2011 - A Gift of Time...p. 17

A light that reveals the secrets of every heart

... p. 15

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(Continued on page 21)

Warning: The California Department of Real Estate has not examined this offering, including but not limited to the condition of title, the status of blanket liens of the project (if any), arrangements to assure project completion, escrow practices, control over project management, racially discriminatory practice (if any), terms, conditions, and price of the offer, control over annual assessments (if any), or the availability of water services, utilities, or improvements. It may be advisable for you to consult an attorney or other knowledgeable professional who is familiar with real estate and development law in the country where this subdivision is situated.

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PNS -- Supporting the De-partment of Agriculture’s rice development program for the upland, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) sets down plans that will help increase rice yields in the said areas.

“We are gearing up for our upland projects to be implemented next year. The upland remains our priority as incorporated in the Insti-tute’s program on develop-ing technologies to break the low yield barriers in rainfed, upland, and other adverse environment,” Atty. Ronilo A. Beronio, PhilRice executive director said.

He said that rice varieties and breeding lines yielding 4 t/ha will be developed. Variet-ies being planted in the upland such as NSIC Rc9, popularly known as Apo, have an aver-age yield of about 3t/ha and are susceptible to tungro, blast, brown planthopper, and green leaf hopper.

“The upland, with 100,000 harvested hectares nation-wide, is prone to abiotic stresses such as inadequate moisture. Rice must be ge-netically improved to become resilient to abiotic stresses; thus, the new varieties to be developed will be high yield-ing, resistant to pests, and of good grain quality,” Beronio said.

Moreover, recommenda-tions for improved pest man-agement will be produced. By assessing extent of pest inci-dences and enhancing farm-ers’ practices, among others, Beronio said yield loss due to pest attack could be reduced by 10 percent.

Strains of rice blast occur-ring in the upland will also be characterized as drought stress and year-round presence of blast spores in the air triggers blast incidence in these areas.

Likewise, appropriate water lifting devices using renewable energy sources and rain water harvesting system for small farms will be gener-ated.

“Other than the develop-ment and promotion of tech-nologies, we will also advance

PhilRice sets plan for the upland A Dozen Grapes and New

Year’s Eve Memories“Eat your grapes, eat your grapes,” his eldest daughter prodded everyone. All gulped twelve grapes on cue, including the littlest grandchild. But not the old man. He held on to the grapes handed him, secretly slipping them inside the pocket of his sweater.

The family picked up the tradition when they celebrated New Year’s Eve in Spain. Spaniards thought that consuming twelve grapes at

midnight of December 31st would bring them good luck, a tradition passed on to them

by their ancestors. The old man’s family

adhered to the practice, and he

must admit that it had brought him good luck for he

would not have reached his ninetieth birthday if he was unlucky.

By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Asian Journal San DiegoThe Original and First Asian Journal in America

See page 10

In the Kingdom of Rajah Buwaya and Princess Waling-Waling

Short story by Percival Campoamor Cruz

(Continued on page 22)

December 31 - January 6, 2011

Zena Sultana BabaoMsgr. Gutierrez Ogie Cruz

(Continued on page 16)

Ai-Ai nanalo ng best actress dahil kay Kris???... p. 21

Long time ago there was a kingdom, not too far away from Capiz, ruled by Ra-

jah Buwaya who was feared because he was fierce and unforgiving. Attempts were

made to bring him down from power, insti-gated by other rulers like him; but those ended in failure and ignominy.

In the first place, Rajah Buwaya was really good in combat and so were his men. He trained his men constantly and imported gunpowder and new weapons of war from China. Warfare was the main

business of his rule. He suc-cessfully instilled fear in the hearts of his enemies through spreading rumors about his meanness. The enemies were psychologically defeated even before they attacked.

In the second place, Rajah Buwaya surrounded his king-dom with a high wall made out of the strongest bamboo poles that could be found in the kingdom. In addition, he had a moat built alongside the wall. And in the rivulet that flowed in the moat the cunning raha let loose his pet crocodiles.

He had his house built atop the highest ground so that he could see the four corners of his kingdom from the vantage point of his win-dow. He could immediately

Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have heard so many beauti-ful things about the Philip-pines.

Given a good storyline, Radcliffe and Watson would be happy to do a movie in the Philippines.

“The Philippines is an amazing, amazing country, and [after the films] I hope to come someday. And yeah, maybe… My family’s been, actually, but I’ve never been, so maybe one day,” Watson said.

“Absolutely. If a film took me to the Philippines, and if the script was one that I would like to do, and I knew that I was going to work in the Philippines, and if the script was good enough, that would certainly be an added attraction,” Radcliffe said.

Emma Watson and Dan-iel Radcliffe

Harry Potter stars big fans of Philippines and Pacman

The 21-year old Brit-ish actor also joined A-list international celebrities who idolize Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.

Promoting the 7th “Harry Potter” movie, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,” Radcliffe could not hide his excitement when Pacquiao was mentioned during the brief one-on-one interview with ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.

Page 2 December 31 - January 6, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

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Law Offi ces of Chua Tinsay & Vegawww.ctvattys.com

by Atty. Aurora VegaLegal Buzz

Read Atty. Aurora Vega’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

Lorna, a pretty 26 year old nurse from Cebu, arrived in the U.S in October through an approved petition from her fi ancé Ron. Lorna met Ron online in March 2009 and af-ter almost a year of exchang-ing e-mails and “i-love-yous”, Ron went to the Philippines on Valentine’s day 2010 to fi nally meet Lorna. Ron is a good-looking, mild-mannered 45 y/o divorcee from Louis-ville, Kentucky with a 14 y/o daughter who lives with him, Deanna. After his 2nd week in the Philippines, Ron proposed and Lorna fi nally accepted, after crying for 10 minutes. Upon getting back to the US in March, Ron fi led a fi ancée petition for Lorna which was approved in August.

Lorna came to the US on October 30th and Ron set a date for their wedding - on January 15, 2011 (still within the 90th day of Lorna’s ar-rival)– and he explains they should spend more time to get to know each other and also, so he can save up some money to spend for a small church wedding. Deanna is always sulking and complete-ly ignores Lorna but Lorna thinks Deanna will warm up to her eventually. She also

Fiance called-off wedding - can I marry someone else?

thinks that after the marriage, she can fi le for her green card, get her NCLEX license and apply for a nursing job at the Louisville hospital. During thanksgiving, she met Ron’s parents and sister – and like Deanna, Ron’s mother and sister seem to ignore her. Two weeks before Christmas, Ron dropped the bombshell that the wedding is of as Deanna can’t accept Ron is getting married again. Lorna is so devastated and after 2 days of saying sorry, Ron buys her a one-way ticket to Las Vegas where Lorna’s cousin live. Lorna does not want to go back to the Philippines because of the embarrassment that her fi ancé called-off the wedding and also because she can’t fi nd a job as a nurse even after passing the board 3 years ago. Lorna’s cousin tells her not to worry as her good friend Sam, a casino card dealer is single and looking for a wife – if Lorna does not feel like marrying Sam, she also knows a nursing home who can fi le a petition for her so she can stay.

Unfortunately, neither option mentioned by Lorna’s cousin will allow Lorna to stay in the U.S. Assuming

Lorna and Sam hit it off and they decide to marry, Sam cannot fi le a spouse peti-tion for Lorna to allow her to adjust status and remain in the U.S. Lorna came on a fi ancée visa fi led by Ron and the only way for her to stay legally is for Ron to fi le a spouse peti-tion for her. A fi ancée cannot adjust status (fi le for a green card) unless the adjustment is through a spouse petition fi led by the same person who fi led the fi ancée petition. In the same way, even if the Las Vegas nursing home fi les an employment-based petition for Lorna, that petition will not allow Lorna to stay in the US legally because she came on a fi ancée visa.

Thus, Lorna has to go back to the Philippines and get an immigrant visa there – ei-ther from another fi ancée or spouse petition from Sam (IF they have an actual and real boyfriend-girlfriend or spouse relationship); or from the Las Vegas nursing home (which takes about 5 years).

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

by Fr. Shay Cullenfrom PREDA Foundation

Weeks have now passed since the shocking August 23 hostage taking and siege by a police of a tourist bus in Manila but the shame, disgust and recriminations remain and grow more intense instead of waning. Eight of the 22 tour-ists from Hong Kong were killed by the hostage taker, a former highly decorated Manila police offi cer 55-year-old Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza.

Writers, journalists and political leaders have ex-pressed profound apologies to the families of the dead and wounded on behalf of the nation. Church leaders called for prayers for the victims and survivors. They prayed for reconciliation and forgive-ness from the people of Hong Kong where many thousands of Filipinos work as domestic helpers. Some fear for their jobs. Thousands marched last week in solidarity with the victims.

However, apologies, shame and prayers are not suffi cient to deal with the poison diet of moral decadence and corrup-tion that has fed the arrogance and culture of impunity that surrounds many police and military in the Philippines today. There are many good, upright and brave police and military personnel but they do not seem to the ones who gather the awards, medals and promotions. Nor are they numerous enough or in higher positions of authority to be

Police as Defenders of Human Rights Not Violators

able to counter balance and overwhelm the apparently more numerous nefarious members of the Philippine National Police.

This decades old environ-ment of non-accountability, casual routine crime by people in power who are paid to prevent it, brought Roland Mendoza and his victims to their tragic end. He was a multi-awarded offi cer who was cited in 1986 by Jaycees International as one of the 10 outstanding policemen of the Philippines. The Jaycees will need to revise their criteria for background checks and replace their selection com-mittee. They pinned medals on a multiple murderer.

Last January, Mendoza and his police unit was charged with framing up an innocent person, extorting 20,000 pesos and infl icting physical injury on the victim. He was fi red only after the incident was exposed on the internet. He denied any wrongdoing, despite strong evidence to the contrary. He was incensed that he was accused, was not brought to trial and he de-manded he be reinstated. He had no remorse for what he had done. He believed himself innocent thinking perhaps that a high ranking offi cer with his awards and medals could do no wrong. Mendoza arrogant-ly believed that his authority placed him above the law, all accusations and ordinary mortals. This is the culture of impunity that grows in those that rise to power, claim elite status and entitlement to posi-

tion and privilege.When his demand for

reinstatement was ignored, he took the people hostage and sought vengeance. The 11-hour siege was broadcast live on radio. When he saw or heard his brother, who was bought in to help with the negotiations, being arrested, he started his killing spree. This was followed by an in-competent assault by a Manila Police Swat team which may have caused him to kill more hostages.

A week previous to the hostage taking, another multi-award police inspector was seen on television torturing a hapless victim lying naked on the fl oor of the Tondo police station with a wire tied around his penis and genitals that the highly decorated inspec-tor was pulling as the naked victim screamed and writhed in agony. The police inspector was beating him repeatedly with a belt or rope to get him to confess. He later disap-peared.

These are just the symp-toms of the deeper underlying malady of police aggression and brutality within the force that the Aquino government needs to address urgently. There is hope for a more intel-ligent and educated police force is developing.

More women police with higher rank is essential. Train-ing will have to focus on mak-ing the police the defenders of human rights and not the violators. Preda @ info. com .ph, www.preda.org

Page 3Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comDecember 31 - January 6, 2011

Page 4 December 31 - January 6, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

by Dr. Ofelia Dirige Founder, President & CEO Kalusugan Community Services

Contemporary Asian American Issues

Read Dr. Dirige’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

Workshop on “strides for healthy living” conducted by Lar-issa Johnson.

Aerobics class at the Center conducted by Alice Bautista.This Christmas is one of

the most unique days for me. I usually spend it with my family—sisters, brother, neph-ews, nieces, close friends, co-workers and other rela-tives. We have the usual party of too much food, giving of presents, playing games, and catching up with each oth-ers’ lives. This year, I spent it alone as I was not feeling well and decided to take a break and rest at home for the holi-days. I received many cards, phone calls and e-mails, gifts

Healthy work-life balance and heart healthStart the New Year by focusing on balanced living and heart health.Set goals and make heart healthy changes such as reducing stress,

eating healthy, being physically active and aiming for a healthy weight…. NHLBI

delivered to me—so I was not lonely at Christmas even if I were alone. I had plenty of food, friends, entertainment and good times.

One of the suggestions of a close friend to comfort myself was to listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas programs and movies on TV. Because of my busy schedule, I hardly have time to watch programs on TV except the regular news on Channel 8, 10 and CNN.

So what I did on Christ-

mas Eve and Christmas Day was to view old movies such as “Christmas Town” and “Christmas Clause.” To my surprise, these two movies had the same message and that is—to balance your work with fun and celebration especially during the holidays.

The two actresses were so busy with work that they have no time to enjoy Christmas with their families. The hero-ine in Christmas Town was so busy being a realtor that she was not able to enjoy Christ-mas with her dad and only son. The actress in Christmas Clause was also so busy with her work and family and wished that she had the life of a single career woman. In the end, after almost losing her family, she appreciated having them back and enjoying her family life.

I am like the two women in the above Christmas stories in that I tend to overwork and forget to have time for fun, friends and family. This com-ing year, I resolve to have a

balanced life of work and fun. How I am going to do it is something I need to work on.

NEW YEARS RESOLU-TIONS

A new year is upon us again and with this are recol-lections of happy or sad times of activities gone by and hopes for a brighter future. We also make new years’ resolutions or again make promises that are often made to be broken. This year, let us concentrate to set goals for a healthy balanced year (work-fun) and make important health and wellness changes for good.

Some of us are workahol-ics and need to spend more time with our families or have fun. On the other hand some are always having fun and pleasure and have no interest or time in doing something meaningful to help others or the community. Let us strive to have a balanced life—focused on healthy balanced

living and heart health.Is your life in balance?

Jobs, family errands, and other daily demands can be hard on your

physical and mental health. To be successful, choose goals that are realistic and specific. Here is some stress reducing tips to create a healthy work-life balance:

Make time to relax—for at least 30 minutes each day—by listening to music and reading a book.

Limit screen or television time to no more than 2 hours per day.

Get at least 7-9 hours of

sleep each night.Spend some time with the

family on weekends.Eat a healthy diet.Get regular physical activ-

ity for at least 2 ½ hours per week.

Reach or maintain a healthy weight.

HEALTHY WEIGHT

A healthy weight can help lower your risk for developing chronic diseases and condi-tions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and certain cancers. These are some conditions that are common among Filipino Americans. It can also help you feel good about yourself and give you more energy to enjoy life.

Most people who try to lose weight focus on one thing: weight loss. However, if you set goals, eat healthy foods, are physically active, and get plenty of sleep, then you may be more successful in losing weight.

EATING RIGHT

To lose weight, it is impor-tant to make lifestyle changes with a focus on reducing calories from food and bever-ages, a healthy eating plan, and portion control. Snacking between meals can help you make healthier choices and avoid overeating at meal-times—as long as snacks are lower in fat and sugar. Always try to consume at least 5-7 fruits and vegetables daily. They are usually very low in calories and full of vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and fiber. If you are eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, you

may be less likely to make unhealthy selections such as chips and sweets.

BE PHYSICALLY AC-TIVE

Physical activity is proven to improve both mental and physical health. It reduces anxiety, depression and anger, enhances the immune system, and decreases risk of diseases such as cancer and heart dis-ease, as well as helps main-tain a healthy weight. Being physically active and eating fewer calories will also help one lose weight and keep the weight off over time.

While people vary quite a bit in the amount of physical activity they need for weight control, many can maintain their weight by doing 2 ½- 5 hours per week of moderate intensity activity such as brisk walking. People who want to lose a large amount of weight (more than 5% of their body weight) and people who want to keep off the weight that

(Continued on page 19)

Perspectives

ASIAN JOURNALThe first Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern CaliforniaAn award-winning newspaper, it is San Diego’s most

widely circulated Asian-Filipino newspaper!

Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

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

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

Dr. Rizalino “Riz” Oades, (1935-2009)

The Asian Journal is published weekly and distributed in all Asian communties in San Diego County. Publication date is ev-ery Friday of the month. Advertising 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 photographs but welcomes sub-missions. Entire content is © 2009 copyrighted material by Asian Journal. Materials in this publication may not be reproduced without specific 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

Once upon a time of-fices were furnished with real wood. After a few years it tended to get scruffy look-ing and worn, but the wood held up. In executive offices the wood did not get as worn looking, it just stayed impres-sive.

Then, after World War II

office furniture made dramatic changes. Metal was in. Steel office furniture was the way to go if you wanted the latest in contemporary office design.

A friend of my father, in the late 1940s decided to start an office furniture company. He saw what was happen-ing with business with all the

returning soldiers and knew that office furniture was the way to go.

So he and a partner started a company making desks and chairs out of steel. At first they kept it simple but over the years expanded to filing cabinets, other office furnish-ings, executive tables and much, much more. Manufac-turing steel office furniture made these two gentlemen very rich men.

One of the partners is dead now – has been for a num-ber of years – and the other partner has semi-retired (I say semi-retired because although he is over eighty years old, he still can’t help but go in oc-casionally and poke around). The two partner’s sons are running the show now with all sorts of grandkids work-ing there as well. One of the good things about a family owned business is that there can be jobs for all those fam-ily members.

Like I said, the business made the partners very rich men and the kids have done pretty darn good there as well. It was simply seeing the need for a high quality product and then giving it to people in a friendly, timely way. But tastes started changing and even being one of the nation’s premier steel office furniture manufactures can’t help when change starts happening.

Changing tastes

Over the past 60 years or so since WWII ended, tastes in how we want our offices furnished have made dramatic changes. We have gone from heavy wood to just steel being the main product to adding plastic, fake wood and, for the very expensive, real wood again. Manufacturing compa-nies had to change right along

with those tastes or they went out of business. And a good many companies did go out of business.

More than that, furniture styles and office designs have made changes as well. Modu-lar systems have come into our offices. With modular systems shipping costs went down and central factories could send their products around the world. Again more companies went out of business.

And then…and then… something came along called pressed board. Lighter than solid wood, easy to assem-ble, convenient to ship, this product revolutionized the office furniture industry. No one particularly liked pressed board furniture, or having to assemble it, but they loved the prices.

And now desks are made from pressed board, shelves are made from it, and modu-lar walls are created from it. Pressed board is nothing except wood by-products such as shavings, sawdust, and chips being forced together under tremendous pressure with a binding agent (fancy term for glue). Over that is layered a plastic covering that looks like wood and presto, wood-looking office furniture cheaper and lighter than any-thing before. This hurt other industries, but when money matters very little else does.

So with modular designs, pressed board and plastic, de-centralized shipping, foreign competition in the high-end furniture products as well as the more inexpensive, well, an entire industry changed, changed, and good grief, changed again (I say good grief, because the manufac-turers couldn’t keep up with it all). It coasts a tremendous amount of money to tool up

and then re-tool a manufac-turing plant and changes in the entire structure of manu-factured product are horren-dously expensive. Too often, because of competition, those expenses couldn’t be passed on the distributors and final purchasers.

The office of tomorrow

If today’s office is modu-lar systems made of pressed board, plastic, steel and vinyl, how will tomorrow’s offices be furnished? There is no real wood in offices anymore ex-cept in the highest executive offices and boardrooms. Steel is far too heavy and expensive to use. We seem to be left with the pressed stuff, plastic and vinyl. Or maybe not. Maybe, the office of the future won’t be an office.

You’ve all read about tomorrow’s offices being anywhere you want thanks to computers. That’s partially true, and I certainly work from a virtual office 24/7, but there will still be offices. We still have to work together, learn together, and conduct

business together for many things. Furniture will still be used. What will it be? Will it be something that looks like it came from the Jetsons? Will we grow our furniture? Noth-ing like organic furniture!

Yes, steel furniture is more or less gone. User-friendlier, natural-looking fur-nishings are what is being used now. The office is a better place because of that – it feels warmer, friendlier, less cold and sterile. This is good since we spend more time there than we ever have. So, are we going forward or falling be-hind in quality of life? A bet-ter place to be yes, but we’re there more and let’s face it, even thought it’s better than before, it’s still an office.

Now personally, I like my office, but I’d still rather be home than at the office. Well, okay, most of the time. To be honest, there are those occa-sions when I’m giddy with happiness to be able to get the heck out of the house and head to work.

And now, from my office (virtual and building both), have a great 2011. Happy New Year!

Decorating officesOffices with metal furniture just won’t make it in

today’s business climate

Page 5Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comDecember 31 - January 6, 2011

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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 Office: Manila Office: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: svplaw@aol.com Fax No.: (632) 687-2565

Atty. Susan V. Perez

Visit our website: www.law-usimmigration.com

"Se Habla Espanol"

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Immigration 911

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

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Nicolas was admitted to the United States in 1985 as a lawful permanent resident. Twenty years later, he was convicted of theft in a Nevada state court and received a suspended prison sentence of between 18 and 48 months. Three years after his con-viction, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) initiated removable proceed-ings against Nicolas. He asserted United States citizen-ship as one of his defenses.

