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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

The Fil ip ino AmericAn communiTy newspAper

w w w. a s i a n . c o mVolume 15 - No. 23 • 3 Sections – 22 Pages JUNE 3-9, 2016

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

DATELINEUSAfrom the AJPress NEWS TEAM AcroSS AMEricA

Hundreds of journalists march to demand justice for 32 media workers slain by members of a political clan in Maguindanao province in 2009. President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, May 31, said corrupt journalists were legitimate targets of assassination. Inquirer file photo by Rem Zamora

PresIDeNt-elect rodrigo Duterte’s en-dorsement of killing corrupt journalists has sparked public outrage, fueling fears that it could incite more murders in a nation already listed as one of the world’s most dangerous for reporters.

“even if you’re a journalist, you are not ex-empted from assassination if you’re a son of a bitch,” Duterte told reporters in Davao City on tuesday, may 31, when asked how he would address the problem of media killings in the

Philippines after a reporter was shot dead in manila last week.

he said there was justification for killing journalists who took bribes or engaged in oth-er corrupt activities, but “if you are an upright journalist, nothing will happen to you.”

the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said it was appalled by the Davao mayor’s comments justifying media as-sassinations by “playing the corruption card.”

Duterte’s remark on corrupt journalists triggers outrage

Media groups fear his remarks will incite more killings

Less than two weeks after he was put on the federal Bureau of Investigation’s (fBI) 10 most Wanted list, fil-Am Philip Patrick Poli-carpio, 39, was arrested by agents of the Us Customs Border Protection on sunday night, may 29.

According to the fBI spokeswoman Laura eimiller, Policarpio was apprehended at the border, while he was crossing into the Us from tijuana, mexico, as reported by fox News. A convicted felon, Policarpio — whose aliases include “Damon hiromi tanaka,” “Paul Policarpio,” “Bugsy,” “sinister,” and “sins” — was taken into custody at the san Ysidro Port of entry.

Policarpio was on parole for a 2001 con-

Fil-Am on FBI’s Most Wanted list caught at Mexico border

hILLArY Clinton’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination now has the support of California Governor Jerry Brown and 47 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) elected officials.

Both Brown and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) announced their endorsements for the former secretary of state’s candidacy on tuesday, may 31, one week ahead of the California Democratic presidential primary.

During a press conference announcing CA-PAC’s endorsement, rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), said Clinton’s position on the topics of immi-gration, education and voting rights were in

Gov. Brown, AAPI elected officials endorse Clinton

PresIDeNt-elect rodrigo Duterte believes most journal-ists killed in the Philippines must have done something to war-rant their murders, according to statements made in Davao on tuesday, may 31.

During a news conference held in the mayor Duterte’s home-town, attendees asked what his administration would do to stem

RSF condemns Philippines president-elect’s comments about journalists

mANILA — President-elect rodrigo Duterte on tuesday night, may 31, announced the members of his Cabinet follow-ing a meeting in Davao City.

Duterte and his incoming Cabinet members met at the De-

Duterte bares new Cabinet members

In this photo provided by the Office of the City Mayor, Davao City, presumptive president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, seated right, answers questions from the media during a news conference at dawn Thursday, May 26, 2016 at his hometown of Davao city, southern Philippines. Philippine lawmakers say Rodrigo Duterte has been elected president and Leni Robredo elected vice president in official vote count. Photo by King Rodriguez, Office of the City Mayor Davao via AP

by Patricia Lourdes VirayPhilstar.com

mANILA — An aide of president-elect rodrigo Duterte claimed on tuesday, may 31, that the next chief executive’s much-criticized statement on media killings was “taken out of context.”

Duterte drew flak from media groups after saying that some of the slain journal-ists had received pay-offs or had criticized excessively.

he also scored corruption in media, add-ing that being a journalist does not exempt one from assassination.

“You want the truth? that’s the truth.

there is still corruption on your side,” Duterte said in a press conference last tuesday, may 31.

the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines condemned the incoming pres-ident’s statement, saying it was an effort to silence the media.

the group maintained that nothing, not even corruption, could justify murder.

Peter Laviña, spokesman for Duterte’s transition team, defended the president-elect’s statement, saying it should be viewed as a reminder that there is also cor-ruption in the media.

“Again and as usual, rody Duterte was

‘Rody comment on media killings taken out of context’

partment of social Welfare and Development guest house in Panaca, Davao City.

After the meeting, the incom-ing leader emerged to hold a news conference to name those whom he chose to be part of his official family.

executive secretary - salvador

seNAtor miriam Defen-sor-santiago has been rushed to the makati medical Center (mmC) and is getting treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for pneumonia, a complication of her lung cancer, her husband Narciso “Jun” santiago said on

Miriam Santiago in ICUWednesday, June 1

A press statement released by her office said santiago, who is battling stage-four lung cancer, was confined in a private room three days ago but was trans-ferred to the ICU on tuesday, may 31.

Although the senator is already in a stable condition, she is not

violence against members of the media in the Philippines. In re-sponse, the incoming president suggested no form protection to news gatherers, and said they must have been guilty of some type of wrongdoing.

“[Journalists] are not exempted from assassination…You won’t be killed if you don’t do anything wrong,” said Duterte at the con-ference.

the international non-profit

by aLexis romeroPhilstar.com

by Jefferson antiPordaManilaTimes.net

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by eric anthony LicasAJPress

JUNE 3-9, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150A�

From the Front Page

CCT IN REVIEW. Incoming social welfare secretary Judy Taguiwalo will undertake a review of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, the flagship anti-poverty program of the Aquino administration. Under the CCT, the country’s poorest are given a monthly cash handout as long as children are kept in school and mothers undergo regular health checkups. Photo courtesy of PIA-Western Mindanao

Ryan Rosauro, NUJP chair, said in a statement that while the group recognized corruption as one of the most pressing prob-lems facing the Philippine press, “it is one thing to recognize a possible reason for murder; it is a totally different thing to pres-ent this as a justification for tak-ing life.”

“Duterte tries to explain his thesis by claiming assassination is retribution from private indi-viduals unjustly pilloried by er-rant journalists. He could not be farther from the truth,” Rosauro said.

Accused from gov’t“While there may be instances

where private individuals may have sought revenge against journalists for soiling their repu-tations, the data show that of the handful of media killings that have actually made it to the courts, the accused are invariably from the government—elected officials, government executives or members of the security ser-

vices—and invariably accused of corruption,” he said.

“We also stress that journal-ists were killed because of their work in exposing corruption and malfeasance in the government. Hence, no matter the weakness-es of Philippine media, it will be a major factor in any effort to cleanse the government of the scourge of graft and corruption,” he added.

The NUJP cited some of the most prominent cases, such as the murders of Edgar Damalerio of Pagadian City, Marlene Espe-rat of Tacurong City, and Gerry Ortega of Puerto Princesa City, and, the “most heinous of all,” the Nov. 23, 2009, massacre in Maguindanao province, where 32 of the 58 victims were media workers.

At least 75 journalists have been killed since 1992, making the Philippines the second-dead-liest country for journalists, ac-cording to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

“What he (Duterte) has done with these irresponsible com-ments is give security officials the right to kill for acts that they consider defamation,” the CPJ’s Southeast Asian representa-tive, Shawn Crispin, told Agence France-Presse from Bangkok.

“This is one of the most outra-geous statements we have ever heard from a president in the Philippines,” Crispin said.

Malacañang reminded Duterte that “it is the duty of the govern-ment to arrest, prosecute and punish those responsible for violence against members of the media.”

“We recognize the vital role played by journalists as purvey-ors of information in a democrat-ic society. As citizens, they have a fundamental right to due process and equal protection of the laws of the land,” Presidential Com-munications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement.

“Hence, we deplore the propo-sition that some journalists may

Duterte’s remark on corrupt journalists…PAGE A1 t

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taken out of context, misinter-preted and misunderstood,” Laviña said in a Facebook post.

Laviña said Duterte’s pro-nouncement that most slain jour-nalists are corrupt or involved in shady deals was “based on his own assessment of those killed in Davao City and not on the na-tional scale.”

“Certainly, Duterte has no per-sonal knowledge on each and every case of media killings in many parts of the country,” Lavi-ña declared.

He said Duterte has vowed to create a task force to address media killings, and is also plan-ning to tap a special prosecutor to focus on cases involving the killings of media workers.

“In the context of Duterte’s campaign against corruption, his remarks indeed should be seen to mean a reminder or a mes-sage that there is also corruption in mass media,” Laviña said.

He said Duterte saw the cor-ruption during the recent elec-tion, “when headlines, for in-stance, were being bumped off

to give way to paid black pro-paganda masquerading as news items.”

Media watchdog Center for Media Freedom and Respon-sibility (CMFR) said it is taking exception to Duterte’s statement, noting that journalists have been killed for other reasons, includ-ing exposing corruption in the government.

“Because a significant number of those accused of killing jour-nalists are local officials, as well as police and military personnel,

‘Rody comment on media killings…PAGE A1 t

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group Journalists Without Bor-ders (RSF) ranks the Philippines as the 7th most dangerous coun-try for members of news organi-zations. On average, more than 8 journalists have died there each year since 2016. That number of deaths spiked in 2009. That year, 34 Journalists died in the Maguindanao massacre, a po-litically motivated attack against then mayoral candidate for the town of Buluan, Esmael Mangu-dadatu. Since 1992, 77 Filipino journalists have been murdered in connection to their work.

A press release issued by RSF

on Wednesday, June 1, con-demns Duterte’s statements and calls upon the Philippine media to boycott his appearances until a formal apology is issued.

“We urge organizations that represent the media to not to overlook comments of these kind and to bring lawsuits. We also urge the media to boycott the Duterte’s administration’s news conferences until the media com-munity gets a public apology,” the statement said.

The head of the non-profit’s Asia-Pacific desk, Benjamin Isma’il, said Duterte’s comments were “unworthy of a president,”

and possible “violations of the law on defamation, or even the law on inciting violence.”

Duterte has faced both praise and criticism for taking a tough on crime stance that expresses support for summary executions and the re-institution of the death penalty. Duterte is alleged to have been connected to the deaths of more than 1000 presumed crimi-nals at the hands of “death squads” in the City of Davao. Although the president elect has seemed to ad-vocate extrajudicial executions, he has not been charge with any crimes and denies any connection to vigilantism. n

PAGE A1 t

RSF condemns Philippines president-elect’s…

(650) 616-4150 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JUNE 3-9, 2016 A�From the Front Page

allowed to receive visitors. Santi-ago will also not accept flowers.

“Miriam is bearing well with her trademark sense of humor,” the statement said.

“Only my body is sick, not my brain. I am not yet physically fit to attend plenary sessions. However, I have managed to discharge my duties as chair of certain Senate committees and I continue to file bills and reso-lutions on a weekly basis,” San-tiago said earlier.

The senator ran for President in the recently concluded elec-tions with Sen. Ferdinand Mar-cos Jr. as her running mate.

She was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer in July 2014 and went on a medical leave for her treatment.

Although she could not attend Senate sessions, Santiago man-aged to perform her duties as a lawmaker.

Heading the Senate commit-tees on Foreign Relations and Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, she held several committee hearings in connection with the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and even came out with a com-mittee report stating that Mala-canang’s version of the proposed measure is unconstitutional.

In the 16th Congress, she co-authored several bills approved into law, including the Open Learning and Distance Education Act; the Youth Entrepreneurship Act; the Student-Athletes Protec-tion Act; the Open High School System Act; and the Fair Compe-tition Act.

Her third and final term as a senator will end on June 30.

Last week, Santiago told Sen-ate President Franklin Drilon that she was extending her medical leave because her cancer treat-ment left her physically weak.

“One of the medications [for cancer] has produced as a side effect anorexia, which renders me physically weak,” she said in her letter to Drilon.

Praying for MiriamNews about Santiago’s health

condition quickly spread on social media and netizens took to Face-book to express their concern.

Marcos was among the first to send his prayers for her immedi-ate recovery.

In a statement, he said he joins the whole nation in praying for the immediate recovery of San-tiago.

“Senator Santiago has proven to be a relentless fighter against corruption and incompetence in government all throughout her career,” Marcos noted.

He also expressed hope that Santiago would again win the fight and be on her way to full recovery.

Santiago thanked her family, friends, supporters, fans and oth-ers who prayed for her recovery and sent their good wishes on the social media.

Santiago’s official Facebook page was flooded with messages from her supporters.

One Facebook user posted a message saying that she went to MMC to bring something to the senator but was not allowed to give it to Santiago.

“At MMC right now, Senator Miriam. Tried to send something, but it’s not allowed. Praying that you’ll get well soon. I belong to the one million plus voters who proudly voted for you. God bless you. Hugs, kisses, and prayers!” the message read.

Another Facebook user ex-pressed confidence that Santiago will overcome her condition be-cause the senator is strong and brave.

“Madam, we are not yet ready to lose a gem, rare treasure of the gov’t and academics. The gold standard for excellence. Prayers for you and we hope you get well soon enough. We miss your “banat” and “hugot” and your banter,” said Facebook user Xydian Aki Ferra Lycanus.

“Get well soon madam Senator #Meriam Defensor Santiago…I pray and claim the victory for your fast recovery. Be strong, God will give you the strength to overcome your illnesses,” said Shawie Irene.

Nems Saceda posted, “Please fight for ur health madam. Phil-ippines and Filipino needs u. We will pray for ur health and fast recovery. We love u. God bless u madam… ur my PRESIDENT forever…”

“Mam please get well. You are still needed in this confused and often chaotic world. We pray for your health,” posted Facebook user Paul Jonathan Sia Tio. n

Miriam Santiago in…

MedialdeaCabinet Secretary - Leoncio

EvascoSecretary of Agrarian Reform

- Rafael MarianoSecretary of Agriculture - Em-

manuel “Manny” PiñolSecretary of the Budget &

Management - Benjamin DioknoSecretary of Education - Le-

onor BrionesSecretary of Energy - Alfonso

CusiSecretary of Finance - Carlos

DominguezSecretary of Foreign Affairs -

Perfecto YasaySecretary of Interior and Local

Government - Mike SuenoSecretary of Justice - Vitaliano

AguirreSecretary of National Defense

- Delfin LorenzanaSecretary of Public Works and

Highways - Mark VillarSecretary of Science and Tech-

nology - Fortunato dela PenaSecretary of Social Welfare and

Development - Judy TaguiwaloSecretary of Transportation and

Communications - Arthur TugadeNational Security Adviser -

Germogenes Esperon

Presidential Spokesperson - Salvador Panelo

Armed Forces of the Philip-pines - Ricardo Visaya

Bureau of Customs - Nicanor Faeldon

Bureau of Immigration and Deportation? - Jaime Morente

Land Transportation Franchis-ing and Regulatory Board - Mar-tin Delgra

Land Transportation Office - Edgar Galvante

National Bureau of Investiga-tion - Dante Gierran

National Disaster Risk Reduc-tion Management Council - Ri-cardo Jalad

National Economic and De-velopment Authority - Ernesto Pernia

National Intelligence Coordi-nating Agency - Alex Monteagu-do

Peace Process - Jesus Dureza Peace process (communist

side) - Silvestre Bello IIIPhilippine Amusement and

Gaming Corporation - Andrea Domingo

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency - Isidro Lapena

Philippine National Police - Ronald dela Rosa

Duterte bares new Cabinet…Presidential Assistant for Vi-

sayas - Michael DinoSolicitor General - Jose CalidaThe following posts have no

appointees yet:Department of HealthDepartment of TourismDepartment of Trade and In-

dustryClimate Change CommissionCommission on Filipinos

OverseasCommission on Higher Edu-

cationGovernance Commission for

Government Owned and Con-trolled Corporations

National Commission on Mus-lim Filipinos

Metro Manila Development Authority

National Anti-Poverty Com-mission

Presidential Management Staff

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority

Duterte admitted that it took him some time to form his Cabi-net, saying it was no simply job to look for “honest” men.

