Poverty Rate on the Rise: California Rate Highest in 11 Years .. p. 14 Actions Speak Louder Than Words .. p. 11 Garcia back in prison based on 2005 ruling (Continued on page 20) by Simeon G. Silverio, Jr. Publisher & Editor in Chief, Asian Journal San Diego Chapter 5 Fantasy Land Not Without A Fight Vice Ganda: “Oo, mayabang ako!” Why We Are Shallow The proposal to bring the age of criminal liability back to nine years old, is strongly opposed. The present Juvenile Justice Law exempts minors aged 15 and below One Hundred Authors, Thousands of Books at Filbookfest The Return to the Dark Ages Former PH Pres Fidel V. Ramos, National Artists and Palanca Award winners head the list Sionil Jose, Philippine Star | MANILA, 9/12/2011 --I was visited by an old Asian friend who lived here 10 years ago. I was floored by his observa- tion that though we have lots of talented people, as a whole, we continue to be shallow. Recently, I was seated beside former Senator Letty Shahani, PhD in Compara- tive Literature from the Sorbonne, watching a medley of Asian dances. The stately and classical Japanese number with stylized movements which perhaps took years to master elicited what seemed to me grudg- ing applause. Then, the Filipino tinikling which any one can learn in 10 minutes; after all that energetic Zena Sultana Babao Msgr. Gutierrez Ben Maynigo P-Noy, POGI, Pinoys.. p. 8 (Continued on page 16) (Continued on page 2) (Continued on page 19) (Continued on page 20) The original and first Asian Journal in America 550 E. 8th St., Ste. 6, National City, San Diego County CA USA 91950 | Ph: 619.474.0588 | Fx: 619.474.0373 | Email: [email protected] | www.asianjournalusa.com PRST STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 203 Chula Vista CA 91910 San Diego’s first and only Asian Filipino weekly publication and a multi-award winning newspaper! Online+Digital+Print Editions to best serve you! (Continued on page 22) September 23-29, 2011 Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia by Rudy D. Liporada (Publisher’s Note: This article was a lecture delivered by the author in one of Professor Felix Tuyay’s Philippine History classes last semester at the Western Col- lege) In September 21, 1972, Fer- dinand Marcos garrisoned the Philippines with Martial Law. His primary goal was to quell the Communist Party of the Philip- pines, its New People’s Army, and its alleged front worker, youth, and other sector organizations. Secondarily, he had to silence his political oppositionists and sup- press a Muslim separatist move- ment in the Southern Philippines. Under the guise of protecting the Significance of Marcos’ Martial Law and EDSA I & II duly constituted government from “lawless elements,” he executed Proclamation 1081 placing the entire Islands under military rule. The mass media was placed under government control and thousands were then arbitrarily incarcerated and killed or, in Philippine Military parlance, salvaged. Marcos then became, formally, a dictator and was toppled only in February 1986 by the now famous People’s Power or EDSA I. Years later, in January 2001, another People’s Power, dubbed EDSA II, toppled another president, Joseph Estrada. In both EDSA revolts, citi- zens massed against the presidents and succeeded when the military turned against the incumbents – General Fidel Ramos and Defense Secretary Ponce Enrile against Marcos; and General Angelo Reyes against Estrada. Question is: Why is it that after toppling the dictatorship of Marcos and the regime of Estrada which were considered repressive, the so- cial and economic conditions of the Philippines continue to worsen? Considering Marcos Martial Law alone, if one isolates it and suspend it as just that – an era, one might miss a thread of why and how Marcos evolved to be the dictator that he was and why the succeed- ing administrations after him failed to resolve the Philippine social and economic maladies that prevailed and worsened even after his down- Looking Back on Sept 21,1972: The 39th Anniversary of the Imposition of Martial Law Filbookfest Authors Contact: Gemma Nemenzo at filbookfest@yahoo. com The largest con- vergence of authors with Filipino roots outside the Philip- pines is taking place on Saturday, Octo- ber 1 and Sunday, October 2 at San Francisco’s Civic Center for the first-ever Filipino American International Book Festi- val (FilBookFest). The Philippine contingent includes former Philippine president Fidel V. Ramos, National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario (aka Rio Alma), National Artist for Visual Arts Ben Cabrera (aka BenCab), journalists Marites Vitug, Cris Yabes and Pete Lacaba, historians Ambeth Ocampo and Felice Sta. Maria, critic Isagani Cruz, noted psychologist Dr. Honey Carandang, cultural activist John Silva, au- thor/chef Claude Tayag and multi-awarded authors Jose “Butch” Dalisay, Ed Maranan and Neni Sta. Romana Cruz, among others. The bigger group of writers/au- thors of course are Filipino Ameri- cans and include such notables as Cecilia Brainard, Marivi Soliven Fr. Shay Cullen, PREDA It’s back to the dark ages for the hysterical tabloid press in Metro Manila where the bellowing newscasters and commentators are con- demning street children and children in conflict with the law as criminals. The most strident commentators call for the children to be charged and jailed and reduce the age of criminal liability to 12 years old or younger. They demand After finishing out the term she had inherited from the unceremoniously ousted actor presi- dent , the lady presi- dent initially an- nounced she would not run for the post. Although the Consti- tution only required a one six-year term for the office, she could technically run for the position since she was not elected to it. Rather, she had just assumed the presidency when it was vacated due to her being the vice president and next in line. At the last minute, however, she changed her mind. She declared her candidacy, hop- ing to continue as president for the next six years. If she succeeded, she would have occu- pied it for ten years, which was not what the framers of the Constitution had envisioned. She would run against the candidate of the opposition, a top movie actor who was friends with the ousted president, an actor himself. Many believed the president ran for election By Mario J. Mallari, The Daily Tribune Former military comptrol- ler Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia was arrested yesterday by the Armed Forces of the Philip- pines (AFP) in compliance with President Aquino’s order for the implementation of the two-year sentence handed by the general court martial in 2005 for violations of Articles of War, with the Palace mak- ing sure that nobody steals the thunder from the arrest telling reporters that Garcia being sent to the National Bilibid Prison was the result of a direct order from Aquino. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin confirmed the arrest of Garcia, who was originally accused of plunder for al- legedly amassing more than P300 million of unexplained wealth during his incumbency as AFP deputy chief of staff for comptrollership. The order for Garcia’s rear- rest was based on a 2005 court martial decision that was not acted on by former President Arroyo. Since Arroyo did not make any move on Garcia’s case, the judge advocate general said Garcia will have to serve the full two-year jail term imposed on him. In 2005, the special general court martial found Garcia guilty of the charges and slapped him two years impris- onment with hard labor and dishonorable discharge from the service. Garcia retired from the military service in November 2004. However, the court martial sentence was not implemented as it needed approval of the President as the commander in chief. Arroyo did not act on the sentence slapped by the court martial against Garcia.
Transcript
Poverty Rate on the Rise: California Rate Highest
in 11 Years .. p. 14Actions Speak Louder Than Words .. p. 11
Garcia back in prison based on 2005 ruling
(Continued on page 20)
by Simeon G. Silverio, Jr. Publisher & Editor in Chief, Asian Journal San Diego
Chapter 5
Fantasy Land
Not Without A Fight
Vice Ganda: “Oo, mayabang ako!”
Why We Are Shallow
The proposal to bring the age of criminal liability back to nine years old, is strongly opposed. The present Juvenile Justice Law exempts minors aged 15 and below
One Hundred Authors, Thousands of Books at Filbookfest
The Return to the Dark Ages
Former PH Pres Fidel V. Ramos, National Artists and Palanca Award winners head the list
Sionil Jose, Philippine Star | MANILA, 9/12/2011 --I was visited by an old Asian friend who lived here 10 years ago. I was fl oored by his observa-tion that though we have lots of talented people, as a whole, we continue to be shallow.
Recently, I was seated beside former Senator Letty Shahani, PhD in Compara-tive Literature from the Sorbonne, watching a medley of Asian dances. The stately and classical Japanese number with stylized movements which perhaps took years to master
elicited what seemed to me grudg-ing applause. Then, the Filipino
tinikling which any one can learn in 10 minutes; after all that energetic
Zena Sultana BabaoMsgr. Gutierrez Ben MaynigoP-Noy, POGI, Pinoys.. p. 8
September 23-29, 2011
(Continued on page 16)
(Continued on page 2)(Continued on page 19)
(Continued on page 20)
Philippine Radio
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The original and first Asian Journal in America
550 E. 8th St., Ste. 6, National City, San Diego County CA USA 91950 | Ph: 619.474.0588 | Fx: 619.474.0373 | Email: [email protected] | www.asianjournalusa.com
PRST STDU.S. Postage Paid
Permit No. 203Chula Vista CA 91910
San Diego’s first and only Asian Filipino weekly publication and a multi-award winning newspaper! Online+Digital+Print Editions to best serve you!
(Continued on page 22)
September 23-29, 2011
Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia
by Rudy D. Liporada
(Publisher’s Note: This article was a lecture delivered by the author in one of Professor Felix Tuyay’s Philippine History classes last semester at the Western Col-lege)
In September 21, 1972, Fer-dinand Marcos garrisoned the Philippines with Martial Law. His primary goal was to quell the Communist Party of the Philip-pines, its New People’s Army, and its alleged front worker, youth, and other sector organizations. Secondarily, he had to silence his political oppositionists and sup-press a Muslim separatist move-ment in the Southern Philippines. Under the guise of protecting the
Signifi cance of Marcos’ Martial Law and EDSA I & II
duly constituted government from “lawless elements,” he executed Proclamation 1081 placing the entire Islands under military rule. The mass media was placed under government control and thousands were then arbitrarily incarcerated and killed or, in Philippine Military parlance, salvaged.
Marcos then became, formally, a dictator and was toppled only in February 1986 by the now famous People’s Power or EDSA I. Years later, in January 2001, another People’s Power, dubbed EDSA II, toppled another president, Joseph Estrada. In both EDSA revolts, citi-zens massed against the presidents and succeeded when the military turned against the incumbents – General Fidel Ramos and Defense
Secretary Ponce Enrile against Marcos; and General Angelo Reyes against Estrada.
Question is: Why is it that after toppling the dictatorship of Marcos and the regime of Estrada which were considered repressive, the so-cial and economic conditions of the Philippines continue to worsen?
Considering Marcos Martial Law alone, if one isolates it and suspend it as just that – an era, one might miss a thread of why and how Marcos evolved to be the dictator that he was and why the succeed-ing administrations after him failed to resolve the Philippine social and economic maladies that prevailed and worsened even after his down-
Looking Back on Sept 21,1972: The 39th Anniversary of the Imposition of Martial Law
The largest con-vergence of authors with Filipino roots outside the Philip-pines is taking place on Saturday, Octo-ber 1 and Sunday, October 2 at San Francisco’s Civic Center for the fi rst-ever Filipino American International Book Festi-val (FilBookFest).
The Philippine contingent includes former Philippine president Fidel V. Ramos, National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario (aka Rio Alma), National Artist for Visual Arts Ben
Cabrera (aka BenCab), journalists Marites Vitug, Cris Yabes and Pete Lacaba, historians Ambeth Ocampo and Felice Sta. Maria, critic Isagani Cruz, noted psychologist Dr. Honey Carandang, cultural activist John Silva, au-thor/chef Claude Tayag and multi-awarded authors Jose “Butch” Dalisay, Ed Maranan
and Neni Sta. Romana Cruz, among others.
The bigger group of writers/au-thors of course are Filipino Ameri-cans and include such notables as Cecilia Brainard, Marivi Soliven
Fr. Shay Cullen, PREDA
It’s back to the dark ages for the hysterical tabloid press in Metro Manila where the bellowing newscasters and commentators are con-demning street children and children in confl ict with the law as criminals. The most strident commentators call for the children to be charged and jailed and reduce the age of criminal liability to 12 years old or younger. They demand
After fi nishing out the term she had inherited from the unceremoniously ousted actor presi-dent , the lady presi-dent initially an-nounced she would not run for the post. Although the Consti-tution only required a one six-year term for the offi ce, she could technically run for the position since she was not elected to it. Rather, she had just assumed the presidency when it was vacated due to her being the vice president and next in line.
At the last minute, however, she changed her mind. She declared her candidacy, hop-ing to continue as president for the next six years. If she succeeded, she would have occu-pied it for ten years, which was not what the framers of the Constitution had envisioned. She would run against the candidate of the opposition, a top movie actor who was friends with the ousted president, an actor himself. Many believed the president ran for election
By Mario J. Mallari, The Daily Tribune
Former military comptrol-ler Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia was arrested yesterday by the Armed Forces of the Philip-pines (AFP) in compliance
with President Aquino’s order for the implementation of the two-year sentence handed by the general court martial in 2005 for violations of Articles of War, with the Palace mak-ing sure that nobody steals the thunder from the arrest telling reporters that Garcia being sent to the National Bilibid Prison was the result of a direct order from Aquino.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin confi rmed the arrest of Garcia, who was originally accused of plunder for al-legedly amassing more than P300 million of unexplained wealth during his incumbency as AFP deputy chief of staff for comptrollership.
The order for Garcia’s rear-rest was based on a 2005 court martial decision that was not acted on by former President Arroyo. Since Arroyo did not make any move on Garcia’s case, the judge advocate general said Garcia will have to serve the full two-year jail term imposed on him.
In 2005, the special general court martial found Garcia guilty of the charges and slapped him two years impris-onment with hard labor and dishonorable discharge from the service. Garcia retired from the military service in November 2004.
However, the court martial sentence was not implemented as it needed approval of the President as the commander in chief.
Arroyo did not act on the sentence slapped by the court martial against Garcia.
Page 2 September 23-29, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
(Continued on page 9)
Gazmin said the conviction was forwarded to the Offi ce of the President for confi rmation but “it was never confi rmed then.”
AFP-Judge Advocate General Brig. Gen Gilberto Roa said Garcia will now have to serve the full two-year term of his sentence because of the failure of the previous adminis-tration to act on his case. Roa said Garcia will also be subjected to hard labor while confi ned at NBP.
The President, Roa said, has the power to “mitigate” Garcia’s sentence or to “remit” it or credit the time he served under preventive suspension during court martial pro-ceedings, but the previous president did not exercise such power.
Roa said that the two-year sen-tence imposed on Garcia does not cover his cases pending other courts like the Sandiganbayan. Garcia is out on bail after the Ombudsman allowed a plea agreement for lesser offense of direct bribery and graft.
“There is an order for General Garcia to be arrested and detained in violations of Articles of War affi rmed by the court martial and confi rmed by the commander in chief,” said Gazmin. Garcia did not resist arrest.
Garcia, a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1971, was initially taken into custo-dy by the Intelligence Service of the AFP (Isafp) in Camp Aguinaldo but was later transferred to the National Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. said that he sent Col. Her-bert Yambing, AFP-Provost Marshal General, and offi cials from the AFP-Judge Advocate General’s Offi ce (Jago) to effect the arrest of Garcia at his residence in Quezon City.
“Following the confi rmation of our commander in chief pertaining to
the sentence, the court sentence of retired Major General Carlos Garcia on violation of Articles of War 96 and 97…we effected the
implementation of the order this morning. At 8:30 a.m., they were able to arrest General Garcia,” said Oban.
Oban said the President Aquino approved the sentence on Sept. 9.
Garcia was charged with Articles of War 96 or conduct unbecoming an offi cer and gentleman, and AW 97 or conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline, for falsify-ing his statement of assets, liability and network (SALN) in 2002 And 2003and for possessing a US green card while in the active military service.
Roa clarifi ed that Garcia’s deten-tion in Camp Crame, prior to posting bail, was in connection with his pending cases before the Sandigan-bayan.
In a press briefi ng, Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda also claimed the failure of the previous administration to immediately con-clude the court martial proceedings against Garcia and the government’s failure to immediately send him to jail had the imprimatur of Arroyo being the commander-in-chief of the AFP.
Lacierda said Garcia could have not dodged imprisonment without Arroyo’s blessing as promised that there will be no VIP treatment to be given to Garcia.
Garcia was arrested in his resi-dence in Quezon City on Friday morning by AFP Provost Marshall personnel after he was found guilty of violating Articles of War 96, or conduct unbecoming an offi cer and a gentleman; and Articles of War 97, or conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline.
Garcia was sentenced with two years in prison with hard labor and discharged from service.
According to Lacierda, the prison term meted against Garcia was a result of a court martial proceeding on the basis of alleged misrepresen-tation of the value of his assets in 2002 and 2003, and for possession of US permanent resident status while still in the active service and is a separate from his graft and corrup-tion case.
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Law Offi ces of Chua Tinsay & Vegawww.ctvattys.com
by Atty. Dennis ChuaLegal Buzz
Read Atty. Dennis Chua’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com
Garcia back in prison based
on 2005 ruling(Continued from page 1)
Letters to the EditorRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-
journalusa.com
Name: Lirio VitalEmail: [email protected]: Editorials - BALIK-TANAW by Dr. Romy V. Protacio, PhDHeading: Lirio Vital: Mga Gintong Ala-ala Kahapon, NgayonRomy, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this
beautiful article you have written about me. I am so blessed by it. God bless you my friend..
Name: Rufi no "Pie" RoqueEmail: [email protected]: Editorials - THE METAMORPHOSIS by Ernie Delfi nHeading: To Live, To Learn, To Love, And To Leave A Legacy: A Pre-
scription For A Joyful And Fulfi lling LifeInspiring 4Ls and your own life story Ernie. Keep up with your club,s
entrepreneurship vision for the Filipino youth... Mabuhay.../Pie
Name: Porferio Digal Ayos Email: [email protected]: News & Features - Travel & Tourism Heading: Divine Mercy Hills Shrine in El Salvador, Mindanao is Holy
Ground claims prayer groupSEP 16 • The magnifi cence of its structural beauty is a miracle by itself.
Hope my wish for a pilgrimage to this place in the near future becomes a reality.
Menu: Editorials - BALIK-TANAW: Where Are They Now? The Filipino Stars of Yesteryears
Heading: Vilma Valera: The singer-actress na “Tisay”Reader OpinionsEd Minoza • [email protected] 06 • Thanks for the write up. I’ve been longing to know how Vilma
is doing now..I still have her ONE DAY song in my MP3 list..So glad she is doing fi ne..She does not know me but it is not important...Glad she lives a fulfi lling life..
delfi n espiritu • [email protected] 09 • While surfi ng the internet I came across this write-up on Ms.
Vilma Valera. I am one of her admirer/friend but we lost contact already. I’ve been to Sacramento and I’m planning to go back again to California this October. How I wish I could see and meet her again. Pls. give me her contact number or email address. Thank you very much.
Menu: News & Features - Phil-Am Law 101Heading: Can Filipino Wife Use Her Maiden Name In Her Passport?Reader OpinionsJeruel • [email protected] 05 • This is rather unfortunate. No wonder women feel discriminated
at times. If her husband abused her and she separates, why is she made to carry around the name of somebody who abused her?
Menu: Editorials - Light & ShadowsHeading: Legacy of Leadership: Ronald W. Reagan’s Presidential Li-
brary and MuseumEdgardo C. Babao • [email protected] 02 • I have two opinions regarding this article about the Reagan
legacy. First and foremost, I’ve always admired President Reagan for his outstanding stand on foreign policy. He will always go down in history as one of my favorite presidents. Second, I applaud my dear friend Zena for taking part in this dialogue about our country’s participation in maintaining the values freedom around the world. Thank you Zena very much.
By: Dennis E. Chua, Esq.
John-John and Jen-Jen were mar-ried on February 14, 2005. After their wedding, they planned a trip to Lake Tahoe for their honeymoon. On their way to Lake Tahoe, the couple had an accident. John-John was fatally injured and eventually died from his injuries. Jen-Jen was a Filipino citizen whose visitor’s visa has already expired. It was their plan that John-John fi le an immi-grant petition for Jen-Jen to allow her to adjust her status to that of a permanent resident. However, since they were not married for two years when John-John died, Jen-Jen could not fi le a self-petition as a widow. This is because the law in force at that time requires that a widow be married for at least two years with the US citizen before she can fi le her self-petition.
This cruel law was eliminated by Congress when President Obama signed into law a bill which ended the so-called widow penalty on October 28, 2009. This law now removes the two-year marriage re-quirement from the current law and now allows these widows to self-petition. They would still however need to show that the marriage was entered into in good faith and a bona fi de one. Unmarried children below 21 years old of the widow(er) may be included in the self-petition that is fi led for the widow(er).
However, the self-petition must be
fi led within two (2) years from the death of the US citizen petitioner. For those widows whose husbands have died prior to the enactment of the law, they may still avail of the new law so long as they fi le their self-petitions before the deadline set by the law which is two years from the enactment of the law.
Many are still unaware of the pas-sage of this law and the deadline for them to avail of this law. Widows who were then subject to the widow penalty must fi le their self-petitions no later than October 28, 2011 in order for them to be able to avail of the provisions of this new law and eventually adjust their status to that of legal permanent residents of the United States.
Atty. Dennis E. Chua is a partner in The Law Firm of Chua Tinsay and Vega (CTV) - a full service law fi rm with offi ces in San Francisco, San Diego and Manila. The information presented in this article is for gen-eral information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-cli-ent relationship. The CTV attorneys will be holding regular free legal clinics at the Max’s Restaurant in Vallejo, California. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone con-sultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (415) 495-8088; (619) 955-6277; [email protected]
Deadline For Widows To File Self Immigrant Petitions
Responding to President’s Call to Action, Key Effort by Leaders in Industry and Universities to Trans-form Learning Technology
Today, the White House and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the launch of “Digital Promise,” a new national center created by Congress with bipartisan support to advance technologies to transform teaching and learning. Digital Promise will receive startup funds from the Department of Education as well as the Carnegie Corpora-tion of New York and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. It will be overseen by board made up of prominent leaders in education and technology appointed by
Secretary Duncan based on recommenda-tions from the House of Representatives and United States Senate.
Digital Promise will work with leading researchers, entrepreneurs, and schools to identify and spur breakthrough learning technologies, determine quickly what’s working and what’s not, and transform today’s fragmented learning technology market, paving the way for the widespread use of learning technologies that deliver the best results for students, parents, and teach-ers. These efforts build upon the President’s call to create jobs by out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building the rest of the world, including the Administration’s efforts to bring all of America’s schools into the 21st century.
