February 28, 2013 1

Vol. XXII, No. 8 Online: www. manilamail.us February 28, 2013

Vargas faces Congress P2

Filam tutor extradited P6

Filam nixes Pinoy judge P8

PH donation to US Red Cross P16

Loren, Aquino’s 1st crush P20

Was Filam kid a victim of school bullying?

VIRGINIA - Was a Filipino American teenager of Virginia who reportedly committed suicide last month, a victim of school bullying?

There have been no offi cial reports to describe how Jeremy C. Tabones, 18, a high school student of Potomac Falls High School, took his life at his resi-dence in Herndon, Virginia on January 22, 2013.

But the next day, on January 23, Ms Jennifer L. Moore posted a petition online saying “in loving memory of Jeremy Tabo-nes, a fellow student at Potomac Falls High School. By signing this petition, you vow to put an end to bullying.”

The Manila Mail issue of January 31, 2013 carried an obit-

Continued on page 23

MANILA - The Philippines is prepared for the “worst” as followers of the Sultan of Sulu continued to defy requests for them to leave Sabah amid threats of foreceful action by Malaysian security forces.

‘”When government plans, there is also a plan for any even-tualities. We have to take into consideration . . . the worst. [But] hope things will work out the way we want it in expedi-tious manner,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a press briefi ng on Feb. 25.

He did not elaborate.Hernandez disclosed that

to prevent bloodshed, Secretary Albert del Rosario of the Foreign Affairs department is in con-stant contact with the Malaysian prime minister.

“[Del Rosario] is talking to the minister of Malaysia every-day, almost twice a day. Both governments are also in touch with each other [and] both are

committed to solving [the issue] peacefully and expeditiously,”

Hernandez said.Latest reports from Kuala

PH proud of Filam honored by ObamaWASHINGTON D.C.

Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. conveyed the Philippines’ pride to a Filipino American nurse who was seated in a place of honor and praised by President Barack Obama during his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress Feb. 12, 2013.

In a congratulatory letter to the nurse, Menchu de Luna Sanchez, Cuisia praised her for

devising a rescue plan that kept 20 at-risk infants safe when Hur-ricane Sandy cut the power at NYU Langone Medical Cente in New York.

Even as her own home was fl ooding, she organized doctors and nurses to carefully carry the babies down a fl ight of stairs with only cellphones to light the way. President Obama urged

Justice for Filvets unfi nished - Cuisia WASHINGTON D.C. -

Philippine Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. urged the United States government to fi nish the task for Filipino World War II veterans who were stripped of recognition and benefi ts 67 years

ago this month.In a statement issued to

mark the anniversary of the 1946 Rescission Act that deprived Filipino veterans of US benefi ts,

Continued on page 22

Continued on page 23

Continued on page 22

Filams want Cardinal Tagle to be Pope

By Jennie L. Ilustre

WASHINGTON, D.C.-As speculations swirled on the suc-cessor to Pope Benedict XVI after his stunning resignation on Feb. 11, recently ordained Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle was among six possible candidates

mentioned in a Washington Post front page story the following day.

The Post article noted, “With the church declining in its former stronghold of Europe but fi nd-ing its future in Latin America, Africa and Asia, pressure was

Continued on page 21

Map of Sabah shows its proximity to Sulu.

Jeremy C. TabonesNurse Menchu de Luna Sanchez is fl anked by First Lady Michelle Obama and Mrs. J. Biden, wife of the vice president.

US Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla) with Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario in Manila.

Cardinal Tagle with Mail columnist Oscar Bunoan.

February 28, 201322

Pinoy TNT with guts challenges US CongressWASHINGTON D.C. Pulit-

zer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas was hailed as one of the faces of aspiring American citizens as he sought fairness for the millions of undocumented immigrants who will be affected by proposed reforms being crafted on Capitol Hill.

Vargas, who was brought here as a child and did not learn he was undocumented until he applied for a driver’s license, tes-tifi ed during a Senate Judiciary committee hearing on immigra-tion earlier this month.

“What do you want to do with me?” he asked the com-mittee members. Vargas has emerged as one of the lead-ing voices for immigration reforms ever since he voluntarily revealed his status.

“For all the undocumented immigrants who are actually sit-ting here at this hearing, for the people watching online and for the 11 million of us, what do you want to do with us?”

Ben Monterroso, national executive director for Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, applauded the committee members who invited Vargas to testify. “It’s important that Congress sees the real faces of aspiring citizens who appreciate the opportuni-

ties that America provides, and are eager to contribute to soci-ety,” he said in a statement.

In his Senate testimony, Vargas told committee members

that immigration was not only about borders. “We dream of a path to citizenship so we can actively participate in our

American democracy. We dream of not being separated from our families and our loved ones regardless of sexual orienta-tion, no matter our skill set,” he said.

Vargas told his personal story in an attempt to demon-

strate who are some of the undoc-umented immigrants living in the US. “I am the only one in my extended family of 25 Americans who is undocumented,” he said.

“When you inaccurately call me ‘illegal,’ you’re not only dehumanizing me, you’re offending them. No human being is illegal,” he declared.

Vargas is part of the grow-ing number of mixed-status families in the US. The Center for American Progress estimates that more than 16 million people currently live in mixed-status families with at least one unau-

thorized immigrant.Janet Murguia, president

and CEO of the National Coun-cil of La Raza, noted that most undocumented immigrants are long-term US residents who “work hard, pay taxes and other-wise abide by our laws.”

Many of them are the pri-mary breadwinners for US citi-

zen spouses and children. “Their lives are inextricably linked with ours. The interests of our coun-try are best served by allowing them to come forward, pass a background check, pay taxes, learn English and earn the ability to apply for citizenship just like every other group of immigrants before them,” she emphasized.

Jose Antonio Vargas testifi es before Senate committee.

Online ICE scammers extort money

WASHINGTON - Online scammers have employed a new hoax to extort money from web users in the name of the U.S. Immigration and Cus-toms Enforcement (ICE) Cyber Crimes Center.

The latest version of this scam which has imitated the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center in the past lures vic-tims to a drive-by download website, at which time ransom-ware is installed on the user’s computer. Once installed, the computer freezes and the user is warned that their computer has been blocked due to federal criminal violations. The user is

then told they

must pay the ICE Cyber

Crimes Center $400 within 48

hours to have their computer

unlocked.

This is a hoax, not a legiti-

mate communication from ICE.

If you have received this mes-

sage, do not follow the payment

instructions.

Instead, it is suggested

that you: File a complaint at

www.IC3.gov; Keep operating

systems and legitimate antivi-

rus and antispyware software

updated and; contact a repu-

table computer expert to assist

with removing the malware.

February 28, 2013 3

54 percent of AsianAms back immigration reformLOS ANGELES - Asian

Americans favor immigra-tion reforms, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Asian American Survey (NAAS).

The key fi ndings of NAAS of the survey titled “Opinions of Asian Americans and Pacifi c Islanders on US immigration policy” are:

- Federal immigration policy is particularly important to

Asian Americans. About three in four Asian American adults are foreign born.

- Since 2008, Asia has been the largest regional source of immigration to the United States.

- 58% of Asian Americans support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the United States.

- This represents a dramatic change from 2008, when just 32% of Asian Americans supported a

path to citizenship for undocu-mented immigrants in the coun-try.

- 54% of Asian Americans indicate that visa backlogs is a signifi cant problem for their fam-ilies, with 38% indicating that it is a “very serious” or “fairly seri-ous” problem.

- Among national origin groups, concern about visa back-logs is highest among Indians (67%), Hmong (66%), Vietnam-ese (51%), and Filipinos (48%).

In Washington DC, mean-while, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Direc-tor Alejandro Mayorkas has announced that users of E-Ver-ify, the free Internet-based system that allows businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States, have given the program high marks in a recent customer survey.

More than 1,300 randomly selected employers across the nation who use E-Verify evalu-ated key program aspects, including registration, the online tutorial, ease of use, technical assistance and customer ser-vice. They rated the program as exceptionally high in overall cus-tomer satisfaction, with an aver-age score of 86 out of 100 on the

American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) scale.

“We are proud of the advancements we have made in the E-Verify program,” said Director Mayorkas. “This cus-tomer survey validates the suc-cess of our efforts, which we have undertaken in collaboration with

the business and labor communi-ties and other key stakeholders.”

CFI Group, a consulting fi rm specializing in customer satisfaction measurements, con-ducted the survey. According to CFI Group’s latest fi gures, the average score for government agencies is 67.

Workers clean the EDSA Shrine as the Philippines prepared to mark the 27th anniversary of people power that toppled the Marcos dictatorship in 1986. One of the heroes of the revolt, former Presi-dent Fidel V. Ramos said the coun-try has not been freed from the ills of authoritarian rule. “Today, 27

years later the greed, the apathy, the cronyism and the corruption we brought down at EDSA during those four days are still with us in our land,” he said after a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani. President Aquino III led the EDSA celebration.

February 28, 201344

PH ranks 140th in press freedom surveyWASHINGTON D.C. - The

Reporters Without Borders 2013 annual report has ranked the Philippines, which is known as having the “freest press” in Asia, as 140th among 170 countries.

And while the United States is also known as the land where press freedom exists, RWB ranked it as 32, down from its 20th spot last year. The “double-digit demotion is due to a spate of arguably ‘unlawful’ arrests of reporters who were minding their own business at Occupy Wall Street protests.”

In its World Press Free-dom Index, ranking is based on things like transparency, plural-ity, media censorship and a safe working environment for report-ers.

In Asia, Japan dropped to 53rd because of lack of transpar-ency and almost zero respect for access to information related to the Fukushima nuclear accident. Malaysia also dropped to 145th because access of information is becoming more and more lim-ited. The same situation prevails in Cambodia (143rd) because authoritarianism and censorship are on the increase.

The following are the rank-ings of press freedom in South-east Asia: Brunei 125, Ban-gladesh 127, Singapore 135, Thailand 137, Philippines 140, Malaysia 145, Indonesia 146,

and Burma 169. No mention has been made about the number of journalists have been killed in the Philippines last year and the failure of Congress to pass the freedom of information bill.

To the south of the US, Mexico where six journalists were killed last year, has main-tained its status as the hemi-sphere’s most dangerous coun-try for the media. It ranks 153 in the world for press freedom, three places behind Iraq. China is ranked 173. Eritrea and North Korea are the bottom one and two on the Index.

In Africa, Mali (99th, -74), which was long presented as the continent’s star performer in democracy and press freedom, was prey to the political events that overtook it during the year. The military coup in Bamako on 22 March and the seizure of the north of the country by Touareg separatists and Islamic funda-mentalists exposed news organi-zations to censorship and abuses.

Some of the countries in Africa ranked better than Asian counties. In the upper reaches of the index, *Niger* (43rd) none-theless fell 14 places as a result of the irresponsibility of a few journalists who succumbed to the temptation to abuse the free-dom that they enjoyed. Within the space of four months in Tan-zania (70th, -36), one journalist

was killed while he was cover-ing a demonstration and another was found dead, a clear victim of murder. Burundi (132nd) fell only two places but remains a low position.

But still, their record is better than that of the Philippines.

There has been little change in the marked contrasts that were seen in Central America in 2011. A lack of pluralism, inter-mittent tension with the political authorities, harassment and self-censorship are the main reasons for the scant change in Nicara-gua (78th), Guatemala (95th) and Panama (111th), where attacks on journalists tripled in the space of a year, local unions said.

On the other hand, El Salva-dor owes its enviable 38th place to government efforts to combat violence crime, even if journal-ists and media often complain about the lack of access to state-held information.

The Dominican Republic rose 15 places to 80th because of a decline in violence against jour-nalists and legal proceedings that threaten freedom of information. But it is still far behind its neigh-bour Haiti (49th), where the situ-ation is still largely unchanged although some journalists have accused President Michel Mar-telly of hostility towards them.

Philippine Daily Tribune

February 28, 2013 5

Essay tilt on ‘We are one human family’The St. Charles Borromeo

Philippine Medical Mission in Arlington, Virginia is announc-ing its 2013 student essay con-test.

The contest is open to all U.S. based high school

students, including home schooled students. The theme is “We are one human family and loving our neighbor has global implications”. The contest seeks to educate students on the value of caring for the poor in

faith and charity. Essays

must be 300 to 400 words, in English, typewritten and double spaced. Students must register with their name, email address, grade level, school name, city, state and teacher/advisor name at pmm@stcharleschurch.org <mailto:pmm@stcharleschurch.org> no later than May 17, 2013. Students can send their essay as an attachment on email. Essays will be judged on comprehen-sion, organization, creativity and writing skills (grammar/punctuation/spelling). The fi rst

prize winner will receive $200, the second prize winner $100 and the third prize winner $50. Limit one entry per student. Pre-vious winners are not eligible to participate. The winner will be announced on SCBPMM’s face-book page and website on June 15, 2013. Given permission, we may also post winning entries on the website.

Please visit _www.phil-ippinemedicalmiss ion.com <http://www.philippinemedi-calmission.com>_

White House Easter Egg Roll Poster tilt

The White House invites all elementary and middle school students to submit poster designs for the 2013 Easter Egg Roll. Designs should refl ect this year’s theme, “Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!” The First Lady will select the winning design, which will be used as part of the White House 2013 Easter Egg Roll program.

The deadline for submis-sions is March 5th , 2013 at 10:00 AM EST. Submissions should

be uploaded toh t t p : / / w w w . w h i t e -

house.gov/webform/2013-easter-egg-roll-poster-contest <http://edit.whitehouse.gov/webform/2013-easter-egg-roll-poster-contest>, Please note submissions may be made public during the selection pro-cess. For full details on souve-nir eggs, submitting artwork, and the event, please visit <http://www.whitehouse.gov/eastereggroll>.

February 28, 201366

Filam tutor is back in NJ to face rapsPLAINFIELD, New Jersey

- Jennalin M. Garcia-Calle, 28, the Filipino American teacher in Plainfi eld High Scool accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student has been extradited from Florida.

She has been charged with second-degree sexual assault and fourth-degree child abuse, according to the Union County Prosecutor’s Offi ce and Plain-fi eld police.

Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow said investigation revealed her sexualrelation-ship with the male student that started sometime in December 2012.

“What made this particu-larly ... unusual is that they actu-ally had sex in school, in her classroom,” Romankow told the Courier News and Home News Tribune.

“Evidently they blocked the windows and locked the door.”

When Jennalin discovered that school offi cials had learned of the investigation, she traveled to Florida and entered a rehabili-tation program at the Recovery Institute of South Florida in Fort Lauderdale. That institute treats drug addiction, facilitates heal-ing for sexual compulsivity, psy-chiatric issues, depression and other psychiatric issues.

Jennalin and the student

allegedly engaged in sexual rela-tions on at least three occasions in her own classroom starting in December, 2012.

The teacher, who taught

algebra at the school, is also accused of performing indecent, immoral or unlawful acts in the presence of the unnamed teen, the U.S. Marshals said.

“What made this particu-larly...unusual is that they actu-ally had sex in school, in her classroom,” Romankow told the Star-Ledger.

“She locked the door and put up paper to cover the door and the windows,” he added.

The student reportedly had three sexual encounters begin-ning December 2012 and con-tinued until the student started bragging about the encounters

with friends, authorities said.When Garcia-Calle learned

that the student was talking about the encounters and that authorities began getting into the picture, she went to Florida.

Her whereabouts became known when she allegedly sent messages to the student, demanding that he get rid of all communications that took place between the two of them.

Upon learning of the

charges, the Plainfi eld Board of Education placed Jennalin on administrative suspension, It said Jennalin’s employment as a math teacher at the school had been extended for one year and a salary of $50,600.

Jennalin is the latest in a string of female teachers arrested this year and accused of illegal sexual relationships with male students.

Clarice Lee, a 22-year-old teacher’s aide in Tucson, Ari-zona was arrested earlier and charged with having group sex with three Amphitheater High School students while other boys watched and fi lmed the orgy.

Last month, Tonya Flink, 39, a former teacher at Haltom High School in Haltom, Texas was arrested over allegations she had sex with four students.

Union County Sheriff’s Offi cers Kenneth Randazza and Joann Huss escort Jennalin M. Garcia-Calle away from Newark Liberty International Airport when she was extradited from Florida Feb, 14.

‘Everyman’s Journey’ in DC March 8

Filam fi lmmaker Ramona Diaz’s “Don’t Stop Believin:Everyman’s Journey”, will be shown at the Westend Theater in Washington D.C. on March 8. Directed by Baltimore-based Diaz, the fi lm traces events that have made Filipinos proud in the last two years. Included are boxing champions Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire, Miss Universe runner-ups Sham-cey Supsup and Janine Togonon, American Idol runner-up Jes-sica Sanchez, internationally acclaimed fi lm talents like Bril-lante Mendoza, Eddie Garcia & Nora Aunor, recently canonized San Pedro Calungsod, and world renowned singers like Apl.

de.Ap, Charice, and of course Arnel Pineda, not to mention a thriving economy that’s now become the tiger of Asia, and tourism that’s triple the num-bers and fun each year! “With these, we have every reason to celebrate and get our friends and family together,

and watch DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’--a musical jour-ney that proves that miracles can happen. The fi lm will be simultaneously shown on March 8 nationwide, including California, Denver, Colorado; New Haven, CT; Chicago; and Washington DC at the West End Cinema and Richmond, Virginia at the Criteriaon Cinema.

February 28, 2013 7

Donaire-Rigondeaux bout set in NY April 13

NEW YORK - Filipino American junior featherweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. will fi ght WBA titleholder Guillermo Rigondeaux at Radio City Music Hall in New York April 13.

Donaire has agreed to fi ght the Cuban fi ghter after his team agreed to sign an agreement to submit to random testing for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) through the Voluntary Anti-Dop-ing Agency (VADA).

Both fi ghters and their camps were present at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York’s Times Square, but the event was delayed for more than an hour until Rigondeaux’s team signed the form before New York State Athletic Commission head Melvina Lathan.

Rigondeaux’s team fi nally signed the papers after negotiating the option to reserve the right to do additional testing with the United States

Anti-Doping Agency.Once the event was underway, pro-

moter Bob Arum of Top Rank announced that all results will be held in confi dence by the fi ght camps and

promoter and submitted to the New York State Athletic Commission, “who will be the only entity that has jurisdiction of what action, if any, to take, based on those reports.”

“Well, [Rigondeaux’s team] didn’t give no phone number so we’re gonna hassle for each and everyone’s phone numbers,” said Donaire of San Leandro,

Calif. by way of Talibon, Bohol, Philip-pines.

The fi ght between Donaire (31-1, 20 knockouts) and Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KOs) will be only the second boxing event to take place at the iconic Radio City Music Hall.

In 2000, then-pound-for-pound king Roy Jones Jr., defended his light heavy-weight championship by defeating David Telesco by unanimous decision in the fi rst boxing event at Radio City Music Hall.

Donaire admits to idolizing Roy Jones Jr., as a child.

“I’m honored. I idolized Roy Jones growing up, it’s exciting for me and his-torical,” said Donaire, who is rated No. 5 by The Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings.

Donaire is also The Ring champion at 122, while Rigondeaux’s is the magazine’s No. 1 contender at that weight.

