See ROXAS-ROBREDO, page 2

A B a l i t a M e d i a P u b l i c a t i o n

Celebrating T H E

Vol. 3. No. 53 LOS ANGELES Wednesday - Tuesday, Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2015

S C E N E

E N T E R T I N M E N T

Will Dawn Zulueta run for

Congress?See PAGE 7

W W W . U S A S I A N P O S T . C O M

MANILA, Sept 26 (Mabuhay) – Has Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo agreed to be the running mate of administration standard bearer Mar Roxas in next year’s elections?

The spokesperson of the Leni Robredo for Vice President Move-ment refused to confirm nor deny reports that Robredo has accepted the offer of Roxas to be his vice presidential candidate in 2016.

Former Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada said the people should just wait for the announcement of the Liberal Party (LP) at its convention on Wednesday, September 30.

“Hindi ko sasabihin na pumay-ag o hindi,” Tañada said.

“Hintayin na lang natin yung final announcement no, dahil meron namang gaganapin na parang convention ang Liberal Party sa September 30. At based sa Comelec resolution, kailangan i-submit kasi yung magiging line up ng partido.”

“Ayoko namang pangunahan kahit sino, so hintayin na lang natin,” he added.

According to Tañada, Robredo

met with President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday to discuss all “possibilities.”

The President believes that Robredo, widow of Interior Secre-tary Jesse Robredo, is the perfect partner for Roxas in continuing “Daang Matuwid.”

“Kung titingnan naman ta-laga natin kung ano yung pina-glalaban ng ating administras-yon ngayon, yun din naman ang pinaglalaban ni Leni bilang isang maybahay dati ni Sec. Jesse sa Naga, at yun yung ginagawa rin niya bilang kinatawan ng distrito niya sa Naga,” Tañada said.

The congresswoman, however, has repeatedly said that she feels she is not yet prepared to run for the country’s second highest post and is more open to a possible run for the Senate.

Tañada said Robredo’s two children were also present in the meeting. The lawmaker’s children are against calls for her to run as vice president next year.

Tañada, meanwhile, downplayed Robredo’s low rat-ings in the latest vice presidential Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas (right) and Representative Leni Robredo grace the Feast of Peñafrancia celebration in

Naga City in Camarines Sur on Friday. Robredo is being urged to run as the administration’s vice presidential candidate for the 2016 elections. (MNS photo)

MANILA, Sept 25 (Mabuhay) -- Senator Grace Poe dropped 3 points but retained the lead in the latest presidential preference sur-vey conducted by Pulse Asia Re-search Inc. for ABS-CBN.

In the survey conducted Au-gust 27 to September 3, 2015 with 1,200 respondents, 27 per-cent said they would vote for Poe if elections were held then – 3 points lower from her 30 percent in Pulse Asia’s June survey.

Pulse Asia conducted this sur-vey at the height of the 5-day Iglesia Ni Cristo protest, during which Poe drew criticism for de-fending the influential religious sect known for supporting candi-

dates through bloc voting.Vice President Jejomar Binay

came in second with 21 percent, 1 point lower than his previous sur-vey result.

Former Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, who declared his can-didacy barely a month before the survey, got 18 percent, an 8-point leap from his 10 percent in June.

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo dropped to fourth place but main-tained his 15 percent from the previous survey. This, despite re-peatedly insisting he had no plans of running for president.

Respondents were asked: “Of the people on this list, whom

would you vote for as President of the Philippines if the 2016 elec-tions were held today and they were candidates. You may men-tion others not included in this list.”

Also mentioned in the presi-dential survey were: Senator Bongbong Marcos 5 percent, for-mer President now Mayor Joseph Estrada 5 percent, Senator Miri-am Santiago 4 percent, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano 1 percent, and former Senator Panfilo Lac-son 1 percent.

In the vice presidential survey, Poe was in a statistical tie with her own runningmate Senator

Philippine Coast Guard personnel patrol the waters on a speed boat near Davao City and Samal Island on Friday. Gunmen holding three foreigners and one Filipina hos-tage slipped past a naval cordon and escaped to remote mountains in the southern Philippines, leaving few clues of their identities, police said. (MNS photo)

MANILA, Sept 26 (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Saturday told the public to avoid booking flights during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Summit in November.

“We would also advice this early on to—if you plan to outside – to avoid iyong mga araw na da-rating po sila (world leaders) at pati po ‘yung iba nating bisita,” Deputy Presidential Spokesper-son Abigail Valte told state-run radio dzRB in an interview.

Valte said the government is expecting 10,000 visitors, includ-

ing world leaders and their del-egates and members of the inter-national media, during the APEC week.

The APEC Leaders’ Meeting will be held on November 18 and 19, which have been declared as non-working holidays by Presi-dent Benigno Aquino III. School authorities have also suspended classes on November 17 and 20.

Valte said that those who may have already booked flights dur-ing the APEC week, should expect delays.

MANILA, Sept 26 (Mabuhay) – Six of the reported seven deaths of Filipino pilgrims during this week’s hajj to Mecca in Saudi Ara-bia were due to various types of diseases, a Philippine health offi-cial said Saturday.

Dr. Abdulnasser P. Masorong Jr. of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) said the six reported deaths were due to heart problem, liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, and severe pneumo-nia, and that the ages of the vic-

MANILA, Sept 24 (Mabuhay) – The government has created a National Cybersecurity Inter-Agency Committee to address the country’s vulnerabilities against cyberattacks and threats, and to implement measures when the need arises.

President Benigno Aquino III signed Executive Order No. 189 on September 17 citing the “ur-gent need to assess national vul-nerabilities of government and commercial information systems to cyber threats.”

“There is an increasing number of cyber threats against govern-ment and commercial informa-tion systems which places these institutions at great risk,” the EO said.

An 11-year-old boy works at an underwater mining site in Camarines Norte province, Philippines. © 2015 Mark Z. Saludes for Human Rights Watch

(Manila, September 30, 2015) – The Philippine government is failing to protect children who dig and dive for gold in dangerous small-scale mines, Human Rights Watch said today in a new report and video, released ahead of Chil-dren’s Month in the Philippines. The 39-page report, “What…if Something Went Wrong: Hazard-ous Child Labor in Small-Scale Gold Mining in the Philippines” documents how thousands of Fili-pino children – some just 9 years old – work in illegal, small-scale gold mines, mostly financed by lo-cal businessmen.

Children work in unstable 25-meter-deep pits or underwa-ter along the coastal shore or in rivers, and process gold with mer-

cury, a toxic metal. In September 2014, a 17-year-old boy suffocated in an underground mine because there was no machine providing oxygen.

The Philippine government should act on its public commit-ment to end child labor in min-ing, Human Rights Watch said. “Filipino children are working in absolutely terrifying conditions in small-scale gold mines,” said Ju-liane Kippenberg, associate chil-dren’s rights director at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “The Philippine govern-ment prohibits dangerous child labor, but has done very little to enforce the law.”

Human Rights Watch conduct-

MANILA, Sept 25 (Mabuhay) – The Senate Electoral Tribu-nal (SET), hearing the disqualification case filed against Senator Grace Poe, has agreed to come up with a decision on November 5, a member-senator said on Friday.

“November 5 was the last agreement in the tribunal,” Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said in a text message when sought to react to Senator President Franklin Drilon’s repeated call for the tribu-nal to immediately resolve the case.

Drilon expressed hopes that the tribunal would be able to come up with a decision before the filing of certificates of candidacy (CoC) on October 12 and 16.

Meanwhile, Poe’s camp has no plans to call for a change in the composition of the SET despite questions raised against its chair-man, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.

1BAP Representative Silvestre Bello III, a former justice secre-tary, earlier said that Carpio should inhibit himself from the case because of his association with a lawyer of the administration’s bet, former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II.

Asked if the senator would initiate such move against Carpio, Poe’s lawyer, George Garcia, answered in the negative.

“Wala po (There is none). We will not inhibit anybody,” Garcia said in a text message. “We believe in the integrity and indepen-dence of the tribunal as well as the fairness and justness of its

Roxas-Robredo tandem for 2016 a done deal?

Malacañang: Avoid booking flights during APEC meet

Pulse Asia poll: Poe still on top

PHL: Children risk death to dig and dive for gold Child labor, health and mining laws need to be enforced: HR Watch

SET decision on case vs Poe out after deadline for filing of CoC

6 of 7 ‘Pinoy deaths’ during Hajj 2015 due to diseases: PHL official

Aquino signs EO creating body vs. cyberattacks, threats

See PULSE ASIA, page 2

See PINOY DEATHS, page 2

See APEC MEET, page 2

See CHILDREN, page 2 See CYBERATTACKS, page 2See SET DECISION, page 2

MANILA, Dec 15 (Mabuhay) – Vice President Jejomar Binay said Monday that he would ght Senator Grace Poe should she run for president against him in 2016.

Asked if he would pursue his bid if the administration picked Poe to be its standard-bearer in 2016, Binay said: “Opo naman.” (Of course.)

He recalled that immediately after the elections in 2010, he al-ready declared his intention to be-come president.

“Kinabukasan matapos ang halalan, nagpahayag na ako. Talaga namang naghanda ako para maglingkod bilang pangulo ng ating bansa,” Binay said. (The day after the elections, I made the announcement. I have prepared myself to serve as the next presi-

dent of the country.)“Tutuloy akong magkakandi-

dato kahit sino pa po ang maka-kalaban,” he added. (I will run no matter who I run against with.)

Binay stressed, “Ang issue sa darating na halalan ay karana-san at kakayahan.” (The issue in the upcoming elections would be experience and capability.)

The Vice President has re-mained the top choice of 28 per-cent of voters, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey. Poe is second with 18 percent.

However, unlike Binay, Poe has repeatedly said that she had no plans of joining the presiden-tial derby.

And while they were being pit-ted against each other, Binay said

See BINAY, page 6

Vol. 3. No. 13 LOS ANGELES Wednesday - Tuesday, December 17 - 23, 2014

Lani to Charice:

Keep singing for Pinoys

See PAGE 10W W W . U S A S I A N P O S T . C O M

1-877-35-NOPAY(1-877-356-6729)818-334-5445818-552-4500

Vice President Jejomar Binay sprinkles holy water at the tomb of Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) at the Manila North Cemetery on the oc-casion of the 10th death anniversary of the acknowledged Filipino movie king on Sunday (Dec.14, 2014). Also in photo are Senator Grace Poe and movie-TV actress Susan Roces (2nd from left). (MNS photo)

MANILA, Dec 15 (Mabuhay) – Vice President Jejomar Binay on Monday alleged that his former ally turned enemy, former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado, was trying to convince their common friends in the United States to testify against him.

“’Yong complainant namin nag-punta sa America. Alam na namin kung ano ‘yong mga pinagpupun-tahan niya (Mercado). Pinagpipil-itan niyang tumestigo at gumawa ng istorya,” Binay said in a press statement.

Binay said Mercado, who went

to the US late last month, per-suaded their common friends there to testify that the Vice President received commissions from them for various projects in Makati City.

“’Yong mga gusto nilang tu-mestigo, pinupuntahan nila (Mer-cado’s camp) na magsinungaling – na tumanggap ako sa kanila ka-hit na wala naman ‘yon. …Pinun-tahan si gano’n. ‘Sabihin mo na lang si Binay, bati-bati na tayo. Hindi ka na namin pahihirapan sa Senate,’” Binay said.

Aside from talking to certain

individuals, Binay said Mercado also took photos of some proper-ties in the US, among them prop-erties allegedly owned by Merca-do himself.

Binay said he expects Merca-do to present these photos in the next hearing of the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee in January next year and make it appear that the properties are owned by him or his alleged dummies.

“Eto [si Mercado] kukuha ng litrato. [Tapos sasabihin,] ‘Prop-erty ito niya, property ni Binay

Members of ProGay and women’s rights group Gabriela rally in front of the Supreme Court in Manila last month to denounce the alleged government inaction on violence against women. The rally was held just as the high court was on its second day of oral arguments on the constitutionality of the PHL-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. The suspect in her death, as US Marine, has been charged with murder. (MNS photo)

By Joel GuintoManila, Philippines | AFP |

Monday 12/15/2014 – Philippine prosecutors on Monday charged a US Marine with murder over the death of a Filipino transgender woman, in a case that has fanned anti-American sentiment and tested close military ties.

Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton used “treachery, abuse of superior authority and cruelty” against his alleged vic-tim, lead prosecutor Emilie Fe de-los Santos said as she announced the charge.

“We believe we have a strong case,” delos Santos told a nation-ally televised brie ng.

Pemberton will not be allowed to post bail, she said. Murder is punishable by up to 40 years in jail.

Jennifer Laude, a 26-year-old transgender woman also known

as Jeffrey, was found dead on October 12 in a cheap hotel in a red light district of the port city of Olongapo.

Pemberton, who had just n-ished taking part in US-Philip-pine military exercises near Olon-gapo, had checked into the hotel with Laude and was the last per-son seen with her, police said.

The charge sheet against Pem-berton released on Monday de-tailed what the prosecutors said was an unprovoked and relentless attack against a defenceless vic-tim.

“Respondent Pemberton choked Jennifer from behind. Ob-viously, in that position, Jennifer was deprived of the opportunity to defend herself,” the six-mem-ber prosecutors panel said in the charge sheet.

“Undeniably, respondent

MANILA, Dec 15 (Mabuhay) – Some 100 operatives from vari-ous law enforcement agencies swooped down on the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) Monday morning and discovered illegal drugs and some home items, including a hot tub, inside the maximum security compound of the prison.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, accompanied by elements

of the National Bureau of Inves-tigation (NBI), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Philippine National Police (PNP), held a surprise inspection at the national penitentiary’s maximum security compound amid reports that convicted drug lords are still able to continue with their opera-tions inside jail.

By Jérôme CartillierWashington, United States |

AFP | Monday 12/15/2014 – For-mer Florida governor Jeb Bush, brother of the 43rd president of the United States and son of the 41st, appears to be preparing a bid to become the 45th.

George H.W. Bush’s 61-year-old second son promised Sunday that he would make up his mind on whether to run “in short order.”

But would his presidential her-itage be a bonus or a burden?

As speculation grips Washing-ton at what is the de facto start of the November 2016 presiden-tial election, many commentators have spoken of Bush as a heavy-weight Republican contender.

But, aside from possible Bush fatigue, he shares with defeated 2012 Republican ag-bearer Mitt Romney a career in off-shore pri-

General Santos, Philippines | AFP | Sunday 12/14/2014 – Philippine boxing legend Manny Pacquiao vowed to chase Floyd Mayweather into ring submission after his US rival offered to ght him next year in a blockbuster world title face-off.

“He (Mayweather) has reached a dead end. He has nowhere to run but to ght me,” Pacquiao told AFP late Saturday, hours af-ter the undefeated Mayweather issued the May 2 challenge on US television.

The two were long-time rivals as the “best pound-for-pound” boxers of their generation, but the Speaking to Showtime Sports on Friday night, Floyd Mayweather said he wants his

next ght to be against Manny Pacquiao, who is coming off an impressive win over Chris Algieri (his opponent in this photo) last month in Macau, China.

By Glenda KwekSydney, Australia | AFP |

Monday 12/15/2014 – Two hos-tages and the lone Iranian-born gunman were killed as heav-ily armed Australian police early Tuesday dramatically stormed a central Sydney cafe to end a day-long siege sparked when the “self-styled sheikh” took 17 people hostage.

Police in SWAT-style gear

hurled percussion grenades and opened re, unleashing a urry of loud bangs and ashes in the eatery in the heart of Australia’s biggest city, after a number of the staff and customers managed to ee for their lives.

Police moved in after an ex-change of gun re, with the 50-year-old “lone gunman” shot and killed, New South Wales Po-

Binay: I will run against Poe

VP Binay: Mercado trying to convince more friends in US to testify against me

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush to run for Bush 45th.

Jeb Bush a step closer toward White House run US Marine charged with murder

Pacquiao says Mayweather has ‘nowhere to run’

Drugs, hot tub, Playstation seized inside Bilibid

Gunman, two hostages killed as police storm Sydney siege cafe

See MERCADO, page 6

See BILIBID, page 6

See SYDNEY SIEGE, page 6

See JEB BUSH, page 6

See PACQUIAO, page 6

See US MARINE, page 6

Visit www.usasianpost.com Wednesday - Tuesday, Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2015 THE US ASIAN POST2

ROXAS-ROBREDOFrom page 1

PULSE ASIAFrom page 1

PINOY DEATHSFrom page 1

APEC MEETFrom page 1

CHILDRENFrom page 1

SET DECISIONFrom page 1

CYBER ATTACKSFrom page 1

preference surveys conduct-ed by Social Weather Sta-tion (SWS) and Pulse Asia.

In the SWS poll conduct-ed from September 2 to 5, Robredo only placed 10th, a tie with former Senator Panfilo Lacson, with 3% of the 1,200 respondents saying they would vote for them if the elections were held then.

Senator Grace Poe and her running mate Senator Francis Escudero emerged

as the top picks with 27% and 20%, respectively, in the survey. They were fol-lowed by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Ma-nila Mayor Joseph Estrada, Senator Alan Peter Cayeta-no, Senator Loren Legarda, Batangas Governor Vilma Santos-Recto, and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

In the Pulse Asia poll conducted from August 27 to September 3, Robredo

also only got 2%, a tie with Senator Jinggoy Estrada and former Senator Francis Pangilinan, ranking behind Poe, Escudero, Cayetano, Marcos, Santos, Aquini, Trillanes, and Lacson.

Despite Robredo’s weak showing in vice presidential preference surveys, Tañada is not bothered.

“Tingin ko naman kay-ang habulin eh... Tingin ko may panahon pa naman eh,” he said. (MNS)

Chiz Escudero.Escudero jumped 10

points to 25 percent, from 15 percent in June. Escu-dero announced his vice presidential bid last Sep-tember 17, just a day after Poe’s own declaration of her presidential plans. Several

vice presidentiables are bunched together in single digits, including Binay’s preferred runningmate Marcos with 7 percent; and Roxas’ two vice presidential options - Senator Alan Cay-etano with 7 percent, and Camarines Sur Represen-

tative Leni Robredo with 2 percent. Pulse Asia’s survey for ABS-CBN is the last one before the October filing of certificates of candidacy for the 2016 elections.

The survey has a margin of error of plus/minus 3%. (MNS)

tims ranged from 49 and above.

He said that one of the victims succumbed to heart attack while on a plane heading for Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, the Dapartment of Foreign Affairs con-firmed that one Filipino pil-grim died in the stampede that left hundreds of people dead.

In an earlier text mes-sage to GMA Nes Online, Foreign Affairs spokes-

person Charles Jose said, “The Philippine Consul-ate General in Jeddah has confirmed that one local Filipino pilgrim died in the stampede in Mecca. The personal circumstances of the victim are being with-held on the request of the family.”

All of the seven Filipino fatalities have already been buried in Mecca, Masorong said.

But DFA’s Jose did not

confirm the other deaths, saying they were still gath-ering information on the six cases Masorong has re-ported.

On the other hand, Masorong said the Saudi Ministry of Health has not received reports from the pilgrims’ base that a Filipino has contracted the dreaded Middle East respi-ratory syndrome-coronavi-rus (MERS-CoV) disease, so far.(MNS)

“Please also expect ad-justment in the flights... So imagine 20 other economic leaders po ang darating. So, certainly magkaka-impact po ‘yan doon sa flights na-tin,” she said.

Last June, Manila Inter-

national Airport Author-ity general manager Jose Angel Honrado announced that quasi-emergency clo-sures of runways will be implemented for the arrival of the heads of state who will be joining the APEC

summit. Honrado said 22 aircraft parking lots at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport will be reserved for the heads of states.

He said these arrange-ments have been relayed to the airlines.(MNS)

ed field research in Cama-rines Norte and Masbate provinces in 2014 and 2015. More than 135 people were interviewed, including 65 child miners between the ages of 9 and 17. Beyond the fears of mine collapses and drowning, the children complained of numerous health problems, includ-ing back and body pain, skin infections, fevers, and spasms.

In underground mines, children risk in-jury from falling rocks and wood beams, pit col-lapse, and lack of oxygen. Underwater mining for gold, locally known as “com-pressor mining,” puts adult and child miners at risk of drowning, decompression sickness, and bacterial skin infections. Staying under-water for several hours at a time in 10-meter-deep shafts, the miners receive air from a tube attached to an air compressor at the surface.

This work is carried out by adolescent boys and – mostly – adult men. Several boys described moments of fear when they dived for the first time. Fourteen-year-old “Dennis” said: “I was 13 the first time [I dived]. I felt scared because it’s dark and deep.”

If the diesel-powered compressor stops working, the miner can drown or get “the bends” coming up too quickly. “Sometimes you have to make it up fast, es-pecially if you have no air in your hose,” said “Joseph,” 16. “It’s a normal thing. It’s happened to me.”

The Philippine govern-ment in recent years has

taken some important steps to ensure education for all, but the number of out-of-school children in the country remains high. Children, mostly from im-poverished households, skip school because of their mining work and some-times drop out altogether. “Lots of children in Mas-bate and Camarines Norte are dropping out of school to work in gold mining,” Kippenberg said. “In order to tackle the root causes of child labor, the government needs to assist the poorest families financially and en-sure their children are able to attend and stay in school.” Children also work with mercury, a readily avail-able toxic metal that is com-monly used to process gold. Children are particularly susceptible to mercury, which attacks the central nervous system and can cause brain damage and even death.

Unaware of the health risks, children use their bare hands to mix mercury with gold ore and create an amalgam. When they burn off the mercury to retrieve the raw gold, they breathe in toxic fumes.

In the mining village of Malaya, Camarines Norte, Human Rights Watch ob-served the unrestricted flow of light-grey, mercury-contaminated tailings from gold processing into the nearby river, where chil-dren play, swim, and pan for gold. Several children in Malaya complained of trem-ors, symptoms that could be signs of mercury poisoning.

The Philippine govern-ment should be introducing

mercury-free gold process-ing, such as is practiced in Benguet province, to reduce the threat to all children, Human Rights Watch said. The Philippines has signed but not ratified the Mina-mata Convention on Mer-cury of 2013, which sets out steps to reduce mercury ex-posure.

The government should promptly ratify the Mina-mata Convention and test for mercury exposure among residents in mining areas. In March 2015, the govern-ment banned the use of mer-cury in mining as well as compressor mining, but lit-tle has been done to imple-ment this regulation so far. The Philippines is the world’s 20th largest gold producer. An estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people work in the country’s small-scale gold mines. Large and small-scale mines combined produced about 18 tons of gold in 2014, at a market value of over US$700 mil-lion, according to official statistics.

The country’s central bank is the official buying agent for gold from small-scale mining and exports it. However, the bank has no process in place to check the conditions in which the gold has been mined. Other gold is smug-gled out of the country. “Small-scale mining pro-vides a vital livelihood for many Filipinos,” Kippen-berg said. “But the govern-ment needs to take urgent steps to ensure a safe and child-labor-free mining sec-tor so that families can earn an income without putting their children at risk.”

The committee will be chaired by the Executive Secretary, and co-chaired by the Director General of the National Security Council and the Secretary of the Department of Sci-ence and Technology.

The body shall issue up-dated security protocols to all government employees in the storage, handling, and distribution of all forms of documents and commu-nications. The EO also cre-ates a National Cybersecu-rity Coordination Center

members.”Sotto also saw no need

for any members of the SET to inhibit from the proceed-ing, saying that “links with candidates cannot be avoid-ed.”

“It’s how you conduct yourself, that’s important,” he said. (MNS)

which shall act as a secre-tariat to the committee.

Under the EO, all gov-ernment agencies and offic-es shall organize their Com-puter Emergency Response Teams, which shall directly report to the Cybercrime Investigating and Coordi-nating Center (CICC).

