asian journal april 13-19, 2012 edition

The Titanic’s 100th Year Anniversary .. p. 20

They also Believe Who See and Touch

.. p. 11

‘No more shortage of nurses in United States until 2020’ Musical on Imelda to open in New York in 2013

PH pageant groups react to transgender policy

Noy: Phl to assert sovereignty

ABS CBN NEWS | MANILA, Philippines – A musical on former fi rst lady Imelda Mar-cos will debut in New York next year, according to the New York Times.

The off-Broadway group Public Theater has included the Marcos musical, “Here Lies Love,” in its new

season lineup, the New York newspaper reported on Monday.

Zena Sultana BabaoMsgr. Gutierrez Ben MaynigoA Holy Week to

Remember .. p. 4

April 13-19, 2012

From Evita to Imelda

UP law students shine in Int’l moot court in Washington DC

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(Continued on page 17)



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Filipino source of e-books from and about the Philippines launched


Pres. Noy Aquino

ABS CBNNews | MA-NILA, Philippines, 4/9/2012 – Two beau-ty pageant groups in the Philippines made their respective statements on Wednes-day fol-lowing the decision of the Miss Universe Organization to give trans-gender contestants a chance to be crowned the world’s most

beautiful woman. The Binibining Pilipinas

Chari-ties Inc., which sends represen-tatives to Miss Uni-verse and other in-ternational

pageants, said it respects the group’s latest policy change.

Philippine Star | MANILA, Philippines, 4/12/2012 - The Philippines will assert its sov-ereignty over Panatag (Scar-borough) Shoal through diplomatic and peace-ful means, President Aquino said yes-terday.

The President said he spoke with Chinese Ambas-sador Ma Keqing on Tuesday. Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario sum-moned her yesterday as the

Philippines fi led a diplomatic protest.

“Nobody will benefi t if violence will erupt there,”

Aquino said in an ambush interview as he expressed hope that the dis-pute will be settled peace-fully.

“What is important is we protect our sovereignty. We could not give that away and we could

Christopher Ocampo and Niel Nucup [via ABS-CBN]

Good News Pilipinas | WASH-INGTON, DC, 4/8/2012 -- Two children of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) helped propel the University of the Philippines College of Law into the circle of the world’s

top four law schools, after tak-ing part in the most prestigious moot court competition in the U.S.

Christo-pher Louie Ocampo, whose father works as a

Good News Pilipinas | MA-NILA 4/4/2012 -- Flipreads, an online bookstore that sells electron-ic books (e-books) by Filipino authors and pub-lishers, is now online (www.fl ipreads.com).

Writers and publishers attended Flipread’s launch, where CEO Anthony de Luna said, “Flipreads is a source of e-books from and about the Philippines and Asia.”

The site has an inaugural

offering of 70 e-books avail-able for buyers anywhere in the world.

Titles include: “Man Over-board: Essays by, for and of the Smart Filipino Male” by Butch Dalisay; “Tabi Po” by Merwin Malonzo; “Wealth within Your Reach” by Fran-cisco Colayco; “The King of Nothing to Do: Essays on

Nothing and Ev-erything” by Luis Katigbak; “A Song for My Brother and Other Stories” by Antonio Hidalgo; and “Geek Trag-

edies” by Carljoe Javier.E-books sold in Flipreads

are in a format that can be read on Apple devices (iPad, iPod and iPod Touch); on desktop computers, laptops and devices (tablets and

By Paolo Romero (The Philip-pine Star) | MANILA, Philip-pines - Filipino nurses should not to expect to get jobs in the United States until 2020, an administra-tion lawmaker said yesterday.

LPGMA party-list Rep. Arnel Ty said the shortage of nurses in US ended in 2010 and “now they have ample supply of US-educated nurses.”

Citing statistics from the US National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Ty said the country has produced close to a million nurses from 2006 to 2011.

He said the demand for Fili-pino and other foreign nurses in the US might start to recover when a generation of American nurses retires eight years from now.

He said US hospitals fi rst encountered a shortage of nurses in 1998. The gap has been fi lled with the increase in the number of American nurses and “a deluge of foreign-educated practitioners.”

Ty also cited a New England Journal of Medicine report stating that there is “some chance” US hospitals might step up the hir-ing of foreign nurses when more Americans obtain medical insur-ance coverage under an expanded US healthcare law starting 2014.

He said that due to the over-supply of nurses in the Philippines, both higher education and profes-sional regulators have been urging high school graduates not to take up nursing.

The lawmaker however criti-cized regulators for their late re-sponse to labor market conditions.

“They (Philippine nursing offi -cials) should be more aggressive in researching and projecting future labor market conditions, both here and abroad, to help guide young Filipinos as to potential career paths,” he said.

“Regulators are just reacting to what is already happening, such as the apparent glut of nursing graduates. Their late advisories would be more valuable once these are predictive and instructive, rather than merely reac-tive,” he added.

A total of 145,081 Filipino nurses took the US licensure exam or the Na-tional Council Licensure Examination from 1995 to 2011. At least 938,552 US nursing graduates also took the NCLEX from 2006 to 2011.

Ty has been pushing for legislation that will provide a special local jobs

April 13-19, 2012Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

(Continued from page 1)

PH Pageant Groups

are really conservative. We're talking about Moslems, Christians, Catho-lics. So I don't think it will happen in the near future," added Lorraine Schuck, the company's chief execu-tive offi cer. For his part, Carousel Productions president Ramon Mon-zon said: "We don't have to be the pioneer in this particular fi eld, of be-ing the fi rst ones to accept [transgen-ders in beauty pageants]. We'll see how it happens." Contestants of the said pageant had mixed views, with some respecting the organizers’ rules and others open to the new policy. "I do respect them as individuals but I know that they have their own pageants where they can also excel and show their talents," one of them said. "I believe in equal rights... If I were to compete against a trans-gender I would see him, or her, as a worthy competitor," another added. Miss Universe 1999 fi rst runner-up Miriam Quiambao, meanwhile, said on Twitter that "transgenders should not be allowed to join the Miss U because it's for real women." After being initially disqualifi ed, transgen-der contestant Jenna Talackova was allowed to join the Miss Universe Canada pageant to be held this May. Talackova, 23, underwent a sex change operation when she was 19. -- Report from Mario Dumaual, ABS-CBN News

****Bb. Pilipinas 2012 – Meet the 30

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But the group, which will hold this year’s Binibining Pilipinas coronation night on Sunday, did not mention if it will follow suit.

“We respect the decision of the Miss Universe Organization to change its policy regarding transgen-der participation in the pageant. At the moment, however, we are still awaiting the guidelines of this policy decision from the Miss Universe Organization,” Tessa Mangahas, public relations and corporate com-munications manager of BCPI, said in a statement. Organizers of the advocacy-driven Miss Philippines-Earth pageant, however, stressed that only “naturally born” women should be allowed to join their beauty con-test -- at least for now. Representa-tives of Carousel Productions, which run the Miss Philippines-Earth and Miss Earth pageants, said they have to “respect our Catholic and Moslem tradition.” "I don't think we're ready for that yet," said Peachy Ven-eracion, vice president of Carousel Productions. "Especially the Philip-pines." "We have religions here that

Candidates - Starmometer.com Here are the offi cial candidates for

Bb. Pilipinas 2012:1. Karen Gallman 19, Bohol2. Romelin Roxane de Castro 20,

Taguig City3. Nicole Marable 17, Quezon City4. Jaine Hidalgo 25, Naga City5. Rose Ann Aguilar 24, Cavite6. Maria Alicia Elena Ariosa 24,

Pagadian City7. Patricia Lae Ejercitado 23

Cainta, Rizal8. Nicole Schmitz 23, Cebu City9. Mary Jean Lastimosa 24, Davao

City10. Jillean Camille Orbina 20,

Isabela11. Marie Virgenia Cecilie Peter

21, Kalibo, Aklan12. Mika Maxine Medina 21,

Quezon City13. Katrina Jayne Dimaranan 18,

San Juan City14. Gina Joy Howell 20, Angeles

City15. Elaine Kay Moll 20, Northern

Samar16. Liezl Alcantara 19, Basco,

Batanes17. Anna Czarina Buenviaje 19,

Malinao, Albay18. Janine Marie Tugonon 22,

Balanga, Bataan19. Roxane Joy Jesalva 18,

Daraga, Albay20. Roxanne Tadique 25, Quezon

City21. Giselle Angelica Muñoz 25,

Parañaque City22. Meiji Cruz 18, Valenzuela City23. Goldy Baroa 2, Laguna24. Fer Mary Baliquig 20, Bohol25. Chloe Zanardi 24, Marikina

City26. Angelee delos Reyes 24, Olon-

gapo City27. Golda Soller 25, Roxas, Isa-

bela28. Marie Irisha Arcenas 21, Cebu

City29. Annalie Forbes 19, Malolos

City30. Sherlyn Gonzales 24, Ilocos

SurThe coronation night for Bb.

Pilipinas 2012 is happening on April 15 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, and will be broadcast live by ABS-CBN channel 2.

By: Aurora Vega-Buzon

USCIS has published a very important proposed change

in processing petitions for certain alien relatives called “Provisional Unlawful Pres-ence Waivers of Inadmissi-bility for Certain Immediate Relatives”. How does this proposed change affect you?

Current Rule. A United States citizen who wants to sponsor his alien spouse, parent or minor child (under 21 years old and unmarried) must fi rst fi le a petition for an alien relative (I-130). Upon approval, such alien spouse, parent or minor child can fi le for “adjustment of status” to that of a green card holder, if present in the Unites States; or if abroad, receive an immigrant visa from a United States Embassy. However, there are certain grounds why an alien spouse, parent or child - who is already in the United States - cannot be approved for adjustment of status and be granted a green card, for example: 1) alien entered without inspection or admission (alien illegally crossed over and did not go through border inspection/ad-mission); or or 2) alien entered as a fi ancé/e or child of a fi ance/e and did not marry the United States citizen who fi led the fi ancé/e petition; or 3) alien entered as a crewman. Thus, the alien spouse, parent or child must depart the United States to get an immigrant visa at the United States Embassy in his home country, and return to the United States to be admitted as an immigrant. The problem is, once the alien departs the United States, he will be barred from getting an immigrant visa for either 3 or 10 years, if he has been unlawfully present in the United States for more than 6 months, or more than 1 year. Thus, the alien’s required departure for the visa inter-view, is the very action that triggers the 3/10 year bars. The alien needs to fi le an Application for Waiver of Inadmissibility (I-601) with the Embassy, and must show “extreme hardship” to a qualifying relative to waive the bar. Waiver processing takes almost a year or longer; and if denied, the alien spouse, parent or child is stuck outside the United States for 3 or 10 years, before re-applying for an immigrant visa.

Proposed Rule. USCIS proposes a rule that will allow immediate relatives of United States citizens and certain other aliens, while in the United States – to fi le for unlawful presence waivers with the USCIS; and if approved, the alien will be granted a “provisional unlaw-ful presence waiver”, which will become effective upon the alien’s departure from the United States and a determination by a United States

Embassy that the alien is not subject to any other ground of inadmissibil-ity other than unlawful presence and because of the provisional waiver, will be given an immigrant visa.

Who Will Benefi t. The proposed rule is limited to the “Immediate Relatives” of United States citizens (who must be at least 21 years old), namely: 1) Spouses; 2) Parents; and 3) Unmarried children under 21 years of age. Also included are specifi c classes of individuals: 4) certain Surviving Spouses and Children of United States citizens; 5) Self petitioners; 6) Aliens entitled to conditional permanent resident status based on marriage to a United States citizen which is less than two years.

Conditions for Eligibility. To be eligible for the provisional waiver of inadmissibility, an applicant alien must show: i) he is one of the above classes of aliens; 2) he is the benefi ciary of an approved immedi-ate relative petition; 3) he is age 17 or older; 4) he is currently pres-ent in the United States but cannot become a permanent resident unless he departs and get an immigrant visa abroad; 5) that upon departure, he will be subject to the 3 year or 10 year unlawful presence bars and will become inadmissible only on that sole ground; 6) he has paid the immigrant visa processing fee with the State Department and has not yet been scheduled for a visa interview at the Embassy; and 7) his United States citizen spouse or parent will suffer “extreme hardship” if the waiver application is not granted.

Bear in mind that the provisional waiver rule is just a proposal at this point. Once the rule is fi nal, we still have to wait for USCIS to issue implementing rules and regulations and announce an effective date for accepting applications.

Atty. Aurora Vega-Buzon is a partner in Chua Tinsay & Vega, A Professional Legal Corpora-tion (CTV) - a full service law fi rm with offi ces in San Francisco, San Diego and Philippines. The information presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. Call or HYPERLINK “javascript:email_US()” e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (415) 495-8088; (619) 955-6277; [email protected]

Proposed Provisional Waiver of Unlawful Presence

Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comApril 13-19, 2012


San Diego News

“Hearts Like Ours” Fund-Raiser for Autism Program SAN DIEGO (Monday, April 9,

2012) - In celebration of Autism Awareness Month, the SDSU School of Theatre, Television, and Film, along with the Autism Society of San Diego, Tender Loving Canines and Sierra Academy, will present the “Hearts Like Ours” Film Festival, a screening of three short films created by SDSU film stu-dents. All proceeds of this event will go to Autism Society Summer Camps and to Sierra Acad-emy film and music programs for stu-dents with autism.

The festival will take place Monday, April 23rd at 7:00 p.m. at Don Powell Theater. Tickets can be acquired at the door with a recom-mended $10 ($5 student) donation by cash or check. Donations can also be made in advance online by credit card at www.sd-autism.org.

All three of the films are thesis films from emerging filmmakers who are recent graduates of the Master of Arts Television, Film, and New Media Production program at SDSU. The films range from a heart-felt drama about a lost boy with au-tism to a documentary about training help dogs, and include a special clip from a film created specifically for the autistic mind. This series of short films are intended to raise awareness about autism; and the festival will highlight the local talent using their craft to promote social awareness of autism.

Anthony Pang’s “Autistically Speaking, no. 1” is designed to engage and entertain an audience with autism. Drawing from scientific

SDSU Student Film Festival Focuses on Autism Awareness

research on autism and firsthand observations from educators and caretakers, the film explores how an individual with autism interacts with the physical world. Pang’s goal is to eventually develop a model of entertainment specifically for the autistic mind.

Directed by Iris Caffin, “Strong Souls, Gentle Spirits” was recently awarded a prestigious Academy of

Television Arts and Sciences College Tele-vision Award. “Strong Souls, Gentle Spirits” tells the story of eight-year-old Jolena and the road taken by her family to diagnosis autism and to have a service dog placed with the family. The result is an enlighten-

ing story of overcoming obstacles and the human-animal bond that develops.

Finally, “El Abuelo” is directed by Stephen Crutchfield, written by Stephen Metcalfe (studio writer for “Pretty Woman”, “Mr. Holland’s Opus”), and produced by Patrick Scott. Metcalfe wrote the “El Abue-lo” from a personal perspective, as his teenage son is autistic. The short film features Nick, an autistic boy who does not speak; befriended by an elderly migrant worker, the boy finds his voice.

A question and answer session with the filmmakers and Autism So-ciety representatives will follow the screenings. A number of local non-profit organizations will be on hand to share resources and assistance.

Source: Autism Society of San Diego, 4699 Murphy Canyon Rd.

San Diego, California 92123 858-715-0678 * [email protected] * www.sd-autism.org

SAN DIEGO – The City of San Diego is recognizing Water Aware-ness Month throughout May and is inviting San Diegans to learn more about water, “tap” into City resourc-es and participate in a series of fun and educational activities.

City Hall will once again be trans-formed into “Kiddie Hall” on May 1 as school children from throughout San Diego join the May-or and San Diego City Council to be honored for their creative expressions about water conservation through the City’s annual poster contest and to kick off “Water Awareness Month.”

While San Diego’s short-term water supply outlook is good, it is important to remember that San Diego still imports up to 85 percent of its water supply from Northern California and the Colorado River. The conditions that affect these imported water supplies are cyclical and subject to change. Additionally, dry years are more common than wet years in Southern California. In response to these realities, San Di-egans are adopting a long-term ethic to “waste no water.”

“It wasn’t too long ago that we were dealing with water cutbacks and had to alter our water-use be-haviors,” said Mayor Jerry Sanders. “Now that we have ample short-term supplies, the message is to remem-ber the value of water, use it wisely and never waste it,” added Sanders.

Informational ResourcesSpotlighted this month is “Drink-

ing Water Week” from May 6 to 12. Learn more about water sources, purchasing water, treating water, and distributing water. “From Source

to Tap” is featured on the City’s website at www.sandiego.gov/water/quality.

Find fun facts about water, water-saving tips for inside and outside your home, report water waste and read about year-round water-waste restrictions. Also featured is a Land-scape Watering Calculator that can help you determine the exact amount

of water your landscaping needs. Go to www.sandiego.gov/water/conser-vation.

The City of San Diego’s Public Utilities Department recognizes the importance of its responsibility with

the money customers pay for water and sewer service. Learn more about how the department uses fees to fund programs, services and a vast, complex water and sewer system on the Your Dollars at Work web page at www.sandiego.gov/publicutilities/dollarsatwork.shtml.

Join in the conversation and share water saving tips, ideas, resources

City Helps Quench Thirst for Resources, Information and Events During “Water Awareness Month”

and comments. Go to www.face-book.com and look for “San Diegans Waste No Water,” “City of San Diego Public Utilities” and “Water Purification Demonstration Project” or go to www.twitter.com and look for “SDWasteNoWater,” “SDPub-Utilities.” If videos are your thing, check out the City of San Diego Public Utilities YouTube Channel at

www.YouTube.com/SDPublicUtili-ties.

Resources to Save Water and Money

City water customers can take advantage of free residential and

commercial water surveys through the Public Utilities Department to pinpoint water-saving options at your home or business, including identifying possible leaks. On aver-age, an American home wastes more than 10,000 gallons of water every year due to running toilets, dripping faucets, and other household leaks. That’s a lot of water, and money,

wasted. Call (619) 570-1999, email [email protected] or visit the City’s website at www.sandiego.gov/water/conservation.

Spring gardening season is in full swing and the City’s Public Utilities Department has a residential and commercial outdoor rebate program. By conducting a landscape make-over and maintaining a healthy gar-

den, City water customers may be eligible for cash-back rebates on rain barrels, smart controllers and micro-irriga-tion. Funded primarily by state grants competitively

sought and obtained by the Depart-ment, the rebates are available to eligible single-family, multi-family and commercial customers on a first-come, first-served basis. Sustainable landscapes/turf replacement rebates, which are a popular component of the program, have been suspended until new funding is obtained. Visit the City’s website at www.sandiego.gov/water/conservation and look for “rebates.”

Fun and Educational Events/Activities

Thanks to the support from local community groups, City librar-ies and businesses, San Diegans can also enjoy local events and get involved with the community and focus on all things water. Beginning May 1, a comprehensive listing of events, including various story times at local libraries, will be posted on the City’s website under the header “Money-Saving Resources, Informa-tion and Events Spotlighted During Water Awareness Month” at www.wastenowater.org.



Opinion

By Cesar D. Candari, MD. FCAP Emeritus

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Kabit – The Double Life Of CJ R Corona

By CESAR D. CANDARI, MD FCAP EMERITUS HENDERSON, NEVADA

We are inundated with the immoral cataclysmic demeanor of CJ Renato Corona under impeachment. While the Senate of the Philippines serving as judges in the impeachment court is going into a six-week recess in observance of Holy Week, we pray something good will happen there-after. Will Corona be found guilty? I am overly pessimistic. Justice in the Philippines is a farce. I remember Journalist Macasaet stated, “The unfi tness of Mr. Corona to lead the Court is not just in the evidence of his guilt. His demeanor disqualifi es him from the post.” You can call him a pusillanimous human being not worth to be Chief Justice of the Supreme of the Island-the Republic of the Philippines. A veteran journal-ist of Manila, William Esposo wrote: “If the Chief Justice Corona is man enough he should admit the fact that he has a long-standing romantic relationship with a gentle lady named EVA with whom the Chief Justice has two (2) illegitimate sons.” The impeachment is a Moro Moro. I have enough of it. Now, I will spend my time to share with the readers the enigmatic qualities maintained by Filipinos; why concubines are accepted, matter- of- fact constant, shrug their shoulders and seemed not really an issue of immorality in our country, the Philippines. A Filipino would likely say, walang bali ‘yan (that is nothing to interest me). This relationship between a man with a legal wife and with another woman- a

kabit - is a relationships not frowned upon by the community. Am I right? I have to say it anyway. It is a formi-dable nature of a man with a KABIT- the concubinage that is customarily, if not, a standard fl aunt of Filipinos even in lower class, albeit more com-mon in the high echelon of soci-ety- including former Presidents of the Philippines. Police and Jeepney Drivers in the Philippines have their own concubines, and nobody pays any attention. Indeed it is un-catholic obedience of the Bible by the Chief Justice of the land of 2.2 million of Filipinos, 80% of which are Catoli-cos (catholics). Can you imagine a senator is publicly known as a horny father, fathered 72 children by 16 different women? He has to sup-port everyone, one million pesos a month to these concubines who bore his children. Where do this politico dig up the resources of moolah, is a vital question. They have to be a corrupt offi cial , steal moneys, and become plunderers. Not rare in our country! It is a fact in the landscape of our fi lthy politics. This is the fealty they have to be. . What makes it so popular practices of Filipino men or even some women in the Philippines? Did Filipinos follow the Islamic practice? In Muslim, “Slave women were required mainly as concubines and menials. A Muslim slaveholder was entitled by law to the sexual enjoyment of his slave women.” In our country, when someone has the Affl uence Means Richness, have the spondulicks, they make it sure that a kabit is built-in in their daily lives. It is even accepted by some Filipinos or by the doer as one with prestige and one with identity and fame, bravado, a macho- man, and takes great joy and pride to be called a babaero-womanizer , albeit Casanova is more appealing to them. Having many women is a sign of luxury and power over others who could not. While Don Juan is a legend, the word Casanova originates from the name of the man Gian Giacomo Girolamo Casanova, and is nowadays used to refer to a man who is a woebegone- a womanizer. In the Philippines, he buys a nice expensive car, and con-sider it as his second home where his legal wife cooks in the kitchen, how-ever , used the Mercedes- (Benz) as a romantic setting where his concubine builds a fi re. Blair and Robertson, historians, author of fascinating and marvelous volumes of books - very informative history and culture of

people in the Philippines, made their take about Filipinos or native Indios in pre-colonial Spanish times. Both are pioneers in looking specifi cally for how the Indios take slave women and keep them as concubines. .....in our lingo KABIT. Why were polygamy, concubinage and abor-tion practiced 300+ years of Spanish rule in the Philippines? By research of Blair and Robertson, Filipinos were converted in the Catholic faith. These observations stated indeed, there were changes in the norms of the pre-colonial natives. During those times, most of the native Indios daily practices and rituals were conceived sinful. The marital practices of the natives mostly belonging to the chief class, of the Philippines prior to their conversion from their pagan beliefs were allowed to have as many con-cubines as they want as long as they could support these women . These carnal sins - adultery, polygamy and fornication all of which were parts of the traditions were condemned by the Western colonizers based on the Catholic religion. And gradu-ally, the Philippines and its people reinvented its practices and culture as well, in accordance to the preach-ing of the oppressors. Do we still have in the Philippines, concubinage as norm.? Do we still have Maria Clara (ang dalagang Pilipina) in our country? Many questions now with no real answers. To fast forward, what is happening now with regards to concubine in the country? Most recent , an ex- Philippine ambassador was arrested for keeping a concu-bine. Similarly a rich man in Manila was charged with “concubinage” for allegedly conducting the affair with his wife's best friend in a family-owned Manila apartment. This man no question and to quote a wife, “my husband is an abuser, a scrooge, an incorrigible philanderer, and worse, a pervert.” And I’d say he has the art of infi delity. Now, back to Chief Justice Corona. Isn’t he an infi del? Is he adulterous- a crime and therefore, a criminal, if indeed he has another woman with two other children? Esposo continud to say, “For Chief Justice Renato C. Corona not to men-tion his children with EVA as if they do not exist at all, is the highest form of ignominy and immorality that he can commit not only against his legitimate wife and family but against his oath as the highest magistrate of the land.”

“Take It From My Barber” by Benjamin Maynigo | McLEAN VA, 5/13/2012 --

This past week was un-forgettable for me both as a Christian and a

Benedictine-educated lawyer.

As a Christian, I was again re-minded of the pains, suffering and death that Jesus had to go through for humanity’s Salvation.

As a Bedan, I saw two class-mates whose lives touched mine in some signifi cant way as we pursued different paths in our respective careers, remind-ing me of my own mortality. It pained me to know that both of them died in the same week.

Former PCGG (Philippine Com-mission for Good Government) Commissioner Ric Abcede was originally an outstand-ing Thomasian (UST) prior to join-ing our Law Class ’72 in San Beda College.

He was Chairman of the UST’s Student Council when I was Presi-dent of San Beda’s. In the College of Law, he was an active writer/editor of the law journal. He joined me in my Crusading Lions’ Party to sup-port the successful presidential cam-paign of one of my best friends, Toy Cedo in San Beda’s Law Council.

