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Volume 10 – Issue 46 • 16 Pages

AUGUST 25-31, 2017

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DATELINE Filipina pleads guilty to stealing $100,000 from US Navy base FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

KANSAS CITY - A Filipino woman has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $100,000 (P5 million) from a United States Naval base in Japan, according to Federal prosecutors on Monday, August 22.

Cynthia Lopez Creseni on Friday, August 18, pleaded guilty to theft, of public money amounting to $99,068 from the Morale Welfare and Recreation Center (MWR) at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan.

The Filipina, who had worked at the base since 2000, was the lead cashier of the game/slot room when the incident occurred. She officially reported the missing funds after returning from her vacation in U.S. in February 2015 and initially denied taking the money.

She was then placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

Interviews of Creseni’s co-workers suggested that the Filipina is suffering from financial difficulties.

Creseni, after some time, vacated her home in Japan and moved to the Philippines. Efforts to locate had failed, until

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Footage of Filipino son and mother receiving racist remarks by lesbian couple goes viral VIDEO footage showing a young Filipino man and his mother being verbally harassed by a lesbian couple has gone viral since being posted on Twitter on August 13.

“Go back to ‘Filipinoville’ and get out of our country,” said one woman to Angelo Cabuang, the video’s poster. “You don’t walk around acting like a pig,” the woman added. Her partner stood by smirking.

In the original tweet, Cabuang said the reaction was in response to a burp he let out at a Save Mart market.

“I literally burped at Save Mart and a racist couple reacted by calling us pigs and telling us to go back to ‘Filipinoville,’” the tweet read, followed by a laughing emoji.

As the video went viral, Cabuang went to his followers and asked if they wanted to see another one. The poll had 1,230 votes where 92 percent said yes.

In the second video, Cabuang’s mother is seen defending her son, saying that he is not

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Also published in LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTY/INLAND EMPIRE, LAS VEGAS, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

UNICEF ‘deeply concerned’ with Philippine drug war’s impact on kids It also called for a fair and transparent investigation into the killing. The Philippine National Police Internal Affairs Service earMANILA — UNICEF Philippines on Tues- lier Tuesday said that police officers involved day, Aug. 22 said that it is “deeply concerned in the operation have confirmed that they about the impact of the war on drugs on Fili- were the men seen in security footage dragpino children” after a 17-year-old boy was ging Delos Santos away.

Police as well as online supporters of the killed in a Caloocan police operation last drug war claim that the boy was a drug couweek.

“UNICEF offers its condolences to Kian’s rier.

The IAS is readying administrative chargfamily. We share their grief and the grief of all the families of children who have been killed, es over operational lapses that led to the as well as of children who have lost parents, boy’s death. The police Criminal Investiga- FUNERAL PROTEST. The children of Leover Miranda stand behind the hearse that carried their father’s remains to the Manila North Cemetery where he was buried on Sunday, Aug. 20. Miranda was one of caregivers and relatives, during anti-drug op- tion and Detection Group will hold a parallel dozens of drug suspects killed in several massive anti-drug operations in Metro Manila and Bulacan erations,” the United Nations program said. u PAGE A2 province last week.

ManilaTimes.net photo by Bob Dungo Jr.

by ROSETTE

ADEL

Philstar.com

Palace: US aid conditions should be aligned with Duterte admin’s agenda

by DANA

SIOSON AJPress

ANY conditions on assistance the Philippines may receive from a foreign aid agency must be aligned with the policies of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, a Palace official said.

Malacañang issued the statement on Sunday, August 20 after Washington-based Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) announced that the Philippines is among the candidate countries to receive assistance for 2018.

“We acknowledge and welcome the decision of the United Palace spokesperson States Millennium Challenge Ernesto Abella Inquirer.net photo Corp to extend assistance to the Philippines after the first grant ended in May 2016,” Duterte’s spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.

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BACK IN MARAWI. President Rodrigo Duterte returned to Marawi on Thursday, Aug. 24, the same day soldiers were reported to have recaptured the Grand Mosque in the war-ravaged city. This was the third time that Mr. Duterte visited the city since fighting broke out between government forces and pro-Islamic State extremist groups in the area. The conflict had prompted him to put Mindanao under martial law.

Photo courtesy of Christopher Go

‘Top-to-bottom corruption at BOC’ ‘Sartorial elegance,’ refined PR win

by CHRISTINE

O AVENDAÑO Inquirer.net

A “WELCOME gift” of P100 million awaited Nicanor Faeldon when he took over the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at the start of the Duterte administration in July last year, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said on Wednesday, Aug. 23.

“Loud whispers in the four corners of the BOC compound tell of a P100million ‘pasalubong’ to the newly installed commissioner, a quarter of According to Sen. Panfilo Lacson, the biggest payola recipients at Customs are Nicanor Faeldon and his five deputy commissioners. Senate photo

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SC forms team to examine ballots in Marcos vs Robredo election protest THE Supreme Court (SC), sit- retrieval and transport to the SC ting as the Presidential Electoral compound in Manila for revision. waThe revision stage is the Tribunal (PET), has formed a retrieval team to secure ballot boxes third part of an electoral protest, in being questioned in connection which the questioned ballot boxes with former Senator Ferdinand will be opened and votes will be “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s electoral recounted and tallied through the protest against Philippine Vice use of vote-counting machines or President Maria Leonor “Leni” manually and visually.

The SC Gymnasium will be used Robredo.

According to the court’s resolu- for the revision proceedings. The tion dated August 8, the retrieval court also approved the use of team is tasked to locate and ex- two more areas, including the a amine all ballot boxes in the prov- portion of the fourth floor parking In this April 17 photo, former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. arrived at the Supreme inces and cities subject to the poll level of the SC-Court of Appeals Court to pay the bond for his poll protest against Vice President Leni Robredo.

Philstar.com photo by Miguel De Guzman protest in order to facilitate its u PAGE A2

confirmation for PH envoy to US

by JOCELYN

R UY

Inquirer.net

Philippine Ambassador to the UNITED States Jose Manuel Romualdez Wednesday, Aug. 23 got the nod of the Commission on Appointments after being grilled for an hour on urgent issues, including extrajudicial killings, U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policy and the country’s relations with the United States.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chair of the commission’s committee on foreign affairs, endorsed Romualdez’s nomination to the plenary following a brief execuPH Ambassador to the United States Jose tive session.

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Manuel Romualdez

Inquirer.net photo

Court affirms Pemberton’s conviction on killing of Laude

by DANA

SIOSON AJPress

2014.

In a resolution issued on TuesTHE Philippine Court of Ap- day, August 15, the appellate peals (CA) has upheld with final- court’s former Special 16th Diviity its earlier decision convicting sion dismissed the appeal filed United States Marine Lance Cor- by Pemberton seeking to reverse poral Joseph Scott Pemberton the CA’s decision last April, which for killing Filipino transgender affirmed the earlier ruling of the woman Jennifer Laude in October u PAGE A3

A august 25-31, 2017 • NEW YORK aND NEW JERsEY asIaN JOuRNaL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (212) 655-5426

From the Front Page

UNICEF ‘deeply concerned’ with PAGE A1 t investigation into what the Public Attorney’s Office has described as murder. The National Bureau of Investigation has also been tasked with launching its own probe.

“This investigation must be undertaken in a manner that seeks to guarantee the best interests of children and promote respect for their rights. Those who are responsible for killings and deliberate violence against children must be held accountable,” UNICEF,

which also has ongoing recovery programs in Marawi City, said.

“The Philippines, as a State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, has a legal and moral obligation to promote, protect and fulfil the human rights of every child. Every child’s right to life, to develop to her or his full potential, to be heard, and to be protected from all forms of violence are universal and inalienable. There are no exceptions.

These rights apply without qualification,” it also said.

The Department of Education condemned the killing over the weekend.

“The Department denounces all forms of violence against our students, teachers, and personnel,” it said in a statement.

“DepEd supports the call for an impartial investigation of the incident. We also support President Duterte’s directive to uphold the rule of law, and to put to jail those who will be found responsible for the student’s death,” it also said. n

SC forms team to examine ballots in Marcos vs...

PAGE A1 t Multi-Purpose Building, as well as a room at the back of the Division Hearing room.

Additionally, the resolution states that the Revision Committees will be composed of a coordinator who shall be a lawyer not affiliated with the court, and a recorder and a representative from both each the protestant and protestee.

Each Revision Committee will receive P1,500 per clustered precinct for compensation and supplies. The coordinator will receive P780, while the recorder will receive P480 for the recorder. P184 will be allotted for supplies and materials.

On the other hand, compensation of the members of the panel of commissioners were fixed. Justice Jose Vitug as chairperson who will receive P50,000, while his members, lawyers Angelito Imperio and Irene Ragodon-Guevarra, will each receive P45,000 monthly.

Robredo won the May 2016 vice presidential elections with only just 263,473 votes more than Marcos.

In his electoral protest, the former senator questioned over 39,221 clustered precincts, composing of 132,446 established precincts. He has already completed the payment of his P66.2-million

protest fee.

In a statement, Marcos’ camp welcomed the PET’s resolution.

“We cannot wait for the actual process to start because it is the only way we’ll be able to ferret the truth. We have always maintained that the ballots themselves are the best evidence in any election protest. This is the reason why we have always pushed for the early revision of ballots,” lawyer Victor Rodriguez, Marcos’s spokesperson, said.

“We hope that this will expedite the process so this issue can be settled once and for all. The Filipino people deserve to know their real vice president is,” he added.

Robredo, on the other hand, is contesting 8,042 clustered precincts, consisting of 31,278 established precincts in her counterprotest. The PET has extended

the vice president’s deadline to pay the remaining P7.43 million required to process her counterprotest.

On Wednesday, August 23, Piso Para Kay Leni group led by Museo Pambata chair Cristina Lim-Yuson asked the PET to reconsider its earlier decision dismissing their motion to pay the vice president’s remaining balance.

The petitioners, through their counsel, Purification BartolomeBernabe, the PET needs to reverse its earlier ruling as the issue is a matter of “transcendental importance.

“This is a necessary exercise of the right of suffrage considering that VP Leni will be deprived of her victory, we will be deprived of her victory because she is financially disadvantaged,” Bartolome-Bernabe said. (Dana Sioson/AJPress)

HISTORIC ECLIPSE. The moon is seen as it starts passing in front of the sun during a solar eclipse from Ross Lake, Northern Cascades National Park, in Washington on Monday, Aug. 21. NASA reported 4.4 million people were watching its TV coverage midway through the eclipse, the biggest livestream event in the space agency’s history.

Photo from NASA by Bill Ingalls

‘Sartorial elegance,’ refined PR win confirmation...

PAGE A1 t The plenary immediately gave its consent to his appointment since no member posed any objection. s Philippine ambassador to the United States, Romualdez also serves in concurrent capacity as the country’s representative to Jamaica, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago,

stead,” said Lacson in moving for the plenary’s approval of Romualdez’s appointment.

Romualdez, a newspaper columnist, will officially occupy a post that was vacant for more than a year after the retirement of former Central Bank Governor Jose Cuisia Jr. in June last year. n

Palace: US aid conditions should be aligned with...

PAGE A1 t

MCC said it will assess a country’s eligibility for the grant based Vice Pres. Leni Robredo Philstar.com photo on criteria such as the country’s demonstrated commitment to just and democratic governance, economic freedom, and investments in its people.

Additional indicators include the U.S. Attorney Kim Moore; and earlier this year over immigraPAGE A1 t tion violations for overstaying was investigated by the Naval country’s opportunity to reduce investigators learned that she her visa.

Criminal Investigative Service poverty and generate economic flew to U.S. in July 2015.

Sentencing is scheduled for and Immigration and Customs growth in the country, as well as She was located in Overland the fourth of January next year. Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland the availability of funds.

The Philippines’ inclusion, Park, Kansas and arrested by The case is being pros- Security Investigations (HSI).

Abella said, serves as a “recognifederal agents on January 24 ecuted by Special Assistant (AJPress)

Filipina pleads guilty to stealing $100,000 from...

Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and Grenadines and Saint Lucia.

“You and I would agree that his sartorial elegance and refined public relations make for an effective bilateral relations with the US. This serves the country in good

tion of the efforts” of the administration to “continue and maintain macroeconomic policies while investing in human capital development in health and educational systems and improving social protection programs to protect the poor.”

He credited the administration’s socioeconomic agenda for the Philippines’ inclusion in MCC’s list of candidate countries.

While the Philippine government welcomed the recent developments, Malacañang stressed that it will study the conditions

set by the U.S. poverty reduction agency.

“While we are happy with this new development, our economic managers would study the conditions set by the MCC if these are aligned with the President’s priority agenda,” Abella added.

In December 2016, MCC deferred a vote on the re-selection of the Philippines, saying it withheld its second aid due to “significant concerns around rule of law and civil liberties.”

Its first grant, worth $434 million, expired in May last year. n n

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(212) 655-5426 • http://www.asianjournal.com

Dateline USa

NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • AUgUSt 25-31, 2017

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Footage of Filipino son and mother receiving racist... 4,000 signed petitions certify Lavarro for reelection as council-at-large in Jersey City PAGE A1 t

acting like a pig. The original harasser’s partner responds in disbelief.

The couple is then seen reacting to being videoed and accusing Cabuang for not recording what he did. “That’s what I love about you internet freaks,” said the partner. “You love to videotape other people after the fact, and then you videotape our reaction.”

“She don’t call people pigs unless they’re pigs,” said the initial harasser to Cabuang’s mother who told the woman that she didn’t see what happened. “I don’t need to, she’s my wife. You have a problem with her, you go through me.”

Towards the end of the video, a third party comes and tries to

settle the argument. One of the women is seen giving the middle finger gesture to the video. When Cabuang’s mother tells the couple that she will report them, one asked, “Who are you going to report it to?”

The original video has garnered over 1,300 retweets and over 2,700 likes since being posted. Many Twitter users have expressed support for Cabuang, including Michael Tubbs, Mayor of Stockton, CA. His tweet read, “Sorry about what happened to you and your family. Racism has no place in our great city. Have a great school year.”

