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Volume 23 - No. 24 • 2 Sections - 16 Pages

juNe 17-23, 2016 Also published in LOS ANGELES, LAS VEGAS, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, NEw YORk/NEw JERSEY

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Duterte tells Cabinet: Corruption not allowed

by Alexis

RomeRo Philstar.com

PALACE TOUR. President Benigno Aquino III and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. chat with members of the transition team of president-elect Rodrigo Duterte (from right) Christopher Go, special assistant to Duterte; incoming executive secretary Salvador Medialdea; Leoncio Evasco, incoming secretary to the Cabinet – during a meeting and tour of Malacañang on Thursday, June 16.

DATELINE

DAVAo CItY—President-elect rodrigo Duterte has reminded his incoming Cabinet members to ensure that his administration would not be tainted with corruption or they would be answerable to him for their misdeeds.

Duterte gave the reminder during a three-hour meeting with his designated officials at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City Wednesday night, June 15, incoming agriculture secretary emmanuel Piñol said.

“We were told by the president that there should be no corruption, make sure there is no corruption.

PAGE A2

CABINET MEETING. Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte had a three-hour meeting with his Cabinet at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay on Wednesday night, June 15. Duterte has reminded his incoming Cabinet members to ensure that his administration would not be tainted with corruption or they would be answerable to him for their misdeeds.

Philstar.com photo

PH condemns execution of Canadian hostage

USA

from the AJPress NEWS TEAM AcroSS AMEricA

Abu Sayyaf says killing was for Duterte

Filipino bakery workers win $15.2-M case against employers, awarded T visas fILIPIno workers, who prevailed in a yearlong legal battle against the owners of a french bakery in southern California, now have temporary authorization to live and work in the Us. After winning a $15.2 million case against the owners of the now shuttered L’Amande Bakery (which had locations in torrance and Beverly hills), the 11 plaintiffs have been awarded t visas, which allow victims of human trafficking to temporarily live and work in the United states. the arrangement was made possible through the collaboration between the advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles and the office of house rep. ted Lieu, who represents California’s PAGE A3

New bill to allow undocumented in Calif. to buy health insurance UnDoCUmenteD residents in California who lack adequate health care may soon be able to buy coverage through the state’s health insurance exchange, Covered California. on friday, June 10, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law senate Bill 10 (sB 10), which petitions the federal government for a waiver allowing people who lack legal resident status to purchase health care plans made available by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). these patients will not receive state or federal assistance to pay for their coverage.

California is the first state in the country to ask the federal government to lift restrictions to the ACA that have prevented undocumented immigrants from getting insurance. those who may qualify for sB 10 will still need to wait for the federal government to grant the state a waiver.

PAGE A3

by ChRistinA

m. oRiel

AJPress

A still image captured from video footage of the kidnappers and their victims is shown in this SITE Intelligence Group video made available to Reuters. On Monday, June 13, intelligence reports said the Abu Sayyaf has beheaded Canadian Robert Hall (second from left).

IsLAmIst militant group Abu sayyaf beheaded a Canadian national after the ransom payment deadline passed, the Philippine government said on tuesday, June 14.

A man’s severed head was found in a plastic bag near a Catholic cathedral in the southern island of Jolo on monday night, June 13. the Philippine military’s

Western mindanao Command confirmed that it belonged to robert hall, a 50-year-old Canadian who had been under the captivity of the Abu sayyaf since last september. the beheading was reportedly captured in a one-minute, 35-second video, the New York Times said. the militant group demanded a P600 million payment by the 3 p.m. deadPAGE A2

Pay raise for PH nurses vetoed Senators, military official: Aquino: Bill to distort wage levels in health sector by nikko

‘Martial law is the answer’

by FeRnAn

dizon/Inquirer.net

PresIDent Benigno Aquino III has vetoed two more bills, one of them pushing for yet another increase in the salaries of nurses and another seeking the condonation of unpaid income taxes of local water districts, malacañang announced on thursday, June 16, two weeks before the end of his term. mr. Aquino returned to Congress senate Bill no. 2720/house Bill no.

6411, titled “An Act Providing for a Comprehensive nursing Law toward Quality health Care system, and Appropriating funds,” also known as the Comprehensive nurs-

ing Law of 2016, unsigned. the President said he vetoed sB 2581/hB 3675, or the proposed law “removing the conditions for the condonation of all unpaid income taxes due from local water districts,” because of its “serious fiscal policy implications.” he said the bill sought to remove the “laudable intent” of another law, republic Act no. 10026, which grants tax reprieve only to local water districts that are “financially incapable and committed to instituting fiscal reforms.”

PAGE A3

mARAsigAn And JeFFeRson AntipoRdA ManilaTimes.net

some senators are open to a proposal to declare martial law in certain areas in mindanao to stop the Abu sayyaf Group (AsG) from sowing terror and taking hostages for ransom.

A military official also said declaring martial law in Abu sayyaf lairs will enable the military to go after the bandits

and their supporters in full force. senator Vicente sotto III told the manila times on Wednesday, June 15, he is willing to support the proposal to impose martial law in areas in mindanao if that will help resolve the Abu sayyaf problem.

PAGE A4

Separate inauguration for Duterte, Robredo a first in recent history

by Jess

diAz And pAolo RomeRo Philstar.com

mAnILA—the inauguration of president-elect rodrigo Duterte and vice president-elect Leni robredo will be the first in recent history where the two highest elected officials will be sworn in to office separately. special circumstances aside—such as when then vice president Gloria macapagal-Arroyo took her oath alone at eDsA shrine on Jan. 20, 2001—the president and the vice president always took their oaths at the same venue.

Arroyo’s first vice president, teofisto Guingona Jr., took his oath following the congressional confirmation of his selecPresident Benigno Aquino III on Thursday, June 16 vetoed the proposed law that seeks to increase the tion on feb. 9, 2001. base salary of nurses to almost P25,000 monthly.

Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo

on feb. 25, 1986, following the snap elections called by dictator ferdinand marcos sr., his challenger, former presPAGE A2

A

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june 17-23, 2016 • OC/Ie ASIAn jOuRnAL

From the Front Page

Separate inauguration for Duterte...

PAGE A1 ident Corazon Aquino, took her oath with vice president Salvador Laurel in Club Filipino.

On the same day, Marcos – who also claimed victory in the said election – took his oath at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall in Malacañang without his vice president Arturo Tolentino.

Reports cited conflicting re-

ports for the latter’s absence.

It was Aquino and Laurel who served the full six-year term as Marcos fled from the Palace during the 1986 People Power Revolution.

Aquino’s successor, Fidel Ramos, took his oath of office with then vice president Joseph Estrada at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park on June 30, 1992.

Estrada, meanwhile, took his oath with vice president Arroyo at Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan in honor of the centennial of Philippine independence on June 30, 1998.

After winning her second term in 2004, Arroyo took her oath with vice president Noli De Castro in Cebu, also on June 30.

Outgoing President Aquino took his oath with Vice President Jejomar Binay also at Quirino Grandstand on June 30, 2010.

Binay congratulates Robredo Outgoing Vice President Jejomar Binay has extended his congratulations to his successor, vice president-elect Leni Robredo.

In a letter dated May 31, a copy of which was posted by Robredo’s daughter Aika in her Twitter account yesterday, Binay said he has instructed his chief of staff to coordinate with her team to discuss the transition at the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

“I look forward to personally meeting you. For the past six years, and despite its modest budget, the OVP has extended assistance to thousands of poor and marginalized Filipinos, including our brothers and sisters working abroad,” Binay said in the letter.

“I am confident that with you as the next vice president, the OVP will continue to be an instrument for social justice,” he added.

Robredo’s daughter thanked the outgoing Vice President for the support in the transition.

“Thank you very much for being so gracious, @VPJojoBinay!

Your team has been very helpful and accommodating,” she said in the tweet.

Yesterday, Robredo was the main guest at the Department of Education’s “Kariton Klasrum” culminating activity where she thanked outgoing Education Secretary Armin Luistro and outgoing Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman for their commitment and dedication to serve the youth.

Binay and Robredo’s transition teams met last week to discuss the smooth turnover of the functions of the OVP. A meeting between the two will also be set up prior to the inauguration of new government officials on June 30.

Binay ran an unsuccessful

PERILOUS RIDE. Students ride a banca to reach their school in Malabon City (Metro Manila) on the first day of school on Monday, June 13.

City residents are used to riding boats because the streets are constantly flooded.

ManilaTimes.net photo by Rene DIlan

Duterte tells Cabinet...

PAGE A1

(He said) nobody from my family will interfere with your work, I’m giving you a free hand on the people you choose,” Piñol told reporters.

“But you are answerable to me for your misdeeds and for the people you have chosen,” he quoted Duterte as saying.

“We are accountable for every misstep we make. It was a very clear statement,” Piñol added.

It remains unclear what Duterte would do in the event his officials are found to be involved in corruption. Piñol, however, believes that Duterte would not hesitate to remove those who are guilty of wrongdoing.

“The president would relieve the entire department and city hall if one commits a wrongdoing. I think that’s still the same mindset,” the incoming agriculture chief said. “Nobody is indispensable. There are no (sacred) cows.”

Piñol said Duterte was serious but in a light mood when he presided over the meeting.

“We are upbeat. We are hapPAGE A4 py. The president was very happy,” he said.

Last month, Duterte vowed to be harsh when it comes to corruption and has outlined bold measures to address the problem.

He is planning to reshuffle personnel at the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Customs and Land Transportation Office, agencies that he described as the “most corrupt.”

The tough-talking Duterte will also prohibit military and police officers from bringing along with them their staff in their next assignments to prevent payoffs.

He has also warned judges against issuing temporary restraining orders for a fee, a practice that he said had delayed important government projects.

While he was criticized for naming his classmates to key posts and for supposedly “recycling” officials from previous administrations, Duterte said his administration would be filled with “men of integrity and honesty.”

Other issues Piñol said the meeting also touched on the K-12 program, traffic problem, budget matters and food security.

He said incoming education

secretary Leonor Briones informed the president that it is too late to shift gears on K-12 because of the law that institutionalized it.

“She (Briones) is open to improvement and modification but is steadfast in her position that there is no way we can amend that because of the law,” Piñol said.

Piñol reported to Duterte his consultations with farmers affected by the El Niño phenomenon.

He said he is eyeing a cashfor-work program for farmers and fishermen to earn additional income. The work may include preparing roads, cleaning bodies of water and planting mangroves, among other tasks.

Piñol said he is also working closely with seed growers to increase rice production to prepare for La Niña, which is expected to hit the country in November.

“We are talking to seed growers. We want to know how many seeds are available. By October, we have to harvest them. The planting should be done in July so we can have enough rice,” he said.

He added that incoming transportation secretary Arthur Tugade reported on the traffic problem in Metro Manila and proposed cracking down on unregistered or “colorum” vehicles.

As to the proposal to grant Duterte emergency powers to address traffic woes, Piñol said the matter “was referred to the legal minds.”

Incoming budget secretary Benjamin Diokno, meanwhile, informed Duterte that about P1.7 trillion remains unspent in this year’s budget.

Incoming finance secretary Carlos Dominguez discussed his proposed meeting with the business sector from June 20 to 21 here. Duterte is expected to attend the second day of the meeting.

‘Meet-and-greet’ The first Cabinet meeting presided over by Duterte in Metro Manila on Wednesday was an informal affair that involved a “meet-and-greet” among top government executives who would steer the country in the next six years, said incoming presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella.

“This evening was a simple meet and greet,” Abella said. “It was an informal meeting with the Cabinet. There was an introduction of the new Cabinet members and the new appointees.”

He and incoming Presidential Communications and Operations Office (PCOO) secretary Martin Andanar faced the media following the almost five-hour late night meeting.

Duterte, who flew from Davao City on Wednesday to visit the wake of Bataan vice governorelect Enrique Garcia Jr., arrived past 6 p.m. at PICC using a helicopter.

The meeting, which also included dinner, supposedly started around 7 p.m. and ended more than four hours later.