While both were spending time inside the campus, (Abcede for the Law Journal) and Cedo for the Law Council), I was busy in the streets of Manila focusing on socio-economic

reforms as an active participant of the then Student Revolution.

We all took the Bar and became lawyers immediately thereafter in the year Martial Law was declared.

After a stint at the International Labor Organization (ILO), Ric Abcede went back to the Philippines in 1976 looking for a job. I was then climbing the corporate ladder and was lucky to be hired as Executive Vice President and COO of Magna Services Corporation and Director of Personnel of the entire GUEVENT

Group of companies. Magna Services was a sister company of DMG (Volkswagen), Toshiba, AVIS and 14 other companies under the umbrella of GUEVENT (Guevara Enterprises). The group was a model family conglomerate founded by the late endearing, compassionate and inspiring entrepreneur Domingo M. Guevara.

I hired Ric as my assistant in the Personnel Offi ce, and assigned him to help run the Corporate Newslet-ter. I thought that his background in Labor laws would also help me run the Personnel Department.

When I was about to escape from the Philippines, I had to tell him

that I was attending an international JAYCEES conference and confi den-tially told him that I was not coming back. I told him to help run the offi ce temporarily and also promised that when the time came, I would recommend him to be my replace-ment.

We were forced to live in Sabah, Malaysia for several months until paroled into the United States as political refugees. Unfortunately, I must have written my resignation and my recommendation for my re-placement too late because he never got appointed.

He was already a PCGG Commis-sioner the last time I saw him in his offi ce. I remember discussing with him the use of technologies and soliciting the help of Cyber secu-rity experts in recovering ill-gotten wealth.

Ric, Former Senator Rene Saguisag and I have a few things in common. One, we are proud Bedan alums. Two, we all love to dance.

Rene prefers to dance and is good at it with his regular D.I. (Dance Instructor). I always show that I enjoy and also love dancing with

my partner. Ric also did especially when dancing with somebody like Imelda Marcos. When you are seeking a compro-mise, I guess you have to learn how to “dance with the music”.

Toy Cedo was one of my clos-est friends in San Beda. As under-grads, we had a group called, “AD-EBNAS”, (not so

creative SANBEDA in reverse). We used to get invited to many parties because of our practice of making sure that no girl would ever be a “wall fl ower”. The “driv-ing force” behind this group was Bob Ledesma, now also a lawyer and only son of San Beda’s late Dean of the College Law, Feliciano Jover Ledesma. He was the owner and “driver” of the car that carried us in our escapades for years.

We had tremendous memories getting drunk together, traveling to places like Concepcion, Tarlac where another late friend/member

A Holy Week to Remember



Profi les

ABS CBN News | MANILA, Phil-ippines - Filipino business leaders are the fourth "most optimistic" among their counterparts in the world as govern-ment efforts to cut red tape have borne fruit, making it easier for investors to do business in the country. The latest Grant Thornton International Busi-ness Report for the fi rst quarter of 2012 showed that business optimism in the Philippines was high, beating even the world's biggest econo-mies, the United States and China. The survey results revealed that 82% of Filipino respondents were

upbeat about their prospects and the economy in the next 12 months. The fi gure was the fourth highest

next to Peru (90%), Brazil (86%) and United Arab Emirates (84%). Following the Philippines were Georgia (78%), India (74%), Chile (68%), Germany (64%),

Mexico (62%) and Turkey (60%). In the US and China, 46%

and 23%, respec-tively, were optimistic.

Filipino business leaders cited mostly the improve-

ment in regulations and reduction in red tape for their positive senti-ment in the fi rst quarter, with only 22% of respondents saying it was still a hindrance, compared to 32% in the previous quarter. "There is good news in that the outlook of many businesses has improved over the past three months. But global growth prospects remain delicately balanced. The comparison with this time last year shows how diffi cult the last 12 months have been, and how much further we have to go," said Ed Nusbaum, CEO of Grant Thornton International, in a state-ment. The survey showed develop-ing economies are more optimistic, with the ASEAN average rising from 0% to 27%. "Signs of improvement in mature economies are clearly hav-ing a knock-on effect in emerging markets... For me, the key takeaway from these results is that both emerg-ing and mature markets seem to be pulling in the same direction, which can only bode well for the global recovery," Nusbaum said.

Filipino biz leaders 4th most upbeat in the world

Musical on Imelda


Written by musicians David Byrne of the band Talking Heads and club DJ and recording artist Fatboy Slim, “Here Lies Love” will run from April 2 to May 5, 2013. It will be directed by Alex Timbers, who won a Tony nomination for the musical “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” last year. The music of “Here Lies Love” was earlier released as a con-cept album in 2010, which featured artists such as Cyndi Lauper, Tori Amos and Natalie Merchant.

Byrne has also performed some of

the songs in his concerts. “But this will be the fi rst fully staged produc-tion,” the New York Times said in its report. In the album’s introduction,

Byrne said he is interested in fi nding out what drives powerful persons and what makes them tick.

“I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be great if—as this piece would be principally composed of clubby dance music—one could experi-ence it in a club setting? Could one bring a ‘story’ and a kind of theater to the disco? Was that possible? If so, wouldn’t that be amazing!” he wrote.

Many of the lyrics on “Here Lies Love” were adapted directly from actual quotes from the musical’s

principal charcaters. In its review of the album, Time magazine said: “The story arc follows Imelda from

her troubled childhood through her whirlwind courtship with Ferdinand Marcos and her gradual assumption of political power …By the last few songs, however, everything falls apart: following years of martial law and the assassination of Marcos' rival, Benigno Ninoy Aquino (who had briefl y dated Imelda in their youth), the Philippines are on the verge of collapse; in the end, US Marines airlift Imelda and Ferdinand into exile.” Byrne also told Time he deliberately did not see “Evita,” the musical about former Argentina fi rst lady Eva Peron, whose life story resembles that of Mrs. Marcos. “I do know that they're both rags-to-riches, or rags-to-fi gurehead-of-a-country, stories. But beyond that I don't know what the similarities are,” Byrne told Time.

Hope is one of life’s great essentials. A person who sees no

future in a company will look for opportunity elsewhere. A man who sees no hope in a country will migrate to an-other place.

Is there really hope for our coun-try?

If we simply remove our blinders, put in place by our prejudices and unhealthy loyalties, we will see that there are indeed signs of hope. Some of these signs are obvious while others are not too visible to the naked eye. But they are there, so real, like the invisible air we breathe.

The fi rst of these signs is that the fi ght against graft and corrup-tion being waged by President Aquino appears to be true. A number of corrupt practices have been stopped, including the “paba-on” practice among the high offi cials in the military; many questionable government transactions involving billions of pesos are being scruti-nized. The long arm of justice seems to be fi nally catching up with those who, for many years, were beyond its reach.

Secondly, there seems to be serious efforts to build a good

government, as many good leaders have been appointed to important positions. For example, Education Secretary Armin Luistro is on track to wipe out our country’s backlog of 66,000 classrooms nationwide by 2016. This would be a great achieve-ment by itself.

The third sign is the earnest move to bring good governance down to the grassroots level. Through the efforts of Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, the 2011 General Appropriations Act now requires the heads of local government units to fully disclose their budget, proj-ects and fi nancial activities to their constituents. The information must be posted on websites, displayed on posters in conspicuous spots within

the local-ity, and published in news-papers of general circula-tion.

In 2011, a great major-ity of the governors, mayors

and barangay chairs complied with the full-disclosure requirement. Those who did not are facing penal-ties of removal or suspension, on the ground of gross negligence or dereliction of duty.

The fourth sign of hope is the healthy confi dence in our country’s economy. This year, for the fi rst time in our history, the Philippine Stock Exchange index pierced the 5,000 level, our highest ever. The stock market is a good gauge of inves-

tors’ confi dence in our economy for the next 6-12 months. In 2011 the Philippines’ foreign direct invest-ments (FDI) rose to P256.1 billion, the highest since 1996 when the FDI posted P241.1 billion. In January and February of this year, foreign investments were higher than those in the same period in the last fi ve

years. And for the fi rst time in our history, the Philippines has become a creditor-nation among the member-countries of the International Mon-etary Fund.

The Philippines: 8 Signs of Hope for the Countryby Alex Lacson



Guest Writer: Paul Valen

Volunteering is a vital and unique component to the overall health of the nonprofi t sector. Non-profi ts depend upon the generosity of volunteers to fulfi ll their mis-sions. During these tough economic times, many nonprofi ts have fewer resources and rely on volunteers more than ever. Many organizations like Kalusugan Community Services (KCS) are supported almost entirely through the generosity of volun-teers. The work of volunteers helps to bridge the gaps in services and is essential to maintaining healthy communities.

According to Melissa Pregill, our consultant, “Volunteers are unrecog-nized assets. They have an obvious strong personal interest in the work, they don’t ask to be paid, often they become the most committed board members, and in large measure they become signifi cant future fi nancial donors. So let’s build a program that identifi es their interests and exper-tise, gives them consistent, respect-able work, develops, recognizes and rewards them, and suitably honors their service. ” LET US TREAT THEM AS GOLD!!

KCS had many volunteers since its inception in 1995 up to the present. They worked in our projects such as the “Siglang Buhay: Food, Fitness and Cancer Preven-tion”, “Healthy Eating Active Living Campaign”, Kuya Ate Mentorship Program (KAMP) and especially the “Filipino American Arts and Cul-

tural Festival (FilAmFest)” where many young people are involved. They are assets to our organization and we always welcome them.

In January 2012, KCS start-ed formalizing its Volunteer program by recruiting new volunteers, giving them orientation, and assigning them to duties that fi t their skills or abili-ties. Fifteen new volunteers showed up during the orientation. This year National Volunteer Week (NVW) falls on April 15-21, 2012. The pur-pose of the NVW is to recognize the contributions of volunteers and let them know how much their efforts are appreciated. In addition to recog-nizing the work of volunteers, NVW is an opportunity to encourage others to become more engaged in their communities. Through volunteerism, individuals can become agents of social change and demonstrate their collective power and foster positive transformation in the community.

In honor of NVW, we are giving recognition pins to the new volunteers and will be treating them to dinner at Home Town Buffet on April 19, 2012 from 6:00-8:00 PM. Volunteers and their families are invited. We are recognizing the fol-lowing new and previous volunteers who have stayed and consistently demonstrated their commitment to community service.

New Volunteers:MaryGrace Flores- is a Psychol-

ogy major at Southwestern College (SWC) with a minor in Political Science. She is currently Senator at large in the SWC Associated Student Organization. She is very active

National Volunteer Week: Honoring Our Volunteers

with her church group (Rejoice Fellowship) and is also a member of KAMP. She has assisted in the book signing event at Villa Manila and the Sponsorship/Grant writing workshop.

Ed Fontanilla- is currently a youth basketball coach in Rancho Bernardo and is interested in health education, grant writing, media writ-ing, and mental health workshops.

Thus, he volunteered to write news articles for KCS in the Filipino Press and Philippines and Asian Report that has been published. He is also assisting Dr. Dirige in tracking down Request for Proposals (RFPs) to get information so we can write grants.

Michael Lapid- is a coordinator for FilAmFest for several years and has volunteered for a few months to help with KCS events such as the book

signing (Global Filipino Cuisine: Healthy Recipes) and in the planning of the Golf Tournament.

Pastor Glen Lubao- is an enthu-siastic and faithful volunteer who is also Pastor of the newly-formed church, Rejoice Fellowship of San Diego, which regularly meets at the FilAm Wellness Center. He and his wife, Mary Ann, volunteers at many of KCS events, manning the Center on Thursday mornings, and most especially praying and helping with the spiritual needs of KCS members. They also do outreach to the families and neighbors around FWC. Their volunteerism through their church activities and with KCS events dem-onstrate their commitment to public service.

Dr. Noel Malvar- is a graduate of the University of the East, Ramon Magsaysay Medical Center in the Philippines. He has been active in medical outreach programs with the Lion’s club in the Philippines. He has assisted in KCS’s book sign-ing event, golf tournament, giving transportation to those without cars, and opening of the FWC weekly. He will help take blood pressures and conduct training of Community Health Workers in our upcoming “Hypertension Project.”

Genlie Santo Domingo- is our cook extraordinaire. His culinary talents have been utilized in the preparation of food for a number of our events. Attend one of the upcoming KCS events and you may have the chance to enjoy some of his culinary creations. His brother, Leo Santo Domingo, who is interested in writing grants also volunteered but due to his work schedule was not able to come to meetings.

Previous Volunteers:Pete Cortez- is a long time volun-

teer who started with the Healthy Eating Campaign in 2008-2009 and has volunteered with us again to help with the Riz A. Oades Memo-rial Charity Golf. He is our trans-portation guy who is willing to pick up people to bring them to meetings and also food from the different res-taurants in National City. He is one of the most faithful volunteer who also serves gladly with no expecta-tion of return. He is a delightful

person to be on the team.Veronica Papa- is a former vol-

unteer and advocate of the Healthy Eating Campaign from 2007-2009. She has a degree from St. Theresa’s College and MBA from Ateneo. She worked for the Philippine govern-ment before she moved to San Diego where she joined her fam-ily members. She was secretary of the San Diego FilAm Chamber of Commerce and is currently writing a book about his grandfather and WWII in Zamboanga, Mindanao from 1898-1947. She is heading a project to donate textbooks to send to school children in Zamboanga. If you have any books to donate, please bring them to the Center. Currently, she helps sell books pub-lished by KCS and others at amazon.com and other Filipino companies (FlipReads).

Fe R. Rivero- Secretary, SD Cosmopolitan Lion’s Club; Vice-President of Subic Bay Complex-FilAm Association of SD; Treasurer of SBTFASA, Tooma Park; and former KCS Healthy Eating Advo-cate. Currently, a board member and volunteer of KCS. She is a BSBA graduate in Accounting in the Philip-pines. She assists in several KCSD events.

Joe Son- was a former volunteer for the “Siglang Buhay Project: Food, Fitness and Cancer Preven-tion,” representing Ceboley, a Cebuano organization. He then went to the Philippines and did some projects in his hometown in Cebu. He is now back in the States and also has a column with the Asian Journal. Joe volunteered to open the Center on Wednesdays while Paul Ones is in the Philippines to take care of business.

Paul Valen- is currently the Volun-teer Coordinator and Assistant Sec-retary of KCS Board of Directors. He has been a board member and volunteer with KCS since 2007. He is one of the coordinators of KAMP, a youth education program that explores Filipino American history and culture. He is also an organizer with Anakbayan SD- an organization working for the rights and welfare of

The ISA and China host groundbreaking surfi ng

festival

The International Surf-ing Association an-nounced the Hainan

Riyue Bay International Surfi ng Festival presented by Quiksilver that took place in Wanning, Hainan Island, China.

For a few days China became the international surfi ng capital with the world’s top surfers competing on their National Teams in the ISA Chi-na Cup followed by a second surfi ng competition, the Hainan Classic, an ASP Men’s 4-Star contest. It was the fi rst time ever in the history of the country that surfi ng events of this magnitude took place.

The opening event in the Festival was invitation-only featuring the top eight surfi ng nations in the world

based on the National Team results from the recent 2011 ISA World Surfi ng Games in Panama.

Each National Team was to in-clude their country’s best four men and two women shortboarders, who competed for Team and Individual Gold Medals and the honor of repre-senting their nations.

The Hainan Classic

Following the completion of the ISA China Cup, the festival contin-ued with the Hainan Classic, which has a total prize purse of $95,000 USD. This historic competition was the fi rst ASP event ever in China that counted towards the ASP Men’s World Ranking.

For this event, Glenn Hall won the 2012 Hainan classic.

“This is not just the fi rst ISA event and the top eight surfi ng nations in the world competing in an interna-tional surfi ng event in China,” stated ISA President Fernando Aguerre, who has been leading the ISA’s initiative into China for the past 18 months. “This is a demonstration of the growth of surfi ng across the world. China, the most populated country on the planet with 1.3 billion people, wants their youth to surf and eventually compete with the world’s top surfers. This event will mark a ‘before and after’ in the history of

the country and of Chinese surfi ng. I can’t wait to surf some waves over there.”

The ISA selected the left point break at Riyue Bay on Hainan Island off the coast of southeast China after consulting with Sean Collins, found-er and President of Surfl ine (www.

Quiksilver Chairman and CEO, Bob McKnight commented from his Huntington Beach, California head-quarters, “We see China as poten-tially one of the biggest action sports markets in the world, and as such is a key region of our company’s growth strategy.

Through this International Surfi ng Festival produced by the ISA, Quik-silver hopes to further expand our brand’s awareness and build on its image and reputation as the world’s

leading board riding company. As the Festival will be broadcast live on the internet in China and throughout the world, we are looking forward to the youth of China embracing our sport and enjoying all the lifestyle attributes associated with it.”

With a coastline of 9,000 miles, a lot of unexplored surfi ng breaks, strong support from the highest levels of Government for surfi ng, the opportunity is ripe for the ISA to help China become a surfi ng power-house in the future.

ASIAN JOURNALThe fi rst Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern California

An award-winning newspaper, it is San Diego’s most widely circulated Asian-Filipino newspaper!

Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

In Pursuit of ExcellenceEugenio “Ego” Osin, (1946 - 1994)

Joe Cabrera, (1924 - 1996)Soledad Bautista, (1917-2009)

Dr. Rizalino “Riz” Oades, (1935-2009)

The Asian Journal is published weekly and distrib-uted in all Asian communties in San Diego County. Publication date is every Friday of the month. Adver-tising deadline is Thursday prior to publication date at 5 p.m. For advertising rates, rate cards, or information, call (619) 474-0588. Subscription by mail is available for $50 per year (56 issues). The Asian Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and photo-graphs but welcomes submissions. Entire content is © 2012 copyrighted material by Asian Journal. Materi-als in this publication may not be reproduced without specifi c permission from the publisher.

Genevieve SilverioManaging Editor

Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Miles BeauchampAssociate Editor

Santi SilverioAssociate Publisher

At Large...

Miles is Assistant to the Dean and Assistant Professor in the Shirley Hufstedler School of Education at Alliant International University where he teaches new media and diverse writing courses. He has been with the Asian Journal since the 1990’s.

by Miles Beauchamp, PhD

by Dr. Ofelia Dirige Founder, President & CEO Kalusugan

Community Services. www.fi lamwellness.org

Contemporary Asian American Issues

signing (Global Filipino Cuisine: Healthy Recipes) and in the planning

person to be on the team.Veronica Papa- is a former vol-

Perspectives

surfl ine.com). Collins is generally considered the world’s foremost surf forecaster. He conducted a historical analysis of the surf along the east coast of Hainan and, after visiting the Island in March, he reported that Riyue Bay held the best opportunity for world class waves.

Collins remarked, “Hainan Island in China produces consistent fun surf during the winter, and espe-cially during the month of January according to our research of swell patterns over the last 15 years. I am very impressed with the local setup of various good quality surf breaks around the Riyue Bay area that enjoy prevailing offshore winds and clean conditions during the best

swells.” The Hainan Riyue Bay Interna-

tional Surfi ng Festival presented by Quiksilver was a historic event, the result of the combined efforts of the ISA, the Governments of Hainan Island and the City of Wanning, and Quiksilver.

It’s all about surfi ngAre you missing a print

edition of theAsian Journal?

Read the digital edition on

www.asianjournalusa.com/digital

Photo 1 - ; Photo 2- Oscar Baterina # 1, Mary Grace Flores # 3, Mary Ann Lubao #5; Photo 3- Pastor Lubao # 1, Leo Sto. Domingo- #2, Genlie Sto Domingo #3



IMMIGRATION 911 by Atty. Susan V. Perez

Let me tell you a success story in a case, which I had the privilege to

work on. Her case was re-jected by a supposedly “super lawyer” because her case was hopeless. Last week, I had a surprise visit from her. She showed me her green card and a letter from USCIS welcom-ing her to America. This is the most diffi cult case I’ve ever worked on since I be-came an immigration attorney. I put my heart and soul into the case, and WE WON!

Victoria is a native and citizen of Mexico. In 2001 she came to the United States illegally and worked without authorization. She also committed an act, which under our immigration law is serious enough to disqualify her to apply for a legal permanent resident status. Ten years later, Victoria married a U.S. citizen who fi led for her immigration petition. When Victoria applied for adjustment of status, her applica-tion was denied for immigration law violations.

On appeal I painted a picture of Victoria as a model citizen, which is true. We were able to get 103 signatures on a petition to stop her deportation. We were able to get affi davits and letters from Victoria’s previous employers attesting to her honesty and integrity. Victoria’s U.S. citizen husband is a qualifying relative for I-601 waiver. I submit-ted a psychological evaluation of Victoria’s husband, which provided the diagnoses and described how Victoria’s threat of deportation had affected him mentally and emotion-ally. We also submitted documents how Victoria’s deportation would

create fi nancial hardship to her husband and children. I was able to get a work authorization for Victoria while the case was pending and she found a well-paying job. While her husband is working, his salary is not enough to pay for household expens-es and to support their children who remain in the home country. We submitted articles about the home country’s economic condition and how diffi cult it would be for Victoria to fi nd a job in her home country considering her education, age and health issues. Victoria is suffering from serious illnesses, which would be aggravated if she were sent home. She has a health insurance through her employer while it would cost her a fortune to pay for medical care in her home country.

The Attorney General has discre-tion to grant applications for adjust-ment of status. A successful case requires not only good arguments but also credible, well organized and presented evidence. I did an exten-sive research and wrote compelling legal arguments. But these would have been useless if I did not have credible evidence to back them up. Victoria worked as caregiver most of the years she has been in the United States. She touched the lives of so many people she cared for and their families. They described her as per-son of great integrity, good-hearted, one of the best caregiver they ever met, etc. USCIS is not a tin man. Their adjudicators are humans and are touched by great stories like Victoria’s. One lesson learned from Victoria’s case: be good to the people you meet because you never know when you will need them. I believe that the strength of Victoria’s case came from the outpouring of support from the people she worked for and with. Disclaimer: some facts and details have been changed to protect the privacy and confi dential-ity of the persons involved.

We welcome your feedback. If you have any immigration questions, please feel welcome to email me at

Another Success Story of an Immigrant

[email protected] or call 619 819 -8648 to arrange for a telephone consultation.


National Volunteer ...

by Atty. Susan V. Perez

Immigration 911

Read Atty. Susan Perez’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

Work Visas/Green Cards thru Employment• Family Visas• Student, Trainee, Tourist, Investors, Visas • Reinstatement of Petition • Deportation Defense• International Adoption• Appeals, Motions to Reopen/Reconsider• Battered/Abused Spouse• I-601 Waivers (Hardship)• Consular Support in Manila•

IMMIGRATION (619) 819-8648Speak directly with an Attorney

The Law Offi ces of SUSAN V. PEREZ offer the following services:

We also handle ALL PHILIPPINE cases and have an offi ce in Manila to service your needs there.

*Susan Perez is a licensed attorney both in the State of California and the Philippines. She has eighteen (18) years of combined experience in both jurisdictions in the areas of Immigration, Family, Appellate, Juvenile Dependency, Civil, Criminal, Labor, Contracts, Tax, and Business Law. She is also admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit of the Court of Appeals, and the District Courts of Southern California and Central District of California.

Nagsasalita ng Tagalog asin Bicol.

By Appointment only from 9:00 to 5:30, Monday thru Friday.

San Diego Offi ce: Manila Offi ce:625 Broadway, Suite 1015 Suite 2502-A East TowerSan Diego CA 92101 Philippine Stock Exchange CentreTel. No. (619) 819-8648 Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig CityFax No. (619) 923-9555 Tel. Nos.: (632) 687-2565 / 687-9851 Email: [email protected] Fax No.: (632) 687-2565

Atty. Susan V. Perez

Visit our website: www.law-usimmigration.com

"Se Habla Espanol"

Filipinos worldwide and supporter of the Domestic Workers Issues.

Previous volunteers who are in the Philippines on medical mission or errands.

Lydia Duro, RN- She is from San Fernando City, La Union and lives in Rancho Penasquitos. A retired nurse from Pomerado Hospital, ac-tive member of Cosmopolitan Lions Club, Paradise Valley Medical Mis-sion and active volunteer of KCS.

Alice Legaspi- RN- A registered ICU Care Nurse from Imus, Cavite and now a resident of Bonta, CA. She is a member of the Cosmo-politan Lion’s Club, Paradise Valley International Medical Mission to the Philippines and an active KCS volunteer.

Paul & Aida Ones- Three times President of COPAO and was Co-Founder of KCS during one of those years and active member of UPM-FACC, San Diego Scripps

Lions Club, Knights of Columbus Council No. 13688, and COPAO. He was named “Mayor of San Diego’s FilAm Community” because of his popularity in so many associa-tions. He has been in and out of the country and has been transitioning for the past 12 years to help others in the Philippines, especially in Indang, Cavite where he came from original-ly. He and his wife Aida, a registered nurse, are active volunteers of KCS. They are active volunteers manning the Center weekly.

Nurses conducting blood pressures at several senior places:

Doreen Felicitas, RN- Graduated from St. Catherine’s College of Nursing in 1971 and worked as a registered nurse at Scripps Hospital in Chula Vista for 25 years. She currently volunteers at KCS taking blood pressure of seniors at Tooma Park, Granger Apartments, and Summercrest. She is also an active member at Corpus Christi Church in Bonita, California.