Seeing as the harassers were lesbians, many from the LGBTQ community also showed their sup-

port for Cabuang, and their disapproval for the couple. “On behalf of me and many of the rest of the LGBTQ [community], they are not [a part] of our community with this bigotry. Shame on them,” read one tweet by Twitter user @kitcatbar.

The video took place in a Save Mart store on Quail Lakes Drive in Stockton, CA — a city with a strong Filipino community dating back to the peak of early Filipino immigration in the 1920s to 1930s.

Cabuang, who attends the University of San Francisco according to his Twitter, tweeted, “After living in a diverse place like SF for a while, we can sometimes forget that racism exists.” (Rae Ann Varona/AJPress)

Court affirms Pemberton’s conviction on...

PAGE A1 t

Olongapo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) against him.

“With respect to Pemberton’s motion, we maintain our ruling that his invocation of self-defense is an admission of the killing and of its authorship,” the CA decision read, penned by Associate Justice Marlene Gonzales-Sison.

The CA said that Pemberton’s arguments are a mere “rehash of issues” already discussed in its decision in April 3 of this year.

In its recent resolution, the court again dismissed Pemberton’s argument that he killed Laude in self-defense after the latter allegedly attacked him when he discovered Laude’s real gender.

“The allegation of Pemberton that he was slapped by Laude could not even be corroborated by any medical findings. Worthy to note that according to Pemberton, the slap he allegedly received made his ear ring which if true should have promoted Pemberton to immediately seek medical attention,” the CA said.

The court reiterated that self-

United States Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton Photo from Olongapo City Jail

defense implied Pemberton’s admission that he committed the criminal act.

It further said that the U.S. marine’s immediate escape from the Celzone Lodge in Olongapo City is a sign of guilt.

“The bits of evidence, pieced together, point to Pemberton as the killer of Laude. Ostensibly, our rules make no distinction between direct evidence of a fact and evidence of circumstances from which the existence of a fact may be inferred. Pemberton’s criminal

‘Top-to-bottom corruption....

PAGE A1 t which, or P25 million was retained as a finder’s fee by his middleman named Joel Teves,” Lacson said in a privilege speech titled “Kita kita (sa Customs) [I see you at Customs].”

Teves was among the 44 alleged bribe givers, or “players,” that Lacson identified at the BOC. Lacson said Faeldon was swallowed by the system after a year in office, as he led officials and employees in receiving payoffs through a “tara” (payola) system that has been in place in the agency for a long time.

“Hell is empty and all the devils are at the BOC,” Lacson said, paraphrasing Shakespeare’s “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”

“And for the devils, the BOC is heaven — a heaven that is a haven for crooks, criminals, malefactors and faeldons … sorry, I meant felons,” the senator said.

President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Monday that he had accepted the resignation of Faeldon and that he had appointed Isidro Lapeña, head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, as his replacement.

Faeldon called for a third-party investigation into the issues hounding the BOC as he denied Lacson’s allegations that he was among those who received bribe money at the agency.

“I have not asked anybody to collect tara for me nor have I accepted any tara from anybody,” Faeldon said in a text message.

“The country will appreciate if a third-party investigation by a competent body will be conducted so that justice will be served,” he said.

Carefully vetted list As he had promised, Lacson delivered his privilege speech identifying the alleged bribe givers, collectors/bagmen and the recipients at the BOC based on the tara list he compiled and “carefully vetted and cross-matched.”

He said leading the pack was no less than Faeldon and his five deputy commissioners—Teddy Raval of the Intelligence Group, Ariel Nepomuceno of the Enforcement Group, Gerardo Gambala of the Command Center, Natalio Ecarma III of the Revenue Collection Monitoring Group and Edward James Dy Buco of the Assessment and Operations Coordination Group.

The senator said a “prominent” BOC official whom he did not name earned P5,109,000 from May 16 to June 28 alone.

“The tara system, Mr. President, shows that there is systematic corruption in the bureau. In fact, with almost every office and official receiving their share of tara, the bureau can give the Mafia stiff competition,” Lacson said.

Shabu smuggling Lacson said the P6.4-billion “shabu” (crystal meth) shipment that passed through the BOC and ended up in a warehouse in Valenzuela City “sounds more like the inspiration behind the hit movie title, ‘Kita Kita (I Can See You).”’

He said the shipment was “smuggled under the noses or through the indispensable participation of BOC officials.”

“We can see the incomes of several customs officials,” Lacson said, pointing out that during the Senate blue ribbon committee inquiry into the controversy, “fixer” Mark Taguba named BOC officers and bagmen he bribed, but “did not spill all the beans.”

Lacson recalled that in one of the hearings, Faeldon said he was aware of the tara system but he could not investigate it because he was only able to form an investigative team six months later.

But it was a lie, according to Lacson, saying that Faeldon appointed Gambala and other technical assistants as early as July last year.

Impunity Having the backing of Mr. Duterte, Faeldon should have started to clean up the agency by eliminating the tara system but he was eaten up by it, “effectively tolerating and even promoting the impunity of corruption.”

“How can we stop the importation of illegal drugs at the BOC if the graft activities of its officials and personnel and the corrupt system persist in the seaports and airports?” he said.

Lacson said his office was contacted by BOC officials, employees, brokers and even a civicminded individual who had been gathering information on the tara system at the BOC or how much an office or an official was getting per container.

He listed the 44 bribe givers and 21 collectors/bagmen.

Big players, Davao Group Lacson also listed the standard tara for BOC offices, and for the Manila International Container Port and the Port of Manila.

Lacson also identified the “big players” at the BOC who he said were enjoying the quick release of their shipments.

Lacson said he hoped Lapeña whom he knew would not be eaten up by the system.

“His highest calling at the moment is to descend on the gates of hell and destroy the brazen corruption within the country’s most corrupt agency,” he said.

During the interpellation, Sen. Cynthia Villar noted that David Tan and Manny Santos, who were on Lacson’s list, were investigated in 2013 by the Senate for rice smuggling and Lea Cruz, for garlic smuggling in 2014.

Lacson said Faeldon and other BOC officials could be liable in connection with the smuggling of shabu.

“Their eyes have been covered with money and they no longer think whether drugs or contraband are being released,” Lacson told Sen. Bam Aquino who asked questions about the exposé.

Sought for comment, Gambala said: “God knows everything that I do; there’s nothing that I can hide from him. That’s why I submit to his will and hold on to his promise that he will never leave me nor forsake me.” n

liability for homicide stands,” the CA added.

The court, likewise, upheld its order to Pemberton to pay Laude’s family P4.32 million for loss of earning capacity, P30,000 for exemplary damages, P75,000 for civil indemnity, P75,000 for moral damages, and P155,250 for the wake, burial, and related expenses.

The CA also maintained it its affirmation on the RTC’s ruling which sentenced Pemberton to a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment.

Pemberton is currently detained at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. n

Lavarro touts accomplishments of stable taxes, increased public safety, affordable housing, and immigrant-friendly policies adopted in past four years JERSEY CITY– With over 4,000 petitions submitted to Jersey City’s Municipal Clerk, Council President Rolando Lavarro, Jr. is officially certified as a Council-At-Large candidate in Jersey City’s 2017 municipal election, along with incumbents and AtLarge teammates Daniel Rivera and Joyce Watterman. Lavarro is running for re-election under the banner of Mayor Steven Fulop.

The position of Council AtLarge represents the entire city of Jersey City and requires 1,357 signatures from Jersey City voters to be certified as a candidate for the non-partisan municipal election that will take place on November 7. Lavarro and Team Fulop submitted three times more than the minimum threshold for At-Large candidates.

“I’m proud to have served on the Council for the last four years with my At-Large colleagues and friends Joyce Watterman and Daniel Rivera,” said Lavarro.

“Thank you to everyone who signed and everyone who volunteered to get petition signatures.

I’m excited to speak with Jersey City’s voters from now until November 7, to make the case and ask for the opportunity to serve Jersey City for four more years.”

Lavarro touts his accomplishments as a tireless fighter for Jersey City’s working families and diverse communities. Under

his leadership of the City Council and working in partnership with Mayor Fulop, Jersey City’s taxes have remained stable with no municipal tax increase over the past four years. Lavarro pushed for safer streets by increasing funding to increase expand the police force. From a record low of 779 police officers in the prior administration, Jersey City now boasts of nearly 950 police officers in its ranks, and is considered one of the most diverse police departments in the nation. Jersey City’s development has moved away from the waterfront and towards other parts of the city, with major developments under way in Journal Square, BergenLafayette, and Greenville. This development boom includes the

first affordable housing being built in Jersey City in decades with the construction of the first 80-20 buildings in Jersey City - 80% market rate and 20% onsite affordable units. Lavarro has also championed Jersey City’s diverse communities -- including Jersey City’s 18,000 Filipinos -- in the midst of a wave of antiimmigrant sentiment sweeping across the nation, by adopting policies welcoming and supporting the City’s new Americans, like Sanctuary City.

“We have made significant progress in the past four years to move Jersey City in the right direction,” said Lavarro. “We know that there’s much more work to do when our team first took of-

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A august 25-31, 2017 • NEW YORK aND NEW JERsEY asIaN JOuRNaL

Dateline USa

PH-native student named speaker at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology Commencement Ceremony Ruby Lirio, M.A., unanimously selected to represent graduating class of more than 400 CHICAGO - Ruby Lirio of Tanauan City, Batangas, Philippines, and a 2017 graduate of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology Program was chosen to be the student speaker at the University’s recent commencement ceremony. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP) is a leading nonprofit, private institution devoted exclusively to psychology and related behavioral health sciences, and has campuses in Chicago, Southern California, Washington, D.C. and online.

During her tenure at The Chicago School, Ruby served as a fellow at the institution’s Center for Multicultural and

Diversity Studies, worked as a graduate assistant in the International Psychology Department, and became a member of the Asian Pacific American Society and the International Students Organization.

When introducing her at the July 7 Chicago Campus commencement that featured more than 400 graduates and thousands of family members and friends, Chicago Campus Dean Dr. Tiffany Masson said of Ruby, “While at TCSPP, Ruby has passionately pursued her professional goals and met challenging opportunities head on.”

Before coming to the United States to study, Ruby took a B.A. in psychology and a diploma in industrial relations from the Uni-

versity of the Philippines-Diliman, and worked as both a learning specialist and human resources associate. She is a 2016 recipient of the Global Psychology StartUp Fund for her proposal to increase mental health awareness in the Philippine workplace, and plans to return to the Philippines within the year after she has completed further training. “…determination earned me a TCSPP education that I wish to use in order to create an impact {on} the landscape of the Philippine workplace. With this education, I wish to help create policies that make restorative practices options in resolving conflicts -policies that protect and improve the mental health of employees,” she told her fellow graduates. n

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Viacom pulls out Nickelodeon theme park project in Palawan VIACOM International Media Networks (VIMN) will no longer pursue the plan to construct the heavily-opposed Nickelodeon theme park in an island considered as the Philippines’ “last ecological frontier.”

In a statement released Tuesday, August 22, VIMN said it has reached an agreement with Coral World Park to discontinue the licensing agreement for the attraction in Coron island located in Palawan.

The planned attraction, which was first announced in January of this year, was met with fierce criticisms from environmental advocates and other groups, including the Tagbanua Tribes of Coron Island Association, Incorporated (TTCIA).

“VIMN has mutually agreed with Coral World Park to discontinue the IP licensing agreement for the Nickelodeon-

branded attraction and resort that was intended to be part of Coral World Park’s planned development in the western Philippine province of Palawan,” Corporate Communications Asia’s Senior Director Adeline Ong said.

Slated to open in 2020, the project aims to build a 400hectare undersea attraction and resort in Coron that will feature Nickelodeon’s iconic properties like ‘SpongeBob SquarePants,’ ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,’ and ‘Dora the Explorer.’

Despite assurance from the developers that the environment will be preserved, the conservation community called on for the cancellation of the project over possible damage to the marine ecosystem.

“Therefore, VIMN and Nickelodeon will no longer be in-

volved with this proposed development. We wish Coral World Park well,” Ong added.

Environmental advocates lauded VIMN’s decision to scrap the project.

“We commend Viacom International Media Networks, the media company that owns Nickelodeon, for heeding to the call of over 260,000 online petitioners and local communities to disengage with Coral World Park,” said Save Philippine Seas executive director Anna Oposa.

Oposa earlier lead an online campaign against project on Bataris.org.ph.

“VIMN’s decision to cut-off its ties with CWP shows that the real power lies in the hands of the people, especially our Tagbanua brothers and sisters, who fiercely opposed the project,” she added. (Dana Sioson/AJPress)

Arum: No way Pacquiao vs Horn rematch happens in PH

Ruby Lirio of Tanauan City, Batangas, Philippines, and a 2017 graduate of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology Program was chosen to be the student speaker at the University’s recent commencement ceremony.

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PROMOTER Bob Arum on Wednesday said the rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn being staged in the Philippines in December is not going to happen.

“It’s impossible,” Arum told The Star a day after Philippine Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo bared plans to bring the rematch between Pacquiao and Horn to the Philippines.

“It’s impossible because we have a contract that if there’s a rematch it has to be in Australia,” said Arum of the deal signed by both camps, including Pacquiao and Horn and their respective promoters and the Queensland government.

If Pacquiao insists on doing a fight in the Philippines in December, then the 38-year-old fighting senator should start looking for an opponent because it’s not going to be the rematch with the 29-year-old Australian.

“Manny can say, ‘Okay, I’m not doing the rematch.’ Then Horn will fight somebody else in Australia and tell Manny, ‘See you next year.’ But if he (Pacquiao) wants to do the rematch and do it this year it has to be in Brisbane,” Arum stressed.

The first fight took place last July 2 at the Brisbane Stadium, before a live audience of over 51,000. The rematch is expected

to be bigger than the first one, and Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk announced the other day that a deal is in place for a November 12 fight.

Arum said the only way for the rematch to be held outside of Australia, including the massive Philippine Arena just north of Manila, is if Horn, now the WBO welterweight champion, agrees to it.