There are two sources of citizenship: birth and natu-ralization. Nicolas asserted that he derives United States citizenship from his parents, who he claims became United States citizens at birth be-cause they were born in the Philippines when the country was a United States territory. At least three circuits of the courts of appeals have held that birth in the Philippines at a time when the country was a territory of the United States does not constitute birth “in the United States” under the Citizenship Clause, and thus did not give rise to United States citizenship. The court of appeals explained that the term “United States” as it is used in the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment did not, without more, in-clude United States territories simply because the territories were subject to the jurisdic-

Persons born in the Philippines during its status as a United States

territory are not U.S. Citizenstion or within the dominion of the United States. The court of appeals observed that the Citizenship Clause has an express territorial limitation which prevents its extension to every place over which the government exercises its sovereignty. The courts of appeals further noted that, as used in the Constitution, the term “United States” does not include all territories sub-ject to the jurisdiction of the United States government. In Nicolas case, the court of ap-peal found the reasoning of its sister circuits persuasive and hold that “person born in the Philippines during its status as a United States territory were not ‘born…in the United States’ under the Fourteenth Amendment. Accordingly, given that Nicolas’ parents did not acquire United States citizenship by virtue of their birth in the Philippines when it was a United States terri-tory, Nicolas could not have derived United States citizen-ship from them and is there-fore removable based on his theft conviction.

We welcome your feed-back. If you have any im-migration questions, please feel welcome to email me at susan@law-usimmigration.com or call 619 819 -8648 to arrange for a telephone con-sultation.

Page 6 December 31 - January 6, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

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By Dr. Cesar D. Candari38th in a series of articles

I won the election for Speaker of the House of Delegates! My delivery of this speech made my colleagues impressed of the semblance of a matured politician. Nothing to sing my own praises!

FIL-AM IMAGE had this to report: “The hotly con-tested position of speaker of the HOD in a lopsided result when Dr. Cesar D. Candari (FEU’61) of San Di-ego, California won the election running against the incum-bent Dr. Manuel Pinzon (UP ’63) of Flushing, New York.” FILIPINO REPORTER of New York headline stated: “Candari Pulls Upset Victory.” MABUHAY TIMES of San Diego, California, had another headline: “Dr. Cesar D. Candari trounced his opponent for Speaker of the House of Delegates of APPA.”

It was during this convention that the HOD approved the amendments of the Con-stitution and By-Laws to a popular vote by the members of the APPA. The positive reactions to the amendments dominated the atmosphere in the convention. It should al-low everyone a chance to vote for a candidate of his or her choice, especially the position of president-elect. “One-man one- vote” was to take ef-fect in the 1992 APPA annual convention.

The election of the Presi-dent-elect during this conven-

From Antique to America: Memoirs of a Filipino American Doctor

Won the Election for Speakertion was a controversial one. There was an accusation that the power structure manipu-lated the electoral process by adding and changing del-egates whom the manipulator ensured would vote for their candidate to win the election. It was at the time of my term as Speaker that a civil lawsuit was fi led against APPA.

The constitutional amend-ment changing the manner of election from Electoral Col-lege to popular election to be implemented the next year

resulted in many

commentar- ies from the members of the House of Delegates. One came from Dr. Urbano Dauz and was published in Philip-pine Physician in the fall of 1991. His very enlightening excerpt follows:

“Coming as it did on the 20th anniversary of the or-ganization this landmark decision is a fi tting fi nale to the deliberations of the HOD

which started last spring at Washington, D.C.

When the nuances and technical aspects have been threshed out, the principle of “one-person one-vote” will soon be the order of the day.

Will it be a boon or a bane for APPA?

“…There is also a signifi -cant number within the APPA membership roll that are “in-termittent members” who pay their dues some years and not pay in other years, depending on their whims and predilec-tions – as opposed to the fully paid life members, of whom

there are about 600, out of a total membership of about 3400. The “intermit-tent members” could be deemed as silent protests

to the APPA or its leader-ship. It is much kinder, however, to attribute it to simple forgetfulness or a failure of the organization itself to bill and remind the non-life members that it is time to pay their an-nual dues. For those who have paid their dues, they have just been offered the right to suffrage and it re-mains to be seen whether

they will exercise that right in the polls or not.”

“…This amendment was passed in response to a request by the membership for popu-lar elections, as expressed in an opinion poll incorporated minutes of the Washington D.C. meeting last spring.

In its second decade of ex-istence, and as if having come of age, APPA has come to realize that popular elections – “one-person one-vote” – is a quiet yearning of the mem-bership whose time has also come. A switch to this system

LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced today that Wells Fargo has agreed to provide loan modifi cations worth more than $2 billion to thou-sands of California homeown-ers with “pick-a-pay” loans and to pay an additional $32 million to thousands of bor-rowers who lost their homes through foreclosure.

None of the loans were made by Wells Fargo. All were originated by World Savings and Wachovia, banks Wells Fargo acquired.

“Customers were offered adjustable-rate loans with payments that mushroomed

Brown Reaches Settlement With Wells Fargo Worth More Than $2 Billion to Californians

With Risky Adjustable-Rate Mortgagesto amounts that ultimately thousands of borrowers could not afford,” Brown said. “Recognizing the harm caused by these loans, Wells Fargo accepted responsibility and entered into this settlement with my offi ce.”

The pick-a-pay, or pay op-tion adjustable-rate, mortgage loans allowed borrowers to make payments at various lev-els. The high-est level fully covered the monthly interest and principal due. Another level covered interest only. At the minimum level,payment was insuffi cient to cover the monthly interest owed, and the unpaid interest was added to the loan balance.

Ultimately, the loans would reset, increasing the monthly payments dramatically.

Faced with unemployment, dramatic declines in home prices, and the sharp escala-tion of the monthly payments, thousands of borrowers were unable to meet their mortgage payments.

The settlement with Wells Fargo covers loans made by World Savings Bank, a sub-sidiary of Golden West Fi-nancial Corp., and Wachovia Bank. Wachovia purchased World Savings in 2006, and Wells Fargo then acquired Wachovia in 2008.

Under the settlement, Wells Fargo will offer afford-able loan modifi cations to an estimated 14,900 California borrowers with pick-a-pay

loans made by World Savings or Wachovia. Many of the modifi cations will include sig-nifi cant principal forgiveness.

The total value of the modifi cations mandated by the settlement is projected to be more than $2 billion.

Wells Fargo is also re-

quired to pay $32 million in restitution to more than 12,000 pick-a-pay borrow-ers in California who lost their homes through fore-closure, plus approximately $1.8 million in costs to the state. Payments to foreclosed homeowners are expected to average more than $2,650.

Wells Fargo has reached settlements over pick-a-pay loans with attorneys general of several other states, in-cluding Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Texas and Washington.

California borrowers eligible for loan modifi ca-tions should get a notice from Wells Fargo within the next two months. Borrowers who suffered foreclosures should be notifi ed during the fi rst six months of 2011. For further information and updates, check the Attorney General’s website at ag.ca.gov.

from the electoral voting sys-tem, which has been in place for years, is a tacit admission that the latter system has been unsatisfactory and needed some fi xing. “If it isn’t broke don’t fi x it,” the saying goes. Seen in this context, the onus is therefore now on the active membership to see to it that the “cure is not worse than the illness,” and that the system has indeed been fi xed for the better.

To exercise the right of suffrage, as it was bestowed on them during the last HOD meeting in July 1991, the members—rank and fi le and all—can fi nally speak up and really be counted. Then and only then will the landmark amendment be a boon and not just a baneful coincidence.”

Was it a boon or a bane for APPA?

(To be Continued)To order this book, “From

Antique to America: Memoirs of a Filipino American Doc-tor”, call (619) 474-0588.

Page 7Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comDecember 31 - January 6, 2011

Read previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjo-urnalusa.com

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

Phil - Am Law 101

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Another year passes and we thank the Lord for the last 365 days. Hopefully, each one of us has gained something, whether in wealth, better health, or experiencing the simple joys of life like meet-ing new friends and being able to help others. Indeed, despite certain disappointments, there is much to be thankful for in life.

***

We hope we can give you good news about immigration reform but the U.S. Senate has just rejected the DREAM Act, despite political fl exing by President Obama and valiant efforts from the American Immigration Lawyers As-sociation (AILA) and other groups. The DREAM Act would have given a path to citizenship to children who, through no fault of their own, were illegally brought into the country by their parents,

Disappointments and Hopes

provided they later served in the military or attended college. Nonetheless, against this negative note, immigrant communities have realized the need to unite and be more vigilant. Hope springs eter-nal, and we are sure that the DREAM will never die and will come to pass in its own

time.

***

Another disap-pointment was the USCIS’ refusal to properly interpret the third subsection of the

Child Status Protection Act, which would have allowed aged-our children to use the original priority date in their parent’s petition. In most cases, this would make the over-aged child’s priority date current and allow him or her

to immediately join her par-ents in the United States. The case is now with the 9th Cir-cuit and hopefully, the Court will interpret the provision in accordance with its clear and plain meaning.

***

For a while, we were gratifi ed by the accelerated movement in the family-based preference categories, espe-cially the F-2A (spouses and unmarried minor children of immigrants) whose waiting time was drastically reduced from fi ve years to just a few months. Unfortunately, as a logical consequence of such acceleration, the immigrant visas were immediately ex-hausted so much so that the visa bulletin for January 2011 indicates that the processing date for F-2A visas will move back to January 2008. Waiting times for the other family-based preference categories also retrogressed. However, immigrant visas should be issued for petitions whose pri-ority dates became current in

December 2010 or earlier, although they will retro-gress in January 2011.

***

But as we said, there should be hope amidst all these disappointments. There-fore, we would like to end this article on a happy note by citing the outstanding achieve-ment of Chief Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye who will be assuming the highest post in the California Su-preme Court. She comes from humble roots; her Filipina mother was a farm worker, and her Filipino-Portuguese father, born in Hawaii, worked in sugar cane and pineapple plantations before moving to Sacramento. We Filipinos and other minorities can relate to her struggles and success. Her achievement provides much-needed hope and inspiration for all of us.

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 offi ce address is located at 10717 Camino Ruiz, Suite 131, San Diego, CA 92126. He also has an of-fi ce in the Philippines at 1240 Apacible Street, Paco, Ma-nila, Philippines 1007, with telephone numbers (632)522-1199 and (632)526-0326. Please call (858)348-7475/(858)536-4292 or email him at rkaragdag@attyimmigra-tion.com. He speaks Tagalog fl uently. Articles written in this column are not legal advice but are hypotheticals intended as general, non-specifi c legal information. Readers must seek legal consultation before taking any legal steps.

SAN DIEGO — U.S. Cus-toms and Border Protection offi cers Wednesday at the San Ysidro port of entry found an illegal alien hidden in the bed of a pickup truck, hidden un-der a bunch of buckets, with holes cut for the man’s arms, legs, torso, and head, so he could be hidden under tools and painting equipment.

At about 5:45 a.m. a CBP offi cer was roving through the lanes of traffi c waiting to enter the U.S. with a human/narcotic detector dog. The canine alerted to the back of a 2004 Chevy truck, driven by a 31-year-old male U.S. citizen and resident of Los Angeles.

The CBP offi cer noticed several fi ve-gallon paint buck-

CBP Offi cers Find Illegal Alien Hidden in Buckets Holes Cut to Accommodate Man’s Body, Hiding in Truck Bed

ets strapped together in the back of the truck, with various painting and construction items inside, such as paint rollers, levels, a sander, and more.

The CBP offi cer had the detector dog screen the bed of the truck, and the canine alerted to the buckets, at which point the CBP offi cer moved some tools in one of the buck-ets, and found a human face staring back at him.

CBP offi cers removed a 54-year-old male Mexican citizen from the bed of the truck, under the buckets. He had no legal ability to enter the United States.

CBP offi cers seized the truck and arrested the driver of the vehicle, who will face federal felony charges for alien smuggling.

The man concealed in the truck bed will be a material witness before he is returned to Mexico.

Page 8 December 31 - January 6, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

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To escape the grip of a crocodile’s jaws, prick your fingers into its eyeballs. It will let you go instantly.

The average per-son falls asleep in seven minutes.

The “pound” (#) key on your keyboard is called an oc-

tothorp.The only domestic animal

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Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

Strange but True All Facts . . .Part 2

The average person’s left hand does 56% of the typing.

Dreamt” is the only word in the English

language that ends in “MT”.It’s impossible to sneeze

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slogan “finger lickin’ good” comes out as “eat your fingers off”.

A cockroach can live for 10 days without a head..

We shed 40 pounds of skin a lifetime.

Yo-Yos were once used as weapons in the Philippines

Mexico City sinks about 10 inches a year.

Brains are more active sleeping than watching TV.

Blue is the favorite color of 80 percent of Americans.

When a person shakes their head from side to side, he is saying “yes” in Sri Lanka

There are more chickens than people in the world.

The thumbnail grows the slowest, and the middle nail grows the fastest.

There are more telephones than people in Washington , D.C..

The average four year-old child asks over four hundred questions a day.

Our eyes remain the same size from birth onward, but our noses and ears Never stop growing.

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching TV.

A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a Few weeks.

Chewing gum while peel-ing onions will keep you from crying.

The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows.

When the moon is directly overhead, you weigh slightly less.

Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone,

never telephoned His wife or mother because they were both deaf.

A psychology student in New York rented out her spare room to a Carpenter in order to nag him constantly and study his reactions. After Weeks of needling, he snapped and beat her repeat-edly with an axe Leaving her mentally retarded

“I am.” is the shortest com-plete sentence in the English language

Colgate faced a big ob-stacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking Countries because

Colgate translates into the command “go hang Yourself.”

Like fingerprints, ev-eryone’s tongue print is

different.

“Bookkeeper” is the only word in English lan-guage with three consecutive Double letters.

By RDLiporada

Publisher’s note: The com-plete novel serialized here is on Unholy Allied Mountains by RDLiporada. For those who would want to procure a copy of the book online, go to unholyalliedmoun-

tains.com. In the previous series, the NPAs wait for the

soldiers who are about to ambush.

Chapter 14 continued (Twenty-first of a series)

And then they came. Those who are about to die came. At paces apart they walked stealthily, trying not to disturb the pebbles along the river bank. Their eyes darted in all directions trying to penetrate any movement that could signal their last days on earth. They strained, trying to hear beyond the rhythmic ripples of the river. They were grop-ing for sounds, any sound, that could signal probable death.

They had been in the vil-lage. They had burned down all the huts in the village. They had mowed to death the Igorots in the village.

They, too must die and are now about to die.

One by one, they entered the sights of guns in the line of fire.

The lieutenant’s Polaroid sunglasses shielded his eyes from the mid-afternoon sun. With his holstered 45 pis-tol flapping on his side, his finger was on the trigger of his M-16. He walked stealth-ily trying not to disturb the pebbles along the river bank. He coaxed his ears, even the bandaged one, to hear beyond the rhythmic ripples of the river on his left and the breeze that brushed the bushes on the mound to his right. He knew that each man in his squad, following him, was also grop-

ing for sounds, any sound, that could signal probable death.

Earlier, right after the rays of the sun had sliced through the skies, he had ordered his men to burn a village. Damn those ignorant Igorots. Why do they have to refuse the development that would ensue from the dams? How could they refuse being employed in the construction of the dams? Are they refusing money in favor if their forever eating mere potatoes?

And it is that woman’s fault, he kept telling himself.

He had barged into the Igorot native hut and found her alone. She had refused to answer any of his ques-tions. Scantily clad in a lufed cloth, she just kept on sob-bing, smothering her ‘I don’t knows’ muttered in her native tongue. While cowering at the corner of the hut, the nipples of her maturing breasts kept peeping out from the curtains of her long hair.

His impatience with her grew with each of her smoth-ering sobs. With his impa-tience, a desire swelled from within his loins which led him to grab and rip her lufed, rendering her a naked bundle of flesh. She screamed and screamed but her screams only made him swell some more and with a whip of strokes, unbuckling himself, not even bothering to remove his sunglasses, he plunged unto her. He slurped at her breast like a sucking beast. He rammed into her beyond her flesh into the very sanctuary of her soul. The woman screamed and struggled but with each of his plunge, the woman’s struggle seemed to subside. He thought she stopped resisting his on-slaught. She moaned as she wrapped her arms across his back and heaved her loins meeting his every thrust. She kissed his neck, pressed his head down for his cheek to meet her cheek. She turned her head and kissed him by the ear.

Then, he felt a pricking flash that enveloped him and drove him into a daze.

In a fuzzy whirlwind, he seemed to have lost himself and he found himself still jerking the trigger of his 45. It was still smoking with its clip already empty of bullets. The floor and walls of the hut were splattered with blood from the

bundle of flesh that no lon-ger sobbed nor screamed nor moaned.

He clutched his ear, which seemed now to dangle, and felt a sticky trickling. On his hand was his own blood similar to the blood that was on the woman’s lips which seemed to have quivered into a mocking smile.

He rushed out of the hut, barking, “Kill them. Kill them all. And burn these huts. Burn everything.”

He could still hear the howling of the villagers as they were mowed down by his men. He could still hear the crackling of the straw huts as the fires bellowed upon them.

Now, he tried to sup-press those inner howling and crackling sounds as he coaxed his ears to hear be-yond the ripples of the river and the breeze brushing on the bushes.

Then, he heard it. Above the sounds of the ripples from the river rose the crackles of fire. The birds ceased to chirp and the rustle of the trees subsumed to the staccato of death.

“Fire! Fire!” Ronald had yelled on top of his lungs as his M-16 rattled its song of death. The staccato of his rifle was joined by the baritone and tenor of firing guns across the mound as if a blazing choir rendered music to his ears. The ripples of the river and the whizzing wind exuded insignificant humming as background to the dominant rhythm of fire. To Ronald, it was another celebration of his hatred for the kabusor, ele-ments of which are now being ripped by zinging fuselage from flaming barrels of death.

Kabusor – the hatred is how they brand the enemy. Those kabusor, now falling, dying, in front of their line fire should not really be kabosur for most of them are also from the oppressed, but, since, by ignorance or by choice, they allowed themselves to be used by the oppressors, they are kabosur. They deserve to die and are helplessly dying. Even the one with sunglasses and bandaged ear slumped and is no longer moving.

As life ebbed from those who are dying, Ronald be-came glad that this ambush was really one of the easiest ones, one that did not have to endanger the life of Ding, his comrade. He would have

been sorry if anything hap-pened to his comrade but he was almost sure that nothing would. He felt that his com-rade needed this. He owed it upon himself to have given his comrade the opportunity to do this. The comrade would have then proven that he had always been faithful to the revolution even if he now had to act another role in the revo-lution’s international scheme of things. And now that those dying have come closer to the throes of death or are already dead, he knew that his com-rade had also been firing his gun as if casting out the guilt of his past.

“Cease fire!” shouted Ronald after a while. Soon, the ripples of the river and the breeze brushing on the bushes again exerted their dominant sounds.

As swiftly as they executed the ambush, the NPAs rushed to gather the weapons of the fallen Philippine government soldiers.

At a distance, far from the river, the NPAs rested.

“I knew you could still do it,” said Ronald.

Ding heaved a sigh and reluctantly smiled.

“So how many did we get?” asked one of the com-rades who took part in the ambush.

“Eight Armalites, a 45, two shotguns, 16 grenades. Bandoliers of ammo. Enough to arm another squad of new recruits,” said Ronald.

“Allah-O-Akbar,” said the Pakistani.

(To be continued)

Food for thoughtRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-

journalusa.com

Page 9Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comDecember 31 - January 6, 2011

(Continued on page 15)

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Two weeks ago I found joy in China.

I discovered that people I sadly and wrongly judged all these years were living hap-pily with dignity, perhaps with less freedom but with less slums and beggars because they continue to learn how to care for their country and for one another. The Chinese showed me their immense capacity to be happy because of a collective perspective for family and the needy, not leaving any one behind. They are one, moving together in the same direction. This is the measure of success or prog-ress that I must continue to learn.

In my long life, God has shown me enough proof that he blesses those who do not neglect or abandon the poor, regardless of ideology or re-ligion. I saw this again in the United States where I am now in the way he blesses the rich who share their wealth.

This week I found not only joy but peace in America.

I am here in Las Vegas for three days to speak about building peaceful communi-ties in the Philippines to a group of Filipino patriots, mostly doctors, who will not simply give up on us. In their company, I found peace.

I guess I needed space away. from the hostage crisis, the jueteng scandal and all that mess and some serenity in harmony after my dismay over the persecution of the poor in our villages from some leaders of the commu-nity that I love.