“I can assure you that they are all men of integrity and honesty,” he said. (With Rosette Adel)

PAGE A1 t

PENSION HIKE. President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said he would grant the P2,000 increase in the pension of retired Social Security System (SSS) members after President Aquino vetoed last January the bill that would have increased it. Duterte said he does not need congressional action to give the proposed increase in the monthly pension of SSS retirees. Photo by Michael Varcas / Philstar.com

PAGE A1 t

have been assaulted or killed in view of their alleged involvement in media corruption,” Coloma said.

The Center for International Law (Centerlaw), a nonprofit ded-icated to the promotion and free expression in the Philippines and Asia, said Duterte’s remark “will only serve to embolden, rather than deter, those who kill without compunction.”

“He only shows a cynical at-titude toward what is a serious concern to the international community and a scourge to any society founded on democratic ideals,” said Centerlaw execu-tive director Romel Regalado Bagares.

Still a crimeIn a statement, the Center for

Media Freedom and Responsibil-ity said Duterte “was correct in saying that irresponsible, biased, paid-for reporting and comment do lead to a journalist’s being killed. But the killing of anyone is nevertheless still a crime, and it doesn’t matter whether the vic-tim is a journalist or not.”

Francis Allan Angelo, presi-dent of the Iloilo Press Club, de-scribed the mayor’s statement as “crass and irresponsible, to a point that it could be interpreted as an overt approval of media ha-rassment and killings.”

“Many of the slain journal-ists were only doing their jobs

and died fighting for just cause. And even if they did something wrong, they do not deserve to be killed,” said Glenda Sologastoa, NUJP-Iloilo president.

Silencing mediaVicky Arnaiz, vice president of

NUJP-Leyte, said the statement was shocking and could be used as a license to silence and kill members of the media.

“We are in for silencing the media. President-elect Duterte’s statement could incite more mur-ders. Any assassination is not jus-tified. It’s an atrocious statement coming from a president against the media,” Arnaiz said.

In Puerto Princesa City in Palawan province, relatives of a slain broadcaster said they were “shocked” by the statement.

“Doc Gerry Ortega was killed for his courage and integrity. He was murdered precisely because he was honorable,” his daughter, Michaella, said in a statement is-sued by his family.

Reynafe Momay-Castillo, whose father was one of the 32 journalists killed in the Maguin-danao massacre in 2009, said on a Facebook post: “My dad was not a corrupt journalist. He was killed along with 31 other jour-nalists by just merely covering an election-related [activity]. It is unfair to be branded as such. They were brutally killed.”

Duterte should “be pleased by the existence of these laws

because without them he would also be exposed to violent re-percussions, according to his own words,” he added. (With re-ports from Nikko Dizon, DJ Yap and Marlon Ramos; Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao; Re-dempto D. Anda, Inquirer South-ern Luzon; Nestor P. Burgos Jr. and Joey A. Gabieta, Inquirer Vi-sayas; and AFP)

Duterte’s remark on corrupt journalists…PAGE A2 t

the killings also suggest that the slain had been successful in ex-posing official wrongdoing and collusion with criminal groups,” CMFR said in a statement.

“Nevertheless, CMFR has never discounted the possibility that some of the journalists killed since 1986 were corrupt, or had been irresponsible. But we have

always held that no one deserves to be killed for either offense,” it added.

CMFR noted that there are ways to address abuses by mem-bers of the media like reporting them to media organizations.

“President-elect Duterte was correct in saying that irrespon-sible, biased, paid-for report-ing and comment do lead to a

journalist’s being killed. But the killing of anyone is nevertheless still a crime, and it doesn’t matter whether the victim is a journalist or not,” CMFR said.

“As president of the Philip-pines, Mayor Duterte would hopefully be more circumspect. The killing of journalists is after all not something to be made light of,” it added. n

‘Rody comment on media killings…PAGE A2 t

JUNE 3-9, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150A�

Vote for Hillary in theCalifornia Democratic Primary onTuesday, June 7Polls are open from 7:00am to 8:00pm

Filipino American leaders across California are supporting Hillary Clinton. She understands our community’s needs and embraces our diversity.

As First Lady, she led the fight for quality, affordable health care.As Senator from New York, she fought for Filipino World War II veterans.As Secretary of State, she strengthened our ties with the Philippines.As President, she’ll work to:

• Provide tax relief for working families

• Make public college debt free

• Fix our broken immigration system to reunite families

(650) 616-4150 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JUNE 3-9, 2016 A�Dateline USa

line with the AAPI community’s interest. She cited Clinton’s in-tention to re-institute the Vot-ing Rights Act, improve college affordability and enact compre-hensive immigration reform as factors in the Caucus’s move to support her.

“She’s been fighting for AAPI issues her whole career,” Filipi-no-American Jason Tengco, who serves as AAPI outreach director for Clinton’s campaign, told the Asian Journal.

If elected, Tengco said, the former secretary of state would seek to reunite families by in-troducing comprehensive immi-gration reform legislation within her first 100 days in office. 40 percent of the backlog of family-based immigration visa applica-tions come from Asian countries

and some applicants, especially from the Philippines, wait for as long as 23 years to be approved, according to Tengco. He added that Clinton would preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and other exist-ing pathways to citizenship.

“It’s really about the next gen-eration,” said Rep. Doris O. Mat-sui (D-CA).

She referred to Clinton as a for-ward-thinking candidate, in con-trast to the presumptive Repub-lican nominee, Donald Trump, who has campaigned on the no-tion of recapturing the strengths and values of past generations.

“This is a great country, and we can make it greater,” said Matsui. “We don’t want a throw-back.”

Matsui went on to call Clinton “the most qualified person to

ever run for us.”After the press conference, City

of Artesia Mayor Victor Manalo said he agrees with Clinton’s pri-orities. He would like to see the potential Democratic nominee continue her focus on poverty is-sues, especially as they apply to women and children.

“We have a significant number of children that are going hun-gry, and suffering from abuse and neglect,” Manalo told the Asian Journal. “We can do better as a country to take care of those who are most vulnerable.”

He added that CAPAC’s en-dorsement comes at a pivotal point in the contest between Clinton and her opponent, Bernie Sanders. The former secretary of state holds a significant lead in the Democratic race, but the 475 delegates up for grabs in the

Gov. Brown, AAPI elected officials endorse…

AAPI elected officials announced their endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president on Tuesday, May 31 at San Gabriel Hilton. Front row (L-R): Chen Ho Liao, Robert Gin, Peter Chan, Hans Liang, Henry Lo, Mike Fong, Stephen Lam and Victor Manalo; Second row (L-R): Shelley Ryan, Doris Matsui, Judy Chu, Mike Eng, Michelle Kwan, Jason Tengco AJPress photo by Christina M. Oriel

PAGE A1 t

viction for assault with a firearm and other violations when he al-legedly killed his pregnant girl-friend and unborn child, Lauren Olguin, last April.

FBI reports said that he and his 32-year-old girlfriend were visiting a friend in the Rampart area of Los Angeles last April 12 when the crime was committed. Policarpio allegedly became an-gry with Olguin and started to beat her face, and then shot her in the forehead with a handgun.

Prior to his 2001 conviction, Policarpio fled to the Philippines

in 2000 due to a case involving a dispute in Burbank, California, in which he was suspected to have fired nine shots into another car. He was deported back to the US the following year, convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released on parole in May 2015.

The 39-year-old convicted fel-on has numerous ties to Las Ve-gas, Florida and the Philippines. According to investigators, Poli-carpio’s family members include multiple wives and children.

“His pattern is one of violence, and he is always armed,” FBI

Special Agent Scott Garriola said in a statement earlier this month, NBC News reported. “He is the definition of a continuing threat to the community.”

Olguin’s mother, Jerilyn Ol-guin was relieved when she found out that her daughter’s suspected killer has been caught.

“Although my daughter’s gone, my biggest fear was, ‘God, I hope he doesn’t do this to some-one else,’” Olguin said, in an in-terview with NBC Los Angeles.

Policarpio’s arraignment is ex-pected to happen this week. (Ma-lou Liwanag-Bledsoe / AJPress)

Fil-Am on FBI’s Most Wanted list caught…PAGE A1 t

Chen Ho Liao, Michelle Kwan, Jason Tengco, Judy Chu, Victor Manalo, Mary Grace Barrios, Hans Liang, Peter Chan, Mike Fong and Stephen Lam AJPress photo by Eric Licas

NO CYCLONE YET. State weather forecasters said the country has not yet been visited by a cyclone this year due to the lingering effects of El Niño. The start of the rainy season, however, was declared by the weather bureau last May 24. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) records the highest number of tropical cyclones during the months of August and September. Philstar file photo

upcoming primaries could upset the front-runner’s momentum.

In an open letter to Democratic and Independent voters, Gover-nor Jerry Brown said he sympa-thized with Sanders’s campaign message of

empowering of the average American against the influence of the “top one percent.”

However, Brown said that Clinton’s nomination would be “the only path forward to win the presidency,” and added that her lead over Sanders by “millions of votes” signifies that Democrats want her to be the nominee.

The AAPI community is the fastest-growing ethnic group in the country, and its voting power has doubled from 2 million to 4 million voters in the past de-cade.

In addition to Chu and Matsui, who represented CAPAC, other AAPI elected officials were also present at the event, including Monterey Council Member Ste-phen Lam, San Gabriel Mayor Chin Ho Liao, and Garvey El-ementary School Boardmember Henry Lo. They made note of the presidential hopeful’s history of dialogue with not just AAPIs, but all communities of color. Lo recalled the first time he saw Clinton speak when she visited his high school in 1992, just after the LA riots. Lo said that Clinton held an hours-long session with young community members dis-cussing social inequality and rac-ism.

“One of the first things [Clin-ton] did after kicking off her cam-paign was to meet with members

of CAPAC,” said Chu. “She lis-tened to every point we raised.”

Earlier this month Clinton was the only presidential candidate to speak at the Annual Asian Pacific American Institute of Congressio-nal Studies’ gala in Washington DC. She is also the only presiden-tial candidate to host an outreach event directed specifically toward the AAPI community.

Clinton will continue her cam-paign in California with a series of appearances at Get Out The Vote events from June 2 through June 6. Sanders is scheduled to appear at events in Palo Alto, Santa Cruz and Monterey. Don-ald Trump has scheduled an ap-pearance at a rally in Sacramento at the International Jet Center on Wednesday, June 1. (Eric Licas / AJPress)

june 3-9, 2016 • nORCAL ASIAn jOuRnAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150A�

of other areas in the South China Sea.

One would think Beijing was deliberately shaming Filipinos and their leaders. After President Aquino declared that we would defend “what is ours” to the last man, China responded by sending a swarm of fishing boats escorted by warships.

In a TV interview then, Major Gen. Zhang Zhaozhong said that China’s navy wrapped Panatag like a “cabbage” with their war-ships, barring Filipino naval ships and fishing boats. He said they secured Panatag by constant sur-veillance and the posting of fishing vessels and warships.

“If the Philippines wants to go

in, in the outermost area, it has first to ask whether our navy will allow it,” he said. “Then it has to ask whether our fishery adminis-tration ships and marine surveil-lance ships will allow it.”

The TV host said: “Let’s look at the big screen that shows the Chinese islands and reefs illegally occupied by the Philippines. What one has stolen has to be returned. What shall we do to counter those rude and barbarian acts of the Philippines?”

Last Thursday, meanwhile, Chi-na’s ministries of foreign affairs and national defense announced four “bottom lines” on South Chi-na Sea issues. The People’s Daily Online said these are:

1. China will never accept nor recognize the arbitration on the SCS question initiated by the Phil-ippines no matter what kind of ruling the arbitral tribunal at The Hague makes.

2. The US should stop close-in reconnaissance in China’s coastal areas by American military ships and aircraft.

3. South China Sea disputes are not the business of G7 and its members. (The European Council president has said that G7 should make a clear statement on SCS disputes.)

4. Any attempt to undermine China’s sovereign rights through intimidation or other means is doomed to fail. (Philstar.com)

JUNE is here! The season of weddings and new beginnings unfold as the days get warmer and longer. It is unfortunate, though, that half of the mar-riages these days end in divorce. It does not have to be that way. It should not be that way.

I just attended a beautiful wedding in New York where my husband and I were privileged to be Ninong and Ninang. The priest left a message that will forever play beautiful music to my ears to remind me about two things we need to say to our spouse as we renew our marriage vows each new day we are blessed to share to-gether: “ I love you.” “I need to be loved by you.”

I also came across this article online via Discipleship Nation. Let me share the gem of this piece. May it be a blessing to you wherever you may be in your re-lationship:

The best marriage advice ever

Choose to love each other even in those moments when you struggle to like each other. Love is a com-mitment, not a feeling.

Always answer the phone when your hus-band/wife is calling and when possible, try

to keep your phone off when you’re to-gether with your spouse.

Make time together a priority. Budget for a consistent date night. Time is the “currency of relationships” so consis-tently invest time into your marriage.

Surround yourself with friends who will strengthen your marriage and remove yourself from people who may tempt you to compromise your character.

Make laughter the soundtrack of your marriage. Share moments of joy, and even in the hard times, find reasons to laugh.

In every argument, remember that there won’t be a “winner” and a “loser.” You are partners in everything so you’ll

either win together or lose together. Work together to find a solution.

Remember that a strong marriage rarely has two strong people at the same time. It’s usually a husband and wife tak-ing turns being strong for each other in the moments when the other feels weak.Prioritize what happens in the bedroom. It takes more than sex to build a strong marriage, but it’s nearly impossible to build a strong marriage without it!

Remember that marriage isn’t 50-50, divorce is 50-50. Marriage has to be 100-100. It’s not splitting everything in half, but both partners giving everything they’ve got!

Give your best to each other, not your leftovers after you’ve given your best to everyone else.

Learn from other people, but don’t feel the need to compare your life or your marriage to anyone else’s. God’s plan for your life is masterfully unique!

Don’t put your marriage on hold while you’re raising your kids or else you’ll end up with an empty nest and an empty mar-riage.

Never keep secrets from each other. Secrecy is the enemy of intimacy.

Never lie to each other. Lies break trust and trust is the foundation of a strong marriage.

When you’ve made a mistake, admit it and humbly seek forgiveness. You should be quick to say, “I was wrong. I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

When your husband/wife breaks your trust, give them your forgiveness instant-ly which will promote healing and create the opportunity for trust to be rebuilt. You should be quick to say, “I love you. I forgive you. Let’s move forward.”

Be patient with each other. Your spouse is always more important that your schedule.

Model the kind of marriage that will make your sons want to grow up to be good husbands and your daughters want to grow up to be good wives.

Learn from other people, but don’t feel the need to compare your life or your marriage to anyone Else. God’s plan for your life is masterfully unique!

Never talk badly about your spouse to

other people or vent about them online. Protect your spouse at all times and in all places.