“Unless Horn agrees otherwise, and Horn is not going to agree. Nobody has even talked to Horn about doing the fight in the Philippines,” said Arum, who was startled to read the news from the Philippines Tuesday that there are talks on bringing the rematch across.

“So, I mean, I don’t know who started this and what it’s about.

This is like ridiculous,” said Arum.

The Philippine tourism official said she’s been in talks with Party List Representative Eric Pineda, who is also the business manager of Pacquiao, regarding the hosting of the rematch in December.

Arum said he’s surprised why some people are even talking about staging the rematch when they have nothing to do with the fight itself.

“This is all nonsense. The contract with Horn and Duco (Events

of Australia) is with Top Rank.

And it has specific language,” said Arum.

“It just can’t happen. Period. It can’t happen,” said the 85-yearold American promoter.

It’s very unlikely for Horn to even think of coming over to the Philippines to defend his title against Pacquiao, unless the Philippine government offers him the moon and the stars.

Arum said the last time he heard of plans to bring a Pacquiao fight in the Philippines, President Duterte was not too excited.

“All we know is that when the President was asked whether the government would support a fight or put up the money for the fight, he said, “No. We’d rather spend the money on feeding poor people.’ And he’s right,” Arum told The STAR over the phone Wednesday morning.

The other day, the Brisbane Lord Mayor announced that they’ve gotten the commitment from Pacquiaothat he’s coming to Brisbane in November to do the rematch.

“Absolutely,” Arum said about the deal being in place, until he woke up hearing news that there are plans to bring the fight to the Philippines in December.

“It’s impossible,” he said.

(Abac Cordero/Philstar.co)

(212) 655-5426 • http://www.asianjournal.com

NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • AUgUSt 25-31, 2017

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A

Impeachment complaint filed against Comelec chief

by Dana

SioSon AJPress

MANILA - An impeachment complaint has been filed against Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Andres Bautista for alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.

Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio and former Congressman Jacinto Paras filed the complaint before the House of Representatives on Wednesday, August 23.

The complaint stemmed from allegations of the Comelec chief’s estranged wife, Patricia Paz Bautista, that he had about one billion pesos of undeclared wealth in his 2016 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

“It is crystal clear that Bautista illegally acquired these assets as they are disproportionate to his salary as a public official; besides, his non-report-

ing of the same in his SALN further lends credence to the allegations that they are ill-gotten,” the complaint read.

Topacio and Paras claimed that Bautista failed to declare his several bank accounts, condominium units in Taguig city and California, and other foreign investments in his SALN. Bautista was also accused of betraying public trust when he failed to prevent the incident dubbed as “Comeleak,” wherein the agency’s website was hacked resulted to the leak of voters’ personal data in 2016.

The complainants further stressed that Bautista failed to “promptly act” on the hacking incident, adding that he neglected his duties and responsibilities when he declined to assume “direct control and supervision” of the task force assigned to check the leak.

They likewise claimed that the Comelec chief obstructed justice

Atty. Ferdinand Topacio and former Rep. Jacinto Paras sign the impeachment complaint they filed against Comelec Chair Andres Bautista.

Photo from the Office of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez

when he cleared Smartmatic and Comelec IT specialists of any wrongdoing for the so-called “script tweak” during the consolidation or canvassing of results in the May 2016 elections.

“Such action constitutes betrayal of public trust… Obviously, Bautista is unworthy and undeserving of the office of Chairman, Commission on Elections, and should be impeached.

No less than six commissioners of the Commission had denounced his ‘failed leadership’ and other transgressions,” the complaint further read.

Their complaint was endorsed

by Deputy Speaker Gwen Garcia, Kabayan partylist Rep. Harry Roque, and Cavite Rep. Abraham Tolentino.

“I wouldn’t have endorsed it without the assurance from Mrs. Bautista that on the hearings she will appear and attest to the truthfulness of his affidavit and bring all the documentary evidence she mentioned in her complaint affidavit,” Roque said.

Meanwhile, Tolentino said he endorsed the complaint to give the Comelec chief an opportunity to to clear his name and refute the allegations against him.

Garcia, for her part, said now is the right time to check the “veracity” and “credibility” of the automated voting system.

Senator Francis Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on banks, said Bautista will be summoned in the committee’s next hearing on money laundering to “shed light on this issue or in the absence thereof to submit a waiver to the bank so that the hearings can proceed without legal stumbling blocks.”

The committee also asked the Comelec chief to sign a waiver on secrecy of bank deposits, as Section 3 of Republic Act 1405 prohibits banks to disclose details on any bank account without written waiver from the concerned depositor.

Maureen Philstar.com

SiMeon

MANILA — The Department of Agriculture has confirmed that the first bird flu case in the country is an H5N6 strain, one that can be passed on to humans, but assured the public that transmission rate is “very, very low.”

Test results from the Australian Animal Health Laboratory showed that the avian influenza first detected in San Luis, Pampanga, and that has spread in Jaen and San Isidro in Nueva Ecija, is positive for the N6 strain subtype.

“H5N6 is one of the strains that could be transmitted to humans.

With this strain, it causes low morbidity, which is the infection and transmission, and an even lower mortality or death rate among humans,” Arlene Vytiaco, head of the DA-Bureau of Animal Industry’s animal disease and control division, said in a briefing on Thursday, Aug. 24.

Since the outbreak last August 11, the DA was only able to determine the H-subtype and had to send samples to Australia for further testing of the partner subtype.

Vytiaco explained that the H5N6 strain is relatively new as it emerged only in 2013 compared to the more virulent H5N1 strain which can also be transmitted to humans.

“Worldwide since 2013, only less than 20 cases have been detected and mostly in China. Compared with the N1 which had a 58 percent mortality rate among humans in 2004,” she said.

In Southeast Asia, three countries—Myanmar, Laos, and Viet-

nam—have the H5N6 strain and yet no human case transmission have been reported.

“In Myanmar alone, it is already endemic to them. Ever since they had an outbreak, it’s been present until now but no mortality case has been detected,” Vytiaco said.

Despite the low transmission rate, the DA still warned the public to be cautious and immediately report should there be flu-like symptoms especially to residents of the affected areas.

“We are doing everything to contain it, the fact that it did not further spread to other areas is a sign that we were able to contain.

But, we cannot be complacent and we have to complete the protocols before declaring that we are free from it,” Vytiaco said.

Transmission pattern Transmission from animals to humans can be through direct contact, either by respiratory secretion or fecal materials.

“Once it had a contact with your hand and body then say you accidentally scratch your eyes, there is port of entry already. It can also be through the contaminated materials that can be sources of infection,” she said.

“Another is through the chicken dung when dried, it becomes feather dust which could mix with the air we breathe,” she added.

The department said symptoms are general and similar to the ordinary human influenza which includes cough, colds, fever and lack of appetite, among others.

“We encourage that should there be early signs, they should go to the nearest DOH (Department of Health) clinics or satel-

DFA chief: PH will continue to assert claims amid ‘change of strategy’ in disputed sea

by Dana

SioSon AJPress

der the Duterte administration, has changed its strategy in dealing with territorial disputes.

Despite this, he assured that the current administration remains firm and will not give up give up the country’s maritime claims.

Cayetano also assured that Beijing is not invading a sandbar located some 2.5 nautical miles off Pag-asa Island.

This, following Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s report that Chinese ships are guarding Sandy Cay, which he described as an “invasion of Philippine territory by China.”

“Let me assure you that despite the lack of details that we give you, we will tell you if there is an alarming station or if the public is in danger or if we are going to take or step up certain actions that needs the public’s support,” Cayetano said.

He assured that reported presence of Chinese vessels near Pag-asa Island has already been “resolved diplomatically.”

In an earlier statement, Duterte also refuted Carpio’s claim.

“We were not invaded,” the president stressed. “I called the

ambassador nung nabasa ko (when I read [the report]). He said: ‘We will assure you that we are not building anything there’.”

A separate claim by Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano alleged that China has planted its country flag on a sand cay seven nautical miles off Kota Island located at the West Philippine Sea. “According to the information that I received, a Chinese flag mounted on a steel pipe was discovered planted on a sand cay located seven nautical miles northeast off Kota Island. It was discovered around third week of July 2017. A Chinese vessel allegedly erected the said 3-meter high Chinese flag on a sand cay which is known to be within a Philippine-controlled area,” Alejano said.

The lawmaker also criticized the Foreign secretary’s socalled “strategy of silence”, urging the department to be more transparent on issues concerning the disputed territories.

He remarked that the DFA doesn’t necessarily have to release all the details, but it still “must release something for the consumption of the public.”

THE Philippine government maintained that it will not hand over any part of the country’s territory and will continue to assert its maritime claims in the disputed South China Sea. Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano made the assurance on Tuesday, August 22, amid reports that Chinese vessels have been recently spotted near Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine (South China) Sea. Critics have accused Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte of having “soft” stance in the maritime issue when the president appeared to have kept the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the back burner in pursuit of warmer economic ties with China.

In July 2016, the arbitration tribunal at The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines and concluded that China’s massive claim South China had no legal basis and violates United Nations Convenlite centers to have themselves tion on the Law of the Sea (UNchecked,” Vytiaco said.

CLOS).

It would take 84 more days beThe top diplomat noted that fore the DA declares that the coun- the Philippine government, untry may be bird flu free as the process will still include disinfection, rest period, restocking and cleaning in the next few months.

However, this is not an assurance that the case may no longer re-occur as this first bird flu may lead to a more susceptible Philippines to the virus.

“There’s always the possibility if we do not change the bad ways we’ve done before. We really have to emphasize early reporting and early detection for us to have a rapid action and be able to immediately address the problem,” Vytiaco said.

To allay fears of the consuming public, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said President Rodrigo Duterte himself will join a chicken boodle fight in San Fernando in Pampanga on Monday, Aug. 21.

“The president will personally eat balut, chicken and fried itik to TU say that it is safe to eat chickens and other poultry products,” he said.

“He will also acknowledge the support of the LGUs (local government units) and Army who helped.

When: Saturday, October 7, 2017 And award the first payments to farmers whose fowls will be culled Where: Gold Coast Hotel and Casino, 400 West Flamingo Road, in efforts to clean up the area,” PiLas Vegas, Nevada 89103 ñol added.

Prepaid Dinner Buffet ticket only: $65 per person Meanwhile, a total of 470,640 poultry heads have been culled in San Luis and the P51 million comPlease make check payable to: pensation has been downloaded to the region.

Aludiya Lagmay-Ganzon For Nueva Ecija, over 170,000 8119 Mary E Ellen Avenue, North Hollywood, California 91605 heads have already been culled. n

Bird flu strain in PH transmissible to humans

by LouiSe

INSPIRATION FOR MARAWI TROOPS. Western Mindanao Command handout shows members of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines Zamboanga Council and Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. flash heart signs to show support for soldiers and police fighting terrorists in Marawi City. The scouts, led by BSP Zamboanga Council chairman Jose Rizalino Ortega, turned over the letters and chocolates collected from among the scouts during a courtesy call at the command’s headquarters in Camp Navarro in Zamboanga City on Tuesday, Aug. 22.

Photo courtesy of Western Mindanao Command

Town mates and Friends:

Please join us in celebration of our

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Nazario Perlas: Precy Castaneto- Ruedas: Lito Tambo: Ludy Lagmay-Ganzon: Mila Tadina: Josie Dolor Etrata: Mary Ann Arichea–Caunan:

In this Aug. 17, 2017 photo, a soldier is dressed in protective clothing by two veterinarians as other Army men watch during a safety orientation in San Luis, Pampanga. Around 300 soldiers are being tapped to help cull fowls in the town following a bird flu outbreak.

Philstar.com photo by Michael Varcas

nazario.perlas@yahoo.com pcruedas@yahoo.com lito.tambo@sbcglobal.net lganzon@gmail.com mrtadina@yahoo.com wilpenn@yahoo.com macaunan@ha.ucla.edu

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A6 AUGUST 25-31, 2017 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (212) 655-5426

FEATURES

OPINION

‘Smuggling mafia’

EVERYONE is entitled to the benefit of the doubt and will get his day in court. In keeping with a long-running national tradition of believing the worst and jumping to conclusions, however, and because of the reputation of the agency involved, people tended to believe all or at least some portions of the speech delivered

by Sen. Panfilo Lacson, naming the Bureau of Customs officials allegedly engaged in corruption.

The speech, protected by parliamentary privilege, would have been shorter if Lacson had named the BOC officials who are not tainted by corruption. Lacson’s exposé bolstered President Duterte’s earlier lament that the BOC is “rotten to the core.” Crooks at Customs, Lacson said, collected “tara” or grease money at practically every step of shipment processing, with top officials allegedly receiving regular payoffs.

In detailing the “labyrinth and lexicon of the criminals” in the BOC, Lacson also claimed that Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon received P100 million as pasalubong or welcome gift upon assuming the top BOC post. Faeldon, whose resignation from the bureau has been accepted by President Duterte, denied the accusation.

If even half of Lacson’s revelations about the “smuggling mafia” proved accurate, the BOC may have to be nuked to be rid of corrupt officials and personnel. In previous years, there have been stories of even low-ranking BOC employees driving SUVs. Apart from trying to plug opportunities for corruption, the government should rethink the functions of the BOC. Tariff barriers are going down in a globalized economy and it’s possible to drastically minimize the exercise of personal discretion by BOC personnel in assessing shipped items. Customs personnel can ManilaTImes.net photo be subjected to random lifestyle checks, with revenue employees tapped for unearthing ill-gotten assets. can get away with their crime, especially if they have Double Barrel or a “One Time Big Time” sweep, is The culture of corruption in the BOC has per- influential protectors. The only way to stop impu- to ensure that BOC crooks get punished, and quicksisted because Customs crooks have seen that they nity, short of subjecting the most notorious to Oplan ly. (Philstar.com)

Editorial

Duterte finally admits possible police abuses in his war against illegal drugs REST in peace, Kian delos Santos, who was The Fil-Am 17 years young when he was killed by police Perspective during an anti-drug operation last Thursday, August 17.

People all over the GEL SANTOS-RELOS world, including international media organizations, government officials and even ordinary citizens, have expressed their outrage and called out Duterte for the gruesome killings in the Philippines.