Around 28 people were in the room, including almost all of the designated Cabinet members, incoming presidential chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo told The Star.

Panelo said not in attendance were incoming foreign affairs secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. who is in the United States, and incoming presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza and incoming labor secretary Silvestre Bello III who are in Norway for the preliminary talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Jose David Lapuz, who was rumored to have been appointed to the Commission on Higher Education, was also not present.

Among those who attended were newly designated health secretary Paulyn Ubial, trade secretary Ramon Lopez and tourism secretary Wanda TulfoTeo. “(The Cabinet members were) very transparent with one another, very encouraging. The president is very informal but direct to the point,” Panelo said.

Policy talks While no discussions on specific policies were discussed, Abella said the meeting involved a free-flowing exchange of ideas among Cabinet secretaries to make sure that the incoming government is well coordinated.

“The whole meeting was basically just about… hearing from the various secretaries so that the incoming administration will be able to be more systematic and more coordinated and the departments will not act as silos,” he added.

PH condemns execution of Canadian...

PAGE A1

line on Monday, which both the Philippine and Canadian governments refused to meet.

In a statement, Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said the Philippine government condemned “the brutal and senseless murder” of Hall.

“We truly regret that our people’s cherished tradition of extending gracious hospitality toward foreign nationals has been marred by a small band of criminals,” Coloma added.

Hall was abducted by the militant group from a resort in Samal Island last year along with three other individuals, John Ridsdel, a Canadian former mining executive, Norwegian national Kjartan Sekkingstad and a Filipina named Marites Flor.

Ridsdel was executed last April 25, five hours after the deadline for to pay the P300 million ransom passed. Two unidentified men riding a motorcycle dropped his severed head in the streets of Barangay Walled City, Jolo, according to reports.

The Abu Sayyaf said that the group beheaded Hall to prove a point to incoming President Ro-

drigo Duterte, who has vowed to curb militant activity in the Philippines.

“Para kay Duterte, ang bagong presidente, ito ay alamin mo kung ano gagawin namin sa Canadian (This is for Duterte, the new president. This is for you to know what we will do to the Canadian),” Abu Raami, a spokesperson for the group told Inquirer on Monday.

Last month, SITE Intelligence, a jihadist monitoring group, reported that Hall, Sekkingstad and Flor appeared in a video addressed to Duterte.

The incoming president previously told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that he would curb militant activity in the Philippines.

“You can rest assured that when the time comes, we will be able to apprehend the criminals and exact justice,” Duterte told Trudeau, according to CNN. As of press time, Duterte has not released a formal statement in response to the execution.

Incoming presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the beheading was to “taunt to the present administration.”

“If they do that during the

administration of Duterte, then that could be a challenge to him [Duterte], but not now,” he said, adding that the new president “will not tolerate or condone the illegality in this country.”

Calling it “another difficult day for Canada,” Trudeau said the country is committed to working with the Philippines to make sure these “heinous acts” are stopped and that those responsible are brought to justice.

The prime minister added that Canada will continue its policy to not pay ransom for hostages because doing so “would endanger the lives of more Canadians.”

“Canada will not give into their fear mongering tactics and despicable attitude toward the suffering of others,” he said.

The Abu Sayyaf — which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) — reportedly still has seven hostages, including Sekkingstad and Flor.

Flor’s family is hopeful that Duterte can help save her life.

“There is still hope for my daughter and the other victims.

I am pleading Duterte to please do everything to save them,” Flor’s mother, Flordelisa, told Inquirer.

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Dateline USa

OC/IE ASIAN JOURNAL • JUNE 17-23, 2016

A

NAFCON: Fil-Ams welcome peace efforts of incoming Duterte administration

AIR TRAINING. A United States (US) Navy aircraft arrived at Clark Air Base in Pampanga on Wednesday, June 15 for the training with FA50 aircraft pilots of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The newly arrived EA-18G Growler aircraft is part of the first temporary detachment of the US Navy, according to a report from the US Pacific Fleet. The Growler aircraft will also perform routine operations to enhance regional maritime domain awareness and assure that there is access to air and maritime domains in accordance with international law. The detachment consists of four aircraft and 120 personnel assigned to the expeditionary squadron based at the Naval Air Station in Whidbey Island, Washington. US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John Philip Wagner, Jr.

Filipino bakery workers win $15.2-M case...

PAGE A1 33rd congressional district.

“They used to call us trafficked workers, but now you can also call us survivors,” said Romar Cunanan, a former employee of L’Amande, at a press event hosted by Advancing Justice - Los Angeles on Thursday, June 9.

The victims said they were lured to work in the US by Analiza Moitinho de Almeida, who had owned the L’Amande bakeries along with her husband, Goncalo. The Filipino nationals entered the US legally with E-2 guest worker visas, then were subjected to harsh conditions shortly after they arrived.

According to court documents, the bakery employees were paid as little as $3 per hour, endured 12-hour or more workdays for extended periods without days off, were made to sleep on floors, and were regularly demeaned and intimidated by the Almeidas.

“I once asked Ana, ‘Ma’am, could you please treat us like human beings?,’” said former L’Amande employee, Gina Pablo. “She said ‘who are you to say that? You are just a maid.’”

Workers who wanted to stop working for the Almeidas were told they would be deported and would each have to pay back $1,000 in immigration fees.

None of the guest workers acknowledge ever making that kind of agreement. Cunanan said that he had been in the US for seven months before ever hearing of his supposed debts.

The workers also alleged that

the Almeidas also threatened to use their political connections in the Philippines to harm the former L’Amande workers’ families living there.

“I’m still afraid for my other daughter [still in the Philippines],” former L’Amande employee Ermita Alabado told the Asian Journal. “It’s safer here.

In the Philippines, P20,000 [approximately. $434] would be enough to send someone out to hurt her.”

The Almeidas declined to comment on the default judgment when the Asian Journal reached out.

“The default judgment is a miscarriage of justice, brought about by the abuse of both the justice and immigration systems by the plaintiffs and their lawyers,” Analiza Almeida had told NBC News in an e-mail back in May. In addition to providing work authorization and a pathway to citizenship, T visas allow recipients to petition their spouses as well as their unmarried children under the age of 21 for entry into the United States.

John Trang, the lead attorney in the L’Amande employees’ immigration proceedings, called the T visa program an important “incentive to testify,” in cases of migrant and guest worker abuse.

Rather than succumb to blackmail and despair, the employees sought help. They got in touch with Advancing Justice - Los Angeles, who enlisted the aid of Latham and Watkins for filing

enter the country illegally.

“It sends a message to the world that if you come to our country you will be rewarded,” Robin Hvidston, the executive director of We The People Rising, told the Los Angeles Times in a statement.

A study by the UC Berkeley Labor Center projects that between 1.4 and 1.5 million of the roughly 2.5 million undocumented residents in California will remain without health care coverage by 2019. The new law will allow nearly as many as 390,000 people, who make too much to qualify for Medi-Cal, to purchase affordable plans, according to sources for the LA Times.

Aquilina Soriano-Versoza, ex-

ecutive director of the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC), told the Asian Journal that a significant number of Filipinos live without legal resident status in the US. They fill valuable roles in society, while some of their basic needs are neglected. There are Filipino caregivers and other medical professionals who currently lack access to affordable health care, according to Soriano-Versoza.

“In order to have truly healthy communities, we all need to have access to affordable, quality health care,” said Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, in a statement praising the bill’s passage. (By Eric Anthony Licas / AJPress)

Pay raise for PH nurses...

PAGE A1

The bill could also “undermine the government’s strict tax collection effort,” he added.

Mr. Aquino emphasized that the bill “sends a message to errant taxpayers that delinquency is acceptable since amnesty or condonation may be given anyway, even without benefit of proper documentation.”

“While we recognize the objective of the bill to promote the well-being of the country’s nurses, we cannot support the bill in its present form because of its dire financial consequences,” the President said in his veto message released on Thursday.

Mr. Aquino said Executive Order No. 201, signed earlier this year, had already increased the base salaries of government employees, including nurses and other health workers.

The EO increased the annual salary of government nurses from P228,924.00 to P344,074.00, which does not include other benefits and allowances nurses receive under the Magna Carta of Public Health.

Wage distortion The President explained that the proposed salary increase “will not only undermine the existing salary structure of medical and health practitioners but will also cause wage distortion not only among health professionals but also among other profession-

als in government.”

Increasing the entry level salary for nurses by four grades, as the proposed law would have done, will place nurses “over and above their other similarly situated counterparts in the health profession and government service,” the President said.

With the four-grade increase, from Salary Grade 11 to 15, the President said optometrists, dentists, and doctors would end up receiving less than the nurses.

The entry level of optometrists, dentists, and doctors are at Salary Grades 12, 14, and 16, respectively.

Unconscionable Nurses, medical technologists, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, physical therapists, nutritionists, and midwives, among others, are professionals who have taken a four-year course whose entry level salaries are pegged at Salary Grade 11, or a monthly salary of P19,077 under EO 201.

Entry level public school teachers and accountants are also considered under Salary Grade 11.

“Such preferential treatment in favor of nurses over and above other health professionals and professionals in the government service appears unconscionable and violative of the equal protection clause enshrined in the Philippine Constitution,” Mr. Aquino said.

look for work abroad due to the lack of jobs and opportunities in their home country.

Without the political will to resist international trade agreements and policies benefiting only the multinational corporations that exploit the natural resources of the country, the Philippine government cannot enact real change. Without nationalist and pro-people values informing the work of legislators and government officials, politicians will continue to treat government as a cash cow instead of a vehicle to provide services to the Filipino people.

Filipinos have unceasingly been forced to seek accountability from the Philippine government. We saw this in Kidapawan last April, where thousands of farmers and indigenous Lumad starving from drought protested for the release of calamity relief only to be met by bullets by government forces. The outpouring of support and donations of sacks of rice from Filipinos around the world, including celebrities like Robin Padilla, Nora Aunor, Monique Wilson, and Aiza Seguerra, highlight the strong collective spirit of the Filipino people on the one hand and the detestable lack of services they

receive from their own government on the other.

It is in this context that FilAms view the resumption of the peace talks — to truly address the causes of the Filipino people’s suffering. NAFCON strongly supports and advocates for the resumption of peace talks and release of political prisoners as first steps in fulfilling the people’s clamor for a just and equitable Philippines.

We welcome Duterte’s actions to seriously follow through with his pronouncements, and we urge him to honor the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) and other previously signed agreements with the NDFP, and to ultimately reach a comprehensive and detailed agreement with the NDFP that would resolve the root causes of societal ills in the Philippines.

NAFCON calls upon all peaceloving Filipinos, Fil-Ams, and allies to launch public forums on the people’s priorities for the next presidential administration and to engage in actions in support of genuine peace talks and the release of political prisoners as an act of goodwill.

To learn more about the peace talks, please email info@ nafconusa.org. (NAFCON)

complaints against the Almeidas.

A Filipino American who works for Rep. Lieu shared the workers’ stories with the congressman, who then met face-to-face with the former bakery employees.

Lieu helped advance the workers’ immigration proceedings so they could finally reunite with their families and earn decent wages.

“I haven’t seen my son since 2013,” said former L’Amande employee, Armelinda dela Cerna.

“Now I am planning to have him come here.”

Dela Cerna says she has known Ana Almeida for 13 years. She was told she would serve as purchasing manager for their bakeries, but instead found herself performing a variety of menial tasks in addition to her duties as a manager. Now she works as a food and beverage manager in the hospitality industry.

She, as well as many of the other Filipino workers, have found jobs in their respective fields since leaving the employment of the Almeidas. Most of them live in the vicinity of Lomita, California, and still keep in touch with one another, according to former L’Amande employee, Recky Puzon. Some are entertaining the possibility of becoming naturalized citizens.