Always wear your wedding ring. It will remind you that you’re always connected to your spouse and it will remind the rest of the world that you’re off limits!

Connect into a community of faith. A good church can make a world of differ-ence in your marriage and family.

Pray together. Every marriage is stron-ger with God in the middle of it.

When you have to choose between say-ing nothing or saying something mean to your spouse, say nothing every time!

Never consider divorce as an option. Remember that a “perfect marriage” is just two imperfect people who refuse to give up on each other.

(Writer: Unknown)* * *

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

In the House of Representatives, a Congress shake-up is currently ongoing after several members of the ruling Liberal Party have de-cided to curtail its “Tuwid na Daan” (Straight Path) engagement for Duterte’s PDP-La-ban Coalition. Several elected congressmen and congresswomen have also decided to jump ship from their respective parties to support the incom-ing president.

According to Inquirer.net, other parties have gravitated towards PDP-Laban, namely the Nation-alist People’s Coalition (NPC), Nacionalista Party, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, National Unity Party and the 45-member party-list coalition. They are expected to enforce Duterte’s platforms with laws to rein corruption and criminality in the coun-try.

Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr., who led the House speakership in the 15th and 16th Congress under the Liberal Party, has conceded and joined the minority.

“I will join the minority, I have no idea how many are joining it,” he said after at least 80 of the the 116 elected Liberal Party members have decided to transfer to PDP-Laban.

“He was elected by the people and the expecta-tions are high. We will give the new President all

the chances to make good on what he has been saying, as along as it is within the Constitution and legal limits,” Belmonte said referring to the incoming administration.

Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, who have chosen to remain with the minority, vowed to oppose any rad-ical change that Duterte wants to impose, namely death penalty and the federal form of government.

“Being in the minority will be difficult and lonely but this is the course that I must take towards the path of improving the political consciousness of our people,” Erice said.

The Philippines has three branches of govern-ment: the executive (President), the legislative (Congress consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives) and the judiciary (Supreme Court and all other courts). Each department has a distinct and essential role in the function of the government, and was established under the Con-stitution.

The separation of powers was created to ensure cohesive central government supported by three integral and independent divisions with divergent powers and responsibilities. They work together to make the country run smoothly and to assure that the rights of citizens are not ignored or disal-lowed.

Best advice to those getting married (& those who want to stay married)

ManilaTimes.net photo

Turncoats

Editorial

OpiniOn Features

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ROGER LAGMAY ORIELPublisher & Chairman of the Board

CORA MACABAGDAL-ORIELPresident

MALOU LIWANAG-BLEDSOEEditor-in-Chief

Northern California Asian Journal

MOMAR G. VISAYAExecutive Editor

ELIZABETH HILARIO SISONChief Financial Officer

JOSEPH PERALTAVice President & General ManagerNorthern California Asian Journal

Gel SantoS-ReloS

The Fil-Am Perspective

Federico d. Pascual Jr.

Commentary

CHANGE is indeed coming. The transition of power to President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s administration has become more apparent even in the incoming 17th Congress.

Even with the luxury of their independence, these three departments operate with built-in checks and balances to prevent concentration of power in any one branch, to protect the rights and liberties of citizens, and to avoid Constitutional crisis.

Filipinos expect these three great departments to

work together to solve the country’s much bigger problems. Enhancing such cooperation among the branches may be achieved by meeting regularly to discuss issues and be involved in addressing key problems facing the nation. For the benefit of their people, a compromise is mandatory. (AJPress)

FOUR YEARS after he lost Scar-borough (Panatag) shoal to China and three weeks after he was ac-cused of treason for it, President Noynoy Aquino is explaining why he abandoned to Chinese poach-ers the rich Filipino fishing ground off the Zambales coast.

Clearing himself of liability for surrendering that shoal 120 miles west of Subic Bay, well within the country’s 200-mile Exclusive Eco-nomic Zone, Mr. Aquino accused Beijing of reneging on an agree-ment for Chinese and Filipino ves-sels to simultaneously leave the area in 2012.

The agreement for withdrawal was brokered by the United States to ease the tension and enable the Asian neighbors to save face, the President told newsmen covering his inauguration last week of the Balog-balog dam-irrigation proj-ect in San Jose, Tarlac.

The issue was raised another notch last May 6 when the camp of President-elect Rody Duterte filed treason and espionage charg-es against President Aquino and Sen. Antonio Trillanes for holding “back channel talks” to resolve the 10-week standoff.

The secret talks allegedly con-ducted in violation of protocol saw the disclosure of state secrets to the Chinese side, according to Duterte’s lawyers.

While the crime of treason may

Aquino: US brokered failed Panatag dealnot hold eventually, its filing high-lights the vulnerability of Presi-dent Aquino, after he steps down on June 30, to serious charges – including his constitutionally challenged use of funds under his Disbursement Acceleration Pro-gram.

The Scarborough standoff with China began on April 8, 2012, when Philippine Navy flagship BRP Gregorio del Pilar caught eight Chinese fishing vessels poaching in the shoal.

When inspected, some of the boats yielded endangered ma-rine species such as corals, baby sharks and giant clams whose capture and possession are illegal under Philippine law and interna-tional conventions.

“So a standoff occurred,” Mr. Aquino said. “We replaced the Navy ship with a vessel of the Bu-reau of Fisheries and Aquatic Re-sources.” (Use of Navy ships has a war-like color to it, so Coast Guard cutters and other vessels, such as the one of the BFAR, are deployed instead.)

He continued: “How was the standoff resolved? America bro-kered and there was an agreement for all parties to depart the shoal and finish (the standoff). There was this concept of ‘saving face’ by everybody.

“What should we have done there? Engage in hostilities? If we engage in hostilities, can we win? Obviously not. But even in that as-pect, are we endangering lives un-necessarily?”

• US readies PR program for

DuterteWHILE President Aquino may

have been disappointed that the US-brokered agreement did not hold, we see no indications how his successor Duterte views Amer-ican good offices and avowals of pure intentions.

Meantime, Washington is re-portedly preparing events calculat-ed to win the goodwill of incoming President Duterte and convince him that the fate of the Philippines lies nowhere but with its historical ally the US.

One PR extravaganza men-tioned is a Duterte state visit soon after the inauguration of a new US president. It is anybody’s guess if all that razzle-dazzle would impress the simple mayor from Davao, but the courtship continues.

The Panatag embarrassment has raised questions on how ef-fective are US moves in moderat-ing Philippine-Chinese disputes, and how firm are American com-mitments such as those in the 1951 Phl-US Mutual Defense Treaty.

Mr. Aquino’s disclosure of US involvement in the standoff dra-matizes how ineffectual could be some diplomatic initiatives of the great US of A now pivoting its mili-tary might to the Asia-Pacific area.

• China boasts of ‘cabbage’ cap-ture of Panatag

Way back on June 4, 2013, we reported in Postscript how a Chi-nese general went around boast-ing how they did it in Scarborough, and holding up the strategy as a model of their “cabbage” capture

Scarborough (Panatag) shoal

(650) 616-4150 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JUNe 3-9, 2016 A�Dateline PhiliPPines

Anunsiyo ng Awtoridad ng Pabahay ng Lungsod ngAlameda Ukol sa Pagbubukas ng mga Site-Based Wait List

Sa petsang ika-22 ng Hunyo, 2016 ang Awto-ridad ng Pabahay ng Lungsod ng Alameda (Housing Authority of Alameda o AHA) ay

magbubukas ng pitong listahan ng paghihintay (o Wait List). Magsisimulang tumanggap ng mga ap-likasyon ang AHA sa ika-22 ng Hunyo, 2016 ng alas-diyes ng umaga (10am), PST. Titigil ang AHA ng pagtanggap ng mga aplikasyon sa ika-27 ng Hunyo, 2016, isang minuto bago mag-alas-diyes ng umaga (9:59am), PST.

Ang mga Wait Lists na ito ay para sa mga tiyak na yunit sa Lungsod ng Alameda, at lahat ng mga piniling aplikante ay dapat manirahan sa mga yunit na ito sa Lungsod ng Alameda. Hindi lahat ng yunit ay makapagbibigay ng tulong sa mga may kapan-sanan. ANG MGA APLIKANTE AY DAPAT PUWEDE AT PAYAG MANIRAHAN SA LUNGSOD NG AL-AMEDA, CALIFORNIA KAPAG SILA AY NAPILI. ITO AY HINDI ISANG PROGRAMA NG HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER.

Dahil sa limitadong pondo na puwedeng gamitin, ang mga aplikante ay pipiliin at aayusin gamit ang isang random na sistema ng lottery. Hindi makakaapekto kung kailan ka nag-apply sa panahon na bukas ang Wait List dahil ang mga aplikasyon na mapipili para sa listahan ay pipiliin gamit ang random lottery. Hindi lahat ng aplikante ay mailalagay sa Wait List. Kapag napili na ang mga ap-likasyon gamit ang random lottery, ang inyong mga an-gkin na kahilingan ay i-a-apply. Ang sumusunod ay isang maikling paglalarawn ng mga Wait List na bubuksan sa ika-27 ng Hunyo, 2016. Walang tenant-based na tulong ang nakakabit sa mga yunit na ito. Sa karamihan ng kaso, ang pamilya ay hindi kumukuha ng anumang tipo ng tulong ka-pag sila ay lilipat. Ang mga yunit na ito ay limitado sa mga pamilya na ubod ng baba (very-low) o mababa (low) ang kita.

Project-Based Voucher (PBV Wait Lists): Mayroong li-mang (5) PBV Wait Lists na bubuksan. Karamihan ng mga bagong yunit na tatanggap ng PBV na tulong sa hinaharap ay pupunuin galling sa mga Wait List. Inaasahan ng AHA na magdadagdag ito ng tatlong bagong kompleks sa kanil-ang portpolyo sa mga susunod na taon. Ang pinakauna sa mga Wait List ay para sa sero (zero) hanggang dalawang silid tulugan na yunit. Dalawampung (20) sambahayan na karapat-dapat sa 1-silid tulugan na yunit at dalawang daang (200) sambahayan na karapat-dapat sa 2-silid tulugan na yunit ay pipiliin gamit ang random lottery at ilalagay sa Wait List. Ang pangalawang PBV Wait List na bubuksan ay para sa mga yunit na may higit sa tatlong (3) silid tulu-gan. Dalawang daan at limampung (250) sambahayan na karapat-dapat para sa 3-silid tulugan na yunit at isang daan (100) na sambahayan na karapat-dapat para sa 4-silid tulu-gan na yunit ay pipiliin gamit ang random lottery at ilalagay sa Wait List. Ang pangatlong PBV Wait List na bubuksan ay para sa mga yunit na itinalaga para sa mga matatandang kabahayan (elderly households). Para sa ikatlong listah-

an, ang pinuno ng bahay (head of household) o asawa ay kinakailangan na animnapu’t dalawa (62) ang edad o pata-as. Tatlong daan at limampung (350) sambahayan ay pip-iliin gamit ang random lottery at ilalagay sa Wait List para sa istudyo at 1-silid tulugan na mga yunit. Ang pang-apat na PBV Wait List na bubuksan ay para sa mga yunit sa Al-ameda Point Collaborative (APC). Para sa ikaapat na listah-an, ang sambahayan ay dapat walang tirahan (homeless) at nangangailan ng mga suportadong serbisyo na iniaalok kasama ng yunit. Animnapu (60) na sambahayan na kara-pat-dapat para sa 3-silid tulugan na yunit at animnapu (60) na sambahayan na karapat-dapat para sa 4-silid tulugan na yunit ay pipiliin gamit ang random lottery at ilalagay sa Wait List. Ang panlimang PBV Wait List na bubuksan ay para sa The Park Alameda Apartments. Isang daan (100) na sambahayan na karapat-dapat para sa mga istudyo na tirahan ay ilalagay sa Wait List para sa mga yunit na may mga suportadong serbisyo, kasama na ang siyam na unit na inilaan para sa mga tao na may kapansanan.

HOME Wait List: Limampu (50) na sambahayan na karapat-dapat para sa 1-silid tulugan na yunit at limampu (50) na sambahayan na karapat-dapat para sa 2-silid tulu-gan na yunit ay pipiliin gamit ang random lottery at ilal-agay sa Wait List. Ang Wait List ay para sa mga yunit na pinondohan ng pera ng HOME na pinapatakbo ng AHA at ang renta para sa mga yunit na ito ay limitado ng renta ng HOME.

Wait List ng Independence Plaza: Ang Wait List na bu-buksan para sa kompleks na ito ay para sa mga yunit na mas mababa ang renta sa market dahil sa Redevelopment Funds. Ang mga yunit na ito ay limitado sa mga pamilya na ubod ng baba o mababa ang kita.

Para mas mahusay na mapaglingkuran ang mga ap-likante at para ang proseso ng aplikasyon ay maging bukas para sa lahat, ang kabuuan ng proseso ng aplikasyon ay makikita online sa www.waitlistcheck.com/CA955. Isang link sa website ay makikita sa www.alamedahsg.com. Ang mga aplikasyon ay maari lamang i-sabmit online. Kaluwa-gan para sa mga taong may kapansanan ay ipagkakaloob, ngunit ito ay dapat hilingin ng maaga sa pag-email sa RA@alamedahsg.org o magpadala ng kasulatan sa P.O. Box 3199, 1415 Webster Street, Alameda, CA 94501. Ang mga kahilingan ay dapat matanggap sa petsang ika-18 ng Hun-yo, 2016. Ang mga aplikante ay puwede lamang mag-ap-ply sa panahon na ang listahan ay bukas para sa mga ap-likasyon. Ang ahensiya (AHA) ay hindi diretsong tatanggap ng mga aplikasyon.

Ang mga aplikante ay puwedeng gumamit ng anumang instrumento na may internet access para kumpletuhin ang aplikasyon, kasama na ang mga mobile phones at tablets.

Isang linya ng impormasyon sa iba’t ibang wika ay magbibigay ng impormasyon na pre-recorded tungkol sa proseso ng aplikasyon habang ito ay bukas. Ang toll-free na numero ay (888) 366-9510. Ang kaparehong impormasyon ay makikita sa www.alamedahsg.org. Ang mga aplikante ay hindi dapat tumawag sa pangunahing telepono ng ahensi-ya upang humingi ng tulong sa proseso online.

Para masigurado ang kakayahan sa paggamit at ang daan sa sistema online, ang AHA ay nakisama sa mga or-

ganisasyon sa komunidad. Habang bukas ang mga Wait List, ang mga ahensiya na ito ay magkakaroon ng mga estasyon na may internet access para makapag-apply ang mga aplikante online. May mga bolunteer na nakatalaga sa ilan sa mga lokasyon na ito para tulungan ang mga ap-likante na nangangailan ng tulong sa proseso online. Ang kumpletong listahan ng mga sentro at ang mga oras na bukas ang mga ito ay makikita sa www.alamedahsg.org.

Ang pagsa-sabmit ng aplikasyon ay hindi ginagaranti-ya ang pagkakalagay sa Wait List, pagiging karapat-dapat, o isang alok ng pabahay.

Para sa karagdagang impormasyon tungkol sa anuman sa mga Wait List, bumisita sa www.alamedahsg.org.

Ang AHA ay hindi magpapadala ng sulat o abiso sa mga sambahayan tungkol sa resulta ng random lottery. Dapat mag-tsek ang mga sambahayan ng kanilang estado sa www.waitlistcheck.com/CA955 o sa pagtawag sa nu-mero (844) 451-1756. Ang AHA ay hindi sasagot ng mga tawag sa ibang mga linya tungkol sa kinalabasan ng ran-dom lottery.