The supervision of the CICC created previously under Republic Act No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act was like-wise transferred from the Office of the President to

the newly-created commit-tee. (MNS)

MANILA, Sept 26 (Mabuhay) – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte claimed Saturday that the four tourists kidnapped by armed men on Samal Island in Davao Oriental have been taken to Sulu.

Duterte said he received intelligence information on the kidnapped Filipina and three foreigners last Thurs-day.

His sources said the hostages were taken from Holiday Ocean Resort on

a pumpboat and were pos-sibly later transferred to a larger and faster motorized boat.

The mayor said the group passed by Glan, Sarangani and from there, took only six hours to reach Sulu.

The pumpboats were found Tuesday, hundreds of kilometers southeast of the Davao Oriental province.

Duterte declined to iden-tify the group responsible for taking the four tourists at gunpoint.

He instead said that the armed men may be linked to the Abu Sayyaf Group as one of them appears to re-semble a known member of the terror group, based on the resort’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.

“They (victims) were delivered to a known Abu Sayyaf Group. Whether they are also actually Abu Sayyaf members, that we do not know. Ganyan ‘yan eh, ipasa-pasa na ‘yan, so as they are passed on to

a new group, lalaki nang lalaki yung patong nila sa ransom,” Duterte said.

Duterte believes it is probable that the abduc-tion had been deliberate and that the suspects knew their target.

“We have this hanging suspicion that the hostages are pre-determined vic-tims,” he said.

The mayor reiterated that he is willing to be part

of the negotiating team for the release of the Canadian tourists John Ridsel and Robert Hall, Norwegian re-sort manager Kjartan Sek-kingstad, and a Filipina only known as Marites.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) Special Inves-tigation Task Group (SITG) Ocean View, meanwhile, said that an organized kid-nap for ransom group is be-hind the abduction.

SITG Ocean View head Chief Supt. Federico Dulay also refused to identify the group amid the ongoing res-cue operations.

The task group is con-vinced that the suspects have not yet left Davao Re-gion, contrary to Duterte’s claim.

Dulay added that the suspects have yet to ask for money in exchange for the captives’ freedom. (MNS)

MANILA, Sept 26 (Mabuhay) – Philippine au-thorities have found a boat they suspect was used by kidnappers to take a group of mainly Western hostages to an island stronghold of Islamic militants, the mili-tary said Saturday.

The outrigger boat was found Friday on Jolo, more than 500 kilometers (311 miles) southwest of the Sa-mal island resort where two Canadians, a Norwegian and a Filipina were abduct-ed late Monday, Brigadier-General Alan Arrojado an-nounced. Jolo is the main base of the Abu Sayyaf, an Al-Qaeda-linked group that has been blamed for the Asian country’s deadli-est terror attacks as well as ransom kidnappings of for-

eign tourists and Christian missionaries.

“We have eyeballed the seacraft, but not the kidnap victims from Samal,” Arro-jado, head of a Jolo counter-terrorism task force, told reporters.

Officials would not say if the discovery pointed to possible Abu Sayyaf in-volvement in the kidnap-ping of Canadian tour-ists John Ridsdel, 68, and Robert Hall, 50, as well as Norwegian resort manager Kjartan Sekkingstad and Hall’s Filipina girlfriend.

No group has claimed responsibility for the ab-ductions, the latest in Min-danao, a southern region plagued by decades of Mus-lim as well as communist insurgencies.

Arrojado said the 25-me-tre (82-foot) boat suspected of taking the hostages to Jolo was found abandoned at Parang, a coastal town.

It was fitted with two onboard engines, but was taking in water apparently from a breach on its hull, he added. Regional police spokesman Antonio Rivera said that of all the “threat groups” in the south, those based on Jolo were the ones most skilled in using boats.

However, he added: “We cannot say that they (Abu Sayyaf) are involved at this time.” The authorities ear-lier said they had received reports the kidnappers had taken their victims to the impoverished Davao Ori-ental region to the east of Samal.

Samal kidnap victims taken to Sulu: Duterte

Possible ‘hostage’ boat found on militant island: AFP

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2015 Visit www.usasianpost.com 3LOS ANGELES

LOS ANGELES – US President Barack Obama has nominated the granddaughter of a Filipino veteran of World War II for promotion to vice admiral in the US Navy and for the position of Defense Health Agency (DHA) director, De-fense Secretary Ash Carter announced this week.

If her nomination is ap-proved, Rear Adm. Raquel C. Bono will become the highest ranking Filipino-American naval officer in the United States.

A few years ago, Bono and her brother, now re-tired Rear Adm. Anatolio B. Cruz III, made history in the US Navy when they became the first and only siblings of Filipino descent to hold flag-officer ranks si-multaneously, according to the DHA website.

Bono currently serves as director of the DHA’s na-tional capital region medi-cal directorate and is the 11th chief of the Navy Medi-cal Corps.

Vice Adm. Matthew L. Nathan, US Navy surgeon general, has described Bono as a “role model” for others

to emulate, and acknowl-edged the contributions of her family.

Bono’s grandfather was a Filipino obstetrician who served in the US Army with the rank of colonel during World War II.

Migrated to USTwo decades after the

war, Bono’s parents migrat-ed to the United States and settled in Minnesota, where her father completed his surgical residency and be-came part of the Navy Re-serve, retiring as a captain.

Her brother, Cruz, served as deputy commander of the US Naval Forces Southern Command and deputy com-

mander, US Fourth Fleet.According to an article

on the US Navy website, Bono initially wanted to go into nursing but her father challenged her to become a doctor and showed her that there were no limits to what she could do.

First womanBono was commissioned

in 1979. She got a Navy health professions scholar-ship and earned her medi-cal degree at Texas Tech University.

She began her military career with a general sur-gery residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Virginia, becoming the first woman to graduate from this program.

Shortly after training, Bono served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm as head of the Casu-alty Receiving, Fleet Hospi-tal Five in Saudi Arabia.

“Service to others; ser-vice to country. It was in-grained in us by our father and mother in gratitude to their adopted country, the United States,” Bono was quoted as saying in the ar-ticle.

MANILA, Sept 24 (Mabuhay) – The Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) is coordinat-ing with local government units, tri-cycle groups and other motoring orga-nizations to keep tricycles and pedicabs from the major thoroughfares such as EDSA.

The HPG will start the stricter im-plementation of the ban on tricycles and pedicabs on major highways and apprehend violators on Monday.

“Ang ginawa natin diyan kinausap natin ‘yung mga organization involved sa pagpapatakbo ng mga tricycle at tsaka mga barangay,” HPG director Chief Superintendent Arnold Gunna-cao said.Gunnacao said the HPG had already talked with tricycle and pedi-cab groups in Cubao and Pasay City.

“In fact naumpisahan namin dito sa Barangay Socorro dito sa Cubao kung saan ‘yung mga tumatakbong tricycle sa ibat-ibang kalye nila ginawan na nila ng paraan at nagkaroon na sila ng ugnayan,” Gunnacao said.

“Ganun din po ang ginagawa natin

sa Pasay. Kasi po napapansin natin na ‘yung mga tricycle na bumabaybay sa kahabaan ng EDSA lalung lalo na sa Pasay area kung saan ay may buses ay walang pakundangan na sumasalu-bong sa trapiko,” he added.

Gunnacao warned that violators will have their licenses confiscated with tri-cycle drivers facing a penalty of P2,000 and pedicab drivers being subjected to fines provided for in barangay or mu-nicipal ordinances.

He said that the Land Transporta-tion Office already had an existing pol-icy against tricycles and pedicabs being on national highways, but former traffic enforcers had difficulty in implement-ing this.

“Kung napapansin niyo po kahit sa Commonwealth marami na po nahuli ang ating enforcers natin diyan kaya lang po marami ang matigas ang ulo at nagpupumilit,” Gunnacao said.

“Pero ganoon pa man dadaanin pa natin sa pakiusap sa una at sabay na rin ‘yung panghuhuli po,” he added. (MNS)

Obama picks Fil-Am for top Navy post

Rear Adm. Raquel C. Bono

HPG coordinates with LGUs to keep trikes, pedicabs off EDSA

MANILA, Sept 24 (Mabuhay) – The Sugar Alliance of the Philippines (SAP) is urging Bureau of Customs Commissioner Al-berto Lina to put an end to sugar smuggling or resign if he cannot fully commit him-self to fight alleged irregu-larities in the agency.

SAP President Manuel Lamata said Lina must deputize their group if he wants the SAP to help chase after big-time smug-glers of sugar.

“All we are asking him, if he really wants to put a stop to sugar smuggling, to deputize our group. So that way we can really, really help him,” Lamata said.

“But if he cannot do that for whatever reasons and he seems helpless to stop smuggling, then he better get out of Customs. He bet-

ter resign because he is not up to the job,” he added.

Customs is under fire fol-lowing the alleged involve-ment of former Land Trans-portation Office (LTO) chief Virginia Torres in the foiled release of smuggled sugar from Thailand.

According to Lamata, over a hundred container vans containing smuggled sugar started entering the Manila International Con-tainer Port during the first four months of Lina in of-fice, apart from the “dra-matic stoppage of smuggled sugar to the Philippines” declared by the United States Department of Ag-riculture (USDA) based in Thailand during the term of former Customs Commis-sioner John Philip Sevilla.

“What did Lina say that brought all these things

open? On his very first day in Customs, and I believe it came out from media, he said walang hulihan muna. We have to generate funds for government, he said that...That was when the sugar industry got very alarmed,” Lamata claimed.

However, Lina strongly denied that he eased the campaign against smug-glers and even vowed “to do what the law says” over Torres’ case.

“I did not say that. We are apprehending those sugar smugglers. Based on our re-cords in my four months, we have made those apprehen-sions already,” Lina replied.

The Customs chief added that the agency has been consistently acting on cases of smuggling and coordinat-ing with concerned industry players.(MNS)

MANILA, Sept 24 (Mabu-hay) -- Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday bid farewell to the Depart-ment of Justice, underscor-ing the agency’s “humble” victories under her leader-ship despite “pressures.”

De Lima, however, has not yet formally offered her intention to quit her post, despite rumors of her sena-torial bid for the May 2016 polls.

“I will soon leave all of you... Wherever I will be in coming years, I will cherish all my years at the Depart-ment of Justice,” she said in her last “State of the De-partment Address” during the 118th founding anni-versary of the DOJ Manila.

In her speech, De Lima highlighted the DOJ’s ef-forts to deliver “real-time justice” during her five-year stint in the agency, saying that the rate of case disposi-tion has increased from 75 percent in 2010 to 80 per-cent in 2014, and that pros-ecution rate also improved from 68 percent in 2010 to 73 percent in 2014.

She also cited the DOJ’s accomplishments in the Maguindanao massacre case; the pork barrel fund scam; the Balintang Chan-nel shooting incident; the Atimonan encounter; and the case of Mary Jane Ve-loso, who is facing death in Indonesia after being con-victed of drug smuggling.

She also noted the DOJ’s efforts against monopolies in the market and illegal drug activities inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

Likewise, De Lima ex-pressed hopes that the transfer of the NBP and the Correctional Institute for Women to Nueva Ecija would solve the “age-old” problem of jail congestion

and decrepit jail facilities.De Lima became teary-

eyed in the last part of her speech, even as she quipped how much she misses her father.

“Siya ang nagbigay ng gabay sa akin when I ac-cepted the Commission on Human Rights post. Siya iyong nagbigay uli ng gabay sa akin when I accepted the DOJ post and now the next phase of my journey, bigla ko syang na miss,” said De Lima. Asked if she thinks her father had already given him a sign, De Lima said: “I think so.”

“In the end, what makes up the legacy of (my) ad-ministration in the DOJ is the integrity of the institu-tion that’s left behind after six years in government,” she said.

De Lima described her-self as a “caretaker and steward” of an institution by protecting and insulat-ing the agency’s profession-alism from politics.

Also, she said the bud-get of DOJ for 2016 has a P54-million allocation for increase in operational ex-penses and P48 million for additional support staff.

She said that when she faces President Benigno Aquino III to give an ac-counting of what she has done as DOJ secretary, she would tell him this:

“I was not able to fulfill my mission of delivering complete justice to all but what I did was leave behind a DOJ that in time will ac-complish that mission,” she said.