Amid the mourning and the flak, many among the police and Duterte’s supporters have been spreading stories about Kian that he was a user and a courier who was caught with two sachets of shabu.

Police reports said Kian ran when he saw the police approaching him, then he allegedly pulled out a gun and fired at the policemen who, because “nanlaban ang suspect,” had to fire back. Another version was that his father was the real user/ pusher, while his father said he would submit himself to a drug test to prove otherwise.

But those who witnessed the killing said the 17-year-old boy was not armed at all, and that they believe he had been framed by the three police officers. Witnesses also said Kian was forced to hold a gun, fire and run. The poor boy was crying, pleading with the policemen to stop because he ”had an exam the next day.”

Kian wanted to be a cop someday, and in these cops’ hands were the guns that shot him and his dreams to death.

The aforementioned witness accounts and a CCTV footage disputed the police’ version of the story. The footage showed Kian being carried by two men to the place where his lifeless body was found.

Several lawmakers from the opposition and even Duterte’s own allies condemned the killing and have demanded an investigation, not only into Kian’s case, but also into the spike in killings lately.

The New York Times reported that “58 people suspected of selling or using

drugs have been killed in Manila and its northern suburbs in just three days, making this the deadliest week so far in President Rodrigo Duterte’s monthslong drug crackdown,” the police said on August 17.

The victims were mostly the poor and the helpless — not the big fish drug lords and traders.

As Al Jazeera news reported, Duterte’s critics said during the rally on Monday that demanded an end to the killings said “the death toll in Duterte’s war on drugs has now reached 13,000 - surpassing the number of deaths of anti-government activists during Marcos’ two decades in office.”

The report further said Government statistics reveal that since Duterte took office last year, around 3,451 “drug personalities” have been killed in gun battles with police, and this number is only up to July 26, 2017.

Moreover, about 2,000 more reportedly died in drug-related homicides. This would include attacks by motorcycle-riding masked gunmen and other assaults, while 8,200 homicide cases are “under investigation”.

On Monday, August 21, Duterte admitted in a press conference that there may have been abuses in his administration’s war on drugs. The president said he would not interfere in the investigation and if there would be charges filed against the policemen.

Kian delos Santos was but ONE of the many victims of Duterte’s war on drugs that has denied victims of their basic human rights. The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which the Philippines is a signatory, stipulates: “Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such

discrimination.

Article 8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11. (1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.

(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed.

Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.”

The rich, the powerful, the well-connected were accorded these rights. The poor, powerless people like Kian were robbed of it.

I would like to share with you excerpts from a powerful essay written by a Filipino Jesuit priest, Fr. Joel E. Tabora, SJ, who, at 17, made the life-changing decision to serve God by being a priest: The war on drugs must be fought. The drug menace is international evil, driven by powerful forces of evil. This is still the case. It has for too long victimized our people with impunity.

But the war on drugs is fought ultimately because those forces of evil disrespect human lives. They are evil because they destroy human lives, human futures and human culture particularly in the Philippines. For cheap money, they bring their victims to chemically-induced highs, but cook and extinguish their brains till little is left of the human being. In this way, they destroy whole families and whole

communities. They attack the entire nation. The President has declared that the Philippines, corrupted by these drugs in all levels of government, local and national, and even in its security and its law enforcement agencies, is a narcotic state.

Push back is needed.

But not in the way it is being done. If the war on drugs is fought out of respect for human life, it must be guided by respect for human life. The President must be the first to cry out for this because that is why he is fighting the war in the first place, out of his love for the country, and especially out of his love for the poor. Where security and police forces are already flawed because of their vulnerability to corruption and disrespect for human life, even more care must be taken to lead them on the straight path, to direct them to destroy the enemy, and not the victims of the enemy. Certainly, the President must rally his forces to win the war and to legitimately defend their lives against the onslaughts of the enemy. At the same time, he must be keen not to encourage the dark culture of death against which he is fighting his war in the first place. High numbers of people killed dahil nanlaban — because they resisted — do not indicate the war on drugs being won.

Where the President himself was shocked at the extent of the use of drugs in this country and its corruptive effects, it may be helpful for him not only to declare that we are now a narcotic state but to make the nation aware of who exactly the big players are and where exactly the big distribution centers are located. He may wish to explain the operations of security forces against a strategy of winning against strategic targets. He may wish to tell us that if the war on drugs was not won within six months, where the nation now is in its strategy of winning this war.

He may wish to help us understand how he measures his successes, or even his failures.

He may acknowledge that since his war on drugs may groups in civil society and in faith-based communities are contribut-

ing to the war on drugs through personal and communal efforts at battling illegal drugs and helping their hapless victims.

He also may wish to state unequivocally that the killing of a Kian at seventeen does not advance the war on drugs.

It debases it.

Not too long ago, human rights lawyers associated with the Center Against Illegal Drugs (CAID) of the Ateneo de Davao University conducted a three-day seminar in Samal for law enforcers from Mindanao on human-rights-based law enforcement.

The intervention was very well received by the law enforcers. For many of them, it was the first time they had [been] given the opportunity to reflect systematically on their responsibilities as law enforcers in the protection of human rights. Perhaps something like this may be done in other parts of the country in order that our security forces gain personal insight into their responsibility to protect and not destroy, nor even to instrumentalize, human life.

The war on drugs is a battle for human life, for human dignity and the integrity of human society in the Philippine context. The enemy of the war on drugs is not human rights. The enemy of the war on drugs is thinking a President will be pleased with large numbers of chalkedup deaths “dahil nanlaban” that have no demonstrated strategic value in winning the war; or it is the Commander in Chief giving the troops the impression that the murder of such as Kian at seventeen is defensible in the context of a narcotic state.

The death of Kian is not defensible. He was only seventeen. Think of all the possibilities killed. Think of his goodness extinguished. Think of his bereaved family, friends and nation. #JusticeForKian! *** 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

‘Guard Sandy Cay. If China attacks, call the US’

Opinion

RICARDO SALUDO “SANDY Cay is a Philippine land territory that is being seized (to put it mildly) or being invaded (to put it frankly) by China. … If [President Rodrigo Duterte and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano] are courageous, they should send a Philippine Navy ship to guard Sandy Cay, and if the Chinese Navy ships attack the Philippine Navy vessel, they should invoke the Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty.” - Associate Justice Antonio Carpio “China has not seized sand bars in Pagasa Atoll. There should be no alarm on that, as long as they

don’t occupy any of the sandbars. There are many Chinese as well as Vietnamese fishing boats in and near Pagasa Island.” - National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. “I received information from my sources in the military, stating that since three days ago, China has deployed two frigates, one Coast Guard vessel, and two large fishing vessels, with their maritime militia, one to three nautical miles north of Pag-asa Island.” - Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano “The presence of ships alone does not mean anything. …

There [are]reasons for certain presence of certain vessels, but the situation in the area is very stable. There is no situation there that is a cause of lowering mutual trust between all of the claimants

at this point in time.” - Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano “China assured me that they will not build anything there. I called the Ambassador [when I read the news]. He said, ‘We will assure you that we are not building anything there.’ Why would they risk invading a sandbar and get into a quarrel with us? [What will they get out of it?]” - President Rodrigo Duterte ANYBODY else got anything else to say on the alleged intrusion of Chinese naval, coast guard and fishing vessels in Pagasa Atoll, comprising our Pag-asa Island and nearby sandbars?

One more: Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Joel Garcia chimed in after Secretary Cayetano: “As what the Secretary of Foreign Affairs mentioned ear-

lier, if it does not affect our sovereignty, specifically the areas where we have sovereign rights, I don’t think the Chinese vessels are violating international law.”

This public debate must be quaint, if not amusing to China and other states where democratic discourse, especially on security issues, is never open.

Certainly, on dealing with foreign states, the Chinese would thresh out issues behind closed doors, then speak with one voice, so as not to enable adversaries to exploit internal differences.

Silencing the defenders Even more astounding to Beijing is the silence of the defense and military establishment in this controversy. That would be unthinkable in China.

The People’s Liberation Army constantly airs its staunchly na-

tionalistic views through its organs, including the Global Times paper. And every Chinese leader must pay attention to the PLA’s perspective, or face worrisome rumblings.

Yet hereabouts in Manila, the head of the agency primarily tasked with guarding Philippine territory from eternal threats, incursions and invasion, and whose people were cited by Alejano as his source, was mum throughout the Sandy Cay controversy.

The Department of National Defense, under Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, oversees the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The AFP, on its own or through the Department of National Defense, could have issued the official word on what really happened at Pag-asa Atoll.

Yet there was silence from

Secretary Lorenzana and AFP Chief Eduardo Año, who did not rebut or confirm Alejano’s assertion about Chinese vessels sailing near Pag-asa, citing unnamed military sources.

The only AFP remark came from its spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, probably in reply to a Malacañang reporter’s question on the Chinese vessels near Pag-asa: “We will work to clarify all of these things [at]the bilateral consultative mechanism,” the regular dialogue between the Philippines and China, covering various issues, including territorial disputes.

What may explain the DND and AFP’s reticence are two unnamed sources described by the Associated Press as “senior security officials.” They told AP PAGE A7

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A7

Sereno denies living an exorbitant lifestyle

by MOREXETTE

MARIE Inquirer.net

SETTING SAIL ACROSS ASIA. After a successful trip to Brunei, traditional Balangay boats from the Philippines docked in Manila to mark the recently concluded Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. The Balangay, also the logo and symbol of Cinemalaya, is the huge boat with sail and outriggers that early Filipinos used to cross unchartered and untempered waters in search of a land where they could live in freedom. Early Filipinos were a people of the sea, living in coastal villages or near rivers. Boats were linked to many aspects of Filipino life: fishing, trade, warfare, piracy (traderaiding for goods and slaves), travel, communication, and dwelling.

Philstar.com photo by Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo

Palace nixes P6-B Philippine Rise outpost

by NIKKO

DIZON Inquirer.net

Malacañang has disapproved the construction of a P6-billion government research facility at the Philippine Rise which was meant to provide a permanent Philippine presence in the area and prevent any attempt at encroachment, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano said on Wednesday, Aug. 23.

Alejano told the Inquirer that the Palace rejection of the project was revealed by Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol at a House committee on agriculture and food hearing on Aug. 3.

“In order to protect our rights, the Department of Agriculture proposed to establish this facility in the Philippine Rise but it was disapproved by Malacañang because supposedly, it was not a priority,” Alejano said.

Formerly known as Benham Rise, the Philippine Rise is an active 13-million hectare undersea region rich in minerals and resources located in the Philippines’ eastern border.

In May, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that Chinese ships were spotted in the area earlier this year.

Supreme Court Senior Associ-

ate Justice Antonio Carpio, an expert in international maritime law, said that while the Philippines did not exercise sovereignty over Philippine Rise, the country had “sovereign rights” over it.

This means that the Philippines had the “sole right to explore for and exploit oil, gas and other mineral resources” in the Philippine Rise.

The plan for a research facility, to be placed under the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, has become “a missed opportunity,” Alejano said. The project would have begun in January next year had it been approved. ■

Palace, AFP downplay call for Duterte’s ouster

by CATHERIN

S. VALENTE ManilaTimes.net

MALACAÑANG and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday, Aug. 22 downplayed supposed efforts to oust President Rodrigo Duterte, saying such move by a group claiming to represent the military and the police was “politically motivated.”

Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella dismissed the allegations against the President made by the group calling itself the “Patriotic and Democratic Movement” (Padem).

“We based our statement on the AFP’s assessment and it says it is a politically motivated group and that we should be wary of

their statements,” Abella said.

A statement from Padem called for the ouster of Duterte “for betraying public trust” as well as violating the “national sovereignty and democratic rights of the people.”

Padem is accusing Duterte of treating the AFP and Philippine National Police as his private armies and for playing favorites, bungling anti-terrorist operations in Marawi City, allowing Chinese vessels to occupy some parts of West Philippine Sea, condoning top illegal drug lords supposedly including his son Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, and inciting police officers to engage in extrajudicial killings of poor illegal drug users.

Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla Jr., spokesman for the AFP, said the military was supportive of Duterte, its commander in chief, but reiterated its “apolitical stance.”

“The entire AFP along with all the men and women of the uniformed services and all our civilian personnel stand by the constitutionally mandated government and unequivocally supports the Commander-in-Chief,” Padilla said in a statement.

Padilla said the AFP would not hesitate in “acting against forces who shall undermine the stability and security of our country and those who wish to destabilize our nation through unconstitutional means.”

B. ERRAM

CEBU CITY – Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno doesn’t feel alluded to the pronouncements of President Rodrigo Duterte about a government official with exorbitant lifestyle.

She told reporters that she doesn’t live an exorbitant lifestyle and has not done any wrongdoing.

“I am alluded (to) with his pronouncements, especially that he did not mention any names at all,” said Sereno.

The chief justice was guest speaker for Ulat ng Hudikatura, an event organized by the Supreme Court (SC) and the School of Law and Governance by the University of San Carlos (USC).

Sereno said the allegations raised against her didn’t affect both her personal and professional life because her conscience was clear.

“I did nothing wrong and it does not affect me at all. This is the good thing about having a clear conscience…you have nothing to fear,” she stated.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier slammed a government official allegedly enjoying a lavish lifestyle by traveling abroad.

“May isang opisyal tayo dito sa gobyerno na tinignan namin ang travel. Hindi sa departamento ko, not the executive department.

Kung mag-sakay ng eroplano, mag-abroad, first class, tapos ‘yung mga hotel niya, ‘yung

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno

mga suite. May isang presidential suite pa ang kinuha. P****.

This will come out,” he said in a speech in Malacañang.

(There is an official in government whose travels we looked into. Not in my department, not the executive department. When this person rides an airplane going abroad, they ride first class, and they book hotel suites. This person even got a presidential suite. [Expletive] This will come out.)

Although Mr. Duterte didn’t name names, Sereno’s name was floated in the wake of impeachment complaints filed against her.

The first complaint was filed last July by members of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution.

Another complaint was filed by lawyer Larry Gadon who claimed

Inquirer.net photo

that Sereno was living an exorbitant lifestyle.

