San Francisco Edition -- January 22 -- 28, 2016

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Volume 15 - No. 4 • 3 Sections – 20 Pages

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‘New SAF Probe can ruin Aquino Legacy’ Osmena claims Enrile holds damaging evidence

by Jefferson

AntipordA And Joel n. sy egco ManilaTimes.net

eVIDeNCe to be presented by senate minority Leader Juan Ponce enrile when the senate reopens its investigation of the mamasapano massacre may ruin the legacy of President Benigno Aquino III, sen. sergio “serge” osmeña 3rd said on tuesday, Jan. 19. enrile had said he has evidence to prove that Aquino allowed 44 police commandos to die almost

DATELINE

maybe to put PNoy in the stockade,” osmeña added. enrile, during the monday session, confirmed that he has evidence to prove that Aquino did nothing to save the lives of the special Action force members who were killed by members of the moro Islamic Liberation front (mILf), Bangsamoro Islamic freedom fighters (BIff) and other private armed groups while carrying out an operation in mamasapano, maguindano. the minority leader took the

a year ago.

“I think that if manong [Big Brother] Johnny [enrile’s nickname] can prove that, it will definitely hurt the President,” osmeña said. “manong Johnny was ominous when he made that statement that he has new evidence. It will hurt PNoy [Aquino],” he added. the senator said enrile’s evidence may even lead to the filing of charges against Aquino when he steps down from office in June this year.

“Johnny cares to hurt PNoy.

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“DEADLY” EVIDENCE? In this January 30, 2015 photo, President Benigno S. Aquino III honors the fallen Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) Troopers during the Necrological Service at the NCRPO Multi-Purpose Center of Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City. The claim of Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile that President Aquino knew Special Action Force (SAF) commandos were being slaughtered in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, in clashes with Moro fighters but did nothing about it could be “deadly” to the President if supported by evidence, Sen. Sergio Osmeña III on Tuesday, Jan. 19 said.

Malacañang file photo by Benhur Arcayan

Value of tax-exempt Supreme Court to review Obama’s immigration program balikbayan goods

USA

from the AJPress NEWS TEAM AcroSS AMEricA

Filipina killed in San Jose bus crash

by Allyson

escobAr

AJPress

the supreme Court announced on tuesday, Jan. 19, that it will decide whether President Barack obama has the executive authority to declare that millions of undocumented immigrants can be allowed to live and work in the United states for a period of time, without fear of deportation. obama’s actions, unveiled just over a year ago, are aimed

A fILIPINA who recently moved to the United states was one of two women killed when a Greyhound bus overturned on highway 101 in san Jose, California on tuesday morning, Jan. 19. fely olivera, 51, was traveling back home to san francisco from Los Angeles, where she had visited her two other sons. she had just immigrated to California from the Philippines in september.

Antonio olivera, 25, fely’s son who is based in the Bay Area, said that he was hoping that his mother was one of the passengers that got injured. “...so I called hospitals in san Jose and I called emergency rooms but they said my mom was not on their lists,” he told the Associated Press.

Although authorities have not released the identity of the victims, Antonio said he was notified by the santa Clara County coroner’s office that his mother died after being ejected from the bus.

Antonio shared to the Associated Press that his mother was a stay-at-home mom who

at allowing at least 4 million immigrants to apply for expanded programs that could make them eligible for work authorization and other associated benefits, reported CNN. the high court’s decision provides the last chance that the White house would have to implement the program before obama leaves office next January. one of the programs proposed by obama was the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans

and Lawful Permanent residents (DAPA), which would allow undocumented immigrants in those categories to remain in the country and apply for work permits if they have been here for at least five years, and have not committed felonies or repeated misdemeanors. the president’s executive actions would also expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program implemented in 2012, which applies to

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raised to P150,000 by christinA

Mendez

Philstar.com

mANILA – the senate has approved on third and final reading the Customs modernization and tariff Act (CmtA), which also raises to P150,000 from P10,000 the tax-exempt value of pasalubong cargo brought in or sent by filipinos overseas. senate President Pro tempore ralph recto hailed the approval of the measure.

Although the provision on the tax treatment of balikbayan boxes is but one of many in the 311-

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SSS pension hike one of Binay’s priorities

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Fil-Am sworn in as president of Nevada State Board of Nursing

fILIPINo-American Dr. rhigel Jay Alforquetan took oath as president of the Nevada state Board of Nursing on Jan. 6, in a ceremony presided by honorable Judge Cheryl moss and joined by honorable Judge Bill henderson. tan’s election makes him the first Asian American male elected to the position in the 92 years of the board’s existence. originally from Cebu, Philippines, tan came from humble beginnings, making ends meet by peddling bananacue (caramelized bananas on sticks) and boiled eggs. he had dreams of going to medical school to become a doctor, but given his financial situation, he took nursing instead.

At the Cebu state College-Cebu City medical Center College of Nursing (CCmC), he graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s of science in nursing in 1990, then migrated to the United states years later.

“Being educated in the Philippines brings

FINAL FIGHT. The People’s Champ Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley hold a press conference Tuesday, Jan. 19, at the Beverly Hills Hotel for their upcoming April 9 fight in Las Vegas. Pacquiao announced that this bout -- his third against Bradley -- will be his last before he retires to focus on his career as a politician in the Philippines.

AJPress photo by Ding Carreon

Pacquiao formally announces end of career: I want to help my countrymen, the Pilipino people

media affairs department of the office of the Vice President, said reforming the sss will be a priority of the Binay administration.

“After six years, it has become apparent that the sss has failed to introduce reforms that would have addressed the longfestering problem of collection inefficiency, poor customer service and the absence of additional benefits for its members,” he said. salgado said the home Development mutual fund (Pag-IBIG fund), which the Vice President used to chair, should be seen “as proof that you can expand benefits, improve services, and shore up financial stability without increasing contribution.”

“It can done. Look at Pag-IBIG

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on April 9, the filipino boxer will face WBo/WBC Jr. Welterweight champion timothy Bradley, Jr. in the ring for a third time.

“I’m so happy hanging my gloves after this fight because of what I have done.

I’m sure I will feel sad after that but, you

by Agnes

constAnte AJPress

As world boxing champion manny Pacquiao prepares for what he has said will the final bout of his boxing career, he looks ahead to a political career where he can serve his countrymen.

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VICe President Jejomar C. Binay vowed to make pension hike his priority if Congress will not override President Benigno Aquino’s veto of a bill seeking to grant pensioners of the social security system (sss) a P2,000 pension increase.

“If Congress will not override the veto, I will give priority to increasing our assistance to sss pensioners (under my presidency),” Binay said in an interview in Caloocan City.

“It is saddening. It is such a small sum. Why deny them?” he added. he said a review of the sss investment portfolio will be part of the reforms that his administration will introduce in the pension fund.

Joey salgado, spokesman for

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JANUARY 22-28, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150

From the Front Page

‘Enrile can ruin…

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floor on Monday and said Aquino actively involved himself in planning and preparation for Oplan Exodus, a police operation launched to capture suspected terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir alias Marwan.

Enrile said there are witnesses who want to participate in the hearing but he advised them not to.

But Osmena noted that the President need not attend the Senate investigation that will start on January 27 although there is no stopping Aquino from participating in the hearing through a video conference to answer questions that will be asked during the proceedings.

“I think because of the dignity of his [Aquino] office, we don’t want him to be subjected to that,” the senator said.

Enrile refused to disclose the evidence that he is holding, saying the people should wait for the investigation.

The senator was jailed for more than a year for plunder.

He was accused of getting millions of pesos in kickbacks from the alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel.

Enrile regained his temporary liberty after the Supreme Court

allowed him to post bail for humanitarian reasons.

In the dark The police general who headed the Philippine National PoliceBoard of Inquiry (PNP-BOI) that also investigated the Mamasapano massacre is also clueless on the new evidence being claimed

by Enrile.

Director Benjamin Magalong, who was director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) when the board was set up, told The Manila Times that he himself is eager to know the nature of Enrile’s revelations.

“I really have no idea on the new evidence,” said the police official, who had since been transferred to another post after submitting his report on the carnage that happened on January 25, 2015 in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao province.

Magalong added that if he is invited again to appear before the Senate on January 27, he would have nothing new to say.

“I have nothing new to reveal. I stand by our report,” he said.

The Special Action Force (SAF) police commandos were deployed to get terrorists Marwan and Basit Usman.

Marwan died during the dawn raid while Usman was killed in

May. The Board of Inquiry report indicated that Aquino bypassed the chain of command of the Philippine National Police when he allowed his friend, former PNP chief Alan Purisima, to implement Oplan Exodus.

Purisima was under preventive suspension when the mission was carried out.

The board was activated on February 2, 2015, days after the January 25 carnage.

The report contained more than 300 signed affidavits of SAF members, military officials, witnesses and other civilians who provided information on the firefight.

Meanwhile, in Malacañang, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. belied Enrile’s accusation that the President “did nothing to save the lives of the then-embattled policemen.”

Coloma said in a news briefing that the President said he did what he had to do as Commander-in-Chief.

Enrile maintained that he has evidence to prove that Aquino was “actively and directly” involved in the botched operation under Purisima’s brainchild, Oplan Exodus.

Coloma said government officials will respond to all of Enrile’s queries during the hearing. n

each balikbayan box would be protected by Super Section 800,” Recto said, noting that it defines “conditional-free and duty-exempt importation.”

Under this section, “residents of the Philippines, OFWs, other Filipinos while residing abroad or in their return to the Philippines shall be allowed to bring in or send to their families or relatives in the Philippines balikbayan boxes which shall be exempt from duties and taxes.”

The “total dutiable value” of the boxes shall not exceed P150,000.

The privilege can only be enjoyed “up to three times in a calendar year,” Recto said, quoting the proposed law.

“This means that an OFW can send two boxes at the same time provided that their total worth is not more than P150,000. That

will be counted as one shipment,” Recto said.

The boxes, however, must contain “personal and household effects only and shall neither be in commercial quantities, nor intended for barter, sale or for hire.”

“This is to prevent senders from abusing this privilege. With this privilege comes the duty to observe the law. It also comes with penalties so that smugglers won’t take advantage of it,” Recto said.

The bill also includes a provision indexing rates to inflation, “so that it will not take another quarter of a century to adjust the tax-exempt ceiling for balikbayan boxes,” Recto said.

“Every three years after the effectivity of this act, the secretary of finance, upon recommendation

Value of tax-exempt balikbayan goods…

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page bill, “it is one that is most awaited by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs),” Recto said on Wednesday, Jan. 20.

“We can now report to them that the Balikbayan Box Law has passed the Senate,” he added.

Recto filed Senate Bill 2913, or what he dubbed as the BBL, last August after a public outcry over a Bureau of Customs (BOC) plan to open and inspect balikbayan boxes revealed outdated regulations, one of which taxes any box whose contents are worth more than P10,000.

Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, later incorporated the provision on increasing the ceiling for taxation of goods sent through balikbayan boxes under Section 800 of CMTA. Once the CMTA is signed,

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President Barack Obama talks with Ingrid Nilsen during YouTube post-State of the Union interviews live from the East Room of the White House on Friday, Jan. 15. The Supreme Court on Tuesday, Jan. 19 agreed to decide on the legality of Obama’s unilateral action to shield more than 4 million illegal immigrants from deportation.

White House photo by Pete Souza

Supreme Court to review Obama’s…

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younger people who were born outside of the US, but raised within its borders.

The administration says the program is a way for a government with limited resources to prioritize which immigrants it will move first to deport, said the Washington Post.

However, Obama’s sweeping plan, taken after Congress failed to enact comprehensive immigration reform, was swiftly blocked by lower courts when Texas, led by US District Judge Andrew S. Hanen, and 25 other Republican-led states sued the administration in United States v. Texas.

The 26 states said that the program “would be one of the largest changes in immigration policy in our nation’s history” and that it raises major issues involving the separation of powers and federalism.

Since the executive order’s blocking, millions of immigrants, including the aging parents of US citizens and lawful permanent residents who would have been eligible, are left waiting for reform.

In a 15-page ruling, Judge Hanen said he “remains convinced” that his original findings in February 2015--halting programs meant to ease deportation threats to millions of eligible undocumented immigrants--were correct. “The Obama Administration’s blatant misrepresentations to the court about its implementation of expanded work permits for illegal immigrants under the President’s lawless amnesty plan reflects a pattern of disrespect for the rule of law in America.”

“DAPA is a crucial change in the nation’s immigration law and policy—and that is precisely why it could be created only by Congress, rather than unilaterally imposed by the Executive,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) in a court filing.

On Tuesday, Paxton welcomed the Supreme Court’s review, saying in a statement: “In deciding to hear this case, the Supreme Court recognizes the importance of the separation of powers. As federal courts have already ruled three times, there are limits to the President’s authority, and those limits enacted by Congress were exceeded when the President unilaterally sought to grant ‘lawful presence’ to more than 4 million unauthorized aliens who are in this country unlawfully.”

He added that the Obama administration has violated the

Administrative Procedures Act, which sets forth how federal agencies can establish regulations.

The programs represent one of the “largest changes in immigration policy in our nation’s history,” Paxton said, arguing that the state of Texas has the standing to bring the case, partly because it would also bear the burden and cost of issuing additional driver’s licenses.

White House officials also welcomed the announcement, saying they were confident their side would prevail. White House assistant press secretary Brandi Hoffine said that US v. Texas affects “immigrants who want to be held accountable, to work on the books, to pay taxes, and to contribute to our society openly and honestly.”

“The policies will make our communities safer. They will make our economy stronger.

And they are consistent with the actions taken by presidents of both parties, the laws passed

by Congress, and the decisions of the Supreme Court. We are confident that the policies will be upheld as lawful,” she said.

“Millions of families have waited nearly a year for these programs to take effect,” said the National Immigration Law Center’s Karen Tumlin. “They will now get a full day in court as the nation’s highest court hears this case of tremendous moral and legal importance.”

Comprehensive immigration reform has confounded a politically deadlocked Congress, and has become one of the main disagreements between Democrat and Republican presidential candidates.

The issue of undocumented immigration has taken center stage in the Republican primary battle, said Fox News, with frontrunner candidate Donald Trump calling for a wall to be built along the US and Mexico border, and other candidates calling for tough proposals.

Though the White House has appealed, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the lower courts in November of last year, keeping the programs from being implemented.

The administration contends that the states have “no legal standing to sue,” because it is up to the federal government to set immigration policy. They also defend that the Department of Homeland Security did not violate federal statutes in devising the executive programs.

“Setting priorities about whom to deport is a practical response to the fact that Congress has given the administration only enough money to deport no more than about 400,000 of the nation’s estimated 11 million [undocumented] immigrants,” the government said, according to the Washington Post.

In their petition to the court, US Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. said that the lower courts had blocked “a federal immigration enforcement policy of great national importance…in violation of established limits on the judicial power. If left undisturbed, that ruling will allow states to frustrate the federal government’s enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws.”

Verrilli also added that lowercourt rulings “will force millions of people —who are not removal priorities under criteria the court conceded are valid, and who are parents of US citizens and permanent residents—to continue to work off the books, without the option of lawful employment to provide for their families.”

In challenging the immigration plan, the Supreme Court justices also added a question about the constitutionality of Obama’s actions. Texas argued that the Court precedent requires that “presidential action that lacks congressional support must be scrutinized with caution.”

Supporters of the immigration order welcomed the justices’ decision to take up the case, saying it is the only way to resolve the status of millions of undocumented immigrants stuck in litigation limbo.

“The president’s program has been delayed for far too long by this political lawsuit and the clearly erroneous decisions of the lower courts,” said Elizabeth Wydra, chief counsel of the Congressional Accountability Center.

“The lives of millions of children and families in America have been disrupted and held in limbo…and they deserve the Court’s careful and prompt attention.”

“We are thrilled that the Court decided to hear Texas v. US, as it preserves the very real possibility that expanded DACA and DAPA will become available to qualified applicants later this year,” said Sally Kinoshita, deputy director of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, which leads the Ready California campaign--a coalition of organizations working together to educate and provide outreach on DACA and DAPA.

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(650) 616-4150 • http://www.asianjournal.com

From the Front Page

NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARY 22-28, 2016

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Pacquiao formally announces end…

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El Niño has destroyed about P16.7 million worth of palay in two municipalities in Negros Occidental. The office of the provincial agriculture (OPA) on Friday said the P16.67-million losses on crop damage and production covered at least 901 hectares of farmlands and affected 859 rice farmers in 24 villages of Hinigaran and Hinoba-an towns. Dina Genzola, OPA senior agriculturist, said the amount of damage might still increase as assessment and validation of farms in other areas of the province have yet to be completed. Philstar.com photo

SSS pension hike one of Binay’s…

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today. It is not only the most financially stable government corporation, it is also setting the benchmark in customer service.

And all the reforms were introduced during the term of the Vice President,” he added.

He added that the presidential veto, which is being supported by the administration standard bearer, underscores the absence of compassion, especially for senior citizens.

“Our senior citizens have contributed to our economy. The least the administration could do is to show concern for their welfare, including the 1.9 million retired and elderly SSS members,” Salgado said.

“The SSS pension amounts have been unchanged since 1997 and have not been adjusted

to inflation. Any increase could augment the rising cost of aging members’ basic living and medical expenses without sacrificing the fund’s long-term viability,” he added.

Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. also called an end to the SSS impasse, saying both branches of government should find alternative ways to look for a win-win solution to the issue.

Marcos said the more viable solution is for the legislative and executive branches to work together and set aside politics rather than overriding the veto of the President.

“Ang hirap gawin ng override dahil two-thirds (votes) ang kailangan hindi lamang sa House (of Representatives) kundi pati sa Senado. So, mas maganda kung

Filipina killed in San Jose…

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loved to take care of her family.

Prior to the crash, he said that his mother had made that trip to Los Angeles three times before.

According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the bus crashed around 6:40am during a heavy rainstorm. The Greyhound was in the northbound lanes near the Highway 58 flyover when the bus landed on its right side and straddled the center concrete barrier.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but a passenger Gary Bonslater, 22, said that the bus driver had earlier pulled over, complaining that he was tired, according to a report

by SFGate.

Another unidentified passenger also told reporters at the

scene that at one time the driver fell asleep. “He pulled over 5 miles back to catch himself, but he didn’t have any energy,” the passenger added.