Donaire, 30, is coming off of a career-best year in 2012, moving up to 122 pounds after winning world titles at fl yweight, super fl yweight and bantamweight and winning four title fi ghts.

Nonito Donaire Jr. and Guillermo Rigondeaux

February 28, 201388

Rebuffed by Pinoy, Abad still gets judgeshipJERSEY CITY - Rejected

by a fellow Filam for municipal judgeship here, Hudson County Superior Court Judge Peter Bariso named Carlo Abad as municipal judge.

The appointment was made two days after the City Council blocked Abad’s nomination by Mayor Jerramiah Healy for the same post. The deciding vote against Abad’s appointment was made by Filipino American councilman at large Rolando Lavarro.

Judge Bariso named Abad to the post in an acting capacity, a move applauded by both Healy and Fulop’s allies. Abad will remain the acting chief municipal judge until a permanent choice is made, Bariso’s order states.

Lavarro, who became the council’s fi rst Filipino member in November 2011 and is running for re-election on Fulop’s ticket, has said he wants a process by which council members can review mayoral appointments. He was one of the fi ve council members who blocked Abad’s appointment this week.

“I am committed to reform-

ing the process expeditiously

and bringing Carlo Abad back

before the council so he gets fair

consideration based purely on

the merits of his qualifi cations,”

Lavarro said in a statement.

Healy, meanwhile, said he’s

happy that Bariso “recognized

the need for leadership in the

Jersey City Municipal Court.”

“He’s doing the job that the

council failed to do,” Healy said,

referring to Fulop and his

allies on the nine-member body.

The council earlier also

blocked Healy’s appointment

of former councilman and ex-

deputy mayor Ray Velazquez

as a full-time municipal judge to

replace Abad. Healy appointed

Velazquez to the council in 2010,

but Lavarro defeated him the

following year in a 17-candidate

race to fi ll two at-large vacancies

on the nine-member council.

“This is the outcome I would

have liked from the beginning -

a qualifi ed Carlo Abad as chief

and Healy crony Ray Velazquez

denied a six-fi gure salary reward and a seat on our court,” Lavarro said.

Velazquez was appointed as a part-time municipal judge in 2007, and he resigned from that post when he became a coun-cilman in 2010. Previously he served for two years as a Hudson County Freeholder starting in 2003.

Bariso appointed attor-ney Kenneth Lindenfelser as an acting municipal court judge until the mayor and council come to an agreement on a per-manent choice.

“I struggled with the deci-sion and I know how important it is to the Filipino community and I know how important it is myself to see one of my kababayans...I just ask for the folks’ patience because these tac-tics by the mayor are the lowest tactics to divide communities and pit kababayan against kaba-bayan,” an emotional and teary-eyed Lavarro told the Asian Jour-nal after he voted. “I can assure the Filipino people that I will not rest until what is right is done

and we’re going to fi ght to make

sure that the process is corrected

so that Carlo Abad has the fair

opportunity that he deserves.”

He believes that when con-

fronted with a fair and transpar-

ent process, his fellow Filipino

Americans will welcome the

opportunity to compete for posi-

tions based solely on the merits

of their qualifi cations “because

they know they can compete

with anybody if the process is

fair and equitable.”

“Until that process is in

place, we have to treat all of our

candidates the same, whether

Filipino, Hispanic, Black, White,

which is why I voted the way I

did,” he said.

“While it pained me and I

am fully aware that my vote pre-

vented history from being made

last night, my vote was based

solely on doing what I thought is

right and in the best interests of

all of Jersey City,” Lavarro said.

“As we develop and propose a

process quickly, it is my hope

that the making of history may

have only been delayed.”

Jersey City Councilman-at-large Rolando Lavarro (left) and Judge Carlo Abad.

February 28, 2013 9

FCA fund-raising gala set March 2

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland - The Filipino Cultural Associa-tion (FCA) will hold its 4th Bien-nial Filipino American Studies Gala. FCA seeks to raise aware-ness about Filipino American Studies (FAST) at the University of Maryland. The only courses of its kind offered at higher edu-cational institutions in the East Caoat, FAST embodies the value of sharing our stories and the stories of our families. FAST was

organized with the collaboration of students, the University, and the community. The event will be held in the Grand Ballroom at the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, doors open at 5pm and dinner will be served promptly at 6pm.

The event will be a fundrais-ing dinner held in the interest of two Asian American Studies Program scholarships: the Major General Antonio Taguba Pro-fi les in Courage and Leadership Scholarship, and the Philip Vera Cruz Outstanding Community Service Scholarship. Through the active sponsorship of these schol-arships, FCA hopes to continue to foster a spirit of public and community service that refl ects and encourages true citizenship.

The theme for the Gala is “Inheriting History.” It recog-nizes the importance of learning from the past in order to create a better future. As an organization, FCA revisits the legacy of past student leaders who exceeded the expectations of a cultural group for a worthwhile goal.

Inheriting history is not a passive acceptance of the past by the next generation, but rather an active engagement to work for a better tomorrow for all people. To purchase tickets, please visit www.tinyurl.com/fastgala2013.

Free income tax filingWith the 2012 Income Tax

Filing to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) underway, IRS-certifi ed volunteers from the Filipino American Institute of Accountants of Metro DC (FAIA) have joined the VITA program in Fairfax County and University of Maryland. If you worked and have gross income of $51,000 or less in 2012, you will qualify for free income tax preparation with electronic fi ling at several local VITA sites. Volunteers will

ensure that your tax returns are prepared accurately.

Additionally, FAIA is reach-ing out to members of the Fili-pino American community who may qualify for earned income credit and other tax benefi ts or need Tagalog-English bilingual translation assistance with their 2012 tax returns. For more infor-mation, please send an email to: info@faia-metrodc.org. If you qualify, come to these 3 FAIA Volunteer Days listed

below: March 16, 2013 at Fairfax

Skill Source Center, 7611 Little

River Turnpike, Suite 300 West,

Annandale, VA Friday, February

22 & March 1, 2013 at the Depart-

ment of Family Science, 255

Valley Drive, Room 1142, Uni-

versity of Maryland, School of

Public Health Building, College

Park, MD.

Visit our website http://

www.faia-metrodc.org.

February 28, 20131010

Filam groups stage caravan for Pinoy oil workersBy Rodney J. Jaleco

WASHINGTON D.C. Vari-ous Filipino and migrants rights groups converged last week in New Orleans, La. to express soli-darity and raise awareness on the plight of Filipino oil rig workers who were allegedly exploited in the Gulf Coast.

Several national organiza-tions, including the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), International Migrants Alliance-USA, and the National Guest-worker Alliance helped organize the “Solidarity and Fact Finding Mission” that kicked off in North Carolina on Feb. 20 and wrapped up in Loui-siana on Feb. 25.

“This is one of the most sig-nifi cant campaigns of my life-time,” said NAFCON president Terry Valen.

“These brave oil rig work-ers, traffi cked from the Philip-pines, are standing up for their rights as workers, as migrants, and as human beings against slavery, traffi cking, wage theft, fraud, and other forms of abuse, and exploitation - right here in our backyard,” he added.

Meanwhile, State Asst. Sec. Anne Richard of the Bureau of

Population, Refugees and Migra-tion assured the United Nations in a forum last Feb. 20 that the United States was committed to upholding the human rights of migrant workers.

“The United States is

unwavering in its commitment to respect the human rights of all migrants, regardless of their immigration status, and we urge other States to do the same,” she declared.

“While States have a respon-sibility to ensure the integrity of

their migration systems and the security of their borders, there are also important international obligations that provide protec-tion to all persons, including migrants.”

Richard pointed out the US

enacted ground-breaking fed-eral hate crimes legislation in 2009 that expanded protections against violence motivated by a victim’s race, color, religion or national origin.

“In addition to criminally prosecuting human traffi ckers,

we protect traffi cking victims in various ways, including by granting them what we call “T” immigration status under our Traffi cking Victims Protection Act,” she explained.

“T status allows the victim to remain and work in the US legally, to apply for permanent residence after a prescribed period, and for certain family members to be eligible for a T visa. Our traffi cking legislation is an excellent example of a law that advances both law enforce-ment and humanitarian objec-tives - objectives that can and must work together,” Richard averred.

A number of Filipino vic-tims of human traffi cking, labor abuses and related crimes have been able to avail of this visa to pursue their complaints in US courts.

Filipino contract workers have accused their employer Grand Isle Shipyard (GIS) of abusive and exploitative work-ing conditions akin to slavery.

“In addition to being made to work under unsafe conditions, the migrant workers alleged that they were paid approximately $5 an hour for 10-14 hour days with no overtime. They were also deducted $1000- $3000 a month

for employer housing that con-sisted of 4-6 workers sharing a single 10 feet by 10 feet room,” said Katrina Abarcar in a state-ment explaining the Louisiana actions.

“Bunkhouse lockdowns, a 10:00 PM curfew, constant sur-veillance from security cameras, and limited communication with the outside world were also enforced. Workers also endured discriminatory practices from their employer such as restric-tions on religious practices and threats of termination and deportation if workers failed to comply with their employer’s strict rules,” she added.

The group said the Nov. 16, 2012 Black Elk oil rig explosion in the Gulf Mexico that killed three Filipino workers, helped draw international attention to the “fl agrant abuses and injus-tices they have suffered,” Abar-car said.

Their activities include a press conference and community forum with the Filipino Ameri-can Organization of University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; a forum with GIS workers at the Danna Center, Loyola Univer-sity in New Orleans; and a cara-van from New Orleans to the “Manila Village” in Lafi tte.

One OFW saved, another in peril of executionWASHINGTON D.C. Fili-

pino America leader and busi-nesswoman Loida Nicolas Lewis has remitted the money she helped raise to stave off the execution of Filipino con-tract worker Rogelio “Dondon” Lanuza to Saudi Arabia.

Lewis actively campaigned to collect donations from friends in the Philippines, US and other countries to raise “blood money” for Lanuza, who was earlier con-victed and sentenced to death for murder.

Even as Lanuza’s bene-factors heaved a sigh of relief, reports from Saudi Arabia show that another Filipino worker, Joselito Zapanta of Mexico, Pam-panga, could be executed (also for murder) in mid-March.

Lewis was able to raise $121,313 or about 400,000 Saudi Arabian Riyals to help Lanuza. Although it was far short of what the victim’s family sought, the Saudi government announced it would put up the rest of the SR3 million demanded as “blood money”.

The Filipino contributions were sent to a bank account in Al-Rajhi Bank in Dammam, spe-cifi cally opened by and managed by the offi ce of the Emir (Gov-ernor) of the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia.

The money came from four separate bank accounts in Manila and New York. Of the amount,

$36,030 came from the account of former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Antonio Villamor and $46,459 from the account of Dondon’s mother Letty Lanuza. Another $19,116 and $19,607 came from Lewis’ bank accounts in Manila and New York, respec-tively.

Aside from the donations, the Philippine government is expected to soon send to the Saudi Bank account $100,000, their share of the blood money.

“Secretary Albert del Rosa-rio, when I talked to him last 2011, he said that the policy of the government is not to give for blood money, no more than one hundred thousand dollars,” Lewis told ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau.

Philippine Ambassador to Riyadh Ezzedin Tago said the embassy has already sent their request to the Saudi Reconcili-

ation Committee for confi rma-tion that all donations have been received by the Saudi bank account for the “blood money”.

After the committee con-fi rms that the full amount for the “blood money” is complete, this will be submitted to the courts so Lanuza can fi nally be processed for release.

Meanwhile, Vice Presi-dent Jejomar Binay said they have already raised P5 million out of the P33 million in “blood money” sought by the family of

Zapanta’s victim. He was sup-posed to have been executed last November but the Philippines was able to win a reprieve.

According to Migrante, a non-government organization devoted to promoting the rights of overseas Filipino workers there are some 125 OFWs on death row in various countries, mostly in China and the rest in the Middle East, Malaysia and Thailand. Of this number, 85 are drug-related. Although exactly how many OFWs have been

executed is unknown, Migrante said it was aware of six since 2005 because they were directly involved in defending the Fili-pino workers.

China carried out the last known executions in 2011 against three Filipinos convicted of drug traffi cking.

The Department of Foreign Affairs says there are at least 7,000 OFWs in jail all over the world. (RJJ)

File photo of Filipino OFW oil worker in Gulf of Mexico.

Fewer Filams are poor - CensusWASHINGTON D.C. There

were fewer Filipino Americans living below the poverty line even amid the recession and housing crash that battered most of the country, and appear to have weathered the worst effects better than other groups, includ-ing fellow Asians and even the Latino community.

The Census Bureau’s latest 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) suggested that Fil-ipinos had the lowest incidence of poverty in the US, faring even better than whites, African Americans, Hispanics and the Asian & Pacifi c Islanders com-munity.

The survey, taken during the recession-stricken period between 2007 and 2011, revealed that only 5.8 percent of Fil-Ams

lived below the poverty line – compared to 11.6 percent for whites, 25.8 percent for African-Americans, 23.2 percent for His-panics and nearly 12 percent for Asians.

The ACS is designed to pro-vide demographic, social, eco-nomic and housing data for the nation, states, congressional dis-tricts, counties and other locali-ties. It typically has a sample size of over 3 million addresses across the United States and Puerto Rico, the Bureau explained.

It showed nearly 43 million people or 14.3 percent of the US population lived in poverty. By race, they were highest for Amer-ican Indians and Alaska Natives (27 percent), African Americans (25.8 percent) and Hispanics (23 percent). But among whites and

Asians, less than 12 percent were poor.

And among Asians, Fil-Ams had the lowest poverty rates compared to the Koreans with 15 percent; Vietnamese with 14.7 percent; and the Asian Indians and Japanese with 8.2 percent.

In the region, Blacks and Hispanics in Maryland and Vir-ginia are much more likely to be poor than whites or Asians but their poverty rates are still lower than the national average, the ACS showed.

The Census Bureau mea-sures poverty by comparing annual income to poverty thresh-olds (adjusted yearly to take into consideration changes in the cost of living) that vary by family size, number of children and the age of the household members.

Rogelio “Dondon” Lanuza

February 28, 2013 11

MD adopts Obamacare; VA skips it, cuts work hoursWASHINGTON D.C. -

While Maryland is speeding up implementation of Obamacare, Virginia is doing everything to circumvent it.

Last week, the O’Malley administration asked state leg-islators to take the fi nal steps to implement Obamacare and pass the Maryland Health Progress Act of 2013 that would dedi-cate funding to the state health exchange before Jan. 1, 2014, according to the Washington Examiner.

But in Virginia, the Exam-iner said the governor is cutting the hours of about 10,000 state employees in order to avoid complying with a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that would prove expensive to the govern-ment.

“About 10,000 Virginia public employees are poised to see their hours cut back as Gov. Bob McDonnell continues to fi nd ways around what he said were President Obama’s costly health care reforms,” it said. Last month, McDonnell let the fed-eral government to run its health exchange.

The Examiner said both the Virginia House and Senate passed budget amendments that will cap part-time state workers at 29 hours a week to avoid com-plying with a provision in the

Patient Protection and Afford-able Care Act that requires busi-nesses and governments to offer health insurance to any wage employee that averages 30 hours a week.

“By ensuring no employees reach that threshold, the state estimates it will save $110 mil-lion a year that otherwise would have gone to provide benefi ts to workers and their families starting next year. Businesses like national pizza-maker Papa John’s have threatened similar action,” the Examiner said.

The newspaper said work-ers to be affected are about 1,479 in Virginia Community College System, 883 in Virginia Com-monwealth University, 605 in Dept. of Alcoholic Beverage Con-trol, 504 in Norfolk State Univer-

sity, 500 Dept. of Conservation and Recreation and hundreds of others in various agencies.

But Maryland offi cials said that in the long run, Obamacare will save the state money on health care.

In addition, this legislation would revise Maryland health policies in accordance with fed-eral guidelines which require all insurance plans to provide certain essential benefi ts, such as mental health coverage and maternity services. It would also expand Medicaid coverage to include those with incomes at or below 133% of the federal poverty line, as dictated by Con-gress.

Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown told the House Health and Gov-ernment Operations Committee

that he strongly supported the Health Progress Act, which he described as “the last step of an extraordinary process” to imple-mentthe federal health reform law in Maryland, the Examiner said.

Maryland is among fi rst states to implement act.

“Because of your work... [Maryland] will be among the fi rst states to bring the full ben-efi ts of the Affordable Care Act to families,” Brown said, adding that the policy would save the state money because the federal government would be picking up 100% of the tab for Medicaid in2014 and 2015.

VA Governor Bob McDonnell and MD Gov. O’Malley (right).

Bad weather holds Tubbataha salvageMANILA - Big waves

caused by a low pressure area (LPA) spotted at 1,120 kilo-meters east of Southern Mind-anao hampered the start of the removal of the US navy mine-sweeper USS Guardian that ran aground at the protected Tub-bataha Reef on Sulu Sea.

If the weather disturbance becomes a typhoon, it will be codenamed “Crising.”

Rear Adm. Rodolfo Isorena, Coast Guard commandant, said the crane ship Jascon 25 cannot immediately proceed to the site

because of inclement weather.“Malalaki pa ang alon doon

sa site, so delayed muna ang operation,” Isorena said.

Commo. Enrico Efren Evan-gelista, PCG Palawan District commander, said the transfer of equipment and crew from the salvor Smit Borneo to the Jascon 25 has been completed and the crane ship is just waiting for the weather to normalize.

The much bigger Jascon 25 arrived in Puerto Princesa City on Saturday night to remove the Guardian from the reef.

Earlier, the US Navy retained the services of the Jascon 25 in place of the Smit Borneo because the former could withstand the big waves on Tubbataha.

According to authori-ties, the Guardian has already destroyed more than 4,000 square meters of coral reef which the US government promised to pay.

On January 17 the USS Guardian ran aground on Tub-bataha Reef.

February 28, 20131212

Filam teen is 1stAlaskan to make ‘Idol’ Top 20Adriana Latonio may not

be the fi rst Filipino American to make it to American Idol but she’s breaking ground neverthe-less as the show’s fi rst ever semi-fi nalist from Alaska.

The 17-year-old from Anchorage, Ak. made it through a brutal sudden death round where each performer is given just one chance to stay in the game. On Feb. 20, ten girls sang but only fi ve were selected by the judges. The process will be repeated until they trim the cur-rent fi eld of 40 aspirants to just 20, where audience votes will start to matter.

Latonio sang Aretha Frank-lin’s “Ain’t No Way” in what post-show reviews described as one of the strongest perfor-mances that evening.

She is following some very big footsteps. Jessica Sanchez almost made it to the top in last year’s edition of American Idol, fi nishing a very strong second to Philip Phillips after 132 million votes cast by viewers.

The Chula Vista, Ca. native is busy with concert tours, includ-ing several in her mother’s own Philippines. Sanchez’s father is a Mexican American veteran of the US Navy who’s seen action in Iraq and Afghanistan; her mother hails from Samal, Bataan.

Latonio admits she’s been inspired by Sanchez’s achieve-

ments. “I just feel I can relate to her. I know she’s been work-ing to be a popular singer for a

while,” she said.Among the other Fil-Ams

who’ve placed in American Idol were Thia Magia (Season 10), Jas-mine Trias and Camile Velasco (Season 3).