He alleged that she owned a sports utility vehicle worth P4.5 million to P5.1 million, and was purchased using funds allocated for the SC. Gadon also accused Sereno of spending government money to book a presidential suite in a high-end hotel on the island-resort of Boracay.

But Sereno said the hotel management did not charge them since the suite was used to accommodate the chief justices from Asean-member countries.

“It was a presidential suite from a hotel in Boracay, and we used it as a venue for a photoshoot session for the Asean summit, and there were chief justices from other Asean countries. But the hotel management decided to declare it as free,” she said. ■

‘Guard Sandy Cay. If China attacks, call...

PAGE A6 t

that the Chinese navy ships, a coast guard vessel, and 10 fishing boats kept watch on Sandy Cay on August 12. But they declined to be named, because only the DFA is authorized to speak on issues relating to China.

So, that’s why Secretary Lorenzana said nil about the Pag-asa situation, after being so outspoken months ago about Chinese vessels criss-crossing above Benham Rise, the Philippines’ extended continental shelf in the Pacific, east of Luzon.

Where is this going?

So, the South China Sea policy is now run out of DFA, with DND and AFP playing second fiddle. Is this good for the country?

Actually, yes.

First, the policy reins are still held by one man: President Ro-

drigo Duterte. And while he plays ball with China, he expects Beijing to play fair.

If it doesn’t, they know he will blow up and just let the Americans back in under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which he has not abrogated.

That’s why Duterte asked rhetorically what the Chinese would get out of quarreling with the Philippines.

Bottom line: Beijing has to show that Duterte’s conciliatory approach works for the Philippines and other rival claimants, too. Otherwise, we all run to Uncle Sam. Second, close friendship with China would boost the economy and even open the door to exploiting maritime resources, instead of fighting over them. All that would help make the coun-

try wealthier.

And more powerful, too. Building up the AFP to better secure our territory demands massive resources. The sooner the Philippines gets rich, the better our forces can defend our sovereign rights.

Then we don’t have to depend on America, which may help us only if we get a bloody nose from the PLA, as then-US Ambassador Philip Goldberg told Duterte.

And third, pity our soldiers.

They already have their hands full fighting terrorists and insurgents. Must we also pit them against the most powerful military in Asia?

Or as the Commander in Chief said, “Why should I [let Filipinos be killed]because of a sandbar?”

Why indeed? (ManilaTimes. net)

A august 25-31, 2017 • NEW YORK aND NEW JERsEY asIaN JOuRNaL

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AUGUST 25-31, 2017

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GET HIRED: HOW TO MOVE YOUR JOB APPLICATION AHEAD

In a very competitive market where everybody highlights their winning features, the challenge lies on how to brand yourself as a cut above the rest.

Inquirer.net photos

by IRIS

VICENTE/AJPress

WHETHER you’re a fresh graduate who has the faintest idea what it’s like to apply for a job, or someone who’s looking for a major career move, the whole process of seeking a post can be quite a challenge. Tired of the frustrating course of applying and someone else taking it because they crop up as “more qualified” than you? Chill out! Most of the time it’s not about incompetence, sometimes, you just haven’t found the slick hacks to entice employers in saying, “Hey! I’m calling dibs on this one.”

Remember: employers do not want fake smiles or rehearsed answers during the interview.

They want to know whether you really align with their culture and the position.

Here are some pointers to get you through applying and getting ahead on other applicants: Polish your resume Knockout credentials have no merit when laid out as crude. It’s important that you organize the things that you want to put in your resume. Remember: your resume is your ticket to the next phase which is the interview so if you don’t put more work and tweaks on it, you’ll lose your chance at selling yourself. These days a resume may be scanned in a matter of seconds — if at all. Highlight what you think are your selling points and outline it to the job posting.

And please, put your latest email address, not from when you were a kid with lots of characters and numbers e.g aibisyosa16@ gmail.com.

Prepare for the interview Research on the company and job you’re applying to beforehand. Don’t just barge in without knowing what you’re putting yourself into. Companies don’t want to hire someone who doesn’t know why or even if they want to work there. Look into the job position responsibilities, accountabilities and growth opportunities. Being knowledgeable about these things creates an impression to the hiring managers that you mean business, and not someone who just wants to take any

Signs that you’re ready for a job change

by JENNIFER

SORIANO

AJPress

OUR jobs occupy a big chunk of our lives. That’s why it’s no surprise it is called occupation.

To quote Apple founder Steve Jobs, “The only way to do a great work is to love what you do.” Sure, it is easier said than done, because at some point, loving what we are doing can be a difficult task. What you thought would be a pleasant mutually beneficial relationship with paper work, co-employees and your boss, can become a dreaded cloud in the horizon along your supposedly pleasant walk in your career path. Most of the time we get confused, scared even.

But how far do we see ourselves traveling down this road that leads us to the infinite black hole? Here are a few signs that you need a detour and are all set in hop-in for a new job: You’re not passionate about work any longer If you can flip a tennis ball, an egg and an apple up in the air while delivering comical oneliners, but your job only allows you to sell tickets, it’s highly possible that you will get bored. Eventually it will lead to apathy that shows up in your work. People around you can tell and they don’t want a job done by this kind of employee.

There can also be situations that you do great in a job that you do not truly enjoy, so you end dreading it.

“Doing the same job for 50 years, unless you love it, is going to prove to be challenging,” says Career Doctor, Dr John Taccori.

“Changing careers is healthy and keeps you engaged in the workforce longer. However a career change should be made with a well-informed mind.”

Satisfaction and fulfillment ensue if what we do has a purpose at least, if not passion.

You don’t feel your worth is valued A pat on the back of the boss works wonders. It feeds the basic human necessity of sense of worth and belongingness. A simple, “good job” means you are part of the overall success of the company. However, when you did a job well and have spent blood, sweat and tears just to ensure the

You need to make the hiring managers feel comfortable about you on an emotional level to sell yourself and stand out.

job you can get.

Network It’s time to make use of your connections specially in social media. Sometimes, job opportunities can arise in the unlikeliest places. Be open to communicating and networking with others in your field.

Whether at industry events, over email, make the effort to connect with others.

Make sure to stand out In a very competitive market where everybody highlights their winning features, the challenge lies on how to brand yourself as a cut above the rest. It’s not enough to fire companies up with your resume and hoping you’ll get a call afterwards, you need to be a step ahead all the time, be creative and unique. Ask the right questions to find out what the company’s problems are and prove that you can solve those problems. Another hack is to research on the interviewer as he or she is the key to your potential break, see if there’s something you can talk about while being polite and professional. You need to make the hiring managers feel comfortable about you on an emotional level to sell yourself and stand out.

Be honest Questions like defining your strengths and weaknesses are some of the trickiest as they could be fallbacks if you don’t answer

them smartly. Be authentic about your weaknesses — not necessarily overcoming them, but state what steps you’re doing to manage them. A weakness can become a strength if you spin it right. But remember: employers do not want fake smiles or rehearsed answers during the interview.

They want to know whether you really align with their culture and the position. Being honest is the best way to show off your skills to nail the job of your dreams.

Look the part First impressions might not always be accurate in real life but when it comes to seeking for a job, it is everything. Dress for the part of an upper or senior management (even if you are fresh out of college). Hiring managers would only talk to you for a few minutes so make sure to leave a lasting impression. Most of the time, people get eliminated because they have bad postures, thus be confident and carry yourself well like a professional would.

While all of these are just things that could increase your chances at landing success, the power of whether or not you’re gonna get hired lies solely on your own ability and remember, getting rejections is not the end of the world. Don’t stop looking until you find the job that matches your values and meets your needs.

Do it right: Writing the perfect resume

by ELIJAH

RODEROS AJPress

A WELL-WRITTEN resume is your best tool to make a good first impression to your potential employer. A study by an online job-matching service TheLadders says that it only takes an average of 6 seconds for recruiters to scan your resume and decide right away whether you’re up to the job or not.

Taking time to write your resume is really important, so make sure it follows a clear visual hierarchy to make it stand out above the rest. Here are some essential tips from TheLadders and Business Time, on how to make a perfect resume that can likely increase your chance to get a call on your job interview: 1. Start your resume with a While some people can be content on staying in the same position for a long period of time, branding statement Philstar.com photo others want to grow in order to progress in their careers.

Begin your resume with your branding statement that stands You’re depressed quality of your work but never get out rather than relying on the Do you find yourself any credit or recognition can be a traditional objective statement. perennially tired? Do you always dangerous thing to both parties.

An objective statement drag yourself out of the bed It can sap out your interest to only focuses on the job seeker’s and sometimes think of excuses your and decreases your chances talents in relation to a particular for skipping work for a day, if of survival in your job. job position, whereas a branding not forever? Well, normally that You want to reach a higher statement doesn’t only focus on happens especially after long level a specific position or industry. weekends and during cold While some people can be Instead, it allows the job hunter weather. But if it happens on a content on staying in the same to sum up his/her talents and regular basis, it is because you position for a long period of time, don’t like your work. Chances are, translatable skills in a one definiothers want to grow in order your work does not love you back tive sentence. to progress in their careers. For Here’s an example: either. This can be manifested in some workplace, they provide Objective statement: “Tala decreased emotional well being little or no room for growth, thus ented social media marketing leaving employees stunted. If this that can further affect our overall professional seeks position as an well being. is the case, it’s time to pack your associate at a small to medium Our jobs offer us a mix of bags and breath fresh air that size clothing retailer.” interesting factors such as joy, nourishes career growth.

Branding statement: pain, sadness, sacrifice, kindness, But be wary. People can “Fashion savvy social marketand support. If we, with the make bold career decisions, even ing wiz with experience running participation of our bosses, counexpected ones. We have to successful marketing campaigns employees and clients manage make sure that every move is a to strike a good balance of these; incorporating Facebook, Twitter, calculated one to minimize risk then we can yield a satisfying job. Instagram, and Tumblr.” and avoid the notorious move: There are still posted jobs If not, then go ahead and One step forward, two steps with the sole intent of filling a leave. The imbalance of these backward. single position. Whilst this is still factors sums up that you are You’re always too stressed, a frequent goal today, employready for a job change. Do it as even after work ers now seek out talents and a favor to yourself to experience As the popular saying goes, create space for well-qualified life and a job that you deserve. It “All work, no play makes John wouldn’t be easy but most of the individuals whom can fit within a dull boy.” If your work seems time, the strength to do it is all we their organizations. Start your reto be occupying your waking sume with a branding statement need. Make that decision where hours, following you or let’s say, that can show how you can be you won’t end up sully later on. haunting you at home until the a valuable asset to your target After you’ve found that new job, wee hours of the night, then companies. start with yourself first. Start by you are sacrificing that much2. Prioritize your expertise being a better version of yourself. needed “me” time. This leaves and skills on top Put the distressing situations you you stressed, thus, making you List all these things near the have had on your previous job counterproductive at work. This top where the recruiter can easinto good use by learning from might happen for occasional ily see them. Use action verbs them. If all else fails, repeat, not urgent reasons, but if it happens the mistakes, but the process. This when presenting your accomalmost everyday, just stop and plishments and support it with breathe and draft that resignation will eventually lead you to find quantitative data if you can. For the one that you deserve. letter.

Tailor your resume to every job application that responds to the specific requirements your prospect organizations are looking for. It is important to be unique, rather than merely using generic terms you originally apply for or held. Photo from the U.S. Department of Labor

example, say that you increased sales by 50 percent, or the decisions you made led to a 120 percent decrease in operational costs. This is the area where you can freely go in depth and be specific. Don’t focus on your personal achievement; instead be detailed on your qualifications that can contribute to the company.

3. Tailor your resume for the potential position Tailor your resume to every job application that responds to the specific requirements your prospect organizations are looking for. It is important to be unique, rather than merely using generic terms you originally apply for or held.

Use keywords that match the job description. These may catch the employers’ attention and probably place your resume at the top of the list. Don’t make a mistake of just portraying a bio of a candidate but market your skills and strengths for the particular position.

Some companies nowadays use preliminary software that targets specific words or phrases in order to determine which resume should be further assessed or flagged down. If you strategically place keywords on your resume, there’s a greater chance it will be forwarded on to a breathing HR professional.

4. Avoid using creative fonts and formatting Choose a classic font such as Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri or Verdana. Avoid using excessive amounts of bold, italics, and other features as this may confuse resume scanning software. If you do choose to use bold or italics in titles and headings, make sure to use it consistently.

Forgo distractive fonts and visuals which may hamper employer’s decision-making and reduce their analytical capabili-

ties. Create a clear visual hierarchy that is smooth-flowing for the employer’s to read through.

5. Don’t make it too long There’s no specific length for a resume because it depends on your work experience and education. Yet, there’s a greater chance that your employer will give lesser attention to the next page than the first. Hence, include as much on the first page without making your resume appear cluttered.

6. Follow employer’s instruction on making a resume There’s nothing that will get a resume sent to the recycling bin faster than failing to follow the basic submission instructions. Common directives may include: submitting your resume as a specific file type, using a specific format on file name, including specific information on the subject of the email, using specific font type and size, and/or submitting your resume through the company website instead of email. More often, these instructions are given because of the employer’s special software requirements; however, in other cases, it is used to test the applicant’s ability to follow simple instructions.

7. Be honest While it is important to maximize certain work history and minimize the others, it is never okay to lie. In some companies, employers require to have a reference person, whether a colleague, or a previous employer because they will check your claims. And when they do, make sure there aren’t any unpleasant surprises.

8. Review your resume At the end of every resume, you need to evaluate and check for grammatical errors and spellings. Make sure that you updated your e-mail, phone number, and address as much as Continued on Page 4

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The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY AU G U ST 25, 20 1 7

Immigration Corner Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ

Myths and misconceptions about immigration law

that’s about seven years. Even if you are a year or so away tHERE are many myths from naturalization, you can and misconceptions about still file the petitions, and then immigration law, which are once you naturalize, you can simply not true. People “upgrade” the petitions. But at may receive “advice” from least you have the petitions on consultants, or well-meaning file and moving forward while friends or relatives, which is you are a green card holder, wrong. Following these myths, and your family may be eligible misconceptions and advice for green cards before your could have devastating effects naturalization is completed. on a person’s immigration case • My U.S. citizen child can or result in years of delays. petition me when he’s 18 years Here are some of the more old. this is false. A U.S. citizen common misconceptions I’ve child must be at least 21 years encountered among Filipinos: old to petition a parent.