“The Filipino workers’ story President-elect Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte’s chosen peace panel on Tuesday, June 14, began its informal meeting with Communist Party of the ultimately ends with a victory in Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front headed by Jose Ma. Sison in Oslo, Norway. justice’s name,” said Rep. Lieu in a statement announcing Thursday’s press event. “Sadly, their story is just one of many.” (Eric Anthony Licas/AJPress)

New bill to allow undocumented in Calif...

PAGE A1 “The current policy disallowing immigrants from purchasing care with their own money is both discriminatory and outdated,” said state Senator Ricardo Lara, who authored the bill.

The signing comes after SB 75, a bill also authored by Lara, took effect last month. Under the bill, also known as “Health4All Kids,” low-income children under the age of 19 can apply for full-scope Medi-Cal coverage, regardless of their immigration status.

Groups in favor of stricter enforcement of immigration laws warn that provisions like SB 10 and SB 75 would encourage more immigrants immigrants to

TWO weeks before his inauguration, Philippine Presidentelect Rodrigo Duterte follows through with his campaign promise to continue the peace talks between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), which were stalled for four years under the Aquino administration.

A 3-day exploratory meeting is currently taking place in Oslo, Norway between the NDFP representatives and Duterte’s incoming peace advisers. The two parties are discussing draft documents on the release of political prisoners, an interim ceasefire, and a plan to accelerate the peace negotiations that are anticipated to be signed as official agreements as early as next month after Duterte assumes office. Filipino-Americans fervently welcome and support these initiatives in tackling the Filipino people’s urgent issues.

Poverty, landlessness, and joblessness have long plagued the Philippines. Yet the Philippine government has historically made no genuine effort to address the root causes of these issues. It has merely instituted band-aid solutions such as the Labor Export Policy, which forces Filipinos to migrate and

Inequitable The President said that to avoid an “inequitable scenario brought about by the wage distortion, the salaries of health professionals and similarly situated professionals in the government service should simultaneously be considered for increase proportionate to the increase given to entry level nurses.”

Mr. Aquino also said that the proposed increase “seemingly disregarded” the financial capacity of most local government hospitals, voicing concern that they might be unable to comply with the raise because the Local Government Code gives a ceiling of 40-45 percent for personnel services, depending on the income class of the local government.

The same goes with private hospitals and other nongovernment health institutions, which are mandated to offer an entry level salary to nurses equivalent to Salary Grade 15, the President said.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, the bill’s main sponsor, said he planned to resurrect the measure in the 17th Congress.

“This could have been the measure that would improve our healthcare sector and help stop the mass exodus of our nurses to other countries,” he said. (With reports from Christine O. Avendaño and Leila B. Salaverria)

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Trump renews call for Muslim ban after Orlando attack

by Klarize

Medenilla AJPress

IN the wake of the shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub on Sunday, June 12 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promised to thwart terrorism on U.S. soil by doubling down on immigration reform.

Trump commented on the Orlando shooting, which claimed 50 lives, in a national security-focused speech at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire on Monday, June 13. Referencing the suspect’s Afghan roots, Trump criticized the screening process for immigrants, noting that its imprecision allowed for the suspect’s family to enter the country.

He also once again proposed banning immigrants from “areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies.” In December, he made a similar suggestion when he proposed a temporary ban on Muslims following the San Bernardino attack on Dec. 2, 2015.

In a statement on his website, Trump stated that “migrants and their children have been implicated in terrorism in the United States” since the September 11 attacks. According to media reports, the suspect had connections to jihadist groups and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State before going forth with the shooting.

“Tens of thousands of people are pouring into our country and many of them are no different” from the suspect of the Orlando

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump

attack, Trump said on Fox News before the Saint Anselm College speech.

His opponent and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton criticized Trump’s statements on Monday morning during an interview on CNN in which she lambasted Trump’s rhetoric and his proposed ban on Muslims.

“What I won’t do, because I think it is dangerous for our efforts to defeat this threat, is to demonize and demagogue and declare war on an entire religion,” she said. “That plays right into ISIS’ hands.”

Terrorism and immigration have been the key talking points behind Trump and Clinton’s mudslinging in the media during this election cycle. Before Trump’s speech, Clinton delivered a speech that presented her own plans to combat terrorism that starkly

contrasted Trump’s immigrationheavy plans.

She proposed strengthening U.S. law enforcement and intelligence, implementing stricter gun laws and maintaining foreign relations as the keys to combating terrorism. She added that the time following the Orlando attack is a “time for statesmanship, not partisanship.”

President Barack Obama indirectly retorted Donald Trump’s criticisms in a speech delivered after a meeting with the National Security Council on Tuesday, June 14.

Obama expressed the urgency to enact stricter gun laws on assault weapons and criticized antiIslamic rhetoric, describing the counterterrorism strategies of “the presumptive Republican nominee” as “dangerous.”

“Enough talking about being tough on terrorism, actually be tough on terrorism,” Obama said.

“Stop making it as easy as possible to buy assault weapons.”

Obama emphasized the importance of reinstating the assault weapons ban to dampen terrorists’ access to them, adding that otherwise “these events are going to keep on happening, and the weapons are only going to get more powerful.”

In response to Trump’s comments about the phrase “radical Islam”, Obama described the debate about using the phrase as a “political distraction” stemmed from “partisan rhetoric” rather than a strategy to combat terrorism and protect national security.

“There has not been a moment in my 7.5 years as president where we have not [been] able to pursue a strategy because we didn’t use the label ‘radical Islam,’” Obama said. “Not once has an adviser of mine said, ‘Man, if we use that phrase, we are going to turn this whole thing around.’ Not once.”

Without mentioning his name, Obama criticized Trump’s proposed banned Muslim immigration, denouncing anti-Islamic and xenophobic attitudes that pervade the country in the aftermaths of attacks committed by Muslim perpetrators.

“We heard these suggests during the course of this campaign.

Do Republican officials actually agree with this? Because that’s not the America we want. It does not reflect our Democratic ideals,” Obama said.

Obama is scheduled to visit Orlando on Thursday, June 16 to meet with the victims’ families.

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Global remittances to exceed $25 billion

by Klarize

Medenilla AJPress

INTERNATIONAL money transfers, including those conducted through mobile devices, are slated to exceed $25 billion by 2018, according to a new study.

Juniper Research, UK-based digital commerce analyst group, forecasted that remittances all over the world will increase 67 percent from the estimated $15 million of 2015.

The study noted that the increase of cross-border mobile remittance services, like WorldRemit and Paypal’s newly launched Xoom. Additionally, there has been an increase of more informal, “pure play” remittance resources whose services are lower in cost in comparison to traditional remittance services like Western Union and MoneyGram.

Handling of financial services by way of new age digital services is growing popular among Filipinos all over the world.

Popular digital payment network Bitcoin has been launching start-

up remittance services in parts of Asia, like Rebit and coins.ph, which convert currencies into Bitcoin.

As Filipinos become more Internet-savvy, digital commerce is no longer going to be the trend, but the standard, according to GSM Association, an organization that serves the interest of the mobile industry. The organization penned a case study that highlighted the country’s role in helping facilitate the digital commerce phenomenon. “[The Philippines] is the texting capital of the world and Filipino mobile users are highly SMS literate, which made the proposition of conducting financial transactions on a handset somewhat more intuitive,” the case study said.

Remittances are a crucial asset to sustaining the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP); as of 2015, personal money transfers account for about onetenth of the country’s GDP, according to the World Bank. The estimated 10 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are also an important adjunct to the rev-

enue gathered from international money transfers.

Money transfers in the Philippines have fluctuated in 2016, but the country is currently experiencing an increase. From Jan. to March 2016, money transfers in Asia have increased 20 percent in comparison to Jan. to March 2015, according to a recent survey from Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas. Globally, Filipinos’ overseas remittances are slated to experience a growth rate of 4.4 percent by the end of this year if the current trends persist, according to the survey.

Likewise, the Philippines was the third largest remittance-receiving country at $30 billion in 2015 behind China ($64 billion) and India ($72 billion), according to the World Bank.

The BSP survey also noted that remittances from the United States have slowed down, which could be explained by the upsurge of OFWs in the Middle East and Asia. Since the country’s GDP is so dependent on remittances, a depreciation in money transfers would affect the market significantly.

Separate inauguration a first...

PAGE A2 campaign for president under the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

Robredo, meanwhile, was the runningmate of administration bet Manuel Roxas II, who also lost the race.

During the transition meeting, OVP chief of staff Benjamin Martinez said Robredo would inherit the bulk of the P500-million budget of the office for 2016.

Robredo’s chief of staff Boyet Dy expressed gratitude to the Binay camp for giving them the financial flexibility to pursue the programs that the new vice president would want to pursue.

“She wants to use it as a platform to engage as many stakeholders as possible around antipoverty programs, pushing for her key advocacy of women’s empowerment, making sure that development is not just in the urban areas but also in our provinces and regions and making sure that we win the fight against hunger,” he said.

VP loser better treated by Duterte Meanwhile, defeated vice presidential bet Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is allegedly re-

ceiving better treatment from Duterte than the vice president-elect, reelected Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. said yesterday.

He said Marcos, unlike Robredo, has already met with the incoming president in Davao City to discuss his concerns on the burial of his father and possibly serving in the Duterte administration in the future.

In the case of Robredo, he said she is getting snubbed by Duterte despite the latter’s call for unity and healing.

“Previous vice presidents served in the Cabinet. In the case of Leni, there is no offer of a Cabinet post. To add insult to injury, the incoming president has announced that he wants an inauguration that is separate from that of Leni. It’s as if they still consider us in the Liberal Party as political enemies. The trust is not there,” he said.

Baguilat suggested that Robredo should no longer expect any Cabinet post from Duterte and that she should instead lead the opposition.

“Our candidate for president lost to Mayor Duterte, so we should expect to be in the op-

position,” he said.

Duterte said offering the vice president-elect a Cabinet job has not crossed his mind.

Besides, it might hurt Marcos, who is his friend, he said.

It might also hurt his supporters in Ilocos Norte, where he won, he said.

Duterte lamented that he “lost miserably” in Bicol, Robredo’s region.

On another issue, Baguilat said he is disappointed by the failure of Roxas and the Liberal Party to file their respective statements of contributions and expenses on time.

“I hope that we will not be affected,” he said, referring to speculations that such failure could prevent LP winners from assuming office.

But he said he is not ready to agree to rumors that some LP insiders were trying to sabotage Robredo.

Marcos has announced that he would file an election protest against the vice president-elect with the Supreme Court sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal on June 28. He lost by a slim margin of 263,473 votes.

Senators, military official: ‘Martial...

PAGE A1

“I have no objections. I will agree,” Sotto said.

Incoming Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who once served as head of the Philippine National Police, also said he is open to the idea.

He said he is willing to join a move granting additional powers to incoming President Rodrigo Duterte for him to solve the problem posed by the jihadists from the Abu Sayyaf group who beheaded another Canadian hostage–Robert Hall–early this week.

The group executed Hall after their demand for a P600-million ransom was not met.

A senior military official said declaring martial law in areas where the terror group holds sway will enable the Armed Forces of the Philippines to crush the rebel group.

“Declare martial law. Tama yun, di ba ang sinasabi ko sa inyo kung gusto ninyong malutas kaagad, total control ng military at gawin lahat ng solutions [Declare martial law. That is the right thing to do. If you want the problem solved, there should be total military control],” the official who requested anonymity, said.

He added that a state of martial law should be limited to known lairs of the ASG. The jihadists have strongholds in Sulu and Basilan provinces in southern Mindanao.

If martial law is put in place, the official said, the military would also be able to go after local government officials conspiring with the rebel group.

“Kasi ang local government ang tumutulong sa mga kalaban, alam nyo naman yun [The local government is helping the enemy]. The local government is the one making this issue grow in perpetuity, sino nagne-negotiate? Di ba sila [They are the ones negotiating, aren’t they]? Who is in charge of the LGUs? DILG,” he said, referring to local government units and the Department of Interior and Local Government.

The official said his idea is similar to what former President Gloria Arroyo did in 2009 when she declared martial law in Maguindanao province after the massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan town.