“Digital Promise is a unique partnership
White House to Launch “Digital Promise” Initiative
that will bring everyone together – educa-tors, entrepreneurs, and researchers – to use technology to help students learn and teachers teach. There’s no silver bullet when it comes to education, but technology can be a powerful tool, and Digital Promise will help us make the most of it.” President Obama said.
“Created by Republicans and Democrats and championed by a coalition of educa-tors and business leaders, Digital Promise is an independent nonprofit that will help spur breakthrough learning technologies. And it will help make sure Americans of all ages and races, regions and backgrounds can benefit from them. By harnessing the extraordinary work being done by educators, innovators, and citizens across this country,
Digital Promise can help prepare Ameri-cans – and America – to succeed in the 21st Century,” said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
To realize the potential of learning technology, Digital Promise will work with educators and leading researchers, technol-ogy firms, and entrepreneurs on three key challenges:
· Identifying Breakthrough Tech-nologies. For years, researchers have been working on developing educational software that is as effective as a personal tutor. Preliminary results from a DARPA/Navy “digital tutor” project suggest that we can reduce the time required to become an expert in IT from years to months. Achieving simi-
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 14, 2011 – As part of its Environmental Cham-pions Initiative, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) will contribute $800,000 to non-profit organizations with an environmental focus.
SDG&E is challenging non-profits to develop programs that involve and educate young people in the community as stewards of the environment. The utility is fostering environmental education programs that enhance understanding and awareness of the ecosystem, envi-ronmental conservation, and energy and water efficiency.
Winning organizations can receive up to $25,000 for individual projects and up to $50,000 if they collaborate with another environmental non-profit. This initiative is extended to any environmental program admin-istered in SDG&E’s territory.
“There are a number of non-profit organizations in the San Diego region committed to environmental education,” said Frank Urtasun, regional vice president of external
SDG&E Earmarks $800,000 for 2011 Environmental Championsaffairs for SDG&E. “We’re proud to play a part in helping these groups to carry out their mission.”
Non-profit organizations with a primary focus on environmental stewardship and conservation, and those with substantial experience developing environmental educa-tion programs can HYPERLINK “http://sdge.com/community/enviro-champs/” submit their applications until October 4.
Preference will be given to en-vironmental programs that target one or more of the following areas: natural resource conservation and protection, habitat preservation and restoration, and waste/recycling.
SDG&E will announce the win-ners by November 1.
More than 80 non-profit organiza-tions have received grants as part of the Environmental Champions initia-tive, which was originally developed and administered by the Sempra Energy Foundation.
SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reli-
able energy service to 3.5 million consumers through 1.4 million elec-tric meters and more than 850,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The util-ity’s area spans 4,100 square miles. SDG&E is committed to creating
ways to help our customers save en-ergy and money every day. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego. ###
Blumenfeld announces proposed Border 2020 environmental program
SAN FRANCISCO – This week Jared Blumenfeld, U.S. EPA Re-gional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest, is touring areas along the U.S.-Mexico border, meeting with Tribal leaders and kicking off the public comment period for a new, 8-year U.S.-Mexico Border Environ-ment agreement, known as Border 2020.
Blumenfeld’s tour will take him to the recently upgraded South San Diego International Wastewater Treatment Plant as well as the Ti-juana River Estuary and the Border Field State Park. The estuary is designated as a Wetland of Interna-tional Importance due to its critical wildlife habitat, one of the last of
Southern California’s river mouths not bisected by a road or rail trestle.
On each stop Blumenfeld will discuss efforts to improve water quality and habitat in a region where sediment build-up, wastewater and trash still pose major threats to wild-life and human health. While in the area, he will also meet with officials from Mexico’s Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), as well as Campo Kumeyaay Nation Chairwoman Monique La Chappa to discuss the Border 2020 program.
“While we have made great progress in improving the environ-ment along the border, there are still dire, basic needs not being met,” said Jared Blumenfeld. “Clean, safe drinking water, adequate wastewater
U.S. EPA Regional Administratorto tour San Diego Border Area
Page 4 September 23-29, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
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CHAINCHAINCHAIN RING
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GUEVARA
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Pusoy (A Russian Poker) By Rudy D. Liporada | Chapter 11
My fi rst class that Wednesday would be at 9:00 in the morning but I was already dressed up at 5:30. That would have been my jogging time to build up my soccer stamina. I decided I would walk the fi ve mile stretch from the boarding house to the St. Vincent Parish Church.
“I play the organ there every Sundays and Wednesdays,” Cynthia had said the night before at Camp John Hay.
She did not exactly invite me to go to church and I have decided to surprise her although I felt that she expected me to come.
The morning air was still crisp when I stepped out to start my walk. Only terse taxis and jeepneys spewed diesel fumes, not enough to discourage healthy air to fi ll my lungs. That was good for my soc-cer stamina. That was good for my Christian soul.
I have not really been to church that much since I left the minor seminary almost three years ago. As far as I was concerned, since we had masses there everyday, I have already attended the masses I had to for my entire life. Plus I wondered what issue of Playboy could that priest, who would be saying the mass in front, have intently ogled at the night before. Did his hand touch something he should not have last night before he would place the host, the body of Christ, into one’s mouth at communion time?
I really felt like a hypocrite attend-ing that mass, pretending to believe that the priest, offi ciating the mass, would not be a hypocrite but I had to listen to Cynthia play the organ.
Yet, my Christian soul bothered me why my being a Christian was with Catholics. The nuns and the priests have told me that we were the chosen who could only be the ones who can enter heaven as long as we do not commit mortal sins like murder somebody or something.
Yet, at UP, I was no longer with just Catholics. There were Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, Episco-palians, all claiming that their way was the way to heaven. The Muslims did not have heaven. They had seven virgins in their seven whatever. Then there were Mashid and Bishan, Iranian exchange students, who said that Baha’is have this circular domed churches dotting the world. The domed cathedrals have nine doors representing the nine major religions in the world, Christianity among them.
Of course, Jenny says that com-munism is not exactly a religion but is more loving of mankind than all of the religions which are “just marijuana for the people. You know, just to lull the masses to accept their pitiful fate for God would, someday, just have mercy on them.
“You know, with passages in the bible like offer your other cheek when they slap you on the left cheek or when they throw stones at you, throw them bread, they only mean that when oppressors exploit you, you have to forgive them for when you are meek, yours will be the kingdom of heaven.”
Jenny really injected confusions in my mind for I have also learned those scriptures from the nuns and the priests but never connected them to exploiters and the oppressed.
I blamed my father for sending me to UP causing all this confusion in my soul. Amidst the confusion, however, I just concluded that if I was born in Japan, I would have been Shinto.
One thing not confusing though is I am now going to a Catholic Church, not to hear mass offi ciated by, maybe a hypocrite, but to listen to Cynthia play the organ.
Mrs. Samson was at the Church,
too. So, were Manang Maritess, Manang Pamela, and LenLen. The little girls were there, too, splendid in their blue school uniforms ready to go to class after church.
Thanking the Lord for their dollar blessings, I supposed.
“We are praying for my dad,” said
Cynthia. “He called last night. He
Meeting Dadslipped at work and could not work for awhile.”
Mr. Samson retired E7 in the US Navy. For a Filipino, in 1948, that was a tight squeeze through a lot of prejudicial grid where only whites could climb the ranks and any col-ored would just be adjuncts to any of the main arterial staffs. Moreover, Mr. Samson was not black enough and the blacks were jealous how he got so high. Defi nitely, he was not white and whites wondered how he rose through the ranks. Both whites and blacks, however, had to salute him, not because of him, but for his stripes.
Though a chef who had lorded over other chefs as master chief in the navy, in civilian life, in Califor-nia, at that time, Mr. Samson could only receive minimum wage and was at the pleasure of customers who would pay extra tips on top of tips reserved for waiters who he could not even become. The res-taurant management relegated him worthy only as a bus boy, cleaning customers’ left over mess on the tables.
Yet, the dollars he sent home sent his children to school in the Philip-pines. Of course, his pension paid for the children’s tuition until they reach eighteen but then there were the nieces and nephews – children of the brothers and sisters of Mrs. Samson who Mr. Samson had obligated himself also to support. He would have been comfortable with his family living off his pension and social security but he had said “my pension was not enough for my older children have already entered college.” This was even if every cent Mr. Samson sent to the Philippines had exponential weight in terms of feeding many mouths and getting them school supplies.
So, Mr. Samson scavenged for any dollar he could in San Francisco. He cramped further his cramped hotel room by Market Street, which he paid monthly, with an iron horse and a dresser that only contained his work clothes.
Portraits of his wife and children all smiled at him on top of the dress-er – venerating him for the dollars he sent home not knowing that he had to wake up ahead of everyone who works in the restaurant and trudged two blocks in the icy cold to prepare the restaurant for breakfast custom-ers. He also had to clean up and close the restaurant when those on swing shift had taken their late din-
ner or was that, for them, breakfast? These he had to do on top of his being a bus boy which no one back home in the Philippines knew he had to do so he could send them dollars and be venerated by them.
Now he was hurt. He had to haul a fresh butch-
ered pig into the freezer room of the restaurant. His shoes failed to grip on the fl oor strewn with ice in the carelessness of who got in the freezer ahead of him. His tailbone pushed on his sacral spine which pushed up his lumbar, thoracic, and cervical bones. The fall immobilized him on the icy fl oor and he would have frozen if not for his supervisor who wondered what was taking him so long.
Workman’s comp cut his pay by a third although he did not have to work while being treated prior to the settlement of his claim. After six months, therapists pronounced him stable, able to bend and walk. He just became $60,000 richer for not being able to lift half of a butchered pig anymore.
Mr. Samson decided to take a break and go home to his family before returning to modifi ed work. He had presents for everyone, added to those he was not able to give the Christmas before because he was still in therapy in the United States.
That was the fi rst time I saw the fi ve foot man with whites forc-ing out between his sparse black hair. His bulky frame appeared to bounce when he went down the fi nal cobblestones leading to their house. Everyone in the house, except Mrs. Samson, reverently grappled at his hand to place their forehead at its back whenever they had to greet him. I had to follow suit.
“This is Rodel, Dad,” Cynthia had said.
Mr. Samson did not smile at me. “He is the son of Louie and Susie,”
said Mrs. Samson.“Louie and Susie?”“You know, the Moratos.”He still did not smile at me.
After a week, through Cynthia, Mr. Samson invited me for dinner. He prepared the rib eye steak he got from John Hay for what I thought was more of a confrontation than a dinner. There were no twenty or so plates clanking on the table that night. Everyone else confi ned themselves to their rooms and at the neighboring homes.
Mr. Samson did not smile at me all throughout dinner punctuated with potatoes and rice. Mrs. Samson and Cynthia were very much less vibrant like they were in the presence of their dollar doling god.
“I want Cynthia to fi nish her col-
lege,” he said after sipping Hills Bros coffee right after dinner. “I want her to fi nish before anything else. Marriage and getting pregnant could come after.
“I have been frustrated with Mari-tess who married early and did not continue, not even fi nishing her high school. Romy did not fi nish any-thing. Because of that, they cannot fi nd good work. They have to stay in this house with their children.
“When I go back to the States, Pamela would already come with me as she had already fi nished. She will help me so Cynthia could fi nish her nursing course. I also want Cynthia to go the US right after her gradu-ation so she can help me send her brother and other sisters fi nish their college.”
Mr. Samson, though already
dubbed stateside, was no different from Filipino parents who say that the only inheritance they can leave their children is their education.
Education is a passport to a better life where everyone competes for the limited work stations calling for a degree in the Philippines. A nursing education is a better passport for anyone to escape the brewing pov-erty in the Philippines because of the growing limited work stations in the Philippines. Nurses are in demand in Australia, England, and, of course,
the United States. “Cynthia will fi nish,” I said. That will be in two more years.Mr. Samson extended his hand. As
I shook his hand, he smiled. .After a month, Mr. Samson en-
planed back to the US with Pamela. When the semester opened again
that following school year, Cynthia had to go down to Manila to com-plete her major nursing course.
I had a break from climbing the muddy route to their house, going to John Hay, and having Hills Bros cof-fee, cheese, hamburgers, and banana splits which only those who could afford could afford.
To be continued…
(Publisher’s Note: Pusoy is Rudy D. Liporada’s second novel and third book being serialized in Asian Journal. One can get a copy of the book through Amazon.com – A Russian Poker - or by calling the author at 858-722-1465.)
treatment and suffi cient waste man-agement are serious public health threats that need to be addressed by both nations.”
Working with Mexico, the ten Bor-der States and 26 border tribes, the EPA is requesting comments from interested parties and border stake-holders on the draft framework. A public meeting will be held October 5 in Calexico’s City Council Cham-bers from 6-8pm. In addition, a list of upcoming public meetings can be found at: www.epa.gov/border2012.
Tampa, Fla. (September 14, 2011) – September is National Prepared-ness Month and the Insurance In-stitute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) calls upon property owners to invest in structural hardening measures that will reduce or prevent property damage due to natural and man-made hazards.
The U.S. has experienced numer-ous severe weather events this year, including tornadoes in Joplin, Mo. and Tuscaloosa, Ala., wildfi res in Texas and Oklahoma and most re-cently, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. These disasters have left hundreds dead and caused billions of dollars in property damage.
“The severe and frequent natural catastrophes that have struck the U.S. this year demonstrate the need to be better and constantly pre-pared,” said Julie Rochman, IBHS president & CEO. “We cannot stop Mother Nature’s wrath, but we can be do more to reduce the toll she takes on communities across the country.”
The fi rst step for residents to be prepared is to determine the natu-ral hazards common in their area. IBHS’ website, www.disastersafety.org offers a ZIP Code –based tool that will generate a list of the risks common to various geographic areas. Each type of risk is linked to a list of practical, specifi c measures home and business owners can use to help minimize the impact of natural disasters such as windstorms, hurricanes, fl ooding, earthquakes,
IBHS Stresses Proactive Approach to Resiliency During National Prepared-
ness Month
Grant Funding From California
Family Justice Initiative Expands Domestic Violence and Sexual As-sault Services
San Diego CA – September 1, 2011 – Five new Family Justice Centers will open across California to provide comprehensive domestic violence and sexual assault services based on a model fi rst introduced in San Diego in 2002. The Na-tional Family Justice Center Alliance (NFJCA), based in San Diego, has helped develop fourteen Family Justice Centers in California in the last fi ve years. Now, with support from Blue Shield of California Foundation, the NFJCA will help develop fi ve more Centers. Through a competitive application process, the NFJCA has selected fi ve commu-nities to participate in the California Family Justice Initiative and expand the network of Family Justice Cen-ters in California.
The fi ve new Centers will be lo-cated in the following counties:
Imperial County Alpine County (Inter-Tribal Coun-
lar results in subjects such as math would transform K-12 education. Digital Promise will begin its work by partnering with technology fi rms and researchers to map the R&D landscape, identifying opportunities for similar breakthroughs in learning from cradle through a career.
· Learning faster what’s working and what’s not. Internet startups do rapid evalu-ations of their sites, running test after test to continually improve their services. When it comes to education, R&D cycles can take years, producing results that are out of date the minute they’re released. Digital Promise will work with researchers and entrepre-neurs to develop new approaches for rapidly evaluating new products.
· Transforming the market for learn-ing technologies. With more than 14,000 school districts, and an outdated procure-ment system, it’s diffi cult for entrepreneurs to break into the market, and it’s also tough to prove that their products can deliver meaningful results. Meanwhile, the amount we invest in R&D in K-12 education is esti-mated at just 0.2% of total spending on K-12 education, compared to 10-20% of revenues spent on R&D in many knowledge-intensive industries such as software development and biotech. Digital Promise will work with school districts to create “smart demand” that drives private sector investment in in-novation.
Today, Secretary Duncan announced the inaugural board members of Digital Promise and the Administration made several additional announcements, including $15M in new awards from the National Science Foundation to support research that is developing next-generation learning environments. In addition, a number of private-sector partners announced an array of related efforts, including an initiative by schools and school districts to improve educational outcomes through the wider use of effective teaching and learning technolo-gies; the launch of a new national alliance of top education-policy researchers focused on improving outcomes among the Nation’s dis-advantaged children; and a number of new challenges and prizes for the development of video games and other forms of digital entertainment that spur learning and interest in science, math, and engineering.
(Continued from page 3)
White House to Launch “Digital
Promise” Initiative
the statutory maximum of 10,000 U-visas per fi scal year for the second year in a row since it began approv-ing petitions for them in 2008. It is a signifi cant milestone for the program created by Congress to strengthen law enforcement’s ability to investi-
gate and prosecute cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, human traffi cking, and other crimes while at the same time offering protection to victims of such crimes. More than 45,000 victims and their immediate family members have received U-
Relief Provided to Thousands of Victims of Crimes USCIS Achieves Signifi cant Milestone — Approves 10,000 U-Visa Petitions for Second Straight Year
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), marking a signifi cant milestone in its efforts to provide relief to victims of crimes, has for the second straight year ap-proved 10,000 petitions for U nonimmigrant status, also referred to as the U-visa.
On an annual basis, 10,000 U-visas are set aside for victims of crime who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse and are willing to help law enforce-ment authorities investigate or prosecute crime.
“Providing immigration protection to victims of crime and their families while aiding law enforce-ment efforts to bring criminals to justice is of the utmost importance to the Agency and the public we serve,” said USCIS Director Ale-jandro Mayorkas.
Due in large part to public educa-tion and partnerships forged with law enforcement agencies and service providers, USCIS reached
visas since the implementation of this program.
As part of this effort, USCIS adjudications offi cers have traveled to 30 cities, including Boston, Philadelphia, Se-attle and Los Angeles to train federal, state and local law enforcement and immigrant-serving organizations on im-migration protections available to immigrants who are victims of human traffi cking, domestic violence and other crimes.
USCIS will continue to ac-cept and adjudicate new U-visa petitions, and will resume issu-ing U-visas on Oct. 1, 2011, the fi rst day of fi scal year 2012.
For more information about the U-visa, please see the Victims of Criminal Activity web page at www.uscis.gov. From there, you will fi nd a link on the right side of the page to Questions and Answers.
For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit www.uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), You-Tube (/uscis) and the USCIS blog The Beacon. For more information about DHS efforts
to combat human traffi cking, visit www.dhs.gov/humantraffi cking and www.uscis.gov/humantraffi ck-ing. – USCIS –
(Continued from page 3)
EPA to Tour San Diego Border ..
The U.S-Mexico border is home to over 14 million people and is one
Public Meeting: Border 2020: U.S.-Mexico Environmental Pro-gram. The U.S. EPA and Mexico’s Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) would like your comments on the draft of the next, bi-national program entitled “Border 2020: U.S.-México Environmental Program” during the 60-day comment period which opens September 19, 2011 and ends November 17, 2011. The draft document describing the next program will be available during the comment period on the EPA’s Border 2012 website: www.epa.gov/border2012. Webinars and public meetings in border communities will be held to describe the new program and to answer questions. Public comments will be taken in writing and accepted during the public meetings or by e-mail to EPA at [email protected] or SEMARNAT at [email protected].
of the busiest cross-border trade regions in the world. Although both
countries benefi t economically from the commercial exchange, the prob-ability of pollutant exposure to those who live along the border continues to increase.
The goals of Border 2020 are “to protect the environment and public health in the U.S.-Mexico border region, consistent with the principles of sustainable development”. Border 2020 is the latest multi-year plan-ning effort under the La Paz Agree-ment, a bi-national environmental pact signed in 1983 by U. S. Presi-dent Ronald Reagan and Mexico president Miguel De la Madrid. The agreement succeeds the current bi-national program Border 2012.
More information: http://www.epa.gov/border2020
(Continued on page 14)
New Family Justice Cen-
ters Coming to Five California Communities
Page 6 September 23-29, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
We Filipinos love to travel. My family, friends, coworkers and acquaintances are traveling all the time. They travel and then look forward to the time when they can travel again. They save money, plan
“Norway: Land Of The Midnight Sun”: Cruising With My Four Sisters
their trip, travel, reminisce, and then plan another one. Travel is so relaxing, enjoyable, enlightening, and informative, thus we do it again and again.
I have been traveling almost every
year to different places. I have seen almost the entire world except South America so that is one country I would like to visit in my next trip. Sometimes I travel with family, friends, tour group or part of a con-ference that I attend. I usually take group tours but now I am hooked to taking cruises so I do it now more often. The first cruise I took was to see the Greek Islands in 1992 and after experiencing life on a cruise ship, I just don’t want to do it any other way.
Before this cruise to Norway, I have seen most of Europe except Norway. My sister, nephew and a friend were on a tour in 1995 for three weeks starting from Frankfurt, Germany to Prague, Poland, Russia (Moscow & St. Petersburg), and Scandinavian countries such as Fin-land, Denmark, Sweden, and ended up in Berlin. Somehow, we missed Norway, and this is the main reason that I very much wanted to go there. All of my sisters also wanted to go to Norway.
It was disconcerting that the day before we left for the trip, there was bombing in Oslo, the capital, and many people were killed. This is enough to discourage someone to travel but it did not prevent us from going there. Sometimes in our trip, there are wars and rumors of wars in places we want to visit and we often hesitate about leaving. This hap-pened in our trip to Israel in 1995 and people discouraged us because of the on-going war there. I am glad we went. If I didn’t go, I may never have gone to Israel because there is always war there.
The interesting thing about this 7-day cruise from July 7 to July 31st, is this is my first time to take a cruise with my four other sisters: Perla who lives in Seattle, Lois from Simi Valley, and Didi & Julie from San Diego. We took the British Airways that now has a direct flight to London. It took 10 hours from San Diego to London. We then con-verged at the Marriott Hotel in Hyde Park where we stayed overnight. The next day we were driven by bus to Dover for two hours to catch Hol-land America’s MS Ryndam to view the Norwegian Fjords.
CRUISING NORWAY
I have heard about Norway that it is the most beautiful country in the world and it is true. Towering mountains, deep fjords, and thunder-ing waterfalls… these are all part of the spectacular landscape that makes Norway. You can view this “land of the midnight sun” by land and water—travel up a fjord and have your breath taken away by the tall, sheer faces of surrounding cliffs. One can enjoy also the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Oslo, the capital and Bergen, the gateway to the fjords.