In making a point over what she considered as “pressures” in the exercise of her duties, she made an apparent allusion to her re-cent spat with the Iglesia ni

Cristo.She said she “protected

the institution and its peo-ple from pressures,” point-ing out that the agency has been “pilloried in public for meddling in their religion’s affairs.”

Other than saying she is “seriously considering it,” De Lima still refused to cat-egorically say if she would run for the Senate. “Until nga magkaroon ng official announcement iyong admin ticket hindi ako pwedeng magsabi na 100 percent na ako,” she said.

When asked, “Buo na po ba loob niyo,” De Lima re-plied: “I think so... na su-subukan na ang another world.”

As for her replacement as DOJ secretary, De Lima refused to give any possible candidates, but said she had already endorsed one to President Benigno Aqui-no III.

De Lima has figured prominently in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, though she has still yet to confirm her bid for the Senate in 2016.

She said she would be making a “categorical ac-ceptance” once the Liberal Party officially announces its line-up for the senatorial race.(MNS)

Customs chief told: Stop sugar smuggling or get out

De Lima bids DOJ goodbye in founding anniversary speech

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OPINION

Vice President for OperationsAlan Michael

PHL embassy ready for worst-case scenario in Korea: Jejomar Binay Global economy shows ‘fragile’ improvement: IMF

MANILA, Mar 26 (Mabuhay) – Th e Philippine Embassy in South Korea has prepared a contingency plan, in case tensions between South and North Korea escalate into a full-blown confl ict.

“Nakahanda po ang ating embahada para sa worst-case scenario,” Vice President Jejomar Binay told leaders of the Filipino community at the Philippine Embassy in Seoul.

There are currently around 50,000 Filipinos living and working in South Korea.

Binay, who is currently in Seoul to attend the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, said it is unfortunate that North Korea is planning to launch a satellite next month.

North Korea said it intends to launch a long-range rocket next month to put a satellite into orbit, but the United States and other nations consider it a thinly veiled missile test that would breach a United Nations ban.

Th e Japanese government said part of the North Korean long-range rocket will fall east of the Philippines if the launch is made next month.

Binay said local authorities, who may be aff ected, will be directed to prepare.

“Th is is an unfortunate situation because there is an existing UN (United Nations) resolution and North Korea had said they will comply with the resolution... We do not want to speculate on the eff ects of the launch. We hope it does not happen and North Korea complies with the UN resolution. However, we will be directing the local government who could be aff ected to be prepared for any eventuality,” he added.

Th e Department of Foreign Aff airs (DFA) earlier issued a statement calling North Korea’s planned satellite launch “unacceptable.”

Th e DFA appealed to North Korea to abide by UN Security Council Resolutions 1874 and 1718, which call for the “abandonment of its ballistic missile program in a complete, verifi able and irreversible manner.”

Th e Philippine and US militaries are reportedly coordinating to track the path of a planned North Korean rocket launch, parts of which are expected to land off the archipelago, an offi cial said Saturday.

“The Philippine military is coordinating with its US counterpart in the monitoring of the planned launch,” Foreign Department spokesman Raul Hernandez told AFP.

His announcement came a day after the USS Blue Ridge, the fl agship of the US 7th Fleet in the Pacifi c, arrived in Manila for a four-day visit.

Hernandez did not divulge details of the joint monitoring, but the allies were expected to hold large-scale joint military exercises in the middle of April to enhance cooperation in case of external threats.

“We continue to strongly urge the DPRK (North Korea) not to proceed with its planned launch,” Hernandez said.

“Th ey should abide by the UN Security Council resolutions which explicitly demand that they do not conduct any launch using ballistic missile technology.”

Manila’s defense chief, Voltaire Gazmin, said Friday the government needed US help in tracking the rocket’s path, with the poorly equipped Philippine military not having the capability to do so by itself.

Pyongyang announced last week it would launch the rocket to place a satellite in orbit between April 12 and 16, and insisted it was purely for space research.

But the United States and other nations see the launch as a disguised ballistic missile test, and say that it would breach a UN ban on North Korean missile launches.

A previous North Korean long-range rocket in 2009 fl ew over Japanese territory and the boosters landed safely in waters off Japan.

Kurt Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacifi c Aff airs, said the rocket launch would impact “in an area roughly between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines,” in a message to Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr, according to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald.

By Mike Patterson Bangkok, March 27, 2012 (AFP)

– Recent improvements in the global economy are “very fragile” and an escalation of the eurozone crisis remains the most immediate concern, IMF deputy managing director Naoyuki Shinohara said Tuesday.

While indicators had last year pointed to a big setback for the world there have in recent weeks been modest signs of improvement and stability in the key US and European economies, he said in a lecture at a university in Bangkok.

“Important policy actions carried out by European policy makers have helped and most recently the agreement on a new (debt) programme for Greece ... has also brought some relief,” he said.

But, he said: “Th ere is no room for complacency. A lot more needs to be done to give a fresh boost to growth.”

Shinohara said in many countries public debt remained at all-time highs, limiting the scope for fi scal stimulus, and unemployment also remained very high.

“We are navigating a very narrow path before recovery of the economy and the risk of slippage is very high,” he warned.

He said advanced economies “should press ahead with national and structural reforms to repair

also need to increase the strength of their firewall to provide an adequate backstop for governments undertaking these reforms,” he said.

The IMF, and the United States and other top economies worldwide have sought to raise pressure on Germany to drop its previous opposition to boosting the eurozone’s firewalls against debt crisis contagion.

Looking to the prospects for Asia, Shinohara said domestic demand remained generally strong, supported by low unemployment and high capacity utilization.

“Growth in Asia is expected to gain momentum this year,” he said.

Leading economic indicators had strengthened in the United States and Europe, he said.

“Th ese numbers have improved substantially since the beginning of this year and this suggests a similar improvement in Asia in the coming months,” he said.

The IMF sees global growth slightly above 3.0 percent in 2012 but will release its revised world economic outlook in two weeks.

“We are not expecting a major change in our outlook for this year and next year. Probably a slight improvement in our position on some of the areas but for the global picture I’m not expecting a major change,” he said.

Population adds to planet’s pressure cooker, but few options

the damage done by the crisis” while emerging economies needed to remain vigilant for possible spillovers.

However the IMF expected “spillovers from the euro area to other regions will remain limited as long as the euro area is contained.”

“Since the beginning of the year fi nancial tensions in the euro area have eased, in large part thanks to the so-called long-term refi nancing operation of the European Central Bank,” he said.

In recent weeks the data has showed manufacturing activity for both advanced and emerging economies has improved, with readings above 50, which indicates growth, but Shinohara said a lot needed to be done to safeguard gains.

“Recent improvements are still very fragile. Important policy challenges remain to be addressed. Downside risks are still very large. Th e most immediate concern is still further escalation of the euro area crisis,” he said.

S h inohara sa id European policymakers need to pursue fi scal adjustment at the right pace.

“European policy makers also need to pursue financial reforms to stabilize the banking sector and structural reforms to restore economic competitiveness,” he said.

“And European policy makers

By Richard Ingham LONDON, March 27, 2012

(AFP) – The world ’s surging population is a big driver of environmental woes but the issue is complex and solutions are few, experts at a major conference here say.

Answers lie with educating women in poorer countries and widening access to contraception but also with reforming consumption patterns in rich economies, they say.

Th e four-day meeting on Earth’s health, Planet Under Pressure, is unfolding ahead of the Rio+20 Summit in June.

Scientists taking part have pinpointed population growth as a major if indirect contributor to global warming, depletion of resources, pollution and species loss.

But they also mark it as an issue that has disappeared almost completely off political radar screens.

Th is is partly because of religious sensitivities but also because of traumatic memories of coercive fertility controls in poorer countries in the 1970s that no-one wants to repeat.

Diana Liverman, a professor at the University of Arizona, said the link between population growth and environmental damage arose in the mid-20th century.

“The 50 years from 1950 to 2000 were a period of dramatic and unprecedented change in human history,” she said.

During that time, the planet’s human tally doubled from three billion to six billion. It now stands at seven billion, and by some estimates could reach around nine billion by

2050.Th e good news is that the fertility

rate – the number of children a women is likely to have – has halved from fi ve to 2.5 since 1950 and will fall below the replacement rate of 2.1 around 2025, Liverman said.

“It means that there is a strong probability that population growth will level off around nine billion and may in fact fall thereafter,” said Liverman.

Others caution that raw statistics mask many complexities.

“The world’s carrying capacity isn’t a single headline figure but depends on lifestyle, technology, and so forth,” said Lord Martin Rees of the Royal Society, whose report on demography and the environment will be issued next month.

Th e population is stabilizing or falling in rich countries.

But these economies remain – in per capita terms – by far the biggest sources of environmental damage, with for instance greenhouse gas emissions per head that are double or quadruple those in a developing country.

Th e big population growth will happen in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

These countr ies bear least responsibility for climate change but will be hit worst by it, because they lack money and skills to adapt. Th us the higher their population, the more of their people who will be hit by drought, storms, rising seas and fl oods.

S t r a t e g i e s f o r w o r k i n g on the demographic drivers of environmental damage are essentially two-pronged, said specialists.

One is to change consumption patterns, so that the rich countries – and the emerging giants rushing to catch up with them—use energy and resources more sustainably.

Th e other is to protect women’s rights, education for women and their access to jobs and contraception.

“ I f y o u h a v e e c o n o m i c development and you educate women, and women get labour market opportunities, they tend not only to reduce the number of children but crucially to delay when they start having children,” said Sarah Harper, director of the Institute of Population Ageing at the University of Oxford.

“And if you delay the start of having children, you tend to have smaller families.”

Such changes can have a “surprisingly fast” eff ect on reducing birthrates, said Stephen Tyler, who works with group called the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN). He gave the fast-shrinking families in India as an example.

On Sunday, a group of scientists and policymakers that have won the Blue P lanet Prize, a top environmental award, made a pre-conference appeal to intensify green action.

Looking at demography, they said more than 200 million women in developing countries still have unmet needs for family planning.

But funding for access to contraception fell by 30 percent between 1995 and 2008, “not least as a result of legislative pressure from the religious right in the USA and elsewhere,” they said.

MANILA, Mar 27 (Mabuhay) – Majority of Filipinos are hopeful the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front can reach a peace agreement, but there appeared to be a decline in their ranks, a new poll by Social Weather Stations showed.

The SWS said the survey last Dec. 3 to 7 showed 62 percent of respondents remain optimistic the two parties will come to an agreement, but this was down from 71 percent in September and 83 percent recorded in June 2011.

Also, the SWS survey showed fewer Filipinos believe the peace agreement may be reached before the term of President Benigno Aquino III ends in 2016 – 38 percent, compared to 52 percent in September.

Filipinos hopeful of peace between gov’t and MILF, but numbers decliningTh e government and MILF had

not reached any consensus during their talks last March 19 to 21 in Malaysia.

SWS figures showed the 62 percent who were optimistic the two parties will hammer a peace deal comprised the following: 29 percent who were “very hopeful” (slightly higher than 26 percent in September); and 33 percent who were “somewhat hopeful” (lower than September’s 45 percent).

Respondents who were “somewhat not hopeful” remained at 15 percent while those “not hopeful at all” accounted for 24 percent, up from 14 percent in the previous survey.

Analyzing the data by region, the number of those “very hopeful” went

up in most areas except in Mindanao.Th ose “not hopeful at all”, however,

increased in all areas.When asked when they expect

a peace deal with the MILF to be signed, 12 percent said 2011 to 2013, down by one percentage point from 13 percent in September.

A greater number, 26 percent, said the peace deal will be ironed out by 2014-2016, down from 39 percent in the previous survey.

Nineteen percent, on the other hand, believed the peace deal will be achieved in 2016-2022, down from 20 percent previously.

On the other hand, the number of those who believe a peace deal will “not ever” be reached went up to 40 percent from 24 percent in the last survey.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has signed on to the Manila Principles, a set of best practices launched at RightsCon 2015, a digital rights conference CPJ attended in the Philippines in March. With journalists facing in-creased risks, the principles offer a way to protect the plat-forms on which they rely.