The declaration suspended the writ of habeas corpus in the province except “for certain areas.”

The writ suspension authorized the military to make arrests

even without court orders.

But the official said strong political will is needed to put an end to the Abu Sayyaf problem.

“We can only make recommendations but we are not the government, we are just part of the government. So do not always look at the military as the provider of solutions. The military is not being capacitated to provide the solutions,” he pointed out.

According to him, it is easy for the Abu Sayyaf rebels to hide because they only have to conceal their firearms and blend with the community.

He explained that the martial law he is proposing is different from what former President Ferdinand Marcos declared in 1972.

“It’s not like that. Napaka-professional na ng Armed Forces, pagdudahan nyo pa [Your Armed Forces are so professional, do not doubt us],” the official said.

“Pagtiwalaan ninyong gawin [namin], hindi naman yan [martial law] aabot ng Maynila [Trust us. It will not reach Manila],” he added.

Incoming PNP chief Ronald Dela Rosa has also said he would support the declaration of martial law if it would lead to the neutralization of the terrorist group. n

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A

Duterte, advisors, communist PH echoes ASEAN statement on South China Sea groups initiate peace talks

by Patricia LourdEs

by Eric Licas

sison, who was one of the President-elect’s professors at Manilla University before living in exile in the netherlands, would be welcome to return to the Philippines, according to the inquirer. rebel groups have released several policemen from their custody, and duterte said he would include leftist (though not necessarily cPP or ndFP members) in his administration’s cabinet, according to the WsJ. Appointments would be in the departments of labor, environment, Agrarian reform, and social Welfare, according to Bloomberg. in May, the incoming president had promised to free communist political prisoners if cPP and ndFP representatives agreed to convene for peace talks. Prior negotiations between rebels and the Filipino government ended when the administration of outgoing president Benigno Aquino iii refused to meet demands for the unconditional release of communists, according to the Philippine star. the ndFP had claimed that rebels charged with criminal offenses were acting as peace consultants, and therefore immune to prosecution. However government officials from the prior administration said it would be impossible to verify the identity of communists and isolate them from non-political prisoners. there were about 3,200 soldiers in the armed body of the cPP, the new People’s Army (nPA), acCOURTESY CALL. President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on Monday met with Ambassadors Philip cording to the Philippine star. in Goldberg of the United States, Asif Ahmad of the United Kingdom, and Thomas Ossowski of February, clashes between rebels Germany at the so-called Malacañang of the south. Goldberg, Ahmad, and Ossowski paid their courtesy calls on Duterte separately at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Filipino military left three dead and seven injured. compound in Davao City. The details of the closed-door talks have yet to be disclosed.

the Philippine government.

Participants of the planned negoPresident-elect rodrigo tiations intend to broker amnesty duterte and rebel communist lead- and a ceasefire in a decades long ers will reinitiate formal peace talks insurgency that has claimed 40,000 in July in hopes of ending a decades lives to date, according to sources long insurgency, according to a for Bloomberg and the Wall street joint statement signed in Oslo, nor- Journal. A delegation of Filipino leftists, including cPP founder Jose way on Wednesday, June 15. the development is the result Maria sison, and a chief negotiator of informal talks between duterte for the ndFP, luis Jalandoni, will and his advisors, and officials meet with duterte and his advisors from the communist Party of the in the third week of July, according Philippines (cPP) and the national to ABs-cBn news.

Both sides had extended gesdemocratic Front of the Philippines (ndFP). duterte will not take office tures of goodwill ahead informal until June 30th, so the recently exploratory negotiations in June. concluded meetings in Oslo cannot shortly after winning the presiyield binding commitments from dency, duterte announced that AJPress

Viray

peace, security and stability in the south china sea; MAnilA—the department of • stressed the importance of Foreign Affairs (dFA) on thurs- maintaining peace, security, staday, June 16 issued the retracted bility, safety and freedom of naviAssociation of southeast Asian gation in and overflight above the nations (AseAn) statement on south china sea, in accordance tensions in the south china sea. with universally recognized printhe dFA said that the AseAn ciples of international law inforeign ministers expressed serious concerns over the developments in the disputed waters during their meeting with chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. the foreign ministers issued a statement tuesday, June 14, following a special AseAn-china meeting in Kunming, Yunnan province in china. the tough statement on the south china sea was retracted as it may have offended the meeting host, a Malaysian official said in previous reports. the region’s foreign ministers stressed the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight above the disputed sea. the ministers also reiterated their commitment to the full and effective implementation of the declaration on the conduct of Parties in the south china sea.

Foreign secretary Jose Almendras issued the AseAn foreign ministers’ concerns on the contested waters: • Had a candid exchange with the chinese Foreign Minister in view of the recent developments on the ground; • expressed their serious concerns over recent and ongoing developments, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and which may have the potential to undermine Philstar.com

VP Binay congratulates successor Leni Robredo

by Patricia LourdEs Philstar.com

Viray

MAnilA—Outgoing Vice President Jejomar Binay personally congratulated Vice President-elect leni robredo in a letter he sent to his successor. robredo’s daughter Aika posted a photo of Binay’s letter to the incoming vice president on her twitter account.

“Please accept my sincerest congratulations on your procla-

mation as Vice President of the republic,” Binay told robredo. in the letter dated May 31, Binay said that he had instructed his chief of staff Benjamin Martinez Jr. to coordinate with robredo’s staff to discuss the transition.

Binay said that he is looking forward to personally meeting robredo.

“For the past six years, and despite its modest budget, the (Office of the Vice President)

has extended assistance to thousands of poor and marginalized Filipinos, including our brothers and sisters working abroad. i am confident that with you as the next Vice President, the OVP will continue to be an instrument for social justice,” Binay said. the outgoing vice president served as chairman of the Housing and Urban development coordinating council and as presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers under the cabi-

net of President Benigno Aquino iii.

Binay resigned from his post in Aquino’s cabinet in June 2015 prior to launching the United nationalist Alliance as the major opposition party for the 2016 elections.

Meanwhile, President-elect rodrigo duterte said that it is unlikely for robredo to join his cabinet as it might hurt defeated vice presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

cluding the 1982 United nations convention on the law of the sea (UnclOs); • emphasized the need to enhance mutual trust and confidence, exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would further complicate the PAGE A7

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OpiniOn

Features

Terror attack

GRIM news of insurgency and terror attacks are thrust onto international headlines every day. Although modernization demolishes geographical barriers and moves the world toward an amalgamated economy, clashes among cultures continue to have a damaging impact on world peace and security. Because of cross-cultural ignorance, the essence of civilization is compromised.

In one senseless act of violence, 49 people were shot to death and 53 more were injured after a gunman went on a shooting rampage inside a popular gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida last Sunday, June 12.

Details about the worst mass shooting in American history revealed that the gunman, 29-year-old Omar Marteen, had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State and that the bloodbath was fueled by his hatred of gays.

The Associated Press reported that the gunman was wielding an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and a handgun as he opened fire at the club in a three-hour shooting rampage and hostage siege that ended with a SWAT team killing him.

Pres. Barack Obama has condemned the apparent terror attack and vowed to counter extremist ideology.

“Our hearts go out to the families of those who have been killed. Our prayers go to those who have been wounded. This is a devastating attack on all Americans. It is one that is particularly painful for the people of Orlando, but I think we all recognize that this could have happened anywhere in this country,” Obama said. “And we feel enormous solidarity and grief on behalf of the families that have been affected.”

“It’s a reminder that regardless of race, religion, faith or sexual orientation, we’re all Americans, and

we need to be looking after each other and protecting each other at all times in the face of this kind of terrible act.”

While the suspect has no direct link to the Islamic State, Obama pointed out “ this kind of propaganda and perversions of Islam that you see generated on the Internet, and the capacity for that to seep into the minds of troubled individuals or weak individuals, and seeing them motivated then to take actions against people here in the United States and elsewhere in the world that are tragic.”

To counter terrorism, he vowed to after known terrorist organizations and “hit them hard.”

The Philippines is no stranger to this kind of conflict. Since the 1960s, armed conflicts have persisted in the Mindanao. Major fronts such as the New Peoples Army (NPA), the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Abu Sayyaf have long fought for communist insurgency in the region, leaving national reconciliation as still an ultimate goal for its government.

The prevailing discord in Mindanao stems from what Moros believe as historical and continuing injustice committed against them, resulting in a majority-minority relationship that manifests itself in underdevelopment and dispossession in Muslim areas.

Just recently, the Abu Sayyaf has been involved in an alarming atrocity after it was confirmed that it has beheaded a Canadian hostage after a ransom

Editorial

ManilaTimes.net photo

was not met. The Philippines and Canada have condemned the killing of Canadian Robert Hall, whose head was recovered in front of the Jolo Cathedral in Sulu on Monday, June 13. Hall is among four people who were abducted at a resort on Samal island late last year.

Hall was the second victim beheaded by the bandits. Canadian John Ridsdel was killed in April after a P300-million ransom was not met.

“The vicious and brutal actions of the hostage-takers have led to a needless death. Canada holds the terrorist group who took him hostage fully responsible for this cold-blooded and senseless murder,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said as he

expressed outrage over the incident.

People behind such terror attacks must be reminded that it took millions of lives, thousands of years and hundreds of wars to achieve some sense of international order. While there is a lack of a comprehensive data on the total number of people affected and resources lost or destroyed as a result of these conflicts, reported estimates have been disturbing.

In this turbulent times, It is easy to aggregate power and instigate war. To foster peace and security remains the world’s formidable challenge and greatest hope for its citizens. This goal must be initiated through mutual respect and humanitarian resolve.

(AJPress)

The sizzle’s nice, now let’s taste the steak

Street Talk GreG B. MacaBenta JESS Matubis, who has worked under more Philippine presidents at close quarters than most broadcast journalists, recently posted the following blog by president-elect Duterte’s Agriculture Secretary- designate, Manny Piñol: “NO MORE JUNKETS, NO MORE FIRST CLASS TICKETS, NO MORE EXPENSIVE SUVS, NO MORE EXPENSIVE LUNCHES FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN THE DUTERTE ADMINISTRATION “1. All officials taking air planes must fly economy.

2. Cabinet secretaries are discouraged from using the No. 6 car plate which is designated for cabinet officials.

3. Except for the Justice Secretary who faces imminent danger from drug lords, other cabinet secretaries will have to use nonluxury vehicles like a pick up.

4. There will be no more junkets and ‘Lakbay Aral’ for govern-

ment officials and employees.

“For the Department of Agriculture (as announced by incoming DA Secretary Manny Pinol): 1.There should be no lavish preparations when the secretary visits the regional offices or local government units.

2. There should be no garlands or formal speaking engagements for the Secretary, only working meetings.

3. There should be no expensive activities during the celebrations during the anniversary celebrations of the department.

4. There will be no unnecessary trainings and seminars.

“This is how the Duterte Presidency will run the country for the next six years. It is a simple governance style but it will effectively address the core issues concerning the ordinary Filipino.

Change is coming.”

This is certainly an impressive set of principles or policies and must resonate very positively with the 16 million who voted for Duterte – in fact, even with those who voted for the other presidential candidates.

But my relatives in San Miguel, Leyte, a farming community

about 40-plus kilometers from Tacloban City, are asking a more substantive question: How do all of these help poor farmers like them improve their miserable lives? Many of them have never flown in an airplane and can’t tell the difference between business class and economy.

And they must think that an SUV is a breed of carabao, which is the official transportation in the farms.

As a lifelong advertising man, I’m keenly aware of the importance of symbolisms, expressed in the saying, “Sell the sizzle, not just the steak.” But when all is said and done, what counts most is the steak. The sizzle is just for first impressions.

Piñol’s declaration that Duterte’s administration will be frugal and no-frills is impressive, but we would have wanted the incoming Secretary of Agriculture to write a blog about how he plans to resuscitate our barely surviving agricultural economy, a sector on which over half of the population depends for their livelihood and on which the rest of the country depends for food.

