Asian Journal February 24 - March 1, 2012 edition

Stop the Cycle of Violence .. p. 3

(Three R’s) Resist, Re-nounce and Refrain .. p. 11

New Chinese envoy sees peaceful solution to Spratlys dispute

TeleHealth Medical Group Fine Tunes Digital Technology to Create “A Clinic without Walls”

Amid EU crisis, Pinoy bayanihan brews in Spanish cafe

BARCELONA, SPAIN—A FAIR-SKINNED man slides on the chair beside Rodrigo as the sun hides behind century-old houses and birds chirp from slender trees lining the Bracafe coffee shop here.

Rodrigo lets out a breath of relief, recognizing the man as Filipino who may have good news as Spain grapples with a debt crisis and migrant workers like him look for solace in places like the coffee shop.

At this al fresco café, which serves brewed Brazilian coffee at Ronda Sant Antoni in Barcelona’s Paloma district, jobless migrant Filipino workers have found an informal base to trade information.

Dr. Ed GamboaMsgr. Gutierrez Ben MaynigoBattleground for Justice

and Truth .. p. 4

February 24- March 1, 2012

(Continued on page 9)

Overseas Filipino WorkersPhilippines now a creditor nation

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Coal wastes from the open pit coal mines in Semi-rara, Antique, Panay have strangled mangrove marsh-

es and destroyed the seaweed farming livelihood of local fi sh-ermen (See “Anti-Mining”, p 6)

Church and People Call For a New Mining Law

Jeremiah Opiniano

Dado Banatao looks back

BARCELONA, SPAIN—THE outlet of the popular Brazilian coffee shop Bracafe in Paloma district is Filipinos’ favourite hangout, like this gentleman in a cap.-- OFW Journalism Consortium photo service

by Lawrence Agcao-ili, Philstar | MANILA, Philippines, 2/22/2012 - From being a user of the resources of the Interna-tional Monetary Fund for decades, the Philippines has attained creditor status, with half of its $251.5-million contri-bution to the IMF as of December tapped to help European countries such as Ireland, Portugal and Greece ease the impact of the fi nancial crisis in the euro zone, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said yesterday.

The BSP said the coun-try’s improved status has become evident with its being

a participant in the Financial Transactions Plan (FTP) of the IMF since 2010.

The FTP is the mechanism by which the IMF fi nances its lending

Marian Rivera, Henry Sy Jr. with PSE CEO Atty. Val Suarez ring the PSE bell for SMDC’s stock rights offering (2010)

Video conferencing allows us team of doctors and nurses to extend medical expertise to deserving orphanage in the

Philippines dedicated to serving orphans living in a cemetery

Inside the offi ce of his fam-ily medical practice in Orange, Calif., Dr. Bryn Henderson clears a portion of his busy schedule on Fri-days to make some children smile on the other side of the Pacifi c. He logs on to a video chat service and briefl y transitions from treating

Orange County patients with the fl u to diagnosing cases of Dengue fever among 70 orphans who call a cemetery their home in Cebu City, Philippines.

“Orphan Care” Creating An Elec-

By Pia Lee Brago, Philstar | MANILA, Philippines, 2/22/2012 - With the territo-rial confl ict and heightened tensions between the Philip-pines and China over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), China’s new ambassa-dor to the Philippines said on Monday that the two countries may disagree on issues but a peaceful solution could be attained.

“I do not fear that the fl owing clouds may block my vision, for where I stand is the top of the mountain,” Ambas-sador Ma Keqing said, quot-ing from a Chinese poem to describe the bilateral relations between China and the Phil-ippines in reference to the disagreement and territorial claims of the two countries that remain critical factors in the relations.

“I have to say with all frankness that there are issues on which we disagree with each other. However, my con-viction is that, through con-structive communication and practical cooperation building on mutual trust, a peaceful solution could be attained,” Ma said in her remarks dur-ing the reception marking her assumption of offi ce.

She emphasized the com-mon vision to have a better and stronger relationship between the two countries.

“From such a height, and with concerted efforts by both sides, I am sure that we will deliver a promising and fl our-ishing future for China-Philip-pines relations,” she said.

Ma said the world is undergoing political changes, economic un-certainties and institutional devel-opments and all countries, major

By: Neni Sta. Romana Cruz | Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1/20/2012 -- Aside from its enviable expanse of grassy playground space with surrounding trees, the most striking feature of the Malab-bac Elementary School in Iguig, Cagayan, is a curi-ous structure of a “residence” on an elevated portion of the campus. It is not anyone’s weekend home for there are no bedrooms. It is the school’s air-condi-tioned computer lab donated by a grateful alumnus of the school, Diosdado Banatao, lauded as the only Filipino major player

in Silicon Valley. Dubbed as another Bill Gates, Banatao—like Gates—made use of his engineering and computer background,

introduced revolutionary technologies, and went on to

build highly successful companies.

Born to a rice farmer family in the sleepy barrio of Malabbac, Banatao has come a long way from his boyhood, when he

walked barefoot to the very same school where he has built this computer lab on a hill.

Banatao does not stop reminding students

Fr. Shay Cullen, PREDABishops, priests, pas-

tors, people from all walks

of life and non-government organizations have taken a stand against the unfair, ex-ploitative and damaging min-ing operations in this country. It is an important moral issue because for generations 75%

of the people have endured a life of poverty and want, exploitation and injustice. Wealth distribution in the Philippines is among the most unequal in the world and 1% of the population unjustly own or control 70% of the

national wealth.The mineral wealth is said

to be worth US$680 billion

Page 2 February 24- March 1, 2012Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

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Philippines now a creditor nation

(Continued from page 1)

and repayment operations through transfer of foreign exchange from members with strong external posi-tion to borrowing members.

“A member is said to have a credi-tor position in the Fund when the latter has used the holdings of the member’s currency to provide fi nan-cial assistance to other members,” the BSP clarifi ed.

The member gets interest earnings in return which refl ect in its gross international reserves (GIR). The country’s GIR is expected to hit a record level of $79 billion this year from about $75 billion last year.

By virtue of their participation in the FTP, emerging market econo-mies like the Philippines have joined international cooperation efforts to mitigate the spillover effects of Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.

The BSP said the country’s par-ticipation in the FTP would pave the way for the central bank’s admission to the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) facility of the IMF.

The NAB facility is a credit ar-rangement between the IMF and member countries or institutions aimed at forestalling situations that could impair the international mon-

etary system. “The participation in the NAB would be a signifi cant step in strengthening international coop-eration. This would also demonstrate the BSP’s strong commitment to global efforts to help address threats to the international monetary sys-tem,” it said.

The Philippines’ participation in the FTP marks a transition in the country’s relationship with the IMF.

In 2006, the BSP pre-paid all out-standing debts with the IMF, allow-ing the country an early exit from the fund’s Post-Program Monitoring Arrangement.

With its stronger external pay-ments position, the country has achieved balance of payments surplus in the last seven years. In the region, the Philippines is also a con-tributor to the $120-billion Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) facility among member states of the Association of South-east Asian Nations, China, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.

The Philippines, through the BSP, has a contribution commitment of $4.552 billion to the CMIM.

Digital Edition899,567 reads

on scribd.com/asianjournal

Asian Journal San Diego

Over the past sixteen years of practicing law, I have been retained by both employers and employees who are in the business of provid-ing care for the elderly and disabled. Whether it’s an individual hiring a companion or personal attendant, or a business owner with multiple care homes, several issues arise repeatedly that are worth noting for employers who hope to avoid legal problems, and for employees who feel they are being exploited.

Almost all the problems arise from the business owner being “penny wise and pound foolish.” Each of the shortcuts that some employers take might seem less expensive, but the cost in attorney’s fees, penalties and interest strongly outweigh the savings if they’re caught. And for those employers who wish to stay in business for the long term, it’s not a matter of if they’re caught, but when.

Usually employers feel that they can cut corners because there is a “conspiracy of silence” with their workers, who keep quiet out of fear that speaking out will cost them their job. But as several of my employer clients have learned, once-loyal workers have little trouble turning against them, if the worker has noth-ing left to lose, or feels that doing so it is to his advantage.

This article begins the discus-sion of some of the most common

“shortcuts” that employers use to save money, which inevitably prove far costlier in the long run.

Failing to Pay Worker’s Compen-sation Insurance. Because of the nature of the home health industry, the risk that a care giver might be injured at some point is signifi cant. The workers’ comp system is in-tended as a “no-fault” system, where employees receive medical treatment for on-the-job injuries, regardless of how the worker got hurt. This greatly simplifi ed the process of treating such injuries, and reduced the acrimony that comes when an employee sues an employer.

In California, if an employer does not carry workers’ compensation insurance, the injured employee will be able to present his claim to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, or sue the employer directly for negligence. More importantly, the employer can be prevented from continuing its business until it secures workers’ comp insurance, and may be required to pay sizeable monetary penalties for each em-ployee who was uninsured. Crimi-nal prosecution is also a possibility under appropriate circumstances.

From the employers’ standpoint, the obvious downside of carrying workers’ comp insurance is that premiums might prove too costly for one who is just starting out. But

for such an owner, the business he is working so diligently to build is just an employee injury away from fail-ing. Such employers would do well to consider whether their business model is viable in the fi rst place.

Mischaracterizing a Care Giver as an Independent Contractor. Whether or not an employer needs to carry workers’ comp insurance turns on whether the care giver is considered an “employee” or “independent con-tractor.” This is perhaps the most common error that small business owners make.

It’s tempting for owners to classify their workers as independent con-tractors, because it lowers the cost of doing business signifi cantly. For starters, workers’ comp insurance is only required for employees, not in-dependent contractors. Similarly, an owner can shift the responsibility for paying certain taxes to independent contractors. Employers are respon-sible for their employees’ Medicare and social security contributions, and in California, pay for their unemployment and state disability benefi ts. By contrast, independent contractors are required to pay self-employment taxes and generally do not receive unemployment benefi ts.

To be continued. . . .

Part 2:Mischaracterizing a Care Giver

as an Exempt Employee.Part 3:Failing to Allow for Rest and

Meal Breaks.

Atty. Andrew Agtagma is a gradu-ate of U.C. Berkeley (Boalt Hall) School of Law. He works closely with the Law Firm of Chua Tinsay and Vega (CTV) and its clients to provide counsel in his areas of expertise, which include employ-ment law, personal injury, and general civil litigation. He can be reached by phone at: (650) 589-5700, or e-mail at: HYPERLINK “mailto:[email protected]” [email protected]. CTV is a full service law fi rm with offi ces in San Francisco, San Diego and Manila. The information pre-sented in this article is for general information only and is not intended as formal legal advice, or to serve as the basis for an attorney-client re-lationship. CTV can be reached at: (415) 495-8088; (619) 955-6277.

Employment Law Issues in the Home Health Industry (Part 1)

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Page 3Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comFebruary 24- March 1, 2012




Edgar A. Gamboa, M.D., FACS, Reviewer

I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity

By Izzeldin Abuelaish, Walker & Company. 237 pages. $24 Audio CD, $14.99.

Reviewed by DR. EDGAR A. GAMBOA, a fellow of the American College of Sur-geons, who practices general and robotic surgery in Califor-nia. He and his pediatrician-wife, Dr. Lucie Noel Gamboa, have three sons and a daughter. He authored Virtuous Healers: Models of Faith in Medicine, published by St. Anthony Mes-senger Press.

ON JANUARY 16, 2009, Israel Defense Forces in Gaza fi red twice at the home of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, killing three of his daughters—Bessan, 21, Mayan, 15, and Aya, 14—and his 17-year-old niece, Noor. The shelling seri-ously injured another daughter, Shatha, and niece Ghaida. Dr. Abuelaish’s brothers Nasser and Shehab were also wound-ed.

The 23-day relentless assault on the Gaza Strip, code-named Opera-tion Cast Lead, was carried out in retaliation for Hamas’s launching of Qassar rocket attacks into Jewish towns near the Gaza border. Yet the Gaza physician’s reaction to the fatal attack was not hatred, but a renewed plea for reconciliation.

Angry but determined not to be drawn into the recurring cycle of violence and despair, vengeance and hopelessness, Dr. Abuelaish chose “the path of light” instead of “the path of darkness...of poisonous hate and revenge.”

This remarkable stance is consis-tent with Dr. Abuelaish’s personal history. Raised in impoverished con-

ditions affl icting Palestinian refugee families in Gaza, he had struggled to free himself and his family economi-cally by focusing on his education. Despite constant subjugation and hu-miliation, several instances of which he details in the book, he never wavers in his faith in humanity.

Such idealism and optimism car-ried him through medical school

at the University of Cairo, obstet-rics and gynecology studies at the University of London, residency training at the Soroka Medical Cen-ter in Israel (where he was the sole Palestinian physician on staff), fetal medicine sub-specialization in Italy and Belgium, and postgraduate stud-ies in public health at Harvard.

Dr. Abuelaish believes in pro-ductive interaction and peaceful coexistence, rather than confl ict and division, between Palestinians and Jews. Since medicine recognizes no boundaries, he uses his profes-sion to build bridges by treating both Palestinian and Jewish patients and actively promoting fellowship between medical staffs.

Stop the Cycle of ViolenceI Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity

Insight & AnalysisBook Review by Dr. Ed Gamboa

He believes that ignorance keeps people apart and that the Israeli-Arab confl ict persists not because ordinary citizens on both sides of the border do not want peace but because their respective political leaders are entrenched in the past.

According to Dr. Abuelaish, the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict boils down to real estate:

two independent states living side by side and Jerusalem accorded a special status by Jews, Christians and Mus-lims. This will come to pass if Jews and Palestinians focus on their common aspirations rather than old feuds. “If I could know that my daugh-ters were the last sacrifi ce on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis, then I could accept it.”

To this end, Dr. Abuelaish has channeled his grief toward “Daughters for Life,” a foundation he started to help empower women in the Middle East in the hope that such empowerment will lead to breakthroughs in dialogue and reconciliation. His efforts have earned him a nomina-tion for the Nobel Peace Prize.I Shall Not Hate is a small

book that speaks volumes about freedom and human dignity, toler-ance and understanding, courage and generosity. It is a riveting narration of unimaginable personal tragedy and a wondrously inspiring plea for forgiveness. This is a book that offers invaluable lessons not only to Jews and Arabs but to all of human-ity.


Fantasy Land

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

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

Fantasy Land, Chapter 22

by Benjamin Maynigo

Obtaining justice by seeking the truth. Such is the objective of both the Prosecution and the

Defense in the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Justice

Renato Corona.Reading the complaint and the an-

swer, I thought that the issues having been joined, the battle lines drawn, and the Senate having acquired juris-diction, the process of seeking the truth would proceed in the interest of the sovereign people. The best offense is Truth as charged and the best defense is Truth as claimed.

The Prosecution started with the charge of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust. To support the charge, the Prosecution claims that CJ Corona failed to fully disclose his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth as mandated by the Constitution and statute. There was a special men-tion of several properties evidenced by Deeds of Sale and Certificates of Title that CJ Corona failed to declare. The media reported initially that there were 45 properties owned by CJ Corona. It turned out that the Prosecution could only show 24.

Despite the objection of the Defense, the impeachment court decided to allow the disclosure of CJ Corona’s SALN in the interest of truth and hopefully, justice.

Based on his SALN, CJ Corona declared a total of 8 properties, thus failing to declare 16 properties, which the Prosecution asserts they could show with documentary and testimonial evidences.

