(Continued on page 9) The San Diegans ... p. 4 Modern Martyrdom: To Follow Christ ... p. 14 Afraid that the property you may buy in the Philippines may not be built? Check out The Ridge at Canyon Woods Risk-free condo units that are already built, no need to wait to occupy the place. A 10% down payable in easy month- ly install- ment moves you in and enables you to use and enjoy your place. Ownership automati- cally makes you a member of its golf course club, no initial fee to pay! See pages 23 and 24 for more information. from Manila Standard Today A KEY Palace official blamed the Arroyo admin- istration Thursday for the botched hostage rescue on Monday in which eight Hong Kong tourists were killed. “The Aquino administra- tion has been at the helm for only 55 days. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s adminis- tration lasted for nine years,” said Herminio Coloma, who heads the Presidential Com- munications Operations Of- fice. “We only inherited the current state of the Philippine National Police.” In a television interview, Coloma said the previous administration must be held accountable for failing to modernize the police force. San Juan Rep. J.V. Ejer- cito, son of ousted President Joseph Estrada, agreed, blam- ing his father’s adversary for the policemen’s lack of crisis management skills. “Manila’s finest in the previous years was tasked to protect Pampanga’s best,” Ejercito said, referring to Mrs. Arroyo who is now a con- gresswoman for Pampanga. He said the police had lost their ability to respond to hostage situations because they were used in the last nine years to guard against Mrs. Arroyo’s political adversaries. At the Senate, the head of the Manila Police Dis- trict, Chief Supt. Rodolfo Palace widens blame game to include Gloria Arroyo (Continued on page 18) his musical gifts from par- ents Deogracias Bartolome, a pastor, string instrument maker and rondalla band leader, and Angelina Gonza- lez, a zarzuela singer. With a natural inclination to music, his talent was further honed in college, when he became But hours passed and she could not think of any solution. It was a Wednesday and she only had one day left, Thursday, to solve her predicament before they leave on Friday. She and Albert had packed most of their things, the rest to be shipped to Virginia. But she realized that there was really no way she could raise the $12,000 she owed Lando in such a short time. “Just one time only,” she could recall Lando telling her about his indecent proposal. “After that, you’re debt-free, you can start a new life in Virginia, have a clean slate.” By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr. Publisher & Editor Asian Journal San Diego The Original and First Asian Journal in America See page 12 Promised Land Payback (Continued on page 15) By Dr. Cesar D. Candari 20th in a series of articles The People Power Movement--- a popular uprising of priest, nuns, ordinary citizens, children, and supported by military units--- ousted Marcos on the day of his inauguration (February 25, 1986) and brought Corazon Aquino to power in an almost bloodless revolution. People Power was our shining glory! The whole world applauded our saintly courage, our dignified defiance, our bloodless solution to expel a dicta- tor. We were the toast of all freedom-loving countries, the envy of all oppressed people. To describe further, the People Power Revolution (also known as the EDSA Revolution in the Philippine) was a series of nonviolent and prayerful mass street demonstrations in the Philippines From Antique to America: Memoirs of a Filipino American Doctor The People Power Movement (Continued on page 10) (Continued on page 20) September 3 to September 9, 2010 Bill Labestre Msgr. Gutierrez Zena Babao The wisdom of Solomon... p19 Filipino Folk Singer Heber Bartolome to Hold Concert in San Diego An artist, singer-com- poser, writer, activist, hus- band and father…these are but some of the many roles played by Heber Bartolome through the years. Born Heber Gonzalez Bartolome on November 4, 1948 in Cabanatuan City, Philippines, he possibly got VISTA, CA – Moonlight Stage Productions concludes its 30th Anniversary Summer Season at the Moonlight Am- phitheatre with the international sensation MISS SAIGON. Performances are September 8-25 at 7:30 pm. Tickets, priced $22-$45, are on sale through the VisTix Ticket Office at (760) 724-2110 and online at moon- lightstage.com. MISS SAIGON is intended for mature audiences as it contains mature themes, situations, and language. The creative team on the produc- tion includes Steven Glaudini, Director; Carlos Mendoza, Choreographer; Charlie Reuter, Musical Director; and Kenneth Gammie, Conductor. From the creators of LES MISÉRABLES Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boubil, Filipina American Actress Jennifer Paz Stars as “Kim” in MISS SAIGON presentation at the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista, California from September 8 to 25 at 7:30 p.m. Principal Casting includes actors seen internationally in MISS SAIGON including Jennifer Paz as Kim and Johann Michael Camat as The Engineer Jennifer Paz as Kim in Miss Saigon. The deadline for filing applications for Western Union’s Family Schol- arship Program is fast approaching. On September 15, 2010, two weeks from now, acceptance for this year’s applications ends. Western Union’s Family Scholarships are aimed at families in the United States who have overcome barriers to pursue their educational goals as well as those with On September 15, 2010 Application Deadline for Western Union’s Family Scholarship Program Is Fast Approaching demonstrated financial needs, involvement in their communities, personal edu- cation goals and clear plants to attain their goals. Those who qualify will be eligible to receive scholarship in amounts of $1,000 - $5,000 per family. For example, one scholar- ship recipient may receive
Transcript
(Continued on page 9)
The San Diegans... p. 4
Modern Martyrdom: To Follow Christ
... p. 14
Afraid that the property you may buy in the
Philippines may not be built?
Check out The Ridge at Canyon Woods
Risk-free condo units that are already built, no need to wait to occupy the place. A 10% down payable in easy month- ly install-ment moves you in and enables you to use and enjoy your place. Ownership automati-cally makes you a member of its golf course club, no initial fee to pay!
See pages 23 and 24 for more information.
from Manila Standard Today
A KEY Palace official blamed the Arroyo admin-istration Thursday for the botched hostage rescue on Monday in which eight Hong Kong tourists were killed.
“The Aquino administra-tion has been at the helm for only 55 days. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s adminis-tration lasted for nine years,” said Herminio Coloma, who heads the Presidential Com-munications Operations Of-
fice.“We only inherited the
current state of the Philippine National Police.”
In a television interview, Coloma said the previous administration must be held accountable for failing to modernize the police force.
San Juan Rep. J.V. Ejer-cito, son of ousted President Joseph Estrada, agreed, blam-ing his father’s adversary for the policemen’s lack of crisis management skills.
“Manila’s finest in the previous years was tasked to protect Pampanga’s best,” Ejercito said, referring to Mrs. Arroyo who is now a con-gresswoman for Pampanga.
He said the police had lost their ability to respond to hostage situations because they were used in the last nine years to guard against Mrs. Arroyo’s political adversaries.
At the Senate, the head of the Manila Police Dis-trict, Chief Supt. Rodolfo
Palace widens blame game to include Gloria Arroyo
(Continued on page 18)
his musical gifts from par-ents Deogracias Bartolome, a pastor, string instrument maker and rondalla band leader, and Angelina Gonza-lez, a zarzuela singer. With a natural inclination to music, his talent was further honed in college, when he became
But hours passed and she could not think of any solution. It was a Wednesday and she only had
one day left, Thursday, to solve her predicament before they leave on Friday. She and Albert
had packed most of their things, the rest to be shipped to Virginia. But she realized that there was really no way she could raise the $12,000
she owed Lando in such a short time.“Just one time only,” she could recall Lando
telling her about his indecent proposal. “After that, you’re debt-free, you can start a new life
in Virginia, have a clean slate.”
By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor
Asian Journal San DiegoThe Original and First Asian Journal in
America
See page 12
Promised Land
Payback(Continued on page 15)
By Dr. Cesar D. Candari20th in a series of articles
The People Power Movement--- a popular uprising of priest, nuns,
ordinary citizens, children, and supported by military units--- ousted Marcos on the day of his inauguration (February 25, 1986) and brought Corazon Aquino to power in an almost bloodless revolution. People Power was our shining glory! The whole world applauded our saintly courage, our dignified defiance, our bloodless solution to expel a dicta-tor. We were the toast of all freedom-loving countries, the envy of all oppressed people. To describe further, the People Power Revolution (also known as the EDSA Revolution in the Philippine) was a series of nonviolent and prayerful mass street demonstrations in the Philippines
From Antique to America:
Memoirs of a Filipino American Doctor The People Power Movement
(Continued on page 10)
(Continued on page 20)
September 3 to September 9, 2010
Bill LabestreMsgr. Gutierrez Zena BabaoThe wisdom of Solomon... p19
Filipino Folk Singer Heber Bartolome to Hold
Concert in San Diego
An artist, singer-com-poser, writer, activist, hus-band and father…these are but some of the many roles played by Heber Bartolome through the years.
Born Heber Gonzalez Bartolome on November 4, 1948 in Cabanatuan City, Philippines, he possibly got
VISTA, CA – Moonlight Stage Productions concludes its 30th Anniversary Summer Season at the Moonlight Am-phitheatre with the international sensation MISS SAIGON. Performances are September 8-25 at 7:30 pm. Tickets, priced $22-$45, are on sale through the VisTix Ticket Office at (760) 724-2110 and online at moon-lightstage.com. MISS SAIGON is intended for mature audiences as it contains mature themes, situations, and language. The creative team on the produc-tion includes Steven Glaudini, Director; Carlos Mendoza, Choreographer; Charlie Reuter, Musical Director; and Kenneth Gammie, Conductor.
From the creators of LES MISÉRABLES Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boubil,
Filipina American Actress Jennifer Paz Stars as “Kim” in MISS SAIGON presentation at the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista, California
from September 8 to 25 at 7:30 p.m.Principal Casting includes actors seen internationally in MISS SAIGON
including Jennifer Paz as Kim and Johann Michael Camat as The Engineer
Jennifer Paz as Kim in Miss Saigon.
The deadline for filing applications for Western Union’s Family Schol-arship Program is fast approaching. On September 15, 2010, two weeks from now, acceptance for this year’s applications ends.
Western Union’s Family Scholarships are aimed at families in the United States who have overcome barriers to pursue their educational goals as well as those with
On September 15, 2010Application Deadline for Western
Union’s Family Scholarship Program Is Fast Approaching
demonstrated financial needs, involvement in their
communities, personal edu-cation goals and clear plants to attain their goals.
Those who qualify will be eligible to receive scholarship in amounts of $1,000 - $5,000 per family. For example, one scholar-ship recipient may receive
Page 2 September 3 - 9, 2010Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
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Read Atty. Aurora Vega’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com
A U.S. Employer can sponsor foreign workers who are either professionals (col-lege degree holders), skilled (at least 2 years training or experience) or unskilled (high school graduates) to im-migrate to the United States. This article will deal with the basic requirements of spon-soring foreign workers.
A “U.S. Employer” is ei-ther a company, a partnership, a sole proprietorship or a per-son domiciled in the United States who has a need for the particular skills and services of the sponsored foreign worker. A U.S. Employer must fi rst obtain a labor certi-fi cation from the Department of Labor and approval of a petition from the Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The labor certifi cation process is one of the most complex immigration-related procedures. This pamphlet is a snapshot of the require-ments and procedures of a labor certifi cation, but it is not a substitute for legal advice. If you wish to sponsor an foreign worker, you need to consult with an experienced immigration attorney to as-sess your particular situation and eligibility to sponsor, and
Immigrating to the U.S. as a Foreign Worker
make sure that your case is prepared correctly.
WHAT IS LABOR CERTIFI-CATION?
Labor Certifi cation is a process whereby a prospec-tive U.S. employer conducts a test of the labor market – by putting out job wanted adver-tisements - to fi nd out if there is a shortage in a particular occupation, before it is al-lowed to hire a foreign work-er for the said occupation. The process involves several steps, after which the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) certifi es that:
The U.S. Employer has • a valid job offer – there is a real and existing job position, and a bona fi de opening or vacancy. The U.S. Employer • needs the foreign worker’s skills and abilities.The U.S. Employer • has tried to look for a U.S. worker for the job position - normally by advertising in news-papers and online job searches by State
workforce agencies like CalJobs, and do-ing other recruitment efforts - but could not fi nd a U.S. worker who is able, will-ing and ready to fi ll the position. A “U.S. worker” means any worker who is either a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident. The U.S. Employer has • offered the prevailing wage for the position, as determined by the DOL. The U.S. Employer • has found no qualifi ed U.S. workers. If candi-dates respond to the ad-vertisements and other recruitment efforts, the U.S. Employer must prove to the DOL that they are not qualifi ed U.S. workers, or are not ready, or not able or willing to accept the job offer. If the DOL is not convinced of the employer’s good faith recruitment, the LC will not be issued and the foreign being sponsored will not be able to immigrate to the United States.
THE RECRUITMENT PRO-CESS
The U.S. Employer needs to advertise the job vacancy and while it can set particular requirements for the job posi-tion, it can only impose re-quirements that are normal to the job position and must not be overly restrictive. In addi-tion , the U.S. Employer must offer a wage rate equal to the prevailing wage in the area of intended employment, as de-
termined by the DOL. Appli-cations received in response to advertisements in news-papers, online job searches, company website and other forms of recruitment must be carefully evaluated, and can only be rejected for lawful, job-related reasons and for not meeting the minimum require-ments. After completing the recruitment process, the U.S. Employer submits the labor certifi cation application to the DOL either through mail, or online under the DOL’s Pro-gram Electronic Review Man-agement (PERM). Currently, DOL takes about 6 months to more than a year to process a labor certifi cation applica-tion. DOL conducts audits of applications submitted, either randomly or due to certain factors in the submitted ap-plications. In such audits, DOL may request for clarifi -cation, additional information or other documents or evi-dence, after which a certify-ing offi cer can certify or deny the application, or require the U.S. Employer to do another recruitment – this time, under DOL supervision.
The fi ling date of the labor certifi cation application sets the priority date for the foreign worker. The priority date determines when a visa will be available to the foreign worker, assuming the labor certifi cation application is approved.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DOL CERTIFIES THE APPLICATION?
The U.S. Employer can now fi le an immigrant peti-tion for the foreign worker with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and must submit the certifi ed labor certifi cation (LC) with the petition. The USCIS evaluates the petition to determine whether the U.S. employer has the fi nancial ability to pay the wages of the
foreign worker, and whether the foreign worker qualifi es under one of the following categories:
2nd Preference – Advanced Degree Professionals (for jobs requiring at least a Masters degree, or a Bachelor’s degree plus at least 5 years of experi-ence)
3rd Preference - Profes-sionals (for jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree); and Skilled Workers (for jobs requiring 2+ years training or experience)
Other Workers Preference - Unskilled Workers (for jobs requiring less than 2 years training or experience)
Upon approval of the im-migrant petition, the foreign worker and his/her family (spouse and children under 21) can apply for permanent residence - either through adjustment of status (if pres-ent in the US and eligible to apply) or getting an im-migrant visa from the U.S. Embassy in his/her home country (if abroad) - but fi l-ing for adjustment or applying for immigrant visa depends on the foreign worker’s prior-ity date. As stated, the fi ling date of the LC sets the priority date, which in turn dictates when visas are available to the foreign worker and his family. You can check priority date information by logging on to our website www.ctvattys.com and go to the Visa Bul-letin link.
VALIDITY
A certifi ed LC is only valid
for 180 days for a specifi c US Employer, position, and location. If any of these 3 factors change, the LC cannot be used and may become a useless document. Also, DOL may still revoke an approved LC if it receives information there is no valid job offer. If the U.S. Employer does not fi le an immigrant petition within 180 days, the LC is considered expired and can no longer be used.
EFFECTS OF A CERTIFIED LABOR CERTIFICATION
A certifi ed LC is only the fi rst step in obtaining perma-nent residence (green card) status or an immigrant visa, for a foreign worker and his/her family. If a foreign worker is already in the U.S., the LC does not give the worker any immigration status yet; nor does it authorize the worker to remain in the U.S. The LC is not an authority to work, and getting a certifi ed LC does not authorize the worker to be employed either by the sponsoring U.S. Em-ployer or by any other em-ployer. If the foreign worker is already out of status, the certifi ed LC does not legalize the foreign worker’s stay in the U.S.
If you wish to sponsor a foreign worker, or if you want to know whether you can be sponsored as a foreign worker, you need to consult with an experienced immigration at-torney to assess your particu-lar situation and eligibility.
The Bureau of Immigra-tion’s special visa scheme for foreign employers created almost 20,000 jobs for Metro Manila residents since it was launched last year.
The BI said nearly 20,000 residents of Metro Manila were hired by 126 foreign businessmen availed them-selves of the agency’s special visa for employment gen-eration (SVEG) program. A total of 86 dependents also received SVEG visas.
The government launched the SVEG last year that grants indefinite stay to foreigners and their dependents with
B-I’s foreign employer visa scheme creates 20,000 jobs
investments in business enter-prises employing 10 or more regular and full-time Filipino workers.
The BI-SVEG one stop shop earned the government more than P5 million since the program was launch in April last year.
Electronic investments in the Philippines rose to $480 million in 2009, up 20 per-cent from US$ 400 million in 2008.
The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the
Electronic investments of $480M in 2009 to create 12K jobs
Philippines Inc. (SEIPI) said the improved investments data point to a strong recovery in the sector.
There were a total of 84 electronics firms that regis-tered last year of which 78 were new projects while six others were for expansion,
SEIPI said.Major investors include the
P9.9 billlion Japanese-owned Hoya Glass Disk; Toshiba Information Equipment (P1.1 billion); HPOI (P2.168 bil-lion); Ibiden (P849.788 million); P2.3 billion, STMi-croelectronics Inc. (P1.066 billion); Temic Automotive Philippines Inc. (P664.1 mil-lion); Taiyo Yuden (P500 mil-lion); and Numonyx Philip-pines Inc., (P959.4 million).
Ernesto Santiago, SEIPI president, said that more than 12,000 skilled engineers, tech-nicians and operators were expected to be directly em-ployed once these investments go into full stream operations.
An industry study shows that for every one direct job, there are seven other indirect jobs that will be created.
“This means close to 100,000 new jobs opportuni-ties will be created because of these investments,” he said.
In line with the strong investments, SEIPI has also upgraded its export target for electronics exports for 2010, from 10 to 15 percent to 15 to 20 percent as many industry players reported strong orders from customers abroad.
Santiago said that ramp-ing up of production of many investments projects were delayed in 2009 but were reported to be all rolling out
now.“With the recovering
global economy, it is expected that more investments would come in the country this year,” Santiago said.
SEIPI is the leading and the largest organization of for-eign and Filipino semiconduc-tor and electronics firms in the country whose membership accounts for almost two-thirds of the total Philippines ex-ports of merchandize goods.
- From Good News Phil-ippines
Foreign students continue to flock to the Philippines, with a majority of them en-rolling in language schools.
The Bureau of Immigration said as of June 15, a total of 6,416 foreign students were issued student visas.
The number of student vi-sas issued this year increased by 20 percent, compared to the 5,343 last year, he added.
The Bureau said the surge in student visa applications could help the Philippines become the educational hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We will continue to look for ways to liberalize our rules on student visas so that more foreigners will be encouraged to study here,” B-I said.
The figures could go up further as hundreds of foreign students continue to process their visa applications.
These current figures per-tain to foreign students who had applied for visas at the BI main office in Intramuros,
More foreigners flocking to RP to study languages
Manila. Student visa applica-tions have also risen in BI field offices in the cities of Cebu, Baguio, Davao, Ange-les, and Iloilo, with the cities of Cebu and Baguio having the most number of foreign students.
Out of the 6,416 student vi-sas issued this year, 1,871 are for newcomers and the rest for foreigners already studying here, the bureau added.
Under BI rules, a college or university cannot admit foreign students for enrolment unless it has been accredited and authorized by the BI.
(Story courtesy of Philip-pine Star)
The Philippines’ stock as a destination of global retailers rose , accord-ing to the 2009 Global Retail De-velopment Index of A.T. Kear-ney.
The Phil-ippines climbed to the 25th spot out of the top 30 destina-tions, with the country garner-ing an index score of 41. The country fell to the 26th spot last year due to rising inflation in Asia coupled with the US financial crisis.
The annual report ranks 30 emerging countries on a 100-point scale. The higher the ranking, the more urgent it is for retailers to enter a coun-try to cash in on its consum-ers’ disposable income and shopping-spree impulses.
The survey is based on four variables: country risk, market attractiveness, market saturation, and time pres-sure. A country is measured on each variable from zero to 100, which is the highest score.
