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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

The Fil ip ino AmericAn communiTy newspAper

w w w. a s i a n . c o mVolume 15 - No. 15 • 3 Sections – 20 Pages APRIL 8-14, 2016

1001 Bayhill Drive, Suite 200, San Bruno, CA 94066 • Tel: (650) 616-4150 • Fax: (650) 616-4152 • www.asianjournal.com Also published in LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTY/INLAND EMPIRE, LAS VEGAS, NEw YORk/NEw JERSEY

DATELINEUSAfrom the AJPress NEWS TEAM AcroSS AMEricA

BAGUIo CItY — It’s final: sen. Grace Poe can run for President.

removing the legal impediment to Poe’s candidacy, the supreme Court on tues-day, march 5, decided with finality to al-low the senator to seek the land’s highest post, throwing out reconsideration pleas that the Commission on elections (Com-elec) and critics had filed to push for her disqualification.

During its first summer en banc session here this year, the high court junked all three motions for reconsideration against the high court’s march 8 ruling that had upheld Poe’s qualification as a presidential candidate, a court source told the inquirer.

the separate pleas, filed by the Com-elec, a joint appeal by former Government service Insurance system chief legal counsel estrella elamparo, former Univer-sity of the east law dean Amado Valdez, former sen. francisco “Kit” tatad, De La salle University professor Antonio Contre-ras, and third one filed solely by Valdez, were all thrown out.

Court spokesperson theodore te an-nounced in his press briefing tuesday that the court would make an official an-nouncement on the motions on April 9, exactly a month before the may balloting. the court is also expected to release sepa-rate opinions that the justices will write on the final ruling by that time. however, te did not disclose details of the decision.

It’s final: SC says Grace Poe can run

High court throws out DQ pleas

Brown signs $15 minimum wage measure into law

GoV. Jerry Brown made his-tory on monday, April 4, when he signed legislation that made California the first state in the na-tion to set its minimum wage to $15 per hour.

“this is about economic jus-tice,” Brown said prior to sign-ing the bill at the ronald reagan state Building in Downtown Los Angeles, according to the Asso-ciated Press. “It’s about people. It’s about creating a little, tiny, amount of balance in a system

by Agnes ConstAnteAJPress

AsIDe from his musical accomplishments with Grammy award-winning group the Black eyed Peas, Apl.de.ap is making his mark in the world by preventing premature filipino babies from going blind.

through the Apl.de.ap foundation Interna-tional’s Campaign for filipino Children, the Black eyed Peas member has partnered with the Vision Center at Children’s hospital Los Angeles (ChLA) to help treat and diagnose premature filipino babies who develop reti-nopathy of prematurity (roP).

roP is a rare eye condition that causes ab-normal blood vessel growth in the retina from excessive oxygenation. If not tended to within 48 hours of birth, it could lead to blindness.

Last fall, the foundation delivered its first retCams (retinal imaging systems to screen for roP) to the southern Philippines medical

Apl.de.ap honored for work combating blindness in Filipino babies

A WeeK after Democratic presidential can-didates hillary Clinton and Bernie sanders made campaign stops in Los Angeles, Demo-cratic National Committee (DNC) Ceo Amy Dacey visited the city to lay the groundwork to expand the party’s base and meet with Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters, who comprise a crucial electorate in coming elec-tions.

At a roundtable discussion with reporters on tuesday, march 29, Dacey remarked that she is confident that a Democrat will win the presidency this November.

“[Donald trump] isn’t just talking over the republican Party — he is the republican Par-ty. that just shows to us how much we have at stake,” Dacey said. “I think the choice be-fore us is clearer than ever. We, throughout

DNC CEO emphasizes importance of AAPI vote

Confident Democrat will win presidency

HERITAGE SITE. Trekkers are seen on Mt. Pulag in this undated photo. The mountain, which straddles the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao and Nueva Vizcaya, is among the areas to be declared as heritage sites under an ordinance set for approval by the provincial board of Benguet. Philstar.com photo by Geremy Pintolo

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The Democratic California governor signed legislation gradually raising statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour.

CAsINo junket operator Kim Wong returned P38.28 million to the Anti-money Laundering Council (AmLC) on monday, march 4, in addition to the $4.63 million he surrendered last week as part of the funds stolen by hackers from the Bangladesh central bank.

Wong, represented by his le-gal counsels Victor fernandez and Inocencio ferrer Jr., turned over the money to AmLC mem-ber and Insurance Commissioner emmanuel Dooc and executive Director Julia Abad.

Ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes, Bangladesh Bank representatives and Bangko sen-tral ng Pilipinas (BsP) Deputy

Kim Wong returns P38M more to AMLC

Governor Vicente Aquino were present to witness the turnover.

“We turned over to the central bank exactly P38.28 million,” fernandez told reporters in an ambush interview after the ac-counting of the funds by the BsP Cash Department.

the P38.28 million represents the money abandoned by junket player Gao shu hua in eastern hawaii Leisure Company Ltd. (ehLCL) and midas Casino.

Wong’s counsel said Wong surrendered the money in accor-dance with his word at a senate hearing last week.

To return more within 15-20 days

“Kim Wong is one of the stock-holders of eastern hawaii. Kim Wong also mentioned in the senate hearing that he was also

COLD CASH. Philippine and Bangladeshi officials pose with the money turned over by Kim Wong – BSP Officer-In-Charge Vicente S. Aquino, Bangladesh Embassy Manila Deputy Chief of Mission Shahnaz Gazi, AMLC member and Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel Dooc, AMLC Secretariat Executive Director Julia Bacay-Abad, and lawyers Victor Fernandez and Inocencio Ferrer. Manilatimes.net photo

the Philippines began rolling out the world’s first mass den-gue vaccine named “Dengvaxia” last monday, April 4. About 700 children, ages 9-10 at a public school in marikina were the first to receive the dengue vaccine.

Dengue or Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease transmitted by certain species of mosquito of the Aedes type, most prominently Aedes Ae-gypti. symptoms usually begin

World’s first mass dengue vaccine launched in the Philippines

mANILA — Barely two days before the month-long overseas absentee voting (oAV) starts on April 9, the Commission on elections (Comelec) has not yet come out with a revised General Instruction (GI) that includes voter receipts.

former Comelec commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said this is a cause for concern because the GI shall contain the protocol

on how the special Board of election In-spectors (sBeIs) should implement the voter receipt feature of the vote counting machines (VCms).

“It is important to have specific guide-lines that will be followed by the sBeIs. since they still do not have the GI, that means they were not able to include the procedures for the VVPAt (voter verifica-tion paper audit trail) in the fts (final test-ing and sealing),” he explained.

Non-release of OAV guidelines worries ex-Comelec exec

OUCH. A boy grimaces as he gets a shot of the anti-dengue vaccine at the Parang Elementary School in Marikina City. The Philippines began rolling out the world’s first mass dengue vaccine named “Dengvaxia” last Monday, April 4. About 700 were the first to receive it. Manilatimes.net photo by Ruy L. Martinez

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by tArrA QuismundoInquirer.net

by sheilA CrisostomoPhilstar.com

by iAn JAmotilloAJPress

by mAyvelin u. CArAbAlloAnd Jefferson AntipordA

ManilaTimes.net

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APRIL 8-14, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150A�

From the Front Page

Poe’s critics and legal experts have been calling for a speedy resolution of the case, given the consequences on the electoral process.

Tuesday’s ruling permanently voided Comelec’s resolutions that canceled the certificate of candidacy (COC) filed by Poe, who has been consistently top-ping preelection surveys.

While details of the ruling have yet to be released, the denial of the motions for reconsideration meant the high court had opted to uphold the majority decision, which said the Comelec had com-mitted grave abuse of discretion in canceling Poe’s COC.

It has yet to be clear whether the justices held a revote on the merits of the case, particularly the thorny citizenship and resi-dency questions that had hung over Poe’s candidacy.

In the March 8 landmark rul-ing penned by Associate Justice Jose Perez, the court said Poe “is a qualified candidate for Presi-

dent in the May 9 elections,” as she is natural-born and met the 10-year residency requirement for presidential candidates.

The court ruled that Poe, while a foundling of unknown parent-age, was natural-born, as the 1935 Constitution had intended to include abandoned babies un-der this class of citizens despite the lack of an explicit provision on such inclusion.

Born in 1968, Poe is covered by the prewar Constitution.

The court also ruled that Poe, who became an American citi-zen in 2001 but reacquired her Philippine citizenship in 2006 and then renounced her US alle-giance in 2010, had satisfied the 10-year minimum for the domi-cile of a presidential candidate, saying the reckoning date of her return to the Philippines should be May 24, 2005.

Poe had returned to the Phil-ippines on that day, fully intent at reestablishing domicile in the Philippines and uprooting her family from the United States,

the court ruled.Poe’s critics contended that

Poe may not be considered a natural-born citizen, and that she fell short of the residency requirement, having declared in her 2012 COC for senator that she reestablished domicile in the Philippines only in June 2006.

The respondents also cited the lack of a clear majority in the high court ruling, given separate votes on the citizenship and resi-dency issues.

While the court voted 9-6 to cite Comelec in grave abuse of discretion, seven justices voted to declare that Poe is natural-born, five dissented, and three did not take part.

The court also voted separately on the residency question, with seven in favor and six against af-firming that Poe had satisfied the residency requirement.

Only a majority vote—or eight out of the 15 high court magis-trates—makes a ruling a legal precedent, the respondents had asserted. n

It’s final: SC says Grace Poe can…

INDICTED. Probers said former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima and former PNP Special Action Force chief Director Getulio Napeñas should be held liable for violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and usurpation of authority under Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code. File photo by Philstar.com

that every day becomes more un-balanced.”

Under the plan, California’s hourly minimum is scheduled to rise from the current $10 to $10.50 on Jan. 1, 2017 for busi-nesses with more than 25 em-ployees, $11 in 2018, and an additional $1 per year after un-til 2022. Businesses with 25 or fewer employees have an extra year to comply. The law also al-lows the governor to temporar-ily pause the hike depending on

economic conditions and budget deficits.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Gar-cetti, who approved in 2015 an ordinance to boost Los Angeles’ minimum hourly wage to $15 by 2020, touted the legislation on Monday.

“Today California leads the na-tion once again, passing a historic minimum wage increase that will help lift millions of hardworking men and women out of poverty,” he said in a statement.

New York on Monday also

passed legislation to gradually boost its statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour. But before the raise is applied statewide, the new minimum will be imple-mented in New York City first.

“Proud to sign into law $15 statewide minimum wage and the strongest paid family leave policy in the nation,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tweeted af-ter he signed the bill at a labor rally in New York City.

For many Filipino workers, the passage of the law is a vic-tory. Joanna Concepcion, execu-tive director of Filipino Migrant Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to organizing and mo-bilizing low-income and working-class Filipinos in Southern Cali-fornia, said the group welcomes the passage of laws that would boost the incomes of struggling, hard-working families.

“Many Filipino immigrants in Southern California work multi-ple jobs in order to place food on the table, pay for health care and other basic necessities on top of supporting family members in the Philippines,” Concepcion told the Asian Journal. “We have

Brown signs $15 minimum wage…

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willing to return P450 million but he requested a period of 15 to 20 days within which to com-plete the funds. According to Mr. Wong, he was even willing to sell properties to be able to raise the necessary money,” he said.

In last week’s testimony at the Senate, Wong admitted he received P100 million in cash on February 5 and an additional P300 million and $5 million from February 10 to 14. However, he maintained that he did not know that the money he received was part of the $81 million stolen by hackers from the Bangladesh central bank’s account with the Federal Reserve in New York.

Fernandez said they surren-dered the money to the AMLC and not to the Bangladesh Bank officials so that the negotiations would be done at a government-to-government level.

Two hours to countWong’s lawyer said it took two

hours to count the money, which were in P1000 and P500 denomi-nations loaded in a trolley bag.

Fernandez admitted, though, that two counterfeit P500 bills were found among the peso-de-nominated notes and Ferrer had to shell out P1,000 to replace the fake bills. Abad also confirmed there were two counterfeit P500

bills found in the bag of money turned over on Monday, but de-clined to comment further.

Without elaborating, Fernan-dez said Wong “will attend Tues-day’s hearing because he wants to finish this thing as soon as possible.”

At a press briefing after Mon-day’s turnover, the AMLC con-firmed that the amount of money it received from Wong’s counsel was exactly P38.280 million.

Acknowledgement receipt“After the money was counted,

we issued an acknowledgement receipt. We are acknowledging the receipt of the said amount for turn over to the Bangladesh Bank,” said AMLC Executive Di-rector Abad.

Abad said arrangements are being made with the Bangladesh government for the official turn-over of the funds to the Bangla-desh Bank.

“As far as the AMLC is con-cerned, a bigger amount of money should be recovered from their groups. There’s still much to be returned. The amount of $81 million has been stolen from the Bangladesh Bank and was remit-ted or received by these groups so we have to recover the same amount of money,” she said.

Wong, in his Senate testimony, said two Chinese businessmen

– Gao Shuhua and Ding Zhize – opened the bank accounts at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., where the stolen money was transferred with the help of RCBC Jupiter Street Branch Manager Maia Santos-Deguito.

The blue ribbon committee said it would be difficult to com-pel Gao and Ding to attend the Senate inquiry.

Senator Sergio Osmena 3rd, vice chairman of the committee, said they want Gao and Ding to appear as they have been named as the brains behind the launder-ing of stolen money and their tes-timony is expected to shed light on the matter.

“They [Gao and Ding] must face the Senate and explain why they accepted the money for us to see the entire picture and de-termine who should be charged,” Osmena told a radio interview.

The panel has asked Interpol to track down the two Chinese junket operators.

“We are asking for the coop-eration of the international police agencies. But we are not sure if the Chinese government will co-operate because we don’t have very nice relations with China at this time,” Osmeña noted. n

Kim Wong returns P38M more…PAGE A1 t

three days after the infection and include high fever, vomiting, skin rash, and muscle or joint pain.

The Philippines is one of the countries with the highest cases of dengue fever with 200,000 last year resulting to 600 deaths. About 20,000 cases had been reported this year until Febru-ary 20.

“We are the first country to introduce, adopt and imple-ment the first-ever dengue vac-cine through the public health system and under public school settings,” said Philippine Health Secretary Janette Garin.

Developed by the French phar-maceutical company Sanofi Pas-teur, Dengvaxia was approved last December 2015 in the Phil-ippines and was launched for use in individuals aged 9 to 45. It is estimated that it will cost about 18,000 pesos to treat each den-gue patient and the Philippine government will spend 3.5 billion pesos ($76 million) to administer the free vaccines.

A clinical test performed by the New England Journal of Medicine states that the vaccine reduces the risk of contracting dengue by 65.6 percent, thus preventing hospitalizations by 80 percent.

The World Health Organization

World’s first…

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(650) 616-4150 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • APRIL 8-14, 2016 A�

Dr. Thomas Lee of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) with Apl.de.ap

Apl.de.ap with his spot on the hospital’s celebrity charity wall

(from L-R): Robbie Fabian; Mel Avanzado, Esq.; Fritz Friedman; Ted Benito; Apl.de.ap; Audie Vergara; Dr. Thomas Lee, CHLA; Michael Sampiano, CHLA; Sonia Delen. Photos courtesy of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Dateline USa

FTS is a procedure where the VCMs undergo final testing before they are sealed. The ma-chines will be reopened when it is time for them to be used in ac-tual elections.

Larrazabal noted that FTS is important because it could showcase the possible problems that may happen once the OAV starts.

Around 1.4 million migrant Filipinos have registered for OAV around the world. The Comelec is automating the elections in 30 Philippine posts abroad while the rest will be manual, either by mail or personal voting.

Comelec spokesman James Ji-menez said the poll body is draft-ing the GI and it is expected to be distributed primarily through email by Friday.

“A lot of people are working overtime on that… You have to understand also that the changes will actually affect the use of the receipts,” he added.

Jimenez explained the SBEIs are trained in “a lot of informa-tion needed to conduct the elec-tions properly” and the revised GI will contain information con-cerning the required printing of voter receipts.

“We believe we can dissemi-nate information quickly and disseminate it effectively. By the start of the OAV, we believe our SBEIs will be well equipped to handle the use of the voter re-ceipts,” he added.

He also said that since OAV is a month-long process and does not involve “the deluge of vot-ers” during elections in the Phil-ippines, such endeavor can be achieved.

“It might seem like a very dan-gerous thing right now, (but) it’s actually not an insurmountable problem… I’m not trying to trivi-alize the importance of the GI. All I am saying is that our election workers are not coming into this election with zero knowledge,” he added. n

Non-release of OAV…

Center in Davao.For these efforts, CHLA re-

cently honored Apl with a spot-light on the hospital’s celebrity charity wall, becoming the first Filipino to be recognized.

“[This issue] is close to my heart because I myself am le-gally blind. I know the difficul-ties of growing in the Philippines and with sight [problems], it is 10 times harder,” Apl said dur-ing the unveiling of his spot on the wall on Thursday, March 24. “It’s a privilege, it’s an honor to be part of this mission, and I feel like it’s only the beginning of this partnership.”

Apl.de.ap (whose real name is Allan Pineda Lindo) was raised in Angeles, Pampanga, before he was adopted and moved to Los Angeles to receive treat-ment for nystagmus, a condition that causes involuntary rapid eye movement. On top of having vibrating eyeballs, Apl is near-sighted and legally blind, which all contributed to hindrances to learning and self-esteem and confidence issues growing up.

Sonia Delen, chair of the Campaign for Filipino Children, shared the impact of delivering the RetCam to the Philippines.

“There [were] only four ex-isting RetCams in the Philip-pines prior to the equipment we brought to Davao. It’s the fifth RetCam in the Philippines, for a population of 120 million,” Delen said. “There are at least 34 Ret-Cams in California alone.”

Dr. Thomas Lee, division chief

for the Vision Center at CHLA, added that the foundation has partnered with the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology to train doctors to diagnose and treat ROP. So far over 60 doctors have undergone training.

“What makes this program so wonderful is that we’re go-ing to leverage technology. All the technology that we have on our phones — the cameras and the video — can actually go into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU),” Lee explained. “Once that RetCam is in the NICU, the doctors can treat and diagnose those children appropriately and what’s wonderful is that they can be taught remotely from doctors and experts in Manila, who can then see the training of other Fili-pino doctors in cities like Davao.”

About 30 percent of prema-ture babies in the Philippines develop ROP each year, but by training at least six to 20 medical practitioners in each of the four partner hospitals the foundation has identified, 4,380 premature babies can be saved from the impairment, Lee told the Asian Journal.

Apl.de.ap Foundation Inter-national Executive Director Ted Benito and members of the foundation’s executive commit-tee, Mel Avanzado, Robbie Fa-bian, Fritz Friedman and Audie Vergara were also present at the ceremony.