• Green card holders cannot • My U.S. citizen husband petition family members; only can petition my child (his U.S. citizens can. this is false. step-child) if we get married Green card holders can petition and he files a petition before their spouse and unmarried my child’s 21st birthday. this children, whether the children is partially true. In order for a are under or over 21 years of U.S. citizen to petition a child age. there are cases where (whether biological child or a green card holder could step-child), the petition must have petitioned a spouse or be filed before the child’s 21st unmarried child years ago, but birthday. However, in the case waited until they naturalized, of petitioning a step-child, the under the false belief they marriage to the U.S. citizen had to be a citizen to petition step-parent must take place those family members. In the before the child’s 18th birthday. meantime, years are wasted therefore, in order for your or the child may have “aged husband to be able to petition out” (turned 21 years of age), your child, your marriage resulting in the child having should have taken place before to wait many more years to your child’s 18th birthday, immigrate. and the petition should be • It is faster to wait to filed before your child’s 21st become a U.S. citizen, and then birthday. petition a spouse or minor child.

• I don’t have to work for this is untrue. In most cases, my petitioning employer once it would be faster to petition I get my green card. this is a spouse or minor child while false. If a person is being the person is still a green card petition by an employer, USCIS holder. think about the timing: expects the person to work for right now, it takes about two the employer for a reasonable years for a green card holder to period of time after they get petition a spouse or minor child their green card. Of course, in the F-2A category. However, if a person gets a green card if the person waits to become through labor certification, a U.S. citizen, they have to they are not required to work first be a green card holder for for the employer “for life.” five years, then it takes about However, if a person never another year to naturalize, worked for the employer, stop and another year after that to working for the employer process the family petition. before being granting a

green card, or quit the day after obtaining their green card, it could create issues or problems for them in the future, especially when filing for naturalization. Whenever a person obtains a green card through employment, one of the first questions asked at a naturalization interview is how long the person worked for the sponsoring employer AFtER they obtained their green card, and they may be required to produce pay stubs and tax returns proving it. If you never worked for the employer or quit before getting a green card, etc., the immigration officer may be suspicious it was a “job of convenience” (just like marriages of convenience), and could quite possibly conclude the job offer was bogus or fake. USCIS could deny your citizenship application, and quite possibly question the legitimacy of your green card. the forgoing are just a few myths and misconceptions I’ve encountered. In future articles I will discuss more. *** Michael J. gurfinkel is licensed, and an active member of the state bar of California and new York. all immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the state bar of California. each case is different. the information contained herein including testimonials, “success stories,” endorsements and re-enactments) is of a general nature, and is not intended to apply to any particular case, and does not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. no attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader. website: www.gurfinkel.com Call toll free to schedule a consultation for anywhere in the us: (866)—gurFinKel Four offices to serve you: los angeles · san FranCisCo · new YorK · philippines (advertising supplement)

Caregiver petition allows isaaC to be reunited with his Children in the u.s. as green Card holders. driven by the desire to improve his life for his children’s sake, isaac (left) jumped ship when his ship docked at los angeles in 2007. Fortunately, he found an employer who was willing to petition him as a caregiver. the employer’s petition was approved, but isaac still had to wait several more years before his priority date was current and he was eligible for a green card. all that time, isaac could not return to the philippines due to his immigration status. but he still made that sacrifice, knowing it was the right way to do. For him, it was better to wait, if everything was done properly and legally. isaac knew he was in capable hands under the law offices of Michael J. gurfinkel, who helped obtain green cards for isaac and his two young sons. watch this happy family reunion on a brand-new episode of CitiZen pinoY – on sunday at 6:15 pm (pst) on tFC.

Reunited with his children by being petitioned as a caregiver - on a brand new episode of Citizen Pinoy!

It was a sign while walking the streets of Mabini in Manila, Philippines that made Isaac apply to become a seaman. In 2007, after his ship docked in Los Angeles, Isaac again asked for another sign, and decided to jump ship, to build a brighter future for his children.

Luckily, Isaac found an employer who was willing to petition him as a caregiver.

Despite this fortunate turn of events, Isaac still felt the pain of separation from his family.

It would be a long and lonely journey alone in the U.S. while he waited for his petition

to be current. However, Isaac realized there were no shortcuts if he wanted to do it right. He sought the services of leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel, who had successfully handled the case of Isaac’s father before him. the family was fully satisfied with the service and work the Law Offices of Michael J. Gurfinkel provided. Isaac did not even consider going anywhere else.

Isaac wanted it done right and legally, especially since Gurfinkel always advises: “the best way to legalize your status is to do it legally.”

the process went smoothly.

Soon enough, Isaac got his green card in the U.S. and returned to the Philippines to be with his family, after eight long years of separation. And, as a bonus, his employer’s petition included his sons, allowing them to join him in the U.S. as green card holders, without Isaac having to file another family petition.

Watch this long-awaited family reunion on a brand-new episode of CItIZEN PINOY - on Sunday 6:15 pm PSt/ESt (9:15 pm ESt thru select Cable/ Satellite providers).

An Asian Journal Magazine

4

Circles, cycles and movement

The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY Au g u ST 25, 20 1 7

On the PEP Front

People, Events, Places

Bryan B. Magsayo takes a leap out of just being a YouTube sensation

BoBBy T. yalong ThE phenomenal advent of the internet, specifically YouTube, has remarkably taken full advantage of its consummate functionality and premeditated intention way beyond men’s wildest imagination.

YouTube, an American videosharing website created by three former Paypal employees (Chad hurley, Steve Chem, and Jawed Kalim) on February of 2005 and headquartered in San Bruno, California, has transcended the very essence of its founders’ intent but worked to the advantage of the majority in search of acknowledgement and fame especially the millions equipped with potential singing talent.

The said website has inevitably opened doors to many seasoned talents ready for the big time especially from the Philippines where some netizens are bornsingers and popularly known to be world-class performers.

It will be recalled that Journey’s frontman Arnel Pineda became an international singing sensation via YouTube. And his fate was almost duplicated when another China-based Filipino was “fished out” of YouTube by an equally popular rock band (Survivor) and underwent the same route that could have accorded another aspirant like Bryan B. Magsayo with an international exposure.

At times, Lady Luck emerges from even the most unexpected locations and Bryan was aware that when she knocks he should readily welcome her in for if he made her wait then the next door hopeful might have it…which he enthusiastically did.

Although every so often fate had it that you’d lost the chance no matter how unflinchingly dedicated you are…and it was good that Bryan had something to hold on to during that disheartening moment when almost all hopes crumbled and his dreams gone to nothingness.

EMPLOYMENT

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

– Albert Einstein

Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond MoneTTe adeva Maglaya

Sadly, the band’s boss scratched the idea of another Asian, a Filipino at that, to be catapulted to stardom through a copycat process. The infrequent opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime break, initially gave Bryan the probability of building lofty dreams out of his wild imaginations only to be jilted and perturbed upon learning of his supposed fame been ditched.

That unforeseen emotional downfall undeniably weakened his mortal being like a melting candle amid the dark but gave his highly spirited will power that much needed challenge to fuel his aspiration to go on and pursue his dream… to stand firm and tough in the same soil that nearly buried his lifetime passion… beneath the very skies that almost dimmed his future.

Standing barely 5’4” but walking tall with pride and dignity, the YouTube sensation from Misamis Oriental is currently in the east coast aptly armed with nothing but his incessant hope to achieve what he has decreed, living up to the expectations of his loved ones and avid supporters, and continuously reaching for that elusive star he was denied.

Bryan’s wide vocal range and great pitch made it all up for what he was short of. Listening to his covers of Air Supply and Michael Bolton could mislead one to the identity between him and the original.

Read on what actually transpired during my interview with Bryan in a midtown Starbucks Café over steaming coffee on a hot summer afternoon.

Asian Journal (AJ): What was your childhood like?

Bryan B. Magsayo (BBM): I was born in Manticao, Misamis Oriental but my family moved to Bukidnon when I was 5 and then to Zamboanga del Sur when I was in high school. My father, being an optometrist, constantly change locations where he thought business would prosper.

AJ: When did you discover your potential talent in singing?

BBM: Actually, I was timid and bashful when I was young… but I loved singing Basil Valdez’s songs through multiplex. I think I was in Grade 5 when I started to openly sing.

AJ: Could you still remember your first ever public performance?

FOR RENT

PSYCHIC

BBM: I was in Grade 6 in an event at the Department of Agriculture. I did “Ngayon at Kailanman” by Basil Valdez.

AJ: When did you sing professionally?

BBM: I would like to consider my performance at Radio DXPR where I sang “Nais Ko” and won the daily round with fifty pesos as my take home prize but got one thousand pesos when I finished as champion.

AJ: Who are your influences?

BBM: Easily, I consider Basil Valdez… ninety-nine percent na gayang-gaya ko. Then later, Air Supply and Michael Bolton.

AJ: I saw you accompanying yourself on keyboard, was it selftaught? Can you read notes?

BBM: I had piano lessons when I was nine and yes, I could read notes. I also play drums and guitar.

AJ: How did your musical inclination evolve?

BBM? I joined a band (Noisy Continued on Page 5

A CIRCLE is perhaps the perfect geometric structure there is.

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

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

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

of which only the Creator knows.

On the minutest level, the astounding movement of electrons around a nucleus and the wondrous flow of the human bloodstream from and to the heart are cyclical. As science has found out, blockages, either man-made or natural to the flow or movement in the processes existing in nature at all levels, can create anomalies, abnormalities and mutations, resulting in pain and illnesses in the human body and if uncorrected, result in diseases, debilitation and ultimately, death. This presents a strong argument for regular exercise and movement, which pumps the movement of blood flow down to the capillaries and strengthens the muscles of the heart.

Nature moves in cycles. While the earth’s atmospheric cloak adheres to the surface because of the gravitational pull of the earth’s mass, the hydrologic cycle will continue to maintain our seas and give us rain to sustain all planetary life — that is, for the time being —unless something unforeseen and catastrophic upsets and upends this delicate homeostaticlike balance.

In a way, the life of our living, breathing planet is reflective of human life itself.

“Life,” according to Einstein, “is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

And on that point, we are finding out he is absolutely right. *** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette.maglaya@ asianjournalinc.com

Do it right: Writing...

From Page 2

needed.

Never misspell on your resume. A trivial oversight can make your recruiters take you less seriously. You can ask a co-worker, former employers, teachers, parents or guard-

SERVICES

ians, or other trusted people to check your resume and tell you if something is not right.

You can also have it professionally done. You may want to do the first draft, but leave the final touches to a professional.

5

An Asian Journal Magazine

Baron Geisler finds a second chance in theater

by Ma. Glaiza lee Philstar.com

“Mas kinabahan ako dito kesa sa laban namin ni Kiko Matos,” actor Baron Geisler revealed when asked about his first foray in the theater stage. he would make his theater debut through the Tanghalang Pilipino’s “Aurelio Sedisyoso,” an original rock sarswela based on the life of Aurelio Tolentino, a Filipino playwright and dramatist. he would be playing the role of Tikbalang/Amerikano.

Upon the suggestion of his discoverer, the actor decided to try theater and auditioned for a part in the production.

The controversial actor shared that during that time he was depressed because of his mother’s passing. he was contemplating on moving on when the suggestion came. he auditioned twice before he got a callback from the theater company.

At first, after getting the call, Baron admitted that he felt somewhat arrogant. “I was very confident that I could do it. I thought it was a straight play, but it was actually a musical. Working with these great, amazing actors, it really humbled me. God put me in my place and said: ‘Baron, you’re not a great of an actor after all.’ I’m learning right now.

I’m trying to be a sponge right now. Dati, akala ko andami ko ng alam. But nung nagstart na kami magrehearse, I have so much to learn. ang daming magagaling na actor, so nakakapressure.”

While he is quite nervous about his stage debut, Baron expressed his commitment to see this production through. “I’m not really a singer so it is kind of hard for me. But I’m very focused right now. I’m committed. I’m not here to fail. Lalaban ako.”

Apart from daily rehearsals for the “Aurelio Sedisyoso,” Baron is busy filming the movie “Right To Kill,” directed

by Brillante Ma Mendoza.

“With TV and film, balwarte ko ‘yun. When I’m at the set of ‘Right To Kill,’ I’m very relaxed because I know what I’m doing.

The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY Au g u ST 25, 20 1 7

Lovi Poe shows off comedic chops in ‘Woke Up Like This’

by Christina

alpad ManilaTimes.net

Baron Geisler would make his theater “Aurelio Sedisyoso.”

But with theater, iba ang disiplina dito. here, I always second-guess myself, which is a big no-no. It made me fell in love with the craft again.”

Catch Baron in “Aurelio Sedisyoso,” which will run from September 1 to 17 at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater). This theater was named in honor of the Filipino playwright, whose 150th birth anniversary is this year. It stars actor David ezra in the title role. hailed from Guagua,Pampanga, Tolentino co-founded Teatro Porvenir, along with Andres Bonifacio and Macario Sakay. The theater company, which means “theater of tomorrow,” became the meeting ground for the different fathers of the Filipino war for independence. Through the plays they produced, they showed their patriotic and nationalistic sentiment.

When his famous play “Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas” was staged, Tolentino was arrested for sedition and rebellion since the script called for tearing of the American flag. Tolentino was one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence in Kawit, Cavite on June 12,1898.

The rock sarswela, which will be directed by Chris Millado, based on the script

by Nicanor Tiongson, is part of the Tanghalang Pilipino’s 31st theater season. Following

The name Lovi Poe has almost always been associated with the words sexy, sultry and dramatic. Whenever she appears both on the small and big screens, one can expect her to either cry on cue or shed some clothes. debut through the Tanghalang Pilipino’s For these, the 28-year-old Philstar.com photos has not gone unnoticed. She the theme “Freedom Writers: has to credit numerous acting Freedom Fighters,” the latest nominations and awards for season features four productions TV shows like “Bakekang”— that embrace what the theater company stands for - utak, puso considered her biggest break in 2006—“Legacy” and “Ang and bayan.