The Philippines scored lower in country risk with 28 points; time pressure, 29 percent; and market attractive-ness, 31 percent. However, it scored higher in the mar-ket saturation category at 76 percent.
Other Southeast Asian
RP’s rank as global retail hub improves
countries like Vietnam ranked higher at 6th; Malaysia, 10th; and Indonesia, 22nd. The Philippines however, was ahead of Thailand, which placed 26th.
A.T. Kearney said coun-tries in Asia are well posi-tioned for an early recovery from the economic crisis.
“Domestic demand is holding up well in most major markets, [gross domestic product] growth is continuing at a moderate rate, and tril-lions of dollars of sovereign reserves are providing govern-ments and state banks with tools for action,” the consult-ing firm said.
It added that Asian coun-tries are also continuing their dramatic economic transfor-mation. Domestic consump-tion is still a primary focus, a trend that should favor contin-ued increase in retail over the long term.
“The global economic recession has not closed all windows of opportunity for organized retail in developing markets,” AT Kearney said.
Page 4 September 3 - 9, 2010Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
Bill’s Corner
Read Bill Labestre’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com
by Bill Labestre, MBA
Yes, there is a large num-ber of Filipinos in San Diego County but, does it really mean anything? We could hardly unite as an imposing ethnic group and still practice the old tribal ways. Each tribe has each own distinct dialect or church of worship. How many Filipino organizations do we have in this county? In any given year, how many Mrs. Philip-pines, Miss Philippines or Little Miss Philippines has been elected or selected?
Many of us now carry U.S. Passports so when you travel overseas and asked, what do you say who you are? Are you a Filipino, an Asian or an American? Is it just for the convenience and econom-ic reasons or, are you certain where your loyalty lies? How hard is it to convince other people that you are a perfectly tanned American?
Anyway, what happened to that plan in National City to designate a Philippine themed area similar to “Little Italy” or “Little Saigon”? A few years ago there were lots of talks and photo “ops” about the subject. We seemed to be very
The San Diegansgood in starting something or creating excitement but really bad in finishing plans. The old “Ningas Cogon” ways never go away. Most of our plans are like a Philippine Cogon grass that burns quickly when
hot but extinguished so easily. There are organizations
that claimed to be created for the benefit of the Filipino community but ended up like any other social clubs. There’s also a number of people act-ing like community movers and doers but of little value to the majority of Filipinos.
So, if you really have honest intentions to provide a significant contribution to the community, how would you do it? Majority of your ka-bayans are suspicious of your actions and would rather stay inside their own cliques. Even
after you have done some-thing good for them, it’s still hard to get a public acknowl-edgement. But, if you are very famous or you became a celebrity, then they have no problem attaching themselves to your name.
It is very convenient that we have plenty of Filipino restaurants in this county. We don’t have to drive very far to find one. The sad truth is that many of them will not survive this bad economy. They really need our support but, they should also try to improve their services and food qual-ity. If you have noticed, not too many non-Filipinos ate at these food establishments.
Compared to other counties with large Filipino popula-tion, we are something else. A Fine Din-ing Filipino restaurant will not last long in San Diego. The majority of Filipino customers want large serving of rice and cheap com-bination of greasy
but tasty food. To lower their price, the restaurants have to serve their food in Styrofoam containers and plastic wares. I believe these Carinderia style eateries reminded us Filipinos of our native home towns.
We are still a very price oriented group. It seemed automatic to ask for discount. Even for professional servic-es, most Filipinos will still ask for discounts. It’s quite hard to change this old habit, so if you want your business to sur-vive, you may have to make the necessary adjustments.
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By: Father Shay Cullen
The culture of violence and torture is commonplace in the Philippines today. Young people in school fraternities are subjected to beatings and torture by their peers, called hazing, it is so severe that many have died. The stu-dent torturers learn perhaps from what they know about the police and military that routinely torture suspects and summarily execute many with impunity. They learn from US trainers as practiced in the Iraqi torture chambers of Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo. The torturers seem to enjoy inflict-ing pain on their victims and video and photographing the horrific acts.
The video games played on home computers or in internet shops turn killing, murder, violence and rape into enter-tainment for pleasure seeking youth. Adults allow it, but is it the way to prepare them for life? Minors that commit violent crimes are born inno-cent but learn from adults and older peers. Children are ex-posed to violence in the home, on television, in the movies, classrooms, school yard and on the streets. Students can go wild and shoot dead teachers and students.
When family, community, school and society provides little positive inputs to young people who are desperate for dignity, respect, attention, and acceptance, we can expect rebellious youth filled with anger or hatred because they are unwanted, excluded and hopeless. Many young people turn rebellious when they are excluded from a life of economic and racial equality, opportunity and education.
Ending the Culture of Violence
Former police officer Rolando Mendoza looks out of a window of a bus carrying tourist hostages at Quirino Grandstand in Manila. Image Credit: Reuters
With concern, respect, friend-ship and opportunity they can be inspired to live a good life but they need trusting adults they can admire and imitate. If treated well, most will become good. If abused, some
tend to become abusers. They will respond to the friendly attention of a role model, and fulfill their obliga-tions and responsi-bilities. I
see this transformation every day in the lives of the 54 kids taken from prisons to an open trusting affirmative environ-ment. Give respect and good-ness to youth (if they are not too damaged) and you will get it in return.
Last week Filipinos here and abroad were filled with horror and disgust as they watched a cruel police torture session on television. The vid-eo showed a man lying naked on the floor of a Manila police station scream-ing and squirming in agony as the highly decorated senior police in-spector sat over him viciously pulling a cord at-tached to his geni-
tals while beating him with a belt to make him confess to a crime. Other police were standing around. One made the video recording of it on a cell phone. The victim is sus-pected to have been murdered later.
Another highly decorated former police inspector Ro-lando Mendoza, 55, took hos-tage a bus load of Hong Kong tourists last 23 August in a Manila park, and murdered several of them before he was shot by a police sniper. The entire nine hour drama was broadcast live on television here and abroad. Mendoza was convicted of drug-related extortion and brutality against an innocent cook of the Man-darin hotel in Manila in 2008. He demanded to be reinstated despite his conviction and that of his extortion unit.
In another recent ANC television report, teenagers rescued from the Manila jails told of their harrowing expe-rience of police torture and brutality. One boy showed his feet with the toenails extracted and cigarette burns on his neck. Conditions in the detention cells were described as subhuman. The videos can be viewed at www.preda.org
During a peaceful dem-onstration in 1996, I and my companion were arrested and beaten, punched and kicked. My head was banged repeat-edly on the steel floor of the police van as I was taken to jail. My wrists were tightly handcuffed behind my back with two sets of cuffs for many hours so my wrists were cut and scared. We were jailed, interrogated and sub-jected to psychological abuse and foul language by the law-yer of the former mayor.
To stop such horrific abuse we need to end the culture of violence, the impunity of the powerful and work for a just and decent society where the rule of law and justice pre-vails and the dignity of every-one is respected and honored.
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6080074B.indd 1 8/23/10 4:39:33 PM
Page 6 September 3 - 9, 2010Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
by Dr. Ofelia Dirige Founder, President & CEO Kalusugan Community Services
Contemporary Asian American Issues
Read Dr. Dirige’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com
What gets you out of your comfort zone? A middle-of the night phone call? A flat tire? A new job? Countless things can yank us out of a comfort zone. But first, just what is a comfort zone? What does one look like? Well, a comfort zone can, of course, be many things:
A person – when you’re with that person you feel safe, serene and comfortable;
A chair – perhaps an old recliner is your comfort zone – the place where you feel the safest;
Your home – you walk in, kick off your shoes and keep the world at bay;
Your car – You’re by your-self listening to music – or the quiet – and just reveling in being with yourself;
Perhaps your comfort zone
is not being within shouting distance of a conservative or shouting distance of a liberal;
Perhaps your comfort zone isn’t a place or a thing at all but simply a state of mind – the state where you feel at peace, at harmony, wrapped in warmth and comfort.
Going back to the original question, what happens when, for whatever reason, you’re dragged unceremoniously out of a comfort zone?
But our own personal com-fort zones are not anywhere near those of a societies. Right? Well I don’t know.
What causes a breakdown in your comfort? Is it a bad dinner at a restaurant? Is it the high price of fuel? Is it the high interest rate on a Mas-terCard? Is it the low interest rate on savings?
Or is it when you exit the freeway? As you get to the end of the exit ramp and will have to stop and wait for the light to turn green you see a person who may have not showered in a few days or weeks. Their hair is matted and long, the clothes are dirty and stained; their shoes have holes so large you can see them from your car. Is be-ing parked next to this person while you wait for a light to change and seeing a sign they’re holding what pulls you from your comfort zone?
It’s not personal...or is it?
I may have just left a classroom where the class had gone wonderfully well. I taught something and they got it! And then they ran with it and wrote all sorts of papers that pushed their understand-ing and creativity to the limits. Hurray for them! And now it’s evening and I’m tired from teaching and grading papers, and having meetings, and writing a newspaper col-umn, and working on a book. I’m tired but exhilarated. I’m
feeling great – the day went well and all is wonderful with the world.
Dark is settling, a Corinne Bailey Rae CD is playing, and I can’t wait to get home and hug the kids. I get off the freeway and as I approach the end of the ramp I see that person with a sign. And I see that I will be the car parked next to that person with a sign. I do not want to feel “Ah, gee, not tonight” but I might.
I can’t help but remember something my grandmother said to me when I was with her in a car and something similar happened. She said “Ah the person just wants the money to buy whiskey.” I remember even then think-ing “so what?” If a person so needs something to stand out here for hours begging for change from strangers – and take the abuse from some drivers that comes with that – then they probably really need it.
But I didn’t say anything to her and somehow some of her discomfort zone appar-ently seeped into me. Doesn’t come out often, but occasion-ally it might.
I was with a friend when we were in this same position getting off a freeway and he said, “Oh not again. I give to the Red Cross, I donate blood, I recycle, I vote, I don’t drive a gas hog. Come on, how much?”
People asking for help in situations like that really take us out of our comfort zones in a hurry. Maybe it’s because we’re face-to-face with anoth-er human being and one who may not be quite as pretty or clean or as heart-warming as one of Jerry’s kids. Or, do Jerry’s kids yank you from your comfort zone too?
According to the National Alliance to End Homeless-ness, there are over 670,000 individuals who are home-
Is it a Comfort Zone or a Stagnate Zone?
How comfortable is your comfort zone?
less on any given night in the U.S. There are 131,000 homeless veterans. And while it may help keep us in our comfort zone to think that most of those individu-als are homeless because they are lazy, or simply don’t want to work, we know that the reality is that people are homeless for many reasons. Some are homeless because of abusive marriages and they’ve gone into hiding, or because they were thrown out of their house with nothing, or are running sacred from horrendous situations. Some are mentally ill, and some are too young to escape horrific
situations. The reality is there are homeless but it’s too grue-some for some of us to think about - it’s too far out of our comfort zone.
So what do we do? How can we get beyond our com-fort zones? Well first you have to recognize that it ex-ists. Then you have to see the need to break out of it – and there’s always that need – if not for the person then for the human race or simply your-self. Then you have to want to break out of it. You have to want to feel a little edgy. You have to know that to help move a world means being a little less comfortable.
(Continued on page 14)
Perspectives
ASIAN JOURNALThe first Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern CaliforniaAn 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)
Read Miles Beauchamp’s previous articles by visiting our web-site at www.asianjournalusa.com
by Miles Beauchamp
Kalusugan Community Services (KCS) sponsored a free
workshop on this topic on
March 20, 2010, from 9:00 AM to 12 noon at the
FilAm Wellness Center to inform the community about Kawasaki Disease (KD) and answer some of the questions people may have about the condition. Some of the questions are: What is this puzzling illness and its symptoms? Does it affect more chil-dren than adults? What are its causes, genetic implica-tions, lasting effects, and treatment? What is being done about it?
The staff of the Kawa-saki Disease Research Center (KDRC) came to the work-
Tony Olaes
The Tony Olaes Story: A Puzzling Kawasaki Disease It is not associated with a motorcycle bearing the name
but it was discovered by Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki in 1961 as an illness that affects a greater number of Asians
including Filipino Americans and its consequences are more severe than in any other ethnic group. Many
physicians and families are not aware of KD.
by Ofelia Dirige, DrPH, RD and Emma Abutin, MPH, RN
shop to answer some of the questions listed above and also share what they are do-ing to learn more about the disease. KDRC is a research group from the Department of Pediatrics at University of California San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego. The Center was
inaugurated in 2004 by Dr. Kawasaki and Dr. Jane Burns, a leading specialist in KD. It helps foster excellence in care of patients with KD and con-duct clinical and laboratory research. The Center studies the distribution of the disease in various populations, causes, genetics, treatment, long term effects, and damage to the heart. Investigators from Ja-pan, U.S., and other countries work together to understand this puzzling disease.
The main speaker was Adriana Herrera Tremoulet, MD, Assistant Director of UCSD Pediatric Pharmacol-ogy Research Center, Rady Children’s Hospital. She is an expert in KD and gave back-ground information about the disease and the Filipino KD study they conducted recently, along with recommendations. Other members of the team included Susan Fernandez, MD, Research Associate and Philip Armendi, a student intern from UCSD. Both of them are Filipino Americans.
Approximately 35-40 people attended the workshop. There was an open forum in which the public can answer questions and share com-ments. Two families testified about their experiences with
KD including Tony Olaes of Gawad Kalinga. Informational brochures were handed to partic-ipants. Continen-tal breakfast and healthy lunch was served. There were raffle prizes, blood pressure screen-ings, and aero-bics. Everyone
learned a lot and enjoyed the day!
WHAT IS KAWASAKI DISEASE?
KD is an illness character-
ized by inflammation of blood vessels that supply the heart muscle. It is accompanied by the following signs:
Fever• Rash• Swelling of the hands • and feetReddening of the eyes• Red, cracked lips and • red tongueSwollen lymph nodes • in the neck.
While the immediate ef-fects may not be serious, in some cases there is permanent damage to the
coronary arteries and heart muscle.
WHO ARE AFFECTED?
Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki, a Japanese physician, identified the first case of KD in 1961 and published the first English language report of 50 patients in 1974. KD affects children almost exclusively. Most patients are under 5 years of age and affect all races and ethnicities. However, the KDRC reported that there is
a disproportionate number of Asians including Filipino Americans (FilAms) that are affected. Not only are there more Asians/FilAms involved but the consequences of KD are more severe than in any other ethnic group.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES?
To date, the cause of KD is unknown. Most experts agree that it is due to infectious agents such as bacteria or vi-rus. At the present time, there is no evidence that it is conta-gious. A hereditary tendency
may also ex-ist and could explain why the disease occurs more frequently among per-sons of Japa-nese ancestry. Since the cause is un-known, there are no ways to prevent it. However, the
KDRC is San Diego is work-ing to further understand this disease.
HOW IS IT TREATED?
There is an initial hospitalization for at least 2 days to do laboratory and clinical exams. A high dose of immunoglobulin (IVIG) that takes 10-12 hours to infuse is the treatment for patients with KD. This is to reduce inflam-mation and risk of coronary artery damage. High doses of aspirin are also given every 6 hours. The child is sent home on a low dose aspirin for 4-6 weeks to prevent blood clots.
After hospitalization, the child may be tired and have poor appetite for 1-2 weeks. Parents should not limit the child’s diet or activity. If symptoms such as fever, other signs of KD, and painful joints that limit walking occur, the doctor should be called immediately. Rarely does KD reoccur months to years after the initial disease. If symptoms reoccur, the doctor should be called right away.
***
TESTIMONY OF TONY OLAES RE-
GARDING HIS TWO CHILDREN
MICHAEL’S STORYIt all began when the Olaes
family returned from a trip to Hawaii. Michael, then one year old, had a fever for three consecutive days. As any par-ent would do, Tony and Grace took their son to the pediatri-cian who prescribed Tylenol® and Motrin ®. Nonetheless, the fever was persistent and fluctuated only by 1 or 2 degrees F. On the fourth day Grace became concerned and scared when Michael developed blood shot eyes, his lips were red and he had a
The Olaes Family
rash on his back. On the fifth day, Grace took him to the emergency room at their local hospital. As it often happens, Michael was sent home with a diagnosis of a virus and waited until the 7th day when Tony and Grace decided to take him to Rady’s Children’s Hospital. By this time Mi-chael was lethargic and limp and Grace turned to Tony and said: “I think our son is dying”. These are words that no parent should ever have to utter but this is a reality with the uncertainty of Kawasaki Disease (KD).
Once the family described
the symptoms to the admis-sions attendant it took 15 minutes for Michael to be admitted to Rady’s Children’s Hospital. Dr. Harley diag-nosed Michael with KD and Dr. Jane Burns confirmed the diagnosis in the morning. That evening Michael was given IVIG and by the next morning he was back to normal.
AUDREY’S STORYThree years later the Olaes
family had a beautiful baby girl named Audrey. She was four months old when she developed her very first fever. The fever began to rise and by the third day it was 104 degrees F. By the third day she developed blood shot eyes and red lips. Grace knew these symptoms and took Audrey immediately to Rady’s Chil-dren’s Hospital. Again, they were admitted right away and when they asked for the KD specialist on call they were greeted by Dr. Jane Burns. “The second time was a lot easier” said Tony. Audrey was given IVIG that evening and was much better by the next day.
Today, Michael and Au-drey are thriving twelve and nine year olds living in Po-way. Michael loves to play videogames and hopes to be a videogame designer in the future. Audrey is bright and aspires to be a CEO of a company. The Olaes family is thankful to Dr. Jane Burns who has dedicated many years to working on research to diagnose and treat this elu-sive disease. They have been a centerpiece for building awareness and raising funds for Kawasaki Disease at a national level.
There will be an Annual Kawasaki Disease Founda-tion Gala on September 25th from 5:30 to 10:00 PM at the Las Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. This will
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Edgar was in his second year college when he decided to quit school and work full-time for his father who owns a machine shop. Through the years he gained expertise in industrial machine parts manufacturing. When Edgar came to the United States as a visitor, he met an owner of a manufacturer of milling products who is interested in hiring him as a supervisor for quality control. Edgar came to me and asked if he can qualify for H-1B visa. The H-1B program allows employ-ers to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or techni-cal expertise in a specialized fi eld and a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. Typical H-1B occupations include architects, engineers, computer program-mers, accountants, doctors and college professors. The H-1B nonimmigrant visa category is popular because of its basic feature-- qualifi cation in an occupation that usually re-quires a college degree.
Since Edgar did not have any college degree, I needed to have his credentials evalu-ated by an expert. This is more costly than the usual credential evaluation. The evaluation was made by an assistant professor from Uni-versity of Maryland who has Ph.D. in aerospace engineer-ing and a recipient of several awards and honors in the fi eld of engineering. According to the expert opinion evaluation, Edgar’s 13 years of experi-ence in the fi eld of mechanical engineering was comparable
Successful H-1B Visa Petitionto university-level training in mechanical engineering in the U.S. We’ve solved one part of the problem. The next issue to be resolved was whether the position being offered to Edgar required a bachelor’s degree. I evaluated his job duties and level of responsi-bilities. I believed they were suffi ciently complex that re-quired a minimum of a bacca-laureate degree in mechanical engineering. Last week, we received a notice from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approving Edgar’s H-1B visa application for three (3) years. Edgar’s wife is a registered nurse, but she’s not allowed to work as benefi ciary of Edgar’s visa. She needs to get her own H-1B visa to work. Edgar can get his social security number and driver’s license by show-ing his new H-1B I-94 card.
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We welcome your feed-back. If you have any im-migration questions, please feel welcome to email me at [email protected] or call 619 819 -8648 to arrange for a telephone con-sultation.
Page 8 September 3 - 9, 2010Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
By RDLiporada
Publisher’s note: The complete novel serialized here is on Unholy Allied
Mountains by RDLiporada. For those who would
want to procure a copy of the book online, go to unholyalliedmountains.com. In Chapter I, Ding Romualdez, a journalist
writes about an Amazon NPA who died in the Cordillera
Mountains.
Chapter 2 (Fourth of a series)
Somewhere in the Benguet-Ilocos Border Mountains –
PhilippinesApril 7, 2004
After propping his M-16 on the bam-boo lashed table,
Ronald clicked on the computer at what they called an office. The gen-tle tapping of the rain on the canvass sheets, that served as roof and walls of the office propped with wooden stilts, merged with the creaking sounds of the computer as icons flashed unto the desktop screen. The distant roar of a river, with the rain as percussion, mingled in the silenced harmony of the night.
