and allied organizations who have joined the HFT Kalayaan Parade in the past. u PAGE B5 The Kalayaan Parade started

EMPLOYMENT

as a collaboration between the Philippine Consulate General of Los Angeles and FACLA with JFAV in June 2013. Since then, it has been held since every first week of June.

Last year, more than 50 organizations from HFT and around

EMPLOYMENT

FOR RENT

PSYCHIC

Los Angeles joined the parade.

More than 50 motorcyclists from the Philippine Hurley Riders Club joined the parade.

The parade has started at Temple. St and goes around the Beverly-Temple corridor for the last four years.

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PAGE B3 t

LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • APRIL 5-7, 2017

Love as the center...

it, all in the name of political correctness. Strong family units built on LOVE are so essential in creating strong societies from the ground up. Each generation builds upon and learns from the ones that came before it.

The passage below is a favorite among couples and wedding planners and for good reason.

These words are more than the pretty, superficial veneer of rituals in weddings.

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians 13, are words to live by telling us what really matters as he did then to members of the early church who were probably just as lost, confused and discon-

certed as most of us probably are.

Set your hearts on the greater gifts. I will show you the way which surpasses all the others.

If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and, with full knowledge, comprehend all mysteries, if I have faith great enough to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give everything I have to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind.

Love is not jealous, it does not

put on airs, it is not snobbish.

Love is never rude, it is not selfseeking, it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love’s forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure.

Love never fails. … And now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

you can do it too!

3. Will bankruptcy affect debtor’s immigration status?

NO. Immigration status has nothing to do whatsoever with bankruptcy. It is debtor’s income that has something to do it immigration status. If you are in the process of getting a green card, what you need to do is show enough income, or if you are short on income, you have to get a relative who is either a permanent resident or citizen who has enough income to vouch for you with an affidavit of support. If you claim government benefits within a certain period of time after getting your permanent resident status, Uncle Sam will be able to claim these benefits back from your relative who executed the affidavit of support. Of course, if you are asked during the interview if you have filed bankruptcy and you have, you just have to answer truthfully. Bankruptcy is not and has never been a legal ground to deny an immigrant permanent residency.

Deportation Defense Under the Trump era, getting deported by ICE is your problem

if you do not yet have legal status. Have a contingency plan. Be ready to post bail. Have the money ready for bail. Get the money from your credit card. Make sure you discuss what needs to be done to defend you from deportation with your lawyer. You might qualify for deportation relief.

This article is part 1 of several parts.

Disclaimer: The foregoing is an expression of opinion and is not meant to be legal advise to any reader. There is no attorney client relationship established by this article with reader. If you want to discuss your situation, you have to set an appointment to consult with Attorney. First general consultation is free.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the foregiveness of sings, according to the riches of His grace.” — Ephesians 1:7

*** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette. maglaya@asianjournalinc.com

Common misconceptions...

PAGE B3 t

two years. Two years after discharge you can get a mortgage to buy a house. There are lenders who advertise that bankruptcy is no problem to buying a house. Of course, again, the interest rate will be higher than someone with good credit.

There are also companies that specialize in providing credit cards to debtors who have just come out of bankruptcy. These normally have a yearly fee and higher interest. Within a couple of months after obtaining discharge, these offers of new credit cards will start coming into your mailbox. I always suggest clients take these cards, use them, but pay them in full every month, just so they can start rebuilding their credit scores faster YES. Life after bankruptcy is great! No more monthly minimum credit card payments to suck up your disposable income.

You can start saving money again.

Keep your disposable income for your family and yourself. No more pressure for credit card payments.

Or, become wildly successful as Walt Disney and Milton Hershey!

If they can do it after bankruptcy,

*** Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in bankruptcy, business, real estate and civil litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California.

Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S. Fremont Ave, Mailstop 58, Building A-1 Suite 1125, Alhambra, CA 91803.

(Advertising Supplement)

Foreign person NRA tax ...