The Manila Principles help clarify the rights and respon-sibilities of Internet intermediaries for content posted by their users. The recommendations are intended to help in-form lawmakers around the world when developing or re-forming Internet-related legislation.

The principles, which have been endorsed by nearly 300 leading press freedom and technology policy organizations and individuals, recommend shielding intermediaries from liability for third-party content, requiring a court order be-fore information can be removed from a platform, ensur-ing more broadly that due process standards are met, and building processes that are transparent and fair.

A copy of the Manila Principles can be viewed here.San Francisco-based CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator

Geoffrey King works to protect the digital rights of journal-ists worldwide. A constitutional lawyer by training, King also teaches courses on digital privacy law, as well as the intersection of media and social change, both at UC Berke-ley. Follow him on Twitter at @CPJInternet. His public key fingerprint is 4749 357C E686 71B1 4C60 F149 9338 5A57 27FA 494C.

All communication over the Internet is facilitated by in-termediaries such as Internet access providers, social net-works, and search engines. The policies governing the legal liability of intermediaries for the content of these commu-nications have an impact on users’ rights, including free-dom of expression, freedom of association and the right to privacy.

With the aim of protecting freedom of expression and creating an enabling environment for innovation, which balances the needs of governments and other stakehold-ers, civil society groups from around the world have come together to propose this framework of baseline safeguards and best practices. These are based on international hu-man rights instruments and other international legal frameworks.

The Manila Principles:1. Intermediaries should be shielded from liability for

third-party content2. Content must not be required to be restricted without

an order by a judicial authority3. Requests for restrictions of content must be clear, be

unambiguous, and follow due process4. Laws and content restriction orders and practices

must comply with the tests of necessity and proportionality5. Laws and content restriction policies and practices

must respect due process6. Transparency and accountability must be built into

laws and content restriction policies and practices.

MANILA, Sept 25 (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Friday welcomed the recent Pulse Asia survey placing former In-terior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas at the third spot with 18 percent, up by eight points from his rating in June.

“Sec. Roxas posted the most significant increase of eight points which indicates increasing support for him as the standard bearer of Daang Matuwid,” Communications Sec-retary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a text message.

The “Daang Matuwid” or straight path policy is the Aquino administration’s catch phrase in promoting good governance.

Senator Grace Poe, still the front runner in the latest presidential preference survey with 27 percentage points, said in her declaration speech that “Daang Matuwid” is not exclusive to one man or group.

Coloma also credited Roxas’ increase in the survey to President Benigno Aquino III’s endorsement of his presi-dential candidacy in July.

“This improvement was achieved within a month after President Aquino endorsed his candidacy,” he noted.

The survey was commissioned for ABS-CBN and was conducted nationwide from August 27 to September 3 from 1,200 respondents with a margin of error of plus-minus three points.

Vice President Jejomar Binay of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance maintained his spot at second place with 21 percent, one point lower than his rating in June. (MNS)

MANILA, Sept 25 (Mabuhay) – Senator Grace Poe on Friday said she feels both “honored and hum-bled” on the recent Pulse Asia survey results where she continued to be the front runner in the presiden-tial race.

“My sincerest gratitude to the people for their un-wavering trust and support. I am honored and hum-bled by the results of the latest Pulse Asia survey,” Poe said in a statement.

“Surveys help us check if we’re on the right track, but we derive our inspiration from the needs and aspirations of our countrymen, with or without sur-veys,” she added.

Last week, Poe declared her presidential bid as an independent candidate in the 2016 national. The declaration came after months of President Benigno Aquino III and the administration party’s appeal to her to run first for vice president.

Poe then chose Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero as her running mate.

In the same Pulse Asia survey commissioned for ABS-CBN, Vice President Jejomar Binay placed sec-ond with 21 percent while former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas was third with 18 percent, an eight-point increase from his rating in June.

The survey was conducted nationwide from Au-gust 27 to September 3 from 1,200 respondents with a margin of error of plus-minus three points.

Meanwhile, Poe also remains the top choice in the recent Social Weather Stations survey for the 2016 presidential elections.

She, however, faces disqualification complaints before the Senate Electoral Tribunal and the Com-mission on Elections filed by defeated 2013 senato-rial bet, Rizalito David over questions on her citizen-ship. (MNS)

MANILA, Sept 24 (Mabuhay) – Now that charges have been filed, serving the subpoenas against 90 people linked to the killing of Special Action Force troopers in Mamasapano is going to be a challenge, the Department of Justice (DOJ) admitted Thurs-day.

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said the National Prosecution Service (NPS) will exhaust all feasible means to serve the subpoenas against the personali-ties responsible for the deaths of SAF commandos in the Mamasapano encounter.

Charges of direct assault with murder and theft were filed against 26 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), 12 people from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) members and 52 individuals from private armed groups (PAGs).

The DOJ is also considering enlisting the help of the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) in coordinating with the MILF.

“At the very least, ‘yung maabisuhan po ang MILF leadership in so far as the 26 MILF respon-dents are concerned na medyo magko-cooperate po sila,” De Lima said.

The MILF earlier reiterated that it will not sur-render its troops involved in the firefight in Mama-sapano.

De Lima admitted that reaching the members of the BIFF and PAGs will be a bigger challenge.

The BIFF, she said, have no leaders involved in peace talks with the government while some mem-bers of the PAGs were identified only by aliases.

“Sa BIFF, mahirap-hirap. Wala naman pong known leadership na nasa peace process with the government. Sa PAGs naman po, kaya nga po sa memo referral, ini-care of na lang po sa Office of

Mayor ng Mamasapano kasi may ilan-ilan lang po na hindi sigurado ang witnesses kung ano sila... un-affiliated.” she said.

Respondents who will refuse to answer to the subpoena will be considered as having waived their rights to submit a counter affidavit.

De Lima said the Mamasapano case has taken a while to advance due to the sheer number of person-alities and witnesses involved.

She said authorities are striving to determine al-ternative avenues to fast-track the delivery of jus-tice for the fallen SAF troopers.

“I’m certainly giving the proper guidance to the panel of prosecutors para ma-fast track ito. This is again a major case na nagko-cause ng disappoint-ments kapag tumatagal,” the Justice Secretary said.

Once the five-member panel of prosecutors under the National Prosecution Service (NPS) has found probable cause, the case will be filed before the Ma-guindanao court. The NPS, National Bureau of In-vestigation (NBI), and 33 other complainants may also appeal to the Supreme Court to move the hear-ing’s venue to ensure security in the court proceed-ings. Forty-four SAF troopers were killed in the Ma-masapano encounter. However, the DOJ report only covers the 35 slain members of the 55th SAC, which served as a blocking force.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima last week said the team was given another two months to further investigate the deaths of the 9 troopers from the 84th SAC.

The second phase of the investigation will also in-clude the deaths of civilians who got caught in the crossfire, and the alleged killing of MILF members by PO2 Christopher Lalan, the lone survivor of the 55th SAC.(MNS)

MANILA, Sept 25 (Mabuhay) – President Benig-no Aquino III on Friday marked the occasion of Eid’l Adha or Feast of Sacrifice as he vowed to pursue a “peaceful, harmonious, and inclusive Philippines.”

Aquino earlier declared September 25 as a regu-lar holiday across the country in observance of Eid’l Adha, regarded as “one of the two greatest feasts of Islam.”

In his message to the Muslim community, Aquino said Prophet Ibrahim’s tale should “reinforce our bonds as we work together to fulfill our mission of perpetuating positive change in society.”

Eid’l Adha commemorates the willingness of Ibra-him to sacrifice his son in honor of God.

“May this day likewise remind us of the stories of sacrifice upon which we built our nation. We owe this era of peace to those who readily laid down their lives to secure a better future for their fellowmen,” Aquino said. Aquino also took a swipe at those who wish to hinder the government’s “daang matuwid” or straight path policy of good governance.

“Never will we let their honor be tainted by mis-trust, viciousness, and malice sowed by those who seek to hinder us on our march along the Daang Ma-tuwid. We, as adamantly and relentlessly as our he-roes, will continue to fight for their dream: A peace-ful, harmonious, and inclusive Philippines,” he said.(MNS)

MANILA, Sept 25 (Mabuhay) – Non-passage of a “good” Bangsamoro Basic Law does not mean Mind-anao would relapse into bloody war, said Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the Bangsamoro Transition Com-mission (BTC).

“There is life even after non-passage of BBL,” he said, adding that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would continue its peace-building efforts.

An article on MILF’s Luwaran.com quoted Iqbal as saying “the MILF has already gained milestones in its political struggle and would not compromise its gains by unnecessarily reverting to armed struggle.”

At a forum organized by the Interreligious Coun-cil of the Philippines on September 21 at the Ramon Magsaysay Center in Manila, Iqbal assured the at-tending religious leaders that the non-passage of the BBL will not result in war.

Also, the Luwaran.com quoted Iqbal as saying that the MILF is already preparing itself for demo-cratic struggle once a “good BBL is passed.”

Wednesday’s forum was convened by the Catho-lic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Interreligious Dialogue (CBCP-ECID), National Ulama Conference of the Philip-pines (NUCP), Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEP), Focolare, Religions for Peace Philippines and Ramon Magsaysay Award Founda-tion.

In his speech at the forum, Iqbal likened the BBL to a “lost traveler.”

“But unlike a lost traveler, those who want to solve the Bangsamoro problem, which is the sole agenda of the [government of the Philippine and MILF [GPH-MILF] peace negotiations since 1997, have at their disposals all the agreements especially the earlier ones signed by the Parties, not only to base their formulations or textual comprehensions, but also to understand the context and frame of mind of the Parties…,” Iqbal said.

Iqbal also said that he is still “tempted to believe that Congress has the collective wisdom to pass a good BBL,” but it has been “hijacked by delays and lack of quorums.”

“I stopped analyzing whether a good BBL is forth-coming or not,” Iqbal frankly told the priests, pas-

tors, ulama, professors and theologians at the forum.He reiterated the stand of the MILF: It will not

accept a watered-down version of the BBL.On September 10, Iqbal threatened that the de-

commissioning of the MILF armed forces will not push through if Congress passes a watered-down version of the BBL, saying that it is “unacceptable.”

He clarified that a weakened BBL was not about the number of provisions “deleted, substituted or amended.”

“Just one issue, for instance, the aspect of natu-ral resources, can make the BBL diluted and would force the MILF to reject it.”

Malacañang, however, said that the concerns of all the stakeholders over BBL are being considered, and that it is working to forge one BBL that is ac-ceptable to all.

In mid-August, members of Congress ruled out the possibility of passing the proposed BBL in its original form despite the BTC’s appeal to pass Malacañang’s version.

Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., chair of the Senate committee on local government tack-ling the Bangsamoro bill, said the Supreme Court will strike down the measure as unconstitutional just like it did the 2008 Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) if Congress passes it without any changes.

The BBL is the product of the peace agreement signed between the government and the Moro Islam-ic Liberation Front. It seeks to create a Bangsamoro political entity which will replace the ARMM. (MNS)

CPJ signs on The Manila Principles

Coloma on Pulse Asia survey: Roxas is preferred ‘Daang Matuwid’ president

Poe: Inspiration not from surveys but from people’s needs

‘Serving subpoenas vs SAF slay suspects a challenge’

Aquino marks Eid’l Adha with promise of peaceful, inclusive PHL

Peace efforts to continue even without BBL passage – Iqbal

Mag

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K I T C H E N O M I C S

U T R E A C HThe message of care and

compassion conveyed by the Pope, particularly as they relate to immigrants, is very encouraging, this according to a statement issued by National Federa-tion of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) Na-tional Chair JT Mallonga on the Pope’s Message to Congress

Mallonga said the Pope “said that we should not be fearful of foreigners ‘be-cause most of us were once foreigners.’

As a son of migrants himself, the Pope remind-ed members of Congress and all the highest officials gathered at the joint meet-ing, that we are all ‘de-scendants of immigrants’ and therefore must be wel-coming of those who come to this ‘land of dreams’ to pursue a better life for their families.