The foundation is on track to provide RetCams to hospitals in Iloilo and Pampanga later this year.

“[I]n the poverty stricken areas where our kababayans can’t afford to get diagnosed or have their eyes checked, this is definitely very important, es-pecially in the outskirts of the Philippines…,”Apl said. (Chris-tina M. Oriel / AJPress)

Apl.de.ap honored for work combating…PAGE A1 t

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this campaign, have had both our candidates, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, who have shown that they have the right priori-ties. Whether you’ve seen them at debates or out on the trail, the discourse between them, with the voters they’ve reached out to, has been incredible.”

While Dacey did not hint at whether Sanders or Clinton would be the party’s nominee, she said that they have both “run campaigns worthy of the office.”

“I’m confident that one of them will be the 45th President of the United States, but I’m not under-estimating the amount of work that’s going to take,” she added.

Dacey also took a slam at the “divisive politics” of the Repub-lican Party.

“You’re watching the debates on the Republican side and I’m working harder the next day be-cause it’s just unbelievable what you see,” she said, describing some of the Democratic Party’s work to reach out to more millen-nial voters and devote resources to various communities.

Despite the two Democratic candidates sparring over differ-ent views on the campaign trail, Dacey said she expects that sup-porters of either candidate will come together once a nominee is selected.

With four months until Phila-delphia, a contested DNC con-vention is not expected, unlike what many predict may happen in Cleveland at the RNC conven-tion should no presidential can-didate win a majority of the del-egates.

“I’m fully confident that we’ll go through this process — that we’ll have a presumptive nomi-nee going into the convention. Our convention is literally going to be about bringing everybody together, having conversations, holding trainings,” Dacey told reporters. “We want to have out-reach at the convention. It’s a substantive, inclusive process so that when we leave Philly, you’ll see a stark contrast from the week before in Cleveland, where I do think it could potentially be in disarray.”

The DNC’s CEO went on to say that her party is focusing on is-sues that voters care about, es-pecially those relevant to AAPI communities. Among those is-sues Dacey mentioned were the Affordable Care Act, equal pay

and comprehensive immigration form.

“We saw a record turnout from the Asian American com-munity and support of Presi-dent Obama in the 2012 elec-tion cycle. We’ve also seen that 4.5 million Asian Ameri-cans were registered to vote in 2012, so I do think they have a strong voice in this election. I do think that the issues we’re talking about are issues they care about,” she said, adding that various party programs are geared specifically toward AAPI voters and figuring out how AA-PIs acquire information and be-come civically engaged.

Fritz Friedman, a Filipino American who is part of the cre-dentials committee for the DNC’s

DNC CEO emphasizes importance of AAPI…PAGE A1 t

seen the detrimental effects this can cause to the health and well-being of many Filipino families and children facing economic hardship.”

In the Asian community, one business organization says that the wage is expected to hurt for small business owners, particu-larly in the short run.

“Going from $10 to $15, that 50 percent [increase] for a com-pany or small business [is] a big difference,” said Dennis Huang, executive director of the Asian Business Association, a non-profit organization represent-ing Asian American business owners.

One good aspect of the legisla-tion, Huang said, is that the wage increase is mandated statewide, rather than varying in different cities. However, he said he ex-pects that the price of goods for business owners will increase to cover the higher wages, not-ing that businesses compete on these prices. Huang added that

higher wages also equate to in-creased worker’s compensation, which is an additional expense for businesses.

As for the six years businesses are given to pay employees $15 per hour, Huang said it would have been better if companies had more time to meet the wage requirement.

“I think its a good idea to space it out, but I do think it’s a little bit tighter for small businesses. It takes a little time for them to adjust for this,” he said.

Other business owners, like financial adviser Cynthia Tan, whose firm is based in Los An-geles, welcomed the new legis-lation.

“I’m a believer in increasing the minimum wage. I believe in providing benefits. If you take care of your employees they will take care of you,” Tan said.

As a financial adviser, Tan works with business owners to reduce their taxes. She said that although payroll taxes rise along

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Democratic National Committee (DNC) CEO Amy Dacey Photo courtesy of the Democratic National Committee

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APRIL 8-14, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150A� Dateline USa

GIVING BACK. Bangladesh Ambassador John Gomes (left) hands over his donation for the rehabilitation of Loboc Church to former Loboc mayor Leon Calipusan (middle). Businessman Carlos Chan witnessed the turnover held at Jin Jiang Inn in Makati on Monday, April 4. Philstar.com photo

THE Supreme Court on Mon-day, April 4, unanimously upheld that the traditional method in which voting districts are created – based on total population – is constitutional.

The lawsuit that challenged the rule was brought on behalf of Sue Evenwel, a Republican county official from East Texas who claimed that the way indi-viduals are counted when draw-ing districts was “diluting” votes of citizens like herself.

Conservatives wanted districts to be based only on voting-age populations.

“As history, precedent, and practice demonstrate, it is plainly permissible for jurisdictions to measure equalization by the to-tal population of state and local legislative districts,” wrote Jus-tice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the majority decision.

Had the high court ruled oth-erwise in the case (Evenwel vs. Abott), power would have been shifted to Republican, rural dis-tricts, and away from Democratic urban areas, Richard Hasen, an expert in election law at UC Ir-vine Law School, told the Asso-ciated Press. It would have also eliminated many representatives from areas surrounding Los An-geles and Houston where many

SCOTUS upholds law counting total population in voting districts

by Agnes ConstAnteAJPress

are immigrants who aren’t citi-zens.

The decision comes as a victo-ry for the Asian Americans, who constitute about 6 percent of the population in the United States, according to a 2011 report by the Pew Research Center.

“We are pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court agrees that in our democracy, elected officials do not only represent the peo-ple who voted for them or the people who are eligible to vote, but everyone in the community, including children and other not-yet-eligible voters,” Mee Moua, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, said in a state-ment. “Particularly in this elec-tion year, the ruling is a timely reminder that those who cannot or do not vote are still impacted by government: they attend pub-lic schools and universities, walk and drive on public roads, and depend on so many more govern-ment services. This is a huge win for our democracy and today’s decision ensures that all mem-bers of society are represented by our government.”

Stewart Kwoh, president and executive director of Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, noted in a statement that 20 percent of Asian Americans in California – or nearly 1.2 million children and adults – are not yet US citizens.

“Had the Supreme Court ruled that district lines need to be drawn based only on eligible voters, 2.3 million Asian Ameri-cans in California would have been discounted, including im-migrants and youth who are not able to vote,” he said.

Edward Blum, the conservative activist who launched the suit, said he was “disappointed that the justices were unwilling to reestablish the original principle of one person, one vote for the citizens of Texas and elsewhere. But the issue of voter equality in the United States is not going to go away,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

The top court, however, did not vote on whether it would be constitutional for states to adopt such a rule if it chooses to do so. The Obama administration ar-gued such a move would be un-constitutional.

“Whether a state is permitted to use some measure other than total population is an important and sensitive question that we can consider if and when we have before us a state district-ing plan that, unlike the cur-rent Texas plan, uses something other than total population as the basis for equalizing the size of districts,” said Justice Samuel Alito, who concurred with the decision but wrote a separate opinion. n

WITH affirmative action being used as a wedge issue in commu-nities, ethnic community leaders and members are working toward expanding educational access, affordability, and ethnic diversity in public higher education.

“[How] are we going to frame the discourse around education as a public good?” said Betty Hung, policy director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, during the organi-zation’s conference on Wednes-day, March 30, focused on em-powering Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. “Is it truly going to be a good that’s accessible to everyone in this multiracial democracy or is it go-ing to be limited to only a few?”

In a panel discussion, Hung introduced an initiative called “College for All,” which has a five-pillar platform: reinvesting in education, expanding enrollment slots in University of California and California State University systems for eligible California students, promoting the success of the highest need students at the highest need schools with lo-cal control funding formula plus (LCFF+), addressing implicit bias in all schools (including against LGBTQ students and others), and opposing all caps and quotas on admission and enrollment.

LCFF+ was historic legislation signed by California Gov. Brown in 2013 that allocates more re-sources to the state’s neediest schools. Under the law, districts receive a per-pupil base grant, a supplemental grant based on the number of English learner stu-dents, students who come from low-income families and foster youth, and a concentration grant for districts with more than 55 percent of this targeted popula-tion, according to a release.

Community leaders explore ways to expand access to public higher education

by Agnes ConstAnteAJPress

Hung also cited data from the Public Policy Institute of Cali-fornia, which estimates that by 2030, without reinvestment in higher public education, the state will have a shortage of 1.1 million college graduates based on California’s workforce needs.

“I think what we have to rec-ognize is that we retain remnants of policies that were adopted in a different era, chief among those is Proposition 209,” said Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican Ameri-can Legal Defense and Educa-tional Fund.

Proposition 209, also known as the California Civil Rights Ini-tiative, was enacted in 1996 and amended the state Constitution to prohibit public institutions from discriminating based on sex, ethnicity or race.

“But it’s not only the policies we retain,” Saenz added. “I think it’s also common wisdom, ap-proaches to issues and process, that grew out of a different era that we retain even though they no longer serve us well.”

In data presented by Karalee Vaughn, board member of Em-powering Pacific Island Commu-nities, an organization that aims to empower Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) com-munities, Filipinos represented 2 percent of students enrolled in LCFF+ schools, while Hispanics constituted 76 percent. She also shared that 19 percent of NHPIs attend for-profit colleges and that many are targeted by these institutions. Upon graduating, these students face difficulty in finding jobs and have incurred much debt.

Saenz said he sees two ma-jor problems in California with respect to higher education: an inadequate number of seats available in post-secondary in-stitutions compared to the need projected for college graduates

with four-year degrees, and con-tinued inequity.

“[We] continue to use sort-ing and selecting mechanisms for our higher education insti-tutions that have demonstrated biases and, in many cases, were adopted because of those bi-ases, again, to particular student groups. And we have done noth-ing to root out those biases in cri-teria or to significantly affect the biases that play out in differen-tial resource availability and dif-ferential outcomes for students from kindergarten through 12th grade, where you go to school and specifically the socioeco-nomic status of those you go to school with largely determine or predetermine where your out-come is likely to be with respect to higher education,” he said.

The College for All campaign has identified the highest con-centration of LCFF schools, or those with 75 percent or more of students who are low-income English learners or foster care youth, Hung said. She added that there are about 700 high schools with nearly 700,000 LCFF stu-dents, 93 percent of whom are students of color. As part of the platform, College for All calls on more resources for LCFF+ high schools to support students in preparing for college.

Oraiu Amoni, political director of United Teachers Los Angeles, the second-largest teachers union in the nation, shared during the discussion his story as a product of affirmative action. Born and raised in Watts, Amoni went on to attend UC Berkeley in 1994, a transition he said he didn’t think would have been possible with-out affirmative action.

“From a personal perspective, I think it’s important that folks that have come from this envi-ronment or these environments speak up and support these en-deavors,” he said. n

(WHO) was in full support for the use of Dengvaxia in the Philip-pines. “It is the prerogative of a country to license the product (and) determine its use based on the internal scientific appraisal of the clinical research that is un-derpinning the product,” WHO country representative Gundo Weller said.

Health Undersecretary Vicente Belizario told the press that only 27 were reported to develop side effects, proving it was an effec-tive vaccine in contrast to the safety concerns raised by several public health advocates. n

World’s first…PAGE A2 t

with higher wages, businesses are able to write it off on their taxes.

“One of the ways of [reduc-ing taxes] is to increase payroll. The bottom line is, when I talk to different business owners, ul-timately the question is: Who do you want to pay? Uncle Sam? Or would you rather give benefits to the employees?” she said.

In the state legislature, Filipi-no-American Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) who support-ed the move, said the legislation would have a positive effect on Californians living in poverty and

on Filipinos residing in the state.“For small businesses, when

minimum wage earners get more money in their pockets, they’ll be taking that money and spending it in the economy, at retail stores and at Filipino-owned business-es. It will be good for businesses. But overall, it’s more productivity for these workers and employers. It’s healthier employees. These are all good things that small business owners should want. The positive outcomes that stud-ies show far outweigh any nega-tive ones. It’s a win-win for the state of California,” Bonta told the Asian Journal. n

Brown signs $15 minimum…

upcoming convention, lauded the Democratic Party’s outreach to the Filipino-American com-munity in particular.

“A lot of the issues that Amy mentioned are core to the lives of Filipinos and Filipino Ameri-cans, specifically immigration and health care. Also the fact, I find personally, the Democratic Party is much more inclusive than the Republican Party. They understand the issues that are relevant to minority groups, like the Filipino-Americans,” Fried-man told the Asian Journal.

Friedman added that the val-ues of the Filipino-American community align with the Dem-ocratic Party, and that should guide voters come November.

“The bayanihan spirit — we are a community, the Demo-cratic Party is a community. Filipinos and Filipino Americans

take care of family and friends, as does the Democratic Party,” he said. “I think those base, core things are really one of the im-portant reasons why the goals of the Democratic Party align with the goals of Filipino Ameri-cans.”

Even with the party’s confi-dence, Dacey said there is more work to be done in the coming months.

“It’s going to be a tough gen-eral election. I think anybody discounting it because they’re seeing what’s happening on the Republican side, is making a mistake,” she said.

Following the roundtable, Dacey attended a fundraiser with AAPI supporters — which was co-hosted by actor George Takei and attended by elected leaders, such as Rep. Judy Chu, Rep. Ted Lieu and Rep. Mark Takano — and spoke at the Advancing Jus-

tice conference co-hosted by the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation and Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

“[We’re] trying to make sure the [AAPI] community knows that there’s a home for them in the Democratic Party and that they’ll turn out and vote for Democrats in the fall,” she said.

Both Democrats and Repub-licans have continued to reach out to AAPI voters, an electorate considered to double by 2040, reaching 12.2 million, according to a 2015 report from the UCLA Center for the Study of Inequal-ity and Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Stud-ies.

Leading up to California’s pri-mary on June 7, both Clinton and Sanders are expected to con-tinue campaigning in the state, where 475 delegate are at stake. (Christina M. Oriel / AJPress)

DNC CEO emphasizes importance of AAPI…PAGE A3 t

SACRAMENTO – On Monday, April 4, the Assembly Natural Resources Committee passed AB 1550 (Gomez), designed to ensure that the benefits of California’s climate change poli-cies reach the communities and households that need them most. The bipartisan vote was 6-0 with one member not voting. The mea-sure would require a minimum of 25 percent of proceeds from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to be invested in projects located directly within disadvantaged communities and would require that an additional percentage go to fund projects that benefit low income households, regardless of where they are located within California.

Advocates for disadvantaged communities and climate protec-tion hailed the vote:

“Assemblymember Gomez’s bill would assure that the Cali-

Assembly Natural Resources Committee passes bill to expand benefits of clean energy economy

AB 1550 would send more dollars paid by polluters to disadvantaged neighborhoods and low-income households

fornians most at risk from cata-strophic climate change receive real help from programs that fight pollution and deliver need-ed services,” said Bill Magavern, Policy Director for the Coalition for Clean Air, who spoke on be-half of the legislation at today’s hearing.

“Millions of Californians have benefitted from climate invest-ments bringing clean energy and consumer savings to low-income and highly polluted neighbor-hoods,” said Greenlining Institute Environmental Equity Director Alvaro Sanchez, who also testi-fied in favor of the bill. “AB 1550 takes the next step and makes sure a fair share of those benefits go to low-income California fami-lies wherever they live.”

Chelsea Tu, Staff Attorney with Public Advocates, said, “By directing investments to lower-income families, whether or not

they live in disadvantaged com-munities, this important bill goes a long way toward ensuring that the Greenhouse Gas Reduc-tion Fund brings economic and health benefits to communities throughout California. We ap-plaud its advance through the legislature.”

“We have an opportunity here to improve the quality of life of all Californians by investing in the neighborhoods who are en-during the most severe poverty, in addition to the most polluted neighborhoods in the state,” said Parin Shah, Senior Strategist at Asian Pacific Environmental Network.”These are the commu-nities, such as the families that we organize near the Richmond Chevron Refinery, that will most benefit from improvements in renewable energy, affordable housing and public transit.” (Greenlining)

PAGE A3 t

(650) 616-4150 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • APRIL 8-14, 2016 A�

Dateline PhiliPPines

MANILA—It was tough luck and they are sorry for the crippling blackout, transport and airport of-ficials said on Tuesday, April 5, even as they brushed aside calls for their resignation.

Manila International Airport Au-thority (MIAA) general manager Jose Angel Honrado attributed to bad luck the blackout at the Termi-nal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino Interna-tional Airport (NAIA) on Saturday night, April 2.

The incident led to the cancella-tion of 82 local flights and delays in at least four international flights, but Honrado said he has “no plans to resign.”

“Sorry, minalas kami,” he told a press conference.

He said the airport generators did not function as well as ex-pected, failing to provide enough power to run the lighting, air-traf-fic control, elevator and escalator, conveyor and almost a dozen other systems.

Honrado blamed the poor pre-ventive maintenance of all 10 standby generator sets.

“Instead of jolting automatically through the automatic transfer switch in five to 10 seconds, the gensets failed such that they had to be manually started. When they came to life, the required power to activate the lighting system was found to be insufficient,” Honrado narrated.

Honrado, along with senior as-sistant general manager Vicente Guerzon and Terminal 3 manager Octavio Lina, rushed to Malaca-ñang the other day to meet with President Aquino, who admon-ished them and ordered that the incident that affected at least 14,000 passengers should not happen again.

Liberal Party presidential can-didate Mar Roxas said heads must roll over the embarrassing power outage that hit Terminal 3 as he called for a thorough and impar-tial investigation to determine exactly what happened, including the accountability of concerned officials.

“Where was the tripping? Why was this (power outage) not im-mediately addressed... because the system was supposed to have back-up and double back-up gen-erators, so this should not have

Transport Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and MIAA general manager Jose Angel Honrado during a recent inaugural flight at the NAIA-3. President Benigno Aquino III has been urged to fire and punish those responsible for the five-hour airport blackout at Terminal 3. Philstar.com photo by Rudy Santos

Bad luck blamed for NAIA blackoutby Rudy SantoS

Philstar.com

happened,” Roxas told reporters. He wanted “those responsible

fired, punished and reprimand-ed,” stressing that politics should not come into play in sanctioning officials.

The NAIA is under the Depart-ment of Transportation and Com-munications that is headed by Sec-retary Joseph Emilio Abaya, the LP secretary general.

Senator and vice presidential bet Alan Peter Cayetano called for the dismissal of Abaya for “un-paralleled level of incompetence” following the blackout that hit Terminal 3 of the NAIA until early Sunday.