Leony Pamintuan, BSN, RN- Graduated from the University of Santo Tomas College of Nursing in

Manila, 1960. She is a member of the Philippine Nurses Association and a retired nurse from Scripps Mercy Hospital in Chula Vista. She is a volunteer nurse at KCS taking blood pressure and giving health information to seniors at the three places with Doreen. She is also Co-Coordinator of the Health Resource Ministry at Mater Dei Catholic Church Parish in Chula Vista.

Conclusion: Thanks again to the volunteers. KCS is again recruiting volunteers starting July 2012 for a period of 6 months till December. If interested, please call Paul Valen at (858)525-2378 or Dr. Dirige at (619) 477-3392 or send email to HYPERLINK “mailto:[email protected]” [email protected] or HYPERLINK “mailto:[email protected]” [email protected] or visit our Website at HYPERLINK “http://www.fi lamwellness.org” www.fi lamwellness.org to fi ll out the volunteer form. Orientation will begin in June at the FilAm Wellness



ROOM FOR RENTQuiet Neighbor-hood in National City. No smoking.

No drugs. 619.746.3416

Arts & Culture

4th Annual Gawad Kal-inga Global Summit in

Toronto, June 8-9The Fourth Annual Gawad Ka-

linga Global Summit will be held in Toronto on June 8-9, 2012 at the Allstream Centre, Exhibition Place, Canada's greenest conference centre. Delegates are expected to attend from across Canada, USA, Philip-pines and other countries.

The goals of the Gawad Kalinga Global Summit are:

To share with other communi-ties the Gawad Kalinga template of caring and sharing to restore human dignity as a solution to end poverty

To inspire and engage young people (ages 18-34) to volunteer and make a difference in their communi-ties

To showcase how Gawad Kalinga Center for Social Innovation and the Enchanted Farm have become the platform for social enterprises to create sustainability for our GK communities.

For more information, visit http://gk1canada.com/

by Michael L. Tan, Philippine Daily Inquirer | 4/16/2011 -- ON Palm Sunday, there will be brisk sales of the palaspas (palm frond) in church yards. The original intention here was to commemorate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, with crowds throwing their cloaks, as well as palm tree branches, on the road to honor Jesus.

Folk Catholicism has modifi ed this, with many Filipinos buying the palaspas to tack on doors and windows to ward off harm –from burglars to evil spirits.

I buy the palaspas more out of a fascination with woven folk crafts. We often think of woven crafts as baskets and mats and forget that the palaspas is woven too. Not only that, it turns out that there are many more crafts woven out of palm besides the palaspas.

The summer months mean trips to Antipolo and buying suman, rice cakes wrapped with palm leaves. As a child, I used to think of these as mummifi ed suman. Today, I marvel not so much at the wrapping around the suman than at the way they tie four suman together and consider that as one “tali” (literally, one tie). Four tali (or 16 suman in all) is how most sellers package the stuff at P100 each.

Beyond the palaspas and suman mummies, there’s a whole world out there of palm art, and we can thank Elmer Nocheseda, an economist turned self-taught anthropologist and cultural historian, for compiling the knowledge and skills in a book published in 2009 by Ateneo de Manila University Press: “Palaspas: An Appreciation of Palm Leaf Art in the Philippines.”

Elmer writes in the book about how, at age 4, his father had taken two green coconut leafl ets and fashioned them into a ball. That was where his fascination with palm art began, growing through the years as he discovered how palm leaves were being used throughout the Philip-pines as food wrapping and carriers or containers (in Pateros, they have a way of using the palm leaves to pack salted eggs with tomatoes!), toys, décor and of course religious objects.

The most common palaspas is called an arko because the base has several arches. But another kind of palaspas is called the pinuso, still with several arches toward the base but folded in a heart shape. The bi-nanig has the base looking more like a mat and the kinurus is, as the name suggests, in the form of a cross. Then there is the palapa, which has several French braids, looking deceptively simple.

When Elmer studied in Japan, he couldn’t help but notice the simi-larities between Japanese origami (literally paper-folding) and Filipino palm-weaving. And while there were numerous books on origami, he could not fi nd a single one on Filipino weaving.

Thus began his painstaking docu-mentation of different palm crafts throughout the Philippines, as well as a few from Indonesia, where the palm leaves are used for wedding decorations and for food offerings in

religious ceremonies.The entire book is fi lled with

photographs, the fi rst part being an overview of the many cultural uses of palm leaves. Palm leaves, it turns

out, are used for many rituals by different groups in the Philippines, from healing to supplications for bountiful harvests. Elmer writes that the palm leaves are so closely tied to animistic “pagan” rituals that some Protestant ministers are unwilling to use the word “palaspas” to refer to Christian rituals.

But as Elmer shows in the book, the palm leaves are now an integral part of folk Catholicism. It isn’t just the palaspas for Palm Sunday; in Infanta, Quezon, men wear palm skirts as part of their good Friday penitential rites!

The second part of the book teaches you to fold the palm leaves into all kinds of objects from all over the Philippines, with photographs taking you step by step. The Boy Scouts should get the book because you learn to do all kinds of knots with the palm leaves. Several slip knots, for example, gives you the lahilahipan, which can be used as headbands or bracelets.

The crafts are truly origami: you get snakes, and shrimps, and fi sh, and chickens, and even, on a naugh-ty note, goat balls. The possibilities

are endless, with some hints that more can be done when you look at the kinaban, beautiful boxes using palm leaves that have been dyed dif-ferent colors.

Elmer has many stories of how he learned of new palm origami. In one instance, he missed the bus and ended up talking with someone who taught him to make a pinagbutasan, and learned too of a legend associ-ated with the craft.

Elmer says that digital technolo-gies have opened new horizons for him. He can document more crafts now with a quick succession of photographs. The Internet has meant meeting people who have their share of stories, and crafts too. Those interested in contacting Elmer can write him at [email protected]. •

Link: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/298/palm-origami

Palm Origami

Palaspas. (Inquirer Photo)

By BJ David, GMA News, 3/3/2012 -- Given that most blockbuster vid-eogames are made in the US, Japan, and Europe, it’s no surprise that the most famous videogame characters aren’t Filipino.

Certainly, characters whose na-tionalities represent major players in world events —American, Japanese, Russian, Mexican, African, Chinese, German, French, etc— populate most games.

But this doesn’t mean that the brown and proud are non-existent in the hallowed annals of videogame mythos.

Fortunately, there are a few titles that recognized people from our “Lupang Hinirang” —not withstand-ing our real-life boxing hero, Manny Pacquiao.

And, no, these characters are not just incidental; these Pinoys played very vital roles and added some Fili-pino fl air to their respective games:

Jose Astrada/Estrada

Jose is arguably the fi rst Filipino character to ever appear in a major videogame title. He was introduced

in Front Mission 3, a tactical mecha RPG released in 1999 by Squaresoft (now known as Square Enix).

The story of Front Mission 3 is set in Southeast Asia in the year 2112, where some of its events transpired in the Batangas area, more specifi cally Taal —housing the formidable mobile sea-fortress “Dagat Ahas”.

Jose is a 35-year-old Philippine Navy sniper who was convicted for insubordination. He refused to take up arms after he mistakenly killed his wife, and has then disobeyed any combat orders from his superiors.

The player may recruit Jose to his party after following a series of events. His role in the party as a sniper enables the player access to one shot kills with his rifl e once he reaches higher levels.

Jose’s surname in the English ver-sion is “Astrada”. But it was later found out that this was a mistransla-tion, as the Japanese version used “Estrada” in its manuals.

Pham Luis

The role of the Philippines in Front Mission 3 is so relevant that one ma-jor Filipino character was not enough. Pham is another Pinoy character in the game, who was encountered shortly after meeting Jose.

Pham was born to a wealthy family and lived a relatively comfortable life. But her idealism has led her to join the Philippines Liberation Front (PLF), a separatist group that seeks the country’s cessation from the Oceania Cooperative Union (OCU), at the young age of 17.

She is also a playable character that may be recruited to the player’s party after recruiting Jose in Taal. Her brash attitude matches her melee specializa-tion. She’s defi nitely more comfort-able going in-your-face; very useful against units that use rockets.

Talim

Talim is probably the most popular Filipino video game character to date. She fi rst appeared in Namco Bandai’s popular 3D fi ghting game Soul Calibur II in 2002.

In the Soul Cali-

bur universe, Talim was born in the Village of the Wind Diety (referred to as “present-day Philippines”). Her name in itself is very Filipino, as it is the Tagalog word for “sharp edge”.

Tagalog words are also present in the names of her moves, such as “Tuhod slicer”, “Tagga sa kamay”, and “Sunggab throw”. She fi ghts us-ing “The Wind Dance” style, which is described as her village’s version of escrima, and uses dual tonfa blades as her weapons.

She has been present in the all of the Soul series games since her fi rst appearance. The latest installment, Soul Calibur V, was released for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on Febru-

ary 2012. Santos

Def Jam: Fight For NY is a hip-hop-themed fi ghting game that was set in a gritty urban gangland. Among the many characters, which features some famous rappers like Ice-T, Busta Rhymes, and Warren G., is a Filipino kickboxer named Santos.

Accord-ing to Santos’s profi le, he’s an immi-grant who got banned from the profes-sional kick-boxing circuit when he almost killed a “soft” Ameri-can in a match. Since then, he’s been fi ghting the underground circuit.

Though Santos’s in-game fi ghting style is Muay Thai, he is undeniably Filipino. Aside from the obvious

Pinoy heroes in videogames


Pinoy heroes ..

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Read previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-journalusa.com

by Atty. Rogelio Karagdag, Jr.Member, State Bar of California & Integrated Bar of the Philippines

Phil - Am Law 101Filipino looks and a Philippine Flag

on his trunks, his Blazin’ Move is called “Filipino Pride.” How’s that for representing?

Def Jam: Fight For NY was released for the Playstation 2, Xbox, and Nin-tendo GameCube in 2004.

Nicole-458

The popular fighting series, Dead or Alive, surprised its fans when a character resembling Halo’s Master-chief was shown fighting against the series’ trademark buxom ladies in its marketing material before the release

of Dead or Alive 4 (DoA4) in 2005.Unfortunately for the Halo fans,

it was not the iconic John-117 who was under the Mjolnir IV armor, but rather a new Spartan who was sent adrift to the DoA4 world via a cosmic anomaly. That Spartan is Petty Officer Second Class Nicole-458.

And, yes, she is Filipino.

It’s very hard to tell if she has any Filipino features underneath that imposing Spartan armor; we couldn’t even tell that she was a woman, so we can only trust her in-game profile.

In the Halo universe, she was born in New Legaspi, Katagalugan, Mars. Apparently, Mars has become a settlement for most of Filipinos in the 26th century. She also loves to watch anime and specifies Halo-halo as her favorite dessert.

Nicole was created as a crossover character for DoA4 so she never ap-peared in any of the Halo games, but she still exists in Halo’s universe.

The appearance of these five vid-eogame Pinoys happened within a span of 13 years. A simple mathemati-cal calculation reveals that a Filipino

character appears in a videogame around every two years or so. This may seem like a small number but that’s not really a reason to say that Filipinos can’t appear more often in these games over the next few years.

As the population of Filipino gamers grow, the reputation of the Philippines in gaming grows with it. So let’s just keep playing and let our-selves be known, be existent, in the gaming world. Maybe then, we can see more of our countrymen appear as characters in these games.

Will we ever see a Pinoy videogame character headline a worldwide hit game? We can only hope and play. — TJD, GMA News

Philippines’ medical tourism market is anticipated to reach

US$ 491 Million by 2013, growing on back of modern technology and improved

healthcare infrastructure, says RNCOS latest report.

Noida, UP -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/10/2012 -- In Asia, Philippines has been emerging as an important medical tourism destination by leveraging factors, such as modern technology and world-class physi-cians. The Philippines’ government envisions the country as the “new hub of wellness and medical care” as it is the home to some best hospitals and standalone specialty clinics in the region. According to a new research report by RNCOS, the na-tion is planning to introduce special medical visas for foreigners, with a view to grabbing a sizeable share in Asia's booming health tourism in-dustry. It is anticipated that on back of such initiatives and developments, Philippines’ medical tourism market will expand at a CAGR of over 25% during 2010-2013.

The research report, “Asian Medi-cal Tourism Analysis (2008-2012)”, says that the Asian medical tourism industry has been growing at a rapid pace for the last few years, and has become a key attraction for the for-eign medical tourists. The industry has gained grounds due to the rising healthcare costs in the developed world, long waiting time, and in some cases, the unavailability of quality healthcare (as in the Middle East). It is estimated that the market will grow at double-digit rate in near future. Besides, six countries-- Thai-land, Singapore, India, Malaysia, South Korea, and the Philippines - are expected to be the most potential medical tourism destinations in Asia in the coming years.

The study provides comprehensive research and unbiased analysis of the industry’s current performance and future outlook of the key Asian medical tourism markets. It acknowledges the fact that the six Asian markets covered in the report - Thailand, Singapore, India, Malaysia, South Korea, and the Philippines - have vast differences in terms of cost, infrastructure, hu-man resources, patient perceptions, competencies, and level of govern-ment support. Each destination has been thoroughly studied in the report that provides valuable information to clients who are looking to venture into these markets, and helps them devise sound strategies.

For FREE SAMPLE of this report visit: http://www.rncos.com/Report/IM105.htm

Philippines Medical Tourism Market Growing

Unprecedentedly

Phil-Am Law 101 by Atty. Rogelio Karagdag, Jr., Member, State Bar of California & Integrated Bar of the Philippines

Many Filipinos who migrate to the United States leave

behind real properties in the Philippines. Because they are absentee landowners, and perhaps because of they are too focused on struggling to make both ends meet in their new environment, some of the new immigrants ignore fulfilling their obligations as landowners which include, among others, paying the real estate taxes to the land. After a few years, the local govern-ment steps in, tries to collect taxes, and if they are not paid, the taxpayer is declared delin-quent and the land is sold in public auction.

Now, the law requires that the

landowner should be notified of the auction sale so he can pay the taxes and stop the sale. However, in certain instances, the absentee landowner is not notified, either be-cause the address he gives in the tax declaration is an old one, the notice is sent to the wrong address, or the property is sold and the buyer fails to register her name and address in the property records.

In one particular case decided by the Philippine Supreme Court, the landowner migrated to the United States in 1970. She owned a residen-tial house in Quezon City which was being rented out to a family. She was able to pay the taxes but only until 1977. The real estate taxes from 1978 to 1983 amounting to 3,000 pe-sos were not paid. In 1984, the Que-zon City treasurer sold the property in public auction. The landowner did not know about the auction sale be-cause she was not notified, although her address remained the same, which is the property itself, and although the tenants were still in the property and could have received the notice for her. The Supreme Court invalidated the auction sale.

But what happens if the registered landowner sells the property to another person who then neglects to register the tax declaration in her

name? Then, perhaps because she has exhausted all her money in pur-chasing the property, the new owner also neglects to pay the real estate taxes. After a few years, the city treasurer sells the property in public auction. Can the erstwhile new owner protest and argue that she was not notified?

Under this new fact pattern, the buyer cannot successfully argue her case. This is the ruling of the Philippine Supreme Court in a string of cases. The buyer’s cause of ac-tion is predicated on the absence of notice to her as the new landowner. However, what the law requires is for the city treasurer to send the notice directly to the taxpayer -- the registered owner of the property -- in order to protect the latter’s interests. As to who is the taxpayer entitled to notice, it is the declared or regis-tered owner as appearing in the tax rolls or property tax record cards of the municipality or city where the property is located. For purposes of the collection of real property taxes, the registered owner of the property is considered the taxpayer. Hence, only the registered owner is entitled to a notice of tax delinquency and other proceedings relative to the tax sale. The buyer failed to show she is the declared owner as indicated in the tax rolls and tax records of the city assessor.

Usually, the delinquent properties are being sold at way, way below their market value. This is because the purpose of the auction sale is to satisfy the real estate taxes due plus penalties. The sale will not be invalidated just because the winning bid is very low. After all, the owner has one year to redeem the property, so if the winning bid is low, then it will be easier for her to redeem.

Atty. Rogelio Karagdag , Jr. is licensed to practice law in both California and the Philippines. He practices immigration law in San Diego and has continuously been a trial and appellate attorney in the Philippines since 1989. He travels between San Diego and Manila. His office address is located at 10717 Camino Ruiz, Suite 131, San Diego, CA 92126. He also has an office in the Philip-pines at 1240 Apacible Street, Paco, Manila, Philippines 1007, with telephone numbers (632)522-1199 and (632)526-0326. Please call (858)348-7475/(858)536-4292 or email him at [email protected]. He speaks Tagalog fluently. Articles written in this column are not legal advice but are hy-potheticals intended as general, non-specific legal information. Readers must seek legal consultation before taking any legal steps.

Valuable Properties Lost For Not Paying Measly Taxes


San Diego is in full fl ight to develop the region as a leading international travel destination with

the launch of Japan Airlines’ (JAL) new direct fl ight starting December 2012 between Tokyo and San Diego. This exciting new international service complements the recent ad-dition of British Airways’ (BA) daily nonstop fl ight between London and San Diego and Volaris Airlines’ new daily nonstop fl ights from Guadala-jara and Mexico City to San Diego, which began summer 2011.

“Over the past years, our bureau has worked closely in partnership with the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation and the World Trade Center San Diego to expand the in-ternational service into our destina-tion,” stated Joe Terzi, President &

San Diego Expands into International Markets with Launch of New Nonstop Flight

CEO of the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Key interna-tional markets like Japan, the U.K.

and Mexico represent an incredible opportunity for the continued growth of our region’s tourism industry, and these new fl ights allow San Diego to become a stronger player in global tourism and business travel,” Terzi added.

JAL is slated to begin with four fl ights per week starting in Decem-ber 2012, then increase to daily fl ights beginning in March 2013. The new service will be JAL’s fi rst-ever nonstop fl ight between San Diego and Asia, and the new service will also be the fi rst Dreamliner (Boeing 787-8) to service Southern California.

Japan is San Diego’s #2 market for overseas visitors. In 2010, San Diego welcomed 74,000 visitors

from Japan, who spent an average of $3,900 per person, per trip, and stayed an average of eight nights.

Tokyo’s Narita Airport is a major hub to regions throughout Asia, including China and Korea where the U.S. has seen the fastest, most substantial growth in international travelers – both up 232% and 200%, respectively, in 2011. With the new JAL fl ight, San Diego is expected to see a marked increase in visitors from Japan and other Asia-Pacifi c countries.

Launched in June 2011, BA’s daily nonstop fl ight between London’s Heathrow Airport and San Diego services the region’s #1 market for overseas visitors. The U.K. is San Diego’s leading overseas market with 108,000 visitors per year, ac-cording to 2010 statistics.

With an 86% load factor in sum-mer 2011, the BA fl ight quickly proved to be more successful than originally forecasted and opened a major gateway to Europe, providing

San Diego International Airport

easy fl ight connections with other key European markets including Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Scandinavia.

In July 2012, Volaris Airlines began new daily nonstop fl ights from Guadalajara and Mexico City to San Diego. In 2011, an estimated 316,000 overnight visitors came to San Diego from Mexico.

“San Diego is a world-class international destination, and we are poised to increase our global reach and market share as well as our pop-ularity overseas with these important new gateways into Asia, Europe and Mexico,” stated Terzi. “We are ex-tremely enthusiastic about these new fl ights and look forward to welcom-ing all of our international visitors to our region,” Terzi added. -- San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau

Japan Airlines recently received its fi rst Boeing 787 in this Seattle handover ceremony.

In the News

Rancho Palos Verdes, CA .... To celebrate the printed and spoken words and to launch ten new works by Filipino American authors, Phil-ippine Expressions Bookshop will host its annual event called Filipino American Authors Night in order to present new authors and new works to the community. Traditionally, Au-thors Night is held on the eve of the LA Times Festival of Books when authors gather in Los Angeles for the Festival. This year, Authors Night will be held on Friday, April 20 from 6:00pm – 9:00pm at the Com-munity Hall of the Asian Pacifi c American Legal Center which is located at 1145 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA. Please visit http://www.apalc.org/ for the map site. The event is free and open to the public but RSVP is requested. Email or call

(310) 514-9139. Parking is avail-able for a fee at a parking structure next door. Featured authors at this year’s Authors Night include Ofelia V. Dirige, Aurora S. Cudal, Cecilia Gaerlan, Theodore S. Gonzalves, Greceila Jota, Paulino Lim, Jr., Carina Monica Montoya, Donna Miscolta, Ruben Nepales, Quirico S. Samonte, and a guest author, Susan Vance. They will talk, read from their books, and sign them. For more details, including photos of authors and their books, visit http://philippineexpressionsbookshop.wordpress.com/category/events/authors-night-events/

Every year, the small literary community within the big Filipino American community of Southern CA awaits the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Philippine

Expressions Bookshop has par-ticipated in the Festival since 1997. The Bookshop started with just a couple of Fil Am authors and this year, a total of fi fteen authors will be booksigning at their Booth. The authors come from different parts of the US - Ann Arbor in Michigan, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Fran-cisco, San Diego, Seattle, Tucson in Arizona, Washington DC. And one is coming all the way from Aus-tralia! Filipino writers in the diaspora are blooming, especially where the soil is hospitable!

Owner, Linda Nietes is “glad to be part of the cultural scene of the City of Los Angeles all these years. And we are happy to fulfi ll our Book-shop’s vision to provide a home for Philippine writings in North America. In 1972, when martial law was declared in the Philippines, we provided a home for Philippine writings when we opened Casalinda Bookshop in San Antonio Plaza, Forbes Park, Makati.” Casalinda Bookshop was closed in 1984 when Nietes decided to migrate to the US. She settled in Westwood Village close to UCLA and reopened her business as Philippine Expressions Bookshop. And forty years later, of which 28 years were on American soil, the mail order bookshop which specializes in Filipiniana is still go-ing strong.

She further added, “we continue to seek the support of the community as we present new programs that make a difference in the cultural life of Filipinos in the diaspora. Please support Filipino American authors as they try to fi nd their place in the literary map of mainstream America! Inspire our authors with your presence and have a book autographed for your private library when you visit us at the Festival. Do come and bring your family and friends.” The booth of Philippine Expressions Bookshop is Booth # 024, T1 Section, Trousdale Park-way, along Exposition Boulevard at USC Campus, Los Angeles. For details on the Festival, visit: http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/ For maps and direction of USC Campus, visit http://visit.usc.edu/ For more info, including photos of authors and their books, visit “Literally Yours,” the bookshop’s blog: http://philippineexpressions-bookshop.wordpress.com/category/events/authors-night-events/ The Booksigning Schedule which indicates the authors names, their books and time is as follows: Sat-urday, April 21, 2012. 11:00am – 12:00noon. Ofelia V. Dirige and Aurora S. Cudal, co-authors, Global Filipino Cuisine: Healthy Recipes. 12:00 noon – 1:00pm. Greceila Jota, The Deliverer: A Novel; Paulino Lim, Jr., Death of the English Zen Professor: A Novel; Quirico S. Samonte, Pana-

gani (Harvest Time): A Short Story written in English; and Theodore S. Gonzalves, whose books include Stage Presence: Conversations with Filipino American Performing Art-ists, The Day the Dancers Stayed: Performing in the Filipino Ameri-can Diaspora, Filipinos in Hawai’i (part of the Images of America Series and co-authored with Rod-erick N. Labrador), Carlos Villa and the Integrity of Spaces: Essays on Villa’s Art and Life. 1:00pm – 2:00pm. Donna Miscolta, When the De la Cruz Family Danced: A Novel; Greceila Jota; Paulino Lim, Jr. and Theodore S. Gonzalves. 2:00pm – 3:00pm. Cecilia Gaerlan, In Her Mother’s Image: A Novel on WWII in the Philippines; Jay Wertz, The Pacifi c. Volume 1. Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal. War Stories: WWII Firsthand; Donna Miscolta and Quirico S. Samonte. 3:00pm – 4:00pm. Carina Monica Montoya (aka Carina Forsythe), Filipinos in Hollywood (part of the Images of America Series ), Los Angeles’ His-toric Filipinotown (part of the Im-ages of America Series), Let’s Cook Adobo: a juvenile cookbook; guest author , Susan Vance, Tropic Born War Torn: Untold Tales of WWII in the Philippines; Cecilia Gaerlan and Jay Wertz. 4:00pm – 5:00pm. Albert J. Mortiz, Discover the Philippines Cookbook; Jay Wertz ; Susan Vance and Carina Monica Montoya.

Sunday, April 22. 2012. 12:00 noon – 1:00pm. Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Forty Years of Writing in America; Myrna Mulhern, Abadeha, The Philippine Cinderella ; and Jay Wertz. 1:00pm – 2:00pm. Greceila Jota; Donna Miscolta; Quirico S. Samonte and Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko. 2:00pm – 3:00pm. Ruben Nepales, My Filipino Connection: The Philippines in Hollywood; Gre-ceila Jota; Donna Miscolta and Ruben Nepales. 3:00pm – 4:00pm. Quirico S. Samonte ; Jay Wertz; Myrna Mulhern and Ruben Nepales.