As soon as the icons com-pletely aligned themselves, he went through his unread e-mails. Most were from other commanders all over the Is-lands, congratulating him for a recent successful ambush. Most of the salutations were prefixed with ‘Revolutionary Greetings Kasama. Kasama or abbreviated as Ka is the vernacular for comrade. Even Chona, though his wife, refers to him as Ka Ronald saying in her e-mail, “Congratulations
on your recent activity. I am so glad that you are okay and no one was hurt. I am almost complete with my training here in Manila and should be with you soon. Missing you.”
Missing you, too, he said to himself.
How long has Chona been gone? A month? Or more? Such separations are just part of what they have to endure in the struggle and endure they must for each one plays a role in the movement. The best they could offer is what the revolution asks of them to offer even if they be separated for just awhile or separated by virtue of death. Separation is a necessary sacrifice so one could contribute one’s out-most potentials at every stage of the struggle. One cannot be selfish to contribute one’s outmost capabilities for only in doing so could one truly love the masses and in loving the masses, one could truly love the individual for the in-dividual is part of the masses. Insuring the welfare of the masses to which one’s love belongs, is truly the highest expression of one’s love for another even if one has miss the other, even forever.
I miss you, too, Ronald keyed in the words on his return e-mail to Chona.
After he closed his e-mail window, Ronald clicked on the Northern Dispatch icon on his desktop. Might as well know what is happening in the city. As the website opened, the image of Abigail Cas-tillo popped up on the right top side of the screen. It was headed Amazon Martyr – A Profile. Ronald squinted at the writer’s by-line.
Ding Rodriguez?As Ronald read the post,
his mind raced back to the days when he was still a stu-dent with both Ding and Abi.
At first, it was just fun to be holding those placards marching down the streets with issues Ronald really did not fully understand. Rising tuition fees and jeepney fares, he understood but Imperial-ism? Feudalism? Fascism? What were those really?
It was just fun shouting those slogans responding to Abi’s rubble rousing Makiba-ka, Huwag Matakot – Strug-gle, Do not be Afraid. It was just fun going with Ding in those marches because Ding just wanted to be close to Abi and he just went with Ding
because he was his friend and fraternity brother. And Chona was there, too.
As they became immersed more in the movement, how-ever, in discussion groups often led by Abi, they found all issues related to deeper issues, linked to imperialism and its derivatives. Ah! So, imperialism is the root cause of our Island’s poverty.
Both he and Ding found themselves from being mere student activists into Kasamas of the Communist Party of the Philippines, organizing the underground in Northern Luzon. They even went to the mountains to have the taste of the harshness of the struggle like sharing a tooth-brush because his broke and no else had a spare. Yes, they shared assignments and were together during the struggle’s early stages until Martial Law was declared and they took separate paths.
Ronald learned later that Ding deviated not, but almost, toward the enemy’s path.
Ronald noted Ding’s e-mail address by his by-line and re-clicked on his e-mail icon and started to tap on the keyboard.
Right after he clicked on the send message, he noted that the tapping of the rain, on the canvass roof of what they called an office, became harsher.
Santa Barbara, Califor-
nia
As habit, Ding opened his e-mail while sipping his morning coffee. Somehow his bearings for the day had become dictated by the e-mails from friends. The jokes especially would make him feel buoyant and he would memorize those that he could transform into back rocking laughter medium for which he had popularize himself in the office where he worked as a full time office administrator
And then there were the spams which he had to pa-tiently delete. This morning there was a particular item which he could not decide if it was a spam or a message or what not. It came from an [email protected]. He squinted on the message line – Hello!
Somehow, there was a dis-tant ring to ‘arcayan’ and he gingerly double clicked onto the message.
Hello, Ding. This is Ron-ald. I am glad I found you through your e-mail on your article on Abi. I have just read it and really happy that aside from sensing your continuing affection for her, your sense of proletarian internationalism is still in your heart. I have heard scantily about you after your being released from pris-on but I know that you still write. I have also been told that you’ve been a teacher in Africa. I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you visit us here in the mountains, see how we have really progressed? Remember those tunnels we used to talk about? You might just have more unique ideas for articles. Let me know. I remain your brod and Kasama. Sincerely, Ka Ronald.
This is fake, said Ding to himself with his heart start-ing to beat faster. Somebody is trying to bait me, trying to see if I am still active in the movement.
Ding’s mind flashed to several months after he was released from prison.
Two burly men paid him a visit and told him that Kasa-mas inside want him back into the mountains right away. He was laughing to himself because he knew they were fakes. He had already told his real ‘connections’ that he was still undecided to go back be-cause his wife had just given birth to their second baby. He knew those two were fakes because, aside from their not knowing the movement’s pro-tocols, they did not bother to remove their shoes when they entered his home. In a very apologetic manner, he told them that he did not want to be in the movement anymore because he has already se-cured his freedom from prison and just wants to be with his family.
There were two more at-tempts of trying to see if he
still had ‘connec-tions’. One dropped the name of a Kasama who was a medic and asked if Ding had a source for acu-punctures. The pre-tender’s problem was Ding knew from his real ‘con-nection’ that the medic Kasama had recently died in a
skirmish with the enemy.
Another came late one evening saying they had a mission in the City with a partisan group and asked if he could stay the night. He did really look like a Kasama and had the knowledge to remove his shoes before entering the house. When Ding, however, asked him what he wanted for breakfast in the morning, he answered “anything will do.” That was a wrong answer to a password developed by the partisans connected with Ding.
So, this message com-ing from a Ronald must be another fake. It did not pass through the proper channels. Plus, really, he had not been in contact with anyone since he had migrated into the United States. Well, except Abi’s sister who, as far as he knows, could still be connected with the movement.
Ding clicked on the delete button and decided to forget about the message.
Yet, the idea of a Ronald writing him about Abi gnawed on him as he still sat trans-fixed in front of the screen. There were actually items mentioned in the message that only Ronald knows. First, in their bond, only Ronald knew that Ding had a deep affection for Abi beyond comradeship. He knew that in spite of his affection, she seemed to be consumed by the movement that she did not have time for anything else but the revolu-tion. Love to her was just a distraction from serving the people. Second, this Ronald mentioned tunnels and must be referring to the idea of, as early as then, mobilizing the masses to already dig tunnels cutting through the mountains like what the Vietnamese did so the NPAs could have hid-ing places when the enemy
starts to use bombs against them. Third, he referred to him as ‘brod’ as they ad-dressed each other in their University fraternity before they became activists.
Could this be the real Ronald?
Ding decided to retrieve the message from the trash file and reread the message.
Ding glanced at his watch. 6:15 a.m. It should be 10:00 p.m. in the Philippines. Leila should still be awake. She could know if this is the real Ronald.
Ding snatched his cell phone and pressed on 15 num-bers. After several whirring sounds, a drowsy woman’s voice answered.
“Hello!”“Hello! Leila?”“Yes.”“This is Ding. Have you
read the article I wrote about your sister?”
“Oh! Ding,” though still sounding in the verge of wakefulness, the voice be-came animated. “That what was a nice piece. Mom and Dad really liked it. What’s up?”
“Listen, I got an e-mail from a Ronald but I am not certain if it is Ronald. I was wondering if you still have contacts with our Ronald.”
There was silence.“Hello. Leila, are you still
there?”“Ding, I will have to call
you back or just text you.”And click. The line went
dead.Ding wondered what had
just happened. He used to talk to Leila about anything just to get in touch especially when he was about to go home on vacation. He did not mind the long distance charges. Why the abrupt stoppage now? Did he breach anything? Was Leila’s phone tapped? Did he endanger any life now? Again?
After a while, his cell phone went beep. Glancing at the number, it was from a cell phone bearing a Philippine area code.
“Ding, this is Leila. I checked and confirmed. That was Ronald. His cell number is 011639167907634. He is waiting for your call.”
Without any further think-ing, Ding pressed on the numbers.
“Hello!”“Ronald?”After a brief silence,
“Ding?”
(To be continued)
Unholy Allied Mountains
The book “Unholy Allied Mountains” by R.D. Liporada is available from Amazon.com.
(Continued from page 1)Magtibay, testified that it was Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim who ordered the brother of the hostage-taker arrested. The scene, broadcast live on TV, was said to have angered dis-missed police officer Rolando Mendoza and caused him to start firing at the hostages.
Lim later disputed Magtibay’s account.
In his testimony before the Senate, Magtibay also said that the M16 Mendoza had used was the service fire-arm that was issued to him 10 years ago. It was never returned to the police force, even after he was dismissed.
Also at the Senate, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said the police had “bungled the situation.”
“I must say that to a large degree, I’m very happy and satisfied with the negotiation part of it, but there’s discom-fort on the tactical interven-tion side. I must admit that they [the police] bungled the situation, and that they could have done better,” Robredo said.
President Benigno Aquino III, meanwhile, vowed that heads would roll and ordered an elite joint military and police unit created to handle “large-scale terrorist activity” and hostage-takings.
“Some people fell short and they will have to pay,” Mr. Aquino said.
“There were lapses, and I assure you we are addressing these lapses. This should re-ally not happen again.”
The President admitted that the police unit most capable
of launching an assault on the tourist bus where the hos-tages were being held was far from the site, leading to a prolonged rescue attempt that lasted almost an hour.
Members of the respond-ing unit, armed only with hand guns and some of whom were not wearing bullet proof vests and protective helmets, were seen trying to break the windows of the bus using a sledgehammer. One of them threw a teargas canister into the bus but it did not go off.
Mr. Aquino ordered the police to demonstrate in two weeks their ability to protect the public and to offset the negative image that Monday’s botched rescue attempt cre-ated.
Instead of spreading re-sources to many SWAT teams, the government would set up two principal units for both the military and the police, that would work together in critical situations, the Presi-dent said.
“This unit would have the highest capability possible,” he said.
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said he had been meet-ing with police officials to identify ways to upgrade their skills and equipment.
In his status message on his Facebook page on Wednesday, Mr. Aquino called for sobriety in debating the incident in online social networking sites. Joyce Pangco Pañares, Karl Allan Barlaan, Macon Ramos-Araneta, Christian Cardiente
Palace widens blame game to include Gloria
Arroyo
Light &Shadows
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by Zena Sultana Babao
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Solomon, the third king of Israel, son of the great King David, reigned during Israel’s Golden Age. When God granted him one request, he asked for wisdom. And became the wisest man who ever lived!
God was so pleased with this request that He not only made Solomon wise, but also gave him great riches, power, and peace.
What’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom? A vast differ-ence! Knowledge is what we have learned, while wisdom is applying what we have learned to our life. We may have knowledge, but without wisdom, our knowledge is useless. We must learn to live out what we know.
“How does a man become wise?” Solomon writes, “The first step is to trust and rever-ence the Lord! Only fools refuse to be taught.”
King Solomon left us a legacy of written wisdom in three volumes in the Old Tes-tament – Proverbs, Ecclesias-tes, and the Song of Solomon. In the first of these three vol-umes, Solomon passes on his practical advice in the form of proverbs.
The book of Proverbs cov-ers a range of topics that con-tains deep spiritual insights drawn from King Solomon’s experience. It begins with a clear statement of its purpose: attaining wisdom and disci-pline; understanding words
Wisdom of Solomonof insight; acquiring a disci-plined and prudent life; and doing what is right, just and fair.
Here are some examples of King’s Solomon’s proverbs:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understand-ing; in all your ways acknowl-edge Him, and he will make your paths straight.
Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, and he blesses the home of the righ-teous.
Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men.
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are de-testable to him: haughty eyes,
a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush to evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
A man who commits adul-tery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.
Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all wrongs.
When pride comes, then comes disgrace. But with humility comes wisdom.
One man gives freely, yet
gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it.
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown.
He who works his land will have abundant food. But he who chases fantasies lacks judgment.
Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the
wise brings healing.In the way of righteousness
there is life; along that path is immortality.
He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a com-panion of fools suffers harm.
A gentle answer turns away wrath.
Better a life with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.
In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord deter-mines his steps.
Pride goes before destruc-tion, a haughty spirit before a fall.
The words of a man are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man run to it and are safe.
A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great.
The tongue has the power of life and death.
Many are the plans of a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s pur-pose that prevails.
To do what is right and just is more ac-ceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
There is no wis-dom, no insight and
no plan that can succeed against the Lord.
Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all.
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Do not boast about tomor-row, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
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that occurred in 1986. These made news headlines as “the revolution that surprised the world”. The majority of the demonstrators took place at Epifanio de los Santos Av-enue, known more commonly by its acronym EDSA, in Quezon City, Metropolitan Manila, and involved over 2,000,000 Filipino civilians as well as several political, mili-tary and religious figures.
In 1986, after the EDSA became our President. Coup attempts by Honasan harassed the amateur Cory. Crazy poli-tics happened. Honasan later became a Senator.
After Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos was elected as the President. He had the bearing, the single-mindedness and the vision to bring the country to a tiger economy status. But all of Ramos’ gains during his presidency evaporated into thin air. The poor became poorer than ever.
Because he was a popular movie actor, Erap Estrada was elected President to manage the countryin 1998. He en-joyed widespread popularity, particularly among the poor. In October 2000, however, Estrada was accused of hav-ing accepted millions of pesos in payoffs from illegal gam-bling businesses. The jueteng bombs exploded! Estrada was impeached by the House of Representatives, but his im-peachment trial in the Senate broke down when the senate voted to block the examina-tion of the president’s bank records. In response, mas-sive street protests erupted, demanding Estrada’s resigna-tion. Faced with street pro-tests, cabinet resignations, and
From Antique to America: Memoirs of a Filipino American Doctor
The People Power Movementa withdrawal of support from the armed forces, Estrada was forced from office on January 20, 2001.
Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (the daughter of the late Presi-dent Diosdado Macapagal) was sworn in as Estrada’s successor on the day of his departure. We were inspired that Malacañang regained its honor and dignity. But more catastrophies happened instead! The peso plummeted to a horrifying US$1 to P51. Graft and corruption ruled the country. Estrada was pardoned and now running again for President of the Archipelago. Despite a number of policy re-forms by the administration of Arroyo, the Philippines con-tinued to face important chal-lenges and must sustain the reform momentum to achieve and sustain the strong post-crisis recovery needed to spur investments, achieve higher growth, generate employment, and alleviate poverty for a rapidly expanding popula-tion. Food prices were high. Garbage was dump beside the streets. Disease epidemics were a concern. Again, the whole nation was witnessing sickening crimes attributed to the inept people in the govern-ment.
Businesses were still clos-ing shop. Thousands of work-ers were being retrenched. Prices of food and gasoline were very high. The streets had become permanent gar-bage dumps. Maggots multi-ply to spread diseases. Com-munities stunk.Again, the whole nation was witnessing sickening crimes attributed to the inept people in the govern-ment.
Arroyo’s accession to power was further legitimized by the mid-term congressio-nal and local elections held four months later when her coalition won an overwhelm-ing victory. Her initial term in office was marked by fractious co-alition poli-tics as well as a military mutiny in Manila in July 2003 that led her to declare a month-long nationwide state of rebel-lion.
Arroyo in her Ma-chiavellian maneuver declared in December 2002 that she would not run in the May 2004 presidential election but she reversed herself in October 2003 and decided to join the race. She was re-elected and sworn in for her own six-year term as president on June 30, 2004. In 2005, a tape of a wiretapped conversation surfaced bearing the voice of Arroyo apparently ask-ing an election official if her margin of victory could be maintained. The tape sparked protests calling for Arroyo’s resignation. Arroyo admitted to inappropriately speaking to an election official, but denied
allegations of fraud and re-fused to step down. Attempts to impeach her failed later that year.
Arroyo unsuccessfully attempted a controversial plan for an overhaul of the constitution to transform the present presidential-bicameral republic into a federal parlia-mentary-unicameral form of government.
Today there are nine (9) candidates for President in
the coming May 2010 elec-tions. Whoever has the orga-nization, power group and, most of all, money (it seems Manny Villar has) shall win the election. As of 2008 there are 90 million Filipinos in the country. The poor still remained 70% of the popula-tion. What we’re about to ex-perience within the next three months is the shredding of the covenant of the 1986 “people power” revolution. Politically,
it is a despicable country. Is it filthy politics (English slang)? Or simply filthy!
Whoever wins in this election, what, then, does the future hold for Filipinos? A Philippine reporter has this to say if the unpopular candidate wins, “… a plutocratic oligar-chy controlled by kleptocrats and greedy oligarchs is in the offing. How, then, can decay-ing morals and ethics find a fresh whiff of integrity and
nobility? How much lower can a people and nation fall before the shame of dishonesty and thievery awakens the comatose integrity and honor of the Fili-pino race?” Quo Vadis, Filipinos?
Immediately after the successful EDSA revolution I became one of the organizers and founders of PUSO Philippines, an organi-zation incorporated in the state of California, with the aim of helping the poor of the country and also of rebuilding the nation in our own small wayI became a member of the Board of Trustees. Fundraising activities were brisk and highly supported by the Filipino American com-munity. This was the start of my heart’s desire to start my humanitarian medical mission outside the United States. Up to this writing PUSO Phil-
ippines is still very active.Manglapus went home to
the Philippines and ran for the Philippine senate. Although he was hampered by lack of campaign resources, he was expected to win a seat from independent surveys that placed him among the top five.
In a small way, the Move-ment for Free Philippines raised $12,000 in a party in May 1987 at our home
through the sale of Charles McMcDougal’s book, Mar-cos File. The help of Jake Jacob, Dr. Gamboa, Mila Denton, Peope Balista, Dr. Yorobe, Glen Barroga and others made the fundraising a success. Among the special guests were Filipina actress Gloria Sevilla, the wife of Vice Consul Amado Cortes of San Francisco, California and News entertainment editor Dindo Reyes of Philippine American News. Reyes in his report under Hotline, “Night of Intrigue and Suspense” wrote, The posh residence of Dr. and Mrs. Cesar Candari at the top of the hill in the Del Cerro area is admirable. Friends had sometimes called it Cesar’s Palace (I know they were kidding me). It’s not a mansion, but it’s just right for our little ménage. The dona-tions were hand-carried to Senator Manglapus by Jake Jacobs who left for Manila in April. Manglapus won the election and eventually became Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines. I am profoundly happy that our friendship with Secretary Manglapus and his lovely Pacita never ended. Every time my wife and I visited Manila, we were invited to have dinner at their home. There is a saying by Evelyn Waugh: “We cherish our friends not for their ability to amuse us, but for ours to amuse them.”
After the EDSA Revolu-tion, I went home to the Phil-ippines together with my wife and the Filipino physicians who were officers and mem-bers of APPA. Manila became the site of the first Homecom-ing APPA convention.
Read previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjo-urnalusa.com
by Atty. Rogelio Karagdag, Jr.Member, State Bar of California & Integrated Bar of the Philippines
Phil - Am Law 101
Driving through the streets of Metro Manila gives one a mixed feeling of frustration, triumph, and admiration. You have to weave your way to avoid the jeepneys and buses that suddenly stop in front of you to pick up passengers, as well as the pedestrians playing “patintero” with the vehicles. Lately, you also have to keep your eyes open for motorcycles which suddenly appear from behind you like a swarm of mosquitoes. When you reach your destination, you heave a sigh of relief, proud that you have successfully travelled the ultimate obstacle driving course. By force of circum-stance, after so many years, we are once again driving a stick shift vehicle. Our leg muscles cramp after just one hour of driving and as we agonize in rush hour traffic, we cannot help but admire the tenacity of our jeepney drivers who go through the same painful rou-tine all day long.
There are many theories on why Metro Manila traffic is so bad. Of course, the usual explanation is that we Filipinos lack discipline, and this in turn is because our traffic enforcers are inefficient or corrupt. It is an unending phenomenon for philosophers and sociologists. In our personal observation, the main cause of traffic in Metro Manila and other urban centers of the Philippines are the jeep-neys, buses and tricyles. They not only stop anywhere to pick up passengers, but they so in a manner as to block the vehicles behind them. They seem to do this on purpose to beat their competitors in picking up the passengers. The other motor-ists, like us, are considered as collateral damage.