Kapag kulang ang mga aplikasyon na natanggap, maaaring iwan na bukas ng AHA ang isa o higit pa sa mga Wait List sa itaas ng karagdagang oras hanggang ang ti-na-target na kabuuan ng Wait List ay makuha. Ang anunsi-yo para sa pinahabang pagbubukas ng Wait List ay ilalagay sa www.alamedahsg.org.

Ang mga pamilya na makakatupad sa mga iniatas na kinakailangang tulong na salapi (subsidy requirements) sa bawat Wait List ang mailalagay lamang sa naturang Wait List. Upang mapayagan ang posibilidad ng makatuwirang kaluwagan (Reasonable Accommodations), ang mga sam-bahayan na hindi bababa sa isang tao bawat silid tulugan ay ilalagay sa random lottery. Matapos ang proseso ng ran-domization, titingnan ng AHA ang mga pamilya para sa pa-giging karapat-dapat base sa edad, kita at kinakailangang tulong na salapi. Sa oras na ito, anumang makatuwirang kaluwagan na humihingi ng ekstra na silid tulugan ay sisiguraduhin at ang pagiging karapat-dapat ng pamilya na mailagay sa Wait List para sa isang yunit na bukas ang su-kat (open size unit) ay papasiyahin. Kapag napagpasiyahan na hindi maaari ang isang sambahayan dahil sa edad, kita o kinakailangang tulong na salapi, patuloy na tatabingan ng AHA ang mga sambahayan sa randomized order hanggang ang kinakailangang bilang ng sambahayan ay naidagdag sa Wait List, o ang lahat ng mga aplikante ay naitabing.

Kapag nailagay ng AHA ang mga nasa itaas na samba-hayan sa Wait List, at lahat ng sambahayan sa Wait List ay nabigyan ng pabahay o natanggal sa Wait List sa loob ng tatlong taon sa pagsarado ng Wait List, ang AHA ay gaga-wa ng outreach sa mga tinukoy na bilang ng sambahayan sa listahan na randomized. Ang outreach na ito ay ihahay-ag sa website ng AHA.

MANILA—The Philippines wel-comed the statement of the Group of Seven (G7) airing concern over maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea as the world awaits the ruling on the case filed by Philippines against China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea.

The Department of Foreign Af-fairs (DFA) said the Philippines has taken note of the G7 Leaders’ Declaration issued following the G7 Summit in Ise-Shima, Japan.

The declaration addressed major global economic and political challenges, including maritime security.

by Pia Lee-BragoPhilstar.com

Leaders of Group of Seven nations (L-R) British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, European Council President Donald Tusk, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel look to media as they gather to participate in a G-7 Working Session in Shima, Japan, Friday, May 27, 2016, during the G-7 Summit.

PH welcomes G7 statement on territorial disputesThe G7 – composed of the Unit-

ed States, Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Canada – also reiterated that settlement of dis-putes should be “peaceful” and “freedom of navigation and over-flight” should be respected.

“The Philippines welcomes the statement as it underlines the G7’s abiding commitment to support efforts to peacefully man-age and settle the disputes in the South China Sea in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), through mechanisms recognized by international law, including legal procedures such as arbitration,” the DFA said in a statement.

The Philippines “considers

the G7’s position to be of critical significance as the international community awaits the outcome of the arbitral process that was initi-ated in 2013 with respect to the South China Sea,” it added.

The G7 also expressed strong opposition to any intimidating, coercive or provocative unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions, and urged all states to refrain from such actions as land reclamations including large scale ones, build-ing of outposts, as well as their use for military purposes, and tto act in accordance with inter-national law, including the prin-ciples of freedom of navigation and overflight.

While the next administration could look into the DAP, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said there seemed to be a “disinformation” going on because the SC ruling on the government’s motion for reconsideration upheld the operative fact doctrine that governed the DAP implementation.

M A N I L A — M a l a c a ñ a n g scored the “lies and deception” being spread with regard to the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), saying only parts of the Supreme Court (SC) decision on the matter were be-ing highlighted, apparently to put the administration in a bad light.

While the next administration could look into the DAP, Presi-dential Communications Opera-tions Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said there seemed to be a “disinformation” going on because the SC ruling on the government’s motion for recon-sideration upheld the operative fact doctrine that governed the DAP implementation.

“In that decision, the high court categorically ruled on and upheld the presumption of regu-larity in the implementation of DAP,” Coloma said.

“In other words, the program’s authors, sponsors and imple-menters must be presumed to have acted in good faith and with regularity in the performance of their official duties,” he added.

The Integrated Bar of the Phil-

Palace: Lies on DAP must stopby aurea CaLiCa

Philstar.com

ippines or IBP has expressed support for the plan of incom-ing justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to look into the liabili-ties of officials of the outgoing administration for the alleged unconstitutional acts under the DAP.

Coloma said over radio dzRB that as Chief Executive, Aquino faithfully followed the Constitu-tion and the laws of the land.

“When we say President Aqui-no, of course that includes the whole of the executive depart-

ment,” Coloma said.The Palace official said the SC

also recognized the positive im-pacts of DAP after it helped boost public spending and propped up the economy.

“Maybe we should reiterate that fact, because it is quite ob-vious that when this issue is dis-cussed, we only hear one side, only those against the DAP, those who continue to destroy the government despite the de-cision of the high court,” Colo-ma said.

tic service.“Modern slavery exists in the

Philippines. The issue of forced labor for Filipinos working abroad is a significant concern,” the re-port said.

In terms of vulnerability, the Philippines obtained a score of 47.67 percent.

The country continues to re-ceive a rating of BB, which means that it has taken steps to address the issue including short term vic-tim support services, a criminal justice framework that criminal-izes some forms of modern slav-ery, a body to coordinate the re-sponses and protection for those who are vulnerable.

In 2015, the Philippines part-nered with the Netherlands to combat human trafficking, indi-cating strong political will in fight-ing transnational modern slavery,

the report said.The group has urged the Phil-

ippine government to intensify law enforcement efforts and pros-ecute all forms of modern slavery, especially those involving the youth.

An estimated 45.8 million men, women and children around the world are trapped in modern slav-ery. The figure is 28 percent more than previous estimates.

The report said India has the highest number of people trapped in slavery with 18.35 million, while North Korea had the high-est incidence and the weakest government response.

The group explained that while the prevalence and abso-lute numbers of modern slavery have increased, this was due to enhanced data collection and re-search methods.

Over 400,000 Pinoys living in modern slaveryby HeLen FLores

Philstar.com

MANILA—The number of Fili-pinos trapped in modern slavery significantly increased in the last two years, a majority of them in forced labor, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index re-leased yesterday by the Austra-lian-based Walk Free Foundation.

The Philippines ranked 33rd among 167 countries cov-ered in the survey, with an esti-mated 401,000 Filipinos living in modern slavery.

It ranked 103rd among 167 countries in the 2014 Global Slav-ery Index, with 261,200 individu-als.

The 2016 report showed that many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are suffering from ex-ploitation in various parts of the world, especially those in domes-

PAGE A8

OVERSEAS FRENCH WORKER. Foreigners are not unusual sights in Siargao, the surfing capital of the Philippines. Surfers from different parts of the world troop to this side of the Philippine archipelago to enjoy the waves. But a Frenchman waiting tables at a resort will definitely elicit curious gazes. Julien Charlier is a 25-year-old adventure traveler who takes odd jobs in-between living his life as a citizen of the world. Surfing is what brought Julien to the island and made him decide to stay until the end of June. Since money is running low, he sought employment and was advised by some locals to try Siargao Bleu Resort and Spa because it just recently opened and might need reinforcement because it’s peak season. Inquirer.net photo by Marlet Salazar

Dateline PhiliPPines

june 3-9, 2016 • nORCAL ASIAn jOuRnAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150A� Dateline PhiliPPines

MANILA—The Philippines slipped one notch to 42nd in this year’s World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) rankings of the International Institute of Man-agement Development (IMD) as the country weakened in the economic performance criteria of the report

The lower ranking positioned the Philippines in 12th place among 14 Asia-Pacific econo-mies, one notch down from last year’s 11th place.

“The Philippines’ fall in the rankings reflects a general de-cline in the competitiveness of most Asian countries in the 2016 WCY. The rankings of Taiwan, Malaysia, Korea Republic and In-donesia also dropped markedly over the last year,” said the AIM RSN Policy Center for Competi-tiveness, IMD’s Philippine part-ner institute.

The WCY ranked 61 econo-mies based on 342 criteria which are clustered under four broad categories, namely economic performance, government effi-

The Philippines slipped one notch to 42nd in this year’s World Competitiveness Yearbook rankings of the International Institute of Management Development. Philstar.com photo

PH slips a notch in global competitivenessby Richmond meRcuRio

Philstar.comciency, business efficiency and infrastructure.

Among the four broad catego-ries used in measuring a coun-try’s competitiveness, the Philip-pines fared well in government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure but fell to 38th from 34th last year in terms of economic performance

“Ranking second in terms of resilience to external shocks and third in forecasted real GDP growth was not enough to make up for decreases in sub-factor rankings for prices – the country ranked 57th in food costs, and 42nd in international trade,” the AIM RSN Policy Center for Com-petitiveness said.

Meanwhile, the Philippines’ business efficiency ranking im-proved two notches to 24th this year on the back of improve-ments in the productivity and ef-ficiency, management practices and attitudes and values sub-cat-egories.

The country also went up two notches to 55th this year in the infrastructure criteria, which in-cluded physical, technological,

scientific and social infrastructure.The report, however, indicated

that the country received very poor marks in infrastructure sub-categories such as human de-velopment, pupil-teacher ratios, communications technology and pollution management.?

Government efficiency in the Philippines remained unchanged at 36th place in 2016 as the country performed well in ex-change rate stability and in total general government debt relative to gross domestic product.

The country’s skilled work-force emerged as the Philippine economy’s most attractive fea-ture based on an executive opin-ion survey that formed part of the 2016 WCY rankings.

This was followed by dyna-mism of the economy, open and positive attitudes, high educa-tional level and cost competitive-ness.

On the other hand, effective legal environment, reliable in-frastructure and competitiveness tax regime were identified as the least attractive factors of the country.

DAVAO CITY—Boxing icon and incoming senator Manny Pac-quiao is aiming for a perfect atten-dance at the Senate after posting the worst attendance record at the House of Representatives.

Pacquiao barely attended ses-sions at the House because of his boxing training. The representa-tive of the lone district of Saran-gani province attended sessions only four times in 2014.

Pacquiao, who is here to meet with incoming president Rodrigo Duterte, said he has decided not to join the Philippine contingent to the Rio Olympics to focus on his job as senator.

“I did not accept the offer to join the Olympics. I am about to start (my stint as senator). I am excited to work and then I won’t show up again. It would be em-barrassing to those who elected me if I don’t show up in the first month of my service,” Pacquiao said.

“The responsibility (at the Sen-ate) is different from the one in Congress, which only covers dis-tricts. In the Senate, it’s nation-wide.

“If I can achieve a perfect (at-tendance), why not? There’s no problem,” he added.

Despite his absenteeism, Pac-quiao managed to get the sev-enth highest number of votes in the senatorial race with 16.05 million.

Pacquiao could not say though if

his fight with Bradley was his last.“We’re not thinking of that yet.

For now, my focus is my work,” he said when asked if he still plans to have one more bout before he really retires from boxing.

Pacquiao has authored and co-authored four laws in his six-year stint as Sarangani representative.

He is the author of a law creat-ing a regular district office of the Land Transportation Office in his province.

Pacquiao is also the co-author of a law that expands the cover-age of incentives given to national coaches and athletes; a measure that promotes entrepreneurship and financial literacy program among the youth; and a law de-claring Sept. 1, the founding an-niversary of North Cotabato, a special non-working holiday in the province.

Pacquiao said he is trying to learn the ropes of legislation. He would take a course on the leg-islature in June. He has been at-tending a course on legislation and governance at the state-run Development Academy of the Philippines since 2010.

Pacquiao said he would focus on legislation that would benefit the poor, including the giving of free education to students with financial constraints.

Pacquiao also said he wants to be the chairman of the Senate committee on games, amuse-ments and sports.

Pacman to meet RodyWhen asked why he is meeting

Duterte, Pacquiao said he would like to express support to the in-coming president.

“I will convey my support to his advocacies that seek to promote change in the country,” he said.

Pacquiao was part of the sena-torial ticket of the United Nation-alist Alliance (UNA), the party of Vice President Jejomar Binay who lost to Duterte in the presi-dential race.

Asked if he would move to Duterte’s party Partido Demokra-tiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), Pacquiao said “I am originally from PDP.”

“If that would be the way to express support for Digong (Duterte’s nickname) why not? But why would we think of par-ties? What is important is to think of change, to support the new ad-ministration,” he explained.

Pacquiao also said he is not worried about being called a po-litical butterfly. He said while he was one of those who encour-aged Duterte to run, he did not leave the camp of Binay because he had already promised to sup-port the Vice President.

Pacquiao supported Binay af-ter Duterte had declared that he was not running for president. Pacquiao had already joined UNA when Duterte changed his mind and decided to run for president. (Philstar.com)

FIRST CABINET MEETING. The camp of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night announced the members of the Cabinet of the incoming administration during a press conference at the presidential guest house in Barangay Panacan, Davao City. Photo courtesy of Davao City Mayor’s Office

Pacquiao targets 100% attendance

They also reaffirmed the impor-tance of maintaining a maritime order based on the universally recognized principles of interna-tional law, including those reflect-ed in the UNCLOS.

Meanwhile, incoming foreign secretary Perfecto Yasay said policy recommendations would be presented to president-elect Rodrigo Duterte after a series of policy briefings being given by the DFA are completed on June 9.

Yasay said he is open to bilat-

PAGE A7

PH welcomes G7 statement on territorial...eral talks with China as it is neces-sary to resolve the disputes in the oil-rich South China Sea.

“I don’t think that there is an-other way of resolving this dispute except talking to each other,” Ya-say told reporters at the DFA after attending a policy briefing where the West Philippine Sea was dis-cussed as an urgent and priority issue.

“We certainly would like to make sure that we are able to re-sume bilateral talks because these are necessary,” he added.

The Philippines is the first coun-

try to question China’s nine-dash line claim to almost the entire South China Sea. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the en-tire South China Sea, dismissing claims to parts of it from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

The Chinese government boy-cotted the proceedings at the UN arbitration court and rejected the tribunal’s authority in the case. China repeatedly stated that “it will neither accept nor participate in the arbitration unilaterally initi-ated by the Philippines.”

City and County of San Francisco Department of Elections

sfelections.org(415) 554-4310 (Filipino)

Araw ng Eleksyon Martes

Hunyo 7Primarya para sa Pagka-pangulo

Bumoto sa City HallLunes - Biyernes 8 am—5pm, Sabado—Linggo 10 am—4 pm

Ang mga “Drop-Off Stations” ay bukas sa mga araw na itoSabado - Linggo 10 am—4 pm, Lunes 8 am—5 pm, Araw ng Eleksyon 8am—5 pm

Bumoto sa inyong lugar ng botohan sa Araw ng EleksyonTingnan ang inyong lugar ng Botohan: sfelections.org/tools/pollsite

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COMMUNITYJ o u r n a l

AndA C. KwongAnd nAnCy Miller

Your ImmigrationSolution

WHEN it comes to minors, the judicial system takes cautious steps to ensure that any decision made is in the best interests of the children involved. For im-migration purposes, the United States Citizenship & Immigra-tion Services (USCIS) provides three routes for internation-ally-adopted children to be peti-tioned as children in the United States. Once the requirements to be considered a child have been met, the process to peti-tion the children is exactly the same as any other family-based parent-child petition. After the immediate relative petition is approved, the children may ap-ply to adjust their status and ob-tain their green cards.

