091517 - New York & New Jersey

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Volume 10 – Issue 49 • 16 Pages

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DATELINE PH gov’t intensifies post-disaster response operations on Irma-hit Caribbean islands FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Embassy Response Team entered the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and met with the Filipino community there on Monday, September 11, Minister Patrick A. Chuasoto, Chargé d’Affaires of the Philippine Embassy, reported to Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Peter S. Cayetano.

The primary mission of the Response Team is to alleviate the suffering of kababayans reeling from the devastating effects of Hurricane Irma, which slammed into the BVI and other islands in the Caribbean last week.

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What’s next for DREAMers after Trump’s termination of DACA Fil-Am DREAMer shares her experience growing up undocumented, the importance of program

TWENTY-four-year-old Jennifer* is not unlike most young people in America. She has a job, enjoys going out with her friends and has dreams of success.

But Jennifer isn’t like any other young person in America. Jennifer is undocumented.

When she was four months old, Jennifer’s family relocated from Quezon City, Philippines to the United States. The family settled in Rowland Heights, California, where Jennifer lived a “normal” childhood.

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

Trump set to attend US-ASEAN summit in PH in November, likely to visit China

by DANA

SIOSON AJPress

U.S. president is also expected to later attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit FOLLOWING his scheduled visit to the Philippines, in Vietnam.

In April, Chinese President Xi Jinping invited United States President Donald Trump will likely Trump to pay a state visit to Beijing when the two make a stop to China this coming November.

A Reuters report on Tuesday, September 12 cited a leaders met for the first time in Palm Beach, Florida.

They also met on the sidelines of the G20 summit U.S. official confirming Trump’s visit to Beijing.

Trump is set to attend the U.S.-ASEAN (Associa- in July.

Trump’s possible trip to China in November will tion of Southeast Asian Nations) summit and the East Asia summit in the Philippines in November. The come amid tensions over North Korea’s nuclear

tests.

The U.S. leader has been urging China to exert more pressure on North Korea, saying it could easily stop the latter’s nuclear advancement.

On Monday, September 11, the United Nations (UN) Security Council unanimously passed a resolution imposing new sanctions on North Korea just a week after the latter carried out its sixth and largest nuclear test.

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PH senators vow to fight for higher CHR budget

by DANA

SIOSON AJPress

MANILA — Several Philippine senators vowed to ensure a higher budget for the Commission on Elections on Human Rights (CHR) in 2018 after the House of Representatives approved the constitutional body a measly P1,000 (around $20) budget for the next year.

One hundred and nineteen lawmakers from the lower chamber on Tuesday, September 12 voted to cut the agency’s proposed budget from P677 million to P1,000. Only 32 congressmen objected to the budget.

A mix of majority and minority senators have expressed opposition to the House decision, vowing to restore the full allocation of the agency, which has repeatedly criticized the alleged killings and abuses in President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called drug war.

The Senate finance committee, chaired by Senator Loren Legarda, earlier approved the proposed CHR budget amounting to P678 million.

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, vice chairman of the committee, questioned where the slashed funds

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NEW BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO PH. President Rodrigo Duterte receives the credentials of British Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Robert Pruce at the Malacañang Palace on Wednesday, September 13. Pruce was among four other new ambassadors to the Philippines, who submitted their credentials to Duterte in a ceremony at the Reception Hall of the Malacañang Palace.

Malacañang photo by King Rodriguez

UN rights chief ‘gravely concerned’ over PH killings

into reports of thousands of extrajudicial killings, and the failure to prosecute any perpetrator,” Al THE United Nations High Commissioner for Hussein said.

He cited the killing of 17-year-old Kian delos Human Rights on Tuesday, September 12, said he is “gravely concerned” about Philippine President Santos, which Philippine Justice Secretary VitaliaRodrigo Duterte’s “open support for a shoot-to- no Aguirre II described as an “isolated case.”

Delos Santos was killed during an anti-drug kill policy” against crime suspects.

In his opening speech before the 36th Human operation on August 16 in Caloocan City after alRights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, human legedly resisting arrest, but witnesses claim the rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein emphasized police dragged the boy into an alley, gave him a the “lack of respect for due process rights” in the gun, and told him to run for his life.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales “Two days after hundreds of people turned out Philippines.

Inquirer.net photos “In the Philippines, I continue to be gravely for the teenager’s funeral, the president again told concerned by the president’s open support for a police they would not be punished for killing susshoot-to-kill policy regarding suspects, as well as pects who resist arrest. This lack of respect for United Nations High Commissioner for Human by the apparent absence of credible investigations u PAGE A2 Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein

by AJPRESS

Former Pres. Benigno Aquino III

Ombudsman upholds Aquino indictment over Mamasapano tragedy

Photo from UN.org

Critics, supporters face off at Marcos’ 100 birth anniversary

by DANA

SIOSON AJPress

facts and specious application of the law.”

“While a President of the ReTHE Office of the Ombudsman public is certainly possessed has affirmed the graft and usur- with broad discretionary powers, pation of authority indictment the exercise thereof must not, of former Philippine President however, be done in violation of Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III a law or laws, much less when in connection with the botched such constitutes a crime,” the Mamasapano operation that led resolution read.

Aquino was indicted of violatto the deaths of 44 police coming the Section 3(a) of the Antimandos two years ago.

In a resolution approved Mon- Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, day, September 11, Ombudsman or Republic Act (RA) No. 3019, Conchita Carpio-Morales reject- and of usurpation of authority ed Aquino’s motion for partial under Article 177 of the Revised reconsideration which cites his Penal Code over his alleged role indictment a “misappreciation of u PAGE A5

by DANA

SIOSON AJPress

Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee and their mother, Imelda Marcos, listen to the national anthem during a wreath-laying ceremony at a monument for former President Ferdinand Marcos during celebrations to mark his 100th birthday in Batac, Ilocos Norte.

ManilaTimes.net photo

BOTH critics and supporters of late Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos gathered outside Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) in Taguig city on Monday, September 11, for the centennial birth commemoration of the former dictator.

Security personnel were deployed to maintain order in the area. The air was charged with tension, but there were no reported violent incidents between the two opposing groups, composing

of around 200 each.

Imelda Marcos, the widow of the late president, has invited senators, House members, and other political personalities to the celebration of her husband’s 100th birthday anniversary.

Among those who attended the event were former President and current Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada, and former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

Also seen in photos released

by Ilocos Governor Imee Marcos, eldest daughter of the late

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A september 15-21, 2017 • NeW YOrK AND NeW JerseY AsIAN JOUrNAL

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

From the Front Page

Trump set to attend US-ASEAN...

PAGE A1 t The resolution, drafted by U.S., requires UN member states to cap North Korea’s crude oil imports, ban textile exports—Pyongyang’s second largest export after coal and other minerals in 2016—and end additional overseas laborer contracts, among others.

“Today, we are saying the world will never accept a nuclear armed North Korea, and today the Security Council is saying that if the North Korean regime does not halt its nuclear program, we will act to stop it ourselves,” U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said following the vote Monday.

Crediting a “strong relationship” between Trump and Xi for the successful resolution negotiations, Haley added: “If it agrees to stop its nuclear program, it can reclaim its future … if North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure.”

PH senators vow to fight for...

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Senate Minority Floor Leader Franklin Drilon warned of a possible deadlock in the 2018 budget and the reenactment of the 2017 budget.

“The Senate, I would like to think, will not stand for the abolition of the CHR, through giving it a P1,000 budget. If the House will insist on that, then there will be a deadlock for 2018 general appropriations act,” Drilon said.

Minority Senators Francis Pangilinan, Bam Aquino, and Risa Hontiveros also shared the same Members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Sept. 12 flash the clenched fist sign sentiments.

Pangilinan dismissed the House of President Rodrigo Duterte after they approved on second reading House Bill 6215 or the 2018 General Appropriations Bill. The bill includes reducing the Commission on Human Rights’ decision as “Kalokohan (Nonbudget to P1,000.

Photo courtesy of the House of Representatives sense).” He said the Senate will “strongly oppose” the meager CHR budget’s approval in the Senate million has been realigned, noting government.

“Congress should not reduce even it means the non-passage of that the House version of the 2018 national budget stayed at P3.767 the budget of the Commission on the 2018 budget Human Rights, a constitutionally Aquino, on the other hand, said trillion.

“I happen to be the sponsor of mandated body, to a mere P1,000. the CHR needs to continue doing its the CHR budget in the Senate, This would effectively abolish the duty as mandated by the Constitualong with a few other agencies like CHR, at least for the coming fiscal tion as he took note of the supposed the DND (Department of National year, in clear contravention of the spate of drug war killings and Defense), ARMM (Autonomous constitutional provision mandating police abuses.

“What government in its right Region in Muslim Mindanao), etc. the establishment of this indepenI accept the challenge,” Lacson said dent office,” Gatchalian said in a mind would give a P1,000 budget statement. to the [CHR]? Speaker Alvarez’s dein a Twitter post.

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero mand for the CHR head to resign is “It’s interesting to find out how the P677 million was chopped,” also vowed to fight to restore the out of place,” Hontiveros said in an CHR budget, saying, “The CHR is interview with ANC on Wednesday, he added.

In a message, Senate President a constitutional imperative and a September 15.

House Speaker Pantaleon AlvaPro Tempore Ralph Recto assured necessity, however inconvenient it rez earlier insisted that the agency that the Senate will restore the CHR may be for some.”

Likewise, Senator Joel Villan- is the not doing its job. Prior to budget. Citing the increasing extrajudicial deaths in the country, he ueva, stressed that the CHR ”has the deliberations, he said CHR pointed out that the agency might a constitutional duty to protect the Chairman Chito Gascon should people from abuses.” step down if they wanted a higher need more funds.

Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, budget for the agency.

“The CHR is a constitutional ‘A display of vindictiveness’ body mandated by the constitution meanwhile, expressed certainty For its part, the CHR described to protect our human rights. It may that Senate “will give a more generthe House decision as a “display even need more resources consid- ous budget” to the CHR. “It is a body tasked to check of vindictiveness.” ering the number of extrajudicial abuse and uphold fundamental “Despite this defeat in the House, killings,” Recto said.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian rights. Recall that was the CHR we look forward to defending our remarked that the House decision which discovered the hidden cell in budget in the Senate,” Gascon said. “effectively abolish the CHR,” a city jail with women and children “We hope that reason, necessity, which he said serves as an impor- unaccounted for. That act alone and rational minds will prevail both tant “check and balance” to the justifies more,” Angara added. u PAGE A4

VILLANUEVA TAKES OATH AS SET MEMBER. Senator Joel Villanueva takes his oath as member of the Senate Electoral Tribunal before Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Thursday, Sept. 14 in Manila.

Senate photo

UN rights chief ‘gravely concerned’...

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the due process rights of all Filipinos is appalling,” the commissioner added.

He then urged the government of to protect human rights defenders, voicing concern over the case of Philippine Senator Leila De Lima, who has been detained since February over her alleged involvement in a drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison when she was the justice secretary.

De Lima, who is among the fiercest critics of the Duterte administration, has decried her case as political persecution.

“Many human rights defenders who are the honor of their country face a growing number of death threats, and I call on the government to ensure they are accorded full protection and the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without reprisals,” Al Hussein said.

He also expressed shock over Duterte’s threat to “bomb schools for indigenous children in the southern Philippines.”

Last July, Duterte threatened to bomb Lumad-run community schools for allegedly teaching

students to rebel against the government.

No factual basis In a statement, Malacañang refuted the UN official’s criticism against Duterte.

“We are deeply concerned with the UNHCR Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein’s sweeping statements during the UNHR Council’s 36th session, citing instances bereft of factual basis,” Philippine Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.

Abella said Al Hussein’s claims run counter to what Duterte has ordered, stressing that Duterte “has categorically and repeatedly said that there is no shootto-kill order.”

He further noted that “all drug killings are subject to investigations.”

Malacañang maintained that the objective of the anti-illegal drugs campaign is “to preserve the lives of the Filipino people, to prevent the destruction of Filipino families, and to protect the Philippines from becoming a narco-state.”

Regarding the case of De Lima, Abella clarified that the incarceration of the senator is due to “criminal, not political,

issues.”

He also took note that it is a court independent from the executive which ordered her arrest for drug trafficking charges.

“On the issue of human rights workers who are part of the drug trade or human rights workers who obstruct justice, the President is referring to human rights activists who aid or abet acts of violence during legitimate police operations where authorities have the right of self-defense,” Abella added.

Malacañang, likewise, said that the UN official “miss the context” of Duterte’s remarks concerning the Lumad schools.

Abella then told the commissioner to “focus on the Duterte administration’s efforts to educate the indigenous people (IP).”

“At present, there are 2,929,456 IP learners in the public school system. For next year, the IP education program will receive P130.43M, which is largely for capacity building, program support fund for implementation of IP education at the regional and division level,” he said. n

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NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • SEptEmbER 15-21, 2017

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Gold Medal Ceremony: Congress to honor Filipino Veterans of World War II WASHINGTON —October 25, leaders of the U.S. House and Senate will present a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of Filipino veterans of World War II for their service and sacrifice during the war.

From July 1941 to December 1946, 260,000 Filipino and Filipino-American soldiers served and fought for the United States and the Philippines to topple Sailors load cases of food and water into a Navy C-20 Gulfstream logistics aircraft at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Fla. The Sailors packed vacant seats aboard the aircraft with the supplies which will be flown to NAS Key West, Fla., to provide relief from the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

U.S. Navy photo by Cmdr. David Hecht

PH gov’t intensifies post-disaster...

PAGE A1 t The Philippine government’s assistance is mainly in the form of providing basic supplies to and facilitating the repatriation of affected Filipino nationals in the British overseas territory.

To date, there are 135 kababayans in the BVI who have requested repatriation assistance from the Philippine government. The Philippine Embassy clarified that those who volunteer to be repatriated will be directly brought to the Philippines.

As directed by Secretary Cayetano, the Embassy also dispatched a second two-member Response Team to provide logistical and administrative support from Puerto Rico. Additional teams are on stand-by in case there is a need for additional deployment in Puerto Rico or other areas. The extent of the damage in the Caribbean region is gradually becoming clear as more areas become accessible to the outside world.