If you will be unable to attend Authors Night or the Festival, the Bookshop accepts orders for auto-graphed copies of the titles men-tioned above. Just email: [email protected].

Both events are part of the ongo-ing program sponsored by the Rancho Palos Verdes-based mail order bookshop to reach out to the Filipino American community. PO Box 2401, Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA 90274. www.philippineexpres-sionsbookshop.com. The Bookshop also has a Volunteers Program that allows members of the community of all ages to know Fil Am authors on a personal basis by volunteering during special events such as these two. For additional information, call (310) 310-514-9139 or email [email protected]

Fil Am Authors Night And Book Sign-ing at LA Times Festival Of Books



Spiritual Life

Read Monsignor’s previous articles by visit-ing our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez

Lower Your Nets Balintataw

Read Virginia Ferrer’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Virginia H. Ferrer

©2012 Virginia H. Ferrer. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Virginia H. Ferrer is a Retired Filipino Language Teacher at Otay Ranch High School in Chula Vista.

April 15: 2nd Sunday of Easter/Divine Mercy Sunday

Follow Asian Journal on Twitter @asianjournal

Joke of the Week: Steve’s business had gone bankrupt that he decides to pray and ask God’s help. “God, please help me. I’ve lost my busi-ness. I am a good Christian. Please give me a break. Help me win the lotto.” Night comes and Steve did not win the lotto. Steve goes back to church and prays, “God, please give me a break. Help me win the lotto and I will donate half of my win-nings to charity.” Lotto night arrives and still Steve did not win. “Please give me a break. I’ll lose my house, my family and my possessions.” Suddenly, God speaks, “Steve, give me also a break. Go and buy a ticket.”

Scriptures: First Reading: Acts 4: 32-35. Moved by their love for Christ or the Christian agape, the early Christians shared among them-selves their goods and possessions. This form of “communism” is dif-ferent, because it was not motivated by economics. All goods were held in common so that no one should go without anything. The early Chris-tians’ faith in the resurrection of the Lord became visibly present in their charity or love for all. Second Reading: 1 John 5: 1-6. There was a Gnostic teaching during this period that claims Jesus was only a man on whom the Son of God descended at his baptism, and departed from him before his crucifi xion. Therefore, it was only the man Christ who died on the cross, not Jesus Christ who is true God and true Man as the Church teaches. Against this Gnostic teach-ing, the Johannine author affi rms

that Jesus Christ came “through water” (baptism) and “blood” (cru-cifi xion), and “not by water alone.” Jesus Christ cannot be reduced to a disembodied spirit. Since the Incarnation, Jesus’ human and divine natures that are united in one Person (Greek, hypostasis one person,) are inseparable.

Gospel: John 20: 19-31. St. John’s Gospel begins with the theme of creation and now it ends with the same theme. As it was in the begin-ning, there was chaos and darkness. God came to the rescue. In the Book of Genesis, “a mighty wind swept over the waters.” Through God there was no more darkness and chaos, but harmony and light. In John’s Gospel, “on the evening of the fi rst day of the week,” the disciples were in hid-ing behind locked doors. Jesus was put to death, the frightened disciples were wondering if they were next. Again, God came to the rescue. Je-sus came, breathed on the disciples the Holy Spirit (the mighty wind), and gave them his peace.

Refl ections: We may see ourselves in the apostle Thomas, we who want to be in control of things all the times, who doubt unless we probe and verify those things that we cannot see, hear, touch or smell. In a society that is so engrossed with decoding all the mysteries and se-crets under heaven and on earth, the attitude of Thomas is not strange at all. Yet one thing that distinguishes our society from what had happened to Thomas is that the apostle kept

an open heart and mind to the truth. Yes, Thomas’ demand for tangible proof may sound stubborn and unbe-lieving. Yet the apostle, holding out and not going along with the group, was humble, honest, and stayed on

They also Believe Who See and Touch

with the community. The community in turn did not excommunicate him, but openly welcomed his dissent. It was Thomas’ openness to the truth and the community’s support that sustained and led him to utter the most profound profession of Christ’s true nature: “Lord and God.” Only if the doubters and skeptics will keep an open mind and heart, only if the Christian community will welcome them with charity in spite of their dissenting views and opinions, only then Christ’s presence will become visible and his peace will reign in our midst.

The sensorimotor and percep-tual capacity of a person’s exchanges with his environment reveals ma-tured cognitive development. When either one of them is impaired, the person’s ability to function normally, physically and cognitively is greatly hampered. University of Southern California researchers found out that when a person looks at an object, his brain not only processes what the object looks like, but remembers what it feels like to touch it as well.

Thomas said that unless I “put my fi nger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Thomas saw, touched and believed. Faith does not only involve feeling, will and emotions, but also cognition. Thomas needed for cogni-tive growth of his faith to touch and see the nail marks. It’s ironic that the only manmade scars, signs of man’s ingratitude to God, in the hands of Jesus became the means for Thomas to profess Christ’s divinity.

Pope Benedict V1 on Sept. 27, 2006 said “that the apostle Thomas is important for us for at least three reasons: fi rst, because it comforts us in our insecurities; secondly, because doubt can lead to an enlightened outcome beyond all uncertainty, and fi nally, because the words spoken by Jesus remind us of the true meaning of mature faith, encouraging us to persevere, despite the diffi culties, in our walk of devotion to Him, the demand to ‘see’ and ‘touch’ the wounds of the risen Lord was satis-fi ed by Jesus.”

It is noteworthy to mention that in Rembrandt’s masterpiece, The Return of the Prodigal Son, he depicted the half-blind father looking intensely and touching “elegantly and gently’ the son’s right shoulder with the “refi ned, soft and very tender loving right hand” (symbolizing the mother’s hand) that caresses, comforts, and consoles. The left hand, a symbol of the fa-ther’s hand, is completely different. This hand does not only touch the left shoulder but strongly hold and grasp it. In both instances the father

and returning son needed both the sense of touching and seeing. The elder son however have his hands tucked inside his robe and with head bowed down in rebellious defi ance and contemptuous repugnance does not look at both father and son. In all cases, the prodigal, the father and apostle Thomas, even if they needed to touch and see, yet they never closed off themselves completely from the possibility of repentance, mercy and love.

THIS SUNDAY IS THE FEAST OF THE DIVINE MERCY. The Romans taught only of four cardinal virtues: wisdom, justice, temperance, and courage, they never included mercy and pity! The Greeks were of the same frame of mind and signifi ed that mercy is weakness not strength. In fact it was Aristotle who wrote that pity was an inadequate and useless emotion.

The Israelites believed that the lid of the Ark of the Covenant is the “mercy seat” (Hebrew, kap-poret, a covering) of God. (Exodus 25:22) The Sacred Ark had the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments and was with the Israelites wherever they went. It was reposed in the Holy of Holies, in the Tabernacle and later in Solomon’s Temple, where it was understood God symbolically dwelt. The Israelites consider it is from that mercy seat where God judges mankind and also it is a place of propitiation.

JOHN PAUL 11 DECREED THAT THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EAS-TER BE OBSERVED AS DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY because accord-ingly the Church greatly needs such a feast as this to awaken among the faithful an “aggiornemento” ( bringing up to date) of the great Octave of Easter (Latin, octo, eight) and its great gifts, such as God’s mercy.” What is then the connection of mercy with the Easter season? The readings today, especially the Gospel, are apropos with mercy. Jesus is the complete manifesta-tion in fl esh of God’s mercy. Jesus came to alleviate human and eternal suffering mainly caused by sin. The message of mercy is that God loves us, no matter how grievous are our sins. Out of his love and mercy, Jesus forgave Thomas. Easter is that moment in time when God shows us loving mercy.

Quotation of the Week: “If we are silent about the joy that comes from knowing Jesus, the very stones will cry out! For we are an Easter people and ‘Alleluia’ is our song. Rejoice because Jesus has come into the world. Rejoice because Jesus has died upon the cross! Rejoice be-cause He rose again from the dead! Rejoice because Jesus has come to set us free! Rejoice because He is the master of our life!” Pope John Paul ІІ.

Sige Mangarap Ka

Marami akong mga pangarap na gusto kong gawinmayroong mababaw at mayroon din namang malalim sabi nga nila libre lamang ito't walang pipigilkaya naman ako,sige, heto't hindi tumitigil.

Sina tatay at nanay marami silang tinitiisng ang pangarap para sa ati'y kanilang mahagiphindi dapat ikahiya ang anumang ninanaisdapat itong ipagsigawan nang marinig ng langit.

Nararapat lamang na tayo ay mangarap ng tunaysabihin natin kung ano ang ating inaasam-asambigyan ng inspirasyon mga taong nahihinaanng mundo natin ay mabago tungo sa kaunlaran.

___

Reprinted from the January 15, 2010 issue of the Asian Journal.


EntertainmentShowbiz Watcher

Read Ogie Cruz’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Ogie Cruz

Digital Edition915,460 reads

on scribd.com/asianjournal

Asian Journal San Diego

Amalia Fuentes

IW Group81380

Fil - K3.16.12

Newsprint85

RG

By Ogie Cruz

Last week issue ng Asian Journal, isiniwalat natin sa ating column ang patutsadahan via twitter ng dala-wang pinakamataray sa showbiz , sina Amalia Fuentes at Annabelle Rama.Sabi nga nila magsasalita sila sa Tv after holy week para buwel-tahan ang bawat isa.

Im sure inantayan ito ng sam-bayanang Pilipino pati ang mga pinoy dito sa San Diego, kung sino ang mas mabangis magsalita sa dalawa.

Hindi pa rin lumabas si Amalia, nagsalita lang ito nang interbyuhin ni Korina Sanchez sa kanyang radio program sa DZMM.Mukhang hindi pa handa ang dating Movie Queen para bweltahan ang issue sa kanila ng nanay ni Rufa Guttierez, dahil sa masasakit na pinagdadaanan sa ngayon , kailangan muna raw niyang magpalakas.

“Im on a holy week retreat because as you know, I just buried my hus-band Tuesday, and then Wednesday I came up here to find peace …..to find courage,”.

“Wala pa ako sa emotional, my emotions. I’m not ready to deal with her on her level.You know, yung salitang maiintindihan niya at ang kanyang followers,”.

“It’s hard to go down to her level.But I will, I can do it.I’ve been there before,” mga kalmadong salita ni Amalia Fuentes.

Pwes,abangan na lang natin ang bwelta ni Annabelle sa mga salitang ito dahil alam namin hindi

patatalo ang mommy ni Richard Guttierez,anytime raw naka-ready ito.

CHEESA LAURETA, BAGONG SUMISIKAT NA PINAY SA THE VOICE !!! Kung mayroon Jessica Sanchez ang ‘ American Idol’ na pinay na magaling kumanta, ang ‘The Voice-Season 2’ mayroon din tayong aabangan si Cheesa Lau-reta at takenote nasa top 16 na siya ngayon.

Singing search din ang ‘The Voice’, at nakita na rin namin ang ating pinay na pambato rito.Galing din ang boses ni Cheesa, very pow-erful din tulad ni Jessica.

100% pinoy ito, dahil ang mga magulang niya ay parehong Filipino.Ang nanay niya galing sa Cebu at ang tatay naman niya ay isang manileno, samantalang si 21 yrs old

na Cheesa ay isinilang sa Honolulu Hawaii kasalukuyan sa Los Angeles nakatira ang mag-anak.

Nag-audition na siya minsan sa ‘American Idol’ pero sa audition pa lang hindi na siya nakapasa kaya, sa season 2 ng ‘The Voice’ siya pinalad.

Kamakailan lang napanood namin siya sa isang battle round with Angie Johnson pero mas pinili siya ni Cee Lo Green para manalo.So, dalawa na ang susuportahan natin sa mga singing search sina Jessica Sanchez at Cheesa Laureta.

TOP SHOWBIZ PERSON-ALITIES TAXPAYERS FOR 2010 !!!Narito ang list ng mga showbiz personalities ng Burea of Internal Revenue na nagbabayad sa kanila ng tax.

1.Kris Aquino , na may income na 101 Million at nagbayad ng 32,3 million sa Bir. 2. Willie Revillame na kumita ng 82 Million at nagbayad ng tax ng 26.5M. 3. Michael V.- na may annual income na 65.5 Million at nagbayad ng tax ng 20.9 M.

4. Sharon Cuneta, kumita ng last year ng 52 Million at nagbayad ng tax ng 16.6M. 5. Piolo Pascual, na kumita ng 40.8 Million at nagbayad

ng 13 Million sa BIR. 6. Marian Rivera, kumita ng 37.2 Million at nagbayad ng 11.8 Million. 7. John Lloyd Cruz na kumita last year ng 34.2 Million at nagbayad ng

10.9 Million. 8. Claudine Barretto, kumita ng 33.4 Million at nagbayad ng tax ng 10.6 Million.

Kung napupuna nyo, grabe ang kinita ng ating mga movie stars sa Philippines, hindi na kailangan mag-abroad pa para kumita ng malaking pera.Wala rin si Manny Pacquiao sa

Patungkol kay Annabelle Rama: “It’s Hard To Go Down To

Her Level” -Amalia Fuentes-

Rosemarie Gil and Eddie Mesa

Cheesa Laureta

Christian Fellowship. Pastor Larry Macasero,Pastor Mike Ebbah, Pastor romy Somera,Pastor Louie Ignacio at Pastor Jon Mejica

listahan dahil hanggang ngayon may problema pa si Pambansang kamao sa BIR.

MAHIGPIT DAW ANG FOX CHANNEL REKLAMO NG ISANG TAGA ABS CBN !!! Sa Tv Patrol, naibulaslas ni Noli De Castro ang kanyang dismaya dahil hindi man lang maipalabas nila ang video ni Jessica Sanchez sa kanilang programa dahil bawal daw ayon sa ‘American Idol’, I mean yung mga winning moment ng naturang singer. Buti pa raw yung ‘The Voice’ naipakita nila ang video ni Cheesa Laureta kung paano nito pinamalas ang galing nito sa pag-awit samanta-lang si Jessica never nilang naipakita ito.Napakahigpit naman ng Fox channel, bakit kaya?

FACE TO FACE WITH EDDIE MESA & ROSEMARIE GIL !!! Last good Friday nakita namin sina Eddie Mesa at Rosemarie Gil sa fellowhip of Evangelical Filipino-american Ministers dahil na-invite kami ni Pastor Jon Mejica ng ‘Harbor of Life Ministries’ dyan sa 7th street sa National City.

Natuwa kami ng makita namin ang dating mag-asawa na sina Eddie at Rosemarie, at siempre ang fellowhip na kung saan guest speaker nga si Mr. Mesa.

Tinananong nga namin si Eddie, kung babalik pa siya sa movie mak-

ing at ang sabi niya basta maganda ang role kagaya nung last movie niyang nagawa na ‘Karugtong ng isang Awit’ na isang Sharon Cuneta movie.Maganda pa rin ang boses ni Mr Eddie Mesa, wala pa rin kupas.Samantalang si Rosemarie Gil tuwang tuwa ng malaman niya na isa kaming showbiz reporter.

Tinanong pa nga kami ni Ms. Rosemarie kung anu na ang bagong chika sa showbiz,nabigla nga siya sa balita namin sa Asian Journal last week.Kaya pala hindi na masyadong aktibo si Rosemarie sa Tv o movie abala na pala siya sa mga Christian Fellowship tulad ng dati niyang asawa.

Basta maraming salamat sa pag-welcome sa amin nina Pastor Larry Macasero,Pastor Mike Ebbah, Pastor romy Somera,Pastor Louie Ignacio at Pastor Jon Mejica.Ang dami pala silang pinoy na miembro sa kanil-ang fellowship, at least nag-Friday service kami sa kanila church.



TrendsTech IT

from My Barber

by Benjamin Maynigo

Science and Technology News

ROOM FOR RENTQuiet Neighborhood in National City. No smoking. No drugs.

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IT in GOVERNMENT, Part 2Tech IT From My Barber

IT in GOVERNMENT (Part II)

FOSE 2012 really impressed me this year not only because of the new technologies exhibited and discussed but more so because of the active participation of “Women Leaders in Technology.”

The group of impressive women techies that opened the last day of the conference as Keynote Address were: Judith Marks, President and Chief Executive Offi cer (CEO) of Siemens Government Technolo-gies; Linda Brooks-Rix, President and Co-CEO of Avue Technolo-gies; Dawn Mayerrriecks, Assistant Director of National Intelligence for Acquisition, Technology, and Facili-ties at the Offi ce of the Director of National Intelligence; Lisa Schloss-er, Deputy Associate Administrator, Offi ce of E-Government and Infor-mation Technology at the Offi ce of Management and Budget; Susan Swart, Chief Information Offi cer at the Department of State.

Their talks focused on how the latest advances in technology create “security challenges, com-moditization of IT Data Centers, centralization of existing services and the implementation of cloud and virtualization services.”

Another topic that interested the attendees was Teleworking noting the important federal initiative (Tele-work Enhancement Act). Judith Marks stated her organization’s com-mitment by implementing a variety of solutions for employees, reducing real estate by 25%.

The presenter for “The Dark Side of Facebook” was as impressive. Another impressive woman, Alix Levine is the owner of WEBehavior LLC and the director of research for Cronus Global, both security-consulting fi rms. She specializes in the study of homegrown extremism and online mobilization.

Alix has written on a variety of terror-related issues, including the ideologies, activities and tactics of domestic and international terrorist movements, and in particular their online activity.

She mentioned a few online indicators related to the dark side of Facebook and the Social Media. Among them are: Post pictures of themselves with weapons; Threaten

a celebrity; Obtain access to the most elite hardline forums; Dissemi-nate terrorist propaganda; Create their own propaganda; and Post publicly about one’s desire to be part of the movement.

Thomas Houlihan of AgilQuest also talked about making Telework and Hoteling succeed. He introduced strategies and tools for implement-ing telework and hoteling programs across entire organization at a rapid.

As soon as I get clearance to write and publish about the presentations made at FOSE 2012, I will corre-spondingly share some of them in subsequent columns.

**************************** WHICH WAY NEXT?

I have been invited to participate in a live Webcast from Singular-ity University. The topic is “Which Way Next?” and the featured Guest Speaker is Peter Diamandis, Co-Founder & Chairman of Singularity University.

Being one of the fi rst buyers of his Best-Selling book, Abundance that has the following sub-title, “The Future is Better Than You Think”, I am expected to express my reactions to his presentation.

Diamandis will present the case that the world is getting better at an accelerating rate through the con-vergence of four powerful forces: the exponential advancement of technology, DIY (Do it Yourself) innovators, Techno-philanthropists, and the Rising Billion, which, acting together, will create abundance in the areas of clean water, nutritious food, affordable housing, personal-ized education, top-tier global health care, and ubiquitous energy – help-ing to solve humanity’s biggest challenges.

UP with the OPTIMISTS and the POSITIVISTS! DOWN with the PESSIMISTS and NEGATIVISTS!

This sounds like RESURREC-TION, RENEWAL and REBIRTH in an EASTER Message to me!

TRENDS

From the Kurzweil Newsletter

Quantum computer built inside a diamond

Quantum computer in diamond (credit: USC)

The fi rst multi-qubit computer with protection against decoherence (noise that prevents the computer

from functioning properly) has been developed by an international team of scientists.

The team’s diamond quantum computer system featured two quan-tum bits (“qubits”).

The team used the impurities in fl aws in the diamond — the spin of a nitrogen nucleus as the fi rst qubit and the spin of an electron from another fl aw as the second qubit.

Electrons are smaller than nuclei and perform computations much more quickly, but also fall victim more quickly to “decoherence.” A qubit based on a nucleus, which is large, is much more stable but slower.

Solid-state multi-qubit comput-ing systems have already been developed, but this was the fi rst to incorporate decoherence protection — using microwave pulses to con-tinually switch the direction of the

electron spin rotation to protect the qubits from noise from the environ-ment — the scientists said.

ADDED: It also operated at room temperature.

Quantum gate operation in the presence of decoherence (credit: T. van der Sar et al./Nature)

The team was able to demonstrate that their diamond-encased system does indeed operate in a quantum fashion by seeing how closely it matched “Grover’s algorithm”

for quantum computing (fi nd the correct choice in X/2 tries – if X is the number of total choices you have to search through). So, with four choices total, you’ll fi nd the correct one after two tries on average.

The quantum computer picked the correct choice on the fi rst try about 95 percent of the time – enough to demonstrate that it operates in a quantum fashion.

The multinational team included USC, Delft University of Technol-ogy, Iowa State University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Ref.: T. van der Sar, et al. Deco-herence-protected quantum gates for a hybrid solid-state spin regis-ter.Nature, 2012; 484 (7392): 82 DOI: 10.1038/nature10900

ADDED: Quantum calculations rendered insensitive for disruptions

Scientists unlock key to cancer cell death mystery of HT1080p21–9 and EJp21

cells stained with MitoTracker Red CMXRos for mitochondria (red) and p21 expression (green) (credit: Masgras I., et al./Journal of Biologi-cal Chemistry)

An international team of sci-

entists led by the University of Leicester has discovered that cells from sarcomas (a form of cancer) tend to die in response to a protein called p21, and that this effect is determined by the sensitivity of the cancer-cell mitochondria to oxidants.

The p21 protein usually forces normal and cancer cells to stop dividing but it was recently shown that in some cases it can also kill cancer cells.

According to researcher Salvador Macip, from the University of Leic-ester Department of Biochemistry, “If we could harness this ‘killing power’ that p21 has, we could think of designing new therapies aimed at increasing its levels in tumours. This is what motivated us to look into it.”

The research also showed that p21 can kill cells even in the absence of

p53, a protein that is mostly respon-sible for cell death but is inactivated in most cancers.

“This shows that certain types of cancer, sarcomas for instance, but maybe also others, should respond well to drugs that increase the levels of p21, even if they don’t have an active p53,” said Macip. “The side effects of these therapies should be minimal, since our experiments

show that normal cells would arrest but not die in response to p21.

“There are already drugs available that selectively increase p21. Our results provide a rationale for testing them in certain types of cancers, which could be identifi ed using the experiments we describe.”

The research team comprised scientists from the universities of Leicester and Cardiff in the UK, University of South Carolina in the U.S., and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

Ref.: Masgras I., et al., Reactive oxygen species and mitochon-drial sensitivity to oxidative stress determine induction of cancer cell death by p21, Journal of Biologi-cal Chemistry, Vol. 287, Issue 13, 9845-9854, 2012; [DOI:10.1074/jbc.M111.250357]

Missing a print edition of the Asian Journal? Read the digital edition at www.asianjournalusa.com/digital

Idle Filipino nurses now 300,000, says solon

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino nurses may have diffi culty entering the US labor market until 2020, ac-cording to party-list Rep. Arnel Ty. "Right now, they have ample supply of US-educated nurses," said Ty, the representative in Congress of the Liquefi ed Petroleum Gas Market-ers' Association (LPG-MA). In a statement, Ty cited statistics from America's National Council of State Boards of Nursing which show that the US produced close to a million nurses from 2006 to 2011. Ty said

the US demand for Filipino and other foreign nurses may start to re-cover in 8 years when thousands of US-based nurses would have retired. The US fi rst encountered a shortage of nurses in 1998. This created a surge in number of Filipino nursing graduates hoping to get a career in the US. However, the gap has since been fi lled by the large increase in the number of American nurses, plus a deluge of foreign-educated practi-tioners. Due to the huge oversupply of nurses in the Philippines, both the Commission on Higher Educa-tion and the Professional Regulation Commission have been urging high school graduates to shun nursing. Late response Ty blamed regula-tors for their late response to labor market conditions. "They should be more aggressive in researching and projecting future labor market condi-tions, both here and abroad, to help guide young Filipinos as to potential career paths," he said. "Regulators are just reacting to what is already happening, such as the apparent glut of nursing graduates. Their late advi-sories would be more valuable once these are predictive and instructive, rather than merely reactive," Ty said. From 1995 to 2011, Ty said a total of 145,081 Filipino nurses sought to practice their profession in America by taking for the fi rst time (exclud-ing repeaters) the US licensure exam, or NCLEX. However, Ty said that "from 2006 to 2011 alone, a total of 938,552 US nursing gradu-ates also took the NCLEX for the fi rst time." Special jobs plan Ty said he has been pushing for a new law that "would establish a special local jobs plan for idle Filipino nurses, now estimated at more than 300,000." He has fi led House Bill 4582, which seeks an expanded ver-sion of the Nurses Assigned in Rural Service or NARS, "the short-lived Philippine government project that enlisted nurses to improve health-care in poverty-stricken towns." Ty's said the Special Program for the Employment of Nurses in Urban and Rural Services (NURSE) "would mobilize a total of 10,000 practitio-ners every year."

Tight US market for nurses seen until 2020

Job Trends


Health and Wellness

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Myth 1: Sleep is a time when your body and brain shut down for rest and relaxation.

No evidence shows that any major organ (including the brain) or regulatory system in the body shuts down during sleep. Some physiological processes actually become more active while you sleep. For example, secretion of certain hormones is boosted, and activity of the pathways in the brain needed for learning and memory is heightened.

Myth 2: Getting just 1 hour less sleep per night than needed will not have any effect on your day-time functioning.