The bus was carrying 20 passengers and left Los Angeles at 11:30pm Monday with stops planned in Gilroy, San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland, said Greyhound spokeswoman Lanesha Gipson. She added that the company requires operators to rest nine hours between trips.

Officials said that apart from the two fatalities, another person suffered major injuries while three others were moderately hurt. A number of passengers had minor injuries and got patched up at the scene or were taken to a hospital for treatment.

(AJPress)

Supreme Court to review…

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“These programs would improve the lives of over five million people nationwide–1.5 million in California alone–by allowing them to continue building their lives and contributing to their communities without living in fear and uncertainty. Today’s decision brings us one step closer to providing protections that keep families together and strengthen our communities, and that is truly good news.”

According to data from the Migration Policy Institute, many immigrant Filipinos in the US would qualify for both the original and expanded DACA and DAPA programs. Out of around 197,000 undocumented Filipinos currently in the US, approximately 45,000 are estimated to be eligible for both DACA and DAPA. In California’s Los Angeles County, around 7,000 are estimated to be eligible for the expanded DAPA program, and 4,000 for the original DACA. In San Francisco, those eligible for both DACA and DAPA are estimated to be less than 1,000; while in New York’s Queens County, around 2,000 undocumented Filipinos would be qualified.

In Los Angeles County, Filipinos make up about 2 percent of undocumented immigrants currently under the original DACA program, according to the MPI. 3 percent of those would be im-

mediately eligible.

Directing Attorney Joyce Noche from the Immigration Unit at the Public Law Center in Orange County said, “Filipinos are one of the largest groups in California that could potentially benefit from these programs, and we encourage families to go ahead and prepare, now that the Supreme Court has granted review. We tell immigrants to start gathering documentation, save money for the application fee, and contact other family members who could potentially benefit from the programs.”

“We also want to encourage folks to keep informed about the legalization process, and to be wary of false immigration services. Know the resources available, including the media and legal service organizations,” she added. “I think there’s a lot of fear in our community, and people who are generally reluctant to come forward.”

The Public Law Center helps low-income individuals and families in Orange County, provides assistance under the existing DACA program, and helps immigrants with legal services and litigation.

The Supreme Court will likely hear the case in April, with a ruling before it adjourns in June. If it approves the programs, they will go into effect before Obama leaves office. n

Value of tax-exempt…

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of the (Customs) commissioner, shall review the value herein stated and shall adjust its present value using the consumer price index as published by the Philippine Statistics Authority,” Recto quoted the provision.

He said the “antiquated provision” of slapping a 50 percent duty on the value of a balikbayan box in excess of P10,000 was set 28 years ago through former president Corazon Aquino’s Executive Order 206.

Even BOC Memorandum Circular 7990, which ups the maximum value of a tax-exempt balikbayan box to $500, is more than 25 years old, he said.

Recto said the proposed CMTA also increases to P350,000 the tax-exempt ceiling of “personal and household effects” that a

returning resident who had lived abroad for 10 years may ship to the Philippines.

Recto said this provision was not in the BBL he filed but a brainchild of Angara, principal sponsor of CMTA. Recto praised Angara for shepherding the CMTA, with its many complicated provisions, to approval.

The CMTA is a consolidation of eight bills, two of which are authored by Recto. The other bill Recto filed is Senate Bill 456, which slaps higher penalties for smuggling.

The measure has been described by Angara as a “broad reform measure which simplifies rules, aligns tariff regime with treaties, promotes transparency and combats smuggling.” (With a report from Evelyn Macairan)

magkaisa pati ‘yung executive na maghanap ng paraan na pagandahin nga ang koleksyon, mga win-win solution, pagandahin ang investment para kayanin ‘yung P2,000 na dagdag,” he said.

“This should be a wake-up call for the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office which plays a crucial role in making sure that the President and the legislators in both Houses of Congress have proper coordination through proper communication and information dissemination.

All these controversy would not have happened if both branches have been properly guided by the PLLO,” Marcos said.

The senator said the SSS should improve its collection and management strategies. (Manilatimes.net)

know, that’s life,” Pacquiao said during a press conference for the fight Tuesday, Jan. 19, at The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

The formal announcement of his decision comes just a few months before the Philippine general election in May. Pacquiao is currently the lone congressman of Sarangani province but is now seeking a seat in the Senate.

“I remember when I started boxing, I started because I wanted to help my family, my mother.

And now, I end my boxing career because I want to help my countrymen, the Pilipino people,” he said.

Pacquiao, who holds a record of 57-6-2, 38 KOs, was the first boxer in history to win 10 world titles in eight different weight divisions. In 2000, the Boxing Writers Association of America named him “Fighter of the Decade.”

People’s Champ seeking “clear victory” against Bradley For his last showdown in the ring, Pacquiao said he considered opponents including WBA super lightweight champion Adrien Broner, British boxer and two-time former world champion Amir Khan, Mexican multipletime world champion Juan Marquez, and even a rematch against Floyd Mayweather, Jr., to who he lost in the most lucrative match in boxing history.

Although he has already fought Bradley twice, the Filipino boxer said that this time around he is seeking a clear victory. In his second match against the American

fighter, Bradley won in a controversial split decision.

“I’m not saying I’m going to knock him out, but I will do my best to prove that Manny Pacquiao is still in the prime, he’s still in the top before I hang up my gloves,” he said.

Different Bradley expected on April 9 A different Bradley is expected to enter the ring on April 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Last year after a victory against American boxer Jessie Vargas, he fired long-time trainer Joel Diaz and hired trainer and ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas.

TopRank promoter Bob Arum has previously said the American boxer is “a new Bradley” citing his November 2015 fight against former WBA lightweight world champion Brandon Rios, at which time he was training under Atlas.

Bradley, who currently holds a record of 33-1-1, 13 KOs, agreed that his third match against The People’s Champ would stand apart from their first two.

“I think this fight will definitely be different than the first two altercations that we had. And that’s all I can tell you. I think it’s going to be a great fight … it’s Manny Pacquiao’s farewell fight. I know he wants to win the fight really badly and so do I...”

During Tuesday’s press conference, Atlas spoke about the upcoming fight using the Super Bowl as an analogy, saying the boxers were Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

“They’ve been to a lot of super bowls and this is what they’re in the business for: getting to the

top to show that they are the best. We have an opportunity to fight ... Manny Pacquiao, who has been one of the best most dynamic fighters of the last decade.

And to me … has been one of the best fighters of the last decade,” Atlas said.

“Donald Trump undercard” Arum also said the undercard of Pacquiao vs. Bradley will be called “the Donald Trump undercard,” featuring all Hispanic fighters as a response to the Republican presidential contender who has been vocal about deporting undocumented immigrants.

“I want them to know there are a lot of people that have their back and are not going to allow them to be deported,” he said, dedicating the undercard to the approximately 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.

Pacquiao is not planning to run for president, message to Filipino fans After the fight in April, Pacquiao will have one month to campaign before the election on May 9. If he wins, he said he would like to focus on fighting corruption, providing free education from elementary to college, and providing incentives and subsidies for farmers and fishermen.

While there have been talks of Pacquiao aiming to run for president at some point, he said that goal is not in his current plans.

“I don’t have that in my mind right now but if that’s my destiny then no one will refuse that,” he told reporters.

Arum, who has served as Pac-

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JANUARY 22-28, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL

Dateline USa

http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150

Democratic candidates face off on California bill would fund trauma and health care, Wall Street and guns mental health services for students

HILLARY Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley met for their fourth debate, which aired live on Sunday, Jan. 17 on NBC. It was the Democratic contenders’ final face-off before the crucial Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.

In a strong performance, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley came across as experienced and empathetic, but did not get the chance to talk as much, while former Secretary of State and frontrunner Hillary Clinton argued she was pragmatic, skilled and a “battle-tested politician” who can work effectively on both foreign policy and domestic fronts, reported CBS News. 74-year-old Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, drove home the message about the influence of funding in politics.

The candidates talked about a variety of issues, from health care to foreign policy, to the criminal justice system, to President Barack Obama.

When asked what their top three priorities as president would be, Sanders cited universal health care, minimum wage increases (to $15 an hour), and rebuilding infrastructure. Clinton said she would focus on equal pay for women, building on Pres.

Obama’s Affordable Care Act, and working diligently to bring the nation together, reported USA Today. O’Malley spoke about wage increases, empowering labor unions, and reforming the immigration system.

“I understand that this is the hardest job in the world,” Clinton said in her opening remarks, but assuring that she was capable of doing “all aspects of the job.” She also clung tightly to her loyalty with President Obama, arguing she would build on his legacy and promising continuity, according to CNN. Clinton and Sanders took most of the time on the debate stage, coming face to face over issues with health care, gun control, and financial politics.

Clinton called Sanders out on his support of the National Rifle Association (NRA), for voting “with the gun lobby, numerous times,” and also named several occasions when she said the Vermont senator sided with guns rights supporters to gain votes in Congress. She said she was glad that Sanders had “reversed his

position on immunity” after his recent support of a bill to amend gun manufacturers immunity from prosecution, but also accused him of flip-flopping and getting “cozy” with the NRA. However, Sanders retorted that he had a D-minus voting rating from the NRA, and rejected her list of charges. “I think that Secretary Clinton knows that what she says is very disingenuous,” he said.

“Let me talk about polling…In terms of polling, guess what, we are running ahead of Secretary Clinton in terms of taking on my good friend Donald Trump,” he added. “We have the momentum. We’re on a path to a victory.”

The biggest argument of the night was on health care. Just two hours before the debate, Sanders rolled out a tax plan that would fund his Medicare-for-all proposal to scrap private health insurance entirely, replacing with a federally-run health program.

“Right now what we have to deal with is the fact that 29 million people still have no health insurance. Tell me why we are spending almost three times more than the British, who guarantee health care for all of their people,” he said.

“What a Medicare-for-all program does is finally provide in this country health care for every man, woman and child as a right,” he added, saying his plan would lead to tax increases for the middle class, and would take aim at insurance companies.

“The truth is that Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman…believed that health care should be available to all of our people. It is time for our country to join every other major industrialized nation on earth and guarantee health care to all citizens as a right, not a privilege.”

Although Clinton leads Sanders 59 percent to 34 percent, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal national poll, many viewers of the debate believe Sanders, who is very popular with young people, emerged the true winner. Sanders’ poll stats numbers have been rising over the last month.

“I certainly respect Sen. Sanders’ intentions,” Clinton replied, but stayed defending the Affordable Care Act. “When you’re

talking about health care, the details really matter. We finally have a path to universal health care, we have accomplished so much already. I do not want to see the Republicans repeal it, and I do not want us to start all over again with a contentious debate.”

“No one is tearing this up--I helped write [the Affordable Care Act]. We are going to go forward,” Sanders retorted angrily, saying he wanted to focus on the issues, not on her husband.

Accomplishing goals (such as an inclusive health care system, free public colleges, and a higher minimum wage) is dependent on the influence of big corporations and their funding. “Nothing real will get done unless we have a political revolution where millions of people finally stand up,” he stressed, citing problems on Wall Street.

Clinton rebutted that there’s “no bank too big to fail, no individual too powerful to jail.”

When asked about how she wins the votes of younger generations, Clinton cited her goal of debt-free tuition, and is concerned about the “Republican assault” on voting, and on women’s, LGBT, and workers’ rights.

“This is an election where we have to pull young people and older people together. Turning over our White House would be bad for everybody, including our young people.”

O’Malley managed to squeeze in a word regarding guns and criminal justice reform, personalizing the issue with a story about meeting a three-year-old shooting victim in the hospital.

He also showed an endearing side when talking about putting ground troops in the Middle East to fight the terror group ISIS, telling a more personal appeal on the matter. All of the candidates agreed there should be no US troops on the ground to fight the war on terror.

The debate viewed by over 12.5 million viewers, including 10.2 million who watched it live, reported The Associated Press.

The debate was also the thirdmost watched Democratic debate in history, according to NBC, drawing in more young viewers than the two previous broadcasted debates. (Allyson Escobar / AJPress)

CALIFORNIA schools will once again be able to offer mental health programs for students in kindergarten and grades one to three who are struggling with anxiety and other trauma or stress related symptoms, if a bill introduced in the legislature earlier this week passes.

AB 1644 was introduced by Assemblymember Rob Bonta (DOakland) and is co-sponsored by Children Now, a statewide youth advocacy organization headquartered in Oakland, and by state Attorney General Kamala Harris.

“The evidence is clear that when we don’t intervene, many children are more likely to be either victims or perpetrators of crimes,” Harris said in a statement.

“We view early childhood trauma as a public health crisis,” noted Ben Rubin, senior associate of neurodevelopment and health with Children Now. He said adverse childhood experiences (ACE) lead to long-term mental and medical health effects.

Bonta’s bill would restore funding for mental health services that were once offered on 464 school sites around California under the state’s Early Mental Health Intervention (EMHI) program launched in 1992. The state gave matching funds to schools that provided intervention programs.

AB 1644 is estimated to cost the state about $1 million a year.

In 2012, the state defunded the program, citing budgetary reasons. Research showed that

79 percent of the children who received those services improved their behavioral and social skills.

According to a Kidsdata.org study, more than half of all California elementary school staff reported that mental health is a problem at their school. And just over 70 percent of the state’s elementary school teachers say that their school “emphasizes helping students with emotional or behavioral problems.”

Early childhood mental health advocates say the teacher training and funding isn’t adequate to support young students who are experiencing symptoms resulting from stress and trauma. In its 2016 California Children’s Report Card, Children Now gave the state a D minus when it comes to spending on assessing and treating children who have mental health challenges.

The Children Now report warns that if kids struggling with mental health disorders don’t get the treatment they need, they are more likely to be hospitalized, drop out of school and become “involved with the justice system.” The report also says that only 40 percent of children under the age of six with mental health issues get the support they need.

California has the highest student-to-counselor ratio in the nation, with an average of 1,016 K-12 students per counselor, according to EdSource. The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of

250 to one.

The question of a school’s responsibility to provide services to students suffering ACE related trauma is at the core of a lawsuit filed against the Compton Unified School District in Los Angeles. Five students and three teachers there have sued the district for allegedly failing to provide adequate training and resources for coping with trauma. The CUSD, the plaintiffs say in the federal lawsuit filed last year, is setting them up for academic failure.

Robert Hull, a school psychologist in Prince George’s County in Maryland, who has extensively researched the impact of complex trauma on childhood development, observed: “There’s a huge number of children walking into kindergarten with trauma. They’re just sitting in the classroom trying to make it through the day, not profiting from the instruction, however good it may be.”

By providing them early intervention, he said, “you are moving them from a survival mode into a learning mode.”

Bonta’s bill would establish a four-year pilot program in schools that are serving students who have experienced high levels of childhood trauma and adversity, expand the EMHI program to include younger children, and provide regional trainings and support to schools on mental health and trauma. (New America Media)

Fil-Am sworn in as president of Nevada State…

PAGE A1 t

with it the responsibility to influence the nursing profession in a global perspective,” Tan previously told the Asian Journal. “Beyond just making a living, [nurses] should also be involved in promoting public safety through participation in regulatory tasks.”

He added, “Filipino nurses are not only world-class care providers, but also global professionals capable of contributing to general welfare and safety of the public.”

With only $200 in his pocket and the H1-A visa (or temporary work permit for nurses) that he received from the US Embassy, Tan moved to the United States after being hired by a nursing home in Las Vegas. There, he took on the tasks of a nursing assistant, such as bathing patients, helping them use the bedpan, and changing their diapers.

In 1995, Tan passed the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses [NCLEX-RN], allowing him as a nursing assistant in healthcare to become a professional licensed Registered Nurse.

He also worked with Nathan Adelson Hospice to start a program for nursing students to be “Hospice-oriented” and educated in Hospice Principles. The program’s success garnered $85,000 in funding by the MGM Mirage Foundation, and was later presented at the National Hospice Leadership Convention in Washington, D.C. As a health care professional, Tan has focused on researching and developing an EvidencedBased Practice (EBP) training program along fellow educated nurses, and the use of human patient simulation technology in nursing. Over the years, he crafted policies and procedures that impacted the outcomes of his patient’s lives patient satisfaction. He also established a program accredited by the Nevada State Board of Nursing to help jobless Nevadans get back in the work force as Certified Nursing Assistants, and provided them with opportunities to work in a skilled nursing facility. Tan’s program helped 200 successful nursing candidates get back into the work force.

Based on a vision that is informed by personal experience, commitment and a deep passion for education, Dr. Tan became a clinical instructor in Nursing at the Community College of Southern Nevada (CCSN), and as a college professor, was awarded tenure in 2005.

He soon joined the University

Dr. Rhigel Alforque Tan is sworn in by Honorable Judge Cheryl Moss as President of the Nevada State Board of Nursing last Wednesday, Jan. 6.

AJPress photo by Robert Macabagdal

of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), College of Nursing, becoming an assistant professor and finishing his doctorate in nursing practice in 2011.

Tan’s positive influence in promoting nursing as a career did not go unnoticed. He was awarded “Health Care Hero” by the Nevada Business Community and Anthem Blue Cross. His passion for medical research also paved the way for multiple Nursing Education studies and publications in several international journals.

Continuing his passion for community service, Tan established a mental and psychiatric clinic to provide services for Las Vegas and Clark County residents. He also founded a mental health non-profit called The Goal Foundation, which raises awareness in decreasing social stigma attached to mental illness, and to outreach to communities about the biological and genetic component of mental health issues.

In November 2011, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval appointed Tan to the Nevada State Board of Nursing, with an appointed term until November 2015. He lobbied for the passage of Assembly Bill 170, which allowed autonomous practice for Advanced Practice Nurses, and became Nevada law in July 2013.

Tan was also a member of the Nevada State Board of Nursing Advisory Committee for Advanced Practice Nursing from 2008-2010, the Clark County Emergency Corps, and the Zetta Kappa Chapter of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nurses, according to his biography.

Along with multiple recognitions and awards, Tan is also

actively involved in the Asian American community of Las Vegas, particularly among his fellow Filipinos. He co-founded the KALAHI Philippine Folkloric Ensemble, a cultural community-based organization aimed to unite the community through preservation and promotion of the Filipino heritage through arts and culture. He was a board member of the Philippine Nurses Association of Nevada, and initiated the formation of an EBP Committee of the association.

He also spearheaded a fundraising campaign during the 2013 Philippine Typhoon Haiyan, raising enough money to build a new settlement in the typhoon-ravaged Leyte islands.