In the meantime, Dr. Henry B. Howard, the Philippine Honorary Consul in Florida, reported that “kababayan communities in Pensacola, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale have largely dodged the bullet known as ‘Hurricane Irma’”. Filipino leaders in Tampa also said that the storm caused less damage than what was anticipated. So far, the Embassy in Washington, D.C. and the Hon-

orary Consulate in Florida has not received any report of Filipino casualty resulting from Irma’s crossing across the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean and the U.S. third largest state.

Downgraded to a tropical storm, Irma is making its way to Alabama after passing directly over the coast of southern Georgia. The latest projections indicate that Irma will weaken to the point of being a tropical depression by tomorrow, Tuesday, September 12. However, it is still expected to bring rains to central Georgia, eastern Alabama and southern South Carolina.

The Philippine Embassy reiterates its advice to the Filipinos in the southeastern part of the United States to exercise extra precautions, heed the orders and warnings of state and local authorities, and monitor weather bulletins for updates.

Those who want to share or find information about the condition of their family members and friends in the abovementioned places may reach the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. through the following contact information: • Emergency hotline: +1 (202) 368 2767 • Email addresses: consular@ phembassy-us.org / atn@phembassy-us.org • Facebook: www.facebook. com/philippinesusa • Twitter: @philippinesusa n

Immigrants and others gathered Tuesday morning outside a federal building in Los Angeles to denounce the decision that they said is unfair and leaves hundreds of thousands of immigrants uncertain about their future in the U.S. Photo by Anna Gorman for Kaiser Health News

What’s next for DREAMers...

PAGE A1 t But Jennifer always knew something was different. Her parents told her that because she wasn’t U.S.-born, she would have to be cautious and err on the safe side of things: keep her citizenship a secret, don’t fill out applications without asking them and make a conscious effort to avoid run-ins with state and government officials.

She learned because of her lack of papers, she wasn’t allowed to drive, work or have the same opportunities as her peers, which she found frustrating.

“Growing up it was very restricting, and I didn’t really understand why I couldn’t do things like travel, drive or basically do what most teenagers are allowed to do,” Jennifer told the Asian Journal. “It just felt really restricting and that I couldn’t even breathe.”

Although she knew she was undocumented early on, it wasn’t until she began applying to college that she hit her “breaking point” and understood the scope of her predicament.

She had applied to three universities, excited to finally get the “real college experience” she had always dreamed of. She knew she had the grades to get in and had the determination to do well in a four-year university.

But in a cautious effort to protect her, she was advised not to apply anywhere other than community college. ““I kept thinking, ‘Why me?’”

Jennifer recalls with tears in her eyes. “I resented my dad for a while even though he wasn’t doing that to be strict; I know he just wanted a better life for us.

It’s not what he ultimately wanted for [me and my siblings], but he was just trying to protect us.”

For Jennifer, a shining beacon of hope came in the form of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was introduced in 2012. It was the first time she believed her life had some kind of direction.

Through DACA, Jennifer was able to get a driver’s license, land her first job at Disneyland and, at 20 years old, apply to Cal State Long Beach where she

majored in kinesiology. In 2016, she graduated from college, the first in her family to do so.

“DACA was really life-changing for me,” Jennifer remarked.

“Getting that real college experience helped me discover my passion which is physical therapy. I felt very grateful being in a family with three kids and being the first to graduate from college. It was so rewarding and I thank DACA. It was all because of that I was able to accomplish all of that. And I knew it made my parents proud.”

Since it came into effect in 2012, nearly 800,000 undocumented youth — called DREAMers — have signed up for DACA and have been able to find higher paying jobs which have helped more DREAMers attend fouryear universities. Specific benefits vary from state-to-state; in California, DREAMers may now apply for driver’s licenses.

However, on Tuesday, September 5, the Trump administration has announced plans to slowly phase out and end DACA, which could affect a large portion of the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community.

California is home to more than 200,000 “DACAmented immigrants”, the most in the country. Since 2012, more than 16,000 Asian American immigrants — including over 4,500 Filipinos — received protection and benefits under DACA. And those benefits have proven to be effective for, not just individuals, but for the American economy.

Impact on the economy The most recent research on the effect of DACA on undocumented youth was conducted last month by the Center for American Progress (CAP), a left-leaning advocacy group. Researchers surveyed thousands of DREAMers, and found the following: Since enrolling in DACA, 54.2 percent were able to land their first job, 69 percent of respondents reported that they found jobs with better pay, 65 percent “pursued educational opportunities that I previously could not”,

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Axis powers during World War II. In July of 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called all organized military forces of the Philippines into the service of the United States. Their bravery, heroism, and dedication played an integral part in leading Allied powers to victory over Nazi and fascist forces.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), Senate Majority Leader

Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will take part in the bipartisan, bicameral ceremony.

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian honor the United States can bestow.

In accordance with Public Law No: 114-265, a single gold med-

al has been struck to honor the Filipino veterans of World War II in recognition of their dedicated service during the war.

The ceremony will take place on October 25 at 11:00 a.m. in Emancipation Hall and will be live-streamed on speaker. gov/live. For more on the history of the Congressional Gold Medal, check out this behindthe-scenes video. n

California sues Trump over DACA termination, $30-M planned for recipients THE state of California filed a lawsuit on Monday, September 11 against the Trump administration over its decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA).

California Governor Jerry Brown and state legislative leaders have also agreed to designate $30 million to help California DACA recipients. The state is home to over 200,000 DACA recipients.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was joined by attorneys general for Minnesota, Maryland, and Maine, in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration on Monday, over its decision to rescind DACA. “In California, we don’t just support and value them — we fight for them. And it’s important that we get this right,” said Becerra. “We will not permit Donald Trump to destroy the lives of young immigrants who make California and our country strong.”

Key points from the lawsuit state that the decision to end DACA violates federal laws, and may be detrimental to the economy.

In the lawsuit, Becerra argues that the termination of the program violates the Fifth Amendment due process clause by “substantially altering DHS’s prior assurances regarding the use of information contained in DACA applications.” A major concern for recipients was of the Depart-

ment of Homeland Security’s (DHS) access to their personal information which they feared could be used for deportation.

A recent memo by the Trump administration titled “Talking Points - DACA Rescissions” fueled concerns by revealing the DHS’s urge for DACA recipients to “use the time remaining on their work authorizations to prepare for and arrange their departure from the United States.”

This came shortly after Trump posted a tweet telling recipients not to worry, and after the DHS said that DACA participant information would not be “proactively provided” to other law enforcement entities like the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or Customs and Border Protection (CBP), unless a threat to public safety or national security. The policy may be rescinded or modified at any time without notice, the DHS added.

Becerra also argues in the suit that the Trump administration violated two federal laws, the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The APA requires agencies to go through a certain procedure, including a “notice and comment” process, before making a decision. In violation of the RFA, the Justice Department failed to give a sufficient assessment of how the decision would affect businesses and municipalities.

Becerra signaled his intent to sue before, in a statement following the decision to end DACA. “California is taking action because one in four DACA grantees live in our state,” he said. “I will do everything I can to fight for them.”

Other lawsuits have been made against the Trump administration as well. On Friday, University of California President Janet Napolitano filed a lawsuit and said in a Los Angeles Times Op-Ed, “I’ve seen the exceptional contributions Dreamers are making to the nation. They represent the very best of our country.” Napolitano served as secretary of the DHS under Obama, and signed the directive that created DACA. Last Wednesday, Sept. 6, a coalition of 15 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against the administration. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called the decision “cruel, shortsighted, inhumane, and potentially devastating to hundreds and thousands of immigrants and millions of people who work with, study with, love, and care for them.” $30 million planned for DACA recipients Outside of the lawsuit, California Governor Jerry Brown and other state legislative leaders have agreed to designate $30 million to assist DACA recipients through financial aid

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A september 15-21, 2017 • NeW YOrK AND NeW JerseY AsIAN JOUrNAL

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US deploys ‘Gray Eagle’ surveillance drone in Mindanao The United States has deployed a surveillance drone to Mindanao in support of the counterterrorism efforts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The Gray eagle unmanned aircraft system has longer flight duration, enabling it to cover a larger area of reconnaissance and surveillance, the US embassy in Manila said.

The U.S. has provided over P15 billion to the Philippines in the past three years to improve the AFP’s command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

The Philippines recently acquired a radar blimp and two new Cessna 208B aircraft from the U.S., as well as additional

Compared to current surveillance platforms used in the region, the Gray Eagle has a longer flight duration which will enable a larger area of reconnaissance and surveillance.

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Manila

munitions and weapons for urgent defense and counterterrorism.

“The strong, long-standing military relationship with the Philippines enables the U.S. to respond quickly to the AFP’s needs and to support the AFP’s modernization goals,” the U.S. embassy said in a statement.

Last week, U.S. Ambassador Sung Kim announced that

Washington will provide P730 million(approximately $15 million) for ongoing relief operations and the rehabilitation program of Marawi City and nearby areas.

The fund will be used for humanitarian assistance and for the stabilization and rehabilitation of the city and surrounding areas following attacks of ISIS-inspired Maute terror group. (Patricia Lourdes Viray/Philstar.com)

a political party.” “hindi naman kami kalaban ng gobyerno (We are not an enemy of the government),” she further noted. “We are the conscience of the people so we are here to provide limitations to the immense powers of the state.”

In a separate statement, ChR reminded that Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano promised a higher budget of the agency for 2018 during the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the United Nations (UN) body last May. “Included was a promise to continually augment the ChR’s budget, citing last year’s increase from P439 million to P724 million, as a way to show that this administration supports human rights programs and initiatives,”ChR said in a Facebook post.

Disrespect, threat to Filipinos Vice President Leni Robredo also slammed the house move, saying it threatens democracy and disrespects the Constitution and human rights of Filipinos.

“Tila pagbuwag sa ChR ang magiging epekto ng desisyong ito. (The effect of this decision is similar to demolishing the CHR.),” Robredo remarked.

Citing the “widespread violence and killings” under Duterte’s drug war, she said the budget cut was bothersome as it “cripples the main agency tasked to protect human rights.”

“Nagbabadya ito ng kawalan ng respeto sa ating Saligang Batas at sa karapatang pantao -- parehong banta sa demokrasya (This signals a lack of respect for the Constitution and human rights--both threats to the democracy.)” she added.

PH senators vow to fight for...

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in the Senate and in the bicameral committee.”

Commissioner Leah Armamento said the miniscule budget set aside for the ChR will greatly affect the agency’s operations—including the funding of its witness protection program and free legal assistance to human rights victims.

“Ganun ba kahalaga ang human rights ng tao para sa ating gobyerno ngayon, yung P1000 na yun? Di ba parang nakakainsulto sa taong bayan yun? (Is human rights worth this much to our government? That P1,000? Isn’t that an insult.)” she told ABS-CBN News Armamento also pointed out that Gascon’s resignation would create a “precedent that we can be bullied and then as an independent body, we will now cater to the whims of

)ROORZ XV RQ

ORCHIDS IN BLOOM. Senator Cynthia A. Villar enjoys touring the Flower Area at the Quezon City Memorial Circle while enjoying the beauty of our very own waling waling and other orchids in bloom during the 71st Midyear Orchid Show. The senator, chair of the Senate committees on agriculture and food and environment, led the ribbon-cutting ceremony in the event sponsored by the Philippine Orchid Society in cooperation with Quezon City government, Quezon City Memorial Administration with special participation of Villar SIPAG, Del Monte Philippines and other plant society. Aside from the orchids, also on display are bonsai and succelents plants, garden accessories and fertilizers. The event which included a trade fair, landscape exhibits, plant and orchid competitions, and daily lectures, will run until September 16.

Senate photo

What’s next for DREAMers...

PAGE A3 t according to the study which garnered 3,063 responses.

Currently, 91.4 percent of DACA recipients are currently

working where, before DACA, 56 percent were not able to work.

CAP also found that an average of 30,000 people would be out of work each month if DACA was terminated. Moreover, ending DACA would put significant pressure on employers; experts say that ending DACA would impose major costs to employers: nearly $2 billion over two years.

“So when I think about the data and what it all points to, it makes clear that DACA works, that DACA not only improves the lives of individual recipients and their families, but positively affects the American economy and society,” Tom Wong, associate professor of political science at UC San Diego, said in a press call on Thursday, September 7.

“We also see that DACA recipients are American in every sense of the word but for a piece of paper,” Wong added.

In January, the libertarianleaning Cato Institute also found that terminating DACA and deporting those enrolled would cost the federal government $60 billion and diminish economic growth by $280 billion in the next decade.

The announcement of DACA’s end has cast a shadow of doubt over the entire DReAMer community. Many are scrambling to figure out their options before the program ends in six months.

“After growing up with these restrictions, I thought that I was able to breathe again. Now I’m just back to that state of uncertainty, and it’s been really affecting me. I’m not sure what to do,” Jennifer lamented.

The news of DACA’s termination has caused a national outrage and started a movement to save DACA. Options for DREAMers however, DACA isn’t the only option for DReAMers to retain their benefits. Legal and civil rights organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice) has called upon Congress to pass the Development, Relief, and education for Alien Minors (DReAM) Act, a bill that proposes granting qualified undocumented youth conditional residency which could lead to permanent resident status. It was first introduced in 2001, and failed to pass multiple times.

“We urge Congress to pass a DReAM Act by December when the debt ceiling and government funding is set to expire,” Advancing Justice wrote in a statement released Thursday, September 7. “We need a clean DReAM Act without other immigration provisions. Those in Congress who truly care about immigrant youth should demand its inclusion in upcoming bills.

Our affiliation will continue to fight for DACA recipients and fight against an anti-immigrant agenda that is driven by hate and divisiveness.”

Sponsor Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Lindsey Graham, (RS.C.) proposed a new version of the bill in July of this year which got a seemingly unfavorable response by the Trump administration. President Donald Trump’s legislative affairs director Marc Short expressed that the administration had “opposed the DReAM Act and likely will be consistent on that.”

Still, Durbin and Graham said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon that they were calling on Congress to act on the bill before the end of September.

“We need to pass in this month of September a DReAM Act — a permanent law in this country that says that these young people will have their chance to become part of America’s future, “ said Durbin.

If the revised DReAM Act is to pass, recipients would have the same protections as DACA, as well as a path to permanent legal resident status or citizenship, if certain requirements are met — DACA did not provide either.

Still room for worry On Thursday, September 7, Trump sent out another tweet assuring that DACA participants had nothing to worry about.

The tweet read, “For all of those (DACA) that are concerned about your status during the 6 month period, you have nothing to worry about - No action!”

Despite Trump’s attempt at comforting those affected, there are certain realities that may keep DACA grantees worried.