If we go deeper in our anal-ysis, we also learn that jeepney, bus and tricycle drivers in the Philippines are under either the boundary or porsiento system. Under the boundary system, the driver pays a fixed amount to the vehicle owner, while under porsiento system, the driver receives a certain percentage of the fare. In situations, the more passengers the driver gets, the higher he gets in earnings. The drivers race each other to the next passenger, and they do so in an aggressive and reckless fashion.
The Philippine Supreme Court has taken note of the ill effects of the boundary system.
Metro Manila TrafficIn Hernandez vs. Dolor, G.R. No. 160286, July 30, 2004, the Court characterized the “boundary system” as reckless because “the measure of their earnings depends largely upon the number of trips they make and, hence, the speed at which they drive.” Therefore, in cas-es of damages arising from ve-hicular accidents, the jeepney or bus owner has the burden of proof that it exercised extra ordinary diligence. Indeed, this is a very high standard of dili-gence. As a common carrier, the bus or jeepney owner is “bound to carry the passengers safely as far as human care and foresight can provide, using the utmost diligence of very cautions persons, with due re-gard for all circumstances.” In several cases, the owner would argue that since he leased the vehicle to the driver, the driver should be responsible for dam-ages. The Philippine Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected this argument, stressing that the driver is considered as an employee of the owner.
At the moment, it is very hard to imagine the Philip-pines without the buses and jeepneys. Most Filipinos do not own cars and public utility vehicles are their only means of transportation. But if the Philippines is to improve to the next level, there ought to be some drastic changes made in the streets, aside from simply banning the wang-wang.
Atty. Rogelio Karagdag, Jr. is licensed to practice law in both California and the Philippines. He practices im-migration law in San Diego and has continuously been a trial and appellate attorney in the Philippines since 1989. He travels between San Diego and Manila. His office address is located at 16486 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite 228, San Diego, CA 92128. He also holds office in National City inside the S&S Travel Agency at 2409 E. Plaza Blvd. Please call (858)348-7475 & (619) 475-3262 for your free con-sultation. We also encourage readers to write us questions about both U.S. immigration and Philippine laws to be fu-ture topics in this column. Our email is [email protected]. Articles written in this column are not legal advice but are hypotheticals in-tended as general, non-specific legal information.
by Leandro D. Quintana
The tragic death of 8 Chi-nese tourists at the hands of suspended policeman Rolando Mendoza is a sad yet bloody reminder that the Philippines can be a dangerous place even for foreigners who had entrusted their care, and lives, into the hands of our tourism industry. News of the carnage is plastered in major global newspapers includ-ing today’s (Aug 25) issues of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. TV news accounts are even more graphic and macabre.
Needless to say the Philippines will not be a favorite vacation spot for many Chinese and others. For now, this is the very least of our worries even if the country can surely use the lost tourism dollars.
The word “incompetence” has been used in describing the law enforcement actions and overall performance in handling and managing this crisis. Yet, in my opinion, what really ails our law en-forcement and military estab-lishments, the two institutions charged with ensuring the peace and security of the Phil-ippine citizenry, is corruption at all levels of these organiza-tions. It is no secret that police and military positions are highly coveted. They are sure fire routes to riches. From traffic control to vice squad to theft, burglaries and other major crimes, the common perception among the people is that law and justice is there only for the rich and power-ful. For all the rest, the small businessman, the employees, the housewives, the students, the street vendors trying to eke out a living – those people once referred to by Ramon Magsaysay as the common tao- the amount of justice they can expect is commensurate to how much they are prepared to shell out to those who wield authority and power. I’m sure there are honest military and law enforcement personnel but these seem to be so rare that one hardly hears of them.
It is corruption that under-mines competence and profes-sionalism. How does a police-man get a job on the force? Usually via a note or a phone call or direct personal inter-cession by a political padrino.
Death, Tragedy, Incompetence, yet at the Core: Corruption
And once on the force the policeman’s “untouchability” is vastly proportionate to the importance and clout of his or her patron.
Let’s take a close look at the case of the late Rolando Mendoza, the gunman in this tragedy. What drove him to take his desperate act? Per-haps the realization that un-less he got reinstated his life of luxury was probably over?
I do not have the facts in his case and I have to admit that I am merely surmising and imagining what really was go-ing on (perhaps it is quixotic to expect that pure, unencum-bered truth will be available from the police hierarchy). Was Mendoza perhaps ag-grieved that he was caught ex-torting money from whoever and was punished when others on the force who perhaps committed even bigger crimes got off scot free? Was he up-set that his superior or who-ever disciplined him had no “pakikisama” and singled him out? Definitely not beyond the realm of possibility.
And let’s look at his behav-ior on the day of the carnage. Here he was, armed to the teeth, flagging down a tourist
bus because he had to “hitch a ride” to the grandstand.
Whatever happened to po-lice transportation? He acted as if he was “entitled” to that ride regardless of how ugly the scene must look to those tourists. And the driver of the bus knew that if he refused to open the bus doors and let that policeman on board that he could very well be the victim of harassment for the
rest of his life. And this sense of entitlement by virtue of a position of power or author-ity is pervasive in Philippine daily life.
Anyway, corruption, that is the point of this piece. It pervades all aspects of police work. Poor training? Who conducts the training pro-gram? Who are selected for specialized positions? If the job is one that does not afford the policeman an opportunity to make extra income the low-est man on the competence or patronage totem pole is likely the one picked. If a third party, privately owned entity were to provide the training, how much would that busi-ness have to spend in grease money to get the contract?
Needless to say they would
skimp on the actual training to manage their costs and obtain a profit. This is true in almost all aspects of life in the Phil-ippines, not just police and military.
And these conditions reportedly prevail in military quarters as well. All we get are whispers about this or that general, or colonel or captain have this or that business interest. Most of the busi-nessmen and professionals affected are deathly scared to be identified as the source of reports of alleged corruption. Exposing the corruption or complaining about it can be
a deadly mistake. The saddest bit of news in fact is that military officers have been said to be heading this or that gang of criminals and thieves respon-sible for heists and kidnappings. I’m sure that to the read-ers of this piece, this is not the first time they have heard of this scandal.
Reports are that the Philippine
leaders are looking at this bloody tragedy as the impetus to institute reform, training and professionalism. This is well and good, but it will be for naught if corruption is not completely and decisively removed from the equation. I hope that President Aquino will indeed use this incident to effect a massive, far reaching and substantive shake up of the police and military estab-lishments so that at long last the guardians of our people can and will finally begin doing their jobs. Failing to transform the character and nature of our military and law enforcement organizations will render useless and inutile all other efforts at curtailing and eliminating corruption in government.
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Philippine Stories
Read Sim Silverio’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com
by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.
Chapter 23
That evening, Isabel seemed unusually cold and distant when she and her hus-band Albert made love.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her.
“Nothing,” she said. “There are just a lot of things on my mind.”
“What?” he asked. “You’re worried about our move to Virginia? You’ll going to en-joy it there. While San Diego may have the best weather, you’ll experience four seasons in the East Coast: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. And we’ll just be there for four years and we’ll move on.”
But Albert was not aware of his wife’s dilemma.
“How come we have to leave so soon?”
“I have one month to report to my job in Norfolk,” Albert explained. “But we have to leave by Friday so that we can take a road trip across Amer-ica. I would like you to see Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and other sights. We’ll pass through different states like Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia.”
To anyone, it would have been an exciting prospect. Seeing a huge part of Ameri-ca, especially to one who had not stayed in the country for quite a while must have been a big deal. A rare and lucky experience. But not to Isabel. She had her problems with Lando to contend with.
“Will that take a month?”“We’ll take our time. We’ll
stop in any place to explore it for days if we want to.”
“Can we not just fly a few days before you report for work?” Isabel was hoping to buy time to be able to raise money to cover her debt.
“No, I want to take this trip with you. We’ll remem-ber it the rest of our lives. It’s certainly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Besides, we have to bring my car to Virginia.”
“What about my car?”“We’ll have it shipped
together with the rest of our clothes.”
“The furniture and the appliances? We need time to pack them.”
“Don’t you know? This apartment is furnished. The furniture and appliances are not ours. I like it that way so we can easily move to wher-ever station around the world I might be assigned.”
Isabel ran out of reasons to convince her husband to postpone their trip. At the start, she made up her mind to reject Lando’s request for her to be with him in a motel and cheat on her husband.
“I will never do that,” she told herself.
But hours passed and she could not think of any solu-tion. It was a Wednesday and she only had one day left, Thursday, to solve her pre-dicament before they leave on Friday. She and Albert had packed most of their things, the rest to be shipped to Virginia. But she realized that there was really no way she could raise the $12,000 she owed Lando in such a short time.
“Just one time only,” she could recall Lando telling her about his indecent proposal. “After that, you’re debt-free,
Promised Land
Paybackyou can start a new life in Vir-ginia, have a clean slate.”
“What if Albert finds out?” she asked.
“He will never know. Nobody will know. It’s just between the two of us.”
Isabel was sitting on a sofa, staring at a blank wall of their apartment.
“It’s not like we did not do it before. You were my girlfriend, remember?” She remembered Lando telling her.
“I won’t, I won’t, I won’t!” she told herself loudly and stood up.
Then the wall clock chimed. Another hour had passed. She was still without a solu-tion to her predica-ment. No mat-ter how much she tried to think of one, she realized she had no option but to accede to Lando’s demand. Otherwise, her husband Albert would know about her gam-bling problem and get mad. He might not trust her any-more and leave her. The same result that might occur if he found out she cheated on him.
“At least, if I sleep with Lando, there’s a chance Albert would not know and I can start a new life,” she thought. “If I don’t do so, Albert would surely know about my gam-bling and might leave me anyway.”
“I have no other option but to do it,” she convinced herself.
Most important of all, she did not want to ruin Albert’s perception of her. It was her desire to keep a clean image that was now tempting her to ruin her character. It was like her decent and moral father accepting her indecent and materialistic mother just to keep their family together.
The decision to give in to Lando’s demand would also bring closure to her ex-boyfriend for the hurtful things she did to him when she unceremonious dumped him when Albert came along. She did not even tell him she would do so. She just ignored him like he never existed, like they never had a long-time relationship since high school. She treated him like a dispos-able item, not as a person with feelings. Like what her mother had told the neighbors, she just used Lando so that she could have bath water be brought to their house every morning.
“Walang utang na hindi pinagbabayaran (There’s no debt that is never paid),” was the lesson her father always told his children. And this was her payback for the wrongs she committed against Lando. And the payback, she thought, would be harmless as long as her husband Albert would not know. It would be a secret she would take to her grave. She would finally get rid of Lando and she would never see him again the rest of her life so long as she agreed to his de-mand. She could look forward to a long and happy life with
her beloved Albert. And they would live happily ever after together with the children they would have.
During this moment of weakness and vulnerability, she lifted up the phone and pressed Lando’s numbers.
“Meet me at Motor Inn Motel on the corner of Elm Street and Broadway in Chula Vista,” he told her.
“ARE YOU SURE AL-BERT WILL NEVER KNOW ABOUT THIS?” Isabel asked as Lando led her inside a ground floor room of the motel.
“Of course,” Lando an-swered. “This is just between the two of us.”
“How will I know all my debts will be forgiv-en?”
Lando gave her all the twelve promissory notes she signed, totalling $12,000.
“As soon as we are in bed, I will sign and write ‘paid’ in all of them.”
But still, Isabel was shak-ing in fear. She wanted to back out. But ironically, she knew that at that moment, the only way she could stay mar-ried to Albert was by cheating on him. She went toward the bed, laid down and covered her closed eyes with her right arm. She hated the moment and wanted to get it over with. She wanted her freedom back, her second chance in life. She would attain them in a few hours, after Lando had satis-fied his carnal desires.
Then she heard him say: “Wait here. I’ll just buy beer first.”
He went out of the room and walked a few meters away. He then pulled out his cell phone and pressed Al-bert’s numbers.
“Hello?” Albert answered. He was at his desk finishing up some paperwork.
“Hello?” Albert asked again after a moment had passed.
The he heard a strange voice.
“Is this Albert?” Lando asked, making sure that it was Isabel’s husband he was talk-ing to.
“Yes,”“Albert Mendoza?”“Yes.”“Your wife Isabel is with a
man in Room 106 of the Mo-tor Inn Motel on the corner of Elm and Broadway in Chula Vista.”
Albert was shocked.“Hello?” he called angrily.
“Sino ‘to (Who’s this)?”The caller hanged up.Albert could not believe
what he heard. He never suspected his wife Isabel do-ing anything wrong. She was at work at the casino during the day and in the evening, after dinner, they hugged each other watching television and eventually retired to bed as lovers.
LANDO PUT BACK HIS CELL PHONE INSIDE HIS POCKET and walked toward
the room. He was smiling as he entered it and saw Isabel still lying in bed with her right arm across her closed eyes. He walked towards her. She did not know that he left the door of the motel room slightly ajar.
ALBERT SAT IN HIS CHAIR FOR A LONG WHILE and thought about the message he just heard.
“No way,” he kept tell-ing himself. But the more he did so, the more he was convinced that he could not simply dismiss it. There must be a reason why the stranger took the trouble of relaying to him the message. He stood up and told an office mate he would just step out for a while. He knew the motel that was mentioned. He got inside his car and drove towards it.
It was just a ten-minute drive.
His heart beat faster when he saw Isabel’s car in the parking lot, in front of Room 106, the
room number the caller mentioned. He walked
towards the door, and saw it slightly open. He called out, and for an unexplained reason, he pushed the door open. He saw the bare back of a man, who didn’t
bother to look back as if he was expecting Albert to
come in. Then he saw the woman lying under the man suddenly rose up. She had a surprised look on her face. It was his wife Isabel. – AJ
(To be continued)
To read the previous and weekly installments of this series, visit www.asianjour-nalusa.com
PNS -- SA interview kay Mariel Rodriquez sa E-Live ng co-host sa show at best friend na si Bianca Gonzales, ikinatwiran ni Mariel na ma-tagal na raw siyang humi-hingi ng bakasyon sa ABS-CBN, even noong Wowo-wee days pa lang.
“Sabi ko, if I could have a birthday leave. I was asking for two weeks, the first and second week of August. I tried but I was denied kasi nag-start kami ng Pilipinas Win na Win! Matagal ko nang gustong magbakasyon.”
Walang na-kaaalam kung hanggang kailan ang hininging bakasyon ni Mariel pero ang pangako niya ay babalik at sana raw, welcome pa rin siya sa Ka-pamilya.
“I’m taking a risk. It is a risk kasi hindi ko alam kung ano pa ba ang mababalikan ko. Sana makabalik pa rin ako sa ginagawa ko. I’m re-ally happy. I do not regret the decision I made. Finally, I’m going to be able to do what I
Bianca to Robin: ‘Please take care of Mariel!’
want. Finally, I want some-thing for myself,” depensa ni Mariel sa biglaang pagba-bakasyon, kasi ginagawa raw ito nang walang pag-aalinlan-gan.
“Hinding-hindi ako nagsi-sisi sa desisyong aking gina-gawa. Ayaw kong mag-regret. Hindi ba, that’s how girls are?
Di ba, we’ll do everything?”Ang pansamantalang
pag-alis ni Mariel sa mundo ng showbiz ay may blessing naman ng manager ni-yang si Boy Abunda, ma-ging ng kan-yang pamilya. Kung saan daw maligaya si Mariel, hindi nila ito hahadlangan. Sa ngayon, hindi pa sigurado si Mariel kung ano ang magiging
kinabukasan ng relasyon nila ni Robin. Ang iniisip lang niya, “’Yung kasalukuyan, ‘yun ang magdra-draw ng future. So, kailangan i-enjoy lang namin.”
Habang ini-interview ni Bianca si Mariel, hindi nito mapigilang maiyak pero ramdam niya ang kasiyahan ng kaibigan.
May mensahe rin si Bianca na ipinarating kay Robin.
“Robin please take care of Mariel. Marami tala-gang nagmamahal sa kanya sobra.”
The Asian Journal San Di-ego wel-comes Ogie Cruz, veteran enter-tainment writer, who is writ-ing his column “Show-biz Watcher” from Loui-siana, USA. Ogie, who writes in
August 28, 1963 was the day I first set foot on U.S. soil. I arrived in San Francis-co, California together with a plane full of teenagers coming from Asia. We were desig-nated as “Ambassadors of Goodwill”. I was one of the American Field Service (AFS) International Scholars se-lected from several countries. We first assembled at the beautiful campus of Stanford University and then we were dispersed all over the United States to live with American families and to study our senior year of high school. We were commissioned to learn the American culture, customs and traditions and, as well, to impart our own native culture to the local American commu-nity we lived in.
August 28, 1963 was also the day that marked the real-ization of a boyhood dream. As a boy coming from the rural town of Rosales, Pan-gasinan, Philippines who used to walk past the “Hanging Bridge” over the Totonogen Creek daily, I felt triumphant reaching the “Golden Gate Bridge” over the San Fran-cisco Bay, to finally land in the place which Daniel J. Boorstin described “….. a land of dreams. A land where the aspirations of people from countries cluttered with rich,
Dreaming…Hoping…Living…Fighting…Succeeding
cumbersome, aristocratic, ideological pasts can reach for what once seemed unat-tainable. Here they have tried to make dreams come true.”
As the Philippine contribu-tion to the evening talent show in Stanford University, I became part of a trio who rendered the song entitled “Maalaala Mo Kaya?” (Do You Remem-ber?). Yes, indeed. I still re-member that day and that night. Para-phrasing the words of Fili-pino poet, Rolando Carbonel, “it was beyond for-getting – part of my dreams, my early hopes, my youth and
my ambitions – that in all my tasks I can’t help remember-ing…”
August 28, 1963 was also the day when about 2800 miles away, at the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his now fa-mous, meaningful and histori-cal speech, “I Have a Dream.” He said, “And so even though we face the difficulties of to-day and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
I arrived in Seal Beach, California the next day to start a year of learning and teaching new ways. I attended Huntington Beach-Ma-rina High School which I understood to be the most modern high school in the United States at that time. A school of no black enrollment, I was one of only two foreign students – the other com-ing from India. On inqui-ries regarding the Philip-pines and India, we both became “call centers”. With John F. Kennedy (JFK) as President, and Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) as Attorney Gen-
eral, it was a year of great inspiration, high achievement
motivation, and definitely, of big dreams. JFK spoke of landing on the moon within a
Benjamin Maynigo with other AFS Scholars
few years and exhorting the American people to, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” RFK made famous the words of George Bernard Shaw, “Some people see things as they are and say, why? I dream of things that never were and say, why not?”
It was also a year of turbu-lence, challenges and excite-ment. I still remember vividly where I was and what I was doing when JFK was assassi-nated. It was in a speech class – the class which gave me opportunities and challenges to represent our high school in speech tournaments involving original oratory, impromptu
and debate. The oppor-tunities won me several 1st place trophies
and gold medals, a Philippine Free Press Magazine feature and an interview with the Washington Post. Living in the beautiful beach cities of Southern Cali-fornia in the year of the Beat-les, the Beach Boys, and the Rolling Stones in the middle of a sexual revolution, it was an era full of excitement and “Happy Days”. Meeting with Robert F. Kennedy in Wash-ington, D.C. at the end of a year-long journey was obvi-ously the most exciting and unexpected consequence of a realized boyhood dream.
“I shall leave you now with a heavy heart. But believe me I shall be coming back. When I do, you shall be proud of me,” said my valedictory ad-dress. Back in the Philippines and proud as a hometown boy making good in America, I entered college with even bigger dreams. We had to
dream big, for as Johann von Goethe said, “dreaming small dreams has no power to move the hearts of men.” Becom-ing president of the Student Council, graduating with Magna Cum Laude honors and recipient of San Beda’s Abbot’s Award, the highest award on Academic Excel-lence and Student Leadership, I was luckily recruited to join the Christian Social Move-ment and became the leader of its youth arm. We called it the Young Christian Socialists of the Philippines (YCSP).
Together with some noble, idealistic, visionary and patriotic men and women, we had a dream: “the creation of a Philippine society based on human dignity, built on justice and dedicated to prog-ress – where every man may develop and fulfill himself according to his ability and in the service of his fellowmen.” We also dreamt of political equality, economic parity and social equity for all.
As Dom Helder Camara said, “When we are dream-ing alone, it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of
reality.” Leadership of the said
youth group brought me to places like the Vatican suc-cessfully advocating for Post-Vatican II church reforms, and to several countries in Europe and Latin America joining other members of the Interna-tional Union of Young Chris-tian Democrats (IUYCD) in espousing the democratization of Christianity and the Chris-tianization of democracy.