The settlement was named “Las Vegas Village.”

Through his Yolanda AlforqueTan Scholarship Foundation, named after his mother, and the Maria Libron Nursing Scholarship Foundation, Tan assisted 20 young scholars in the Philippines who have shared the same vocation of service and dedication, but could not afford the cost of education. The scholarship has helped students become fulltime nurses.

Sandoval re-appointed Tan as a board member of the nursing board on Dec. 16, 2015.

Despite Tan’s various accomplishments, he is now pursuing his second Doctorate degree in nursing at the University of Arizona, focusing on genetics and genomics.

“I made my own story [a] guiding encouragement for [other Filipino nurses] to achieve a sense of professional achievement even while away from the Philippines,” he said. (Allyson Escobar / AJPress with reports from Amelia Abello and Dymphna Calica-La Putt/AJPress)

Pacquiao formally announces end…

PAGE A3 t quiao’s promoter for years, said Tuesday he couldn’t believe it would be the boxer’s last time in the ring.

“It could be, it may very well be, but when I stand up here to introduce him in this ballroom at The Beverly Hills Hotel where I’ve done it so many times, and so many memories, I can’t come to grips with the fact that it would be the last time. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t, that’s up to Manny,” Arum said.

For Filipino fans, Pacquiao had the following message:

“Maraming salamat sa ating mga kababayan sa support and prayers sa aking career, and sana hindi sila mag sawa na mag suporta sa akin, especially this coming last fight ... and also my other career ... to help the people (Many thanks to my kababayans for the support and prayers for my career, and I hope they don’t tire of supporting me, especially this coming last fight … and also my other career … to help the people),” he said.

Press tour continues in New York, tickets on sale Friday Pacquiao will return to the

Philippines as soon as he returns from the press tour, said Mike Koncz, his adviser, and plans on completing the first half of his training in General Santos City, according to Manila Bulletin.

Team Pacquiao and Team Bradley are set to fly to New York City on Wednesday, Jan. 20, for a second press conference on Thursday, Jan. 21, at Madison Square Garden.

Tickets for Pacquiao vs. Bradley go on sale Friday, Jan. 22, at 1 pm ET/10am PT, and will range from $154 to $1,204, excluding service fees. n

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NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARy 22-28, 2016

Dateline PhiliPPines

A

Estrada clan supporting different PH, UK to revise & sign defense bets for 2016; Guia picks Roxas agreement before end of 2016 by

by agnes

constante AJPress

Jovic Yee, Marlon raMos Inquirer.net

ADMINISTRATIONpresidential candidate Mar Roxas on Monday, Jan. 18 gained the endorsement of San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez in the May elections, taking him a step closer toward securing the support of the influential Ejercito-Estrada clan.

Gomez, however, clarified that her support for Roxas was not binding on her former partner and clan patriarch, ex-President and incumbent Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, and their son, Sen. JV Ejercito.

The mayor announced her endorsement of the Liberal Party’s standard-bearer before hundreds of city government employees and residents during the weekly flag-raising ceremony at the City Hall grounds.

“It was a difficult decision,” Gomez later told reporters, explaining that the family was split on which presidential candidate to support. “But for me, I think deep in my heart, the entire city of San Juan and even Mar Roxas know where my heart belongs to.”

“We will try to get together (but) I cannot promise anything.

They have their own minds,” she said.

Leading opposition presidential candidate Vice President Jejomar Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) is one of Estrada’s closest friends and political allies.

Another presidential aspirant, Sen. Grace Poe, is the daughter of the late action star Fernando Poe Jr., Estrada’s bosom buddy, and a personal friend of Ejercito who had openly expressed support for her.

While he has kept his cards close to his chest, Estrada earlier described Roxas as the “most qualified” for the Malacañang seat.

Detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, the former President’s eldest son who is being held at Camp Crame over the P10-billion pork barrel scam, has said he would support whoever his father would endorse.

Gomez, a former actress, de-

scribed Roxas as a “constant friend of San Juan” who showed his “genuine concern” in times of disasters when he was still the interior secretary. “I will never forget his deep concern for our constituents in the city,” she added.

In a Facebook post, JV Ejercito emphasized that he was “still inclined to support” Poe’s candidacy, whom he considers his sister. But he added that he was also considering the candidacies of Binay and Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, “a friend outside politics.”

JV Ejercito, who is Gomez’s son by the former President, said that he “understands” and “respects” his mother’s decision to support Roxas.

As head of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Roxas had prioritized the relocation of residents living along the waterways and other “danger zones” in San Juan.

Roxas expressed his elation over Gomez’s endorsement.

“This will have a big impact because Mayor Guia is a symbol of an outstanding mayor in our country, a symbol of a woman leader and a symbol of those who

truly care for the masses.”

According to Roxas, Gomez’s declaration of support was not about his political ambition, but a commitment to the continuation of “daang matuwid” (straight path), President Aquino’s centerpiece reform agenda.

Gomez is running for her third and final term as mayor. She will be running alongside Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s daughter Janella, who’s running for vice mayor, and Estrada’s niece Jana Ejercito, who’s vying for the city’s lone congressional seat.

In June last year, Gomez expressed her support for Poe. “She’s family. She’s very close to us. We know her, her capabilities, abilities, how sincere she is,” she then said.

Asked Monday why she went for Roxas, Gomez said Poe was too young for the presidency. “I wish she first ran for Vice President,” she said.

But for Vice Mayor Francis Zamora, who is contesting Gomez in the coming elections, the Ejercito-Estrada clan’s seeming decision to support different candidates is some sort of an “insurance” for the next administration’s political favors.

THE Philippines and the United Kingdom are looking to sign a revised defense agreement before the end of the year, British Ambassador to the Philippines Asif Ahmad said Monday, Jan. 18.

The new agreement would expand both countries’ cooperation on military, security and disaster response, GMA News reported.

Ahmad did not provide specific details on the new pact, but did say it will “not be as complicated” as the agreement between the Philippines and the United States. He added that he wouldn’t describe the agreement as British troops coming to the Philippines, saying it sounds “a bit emotive.”

“I would say British expertise coming here. Two hundred fiftyone years ago, when we sent British troops here, they liked it so much, they stayed,” he said, according to Rappler.

At the moment, the two countries are exchanging drafts, he said.

The ambassador added it is not

the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the US, which allows American troops to enter the Philippines for joint military training with their Filipino counterparts.

“I think, basically, it codifies what we’re already doing and some of the ambitions that we have. I don’t think it translates into something more than that.

“What happened is, the old one was so lacking in ambition that it really allowed us very little scope to do anything,” he said.

In particular, Ahmad said the two countries would like to incorporate lessons they learned during Super Typhoon Yolanda, also known as Haiyan, which struck the Philippines in November 2013 and killed more than 6,300 people.

After Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, the UK was one of the countries that helped out the most. Ahmad noted, however, that most of the cooperation between the two nations was completed “very informally.”

“We don’t have too many written protocols as to how this is done. And we want to regularize

that,” Ahmad said, according to Rappler.

The ambassador was asked if the UK and Philippines decided to revise their defense agreement due to the territorial quarrels between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea, as well as the threat of terrorism, among other issues. He said that, in regard to the dispute, diplomacy is needed.

“I always say that if you’re starting to talk in terms of military intervention, then diplomacy has failed. It’s the tool of last resort,” he said, according to Rappler.

Ahmad added that Britain is keen on aiding the Philippines, which has one of the weakest militaries in Asia, enhance its defense capability.

“What we do … is we set up a whole range of options and capabilities that we actually have and it is then up to the Philippine government to decide,” he said.

He also said he isn’t ruling out the possibility of evolving the partnership between the two countries to a more strategic one that could involve joint training between Filipino and British troops. n

EDCA dissenters: Philippines may lose sovereignty by edu

PunaY Philstar.com

MANILA—Upholding the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the US means the Philippines gets to strengthen its defenses but loses its sovereignty, according to the four dissenting justices of the Supreme Court.

Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Arturo Brion, Estela Perlas-Bernabe and Marvic Leonen disagreed with the majority ruling of 10 magistrates on EDCA, arguing that it is a treaty by nature, expands the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and Mutual Defense Treaty, and needs Senate concurrence.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago also criticized the decision, saying the high court failed to rise above its problematic ruling on the VFA. “The Supreme Court contradicts the power of the Senate. The Constitution clearly states that without Senate concurrence, no

treaty can become law. Now, the court is saying that the executive may call agreements by another name in order to bypass the Senate,” the lawmaker said.

“History will now record that in 2016, it is this Supreme Court that said yes to the EDCA. This decision now darkens the colors of what is left of our sovereignty as defined in our Constitution.

The majority’s take is the aftermath of squandered opportunity,” the youngest magistrate lamented.

Leonen concluded his 58-page dissent saying the majority succeeded in emasculating the Constitution, effectively erasing the blood, sweat and tears shed by Filipino martyrs.

“I register more than my disagreement. I mourn that this court has allowed this government to acquiesce into collective subservience to the Executive power, contrary to the spirit of our basic law,” he lamented.

De Castro opined that EDCA “is

entirely a new treaty” that needs Senate concurrence as required under Section 25, Article XVIII of the Constitution.

She believes the agreement that allows the construction of permanent buildings for US troops, bunkering of vessels, maintenance of vehicles and the storage and prepositioning of defense materiel proves the permanent nature of stay of the American forces in the country.

Brion said in his 65-page separate dissenting opinion that EDCA widened the scope of VFA and the Treaty of 1951. He suggested to have it suspended and to give the executive branch 90 days to get a concurrence. If the President fails to do so, then the majority ruling would be affirmed.

Although critical of the decision, Santiago said the Senate has to abide by the decision as she urged her colleagues to reiterate their position that the government must renegotiate or abrogate EDCA.

A

january 22-28, 2016 • nOrCaL aSIan jOurnaL

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OpiniOn

Features

Alerted

TO this day, terrorism poses a serious threat anywhere in the world. Clashes among cultures continue to have a damaging impact on world peace and security. Grim news of insurgency and terror attacks are thrust onto international headlines every day. Because of cross-cultural ignorance, the essence of civilization is compromised.

Even with an intensive and multilateral approach by international governments to combat terrorism, the world remains on its toes. The international community has valiantly dealt with these threats through various military campaigns. But even with successes in containing one group, another one still manages to pop up.

During a gathering in an undisclosed area in Central Mindanao on Tuesday, Jan. 19, over 300 armed Christian civilians gathered to stand up against attacks by a radical Moro group.

The group called themselves “Red God’s soldiers,” as they burned a replica of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) flag and vowed to defend their lands and families.

In its country report on terrorism, the United States government claim that terrorist groups, including the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Jemaah Islamiya (JI), and the Communist People’s Party/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA), were unable to conduct major attacks compared to previous years due to continuous pressure from Philippine counterterrorism and law enforcement efforts.

“Terrorist groups’ acts included criminal activities designed to generate revenue for self-sustainment, such as kidnapping for ransom, extortion, and bombings for hire,” the report said.

Counterterrorism cooperation between the Philippines and the United States has continued to improve.

“The Government of the Philippines made progress in implementing its 2011–2016 Internal Peace and Security Plan that calls for the transition of internal security functions from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to the Philippine

National Police (PNP). The increasing role and capability of the police in maintaining internal security in conflict-affected areas will permit the AFP to shift its focus to enhance the country’s maritime security and territorial defense capabilities.

To date, however, this transition continued to be slow and ineffective. Continued violent extremist activity, as well as counterterrorism capability gaps between the AFP and PNP, slowed this transition and forced the AFP to continue playing the lead counterterrorism role in the Philippines,” the report added.

Furthermore, the AFP downplayed alleged reports that several terrorist groups in the country are establishing a local base for ISIS. Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hernando Iriberri said that military operations are underway to neutralize terror leaders and members who are responsible for the insurgence. “Our armed forces are trying their best. Every time we have the information, we validate it and we take action just to make sure we will prevent whatever terror acts they are planning to do,” Iriberri said.

Pres. Benigno Aquino III also belittles the same reports and suspects that those in the country who claim allegiance to ISIS are not in direct contact with the terror group and are just riding on the prominence of its threat.

“The same groups that were claiming linkage to Al-Qaeda according to our intelligence reports are the same people who are claiming that they have pledged allegiance to the caliph of the ISIS. And we presumed not to belittle them but if there is a new group that is ascendant, they will be probably the next franchisee in our country,” Aquino assured.

Editorial

Philstar.com photo

He added that the problem of extremism in Mindanao was not triggered by ideologies or conflicts religious beliefs, but more by the lack of economic opportunities in Mindanao.

As an offshoot to the latest news of terror-related violence, people are alerted to promote individual

responsibility and are encouraged to commit to effective long-term solutions. Confronting this challenge is beyond the power of governments alone.

Today’s terrorism will only be defeated with the engagement of the public and on the basis of common values. (AJPress)

Who is leading before the February 1 primary election season begins?

FEBRUARY 1 is a big day in US politics as it marks the beginning of the primary elections in the United States. This is when both the Democratic and Republican parties choose their nominees for president in all the 50 states of America, the victors of which will be in the race for the General Elections in November.

Only one nominee for each major party will run against each other, although other parties may field their candidates against the major league.

Or, somebody from either the Democrats or the Republicans may run as an Independent if he or she fails to win the party’s nomination.

In the next months, perhaps all the way until the end of summer, the candidates for president will continue their campaigns as primary elections and caucuses move from one state to another, starting off in Iowa, to be followed by New Hampshire. Sometimes, the winner emerges early in the game and the contenders for each

party concede. Other times, the nominee is known not until the The Fil-Am convention of both parties.

Ahead of the Iowa caucuses Perspective which will be in a little over one week, who is leading? What do the latest polls say for each party?

Monmouth Poll Results After Gel SantoS-ReloS Democratic Debate (January 18): Hillary Clinton’s lead over Bernie Sanders in the latest national Monmouth University Poll has narrowed in the past month. However, Clinton retains a massive advantage among black and Latino voters – groups that will play a prominent role in the primaries immediately following Iowa and New Hampshire. She is also seen as the stronger nominee when pitted against the Republican field.

Clinton currently has the support of 52 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters nationwide, which is down from 59 percent in December. Sanders gets 37 percent support, which is up substantially from his 26 percent support level last month. Martin O’Malley has 2 percent support. This marks the first time Clinton’s lead has dropped below 20 points in a national Monmouth poll.

NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll Ahead of the Republican Debate (January 13) : Donald Trump has opened a double-digit lead over his next-closest Republican rival, less than three weeks before the first votes of the 2016 presidential race are cast.

Trump is the first choice of 33 percent of national Republican primary voters - his highest

percentage in the poll. He’s followed by Ted Cruz at 20 percent, Marco Rubio at 13 percent and Ben Carson at 12 percent. Chris Christie and Jeb Bush are tied at five percent. No other Republican presidential candidate gets more than 3 percent.

Trump’s 13-point lead over Cruz is an increase from last month, when he held a five-point advantage over the Texas senator, 27 percent to 22 percent.

WHO DO YOU THINK WILL WIN in Iowa in both the Democrats and Republican caucuses?

Who will win in New Hampshire? Will these contests affect the next states’ primary elections?

Abangan! *** Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www. facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos

Mamasapano: Aquino and Roxas’ political grave, and Llamanzares’ too Commentary

RiGobeRto tiGlao THE massacre of 44 elite police troops in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on January 25 last year is President Aquino and his presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II’s political graveyard.

Aquino, in his hubris that he could catch international terrorists, and then in his paralysis when the operation turned awry dug the grave, enough to fit Roxas since he stood idly by while his police commandos—whom he officially had command over —were massacred by Muslim insurgents.

Presidential candidate Grace Poe Llamanzares exploited the fiasco by projecting herself, as chairman of the committee investigating the massacre, as a competent, fearless senator out to uncover the truth. Yet very cleverly, she left room for Aquino to wiggle out of the quagmire, and didn’t submit her committee report to the Senate, so it was just left in her office

and forgotten.

I suspect that at that time she was hoping that by helping Aquino, he would anoint her as his successor rather than Roxas.

Or did Aquino himself, as I was told, tell Llamanzares at that time (February 2015) to help him survive the hearings, and quid pro quo, he’ll anoint her as his candidate towards the end of the year. That would explain why a Balikbayan, who can’t even boast what her highest working position in the US was, suddenly became so confident she could win the presidency of the Republic.

But Aquino obviously doublecrossed her and instead offered her the vice-presidency. After that she’s been barraged by disqualification cases, which likely would strike her out of the contest.

The new investigation into the Mamasapano massacre called by senator Juan Ponce Enrile will undoubtedly show Aquino and Roxas as at best standing idly by while the Special Action Forces were being massacred.

At worse, as Enrile has hinted, the hearing would establish without doubt that Aquino called reinforcing troops to stand down, in effect leaving the SAF to the

Moro insurgent wolves.

It will also expose why Llamanzares stopped short in exposing Aquino’s criminal negligence and in asking for his impeachment.

If Aquino and Roxas have any decency left, they would resign their posts when the hearings indubitably prove this.

I don’t know how any decent, intellectually honest Filipino would agree to suffer even for just a few more months a lying President with blood on his hands.

I don’t know how any decent, intellectually honest Filipino would vote for Aquino’s clone with the same blood on his hands.

Just the photos alone of Aquino and Roxas gallivanting in Zamboanga City while the SAF troops were embattled and massacred are proof enough of their criminal negligence.

Ironically these photos were by the Malacañang Photo Bureau; since Aquino’s trip to Zamboanga that day was unscheduled, the main broadsheets were unable to send their own photographers there.

Note the shadows the sun cast in the photos, which show that Aquino and Roxas were going

around Zamboanga from noon to late afternoon, when the SAF troopers were being killed.

By Aquino’s and Roxas’ own statements they were aware that “Oplan Exodus”—with international terrorists Zulkifli Abdhir (a.k.a. Marwan) and Abdul Basit Usman as its targets—was well underway in the wee hours of the morning, and that shortly after daybreak the SAF troops had been pinned down in the corn fields with little cover.

They did nothing Yet what did Aquino and Roxas do?