For those already in the program, their window of making sure their documents are valid is only until Oct. 5. That deadline looks grimmer for those who might not have the $495 easily available. As for the many that were unable to secure DACA benefits by September 5, they are left in limbo.

One of the many concerns recipients had even prior to the decision that the Department of homeland Security (DhS) had access to their personal information which they feared would be used for deportation. The DhS has said that DACA participant information would not be “proactively provided” to other law enforcement entities like the Immigration and Customs enforcement (ICe), or Customs and Border Protection (CBP), unless they pose a threat to national security or public safety. They also said that the policy may be rescinded or modified at any time without notice.

More recently, CNN obtained a memo by the Trump administration titled “Talking Points DACA Rescission,” that included distressing content.

The 12th bullet point stated that the DhS urges DACA recipients to “use the time remaining on their work authorizations to prepare for and arrange their departure from the United States.”

(Klarize Medenilla with reports from Rae Ann Varona / AJPress)

California sues Trump over DACA...

PAGE A3 t and legal services.

“We will not let one man with xenophobic tendencies undercut years of progress we have made in California to integrate these young adults into our society and economy,” said California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León. “California is their home and they are our future.”

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said, “The new funding for DACA services we are adding to the budget will provide answers and help young Cali-

fornians stay in the only country they’ve ever known. Donald Trump may love chaos. These kids don’t deserve it.”

Of the $30 million, $20 million will to go to legal services under the One California program, and $10 million will be for California public colleges — $7 million for California Community College students, $2 million for California State University students via the Dream Loan Program, and $1 million for University of California students also via the Dream Loan Program. (Rae Ann Varona / AJPress)

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A

Sereno impeachment complaint sufficient Ombudsman braces for possible in form, substance – House panel grant of Jinggoy’s bail plea by aJPress

THE House of Representatives Justice Committee on Wednesday, September 13, found the first impeachment complaint against Philippine Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno sufficient in form and substance.

The first complaint was filed by lawyer Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon, which was endorsed by 25 lawmakers. Gadon accused Sereno of culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, other high crimes and betrayal of public trust.

During the hearing, 30 panel members voted for the motions deeming Gadon’s complaint to be sufficient in form and substance.

COOP-NATCO party-list The House Justice committee tackles the impeachment complaints against Chief Justice Maria Inquirer.net photos Representative Anthony Bravo, Lourdes Sereno (inset) on Wednesday, Sept. 13. who moved to find the com- sidered hearsay.” president lawyer Eligio Mallari. plaint sufficient in form, cited But Oriental Mindoro 2nd It was endorsed by 16 House the need for Congress to look District Representative Reynal- members. into the allegations that may do Umali, chairman of the comThe House panel, however, prove her unfit for her posi- mittee, disagreed, saying that it did not give the same verdict to tion. is supported by authentic docu- the second impeachment com“Same as the charges against ments released by the Supreme plaint. It was deemed insufficourt personnel must be acted Court on August 15. cient in form by a vote of a vote on by the Supreme Court, so “In this particular case, we of 5-28. the charges against the Chief have a private complainant in Following the committee’s Magistrate must be heard by the person of Attorney Gadon decision, Sereno’s camp asked the institution that can hold the who did his homework. While Congress to “affirm their comChief Justice accountable – the he may not have personal mitment to democracy over parCongress,” Bravo said. knowledge, he appended to his tisan or parochial interests.”

Lawmakers who voted complaint authentic records Sereno’s spokesperson, against the complaint, however, and that is what is lacking in Atty. Carlo L. Cruz, maintained argued that Gadon did not have the Alejano complaint,” Umali that “none of the allegations” “personal knowledge” because said. against the chief justice “rises his allegations were based on Among the grounds in Ga- to an impeachable offense.” newspaper clippings.

“We remain hopeful that our don’s impeachment rap include Among the members who Sereno’s “whimsical” and “ex- Congress will decide based voted against the motions were cessive” purchase of a Toyota on the merits of the case, and Bayan Muna Representative Land Cruiser amounting to P5.1 affirm their commitment to Carlos Zarate, Quezon City million, and misuse of judiciary our democracy over partisan Representative Kit Belmonte, funds when attending local and or parochial interests. In the Dinagat Islands Representative foreign conferences. meantime, the Chief Justice Kaka Bag-ao and Siquijor RepHe also accused Sereno of continues to discharge her duresentative Ramon Rocamora. failing to be truthful in declar- ties with fairness, integrity and “If we based on how we ing her statement of assets, li- humility,” Cruz said in a statetreated the (Rep. Gary Alejano) abilities, and net worth (SALN), ment. complaint, if these are based as well as obstructing justice He further remarked that on newspaper reports then I when she ordered Muntinlupa the impeachment complaint is think these are clearly hearsay, judges to not to issue arrest likely “designed to maximize and we should not, sabi nga na- warrants against Senator Leila the political spectacle, with the tin (as we said) this proceeding De Lima. goal of eroding her credibility should not be used as a fishing A second impeachment com- through innuendo and maliexpedition proceeding,” Zarate plaint against Sereno was also cious allegations.” said.

“This is detrimental to the filed by Volunteers Against Supporting Zarate’s opin- Crime and Corruption (VACC) independence of the judiciary ion, Bag-ao added, “Secondary founding chairman Dante Ji- upon whom all citizens rely to sources will not constitute per- menez and Vanguard of the defend their rights and to check sonal knowledge and are con- Philippine Constitution Inc. any abuse,” Cruz added.

Critics, supporters face off...

PAGE A1 t president, were former Senator Francisco Tatad; former Prime Minister Cesar Virata; and former Central Bank Governor Jaime Laya.

President Rodrigo Duterte did not attend the commemoration. The Marcos family reportedly extended an invitation to him but a Malacañang source said Duterte was not invited to the event.

Duterte has declared September 11 a non-working holiday in Ilocos Norte, the home province of Marcos, upon the request of the late president’s family.

Justifying the decision, he noted that the people of Ilocos believe that criticism and cases of human rights abuses and corruption against Marcos were mere “hogwash” and “garbage.”

“He (Marcos) was a president.

To the Ilocanos, he was the greatest president. Why do we have to debate on that? It’s one day where they can celebrate the anniversary of a great Ilocano. As far as the Ilocanos (are) concerned, Marcos is a hero,” Duterte said over the weekend.

In a statement, the Liberal Party (LP) condemned the celebration of a man “who has caused his country so much pain and suffering.”

“Today should not have been treated any differently. Today should not have been singled out as anything more than an ordinary Monday,” the party added.

In a separate statement, Vice President Leni Robredo, who is also the LP chair, criticized Malacañang’s declaration of Marcos’ birth anniversary as a holiday.

Ombudsman upholds...

PAGE A1 t in the tragic operation dubbed as “Oplan Exodus” on January 25, 2015 in Mamasapano, Mindanao, where 44 Special Action Force (SAF) were slain in an ambush.

Section 3(a) of RA 3019 states that it is unlawful for any public officer to persuade, induce or influence another public officer to perform an act constituting a violation of rules and regulations duly promulgated by competent authority.

Usurpation of authority, on the other hand, is committed when a person falsely represents himself as a government official or performs any act pertaining to any person in authority without being lawfully entitled to do so.

In his appeal, Aquino lamented that he was not given the opportunity “to adequately address and refute the charges… prior to the issuance of the Assailed Resolution.”

He further noted that the Assailed Resolution was “not only premised on highly inaccurate and flawed facts, but the legal conclusions drawn from these facts were patently erroneous and bereft of any merit.”

The Ombudsman, however, asserted that the former president was “accorded the opportunity to be heard during the conduct of (the) preliminary investigation.”

The indictment against Aquino’s co-accused—former Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Alan Purisima and former PNPSAF head Getulio Napeñas—was also sustained.

“President Aquino himself has repeatedly admitted and asserted in his counter-affidavit and in the instant motion that he utilized the services of Purisima for Oplan Exodus, albeit he is insisting that it was only for a limited role of a resource person,” the Ombudsman said.

“To this Office, however, the evidence on record regarding the extent of Purisima’s actual participation in Oplan Exodus… shows that he was certainly much more than being a resource person,” the Ombudsman added.

Oplan Exodus sought to neutralize terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir, more known as Marwan, and Abdul Basit Usman in the southern Philippines where various separatist rebel groups are based.

SAF troopers successfully killed Marwan during the raid but were ambushed by insurgent groups, including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF)—leading to the death of 44 elite soldiers.

But the complaint for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide against Aquino, which were filed by SAF 44 families’

“What’s there to celebrate? As if we are trying to forget the sins they have committed against the Filipinos. As if we’re trying to revise the story, the history, which is not right,” Robredo said in an interview on Sunday, September 10.

For Akbayan Rep. Tom Villarin, there was no reason to celebrate the birth anniversary of the dictator, whose two-decade regime was marked by killings, abuses, and corruption.

“Justice not compromise, uphold our laws and punish the wrongdoers! Marcos centennial birthday is no cause for celebration but a national tragedy heaped upon us,” Villarin remarked.

He went on to say, “President Duterte’s glorification of the late dictator and his entombment in the Libingan ng mga Bayani reflects how the present administration has distorted our values and beliefs as Filipinos.” n lawyers from the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), were junked again due to “lack of probable cause.”

Morales previously said that Aquino’s negligence cannot be treated as the proximate cause of the deaths of the troopers. The proximate cause, she noted, was the “intentional act of shooting by hostile forces that included members of the MILF, BIFF,and PAGs (Private Armed Groups).”

“In addition to the absence of probable cause, counsel’s theory that 44 counts of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide lie against respondents is clearly bereft of merit,” the resolution said.

Following the Ombudsman’s decision, Aquino’s spokesperson Abi Valte said the former president will meet with his legal team “to determine his next course of action regarding this case.”

VACC chairman Dante Jimenez, meanwhile, lamented the Ombudsman’s “unfair” resolution on the Mamasapano case.

“Talagang halatang-halata na hindi nila isinama ang homicide sa kaso (It’s so obvious that the homicide charge was not included in the case),” Jimenez said in a statement.

“It’s so unfair, I will ask now the family, they want the Ombudsman to be removed, so we are looking at that option. We will ask the SAFF 44 if they want to join,” he added. n

by ElizabEth

MarcElo Philstar.com

MANILA — The Office of the Ombudsman is now charting its next move in case the Sandiganbayan allows former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada to post bail.

In an interview with select reporters, three higly-placed sources from the Ombudsman admitted that they are anticipating the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division to grant Estrada’s omnibus motion filed on September 12, 2016 which prayed to the court to allow him to post bail for his plunder case.

One of the sources said that The Sandiganbayan granting Estrada bail could have a “domino effect” on PDAF cases at the anti-graft court, sources warn.

Philstar.com photo this early, they are already preparing a motion for reconsid- threshold amount of illegally Estrada appealed the ruling eration as they are anticipating amassed fund for a crime to be through a motion for reconsida 3-2 vote in favor of Estrada’s considered as plunder. eration but the same was debail.

Further, Estrada also main- nied on May 11 of that year.

The source said they are tained that he is not a flight risk At the time, the court was also prepared to go before the and his continued detention composed of Associate Justice Supreme Court should the San- has already caused him “irrep- Roland Jurado, Alexander Gesdiganbayan deny their appeal. arable” loss of right to liberty. mundo, and Ma. Theresa DoloThe plunder case stemmed The three Ombudsman res Gomez-Estoesta. from Estrada’s alleged amass- sources admitted that the grant The Fifth Division’s composiing of P183-million worth of of Estrada’s bail might affect tion has changed since. kickbacks by allocating por- PDAF cases pending before the Its regular members now tions of his Priority Develop- anti-graft court. are Associate Justices Rafael ment Assistance Fund (PDAF) “The grant of the motion for Lagos, Ma. Theresa Mendozaor pork barrel to bogus foun- bail after the second [denial] Arcega, and Reynaldo Cruz, dations allegedly owned by the will create a domino effect,” which means that a new set of alleged pork scam mastermind said one of the sources. justices would decide on EstraJanet Lim-Napoles.

“There was already an as- da’s omnibus motion.

Estrada and Napoles have sessment the first time around “If the motion is granted, been in detention since the fil- that the evidence is strong. The the original denial is reversed, ing of the case in June 2014. composition of the [Fifth] Divi- ipso facto they mis-granted,” ‘Not main plunderer’ sion might have been different the second source said.

Estrada’s petition for bail had now but as to the grounds for The source said they could earlier been denied with final- bail, the same have been prof- only hope that Estrada’s bail ity by the Fifth Division, but in fered to justify a departure would be granted on “humaniSeptember last year, his camp from the original order,” the tarian considerations” and not filed an Omnibus Motion, which source added. on the former senator’s claim again prayed for bail on the The three Ombudsman that the evidence against him groud of the supposed failure sources maintained that Estra- is weak. of the prosecution to establish da raised no new arguments or “Our fear is that it may afthe elements of plunder. new evidence in his omnibus fect the other PDAF cases,” the Estrada’s camp also argued motions other than those he source said. that the prosecution failed to already presented during the Former Senators Ramon identify him in the charge sheet hearings of his original petition “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Juan as the “main plunderer” in the for bail.

Ponce Enrile are also facing case.

Past petitions plunder and graft cases before Estrada argued that if the alIt can be recalled that the the Sandiganbayan in connecleged P183-million kickback is Fifth Division denied Estrada tion with the pork barrel scam. to be divided among him and his and Napoles’ petition for bail Revilla’s petition for bail had three co-accused, each’s share on January 7, 2016 maintaining earlier been denied by the Sanwould only amount to P45.9- that the prosecution’s evidence diganbayan First Division. million, below the P50 million against them was strong. u PAGE A7

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FEATURES

OPINION

Impeachment, again WILL Philippine Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno share the same fate as her predecessor? Sereno succeeded the late Renato Corona, the first Filipino magistrate to be impeached and convicted.

Beginning this week, the House of Representatives Committee on Justice will tackle impeachment complaints again Sereno. The committee will review whether the complaints are sufficient in form and substance.

Sereno is accused of alleged culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and corruption for purportedly bypassing the Supreme Court en banc in creating new offices, her “excessive” purchase of a P5.1-million sports utility vehicle, and her alleged failure to declare “exorbitant lawyer’s fees” allegedly amounting to $745,000 or P37 million.

Under the Constitution, the House acts as the prosecuting panel while the Senate acts as an impeachment court. If at least one-third of all the House members vote to endorse the impeachment, a trial will proceed in the Senate, which will sit as an impeachment court.