The lawmaker questioned in a statement what makes Abaya “so special that despite his series of monumental blunders, Malaca-ñang can’t seem to sack him?”

He said the blunders at the De-partment of Transportation and Communications include special screws, overcharging of non-de-livered stickers, late license plates and no available driver’s licenses, frequent MRT breakdowns, aban-doned license plates at the Bureau of Customs, stolen plate sheets and now airport blackouts.

In a text message, Abaya said: “We continue to be focused on our work, and right now that includes ensuring that a similar incident will not happen at NAIA.”

The “DOTC ineptitude is so me-teoric that it borders on the crimi-nal. Worse, it not only victimizes our people but our foreign guests as well. It’s a continuing interna-tional embarrassment,” Cayetano

said. He urged Abaya to show com-

passion to his department’s rank-and-file employees by saving them from further ridicule and ire from the public.

Vice presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also called for Abaya’s resignation. He de-scribed the latter as a “disappoint-ment.”

He also called for the resigna-tion of MIAA’s Honrado, whom he described as someone who does not know his job.

The airport blackout, Marcos added, is just one of many inci-dents that show the “incompe-tence of the people at the DOTC.”

Overseas Filipino workers’ ad-vocate and senatorial candidate Susan Ople also pressed for a com-prehensive “vulnerability check” on all international and domestic airports nationwide.

“That calamitous power outage may have branded NAIA as among the world’s most vulnerable air-ports, thus catching the interest of international terror groups,” Ople said in a statement.

She said the DOTC must imme-diately conduct a comprehensive sweep of all airports and seaports to ensure all security features, in-cluding emergency power supply, are up and running.

Ople is concerned that the re-cent problems at the DOTC will create a lingering effect on the mindset of both foreign and do-mestic tourists. (With Mike Fri-alde, Robertzon Ramirez, Mayen Jaymalin, Louella Desiderio)

Demonstrators from various towns in North Cotabato face members of the PNP at the national highway in KIdapawan City on Wednesday, April 6. An estimated 6000 protesters blocked the highway which caused traffic to ground to a halt between the city and the areas of Davao and Cotabato. Inquirer.net photo by Williamor A. Magbanua

BAGUIO CITY—Actors and so-cial media donors donated more food to the hungry in North Cota-bato than this administration, said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes at the opening of the 10th Congress of the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advance-ment of Government Employees (Courage) on Tuesday, April 5.

Reyes cited the sacks of rice donated by actor Robin Pa-dilla and celebrity siblings Ann and Jasmine Curtis to farmers, who lost three colleagues in a violent dispersal of protesters in Kidapawan City on April 1.

He also said online donors of-fered to send money to the farm-ers.

Reyes said the farmers were hungry, but all the local govern-ment could offer were three kilos of rice—not three sacks as earlier

Bayan: Actors, Facebook users gave more to hungry Cotabato farmers than Aquino gov’t

by Vincent cabRezaInquirer.net

reported—for each farmer to be acquired from their respective mayors.

He said the elections have been used as cover by the local governments, who claimed that

handing out rice in a campaign period would violate government audit laws.

He spoke to various state employees representing all re-gions.

Although the Laude family was relieved after the court denied Pemberton’s appeal, they did not welcome the reduction of his sentence.

“We are not pleased with the lighter penalty granted,” Roque said as he stressed that the pen-alty of six to 10 years still dis-qualifies Pemberton from seek-ing parole.

Judge Roline Jines-Jabalde of the Olongapo RTC Branch 74 said that Pemberton’s jail sen-tence should be lowered by two years due to mitigating circum-stances of passion and intoxica-tion, according to reports.

“The accused shall suffer six years to 10 years in prison with full credit for the period of his preventive imprisonment pursu-ant to Article 29 of the Revised Penal Code,” the ruling read.

The court originally ordered Pemberton’s detention at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City after a ruling on March 29, affirming the decision to convict him of homicide.

Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton. Photo from Olongapo City Police

Olongapo court junks Pemberton’s bail please, reduces jail sentence to 10 years

by ian JamotilloAJPress

THE Olongapo Regional Trial Court (RTC) on Monday, April 4, dismissed the petition for bail and motion for reconsideration of convicted US Marine Lance Cor-poral Joseph Scott Pemberton for the death of Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude. The dismissal, however, led the court to reduce his sentence from 12 to 10 years in prison.

“Wherefore in view of the foregoing, the Partial Motion for Reconsideration of the decision promulgated on 01 December 2015 and the Motion to be Ad-mitted Bail pending motion for reconsideration are DENIED for lack of merit,” a portion of RTC Branch 74’s decision reads.

The murder occurred last Oc-tober 11, 2014, when Laude met Pemberton, a US Marine from Boston, Massachusetts, at the Ambyanz disco bar in Olongapo. Thirty minutes after checking in at Celzone Lodge, Pemberton left the motel and the staff found

Laude’s naked body near the toi-let bowl. Autopsy revealed that “asphyxiation by drowning” was the cause of death.

Harry Roque, the private law-yer of Laude’s family stated, “we are happy that Pemberton’s Mo-tion for Reconsideration was not fully granted, and we are happy that the decision remains—that Pemberton is guilty of killing Laude.”

APRIL 8-14, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150A�

“A big country with vital interests in Asia, the United States should first clarify the targets of its Pivot to Asia strategy, which so far has featured no more than unscrupulous inconsistency be-tween fear-mongering deeds and peace-loving words.” China’s official news agency Xinhua said in a commentary.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) dismissed China’s warning saying that the two-week event is not in any way related to the impasse in the South China Sea.

“It’s not focused on a particular incident but rather capacitating our armed forces to deal with a whole lot of exigencies,” said Vice Admiral Alexander Lopez, western command chief and exercise di-rector for the Philippine side of the Balikatan 2016, in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo on Monday, April 4.

Australian troops will also participate in the Ba-likatan exercises, while other countries, including Japan, Canada, and other Southeast Asian states, will observe the activities.

The bilateral relationship between the United States and the Philippines shares a long history. It began during the first half of the 20th centu-ry, when the Philippines became a US colony. In

1946, the Americans ultimately recognized Philip-pine independence and surrendered full author-ity, supervision, and sovereignty of the country to the Filipinos. Since then, the Philippine-American ties remained intact up to this day through the Mutual Defense Treaty Act of 1951. Since the in-ception of the treaty, both countries mutually ben-efitted from each other’s sources and locations.

With the Balikatan exercises still ongoing, the ties have remained sacred, especially since the US is the largest source of military aid for the Philippines.

This commitment to help defend each other from the aggravation of

external forces is proven at present after the US expressed its support to the Philippines amid the rising tension between over the rights of Spratlys Islands which is believed to have rich reserves of oil and natural gas.

Coincidence or not, both the Philippines and the US stand to benefit in these military exercises, not only to improve their enduring relationship, but to be ready just in case a belligerent scenario arises. This relationship is bound by humanitarian values and moral responsibility to ensure peace and security not just for their own people, but for every citizen of the world. (AJPress)

OpiniOn Features

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Wisconsin primary: Game changer in US politics?ManilaTimes.net photo

Editorial

CoincidenceDESPITE a stern warning by China, this year’s anticipated Balikatan

(shoulder-to-shoulder) military exercises among 9,000 American and Fili-pino forces, pushed through. The Balikatan exercises, which began this week, will feature war exercises, naval drills and humanitarian activities.

HILLARY CLINTON and DONALD TRUMP -- they are the front-runners in the Democratic and Republican races, respectively. But the voters in Wiscon-sin delivered a divergent verdict in their primary elections last Tuesday, April 5, favoring Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Let us discuss how crucial the Wis-consin primary may be as each party chooses its nominee for president.

Republican Party Leading up to the Wisconsin primary,

Donald Trump experienced perhaps the most challenging weeks of his cam-paign. The Republican Party establish-ment has been openly trying to stop his momentum, and some GOP elites have given full support to Ted Cruz.

Trump has been criticized after he said in an interview that women who

have had an abortion -- when it is illegal -- will have to be punished. This statement is incongru-ous to the GOP’s position that women are victims in this situation, and that the medical practitioners shall be the ones who will have to be punished for per-forming the abortion. Trump changed his position three times in a span of three hours, raising doubts about his policies.

Trump was also hit hard for his for-eign policy position when he said coun-tries like Japan or South Korea should be allowed to build nukes to protect their own security, a policy that negates the goal of the international community to make the world safer by aiming to make

it nuke-free.Cruz’s victory in

Wisconsin, makes it harder for Trump to get the magi-cal 1,237 delegate number he needs before the Repub-lican National Con-vention in July.

If Trump does not reach 1,237, he may have to hurdle a contested conven-tion, where the party will implement rules that may nominate another can-didate, despite him winning the most number of states.

Democratic Party Bernie Sanders’s victory in Wisconsin

is his seventh win in the past eight pri-mary contests over front-runner Hillary Clinton. This victory may continue to

give Sanders the momentum to win in the delegate-rich state of New York on April 19, which may snowball to Califor-nia and other states.

Sanders was born in Brooklyn, New York, but Hillary Clinton has made New York her adoptive state. She owns a home there and has served as senator before she was appointed Secretary of State by President Barack Obama.

Through Clinton has kept the lead over Sanders in New York, such lead has been diminishing, and may turn the table toward a Sanders victory.

Political analysts say if Sanders con-tinues to win in the remaining states with at least 60 percent, he may have the chance to overtake Clinton’s dele-gate lead and reach the 2,383 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.

If Sanders falls short of the major-

ity vote, he may still potentially prevent Clinton from getting the magic number 2,383, which means they both go to a contested convention.

Part of Clinton’s lead in the del-egate math is the heavy support she has been getting from superdelegates (party-elected officials, not ordinary voters). Bernie Sanders’s strategy is to convince these superdelegates to shift their votes to him if the voters of states they represent choose Sanders as their nominee.

ABANGAN!* * *

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

Gel SantoS-ReloS

The Fil-Am Perspective

RiGobeRto tiGlao

Commentary

Grace Poe demonstrating her acting acumen, behaving as though there were no cameras surrounding her.

Candidate Poe is an inveterate liarher whom he hates intensely but inexplicably – Gloria Arroyo.

That her adoptive parents were thespians should alert us. Actors and actresses have that knack, which we, ordinary mortals, don’t have, of pretending to be somebody other than one’s self, which is both the definition of acting and lying. Poe obviously learned that skill as she starred in a few movies with her father when she was a kid.

If you have observed how the motherly and calm Susan Roces suddenly took the role of an an-gry wife rousing the masses after her husband lost in the elections, you would know what I mean. An actor’s or an actress’ skill is that he or she could be surrounded by cameras doing the most per-sonal things, yet act as though the lenses were not there. Poe certainly demonstrated that skill when she was deep in worship during the recent Holy Week, but didn’t mind at all the cameramen surrounding her, their cameras nearly bumping her face.

Even Poe’s official website gra-cepoe.ph is scanty on details and exaggerates things too much, that they become outright lies.

The 13 years she spent in the US since 1991 were described in just one sentence, really: “She moved to the US to join her hus-band in 1991. There, she taught geography and math to pre-school children, then worked in the scientific technologies field until 2004.”

What she claims she taught is so hilarious, really: she “taught geography and math to pre-school children.” What? Did she teach at Xavier School for Gift-ed Youngsters of X-Men fame,

where genius-toddlers study ge-ography and mathematics?

She’s obviously lying, and she hasn’t denied posts on social media that she applied for certi-fication to teach in preschool but failed the exams. She was merely an assistant to a certified pre-school teacher, and her job was just to watch over them and play with them, a glorified nanny.

That she worked “in the scien-tific technologies field until 2004” is such a stretch of her actual ex-perience that it becomes simply a lie, unless she is a genius who got a political science degree, yet worked in “scientific technolo-gies field.” One fawning article on her reported that she worked “as a procurement liaison with the United States Geological Sur-vey in 1998 and as product man-ager for CSC Scientific.”

Going by her track record of exaggerating things, I would bet that what she called “procure-ment liaison” is really a purchas-ing clerk.

Why doesn’t she make public her job descriptions issued by these entities, which are com-mon documents issued by com-panies to their staff?

CSC Scientific, a company selling equipment to measure moisture, according to its web-site, is a company with a staff of only nine, excluding clerks and cleaners, of course. There is no “product manager” in its staff. The position, which might fit this job description, is called “Prod-uct Specialist” and there are two of them, one being Tam Nguyen, who is of Vietnamese ethnicity and has been with the company since 1989.

The CSC website does list a

Llamanzares still there, Michael Llamanzares, described as every-body’s back-up, “the go-to guy for questions regarding invoices, credit references, or payments.” Michael is Grace’s brother-in-law, who, I was told, was respon-sible for getting Grace into CSC Scientific as his assistant.

I am, of course, not demean-ing such low-ranked jobs. But to elect a President who would have the biggest role in determining the fate of 100 million souls with such limited work experience? Poe’s experience wouldn’t even get her a supervisor’s job at SM or a mayoralty post in some god-forsaken town.

We will be the world’s laughing stock if Poe ever wins the presi-dency: somebody who renounced her citizenship to become a US citizen, who then renounced her American citizenship to run for the presidency. In any other na-tion on the face of this planet, and include there the most illiterate and the poorest, such candidate would be immediately thrown out as a political and cultural aberra-tion. There has been no nation on the face of this earth whose Presi-dent was once a citizen of any other nation.

Poe has the temerity to seek the presidency only because she knows that as in her case, nation-alism is at its lowest point in our country, and for many, citizen-ship is just for convenience.

What has become of our coun-try, when somebody like Poe, who renounced being Filipino and has so little work experi-ence, could even be considered for the presidency, and has even become the leading contender? (ManilaTimes.net)

AND I won’t even discuss her lies regarding the point in her life when she stopped being a US citizen, and when she estab-lished this country as her domi-cile, as my colleague Kit Tatad has already compressively writ-ten about that.

What is scandalous in Grace Poe-Llamanzares’ high ratings in voter-preferential polls is that those who choose her don’t even know who she really is. All they know is that she’s the adoptive daughter of a once-upon-a-time action hero, she’s the comely mestiza next door, talks well, and says things voters like to hear.

We don’t even know much about her husband Neil Teodoro Misael (“Neil) Llamanzares, who would obviously play a key role in her administration. What exactly, year by year, was Neil doing in the US? What is his precise job and where is he now?

In contrast to her, we know a lot about Vice President Jejomar Binay, Rodrigo Duterte and Man-uel Roxas, as they have been in government service for more than two decades, whose lives conse-quently have been under public scrutiny one way or another.

This is not the case with Poe-Llamanzares, who suddenly popped up in the Philippines after her adoptive father died, and the vengeful, petty Presi-dent Aquino later making her the chief film and TV censor in some perverse gratitude that her father ran in the 2004 elections against

(650) 616-4150 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • APRIL 8-14, 2016 A�Dateline PhiliPPines

COLD CASH. Philippine and Bangladeshi officials pose with the money turned over by casino junket operator Kim Wong. Wong returned P38.28 million to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) on Monday in addition to the $4.63 million he surrendered last week as part of the funds stolen by hackers from the Bangladesh central bank. ManilaTimes.net photo

MANILA—The so-called Pana-ma Papers can serve as guide to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in its tax investigations, the agency’s chief said.

“I have not read the Panama Papers yet, but if ever, it is a guide for the BIR where to look to determine if there is any tax liability or not,” Commissioner Kim Henares told The Star.

While there have been no Fili-pinos named in the “Panama pa-pers” contrary to earlier reports, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) is expected to release details in the coming days regarding per-sonalities and institutions that have moved their wealth to tax havens.

In 2013, ICIJ released a sepa-rate investigation into offshore holdings, including those of Ilo-cos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, her three sons, and Sen. Joseph Vic-tor Ejercito.

Henares said the Panama Pa-pers provide another reason for the Philippines to revisit its laws on bank secrecy and anti-money laundering.

Current laws, she said, include tax breaks that are “available to the rich to avoid payment of taxes.”

“We should lift the bank secre-cy law for tax purposes to make sure there is a way for the BIR to monitor people to comply with their tax liabilities, make tax eva-sion a predicate crime for money laundering and rationalize fiscal incentives,” she said.

The global report, which has sparked investigations by gov-ernments from Europe to Asia, comes at a time when the Phil-ippines is trying to deal with its own money laundering case in-volving $81 million.

Hackers—allegedly Chinese—stole the amount from the Ban-gladesh Bank account in the US Federal Reserve.

The money ended up in spuri-ous accounts in the Rizal Com-mercial Banking Corp. and later in casinos in Manila.

Senate hearings on the case resumed. The Anti-Money Laun-dering Council has yet to com-plete its own probe.

Nestor Espenilla Jr., deputy governor of the Bangko Sen-tral ng Pilipinas, said banks are required to have “enhanced” know-your-customer (KYC) reg-ulations when dealing with shell companies.

These entities, according to the ICIJ, acted as “shadow com-panies” for personalities such as

BIR: Panama Papers could prompt tax probeby Prinz Magtulis

Philstar.com

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to hide their wealth from tax au-thorities.

“This means more than the normal KYC for both the entity and the beneficial owner, upon account opening,” Espenilla said in a separate text message.

“After account opening, trans-actions of high-risk customers such as these entities are subject to constant monitoring by banks for unusual activities,” he added.

On the government side, Hena-res reiterated the importance of exchange of information among different jurisdictions, which naturally fear getting blacklisted and thus are likely to be coopera-tive.

Currently, none of the 132 members of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information is on the blacklist, although countries are in differ-ent stages of implementing auto-matic information exchange.

The Philippines, through Re-public Act 10021 of 2010, allows tax information exchange, but only with prior request from an interested country.

Henares sits as vice-chair of the multilateral group drafting the treaty on Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS), which would give governments more power to tax cross-border and online transactions.

The Tax Management Associa-tion of the Philippines (TMAP), the industry group of tax practi-tioners, said earlier a BEPS treaty could help track down wealth in tax havens once implemented.

TMAP president Benedict Tu-gonon batted for lower income taxes supposedly to deter people

“I have not read the Panama Papers yet, but if ever, it is a guide for the BIR where to look to determine if there is any tax liability or not,” Commissioner Kim Henares told The Star. Philstar.com photo

THE DEPARTMENT of For-eign Affairs (DFA) has removed the illustration of the Philippine map from the new design of the electronic passport (e-passport) to be released next month due to the “political sensitivity” of the issues surrounding the South China Sea.

Foreign Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Frank Ci-mafranca told the Inquirer: “We had to remove the map because the issue (of the territorial dis-putes in the South China Sea) is politically sensitive.”

DFA removes PH map from new passportsby EstrElla torrEs

Inquirer.netThe interagency meeting

that evaluated and approved the passport design decided to remove the map because it did not accurately reflect the extent of the Philippine territory as de-fined in the Constitution.