After a closed-door meeting with Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and other generals after they arrived at 10 AM at Edwin Andrews Air Base, they went to Guiwan village to see where the car bomb exploded just a few days earlier. Then they went to the Zamboanga Peninsula Medical Center to visit a wounded policeman, and to the Western Mindanao Medical Center on Santa Cruz Street where two blast patients were confined. After a long lunch probably with the local delicacy curacha served, they visited another blast victim at the Ciudad Medical Center and 10 other victims at the Zamboanga City Medical Center in

Santa Catalina village. Of course, in all these affairs, Aquino and Roxas went with the hand-shaking, back-patting routine.

All these activities when the SAF troops’ bloody fate was being sealed as the hours passed by without any reinforcement nor artillery fire to scare off the Moro insurgents.

Visiting the bombing victims was actually scheduled merely as a cover story for Aquino and his several Cabinet members for them to be there, so they could proceed swiftly to Cotabato City to congratulate the SAF troopers after they had taken down the international terrorists.

Any other president, any commanding officer would have dropped everything in the face of a crisis that could mean the death of his men, so he could monitor closely the events as they unfolded, so he could issue orders to save the troops.

Even US President Obama with his closest security advisers had set up a war room to monitor the American commandos in their operation to terminate Osama bin Laden.

President Gloria MacapagalArroyo was given special facilities to similarly do so in the operation that hunted down and

killed Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sabaya in 2002.

In Aquino and Roxas’ case, they pretended nothing was happening during those frenetic hours from mid-morning to late afternoon, when the SAF troops were pinned down and were picked off one by one by longrange MILF Barrett sniper rifles.

Without help coming for the SAF, the insurgents simply waited for their ammo to run out, and then rushed them to shoot those still alive point blank one by one.

By the police commanders’ account these were the hours when they were frantically begging the Army to send reinforcements and to fire non-deadly artillery fire to scare off the Moro insurgents.

It was a criminal failure of leadership. Was Aquino so shocked and then paralyzed that his fantasy as a commander of commandos who killed two international terrorists turned into a bloody nightmare?

It is a very expensive lesson for us a nation, but one we should never forget: Never again elect a president, especially a spoiled scion of hacenderos, who hasn’t been tested in the crucible of experience and leadership. (ManilaTimes.net)

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

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NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARy 22-28, 2016

A

Airport cops implicated in ‘tanim-bala’seek dismissal of case by tetch

torres-tuPas Inquirer.net

that the police officers planted ammunition into the luggage of White.

He said after White entered the airport, authorities already saw a .22 caliber bullet after passing the security inspection.

“He (White) even managed to insist on his rights,” Falcotello told reporters after the close-door preliminary investigation.

Falcotello said the police are only doing their duties.

The CCTV footage was used by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in filing the case against the airport police for violation of Republic Act 7438 or Defining Certain Rights of Persons Arrested, Detailed or under Custodial Investigation, violation of the Anti-Graft Law and Robbery/ Extortion.

On the other hand, Atty.Lawyer Henecito Balasolla, counsel

LAWYERS of airport police officers implicated in the tanimbala or bullet planting scheme on Monday sought the dismissal of the criminal cases filed against the officers, saying the closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage inside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) failed to prove the existence of such racket.

During Monday’s preliminary investigation, Senior Police Officer 4 (SPO4) Ramon Bernardo, SPO2 Rolando Clarin and SPO2 Romy Navarro, all members of the PNP Aviation Security Group, said in their separate counter affidavits that the cases against them filed by American missionary Lane Michael White have no basis.

Lawyers Wilson Falcotello said SINULOG 2016. The carnival queen holds a statue of the Child Jesus to lead the Sinulog grand parade marking the feast of the Sto. Niño in the CCTV footage failed to show Cebu City on Sunday, Jan. 17. The sinulog, a dance ritual that moves two steps forward and one step backward, is described as a link between the country’s pagan past and its Christian present.

Philstar.com photo

Marcos ill-gotten properties up for sale

by Patricia Lourdes Philstar.com

Viray

MANILA—The Presidential Commission on Good Government on Monday, Jan. 18 announced that the Department of Finance (DOF) has approved the proposed sale of properties worth P65.8 million which are part of the ill-gotten wealth of former President Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies.

The Privatization Council, under the DOF, approved the sale of seven properties through public bidding.

Three properties forfeited from former National Bureau of Investigation Director Jolly Bugarin are among those scheduled to be privatized.

This includes a 2,335-square meter land in Tagaytay City and

parcels of land in Puerto Galera and Calapan, Oriental Mindoro.

Bugarin, who served under the Marcos administration from 1967 to 1986, acquired the properties in excess of his government compensation.

The council also approved the sale properties owned by former Ambassador Roberto Benedicto, who served as the Philippine ambassador to Japan in the early 1970s. The properties include a 5,161-square meter land in Legazpi City and a 5,952-square meter land in Naga City.

The property of spouses Alejo and Teresa Ganut in Caloocan City will also be put on sale. Ganut was the aide and valet of Marcos.

The Wigwam Compound property in Baguio City, which has an

area of 1,146 square meters, will also be up for sale. This is owned

by Jose Campos, a known associate of the former president.

Public bidding for the properties will be held in March. The PCGG is eyeing to generate a total of P383 million for turnover to the Bureau of Treasury.

“We will continue to work even harder in carrying out one of our major tasks, which is to privatize surrendered and recovered illgotten assets of the Marcoses and his cronies with proceeds going to its true owners, the Filipino people,” PCGG Chairman Richard Amurao said.

The PCGG is also looking to put the Marcos jewelry up for auction following the recent appraisal of the collection.

OFWs advised to check list of voters

you can verify if your name has been included in the final list approved by the RERB,” the poll MANILA—The Commission body said. on Elections (Comelec) has adThose who are in the list of vised overseas absentee voters certified voters can cast their to check their names in the Cer- votes from April 9 to May 9, actified List of Overseas Voters. cording to the Comelec.

The Comelec urged overseas Overseas absentee voters Filipino workers to go online and should choose the country or converify if their registrations have sulate where they applied upon been approved by the Resident logging in to http://www.comElection Registration Board elec.gov.ph/?r=OverseasVoting/ (RERB).

CLOV to verify if their names “By using this online tool, are in the official list.

by Mayen JayMaLin Philstar.com

Land-based overseas voters and sea-based Filipinos have separate lists, the Comelec said.

Based on Comelec data, there are a total of 1,376,067 overseas voters registered for this year’s elections.

There are 85 Philippine posts overseas, with 30 set to use the automated election system; 26 will use the personal manual voting system, and another 26 will adopt the postal manual voting system.

SAN FRANCISCO

for Marvin Garcia and Ma. Elma Cegna of the Office for Transportation Security (OTS), said the CCTV footage failed to establish the allegations of White that the respondents planted a bullet in his luggage in order for them to be able to extort money from the foreign national.

“Yung complaint [nila] ay base lamang sa hinala at pagdududa. Kaya namin pinapa-dismiss [yung kaso] dahil walang probable cause. It demands more than suspicion. Dapat may ebidensya.

Dito [sa kasong ito] wala [silang ebidensya].”

“Makikita naman sa CCTV footage na walang indication na may naglaglag o nagtanim ng bala sa luggage ni White,” Atty. Balasolla said.

Prosecutor Honeyrose Delgado has set the next hearing on February 1.

Roxas confident of victory in May polls they were together renewing their commitment to that fight.

“These are what we are pushing – jobs, stability and hope,” he said. “I know that in the end, what is right, what is honest and our good relationship will prevail.”

Roxas cited the government’s P64-billion conditional cash transfer program, which provides financial aid to families to send their children to school and to avail themselves of health services.

“You can be assured that we will defend the 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program),” he said.

“We won’t allow it to be scrapped. We will expand it. We

MANILA—Despite lagging in surveys, Liberal Party presidential aspirant Manuel Roxas II is confident that the administration’s daang matuwid (straight path) would emerge victorious in the end.

Speaking at a meeting of local officials in Pasay City, Roxas vowed to sustain the gains of the administration to bring a better future for the country.

“This is our fight—the fight against hunger, against fear, against hopelessness,” he said.

Roxas told Pasay City officials that he was happy that on the LP’s 70th founding anniversary,

will increase the number of families that will benefit from it.”

Roxas also cited the government’s efforts to relocate residents in hazard-prone areas and the bottom up budgeting, which institutionalized people’s participation in the budget process.

Roxas ranked third in the latest Social Weather Stations survey on presidential aspirants behind Vice President Jejomar Binay and Sen. Grace Poe. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte ranked fourth in the survey with 20 percent, while Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago had three percent. (Alexis Romero/ Philstar.com)

Armed Christian civilians vow to fight BIFF atrocities

by Jeoffrey

MaiteM

Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat in December. At least 11 people were killed in the said attacks.

Brother Asiong, the group’s spokesperson, said they had grown tired of the BIFF and they could not cow in fear anymore.

He said they have to stand up and fight for themselves because the military was not always there to defend them.

“We are always under attack even if we are just working in our farms. We were forced to arm ourselves. We don’t want to die without doing something,” he said to a group of reporters.

Brother Asiong also urged President Benigno Aquino III to help them in the land conflict they had been embroiled in with their Moro neighbors. The land con-

Inquirer.net

CENTRAL MINDANAO— Some 300 armed Christian civilians on Tuesday, Jan. 19 gathered in a hinterland area of this region as they vowed to stand up against attacks by a radical Moro group.

Calling themselves “Red God’s soldiers,” the armed civilians also burned a replica of the IS flag and pledged to defend their lands and families from the atrocities of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) as they raised their weapons, mainly automatic rifles.

The BIFF is a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which staged deadly attacks on civilian communities in

TAIPEI

The Best Link to Cross the

flict, he said, worsened with the BIFF’s advent.

He said for the Christian landholders, their claim to the lands were legitimate and backed by documents.

“But now the rebels wanted to take them back,” Brother Asiong said.

Meanwhile, he clarified that their group was different from the Ilaga or Tadtad, which had been blamed for many cases of human rights violations and killings of unarmed Moro—women and children included—in the 1970s and the 1980s.

Brother Asiong said unlike the Ilaga, their forces were contained in their respective communities and were for defense purposes only.

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NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARY 22-28, 2016

CJ

Journal

Your Immigration Solution Atty. RobeRt Reeves AngelA K. Ho And nAncy MilleR THE US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recently proposed a new rule that would allow students in F-1 status or Optional Practical Training (OPT) who have studied in science, technology, engineering or mathematics fields (STEM) to extend their OPT work authorization to 24 months. In total, this proposed rule would allow students in these STEM programs to stay and work in the US for up to three years after their program ends.

Students in non-STEM programs are typically granted 12 months of OPT work authorization after graduation. Students in STEM programs were originally granted an additional OPT extension of 17 months, provided they were eligible for the program extension.

The new proposed rule buys valuable time to pursue more opportunities that allow a permanent path to legal residence. For students in F-1 status or already in OPT status, it is important to know the available options for your situation and make sure you are maximizing your available time in the US to set up longterm strategies.We discuss some of the greater options individuals can apply for below.

H-1B Nonimmigrant Work Visa The new rule will have the largest direct impact on those individuals who wish to obtain an H-1B work visa and were not selected in the lottery the first or second year that they applied.

The H-1B work visa is a good option for those who have at least the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree and a petitioner to sponsor them in a specialty occupation. One of the most difficult obstacles to overcome in applying for an H-1B visa is the limited quota available every year.

There are 65,000 visas annually mandated by Congress, with an additional 20,000 visas set aside

Proposed extension of OPT STEM – Helps would-be LPRs for individuals who have earned a master’s degree or higher at a US university. If over that number apply for the H-1B visa in the first week of the fiscal year (April 1st), US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the branch of Department of Homeland Security in charge of adjudicating these petitions, will conduct a lottery to select who can apply and reject the rest of the applicants.To give an idea of the odds that H-1B hopefuls must contend with, last year over 210,000 individuals filed in the first week—a less than 50% chance of being selected. Thus, the proposed lengthier extension would enable individuals to enter the H-1B lottery multiple times, thereby increasing their odds of being selected.

To summarize, an F-1 OPT status holder in a non-STEM field would only have one chance to apply for the H-1B visa before their authorized stay ends. An eligible F-1 OPT status holder in a STEM field, however, would have the invaluable ability to apply for the H-1B visa up to three times before their authorized stay ends.

It is important to note that this OPT extension is only available to students who have graduated from a STEM program and are working for an employer who is enrolled in the E-Verify program run by DHS. Once an H-1B visa is successfully obtained and maintained, pursuing a green card is the next logical step. Please consult an experienced attorney to evaluate the best strategy for your circumstances.

EB-1 Extraordinary Ability/National Interest Waiver The proposed extension also gives valuable time to pursue other paths to permanent residence. Individuals in highly specialized fields should consider petitioning (either with an employer or self-petitioning) for an extraordinary ability petition or national interest waiver. Individuals with high achievements

or notable research publications, specialization in a narrow or pioneering field, serve as multinational managers or executives, or working on projects that further the national interest should seek an experienced attorney to properly craft a successful petition.

An EB-1 petition, when successful, grants permanent residence immediately upon approval.

EB-2 Physicians in Underserved Areas and Other Options If you are a foreign physician working in a state-mandated medically underserved area, you could also qualify for a green card through the physician national interest waiver program. The requirements vary from state to state, so consulting local counsel is recommended. Furthermore, the benefits to an extended duration in the US naturally provides more opportunities for long-term solutions, whether through finding an employer willing to sponsor for permanent residence, or finding a family member to petition you.

A large part of the complexity of immigration law is finding the best available option for your circumstances and preparing for a successful outcome. While the proposed rule certainly allows more opportunities for people, it is just as important to consult with an immigration attorney early on to ensure you are not missing a potential path to a green card. *** Atty. Reeves has represented clients in numerous landmark immigration cases that have set new policies regarding INS action and immigrants’ rights. His offices are located in Pasadena, Irvine, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Makati City.

Telephone: (800) 795-8009 E-mail: immigration@rreeves.com Website: www.rreeves.com. *** The analysis and suggestions offered in this column do not create a lawyer-client relationship and are not a substitute for the personalized representation that is essential to every case.

(Advertising Supplement)

The Kite Runner PRof. enRique M. soRiAno THAT’S the title of my second book! After three years and three copy editors, my book is now available!

To give you an idea on how this book was conceptualized, let me share with you two distinct reasons. First, the family business in Asia has grown considerably in the past decades. It has made an impact in China, India, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

In the Philippines, there are quite a number of family businesses that are at least 100 years old such as the Ayala-Zobel and Aboitiz clans. I can mention a friend and former neighbor, Dr. Vivian Sarabia, whose family business, Sarabia Optical, is way past its centennial mark. (The family has been making the eyeglasses of all Philippine presidents since the time of Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon.

Dr. Sarabia herself made a new pair for President Aquino to wear during his oath-taking ceremony last June 30, 2010.) Those that have reached the third generation are generally more structured as their organizations naturally evolved.

The second reason has something to do with my experience as mentor and business consultant. I was deluged with cases and stories from clients and students about their family business, and most importantly about the issues and problems related to business succession. Majority of these businesses are still in their first or second generation and managed by founder-owners or sibling-partners. In these firms, one witnesses the struggle between maintaining family harmony and gaining respectable

Ensuring the family business legacy: My second book profits. The family business ownership group is the real engine for longterm success and yet we invest so little time in keeping it healthy. Somehow, we assume it will naturally stay strong with a unified vision for the future.

The need for a book on Asian Family Business really struck home.

Almost every member of a family business is interested in continuing the life of his or her business as an innovative and successful endeavor until the third generation and beyond. It was then that I realized the imperative of writing a book about the Asian family businesses.

The stories of successful Asian business tycoons and their succession problems can encapsulate everything a client or student engaged in a family business needs to know.

Today, business successors are more inclined to shift from the founder’s patriarchal perspectives to a more corporate style of management. This book fits as a quick but comprehensivereference for understanding what it takes to continue a family business across generations.

Moreover, one of my basic aims as an author is to provide a book that every reader would be able to take something from, whether he or she is a business founder or successor.

Of course, the main benefit for the reader is the variety of Asian family business stories and complexities shared here. Most of the stories contain timeless business insights, inspiration and advice for both the patriarch/business founder and the younger successor.

These business tips and insights are products of my years

of consultancy work and experience with various companies, to wit: a. As Chair of the Marketing Cluster and Family Business Professor at the ATENEO Graduate School of Business b. My experience as part of the Executive Committee of theUnilab Group’s property arm, Greenfield Development Corporation; c. Working and reporting directly to Andrew Tan as President and Chair of several companies under his group. Noteworthy was my being handpicked to mentor his eldest son Kevin from day one until he became vice president; d. Working as Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Belo Medical and mentoring Dr. Vicki Belo’s daughter, Cristalle Henares; e. Family Business Mentoring is a core service of Wong and Bernstein Business Advisory Group where I mentored andstill mentoring several family owned businesses —initiating

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JANUARY 22-28, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL

Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond Monette AdevA MAglAyA IF figures are to be believed, 93 million Americans are not working. Every economic and political pundit is harping on the need to create jobs that will bring the country back on track.

American economy has been on life-support with the debt clock running in the trillions at hyper speed with Congress who holds the purse strings spending and funding tax dollars on frivolities much like a drunken sailor.

Frankly, I think it will take a sea change of heart and spirit not only in the leadership, from top to bottom, but more importantly, among the majority of ordinary Americans to revive this country back to the glory days.

Perhaps, it’s time to bring moxie back.

It is time to think NATIONAL instead of GLOBAL. Charity begins at home, not elsewhere.

What can you say of a country that has outsourced so much of the production of practically all

Community Journal

Bringing moxie back “A brave person is someone who takes positive action after he has said his prayers.”

— Unknown

its needs to China, India and all other countries all in the name of improving profits? What can you say of a country that has forgotten that work itself and the creation of quality products that satisfy the creative impulse of human beings are, by themselves, a blessing to the people who create them? To create something from concept to actualization is ennobling. To be rewarded for creating something that people find useful and that lasts, has been the secret of what was once a strong US economy.

We have taken advantage of the low wages and traded on the appalling work conditions of other countries and the lower costs of overseas production but in the process, created a serious imbalance and a lingering malaise in the psyche of the American work force. Uncontrolled outsourcing has taken away tens of thousands of jobs, which in turn, decimated what was once a strong Ameri-

can middle class.

Perhaps a group of economists and business people with dark agenda and financial and political clout, goofed big time from the early 1990’s. You want to finger point and put the blame on the myopic architects of this economic disaster. More than likely, they could be regarded as a band of conspirators, so-called economic experts, who sold out the well-being of the country with their economic policies which resulted in the conditions that we are seeing and suffering from these days.