The Corona trial was the first of its kind to be concluded in Philippine history. He was the third Filipino official to be impeached by Congress after martial law. The first was former President Joseph Estrada, who was deposed while still under trial by the Senate. The second was former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, who resigned days before her Senate trial.

In December 2011, members of the House of Representatives moved swiftly to impeach then

Chief Justice Corona for alleged betrayal of public trust, violation of the Constitution, and graft and corruption.

In May 2012, 20 senators declared Corona guilty of betraying public trust and committing a culpable violation of the Constitution, instantly removing him from his post and disqualified him from holding any public position.

Criminal charges including graft and corruption, and multiple counts of tax evasion cases before the Sandiganbayan and the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) were then filed against the former chief justice.

However, these charges were extinguished when the defendant succumbed to cardiac arrest last April 29, 2016. Corona died at the age of 67.

“It does not affect me at all,” Chief Justice Sereno said when asked about the two impeachment complaints lodged against her.

Sereno maintained that she has been living a life of modesty.

“I have been prudent in use of the court’s resources at the expenses for judicial reform. My travels, my security requirements are all regular and above board. Public documents and records will speak for itself and I have not objected in the public release of the same,” Sereno said in August during the Ulat sa Hudikatura forum held in Cebu.

“I have done nothing wrong. Nothing can be proven against me that will show that the Chief Jus-

Editorial

ManilaTimes.net photo

tice has betrayed her oath of office. I have served the country with all faith and diligence. I will never waver from that pledge,” she stressed.

This debacle portrays many forms of denigration that continuous to taint the country’s political and constitutional process. No matter which side who is on, the outcome of the trial will be difficult to predict and vagaries in the procedures will be inevitable. The seriousness of this challenge affects both parties involved, and every Filipino as

it slowly but surely traces impacts on the independence of the Philippine judiciary.

Rendering justice will strengthen the system.

It will be present a strong statement in balancing all the interests of the Constitution, the law, public welfare, and due process in this impeachment trial. Whichever camp wins, the outcome will be a guiding principle saving the country from the usurpation of the Filipinos’ celebrated democracy.

(AJPress)

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma send wake-up call to climate change deniers like Trump, EPA chief Scott Pruitt & Florida Gov. Rick Scott OUR hearts go out to people and communi- The Fil-Am ties in Texas, Florida, and other states in the Perspective southeast of the United States following the devastation left by Hurricanes Harvey and GEL SANTOS-RELOS Irma.

As of press time, at least 60 deaths have been caused

by Hurricane Harvey, the storm that dumped several feet of rain in southeast Texas in a matter of days. At least seven people in the United States have been killed as a result of Hurricane Irma, in addition to the 37 killed in the Caribbean, including 10 in Cuba.

These back-to-back natural calamities should now serve as a wake-up call to people, especially government offi-

cials like U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who continue to deny how we are now paying back to the abuses we have increasingly been committing against Mother Nature. We have now been reaping what we have been sowing through the effects of climate change and extreme temperatures.

Since Trump took office in January, he has already rolled back some of the environmental protection laws put in place under his predecessor, Barack Obama, and announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate

Accord.

I do not understand how despite proof after proof and hard evidence presented by science, there is still a debate about climate change. This just impedes how we all work together to address this problem that affects our planet and the future of living things in the world.

Even Pope Francis — who according to the Official Vatican Network, studied Chemical Technology and worked as a chemical technician before he chose the priesthood — has been weighing in on this issue, something that we have yet to see being proactively done by other religious leaders who seem to have challenges in acknowledging how faith and science are not diametrically apart from each other. The fact is: God has given man intelligence far greater than any other living things on the planet so

we can take care of Mother Nature.

As BBC News reported, “Pope Francis has warned history will judge world leaders who do not act as he blasted climate change skeptics in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey.”

Pope Francis is concerned that the impact of climate change will be hardest on the people of the world’s poorest countries, calling on the moral responsibility of everybody, especially those in positions of power to do something about this problem.

“All of us have a responsibility. All of us. Some small, some big. A moral responsibility, to accept opinions, or make decisions. I think it is not something to joke about,” the Pope said.

“If we don’t go back we will go down,” he warned reporters on Monday, Sept. 11. “That is true. You can see

the effects of climate change with your own eyes and scientists tell us clearly the way forward.

Pope Francis quoted a phrase from the Old Testament: “Man is stupid, a stubborn, blind man.”

“Those who deny it (climate change) should go to the scientists and ask them,” the Pope said. “They are very clear, very precise.”

Why do people, especially President Trump, continue to deny the truth about climate change? What is the true underlying motivation behind this? *** 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

Marcos in Malacañang: A short reminiscence

Commentary

FRANCISCO TATAD SEPTEMBER 11, 2017 is the centennial of Ferdinand Edralin Marcos’ birthday. While the world recalls the horror of 9-112001, when al-Qaida struck the twin towers in Manhattan and the Pentagon in Washington D.C., killing 3,000 victims, and plunged the world into a war on terror, the whole Ilocos region will be celebrating Marcos’ centennial as a regional holiday by order of President Rodrigo Duterte. In Metro Manila, the Marcos family, with some friends and invited guests, will be offering a Mass at the Marcos tomb at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. There could be some political demos to try to disrupt the family celebration and disturb the peace of the dead.

Of all our 16 Filipino Presidents, Marcos cast the longest shadow. Understandably, he occupies a unique place in our nation’s history. Born on September 11, 1917 in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, he studied law at the University of the Philippines, defended himself successfully in the killing of his father’s political enemy, Julio Nalundasan, fought in the war against Japan, became a congressman, senator and ultimately President of the Philippines, from 1965 to 1986. Nine of these 21 years were under Martial Law, which became the defining element of

his extended presidency.

Taking on the communists On September 21, 1972, he proclaimed Martial Law and suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus throughout the country, to defeat the Maoist rebellion that threatened to put in power the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’ Army/ National Democratic Front. He jailed the top communist leaders, and members of the political opposition, including Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, who was deemed responsible for bringing together the CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison and Bernabe Buscayno, “Commander Dante” of the NPA, in a historic meeting at Hacienda Luisita in 1969.

The NPA became the military arm of the CPP thereafter.

Martial Law drove Joema’s followers underground and enabled Marcos to confront the Moro insurgency that had broken out under Nur Misuari in southern Philippines. He suspended elections until 1978, when he called for parliamentary elections, followed by a presidential election in 1981, and finally a snap presidential election on February 7, 1986.

He won all such elections. But on February 25, 1986, he was ousted in a military uprising supported by the United States and the civilian population, and flown to Hawaii. They then installed Cory Aquino, who had lost the snap election, as “revolutionary President.”

Barred by Aquino from ever returning home, Marcos ulti-

mately died in exile on September 28, 1989. In 1993, with Cory Aquino out of power, President Fidel V. Ramos, who had served as Marcos’s Chief of Constabulary and AFP Vice Chief of Staff before joining Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile in the military revolt, allowed Marcos’ remains to be transferred to Batac, Ilocos Norte, where his family decided to keep them in a refrigerated vault.

Cory Aquino as the opposite of Marcos As “revolutionary President,” Cory Aquino freed the communist leaders from prison, even without the benefit of a peace agreement. This enabled them to rebuild their ranks in the countryside while enjoying political sanctuary for themselves in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from where they directed the conduct of their war against the state. When the Cold War ended in 1991, upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union and China’s emergence as a market-oriented economic power, the only cardcarrying communists left in Europe were the Filipino holdouts in Utrecht—Joma Sison and his wife Juliet, Fr. Luis Jalandoni and Sister Connie Ledesma, who had become Dutch citizens, and a few others.

I spoke to Joma Sison in Utrecht in 1991. He thought the collapse of the Soviet empire was the result of a grievous mistake, but he said the communist struggle was far from over. Thus, the CPP/NPA/ NDF conducted themselves as though they had, in fact, won

the Cold War; they pursued the anti-Marcos propaganda campaign without any let-up, as though Marcos remained the enemy to be brought down.

This prompted many to wonder whether Marcos had not erred in lifting Martial Law when he did, and whether Cory Aquino had not acted irresponsibly when she released the communists from imprisonment. But the mainstream propaganda sought to picture Martial Law as the cause of the virulent insurgency rather than the consequence thereof. This reached a high point last year when DU30 cleared the way for the Marcos burial at the Libingan.

Need for more scholarship It will perhaps take several generations of serious intellectual work to separate the truth from the myths that have gathered around Marcos and allow the nation to see with clearer eyes what separates Marcos from the other politicians of his, and our, time. The 28 years that have passed since his death is not enough; we may need at least a hundred years more before the most ruinous of those myths are finally brought down.

Genuine scholarship must replace rabid partisanship; honest and accurate history books must be written for both the young and the old. For this, we need not only more honest and intelligent historians, but also more time.

This notwithstanding, there are certain things people of different beliefs say of Marcos. That he had a first-class

mind, a photographic memory, a commanding eloquence, and a personal charm which, in the company of peers, often made him the first among equals. He frequently disarmed his critics with his intelligence. Once I had him interviewed by William Buckley Jr., editor of the National Review, known for his lacerating wit, and one of America’s towering public intellectuals. At the end of it, I asked Buckley how he found his conversation with the President. He said he was not quite prepared to find a Third World leader who could casually quote Heraclitus.

Beyond his intellectual qualities, Marcos’ concrete achievements were beyond dispute.

The institutionalization of the “barangay,” the smallest political subdivision of the country; the dramatic opening of diplomatic and economic ties with the socialist and Islamic worlds; the delineation of our archipelagic rights through Sen. Arturo Tolentino’s brilliant interventions at the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea; the incorporation of a career executive service into the bureaucracy through the Development Academy of the Philippines; active state intervention to protect the rights of Filipino migrant workers, etc. This list is merely illustrative.

Resisting the US At the 1966 Manila summit conference of the Vietnam war allies, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson made a pointed effort to persuade Marcos to join Australia, New Zealand, South

Korea and Thailand in sending combat troops to Vietnam. Marcos deftly fended off this pressure and ended sending the 2,000-strong Philippine Civic Action Group (Philcag), a noncombat contingent, instead.

Years later, at the Asean summit meetings, Marcos showed deference to all his peers, but they clearly held him in the highest esteem.

Aside from Indonesian President Suharto, he had the highest respect for Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. At the 1976 Kuala Lumpur summit, Marcos, speaking before Lee, said he was going to “take steps” to remove the Sabah dispute from the area of contention between Malaysia and the Philippines. Lee, speaking after Marcos, said, “After that statement, all I can do now is tear my statement into little pieces.

He’s already got the international headlines!”

Such was the relationship between Lee and Marcos that Lee and his wife made a couple of low-profile private visits to Manila, without an official entourage. In one intimate private dinner where my wife and I were the only other ones present, the two statesmen picked each other’s brain on a wide range of things, from state matters to tai chi chuan. It was a supreme delight to watch the homegrown lawyer from the University of the Philippines spar with the Cambridge (double first honors) barrister who would be acclaimed Southeast Asia’s sage PAGE A7

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NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 15-21, 2017

Minority senators back call for Aguirre resignation

by DANA

SIOSON AJPress

MANILA - The Senate Minority bloc on Tuesday, September 12 backed Senator Risa Hontiveros’ call for Philippine Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to resign after he was “caught red-handed plotting” against her.

Hontiveros, also a member of the Senate minority, earlier released a photo showing Aguirre urging a certain “Cong.

Jing” in a text message to expedite a case against her.

“We reiterate our call for Vitaliano Aguirre to resign from his post as Secretary of Justice. This recent development once more highlights his unethical actions as a public official,” the Minority bloc said in a statement.

Other Senate minority bloc members include Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV of Nacionalista Party (NP); and Senators Franklin Drilon, Francis Pangilinan, Benigno Paulo “Bam” Aquino IV, and Leila De Lima who were all members of the Liberal Party (LP).

Earlier this week, Hontiveros released a photo of Aguirre which was “inadvertently” taken by a photojournalist during a Senate probe into the death of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos last September 5.

In a photo, the Justice secretary can be seen texting “Cong. Jing,” who, according to Hontiveros, is Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption

(VACC) member and former Negros Oriental Representative Jacinto “Jing” Paras.

“Naturuan na ni Hontiveros yung testigo (Hontiveros already coached the witnesses).

Her questions are leading questions,” Paras’s message to Aguirre read.

Aguirre was seen typing a reply on his phone: “’Yon nga sinasabi ko kanina dito.

Very obvious. Kaya expedite natin ang cases ninyo vs her.

(That’s what I’m saying. Very obvious. So let’s expedite your cases against her.)”

The minority senators said Aguirre’s actions “signify a lack of competence for a man who holds the highest office on justice” and “clearly violate the norms of conduct for public officials under the law.”

“The Filipinos deserve better than a Cabinet official who resorts to spreading lies, sowing intrigue and to name-calling. We need a Secretary of Justice who will uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct, integrity, and justice. Secretary Aguirre clearly does not fulfill these requirements,” they added.

The LP senators previously called on Aguirre to resign over his “repeated issuances of erroneous claims,” particularly when he claimed that they attempted to bribe the parents of Delos Santos.

“Last August 30, we called for his resignation due to his propensity for spreading fake information on those he tagged as ‘dilawan’ — for which he had to publicly apol-

ogize more than once,” the minority senators recalled.

They went on to say, “Now, he has been caught red-handed plotting against a sitting Senator during a hearing where he is supposed to be paying his utmost attention.”

In turn, a sad and enraged Aguirre said he is studying the possibility of filing a case against Hontiveros and the photographer who took the picture.

Cited Article III Section 3(1) of the 1987 Constitution, the justice secretary stressed that text messages are “private communications” and “any unauthorized intrusion into such exchanges is illegal and betrays the Constitution.”

“I am saddened, enraged, and more importantly, afraid of how our rights to the privacy of our communication can easily be disregarded and trampled upon…and the people who subsequently trumpeted it, did so in the very hallowed halls of the Senate itself,” the justice secretary said.

He described the released of his controversial photo as a “shameless violation of a citizen’s right to the privacy of communications.”

Aguirre went on to say, “I am saddened by the thought that while I gave my time, cooperation and humble efforts to the Senate during the hearing, unknown to me, I will be victimized and my rights disregarded and my privacy intruded upon.”

Ombudsman braces for possible...