The NaFFAA chair said, “We hope our political lead-

ers will take the Pope’s message to heart, set aside their differences and pass a comprehensive immigra-tion reform bill soon.

This legislation will go a long way in uniting and strengthening families, which is essential, as the Pope aptly puts it, to the building of this country.”

“As Filipino Americans we have a role as well in nurturing a culture of care in this great and affluent nation where millions of people continue to suffer in a cycle of poverty and hun-ger, where millions more are excluded from reaping the fruits of economic pros-perity, and where the earth - our own environment and our common home – is de-teriorating because of our lack of responsibility,” Mal-longa said.

“We applaud the Pope’s call for unity and solidarity in working together to face this nation’s challenges, as-

suring us that if we follow the Golden Rule, we can make a difference,” Mallonga added in the statement said.

The National Federa-tion of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) is a private, non-profit, non-partisan tax-exempt or-ganization established in 1997 to promote the active participation of Filipino Americans in civic and na-tional affairs. NaFFAA is the largest national affili-ation of Filipino American institutions, organizations and individuals.

Its thirteen-member re-gions cover the continental United States, Alaska, Ha-waii, Guam, the Marianas Islands, and American Sa-moa. NaFFAA partners with local affiliate organi-zations and national coali-tions in monitoring legisla-tion and public policy issues affecting Filipino Ameri-cans and advocating for is-sues of common concern.

Box A Smile is a project that aims to deliver a Happy Christmas to children in poverty in the Philippines. LBC Customers from North America who sends a box via sea or air from October 1 to November 30, 2015 may elect to participate in the program.

The LBC Foundation, in cooperation with Project Pearls, aims to move love this Christmas through its project BOX A SMILE.

The LBC Foundation is the Corporate Social Re-sponsibility arm of LBC Ex-press. Together with Proj-ect PEARLS, a non-profit organization, whose vision of seeking to protect and provide the basic human rights of the poorest of the poor children in the Philip-pines, BOX A SMILE will be launched on October 1, 2015.

Box A Smile is a project that aims to deliver a Hap-py Christmas to children in poverty in the Philippines.

LBC Customers from North America who sends a box via sea or air from Octo-ber 1 to November 30, 2015 may elect to participate in the program, where a por-tion of their transaction fees will be donated to Box

A Smile. The funds raised will be

used to give Christmas gifts to beneficiary children at a gifting event (Christmas party) organized by Project Pearls. LBC Foundation is targeting to collate 3,000 Christmas Gift Boxes.

Come December 2015, the distribution of Christ-mas Gift Boxes to children aged 4-14yo in underprivi-leged areas of Helping Land, Tondo, Manila, Brgy. Batia, Bocaue, Bulacan, Zambales will be held. With this, we encourage your participation in bringing smiles to children in need.

Visit your nearest LBC branch or call 1800-338-5424 for more information on how you can help. LBC Express, Inc. is the Philip-pines’ market leader in pay-ments, remittance, courier products, mail, parcels and, cargo logistics.

Through a global pres-

ence in over 30 countries in Asia-Pacific, North America, the Middle East and Europe, LBC Express’ network of 4,400 locations, partners, and agents is growing steadily, and com-mits to moving lives, busi-nesses, and communities in the Philippines and across the globe. Founded in 1945 as a brokerage and air cargo agent, LBC Express pioneered time-sensitive cargo delivery and 24-hour door-to-door delivery in the Philippines.

Today, it is the most ad-mired and trusted courier, cargo, and remittance ser-vice of millions of Filipinos, an iconic and global Fili-pino brand. LBC can move it for you: visit us at www.lbcexpress.com, or call tele-phone +632 8585 999 (Met-ro Manila), 1 800 10 8585 999 (Provincial), and follow LBCExpress (Facebook and Twitter).

WASHINGTON, D.C. –FYLPRO leaders passed a resolution urging qualified Filipino Americans to exer-cise their right to vote in the 2016 Philippine presiden-tial, national and local elec-tions, President Bea Querido announced today. Overseas absentee voting for the elec-tions is scheduled from April 9 to May 9next year and eligible Filipino voters may submit an Overseas Voting Form to their respective con-sulates or by filling out the iRehistro form on the Com-mission on Elections website at irehistro.comelec.gov.ph. The deadline to register is Oct. 31. A copy of the Over-seas Voting Form is avail-able on FYLPRO’s website atwww.fylpro.org/resources.

LOS ANGELES – In celebration of the National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) on Tuesday, the Asian Americans Advanc-ing Justice-LA (Advancing Justice - LA) encouraged widespread promotion of California’s online voter registration website.

Individuals can now reg-ister to vote by completing an online form available in Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese, as well as English and Span-ish. The online registra-tion system is available at http://registertovote.ca.gov and may also be used to up-date addresses or political party affiliation.

“While the number of Asian American regis-tered voters has steadily increased over time, over 1.2 million Asian Ameri-cans in California who are eligible to vote remain un-registered,” says Congress-woman Judy Chu. “Now that individuals can regis-ter online in various Asian languages, I strongly urge Asian Americans and Pa-cific Islanders to register to vote, especially since our community can be the mar-gin of victory in California’s many close elections.”

Online voter registration offers a convenient alter-native to filling out a voter registration form at the lo-cal DMV office or download-ing a form, filling it out, and putting it in the mail. Before the November 2012 election, over half a million people used the online voter registration website to reg-ister as new voters. Since then, the voter registration website has been updated allowing for smartphone and tablet users to register online easily.

“We see daily coverage of the presidential cam-paigns on national news these days,” says Los An-

geles City Councilmember David Ryu, “National Voter Registration Day is a good reminder to register to vote now in order to have a voice in next year’s presidential election as well as the many ballot measures likely to be on the November 2016 bal-lot.”

“Our Democracy was founded on the basic prin-ciple that all citizens have the right to vote. But our history tells us that it takes more than just words to make this principle true — it takes action,” says Garden Grove Mayor Bao Nguyen. “From the civil war to the civil rights move-ment, women’s suffrage to young adults, it took the action of millions to secure the right to vote for every American. National Voter Registration Day reminds us of that right — and of our responsibility to exer-cise it.”

“As college students, we often feel that our voices are not being heard, and our needs aren’t being met. But exercising our right to vote allows us to have a say and let our voices be heard in crucial policies and de-cisions that affect both us and the communities we are a part of,” says Lorna Xu, Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Ameri-can Student Assembly at USC. Advancing Justice - LA staff will be register-ing college students at USC from 10 am to 2 pm as part of National Voter Registra-tion Day.

Started in 2012, NVRD is a nationwide effort to get more Americans involved in the democratic process by exercising their most basic right — the right to vote. More information can be found at http://www.na-tionalvoterregistrationday.org.

Asian Americans Ad-vancing Justice - Los An-

geles is the nation’s largest Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Is-lander (AANHPI) legal and civil rights organization and serves more than 15,000 individuals and organiza-tions every year. Founded in 1983 as the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Advancing Justice - LA’s mission is to advocate for civil rights, provide legal services and education, and build coalitions to posi-tively influence and impact Asian Americans and Pa-cific Islanders and to create a more equitable and har-monious society. Through direct legal services, impact litigation, policy analysis and advocacy, leadership development and capacity building, Advancing Jus-tice - LA seeks to serve the most vulnerable members of the AANHPI community while also building a strong AANHPI voice for civil rights and social justice.

NaFFAA chair says Pope’s message in Congress ‘encouraging’

Help us BOX A SMILE for 3,000 kids this Christmas

1.2-M Asian-Americans eligible to vote, but remain unregistered

Fil-Am young leaders urge eligible Filipinos to vote in the 2016 Philippine elections

Visit www.usasianpost.com Wednesday - Tuesday, Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2015 THE US ASIAN POST6

If you are interested in seeing Jericho Rosales & Maja Salvador live at Pechanga Resort & Casino, then perhaps this is your lucky day. Pechanga Re-sort & Casino announced a raffle contest, which will give away two pairs of tick-ets to see Jericho Rosales & Maja Salvador at the Pechanga Theater on Oc-tober 31, 2015 at 8:00 PM. The raffle contest will be-gin on Sept 26 and will be ongoing until Oct 15. En-try forms can be submitted via email at advertising@balita.com and put Jericho & Maja as subject. Your entry form should contain your complete name, age and phone number.

Participants must be over 21 years old and must also be California residents

with a valid form of identi-fication. Contestants will be asked to answer the two (2) trivia questions about Jeri-cho Rosales & Maja Salva-dor.

If the contestant submits the correct answer, their names will be entered in the raffle drawing to win tickets for themselves and a lucky guest of their choice.

What is the name of the group in which Jericho Ro-sales is a member?

What year did Maja Sal-vador first started acting?

To join this raffle con-test, please visit one of the following websites: www.usasianpost.com and www.balita.com OR get a copy of The US Asian Post and Weekend Balita.

You have to answer the trivia questions and send

your answers via email. You will be entered into the Oct 16, 10 AM drawing at the Balita Media, Inc. office in Glendale, CA.

The winners of the con-test will be contacted via phone or email immediate-ly after the raffle drawing. The winners will be able to claim their tickets through will-call at the Pechanga Theater on October 31, 2015. Lastly, winners will be announced in Balita Me-dia’s weekly publications, The US Asian Post and Weekend Balita.

Come and experience it all at Pechanga Resort and Casino located at 45000 Pechanga Parkway, Tem-ecula, California 92592. For more information, call 1-877-711-2946 or vis-it www.Pechanga.com.

“FASO Goes Pops!” on November 14 continues the Filipino American Sym-phony Orchestra’s tradition of presenting quality, en-tertaining concerts. FASO, returning to the iconic Alex Theatre in Glendale where it earned cheers and praises for its very successful “FA-SOGoes Broadway” last April, tackles pop music this time.

“If the audience enjoyed ‘FASO Goes Broadway,’ this one will bring them to another level of fun and ex-citement,” promised Robert “Bob” Shroder, the musical director and conductor of the only Filipino symphony orchestra outside of the Philippines. “We auditioned a set of incredibly talented young singers to join FASO-for this concert. You will be amazed to see young Pinoy kids perform covers of Mi-chael Jackson and Bruno Mars and some of our favor-ite OPM (Original Pilipino Music) numbers.” “We are very excited about this show because it is the first time that we are featuring pop music – both mainstream and OPM,” added Luis “Lou-

ie” Ramos, FASO board vice president and arranger-in-residence. “We will be hon-oring iconic OPM composers in the show.”

Shroder shared what’s in store for the audience: “We are opening the concert with an old school William Tell overture by Rossini. Then, we’ll kick it right off with mainstream pop mu-sic of the 1970s and 1980s. Wear your jersey shirts and blouses, bell bottom pants and platform shoes to dance to 70s tunes like those of the TSOP.”

The acclaimed mae-stro stressed, “Of course, our sentimental OPM love songs, as performed by our talented featured singers, will also highlight the eve-ning. We will also honor several Filipino composers, most of whom will be pres-ent at the concert.”

Ramos said, “We are also featuring songs by these re-nowned Filipino composers who are based in the U.S. – ‘Lift Up Your Hands’ by Cecile Azarcon; ‘Tayo ay Pil-ipino’ and ‘Hanggang Huli’y Ikaw,’ SJ Gandia; ‘Let It Go,’ Robert Lopez; ‘Give Me a

Chance’ and ‘Till I Met You,’ Odette Quesada; ‘Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin,’ Aaron Paul del Rosario; ‘Tatak ng Pilipino’ and ‘Ikaw Lamang,’ Dodjie Simon.” The night’s featured performers will be announced soon.

In keeping with its much-admired commitment and tradition to spotlight deserv-ing talents, FASO is excited to present the guest vocal-ists in the coming show.

Ramos announced, “Af-ter holding three rounds of auditions, we selected these performers, some of whom are as young as 8 years old: Bryce Gomez; Ian Chen, who plays Evan Huang in ABC’s ‘Fresh off the Boat’; Jokai Dawson, who will be performing ‘Billie Jean’; Sydney Haik; Gian Paolo Jimenez; Michael Keith Pronda; Mikaela Bautista; Therese Masangcay; De-nise Gonzales; Gabrielle Current, 2015 Rose Parade princess; Shelby Miguel; and Daryl Ogalino, ABS-CBN’s ‘TFCkat USA’ Grand Singing Champion 2012 and ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ Grand Singing Champion 2008.