The Prosecution also questioned the declaration of Cash on Hand and in the Bank. So, the prosecutors asked to subpoena the Philippine peso and dollar bank accounts of CJ Corona to prove that the latter failed to disclose the true amounts.

The best way to belie an alleged truth as claimed by the Prosecution would have been to show the real truth by showing that CJ Corona’s declared Cash on Hand and/or in Bank are the same as those in his bank accounts.

Alleged truth vs. real truth would have simply resolved the matter. The Defense instead vehemently ob-jected to the showing of CJ Corona’s peso and dollar bank accounts, thus seeking to hide the truth and waiving its best defense.

The impeachment court wisely allowed the showing of CJ Corona’s peso bank accounts but delayed compelling the disclosure of the dollar account pending the petition of the bank for a TRO (temporary restraining order).

The disclosure of the peso bank accounts were actually more than enough to show that CJ Corona misdeclared his Cash on Hand and/or in Bank in his SALN. Based on available data revealed, I could account for at least P42.5 million pesos discrepancy in his SALN Cash declaration vs. bank deposits.

Further disclosure would show that the truth as alleged by the Prosecu-tion would prove to be the right and real one. To avoid further damage, he and his lawyers must act.

As my father used to say, “choose your battles – the ones you can win”.

Chief Justice Renato Corona, acting through his defense lawyers, decided to change course and the battleground. They would go to where they could have the home court advantage and where they would be allowed, ironically, to hide the truth. That is, the Supreme Court, CJ Corona’s Court.

First, was to stop the disclosure of the dollar bank accounts; and sec-ond, was to stop the impeachment trial itself.

The Supreme Court in an 8-5 vote issued a TRO (temporary restrain-ing order) to stop the opening of CJ Corona’s dollar bank account.

The Senate by a vote of 13-10 decided to respect the TRO. Thirteen Senators agreed to exercise tempo-rary restraint in ordering the opening of secret foreign currency deposits. They also impliedly admitted having gravely abused their discretionary powers. It was unfortunate and un-

necessary.The Senate, however, reserved its

right to argue its case in due time.The Supreme Court has not acted

on the petition to stop the impeach-ment trial. But earlier, Senate Presi-dent Enrile said, “Nobody except the military could stop us from conduct-ing the impeachment trial.”

The Philippines has a demo-cratic and a republican government. Democratic because “sovereignty resides in the people and all gov-ernment authority emanates from them.” Republican because it is representative and that the people’s will is acted upon directly, through their elected representatives lo-cally and nationally; and indirectly, through appointive officials. Such will is expressed in the form of the fundamental law - the Constitution, laws, implementing rules, Executive orders, Presidential orders, Depart-ment orders, provincial board resolu-tions, municipal ordinances, court decisions and the like.

In disciplining high government officials such as those enumerated in the Constitution as impeachable, the people designated the House of Representatives by a vote of at least 1/3 to have the power to impeach and the Senate to hear and decide the impeachment case. Such powers are exclusive. The Senators and Congressmen are answerable only to the people that they represent. That is why issues relating to such powers would be political questions that the other branches of government, Executive or the Supreme Court are advised not to touch.

Should the Supreme Court inter-fere in the impeachment proceedings especially if it involves one of their associates, or worse, their Chief?

The ready answer and my take is, NO. The power to hear and decide impeachment cases is one solely and exclusively vested upon the Sen-ate free from interference from any other branch of government. Any action or petition before any other court would be a political ques-tion. The actions of the Senate are considered dictates of the sovereign people that they represent. On politi-cal questions, the Justices who are appointive officials have no such mandates.

Some legal experts, however, opine that the Supreme Court may interfere in cases where the Senate is found to have committed grave abuse of discretion.

Did the Senate/impeachment court commit grave abuse of discretion in issuing a subpoena for the peso and dollar accounts of CJ Corona? Is forcing a bank official to violate the law on the secrecy of foreign currency deposits considered grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Senate?

The Senate as an impeachment court has the discretion or power to compel anybody to produce any evidence to aid its quasi-judicial and quasi-political function especially in seeking the truth. In fact, it can even grant immunity from prosecution to witnesses that assist them.

Knowing the contents of CJ Co-rona’s dollar bank accounts would help in determining whether or not he truthfully and accurately declared SALNs as contemplated under the law.

The Senate therefore, did not gravely abuse its discretion. On the contrary, it is being true to its man-date. About 75% (188/250) of the sovereign people are represented in wanting to impeach the Chief Justice and had formally asked the Senate who were all elected nationally to hear and decide the impeachment case. Any action to seek the truth by the Senate as an impeachment court is beyond review.

There is a reason for vesting the impeachment powers solely and exclusively to the House and the Senate. Supreme Court Justices and other impeachable high public officials enumerated in the Constitu-tion should respect it and should in no way influence or interfere in the exercise of such powers or in the ful-fillment of its sovereign obligation.

Battleground for Justice and Truth

By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & EditorAsian Journal San DiegoThe Original and First Asian Jour-

nal in America

One item that caught the attention of Presi-dent Lino Majeras

while he reviewed the opera-tions of the government agen-cies was the matter of “ghost employees.” He was shocked to discover this was a standard operating procedure in every agency. There were always vacant positions filled up with fake names, hence the term “ghost,” with salaries paid to the personal coffers of an of-ficial. Sometimes the officials of an agency divided the loot among themselves to prevent anybody from telling the press or a regulatory agency.

There was the case of a police-man who had earlier migrated to the United States. However, his name was kept in the active duty roster, with several people receiving his pay. The policeman, of course, got a share of the loot too.

To curb this malpractice, President Majeras announced a nationwide inventory of government person-nel. He had every public servant submit photos, fingerprints, personal information and other data. He had them crosschecked with a database. In addition, he ordered a physi-cal inventory of personnel, with his trusted people conducting the

audits. To his dismay, he discovered thousands of ghost employees were fleecing the public service coffers dry. He ordered the officials respon-sible for the malfeasance fired and charged. He also conducted an audit on the workload of each agency and compared them with the number of people performing the tasks. In many cases, he discovered many idle employees doing nothing and receiv-ing full pay. There was also the “Re-public Act. 1530”employees. They only reported to the office during the 15th and 30th day of the month, the days salaries were paid, doing noth-ing the rest of the month. However, they were kept in the regular payroll because they gave a share of their salary to the officials.

At first, many of President Lino Majeras’ allies and supporters in Congress balked. Many of the employees in question were their recommendees. It had been a com-mon practice for winning officials to share the spoils of victories with their supporters, constituents and campaign workers. During a politi-cal campaign, many were not paid enough; hence, they were rewarded with appointments for themselves and/or their relatives to government posts in case their candidates win. If their candidate lost, it was just bad luck for the campaigners; they would simply look forward to the next election when they could hope-fully choose a winning candidate and get a share of the loot.

President Majeras’ people gathered their congressional supporters in confidence. Without attributing the order to the president to avoid future legal repercussions, they came up with a proposal.

“Let President Majeras clean up the government, eliminate graft and

remove government positions that are redundant or useless, and we will see if we can turn a blind eye on your previous corrupt practices. We won’t charge you for them, but make sure you do not commit anymore graft from now on. Otherwise, you will be a fair game to our anti-graft campaign.”

The officials could not do anything but accept the compromise. They had too many skeletons in the closet. The unofficial policy was leaked to the opposition who made a big issue out of it. They again charged the president of double standards, yet had no way to prove these claims. Many in the public understood the compromise. They knew President Majeras could not totally clean up the government. And whatever he could possibly do, he required the help of his allies, even if corrupt.

With the savings generated from eliminating illegal salaries of thousands of ghost employees, there were more funds available to ame-liorate the living conditions of the poor: more qualified teachers were hired; school buildings were built and repaired, free lunch programs for the poor students were provided, and books were made available. The quality of public education in Fantasy Land improved.

Even the health programs of the government helped more people with the partial elimination of graft. More funds were given to the health programs, thereby increasing the budgets of public hospitals. Salaries of doctors, nurses and other hos-pital administrators and personnel were raised; hospital equipment improved; and more medicine went to the poor. With the extra budget, more medical clinics were put in the remote areas of the country, making medical services available.

President Lino Majeras also sought to avoid the palakasan system in the government service. It was a practice where those with politi-cal connections were appointed in government posts.

The Civil Service Law, he dis-covered, was strong enough. It only lacked a strict implementation. He ordered the reexamination of government employees every five years to prevent them from being complacent and to eliminate the unqualified ones. He was weary of those who had slipped through the processing system because politi-

cians had recommended them. It was time they left!

To make sure only the quali-fied and deserving applicant got a government job, the civil service ex-aminations were strictly monitored. Reputable professionals prepared the exam questions; rigid rules were implemented in the examinations to prevent cheating. The success-ful examinees were notified of the openings in government agencies suited to their qualifications through e-mails for the next five years. If they wanted to receive the same notification after five years, they had to retake the exams. The choice of the successful applicant was then announced, and the unsuccessful ones could protest to an indepen-dent body. This way, the palakasan system would be eliminated, and the most qualified people would fill the bureaucracy. – AJ

(To read the previous and weekly installments of this series, visit www.asianjournalusa.com. Once there, click the “Editorials” heading, then click “Fantasy Land by Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.” title to see the list of all previous chapters of the series. Click the title of the chapter you want to read and the article will appear.)

A Qualified Bureaucracy

MANILA, Philippines - Former Leyte governor Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez, also former Philip-pine ambassador to Washington and Beijing during the Marcos regime, died yesterday at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City. He was 81.

The younger brother of former first lady and now Ilocos Norte Congress-woman Imelda Marcos had been at the hospital’s intensive care unit for several months being treated for leukemia.

He was the father of incumbent Leyte Congressman Ferdinand Romualdez and Chamber of Mines president Philip Romualdez, and a daughter, Marian Romualdez-Pom-pidou.

As of press time last night, Sol Vanzi, spokesperson of Mrs. Mar-cos, told The STAR the 82-year-old former first lady was at the Makati Medical Center attending to the burial arrangements for her late brother.

Kokoy, known for his all-white attire that matched his silver hair, was identified as the real owner of Philip-pine Journalists Inc. that published tabloids People’s Journal, People’s Tonight and Taliba and the Women’s Magazine.

Kokoy fled Manila in 1986 after the people power revolt that also saw the exile of his brother-in-law, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Kokoy put up his own businesses in Massachu-setts, New York and Hawaii.

Fourteen years after fleeing the country, he returned from the US to face graft and criminal cases before the Sandiganbayan – 24 cases for not filing his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth as Leyte gov-ernor, and two behest loan suits for acquiring a $1.8-million loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines to put up Philippine Journalists Inc.

In October 2009, Kokoy was cleared of graft charges by the Su-preme Court (SC) in an 8-4 vote.

The Office of the Ombudsman had charged Romualdez with graft for allegedly receiving P5.8 million in “dual compensation” while serving si-multaneously as ambassador to China, Saudi Arabia and the United States, and as governor of Leyte between 1976 and 1986.

In dismissing the charges, the SC said the criminal cases against Ro-mualdez had already prescribed since he was charged before the Sandigan-bayan only on Nov. 5, 2001.

His younger brother Bejo consid-ered him as the “financial wizard” and the “real politician” of the Romualdez family.

Later in life, Kokoy traded in his all-white outfits for all-black ones, which he called his undertaker uniform. He was also known for not wearing socks.

He is survived by his siblings Bejo, Alfredo, Aleta Romualdez-Martel; and Conchita Romualdez-Yap, mother-in-law of Navotas City Rep.Toby Tiangco.

House leaders condole

Leaders of the House of Represen-tatives condoled last night with the family of Kokoy.

In behalf of the House, Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said he was extending his and his colleagues’ “deepest condolences” to Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Romualdez-Marcos,

Imelda brother Kokoy dies


Kate Pedroso, Inquirer Research in Good News Pilipinas | MANILA, 2/18/2012 -- Nearly seven of 10 adult Filipinos (68 percent) would not change religion in the name of love, according to the latest survey by Social Weather Stations.

The fourth quarter survey also showed that 54 percent would fol-low their “heart” while 45 percent

said they would follow their “mind” when it came to love matters, and that the majority of adult Filipinos (59 percent) are “very happy” with their love life.

The survey, done from Dec. 3 to 7, posed the question: “In case you and your loved one do not have the same religion, will you definitely change/likely change/likely not change/defi-nitely not change your religion in the name of love?”

Among the 68 percent who said they would not change their religion, 50 percent answered they would “definitely not change” and 18

percent said they would “likely not change.”

Thirty-one percent were willing to change their religion for love—14 percent said they would “likely change” and 17 percent said they would “definitely change.”

“Unwillingness to change their religion for their loved ones is strong in all religions,” SWS said yester-

day, eve of Valentine’s Day.Men follow their heartsMore Filipino men (56 percent)

than women (51 percent) would fol-low their heart than their mind when it comes to love, SWS also noted.

While 52 percent of younger men aged 18-24 said they would follow their mind rather than their heart, the majority of older men said they were more likely to follow their heart—59 percent among those aged 25-34, 58 percent among those aged 35-44, 58 percent among those aged 45-54, and 54 percent among those aged 55 and older.

Most Filipinos ‘very happy’ with their love life, says poll

“Quite the opposite, following their heart over their mind in matters of love is higher among women aged 54 years old and below,” SWS said.

Fifty-one percent among women aged 45-54, 56 percent among those aged 35-44, 54 percent among those aged 25-34 and 59 percent among those aged 18-24 said they would follow their heart in matters of love.

The noncommissioned survey used face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults nationwide. It had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points.

Love and faithUnwillingness to change their re-

ligion for love was strongest among Muslims, where 56 percent said they would “definitely not change” and 17 percent said they would “likely not change” their religion for love.

Among Roman Catholics, 50 percent said they would “definitely not change” and 18 percent said they would “likely not change” their re-ligion, compared to 18 percent who would “definitely change” and 14 percent who would “likely change” religion for the sake of love.

Among Protestants, 51 percent would “definitely not change” and 6 percent would “likely not change” their religion for love, while 15 per-cent would “definitely change” and 24 percent would “likely change.”

Willingness to change their reli-gion in the name of love is slightly higher among Protestants and Catho-lics, SWS noted.

Married ones“Following one’s heart rather than

mind over matters of love is more prevalent among married Filipinos and those with live-in partners, than those who are single,” the survey also showed.

The majority of those with live-in partners (64 percent) and those who are married (55 percent) said they would follow their heart rather than their mind when it came to love.

On the other hand, the majority of those who are single (52 percent) said they would follow their mind, while 46 percent would follow their heart.

(Story courtesy of Kate Pedroso, Inquirer Research)


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For Valentine’s Day, Lots of Love for LIHPs

On Tuesday, February 14, community groups gathered in coalition, in Coachella, Los Angeles, Richmond, Sacramento, San Jose, and Visalia, to highlight the progress in expanding coverage under the Affordable Care Act. In particular, the events helped spread the word about Low Income Health Programs, a little-known new coverage program that promises to have a big impact, covering many of the uninsured and bringing in new federal matching funds to counties across California.

“For Valentine’s Day, over a quarter million Cali-fornians may want to say how much they love these Low-Income Health Programs (LIHPs), bringing in federal dollars to expand coverage to most counties in California, and serving as a ‘bridge to health reform’,” said Anthony Wright, executive director, Health Access California, the statewide health care consumer advocacy coalition. “The county-based health plans get more people covered, and earlier than the rest of the nation. These plans bring in new federal matching funds, creating economic benefi ts, investments in our safety net, and a healthier group of patients. What’s not to love?”