It took a day to get to our first port in Norway. The day at sea is usually a time to relax, explore the ship, meet the captain, look for the souvenir shops, and most of all get oriented to the dining rooms, theatre, bars, dancing places, spa/gym, and beauty salon. Most of the stewards and dining room crew were from Indonesia and the clerks were from the Philippines. MS Ryndam is not a very big ship —it has a capac-ity of 1500 individuals. It was my first time to get sea sick on a cruise so I spent the day in my cabin and had room service. Luckily, two of my sisters are nurses and they gave me some Dramamine that made me dizzy all day.
Life on the ship starts with break-fast and then getting ready for the optional tours that can last from 3 to 7 hours. We joined four of the optional tours and we noticed that they were expensive costing us almost $800. Tour prices in Europe have gone up especially in Norway, where the standard of living is high. But it is worth it as you have gone from so far away and may not be able to come back to see them. Some couples have regretted later why they did not join the optional tours but it was too late.
Lunch can be served during one of the tours or others are able to come back to the ship if the tour finishes early. There are so many options to do during the daytime on a cruise. There are lots of classes such as the culinary class to learn food prepara-tion from the executive chefs and physical activities such as yoga,
dancing. One can read in the library, go to the gym or spa, opt for a mani-cure/pedicure or massage, go shop-ping, watch a movie, use the Internet in the computer room, or just hang around doing nothing.
There are many dining options for lunch and dinner. There is the fast buffet that is helpful when you are in a hurry and a fast food place
for hamburgers, tacos, hotdogs, and fish & chips. For dinner, the formal dining room is the best where you are served the full meal and can eat also as much as you want. The food offered is varied from American, English, Asian, or International.
Left to right: The five sisters: Ofelia, Didi, Julie, Perla and Lois
MS Ryndam (top), a quaint village (middle), Sognefjords, Norway (bottom)
(Continued on page 8)
ASIAN JOURNALThe first Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern California
An award-winning newspaper, it is San Diego’s most widely circulated Asian-Filipino newspaper!
Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor
In Pursuit of ExcellenceEugenio “Ego” Osin, (1946 - 1994)
Joe Cabrera, (1924 - 1996)Soledad Bautista, (1917-2009)
Miles is Assistant to the Dean and Assistant Professor in the Shirley Hufstedler School of Education at Alliant International University where he teaches new media and diverse writing courses. He has been with the Asian Journal since the 1990’s.
by Miles Beauchamp
by Dr. Ofelia Dirige Founder, President & CEO Kalusugan
Community Services. www.filamwellness.org
Contemporary Asian American Issues
Perspectives
Uh oh. “That time” is starting to approach – the holiday season. It’s still a couple of months away, but in “holiday time” that’s almost mean-ingless.
With the holidays comes a di-lemma faced every year. That special someone has everything, but you want a present that makes a state-ment.
Lucky you, I have a suggestion. For a gift as magnificent as the scenery, Anchorage, Alaska has it all from snow-capped peaks to canine athleti-cism. It may be hard to stick a bow on some of these gifts, but memories made in the 49th state will be among the most treasured. And there’s noth-ing like travel for a really wonderful gift.
Idita-Rider in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race® www.iditarodauc-tion.com
For a extraordinary thrill, secure a spot in one of the 2012 Iditarod contenders’ sled baskets. Imagine being tucked snugly in a sled basket as the cool wind whips by and the musher calls encouragement to the dogs. What could be more exciting than the gift of an up-close view of the exhilarating action for the first 11 miles of the 2012 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race®? Spots for this once-in-a-lifetime experience are limited and are auctioned off to the highest bidder. Get bids in early!
Follow the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race® by Air www.skytrekkin-galaska.com
Take to the skies with a small group of travelers and follow the teams taking part in what’s called the Last Great Race. Don’t miss mushing a dog team, snowmobiling with a trail expert and cheering on the amazing four-legged athletes as they make their way from Anchor-age to Nome. It’s a trip that will be talked about for years to come.
Watch a Grizzly Fish for Din-ner www.Anchorage.net/wildlife
A mother grizzly stands in rush-ing water up to her knees, her cubs watch from the shore. A moment later her jaws snap shut on a salmon and she heads out of the water. Din-ner is served. It’s an incredible expe-
rience, and nothing stands between human and animal. Book a charter flight from Anchorage to one of the many nearby bear viewing sites. Make sure the camera’s memory card is empty because boundless photo opportunities await.
A Ski Weekend in the Backcoun-try www.epicquest.com/trips/snow/alaska/girdwood/
Looking for an unparalleled skiing adventure for the avid outdoorsman? Thirty minutes south of Anchorage is the ski town of Girdwood. Short helicopter flights place skiers on top of big Alaska faces with views of Turnagain Arm in one direction and Prince William Sound in the other. On days the helicopter can’t fly, in-bounds and cat skiing will keep the adventure lover on powder.
K-9 Crew Handler, World Cham-pionship Sled Dog Races www.furrondy.net
Get hands-on experience in the heart-pumping action at the Anchor-age Fur Rendezvous (Rondy) World Championship Sled Dog Races. Lend a hand to a musher and dog team. K-9 crew members receive a custom Rondy crew jacket, race-access credentials and the unfor-gettable experience of being at the starting line with the fastest sled dogs on earth.
Hand-knit Accessories from Fine Fibers www.qiviut.com
Keep winter’s cold at bay in any
climate with a handcrafted item made of qiviut (pronounced “kiv-ee-ute”), the downy-soft underwool from the Arctic musk ox. Warmer than sheep’s wool and extraordinari-ly lightweight, qiviut is shed each spring. Scarves, hats and headbands of all sizes are created by Alaska Native women from remote coastal villages. The fiber is incredibly resil-ient and lasts for many years.
A Piece of Alaska’s Culture www.Anchorage.net/shopping
Alaska Native culture is rich with tradition and very much alive in Alaska. Give the art collector in your life an authentic, Alaska Native-made piece of history. Present a meticulously woven birch basket, a hand-carved piece of walrus ivory, a beautiful scrimshaw piece of baleen, a whale bone shaman’s mask or a multitude of other crafts available only from Alaska’s first people.
The Fresh Factor – Wild Caught Alaska Seafood www.Anchorage.net/seafood
In Anchorage, scrumptious seafood is just begging for a fork, a spritz of lemon and bit of melted
One-of-a-kind gifts for a season fast approaching
Uncommon finds from Alaska make holiday shopping effortless
butter. No matter where the holi-day table is set this season, savor salmon, crack into crab or start the holiday with halibut. Get the finest Alaska seafood shipped to you direct from the source.
A Brew Like No Other www.Anchorage.net/blend
Coffee lovers know their brew. They know it needs to be perfectly roasted and fresh. With 19 hours of daylight in the summer and 5 hours in the winter, Anchorage knows coffee. The Big Wild Life blend created by Kaladi Brothers Coffee is definitely big, wild and bold with earthy tones and a hint of chocolate.
SO THERE YOU GO. A few gifts that, if you put them in someone’s stocking, would have them dancing (and who doesn’t want to see grand-pa dancing?). Between now and Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa I’ll be offering up the occasional column to help you get through the season. My pleasure.
For more information on Anchor-age’s wild adventures and urban delights, explore www.Anchorage.net.
With many different cultures and subgroups that use more than 20 different languages and dialects, Alaska Native cultures can be identi-fied through their traditional form of dress, spectacular handwork on beading and basket making, traditional carvings, and forms of story-telling. Photo Credit: Cathryn Posey / ACVB
Read Atty. Susan Perez’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com
Work Visas/Green Cards thru Employment• Family Visas• Student, Trainee, Tourist, Investors, Visas • Reinstatement of Petition • Deportation Defense• International Adoption• Appeals, Motions to Reopen/Reconsider• Battered/Abused Spouse• I-601 Waivers (Hardship)• Consular Support in Manila•
IMMIGRATION (619) 819-8648Speak directly with an Attorney
The Law Offi ces of SUSAN V. PEREZ offer the following services:
We also handle ALL PHILIPPINE cases and have an offi ce in Manila to service your needs there.
*Susan Perez is a licensed attorney both in the State of California and the Philippines. She has eighteen (18) years of combined experience in both jurisdictions in the areas of Immigration, Family, Appellate, Juvenile Dependency, Civil, Criminal, Labor, Contracts, Tax, and Business Law. She is also admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit of the Court of Appeals, and the District Courts of Southern California and Central District of California.
Nagsasalita ng Tagalog asin Bicol.
By Appointment only from 9:00 to 5:30, Monday thru Friday.
San Diego Offi ce: Manila Offi ce:625 Broadway, Suite 1015 Suite 2502-A East TowerSan Diego CA 92101 Philippine Stock Exchange CentreTel. No. (619) 819-8648 Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig CityFax No. (619) 923-9555 Tel. Nos.: (632) 687-2565 / 687-9851 Email: [email protected] Fax No.: (632) 687-2565
LEGAL BRIEF by Atty. Susan V. Perez | SAN DIEGO, 9/23/2011 --
I am sharing with you a true story. Gabriel, a Filipino citizen, was only 17 years old when his parents im-migrated to the United States. He was given specific instruction by his parents that he should not get married lest he forfeits the oppor-tunity to immigrate to the United States and to make a better life for himself. Gabriel’s mother petitioned for him as soon as she became a green card holder or a legal perma-nent resident. A year later, Gabriel met Juanita, a seventeen-year-old provincial lass of Tarlac. They fell in love after a few weeks of dating. Their passion clouded their judg-ment and soon enough, they are faced with the specter of having a child when they are barely young adults themselves. When Juanita’s parents found out of her pregnancy, they were outraged. They live in a very small, conservative community where everybody knew what was going on in everybody’s life and where the Catholic notion of pre-marital sex was an abomination of sorts. Gabriel was torn between his chance of immigrating to the United States and doing the right thing for the love of his life. When Juanita’s pregnancy was starting to show, her parents became desperate to save the family’s reputation. They exerted pressure on Gabriel to marry Juanita. So he did. They got married, lived together, and had three children. Ten years later, Gabriel received a notice of interview from the U.S. embassy in Manila. He and his parents were ecstatic. At the interview, Gabriel stated he was single and did not disclose the fact he has children. The U.S. embassy issued a visa to Gabriel as an unmarried son of a legal permanent resident.
Gabriel entered the United States and became a legal permanent resident. He got a job, paid his taxes, and was never in trouble with the law. His parents became U.S. citizens, but the father died shortly. Gabriel visited his wife and children every year. Gabriel had two jobs to support his family. He missed the playful and innocent years of his children and endured a life with-out the company and love of his wife. Gabriel remained steadfast in his role as head of the family. He remained faithful to his wife and sent fifty per cent of his earnings to the family. Gabriel couldn’t wait to be reunited with his family in the United States. As soon as he gained five years of residency in the United States, he filed for natural-ization. Then the problem started. The Government found out about
Waiver For Misrepresention in a Removal Case Does Not Require the Qualifying Parent to Be Alive
the marriage before he entered the United States and initiated removal proceedings against Gabriel. He admitted that he procured his im-migrant visa by willfully misrepre-senting a material fact, which was the marriage. He requested relief under the Immigration and National-ity Act (INA) 237(a)(1)(H), which gives the Immigration Judge (IJ) the discretion to waive the removal of an immigrant who procured a visa through misrepresentation. Only an alien who is the spouse, parent, son, or daughter of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident is eligible to apply for this waiver. The removal proceedings against Gabriel dragged on for years. His mother died before the hearing on his request for INA section 237(a)(1)(H). At the hearing, the Govern-ment counsel stated Gabriel was no longer eligible for the waiver because his qualifying relative who was his U.S. citizen mother has died. The IJ held that Gabriel was eligible because he continues to be the son of a U.S. citizen after the death of his U.S. citizen mother. The IJ then examined a long list of equities in Gabriel’s favor and granted Gabriel a waiver. The Government appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The BIA interpreted the INA section 237(a)(1)(H) differently. It sustained the Government’s ap-peal, holding that to be eligible for a waiver under this provision, the alien must establish that a qualifying relationship to a living relative. Ac-cording to the BIA, because Ga-briel’s mother was no longer living, Gabriel was no longer eligible to ap-ply for the waiver. The BIA vacated the IJ’s decision and ordered Gabriel removed to the Philippines. Gabriel appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal. The 9th Circuit said the BIA erred and Gabriel is eligible for the waiver. INA section 237(a)(1)(H) does not state that the qualifying
relative must be alive and “it is not the role of those who enforce and interpret immigration law to impose unilaterally novel substantive re-quirements beyond those set for in the immigration law itself”. It was a happy ending for Gabriel. He was very fortunate the 9th circuit ruled in his favor. Before this decision came out, a lot of aliens were deported be-cause their U.S. citizen parents had passed away when removal proceed-ings were initiated against them.
We welcome your feedback. If you
have any immigration questions, please feel welcome to email me at HYPERLINK “mailto:[email protected]” [email protected] or call 619 819 -8648 to arrange for a telephone consultation.
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Page 8 September 23-29, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
Two nights are formal nights where individuals dress in a more formal way. There are also other specialty restaurants where you can be more private and have to pay.
Nights are entertainment events where you can view Las Vegas style theatre shows. Afterwards, one can go the casino to gamble; dance, sing, or drink all night in cafés or bars; or simply watch TV in the room and go to sleep. You see, it’s a wonderful life!!!
STAVANGER
Our first port was Stavanger, a blending of old and new Norway. We visited the “Sword in the Rock Monument” comprised of three Viking swords forced into the ground, stands more than 30 feet tall and commemorates the place where King Harald Haarfagre (Fairchair) defeated the last of the regional princes in AD 872 and founded the Kingdom of Norway by uniting the 29 small kingdoms under one crown. Then, we passed by the rich agri-cultural country and visited the Iron Age farm where the living condi-tions from 1,500 years ago have been recreated. The farm is situated in an area where burial mounds from the Bronze Age as well as the time of the Vikings. At the Archaeological Museum, we were met by a guide in a Viking-era costume who showed the use of selected Viking tools.
Stavanger is also known as the “Oil Capital of Norway”. It was initially prosperous by the numer-ous fishing canneries and its own merchant fleet. At the turn of the century, this city thrived with fishing and shipbuilding industries, but the decline of fish stock brought a rapid decline to the canning industry. Fortunately, Stavanger was spared from hard times with the discovery of oil in the North Sea in the 1960s. Today, it is not only the fourth larg-est city but has become the service center for all activities connected to the North Sea oil and gas industry. We visited the Petroleum Museum that was a very interesting to see. Because of the oil industry, Norway has become the richest country in Europe.
ALESUND
Alesund was our second port. It has a beautiful setting, built on several islands (Norvoy, Aspoy and Hessa) with bridges and submarine tunnels that link them. Established in the 9th century when a castle was built nearby, the settlement that grew around the castle was incorporated in 1848. In 1904, a fire claimed the old wooden buildings and more than 10,000 lost their homes. Hoping to
ensure there would never be a repeat of the tragedy, houses were rebuilt in stone in Art Nouveau, the architec-tural style of the time. The Norwe-gian influenced version is especially colorful.
Alesund is also the entrance to Stor (big) Fjord. Fjord is a word of Norwegian origin, meaning a gla-cially carved valley, usually narrow and steep-sided and extending below sea level. Sognefjord, Norway’s largest fjord, winds more than 100 miles into the indented Norwegian coast. Several smaller fjords branch off the main channel. One of them (Aurlandsfjord) is a slender and peaceful channel that leads to Flam, our next day’s destination.
From Alesund, we took a boat to view the Hjorundfjord, 20 miles long and 1,450 feet deep. It is a gor-geous fjord and very impressive. The scenery is breathtaking and the deep emerald of the forest lining the shore contrasts sharply with the inky blue of the water. It boasts a splendid crown of mountains—some as high as 6,000 feet.
FLAM
Sognefjord, the longest fjord in Norway stretches 127 miles inland such as the inner part of Aurlandsf-jords that leads to Flam also contin-ues into Naeroyfjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its geologi-cal qualities and uniquely beautiful natural landscape. It is a seven mile long fjord that is approximately 1,600 feet deep. We were surrounded by steep mountainsides, waterfalls and narrow passages. At the head of the fjord, we reached Gudvangen and we changed transport modes to board a motor coach.
From there, we headed to the Stal-heim Hotel and relaxed over a cup of coffee or tea and pastry. This hotel was used by the Germans during World War II as headquarters. From here you can see the gorgeous views of the valley below before descend-ing the dramatic Naeroy Valley on the Stalheim Road with its thirteen hairpin bends. There are waterfalls on both sides. We then drove to Flam through a series of tunnels. Flam is one of the prettiest towns in Norway although it may not have many historical significant monu-ments. The trip to the Sognefjord (Aurlandsfjords and Naeroyfjord) is the highlight of our vacation. It is an indescribable view that is stunning, gorgeous and impressive.
BERGEN
Bergen, our last port, is Norway’s second largest city and it’s rainiest. There were lots of things to see in the city but we decided to take the tour to Hardanger, the Queen of the Fjords. It is one of Norway’s favorite fjords. It is framed by mountains that peer into the water to gaze in
(Continued on page 22)
“Norway: Land of the Midnight Sun”
(Continued from page 6)
I was telling my barber the other day that I am attending a reception for President Aquino (P-Noy). I explained to him the main reasons the President came to Washington, D.C., and New York. I also men-tioned to him my involvement with a group called POGI (People’s Open Government Initiative). To which he immediately expressed great interest in joining after hearing its goals and that it allows both individual and or-ganizational membership or partner-ship. He wants to be an individual POGI.
P-NOY CAME TO THE UNITED STATES upon the invitation of President Obama and Brazil Presi-dent Dilma Rousseff, co-chairs of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), to attend the launch of the OGP in New York on September 20, 2011.
He was invited because the Philip-pines, under his leadership, has been chosen as one of the eight members of the International Steering Com-mittee of OGP. As Presidents Obama and Rousseff wrote: “We appreciate the active engagement and leader-ship of your government in develop-ing this effort, and look forward to standing with you as we launch this initiative in September.”
P-Noy also delivered the keynote remarks at an OGP-related forum entitled “The Power Open: a Global Discussion” in New York City. The distinct honor of being the only head of state to address the forum was indeed his.
Of course, he also took advantage of this newfound reputation of hon-est and good governance conducive to investments by meeting with the
US–ASEAN Business Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce in New York, and with the Filipino-American community in Washington, D.C.
INDEED, PINOYS SHOULD BE PROUD THAT P-NOY’S GOV-ERNMENT IS INTERNATION-ALLY RECOGNIZED for its efforts to fight corruption and to institution-alize People Power. Determined to eliminate poverty, he believes that it would be a lot easier if corruption were licked first. “Kung walang cor-rupt, walang mahirap.”
Membership in the OGP is not automatic. Any country that is inter-ested in participating is required to submit an Action Plan acceptable to the group, which is currently steered by a committee co-chaired by Presi-dents Obama and Rousseff of the United States and Brazil, respec-
P-Noy, POGI, Pinoys
tively. The other members outside of the two and the Philippines are: the United Kingdom, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, and Indonesia.
I read the draft of the Action Plan of the Philippines. Overall it is acceptable. I particularly like the fact that the Official Gazette in now online. It allows not just members of the judiciary and lawyers but any interested citizen to access the entire corpus of Laws and Supreme Court decisions since 1901, Presidential is-suances since 1935, as well as daily updates from government agencies. After all, “ignorance of the law is no excuse.”
I also like the transparency in local governance whereby the Department of Interior and Local Government has required all Local Government Units (LGUs) to post on local bul-letin boards, in newspapers and on websites information about their utilization of funds and implementa-tion of projects.
Citizens are also encouraged to participate in the budgetary process whereby civil society organizations (CSOs) are consulted in the budget preparation.
THE KEY FACTORS IN A SUC-CESSFUL OPEN GOVERNMENT are Transparency, Accountability, and Participation in Governance. In all these factors, access to informa-tion is a key element. In the case of Transparency, information must be made accessible and available openly and publicly. The public must be informed of the tasks and respon-sibilities of officials, who should be held accountable.
Most importantly, since ours is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, full participation by an informed and vigilant citizenry is encouraged. Par-ticipation by the people here means not just being informed but also in turn informing government officials, the press, and the social media of their concerns, suggestions, ideas, and even proposed solutions. This explains POGI’s existence.
As expected, P-Noy’s draft has some critics. The latter criticize the not-so-firm commitment to the pas-sage of the Freedom of Information bill in the draft.
Indeed many countries, including the United States have a Freedom of
Information Act. This mandates any government agency to provide any information upon written request by any group and/individual citizen.
Is it necessary to have such a law for P-Noy to implement the neces-sary Action Plan that he commits under the Open Government Part-nership?
My answer is NO. There are suf-ficient laws currently in place to sup-port an effective implementation.
One, Article III, Section 7 of the Constitution, states: “The right of the people to information of matters of public concern shall be recog-nized. Access to official records and documents, papers pertaining to of-ficial acts, transactions, or decisions as well as to government research data used as basis for policy devel-opment, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.”
Two, Article II, Section 28 of the Constitution, provides: “Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the State adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest.”
Three, the Supreme Court itself has ruled in 1987 that the right of access to information could be ap-plied directly without the need for an additional act.
Fourth, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees requires disclosure of public transactions and guarantees access to official information, records, or documents. The Act sets a policy of “full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest.”
THE INVOLVEMENT OF P-NOY, POGI, AND PINOYS IN OPEN GOVERNMENT must be encouraged and given top priority. It is our ticket to instituting real social, political and economic reforms in order to achieve a richer and more progressive Philippines. The active and meaningful participation of Pinoys in honest and good gover-nance would, as the Action Plan says, “operationalize and institu-tionalize People Power” and realize P-Noy’s vision of Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.
“This is a recommendation from the military court system. It was never confirmed by the former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during her term, so we are merely confirming the decision of the military court or the court martial,” he said.
Garcia was charged with a non-bailable plunder case for embezzling AFP funds but managed to strike a plea deal with Office of the Om-budsman then headed by Merceditas Gutierrez which allowed him to post bail.
The Ombudsman decision to enter into a plea bargain deal drew wide-spread criticisms against Gutierrez and become the primary basis for the filing of an impeachment case against her. And seeing that there’s no way that she could survive the impeachment, Guttierez resigned .