PAGE B4 t 14. Form 1042 is a calendar year tax return.

15. If Form 1042-S is filed on paper it must be filed with Form 1042-T for transmitting purposes.

16. Where to file: All forms are filed with the IRS Center in

Ogden Service Center, P.O. Box 409101, Ogden Utah 84409.

Disclaimer: Any accounting, business or tax advice contained in this communication is not intended as a thorough, in-depth analysis of specific issues, or a substitute for a formal opinion, nor is it sufficient

to avoid tax-related penalties. *** Al-os & Associates Accountancy Corporation provides accounting and tax services to individuals, corporations, LLCs and business entities. The Firm has a niche in defending taxpayers audited by the IRS and other governmental agencies.

(Advertising Supplement)

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cover story The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - April 5, 2017

75th AnniversAry of BAtAAn DeAth MArch

Remembering the courage of our heroes

by AJPress

On April 9, 1942, three months after the Bataan of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II; Filipino and American prisoners of war were forcibly transferred by the Imperial Japanese Army from Mariveles, Bataan to Camp O’Donnell in Tarlac. They marched approximately 60 miles under extreme heat, with no provisions for food, water, shelter or medicine.

Along the way, those who could no longer go on were beaten, bayoneted, shot or beheaded by their Japanese captors. Approximately 10,000 Filipino and 650 American soldiers died during the march.

These soldiers fought in the Bataan Peninsula for 99 days without reinforcement or air support, but they were able to disrupt the 50-day timetable of the Imperial Japanese Army before their surrender. This delay prevented the Japanese from reaching Australia.

This year commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Bataan Death March, keeping mind the valor and sacrifices of these brave soldiers who fought in Bataan, Corregidor and other parts of the Philippines. Despite being abandoned early on during the war, the Filipino and American soldiers of the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) fought gallantly in the Bataan Peninsula for 99 days without reinforcement or air support. But they managed to disrupt the 50-day timetable of the Imperial Japanese Army before their surrender, despite suffering from massive disease and starvation.

“This is the real significance of the Bataan Death March,” said Bataan Legacy Historical Society (BLHS) Director Cecilia Gaerlan. “While their bodies were beaten their spirits remained steadfast and true to the ideals of freedom and justice

for all. As stewards of this great legacy, we have a great obligation not only to our ancestors but to future generations.”

Last year, BLHS worked successfully with the California Department of Education to include the Bataan Death March and WWII in the Philippines in the U.S. history curriculum framework for Grade 11. It is now starting the next phase to help enable its implementation by creating sample lesson plans.

To remember these heroes, BLHS along with its partners the Presidio Trust, national Park Service, American Battle Monuments Commission and Fil-Am Racing; have organized a series of events on Saturday, April 8, starting with a Bataan Legacy 7.5K Valor run at 8:30 a.m. The race will start and end in front of the Presidio Officers Club at 50 Moraga Avenue in San Francisco. Proceeds from the run will benefit the BLHS and the Congressional Medal for the WWII Filipino Veterans.

A wreath-laying ceremony will also take place at 9 a.m. at the American Battle Monuments Commission WWII West Coast Memorial, and a program at the Moraga Room of the Presidio Officers Club at 10 a.m. Veterans of the Bataan of Bataan as well as WWII in the Philippines will be honored during the ceremony.

Major Generals (Ret.) Eldon Regua and Antonio “Tony” Taguba, Fil-Ams whose fathers and uncles fought in Bataan, are among the guest speakers.

“As a leader of the Filipino-American community, I am asking you to join us during this

The Philippine Consul General in Los Angeles Adelio Cruz and Dr. Jenny Batongmalaque (center) are joined by members of the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society in Los Angeles.

In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Bataan Death March, the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles is hosting an exhibit of World War II memorabilia curated by Philippine Scouts Heritage Society, Lt. Alexander Nininger Chapter. The exhibit, which opened on Monday, April 3, will be ongoing for the next month.