About 7 years (1970) after rendering that song “Do You Remember?” in Stanford cam-pus, I came back to the U.S. as one of the youth delegates to the World Youth Assembly in New York City sponsored by the United Nations. As in 1963, it was also a year of turbulence. The Vietnam War was raging, liberation move-ments were being born and rapidly growing and the youth worldwide were restless. Out-side the assembly was another conference which brought together the revolutionary movements in the United States. Invited as one of the speakers, I met representa-tives of the Black Panthers
(Continued on page 19)
(619) 474-0588
Page 14 September 3 - 9, 2010Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
Spiritual Life
Read Monsignor’s previous articles by visit-ing our website at www.asianjournalusa.com
by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez
Lower Your Nets Balintataw
Read Virginia Ferrer’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com
About the Author: Virginia H. Ferrer is a Filipino Language Teacher at Otay Ranch High School in Chula Vista.
Batong BuhaySa minsan kong paglalakad ikaw ay aking natisodkaraniwan ka lang bato na nilulumot na halospero may kaibahan ka kaya’t akin kang pinulot nilis at sinabon pa at inaring isang handog.
Sabi nila sa akin ikaw daw ay isang batong buhaymay sariling pakiramdam kahit hindi gumagalawmay sariling diskarte at mayroon ding pakiramdamat batid mo rin ang lugar na iyong kinalalagyan.
Sadyang nakakatuwang pagmasdan ang iyong hitsura makinis kang tunay kahit hindi gaanong magandaang angkin mong kulay natatangi na’y naiiba pamay mangitim-ngitim na bahagi at mamula-mula.
Nang ikaw ay mamasdan nabihag mo ako kaagadmay kakaiba kang dating ‘di ko maipaliwanagtanging ang nalalaman kop’y napuno ako ng galakkakaibang pakiramdam hatid mo sa aming lahat.
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Joke of the week: Three men – a surgeon, an engineer, and a politician were arguing about whose profession was the oldest on earth. “Mine is,” said the doctor. “Remember that Eve was carved out of Adam’s rib.” “Maybe,” said the engineer. “But the earth was created out of chaos in six days. That obviously was an engineering job.” “Yes,” said the politician, “but who created the chaos?”
Scripture: First Reading: Wisdom 9: 13-18. The Book of Wisdom is a collection of say-ings, proverbs, and prayers attributed to Solomon. The author teaches that the will of God can only be discerned in our decision-making through wisdom. Decision-making about important things in life is very hard, but even harder is how to discern God’s will. It is pos-sible to accomplish both with ease with the help of wisdom that is from above. Second Reading: Philemon 9-10, 12-17. This letter clearly clarifi es to Philemon, the owner of a slave, Onesimus, who became a Christian, that the relationship between them (Philemon and Onesimus) has been transformed by their Christian faith and tran-scended any social division between master and slave. Gospel: Luke 14: 25-33. Jesus challenges his followers about the priorities and demands of discipleship. Making a deci-sion to follow Jesus is dif-fi cult, but obstacles along the way make it more diffi cult for all to stay committed to him. Every prospective disciple must initially “calculate the cost” and constantly reassess his priorities and choices. No matter how diffi cult and daring the task of following Jesus may be, it is possible to
Modern Martyrdom: To Follow Christ
accomplish it with the help of divine wisdom.
Refl ections: In the Middle-Eastern culture, the family comes fi rst. As opposed to modern nuclear families, the ancient Middle Eastern families were made up of the patriarch, his wives, children, married sons and their wives, children, slaves, cousins, and uncles. The family members’ identity is identifi ed with the
name or trade of the patriarch or father, such as Abner, son of Ner, Jesus, the carpenter’s son.
Choosing Jesus is to leave behind one’s biological family, to prefer and form a fi ctive family with his other disciples. Preferring Jesus and his group over and above one’s biological family ties is like signing one’s death war-rant. In a close-knit environ-ment, like that of the ancient Middle East, severing one’s connection with his family or renouncing father, mother, and cherished possessions in favor of God’s kingdom is a big sacrifi ce. Jesus’ demand then to his disciples was a tall order, and still is today.
It is inconceivable even to consider that Jesus wants us to hate our parents and siblings. He wants us instead
to calculate very well the cost of discipleship. When following Jesus would truly mean preferring him over one’s family relationships, and even over one’s life, then it is really a cross to bear, an act of martyrdom. Reginald Fuller wrote, “Martyrdom is discipleship to its ultimate conclusion. Hence, the honor the Church has always paid to its martyrs.” God and Jesus should mean more to us than all else that we have, possess, and love, even more than our life. The way of the cross, of martyrdom, and of following Jesus is a treacherous, chal-lenging, and less traveled road, so he cautions us to initially “calculate the cost” and always rearrange our priorities.
Bernard Mischke tells this story on how we look at the cross of our life. “Whether it grows or not depends on us, the ground. Take an example. A young couple just had their
fi rst child. Unfortunate-ly, the little boy was born terribly deformed, without either his arms, just two stumps at the shoulders. The child’s father went into black despair, cursing God and fate and his doctor for having let the child live. The father saw only the dark side. But the mother’s attitude is worthy of note. She looked at her child and said, ‘Poor little fel-low. He’s going to need a lot of help. Thank God we’re able to give it to him’ … the seed was falling on good ground.”
P.S. The Catholic Church observes the
100th birthday anniversary (August 26, 1910) of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta who died on Sept.5, 1997. “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus”.
On Saturday, September 4, 2010, True Vine Charis-matic Praying Ministry will hold its fi rst year anniversary at Guardian Angels Catholic Church, 9310 Dalehurst Rd., Santee, CA 92071. The fes-tivities include a Life in the Spirit Seminar that starts at 7:30 A.M. and concludes with the celebration of Holy Mass at 6:30 P.M. to be followed with a fellowship dinner. Ev-eryone is invited
Quotation of the week: “In God’s house we must try to accept any job: cook or kitchen boy, waiter, stable boy, or baker. If it pleases the king to call us into his pri-vate council, then we must go there, but without being too excited, for we know that our reward depends not on the job itself but on the faithfulness with which we serve him.” John Paul 11.
be an evening of hope to hear stories by families affl icted with KD. It will also be a fund raising event to fi nd the cure and a diagnostic test to save a child’s heart. Also, at this an-nual gala, Tony Olaes and his family will be honored with the 2010 KD Leadership
Award by the Foundation.
For information, please visit the website at www.pediatrics.ucsd.edu/kawa-saki; or call (858-576-1700) for clinical questions; or to schedule an appointment, call 858-966-5855.
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Produced by Partially funded by Moonlight Cultural Foundation City of Vista
MOONLIGHT AMPHITHEATREMoonlight Stage Productions by arrangement with CAMERON MACKINTOSHpresents a new production of
September 8-25 at 7:30 pmTickets $22-$45
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Contains mature themes, situations, and language.
UNITED BY LOVE. DIVIDED BY WAR.UNITED BY LOVE. DIVIDED BY WAR.
OPENS
SEPT. 8!
THREE WEEKS ONLY!
Johann Michael Camatas The Engineer
National Touring Production,Original Canadian Production,
European Productions
Douglas Carpenter as Chris
Pasadena Playhouse produc-tion of Camelot as Lancelot,
noted rising opera star
Musical Direction by Charlie ReuterChoreographed by Carlos Mendoza
Directed by Steven Glaudini
STARRING
From the creators of Les Miserables comes this stunning theatricalexperience. This modern re-telling of Madame Butterfly set during the fall of Saigon is an international sensation and one of the longest-running Broadway musicals. Don’t miss this epic and daring pop opera!
Jennifer Paz as Kim
Broadway and First NationalTouring Productions;
LA Ovation Award Winner.
OPENS
SEPT. 8!
THREE WEEKS ONLY!
MISS SAIGON is a modern re-telling of MADAME BUTTER-FLY set during the fall of Saigon. Two lovers, Chris and Kim, an American GI and a Vietnamese girl – are united by love but separated by war - in this Tony Award-winning pop opera. Open-ing amidst the turmoil of the last days of the Vietnam War, Chris and Kim struggle to find each other in the ensuing years follow-ing the war. MISS SAIGON is a moving testament to the human spirit and a raw and uncompro-mising reflection on the tragedies of war.
Starring as the lovers are Jennifer Paz as Kim and Doug-las Carpenter as Chris. Paz has appeared in MISS SAIGON in the Broadway and national tours of the production and has since reprised the role of Kim for Starlight Musical Theatre, North Carolina Theatre, and Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities where she received the 2008 LA Ova-tion Award for Best Lead Actress in a musical. Making her Moon-light debut, Paz’s other regional credits include the Narrator in JOSEPH…DREAMCOAT for the Fifth Avenue Theatre, Sacra-mento Music Circus, and North Shore Musical Theatre; Cathy in THE LAST FIVE YEARS (2009 LA Ovation nomination for best lead actress), Maria Elena Holly in BUDDY, Sally Simpson in THE WHO’S TOMMY, Belle in Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and in the title role of EVITA all for Seattle’s Village Theatre.
Douglas Carpenter originated the role of Skip in LIFE COULD BE A DREAM (LA Weekly and LADCC Winner) and performed in the last production at the Pasadena Playhouse as Lance-lot in CAMELOT. Other roles include Curly in OKLAHOMA!, and Tony in WEST SIDE STORY both for Fullerton Civic Light Opera; Thief in SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE for Blank Theatre, and the Prince in CINDERELLA for the Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities.
Featured as The Engineer, the club owner is Johann Michael Camat. Camat reprises the role at the Moonlight after appearing in the role in the US National Tour and the German production (where he also played “Thuy”). He also appeared in the original Canadian MISS SAIGON com-pany in Toronto.
Playing the role of Chris’ American wife Ellen, is Cas-sandra Murphy. Her extensive Southern California musical
Moonlight Stage Productions presents the Stunning Theatrical Experience MISS SAIGON for the first time at the Moonlight
Amphitheatre Sept 8-25 at 7:30 pmtheatre credits include lead roles in productions at the Orange County Pavilion, The Norris Theatre, the Welk Resort Theatre, Performance Riverside, Musical Theatre West among numerous others.
The part of Thuy, betrothed to Kim, is Joseph Andreas. His theatrical highlights include appearing alongside Deborah Gibson as Lun Tha in THE KING AND I, Angel in RENT, Thuy in MISS SAIGON, Julio in PAINT YOUR WAGON, and Abel in CHILDREN OF EDEN.
In the role of John, Chris’ friend and accomplice in the search for his lost lover, is Melvin Robert. He is returning to the Moonlight after appearing in WEST SIDE STORY. Other regional credits include Tom Col-lins in RENT, and roles in THE WIZARD OF OZ, ALEX IN WONDERLAND among others.
Also appearing in the produc-tion of MISS SAIGON are Jebbel Arce, Sam Ayoub, Eric Badique, Marius Beltran, Katherine Brady, Joyelle Cabato, Kathleen Calvin, Kevane La’Marr
Coleman, Rocky De Haro, Justin Deater, Jason Evans, Riley Faison, Sheila Ferrari, Nadia Guevara, Chester Lockhart, Nick Lorenzini, Dante Macatantan, Jason Maddy, Klarissa Mesee, Marlene Montes, Kevin Morin, Ian Parmenter, Andrew Ruesch, Matt Takahashi, Mark Velarde, Gabriel Villanueva, Shana Wein-stein, and Joyce Yin.
Returning to the Moonlight to stage MISS SAIGON are the award-winning team of director Steven Glaudini and choreog-rapher Carlos Mendoza. At the Moonlight Amphitheatre, they have helmed the critically ac-claimed productions of CATS and WEST SIDE STORY (2007 San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award as Outstanding Resident Musical). Glaudini’s other Moon-light directing credits include LES MISÉRABLES (2008 San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Direc-tion of a Musical), CHILDREN OF EDEN (2003 Patté Award for Best Musical, 2003 Robby Award for Best Musical and Best Direc-tor), and the critically acclaimed production of CABARET. Glau-dini serves as Artistic Director and Producer of Musical Theatre West where he recently directed LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, the California regional premiere of Mel Brooks’ THE PRODUC-ERS, the US Regional Premiere of ALL SHOOK UP (10 2008 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award nominations), THE PAJAMA
(Continued from page 1)
GAME, THE PIRATES OF PEN-ZANCE (starring Rex Smith), the Southern California Regional Premiere of THE FULL MONTY, and their upcoming production of ANNIE.
Choreographer Carlos Men-doza presently serves as Artistic Director of Starlight Musical Theatre and of the Hispanic Arts Theatre, a new and innova-tive theatre company promoting Hispanic cultural awareness. One of his main projects has been to create and serve as the Producer of THE NEW MAMBO KINGS, a musical revue with a blend of Latin cultural through voice, music, and dance. He recently completed directing and choreo-graphing Starlight’s THE PA-JAMA GAME. Other directing and choreographic credits include ANNA IN THE TROPICS, RAG-TIME, THE HOT MIKADO, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: ON STAGE, AIDA, MY FAIR LADY and NINE among numerous oth-ers.
After appearing in Moon-light’s award-winning produc-tion of LES MISÉRABLES two seasons ago, busy actor and musician Charlie Reuter makes his Moonlight musical direc-tion debut on MISS SAIGON. A 2008 graduate of San Diego State University with an MFA in musical theatre, Reuter has served on the musical staffs at the Old Globe Theatre and the La Jolla Playhouse. He has served as Musical Director for the San Di-ego premiere of TICK, TICK…BOOM!, and conducted the San Diego premiere of THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA for Lamb’s Players Theatre. In New York, he worked as a pianist for New York University and the
Chelsea Opera and as the mu-sic director for the Lee Strasberg Institute.
Returning for his 30th year at the Moonlight, Conductor Ken Gammie is one of the original founders of Moonlight Stage Productions. He has conducted more than 60 productions at the Moonlight Amphitheatre. Gam-mie is a respected music educa-tor in the Vista Unified School District where his work has been recognized for its excellence on a local, regional and state-wide level.
Completing the production staff for MISS SAIGON are Christina L. Munich, Lighting Designer; Peter Hashagen, Sound Designer; Roslyn Lehman, Car-lotta Malone, and Renetta Lloyd are Costume Coordinators; Sue Givens, Properties Coordinator; Stanley D. Cohen, Stage Man-ager; and Tim Jones, Assistant Stage Manager. Scenery and Cos-tumes are provided by Fullerton Civic Light Opera.
ABOUT MOONLIGHT STAGE PRODUCTIONS
Moonlight Stage Productions christened a new state-of-the-art stage house at the Moonlight Amphitheatre with improved theatre amenities in 2009 after presenting musicals, concerts, and special events on its original stage for 28 years. The Amphi-theatre is one of the most unique theatre-going experiences in the region by offering two types of seating: lawn-style seating and reserved seats. In what has be-come a favorite summer tradition, audiences are welcome to bring their own picnic suppers into the Amphitheatre before the perfor-mance then enjoy the show right from their picnic spot. Chairs are provided by theatre with the pur-chase of a lawn ticket. For those wanting a traditional experience, reserved seats are also available for purchase. Dining options include a pre-show buffet dinner on the Moonlight Patio, as well as traditional fare offered from concessionaire “Feliccias at the Moonlight.” For Buffet Dinner reservations, call (760) 758-9167. Gates to the Amphitheatre open
at 6:00 pm for picnicking and dining.
Moonlight Stage Produc-tions is the cultural arts program of the City of Vista and is par-tially funded by its non-profit fund-raising arm the Moonlight Cultural Foundation. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Kathy Brombacher and Managing Director Daniel Kays, Moonlight is an award-winning theatre company receiving acco-lades from the San Diego The-atre Critics Circle and the Patté Awards for Theater Excellence among others. In addition to its popular Summer Season out-doors at the 2000-person capac-ity Moonlight Amphitheatre, the company moves indoor each win-ter to present a three-show season of intimate plays and musicals at the 300-seat AVO Playhouse located in the Vista Village.
CALENDAR INFORMA-TION
Miss SaigonMusic by Claude-Michel
SchonbergLyrics by Richard Maltby Jr.
and Alain BoubilPresented by Moonlight Stage
ProductionsSeptember 8-25 at 7:30 pmMoonlight Amphitheatre1200 Vale Terrace Drive,
VistaTickets: $22-$45Tickets/information: (760)
724-2110Website: www.moonlight-
stage.comBox Office at the Amphithe-
atre opens at 5:30 pmGates open for picnicking and
dining at 6:00 pmProduction DatesSeptember 8 at 7:30 pmSeptember 9 at 7:30 pmSeptember 10 at 7:30 pmSeptember 11 at 7:30 pmSeptember 12 at 7:30 pmSeptember 15 at 7:30 pmSeptember 16 at 7:30 pmSeptember 17 at 7:30 pmSeptember 18 at 7:30 pmSeptember 19 at 7:30 pmSeptember 23 at 7:30 pmSeptember 24 at 7:30 pmSeptember 25 at 7:30 pm
Page 16 September 3 - 9, 2010Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
858
The Law that Matters
Read Atty Bautista’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com
by Atty. A. Erwin Bautista
Question: I have a dispos-able income in my Current Monthly Income (CMI) will that require me to file under Chapter 13?
Answer: Not necessarily, unless your disposable income meets the 2 trigger points for presuming abuse under the disposable income test under Sec. 707(b)(2)(A)(i) of the BAPCPA.
What is a trigger point
for presuming abuse?
As we have discussed be-fore, Current Monthly Income or CMI is defined in
Section 101(10A) of the Bankruptcy Abuse Preven-tion and Reform Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) as the “aver-age monthly income from all sources that the debtor receives…without regard to whether such income is tax-able income” derived during the previous six-months.
Let’s say your CMI is above the State median, based on that a presumption of abuse arises should you file under Chapter 7. How-ever the presumption can still be rebutted by overcoming another test. That test is the disposable income test under Sec.707 (b)(2(A)(i) of the BAPCPA to find out if you have triggered the presump-tion of abuse under Chapter 7.
“Sec. 707(b)(2)(A)(i) In considering under para-graph (1) whether the granting of relief would be an abuse of the provisions of this chapter, the court shall presume abuse exists if the debtor’s current monthly income reduced by the amounts determined under clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv), and multiplied by 60 is not less than the lesser of-
(I) 25 percent of the debt-or’s nonpriority unsecured claims in the case, or $6000, whichever is greater; or
(II) $10,000.”
Application of the Dis-posable Income Test.
In order to understand this
provision better, we resort to the explanation of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eugene R. Wedoff of Northern District Illinois as published in The American Bankruptcy Law Journal of Spring 2005 (79 Am. Bankr. L.J. 231) the fol-lowing chart explains the trig-ger points for abuse under the disposable income test:
Bankruptcy: Presumption of Abuse
How $100 of Disposable Income can Disqualify you to file a Chapter 7 petition?
Disposable income Presumption of abuse
$100 Arises with unse-cured debt of $24,000 or less
$150 Arises with unse-cured debt of $36,000 or less
$166.66 Arises with unsecured debt of $39,998.40 or less
With the above figures it encourages debtors to reduce their CMI and increase allow-able deductions or increase the unsecured debt before the
filing.Debtor should be careful in
last minute purchases to max out their credit card debts to avoid the trigger point be-cause it could be a basis for non dischargeability.
Remember purchases made within 90 days and cash advances made within 70 days for certain amounts before the order for relief under Chapter 7 is non dischargeable under Sec. 523 of the BAPCPA. It is non dischargeable because you are not after a fresh start but to take advantage of the creditor by maxing out your credit in the eve of filing Bankruptcy.
You should consult a lawyer early to make sure you qualify under Chapter 7 so you can get a discharge or fresh start and avoid conver-sion to Chapter 13 or worst dismissal for abuse or non dischargeability.
(We invite readers to set
up their initial consultation with The Law Offices of A. Erwin Bautista. Atty. Bau-tista practices Immigration, Bankruptcy, Personal Injury, Family Law and Income Tax Preparation/Tax Audit Rep-resentation. Atty. Bautista obtained his law degree from Western State University, College of Law, Fullerton, CA and his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of the Philippines. Call his Los Angeles Office at (213) 365 7690 located at 3435 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 2700, LA, CA 90010 or his San Diego Office (619) 474 7755 located at 550 E. 8th St., Ste. 11, National City, CA 91950)
WantedOFFICE ASSISTANT
Call (619) 746-3416
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The bungled hostage rescue operation last Monday was clearly a case of a police failure coupled with irrespon-sible broadcast journalism. That incident is a sad com-mentary of what is wrong in our country. Incompetence coupled with irresponsibility had concocted a deadly brew.