And with an Aquino appointee – former Justice Conchita Carpio_Morales—taking over the Office of the Ombudsman, hopes are high that Garcia’s case would be reinstated.
Gazmin said Garcia was arrested by a team from the Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP) for vio-lations of Articles of War 96 and 97 as affirmed by the court martial.
An ISAFP team ringed the house of Garcia in Project 6, Quezon City at 8:30 a.m. He was whisked to the ISAFP headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City for process-ing and will be transferred to the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
Garcia and another military comp-troller, Col. Jacinto Ligot, were ac-cused of taking hundreds of millions of pesos from the military funds during their respective stints.
During the Senate hearings on the alleged corruption in the military ser-vice, it was revealed that Garcia was able to withdraw P128 million from his bank accounts while Ligot took out P748 million, both before the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) was able to look into their accounts.http://www.tribune.net.ph/
Read previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-journalusa.com
by Atty. Rogelio Karagdag, Jr.Member, State Bar of California & Integrated Bar of the Philippines
Phil - Am Law 101 Garcia back in
prison ...(Continued from page 2)
Phil-Am Law 101 by Atty. Rogelio Karagdag, Jr., Member, State Bar of California & Integrated Bar of the Philippines
According to the U.S. Embassy in Manila website, “relationship fraud for immigrant visa purposes is a major problem in the Philippines”. This can perhaps be attributed to the Filipino family being an ex-tended unit, whereby grandchildren, nephews and nieces, and other close relatives are sometimes considered also part of the family. For instance, it is not unusual for a well-off sister to take his nephew as her own child, especially if his brother has plenty of children. The arrangement some-how relieves the brother of another mouth to feed; but more importantly,
DNA Testingit assures the nephew of a better education, a more comfortable life, and a brighter future under his aunt’s wings. Oftentimes, the well-off aunt – more likely a professional -- lands a job in the United States and, al-ready inseparable from her nephew, wants to bring him along.
In the past, U.S. immigration offi-cials had limited means of ascertain-ing if the child is really the intending immigrant’s son. Often, all that was required was the birth certificate of the child, but of course the U.S. Embassy was aware of how easy it was to simulate birth certificates in the Philippines. If doubts were en-tertained, it was also easy to present affidavits from disinterested parties to prove that the child belonged to
the intending immigrant. But there were other ways to learn the truth. In a case that reached our attention, the U.S. Embassy discovered that the child was not the intending im-migrant’s son because the medical examination showed that she had never given birth.
The U.S. Embassy has taken the position that the parent has the burden of proof to establish that the child belongs to him or to her. In case of doubt, the U.S. Embassy will try to resolve the situation by requiring the applicants to take additional steps to es-tablish the relationship, but if the doubts persist, it will order a Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) testing. DNA testing is entirely voluntary, but failure to take it will surely mean that the U.S. Embassy will not issue an immigrant visa to the child.
The technology involved in DNA testing has advanced tremendously such that the process is now simpler and cost has become affordable. The petitioner chooses an accredited lab-oratory in the United States, which will then send a test kit, including a pre-paid, pre-addressed return envelope and explicit sampling instructions, directly to the Em-bassy’s Consular Section. When the kit arrives, the Embassy’s Consular
Section notifies St. Luke’s Medical Extension Clinic of the kit’s arrival. St. Luke’s then contacts the appli-cant to schedule an appointment to collect the DNA sample from the cheek or mouth by swabbing. The cost for the collection of the DNA samples is P1,500.00, which must be paid at St. Luke’s. The P1,500.00 is separate from the fee the petitioner
pays the accredited laboratory in the United
States. The applicant must bring his or her passport and a photograph to his or her DNA sample collection appointment.
To assure chain-of-custody con-trols, the DNA sample collection is done inside the U.S. Embassy office by St. Luke’s medical personnel. Once the DNA collection is com-pleted, the DNA sample will be shipped by the Embassy to accred-ited laboratory in the United States. The laboratory will then send the test results directly to the Embassy’s
Consular Section.
Interestingly, results must show 99.5 percent or greater degree of certainty of paternity/maternity to support a biological relationship between a parent and child in visa cases. Test results between aunt-nephew or grandparent-grandchild will produce lower accuracy levels, and the im- migrant visa application will be
rejected by the U.S. Embassy.
Atty. Rogelio
Karagdag , Jr. is licensed to prac-tice law in both California and
the Philippines. He practices immigra-
tion law in San Diego and has continuously
been a trial and appellate attor- ney in the Philip-pines since 1989. He travels between San Diego and Manila. His office address is located at 10717 Camino Ruiz, Suite 131, San Diego, CA 92126. He also has an office in the Philippines at 1240 Apacible Street, Paco, Manila, Philippines 1007, with telephone numbers (632)522-1199 and (632)526-0326. Please call (858)348-7475/(858)536-4292 or email him at [email protected]. He speaks Tagalog fluently. Ar-ticles written in this column are not
legal advice but are hypotheticals intended as general, non-specific legal information. Readers must seek legal consultation before taking any legal steps.
Page 10 September 23-29, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
Destinations
A must-try dish is the spicy Tan Tan noodle (photo/$8 .95) w i th ground pork and a waft of slight sesame seed. A ramen combination set is also avai lable (plus $1-2 per each additional item). You can pick side dish(s): mini-potstickers (3), takana leaf mustard rice balls (2), takana leaf mustard fried rice, or mini BBQ rice.
H omemade p o t s t i c ke r s ( $ 4 . 5 0 ) with house-or iginal sauce. Boi led dumplings or potstickers also available.
Miso ramen ($6.95 ～ ) with a seafood mix including shrimp and squid, along with vegetables and egg.
Two main dishes lunch combination set ($8.50). Pork cutlet and grilled mackerel (photo).
☎ 858-576-7244Tajima Noodle House
www.tajimasandiego.com
Come take a bite of Tajima's ramen! We promise, you won't finish with just one bite.
Ramen 20% OFF→ Mon - Thurs, Lunch only. Ramen 20% OFF for Students → Mon - Thurs, Dinner only. (Student ID required)
Late night ramen → Thurs - Sat 11 pm ‒ 3 am
Ten years have passed since Isamu Morikizono has f irst introduced the exquisite Japanese cuisine to customers as the owner chef of Tajima Japanese Noodle House. Mor ik izono’ s f ruits of his expert ise have delighted many customers of different ethnicities, especially the popular ramen. Besides a variety of ramen, the set meals, rice bowls and other dishes are also highly recommended.
You can arrange the way how you like your ramen when you order! This is how you can do it: Step1: Choose a type of noodle, thin or flat. Step2: Choose a type of brewed soup: soy sauce, salt, miso, Tajima-original pork broth or curry. Adding spice is available by request. Step3: Choose topping(s). For a juicy, filling topping, choose ground pork. Others include the sweet and rich Japanese-style simmered black pork, spicy stir-fried tofu mixed with noodles, chewy, scrumptious vegetable, and the most popular roasted pork (4), etc. A perfect place for San Diegans to taste Japanese cuisine with a tasty little quirk ‒ choose your own ramen styles!
Happy Hour menu available f rom Monday through Thursday, 5:30pm to 7pm. Edamame is $1, deep-fried tofu is $2, Japanese-style fried chicken and takoyaki, etc are $3, and Kirin Draft Beer and sake are 50% off.
Kearny Mesa
Photos by Kevin Sprowls
Tajima Noodle House
Lunch Mon～ Fri 11:30am-2:30pmDinner Mon ～ Fri 5:30pm-10:30pmSat & Sun 11:30am-10:30pmLate-night Thu ～ Sat 10:30pm-3am4681 Convoy St., #I, San Diego, CA 92111
(Continued on page 23)
“He who travels educates himself more.” -- this writer
After almost a year of anticipa-tion, our 15-day European adven-ture, without joining a packaged tour but a personalized plan what to do and see, finally became a reality this month! The trip fulfilled some of our long time dreams and overall it was a wonderful experience. Phys-ically tired but mentally stimulated and historically enriched, the savings we spent were well worth it. When we, homo sapiens travel, we always give up the comforts of home, forget our work or business, leave house-work and garden-ing but we profit much more by doing nothing, as we gain new per-spective of life as we enjoy different places and sceneries that we probably just saw in movies and magazines. For this writer, travelling makes me more humble but blessed, realizing that in our grand universe, I am really “noth-ing” in the ocean of humanity against the magnificent creations of many greater people who lived before me. Travelling is not only seeing grand edifices built centuries ago but a great source of education about history and culture of God’s
Thoughts And Reflections While In Vienna-Rome-Assisi Trip
people around the world.The first leg of our journey was
Vienna where we were hosted by a close family friend, Mayenne Banda Cayir, whom we last saw here in California over 30 years ago when her doctor-parents and her brother Ricky and sister Loi lived before the family went to South Africa. She and her husband Himmet, who now have two children Deniz and Palmyra, took extra days off from their work at the United Nations to become our personal tourist guides around Austria. We did not only see the best that Vienna can offer to
foreigners but also enjoyed the fine cooking of Himmet who is a great chef. Thank you for hosting us, Him-met and Mayenne and fam-ily!
For a whole day, we were toured to many
different and interesting offices of the United Nations and enjoyed the exhibits that were ongoing at the huge U.N. building that week. This UN building stands tall in the Inter-national Center Village of Vienna, very distinctly different compared to the UN building in New York. We even had some pictures in some offices, like the General Assembly room, that are normally not acces-
sible to tourists but we were brought in as a member of a family of our host who works there for decades. Every office, we went to, we were
introduced to dozens of employees of different nationalities, including a scientist from the Ilocoslovakia province of Ilocos Sur, Felicidad Bustillos-Jimeno, who was even growing the Ilocano ampalaya vines as ornamental décor in her private office, an idea that my wife wants to do in her office too, especially dur-ing the winter months when plants cannot survive the chilly tempera-tures!
One weekend, we were also especial guests of a U.N. Employ-ees social gathering where we met dozens of people from different countries and cultures , from Angola,
Ethiopia, India, France, Singapore, Turkey, Philippines and the United States. It was really a United Na-tions in one house in the heart of
Vienna. There, our host Mayenne and I took the opportunity to have everyone taste our Healthy Coffee brand of BLEND coffee which I brought from California. (Note to my Healthy Coffee CEO partner Rick Aguiluz: These U.N. people liked our coffee are now waiting for you to tell them more about the Healthy Coffee business opportunity in Vienna next month!)
A couple of interesting experiences that we were treated to is an open
auditorium OPERA presentation in the city plaza courtesy of the Vienna City mayor, where thousands of people congregate at the end of sum-mer nights, complete with different kinds of food around the plaza till midnight. On another afternoon we went to an agricultural village Aus-trian Potato Festival where distinct German-Austrian food, products are for sale amidst the village cul-tural presentations in a fiesta-like atmosphere, where all people talks German that my wife and I do not understand, yet enjoyed the experi-ence. In between all these activities, we walked miles around Austria seeing all those magnificent centu-ries old building in the City Center as well as cathedral and historical buildings that Vienna is known for. As an interior designer practitioner, my wife has hundreds of pictures
taken just in Austria alone. As our host told us, 5 days to see all the great sites of Austria alone are not enough and indeed we agree, but all good things must end, so we have to pack for the next leg of our trip, the Eternal City of Roma!
--------Something unusual but not funny
happened on our way to Rome. Our 9:30 AM Air Berlin flight to Rome got delayed till 7:00 PM due to unexpected transportation workers strike in Rome where no one was working till after 5:00 pm! So, we just sat down waiting, eating and reading for the flight, as our host has gone home! From this “tragedy” however, I devoured a borrowed book from my host, written by Dor-othy Friesen, an American mission-
Metamorphosis
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Ang labing-tatlong taong si Bentong likas na mabaitmasipag maglinis sa bahay kahit minsa’y makulitmasayang kausap at palabasa ng mga komikskung kaya’t sa pagtulog niya malimit managinip.
May Isang ugali hindi maganda itong si Bentong mainitin ang ulo at kapagdaka’y napipikonsisigaw na lang kaagad at pagdaka’y magsusumbongsa kanyang mga magulang at kasaba’y ang hagulgol.
Itong si ama ay nakaisip ng isang paraanupang ang init ng ulo nitong Bentong ay maibsanmabigyan ng leksyon at ganap niyang maunawaanang bunga ng kanyang ugaling hindi dapat tularan.
At isang supot ng pako ang ibinigay ng amasa kanyang butihin na anak na pinakasisinta “kung ika’y ‘di na makapagtimpi” kanyang paalala“dito sa ating bakod ikaw ay magpako ng isa.”
Sa unang araw pa lamang ay dalawampu’t walo naang pakong kanyang nailagay sa likod-bakod nilasa paglipas naman ng araw napuna nitong amana dumalang naman mga pakong naipukpok niya.
Ang Bakod (1)Joke of the Week: A youngster was
visiting a young patient in a hospital. They talked about the routine of the Catholic hospital. “Why are some of the nuns wearing white and others are wearing black?” the visiting boy asked. “Well,” came the reply, “the ones in white give you your medicine and the ones in black pray for you when the medicine doesn’t work.”
Scriptures: First Reading: Ezekiel 18: 25-28. The prophet keeps up his strong criticism of the Israelites. The present generation is not better or worse in its sins in comparison with the previous generations. Each generation is judged according to its own actions. The prophet exhorts the people to turn away from sin and return to God. Otherwise, the divine
Actions Speak Louder than Words
Just when we thought Jesus had said it all with the Volumes, He gave Anne more gems from the Divine Treasury. These short, easy-to-read booklets focus on ten different subjects, focusing on souls who face a variety of challenges.
AddictionClerical AbuseDivorceYouthsStressDepressionAbortion PrisonersSoldiersPriests & ReligiousRecently released, an additional ten booklets:DyingRejected GodFinancial NeedConsidering SuicideForgivenessExperience TragedyDo Not Know JesusWorry About Children’s SalvationFear PurgatoryAway From The ChurchSomeone you know can gain great comfort and
solace from these soothing pearls of heavenly wisdom.
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presence will be withdrawn from them and the city of Jerusalem will be destroyed.
Second Reading: Philippians 2: 1-11. Paul presented the uniqueness and example of Jesus Christ: his humility, obedience and selfishness that ultimately earned him death itself. Jesus chose to humbly immerse himself in history to save us. If the Philippians follow Christ’s examples, they and Paul will be of one mind and live the same love that they both share with Christ. Gospel: Matthew 21: 28-32. The culpability of Jesus’ op-ponents consists in their rejection of his teachings. On the other hand, the tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners, who are represented by the second son, are responding to Jesus’ message of repentance and are entering the kingdom. Their example of honest conversion should motivate the critics of Jesus to listen to his teaching and not to turn him down. The critics’ own words should be in unison with
their actions and vice versa. Reflections: Body actions speak
louder than words. It is a fact that nonverbal forms of communication can be as effective as verbal com-munication. On certain occasions, nonverbal forms of communication augment and authenticate the verbal forms of communication. For effec-tive communication, experts recom-mend that we pay attention to our hand gestures, facial expressions, and posture. Words can be powerful and sharp as sword, but they become more effective when backed up by actions.
FOR THOSE WHO ARE ABOUT TO GO FOR A JOB INTERVIEW, HERE ARE A FEW POINTERS FROM THE EXPERTS. The positive non-verbal forms of communication are: good eye contact that shows one is paying attention to the speaker; good body language, such as a relaxed open posture that indicates concern and confidence. Avoid the negative non-verbal forms of com-munication: don’t look away when answering tough questions; don’t rush through your answers because it makes you say things that don’t make sense and shows your nervousness; don’t cross arms and legs because they indicate a protective attitude; don’t tap a toe or bouncing a knee since they reveal nervousness; don’t slouch in a chair, it shows your lack of interest or energy.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOL-OGISTS ARE IN AGREEMENT THAT IF PARENTS WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO ACT MORALLY, they should not only show good moral examples, but also demand of their children moral actions. It is not always true that if children talk mor-ally, they act morally. Actions speak louder than words.
Split-level Christianity is a way of life in which a believer does one thing that is incompatible with what he says. His words don’t jibe with his actions. For example, it is possible that a person accepts the sanctity of marriage, but at the same time he/ she may be guilty of marital infidelity. A Christian professes his belief in God while he defrauds others or destroys his neighbor’s good name. The first son in today’s gospel is guilty of a split-level religious practice. The younger son is more honest. After he had realized his mistake, he repented and did what he was supposed to do.
In the aftermath of hurricane, Ka-trina, some of us talk about the works that should have been done but were not done. There are more talks about things that need to be accomplished. These are mere words that remind us of the social ills that reveal a great di-vide: the poverty and wealth, life and death. Others among us do something to help solve those problems: critiqu-ing the system that does little to fight poverty, apathy and hunger. There are still others who take advantage of the crisis to politicize it or prey on the vulnerable, the poor and the children. Today’s Gospel wakes us up from a mediocre faith to one that puts the needs of our neighbors over and above our own interests.
“It is not enough to recall prin-ciples, state intentions, point to crying injustices and utter prophetic denunciations,” Pope Paul V1 said, “these words will lack real weight unless they are accompanied for each
individual by a livelier awareness of personal responsibility and by effec-tive action.”
Quotation of the Week: “Let a man first do good deeds, and then ask God for knowledge of Torah: let a man first act as righteous and upright men act, and then let him ask God for wisdom: let a man first grasp the way of humility, and then ask God for understanding.”
Tanna Debe Eliyahu.
Sunday September 18, 2011 Everything that comes from God
asks for an open and faithful heart. We cannot live with hope and joy in the end-time unless we are living in a state of preparedness. We have to be careful because, as the Apostle Peter says: “Your enemy the devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5.8). Therefore Jesus says: “Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened by debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life. ... Stay awake, praying at all
Living in a State of Preparednesstimes for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to hold your ground before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:34-36). That’s what living in the Spirit of Jesus calls us to.
About the Author: Virginia H. Ferrer is a Filipino Language Teacher at Otay Ranch High School in Chula Vista.
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Novena to Saint Jude
Oh Holy St. Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue, rich in miracles, near Kingsman of Jesus Christ and faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need. To you I have recoursed from the depth of my heart and humbly beg, to whom God has given special great power, to come to my assistance in my present, in return I promised to make your name known and cause to be invoke. ( Say 3 Our Fathers, 3 Hail Marys and 3 Glorys for nine consecutive days, publication must be promised.) St. Jude, pray for us all who invoke your aid. (This novena has never been known to fail.
Prayer to Blessed Virgin
(Never known to fail)
Oh, most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of Heaven. Bless Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh Star of the Sea, help me and show me here you are my Mother. Oh Star of the Sea, help me and show me here you are my Mother. Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humble beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succor me in my necessity(make re-quest). There are none that can withstand your power. O Mary, conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee (three times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days & then you must publish & it will be granted to you.
PersonalPrayer to the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit thou make me see everything and show me the way to reach my ideal. You who give me the divine gift to forgive and forget the wrong that is done to me and who are in all instances of my life with me. I, in this short dialogue, want to thank you for everything and confi rm once more that I never want to be separated from you no matter how great the material desires may be. I want to be with you and my love ones in your perpetual glory, Amen. A Person must pray this 3 consecutive days without stating one’s wish will be granted no matter how dif-ficult may be. Promise to publish this soon as your favor has been granted.
Our Mother ofPerpetual Help
Mother of Perpetu-al Help, Woman of Eternal Hope, you wordless gaze tells me so much about you. Your knowing eyes look upon me with tender love. While your left hand supports the Child Jesus, your right hand is read to receive me. Just as Jesus feels the beating of your heart,
so you encourage me to draw close to you and to lead a life of hope and holiness. Just as His sandal will fall on the ground, through you intersession may God help me as I stumble and fail. Never let me be parted from you and your Son, Jesus.Lady of love, you invited me to place my hand where Jesus fi ngers touch yours - near a heart of endless hope - so that I may be united with you in prayer here on earth and joined forever with you in heaven.
Novena to Saint Jude
Oh Holy St. Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue, rich in miracles, near Kingsman of Jesus Christ and faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need. To you I have recoursed from the depth of my heart and humbly beg, to whom God has given special great power, to come to my assistance in my present, in return I promised to make your name known and cause to be invoke. ( Say 3 Our Fathers, 3 Hail Marys and 3 Glorys for nine consecutive days, publication must be promised.) St. Jude, pray for us all who invoke your aid. (This novena has never been known to fail.
Prayer to Blessed Virgin
(Never known to fail)
Oh, most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of Heaven. Bless Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh Star of the Sea, help me and show me here you are my Mother. Oh Star of the Sea, help me and show me here you are my Mother. Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humble beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succor me in my necessity(make re-quest). There are none that can withstand your power. O Mary, conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee (three times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days & then you must publish & it will be granted to you.
PersonalPrayer to the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit thou make me see everything and show me the way to reach my ideal. You who give me the divine gift to forgive and forget the wrong that is done to me and who are in all instances of my life with me. I, in this short dialogue, want to thank you for everything and confi rm once more that I never want to be separated from you no matter how great the material desires may be. I want to be with you and my love ones in your perpetual glory, Amen. A Person must pray this 3 consecutive days without stating one’s wish will be granted no matter how dif-ficult may be. Promise to publish this soon as your favor has been granted.
Our Mother ofPerpetual Help
Mother of Perpetu-al Help, Woman of Eternal Hope, you wordless gaze tells me so much about you. Your knowing eyes look upon me with tender love. While your left hand supports the Child Jesus, your right hand is read to receive me. Just as Jesus feels the beating of your heart,
so you encourage me to draw close to you and to lead a life of hope and holiness. Just as His sandal will fall on the ground, through you intersession may God help me as I stumble and fail. Never let me be parted from you and your Son, Jesus.Lady of love, you invited me to place my hand where Jesus fi ngers touch yours - near a heart of endless hope - so that I may be united with you in prayer here on earth and joined forever with you in heaven.
Page 12 September 23-29, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
Thanks to our employees who worked through the night to get the lights on quickly and safely.
Thank You To Customers_Asian Journal_09_16_11_13”x21”
Thanks to our employees who worked through the night to get the lights on quickly and safely.
Collaboration
Restoring power to the region was a monumental, collaborative effort with many people involved. Working with the State’s California Independent System Operator, County Office of Emergency Services, countless city and county officials, and the U.S. Navy, we were able to coordinate restoration efforts to get the power back on safely and sooner than anyone could have expected.