AJPress photos by Ding Carreon

event not only to remember this glorious past but to show the younger generation that they can emulate the ideals of their ancestors so that they can learn and appreciate the steep price of the freedom that they are enjoying,” Gaerlan stressed and continued, “Only by learning the unvarnished facts of history can they become informed citizens and responsible leaders of our soci-

ety. We in the Filipino American community must join together to show the entire nation that we have a proud heritage and one voice. Only then can we have a formidable presence and a resounding voice – one that must be heard across the nation.”

LA commemorates Filipino WWII vets in exhibit Just in time for the 75th anniversary of the Bataan Death March, the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FILVETREP) along with the Philippine Consulate General of Los Angeles are hosting a special exhibit showcasing artifacts from WWII. For the month of April,

visitors can get a close look at a wide variety of war equipment used and owned by Filipino scouts from the war. Artifacts include uniforms, weapons, utensils and saddles among other gear.

Also on display are war posters, photographs, medals and copies of the recently awarded Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor in the U.S. The exhibit opened on Monday, April 3 in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. *Bataan Death March memorabilia photos are courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration (www.archives. gov).

Erik Santos directs his own concert

by YUGEL LOSORATA Philstar.com

T h e As ian Jou r n al MDWK MAGAZ IN E - A pri l 5 , 2 0 1 7

by RICKY LO Philstar.com

For the first time, Erik Santos, with Yeng Constantino as guest, directs his own show Powerhouse

ing OPM in his first directorial venture. Some of the songs he popularized are “Kulang Ako Kung Wala Ka,” “Kung Akin Ang Mundo” and “Pagbigyang Muli.” He digs great songs written by Filipino tunesmiths with sincere poetry, saying, “May narrative ang OPM na nakaka-relate tayong mga Pilipino. Grabe ang letra, dapat namnamin kapag kakantahin.”

Erik recently recorded a theme song for the ABS-CBN soap “My Dear Heart.”

Lucky 7 Koi, determined to give part of the concert proceeds to certain beneficiaries, actually made Erik’s dream to direct his own show come true upon sealing the deal. And in a way, it is a major realization for the production group, spearheaded by women executives, considering it wanted Erik even before staging the first Powerhouse show.

Lucky 7 Koi cited that Erik just wasn’t available the first time around. Its spokeswoman clarified, “The first Powerhouse was an overwhelming success and we’re happy that we now finally got Erik and the ticket sales for his upcoming show are doing well.”

Erik’s version of a Powerhouse concert, to also showcase Marcelito Pomoy, will happen on the last Friday before Holy Week. Therefore, people are likely to look for something entertaining before the solemn stretch.

Let Erik do the talking, or should we say singing and directing.

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nerstone and Star Magic talent in sincere, emotional tone.

The concert is titled “Erik Santos Sings The Greatest OPM Classics.” For a glimpse of what he will offer, he performed a medley of three Ryan Cayabyab-written numbers during a recent promotional gathering at Solaire’s Eclipse Bar. He assured everyone that there will be a lot of powerhouse medleys of songs written by brilliant Filipino songwriters, reckoning it’s the best way to deal with OPM’s rich catalogue of now-classics.

It’s Erik’s saving grace that tried-and-tested Homer Flores sits in as musical director for his show, with Cornerstone Concerts serving as line producer. Added to the mix are his special guest performers Yeng Constantino and Ogie Alcasid who are two famous singers with songwriting skills that already produced certified hits.

When asked if he intends to take the directing route real far, Erik shared, “Hindi naman po masama mangarap to establish myself directing concerts or other types of show that involve music. I’ll take it one show at a time. For this one, I’ll make sure lahat ng manonood ay uuwi ng nakangiti.”

That he himself has hit songs under his belt makes him credible to embrac-

A

THERE are a number of firsts or special reasons why the upcoming concert of Erik Santos, dubbed as the King of OPM Theme Songs, is different from anything he has done live in his storied career. For one, it’s his first time to perform at the highly-valued Solaire’s The Theatre.