If these were Medieval Times, and you would think it is with the beheadings of Christians by the terror group ISIS, they would be hanging from their toes or boiled in oil in the public square for treason and economic sabotage of the highest order.

But for the unemployed who has lost his home and has trouble

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http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150

The new visa bulletins - when can you file your green card application?

The CTV Files AurorA VegA-Buzon, esq.

ONE of President Obama’s immigration executive actions announced in November 2014 is to advance the filing of adjustment of status/green card applications for individuals who have approved employment-based immigrant petitions. Termed as “visa modernization”, Homeland Security Secretary Johnson directed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work with the Department of State (DOS) to “improve the system for determining when immigrant visas are available to applicants during the fiscal year”. Thus, beginning October 2015, the Department of State has issued two different charts for each visa preference category for both family-based and

Filing dates versus final action dates employment-based petitions: Application Final Action Dates - dates when visas may actually be issued; and Dates for Filing Visa Applications - earliest dates when adjustment/green card applicants may apply but case will be approved only when the applicant’s priority date is current under the Final Action Date chart. The priority date is when the immigrant petition was filed on your behalf by a family member or employer; or when a labor certification was filed on your behalf.

Allowing adjustment/ green card applicants to use the Filing Date chart means they can file their adjustment applications earlier, and get employment authorizations faster.

DOS posts the Visa Bulletin at least two weeks before the month it will take effect. Within a week after the Visa Bulletins are posted, USCIS will determine which chart will be used for filing adjustment/green card applications. Generally, we use the Application Final Action Dates chart when filing an adjustment/green card application with the USCIS. However, if USCIS determines there are more visas available for that month, it will direct the use of the Filing Dates chart. For February 2016 filings, USCIS has directed to use the Dates for Filing chart for family-based adjustment applications; and the Final Action Dates chart for employment-based adjustments.

A. APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCE CASES Family-Sponsored F1 F2A F2B F3 F4

All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed 08JUL08 01SEP14 15MAY09 01OCT04 08JUN03

CHINA-mainland born 08JUL08 01SEP14 15MAY09 01OCT04 08JUN03

INDIA 08JUL08 01SEP14 15MAY09 01OCT04 08JUN03

MEXICO 01JAN95 08JUN14 08SEP95 08SEP94 01APR97

PHILIPPINES 01NOV03 01SEP14 01FEB05 22NOV93 08AUG92

CHINA-mainland born 01OCT09 15JUN15 15DEC10 01AUG05 01MAY04

INDIA 01OCT09 15JUN15 15DEC10 01AUG05 01MAY04

MEXICO 01APR95 15JUN15 01APR96 01MAY95 01JUN98

PHILIPPINES 01SEP05 15JUN15 01MAY05 01AUG95 01JAN93

CHINA - mainland born C 01MAR12 01OCT12 22DEC06 C C 15JAN14 15JAN14

INDIA C 01AUG08 15JUN04 15JUN04 C C C C

MEXICO C C 01OCT15 01OCT15 C C C C

PHILIPPINES C C 08JAN08 08JAN08 C C C C

CHINA-mainland born C 01JAN13 01OCT13 01JAN07 C C 01MAY15 01MAY15

INDIA C 01JUL09 01JUL05 01JUL05 C C C C

MEXICO C C 01JAN16 01JAN16 C C C C

PHILIPPINES C C 01JAN10 01JAN10 C C C C

B. DATES FOR FILING FAMILY-SPONSORED VISA APPLICATIONS Family-Sponsored F1 F2A F2B F3 F4

All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed 01OCT09 15JUN15 15DEC10 01AUG05 01MAY04

A. APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES Employment- Based 1st 2nd 3rd Other Workers 4th Certain Religious Workers 5th Non-Regional Center (C5 and T5) 5th Regional Center (I5 and R5)

All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed C C 01OCT15 01OCT15 C C C C

B. DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS Employment-Based 1st 2nd 3rd Other Workers 4th Certain Religious Workers 5th Non-Regional Center (C5 and T5) 5th Regional Center (I5 and R5)

All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed C C 01JAN16 01JAN16 C C C C

If you have an approved family-based or employment-based petition, consult an immigration attorney to find out whether you are eligible to file your adjustment/green card application. ***

Atty. Aurora Vega-Buzon is a partner in Chua Tinsay & Vega, A Professional Legal Corporation (CTV) - a full service law firm with offices in San Francisco, San Diego and Philippines. The information presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal

advice nor the formation of an attorneyclient relationship. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (619) 955-6277; (415) 495-8088; auvega@ctvattys.com (Advertising Supplement)

Community survey results show Menlo Park rates highly for quality of life, despite traffic concerns THE City of Menlo Park recently commissioned a community survey to provide a report card on City services and to help focus City resources in alignment with community priorities. Menlo Park contracted with Godbe Research to conduct a custom survey specific to Menlo Park issues as opposed to a generic survey tool used by many cities across the country. Menlo Park scored high marks for community quality of life as well as a number of City services including library, parks and recreation, and police according to a presentation of the results to the City Council Tuesday evening. This provides the City with a solid baseline for assessing services going forward.

Almost 750 Menlo Park households responded to the online and telephone survey conducted in December 2015 utilizing a methodology that ensures the respondents are a representative sampling of Menlo Park’s population as expressed in the most recent census.

According to Menlo Park City Manager Alex D. McIntyre, “I am delighted by the results.

We’re especially pleased with the results showing how highly residents rate the quality of life in Menlo Park with 85 percent rating their neighborhood as a “good” or “excellent” place to live.”

Perceptions of community safety were also highly rated with

96 percent of respondents saying their neighborhood is “very safe” or “somewhat safe.” A similar amount (96 percent) said they felt the downtown area was very safe or somewhat safe.

According to the survey results, residents feel there is room for improvement, specifically with downtown, parking and traffic congestion. For example, just 56 percent are satisfied with downtown Menlo Park. Respondents also offered suggestions for changes they would like to see downtown, specifically additional dining options. Sixtyseven percent of respondents would support building an above ground parking structure in the downtown. n

Let’s Get Healthy California announces local innovations to improve California’s health

SACRAMENTO — The California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recently announced 23 community-based health innovations that advance the Let’s Get Healthy California effort to make California the nation’s healthiest state by 2022. These innovations will be recognized and discussed as part of an Innovation Conference in Sacramento on January 26, 2016.

“We invited communities across the state to submit innovative ideas and projects that further the Triple Aim of better health, better care, and lower cost in California,” said CHHS Secretary Diana Dooley. “This is a great opportunity to recognize and learn from the work going on at a local level to meet the goals of our Let’s Get Healthy California initiative.”

“The Let’s Get Healthy California Innovation Challenge was designed to promote improvement in population health and care through new pathways,” said CDPH Director Dr. Karen Smith.

“It encouraged the state and locals to collaborate, share ideas, and learn from one another to support new and creative ways to make California the healthiest state in the nation.”

CHHS and CDPH received nearly 100 submissions from community and health advocates, health care providers, community based organizations, civic and data enthusiasts, and many other individuals as part of this past summer’s Innovation Challenge. January’s conference will showcase and also measure California’s progress to meet the six goal areas of the Let’s Get Healthy California report.

In 2012, Governor Brown issued Executive Order B-19-12 to create the Let’s Get Healthy California Task Force with the goal of making California the healthiest state in the nation by 2022.

The Let’s Get Healthy California initiative focuses on furthering the Triple Aim – better health, better care and lower costs – and promoting health equity. It consists of two strategic directions – Health

Across the Lifespan and Pathways to Health—and six major goal areas – Healthy Beginnings, Living Well, End of Life, Redesigning the Health System, Creating Healthy Communities, and Lowering the Cost of Care. For more information on the Innovation Challenge and conference, visit the Let’s Get Healthy California webpage.

The 23 selected health innovations are listed below. For more information on each of the innovations, please visit CHHS’ Let’s Get Healthy California webpage.

Goal 1: Healthy Beginnings • “Bright Beginnings”, Ventura County Public Health, Ventura County • “Building Broccoli Smiles through Food Literacy”, Food Literacy Center, Sacramento, Sacramento County • “Collaborative Partnerships and Environments for Early Childhood Health”, Healthy & Active Before 5 , Contra Costa County • “Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait Community Program”, March of Dimes, Barstow, Victorville, Apple Valley, Hesperia, and Adelanto, San Bernardino County Goal 2: Living Well • “AARP Livability Index”, AARP • “Ending Hunger in Orange County”, Waste Not OC, Anaheim and Orange, Orange County • “Growing Healthy Habits—A Community Garden Model”, Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency, Woodland, Yolo County • “Skid Row Healthy Food Micro-Enterprise Project”, Los Angeles Community Action Network, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County • “Street Vendors: Bringing Healthy Food to Central Valley Residents”, Cultiva La Salud—Public Health Institute, Southeast Fresno, Fresno County Goal 3: End of Life • “How to Make Advance Care Planning Easier”, University of California, San Francisco, San Fran-

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(650) 616-4150 • http://www.asianjournal.com

Immigration Corner Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ

Bringing moxie…

putting food on his table, none of the finger pointing and the brilliant but empty rhetoric matters at all. In a situation such as what we have where a significant percentage of the working class is without a source of income, the times call for a crash course on survival where each man must learn to fend for himself.

We now live in a cynical age when no one, it seems, can be trusted. Even those institutions we used to hold sacred and sacrosanct are suspect. We assume everyone is a con artist until proven otherwise. We have now learned to steer clear of strangers, screen our calls, trash suspicious emails asking us about account information or be wary of just about anything new. We even refuse to answer the door.

In the media and online, we have seen a parade of scandals: from political scumbags, depraved men of the cloth, big-time con artists to scandal-plagued celebrities. We seem to be breathing their toxic fumes when they selfdestruct into flames. Honor, decency, civility and respect are in short supply these days. And we heave a heavy sigh and shake our heads in disbelief.

Our zeitgeist is characterized by distrust and cynicism. It’s been building up for a long time.

Zeitgeist is that fancy, $20 Germanic word sociologists use to refer to the spirit of the age. There seems to be a collective negative energy that hovers about and affects the thoughts and feelings of many who are affected by these seemingly dark times. Perhaps, this is somewhat similar to the dark mood and feelings of helplessness that afflicted many who

slogged through the long years of the Great Depression.

But we need to shake it off. For us to get back on track, we have to refuse to live in fear and zap out of this paranoia and malaise that can paralyze us into immobility. We need to take courage.

Someone once said, “A brave person is someone who takes positive action after he has said his prayers.” Time and again, it’s been found that tough survivors believe in a God who cares, believe in themselves, believe in the correlation between luck and hard work, believe in the greatness of their country and has decided to muster enough moxie to engage the enemy within.

In some ways, we can influence good fortune with the attitude, motivation and oftentimes, with sheer moxie, with which we face our individual daily lives. If you expect bad things to happen to you or if you yourself confirm that you are unlucky, more than likely, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. You might as well admit it. You’re a sad sack Eeyore with a permanent, black rain cloud hanging over your head. The negative energy you emit repels people who would otherwise be of help to you. You just might be the person who can brighten up a room simply by leaving it.

Perhaps, it’s your personality and there’s nothing you can do about it, not even if you soaked up the brightness of the sun.

You were wired to be negative and pessimistic and no motivational speaker can undo you.

You’re one tough customer for the Holy Spirit to work wonders with. Fine. But for as long as you think that you have nothing to do

time period between a favorable decision by the Supreme Court in June 2016 and a Republican president taking office in January 2017. If people applied for and were granted DAPA or expanded DACA during that brief window, it would be very difficult for a Republican president to take those benefits away, as they would face lawsuits and other challenges.

The basic issues are that, of course, it is Congress that makes the laws, especially when it comes to immigration. However, once Congress passes a law it is the job or duty of the executive branch (president) to “take care” to enforce those laws. Executive action and prosecutorial discretion are ways by which the president decides how and where to enforce the law, and where to commit time and resources.

President Obama decided that although there are over 11 million people in the US who are deportable, the government must prioritize certain of those people, such as felons, terrorists, and those who are a danger to society. Others, such as parents of US citizens and green card holders, who have been in the US for a long time, are othwith the ill fortune that seems to bedevil your life, you can just live with the dire consequences of fear, anxiety and unhappiness which result from being toxic and always believing the worst of everything.

Particularly during these uncertain times, no one can afford the luxury of a negative thought.

But much more so for vulnerable immigrants who are on survival mode, an optimistic can-do attitude is a MUST. With this current economic morass, a big chunk of the immigrant population along with many more in the middle class, will regress back to survival mode, quite by default. Many who have moved to more comfortable levels but were caught by the real estate slump and lost their homes, may find themselves sliding back to square one and engaging in the daunting prospect of finding a job.

Do take heart. Most immigrants who come from poverty-stricken nations have what it takes to survive times such as these. They have had plenty of practice.

Jobs to your liking and at the compensation you were accustomed to in the past, may be harder to find these days. You may have to just take what is available and expedient, just for the time being. Though media is touting an economic recovery, the job numbers are misleading because these are mostly part time MacJobs which offer no benefits. The slump is longer and deeper, than anyone can imagine. But as in everything else under the sun, THIS TOO SHALL PASS. *** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette.maglaya@ asianjournalinc.com

Let’s Get Healthy California announces…

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cisco County • “Medical-Legal Partnership for Seniors”, University of California San Francisco/University of California Hastings Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy, San Francisco, San Francisco County • “UCLA Health/Coalition for Compassionate Care of California Advance Care Planning Initiative (ACPI)”, University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) Health and Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, Los Angeles County Goal 4: Redesigning the Health System • “Clinic in the Park: Connect, Screen, Educate”, Clinic in the Park: Connect, Screen, Educate, a fiscally sponsored project of OneOC, Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Santa Ana and Tustin, Orange County • “The MobileMAMA Text Program: Integrating Medical Care and Social Services for Pregnant

Women in the Safety Net”, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program • “Santa Rosa Community Health Centers Care Coordination Program”, Santa Rosa Community Health Centers (SRCHC), Santa Rosa, Sonoma County Goal 5: Creating Healthy Communities • “A Culture of Health: Creation of the Healthy RC Steering Committee”, City of Rancho Cucamonga, Healthy RC, Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino County • “Active Design Guidelines and Icon”, Sacramento, Sacramento County • “Live the Challenge”, Building Healthy Communities South Kern, Arvin, Lamont, Weedpatch, and Greenfield, Kern County • “Walk With Friends”, Health

Education Council, South Sacramento Valley Hi neighborhood, Sacramento County Goal 6: Lowering the Cost of Care • “Care Transitions”, Partnership HealthPlan of California, Northern California • “Improving Healthcare Quality & Safety While Reducing Costs Through Clinical Pharmacy Service Integration”, University of Southern California School of Pharmacy and AltaMed Health Services, Los Angeles County and Orange County • “Increasing Tdap Vaccination Among Pregnant Medi-Cal Women In Los Angeles County”, Los Angeles County Comprehensive Perinatal Services Program, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County • “RxSafe Marin: Marin County Prescription Drug Misuse and Abuse Initiative”, Marin County Department of Health and Human Services, Marin County. n

Ensuring the family business legacy: My…

PAGE CJ1 t

a shift from family owned and managed to family inspired; f. Doing advocacy and turnaround strategies for Small andMedium Enterprises (SMEs) and family businesses andmentoring young entrepreneurs and students at the ATENEO Graduate School of Business.; g. Doing Receivership of and initiating rehabilitation of distressed family owned companies; and h. Being a Strategic Advisor to the JG Summit Group and its affiliates To further compliment

NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARY 22-28, 2016

CJ

Supreme Court agrees to review Obama’s executive action on DAPA and expanded DACA

judge, and upheld the injunction. Obama then sought review ON January 19, 2016, the US (or Certiorari) with the Supreme Supreme Court agreed to review Court (which is rarely granted), the legality of President Obama’s especially since the deadline for executive action, which he an- accepting cases was quickly apnounced in November 2014, of proaching.

Fortunately, the Supreme Court Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Perma- required an expedited briefing nent Residents (DAPA) and ex- schedule from both parties (after panding the existing Deferred Texas sought a postponement), Action for Childhood Arrivals and on January 19, 2016, the Supreme Court accepted the case.

(DACA).

Those programs would have However, it still remains to be halted the deportation/removal seen if Obama will prevail, which of millions of out of status par- I hope he will.

However, if Obama prevails, ents of US citizens and green card holders, granted them work things would have to move authorization, and increased the quickly for those who are potennumber of out of status young tially eligible. The case\appeal will be heard (or argued) in April people eligible for DACA. After Obama announced this 2016. It will be decided in June executive action, 26 states, in- 2016. A new president will take cluding Texas, filed a lawsuit office in January 2017. If a Demchallenging the legality of Presi- ocrat is elected, it is likely this dent Obama’s action. In February program will continue. However, 2015, a federal judge in Texas if a Republican is elected presiissued a preliminary injunction, dent, most candidates (especially halting (or shutting down) the Donald Trump) have vowed to program while the case slowly discontinue the program. Theremade its way through the court fore, if Obama’s executive actions system. The government ap- are upheld, USCIS plans to impealed, but on November 9, mediately implement DAPA and 2015, the Fifth Circuit Court of expanded DACA, which would Appeals sided with the federal give people basically a six month

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Community Journal

the chapters of the book, I included apowerful bonus feature about the phenomenal rise of Andrew Tan, the challenges and adversities he faced and his climb to being the country’s third wealthiest Filipino.