Ways to be emergency prepared in the future
Emergencies can and do happen. We practice and prepare every year for situations like this. Our employees were ready and knew what to do. Were you prepared? If you haven’t already, now is a good time to establish your personal family emergency plan. To start, have an emergency supply kit, bottled water and non-perishable food on hand. For more suggestions, visit sdge.com/safety.
On September 8th, San Diego and south Orange counties experienced the most widespread power outage in our history. Thank you for your patience and cooperation during this unprecedented event. We were able to restore power to nearly everyone in 12 hours. And you helped – with your conservation efforts we were able to restore service quickly. You showed this is a great region with great people.
Read Ogie Cruz’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com
by Ogie Cruz
SHOWBIZ WATCHER By Ogie Cruz | SAN DIEGO, 9/23/2011 --
Tuloy pa rin ang patutsadahan ang mga Noranians at Vilmanians sa Facebook,nandung halos masasakit na salita na ang binabato ng magk-abilang kampo para itayo ang kanil-ang idolo na ang ibig sabihin buhay na buhay na ang labanang Vilma Santos at Nora Aunor sa Philippine Showbiz.
Pati ang mga kapatid namin sa panulat sa Pilipinas ay may kanya-kanya ring idolo, may Noranians at may Vilmanians pero kami puma-
Pag-amin sa Lesbian Issue:Nagkaroon ng Paghanga
si Nora kay Vilmapagitna lang.Pero secret kung sino talaga kina Gov. Vi at Superstar Nora Aunor ang malapit sa puso namin, nandun pa rin at nagpupu-miglas ang pagiging writer namin para balance ang pagbibigay namin ng balita.
Kaya nga kung ka-facebook nyo kami, kami ang nagsisimula mag-post ng pictures nina La Aunor at Ate Vi, kasunod ang patutsahan ng mga movie reporters kasabay na rin ang pagko-comments ng mga Nora-nians at Vilmanians.
Isang interview pala kay Ms.
Nora Aunor ng Yes Magazine na nakapukaw sa aming atensyon, etoy tungkol sa Lesbian issue tungkol sa dalawang Reyna ng Pelikulang Pilipino.
Inamin mismo ni Ate Guy, nagka-roon siya ng paghanga kay Vilma noon at dumating pa sa punto na kailangan puntahan niya ito sa isang hotel noon para ibigay lang ang kanyang mga bulaklak sa Star For All Seasons.Inantay pa nga raw niya ito sa lobby ng hotel at nang makita siya na nag-aantay roon pinaakyat pa raw siya ni Ate Vi sa room nito.Halos 10 minutes lang daw ang tagal niya roon matapos maibigay ang bulaklak at agad siyang umalis na walang masyadong nasabi.
Kaya raw kapag naaalala nila ang insidente na ito , nagtatawanan lang daw sila ni Gov. Vi.Wala namang pag-amin o pag-deny si La Aunor kung lesbian siya o hindi.Tinanong naman siya kung Bisexual siya, “Baka nga ganun nga ako, at least
masaya puede ako kahit ano,” pa-birong sagot ni Nora sa panayam sa kanya ng Yes Magazine.
JINKEE PACQUIAO NAGHAMON NG EBIDENSIYA KUNG BABAERO PA RIN SI MANNY PACQUIAO !!!Walang patungmangga naghamon si Jinkee kahit kanino na magpapatunay na may babae pa rin ang Pambansang kamaong na kinalolokohan, at take note may reward pa raw ng Hermes Bag kapag may nakapagbigay ng proof.
Tahimik na raw ang buhay nila ngayon ni Manny, tapos na ang issue tungkol sa mga babae ni Pacman noon.Basta tuloy –tuloy raw ang pagpapaganda niya at hindi niya dine-deny na nagpa-lypo siya para lalong maging sexy .Mismong si Manny pa raw ang nagbabawal sa kanya na magsuot ng mga reveal-ing outfits, at tinutulan din nito ang isang billboards offer sa kanya.
So naghahamon ngayon si Jinkee, basta raw may ebidensiya at may reward na Hermes Bag kung patu-loy pa rin si Manny sa pakikipag relasyon sa ibang babae.
SHARON CUNETA IIWAN NA ANG ABS-CBN !!!Matunog na ma-tunog ngayon ang chismis na aalis na sa poder ng kapamilya Network ang Megastar, at lilipat ito sa TV5 ni
Mr. Manny Pangilinan.Sa January next year daw ito
magaganap, paghahanda raw ito para sa Birthday Celebration niya sa Jan. 6 ayon sa chismis.Huwag daw nat-ing kalilimutan na isang Pangilinan
din si Sha-ron Cuneta kaya pos-sible raw na mangyari ito.
Ang tanong nga ng marami bakit sa ‘Pinoy Big-gest Looser’ iyak nang iyak ang Megastar, dahil pata-pos na ang show niya sa channel 2 at maaar-ing mas mapapadali pa ang pa-glipat niya sa TV5?
Nabulgar na paglipat
ni Sharon, im sure gagawa ng paraan ang channel 2 para maharang ito, abangan…………
WILLIE REVILLAME, HAN-DANG IPASYAL ANG HOSTS NG EAT BULAGA GAMIT ANG KAN-YANG PRIVATE PLANE!!! Tapos na ang intriga sa pagitan nina Joey De Leon at Willie Revillame, kung baga para in good terms na ang da-lawa dahil hindi naman magkatapat ang shows nilang dalawa at pareho pa silang may show sa channel 5.
Kahit nga sa show ni Willie, ini-endorse niya ang ‘Eat Bulaga’ kaysa sa show na ‘Happy Yippee Yehey’ para panoodin .Ganon siya ngayon kadikit sa mga hosts ng naturang show, kaya naman na-invite niya si Joey De Leon kasama ang ibang hosts ng nasabing show para ipasyal niya ang mga ito, gamit ang kanyang private plane.
Pero ayon sa aming source malapit na raw mag-guest si Willie sa ‘Eat Bulaga’, yan ang dapat nating aban-gan .Tiyak mangangatog sa takot ang kabilang show sa pangunguna nina Rico Puno and John Estrada.
Vilma Santos (left) and Nora Aunor (inset)
World Boxing Champ & Philippine Senator Manny Pacquiao with wife Jinkee
Page 14 September 23-29, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
wildfires, severe winter weather and hailstorms. “For homeown-ers, structural hardening efforts can help protect their family from being injured and their home from being
destroyed,” Rochman said. “For business owners, the combination of structural hardening efforts and business continuity planning will improve a business’ chance of not just re-opening, but also remaining a functional, viable operation.”
Rochman stressed the need for a proactive approach to prepared-ness. “We need to create a culture that truly values preparedness and resiliency as a corporate, commu-nity, and individual responsibility,” Rochman said. “We must recog-nize that preparedness and planned resilience are critical to long-term survival and economic well-being.”
About IBHS
IBHS is an independent, nonprofit, scientific and educational organi-zation supported by the property insurance industry. The organiza-tion works to reduce the social and economic effects of natural disasters and other risks to residential and commercial property by conducting research and advocating improved construction, maintenance and preparation practices.
(Continued on page 21)
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*Former San Diego Regional Coordinator for U.S. Immi-gration Amnesty for Catholic Community Services, Catholic Diocese of San Diego
*Legal Advisor, Los Chabacanos of Cavite CityAssociation, Inc., San Diego, California
*Juris Doctor law degree, University of San Diego (1985),Diploma; Oxford Institute on International and Comparative Law (USD), Oxford, England (1984);Bachelor Degree, University of Southern California (1983);Montgomery High School, San Diego (1979)
*Born in the Philippines (Cavite)
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cil of California) Sacramento County Solano County Yolo County Family Justice Centers are multi-
agency, co-located service delivery Centers for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and their children. The Centers provide one place in a community where victims can go to meet with a detective, talk to a prosecutor, work with an advo-cate, see a doctor or nurse, counsel with a chaplain, or access shelter, housing, and job training services. The Family Justice Center model has been identified as a best practice by the U.S Department of Justice because of documented outcomes in existing Centers including: Reduced homicides; Increased accountability for offenders; Decreased recidivism; Better coordination of services for victims; Increased access to ser-vices; and better long-term eco-nomic outcome for victims and their children.
“These Centers will save lives and make it easier for victims to get the help they need,” said Casey Gwinn, President of the National Family Justice Center Alliance. “Without a Family Justice Center, victims have to go from agency to agency telling their story over and over again -- when they to do that they often give up and return to their abuser,” said Gael Strack, Chief Executive Officer
of the NFJCA. ADD 2 - Family Justice Center News Release
The California Family Justice Initiative is funded by Blue Shield of California Foundation. The Initiative incorporates a Learning Exchange Model in which five member teams from each community work together as the new Centers develop. The NFJCA provides training, learning tools, expertise, capacity, technol-ogy tools, and planning services to support the rapidly expanding statewide network of Family Justice Centers. The NFJCA serves as the clearinghouse for model protocols, best practices, and innovative strate-gies to meet the needs of women, children, men, and families exposed to trauma and abuse.
The NFJCA will provide grants up to $25,000 to each of the new Centers in the second year of the Ini-tiative along with intensive training, planning, and technical assistance throughout the two year Initiative.
Three nationally recognized Fam-ily Justice Centers serve as Regional Training Centers for the Initiative: the San Diego Family Justice Center (www.sandiegofjc.org); the Alameda County Family Justice Center (www.acfjc.org); and the Anaheim Family Justice Center (www.anaheimfami-lyjusticecenter.org).
“Every county in California needs a Family Justice Center and every local police department should be supporting this model. It is the natural extension of community oriented policing,” said Anaheim Po-lice Chief John Welter, who founded the Anaheim Family Justice Center and represents the California Police Chiefs Association on the Initiative’s Advisory Committee.
“Family Justice Centers should
be supported by every elected official that cares about stopping family violence in California,” said Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, the visionary behind the Alameda County Family Justice Center. “Victims want and need Family Justice Centers and it is exciting to see Centers developing with their own unique approaches all over the state,” said Reena Becerra, a survivor and Chair of the San Di-ego Family Justice Center VOICES Committee (www.voicesnfjca.org).
Family Justice Centers
The San Diego Family Justice Center was established in 2002 to provide wraparound services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, child abuse and human trafficking. Oprah Winfrey profiled the Center on her show in 2003. In 2004, President Bush launched a federal initiative to create 15 more Centers. In 2005, Congress authorized funding for more Centers in the Violence Against Women Act. In 2006, the National Family Justice Center Alliance was formed to provide training, planning, and consulting services to developing and operating Centers across the United States and around the world. Today there are currently 76 opera-tional Centers in the United States and more than ten international Centers including Jordan, Sweden, The Netherlands, England, Canada, and Mexico. There are more than 140 new Centers developing in the United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Central America.
For more information, please visit www.familyjusticecenter.org.
# # #
(Continued from page 5)
New Family Justice
Centers...
(Continued from page 5)
IBHS Stresses Proactive
Approach toResiliency
By Zena Sultana
SAN DIEGO, CA, Sept. 20, 2011 – New data released by the Census Bureau last week revealed that the number of people living in poverty in America rose to 43.6 million in 2009, and 46.2 million in 2010 – the largest figure in the 51 years for which poverty estimate are available.
The government defines pov-erty line as an income of $22, 314 a year for a family of four, and $11, 139 a year for an individual. The income used to calculate poverty status includes earnings, work-men’s compensation, unemployment insurance, Social Security, veteran’s payments, pensions, interest and dividends, and just about every other source of cash.
It does not, however, include capital gains, so, theoretically, millionaires could qualify as poor if they lived solely by selling off in-vestments. Non-cash benefits, such as food stamps or subsidized rents, also do not count as income.
The poverty rate increased to 15.1 percent in 2010, its high-est level since 1993. In 2009, 14.3 percent of people in this country were living in poverty. The Office of Management and Budget updates this poverty line each year to ac-count for inflation.
“The results are not surprising given the economy,” Paul Osterman, author of “Good Jobs America” and a labor economist at MIT said. “You should expect with so many people unemployed, the poverty rate would go up. It’s just another sign of what a difficult time this is for so many people.”
For middle-class families, in-
come also fell last year. The median household income was $49,445, down slightly to $49,777 or by $332 from the year before. Median income has changed very little over the last 30 years. Adjusted for infla-tion, the middle-income family only earned 11 percent more in 2010 than they did in 1980.
However, the richest in America saw their income rise by 42 percent. Osterman said that as a country we are richer over that 30-year period, but there has been this real shift in where the income has gone – and it’s to the top. The bottom 60 percent of households saw their income plummet last year, while those making $100,000 or more enjoyed a rise in income.
Here in California, the state’s poverty rate in 2009 was the highest in 11 years, according to the non-partisan research group California Budget Project (CBP). The number of Californians with incomes below the federal poverty line increased in 2009 for the third straight year; and more than 5.6 million Califor-nians had incomes below the federal poverty line in 2010, according to the CBP.
That’s 16.3% of the popu-lation, up from 15.3% in 2009. That shows that the number of Californians living in poverty grew, more evidence that continued high unemployment and a struggling economy are weighing on Califor-nia’s families. About two million children in California live in families with income below the poverty line. The number of children in the state living in poverty increased almost 3 percent from 2006 to 2009, from 18.1 percent to 21 percent.
More than 22 percent of Cali-
fornians under the age of 65 were without health coverage last year. State residents under age 65 with employment-based health coverage decreased 3.2 percent, from 55.5 to 52.3.
“The latest data show that the Great Recession had a very profound impact on California, particularly on families with children,” said Jean Ross, executive director of CBP. “We saw a very significant increase in poverty, and a significant decrease in the purchasing power of the income of the typical California household.”
Slow consumer spending is dragging down California’s re-covery in the short term. But the consequences of poverty can have repercussions for decades.
Children who are raised in poverty are less likely to go to col-lege, and have more health problems throughout life, than children from wealthier families, Ross also said. That could have negative conse-quences for California’s workforce, which according to a recent study by the Brookings Institute in Washing-ton, D.C., has already a shortage of educated workers.
California’s unemploy-ment rate averaged 12.4 percent in 2010. In July, there were 2.2 million unemployed in the state, and unemployment was 12 percent. One third of the unemployed – about 727,000 people – have been out of work for a year or more, and many have exhausted their unemployment benefits. Even individuals that have a strong work history are having a tough time finding jobs.
The census data also revealed that 19.4 percent of Californians had no insurance. That equates to 7.2 million people or 1 in 5 residents in our state, one of the highest rates in the nation. California ranked eight among states with the highest rates of people without insurance. Texas topped the list with 24.6 percent of its residents are uninsured, followed by New Mexico with 21.4 percent, and Nevada with 21.3 percent.
Poverty rate rose faster in the South than anywhere else. The South has a poverty rate of 16.9 percent, the West 15.3 percent, the Midwest 13.9 percent, and the Northeast had the lowest rate of 12.8 percent.
ScienceDaily (Feb. 22, 2010) — Anyone who grew up in a large family likely remembers hear-ing “Don’t wake the baby.” While it reinforces the message to older kids to keep it down, research shows that sleep also is an impor-tant part of how infants learn more about their new world.
Rebecca Gomez, Richard Bootzin and Lynn Nadel in the psychology department at the University of Arizona in Tucson found that babies
who are able to get in a little day-time nap are more likely to exhibit
an advanced level of learn-ing known as abstraction.
Nadel, a Re-gents’ Profes-sor at the UA, has described the group’s work (Early Learning in Infants May Depend on
Sleep) in a session at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in San Diego on , Feb. 21.
In their research, Nadel and his colleagues played recordings of “phrases” created from an artifi cial language to four dozen 15-month-old infants during a learning session. Their methodology included repeat-edly playing phrases like “pel-wadim-jic” until the babies became familiar with them.
These phrases contained three units, with the fi rst and last unit forming a relationship. In this ex-ample, the fi rst word, “pel,” predicts the last, “jic.” Even though these are nonsensical sounds, the language created for the test shares some similarity with structure commonly found in subject-verb agreement in English sentences.
Prior to being tested, some infants learning this faux language took their normally scheduled naps. Oth-ers were scheduled at a time when they would not nap following the session. When the infants returned to the lab, they again heard the record-ings -- along with a set of different phrases in which the predictive relationship between the fi rst and last words were new.
By carefully watching the babies’ facial expressions as they listened to both old and new phrases, the researchers were able to rate their level of attention. They found that babies’ longer gazes at a fl ashing light that coincided with the phrases signaled attention, which indicated that they had learned a particular phrase or relationship.
Differences arose between the infants who had napped and those who had not. The infants who did not sleep after the sessions still recognized the phrases they had learned earlier. But those babies who had slept in between sessions were able to generalize their knowledge of sentence structure to draw predic-tive relationships to the new phrases. This suggests that napping supports abstract learning -- that is, the ability to detect a general pattern contained in new information.
In follow-up work, the UA re-searchers have shown that infants must have their naps within four hours of listening to the artifi cial language in order for them to demonstrate this benefi cial abstrac-tion effect. Those who failed to nap within that time, but slept normally that evening, failed to show the abstraction effect the next day.
“It’s a fairly nuanced story,” Nadel said. “What we know is that infants have mostly REM sleep, given the type of sleep they have, given how their brains are developed at that point. And they have to get some of that sleep within a reason-able amount of time after inputting information in order to be able to do abstracting work on it. If they don’t sleep within four to eight hours, they probably just lose the entire thing,” he said.
What this should reinforce for parents, he said, is that while it obvi-ously is important to give infants and young children the kind of stimulation that comes from reading, talking and exposing them to lots of words, these stimuli need to hap-pen within the context of a reason-ably well-regulated daily cycle that includes adequate sleep.
Naps Help Babies Learn and Retain New InformationJuly 5, 2011
1. Yogurt is easier to digest than milk. Many people who cannot tolerate milk, either because of a protein allergy or lactose intoler-ance, can enjoy yogurt. The cultur-ing process makes yogurt more digestible than milk. The live active cultures create lactase, the enzyme lactose-intolerant people lack, and another enzyme contained in some yogurts (beta-galactosidase) also helps improve lactose absorp-tion in lactase-defi cient persons. Bacterial enzymes created by the culturing process, partially digest the milk protein casein, making it easier to absorb and less allergenic. In our pediatric practice, we have observed that children who cannot tolerate milk can often eat yogurt without any intestinal upset. While the amount varies among brands of
yogurt, in general, yogurt has less lactose than milk. The culturing process has already broken down the milk sugar lactose into glucose and galactose, two sugars that are easily absorbed by lactose-intolerant persons.
2. Yogurt contributes to colon health. There’s a medical truism that states: “You’re only as healthy as your colon.” When eating yogurt, you care for your colon in two ways. First, yogurt contains lactobacteria, intestines-friendly bacterial cultures that foster a healthy colon, and even lower the risk of colon cancer. Lactobacteria, especially acidophi-lus, promotes the growth of healthy bacteria in the colon and reduces the conversion of bile into carcino-genic bile acids. The more of these intestines-friendly bacteria that are present in your colon, the lower the chance of colon diseases. Basically, the friendly bacteria in yogurt seems to deactivate harmful substances (such as nitrates and nitrites before they are converted to nitrosamines) before they can become carcino-genic.
Secondly, yogurt is a rich source of calcium - a mineral that contrib-utes to colon health and decreases the risk of colon cancer. Calcium discourages excess growth of the cells lining the colon, which can place a person at high risk for colon cancer. Calcium also binds cancer-producing bile acids and keeps them from irritating the colon wall. People that have diets high in calcium (e.g. Scandinavian countries) have lower rates of colorectal cancer. One study showed that an average intake of 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day is associated with a 75 percent reduc-tion of colorectal cancer. As a survi-vor of colon cancer, I have a critical interest in the care of my colon. My life depends on it.
3. Yogurt improves the bioavail-ability of other nutrients. Culturing of yogurt increases the absorption of calcium and B-vitamins. The lactic acid in the yogurt aids in the diges-tion of the milk calcium, making it easier to absorb.
4. Yogurt can boost immunity. Researchers who studied 68 people who ate two cups of live-culture yogurt daily for three months found that these persons produced higher levels of immunity boosting interfer-on. The bacterial cultures in yogurt have also been shown to stimulate infection-fi ghting white cells in the
bloodstream. Some studies have shown yogurt cultures to contain a factor that has anti-tumor effects in experimental animals.
5. Yogurt aids healing after intes-tinal infections. Some viral and aller-gic gastrointestinal disorders injure the lining of the intestines, espe-cially the cells that produce lactase. This results in temporary lactose malabsorption problems. This is why children often cannot tolerate milk for a month or two after an intestinal infection. Yogurt, however, because it contains less lactose and more lactase, is usually well-tolerated by healing intestines and is a popular “healing food” for diarrhea. Many pediatricians recommend yogurt for children suffering from vari-ous forms of indigestion. Research shows that children recover faster from diarrhea when eating yogurt. It’s good to eat yogurt while taking antibiotics. The yogurt will mini-mize the effects of the antibiotic on the friendly bacteria in the intestines.
A 1999 study reported in Pediatrics showed that lactobacillus organisms can reduce antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
6. Yogurt can decrease yeast infections. Research has shown that eating eight ounces of yogurt that contains live and active cultures daily reduces the amount of yeast colonies in the vagina and decreases the incidence of vaginal yeast infec-tions.
7. Yogurt is a rich source of calcium. An 8-ounce serving of most yogurts provides 450 mg. of calcium, one-half of a child’s RDA and 30 to 40 percent of the adult RDA for calcium. Because the live-active cultures in yogurt increase the absorption of calcium, an 8-ounce serving of yogurt gets more calcium into the body than the same volume of milk can.
8. Yogurt is an excellent source of protein. Plain yogurt contains around ten to fourteen grams of protein per eight ounces, which amounts to twenty percent of the daily protein requirement for most persons. In fact, eight ounces of yogurt that contains live and active cultures, contains 20 percent more protein than the same volume of milk (10 grams versus 8 grams). Besides being a rich source of proteins, the
10 Reason Why Yogurt is Top Health Food
culturing of the milk proteins during fermentation makes these proteins easier to digest. For this reason, the proteins in yogurt are often called “predigested.”
9. Yogurt can lower cholesterol. There are a few studies that have shown that yogurt can reduce the blood cholesterol. This may be be-cause the live cultures in yogurt can assimilate the cholesterol or because yogurt binds bile acids, (which has also been shown to lower choles-terol), or both.