And secondly, it will have a pure OPM catalogue as repertoire.

But one thing that gets the industry’s attention is the fact that Erik will direct his own show—concept, script and all.

That’s right, the balladeer is also sitting on a director’s chair.

Funny if one takes that in a literal way; that the performer in front of the audience and the guy overseeing it all behind the spotlight is one and the same.

But seriously, it means he has total control of this. And control, as stated by Liam Neeson in a classic role, is power.

That leads us to the show being under the tag Powerhouse, a series of concerts created by fast-rising promoter Lucky 7 Koi Productions that features Filipino world-class performers.

This is the second outing after the successful first staging that had Arnel Pineda on board.

“Lahat ng makikita niyo po sa show ay kung ano ang nararamdaman ng puso ko,” stated the Cor-

entertainment 3 Pre-nup is ready but bride Ai-Ai is not

& AR ES O RT

C

AFTER winning an international Best Actress award…a long-time dream come true!...for her role as an aging prostitute in “Area” (an indie directed by Louie Ignacio) at the recent Queens World Film Festival in New York, Ai-Ai delas Alas is pestered by friends with questions when will she make her other fond dream come true — that is, her and partner Gerald Sibayan’s muchspeculated-about wedding.

“I’m not ready yet,” she admitted to her friend-movie writers over brunch Thursday, March 30 at Limbaga 77 restaurant. “Parang natatakot ako,” added Ai-Ai seriously, “baka dumating ang panahon na magkaroon ng tukso.”

At 52, Ai-Ai is 29 years Gerald’s senior but the age gap doesn’t get in the way of their smooth relationship. In jest, Ai-Ai said, “As of today, we might get married in 2018, ewan ko kung magbago ang plano bukas, hahaha!!!”

Already, Ai-Ai has drawn a

Ai-Ai delas Alas in a PDA (Public Display of Affection) for her first international Best Actress award (for her performance as an aging prostitute in Area) won at the recent Queens World Film Festival in New York.

pre-nup agreement with Gerald.

“Dapat mayroon,” she said.

The question is: Is Gerald (now a badminton coach for the San Sebastian College team) ready?

“Not yet also. His dad told him to save muna, na huwag pakakasal ng kulang ang pera.”

Ai-Ai has become so close to Gerald’s parents that she calls them “Mom” and “Dad.” Asked if Gerald’s parents are really older than her, Ai-Ai exclaimed, “Oo naman. Mabuti na lang, hahaha!!!”

Since she got the globeshaped trophy from direk Louie (who graced the awards night but Ai-Ai did not), she happily announced that she has been sleeping with it beside her pillow, away from Gerald.

“Yung trophy, ngayon lang dumating sa buhay ko samantalang si Gerald ay palaging nandyan.” (Trivia: Ai-Ai beat other nominees, including the daughter of Robert Redford.)

The sad news is that Area, a place at a town in Pampanga where an aging prostitute runs a brothel, has been demolished after the movie’s shoot, leaving the 100 or so residents jobless.

“During the shoot,” recalled Ai-Ai, “I would prepare food for them. As thanksgiving, I’m going back there and give them food stuff and something else.”

Kathryn Bernardo on Daniel Padilla: We have many plans together

by RICKY LO Philstar.com

Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla

IN their new movie, “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” Star Cinema’s Easter offering, KathNiel loveteam Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla get married with the ceremony shot at Villa Immaculada in Intramuros, Manila, but neither of them would reveal what the story is that leads to that altar date.

“Just watch the movie,” the sweethearts teased the movie press at the presscon last Thursday, March 30 at, you guessed it, Villa Immaculada. This much they would admit: the movie, directed

by Mae Cruz-Alviar, is “a mustsee” not only for KathNiels.