The Low Income Health Program or LIHP is made

Community Groups Host Events Across Ca To Highlight

Expanding Reach Of Low Income Health Programs

Chase To Donate 100 Homes and Support to Nonprofi t

SAN ANTONIO – Operation

Homefront, the national nonprofi t that provides emergency assistance to military families and Wounded Warriors, today launched a partner-ship with Chase that will put at least 100 Wounded Warrior, military, and veteran families permanently into homes this year. The bank is providing the homes and other sup-port to enable Operation Homefront to administer the “Homes on the Homefront” program. Operation Homefront will provide ongoing transitional services to the families until such time the properties are actually deeded to the recipients.

Operation Homefront and Chase will match homes in the bank’s inventory with deserving families served by the nonprofi t. Some of the requirements that applicants must meet include: 1) be active duty, Guard or Reserve, or have been honorably discharged, 2) not currently own a home, 3) be fi nancially capable of sustaining the home throughout an initial transition period and beyond.

The program’s fi rst priority will be to place families who currently live at an Operation Homefront Village, which provides transitional hous-ing for Wounded Warrior families. Other Wounded Warriors, surviv-ing single spouses of those killed-in-action, and post-9/11 disabled veterans will also receive priority consideration under the program. Any veteran of any era, regardless of wounded or disability status, will be eligible to apply.

“This is an incredible gift from Chase to our men and women in uniform,” said Jim Knotts, President and CEO of Operation Homefront. “Chase’s imaginative, nation-wide approach to providing quality homes to deserving service members and their families will make a huge difference in how these heroes can make that diffi cult transition and adjustment into productive civilian

lives.”“We’re proud to partner with

Operation Homefront in awarding homes to members of the military and their families,” said Frank Bisignano, JPMorgan Chase Chief Administrative Offi cer and CEO of Mortgage Banking. “These individu-als have made tremendous sacrifi ces for our nation, and as they move back into civilian life in a tough economic environment, we hope that a mortgage-free home will make that transition a little easier.”

“This is exactly the type of wonderful, collaborative effort that the First Lady and Dr Biden hoped to see when they rolled out ‘Join-ing Forces’ last year – companies and organizations coming together to better serve veterans, service members and their families,“ said Brad Cooper, Executive Director of Joining Forces in the White House Offi ce of the First Lady.

“Every day, we work to give military families fi nancial security so that when service members are in harm’s way, they don’t have to worry about their families back home,” continued Knotts. “The homes provided by Chase takes that one step further, and will provide these families with additional peace of mind concerning their futures.”

Operation Homefront is seeking new donated goods and money from other companies to provide every home fully furnished when the fami-lies move in.

Military families can apply for the Homes on the Homefront program by logging on to www.Operation-Homefront.net/HomesOnTheHome-front

Operation Homefront Launches “Homes On The Homefront” Program The Kundirana was formed in

1971 by Bro. Roly Dizon, FSC, Mrs. Rose Balana and Bro. Mike Rapatan, who coined the word KUNDIRA-NA. The name was inspired from two popular Tagalog musical forms, the kundiman (love song) and the harana (serenade). Over the years, the KUNDIRANA has evolved from a regular school choir composed of select, musically gifted and talented high school boys from La Salle Green Hills to a more socially aware singing group with a ministry of providing goodwill and joy to the less fortunate through the medium of music and the performing arts.

The KUNDIRANA has performed on television, in parks, churches, barnyards, professional theaters, old gyms and on makeshift stages and have been privileged to share their ministry before Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa and other world luminaries. During the summer months of April and May, invita-tions to visit the United States and Guam as performing ambassadors of goodwill are accepted. True to their ministry, they sing in convalescent homes and other social institutions, not only to bring their ministry to that part of the world but to establish cultural exchanges and linkages in the promotion of what is best for the Philippines and the United States of America.

In 1985 and 1986, the KUNDIRA-NA was nationally honored by being given the ALIW Award as Best Cultural Group for its ability in projecting a positive image of the Filipino spirit of sharing and caring. In August 2007, the Federa-tion of Catholic Schools Alumni Associations (FeCaSAA) awarded the Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Award for Social Artistry to the Kundirana in recognition of its ministry.

It has developed successful art-ists such as Gary Valenciano, Ogie Alcasid, Randy Santiago, Monet Silvestre, Rannie Raymundo, Ding-dong Avanzado, Dingdong Eduque, Montet Acoymo, Juan Miguel Sal-vador, Carlo Orosa, Von De Guzman and Gian Magdangal of the Philip-pine Idol fame. Under new direction

of Monet Silvestre, the current batch of Kundirana is also known as the batch who brought back the band. It signifi es the rebirth of the Kundirana whos maiden concert is entitled “Change the World” modeled after the One La Salle prayer which is Prayer for Change.

Celebrating their 41st year of music ministry, this talented and dy-namic group of high school students from La Salle Greenhills will be arriving in South San Diego on April 25, 2012 for a week-long visit. They will be presented at a Gala Concert entitled “Change The World” at Chula Vista High School Perform-ing Arts Center in Chula Vista on Saturday – April 28, 2012 sponsored by Fil-Am Charitable Organization of San Diego. The concert starts at 5:00PM and tickets are reasonably priced at $20.00. For ticket informa-tion, please call any of the follow-ing: Gil Enriquez – (619) 395-3067, Arnold, Reyes – (619) 482-2315, Tony Dompor – (619) 961-5224, Gemma Franche – (619) 254-0966, Yoly Llavore – (619) 656-1104 and Veronica De Guia – (619) 263-9621.

Kundirana Concert “Change the World” Comes to Chula Vista, April 25

Kundira graduates include the likes of Gary Valenciano




Agreement Includes Plan for Juve-nile Crime Mapping Around Schools

San Diego County District Attor-ney Bonnie M. Dumanis announced today that her offi ce has signed a partnership agreement with the San Diego Unifi ed School District that allows both organizations to sup-port student achievement through various activities and programs,

including mapping juvenile crime around schools in order to streamline services to specifi c regions and ex-panding programs such as the Youth Advisory Board and an innovative curriculum aimed at breaking the cycle of gang violence.

“This new partnership will allow us to identify more students who are at risk and hopefully keep them out of the criminal justice system,” DA Dumanis said. “Today’s agreement with San Diego’s city schools brings more of us to the table so we can work cooperatively to keep young people from slipping through the cracks.”

As part of the agreement, juvenile

DA Forges Unique Partnership with SD Schools to Support Student Achievementcrime mapping data around schools will be shared and evaluated to de-termine the needs of particular com-munities. Some District Attorney-led programs already in place will be expanded, including the Youth Ad-visory Board and a curriculum that which helps students avoid nega-tive relationships that may lead to victimization.

The memorandum of understand-ing was signed today between the San Diego County District Attorney’s Offi ce and San Diego Unifi ed’s Race, Human Relations & Advocacy Program. The intent of the partnership is to support student achievement and to pro-vide mutual assistance and benefi t through shared time and resources. The mission of the partnership is to promote community collaboration and provide support to ensure that San Diego students are involved in public safety prevention and inter-vention efforts.

“The San Diego Unifi ed School District is looking forward to as-

sisting the mission statement of the District Attorney’s Offi ce through helping students make better choices so they avoid destructive behaviors that lead to punitive outcomes,” said Agin Shaheed, Program Manager of the District’s Race, Human Relations & Advocacy department.

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ASIAN JOURNALThe fi rst Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern California

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

Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

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

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

Dr. Rizalino “Riz” Oades, (1935-2009)

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

Genevieve SilverioManaging Editor

Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Miles BeauchampAssociate Editor

Santi SilverioAssociate Publisher

At Large...

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

by Miles Beauchamp, PhD

by Dr. Ofelia Dirige Founder, President & CEO Kalusugan

Community Services. www.fi lamwellness.org

Contemporary Asian American Issues

Perspectives

Hawaii is home to such a unique mixture of ethnicities that it’s hard to believe that it is one of the most geo-graphically isolated location in the world. This melting pot of cultures is what makes the islands such a warm and inviting place for visitors. Throughout the year, visitors and lo-cals alike come together to celebrate the cultural diversity that makes Hawaii such a special place. Here

are several festivals worth checking out in the coming months:

• Filipino Fiesta (Oahu), May 7: Experience various aspects of Filipi-no culture and honor the strength of the Filipino community in Hawaii. The celebration includes a historical cultural parade from Fort DeRussy to Kapiolani Park, a cultural village with various booths highlighting the tastes and sounds of the Philippines,

and a Santacruzan (historical beauty pageant) featuring Filipino beauties in a candle lit parade. www.fi lcom.org

• Kauai Polynesian Festival, May 26-29: Celebrate the Polynesian cultures of Tahiti, New Zealand, Sa-moa and Hawaii. The festival opens with a Poly-nesian Grand Luau at the Sheraton Kauai Resort, followed by three days of Tahi-tian, Maori, Samoan and Hawaiian en-tertainment, food booths, Polynesian arts and crafts, dance competitions, and work-shops for the entire family. www.kauai-polynesianfestival.org

• Pan-Pacifi c Festival (Oahu), June 10: Experience the cultural heritage of the people from Japan. Since 1980, this festival continues to offer an eclectic assortment of cultural arts, crafts, traditional folk music and performances. A complete weekend-long affair, the festival includes a hoolaulea, performing arts showcase, hula festival, arts and crafts fair, and parade. www.pan-pacifi c-festival.com

• Hawaii Volcanoes National Park’s Cultural Festival (Hawaii Island), July 9: Learn Hawaiian crafts from the masters and make a lei or feather kahili (feather standard symbolic of royalty), play Hawaiian games like palaie (a loop and ball game), weave a coconut basket, and taste traditional foods. Attendees can also learn the arts of fi shing, throwing a net, building a canoe, and much more for skilled practitioners. www.fhvnp.org

Hawaii's West Side Stories Like the classic American musical

of the same name, each Hawaiian Island has its own exciting “West Side Story” to tell, minus the Jets vs. Sharks rivalry and rumble of course. Whether it is an adventurous water activity or an exhilarating hike with breathtaking views, there is some-

thing to please just about anyone. • Waimea Canyon State Park

(Kauai) – Waimea Canyon, also affectionately known as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacifi c,” provides unsurpassed opportunities for ex-ploration and breathtaking scenery. The view of the 3,000-foot canyon,

with its hues of orange and red splashed against tropical green, is staggering. Contiguous with Waimea Canyon is Kokee State Park, which encompasses 4,345 acres of upland wilderness and is a mecca for hik-ers, campers and outdoor enthusi-asts. Within the park, the Kalalau Lookout peeks over cliffs and gorges down to the Napali Coast 4,000 feet below. For more information, visit HawaiiStateParks.org.

• Waianae Coast (Oahu) – The “country,” as O’ahu residents know it, has some of the island’s most beautiful sunsets and excellent

underwater activities. Home to the largest population of Native Hawai-ians, Waianae is geographically separated from the city life of Ho-nolulu and still offers true Hawaiian values and practices. Opportunities for ecologically-conscious water adventures abound on the Waianae

Coast. Experience a marine biologist crew-led sail with a focus on amazing whale, turtle, reef and dolphin encoun-ters both above and below the water. For more information, visit SailHawaii.com.

• Lahaina Whale Watching (Maui) – Shielded by the West Maui Mountains and Haleakala, the calm and clear waters off west Maui offer some of the best whale watching

in the world. Join a whale-watching tour and let expert guides take you to the best spots to

The Hawaiian Islands: Cultural Diversity Celebrated

Throughout the Islands

observe these gentle giants of the ocean playfully surfacing or blowing spouts of water in the air. Lahaina Harbor is home to a multitude of tours and during the peak whale-watching season between January and early-April, the pier is always buzzing with excitement and activ-ity. For more information, visit Pacifi cWhale.org.

• Kona Coast Manta Ray Diving (Hawaii Island) – The Kona Coast of Hawaii Island offers the best opportunities to spot manta rays in Hawaii. Mysterious and almost alien-like, the manta ray is one of the largest fi shes in the ocean with wingspans of up to twenty feet or more. Unlike stingrays, mantas do not have stingers and despite their intimidating appearance, are actually quite friendly. Take a night boat tour and you’ll fi nd yourself swimming within inches of mantas gliding over your head like sinister B-1 Stealth Bombers and somersaulting in mes-merizing patterns. For more infor-mation on tours, visit Fair-Wind.com

PHOTO CREDIT: Kee Beach (Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Robert Coello)

Guest Writer:Darryl Obdianela

Gambling is a big problem in Filipinos and other races, and in San Diego, with many Indian casinos now in the area, it is still an increas-ing problem. I used to gamble, when many of my friends were into gambling. The casino we used to go to was Barona Casino. I used to gamble a lot before when I had a job, just had money to gamble with, or when I was bored with my friends. It became something to do, and if we won, we would eat at the buffet. If the lines were too long, we would just get the dollar menu items which would be way more than the normal dollar menu items you see at McDonalds or other places. The reason why I used to go, and not currently gambling, is because I am a full time student now and I do not work, so money is a very big issue for me now.

I would say that my family does have a history of gambling. Mainly my dad likes to go to the casinos and sometimes get us free buffets. My Lolo and Lola like to go to the casino whenever they come down from Los Angeles. I remember my dad always telling me that my other Lolo would take a bus to Las Vegas and then gamble for a day in the casinos there before all the Indian reservation casinos started to be around San Diego. Sometimes it is not just the casino, the California lottery is also a big thing in my family at times. When the jackpot reaches a really high value, then my

family buys a big amount of lotto tickets and tries to win the jackpot. I do not know when it started, but I just noticed that usually the older Filipinos in my family like to either gamble in general or go to the casino to gamble. It is still present today, and I know my dad usually goes every now and then, and the casino also send him many promotions which would probably make him go to the casino more often, because it would be a good deal or he may get

a free meal.

The advantages of gambling are obviously the winning part. There is no better feeling than going to the casino with a certain amount of money and then leaving with more than you came with. Gambling is also fun, whether you are winning or losing, sometimes it is just fun to play games with the stakes held high. The disadvantages are obvi-ously losing money and getting addicted to gambling. Gambling can

cause many problems with the fam-ily, if the problem does not get taken care of. People have lost everything due to gambling and families have broken up because they do not have any more money to support the family due to gambling addictions and problems. For the lottery, the disadvantages are that if you play so much and never win. The lottery can be more harmful than going to the casino because unlike the lottery, you actually have a bigger chance of winning in the casino than the lottery, which depends on how many tickets you buy and try to get the jackpot.

I feel it is a big problem in the community because Filipinos are getting out of hand sometimes when they go to the casino. My parents always tell me that gambling is bad, and that it will ruin your family because people have lost everything just for gambling. It will lead to a shortage of money and it will add up and your entire fi nancial situation will go down the drain. As a person, I can try and solve this problem by personally not going to the casino anymore and gambling. I do not want to get infl uenced by the casino in a negative way because playing those games are not worth it and I would not want to jeopardize my future just for a few moments now.

As one common person, there is not very many things you can do to solve the community problems, but you can start with yourself and the people close around you, which can make a big difference.

As a community leader, they have more voice in the community. People would be more likely to lis-ten to someone of a higher standing in the community than just a single member. As the community leader, you have more credibility because you would not have reached the position if people did not believe that you could do your job and make good decisions for the community. You would be able to voice out and say that it is becoming a big prob-lem, and try to exercise moderation in gambling, and should be able to provide gambling problem services

to those members of the community who need help.