10. Yogurt is a “grow food.” Two nutritional properties of yogurt may help children with intestinal ab-sorption problems grow: the easier digestibility of the proteins and the fact that the lactic acid in yogurt increases the absorption of minerals. And even most picky-eaters will eat yogurt in dips and smoothies and as a topping.
Perhaps we can take a health tip about yogurt cultures from cultures who consume a lot of yogurt, such as the Bulgarians who are noted for their longer lifespan and remain in good health well into old age.
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Page 16 September 23-29, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
The Return to the Dark Ages
DIRECTION FOR OUR TIMES
On the first of every month, Our Lord gives Anne a new message about His call to service.
September 1, 2011JesusDear apostles, it is with joy that I speak with
you today. When I contemplate your fidel-ity to My plan for mercy, I feel joy. When I contemplate your fidelity to holiness, I feel joy. Do not pause in your commitment to becoming holier. This calm movement into the Spirit of gentleness and kindness should help you to view others with compassion, yes, but also yourself. Do you view yourself with compassion? Do you offer kindness and mercy toward yourself when you contemplate your condition? My friends, My dearest friends, be careful to view yourself as I view you. Be careful not to view yourself in harsh light that seeks to condemn. If you are tempted against mercy for yourself, then truly, you are tempted against truth. Because
it is only with mercy and love that I greet your present condition and your attempts to advance in holiness. I am love. I could hardly ask you to love others and then withhold love from you. That would be a flawed plan, destined to fail. My plan is perfect. I give you a receptive heart, you receive My love in abundance, and then stand for Heaven to be a well on earth which both stores and distributes love. Beloved apostle, search your heart today. If you do not find mercy and compassion for yourself in your heart, come to Me at once and ask Me to give these things to you. My plan for you and for the world will not advance as quickly as necessary if you do not accept your present condition and understand My perfect love for you. Your poten-tial for holiness has not yet been fully achieved, of course, and I want you to advance. And I ask that you do so in confidence, joy and hope. Rejoice. I am with you.
Source: http://www.directionforourtimes.com. To receive the monthly messages, please email your request direct to [email protected].
Street Poetry
Read about Michael’s upcoming book of poems “Crushed Violets” by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com
by Michael R. Tagudin Read Romeo Nicolas’s previous poems by vis-
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Natapos rin itong “hearing” na usapin sa “PAJERO”Ngunit wala namang ganon bilang sabi ng OBISPO. Ang binili ay Strada, pick-up na truck at Montero,Deklarasyong PCSO, walang PAJERO o ANINO.
Awang-awa ako noon, sobra-sobra sa OBISPO.Sa hangaring makatulong, BIKTIMA ang naging dulo,Sa “regalong politika”, ‘nagkanulo ang PANGULO, (Pangulong Arroyo)Hindi ba nya ito alam, ito’y PERA ng GOBYERNO?
‘Sinauli ng OBISPO yaong lima na sasakyan,Desisyon na napagtibay, sa “Hearing” ay nasaksihanNa-TOUCH ako sa nangyari ‘di na sana nagkaganyan,Sa kabila ng pagtulong, naging DULOT …KAHIHIYAN.
Ganyang lagi kung paano maging PALPAK sa gobyerno,Nagsasamantalang lagI, maging ikaw ay OBISPO.Dating gawi nating Pinoy sa pagtulong, kahit sino,Umaasang may KAPALIT, lalo’t ito’y SUKLING BOTO.
Buti na lang at tapos na, naabsuwelto ang OBISPO,At ang lima na sasakyan, nagbalik sa PCSO. Sana naman, may MAYAMANG buhat bulsa’y mag-abono,Na tulungan ang OBISPOng maituloy ang PRINSIPYO.
Paano ngayon na kulang na, “resources” ng mga PARI?Gustuhin mang makatulong, PANGHIHIYA, naging SUKLI.Tila yata patuloy rin ang KURAPSYONG MALING-MALI,Na ‘di kayang mapigilan, kung sa UTAK, naging BINHI.
Hirit ni:
Romeo S. NicolasBocaue, Bulacan7/14/2011
PCSO At OBISPO (Part 2)Poem No. 18
In my sleepIn th e deepest of my dreamsI seek your presenceYour absence is feltAndyet nothing really mattersI dream on and onOf senseless panoramaOf friends lost, remembered, foundBut you’re not thereAnd it really does not matterYou ‘re not there in my dreamsIn my life
Dreams
that the Juvenile Justice Wel-fare Act be changed.
This act, Republic Act 9344 is a landmark legislation of compassion that seeks to restore the deprived life of children in conflict with the law. It says that children younger than 15 have an alternative to harsh, cruel prison life where enough of them have been raped, abused, beaten and starved in sub-human conditions. They can be helped, given a chance of an education and rehabilitation through meeting their basic human rights, nutritional needs and educa-tion. However, up to a million chil-dren and minors from the teeming slums frequent the streets and join gangs to survive. Many hundreds of youth are still jailed in conditions not even fit for animals.
Those who advocate the repeal of the law don’t know the reality. They are branding the street children as the tools of the criminal syndicates which the police are either too scared to oppose or are in cahoots with. Instead of exposing the crimi-nal syndicates and their wealthy masterminds, the irresponsible com-mentators are setting up the street kids as targets for the death squads.
Not only that, a few commenta-tors, after giving a tirade condemn-ing the street kids over the radio or TV and arousing fear and hatred against them, they launch their own text-in surveys, then use this survey result to justify their continued condemnation of the children. The one straight forward solution is to feed and educate the young and give jobs with a living wage to the older teenage youth.
The death squads too are busy killing hundreds of street youth in recent years and doing their bloody butchering work with a nods and winks from their political backers and incompetent police. The latest, most gruesome, has been the killing of three youths, 13 and 14, tied, gagged, tortured and stabbed a hun-dred times and thrown as garbage in a ditch in Zamboanga City to the eternal shame of the politicians, police and citizens. Their muffled screams still cry out for justice and mercy. But there is none.
Cebu and Davao cities are the most notorious for the extermina-
(Continued from page 1)tion of street youth. Ten years ago, I called on the former Mayor of Davao City to defend human rights and stop the killings of street youth. Instead, he charged me with libel and had me hailed to court.
It was a proud moment indeed to be able to take a stand for the kids in court but what¹s even more amaz-ing was the crowd of street children that came to Davao City airport to surround me with their malnour-ished bodies to protect me from the assassins’ guns and escort me to a van away from danger. In the end, the Mayor was persuaded to drop the baseless charge. The death squads rule by fear but the politicians call it democracy. If the majority of the people approve by their silence, then I suppose it is. It is the democracy of death and the death of democracy.
There will be no end to the thou-sands homeless urchins that chal-lenge our conscience and religious beliefs until the root cause is dealt with. That is the corrupt system of government and the insurmountable inequality of society. There is the unbridgeable gap between the tiny group of luxurious living rich and the masses of struggling poor. It’s a society where 2% of the population own about 70% of the natural wealth and the millions of hungry slum dwelling people are barely surviving from day to day.
Poverty, mass unemployment and hunger drive the children from these slums on to the streets to a miser-able life of hunger and hopelessness. They go begging, and cannot resist stealing when they are hungry and smell the delicious foods that waft out from the fast food restaurants. The hungry children are driven crazy with the desire for a decent meal. Most of the time they live on left over from the garbage cans. The government has no homes that cares for them and delivers their basic hu-man rights. They are the abandoned and forgotten until they are forced to steal in order to eat. Then they are condemned to prison.
This is the fundamental failure of the Church, politicians, society and humanity – to remain indifferent to the hungry needy children and allow them to be condemned as criminals. We have to come to their defense and give them a life of dignity and decency. END
LifestyleRead J’Son’s previous articles by visiting our website at
www.asianjournalusa.com
by Joe Son
Tom Malunes, a retired US Navy Electrician Chief Mate, was at first reluctant to enlist in the US Navy in 1954, because he was already pursu-ing his third year engineering course and held a reserve commission in the Philippine Armed Forces, but was convinced that he has a better future in the navy than staying in the Philip-pines. Prior to his retire-ment in 1973, he was de-prived of his desire to become a Limited Duty Of-ficer (LDO) or as Warrant Officer (WO) due to the fact that he was not yet a citizen, and he was on Medical Hold for two years and lost time between ratings for advance-ments.
After his enlistment, Tom came
home to Bacolod, Philippines and married his long time girlfriend Mercy in 1960, against the wishes of both their families. Tom’s family, ex-cept his father wanted him to marry a bethroted heiress of a sizeable sugar plantation while Mercy’s fam-ily has their own choice, too. Tom
and Mercy were blessed with three siblings, which to date, is now successful in their own career. Tom became a US citizen in 1970, after his retirement in the US
Navy, in 1974, he worked in
the navy’s Public Works Center in San Diego, in 1979, he transferred in the Naval Sea Support Center, Pacific (NAVSEACENPAC), which was reestablished to Fleet Technical Support Center, Pacific, and retired
Tom’s new life after retirement!
Tom Malunes with wife, Mercy
again in 1995.Tom Malunes is a co-founder of
Mc Buddies, which regularly meet at the MC Donalds in Palm Avenue by the exit of I-805, but now has about seventy active strong mem-bers. Tom, remains very active and supportive in all activities, and now convincing members to undetake a new project, a legendary Mc Bud-dies book. To his credit, he also has another group called the “Jack Bud-dies,” which also meet regularly in Jack in the Box in Imperial. Tom and Mercy are also active in socio-civic, charitable and religious community organizations in San Diego.
Mercy, his loving wife and two sons surprised Tom last September 18 during his 83rd birthday party at the Home Town Buffet in Demery Road, together with relatives and friends and some MC Buddies. Tom was really surprised and thanked his wife and sons to give him one memorable birthday party, which he could not believe that the Mc Bud-dies didn’t leak the secret move of his family.
Most retirees are called upon to care for grandchidren and occa-sionally aged parents. Lucky for this couple, because they never experienced this trend, instead they devote their time to their hobbies and frequent travels. On the other hand, many retirees feel restless and suffer from depressions a result of their new situation. This couple is conscious and careful with constant medical care in their health that might correlate with increasing age, which more likely plays a major role in increased rates of depression
in retirees. Tom and Mercy are very much
aware that healthy elderly and retired people are as happy or hap-pier and have equal quality of life as they age as compared to younger employed adults, so they will enjoy their retirement days while still able to do so, after all, life is too short.--Joe C.Son [email protected] Diego
Del - Chit RiveraProprietor
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Audele Kapag tinuhog ng sinulid, kumikinang na perlasAy nagiging mahalaga at mamahaling alahasItong perlas na naging kuwintas sino mang may hawakPinagyayamang lubusan at ibayo ang pag-iingat. Ang kuwintas na perlas kapag buo at walang patidIto’y isang kayamanan at palamuting panleegAnaki rin ay ugnayan ng mga magkakapatidNg malaki’t masayang angkang naghahari ay pag-ibig. Kung sakaling itong kuwintas ay magkalagut-lagotYaong nagkikislapang hiyas ay tuluyang sasabog‘Wangis nito’y pag-ibig na sa pamilya’y bumabalotKung magkakawatak-watak…suklam, poot ang lulukob. Itong kuwintas na perlas marapat pahalagahanTulad rin ng pag-ibig sa dibdib mo’y huwag iwalayKapag ang pagmamahalan ay naglaho nang tuluyanLalakad kang papalayo, baon mo ay kalungkutan. Ika-28 ng Agosto, 2011
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Page 18 September 23-29, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
(Continued on page 19)
Filipiniana Bookshelf: First Among PeersFirst Among Peers
Th e Offi cial Biography of Marcial Valenzuela
Chapter 3continuation
Tatay Marcial Took Historic Pictures Th at Spoke A Th ousand Words
By Arturo G. ValenzuelaSeventh in a series of articles
Tatay Marcial Is First Among Peers, � e Dean Of Philippine Press Photographers; Endearly Called “Manong” By Friends
The very fi rst Dean of Philippine Press Photographers was the amiable and talented Jose G. Claudio, the immediate superior of Tatay Marcial in 1933 at the TVT group of newspapers.
When Claudio passed away years later, Tatay Marcial inherited the title and it was no less than his new photo section chief Manuel Q. Alcantara who called Tatay Marcial the Dean of Philippine Press Photographers.
During the necrological services for Claudio sometime in the mid-1950s Tatay Marcial delivered a beautifully-crafted eulogy---straight from his heart---to the former chief photographer of the Manila Bulletin. From Tatay Marcial’s origi-nal copy, I quote pertinent parts of that eulogy: “I rise from the ranks of today’s cameramen to give a capsule biography of a fellow-cameraman of yesterday. We, who take pictures (today), are favored with modern conveniences. We ride in radio cars. Our cameras are small, light and effi cient. We use fl ashbulbs, strobe lights, light meters, view fi nders and extension lines. In the midst of all these conveniences, I invite you to pause (for) just a minute and think of the cameraman of yesterday. This man (used) a camera (that was) twenty times heavier than the usual cameras of today. He had only one lens and a very weak (and) cheap one at
that. He used no scientifi c devices. He had no air-conditioned printing rooms. He scared people with the noise and fl ash of his silver nitrate powder. But like the best (from) among us today, this cameraman of yesterday (took pictures professional-ly). I know, because I started almost at the same time as he did. This photographer of yesterday was Jose G. Claudio. He was born poor and he died poor--- like most of us when our time comes. But in his death, Claudio left a legacy for those of us who follow (in) his footsteps. It is this: (T)hat a press photographer, no matter how (small) the (space) he (occupies) in this big wide world, is no less (considered) a hero than those (occupying) higher (posi-tions in life) if he does his job honestly and well. Jose G. Claudio, pioneer cam-eraman, (did) his job honestly and well.”
TATAY MARCIAL’S PEERS IN PHO-TOJOURNALISM
Aside from Claudio, the trail of early Philippine photojournalism was blazed by many of Tatay Marcial’s peers, notable of whom were: Honesto T. Vitug, who became a photojournalist in 1933 (six year after Tatay Marcial’s trailblazing days in 1927), Manuel Q. Alcantara late 1930s, Marcelo Ablaza 1935, Esmeraldo Z. Izon 1932, Jose T. Vitug 1937, Domi-nador Suba 1947, Pablo B. Guilas 1954, Alejandro R. Abril 1947, Jose G. Dungo
1950s, Ben Roxas 1950s, Rodolfo Sakda-lan 1948, Gualberto Reyes 1948, Antonio S. Lopez, Jr. 1956, Tony Ocampo, Alfredo Navales, Amado T. Suba 1940s, Evaristo F. Nievera 1940s, Ben T. Santos 1949, Fabian H. Roxas 1946, Elpidio Rustia 1952, Pablo Caliwan 1946, Nonilon So, Bert Garcia and many more.
Their right forefi ngers pushed the camera shutter that caught many dramatic moments in Philippine history.
MARCIAL’S MANUAL CAMERA VS. TODAY’S DIGITAL CAM
At the time Tatay Marcial was snapping those historic news photographs he had to rely diligently and solely on the accuracy of his judgment and experience because cameras of his time were adjusted manu-ally like the aperture and speed of the lens as demanded by indoor or outdoor lighting conditions. There was no auto metering device in the cameras back then and you have to make adjustments with your camera manually. I would imagine that he must have asked himself questions like: Would an aperture of 2.8 or 5.6 be good for available light? Are the subjects in motion? Should I freeze and capture the drama with a speed of 60, 125 or 250? Would the court judge allow the use of a fl ashbulb so that I could lessen my aper-ture and have a sharper focus of the print?
As a lens man myself (having spe-
cialized in photo documentaries in the 1970s and 1980s) I take personal delight at DSLR cameras of today as owner of a Panasonic Lumix G1 with 14-45mm wide and 100-200mm/100-300mm zoom lenses, and special fi lters. Indeed, the camera has undergone tremendous improvements since 1927 when Tatay Marcial started taking great pictures using big cameras. Today, in this age of digital technology and microscopic integrated circuits, one could just aim and shoot in a convenient way, relying on the many but sometimes confusing built-in digital features of the cam.
When Tatay Marcial was starting out as an apprentice in the Luz Studio of Jacinto de Jesus in Tondo in Manila, the fi rst camera he handled was the “big box,” the tripod-mounted one-fi lm-one-shot cam using big negatives. Later on, the big accordion-type cams were taken off the mount and became the portable handle of news photographers (as they were called back then). The bigger cameras were the top favorites because of the crispy and clear shots they produced although the smaller 135mm Leica was already in the world market as early as 1913.
After World War II, in the late 1940s, Kodak introduced a small box-type commercial camera called “Brownie” using 120mm fi lms which became popular among non-professionals. Almost simultaneously, Rolleifl ex of Germany produced the heavy-duty professional 120mm cameras which became the standard handle by professional photogra-phers and photojournalists starting in the early 1950s. Tatay Marcial would capture the drama and event in 12-shot, 120-millimeter rolls of fi lms, rewind and then
reload again. I could only imagine there could have been very rare times when he could have missed out a drama but then, knowing his skill and talent, he could have merely stopped and rewound at shot No. 8 0r ten and reload before the bigger drama unfolded.
LOCKED UP IN JAIL FORCONTEMPT OF COURTAt one point in his illustrious career,
Tatay Marcial was covering a court trial of a controversial and high profi le criminal case when the presiding judge ordered him locked up for a few hours for taking a picture of court proceedings with a fl ashbulb contrary to court rules. It must have been a court martial because my father was locked up behind bars in what appears to be a small and portable jail cage guarded by a military police. I saw a picture of him behind that cage and when I asked him---it must have happened in the mid-1950s---he replied: “Naka-laboso ako ng judge nuon,” meaning he was cited for contempt by the judge for having defi ed a court rule. He was later released after the publisher of his newspaper intervened. My father
apologized to the judge.Tatay Marcial was one who would go
the extra mile to capture an unfolding event in the country’s history like climb-ing on top of the hood of the company service vehicle, or a fence, a chair most of the time or a tree to get a better view of the situation. He would also raise his 120mm camera above the heads of people blocking his view and look up on his composition on the colored screen upside down of his camera and press the shutter with his forefi nger. Rolleifl ex was his favorite camera because it gave him the fl exibility of viewing and framing what he was shooting at than merely raising a camera and shooting away randomly as in a 135mm cam. He would surreptitiously break press protocol to get a better view
of the event, and if he had to go on all four on the fl oor to get the better perspec-tive on his camera, he would not hesitate to do so.
In 1959 during the foundation anniver-sary of the University of Santo Tomas where I was enrolled at the College of Architecture and Fine Arts taking up Architecture, I told him that there was an ongoing photo contest and the deadline was a few days away. He nodded several times, took out his 120mm camera and started giving pointers on aperture and speed, and which settings to use in a giv-en situation. As he handed the camera to me, he said: “Son, if you have to climb a tree to get a good picture, and then do so; or crouch and hit the ground if you must. Remember to compose a picture that will speak a thousand words.” Although I have been handling his cameras every now and then since way back 1949, this was the fi rst time that I would be on my own without him breathing down my neck and giving me pointers on the spot.
His advice was curt and short but he delivered and lectured on to me in just a few words all the years of his experience. At that time what you capture on your camera was what goes to print---which goes to the viewers eyes. And so off I went to my school and as I was walking, I started to frame and compose mental pictures of the subjects that I would enter in the photo contest. When the results were announced, I proudly showed Tatay Marcial my certifi cate for Honor-able Mention. He fl ashed a smile and said: “You did not get top prize but this is good enough. But fi nish your course, son.” (Read Chapter Nine, Part II “In the Footsteps of the Dean”)
Today there are memory cards that give the cameraman the luxury of thousands of crispy and sharp shots in memory cards that could even be edited on and off the cam. Today, photojournalists could aim, shot, edit on cam or on the laptop computer using the most appropriate edit-ing software (cropping, sharpness, color tones and all the works) and send the fi nal copies to the desk via the Internet thus beating the deadline for tomorrow’s Page One. I am sure if he were still around, Tatay Marcial would have marveled and glossed over like a kid at the digitaliza-tion of the camera, pretty much the way Luis, Carlito and myself do today.
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Bill’s Corner
Read Bill Labestre’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com
by Bill Labestre, MBA
If you ever watch, listen or read news from our native land, maybe you noticed that it’s the same old story with different characters. It’s mostly about 24/7 politics, celeb-rity updates, seasonal typhoons, unsolved crimes or the widespread poverty. So, what else is new? Do you still believe that the country’s economic situation will ever change for the better? Are you willing to help make a change? Probably, you will not. Like always, we’re good critics but, only to watch on the sidelines.
For us baby boomers (born 1946 to 1964), there will be no dramatic change in Philippine history during our lifetime. There is no one person who can make such a big change. Personal agendas, greed and so many bad traits are now so ingrained in Philippine society that it’s quite impossible to move forward. The majority who are poor are expecting a quick change when a new admin-istration takes over. They forgot the fact that they sold their vote last election.
The Philippines is still a third world country. Imagine being a first time visitor in Manila or other big cities. What would you see and
what would you think? Yes, there are nice tall commercial buildings, large shopping malls and beauti-ful, gated communities but, what’s around them? You don’t have to go far to witness many signs of extreme poverty.
The country’s population has exploded. What ever happened to common sense? If the lack of proper education, ignorance or stupidity are the good excuses then, most of the poor people will live and die in poverty.
If you have read deeper into the history of the Filipino people, you may have a good idea why we are what we are. You will understand why it’s hard to unite as one. Being an archipelago, the country has many different groups. There are too many tribes who are proud with leaders who can barely compro-mise. Even today here in San Diego County, how many Filipino organi-zations do we have?
My opinion maybe different from yours so, keep an open mind. I took an oath of allegiance to this country (USA) even before I became a Naturalized citizen. In my heart I’ll always be a Filipino.
When I was in Navy boot camp (1978), an old white lady (civilian
The Place We Still Love
visitor) asked me a question. “If the U.S. goes to war with the Philip-pines, which side will you be”? It was hard but, I told her that I will protect the hand that feeds me. I wished she just asked me how many pairs of shoes did Imelda Marcos owned.