Two other Fil-Ams are wait-ing for their turn to join the Top 20 – Bridget Jett Hermano and Bryant Tadeo.

The other girls that made it through this fi rst “sudden death” round to earn a coveted spot on the Top 20 are Tenna Torres, Kree Harrison, Angela Miller, and Amber Holcomb.

The apparent wealth of sing-ing talent from the Fil-Am com-munity even prompted judge Nikki Minaj to ask Latonio if she

was Filipina. She asked Lato-nio how tall she was (5 feet) because she’s apparently formed a picture of diminutive Filipinos that pack powerful voices like Sanchez or YouTube sensation Charice Pempengco.

“There is no fear. I did not see one ounce of fear from you… Congratulations, my little lady bug,” she told Latonio.

“Your emotions completely belied your age… It was so hard not to react because it was so damn good,” judge Keith Urban observed.

Randy Jackson kept it short and sweet with, “This girl is a pro.”

Mariah Carey, legendary vocalist in her own right, was all smiles saying, “I was really proud of you. That’s Aretha Franklin,” giving the perfor-mance a grade of “A+.”

Based on feedback from judges, Adriana’s toughest rivals (at least among the girls) are Kree Harrison (about whom Nikki raved, “I would be very afraid if I were any of these other girls here tonight”), Angela Miller (whom Keith said has “a big, big gift”), and Amber Holcomb (whom Randy said, “stood out like a shining diamond”).

The other semi-fi nalist was Teena Torres.

Latonio’s talents are appar-ently well known in the large

Fil-Am community in Anchor-age, fronting for visiting stars from Manila including Erik Santos in 2008 and Sheryn Regis in 2009.

She’s a student at the East High School in Anchorage and reportedly topped the Great

Alaskan Vocal Competition in 2010 and was 1st runner up in Alaska’s Got Talent in 2011.

She was just 16 when she auditioned for American Idol (she’s now 17), making her one of just 5 semi-fi nalists who are still minors.

Adriana Latonio

It’s ‘Filipino Night’ in Wizards-Knicks gameWASHINGTON D.C. It’s

Filipino Heritage Night at the Verizon Center when the Wiz-ards play the New York Knicks on March 1.

It will be the fi rst of its kind for the National Basketball Association (NBA) which has a wide following among hoops-craze Filipinos here and in the Philippines.

The event is collaboration between the Wizards franchise and the Filipino American Bas-ketball Association (FABA) of Washington D.C., according to the group’s head Ken Mendoza.

FABA-DC is only one of 5 “youth basketball partners” of the Washington Wizards and Mystics. The other organiza-tions are the Arlington County Dept. of Parks and Recreation, Germantown Hardknocks

Youth Foundation, I-270 Hoops and the Mercer Lunsford Bas-ketball League.

The audience will get a chance to enjoy the popular “tinikling” to be performed by folk dancers from the Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC) during the half-time break.

As is customary, the audi-ence will be encouraged to try out their footwork amid clap-ping bamboo poles. It prom-ises to be a fun intermission especially for Americans who haven’t seen it yet.

The MHC dance ensemble is composed of Jolin and Kath-leen Calaro, Matthew Aninzo, Joyce and Khrisna Mata, Alex and John-John Cabrera, Lex Crisostomo, Ian Tamayo, Neng Poliquit and Julie Quitoriano.

February 28, 2013 13

February 28, 20131414

Majority of Americans want all TNTs deportedWASHINGTON D.C.

A recent poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos found that 53 per-cent of US citizens want most or all of the nation’s over 11 million undocumented immigrants to be

deported, according to a survey by Reuters News Agency.

The survey, released last week, presented the polarizing effect of the sentiment of the people on the legislative push for

immigration reform.The study’ss results show

that most Americans oppose the trend of easing immigration laws, despite the strong move-ment for reform in Congress.

Of the respondents, 23 per-cent wanted all undocumented immigrants to be deported, and 30 percent wanted most undocu-mented immigrants “with some exceptions“ to be deported.

Meanwhile, 31 per-cent wanted to allow most undocumented immigrants to stay in the country, whereas only 5 percent of the respon-dents said that they would allow all undocu-mented immigrants to remain in the US legally.

Julia Clark, an Ipsos poll worker, said in a Reuters report that that these results were simi-lar to other polls taken in the recent years, sug-gesting that people’s views on the issue have

not dramatically shifted.“It’s not Americans’ views

that are shifting. It is that the political climate is ripe for this discussion, after the Novem-ber elections when Hispanics voted overwhelmingly in favor of Democratic President Barack Obama,” Clark said.

Clark observed that the Democrats see their recent wins as opportunities to capitalize on, while the Republicans, because of the “bad blow” they suffered, are now willing to reach out to Hispanics.

The survey also showed that while most Americans support immigration reform, they are divided on their views on what that reform means. Some people are for more lenient immigra-tion reform, while others call for stronger border security.

February 28, 2013 15

March 1 (Friday) Filipino American Institute of Accoun-tants Tax Assistance at the IRS VITA Program. If you worked and have gross income of $51,000 or less in 2012, you qualify for free income tax preparation with electronic fi ling. Tagalog-English translation assistance available. At the University of Maryland, School of Public Health Building, College Park, MD University

of Maryland, School of Public Health Building, College Park, MD. Contact: info@faia-metrodc.org to fi nd out what documents to bring.

March 1 (Friday) VFW McLean features Tutubi Band’s Luau Night, 1051 Spring Hill Rd., McLean, VA 22102, Friday, 8 pm - 12 midnight. Free. Contact: (703) 969 5469 or julianoteyza@gmail.com

March 1 (Friday) Filipino Heritage Night in the NBA East Coast at the Wizards vs Nicks Games. Sponsored by Filipino American Basketball Association (FABA). Youth/Adult Teams will play from 1pm to 5pm on the same court when the WIZ/NYK will play on later that night. Entertainment includes dances and music by Migrant Heritage Commission performers. Tick-ets ranges from $27UL, $40CL and $89 pressbox with gourmet buffet. Contact: fabaofmetrod-cinc@aol.com

March 2 and every Satur-day Night (8-12pm) Filipino-American Multi-Cultural Center features Julian and the Tutubi Band who’ve volunteered to help support the Center at 7500 Livingston Rd., Oxon Hill, MD 20745. FREE concerts. Special

guest musicians are welcome. Visual artists create their paint-ings live. Huge dance fl oor. Beer, wine, sodas and snacks are for sale. Donations encouraged. Contact: julianoteyza@gmail.com . (703) 969 5469 . Grace Vil-lanueva (301) 567-2280

March 2 (Saturday) Fili-pino Ministry of Northern Vir-ginia Mens’Group ” Fact vs. Fic-tion: Knowing & Loving Your Catholic Faith. ” St. Joseph Cath-olic Church, 750 Peachtree St., Herndon, Speakers: Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy at Boston College; REV. Thomas Joseph White, O.P.,Pontifi cal Academy of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washing-ton D.C.;Bishop Paul S. Loverde, third Bishop of Arlington at the Cathedral of Saint Thomas Moore. $45, Students $25. Go to www.arlingtondiocese.or/fami-lylife/mc_registration.php

March 3 (Sunday) 1:00-3:00pm. Filipino American Basketball Association (FABA) Open House. Free 2 Hour Clinic for Beginners. Open Courts for Youth South County HS. $85 per player $700 per team with FABA Youth Jersey. Register during the Open House days or Online using PayPal at www.fabam-etrodc.org. 8501 Silverbrook Road Lorton, VA 22079

March 9 (Saturday) 9:30 am-2:00pm. Philippine Ameri-can Foundation for Charities Community Salu-Salo for Vol-unteers/Supporters to kick-off Annual Philippine and Asian Festivals. Tapsilog Breakfast at Filipino-owned Bistro 7107, 513 23rd Street South, Arlington, VA 22202 9571-882-24780. Street Parking. Contact: Contact: Bing Branigin at mcbranigin@aol.com

March 9 (Saturday) 9am -4pm Filipino Ministry of North-ern Virginia “Lenten Retreat for Adults and Youth” with Msgr. Balbago. Missionhurst Chapel, 4651 North 25th Street, Arling-ton, VA 22207-3518 Cost: $30 adults/$20 youth (covers venue, food, stipend for priest, mate-rials). RSVP requested due to limited space. Contact: fi lipino-ministry@catholicweb.com or Ed Tiong 703-403-5624

March 10 (Sunday) Filipino American Basketball Association (FABA) Youth Spring League opens. See www.fabametrodc.org for details.

March 11-15, Bicol Associa-tion of Metropolitan Washington DC Surgical Mission at the Bicol Eastern Medical Center, Virac, Catanduanes.

March 16 (Saturday) 6:00pm. Filipino Organization of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) Philippine Culture Night, Catholic University of America, Pryzbyla Great Room, Catholic University of American, 620 Michigan Ave, N.E. Wash-ington, DC 20064.

March 16 (Saturday) 10:00am-4:00pm. Filipino Ameri-

can Institute of Accountants Tax Assistance at the IRS VITA Pro-gram. If you worked and have gross income of $51,000 or less in 2012, you qualify for free income tax preparation with electronic fi ling. Tagalog-English transla-tion assistance available. Fairfax Skill Source Center, 7611 Little River Turnpike, Suite 300 West, Annandale, VA. Contact: info@faia-metrodc.org. to fi nd out what documents to bring.

March 23 (Saturday) 5pm. Filipino Ministry of Northern Virginia, “Fil Am Youth Mass: Come, Follow Me” with Fr. Randy Gonzales, CICM. Guest Speaker: Fr. J.D. Jaffe. Contact: Choir: CFC/Youth for Christ. Venue: Missionhurst Chapel. 4651 North 25th Street, Arling-ton, VA 22207. RSVP requested due to limited space. Salu-salo after the Mass. Contact: fi lipino-ministry@catholicweb.com or Ed Tiong 703-403-5624

April 6 (Saturday) 6:00pm-12:00am,. Philippine Nurses Association of Metropolitan, D.C. Inc. Induction of Offi cers. Hilton Springfi eld, 6550 Loisdale Road, Springfi eld, VA 22150. $65 pre-paid, $70 at door. Contact: Nora Mendoza at 703-765-8474 or norrad79@verizon.net.

May 11 (Saturday) 12:00noon-4:00pm. Asians for Mary Annual Pilgrimage, includes a 60 Filipino man/woman choir for the event. Basilica Shrine of The Immacu-late Concepcion, Upper Church. 400 Michigan Ave., Washington, DC 20017. Contact: Jacinta Mas-carenhas at terjac@hotmail.com. Details to follow.

May 18 (Saturday) 6:00-11:30pm, Feed the Hungry, Inc. “Spring Shindig.” Fort Myer Community Center, McNair Road, Fort Myer, VA. Contact: Tessie 571 333 5327.

May 23 (Thursday) PAFC Philippine Festival’s Brown Strokes on White Canvas Art Exhibit. Location TBA. Contact: Julian Oteyza at julianoteyza@gmail.com or 703.969.5469

May 26 (Sunday) Miss Teenage Philippines Pageant, Inc. Annual Coronation and Ball. Hyatt Regency Crystal City, 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202. Contact Trini Padama-301-705-8550 .

June 15 (Saturday) 6:00pm-12:00pm. Philippine Indepen-dence Gala Ball. JW Marriott Washington, DC. Contact: Bing Branigin at mcbranigin@aol.com

June 30 (Sunday) PAFC Philippine Festival’s Community Picnic and Sports Fest.

Tucker Road Recreational Park, Fort Washington, MD Contact: Mya Talavera at myata-lavera@aol.com or 241-441-6941.

February 28, 20131616 Around DC in Pictures

Champagne and Sweet City desserts with birthday cheers went to community leader Mitzi Pickard (center) as she was feted to dinner by friends on Febru-ary 15 in Arlington, Virginia. Front row from left: Ceres Busa, Mitzi, Nancy Ceniza, Priscilla Tacujan. Standing from left are Rodney Garcia, Sonny Busa, Al Santoli, Kevin Owens, and Froilan Tiglao.

Philippine Government check donation of $ 253.197.39 for Hurricane Sandy victims last month presented by Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. (center) to the American Red Cross represented by Senior Vice President for International Operations Harold W. Brooks (right) and Vice President for Readiness and Capacity Development Gregg O’Ryon (left).

Smithsonian hosts Inouye forum

Senator Daniel Inouye, a highly decorated American WWII combat veteran, an eight term United States Senator, and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate from 2010 until his death in 2012, was the most powerful Asian American politician in U.S. history. Senator

Inouye’s life and place in Ameri-can history is an opportunity to understand the arc of the Asian American experience over the past 100 years. The Smithsonian Asian Pacifi c American Center hosted on Feb. 23 a special forum to discuss the life and legacy of Senator Inouye, a man of our

time. Among the speakers were* Terry Shima, 442nd RCT vet-eran; Antonio Taguba, Retired Army Major General; and Tuyet Duong, Senior Advisor for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacifi c Islanders. Moderator was Kathy Park, ABC 7 and NewsChannel 8 anchor.

Master Chef Evelyn Bunoan during a cooking demo (January, 2013 - Bethesda, Maryland) at a function of Culinary Historians of Wash-ington, D.C. (CHoW/DC) a non-profi t organization dedicated to the “study of the history of foodstuffs, cuisines, and culinary customs, both historical and contemporary, from all parts of the world.” Chef Evelyn, who has been promoting healthy Philippine cuisine for more than three decades, also showcased popular Filipino recipes at this time, which were devoured by about 60 attendees.

L to R : Bing Branigin, Imelda R. Marcos, and journalist Roy Mabasa, at the fund raising concert heldt at the Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati City, last February 12.

L to R: Elvie Melegrito, Marcia Cruz, former Fil Am leader in the Washington, DC area, Bing Branigin, and Jon Melegrito, celebrated Melegrito’s Birthdy in Manila, last February 6, at a restaurant in Makati.

Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. inducts the new offi cers of the WB-IMF Filipino Staff Association for 2013 on Feb. 21. Cuisia urged the WBIFA to continue their good work at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and demonstrate that this community of Filipino professionals is a force to reckon. From left are the ambassador with Mrs. Vicky Cuisia. The new offi cers are President Emmanuel “Manny” Jimenez, First Vice President Antoinette “Toni” Dakanay, Second Vice-President Pilar Loren Nadres, Secretary Roanna “Maan” Cruz, Treasurer Leonita “Leony” Gimeno, and Deputy Treasurer Honeylet Tuanda.

February 28, 2013 17

That Fiesta FeelingBy Jocelyn Porteria

When I came here in the U.S in 1994, one of my worries was what am I going eat? Being born and raised in the Philippines all my life, I cannot imagine not having Filipino food on the table. What about my rice and all time favorite sinigang? I was so sur-prised and delighted that there is a Filipino store just a mile where we lived in Arlington and it’s called “Fiesta Oriental Store.”

As expected, it is owned and managed by husband and wife team of Fred and Vangie Sunga just like most of the Fili-pino stores in the DC area with the help of their three girls. The store is one of the pioneers in bringing us the taste of Philip-pines and that closer back home feeling. It opened in 1991 with lots of challenges and uncertain-ties competing with mainly Viet-namese and other oriental stores; but they were so determined with their goals considering the increasing number of Filipinos in the area. Both from Pampanga and share the love for cooking, that is one of the advantages and they know what will sell. Being one of the pioneers, they had trouble fi nding suppliers of what are the specifi c demands because of our unique products and had issues with the returns. They are glad they stayed and keep

the store running because it is a different story nowadays. Due to the demands and communi-cation channel improvements as the years go by, we basically have everything we need in the store just like way back home.

It became a one stop shop of Filipino products as to food, ingredients, delicacies, video rental, phone cards, money remittances even travel agency and I see some shirts hanging with the Filipino fl ag designs. The only thing they don’t have is the take out but they sell snacks on the weekends as a treat to cus-tomers after church... The store became their pride and glory as they gained a lot of friends and

build connections through the years. They feel so at home in the store with wonderful cus-tomers and sharing Filipino cul-ture and values each day. They were able to raise their family and provided them good educa-tion through the stores income.

An accountant and a nurse by profession, Kuya Fred and Ate Vangie had no regrets choos-ing to run the Fiesta Oriental Store which will be on its 22 years in existence. Being with Filipino people every day, pro-viding what they need to cook their good food and bring smiles to everyone; every day is as excit-ing when they opened the doors 22 years ago.

Fred Sunga mans Fiesta store.

Where’s Jon Melegrito? This photo pasted on Facebook recently shows him in Mexico, Pampanga. His caption: “Just so you don’t think I’m fl irting, I’m interviewing the supervisory nurse at the Mexico Community Hospital during the Medical Mission of Mercy’s (Washington D. C. group) visit to this town in Pampanga recently.

Atty. Ramon A. P. Paterno (PASCO-JVOIBG Exec.-Dir.) presents $25,000 donation to Rev. Fr. Jose Ramon (Jett) Villarin, S.J., President of the Ateneo de Manila University, on behalf of the Phil-Am Support Committee for the Jaime V. Ongpin Institute of Business & Govt., WDC, to benefi t projects of the JVOIBG (Manila) (Feb. 8, 2013, at the offi ce of Fr. Villarin, S.J.). From left are Jun Dalandan, director, Offi ce of Alumni Relations; Atty. Isa-belita Tapia-Paterno and Atty. Paterno; Rev. Fr. Villarin, S.J.; Ms. Maribel Ongpin; Atty. Jaime G. Hofi lena, ADMU VP for Social Dev. A lunch recep-tion hosted by Fr. Villarin S.J. followed. The PASCO-JVOIBG had previously donated $45,000 to the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility in the Philippines.

February 28, 20131818

Obama wants $9-hour wage; Asians back immig reformWASHINGTON D.C. - The

White House says President Obama wants to give hard work-ing citizens a decent living wage of $9 dollars per hour instead of the current $7.25 to boost life of 15 million workers and reduce poverty. The Press Offi ce said the President also plans to pro-vide high-quality preschool for every child;_Partners with communities to help them rebuild and put people back to work’;Creates pathways to jobs for all Americans_by giving incentives to companies that hire Americans; Expands early child-hood opportunity for all Ameri-cans” by expanding Early Head Start, child care, and other health and education programs and Strengthens families by remov-ing fi nancial deterrents to mar-riage for low-income couples; as well as continuing to support the critical role that fathers play in enhancing the intellectual, emo-tional, and fi nancial well-being of their sons and daughters.

■ 54 % of Asians back immig reform

LOS ANGELES - Asian Americans favor immigra-tion reforms, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Asian American Survey (NAAS). The key fi nd-ings of NAAS of the survey titled “Opinions of Asian Ameri-cans and Pacifi c Islanders on US immigration policy” are: About three in four Asian American adults are foreign born; Since 2008, Asia has been the larg-est regional source of immigra-tion to the United States; 58% of Asian Americans support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the United States, a dramatic change from 2008, when just 32% of Asian Ameri-cans supported a path to citizen-ship for undocumented immi-grants in the country; 54% of Asian Americans indicate that visa backlogs is a signifi cant problem for their families, with 38% indicating that it is a “very serious” or “fairly serious” prob-lem and Among national origin groups, concern about visa back-logs is highest among Indians (67%), Hmong (66%), Vietnam-ese (51%), and Filipinos (48%).