As a government offi cial, you are able to limit and possibly get rid of the casinos in the area, if it is becoming a problem. Even though this would probably be hard to do because the addiction is really the fault of the person who does not even try to get help. They also would have a voice to whether new casinos should open up in the area. Prevent-ing more places to gamble would be a big help for the community, and would defi nitely be a huge plus for preventing addictions.

****Darryl is a third student in Electri-

cal Engineering at San Diego State University and a student of Dr. Dirige in AS 460, “Contemporary Issues in Filipino American Com-munities.”

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My View of Gambling and Its Effects

Darryl Obdianela

BY: CESAR D. CANDARI, MD, FCAP EMERITUS

In my article, “ANTI-MINING ANTIQUE PROVINCE, PHILIP-PINES” part 2, ( Feb.17, 2012), I wrote “Who are we to blame? Those people we have elected to lead us are the ones we must fault. They are shallow because they have become enslaved by gross material-ism, by the glitter of gold and its equivalents.” The following was a product of exchanges of opinion with Ed Rodillon, a co-protester from my hometown. For edifi cation, it was written with my hope it is not a rant and rave, rather an erudite literary expedition. Not a shallow parody.

Introductions: More questions than answers. Our leaders must embrace transparency. Isn’t it that the male dog when it urinates shows transparency? It has nothing to hide. Our leaders have a bunch to hide, some bestow them a cognomen- ‘a bull’ , not a bad word; we have as-sortment of questions, no answers. Some leaders are not like the bulldogs. According to the American Kennel Club (AKC) a Bulldog’s “disposition should be equable and kind, resolute and courageous (not vicious or aggressive), and demean-or should be pacifi c and dignifi ed. These attributes should be counte-nanced by the expression and

behavior.” Is it not that a town offi cial is

voted into offi ce because he has convinced the citizenry into be-lieving that he will be a good and dependable leader worthy of our trust, who would protect us and fi ght for us, respect and uphold our rights, listen to our problems, recognize our human values and bring greatness to our town?. A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.

A shallow leadership.Is it not that a town offi cial who

intends to genuinely serve his constituents should be on the same side and interests as those whom he governs? And for which he should earn the unwavering support and admiration of the townspeople as their champion?

A shallow, diplorable and hypo-crite.

Is it not that one who truly pro-fesses to create and leave a legacy of his term of duty, should create a record of clean, humane, pro-people, and well-accepted acts and deeds that his people continue to praise, admire and remember long after he Is it not that sitting at the helm of a government unit bestows upon you the collective trust and confi dence of the general population that their interests and welfare are in good and able hands, and that you will be their voice determined and commit-ted to speak out for them and their posterity?

Shallow understanding from people.

Why then do you, our respected and esteemed public offi cials, now betray that sacred trust and mandate to safeguard what is dear and valu-able to us? Shallow eye of humanity.

Why do you continue to be deaf, insensitive and unsympathetic to our pleas for help and intervention despite the overwhelming clamor for

Anti-Mining Antique Province, Philippines (Part 3): Shallow Town Offi cials

Insight & Analysis



by Atty. Susan V. Perez

Immigration 911

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

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

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IMMIGRATION 911 by Atty. Susan V. Perez | SAN DIEGO, 2/24/2012 --

Unlawful presence in the United States is perhaps the most widely known among the grounds of inadmissibility or denial of visa ap-plication. There are no regulations interpreting the concept of unlawful presence. All we have are policy statements from the Department of Homeland Security. Generally speaking, a foreign national who is admitted to the United States on a nonimmigrant visa or in parole status until a certain date and who remains in the United States past the expiration date is unlawfully pres-ent. The expiration date is indicated on Form I-94. One who enters the United States without inspection is unlawfully present as well.

Is the foreign national considered out of status when the expiration date on Form I-94 has expired, but he has a pending application for extension of stay? Unlawful pres-ence does not accrue during the gap

Consequence Of Unlawful Presence

between the original I-94 and the approval of an application for exten-sion of stay, even if the application was filed after the original I-94 expired. The approval is retroactive to the date of the expiration of the previous status. If the application for extension is ultimately denied, unlawful presence does accrue while the application for extension was pending. Provided, however, that the application for extension was filed before the I-94 expired and it is not frivolous or unworthy of serious attention.

Can unlawful presence accrue even before the expiration of the I-94? The answer is “Yes”. This happens when the immigration judge or USCIS determines that there was a status violation such as accept-ing employment while on a visitor/tourist visa. The unlawful presence begins to accrue as of the date the order, whether or not the decision is appealed. For F-1 student and J-1 trainee visa holders, who are nor-mally admitted to the United States for duration of status or D/S, viola-tion of their status is the only way they can become unlawfully present. That is because their I-94 does not indicate the date when their status will expire.

When does unlawful presence cause inadmissibility. The three-year bar states that a noncitizen is inadmissible for three years if he or she was unlawfully present in the United States for a period of more than 180 days but less than 1 year. The 180 days of unlawful presence must be during one continuous period. Therefore, if one is unlaw-fully present in the United States for 179 days, then left, reentered, and was unlawfully present for another 179 days, he or she would not be inadmissible based on unlawful presence. It is important to know that 180 days is not the same as six months. One needs to be precise in counting the days of unlawful presence in order to avoid being barred from returning to the United States. The 10-year bar states that the noncitizen is inadmissible for ten years if he or she has been unlawfully present for one year or more AND again seeks admission within 10 years of the date of his or her departure or removal from the United States. Like the 3-year-bar, the unlawful presence must have occurred during a single continu-ous stay in the United States. The permanent 10-year bar applies to a noncitizen who has been unlawfully present in the United States for an aggregate period of more than one year, and who enters or attempts to re-enter the United States without being inspected or admitted. Unlike the 3- and 10-year bars, the period of unlawful presence is the aggregate of all periods of unlawful presence. For example, one was unlawfully present in the United States for six months, then left, reentered and was unlawfully present for another six months, then left and attempted to reenter without inspection. The foreign national is subject to the

permanent 10-year bar. The good news is the Attorney

General may waive inadmissibil-ity due to unlawful presence. For the 3- or 10-year bars, the Attorney General may waive inadmissibil-ity if the noncitizen is the spouse or son or daughter of a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident and it is established that the refusal of admission to such noncitizen would result in extreme hardship to the citizen or legal permanent resident spouse or parent. The permanent 10-year bar may be waived as well but the noncitizen must wait for 10 years from the date of last departure from the United States before he or she can apply for the waiver. The prior 10 years must be spent outside the United States. They should document their residency outside the United States because this is crucial evidence when they apply for the waiver.

We welcome your feedback. If you have any immigration questions, please feel welcome to email me at [email protected] or call 619 819 -8648 to arrange for a telephone consultation.

possible by the Affordable Care Act’s Medi-Cal expansion and the state’s 1115 Medicaid waiver between the state and federal government. Currently, Medi-Cal does not cover adults with no dependent children, even if they are under the poverty line. While the Affordable Care Act changes that in 2014, the early expansion of coverage through LIHPs will allow over a half a million Californians to take advantage of expanded coverage options prior 2014.

LIHP is a county option, which most counties are taking advantage of in order to provide health care for the uninsured in a more effective and less expensive manner. LIHP requires counties to care for enrollees using a medical home model, and providing a wide spectrum of care, similar to Medi-Cal, rather than just providing emergency and urgent care.

Some recent reports indicate reasons for celebra-tion:

Ten large urban counties started their LIHP enroll-ment in last July, and by the end of 2011, had already enrolled a quarter million uninsured Californians into coverage, according to recently-released numbers. Earlier in the month, Alameda County, which began its program in July 2011, became the first county to meet its enrollment target. At the beginning of this year, 37 additional counties have begun enrollment as well. Additional counties are slated to start sometime in the first half of 2012. “Every county should seize the opportunity under the new federal law, and to aggressively take advantage of the federal funds available under the Low-Income Health Program.” said Linda Leu, policy coordinator for Health Access California. “It helps the families, the county, the economy, the safety net—and it helps all of us get ready for reform in 2014.”

The program brings new federal matching dollars into local economies and health systems, and experts estimate these dollars will create thousands of jobs statewide. The UC Berkeley Labor Center projects that LIHP will have a direct impact on the creation of health care jobs as well as indirect impact, growing jobs in other sectors as more money comes into counties.

Community groups are hoping to help get the word out that this program is available in most California counties, and to encourage other counties to get involved, and people to know about this new option and to get enrolled.

Low Income Health Programs


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SAN FRANCISCO, CA, February 16, 2012 – Premier online money transfer company Xoom.com is excited to announce its partnership with Goldilocks, the well-loved Filipino bakeshop chain. First-time Xoom customers who send money to the Philippines between February 16, 2012-May 15, 2012 are entitled to a $25 Gold-ilocks gift certifi cate.

“We are excited to work with Xoom.com on this generous offer,” said Goldilocks Brand Manager, Agnes K. Francisco. Filipinos typi-cally send money home as gifts for their loved ones. And now they get to treat themselves too”, Francisco added.

Xoom has launched several successful promo-tions in the last few months including offers for the last two Pacquiao fi ghts and Mango Tours

XOOM.com and Goldilocks announce special offer for Filipino remitters

AnakBayan San Diego presents Kommon Ground: A Benefi t Show for Victims of Typhoon Sendong

San Diego, CA, 2/24/2012 —On December 17, 2011, Typhoon Sendong hit the southern Philip-pines killing over 1,500 people and displacing thousands more from their homes and communities. AnakBayan of San Diego will be presenting Kommon Ground: A Benefi t Show for Victims of Typhoon Sendong. All proceeds from this concert will go directly to aiding typhoon victims through Panday Bulig Inc, a disaster relief organization in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines.

Kommon Ground is a benefi t show-case of local artists and musicians who have united to help the victims of Typhoon Sendong. Featured artists include Dannu of the Visionaries, DJ Kuttin Kandi, Multi, Selecta Kram, Selecta Mattlawk, DJ Burnone, Romali, One Eyed RoyILLty, War Orphans, and the Beat Puppets.

Join us on March 4, 2012 from 6:30-10:00pm at Across the Street at Mueller College located in University Heights at 4601 Park Blvd., San Di-ego, CA, 92116. Suggested donation at the door is $10. We are collecting only monetary relief, not material goods. Please make checks payable to “Tulong Sa Bayan.” This is an all ages event. For more information, contact [email protected].

Simeon G. Silverio, Jr., left, publisher & editor of Asian Jour-nal San Diego, and San Diego resident Quintin Ramil Jr., right, enjoy a lazy morning at the Lake-front Walk beside Presidio at Bri-tanny Bay in Sucat, Muntinlupa, Philippines. Silverio is on a busi-ness trip while Ramil had been in the Philippines for almost six months now and enjoying his re-tirement vacation in the country of his birth. A lot of San Diego residents, including the two of them, own condo units at Pre-sidio. For more information on how to purchase a unit, call (619) 746-3416.

A premier residential condo com-munity rises by the environmentally protected Laguna de Bay

Indeed a property coup! Presidio, a rising city of sixteen condominiums of varying heights, is situated within walking distance to the shoreline of Laguna de Bay. The Laguna de Bay is now an environmentally protected site. This enviable 6.8 hectare loca-tion offers buyers the best of all worlds. Practical high-rise living, and the joy of living with scenic views and fresh air.

We Offer Proximity. Period Finding the best residence means

not only going home to a perfect house, but a perfect home. Finding the best residence for you, your fam-ily or your children should take into account these two: accessibility and comfort.

Accessibility, where you don’t have to suffer the additional stress of travel and rigors of having to com-mute everyday, and comfort, where you can maximize urban living without being completely detached from it.

Having a perfect home is a gift you well deserve. It is always a chal-lenge though, especially when your life is lived within the limits of the city. Because of this, urban dwellers either settle for second rate housing or choose to live far away.

We give you the third option. While other residences promise you minutes of distance from urbanity, we give you point-blank proximity to your offi ce, school and the latest commercial hubs. We are a step away from all that you need. What-ever keeps you busy, staying here is the most sensible choice.

Features & AmenitiesResort Lifestyle

Each enclave offers amenities exclusive for its residents:

• Swimming Pool• Clubhouse - Function Rooms - Meeting Rooms - Viewing Deck - Gym • Ball Courts • Spa• Bar/Lounge

Location: Sucat, Paranaque

San Diego Balikbayans Enjoy the Shops of Presidio in Lakefront City, on the shores of Laguna de Bay

. “We are always looking for ways to reward Filipino remitters who work hard to send money home”, according to Xoom Marketing Director for the Philippines, Pia P. Guter. “I hope they take advantage of this offer and discover for themselves how convenient, fast and secure it is to send money home with Xoom.com”.

For more information on this special offer, please visit www.xoom.com/goldilocks. Terms and conditions apply.

About Xoom.comXoom.com was founded in 2001 and is now

one of the biggest and most trusted money trans-fer companies among Filipinos in the US. Xoom offers safe and secure sending options from the convenience of your laptop, tablet PC or smart phone. Customers can access Xoom.com 24/7

and send money using their bank account, debit or credit card. Xoom is partnered with BDO, BPI, PNB, SM Malls, Cebuana Lhuillier, M. Lhuillier and Globe GCash in the Philippines.

About GoldilocksGoldilocks is a global brand that has success-

fully provided 100 percent Filipino alternatives to a wide range of desserts, snack foods, and breads, proving that the Filipino can produce high-quality products at par with the best of the rest of the world. As of last year, Goldilocks already has more than 350 stores in the Philippines. In North America, there are 20 stores located in California and Nevada. With each Goldilocks product pur-chased and consumed, customer’s don’t merely get a delicious slice of cake or a scrumptious dish, but a taste of something truly Pinoy.

By Miguel Camus, Business Mirror | MANILA, 2/6/2012 - Listed Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., the Philippines’ biggest horizontal homebuilder, is expanding its residential condominium segment as oversupply concerns start to ease given the country’s massive housing backlog.

In a statement, Vista Land said it plans to launch eight residential condominiums this year with a total project value of P10 billion.

“Despite fears of over-expansion in the supply of residential condominiums, our vertical projects were well received by the market and this has encouraged us to develop additional phases of existing proj-ects,” said President and Chief Executive Offi cer Manuel Paolo Villar.

Vista Land is eyeing fi ve new areas for acquisition where the company intends to build high rise or medium-rise residential projects.

Chief Financial Offi cer Ricardo Tan Jr. said they are expanding two projects valued at P3 billion with another P7 bil-lion to come from six new projects. In 2011, Vista Land launched seven vertical

projects worth P6 billion, the statement showed.

Following Vista Land’s strategy, Villar pointed out that vertical projects are aimed at overseas Filipino workers, which ac-count for more than 60 percent of Vista Land’s sales.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said funds sent home by Filipinos working and living overseas increased 10.6 percent in November 2011 from a year earlier to .78 billion.

Existing medium-rise projects include Pinecrest on Aurora Blvd. and Madison in Cubao, Quezon City, Marfori and Presidio at Lakefront in Sucat, Pacifi c Residences in Taguig City, and Northpoint in Davao City.

Vista Residences serves as the verti-cal development arm of Vista Land. It markets its horizontal projects under the Brittany, Crown Asia, Camella and Les-sandra brands.

Vista Land shares declined 0.32 percent to P3.13 each on Friday’s trading, giving the builder a market value of P26.6 bil-lion.