It is reassuring to know that the vibrancy of the Asian family business has been captured in this book. Thus, we can look around and realize that Asia is at par with its western counterparts in terms of successful management succession planning as far as family businesses are concerned. (sorianoasia@gmail.com) ***

Advisor, Book Author, Executive Director of Asean-based Consulting group, Wong + Bernstein Advisory and Program Director for Real Estate and the former Chair of the Marketing Cluster of the ATENEO Graduate School of Business. He is slated to deliver a talk on Philippine Business and Franchising Opportunities. The first talk is in NY on Feb 1 at the Philippine Consulate and Boston on Feb 4 at the Harvard Campus and in LA. The talk is organized by the Philippine Consulate in New York, in coordination with the Bagong Kulturang Pinoy (bkpinc.org), The Harvard Philippine Forum, TFC with Asian Journal as media partner. For those interested to attend, pls email nzuelke@gmail. com. Prof Soriano’s business articles can also be accessed at www.Faminbusiness.com

Prof. Soriano is an ASEAN Family Business

(Advertising Supplement)

THREE PETITIONS BY TWO MOTHERS AND A “SISTER/MOTHER” CREATE VISA CONFUSION — ON A SPECIAL ENCORE EPISODE OF “CITIZEN PINOY!” A teenage pregnancy forced Armi (middle) to keep the birth of her son, Kevin (right), a secret. Kevin’s birth certificate listed his grandmother (Armi’s mother) as his mother. Years later, Armi became a US citizen. She petitioned her mother immediately. When Armi’s mother arrived in the US as an immigrant, she petitioned all of Armi’s brothers, including Kevin, who is actually her grandchild (Armi’s son). Armi also filed a sibling petition for Kevin. After much guilt and reflection, Armi decided to come out with the truth to set things straight and admitted to Kevin that she is his biological mother. After that major revelation, Armi filed a petition for Kevin (now as parent-child petition). This resulted in three distinctive petitions filed for Kevin (as a grandchild, Armi’s brother, and son) which caused a major confusion for the National Visa Center. Watch this inspiring story and find out how Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel helped Armi and Kevin on an encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy” – on Sunday, January 24 at 6:15pm (PST) on TFC.

erwise law abiding, and who do not pose a danger, should not be a priority for removal\deportation. Therefore, as part of his job of enforcing the law, he wanted to use resources to go after the really bad guys first. The lawsuit by these 26 states would take away from the executive branch the ability to use discretion on the best way to enforce the law, or would enable states to override the executive branch on enforcement decisions and pri-

oities. I hope the Supreme Court sees it that way, strikes down their lawsuit and the injunction, and upholds Obama’s executive action. *** Michael J. Gurfinkel is licensed, and an active member of the State Bar of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California.

Each case is different. The information contained herein including testimonials, “Success Stories,” endorsements and re-

Calendar of Events across

enactments) is of a general nature, and is not intended to apply to any particular case, and does not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorneyclient relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.

WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com Call Toll free to schedule a consultation for anywhere in the US: (866)—GURFINKEL Four offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES · SAN FRANCISCO · NEW YORK · PHILIPPINES (Advertising Supplement)

America

ADVERTISE YOUR EVENTS! PRE-EVENT AND POST-EVENT GO DEEPER. GO WIDER. LET THE WORLD KNOW. CALL ASIAN JOURNAL: (818) 502-0651 DISPLAY AD SIZES AT SPECIAL RATES FOR NON-PROFIT GROUPS JA N UA RY 1 6 - F E B R UA RY 6

St. Finbar Catholic Church events - Saturday, January 16 – Feast of Sto. Niño celebration. Sinulog starts at 11:30am.

- Saturday, January 23 – Thanksgiving Mass, in honor of San Ildefonso, patron saint of San Ildefonso, Bulacan, at 5:00pm. Followed by lunch celebration from 12:30 - 3:30pm at New Town Buffet.

- Saturday, February 6 – Valentine Dinner dance from 7:00 - 11:00pm. Cost of ticket is $30.

For more information on all events, please contact Marian Nobleza at 818-219-6463.

JA N UA RY 1 7

29th Anniversary Feast of Santo Niño Santo Niño Cruzada USA, with the participation of the Cathedral Knights of Columbus and a Sinulog group, is inviting everyone for a holy mass to celebrate the 29th anniversary of the Feast of Santo Niño, the Divine Infant Jesus, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles (555 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90012) on Sunday, January 17, at 3:30pm. The main celebrant is Monsignor Kevin Kostelnik, with Father David Gallardo as concelebrant. For more information, please contact any of the following officers: Romy & Tess Esturas (213-387-9682), Rey & Tess Edpao (818-469-7292), Lilia Figuracion (626-394-2661, Carmen Estrada (213-413-2881), Fe Montana (323-218-1587), Ester Paredes (213-864-1149), Fe Reyes (213-413-5286), Laurie Dolorfino (213-407-0097), and Cherry Guerrero (213-632-2096).

JA N UA RY 3 0

Infant Jesus of Prague 9 hour Novena and Mass The Infant Jesus of Prague Apostolic Group is celebrating 32 years of service and prayer, and will hold its 32nd annual 9-hour Novena and Mass in honor of the Divine Child Jesus on Saturday, January 30, at Saint Joseph the Worker Church (19855 Sherman Way, Winnetka, California). The Novena starts at 7:00am with Mass following at 3:20 pm. Based in San Fernando Valley, the Apostolic Group aims to promote the Gospel message of Jesus and spread devotions to the Infant Jesus. For more information, please contact Leo Nevada at (818) 633 3926 or visit www.IJPAG.com.

F E B R UA RY 3

A Tagalog conversation with USCIS: ‘How to Become a US Citizen’ United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) invites you and your relatives to attend a Tagalog-language community event on Wednesday, February 3rd, from 6:00–7:30pm, at the Carson Community Center (801 East Carson Street, Hall A, Carson, CA 90745). Representatives will go through the process and answer your questions about how to become a lawful citizen of the US. For more information about the event, please email us at Public.Engagement@uscis.dhs.gov.

F E B R UA RY 5 -1 5

University of the East Tau Alpha Sigma (TAS) fraternity golden anniversary Please join us in congratulating TAS for their Golden (50th) Anniversary to be held at Tower Club, Philamlife Building in Makati, Philippines on February 5, 2016. All brothers from all over the world are encouraged to attend. There will be fun–filled activities including dancing, singing, reminiscing college days, golf, trips to Bicol, Batangas, and Tagaytay and reconnecting with both old and new TAS brothers and their spouses. Those who have not yet confirmed their attendance, please contact: (USA) Bernie Lim (bernielim@sbcglobal. net) & Rene Marcos (rmarcos_cpa@verizon.net); (PHILIPPINES) Rodrigo Mangay-ayam (rodman0983@yahoo.com.ph) & Manny Bautista (Manuel.D.Bautista@ph.ey.com).

F E B R UA RY 6

Miss Magsingal Organization of America Coronation & Dinner-Dance The Officers and Members of Miss Magsingal Organization of America (MOA) cordially invites townmates and friends to attend our Miss MOA 2016-17 Coronation and Dinner/Dance on Feb. 6, from 5:00pm -12 midnight at the Hilton of Stockton (2323 Grand Canal Blvd, Stockton, CA). Our Royal Court to be honored and crowned are: Her Majesty Queen, Jillian Foronda; 1st Princess, Jemina Atanaya; and 2nd Princess, Jeramae Luczon. Attire is formal, dinner is $50/person, with live band entertainment. Limited seats are available on a first come first serve basis. For more details, please call Tereso U (209) 603-8440, Lanie (209) 814-8004, and Grace (209) 817-5674. Thank you.

F E B R UA RY 1 2

An Intimate Night with Miguel Vera Beat the Valentine’s Day rush and get your tickets to “An Intimate Night with Miguel Vera,” a special Valentine Show featuring Miguel Vera, performing the greatest OPM hits and romantic Filipino classics by Cayabyab, Canseco, and Cruz. The one-night-only concert will take place at the Knott’s Berry Farm Hotel (7675 Crescent Ave, Buena Park, CA 90620) on February 12 at 8:00pm. Special guests include Annie Nepomuceno and Kit Navarro. Please call (714) 814-0412 or (818) 913-329 for tickets and information. Tickets are $40 each.

If you have an upcoming event and would like us to post it, please email us the details at info@asianjournalinc.com or calendar@asianjournalinc.com

CJ

JANUARY 22-28, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150

School Choice Week kicks off in California with a rally at the Capitol steps Hundreds are expected to celebrate the launch of School Choice Week in California

Anti-poverty programs intensify to combat needs of struggling families International Church kicks off 2016 with immediate aid to humanity

INTERNATIONAL religious entity Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC or Church of Christ) began 2016 with the global expansion of the Church’s anti-poverty projects, particularly the Lingap sa Mamamayan (Aid To Humanity) Program, under the Felix Y. Manalo (FYM) Foundation.

More than 20,000 care packages were distributed January 9 to indigent residents of Taguig City (Metro Manila, Philippines) at the Maharlika Trade Center.

Aside from receiving basic commodities, thousands of residents also availed of the free dental and medical services offered onsite.

Some 1,500 medical and security personnel were deployed to ensure the safety and convenience of the beneficiaries. The activity was conducted in coordination with the office of Hon. Yasser Garnace Pangandaman, Association of Barangay Chairman (ABC) President of Taguig City.

Immediately after the Aid To Humanity event in Taguig, another Outreach Evangelical Mission was conducted in Tondo, where 10,000 residents from Baseco, Tondo, and Parola were Montalban, Rizal Province THE Philippine College of Commerce High also given care packs.

(Fellowship/Lunch/Donate basic needs of the School Laboratory Batch 1966 (now Polytechnic INC General Auditor Glicerio University of the Philippines) will be celebrating elderly) Tour of Manila (Former PCCHS in Lepanto, Inits Golden Jubilee from February 20-21, 2016 in tramuros Tour Manila, Philippines. (old churches and Cathedral, Rizal Park, Fort According to the President of the PCCHS Batch ‘66 Alumni Association, ROLAND ATIENZA, about Santiago) Dinner/Cultural Show, at Barbara’s, Intramuros fifty-five (55) batchmates from Australia, Canada NEW programs start February February 22, 2016 - Breakup Group and USA have confirmed attendance to the Home1 for Daly City andBroadmoor (To Palawan, Laguna and respective hometown coming and fifty (50) from Manila local chapter. residents!

Activities lined up for the Golden Jubilee Cel- provinces of the guests) Got questions about your new For inquiries, please contact the following memebration are as follows: residential collectionservices? bers of the CORE group: Agnes T. Sule at +63916February 20, 2016 — 6pm-12 midnight Join us at a community meeting: Formal Program/Dinner at the Banahaw Ball- 5567000 or suleagnes@yahoo.com, Roland AtienThursday, January 2, 7pm za at+63906-2947156 or atienza8@yahoo.com, room, The Legend Villas – 8pm and Rebecca T. Sayed at +63906-4032624 orreMandaluyong City, Philippines becca.sayed@yahoo.com.

February 21, 2016 - 8am-9pm Lourdes T. Flores lulutflores@yahoo.com ReVisit the ANAWIM Home for the Abandoned Elbecca Sayed rebecca.sayed@yahoo.com n derly CENTRE Concord, a popular 23,000 square-foot community center at 5298 Clayton Rd., has been undergoing a much-needed THE Parks and Recreation De- ings, weddings, dances, birthday diagrams, fees, and room capaci- renovation. The public is invited partment is now taking reserva- celebrations, and banquets. We ties, please visit the rentals web- to attend the Grand Re-Opening tions for 2016 for both indoor also offer 16 outdoor picnic sites site at www.ssf.net. event on Tuesday, January 26 You can reach our rentals from 4 to 6 p.m. to see the refurfor groups up to 150. Each site facility rentals and picnic sites. team at (650) 829-3800 or by bished facility. The renovations We offer several halls and has barbeque pits and tables.

For more information on our emailing e-mail FacilityRe- included new moveable walls and meetings spaces for nearly any event, including corporate meet- offerings, including sample room quests@ssf.net. n wall coverings in the ballroom

B. Santos, Jr., said that intensified programs to combat poverty and assist struggling communities will be the top priorities of the Church’s outreach programs in 2016, and that under the leadership of Brother Eduardo, “much emphasis has been placed on the Church’s outreach and socio-civic activities, which seek to benefit not just INC members, but also less fortunate communities around the country who need help.”

The Aid To Humanity activities for 2016 kicked off at the Culiat Muslim compound on January 2, as part of an annual activity held to commemorate the birthday of late INC Executive Minister Brother Eraño G. Manalo, a tradition now being continued by Brother Eduardo. The activity likewise involved free medical and dental services and the distribution of basic goods.

Immediately following these three activities is the launching of a new eco-farming site in Cotabato, which is expected to provide livelihood for 8,400 members of the Lumad and B’laan communities in Mindanao.

“These projects are being undertaken consistent with our belief that God has given us the re-

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

SACRAMENTO – Supporters of school choice – including students, parents, teachers, and community leaders – will Celebrate School Choice Week in California by gathering at the capital on Monday, January 25.

At 10am on the west steps of the California State Capitol, hundreds of school choice supporters will share their stories about how school choice can make a difference in a student’s life.

Families representing traditional public schools, public charter schools, magnet schools, private schools, homeschooling organizations, and virtual schools will gather together in unified support for educational opportunity.

The celebration is timed to coincide with National School Choice Week (January 24-30, 2016), which will be America’s largest-ever celebration of opportunity in education, with more than 16,000 events being planned.

“This week is an opportunity for parents, students, educators, and advocates to come together in support of educational opportunity for all our children,” said Shirley Ford of Parent Revolution. “We are thrilled to be a part of telling the stories of students for whom choice has made a big difference.”

“We look forward to celebrating the difference that school choice is making in California students’ lives during National School Choice Week,” said Dr. Barbara Duncan, assistant superintendent of Charter Development for Pathways in Education. “Whether a parent chooses a traditional public school, public charter school, magnet school, private school, online academy, or home education, we are convinced that students thrive when they have educational opportunity.”

The celebration is being planned by a diverse group of national and state-based orga-

nizations, including Pathways in Education, Foundation for Excellence in Education, Parent Revolution, Reason Foundation, Pacific Research Institute, Students First, California Charter Association, California Teachers Empowerment Network, Crystal Stairs Inc., Parents Advocate League, Options for Youth, Opportunities for Learning, and Stand Up for Great Schools.

Held every January, National School Choice Week is an independent public awareness effort designed to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options for every child.

Through thousands of independently planned events across the country, National School Choice Week raises public awareness of all types of educational choices available to children. These options include traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, online learning, private schools, and homeschooling. n

PCCHS/PUPLHS 1996 Golden Jubilee

sponsibility to reach out and take care of our fellow man, especially those in need,” explained Santos.

“As long as we have countrymen who grapple with poverty, the INC will continue to do what it can to provide means to help uplift their welfare. Our goal is not just to help the needy—it is to help them help themselves.”

The new eco-farming site has an area of 16,000 hectares. Plantations that will produce bananas, corn, rice, and coffee will be put up to provide jobs for members of the two indigenous communities.

The INC will also provide a mini water reservoir, farm equipment, farm input, land tilling tools, and vehicles for the use of the farms.

Aside from these, 3,000 houses will be put up for the use of the Lumad and B’laan families.

About the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) The Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) or Church Of Christ is a global church comprising of more than 5,500 local congregations in over 100 countries and territories worldwide, with membership of at least 110 nationalities. Its Central Administration is in Quezon City, Philippines. www.iglesianicristo.net. n

Come learn about exciting changes to your Recycle, Compost, and Garbage collection services Council Chambers, City Hall 333 90th Street Daly City, CA 94015 Tuesday, January 26, 7pm – 8pm Albert Teglia Community Center 285 Abbot Ave Daly City, CA 94014

Come learn about the exciting changes to your Recycle,Compost and Garbage collection services.

Coffee and snacks will be provided.For more information, email Republic Services at infodalycity@republicservices.comor call (650) 756-1130. n

and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant upgrades to the bathrooms, lobby and parking lot.

Concord houses the City of Concord preschool program, recreation classes and summer camps. The ballroom, which accommodates up to 400 people, is rented for wedding receptions, quinceañeras, fundraisers, semi-

nars, meetings and trade shows.

The City of Concord opened Centre Concord in 1991 and it is the largest rental facility in the area. The preschool program serves 200 children; approximately 50,000 people utilize the facility annually.

For more information, call the Centre Concord office at (925) 671-3382. n

Concord community center celebrates re-opening

Facility and picnic rentals: Now taking reservations for 2016

EMPLOYMENT

FOSTER HOMECARE

(650) 616-4150 • http://www.asianjournal.com

PeoPle & events

Silicon Valley Community Foundation announces 2016 review of grant making strategies

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Seven years after launching its discretionary grantmaking program, Silicon Valley Community Foundation announced today that it will begin a strategic review process in 2016 to ensure that the organization is continuing to address Silicon Valley’s most pressing community needs.

Through its grantmaking strategies, SVCF supports the most effective and innovative organizations to solve the most challenging problems in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Since making its first grants in 2009, SVCF has awarded more than $87 million in grants to over 400 local nonprofit organizations through its discretionary grantmaking program.

“It is important that our grantmaking investments continue to demonstrate impact, timeliness and relevance to the region’s residents consistent with our institutional goals and commitment to effective grantmaking,”

said Emmett D. Carson, Ph.D., CEO and president of SVCF. SVCF’s five grantmaking strategies were announced in 2008 after an extensive community input process. At that time, SVCF shared with the community that it would be making larger grants, over longer periods of time, and that it would do a refresh of its strategies after five years and conduct a more comprehensive review after the seven years.

The refresh process was completed in 2013 and the strategic review process will begin in 2016. It will be carried out over a two year period. There will be no changes to our grantmaking program during the 2016 calendar year.

“SVCF will engage the community in the review of its strategies. Any changes to the grantmaking strategies will require the approval of SVCF’s board of directors,” said Erica Wood, chief community impact officer for SVCF.

In keeping with the community foundation’s values of transparency and accountability, SVCF will share more about the review process in the months ahead.

To review SVCF’s impact briefs from our 2013 refresh process, please visit: http://www.siliconvalleycf.org/publications#impactbriefs About Silicon Valley Community Foundation Silicon Valley Community Foundation advances innovative philanthropic solutions to challenging problems. As the largest community foundation in the world, we engage donors and corporations from Silicon Valley, across the country and around the globe to make our region and world better for all. Our passion for helping people and organizations achieve their philanthropic dreams has created a global philanthropic enterprise committed to the belief that possibilities start here. Learn more at siliconvalleycf.org. n

FOLLOWING the two hearings on the costs and impacts of the private, corporate event—Super Bowl 50 Festival—that is being held in San Francisco and funded with taxpayer dollars at a cost estimate of $4 million dollars, Supervisor Kim is introducing a resolution calling for the Office of the Controller to conduct a cost analysis prior to the City’s commitment of public funds to future large events.

In a recent SF Chronicle article, published January 8, 2016, City officials acknowledged that they could not and did not provide cost estimates regarding how much additional funds and resources would be spent to staff the Super Bowl events. And while “…the host committee is raising $10 million for local nonprofits,” out of more than $50 million raised by the host committee, “the agreement didn’t include reimbursing the city for extra police, traffic control and other services.”