The Philippines, China, Ma-laysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Brunei all have claims to islands and atolls in the South China Sea west of the Philippines. The Philippines has filed a case against China’s encroachments in the arbitral court in The Hague.

Cimafranca said the e-pass-port was redesigned in order to upgrade its security features.

The microchips imbedded in the passport were upgraded to ensure secure travel for Filipino travelers.

The new security features such as the Intaglio secure printing technology are in line with the standards of the Inter-national Civil Aviation Technol-ogy (ICAO) of the United Na-tions.

The new passport, a copy of which was shown to the In-quirer features the lyrics of the national anthem and illustra-tions of tourist spots like the Banaue rice terraces and icons like the Philippine eagle on its pages.

and companies from hiding their earnings abroad.

“Lowering personal income tax rates in the Philippines may encourage Filipinos to voluntari-ly report their foreign income... or transfer their legitimate in-vestments abroad to the Philip-pines,” he said in a text message last Monday.

But Henares rejected this. “I think if it is just lowering tax rates, mathematically, it will re-sult in lower tax collection,” she said.

“I believe the basic complaint of people is that the compensa-tion income earners are paying more than the businessmen and the rich. Therefore, lowering tax rate will not answer this,” she added.

Meanwhile, Ejercito said his being accused of keeping off-shore holdings was a “rehashed issue” dredged up by his political enemies.

“It always crops up during the election period,” he said, refer-ring to the ICIJ report.

“I don’t deny that (ICIJ report). Before I became a politician, I was a businessman first and that was 20 years ago – that is outside politics,” he said.

Ejercito said he found it baf-fling that of the 500 individuals found with suspicions offshore accounts, only he and members of the Marcos family were men-tioned in the ICIJ report.

He claimed a political foe who is a “mining magnate” could be behind the release of the report.

“They have their own law firms, PR firms... so if they want to demolish us they can,” he said. (With Non Alquitran)

THE United States and the Philippines began the annual “Balikatan” exercises on Mon-day, April 4, after China issued a warning against “outside in-terference” in relation to the ongoing territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

Over 8,000 US and Filipino troops, including 80 Australian forces, will participate in the 11-day war games dubbed as “Ba-likatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder), from April 4 to 15. The military drills will involve several intense exercises including simulation events, an amphibious landing and strengthening the combat skills of the soldiers.

“The Balikatan exercise is de-signed not to address a particu-lar concern but the whole lump in the spectrum of warfare,” Vice Admiral Alexander Lopez, Philip-pine military exercise director, said in a news conference.

China’s state media, Xinhua, recently reported about the Chinese government warning outsiders entering the disputed islands in the South China Sea, which the country is claiming.

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter is scheduled to visit the Philippines next week to observe the annual Balikatan exercises and monitor several US navy ships. He will be the first top US defense official to observe

US-PH Balikatan exercises beginas China issues warning

by ian JaMotilloAJPress

SHOULDER-TO-SHOULDER. United States and Philippine officials link arms during the Balikatan opening ceremonies on Monday, April 4. US and Philippine troops began major exercises on Monday as China’s state media warned “outsiders” against interfering in tense West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) territorial disputes. (L-R) Vice Admiral Alexander Lopez, Foreign Undersecretary Evan Garcia, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, US Ambassador Philip Goldberg, Armed Forces chief Gregorio Pio Catapang, and Brig. Gen. Christopher J. Mahoney, US Exercise Deputy Director.

the war games after the two al-lies started holding joint military exercises. Carter’s visit concurs with the implementation of a new military agreement between the two countries, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and will be highlighting this year’s Balikatan.

“Our alliance is strong. The United States is committed to this relationship and these are not empty words.... peace in Southeast Asia depends on our cooperation,” Lieutenant-Gen-eral John Toolan, commander of US Marine Corps forces in the Pacific told Philippine media. He also added that the exercises would help the allies improve maritime security and maintain regional stability.

The ongoing territorial dis-pute includes several islands in the South China Sea namely the Paracels Islands, the Pratas Islands, Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands. Brunei, Ma-laysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the wa-ters, in which the Philippines has sought international arbitration on the disputed islands.

Major General Rodolfo San-tiago, assistant exercise director, however, said that the drills were designed to practice “generic scenario[s]” and were not target-ed toward any specific country, in the midst of China’s aggres-sion in the South China Sea. n

APRIL 8-14, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150A�

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(650) 616-4150 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • APRIL 8-14, 2016 CJ�

COMMUNITYJ o u r n a l

Atty. RobeRt Reeves RAfAel toRRes, IIIAnd nAncy e. MIlleR

Your ImmigrationSolution

AS the world continues to suf-fer from tumultuous conflicts and wars, there are people in many countries who are victims of persecution and might desire to seek safety outside their home country. The United States ac-cepts applications for asylum or refugee status from those people fleeing their home country due to their fear of persecution based on specific protected grounds. The process of applying for, and receiving, asylum or refugee sta-tus is complicated and constantly evolving. Thus, any person po-tentially interested in seeking asylum or refugee status should consult a knowledgeable and ex-perienced immigration attorney to navigate this path to relief.

The terms asylum and refuge are not interchangeable. They refer to distinct avenues of re-lief based on the location of the person applying for relief. If the applicant is outside the United States, they would apply for refu-gee status and their application would be adjudicated while the applicant remains outside the United States. If the applicant is within the boundaries of the United States, the person would apply for asylum status and their application would usually be ad-judicated while the applicant re-mains inside the United States. Employment authorization may become available to the appli-cant for asylum if their asylum application remains pending before the United States Citizen-ship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) for a requisite period of time. One year after having been granted asylum, the asylee may apply for a green card.

The protected grounds upon which a claim for asylum or refu-gee status may be made are the same for both programs. There are five, and they are: 1. Race, 2. Religion, 3. Nationality, 4. Membership in a Particular So-

Recent developmentsin asylum

cial Group, and 5. Political Opin-ion. An applicant may base their claim in one or a combination of the above-enumerated protected grounds. To illustrate, we can consider the following hypotheti-cal.

An indigenous person is on their way home from a religious ceremony and suffers a violent attack. During the attack, the persecutor(s) makes racist and derogatory comments about the indigenous person’s race and threatens the indigenous person with additional violence if the in-digenous person ever returns to practice their religion.

In the above hypothetical, the indigenous person might ap-ply for asylum or refugee status based on a combination of the protected grounds of race, reli-gion, and possibly membership in a particular social group of na-tive indigenous persons. As can be seen in this relatively short hypothetical, possible legal argu-ments in support of the person’s claim may become quite compli-cated.

One protected ground that has recently received attention from the courts is the protected ground of Membership in a Par-ticular Social Group. On March 21, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit published a decision in the mat-ter of Ramirez-Munoz v. Lynch regarding a claim of Mexican citizens about their fear of perse-cution based on membership in a particular social group of “imput-ed wealthy Americans.” In this case, the Court found that the proposed group was not cogni-zable. In other words, the group as defined was not recognized as a viable protected ground for a claim of relief in the form of asy-lum. This does not mean that a different definition for a similar group might not be valid par-ticular social group. In another

venue, the Board of Immigration Appeals is currently accepting amicus curiae, also known as “friend of the court,” briefs on the issue of whether immediate family members, such as hus-bands and wives and their chil-dren, can be considered a cog-nizable particular social group. Amicus curiae briefs are those that are submitted by a person or a group who is not involved in the case pending before the court, but who has a strong inter-est in the subject matter of the case and desire to influence the court’s decision.

The nuances within each pos-sible claim need careful analy-sis in order to provide the best chances for success. In addition, the evidence submitted in sup-port of the claim must be strong enough to persuade the asylum officer that the applicant has a well-founded fear of harm if they return home. It is important to remember that immigration law is constantly in flux and a claim that might not have been viable in the past may well be approved under current law. Any non-citi-zen who fears being harmed if they return to their home country should consult a knowledgeable and experienced immigration at-torney to determine if they are eligible to apply for asylum.

***Atty. Reeves has represented clients in numerous landmark immigration cases that have set new policies regarding INS action and immigrants’ rights. His offices are located in Pasadena, Irvine, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Makati City. Telephone: (800) 795-8009 E-mail: immigration@rreeves.com Website: www.rreeves.com.

***The analysis and suggestions offered in this column do not create a lawyer-client relationship and are not a substitute for the personalized representation that is essential to every case. (Advertising Supplement)

MANILA — Government agen-cies have vowed to step up ef-forts in implementing programs that would spur the resurgence of the country’s manufacturing sector.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said key agencies involved in the Manufacturing Resurgence Program (MRP) have committed “to double their ef-forts in vigorously implementing programs and projects that will propel the country’s manufac-turing sector to further upgrade, thrive and become catalysts and

BUSINESSMAN Manuel Villar Jr. is bringing his group’s memo-rial park business under Golden Haven Memorial Park Inc. to a stock market debut.

Based on a regulatory filing at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Golden Haven plans to raise as much as P787 million through the sale of 74.117 mil-

Villar’s cemetery business to raise P787M from IPO

engines for sustained and inclu-sive growth.”

These agencies include the DTI which serves as lead coordinating agency, Board of Investments, Department of Labor and Em-ployment, Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Agricul-ture (DA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority , National Electrification Admin-istration (NEA), National Power Corp. (Napocor) and the Philip-pine Coconut Authority.

Following a meeting last week, the DTI said the MRP-implement-ing government agencies agreed to work closer in pursuing more projects seen relevant and criti-

cal to the manufacturing indus-try’s growth and development to become globally competitive.

“The growth of the manufac-turing sector has been very en-couraging especially in the last five years. With this as the on-going trend, there is high prob-ability that the growth of the manufacturing industry will be sustained in the coming years,” Trade Assistant Secretary Rafa-elita Aldaba said.

The MRP aims to improve the existing capacity of indus-tries, strengthen new ones, and maintain the competitiveness of industries with comparative ad-

uPAGE CJ3

uPAGE CJ2

by Doris Dumlao-abaDillaInquirer.net

by richmonD s. mercurioPhilstar.com

APRIL 8-14, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150CJ� Community Journal

The CTVFiles

Atty. LiLLi B. BAcuLi

lion new common shares at a maximum price of P10.62 per share. Golden Haven proposed to be listed on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Asian Alliance Investment Corp. was mandated by the Vil-lar group as issue manager and lead underwriter.

Golden Haven intends to use the proceeds to fund its acqui-sition, growth and expansion strategies, expand existing death care facilities, working capital and other products and services. It is also planning to develop existing memorial parks, pursue more land acqui-sition and construct new memo-rial chapels and crematory fa-cilities within the Golden Haven Las Piñas Park.

Villar’s cemetery business to raise P787M from…Golden Haven was established

in 1984, initially operating on a two-hectare lot in Las Piñas. It opened another memorial park in Cebu in 2003, in Cagayan De Oro in 2008, Zamboanga in 2009, (Santuario de San Ezekiel Moreno) in Las Piñas in 2011 and Iloilo in 2013.

Based on its website, it plans to open another memorial park in Bulacan.

Golden Haven described its parks as “lush with verdant greens and manicured lawns on rolling terrains” and “dotted with acacia trees that bask in the warmth of the sun” in order to provide “quiet solitude” to grieving families.

Villar is among 11 billionaires from the Philippines who made it to Forbes Magazine’s roster of

wealthiest people on the planet. A real estate magnate and a for-mer senator and presidential as-pirant, Villar focused on growing Vista Land & Lifescapes (VLL) af-ter losing to President Aquino in the 2010 presidential elections.

The 65-year-old businessman has an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.

Recently, the Villar group consolidated its shopping mall arm Starmalls with flagship Vis-ta Land & Lifescapes.

The memorial park business under Golden Haven is among the privately held businesses of the group. The Villar family also has retailing businesses (depart-ment store chain AllHome, con-venience store chain All Day, fashion store AllShoppe), schools and hospital (VitaCare). n

PAGE CJ1 t

ALL we need is love, says a love song. Love will keep us alive, says another. Unfortu-nately, real life is not a three-and-a-half minute power-ballad love song. Love and marriage in the real world involves trying to put order in the chaos of work, maintaining a home, and raising a family all the while maintain-ing the relationship between husband and wife. Sometimes, divorce happens.

The following seeks to address or clarify some common miscon-ceptions about divorce.

“What if my husband/wife does not want to sign the divorce?” or “My husband/wife does not want to sign the divorce papers, what can I do?” California is a no-fault divorce state. A party filing for di-vorce does not need the consent of the other in order to file a Peti-tion for Dissolution (Divorce) or, in some instances, to get a judg-ment of divorce.

Perhaps the confusion lies in the part where the other party (your soon-to-be ex-spouse) needs to be served with process. In proceeding in an action for divorce, there are procedural re-quirements dictated by law that must be followed to ensure that the other party has notice of the action (that is, that s/he is being brought to court for an action of divorce) and that s/he is given time to respond. However, there is no

California divorce 101requirement for the other party to respond. There is no requirement that s/he sign any document at all. All that needs to happen is that s/he is properly served with process according to the rules.

“What? I have to share my re-tirement earnings? This is mine, I worked hard for it!!” Generally, all of your assets prior the mar-riage is just your own separate property. However, California is a community property state and so once you get married, all property acquired during mar-riage is community property. And if anything out of the com-munity property is used towards separate property, the communi-ty might turn out to have a claim on part(s) of separate property. Separate property are “all prop-erty acquired before marriage; all gifts, bequests, devise, or de-scents. All property acquired or exchanged with traceable sepa-rate property; and all property acquired after separation.”

“S/he is the one who left our family. I shouldn’t have to pay support.” Again, California is a no-fault divorce state. There is no assignment of blame or fault; fault does not factor in the equation in the issue of support. Some of the factors that the Court will look at to determine whether there is ba-sis for support, and if so, in what amount, are – length of marriage, age of parties, if there are minor children in the marriage, income of both parties.

“I’m smart enough to handle my own divorce. Why do I need an attorney?” You don’t need an attorney. There is no require-

ment that you must have an at-torney. However, in cases in-volving issues such as domestic violence, custody disputes, child support, spousal support, and division of community property assets it would be wise to seek advice from a licensed and ex-perienced attorney so as not to waste your time and money, not to mention the court’s time and resources, especially when you have to keep going back to court because of incomplete or miss-ing documents that could have been addressed from the very beginning by a competent and knowledgeable attorney.

Not all divorce cases are the same. It is important to be prop-erly informed about your rights and responsibilities under Cali-fornia law in divorce proceedings. The wrong advice or information can and will hurt you, and waste your time and money. Consult a licensed and experienced family law attorney to help you navigate through your divorce.

* * *Atty. Lilli Berbano Baculi is an associate attorney with Chua Tinsay & Vega, A Professional Legal Corporation (CTV) - a full service law firm with offices in San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento and Philippines. The information presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (619) 955-6277; (415) 495-8088; (916) 449-3923; lbaculi@ctvattys.com. For general information visit www.chuatinsayvega.com.

(Part 1 of 2)LAST week was a relatively

tough but gratifying week for my family as we were practically living in a suitcase for 6 nights while traversing Osaka, Manila and Hong kong. My Family Busi-ness coaching work in Japan and a speaking engagement in Hong Kong to celebrate Julie’s Bake-shop’s 35th Anniversary were the highlights of the twin overseas trips. While in Hong kong which is a Special Administrative Re-gion (SAR) of China, I decided to research on the success lessons of Wang Jianlin, China’s newly minted Richest Billionaire with a fortune of $40.7 Billion. Wang is almost 4X richer than our local taipan, mall king Henry Sy.

In a Business Insider report, Wang Jianlin, a former People’s Liberation Army soldier who is now a real estate mogul and the world’s largest cinema chain op-erator, is the richest person in China and he’s caught in a riches race with Hong Kong business magnate Li-KaShing to become the wealthiest man in Asia.

Wang, born in Sichuan Prov-ince in 1954 just after the Com-munist revolution, spent the first few decades of his life in any-thing but luxury. In 1970, Wang entered the military, where he remained until 1986 when he took a city government job in the city of Dalian in Liaoning Prov-ince. Wang became chairman of Wanda in 1989 at age 35.

His fortune more than doubled following successful public offer-ings of his real estate firm Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties, which has 125 shopping plazas and 68 five-star hotels, and Wan-da Cinema Line, one of China’s largest movie theatre chains.

According to a Forbes Maga-zine report, Wang bought 20 percent of Spanish soccer team Atletico Madrid and purchased the US organizer of Ironman Tri-athlons for $650 million. Wang’s Dalian Wanda Group purchased US movie theatre chain AMC Entertainment Holdings for $2.6 billion in 2012 and took it public in December 2013.

His Wanda Group teamed up with the Auchan Group to invest 3 billion euros, or $3.3 billion, in a business and entertainment center in Paris. The project will be the largest ever in France by a China company, and will include an indoor and outdoor theme park, stage show, hotels, and business and conference centers.

The French investment is part

Prof. EnriquE M. SoriAno

The KiteRunner Powerful lessons from

China’s richest man

of an aggressive push by 60-year-old Wang to move Wanda beyond its roots in China’s real estate business. The company has in recent years expanded into entertainment, particularly film and sports, and committed billions of dollars to overseas investments. The project in France will be located next to the Charles de Gaulle Airport, about 10 kilometers from downtown Paris. Some 14,000 jobs will be created once the facility begins operation.

Wang’s recent book, a compi-lation of public speeches entitled “The Wanda Way,” claims to give an inside look into his manageri-al philosophy and the values that turned his company into a giant conglomerate with big global ambitions.

Here are some nuggets of ad-vice from Wang as detailed by Sophia Yan in a CNN report:

1. Get tough in the armyWang joined the Chinese mili-

tary as a teenager in 1970. His gruelling training involved epic marches that took the soldiers through “knee-deep stretches of snow.” He recalls, “We were deprived of everything. In the snow, we had to dig our own hole to spend the night. Anyone who faltered could forget about being chosen to move up that year, or earning your Exemplary Fighter award.” This experience built his “teeth-gritting spirit and a desire

to fight until the end,” he says.Wang suggests there’s a direct

relationship between a military background and success, point-ing out that many top Chinese entrepreneurs previously served in the military.

2. Differentiate and innovate, like Starbucks

“The first key is to understand how you can differentiate your-self from others and be innova-tive,” Wang said. “For instance, everyone knows how to sell cof-fee, but Starbucks redesigned the coffee-making process, in-novated the business model and became a successful chain busi-ness.”