The current buzz in Manila media is Duterte’s allegation

that most Philippine journalists are corrupt and deserve to be killed. This statement – or rant – was typical of Duterte’s imprecise verbiage, subject to many misinterpretations. By casting such a wide net in his characterization of journalists, he dishonored those who lost their lives while simply trying to do their job. I was immediately reminded of my friend, Ermin Garcia, Jr., publisher and editor of The Sunday Punch, the hard-hitting community paper in Dagupan.

His father, Ermin, Sr., founder and original editor of the paper, was killed by political assassins for exposing anomalies in the local government. Ermin, Jr. was an ardent supporter of Duterte during the presidential campaign (and may have been part of the communications group – I’m just guessing).

Surely, Duterte owes Ermin Jr. an apology. But that’s not this president-elect’s style. His style is brash, bombastic and unapologetic. That’s all part of the sizzle. But where’s the steak?

Wouldn’t it be nice if, amidst the furor over the hurt feelings of Philippine media, Duterte were to tell us what he proposes to do

Advancing the cause of education Prof. eMeritus Dr. Leonor MaGtoLis-Briones (Publisher/Editor’s/OpEd Editor’s note: The following is part of the statement released by the author about her acceptance of the offer from Presidentelect Rody Duterte to make her Secretary of Education. She is the lead convenor of Social Watch Philippines.)

1. All my life I have been exposed to the challenges of education in the Philippines. I come from a family of teachers.

My parents, aunts and uncles, brother and sisters, nephews, nieces and even grandchildren are teachers. During the war years my mother taught me how to write, using banana leaves as paper and sharpened bamboo sticks as pencils.

I have lived through the travails of teachers—low pay, long hours, huge debts and physical difficulties. As an elementary school pupil, I have experienced walking long distances to and from school, sat in stifling, overcrowded class-

rooms, and endured hunger and thirst even as I struggled to learn.

2. I have been involved in decades-long campaigns to advance the cause of education. As president of Freedom from Debt Coalition, I led in the campaign to reduce the crushing debt burden of the country to free more resources for education and social development.

Since its creation in 2006, the Alternative Budget Initiative led by Social Watch Philippines has always advocated for higher budget allocations for education.

Every year, SWP has successfully convinced the legislature to increase budget allocations for education.

“Education For All” is a major Millennium Development Goal. It is an equally urgent goal among our 17 Social Development Goals, of which our government is one of the signatories. SWP has always insisted that education is severely underfunded even as it has the largest budget allocation. International standards require at least 6 percent of GDP to be allocated for education. Present calculations

are at 3 percent.

I, therefore, accepted the nomination not for my own sake, because I don’t need another Cabinet position, but because it is an opportunity and a tremendous challenge for all who believe in education to contribute to reforms and put into practice our lifetime advocacies.

Concerns about K-to-12 The position of SWP on education, specifically on K-to-12, are all a matter of record. There are two major concerns: the desperate need for more funding for Senior High School and the displacement of students from poor families and remote rural areas.

In addition, teachers of First Year and Second Year in universities will be displaced because there will be no college students for the next two years.

Many schools have been preparing for these challenges for four years.

We are aware that contingency measures are being adopted by both the CHED and DepEd. These have to be closely monitored to ensure that identified challenges

are met.

K-to-12 and the incoming administration It must be emphasized that implementation of the laws on Kto-12 started four years ago. The curriculum contents of Grades 15 and 7-10 are already changed.

The opening of the current school year on June 13 was under the aegis of the present Secretary of Education. The new curriculum for Grade 5 will be implemented and Grade 11 will be launched.

Institutional and curricular changes are already being implemented in response to the requirements of the two laws mandating K-to-12.

The new administration will come in on July 1; by then, Grade 11 of K-to-12 will be in place.

What has been done by the incoming administration at this time is to monitor closely the implementation of Grade 11 starting June 13. We have been receiving feedback on K-to-12, which we will pass on to the present leadership of the Department of Education.

PAGE A7

about the slaughter of 34 media persons in that infamous Maguindanao massacre attributed to the Ampatuans? The Ampatuans happen to be legal clients of Duterte’s official spokesman, lawyer Salvador Panelo.

Sadly, Manila media have been so taken by the Duterte sizzle that they may be overlooking the substantive issues that need to be confronted by the incoming administration.

Severe unemployment and underemployment (the latter requiring more than the sizzle of a vow to ban contractualization – okay so that’s banned, then what?). Over one quarter of the population “officially” living below the poverty threshold (the “unofficial” figure is much higher because many of those defined as “non-poor” are just managing to survive). A growing economy that has made more billionaires out of Philippine businessmen but has hardly benefited the masses in the six years of the outgoing Aquino administration.

Crumbling and inadequate infrastructure that routinely robs Metro Manilans of valuable man-hours due to severe traffic,

limits tourism development and discourages foreign direct investments.

An uncertain foreign policy that teeters between cheerfully accepting the military mantle of the United States or meekly accepting Chinese hegemony, between making friends with Western allies and the United Nations or choosing to be a virtual persona non grata, and between amending the Constitution to allow more foreign participation in the Philippine economy or toeing the line of the National Democratic Front and the CPPNPA that foreign economic imperialism, represented by the US, must be banished from our shores.

The focus on corruption and criminality is great. This is where Piñol’s litany of frugality and simplicity in governance focuses on the steak. The lure of an opulent lifestyle, exacerbated by the short-term window of opportunity to make big bucks (just six years) is irresistible for the average public official.

But in combating crime, imposing a curfew on young people and banning the sale of alcoholic PAGE A7

An eminent choice for DepEd Secretary P R E S I D E N T- e l e c t R o d y Duterte made a perfect decision in choosing to appoint Professor Emeritus Leonor Magtolis-Briones Secretary of Education once he becomes our President. That important day, which will mark the beginning of an administration that, we pray, will succeed in fulfilling its promise to make government more efficient, effective, honest and responsive to the urgent and true needs of our people than what we have now, is only 14 days away.

Dr. Magtolis-Briones is professor emeritus at the University of the Philippines’ National College of Public Administration and Governance, Lead Convenor of Social Watch Philippines (the most incisive observer of public governance in our country which, often under her byline, publishes its findings). She has been a columnist of The Manila Times.

She is also the chair of the Board of Trustees of Silliman University and the chairman designate of the Board of Regents of the Universidad de Manila.

She is a person who takes her

belief in God seriously, a rare trait among government officials.

She has held important national government positions. She has been secretary to the Commission on Audit, vice president for Finance and Administration at the University of the Philippines, treasurer of the Republic of the Philippines and concurrently presidential adviser on social development.

She never applied for these positions. She was invited on the basis of her track record and her sterling reputation.

Even in becoming president of the Freedom from Debt Coalition (which includes some of the most patriotic Filipinos who know in-depth the financial condition of our country and of the government) and lead convenor of Social Watch Philippines, she was invited by the founders and movers of these authoritative and vigilant civil society organizations.

The same is true of her forthcoming appointment as Secretary of Education. Though a native PAGE A7

The views expressed by our Op-Ed contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the predilection of the editorial board and staff of Asian Journal.

ROGER LAGMAY ORIEL Publisher & Chairman of the Board

CORA MACABAGDAL-ORIEL President

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OC/IE ASIAN JOURNAL • JUNE 17-23, 2016

A

Ombudsman bars Purisima, Napeñas from public office

by Patricia Lourdes Philstar.com

Viray

MANILA—The Office of the Ombudsman ordered former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima and former Special Action Force (SAF) commander Getulio Napeñas perpetually disqualified from public office.

Ombudsman Conchita CarpioMorales on Thursday, June 16 affirmed the filing of graft and usurpation of authority charges over the Mamasapano incident which led to the death of 44 SAF commandos in January 2015.

“They were also meted the accessory penalties of perpetual disqualification for reemployment in the government service, forfeiture of retirement benefits

and cancellation of eligibility,” the Office of the Ombudsman said in a statement.

Purisima and Napeñas face charges for supposed violation of Section 3(a) of the Anti-Graft Law and for Usurpation of usurpation of official functions under the Revised Penal Code.

Morales said the participation of Purisima in Oplan Exodus despite being under preventive suspension violated the PNP chain of command.

Napeñas was liable as a cohort due to his constant reporting to and official dealings with Purisima even as former Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina was his immediate superior, Morales said.

The Ombudsman denied the

motions filed by Purisima and Napeñas and said they deserve “scant reconsideration.”

“Napeñas’ plea of leniency on account of his 37 years of meritorious service in government cannot be countenanced by this Office considering that the penalty of dismissal from the service is an indivisible penalty,” Morales said.

Purisima and Napeñas were also found guilty of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, according to the Ombudsman.

On April 5, the Office of the Ombudsman found probable cause to file usurpation of authority and graft charges against the two former PNP officials.

The sizzle’s nice, now let’s taste the steak PAGE A6 beverages after midnight is just the sizzle. So is the plan to reintroduce the death penalty. The threatened massive campaign against drug lords and pushers is also great. But even that is mostly sizzle. The substantive question is, how can Filipinos be motivated away from a life of crime and towards productive citizenship?

The answer is jobs. In the US ghettoes, the same question has been asked and the same answer given. The lure of the drug lords is irresistible to young men who have lost hope of landing a job.

And speaking of the drug problem, Duterte should learn a lesson from several presidents of the United States, from Richard Nixon to Obama. They still haven’t figured out how to arrest the flow of drugs into the country. It’s the law of supply and demand, something that the late President Ramon Magsaysay reportedly wanted to repeal but was told he could not.

It will take more than killing droves of drug lords, pushers and users to address the drug problem.

It’s more basic. It starts at home.

My wife and I had four growing kids in a neighborhood in Parañaque where pushers had begun to proliferate. I realized that lecturing the children on the horrors of drug use and threatening the neighborhood pushers (some of them lived in the squatters’ area across the creek from our house) was not enough. Our three boys and one girl had to be provided with a positive alternative.

I had written a pro bono public service ad campaign for a group called, Parents’ Organization of the Philippines, and had come up with two headlines that hit the parents in the gut: “Is a pusher paying more attention to your child than you are?” and “One dope deserves another. If you want your kid to stop doing his thing, you can begin by stopping yours.”

Those headlines hit me in the

An eminent choice for DepEd...

PAGE A6

Bisayan speaker like Presidentelect Duterte, Dr. Leonor Magtolis-Briones and Mayor Duterte had not even met each other when the offer was made.

Some critics of Sec. Armin Luistro, and the government’s resolve to continue the implementation of the K-to-12 system of basic education, have objected to the appointment of Professor Emeritus Briones. They do so

because she does not share their position against K-to-12. In fact, she has repeatedly suggested that Bro. Armin Luistro should be retained by the Duterte government as Secretary of Education, “so he can shepherd the ongoing implementation of K-to-12 to its successful conclusion.” Indeed, that “process has been going on for the past four years.”

This fact—that K-to-12 has been in place for four years—

The Philippines participated in the Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China on Tuesday, June 14.

PH echoes ASEAN statement on South China...

gut, too. I resolved to take full responsibility for my children, set up a gym in the garage, took PAGE A5 • Reiterated their firm comup physical fitness and began a thrice-a-week jogging regimen situation or escalate tensions, mitment to the full and effective in the hope that the kids would and pursue peaceful resolution implementation of the • Declaration on the Conduct follow suit. They did. And so did of disputes in accordance with of Parties in the South China Sea their friends. Soon, the house be- international law; • Articulated their commit- in its entirety, and while noting came the unofficial sports center of the neighborhood. And the ment to the peaceful resolution the momentum and new phase young people established their of disputes, including full re- of consultations, urged the early own rules. No cigarettes and, spect for legal and diplomatic adoption of an effective Code of processes, without resorting to Conduct; very definitely, no drugs.