PAGE A5 t He and Estrada are detained at the Philippines National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezpn City.

Enrile was granted bail by the Supreme Court in August 2015 due to “humanitarian considerations”.

Special division for Estrada A source from the Sandiganbayan confirmed that the a special division of five had already convened to decide on Estrada’s motion.

The source said a special division was convened after the three regular of the Fifth Division failed to reach a unanimous decision.

Under the Revised Internal Rules of the Sandiganbayan a “unanimous vote of the three Justices” is required when granting or deciding on a motion.

If a unanimous decision is not reached, the Presiding Justice would have to designate two other justices from other divisions to participate in the

voting.

The Sandiganbayan source said Associate Justices Zaldy Trespeses and Lorifel Pahimna were already chosen to participate in the voting.

Pahimna was an appointee of President Rodrigo Duterte.

When asked for confirmation regarding the special division’s composition, Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang advised the reporters to just “wait for the official promulgation of the resolution once it is finally reached”.

A7

GOODBYE, KULOT. The white coffin of the remains said to be that of 14-year-old Reynaldo ‘Kulot’ de Guzman is interred in the Pasig Public Cemetery. De Guzman was said to be the last person seen with Carl Angelo Arnaiz, the 19-year-old former student of the University of the Philippines killed by Caloocan police in an alleged shootout on August 18.

ManilaTimes.net photo by Rene Dilan

Marcos in Malacañang...

PAGE A6 t

after Marcos had gone.

Photographic mind Marcos hated reading speeches, and did not mind relying on his “photographic memory”. But he did not mind others making light of it. Once in conversation, I told him that in my youth I used to have such a terrifying memory also—I could repeat whole pages of text verbatim after reading it once. “What happened?” he asked. “I lost it when I began to think, sir,” I said naughtily.

“You’re mad,” he said, with a big laugh. He was serious about everything, but he was not beyond self-depreciation.

People of all shades are wont to say Marcos had the best Cabinet of all the Presidents. At 29, I became the youngest member of that Cabinet, and 10 years later, the only member to resign, six years before the EDSA revolt. How did Marcos do it?

People are obviously looking for a secret formula which perhaps the incumbent President could use.

I think the answer is simple enough. Marcos had a clear vision of the presidency and its place in the order of things.

He had no intellectual insecurities; he was sure of himself and was not afraid that any of his appointees could be as smart as, even smarter, than he was.

Most of them were highly academically pedigreed, but some

others, like Blas Ople, Adrian Cristobal and myself, were not.

Academic pedigree did not intimidate Marcos, neither did the lack of it.

And one did not have to be from the Ilocos region or the UP College of Law or his university frat to be invited to the Cabinet. In my case, I was an obscure diplomatic reporter and columnist of the Manila Daily Bulletin, and had only one face-to-face meeting with the President a few months before he offered me my job. His Ilocano assistants thought the idea of bringing me on board was absurd—the President did not know me, and I did not know the President. I thought they were absolutely right.

An absurd appointment But it looked like my one meeting with the President had left an impression he could not discard. In that meeting, we discussed his decision to establish the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and Ninoy Aquino’s questions about it. Marcos said if I needed to clarify anything, all I had to do was call him—at which point he told Gen. Hans Menzi, his aide the camp, and also my newspaper publisher, to give me his telephone number.

“With all due respect, sir, I don’t believe this is done,” I said.

“What do you mean it’s not done?” he asked.

“I don’t believe any reporter should be calling you on the phone, sir,” I said.

“Well, in that case, I would be the one calling you,” he said.

“Again, with all due respect, that too is not done, sir,” I said.

“The President should not be calling any reporter on the phone.”

“What then should we do?”

“Well, sir, your Press Secretary clarifies things for you.

But if you want to have greater rapport with the press, perhaps you could hold more press conferences, and we could ask you more questions.”

On July 14, 1969, I was offered my job, and on August 16 I was sworn into office. “I will depend upon you,” Marcos said, and for the next 10 years I spoke for the President, wrote speeches and ran the government’s information program.

I resigned in 1980 for political reasons, but whenever Marcos needed my opinion, he reached out and I obliged.

Thus, after he announced his decision to hold a snap election, he asked to see me to tell him what I thought of it. I said, “it looks like a first step to your stepping down.”

He vehemently disagreed. He conceded my point when I saw him for the last time in Hawaii on my way home from a speaking engagement in Washington, D.C. after the disastrous 1987 senatorial elections. (ManilaTimes.net)

A september 15-21, 2017 • NeW YOrK AND NeW JerseY AsIAN JOUrNAL

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Patrick rosal’s ‘Brooklyn antediluvian’ wins Most outstanding Book of Poetry award

by MoMar

G. Visaya/AJPress

Filipino-American poet and writer Patrick Rosal’s fourth book “Brooklyn Antediluvian” has won the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, one of the 2017 American Poets Prizes which is among the most valuable poetry prizes in the United States.

The Academy of American Poets, the largest membersupported nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting American poets has been giving the award, which comes with a $25,000 prize.

The Academy recognized and honored Brooklyn Antediluvian as the most outstanding book of poetry published in the United States in the previous year. Past recipients include Charles Wright, Patricia Smith, and Kevin Young.

The judges were Rigoberto González, Vijay Seshadri, and Susan Wheeler.

“This prize is a nice boost for me. I’m hoping to buy a house soon, so this is a huge help,” Rosal told the Asian Journal. “The prize also means visibility and recognition. Truth is, there were

many people, maybe hundreds or thousands, who read my books and found something that delighted them or that resonated with their own story. Most of those readers have been people of color. Many of them are young people. The vast majority of them had no power to award prizes. I wrote for them and I continue to write for them.”

Rosal admitted that he has paused a number of times since he got the news a few weeks ago to think that he is the first Asian American and first Filipino to win this particular literary prize.

“There are so many incredible writers of Filipino descent who are filling crucial gaps in our historical and cultural knowledge of America. One of the bad habits of the literary world is that a person of color who gains some visibility becomes representative and so publishers, editors, and many audiences assume they only have to read this one book and they know a whole culture,” he shared.

“I hope that this award points to the wealth of Filipino writing

happening in the United States, in the Philippines, and throughout the Filipino diaspora,” Rosal added.

Rosal’s Brooklyn Antediluvian (Persea Books, 2016) was a finalist for the Kingsley Tufts Award for Poetry. About this winning book, judge Rigoberto González said: “Brooklyn Antediluvian sings as both lament and celebration: it connects histories, landscapes, and stories of times past to the joyous rhythms of the present.

Nothing left behind is forgotten or lost, but so too will the sorrow and surprise of separation be woven into the narrative of a continuing hard-won journey. Rosal’s poems are energetic, curious, and attuned to the momentums of the never-ending search for community and home.”

His earlier books: Boneshepherds (Persea Books, 2011), My American Kundiman (Persea Books, 2006), and Uprock Headspin Scramble and Dive (Persea Books, 2003) were all full-length poetry collections.

Boneshepherds was named a small press highlight by the National Book Critics

Circle and a notable book by the Academy of American Poets.

My American Kundiman won the Association of Asian American Studies Book Award, and Uprock Headspin Scramble and Dive, received the Asian American Writers Workshop Members’ Choice Award.

“I’m deeply grateful to my friends and family who have supported me and listened to me.

My writing corresponds to many worlds because so many people have offered their friendship,” Rosal said. “Out of that intimacy, my stories, my poems, my language itself has grown. None of my achievements means much without acknowledging everyone who has touched me in this way.”

Earlier this year, Rosal won a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship.

“It was a surprise. I’ve been an outsider to the academia and the publishing world in a lot of ways. I bridge worlds between books and performance so it felt special to get that kind of recognition from such a prestigious organization such as John Guggenheim,” Rosal told us a few months ago.

These awards and recognitions feel like a celebration that is much bigger than him, he shared. It is a celebration of his family and their history.

“I kept thinking back to my parents and grandparents and my own history about how unlikely it is that a son of Ilocano immigrants who came here to the United States before 1965 has written these books and has been embraced by the American literary community,” he added.

Asked about how his parents reacted when he told them he wanted to become a writer, he said his mom died before “she saw me straighten my life.”

“I actually failed out of college twice. I was banned from Rutgers University for ten years. I’m Patrick Rosal with Ramon Ibanga, Jr., professionally known as Illmind, a Filipino American hip hop producer and educator and Elda Rotor, now the director of a graduate editorial director at Penguin Classics.

Patrick Rosal

program at a university that I was kicked out. My mother didn’t live to see me do that. My mother really knew me as somebody who was lost. She just wanted me to be happy. I think if I told her I wanted to be a poet she would have been very supportive,” Rosal shared.

“My father on the other hand, he had all deferred dreams, he wanted to be a lawyer so he wanted me to become a lawyer. His reaction was a lot more stern, unforgiving. I think later on, when he saw my book and me being published and invited to respected institutions such as Columbia and Harvard, those were the things he could understand, but not the life of an artist. He had a hard time understanding how I had a future in the field,” he added.

Rosal has received teaching appointments at Penn State Altoona, Centre College, and the University of Texas, Austin, Drew University’s Low-Residency MFA program and Sarah Lawrence College. He taught creative writing for several years at Bloomfield College and twice served on the faculty of Kundiman’s Summer Retreat for Asian American Poets.

In addition to conducting workshops in Alabama prisons through Auburn University, he has taught high school workshops through the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Sarah Lawrence College’s Summer Writing Conference for High School Students, Urban Word

AJPress photos by Momar G. Visaya

NYC, and the Volume workshops in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He currently directs the MFA program at Rutgers UniversityCamden where he is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing.

Asked about possible lessons that can be imparted to the younger Fil-Ams, he quipped, “So many.”

“Among other things, that their stories are important. There’s incredible richness and wonder in the strangeness of these stories. And not to be ashamed of the strangeness because this strangeness is what they have to offer to the world,” he said.

“We’re a genius people because we are slightly outside of the kind of American culture that we have such incredible fluency in. If we honor what’s outside of that American culture, that’s where the transformation is where it’s going to be.”

A riveting performer, Rosal has been featured throughout South Africa with the likes of Mutaburuka and Jean Binta Breeze, in addition to appearances in Greece, the UK, Argentina, the Caribbean, the Philippines and venues all over the United States, including the Whitney Museum, Lincoln Center, the Brooklyn Book Festival, NJPAC and elsewhere. His prose and poetry have appeared in the New York Times, Grantland, Tin House, the Harvard Review, Poetry, American Poetry Review, Best American Poetry, and many other journals, magazines, and anthologies.

John lloyd cruz has ‘no regrets’ How Marian finally achieved over viral videos, but apologizes the best version of herself

John Lloyd Cruz

AFTER photos and videos of an intoxicated John Lloyd Cruz went viral early this week, the award-winning actor apologized for his misbehavior but does not regret it.

In an Instagram post, John Lloyd said that while he is sorry to “the little boys & girls” for setting a bad example, he has “no regrets” because as he explained, what he did was “just life revealing its raw beauty.”

As seen on the post, the actor said what happened was a “learning” and a “very humbling” experience.

Netizens have mixed reactions on the Instagram stories posted AJPress file photo by a friend of actress Ellen Adarna.

The videos and photos that went viral on Facebook showed the actor singing and dancing weirdly and holding up dirty fingers, making others comment that he might be under the influence of illegal drugs, a hot topic nowadays given the government’s war on drugs.

Meanwhile, on JLC’s apology post, some netizens commented that they understand that the actor just wanted to be true to himself and to have fun.

Others advised him to also choose his friends or “the right company.”

They added that though the actor is entitled to get drunk and be merry, he should not forget his values.

(Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo/ Philstar.com)

silVEstrE

Philstar.com

HAVING played Darna, Super Inday, Nieves the engkanto slayer, Amaya and Kung Fu Diva, Marian Rivera has the distinction of portraying the most number of superheroine roles in Philippine television and cinema.

And just when she thought she’s done saving the world with her supernatural powers, she’s back on GMA Telebabad primetime block via the action-fantasy series “Super Ma’am.”

Yes, the Kapuso primetime Marian Rivera with husband Dingdong Dantes and their daughter Zia in Paris. queen is set to rule one’s nightly Photo from Instagram/@marianrivera viewing habits starting Sept. 18 as In one of Marian’s favorite on-one with The Philippine Star at Minerva Henerala, the kind-hearted episodes, she recalled Miss Henerala Rockwell’s Grace Park Restaurant. and passionate high school teacher befriending an unruly student “This is for all teachers who have bent on helping wayward students who comes from a broken family. dedicated their lives educating and defending them from the had time off, they all took a It turns out the boy merely needs children and treating them as their Tamawos, Pinoy folklore creatures vacation, had fun and had a few somebody to talk to who will listen own. I also want to do projects that who suck youth and vitality off of drinks... C Mon guys it’s 2017! and won’t judge him, she said. will make my daughter Zia proud of children. #vacay #RandR #theydeserveit “Sometimes it’s only necessary me when she watches them.”

More than the spectacular press like if you feel the same.” that the lines of communication Among other things, “Super effects, stunts and fight scenes, After Ellen’s comment, are open to understand why a what attracted Marian to the project Ma’am” addresses — without netizens flooded the post student behaves this or that way,” helmed by LA Madridejos is its social being preachy — disruptive with other reactions. Many Marian pointed out. “With everyone and misbehaving kids who give relevance and the moral lessons it of them dared the actress to will impart on students, teachers and teachers a lot of stress and hard time preoccupied and the world spill the beans on the real besieged with problems, we forget managing the class and impede the parents. score between her and John learning of the other students. Super to talk to our children and ask them “I want the show to be an eyeLloyd, but the actress has not if they have problems or something.”

Ma’am’s alter ego, Miss Henerala, opener for students to appreciate responded as of the moment.

In an Instagram comment, Ellen Adarna the sacrifices of their teachers and And every teacher or parent can endures bullies and disrespectful (Deni Rose M. Afinidadseemed to have defended John Lloyd Cruz. students until she wins them over. vice versa, ” said Marian in a oneContinued on Page 4 Philstar.com photo Bernardo/Philstar.com)

Ellen Adarna defends John Lloyd Cruz over viral videos IN line with the issue surrounding John Lloyd Cruz’s viral videos on social media, his rumored girlfriend Ellen Adarna seemed to have defended the actor in an Instagram comment.

In a comment on the Instagram post of FM radio disk jock Rico Robles or Rico Chismoso, Ellen said that what she and John Lloyd did in Cebu was not a yoga retreat.