Wang disputes the idea that only high-tech companies can lead the way forward -- “No mat-ter whether you are in a tradi-tional or an emerging industry, as long as you’re capable of innovat-ing the existing business model, you can reap super profits.” (To be continued next week)

* * *Prof. Soriano is an ASEAN Family Business Advisor and Chair of the Marketing Cluster of the ATENEO Graduate School of Business. He is a National Agora Awardee and book author on Family Governance and Succession. He will be facilitating one of his best selling 1 day workshop in the Philippines on September 19, 2014 Friday, entitled The Challenges of Managing a Family Business at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. For further inquiries please visit www.wongadvisory.com or contact Allen at 09228603186 for details. Slots are limited.

Wang Jianlin

THE Bataan Legacy Histori-cal Society (BLHS), in collabora-tion with AARP CA, the Filipino American Communities/Veterans Associations of Union City, Daly City, Vallejo and Sacramento, is proud to present “Caring for our heroes,” a series of caregiving events with AARP Community Ambassador Major General (Ret) Antonio “Tony” Taguba. General Taguba will speak about caregiv-ing and veterans issues as well as the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project. These events are free and open to the public. Light Refreshments will be served on each occasion.

Schedule of events are as fol-lows:

• Saturday, April 16, 2pm - at the Union City Hall Council Chambers, 34009 Alvarado-Niles Road, Union City, CA 94587

• Sunday, April 17, 1pm - at Holy Child & St. Martin’s Episco-pal Church, 777 Southgate Ave., Daly City, CA 94015

• Sunday, April 17, 5pm - at the Vallejo Veterans Memorial Building, 420 Admiral Callaghan Lane, Vallejo, CA 94591

• Monday, April 18, 6:30pm at

CARING FOR OUR HEROES

Learn about caregiving resources for seniors & veterans and the legacy of WWII in the Philippines

With special guest AARP Community Ambassador Major General (ret.) Antonio Taguba

the Filipino American Veterans Memorial Hall, American Legion Post 604, 8831 Gerber Road, Sacramento, CA 95828

Maj. Gen. Taguba will discuss the challenges facing caregiv-ers around the country. These events will provide opportuni-ties for caregivers and veterans to learn about local resources and organizations that can help them take care of their loved

ones and themselves.Maj. Gen. Taguba will also

speak about the Filipino Veter-ans Recognition and Education Project, which aims to educate the public about the Filipino sol-diers who fought during WWII and to seek recognition of their sacrifices through the Congres-sional Gold Medal Award. Ce-cilia Gaerlan, Executive Direc-tor of Bataan Legacy Historical Society (BLHS), will speak about her organization’s work with the California Department of Edu-cation to implement California Legislation AB199, which aims to include the role of the WWII Filipino soldiers in the his-tory/social sciences curriculum framework for Grade 10 and 11 in California.

For more information for each event, please contact:

Jim Navarro (Union City) at jimnavarro6@gmail.com

Rev. Leonard Oakes (Daly City) at revleonardoakes@gmail.com

Nestor Aliga (Vallejo) at nestor.aliga@comcast.net

Richard Weitzenberg (Sac-ramento) at richard@weitzen-berg.org. n

Major General (Ret) Antonio “Tony” Taguba

THE Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, Bataan Legacy Historical Society and Memorare-Ma-nila 1945 Foundation invite you to Day of Valor / Araw ng Kagitingan on Monday, April 11 at 8:30am at The Philippine Center, Kalayaan Hall, 447 Sutter Street, San Francisco.

The event is a commemoration and opening exhibi-tion on World War II and the 74th anniversary of the Fall of Bataan in the Philippines. Don’t miss this spe-cial exhibit which will run until April 29, 2016.

For more information, contact:The Philippine Consulate at (415) 433-6666 ext. 313

or e-mail cultural@philippinessanfrancisco.org.BLHS at edgar@bataanlegacy.org / www.bataanle-

gacy.org. n

DAy OF VAlOR

Araw ng Kagitingan commemoration and exhibit

BUSINESS and accounting guru Washington Sycip said on Monday, March 4, that the mon-ey laundering case that has now become a global spectacle has not curbed foreign investors’ ap-petite on the Philippines.

He noted that a bancassurance partnership between Germany’s biggest insurance firm Allianz and the 20-percent buy-in of Jap-anese banking giant Bank of To-kyo-Mitsubishi in Security Bank were still consummated despite the controversy on the entry of dirty money to the banking sys-tem that ended up in the local casinos.

“That clearly shows foreign investments have not been af-fected,” Sycip said.

Sycip added that he had great respect for the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov-ernor Amando Tetangco Jr.

“It’s not only for what he has done in the Philippines but com-pared to any other central bank governor, he has done a fantastic job,” he said.

Asked whether he would sup-port calls to ease the bank secre-

Foreign investors still keen on PHImpact of money laundering case seen minimal

by Doris Dumlao-abaDillaInquirer.net

cy law to better combat money laundering, Sycip said he would advocate for “whatever Tetangco feels is good for the country be-cause he has done so well for us now.”

Sycip said that he was also hop-ing that the Filipino nation would elect an “honest” president this May in order to continue attract-ing foreign investments.

Sycip, who is turning 95 this year and still advises many of the country’s biggest corpora-tions long after retiring from local accounting giant SGV that he co-founded, hasn’t picked any presidential candidate to support.

The SGV founder said he al-ready knew Sen. Grace Poe and her father Fernando Poe Jr., who had consulted him when he ran for president two elections ago. Sycip said he also knew Mar Roxas very well. He noted that he would like to meet Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to dis-cuss his advocacy and education agenda.

“I’d like to meet Duterte. I recently got an inquiry from Duterte through his intermedi-ary,” he said.

As a personal advocacy, Sy-cip has set aside all the funds he

could afford—totalling $1 million to date—to help educate poor people, working with the likes of Synergeia Foundation and the microfinance group Card Inc. led by Jaime Aristotle Alip.

Typically, for business service firms that expand outside of Ma-nila end up having big operations in Cebu. But in the case of SGV, he said SGV now had a bigger of-fice in Davao than in Cebu.

“They say that the business-men in Davao are all for Duterte and if they are caught speeding, they have to pay (fine for violat-ing speed limit),” he said.

As far as leadership was con-cerned, Sycip said that based on the experience of Singapore un-der the city-state’s former Presi-dent Lee Kuan Yew, “western de-mocracy may not be the best for emerging market countries.”

“We have all the freedoms we might say but in terms of per capita income everyone has passed us except Laos and Cam-bodia. Even Vietnam will pass us,” he said.

Asked whether he thought someone like Duterte could be a Lee Kuan Yew, Sycip—who per-sonally knew the late Singapor-ean leader—said the latter was

uPAGE CJ3

(650) 616-4150 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • APRIL 8-14, 2016 CJ�Community Journal

Atty. MichAelGurfinkel, eSQ

ImmigrationCorner

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

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Prisoners of War Day at the Filipino Veterans Education CenterAll WWII veterans and families, please join us as we commemorate the historic 74than-

niversary of Prisoners of War Day and the Fall of Bataan, the Day of Valor, on Saturday, April 9th. In the spirit of reconciliation, friendship and international cooperation, let us leave the past behind us as we move forward with joined hands to attain peace for all mankind. The formal Commemoration and remembrance ceremony will start at 2:00pm in the Filipino Veterans Education Center, at the War Memorial Performing Arts Veterans Building (401 Van Ness Ave. San Francisco, CA 94102). This event is open to the public. Please RSVP RudyAsercion@gmail.com; naffaasf@gmail.com. Tel: 415 564 6262.

APRIL 9

Pilgrimages to Eastern Europe, Mexico and IndiaAmazing Pilgrimages for the Jubilee Year of Mercy! All are welcome to join Fr. Joe

Joseph of Holy Trinity Church for the spiritual and fun-filled experiences of EASTERN EU-ROPE (April 17- 30): Poland, Czech., Austria, Hungary, Medjugorje; COLONIAL MEXICO/OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE (June 20 - 27): Mexico City, Theotihuacan, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Ocotlan, Xochimilco, Guanajuato, San Miguel De Allende, Guadalajara, San Juan De Los Lagos, Cristo Rey, Zapopan, Tonala; and INDIA (September 15 - 29): Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kerala. For more pilgrimage information and detailed flyers, please contact Berna-dette at bcorp1114@hotmail.com OR call 323-344-1548 & 323-547-6618.

APRIL — SEPTEMBER

PUP/PCC to hold 1st Global ReunionAttention all graduates of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the Philip-

pine College of Commerce: join us in our FIRST GLOBAL REUNION being organized by the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Alumni Association, USA Inc. scheduled on May 27-29, 2016 (Memorial Day Weekend) at the New Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. We promise a weekend of fun-filled activities, of friendship and camaraderie as we reminisce our best memories during our high school and college days. There will be lots of entertain-ment, singing and dancing and photo opportunities with your classmates and friends.

For more information, please contact any of the following: Loi Herrera at 562-544-8210 orloiherrera@yahoo.com; Monette Santillan-Rivera at 818-970-8317 orMonette_san-tillan@yahoo.com; Rose Mejia at 323-997-3838 or Rosemariemejia@kw.com; Marissa Sugay-Palanca at 818-281-7460 or marispalanca@yahoo.com; Rose Maghari at661-794-8906 or rmaghari@gmail.com; Sally Mendoza at 323-695-0235 or sally.mendoza616@yahoo.com; Honeylette De Leon at 562-480-5743 orhoney@worldclassfreight.com; Virginia Herbito at virginiaherbito@gmail.com; Connie Acosta at 323-854-5303 or connieacosta1@att.net; Violeta D. Cristobal at 310-880-5808 orvee@cristobalcpa.com; Jun Mapoy at 323-627-5326 or jcmapoy@yahoo.com.

MAY 27-29

Missionary Society of St. Columban Dinner-DanceThe Missionary Society of St. Columban will hold its annual dinner dance event on June

4th, 6PM, at the Friendship Auditorium (3201 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90941). Organized by the Dancing for the World, an affiliate of the Columbans, will celebrate the “Year of Mercy” to echo and emphatically support the call of Pope Francis’s Jubilee Year. This year is very important to be responsive to the call of the church and be faithful to the mission of God because God is by nature merciful. Thanks to the many dedicated mis-sionaries, priests, sisters and lay missionaries who responded to the call of God and live among the poor to make a difference and allow God’s mercy to flow into the hearts of those they minister. For more information, please visit www.columban.org. The Dancing for the World event on June 4 is also an opportunity to meet supporters, donors and friends to thank them for their valuable contribution to the Columban mission. Event will include delicious food, ballroom dancing, and fabulous raffle prizes. (For this year, the first prize will be a cruise for two to Mexican Riviera. The second prize is a Flat screen TV. The third prize is a Tablet.) There are many amazing prizes available for all lucky winners. The dinner dance ticket is $40.Reserve your tickets now or before May 15. For information and tickets please contact Carmencita Enriquez (213) 880-5075 or Ariel Presbitero (323) 691-5262, or at: 2919 Moss Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90065. Thank you in advance on behalf of the Missionary Society of St. Columban and the Dancing for the World committee members. Please continue praying for all Columban Missionaries all over the world and the success of this event.

JUNE 4

Chino Hills Multicultural FestivalInspired by last year’s successful celebration of the community’s diversity, the Rotary

Club of Greater Chino Hills Foundation will host its second Multicultural Festival on Satur-day, April 23, from 3 to 9 pm, at the Chino Hills Community Center (14250 Peyton Drive, Chino Hills, CA 91709). Admission is free. There will be food booths, live entertainment, music, dance and performances by an array of participants. Sponsorship and advertisement packages are available for non-profit organizations to fundraise, and for businesses inter-ested in market their products and services. For more information, contact rotary.chino-hills@gmail.com or visit www.chinohillsrotaryclub.org. Contact: Ted Alvarez (909) 456-0359, tedalvarez@verizon.net; Tessie Lightholder (909) 576-4152,tessielightholder@gmail.com, or Ginny Mondonedo (951) 212-4624, vmondonedo55@gmail.com.

APRIL 23

COSC celebrates 27th Anniversary The Candonians of Southern California (COSC), under the leadership of their newly

elected president, Mrs. Elizabeth Gacula Singh, will celebrate their 27th Anniversary on April 30 at the Doubletree Hotel-Monrovia (924 W. Huntington Dr., Monrovia). Music will be provided by The Midnight Motion Band. For questions and those interested, please email thecandoniansofsocal@gmail.com.

APRIL 30

MonetteAdevA MAglAyA

ImmigrantLiving: 101 and Beyond

WE all have known of friends, family and complete strangers who passed away quite unex-pectedly over the course of our lifetimes.

There seemed to be no warn-ing signs. All the deep, dark emotions of shock, grief, denial and finally, calming, quiet ac-ceptance must have washed over those left behind like a dev-astating tsunami wave as they come to grips with the finality of death. No one is exempt. Death does come like a thief in the night. And in many life stories, mercifully so …

They were there one moment, living, breathing, smiling and so full of life. In the blink of an eye, they were gone. And just like that, it was over. It leaves one with a profound sense of mortality – that final end game. We derive comfort in knowing that those we know of and care about may have lived good lives and are now free of all the pain and strains of human bondage. Death, after all, makes it pos-sible to finally come home.

And yet, while we are alive and kicking, most of us who are aware of our own mortality must strive to make the most of our lives. We try to make each day count. We try to live purposeful

Retooling coping techniques 101I’ve used up all my sick days,so I’m calling in dead. — Graffiti

lives as best we can.But it is not always easy. It

seems we are always at the throes of uncertain times. Can anyone remember a time that was not uncertain?

Most of the things that weigh us down or at the very least, ruf-fle our feathers, will come from within us, from our own heads and hearts, as we process the external world from one day to the next. Oftentimes, our bod-ies simply follow the lead. If we recognize this mind-body-spirit dynamic, perhaps we can re-tool the coping skills we need to adapt to tough, troubling times and still come out whole.

The mind-body-spirit connec-tion is real. How often have we heard of this about stress? It is not what we eat but what is eat-ing us. Stress is a silent killer. It is not unusual to read or hear about people in the prime of life— sixty, fifty, forty and even thirty year old men and women who drop down dead without warning because of strokes or massive brain aneurysms—the body’s reaction to unrelenting stress that typically characterize

modern life. There are increasing numbers

of horrific news accounts of or-dinary people who felt they have reached the end of their ropes. Driven by severe depression and complicated by addictive drug intake, many end up killing themselves. Sadly, there are in-creasing numbers who murder their families in one fell swoop before killing themselves. What-ever the circumstance, murder is never the answer.

There are a few simple stress-busting techniques we can adapt and perhaps, give us a few more good years out of life.

Become a presentist. Learn to focus on the present to savor the joy of the moment. Regretting the past and worrying about the future only increases stress. For as long as we are alive, stress is like a chisel that is meant to shape our characters as real hu-man beings. The most adjusted people have learned to deal with their own stresses.

When life becomes too stress-ful, find a quiet place to pray and meditate. Jesus Christ, the Son

vantage.It also seeks to buildup ag-

riculture-based manufacturing industries that generate employ-ment, and support small-holder farmers and agri-cooperatives through product development, value-adding, and integration

PH government firms back…to big enterprises for marketing and financing purposes.

Among DTI’s ongoing MRP projects are the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy Program, Die and Mold Making and Design Training, and the Philippine Rubber Investment and Market Encounter. n

PAGE CJ1 t

uPAGE CJ4

FAKE TOURIST VISA RESULTED IN BEING SENT BACK TO THE PHILIPPINES AND LATER JEOPARDIZED HIS IMMIGRANT VISA DUE TO FRAUD– ON A BRAND NEW EPISODE OF “CITIZEN PINOY.” Johnnatan (second from left) got a tourist visa through a newspaper ad that advertised “Non-Appearance” visas for $2500. He entered the US in 2002 without any problems, but when he returned in 2003, he was held at the airport and sent back to the Philippines, after US Customs and Border Protection accused him of using a fake or counterfeit tourist visa. That meant a possible lifetime ban. Years later, his mother’s petition became current, and he was afraid how his fake visa would affect his and his daughter’s chances of immigrating to the US. Watch how a family was able to overcome a fraud charge and be reunited, on an encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy – this Sunday April 10 at 6:15pm (PST) on TFC.

MANY people may be guilty of attempted “alien smuggling” and not even realize it. They may also be totally unaware of the harsh or drastic consequences to them-selves and the rest of their fam-ily if they are caught. A person could be committing alien smug-gling by claiming a grandchild or “given” child (whom they raised since birth), is their biological child when applying for a US visa.

The law defines alien smug-glers as:

“Any alien who at any time knowingly has encouraged, in-duced, assisted, abetted, or aid-ed any other alien to enter or to try to enter the United States in violation of law . . .”

Some people have the miscon-ception that smugglers are only those people who are paid to sneak people into the US across the borders, in boats, etc. This is not true. A person can be guilty of alien smuggling, even if he is just attempting to bring in his own family member!

Some examples of alien smug-gling would include:

An aunt who buys a fake birth certificate from Recto Street, making her the “biological moth-er” of her niece or nephew. She then tries to petition that niece or nephew as her own child.

A grandmother files a fake birth certificate, making her the “biological mother” of her grand-child, but she never formally or legally adopted the child.

A woman is “given” a child, and, at the time of the child’s birth, she is “timely registered” as the biological mother. She raises the child since birth and

Lifetime ban for ‘alien smuggling’ for including a ‘given’ child

considers the child “her own,” but never bothered legally adopt-ing the child before the child’s 16th birthday. She then petitions the child as her own child, or in-cludes that child as a derivative beneficiary under a petition filed on the “mother’s” behalf. This is also alien smuggling. Most times, the Embassy will suggest DNA testing.

Sometimes, a person who has been petitioned by a family member, such as a brother or a sister, includes a kumpadre’s child among his derivative ben-eficiaries, by claiming that child as his own. (When a person is pe-titioned by certain family mem-bers, the person’s spouse and minor children could be included for green cards, as derivative ben-eficiaries, when the priority date on his petition becomes current.) People try to “add on” children to enable the kumpadre’s child to get a green card, as a favor to the kumpadre.

The Embassy takes a very strict position when it comes to alien smuggling. They believe that people who are entitled to visas, should get visas. But, people who are not entitled to visas, should not get visas. When the Embassy finds out somebody is attempt-ing to sneak a relative or other person into the US by claiming they are the biological child, the Embassy denies a visa not only to the person being smuggled, but also to the person under petition. This could also affect the rest of the family under that petition. No one gets a visa.

In one case, a mother had been petitioned by her US citi-zen daughter. The mother tried to list her nephew as a biological child in her biographic data. The Embassy found out and consid-ered this to be alien smuggling

and denied a visa to the citizen’s mother, because she attempted to smuggle an alien. So, by at-tempting to list her nephew, the woman lost her own visa. Alien smuggling could even result in a lifetime ban from entering the US.