The first way is where an adopting parent adopts a non-orphan. In order for an adopted non-orphan child to qualify as a child for immigration purposes, the adoptive parent must adopt the child “while under the age of sixteen years if the child has been in the legal custody of, and has resided with, the adopting parent or parents for at least two years.” The two-year residency with the child may occur before or after legal custody or adop-tion. Where the adopted child continues to reside with the biological parent(s) and adop-tive parent, the burden is on the adoptive parent to establish that she exercised primary parental control. Evidence of parental control may include ownership or maintenance of the property where the child resides; financial support and day-to-day supervi-sion of the child; passport entry and exit stamps to show physi-cal presence; medical, school, religious, tax, or insurance docu-ments that establish relationship; and affidavits from knowledge-able individuals attesting to Peti-tioner’s relationship to the child. However, the mere fact of ongo-

Is it possible to immigrate an adopted child? Yes!ing contact with the birth parents (as in ‘open adoptions’) does not mean that the legal parent-child relationship with the prior legal parents was not terminated.

Another way for adopted chil-dren to be considered children is through Hague Convention adop-tions. The Hague Adoption Con-vention is an international agree-ment that establishes safeguards to ensure that intercountry adop-tions take place in the best inter-ests of the child. It was designed to wealthy or powerful persons from using undue influence in order to facilitate an adoption. However, it has resulted in mak-ing adoptions under Hague ex-tremely difficult and, thus, rare. Only when both countries in-volved have signed and entered the Convention is the adoption governed by these procedures. Generally, only a married US citizen whose spouse also adopts the child or an unmarried US citi-zen who is over 25 years old may adopt. The adoption must occur abroad. The visa petition must be filed before the child turns 16. The two year legal custody and joint residency requirements do not apply in non-orphan cases.Fi-nally, the adopting parents must habitually reside in the US, and the child must be a habitual resi-dent of the Convention country.

Finally, where the parent has adopted an orphan from a coun-try that has not ratified the Hague Convention, the parent must have adopted the child abroad before the age of 16, and show that the child is an orphan by reason of death, disappearance, abandon-ment and/or desertion, separa-tion, or loss of both parents. With limited exception, the par-ent must follow the non-orphan adoption rules if the orphan is in the US either illegally or already present as a nonimmigrant. If the orphan has one natural parent, that parent must be incapable of

providing proper care and irrevo-cably release the child in writing. The release also means that the natural parent is precluded from immigration benefits through the child that was adopted. There is no minimum or maximum num-ber of orphans one can adopt.

The adoption-means of im-migrating a child should not be confused with the procedure form Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). Under SIJS, an unmarried and parentless minor under the age of 21 who is inside the US petitions herself. She can only self-petition after obtaining an official judicial decree estab-lishing that she is a dependent of the state juvenile or probate court, that it is not in her best interests to return to her home country, and that she cannot be reunited with a parent due to abuse, abandonment, neglect, or similar reason under state law.

An adoption that complies with individual state or country requirements but not with immi-gration law requirements, includ-ing Hague where necessary, may end the possibility of immigrat-ing that child. For that reason, anyone interested in bringing a foreign-national minor to the United States should contact an experienced and knowledgeable immigration lawyer before tak-ing any steps in that direction.

***Reeves Miller Zhang & Diza is one of the oldest, largest and most experienced immigration firms in the United States with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Manila. For more Information please call (800) 795-8009 or visit www.rreeves.com.Telephone: (800) 795-8009 E-mail: immigration@rreeves.com Website: www.rreeves.com.

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

MANILA — Travelers and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are top beneficiaries of a newly signed law updating the country’s customs regulations that were last tweaked nearly 30 years ago.

President Benigno Aquino III signed Republic Act 10863, or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), last Friday, May 27, amending the Customs and Tariff Code last touched in 1987, the Bureau of Customs said in a statement.

“This is truly a milestone for

PHILIPPINE banks would be among the most resilient from shocks caused by loan exposure to commodity-re-lated industries such as oil, given local lenders’ low lending activity to such sectors.

In a report titled “Commodity Ex-posure Will Add to Asset Quality and Profitability Pressure” released Mon-day, May 30, debt watcher Moody’s Investors Service said that in general,

PH banks among ‘most resilient,’ says Moody’s

this administration and the con-tinuing reforms we institution-alize in the bureau,” Customs commissioner Alberto Lina was quoted as saying.

Included is a new provision that allows OFWs to send in balikbayan boxes, contents of which amounting to not more than P150,000 shall be tax-free. The privilege may be availed three times a year.

For travelers, shopping just got a boost as the law allows bring-ing in personal valuables worth a minimum of P150,000 to a maxi-mum of P350,000, depending on length of stay abroad.

Returning OFWs get an ad-

ditional P150,000 allowance. The original cap was pegged at P10,000.

Values may now also be ad-justed by the Department of Fi-nance.

Last year, Customs drew flak when it ordered the opening of balikbayan boxes it claimed were being used to smuggle undervalued and illegal goods. It later on withdrew the rule on Aquino’s orders.

Aside from this, a returning Filipino martial arts fighter also cried foul when she was charged P6,000 for her championship belt. Lina said the duties on the

uPAGE CJ3

uPAGE CJ3

by Prinz P. MagtulisPhilstar.com

by Ben O. de VeraInquirer.net

JUNE 3-9, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150CJ� Community Journal

Business News

The CTVFiles

Atty. LiLLi B. BAcuLiMonetteAdevA MAgLAyA

ImmigrantLiving: 101 and Beyond

(Part 1 of 2)THAT scene in one of the

Harry Potter books where eerie sounds and strange occurrences caused by a ghost in residence were coming from — of all plac-es— the toilet stalls, in Hogwarts is not all that original. Because it happened years ago, not as fic-tion but as part of reality — my reality, that is.

Just for kicks during my hal-cyon days as a full-time work-ing /full-time grad student at the University of the Philippines long ago, I had agreed to act as me-dium for a séance or a hypnotic session to conjure or call the spirit or spirits that were causing a disturbance. I took over from another medium in a previous session weeks earlier conducted by a Jesuit priest from the Ateneo, Fr. Bulatao. There were repeated paranormal disturbances at the old building where I worked, a stone’s throw from the Institute of Mass Communication (now called by another name) where I was a grad student at night while working during the day as a full time research associate of what was then the Institute of Envi-ronmental Planning, now called the School of Urban & Regional Planning. That haunted building has been razed and there stands a newer multi-story building.

At night, the custodian claimed that when all the rooms were locked up and no one was in-side, there were eerie noises that would make the hair on the back of one’s neck stand on end. The occurrences were so frequent and so disruptive, ignoring them and pretending life was normal was no longer an option. Some-one finally did something about it and called on Fr. Bulatao to help shed light on the mysterious goings-on at the institute. I sim-ply avoided the rest rooms and

The curious case of Stephen C. Davis: A ghost story

“…In memory of one American soldier …”steered away from isolated areas of the building and never stayed in the building past sundown.

Professor Cynthia Turingan was the first medium. Under hypnosis, she revealed that an American soldier, an enlisted man, by the name of Stephen Da-vies (his name was spelled with an e in the surname) was mur-dered at the location right smack dab where the building stood. Details of a murder story flowed out of her like a gusher. But then it came to an abrupt halt when the door to the room where the session was being held, for no apparent reason, suddenly burst open. The medium snapped out of the hypnotic trance feeling ex-tremely limp and exhausted as though she had traveled many miles across a desert. I stood up and with a nonchalant shrug of my shoulders calmly closed the door.

Dissatisfied with the aborted session, the group decided to hold another. Professor Turingan was unavailable for the next ses-sion and I was drafted to act as medium, a role which I accepted on a lark and a dare.

There was a thunderstorm rag-ing outside but I don’t remember much of what I said when I went on a trance. I do remember feel-ing very light, as though weight-less, while someone gently whis-pered things to my ear. Later, I learned that under hypnotic suggestion, I was instructed to go back to 1945, the year that the medium revealed when the alleged murder of the American soldier occurred.

I described the place as I saw it — an open field, a moonless night, quonset huts and a heavy sense of foreboding in the air.

During the session, the same Stephen Davies revealed the name of his murderer. He said he was hit on the head by a piece of wood while he was out on patrol one night and was robbed of his money. The ghost revealed de-tails about his murderer: his as-sailant’s name, the exact address where he lived, describing him as an old man by that time, lan-guishing in jail for other crimes he committed and that the house where the murderer used to live on J.P. Rizal Street in Makati was eventually destroyed by fire.

He was asked about the name of his wife and where she lived, questions upon questions which the ghost said were “not impor-tant” but pressed further, he said that his wife had remarried and pleaded not to bother his wife anymore. He said that he was not the only spirit hovering in the area and that there were many others. Asked about how he felt, he said that he was lonely and that he just wants to be remembered. Over and over again, he said he wanted to be remembered. He ignored questions about his past brushing them aside for the one thing he wanted — that he be re-membered. His bones, he said, lay scattered and mixed with the soil in the same area which was leveled years earlier by a bulldoz-er. The ghost of the dead soldier requested that a mass be said on a sunny day in his remembrance — a request the group readily granted him. Shortly after, the eerie occurrences seemed to stop. (To be continued)

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

BEGINNING June 8, 2016, USCIS will allow certain Filipi-no World War II veteran family members who are beneficiaries of approved family-based im-migrant visa petitions an oppor-tunity to receive a discretionary grant of parole on a case-by-case basis, so that they may come to the United States as they wait for their immigrant visa to be-come available.

Individuals eligible for the FWVP Policy are those who:

• are the beneficiaries of I-130 Petition, including any accompa-nying or following-to-join spouse and children who were approved on or before the filing date of the parole requested;

• whose qualifying relation-ship with the petitioning rela-tive existed on or before May 9, 2016;

• whose petitioning relative is residing in the US;

• whose immigrant visas are not authorized for issuance per the Application Final Action Dates

New immigration policy for Filipino World War II veteranschart for family-sponsored pref-erence cases on the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin; and

• whose petitioning relative has established that they are ei-ther Filipino World War II veter-ans or are the surviving spouse of such individual.

The Filipino veteran’s qualify-ing WWII military service must have previously been recog-nized by the Dept of Defense and must fall within one of three categories:

• Individuals who are listed on the final roster prepared by the recovered Personnel Division of the US Army of those who served honorably in an active duty status with the Philippine Army during WWII occupation and liberation of the Philippines;

• Individuals who are listed on the final roster prepared by the Guerilla Affairs Division of the US Army of those who served honorably in an active duty status with the Philippine Army during WWII occupation and liberation

of the Philippines;• Individuals who served hon-

orably in an active duty status within the Philippine Scouts or within any other component of the United States Armed Forces in the Far East at any time during the period beginning 9/1/1939 and ending 12/31/1946.

USCIS or DOS consular offi-cers will interview all individu-als considered for parole under the FWVP policy to determine whether parole is appropriate on a case-by-case basis. If USCIS favorably exercises its discre-tion to issue parole under the FWVP policy by approving the Form I-131, USCIS or the Dept of State will issue the necessary travel documents to the ben-eficiary in the location he or she was interviewed. These travel documents generally will enable the beneficiary to travel to a U.S. port-of-entry and request parole from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to join his or

THE Insurance Commission (IC) said it has already sur-passed its 2016 target number of Filipinos to be covered by mi-croinsurance.

In a statement on Tuesday, May 31, the regulator said it has a commitment to cover 27 mil-lion Filipinos by 2016.

“Through our initiatives in fos-tering inclusive insurance mar-kets, we have again emerged as a model for microinsurance pro-motion in Asia with 29.03 million Filipinos covered with microin-surance as of the third quarter of 2015, surpassing our own com-mitment to cover 27 million Fili-pinos by 2016,” Insurance Com-missioner Emmanuel Dooc said.

As of the third quarter of 2015, the IC noted that the microinsur-ance penetration rate hit 28.52 percent.

This means that 28.52 percent or 29.03 million individuals of the 101.80 million population are covered by microinsurance, it added.

“As the Philippines continue to take pride for being at the forefront of promoting microin-surance as an effective vehicle for financial inclusion and as a benchmark for other Asian coun-tries in terms of microinsurance market development, we are fueled to keeping our markets strong, stable and sustainable,” Dooc said.

29M Filipinos covered by microinsurance – IC

This announcement was made during the 3rd South Asian Regu-lators’ Meet and International In-surance Conference held on May 12 to 13 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The conference was attended by delegates from the interna-tional insurance regulators, in-surers, reinsurers, brokers, do-nors, bankers and other relevant senior officials from Asia and Middle East.

Dooc mentioned that new product lines are hitting the Philippine market with the new microinsurance frameworks for agriculture, health and pre-need.

Adopted in October 2015, the Micro-Agri Framework formally introduced a parametric-based or index-based microinsurance wherein benefits shall be facili-tated by microinsurance provid-ers when predefined parameters or indices are breached.

The Micro Pre-Need Frame-

work, also adopted in October last year, aims to provide the low-income sector access to pre-need products—memorial, edu-cation and pension plans.

As a means of achieving the objectives of the National Health Insurance Act of 2013, Micro-health Framework, on the other hand, was adopted to address the health needs of the general population, particularly the low-income and informal sectors.

“The Philippines remains ag-gressive in its campaign for inclu-sive economic growth as greater efforts and genuine programs should be delivered to those who have not yet risen from poverty,” Dooc said.

Dooc concluded his speech by stressing the importance of regulator-industry dialogue and cooperation.

The Commissioner announced the creation of the Mutual Ex-change Forum on Inclusive In-surance or the MEFIN Network which brings together the insur-ance regulators and private sec-tors from six jurisdictions: the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mongolia, Pakistan and Nepal to share views and pick out specific lessons that are relevant for the development of inclusive insur-ance in the country context.

Meanwhile, Dooc was elected to serve as the first chairman of the MEFIN Network, which will hold its first Regional Steering Committee meeting in July in Manila. n

Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel Dooc

by Mayvelin U. CaraballoManilaTimes.net

MANILA — Higher spending and a wider deficit could be ex-pected from the Duterte adminis-tration under a budget chief who had criticized the outgoing gov-ernment for five years of below-target expenditures.

A budget deficit equivalent to three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) is “manageable and appropriate,” incoming Bud-get Secretary Benjamin Diokno told The STAR Wednesday, June 1.

“This is as long as the addi-tional deficit is spent for public infrastructure,” he added.

For the past five years, the Aquino government has con-sistently fallen below its budget gap targets on the back of under-spending despite steady growth in revenues.

This will not happen under the next government, Duterte said in

A budget deficit equivalent to three percent of gross domestic product is “manageable and appropriate,” incoming Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno says. Crissa Tenorio/CC BY-NC-ND

Diokno: 3 percent deficit-to-GDP ‘manageable, appropriate’

by Prinz P. MagtUlisPhilstar.com

an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel on Wednesday. He said separately that President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s eight-point economic agenda is “doable and comprehensive.”