In the post, Rico wrote: “For those asking about this.. these people work hard, they

by EdMund

Immigration Corner Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ EACH month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment based categories. A priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below. If your priority date was “current,” but later retrogressed (or “moved backwards” and became unavailable) before your immigrant visa was issued (or before you adjusted status in the U.S.), you would have to wait until it becomes current again.

Beginning last October 2015, the format of the Visa Bulletin changed, in that a new column was added, called the “Application Filing Date.” If a person’s priority date is earlier than the Application Filing Date, they can already file for adjustment of status and work authorization (provided they are otherwise eligible and USCIS indicates on its website it will use the Application Filing Date for that month). This could allow people to obtain work authorization much sooner than before, where they had to wait for the priority date to be current (in the Visa Issuance Date column) in order to both file for adjustment and be eligible for a green card. *** Michael J. Gurfinkel is licensed, and an active

The October 2017 priority dates

3

Magazine

The Asi a n Jour na l N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY S E P T E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 7

The Priority dates for the Philippines are as follows: Application Filing Date

FAMILY CATEGORY:

Visa Issuance Date

First Preference

Unmarried sons and daughters of US citizens (over 21 years of age)

Second Preference

(2A) Spouse and minor children (below November 1, 21 years old) of green 2016 card holder

October 22, 2015

(2B) Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years old or older) of green card holder

September 1, 2007

January 1, 2007

Third Preference

Married sons and daughters of US Citizens.

June 15, 1995

February 22, 1995

Fourth Preference

Brothers and sisters of US Citizens.

March 1, 1995

June 1, 1994

LABOR CERTIFICATION:

January 1, 2007

October 1, 2007

Application Filing Date

Visa Issuance Date

Second Preference

Advanced Degree (Masters)

Third Preference

Professional/ Skilled Workers

August 1, 2016 December 1, 2015

Other Workers

Non-Skilled Workers

August 1, 2016 December 1, 2015

Current

Current

END OF DACA. Get Answers and Information on the Rescission of DACA on this Sunday’s “Citizen Pinoy”! Attorney General Jeff Sessions just announced that the Executive Order implemented by former President Obama in June 2012 on Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is being rescinded. This immediately resulted in strong reactions and many questions.

This Sunday, leading US immigration attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel gives the latest update, and answers questions to provide a better understanding on this new development on DACA. Atty. Gurfinkel also provides options for people who fall under DACA. Tune in for important guidance and discussion on a special episode of “Citizen Pinoy” – on Sunday at 6:15 pm (PST) on TFC. (Advertising Supplement)

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)

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Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond Monette AdevA MAGlAyA

ANGELS were strong proactive characters when the story of humanity unfolded during biblical times. And while today, cynics, atheists and those on

by Ronnie CaRRasCo iII the dark side might argue that ManilaTimes.net angels are figments of the human imagination, there are countless STAR for All Seasons Vilma people who will brave the scorn Santos had to gently put her of scoffers, fight back vehemently foot down as she enjoined her and attest to the very real presence supporters—and Noranians alike—to end their bickering shortly of angels in their lives.

Trawl the internet and social after they tied in the Best Actress media and read about how angels, category at the recently concluded though unseen in many instances, Star Awards for Movies. can be felt by many who believe Santos-Recto won for the film in them. There are many instances “Everything About Her,” while her when the presence and oftentimes five decades-long-arch rival won for Continued on Page 4 the direct interventions of one’s

Vilma Santos asks fans to stop bickering

Vilma Santos

An Asian Journal

Angels among us “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”

— From Frank Capra’s film, “It’s a Wonderful Life”

personal guardian angel are a part of the twists and turns of the unraveling story of many people’s lives.

Many have written about their encounters with angels, documenting how their guardian angels are a real part of their lives guarding, guiding and protecting them from harm and on many occasions, even from death, because their time had not yet come. I am sure many others have their own personal stories to tell about this unseen entity that can be ascribed to the presence of

God himself – an ever-present help to aid us in navigating life on earth.

The common image of an angel is a beautiful heavenly being with piercing eyes, big white pair of wings and long cascading golden hair, robed in androgynous white gown and who is neither male nor female but to which we ascribe the word “he” just for convenience.

An angel, who is an eternal celestial being, is not subject to the constraints of gravity, time, Continued on Page 5

An Asian Journal Magazine

4

How Marian finally achieved...

The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY S E p T E m b E R 1 5, 20 1 7

On the PEP Front

People, Events, Places BoBBy T. yalong THE ever-changing trends in education and related technology careers constantly challenge computer science enthusiasts, practitioners, and jobs interconnected to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

In the U.S. alone, 9 out of 10 parents want their children to study computer science but only one out of four schools offers and teaches computer programming with maximized authority and specialized curricular knowlegeability. Then, there’s the high percentage in projected increase in employment in computer occupation… not to mention the staggering paycheck that goes with it.

Majority of colleges and universities offer computer training dedicated to helping educate users adequate proficiency on

The Mayo-Policarpio Family

EMPLOYMENT

From Page 2

Virginia Mayo Policarpio: A Pinay at the zenith of cyber technology (USA), and University of Oxford (UK).

It was a wise decision and a clever move for Virginia MayoPolicarpio to lean toward computer science and embrace her chosen course as a lifetime career. From St. Dominic Academy where she finished her secondary education, she took up BS Computer Engineering, Info Technology and MS Engineering Management courses at the New Jersey Institute of Technology… and it was all worth it.

A namesake of the former The profile of a top cyber executive who is American actress-dancer who Virginia Mayo-Policarpio was once Warner Bros.’s biggest box-office money maker during computer-related subjects including the late 1940s, Virginia Mayo is also software, hardware, database, her mother’s “Junior” and Nelson management, programming, Mayo’s first born. A typical Libran networking, and many more with (born September 30), Virginia the three leading institutions known possesses a high sense of diplomacy worldwide as the best in computer and ingenious imagination, being science and information system: challenged to choose one career and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of sticking to it, while simultaneously Technology), Stanford University

The Policarpios with world boxing champ Manny Pacquiao

EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES

armed with a personality that resembles a volcano under an iceberg.

A Trusted Advisor and Thought Leader from end-users to executives for her expertise in Security Patch Management and Server Provisioning Technologies, Virginia is a Solution Architect of the GTS (Global Telecommunication System) Global Security Patch Management Project Office. In her able capacity as a person in charge she has led the design of a global framework to standardize delivery of the GTS Security Patch Management service offering, led the development of intellectual capital to support GTS transformation through processes, education, and global guidance that continue to be widely utilized globally supporting IBM (International Business Machine) to meet client objectives.

After having demonstrated her innate creative skills and innovative advancement in technology as evidenced by research papers in top conferences and journals based on applied works with mathematical approaches and techniques, Virginia, in her full capability has designed, constructed, and implemented parallel algorithms, worked independently, and effectually performed the role of a technical lead for customer projects.

Currently, Virginia is the Chief Engineer for the GTS Security Patch Management Service and Business Architect and co-creator of Risk-based Continuous Patch (RCP), a transformational and innovative automation positioned to revolutionize Security Patch Management Offering in GTS. As Chief Engineer for Patch Management, an area of system management that involves acquiring, testing, and installing multiple code changes to an administered computer system, Virginia typically focuses on a specific computer network, database, or system administration function.

Continued on Page 5

accomplish wondrous things even without the aid of superpowers, she added matter-of-factly.

“This may sound a cliché but what the world really needs now is love,” Marian said. “There’s too much hatred around. Even in social media, you can sense it. The bashings are too much and you can only wonder where the anger is coming from. With love comes respect, understanding, harmony.”

Ever since the Madrid-born and La Salle-educated actress was thrust into stardom exactly a year ago via the Filipino adaptation of the hit Mexican telenovela “Marimar,” not a few in the industry have noticed how she has matured immensely both as an actress and as a person.

Gone are the days when the three-time FHM’s sexiest frequently landed in hot water over issues she’d now rather take with a grain of salt.

“We all believe the turning point was the arrival of her daughter Zia,” a GMA insider told The Star. “Zia is constantly giving Mrs. Dingdong Dantes joy and peace and inspiration that helped her become the best version of herself.”

She has acknowledged that her now two-year-old girl has pushed her to become a super mom and taught her to prioritize things.

“When I got married and became a wife and mother, my priorities and perspective on life changed,” she noted. “I don’t easily get affected by bashings anymore.

I learned to choose my battles.

There are times when you just have to stay quiet because the truth will eventually come out.”

“The social media is also a big factor because I have my own Instagram account where people see the other side of me off camera,” she said, “how I am at home as a wife, as a mother, as a friend.”

Marian’s manager Rams David said the actress’ positive image has also turned her into a formidable product endorser. She is currently endorsing at least 18 popular products that attest to her high trust rating as a brand ambassador.

Isn’t she afraid of someday giving up her throne as her network’s beloved queen? We asked her.

“Someday I will also get old and I have to give way to other stars,” said Marian, who suddenly turned serious. “I’m fully aware of that reality.

It’s all about acceptance. What is clear to me is that showbiz shouldn’t be my life that when my career slows down or comes to an end, my life will end as well.”

“That queen tag is just a label,” she continued. “What really matters is how I was as an actor and as a person. What have you done for others? How many lives have you touched? Have you made a difference in this life? At the end of it all, those are the things that will matter.”

“I always believe that what you sow, you reap,” Marian added with a wide smile. “And if the fruits are sweet, it means you’re doing the right thing.”

Vilma Santos asks fans...

From Page 3

“Kabisera.”

Santos’ reaction [via a text message sent to our radio show “Cristy Ferminute” the other Monday, Sept. 4] came in the wake of a Noranian’s text comment (from a certain Jojo) which read: “Narinig ko ‘yung nag-text sa inyo na isang award lang ang nakuha ni Ate Guy sa taong ito. Correction! Lahat na natanggap na ni Vilma sa taong ito, natanggap na ni Ate Guy! Pakisabi mo d’yan sa nag-text sa iyo na magkita kami at magbilangan ng mga awards nina Ate Guy at Vilma, hindi ko siya uurungan!”

The same texter sent an addendum, “Sabihin mo sa nag-text sa ‘yo na magkita kami, sapakan na

SERVICES

lang kaming dalawa, hindi ko siya uurungan!”

If that Jojo wasn’t picking up a fight, we didn’t know what else to call it. Anyway, little did we know that Ate Vi was listening to CFM’s Monday, Sept. 11 edition all along.

She, too, shared her piece on the subject via a text message which calmly read, “Hi ’Te Cristy, Ronnie and Wendell, maraming-maraming salamat po. Vilmanians, Noranians, huwag na kayong mag-away.

Magkaibigan kami ni Ate Guy…God bless, Vilmanians/Noranians.

Mabuhay kayo!”

Knowing La Aunor, she would also have made the same earnest appeal most specially to that belligerent, if not barbaric fan!

BY MONET

LU

THERE’S a well known proverb in Tagalog that’s been said so many times yet its meaning still rings true: “Sa hinaba haba ng prusisyon, sa simbahan din ang tuloy.” Loosely translated in English as, “no matter how long the ‘road’ seems, it’ll still lead to one destination: the church.”

Pardon my poor translation of the phrase but you get what I mean. If not, let me tell you about a couple who serves as a living testament of this proverb. They are no other than Hayden Kho and Vicki Belo.

I’ve known Vicki since 2005.

She was Reflections’ Woman of Year in 2006, a Fil-Am recognition event that I have been running for twenty years. She is known to many as Dra. Vicki Belo, the famous cosmetic surgeon and the woman who captured the heart of celebrity hunk Hayden Kho, who is now a born-again Christian and reportedly training to be a pastor.

Quite the transformation from being a former celebrity and a controversial figure (for not-too-good reasons) to a man who, and I quote, “gave [his] full commitment to the Lord (Jesus Christ).” Now it is not only to his Lord that he gave his commitment to. He recently committed himself to be a husband to Vicki, his girlfriend of 12 years and mother of his daughter Scarlet Snow.

The couple recently tied the knot in Paris following their civil wedding in the Philippines.

Around 50 local celebrities, most of them endorsers of Belo’s beauty empire, flew to Paris to attend the event that was said to be the “wedding of the year.” It was reported that the couple spent a total of P80 million for their grand celebration.

PEP online reported, “Among these are the P1.7-million firstclass flight of Belo, Kho and their daughter Scarlet Snow to Paris; the P83,000 “donation” to their ceremony church; the two-day rent for the Palais Garnier’s Grand Foyer at P11.6 million; Belo’s one-

Hayden Kho and Vicki Belo: Their bumpy ride to a happily ever after

Photos courtesy of Hayden Kho and Vicki Belo

week stay at the Ritz hotel’s Coco Chanel suite at P1.35 million per night; the bridal gowns by Michael Cinco at P8 million; the rented chauffeur-driven luxury cars for wedding guests at P1.76 million for 48 hours; and the five-course meal at the reception starting at P16,000 per head for 250 guests.”

The hefty price tag may feel like an exaggeration (and downright impractical) for some people but to family and friends (myself included) who have witnessed all the dramas and tribulations that these two have endured, it’s the BEST way to mark the new chapter of their romance.

It was such a beautiful wedding as told by their guests. It may not be your typical marriage since the couple already has an adorable daughter to begin with but their relationship is no different from any typical “hanging by a thread” kind of relationship. It was marked with controversies, lies and infidelity.

I remember how these two started out as one of the most unlikely couples in the industry. For one, they came from different worlds – Vicki was formerly married with

two kids, a successful business owner and a multimillionaire cosmetic surgeon and is many years Hayden’s senior – who was a struggling doctor at the time and is from a middle-class family in Marinduque. Hayden was a former employee of Vicki Belo Medical Group when they fell in love and became lovers against all odds. One of the odds was the disapproval of Vicki’s daughter Cristalle. Yet love prevailed and the two officially admitted their May-December romance in 2005.

In 2008, rumors surfaced that the two had broken up over a third-party issue, followed by the greatest test that they ever had to face which was the Hayden video scandal that also caused him to lose his medical license.

Though the public only caught wind of that specific break-up, some sources said that the two have broken up and made up so many times. The last break up was said to be the cause of Hayden’s several suicide attempts. The relationship spiraled down and dragged both of them. You could say that it has to do with their age gap or Hayden’s sudden fame and fortune when he tried showbiz, but nonetheContinued on Page 7

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An Asian Journal Magazine

The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY S E P T E M B E R 1 5, 20 1 7

Angels among...