If you have already submit-ted paperwork to the USCIS or Embassy improperly listing or including ineligible persons (i.e. nephew, grandchild, given child who was never legally adopted, etc.), I would strongly recom-mend you seek the advice of a reputable attorney who could an-alyze your situation and, hopeful-ly, straighten things out, before it’s too late. The stakes are high. Don’t have the attitude that, “I’ll just give it a try. If the Embassy catches me, the worst that can happen is that the person I’m helping won’t get the visa, but I’ll still get my visa.” That is not the case. If you are caught, you could also lose your own eligibility for a visa!

* * *Michael J. Gurfinkel is licensed, and an

active member of the State Bar of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California. Each case is different. The information contained herein including testimonials, “Success Stories,” endorsements and re-enactments) is of a general nature, and is not intended to apply to any particular case, and does not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.

WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.comCall Toll free to schedule a consultation

for anywhere in the US: (866)—GURFINKELFour offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES

· SAN FRANCISCO · NEW YORK · PHILIPPINES (Advertising Supplement)

not just tough but likewise very bright. He said he didn’t know much about Duterte, except that he had a law degree, but hinted he was wary about him declaring he had so many wives and girl-friends.

When investors ask him about Philippine elections, Sycip said he would tell people that the lo-cal elections were “better” than the US elections, which he said were harder to understand. “I ask them not to worry about the elections in that sense,” he said.

“As long as you have an hon-est President you will get invest-ments,” he said.

After the Marcos dictatorship was toppled in 1986, Sycip said Cory Aquino was herself honest but being away for so long, didn’t have enough good people to ap-point to her Cabinet. “She wasn’t successful as many of the people put in her Cabinet didn’t have in-tegrity.”

In the case of President Aqui-no, Sycip said he was not aware of the President giving in favors or accepting bribes to approve a project. He said this was “unusu-al” compared to the stories that had come out before Aquino’s term, he said.

Many of the reforms undertak-en during the outgoing adminis-tration, he said, would not likely be reversed after the May elec-tions. However, he said he would wish for more decentralization of power in the country. n

Foreign investors still keen on…PAGE CJ2 t

Washington Sycip

APRIL 8-14, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150CJ� Business news

THE Senior Peer Counseling program is offered by Penin-sula Family Service in San Ma-teo County to adults age 55 and older. Volunteer counselors are trained older adults who share similar experience, values, wis-dom and culture. Graduates have reported that they have learned a lot for themselves that they are able to relate not only to clients, but to their families and friends as well.

Why volunteer? If you have an aging parent, relative, or friend and you wish to learn the facts and challenges of aging and the many things that occur in this process — what to do or how you can help - you might consider becoming a senior peer counsel-or. You can make a positive dif-ference in the lives of others. A special bond is developed when volunteers can speak their native tongue – by sharing their values, wisdom and culture.

Aging isn’t always pleasant and easy. And these “kababayans” (fellow countrymen) face loneli-ness due to loss of loved ones or loss of health. Some have fam-ily problems or are experiencing culture shock, especially those still unfamiliar with life and go-ings-on in the new country. Be-sides offering a supportive ear these volunteers offer help to those needing assistance with regards to the many resources available to them in the San Ma-teo County, such as food, work, health, legal assistance, hous-ing – to name a few. Still others simply are unable to share with family members their worries in

Peninsula Family Service is now recruiting volunteer counselors for Spring training

life, both in the U.S. and in the Philippines.

Listening is the one impor-tant and simplest aspect of the counseling program. Volunteers are not licensed, like those that have degrees and experience in social work. We are allies and guides to those who need emo-tional support and guidance. With our peer counseling, those people who are hesitant to allow someone to “listen” to them are now more comfortable meet-ing with a peer counselor who shares a similar background and experiences. Many Filipi-nos are still afraid to come out and seek support, although it is free and confidential. Con-fidentiality means that all things discussed are only between the

clients and counselors. Training starts May 3, 2016

through June 8, 2016 on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at the offices of Peninsula Family Ser-vice at 24 Second Avenue, San Mateo. Topics include: Aging in America, Effective Communica-tion, Mental Health Challenges, Working with Diverse Cultures, Understanding Loss, Ways to Work with Clients, among oth-er related issues. Counseling is offered in English, Filipino, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, and LGBTQ community. For ad-ditional information: Call Ofie Carpio Albrecht at Peninsula Family Service – 650.403.4300 ext 4363 or email: oalbrecht@peninsulafamilyservice.org. (Ofelia Albrecht)

of God, was stressed too and He would always find a place to be by himself and pray, specially when he has ministered to the crowds, teaching them, healing them and feeding them by the thousands. He would slip away and pray with a few of his apos-tles. As a God-man, he needed to recharge his internal batteries with prayer and meditation. And so should we.

The best times are in the early morning hours when no one is stirring—not even the mouse. Hie off to a quiet corner and get your bearings straight for the day. Listen to the silence as it quiets your mind. Imagine your mind as a blank computer screen with your stresses in teeny tiny bundles which you then drag and drop into a mental trash bin and emptying it out into the netherworld of cyberspace. Poof — all gone! It is astonishing what this quiet half hour can do for us in the quality of our physi-cal and spiritual life each day.

Take a break in the middle of a workday. Eat a light, balanced lunch — without hurrying, pref-erably with good company you enjoy. Slow down deliberately. Find the humor in situations and laugh often. Laughter and exer-cise produce endorphins in our brain that make us happy and healthy. Once in a while, try tak-ing a nap during lunch breaks instead of eating. Machines need to power down. And so do we. Downtime is just as important in recharging one’s batteries. Hold your calls. Carpe diem!

Be ready to admit it when you need help. At the root of the most serious problems is foolish,

foolish pride — hubristic pride, being the worst of them all. The fallen angels had this kind of pride. The ego will prevent us from asking for help — effec-tively dragging us to a whirlpool of denial until stresses and prob-lems have us on a stranglehold. It takes courage and humility to finally admit that we need help.

When we get down on our knees and humbly ask for the grace and the strength to finally snap out of it, seek help as soon as possible. It can be our spouse, a friend, a professional or some-one we can trust to help us sort out our problems and support us in doing something constructive about them.

Deep emotional or psycho-logical problems are the worst burdens for they can weigh us down and seriously threaten our entire wellbeing and also affect the lives of those whom we care about. Unload the burden of a heavy heart. Allow time to mend and heal a broken heart or it will bury us six feet deep.

Know thyself. Gauge what we can and cannot do, both in our personal and professional life. Do not set unrealistic pie in the sky goals. We can choke ourselves to death when we bite more than we can chew. Resist overextending ourselves. The mortgage crisis is caused by mil-lions of borrowers overextend-ing themselves and the financial titans allowing such foolishness to go unchecked.

Each human being is created for a specific purpose in life. He who finds his purpose early enough and fulfills it saves him-self from unnecessary and un-wanted frustrations and crush-

ing disappointments.Filter the messages that bom-

bard us daily. The constant barrage of messages and sug-gestions from songs, news, fea-tures and advertisements from the media and the internet is designed to make us feel inad-equate so that each one of us as a consumer will buy a product or service.

We can listen, if we have to, but we must always think for ourselves. Give no one the pow-er to even suggest we are un-worthy or inadequate as human beings who need to buy some-thing in order to feel whole. Me-dia and the internet serve a pur-pose—for good or ill. Together, they are a potent force and we will all do well to keep it at bay. Use self-editing filters, because media agenda-driven messages have the most awesome power to influence thought, feelings, self-image and behavior. There is always the MUTE OR OFF button. We are still the BOSS.

Knowing what we can do with-in our own set of circumstances will save us a lot of angst from wanting to do that which is be-yond our capacities.

When we begin to relax and REFUSE to be driven by the ego, it is uncanny how life per-mits us to naturally flow into that glowingly wonderful state of peace and contentment, where our abilities fit with WHAT WE WANT TO DO AND more impor-tantly, WHAT WE HOPE TO BE, like a hand in glove.

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

Retooling coping techniques…PAGE CJ3 t

MANILA— The Philippines needs to tap new markets to diversify risks brought about by uneven global economic growth and at the same time intensify support for drought-resistance crops due to the impact of El Niño, the Depart-ment of Finance (DOF) said.

Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said there is a need for the Philippines to tap member-ship in free trade agreements (FTAs) to access new markets.

“Given this development, the government should tap al-

PH urged to tap new marketsby Lawrence agcaoiLi

Philstar.com

Dubai crude oil prices dropped 41.2 percent due to continued softening of oil prices in the world market.

Electronic inputs remain the top import which accounts for 32.4 percent of total imports jumped 67.1 percent to $2.21 billion in January while metal products gained the highest year-on-year growth increase of 73.9 percent implying ro-bust electronics exports and construction.

Beltran also stressed the need to intensify support for drought-resistant crops as rice imports jumped 80 percent in January as the government continues to take precaution-ary measures amid the con-tinued dry spell brought by El Niño.

“The country’s scientists may need to look into varieties

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima

that are less water-intensive,” he added. n

ternative sources of inputs to diversify risks brought by un-certainties in the international economy. The country can tap membership in FTAs to access new markets,” he said.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima has been pushing for the inclusion of the Philippines as well as the entire Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement.

Beltran, who is also the chief economist of the Finance de-partment, pointed out the con-tinued increase in capital goods imports despite the lackluster

global trade suggests robust manufacturing ahead.

Latest data from the Philip-pine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the country’s total merchandise imports jumped 30.8 percent to $6.82 billion in January, a rebound from the 13.1 percent contraction recorded in January last year. This is the fastest growth since November 2010.

Imports of capital goods posted a remarkable surged 80.4 percent year-on-year amounting to $2.57 billion.

Meanwhile, minerals, fuels and lubricants contracted by 6.8 percent year-on-year as

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“BE About It,” a documentary directed by Christopher C.C. Wong, which follows the lives of Bay Area reporter/news anchor Alan Wang and athlete AJ Jabo-nero as they navigate living with hepatitis B, was screened at the CAAMFest last March 13 in San Francisco.

The 39-minute documentary gives a glimpse of the lives of Jabonero and Wang as they go through their daily routines with their families, and shows the struggles, the emotional turmoil and the triumphs experienced by Wang on one side, and the courage, determination and pas-sion for life shown by Jabonero who passed away after battling liver cancer.

Prior to the showing of the documentary, Fiona Ma, anoth-er Asian American afflicted with hepatitis B and who has become the face and spokesperson for the San Francisco Hep B Free campaign, addressed the audi-ence.

Alan Wang; Melissa Jabo-nero, AJ’s wife; Shawne Lopez, AJ’s sister; director Christopher Wang; and producer Zebediah Smith came on stage to an-swer questions and give their thoughts after the premiere of “Be About It.”

Interviewed by the Asian Jour-nal, director Wong said he was approached by GILEAD Sciences in 2014 to make the documentary about hepatitis B. He had decid-ed early that he wanted to focus on the people who suffer from it and the families that are affected by it, and was glad that he was given the freedom to make the documentary as he envisioned it.

With the film, Wong hopes that viewers will recognize that those who suffer from the disease are just like them. “They’re not peo-ple who live deviant lifestyles...it doesn’t affect just certain people but it can affect everybody,” he said, while adding that it is easy to get tested and screened.

Wong revealed that the chal-lenge for him was not in taking

‘Be About It’ documentary brings Hep B awareness front and center

on the project, but in finding people who wanted to tell their story of living with hepatitis B. He particularly wanted to honor the memory of AJ Jabonero, and make sure that “people are changed by his example and what happened to him.”

The director hopes to bring “Be About It” to the LA Asian Film Festival, to the DC APA Festival, and to festivals in New York, San Diego and other parts of the country.

For Melissa Jabonero, AJ’s widow, seeing the film was emo-tional and at the same time ther-apeutic for her.

Melissa hopes that the docu-mentary brings down walls and educates people. “I hope this film breaks down the stigma that just because someone has Hep B you can’t be around that person, you can’t live a normal lifestyle, which is not true because we lived a normal, everyday lifestyle,” she said, while adding that she hopes the film will motivate people to get tested and to know where they stand.

Shawne Lopez, AJ’s sister who herself has hepatitis B, said she felt said so many emotions see-ing the final version of the film: sad and heartbroken seeing how hepatitis B affected her brother in the film, but also proud that the film showed how her brother used his struggles and life les-sons to help others.

Lopez revealed that for a while it was hard for her to talk to other people about living with hepatitis B except to medical practitioners after experiencing a negative, hard reaction from someone she was seeing before.

Although having children was a concern for her, Shawne, who has a 3-year-old son, said that it was lucky for her that they live in Alameda County where a case worker followed up with her and made sure her son was inoculat-ed against hepatitis B.

“I hope this film starts a lot of dialogue about hepatitis B… bringing a lot of awareness to everyone… that we need to talk about it and not be ashamed of it,” Lopez said.

Shawne added that the for-mation of a support group living with hepatitis B would be help-ful, especially since in the Asian Pacific Islander community, peo-ple tend to be introverted when it comes to diseases afflicting family members due to shame and embarrassment. “There are so many people out there who feel so alone because they can’t talk about it to their sister, their aunts, their cousin. Hopefully, as the generations come in and we get to talk more, we can start the dialogue and make the change within our culture and talk about things that we need to talk about,” she explained.

Fiona Ma told the Asian Jour-nal that the documentary was “powerful,” and that it will “go a long way in telling audiences that it is important to know your status, that not everybody is test-ing so you have to take control of yourself and your body and ask your doctor to get tested specifi-cally for hepatitis B.”

According to Ma, it is impor-tant to go to the right special-ist. She revealed that there are medical professionals who don’t even know about hepatitis B in this day and age, and who may give someone an incorrect test. Ma says she now has a liver doc-tor who knows the disease, un-derstands how to test properly and would help her if anything ever happens.

Ma agreed with Lopez’s as-sessment about the need for a support group. “I love that idea!” she exclaimed. “I’ve had people approach me thanking me and crying that they thought they were an outcast, that they could not have relationships… they were scared to go out because they just didn’t know. That’s been the stigma for so long… people do get scared when they know you have hepatitis B. Hav-ing a support network is an ex-cellent idea.”

(For more information on hepatitis B, please visit www.sf-hepbfree.org. You can also talk to your doctor and/or healthcare provider on getting tested for hepatitis B.) n

by Joseph peraltaAJPress

SAN MATEO, Calif. — On Friday, April 1, the San Mateo County Health System received confirmation from the California Department of Public Health that a San Mateo County resident has tested positive for Zika virus. The individual was infected with Zika virus while traveling abroad and is now fully recovered. No trans-mission of the disease took place in the United States, and there was no risk of the virus spread-ing to the local community from this case. To protect patient pri-vacy, San Mateo County is not re-leasing further details about the confirmed Zika case.

“There is no reason for the general public to be concerned that they are at risk for getting Zika in San Mateo County at this time,” said Dr. Scott Morrow, San Mateo County Health Offi-cer. “Zika virus is not circulating in our County and the few cases in California to date resulted from contracting the virus while trav-eling abroad. Taking precautions when traveling, based on CDC guidelines, is the best means of protection from Zika.”

The Zika virus is transmitted primarily by two species of mos-quitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Zika virus is spread when a mosquito bites a person who has an active Zika virus in-fection and then bites another person. At this time there is no record of such a transmission oc-curring in the United States. The Aedes mosquito is mostly found in tropical countries, which cur-rently include American Samoa, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cu-

San Mateo County has first confirmed case of Zika virus

racao, El Salvador, French Gui-ana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico.

While not native to San Mateo County, Aedes mosquito larvae were identified in Menlo Park in May 2015 by the San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District. The District has been working to eradicate these mosquitos since first detecting them, and has been success-ful in their efforts—keeping the Aedes population very small and preventing their spread beyond Menlo Park. For more informa-tion visit www.smcmvcd.org/zika.

“Although there is no evidence in California of mosquitoes car-rying Zika virus or of illnesses associated with the Aedes mos-quito, people should always take

steps to avoid mosquito bites,” stated Dr. Morrow. “This in-cludes wearing insect repellent when necessary and removing standing water around homes and properties to keep mosqui-toes from breeding. Residents should stay current on interna-tional travel alerts for countries where Zika virus is circulating, particularly women who are or may become pregnant.”

San Mateo County Health System’s Communicable Disease Program staff issues updated ad-visories to local health care pro-viders with information on how to identify and test for Zika virus.

For more Zika information and the latest guidance from the Cen-ters for Disease Control and Pre-vention, visit www.cdc.gov/zika.

For more San Mateo County Health System Zika information, visit www.smchealth.org/zika. n

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Ca-lif. — Commute.org is pleased to announce the 2016 Commuter Challenge, this year’s campaign to reward commuters who choose transportation modes other than driving alone. Between April 1 and May 31, people who join the challenge and commute to, from or through San Mateo County using an alternative mode will be eligible to win weekly prizes and one of five grand prizes.

Traffic on San Mateo County roads and highways is at an all-time high. Not only does traffic waste time and money for com-muters, but it also contributes to poor air quality. According to the Bay Area Air Quality Manage-ment District (BAAQMD), nearly 70 percent of the Bay Area’s car-bon monoxide comes from mo-tor vehicles, which are also the greatest contributors to ozone in the Bay Area.

The 2016 Commuter Chal-lenge encourages people to use public transit, shuttle, carpool, vanpool, bicycle, walk or tele-work, and be part of the traffic

BOOK AUTHOR WITH IMELDA. Emmanuel “Jolly” Riofrir, author of the coffee table book “Imelda: Unpublished Photographs of the Former First Lady of the Philippines,” presents a copy of the book to the book’s subject, former First Lady now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Romualdez Marcos, during a visit at her Makati apartment on March 8. For inquiries or to purchase the book, please call Emmalie Books Inc. at (818) 383-9081 or visit its website at www.emmaliebooksinc.com.

Commute.org Launches 2016 Commuter ChallengeRethink your commute … and be rewarded!

solution. “Eliminating a few solo driving trips each week is an easy way for commuters to make a positive impact,” said John Ford, Commute.org’s Executive Director. Driving less will reduce GHG emissions while also help-ing to relieve congestion on the roadways. “Together, we can make a measurable difference to reduce our carbon footprint,” Ford added.

By signing up at my.commute.org, and adding their commute alternative trips, registrants will be entered to win one of the fea-tured weekly prizes (Fitbit Alta, Timbuk2 bag, wireless earbuds, gift cards and more). Participants also earn a chance to win one of the five grand prizes ($300 Clip-per card, GoPro Hero, Garmin

Edge Cycling computer, $400 REI gift card or Fitbit Surge GPS watch) at the end of the chal-lenge.

For more details, visit www.commute.org.