With the current economic situ-ation, many Filipinos plan to retire in their native land. Lucky for us, we have that option. It may work for some but, maybe harder for others. Financially, you maybe OK but, there are many factors to consider. We are a bit older now so, our needs changed. Don’t forget the main rea-sons why you left the country many years ago and settled here.
It is funny to think that when we were young, we liked to come and live here. Now that we’re older, we liked to go home and maybe die there. We even missed the simple lives we had and started to eat the basic food on our diet before. ##
fall – spiraling prices of goods and services, massive unemployment, crime and violence, and other ills that plague the majority of the Filipi-nos up to the present time.
One must also consider that events in history are interrelated where one isolated occurrence in one part of the world could have effects in future events in others countries.
Martial Law is but an OffshootIn this context, one must attribute
Marcos’ Martial Law as but an offshoot of an economic crisis not only in the Philippines in that era but related to a crisis that haunted the United States as early as the late 1800s when she was beset by a series of overproduction of products mainly because of higher technology especially the creation and expan-sion of its railroad systems. Simply put, this meant that there were more finished products than those who would buy or consume them within the United States. This had a domino effect where unemployment rose and farmers produce (as raw materi-als for production) were not being bought due to cut back in produc-tion.
The solution was to find markets outside of the United States where the oversupply of finished products could be dumped. At the same time, they had to find sources of cheaper raw materials. The US had no re-course but become a jingoist nation colonizing other countries under the mantra of its Manifest Destiny and Benevolent Assimilation. Thus, within the middle eighteen hun-dreds, the US was already in Japan and shared the pies of China with other countries. The main goal was to find countries where the US could dump its finished products and have sources of raw materials.
Thus, after the Spanish-American war, the US paid Spain $20,000,000 under the auspices of the Treaty of Paris in December 10, 1898 as its investment to colonize the countries which used to be under the tutelage of Spain - among them, the Philip-pines.
After suppressing the insurgents in the Filipino-American war, the US set to control the government functionaries of the Philippines tran-sitioning from direct control with a US Governor, to sharing powers with a Philippine Commission, to training Filipinos to govern them-selves, and eventually “granting” Philippine Independence.
Question is: who Filipinos would the US train to govern the Philip-pines?
Page 91 of the report of the Philip-pine Commission in 1901, reads (General Theory in Formation of the Government) The theory upon which the commission is proceeding is that the only possible method of instructing the Filipino people in the methods of free institutions and self-government is to make a government partly of Americans and partly of Filipinos, giving the Americans the ultimate control for some time to come. In our last report we pointed out that the great body of the people were ignorant, superstitious, and at present incapable of understanding any government …In this condition of affairs we have thought that we ought first to reduce the electorate to those who could be considered intel-ligent, and so the qualification for voting fixed in the municipal code are that the voter shall either speak, read, and write English or Spanish, or that he shall have been formerly a municipal officer, or that he should pay a tax equal to $15 a year or own property of the value of $250…
The above would presup-pose that only those with wealth and educated, meaning largely from the landed elite, could run, be elected, and trained in the ways of govern-ment patterned after the United States government. And since only those wealthy could vote, this would insure that the interest only of the landed elite will be represented in the government – not the interest of the workers or the peasants.
For emphasis, it should be pointed out that the interests of landlords and peasants are dia-
metrically opposed. What is good for the landlord is detrimental to the peasants. The main interest of a landlord is to maximize produce and profit from land. This would mean pegging cost of production to the barest which would include compen-sating the peasants to the minimum even to the extent of starvation. Any request by the peasants to alleviate their conditions would be a slash on the landlord’s profit and would be unacceptable.
Question: If the government is peopled by landlords, would they pass laws inimical to their interest?
Independence with Binding Treaties
When the US felt that the landlord class was ready to govern the Philip-pines, they “granted” independence on July 4, 1946. On that very day, Manuel Roxas the first president of the Republic of the Philip-pines, signed the U.S.-R.P. Treaty of General Relations. According to Amado Guerrero, “This treaty empowered the U.S. government to retain its supreme authority over extensive military bases which it could expand at will, guaranteed the property rights of U.S. corporations and citizens as being equal to those of Filipino corporations and citizens and put Philippine foreign relations under U.S. government direction…other major treaties and agreements were made...These were the Property Act, the Bell Trade Act, the U.S.-R.P. Military Bases Treaty, and the U.S.-R.P. Military Assistance Pact. The Property Act provided that all real estate and other property acquired by the U.S. government or its agencies before and after July 4, 1946 would be respected. The Bell Trade Act explicitly required the Parity Amendment in the colonial constitution to enable the U.S. monopolies to plunder at will Philip-pine natural resources and operate public utilities, prolonged free trade relations between the Philippines and the United States and placed Philippine tariff and peso currency under U.S. dictation. The U.S.-R.P. Military Bases Treaty gave to U.S. imperialism extraterritorial rights for 99 years in U.S. military bases at more than twenty strategic points in the Philippines. The U.S.-R.P. Mili-tary Assistance Pact provided for continued U.S. control over the local reactionary armed forces through the JUSMAG which would advise and lend or sell weapons and other equipment to them.”
In short, independence was only given to the Philippines when the landed elite agreed to the continued control of the US imperialists on the economic, social and military affairs of the Philippines.
While uncharacteristic of him but to show that Filipino presidents are in office on behalf of the Ameri-can imperialists, former President Diosdado Macapagal himself said in a speech he delivered on March 29, 1968:” Filipino incumbent
presidents and most presidential candidates endeavor to obtain the support of the American government or at least not to antagonize it in their bid for the Presidency. This is significant on two counts. Firstly, it indicates that American authorities perform acts, overt or clandestine, calculated to bear on the actuations of incumbent Filipino Presidents and most Presidential candidates and to affect the campaign and its outcome. Secondly, this practice lessens the independence of mind and action of Filipino Presidents – a fact which could jeopardize the interests of the Filipino people.”
Under this economic and social web, the majority of the Filipinos find themselves in a continuous spiral slide to the abyss of poverty. Consider that the imperialists buy the raw materials cheap and sell their products at a higher cost – the exchange is onerously in favor of the imperialists; consider that the Philippine systems discourage national industrialization pegging the Philippines an agrarian state; and consider that the lawmakers are glar-ingly from the landed elite who also become the business conduits of the imperialists in the exchange of raw materials and finished products.
Enter MarcosIt is in this context that Ferdinand
Marcos enters the political scene when, in 1949, he won a seat in the Philippine House of representatives on the Liberal Party ticket. Belong-ing to the landed elite in the Ilocos region, specializing on American to-bacco subsidies, in less than a year, he was worth millions and owned a Cadillac convertible.
Serving as a re-elected representa-tive, he was elected to the Philippine Senate in 1959. As vice-president of the Liberal Party from 1954 to 1961, the winning of Diosdado Macapagal as president was largely attributed to Marcos’ machinations. This came with a promise that Macapagal would step aside after his term to give way for Marcos to become president. When Macapagal reneged and ran for re-election, Marcos crossed over to the Nationalista party, ran for president and won in 1965. His crossing over would prove that there was no difference between the parties except as competing forces among the landed elite to control the government.
Thus, the landed elite were not only in conflict with the interests of the majority of the Filipinos, they were also in conflict with each other as to who would govern and gain most from the status quo.
After running for re-election and winning in 1968, Marcos, had only four more years to serve as president as per the Philippine Constitution which provides that an incumbent could only serve for two terms. To prolong his rule, Marcos convened the Constitutional Convention or Con-Con which was designed to change the 1935 US patterned Constitution. The main thrust was to make the Philippine government a parliament patterned after the British. Marcos’ machination was viewed as his move to become prime minister after his term as president.
The First Quarter StormThis sparked a protest among
political oppositionists of Marcos; among them was the notable Beni-gno Aquino who would later on be assassinated in 1983. Protest rallies were held, a series of which is now called the First Quarter Storm where
As the Bamboos Sway
Read Rudy Liporada’s previous articles by visiting our web-site at www.asianjournalusa.com
by Rudy D. Liporada
(Continued from page 1)
Significance of Marcos’ Martial Law and EDSA I & II
(Continued on page 21)
“THE JAPANESE SOLDIERS MEN-ACINGLY TRAINED MACHINE GUNS AT US. Instinctively, I trained my camera at them in return and started snapping pictures. My reporter and I thought we would never see the day of the libera-tion.” This was Tatay Marcial’s statement when he and reporter Luis Hizon entered a “war zone’’ occupied by the Japanese forces in the early days of World War II in December 1941 in Parañaque south of Manila.
(To be continued)
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because she was worried she would receive a dose of her own medicine if the actor friend of the former president won.
Plunder charges will be fi led against her, just like what she did to her predecessor. The opposition can-didate defi nitely had a personal mo-tive: revenge for his friend, whom he believed was illegally removed from his post. He was so close to his colleague that when the former president left the presidential palace, the opposition candidate was by his side, accompanying and consoling him until the ousted leader and his family arrived at their private home.
Many believed the election would be close. The actor candidate was very popular. In the movies, he was much more popular than his friend, the former president who had made it to the top post of the land. He was dubbed as the “king of the movies,” and there was nary a scandal that could be heaped against him, except for his siring at least two children out of wedlock, and likely more. But who among the other actors did not do the same? Only a handful, as people accepted it came with the ter-ritory. Despite this, his demeanor in public and private life was unstinted. His wife was equally popular, the idol of millions of movie fans, known for her sweet roles in and out of the movies. The only drawback was that it was the candidate’s fi rst attempt for public offi ce. Yet his popularity was good enough for him to become the top choice of the opposition. The lady president, on the other hand, was politically savvy, with the political lineage and experi-ence as a candidate for the post. In addition, she had the government coffers at her disposal, which, as it later turned out, she used to boost
her candidacy. What made the differ-ence in the election, as future events would tell, was that not only did she use public money for her campaign, but she also availed of the inherent advantages of an incumbent to ma-nipulate the outcome of the election. She diverted the funds intended for the farmers to her political allies to be used in their joint campaigns.
The election was a cliffhanger, with no clear winner emerging many days after the poll closed. When the votes were counted in the southern part of Fantasy Land, the lady president suddenly emerged with one million votes, the win-ning margin. The opposition groups vehemently protested the outcome, alleging the votes for the incumbent president were padded, with no less than the First Gentleman leading the operation. Their proof: based on the precinct level counts, their candidate was the winner; but when the ballots reached the provincial tally, he lost. It was evident fraud was involved. But many in the middle class looked the other way, preferring a presi-dent cheating in the polls over an inexperienced candidate who was expected to pardon his ousted actor president friend upon assuming the presidency.
The “losing” candidate fi led a protest and prepared for a protracted battle. Unfortunately, he suddenly suffered a stroke and died in a matter of days, making his protest moot and academic. Divine interference cleared the way for the lady presi-dent, who cheated to resume her role as president.
As later events would reveal, much more corruption pervaded in her government than initially perceived. Dispensation of funds intended for the farmers were channeled to friends and associates of the admin-istration willing to give kickbacks to approving authorities. To make sure
the military would not turn against her, the generals were given free rein in the disposal of government funds, especially with foreign aid. A group of generals were caught transport-ing millions of dollars during their trip to Russia, where they attended a conference with their wives. Controllers in the army were in pos-session of millions of dollars they skimmed from the army coffers. One of the wives naively told interroga-tors this was regular pocket money for them.
During the latter part of her term, the lady president took advantage of her post conducting state visits al-most every two months. There were wild speculations she would hang on to her post by declaring martial law much like the infamous dictator, or amending the constitution to le-gitimize her extended rule. Until the very end, many believed she would not just give up her post without a fi ght, despite the fact that the Consti-tution forbade her from running for the same post again. – AJ
(To be continued)
(Continued from page 1)
FilAm Bookfest: One Hundred
Authors ..
(Continued from page 1)
Fantasy Land
by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.Read the series Complicated Affairs by Sim Silverio by book-
marking the link www.asianjournalusa.com/complicatedaffairs
Fantasy Land
Not Without A Fight
Blanco (who just won the Palanca Award for Best Novel), Ben Pimen-tel (another new Palanca awardee), R. Zamora Linmark, Oscar Penaran-da, Barbara Jane Reyes, Evangeline Buell, Tess Uriza Holthe, Luis Francia, Leny Strobel and Reme Grefalda, publisher of the online magazine, Our Own Voice.
Simeon G. Silverio, Jr., editor and publisher of Asian Journal San Diego, the original and fi rst Asian Journal in America will present his books in the Festival, among them Promised Land, Betel Nuts and Other Stories, Philippine Homecom-ing’s Cherished Memories, Compli-cated Affairs and The Boys of Sum-mer and Other Stories (see ad in this issue). Other authors whose works were published in the Asian Journals like Rudy Liporada (Unholy Moun-tains, Russian Roullete), Percival Campoamor Cruz (May Bagwis ang Pag-ibig); and Dr. Romeo Protacio, author of Balik Tanaw: The Life and Loves of Filipino Movie Stars of Yesteryears will also attend.
A Filipino-Canadian author, Romeo Honorio, is fl ying in from Calgary while Filomenita Hogsholm will be joining from Denmark.
There will be something for every-one to look forward to and enjoy at Filbookfest.
Presented by the Literacy Initia-tives International Foundation (LIIF), the San Francisco Public Library, the Asian Art Museum and the Philippine Department of Tourism, in cooperation with TFC/ABS-CBN Foundation International, FilBookFest is headed by Al Perez, the moving force behind the annual Pistahan celebration. Perez is festi-val director.
Among its highlights:Children’s book readings by well-
known Filipinos, arts and crafts, a lesson on writing in baybayin (ancient Filipino script) and video showings at the second fl oor of the San Francisco Main Library. To be featured are Filipino American children’s book authors reading their works , and a large selection of children’s books published in the Philippines
Lectures on Filipino cuisine by cultural historian/author Felice Sta. Maria, who will talk on the fascinat-ing historical evolution of Filipino food, and chef/artist/author Claude Tayag, who will describe the many fl avors of regional cuisine. The audi-
ence will be treated to a taste of a variety of Filipino dishes created by local chefs.
A balagtasan (traditional debate in poetry) on a timely topic by the Philippines’ best known balagtasan performers, Teo Antonio, Vim Nad-era and Mike Coroza.
Hot Off the Press featuring Fili-pino American authors reading from their newest books
In the evening of Oct.1, A Tribute to Filipino Literary Laureates, a special program honoring Filipino authors who have created classic works that celebrate our history and culture: Carlos Bulosan, NVM Gonzalez, Bienvenido Santos, Jose Garcia Villa, F. Sionil Jose, Al Robles, Ceres Alabado, Fred and Dorothy Cordova, Evangeline Buell, Linda Ty-Casper and Nick Joaquin. There will be a reception to precede the program.
Thousands of books by Filipino and Filipino American authors will be available for sale from various booksellers on Fulton St., between the San Francisco Public Library and the Asian Art Museum.
The best Filipino dishes from restaurants and food trucks also on Fulton St.
Hourly prize drawings and a grand prize drawing at the end of each day of the festival. The grand prize is a round-trip ticket to the Philippines,
courtesy of Philippine Airlines.
FilBookFest is sponsored by The Asia Foundation, the University of San Francisco’s Yuchengco Phil-ippine Studies Program, Target, Chevron, Ramar Foods Internation-al, AT&T, Mama Sita’s, Philippine News, Inquirer.net and Asian Jour-nal. Partner organizations include the Book Development Association of the Philippines, the National Book Development Council, the National Commission for Culture and Arts, the Philippine American Writers and Artists Inc. (PAWA), the Filipino American National Histori-cal Society (FAHNS), the Filipino American Arts Exposition (FAEE), the Friends of the San Francisco Library and Philippine Expressions Bookshop.
For more festival information, please check out www.fi lbookfest.org regularly.
Food for thoughtRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-
journalusa.com
Signifi cance of Marcos
Martial Law, EDSA I & II
(Continued from page 19)
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No doubt you've seen the e-mail going around about the number "11" in relation to the WTC and Pentagon attacks of 9/11. If so, you are sure to enjoy David Pawson's response to it. Don't know who David is; however his response is hilarious! Be sure to read the response after the 'Original Email'.
Original Email:The date of the attack: 9/11 - 9 + 1
+ 1 = 11September 11th is the 254th day of
the year: 2 + 5 + 4 = 11After September 11th there are 111
days left to the end of the year.119 is the area code to Iraq/Iran. 1
+ 1 + 9 = 11Twin Towers - standing side by
side look like the number 11The fi rst plane to hit the towers
was Flight 11State of New York - The 11th State
added to the UnionNew York City - 11 LettersAfghanistan - 11 LettersThe Pentagon - 11 LettersRamzi Yousef - 11 Letters (con-
victed or orchestrating the attack at the WTC in 1993)
About “911”should I be? There are 11 letters in the name David Pawson! I'm going into hiding NOW. See you in a few weeks.
Wait a sec ... just realized "YOU CAN'T HIDE" also has 11 letters! What am I gonna do? Help me!!! The terrorists are after me! ME! I can't believe it! Oh crap, there must be someplace on the planet Earth I could hide! But no ..."PLANET EARTH" has 11 letters, too! Maybe Nostradamus can help me. But dare I trust him? There are 11 letters in "NOSTRADAMUS."
I know, the Red Cross can help. No they can't... 11 letters in "THE RED CROSS" - obviously can't trust them. I would rely on self-defense, but "SELF DEFENSE" has 11 letters in it, too! Can someone please help? Anyone? If so, send me email. No, don't... "SEND ME EMAIL" has 11 letters.... Will this never end? I'm go-ing insane! "GOING INSANE???" Eleven letters!! Nooooooooooo!!!!!!
I guess I'll die alone, even though "I'LL DIE ALONE" has 11 letters.....
Oh my Gawd, I just realized that America is doomed! Our Inde-pendence Day is July 4th ... 7/4 ... 7+4=11!
- - DaveP.S. "IT'S BULLSH*T" also has
11 letters!
in January 26, 1970, Kabataang Makabayan (Patriotic Youth) stormed the Malacanang grounds but were repulsed. Another violent rally followed in January 30, 1970 where four student activists were shot and killed, presumably by Philippine Military elements.
The continuing protest rallies during the quarter of 1970 evolved a consciousness among thousands of students explaining why prices of commodities and services are zooming up, why tuition fees are forever increasing, why there is unemployment, and why crime and violence is increasing. All these were being interrelated to the bywords of imperialism, feudalism, bureaucrat-capitalism, fascism, and even clerico-fascism.
Earlier than the quarter storm, in December 26, 1968, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) rees-tablished itself, distinguishing itself from the old party which the new cadres branded as revisionist. The CPP also founded its New People’s Army in March 29, 1969 which, according to then CPP Chairman Amado Guerrero, “started with sixty fi ghters, armed with nine automatic rifl es and twenty-six single-shot rifl es and handguns in the second district of Tarlac province.”
The Quarter Storm produced youthful revolutionaries who orga-nized unions, participated in strikes, went to the country sides to organize peasants and join the New Peoples’ Army.
While others contend that violence perpetrated by the CPP, NPA, and their allied forces are problems that disturb the economic and social progress in the Philippines, it should be viewed the other way around. Without the ever declining economic situations in the Philippines, there would be no adherents to the revolu-tionary movement.
While others also contend that violence is not necessary and issues should be ventilated through par-liamentary procedures, it should be noted that the parliamentary grounds are dominated by the landlord class. We already asked the question: Will the landlord class propagate laws inimical to its interest?
The Jabidah Massacre and Mus-lim Secessionist Movement
Another reason used by Marcos to declare Martial Law was the brewing separatist movement of the Muslims in the Southern Philippines.
According to Wikipedia, in 1963, the resource-rich island of HY-PERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabah” Sabah, which had been under HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_King-dom” \o “United Kingdom” British control since the late nineteenth-century, formally became part of the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Malaysia” \o “Federation of Malaysia” Federa-tion of Malaysia. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Philippines” \o “The Philippines” The Philippines, however, protested this, claiming that Sabah had never been sold to foreign interests, and that it had only been leased (pad-jak) by the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_of_Sulu” \o “Sultan of Sulu” Sulu Sultanate and therefore remained the property of the Sultan and by exten-sion the property of HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repub-lic_of_the_Philippines” \o “Republic of the Philippines” Republic of the Philippines.
This dispute led then Philippine presidents HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diosdado_Macapagal” Diosdado Macapagal then later on HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcos” Ferdinand Marcos to es-tablish special military units tasked with fomenting dissent amongst Sabah’s non-Malay ethnic groups, namely the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tausug” \o “Tausug” Tausug and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajau” \o “Bajau” Sama, two groups closely aligned ethnically and culturally with the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangsamoro”
Bangsamoro.The code-name of this destabiliza-
tion program was “Operation Merde-ka” (Operation Freedom) where the plan involved the recruitment and training of nearly 200 Tausug and Sama Muslims aged 18 to 30 from HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulu_Province” \o “Sulu Province” Sulu and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawi-Tawi” Tawi-Tawi. The recruits felt giddy about the promise not only of a monthly allowance, but also over the prospect of eventually becom-ing a member of an elite unit in the Philippine Armed Forces. However, after knowing that the plan would mean not only fi ghting their brother Muslims in Sabah, but also possibly killing their own Tausug and Sama relatives living there, the recruits demanded to be returned home.
To put a lid on the failed mission, Philippine Military elements mas-sacred 28 to a hundred recruits. Only one, Jibin Arula, survived to tell the story.
In the aftermath, the Bangsamoro Liberation Front fomented distur-bances as early as 1968 crying for justice for the brothers that the Phil-ippine Military massacred. The issue radicalized the Muslims in the South to evolve into the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Plaza Miranda BombingThe Liberal Party was the opposi-
tion party against Marcos’ party. In its campaign rally in August 21, 1971, held to proclaim the candida-cies of eight Senatorial bets as well as the candidate for the Mayoralty race in Manila. Two hand grenades were reportedly tossed on- stage. Among those killed instantly were a 5-year-old child and The Manila Times photographer Ben Roxas. Al-most everyone on stage was injured, including incumbent Senator Novato Salonga, Senator Eddie Ilarde, Senator Eva Estrada-Kalaw, Liberal Party president Gerardo Roxas and Sergio Osmeña, Jr., son of former President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, Sergio Osmeña.
The Liberal Party blamed incum-bent President Marcos for the massa-cre. Marcos in turn used the incident to justify suspending the Writ of Habeas Corpus which would be a dry run of his declaring Martial Law the following year.