Tragedies like the Police Captain Rolando Mendoza Luneta incident attract vul-tures. It is especially irresist-ible to the political species of vultures.
Opposition leader Rep. Edcel Lagman immediately grabbed the opportunity to un-dermine the political standing of President Noynoy Aquino (P-Noy), even calling for the resignation of Local Govern-ment Sec-retary Jesse Robredo, Commu-nications Secretar-ies Sonny Coloma and Ricky Carandang. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) spokesper-son Elena B. Horn chimed in and said that the GMA regime handled similar hostage crises well using the same police force. Thus, she attributed the tragedy to the new leadership.
One could have been swayed by Lagman and Horn’s assertions if the hor-rors we underwent under the GMA regime were not too recent to forget. How come both of them served with ease the sinister agenda of the disgraced GMA regime, the most distrusted presidency in our history? Do you ever recall Rep. Lagman asking for the resignation of a GMA regime official in the face of a mega scandal? He did the op-posite and defended the GMA regime.
Both the political adversar-ies of P-Noy and our media (noted for a lack of critical
The vultures prey on the hostage tragedy
thinking) raised the issue – where was P-Noy during the hostage crisis? As Jesse Robredo explained during last Thursday’s Senate Public Or-der Committee Hearing, the P-Noy administration opted to allow the institutions to work and handle the situation. It is not P-Noy’s job to be physi-cally present at the Luneta but to remain on top of the situa-tion in a command post. That is what he did.
It is political bovine ordure to assert that a president has to be on site during a hostage crisis. GMA may be inclined to do it. After all, she had brought the presidency to its lowest level of apprecia-tion and practically ruined our institutions. But P-Noy is committed to rebuilding these damaged institutions and is trusted enough by our people so as not to resort to these
cheap stunts like playing “Rambo” during a hostage crisis.
Last Thursday’s Senate Hearing provided enlighten-ment as well irritating aggra-vation of the hostage tragedy. Thanks to the professional and objective questioning by Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Gringo Honasan, Kiko Pangilinan and Alan Peter Cayetano we were able to form a clearer picture of what really happened. They all conducted themselves in ac-cordance with the set deco-rum for an investigation in aid of legislation.
That is something Sena-tors Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla seem to fail to understand. These two Sena-tors from showbiz conducted themselves like they were
part of the Spanish Inquisition instead of a Senate investi-gation in aid of legislation. Estrada appeared to be more interested in putting Manila Mayor Fred Lim in a very bad light instead of searching for solutions to the problem via legislation. Lim and the Estrada political family have ceased to be allies.
Another scarred figure that appeared in the aftermath of the hostage crisis was ABS-CBN’s Maria Ressa. Guesting in their ANC program “Media on Focus” Ressa attempted to absolve ABS-CBN from the flak generated by the irrespon-sible live TV coverage which allowed the hostage taker to view the arrest of his brother. It was the sight of his brother Gregorio being dragged to jail which triggered Captain Mendoza’s rampage.
Ressa tried to defend their network by citing three instances where they exer-cised self restraint. However, she cannot deny the fact that they participated in the live coverage of developments
which caused the breakdown of negotia-tions. The live TV coverage of the police rescue maneu-vers, which the hostage taker could moni-tor, enabled Captain Men-doza to thwart the assault for more than 45 minutes. Come to think of it, Ressa has not really fully justified their
network’s airing of the Fake Psychiatric Report that was used against then presidential candidate Noynoy Aquino.
It is also pathetic of our media to be making such a big fuss out of Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang’s failed call to P-Noy. This is a reflection of our damaged culture. It did not even occur to them that they’re making a big fuss over something which is not even allowed by pro-tocol. If there is anyone who should call P-Noy because they are on the same level as national leaders it is China’s Premier Hu Jintao. Nobody in the Hong Kong hierarchy is in a position to address P-Noy, much less demand anything from him. Still, our idiotic media pandered to Tsang’s whims and demands.
Donald Tsang and his cohorts may be under the il-lusion that they’ve got us by the neck because of the many Filipinos working there. Yes, that is a leverage Tsang has but our leverage with China is even bigger. China needs our minerals and Chinese secu-rity is screwed if P-Noy goes all the way with the real US agenda in Mindanao. Hasn’t anybody noticed how come the Chinese Ambassador is quite the opposite of Donald Tsang – very subdued and accommodating to the P-Noy administration?
The Chinese Ambassador knows about their big interest in our country. Being a mere local governor, Donald Tsang does not need to know this. Unaware of how important we are to China, Tsang can only address his local problems. It comes as no surprise that he must show the Hong Kong community that he is react-ing to the Luneta tragedy in a manner that reflects the senti-ments of his constituents.
As usual, we tend to over-react and psych ourselves to
the point of hysteria. There is this great fear, which our lo-cal media fuel, that the Hong Kong Chinese will harm our workers there. Nobody ever bothered to think that China – and Hong Kong went back to China in 1997 – is a much disciplined state. China will not tolerate a racial persecu-tion like the persecution of the Chinese in Indonesia during the 1990s.
Public disorder is the biggest fear of the Chinese leadership. They are so big and populous and the Chinese leaders see any public dis-order as a potential mayhem virus that could infect the en-tire country. That is why they clamped down hard on the peaceful protesters at Tianan-men Square.
The Luneta hostage trag-edy is deeply regretted and we all bear the shame it brought our country. However, we cannot let that derail the big headway we’ve made with the recent change in leadership here. We have to move on, the sooner the better.
by Jerrie M. Abellafrom MANews.TV
A newspaper in Hong
Kong on Wednesday sought to ease the reported resent-ment felt by Chinese nationals toward Filipinos in light of the hostage crisis in Manila that left eight tourists from China’s special administrative region dead.
In its editorial Wednesday, the South China Morning Post said Filipinos are the “wrong targets” of the collective anger although it described the police force that handled Monday’s hostage situation as “incompetent.”
“The actions of a unit of police commandos were not [the Filipinos’] doing. Tar-ring them with the same brush of incompetence isn’t right,” the editorial read, adding that venting anger toward Filipi-nos “smacks of racism.”
The editorial also scored the Hong Kong government’s response to the tragedy after placing the Philippines on its travel blacklist.
“It has issued its highest travel alert for those thinking
Hatred toward Filipinos ‘smacks of racism’ - HK daily
of going to the Philippines. Based on a single isolated in-cident, it has determined that a severe threat exists and that all travel should be avoided,” it said.
The editorial explained that the only other countries on the alert list – Indonesia, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia and Thailand – are ranked two levels lower, with travelers advised to “exercise caution.”
The Security Bureau of Hong Kong issued a travel warning on Monday, discour-aging all travel to the Philip-pines by its citizens.
Just an hour after the hos-tage-taking ended, the Philip-pines’ status was changed by Hong Kong from an “amber alert warning” to a “black alert warning,” indicating severe threats to the country’s security.
“Travel bans are for safety, not political retribution,” the SCMP editorial stated.
It likewise faulted protest-ers in Hong Kong who ral-lied outside the Philippine Consulate General there for the “abuse” hurled against Philippine President Benigno
Aquino III in blog postings and placards.
The editorial cited a plac-ard that read “Cold-blooded Aquino – Go to hell.”
“Statements like this are not rational or reasonable. All they do is stir needless ha-tred,” it said.
The newspaper, which has a daily circulation of over 100,000, urged Chinese nationals not to place blame for the hostage drama to Fili-pinos, which it described as “innocent bystanders” to the tragedy.
“The 150,000 Filipinos who live among us in Hong Kong and the untold millions in the Philippines who rely on our business and tourism dollars cannot provide what we want to know. They are as much innocent bystanders to the tragedy as we are and deserve to be treated as such,” the editorial said. - KBK, GMANews.TV
Reader’s Reaction Do not judge the whole
Filipino citizens just because of this situations. There’s a lot more of the tragic things that happens around the world and all we need is to learn from all of this and pray more for the safety of every individual.Ang kasalanan ng isa ay di natin maitututing na ksalanan ng lahat. Paano na yung mha kababayan nilang nagpupunta rito na nahuuli dahilan sa nagbebenta ng mga ipinagba-bawal na gamot na sumisit=ra ng buhay ng npakarami nating mamamayan. Payag ba sila ay isma na i condemn din natin? Payag ba sila na pag sila ay nagkamali ay idamay natin ang kanilang salinlahi o angkan. MAG ISIP sila at di emostyonal ang pairalin. naniniwala akong nakalu-lulngkot ang mga pangyayari na dapat bigyan ng hiustisya at may managot pero idamay ang isang inosenteng tao ay kawaln ng katinuan para sa kanila.Tandaan nila na kapwa tao rin nila tayo at kung tunay silang namgmamahal sa kapwa maging open minded sila at di lang sa kanilang kababayan.
Tingnan natin ang ating mga sarili at pairalin ang JOY(at kung J ay di ugma sa kanila ay unahin din nila ito) at walang problemang di kayang malutas sa magandang unawaan.
Tayo para sa pagbabago.-- Submitted by a reader
Page 18 September 3 - 9, 2010Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
a member of the ROTC Band and the University of the Phil-ippines Concert Chorus.
Heber graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Philippines, which led to both local and international exhibits. His paintings also became the inspiration for several poetries written by friends and poets around the globe.
(Continued from page 1)
Filipino Folk Singer Heber Bartolome to Hold Concert in San Diego
Bartolome also delved in theatre acting and musical direction, with a most no-table contribution in the play IBONG ADARNA, staging over a hundred performances at the MET, the Cultural Cen-ter of the Philippines and San Sebastian, among others.
Bartolome was also a pro-fessor of Filipino Literature at the De La Salle University from 1981 to 1984, and an ac-tive lobbyist for the rights of
Filipino composers. He was a member and trustee of the Fil-ipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Inc. (FILSCAP), an organization responsible for the collection of royalties for its members for public performances songs used in movies, radio broad-cast, television and the like.
Still, it was through his music that he was able to reach more audiences and
influence more beliefs. Com-bining the stylistic tradition of Philippine folk and reli-gious melodies, he founded Banyuhay, a “protest band” he shared with brothers Jesse and Levi Bartolome. The band’s music was distinguished by the trademark sound of the Philippine native musical in-strument kubing. With compo-sitions known for their unique synthesis of rock and blues and Philippine ethnic rhythms,
Heber’s songs “Nena” and “Tayo’y Mga Pinoy” became musical hits in 1977 and 1978, respectively, with the latter becoming a finalist at the first Metro Manila Popu-lar Music Festival. Staging performances throughout the Philippines and abroad, such as Australia and Europe, he later launched “Mga Awit ni Heber” (Heber’s Songs) in 1993, a collection of his most reknowed compositions.
In August 1 of this year, Heber Bartolome was award-ed The Gawad Sagisag Que-zon. This award is bestowed on distinguished men and women whose lives and work have promoted the effective use of the Philippine national language as they fight for justice focused on equalizing opportunities for the poor. Bartolome’s efforts in promul-gating the national language and culture through honest lyrics and unique Filipino sounds, is recognized and honored, making him part of the nation’s heroes of Filipino language.
On Sept 12 2010, Heber Bartolome and Banyuhay will be staging a much awaited concert entitled “TAYO’Y MGA PINOY”. FIRST TIME US TOUR STOP in San Diego,Ca. the big event will be held at “EPICEN-TRE” 8450 Mira Mesa Blvd. San Diego,Ca. 92126 Tel. (858)271-4000.
Special appearance: “KOLORZ” a San Diego local band that caters origi-nal and Billboard Top 40 greatest hits reminiscing the decade of the 70’s such as super group “America”, “The Eagles”,”Grand Funk Railroad””The Bread” etc.
Tickets are available at Asian Journal outlets located at 550 East 8th Street, Suite 6 National City,Ca.91950 or Call (619)474-0588 ar any authorized retailer Mr.Kelly Cruz - (973)704--1751 or Emil Herrera -(702)884-0069 or Nick Mamerto - (619)684-0569.
by Marites Dañguilan Vitug
from Newsbreak Excerpts from the Nicanor
Reyes memorial lecture deliv-ered by the author at the Far Eastern University on August 25, 2010.
The most secretive branch of government, the Supreme Court, is also the most spe-cial. It is often described as the soul of a country, the conscience of a people.
The Justices belong to a differ-ent league. They are unelected—to insulate them from politics and not to subject them to the whims as well as the compromises of politicians and power brokers. They are not chosen on the basis of popularity. They are supposed to be chosen on the basis of integrity and competence, on their loyalty to the law and to the common good, not to any one person.
It is easy to be romantic about the Supreme Court. The men and women in robes are compared to demigods perched on a mountain top, unreachable by common man. They deliberate on cases and make decisions secluded in their chambers, supposedly with fidelity to the Constitu-tion and fairness and honesty as their guides.
Think of it this way. In a basketball game, when there are questions or complaints about close calls, on who committed a foul, we look to the referee to resolve this. It is important that the referee be fair, that he sticks to the rules so that his decision is cred-ible.
In essence, by being a credible arbiter, the Supreme Court restores order in society and provides stability. Thus it is hugely important that we have a Supreme Court that we can trust and believe in, and
Are we losing our nation’s soul?
on whom we can place our full confidence.
This means that we should be able to hold the 15 Jus-tices of the Supreme Court in highest esteem. They are not perfect—but they should believe in serving the country through their well-considered decisions, arrived at through rigorous inquiry, influenced by the public good.
As final arbiter, the Court is right even when it is wrong. We cannot appeal their deci-
sions—the buck stops with the Supreme Court.
It is therefore important to have upright justices. They should not be corrupt, dishon-est, and unethical. If they are, then this will erode our faith in the judicial system. It’s like losing our soul. It’s like losing a conscience.
Crisis of ethics?
Justices are guided by a code of judicial conduct. But more than that, they should be men and women of impec-cable integrity, and of solid character. If they are to be our soul and our conscience—we shouldn’t expect anything less.
A current ethical issue facing the Court is a Justice’s alleged plagiarism of parts of a decision he wrote. Two of the plagiarized authors have written the Supreme Court to complain.
But the legal community
is divided. The University of the Philippines College of Law faculty has asked Justice Mariano del Castillo, who was the author of the decision, to resign. What example will this give the law students? they asked.
The Ateneo law faculty was more cautious, saying that the verdict on this case should be left to the Court’s ethics committee which is now investigating it.
So far, the ethics commit-tee has asked Del Castillo to inhibit himself in current de-liberations on the case where he allegedly plagiarized.
If this were another coun-try, erring justices would have been sanctioned or asked to
resign. In the US, a judge was publicly censured for pla-giarizing an article he submitted for publication in a law review.
In Australia, a federal court magis-trate was forced to resign in 2006 after she was exposed as a serial plagiarist. She was found to have copied verbatim a number of judgments of other magistrates and passed them off as her own.
BulldozerHow does the public perceive the Court?
In March this year, a Social Weather Stations survey showed that the Supreme Court’s satisfaction rating was a +9, down from +18 in the previous quarter. The Court’s rating is slightly higher than that of Congress which got a +7. This is not very encourag-ing.
In this same survey, then Chief Justice Reynato Puno’s satisfaction rating was zero, almost the same as +1 in De-cember 2009.
What happened during this period when the survey was conducted?
That was the time we saw, in full view, how the Supreme Court forgot the Constitution and put premium on loyalty to one person, President Gloria Arroyo.
E.B. ALEJO“20+ Years Experience”Been living in San Diego since 1977
Attorney is available daily on regular business days at the San Diego Office
*Member, California State BarLicensed to practice before the US Federal District CourtSouthern California and California Supreme Court
*Author,”How to Apply for the US Tourist Visa” as listed by worldwide bookseller Amazon.com Bookstores
*Former San Diego Regional Coordinator for U.S. Immigra-tion 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)
For your convenience, walk-ins acceptedespecially between 2:00pm – 8:00pm
Business days Monday to Friday
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BY MARISSA ACIERTO
SAN DIEGO, CA-On August 28,2010 was the first annual Miss Philippines California (MPCA) and representing Miss Teen Philippines California was Raelene Pablo from Temecula, California which was held at the Our Lady of Sacred Heart School, an inner private school open to all students at 4106 42nd Street from 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. and over 300 people showed up at the auditorium.
Out of the 7 contestants, the reigning beauty crowned was Miss Frances Pascua, Miss Philippines California. The first runner-up was Dejah Urbanovitch, Miss Philippines California Regional and the second runner-up was Huiliana Poyrazoglu, Miss Philippines California Cities
The 7th contestants were Jessica Caloza from University of California San Diego, majoring in political sci-ence, international relations and eth-nic studies. Her platform is Filipi-nos in the media. Then Lea Manalo from California State University Long Beach, majoring in health sci-ence and platform is Pilipino Culture Night. Brigitte Mardigras from University of California Santa Cruz, majoring in legal studies and ameri-can studies and platform is promot-ing higher education among Philip-pines/Asian Pacific youth. Then you have the reigning queen who is Frances Pascua from San Diego State University and Alliant Univer-sity and majoring in interdisciplinary studies with an MBA and business administration. Her platform is Gawad Kalinga community services. Kristen Parunginog from San Diego State University and currently a journalism major and platform is the passion for service and for change. Huiliana Poyrazoglu from California State University San Marcos, major-ing in nursing and chemistry. Her platform is Filipino American youth education. Dejah Urbanovitch from the University of Miami and major-ing in history and political science. Her platform is international order of the Rainbow for Girls.
The vision of this pageantry was from Cheryl Daen who formed a volunteer based community organi-zation to celebrate the accomplish-ments of young women in the state of California. Their program is set-up to provide service and scholar-
Miss Philippines California National Pageant reigning beauty is Miss Frances Pascua
Frances Pascua, Miss Phil-ippines California 2010
ship opportunities to empower them to reach their academic and personal goals. It encourages camaraderie amongst the contestant, promote self awareness, develop skills for working under pressure and promote service within the community. The pageantry will create an apprecia-tion of culture and diversity.
The hosts of the program was Kris Audencial formerly from KGTV 10 News as a writer and pro-ducer. She was a producer for KUSI and KSWB Fox 5. She then became KREX News Channel 5’s morning anchor and is now concentrating on creating a family. Meanwhile Hula
Ramos is the morning show produc-er of AJ in the Morning on Star 94.1.
The judges were Georgette Copes, an Emmy Award winning journalist for KTLA and CNN. Jen-nifer Casillan an Emmy nominated and former news producer for KUSI. She then worked for KGTV and KPIX. Rommel Cruz is an Assis-tant Supervising Attorney with the Dependency Legal Group of San Diego. Alfonso Magana is a teacher at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and graduated from USD.
The MPCA Organizing Com-mittee is Cheryl Daen (founder); Tiffany Hernandez (producer); Ruby Aquino (program designer); Jocelyn Lomahan (director); Jeannie Baldomero (associate director); Co-lette Glazier (international advisor); Marissa Acierto (community events) and Yvonne Hingeley (production assistant).
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Dreaming…Hoping…Living…Fighting…Succeeding
Party, the Puerto Rican Young Lords, Women’s Liberation Movement, Gay Liberation, Gray Liberation, Black Com-munity for Self-Defense and many more reform-minded organizations. I made sure to visit the headquarters of the Puerto Rican Young Lords at the Bronx, New York City and that of the Black Panthers Party in Oakland, California before going back to the Phil-ippines.
For many Americans, Martin Luther King’s dream remained as one, and the means to achieve it progressed or retrogressed from peaceful to a more radical aggressive manner.
Another 7 years later (1977), I came back to the United States with my family, as a United Nations-registered political refugee, having fled a country run by a dictator. Disguised as Muslim bar-ter traders, we traveled via kumpit or pump boat, chased by pirates in the high seas and escorted by Muslims armed with sub-machine guns and a Badjao (seaman) navigating a compass-less boat.
Living in the United States was always temporary for me. I never adjusted to permanent residence and citizenship status until many years later despite being qualified much earlier. As we got absorbed by the American way of life, and as we raised our natural born Filipino and American chil-dren, our dreams were also “deeply rooted in the Ameri-can dream.”