Commute.org is San Mateo County’s transportation demand management agency. Its primary objective is to reduce the num-ber of single-occupant vehicles (SOV) in San Mateo County, thereby reducing traffic conges-tion and improving air quality. Commute.org is funded by the City/County Association of Gov-ernments of San Mateo County, the San Mateo County Transpor-tation Authority, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. n

Shawne Lopez, Melissa Jabonera, Alan Wang, Zeb Smith and director Christopher Wong answered questions from the audience after the world premiere of “Be About It.” Photo by Joseph L. Peralta / AJPress

APRIL 8-14, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150CJ�

Friday, April 8, 2016

SF2 cover storyThe Asian Journal SF MAGAZINE - Apri l 8, 2016

by Malou liwanag-Bledsoe/AJPress

WHEN one thinks about teaching the Filipino culture and heritage, we immediately expect dancing the tinikling or bringing lumpia into the classroom. In reality, being Filipino is deeper than that. Apart from celebrat-ing historical Filipino figures or important dates, it is about connecting Filipino-American history and how it related to contemporary social issues.

Pin@y (Pinay/Pinoy) Edu-cational Partnerships (PEP) is a service learning program that has been using that connec-tion to students since 2001.

Founded in 2001 by Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales and her stu-dents from San Francisco State University (SFSU) Claudine Del Rosario, Kimmy Maniquis, Gwen Agustin, tracy Buenavista, Ivan Santos, Jeff Ponferrada, Mark Bautista, Perci dela Cruz, Maricel Elacio, Christine Bernard, Chris-topher Rini and Anjela Wong; PEP started as a lunchtime men-toring program at Balboa High School in San Francisco.

From the conversations with students came out issues like high rates of dropouts, teen pregnancy, substance abuse,

Pin@y Educational PartnErshiPs: Helping students understand

race beyond skin color

gang violence and mental health issues, as well as identity, low numbers of Filipino/a teachers and faculty representation as well as in the curriculum, and a fractured sense of community. From there, Dr. Tintiangco-Cub-ales and her students organized workshops to address these issues and develop solidarity.

“PEP has infludenced both our Filipina/o and non-Filipina/o students to understand race and racism beyond skin color,” said Dr. Roderick Daus-Mag-bual, Director. We unpack, with our students, the systemic oppression that have affected generations of Filipinas/os and Filipina/o Americans through the Filipina/o American Studies. This includes: teaching our students about the indigenous ways of being, the trauma of colonialism, and the struggle and survival stories living in America.”

Adding that it is more than just having a Filipina/o teacher in front of the classroom, Dr. Daus-Magbual said that teachers are trained to go beyond contribut-ing, but to also question tradi-tional historical curriculum.

“We curtail our curriculum, pedagogy, and teaching to think about power, oppression, and decolonization as a means to

understand ourselves and to transform our communities. Our hope is to grow our own leaders to serve in the communities they are from and to transform our world towards positive social change,” he said.

A pathway to learning our heritage, culture

The Philippines’ relationship with the US involves colonialism starting with our own educa-tional system. Patterned after American schooling, our own social class system emulated American values, norms and standards.

“The American educational system served as a training ground for Pinays to become nurses as early as the Philippine American War to contempo-rary times. As a result of this phenomena, we created a family expectation for generations of Filipinas/os and Filipina/o Americans for them to enter the medical field, specifically in nursing,” explained Dr. Daus-Magbual. “The medical field symbolized success and financial sustainability for many Filipina/o Americans and for some, it was the expectation for their children to become nurses or doctors. The options for children enter-ing college towards studies

P@P milEstonEs IN EDUCATION:

PEP played a significant role in institutionalizing Ethnic Studies in SFUSD

PEP was influential in Ethnic Studies courses becoming an A-G certified course and HS students can receive college credit via Steps To College program.

PEP continues to serve as a resource and network for teachers and programs across the nation who teach Ethnic Studies.

PEP came out with two educational resource books for teachers, student, and community organizations in develop-ing Filipina/o American curriculum, pedagogy, and sample lesson plans. (http://phoenixpublishinghouseinternational.com/)

PEP co-published a book with Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales and San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) on critical language for elementary students focused on Tagalog. (http://phoenixpublishinghouseinternational.com/)

PEP Teachers contributed in developing the Filipino Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) curriculum Pathways at Longfellow Elementary and Bessie Carmichael Elementary School where students learn Tagalog.

Served the K-Doctorate students over the past 15 years.214 PEP Teachers over the past 15 years.23 PEP Teachers at the Doctorate Level130 + PEP Teachers have gone on to various graduate

programs ranging from Masters programs in education, Teaching Credential Programs all over California, school counseling, social work, law, creative writing, and history.

Many PEP students have pursued higher levels of educa-tion and are engage in community and student activism.

in the arts, social sciences, or education is like a path to the unknown. The lack of Filipina/o Americans in those fields, the question of financial stability, and how popular culture rarely views the teaching profession in a positive light, creates a sense of uncertainty for many Filipina/o immigrant parents to support their children towards educa-tion.”

This is why PEP supports many undergraduate and gradu-ate students who have an inter-est in education by legitimizing their academic and professional endeavors, said Dr. Daus-Mag-bual. He also added that their organization provides them with a sense of community, teacher training, mentorship, practice and networks.

Continued on Page SF5

(L-R) Dr. Roderick Daus-Magbual (Director of Program Development), Dr. Arlene Daus-Magbual (Organi-zational Director), Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales (Founder, Director of Community Responsive Curriculum Development & Teacher Training) at PEP TIBAK Retreat June 26, 2015 at San Francisco State University.

PEP Summer Retreat last August 8, 2015 at Skyline College in San Bruno. Photo by Dr. Roderick Daus-Magbual

PEP at the SFUSD Board Meeting on the vote for Ethnic Studies last December 9, 2014 in San Francisco. Photo by Jeremy Keith Villaluz

SF3entertainmentThe Asian Journal SF MAGAZINE – Apri l 8, 2016

The classic song “Bakit Di Totohanin” popularized by Carol Banawa was used in one of the scenes of the hit US supernatural series “Vampire Diaries.”

In episode 716 of the said show, the song played in a scene featuring elizabeth Blackmoore (Valerie) and Paul Wesley (Stefan).

Banawa expressed her gratitude to the showrunners on Instagram.

“They have aired it al-ready!? #thevampirediaries used my song in one of the scenes for the episode 716. It was a scene between Stefan

and Valerie? They used, “BAKIT DI TOTOhANIN”? I am in disbelief right now but very grateful!” she said.

She also thanked the show’s music supervisor Chris Mollere,

actor Ian Somerhalder and the show’s cast for featuring her song.

The song was first released in 1997 under the album “Carol.” (Inquirer.net) Sanya Lopez, Gabbi Garcia, Kylie Padilla and Glaiza de Castro are the new Sang’gres in the remake of the 2005 popular fantasy-series “Encantadia.”

The long wait is over: GMA reveals who will play major roles in ‘encantadia’

The long wait is over for the “encantadia” fans as the newest Sang’gres have been revealed.

On Monday, April 4, Glaiza de Castro, Kylie Padilla, Gabbi Garcia and Sanya Lopez were named as the newest stars in the remake of GMA’s 2005 popular fantasy-series.

Glaiza de Castro will play

by Joyce Jimenez Philstar.com

the role of Pirena, which was portrayed before by Sunshine Dizon.

Kylie Padilla is Amihan, a role played by Iza Calzado.

Gabbi Garcia is Alena, which was portrayed before by Karylle.

Sanya Lopez is Danaya, the role played by Diana Zubiri.

It has been announced before that Marian Rivera will portray the role of Ynang

Reyna.Also part of the cast are

Solenn heussaff, John Ar-cilla, Rocco Nacino, Christian Bautista, Pancho Magno, Carlo Gonzales, Buboy Villar, Kate Valdez, Mikee Quintos, Migo Adecer, Klea Pineda, Rochelle Pangilinan, Vaness del Moral and Ruru Madrid.

The series is directed by Mark Reyes and will air soon in GMA.

MANILA—Luis Manzano is in good terms with with Angel Locsin, despite having to end their relationship for the second time.

They first broke up in 2009, got back together in 2014, and have again broken up again early this year.

“We’re friends, yes,” he re-plied when asked how he is and Angel, in a recent interview on Monday, April 4. “I don’t want to add color. Sa lahat ng pinag-daanan namin we’re friends.”

The two of them work together in the talent search show “Pilipinas Got Talent.”

he admitted that at first there was awkwardness be-tween them, which they even-tually worked on.

Asked if there’s any chance for them to get back together

Luis Manzano on Angel Locsin: We’re friendsby Joyce Jimenez

Philstar.com

for the third time, Luis chose to keep mum.

“Let’s not talk about that. Nakakahiya naman kay Angel, especially wala naman siya dito, baka isipin nagagamit siya for the promo,” he said.

“Less talk, less mistake, parang gano’n sa industry na

‘to,” he added.however, if there’s one

thing he learned from his recent breakup, Luis said that’s “to live life.”

“Life’s too short not to be lived, and I think that’s what happens with every relation-ship,” he said.

MARRIAGe and mother-hood suit Cristine Reyes well. It shows in her glow. Although she’s already content in the domestic front, the hot mama still yearns to soar more as an actress. Cristine tries something different in her new movie by Viva Films, “elemento.”

The supernatural horror dra-ma is about a mother (portrayed by Cristine) experiencing creepy things after her son comes home from a school field trip to a forest. After making our jaw drop with her curves, now Cristine is out to send chills down our spine.

here’s my chat with Cristine:How do you balance being a

mother, wife and an actress?I always make it a point to

have time for my family every Sunday. Our routine is always go-ing to church in the morning, then have lunch with family. Then, [my hubby] Ali (Khatibi) and I would have our date night.

How has Ali redefined love for you?

Ali showed me the true mean-ing and value of love. he taught me a lot of things I never knew. Love is not just something that can make you smile or make you

Cristine Reyes tries something different in new flick

by Dolly Anne cArvAJAlInquirer.net

Cristine Reyes (right) with Albert Silos in “Elemento.”

I’m not really the expert when it comes to love but, as her mother, I have to try to give her the best advice I can give about love. She shouldn’t rush into it and make sure to listen to me and Ali.

How has marriage and motherhood changed you?

I became more patient and selfless.

What can your fans expect from your new film?

It’s so intense! It will give you an adrenaline rush.

What are your tips on how to be a hot mama?

No tips at all. Just be a mom! By that, I mean take care of your family and everything will be OK. Live, and love your body.

Big or small, you just have to own it and don’t mind the people around you. As long as you’re happy and comfortable with your body … [it will give you] the best feeling.

What’s a misconception about you that you want to correct?

There are many things that I can say and misconceptions I can correct. But I’d rather not say anything at all. It’s better this way. The only thing that matters to me are the people who truly care for me and my loved ones.

happy.Love, for me now, has a

deeper meaning. It’s a never-end-ing cycle of giving and forgiving. And you know that you can only do this to someone you truly love.

Tell us the latest about your baby, Amarah?

Amarah is a very curious, expressive and happy baby. She loves to interact with people, especially kids. We took her to Thailand recently. It was her first time out of the country.

When she is old enough, what love advice will you give her?

Seafood City opens in South San Francisco

SeAFOOD City Supermar-ket, a major player in the oriental market industry in the United States, held a soft opening for its 6th store in Northern California on March 31, 2016.

Located along Callan Blvd. and Westborough Blvd., Sea-food City will host iconic brands associated with the Filipino American market, including Jollibee, Chowking, Valerio’s, Red Ribbon, Lhullier, PNB, Atlas, Grill City and Crispy Town, along with other select establishments offering customers a variety of services.

Customers lined up as early as 8am in anticipation of the store opening its doors for busi-ness at 9am. The first 100 cus-tomers who registered for the Suki Card, a rewards program of-fered by Seafood City, received a $5 gift certificate.

Points accumulated via the Suki Card, which is given free to customers who apply for it, can be used to pay for groceries. Customers also earn points via purchases with partner vendors of Seafood City.

Successful Community Night

Two days prior to its soft opening, the management of Seafood City held a by-invita-tion-only Community Night designed to introduce the company and the brands/ser-vices that will be present at the location.

hosted by ABS-CBN’s henni espinosa, the Community Night featured short remarks and brief presentations from Seafood City Marketing head Mildred Smith, South San Francisco City Mayor Mark Addiego, Gawad Kalinga’s Maricel Villanueva, ABS-CBN’s Jun del Rosario and Raffy Lopez, Consul Reginald Bernabe of the Philippine Consulate, Daly City Vice Mayor David Canepa and

Councilmember Mike Guin-gona, and April Veneracion Ang from the office of San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim.

Mayor Addiego, who thanked Seafood City in his remarks for investing in the space, told the Asian Journal that “the neighborhood has a viable, pleasant space to come to locally without driving to other parts of the city or out of the city. Mr. Go has done us a wonderful favor to revitalize this corner of Westborough in South San Francisco.”

The Mayor is encouraging residents of SSF to drive uphill to visit the Seafood City complex. “We have many markets in South San Francisco. But this is brand new, it’s fresh, there’s a lot of prepared foods… Nowadays as busy as we are, having these types of food choices, along with the fresh food, is the new trend,” he said, even as he remarked that their city has been the start-ing point in the past for retail grocers who have successfully grown their business many-fold.

For his part, Consul Bernabe read a message from Consul General henry Bensurto Jr. which in part said, “Today’s store opening highights once again the example set by Seafood City in showcasing empowerment through Filipino American entre-preneurship and in fostering the spirit of community, connectivity and continuity. Seafood City is an example of the profile of the present-day Filipino American – forward-looking, determined, dynamic and hardworking. We are not just gainfully employed, Seafood City proves that Filipino Americans also provide gainful employment to other members of the community.

“Seafood City is no ordinary supermarket or place to eat; it provides a venue by which

ground up renovation… the size of the building stayed but we raised the roof so it looks more airy. And we joined two buildings because we don’t want the other Filipino brands to be separate… we want the space to contain everyone,” Smith revealed.

According to Mildred, this complex can be classified as a first-of-its-kind Filipino town in that this location contains iconic brands and/or Philippine compa-nies that set up shop in the US, as well as home-grown com-panies catering to the Filipino lifestyle.

Whether visiting a den-tist, remitting money, buying medicine, eating different types of food or buying groceries and household items, Smith says customers have their choices of

services visiting the Seafood City complex.

“everything that is of Filipino interest, everything that caters to the Filipino lifestyle, it’s all here,” she said. “We can be the single destination for people. In fact, people can stay here for an entire afternoon because of the varied services offered in this complex – you can remit money, buy medicine, eat, buy groceries and other products.”

Smith says this place will have an appeal to every member of the community.

“To the older generations, it feels like coming home because everything you miss, we have here. If you want to reconnect with your heritage, it’s here. To the younger generation, if you want to find out about your roots

– what your mom or lola loves to eat or do – it’s still here. This place actually invites family re-unions… it’s the feeling of being home without spending for the airfare,” she said.

“The culture is here… it’s alive here. If you go around the store, as you will see in the drop-down banners, these single out Filipino values and culture like bayanihan (camaraderie), indak (dance), kaibigan (friend). This is an opportunity, not only for Sea-food City and its vendors, to be a shining example of the Filipino culture,” Smith added.

(Seafood City in South San Francisco is located at 3573 Cal-lan Blvd. Visit www.seafoodcity.com for promotions and store locations.)

*Advertising Supplement

Filipino culture is promoted. It allows our community and other communities to connect with one another through food, an important and binding element in any gathering – be it Filipino or otherwise. Through food, and food in cultures, we learn to appreciate and bond with each other better and bridge our gaps and differences.

“In this, Seafood City proves itself true to its vision of being the place to gather and feel like you are in your home. A home that provides generations opportuni-ties to appreciate and connect with our heritage and our moth-erland.”

The program was inter-spersed with musical perfor-mances by the St. Augustine’s Children’s Choir (led by John and Carmina Paes, choir presidents), Sina & Mark Davis, and violinist Corey Crywolffs.

‘Filipino Town’In an interview with the Asian

Journal, Mildred Smith disclosed that this space is perfect for their needs as Seafood City does not open only a supermarket but carries with them brands like Chowking, Jollibee, Red Ribbon, PNB, Atlas, Valerio’s and Lhuillier.

Seafood City had to do a ma-jor renovation to this strip mall, which many had considered to be sad-looking and rundown.

“This is a totally from the

Carol Banawa’s ‘Bakit Di Totohanin’featured in ‘Vampire Diaries’

Daly City Councilmember Mike Guingona (left) and Daly City Vice Mayor David Canepa present Seafood City with a certificate of appreciation. Receiv-ing on behalf of Seafood City is Steve Go (middle).

South San Francisco Mayor Mark Addiego puts on special commemorative pin from their city on the lapel of Steve Go’s suit.

A symbolic ribbon cutting ceremony was held during the event. Singer Sina Davis leads the St. Augustine’s Children’s Choir in singing he Philippine national anthem.

SSF Mayor Mark Addiego addresses the audience.

ABS-CBN’s Raffy Lopez (6th from left) and Seafood City’s Carlos Go (7th from left) pose with invited guests and ABS-CBN officials at the event.

Seafood City Marketing Manager Mildred Smith (left) welcomes guests with Balitang America’s Henni Espinosa, who served as program host, during the Community Night.

Seafood City Supermarket offers fresh produce plus a wide variety of grocery items that cater to the Filipino lifestyle.

Customers will see a varied selection of fish and meat at Seafood City.

The name Jessica Rodri-guez still rings a bell in showbiz circles to this day. To be sure, the former talent manager and actress who married triath-lete David Bunevacz, will be remembered for several con-troversies, the most serious of which was a high profile busi-ness partnership gone wrong that had them fleeing for safety in the United States.

It has been 15 years since that painful day for the former celebrity, who according to her publicist Shirley Matias Pizarro, has gotten over the Beverly hills 6750 fiasco and happily living with David and their three children still in the US. The latest news about her though is that she is officially a book author now, hav-ing released a self-help title, “Date Like a Girl, Marry Like A

Woman: The Polished Woman’s Guide to Love, Romance and Sex” via Amazon.com, now available for purchase.

“She’s actually preparing for a bigger launch soon,” Pizarro told The Manila Times.

Apparently, Jessica found good use of all her complex life experiences by writing them down, with the message that “even the wildest of dreams can become a reality.”

Through her publicist, Jessi-ca said of her new book, “I will be the first person to tell you that I never thought it was in me to write, much less author an entire book! Since we re-sided in California, I have been in search of my real purpose. My relationships are always the best part of my life and I found I had it in me to inspire people,

US-based Jessica Rodriguez releases a self-help title on Amazon.

SF4 celebrityworldThe Asian Journal SF MAGAZINE - Apri l 8, 2016

celebrity worldBy Ferdie Villar

Sarah Geronimodenies engagement,

remains tight-lipped about rumored rift with mother

SInGeR and actress Sarah Geronimo finally cleared the rumors that she’s already engaged and living with boy-friend Matteo Guidicelli.