Kathryn turned 21 last March 26 (and Daniel 22 on April 26)

and she celebrated her special day in Palawan with Daniel and some close friends, but minus their parents. Well, they are of age and they are legally free to enjoy themselves without parental watch but guided still with parental advice in mind. You know…

The movie’s title is anachronistic because if action does speak louder than words, Kathryn and Daniel are not just “falling,” they have already “fallen” in love.

Read between the lines in the following Conversation with them: How different is Can’t Help Falling In Love from your other movies?

Daniel: First time kaming ikakasal niKathryn. Sa pelikula ha.

Continued on Page 4

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entertainment

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - April 5, 2017

Kris Aquino’s ‘reentry’ to TV set Sunday

by Ronnie

CaRRasCo ManilaTimes.net

iii

If plans don’t miscarry, Kris Aquino’s “Trip Ni Kris”—her “point of reentry” to TV—pilots this Sunday, April 9, taking the SNBO [Sunday Night Box Office] late night time slot on GMA.

Kathryn Bernardo on Daniel...

From Page 3

A two-hour special, TNT—a blocktimer—has the Queen of All Media doing non-showbiz stuff for a change—travel and cooking, so we heard. As everybody knows, both are her main interests which she does often and does best.

To prove our point, allow She has just turned 21 (last March 26) and he’s turning 22 (on April 26). Now that they are of legal age, can they make important decisions themselves?

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The ‘Queen of All Media’ returns to TV doing ‘non-showbiz stuff’ like traveling and cooking

us to share one late afternoon many years back when we realized that Kris could give culinary experts out there a run for their money.

Lolit Solis, then business manager of Kris, tagged us along to Alexandria (a condominium cluster in Ortigas) where the latter occupied an entire floor. Arriving almost dinnertime, Kris ushered us to the dining table, proudly announcing, “Dinner’s ready!”

She then opened the lid of a Pyrex dish containing what she said was her specialty: olivegarnished beef mechado. It was among the three dishes she had prepared for her guests.

Before we knew it, we had almost emptied the bowl hardly sampling the two other mouth-watering putahes. Yes, we loved Kris’ version of the saucy mechado, so much so that we thought it wouldn’t be difficult for her to find and settle down with a man who possessed a palate for good food.

After all, isn’t the way to a man’s heart through his stomach?

Sadly, the years that followed in Kris’ personal life have proven us wrong.

Kathryn: This rom-com is not for teeny-boppers. In this romcom, DJ and I are playing mature roles.

Describe your characters and what do you like about them?

Kathryn: Gab is different from me, she’s my exact opposite.

Super perfectionist. Super planner. She wants to plan everything, as in everything! I’m not like that. She’s also stiff, napakaformal na tao. But everything changes when she meets Dos. Daniel: Dos is different from the characters that I have played.

Masayahin siya, almost like me but at the same time, he’s different from me because I am not the type who is fond of trying everything. I’m not adventurous like him. I mean, I’m somewhat adventurous but unlike Dos, I don’t run a travel agency and I don’t scuba-dive. Stay-at-home akong tao, eh. But I love the role because it gives me a chance to experience things that I don’t usually do. Masarap ding marami akong natutunan.

What else of yourself do you see in the characters?

Kathryn: How she treats her mom; ayaw n’yang na-a-upset ang mom nya. She’s OC (Obsessive-Compulsive) and I’m not like that. The rest about her is so unlike me.

Daniel: I simply shrug off problems…always…like Dos. Is it okay for you to be paired with another actor/actress?

Daniel: Decisions like that are management’s call. Sana huwag muna because Kathryn and I still have many projects to do. After five years, may bagong pelikula,

bagong teleserye. But right now, we concentrate on what we are doing kasi masaya naman, eh.”

How do you keep your team-up strong and competitive with other loveteams?

Kathryn: We make sure that we do something new and something different every time, something that our fans can identify with. I am a fan, too, and I want to see in my idol something I can relate to, yung alam nila na parang kami din sila. We see to it that we don’t repeat anything, huwag na gawin yung mga nagawa na namin. More important, what you see is what you get.