I found my balance on this trip in kindred spirits from the Filipino United Network (FUN) and PEACE who in-vited me, in their unflinching hope for our country, despite the constant negative publicity in the news, and their unwav-ering faith in the GK way to end poverty through justice and peace.

Both groups took the first step to peace by transcending differences and uniting for a more cohesive and effective approach to community build-ing and good governance. Their firm resolve to rebuild

Peace in America

the Philippines is quite im-pressive when one considers that they all have the option to simply live the rest of their life in comfort.

Again they are one Filipino in love and sacrifice for the sake of our country.

Dr Philip Chua, the found-er of FUN, travels to Cebu ev-ery other month to conduct free clinics and pursue his advocacy for good gover-nance, raising substantial funds when needed like Ondoy and the Noynoy campaign.

The same thing is true with my host and convention chairman Dr. Mike Micabalo, a hale 74 who is personally building his dream village in his home-town Oroquieta – against all odds, he claims – with unconditional support from his equally committed wife Luz who stays fashionable doing charity balls at the Strip or digging septic tanks in the barrio.

There is something about compassion with passion and all its posi-tive energy that keeps the wrinkles away. They are never too busy, or too tired or too far to help or to give.

Dr Rina Galvez jetted in from Chicago to find support for the clinic she is building in the two lots she donated in Caloocan City where one GK village has already been built and another one with 40 homes being constructed with funds from popular TV personalities Julius and Tintin Babao.

These patriots are like pit-bulls that won’t let go once they bite on a cause that captures their heart.

They want to help us build more homes for the homeless when their own properties here have dropped signifi-cantly in value due to the sub-prime fiasco in America.

They want to build more water systems for the thirsty in our country( 500 wells by PEACE to-date, based on the latest report by founda-tion president Dr Dan Santos) when some of their own wells have gone dry with the fall in income and the long dry spell

in the economy.They want to do more

medical missions in our re-mote towns and poorer prov-inces when the state of health care in America is uncertain, affecting those who still practice. This is really think-ing beyond self-interest and doing authentic mission to do good rather than just find a noble excuse to play golf. In truth, many may have started out this way only to discover the greater joy in healing than teeing off, especially when there is no financial payback and the income is mostly psychic and a first class ticket to heaven.

They have discov-ered peace at a

time of un-

cer-tainty by being

certain about the things that really matter in this life.

They have simplified their once lavish lifestyle, some-thing which was justifiably claimed as a prize before for all the hard work on their road to success. Now they have less extravagant balls and gowns in order for them to clothe the naked, and less wasteful consumption to feed the hungry. They are, happily for us and for them, on their path to greatness.

A moving force in PEACE and FUN, Dr Sarie Laserna, who does not take no for an answer when she invites which brought me this time to Las Vegas post haste, showed me her unadorned wrists as she proudly proclaimed “look Tony no blings for me and my friends so we can send more Kalinga scholars from public schools to college.” Together with determined cohorts from FUN, Fe Cacdac and Aly Ragasa, they hounded fellow

doctors, family and friends to fund 76 homes and part of the 4 floor multipurpose building in Taguig. Hopefully, Tiffanys and Cartier will not hunt them down for being bad for their business.

Hope for the Philippines is high as passion for our coun-try grows. The Philippine-building bug is spreading across America, across gen-erations, changing mind-sets and lifestyles. Dreaming for our people is serving as a counter flow to currents of cynicism and a prop to sag-ging spirits as Fil-Ams wake up to the harsh realities of the American dream after 9/11, Iraq and the

re-ces-

sion. Asians

who came to

Amer-ica to find hope are now

giving hope to America being the sec-

tor with the high-est aver-

age household income -and Filipino doctors count among its top tax payers. Those who came from the east as job-seekers are now the job-givers of the west, like Boy Abay

who founded the Kansas Spine Hospital in Wichita and Primo Andres who owns the heart Center in Terra Haute, indiana. I guess this is how the cookie crumbles or maybe just how the world turns. Some may call this social justice in the order of things where all God’s children are equal in worth and value and must be provided equal op-portunity for a life of dignity anywhere in the planet.

This is the source of my peace.

I am certain that poverty in our beloved land will end when we stop fighting one another and start to care and share because the squatters in the slums of Manila are made of the same cultural DNA and designed by the same wonder-ful God as the most successful Filipinos abroad.

If Filipinos can turn around their fortune in America they can also turn around the lives of the less fortunate in the Philippines by helping us cre-ate and spread wealth out of a sense of fairness to benefit all.

Social justice is the miss-ing platform for prosper-ity and lasting peace in our country.

This is what we are fight-ing for – an even playing field where the genius of the poor can be unlocked and their potential for excellence can be nurtured to prosper a nation.

This is our field of dreams, the 2000 GK villages that are rising and many more inten-tional communities that will stand because we care.

This is what attracts top corporations, foreign universi-ties and Fil-Ams to Gawad Kalinga – our effort to create a massive nationwide network of empowered communi-ties for productivity, wealth creation and good citizenship similar to the communes of

China and the kibbutz of Is-rael – built on our values and aspirations as a nation.

This is how the game of nation-building has played out for us – just build with cour-age and integrity and they will come.

As I look from this hill-side veranda of my host at the breathtaking view of the bright lights of the Las Vegas skyline under a full moon and the cool breeze of an Autumn night, I see clearly with my heart a vision of my country emerging from the darkness of poverty and corruption, of dredged rivers and re-forested mountains, of transformed slums and abundant fields. I see the best Filipinos car-ing for the least, the strong hand-holding the weak and the corrupt buried in the fields. The corrupt will die and corruption will end soon if we decide now not to breed new ones. All evil will pass if we decide to have less for ourselves and simply do more good to others.

I know our time to shine is now. I can feel the expectant mood even here in America.

My new President, elected in the most honest and peace-ful election in memory, is in New York in his first appear-ance on the global stage as head of state. He carries with him an 88 percent trust rating from his people, which is his highest credential to attract visitors and investors to our shores.

For country and honor, Filipinos in America know that this is not a moment to be wasted and an opportunity to be squandered. They also want a President with a clean slate like PNoy. They know he is untried in the old dirty tricks of politics, raw to stale ideas that did not work for us,

Page 10 December 31 - January 6, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

Philippine Stories

Read Sim Silverio’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

The old man was awak-ened by the commotion around him.

“Hurry up, wake dad up,” he heard one of his daughters’ voice nearby.

He was sitting on a sofa in front of the television set but he fell asleep a while ago. His 90-year-old body could hardly stay awake past 8 o’clock in

the evening, but his family led him out of the bedroom and sat him on the sofa to witness the passing of the year 2037. Despite the loud music from a band performing in Time Square in New York City coming from the TV, he fell fast asleep. Until he heard his daughter’s voice.

“Dad, wake up. It’s New Year!”

A Dozen Grapes and New Year’s Eve Memories

He opened his eyes and saw his family gathered around him. His daughters, his 83-year-old wife and his grandchildren were all watch-ing the passing of the year on television. Suddenly, he was jolted by the loud cheers from everybody, and he felt the squeeze of everyone on him as greetings of “Happy New

Year!” permeated the room.“Eat your grapes, eat your

grapes,” his eldest daughter prodded everyone. All gulped twelve grapes on cue, includ-ing the littlest grandchild. But not the old man. He held on to the grapes handed him, secretly slipping them inside the pocket of his sweater.

The family picked up the tradition when they celebrated

New Year’s Eve in Spain. Spaniards thought that consum-ing twelve grapes at midnight of Decem-ber 31st would bring them good luck, a tradition passed on to them by their ances-tors. The old man’s family adhered to the practice, and he must admit that it had brought him good luck for he would not have reached his ninetieth birthday if he was unlucky.

He remembered celebrating New Year’s Eve as a child with their clan on his mother’s side on Pepin Street, in Sampaloc, Manila, the Philippines during the mid 1950s. It was then that his ma-ternal grandparents as well as uncles, aunts and their fami-lies lived together in a cluster of homes on one part of the street. To prepare for the noisy celebration, his father would ask one of his printing press employees to bring a big piece of bamboo from the province where the employee lived. The bamboo would be pre-pared by having a hole drilled in one end for it to work like a canon. A powdered chemi-cal called “calburo” would be poured into the hole and then lit using a piece of burning stick to produce a “booming” sound.

Sometimes he would put an empty milk can inside which would shoot out like a bullet once he lit the canon. During New Year’s Eve, his uncles and elder cousins would detonate firecrack-ers on the street, while small kids like them would content themselves with lighting sparklers. The next morning, they read about the toll of the revelry and even cringe at the mangled hands of the unlucky

few as they cry and await treatment in the hospitals for firecrackers injuries.

The late 1950s saw them living on the second floor of their printing press in Quiapo, Manila. The old man was about eleven years old when he and his elder brother went downstairs, opened a door window to light firecrackers. He was supposed to hold a lit candle as they spread the firecrackers on a chair below. His elder brother would light one firecracker at a time and throw it out of the window before it would explode. One time, a firecracker thrown by a neighbor exploded near them. The younger one was startled and dropped the lit candle on the firecrackers below. The brothers danced like Watusi warriors when the firecrack-ers exploded one after another around them.

In 1960, the family moved to their new house in Quezon City. The houses of his grand-mother, uncle and an aunt occupied the lot beside theirs where they celebrated New Year’s Eve with their cousins. Others joined in. One time, a housemaid lit a firecracker with a cigarette, but instead of throwing it out, she absent-mindedly threw the cigarette instead covering her ears with

one hand while still holding the lit firecracker. She lost her hearing for a week after the firecracker exploded.

No celebration In 1980, they did not cel-

ebrate the coming of the New Year. A day before, a cousin of his, whom they called by his nickname “Pichie,” was shot dead. Pichie was about to go to bed when he heard somebody calling his name at the gate of his house in Lagro, Novaliches, Quezon City.

When he went down, a guy handed him a box of Christ-mas gift and shot him, hitting him in the heart and killing him instantly. The gift box contained plastic toys. Pichie was two years older than him, but they grew up together both in their Sampaloc and Quezon City neighborhoods. Pichie’s death was a complete shock to them, because just a day before, they saw him vis-iting their grandmother next door to hand her his Christ-

mas gifts. Pichie was healthy and full of spirit and they did not expect to lose him the next day.

They spent New Year’s Eve of 1980 in the funeral parlor. They were like zom-bies walking around in shock as their neighbors celebrated New Year in their midst. He often wondered what would have happen had his cousin lived up to his old age.

American celebration

In 1982, he celebrated, rather he observed, New

Year’s Eve in the United States. He just migrated to America, and as every Filipi-no American knows, observ-ing New Year’s Eve in the U.S. is nothing compared to the way Filipinos in the Phil-ippines mark the occasion. They would just wait out the coming of midnight watch-ing Dick Clark on television count the seconds “as a ball is dropped” in Time Square in New York City

(Continued on page 23)

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Page 11Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comDecember 31 - January 6, 2011

I belong to the Gal-lang Maynigo Clan. There are many things to be proud of by being a member of this clan. Readers of my column, my blog and my Fa-cebook notes found out some of them and will con-tinue to do so dur-ing the course of our lives. But there is one thing that seems to be- devil each and every member

of the clan.

Based on our genes, we are all expected to have heart dis-eases.

Indeed, my parents died of heart disease. So did two of my siblings and several of my cousins. My two other sisters who now live in California have had several heart surger-ies. In my case, I have had a triple by-pass, a stroke, and just a few months ago, a heart attack after which a stent was placed in my coronary artery..

I am sure that there are families out there who are similarly situated or might be soon without realizing it. This article might interest them as well.

I just graduated from my Cardiac Rehabilitation Pro-

New Decade: “Living Long Enough To Live Forever”

gram and coupled with my regular exercises at my sports gym, I am quite optimistic about the future relating to my health and to that of my entire

clan.In my heart proce-dure, only one stent

was required. I was told by my cardiologists that because of my regular exercises

small arteries were naturally

created connecting to my heart allowing

greater and better blood fl ow.

Over the years, the tradi-tional reading for one’s blood pleasure for me was that, if the diastolic was low, it would be okay even if the systolic was high. After some diligent research and self-involvement of my healthcare, I found out that the systolic also mattered. Trying out certain drugs and coupling them with gym exer-cises lowered the systolic. But this was not regular. Sometimes the systolic was still high. It turned out that during those times I was taking my medicines together with the recom-mended fi ber food (oat-meal, brown rice, whole wheat bread, etc.) that I was eating.

The effectiveness of the medication is greatly reduced when taken within two hours of eating fi ber. Knowing that and changing the eating and medicine-taking time, my blood pressure, be it systolic or diastolic has been normal or low ever since.

Medication, exercise, diet, lifestyle, and new technologies are the major factors in the prevention and cure of heart and other diseases.

I understand that a maxi-mum intake of 1600 calories daily would be good. This means that daily, a combina-tion of 5 servings of starches and grains, a minimum of 3 cups of vegetables, 2 pieces

or cups of fruits, 2 servings of milk, dairy and dairy alter-natives and 8 oz servings of proteins (fi sh, lean meat, eggs, etc.) would be ideal.

High fat deserts, regu-lar canned and cream-based soups, butter, coconut oil, partially hydrogenated oils, relish, sea-salt, and hard liquor should be avoided.

Former President Bill Clinton who has had a triple by-pass and a stent procedure believes that based on certain studies the blockage of our arteries could be reversed through diet and exercise. He is now part of an experiment aimed precisely to accomplish this.

When I was still maintain-ing an offi ce in Makati, Philip-pines a few years ago I joined the Rotary Club of Makati Dasmarinas. In one of our lun-cheon meetings, the fi rst Presi-dent of the club and also the Chairperson of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Luke’s Medical Cen-ter Global City Dr. Rebecca “Becky” Sing-son-

Zahar made a presentation I will never forget. It was entitled, “The Possibility of Not Dying Is Just Around the Corner” explaining the ad-vances in stem cell research, the effectiveness of transplants such as heart, kidney and other body parts and the invention/discoveries of new technolo-gies in the fi eld of medicine. Dr. Becky is a strong advocate of healthy living and is known to teach her patients how to eat right, exercise, relax, and

rest.Settling back in the United

States for medical reasons, I came across the works of a multi-awarded and well respected author, scientist, inventor and futurist, Ray Kurzweil. He had written several interesting books but I will discuss only two in this article. Together with Dr. Terry Grossman, an expert on human longevity, Kurzweil authored and published “Fan-tastic Voyage: Living Long Enough To Live Forever”, and “Transcend: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever.”

In both books, they have essentially asserted that we can tap today’s revolution in biotechnology and nanotech-nology to virtually live for-ever. They claim that startling discoveries in the areas of biotechnology, nanotechnolo-gy and genomics are occurring every day, As one reviewer said, “The array of scientifi c knowledge is mind-bending and that it is now possible to prevent nearly 90 % of the maladies that kill us including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease and liver dis-ease. It will be feasible for 10% of our blood cells to be replaced by artifi cial cells, radically extending our life expectancy and enhanc-ing our physical and even mental abilities beyond what

is humanly possible.”According to them, the

brain is like a muscle: use it lose it. The brain can be exercised showing that relevant brain growth can be stimulated with letter differentiation training.

They did not only talk of possibilities and feasi-bilities, they actually made predictions. Some of their predictions worth mention-ing are:

In the 2020’s nanobiotic cameras will perform en-doscopies and colonosco-

pies; physicians will almost never examine patients by

hand (or stethoscope), using imaging technologies instead;

In 2023, stem cells will be able to over-come nerve damage such as spinal injuries;

sleep can be re-placed with devices and medi-cation; drug therapies will be able to turn off bad genes or add new ones; robotic sex will be popular; most types of meat can be grown artifi cially in

factories; early detection will make heart disease and cancer rarer and greatly improve sur-vival rates; many injuries and genetic damage can be fi xed using stem cells;

In 2034, blood-stream nanobots will enhance memory and learning ability; bloodstream nanobots will replace some red blood cells greatly increasing oxygenation effi ciency and reducing the emergency nature of a heart attack; virtual reality sex will be a reality; gene therapies will erase virtually all genetic problems.

In a book written several years ago, Kurzweil had made 109 predictions. Of these, 89 proved to be correct, 13 es-sentially correct, 6 partially correct and 1 has still to occur

With such a batting aver-age, I would not bet against Kurzweil and his co-author. The best strategy is to stay in good health while we wait for technology advances which will greatly extend life.

Medication, exercise, diet, lifestyle and new technologies will make us live long enough to lend us the possibility, fea-sibility and even the predict-ability of living forever. Why not?

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Simbang Gabi 2010 in Downtown San DiegoConrad Reloj, Jr., ASIAN

JOURNAL | SAN DIEGO, 12/30/2010 -- The St. Joseph Filipino American organiza-tion held their First Annual Celebration of Simbang Gabi at St. Joseph Catheral 1535 Third Avenue in San Diego. The nine-day of evening mass starting December 15th through the 23rd. After the evening mass the celebration was followed by traditional Filipino Fare, desserts and refreshments provided by volunteers and sponsors.

Simbang Gabi traces its roots in Mexico when, in 1587, the Pope granted the pe-tition of Fray Diego de Soria. In the Philippines, simbang gabi means “night worship”. During the olden times, the pre-dawn mass is announced

culminates with the “Misa de Gallo” on Christmas Eve to welcome the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Shortly after the misa de gallo, fami-lies gather in their homes to celebrate Noche Buena and feasted on various delicacies like queso de bola, bibingka, puto bungbong, or a drink of salabat coffee or hot choco-late.

Simbang Gabi has become one of the most popular tradi-tions in the country that the Filipinos brought to their re-spective parishes here in San Diego, California and all over the United States.

The religious celebra-tion of the Christmas holiday highlights the birth of Jesus Christ unto the Virgin Mary. The birth of the living incar-

Around TownRead Conrad Reloj’s previous articles by visiting our website

at www.asianjournalusa.com.

by Conrad I. Reloj, Jr.

FilAm Association St. Joseph’s Cathedral of San Diego from left to right Josie Nas, Letty, Emily, Funny, Tess, Elsa and JR. Chantengco (Chairman).

by the ringing of the church bells. In some rural areas, an hour before the start of Sim-bang Gabi, a brass band plays Christmas music all over the town. The nine-day novena

nation of the Lord, along with the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter time, are the central tenets of the Catholic faith. -- AJ

Team Pinoy Inc, (TPI) a social enterprise focusing on bringing out the inherent greatness of every Filipino, while instilling an unwaver-ing nationalistic pride for our country is launching a 2011 Planner entitled, “Our Coun-try is in My Planner.”

In the pages of the planner, lie the candid hopes, as well as the ambitions of Filipinos united by the same passion for the country. The planner seeks to voice out what seems to be

Our Country is in My Planner instills Filipino Pride

a hopeful, imminent future; a future that can only be mold-ed by the coop-eration of each and every Filipino.

For each month in the Team Pinoy planner, there is a compilation of suggestions from credible and highly re-garded individuals and groups on how Filipinos can practice the theme in their everyday lives.

Among the 52 sharers/icons from various sectors in-clude CheChe Lazaro, Ding-dong Dantes, Grace Padaca, Reese Fernandez, Rico Hizon, Kara David, Maritess Vitug, Patis Tesoro, Alex Lacson, Chin-Chin Gutierrez, Father Fernando Suarez, Jim Paredes and many more.

The themes for each month are the following:

January | Follow traffic rules. Follow the Law. | Order

February | Whenever you buy or pay for anything, always ask for an official receipt. | Honesty and trans-parency

March | Don’t buy smug-gled goods. Buy local. Buy Filipino. Heritage and Culture

April | When you talk to others, especially foreigners, speak positively about us and our country. |Good Filipino Representation

May | Respect your traffic officer, policeman, and sol-dier. | Respect for authority

June | Do not litter. Segre-gate. Recycle.Conserve | Care for the Environment

July | Support your church.| Active Spirituality

August | During elections, do your solemn duty. | Ac-countability

September | Pay your em-ployees well. | Good business practice

October | Pay your taxes. | Integrity/Hard work

November | Adopt a scholar or a poor child.| De-velopment/Equality of Access to Resources

December | Be a good par-ent. Teach your kids to follow the law and love our country. | Responsible parenthood / Mentorship

TPI believes in the strength of each Filipino in becoming a catalyst for positive change and in how we, in our indi-vidual ways, are a significant contributor to a better future for our country.

Although TPI has big dreams for the Philippines and our people, the ways by which it plans to achieve and promote change is through very small, simple acts of patriotism.

Helping the country need not be in the form of giving

large sums of money to chari-table causes, or making very big sacri-fices for

the good of the country. These grand things may be a big service to the nation but it should not be forgotten that small acts would be just as effective, in-spiring, and capable of spark-ing change.

All of these points to how TPI’s main advocacy is to propagate a “Citizen Revolu-tion”, wherein each Filipino can contribute to nation-building no matter what the circumstances are.