This lack of sleep may not make you noticeably sleepy during the

day. But even slightly less sleep can affect your ability to think properly and respond quickly, and it can com-promise your cardiovascular health and energy balance as well as the ability to fi ght infections, particu-larly if lack of sleep continues. If you consistently do not get enough sleep, eventually a sleep debt builds up that will make you excessively tired during the day.

Myth 3: Your body adjusts quickly to different sleep sched-ules.

Your biological clock makes you most alert during the daytime and most drowsy at night. Thus, even if you work the night shift, you will naturally feel sleepy when night-time comes. Most people can reset their biological clock, but only by appropriately timed cues—and even then, by 1–2 hours per day at best. Consequently, it can take more than a week to adjust to a dramatically altered sleep/wake cycle, such as you encounter when traveling across several time zones or switching from working the day shift to the night shift.

Myth 4: People need less sleep as they get older.

Older people don't need less sleep, but they often get less sleep or fi nd their sleep less refreshing. That's be-cause as people age, they spend less time in the deep, restful stages of sleep and are more easily awakened. Older people are also more likely to have insomnia or other medical conditions that disrupt their sleep.

Myth 5: Extra sleep at night can cure you of problems with exces-sive daytime fatigue.

Not only is the quantity of sleep important but also the quality of sleep. Some people sleep 8 or 9 hours a night but don't feel well rested when they wake up because the quality of their sleep is poor. A number of sleep disorders and other medical conditions affect the qual-ity of sleep. Sleeping more won't alleviate the daytime sleepiness these disorders or conditions cause. However, many of these disorders or conditions can be treated effectively with changes in behavior or with medical therapies.

Myth 6: You can make up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekends.

Although this sleeping pattern will help relieve part of a sleep debt, it will not completely make up for the lack of sleep. This pattern also will not make up for impaired perfor-mance during the week because of not sleeping enough. Furthermore, sleeping later on the weekends can affect your biological clock so that it is much harder to go to sleep at the right time on Sunday nights and get up early on Monday mornings.

Myth 7: Naps are a waste of time.

Although naps do not substitute for a good night's sleep, they can be restorative and help counter some

of the impaired performance that results from not getting enough sleep at night. Naps can actually help you learn how to do certain tasks quicker. But avoid taking naps later than 3 p.m., as late naps can inter-fere with your ability to fall asleep at night. Also, limit your naps to no longer than 1 hour because longer naps will make it harder to wake up and get back in the swing of things. If you take frequent naps during the day, you may have a sleep disorder that should be treated.

Myth 8: Snoring is a normal part of sleep.

Snoring during sleep is common, particularly as a person gets older. Evidence is growing that snoring

on a regular basis can make you sleepy during the day and more susceptible to diabetes and heart disease. In addition, some studies link frequent snoring to problem behavior and poorer school achieve-ment in children. Loud, frequent snoring can also be a sign of sleep apnea, a serious sleep disorder that should be treated. (See "Is Snoring a Problem?")

Myth 9: Children who don't get enough sleep at night will show signs of sleepiness during the day.

Unlike adults, children who don't get enough sleep at night typically become more active than normal during the day. They also show diffi -culty paying attention and behaving properly. Consequently, they may be misdiagnosed as having attention-defi cit hyperactivity.

Myth 10: The main cause of insomnia is worry.

Although worry or stress can cause a short bout of insomnia, a persistent inability to fall asleep or stay asleep at night can be caused by a number of other factors. Certain medications and sleep disorders can keep you up at night. Other common causes

Top 10 Sleep MythsAARP -- Their answers will give

you a clearer picture of how your parents are faring and will help you assess their needs.

Their Home Is your home still appropriate for

you now that you’re getting older? Can you manage the stairs, or

would you do better on one level? Does your home have any safety

hazards? Could simple modifi cations to

your home make it more conve-nient?

Should you think about living somewhere else?

Their ActivitiesDo you need help with household

chores, such as cleaning, fi xing meals or taking care of the yard?

Does poor eyesight interfere with your daily activities?

Can you always hear the telephone

35 Questions to Ask Your Aging Parentsor a knock at the door?

Their MobilityIs driving diffi cult for you? Do you have reliable transporta-

tion for shopping, medical visits, religious services and visits with family and friends?

Their HealthWhat health problems do you

have? Are your prescriptions current? Have you been to your doctor

lately? What has your doctor told you

about your health?Has your doctor or pharmacist

reviewed all of your medications for side effects and potentially danger-ous interactions?

Are you having any problems tak-ing your medications?

Could you use help remembering what pills to take and when?

Can you pay for your medicines?

Their Health CareWhat kind of health insurance do

you have, and do you have Medi-care, Medicaid or a Medigap supple-ment policy?

Has your insurance plan paid your health care bills?

Do you have long-term care insur-ance or life insurance?

Have you paid your insurance premiums?

Would you like help with fi lling out forms, such as insurance claims?

Have you been told that insurance won’t cover medical tests or proce-dures that your doctor has ordered?

Do you have any questions about Medicare or Medicaid?

Their FinancesWhat are your current and likely

future bills? Can you pay for what you need?

of insomnia are depression, anxiety disorders, and asthma, arthritis, or other medical conditions with symp-toms that become more troublesome at night. Some people who have chronic insomnia also appear to be more revved up than normal, so it is harder for them to fall asleep.

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. NIH Publication No. 06-5271

Link: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/sleep/yg_slp.htm#myths

NewsMax Health, 4/9/2012 -- For the devout, there never has been any question — prayer has the power to heal. Now, more and more medical research from leading hospitals and universities across the United States has shown conclusively that a belief in God really is good for you, and can make you healthier, happier, and induce you to live longer to boot.

“Studies have shown prayer can prevent people from getting sick, and when they do get sick, prayer can help them get better faster,” Duke University’s Dr. Harold G. Koenig tells Newsmax.

An exhaustive analysis of more than 1,500 reputable medical stud-ies “indicates people who are more religious and pray more have better mental and physical health,” Koenig says. “And out of 125 studies that looked at the link between health and regular worship, 85 showed regular churchgoers live longer.

Dr. Koenig, director of Duke’s Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, and the author of several au-

thoritative books on faith and heal-ing, says a striking study published in the Southern Medical Journal last year demonstrated that prayer has a remarkable effect on patients with hearing and visual defi ciencies. After prayer sessions, “They showed signifi cant improvements based on audio and visual tests,” Koenig says.

What’s more, he says, “The ben-efi ts of devout religious practice, particularly involvement in a faith community and religious commit-ment, are that people cope better. In general, they cope with stress better, they experience greater well-being because they have more hope, they're more optimistic, they experi-ence less depression, less anxiety, and they commit suicide less often.” He adds, “They have stronger im-mune systems, lower blood pressure, and probably better cardiovascular functioning.”

The proof of the power of prayer is overwhelming, says researcher and writer Tom Knox, a one-time atheist who became a regular worshipper

Proof of the Healing Power of Prayerafter doing in-depth study of the medical benefi ts of faith. “What I discovered astonished me. Over the past 30 years a growing, and largely unnoticed, body of scientifi c work shows religious belief is medi-cally, socially, and psychologically benefi cial.”

Study after study backs up the benefi ts of having faith, especially in prolonging life.

In 2006, population researchers at the University of Texas discovered that the more often you go to church, the longer you live. “Religious attendance is associated with adult mortality in a graded fashion,” says Knox. “There is a seven-year dif-ference in life expectancy between those who never attend church and those who attend weekly.”

The American Journal of Public Health studied nearly 2,000 older Californians for fi ve years and found that those who attended religious services were 36 percent less likely to die during that period than those who didn’t.

A study of nearly 4,000 older adults for the U.S. Journal of Ger-ontology revealed that atheists had a signifi cantly increased chance of dying over a six-year period than the faithful. Crucially, religious people lived longer than atheists even if they didn’t go regularly to a place of worship.

Prayer intercession also has been shown to have a positive impact across a wide range of diseases and disorders.

The American Society of Hyper-tension established in 2006 that churchgoers have lower blood pres-sure than non-believers. Scientists have also revealed believers recover from breast cancer quicker than non-believers, have better outcomes from coronary disease and rheumatoid arthritis, and are less likely to have children with meningitis.

A massive 12-month study from a Kansas City hospital showed pa-tients admitted with heart trouble did

Do you need help getting govern-ment or pension benefi ts?

Do you need help with fi nancial planning to make your money last?

Are your Social Security and pen-sion checks deposited directly in the bank?

Is all of your fi nancial information in one place?

Have you considered a reverse mortgage, which would provide extra income from the equity in your home?

Have you considered that you might need money down the road to help pay for assistance with every-day activities?

Do you have any bills you can't pay?

Do you have an estate plan and a will, as well as a living will and health care proxy?

Note: Finances can be a sensitive topic; you may want to be less direct with your questions.


smartphones) that run on Android, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS; and on Barnes & Noble’s Nook tablet.

Free reader programBuyers need to download

(one time only) a free reader program/app compatible to the operating system in their computer or device: Bluefi re for Apple iOS, Aldiko for Android, and Adobe Digital Editions for Windows and Mac OS.

Flipreads e-books can’t be read on Blackberry phones, Apple’s iBooks app and Ama-zon’s Kindle app.

“However, Amazon’s new Kindle Fire handheld reader runs the Android operating system, so you will be able to download and install the Aldiko app and read Flipreads e-books on it,” said De Luna.

Flipreads’ system uses Adobe Content Server and this allows each buyer to authorize a maximum of six devices to store copies of every Flipreads e-book purchased.

“While international e-bookstores offer some Filipino-authored e-books, there are usually additional costs of up to $2 per book,” says De Luna. “Also, most online bookstores accept only credit cards.”

Flipreads allows payments using CashSense, where users pay cash at 7-Eleven and MLhuillier branches. The site will eventually allow pay-ments using Globe GCash and Smart Money.

Next: magazinesFlipreads also plans to offer maga-

zines. It plans to work with schools and colleges in making e-books available for students.

Filipino publishers, authors and other content providers can use Flipreads as a secure distribution platform.

“Publishers can sell their e-books through Flipreads.com instead of putting up their own online book-stores. Authors can independently publish their e-books through the site,” De Luna said.

“Flipreads also hopes to be a venue for publishers and authors to bring previously out-of-print titles back into circulation. Since everything is online, these titles will also be available to an international market.”

Flipreads also provides services for Filipino authors and publish-ers seeking to distribute e-books internationally through Amazon and Apple iBookstore.

“We can set up your account on Apple and Amazon, fi le for US tax treaty exemptions, and convert your book or content to the needed for-mats (which can include designing the layout) accepted by these online e-bookstores,” said De Luna.

UST Publishing House, UP Press and Milfl ores Publishing have al-ready started working with Flipreads for their titles published on Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble.

(Story courtesy of Walter Ang of Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Mga Tula ng BayanRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-

journalusa.com

Noy(Continued from page 1)

Read Romeo Nicolas’s previous poems by vis-iting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

Mga Tulang Tagalog

by Romeo Nicolas

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not depend on anyone but ourselves,” Aquino said.

“We also talked with the authorities – the Armed Forc-es and the Philippine Coast Guard – to comply with the rules of engagement to ensure that no violence would erupt,” the President said.

Del Rosario said he raised fi ve main talking points with the Chinese ambassador and asserted the sovereignty of the Philippines over Panatag Shoal under the United Na-tions Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“I made it clear that the Scarbor-ough Shoal is an integral part of the Philippines, that it is in fact 124 nautical miles from Zambales and it is well within the 200 nautical miles of the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf,” Del Rosario said in a joint press conference with Philippine Navy Flag Offi cer in Command Vice Admiral Alexander Pama and Philip-pine Coast Commandant Admiral Edmund Tan.

Del Rosario said he also told Ma that the Chinese fi shermen found in the shoal engaged in illegal fi shing and harvesting of endangered marine species.

He said he also told the Chinese ambassador that the Philippine Navy was in the area to enforce Philippine laws and “they followed established rules of engagement including strict observance of human rights.”

“I mentioned that if the Philippines is challenged we are prepared to se-cure our sovereignty, “ Del Rosario said.

Del Rosario said the Chinese am-bassador, for her part, insisted their sovereignty over Panatag Shoal.

“So in a sense we had reached an impasse in terms of our positions and so there is a real challenge for us in terms of our agreement to keep on talking today and we resolve to seek a diplomatic solution to the issue.”

“The President is very clear that he wants a diplomatic solution to be in place,” he said.

Del Rosario said a representative of the Philippine embassy in Beijing was also summoned over the inci-dent. “Our sources said we would also be receiving a note verbale from them,” he said.

Gov’t should protect its territory - Ping

Sen. Panfi lo Lacson said yesterday the government should protect its territory especially if a foreign entity is found engaged in illegal activities.

Lacson noted that the Chinese fi shing vessels were found to contain corals poached from Philippine waters.

“Whatever happens to the discus-sions between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese ambassador, at the end of the day, we have to enforce our laws,” said Lacson, chairman of the Senate committee on national defense and security.

“And if they encroached our territorial waters and were found to have contraband items, it should be confi scated and the crew and offi cials of the vessel should be held accountable,” he added.

He said the Chinese fi shermen should prove that the corals were not taken from Philippine waters.

Lacson added that it was clear that the Chinese vessels were in Philip-pine waters because a Philippine Navy vessel was patrolling the area.

Lacson admitted that the incident, though only a minor law enforce-ment matter, could become a bigger diplomatic issue if not properly addressed.

“I think this will be resolved in a diplomatic way. Otherwise, we’ll be drawn in a war with China and it could draw in the other more power-ful countries and could blow up into an international confl ict. So the best option is to resolve it in a diplomatic manner,” Lacson said.

Senate committee on foreign rela-tions chairperson Loren Legarda, for her part, said the Scarborough Shoal incident “undermines peace and security in the region.”

“The situation calls for greater

calm among the parties involved and live up to the principles espoused in the Code of Conduct. The countries concerned committed themselves to ensuring peace and stability in the region and the incident certainly does not illustrate the countries’ commitment to peace and security,” Legarda said in a statement.

“The Philippines has clear rights over the area and we have submitted the dispute for resolution through the multilateral arena. We need to draw China into that process where the rule of international law will be observed and honored by parties concerned,” she added. – Aurea Calica, Pia Lee-Brago, Delon Por-calla, Marvin Sy

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KURU-KURO at PANANAW…usapan ngayon! Audele

Onli In Da Pilipins! Onli in da Pilipins libre ang SUVAng tatak ay kakaiba Nisan Sa-pariEksklusibung eksklusibo iyan ang sabiGaling sa sinungaling, pekeng presidente. Onli in da Pilipins muy mucho modelosPinakasikat ay ang “Mitshu-bishop Pueblos”Luxury car dahil ito’y cuatro por cuatroBertdey ng Obispo kung ito’y iregalo. Onli in da Pilipins made by PCSOAng fi nancer ay ang huwad na panguloIsang marginal note lang ay dere-derechoWalang kasabit-sabit ok hora mismo. Onli in da Pilipins Intel Fund ay malakiIto ang taguan upang hindi madiskubriGinagamit itong pondo na pansariliTulad ni bansot, ginugol as campaign kitty. Onli in da Pilipins simbaha’y nakikialamSa patakbo ng gobyerno’y nakikisawsawAng minamagaling ay yaong mapagbigayPulitikong kuripot ay sinisiraan. Onli in da Pilipins may telenovelaDoon sa Senado at Kamara ang eksenaPangungurakot ng iba’t ibang ahensyaIyan ang natatangi at tampok na tema. Onli in da Pilipins ay ipinagbabawalAng pagnanakaw ay kasalanang mortalKung maliit, tiyak maparurusahanPara makaligtas dapat ay angaw-angaw. Onli in da Pilipins maraming buwayaSalapi ng baya’y ipinamumusturaGalit sa kapwang malaki ang delihensyaHindi masiyahan sa tongpats ng kontrata. Onli in da PIlipins tunguhi’y opisinaKapag napaaga ka kawani’y wala paTanghaliin ng konti, nagmemerienda naKapag hinapo’y daratnan na lang ay mesa. Onli in da Pilipins drawer ay nakaawangNagbunton sa mesa papeles na talaksanKunwa’y abala, pag-uusap ay anasanBaka mapakinggan halaga ng lagayan. Onli in da Pilipins preso’y nakagagalaNakalalabas sa selda, permiso’y walaAng mga bilanggua’y bagsakan ng drogaNalulusutan kahit na may guwardiya. Onli in da Pilipins sa kalsada ay nagkalatPaslit ay kilik-kilik katawa’y ani’y patpatSa bangketa’y lugmok, nanlilimahid ang gayakPipi ang kalansing ng latang hawak-hawak. Onli in da Pilipins kahit tao’y madasalinPangarap ay tila ba kay hirap abutinPagka’t kulang sa gawa asa’y suswertihinPaubaya lahat sa Poong Mahabagin. Ika-8 ng Hulyo, 2011

Pagmasdan Nyo Kababayan(Spratly Islands II)

Naku, naku at heto na, itong barko ni “Uncle Sam”Kasapi raw sa “exercise”, China Sea po ang syang daan.Ang totoo’y magmamatyag, ang sitwasyon, pagmamasdan,Ano nga ang nangyayari sa isla ng KAGULUHAN.

Sa totoo’t siyang tunay, mayroon ngang NAAAMOY,Kalapit na munting bansa ganon din ang tinutukoy.Dudutdutin yaong yaman hanggang GULO ay umusbong,At ang bansang China naman, abot langit ang pagtutol.

Kapag ito’y nagpatuloy sa usaping ‘di maganda,Relasyon ng mga bansa, MABIBITAK, pornada pa.TUSONG MATSING magwawagi kung hayaang YAPAKAN NA,Nitong bansang mayrong lakas, yaong BANSA na SISIW PA.

Kaya heto, dumarating ang bigating kaalyado,Na nangakong MAGTATAGOL sating bansang PILIPINO.Alam naman nating tunay, na sa ayaw mo at gusto,Tayo pa ring PILIPINO ang syang mahal ni KANUTO.

Si UNCLE SAM ang syang dapat mamagitan sa usapan,Ngunit ito’y ‘di gagawin, “standby” lang, mamatyagan.Batid din ng AMERIKA, yaong tama at paraan,Na makamit ng tiwasay ang usaping walang AWAY.

Kaya tayo’y HUMINAHON, aayos din itong gulo,Na ‘di dapat umabot pa, PUTUK doon, PUTUK dito.Mapayapang paguusap, malamigang mga ulo,Aabot ding UNAWAAN, ang syang wakas nito’t dulo.

Hirit ni:Romeo Nicolas

6/12/2011

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Street Poetry

Read about Michael’s upcoming book of poems “Crushed Violets” by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Michael R. Tagudin

©2012 Michael R. Tagudin. All rights reserved. About the Author: Michael R. Tagudin Educated as an engineer in the Philippines, the City of Los Angeles employee hopes his legacy of poems will provoke a dialogue about the human condition. He is donating the proceeds from the book “Crushed Violets” to the “Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST)”, a non-profit that provides public awareness and advocacy efforts against human trafficking in the City of Angels. To learn more, visit www.castla.org. To help, call the CAST 24 hour hotline 888.KEY.2.FRE(EDOM) or 888.539.2373. Contact [email protected] for more information about ordering the book “Crushed Violets.”

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*Juris Doctor law degree, University of San Diego (1985),Diploma; Oxford Institute on International and Comparative Law (USD), Oxford, England (1984);Bachelor Degree, University of Southern California (1983);Montgomery High School, San Diego (1979)

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UP law students shine in Int’l moot court in Washing-

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A Holy Week to Remember



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In My Sleep (Poem No. 18)

In my sleep

In the deepest of dreams

I seek your presence

Your absence is felt

And yet nothing really matters

I dream on and on

Of senseless panorama

Of friends lost, remembered, found

But you’re not there

And it really does not matter

You ‘re not there in my dreams

In my life

Save the Date! You are Invited to Join Michael R. Tagudin on May 12, the Saturday before Mother’s Day, for the Book Signing of “Crushed Violets” during the 3rd Asian Cultural Festival at Liberty Station, San Diego CA. Visit Michael from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. at the Asian Journal booth. The San Diego coordinator of California Against Slavery (CASE) will also be taking signatures for the petition to put the CASE Act, a crucial anti-trafficking initiative, in the November ballot.

Mauro Lacsamana was from, to my town Rosales, and Dagupan City, Pangasinan where another friend/member Tony Mendoza lived and of course, Baguio City.

Toy was a great student debater. He was the Captain of the champion debating team that beat Ateneo, UP, de la Salle and Siliman University. He was adjudged the Best Debater in all of them.

He was also a great practicing lawyer. He must be that good if somebody like Former National Security Adviser Almonte hired him to handle some delicate cases. Ask Former PDIC Chairman and DBP Chairman Lanny Nañagas who also asked Toy to represent him.

During the first Persian Gulf War, many Filipino workers were displaced and were forced to be sent home. A cause of action was in order to go after some frozen Iraqi Funds to compensate the workers. A topnotch American lawyer friend in Washington, D.C. asked me for a partner in the Philippines to help pursue the cases.

Without hesitation, I recommended Toy Cedo and then proceeded to arrange for them to meet in Manila. That’s how I looked at him as a lawyer.

When I formed a couple of com-panies including one that brought Frank Sinatra to Manila, he was readily the Corporate Counsel and Corporate Secretary.

In our class was someone who was No.3 in the Bar Examinations. When he needed help in a litigation involv-ing some relatives and town mates, guess whom he chose to hire?

ATTORNEY TOY CEDO, the lawyers’ lawyer!

We had other experiences together in many other ways even as profes-sionals. In the early years of Martial Law, Gabby Lopez (Eugenio Lopez III), now Chairman of ABS-CBN, and I organized a group to learn KARATE skills. Invited to join us were Toy Cedo, Bob Ledesma, Lanny Nañagas and Daniel Olea. It was held at the Lopez residence in Forbes Park, Makati. We got a cou-ple of instructors who were involved with Bob, Toy and me earlier in the Bushido Kai Club at the Knights of Columbus.

This was before my escape via kumpit (pump boat) traveling through the Southern route success-fully evading the chasing pirates and ending in Sabah, Malaysia.

After the People Power Revolution I used to go home to the Philip-pines on a regular basis. In one of my visits, I was invited to attend a spiritual retreat run by Fr. Resty and a group led by the late Congressman Vic Sumulong and my friend and town mate Bernie Estrella Arellano, daughter of the late Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella.

Attending the retreat with me were Toy Cedo, Bob Ledesma, the beauti-ful actress-singer Pinky de Leon, and a few others. I remember that during the mass and at the “peace be with you“ part, instead of shaking hands as you utter the words, you have the option to kiss the person (of opposite sex) beside you.

In subsequent masses during the entire retreat, Toy, Bob and I were secretly competing to be beside beautiful Pinky to say, “Kiss be with you.” :) :)

I know Toy had a religious life. His was a lingering illness so he had all the chances to be even closer to God. I am absolutely sure that he is there now in heaven helping the gatekeepers fending off the chal-lenges of Satan and the like.

I will surely miss Toy and in many ways Ric too.

My condolences and prayers go to Toy’s wife, Bee, their only son and the family of Ric!

pumpman for an oil tanker, and Neil B. Nucup, son of a housekeeper in Rome, were part of the team which made it to the semifinals of the 2012 Jessup International Law Moot Court Championship in Washington D.C.

U.P. was the only team from Asia and the Third World that made it to the semis, finishing as one of the top four schools after competing with 137 teams from 80 countries, culled from an original field of over 600 law schools.

U.P. lost to Moscow State Uni-versity, which eventually clinched the championship after defeating Columbia University.

To represent the country, U.P. had to win the national competitions first, beating the Ateneo de Manila University, which had consistently won since 2006. It was the first time in six years that Team Philippines had a good showing, making the event extra sweet for the families of the two oralists.

The remittances of an estimated 10 million OFWs—Filipinos who work and migrate overseas and send money to support their families in the Philippines— help sustain the Philippine economy. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas indicate OFW remittance in 2011 breached the $20-billion dollar level, up from $18.76 billion in 2010. The bulk of the remittances are from sea-based OFWs like Ocampo’s father Danilo.

Participating in the competition is the icing on the cake for Ocampo and Nucup, who are set to graduate and take the bar exams this year. They share the experience of many Filipino families whose parents leave their children at an early age to search for higher paying jobs abroad.

Growing up in the streets of Paco in Manila, which he characterized as noisy and always fraught with tension, Ocampo said he had always

wanted to be a lawyer. “I grew up in a depressed community and I have long realized that the key to getting out of it, and eventually being able to help the community, is by getting a high level of education.”

Ocampo’s father left to work in a ship when he was only two years old, leaving him and two other siblings in the care of their mother, a housewife who augmented the family income through small, home-based businesses.

Ocampo said he and his siblings saw his father only once every year, and the rest of the time talked to him only when he called from abroad whenever the ship was docked. Nowadays,their communication is more frequent and instant through Facebook.

Ironically, as the team finished the competition in the U.S. capital, the ship where Ocampo’s father works was in Texas, some two hours away by plane.

Ocampo graduated at the top of his class at the UP College of Mass Communication in 2006. He went on to study law, financing his education through scholarships and by taking on a variety of jobs, including being graduate assistant at the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at U.P. and instructor at academic review schools around Diliman in Quezon City.