Get Free Tickets to see Jericho Rosales and Maja Salvador at the Pechanga Theater

‘FASO Goes Pops!’ on Nov. 14 at Alex Theater

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S C E N E

E N T E R T I N M E N T

With incumbent Davao del Norte representative Anton Lagdameo’s term ending in 2016, there is speculation that actress Dawn Zulueta will succeed her husband and join poli-tics.

Zulueta has confirmed that she received offers to run for Congress after her husband’s term ends.

But is she ready to join the league of actors who crossed over to the political scene?

“Mayroong mga offers,” Zulueta said.

She said she is grateful to receive these offers but explained that her priori-ties are placed elsewhere.

“I’m very grateful for the

offers that come our way… that they consider me, pero I know naman kasi what my limits are,” Zulueta ex-plained.

“I’m happy with what I do, like acting, and this is where I want to stay,” she added.

Asked if her husband has ever asked her to con-sider politics, the actress answered in the negative, saying her husband knows she’s not interested.

“Hindi s’ya nangungulit. Alam n’yang ‘di ko linya ‘yun eh,” the actress said.

Zulueta is currently busy preparing for an upcoming drama series with perenni-al onscreen partner Richard Gomez. (MNS)

Angel Locsin has con-vinced her boyfriend, actor and TV host Luis Manzano, to join her crusade for jus-tice for the recent murders of two Lumad leaders and a civilian companion in Li-

anga, Surigao del Sur.Or, at the very least, she

managed to make him hold up a statement shirt in sup-port of the cause and pose for the photo above, which was posted on Facebook

late Monday by Angel’s sister, Angela Colmenares-Sabino.

The white shirt bears im-ages of the three victims — Emerito Samarca, Dionel Campos, and Bello Sinzo

Some gauge acting excel-lence by the ability to cry on cue.

Well, theater and TV ac-tress Ayen Munji-Laurel is required to shed copious amount of tears for her role on the ongoing teleserye “Beautiful Strangers.”

“Sometimes there’s a long line and then the di-rector’s going to say ‘At this point, madami ka na dapat luha.’ You can’t fake those (scenes) by putting tears in your eyes,” she shared in a recent interview.

Professional that she is, Ayen doesn’t complain of crying for the cam many times, though she admits it can be “emotionally tiring.”

“Minsan, walang biro, I have like 15 scenes to shoot per day, and 12 (scenes) dun iiyak ako. Ganu’n kadami ‘yung iyakan,” she shared.

In any case, she is happy to get the chance to work with “Beautiful Strangers” co-stars Dina Bonnevie, Heart Evangelista, Christo-pher de Leon and Lovi Poe, describing them as “inspir-ing.”

The 43-year-old singled out working with Christo-pher as dream come true. “Noon pa lang gusto ko na talaga siyang maka-traba-ho. Ngayon, it’s real na,” she said.

She lauded the actor for being a gentleman espe-cially when doing intimate scenes.

“Ang galing… Kasi ‘at this point’ lang niya gaga-

win ‘yung kiss, then, that’s it. Hindi ‘yung tipong pau-lit-ulit. He handled it well,” Ayen shared.

Getting to know Heart was “refreshing” for Ayen who, prior, thought the ac-tress “untouchable, protect-ed and sheltered.”

“Normal pala siyang tao,” she jested. “Magaan siyang katrabaho, walang arte, tapos masayahin din. Marami kaming on the side na tsika even her personal life which I appreciate kasi she’s also open.”

Ayen, who also dabbles in painting, admires Heart who’s also into it. “She’s so talented, ang galing niya. I love her collections. Sabi nga niya, the next time daw na magkakaroon siya ng ex-hibit, i-invite niya ako.”

She also likes it that Heart is “malambing.” She shared, “Minsan feeling ko magka-edad kami. We talk about sensible things.”

On the other hand, Ayen

described Dina as “very funny.”

She said, “Akala mo lang suplada siya, stoic or mata-ray. Pero when you get to talk to her, ang bait naman, masarap siyang kausap. She knows what she’s doing kaya it’s really nice to work with her.”

As for Lovi, Ayen said, “Nakakatuwa ‘yung batang ‘yun kasi ang lalim ng pa-giging artista niya. Alam mong sensitive actress. And not just that, alam mong malayo ang mararating niya kasi kita kong hindi siya fake. It comes from the heart kumbaga.

“There was a time akala ko hihimatayin siya kasi the scene was talagang nagwawala siya. She was hyperventilating. Bago mag-start ‘yung scene, nag-wawala na siya. So bago pa lang mag-take ‘yung direk-tor, kailangan na niyang umiyak,” she further re-lated.

“You can see that she’s going to go far. Hindi maarte, very pleasant to work with. And kahit hindi siya nasa harap ng camera, mabait siya.” she added.

It’s been awhile since Ayen got to sing. She’s gradually getting back to it, performing in small events. “I’m glad I’m singing again. Namiss ko din eh. Ang sarap pala,” she said.

Ayen cleared, however, that she is not planning to record another album any-time soon.

MANILA, Sept 24 (Mabu-hay) -- Claudine Barretto has an explanation why her marriage with Raymart Santiago didn’t work out.

For the comebacking movie actress, perhaps it just wasn’t the right time.

“Rebound kasi,” she ad-mitted. “Huwag na nating pag-usapan kasi masakit.”

Barretto said she was still “heartbroken” when she first met Santiago.

“I was so sad. I was heartbroken. Namatayan ako tapos there was some-body who was there na pa-rang knight in shining ar-mor,” she said.

“Parang I played safe,” she added. Prior to Santi-ago, Baretto was in a rela-tionship with Rico Yan, who died of cardiac arrest due to acute hemorrhagic pancre-atitis on March 29, 2002.

Had she met Santiago when she was already healed and whole again, Barretto said she believes their relationship could

have worked.Santiago and Barretto

were married in March 2006. They have two chil-dren -- an adopted daugh-ter, Sabina and a biological son, Santino.

In 2013, Barretto claimed that she suffered “years of abuse” with Santiago.

The two, however, seem to have ironed out some of their differences such that Barretto sometimes posts photos of Santiago on her

social media accounts.Barretto explained that

she and the actor have agreed to try “uncoupling” or being together when it comes to their children.

The term gained popu-larity when Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow announced her split with husband Chris Martin.

“Para sosyal, di ba? ‘Yun ang ginagawa namin. We have to make decisions about the children as a fam-ily pa din,” Barretto told Aquino and Chiu. “Kami lang talaga ni Raymart tapos ‘yung counselor na-min... I think around two, three weeks ay magta-try kaming mag-counselling for that uncoupling thing na ‘yan.”

“Here in the Philippines nakikita namin kapag pa-rang magkahiwalay na kayo, eh magkagalit na kayo. Eh di naman dapat ganoon. ... you always have a relationship for your kids,” she added.

Luis Manzano stands with Angel Locsin in Lumad cause

— and the words “HUSTI-SYA!” (Justice), “Makig-bisog Dili Mahadlok” (Vi-sayan for the traditional activist chant “Makibaka! Huwag Matakot” or “Keep fighting! Don’t be afraid!”) and the hashtag “#Sto-pLumadKillings.

Beside Luis, Angel holds up the back of a black shirt with the hashtags “#StopLumadKillings” and “#He lpRebui ldLumad-Schools”.

Unlike Angel, Luis, the eldest son of movie queen and Batangas governor Vil-ma Santos-Recto, has yet to make a statement about the murders.

Angel is emotionally in-vested in the issue because she and her sister met Sa-marca and Campos in 2009 when they visited the Lu-mad community where Sa-marca and Campos lived and the community school that Samarca headed as ex-ecutive director.

The murders were alleg-edly committed by paramil-itary forces backed by of-ficials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and are being linked to other atroci-ties against indigenous peo-ple in Mindanao.

Aside from Angel, Aiza Seguerra and actress-writ-er-director Bibeth Orteza have also joined the call for a stop to Lumad killings.

Angel is a relative of Bay-an Muna party-list repre-sentative Neri Colmenares and has endorsed his sena-torial bid for the national elections next year. (MNS)

Luis Manzano and Angel Locsin

Will Dawn Zulueta run for Congress?

Dawn Zulueta

Teleserye tears and inspiring peers

Ayen Munji-Laurel

Claudine explains why marriage to Raymart failed

Claudine Barreto

Visit www.usasianpost.com Wednesday - Tuesday, Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2015 THE US ASIAN POST8

K I T C H E N O M I C S

Uncommonly VanillaVanilla ice cream has always been a great foundation for family desserts and Breyers believes vanilla is anything but plain and bor­ing. With four different varieties of vanilla to choose from, you’re sure to find a flavor that pairs perfectly with your favorite treats. Here’s what you need to know about each variety. Natural: Its distinctive taste brings out the natural goodness of your favorite fresh fruit recipes, like classic apple pie a la mode or peach cobbler.

French: Inspired by the traditional French custard, it’s the perfect complement to deli­cious breakfast­style desserts, like French vanilla puff pancakes or a fruit salad parfait.

Homemade: Thick and smooth like it was just churned, Homemade Vanilla is the perfect pairing to your favorite homemade treats, such as ice cream sandwiches, pies and cakes.

Extra Creamy: Fresh cream and sweet vanilla come together to make your favorite frozen treats, such as sundaes and shakes, velvety smooth.

Toasted Almond and Vanilla AranciniPrep time: 20 minutes (including freezing)Serves: 2 4 tablespoons mixed, chopped, toasted whole unsalted almonds and hazelnuts 1 tablespoon toasted and crushed amoretti cookies 1/2 cup Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream (1/4 cup per scoop) Place ice cream on baking sheet in freezer for 10 minutes to harden.

In bowl, mix nuts and amoretti cookies.

Dredge frozen ice cream balls in nut/cookie mixture and refreeze 5 minutes before serving.

Note: May be made and stored in advance.

FAMILY FEATURES

Crowding around a table eating ice cream is one of the tastiest ways to enjoy family time. Parent, chef and cookbook author Antonia Lofaso knows this very well and has created delectable ice cream desserts, such as her Pound Cake and Peaches Sundae, that bring back fond childhood memories to inspire fami lies to take a step back and appreciate every moment.

“My mom would have ‘ice cream parties’ in her bedroom when my dad had to work the graveyard shift,” Lofaso said. “She would snuggle us in her bed and give us toasted pound cake with ice cream and fresh fruit. My dad would come home to find us all asleep in one bed with scattered bowls and spoons everywhere.”

Special family moments are even sweeter when the recipes are served with real, high­quality ingre dients everyone can feel good about.

“On top of the great taste of Breyers Natural Vanilla, families can feel good about enjoying a scoop of Breyers,” said Lofaso, who partnered with Breyers to create these recipes. “The brand is now only using milk and cream from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones*, and sustainably farmed vanilla beans.”

Here are three of Lofaso’s favorite new ice cream creations. Start sharing delicious moments together with your family with these recipes. For more recipe inspiration and nutritional information, visit www.Breyers.com/recipes.*Suppliers of other ingredients such as cookies, candies and sauces may not be able to make this pledge. The FDA states that no significant difference has been shown between dairy derived from rBST­treated and non­rBST­treated cows. Find out more information about the Breyers pledge at www.breyers.com.

Pound Cake and Peaches SundaePrep time: 10 minutesServes: 4 2 fresh summer peaches, diced 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 teaspoons thinly sliced basil 4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices plain pound cake, toasted until golden 1 cup Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream (1/4 cup per scoop) In small bowl, mix peaches, sugar, lemon juice and basil.

To make each sundae, place a slice of toasted pound cake on a plate, then top with a scoop of ice cream and cover generously with macerated peaches.