• Pursuant to the full and efOne interesting side story is the threat or use of force, in accordance with universally recogfective implementation of the the fact that I was a three-packa-day smoker at the time. My el- nised principles of international Declaration on the Conduct of dest child, Ringo, made a telling law, including the UNCLOS and Parties in the South China Sea in its entirety, and pending the remark: “Papa, it doesn’t make the UN Charter; • Emphasized the importance early adoption of an effective sense. You are exercising and yet you are smoking. Do you know of non-militarization and self-re- Code of Conduct, stressed the straint in the conduct of all activi- importance of undertaking conthat it’s bad for you?”

I quit smoking the very next ties, including land reclamation, fidence building and preventive day and haven’t picked up a stick which may raise tensions in the measures that would enhance, South China Sea; among others, trust and confiever since.

At any rate – back to Duterte and the media. It’s okay to write about the sizzle, but shouldn’t we pay more attention to the steak?

PAGE A6 (gregmacabenta@hotmail.com) “no one will be left behind.”

In the meantime, a transition As incoming Secretary, I have team is being organized to ensure a special interest in Philippine orderly and seamless transfer culture and the arts. These should of duties. The DepEd, under the spring from our historical experithose opposed to K-to-12 seem leadership of Sec. Armin Luistro, ences as a people. not to know, or purposely ignore, is giving full cooperation and supThe media and reforms in when they speak and write against port to the incoming team.

DepEd “the introduction” of K-to-12 Special interests of the incomThere is heightened expectabecause it lays more burdens on ing Secretary tion for change, not only in edupoor parents.

The SWP has always main- cation but in all aspects of our In another part of today’s OpEd tained that the funding allocation national life. To achieve these Section, we publish part of Prof. for Alternative Learning Systems changes, particularly in DepEd, Magtolis-Briones’ statement is inadequate. Without doubt, not the support of media is crucial about her incoming appointment all pupils will be absorbed into the and indispensable. to DepEd. That essay also offers K-to-12 program. Provision has to In all my years as a social acan illumination on the whole mat- be made for alternative learning tivist, media has supported our ter of K-to-12. (ManilaTImes.net) systems, which will ensure that campaigns. With its help and

dence amongst parties.

Almendras noted that the Philippines’s arbitration case against China was raised during the meeting.

The Philippines stressed that arbitration is among the legal and diplomatic processes in resolving the disputes in the region that is fully consistent with the DOC and in accordance with international law.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration under the United Nations is expected to issue a ruling on the Philippines’s case against China’s nine-dash line claim over the disputed sea soon. China, however, insisted that it will not accept the international tribunal’s decision.

Advancing the cause of education consistent coverage, the problem of our foreign debt became a national issue. The campaigns of SWP on the national budget, the economy, lump sums, pork barrel and the infamous development acceleration program would not have caught the attention of the public without massive media coverage.

I look forward to working once more with media on basic education reforms. No person can achieve these difficult goals without everyone’s support, particularly media. Education is not only for educators; it is for all. (ManilaTimes.net)

A

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Celebrating Father’s Day: History and facts about fatherhood The idea to create a day for children to honor their fathers has a very interesting history embedded in it. A holiday to celebrate fathers and fatherhood in general -- including father figures such as guardians and grandfathers -- came to the mind of Sonora Smart Dodd while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909 in Spokane, Washington.

After the death of her mother, Sonora and her sibling were raised by her father, William Jackson Smart. Though her father fought in the Civil War, Jackson was still able to raise Sonora and her six siblings. She wanted to tell her father how special he was and what role he played in her life and wanted to honor her father’s parental sacrifices he made them.

Lastly, she wanted him to know what a courageous, selfless and loving man he was.

Since Sonora’s father was born in June, she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration at the YMCA Center in Spokane, Washington on the June 19, 1910.

The tradition stopped when Dodd left for school in Chicago, although several celebrations were held to honor fathers.

When she returned, she took up holiday promotion, but this time nationally. her strategic efforts included working with business groups that would profit from

Ryan Cayabyab

2

Bo Cerrudo

Celebrity dads share their fave fatherhood moments

by Dolly

Anne CArvAjAl Inquirer.net

her that her voice wasn’t good for singing contests.

President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father’s Day in Bo Cerrudo: On a stormy day FATheR’S Day this year is 1972. in August 2003 in Boracay, I went more significant because after we such a holiday, such as men’s Father’s Day on the third Sunday established a permanent national swimming despite the big waves celebrate it with our own fathers clothing companies and tobacco of June, but not everywhere. observance of Father’s Day to be that almost drowned me. on June 19, we will welcome the companies. Unfortunately, Spain and Portugal for instance, held on the third Sunday of June.

Before I knew it, I was struggling new “paternal figure” of our nation, Dodd’s efforts only made the honor their fathers on St. Joseph’s Thus, Father’s Day was born in helplessly and was being swept President-elect Duterte on June 30. day “too commercialized” that Day, March 19. In Australia, it’s the memory and appreciation by a further out into the sea. I heard my Of all the roles that celebrities many saw as too shallow and first Sunday of September. daughter who believed that her then 3-year-old son Diego crying play, being a dad is what they relish unimportant.

• Sons and daughters send 50 father and all other fathers should and screaming at the top of his the most.

I cornered some stars and Though President Woodrow percent of the Father’s Day card be honored with a special day lungs for me to come back to shore. asked them about their favorite Wilson wanted to make the to their dads. Nearly 20 percent of just like mothers are honored on As I managed to get my head fatherhood moment. holiday official in 1916, its Father’s Day cards are purchased Mother’s Day. above water, I faintly saw that he The “Papalicious Papas” of show commercial nature stopped by wives for their husbands. That Facts about Father’s Day you was all alone by the shore, all wet biz come and go, but dads remain: Congress from passing the bill. It leaves 30 percent of the cards that should know and crying, fearing for my life.

Ryan Cayabyab: Seeing my wasn’t until Margaret Chase Smith, go to grandfathers, sons, brothers, • Roses are the official At that moment, tired and all, son Toma smile happily during a senator from Maine, stated that uncles and “someone special.” flower for Father’s Day. A red I swam safely back to shore for his first airplane ride was a relief. It it was unfair to honor mothers and rose is worn in the lapel if your • It was estimated that there almost 40 minutes. he didn’t leave was quite a struggle to convince not fathers in 1957. were about 199,000 stay-at-home father is alive, while a white my side till the next day. him to ride a plane at 4 years old.

In 1966, President Johnson dads in 2015. These married rose represents a father who is Ogie Alcasid: I always love the he had this notion that we might issued a proclamation. Then finally deceased. fathers with children younger Father’s Day cards that my girls give fall off from the plane when we in 1972, President Richard Nixon than 15 have remained out of the • Most places celebrate me every year. I actually have two were airborne. I hid newspaper labor force for at least one year Father’s Days, because Australia and magazine photos of airplane so they can care for the family celebrates it on another date. Nate crashes.

This was one of those father while their wives work outside the is planning a Father’s Day surprise moments—to convince a son that home. for me this year.

• The number of single fathers everything will be alright.

Noel Cabangon: One of the So, finally, on a flight to Cebu, last year was 1.9 million. About more unforgettable bonding when I tucked him in his seat and 45 percent were divorced, 33 put his seatbelt on, he declared: “It’s moments I had with my son was percent were never married, 17 watching a concert of John Mayer at just [like] riding a bus, after all.” percent were separated, and 6 SM Mall of Asia. We were drenched, My daughter Krina came home percent were widowed. and while alternately sharing one one day from school crying.

At • 70.1 million: estimated umbrella, we sang along to Mayer’s 6 years old, she joined a singing number of fathers in the US in songs. contest and lost.

For one so young, 2008 (The most recent year for Jose Mari Chan: I own a Krina had perfect pitch, but she had which data is available). (AJPress) complete collection of Classics such a faint voice.

[My wife] emmy Sons and daughters send 50 percent of the Source: www.census.gov and I had to comfort her and tell Continued on Page 3 In 2015, it was estimated that there were 199,000 stay-at-home dads.

Father’s Day cards to their dads.

Sonora Smart Dodd started the tradition of celebrating Father’s Day to honor her own father, William Jackson Smart.

Academic regalia: Origin of the graduation gown A COMPLeTe account of the origin and background history of the graduation gown would fill a book. But to make a very long story short, the early academic dress in colleges and universities came from Medieval europe. Sometimes also known as academical dress, academic regalia, and graduation cap and gown, it has its origins in the everyday dress of the medieval clergy.

The dress which secular clergy wore was no different from that worn by all classes of

the community. everyone from highest to lowest wore, as did the clergy, a hood to protect the head in bad weather.

The distinction between dress and various academic levels was seen to have originated in the 13th century. Prior to that, no academical dress was accorded to the undergraduate level, as it was originally a distinction accorded only to masters, unless the founder of a college prescribed a special livery for members.

By 1500 the academical dress became more simple and

comfortable, with the result that the heavy outer, closed dress being left off, the sleeved or sleeveless tabard, or some form of sleeved tunica, or other such dress, now the outer garment, assumed a new significance.

Throughout the years, lay fashion was changing rapidly and the academical dress was later on influenced by the three forms of association that grew up in universities. The first of these was the Faculty, less strong in the english universities than elsewhere, the second the College, strong at first at all universities, but later only really so in France, england, Spain, and the Austrian Netherlands, and the third the Nation, strong at first in Continued on Page 3

Top of their class: Pinoy celebrities who graduated with honors CeLeBRITIeS have a busy life — shooting schedules, appearances, concerts, red carpet premieres — that people assume they have no time to go to a regular school. But there are some who managed to continue their education and even finish with honors. here are some artists who shuffled their time between work and school and managed to come out on top: 1. Carla Abellana, Cum Laude, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, De La Salle University, Manila As the daughter of 80s matinee idol Rey “PJ” Abellana, it was expected that Carla was to follow suit. however, she made sure that she finished school first, then entered show business right after she graduated. She was given a major project right away

Benjamin Alves

Agot Isidro

by GMA Network, portraying the lead role in the Filipino remake of the Mexican telenovela, “Rosalinda.”

2. Benjamin Alves, Summa Cum Laude, Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, University of Guam 3. Agot Isidro - Magna Cum Laude, Fashion Buying and Merchandising, New York Fashion Institute of Technology 4. Giselle Sanchez, Magna

Christine Bersola-Babao

Cum Laude, Broadcast Communication, University of the Philippines even with her mindless and sometimes very foolish stand up acts, comedienne and actress Giselle is nevertheless a very smart lady.

5. Cristine BersolaBabao - Cum Laude, Mass Communication, University of the Philippines Continued on Page 3

Infographic by AJPress. Sources: Pew Research Center, Economic Policy Institute, Mic.com, National Association of Colleges and Employers and “U.S. Job Growth Expected to Hold

Steady in the New Year, CareerBuilder’s Annual Job Forecast Finds.”

Clint Ramos wins Tony Award for Costume Design

By MoMar

G. Visaya

AJPress

NEW YORK—Clint Ramos made history on Sunday, June 12 when he won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design in a Play, becoming the fourth Filipino to win the coveted award and the first person of color to win in his category. This year marks a milestone, the 70th year of the Antoinette Perry Awards, more famously known as Tony Awards.

Ramos won for his work in “Eclipsed,” penned by The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira and starring Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o. He was nominated along with Jane Greenwood (“Long Day’s Journey Into Night”), Michael Krass (“Noises Off”) and Tom Scutt (“King Charles III”).

“From one to Pia Wurtzbach, I would say I was a six,” a playful Ramos told the Asian Journal when asked about his confidence level on Sunday evening. “I did not expect to win. I thought the British guy was going to win. My mother mentioned a survey that I was the one favored to win but I didn’t want to pay attention. Nakakanerbiyos na eh (It’s nerve-racking).”

That feeling of uncertainty made the victory sweeter for Clint, who wished he was more prepared when he went onstage to receive his award. His category was among the first awards to be given last Sunday and he was chatting with David Zinn who won the Tony for Best Set Design for a Play (“The Humans”) when his name was

called.

“It caught me by surprise. I got up there, managed to say a couple of thank yous and as I looked at the crowd, I saw Oprah who was smiling and I went blank,” Ramos said. “I was really overwhelmed.