“My priorities from the very beginning have been to make

sure that the people who make San Francisco work, can actually get to work throughout the Super Bowl festival, and just as importantly, that San Franciscans aren’t left with the bill for a party that is primarily marketing and promoting a multibillion dollar corporation that thinks a $4 million dollar price tag is just not that much.

Maybe it’s not, for them. But for the rest of us, we shouldn’t be left with a fiscal hangover when the party’s over.”

“There is, at least as it was crafted by the city with the host committee, no reimbursement to the city and taxpayers for the cost of this. There are going to be literally hundreds of officers there on overtime with no money, none for cleanup or Muni. I, along with several of my colleagues, will be asking the city’s budget analyst to determine how much this is going to cost the city,” stated Supervisor Aaron Peskin, “We should have been provided with that information months ago and we should have that information as

a matter of policy before the city gets involved and uses taxpayer money.”

“With our hotel rooms full and our housing cannibalized for short-term rentals, commuters severely inconvenienced by the literal derailment of public transportation on a main transportation artery, when does the business attraction go too far?

As stewards of the public trust and taxpayer dollars, it’s our job to ensure any diversion of city resources is done only when absolutely necessary,” asserted Supervisor John Avalos.

The resolution will request that the City perform at least a preliminary financial analysis prior to any private event being hosted by the City, in addition to a more comprehensive analysis after the event. If an event is not 100% free and open to the residents of San Francisco, no commitment to use City resources should be made until the preliminary cost analysis is complete and publicly presented to the Board. n

Supervisor Kim to introduce resolution to mandate city provide economic analysis prior to paying for special events: ‘No fiscal hangovers for San Francisco’

NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARY 22-28, 2016

CJ

CJ

JANUARY 22-28, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150

Friday, January 22, 2016

PhotoS CourteSy of MiSS univerSe organization

Main Cover Photo by troi SantoS

SF2

cover story

The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - January 22, 2016

MISS UNIVERSE PIA ALONZO WURTZBACH

The Amazing and Confidently Beautiful Miss (With a Heart)

by MoMar G. Visaya/AJPress

By now, the world…the universe, rather, already knows who Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach is.

Chalk it up to a confluence of things, or maybe an alignment of stars. When the Steve Harvey debacle happened on December 20, 2015 where he announced the wrong name as the Miss Universe winner, people’s minds went on full gear.

Conspiracy theorists made more than enough noise; was the wrong announcement planned all along? Other people said it was a design issue, saying that it wasn’t Steve Harvey’s fault since the design of the card that he was supposed to read was well, badlydesigned. And still, others, including one of the evening’s judges Perez Hilton believed it was a human error.“He had a job and he didn’t do it well,” Hilton said.

The most beautiful mistake is now almost a month old, yet people are still talking about it.

Slow news cycle, yes, maybe the week that it happened. But week after week since the coronation, people have not run out of things to talk about.

But what happened to the main players?

Steve Harvey seemed to be the fastest to move on as he tweeted “Merry Easter, y’all!” on Christmas Day. Ariadna Gutierrez in her backstage interview said “things happen for a reason” and posted a statement on Instagram with a photo of her wearing the crown and saying “Forever your Miss Universe” and followed it up a few days later with a post congratulating the Filipinos for having a Miss Universe. A week later, she was on Colombian radio saying that she was embarrassed big time and that she wanted to share the Miss Universe crown. And in between, she was also offered a million dollars to do a porn film.

Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach had graciously accepted her fate when Harvey announced Miss Colombia as the winner. There she stayed, away from the spotlight, on one dimly lit corner of the stage she shared with the second runner-up, Miss USA. Less than two minutes later, a camera was in front of them; Steve Harvey was walking back near Miss Colombia.

“I think you just won Miss Universe,” Miss USA Olivia Jordan whispered to Pia’s ear.

“I didn’t know what to do, I was looking for the stage managers and I was waiting for the announcement to make sure. I did not want to assume,” Pia said as she recalled the moment leading up to her coronation, the moment many pageant diehards believe was stolen from her because of what happened.

That ‘moment’, and the inaugural walk, Pia had a chance for a do over as TV host Kelly Ripa asked her on their morning show just because she was deprived of that chance.

As gracious as she was in her initial loss, Pia was equally magnanimous in victory.

“I was concerned about Ariadna’s feelings, that is why I was not in a full celebratory mode,” she remarked.

She was concerned yes, but she was a little firm when she was asked about her thoughts on sharing the crown with Miss Colombia.

“I think it would be difficult for two girls to share a crown,

but I have high hopes that this will give great opportunities for me and Miss Colombia and the rest of the contestants,” Pia told Good Morning America. Quite the right response since she won the title fair and square based on the unanimous votes of the judges, the viewers and their co-candidates.

The Philippines waited for 42 years before winning another Miss Universe crown. Pia now joins the elite group of Gloria Diaz who won Miss Universe 2104 Paulina Vega removes the crown from Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez before eventuin 1969 and Margie Moran who ally putting it on PIa, the rightful winner. won in 1973.

With her reign, she hopes to shine some light on three of the causes near and dear her heart – HIV and AIDS awareness, helping calamity-stricken countries with relief operations and cyberbullying.

Despite, and maybe because of her stature as a beauty queen, Pia was the center of cyberbullying herself when she posted something back in May 2015 immediately after Manny Pacquiao lost against Floyd Mayweather.

“I watched the fight and I was Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach is the Miss Universe 2015 winner.

Photos from Miss Universe Organization so affected that he didn’t win. Just like everybody else, I wanted him to win. It was meant as a joke. I wasn’t trying to threaten anybody,” she said, recalling what transpired in those moments.“To me, I said it in jest. I was just trying to be funny.

A lot of people were not so happy with that tweet.”

Pia’s prophetic tweet, which she says was meant as a joke.

The people who were not happy with that tweet bashed her was waiting for my sister Sarah to Chang.” In between, there was endlessly on social media, saying give birth. She was due around “Access Hollywood,”“Inside she was too over-confident and Christmas pero January na, wala pa Edition,”“Entertainment Tonight,” that she should be more humble. and we had so many false alarms. a live interview broadcast in the “I guess my mistake was that Philippines for ABS-CBN’s morning It was almost my flight back home I did not put any emojis. It was for and she hasn’t given birth yet. I show “Umagang Kay Ganda.” me, something to be taken lightly,” The following day was step and asked her if she wanted me to stay she explained. until she gave birth and she said, repeat as she went through more For her diehard followers ‘You go! We’ve heard enough about interviews and guestings on Fox – some call themselves Pianatics and Friends and other local shows. this Binibining Pilipinas, it’s all you – the tweet was not a big deal, that have been talking about since you What follows are excerpts of Pia was – that early – just claiming our one-on-one interview with the got here. You obviously want it. Go!’ the Miss Universe title already.

I flew back to Manila and I reigning Miss Universe.

For that, she was quick to dispel wasn’t really pageant-ready. I had On meeting Samuel Jackson the issue. to rush the preparation for the I’m so happy that Samuel L. “I have claimed it ever since Jackson was the first famous person pageant, the rest of the training I did 2013! I always said,‘I’m going to be after na.

I met because I am really a fan Miss Universe’. I’ve said it so many On destiny and I watch his movies. He’s such a times in my head and I’ve claimed it good actor and he is so warm and I believe in destiny but success so many times, even in public when friendly. When he saw me, he said, is not handed to you, you work hard I was with my friends,” she said. for it.

“Miss Philippines!” and we shook And it became her mantra.

On loving museums hands.

A couple of years later and I love visiting museums, even On her emotional sendoff in here we were, doing this interview when I was in England or in the Manila a stone’s throw away from the Philippines. I usually go during my I was just so relieved that it Miss Universe Organization offices free time and I’m there for hours. It’s was finally my turn for a press along Manhattan’s Avenue of the fascinating to me. After an interview conference and sendoff. I was also Americas. earlier, we walked past the Museum under a lot of pressure, it was so The irony is that her being Miss close to my flight to Las Vegas. And of Modern Art and I was making Universe hasn’t totally and fully mental notes on where it is so I can of course, we really wanted to win sunk in yet for her.

Miss Universe. It has been building go back if I have time.

When we ask about her current up for so many years and I didn’t On NYC as a foodie city state of mind, Pia replied quickly.

I’m still trying to find out what want to be the one to break that “It’s starting to sink in because is the local cuisine here because it streak, of course not.

I am finally working. It is different is so diverse. We (she then pauses If for anything, I wanted to when you are at home and resting. win, not just for myself but for for a while) have everything here.

You don’t get a grasp of what’s everybody. All of that, the pressure, It’s actually my first time to say we, going on but when you’re actually I mean, live here. I just noticed that the relief, it was like I won again. at work and doing the duties and everywhere you look, there are On being a breadwinner at a responsibilities of a Miss Universe, different cuisines. What is homeyoung age that’s when it started to sink in.” grown New York cuisine, that’s what It was not hard as I was never Chasing Pia forced into it. It was something that I am trying to figure out.

January 4, 2016 was Day 1 On her culinary capabilities I enjoyed doing and I want to go for Pia and her new job as Miss My mom is a better cook, I’m back doing it after Miss Universe.

Universe. sure of that. She’s my biggest It felt so natural to me. I went to It was a very busy and school on weekdays and weekends critic when I cook Filipino food productive day (but very organized I had shoots and tapings. To me, it because she’s the best. She has and well-managed too, she said) was a pretty cool job for somebody many dishes. I was not a fan of for her and she spent the day pancit before but now, when I my age at that time. I matured doing ten interviews. Her first think about it, I would love to quite a bit compared to my peers one was with “Good Morning eat her pancit, her lumpia and because of that and that actually America,” followed by” Live with kare-kare, that’s my favorite. It’s had some benefits as well.

Kelly and Michael,” and ended my celebratory meal back in the On her third attempt for the with “CNN with Don Lemon” Philippines. And pan de sal with title and ABC’s “Nightline with Juju Cheez Whiz, that’s my favorite I was in London because I thing to eat for breakfast.

On her Miss U friends I was really close with Myanmar, who was my roommate; Malaysia and China. We were under one supervisor and we had to stick to each other because you don’t want to get lost. If your supervisor is looking for you, you should all be together. They were my comic relief because at times, things would get so serious and competitive but when I was with them, I could just sit down and be me.

On her ideal man I like guys who have a sense of humor. He has to be smart as well.

On the legacy she wants to leave as Miss Universe I would like the people to remember me as someone who is very natural and relatable. I don’t want to be so stiff. I want to erase the image some people have of beauty queens, that we are so Pia Wurtzbach and Steve Harvey finally meet again, and it seems all is well between the two after the TV host’s Miss Universe gaffe. The reigning Miss Universe unreachable and poised all the time, appeared on the Monday, Jan. 18 episode of “Steve Harvey.”

Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach: “I believe in destiny but success is not handed to you, you work hard for it.

Photos by Troi Santos

that we can’t commit a mistake.

That’s not true. We’re real people, we’re just like everybody else. I want to show that we’re human.

On Lea Salonga’s open letter welcoming her to New York I love her advice for me and the things that I have to remember.

I have yet to reply to her so thank you for reminding me.

On the last thing she listened to (She went on to sing a few bars of a song with the lyrics ‘You are the universe…’ and asked if I knew that song.) I was singing it yesterday during a shoot and I asked if anybody knew that song. Nobody knew it. Is it just me? Did I make this song up? (laughs) Last thing she ate (It was almost 2:00 pm) I haven’t eaten anything yet, I had raw juice from a local juicer. I have them send it every day. Green juice.

On her nightly prayers I say thank you.

Do you wish on stars?

All the time.

On what color she would be if she were a crayon.

Red, because I’m hot. (She giggles and follows it up with ‘I’m just kidding.’) Green. That’s my favorite color.

Favorite drink Coconut water.

Favorite sport I don’t play but I love to watch football, or soccer.

Favorite toy as a kid My Barbies. I had so much, my dad spoiled me with so many Barbie dolls.

What is Pia Wurtzbach afraid of?

Regrets, that’s why I always try to do my best because I don’t want regrets.

Best assets Physical? My eyes. Characterwise? My personality and my sense of humor.

On why she is where she is right now I had very good teachers, mentors, parents who made sure that I was on the right path.

entertainment SF3 The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE – January 22, 2016

When it snows, it ‘pours’

By Monet

The drawings for the “Magpadala Magpalipad” promo were witnessed by Jomito Torres, Philippine Airlines senior account officer for passenger sales, PNBRCI President and CEO Ricky Villacisneros, Marie Jemma B. Saranillo of Philippine Airlines, Joanne Rivera, business development head and general manager of PNB’s LA Branch, and Monette Maglaya, senior vice president of Asian Journal Publications, Inc.

PNBRCI holds drawings for ‘Magpadala Magpalipad’ promo

Three lucky individuals from the United States are now going on vacation to the Philippines, thanks to PNB remittance Centers Inc. (PNBrCI)’s “Magpadala Magpalipad” promotion in cooperation with Philippine Airlines.

Those who remitted money through any US location of PNBrCI from Oct. 15, 2015 to Jan. 14, 2016 received one raffle entry for a chance to win one of three tickets back to the Philippines. The prizes included: 1st prize—a business class roundtrip ticket from Los Angeles to Manila; 2nd prize— an economy class roundtrip ticket from Los Angeles to Manila plus a domestic ticket to any Philippine domestic destination; and 3rd prize — an economy class roundtrip ticket from Los Angeles to Manila.

The drawings were witnessed by ricky Villacisneros, president and CeO of PNBrCI, Joanne rivera, business

development head and general manager of PNB’s LA Branch, and Marie Jemma B. Saranillo, area manager of Philippine Airlines in LA on Friday, Jan. 15. randomly selected from over 100,000 valid transactions, resty Pagala of Chicago, Illinois won the first prize; the 2nd prize went to eden Donato of San Jose, California; and lastly, Jun Oliveros of National City, California received the 3rd prize.

PNBrCI in the US makes remitting money more fun and exciting. This is also the company’s way of thanking its loyal patrons in every part of the globe who have used the services of the company through the years. PNB also reinforces the emotional ties that bind expatriates and their loved ones by making it possible for some very lucky winners to come home for free and enjoy the warmth and comfort of the homeland.

PNBRCI President and CEO Ricky Villacisneros introduces the drawings for the “Magpadala Magpalipad” promo on Friday, Jan. 15.

even if overseas Filipinos can’t be with their loved ones back home, PNBrCI has introduced a simple and fast way for beneficiaries to receive remittances with the Global Filipino Card (GFC). The GFC is a reloadable prepaid ATM card for beneficiaries who want their funds credited online, which then can be withdrawn from any PNB SuperTellers or any selected ATMs. For an annual $5 fee, the many benefits for remitters include up to $10 off on remittance fees, free ATMSafe Insurance, and a free Globe sim card.

So why remit your valuable dollars using any other company? PNBrCI offers a relationship that is mutually rewarding.

For more information about PNBrCI and its services, please visit: www.pnbrci.com or to remit money by phone, please call PNB-rCI Phone remit at (855) 889-7788.

*Advertising Supplement

PNBRCI President and CEO Ricky Villacisneros and Marie Jemma B. Saranillo, area manager of Philippine Airlines in Los Angeles .

AJPress photos by Ding Carreon

Lu

“YOU can kiss your family and friends goodbye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.” - Frederick Buechner During the holidays, I got the chance to spend precious family bonding moments with my sisters, nephews and nieces in Ottawa, Canada. That was my 6th or 7th time to visit them but it was the first time I went there on a snowy—or should I say, “snowystormy” holiday.

“I want to experience snow in Canada,” I told myself as I was planning my trip. Little, did I know, I was bound to experience more than I asked for. And I mean that in the literal and figurative sense.

I’ve always been close to my siblings. But them, life happened.

With all eleven of us scattered all over the world—in different continents—I don’t get to talk to them as much as I wanted. I am the seventh of the siblings. My eldest sister, Sonia, who is also one of the guiding forces in my life, lives in Ottawa with her children.

Growing up, I’ve imagined her to be where she is in life right now: a great mother living a quiet life in the suburbs, watching her children grow up with strong Filipino values, speaking with a foreign accent. Life isn’t always perfect, I thought. But one thing I love about my imperfect life is that no matter how miserably flawed I am, I have a great family to come home to; to share imperfections with and embrace them all.

I must have muttered these things to myself too loud when I was observing my nephew because he would usually catch me looking at them blankly and smiling to myself. I love the fact that even if he barely speaks Tagalog,

With Ate Sonia Kaiden, Kaelan, Marian and Brandon he’s still a Filipino by heart—all of them are. They spend more time bonding during weekends than hitting the malls, they celebrate Pinoy traditions especially during the holidays like exchanging gifts and eating out. Canada may their place of residence but the Philippines will always be home to them. And it was the same for me during those weeks O stayed with them. I felt one-fourth Canadian and three-fourths Pinoy living amongst locals.

When I arrived in Ottawa weeks before Christmas, I was really excited about the snow.

So, imagine my disappointment when I got there and all I saw was dry land. Well, nothing different from where I am came from. A few days later, the snowstorm started. And it was so strong

that I almost regretted wishing it would snow.

The whole city was blanketed with snow. It was white everywhere! What surprised me was how the people treat it as though it was just any ordinary day. They walk through the knee-high snow like it was a normal Monday. And by the way, they still go to work!

People shoved snow looking very inconvenienced. And I can very much understand now why they would call it a “nightmare.”

But amidst the conundrums and humdrum of it all, it was nothing similar to LA life. It wasn’t as fastpaced and as busy as the streets of Wilshire Boulevard or as congested as the traffic in the I-5 freeway between 710 and 605.

It was very different and I mean Continued on Page SF5

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celebrityworld The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - January 22, 2016

celebrity world

By Ferdie Villar AFTER almost five years of being in a relationship, Kapamilya stars Bea Alonzo and Zanjoe Marudo decided to call it quits.

In his radio program on DZMM last Saturday, Jan. 16, talent manager and actor Ogie Diaz confirmed that the couple had indeed gone their separate ways.

Bea, the star of the blockbuster film A Second Chance, earlier admitted having problems about her relationship with her boyfriend. Zanjoe, on the other hand, said that there have been serious talks but pointed out that those conversations were normal for any couple.