Vista Land to start eight condo projects this year

by Frank Newport, Dan Witters, and Sangeeta Agrawal, Gallup Poll

PRINCETON, NJ, 2/16/2012 -- An analysis of more than 676,000 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index interviews conducted in 2011 and 2010 fi nds that Americans who are the most religious have the highest levels of wellbeing. The statistically signifi cant relationship between religiousness and wellbeing holds up after controlling for numer-ous demographic variables.

For the purposes of this analysis, an American’s relative degree of religiousness is based on responses to two questions asking about the importance of religion and church attendance, yielding three specifi c groups:

Very religious -- Religion is an im-portant part of daily life and church/synagogue/mosque attendance occurs at least every week or almost every week. This group comprises 41% of the adult population.

Moderately religious -- All oth-ers who do not fall into the very religious or nonreligious groups but who gave valid responses on both religion questions. This group com-prises 28.3% of the adult population.

Nonreligious -- Religion is not an important part of daily life and church/synagogue/mosque atten-dance occurs seldom or never. This group comprises 30.7% of the adult population.

Previous research has shown that religiosity, defi ned either as church attendance or as self-reported impor-tance of religion, is related to age, gender, race and ethnicity, region and state of the country, socio-economic status, marital status, and child-bearing status. Because wellbeing is also related to these variables, all of these characteristics are controlled for in this Gallup analysis.

The difference in wellbeing between the religious and nonreli-gious populations is highly statisti-cally signifi cant given the large sample size Gallup’s research uses, and would occur by chance alone on an infrequent basis. The differ-ence is also notable given that the Well-Being Index scores do not vary widely across sub-groups of the U.S.

Gallup Poll: Religious Americans Enjoy Higher Wellbeingpopulation. For example, across all 50 states and the District of Colum-bia, the range in Well-Being Index scores from the highest scoring state to the lowest scoring state is about 10 percentage points.

Wellbeing Higher for Religious Americans Across Well-Being Sub-Indexes

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index comprises six sub-indexes. Very religious Americans enjoy at least modestly higher scores across most of the wellbeing areas, compared with moderately and nonreligious Americans. The one exception is the Physical Health sub-index, which is slightly higher for nonreligious Americans than for very religious Americans.

The most substantial differences between the very religious and non-religious groups are in the Healthy Behaviors, Work Environment, Life Evaluation, and Emotional Health Indexes. Differences between the very religious and nonreligious on the Basic Access Index are smaller, but statistically signifi cant. In four of the six cases, the larger gap ex-ists between the very religious and moderately religious groups, rather than between the very religious and nonreligious groups.

The large distinction between those who are religious and nonreli-gious on the Healthy Behaviors In-dex is largely because of differences in smoking habits, and to a lesser degree, healthy eating differences.

ImplicationsAmericans who are very religious

have higher wellbeing than those who are less religious, a relationship that holds even after controlling for a number of related demographic and geographic variables.

This study does not allow for a precise determination of why this might be the case. It is possible that Americans who have higher wellbe-ing are more likely to choose to be religious than those with lower well-being, or that some third variable could be driving certain segments of the U.S. population to be more reli-gious and to have higher wellbeing.

It is also possible that the relation-ship is straightforward, that some-thing about religiosity, defi ned as a personal importance placed on reli-

gion and frequent religious service attendance, in turn leads to a higher level of personal wellbeing. Reli-gious service attendance promotes social interaction and friendship with others, and Gallup analyses have clearly shown that time spent socially and social networks them-selves are positively associated with high wellbeing. Religion generally involves more meditative states and faith in a higher power, both of which have been widely used as methods to lower stress, reduce depression, and promote happi-ness. Religion provides mechanisms for coping with setbacks and life’s problems, which in turn may reduce stress, worry, and anger. Many religions, including Christianity, by far the dominant religion in the U.S., embody tenets of positive relation-ships with one’s neighbors and charitable acts, which may lead to a more positive mental outlook.

Highly religious Americans’ healthier behaviors may have mul-tiple causes, including for example culturally negative norms against such behaviors as smoking and alcohol consumption in various religions. It may also be possible that the lower emotional wellbeing of less religious Americans puts them in a state in which they are more susceptible to non-healthy behaviors.

Gallup will continue to explore the relationship between wellbeing and religion in future articles.

Editor’s Note: This article revises and updates a previous analysis based on 2008 and 2009 data.

About the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index tracks wellbeing in the U.S., U.K., and Germany and provides best-in-class solutions for a healthier world. To learn more, please visit well-beingindex.com.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/152723/Religious-Americans-Enjoy-Higher-Wellbeing.aspx



New Chinese envoy(Continued from page 1)

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

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

Phil - Am Law 101powers included, are increasingly

interdependent.“In a way, we are sailing in the

same boat. Only by working together can we steer the boat to the desired destination. Being fully aware of her responsibilities, China is pursuing a peaceful development in a steadfast manner,” she added.

The two countries, Ma said, dis-agree on the West Philippine Sea and other issues that should be resolved through discussion, communication, mutual trust and goodwill.

“I tried to be frank to say we also have disagreements but this is minor compared to the cooperation and friendship. As I said, fl oating cloud on top of the mountain I have clear vision in the future. I can foresee a very promising and fl ourishing rela-tion between our two countries,” Ma said in a chance interview.

Beijing maintained that the sea dis-pute should be dealt with bilaterally and called for limiting the issue of dispute in the South China Sea to the claimant countries.

Beijing also rejected the US multi-lateral resolution to the sea dispute.

“Yes (bilateral). I think so. It is also international practice that if there is a quarrel or a dispute between two countries, normally the two talk to each other like neigh-bors,” Ma said.

“You live next door, if we have something (that we disagree on), we should talk to each other, straight-forward. I think that is (the) better way.”

The Philippines articulated to China that it is prepared to defend its position on the West Philippine Sea as Manila “suggested” that both countries go to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (IT-LOS) to resolve the dispute.

China rejected the Philippines’ suggestion for the two nations to bring their claims in the West Philip-pine Sea before the United Nations-backed tribunal.

“I know you have your own prin-ciple, your stand. We try to fi nd a common ground for further discus-sions,” Ma told reporters.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Af-fairs reminded the Philippines of its explicit pledge in the Declaration on

and is the heritage of the Fili-pino people. If not stolen by the 1% it can be a way out of poverty for millions.

However the small minority of the 1% of the super rich in cahoots with multinational corporations are trying to get all the valuable minerals they can for themselves and share practi-cally nothing with the people. The crooked law of 1995 and the past administration favored the thieves and allowed them to pay less than 2% tax obligation on earnings. In Australia the mining corporations now pay 35% of their profi ts in tax.

The mining corporations in the Philippines don’t even have to pay any tax until they have completely recovered their costs and made a profi t. With slick manipulative bookkeeping and smart tax lawyers that could take up to ten years and even then they can show a loss. The Alliance to Stop Mining said in a newspaper advertisement recently, “…..while the mining corporations use the Philippines as a milking cow, the owner of the natural wealth only gets dog food”. In other words mining is of no economic advantage to the Filipino people. This is the serious injustice facing the nation that has to be addressed.

The mining companies will claim otherwise. If they will open their books, bank accounts, (especially the dollar accounts) and tax records to the public then we might see the truth. Let’s see what they earn considering the astronomical high prices for mineral commodities on the world market today.

The government, elected by the people to address this issue among others, does not treat the people as dogs and to prove it, the President will issue a Executive Order (EO) to bring this tax free exploitation to an end and impose at least a 20 %tax on large scale mining and end the corruption and environmental destruction caused by the irrespon-sible mining industry. However the passing of the new mining law is the best solution.

In a previous article I pointed to the abandoned open-pit mining operation in San Marcelino where Benguet Corp. operated for years, a huge crater remains, a mountain has been destroyed with it’s bio-diversi-ty and an entire valley has been left abandoned and poisoned. The open-pit mining operation in Tampakan, South Cotobato is so huge you could fi t two Empire State buildings one on top of the other in it according to the Alliance to Stop Mining.

The Filipino people are demand-ing a total halt to the rampant and out-of-control massive irresponsible mining operations that are destroy-ing the environment and bring no benefi t to the people or the nation.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Brod-erick Pabillo said the mining law of 1995 should be repealed and the proposed new People’s Mining Bill passed by congress. That is the increasingly loud cry of the people from all over the country.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) represent-ing the voice of 125 Bishops has supported this unequivocally. The bishops called for a halt to large scale mining until this new law is passed. In an ecumenical move Catholic and Protestant Bishops made a statement: “We the Ecumeni-cal Bishops Forum, Express alarm over the wanton abuse of natural resources by the transnational min-ing corporations with their local cohorts in South Luzon Region, especially Bicol” They went on to say: “Destructive mining is blatantly unethical, unjust and senseless for it exacerbates poverty, causes disloca-tion of the livelihood of the people, and threatens the base of life and life itself”, the bishops said.

There we have it, the plain bald truth. The way the minerals are ex-tracted is detrimental to the environ-ment; the earnings for the people are zero. The proposed new law must be passed to make mining a responsible industry that protects the environ-ment and gives just and fair benefi ts to all. END

Contact Fr. Shay Cullen at the Preda Center, Upper Kalaklan, Olongapo City, Philippines. e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.preda.org

Church and People Call For a New Mining Law


PHIL-AM LAW 101 BY ATTY. ROGELIO KARAGDAG, JR., Member, State Bar of Cali-fornia & Integrated Bar of the Philippines

Many Filipino-Americans own properties in the Philippines, either by

purchasing them (perhaps as their future retirement home) or by inherit-ing them from their parents. Under Philippine law, forced heirs (such as children and spouses) automatically receive their inheritance upon the death of their parent or spouse, even when there is no last will. Philip-pine law also provides a formula to compute the respective shares of the compulsory heirs.

Take for example the case of Antonio. He was sent by his parents to the United States as a student many years ago and was eventually able to land a nice job here, became an immigrant, and is now a naturalized American. Antonio has not visited the Philippines for more than twenty years, except fi ve years ago when his father died. His father was survived by Antonio, his brother Ben, and their mother. The only property left behind is a house and lot which Antonio’s father inherited from his parents. Since it is inherited property, it is the exclusive property of Antonio’s father, which means that Antonio’s mother does not have a conjugal share. Applying the legal formula, the property is now equally owned at one-third each by Antonio, Ben, and their mother.

The situation appears simple enough that they were able to easily settle the estate. Their mother decided to waive her share, thinking that she is already too old and will soon follow her beloved hus-

band to the grave. Thus, a new title was issued in the name of Antonio and Ben. As a side note, because of the waiver done by the mother, they had to pay a donor’s tax on top of the estate tax.

Ben had tried many times to go to the United States but he was always denied a tourist visa, perhaps because he has a meager income as a store clerk. He deeply resented that he has not improved professionally like Antonio. He somehow blamed his parents for not sending him to the United States, but the truth is that Ben never liked school.

Three years ago, Ben decided to sell the house and lot to Charlie, without telling Antonio and without sharing the proceeds of the sale. In Ben’s mind, Antonio already received his inheritance when his parents sent him to study in the United States, as in fact it was because of such “advance inheritance” that Antonio and his family now enjoy a good life. Trying to further convince himself of the nobleness of his action, he reasoned to himself that the property was not even enough to compensate his wife and kids for the same opportunity that they missed out on.

It was only last month that Antonio discovered about the sale to Charlie. The deed of sale was signed by Ben alone, who signed for himself and for Anto-nio as his attorney-in-fact. Attached to the Deed of Absolute Sale is a Special Power of Attorney purportedly signed by Antonio, but of course his signature is a forgery.

Antonio also discovered that Charlie subsequently sold the house and lot to Dennis. In fact, Dennis and his family now reside in the property.

Antonio now comes to us for advice on whether he can still recover the house property from Dennis, and what other legal action he can take to protect his rights.

The factual scenario of Antonio’s case

is similar to that in Camper Realty Cor-poration vs. PAJO-REYES, et al., G.R. No. 179543, October 6, 2010. In that case, Rodolfo forged his siblings’ sig-nature in the Special Power of Attorney and sold the property to Ligaya. When Ligaya died, the property passed on to his son Augusto. Later, Augusto sold the property to Camper Realty.

According to the Philippine Supreme Court, “the title in the name of Augusto is defeasible, he having acquired no better right from that of his predecessor-in-interest Ligaya. His title becomes con-clusive and indefeasible, however, in the hands of petitioner, it being an innocent purchaser for value.” In layman’s terms, this means that Ligaya and Augusto’s title could have been cancelled had there not been another sale to Camper Realty.

Therefore, in the case of Antonio, he can no longer run after the house and lot because it is now in the name of Dennis, who acquired it in good faith from Char-lie. Dennis relied on Charlie’s Transfer Certifi cate of Title (TCT) which was issued by the government. The rationale for this is that “a person dealing with registered land has a right to rely on the Torrens certifi cate of title and to dispense with the need of inquiring further except when the party has actual knowledge of facts and circumstances that would impel a reasonably cautious man to make such inquiry or when the purchaser has knowledge of a defect or the lack of title in his vendor or status of the title of the property in litigation.”

Of course, Ben is criminally liable for forging Antonio’s signature, but whether or not Antonio would want his only brother to go to jail is a sensitive matter which he has to seriously contemplate on.

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

Brother Forged His Signature

Pre-Existing Condition In-surance Plan saves lives

Health and Human Services Secre-

tary Kathleen Sebelius today an-nounced that the new health care law’s Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) program is providing insurance to nearly 50,000 people with high-risk pre-existing conditions nationwide. The Department released a new report demonstrating how PCIP is helping to fi ll a void in the insurance market for consumers with pre-existing conditions who are denied insurance coverage and are ineligible for Medicare or Medicaid coverage.

“For too long, Americans with pre-existing conditions were locked out of the health care system and their health suffered,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Thanks to health reform, our most vulnerable Americans across the country have the care they need.”

Under the Affordable Care Act, in 2014, insurers will be prohibited from denying coverage to any American with a pre-existing condition. Until then, the PCIP program will continue to provide enrollees with affordable insurance coverage.

PCIP is helping individuals like:· Randy Morales, of Mi-Wuk

Villlage, California (Tuolumne Coun-ty), a small business owner. Randy and his wife Judy had dropped their individual health insurance policies a few years ago because of the cost. In the fall of 2010, Randy was diagnosed with invasive squamous cell cancer in his throat. Uninsured and uncertain of how to pay for treatment, Randy called HIAS looking for coverage options. The call specialists told him about the PCIP program in California, and he was able to enroll in time for coverage to take effect so he could have necessary surgery. After 35 radiation treatments and seven rounds of chemotherapy, in October 2011 Randy was told he is in remission. He estimates that his treatment cost more than $135,000, and there’s no way he could have paid for that out of pocket. He continues to receive follow-up care every six months and fi nds the program to be very user-friendly.

“When I was diagnosed, I was told it was stage 4d. Stage 4e is dead. And to come back from that diagnosis where I was told to get my life in order to where I’m sitting here in remission is a total 180 degree change in my mindset. PCIP was a life saver,” Randy said.

· Gail O’Brien of Keene, New Hampshire who is now getting help with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma treat-ments and is responding very well.

· James Howard of Katy, Texas who is grateful for the coverage the PCIP program is providing to treat cancer and says that without it, he would not have been able to continue receiving care.

In many cases, PCIP participants have been diagnosed with and need treatment for serious health care condi-tions such as cancer, ischemic heart disease, degenerative bone diseases and hemophilia. As a result of the new law, PCIP enrollees are receiving health services for their conditions on the fi rst day their insurance coverage begins. Their critical need for treatment, combined with their lack of prior health coverage has led to higher overall per-member claims costs in state-based PCIPs of approximately $29,000 per year, which is more than double the per member cost that traditional State High Risk Pools have experienced in recent years.