As one of its concrete channels, TPI showcases their mission for a better Pinoy and a better Philippines through the 2011 Team Pinoy Planner, “Our Country is in My Plan-ner”.

To pre-order the 2011 plan-ner which will be launched mid-November, you can visit their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/team.pinoy.

Email Ralph Morales at ralph.morales@teampinoy.ph or call (632) 358-33-33.

Visit their office at Unit 2B Dyna Cool Bldg. 136 Katipu-nan Ave. St. Ignatius, Quezon City, Philippines.

Page 13Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comDecember 31 - January 6, 2011

CYANBLACK MAGENTA YELLOW

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EntertainmentMovies to Watch

(Following are movies now showing or soon to be shown in San Diego.)

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

PNS -- STARSTRUCK V’s Princess Snell can’t explain why she’s being linked to champ Manny Pacquiao who allegedly gifted her with a condo unit and a car worth P20 million. “Nasaan?” she laughs. “I really wish some-body would give me those things para di na ko mahi-rapang magtrabaho pa at maipagamot ko ang mommy kong may sakit. I think it all started noong magpa-picture ako sa kanya tapos, para ipag-malaki sa friends ko, I posted it in my Facebook account. After that, doon na lumabas na isa ako sa mga babae ni Manny Pacquiao. I was really shocked kasi nakakahiya. But I don’t feel guilty at all. Pu-wede akong humarap sa misis

Princess on Pacquia: I’m not guilty

Princess Snell

niyang si Jinkee and tell her it’s not at all true.”

Princess is thankful to GMA7. “Even if I’m not a part of the top 5 winners, di nila ako nakakalimutan. Kasali ako ngayon sa ‘Bubble Gang’ and ‘Startalk.’ But what I really want to try now is act in a teleserye. Gusto kong magkontrabida. “

PNS -- ACCORDING to Eugene Domingo, she’s toying with the idea of doing a movie project with Sarah Geronimo in the near future.

“That would be nice, don’t you think so? I’d love to work with Sarah. She has this certain charm on screen, and I feel we’ll make a good combi-nation, if ever,” she avers.

Some quarters wonder why she is considering the thought, to think that she herself is a main box-office attraction. In the process, she won’t be able

Eugene wants to do movie with Sarah

to get solo credit if ever the film becomes a hit.

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter to me at this point in time: who gets top billing or whose exposure is longer. I’m not that competitive. My commit-ment is with the project.”

For Eugene, potential hit team-ups are what the local film industry needs these days.

“Definitely,” she beams, “for practicality reasons. It’s hard to score a hit these days. Good screen tandems stir excitement among the viewing public. The fresher the team-up, the bigger chances it has to make money.

“Gone are the days when a movie’s financial viability is dictated by its lone lead star. As an old adage goes, two heads are better than one. In my case with Sarah, we could pass up as a riotous mother and daughter team. I wish there is really a producer out there who will take interest in us,” she explains.

Meanwhile, many believe she is presently the highest paid celebrity on the boob tube since her shows for GMA7 are left and right.

“That’s not true,” she says with a laugh.

Considering her present stature, it’s inevitable for the public to think that she’s got lots of money already.

“Again, that’s a wrong per-ception. I’m not yet that rich. But I admit I have savings. I’m a hardworking person. I don’t have vices too.”

With the success of her last two silver screen starrers, “Working Girls 2010” and “Here Comes the Bride,” she is a likely candidate for the Box-office Queen title next year.

“Well, I don’t know about that. For me, it’s just a title. What’s important is that my movies make money. I simply feel lucky and blessed,” ends Eugene .

Director Claire Denis (35 Shots of Rum) returns to Africa, where she grew up, for this haunting story of a stubborn woman (Isa-belle Huppert) obsessed with staying on her coffee plantation even as an increasingly violent civil war threatens to engulf the area. Her listless son (Nicolas Duvauchelle) refuses to help, and becomes an out-of-control vigilante after encountering threat. Her ex-husband (Christopher Lambert) tries to sell the property

behind her back. Meanwhile, a wounded rebel soldier with a bounty on his head (Isaach de Bankole, who starred in Denis’ 1988 debut film Chocolat) is hiding on the premises. Huppert is a magnetic if enigmatic presence in a film whose oppressive atmosphere rivals that of Walkabout and Aguirre, the Wrath of God. Original music by Tindersticks. (Fully subtitled) www.ifcfilms.com/films/white-material

This film is Not Rated by the MPAA. Running time 108 minutes.

Exclusive Engagement Opens Wednesday, December 29thLandmark’s Ken or La Jolla Village Cinemas

4061 Adams Avenue or 8879 Villa La Jolla Drive (619) 819-0236

The newest film from Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky, Vera Drake, Secrets & Lies, Topsy Turvy), master of in-depth char-acterization, is cause for celebration. Another Year is a touching and beautifully-nuanced drama of a year in the life of a happily married middle-aged couple, and the less well-adjusted people who gather around them; little seems to happen, but much does. Leigh regu-lars Jim Broadbent (Top-sy Turvy, When Did You Last See Your Father) and Ruth Sheen (High Hopes) play Tom and Gerri, a warm and affable couple. Tom is a geological en-gineer, Gerri is a medi-cal counselor; they like to tend their garden in the public allotment and enjoy having friends over for a meal. One of the regular guests is Mary (Leslie Manville, in a spectacular train-wreck of a performance), a lone-ly co-worker of Gerri’s who hits the bottle and hits on the wrong guys for romance. She is attracted to Tom and Gerri’s adult (but much younger) son Joe (Oliver Maltman), not knowing that he has brought his new girlfriend home to meet the parents. www.sonyclassics.com/anotheryear/

This film is Rated PG-13 by the MPAA. Running time 129 minutes.

Exclusive Engagement Opens Friday, January 07thLandmark’s La Jolla Village Cinemas

8879 Villa La Jolla Drive – (619) 819-0236

Page 14 December 31 - January 6, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

CHICAGO (Dec. 7, 2010) – The Nielsen Company has named new members to its distinguished roster of com-munity and business leaders currently serving on the com-pany’s three external multicul-tural advisory councils: The African American Advisory Council (AAAC), The Asian Pacific American Advisory Council (APAAC) and The Hispanic Latino Advisory Council (HLAC). Established in 2005, the individual coun-cils have been instrumental in providing insights to Nielsen’s executive leadership on how to improve Nielsen’s diversity and panel recruitment initia-tives in the Hispanic, African American and Asian commu-nities.

The new members of AAAC are:

Matthew C. Barnhill Jr., senior vice president of cor-porate market research, BET, has more than a decade of marketing and research expe-rience and has led the Market Research Department at BET since its founding in 2000. Prior to joining the BET, Barnhill spent seven years at Procter & Gamble, develop-ing marketing strategies and research standards for some of its most popular brands. Adonis E. Hoffman, founder & chairman of American Business Leadership Institute is an attorney, business advi-sor, professor and leadership strategist with high-level

Nielsen Names New Members to its Multicultural

Advisory Councilsexperience in public policy, corporate affairs, and interna-tional relations. He has been a legal and communications advisor to CEOs and boards, elected officials, trade asso-ciations and foreign govern-ments, providing counsel on challenging policy issues. Americus Reed II is associate professor of marketing at The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and has served on the faculty since 2000.Reed has devel-oped innovative classroom applications and integrated real world companies into the classroom to engage in semes-ter-long applied projects in his consumer behavior course.

The new members of APAAC are:

Grace Chiu is founder of GC Global Research. Chiu’s career in multicultural and in-ternational marketing research began in 1993 when she was recruited to run Asian Per-spective, Inc., a small, pio-neering multicultural research agency based in New York City. In 2000, Chiu founded GC GLOBAL Research (GCGR) which specializes in consultative multicultural market research and interna-tional studies. Rosabel Tao, is an accomplished corporate communications strategist with two decades of experi-ence on both the client and agency sides and has worked with a broad portfolio of com-panies from a full range of

growth stages – from global brands to start-ups. Anthony (Tony) Wang is in-house counsel at Twitter, where he focuses on mobile, inter-national, monetization and general legal support. Prior to Twitter, Wang was manag-ing counsel at Google, where he supported Google’s inter-national operations. Theresa Mai Wright is chief financial officer and vice president of Little Saigon TV, a leading Vietnamese television net-work in Los Angeles. She is responsible for media sales and marketing supporting the expansion of the company’s broadcasting in Southern Cali-fornia as well as nationwide via satellite.

HLAC will add:Vincent Cordero, execu-

tive vice president and general manager of FOX Deportes, leads the day-to-day opera-tions of the network, produc-tion, programming develop-ment, research, marketing, on-air promotion and distribu-tion strategy. He also identi-fies new media and business opportunities. Prior to Fox, Cordero worked at Univision Communications in various leadership positions. Raúl Lomelí-Azoubel is executive chairman and co-founder of SABEResPODER whose mis-sion is empowering Span-ish-speaking consumers to become more informed, con-fident, and active participants in U.S. society, while provid-ing corporations, agencies, and nonprofit entities with powerful and exclusive media solutions to build generational brand loyalty.

The three councils, which meet jointly twice a year, re-cently met in Tampa, Florida

near the company’s Global Information and Technology Center. Council members made recommendations and offered suggestions regarding Nielsen’s strategic direction in the areas of supplier diversity, recruitment and other diver-sity initiatives and outreach.

“The Nielsen Company is fortunate to have attracted such seasoned and respected leaders to advise us and we are confident that their exper-tise, contacts and collective experiences will be invaluable to us in our efforts toward greater inclusiveness,” said Susan Whiting, Nielsen’s vice chair. Whiting was also recently named the company’s chief diversity officer and shared her vision for enhanced diversity efforts with council members. “We have incorpo-rated many of the councils’ recommendations over the years. We welcome the views of the new members and are ever so grateful to the retiring members who were with us right from the very beginning for their pioneering insights and perspectives.”

About The Nielsen Com-

pany The Nielsen Company is a

global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, televi-sion and other media mea-surement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publi-cations. The privately held company is active in approxi-mately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit www.nielsen.com.

PNS -- SOMEONE told us the reason why Bianca King was not at all asked about Heart Evangelista and Am-palaya Anonymous when she guested in Don’t Lie To Me in “Showbiz Central” last Sun-day was because she specifi-cally requested John Lapus to refrain from asking any ques-tion about that. She threatened to walk out if John would in-sist on probing the topic, even if John was instructed by their executive producer to still ask her about it. Both Heart and Bianca do not want to talk about it anymore. They just continue to ignore each other even if they’re both members of the Glam Girls group who perform together in “Party Pilipinas.” “Nagpaplastikan na lang sila roon,” someone observes.

Bianca threatens to walk out

Bianca King

Re-usable, Heavy-duty, 280 psi busting capacity, Eco-Friendly balikbayan box with built-in handle from Manila Forwarder.

by Manny Paez

It has been a Manila For-warder tradition to start the year with a Thank You Sale offering the lowest shipping fee possible.

All balikbayan boxes from California bound to any des-tination in the major island of Luzon is only $57 and those bound to Visayas and Mind-anao is only $75.

The Manila Forwarder original, the jumbo box is only $67 to any destination in Luzon and $85 to Visayas and Mindanao.

The Do It Yourself rate, which is $39 for a balikbayan box to Metro-Manila is also extended.

Sale period is from Janu-ary 1-31, 2011 and valid for California residents only.

Another new is the in-troduction of reusable ba-likbayan box specifically designed for travelers to the Philippines as their check-in baggage.

This heavy-duty green box

Manila Forwarder’s Thank You Sale Starts Now!

comes with a built in handle that would make handling the box a lot easier. The handle can also be taped for ocean shipping use. It’s suggested retail price is only $5. The new balikbayan box is sponsored by Mabuhay Manor Hotel, Philippine Airlines, Manila Forwarder and Travel-PH.Com. It’s available at all Association of Filipino Travel Agent members, Manila For-warder locations, and others. For details please visit www.manilaforwarder.com or call toll free 1.800.210.1019.

Redwood City, CA, De-cember 20, 2010 – Filipino On Demand, a video on de-mand television service from ABS-CBN International, the largest Filipino entertainment and broadcast company in the U.S., has launched on AT&T U-verse® TV. Filipino On Demand is available for no extra charge to AT&T U-verse TV customers that subscribe to The Filipino Package or The Filipino Channel.

“We’re committed to providing AT&T U-verse® customers with a variety of top quality Filipino program-ming,” said Jun Del Rosario, ABS-CBN International’s Director for Cable & Satellite. “With fresh and frequently updated programming, our customers can connect back home in the Philippines by catching their favorite stars and shows with the con-venience of an on demand service.”

With so many award-win-

AT&T U-verse offers customers Filipino On Demand free with

TFC subscriptionTFC Subscribers can enjoy the best in Filipino

entertainment with Filipino On Demand

ning Filipino classics, block-buster hits, touching mini-series and live concerts each month, Filipino On Demand is sure to provide something for everyone.

To access Filipino On Demand, AT&T U-verse® customers should go to the On Demand menu, then select Subscription > International > Filipino.

Highlighted titles on Fili-pino On Demand in the month of December include:

9 Mornings Release: 2002 Genre: Movies/Drama Star Cast: Piolo Pascual,

Donita Rose, Sandy Andolong Start Date: 12/24/2010 End Date: 1/20/2011 Rating: TV-PG Hunk heartthrob Piolo

Pascual and Donita Rose co-star in “9 Mornings”, a story about finding love at the most unexpected place and time. An arrogant bachelor learns the true meaning of happiness

after meeting a pristine and simple pre-school teacher.

I Wanna Be Happy Release: 2006 Genre: Movies/Drama Star Cast: Eddie Garcia,

Gloria Romero, Cherry Pie Picache

Start Date: 12/17/2010 End Date: 1/13/2011 Rating: TV-PG Two months before their

golden anniversary, Mameng Domingo wants to live a sin-gle life. This decision shocked her children and frustrated her husband (Eddie Garcia). The whole family faces the crisis of sudden changes.

Family Album Release: 1998 Genre: Maalaala Mo Kaya/

Drama

Star Cast: Nida Blanca, Nestor de Villa, Rita Avila

Start Date: 12/3/2010 End Date: 12/30/2010 Rating: TV-PG A husband and a wife will

celebrate Christmas and their golden anniversary by holding a grand family reunion. The supposedly joyous affair turns out to be a moment of with-held resentments and unex-pected revelations.

For schedules, trailers and more information about Fili-pino On Demand, visit www.filipinoondemand.com .

For more information about subscriptions, custom-ers should visit www.att.com/uverse or call 1-800-ATT-2020.

Page 15Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comDecember 31 - January 6, 2011

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

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Magandang Araw PoMagandang araw po --- ang bati nina Totoy at Ninaymagandang araw naman, sagot nina tatay at nanaysa opisina man at sa bahay ito din ang batiannakakagaan ng katawan at masarap pakinggan.

Salitang madaling bigkasin at magandang madinigmula sa kahit sinong ang hangad ay kanais-naismay sayang idinudulot sa mensaheng sinasambitang pagpapala ng Diyos, sa iyo nawa’y sumapit.

Mula sa pagkabata ay kinagisnan ko na itomga katagang pagbati na turo ng magulang komaging sa paaralan sinasabi ng mga gurosiya naming natutunan sampu ng aking kalaro.

Sa pagbating ito ay gusto ko sanang ipaalamsana silang lahat ay nasa mabuting kalagayanhindi ‘to mahirap makamit magsumikap ka lamangat natitiyak ko na makakamit mo ang tagumpay.

Tanging payo ko lang ay huwag panghinaan ng loobsisikat muli ang araw kahit mamaya’y lulubogsa matiyagang sikap at budhing ‘di mapag-imbotang iyong mga minimithi siguradong maaabot.

©2010 Virginia H. Ferrer. All rights reserved.

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

Joke of the week: A small boy in kindergarten was as-signed by his teacher to make a Christmas drawing of the three Wise Men, riding their camels across the desert. When the drawing was fin-ished, the youngster took it to the teacher for her approval. She studied it, then pointed to an item - a square box with a couple of wires stick-ing out of it. “What’s that?” she asked. “Oh, that,” said the boy. “That’s the portable TV. I don’t want them to miss “American Idol.”

Scripture: First Reading:

Isaiah 60: 1-6. The prophet writes about the coming of God into our world as a bril-liant shining light. This light reveals the thoughts of every heart and has the power to transform them. The libera-tion of the Chosen People and their return from Exodus has now been replaced by the mystery of the Incarnation as God’s greatest act. This journey back home to Zion is not merely exclusive to the Hebrews, it is also includes the Gentiles. Second Read-ing: Ephesians 3: 2-3a, 5-6. Though the social context of this letter is geographically different from the time of Isa-iah, yet Paul makes the same assertion: the manifestation of God’s glory in Christ Jesus makes it clear that the Gen-tiles are equally coheirs with the Jews and “co-partners in the promise.” Gospel: Mat-thew 2: 1-12. What Isaiah sings about in the first read-ing, Matthew tells in a narra-tive form: liberation comes

A light that reveals the secrets of every heart

this time not from the high and the mighty places, like Jerusalem, but from a humble and little town, Bethlehem, and an insignificant region, Judea. Matthew forewarns his readers right away about the dangerous time of Jesus’ birth: “the days of King Herod,” a despotic and ruthless leader.

Reflections: The Feast of Epiphany could be aptly considered as the Christian Feast of Light in compari-son with the Jewish Feast of Lights (Hanukkah).The star that guided the Magi in their search for the newborn

King figures prominently in the Gospel reading. Most importantly, Epiphany is the manifestation to all, both Jews and Gentiles alike, of God’s mysterious plan in Jesus Christ who is the Light of the world. This light and sign re-veal what lies in every man’s heart. It is said that in every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the case of Jesus’ birth, both the good and the bad have their own kind of response. The Magi showed their very best: they have come to do Jesus Christ homage. King Herod revealed his true and evil nature; he was troubled and wanted to kill the newborn Infant.

God’s presence always brings out contrasting ele-ments, as the Gospel shows. The Magi were openly search-ing for the Child, while King Herod secretly inquired about the time of Christ’s birth. King Herod was greatly trou-bled, and on the other hand, the Magi were overjoyed

at seeing the star. The Magi found the Child, whereas King Herod never did. The mes-sage of God to us, whether it happens happily or tragically, elicits a response. In every-thing that occurs, the respons-es vary. Some would praise God, others would blame him.

Some Biblical commenta-tors believe that the story of the Magi has been embel-lished with representations: that they are wise men, kings, or astrologers. They are in-stead considered as political-religious advisers to Median and Persian rulers. Whatever is the correct identification of these personalities, one thing is for certain, they came not forcibly, but voluntarily, to do homage to Christ. This word, “homage” denotes one’s at-titude before a superior being, a ruler or a god. When an inferior does “homage” to his superior, his face, nose, and forehead touch the ground.

After traveling thousands of miles on camel’s back, the Magi’s enthusiasm was not dampened a bit, they were eager to give Christ their gifts. After those hectic weeks of shopping and of spiritually-oriented activities, such as caroling, church attendance, some of us might feel burn-out and exhausted. Let us take the cue from the Magi who never gave up! Never give up on our Christian obligations: to love God above all things and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Let us con-tinue the good things that we have begun doing during the Christmas season.

May your New Year be filled with Peace, Blessedness and Goodwill!

Quotation of the week: “Prayer is no other but the revelation of the will or mind of God.” John Saltmarsh.

and inexperienced in cheating because he never had a wife.

America is fascinated and curious about PNoy because he just might be the game-changer that the Philippines needs.

Wherever I go they ask me what we can do to help him. Frankly I don’t know where to begin. I just keep remind-ing myself and my audience who care to listen that to have a great President we must all strive to be great citizens our-selves, that lasting and effec-tive change must always begin with us first.

*Let’s keep him honest by being honest ourselves. Not bribing the MMDA, not smuggling at customs, pay-ing the right taxes, using the right scales and not cheating the wife. For religious leaders, by being faithful to Christ and not depriving the poor with the tithes.

*Let’s help him succeed with action and inspiration, not with cynicism and in-cessant criticism. Monitor the behavior of our govern-ment officials, report DPWH projects that are overpriced, teach patriotic education in the classroom, preach the practice of social justice and good citizenship in the pulpit, constantly honor what is good in our country.

*Let’s boost the local economy by starting Filipino businesses and patronizing brands that help the poor and protect the environment.