I don’t think I ever considered in my own reality that I’d see myself up on that stage receiving a Tony Award.”

Only three Filipinos have won the Tony: Lea Salonga for her “Miss Saigon” performance in 2001, Robert Lopez for “Avenue Q “in 2004 and “Book of Mormon” in 2011 and Jhett Tolentino (with his partner Joann Raffe) in 2014 for being co-producers of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” (Best Musical), “A Raisin in the Sun” (Best Revival of a Play, which starred Denzel Washington) and in 2013, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” (Best Play).

The Tony statuette will stay in his apartment for now, he said, on the top shelf along with the other awards that he has amassed through the years.

“I love, adore and respect you!

So excited for this win for you!! You are a consummate artist to me,” Eclipsed creator Gurira tweeted when Clint’s name was announced as the winner.

Team Ramos At the Tony Gala held at The Plaza Hotel, a few hours after the awards telecast, Ramos said he was still floating from the euphoria of the win. At that point, he was just letting it sink in.

“It’s unbelievable that it

children. “I have two lawyers, and accountant, and now a Tony Award winner, how’s that?” she said proudly. As for the history of Clint, his mom quipped before breaking into a hearty laugh, “Gusto ko si Clint Eastwood nung araw eh.”

“I’m just so glad that my mom came. My dad passed away three years ago and he would have been really, really happy to have seen this. When I decided to pursue a life in theater, my mom and dad expressed their concern for me because I was choosing a life of uncertainty, but they still gave their blessings,” Clint shared.

“It’s slowly starting to sink in,” Clint told the Asian Journal on Tuesday morning, June 14, a full day Clint Ramos with his Tony Award after the awards show. “I’m diving AJPress photo by Momar G. Visaya into other work now, and trying to meditate on what it all means.” happened,” he said, in between He went to work on Monday bites of sliders. and spent time giving a few A few moments later, we interviews. He then started passed through where his team working on his next projects, was camped out. responded to emails and Team Ramos had his mom, Atty. Linda Boiser-Ramos, his sister congratulatory messages posted on his various social media Regina, his husband Jason and accounts. his husband’s parents, David and Historic Tony night Bunny Moff.

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s A practicing lawyer in Cebu, “Hamilton” was the evening’s Atty. Ramos is ecstatic about this biggest winner, bagging 11 out incredible and historic win. of the record 16 nominations “Masayang masaya ako spread across 13 categories. It tonight. Bihirang mangyari ito sa was one win shy of tying the atin,” Ramos’s mom Linda told the record 12 wins achieved by “The Asian Journal.

Producers” in 2001. Hamilton lost The Tony winner, whose full in two categories – scenic design name is Clint Edward, was named and lead actress in a musical, and after his father Eduardo. He is three other acting nominations, the eldest among the Ramos

HMart Torrance Grand Opening on June 22 THE number one Asian-American supermarket chain, HMart (www.hmart.com) announces its Grand Opening at HMart Torrance, CA on Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016. On the opening day, HMart is giving out free gifts (with over $30 purchase) and free Nail Clipper Set for new HMart Smart Card members as a Customer Appreciation Event. Also many items will be on special sales prices.

Carrying over from HMart’s previous success in Diamond Bar, Irvine, Norwalk, Garden Grove, Buena Park, San Diego and LA Downtown, HMart Torrance is the 8th HMart store to be opened in California. HMart provides fresh products at reasonable prices with exceptional service and shopping experience. HMart Torrance will play a central role on creating “One-Stop Shopping” atmosphere. HMart introduces diverse spaces including food courts so that customers can not only grocery shop but also can experience variety of cultures and amusements.

HMart Torrance store address is: 4340 Pacific Coast Hwy., Torrance, CA 90505; Phone number is 310-974-6880.

(Advertising Supplement)

Academic regalia: Origin of the graduation...

From Page 2 France and Italy, and in due course in Germany.

This association was a result of the gathering together of those who taught the same subject and who found that only by a united effort could their common aims be made known to their university at large. It also to secure them against the unqualified, who might try to set up for themselves at the university. The second was a corporate body, which enjoyed the benefits of an endowment; and the third was an association based on nationality to defend the rights of an alien in foreign land.

Some examples of faculty colors will show that no exact code of colors, but there were certain tendencies. Thus black at Paris, Oxford, and Cambridge, and white at Salamanca, Coimbra, and Perpignan were the colors of the Faculty of Theology. Green, yellow, or sanguine were at various universities the colors of the Faculty of Medicine, while blue of various shades very often denoted the Faculty of Philosophy. The most constant was scarlet for Canon Law, but even this by no means always held good.

In some countries, in England and Spain especially, founders of colleges ordered certain kinds of dress to be worn by members of their foundations.

Today, it’s useful to know where we are now with graduation robes. The modern graduation gown employs a different robe, gown, hood, tam, mortarboard, cap, and cowl for different individuals and groups within the school or religious institution.

Robe or gown The three types of degrees each have a different style gown.

Bachelor’s gowns have pointed sleeves, and are worn closed.

Master’s gowns have oblong sleeve, open at the wrist, with the base hanging down, and rear part of the oblong cut square while the front arc cuts away. These robes

have fasteners so they can be worn open or closed. Doctoral gowns have bell-shaped sleeves, also designed with fasteners so it is worn closed or opened.

For the doctor’s robes also have trimmings including velvet panels down the front and three bars of velvet on the sleeves. All three gowns are usually black, though some colleges and universities use the color of the school.

Hood Academic Hoods are black, made from the same fabric as the gown. They vary in length depending on the degree from three feet to four feet, and the doctoral hood is wider. Lined with college or university colors, they typically have one field color and one chevron color, though sometimes there are school specific variations. The edge of hoods is velvet in the color of the degree subject.

Cowl Cowls are typically made from velveteen rather than velvet, and are used for Associate Degrees. They do not display a degree or discipline color, just the institutional colors on the lining.

The outside is generally black.

Tam Tams are typically used for Doctoral degrees, though some Master’s programs do use them.

Tams are made from velvet, and usually have a ribbon over

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the fabric, and in black. Color variations do occur with some colleges. The number of sides vary, and can be four, six, or eightsided, eight, six, or four sides.

Four-sided is usually only used for Master’s degrees, while six and eight sided are used for Doctor’s degrees depending on which the University prefers. Tams are “poofed” at the top instead of flat, and come with a tassel usually in gold, with one or two buttons and sometimes in a gold bullion color.

Mortarboard or cap Mortarboards are flat rather than “poufy” at the top, are not made from velvet, and are also usually black but come in a variety of colors and variations are more frequent than with tams.

Mortarboards have only four sides, and typically have a tassel with a single button at the top, usually in the color of the degreegranting institution.

Tassel is worn on left after graduation (on right before the big moment). Usually black for undergraduates, but Masters have the option of wearing discipline color while Doctors usually wear gold. (AJPress) Source: “The History of Academical Dress in Europe Until the End of the Eighteenth Century,” by HargreavesMawdsley, WN, Oxford University Press 1963

for Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson and Miranda himself.

Miranda won for Best Score and delivered an emotional sonnet that reflected the evening’s restrained sentiments about the mass shooting in Orlando. He ended it with a powerful message that resonated to the viewers and the social media, “And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside. Fill the world with music, love and pride.”

Tony host James Corden set the tone of the evening and talked about the industry’s message to the Orlando victims. “Your tragedy is our tragedy. Theater is a place where every race, creed, sexuality and gender is equal, embraced, and loved. Hate will never win,” he said.

“There was no way that the theater community could ignore what happened in Orlando. That particular part of the community that was affected is almost an extended part of the theater world. I think it was appropriate as it was a little somber,” Clint added.

“The theater has always been about inclusion, acceptance and tolerance.”

Actors of color also made Tony Awards history by winning all four musical acting categories. Three cast members from “Hamilton” – Leslie Odom, Jr., Renee Elise Goldsberry and Daveed Diggs won as lead actor, featured actress and featured actor, respectively.

Cynthia Erivo won lead actress for “The Color Purple.”

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The talk on diversity on and off stage is something that Ramos is passionate about. In the Asian Journal’s first interview with him a month ago, he lamented the fact that what happens backstage does not fully reflect what’s happening onstage. And this is why he is happy that this year’s batch of Tony Award nominees – and eventual winners – is diverse.

“The diversity means a lot.

This means that even children or young artists of color who are considering a career in theater can see themselves up there. It’s pretty major and I wish there were more people of color in the design categories as well,” Ramos said. “I was just told that I am the first person of color to win in my category, it is important that people see that. When I was growing up, I couldn’t see myself up there, I had to seek examples out like Eduardo Sicangco and Loy Arcenas.”

The newly-minted Tony Award winner also expressed his profound thanks to his supporters and everyone in the diaspora who prayed for him.

“I would like to thank all my family and friends and kababayans in the Philippines and here in the U.S. who have extended their prayers and support. I feel the love and I just want to say that I am not taking that for granted,” Ramos said.

“I know what responsibilities this kind of recognition comes with.”

SoCal Fil-Am dentists celebrate 50th anniversary on June 18 LOS ANGELES — “They were the pioneers for change, The trailblazer for equality and against racism.”

The Southern California Filipino Dental Society (SCFDS) will celebrate their 50th anniversary with a party on Saturday, June 18, 2016 at the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. This was announced by the officers of the SCFDS. Victory against racism SCFDS president Dr. Rene Calugcugan narrated, “When Filipino dentists and other foreigntrained dentists first immigrated to the US, they were not allowed to practice dentistry, under the assumption that the education and experience of foreign-trained dentists were not to the level of US standards, in California.”

According to Dr. Orlando Cagatao, the oldest and the pioneer in the group, “A group of San Francisco Filipino dentists saw the inequity of this and decided change needed to happen.

“They organized and began strategizing how to go about change, thus establishing the California Filipino Dental Society.

Filipino dentists from all over California joined in the effort. It eventually grew so large that a Southern California chapter was born, led by its first president, Dr. Juan C. Bides.

“Filipinos and other foreign dentists had tremendous difficulty legitimizing their education and skills and had to jump through hoops, re-entering dental school with limited opportunities to even

take the California required board examinations.”

Glorious past, distinguished present Dr. Virginia Castelo also shared that, “The Southern California Filipino Dental Society (SCFDS) is a professional dental association supporting Filipino and non-Filipino dental professionals in both Southern California and the Philippines.

Originally founded in 1966 as an affiliate chapter of the Philippine Dental Association, SCFDS started with the vision of helping foreign-trained dentists legitimately practice dentistry in America.”

Dr. Rene Calugcugan SCFDS President said, “Both Northern and Southern chapters joined forces and initiated legislation to allow foreign-trained dentists to practice in California.

“Basically, we rode on the shoulders of the pioneer FilAm dentist who paved the way for us.

“They drew the attention of Assemblyman, Willie Brown, Jr., and Senator Milton Marks. Both legislators championed to push forth the new legislation despite

stiff opposition. Eventually, the new legislation did pass with a 69-0 vote among the Assembly and a 32-0 vote in the Senate.”

SCFDS Golden Anniversary, June 18, 2016 Then governor Ronald Reagan signed the new legislation into law on June 12, 1969, to coincide with Philippine Independence Day. More than 3,000 foreign-trained dentists have since benefited from the efforts of the SCFDS. Thus, in honor of the California Governor who passed the law that made the SCFDS what it is now, the 50th anniversary celebration is aptly being held at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley on Saturday, June 18, 2016.

Today, SCFDS boasts 300 members dedicated to professional excellence and the development of future Filipino dentists.

“Our goal is to secure SCFDS as the premier Filipino dental association in the region and support our members in their professional path.” Dr. Calugcugan declared.

Top of their class: Pinoy celebrities who...

From Page 2 6. Paula Peralejo - Magna Cum Laude, Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy with a minor in Tourism, University of the Philippines (2008) Maria Elena Paula Peralejo in real life and the sister of Rica Peralejo was a famous teen star during the late 90’s and early 2000’s. She quit showbiz right after the final episode of “Tabingilog”, the popular youth-oriented show during the early 2000’s. The show ran for 3 years, and one of the top-rated shows during those

times. She left show business for her to focus on her studies.