Enrollment in PCIP has seen a nearly 400 percent increase from November 2010 to November 2011. PCIP enroll-ment is anticipated to trend upwards of 50,000 enrollees within the coming month.

People who enroll in the PCIP pro-gram are not charged a higher premium because of their medical condition. Program participants pay comparable premium rates to healthy people in the individual insurance market. By law, premiums may vary only on the basis of age, geographic area and tobacco

use. PCIP provides comprehensive health

coverage, including primary and spe-cialty care, hospital care, prescription drugs, home health and hospice care, skilled nursing care, preventive health and maternity care. The program is available in 50 states and the District of Columbia and open to U.S. citizens and people who reside in the U.S. legally (regardless of income) who have been without insurance coverage for at least six months, and have a pre-existing condition, or have been denied health insurance coverage because of a health condition.

The Affordable Care Act directed the Secretary of HHS to carry out PCIP ei-ther directly or through a contract with a state or nonprofi t entity. In 27 states, a state or nonprofi t entity elected to administer PCIP, while HHS operates the program in the remaining 23 states and the District of Columbia.

The new report can be found at: http://www.cciio.cms.gov/resources/fi les/Files2/02242012/pcip-annual-report.pdf

For more information, including eli-gibility, plan benefi ts and rates, as well as information on how to apply, visit www.pcip.gov and click on “Find Your State.” Then select your state from a map of the United States or from the drop-down menu.

The PCIP call center is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern Time. Call toll-free 1-866-717-5826 (TTY 1-866-561-1604). PCIP Enrollment Fact Sheet: http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/2012/02/pcip02232012a.html

Health reform law provides coverage for nearly 50,000 Americans with pre-existing conditions



THE EXOTIQUE 2012 FASHION SHOW presents a collection of designs inspired by the tropical islands of the Philippines in the one-woman programme by local Fil-Am designer Boodgie Arce. Tickets are now on sale for the Dinnre-Entertainment-Fashion Show for $30.00 . The event is scheduled for March 16, 2012 from 5:00 to 9:00 pm at Jasmine Restaurant in Kearny Mesa. For more information, call Boodgie Arce at 619.203.8171.

VALLADOLID, Spain—SPANIARDS coming from this place, like a former king and some Augustinian priests who became bishops in Manila and Cebu during the 17th century, conquered Filipinos and their land about four centuries ago.

But today at Spain’s former seat of power and the capital of the Castilla y Leon region, a small pack of Filipinos —around ten— quietly made this quies-cent city their home.

One of them 53-year-old bar owner Leo Bermejo (see vertical photo), a native of Kidapawan City, North Cotabato. The former seaman had been here running his own bar, Leo Bar, since 1994 —making him the only Filipino with a business in the city that speaks the purest Spanish. He also seized the heart of Alma, who met Bermejo at his bar.

In this 8,000 sq. km.-wide city of some 320,000 residents, Fe Arquisola-Obaga

The few Filipinos who are at home in Valladolid, Spain

The seat of the local government of Valladolid, found in a small plaza at the heart of the city. OFW Jour-nalism Consortium photo service Fe Arquisola-Obaga, Valladolid’s

only Filipino nurse, and husband en-gineer Miguel Angel Obaga,

Leo and Alma Bermejo

John Lloyd Cruz, Angelo Locsin to grace the fi lm’s U.S. premieres on February 24

“Ecstatic!” that’s how Star Cinema insiders describe the vibe inside

their offi ce the past couple of days. “The feeling is beyond happy! Ang saya-saya naming lahat dahil hindi

lang malakas kundi ang lakas-lakas ng Unoffi cially Yours sa box-offi ce since it opened last February 15 in the Philippines! Star Cinema, the lead cast John Lloyd Cruz and Angel Locsin and the box-offi ce director, Cathy Garcia-Molina did it again! And how!

“Unoffi cially Yours” is indeed raking it in at the box-offi ce in the Philippines grossing a whop-ping 18.5M just for its opening day! Naka-jackpot nga talaga ang offi cial Valentine date movie ng taon. Unbelievably long ang pila ng mga gustong manood ng pelikula sa lahat ng sinehan na pinalalabas ito! Moviegoers waited happily to see the fi rst big-screen team-up of John Lloyd and Angel. They are also extremely excited to see kung ano nga ba ang sinasabing daring theme at new brand of romantic-comedy ng nasabing pelikula. Marami nga ang naka-relate sa story, characters at message ng movie. Kaya ang resulta, nag-uumapaw sa pagkapuno ang takilya!

And not only that, but Unoffi cially Yours is guaranteed to be worth seeing! In fact, it’s a must-see, what with the Cinema Evaluation Board giving it a Rated B dahil sa ganda ng pagkakagawa at kuwento nito. Masasabi talagang walang pangit na pelikula si Direk Cathy! From all her past movies, she never disappointed all of us dahil sa husay n’yang mag-direct.

So sabi nga, even if you’re single, in a relationship (whether offi cial or unoffi cial), bagets, yuppie or just a good old fan of love stories eh pu-wedeng-puwede mo talagang ayain ang kapamilya mo, kaibigan mo, signifi cant other mo, katrabaho mo or barkada mo to watch Unoffi cially Yours! Don’t be left behind. Nood na ng offi cial at certifi ed box-offi ce hit movie this love season!

U.S. PremiereTFC, the trailblazer in quality

entertainment that reaches out to Filipinos around the world, is set

It’s Offi cial: “Unoffi cially Yours” Is A Box-Offi ce Hit!

(see horizontal photo) is Valladolid’s only Filipino nurse —working at the Sanidad Castilla y Leon (SACYL). This midwifery graduate from Bulacan was once a care-giver for elderly locals, as well as a do-mestic worker, in Spain’s capital Madrid before she married engineer Miguel Angel Obaga and moved to Miguel’s birthplace: Valladolid. Both Bermejo and Arquisola have been residing in this quiet Spanish city for over 25 years, the same with some eight others scattered around the city.

Valladolid’s the hometown of Philip II, the Spanish king whom the Philippines was named after. Valladolid’s quiet com-pared to urban heavyweights Madrid (two hours from here via train) or Barcelona (an hour’s plane ride): local tourism is not as fl ashy as Spain’s two most important urban centers.

Even before today’s economic crisis

plaguing Spain, there’s not much work given there’re a few industries here.

A Filipino imprint here is a church-cum-seminary, the Ilgesia delos Agustinos Filipinos, since the Augustinian friars who came to the Philippines since 1565 took their theology courses in Valladolid (like today’s Augustinian seminarians from the Philippines). -- OFW Journalism Consor-tium photo service



Spiritual Life

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

by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez

Lower Your Nets Balintataw

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

by Virginia H. Ferrer

©2012 Virginia H. Ferrer. All rights reserved.

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

Feb. 26 1st Sunday of Lent

(Three R’s) Resist, Renounce and Refrain

The Meal That Makes Us Family

and Friends

FAMILY DENTISTRYWe treat you like family at

1127 Highland Ave., National City, CA 91950

Dr. Eleanor Madrid Lumahan & Family

Call 619.336.6063Located in the same building as Chuckee Cheese and Hometown Buffet behind Price Breaker

Joke of the Week: Pat was dying. The priest was called. After giving Pat the anointing of the sick, the padre decided to add the renewal of baptismal vows or promises which Catholics like to do at important stages in their lives. To the ques-tions: “Do you believe in God? Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Do you believe in the Catholic Church?” Pat answered fi rmly: “I do.” But when the padre asked: “Do you renounce Satan and all his wicked wiles?” Pat hesitated. Then he muttered: “Father, at this point I don’t want to make an enemy of anyone.”

Scriptures: First Reading: Gen-esis 9: 8-15. In the covenant with Noah, God promises never again to destroy the earth, but to save and redeem it. The rainbow in the sky is the covenant’s accompanying sign. In Christian terminology Noah’s fl ood that destroyed the earth be-comes a symbol of baptism, because in Christ Christians are saved by the waters of Baptism. Second Read-ing: 1 Peter 3: 18-22. It was water that brought Noah and his family to safety. Similarly, it was Christ, “the righteous for the unrighteous,” who brought us the waters of Baptism for our own salvation. Gospel: Mark 1: 12-15. The brevity of Mark’s account of Jesus’ temptation in the desert does not overshadow the great struggle between the forces of good and evil. For Mark, the ministry of Jesus is a relentless struggle to over-come the power of evil. Jesus never gives up until evil is fi nally defeated. Yet in the fulfi llment of his mission, Jesus is driven into isolation, into a deserted life, away from his family, and died alone and abandoned by his

closest friends. But in his isolation, he dwells in the power of God who never abandons him.

Refl ections: Lent is not just a seasonal reminder that we are “dust and to dust we shall return.” This is the season not just to call our at-tention that we are weak and sinful. Lent is the time to make us aware that the life of a Christian is also a relentless struggle against the force of evil. Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, showed the devil in different forms and appeared at different times with Jesus: an androgynous devil at Gethsemane, a hissing snake at Judas’ betrayal and at the trial before Caiaphas, and a demonic fi gure at Jesus’ condemna-tion. Today’s gospel did not mention that Satan left the side of Jesus. The devil wanted Jesus to divert his fo-cus away from his primary mission: to grant salvation through the Cross and Resurrection. Instead the tempt-er would like Jesus to be “drunk” with power as miracle-worker, with desire for material wealth and with hunger for perishable food.

The Israelites lived for forty years in the wilderness. The Chosen People’s fealty to Yahweh was put to the test for forty long years. The Christian’s fi ght to win over sin is also a lifetime struggle, because as St. Peter wrote in his letter, “Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” The devil is up and around. He comes in differ-ent disguises!

Satan called a worldwide con-vention. In his opening address to his fellow devils, he said: “We can’t keep the Christians from going to

church. We can’t keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can’t even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding rela-tionship experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their churches; let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can’t gain that relationship with Jesus Christ.” “How shall we do this?” shouted the devils. “Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds. Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, borrow, borrow and borrow. Keep the parents from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon, their home will offer no escape from the work! Keep skinny beautiful models on the magazines so the husbands will believe external beauty is what’s important, and they’ll become dis-satisfi ed with their wives. That will fragment those families quickly. Don’t let them go out in nature to re-fl ect on God’s wonders. Keep them busy, busy, and busy! And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled conscience and unsettled emotions. Invade their driving moments with billboards. You fl ood their mailboxes and e-mails with junk mail, mail order, catalogues, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services, false hopes, instant winning and wealth. Go ahead. Let them get involved in soul winning. But crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Christ They will soon be working in their own strength, sacrifi cing their health and family for the good of the cause. It will work. It will work!”

St. Ambrose had this to say about temptation: “The crab plays on the weakness of the oyster. It watches to see if the oyster in some remote place sometimes opens its tightly locked door to gather some pleasure out of a few rays of sun and some fresh air. At this relaxed mo-ment, the crab secretly throws a little pebble in to the shell which prevents the oyster from closing his house when he wants to … then the crab comes along, fi nds the door open

and a meal inside …” Though we should not seek

out temptation, for that would be foolhardy, yet as St. James said, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of eternal life.” God never abandons us most especially during our darkest mo-ments. When temptation comes along the way, observe the three R’s: Resist, Renounce and Refrain.

Quotation of the Week: “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either – but right through every hu-man heart. Even in the best of hearts, there remains a small corner of evil.” Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

Wednesday February 15, 2012 We all need to eat and drink to

stay alive. But having a meal is more than eating and drinking. It is celebrating the gifts of life we share. A meal together is one of the most intimate and sacred human events. Around the table we become vulner-able, fi lling one another’s plates and cups and encouraging one another to eat and drink. Much more happens at a meal than satisfying hunger and quenching thirst. Around the table we become family, friends, commu-nity, yes, a body.

That is why it is so important to

“set” the table. Flowers, candles, colorful napkins all help us to say to one another, “This is a very special time for us, let’s enjoy it!”

Text excerpts taken from Bread for the Journey, by Henri J.M. Nouwen, ©1997 HarperSanFrancisco. All Scripture from The Jerusalem Bible ©1966, 1967, and 1968 Darton, Longman & Todd and Doubleday & Co. Inc.

by Michael Brown, Spirit Daily

Is someone in your life controlling you? Do you function according to the will of others -- or in the Divine Will (which gives you quiet, charity, and peace)?

There are many ways that people control you. They may do this through guilt (always making themselves the victim). They may control you by making decisions for you. They may control you through fear -- intimida-tion. They may control you through worldliness -- offering you what pleases the fl esh (see: emotions, sex, and money). There are many ways -- all of which are wrong, all of which take away from our rightful dignity and blessings.

When a relative or person defi nes for you the way you should act or the way you should treat or visit them, you have lost the freedom Christ came to instill and are now hooked into their way of life and spirituality. You are in their orbit (instead of the Holy Spirit’s).

Loss of freedom leads to loss of dignity.

It also hurts.Distance yourself from that which

affl icts you -- even if it causes initial upset (or consternation).

Don’t let others force themselves on you. Don’t let others determine your standards (or destiny). Don’t let others decide when you should visit, or what you should eat, or what you should say. Listen? Yes. Many times.

Especially if you have strayed. There are times others validly give advice or criticize. Certainly! Humility listens.

But did you know that Scripture implies that the spirit of control is the spirit of witchcraft?

“And here’s a subtle weapon of witchcraft,” says deliverance expert Jonas Clark. “The time thief. What these witchcraft controllers do is spend abnormal amounts of time with their victims:

-- The girl who consumes all her friends’ spare time.

-- The boy who smothers his girl-friend with inordinate attention.

-- The father who picks his son up on his day off because of reoccurring emergencies.

This Lent Live Life Of Holiness By Controlling Your Own Life And Turning Off ‘Noise Of World’

Ngayon (2)Ngayon ako'y nag-iisa dahil walang kaibigannagpaalam na siya sa akin at nangibang-bayansubalit 'di ba ito na ang tamang pagkakataonna makahanap ako ng mga bagong karelasyon.

Ngayon ay mabigat na mabigat ang aking katawandahil sa aking trabaho na dapat ko nang pasukan subalit 'di ba tama lang na ako'y dapat magdiwang dahil sa masuwerte ako na mayroong hanapbuhay.

Ngayon ay tinatamad akong pumasok sa eskwelamaghapong sa silya'y maupo, magsulat at magbasasubalit dito pala mabubuksan aking isipanupang punuin ito ng iba't ibang karunungan.

Ngayo'y kailangan ko namang maglinis nitong bahaykahit pagod na ako't patang-pata na ang katawansubalit malaki ang pasasalamat ko sa Diyosdahil katawan ko't kaluluwa may bubong na maayos.

Ano kaya naman ngayon ang naghihintay sa akindapat ko bang piliin o pasalamatan na lang dintulad ng isang iskultor ako itong maglililoknitong aking buhay sa bawa't sandali ng pag-ikot.



EntertainmentShowbiz Watcher

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

by Ogie Cruz

Kris Aquino


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Read up and learn more.Not feeling like yourself lately? You are not alone.

Depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress

disorder and other emotional problems affect

one in four adults in our community.

Seek help and feel like yourself again.

It’s time to feel like yourself again.