Never losing our Filipino cultural identity, and having benefited from the struggles, sacrifices, advocacies and challenges faced by both our
(Continued from page 13) Filipino and American fore-fathers, my family joined the ranks of dual citizens who are very appreciative of what they have achieved and dedicated.
Life is all about dreams. “Dream, dream, dream,” sang the Everly Brothers.
“Dreams are the touch-stones of our character”, said Henry David Thoreau. “Dreams are today’s answers to tomorrow’s questions,” Edgar Cayce also said.
Eleanor Roosevelt told us, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” while Robert Conklin asserted that “Dreams get you into the future and add excitement to the present.”
August 28, 2010 is the 47th year anniversary of the “I Have a Dream” speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. The latter spoke of his dream, his hope and his faith. Mormon Glenn Beck also spoke of MLK’s dream but focused on restoring honor and faith. Christian preacher Al Sharp-ton also commemorated MLK’s speech but spoke more of still unfulfilled dreams.
To many others, they echo Edward Kennedy’s words, “The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die.”
To Joe Darion, “Dream the impossible dream. Fight the unbeatable foe. Strive with your last ounce of courage, to reach the unreachable star.”
To me, by all means let us all dream. For it is dreaming that we hope; it is in hoping that we live; it is in living that we fight; and it is in fighting that we succeed.
Page 20 September 3 - 9, 2010Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
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Ni Romeo Nicolas
Mga Tulang Tagalog
Laughing MatterRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-
journalusa.com
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Sobra-sobrang KapalpakanAywan ko kung may mukha pang ihaharap ang PNP,Sa ginawang KAPALPAKAN sobra-sobra yaong tindi.Ang una ay TORTURE CRISIS, sinundan pa ng RESPONDE,HOSTAGE TAKING na PUMALPAK, siyam na buhay, naun-syame.
Sa dami ng ating RECORD bilang bansang sobrang COR-RUPT,Ngayon naman ay sistemang buong mundo’y ‘di matanggap’Turo dito, turo doon, ang sisihan BUMABATBAT,Mga pulis parang takot sa kilos na sulong, usad.
Si Mendoza’y nagpawala ng HOSTAGE sa pinto ng BUS,Malinaw sa sikat-araw, SNIPER ay mayrong “clear shot”.Kahit man lang “TRANQUILIZER’ ‘di naisip na panapat,Na iwasan ang trahedya, buhay sana silang lahat.
OPINION ko kay Mendoza, malinis ang kalooban,Sa “grievances” na dala nya naging BATO ang OMBUDS-MAN.Sa dami ng KARANGALAN, bakit nila nahayaan,Na tanggalin sa serbisyo, wala man lang pakundangan?
Tignan na lang natin ngayon, mga lahi ni Mendoza,Pawa silang mga Pulis na may dangal at medalya.Hindi naman kaya ito ay pakana lang iba,PABORITO’Y mailagay, pulis na syang gusto nila?
Paala-ala ko po lamang, ngayon pa lang naglilinis,Marumi pa ang gobyerno, oras-oras mang magwalis.Itong salbo ng problema wala silang hustong gamit,KINURAKOT yaong PONDO at ang UTAK, nagsiliit.
Patuloy pa ang sisihan kung sino ang syang may sala,Sino raw ba ang nagutos ang KAPATID, hulihin pa?Sagot nitong kapatid nya si Mayor Lim ang nagpasya,Ang pulis na magbibitiw, si Lim din ang turo niya.
Sisi ko rin itong MEDIA sa COVERAGE na ginawa,Sila’y naging kasangkapang ang situwasyon ay lumalala.Ang TV sa loob ng BUS, LIVE COVERAGE, tamang-tama,Nakatulong kay Mendoza, mapabuti, mapasama.
1. Lahat ng problema may solusyon. Kapag walang solusyon wag mo nang prob-lemahin.
2. Always remember “kung kaya ng iba, ipagawa mo sa kanila.
3. Don’t face your prob-lem, if your problem is your face.
4. Di baleng tamad, di na-man pagod.
5. Practice makes perfect. But nobody is perfect so don’t practice sa uulitin ulit ... (inulit na naman!)
JOKES NAMAN
Sa Hospital.
Doc: Iha,mukhang pu-mapayat 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, mag-kasama na nating haharapin ang mga problema.
Babae: Pero wala naman akong problema..
Lalake: Kasi nga, hindi pa tayo. Wag ka excited!!
***
Sa Sauna:
Attendant: Sir, gusto mo ng tirafi?
Guest: Anong tirafi? Baka therapy?
Attendant: Tirafi po talaga sir. After you tira me, you give me fee. uki?
***
Mr: Hon, buksan mo ang pinto!
Mrs: Sori, hindi pwede. Wala akong suot.
Mr: (tumawa) ok lang. Wala akong kasama.
Mrs: Ako, meron!
***
SALAWIKAINTip for a long life: Wag mo isusulat name
mo sa condolence book pag dumalaw ka sa patay.
Kasi pagkatapos ng libing nagkakaron ng raffle kung sinong susunod..
***
Guro:
Pedro late
kana na-
man. Pedro: Late po kasi relo ko. Guro: Problema ba yun. E
di i-advance mo.Pedro: Sige po. Makalipas ang ilang san-
dali..... ......... ......... .....Guro: Oh, saan ka pu-
punta? Boy: uwian na!
***
Mrs: Kung alam ko lang di sana ako nagpakasal sa iyo! ABS ka!
Guy 1: Pre, doctor ako. Kaya ako tumatakbo kasi HEALTH conscious ko! Ikaw pre?
Guy 2: Snatcher pre! WEALTH conscious ako.
***
Bakit binaril ng bobo ang girlfriend nya?
Kasi sinubukan nya kung totoong FIRST LOVE NEV-ER DIES!
***
Pasahero: Mama, dahan-dahan lang po. Alalahanin nyo na palaging nakasunod sa atin ang disgrasya!
Drayber: E, kaya ko nga binibilisan para di tayo abu-tan!
***
Kasal.
Pari: Ikaw lalaki, tinatang-gap mo bang maging kabiyak ang taong ito habambuhay?
Lalaki: Opo, Father! Pari: At ikaw naman
malanding pokpok mukhang bakla at mukhang kabayo
pa, at akala mo siguro ang ganda mo sa gown o,’ano? Tinatangap mo
ba ang lalaking ito na hindi ka magsisisi kahit magkaba-
on-baon ka sa utang sa pag-sustento sa kanya?
Bakla: Father, sabihin nyo lang kung tutol kayo sa kasal na ito kesa naman tumalak ka diyan, naka
mic ka pa naman.
***
(Sa isang turo-turo):
Customer: Manang, meh langaw sa arrozcaldo ko!
Tindera: Hello! Sa hala-gang P5.00 anong ini-expect mo? Manok?
***
Tom: Alam mo pare, my new wife is a sex object!
Jerry: Wow! Maganda pala ang napangasawa mo pre!
Tom: Hindi naman. But everytime I want to have sex, she objects!
***
PO 1: Bakit po K-9 ang tawag sa malalaking aso, sir!
SUPT: Syempre pag tinawag mo silang K-10, hindi na sila aso
PO 1: Ano na sila sir?SUPT: maliit na pusa, kit-
ten!!
***
Anak: Nay, yung girlfriend ko hindi naniniwala sa langit at impierno.
Nanay: Sige, pakasalan mo anak, ipatikim mo sa kanya ang langit, ako na ang bahala sa impierno.
***
Isang ina ang nagsilang ng napakapangit na sanggol.
Ama: Isa syang kayaman-an.
Ina: Oo, nga! Ibaon na-tin!.....
$1,500 for an ESL course and the other recipient $3,500 for tuition at a university. Fall 2010 applications started July 21, 2010 with the deadline on September 15, 2010. To apply and to obtain more information, visit http://corporate,westernunion.com/scholarship.htmt.
The Western Union Foundation began the Fam-ily Scholarship Progam for migrant workers and their families in 2009. Martin Del Secco, County Development Manager for Western Union , held a specialty workshop about the scholarship pro-gram.
In a related development, the Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in the money transfer segment of global payments, and the Western Union Foundation, through the Western Union Our World, Our Family pro-gram, awarded $10,000 worth of support funds to the Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), the largest Filipino community-based organiza-tion in Los Angeles, during
On September 15, 2010Application Deadline for Western
Union’s Family Scholarship Program Is Fast Approaching
(Continued from page 1) the latter’s 38th Anniversary Awards Benefit Dinner.
Dubbed “BagongKabu-hayan, BagongPamama-hayag, BagongDaigdig (New Economy, New Media, New World),” the SIPA annual gala honored outstanding individu-als and organizations for their contributions to the multi-ethnic Historic Filipinotown and the greater Los Angeles Filipino American commu-nity.
During the event, the Western Union Foundation presented SIPA with a $7,000 grant to benefit its Small Busi-ness Development Program, and the Western Union Com-pany gave $3,000 for its After School Enrichment Program.
“We honor SIPA and all its distinguished members for their valuable contribution to the Filipino community in the United States and world-wide,” said Randall Acocelli, Regional Vice President of the West Region, the Western Union Company. “We believe that support for small busi-nesses is vital in promoting economic opportunity and fostering cultural inclusion. These small businesses have
strengthened the fabric of our communities across the U.S.” Acocelli then added, “We value our relationship with SIPA and are proud to be a contributor to this important organization.”
Recent statistics show that one in five children in the U.S. lives in an immigrant-headed household. Immigrants also play a critical role in boost-ing the economy via small business ownership. The U.S. Small Business Administra-tion reported that in 2008im-migrant-owned businesses in the U.S. generated 67 billion dollars, or nearly 12 percent of all small business income in the country.
In response, Joel F. Jacinto, Executive Director of the SIPA Board of Directors, stat-ed, “SIPA and the youth and families we serve appreciate the strategic investment made by Western Union to reach out and serve the Filipino com-munity. As the largest com-munity-based organization targeting Filipino Americans with a variety of health and human services and economic development projects, we are pleased to partner with West-ern Union in its support of our After School Enrichment Program, our Small Business Development Program, and of course, our recent 38th An-nual Fundraiser.”
About Western Union
The Western Union Com-pany (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo, Or-landi Valuta, Pago Facil and Custom House branded pay-ment services,
Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and conve-nient ways to send and receive money around the world, as well as send payments and purchase money orders. The Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services are offered through a combined network of approxi-mately 430,000 agent loca-
tions in 200 countries and ter-ritories. In 2009, The Western Union Company completed 196 million consumer-to-consumer transactions world-wide, moving $71 billion of principal between consumers, and 415 million business pay-ments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.
About the Western Union Foundation
Through Western Union’s Our World, Our Family® sig-nature program, the Western Union Foundation supports initiatives to empower indi-viduals, families and com-munities through access to better education and economic opportunity. Recognized by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy in 2009, the program is a five year, $50 million commitment announced in 2007 reflecting the efforts made by Western Union employees, Agents, and partners around the world. Since its inception in 2001, the Western Union Foundation has awarded more than $67 million in grants and disaster relief to more than 1,900 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 100 countries. For more information, visit http://foundation.westernunion.com.
About SIPA
Search to Involve Pili-pino Americans (SIPA) was founded in 1972 and provides health and human services as well as community economic development and arts/cultural programs for low to moder-ate-income youth and families in multi-ethnic Historic Fili-pinotown and other residents in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. SIPA is the largest community-based, charitable nonprofit organi-zation primarily serving the Pilipino American community in the United States. For more information, visit www.esipa.org.
Food for thoughtRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-
journalusa.com
Very interesting letter. Share this with your friends and associates who still hon-estly believe that our beloved Philippines is worth saving. I salute the person (Remedios C. Paningbatan) who wrote this letter.
To all Filipinos Every-
where: I used to think that cor-
ruption and criminality in the Philippines were caused by poverty. But recent events tell me this isn’t true. It is one thing to see people turn into drug addicts, prostitutes, thieves and murderers because of hunger and poverty, but what excuse do these rich, educated people have that could possibly explain their bizarre behavior? And to think I was always so relieved when petty snatchers got caught and locked away in jail because I never fully realized that the big time thieves were out there, making the laws and running our country.
Every night, I come home & see these “honorable” crooks lambast each other on TV , call each one names, look each other in the eye and accuse the other of commit-ting the very same crimes that they themselves are guilty of, is so comical and apalling that I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
I have never seen so many criminals roaming around unfettered and looking smug until now. These criminals wear suits and barongs, strut around with the confidence of the rich and famous, inspire fear and awe from the very citizens who voted them to power, bear titles like “Honor-able”, “Senator”, “Justice”, “General” and worse, “Presi-dent”. Ironically, these law-less individuals practice law, make our laws, enforce the
A Letter From A Brave Filipina
law. And we wonder why our policemen act the way they do! These are their leaders, and the leaders of this nation - Robin Hoodlum and his band of moneymen. Their motto? “Rob the poor, moderate the greed of the rich.”
It makes me wonder what kind of schools they went to, what kind of teachers they had, what kind of environ-ment would produce such creatures who can lie, cheat and steal from an already indebted country and from the impoverished people . It makes me wonder what their children and grandchildren think of them, and if they are breeding a whole new gen-eration of improved Filipino crooks and liars with equally negligible conscience. They all go to mass & receive com-munion! Heaven forbid!
I am an ordinary citizen and taxpayer. I am blessed to have a job that pays for my needs and those of my fam-ily’s, even though 30% of my earnings go to the nation’s coffers. I have complained time and again because our government could not provide enough of the basic services that I expect and deserve. Rutty roads, poor educational system, poor social services, poor health services, poor everything. But I have al-ways thought that was what all third world countries were all about, and my complaints never amounted to anything more.
We see Scandalous gov-ernment deals. Plundering presidents pointing fingers. Senators associated with crooks. Congressmen who accept bribes. Big time law-yers on the side of injustice. De Venecia ratting on his boss only after his term has ended, Enrile inquiring about some-one’s morality! The already filthy rich Abalos and Arroyo
wanting more money than they or their great grandchil-dren could ever spend in a lifetime. Joker making a joke of his own “pag bad ka, lagot ka!” slogan.. Defensor ren-dered defenseless. Gen. Razon involved in kidnapping. Security men providing any-thing but a sense of security. The average Juan de la Cruz could not even imagine in his dreams. Is it any wonder why our few remaining decent and hardworking citizens are leaving to go work in other countries?
They say the few stupid ones like me who remain in the Philippines are no longer capable of showing disgust. Many like me feel anger at the brazenness of men we call our leaders, embarrassment to share the same national-ity with them, frustration for our nation and helplessness at my own ineffectuality. It is not that I won’t make a stand. It is just that I am afraid my actions would only be futile. After all, these monsters are capable of anything. They can hurt me and my family. They already have, though I may not yet feel it..
I am writing this because I need to do something con-crete. I need to let others know that ordinary citizens like me do not remain luke-warm to issues that would lat-er affect me and my children. I want to make it known that there are also Filipinos who dream of something better for the Philippines. I want them to know that my country is not filled with scalawags and crooks in every corner, and that there are citizens left who believe in decency, fairness, a right to speak, a right to voice out ideas, a right to tell the people we have trusted to lead us that they have abused their power and that it is time for them to step down. I refuse to let this country go to hell be-cause it is the only country I call mine and it is my respon-sibility to make sure I have done what I could for it.
We can pray.. After all, they cannot be more powerful than God!
I implore mothers out there to raise your children the best way you can . I beg all fa-thers to spend time with their children, to teach them the virtues of hard work, honesty,
fair play, sharing, dignity and compassion - right from the sandbox till they are old enough to go on their own. Not just in your homes, but at work, in school, everywhere you go. Be good role models.
I call on educators and teachers - . . Instill in them love of their country,, help us mold our children into honorable men and women. Encourage our graduates, our best and brightest, to do what they can to lift this country from the mire our traditional politicians have sunk us into. The youth is our future - and it would be largely because of you, our educators, that we will be able to repopulate the seats of power with good leaders, presidents, senators, congressmen, justices, law-makers, law enforcers and lawful citizens.
I ask all students, young people and young profession-als everywhere to look around and get involved .. . YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU! Let your voices be heard. Text meaningful messages to awaken social conscience. Try your best to fight moral decay because I promise you will not regret it when you be-come parents yourselves. You will look back at your past misdeeds and pray that your children will do better than you did.
Remember that there are a few handful who are capable of running this country.. You can join their ranks and make their numbers greater. We are tired of the old trapos. We need brave idealistic leaders who will think of the greater good before anything else. Be good lawyers, civil servants, accountants, computer techs, engineers, doctors, military men so that when you are called to serve in government, you will have credibility and a record that can speak for itself.
For love of this country, for the future of our children, , I urge you to do what you can. As ordinary citizens, we can do much more for the Philip-pines than sit around and let crooks lead us to perdition. We owe ourselves this. And we owe our country even more.
Remedios C. Paningbatan
by Manny Paez
It is surprising to see that there are takers of five balik-bayan boxes for one hundred dollars. It may sound harsh but with this kind of pricing, this shows the lack of respect of balibayan box companies to their profession. This also shows how gullible some of our kababayans.
I can also see some people take the efforts to bring down their balikbayan box, load it in their compact car without any dolly or lifting equipment and drive to a drop off supermarket just to save a few bucks. This people did not see the the issues of their private information be-ing flashed to every Tom, Dic and Harry in the store.
There are a lot of devel-opments in the shipping and travel industry that affects every Filipinos in America and other parts of the world. The ocean container shipping rate has in-crease five folds within the year alone and the airline fuel has increased significantly thus the increase in air fares.
Balikbayan box shipping price adjustment is inevitable if companies would like to oper-ate in the black.
I remembere when I started balikbayan box business in 1994 in Washington, DC, its charges for a standard balik-bayan box to Metro-Manila was $95. There was also a $10 pick up fee.
Gasoline was only less than a dollar per gallon then. Now it is more than three dollars per gallon.
When I relocated to Los Angeles, CA in 1998 to position Manila Forwarder in the hub of Philippine shipping, gasoline here was in the dollar fifty per gallon.
The prevailing prices then were $65 for a standard balik-bayan box to Metro-Manila. The lowest rate then was the one that offers $45 per box but you have to buy your box and drop it off at their agents. This was further popularized in vari-ous supermarkets where patrons would see stacks of balikbayan boxes lined up on the aisle.
These practice of dropping off ones balikbayan boxes have started to become unpopular as all the information of the ship-per can be clearly seen by all passersby making it a privacy and security issues, as some unscrupulous individuals can be seen taking notes of the infor-mation visible on the packages.
A few years prior to 1998, when I was making my feasibil-ity study for California opera-tions, I was told that the prices
Balikbayan Box Issues and Tipsof sending balikbayan boxes to Metro-Manila was an aver-age of $75 and there were only about five balikbayan box com-panies then. Most have closed shop because of the unrealistic pricing they offered to lure clients.
The balikbayan box price war has resulted into a lot of ca-sualties, from company owners to disgruntled consumers.
More balikbayan box com-panies are expected to fold shop with the turn of events due to higher cost of operations vis a vis their very low pricing that did not consider other expenses like tax, insurance, government regulations, among others.
I know that there is better way of doing business than joining the fray, I thought of ways to provide value for every dollar spent by my clients so I offered a bigger and more du-rable box, a Manila Forwarder original, the JUMBO BOX.
Jumbo Box is one third big-ger than the average balikbayan boxes. Its box is also of thicker and better quality than any balikbayan box available in the market at that time. I positioned Manila Forwarder as the qual-ity. alternative for a better price that targets the well off and educated segment of the mar-ket. Now, Manila Forwarder is the choice shipping company of prominent personalities in busi-ness, entertainment, and sports industries.
Initial Pricing
Manila Forwarder’s intro-ductory price in 1998 was $79 to any point in the Philippines. A good deal for clients who sends their boxes to Visayas and Mindanao. Making these as our market niche, Manila For-warder also added special val-ues like putting security seal in each boxes and wrapping them with industrial strength plastic for further protection. We also offered the first in the industry, internet package tracking.
A couple of months after that, We had the feel of the market and adjusted our pric-ing in to $75 per jumbo box to Metro-Manila and adding $5 for Central Luzon, and so on. Mindanao shipments cost $95 giving clients an average of $35 savings for every Jumbo Box they ship.