From Page 3 space or language problems.

Communication between protector and protectee is often wordless and automatic. Some are messengers and some bring punishment and death but each has a definite purpose, most of which are beneficial to humans.

Some claim to have seen their angels appearing differently from the common image we believe of winged beings. Some morph into human form to lend a hand, to protect from danger or avert disaster then disappear quickly.

They appear specially when the humans they are protecting find themselves in dire straits and need help. As one might imagine, angels are extremely busy considering the weakness of humans and their predilection

to stray from the straight and narrow.

In Frank Capra’s classic Christmas film, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Clarence, a portly, bumbling character aspiring to become an angel must earn his wings by doing something good for a human being in desperate need and contemplating suicide. “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings,” is a memorable line in this classic film that is intended never to get old and aptly becomes new again for a new generation around the Christmas season.

On the other hand, in the warped imagination of liberal film makers, “Michael” supposedly about Michael, the Archangel, the highest seraphim who fought Satan and flung him to the burning sulfurous depths of hell and believed to be the protector

of the nation of Israel, is portrayed as somewhat of a sleaze who is more human than angelic.

In this film, Archangel Michael can charm females because he smells of cookies and who is a bit of a Lothario to boot. It may be the lines in portraying angels but don’t be fooled by the liberal yarn on angels. Hollywood, in my opinion, has no gravitas on angelic matters.

Trust your own instincts. Your own personal experience will color the lens with which you view and relate with your personal guardian angel. God so loved the world, He sent His only son to redeem us from sin and death so we may gain eternal life — not unlike His angels.

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

Virginia Mayo Policarpio...

From Page 4 She’s an IBM Senior Staff Member (STSM) and an IBM certified Senior/L3 IT Specialist as well as a certified Distinguished IT Specialist from The Open Group... such remarkably high-ranking position!

Virginia, in her innate means of voluntarism and giving back to the community, has active professional affiliations and involvements with several prestigious institutions and organizations such as: FY17 SWE NJ Section Representative of Society of Women Engineers; a Board Member of the Metropolitan Family Health Network; a Member of The Open Group Certified Distinguished IT Specialist; Member of Information Systems Security Association (ISSA); Member of the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society; an IBM Certified Senior / L3 IT Specialist; and Board of Trustee of The Nelson L. Mayo, Jr. Foundation.

As an IBM affiliate and a woman on a totem pole, it won’t be surprising if Virginia could only be the target of green-eyed males

(and even females) for having such an enviable career rarely achieved by even the most audacious and ambitious job hunters.

“As a Cyber Security Expert, I define the process, policies, and blueprintfor the automation to keep IBM client systems secure with Ransomwares. I also balance audit compliance elements with cost of keeping systems secure,” Virginia freely appended as if trying to make me understand the truest quintessence and nature of her job but (sad to say) it made my perception even shoddier… and I merely executed a coyly nod and modest grin as my unspoken approval.

With success and accomplishments, recognitions and awards won’t be remote.

Virginia’s exceptional technological skill and unparalleled dexterity on computer expertise were fittingly acknowledged: Women of Color STEM Technology Rising Star Award (2017), GTS Service Excellence Award (SEA) (Cash award in 2016);

Calendar of Events across

Manager’s Choice Award (Twice in 2016); IBM Chairman’s Award (2015); Manager’s Choice Award (2014); IBM Personal Business Commitment (Highest Performance Rating) (6 times: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2009, 2008, and 2007); IBM Means Service Award (2012); IBM Bravo!

Award (2008); and Recipient of the NJIT / Kauffman Entrepreneurial Scholarship (2000).

Incidentally, to add more glitter to Virginia’s already glittery career journey, allow me to include a few interesting highlights that transpired during my interview in her homey domicile in an affluently gated community west of Jersey City.

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

Virginia Mayo Policarpio (VMP): I grew up in Lipa City, Batangas under the care of my grandparents from my father’s side. I was pampered and had fine luxuries with househelps and all but my lifestyle changed when my parents Continued on Page 6

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 SEPTEMBER 15

Kayamanan Ng Lahi performs at the Ford Theatre in Los Angeles

Consolacion C. Salud September 2, 1923 - September 10, 2017

CONSOLACION Cuevas Salud, 94, passed away peacefully, surrounded by immediate family on Sunday evening, September 10, 2017 at Richmond University Medical Center in Staten Island, NY. Born on September 2, 1923 in the town of Cuenca, Batangas, Philippines, Consolacion graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and went on to receive her Masters in Pilipino Language from the Philippine Normal College. She dedicated her life to the service of others, who as a teacher for 27 years, affected hundreds of lives, and whose professional advice others sought. As a deeply religious woman, Consolacion spent hours in daily prayer, and even considered joining the convent. She was turned down during the onset of World War II so that she can serve her own mother especially in light of the loss of her father, a former mayor at the time, who was taken by the Japanese during the war and was never again seen. After 13 years of engagement, she married her teenage sweetheart, Leonardo Salud in 1957.

Together, they enjoyed traveling, especially touring the United States.

A few years prior to her retirement from teaching, Siony as she was affectionately

called, took up a second career in baking and was quickly known for the delicacies like butter torte, cashew tarts, Food for the Gods, and Fundador Brandy-soaked fruitcakes that she passionately prepared at home.

In 1992, she emigrated with her husband to New York, where she continued various pursuits in retirement. She was an active member of FilAm Senior Cititzens Club of Staten Island, Stapleton Senior Center and of late, Sea View Adult Day Care.

Siony was regarded by all those around her as someone who was easy and fun to talk to. She often offered sage advice to those who would be keen to listen. She thought of others constantly and prayed for each one for every occasion. She was an everpresent spiritual force for her family and especially for her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Siony was preceded in death this year by her granddaughter, Katrina DeSimone, and later by her husband, Leonardo Salud.

She is survived by her daughters, Cecille DeSimone (John) and Cora Mariano (Alex), sister Eudocia “Dody” Jumarang, grandson Christian Mariano (Jaime), and great grandsons, Matthew Xavier and Jonathan Asher Mariano.

“Tao Po!” – We Are Here! is a multi-disciplinary production that will cover the breadth of Philippine folk-based dance, music and song, juxtaposed with contemporary dance forms and musical stylings with underlying positive social messages. The show declares that Filipinos are here, there and everywhere, adding to the richly diverse cultural landscape of America. The evening will feature guest stars Deedee Magno Hall and Jennifer Paz of singing group Mama Bares and voice actors of Steven Universe, original music by Anthony Fedorov of American Idol, and the Glendale College Concert Singers with their musical director Dr. Peter Green. The performance will also include appearances from the following guests: Rondalla Club of Los Angeles – Philippine rondalla music; Giovanni Ortega – actor, playwright, director; Annie Nepomuceno – singer, T.V. personality, producer; Marc Macalintal – musical director; Guro Alvin Catacutan – Kali master; Beatriz Eugenia Vasquez – dancer/ choreographer; Kumu Keali’i Ceballos – choreographer for hula piece; Faith Santilla and Alison de la Cruz – spoken word; Vince Reyes – musician; and Culture Shock Los Angeles – street/urban dance. To purchase tickets, please visit https://secure.ticketsage.net/websales. aspx?u=fordtheatres&pid=320003.

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.

SEPTEMBER 16

43rd Bicol fiesta in Los Angeles The big Lincoln Park at 3529 N. Mission Road (cross st. Valley Blvd.), Los Angeles, CA 90031, will again be hosting an overflow of thousands of Bicolanos and their guests during the 43d “kafiestahan” (feast day) in LA in honor of their patroness, Our Lady of Penafrancia, on Sunday, Sept. 16. The festivity is held yearly under the auspices of the United Bicolandia Los Angeles (UBLA), a local association of Bicolanos who originally hailed from the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate and Sorsogon, designated as Region V, in the Philippines. The day begins at 8 a.m. with the recitation of the 9th day novena, the last-day continuation of the previous eight days of novena prayers; at 9 a.m., a fluvial parade, a mass at 10 a.m., and a lunch at 12 p.m. After lunch, a “velada” of cultural and entertainment presentations will follow.

SEPTEMBER 17

Bayanihan Community Service Fair at Saint Aedans Church Bergen Ave., Jersey City At Saint Aedans Church, 800 Bergen Ave., Jersey City from 10:00 am to 3:00 p. Migrante New Jersey in partnership with Saint Aedans and partner organizations will be providing free and safe services to our immigrant community such as health screenings (blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, etc.), immigration and legal consultation and know your rights workshop.

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

6

An Asian Journal Magazine

The Asian Journal N E W YO R K / N E W J E R S EY S E P T E M B E R 1 5, 20 1 7

Health@Heart PhiliP S. Chua, MD, FaCS, FPCS

Lemonade for kidney stones

cancer. None of the healthy patients showed genetic changes related to solid cancers, while the NOTHING to date can dissolve test detected genetic alterations in kidney stones, in spite of various 60–70 percent of those with stage marketed herbal substances or “natural and home” remedy potion I or II cancer. The researchers say the approach could “in principle” or pills that claim to be able to be implemented for cancer do so. Don’t be fooled by false screening, pending validation advertisements which are only studies. Early detection and after your hard earned money. intervention are likely to be the If you are prone to develop most effective means for reducing kidney stones, drink lemonade. morbidity and mortality of human It cannot dissolve kidney stone cancer. When it is validated and crystals, but it can slow down accepted as a standard diagnostic the development of stones. It is a delicious way to control your stone procedure, “Liquid Biopsy” could save hundreds of millions around formation. the globe.

“When treating patients in Your mouth and diabetes our kidney stone center, we put Most people do not know or everyone on lemonade therapy,” realize that poor dental/oral health says Steven Y. Nakada, chair increases our risk for diabetes T2 and professor of urology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.at and, in turn, this metabolic disease adversely affects our teeth. It is a a previous annual meeting of the American Urological Association in vicious cycle of cause and effect highlighted by the American Atlanta.

Dental Association.

Potassium citrate is usually The ADA “two-way-street” prescribed for patients with clarification: “Blood sugars kidney stones. Citrate is a kidney fueling the acidity that leads to stone preventing substance, and tooth and root decay and gum lemonade (lemon juice) is full of disease, and dental disease that citrate. The pill is more potent but leads to infection and boosts the citrate in lemonade has been blood glucose when the body’s found to also slow down kidney stone formation. An alternative to immune system responds. The 2017 publication recognizes the “another pill” to take. close association of dental disease Liquid biopsy?

The term biopsy conventionally and diabetes, even though ADA acknowledges that causes and means cutting a piece of solid effects aren’t yet universally tissue for microscopic analysis to understood.” make a diagnosis. Liquid “biopsy” Also, dental/oral infection, and is a new promising procedure for infection (inflammation) in any detecting early-stage cancers by other parts of the body increase blood test, which replaces cutting our risks for cardiovascular a “solid tumor,” hence termed diseases and cancer too. “liquid biopsy.” The article about This is why dental hygiene this future much less invasive way and regular visit to the dentist is of finding cancer at its early stage, paramount. edited by William E. Chavey, MD, Sleep and diabetes MS, was published in the New Impairment in sleep raises England Journal of Medicine and our risk for metabolic disease, like Science Translational Medicine.

The report says, “the technique diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular illnesses, like heart attack, stroke, allows assessment of sequence and even cancer. Yes, lack of changes in circulating cell-free restful sleep leads to increased DNA.” Researchers used the proneness to all these major method to look for alterations in ailments, including deadly cancers. nearly 60 cancer-related genes in Indeed, sleep is that important to blood samples from 44 healthy our health and well being. individuals and 200 patients with More and more, physicians colorectal, breast, lung, or ovarian

today are far more vigilant about Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) as a most common cause of impairment of sleep and its association and role to the development of (and as a worsening factor) for the major illnesses listed above About 3-7 percent (roughly about 10 to 16 million) of the U.S. population have sleep apnea, more among men. There are countless undiagnosed OSA cases.

Almost 25 percent of individuals with diabetes T2 also have OSA, In OSA, there is frequent (could be hundred times a night) breath holding, severely reduced oxygen level, and the person wakes up gasping for breath.

Some do not even wake up at all, suffering anoxia and heart attack or fatal heart-rhythm problem.

The constant reduction in oxygen due to OSA every night also leads to fatigue, sleepiness during the daytime, lack of concentration, poorer decision-making, and inferior performance. Depriving the body oxygen and rest also increase the risk for those major diseases mentioned above, including cancer.

Among diabetics, SleepDisordered Breathing (SDB), OSA, and all other stresses, impair the metabolism of our body in general and, among those with diabetes, the body’s ability to allow the medications to work fully.

Metformin, the most popular drug for diabetes T2, which acts to reduce the glucose production in the liver and reduce the cell insulin resistance, acts less than 100 percent when the patient has an untreated sleep disorder. This makes the treatment less optimal.

And the same thing is true among those patients with high blood pressure or other major ailments on treatment. A good restful sleep every day is essential for all of us.

After a sleep study has confirmed the diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, the best treatment is the use of CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) whenever going to sleep.

CPAP has saved and improved Continued on Page 7

Ars Nova, Ma-Yi Theater, Woodshed Collective release tickets, add performances to world premiere of ‘KPOP’ NEW YORk - Due to popular demand, Ars Nova “one of NYC’s most adventurous Off Broadway companies” (New York Times), in association with “the foremost incubator of new Asian American theater in the country” (Obie award) Ma-Yi Theater andWoodshed Collective, “the exceptional theater company” that turns “spaces into intimate vortexes of wonder” (Gothamist) has released a new block of tickets and has added performances (September 16 & 30 at 3pm) to the world premiere of “kPOP,” a highoctane immersive event that gives you a backstage pass to a k-pop music factory. kPOP is here and America will never be the same. Claim your exclusive, all-access pass and immerse yourself in the korean Pop music factory where stars are made… or broken.

Deborah S. Craig (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) and Vanessa kai have joined and complete the cast of predominantly Asian and Asian American performers, who now number 18, and also include Julia Abueva, Cathy Ang, katie

Lee Hill (Nerds), Joomin Hwang, Jinwoo Jung, Jiho kang, Deborah kim, Susannah kim, Ashley Park(Sunday in the Park with George, The king and I), Sun Hye Park, James Saito, James Seol (A Naked Girl on the Appian Way, Small Mouth Sounds), David Shih, Jason Tam (If/Then, Lysistrata Jones), John Yi and Ebony Williams(Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour). kPOP was conceived by Woodshed Collective and Jason kim (The Model American, HBO’s “Girls”) and features a book by kim, music & lyrics by Helen Park and Max Vernon (The View UpStairs), an immersive design by Woodshed Collective, choreography by Bessie-nominee Jennifer Weber (The Hip Hop Nutcracker, TruTV’s “Face Off”) and is directed by Teddy Bergman (Empire Travel Agency).