■ E-Verify successful, says USCIS director

WASHINGTON-U.S. Citi-zenship and Immigration Ser-vices Director Alejandro Mayor-kas today announced that users of E-Verify, the free Internet-based system that allows busi-nesses to determine the eligibil-ity of their employees to work in the United States, have given the program high marks in a recent customer survey.

More than 1,300 randomly selected employers across the nation who use E-Verify evalu-ated key program aspects,

including registration, the online tutorial, ease of use, technical assistance and customer ser-vice. They rated the program as exceptionally high in overall customer satisfaction, with an average score of 86 out of 100 on the American Customer Satisfac-tion Index (ACSI) scale. “We are proud of the advancements we have made in the E-Verify pro-gram,” said Director Mayorkas. “This customer survey validates the success of our efforts, which we have undertaken in collabo-ration with the business and labor communities and other key stakeholders.” CFI Group, a consulting fi rm specializing in customer satisfaction measure-ments, conducted the survey. According to CFI Group’s latest fi gures, the average score for government agencies is 67.

■ Filam aids orphaned kids cop with life

NEW YORK- Filipino Amer-ican Maya Rowencak heads a movement to help children who didn’t have a family and make them feel thay are important and loved. She started the mov-meent a year after her mother is the late Manilena Maria Mila-gros Cruz Rowencak passed away. While helping desolate kids cope, the children in turn helped fi ll the void left by her mother’s untimely passing a year earlier. The U.S.-born Row-encak, whose father is a Ukraine

national, heads one of America’s fast growing non-profi t chil-dren’s charity that prides itself on providing nutrition, medical care and education to orphan-ages and disadvantaged children living in extreme poverty, and offers hope by instilling value and purpose in each child. The charity group, named Maya’s Hope, concentrates on chil-dren in Rowencak’s parents’ home countries, the Philippines and Ukraine, although it also responds to international emer-gencies as they arise.

“Our mission is to provide the love a mother these children have never felt,” said Rowen-cak, who previously worked as executive assistant to managing directors in fi nance. For Rowen-cak, traveling to the Philippines and Ukraine every now and then helped her understand her par-ents better.

■ Top Filam chef

eliminated in tiltLOS ANGELES - Filipino-

American cheftestant Sheldon Simeon was eliminated from the popular reality TV cooking show last week, ending his bid to become the second Filipino to win the show’s ultimate prize.

The 30-year-old Simeon just came up short of the fi nale, after cooking a roasted quail dish with pine nuts, garam masala and tan-gerine that just didn’t suit well with the judges.

“Overall, this is not Shel-don, it’s someone else who has put on Sheldon’s hat. I want the old Sheldon,” said Judge Hugh Acheson, after tasting the entree. Simeon was eliminated, leaving LA Chef Brook Williamson and Bostonian Kristen Kish to battle for the Top Chef title and claim the $125,000 grand prize. In an interview with the Asian Jour-nal, Simeon said he was disap-pointed that the judges didn’t like his new approach. After 15 episodes and besting 21 other chefs to make it into the top 3, Simeon wanted to try something new. ‘That’s what my heart felt at the time. I believe what makes great chefs are people that con-tinue to grow and evolve. You see artist like Picasso and how he kind of evolved in his shows. As chefs we have to continue to evolve. That’s what I wanted to cook at the moment. I didn’t forget my roots,’ he said.

■ Canada bares new immigration program

TORONTO, Canada - Citizenship and Immigration Canada has announced changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program to take effect on May 4, 2013. While the offi cial launch of the program and its laws are not yet offi cial, there are key ele-ments that have been proposed. In order to qualify for a Canada Immigrant Visa, professional applicants must: Have at least one year of continuous full-time work experience in the past 10 years; Pass a minimum threshold of language ability in English or French; Attain at least 67 points based on Canada’s immigration selection factors. To accumulate the required 67 points the fol-lowing summarizes the selection

factors: 1. Education: Secondary and post secondary completion is an important part of demon-strating one can be economically established in Canada.

■ No more red, blue states, says RNC

ATLANTA, Georgia - “After the 2012 election, Republicans knew we had to get to work growing our party . The elec-tion exposed trends showing we must reach more voters. So the Republican National Com-mittee (RNC) launched the Growth and Opportunity Project in December to get input from across the country. What could the party do better? How could we better communicate our mes-sage where it’s not being heard? In a press release to the Manila Mail, RNC said the Growth and Opportunity Project came to Atlanta. We gathered with local African American leaders and political activists to solicit answers to those questions and more. The feedback we received--along with information gath-ered from similar meetings and thousands of individuals--will help guide the Republican Party as we work to be more welcom-ing and more inclusive. “...We must build relationships in com-munities where we haven’t been. That’s why we must stop talking about “reaching out” and start

working on “welcoming in.”

■ Canada cops hunt Pinoy caregiver

TORONTO -Canadian authorities are searching for a 46-year-old Filipino man wanted in the death of a 78-year-old widow. Toronto police have issued a warrant for fi rst-degree murder for Fernando DeCastro in connection with the murder of Manijeh Bostani-Khamsi last November. Authorities found Bostani-Khamsi’s body in her high-rise apartment in Toronto on November 17, a day after De Castro cleaned her apartment. Police said the septuagenar-ian lived alone and there were obvious signs of trauma to her body. Police believe DeCastro and his wife, who had been in Canada for the past fi ve years, purchased plane tickets to the Philippines and left the country three days after the murder took place. Police said the Filipino couple worked as housekeep-ers and were well-known in the area. DeCastro also worked with elderly clients as a health-care provider, he added. They believe robbery was the motive. Author-ities believe DeCastro is in hiding somewhere in the south-ern part of the Philippines. The justice department will request for extradition of the couple to Canada.

U.S. News Briefs

Pinay runs in ABC’s ‘The Bachelor’ series

LOS ANGELES - Catherine Ligaya Mejia Giudici is a half Filipino who is running to be ABC’s next sweetheart of the “Bachelor’s” reality series.

She is a 26-year-old graphic designer and blogger from Washington who has survived eight episodes. So far, she has bested 23 other female contes-tants to make it in the top three for Sean Lowe’s affection in The Bachelor.

Catherine is the daugh-ter of Cynthia Mejia-Giudici, a trustee for the Filipino-Ameri-can National Historical Society in Seattle.

Her father, Carey “Trip” Guidici, is of Scottish and Swiss-Italian descent, and a renowned journalist and former editor-in-chief of “Northwest Asia Weekly”.

“The Bachelor” is a popu-lar reality television dating game show where women com-pete for the affection of a ‘Bach-elor.”

This season (its 17th) fea-tures 28-year-old Sean Lowe, an insurance agent from Texas, as the Bachelor.

Early this month, the TV series showed Catherine intro-

duce Lowe to her family in

Seattle. There, the couple ate lumpia and Catherine shared how to show proper respect to her “Lola” (grandma) in tradi-tional Filipino culture by plac-ing her hand on his forehead (doing the “mano po”).

Catherine is a graduate of Washington State University and is a self-proclaimed ̃ oppor-tunistic vegan.”

According to her bio, she currently works at Amazon and blogs for Seattleite, a lifestyle website.

Catherine Ligaya Mejia Giudici

Maria Rowenak with orphan chil-dren in Manila.

Sheldon Simeon

February 28, 2013 19

February 28, 20132020

China nixes UN tribunalMANILA - China has offi -

cially rejected a Philippine move to bring the long-running territo-rial issues over the South China Sea before a U.N. arbitration tribunal, saying Manila’S claim was legally infi rm and carried unacceptable allegations against Beijing.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it received on Feb. 19 from Chinese Ambassa-dor to the Philippines Ma Keqing a Note Verbale stating that China is rejecting and returning the Philippines’ Notifi cation and Statement of Claim.

In its Note, China reiterated its position that it has indisput-able sovereignty over the entire South China Sea encompassed by its nine-dash line claim, which covers nearly the entirety of the sea, including areas that are well within Philippine territory and several disputed islands.

With this rejection, there is nothing the Philippines can do in the UN. Arbitration under the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS)requires that both parties agree to arbitration.

Despite this setback, the Philippines “remains commit-ted to Arbitration which is a friendly, peaceful and durable form of dispute settlement that should be welcomed by all,” the DFA said in the statement.

The rejection came at a time when the US, Japan, and the European Union threw their support behind the Philippines.

According to Chinese state news Xinhua, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, at a briefi ng in Beijing, said the Philippines’ note and statement of notifi cation and claim have “serious mistakes both in facts and law.”

Although widely expected, China’s move was still a blow to Philippine government’s efforts to take a legal track in confront-ing China on overlapping claims in the resource-rich waters, called West Philippine Sea by Manila, which have long been a source of diplomatic and mari-time tensions.

Philippine offi cials have said that the arbitration process would proceed even if China would decide to ignore it but Chinese experts have asserted otherwise.

The tribunal, which oper-ates under UNCLOS,could decide whether the arbitration case could be heard even in the absence of China.

Manila initiated an arbitra-tion process under the UNCLOS on January 21 to try to declare as “illegal” China’s expansive claim to the South China Sea.

Pinoys launch anti-dynasty campaign

MANILA - Because Con-gress which is controlled by political dynasties does not want to tackle the issue, Filipino citi-zens are now doing it through “Movement Against Dynasties” (MAD)which was launched in historic Baclaran Church Feb. 16.

MAD has launched a nationwide signature drive at the Baclaran site.

The Movement against Dynasties (MAD) staked out all day at the Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Redemptorist in Paranaque City until the last Mass was held, drawing regis-tered voters” from young to old, residing as far as Zamboanga City to sign the petition.

The initiative petition, which is hoping to gather 5.2 million signatures, Initiative and the minimum requirement of Republic Act 6735 or the Peo-ple’s Referendum Act, is hoping to result in the adoption of a law prohibiting political dynasties in the country. The target signa-

tures, which should come from 250 legislative districts, appears impossible to achieve. But it is possible with the help of the Church, which has more par-ishes than legislative districts in the country, according to MAD

co-chair Danilo Olivares.A similar move was

launched last week by the Bicol Autonomy Movement,hoping to gather at least 1.5 million voter signatures by the end of April this year or a couple of weeks

before the May 13 automated midterm elections.

“We are going to ask the help] of the parishes all over the country so in one sweep, we can easily reach the 5.2 million signa-tures¦ imagine, a people power through the churches, said Oli-vares in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Sunday.

In the pastoral statement, the CBCP vowed to back any popular initiative to pass a law that would put an end to politi-cal dynasties, which the prolif-eration of such â œbreeds cor-ruption and inhibits general access to political power, which is a fundamental mark of democ-racy.

Olivares, MAD will launch signature campaigns at the Quiapo Church, the Sto. Domingo Church, the Binondo Church in Metro Manila and

ultimately in big churches and cathedrals in Cebu, Baguio, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro and Davao, among others.

MAD, composed of advo-cacy groups, including civic clubs like Rotary, Kiwanis and Jaycees, will also tap the help of other churches like the Iglesia Ni Cristo and Protestant churches.

‘Realizing that Congress will never pass an enabling law that will make Section 26 of the 1987 Philippine Constitu-tion operational and enforce-able against its members’ own political dynasties and that the Supreme Court will never rule against political dynasties for the very convenient excuse that there is no enabling law yet that will enforce this provision of the constitution, MAD intends to use the only option left, a People’s Initiative,” the group stated.

NPA raises poll ‘fees’ from bets

MANILA - The Commu-nist New People’s Army has increased the fees charged on politicians who are seeking their support or asking to cam-paign in areas under its infl u-ence.

All the Philippine military could do is to warn the candi-dates against succumbing to the NPA pressure.

The Army’s 8th Infantry “Storm Troopers” Division operating in Eastern Visayas reported that it intercepted documents indicating that the fees for the “permits to cam-paign” and “permits to win” (PTC-PTW) being charged by the NPA to all local candidates have increased by as much as 150 percent.

Those seeking congressio-nal seats or running for gover-nor are now being charged P5 million, or P3 million more than what the Armed Forces said the NPA was charging gubernato-rial and congressional candi-dates in 2010.

During that year’s elec-tions, “the NPA issued PTC-PTW cards to candidates in

exchange for payment of their ˜Electoral Alliance Fee,’ the Armed Forces said in a state-ment.

Citing the 8ID report, Col. Arnulfo Marcelo B. Burgos Jr., Armed Forces Public Affairs Offi ce chief, said that “these cards were color-coded accord-ing to the price and the offi ce the politician was running. The blue card, worth P2 million up, was being offered gubernatorial and congressional candidates.”

“The yellow, green and red cards, priced between P10,000 and P500,000, were intended for other candidates.”

The 8ID said that for this year’s elections, the NPA is charging candidates running for vice governor P500,000; for provincial board member and mayor, P100,000; for vice mayor, P75,000; and for coun-cilor, P50,000.

The division said the cards bore serial numbers and the sig-nature of the local NPA leader.

Burgos said military records show that in 2010, the NPA collected some P25 mil-lion through extortion.

MAD campaigners collects signatures in Paranaque city mall.

PNoy says 1st crush was Sen. LegardaMANILA - President

Benigno Aquino III has con-fessed that four decades ago, his fi rst teenage crush was Sen. Loren Legarda.

While members of Team PNoy were having lunch at a seafood restaurant by the beach in Arevalo district in Iloilo City recently, the President ”out of the blue”admitted that Sen. Legarda had been his crush since he was 18. He said it in front of the senator herself, who blushed.

“When I saw Loren before, I will say it now in front of every-body, we were still teenagers, but I already had a crush on her, Mr. Aquino said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Legarda blushed and was speechless for a moment.

Legarda, a guest candidate of Vice President Jejomar Binay’s UNA

along with Sen. Chiz Escu-dero, have stayed away from it because of former President

Joseph Estrada who is running for mayor Manila.

This was the day the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) announced that it had decided to drop all three common can-didates - Legarda, Sen. Francis Escudero and Grace Poe.

Aquino said that since the launching of the slate last year,”we have already wholly embraced these three candi-dates.”

Legarda, the only female

candidate to twice top senato-rial elections (1998 and 2007), has decided to seek another six-year term in May to continue fi ghting for the rights of women, children, indigenous groups and senior citizens.

The President told report-ers last December that he was looking forward to attending to matters of the heart after his term ends in 2016.

Sen. Loren Legarda.

February 28, 2013 21

EDSA remembered as Marcos clan maps comebackIn one of the most mean-

ingful celebrations of the 1986 People Power revolt, President Aquino signed a new law that established a compensation fund for human rights victims of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The President and his family, who are themselves vic-tims after his father was assas-sinated by Marcos henchmen, chose the 27th anniversary cel-ebration of the EDSA revolt to sign the landmark Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013.

It establishes a P10 bil-lion ($243 million) fund to help Marcos human rights victims. The President has already announced that his family will not seek compensation from the fund.

As the nation remembered the evils of Marcos’ Martial Law,

the strongman’s widow, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, does not hide her fervent hope that their only son, Ferdinand Jr. – now a senator – could one day re-capture the presidency.

In a series of recent inter-views with Kyodo News, the 83-year-old Mrs. Marcos, unabashedly boasted that her 55-year-old son, popularly known by his nickname “Bong-bong,” has “great potential.”

Between 1998 and 2007, the younger Oxford-educated Marcos served three consecu-tive terms as governor of Ilocos Norte, his father’s birthplace, now led by his elder sister Imee. He also represented the Marcos stronghold in the House of Rep-resentatives before becoming a senator in 2010.

“I’d be privileged and happy, not only because I’m

the mother, but because he was molded, even as a child, in an atmosphere of service to people. He knows exactly an idea of what leadership is,” Mrs. Marcos, who wielded vast powers during her husband’s rule.

There were speculations of her role in the assassination of former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. (the current Presi-

dent’s father) in August 1983 because Marcos was reportedly bed-ridden at the time. But the charge has never been proven.

“Former President Cora-zon Aquino has stated in the past that the family is not after compensation but offi cial rec-ognition of the tragedy that was Martial Law,” deputy presiden-tial spokeswoman Abigail Valte said.

Under the measure, a Human Rights Claim Board will be created to go over the claims of victims, including all claim-ants in the class suit and direct action plaintiffs in Hawaii and all victims recognized by the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foun-dation.

Aside from the reparations fund, the law also mandates the creation of a Human Rights Vio-lations Victim’s Memorial Com-mission to educate the young about the abuses committed by

the Marcos regime and the hero-ism of those who opposed it.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority deployed about 1,000 traffi c constables and street sweepers for the 27th anniversary celebra-tions.

The ruling Liberal Party said in a statement that the people were now reaping the benefi ts of the People Power uprising, but the opposition United National-ist Alliance (UNA) said the spirit of EDSA has been lost to millions of Filipinos still mired in hunger and poverty.

“Unless we free the esti-mated 11.1 million Filipino households, or 55 percent of our population, (from) the bondage of poverty and hunger, there would be no true and genuine people’s government” said UNA senatorial bet and Cagayan Rep. Juan Ponce Enrile Jr.

already growing on the College of Cardinals...to break tradition” and elect a non-European Pope.

Below Tagle’s photo, the caption read “The archbishop of Manila is one of the youngest members of the College of Cardi-nals and is known for being char-ismatic.”

Ed Tiong, coordinator of the Filipino American Ministry of Northern Virginia in the nearby state, said in a phone interview he wanted this to happen, but added he was being realistic.

“With so many tough issues facing the church as an institu-tion, it would come down to who is the best to lead the church at this point,” he added. Among the issues: Priest sex abuse scan-dal, and the clamor for a more progressive stand on contracep-tion and women priests.

Gloria Maria Talastas Feder-igan was among those who attended Tagle’s elevation as car-dinal in Rome. She also realizes the odds are against it.

“But anything is possible,”

said Ms. Federigan, founder and publisher of the Legacy Interna-tional, a family enterprise pub-lishing and distributing Filipini-ana materials. “Cardinal Tagle’s rise has been meteoric.”

Ms. Federigan said in a phone interview she and her hus-band Bobby witnessed the eleva-tion of Archbishop Tagle as car-dinal last year. “On November 24, the fi rst day of the events, we were shocked to see Pope Bene-dict XVI riding his pope mobile, looking tired and ill, as he made his way towards the altar for the ceremony for new cardinals.”

Tiong said he learned about the news from Facebook, and shared the same sentiments of sadness and surprise over the Pope’s decision. “But on further reading the Pope’s announce-ment, I realized his continued life is lived in deep spirituality and communion with God living in a life of humility and virtue of prudence. Perhaps, now I also come to understand why he had declared from October 11, 2012

to November 24, 2013 as the ‘Year of Faith.’

Prayers Tiong said, “As for me and

my family, and the members of the Filipino Ministry of Northern Virginia and the many organiz-ers of Simbang Gabi, we will continue to pray and support the Holy Father as he moves for-ward into a new chapter in his life, a journey of faith.”

Ms. Federigan also said, “We pray that the Pope will get rest and joy in next stage of his

life. We have the utmost respect for him.”