There had been speculations between the two stars in the past, especially when PEP. ph reported that Zanjoe went on vacation in Europe alone sometime in 2015.

But one rumor that came out was the possibility that Bea and A Second Chance costar John Lloyd Cruz are now more than friends. This was denied by John Lloyd’s current girlfriend, actress Angelica Panganiban, saying that she and the actor are still very much together.

Let’s hope that Bea and Zanjoe’s break up was amicable and not because of a third party. *** Another couple that separated recently was Ciara Sotto and her husband, TV executive Jojo Oconer. The couple have been married for almost five years now, and have an 11month-old son.

The actress/dancer made the announcement on her Instagram last January 15.

She posted, “These past weeks have been very difficult for me and my son.

“It’s true that I moved out of our home and decided to go back to my parents’ house for now.

It’s confirmed that actress Bea Alonzo and boyfriend Zanjoe Marudo have split up after being together for almost five years.

Action star Robin Padilla is now under contract with ABS-CBN 2. He will be one of the four judges on “Pilipinas Got Talent” which will start in early February. Robin is shown in photo with beauty impresario Ferdie Villar during one of his past visits in the Bay Area.

“The truth is painful, but it is what it is. I know that the Lord will strengthen me after this.

“I prefer to keep my privacy at this time & I would appreciate the public respecting this. Thank you to those who are sending me messages of support and encouragement.”

She also asked for privacy from the public.

Although Ciara didn’t mention the reason for the separation, her other posts seem to be leaning towards cheating.

One person that seems to be involved is actress Valeen Montenegro. The 25-year-old Kapuso star is said to be the third party and reason for the separation between Ciara and Jojo.

According to reports, Jojo is the Senior Vice President and CEO of APT Entertainment, the producer of GMA 7 shows Sunday PinaSaya and Princess in the Palace, which Valeen is part of.

APT is also one of the producers of the Metro Manila

Bea Alonzo & Zanjoe Marudo break up confirmed

One of the rumors circulating recently is that actor John Lloyd Cruz and actress Bea Alonzo are now involved romantically.

The two just had a hit movie, “A Second Chance,” a sequel to their blockbuster film, “One More Chance.”

With the news of the supposed romance between John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo going around, actress Angelica Panganiban went on record via a radio interview to confirm that he and the actor are still very much “together.”

Ilocos Norte Vice Governor Angelo Barba is shown with Vic Barba, Board Director of the US Ilocano National Association, Inc. Film Festival (MMFF) 2015 entry My Bebe Love, which the actress is also one of the stars.

The rumor was Valeen has been getting these projects because of her affair with Jojo.

However, Valeen’s manager Olive de Jesus denied that there was anything romantic going on between her talent and Jojo.

Through a text message sent to entertainment columnist Jobert Sucaldito, Olive said, “...It’s not true that Valeen is Sir Jojo Oconer’s

Margie Moran, Miss Universe 1974, is the Chairman in welcoming Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach when she goes back to the Philippines on Saturday, Jan. 23. Pia is now based in New York where she will stay during her reign. ‘girl.’ Si Mamu Andrew de Real [owner of the bar and restaurant The Library] ang nag-recommend kay Valeen sa APT. Then we had a meeting with Mr. T [Tony Tuviera] and Direk Mike Tuviera.

“That how she got into

Ciara Sotto has confirmed that she and husband, Jojo Oconer, are separated. The actress/dancer left their house with her son and is now staying with her parents, veteran actress Helen Gamboa and Sen. Tito Sotto.

Without going into details, Ciara’s Instagram posts have been hinting that a third party may be involved in the break up of her marriage.

Sunday PinaSaya. I hope we can clarify the issue. Thank you.”

Let’s hope that this issue will get resolved soon.

#OscarsSoWhite: Celebrities Ara Mina not closing doors on boycott Academy Awards for reconciliation with Patrick Meneses lack of Oscar nominee diversity

by Joyce Jimenez Philstar

by Allyson

escobAr

AJPress

THE announcement for Oscar nominations on Thursday, Jan. 14 drew sharp criticism, when all of the nominees in the major acting categories were exclusively white.

The nominees for the 88th annual Academy Awards, known for its prestigious Oscar awards that give actors leverage for more casting roles and better pay, were announced from the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, along with director Guillermo del Toro, Ang Lee, and actor John Krasinski.

The Revenant, Mad Max: Fury Road, Spotlight, Bridge of Spies, The Big Short, The Martian, Brooklyn, and Room were all nominated for Best Picture, Hollywood’s top prize.

The Revenant led all films with 12 nominations.

In the individual categories, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Bryan Cranston, Michael Fassbender and Eddie Redmayne were all nominated for Best Actor. Cate Blanchett, Brie Larson, Charlotte Rampling, Saoirse Ronan, and Jennifer Lawrence were among those nominated in the Best Actress category.

Big-name actors like Will Smith (in Concussion), Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation), Michael B. Jordan, and Creed director Ryan Coogler, were snubbed for nominations. The Revenant director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who is Hispanic, was nominated as Best Director and is the only person of color on the main list.

Straight Outta Compton, the only film made up of a majority black cast, was nominated for

Best Original Screenplay, but the writers for the film are white.

What Happened, Miss Simone?, the documentary about the career of singer, songwriter and pianist Nina Simone, and Ethiopian R&B artist The Weeknd’s Fifty Shades of Grey hit Earned It were also honored with nominations.

“In the last few years there has been this chatter about the Oscars being less whitewashed because you have had some major and some historical representations of people of color,” said Stephane Dunn, director of the Cinema Television & Emerging Media Studies program at Morehouse College.

“It was like Hollywood, the Academy, didn’t know what to do with so many noteworthy, critically lauded films directed by black directors with such fine award-worthy best actor and supporting actress performances,” she added. “Hollywood, the Academy, could not imagine these dominating major categories so one film among them was basically chosen to be The One. It was 12 Years a Slave.”

Last year, the Academy also received fierce backlash after Selma director Ava DuVernay and actor David Oyelowo (who played Martin Luther King, Jr.) were both excluded from the nominees’ list.

The viral hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, created by social media blogger April Reign, drew attention to the blatant racial disparity in Academy Award nominations, reported Forbes.

“By only awarding Oscars to white actors, the Academy Awards are perpetuating wage disparities that are not only prominent in the entertainment industry, but also span all sectors of our economy,” wrote Forbes

contributor Seamus Kirst.

“The tagline for the Oscars is ‘We all dream in gold,’ though apparently the [Academy] doesn’t dream in color #Oscars2016,” tweeted ColorofChange.org.

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 18, director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith announced publicly that they would be boycotting the awards ceremony over the lack of diversity.

In a video posted to her Facebook page, Pinkett Smith announced that she will not attend the event, nor would she view it from home.

“At the Oscars...people of color are always welcomed to give out awards...even entertain, but we are rarely recognized for our artistic accomplishments.

Should people of color refrain from participating all together?

People can only treat us in the way in which we allow,” Pinkett Smith wrote on her wall.

“Maybe it’s time we pull back our resources and we put them back into our communities, and we make programs for ourselves that acknowledge us in ways that we see fit, that are just as good as the so-called mainstream,” she said.

“Chi-Raq” director Spike Lee also shared that he and his wife, Tonya, would not be attending Hollywood’s biggest night, which will be hosted by black comedian Chris Rock on Feb. 28.

“Dr. King said ‘There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but he must take it because conscience tells him it’s right,” the filmmaker, who has been nominated for two Oscars, wrote on Instagram.

The Oscar nominees “will remain Continued on Page SF5

MANILA—Ara Mina is not closing the doors for possible reconciliation with Bulacan Mayor Patrick Meneses.

“Bilisan niya, habang wala pa akong boyfriend,” she replied, laughing, when asked if she’s open to reconciling with Patrick, in an interview.

“Kailangan kong i-ready ang sarili ko if ever na hindi na kami magkakabalikan,” she added.

Until now it isn’t clear for their fans why they decided to end their relationship, especially since their daughter Amanda was born.

“Siya ang nag-initiate, three months old baby ko,” she said, recalling their breakup. “Nasa

dinner kami no’n, nasa function room kami. Sabi niya parang ayaw niya mag-pretend, ayaw na niya. Gano’n kasimple.”

She even got confused when he said that he doesn’t find anything wrong with her, and even complimented her as a partner.

The actress said Patrick is probably not yet ready to raise a family.

For now, they remained good friends for the welfare of their daughter.

Ara is just hoping that this 2016 “maging happy naman ang love life ko,” and would make sure that “‘yong next na magiging partner ko, e, siya na. Kasi I’m not getting any Ara Mina remains friends with Bulacan younger para paiba-iba pa [ng Mayor Patrick Meneses despite their breakup partner].” nine months ago.

Martin starts 2016 on a high note

by TessA

mAuricio-ArriolA ManilaTimes.net

CONCERT King Martin Nievera looked very well in his first interview for 2016 on Wednesday, several pounds lighter, not only in physical weight, but based on his very excited recollection of Christmas, in emotional baggage too.

The OPM icon started 2016 on a high note after his long time Christmas wish had been granted. That is, to spend the holidays with all his children—sons Robin and Ram by ex-wife and Concert Queen Pops Fernandez, and his nineyear-old boy Santino by former girlfriend Katrina Ojeda.

“All I wanted for Christmas was to have all my children together, and it finally happened, not exactly on Christmas day, but a couple of days before, in the States. Pops and the boys were spending the holidays there, and Pops finally

got to meet Santino when we all got together for dinner,” he beamed.

Describing Pops and Santino’s meeting as “magical,” Martin was grateful to get over the inevitable yet overdue moment, and see for himself that the most important people in his life were at peace with their family’s reality.

“Pops has always wanted to meet Santino, and when the meeting happened, you can tell that she’s beyond all of it, and that she’s more mature than most women in her position,” he explained. “Although I had Santino after Pops and I were already separated, I’m sure not many women would be willing to meet their ex’s child from someone else. But that’s Pops and we’re in a very good place now.”

According to Martin, his

son, who first met Pops via Face Time, was just as excited to see her.

“We were in Disneyland for five days and it’s usually very difficult to get Santino to leave [the theme park]. But I told him, ‘We’re going to meet Tita Pops,’ and when he did, he grabbed her and hugged her.

“He knows her already.

I already prepared him for meeting her someday and told him, ‘This is the mommy of Kuya Robin and Kuya Ram.’ “It was great. We all had dinner together and when it was time to say goodbye, Pops saw Santino holding his brothers’ hands and she began to cry.”

With his Christmas wish granted—and the huge bonus of finally bringing Pops and his youngest together, even for just a short time—Martin is Continued on Page SF5

When it snows, it...

From Page SF3

that in a good way.

It could be the slow life out there or the great hotpot place my nephew, Mardy, took me to for lunch, but I did feel a sense of peace and comfort being there for a couple of days. I stayed in the hotel for six days and spent the New Year’s in my room reflecting on my life and the many things I am grateful for. I remember how 2015 was tough year for me and yet I recall how many time I thanked God for blessing me with so much that I have nothing else to ask for. He poured over blessing after blessings, and the best blessing I received last year was these precious times I spent with family.

As I bid 2015 goodbye, I stood by the window of my hotel

room, enjoying the immaculate view of the snow. It was so beautiful. As I count the days left ‘til I kiss my family goodbye, I remember and cherish the love they poured out in those times I spent with them.

I wanted to see snow. And I did. There was so much warmth as it poured.

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The Asian Jour nal SF MAGAZINE - January 22, 2016

Solenn: I am still single, technically

by AllAn

PolicArPio Inquirer

IT wasn’t a wedding, but merely a belated engagement celebration. After a two-week holiday in December in Argentina, where she supposedly married her fiancé, Nico Bolzico, So*** lenn Heussaff recently faced the Monet Lu is a Marikina-born, award-winning entertainment press and insisted celebrity beauty stylist with his own chain of that no vows were exchanged, Monet Salon salons across Southern California despite a handful of photos onand Las Vegas, Nevada. Ultimately, Monet is line suggesting otherwise. known as an all-around artiste who produces “No, it hasn’t happened yet. sold-out fashion and awards shows as well as We didn’t go to a church… I unforgettable marketing campaigns. Monet is didn’t have a wedding dress… also the founder of the revolutionary all-natural We simply chose to celebrate beauty products such as Enlighten, your solution in Argentina because I have not to discoloration. To contact Monet, please seen his parents in two years,” visit www.monetsalon.com or email him at said the actress, who has always monetsalon@aol.com preferred to keep her personal life private, at a press conference for her upcoming movie Lakbay2Love. televised event.”

“I am still single, technically,” On Monday, Boone Isaacs Solenn said, giggling. “I am still a released a statement in which Heussaff.” she said, “While we celebrate Looking at the “snaps” [the nominees’] extraordinary posted on the photo-video achievements, I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it’s time for big changes.

From Page SF4 The Academy is taking dramatic more than revved up to go into steps to alter the makeup of our membership. In the coming the New Year in high spirits.

He starts off his 34th Valendays and weeks we will conduct tine concert to date, this time a review of our membership with Asia’s Songbird Regine recruitment in order to bring Velasquez, Philippine Prince of about much-needed diversity in Pop Erik Santos, and Queen of our 2016 class and beyond.

Teleserye Theme Songs, Ange“As many of you know, we line Quinto, aptly titled Royals. have implemented changes to The show will be staged on diversify our membership in the last four years. But the change is February 13 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, and on not coming as fast as we would February 14 at the Waterfront like. We need to do more, and Hotel and Casino, Cebu City. better and more quickly.

Produced by the same “This isn’t unprecedented team of Anna Puno and Cacai for the Academy. In the ‘60s Mitra’s Starmedia Entertainand ‘70s it was about recruitment and I-Music Entertaining younger members to stay ment, which staged 2015’s vital and relevant. In 2016, the biggest Valentine’s hit Ultimate mandate is inclusion in all of its with Martin, Regine, Gary facets: gender, race, ethnicity Valenciano and Lani Misalucha, and sexual orientation. We recRoyals promises an entirely ognize the very real concerns of our community, and I so appreci- different concept by putting together the reigning concert ate all of you who have reached king and queen with their sucout to me in our effort to move cessors. forward together.”

#OscarsSoWhite: Celebrities...

From Page SF4 likely white” until minority actors are “in those rooms” with key industry network (white, male) decision-makers who are at the top of the Hollywood studio system.

Other actresses including Emily Rossum, Rashida Jones, and Martha Plimpton have all voiced their opinions over Twitter, as well as Compton producer Will Packer, who wrote in outrage on his Facebook: “To my Academy colleagues, WE HAVE TO DO BETTER. Period.

The reason the rest of the world looks at us like we have no clue is because in 2016 it’s a complete embarrassment to say that the heights of cinematic achievement have only been reached by white people. I repeat—it’s embarrassing.”

Wrote Kirst, “If the Academy is going to exclude people of color from their lists, then outspoken and socially-minded celebrities have announced they will boycott the event. In spreading their message that this is no longer going to be tolerated, they are gaining widespread support from their fanbase. Inherently, ratings will suffer when many viewers (myself included) follow their lead and choose not to watch the

entertainment messaging app Snapchat by actress Isabelle Daza, one of Solenn’s close friends who went with her on vacation, it did seem like a wedding took place.

A photo showing the couple was captioned, “Mr. and Mrs. Bolzico;” another one of a table set outdoors said, “rustic-style wedding.”

Asked about the intriguingly captioned photos, Solenn jested, “Loka-loka ’yang si Isabelle.” She added that Nico was amused by earlier reports claiming that they were already married. “He and his mom were laughing because they saw it in a newspaper. It was funny,” she said.

Likewise raising the suspicions of curious netizens was the presence of Solenn’s family and friends Isabelle, Anne Curtis and Georgina Wilson in the trip, which included an excursion to Patagonia.

“There were no invites…

They got wind of our plans—and it became a barkada vacation,”

related Solenn, who has been living together with Nico for the past five years. “We all went hiking, horseback riding and white water rafting.”

The Filipino-French Kapuso talent plans to tie the knot with Nico in France and invite around 200 guests. That was all she was willing to disclose during the media gathering. Solenn, however, assured the press that she would divulge details about her wedding—once it does finally happen.

Meanwhile, in director Ellen Marfil’s Lakbay2Love (in cinemas on Feb. 3), an environmentthemed film that had Solenn biking in scenic spots in the La Mesa Watershed in Quezon City, Timberland Heights in Rizal and the lush mountain trails of Benguet, the actress portrays a videographer working on a feature on climate change. She related, “I have rediscovered the joys of riding a bike—and I got to see many beautiful sites!”

She will divulge details about her wedding—once it happens.

Solenn’s leading man is Dennis Trillo, with whom she previously worked in the movie Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow in 2011.

“He is talented, handsome and professional. He does not gossip on the set, which I respect,” she said. “At times, he would arrive on the set from other engagements without sleep. But he always gave his all!”

Martin starts 2016...

“This concert is Martin times two, and Regine times two with Erik and Angeline,” Martin related. “So expect it to be very loud!”

With the top-notch artists coming from two different generations, audiences can expect an impressive showcase of vocal excellence in songs of old and new, as well as fusions of classic and current charttoppers in the repertoire.

“What Ultimate did to the concert scene is to introduce a whole new concept of having four voices all together on stage, in harmony, and in a tagteam sort of way,” continued the Concert King.

“With Erik and Angeline, who though touted to be the ‘next Martin’ and the ‘next Regine,’ we have to up our game in the same way they have to keep up with us.”

Asked whether he approves of Erik as his successor, Martin

The Concert King will have his 34th Valentine concert to date, this time with Philippine Prince of Pop Erik Santos, Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez, and Queen of Teleserye Theme Songs, Angeline Quinto he will continue to make his said, “The title ‘Concert King’ own mark in this industry and was just given to me in the will be known as Erik Santos.” industry, and it’s not my goal To conclude, “his majesty” in life to prove I’m the Conadded, “I don’t consider cert King, but it pushes me to myself royalty in this busigive a performance that is fit ness. It’s the audience who are for a king. I think it will be the royalties, and that’s why we all same way for Erik. He won’t have to give them the kind of necessarily be the next Martin performance they deserve—a Nievera or the next Concert performance that’s fit for royKing because I know that even alty.” if he is often compared to me,

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The Asian Jo ur na l SF M A G A Z I NE - J a nua ry 2 2 , 2 0 1 6

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