Dalawang Misis Real.”

After opening with “Aurelio She also earned several nods Sedisyoso,” the theater company for movie roles in “Mayohan,” moves on with “Ang Pag“Sagrada Familia,” “Yesterday uusig,” a play based on Arthur Today and Tomorrow,” “Thy Miller’s The Crucible. Directed Womb” and “Sana Dati.”

by Dennis Marasigan, with Poe was neither shy to take translation by Jerry Respeto, on daring roles in “My Neighbor’s the play dramatizes how the establishment is used as a tool of Wife,” “Temptations Island” and “The escort,” nor pose for sexy the powerful few in exerting its magazines to showcase her force to condemn the innocent. toned physique. As such, she It will run from September 29 has been hailed as one of the to October 22 at Tanghalang sexiest dramatic actresses of her huseng Batute. generation.

“Nang Dalawin ng Pag-ibig The actress’ trademarks, si Juan Tamad,” meanwhile, is however, will take a back seat based on Nick Joaquin’s story as Poe stars opposite funnyman on why Maria Makiling forever Vhong Navarro in Regal nurses a broken heart, and entertainment’s new comedy why Juan Tamad is a pop idol. movie “Woke Up Like This.”

Directed by ed Lacson Jr., with The movie—which is also a stage adaptation by Rody Vera, pun on the trending social media this is a mashup love triangle hashtag #wokeuplikethis that amonng Maria Makiling, Juan connotes natural and effortless Tamad and Monte Banahaw. beauty—revolves around Sabrina Catch it on December 1 to 17 at (Poe), a supermodel, and Nando the Little Theater.

(Navarro), a hard court hero The season will close with whose selfishness and apathy “Walang Aray,” a contemporary cause them to magically wake up comical version of Severino one day in switched bodies.

Reyes’ “Walang Sugat,” on “No love scenes for the mean February 16 to March 11, 2018, time!” the actress teased during also at Little Theater. The original her movie’s grand media launch material was written during the when asked for the big difference Spanish occupation, the time when zarzuela became a potent in her new movie.

True, she may have had means of expressing Filipino cameos in comedy movies before nationalism.

but never has Poe taken on a lead role in this genre.

“To be honest, I’ve become comfortable doing drama and crying on cue. But this time, it’s a lot harder. Thankfully, I had everyone here helping me to become familiar in this new world,” Poe said as she shared a panel interview with Navarro and the rest of the “Woke Up Like This” cast.

The actress mentioned that Navarro’s help particularly came in handy when she had to learn how to sit and eat like a man when their characters switch.

Poe was also thankful for getting along with the rest of the cast including Joey Marquez, Yana Asistio, Bayani Agbayani, Raikko Mateo and

with her in case she does another comedy. “I learned to exaggerate to emphasize the comedic nature of a scene but more importantly, I learned to have fun while acting and that naturally shows in the movie.”

At the end of the day, however, Poe realized that the lessons she amassed during the filming of “Woke Up Like This” would never suffice to help her understand the opposite sex.

“I’ve always felt that it’s much cooler to be a man, they are more nonchalant in their everyday activities. Of course it’s a challenge to play a man but after portraying this character, I still feel the same. I cannot say that I understand them better now, cause men will always be a mystery to me and after this movie I realized, maybe that’s the beauty of it all to begin with,” Poe finally shared.

newcomer Cora Waddell, resulting in “great teamwork.”

“For any movie, kailangan talaga ng team work, you can’t just memorize the script and act it out—the chemistry must be there. So, from the never beginning, we were all introduced and were allowed to get to know each other before the film started rolling,” Poe noted.

With this new experience, the actress said she is grateful for all the lessons she can bring Vhong Navarro and Lovi Poe

6

An Asian Journal Magazine

Parenthood: A sacred covenant

The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY AU G U ST 25, 20 1 7

Health@Heart

Summer beauty tips

make sure you exfoliate first.

Do this prior to applying toner, moisturizer and SPF. Remember, SAN FRANCISCO your make-up will last longer on an exfoliated skin.

BY MONET LU My last—but not the least tip—to maintain that DUE to insistent public demand, youthful summer glow, I finally had the time to put up a is to apply sunblock. piece for summer beauty tips.

In my 30 years in the Today, I give you a special treat beauty industry, by answering some of the frequently I couldn’t asked questions regarding skin and remember hair care during the summer season. a time in Question #1: How do I keep my which I never skin looking radiant despite the recommended summer heat? the use of I’ve said this before and I say it sunscreen. again: It is very important, especially Sunscreen during summertime that you soothes overkeep your skin hydrated. Look for exposed skin. beauty products that are great for A burnt skin hydrating the skin, and level up your is never usual hydration standards by using beautiful intensive masks at least once or and is twice a week. Use a toner for more in fact, dangerous sometimes. So refreshing moisturizer prep. It helps always be on the safe side– Apply even out the sponginess of the skin. and reapply, as needed. I think every I also suggest that you freshen up two hours would be a good interval. with some revitalizing toner spritz Question # 2: What make-up a couple of times during the day regimen would you recommend especially when the temperature is for summer? really hot.

As I mentioned earlier, I know If hydrating your skin stands that make-up is one, if not the best, as my top advice, exfoliating is transforming agent ever invented. closest to being equally important.

I’ve been doing hair and make-up Exfoliation removes dulling skin for as long as I can remember. It truly debris and helps improve hydration transforms a person’s face—if done from toners and moisturizers. For a right. And during this hot season, the clearer and smoother skin, I urge you right make-up means light make-up. to exfoliate regularly. I know how Los Angeles makeup artist much you love applying make-up Napoleon Perdis says, “Skip thick in the morning but before you foundations and save your cream perform your usual “painting session,” lipsticks for fall.”While I agree that

love with selfless devotion and tenderness the new life he helps bring into this world.

Anything less in either parent makes the man nothing but an egocentric sperm donor and the woman only a cold and cruel PHILIP S. CHUA, human incubator.

MD, FACS, FPCS While most couples are blessed with children of their own, “…Anything less makes the man some have to endeavor harder to nothing but a selfish egocentric receive these gifts. The admirable sperm donor and the woman only a ones who have decided to adopt cold and cruel human incubator.” children are those with fortitude, EVERY child is a blessing from self-confidence, a mind that is God, and having children, natural secure, and a heart full of love and or adopted, is one of the greatest compassion. And in today’s world privileges a couple or a person can where unfortunate orphans and have. But just like any privilege in unwanted, or neglected, children life, parenthood comes with serious abound, these wonderful couples, obligations and responsibilities for who are eager to adopt them, love both the mother and the father, or them, and care for them, are truly the adopted parent(s). admirable saviors and heroes in It does not require a man to the strict sense of the word. After be a genius or a superman to all, procreation, conception, and impregnate a woman. Neither does delivery are only a miniscule part it need more than consent for a of true motherhood, and providing healthy woman to get pregnant. the sperm, only an iota of what What makes a woman a mother is fatherhood is all about. not the few minutes of romance or Parenthood is really the natural the short nine months of carrying instinct of giving oneself totally in the child, or even the actual the subconscious fulfillment of an delivery. They are the everlasting unwritten, self-imposed, contract love, enduring sacrifices and the parents made with their yet endless patience that follow in unborn child, entered into the very caring for the child that define moment the man and the woman motherhood. Child bearing is easy. engaged themselves in an act that Child rearing is something else. could bring forth a new life into Any woman can get pregnant and this world. Conceivably, that same deliver a child, but not all can be a sacred bond, and all the instincts mother. of parenthood, have been faithfully Similarly, it takes more than kept and handed down from the just virility and prowess in bed for very first family of humans on a man to be a father. Fatherhood earth to our generation today. The is the indomitable strength, reciprocal obligation is, of course, invincible courage, and the joyful for the children to take care of their eagerness in a man to commit, to parents when the time comes.

thick foundations would make your make-up look too heavy, I think some cream hydrating lipsticks may still work on some occasions. As for the face, aim for a lighter texture like tinted moisturizer, bronzing gel and cheek stain. They wear better in this crazy LA summer. I still recommend the use of a prepping primer on any given day.

Going to the beach is just so inevitable during the summer. I suggest wearing waterproof eyeliner, shadow and mascara just in case you decided to take a sudden detour to Santa Monica Pier. An undereye concealer is also a must-have. It would help prevent eye makeup Continued on Page 7

Calendar of Events across America ADVERTISE YOUR EVENTS! PRE-EVENT AND POST EVENT GO DEEPER. GO WIDER. LET THE WORLD KNOW. CALL ASIAN JOURNAL: (818) 502-0651 DISPLAY AD SIZES AT SPECIAL RATES FOR NON-PROFIT GROUPS AU G U ST 24

FACC-SLAA’s “luau” quarterly business & professionals networking mixer in Wilmington, CA The Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce – SouthBay Los Angeles Area (FACC-SLAA) presents a “luau” quarterly business & professionals networking mixer on Thursday, August 24. Come meet other driven Filipino/Fil-Am businesspersons and professionals in a relaxed and casual atmosphere! It will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Camino de Guanajuto Restaurant, 208 W. Anaheim St., Unit C, Wilmington, CA 90744. Tickets are free for FACCSLAA members. For non-members, it’s $15 for pre-registration or $20 at the door. For more information on FACC-SLAA, please visit https://www.facebook.com/pg/FilAmChamberOfCommerceSouthBayLAArea/.

SEPTEMBER 1-4

Ramon Magsaysay (Cubao) High School international reunion in Las Vegas Come and celebrate with RMCHS alumni and guests for the third biannual international homecoming. Sing, dance, party, share precious memories and join the fun from Friday, September 1 to Monday, September 4 at The Orleans Hotel and Casino at 4500 W. Tropicana Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89103. Join the golf tournament in the morning of Saturday, Sept.

2 and then wear your best (black and white) for a dinner dance later that evening. Make this event an opportunity to reunite with your own batchmates, watch a show, visit tourist spots, and stroll along the Las Vegas Strip. For more information, visit the RMCHS 2017 INTL REUNION Facebook page.

S E P T E M B E R 1 5 -1 7

Liliwenos reunion in Las Vegas, NV Calling all Liliwenos living all around the world! There will be a three-day reunion in Las Vegas, NV starting with a picnic on Friday, Sept. 15 at Silverado Ranch Park. On Saturday, Sept. 16, it is a dinner/dance party at the Palace Station (2411 W. Sahara Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89102) at 5 p.m. The attire is semi-formal and costs $50 / person. Souvenir t-shirts cost $10 regardless of size. Deadline of payment for both the reunion and t-shirt cost is August 31 to be sent to Ms. Nerri Monteagudo at 9252 Bronze River, Las Vegas, Nevada 89149. On Sept.

17, participants are free to explore the Strip and other Vegas activities. For more information, please contact Bob and Nerri Monteagudo at (702) 339-3838; Carmen P. Manguin (702) 526-8005; Loida Borgonos at (201) 654-5482; or Fred Polistico at (818) 527-3476.

O C TO B E R 1 4

26th annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture in Echo Park Save the date! The 26th annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture (FPAC) hosted by Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture (FilAm ARTS) is back at Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, October 14. Expect a whole day filled with art exhibits, entertainment, and Fil-Am vendors. More details and special guests to be announced. For more information, please visit: http://www.filamarts.org/.

18th annual Asian Small Business Expo in Alhambra, CA On Saturday, Oct. 14, the 18th annual Asian Small Business Expo will be held at the Almansor Court Conference Center (700 S. Almansor St., Alhambra, CA 91801), featuring free workshops, exhibitors, networking opportunities, and more! Jonny Hwang, founder of 626 Night Market, is the featured guest speaker with special guest, Jerome Horton, chairman of the California Board of Equalization. It is FREE to attend! The Asian Small Business Expo is the only business-to-business expo that engages the Asian business community and brings this growing economic force into the mainstream to connect and utilize your company and its services. Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with small businesses, market your organization and tap into a network of entrepreneurs, service providers, financial organizations, franchises and governmental and legislative representatives. For more information, please visit http://www.apisbp.org/expo.html.

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

That this covenant is a part of the laws of nature is evident even among animals, especially among mammals. It is a tragedy and a shame, though to realize that it is more pervasive among humans to neglect, hurt and/or abandon their young than among almost all animals. Similarly, it is a sad commentary, on the other end of the spectrum, that ingratitude and cruelty are all too common among some people of today, who wantonly desert their old and helpless parents in the sunset years of their lives when they need their children’s love and care the greatest.

While parenthood is a grave responsibility filled with many a sleepless night, sweat and sacrifices, and sometimes disappointments and tears, it is nonetheless a joyous privilege and a magnificent gift from the Almighty. And as long as we, supposedly the smartest and most superior creatures on the Planet Earth, continue to honor that divine covenant, the world will remain a wonderful place to live in.

Visit philipSchua.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com

*** Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus in Northwest Indiana and chairman of cardiac surgery from 1997 to 2010 at Cebu Doctors University Hospital, where he holds the title of Physician Emeritus in Surgery, is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the Philippine College of Surgeons, and the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society. He is the chairman of the Filipino United Network – USA, a 501(c)(3) humanitarian foundation in the United States. Email: scalpelpen@ gmail.com

Heart Evangelista: More exciting projects to come

By ELIJAH

RODEROS AJPRESS

HEART Evangelista was in tears as she marked her 19thanniversary in the entertainment industry.

With a flourishing almost two-decade journey in showbiz, Heart thanked her fans and GMA Network for handling her career well during the press conference of her new romantic-comedy show, “My Korean Jagiya”.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today kung wala kayo (if not for you),” she said.

Heart Evangelista or Love Marie Ongpauco-Escudero in real life captured the hearts of many Filipinos with her youthfulness and innocence when she joined the ABS-CBN Saturday teenoriented show, “G-Mik,” which ran in the late 1900s until the early 2000s.

She was once among the most celebrated teen stars of ABSCBN and blessed with her own primetime drama series “Hiram” in 2004 and “Ang Panday” in 2005.