*Let’s pray for the Presi-dent’s protection and those who are honest around him because dismantling vested interests and institutionalized

Peace in America(Continued from page 9) corrupt practices is a serious

and dangerous game.Tonight at the dinner of

FUN, I was enthralled togeth-er with the crowd listening to the young Comelec Commis-sioner who fought for automa-tion and made it work, giving our President an overwhelm-ing mandate without doubt or question in the fastest and most credible election known to many of us. Atty Gregorio Larrazabal is in Vegas as a bike enthusiast, a friend who donated his prized bike for auction at the GK Hope Ball on October 8 at the Manila Pen. He is serving out the term of controversial former Commissioner Garcillano. From Garci to Larrzi – what a contrast. What is the point here? Miracles do happen, we can have honest election and an honest government – hope is definitely in the air. (Thanks Louie for looking after our new hero and for being a hero yourself for keeping the faith).

Tomorrow, I fly back to Manila as the President meets with West Coast eager sup-porters in San Jose, Califor-nia. A thick crowd of new generation Filipino Americans organized by San Diego resi-dent Marcel Ocampo and GK USA Chairman Tony Olaes will be there at the “we are one Filipino” rally to claim their heritage, reconnect with their roots and express soli-darity with a new leader that will make being Filipino a brand of honor anywhere in the world.

The new generation are finally coming to terms with the amazing reality that being Filipino in America is beauti-ful.

And that they also have a beautiful home and career and investment opportunities in Asia.

This is also their moment to send a profound message of peace to the rest of America: filipinos will continue to cre-ate wealth and jobs and help ease recession in America.

Filipinos can be strong and happy in America if they are one.

They can help bring peace and prosperity to the Philip-pines if they are one.

With these thoughts, I went back to my room to sleep in peace, eager to fly home to be with my family that I miss in the country that I love.

Page 16 December 31 - January 6, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

(Continued on page 22)

COME JOIN AND ENJOY OUR GRAND OPENING

Bill’s Corner

Read Bill Labestre’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Bill Labestre, MBA

In some way it should be a better holiday season than the last two years. We saw more people spending their money in shopping malls and other stores. It is a good sign that most of us are looking towards a brighter future. If there’s more money in cir-culation, the economy could recover soon. It may not be perfect but, we have to trust our government. Would you rather live any where else in the world?

I have visited a few other countries in the past but, it always feel good to be back home in the U.S. Here, you can feel what freedom really is. You can always speak your mind and even criticize your own government. This is a country of immigrants and why do you think so many people come in legally and illegally every single day?

Yes, I love the Philippines and will never forget my own heritage but for now it is just a place to visit temporarily. How long can you stay there and not be touched by the suf-fering of the very poor? How can you enjoy your food at a nice eating place when look-ing out the window you can see half naked and malnour-ished children? Even if you want to help, you can only do so much. A hand out is a temporary solution.

Compared to other big Asian cities, Manila’s airport is something else. Why can’t we go through Customs and

The Visitthen pick up our luggage like other major airports. It’s not hard to become paranoid about your safety and your baggage once you’re outside the terminal. Is this the home-land we are excited to visit again? Why do we feel like a walking target?

During our last visit, we decided to fly from LAX to Cebu City. At least Mactan Airport is more civilized and efficient. We went through Customs, picked-up our bags and walked to the exit door. A taxi dispatcher asked for our hotel destination and gave us a voucher for the taxi fare. Of course she took the taxicab’s ID and the driver’s name.

Even though I can man-age to speak a few dialects, I tried not to start conversation with taxi drivers anymore. Most of the time you will hear similar hard life stories before you can reach your destina-tion. There were times that we liked the driver and hired him again for a tour around the city or a day trip on the countryside.

I admire those who spent their holiday season at their hometowns. Some have big families coming from other parts of the world. It must be a happy family reunion.

Life maybe hard for most of the locals but, they can always manage to smile and enjoy the holidays. It doesn’t take much to make a Filipino happy. Do not spoil them because next time they will

expect more. Some Balikbayans of-

fered free medical or dental services instead of material things. A pair of glasses will last longer than cash. Tooth-brushes and toothpaste are much better than chocolate candies.

You don’t have to be wealthy to become a philan-thropist. There are many poor people out there who needed a little help to get back on their feet and return to self-sufficiency. They don’t ask for cell phones or designer shoes like most of your relatives. Their genuine “Thank You” can mean more.

Like many Filipino fans, Radcliffe believes the Pacman can easily destroy Floyd May-weather Jr. should this dream match ever happen.

“I’m a huge fan of Manny Pacquiao, and I can’t wait for the day when he destroys Floyd Mayweather (Jr.) on the ring,” Radcliffe said.

Radcliffe loves boxing and he’s hoping that someday he would meet his boxing hero.

“Hello, Manny Pacquiao! I think you’re fantastic and you seem to be an absolute gentleman as well as being an absolute warrior. And I’m pleased to be able to speak to you even if through a cam-era,” he said.

He joins former US Presi-dent George W. Bush, former California governor Arnold Schwarzenneger, and action stars Mark Wahlberg, Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme in supporting Pac-quiao.

(Story courtesy of Danny Buenafe, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau)

Harry Potter stars big fans of Philip-

pines and Pacman(Continued from page 1)

By Volt ContrerasPhilippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Before Schindler’s List, there was another document—the Philippine visa—that saved hundreds of Jews from the gas chambers and mass graves of the Holocaust. In 1939, two years before World War II reached the Pacific, the Com-monwealth government under President Manuel L. Quezon allotted 10,000 visas and safe haven to Jews fleeing Nazi Europe. Some 1,200 Jews made it to Manila before the city itself fell to Japanese invaders.

Before sunset on June 21, 70 years later, the first ever monument honoring Quezon and the Filipino nation for this “open door policy” was inau-gurated on Israeli soil.

The monument—a geomet-ric, seven-meter-high sculp-ture titled “Open Doors”—was designed by Filipino artist Junyee (Luis Lee Jr.).

At the program held at the 65-hectare Holocaust Memo-rial Park in Rishon LeZion, Is-rael’s fourth largest city south of Tel Aviv, the mere mention of “Taft Avenue” by one of the speakers brought Ralph Preiss to the verge of tears.

Preiss, a father of four now in his 70s, later explained that Taft Avenue was where a synagogue-run soup kitchen provided the first hot meals he had as a refugee. He was eight when he arrived from Rosenberg, Germany, with his parents at the port of Manila on March 23, 1939.

“If I stayed in Germany I would have been killed,” Pre-iss, a retired engineer living in Connecticut in the United

Monument in Israel honors Filipinos For saving 1,200 Jews from Holocaust

States, told the Inquirer in an interview.

“My cousin who lived in Berlin and whose father was a lawyer went to Paris [instead]. The Paris police handed them over to the Nazis, and they were sent to Auschwitz and got killed,” he recalled, add-ing: “I’m very grateful to the Philippines for opening the doors and letting us in.”

‘Salamat sa inyo!’At the program with an

audience of around 300, Max Weissler, glib as a jeepney driver plying the streets of Quiapo, barked onstage: “Thank you! Salamat sa inyo lahat, lahat nandito! Naka-punta kayo lahat! Salamat sa inyo!”

“Unfortunately,” Weissler noted, “very little is known about this great deed of Presi-dent Quezon and the Filipino people during the Holocaust. Very little is known about this among us Israelis, the Jews around the world, and even in the Philippines.”

Weissler was 11 when he and his German family settled in Pasay City. To eke out a living, his mother baked cakes that his father sold.

They all survived the war, and Weissler went on to fight another by joining the US Army in the Korean War.

“We came to Manila with practically nothing and always found help one way or another from the Filipinos,” Weissler said. “They have an open heart, and this is why we have this monument.”

3 trianglesJunyee won a competition

held by the National Com-mission for Culture and the Arts in February 2007 for the monument project.

He bagged a P300,000 cash

prize for his design, which bested seven other entries, including one submitted by a National Artist, according to the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv.

Rendered mainly in steel and set on a base of marble tiles shipped from Romblon, the monument depicts three doors of ascending heights (three, five and seven meters).

Viewed from above, Junyee’s work joins together “three triangles”—one rep-resenting the triangle of the Philippine flag, and the others signifying the two triangles that form the Star of David in the Israeli flag.

Etched on the marble floor are three sets of “footprints” approaching the doors. The prints are said to be those of Weissler, fellow Jewish refugee George Loewenstein, and Doryliz Goffer, a young Filipino-Israeli born in the Philippines and a granddaugh-ter of a Holocaust survivor.

Modena’s missionIn November 2005, speak-

ing before the Rotary Club of Jerusalem, then Philippine Ambassador to Israel Antonio Modena launched a “cam-paign for the remembrance of the Philippines’ humanitarian support for the Jews,” ac-cording to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

That campaign merely proposed that a marker for the Philippines be placed on the Holocaust Memorial Park’s “Boulevard of the Righteous Among the Nations,” which features a row of red gran-ite blocks with the names of countries and number of persons in each country who saved Jews.

Page 17Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comDecember 31 - January 6, 2011

Host : If you had a for-eigner friend, where will you bring him to showcase the beauty of the Philippines?

Contestant : Bocaue.Host : Bocaue? Why

Bocaue? There are so many places in the Philippines? Why Bocaue?

Contestant: Because it’s a magnificent place.

Host : Which part of Bo-caue?

Contestant: The Bocaue Rice Terraces.

***Host : What is your best

feature?Contestant : My gradu-

ation picture and also my baby picture.

***Host : What is you favorite

motto?Contestant : If others

can’t, why can’t I!***

Host : What would you like to say to foreigners?

Contestant : Please come back or you shall return.

***

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

journalusa.com

Q & A during the 2009 Miss Philippine Tourism Contest held at Manila Hotel

Host : What is your typical day?

Contestant : I think Satur-day po!

***Host : If you were to

describe the color blue to a blind person, how

would you

do it?’

Con- testant: That is a very good and easy question but is hard to answer. He! He! He!

***Host : What is your edge

over the other contestants? Contestant : My edge? I’m

21 years old, Sir!

***Host : What, in your opin-

ion, is the ideal age for mar-riage?

Contestant: Thirty-five.Host: Why 35?Contestant: Because you

are already old enough not to make any mistakes.

***Host : How do you see

yourself 10 years from now?Contestant: I am now 18,

plus 10... I’ll be 28!***

Host : What is the biggest problem facing the youth today?

Contestant : Drugs!Host : Why?Contestant: Kasi it is very

expensive na, Sir! ***

Host : What is the essence of a woman posing nude in magazines?

Contestant : Girls should be proud because when she is naked it is pleasing and es-sential to men’s eyes!

***Host : What makes you

blush?Contestant: I don’t blush

because I have a dark com-plexion.

***

Note: Contestants who answered the questions above were eliminated from the contest

Light &Shadows

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

by Zena Sultana Babao

Each New Year is a gift of time, and if the New Year could talk, it would probably say:

“I am the New Year. I am an unspoiled page in your book of time. I am your next chance at the art of living. I am your opportunity to practice what you have learned about life during the last twelve months.

All that you sought for and didn’t find is hidden in me,

waiting for you to search for it with new determination. All the good that you’ve tried for and didn’t achieve is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires.

All that you dreamed of and didn’t do and all that you hoped for but did not accom-plish – they slumber waiting to be awakened by the touch of a strong purpose.

And most of all, I am your opportunity to renew your al-legiance to HIM who said, ‘Be-hold, I make all things new.’”

Each New Year is a gift of time! And as the year 2011

dawns, let’s hope it will be a

much bet-ter

year

than 2010. Even with all the economic problems that affected us all this past

2011 - A Gift of Timetwo years, we did not lose our capacity for hope.

That’s what’s good with each New Year – we can al-ways start anew!

Since New Year means new beginnings, we are hoping for the end of our economic woes and the beginning of an economic revival. We are also hoping that other aspects in our lives will improve as well.

We have to be thankful for God’s gift of time and appor-tion each segment in such a way that we would accomplish more. None of us have been given more time than anyone else. All of us have the same 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, and 525,600 minutes. Let’s make every minute count!

Obviously, time is one of our most prized possessions. We can waste it, we can worry over it, and we can spend it any way we please. Or as good stewards, we can invest it in the kingdom of God.

We have done nothing to de-serve it or earn it. Like the air

we breathe, time comes to us as a part of life. We can’t stop time. Nor can

we slow it down, turn it off, or adjust it. And

we can’t bring back time. Once

it’s

gone, it’s gone.

Yester-day is lost

forever. Time marches on

and waits for no one. We can only move with it!

Each of us has a lot of

wishes for this coming year: temporal, spiritual, financial and personal; wishes for our family, relatives and friends; and wishes for our country’s leaders, our country and our people.

I join Everett Milton Gar-ret in his wishes: “Enough happiness to keep you sweet; Enough sorrow to keep you human; Enough hope to keep you humble; Enough success to make you eager; Enough faith to keep you walking with the Lord; Enough money to meet your needs; and Enough de-termination to make each day of your life the best you could ever be.”

I also join Colin McCarthy in giving you these precious gifts for the New Year: “Happi-ness deep down within; Seren-ity with each sunrise; Success in every facet of your life; Lov-ing family beside you; Close and caring friends; Health of body and mind; Love that never ends; Special memories of yesterdays; A bright today and a much brighter tomorrow; and Dreams that all come true.”

And from the pages of God’s Holy Book (Numbers 6:24-26), blessings for you and yours: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”

Let’s say goodbye to yes-terday and welcome a bright tomorrow!

Page 18 December 31 - January 6, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

(Continued on page 22)

(619) 474-0588

Balik-Tanaw: The Filipino Stars

of Yesteryears

Read Dr. Romy Protacio’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Dr. Romy R. Protacio

If Divina Valencia was once tagged as the “Sex Goddess of the Philippine Cinema,” her male counterpart would be Ernie Garcia, the “Bold King” of the Philippine Cinema. It is quite ironic that Ernie was la-beled as “Bold King” because the daring scenes that made him the talk of tinseltown were not all done for the sake of commercialism. His roles may have oozed with sex, but they were all done artistically. Movie watchers would prob-ably remember Ernie as one of Philippine cinema’s most daring male actors, but he is

Ernie as the painter.

Ernie autographing at the book signing of Balik Tanaw.

Ernie then.

(Seated) Ernie, Bobby Valle, (Standing) Maritess Cruz, and Guest Romy.

ERNIE GARCIAThe Bold King of the Philippine Cinema

actually a reserved person in real life.

Ernie Garcia or Ernesto Garcia in real life, was born on August 12 (“19 forgotten,” Ernie said, with a soft laugh). He was born in Caloocan City. His father, Artemio Garcia, is a Caviteno but grew up in Masbate, and his mother, Marina Sta. Maria is from Bulacan, a pure Tagalog. He started schooling at San Sebas-tian College. He was a former University of Santo Tomas Architecture student.

Through the length of his career, and even after he was not that visible in the pub-lic eye anymore, Ernie has dedicated most of his years to artistic pursuits.

The “Bomba” Genre

Many would probably ask how Ernie got into the “bomba genre” of the local industry. It was simply because these were the kind of movies that became popular during the period when he entered the movies, which was during the tumultuous era of the 60s. Translated literally, the word “bomba” means a bomb explosion. Metaphori-cally, it refers to the explosive news that filled the broadsheets and the airwaves related to the corrupt politicians that were being exposed in the media. Later on, it became associated with anything scandalous and daring. (Ernie explained to me

that “bomba” films were the time of Vic Vargas and Ricky Rogers. The “bold films” emerged in the 70s after the “bomba films” where the lead-ing ladies were wearing wet clothes and nude underneath).

During the decade of the 50s, which was considered the renaissance period of the Philippine movie industry, the Philippine movie indus-try experienced fast growth. However, towards the end

of the decade, people started clamoring for something other than the usual story line of girl meets boy, boy falls in love with girl, and they live happily ever after. The appeal of the famous love teams of Nida and Nestor, Gloria and Luiz started fading, and there were new, younger stars that the public

adored, such as the famed duos of Vilma Santos-Edgar Mortiz and Nora Aunor-Tirso Cruz.

In a report published by the Philippine National Com-mission on Culture and Art, an explanation of how the bomba films seeped into the movie go-ers’ consciousness was offered. These films became the “direct challenge to the conventions and the norms of conduct of status quo”. The Commission Report also stated that bomba films became the national past time, as they became a “stimu-lant”, and an expression of how people rejected the power of authorities in regulating their movie preferences. The bomba film was a product of a “subversive genre” which was a rebellion against the institu-tions that exerted control over free expression of thoughts and art.

Independent producers of the late 60s took advantage of the general decline of the top movie studios of the 50s. LVN, one of the top studios closed shop in 1961, and was later on revived as Dalisay

Pictures. After the death of the grand matriarch of LVN, the new studio could no longer sustain its brood of stars be-cause of financial difficulties. The other studios like Premier Productions and even Sam-paguita Pictures followed suit, slowly succumbing to financial decline and finally closed shop.

This gave way to independent film makers, most of whom exploited an emerging market of pornographic films. Movie viewers, mostly those who frequented Manila theaters had a heyday with the production of bomba movies.

During my younger years, Merly Fernandez was the original “Bomba” Queen of Philippine movies. She made her mark in the 1970 movie, “Uhaw.” The movie was considered a classic in sex films genre which started and triggered the spate of bomba films. The proliferation of bomba films, however, neared its ending in 1972 when former President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law.

When Martial Law was declared, it clamped down on bomba films. Yet, with the appetite of the moviego-ers already whetted for nudity and sex, the production of bomba films did not com-pletely stop. Frequent images of female stars swimming in flimsy swimsuits or underwear or taking a bath by a water-fall in their camisons were flaunted on the big screen. Chase and rape scenes in a river or under a waterfall were common scenes, as well, and even gained a name tag, “the wet look”. The movie, “Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop SA Balat ng Lupa” which starred former Miss Universe Gloria Diaz is an example of this kind of movie.

Under the watchful eye of the Marcos regime, however, tamer versions of the bomba films appeared, with restric-tions applied to body exposure and to the costumes worn in the movies. These milder ver-sions soon gained the name, “bold films”, and it was dur-ing this era when Ernie Garcia made his name, and earned the title “bold king.”

In an interview with PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal), where Ernie was asked how he feels now whenever people remember him as a “bold king”, he replied, “Peo-ple tend to typecast you and think of you solely as a sexy actor. It’s hard to achieve artis-tic growth and variety when it comes to roles. Alam mo kasi ang promotion sa mga sexy films tulad ng mga ginagawa ko is sobra ‘yung hype, kaya iba ang dating sa ibang tao na hindi nakakapanood. Pero hindi naman grabe or garapal yong mga commercial sexy films noon and may quality.”

His Movie Career

Before becoming a movie actor, Ernie started his showbiz career on television in the ‘70s. At age 16, he was known as a singer rather than as a movie actor. His singing repertoire would range from popular bal-lads to upbeat numbers.

Ernie started his acting

Page 19Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comDecember 31 - January 6, 2011

they have lost, may need to be physically active for more than 300 minutes (5 hours) of moderate intensity per week.

Here are some strategies for fi tness success:

Select activities you • enjoy.Find a friend or partner • to exercise with.Try to exercise the • same time each day to develop a habit.Find enjoyable and dif-• ferent surroundings or location to exercise.Vary your mode and • intensity of exercise to keep it interesting and fun.Set realistic goals. Start • slow and simple; then you can increase your efforts as timeand ability permits.•

Set obvious reminders • such as putting remind-ers on refrigerator; keeping exerciseclothes visible; and • marking time or sched-ule on your calendar.

HEALTHY SLEEP

Sleep is important for good health. A number of tasks carried out during sleep help maintain good health and en-able people to function at their best. During sleep, the body produces valuable hormones that help children grow and help adults and children build muscle mass, fi ght infections, and repair cells. Sleep makes us think clearly, react quickly and create memories. Path-ways in the brain that help us learn and remember are very active when we sleep.

Not getting enough sleep or getting poor quality sleep

on a regular basis increases the risk of high blood pres-sure, heart disease and other medical conditions. Cutting back by even 1 hour of sleep can make it tough to focus the next day and slow one’s response time. Lack of sleep can make one be more likely to make bad decisions that result in poor performance. Insuffi cient sleep can make one irritable and is linked to poor behavior and trouble in relationships.

Most adults need 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Here are some tips to get a good night’s sleep:

Stick to a sleep sched-• ule -- go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.Avoid caffeine and • nicotine.Don’t exercise too late • in the day.Avoid alcoholic drinks • before bed.Avoid large meals and • beverages late at night.Don’t take a nap after • 3 PM.Relax before bed—take • a hot bath.Create a good sleeping • environment. Get rid of noises, bright lights, uncomfortablebed, or a TV or com-• puter in the bedroom.See a doctor if you • have continued trouble in sleeping.

CONCLUSION:

I hope that these tips will help you create a healthy and happy balanced work and life that will lead to less stress and more production, healthy you.

KCS IS SPONSORING A FREE WORKSHOP ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY EN-TITLED, “SENIORS WITH SAS: SHOWING SENIORS HOW TO MOVE SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY”. This training will give one the basics on how to get seniors up and moving in a safe and effective way.