Carmelita de Castro of Maryland wrote in an email, “I believe we must all accept this historical change and must focus on Christ,” and added she would be praying for the pope.

Ms. De Castro, former Lord is my Shepherd servant leader,

added: “The pope is going to teach the world that even after his retirement, there are divine purposes to fulfi ll. He will not quit his ministry of promoting Christian virtues. He is teaching us to grow in faith, hope, and love for the purpose of evange-lizing the world. He is the type of leader-servant who will make important use of every day of his life, continuing the mission of Christ as an example of unend-ing service.”

Jun Medina of Virginia said in an email: “I respect the Pope’s decision and will continue pray-ing for him,” he said. “And I’m quite confi dent that in the next few weeks the Conclave of Car-dinals, as always, will be guided by the Holy Spirit in choosing a new leader for the church estab-lished by Jesus Christ.

“I trust that in this Year of Faith, the good Lord will raise for us a new Pope to lead the one and holy Church that is ever more catholic, meaning univer-sal, because it is God’s gift to all people.”

The Federigan couple visiting the Vatican.

Filams want Cardinal... from page 1

Sen. Bongbong Marcos for Presi-dent?

February 28, 20132222

Lumpur said a relative of the Sultan of Sulu who is a Malay-sian citizen has been arrested by security forces.

Hernandez added that Malaysia has been “coopera-tive and tolerant” and has given directions “to solve this issue peacefully.”

The spokesman of the sul-tanate of Sulu, Abraham Idjirani, earlier said that none of their fol-lowers will be boarding the ship sent by the government to fetch them if there is no offi cial order from the sultan of Sulu.

This, as Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram 3rd, said in a radio interview that it was a case of “do or die” for them “I believe we are right [and] this place belongs to us. We will stay,” he added.

He said that they would not leave Tanduao village in Lahad Datu town “until the issue is resolved.”

Despite the deadline set by the Malaysian government, Raja Muda maintained that he and the “royal army” would remain in Tanduao to assert their claim on Sabah.

In Malacanang, Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda reit-erated that the government’s call on the entire group to go back to their homes and families, while the country’s offi cials are addressing the core issues they have raised.

“They already were informed that they said that they will refuse to board. But, again, we hope that that report is not true but we certainly hope that they will think about their women and, if there are any children there or if there are any sickly among them, that they will consider allowing our social workers, our doctors to take care

of them,” he said.“The ship will stay there as

long as it is needed,” Lacierda said.

“It’s a humanitarian mis-sion. There are confi rmed reports of women but we don’t know of children. But certainly there are women and a number of them, if you recall, only-I think the DFA mentioned already that among the group, there are only 30 armed security personnel of Datu Puing,” he said.

Lacierda said that Mala-canang, the Malaysian govern-ment and the Kiram family would like to have a peaceful resolution to this entire situation.

“We continue to hold that prayer. And we would certainly hope that the Kiram family, or Datu Puing in Sabah would rec-ognize that there may be some concerns there, certain diffi cul-ties that they’re experiencing, and that’s why we sent a human-itarian ship to Sabah,” he added.

Earlier, Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein stated he wanted the standoff “to end sooner than later, without bloodshed.”

President Benigno S. Aquino III slammed the Sultan’s followers for their action which threaten to derail the peace pact with the Moro Islamic Libera-tion Front (MILF) and affect the country’s friendly relations with Malaysia which brokered the peace deal.

At the same time, the gov-ernment has assured the Sultan that it will continue to pursue their claim to Sabah which has remained dormant for more than 30 years. The Sultanate claims Sabah (formerly North Borneo) was only “leased” to the British who later turned it over to the Malaysian federation in the mid-sixties.

Malaysia said it’s now up to the security forces to conduct an operation to end the standoff if the deadline was ignored.

While the Philippines gov-ernment has tried to persuade the Sulu Sultan to take their Sabah claim through diplomatic channels, the Kiram family have been adamant that Azzimudie’s group would stay put in Lahad

Datu (Tanduo).Talks with Azzimuddie

through emissaries are continu-ing in the Philippines and pres-sure is mounting on President Aquino and his administration to resurrect the long dormant Sabah claim following accusa-tions that the Oct 15 peace deal with the MILF had left out the Sulu sultanate as well as Nur Misuari’s Moro National Libera-tion Front (MNLF).

Observers suspect that Mis-uari is involved in this standoff.

To help defuse and bring the stand-off to a peaceful con-clusion, Analysts have said that Misuari is aware that he would be rendered irrelevant by any peace deal that may be forged between Manila and the MILF

and this is his way of pointing out he is still in the picture.

The peace deal, they said, handed control of much of Sulu to MILF rebels and left out Jam-alul Kiram III, 74, a former Sultan of the Sulu as well as Misuari’s MNLF that had struck a peace deal with Manila in 1996 which had resulted in the formation of the MILF.

Kiram was cited by AFP as saying that the sultanate’s exclu-sion from the deal, which aims to set up a new autonomous region to be administered by Muslims, prompted the decision to send the men to Sabah.

The standoff in Sabah has reportedly infuriated Aquino, who suspects that the incident is an attempt to sabotage his administration’s peace initiatives with the MILF that has made marked progress since last year.

The peace agreement was signed last year by the Aquino administration with the MILF, which broke away from Misu-ari’s MNLF when it was negoti-ating peace with the government in 1996.

Sources said that among those suspected of instigat-ing Kiram are Misuari, former national security adviser Nor-berto Gonzales and even Aqui-no’s uncle, Jose Cojuangco and his wife Margarita, who is run-ning for senator under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

The Cojuangcos are report-edly linked to both Misuari and Kiram, and Margarita Cojuangco reportedly wants to be part of the transition commission for the framework peace agreement with the MILF.

Up to 200 followers of Kiram are still holed up in Lahad Datu surrounded by Malaysian forces. Kiram has said his followers would not leave because “Sabah is our home.”

PH set for ‘worst’... from page 1

Cuisia said the “fi ght for fairness and justice remains unfi nished after almost seven decades.”

Visiting Rep. Jeff Miller (1st District, Florida), chairman of the House Committee on Veter-ans Affairs and head of a con-gressional delegation that visited the Philippines last week, said the government was willing to take a second look at claims of Filipino veterans earlier denied by the VA.

But he quickly pointed out that such review was not a guar-antee of a reconsideration, saying the US government is “very care-ful” in studying and approving claims of Filipinos who served under the US fl ag more than six decades ago.

The US Congress passed the Rescission Law in February 1946 which expressly denied recognition for the thousands of Filipinos who fought under US military command during World

War II and over the promises of top American offi cials from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to General Douglas MacArthur.

“For the past 67 years, we have joined our Filipino and Fili-pino American veterans in a long and arduous struggle to obtain recognition for their military ser-vice and their fair and just com-pensation,” Cuisia said in the statement.

He thanked the US gov-ernment for Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation (FVEC) Fund that was part of the so-called US stimulus bill signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 17, 2009.

The FVEC provided for a lump-sum payment of $15,000 for Filipino veterans in the US and $9,000 for those in the Phil-ippines. An initial amount of $198 million was set aside for the payments, but the fund has been replenished over the years after

original estimates about how many surviving veterans could be qualifi ed to receive the benefi t grew.

“We appreciate the vari-ous efforts the United States has exerted in responding to our advocacies,” Cuisia said.

According to the Veterans Administration, over $223 mil-lion have been disbursed to 18,728 veterans at the start of 2013. But some 24,440 applica-tions have been disapproved.

“At the twilight of their lives, Filipino World War II vet-erans continue to struggle for recognition and just compensa-tion,” the envoy stressed. The VA reported that they are look-ing at more 4,500 appeals from veterans whose applications were rejected.

Many petitioners were turned away because their names couldn’t be found in the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri or failed to produce at least two documents

to prove their service in World War, as required by the VA.

Nevada Rep. Joe Heck fi led House Resolution 481 earlier this month that will mandate the VA to relax its rules on the type and number of documents that can be accepted as proof of a Filipino veteran’s service.

“We understand that there are other individuals who claim that they have a right to com-pensation, and I agree that every person should have the oppor-tunity for a full and complete review,” Miller said in Manila.

“But we have to be care-ful that only those that have earned the compensation get the compensation,” added the law-maker, who led four other solons on 3-day visit in the Philippines. Miller represents a district that includes Pensacola, Fl. which has a large Filipino American com-munity.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario sought Mill-er’s support as he called for a

review of the cases of thousands of Filipinos veterans whose claims were rejected.

Miller said “there is sup-port” in the US Congress for such a review.

“But that doesn’t guarantee that there’s going to be a change. There are widows, dependents that have applied, there have been some fraudulent claims that have been discovered,” he explained.

“Obviously those persons are not due the compensation. However, we want to make sure that every person that is due compensation receives,” he added.

“We are pleased that the United States, both the Admin-istration and the Congress, continue to engage with us in addressing outstanding issues. Various proposals have been put forward with the aim of securing compensation and recognition for our veterans,” Cuisia said.

Justice for Filvets... from page 1

Malaysian commandos in Lahad Datu.

Sultan Jumalul Kiram III (left) with followers in Taguig, Rizal.

Nur Misuari of MNLF.

Continued on page 23

February 28, 2013 23

uary of Jeremy that did not men-tion how he died or the cause of his demise.

But the more than 700 bloggers who responded to Ms Moore’s “Jeremy Tabones Peti-tion” showed that the young Filipino American was a victim of bullying.” Up to the middle of February, more angry folks sent in their opinions about bullying.

Ms Moore continued: “This petition goes beyond online; this goes for students at school, in the workplace, at the grocery store, on the road- day to day life. So when you see someone sitting alone at lunch, sit with them. When you see a coworker talking about someone else negatively, speak up. Most importantly, when you hear a friend cry out for help, help them. A young life should never be taken away. Specially by the ones who taunt them. “You do not need to be a student or alumni of Potomac Falls High School! Just by taking the time to sign the petition, you are already making someone’s life easier. Please help others like Jeremy, please let them be able to live a long, prosperous life with random acts of kindnesses.”

All those who responded, including some who have expe-rienced bullying in school, also denounced school authorities for failing to stop the practice that have left many of the victims to take their own lives.

An anonymous responder said it all: “Bullying is an insidi-ous poison...ending in death and misery like what happened to our dear Jeremy and to many people like him. I join the Jeremy Tabones Petition to stand up against bullying.”

Another blogger said: “To the family of Jeremy Tabones: My heart and condolences go out to you. I am truly sorry for your loss. Let’s REALLY put an end to bullying. Not just on paper. NO parent should have to go through this. I almost did. PLEASE check out BullyPo-lice.org and Mrs. Widner. Let’s PLEDGE to stop the BULLIES and provide substantial support for the bullied. Because the bul-lied ARE victims!!!

A student of the same school said: “Virginia is listed as A++ for its laws against bullying. So enforce those laws, in this case!!! Come on Loudoun County, and Mrs. K, do something about this. Jeremy was a wonderful, bright, engaging young man with so much to offer. A bright student we so much life in front of him and it was stolen. Stolen by a group of popular kids who think it’s funny to make others feel bad. It’s not going to stop until these kids are held accountable.”

One blogger said he too was a victim of bullying “the majority of my life. It really hurts. There are times when I cry myself end-

lessly to bed at night. Suicide was always the fi rst think on my mind. When I heard about his sudden tragedy (Jeremy’s death), I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing.. I knew him... He was in my class. He wasn’t like other people. He had a heart. Unlike anyone else, he was that one kid who opened up to me when no one else would. I knew Jeremy, and he touched my heart. He’s a good person and I believe that people should learn more from him. He was one of the people who made me felt as if I was actually someone.’

Another aimed his message at Mrs. K (obviously an offi cial of the high school). “Seriously, Mrs. K get a clue. You were way off base, yes Jeremy was bul-lied! I cannot believe you could say otherwise. Jeremy was bul-lied everyday. You need to learn what goes on in your school.”

Carol Lynn Beninca on Jan 30, 2013 said “My son met Jeremy at Monroe Technology Center. He said was a very kind person. Too sad of his tragic end. I can only hope the county lives by their words of zero tolerance and expel those bullies who tor-mented Jeremy. No one should be bullied anywhere, anytime, anyhow.”

RICHMOND, Virginia - The Virginia House of Delegates overwhelmingly passed a bill on Feb. 18 defi ning the term “bully-ing” and instructing individual school boards to adopt policies

and procedures to prevent its occurrence.

The House approved HB1871, sponsored by Del. Jen-nifer McClellan (D-Richmond, Henrico Co.), by a vote of 93-6, with all 32 of the lower cham-ber’s Democrats and 61 Republi-cans voting in favor. The Senate is expected to approve it, too. The bill defi nes “bullying” as “any aggressive and unwanted behavior that is intended to harm, intimidate, or humiliate the victim; involves a real or per-ceived power imbalance between the aggressor or aggressors and victim; and is repeated over time or causes severe emotional trauma.” It specifi cally states that bullying includes cyber-bullying, but does not include ordinary teasing, horseplay, argument or confl ict between students.

The bill also requires each school board adopt a “charac-ter education” program aimed at promoting certain values and personal character traits that are aimed at reducing the incidence of bullying and improving school environments to make them more conducive to learning. Examples of values that could be taught in a character-education program listed in the bill include respect, accountability, self-con-trol, kindness, nondiscrimina-tion and “citizenship, including the Pledge of Allegiance, respect for the American fl ag, concern for the common good, respect for

authority and law, and commu-nity-mindedness.”

Under the legislation, each board of education is tasked with establishing criteria for the character education program, and will award grants to school boards that implement innova-tive character education pro-grams.

Boards of education are also expected to establish guidelines and model policies for student codes of conduct that will pro-vide guidance to local school boards about how best to imple-ment such policies, which will include criteria for punishment by offenders and standards for the in-service training of school personnel.

Under the proposed law, each school board must include a prohibition on bullying as part of its code of conduct, but the policies in such a code “shall not be interpreted to infringe on the First Amendment rights of stu-dents and are not intended to prohibit expression of religious, philosophical or political views, provided that such expression does not cause an actual, mate-rial disruption of the work of the school.” The law also requires school boards to adopt appro-priate procedures to educate employees about the importance of fostering a bully-free environ-ment.

Was Filam kid a... from page 1

Americans to follow her example in his State of the Union address.

Cuisia “conveyed the coun-try’s pride in the fact that she was born, raised and educated in the Philippines and is now recognized as a role model in her adoptive country.”

“I admire you for your

leadership and selfl essness and I hope that you will continue breaking new ground,” the Ambassador said.

Sanchez was seated in the box between First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden.

“I still can’t believe this is

happening,” Sanchez told the Asian Journal in a phone inter-view six hours before the Presi-dent’s address.

“Ni sa guni-guni ko, hindi ko ito pinangarap (I never thought this would happen even in my wildest dreams),” she added.

Sanchez, a nurse at the New York University Langone Medi-cal Center, was invited by the Obamas to attend the address in Washington, DC.

“Even as Menchu’s own home was fl ooding, she thought only of protecting the babies in her care. Menchu was born, raised, and educated in the Phil-ippines and she immigrated to the United States in the 1980s.

She has worked as a nurse in New York for more than 25 years, and has been at NYU since 2010. Menchu currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children, both of whom are in college,” read the advisory released by the White House ear-lier.

“I was just doing my job. “Hindi ko nga alam na may mga camera pala doon noon. Ang pri-ority lang talaga namin ay yung mailabas na maayos yung mga bata sa department namin, (I didn’t know there were cameras there. Our priority was to take the children in our department out to safety)” she said.

Menchu said that she found

out about the invitation last week, when the hospital’s man-agement emailed her.

“I screamed when I found out, sobrang gulat at saya ko (I was so surprised),” she remarked.

Together with other White House guests, they were briefed a few days ago as to what was going to happen.

Among the fi rst questions she had was her attire. She ini-tially wanted to go Filipiniana but she was told they didn’t need to be in formal clothes, just busi-ness casual.

They were also told not to reveal the news yet. On Monday (Feb. 11), they were given the go-signal to tell their friends.

“I am so excited to meet the President and his wife, I voted for him in the last two elections,” she revealed.

A native of Catanauan town in Quezon, Sanchez has been working at Langone for the past 18 years. Previously, she was at St. Vincent’s Hospital for 24 years, until the hospital closed in 2010.

The Sanchez family has not gone back to the Philippines for 12 years because they would rather save up for their kids’ education.

“Instead na umuwi, we just saved up for the tuition fee of our children. Kaunti na lang (Just a little more), they are both in col-

lege now,” she said. The couple’s 20-year-old son, Jude, is study-ing at Seton Hall University while their 19-year-old daughter Michelle is at Duquesne Univer-sity in Pittsburgh.

“Wala kaming maipa-pamana sa kanila na kayamanan kaya pinag-aaral na lang namin sila. That’s the only thing we can leave them, education,” Sanchez added.

The President said Sanchez exemplifi ed the many Americans who help their fellow citizens “usually without fanfare.”

“We should follow the example of a New York City nurse named Menchu Sanchez,” Obama said.

“When Hurricane Sandy plunged her hospital into dark-ness, her thoughts were not with how her own home was faring - they were with the 20 precious newborns in her care and the rescue plan she devised that kept them all safe.”

New mom Jo-An Trem-blay-Shepherd, 34, of Brooklyn said the White House couldn’t have picked a more deserving person. Her son, Jackson, born three months early, was among the infants Sanchez and her col-leagues saved.

PH proud of Filam... from page 1

He called on Filipinos and Filams to “come together, unite and rally behind” those efforts to give the Filipinos veterans what was due them.

“It is our hope that the United States will do everything in its power to complete the work in correcting the wrongs of the past and granting the vet-erans the recognition and honor they deserve,” Cuisia said.

This comes after a string of suits fi led by or on behalf of the Filipino World War II veterans suffered defeat in various courts. Last Feb. 7, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided against the plaintiffs in the case of Recinto v Department of Veterans Admin-istration (VA) for lack of jurisdic-tion.

This comes after a string of suits fi led by or on behalf of the Filipino World War II veterans suffered defeat in various courts.

Last Feb. 7, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided against the plaintiffs in the case of Recinto v Department of Veterans Admin-istration (VA) for lack of jurisdic-tion.

On Feb. 19, the US District Court of Northern California dismissed the class action law-suit fi led by Romeo de Fernan-dez, Ciriaco C. dela Cruz and Valeriano C. Marcelino and the Veterans Equity Center challeng-ing VA’s reliance solely on the Missouri List as basis for deny-ing Filipino veterans benefi ts due them.

Lawyer Arnedo Valera, counsel for some of the veter-ans, announced they are appeal-ing the Appeals tribunal ruling before the Supreme Court. “The fi ght continues,” he declared.

Justice for Filvets... from page 22

February 28, 20132424

Robin’s leading ladies cautious of wifeAt the rate action star Robin

Padilla’s female partners are running away from him, he may soon run out of leading ladies.

First it was Anne Curtis, one of a pair of leading ladies in the teleserye “Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw” who begged out of a kissing scene after a squabble reportedly erupted between Padilla and his wife, former TV host Mariel Rodriguez because of a passion-ate “love scene” between Padilla and Kris Aquino, who happened to be one of his many ex’s.