Part of Duterte’s plan is to

boost infrastructure spending to five percent of GDP every year from 3.3 percent last year. He also vowed to “continue and maintain” Aquino’s macroeco-nomic policies.

uPAGE CJ3

uPAGE CJ3

(650) 616-4150 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JUNE 3-9, 2016 CJ�Community Journal

Atty. MichAelGurfinkel, eSQ

ImmigrationCorner

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

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FOR NON-PROFIT GROUPS

Piyesta Pinoy BolingbrookPlease join us on Saturday, June 4 for the 3rd Philippine Fest Celebration (Piyesta Pinoy

sa Bolingbrook) at the beautiful Bolingbrook Performing Arts Center (375 W. Briarcliff Rd. Bolingbrook, IL). This year’s event will include a variety of food vendors, business, merchan-dise, and non-profit organizations, as well as hours of dance, games, and musical entertain-ment, including special guest performances. The Philippine American Cultural Foundation (PACF) is proud to promote and share our rich Filipino cultural heritage and traditions in America. Your participation and support are always valuable and critical to the survival of PACF and its programs. For more information, or to volunteer, perform, exhibit, or donate, please visit www.piyestapinoy.net, or email Piyestpinoy@gmail.com.

JUNE 4

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

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

Pechanga Bus tripThe Filipino American Law Enforcement Officers Association (FALEO), a 501c(3) non-

profit organization, will host a bus trip to Pechanga to raise funds for its scholarship. There will be two locations for pick up and drop off: First pick up is at 10:45 am; drop off at 8:30 pm at Carson Civic Center, 801 East Carson Street, Carson. The second pick up will be be-tween 11:15 to 11:30 am; drop off at 8 pm at Angels Stadium Metrolink, 2626 East Katella Avenue, Anaheim. Tickets are $35 and include games and a light breakfast while en route to Pehcanga. For more information, contact Pauline at igorott@yahoo.com.

Philippine Independence Day celebrationThe Philippine Independence Day Foundation in conjunction with the City of Carson

and GMA Pinoy TV will hold the 118th Philippine Independence Day celebration at Vet-erans Park and Sports Complex, 22400 Moneta Avenue, Carson, CA 90745. The event is celebrated yearly in the City of Carson and is attended by thousands of Carson residents, as well as people from different parts of Southern California. The celebration will take place from 8am to 6pm. For more information, call (310) 549-3111.

JUNE 1 1

YFPA Annual Scholarship Gala 2016Your Filipino Professionals Association (YFPA) will hold its Annual Scholarship Gala with

the theme: “Collaboration is the New Bayanihan’” on Sunday, June 5, 6pm, at the Watts Room, Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. The event is to award YFPA Scholarship program recipients. For tickets: www.YFPASF.com/events.html.

JUNE 5

Installation of OfficersThe City of San Fernando La Union of Northern California Association USA, a social

non-profit organization, will hold a dinner and dance fundraiser event to install its officers for 2016-18. CSFLU aims to socially reunite Friends and Families living in Northern Cali-fornia through scheduled fundraisers, camping, picnics, family events, programs and local community projects. Its mission is to uplift and enrich the living experience through social, moral, ethical and spiritual support in Northern California and in the City of San Fernando La Union Philippines. The event will take place at Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, 32083 Alvarado-Niles Road, Union City, CA 94587. For more information, contact Jake Valdez at (408) 768-1209 or jake4realestate@yahoo.com.

prize were properly computed. Finance Secretary Cesar Puri-

sima said CMTA also modernizes Customs to promote faster trade facilitation, including advance clearance procedures and mini-mal discretion given to customs officers.

“Embracing technology and updating regulatory frameworks reduces opportunities for corrup-tion and streamlines client expe-

rience with the BOC,” he said in a separate statement.

Lina said Customs began in-vesting on its Information Tech-nology systems ahead of the law’s signing. For one, it launched a partnership with Microsoft to fight hacking on its systems two weeks ago.

“The CMTA will establish the requisite foundation for a cash-less, faceless and paperless envi-ronment in Customs,” he said.

OFWs, travelers gain in new Customs…Sought for comment, Sergio

Ortiz-Luis, president of the Phil-ippine Exporters Confederation Inc., said CMTA could assist the country on its bid to become part of US-led trade pact Trans-Pa-cific Partnership.

“This streamlines our pro-cesses with other countries, which could help facilitate more trade with our neighbors,” Or-tiz-Luis said in a phone inter-view. n

PAGE CJ1 t

“banks in Asia-Pacific show moderate loan exposure to bor-rowers in commodity-related industries,” with such loans ac-counting for an average of only about 7 percent of gross loans.

“We expect that the quality of some of this exposure will con-tinue to deteriorate, based on our assessment that energy and most other commodity prices will remain lower for longer. Such price dynamics will further dampen corporate earnings and weaken the debt repayment ca-pacity of many commodity firms, creating pressure on or delaying the recovery of asset quality and profitability of banks in the re-gion,” Moody’s said.

Moody’s sees bad loans contin-uously increasing in oil and gas-related industries amid cheaper global oil prices, as well as met-als and mining sectors, which have been “under pressure for

many years and some Asia-Pacif-ic banks have large legacy prob-lem loans in this industry.”

The debt watcher nonetheless pointed out that most banks in the Asia-Pacific region have buf-fers against rising commodity risks.

“In most Asia-Pacific markets, we do not expect negative bank rating actions related to com-modity exposures, because the banks in general have either good financial buffers, moderate commodity exposures, or their ratings capture asset quality weakness,” Moody’s said.

According to the report, Phil-ippine banks, alongside those in Australia, Hong Kong and Tai-wan were “less exposed” to the commodity sectors than their peers in the region.

Moody’s said that across Asia-Pacific, banks in Mongolia were the most vulnerable to low com-modity prices “because of their

outsized exposure to the vulner-able mining industry; a key con-tributor to the 14.4 percent of nonperforming loans and over-due loans at end-2015.”

“Banks in Singapore, South Ko-rea, Indonesia and India are also exposed to the more vulnerable parts of the energy/commodity sectors such as oil services, ship-ping and shipbuilders, offshore marine, metals and coal. This ex-posure will lead to further asset quality and profitability pressure for the banks in these countries or, like in the case of India, to the delayed recovery of large legacy problem loans,” it added.

On the other hand, “the least affected will be banks in Hong Kong, Australia, Taiwan and the Philippines, because of either the banks’ low exposure to the en-ergy/commodity sectors, the low reliance of these economies on commodities exports, or both,” Moody’s said. n

PH banks among ‘most resilient,’ says…PAGE CJ1 t

her family member. It is important to be informed

and know your options. An ex-perienced immigration firm or attorney will be able to help you understand what immigration terms mean specific to the regu-lations. Individuals who might benefit from the new Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program should consult with an

experienced and competent im-migration attorney, and more importantly prior to filing any applications with the USCIS. Ap-plicants should also be wary of online tools that offer immigra-tion help or notarios who are not licensed to practice law.

* * *Atty. Lilli Berbano Baculi is an associate attorney with Chua Tinsay & Vega, A Professional Legal Corporation (CTV) - a full service law firm with

offices in San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento and Philippines. The information presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (619) 955-6277; (415) 495-8088; (916) 449-3923; lbaculi@ctvattys.com. For general information visit www.chuatinsayvega.com.

New immigration policy for…PAGE CJ2 t

“The operative word is ‘good’. What are these good policies?...Is underspending which resulted in the deterioration of public infrastructure good?” Diokno pointed out.

According to Treasury data, deficit has fallen below the goal of two percent of GDP since 2013. That year, the gap was 1.4 percent, only to go down to 0.6 percent in 2014 and bounce back to 0.9 percent last year.

This was in stark contrast with Diokno’s first term at the Budget department during the Estrada

administration. That time, deficit rose from 1.7 percent of GDP in 1998 to 3.7 percent in 2000 af-ter a 26.6-percent increase in spending.

Estrada’s term was cut short after he was toppled by a popular revolt in January 2001.

“During Estrada’s time, we spend what we appropriate,” Di-okno said in his TV interview.

Outgoing Budget Secretary Florencio Abad declined to com-ment, saying he will wait until Diokno becomes “officially” part of the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Antonio

Mapa, economist at Bank of the Philippine Islands, agreed with Diokno, an economics professor at the University of the Philip-pines-Diliman.

“Credit rating agencies (which) laud the solid fiscal num-bers are quick also to point out that improved debt ratios at the expense of lack of investment in productive capacity will hamper their ability to grant further rat-ings upgrades,” Mapa said in an e-mail.

“We need Duterte to spend the way Aquino should have spent in 2010,” he added. n

Diokno: 3 percent deficit-to-GDP…PAGE CJ2 t

“CITIZEN PINOY” GOES LIVE on JUNE 5. “People will get the feeling of an actual “live” consultation right in the comfort of their homes,” is how Atty. Gurfinkel describes the ground breaking live broadcast show. In its never-ending desire to bring public service to Kapamilya across the US, “Citizen Pinoy” expands its reach by going LIVE in order to reach more of our core audience and provide immediate replies to their questions.Leading US immigration attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel is “very excited about going live. Now, it will be ‘real time’ and more interaction with viewers.” The host and the staff are looking forward to the show’s innovation for Sunday, June 5 when CP goes live. Audiences are encouraged to already send in your questions at www.facebook.com/GurfinkelLaw or by calling 1-650-569-1774 or 1-650-569-1835. The live telecast of “Citizen Pinoy” will be seen this Sunday, June 5, at 6:15 pm (Eastern and Pacific) on TFC.

IN its 11th year of unparalleled public service to the community, ‘Citizen Pinoy’ goes the extra mile by doing a real-time live telecast this Sunday, June 5 at 6:15pm on TFC.

This is the very first time a local show from TFC North America is broadcasting live. According to leading US immigration attorney, and host of ‘Citi-zen Pinoy,’ Michael J. Gurfinkel, “Our goal is to always look for innovative ways to make the show better and more entertaining for TFC viewers.”

Atty. Gurfinkel and the staff behind the award-winning public service program are excited about TFC’s first ever live telecast, and have been work-ing really hard to put this show together. Atty. Gurfinkel emphasized that, “The whole purpose is to provide not only the best public service, but a more interactive one.”

This attempt makes ‘Citizen Pinoy’ readily avail-able to its core audience across North America. Atty. Gurfinkel’s responses to your immigration concerns will also be immediate. As Atty. Gurfin-kel underlines, “People will get the feeling of an actual ‘live’ consultation right in the comfort of their homes.”

Viewers can send in their questions via Face-book at www.facebook.com/GurfinkelLaw or by calling these numbers: 1-650-569-1774 or 1-650-569-1835. On the actual day of the live telecast, the same phone lines will also be set up so viewers can call in live!. Questions can be sent via Face-book, twitter, phone patch and Skype.

Be sure to catch us this Sunday at 6:15 pm (EST/PST) when ‘Citizen Pinoy’ goes live on June 5 — on TFC. (Advertising Supplement)

DEAR Atty. Gurfinkel:When I filed for adjustment

of status, USCIS said I commit-ted fraud when I entered the US under an assumed name. They required me to file a Form I – 601 (Waiver of Inadmissibil-ity), which they denied, stating that my spouse would not suffer enough “extreme hardship”. My lawyer appealed my case to the Administrative Appeals Office in Washington DC (AAO), which dismissed my appeal.

When I asked my lawyer what I should do now, he said “just wait for an amnesty or to be put in deportation/removal proceed-ings, and then try again for the waiver in front of an immigration judge.”

Is there anything else I can do, aside from waiting for an amnes-ty or to be deported?

Very truly yours,E.S.

Dear E.S.:You may want to consider re-

packaging and refiling your hard-ship waiver with USCIS. There is no immigration law which prohibits a person from filing a second or new hardship waiver. However, you have to provide new evidence, or you make a bet-ter showing of extreme hardship. Our office has done this many times for people, who came to us with a previous denial. We were able to refile the waiver and the case got approved.

There are several situations where a hardship waiver may be required, such as when a person commits fraud, is subject to the 3/10 year bar, or is pursuing a provisional waiver, to name a few.

Re-packaging and re-filing a hardship/fraud waiver

In order for a person to prevail on a hardship waiver, they must demonstrate “extreme hardship” on a spouse or parent who is a US citizen or lawful permanent resident (“qualifying relative”).

In many cases, the qualifying relative is truly suffering extreme hardship, but the case is not properly packaged or presented, and is therefore denied. I have featured stories of several people on Citizen Pinoy, where the qual-ifying relative was truly suffering extreme hardship, but the case was denied because their attor-ney submitted a short, two page declaration from the qualifying relative that really did not bring out the true story and full picture of the qualifying relative’s situ-ation, stress, ailments, anxiety depression, etc. While there are a number of factors that are con-sidered in evaluating extreme hardship, it really boils down to making the qualifying relative’s situation into a tearful teleserye. You almost have to make the of-ficer cry over the qualifying rela-tive’s trials and tribulations.

In those cases, rather than fil-ing an appeal on the very skeletal presentation of extreme hard-ship, we filed a new fraud waiv-er, with a lengthy and detailed affidavit from the qualifying rela-tive (whether it was the person’s spouse, parent, or both), fully bringing out the extent of the extreme hardship the qualifying relative was suffering. As a re-sult, the case was approved.

In addition, maybe there are NEW hardships the qualifying relative is now suffering, that were not present when the origi-nal hardship waiver was filed. Maybe the qualifying relative was recently diagnosed with a new medical issue, has been

hospitalized, or a previous ail-ment has gotten worse. Those sort of changes in circumstance could possibly justify the filing of a new hardship waiver, provided it is properly packaged and pre-sented.

I want to be clear that I am not guaranteeing a second hardship waiver will be approved. It cer-tainly depends on the hardship being suffered by the qualify-ing relative and the discretion of the officer who adjudicates the waiver: is the officer tough and strict, or compassionate and un-derstanding?

However, if your hardship waiver was denied, and you are being told to “just wait”, you may want to seek the advice of an-other attorney, who can evaluate your qualifying relative’s hard-ship situation, and determine if a hardship waiver can be repack-aged and better presented, or if there are new hardships to be presented. Don’t give up hope!

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

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

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

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

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

Atty. Gurfinkel is ‘thrilled about live broadcast, with real-time interaction with viewers’ when ‘Citizen Pinoy’ goes live this Sunday!

JUNE 3-9, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150CJ� PeoPle & events

DO you know what to do when disaster strikes before profes-sional help arrives?

Following a major disaster, first responders who provide fire and medical services will not be able to meet the demand for these services. Factors as number of victims, communication failures, and road blockages will prevent people from accessing emer-gency services they have come to expect at a moment’s notice through 911. People will have to rely on each other for help in or-der to meet their immediate life-saving and life sustaining needs until professional services arrive.

CERT members can assist others by applying the basic re-sponse and organizational skills that they learned during training. CERT skills also apply to daily emergencies and include:

• Disaster Awareness and Pre-paredness

• Response Team Manage-ment

• Disaster Psychology• Fire Suppression and Utili-

ties Control• Hazardous Materials Aware-

ness• Disaster Medical Operations• Light Search and Rescue• Terrorism Awareness• Small Unit LeadershipParticipants in the course

learn skills that will enable them to provide emergency assistance to their families and neighbors as well as organize a neighborhood team response in the event of a major disaster. There will be no charge for the course or materi-als. The only cost incurred may be in upgrading your disaster supply kit at home (food, water, tools etc.).