DATE: January 13, 2011, Thursday

TIME: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM

PLACE: FilAm Wellness

Center, 1419 East 8th Street, National City, CA 91950

SPEAKER: Larissa Johnson, Physical Activ-ity Coordinator, Nutrition Network.

Free Continental Break-fast, Handouts, Raffl e prizes, Recipe books, Pe-dometers, Healthy Lunch, and networking. For Infor-mation call Dr. Dirige at (419) 477-3392.

***

References: National Heart, Lung and Blood In-stitute (NHLBI) Information Center, 2010.

Best of Health, Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center Newsletter, Winter 2011, Vol 8,

# 4, www.sharp.com/chulavista.

***

FROM: EVELYN DIRIGE RESELLA

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

NEW YEAR’S EVE PAINTING

“Forgetting what is behind..... I press on toward the goal to....which God has called me.”- ( Phil. 3:13)

TITLE: “NEW YEAR’S EVE AND NEW BEGIN-NING”MEDIUM: OIL ON CANVASSIZE: $8” X 30”DESCRIPTION: (PAINTED IN 2008)Another oil painting from my solo art show last year. Here’s a short story behind the scene. New Year’s Eve in the Philippines is celebrated with lots of noise and fi re crack-

ers like America’s Fourth of July. We also have what we called “Media Noche” (mid-night dinner). Here in United States, it’s celebrated with lots of spirits (wine, beer and champagne) and fi nger foods. We like to add Filipino fl a-vors like lumpia Shianghai (small meat rolls), chicharon (pork crackling) and fried squid. I painted my “ideal” New Year’s Eve celebration at home. It’s a beautiful “Sea-food Feast” with lots of fresh oysters, jumbo shrimps cock-tails, crab legs, clams, mus-sels, etc. This is a healthy and elegant New Year’s Eve feast with lots of veggies, fruits and salad too.

NEW YEAR 2010. With the holidays nearly behind us, many are looking ahead

into 2011. It’s hard not to be a little afraid. Things still look a little gloomy with our bad economy. But somehow, we should be optimistic and hope that a good change is about to come. We must be innovative, creative and willing to take risks this new year. We must have lots of faith. It is faith in God that helped me achieved my art goals last 2008. This new year I will continue to trust God for my future. If you believe, like I do, that the turning of the new begin-ning is a cause for celebra-tion and welcoming change.“HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! MAY IT BRING YOU GOOD HEALTH AND MORE WEALTH.”

Street Poetry

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

by Michael R. Tagudin

©2010 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 & Traffi cking (CAST)”, a non-profi t that provides public awareness and advocacy efforts against human traffi cking 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 asianjournal3@aol.com for more information about ordering the book “Crushed Violets.”

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LifestyleRead J’Son’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.

asianjournalusa.com

by Joe Son

Are Pinoys belief on superstitions based on myths or facts? In a sense, supersti-tions are largely based on myths and not on facts. Most Pinoys have many supersti-tions pertaining to the New Year, much more on the hopes for blessings, particu-larly abundance of food and money. Most common beliefs, at New Year’s eve, the doors and windows should be open for blessings to come into the house.

Another belief, is the wear-ing of “polka dots” so that it will bring a lot of money throughout the year and at least putting twelve kinds of found fruits on the table also represents money.

To Pinoys, since child-hood, the tradition of New

Year celebration were always huge festivities. This tradition were strongly infl uenced to us by our Asian neighbor and our colonizers. Of course, not all Pinoys believe or prac-tice these ancient traditions, specially the young genera-tion but some are doing it just for kicks. Back home, a new year, will never be a New Year without fi reworks. It is believed, that fi reworks are lighted to drive away bad spir-its and bad luck. The louder the fi reworks are, the better, but due to some accidents and calamities like fi res and death, the government and the police are forcefully trying to ban deadly fi recrackers and fi re-works and the indiscriminate fi ring of guns.

The highlight of Pinoys New Year celebration are lots of food. Round-fruits for luck, fi sh to avoid scarcity, eggs and noodles for long life, grain of rice to have luck stick around within the household, and never serve chicken be-cause it signifi es hunger and scarcity of food, “Isang kahig, isang tuka.” Other belief in New Years day, is the tradi-tion to sell empty bottles and newspapers. Money saved on these recyclables are save on a piggy bank and must never be spent.

Most Pinoys must buy their needs before the New Year to avoid expenses that day, which may mean money prob-lems for the whole year.

Most of these traditions are from the Chinese “Feng Shui,” some Pinoys are believers of “Feng Shui,” and some even believe that those who didn’t get enough blessings on the year 2010, may received some blessings on the incoming year being the “Metal Rabbit.” Experts consider the Rabbit Year to

Pinoys traditions on New Year

be the most luckiest of all the twelve signs. These experts even predicted that 2011 is a good year for banking, trans-portation and telecomunica-tion businesses. Rabbit people are believed to be background movers and shakers, never seeking the limelight them-selves but always paving the way for others to become successful.

Today, “Feng Shui” is practiced not only by the Chi-nese and other Asian coun-tries, but also by Westerners. However, with the passage of time and the popularization of this practice in the West, much of the knowledge be-hind it has been lost in trans-lation. It has become an aspect of interior home decor in the Western world and alleged

masters are making this prac-tice a scam by selling lots of metaphysical products for sale to improve health, maximize your potential ability, and guarantee fulfi llment of mar-riage life and sex. To some, it become so important for heal-ing purposes,even used as a tool for medical practice, and in designs and architecture. It is said, when everything is commercialized or to good to be true... beware!

Healthy work-life balance

and heart health

(Continued from page 4)

Continuumas it was...as it was before...life as a continuum of the past ...as its supposed to be...as it should have been...one hell of a party placea place called planet earth!when demi gods ruled the worldsurfi ng the skies with technology...from the high lands of Tibetto the islands of the Pacifi ctechnology beyond imaginationbeyond...beyond...imaginationto dance the way the dragon dances!energy as it is...as it was...and therefore beyond!harness with the ritualsrituals of energy manipulatedwe the children of the presentthe product of the past

playing in the continuum of lifeas it has been...as it has always been...playing the games of lifeone hell of a party placeplanet earthparadise mademade in hellfrom the reaction of the pastfrom blood sweat and tearsharness from the human dramathe past as it has always beenone hell of a party placeparadise...paradise made in hell!

Page 20 December 31 - January 6, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

1. Merienda. Where else is it normal to eat five times a day?

2. Sawsawan. Assorted sauces that guarantee freedom of choice, enough room for experimenta-tion and maximum tolerance for diverse tastes. Favorites: toyo’t calamansi, suka at sili, patis.

3. Kuwan, ano. At a loss for words? Try these and marvel at how Pinoys understand exactly what you want.

4. Pinoy humor and irrever-ence. If you’re api and you know it, crack a joke. Nothing personal, really.

5. Tingi. Thank goodness for small entrepreneurs. Where else can we buy cigarettes, soap, condiments and life’s essentials in small affordable amounts?

6. Spirituality. Even before the Spaniards came, ethnic tribes had their own anitos, bathalas and as-sorted deities, pointing to a strong relationship with the Creator, who or whatever it may be.

7. Po, opo, mano po. Speech suffixes that define courtesy, deference, filial respect--a balm to the spirit in these aggressive times.

8. Pasalubong. Our way of sharing the vicarious thrills and delights of a trip, and a wonder-ful excuse to shop without the customary guilt.

9. Beaches! With 7,000 plus islands, we have miles and miles of shoreline piled high with fine white sand, lapped by warm waters, and nibbled by exotic tropical fish. From the stormy seas of Batanes to the emerald isles of Palawan--over here, life is truly a beach.

10. Bagoong. Darkly mysteri-ous, this smelly fish or shrimp paste typifies the underlying theme of most ethnic foods: dis-gustingly unhygienic, unbearably stinky and simply irresistible.

11. Bayanihan. Yes, the internationally-renowned dance company, but also this habit of pitching in still common in small communities. Just have that cold beer and some pulutan ready for the troops.

12. The Balikbayan box. Another way of sharing life’s bounty, no matter if it seems like we’re fleeing Pol Pot every time we head home from anywhere in the globe. The most wonderful part is that, more often than not, the contents are carted home to be distributed.

13. Pilipino komiks. Not to mention “Hiwaga,” “Aliwan,” “Tagalog Classics,” “Liwayway” and “Bulaklak” magazines. Pulpy publications that gave us Darna, Facifica Falayfay, Lagalag, Ku-lafu, Kenkoy, Dyesebel, charac-ters of a time both innocent and worldly.

14. Folk songs. They come unbidden and spring, full blown, like a second language, at the slightest nudge from the too-loud stereo of a passing jeepney or tricycle.

15. Fiesta. Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow is just another day, shrugs the poor man who, once a year, honors a patron saint with this sumptuous, no-holds-barred spread. It’s a Pinoy celebration at its pious and riotous best.

16. Aswang, manananggal, kapre. The whole underworld of Filipino lower mythology recalls our uniquely bizarre childhood, that is, before political correct-ness kicked in. Still, their rich adventures pepper our storytell-ing.

17. Jeepneys. Colorful, fast, reckless, a vehicle of postwar Pinoy ingenuity, this Everyman’s communal cadillac makes for a cheap, interesting ride. If the driver’s a daredevil (as they usu-ally are), hang on to your seat.

18. Dinuguan. Blood stew, a bloodcurdling idea, until you try it with puto. Best when mined with jalapeno peppers. Messy but delicious.

19. Santacruzan. More than just a beauty contest, this one has religious overtones, a tableau of St. Helena’s and Constantine’s search for the Cross that seam-

100 Best Things About Being Pinoy

lessly blends piety, pageantry and ritual. Plus, it’s the perfect excuse to show off the prettiest ladies--and the most beautiful gowns.

20. Balut. Unhatched duck’s embryo, another unspeakable ethnic food to outsiders, but oh, to indulge in guilty pleasures! Sprinkle some salt and suck out that soup, with gusto.

21. Pakidala. A personalized door-to-door remittance and delivery system for overseas Fili-pino workers who don’t trust the banking system, and who expect a family update from the courier, as well.

22. Choc-nut. Crumbly peanut chocolate bars that defined child-hood ecstasy before M & M’s and Hershey’s.

23. Kamayan style. To eat with one’s hand and eschew spoon, fork and table manners--ah, heaven.

24. Chicharon. Pork, fish or chicken crackling. There is in the crunch a hint of the extravagant, the decadent and the pedestrian. Perfect with vinegar, sublime with beer.

25. Pinoy hospitality. Just about everyone gets a hearty “Kain tayo!” invitation to break bread with whoever has food to share, no matter how skimpy or austere it is.

26. Adobo, kare-kare, sini-gang and other lutong bahay stuff. Home-cooked meals that have the stamp of approval from several generations, who swear by closely-guarded cooking se-crets and family recipes.

27. Lola Basyang. The voice one heard spinning tales over the radio, before movies and televi-sion curtailed imagination and defined grown-up tastes.

28. Pambahay. Home is where one can let it all hang out, where clothes do not make a man or woman but rather define their level of comfort.

29. Tricycle and trisikad. Rhe poor Pinoy’s taxicab that delivers you at your doorstep for as little as PHPesos 6.00, with a compli-mentary dusting of polluted air.

30. Dirty ice cream. Very Pinoy flavors that make up for the risk: munggo, langka, ube, mais, keso, macapuno. Plus there’s the colorful cart that recalls jeepney art.

31. Yayas. The trusted Fili-pino nanny who, ironically, has become a major Philippine export as overseas contract workers. A good one is almost like a surro-gate parent--if you don’t mind the accent and the predilection for afternoon soap and movie stars.

32. Sarsi. Pinoy rootbeer, the enduring taste of childhood. Our grandfathers had them with an egg beaten in.

33. Pinoy fruits. Atis, guy-abano, chesa, mabolo, lanzones, durian, langka, makopa, da-langhita, siniguelas, suha, chico, papaya, singkamas--the possibili-ties!

34. Filipino celebrities. Movie stars, broadcasters, beauty queens, public officials, all-around controversial figures: Aurora Pijuan, Cardinal Sin, Carlos P. Romulo, Charito Solis, Cory Aquino, Emilio Aguinaldo, the Eraserheads, Fidel V. Ra-mos, Francis Magalona, Gloria Diaz, Manuel L. Quezon, Mar-gie Moran, Melanie Marquez, Ninoy Aquino, Nora Aunor, Pitoy Moreno, Ramon Magsaysay, Richard Gomez, San Lorenzo Ruiz, Sharon Cuneta, Gemma Cruz, Erap, Tiya Dely, Mel and Jay, Gary V.

35. World class Pinoys who put us on the global map: Lea Salonga, Paeng Nepomuceno, Eugene Torre, Luisito Espinosa, Lydia de Vega-Mercado, Jocelyn Enriquez, Elma Muros, Onyok Velasco, Efren “Bata” Reyes, Lilia Calderon-Clemente, Loida Nicolas-Lewis, Josie Natori.

36. Pinoy tastes. A dietitian’s nightmare: too sweet, too salty, too fatty, as in burong talangka, itlog na maalat, crab fat (aligue), bokayo, kutchinta, sapin-sapin,

halo-halo, pastilyas, palitaw, pulburon, longganisa, tuyo, en-saymada, ube haleya, sweetened macapuno and garbanzos. Re-member, we’re the guys who put sugar (horrors) in our spaghetti sauce. Yum!

37. The sights. Banaue Rice Terraces, Boracay, Bohol’s Chocolate Hills, Corregidor Is-land, Fort Santiago, the Hundred Islands, the Las Pinas Bamboo Organ, Rizal Park, Mt. Banahaw, Mayon Volcano, Taal Volcano. A land of contrasts and ever-chang-ing landscapes.

38. Gayuma, agimat and anting-anting. Love potions and amulets. How the socially-disad-vantaged Pinoy copes.

39. Barangay Ginebra, Jawor-ski, PBA, MBA and basketball. How the verticaly-challenged Pinoy compensates, via a national sports obsession that reduces fans to tears and fistfights.

40. People Power at EDSA. When everyone became a hero and changed Philippine history overnight.

41. San Miguel Beer and pulutan. “Isa pa nga!” and the Philippines’ most popular, world-renowned beer goes well with peanuts, corniks, tapa, chicha-ron, usa, barbecue, sisig, and all manner of spicy, crunchy and cholesterol-rich chasers.

42. Resiliency. We’ve sur-vived 400 years of Spanish rule, the US bases, Marcos, the 1990 earthquake, lahar, lambada, Robin Padilla, and Tamagochi. We even survived Erap.

43. Yoyo. Truly Filipino in origin, this hunting tool, weapon, toy and merchandising vehicle remains the best way to “walk the dog” and “rock the baby,” using just a piece of string.

44. Pinoy games: Pabitin, palosebo, basagan ng palayok. A few basic rules make individual cunning and persistence a pre-mium, and guarantee a good time for all.

45. Ninoy Aquino. For saying that “the Filipino is worth dying for,’’ and proving it.

46. Balagtasan. The verbal joust that brings out rhyme, rea-son and passion on a public stage and over transistor radios.

47. Tabo. All-powerful, ever-useful, hygienically-triumphant device to scoop water out of a bucket _ and help the true Pinoy answer nature’s call. Helps main-tain our famously stringent toilet habits.

48. Pandesal. Despite its shrinking size, still a good buy. Goes well with any filling, best when hot.

49. Jollibee. Truly Pinoy in taste and sensibility, and a cor-porate icon that we can be quite proud of. Do you know that it’s invaded the Middle East, as well?

50. The butanding, the dol-phins and other creatures in our blessed waters. They’re Pinoys, too, and they’re here to stay. Now if some folks would just stop turning them into daing.

51. Pakikisama. It’s what makes people stay longer at par-ties, have another drink, join pals in sickness and health. You can get dead drunk and still make it home.

52. Sing-a-long. Filipinos love to sing, and thank God a lot of us do it well!

53. Kayumanggi. Neither pale nor dark, our skin tone is beauti-fully healthy, the color of a rich earth or a mahogany tree growing towards the sun.

54. Handwoven cloth and native weaves. Colorful, envi-ronment-friendly alternatives to polyester that feature skillful workmanship and a rich indige-nous culture behind every thread. From the pinukpok of the north to the malong of the south, it’s the fiber of who we are.

55. Movies. Still the cheapest form of entertainment, especially if you watch the same movie several times.

56. Bahala na. We cope with uncertainty by embracing it, and are thus enabled to play life by ear.

57. Papaitan. An offal stew flavored with bile, admittedly an acquired taste, but pointing to our national ability to acquire a taste for almost anything.

58. English. Whether cara-bao or Arr-neoww-accented, it doubles our chances in the global marketplace.

59. The Press. Irresponsible, sensational, often inaccurate, but still the liveliest in Asia. Other-wise, we’d all be glued to TV.

60. Divisoria. Smelly, crowd-ed, a pickpocket’s paradise, but you can get anything here, often

at rock-bottom prices. The sen-sory overload is a bonus.

61. Barong Tagalog. Enables men to look formal and dignified without having to strangle them-selves with a necktie. Worn well, it makes any ordinary Juan look marvelously makisig.

62. Filipinas. They make the best friends, lovers, wives. Too bad they can’t say the same for Filipinos.

63. Filipinos. So maybe they’re bolero and macho with an occasional streak of generic infidelity; they do know how to make a woman feel like one.

64. Catholicism. What fun would sin be without guilt? Jesus Christ is firmly planted on Philip-pine soil.

65. Dolphy. Our favorite, ultra-durable comedian gives the beleaguered Pinoy everyman an odd dignity, even in drag.

66. Style. Something we often prefer over substance. But every Filipino claims it as a birthright.

67. Bad taste. Clear plastic covers on the vinyl-upholstered sofa, posters of poker-playing dogs masquerading as art, over accessorized jeepneys and altars--the list is endless, and wealth only seems to magnify it.

68. Mangoes. Crisp and tart, or lusciously ripe, they evoke memories of family outings and endless sunshine in a heart-shaped package.

69. Unbridled optimism. Why we rank so low on the suicide scale.

70. Street food: Barbecue, lugaw, banana-cue, fishballs, IUD (chicken entrails), adidas (chicken feet), warm taho. Forget hepatitis; here’s cheap, tasty food with gritty ambience.

71. The siesta. Snoozing in the middle of the day is smart, not lazy.

72. Honorifics and courteous titles: Kuya, ate, diko, ditse, in-eng, totoy, Ingkong, Aling, Mang, etc. No exact English translation, but these words connote respect, deference and the value placed on kinship.

73. Heroes and people who stood up for truth and freedom. Lapu-lapu started it all, and other heroes and revolutionaries fol-lowed: Diego Silang, Macario Sakay, Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifa-cio, Apolinario Mabini, Melchora Aquino, Gregorio del Pilar, Gabriela Silang, Miguel Malvar, Francisco Balagtas, Juan Luna, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Panday Pira, Emilio Jacinto, Raha Suli-man, Antonio Luna, Gomburza, Emilio Aguinaldo, the heroes of Bataan and Corregidor, Pepe Diokno, Satur Ocampo, Dean Armando Malay, Evelio Javier, Ninoy Aquino, Lola Rosa and other comfort women who spoke up, honest cabbie Emilio Advin-cula, Rona Mahilum, the women lawyers who didn’t let Jalosjos get away with rape.

74. Flora and fauna. The sea cow (dugong), the tarsier, calami-

an deer, bearcat, Philippine eagle, sampaguita, ilang-ilang, camia, pandan, the creatures that make our archipelago unique.

75. Pilipino songs, OPM and composers: “Ama Namin,” “Lu-pang Hinirang,” “Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal,” “Ngayon at Kailan-man,” “Anak,” “Handog,””Hindi Kita Malilimutan,” “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit”; Ryan Cayabyab, George Canseco, Restie Umali, Levi Celerio, Manuel Francisco, Freddie Aguilar, and Florante--living examples of our musical gift.

76. Metro Aides. They started out as Imelda Marcos’ groupies, but have gallantly proven their worth. Against all odds, they con-tinuously prove that cleanliness is next to godliness--especially now that those darned candidates’ posters have to be scraped off the face of Manila!

77. Sari-sari store. There’s one in every corner, offering every-thing from bananas and floor wax to Band-Aid and bakya.

78. Philippine National Red Cross. PAWS. Caritas. Fund drives. They help us help each other.

79. Favorite TV shows through the years: “Tawag ng Tanghalan,” “John and Mar-sha,” “Champoy,” “Ryan, Ryan Musikahan,” “Kuwarta o Kahon,” “Public Forum/Lives,” “Student Canteen,” “Eat Bulaga.” In the age of inane variety shows, they have redeemed Philippine televi-sion.