The spat got so hot that Rodriguez reportedly took off her wedding ring.

So when another of Padilla’s former paramours, Ruffa Guti-errez, was asked to join him in a magazine pictorial, she con-fessed that she was all stressed out.

When the former couple exchanged pleasantries at a press event announcing the maga-zine coup, Gutierrez reportedly quipped, “Baka may magalit ah.

‘Di bali, friend ko naman si Marie (Someone might get mad. That’s alright, Mariel is my friend).”

Proceeding to pose side-by-side for photos, Padilla held Gutierrez by her waist, prompt-ing the actress-host to say, “Nakaka-stress! Parang kinaka-bahan ako, nanginginig ako (It’s stressful. I’m nervous, I’m shak-ing).”

Speaking to ABS-CBN News, Gutierrez admitted, how-

ever, that she still feels a certain “kilig” when seeing her former boyfriend.

“Syempre nakakakilig naman si Robin because he’s an icon, and makikita mo naman, hindi siya tumatanda (you can see he’s not getting older). He still looks fresh, he takes care of himself. He actually looks better now than he did before,” she said.

Curtis said she decided not

to do the kissing scenes with Padilla out of solidarity with his wife’s plight. “Knowing how Mariel feels about of course her husband, I understand that and I’d rather not go to that extent to upset her. So siyempre as a woman I give respect to that. I’d rather not na lang,” she said.

Padilla admitted on live tele-vision that his wife of three years had given back her wedding ring supposedly after watching his scenes with Aquino. In one epi-sode of “Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw,” Bogs (Padilla) and Roxanne (Aquino) are seen exchanging vows, before going on a honey-moon trip to Boracay.

But he revealed it was Aquino who helped patch up the couple who’ve since reconciled.

Curtis said that the writers of “Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw” have taken into consideration what happened between Padilla and Rodriguez and have factored this in future episodes of the top-rated teleserye.

“Maraming issue ang naga-nap eh (There a lot of issues that happened),” Padilla told ABS-CBN News. “Mahirap kasi ang maging reputasyon ng isang lalaki ay laging nahihiwalay, hindi maganda ‘yun (It’s tough when a man has a reputation of break-ups, that can’t be good).”

“Kaya minsan kailangan dapat mong pinaglalaban ang pag-ibig (Sometimes, you have to fi ght for love),” he said.

Padilla also said that Rodri-guez is now past the “issue” of his intimate scenes with Aquino.

Referring to his work with Gutierrez, the action star expressed confi dence his wife won’t feel jealous. “Hindi pa naman kami naghahalikan. Hindi naman ganoon kababaw ‘yung asawa ko. Siguro pag nag-love scene kami ngayon (We haven’t kissed. My wife is not that shallow. Maybe when we have a love-scene),” he said in jest.

Entertainment

KC ‘busts’ French suitorTV host and actress KC

Concepcion is telling her French suitor that if he really loves her, then he has to wait.

But Concepcion, 27, easily one of Manila’s prettiest faces, says she and Pierre Emmanuel Plassart are still in constant com-munication because they remain close friends.

“Our friendship is deep. True love waits,” she told ABS-CBN News. She earlier described the Frenchman as God-sent. “They say that when you want to ask God for something, you pray about it and you should be specifi c and believe with all your heart as He has already given it to you,” Concepcion said in the “The Buzz”.

But the sparks, it turns out, were just that. She said she asked Plassart for “space”.

“We’ll see if it’s really true love and if I can reach that stage when I’m ready and he’s still around,” Concepcion said.

She revealed that while Plassart tried to fi ght for their “understanding,” she said she does not want to get into another serious relationship yet because she still wants to do a lot of things.

“He understands but of

course he’s pushing like he’s fi ghting for it. But you have to be in same level and since I’m not at that level right now, we just have to sacrifi ce,” she explained.

She declined to answer questions if Plassart, a photogra-

pher and one of her most ardent suitors who’s chased Concep-cion virtually around the world from Italy to the Philippines, had proposed marriage.

She had acknowledged that Plassart was “husband mate-rial”.

If there was anyone sadder than her, KC said it was her mother Sharon Cuneta. “There are times when she feels it’s a shame because he is a decent man. But I told her it’s better this

way. I just want to have fun right now. I don’t want to get into something I can’t stand up for.”

Plassart came into Concep-cion’s life right after a bitter and very public split with former celebrity beau Piolo Pascual.

She admitted she’s enter-taining other suitors. “Every-thing should start with friend-ships for me,” she explained, hinting that some of them are not necessarily based in the Philip-pines.

Sunshine sets movie comeback after split

Sunshine Cruz is raring to go back to show business after her 13-year marriage to Cesar Montano appears to be sailing through very rough waters.

Their union started to unravel after Krista Miller, a relative unknown cast as Mon-tano’s leading lady in an upcom-ing biopic about Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, posted pictures on social media sites of objects that turned out to be Cruz’s gifts to her husband.

Montano produced, directed and acted in “Alfredo Lim: The Untold Story” which still has to be released to theaters.

Cruz, who was one of Manila hottest rising stars when he voluntarily took a hiatus to play the role of wife to Montano and mother to their three daugh-ters, said she was excited about starting all over again.

“I’m nervous but I’m also excited,” she confessed. “I’ve been getting offers lately but I don’t want to seem greedy by accepting them all,” she added in jest. For now, she has two movie projects lined up.

Although she declined to discuss the movies’ plots, Cruz is already declaring that she won’t be doing the type of bold, sexy roles she did before her mar-riage. “I’m 35 and a mother of three. It’s awkward…I did that

in the past but not now. I’m sure my kids won’t allow me,” she explained.

With the man out of her life, Cruz said she lives for her chil-dren. “I fought, lied and cried just to protect the love of my life but like they said if you love someone you should set them free. If you feel you’re no longer happy or contented, why try to force it?” she reasoned.

But Montano signaled he wasn’t ready yet to give up on their marriage. “We are in the process of fi xing things. Only God, who brought us together, can mend what’s broken,” he said.

He still hasn’t opened up about what really happened, suggesting that all he’s guilty of is giving gifts he shouldn’t have to one of the actresses in his movie. “I’m only human. I fall, I get up again. Life goes on,” he declared.

Robin Padilla Anne Curtis

Cesar Montano and Sunshine Cruz.

KC Concepcion

February 28, 2013 25

Phone service complaintsQUESTION: I am having

problems with my telephone service and I would like to fi le a complaint with the government agency that regulates telephone providers in the U.S. With whom should I fi le the complaint and how should I go about it?

ANSWER: If the telephone service about which you’re com-plaining is interstate or interna-tional, the government agency that has jurisdiction over those services is the Federal Commu-nications Commission (FCC). By “interstate” I mean those ser-vices that traverse state boundar-ies (for example, calls from Vir-ginia to California). By “interna-tional” I mean those services that traverse national boundaries (for example, calls from the U.S. to the Philippines). The FCC regu-lates interstate and international communications by radio, tele-vision, wire, satellite and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. It was established by the Com-munications Act of 1934 and operates as an independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress. The Commission is governed by fi ve CHYPER-LINK “http://www.fcc.gov/leadership”ommissioners who are appointed by the President of the United States and con-fi rmed by the U.S. Senate. The President also selects one of the Commissioners to serve as Chairman of the Commission. Only three commissioners can be of the same political party at any given time and none can have a fi nancial interest in any Com-mission-related business. All Commissioners, including the Chairman, have fi ve-year terms, except when fi lling an unexpired term. The Commission is orga-nized into bureaus and offi ces, based on function. Currently, the Chairman of the Commission is Julius Genachowski, a Demo-crat. The remaining commis-sioners are Robert M. McDowell (Republican), Mignon Clyburn (Democrat), Jessica Rosenwor-cell (Democrat), and Ajit V. Pai (Republican).

The FCC has several bureaus, one of which, the Enforcement Bureau, has pri-mary responsibility for enforcing the provisions of the Communi-cations Act, the Commission’s rules, orders, and various licens-ing terms and conditions. The Enforcement Bureau investigates and responds to potential unlaw-

ful conduct to, among other things, ensure consumer protec-tion. The Enforcement Bureau regularly receives complaints from consumers on a wide vari-ety of issues. While the Com-mission encourages consumers to always try to resolve their problem fi rst with the company whose products, services or bill-ing are at issue, the Commis-sion’s rules do allow consum-ers to fi le a complaint if they’re unable to resolve their issue with their telephone provider. There are two types of complaints that a consumer may fi le: informal and formal.

The fi rst step in the com-plaint process is fi ling an “infor-mal complaint.” The informal complaint process requires no complicated legal procedures, has no fi ling charge, and does not require the complaining party to appear before the Commis-sion. Consumers not satisfi ed with the response to an infor-mal complaint can fi le a “formal complaint.” A formal complaint must be fi led within six months of the date of the Commission’s response to your informal com-plaint. The current fee for fi ling a formal complaint is $200, but it is subject to change. Formal com-plaint proceedings are similar to court proceedings. Each party must comply with specifi c pro-cedural rules, appear before the Commission and fi le documents that address legal issues. Parties fi ling formal complaints usually are represented by lawyers or experts in communications law and the Commission’s proce-dural rules.

QUESTION: Are there other agencies that have jurisdic-tion over telephone service?

ANSWER: Yes. Each U.S. state, including the District of Columbia, has a regulatory agency, usually called public utility commission, which regu-lates “intrastate” telephone ser-vice. For example, in Virginia, the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s Division of Com-munications has oversight over the telecommunications industry in Virginia. Let’s say, hypotheti-

cally, that you have a problem with Verizon’s local service in Virginia. You may fi le a com-plaint with the SCC’s Division of Communications. The SCC’s Division of Communications would prefer that you contact Verizon fi rst in order to give the telephone provider an oppor-tunity to resolve your phone problem. However, if you’re unable to resolve your problem with Verizon, you may contact the Division of Communica-tions and fi le a complaint. The Division of Communications has a special form, called “Tele-phone Service Inquiry/Com-plaint Form,” that you must fi le in order to formalize your com-plaint. Complaints are generally resolved within two weeks, and the Division of Communications will contact you with the results of their investigation.

QUESTION: Is it a good idea to fi le a complaint with either the FCC or the relevant state public utility commission in the event of a problem with my phone service?

ANSWER: Yes, subject to certain caveats. Clearly, regula-tory agencies, such as the FCC and the VA SCC, are designed to, among other things, protect consumers from potential abuses from their service providers. However, often, consumer issues can be addressed by talking directly to your service provider. While these regulatory agencies have formalized processes and procedures for handling con-sumer complaints, fi ling a com-plaint can be resource-intensive and expensive, particularly if the complaint is a formal one. Accordingly, fi ling a formal com-plaint with the relevant regula-tory agency should be your last recourse rather than your fi rst option.

A. Enrico C. Soriano, Esq., is the managing member of Axxis Law Group, PLLC (www.axxislaw.com). The answers and discussions provided in this column do not con-stitute legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created hereby. You should consult a competent attorney for further assistance.

What’s Next?It looks like the sun is shin-

ing in the real estate market after

the storm and literally tropical

depression of those homeowners

who were affected by the disas-

ter. Hey, a new phase now and

let’s all move forward and look

what lies ahead.

Aren’t you glad you did

short sales and the burden is

now all over? I should say lucky

are those who thought about

short sales the earlier years of

the housing market chaos. It’s

now time to buy a new home

and be done with the renting. If

you have done short sales for the

past couple of years or more; you

may be qualifi ed for a mortgage

loan by now provided nothing

derogatory is showing on your

credit report except the mort-

gage default due to short sales.

These are the most common

scenario that would help most

of our potential homeowners

(again) in purchasing their new

home. Lenders categorize events

including loan modifi cation,

short sales etc “Major Deroga-

tory Credit” in the homebuyer’s

credit history. The following

waiting period must be met

before a buyer is eligible again to

fi nance a new home. The wait-

ing period begins from the date

the sale of their previous home

settled with the lender and the

date loans have been modifi ed.

You can apply for a loan

for a primary residence under

conventional fi nancing after two

years with 20% down payment of

the sales price or 10% down pay-

ment in the event it has been four

years or more. If you are looking

for low down payment you can

apply for an FHA loan with 3

½ % down payments after three

years or more. If you are quali-

fi ed for a VA fi nancing, you may

be able to avail the no down pay-

ment program after three years

or more from the date of settle-

ment. Some previous home-

owners have security clearances

although generally; it should not

affect their jobs as long as the

employers were notifi ed; or opt

not to be late while doing the

short sales since they can still

afford the monthly payment but

experiencing hardships, there

will be no wait period and you

may immediately be approved

for FHA or VA loans provided

no loan modifi cation had been

made and all 12 months pay-

ment prior to short sale were on

time including all other debts.

However, these are still case to

case basis with strong credit at

the time of application. Rules

and guidelines may or may not

include Bankruptcies, foreclo-

sure or deed-in-lieu of foreclo-

sures. These may have different

waiting period time frames.

Before you get excited, con-

tact mortgage loan profession-

als based on your own case and

situation. Guidelines change

from time to time. There may be

better loan options for you right

there at this time. Who knows,

you may be on your way again

to the American Dream of home

ownership.

Note: Jocelyn Porteria is

a Realtor® licensed in VA. She

earned a designation of ABR, GRN

Accredited Buyer’s Specialist and

GREEN Designation, CDPE Certi-

fied Distressed Property and Short

Sale Expert, (SFR) Short Sales and

Foreclosure Resource. For more info,

visit her website at www.jprealdeal.

com or call her at 571-432-8335 or

email at realdealconsulting@yahoo.

com for a free confidential evalua-

tion of your individual situation,

property value, and possible options.

She is also an accredited agent of

Ayala Land, SM Residences and

Century Properties in the Philip-

pines.

February 28, 20132626

KING CRAB AND CORN SOUPHere is a classic soup that

can be ordered in a restaurant.

But you don’t have to if you try

this recipe, and you can tailor

the taste to your personal pref-

erence. Remember that making

a hearty soup depends on using

a good homemade stock (see

Chef’s Tips). And if you do not

have time, you can just buy broth

and stock at any grocery store. Serves 4-5

Ingredients:6 cups stock or broth1/2 cup sautéed red or

yellow onion1 cup cream style corn (in

can)1 to 2 cups king crabmeat

(substitute: canned jumbo crab-

meat)

2 eggs, slightly beaten

Salt and white pepper to

taste

2 tablespoons cornstarch,

diluted in 1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon fi nely chopped

red bell pepper

Garnishing: 1 teaspoon

parsley or scallions Methods:Bring the stock or broth to

a boil then stir in the sautéed onion and corn. Reduce heat to medium so the stock/broth con-tinues to simmer. Combine eggs, salt and white pepper to consti-tute the egg mixture; set aside.

While the stock is simmer-ing, mix in the corn starch mix-ture until the soup has thickened slightly. Then stir in the red bell pepper and gently beat in the egg mixture. Allow the soup to simmer again for another minute or two.

Remove from heat, garnish and serve hot.

Chef’s tip: Here is one way to make a good vegetable stock: Use rough cuts of 1 car-rots, 1 stalk celery, 1 onion, 2 bay leaves, 2 to 3 stalks of lemon thyme and 2 quarts water and bring to a boil and simmer for up to 1 hour. Ladle into a fi ne

strainer held over a bowl. Press the vegetables with the ladle to extract all of the liquid. It can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 1 month.

Editor’s Note: Master Chef Evelyn: 100 Most Influential Fili-pina Women in the U.S., 2009, Fili-pina Women’s Network; MHC Most Outstanding Migrant Award in Culinary Arts, 2011; PAFC Dakila Special Achievement Award, 2011; Owner/Chef, Philippine Oriental Market & Deli, Arlington, Virginia; Founder and President of CHEW (Cancer Help – Eat Well) Founda-tion, a 501 (c) (3) public charity formed to help and cook pro-bono for Filipino-Americans who are afflicted with cancer and other serious ill-nesses; Culinary writer; Member, Les Dames d’Escoffier Interna-tional, Washington DC Chapter; Member, International Cake Explo-ration Society, Master Chef, French Cuisine and Patisserie, Le Cordon Bleu, London.

BOYFRIENDThe wife and her husband

were sitting at a table at her high school reunion, and she kept staring at a drunken man swig-ging his drink as he sat alone at a nearby table.

The husband asked her, “Do you know him?”

“Yes”, she sighed, “He’s my old boyfriend. I understand he took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear he hasn’t been sober since.”

“My God!” he said, “Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?”

That’s when the fi ght started.

FISHINGSaturday morning Joe got

up early, quietly dressed, made his lunch, and slipped quietly into the garage. He hooked the boat up to the van and proceeded to back out into a torrential downpour. The wind was blow-ing 50 mph, so he pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the weather would be bad all day. He went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into bed. He cuddled up to

his wife’s back. With a different anticipation, he whispered, “The weather out there is terrible.”

The loving wife of 15 years replied, “And, can you believe my stupid husband is out fi shing in that kind of weather?”

And that’s how the fi ght started...

RETIREMENTAfter retiring, Jack went to

the Social Security offi ce to apply for benefi ts. The woman behind the counter asked him for his driver’s license to verify his age. He looked in his pockets and realized he had left his wallet at home. He told the woman that he was very sorry, but that he would have to go home and come back later. The woman said, ‘Unbutton your shirt’.

So he opened his shirt revealing his curly silver hair.

She said, “That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me” and she processed his Social Security application.

When he got home, he excit-edly told his wife about his expe-rience. She said, “You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten disability ben-efi ts, too.”

And then the fi ght started.

COMPLIMENTSue was standing nude,

looking in the bedroom mirror. She was not happy with what she saw and said to her husband, Eric. “I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.”

Eric replied, “Your eye-sight’s damn near perfect.”

And then the fi ght started.

TAKASBaliw tumawag sa mental

hospital: Hello... may tao po ba sa Room 168?

Duty Attendant: (Mga ilang sandali...) Wala po, sir. Bakit po?

Baliw: Check ko lang kung nakatakas talaga ako!

REGALOJuan: Birthday ng asawa ko

kahapon...Pedro: Anong iniregalo mo?Juan: Tinanong ko kung

anong gusto niya.Pedro: Ano naman ang

sinabi? Juan: Kahit na ano daw,

basta yung may diamond.Pedro: Anong ibinigay mo? Juan: Eh di, baraha.

BAWAL

Misis: Inday, mawawala ako ng dalawang linggo kaya siguraduhin mong hindi kakain si Sir mo ng mga bawal sa kanya. Alam mo namang may alta pre-siyon siya.

Inday: Oo nga po mam. Palagi ko pong pinapagalitan si Sir, eh. Tigas talaga ang ulo... ayaw makinig sa akin. (Naku, patay ka Inday ka!)

SAKITDoktor: Ano ang problema

mo, iho.Pasiyente: Doc, masakit na

masakit ang tiyan ko.Doktor: Maliban diyan,

meron ka pa bang sakit na nara-ramdaman?

Pasiyente: Opo doc. Marami pa.

Doktor: Ano pa?Pasiyente: Sumasakit ang

ulo ko sa kabubungangera ng misis ko; tumataas ang blood pressure ko sa mga problemang

dulot ng mga anak ko; kumikirot ang dibdib ko sa kaiisip ng mga utang namin; sumasama ang loob ko sa....