Nagpapaka-totoo talaga kami.

Daniel: What drives me is the desire to give the public something different, something that makes them happy. Di yon nawawala sa amin ni Kathryn.

We are always eager to meet our KathNiels. Like now that we have a new movie, we want to find out how our fans will react. I’m not saying that only Kathryn and I are like that. Sinasabi ko lang, eh, di nawawala sa amin yon.

You cannot be doing “teen” roles forever so your roles should also be according to your age. Paano nyo ina-adjust ang roles nyo para tugma sa edad nyo?

Kathryn: I think the right thing to do is not to hurry things up, huwag mong madaliin. Ayaw namin pilitin.So the roles that we are portraying now are right for our age. Had we done them two years ago, they might have been awkward, parang alanganin.

We wait for the perfect time for everything, step by step.Mahirap kasi ’pag biglain lahat.

How mature are you in your

new movie?

Daniel: Mature na tama lang sa edad namin. By mature, I don’t mean that there are torrid kissing scenes, love scenes, yung mga yan. None of those.

What are the do’s and don’t’s before you accept a role? Or do you let your parents decide for you?

Kathryn: Sa ibang bagay, of course, like investments and all.

But they let us decide on some things,kailangan na rin yon kasi tumatanda na rin kami. But not everything. I am not in a position to decide on everything. We still rely on our moms who continue to guide us and to remind us.

Now that your are of legal age, can you and do you make decisions by yourselves, especiallypagdating sa finances at personal life?

Kathryn: When it comes to finances, si Mama bahala dyan.

But she’s training me how to handle some things, especially where numbers are involved, and what to invest in.

You have practically grown up together. What have you learned and are you learning from each other?

Kathryn: I think yung “in a world full of Kardashians, be like Diana.” DJ sent that to me.

I realized that it’s very true. You don’t have to keep in step with the rest, don’t force yourself into something na hindi bagay sa’yo.

Be yourself.

What do you usually disagree on and how do you patch things up?

Kathryn: A lot! Sometimes, sa food. Or where we should go. He always tells me, “It’s up to you!”

Continued on Page 5

MOONLIGHTING

by MYLAH DE

LEON

THERE is a memory of loss that fall provokes, like feeding the earth’s exhaustion, satisfaction and weariness, making us wonder.

How we deal with all the other endings in our lives or facing up to what’s been and now gone? How do we mend the wear and tear of our lives?

The last image I had of him was that distant midnight when his guiding hand led me while waiting for a ride as he stood out against the gate of Quezon City Police Station 1.

His lips pursed a trifle, his pair of steady eyes gleaming with a kindly understanding light.

Smiling, he waved. I would never see him alive again.

When it approaches, death announces itself by a kind of scent, some silent sounds, some impalpable imperfections. In this case, it was a car driven at an insane speed, beating the red light at the corner of E. Rodriguez and Araneta Avenue, that led to a fatal crash. The impact drove the passenger jeep to skid off obliquely, somersaulting twice before eventually landing on its top. The first

person to rush to the scene was a passing cab driver. Beneath the little pile of twisted iron, ripped metal and shattered glass, he laid still alive, apparently intact, raising his eyelids as he was helped and extracted from the tangle, dragged and carried, blood pouring from a head wound, copiously soaking the pavement.

Lifted, if weakly, by the arm which was perhaps broken, a vertebra perhaps shattered, he was settled in the rear seat of the taxi for the journey to a hospital that seemed so far away. Halfway, he opened his eyes, drew a breath, a very, very long one, and then his heart burst.

I arrived 93 hours later. Outside the police station a large crowd had gathered, folks from all quarters. People whose lives he had touched wept a quiet farewell. There was the agony of having to look at him. I knew that they had opened him up to steal his heart, his lungs, his viscera then sewed him up to show an unharmed face. “Sionoc,” I called out to him, shyly and hesitantly, but stiffened in the haughty and scornful immobility of the dead. He proudly rejected every word and every gesture of affection. All that remained of

him was someone asleep, with the form and the memory of what he was hours earlier.