80. Quirks of language that can drive crazy any tourist listen-ing in: “Bababa ba?” “Bababa!”

81. “Sayang!” “Naman!” “Kadiri!” “Ano ba!?” “pala.” Expressions that defy translation but wring out feelings genuinely Pinoy.

82. Cockfighting. Filipino men love it more than their wives (sometimes).

83. Dr. Jose Rizal. A category in himself. Hero, medicine man, genius, athlete, sculptor, fictionist, poet, essayist, husband, lover, sa-maritan, martyr. Truly someone to emulate and be proud of, anytime, anywhere.

84. Nora Aunor. Short, dark and homely-looking, she rede-fined our rigid concept of how leading ladies should look.

85. Noranian or Vilmanian. Defines the friendly rivalry between Ate Guy Aunor and Ate Vi Santos and for many years, the only way to be for many Filipino fans.

86. Filipino Christmas. The world’s longest holiday season. A perfect excuse to mix our love for feasting, gift-giving and music and wrap it up with a touch of religion.

87. Relatives and kababayan abroad. The best refuge against loneliness, discrimination and confusion in a foreign place. Dis-tant relatives and fellow Pinoys readily roll out the welcome mat even on the basis of a phone

introduction or referral.88. Festivals: Sinulog, Ati-

atihan, Moriones. Sounds, colors, pagan frenzy and Christian overtones.

89. Folk dances. Tinikling, pandanggo sa ilaw, karinosa, ku-ratsa, itik-itik, alitaptap, rigodon. All the right moves and a distinct rhythm.

90. Native wear and costumes. Baro’t saya, tapis, terno, saya, salakot, bakya. Lovely form and ingenious function in the way we dress.

91. Sunday family gatherings. Or, close family ties that never get severed. You don’t have to win the lotto or be a president to have 10,000 relatives. Everyone’s family tree extends all over the archipelago, and it’s at its best in times of crisis; notice how food, hostesses, money, and moral sup-port materialize during a wake?

92. Calesa and karitela. The colorful and leisurely way to negotiate narrow streets when loaded down with a year’s provi-sions.

93. Quality of life. Where else can an ordinary employee afford a stay-in helper, a yaya, unlimited movies, eat-all-you-can buffets, the latest fashion (Baclaran nga lang), even Viagra in the black market?

94. All Saints’ Day. In honor-ing our dead, we also prove that we know how to live.

95. Handicrafts. Shellcraft, rattancraft, abaca novelties, woodcarvings, banig placemats and bags, bamboo windchimes, etc. Portable memories of home. Hindi lang pang-turista, pang-balikbayan pa!

96. Pinoy greens. Sitaw. Okra. Ampalaya. Gabi. Munggo. Dahon ng Sili. Kangkong. Luya. Talong. Sigarillas. Bataw. Patani. Lutong bahay will never be the same without them.

97. OFWs. The lengths (and miles) we’d go for a better life for our family, as proven by these modern-day heroes of the economy.

98. The Filipino artist. From Luna’s magnificent “Spoliarium” and Amorsolo’s sun-kissed rice-fields, to Ang Kiukok’s jarring abstractions and Borlongan’s haunting ghosts, and everybody else in between. Hang a Filipino painting on your wall, and you’re hanging one of Asia’s best.

99. Tagalog soap operas. From “Gulong ng Palad” and “Flor de Luna” to today’s incarnations like “Mula sa Puso”--they’re the story of our lives, and we feel strongly for them, MariMar notwithstand-ing.

100. Midnight madness, weekend sales, bangketas and baratillos. It’s retail therapy at its best, with Filipinos braving traf-fic, crowds, and human deluge to find a bargain.

Proud to be Pinoy!

Page 21Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comDecember 31 - January 6, 2011

the concept of Palayamanan to increase the income and address food security at the farmers’ household,” Beronio said. Palayamanan is a diver-sified integrated rice-based farming system.

Since 1993, PhilRice has been involved in improving rice productivity in the upland through its membership to the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE), an organization composed of 26 national agricultural research and extension sys-tems based in the 10 Asian countries. It aims to benefit 100 million farm households in Asia that are dependent on rice and living in areas strick-en with poverty and food insecurity.

Under CURE project, Phil-Rice provided technical sup-port in preserving and improv-ing traditional varieties such as Dinorado and Azucena in Arakan Valley, Arakan, North Cotabato, and in diversifying crops planted in the upland.

DA-PhilRice is a govern-ment-owned and –controlled corporation that aims at developing high-yielding and cost-reducing technologies so farmers can produce enough rice for all Filipinos.

PhilRice sets plan

for the upland

Showbiz Watcher

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

by Ogie Cruz

AMERASIAN CUISINE

Dito sa Amerika hindi natin nalasap ang saya ng 36th Metro Manila Film Festival na taunang dinadaos sa ating bansang Pilipinas.Labanan sa takilya ng mga movie en-tries, MMFF’s parade at ang Awards Night.

Kagaya nung nakaraang Awards Night, marami ang nabigla sa paghakot sa mga major awards ng ‘Tanging Ina Mo’ at ang pagkapanalo ni Ai-Ai delas Alas sa Best Actress.

Kung napanood nyo ang ‘D Buzz’ last Sunday, agresibo si Ai-Ai na manalo ng Best Actress, at first time lang kami makakita na halos magpakaawa na para manalo. Samantalang si Kris Aquino ay ayaw manalo dahil mag-kakaroon lang daw ng kulay dahil kapatid niya ang nag-appoint ng mga namahala sa naturang Festival.

Diretso naman inamin ni Kris na malakas sa Best Ac-tress si Jennylyn Mercado via ‘Rosario’ pero mas gusto ni-yang manalo si Ai-Ai.Usually ang mga nanalo na artistang babae sa naturang award ay laging mga nasa drama movies, wala pang nanalo sa comedyante na babae.

Kaya ang intriga, wala

Ai-Ai nanalo ng best actress dahil kay Kris???

Ai-Ai De Las Alas

kayang kinalaman si Kris sa pagkapanalo ni Ai-Ai as Best Actress dahil bestfriend niya ito. Pati yung sinasabing malakas sa nasabing award ay hindi man lang na-nominated na si Jennylyn Mercado, although si Kris ay hindi rin naman na-nominated.

Pati sa Best Director hindi rin na-nominated si Albert Martinez, kung baga sa mga major awards ang inaasah-ang ‘Rosario’ na hahakot ng maraming major awards ay hindi nangyari, tinalo pa ito ng movie ni Ai-Ai ng Star

Cinema.Naging palaisipan ang

naging winners para sa ibang tao,na-question ang kredibili-dad ng MMFF at bakit ganito ang naging resulta.Eto raw ba ang movie na puede natin ilaban sa ibang bansa dahil ito ang Best Picture sa naturang festival.

Sabi nga ni Presidential Spokeman Edwin Lacierda, walang kinalaman si Kris Aquino sa pagkapanalo ni Ai-Ai delas Alas sa Best Actress, well rounded daw ito at pinakamataas na points ang nakuha nito against sa ibang actress, si Ai-Ai daw.

Aminado naman kami na wala pa kaming napapanood sa mga movie entries, pero base sa mga nakakausap namin ng mga kaibigan nam-ing reporters e magaling daw si Jennylyn kaya lang hindi nga na nominee at kahit sila ay nagtataka rin.

Basta kami aabangan na lang namin ang ‘Rosario’ rito sa Amerika, at pati yung movie ni Ai-Ai para mai-com-pare namin ang acting nilang dalawa.

KINUKUHA RAW NG PINOY TV NG GMA 7 ANG SHOW NI WILLIE REVIL-LAME ? Humina na nga ang TFC, dahil nawala ang ‘Wowowee’ pero anu itong nabalitaan namin na kinukuha ng PinoyTv ang ‘Willing Willie para ilabas sa buong mundo.

Minsan kasi tumawag kami sa Direct Tv na si-yang humahawak sa mga TFC,PinoyTv,Kapamilya Net-work, Anc,Myx,GMN(Iglesia ni Kristo),Cinema One Global at GMALife.Isa Filipino ang nakausap naming, ayon

sa kanila kinukuha raw ng PinoyTV ng GMA7 ang show ni Willie para ilabas dito sa buong Amerika.Hanggang ngayon kasi sa internet lang napapanood ang show ni Mr. Revillame sa channel 5, siempre hindi rin maganda ang reception kahit sabihin mong libre at minsan pa yung resolution ng show hindi maganda.Ewan lang namin kung totoo ito?

Tinanong din namin yung operator ng Direct TV kung magkakaroon na ba sa January ang TV5 International, pero sagot nila wala pa raw silang balita.Although sa show ng ‘Willing Willie’ sinasabi nila sa January magiging inter-national na sila ibig sabihin mapapanood na sila sa buong mundo.

Kaya hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin malinaw kung sino talaga ang hahawak ng show ni Willie dito sa Ameri-ka, na matagal ng inaantay ng mga Pinoy dito sa USA.

Talking about TFC, mukhang hanggang Dec. 31 na lang ang ‘Win na Win’ at halatang ang bawat shows nila ay tipong nagpapaalam although wala pa silang sinasabi tungkol dito. Pero nakakabigla may commercial ng Wil Tower na pag-aari ni Willie Revillame,paano kaya nangyari yun samantalang on going na nga ang dimandahan ng ABS-CBN laban sa kampo ni Mr. Wowowee.

Isa pa rin napuna namin sa show ng TFC ang ‘Balitang Amerika’ hindi nakasama ang name ni Willie Revillame sa kanilang Top Newsmaker of the Year.To think naging la-man din nila ang issue about sa pag-alis ni Willie sa kanil-ang istasyon sa Pilipinas ang

ABS-CBN.Bakit kaya?Minsan nakausap din

namin si Don Tagala, reporter ng ‘Balitang Amerika’ tinano-ng naming at kung bakit mas magaling magbalita ang mga reporters ng nasabing show compare sa mga reporters ng ANC.Dagdag pa nga namin sa kanya, si Henny Espinosa parang sumasayaw habang nagrereport at ang ganda ng diction nito sa pagbabalita.Simple ang naging sagot ni Don, iba raw ang training nila dito sa Amerika sa pagbro-broadcast ng news.Very well said.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL !!! Marami pong salamat sa sinumang bumabasa sa aming column dito sa Asian Journal ,promise po namin sa susunod na taon 2011 mai-init at maintrigang balita ang ihahatid namin sa inyo.Hindi kami padadaig ng showbiz balita, ibibigay po namin ang tunay na nangyayari sa show-bizlandia sa Pilipinas.

Wish ko lang maging matiwasay ang pamumuhay ng mga Pinoy dito sa Amerika sa susunod na taon 2011.Sana rin maging matiwasay din ang buhay ng ating Superstar na si Nora Aunor, at mabayaran na niya ang kanyang utang sa kanyang tagahanga kung totoo man ang kumakalat na mahi-lig siyang mangutang dito sa Amerika?Pero Teka, anu itong nabalitaan namin, nandito rin daw si Ms. Hilda Koronel sa California.Ano ang pinagka-kaabalahan niya?

Announcement:US/CAN-ADA Arellano High School Batch ’79 Reunion 2011 on Feb.19 to Feb.21,2011.Lo-cation will be in Las Vegas Nevada, for more details pls. contact or email Ms. Teza Yatco Meneses cell no.

(210)323-7933 and tymen-eses@yahoo.com

(Continued from page 1)

Page 22 December 31 - January 6, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

see approaching unrecogniz-able travelers.

Rajah Buwaya coerced the men in the kingdom to under-take the construction of the wall and moat. His subjects put up with a lot of hardship in building his pet projects. Those who tried to escape the forced labor were thrown into the moat to become the croco-diles’ food. Many families lost their fathers to the crocodiles. There were only two choices in the kingdom of Rajah Bu-waya: Serve in his army as a loyal soldier or be a worker at his construction projects.

Whatever the rajah desired he got. He took interest in the land next to his kingdom, he forcibly took over it in spite of the owner’s protestation.

He took a liking for a woman to become his wife, whether the woman was from his kingdom or from outside, she became his wife with the use of force.

In the meantime, in an-other part of the archipelago, Princess Waling-Waling was being groomed to succeed her father, Rajah Matanda, as the next ruler of the kingdom. She was the only child who could inherit the throne, albeit she was a woman.

The people enjoyed free-dom in the kingdom of Ra-jah Matanda. They chose their livelihood. There were, among them, farmers, fisher-men, foresters, carpenters, raisers of poultry and goats . . . The people chose their mates and their beliefs; there were, among them, believers of Mohammed and there were believers of Jesus Christ. The people were happy and pro-gressive.

Rajah Matanda had the fi-nal say on disputes asking for justice to be meted out. Be-fore laying down his decision, however, he listened to the declarations of everyone con-cerned, including that of the accused person. He invoked the death penalty sparingly; and, in a few cases, execution was humane – it was by way of the bow and arrow – quick and merciful killing by way of shooting a poisoned arrow into the convicted person’s heart.

Rajah Matanda was a com-passionate and wise ruler. He maintained only a small army because his goal was peace and not war. His subjects were law-abiding and looked up to him as their “father”. The people willingly performed their duties according to the law and whatever was ethi-cally correct.

Rajah Buwaya and Rajah Matanda had different per-sonalities. They had different styles of governing. One was famous all over the archipel-ago for being a mean person; the other one was famous for being a peace-loving gentleman. Other rulers in the archipelago had high respects for Rajah Matanda. In contrast they had a great dislike for Rajah Buwaya. These friends of Rajah Matanda agreed to come to his aid should Rajah Buwaya decided to invade his kingdom.

However, Rajah Buwaya had the cunning of the mon-key – the trait of being tricky. He was to implement a plan that would enable him to take over the kingdom of Rajah Matanda, without need of in-vasion. He planned to abduct Princess Waling-Waling and force the attractive next ruler to become one of his many wives.

And because the people in Rajah Matanda’s kingdom could pursue whatever belief they had in life, a group of citizens that believed in the power of the mind over the body was having a meeting inside a secret cave in the cov-er of night. “We want to attain a high level of consciousness such that we can command the body to obey a certain way using only the mind,” the oldest member of the group was talking. “My ancestors possessed the power, handed it down to my parents and, now, I am its keeper.”

The cavernous place was hardly lit by a few torches. It was an appropriate at-mosphere for whatever the old man was about to show. “There are spirits around us. Some of them confuse our minds and lead us to do bad things. We want to be in contact with the good spir-its, those that can teach us healing. These same spirits show us the way to perform-ing extraordinary abilities – such as the one I am about to demonstrate,” the old man continued.

As he walked toward the center of the hall where he could be seen clearly, all eyes were focused on him. He stopped at a certain spot and froze like a stone, in the

meantime uttering some kind of chant. Wings came out of his back and he arose from the ground. His body split up into two, at the waistline; the part from the head down to the waist started to lift up into the air and the part from the waist to the feet fell down and remained standing on the ground. Wak-wak-wak-wak. . . The wings flapped and made noise; the old man began to fly and head toward the mouth of the cave. The members fol-lowed him and watched him get out into the open space and quickly soar into the sky.

“Manananggal”, they were called, the creatures that could split up their bodies and make their upper torso fly in the fashion of bats. They were ordinary people during the day. At night, when they went on missions, they transformed into “manananggal”.

The devious “mananang-gal” acquired fangs and claws, and hungered for human blood akin to a vampire. They victimized mothers with babies in their wombs. They lusted for the blood of unborn and newly-born infants. They flew overhead and landed on the roofs of homes where they knew there were babies; they sat on the roof and waited until the right opportunity to seize the babies came. Their tongues elongated and could travel through holes and gaps in the houses and track down the babies.

Village medicine men knew that the “mananaggal” could not stand the smell of garlic and would be badly hurt

by brightness coming either from the sun or a strong light. They advised that shards of broken glass be poured onto the open cavity of the lower torso left behind by the “ma-nananggal”. Upon its return, the “manananggal” would not be able to descend on his lower torso because the shards were in the way; it would con-tinue to fly on in search of a dark, hiding place and failing to find a good one it would be exposed to sunlight by the break of day and would die and then vaporize into thin air.

Going back to Rajah Buwaya and Princess Waling-Waling, the abduction of the princess was a success. How-ever, she could not become the rajah’s wife. She could not be taken by force. She carried a knife that she had no qualm thrusting into her heart should Rajah Buwaya imposed his desires on her. “Don’t you dare touch me”, the princess warned him, “this knife will find its way to your heart if you even try. Or you will find me dead before I become your sex slave, you crazed mon-ster!”

How could Rajah Matanda and his allies rescue the prin-cess? How could they break into Rajah Buwaya’s impen-etrable wall and moat before being eaten by the crocodiles?

While Rajah Matanda was deep in thought, Rajah Buwaya was likewise thinking about his options. He and his men were on the lookout for approaching troops. “They’re imbeciles! They won’t be able to scale my wall, much less, go past the moat! Ha, ha, ha . . .” he gave out a loud, contemptu-ous laugh.

One night, Rajah Buwaya and his trusted men were stunned by a strange noise that was coming closer and

closer. – Wak, wak, wak, wak . . . It was too dark to see what was producing the noise. Little did they realize that the high wall had been breached. When they looked toward the sky, they saw a squadron of what looked like giant bats al-ready circling over the rajah’s house and waiting to attack.

It was a squadron of “ma-nananggal” that came to res-cue the princess. They came with torches and explosives and these were dropped into the house of Rajah Buwaya. The house began to burn and so did the bamboo wall. Soon there was a big conflagration that the villagers could not help but notice. They came out en masse carrying knives, sticks, stones and other crude weapons. They took the burn-ing as the signal to rise up in arms and overthrow their cruel rajah.

Rajah Buwaya’s soldiers began to panic and ran in dif-ferent directions. In fact they had been drinking with the rajah just before the surprise attack. And being half-drunk, they were going around in circles. The rajah who was himself on the run tripped on a rock and fell into the moat. He became a nice dinner for the crocodiles that were starv-ing at that time.

The people agreed to unite the two kingdoms into one and, before long, Princess Waling-Waling took over the reign as Sultana and became the most beautiful and most beloved ruler of the archi-pelago ever.

In the Kingdom of Rajah Buwaya and Princess Waling-Waling

Short story by Percival Campoamor Cruz(Continued from page 1)

Monument in Israel honors Filipinos But the response from then

Rishon LeZion Mayor Meir Nitzan “surprised” the Philip-pine mission: Not just a slab of granite but a monument with its own prominent spot in the park was to be built to thank the Philippines and its people.

Technical and financial dif-ficulties delayed the comple-tion of the monument for two years; Modena and Nitzan originally set the inauguration in 2007 to mark the golden anniversary of Philippine-Israeli relations.

Modena died of lung cancer in February 2007. His name is first on the dedication plaque unveiled at the “Open Doors” monument on June 21.

Modena’s campaign was said to have been inspired by the 2003 book “Escape to Manila: From Nazi Tyranny to Japanese Terror” by Frank Ephraim.

The 246-page eyewitness account gathers the voices of 36 refugees, who described

(Continued from page 16) in detail their arduous jour-neys to Manila, the lives they tried to build, and their fresh ordeals under Japanese rule.

Born in Berlin, Ephraim was eight when he fled to Ma-nila with his parents in 1939. After the war he immigrated to the United States, began a career in naval architecture and later worked with the US Department of Transportation.

Ephraim died in August 2006. “He was very attached to the Philippines and was very anxious to go back there. We were supposed to go, and then he got lung cancer and that was the end of it. It was just too bad,” said his Ameri-can widow Ruth, another special guest at the inaugural.

Filipino prideTourism Secretary Joseph

Durano, who attended the inaugural on the invitation of the Israeli government, shared passages from the book which, he said, “made me proud to be a Filipino.”

Quoting Ephraim, Du-rano read: “Filipinos were a tolerant people who never

interfered or took any ac-tion against the Jews. [Their temple] on Taft Avenue was very visible and Jews attended services and congregated in front of the temple without the slightest disturbance.

“There was never a ghetto in Manila, and Jews lived in close proximity with Filipi-nos, and all sides introduced neighbors to each other’s cuisine, music, culture and history.”

According to Durano, the “Open Doors” monument “celebrates the most powerful force on earth, second only to God’s will, and that is the human will.”

“It was just amazing, the will of these Jewish fami-lies who escaped to Manila. Some had to go through Sibe-ria, some had to take boats for weeks and months,” he said.