The training will involve in-structions in light fire suppres-sion, hazardous materials situa-tions, first aid, light search and rescue techniques, and proce-dures in organizing CERTs to aid

WASHINGTON, DC — The search is on for the ten (10) outstanding next-generation Filipino-Americans who will par-ticipate in the 5th annual Filipi-no-American Youth Leadership Program (FYLPRO), which will be conducted in the Philippines from 24 November to December 2 , 2016.

Launched in 2012 as a youth-oriented project of Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. and Madam Ma. Victoria J. Cuisia, FYLPRO aims to tap outstanding young Filipino-Americans who possess a sincere desire to be engaged in their respective communities and be a part of the Philippines’ growth story. The annual im-mersion program in the Philip-pines will afford them the oppor-tunity to meet and dialogue with the highest officials and policy-makers of the country, leaders of industry, legislators, media, artists and cultural experts, en-trepreneurs (both traditional and social), as well as innovators in different fields.

Call for applications for the 5th Filipino-American Youth Leadership Program (FYLPRO)

The Philippine Embassy and Consulates General in the United States will conduct the search in the States under their respective jurisdictions for individuals who meet the following criteria:

• No younger than 25 years old and no older than 40 years old by 24 November 2016, the first day of the 2016 Immersion Program;

• Ready and capable of trav-eling to the Philippines, arriving in Manila by Wednesday, 23 No-vember 2016 and departing no earlier than 02 December 2016;

• Demonstrated leadership skills within their school, com-munity, workplace or other areas of involvement; and

• Have potential or demon-strated involvement in the Filipi-no Community, or in issues and/or activities that align with the interest of the Filipino-American community or the Philippines.

For the first time since FYL-PRO’s establishment, the appli-cation process is made acces-sible online through http://fylpro.org/apply/. The deadline for the

submission of complete applica-tion is Sunday, 24 July 2016 at 11:59pm (Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone).

In partnership with the Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI) and the FYLPRO alumni association, the 5th FYLPRO hopes to continue to attract more high-performing young Filipino-American lead-ers who will be among the mov-ers and shakers in the Filipino-American community. Much of the participants’ expenses, including airfare, accommoda-tions, local transportation, and meals will be shouldered by pro-gram sponsors.

“Now on its fifth year, FYL-PRO has proven to be quite ef-fective in grooming new leaders who will shape the future not only of the Filipino-American community, but also of Philip-pines-US relations. The forty alumni have spearheaded many impactful projects and I strongly encourage all qualified young Filipino-Americans to add to their number,” Ambassador Cui-sia said. n

Free Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training in Hayward

DALY City residents can safely dispose of household hazardous waste (HHW) free of charge on Saturday, June 11th. It is impor-tant to keep toxic substances out of our landfills (and water sup-ply!), so please take advantage of this free event!

The collection events take place from 8:30 am to 12:15 pm.

ARE you new to Medicare? Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) of San Mateo County invites you to free, unbiased presentations, held at the Serramonte Library, 40 Wembley Drive, Daly City.

511 Contra Costa is rolling out a new summertime recreational bike promotion in Martinez. The Summer Bike Challenge provides fun, healthy, no cost summer rec-reation that challenges partici-pants to explore their hometown from the seat of a bicycle.

Free and open to everyone, simply cross off squares by biking to parks, schools, Downtown, City Hall, the library, Farmers Market, and a neighboring city to com-plete the Challenge.

Participants can pick up free treats from select locations on certain dates (see the Challenge Card for details), and those who complete at least 12 squares can enter to win an iPad Mini in the Grand Prize drawing.

Challenge Cards are available Free household hazardous waste disposal for Daly City residents on June 11

To participate, residents must schedule an appointment at San Mateo County’s HHW Program: www.smchealth.org/hhw or by calling (650) 363-4718, select option 3.

Accepted items include acids/bases, aerosol cans, automotive supplies (car batteries, motor oil, antifreeze, brake fluid), cleaning

products, fertilizers, pesticides, flammable liquids, fluorescent lights (compact and tubes), paint, inks, and photo chemicals. No radioactive, explosive, medical or commercial waste is allowed. All waste collected is reused, re-cycled, or stabilized for proper disposal to achieve zero waste being landfilled. n

Ditch the car and grab your bike: Summer Bike Challenge comes to Martinez

New to Medicare? HICAP of San Mateo County invites you to free, unbiased presentations

The presentations are on Tues-days from 6-7 pm, June 7, June 14, and June 21, 2016.

Learn about:• The 4 parts of Medicare• Prescription drug coverage• Medicare Advantage plans

• Medicare supplement poli-cies

• How HICAP can help youFor more information, call HI-

CAP at (650) 627-9350 or visit their website at https://www.selfhel-pelderly.org/our-services/hicap. n

at the Martinez Library, Senior Center, Rankin Pool, City Hall, the Boys & Girls Club, Saucie’s Bak-

ery & Café, Main Street Sweets, or online at www.511ContraCosta.org/SBC. n

and assist in times of disaster. You do not need any special skills to participate, just the willing-ness to learn the skills necessary to survive a disaster. The training program will involve some physi-cal activity, such as using fire extinguishing equipment and rescue tools under the supervi-sion of trained Fire Department personnel.

The course is scheduled once a week for five consecutive weeks. Space is limited and class fills rapidly. All correspondence will be electronic, if interested sign-up by using the email process below. Each email is time/date stamped in the order received to ensure your placement on the in-terest list.

What we expect from you: The Hayward Fire Department hopes to fill this series of classes with individuals who are able to com-mit the time to attend all classes and the exercise, who have a high interest in bettering their neigh-borhoods, and who have the po-tential to become leaders/orga-nizers and share what they learn within their area of the city.

The Hayward Fire Department is providing a free CERT Training Program which will consist of 4 evening indoor classes and 1 out-door “hands on” skills class. Par-ticipants learn skills that will en-able them to provide emergency assistance to their families and immediate neighbors as well as

organize a neighborhood team response. Residents must pre-enroll into this class.

This is not a “Drop-in” training program.

Class #1, Monday, June 6, 6-9:30pm @ Hayward City Hall

Class #2, Monday, June 13, 6-9:30pm @ Hayward City Hall

Class #3, Monday, June 20, 6-9:30pm @ Hayward City Hall

Class #4, Monday, June 27, 6-9:30pm @ Hayward City Hall

Skills #5, Tuesday, July 5, 6-9:30pm (Fire Station #6 W. Win-ton)

You must attend all classes in order to receive certification. CERT training is for all City of Hayward and Fairview residents. Residential verification will be required during the final applica-tion process.

You must be 18 years or older to sign up and a resident of the City of Hayward or the Fairview area.

Residents who are interested in this free training can sign-up via eso@hayward-ca.gov. Resi-dents will then need to enter only their name, phone number and address in the email. You will re-ceive notification back by email acknowledging your enrollment into the program and further di-rections.

If without internet access or more information is needed, contact: The Public Education Officer at (510) 583-4948 n

EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENTEMPLOYMENT

(650) 616-4150 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JUNE 3-9, 2016 CJ�

JUNE 3-9, 2016 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 616-4150CJ�

Friday, June 3, 2016

SF2 cover storyThe Asian Journal SF MAGAZINE - June 3, 2016

This year’s New Filipino Cin-ema series will feature a diverse line of films from the Philippines. Presented by the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), the event amplifies creative voices heard outside the Philippines. The event opens on Thursday, June 9, and will run until sunday, July 3.

Now on its fifth year, the New Filipino Cinema line up include a classic film recently restored by the Martin scorsese’s foundation, a tale of a transgen-der person who becomes preg-nant and a historical epic about the battle against Us invaders during the Philippine-American War, to name a few. in essence, this year’s selection covers a myriad of issues of importance to the people of the Philippines

and the world. Co-curated by Filipino movie expert Philbert Ortiz Dy and YBCA film curator Joel shepard, the program offers up box-office hits, edgy indies and family-friendly films.

“To make the program more accessible, we’ve spread the films over four weeks,” said Joel shepard then added, “And we continue to look for ways to shape the program to serve the community and the artists in more effective, meaningful ways. We’re proud to say that our line-up this year is as strong as ever. We look forward to celebrat-ing the remarkably vibrant and inspired independent cinema of the Philippines!”

Featured films“Insiang” (Directed by Lino

Brocka)

YerBA BUeNA CeNTer FOr TheArTs NeW FiliPiNO CiNeMA 2016

FEATurING ThE bEST oF ThE PhIlIPPINES

ThrouGh FIlMSby Malou liwanag-Bledsoe/AJPress

“Heneral Luna” Photo courtesy of Quantum Films

Thursday, June 9, 7:30 pm / Sunday, June 12, 4:30 pm

(1976, 95 min., Tagalog with English subtitles)

“Brocka was like a force of nature in world cinema, and Insiang was among his great-est achievements.” —Martin Scorsese

The series begins by going back in time to honor perhaps the Philippines’ greatest filmmak-er and most independent spirit, lino Brocka, with a brand new restoration of his master work, “insiang.”

The Museum of Modern Art, New York, says, “shot under ex-treme pressure of time (roughly 11 days), money and government censorship, ‘insiang’ has lost none of it political urgency or vitality.

Brocka, the Philippines’ most internationally celebrated filmmaker working within—and against—the Marcos dictator-ship, masterfully fuses documen-tary realism classic melodrama to chart the fate of one teenage girl, the beautiful and waifish insiang becomes hardened and vengeful after her boyfriend abandons her to the predator sexual advances of her mother’s lover.”

“Sleepless” (Directed by Prime Cruz)

Saturday, June 11, 4:30 pm / Thursday, June 23, 7:30 pm

(2015, 97 min., Tagalog with English subtitles)

What is it like to be young in Manila nowadays? You’re likely working in a call center, fielding calls from half a world away while the rest of the city sleeps. You’re likely living alone in a small apart-ment. You’re likely making bad choices to keep the loneliness at bay. sleepless, a smash indie hit, is a story of what it takes to survive in metro Manila, and finding the connections that will keep you sane. starring Glaiza de Castro and Dominic roco.

“Honor Thy Father” (Di-rected by Erik Matti)

Saturday, June 11, 7 pm / Sunday, June 19, 4:15 pm

(2015, 115 min., Tagalog and Kankanaey with English subtitles)

One of the biggest movie stars in the country, John lloyd Cruz, teams up with maverick director erik Matti to deliver a grim tale of survival set in the cold northern regions of the Philippines. A man with a dark past must delve back into that darkness to save his family fol-

lowing the collapse of a mas-sive pyramid scheme. honor Thy Father is a tense, noirish story of corruption, religion, and betrayal.

“Miss Bulalacao” (Directed by Ara Chawdhury)

Sunday, June 12, 2 pm – Director in person / Saturday, July 2, 4:30 pm

(2015, 102 min., Bisaya with English subtitles)

A drag princess gets preg-nant following an alien abduc-tion, and rumors of immaculate Conception raise his status to that of a cult leader. Bursting with small-town flavor, this film displays a keen understanding of the nation’s evolving attitudes toward gay people.

“The House by the Bamboo Grove [An Kubo Sa Kawayan-an]” (Directed by Alvin Yapan)

Thursday, June 16, 7:30 pm / Sunday, July 3, 2 pm

(2015, 88 min., Tagalog and Bicol with English subtitles)

set in the lush Bicol country-side, this mystical fairy tale focus-

es on the reclusive Michelle, an embroiderer who finds profound comfort in her plain little kubo (hut). her boyfriend and others try to convince her to leave for greener pastures elsewhere, but Michelle’s hut, and the simple things around it, communicate happiness and security in a lan-guage only she can understand. starring Mercedes Cabral (“Thy Womb”). Preceded by the short film “Tami-aw” (“serene”) by Mary Ann Gabisan.

“Chasing Waves” (Directed by Charliebebs Gohetia)

Saturday, June 18, 4:30 pm / Saturday, July 2, 2 pm

(2015, 92 min., Bisaya with English subtitles)

The young child sipat and his family are forced by their landlord to leave their home in the mountains in the southern Philippines. They prepare to migrate to the unfamiliar land-scape of the seaside, and sipat is excited to finally experience the beach. As he and his best

“House by the Bamboo Grove” Photo courtesy of Cinemalaya

“Insiang” by Lino Brocka Photo courtesy of The Film Foundation “Manang Biring” Photo courtesy of Cinema One Originals

“Patintero” Photo courtesy of QCinema “Miss Bulalacao” Photo courtesy of Cinema One Originals

“Taklub” Photo courtesy of Films Distribution

“Scarecrow” Photo courtesy of Solar Entertainment “Sleepless” Photo courtesy of QCinema Continued on Page SF4

SF3featuresThe Asian Journal SF MAGAZINE – June 3, 2016

We consider it a once-in-a-blue-moon event whenever we run into famous person-alities. And to memorialize that moment, we ask for their autographs (for those who still know what that means) or take a picture with them – nowadays, some would just secretly take a snapshot thru their mobile phones without permission. “It is not everyday you meet your idol; this is a dream-come-true,” says the snapshot-thief.

I wouldn’t recommend it but I definitely see the truth in that juvenile excuse. Crossing paths with a celebrity is not a common thing. “Dreams,” as our hypo-thetical millennial calls them, are made of days where you walk by the farm and an overly photoge-nic carrot farmer smiles at you, or a hunk cabbage-vendor calls out your name, or a chicharon vendor with a killer smile asks you, “Ate, chicharon kayo dyan? (Ma’am, want to buy some chicharon?).

Well, dream no more ‘coz hashtag #itsmorefuninthephil-ippines when regular days consist of this! Meet the heart-throbs of the Philippines who were made famous by –inter-net’s best gift to common man – social media.

That 24 “Carrot” Smile Imagine meeting Korean

actor Lee Min-Ho, only much fairer, younger and raw. Now that’s a “gem” in Sagada you would want to get your hands on. This very photogenic veg-etable farmer has been making girls swoon, after a Facebook user spotted him and circulated his photos online. The farmer from rural Sagada, Mountain Province, was identified within a day as Jeyrick Sigmaton by a very enthusiastic fanbase, and has started to trend with the hashtag #carrotman.

Some say that “carrot man” is a dead ringer for Filipino actor Hero Angeles. Sigmaton has since been busy with interviews and guest appearances, and has reportedly been offered a modeling contract. Boardwalk, a Philippine-based retailer, announced that it has brought Sigmaton on as its new brand spokesmodel.

Meet the Filipino ‘instant celebrities’ of Social Media

Neil Galuten aka “Cabbage Man”(from Neil Galuten Matchok’s Facebook page)

Bryan Ambriz aka “Chicharon Man”(Photo from Bryan Ambriz’s Facebook page)

CJ Querol aka “Gasoline Man”(Photo courtesy of Glenda Uchi)

Jeyrick Sigmaton aka “Carrot Man”(Photo courtesy of Edwina T. Bandong)

Rita Gaviola aka “Badjao Girl” (Photo courtesy of Topher Quinto Burgos)

By Monet Lu

THe Vice Presidential race turned out to be more intense than the network war and love team battles of show biz. After much ado, Leni Robredo finally won. Her victory is a celebra-tion of woman power.

Celebrities turned into “fans” as they rooted for their chosen candidates. Now it’s pack-up time in Malacañang as we all get ready for a change of “casting.”

Here are celebs’ unsolicited advice for VP Leni:

Christian Bautista: [My advice is for her] to continue to be a shining light in the govern-ment and lead the nation and its people to a new level of progress.