How does one say goodbye to an ally, confidante, father confessor who listened to one’s secret hopes, shared one’s deliciously wicked schemes, one’s impossible dream? An elfin godfather who teased me into good spirits when life sucked and our only language was laughter. Sometimes, our talks had to do with “RMG,” a great man whom I adore and respect, and whom we loved together. Much of what we shared about his chief was in grief and frustration because we were both deeply concerned about an honest cop going through the salty pains of injustice.

The loss of one’s best friend helps sort out thoughts -- to wake up from a sleep that befuddles intelligence and prevents judgment. It hits harder because it brings the reality that death is not just a bad dream. When your best friend dies, a part of you goes with him that no one can ever bring back, and when you lose a part of yourself, it is difficult to halt the tears.

The mourning never ends. ***

E-mail Mylah at moonlightingmdl@ aol.com

Kathryn Bernardo on Daniel...

From Page 4 Daniel: You know Kathryn, she always changes her mind. I’m not like that. Once I set my mind on what we should do and where we should go, nakatatak na yon sa mind ko. What Kathryn does is, parati niyang binabago.

Kathryn (Butting in): But which you can’t control, sometimes. You really have to make changes, especially if you take the traffic into consideration. DJ doesn’t want you to surprise him with last-minute changes. Ako naman, gusto ko kasi kung anong mangyari, mabilis akong magbago. I am flexible. Like, if you have decided to watch a movie tonight, stick to it. Yan si DJ. I must admit that I’m magulosometimes. I want

features

Nothing is for always

to accomplish so many things but there’s not enough time.

DJ would say, “What are your priorities?” So we meet halfway. I go with what he wants to do and he follows what I want to do and where I want to go. Para pareho, fair.

(To Daniel) May reputation ang mga Padilla pagdating sa mga babae. Are you like your uncles or are you a one-woman man?

Daniel: I am a one-woman man.

(To Kathryn) Are you aware of that Padilla reputation?

Kathryn: Aware. Pero di naman masama. Iba naman si DJ. Lumaki rin sya kina Tita Karla (Estrada, Daniel’s mom).

What did you sacrifice (studies, maybe) for stardom?

Kathryn: Private life.

Daniel: Nothing, really. Everything is part of the business. It’s the price that you have to pay for being a public property.

Five years from now, do you see yourselves still together?

Daniel: Yes, of course! Oo naman!

Kathryn: Siempre! We have many plans together; I don’t have to itemize them. But we hope to accomplish all of them, such as the business he’s planning to put up, his dream house, my dream car. We have so many more places to visit, to experience together. Five years from now, I guessnakaka-halfway na kami.

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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - April 5, 2017

Binibinis look gracefully fierce in national costume ONE of the most awaited segments of the Binibining Pilipinas Beauty Pageant is the National Costume, as it’s here that Filipinos get to see what the official representatives may wear in their respective contests.

For the 40 candidates in this year’s Binibining Pilipinas pageant, moving gracefully and looking fierce at the same time was the name of the game when they sashayed in their coloful Filipinia outfits on Sunday, April 2.

Moreover, No. 36, the slot vacated by Mae Lanie Chan, has been filled up by Gillian Eliza Colcol from Kagandahang Flores

camp. The replacement beauty is a Communication Arts graduate of De La Salle University.

The Top 5 candidates chosen on April 30 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and telecast live on ABS-CBN will represent the Philippines in the Miss Universe, Miss International, Miss Supranational, Miss Globe and Miss Grand International.

Last year’s winners made good placements after Pia Wurtzbach’s win in the Miss Universe in 2015.

Kylie Verzosa was crowned Miss International; Nicole Cordoves was Miss Grand International First Runner-Up; and Nichole Manalo was Miss Globe Third Runner-Up. (ManilaTimes.net)

Photos from Binibining Pilipinas Official Facebook page

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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - April 5, 2017