Tropical Ice Cream SandwichPrep time: 10­12 minutesServes: 2 2 (1/4-inch-thick) slices fresh pineapple 1 cup Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream, lightly softened 2 tablespoons toasted coconut shavingsGrill pineapple slices over low to medium heat for 90 seconds per side. Allow to cool briefly.

Sandwich softened ice cream between pineapple slices. Coat sides in toasted coconut. Slice in half and serve.

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2015 Visit www.usasianpost.com 9LOS ANGELES

Visit www.usasianpost.com Wednesday - Tuesday, Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2015 THE US ASIAN POST10 LOS ANGELES

P A S S P R T

WELL BE ING Thursday September 24 2015

(New York, United States-AFP) – Cage-free eggs at McDonald’s, bans on suspect ingredients and “healthful” options edging out junk on supermarket shelves: could America be ready to end its decades-old love affair with pro-cessed food?

US food firms and restaurant chains have been lining up to ban-ish items perceived as unhealthy or unethical -- from additive-lad-en snacks to industrially-farmed meats -- in what experts see as a powerful trend.

“It’s kind of like a whole bunch of things happening, snowball-ing,” said Penny Kris-Etherton, a professor of nutrition at Penn State University.

Beyond the farmers’ markets and organic delis that have long dotted more affluent US neigh-borhoods, American consumers are being wooed en masse with promises of “healthful” or “natu-ral” foods, free of GMOs, additives and nasties. Just this month, McDonald’s said it would transi-tion to more humanely produced eggs within 10 years, following a switch to “real” butter instead of margarine in some dishes.

Kellogg plans to banish arti-ficial flavors and colors from its cereals, and Mondelez, maker of Ritz crackers and Oreo cookies, set itself a target of 50 percent so-called “well-being” snacks by 2020.

“It’s moved from being a fringe issue in a niche market to becom-ing a mainstream desire,” said former McDonald’s chief market-ing officer Larry Light.

Polar bear with tooth decayThe trend crosses the genera-

tions, with baby boomers seek-ing to avert age-associated ills as they live longer, and millennials fixated on health and ecological concerns, experts say.

Sign of the times: the bakery

chain Panera Bread vowed to ex-cise 150 “unacceptable” ingredi-ents while Chipotle Mexican Grill said it was banning antibiotic-raised meats and would use more local produce.

Retail behemoth Walmart has told suppliers to curb the use of antibiotics in meat, a year after it began to mass market organic foods -- part of a trend that saw the organic market jump more than tenfold from 1997 to 2014, to $35.9 billion.

Social media has been intensi-fying pressure on the food indus-try to clean up its act, creating the scope for negative publicity to go viral.

Photos of hens stuffed in cages, for instance, helped spur passage of a California referendum in 2008 guaranteeing the birds ad-equate conditions.

Likewise, Coca-Cola was put on the defensive by a 2012 video that showed its iconic polar bear suffering the consequences of dia-betes and tooth decay. The soda giant has since promised a push on smaller-pack and lower-calorie drinks.

Public relations not public health Once-mighty brands such as Nestle’s “Lean Cuisine” frozen meals are downplaying the “diet” argument to focus instead on their use of organic ingredients.

“People are looking for health-ier lifestyles and a lot of that is perception that the more manu-facturing there is, the less health-ful it is,” said Light, who now chairs the brand management consultancy Arcature.

“’Fresh’ is a signal of healthier than processed,” he said, even though “it may have just as many calories.”

And here comes the tricky part.Michael Jacobson, executive di-

rector for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said many of the changes trumpeted are just

window-dressing in health terms.He praised Panera for eliminat-

ing artificial food dyes and trans-fats as part of a “food as it should be” campaign. But he explains that other items on its blacklist, such as sodium lactate, while they may sound problematic, are actually benign. “Those moves are more about public relations than public health,” said Jacobson.

Look closer, and the “healthful” food” effect may do little to address the obesity crisis which now af-fects some 78.5 million American adults, bringing increased risks of diabetes and heart disease.

In 2013, obesity affected more than a quarter of the population in 43 US states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

‘Load up the calories’

“You need to look at the fine print,” said Jacobson.

He criticized Chipotle, whose motto is “Food with integrity,” for continuing to serve food “loaded” with sodium, while offering few fruits and vegetables.

A Chipotle burrito made with chicken, white rice, salsa, beans, cheese and sour cream still has about 1,050 calories and 2,085 milligrams of sodium. Scoop on the cheese, guacamole or second meat options, and you push those counts up to half an adult’s daily recommended calories and all of the sodium.

“What people want is food that’s a little bit healthier,” said Light. “’Healthier’ doesn’t mean it’s perfectly healthy.”

“You could take a perfectly ‘healthy’ option and load up the

calories,” agreed Kris-Etherton, who serves on nutrition advisory boards for McDonald’s and the American Heart Association.

“The key thing is people just have to be knowledgeable.”

‘Heart Attack Grill’That touches on a core issue,

since studies suggest a sizeable chunk of the American public is content to keep knocking back the quarter-pounders.

This is, after all, the home of the “Heart Attack Grill” -- a noto-rious Las Vegas restaurant whose tongue-in-cheek menu boasts the Guinness world record for the highest calorie burger.

One third of US children eat pizza or other fast food every day -- about the same as in the 1990s -- according to a study released this month by the CDC.

Is America ready to kick the junk food habit?

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MOTORING

Sunday September 27 2015 (Relaxnews) – If a tree falling in a forest hits an autonomous car and there’s no one there to see it, does it make a sound?

It may seem like a bi-zarre question; but as well as technological challenges, the road to autonomous cars is littered with ethical, moral and even philosophi-cal obstacles that need to be overcome before self-driv-ing vehicles can take to the streets.

“Who is responsible for autonomous driving – the driver, the vehicle owner, or the manufacturer? Since ro-bots cannot act like humans or be treated like them, we must clarify how to assign our criteria from criminal law, civil law and common morals to the new technolo-gies,” said Prof. Dr. Julian Nida-Rümelin, Professor of Philosophy at LMU Mu-nich.

Nida-Rümelin, an expert in the field of technology ethics, is one of over 100 ex-perts attempting to address these questions at a special symposium, “Autonomous Driving, Law and Ethics”,

this week in Germany, or-ganized by Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler.

Theoretically, autono-mous cars could cut road collision deaths, congestion, pollution and driver stress levels overnight while si-multaneously boosting many people’s quality of life. Yet until there is a con-sensus regarding not just liability but, for instance, how a self driving car is programmed to act in an unexpected traffic situation or how it collects and poten-tially uses personal data, progress towards reality will be slow.

“The safety of every road user is our top priority for automated driving as well. Just as important as tech-nical developments is that our customers have legal certainty and security when it comes to ethical and data protection matters,” said Dr. Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Integrity and Legal Affairs.

What isn’t open for dis-cussion at the symposium, however, is the technologi-

cal feasibility of self driv-ing cars; everyone is in agreement that it is simply a question of when, rath-er than if. Dr Hohmann-Dennhardt is convinced that the advantages offered are so great that autono-mous cars will become a fixture of future mobility, a sentiment shared by ev-ery major carmaker at this month’s Frankfurt motor show.

When asked to describe the current landscape from a technological point of view, Renault Nissan Al-liance CEO Carlos Ghosn described the industry as being in search mode -- i.e., evaluating the different ap-proaches and technologies available to deliver what consumers are expecting.

“We are all eager to move quickly but are also cau-tious about if we are going in the right direction. Are we with the right partner, are we using the right tech-nologies?

So we obviously want to move quickly but we want to make sure we are moving quickly on the right road,” he said.

Moral and ethical issues need to be overcome as well as technological challenges. ©Dasha Petrenko/shutterstock.com

Can a self-driving car negotiate a moral maze?

Thursday September 24 2015 (Relaxnews) – As long as a Rolls-Royce Phantom and with just as much pres-ence, the F350 Super Duty is one of the biggest and toughest vehicles money can buy.

And, while it’s tradition-ally aimed at those with serious business to attend to – hence the ‘Super Duty’ moniker, for the 2017-year model, Ford is also getting equally serious about com-fort an convenience. After all, if there is one thing that American customers are not short of, it’s a choice of pickup trucks that can meet potentially any require-ment.

A point that Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Develop-ment and chief technical officer, is quick to concede. “While Super Duty is Amer-ica’s best-selling heavy-du-ty truck, we never take our leadership for granted,” he said. “Our team is using re-lentless innovation in mate-rials, technology and Built

Ford Tough engineering to deliver customers our best Super Duty yet.”

So, as well as an ex-tremely strong steel to form the vehicle’s chassis, Ford has turned to military grade aluminum for body panels to significantly cut weight while simultaneous-ly reducing the possibility of a serious dent if a fender bender does occur.

Inside, if plumping for the Platinum trim model, the cabin is not simply treated to leather and wood veneers, it is also packed with the types of active safety and driver aid fea-tures usually associated with executive sedans or premium SUVs.

The vehicle boasts adap-tive cruise control and col-lision warning systems, meaning that it can auto-matically apply the brakes should the car in front unexpectedly start slow-ing down. It also has lane departure warning and a blind spot information sys-tem optimized for trailer

towing.Following on from that

there is a trailer guid-ance system to help en-sure what’s being towed moves in the right direction when maneuvering in tight spaces while a 360-degree birdseye-view camera gives the driver a clear image of everything around the F350 so that he or she will never need to know just how dent resistant that military-grade aluminum actually is. “Ford Super Duty is the truck America’s hardest-working men and women trust and depend on,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford presi-dent, The Americas. “We are helping these customers build a better world by de-livering a new generation of pickups that set new bench-marks in capability, perfor-mance and efficiency.”

When the F350 goes on sale towards the end of next year, it will be offered with a choice of three engines, a 6.7-litre V8 diesel, a 6.2-li-ter gasoline V8 and a 6.8-li-ter gasoline V10.

2017 Ford F-350 Super Duty with King Ranch Crew Cab – interior. Inside it is as technologically advanced as it is tough on the outside. ©The Ford Motor Company

Ford’s new pickup reports for super duty

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Thursday September 24 2015 (Relaxnews) – Toyota has un-veiled the newest edition of its iconic Land Cruiser, which has been in a state of constant inno-vation both inside and out since making its debut some 60 years ago.

The new Toyota Land Cruiser is an evolution from the outside – a sharper but familiar grille, daytime LED running lights and special attention paid to eliminating anything that could possibly impede on the car’s off-road approach or departure angles.

And thanks to new Multi-Terrain-Select (MTS) technol-ogy to simplify everything from locking differentials, to step-ping-down gear ratios and feed-ing the right amount of power to the right wheel at the right time, taking full advantage of the car’s off-road capabilities has never been easier -- espe-cially if specified with automat-ic transmission.

MTS has five default settings for coping with everything from mud and sand to loose rocks and will take over the throttle angle, braking and traction control to suit.

The car also offers a choice of five speed settings -- think of it as off-road cruise control -- for careful, controlled ascents and descents and for automatically getting unstuck from mud or snow.

Serious off-roaders can go for the manual transmission option and get more hands on with the Land Cruiser’s capabilities, but even they will appreciate the car’s self-leveling suspension, sonar (for gauging wading depth and clearance) and the fact that the wheels are digitally rather than physically linked via the suspension system so that the whole shell doesn’t sway from side to side when one wheel hits a dip.

Inside, creature comforts and materials are on a par with the Land Rover’s smarter sibling, the Range Rover. Piano black wood-grain veneer is a new dashboard option, for example as is a standalone multimedia system for rear-seat passengers.

As for engines, the new Land Cruiser gets a new 2.8-liter die-sel engine that has been tai-lored to deliver optimum torque off road and the best fuel effi-ciency and predictability when cruising at motorway speeds.

Toyota claims that thanks to a urea selective catalytic re-duction system, 99% of NOx emissions are eliminated and while it’s not lightning quick -- 0-100km/h in 12.7 seconds, it offers an economy of 7.4l/100km for the five-door, seven seat model and 7.2l/100km for the three-door five seat version.

Those looking for a little more grunt can go for a 4-liter V6 pet-rol engine instead, but it is only available for the larger five-door model.

Toyota’s off-roader: Cruising back into the spotlight