Most recently, he worked as executive assistant to Human Rights Commissioner Loretta Ann Rosales, a job which he eventually chose to quit due to the demands of preparing for the Jessup Competitions.

“It has been a grueling seven months, researching and understand-ing the problem,” Ocampo said.

Nucup’s mother left to work in Italy when he was only seven years old. His father worked as a table supervisor for one of the PAGCOR casinos in Manila and came home

to see them only once a week. He is the third of four siblings and the only boy, practically raised by the two older sisters. He still commutes periodically to Pampanga, where relatives take pride in his achieve-ment.

Nucup graduated with a degree in B.S. Biology at U.P. in 2005. His family supported his then uncon-ventional decision to enter the U.P. College of Law, with some rela-tives even offering to help pay his way, which he says, he respectfully declined.

Like many children of OFW par-ents, Nucup grew up recording voice messages on cassette tapes and send-ing them to his mother. Nowadays, his mother prefers to communicate through mobile phone calls rather than using the computer application Skype or via Facebook, which he said she apparently disdains because it ties her to the computer.

Nucup speaks with pride about the mother who brought him, his three sisters and his father to Rome to visit her a few years ago.

Aside from preparing for the competition, the team also helped raise funds to augment the university funding for their trip. During the national finals, it became an open se-cret that the U.P. team was the only school that did not stay in the ac-credited hotel and competition venue due to lack of funds. Help poured in, however, after the team won.

“But that’s the UP way,” accord-ing to team coach and law professor Harry Roque. “Not all our students are financially privileged, there is extra work and struggle involved, which makes the victory more mean-ingful.”

(VERA Files is put out by veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. VERA is Latin for true.)


The Philippines: 8 Signs of Hope



“The souls that say this chaplet will be embraced by My mercy during their lifetime and especially at the hour of their death (754).” -- Words of Jesus in the Diary of St. Faustinaespecially at the hour of their death (754).” -- Words of Jesus in the Diary of St. Faustina

CHAPLET OF THE DIVINE MERCYUsing the rosary beads, recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one I Believe in God.

On the Our Father beads say this prayer, which was given by Our Lord to St. Faustina (1905-1938).

Eternal Father, I o�er You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

On the Hail Mary beads say:

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

In conclusion say three times:

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

The Hour of Great Mercy

At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion,

particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great

mercy. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in

virtue of My Passion (Diary, 1320). -- Divine Mercy in My Soul: Diary of Saint Faustina

Kowalska

You expired, O Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls and an ocean of mercy

opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable

Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us. O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the

Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You. Amen.

Free Divine Mercy Posters for Families (9”x15”) while supplies last. Call 619.851.9547

Stanley Villavicencio: His Personal Encounter with Jesus Christ of the Divine Mercy

5th in a series from the booklet of the same name

Fifth, entrepreneurship is on the rise. Many Filipinos today talk about fi nancial literacy and opportunities for investment and entrepreneurship. Joey Concepcion’s GONegosyo Caravan is doing a tremendous job of promoting start-up enterprises nationwide. Gawad Kalinga’s new phase of wealth creation and social artistry works to create livelihood opportunities and small businesses for its villages nationwide. Agri-culture Secretary Proceso Alcala’s program of developing more small agri-entrepreneurships in livestock, vegetables, fruits, rice and corn is also increasing the number of wealth creators all over the country.

The sixth sign of hope is that citizen leadership is spreading. It is good citizenship when private citizens take the initiative and do what they can to help solve prob-lems in their communities, and in the process help in the task of nation-building. In essence, it is leadership by ordinary people, by ordinary heroes like Tony Meloto, Efren Peñafl orida, Josette Biyo, Harvey Keh, Reese Fernandez, Jay Jaboneta, and Anna Oposa. The list is getting longer every day.

Seventh, more overseas Filipinos want to help our country. More of them are reclaiming their Philippine citizenship. Tony Olaes, Boy Abay, Rose Cabrera, Dale Asis, Ruby Veridiano and Eileen Aparis are among the young ones I know. Tony Olaes, one of the privileged Filipino-Americans I have met, is spending a lot of his own funds to help our people. Rose Cabrera is building in Intramuros a RestoShop that would promote the beauty of our coun-try. Dale Asis formed a Bayanihan Foundation in Chicago and channels support to the Philippines. Ruby Veridiano of New York and Eileen

Aparis of California have great ideas on how to connect the second-gener-ation Filipino-American youth in the United States to our motherland.

The eighth sign of hope is that the Filipino spirit is on the rise. For me, this is one of the most important signs. Not only is there hope in the hearts of many of our people, there is also a tangible desire to succeed, to excel, to shine. The spirit of great-ness among our people, which has long been stifl ed, is being awakened. We see this in many areas—Filipi-nos who try to break Guinness world records, who climb the highest peaks of our planet, who try to excel in their fi elds. Our people are hungry for greatness. The many unknown potentials of the Filipino are being unleashed.

We should build on the gains we have made. But there is one thing history wants to remind us. Lee Kuan Yew was not able to bring progress and prosperity to Singapore during his fi rst six years of gover-nance. That is also true for Mahathir in Malaysia, for Park Chung Hee in South Korea, and for Nelson Mandela in South Africa. It took at least 20 years for Lee Kuan Yew, at least 15 years for Mahathir, and also 15 years for Park Chung Hee, before the reforms they started bore fruit and changed their countries’ destinies forever.

With God’s grace, technology, the support of more hope-builders—yes, our country needs more ambassadors of hope—we can leapfrog our way to progress and prosperity.

Alex Lacson is the author of “12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country.” His e-mail address is [email protected] -- Good News Pilipinas

Q: Other denominations com-ment that the Catholic prayers are repetitious. What do you think about this?

A: One time, I gave my testimony to a big company. The problem there was, the employee have different religion . We fi rst prayed the Rosary for Mama Mary. then we prayed the chaplet of the Divine Mercy and then the input. the testimony and then question and answer. During the question and answer. those who belong to other religion stood up and aid. “Brother Stanley, why is your prayer repetitious? I n’t your rosary repetitious, your chaplet repetitious? And then, they faced the people and said . . . “Didn’t you hear their prayer ? All repetitious!

It was as if they were trying to excite the people. With this, my blood began to boil and so I asked them. “Is there anything in this world that i not repetitious? Do you not eat everyday? Do you not move your bowel everyday? Do you not drink: everyday? Do you not urinate everyday? Do you not sleep every-day? Do you not wake up everyday? Everything in this world is repeti-tious. Only one is not repeated. We only die once, unless He sends us back for a purpose but everything is repetitious. Isn’t your breath repeti-tious? Do you like me to cut it?

They could not answer. Truth is everything in this world is repeti-tious. The sun comes back, the night comes back, the rain comes back, the typhoon comes back , everything in this world comes back so if some-one will ask you why our prayer are repetitious. you answer it this way. Isn ‘t your breath repetitious? You like me to cut it?

There is also somebody from an-other religion who stood up and aid “Brother Stanley, .. why are catho-lics shameless? You Catholics, you commit sin and then after sinning, you go to the priest to confess. After you confess, you sin again, then you go back again to the priest to confess . Are you not ashamed? Your faces are calloused and you are really shameless. So I told him, “Brother , you are okay because you are not a Catholic, but we Catholic ... we have a sacrament and included in these sacraments is confession s0 every time we commit sin, we go back to the priest to confess. But you have no sacrament so you do not have a problem.

Then he said. “No , it is better for you not to confess because just the same you will sin again so it is better for you not to go to confession . I got irritated so I told him. “Brother, if that i your principle , this is what you should do. If you move your bowel, don t wash because just the same, you will again move your bowel. Why do you have to wash? Let us now see who has a fouler smell.

Q: Is salvation only for Catho-lics? How about other religions? Can they be saved?

A: Truth is, salvation is a free gift from God. So it means we cannot buy salvation. And if God will be followed, He likes to bring every-body to heaven . If His will is fol-lowed. He likes everybody to enter heaven. However , it is the people who are avoiding heaven. Because people have so loved the world, and because of this love for the world. he ends up committing sin, continue to commit sin , enjoy committing sin , and even justifi es his sin. So this means , people are the one who avoid heaven.

Truth is, religion cannot save us. Religion cannot save us. Religion will not save us. Religion will only guide us to salvation . What will save us is not religion but it is we who can save ourselves. Mean-ing , salvation is not in religion. I cannot believe that only catholics can be saved , because there are so many catholics who are also bad. So religion cannot save us. Salvations depend on how we are able to fulfi ll God’ will.

However among the many religions we have now, it i only the Roman Catholic Church that believes in indulgence , because the other religion they don ‘t believe in indulgence . In fact the Roman Catholic Church has offered two kind of indulgences. One , we call plenary indulgence the other we call

partial indulgence. Jesus explained to me the real meaning of a plenary indulgence. Jesus said , “A plenary indulgence is the total erasures of all the punishment for the sins that are already forgiven.” Because the truth i when we confess to a priest, our sins are forgiven but the punish-ment remains. That is why, when we die , we cannot just go straight to heaven . We have to pass through purgatory to pay for the punishment of our sins. And after paying for the punishment. that is the time we can enter heaven. But if a person receives a plenary indulgence, what-ever happens to him, he will just go straight to heaven because plenary means total or complete.

The best example for the plenary indulgence so you can easily under-stand it is the Feast of the Divine Mercy. The grace that we will receive on the Feast of the Divine

Mercy is what our church calls plenary indulgence. For example, today is the Feast of the Divine Mercy , then we are in state of grace; we went to mass and we received Communion.

Actually in the book of Sister Faustina, we have to confess, hear mass and receive communion on the day of the Feast of the Divine Mer-cy. But then Cardinal Vidal said that it is impossible for all the people to confess at the same time on this day because we have very few priests, so he said that if we have a mortal sin, we have to go to confession. But if we do not have a mortal sin. we can go to mass. If we only have venial sin, we can go to mass then offer our venial sins during the mass , espe-cially during the consecration and it will be erased . So when you receive Holy Communion, you are already in the state of grace .

For example, today, Feast of Di-vine Mercy ,and you went to mass, received Holy Communion, it means you have received the plenary indul-gence. Meaning, if you received the plenary indulgence, all the punish-ment for your in from childhood up to today will all be erased. Whatever happens to you, you will go straight to heaven . You will not pass through purgatory because plenary means total or complete.

Another example, for example, today is Feast of Divine Mercy and you received the plenary indulgence, you are still alive the next day , and you sinned again, whatever happens to you, your payment will be very

little. So Feast of the Divine Mercy is an extraordinary grace . This is an example of a plenary indulgence. Partial indulgence means partial. For a better understanding, we will make an example.

Partial indulgence is anything good you do like masses, novenas , rosaries, chaplets, corporal works of mercy, spiritual works of mercy. Let us take the soul of Pedro for example . His soul is in purgatory to pay for the punishments for his sins. For example, the soul of Pedro will have to stay in purgatory for 50 years. Because you love Pedro, so you always offer masses for him, novenas for his soul, rosaries , chaplets , corporal works of mercy and spiritual works of mercy and all that you do are all offered for Pedro. His 50 years will be reduced to 10 years or 5 years but this will depend on our Lord. If you continue offering masses and novenas for his soul, the years will be reduced until it is erased. Then the soul of Pedro can now enter heaven . If Pedro enters heaven, he will not do anything ex-cept to pray for you because you are responsible why he entered heaven. In gratitude, he will not do anything but pray for you ... meaning, you are still alive you already have a prayer warrior in heaven.

And that is the difference between our religion and the other religions. Although salvation is for everybody, although salvation is for everybody, but the other religion, they have to pass through the long way. They have to pass through a long way because they don’t believe in indul-gence. If you will observe on All Soul’s Day, only the Catholics go to the cemetery. In other religions, if you are dead, you are dead . But we catholics are different. Even if our loved ones have been dead for a long time, their memory is still fresh in our hearts and minds so we always offer masses for them, we always pray for them, we always visit them in the cemetery.

In other religions, if you are dead, you are dead . Period. So this is like a shopping mall. If you bought plenty, you will pay more and so you will go to the ordinary lanes . But if you bought only little, it means you will pay less so you can go to the express lane . And that express lane represents the Roman Catholic Church. Meaning our religion is the fastest way to heaven. Meaning our religion is the shortest way to heaven. So you have to be proud to be a Catholic! You should be proud to be a Catholic.

THE FEAST OF DIVINE MERCY is this SUNDAY, April 15, 2012


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Prayer to St. Jude

O Holy St Jude! Apostle and Martyr,great in virtue and rich in miracles,near kinsman of Jesus Christ,faithful intercessor for all who invoke you,special patron in time of need;to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart,and humbly beg you,to whom God has given such great power,to come to my assistance;help me now in my urgent need and grant my earnest petition.I will never forget thy graces and favors you obtain for meand I will do my utmost to spread devotion to you.Amen.

St. Jude, pray for us and all who honor thee and invoke thy aid.(Say 3 Our Father's, 3 Hail Mary’s, and 3 Glory Be’s after this.)

From: David Family

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit, You who made me see everything and showed me the way to reach my ideals, You, who gave me the divine gift to forgive and forget the wrong that is done to me and You who are in all instances of my life with me, I want to thank You for everything and confi rm once more that I never want to be separated from You no matter how great the material desire may be. I want to be with You and my be-loved ones in Your perpetual glory. Thank You for favors granted. Amen.Mention your request while mak-ing the request, please promise to publish the prayer or circulate the favor. This prayer should be said for 3 consecutive days and after the 3rd day, expect your prayer to be answered.

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My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to my My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to my family, clients, friends, staff, business

My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to my

Lifestyle

Read Joe Son’s past articles on www.asianjournalusa.com

by Joe Son

After the UN, and the US and its allies crushed the military might of Saddam Hussein, once a strongman from Iraq, Middle East despots and revolutionaries played a big role in the chain of clandestine crisis from Morocco to Yemen. Some disputes may start from religious or sectar-ian violence, tribal or clan rivalry, and simply political takeover for supremacy under the guise of neodemocracy, felt in an abnormal economy and worldwide high gas prices.

Morocco: Sometime in March

last year, King Mohammed VI announced constitutional reforms in response to protests. Voters ap-proved the changes in a national referendum, parliamentary elections are seen to be the best solution.

Algeria: After early protests, the

government staved off unrest by raising pay for the man state workers and stabilizing the price of food. President Abdelaziz Boutefl ika’s promised reforms to constitutional

and electoral laws have yet to mate-rialize.

Tunisia: It was the fi rst Arab coun-try to depose its authoritarian leader, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. An interim government has scheduled an im-mediate election to an assembly that will rewrite the constitution.

Libya: After months of fi ghting with help from NATO airpower, Libyan rebels fi nally pushed into Tripoli sometime in August. Muam-mar Gaddafi ’s whereabouts were unknown until he was fi nally killed by revolutionaries.

Egypt: Under military control since Hosni Mubarak’s resignation on February. Egypt has witnessed continued protests against stalled reforms, as well fl ashes of violence. Mubarak is being tried and parliam-netary elections followed.

Syria: Despite a bloody crackdown by Bashar Assad’s security forces, demonstrations have spread. Small

numbers of troops have depected to the opposition.

Jordan: In response to protests,

King Abdullah II sacked the gov-ernment and asked a former army general to form a new Cabinet. In June, the King announced a fund for job creation and health insurance in rural areas.

Saudi Arabia: Heading off unrest,

King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud has announced social and economic reforms totalling at least $100 million.

Bahrain: The monarchy invited

Saudi and Emirates troops to help in a brutal crackdown on protesters, effectively squashing the opposition movement. Many protesters remain in custody.

Yemen: The standoff continues

between the opposition movement and President Ali Abdullah Saleh, despite his absence as he recovers from wounds incurred by a June 3 bomb attack.

Joe [email protected] Diego, CA

The Domino Effect: Saddam’s downfall seen as prime mover of Middle East drastic change

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Offi cial population tally: 92.34-M

Filipinos in 2010SLOWER GROWTH? Total population of Philippines

in 2010 was 92.34 million, according to census agency. This translates to an average 1.9% annual growth in 2000-2010, slower than the 2.43% annual pace in 1990-2000.by Reynaldo Santos, Jr., Rap-

pler.com | MANILA, Philippines, 4/08/2012 - The results of the 2010 census is fi nally out. And the offi cial population tally is: 92.34 million. The National Statistics Offi ce (NSO) has revealed that the offi cial population of the Philip-pines as of May 2010 has reached 92,337,852. This tally accounts for all Filipinos residing in the Philip-pines from May to June 2010, as well as 2,739 Filipinos in embassies, consulates, and missions abroad.

Here are the general highlights of the 2010 population count:

The 2010 population is higher by 3.77 million compared to the 88.57 million population in 2007, the year when the census last took place.

Previously, the NSO forecasted that the 2010 population would reach 94.01 million.

NSO claims that the population increased at the rate of about 1.90% annually from 2000 to 2010. The population in 2010 was 76.51 mil-lion.

Surprisingly, the pace of popula-tion growth in the previous decade is lower than the 2.34% rate of popula-tion increase recorded from 1990 to 2000.

“This means that there were two persons added per year for every 100 persons in the population,” the agency said.

‘Millionaire’ areas About one-third of the 2010 population (or 37.47%) came from 3 regions alone:

Region 4A (CALABARZON) - 12.61 million

National Capital Region (NCR) - 11.86 million

Region 3 (Central Luzon) - 10.14 million

The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) registered the lowest population among all regions, with 1.62 million. Among the provinces, Cavite registered the largest popu-lation, with 3.09 million--the only province that surpassed the 3 million mark. Provinces that has more than 2 million population are:

Bulacan - 2.92 millionPangasinan - 2.78 millionLaguna - 2.67 millionCebu (excluding Cebu City, Lapu-

Lapu City, and Mandaue City) - 2.62 million

Rizal - 2.48 millionNegros Occidental (excluding

Bacolod City) - 2.40 millionPampanga - (excluding Angeles

City) 2.01 million Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal com-

prise CALABARZON, the most populous region, along with Batan-gas and Quezon. Meanwhile, among the 33 highly urbanized cities, 4 surpassed the one million mark:

Quezon City - 2.76 millionCity of Manila - 1.65 millionCaloocan City - 1.49 millionDavao City - 1.45 million The 3 most populous cities are

among the 16 cities of NCR. Davao City is in Mindanao. About 82,000 fi eldworkers were deployed during the 2010 nationwide census, which began May 17 and lasted for 23 days. Majority of those fi eldworkers were public school teachers. The census was originally set to begin on May 1, but the automated elections of the same year has forced NSO to delay it to May 17. The census results were made offi cial after president Benigno Aquino III signed Proclamation No. 362 on March 30, Friday.


Maumee, OHIO, (January 09, 2012) - Therma-Tru, the nation’s leading manufacturer and most pre-ferred brand of fiberglass and steel exterior door systems, will inte-grate with Lowe’s® Iris™ system when it introduces smart home tool, Iris, to the market-place in 2012. Iris will be an affordable cloud-based home manage-ment system that gives consumers the ability to control and interact with their home from anywhere using their smart phone or computer.

Therma-Tru will develop and incorporate a monitoring system in 2012 for homeowners that can be used via Iris in conjunction with “Benchmark by Therma-Tru®” en-try doors purchased at Lowe’s stores nationwide. The new system will make it possible for homeowners to be notified on their smart phone or computer whenever a monitored home entry door has been opened. This service will increase security awareness for homeowners, plus provide family-monitored access to the home.

“Imagine the peace-of-mind a working mother will have when she gets notified each day that her home’s door has been opened at the anticipated time as her children return home from school,” says Tina Mealer, senior product man-ager of retail at Therma-Tru, Corp. “Or, think of the instant ability a homeowner will have to personally contact the police or neighbors if the door monitoring system alerts them of activity when they’re traveling away from home.

“This new application, available exclusively at Lowe’s stores on Benchmark by Therma-Tru prod-ucts, will allow homeowners to

become more attuned to what’s hap-pening in their homes.”

Marking its 50th anniversary in 2012, Therma-Tru specializes in pro-viding aesthetically-pleasing, award-

winning door options and entryway so-lutions from a single sup-plier. During its impres-sive history, Therma-Tru pioneered the fiberglass en-tryway sys-tem in 1982 with key features such as increased energy ef-ficiency and eye-catching curb appeal elements. In 2007, Therma-Tru

launched the Tru-Defense™ System for entry and patio doors, providing builders and remodelers with advanced engineer-ing to withstand damaging weather and harsh conditions.

About Therma-Tru Therma-Tru is the nation’s leading

manufacturer and most preferred brand of fiberglass and steel exterior door systems. Founded in 1962, Therma-Tru pioneered the fiberglass entry door industry, and today offers a complete portfolio of entry and pa-tio door system solutions, including decorative glass doorlites, sidelites and transoms, and door components. The company also offers low-main-tenance Fypon urethane and PVC products. Headquartered in Maumee, Ohio, Therma-Tru is part of leading consumer brands company Fortune Brands Inc. (NYSE: FO). For more information, visit www.thermatru.com, www.fypon.com or call (800) 537-8827.

Therma-Tru To Integrate With Lowe's® On New Iris™ System

Promised Land

Simeon G

. Silverio Jr.

SIMEON G. SILVERIO, JR.

PROMISED

LAND

“Promised Land” by Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.PROMISED LAND, the inspirational and difficult journey of two Filipino cousins marrying U.S. Navy personnel for migration and financial purposes. As a piece of the Filipino-American

experience, this story also applies to the lives of all people.

Excerpts from the book“You must join the U.S. Navy so we can live abroad,” Isabel of-

ten told her boyfriend Lando as they walked in the park, weav-ing dreams for their future together. He would just shrug his shoul-ders in response. – from Chapter 1 – Her U.S. Navy Dreamboat

The clash of two cultures, Filipino and Mexican, had taken its toll. He grew weary of the enchiladas, tacos, burritos and other Mexican dishes she prepared repeatedly. He longed for the Filipino dishes from his na-tive land that he would always eat as a child. Teresa would not let him cook his favorite adobo and tuyo (dried fish) due to their stinking up the house. When he brought her to the Philippines, Teresa refused to stay and sleep in their house in the barrio. “It is hot and there are liz-ards on the ceiling,” she complained. – from Chapter 3 - Trophy Wife

“Let me make this clear with you again,” Ditas once told Romy when he accosted her while tipsy from drinking with friends nearby. “I will never marry you even if you are the last man on earth.” The friends laughed hard and Romy retreated in shame. The next day he left town and she didn’t hear from him until she received a letter from the United States Naval Base in San Diego from her jilted suitor, now a mem-ber of the U.S. Navy. – from Chapter 5 - The Last Man On Earth

One evening, when Romy and his friends were drinking in the house, Ditas showed Andy the photo of Isabel. “Check her out, Andy,” she told him. “She’s looking for a boyfriend here in America.” “No way,” Andy replied. “I know what she’s up to. She will just marry and leave me once she gets her green card.” “But she’s very pretty,” Romy told his friend. “With your looks, you can never have a wife as beautiful as her.” – from Chapter 8 – Pretty Girl’s Photo

“Is this your first time riding an airplane?” her seatmate, a wom-an in her fifties, asked Isabel. “How did you know?” “Because you’re holding your bag tightly and you look scared. And also, that huge envelope in plastic bag contains the x-ray film carried by first time immigrants.” Isabel sheepishly smiled. – from Chap-ter 12 – Land of Milk and Honey

Now Available: Books by Asian Journal San Diego

Betel Nuts &

Other Stories

Simeon G

. Silverio Jr.


BETEL NUTS &

OTHER STORIES

“Betel Nuts & Other Stories” by Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Entertaining and easy-to-read short stories inspired by a

Filipino’s experience in growing up in the Philippines.

Excerpts from the bookOne day, however, the duckling went inside an opening under the house.

Borobot waited for it to come out but it did not. He kept waiting even when it got dark, but there was no sign of the duckling. When his father came home that evening, he told him about his missing duckling. His dad took a flashlight and pointed it toward the opening. He inserted a long stick inside and tried to stir it. They could hear some squealing but no quacking. Finally, his dad told him the bad news: “The rats have eaten your duckling.” Borobot cried and cried for a very long time. – from Chapter 2 – Childhood Tales

If there is a person that can aptly be called “the son of a bitch”, which in Pilipino, is synonymous to the phrase, “the son of a whore” (“anak ng puta”), it would be Tikboy. Tikboy was one of Eric’s playmates on Platerias Street where Eric lived with his family on the second floor of his father’s printing business in Manila in 1957. Tikboy’s mother, Purita, worked as a prostitute in a brothel across the street from Eric’s house. – from Chapter 6 - Just Like Any Mother

From where he sat, he could tell Juanita had just bathed. Her hair was still damp and the fragrant scent of her cheap bath soap wafted through the air. She hardly no-ticed him as she was minding her own business. While he pretended to be concen-trating on his reading, he would occasionally take a sneak peak at her, feasting his eyes on all of her seductive beauty. For a hot-blooded fourteen-year-old, she was not just an object of curiosity. – from Chapter 9 – Fragrant Scent of Bath Soap And All

By the time they reached Platerias Street, everything was quiet. There was hardly a soul in sight; it was ten minutes past midnight. Narding frantically ran inside the brothel in search of Clarita, but he was told the Chinese took her just ten minutes before. He ran outside towards P. Paterno Street. Finding no speed-ing taxi, he ran back towards Carriedo Street, turned right towards Rizal Avenue, hoping the taxi holding Clarita had broken down. Finally, a loud, agonizing cry was heard all over in that quiet neighborhood of Quiapo. – from Chapter 11 – True Love

Everyone was looking up at the top of an electric post, where sparks of light shone bright against the dark of the night. When the firemen trained the spotlight to the top of the post, they saw a body of a man lying on a wood across the post. It was Fred, the drunkard pimp. Without anybody noticing, he woke from deep slumber and this time, success-fully climbed the top of the post. He was electrocuted while celebrating his feat. – from Chapter 15 – A Day In The Life Of The People Of Platerias Street


Philippine Hom

ecoming

Simeon G

. Silverio Jr.