Cost and Value
Rate of course is one of the major factors in choosing a balikbayan box company; however, Manila Forwarder recognizes that the rate should
(Continued on page 22)
Page 22 September 3 - 9, 2010Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
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(Continued from page 18)understand plain English. So when I read the provision in the Constitution banning appointments 60 days before the elections and up to the end of the president’s term, it was crystal clear to me what the sentence meant. Apparently, nine Supreme Court justices have a different understanding of the English language.
Appointments could not be made during this particular season—which comes only every six years—so that a president cannot use this potent power to serve selfish interests.
The nine Supreme Court justices seemed to have used another kind of lens when they read this. In doing so, they bulldozed through de-cades of precedents.
What the highest court of the land did was actually to exempt themselves from the appointments ban—not the lower courts, not the Sandi-ganbayan or Court of Appeals.
‘Right a wrong’
This led President Aquino to take his oath before Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, who dissented in the mid-night appointment case. This showed that Aquino disagreed with the Supreme Court deci-sion.
Presidents can openly dis-agree with the Supreme Court. President Diosdado Macapa-gal was very upset when the Supreme Court rebuffed him when it ruled that his suspen-sion of a Cabinet member was unconstitutional.
In particular, he was
incensed by what he called the “uncordial language” of one of the justices. “When a Justice gets down to the level of a politician and insults me, I will fight him…I will never allow a Justice to ridicule the President of this country…” he said angrily.
President Obama, in his state of the union address in January this year, chastised the US Supreme Court for allowing corporations to fund election campaigns. He said: “…the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend with-out limit in our elections. I don’t think American elec-tions should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be de-cided by the American people, and that’s why I’m urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong.”
In this case, Obama asked Congress to “right a wrong.”
District for GMA’s son
In another case in our country, the Supreme Court affirmed that the new district in Camarines Sur carved out to accommodate the former President’s son, Dato Arroyo, is constitutional despite the fact that its population is less than that required by law.
Nine justices decided in fa-vor of creating this additional district.
The additional district gave the Arroyos’ ally, former Bud-get Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr., a place where he can run. It prevented a collision be-tween Dato and Andaya.
Joaquin Bernas, one of the
Are we losing our nation’s soul?
framers of our Constitution, was bristling in his column in the Inquirer : “Unfortunately, piecemeal reapportionment continues to have the bless-ings of the Supreme Court. A deliberate act of Congress creating disproportion and blessed by the Supreme Court is not only unconstitutional but also disgraceful.”
Character
At the end of the day, character and leadership—two things we have come to take for granted—hugely matter.
I hope the public becomes more aware of what happens inside the Supreme Court and keep watch over the so-called last bulwark of democracy, our nation’s soul.
be supplemented with a compe-tent customer support, efficient delivery system and compliance with all government regula-tions.
Manila Forwarder’s decent pricing allows the company to continually improve its servic-es, recruit quality staff, respond to client’s feedback and com-plaints, invest in new technol-ogy and equipments, and help in various community projects.
When the US-Asia trade imbalance occurred a few years ago when it has come to a point that shipping lines were ship-ping empty containers back to Asia, shipping lines lowered their rates to US based Freight Forwarders to generate ship-ments.
Manila Forwarder passed this savings to our clients by of-fering Suki Card where they get $5 off in every shipment and free shipping on their 15th box.
However, the present gain-ing strength of Asian currency towards US Dollar generated a lot of export from the USA that the demand for Asia-bound con-tainers from USA has dramati-cally increased that US Freight Forwarders are even scrambling just to get a booking.
Another major factor is the fuel expenses that continually increase, including the Christ-mas holidays wherein American people spend more time on the road.
In airline and shipping industry, they call the rate in-crease here as fuel surcharge to avoid filling for their new tariff rates increase. This increas-ing fuel prices resulted in the slower pace of sailing of ocean vessels to save on fuel. It’s like
Balikbayan Box Issues and Tips
(Continued from page 21)
saving fuel when one drives 55 mph compared to 80 mph.
Since the shipping lines are catching up from preceeding years operational loss, the slow-ing down of sailing was further aggravated by a $900 rate in-crease per ocean container last May 1, 2008 and an additional $300 increase last June. Most of these increases have been absorbed by the balikbayan box industry and not passed to consumer as common business procedure would dictate.
Ocean shipping to Port of Manila that used to be 17 days is now 21 at the least. There is also the usual US and Philip-pine goverment inspections that can delay the shipment to a couple of weeks or so. It is now unethical to promise 25 days delivery time as goverment inspections are getting frequent. Aside from the delays, each US goverment inspection costs the balikbayan box company an average of $2,000 in fees which is also an added cost to the company.
The increase in balikbayan box shipping is inevitable and those who will not increase their prices will likely fold shop in a few months or so. Some might just be waiting to reap from this coming Christmas season before disappearing. Consumers need to scrutinize the balikbayan box company that they would use this Christ-mas and put the dollar saving in the right perspective.
Experience and Capability
A good number of existing balikbayan box company in California are one-man opera-tion. These entrepreneurs are former agents of established companies that decided to do business of their own. These companies have a long experi-ence in picking up balikbayan boxes and community contact but lacks the experience in finance, documentation, gov-ernment regulations, and all the intricacies of the logistic operations.
One-man operation compa-nies usually do not ship their own containers and sub-con-tract the services to a consoli-dator. Most problems are from this kind of operations as these companies operates under gov-ernment regulations.
Location
It is advisable to visit the office of the company that you will use, even once just to check its operations.
Take in consideration the stability of the company and the security of your balikbayan boxes. Some companies sub-contract their offices in su-permarkets, beauty shops and video stores. Some even operate in the parking lot. Consider your privacy and the security of your packages. Most locations
like this do not require renters insurance making your balik-bayan box unprotected.
Pricing
The cut-throat competition has been for the benefit of the consumer. However, where shipping a balikbayan box to El Salvador costs $150, and the one going to the Philippines is $55. There is something obvi-ously wrong in the Philippine balikbayan box industry.
The balikbayan box industry has been the patron of various community inspired endeavors before but such is slowing dis-appearing due to some compa-nies who tries to short change the business. The industry needs to breath and consumer support is needed. Low pricing smells trouble. Very very low price is a placard in ones face to avoid.
Philippine Operations The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry is always bombarded with complaints of undelivered balikbayan boxes during the Christmas season. Some victims also use the mass media to air their complaints. However, most of the com-plaints hit a blank wall as the Philippine government does not have jurisdiction to go after those companies that does not have a legal entity in the Philip-pines.
A good number of entrepre-neurs would put up balikbayan box companies on the last quar-ter of the year in time for the balikbayan box season without proper planning. These compa-nies will lure the consumer with their low prices and use their friendship as the selling point. They will then obtain a business credit with a consolidator to provide them the shipping ser-vices but at a certain point, with a business on the red due to low pricing, they would stop paying the consolidators resulting into non-deliveries. Non-deliveries means your loved ones will not have your hard-earned padala. The friend who convinced you can do nothing about it as he is a victim himself.
What is your recourse?
On the US side, Federal Maritime Commission has received tons of complaints againts undelivered balikbayan boxes resulting into a Fact Finding Inquiry. They have also started a media campaign warn-ing consumers against unscru-pulous companies.
The Positive Side of the
Balikbayan Box industry
Not everything has been stagnant in the industry. New technologies have been devel-oped and being implemented by Manila Forwarder and perhaps some other companies. As the leader in balikbayan box technology, Manila Forwarder uses the Voice Over Internet Protocol ( VoiP ) for after hours customer support providing worldwide clients with live personnal support.
USA and Manila offices also shares the same data using Vir-tual Private Network ( VPN ) to answer the querries. It’s also impressive that North America clients are talking directly to Manila Forwarder Philippines staffs as they are the one dis-patching those packages at the office located inside the secured North Harbor.
Manila Forwarder Philip-pine is the only balikbayan box company that is at the hub of Philippine shipping as all local shipping lines are located within walking distance from Manila Forwarder.
Manila Forwarder also uses bar code technology for accountability of individual packages.
All packages are securely encoded in the company web-site where one can track it’s status any time of the day. All shipment information are updated daily at www.manila-forwarder.com.
Let your Fingers do the Walking
Everyone should be happy this Christmas and there should be no undelivered balikbayan boxes this year. Your balik-bayan boxes are fruits of your hard labor. That’s a lot of overtime and efforts looking for bargains to share something to your loved ones in the Philip-pines. Enjoy the moment of sharing.
Getting a bargain is good. Make it an educated bargain.
Why the Ridge at Canyon Woods is the best buy for you
It is already built and therefore no risk involved. With only 10% down 1. payment, you can already move in, use and enjoy your place.It has a beautiful view of Taal Volcano and the Lake.2. It is an ideal retirement as well as vacation place3. Its elevation is almost 3,000 feet, providing a cool climate and an environ-4. mentally-friendly surrounding.There are only a few units left, only 38 residential condos well-equipped 5. with appliances and are ready for occupancy. The units come in 1, 2, & 3 bedrooms, all with condominium amenities like being cable ready, modu-lar cabinets, standby generators, elevators, indoor swimming pool, func-tion rooms, fitness center, gym and a club house. As owner, you automatically become a member of the Country Club and 6. the Golf Course We’re able to arrange a Down Payment Scheme of 10% Payable in Six 7. (6) Months and upon completion of the Down Payment, you can already move in.
To reserve a space in the presentation, call (619) 746-3416.
The Schedule of Presentations in San Diego and Temecula:
September 1 – 5: San Diego:at 10 A.M.; 1 P.M.; 3 P.M. AND 6 P.M
at the Asian Journal office, 550 East 8th Street, Suite 6, National City, CA 91950
(At the Old Schoolhouse Squre, across Zarlitos Restaurant on the corner of E Street and 8th Street)
Call (619) 746-3416 for more information and reservation for presentation.(See ad on page 24)
Dumating sa eskuwela si Dencio upang sunduin ang mga anak. May iniluto siya na kanin at inihaw na tangige para kay Rosing. Iniabot ang pagkain kay Rosing sabay bati sa guro ng mga bata, -- Sana ay hindi ka pinahirapan ng mga anak ko.
-- Mababait sila at mabibi-lis na matuto. Huwag kang mag-alaala, Dencio, nagkaka-sundo kami ng mga anak mo. – sagot ni Rosing.
Nag-pauna ang mga bata na patakbo ang lakad pauwi sa bahay.
-- Rosing, malaki ang pagkakataon na may darating na malaking sakuna sa ating nayon. Bagama’t tama na ipagpatuloy mo ang paggawa ng iyong pang-araw araw na gawain; dapat din na mag-ing handa ka sa paglikas o sa pagtatanggol sa sarili mo at sa mga bata pagdating ng gulo. At kung may mangyayari sa akin . . . ipinangangako mo ba na aalagaan mo ang aking mga anak? – mahahalata ang pag-aalala sa tinig ni Dencio.
-- Huwag kang mag-isip ng masama, Dencio. – pasubali ni Rosing.
Niyakap ni Dencio ang kaibigan at hinalikan siya sa noo. – Tama ka, Rosing. Nasa ating panig ang Maykapal at ang Kalikasan.—
Si Rosing ang guro ng nay-on. Pinagbuklod sa kanyang katauhan ang kagandahan, karunungan at pagkamayumi. Babaeng-lungsod siya. Doon siya isinilang at lumaki. Doon siya nag-aral. Nguni’t pinili niya na manirahan at mag-alay ng kanyang panahon at nalalaman sa mga taga-nayon. Sa unibersidad ay itinanghal siyang Dilag ng Kagandahan at bituin ng koponan ng man-glalangoy.
Una silang nagkakilala ni Dencio nang ipalista ang dalawang anak sa eskuwela. Karamihan ng mga bata ay ang mga ina ang nag-aabala sa pag-aaral ng kanilang mga anak. Sa panig ni Kiko at Neneng, sa dahilang wala na silang ina, ang ama ang siyang “umaakay” sa mga bata sa kanilang pag-aaral. Malimit magkita sa eskwela sina Dencio at Rosing, sa mga pagkakataong may kinalaman sa pag-aaral ng mga bata, at
May Pakpak Ang Pag-ibigNalantad na mga lihim
Kuwento ni Percival Campoamor CruzIkatlong Kabanata
ang pagkikita ay nauuwi sa pagtuklas sa isa’t isa hang-gang sumilang ang isang pag-ibig. Nagkaroon ng naiibang damdamin si Rosing ukol sa mga anak ni Dencio sapagka’t nalalaman niya na ang mga bata ay wala nang ina at nan-gangailangan ng pag-aalaga at pagmamahal ng isang babae.
Nang dumating ang tag-araw ay lumuwas si Rosing sa lungsod upang makasama ang mga magulang. Nawala siya sa nayon nang mahigit sa dalawang buwan at iyong kan-yang pagbabakasyon, batay sa damdamin ni Dencio, ay tila dalawang taong pagkakahiwa-lay. Nang magbalik si Rosing sa nayon nang panahon na ng pagbubukas ng eskuwela ay di maitago ni Dencio ang kan-yang pananabik. Sinundo niya sa daungan ng bangka ang dalaga at agad-agad ay inaya siya na sila ay magsadya sa simbahan. –Pakakasal na ba kami ng lalaking ito? – lihim na pagtataka ni Rosing.
Matalik na magkaibigan sina Dencio at ang kura paroko ng nayon na si Padre Mario. Nagpahanda pala ng sorpresa si Dencio sa bulwa-gan ng simbahan, sa tulong ng padre, at doo’y naghintay sa pagsalubong sa guro ang ilang kilalang tao sa nayon. Nagkaroon sila ng kainan at pagsasaya. Nang matapos ang handaan ay isa-isang nagpaalam ang mga dumalo hanggang sa napuna nina Dencio at Rosing na sila na lamang pala ang taong nala-labi sa simbahan. Nagkaroon si Dencio ng pagkakataon na maipagtapat sa dalaga ang kanyang niloloob. – Saksi ko ang banal na pook na ito, -- isiniwalat ni Dencio sa kau-sap, habang ang mga kamay nila ay magkahawak, -- na tapat at dalisay ang layunin ko sa iyo. Kung iyong tatang-gapin ay iniaalay ko sa iyo ang aking pag-ibig at buhay.
Matagal na ring nagkaroon ng pitak sa puso ni Rosing si Dencio. Tumingkayad si Ros-ing at nang maabot ang labi ni Dencio at doon ay nag-alay
ng isang matimyas na halik na ang ibig sabihin ay – Oo, tinatanggap ko ang pag-ibig mo! –
Ang pagsusuyuan ng dalawa ay nasaksihan ng mga kanayon. Natutuwa sila na nagkakasundo ang dala-wang masasabing huwarang mamayan ng maliit na pook; doo’y tinitingala sila ka-puwa bilang mararangal at kagalang-galang na nilalang. Malimit na nakikita silang naglalakad sa dalampasigan na magka-akbay; at kung ang pangkat sa pangingisda ay hindi nakasasama kay Den-
cio ay si Rosing ang kusang-loob na sumasama, sa mga araw na wala siyang turo sa eskuwela. Gawi ni Rosing na kapag pa-palapit na sa da-lampasigan ang bangka galing sa pangingisda ay tumatalon siya sa tubig na una ang ulo at nilalangoy ang layo mula sa bangka hang-gang sa buhangi-nan. Hindi nga ba kampeon na manglalangoy
sa kolehiyo si Rosing, ang paglangoy sa dagat ay ang kanyang tanging paraan na manatiling mahusay siya sa paglangoy sapagka’t wala namang swimming pool sa nayon.
Napakaganda ni Rosing lalo na kung umaahon mula sa tubig at napapadikit sa kanyang katawan ang basang-basang damit; sa ilalim ng mahinang sikat ng araw sa dapit-hapon ay maaaninag ang kanyang balat at maseselang bahagi ng kanyang katawan at sino mang makakikita sa kanya ay makapagsasabi na tila siya ang prinsesa ng mga sirena na ipinadpad ng alon upang magbigay ligaya sa lupa.
Lumakad ang mga araw at nagpatuloy ang tahimik, malapit sa Kalikasan, at matu-laing pamumuhay sa nayon ng Paraiso.
Nguni’t isang araw ay nag-imbal ang mga taga-Paraiso nang may isang buong mag-anak na natagpuang patay. Kailan man ay di nagkaroon ng gayong kalagim-lagim na pangyayari sa nayong-pulo. Sa pag-aaral ng mga nama-mahala sa kapayapaan sa pulo na nagsadya sa bahay ng mag-anak, napag-alaman na tila nalason ang mga nasawi. Walang bakas ng dugo o kalu-pitang sinapit ang mag-anak. Natagpuan ang mga biktima na tila natutulog lamang.
Nagkaisa sa palagay sina Dencio at ang pinakamataas na pinuno ng pamahalaan sa nayon, si Kapitan Kulas, na ang krimen ay kagagawan ng mga di-kilalang tao na ang pakay ay magkalat ng lagim sa pulo. Tiyak na sila ay mga kasangkapan ng bansang naghahangad na masarili ang pulo.
Ang mga maykapangyari-han sa mundo ay naghahangad na pamahalaan ang maliliit na pulo sa kalagitnaan ng mala-laking dagat. Ang pag-aari at pamamahala ng mga maliliit na pulo na ito ay mahalaga sa pagpapanatili ng kapayapaan at sa pagwawagi sa digmaan, kung magkakaroon ng dig-maan.
Sa harap ng mga pangya-yari ay bumuo ng dalawang pangkat ang mga lalaki sa nayon. Ang unang pangkat ay magbabantay sa dalam-pasigan. Ang mga kasapi sa pangkat na ito ay gagamit ng kanilang mga bangka at sa mga takdang oras ay magpa-pasalaot at magsisiyasat sa paligid ng pulo. Ang pangala-wang pangkat ay may katung-kulang pangalagaan ang mga daan at landas sa gabi, at nang kung mayroon mang mga gagalagalang di-kilalang tao ay madadakip ang mga ito. Ang mga kasapi ng pangkat
ay maglalakad at ang iba ay sasakay lulan ng kalabaw.
Si Berto na anak ni Indang Maring ay naatasan na siyang magsanay sa mga kasapi ng pangkat sa pamamaraan ng pagtatanggol sa sarili. Ma-husay si Berto sa pamamaraan ng arnis na isang matandang paraan ng pakikibaka na ang gamit lamang ay ang mga bisig at kamao at dalawang tungkod ng yantok o ratan.
Naging abala si Dencio sa pangingisda at kung hindi nangingisda ay sa pamumuno sa mga ginagawang pagta-tanggol sa pulo. Napilitan ang mga anak niyang sina Kiko at Neneng na matutong mag-alaga sa kanilang sarili sa mga panahong wala siya sa kanilang piling. Natuto
silang mamitas ng mga gulay at bungang-kahoy. Natuto rin silang magluto at maghugas ng kanilang mga damit at kag-amitan sa bahay. Ang pamu-mulot ng suso sa dalampasi-gan at kung pamin-minsan ay ng alimasag ay dati na nilang alam, at sa totoo, ay nagiging bahagi ng kanilang paglalaro sa buhanginan kasama ang iba pang mga batang katulad nila ang gulang.
Sa kanilang paglalaro ay walang kamalay-malay ang mga bata sa mga nagaganap na pang-yayari sa pulo. Wala rin silang kamalay-malay na may mga matang nagmamasid sa kanila.
Si Nana Koring na kapitba-hay nila ay nagmanman palagi sa magkapatid, mula sa kanyang durungawan, at tinitiyak na sila
ay malayo sa kapahamakan. Sa kalayuan, sa laot, ay may
mga matang singkit na nagma-masid din sa mga bata, gamit ang mga larga vista.
At mula sa puno ng akasya, na sa kataasan nito ay abot-tanaw ng nagmamasid ang kalawakan ng pulo, ay nakasilip din ang kapre na siyang bantay sa lagusang patungo sa mundo sa ilalim ng puno.
At si Indang Maring, na wala nang pananagutan sa buhay kundi ang maki-usyoso sa buhay ng may buhay, ang mag-ikot sa nayon, magmasid at makinig, sumagap ng iba’t-ibang balita at ikalat ang mga ito, ay tiyak ding nakatuon ang mga mata at taenga sa mga nangyayari sa mga bata at kay Dencio.
Maaari pa bang magtago lihim sa nayon ng Paraiso?
(Itutuloy)
Page 24 September 3 - 9, 2010Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
(619) 746-3416See page 23 for schedule of presentations