Doktor: Teka... maglason ka na lang.

EBIDENSIYADetektib: Sir, sinundan ko

po ang misis niyo at ang lalaking kasama niya. Kumain po sila sa restoran, pagkatapos pumunta po sila sa bahay ng lalaki at tuloy-tuloy sa kuwarto. Naghu-bad po sila tulad ng nasa litrato at nahiga sila sa kama. Nagyaka-pan po sila ng husto. Kaya lang sir, biglang namatay ang ilaw sa brown-out. Kaya hindi ko na po alam kung ano ang nangyari.

Mister: (Sumigaw sa matin-ding galit.) Aaaarrrggghhh!! Tal-agang makakapatay ako ng tao! Buwisit na Meralco yan. Mala-pit na sana akong makakuha ng ebidensiya, nawala pa... buwisit! (Ay, tange!)

February 28, 2013 27

The Confessions of Retirees

In our community numerous senior leaders are nearly-retired, semi-retired, fully

retired or will continue to work till maybe the computer system in the offi ce are upgraded which require all employees to undergo rigid and comprehen-sive training. This is the most compelling reason to retire, they said, otherwise they’ll wait until they could no longer remember the password to log in to start work.

Now-a-days, some work-ers retire even at the early age of 50 especially those at the World Bank. Some others choose to work just part time for conve-nience. They want freer time while still at their prime time. Luckily, money must not be a problem with them. Others must have other priorities in life and have ample resources.

Some friends in the com-munity are currently at various stage of retirement: Fely Gomez will retire in a year or two or probably earlier; Vicky and Fred Embuscado are almost retired; Maurese Owens has been work-ing part time; and Vilma Mataac, Florence Soriano, Alma Conty, Inday Alvir, Lulu Devera, Betty Litorja, Linda Frondoso and Josephine Masanque who are full retirees. There many more others in the community who fall under the different categories.

A number of my semi-retired and fully retired friends tell me that while still young to go out and about, they take the time to enjoy the tours and cruises in the U.S., the Philippines, Hawaii, Europe, Mexico, South America, Alaska, Canada and Asia. We discussed that they did not want to wait when they are already sick, suffering from arthritis, had heart attack or stroke, or being pushed on wheelchairs. Observ-ing these cases, I must admit this is very true and factual. Some others elect not to do the expen-sive and spectacular activities but instead just going to Atlantic City or Charlestown to play slot machines or see show for amuse-ment and have fi ne dining expe-rience. The others choose to do humanitarian volunteer work in the library, fundraising for the church or activities in commu-nity centers.

The most recent retiree that we knew was Josephine or Jojo Masanque who retired in Novem-

ber last year. I believe, she was one of the younger ones among the full retirees. She worked for the World Bank for a number of years and was sent to differ-ent Middle Eastern countries to assess fi nancial matters/needs with the World Bank. Experienc-ing the luxury of having house-hold help, she is now adjusting herself to do the daily weari-some and tedious chores in the house. With this transition, she often reminded herself that these all are just temporary state of adjustment of doing household tasks. Later, she will get used to it and everything will turn to normalcy. Admittedly, there are newly found projects that were actually right there in their house but did not see. Not that she ignored, but just did not have the chance to focus on them, her priorities being different then. Now that she eagerly wants to start her projects room by room, she has to decide on when and where to start. Here, I belong to her league.

Meanwhile, Jojo and her husband, Buddy, just enjoy having dinner out and not worry about cooking, They now take care of the needs of their son, Francis, and enjoy the antics of their apo, Miles, whenever around. A few days back, I asked her if she has plans to work just part time or start a private busi-ness or something in the near future. Right now, she just wants to enjoy the luxury of not waking up that early to prepare for work and endure the heavy traffi c on way to the World Bank. Further-more, fl ying to Middle Eastern countries to perform her task for the World Bank was not fun anymore. Time has come to take a rest for her. As the saying goes “All good things must come to an end” by Khalil Gilbran holds true.

Jojo had a wonderful retire-ment party at the World Bank

attended by some offi cers and colleagues, her family, relatives and friends. She and her family were introduced and was beauti-fully commended. She was given an appropriate and nice accolade that was inspiring. Her good work for the WB was acknowl-edged. We congratulated and felt so proud of her whom after all was our pamangkin. Every-one enjoyed the program and the food that was served buffet style like the Lechon, Kawali, Pancit, Pilipino Egg Roll, Fried Chicken, Menudo, Empanada, Leche Flan, Kakanin, Turon, Fuits and others.

Memories of a Family Retirement

The perception used to be the retirees were grey-haired seniors. When my Dad retired at age 62, with my Mom devoted their time with simple leisurely activities at home with garden projects, attending parties with friends and some time with their apos. My Mom as a tradi-tion would cook a-plenty every Sunday and be at their house after Mass for lunch and dinner. It was like a mini-fi esta with their seven children and eleven grandchildren by four married ones. She would cook big pots of either Kare-Kare or Nilagang inahin na manok, Adobo and Inihaw na Bangus. We ate out-side the house on a long table under the big tree. There was a nearby “dirty kitchen” with big and large pots and pans using kahoy (wood) for cooking. The memory of our family gather-ings was priceless which I shared with my own children. We did it with our own way which in turn my children appreciated very much. Sadly, my Mom died at age 56 and my Dad at 82, a long gap which did not allow my Mom to enjoy their retirement to the fullest. My Mom died in the Philippines but my Dad passed away in California.