7. Lea Salonga Valedictorian, Elementary and High School, OB Montessori Even at a very young age Lea was already performing on the theater stage, TV and film.

She also started her recording career and was a teen star via “That’s Entertainment.” However, in spite of her busy schedule, the international Broadway star and Tony awardee still managed to finish grade school and high school with high honors.

Celebrity dads share their fave...

From Page 2

Illustrated comics (circa 1950s).

When my kids were growing up, I would read to them the different classic stories in these comic books.

And as we went through the pages of the comics, I would alter my voice according to the characters depicted in the stories, which helped bring the characters come to life.

I also made up enchanting

bedtime stories to expose them to the songs of my generation.

Kim Atienza: When I got sick and had GBS (Group B strep, a type of bacteria) in 2013, [my kids] volunteered to take turns watching over me in 12-hour shifts at the Intensive Care Unit.

I had so much quality time with each of them telling jokes, stories, taking pics and just enjoying every minute. It was then that I realized how much my kids loved me.

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Bhindi Jewelers celebrates grand re-opening in Artesia

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17,000 sq. ft. store hosts impressive selection of jewelry and luxury timepieces Bhindi Jewelers hosted their four day grand reopening at their flagship location in Artesia, California this weekend.

After one year of comprehensive renovations to expand the store from 7000 sq. ft. to 17,000 sq. ft., Bhindi now hosts a greater selection of their already impressive collection of fine diamond and gold jewelry, along with an accumulating repertoire of luxury timepieces.

The multi-million-dollar showroom was designed

by Sat Garg, founder and creative director of Santa Monica based architecture and design firm Akar Studios. Garg designed the previous flagship Bhindi store and is currently overseeing the $300 million Terminal 2 LAX renovation.

The time and investment poured into this endeavor reflects the Bhindi commitment to quality and attention to detail. The new showroom is designed to complement their exquisite collections, as well as cater to their discerning clientele while creating a destination shopping experience in the process.

The first floor is dedicated to diamond jewelry and luxury timepieces. The redesigned showroom is home to in-shop boutiques for Rolex, Cartier, Panerai, iWC, hublot and Tag heuer, alongside counter collections of nomos, Tudor and Chanel. in addition to housing over 400 Rolex timepieces, the Rolex shop-in-shop contains two private viewing rooms

exclusively for their Rolex customers.

Bhindi also unveiled a brand new, specialty bridal room that displays its signature bridal jewelry collection and hundreds of engagement rings.

The Bhindi bridal room was designed to make the engagement ring and wedding jewelry selection process special, memorable, and personalized for every bride and groom. Bhindi carries in its inventory a selection of .5 carat to 5 carat GiA certified diamonds and the diamonds are presented by a GiA graduate gemologist. Bhindi takes pride in educating its customers about diamonds through a highly interactive process in which each potential diamond is examined by the customer under the guidance of the GiA gemologist. driven by their commitment to deliver the highest quality product possible, Bhindi selected the Switzerland-based Obrist interior AG to build the entire Rolex and diamond jewelry showroom.

Obrist, founded in 1895, has established itself as one of the finest builders in the world; its resume includes boutiques for Tiffany and Mikimoto. in order to ensure exceptional quality, the entire Rolex and diamond departments were built in Switzerland and transported to California for installation by a team of expert carpenters based in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The second floor displays Bhindi’s dazzling and extensive 22k gold and antique collection. The renovation enabled Bhindi to expand the breadth of

their already impressive, market- leading selection by 150%. Bhindi Jewelers is extremely proud to announce the addition of two ViP viewing rooms dedicated to its gold clients. The private viewing rooms will allow Bhindi customers to sit, relax and allow the jewelry to be brought to them for a private and customized shopping experience.

Bhindi offers over 50,000 items in its collection and has revolutionized the market in Little india by introducing luxury couture collections to a diverse clientele. in the newly-renovated showroom, Bhindi Jewelers clients can be assured of an experience that reflects their exquisite jewelry. The sales consultants are highly trained and their insight reflects their experience, enabling a tailored experience for their diverse clientele. The completion of their latest showroom marks yet another step towards the

company’s goal of maintaining the highest standards of excellence in order to continue being a leading presence in the industry.

(Advertising Supplement)

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The Metamorphosis

ErniE D. DElfin (Part 2 of 2)

“There is no true independence without financial or economic freedom!” - The author Social enterprises combined with federalism, peace and order during the Duterte regime bring hopes for the country The election of Duterte, a non-traditional politician from Davao city as the next Philippine president, is a promising development to change many ineffective policies and established traditions of centralized governance of imperial Manila.

Hopefully, he will be successful in convening a constitutional convention (con-con) to change the present form of government into the federalism model.

This will give more power and resources in local and provincial units of government, as well as constitutional provision to ease economic restrictions for foreign investments to come into the country. These provisions can hasten improvements in the standard of living as the government of the people, by the people and for the people is much closer to the governed, while enhancing accountability and transparency of the elected officials, unlike now when imperial Manila is acting like a king in many respects.

The influx of more social enterprises, where the primary motive of doing business is no longer just the net profits that normally inure to the owners, but shared with their employees, is very encouraging to stop the widening gap of the very rich and the very poor. it behooves for all Filipino citizens to work double time to stem the rising tide of criminality and poverty in this rich yet poor country. let me highlight one young company, Human Nature that is founded on the principle of a social enterprise that is now on its rise to employ more people. i happen to know the founder, Dylan Wilk,

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PH Independence Day should also mean freedom from fear and hunger a British multi-millionaire British national who is the son-in-law of GK founder, Tony Meloto, since we are both ardent supporters of Gawad Kalinga (www.gk1world. com), a nonprofit organization whose goal is to eliminate poverty by 2024 through its noble goal of ‘Walang-iwanan’ philosophy.

Human Nature is into organic beauty products that are processed by the company, from the farm to the market without much “middlemen,” thereby offering affordable prices for all their quality products to their end consumers. it is a model for any social enterprise whose primary objective is to enhance the standard of living of society, especially their employees, partners and distributors, to emulate. Profits are shared with their employees, by paying them much more than the minimum wage mandated by the government. Believing that people will give their utmost best and loyalty when they know that there is a future for them with the company, Mr. Wilk instituted a “no firing policy.” learning that some of their people have previously resorted to the socalled “5-6 usurious lending” made popular by the “Bombays” (indian businessmen), he also created a fairer way to help their employees through a much fairer credit lending. Dozens of HN employees, i learned, are now able to buy their own cars or their own houses from their earnings from Human Nature! if you are not yet familiar with this company, please visit their website at www. humanheartnature.com to learn more about the company, their vision, mission, products and their locations. if you are in Quezon city, you can also visit their main store along commonwealth avenue and try their products that are all organic but quite reasonably priced compared to their “foreign” competition. a major catalyst of social enterprises in the country today is GK’s Enchanted Farm in angat, Bulacan (www.gk1world.com/gk-

enchanted-farm), which in just six years, has been transformed from an empty wasteland into a thriving hub for local and international entrepreneurs who are building high-quality businesses that provide jobs and opportunities to the local community.

The Farm has incubated more than 20 social enterprises like MaD Travel (www.madtravel.org) co-founded by a British author Thomas Graham who wrote “The Genius of the Poor” chronicling his unique experiences and visits to GK villages across the Philippines as far as Mindanao.

Social enterprises also include a stuffed toy company made of local materials co-founded by a French entrepreneur Fabien courteille, a cheese and peanut butter factory, duck golden eggs factory to silk cloth factory operated jointly by foreigners and their Filipino partners.

The Enchanted Farm is a rural melting pot where the sons and daughter of rich families from Europe and the Philippines work in tandem with poor Filipino young men and women for the common good. The Farm has also built its own university for the rising poor and it just recently launched its Spartan Experiment to prove that given the right environment and timely opportunities, the brightest and most motivated young men from the bottom of the economic pyramid can also compete and even surpass many of the children of the wealthy families worldwide.

The Farm is also the home of SEED, the School for Experiential and Entrepreneurial Development that will train and developed more entrepreneurs around the country.

This initiative must be supported by all Filipinos everywhere who want to see many good changes of the homeland.

For more information of these social enterprises, you may also contact this writer at his email below. *** Email: ernie.delfin@gmail.com Website: www.gkerc.org www.gk1world.com

EMPLOYMENT

Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond MonEttE ADEvA MAglAyA iT’S been said time and again that if you want anything done, give it to a busy person. That may very well be true, but only up to a point. one’s carrying capacity can be maxed out.

The truth is that anyone who is both efficient and effective has mastered many times by trial and error over some length of time that fine blend of mixing the art and science of planning his work and working his plan.

How? By thinking things through, prioritizing, sequencing and when necessary, improvising to stay within timetables and resources and keeping a laser-like focus on the goal, anyone can get things done.

Nowhere is this life skill more put to the test than here in america where a person’s worth, whether you like it or not, is measured by his productivity, his creativity, and his results. it is a skill needed to navigate a person’s dayto-day life.

The major strides in technology have enhanced man’s capability to multi-task. Picture the modern version of Everyman running on a treadmill fulfilling multiple roles. No matter how much you want to buck the system, there is no way you can get around the fact that in order to thrive, let alone survive at this time and in this place, the life skills one needs to acquire and develop some level of competence in, are in the areas of planning and working the plan.

You know what a delight it is to work on a project that has been well conceived and well planned.

The secret of getting things done “O Lord, Thou givest us everything, At the price of an effort.”

— Leonardo da Vinci

and when a plan comes together in seamless fashion, everything is as smooth as silk. on the flip side of the coin, you know how aggravating it is to be involved in one that is a mess from the beginning conceived by one who seems to be running around like a headless chicken.

History bears out that most of the great leaders of all time, whether in politics, in industry and in business are supreme planners. and contrary to common belief, these planners see the big picture but do not feel that it is beneath them to roll up their sleeves and work on the nitty-gritty themselves.

Planning helps you to see the goal very clearly. Planning makes it possible to signal your intentions to others so adjustments can be made in the early stages of the project. in freeway driving, it is not only courteous to signal your intention when changing lanes to let other drivers either speed up or slow down to make room for your move, it is the safe and prudent thing to do. Planning, like your left and right turn signals on your car, is a communication tool that gets feedback from within the team.

Henry Ford once said, “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” as you flesh out the details of a project, the number of sub-tasks and the sequence with which these smaller tasks need to be done becomes clearer. assigning who does what further

breaks down the job to smaller and manageable bite sizes. of course as the overseer, your task is to monitor progress of each component of the project and see that each one contributes to the overall goal. Ultimately, the value of planning brings you full circle as it helps you stay focused on the goal and get the job done on time and within budget.

Here’s a caveat. lest we think that planning is foolproof, remember that “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

Even with all the seemingly perfect planning that scientists at NaSa do and even with the use of cutting edge technology, the agency still experiences monumental failures - sometimes.

Things may not work out as planned. There are absolutely no guarantees that something will work out because of a great plan.

When things don’t work out as planned, accept it. Perhaps, there is a much better plan.

However, it has been proven that unless mighty cosmic forces are conspiring against something from happening, chances are stacked heavily towards transforming an idea to reality because of the simple act of planning and tenaciously working the plan. *** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette.maglaya@ asianjournalinc.com

Alden, Maine record theme song for upcoming film

by Joyce Jimenez Philstar.com

alDEN Richards and Maine Mendoza record the song for their upcoming film. on Wednesday, the GMa corporate communication team posted on their instagram account a photo of the two while recording the song.

HOME AGENCY

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according to reports, Maine was the one who wrote the lyrics of the song, while Vic Sotto worked on the melody. it was this week also when they both posted a teaser of their film, which reports said will be in cinemas on July 16, the anniversary of their “accidental” love team.

Their film was shot in italy, under the helming of Mike Tuviera.

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