RENE’s JEWELRIES& REPAIR SHOPRene S. Moraga, Owner

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Call (619) 267.8144

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SHOWBIZ WATCHER By Ogie Cruz | SAN DI-EGO, 2/24/2012

Hindi natuloy ang pagpapaalam ng pangga-bing show ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ ni Vice Ganda last Sunday(Feb.19,2012) sa channel 2 ayon sa kumaka-lat ng showbiz balita.

Sabi pa nga ni Vice Ganda, binigyan pa sila ng season 2 ng manage-ment ng naturang istasyon instead na magbabalik sila after 6 months kaso sisimu-lan this coming Sunday (Feb. 26) kaya ganon na lang ang pasaring niya sa mga tumitira sa kanya ng hindi magagandang salita.

Pauna na namin naisulat tungkol sa saloobin ni Cristy Fermin about Vice Ganda na maya-bang daw ito at bastos, ngayon isa pang icon sa showbiz report-ing ang

magsisiwalat ng kanyang opinion sa nasabing personalidad.Etoy walang iba kundi si Tita Swarding.

Ayon sa showbiz announcer ng DZRH, kailangan daw pangaralan itong si Vice Ganda sa mga pinag-gagawa nito, dahil hindi raw lahat ng panahon ay lagi siyang nasa itaas.As in sobra at hindi niya masikmura ang pag-uugali nito.

Minsan raw, nag-guest si Vice Ganda sa ‘D Buzz’, nabang-

git raw ang name ni Tita Swarding ni Boy Abunda at ang sagot daw ni Vice e “Sino ‘yun?”, to think noong hindi pa ito gaanong sikat at nasa Metro Bar lumalapit pa raw ito sa table ni Tita Swarding at hindi sila ni-lulubayan nito para hum-ingi ng pang-taxi niya noon kaya paano na hindi

raw siya makikilala nito. Ngayong sumikat na raw ito, nagbago na ugali nito at naging palalo.

Naniniwala si Tita kaya na-extent ang show ni Vice dahil sa lakas ni Kris Aquino sa channel 2,maaari raw na may kinalaman eto.Kaya raw napasok muli si Sen. Lito Lapid sa ABS-CBN dahil rin daw sa lakas ng kapatid ni Pnoy.

Pero kung inyong napuna last Sun-day, na akala natin e magpapaalam na ang show ni Vice, e may video na nagsalita sa naturang show na si Kris Aquino na sinasabing best friend

ngayon ni Vice Ganda.Hindi namin alam kung anu ang

katotohanan dito, pero bukas ang aming espasyo para kay Vice Ganda at ABS-CBN.

NADIA MONTENEGRO KINA-SUHAN SI RICHARD GUTIER-REZ !!! Hindi pa tapos ang kasong isinampa ni Nadia Montenegro kay Annabelle Rama, eto panibagong kaso ang isinampa naman ni Nadia sa anak mismo ni Annabelle na si Richard Gutierrez dahil sa text raw na ito na napakabastos.

Harassment and Unjust Vexation ang kasong isinampa ng naturang personalidad, ayon sa showbiz chis-mis eto raw ang text ni Richard kay Nadia ‘Come Kiss My Ass Fat Pig’.Itinatanggi naman ito ng kampo nina Annabelle na galing kay Richard ang nasabing text.

Masama rin ang loob ni Nadia, dahil hindi raw nabanggit ni Richard ang name ng kanyang anak na si Yna Asistio na kasama rin sa naturang show so react naman si Annabelle ,hindi raw kasalanan ni Richard kung hindi raw nabanggit ang name ng starlet dahil binabasa lang ng kanyang anak ang sinasabi.

Saan pa kaya makakarating ang labanan sa korte nina Annabelle at Nadia?

VICKY BELO AT HAYDEN KHO MAGKAKABALIKAN DIN DAW !!!Usapan ngayon sa showbiz landia ang paghihiwalay nina Vicky

“Si Kris Aquino Raw Ang Dahilan Kaya Na-Ex-tend Ang Show Ni Vice Ganda “-Tita Swarding-

Vicky Belo and Hayden KhoRichard Gutierrez

Dina Bonnevie

Belo at Hayden Kho,kesyo may lumabas pang balita at testigo na nakita raw sa isang room na nagha-halikan raw sina Hayden at Nancy Castiglione na siyang pinagseselosan sa ngayon ng sikat ng skin specialist.

Hindi na raw matutuloy ang kasal ng dalawa dahil sa pag-enter ng name ni Nancy sa buhay nila.Pero naipakita sa channel 2 ang mga

testigo na nakakita sa paghahalikan ng dalawa, sina Nancy at Hayden na hanggang ngayon tinatanggi ng kanilang kampo ang pangyayari.

Ayon naman kay Hayden si Vicky raw ang nahuli niya na nakikip-agrelasyon sa ibang lalaki at isa raw etong yoga instructor ,ipinakita pa

Tita Swarding


Trends


Tech ITfrom My Barber

by Benjamin Maynigo

To have a Techie Life is not lim-ited to using any or all of the MAC or Apple products.

It does not mean that you should no longer look at or have a second look at the latest Windows-based tablets.

The advantages of MAC prod-ucts were always the service aspect due to the number of Apple stores located worldwide, the design and the number of applications that are available for download.

According to the latest count, the number of downloads of MAC ap-plications are now getting close to 25 Billion.

As of today however, there are still more PC or Windows-based computers being used worldwide. Which means that there are still more people individually or in the enterprise using them. Many are used to the Windows-based applica-tions embedded or downloaded on their computers.

When the competition became a battle of tablets and smart phones the MAC and Android products were suddenly beating the Windows-based ones. This is because of the birth of mobile operating systems installed in these tablets and smart phones.

Realizing this, Microsoft decided to install its Windows 7 and 8 op-erating systems in tablets and ultra books. This means that these devices have become fully operating PCs as well. It further means that all appli-cations and fi les in your old PCs are transferable and usable in the new tablets or ultra books.

As I told my barber, I use an iPad 2 because of the many applications available to me, the service I get at Apple stores and, of course, the beautiful design of my device.

As exhibited at the International Consumer Electronic Show (CES) last January, the Windows-based tablets, ultra books, and Windows 8 phones, have been designed to compete with those of MAC and Android.

To be more competitive, Microsoft also decided to put up Microsoft stores worldwide. One of these stores is located in Tysons Corner Mall, which is about a 10 minute drive from my house.

I visited the store yesterday and it looks like they are serious in provid-ing better service to Microsoft/Win-dows users.

Like the iPad, the latest tablets and ultra books I saw are also touch screen. They are competitively priced and beautifully designed. The advantage I see is the fact that they are fully operating PCs.

Over the years while I was at-tending the International Consumer Electronic Show (CES) I was always

seeking a tablet that had an off-line search engine. This is because there are people like me who store libraries of documents, music, video, photos and other fi les in their computers. For security and easy ac-cessibility, they prefer to keep them in their tablets.

Since they are stored off-line, they should also be retrievable and searchable off-line. As a lawyer, for example, I store all the laws and court decisions in my computer. I would like easily searching and retrieving them.

I can do this with the built-in search engine of my PC and my downloaded Google Desktop search engine. I cannot do it in my iPad 2. It cannot be done in Android tablets. It could not be done in earlier Win-dows tablets.

In the latest Windows 7 and 8 tablets, all Windows applications are downloadable. This includes the Google Desktop search engine, which then allows the tablet to index all the fi les in the internal hard drive and in the external hard drives that you connect as well. Of course, this makes them searchable too.

I cannot do this in my iPad 2. I do not know yet if the iPad 3 would have that capability.

Regardless, this presents some Windows of opportunity for Micro-soft.

Windows of Opportunity

From the KURZWEIL Newsletter:

1. Volkswagen’s intelligent car: the next step in connect-

ed carsAudi A8 with “Urban Intelligent As-

sist.” (Credit: Volkswagen)The next step in the evolution of

connected cars is making cars intel-ligent.

The goal of the Urban Intelligent Assist project, which Audi is under-taking in collaboration with four U.S. universities, is to help the driver deal with driving conditions and naviga-tion.

The goal is for the cars to recognize individual motorists behind the wheel, and know preferred destinations, routes the motorists have most com-monly traveled, and the time needed to reach appointments.” Optimizing car safety is also a priority.

Big challenge: bridging the Silicon Valley engineering culture with auto-motive engineering culture.

Selected Science and Technology News2. Could erasing memories

block chronic pain?McGill University researchers

have found the key to understanding how memories of pain are stored in the brain and how these memories could be erased, making it possible to ease chronic pain.

It has long been known that the central nervous system “remembers” painful experiences, that they leave a memory trace of pain. And when there is new sensory input, the pain memory trace in the brain magnifi es the feeling so that even a gentle touch can be excruciating.

“Perhaps the best example of a pain memory trace is found with phantom limb pain,” suggests McGill neurosci-entist Terence Coderre, who is also af-fi liated with the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.

“Patients may have a limb amputat-ed because of gangrene, and because the limb was painful before it was am-putated, even though the limb is gone, the patients continue to feel they are suffering from pain in the absent limb.

That’s because the brain remembers the pain.

In fact, there’s evidence that any pain that lasts more than a few min-utes will leave a trace in the nervous system.” It’s this memory of pain, which exists at the neuronal level, that is critical to the development of chronic pain. But until now, it was not known how these pain memories were stored at the level of the neurons.

Blocking pain hypersensitivity at the neuronal level

Recent work has shown that the protein kinase PKMzeta plays a cru-cial role in building and maintaining memory by strengthening the connec-tions between neurons. Now Coderre and his colleagues have discovered that PKMzeta is also the key to under-standing how the memory of pain is stored in the neurons. They were able to show that after painful stimulation, the level of PKMzeta increases per-sistently in the central nervous system (CNS).

Even more importantly, the re-searchers found that by blocking the activity of PKMzeta at the neuronal

level, they could reverse the hypersen-sitivity to pain that neurons developed after they irritated the skin by apply-ing capsaicin — the active ingredient in hot peppers. Moreover, erasing this pain memory trace was found to reduce both persistent pain and height-ened sensitivity to touch.

Coderre and his colleagues believe that building on this study to devise ways to target PKMzeta in pain path-ways could have a signifi cant effect for patients with chronic pain. “Many pain medications target pain at the peripheral level, by reducing infl am-mation, or by activating analgesia sys-tems in the brain to reduce the feeling of pain,” says Coderre.

“This is the fi rst time that we can foresee medications that will target an established pain memory trace as a way of reducing pain hypersensitivity. We believe it’s an avenue that may offer new hope to those suffering from chronic pain.”

Ref.: Andre Laferrière, et al., PKM is essential for spinal plasticity under-lying the maintenance of persistent pain,Molecular Pain, 2012

Caesar B. Bautista, Philippine Daily Inquirer | MANILA, 2/22/2012 -- In a recent CNBC.com article, the Philip-pines was cited by an analyst from Bank Julius Baer, Mark Matthews, as an attractive site for fund managers to place their portfolio investments, because of its favorable demographics and sound economic fundamentals. The same enthusiasm seems to be echoed by analysts from Bank of America-Merrill Lynch who showed to their fund managers an overweight position in the Philippines.

What were the bases for their enthusiastic outlook? They seem to be impressed by our leading role in send-ing workers to all corners of the globe, making the country known as having the potential for being a huge market for the banks, the third-most preferred by fund managers in Asia, trailing China and Indonesia.

“The Philippines’ very robust and young population presents a ready pool of talent”, says Matthews, who expects that the country’s population will reach 190 million in 2040. “With fertility rates declining in the west and in countries like Japan and China, the Philippines will increasingly become a more important source of immigrant labor.”

Shallow“And the interesting thing is 80 per-

cent of the Filipinos speak English,” he says. “Most people who speak English in third world countries do not want to go overseas to work in sort of manual labor. But Filipinos have no problem doing it … and they are making three times as much as they are making back home (if they have any work at all locally). And they are sending most of it back home.”

The Philippines is one of the big-gest recipients of remittances—the fourth-biggest in 2010 per the World Bank—which accounts for 10 percent of GNP. The total remittances for this year are expected to reach $20 billion. It is roughly 50 percent of our export earnings.

We are grateful to the analysts of Bank of Julius Baer and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch for their favorable views on the Philippines. However, the bases for their articles are rather shallow and may only invite those with short opportunistic agenda for taking over the big passive markets from weak local fi rms, and not for the long-haul investors looking at long-term prospects.

Exponential population growth and 1 of 10 Filipinos having to leave their homes for overseas work are not exactly the strongest features of our country. Our economists consider the latter as a symbol of our failure to provide them opportunities for decent earnings locally for optimum human development. Working overseas is the option taken by many as a kind of a “relief valve” when the pressure of joblessness, like keeping body and soul together, becomes untenable. This lack of earnings opportunities, despite the abundant natural resources and tal-ents of its people, is a refl ection of the country’s failure in the past to develop certain of our industries, agribusiness, services, etc., to be suffi ciently com-petitive with the rest of the world.

‘Civets’The legitimate investors are look-

ing for emerging economies that are poised for sustainable growth, with predictable policies and governance standards, a rising middle class,

with young population and a mix of resources.

These qualities are present in the new toasts from the emerging coun-tries that are collectively known as the “civets.” This acronym stands for Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa, which col-lectively share the “up-and-coming” expectation by investors to achieve growth rates higher than the G7 of the West, as they develop their diverse economies led by their young popula-tion to take their stellar place in the world.

While all of them share the chal-lenge of political uncertainties, their young populations are in the frontline of transformation, which will open the world to their strengths and attrac-tions, guided by sound economic fun-damentals and development strategies.

Already, the “civets’ are catching up with the better-known “brics”

(Brazil, Russia, India, China) that have achieved dizzying rise in the economic well-being of their people, breaking out from the shell of poverty, hopelessness and social schisms of the past centuries. Both the “brics” and the “civets” are now being touted by experts as possible keys to help-ing solve the fl oundering situation in Europe and North America.

The Philippines is inching its way to the upper echelon of the emerging economies, which will be of stronger and sustainable interest for investors (both local and foreign). The new President is single-mindedly pursuing the elimination of corruption in both the public and the private sectors, and is achieving progress with the help of the private sectors, like the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Institute for Solidarity in Asia.

In demandMany public institutions are un-

dergoing structural and behavioral transformation with tools, such as the Performance Balanced Scorecard, together with their stakeholders from the private groups. The President’s economic team, while maintaining their strict fi nancial standards, is developing the global potentials of our resources which are in demand by the world market.

With the help of private investors in making the desired developments and infrastructure come to reality, the creation of more job opportunities will diminish the need for people to go overseas for a living, decrease the poverty level and, hence, families can better manage their future.

It is for these reasons that the Philippines is indeed the “Dark Horse of Asia.” -- (Story courtesy of Amb. Cesar B. Bautista in the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Philippines is the dark horse investment destination in Asia

Abigail L. Ho, Philippine Daily Inquirer | MANILA, 11/17/2011 -- The large number of Filipinos overseas has made the Philippines one of the most tech-savvy countries in Asia, with a signifi cant part of the population using different technolo-gy tools to keep in touch with family members abroad.

According to a survey conducted by software giant Microsoft, Filipino families have an average of 10 gadgets, the highest in the region, which they use to communicate with their loved ones in other parts of the country and the world.

Believers in technologyAs many as 69 percent of those

polled in the Philippines said they taught family members how to use the Internet just to be able to stay in touch with each other.