Evangelista was also one of the most popular video jocks in the then newly founded local music channel, MYX. Aside from being a popular teen artist back then, Heart is also

Heart Evangalista

idolized for being a “kikay” and fashionista.

She then decided to transfer to the rival network GMA in 2008 and did a number of drama series such as “Codename: Asero” in 2008, “Luna Mystika” in 2008, “Sine Novela Presents: Ngayon at Kailanman” in 2009, “Fullhouse” in 2009, “Langit sa Piling Mo” in 2010, “Dwarfina” in 2011 and “Luna Blanca” in 2012, among others.

This year, she starred in the sequel of the popular 2004 fantasy series,”Mulawin vs Ravena” as the iconic Alwina. She also hosted a reality TV show, “Follow your Heart,” which aired 13 episodes.

Her colorful love life further brought her to the limelight,

Photo from her Instagram account

being the most controversial is with Jericho Rosales, her one true love, according to her past interviews.

Amongst her past lovers before marrying Senator Chiz Escudero were John Pratts and the Brazilian model and actor, Daniel Matsunaga.

At the moment, Heart is very happy with what she has achieved in her career.

“I’ll be doing some exciting projects as we approach next year, and I thank you in advance for being there for me. It really means the world to me,” she shared.

Heart Evangelista is also an artist and has garnered a good number of followers in social media for painting on luxury bags.

Bryan B. Magsayo takes a leap out...

From Page 4 Busy) as a vocalist and keyboardist.

My passion for music grew even extremely intense that I wanted to take up Music in college but my father persuaded me to opt for Political Science since the former’s tuition fees were high-priced.

AJ: At what stage of your singing career did you notice your capability as an Air Supply vocal dead ringer?

BBM: When I was with my band. Air Supply was on the top of the heap then but there were no available minus ones so we really mastered every single note until we perfected their songs…and people noticed our vocal similarities.

AJ: What made you decide to work overseas?

BBM: Actually, prior my leaving the country, I became an enlisted civilian army and joined the 8th Infantry Battalion under Col. Rey C. Ardo for three years.

We were assigned to assist in combat in Maramag, Bukidnon and neighboring towns where our service was needed. I brought with me my band and we were tasked to entertain people amid chaotic and warring atmospheres.

I came to realize my passion as a singer won’t prosper in the boondocks and warzones so, in 2001, I applied as an entertainer in China.

AJ: So, how did you fare in a foreign land?

BBM: I landed in Xiamen City, a Chinese port city in the southeast coast, and was assigned in Holiday Inn as a member of a band for a year. Then I went on as a solo performer in 1801 Club for almost seven years (2006 – 2013) and moved to 99 Club for two years (2013-2015). My schedules weren’t

that tight so I was able to record and upload my songs on YouTube during my free time.

AJ: How many songs have you uploaded? Any favorite song among them?

BBM: A lot… a little more than three hundred songs…mostly Air supply. I love Air Supply’s “Having You Near Me” and Michael Bolton’s “Said I Love You But I Lied” not only because I feel I did my best on them but simply because both have garnered two million views.

AJ: I heard you almost made it similar to Arnel Pineda’s fate?

BBM: Yeah, almost! It was Frankie Sullivan, guitarist and songwriter of Survivor Band, who discovered me on YouTube with “The Search Is Over,” a 1985 song by the same band. He contacted me and invited me to audition in Chicago. They actually approved of my performance and I knew I passed the tryout…but for some reasons, the plan folded up right there.

AJ: How did it feel? How did you take it?

BBM: Frustrated, of course!

But I respected their opinion and decision. I just shrugged it off.

If it wasn’t meant for me then so be it. I still believe God has even better plans for me. But the only consolation there was I was given the opportunity to legally enter the US and maybe, make all possibilities to succeed.

AJ: If given a choice, would you rather be employed, manage your own business, or make singing for a living?

BBM: Honestly, I would prefer both… as an entrepreneur and an entertainer… so that I’ll still have a fallback in the event one fails.

AJ: So far, what has been your

biggest achievement, failure, regret, concert, obsession, frustration, and dream?

BBM: Achievement…? Hmmm, well, that would easily be the fame that YouTube gave me…it opened doors of opportunity for me.

Failure: My audition with Ryan Cayabyab as a Smokey Mountain member… due to my Visayan accent.

Regret: Actually, none that I could think of… everything that happened in my life was quite acceptable and fine. But if ever there would be one… that would be not mustering enough courage to fight for what should have been due me.

Concert: My fundraising concert in Valencia City in 2014 that raised money to support a poor patient’s heart surgery.

Obsession: To sing and share the stage with Air Supply and Arnel Pineda.

Frustration: My failure to make it as Survivor’s frontman.

AJ: What is your stress reliever after a hard day’s grind?

BBM: My family…my wife and my eight-year-old son… they are both the world to me.

Like a chameleon, Bryan is an effectual mimicker. His vocal power could effortlessly sound at par with the original artists and at times, even much better. If only Lady Luck could lead him to the right track that will offer him the opportunity to prove his worth, without a trace of doubt, the moniker Bryan B. Magsayo won’t only be reigning supreme on YouTube but will be a prominent figure in the main stream arena.

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

7

An Asian Journal Magazine

The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY AU G U ST 25, 20 1 7

2 Filipinos Named ‘Asia 21 Young Leaders’ AGREA CEO Cherrie Atilano and Mano Amiga Academy founder Eleanor Rosa Pinugu will represent the Philippines at Asia 21 Summit in Melbourne, Australia A social entrepreneur working to end poverty for farming and fishing families and the founder of Amanda J. Bernardo, Esq. from Brooklyn is the NYPCG delegate to this year’s FYLPRO. a nonprofit school that provides Photo by Pineapple Industries high-quality education to lowincome communities are among the 30 remarkable professionals recently named “Asia 21 Young Leaders” by Asia Society.

AGREA CEO Cherrie Atilano and Mano Amiga Academy founder Eleanor Rosa Pinugu were selected for the 2017 class of Asia win asylum for refugees, and NEW YORK – The Philippine 21, Asia-Pacific’s foremost network has assisted in transforming Embassy in Washington, DC has of young leaders. They will travel to the experience of Filipinos and announced the 10 delegates to the Melbourne, Australia in December underrepresented communities in for the Asia 21’s annual summit, Filipino-American Young Leaders the immigration system.

Program (FYLPRO) 2017, including where they will meet members For her FYLPRO legacy project, of the 2017 class from 20 other Brooklyn native Amanda J. she plans to launch a US-wide Bernardo, Esq. She will be travelling countries as well as Asia 21 alumni.

“Know Your Rights and Resources” with the cohort in an immersion The goal of the summit is to explore program for new Filipino trip to the Philippines to meet with opportunities for collaboration to immigrants. leaders of government, industry, create positive impact and change Amanda joins ten other business, culture, and social across the Asia-Pacific region.

FYLPRO alumni from the US enterprise from 8 to 14 October.

Atilano is the founder and CEO Northeast since the flagship An immigration attorney, of AGREA Agricultural Systems program’s launch in 2012: Michael Ms Bernardo is the Chair of the International, Inc., an agro-social Vea (New York, 2012); Steven Immigration Committee of the enterprise that aims to help Raga (New York, 2012); Rachelle Asian American Bar Association of eradicate poverty for farming Peraz Ocampo (New York, 2013); New York, and the Public Relations and fishing families in order to Edward Santos (New York, 2013); Chair of the Filipino American alleviate the effects of climate Ryan Letada (New Jersey, 2014); Lawyers of New York. She recently change and establish food security Bernadette Contreras (New York, collaborated with Congresswoman in the Philippines. AGREA has 2014); Nicole Ponseca (New Nydia Velasquez and Pulitzer been mobilizing communities, York, 2015); Jennifer Coliflores Prize-winning journalist Jose (Massachusetts, 2015); Jhett Antonio Vargas to educate Filipino Tolentino (New York, 2016), and immigrants on their rights in the Noel Joseph Aglubat (New York, United States.

2016).

Atty Bernardo has helped

Immigration lawyer and community volunteer from Brooklyn chosen to join FYLPRO immersion trip

A charity event: 5K run at Lincoln Park HANDANG Tumulong Foundaon, Inc. (HTFI), a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) NJ-based organization invites everyone to support and participate in their 8th Annual 5K Run / 1mi Walk race to be held at Lincoln Park in Jersey City, NJ on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017. Not only is the race recommended for everyone’s health but for every dollar spent, supporting the project in raising money will be set aside towards a designated “always ready-fund” for victims of natural calamities around the world, particularly in the Philippines.

Please register online at h3p:// www.ac-ve.com/jersey-city-nj/ running/distance-running-races/ hAi-5k- run-1-mile-fun-walk-2017.

Check-in and Registration starts at 7:00 AM with a pre-registration fee of $30 per participant ($35 on Day of Race).

Children under 18 is $15.

Discounted rate of $70 applies to pre- registered groups of 2 Adults with 1 Minor Child. Families are encouraged to participate and experience a fun-filled day.

Music to enliven the event will be provided by a DJ. Amenities such as T-shirts and bronze medals will be given to registrants and winners.

Trophies will be awarded to Top 3 Male and Female winners of the 5K Run. There will be post-race refreshments at the hospitality booth.

HTFI was founded in 2010 primarily to raise awareness to the plight of victims of natural calamities such as typhoons and earthquakes. Since inception, it has raised about $200,000 distributed to benefit the less fortunate and the needy. To raise funds, HTFI spearheads two major events each year. The first is a cultural event usually held in the Spring and the other is the 5K Run / 1 mi Walk race held in the Fall.

To learn more about HTFI and its 5K Run event, visit our website, www.handangtumulong. org. You may also contact the following for more information: Alex Esteban, HTFI President, 917 257-7053; Jennie Jonson, Overall Event Chairperson, 201 401-4176; Dr. Winston C. Umali, Race Course Director, 201 885-2049. For some who can’t participate in the race, yet willing to support the project, you may send your donation by wri@ng a check payable to HTFI and mailed to “HTFI, P.O. Box 2743, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410”.

Summer beauty tips

From Page 6

from running or smearing in the heat.

I also recommend using an oilfree daily lotion that has a minimum SPF15. Also, carry a compact that you can use for midday touch-ups but remember to keep on the “barely covered” tone. You would want your natural glow to stand out, not a “heavily covered” face.

Less is more when it comes to summer make-up but a little shimmer won’t hurt. You can use a shimmery bronzer to add a sexy, healthy sheen to your skin.

Question # 3: It is extradifficult to keep my hair from drying out during summer. Any suggestions?

I am actually saving the hair tips for a more concentrated article but I can give a word or two to help take care of your crown and glory.

I know this is hard for some but, try to avoid “overcleansing.”

Shampooing just once a week is enough. On other days, applying conditioner alone is ok. You can also

add a weekly clarifying shampoo and skip the conditioner (or just apply it to the hair ends). Try and take a break from the blow dryer if you can and let your hair air-dry. Best advice: Visit Monet Salon for more hair advice–and makeover!

I hope I have shed some summer beauty wisdom to you. Stay tuned for more of our seasonal beauty tips. Or, just like my best advice: Monet Salon in Canoga Park and Panorama City are open weekdays and weekends. Please call (818) 9126835 and (818) 891-8949 or got to Monetsalon@aol.com. *** Monet Lu is a Marikina-born, award-winning celebrity beauty stylist with his own chain of Monet Salon salons across Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada. Ultimately, Monet is known as an all-around artiste who produces sold-out fashion and awards shows as well as unforgettable marketing campaigns. Monet is also the founder of the revolutionary all-natural beauty products such as Enlighten, your solution to discoloration . To contact Monet, please visit www.monetsalon.com or email him at monetsalon@aol.com

businesses, academia, local and national governments, and international partners to bring an “Ecology of Dignity” to farming and fishing communities on the island of Marinduque. Previously, Atilano worked as a consultant with the Department of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines and helped to form a cooperative of 241 smallholder farmers in the country.

Pinugu founded Mano Amiga Academy, a sustainable nonprofit school designed to provide high-quality education and development services to low-income communities. She is also the co-founder of Bistro 3846, a social enterprise that provides healthy meals to schoolchildren, employs the parents of the Mano Amiga students, and donates its profits to the Mano Amiga scholarship fund. Pinugu’s vision is to make quality education accessible to all children. She was named a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum and was chosen to speak at the IdeasLab session at the 2012 WEF annual meeting in Davos, where she received a grant of $10,000 from the Good Planet Foundation.

Other member of this year’s class include Melissa Jardine, a former Australian police officer examining how law enforcement in Asia responds to drug use, economic crimes,

Cherrie Atilano

Eleanor Rosa Pinugu

and terrorism;Chenhui Liu, co-founder of a mobile health startup transforming China’s healthcare system;Sana Mir, a cricket star challenging attitudes about women’s participation in Pakistan’s male-dominated world of sport; “Krating” Poonpol, a venture fund manager ushering in a startup revolution in Thailand and across Southeast Asia; Shameer Rasooldeen, a news host giving voice to Sri Lanka’s marginalized and silenced voices; and Sim Chi Yin, a Singaporean photographer and filmmaker capturing how industrialization and urbanization are reshaping the landscape, and the people of Asia.

“Asia 21 really brings to life Asia Society’s mission to build bridges of understanding across the Asia-Pacific region, across different sectors and between Asia and the world,” said Asia Society President

and CEO Josette Sheeran. “Our goal is not just to recognize the amazing work these young leaders are doing, but to connect them to one another so that they can take on some of the biggest challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region today.”

Asia 21, now in it’s 12th year, has grown into a network of more than 800 young leaders from 40 nations, working together to shape a brighter future for the Asia-Pacific region. Asia 21 alumni are proven leaders representing a variety of professional backgrounds and serve as mentors and potential collaborators. Filipino alumni include former Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, Teach for the Philippines CEO Clarissa Delgado; IP Ventures CEO Jaime Enrique Y. Gonzalez; and Bantay. ph co-founder Henry MotteMuñoz.

An Asian Journal Magazine

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The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY AUGUST 25, 2017