Cooky Chua: Don’t take the bus going home to Bicol

Stars’ unsolicited advicefor VP-elect Leni Robredo

by Dolly Anne CArvAjAlInquirer.net

Audie GemoraJohn Arcilla Christian Bautista Angelu de Leon

anymore. Take extra precaution for your safety. Don’t lose your own voice amid issues. Remain loyal to the Filipino people and not to any political party.

Angelu de Leon: Pray for the President, our country and for the decisions she’ll make. Keep in mind Philippians 4: 6-7 [which says we should not worry about anything and just pray to God].

Erik Santos: Just stick to your core values and always remember that the greatest voice is the voice that comes from the heart.

Rowell Santiago: VP Leni will be a good balance for President-elect Rody Duterte… May she be a mother to our countrymen, so she must… [exhibit] the good qualities of a mother—nurturing, patient,

spiritual, and compassionate.Audie Gemora: Continue

her daily introspection so that she does not lose track of who she is and what she stands for. She and Duterte were relative unknowns but were voted by the people, who are sick and tired of trapo (traditional politi-cian) officials—their systems of corruption and compromise, the oligarchy that protects its own interests.

I pray they will govern ac-cording to what is best for our nation [and] not cater to the interests of sectors who have oppressed the Filipinos for years.

John Arcilla: [I advise her] to cooperate with the new administration and be critical towards its governance at the same time.

Continued on Page SF5

One basket of cabbage to go, please?

Fresh from Bontoc, Moun-tain Province is another Cordil-lera hottie. Meet Neil Galuten Matchok, or better known as the “Cabbage Man.”

After his picture was posted, netizens have been comparing him to “Carrot Man.” Some even commented that he looks more manly and masculine. They also noticed Matchok’s muscular physique from a photo showing the “Cabbage Man” carrying a basket loaded with cabbages.

My heart craves for “Chicharon”

Vying away from the “veggie- men” and invading the social media world is “Chicharon Man” who made a heart-stopping entrance with his product and his boy-next-door looks!

The Chicharon (crunchy fried pork belly snack) vendor was spotted in a bus, selling quail eggs and other yummy transit goodies. His photo was

first posted in the Facebook pages, “Trending News” and “Viral.”

“Chicharon Man” was identified as Bryan Ambriz after his after his photo was shared via fb and gained thousand of likes from female Netizen within

a 24-hour time frame.The only “Gasoline News” I

want to hearYou’ve probably seen the

viral photo of a “Cosmo Hunk-worthy gasoline boy, haven’t you? How hunk-worthy, you

SF4 celebrityworldThe Asian Journal SF MAGAZINE - June 3, 2016

celebrity worldBy Ferdie Villar

Melai Cantiveros andJason Francisco admit

marriage problemsThey were together

through thick and thin, in spite of the fact that there were doubts about their relation-ship. So it was not a surprise to many when actors Jason Francisco and Melai Cantiveros — together popularly known as “Melason” — admitted that their marriage is going through some problems.

They, however, denied that they have separated.

What started the news about the end of their marriage was when fans noticed that earlier posts on their Instagram account have disappeared. There was even one post that said, “Melason is over.”

In an interview with Boy Abunda, Jason revealed that their social media account was hacked.

“Nawala yung account namin, na-hack (Our account

was lost, it was hacked),” the actor said.

The original Melason (@mrandmrsfrancisco) Instagram account that was hacked has now been changed to @grey-fullofcolors, and has a following of 400,000. At present, the couple is now also able to use the original account.

The couple recently posted a statement in their new ac-count, explaining to all their supporters about the real state of their marriage.

The lengthy statement also reveal that their relationship is going through some prob-lems, but showed a video of the couple with their daughter, Amelia Lucille, happily playing together.

“Dear Melason, nang mga nakaraang ilang araw may nag-ing balita po tungkol samen, na hiwalay na daw po ang

Melason (forever naging over) (Dear Melason, the past few days, there were news about us saying that Melason [we] have separated [forever over]),” the post said.

“Ang totoo po ay may pinagdadaanan po talaga ang Melason, pero lumaki lamang ito dahil sa naikwento namen sa mga ilang tao at Melason fan (The truth is, Melason [we] are going through something, but the matter only became big because we told a few people and a Melason fan.”

Continuing that apart from the fact that their account was hacked, they have really stopped posting because of what they have been going through.

Base on their post, it was clear that the strain on their marriage was caused by the lack of quality time with each other and their family.

“Dahil din siguro di na namin nagagawa ang am-ing bonding palagi dahil sa sobrang trabaho po namin, na halos sa pagtulog na lang kame nagkikita (It’s could be because we have not been doing our bonding [time] due to too much work, that we only get to see

Former beauty queen Marilen Bernardo visited Manila last March and is shown in picture with her father, business tycoon Rodolfo Bernardo and Shangri-La Makati Duty Manager Aki Alonto. Marilen was given VIP treatment at the hotel where she stayed majority of the time.

The Claverianos Getaway Cruise in Baja Mexico recently held and was organized by Rema de Rivera Vasa, Overall Chair. Over 120 people joined the unforgettable cruise reunion, among them 48 Claverianos and friends from the Bay Area. The rest of the groups are Claverianos and friends from Los Angeles, Hawaii, Houston, Canada, Las Vegas and the Philippines. Carnival Cruise provided the Rock and Roll Club for the gala night.

Jasmin Campbell (center) was recently crowned as the US Ilocano National As-sociation (USINA) Queen for 2016 held recently at the Holiday Inn Hotel. Also in photo are Vic Barba, USINA board member and Zoe Ann Pascual, first runner up.

Daly City Atty. Rose Zimmerman was the guest of honor and speaker of the Pilipino Bayanihan Resource Center (PBRC) recently. In picture, PBRC Director, Walter Batara, PBRC President, Ray Satorre, Atty. Rose Zimmer-man and husband.

Matthew Sta. Ana-Cordoza recently graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Busi-ness Administration. He is shown during a party given to him by family and friends.

Cardiologist Dr. Neil Sawney, daughter of Dr. Arnee Vasa Sawney, became the bride of Atty. Samir Vora at a traditional Indian American wedding ceremony. Shown in photo are (L-R) Rema and Suresh Vasa, the groom Atty. Samir Vora, and Dr. & Mrs. Neil Sawney.

Showbiz couple Melai Cantiveros and Jason Francisco recently admitted that their marriage is going through problems but denied that they have separated.

each other when we are about to sleep),” the post continued.

The couple, however, as-sured their fans that they work-ing things out and will not let their family fall apart.

“Ito ay pagsubok sa isang mag-asawa pero di po na-men hahayaang mghiwalay

kame dahil lang sa maliit na tampuhan, mahal na mahal po namen ang isat-isa at marami pa kame pangarap sa aming pamilya. (This is a just a test on a couple’s marriage, but we will not break up just because of a minor quarrel. We love each other very much and we still

have many plans and dreams for our family).

“Huwag po kayo mag-alala, ang Melason ay nagmamahalan at di po kame papaapekto sa showbiz at social media. (Don’t not worry, Melason still love each other and we will not be affected by showbiz and social media).”

Let’s hope and pray that Melai and Jason will be able to surpass the problems in the mar-riage.

ChARO Santos, ABS-CBN chief content officer and president of the ABS-CBN University, returns to acting in a Lav Diaz film entitled “Ang Ba-baeng humayo.” Lav told the Inquirer that the film recently wrapped up shooting in Mind-oro, Charo’s home province.

Charo, host of the TV drama anthology “Maalaala Mo Kaya,” last appeared on the big screen in a cameo in Jerry Lopez Sineneng’s “es-peranza the Movie” in 1999

Charo Santos comeback film by Lav Diazby Bayani San Diego Jr.

Inquirer.net and in a supporting role in elwood Perez’s “Ms. Dolora X” in 1993.

She won best actress at the Asian Film Festival for her debut movie, Mike de Leon’s “Itim,” released in 1976. Throughout her acting career, she also got to work with some of the country’s best filmmak-ers, including eddie Romero (“Aguila”), Marilou Diaz-Abaya (“Brutal”) and Lino Brocka (“Gumapang Ka sa Lusak”). Charo hopes to field her come-back movie in this December’s Metro Manila Film Festival.

friend count down the days to his departure, life in the mountains subtly changes and begins to feel ominous. The majestic ter-rain of Barangay Tamugan, with its peaks, caves, waterfalls, and rivers, is a dramatic backdrop to this mysterious tale of childhood and innocence lost.

“Heneral Luna” (Directed by Jerrold Tarog)

Saturday, June 18, 7 pm / Sunday, June 19, 2 pm

(2015, 119 min., Tagalog with English subtitles)

Some consider General An-tonio Luna the greatest military mind the Philippines ever saw, and the only hope the fledgling revolutionary army had against the American invaders. This rous-ing historical epic tells the tragic story of the mercurial genius and the sad republic that would come to betray him. heneral Luna was the Philippines’ official 2016 sub-mission to the Academy Awards, and one of the most popular independent films in the history of the country.

“Manang Biring” (Directed by Carl Joseph Papa)

Saturday, June 25, 4:30 pm / Sunday, June 26, 4 pm

(2015, 88 min., Tagalog with

Featuring the best of the...From Page SF2 English subtitles)

The first fully rotoscoped animation film made in the Phil-ippines explores how Filipinos, especially those on the margins of society, deal with death. The title character, an elderly woman with no money to her name, is more than ready to face death. But when she learns of a chance to reunite with her daughter and her grandson, she tries every-thing she can to put it off just a little while longer.

Family screening“Patintero: Ang Alamat

ni Meng Patalo” (Directed by Mihk Vergara)

Sunday, June 26, 2 pm(2015, 90 min., Tagalog

with English subtitles)Suitable for all ages, this zany

coming-of-age film is old-fash-ioned fun with a distinctly ’80s feel. Patintero is a street game played by children all over the Philippines, requiring nothing more than a piece of chalk. With fantastic performances from the young cast, the film shows how patintero takes the place of everything missing from the children’s lives.

“Trap [Taklub]” (Directed by Brillante Mendoza)

Thursday, June 30, 7:30 pm

/ Saturday, July 2, 7 pm(2015, 89 min., Tagalog

with English subtitles)Typhoon haiyan, one of the

strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded, struck the eastern Phil-ippines on November 8, 2014, killing more than six thousand people. Brillante Mendoza’s Trap captures the reality of the post-typhoon situation in the hardest-hit city of Tacloban. Filmed in an intimate documentary style, the film features actors blending in with real residents coping with the devastation and focuses on three survivors: a mother who lost her children, a husband who lost his wife, and a son who lost his parents. Starring Nora Aunor.

yBCA’s New Filipino Cinema is made possible through the partnership of FACINe, Filipino Arts exposition, and Internation-al Southeast Asian Film Festival.

Tickets are at $10 (General admission), and $8 for yBCA members, seniors, students and/or teachers. There is a 25 percent discount on four or more screenings.

For more information, log on to https://ybca.org/whats-on/new-filipino-cinema-2016.

*Many thanks to Maureen Dixon Harrison.

Charo Santos

entertainment SF5The Asian Journal SF MAGAZINE - June 3, 2016

Meet the Filipino ‘instant celebrities’...From Page SF3 The Badjao teen first made

appearance via photo posted on Facebook showing her beg-ging for spare change during a local festival in Lucban, Que-zon. The phot went viral since. Photographer Topher Quinto Burgos, showed 13-year-old Rita Gaviola aka “Badjao Girl” begging with her younger sister at the Pahiyas Festival. Filipino netizens complimented her model looks, her morena skin and high cheekbones.

Gaviola told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that she hopes her unexpected fame will help her achieve her dream of be-coming a teacher. I hope that’ll keep students more motivated.

I can still remember the days when a person’s only chance on stardom is through the help of a talent scout or by audition-ing for a reality show. Now, we meet the world’s greatest talent scout – Social Media.

One of the many benefits of social media is giving once-in-a-lifetime chance to people like our very own “instant celebri-ties.” They are your common Juans and Marias who work hard to survive, not to buy the latest makeup or get the most expensive cosmetic surgery. Obviously, they already have the looks, but their greatest asset is that they already know what hard work and dedication mean.

***Monet Lu is a Marikina-born, award-

winning celebrity beauty stylist with his own chain of Monet Salon salons across Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada. Ultimately, Monet is known as an all-around artiste who produces sold-out fashion and awards shows as well as unforgettable marketing campaigns. Monet is also the founder of the revolutionary all-natural beauty products such as Enlighten, your solution to discoloration. To contact Monet, please visit www.monetsalon.com or email him at monetsalon@aol.com

ask? Well, just enough for an in-ternational fashion designer like Francis Libiran, to ask the guy to model for his line.

Thanks to Glenda Uchi who uploaded the photo on Face-book, the gas station cutie iden-tified as Charles Joseph “CJ” Querol is now the newest face to look out for. Upon making the post public, more than a thousand netizens shared it on their timelines.

Sources from SEAOIL Philip-pines, Inc. revealed to Manila Bulletin Online that the good-looking gasoline boy has been working with them for about three years.

“Asia’s Next Top Model” is a Badjao

They call her “Badjao Girl,” I see her as a potential Binibin-ing Pilipinas candidate, or who knows, the next Pia Wurtzbach.

BRILLANTE “Dante” Men-doza could very well be called Midas because everything he works on garners a gold (Palme d’Or, which means Golden Palm, the prestigious award at the Cannes fest).

After winning best director at Cannes in 2009 for his film, “Kinatay,” direk Dante paved the way for Jaclyn Jose (lead actress of “Ma’ Rosa”) to win the best actress plum this year. What an awesome mentor mon ami (my friend, that’s how I fondly call him) truly is.

If the French have their la vie en rose (life in pink), we Pinoys are now celebrating la vida a la (life like) Ma’ Rosa. Jaclyn’s victory is indeed a triumph of the Pinoy spirit of finding beauty among the ruins.

Here’s my tête-à-tête with Brillante:

What made your Cannes experience different this year?

I was able to bring along the young talents and staff of “Ma’ Rosa.” It’s a once-in-a-life-

Direk Brillante shares his Cannes experienceby Dolly Anne CArvAjAl

Inquirer.net

time experience to walk on the red carpet, and see films from other countries that are com-peting in an international film fest to expand their knowledge.

What went through your mind as you teared up when they gave you and the “Ma’ Rosa” cast a standing ovation?

The feeling was overwhelm-ing, especially the long ap-plause. Very uplifting. This isn’t about me—it is a tribute to the Filipino family and the entire Filipino nation.

What reaction from your

peers in Cannes made the most impact on you?

The reactions of young film-makers from Iran and Brazil in the short film section—when I conducted a master class, I was touched and inspired by how well they know my films and the style I use.

What do you think was Jaclyn’s edge over the other best actress contenders?

Her acting style is quite natural. She is consistent in the film. There was not a moment that she dropped her character. She did not act.

How did you motivate Ja-clyn in her portrayal of Rosa?

I allowed her to immerse and interact with the people in the location.

What lessons learned at Cannes do you want to share with other filmmakers?

Be original. Don’t be afraid to tell stories about our country.

What’s your unsolicited advice to incoming President Duterte about the film industry?

Even if the film industry is not a priority, at least put it on his list.

“Ma’ Rosa” director Brillante Mendoza

The Asian Journal SF MAGAZINE - June 3, 2016SF6

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