But also, Durano said, the monument “celebrates the Filipino heart ... a heart that touches others with compas-sion, a heart that makes one a blessing to the world.”

career when he substituted for Eddie Peregrina in the soap opera “Aliw ng Buhay” with Gina Alajar as his partner. This was the time when Eddie was at the height of his popu-larity as a singer. His singing engagements required him to leave his TV show, which became a break for Ernie who was at that time starting his TV career. The role in “Aliw ng Buhay” was offered to him. That was the start of Ernie’s exposure to TV drama. His appearance in the TV drama caught the attention of produc-ers, which eventually paved the way for his entry in the movie industry

Ernie was featured in the Sixteen Magazine by the late Dodie Alvarez. His featured article resulted to a lot of fan mails ---boxes and boxes of fan mails as Ernie describes it. The story went around the press people and was published in several newspapers. The story was brought to the at-tention of Aling Miling Blas, the matriarch of Lea Produc-tion. Ernie was immediately offered an introducing role in a movie featuring Hilda Koronel. The rest was history, as he got movie offers one after another.

He had a chance to do movies with Vilma Santos at the height of the Edgar Mortiz-Vilma Santos love team. They were paired first in the movie “Takbo, Vilma, Dali,” followed by “Hatinggabi na, Vilma” and “Lipad Darna, Lipad.” There were other movies that he had the chance to film with Vilma, who was one of filmdom’s most famous personalities dur-ing that time.

Ernie reminisces with joy and prides all the opportunities he had in the past to work with seasoned and well respected actresses of the period, like Amalia Fuentes, Pilar Pilapil, and the late Charito Solis. With Charito, they teamed up in “Hubad sa Mundo” which had a May-December plot.

After doing several mov-ies with Vilma, he was con-tacted by film director Man-ing Borlaza for a movie with Chanda Romero in Cebu to do the movie, “Alma Bonita.” “Nag-click ang Alma Bonita sa Cebu,” Ernie said. Ernie remembers that the group of the late Douglas Quijano thought they should bring the movie team to Manila because the movies they were doing in Cebu were too bold and daring.

His bold scenes started in the movie, “Uhaw na Bulak-lak,” with Chanda Romero. It was a carry over of the scenes from “Alma Bonita.” Ernie said, “Ayun, tuloy-tuloy na after that movie and my career in these daring movies lasted for more than a decade.” The

movie “Uhaw sa Bulaklak” became a big hit especially to the Visayan audience. Because of the success of the Chanda-Ernie team-up, they made three more movies together - “Alma Bonita,” “Ikaduhang Bathala,” and “Sabrina.” All three movies brought in huge box office sales, which gave Ernie the title “King of the Visayan Movies.”

What followed next would be movies one after the other: “Hubad sa Mundo,” “Araw-Araw, Gabi-Gabi,” “Beer House,” “Sumigaw ka Hang-gang Ibig Mo,” “Amor Seko,” “Ingat Kayo, Playboy Ako,” “Pagmamahal Mo, Buhay,” “Eva Fonda, 16,” and “Bukas, Sisikat Din Ang Araw,” In all these films, he portrayed sexy roles that led to the develop-ment of an image appropriate for his title, “Bold King.”

In 1982, he did the movie, “Virgin People,” a Celso Ad Castillo obra. Ernie could not forget the applause given by the audience when the movie was premiered at the Folk Arts Theater.

He took a break from acting in the ‘80s in order to shed his sexy image. He decided to resume his love for singing and performed in the United States and Japan. When he came back to the Philippines, he was glad to learn that movie fans as well as his friends in show-biz still remember him for his performances in movies. He was no longer the Ernie who appeared in sexy roles, but in-stead, he started doing roles in movies that would identify him as an “actor”, and not simply as a movie celebrity.

He eventually ventured on painting and entered the world of theater. Ernie did a lot of stage work like “Noli Me Tangere,” and “El Fili.” He did “Hamlet” for the late Rolando Tinio in which he garnered an Aliw Award for best actor on stage in 1988. He received the FAMAS best supporting actor the following year (1989) when he made the movie, “Bukas Sisikat Din Ang Araw” He also received the Best Supporting Actor for the same movie given by the Star Awards.

While he was busy acting on stage, Ernie discovered and harnessed his love for the visual arts. He started paint-ing and experimented on the canvas and eventually explored other art mediums like tiles and fiberglass.

Today

From time to time, Ernie would accept offers from TV networks to appear in their telenovelas. He would also ac-cept offers from the Indie film circuit, although he is quite se-lective on the roles he accepts. For him to accept a movie of-fer, he has to like the story and the role. In his interview with PEP, he said, “Minsan hindi naman talaga ‘yong role since nasubukan ko yata lahat ng

roles. Mahalaga ‘yong story and concept especially ‘pag medyo kakaiba ang atake ng istorya.”

Last year, he made an Indie film, “Sikil,” which was shown at the Indiesine Cinema 8 at Robinson Galeria. The film had a special screening at the U.P. Film Theater in November last year. “Sikil,” also starred Will Sandejas, Ashley Silverio, and Ken Escu-dero. It was the first attempt at filmmaking of the production company, New Life Cinema. According to movie critics, “Sikil” was a sensitive film which thrilled the Filipino movie audience. There were some nude scenes, but they were executed artistically and were all done in good taste.

These days, Ernie still receives several movie of-fers, but he makes sure to stay away from doing daring, sexy roles. At one point, he even had to decline an offer to direct a movie that was loaded with sexual scenes. He knows that the movie producer who of-fered him this chance to direct did so, only because of his background in making bold scenes.

There was a time that Ernie also felt the calling of politics, as other movie personalities, and for a while, he considered entering the field. Now, he be-lieves that everyone can do his share to effect positive changes on the lives of other Filipinos, without necessarily being ap-pointed to a political position.

In my interview with Ernie, we did not talk about his love life. He did not offer to talk about the subject, so I felt it was something that he would not prefer to discuss. How-ever, I am aware that he has a daughter, Dara, whom I actu-ally invited to become my Fa-cebook “friend”. He also has a son, Ernesto Garcia, Jr.

Developing his other talents enabled him to treat his celeb-rity status more objectively. He knows for a fact that even after being away from the limelight for quite a while, he can still engage in other artistic pursuits. He sums up his desire to still be remem-bered in the world of showbiz in one interview, where he said “I want to be respected by my colleagues and the public. I’ve always known that I have other things to offer aside from act-ing.”

Ernie has evolved into a complete artist who now dabbles on painting, music and occasionally, on his first love, acting. He has been commissioned to do a painting for a restaurant, has already mounted two successful art exhibits, and has even trans-formed his residence to an art studio. With these pursuits, he will surely be remembered in the future as a total artist, and not only by his past monicker, as the “bold king of Philippine cinema.”

ERNIE GARCIAThe Bold King of

the Philippine Cinema

(Continued from page 18)

Page 23Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comDecember 31 - January 6, 2011

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In 1992, he had the oppor-tunity to celebrate New Year with his family in the Philip-pines. His parents were to cel-ebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary on the second of January the next year, and all their children abroad, plus their families were required to go home to participate in the occasion. His daughters’ ages ranged from seven to twelve years old, and for the first time in their lives, they experienced the Philippines New Year’s Eve celebra-tion with their cousins, fully taking in the noise and lights of fireworks, sparklers and firecrackers in their Quezon City neighborhood. It was an experience they could not forget.

Las Vegas

Tired of the successive boring New Year’s Eve cel-ebration in San Diego, they decided to observe the occa-sion in Las Vegas in 1998. It turned out to be a very un-pleasant experience for them. All they could do in the city of lights was walk back and forth along the Strip together with the other revelers, many of whom were rowdy col-lege students. An hour before midnight, they were surprised when the casinos locked their doors and their lifeline to the restrooms.

When they tried to go back to their hotel, they were trapped by the sheer mass of people packed in a narrow bridge leading from the New York, New York Casino to Treasure Island. He was hor-rified. It was clearly a death trap. All one had to do was scamper and many people would be pinned down, and perhaps to death. Sensing the grave danger, he lifted his daughters over a fence and into the street. The police, however, would not allow people to do so. He ignored the police and brought each member of his family to

A Dozen Grapes and New Year’s Eve Memories

safety. In the street, they waited for thirty long minutes, with the cold wind blowing on their faces until the stroke of midnight when people would be allowed back to the hotels. Since he was not a gambler and keen on playing in the casinos, he vowed never to go back to Las Vegas, unless he had to bring visitors from out of the country.

Y2K threat

New Year’s Eve 1999 was also memorable for them, and even for most people around the world, because of the Y2K threat. It was the turn of the century, and many people feared that the computer sys-tems all over the world would crash, resulting to catastrophic damages to life and property. Some even predicted the end of the world

Like millions of people all over, they sat glued to the television early in the evening to see if the predictions of the prophets of doom would hold true. Despite warnings that airplanes might crash because of the Y2K malfunction, many brave souls dared to beat the odds and went on with their travels, with plenty of room to spare inside the almost empty planes.

They watched with anxiety as the millennium dawned in a swath of countries from Asia to Europe and later to Amer-ica. To every one’s relief, the predictions of doom brought by the Y2K bug did not occur. But there was no blaming of the pessimists. Without their warnings, albeit unreason-able, the authorities, private individuals and institutions concerned would not put up the necessary precautions and infrastructures that might have possibly saved the world.

Malaga, Spain

His next memorable New

Year’s Eve celebration was in 2003 in Malaga, Spain. He

and his family took the Ibe-rian Tour that brought them to Spain, Portugal, Morocco and back to Spain. It was mid afternoon on December 31, 2003 when their tour bus entered Malaga, Spain enroute from Sevilla. The outskirts of the city were unimpressive, as tall tenement houses and modern day buildings greeted them. But when they reached the area where their hotel was located, the beautiful and old but well-maintained buildings that they expected loomed ahead.

Across the street from their hotel, they visited what was left of the Christmas Bazaar tended by non-Spaniard im-migrants. They were about to close shop in preparation for the evening’s revelry.

At eleven o’clock in the evening, the family met with all the members of their tour group at the hotel lobby. They had been together for the past eight days and were already like old friends. Some of the teenagers in their group and their parents wore jester hats, while his daughters put on the colorful wigs they bought in Madrid. The young ones made the walk to the plaza enjoyable as they blew their horns and shouted greetings to everyone. The locals were amused, if not appreciative. Everyone in the city seemed to be in the town square that evening. There was a rock band on the stage, and a television reporter was in the crowd interviewing people. Loud music was playing as the locals took turns drinking from a single bottle of cham-pagne.

Their tour guide told them that the Spaniards believe that eating a dozen of grapes at midnight would bring good luck. In fact, there were cans sold holding twelve precious grapes for this memorable occasion. As expected, every-one hugged and kissed each other when the appointed time came, but not after consuming the dozen of grapes each of them had. After thirty minutes of more dancing and revelry, they retired to their hotel. The next day, New Year’s Day, they moved on to Granada.

Vienna, Austria

The following year was an-

other memorable New Year’s Eve celebration for them. This time, he and his family took the Bavarian Tour that brought them to Munich, Germany; Prague, Czechoslovakia; Bu-dapest, Hungary; and Vienna, Austria.

It was again December 31st when they arrived in Vienna, and the weather, just like dur-ing the entire tour was very cold. They saw snow on the peaks of the Bavarian Alps and sometimes along the road. He did not expect the cold weather because when they went to Spain during the same time of the year, the weather was quite manageable for a tropical native like him. He thought he could handle the cold weather on the northern part of Europe, but he was wrong. He felt miserable.

He had to wear six layers of clothing, first his under-shirt, second his thermals, third his shirt, fourth his sweater, fifth his jacket and sixth his overcoat. In addition, he wore a bonnet and scarf around his neck covering his face as well as gloves in his hands from the bitter chill. Once inside, he had to remove his overcoat, jacket, sweater, bonnet and scarf and carry them under his arm when-ever they entered a museum, store or restaurant because the heater inside was always in full intensity. Then he had to put them on once again as they stepped outside.

The following year, they

were in Paris, France on New Year’s Eve. While his kids celebrated in the city, he chose to snuggle in bed with his wife as they looked up at the stars above, visible through the glass pane above their heads. The hotel was right in front of the famed Notre Dame Cathe-dral, made famous in Victor Hugo’s novel, “The Hunch-back of Notre Dame.” When the clock struck at twelve midnight, they walked to the window to see the celebrants ambling around Notre Dame’s Plaza and the banks of the River Sein.

DECADES LATER, he

could still vividly remember those happy New Year’s Eve memories of his long life. He leaned forward to kiss

his youngest grandchild and asked her to take him back to the bedroom. The four-year-old held his hands, as though she could come to his rescue if he fell down. His loved ones were all gathered at the dinner table partaking the New Year’s Feast, but he opted to go to sleep. Inside the room, he brought out his twelve grapes and handed them to the little girl.

“Here, eat these,” he told her. “You will need more good luck than I will.”

At ninety, he was satis-fied. He wanted to pass on his remaining share of good luck to the child. He then went to bed. There’s still one brand new whole year ahead for him to live. - AJ

South Bay Fish & Grill is hosting the ultimate New Year’s Eve celebration. With live music and a grand buf-fet overlooking the sparkling marina, there is not anywhere better to ring in 2011.

The lavish buffet fea-tures roast beef and turkey carving stations, ZOBA paella, pasta bar, salad bar, a myriad of desserts, a champagne toast at midnight and complimentary party favors.

Playing selections of standards, boleros, salsa and rock ‘n’ roll, Marcello & The Jalapeno Express will enter-tain guests in to the new year. The price is $45 per person and large and small parties can

Ring in the New Year at Southbay Fish & Grill

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Feast of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, January 1st

Consecration To The Immaculate Heart Of Mary * O Immaculate Heart of Mary, full of goodness, show us your love. O Mary, may the flame of your Heart descend upon all men! We love you infinitely! Imprint true love on our heart, so that we may incessantly seek you. O Mary, you who have a tender and humble Heart, remember us when we fall into sin. Grant that through your maternal and Immaculate Heart all spiritual sickness may be healed. Make us contemplate always the goodness of your maternal Heart and convert us by the flame burning there. Amen.___

* Prayer dictated by Our Lady to Jelena (Medjugorge, Nov 1983)

Flame of Love Prayer **Mother of God spread the effect of grace of Thy Flame of Love over all of humanity now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

___** Prayer dictated by Our Lady to Elizabeth Kindelmann (1913-1985). The Virgin Mary also requests that the Hail Mary be recited as follows:

Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee, blessed are Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, spread the effect of grace of Thy Flame of Love over all of humanity, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

The Virgin Mary said to Elizabeth Kindelmann: “My daughter, I am providing you with so powerful a grace: the burning Flame of Love from My Heart, that has never before been offered as it is now. Ever since the Word became Flesh, I have not undertaken a greater movement than the Flame of Love from My Heart who rushes to you. Till now, nothing could blind Satan as much. And it is up to you not to reject it, for this rejection would simply spell disaster.”

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(Continued from page 10)

Page 24 December 31 - January 6, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

For ages, and in so many cultures, the coconut and its derivatives, i.e., sugar and oil, have excelled as very valuable sources of food, good health and beautiful skin and hair. In traditional medicine, coconut is used on asthma, baldness, bron-chitis, bruises, burns, colds, constipation, cough, fever, flu, menstruation, lice, malnutri-tion, nausea, skin infections, sore throat, swelling, toothache, upset stomach and many more. Similarly, medical journals show that coconut may provide numerous benefits, such as: killing viruses, bacteria, fungi and yeasts, providing quick energy and enhancing physi-cal and athletic performance, improving digestion and insulin secretion, supporting the im-mune system functions. It is also heart-healthy because it improves cholesterol ratio, acts as a protective anti-oxidant, promotes loss of excess weight and many more. Topically, when applied to skin, it helps ward off infection, supports the natural balance of the skin, softens skin and helps relieve dryness and flaking, promotes healthy-looking hair and com-plexion and controls dandruff.

Skin Conditioner: Coconut acts as a smooth moisturizer on the skin, especially on dry skin. It is comparable to mineral oil except that, unlike mineral oil, it does not have any adverse side effect on the skin. It is safe in the prevention of dry-ness and flaking of the skin. It also slows the appearance of wrinkles and sagging of skin that normally result from aging. Once again, it is found in vari-ous body care products such as soaps, lotions and creams.

Slows Aging Process: Because Coconut oil is also an

For decades, the coconut and its by-products have been demonized as very unhealthy: They increase cholesterol, raise blood sugar levels, too much calories, ad nauseam. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Let’s take coco-nut nectar sugar (Yes, there is such a sweetener! And no, not all sugars are created equal, as you will soon see.) If you’re a diabetic or are sim-ply concerned about not being one, you avoid consuming natural sugar because it may wreak havoc on your health. So, by default you switch to artificial sugar sweeteners. But why? They’re “artificial.” What’s good about that? On the other hand, you can’t in-sist on natural sugar like cane sugar, not when you have concerns about your blood sugar. So guess what, let me introduce you to coconut nectar sugar- a much better alternative not only because it has that “toasty” cane sugar flavor but because it has a very low Glycemic Index (GI) of 35% as opposed to 60+% for cane sugar and 50+% for maple sugar. (Glycemic Index ranks food according to their effect on blood glu-cose- the lower the index, the better.) This makes it ideal for those with diabetic issues or simply for those who want to sweeten their food or bev-erages without feeling guilty. And here’s more: It’s highly nutritious, considered as pro-tection against atherosclerosis and related illnesses, supports the immune system, pro-motes weight loss, lowers bad cholesterol, improves diges-tion, provides a quick boost of energy, to name a few! The

Hair Care and Stress Re-lief: Coconut oil enhances healthy growth of hair. Regu-larly applying it on the hair and scalp frees your hair from dandruff, lice, and lice eggs. . It is also an excellent condi-tioner and provides the essen-tial proteins required for nour-ishing damaged hair. Small wonder that it is used as hair care oil in various shampoos and conditioners and dandruff relief creams. Massaging co-conut oil on the head gives a very soothing feeling, thereby removing stress and mental fa-tigue.

Healthiest oil on Earth - Coconut extra virgin oil

antioxidant, it may help prevent premature aging and degenera-tive diseases.

Good for the Heart: Co-conut oil is beneficial for the heart because unlike other fats, it contains about 50% lauric acid, that may help in prevent-ing various heart problems including high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Re-nowned coconut experts Drs. Mary Enig and Bruce Fife recommend the average per-son consume about three table spoons of coconut oil each day. This amount is seen not only to provide protection against bacteria and viruses but also to increase your metabolism and improve the condition of your skin and hair.

Reduces Weight: It con-tains short and medium-chain fatty acids that may help in taking off excessive weight. It speeds up metabolism, provid-ing an immediate source of energy.

Good Immunity: Coconut oil is strengthens the immune system. The lauric acid it contains is perceived to help in dealing with viruses and diseases.

Control of Diabetes: It helps control blood sugar, im-proves the secretion of insulin and provides effective utiliza-tion of blood glucose, thereby preventing and treating diabe-tes. Coconut fiber slows down the release of glucose, thereby requiring less insulin to utilize the glucose and transport it into the cell where it is converted into energy. Its nectar (used in coconut sugar and syrup) has a very low glycemic index of only 35%, compared to cane sugar at 65-100 and honey at 55-83.

Sports and Diet: Coco-nut oil is very popular among athletes and body builders and dieters because it has fewer calories than other oils, its fat content is readily converted into energy and does not lead to accumulation of fat in the heart and arteries. It also boosts energy and endurance, and enhances the performance of athletes.

And YES, it is definitely exceptional as cooking oil, too! Great for cooking, frying, as food supplement, salad dressing and an excel-lent replacement for olive oil. For more information, please visit www.okusame.com.

You can find OKusame Extra Virgin Oil at any Seafood City Supermarket location or login to www.sea-foodcity.com. If you prefer to order online, you can do so at www.okusame.com.

Sugar for Diabetics? Absolutely!

internet is replete with articles on the goodness of coconuts. You may want to check it out. Ok? Ok! Now, let’s say hello to OK Coconut Nectar Sugar- the Better-Sugar-Than-Sugar Sugar. It’s 100% pure coconut nectar sugar with no additives, preservatives nor adulterants; it is also 100% organically grown in the Philippines, i.e. no chemical fertiliz-ers or pesticides are ever used. We process our sugar in the conventional way so as to preserve its natural and original good-ness. With Ok Co-conut Nectar Sugar, you

can most certainly enjoy it in your coffee, tea, beverage, baked goodies or anywhere that sugar is used. No Guilt! In fact, the only “guilt” you’ll feel is if you don’t tell others how fantastic this product is. Incidentally, the same coconut nectar is processed into syrup, which is available in bottles. Just as healthy and delicious, they’re great for pancakes, ice cream toppings and many other mouthwatering applica-tions.

And you know what, we are very proud to say that these products are a source of livelihood for our less-fortu-nate brothers and sisters in the Philippines- small farmers, sap tappers and all those who put their energy and dedica-tion into producing the best and healthiest sweetener in the world. For more informa-tion, please visit our website at www.okusame.com.

These products, including OK Extra Virgin Coconut Oil are available in all Seafood City Supermarket locations. Please go to its website- www.seafoodcity.com for the loca-tion nearest you.