“Philippine Homecoming & Other Memories”An entertaining and easy-to-read account of a Filipino American’s homecoming to the Philippines and the

interesting memories it triggered.

Excerpts from the bookSeeing the Philippines for the first time after many years would give any former

resident a “culture shock.” The roads, which looked to be wider before, appeared narrow. The buildings and the streets, which were dilapidated and dirty before, looked more dilapidated and dirty now. – Chapter 2 – Balikbayan Culture Shock

All of a sudden, the small kids from before were now grown up. Their faces had changed, yet somehow looked familiar. Some of his relatives who lived in a compound beside them had already died. Gone forever dur-ing a span of just ten years were his maternal grandmother, three uncles, two aunties and two cousins. – Chapter 3 – Like A Video Tape Experience

Their vehicle moved towards the man and again they asked: “Boss, alam mo ba ang bahay ni Maning Bakla (Boss, do you know the resi-dence of Maning, the homosexual?)?” The man looked serious and glumly said: “Yes, I am Maning, what do you want?” They were embarrassed as they were sure that Maning did not appreciate the unsavory nick-name. – Chapter 6 – Maning Bakla And the Duty Free Shops In Manila

There was a full moon above, and they could see its reflections on the water as the waves slapped on the sand. They could feel the cool breeze kiss their face, the warm water wet their feet. On that cold December evening in Maryland Beach Re-sort in Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines, they wanted to freeze time and enjoy every moment of their stay – Chapter 10 – Nasugbu Market Place And The IUD BBQ

Manila Mayor Antonio Villegas proved to be an innovative mayor; for example, he introduced the free elementary and high school education in the city, the first of its kind in the country. He was also a poet in the ver-nacular; at every opportunity, he would recite or talk in the form of a poem he himself composed. In answer to his critics, he once said: “Marami ang nagtatanong kung bakit ako tumutula, bakit, ang tula ba ay masama (Many are asking why I am reciting a poem, why, is a poem bad)?” Chapter 17 – When “Gatpuno” Villegas warmed his “Salumpuwit” at Maharnilad

Their playmates from the barrio were cautious and made a sign of the cross when passing ant hills, which they would call “nuno sa punso”. They would reverently say, “Makikiraan, po (Please allow us to pass!)!” Chapter 31 - Nuno Sa Punso And Other Weird Provincial Experiences

The boys, usually five at a time, would line up and march without their pants towards the rice fields at the back of the house. They would pass by a guava tree, pull out several leaves and wash them in the artesian well. Once in the field, the quack doctor would hammer a stake into the ground made of a branch of a guava tree with the other end bent towards the boy. – Chapter 34 - Circumcision: Why Do Some Boys Walk Bow-Legged During Summertime In The Province?


PHILIPPINE HOMECOMING’S

CHERISHED MEMORIES

To order a copy, send $13.95 (mailing cost included) to Asian Journal San Diego. 550 East 8th Street, Suite 6, National City, CA 91950 Tel. (619) 474-0588

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Com

plicated Affairs

Simeon G

. Silverio Jr.

SIMEON G. SILVERIO, JR.“Complicated Affairs” By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.

The colorful and incredible story of a Filipino American’s complicated affairs.

Excerpts from the book:How did you know Richard?” she asked. Danny was fast to the draw. “I

produced his shows there,” he lied. He could see Menchie, the movie star, was impressed. “And I can also produce your show,” he continued the charade. She was pleased. “Do you think people will pay just to watch me? “Why, are we going to charge them?” he asked instead. Menchie was aghast, but realized he was joking. She hit him on the shoulder. He knew the ice was broken. – Chapter 2 : Movie Star

“So how are you doing?” Danny was pleased to hear from Juanita. “I am okay, how about you?” “So-so,” he replied. “I’ve missed you,” his playboy persona took over again. “Really?” she asked. “I have something to tell you.” “What? “ Danny was rejuvenated. He had not dated for a while and was eager to do so. He saw an opportunity with Juanita. “I just gave birth to a baby girl.” “Congratulations,” Danny said. “Are you sexy again?” He was hoping to renew their relationship but was unsure about it since she was with her husband. Juanita did not answer his question; instead, she said, “And it’s yours.” – Chapter 3 :Another Child

“This is Mindy,” Diaz introduced a pretty twenty-five year old girl to him when he arrived at the dock. “She’s Digna’s sister.” Mindy shyly extended her right hand which Danny shook. He noticed that Digna was teasing her sister, as though there was a pre-arranged plan between Diaz and the two girls unbeknownst to him. Later on, during the course of the fishing trip, he discovered the plan: Digna wanted Danny to hook up with her sister. “Marry my sister,” Digna told him as they ate lunch aboard the boat in the middle of the bay. “So she can migrate to America.” She knew Danny was a divorced American citizen. – Chapter 5: Gone Fishin’

Danny called up his friend Pepito and asked for ideas on how to best help Kate. Pepito was the brother of his comedian friend, Elvis, one of the top enter-tainers in the Philippines at that time. “Jackpot ka, pare (You’ve got a jackpot, friend),” Pepito told Danny. “She is a gold mine.” “What do you mean?” “We can set her up with rich Chinese men playing at the casinos and charge them at least 50,000 pesos to spend the night with her. I am sure many of them would be willing to spend that much just to be with a beautiful white girl like Kate. We will get our commission afterwards.” – Chapter 8 : Leading Lady

After Danny gave him her name, the clerk spent a few minutes in the com-puter. “That’s it,” the clerk said afterwards. “She has pension due her, and you are entitled to it!” Danny was surprised. He didn’t expect this bounty. “How much do you think you will get?” the clerk asked him. Danny was hesitant to give him an amount. He was happy to get $100 a month. That would go a long way espe-cially if one was living in the Philippines. “One hundred dollars,” he answered. “That’s way too low, make it higher.” “Three hundred?” “Way too low.” “Five hundred?” “Still very low.” “How much?” he finally asked. “Try fourteen hundred dollars.” He could not believe what he heard. – Chapter 9 : Windfall

COMPLICATED AFFAIRS

Promised Land

by Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.

The inspirational and diffi cult journey of two Filipino cousins

marrying U.S. Navy personnel for migration and fi nancial purposes.

As a piece of the Filipino-American experience, this story also applies to

the lives of all people.

Excerpts from the book“You must join the U.S. Navy so we

can live abroad,” Isabel often told her boyfriend Lando as they walked in the park, weaving dreams for their future together. He would just shrug his shoulders in response. – from Chapter 1 – Her U.S. Navy Dreamboat

“Betel Nuts & Other Stories”


Entertaining and easy-to-read short stories inspired by a Filipino’s

experience in growing up in the Philippines.

Excerpts from the book

If there is a person that can aptly be called “the son of a bitch”, which in Pilipino, is synonymous to the phrase,

“the son of a whore” (“anak ng puta”), it would be Tikboy. Tikboy was one of Eric’s playmates on Platerias Street where Eric lived with his family on the second fl oor of his father’s printing business in Manila in 1957. Tikboy’s mother, Purita, worked as a prostitute in a brothel across the street from Eric’s house. – from Chapter 6 - Just Like Any Mother

Philippine Homecoming’s

Cherished Memories


An entertaining and easy-to-read account of a Filipino American’s

homecoming to the Philippines and the interesting memories it trig-

gered.

Excerpts from the book

Seeing the Philippines for the fi rst time after many years would give any former resident a “culture shock.” The roads, which looked to be wider before, appeared nar-row. The buildings and the streets, which were dilapidated and dirty before, looked more dilapidated and dirty now. – Chapter 2 – Ba-likbayan Culture Shock

Complicated Affairs


The colorful and incredible story of a Filipino American’s compli-

cated affairs.

Excerpts from the book:How did you know Richard?” she

asked. Danny was fast to the draw. “I produced his shows there,” he lied. He could see Menchie, the movie star, was impressed. “And I can also produce your show,” he continued the charade. She was pleased. “Do you think people will pay just to watch me? “Why, are we going to charge them?” he asked instead. Menchie

was aghast, but realized he was jok-ing. She hit him on the shoulder. He knew the ice was broken. – Chapter 2 : Movie Star

Tula ng mga Piling

KatatawananBy Joe Cabrera

Excerpts from the bookMayrong isang tao, ito’y “impresa-

rio”Na ang hanap buhay, maglabas ng

floor showMinsa’y nag-advertise, ng bihirang

aktoNa naiba naman, diyan sa ordi-

narioMay isang dumating, nag-prisinta

bagaAng mga ibon daw, kanyang na-

gagayaKay daling gawin niya, ang sabi sa

kanyaMarami na ko nyan, alis ka na munaMagre-reklamo pa, itong tao sanaNguni’t itong boss, medyo napika paKaya’t itong tao, kagyat umalis naSa bintana’ng daan, lumipad pag-

dakaHEEEEHAAWWWW!!!

Balik Tanaw:The Filipino Movie Stars

of Yesteryearsby Dr. Romy Protacio

Lives and Loves of the Filipino Movie Stars of Yesteryears

Tidbits from this book your inquiring mind wants to know:

How many children does Tessie Agana have?

Who are the two movie star cousins of Robert Arevalo?

Whose autograph of a famous come-dian Perla Bautista sought that led her to become a movie star?

What physical attributes did Bernard Bonnie have that made him a top sprinter in college?

Who is the other movie star brother of Robert Campos?

Who was the Manila couturier that was instrumental in making Charlie Davao a movie star?

Who was the top actor Myrna Del-gado had an affair with that produced a love child?

Who was the legendary actor who gave Dolphy his first break in the movies?

How did Amalia Fuentes get her last name?

Get all the answers in this book, “Balik Tanaw:

The Filipino Movie Stars of Yesteryears”!

Light &Shadows

Read Zena Babao’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Zena Sultana Babao


By Zena Sultana Babao

The tragedy of the Titanic on the eve-ning of April 15, 1912

has passed from history into legend. It tells the primal tale of man challenging nature and losing. Supposedly unsink-able, it went down on her maiden voyage. Volumes of books and reels of films have recounted its story, with the blockbuster 1997 movie “Titanic” the most famous and profitable of all.

To commemorate the 100th anni-versary of the sinking of the Titanic, James Cameron’s blockbuster movie is out again in a new 3-D version, and old and new books about the Ti-tanic are out again, recounting what happened on that tragic day.

In the April 10-16, 2009 issue of the Asian Journal, I wrote an article entitled “The Sinking of the Titanic Fascinates Us Even Today.” The following, a re-print of that article, is joining the list of similar articles about this huge disaster:

For decades we have been fascinated with the Titanic’s his-tory. The magnificent ship’s tragic end affects us even today. Scores of facts, legends and myths have surfaced through the years attesting to our enduring fascination with the ship-of-dreams’ maiden voyage that immediately turned into a glaring catastrophe.

What is it that fascinates us about this doomed ocean liner? Is it the unthinkable tragedy and the pos-sibility that such tragedy could have been avoided? Or is it the sheer ar-rogance and unbelief of some people who think that they are better than

the Lord Almighty? The Titanic

When the Titanic embarked on her maiden voyage, the world was filled with wonder and awe. The largest and most luxurious ship ever built, the Titanic was owned by the White Star Line and built by Har-land & Wolff in Belfast, Ireland. All who could afford the trip, and even those who barely could, wanted to take part in its history-making maiden voyage from Europe to America.

What caught everyone’s at-tention was the common be-lief that the Titanic was unsinkable, because its owners and builders billed it as such. Her construction was reputed to have been the best of the best. In fact, when one of the crew members was asked at the start of the voyage if the Titanic was truly unsinkable, the crew-man replied, “God him-self could not sink this ship!”

The Titanic had everything going for her. The ship’s captain, Edward J. Smith, was said to be one of the most experienced and respected men at sea. The Titanic was equipped

The Titanic’s 100th Anniversary

with the most advanced technologi-cal features of her day.

Money was not spared to give it opulence! In fact, she was so magnificent she was like a floating palace. The Liner’s managing direc-tor made it a point to join her on her maiden voyage, and so did some of the wealthiest people of the Western world.

Foremost among the well-known occupying the first-class suites were: John Jacob Astor and his young bride, President William Howard Taft’s close adviser Archibald W. Butt, former congressman and Macy’s chief executive Isidor Straus, millionaire Benjamin Guggenheim, and J. Bruce Ismay, managing direc-tor of the White Star Line.

Also on board were also around 700 poor Europeans who wanted to come to America to build a new life. But it was not to be. Things ex-pected have a way of turning wrong!

What went wrong? A series of errors and omissions

compounded to create a gigantic catastrophe! The mighty ship ignored increasing signs of

danger as it speeded through the night to her rendez-

vous with disaster.Early in the after-noon of that April

day, radio mes-sages about ice-berg floating in

the area were received from other ships. But the ship’s captain saw no need to slow down.

At least seven wire-

less warnings about icebergs had reached the ship, but the Titanic plowed

on through the night.

At 10:00 in the evening, another ship frantically warned the Titanic of more

icebergs. But the radio operators, busy sending wires from the rich and famous aboard to their friends on land, sharply told the ship warning them not to interrupt.

Then at 10:40 p.m. tragedy struck! A faint shudder was felt aboard

the ship and a strange sound was heard. One survivor described the sound like that of a giant fingernail scraping the side of the ship. What happened was that the Titanic had collided with a giant iceberg!

The mountain of ice had created a 300-foot gash, a mortal wound on the side of the ship. And to add insult to injury, this magnificent floating palace had only twenty lifeboats. Not enough for the 3,000 passengers and crew! The builders and the owners were so confident of the ship’s indestructibility that they considered additional lifeboats unnecessary.

Soon the ship began to tilt. There were no bells, no siren, and no general alarm to warn the passen-gers of their impending doom. The stewards simply knocked from cabin to cabin, politely asking passengers to don their life jackets and go up on deck. At first the passengers thought it was all a joke. They responded with amusement and disbelief.

Minutes ticked away as the women and the children boarded the few lifeboats. Some wives chose to stay with their husbands aboard the sinking ship. Some men were lucky to get into the lifeboats. At pre-cisely 1:30 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after the ship collided with the iceberg, the mighty Titanic went down into the blackness of the deep! Only 705 of the 3,000 survived. The Titanic maiden voyage had lasted 4 days, 17 hours, and 30 minutes.

Life is like the Titanic What happened to the ship can

also happen in life – if we don’t heed the signs of danger! In some ways, our life, and society in general, is like the Titanic: technologically advanced, opulent and arrogant.

So advanced, that we have at our fingertips nuclear and biological weapons of destruction that could effectively wipe out civilization in the blink of an eye. So opulent, that we revel on what we have, rather than what we are. And so arrogant, that we think we can get away with almost any despicable act without facing the consequences.

In effect, we are proclaiming to the world that: “God himself could not sink this ship!”

History tells us that no society or nation is unsinkable! When a society or a nation is so embroiled in evil and immorality, arrogance and unbelief – tragedy is not far off.

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“Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” is cur-rently on display at the The San Diego Natu-ral History Museum during the 100th an-niversary year of the Ship’s sinking. This is the first time the Exhibition has been in San Diego. The Exhibition opened February 10, 2012, and will be on view for seven months.



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The Internet has drasti-cally changed the way that children interact

with the world. They have access to in-depth knowledge, tools to express their creativ-ity, and people from all over the world. Yet along with of-fering a fascinating, new way to connect with the world, the Internet also offers new risks

CyberbullyingExposure to inappropriate materialOnline predatorsRevealing too much personal informationLearning to recognize the warn-

ing signs of these risks will allow trusted adults to intervene and lessen potential negative impacts. By acting as a resource, parents and guard-ians can help make the Internet a safer place for their families. As a parent or guardian, you should stay well-informed about current issues to understand what your children are experiencing on and off the Internet. If they are social networking, instant messaging, using webcams, or blogging, help them use these tools safely by learning how to use them yourself. Children whose parents and guardians regularly talk to them about personal safety are more likely to exhibit responsible behavior on their own.[1] NetSmartz invites you to learn about the issues surrounding your children’s online lives. Then use the discussion starters to help you begin a dialogue about safety with your children.

[1] Cox Communications Inc. National Center for Missing & Ex-ploited Children® and John Walsh. Teen Internet Safety Survey, Wave II. Atlanta: Cox Communications Inc., 2007.

TipsLearning the basics of Internet

safetyChildren use a variety of online

services, and each of these services can have different safety concerns. However, there are some basic tips which you can employ no matter how your children use the Internet.

Keep the computer in a high-traffi c area of your home.

Establish limits for which online sites children may visit and for how long.

Remember that Internet technol-ogy can be mobile, and make sure to monitor cell phones, gaming devices, and laptops.

Surf the Internet with your chil-dren and let them show you what they like to do online.

Know who is connecting with your children online and set rules for so-cial networking, instant messaging, e-mailing, online gaming, and using webcams.

Continually dialogue with your children about online safety.

Discussion StartersStart a discussion with your child

Netsmartz.org: Internet SafetyWhat are your favorite things to do

online?What is personal information?

Why should you keep it private?What could you do to be safer

online?What would you do if anyone on-

line asked to meet you face-to-face?Besides me, who do you feel that

you can talk to if you are in a scary

or uncomfortable situation?

Link: http://www.netsmartz.org/InternetSafety

by Jonathan Benson (Natural-News), 4/10/2012 -- Modern, urban life is a minefi eld of toxic chemicals and health-sapping pollutants that can cause serious, long-term health dam-age if not carefully avoided or at least properly and regularly mitigated. But surviving the modern world requires a lot more than just avoiding toxic chemicals, as proper nutrition, essen-tial skills, and self-sustaining living systems will all play a crucial role in surviving whatever may come our way in the very near future.

Should any of the currently-loom-ing political and economic threats eventually lead to social upheaval, the everyday systems of living that most of us take for granted could become jeopardized, or even come to a complete halt. If the electricity grid in your local area suddenly failed, for instance, would you have an adequate backup plan for obtaining and storing food? Or if the local water utility shut down, would you have an alternate source for obtaining clean drinking water?

To assist our readers in being able to provide affi rmative answers to these and other questions, we have put together a concise list of seven tips that will help you become better prepared to survive the modern world in the event of catastrophic, life-altering changes.

Plant a backyard gardenIt has been said that the entire

world is a mere three days away from total starvation, as many people have no idea how to raise their own food, and rely solely on grocery stores and restaurants for their food. In the event of a major disaster, grocery store shelves and restaurants would most certainly run out of food very quickly, leaving many people in a state of hopeless panic.

This is why planting a backyard garden or getting a greenhouse is crucial to you and your family’s long-term survival. Learning about how to grow a variety of foods in varying weather and climate conditions will be worth far more than fi at currency in the event of a crisis, and it could end up saving your life.

Here is a helpful resource for learn-ing more about backyard survival gardening: http://www.backwood-shome.com/articles/clay62.html

Learn and understand principles of permaculture

To go along with the backyard survival garden idea, learning and understanding the principles of per-maculture will be essential for surviv-ing “off the grid.” This self-sustain-ing method of living, which includes learning how to grow organic foods and generate electricity at home, will ensure that, no matter what happens to “the system,” you and your family will be able to survive independently.

Here are a few helpful resources for learning more about permaculture:

http://www.naturalnews.comhttp://www.permacultureprinciples.

com/Invest in gold, silver, diamondsThe American monetary system

today centers around a fi at currency that is backed by debt and run by a private central bank known as the Federal Reserve, which has been devaluing it for decades. Based on the way things have been going,

the American dollar will eventually become worthless, particularly in the event of hyperinfl ation (http://www.ronpaul.com).

But you can help protect your fi nancial assets by converting your Federal Reserve Notes (FNRs) to gold, silver, diamonds, or various other precious metals and gemstones that hold inherent value. Unlike FNRs, precious metals and gem-stones will retain value in the event of a crisis, and can be used to barter for much-needed goods.

Regularly purify, detoxify your body

Health truly is wealth, and a critical component of health maintenance is to regularly detoxify it of harmful chemicals and toxins that gradually build up over time. Colon cleansing, liver cleansing, and supplementation with detoxifying “superfoods” are great ways to ensure that your im-mune system is always prepared for whatever may be thrown its way.

To learn more, visit:http://www.naturalnews.com/detox.

htmlhttp://www.naturalnews.com/super-

food.htmlAlways drink plenty of clean,

fl uoride-free water -- and know how to get it in the event of a crisis

Clean water is the most basic and fundamental aspect of maintaining life, and yet many people would not know where to fi nd it or how to obtain it in the event of a major crisis. If water utilities and grocery store shelves no longer had any water available, or were unable to maintain an adequate supply, would you know how to get it?

A great place to start is simply to stock up on purifi ed or spring water, which can include fi lling rain barrels with rainwater. Water from local streams and rivers can also be puri-fi ed using systems like the Berkey fi ltration systems, which use gravity rather than electricity to make clean water (http://www.directive21.com/).

Non-electric water distillers can also convert dirty water into clean water using a fuel source. And if no fuel source is available, portable wa-ter fi lters can collect water from fresh sources in nature and pump it directly into bottles for drinking. Iodine tab-lets can also be used to purify water and make it suitable for drinking.

Discover edible plants, and stock up on organic, non-GMO seeds

Knowing the difference between edible and poisonous plants found in the wild is a helpful tool for ensur-ing that you always have food to eat. Your local library or bookstore most likely carries edible plant guides that are specifi c to your area, which will help you in learning more about what is safe to eat in the event of an emer-gency. Here is one example:

http://www.judyofthewoods.net/forage_uk.html

It is also a good idea to stock up on organic, non-GMO seeds, and learn how to plant and cultivate them.

Learn more: http://www.natural-news.com/035520_crisis_survival_tips.html#ixzz1rf07JhZW

Six tips on surviving the modern world in the event of a crisis


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plan for idle Filipino nurses, now estimated at more than 300,000.

Ty’s House Bill 4582 aims to expand the Nurses Assigned in Rural Service, the short-lived Philippine government project that enlisted nurses to improve healthcare in poverty-stricken towns.

National Volun-teer Week


Laughing MatterRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-

journalusa.com

Mga KuwentoFood for ThoughtRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-

journalusa.com

No more shortage(Continued from page 1)

Ageing and Loving It!

Two Irish Women In A BarTwo women were sitting next to

each other at a bar. After a while, one looks at the other and says, ‘I can’t help but think, from listening to you, that you’re from Ireland.’

The other woman responds proudly, ‘Yes, I sure am!’

The fi rst one says, ‘So am I! And where about in Ireland are ya from?’

The other woman answers, ‘I’m from Dublin, I am.’

The fi rst one responds, ‘So, am I ! And what street did you live on in Dublin?’

The other woman says, ‘A lovely little area. It was in the west end. I lived on Warbury Street in the old central part of town.’ T

The fi rst one says, ‘faith and begorrah it’s a small world. So did I! So did I! And what school did ya go to?’

The other woman answers, ‘Well now, I went to Holy Heart of Mary,

of course.’The fi rst one gets really excited

and says, ‘And so did I! Tell me, what year did you graduate?’

The other woman answers, ‘Well, now, let’s see. I graduated in 1964.’

The fi rst woman exclaims, ‘The Good Lord must be smiling down upon us! I can hardly believe our good luck at winding up in the same pub tonight! Can you believe it? I graduated from Holy Heart of Mary in 1964 me self!’

About this time, Michael walks into the bar, sits down, and orders a beer.

Brian, the bartender, walks over to Michael shaking his head and mut-ters, ‘It’s going to be a long night tonight.’

Michael asks, ‘Why do you say that, Brian?’

Brian answers, ‘The Murphy twins are drunk again!”

As I’ve aged, I’ve become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I’ve become my own friend...

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the com-puter until 4 AM or sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonder-ful tunes of the 60 &70’s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with aban-don if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.

They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But

there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody’s

beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray,

and to have my youthful laughs be for-

ever etched into deep grooves on my face.

So many have never laughed, and

so many have died before their hair could turn silver. [or lost some

of it]As you get older, it is easier to be

positive. You care less about what other people think. I don’t question myself anymore... I’ve even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever,

But while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it). MAY OUR FRIEND-SHIP NEVER COME APART ESPE-CIALLY WHEN IT’S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART!

Maikling Kuwento Ni Audele

Nakaapat pang araw si Dencio sa Ospital, kaya’t hustong isang

Linggo siya doon na labis niyang kinainipan. Sabik na siyang makauwi nguni’t sa pag-uwi ay hindi rin siya sa kanilang tahanan tutuloy kundi sa kaniyang biyenan. Ayaw pumayag ni Meyor Valentin na hindi sa kanila ito mamalagi pansamantala hanggang sa tuluyan niyang paggaling. Kaya pala ay may inihandang pagtitipon para sa kanya bilang pasasalamat.