Drivin’ Miz Myrna

‘Driving Miss Daisy’ is a fi lm that came out in 1989. It is an adap-

tation from a play of the same name. It starred Jessica Tandy as the peevish Miss Daisy; and Morgan Freeman as her chauf-feur, Hoke. Daisy was forced to give up driving after several mishaps. She resented the loss of her independence and mobility and took out her frustrations on Hoke; but his graciousness and patience won her over.

~~~~~~~~~I left Virginia in mid-Janu-

ary for the Philippines. Several class and family reunions in Cebu, Manila, Bohol, and Lipa meant I will be at the mercy of public transportation if I wanted to attend any of them. I had sev-eral run-ins with cab drivers in Cebu on my previous visits so the thought of hailing random taxicabs became stressful. I man-aged to get fi ve ‘Hokes’, four of them spoke Visayan, my pre-ferred dialect. And all of them were deferential without being obsequious. What luck!

In the Philippines, the help are invisible. They appear by your side to give whatever aid you require but they don’t speak unless spoken to or point-edly addressed. I am naturally curious and interested in what people think so I engaged my ‘Hokes’ in conversation. Three were clever in evading very per-sonal questions, but the other two opened up after some prod-ding. I wasn’t prepared for some of their stories.

My Cebu ‘Hoke’ lost his par-ents while he was very young. He was the oldest of the brood so the responsibility of feeding and raising his siblings fell on his tender shoulders. He forged his papers to make him older than his 15 years old. He wasn’t legal for employment. He related the many menial jobs he took on.

Instead of pity, I heard deep pride and accomplishment. What provoked his ire was the way the young women dressed and acted. He thought the west-

ern infl uence was destructive. But he puts the blame squarely on the families of the women. He admitted that there is little a parent can do once the chil-dren start school. Peer pressure become paramount.

“Mao, dili na lang tingali ko maminyo, ma’am. Ma ingon ana unya akong mga anak. Porbida paita.” So I will not get married, ma’am. My children could end up like them. Woe is me.

Manila ‘Hoke’ came from Bohol and has a young wife who is pregnant with their second child. He dreams of saving enough money (a joke according to him since he earns just enough to feed and clothe them), or hit-ting the jackpot so he could buy his own car and drive for rich foreigners.

In the meantime, he pedals his bicycle to and from work, an hour each way. I gave him ‘pamasahe’ (jeepney fare) when it was pouring rain one evening. He returned the money and pre-ferred the kamikaze ride through Manila. According to him, pedal-ing his bike would get him home faster. I had to laugh. What a horrible testament to local traffi c.

The overriding hope for all my ‘Hokes’ is for their siblings and/or children to fi nish school and climb out of the poverty pit they found themselves in. Absent is any self-pity. I real-ized how fatalistic their mindset was. “Pagbuot sa Ginoo.” God’s will. The child like acceptance of their lot in life brought tears to my eyes. Their will and ambi-tion gave me renewed hope for my beloved Philippines. All is not lost.

I am very grateful for the trust they gave me and for the stories of humanity. We were friends while we were confi ned inside the cramped space of the car; but as soon as the day ended and I was safely deposited to my destination, the wall between master and servant was raised once more.

Send comments to: myr-namlopez2012@yahoo.com

Visit us online: www.manilamail.us

February 28, 20132828

State of the Community

Like President Obama, Tsismoo takes the fl oor for his own State of the Fil-ipino American Community in the

greater Washington D.C. area.Today, I am very happy to report

that the State of the Community in the Greater Washington D.C. area is strong. And it is growing stronger every day. After the bitter election contest last year, some bitterness still remains.

But many Pinoy Republicans and Democrats have started to embrace and kiss.., no embrace only, even if it’s not too tight. But a handful still says “pue” when asked to forgive and forget.

Many of the former snooty kababay-ans are rubbing shoulders with the hoi poloi (backya crowd) on the dance fl oor in parties. Even the TNTs (tago nang tago) are coming out from the shadows, unafraid that their fellow Pinoys will squeal to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement..

The reason the community is grow-ing stronger is because organizations are now keeping a very low profi le. Wala na destructive competition. Wala na ingitan. Wala na kayabangan. (Oops, just a little). And no more election anomalies.

Rivalries are a thing of the past, or is it? Individually, perhaps yes. But not among organizations. Or oldtimers. Democrat Dave Valderrama welcomes Republican Warie Azarcon into his den, at the Philippine Multicultural Center. Jon Melegrito remains close to the rabid Republicans. The Manila Mail is full of Republican volunteers, but they get along together with diehard Democrats like LK, MB, RJ and AA?

Organizations are getting stronger because lines are becoming blurred. Most of the offi cers or members of some organi-zations are also recycled offi cers or mem-bers of other groups. That’s the reason why some leaders have convoluted titles. For example, Mr. So and So, president of ….;,secretary of …..,; auditor of… rank-ing member of… Bigger organizations are swallowing other small groups. Top membership recruiters are the Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC), the Philip-pine American Foundation for Charities (PAFC), the National Association of Fili-pino American Associations (NaFFAA) , Pinoys for Good Government, ,,, But there are a few crabs still crawling around.

There are no more traitors in the ranks, one Tsismoso says.. That is why

Tsismoso is running out of tsismis. There are no more reports of Pinoys suing each other in court or spreading Tsismis around. Of course, there are still individu-als like AB, DT, CB, JP, DV, RA, and TD who still spread Tsismis around. Sooner or later they will be exposed.

The PAFC, for instance, raises funds and distributes them to other non-profi ts and charitable groups in the Philippines. It also sponsors numerous projects and remains among the most dominant non-profi t in the area.

It is followed closely by MHC which handles almost everything under the sun. These include helping send dead OFWs home, defending the defenseless in court, staging religious activities and perform-ing the tinikling in cultural shows on streets, stages or hotels., etcetera. There are also big organizations in Virginia Beach and Baltimore.

Then there is Feed the Hungry whose objective, of course, is to feed the hungry in the Philippines. It also feeds the kids’ hunger for education by building school-rooms and giving gifts to schoolchildren. When there are disasters, FtH are among the fi rst one to respond.

There are also medical missions to the Philippines whose members pay for their own fares, hotel accommodation, transportation, food to treat the poor and the sick back home Of course, they take memorable pictures of their two-to-three day stints there and have them published in local Filam newspapers...

The richest organization, of course, are the medical associations led by the Philippine Medical Association of Met-ropolitan Washington D.C., They have no money problems. Other professional organizations are not doing so good because some members are not fast in put-ting out their wallets. And some are not members of the same profession.

Also well-organized are the Filipino Nurses and Teachers. Many of them are aware of their rights and will fi ght for them.

The Tsismis going around town is about professional organizations that are not made up of members of that profes-sion. Some Tsismosos are also casting aspersions on other groups which they say exist only in press releases. These include….oh… never mind.,

They are being spread by the crabs, a dying specie.

Washington Tsismis Manila Times

EditorialPeople Power?

Barring a last minute compromise, the sequestration – cut-

ting $85 billion in defense and non-defense expenditures in the

next six months – will take effect.

The obvious diffi culty of both Democrats and Republicans

to craft a compromise has surprised even seasoned pundits who

say this debacle was uncharacteristic so soon after a national

election and with the next one still two years away.

The budget cuts will hit federal agencies and corporations

hard, especially in the Metro DC region. It’ll be felt by Filipino

Americans like the millions of others in the region who rely

directly or indirectly on the vast government infrastructure.

Congress and the White House may still come around to

fi xing the mess they created.

But their actions have left a more disturbing message as they

start to grapple with the debt ceiling and fi nalizing the budget,

which both have a March deadline.

If they can’t get together on these issues, what middle ground

could they fi nd for a comprehensive immigration reform or

meaningful gun legislation?

Perhaps, what America needs is some old-fashioned People

Power – the kind that dismantled a fearsome dictatorship and

was celebrated last week in the Philippines. For as impossible

as it appears today, people power can be a potent tool to push

the nation’s discordant leaders to fi nally work together. (RJJ)

February 28, 2013 29

Sequestration scare

Listening to Pres. Barack Obama, one would think that the sky is about to fall

on America- thanks to sequestra-tion.

“So these cuts are not smart. They are not fair. They will hurt our economy. They will add hun-dreds of thousands of Americans to the unemployment rolls. This is not an abstraction- people will lose their jobs.” He warns that looming budget cuts will hamper Border Patrol, the FBI, Air Traffi c Controllers and will lead to lay-offs of thousands of educators. And he blames the Republicans for making it happen.

If you don’t know the real story behind this animal called sequestration, you could likely be lulled into swallowing Baracks’ slick talking. Anticipat-ing that there could be economic pain as a consequence of seques-tration, Pres. Obama is trying to rewrite history to whitewash the fact that the idea of automatic spending cuts was born in the White House and successfully sold to Congress.

In the summer of 2011, the White House and Congressio-nal Democrats were wrestling over whether or not to increase

the debt ceiling. Republicans were not inclined to increase the debt ceiling without serious reductions in spending growth to address the runaway budget defi cits. A compromise resulted in the passage of the Budget Control Act of 2011 in August, 2011. The law created a super committee composed of selected Democrats and Republicans charged with identifying budget cuts and if they fail to come to an agreement, automatic spend-ing cuts otherwise referred to as sequestration will take effect. Sadly, the super committee did only produced a super deadlock, thus triggering sequestration.

Investigative reported and author Bob Woodward, wrote in his book “The Price of Politics” that the sequester idea was con-cocted by the White House and proposed to the Democratic and Republican leaders in the senate on the assumption that a bipar-tisan agreement can be ham-

mered out by a super commit-tee because Republicans would want to avoid automatic cuts in defense while Democratics would not want automatic cuts in social programs.

Woodward’s narrative must be true. A few months after the Budget Control Act of 2011, Pres. Obama said in a speech on November 21, 2011- “Already, some in Congress are trying to undo these automatic spend-ing cuts. My message to them is simple: No. I will veto any effort to get rid of those automatic spending cuts to domestic and defense spending. There will be no easy off ramps on this one.” Clearly he was all for sequestra-tion.

One would think that the impending automatic cuts would ignite a sense of urgency on the part of our leaders. No need to panic, says Barack. He could not

Alaska on my mind

When people talk about Alaska, said 17-year-old Adriana Latonio,

they think about igloos. Right off, I suspected she

was Filipino. The high school student from Anchorage became the fi rst contestant from Alaska to make it to the American Idol semi-fi nals.

But watching her on TV, what jumped out was the realiza-tion there were probably enough Filipinos in Alaska to produce an Idol contestant – a thought premised on what little I knew about the “law of averages”.

For weeks I have been hooked on another show about picturesque houses being sold in Alaska. The panoramas were breathtaking and made me want to move there until I remem-bered how cold or how long the nights can get there.

This morning, I also read Atty. Nedo Valera’s Facebook message that he was off again to Alaska, where he’s taken on the case of hundreds of Fil-Am assisted living home opera-tors who are suing the state for alleged discrimination. There are about 600 of these homes all over Alaska and about 85 percent of them are Filipino owned and operated.

The Fil-Am Assisted Living

Home Providers Association of Anchorage is demanding the repeal of Alaska Statute that grants immunity to health offi cials against civil lawsuits. The assisted living homes have reportedly become the biggest service sector in the state.

This speaks not only about the spread of Fil-Am communi-ties across the North American expanse, but also their growing clout. Filipinos already com-prise the biggest Asian group in the state and one University of Alaska study estimated that by 2025, one in four people in Alaska will be Filipino.

In a play of the mother tongue, some of these Filipinos have started calling themselves “Alaskeros” which is translated from Pilipino slang as someone wont to tease or joke.

The fi rst Filipinos report-edly arrived in Alaska aboard fur trading ships in 1788 and later aboard whaling ships. It’s truly a testament to their resilience and

adaptability that they’ve thrived there despite the obvious and extreme differences from their tropical homeland.

Starting in the 1920s, migrant Filipino workers from the West Coast spent their sum-mers in Alaska’s canneries where they were called “school boys” because many spent the money they earned there to pay their school tuitions. The “Alaskeros” eventually dominated the labor force and led the formation of unions that in 1938 successfully fought for abolishing the con-tractor system that prevailed in the canneries.

By the 1970s, the “Alaske-ros” had played such a promi-nent role in the labor union movement in Alaska’s salmon canneries that two of them – 1st generation Fil-Ams Gene Viernes and Silme Domingo – were mur-dered in Seattle, Wa. in 1981.

They were reportedly trying to clean up their union, which

Opinion

Continued on page 31

Memory Tour, ContinuedManila

Visiting the homeland only for the third time since departing for the U.S. in

1965, I allowed myself 45 days this time so I can make all the obligatory family get-togethers, courtesy calls to friends and the desired trips to destination tour-ist spots.

I also wanted to return to scenes of my childhood, notably towns and barrios in Mindanao. There, “home” was where ever my family was at a given time and place.

In many ways, that’s what spurred these trips, a longing to rediscover those places and fi nd out what has changed, and how my own life has changed. There’s also a curiosity to re-connect with people, living or dead, and events that happened here while I was in the states. Life-changing events that stirred and shaped my consciousness as a Filipino-immigrant-turned-US-citizen who is still trying to grasp what it means to have a “home” in America.

My fi rst trip, after nearly 30 years, was more than a culture shock. I felt a profound sense of loss, heightened by illusions har-bored over the years that things would look more or less the same.

Of course, nothing ever stays the same.

Our home in Guimba, Nueva Ecija -- where I grew up with a stern grandfather, a hard-working grandmother, a very strict aunt and rowdy siblings and cousins -- had been dis-mantled a long time ago. Not a trace is left. Still, I can picture the two-story wooden house with sliding capiz windows by a santol tree. I can still hear the sounds of energy unleashed, tempered only by threats of a whipping in the hands of Tatang and his dreaded senturon (belt). Today, the old neighborhood is more crowded. Tricycles have replaced karitelas (horse-drawn carriages). I don’t see the boy anymore who used to walk by our street crying “Pandesal ni Payat” before the break of dawn.

Never Again. The second visit in 2009 was to Vigan and Laoag in Ilocandia, with a stop over in Paoay where the body of Ferdinand Marcos was on display, preserved by formalin and other drugs. It was designed

to make him look like he’s still alive. But it’s clear that he’s dead. No one ever stays the same, in life and especially after death.

There’s been much controversy about where to bury him, where to fi nally put his body to rest.

On my third visit, which coincided with the 27th anniver-sary of the People Power Revo-lution, talk about the Marcos years is still very much alive. That’s what the Philippine Con-gress had hoped when it passed a bill last month providing mon-etary reparations to the victims of the Marcos dictatorship. The P10-billion fund set aside for this purpose would come from the ill-gotten wealth recovered from the Marcoses. Recognizing for the fi rst time that the dictator-ship committed atrocities against Filipinos, the measure also man-dates the teaching in schools of the human rights abuses infl icted on the regime’s opponents.

“Never Again,” blared one newspaper headline. So the nation will remember not to forget the lives and sacrifi ces of courageous people who fought repression and violence, their stories will be included in his-tory books.

“Finally, over two decades after the fall of the Marcos dicta-torship, we will have a law that provides justice for all those who suffered under his reign,” said Rep. Walden Bello, a member of Congress who played a key role in drafting the bill. In the 1970s thru the 80s, Bello was a leader in the U.S. anti-Marcos movement that pressed the U.S. government to withdraw its support from the regime. Walden was also a comrade-in-arms, a co-conspir-ator who exposed Ferdinand’s crimes in the U.S. Congress and hounded Imelda relentlessly anywhere she went, driving her to tears and rage. One time

Continued on page 31Continued on page 31

Walden Bello

February 28, 20133030

Disasters ‘r’ usMANILA

Does the Philippines have a monopoly on disasters? They never seem to stop

coming to this unlucky country.Australia is the country

that calls itself “unlucky,” even though the land Down Under is blessed with abundant natu-ral resources, a vast and won-drous land, and a resilient and resourceful people. A number of countries in Africa are prone to disasters too, both wrought by nature and by man. In the Amer-icas, Haiti and Bolivia are among the poorest nations on earth.

And yet, the Philippines, a Catholic country at that, can’t seem to escape trouble. It can’t seem to get its head above water, drowning in both self-infl icted and natural calamities.

At this writing, heavy rains are pummeling parts of the big southern island of Mindanao, resulting in fl oods that disrupt people’s lives there. Last year and the year before, typhoons lashed at several provinces and cities in that area, dislocating thousands of people from their homes and places of work.

So what’s the big deal about that in a country that is host to annual monsoons, the percep-tive reader might ask. The big deal is that Mindanao had never been a traditional destination of typhoons and heavy rains before. It’s only in the past few years that this disruptive weather condi-tion has visited the region, proof that weather patterns all over the world have changed drastically.

The Visayas in central Philippines and many parts of Luzon, including the capital Manila, have been the favorite places where storms hang out in the rainy season. The Pacifi c side of the Philippines expect to be battered by furious seasonal rains and high winds; places on the eastern seaboard of the Visayas and the Bicol region in southern Luzon.

But lately, storms have not been discriminating, they been making themselves felt hard in non-traditionally typhoon-prone areas. And the problem with fl ood waters is they tend to stay on for weeks or months even after the storms have left.

Still on the subject of Min-danao, there is currently an unexpected ticklish situation in the southernmost part of Min-

danao, on Sulu island, because the descendants of the Sultan of Sulu have taken a yet-inexplica-ble move to “invade” Sabah in Borneo, claiming it as belonging to the Sultan.

Media reports say about 300 armed men have landed in Sabah a week or so ago at this writing to claim Sabah. The Philippine gov-ernment has an outstanding but dormant claim over Sabah. This is an age-old dispute over real estate that the Muslims in Min-danao and the national govern-ment have been pushing based on ancient rights. While previ-ous governments in Manila have kept the claim alive they’ve also put it on the back burner in order not to annoy Malaysia (where Borneo is located) because Kuala Lumpur has been helpful to the Philippine government in bro-kering peace between the latter and the Muslim Mindanaoans who have been attempting to secede for decades.

So there is at this writing a stand-off in Sabah between the Sultan’s men and Malay-sian authorities, the end result of which is murky and specula-tive at this point. The national government in Manila is taking a cautious approach, leaving the matter to the Department of Foreign Affairs. The hope is that the armed impasse will not end in a bloody confrontation, with cooler heads prevailing.

And fi nally, the campaign-ing for the May 13 midterm elec-tions has started for aspirants vying for national offi ce (sena-tors). These elections, as usual, promise to be rambunctious, unruly and expensive, and even deadly in some areas that are not unlike the American Wild West where the gun ruled the land.

By the way, the Observer stated in the last column that candidates here have been cam-paigning prematurely, against election law, in violation of the rule fi xing the length of time for campaigning. The number of days allowed for national can-didates is actually 90 days and for local bets (congressmen, gov-ernors, mayor and other local offi ces), 45 days. The Observer gave shorter periods in the last column but that doesn’t change the observation that candidates had violated campaign rules

Continued on page 31

Smoke-fi lled eyes

MANILA

Jerome Kern’ 1933 pop song “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” has little to do the papal

conclave to elect a successor to Benedict XVI. Yet, the world will track the smoke that wafts from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney. There, ballots from 116 cardinal-electors are burnt ( Indonesia ’s Cardinal Julius Riyadi Dar-maatmadja is ailing and has sent regrets..).

Is that black smoke drifting upwards? This centuries-old system signals no one, includ-ing got a two-thirds vote To avoid confusion, bells will peal out when white smoke sum-mons people to gather at Piazza San Pietro.

Habemus Papam ( “We have a pope”) proclaims the dean of cardinals. The ancient formula reads, “The most eminent and most reverend ( fi rst name) Car-dinal of the Holy Roman Church ( last name), who takes for him-self the name of (new pontiff’s name ).”

The conclave could be advanced from March 15 to 10, with a quarter-to-midnight ruling from Benedict XVI. Rome

correspondents speculate. One suggestion focuses on the fi rst day after Benedict steps down. March 1 is the fi rst day of the sede vacante., The caretak-ers --- College of Cardinals dean and camerlengo, call for a, vote among all the cardinals present in Rome. March 10, is a Sunday, and the “Mass for Electing the Pope” could be celebrated that day along with an opening ballot.

Speculation on the “papa-bili” intensify meanwhile. These include: Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina , Marc Quillet, Canada , Peter Turkson, Ghana and the Philippines own Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

Filipino Catholics plump for Cardinal Chito, known for serving the poorest. The cardinal developed a taste for slum staple: rejected chicken legs made into stew by most deprived families.

“Tagle could become the fi rst developing world pope, in the absence of notable Church leaders in Africa and Latin America, where the majority of the world’s Catholics live”, Vatican analyst Sandro Magis-ter speculates. “Some are char-ismatic preachers, like Manila’s 55-year-old Cardinal Luis Tagle” Tom Heneghan wrote in Faith-World New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan, 63, effectively debates moral issues in public.

Speculation about any cardi-nal’s chances because of his age or passport overlooks a key ele-ment: universality, of the Catho-lic Church,” a church offi cial says. .”It’s thinking about the best man, not necessarily geo-graphical balance or someone different from the last pope…But you can never predict what hap-pens at a conclave.”

Continued on page 31

Stateside waiver

processing

The Department of Home-land Security has released on January 2, 2013 new

rules changing the procedure for obtaining a waiver for a ground of inadmissibility based on unlawful presence in the coun-try.

Starting on March 4, 2013, certain aliens who are in the country without valid status and who need a waiver of unlawful presence to qualify for a green card can now apply for obtain a waiver decision before exiting the US for an interview abroad.

Those who could avail themselves of this rule change are spouses, children under 21 years and parents of US citizens who are unlawfully present in the US because they entered without having been admitted or paroled. These are mostly people who crossed the border without a visa and includes those who entered with fi ancée visas but did not marry their original peti-tioners.

These aliens do not qualify for adjustment of status in the US and must exit the country for a visa interview. Upon depar-ture however, they are subject to a three year or ten-year bar depending on the length of unlawful presence.

In order avoid the three or ten-year bar, the alien needs to obtain a waiver of inadmissibil-ity from the Department of State. This requires a showing that the US citizen relative will suffer extreme hardship as a result of the separation from the alien. Under the old procedure, the application is fi led at a foreign consular offi ce after the alien has exited the US. If disapproved, the alien would be stranded in his home country and separated

from his family in the U.S. The new rule change will

allow the fi ling and determina-tion of the merits of the waiver application in the US without requiring the alien to exit while the waiver is in process. It does not alter or lower the standard of proof required for a showing of extreme hardship.

What does this mean to somebody who walked across the border without a visa,

VISA PRIORITY DATES FOR THE PHILIPPINES

FEBRUARY 2013

• FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES First: Unmarried sons/daughters of US citizens Mar. 08, 1997Second:A: Spouses/minor children of permanent residents: Oct. 22, 2010B: Unmarried sons/daughters 21 years of age or older of permanent residents May. 15, 2002Third: Married sons/daughters of citizens Aug. 22, 1992Fourth: Brothers/sisters of citizens Jun. 01, 1989

• EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCESFirst: Priority workers CurrentSecond: Professionals holding advanced degrees or persons of exceptional ability CurrentThird: Skilled workers, professionals Aug. 22, 2006Other Workers Aug. 22, 2006Fourth: CurrentCertain Religious Workers CurrentFifth: Employment creation/ (Million or half-million dollar investor) Current

Continued on page 31

February 28, 2013 31

they believed was corrupt, and calling for better working condi-tions in the canneries when they were killed – their deaths were blamed on then President Ferdi-nand Marcos and his supporters in the US (that allegedly included the president of the union they were trying to reform).

It is remarkable that two pil-lars of Filipino American labor activism traced their roots in Alaska’s fi sh factories.

Alaska does not have state income or sales taxes. When I was new in America, I was incredulous when someone told

me they paid people a thousand dollars just to live there – which it turns out was a dividend from oil companies for residents.

A dear friend and Manila Mail colleague Lito Katigbak of the Philippine Star and his wife Mimi had taken a cruise there a couple of years back. He told me about his surprising discovery of the fl ourishing Filipino commu-nity there and the plain beauty of the Alaska, and urged me to take the same trip.

I’d almost forgotten about that, until Adriana reminded me about the Filipinos in Alaska.

resist getting lost out of sight for four days more than a week ago in the sunshine state of Florida reportedly taking golf lessons costing $1,000.00 per hour before taking on Tiger Woods on the golf course.

I would not fault the presi-dent for the golf getaway. Every president is entitled to a vaca-tion. Besides, according to my unreliable source, he was actu-ally trying to solve the looming economic crisis mixing work and play. He wanted fresh ideas from somebody who had real life experience in dealing with

sequestration. Tiger Woods is a good fi t for consultation. He once endured sequestration by his former wife Erin after being caught with his pants down.

While I give him the benefi t of the doubt, the timing of his vacation in the midst of what he himself describes as an impend-ing serious crisis reminds me of the captain of the cruise ship that ran aground two years ago in Italy. He was reportedly enter-taining his girlfriend aboard the ship and was not in control when his vessel hit the rocks.

Pres. Barack Obama,

already warned that he will veto any efforts to undo the automatic spending cuts. Now there is a President Obama who is asking Congress to undo the automatic spending cuts that the White House originated. Will the real Pres. Barack Obama please come out and clear this mess?

*** Saturday Night Live, NBC’s

late night Saturday show pro-duced a comedy skit involving a parody of Jesus Christ coming out from the dead armed with an assault weapon exacting revenge on his tormentors. Many believ-ers in Jesus would fi nd it offen-sive and insulting.

Remember when an uniden-tifi ed person in California pro-duced a video that ended up in You Tube caricaturing the prophet Mohammed and ignit-ing riots in Pakistan and Egypt? Former Secretary of State Hill-ary Clinton apologized to the Muslim world and the producer of the video was even arrested by the police on American soil.

Will the U.S. government apologize to the Christian popu-lace and arrest the producer of Saturday Night Live? Don’t bet your allowance. The bishops don’t riot. The moral of the story is that if you get slapped on one cheek, don’t offer the other cheek or they will only slap you over and over again.

because they indeed started campaigning too early and pre-maturely, which is typical of Fili-pino politicians who disregard regulations.

In the coming weeks leading to the May 13 election day, the political scene here will be lively, inane and disruptive. Politicians of all stripes will be traipsing across the landscape to market themselves to the voting public. Some candidates will invade town centers to plug themselves, with showbiz celebrities in tow to better attract the curious and the star-struck. Giant billboards will literally litter public areas, every space available (in viola-tion of election rules that desig-nate specifi c areas for billboards, posters, and streamers). Unlucky for the poorer candidates who cannot match the resource-endowed politicians who have all the money to pour into their campaigns (even though election law sets campaign fi nance limits and forbids overspending).

(When I lived in the United States, one of the things that struck me about elections there, especially at the local level, was the relative quiet and undisrup-tive conduct of campaigns. Local elections are barely noticeable because campaigning and post-ers and streamers are confi ned to

specifi c sites and not all over the place as here in the Philippines.)

Money, with infl ationary implications, will fl ow from the candidates who, if elected, will of course, recoup their “invest-ment” by profi ting from the privileges enjoyed by elected offi cials. I’m sure there are other countries where public offi cials make money out of their posi-tions, but here in the Philippines, politicians have turned money-making out of government proj-ects into an art. Many, probably most, politicians here go into politics to make money.

Is Philippine politics a disaster too to merit mention in a column about disasters? It is, from the point of view of the people. The people, and the country in the end, suffer from the kind of politics that is played here. Still feudal in character, politics here is controlled by warlords and their henchmen. Whole provinces and towns are under the thumbs and domi-nated by powerful local poli-ticians reminiscent of ancient practices in countries that have long ago modernized and gotten rid of such rotten and crooked practices.

One of the hottest politi-cal topics here is the continuing power and suffocating infl uence

of family dynasties that con-trol their respective bailiwicks. Members of the same family take turns running for the same or similar position in order to maintain their control over their towns, provinces, even regions. And, often, the same politicians are also the economic and fi nan-cial elite in their areas, some local, others at the national level.

There is a growing clamor among the more discerning voters here to get rid of political dynasties. The Philippine Con-stitution forbids the presence of such dynasties but there is no “implementing” law to enforce the prohibition. And why would politicians in Congress pass a law that bans dynasties when most of them are themselves political dynasts? It’s a politi-cal Catch-22 with no solution in sight in the near future.

So where will the burgeon-ing movement to break up politi-cal dynasties end up? The way things work around here, prob-ably in the dustbin of history.

But hope springs eternal, of course, Maybe times have really changed, and the people are seri-ous and committed enough to change things and not vote for any politician who is a member or is identifi ed with a political dynasty. That would be the day!

Disasters ‘r’ us... from page 30

Alaska on my mind... from page 29

Smoke-filled eyes... from page 30

Walden, dressed up as Kermit the Frog and I, as Miss Piggy, crashed one of Imelda’s exclu-sive soirees. Today, Walden is in the same inclusive chamber as Imelda. Some would call that poetic justice. I call it the art of insurrection.

Remembering Not to Forget. My stern grandfather had been dead now for more than fi ve decades, but I will never forget the constant threat of corporal punishment and the scowl on his face that never failed to strike fear among his grandchildren. Our house may have been disman-tled but I’ll always be haunted by memories of this place. For all his fl aws, my grandfather was a dedicated school teacher whose

legacy continues to sustain our family’s devotion to public ser-vice. We remember him so we don’t forget why we are who we are, and why we do what we do.

Marcos had been dead now for years. During his reign, I was always reminded with dread of the dead and disappeared even as we continued to defy his goons and guns. The sight and specter of his corpse did not completely allay my fears that someone like him might some-day rise again.

We remember him so we don’t forget that in a time of tyr-anny, Filipinos rose in resistance, fought back and prevailed. The Filipino fi ghting spirit that fi red up the First Quarter Storm and

the protests that followed, cul-minating in the People Power Revolution that was EDSA, burned brightly during one of the darkest times in Philippine history. It’s the spirit of resis-tance that made martyrs and heroes of Rizal, Bonifacio, Lapu Lapu, Gabriella Slang, Ninoy Aquino, Gene Vierness, Silme Domingo and countless of others who made the supreme sacrifi ce for justice, freedom and love of country.

State of Becoming. It’s both sad and liberating to discover that once familiar landscapes have been altered, that places don’t stand still, that things are not what they used to be.

Inner lives have been pro-foundly altered as well. Never to be the same again.

Memory Tour, Continued... from page 29

Stateside waiver... from page 30

Sequestration scare ... from page 29

Of after any conclave for that matter. The 1958 conclave elected the 77-year old Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli as a care-taker. But as Pope John XXII, he convened the Second Vatican Council which recast the church. It’s unimplemented reforms will challenge the 257th successor to Peter.

For now, though, there is no front-runner. among potential candidates. . Benedict named 57.3 percent of the cardinal-electors . It’s quite extraordinary that he’s been able to create this majority in eight years,” writes the British Catholic weekly: “The Tablet.”

“Ecce Catholicism Inc:, wrote Bob Keller in New York Times.. ‘Behold a global business in distress. What Catholicism Inc. might learn from the tempo-ral business world?

***Warren Buffett cleaned up

Salomon Brothers after a bond-

trading scandal and Ed Breen revived Tyco International after its chief executive went to prison for theft. The remedies included:, a purge of those responsible for abuses and cover-up. Second, unstinting disclosure to investi-gators, waiving any privileges. Third, appointment of a com-pliance offi cer with impeccable credentials, ethical tenacity and conspicuous support at the top.

***Once the new pope has dealt

with the legacy of past disgrace, it will be time to look ahead. Most big companies assemble executives every few years for an intensive strategic review., “The last time the church took stock was the Second Vatican Coun-cil, half a century ago.”says Ted Stenger, a corporate turnaround expert and a devoted Catho-lic, ( This year’s synod doesn’t count.?) (Email: juan_mer-cado77@yahoo.com)

worked under the shadows for years and married a US citizen? Many of them do not risk depart-ing the US for a visa interview in their home country for fear that the waiver will not be granted. That would mean a long sepa-ration from their spouse and children in the US, unless their immediate family will choose to join them abroad.

With the procedural change, the alien will know in advance if his waiver application is

approved or denied before he makes a decision to appear for a visa interview abroad. Those who could not tolerate a long separation may just decide to forego with the visa interview abroad and continue to live in limbo status in the U.S. if the provisional waiver is denied. This is the main benefi t that the rule change brings in addition to the promised shorter processing time.

I bring back from this third visit not only a sense of nostal-gia but a much better apprecia-tion and a much deeper respect for what this beloved country is moving towards. Always in a

state of becoming, she is strug-gling to overcome a painful past and striving to become better for the sake of her children’s future.

That will be for so long as we remember not to forget.

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