In an interview with push.com, the Popstar Princess denied that she’s already engaged.

“Maraming naglabasan. nagli-live in na daw kami, buntis daw ako at engaged na kami. Wala, wala,” she said.

In an interview with Pep.ph, she further explained her current relationship status, saying that although both she and Matteo are of the right age, marriage still has to wait. She, however, revealed that she hopes to settle down in her early 30’s.

“Tumatanda na ako,

magti-treinta na ako, malapit na.

“Yan naman, kahit min-san gustuhin natin, pero pag hindi pa talaga, hindi pa.

Although she denied that she’s living with Matteo, she remains mum about reports of her rift with her mom, Divine.

“Gusto ko gawing private yung ganyang issue. Okay lang ba na huwag na natin pag-usapan?” she asked the members of the press.

***Actor John Lloyd Cruz

finally spilled the beans about the real status of his relationship with actress Angelica Panganiban. After months of speculation, he told the press that he and the actress have gone their

Popstar Princess Sarah Geronimo denied that she is engaged to boyfriend Matteo Guidicelli. She, however, remained tight-lipped about the rumored rift with her mother, Divine.

Actor John Lloyd Cruz has finally admitted that he and actress Angelica Panganiban have decided to go on separate ways. It could be remembered that back in January, rumors came out that the actor was romantically involved with long-time screen partner, Bea Alonzo.

separate ways.“Single na single,” he

said. “Wala naman pong nag-babago.”

Sometime in January, sources claimed that the actor is involved with long-time screen partner, Bea Alonzo.

Abigail “Larcy” Perez celebrated her 8th birthday with party hosted by her parents Anthony and Vangie Perez held last Saturday, April 2 at Chuck E. Cheese in Brentwood. Shown in photo with the celebrant are her friends and classmates.

Statewide Realty and Financial Service Inc. proprietress Alice Gabriana Atienza (far left) celebrated her birthday recently. She is shown in photo with (L-R) son-in-law Tad Leong, husband Clod Atienza and daughter Sara Atienza Leong.

The Children Sunday Choir of Saint Andrews Church in Daly City are shown in photo after their perfor-mance last Holy Week. (L-R) Trisha Cruz, Julian Esteron, Eren Padilla, Gabriel Hill, Joshua Castro and others.

John Lloyd Cruz and Jennylyn Mercado star in Star Cinema’s upcoming romantic-comedy, “Just the 3 of Us” under the direction of Cathy Garcia-Molina. Jennylyn plays the role of Aqui, who claims that Uno (John Lloyd) got her pregnant.

Filipino community leader here in the Bay Area Vic Barba (standing, second from left), who is also member of the board of directors for the US Ilocano National Association Inc., was one of the organizers of the annual Summer Sunday in the Park held recently at Coyote Point. Shown in photo with Vic are members of the organization.

however, John Lloyd insisted that they are just friends.

“Kung meron naman [love life], parang magiging masaya ka naman para ipamalita,” he said in an interview. “Sa edad kong ito, ‘di ba kung sina JaDine nga umaamin, tayo pa? nakakhiya naman kung magde-deny pa tayo.”

For now, John Lloyd is busy promoting his new mov-ie, “Just The 3 of Us,” under Star Cinema with leading lady, Jennylyn Mercado.

LOS AnGeLeS—As befits the country’s no. 1 musical export, Lea Salonga will guest in the season finale of “Crazy ex-Girl-friend,” the first prime-time series on mainstream US television to depict Filipino-American life, with a large cast of Filipino actors.

Rachel Bloom, the star and cocreator of the groundbreak-ing comedy-musical series on CW network, revealed details of Salonga’s appearance on the April 18 episode to the Inquirer.

The 2016 Golden Globe best actress in a TV series—comedy or musical—portrays Rebecca Bunch, a harvard-educated lawyer who gives up her high-powered new York job. Rebecca moves to West Covina, a Los Angeles suburb where many Fili-pinos live, to pursue her ex-boy-friend from teen camp, Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III).

“Lea Salonga is playing Josh’s Aunt Myrna, the sister of his mom, Lourdes (Amy hill),” Bloom revealed.

She said, “We knew Lea was both a musical theater icon and a Filipino icon so we were looking to cast her in some role through-out the season. When the writer’s room started coming up with the story for the season finale, Aline (Brosh McKenna, cocreator) and Rene Gube (the episode’s Fil-Am writer) realized that a certain role would be perfect for her.”

Season finaleGube penned the season

finale which involves the wedding of Josh’s sister, Jayma, played by another Fil-Am thespian, Tess Paras. One of the episode’s stills shows Josh and three of his friends in barong Tagalog (traditional Filipino shirt), doing

Lea Salonga guests in US TV series season finaleby Ruben V. nepales

Inquirer.net

Lea Salonga’s selfie with Rachel Bloom and Santino Fontana on the “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” set. Inquirer.net contributed photo

(Paras), whom I’ve known for many years.

“We knew that Josh Chan should be Asian and, once we cast Vincent Rodriguez, we wanted to dig into the fact that he is Filipino,” she added. “We believe that creating good characters comes from exploring specificity, and one’s culture is a massive part of one’s identity and specificity.”

The Los Angeles native, who also won a Critics’ Choice Television Award for best actress in a comedy series, said, “I have learned so much about Filipino customs and culture (while) doing this show.”

Filipino elementsShe is grateful to Gube, who

also acts in the show as Father Joseph, a Filipino Catholic priest nicknamed “Brah” by Josh.

“Rene is an essential resource when it comes to the Filipino elements in this story,” Bloom ac-knowledged. “he is our Filipino ambassador. We really start get-ting into specifics about Filipino culture in episode 6, which was the first episode Rene wrote.”

She added: “every single Filipino specific in that episode is due to Rene. even little things were due to Rene, like when Re-becca talks to Josh’s aunt about frozen shrimp dinners. And, I know that he felt and continues to feel a massive amount of pride being the main ambassador for his culture in our show.”

Recounted the series’ star: “When there was a shot de-manding that my character stir the dinuguan, Rene pointed out that the dinuguan we had on set didn’t look real. We immediately cut the shot. It is very important to us that we represent Filipinos and their culture accurately.”

Bloom pointed out, “It just goes to show that diversity in a writer’s room is essential to telling new stories.”

The lack of diversity in hol-lywood is an issue raging in hol-lywood, especially in the weeks leading to the Academy Awards show, which critics denounced for its predominantly white and male nominees.

“Crazy ex-Girlfriend” is being

a dance number at the wedding reception.

In the episode directed by McKenna, Rebecca’s and Josh’s relationship, as well as that of Rebecca’s and two of her friends, are severely tested.

“Lea sings an astounding solo number that we wrote specifi-cally for her!” exclaimed Bloom, who cowrites the show’s musical numbers.

Bloom recalled being very impressed when she first heard the Tony and Olivier Award win-ning actress.

She recalled, “The first time I heard Lea sing was when she voiced Jasmine singing in ‘Alad-din.’ The first time I saw her per-form was when she sang ‘On My Own’ on a televised broadcast of a live concert of ‘Les Miserables,’ where she played the role of eponine. I remember thinking she had the best singing voice I’ve ever heard.”

Best timeOf her guest stint in LA, Lea

Salonga said: “I really had the best time. It’s such a wonderful family (the writers have) created, and everyone is so nice to work with. Rachel is just a funny, gener-ous, sweet human to be around with.

“Most of my scenes though are with Amy hill and Vince Rodri-guez,” Lea added.

Gube also wrote the series’ Thanksgiving episode, which marked the first time that a mainstream TV show portrayed a Fil-Am family celebrating the American holiday in its own way, with dinuguan (pork blood stew) and all.

Bloom explained why the Fil-Am community scene is familiar to her. “I was a little bit familiar with Filipino culture before the show through my friend Tess

Whatever happened to Jessica Rodriguez?

Continued on Page SF5 Continued on Page SF5

entertainment SF5The Asian Journal SF MAGAZINE - Apri l 8, 2016

fright will always have its benefit in pushing artists to give their hundred-percent in every per-formance, Pineda went on to talk about how the idea of live streaming first appealed to him. And it was more for giving bud-ding artists a boost in the right direction, rather than himself.

“The first time I did this was in 2013 at my bar Rockville in Timog (Quezon City). My concept there was to help local bands to be live streamed via internet,” the successful singer recalled.

Besides giving rock music fans around the world a front-row seat to an Arnel Pineda concert, what he describes as the “magi-cal place of Rockville,” where he seeks to help others make dreams a reality has, will reach the farthest places around the globe.

“Rockville is a land of reality and fantasy. It’s a land where, if music is your thing, it touches your soul. It’s a story within a concert,” Journey’s frontman continued.

For the Newport concert of course, imagine the Timog bar show in grand proportions. And indeed, performing as his guests

are quality acts from around the world, namely 2016 Grammy nominee for best live perfor-mance, Morgan Rose of the band Sevendust (acclaimed to be one of the world’s best drummers), and new pop rock sensation from America, Namesake.

Produced by Sanre Entertain-ment, the online streaming of A Voyage To Rockville is priced at $14.95 at Sanrestreaming.com, with additional options for a de-layed telecast at $9.95 (valid for a seven day period from the time of purchase); and VIP access at $24.95 for fans who wish avail of an autographed CD for Pineda as well as 8 weeks access to delayed telecasts..

Asked what kind of magic he has in store for his Filipino fans and the rest of the world, Pineda replied, “This will be the first time for me to mix a lot of original songs with cover songs that I’ve been doing for the past 30 year, including songs from Journey. It’s very nerve-wracking for me because I don’t know what the reaction of the audience will be, but at the same time I’d like to see that risk and see what hap-pens.”

Arnel Pineda takes ‘Rockville’ to the world

by Christina alpadManilaTimes.net

Arnel Pineda returns to rock stage with ‘Voyage To Rockville’ American pop rock band Namesake and Morgan Rose of Sevendust (inset) are Pineda’s special guests to his concert

FRoM performing in dinky bars for small crowds with his cover band to stadiums and arenas around the world for mammoth audiences, Arnel Pineda has indeed come a long way since becoming American rock band Journey’s front man in 2007.

Now used to performing on the stages of Quinta Vergara Amphitheater in Chile for 20,000 people; the Raymond James Sta-dium in Tampa, Florida for 65,000; and the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds here at the home front for some 30,000 fans, the oPM artist-turned-international rock star admits there is still a venue that gives him the jitters.

“The ‘unseen’ online audi-ence,” Pineda spelled out as he was reunited with the Philippine press on Friday, to announce his upcoming concert at the New-port Performing Arts Theater of Resorts World Manila, dubbed “A Voyage To Rockville.”

And you guessed it right—the live production will be streamed real-time around the world.

Acknowledging that stage

MANILA—The phenomenal loveteam of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, collectively known as AlDub, was recently launched as the newest product endorsers for the clothing and lifestyle brand Bench. AlDub Nation flocked to the Trinoma Activity Area and filled the event with deafening shrieks and screams of support, with some fans already lining up hours before the event. The hashtag #MaiChardforBench also trended on Twitter.

Fans were treated to a number of mini-games, as well as equally energetic dance performances each from Alden and Maine. But the kilig fac-tor reached fever pitch when Alden, while singing God Gave Me You, was finally joined on stage by Maine. They also talked about how thankful and honored they are to be part of the Bench family. The event cul-minated with a meet-and-greet with some lucky fans.

Before ending the program

Ben Chan on AlDub asBench endorsers: No-brainer

by phoebe Marquez Philstar.com

Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards with Bench founder Ben Chan

proper, however, Alden and Maine revealed that they have a huge surprise for AlDub Nation in July. “Something everyone has been waiting for,” teased Alden. “It’s an an-niversary gift,” added Maine, pertaining to the birth of AlDub last July 2015.

Asked why Bench chose Al-den and Maine to represent its products, Bench founder and Suyen Corporation chairman

Ben Chan told The STAR dur-ing the launch event that “it’s a no-brainer na kunin sila (to get them as endorsers). Further-more, Chan described Alden and Maine as “very traditional Filipino.”

“I think that every young Filipino should look up to them because they’re very down-to-earth even if they’re so successful. Their values are very good,” Chan added.

A FEW days after her photos with one Direction lead vocalist Harry Styles at Saint Barths became widespread, rumors spread that Kendall Jenner is dating Fil-Am and Los Angeles (LA) Lakers point guard Jordan Clarkson.

According to People Magazine, the supermodel was spotted recently with 23-year-old Clarkson at The Nice Guy, a bar in West Hollywood.

“They have been secretly dating for months and they are super into each other,” People Magazine quoted a source as saying. “He is super sweet and a total gentleman and Kendall loves that.”

According to reports, it was none other than Kendall’s sister Khloe Kardashian who paired

Is Kendal Jenner ‘secretly dating’ Fil-Am Laker Jordan Clarkson?

them.The ‘Keeping up with the

Kardashians’ cast are not new to hooking up with NBA play-ers. Khloe herself is married to LA Laker Lamar odom

while her elder sister Kim was married to Atlanta Hawks player Kris Humphries for a few months until their divorce in 2011. (Gianna Francesca Catolico/Inquirer.net)

and actually give them sound advice about love and life. So, I learned to write. And then I found my purpose. I hope people will enjoy reading this book as much as I had enjoyed writing it and sharing my life in the process.”

“Date Like a Girl, Marry Like a Woman,” she added, will help readers navigate how to have a good time with “Mr. Right

Whatever happened...From Page SF4

hailed for its pioneering vision to feature Asian, specifically Filipino, key characters on prime time. Bloom and McKenna will be hon-ored on April 25 by the East West Players, the premier Asian Ameri-can theater in the US, for helping raise “the visibility of Asian-Pacific American community through their craft.”

Rodriguez was quoted as saying in another interview, “I’m proud of the show” because “I didn’t see a Josh character on TV (when I was) growing up.”

Said Bloom: “From the beginning, we wanted Josh Chan to be an Asian ‘bro.’ I grew up with a ton of Asian bros and it

Lea Salonga guests in US...From Page SF4

Now” and how to hold onto “Mr. Right” once they find him.

“Her book is about shed-ding your insecurities, and offers insight on looking, feel-ing, and being your best, with an emphasis on having your own life. Additionally, this is the book you’ll come back to even after you say ‘I do’ to your man. Understanding that hap-pily ever after may be a good way to end a movie, but isn’t a

good way to start a marriage. You can find real tips about ev-erything from friendship to sex to finances with both humor and heart,” Pizarro interjected.

“Ultimately Date Like a Girl, Marry Like a Woman: The Pol-ished Woman’s Guide to Love, Romance, and Sex is meant to transcend beyond the pages as it’s lessons are applied in daily life,” Jessica concluded. (ManilaTimes.net)

was a character type we hadn’t seen on television before. It felt new, specific and very true to the show’s setting of Southern California. We were just going for something that felt fresh and new and, inadvertently, broke new ground with a sexy male Asian lead, something that hadn’t really been done before.”

Apparently, being exposed to another culture was a good experience for Bloom as well. “I did taste the dinuguan and it was delicious!” the actress said about the Filipino dish which her Rebecca character cooked to im-press Josh and his Filipino family at their Thanksgiving celebration. “I truly loved every second of eat-

ing in that Thanksgiving episode. I was also a massive fan of the kare-kare (stew cooked with a thick peanut sauce)—that was my favorite dish.”

Asked if another Filipino food item would be featured in the show, Bloom replied, “I don’t know whether or not Rebecca will eat balut but it’s a definite possibility!”

on whether other Filipino tal-ents will guest star in the series, which was renewed by CW for season 2, Bloom said, “We have just started writing the second season, so we are not sure yet! Whoever it is, our standards for guest stars have been set very high by Lea Salonga.”

“This is important because it allows PEP Teachers the experi-ence to create curriculum, syl-labus, lesson plans, and develop their pedagogy within the per-spective of Ethnic Studies. PEP opens the world of education towards Filipina/o Americans where there is a lack of pres-ence and to show students that education can be used as a tool for change. Teaching Filipina/o American Studies in PEP goes beyond learning important dates, historical figures, but to understand that his/herstory is alive, that it is relevant, and it is important to understand why the world operates in its current state. By providing our students with a culturally relevant and responsive education, they see purpose in what they learn, pathways towards action, and a family that supports their learn-ing.”

Although initial reactions from students about PEP are mostly how young the teachers look, that perception is quickly changed once they find out how creative, intelligent and profound they are. Immediately, students feel a sense of connec-tion because they see teachers who look and speak like them.

“To also have teachers who take the same bus lines, who are visible in the neighborhood, and especially those who went to the same schools,” Dr. Daus-Magbual explained. “Trust is developed throughout the se-

From Page SF2

Pin@y Educational Partnerships...mester, but having teachers who have traveled similar paths of their students creates a special unspoken bond. It shows PEP students that they can see them-selves in their PEP Teachers and that college is accessible.”

At present, P@P is currently serving 220 students—from kindergarten to college, with 52 teachers weekly. They also have an after school cultural enrichment program at Longfel-low Elementary school, an 8th grade elective course at James Denman Middle school, and an elective course at Balboa and Philip Sala Burton High Schools. PEP is also partnered with Step to College at SF State, Claudine del Rosario at USF and Dr. Daus-Magbual at Skyline College.

Curently, PEP is celebrat-ing their 15th anniversary as an organization this year. The organization also continue their work to develop their K-Col-lege pipeline to use Filipina/o American Studies as a way for the community to learn about themselves and transform the world.

“...our his/herstories are powerful to understanding who we are, the issues that affect our community, and to become the change we want to see in the world. Filipina/o American Studies/Ethnic Studies should not begin when students get to college, but for our community to have educational access to learn about their experiences when they enter their first day

of school,” said Dr. Daus-Mag-bual and then added, “Ethnic Studies should not be viewed as a marginalized extracurricular subject area, but a necessary component to student learning K-College. With the ongoing fight to sustain the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University (SFSU), we need to support this struggle for cur-rent and future students.

“As many schools in Califor-nia and abroad adopting Ethnic Studies classes and require-ments, educational leaders are looking toward SFSU College of Ethnic Studies for guidance and for future teachers. It is critical that we support this struggle for full funding of the college to advance Ethnic Studies scholarship, support, and space to cultivate Ethnic Studies teachers. As one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in California and in the United States, it is time for all Americans to learn how Filipinas/os were instrumental in construction of the American empire and our history should not just be a mere paragraph, sentence, or footnote in the US history books. It is time to step outside of the margins and center our experiences in the educational discourse.”

For more information about Pin@y Educational Partnerships, log on to http://www.pepsf.org

*Special thanks to Dr. Arlene Daus-Magbual for her assis-tance.

Kendall Jenner and Jordan Clarkson