Sa unang pagkakataon ay makatu-tuntong siya sa bahay ng biyenan na magaan ang loob pagka’t siya ay tu-luyan nang tanggap nito, gayun din ang kanyang biyenang babae na si Josefa na alam niyang malaon nang nagpa-tawad sa kanya danga’t inililihim nito sa asawa. Talagang ang puso ng ina ay mas malambot kaysa sa puso ng ama.

Kumpleto sila, pati ang bayaw niyang si Carmelo na isang abogado na sa Lungsod ng Davao naninirahan ay umuwi kasama ang maybahay at dala-wang anak para dumalo sa pagtitipon. Naroon din ang kanyang ama’t inang sina Hugo at Selya.

Sakay ng L-300, mag-iikasampu na ng umaga nila sinapit ang malaking bahay nina Meyor. May kaluwangan ang solar na napalilibutan ng mga halamang namumulaklak. Mga tatlumpung metro ang layo ng kabahayan mula sa malapad na trangkahan na pwedeng magsalubong ang dalawang sasakyan.

Maingay ang mga taong dinatnan, nakatuon sa kanya lahat ang mga nag-aabang sa kaniyang pagdating. Ah! Kay sarap ng pakiramdam, nakapanliliit, naisaloob ni Dencio. Sa buong buhay niya ay ngayon lamang niya naranasan ang ganito na parang isang artistang sinasalubong ng mga tagahanga.

Masaya siyang sinalubong ni Charing na naunang umuwi sa kanya. Nakangiti ang kanyang Mama Josefa gayon din si Meyor Velintin na siya pang umalalay sa kanya patungo sa sementadong hagdan ng balkonahe na sa magkabilang gabay ay naghilerang nangakasandal ang mga tao. ‘Di na niya nakuhang sinuhin ang mga ito pagka’t ang hanap ng kanyang mga mata ay ang dalawang anak na sina Delfi n at Daniel. Palinga-linga nguni’t ang mga ito ay di mamataan. Pagka salta nila sa balkonahe patungo sa sala ay natanaw niya si Delfi n na dagling lumapit sa kanya at nagmano saman-talang si Daniel naman ay hawak ang mikropono at biglang nagsalita,

“Mabuhay ang ating bagong bayani! Ang buong Kanyugan ay nagbubunyi sa iyong pagdating! Lahat ay nagagalak pagka’t iniligtas mo ang buhay ng Lolo,” bahagyang sininok pagkatapos makapagsalita si Daniel. Parang may muwang na kung umasta.

Nag-iisip si Dencio kung nauunawaan ng anak niya ang katotohanan. Itina-tanong niya sa sarili kung sapat na ang isip nito at abot na ng kamungan ang hindi pangkaraniwang pangyayari tulad ng sinapit niya. Napapamangha siya sa nakikita niyang katalinuhan ng anak. Naihambing niya tuloy ito kay Delfi n na tahimik nguni’t napakagalang. Masu-nurin si Delfi n sa mga ipinag-uutos sa kanya na di kinakakitaan ng ano mang pagdadabog o pagsuway. Maalalahanin at hindi gaanong magaslaw. Nakikipa-gharutan man sa kapatid o kanino mang bata ay hindi marunong mapikon. May kapuralan nga lamang subali’t hindi ito nangangahulugang bobo. Kailangan lamang siguro ay ang masugid na pag-subaybay para makaagapay.

Samantala, matapos makapagsalita si Daniel ay nagitla si Josefa sa tinuran ng apo. Namula ang mga pisngi pagka’t di niya akalaing ganoon ang sasabihin ng apo. Sana ay walang makapansin sa sinabi nitong Kanyugan. Masakit sa tainga. Ang dapat sana ay naturuan muna niya ito ng wastong salita na dapat bigkasin. Di naman niya kasi alam na

si Daniel ay aaktong parang anawnser at may mayk pa. Naisip na lang niya na inosente pa itong si Daniel, hindi pa alam ang angkop na salitang dapat sabihin. Sa kaingayan at kasabikan ng marami, marahil ay walang nakapuna nito.

Ikinagalak niya ang natuklasang ito sa apo. Sa murang edad ay hindi nangin-gilag sa tao at bibo. Nabuo sa isip niya na himukin ang mag-anak ni Charing na sa kanila na muna manahan at marami siyang magandang balak kina Char-ing, Dencio at dalawang apo. Bilang dating guro at prinsipal ay alam niyang masusubaybayan niya ang dalawang apo. Labis niyang ikatutuwa kapag pumayag ang kanyang anak at manu-gang sa plano niya bagama’t kailangang isangguni muna niya ito kay Valentin. Noon din ay hinagilap niya si Valentin at namataan niyang nakikipaghuntahan sa mga bisita. Lumapit si Josefa sa asawa at kinalabit sa kabila na ang kanyang balak sabihin ay hindi dapat sa oras na iyon.

“Baka lang malimutan ko, may nais akong isangguni sa iyo mamaya. Mahalagang-mahalaga. Tungkol ito sa mag-anak ni Charing. Ipaalala mo sa akin baka malimutan ko.” Ang wika ni Josefa sa asawa.

“Oo, haharapin ko lang ang grupo nina Pareng Hugo. Kasama niya ang karamihan sa mga Kapitan ng Baran-gay dito sa atin, pagkakataon ko na para makausap sila nang masinsinan. Bayaan mo’t di ko malilimutan.” Sagot ni Meyor Valentin sa asawa at bumalik sa inagwatan sadali na pulutong para pakinggang ang nais sabihin ng kabiyak na ang kalabit sa kanya ng asawa ay in-akalang may kahulugan pero napakaaga pa at tila wala sa tiyempo kung ano man iyon. Isip lang pala niya ang nagkamali-sya sa kalabit na iyon ng asawa.

Marami ang mga panauhin subali’t hindi mauubusan ng pagkain, saganang-sagana. Ang mga Barangay Chairman at mga kagawad nito ay nagsidalo. Marami sa kanila ay may mga bitbit na manok, litsong baboy, gulay at prutas. Kanya-kanyang handog at siyempre pa ang iba ay may dalang alak, sigarirlyo at softdrinks. Ganito sa Sto. Cristo may pagkaka-isa. Kanya-kanyang pulutong ang mga nagkukuwentuhan. Matanda sa matanda, dalaga’t binata at kanya-kanya ring tema ng pinag-uusapan. Ang mga matatanda ay tungkol sa pulitika samantalang ang mga kabataan ay hindi magkamayaw, hagikgikan nang hagikgi-kan, biruan at tuksuhan. Parang piesta ng isang baryo ang nagaganap.

Ang mag-asawang Dencio at Char-ing ay naglilibut-libot. Iniisa-isa ang bawa’t umpukan. Si Dencio na bahagya pang nakakaramdam ng pananakit ng tinamong sugat ay marahang nagla-lakad, alalay ni Charing. Hinaharap at nagpapasalamat sa mga panauhin. Pakiramdam niya tuloy sa sarili ay isa siyang kandidato na kailangang istima-hin ang lahat ng naroroon. Pero tutol pa rin ang kanyang kalooban. Ayaw niyang pumasok sa maruming pulitika subali’t nananalaytay na rin sa kanyang dugo ang dugo ng pulitiko. Ang kanyang ama na isang Barangay Chairman at napasapi pa siya sa angkan ng tunay na pulitiko. Naisaloob niya na hangga’t maaari ay iiwasan niya itong pagpasok sa larangan ng pulitika. Nais niya ay payak na pamumuhay.

Napadako sila ni Charing sa kumpol ng mga matatanda, mga pulitiko at natural lamang na ang marinig nila ay tungkol sa kandidatuhan. Naroon ang magbalae, si Meyor Valentin at Kapitan Hugo. Malalakas ang mga boses na nag-uusap, nagpapalitan ng mga kuru-kuro ang bawa’t isa. Lahat ay mga pulitiko, mga konsehal ng bayan, kapi-tan ng barangay at kagawad at ibang kandidatong katiket ng kanyang biyenan na naghahangad na maging Bokal ng Lalawigan.

Dinig na dinig ni Dencio ang malakas na tinig ng amang si Hugo.

“Pareng Valentin, Gobernador na ang dapat na tawag sa iyo at hindi na Meyor,” na abot hanggang tainga ang pagkakangisi. Hawak ang isang baso na nangangalahati pa ang laman at paligwak-ligwak ang laman dahil malai-bay na ito. Sabay akbay sa balae.

“Hindi pa hinog pare ang bunga, baka mapakla pa.” patalinghagang sagot ni Valentin.

May sumabat na walang kagatul-

gatol, “Tama nga si Kapitan Hugo, Gobernador na ang dapat itawag sa inyo pagka’t maliwanag pa sa sikat ng araw na kayo na ang tatanghaling bagong gobernador dahil wala na ang inyong kalaban, mabubulok na silang mag-ama sa piitan.”

Muling nangusap si Kapitan Hugo na bahagyang pagaralgal. Balae, sa nangyari kay Dencio ay hindi ko mapa-tatawad ang kaibigan kong si Agaton. Oo nga at magkaibigan kami ay buhay naman ng anak ko ang namiligro. Na-paka mali ako ng sinamahan. Dapat ay sa iyo ako sumama. Ngayon ay sa iyong sa iyo na ako kahit na magkapitpitan ng itlog. Hagikgikan ang mga nakarinig sa sinabi ni Kapitang Hugo.

Kumislap ang paningin ni Valentin, may naisip siya. Ngayong kakampi na niya si Hugo ay gagawan niya ng paraan na si Hugo ang maging presi-dente ng mga kapitan sa Sto. Cristo para mapabilang din ang balae sa Konseho Munisipal.

“Sa mga kapitan na naririto ngayon, ipinaaalam ko na magka-isa tayo na si Kapitan Hugo ang gawin nating pangulo ng inyong asosasyon ng mga kapitan sa susunod na termino,” malakas na sambit ni Velentin.

Halos sabay-sabay na tumugon ang mga kapitang naroroon, kasabay ang pagtango. “Makaasa po kayo sa aming suporta.”

“Pareng Hugo, huwag kang tatanggi,” baling ni Valentin sa balae. “Kahanga-hanga ka at nagawa mo ngayong talikuran ang iyong kaibigang matalik ,” dugtong ni Valentin.

“May kasabihan tayo pare na matim-bang ang dugo kaysa tubig.” Wika ni Hugo. Hindi ko ipagpapalit ang buhay ng anak ko na manugang mo ngayon sa isang kaibigang hindi marunong mag-malasakit sa kanyang kaibigan. Iyan ang nakita ko kay Agaton. Hindi niya pinahalagahan ang aming pagkakai-bigan. Ikaw na alam niya na balae ko ay pag-iisipan niya ng hindi mabuti at ang malungkot pa nito’y nabingit sa kama-tayan ang ating si Dencio. Tama na ang pagkakaibigan namin hanggang doon,” pangangatwiran ni Kapitan Hugo.

Wakas Ika-28 ng Marso, 2012

Matimbang Ang Dugo Kaysa Tubig!

SAVE THE DATE!!

RIZ A. OADES MEMORIAL

CHARITY GOLFPLAY FOR FUN, GOLF FOR A CAUSE

APRIL 28, 2012, SATURDAY

6:30 AM check-in; Shotgun start 7:30 AM

EASTLAKE COUNTRY CLUB 2375 Clubhouse Drive, Chula Vista, CA

SPONSORED BY KALUSUGAN AND

FORE ORGANIZED GOLF (FOG)

CALLING FOR SPONSORS, DONORS, PLAYERS, VOLUNTEERS.

CONTACT Willie Racelis

(619) 405-2603 email:

[email protected]

Nori Gamboa (760) 274-4817

email: [email protected]


Classifi ed Ads

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alias "Richie" please call (619) 746-3416

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City Helps Quench Thirst

To:

From: GEN SILVERIO

Herewith is proof of your classified ad for publication in the Asian Journal. Please proofread i t and fax back the correction if any or call us for your approval. The ad is tentatively scheduled to be published in the

issue of the Asian Journal if we receive your approval on time. At $4 per line

lines, it costs

$______.00 to be paid upon your receipt of the invoice and tear sheet. Thank you.

Fax #

If approved please sign and fax back to

(619) 474-0373

__________________

Asian JournalFirst Asian Weekly Newspaper in Southern California & San Diego’s Most Widely Circulated Asian-Filipino Newspaper

550 East 8th Street, Suite 6, National City CA 91950 • Tel. (619) 474-0588 • Fax (619) 474-0373

AJ-CA_03.30.2012

Bobbi JonesCity of San Diego

4.5x4x101,080

PUBLICATION DATES:

MAR 30, 2012 $180APR 06, 2012 $180APR 13, 2012 $180APR 20, 2012 $180APR 27, 2012 $180MAY 04, 2012 $180

TOTAL $ 1,080

REF: FY2013 ACTION PLAN CBDG - BOBBI JONES

BILLING INSTRUCTIONS: PLEASE SEND INVOICE AND PAID RECEIPT. CARD ON FILE

City of San DiegoDraft FY 2013 Annual Action Plan

Under Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, the City of San Diego in-vites citizens to participate in the preparation of the FY 2013 Annual Action Plan (AAP). The AAP is the yearly update to the Five-Year Consolidated Plan and consists of the activities to be funded through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA).

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of San Diego’s Draft FY 2013 AAP is available for a 30-day public review from April 10 through May 9, 2012. The purpose of the review is to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the planned expenditures of approximately $23 million in federal entitlement funds. The draft document will be available in the reference section of all City of San Diego libraries and at the CDBG Program office located at 1200 Third Avenue, Suite 1400, San Diego, CA 92101. The plan will also be available for re-view on the City’s CDBG Program website (www.sandiego.gov/cdbg/general/) and the Housing Commission’s website (www.sdhc.org.).

NOTICE IS ALSO HEREBY GIVEN that the public hearing to present the Draft FY 2013 AAP at a Public Safety & Neighborhood Services (PS&NS) Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 2:00 pm in the City Council Chambers, 202 C Street, 12th Floor, San Diego, CA 92101. A schedule of community meetings in which the draft AAP will be presented is listed on the City’s CDBG Program website. Public comment may be provided at the community meetings and public hearing. In addition, comments can be submitted in writing dur-ing the 30-day public review to the CDBG Program office in person/mail (1200 Third Ave, Ste 1400, San Diego, CA 92101), or by e-mail ([email protected]) through May 9, 2012. All information and updates regarding this process will be posted on the City’s CDBG website (http://www.sandiego.gov/cdbg/general/).

To order information in an alternative format, or to arrange for a sign language or oral interpreter for the PS&NS Committee meeting, please call the City Clerk’s office at least five (5) working days prior to the meeting at (619) 533-4000 (voice) or (619) 236-7012 (TDD/TTY).

VISTA TERRACE HILLS APTS

Vista Terrace Hills Apart-ments will begin accepting applications for our Three & Four-Bedroom Waiting Lists on April 4, 2012, dur-ing the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Applica-tions may be picked up at the offi ce during these hours or requested by mail. The Vista Terrace Hills Apartments Rental Offi ce is located at 1790 Del Sur Boulevard, San Ysidro, California 92173.

Income and program eligi-bility restrictions apply

Equal Housing Opportu-nity


APARTMENTS FOR RENT

Sorrento Tower Apartments is currently accepting appli-

cations for studio apartments only (maximum occupancy

is one person) for seniors 62 years of age and older and/or disabled individuals who

qualify with low income.

Starting Tuesday, April 3rd applications can be submit-ted at the address below on

weekdays between the hours of 1pm to 4pm. For more

information go to www.sorrentotower.com.

Equal Housing Opportunity

Sorrento Tower2875 Cowley Way

San Diego, CA 92110619-276-1775

Healing Power ..(Continued from page 15)

May 1 City Council Presentation of the Kids Poster Contest Winners

10:00 a.m., City Council Cham-bers, City Administration Building 202 C Street, San Diego, CA 92101

(Please note: Event also televised on CityTV Channels 24 or 99)

May 2 Secrets of the Best Land-scape Designers 6:30 p.m. The City-Supported Water Conser-vation Garden * 12122 Cuyamaca College Drive West, El Cajon, CA 92019

May 5 Garden Friendly Plant Fair (co-hosted by the City) 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Home Depot 5920 Fairmount Avenue (Mission Valley, 92108)

Weekdays in May Water Conservation Clinics

10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Home Depot – Sports Arena 3555 Sports Arena Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92110

Saturdays in May Water Conservation Garden Tour

5, 12, 19, & 26 The City-Support-ed Water Conservation Garden*

10:30 a.m. @ 12122 Cuyamaca College Drive West, El Cajon, CA 92019

Saturdays in May. Lawn Mainte-nance Workshops 5, 12, 19, & 26 Home Depot – Imperial Marketplace 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.@ 355 Marketplace Avenue, San Diego, CA 92113

May 9 Water Conservation Film Contest Red Carpet Premiere

5:30 p.m. Reuben H. Fleet Science Center 1875 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101 (Please note: Finalists’ fi lms will also be available for view-ing at www.wastenowater.org)

May 19 California-Friendly Land-scape Contest Award Ceremony

10:00 a.m City-Supported Wa-ter Conservation Garden* 12122

Cuyamaca College Drive West, El Cajon, CA 92019

May 19 Water Conservation Story Time 11:00 a.m. Barnes & Noble - Mira Mesa 10775 Westview Park-way, San Diego, CA 92126

May 19 Water Conservation Story Time 1:00 p.m. Barnes & Noble - Hazard Center 7610 Hazard Center Drive, # 315, San Diego, CA 92108

May 22 Water Smart Landscape6:00 p.m. City-Supported Wa-

ter Conservation Garden* 12122 Cuyamaca College Drive West, El Cajon, CA 92019*Please check the Water Conservation Garden’s website for a full list of their events at www.thegarden.org.

There are other classes and work-shops scheduled in May that require a registration fee.

Water Purifi cation Demonstra-tion Project Tours

Members of the public will be able to learn about and see fi rsthand the new advanced water purifi cation facility that was built at the North City Water Reclamation Plant. This demonstration-scale project is test-ing the feasibility of providing safe and reliable drinking water from recycled water.

Following an introductory presen-tation, guides will lead a walking tour through the facility. Guests will see up close the advanced purifi ca-tion process that involves three con-secutive steps, including membrane fi ltration, reverse osmosis and UV disinfection/advanced oxidation pro-cesses. At the end of the tour, guests can view the purifi ed water produced at the facility and will have a chance to compare it to drinking water and recycled water samples.

To register for a tour of the Water Purifi cation Demonstration Project, visit the project website at www.purewatersd.org/tours.shtml. For a presentation to your commu-nity, civic or business organization, email [email protected] or call (619) 533-6638.

The City of San Diego’s Public Utilities Department ensures the quality, reliability and sustainability of water, wastewater and recycled water services for the benefi t of the ratepayers and residents served. The Department’s Water Conserva-tion Program reduces water waste through promoting or providing incentives for the installation of hardware that provides permanent water savings, and by providing services and information to help San Diegans make better decisions about water use. For more information about the Public Utilities Depart-ment, call (619) 515-3500 or visit www.sandiego.gov/publicutilities.

This generation – with its power and its technology, its opulence and immorality, its lawlessness and its pride – is now going the way of the Titanic.

Unless we change our course! Unless we adhere to the moral and natural laws of our God!

There is a Supreme Being that governs us all. But sad to say, we do not listen. We turn deaf ears to the

better when somebody was praying for them. Amazingly, the patients were not told people were praying for them. Volunteers from a local church were given the fi rst name of a patient on a piece of paper and asked to pray for that person.

Those patients had fewer com-plications than those who weren’t prayed for. Researchers said they did not have a scientifi c explanation for the outcome.

Research at San Francisco General Hospital looked at the effect of prayer on 393 cardiac patients. Half were prayed for by strangers who had only the patients’ names. Those patients had fewer complications, fewer cases of pneumonia, and needed less drug treatment. They also got better quicker and left the hospital earlier.

Two studies at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center showed prayer could be a positive benefi t for AIDS victims, too. Patients not prayed for spent six times as long in hospital as those who received prayers — and got three times as many illnesses.

An arthritis treatment center in Florida used prayer sessions to try to help patients suffering pain. A study says they showed “signifi cant overall improvement” for up to one year later.

In a study of nearly 92,000 people in Maryland, people who attended church once or more a week had 50 percent fewer deaths from coronary artery disease, 56 percent fewer deaths from emphysema, 74 percent fewer deaths from cirrhosis, and 53 percent fewer suicides.

Concluded Knox: “Atheists can sneer at faith all they like, but they can’t assume science is on their side.”

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signs of impending doom – and like the Titanic – we rush headlong into disaster! Look around you. It is happening now!

Seeing that all things will come to pass, and they will, the questions we should ask ourselves are these: Are we going to heed the warning sig-nals and adjust our course? Are we going to listen to the voice of reason and do the right thing? Or are we going to let our arrogance and unbe-lief sink us into oblivion? - zsb


Milestones

by Romy Protacio, PhDThis year’s birthday party of Timmy

Pavino may not be a grand celebration but it was surely an event that was filled with love and sharing. The Seattleites

surely missed Timmy when he left us in November 2011 to venture into the world of the music industry in the Phil-ippines. Filipinos in Seattle have grown fond of Timmy as he had always been

there to share his talent during special events.

Last March 24, 2012, we were able to feel again the presence of Timmy through the wonders of modern technol-ogy. While enjoying the merienda cena prepared by his mom, Vallie Pavino, we heard the phone ringing. It was Timmy calling through Skype! The wide TV screen made us feel that he was among us during the party. Timmy shared with us what he has been doing in Manila. He sang our favorite love songs. His grandmother, Mama Rosie, did a duet with Timmy.

Seattle’s Home Grown TalentTimmy Pavino, who has earned the

title, “Pop Balladeer” here in Seattle, revives the Original Pilipino Music (OPM) by releasing his 1st OPM Single, “PAG PWEDE NA ANG PUSO MO”. The song was composed by Soc Vil-lanueva, with music arranged by Arnold Buena. Filipino artist, Noel Mendez, provided accompaniment on the guitar and it was recorded & mixed by Marlon Silva at Studio Z. The 300 Limited Edition Singles are now available in Seattle only, but can be purchased digi-tally from the newly established online music distributor OPM2GO http://www.opm2go.com/song/details/6124, a

company owned by the multi-awarded singer-composer Ogie Alcasid.

Timmy’s online celebration of his 22nd birthday last March 24 was held at the Slush N Hush Coffee Shop on Mar-tin Luther King, Jr. Way. It was well attended by Timmy’s family, friends and many supporters in Seattle. After his ‘Thank You’ concert last October 2011 in Renton, WA, Timmy moved to Manila to answer the call of his You-Tube fans and pursue his music career. His YouTube male version of Angeline Quinto’s top rated song “Patuloy Ang Pangarap”, created a buzz on YouTube and other social media. It was a step towards the right direction of launching his singing career in the Philippines.

Timmy spent a few months in Manila performing in various events & TV shows such as GMA 7’s “Walang Tulu-gan” and ABS-CBN’s “ASAP Rocks” where he was featured in a duet with Angeline Quinto. He also appeared in the 2011 FAMAS Awards Night, Danc-ing with the Champions at the Music Museum, Kuh Ledesma’s Valentine Concert at Hacienda Isabella, the Gospel Jam in Quezon City & recently at Martin Nievera’s album launching at Venice Piazza. Other guest appearances included various corporate events of companies like the Vista Land, Insular Life and the Rotary Club, and invita-tions from different community and business organizations in Metro Manila.

Aside from his musical performances,

Timmy at 22Tim Pavino, Seattle’s Home Grown Talent, Releases 1st OPM

“Pag Pwede Na Ang Puso Mo”

Timmy with aunt, composer Cecile Azarcon-Innocentes

Timmy has been contracted to endorse a newly launched skin product called DERMGEN, owned and operated by Ms. Daisy Lim. He will be featured on one of their advertising billboards which will soon be installed along EDSA.

Timmy is now completing his 1st OPM Album to be launched sometime in May. His 1st OPM Single “PAG PWEDE NA ANG PUSO MO” is one of the featured songs in this all-original

Timmy checks out lechon giv-en by grandma Rosie

album. Other featured composers aside from Soc Villanueva, the over-all pro-ducer of the album, are Arnel de Pano, Jungee Marcelo, Jonathan Manalo and Timmy Pavino himself.

To know more about Timmy, check him out at Facebook (<http://www.face-book.com/TimmyPavinoMusic),

Twitter (<http://www.twitter.com/Tim-myPavino) or YouTube (<http://www.youtube.com/user/TimmyPavino).

To get your copy of the Limited Edi-tion 1st OPM Single of Timmy Pavino, email him at [email protected] or call (206) 498-0572

Watch for the release of Timmy Pavino’s 1st OPM CD ALBUM....soon at your favorite music outlets!

Congratulations to our very own local grown artist, Timmy Pavino! All your Seattle supporters are here cheering for you!

Album cover of Timmy’s 1st OPM CD

asian journal april 13-19, 2012 edition

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