The creative team includes Gabriel Hainer Evansohn (Production Design), Tricia Barsamian (Costume Design),Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew (Lighting Design), Will Pickens (Sound Design), Phillip Gulley (Projection and Video

Design),Sujin kim-Ramsey (Music Director), Helen Park & Max Vernon (Orchestration, Vocal Arrangements, Music Production) and Lizzy Lee (Production Stage Manager).

Performances of kPOP will take place September 5–October 7 (see above schedule) at the A.R.T./New York Theatres, located at 502 West 53rd Street in Manhattan. Critics are welcome as of Tuesday, September 19 for an official opening on Friday, September 22 at 8pm. Tickets, priced at $45 general/$75 premium, can be purchased by visitingarsnovanyc.com or by calling 212-352-3101.

Ars Nova’s Ticket Initiative, generously supported in part by New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, underwrites the cost of tickets for all performances, allowing the company to make theater accessible to the next generation of theater-goers.

Through that initiative, $25 tickets are available with code kPOPSICLE for performances September 5–9 and $35 tickets are available with code LOLLIPOP for performances September 11–16.

Makilala TV is now on BronxNet: First Fil-Am program in 25-year history MAkILALA TV, the first Filipino American television talk show in the New York metropolitan area, is slated to debut on BronxNet TV on September 7.

BronxNet becomes the third public access community network in NYC to broadcast Makilala. The cultural program, hosted by public health professional Rachelle Ocampo, author Jen Furer, and journalist Cristina DC Pastor, is an MNN production which is filmed every month out of Manhattan Neighborhood Network’s El Barrio Firehouse Community Center. Before coming to MNN, it was aired through Queens Public Television from 2013 after it was created by Maricor Fernandez and Pastor.

Right now, Makilala is “live to drive” on MNN, QPTV, and BronxNet. All three stations have a combined viewership of more than a million subscribers.

How Makilala came to BronxNet can best be described as serendipitous.

Executive Director Michael

Max knobbe recalled coming to MNN’s Firehouse studio one Saturday after attending a cultural event nearby.

“I got curious, I felt a strong energy, force to stop by the studio during the production of an anniversary episode of your program. I was impressed with your program and chatted with your team,” he said.

He left a card, and Makilala promptly sent an email. BronxNet Traffic Manager Bernardo Moronta, who heads the programming department, reviewed the pilot and was impressed.

“I felt that it was very compelling with high production value, and would make a great addition to our multicultural channel,” said Moronta. “Filipinos constitute one of the fastestgrowing ethnicities in the United States, and BronxNet is proud to provide strong programming for this under-served audience.”

The show airs primetime on BronxNet’s BX Culture channels, Optimum 69 and Fios 35, every Thursday at

8 p.m. It can also be streamed worldwide via BronxNet.TV. Bronx resident, Victor Palmos, is the Playback Producer, while Furer is the Playback Video Editor/ Coordinator.

On August 30, Furer and Pastor visited BronxNet’s Lehman College facility to express their thanks. They met Moronta, and reconnected with knobbe.

“I’m excited that the Executive Director of BronxNet was impressed with our ‘little’ show,” said Furer enthused. “This means that our show is starting to get noticed by people outside of our community.”

Moronta said BronxNet is just as “excited” to air Makilala, the first Filipino American program in the station’s 25-year history.

“First QPTV, then MNN, and now BronxNet! We are truly fulfilling our mission to raise the Filipino American voice through honest and provocative conversations,” said Ocampo.

“I appreciated Mr. knobbe’s genuine interest in our show and our potential to grow our Continued on Page 7

Virginia Mayo Policarpio...

ğ įōíľ ÀðıÃæµįPçį ʼn æIJįıÀ ØÃĉÃæîÂ ß ğÃqPç qíß߼æÃıŎįĤÀíĽØ ÕæíŊįPdíĽIJĕ If you have an upcoming event and would like us to post it, email us the details (title, description, time & date, location, etc.) at info@asianjournalinc.com.

And for consideration in our print calendar, please send submissions at least three weeks before the date of the event.

To be included in our online calendar/ e-newsletter, please allow at least two to three weeks' notice.

The Asian Journal would be delighted to list your event in our Calendar of Events.

From Page 5 brought me to the US at the age of 12 (1990). We were just starting then and renting a basement was the best option. It was sort of a challenge to me that I had to help my parents clean houses and facilities to augment the family income while keeping my studies a top priority.

AJ: What was your early ambition?

VMP: Initially, I wanted to be a lawyer since there was none from both sides of my family… they’re either doctors or politicians. But when I came here, I had a change of heart…and wanted to be an engineer, instead. I wanted to be different… not just an ordinary engineer but a computer engineer since cyber technology was establishing a strapping groundwork then.

AJ: What job did you land on after college?

VMP: I was hired as a Chemistry teacher for a year by St. Dominic School then was luckily accepted by IBM where I started to rise from the ranks in fourteen years.

AJ: When did marriage creep in?

VMP: Well, as they say, marriage is like a thief that comes during your unawareness… and my destined life partner, Patrick Policarpio, came into being in 2004 through a mutual friend. Patrick works for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), an agency of the US Department of Homeland Security that has authority over the security of the traveling public in the United States. The agency was created in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

AJ: How do you cope up with the demands of the home, family, and your job?

VMP: It’s just a matter of time management and my growing family makes me work harder for

Virginia Mayo-Policarpio

their future. My husband and I constantly support them where they’re individually interested. Our eldest, Trinity (9), is leaning towards music but we wanted her to finish school and be a Broadway star with a college degree. Our second born, Cassius (7), is exceedingly ambitious.

To our surprise he wanted to be the President of the USA but who knows? At his young age he has already prepared his own platform and put in order a concrete agenda.

Funny that our youngest, Lorenzo (3), is fascinated with Disc Jockeying while simultaneously dreaming to be a doctor.

AJ: If offered to work overseas with a double pay but away from your family, how will you decide?

VMP: It’s not typical in my company but if ever, maybe I’ll negotiate to have my family with me with lesser pay. It’s just propitious that I’m allowed to work at home doing the most of my company’s load in the technical side…while I can personally look after my kids.

Actually, I’m like a technical sales person over the phone utilizing the power and charm of my voice to the extent.

AJ: Now that you’re almost on the top of your league what more is there to aim for?

VMP: Well, given another year, I will definitely be the highest executive in the technical side and later, I am motivated and determined to cross to the business side… not only for my personal achievement but for my company’s growth, as well.

AJ: Is a retirement plan slowly forming on your mind?

VMP: Still way far from retiring but if and when we have sufficient savings, why not at 55. By that time I feel I’ve reached and done the best and everything I could. Then maybe, we’ll be traveling around the world and move to a much bigger place.

AJ: When is fulfillment in its truest essence?

VMP: I can only say I’m fulfilled and contented when our kids are all grown up with the best education and stable jobs… when we are healthy… when we have everything we need, and still have enough to give and aid the less fortunate.

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

‘Miss Saigon’ celebrates Filipino American Heritage Month with a special Pinoy discount ticket offer CAMERON Mackintosh’s acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schönberg’s legendary musical “Miss Saigon” is celebrating Filipino American Heritage Month with a special discount offer featuring tickets as lowas $39.

The Pinoy community and “Miss Saigon” have had a special bond dating back to the show’s creation in the late 1980’s when original London and Broadway star Lea Salonga was discovered in Manila by the show’s creative team as part of a worldwide talent search. Since then, literally hundreds of Filipino actors have performed in”Miss Saigon” throughout the world, and Filipino audiences have been among the show’s biggest fans.

The current Broadway production of “Miss Saigon” stars Manila-born Jon Jon Briones as The Engineer and Filipino American Eva Noblezada as Kim, who received a 2017 Tony Award nomination as Best Actress In A Musical. Noblezada was discovered by the show’s casting director at the National High School Music Theater Awards (The Jimmys) in 2013 when she was a 17 year-old finalist.

The cast also includes Filipinos Devin Ilaw as Thuy, Lianah Sta. Ana as Kim at certain performances, and several members of the ensemble: Carol Angeli, Emily Bautista, Billy Bustamante, Julian DeGuzman,

Jonelle Margallo, Robert Pendilla, Elie Rapada, Edelle Rapada, Jason Sermonia and Julius Sermonia.

“Miss Saigon” continues its limited engagement at The Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway) through Sunday, January 14. For performances from September 25 through December 21, theater-goers can see “Miss Saigon” for as little as $39, with orchestra seats as low as $69. The offer is available for all performances through December 21 (excluding 11/20-11/26).

Visit www.telechargeoffers.com and enter the Special Code of MSHRT912.

“Miss Saigon” is the epic story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim. In a bar run by a notorious character called The Engineer, Kim meets an American G.I. That encounter will change their lives forever. Featuring stunning spectacle, a sensational cast of 45, and a soaring score including Broadway hits like “Last Night of the World,” “I Still Believe,” and “I’d Give My Life for You,” “Miss Saigon” is a theatrical event you will never forget. It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg with lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. and Alain Boublil, adapted from original French lyrics by Alain Boublil, with additional lyrics by Michael Mahler. The new production is directed by Laurence Connor with musical staging by Bob Avian and additional choreography

by Geoffrey Garratt. Production design is by Totie Driver and Matt Kinley based on an original concept by Adrian Vaux; costume design by Andreane Neofitou; lighting design by Bruno Poet; sound design by Mick Potter; and projections by Luke Halls.

Orchestrations are by William David Brohn; musical supervision

by Stephen Brooker and musical direction by James Moore.

Tickets are available at saigonbroadway.com, and at telecharge.com, or by phone at (212) 239-6200 or (800) 447-7400 and at the Broadway Theatre box office (1681 Broadway between 52nd and 53rd Streets). “Miss Saigon” plays Mondays at 8 pm; Tuesdays at 7 pm; Wednesdays at 2 pm and 8 pm; Fridays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm and Sundays at 4 pm. “Miss Saigon” does not perform on Thursdays.

Visit saigonbroadway.com for exact show times and dates.

An Asian Journal Magazine

Rachelle Ann Go with fiancé Martin Spies

Photo from Instagram/@gorachelleann

‘Hamilton’ star Rachelle Ann Go gets engaged, show moved to December THINK Christmas, not Thanksgiving, for the London opening of the hit musical “Hamilton.”

Promoters said that the official opening night will be Dec. 21 following previews that begin on Dec. 6.

The show had been expected to open in late November but has been delayed by the pace of

renovation works at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Theater owner and “Hamilton” co-producer Cameron Mackintosh said restoring the historic building has taken more time than expected. He said he is “sorry” to change the performance schedule.

Producer Jeffrey Seller said patrons with tickets to shows that have been cancelled will be

Hayden Kho and Vicki Belo...

From Page 5 less, it was a bumpy ride that they both had to hit the brakes on.

It was in 2013 that Hayden found Christ or, as he kept saying in his interviews, “Christ found [him].” In an episode of The 700 Club, Hayden shared his testimony of how he hit rock bottom and sought Christ through the guidance and teaching of a Christian evangelist named Dr. Ravi Zacharias. It was one of those moments when he saw the futility of his life and decided to commit himself to following Jesus Christ. He took a sabbatical from the limelight; in 2014 his medical license was reinstated, and a couple of years later, he was back into Vicki’s arms once again. In 2016, the two officially introduced their uber-cute and doting daughter Scarlet Snow, whose name was taken from a bible passage in Isaiah.

Now that Hayden and Vicki have promised to love each other

as husband and wife, I couldn’t help but get emotional as I recall what they had to go through before they finally reached their destination. Like what our grandfathers would say, “sa simbahan din ang tuloy.”

To Hayden and Vicki Belo-Kho, I have nothing but best wishes to you both. It was a bumpy ride alright but it eventually led to the fairytale wedding you both deserve. *** 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

Makilala TV is now on BronxNet...

From Page 6 viewership.”

Knobbe said the station would like to invite Filipinos living in the Bronx to attend training courses on field or studio production.

Once they become certified access producers, they can use the facilities of BronxNet and produce their own shows.

There are approximately 4,800 Filipinos in the Bronx as of 2015, according to the Philippine Consulate in New York, citing data from the Migration Policy Institute.

“BronxNet is connecting the Bronx to the world,” said Knobbe.

“Our programs reflect the tone of one of the most diverse places in the world. The Bronx is a symbol of urban renewal. It’s a beautiful place to visit, beautiful place to live. It’s got more green, more park than any other boro in NYC. Filipinos are welcome to join us here at BronxNet and see what we do here.”

“Makilala is proud to be part of the BronxNet’s family and its long and storied history of communitybased journalism,” said Pastor.

Makilala is available on: FB: Makilala TV Twitter: @makilalatv Instagram: @makilalatv Website: http://makilalatv. com/

Lemonade for kidney...

From Page 6

countless lives.

Undermining global health The pernicious and criminal modus operandi of tobacco companies, particularly Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT), of running secret campaigns to block or undermine the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and governmental negotiations at the FCTC Conference of Parties (COP), according to the investigative reports by Reuters and The Guardian in Bangkok July 14, 2017.

These companies are undermining, not only health governance but the health of the people around the world, all in the name of income and profits as they act as the purveyors of diseases, family disruption, misery, and deaths.

The report says “the investigations reveal multiple tobacco industry offensives across at least 14 countries in Africa, America, and Asia,

including Vietnam, and how they subvert the treaty on multiple levels.

Tobacco kills more than half a million annually in the ASEAN region, creates poverty among the users, and burdens the national economy with more than ten billion U.S. dollars in healthcare costs each year because of tobacco-related diseases and premature deaths.

These unconscionable criminal companies and their principals ought to be prosecuted and held accountable for their crime against humanity. *** 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. For more data, visit philipSchua.com; Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com

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accommodated on other dates as quickly as possible.

The play about Alexander Hamilton, one of the founders of the United States, has drawn wide acclaim in America.

The announcement of the delay coincides with the engagement of “Hamilton” star Rachelle Ann Go to New York-based businessman Martin Spies. (Philstar.com)

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 SEpTEmbER 15, 2017