Prelude toward Martial Law Declaration
Against the backdrop of Commu-nist rebellion, Muslim secessionist, and Marcos political oppositionists, a series of bombing occurred in Manila and other major cities in the Philippines in early 1972. Then sec-retary of Defence Juan Ponce Enrile also claimed that his car was riddled with bullets by sinister elements out to assassinate him.
In later years, Enrile would con-fess that the ambush on his car was staged to further set a climate of cha-os that would justify the declaration of Martial Law. The bombings were also reported to have been perpe-trated by elements of the Philippine Military.
With these disturbances, from the perspective of Marcos, he declared Martial Law. In effect, as command-er-in-chief of the Philippine Armed Forces, he had placed military rule over the civilian government.
It should be noted at this juncture that, like the Spaniards creating the guardia civil, mercenaries from among the indios, the United States established the Philippine Constabu-lary on August 8, 1901, by authority of the Act No. 175 of the Philippine Commission. The constabulary was created to assist the American troops in combating the remaining Filipino revolutionaries.
Captain Henry T. Allen, an Ameri-can, was entrusted to the Philippine Constabulary’s creation and he was later dubbed as the Father of the Philippine Constabulary. Soldiers then were trained at the Philip-pine Constabulary School which was established in February 17, 1905 at the Santa Lucia barracks within the walls of Intramuros. In 1908, the school was transferred to Baguio City and was seminal to the evolution of the current Philippine Military Academy.
In short, the Philippine Constabu-lary and the future Armed Forces of the Philippines was originally designed, like the guardia civil, to suppress Filipino rebellion. In short, Ferdinand Marcos was commander-in-chief of an armed force which was a creation of the US imperial-ists to suppress dissent – which is fascism.
In short, the declaration of Martial Law was the highest expression of fascism that is inherent in a colo-nized state like the Philippines; that the freedom of speech and expres-sion in the Philippine Constitution is just an illusion of Democracy. Military rule showed its fangs
when the true intent of social forces against the Filipinos were bared and understood by those who joined forces against Marcos, his class, and foreign accomplices.
Within Martial Law Regime and its Aftermath
With their sole control of the government, Marcos and his wife, Imelda, established a conjugal dictatorship. With their power, they were free to plunder the Philippine economy in collaboration with their cronies - in total disregard of the continual impoverishment of the majority of the Filipinos.
Amidst down spiraling economy and reinvigorated communist threat, the catalyst that accelerated the col-lapse of the Marcos dictatorship was the August 1983 assassination of Benigno S. Aquino, Jr.
Aquino was the foremost political oppositionist of Marcos and was to be the presidential candidate and sure winner had Marcos not declared Martial Law at the heel of Marcos’ term. Aquino also belonged to a line of hacienderos.
Suffering a cardiac condition while in detention when Martial Law was declared, he was airlifted to the United States for treatment. Recovering after three years of exile, reported to be goaded by the CIA to return to the Philippines to replace the growing unpopular Marcos, he enplaned back to meet his death.
Enraged with Aquino’s death, viewed as a savior from Marcos dictatorship, and with suspects of his assassination acquitted, the Filipinos grew more restive against Marcos. In a judged surprising blunder on Marcos’ part, he called for a snap election thinking to regain his popularity and control. Marred by violence and charges of fraud he was supposed to have won over the opposing candidate – the wife of his martyred nemesis – Corazon Aquino.
When Marcos was declared presi-dent again, a mass of disgruntled students, workers, and peasants, including members of the clergy started the peaceful revolt to be called EDSA I. Seeing his popularity slipping, Marcos’ former Philippine Constabulary Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos and National Defense Sec-retary Juan Enrile abandoned him and joined the rebellion. Note that Fidel Ramos is a graduate of West Point. Enrile and Ramos abandoned Marcos and propped up Corazon Aquino because Marcos has become very unpopular and Aquino, also a landlord, was a welcome respite for the US imperialists.
Before the people ransacked the Malacanang Palace, Marcos sought the help of the United States. Help came in the form of a helicopter connecting to an Air Force jet which fl ew his family to Hawaii. There he remained until he died in 1989.
Carted by the Marcoses to Hawaii were some 300 crates of possessions and more that 28 million pesos in cash. It is reported that this was just an iota of the couple’s fi ve to ten billion dollars of illegally acquired wealth. Marcos’ frozen accounts in Switzerland were reported to aggregate to $475 million. The ex-travagance of Imelda is taunted to be expressed in her possession of 3000 pairs of shoes found in her closet when she hurriedly left Malacanang.
Marcos died in exile in Hawaii in 1989. His body was initially refused entry into the Philippines, so Imelda arranged to keep it in refrigeration at a mausoleum in Oahu. In 2001, Marcos’ corpse was allowed to return to the Philippines during the administration of President Fidel Ramos. However, plans to bury the former president anywhere in the Philippines, especially in Islands’ Heroes Hill, brought instant protests. Imelda Marcos refuses to bury her husband’s body until he is given full military honors, so he remains in a glass topped refrigerated coffi n on display at the Marcos’ family mau-soleum in his hometown of Batac, Ilocos Norte in Luzon.
Landlords continue to dominate the Philippine Government
After Marcos, Corazon Aquino’s up to Gloria Arroyo’s reigns contin-ued to push the Filipinos to poverty. The government continues to be un-der those who belong to the landed elite; and the economic and social relations continue to be infl uenced by US imperialists.
Now the Marcoses are also back. Upon their return to the Philippines, the Marcoses still have their follow-ings. Imee Marcos, the eldest daugh-ter of Marcos served three terms as representative of the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte in the Philippine House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007. She belongs to the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan or KBL political party, the same party established by his father. Bongbong Marcos, Ferdi-nand’s junior, also served as Ilocos
Norte Congressman.On March 10, 2010 Imelda Marcos
also launched a political comeback and won a congressional seat at the age of 80. Bongbong Marcos also won a senatorial bid, while Imee Marcos garnered the governorship in Ilocos Norte.
=The Marcos comeback also has the blessing of the incumbent Presi-dent Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, son of Benigno and Corazon Aqui-no, who also belongs to the landlord class and who has explicitly said that all sins are forgiven – including the assassination of his father. This would imply the complicity of those in the same landlord class when it becomes necessary.
Lately, Senator Bongbong Marcos claims that if his father was not de-posed, the Philippine should now be at par with Singapore which is con-sidered the most advance nation in the Far East region. He glosses over the fact that before his father became president, the Philippines was ahead in comparison to other Asian countries and, during his term and after, the Islands was plunged into deep foreign debts which even future generations of Filipinos shoulder to pay and have placed the Archipelago at the bottom of the poverty scale in the area.
=The Marcoses’ comeback also indicates that with their still hidden wealth put into motion, economic power begets political power. It also instilled a momentary amnesia for those who have voted for them and an amnesia which relegates Marcos Martial Law just a footnote in Phil-ippine History.
Relegation should not be so. And it would not be if the economic and social conditions in the Philippines continue to worsen which would push more adherents to a movement designed to radically change the class confi gurations in the Archi-pelago.
Martial Law did not dismantle the CPP – NPA and aftermath
Going back to Marcos’ primary aim in declaring Martial Law, he was not able to dismantle the CPP, its NPA and its allied organizations. The CPP and its New People’s Army which was just a miniscule force identifi ed by Marcos to be only in a number of provinces when Procla-mation 1081 was implemented has now mushroomed to over 240 fronts all over the Islands.
Considered to be brilliant and though able to rule for twenty years, Marcos failed to subvert history – no dictator ever survived the ire of a majority whose welfare is sacrifi ced for the sake a few.
Lastly it should be emphasized that while EDSA I and II toppled oppres-sive Philippine presidents, they were opportunities for opposing landlords to take over the reign of the Philip-pine government; and that EDSA People Powers, although signifi cant, are not the primary solutions to the ills of Philippine Society but are les-sons that mass movements, indeed, topple regimes – like Marcos Martial Law.-30-
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last year to record statistically sig-nifi cant increases in both the number of poor people, from 17.6 million in 2009, to 19.1 million in 2010; and poverty rates, from 15.7 percent to 16.9 percent. The national poverty rate last year was 15.1 percent, up from 14.3 percent in 2009. That means that the gap between its poverty rate and the national average now stands at its highest level in almost 10 years, or since 2001.
Demographic is one factor in the sharp rise of poverty rate in the South. “Black poverty went up; the Hispanic poverty went up; and the South has been much more of a draw for those people,” says William Frey, a demographer and senior fellow with the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institute.
Another factor is economic. “It’s a fast-growing part of the country, but it is one of the many places where industries took a big hit during the recession,” Frey adds. Among the hardest hit economic sectors are the construction industry and service jobs.
Poverty rates went up for all races and origins except for Asian, who experienced only a 0.4 percent drop. An estimated 9.9 percent out of non-Hispanic whites were living in poverty in 2010; 27.4 percent of blacks; 12.1 percent of Asians, and 26.6 percent of Hispanics.
In one of the most alarm-ing statistics, the number of children under 18 living in pov-erty increased from 15.5 million in 2009 to 16.4 million in 2010 – an increase from 20.7 percent to 22 percent of children under 18. XXX
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Why Are We Shallow?
jumping, an almost standing ovation. Letty turned to me and asked, “Why are we so shallow?”
Yes, indeed, and for how long?This is a question which I have
asked myself, which I hope all of us should ask ourselves every so often. Once we have answered it, then we will move on to a more elevated sen-sibility. And with this sensibility, we will then be able to deny the highest positions in government to those nincompoops who have nothing go-ing for them except popularity, what an irresponsible and equally shallow media had created. As my foreign friend said, there is nothing to read in our major papers.
Again, why are we shallow?There are so many reasons. One
lies in our educational system which has diminished not just scholar-ship but excellence. There is less emphasis now on the humanities, in the study of the classics which enables us to have a broader grasp of our past and the philosophies of this past. I envy those Hindus and Buddhists who have in their religion philosophy and ancestor worship which build in the believer a con-tinuity with the past, and that most important ingredient in the building of a nation — memory.
Sure, our Christian faith, too, has a philosophical tradition, particu-larly if we connect it to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Remember, the fi rst Bible was in Greek. But Greek, Latin and the classics in these lan-guages are no longer taught in our schools the way these are still stud-ied in many universities in Europe.
We are shallow because we are mayabang, ego driven, and do not have the humility to understand that we are only human, much too human to mistake knowledge for wisdom. We can see this yabang in some of our public commentators, particularly on TV — the know-it-alls who think that because they have so much knowledge — avail-able now on the Web at the click of a button — they can answer every question posed to them. What they do not realize is that knowledge is not wisdom. Until they recognize that important if sometimes awful difference, they will continue to bluster their way to the top at our
expense because we, the people, will then have to suffer their arrogance and ignorance.
We are shallow because with this arrogance, we accept positions far beyond our competence. Because there is no critical tradition in this country — a tradition which will easily separate the chaff from the grain, we cannot recognize fakery from the real goods. That outstand-ing scholar, Wilfredo Villacorta, is a rare bird indeed; when offered a high position in government, he refused it because he knew he was not quali-fi ed for the job. Any other mayabang academic would have grabbed it although he knows he can’t handle it. And so it happens always — the nitwits who hold such high positions stubbornly hold on to their posts, bamboozling their subordinates who may be brighter than them for that is the only way those who are inferior feel they can have respect.
On the other hand, the intelligent person will be aware of his short-comings. He does not hesitate to ask the opinion of those who know more than him on particular subjects. If he is a government hierarch, he will surround himself with advisers who he knows can supply him with guid-ance and background possessing as they do more knowledge, experi-ence and wisdom than him. Such an offi cial is bound to commit fewer mistakes because he knows himself.
We are shallow because we lack this most important knowledge — who we are and the limits to what
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(Continued on page 23)
“The souls that say this chaplet will be embraced by My mercy during their lifetime and especially at the hour of their death (754).” -- Words of Jesus in the Diary of St. Faustinaespecially at the hour of their death (754).” -- Words of Jesus in the Diary of St. Faustina
CHAPLET OF THE DIVINE MERCYUsing the rosary beads, recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one I Believe in God.
On the Our Father beads say this prayer, which was given by Our Lord to St. Faustina (1905-1938).
Eternal Father, I o�er You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
On the Hail Mary beads say:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
In conclusion say three times:
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
The Hour of Great Mercy
At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion,
particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to
the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion (Diary, 1320). -- Divine Mercy in My Soul: Diary of Saint Faustina Kowalska
You expired, O Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls and an ocean of mercy
opened up for the whole world.
O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us. O Blood and Water, which
gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You. Amen.
(Continued from page 1)
Doc: Iha, mukhang pumapayat ka at hinang hina pa. Sinunod mo ba advice ko na 3 meals a day?
Girl: Diyos ko! 3 meals a day ba? Akala ko 3 males a day eh!!!
***Lalake: Pag tayo na, magkasama na
nating haharapin ang mga problema.Babae: Pero wala naman akong
problema..Lalake: Kasi nga, hindi pa tayo. Wag
kang excited!!***May nagpapa-translate sa akin ng
signage sa tagalog: “Emergency Exit”ang sabi ko, “MADALING LA-
BASAN...? Tama ba? Parang bastos ata.***Mr: Hon, buksan mo ang pinto!Mrs: Sori, hindi pwede. Wala akong
suot.Mr.. (tumawa) ok lang. Wala akong
kasama.Mrs: Ako, meron!***
Tip for a long life:Wag mo isusulat name mo sa condo-
lence book pag dumalaw ka sa patay. Kasi pagkatapos ng libing nagkakaron ng raffl e kung sinong susunod..... .
***Guro: Pedro late kana naman..Pedro: Late po kasi relo ko.Guro: Problema ba yun. E di i-ad-
vance mo.Pedro: Sige po.Guro: Oh, saan ka pupunta?Boy: uwian na po!***Mrs: Kung alam ko lang di sana ako
(Continued from page 8)awe at their own beautiful refl ection. It is a 7 ½ hour drive by bus passing through the Fortress of Bergenhus and the Rosenkrantz Tower and Fusafjord by ferry. We also visited the tiny, wooden church at Hold-hus—dating back to the days of the old stave churches. At Mundheim, the road links to Hardanger fjord, a one hour drive along its shores with views of the majestic mountains on the opposite side. If I had a choice again, I would defi nitely not take this tour because it is a long drive and is not as impressive as the Sog-nefjord. I would rather stay in the city to tour the numerous historical sites.
We had another day at sea on our way back to Dover. It was a time to shop and enjoy the relaxing day reminiscing what we have gone through. From Dover, we were driven directly to London to get our fl ight back to the U.S. via Delta Airlines arriving on the same day.
It truly was a trip I and my sisters will always remember. We thank our Creator for all the wonderful things He has done.
****
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we can do.We also lack the perception, and
the courage, for instance, to deny these religious quacks and the thousands who listen and believe in them. Sure, religion is the opium of the masses as Marx said. So then, how can we prevent the masa from taking this poison without recogniz-ing their right to make fools of them-selves? Again, shallowness because the good people are silent. Ubi boni tacent, malum prosperat. Where good men are silent, evil prospers.
This shallowness is the impedi-ment to prosperity, to justice, and men of goodwill should emphasize this, take risks even in doing so. As the late Salvador P. Lopez said, “It is better to be silenced than to be silent.”
We are shallow because our media are so horribly shallow. Every morn-ing, I peruse the papers and there is so little to read in them. It is the same with radio — all that noise, that artifice.
I turn on the TV on prime time and what do I get? Five juvenile com-mentators gushing over the amors of movie stars, who is shacking up with whom. One of the blabbering panelists I distinctly remember was caught cheating some years back at some movie award. How could she still be on TV after that moral de-struct? And the telenovelas, how ut-terly asinine, bizarre, foolish, insipid moronic and mephitic they are! And there are so many talented writers in our vernaculars and in English as
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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
CITY OF SAN DIEGODRAFT FY 2011 CAPER
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the public hearing for the Draft FY 2011 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) is scheduled for Monday, September 26th or Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 in the City Council Chambers, 202 C Street, 12th Floor, San Diego, CA 92101. The final hearing date and time will be published on the City Council docket for those dates, which will be available at: 202 C Street, San Diego, CA; on the City Clerk’s website at http://www.sandiego.gov/city-clerk/; and on the CDBG Program’s website at www.sandiego.gov/cdbg/general. Public comments will be accepted during this hearing.
To order information in an alternative format, or to arrange for a sign language or oral interpreter for the meeting, please call the City Clerk’s office at least five (5) working days prior to the meeting at (619) 533-4000 (voice) or (619) 236-7012 (TDD/TTY).
The Draft FY 2011 CAPER is available for public review at the CDBG Program office (1200 Third Avenue, Suite 1400, San Diego, CA 92101) and on the CDBG Program’s website (www.sandiego.gov/cdbg/general).
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ary who has lived in the Philippines in the l980’s entitled “Critical Choic-es”: A journey with the Filipino people. I enjoyed it so much that I recommend it to anyone to learn an-other perspective how many landless Filipino people struggle daily and the social inequality that exacerbated the wide gap between the haves and the have-nots in Philippines society to this day! Against the European background, I was so engrossed and fascinated with the author’s views that I intend to communicate with the author who is supposedly back in the USA now for a possible collabo-ration or what not.
We arrived in Rome, took a taxi cab very late at night to the Domini-can Sister house (where my sister Letty a Dominican nun arranged for us to stay as VIP guests, her gift to our 30 plus wedding anniversary!) I was the only man in the entire compound, except during our 7:00 AM mass where a Batangueno priest Fr. Aurelio de la Cruz of the Oblates of St. Joseph, celebrates the mass for the community of sisters. That is another unique experience, as I was the only guy during breakfast and dinner, surrounded by Dominicans nuns from many countries again, 4 of them from the Philippines, including Sor Pia Alcazar, from the Batanes Islands, one of the of three counselors of their Dominican Mother Provincial of the entire Do-minican Order. For two days, she personally accompanied us in our walking adventure in Rome and the Vatican, bought us to excellent plac-es to buy religious souvenirs and eating places. She also tutored us to navigate the Metro and bus systems from their Val Cannuta (Little Vati-can) village to Rome and vice versa. So for the remaining days in Italy we managed to go around without her as we “graduated” from tourists to a instant local “residents” just holding our Metro passes to go from one area to another.
For first timers like my wife, Rome and Vatican are a must to see at least once before one dies, especially for persons who are interested in ancient history, Roman history or the Catholic Church his-tory. I was there the lst time about twenty five years ago but Rome and Vatican still continue to amaze me of their grandeur beyond my imagination. From the height of the Roman Empire to its demise, one can be overwhelmed by its magnifi-cence despite the visible ruins (like the Colosseum and the Pantheon) of this Eternal City of Rome.
Within Rome resides another city, Vatican City, where the seat of power of the Catholic Church, in the person of the Pope resides. Two or three days are not enough to see every thing in Rome or Vatican City alone. As usual, a tourist chooses which to see among all the thou-sands of attractions with hundreds of thousands of people going through the same predicament of decision making. My wife being a first timer, decided what she wanted to see/visit in Rome, like the Sistine Chapel, the Basilica, Giovanni Cathedral, the Colosseum, the Pantheon and a few others.
We allotted one full day to visit the famous City of Assisi, where St. Francis of Assisi was born, raised and died. We saw the Church that Francis built upon the order of his God as well as St. Francis’ corpse that is said to be miraculous and visited by millions of devotees every year. That was the highlight of my trip in Italy after reading much about this little man, Francesco, who was born of wealthy merchant parents but gave up all material inheritance against the wishes of his parents, to be with the poor, the birds and nature to be with his God, obediently and happily. Of all the saints’ biographies that I have read, St. Francis life story ranks very high in my list. The legacy of his pure and non-materialistic life is now the worldwide Franciscan order and that of St. Clare who was one of her best friends and ardent follower to the Franciscan way of life.
Every Catholic who has time and opportunity (and Euros!) should include this holy place to visit and be awed and by what St. Francis has accomplished during his short life on earth. Assisi is now world famous
because of one little man, Frances-co. The city is on a mountain top overlooking the beautiful panorama of farms below it. It is a place and sight no one will ever forget. (But, if you must go there, please bring a supply of your camera’s double AA batteries so you don’t suffer our own experience, buying 6 AA batter-ies for 8 Euros or about US$12.00!)
It’s too much to see in just several days allotted in one country. But as time and dollars are finite, (dollars are now buying fewer Euros these days), we have to end our Italian ad-venture, and proceed to another leg of our trip: London and Paris… --( “MORE REFLECTIONS: SOME DREAMS COME TRUE”… to be continued) Email writer at: [email protected] or [email protected]
the Palanca Awards show every year — why aren’t they harnessed for TV? Those TV moguls have a stock answer — the ratings of these shows are very high. Popularity not quality is their final arbiter. They give our people garbage and they are now giving it back to all of us in kind! So I must not be blamed if, most of the time, I turn on BBC. Aljazeera, rather than the local TV channels. It is such a pleasure to read The New York Times, the San Jose Mercury News, the Washington Post, to listen to “Fresh Air” on US public radio and public TV where my ever-continuing thirst for knowledge (and good entertainment) is quenched.
We are shallow because we don’t read. I go to the hospital on occasion — the long corridor is filled with people staring into the cosmos. It is only I who have brought a book or a magazine. In Japanese cities, in Ko-rea — in the buses and trains, young and old are reading, or if they are not holding books and magazines, they are glued to their iPhones where so much information is now available.
In these countries and in Western
cities, the bookshops are still full, but not so much anymore because the new communications technolo-gies are now available to their masa. How I wish my tiny bookshop or any Filipino bookshop for that mat-ter would be filled with people. I’ll make an exception here: BookSale branches are always full because their books are very cheap. But I would still ask: what kind of books do Filipinos buy?
We are shallow because we have become enslaved by gross mate-rialism, the glitter of gold and its equivalents, for which reason we think that only the material goods of this earth can satisfy us and we must therefore grab as much as can while we are able. Enjoy all these baubles that we have accumulated; sure, it is pleasurable to possess such artifacts that make living trouble free. And that old anodyne: “Man does not live by bread alone,” who are the think-ing and stubborn few who believe in it?
I hope that those who read this piece still do.
Why Are We Shallow?
(Continued from page 22)
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