The importance of technology in the lives of Filipinos becomes much more evident during the holiday season with 46 percent of the re-

Overseas Filipinos make Philippines

Asia’s most hi-tech


Health and Wellness

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By David Sayen, Medicare Heart disease and stroke have

reached epidemic levels in our country. Heart disease is the leading killer of Americans; stroke is the fourth leading killer. One of every three deaths in this county is caused by cardiovascular disease.

That’s why Medicare is helping to

lead the Million Hearts campaign, a national initiative that aims to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over the next fi ve years.

Because February is also American Heart Month, I wanted to tell you

what Medicare is doing to help fi ght this serious public health problem. And what you can do to fi ght it, too.

Heart disease refers to several types of heart conditions. The most common one in the United States is coronary artery disease, which can trigger heart attack, severe chest pain, heart failure, and irregular

heartbeat. Genetics, high blood pres-sure, high cholesterol, and lifestyle factors such as smoking, unhealthy diet, and lack of exercise can con-tribute to heart disease.

Stroke is a brain attack that occurs when blood fl ow to the brain be-comes blocked. This can be caused either by a blood clot or by a burst blood vessel in or around the brain.

Lack of blood fl ow during stroke can cause portions of the brain to be-

come damaged, often beyond repair. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act,

Medicare recently began covering new preventive health services to help people with Medicare reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke.

Starting this year, Medicare will pay for one face-to-face visit each

year so that Medicare benefi ciaries can discuss with their care providers the best ways to help prevent cardio-vascular disease.

The visit must be with your prima-ry care provider, such as your family practice doctor, internal medicine doctor, or a nurse practitioner. And it has to take place in settings such as your primary care provider’s offi ce.

During the visit, your doctor can screen you for high blood pressure and give you advice on how to eat a healthy diet. The idea is to empower people with Medicare to make heart-healthy lifestyle changes.

Medicare also now covers counsel-ing to help people with Medicare lose weight if they’re obese. An estimated 30 percent of the men and women with Medicare are obese.

If you’re obese based on your body mass index, you’re eligible for face-to-face counseling sessions with your primary-care provider for up to a year.

In addition to the above services, Medicare pays for counseling to help people with Medicare stop smoking and to manage diabetes, which is a signifi cant risk factor for cardiovas-cular disease.

The good news is that most major risk factors for heart disease and stroke are preventable and controlla-ble. These factors include inactivity, obesity, high blood pressure, ciga-rette smoking, and high cholesterol.

What can you do to reduce your risk? A good fi rst step is talking to your doctor about your heart health and getting your blood pressure and cholesterol checked. Many other lifestyle choices—including eating healthy, exercising regularly, and following your doctor’s instructions about your medications—can help protect your heart and brain health.

Ask your doctor, too, if taking an aspirin each day is right for you.

For more information about the

Million Hearts campaign, and about Medicare’s healthy-heart and other preventive health benefi ts, go to www.Medicare.gov.

If you’d like to check your 10-

year risk of heart attack or dying from coronary heart disease -- and what you can do about it – go to the American Heart Association’s website, at www.heart.org. In the search box, type “heart attack risk calculator.”

David Sayen is Medicare’s re-

gional administrator for California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacifi c Trust Territories. You can always get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-MEDI-CARE (1-800-633-4227).

For more information, visit http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/abouthds/pre-vention.html

Reducing Your Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke

by cardiovascular disease. pain, heart failure, and irregular pay for one face-to-face visit each

February is American Heart Month

Most personal development and productivity experts suggest morn-ings as the best time for clear and focused results-driven work.

Different people work best at different times, but no matter when you’re productive hours are, it’s important you set up your day for greater wellbeing with some healthy morning rituals. Here are ten ideas:

Wake up. Don’t hit snooze. Jump out of bed as if someone threw a bucket of cold water on you. Half of your day’s success is actually show-ing up and being excited. Rest time is over, get out of bed now.

Drink a pint of water fi rst thing in the morning. If you don’t like water on its own, squeeze some fresh lime into it. Water is great for you – you know that, mom said that and now we’ve got to do it!

Make yourself a blend of fruits that excite you. I love a carrot-apple-ginger juice and drink it in the morn-ing before eating and wait at least an hour or so before I eat.

Go out and take in the sunlight. I wake up when I see sun. Its energy, invigoration and excitement is abso-lutely amazing. Get up and spend a

minute outside looking up in the sky taking in the morning light. Wrap up warm if it’s cold, but make sure you do it.

Spend time in silence. Be grateful for what you have. Mentally or on paper, plan the day out. If you don’t do the previous night, write out your to-do list of the most exciting and important things.

Cuddle your kids (or fi nd some to cuddle). Kids bring excitement and awe in the way they think and view the world. Spending time around them helps you to cultivate the inner child within you. And doing it from the morning is even better.

Brush your tongue. Lose the morn-ing breath and start off on a minty note.

Go for a walk. Or hop on the treadmill for 30 minutes. People who walk in the morning have more energy than those who walk at night after a long day. Use the work to ap-preciate your surroundings and plan your day. In silence if possible.

Drink green tea. Instead of coffee, have a cup of green tea. Boosts your energy, provides antioxidants and has been promoted as a great natural

healthy option.Journal. A list of rituals without

journaling in the morning isn’t com-plete. I fi nd it the most exhilarating thing to be sitting down for a short period and just writing out what-ever comes to my head, no matter whether it immediately makes sense to me or not. -- Link: http://refresh-ingnews9.blogspot.com/2011/09/10-morning-rituals-for-healthy.html

10 Morning Rituals For The Healthy Entrepreneur

10 Anti-Infl ammatory Foods

Chronic infl ammation is the cause of many diseases including rheuma-toid arthritis, atherosclerosis, hay fe-ver, and many other diseases. Over-the-counter anti-infl ammatories have side effects, especially when used long-term. The good news is that many foods have anti-infl ammatory properties and some of them work better than OTC meds but without the side effects.

Here's a list of 10 anti-infl ammato-ry foods.

KelpKelp contains fucoidan, a complex

carbohydrate that is a powerful anti-infl ammatory.

AvocadosAvocados contain many different

compounds that fi ght infl ammation. This includes carotenoids, phytoster-ols, polyhydroxylated fatty alcohols, and omega-3 fatty acids that all work together in the anti-infl amma-tory process.

Wild Alaskan SalmonWild Alaskan salmon is one of

the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids which are heavy hitters in the fi ght against infl ammation. Omega-3s are used to treat a wide range of infl ammatory diseases, from heart disease to Alzheimer's to autoim-mune disorders. Other oily fi sh such as sardines, anchovies, and mackerel are also anti-infl ammatory.

TurmericThe curcumin in turmeric is a

powerful anti-infl ammatory that has


“It’s calming drinking coffee here,” says Rodrigo, not his real name, who has been nursing his cup since three o’ clock in the afternoon, nearly 90 minutes ago.

A young camarero or waiter casts a quick glance on the cup but waves at Rodrigo whom he may have recog-nized as a regular customer.

Ever since Rodrigo, also a cama-rero, was laid off months ago from another restaurant, he has been fre-quenting Bracafe. He says doing so allows him to forget the ten years of working as a waiter and his current employment status or lack of it.

“Do I look worried? This is rest time for me.”

His wife Aleta pats his hand and asks him to face up, which Rodrigo does, admitting he’s been on a look out for a hosteleria job that a fellow Filipino may refer.

It’s Aleta who’s “slightly worried,” he says, adding they have to pay for a condominium unit in Manila.

“That’s our investment for the future,” says Aleta who’s cur-rently working sa bahay, or cleaning homes.

The Filipino beside them sits up and hands a piece of paper to Rodrigo.

He introduces himself as Luisitio Santos and says he overheard the conversation and offers the name of the tapas store at the Port of Barce-lona.

“Try this out. Maybe you can get that job I passed off,” Luisito says and goes back to reading a newspa-per and his coffee.

After thanking Luisito, Rodrigo grows silent, limning the future as Spain’s debt problem impacts for-eigners like him.

Media has written about queues getting longer at job centers or Oficina de Empleo and of shrinking purchasing power of the employed due to inflation as signs a storm is brewing and foreign workers are in its eye.

Fiesta in siesta

LOOK at them, Rodrigo says, nodding at the direction of Filipi-nos playing with their children at a nearby park.

“They’re like me, like us, waiting for somebody to cast a helping hand or throw some leads,” he adds.

Luisito drags his chair closer and joins Rodrigo and his wife under the maroon umbrella on the coffee table’s center.

“Filipinos here are survivors,” says Luisito, who works as a supermarket electrician and like Rodrigo, also frequents Bracafe. “They love their work here.”

Luisitio says that there’s no sense worrying about the crisis in the world’s eighth largest economy.

We can’t do anything about it, he adds.

“Besides, we have fellow Pinoys backing us up.”

Indeed, Rodrigo says it was through Filipinos he learned about the paro, Spain’s unemployment insurance handed out monthly up to two years until the jobless worker gets a new job. If Filipinos are per-manent residents here in Spain and they get displaced, the paro’s their savior.

While he earned over-€1,300 from his former restaurant job, Rodrigo’s monthly paro stands at just above a thousand Euros since he availed of it ten months ago.

For those wanting to find new jobs, Filipino workers here give leads. That’s what the Ilocanos do, with members of the hometown group Timpuyog ti Ilocano referring province mates to some restaurants and hotels or hosteleria needing workers—even at reduced rates from what Filipinos usually get in the past.

Other job referrals are for domestic work, which pays an hourly rate of €8.50. If Filipinos do domestic work as fija—residing outside of the Span-ish family’s home—they can work in other Spanish households. Given the connections Filipinos here have with Spanish households, babysitting or

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

journalusa.com

Amid EU Crisis ..(Continued from page 1)


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

Mga Tulang Tagalog

by Romeo Nicolas

ni Audele

Nakababahala ang nagaganap sa ating bayanAng ilang mahistrado ay tatangkaing ipatanggalDahil sa bigay-bawing desisyong kinasasangkutanPasiyang maging lungsod, yaong labing-anim na bayan.

Ang mga mamamayan ay nawawalan ng tiwalaHinggil sa inilabas na kahatulang sala-salaAng Konstitusyon ng bansa ay lantarang sinisiraKodigong dapat sundi’y tahasang binabale-wala.

Ang Kataas-taasang Hukuman ang huling duluganNg mga usaping ang hanap ay pawang kawastuanIbayong pag-iingat at ang masusing pag-aaralPara maitumpak lahat, katarunga’y mapairal.

Nguni’t ano ang nangyayari, sa kodigo’y lumiliwasBinabago ang batayan, ang tuntuni’y nilalabagMalinaw sa Saligang Batas at doo’y nasasaadMga bayang ginawang lungsod ay ‘di karapatdapat?

‘Di iilang ulit pagiging lungsod ay pinayaganMatapos pagtalakayan ang pasiya’y pinalitanAt sa muling paghaharap ay tinutulan na namanNa ang kahuli-hulihan ay pagsang-ayong tuluyan.

Mayroon kayang gantimpala sa kanilang ginawaNa hindi nabubunyag at inililihim sa madlaPalibhasa’y nahirati sa tiwaling namahalaHuwad ang nagtalaga na sa kanila’y kumalinga?

Ano bang reputasyon ang dapat na pakaingatanNg mga nakatogang sa mali ay nakakaramayAng tanging naging puhuna’y lakas sa kinakapitanInang mapagkunwari, sa kapangyariha’y gahaman.

Paano na itong bansa kung hahayaang maganapNababago kahit di susugan ang Saligang BatasTagapagtanggol ng matuwid’y naliligaw ng landasAno ang kahahantungan, ano ang magiging wakas?

Ika-15 ng Abril, 2011

Bigay-Bawing Pasiya!

Halina at pagusapan, pulitika sa ating bayan,At maliming pagisipan ano nga ba ang dahilan?Tapos na ang pamumuno sa sarili nating bayan,Patuloy pa ang eksena, hindi ko maunawaan.

Hindi pa rin nasisyahan, lumaban na kandidato,Kahit pwesto ay mababa kanya pa ring pinanalo.Para bagang mayrong kapos, ‘di tapos na mga plano,O, nais pang madagdagan, pagnanakaw sa gobyerno.

Ito ang syang sakit natin, pagmasdan ang pahayagan,Ang larawan ng mga “ex” sa dyaryo ay nilalangaw.Wala na bang naiisip pagkakitaan ang hangal?Magsulat ng mga libro sa nagawang kabutihan.

Pero tayka, at may tanong, may buti ba na nagawa? Baka naman mga “technique”, magtinda ng bagong luma.Alam nilang di papatok kung palpak ang IDADADA,Sa usapang pagtitipid Ayyyy! Tepok na!!! Walang-wala.

Masdan din ang politikong nagigipit sa usapin,Alsa boses, nagagalit, may gusto pang kalabanin.Ganyang-ganyan ang may sala, may reaksyon sa usapin,Upang lahat ay iligaw, pati SC, guguluhin. (Supreme Court)

Tama na nga iyang DRAMA, tapusin na ang mga kaso,Hayaan nang lumiwanag ang dilim sa ating mundo.Sa panahong kayo’y puno, hawak-hawak ang gobyerno,Walang awang kinurakot tagong yamang Pilipino.

Sapat na ang mga taong tayo’y lugmok, naghihirap,Panahon nang makabangon, sa pagsulong maging ganap.Bawasan na ang nakawan, linisin ang mga utak,Pauntiin yaong kampon, mga kampon ni SATANAS.

Paala-ala sa lahat, may KARMA na naghihintay,Hindi lahat ng kuminang, ito’y ginto sa inyong buhay.Sa paglipas ng panahong, kayo naman ay pumanaw,Baka pati si SATANAS kayo na rin ay tanggihan.

Hirit ni: Romeo NicolasBocaue, Bulacan9/28/2011

Buhay Pulitika

cleaning residential homes, which they refer to as work “sa bahay”, operates like a bustling informal market awaiting Filipino takers.

Ilocano Arlene Rallojay gets €200 monthly for taking care of babies. “At least I have weekends off,” says the former camarero who was displaced together with two other Filipinos and a Moroccan last Janu-ary.

It is in the Bracafe sorties where Filipinos learn of other ways to stay employed.

Like Ernesto Gallano, a camarero at Bar Yanco in the famous tourist strip of La Rambla, who gets €1,700 monthly. He and a fellow non-Filipi-no worker stayed on there after two other fellow workers got booted out.

Not without a price. Gallano per-forms extra tasks that the two other displaced co-workers used to do. “At least I get more tips from custom-ers,” says the 57-year-old.

Some others, especially those living on paro, take the risk and do home-based work such as babysit-ting and cleaning homes.

Daniel Tuaño of the Filipino group Asociacion Filipina de Escri-tores e Investigadores en España, says, however, getting extra income while on paro is not allowed and may be detrimental to other migrant workers’ lot.

Hold the beef

TAPAS stores lining up the 1.2 km. city sidewalk called La Ram-bla (in the heart of Barcelona) still have plenty of customers, as locals and tourists in the city seem upbeat even amid an unusually hot weather (28° Celsius) last spring.

Tourism, one of Spain’s economic trump cards, seems to remain alive and well. The government said it eyes a million more tourists this year to add up to the over-53 million recorded last year.

But there’s something hidden in La Rambla’s throng of people: one out of five workers is jobless. In the first quarter of this year, they were said to be over 4.3 million, or 2.13 percent of the labor force. And many jobless workers have paro.

This has been the basis for some analysts to say that Spain’s nearing membership in the “piggery,” com-posed of crisis-stricken countries Portugal, Ireland, and Greece.

Spain’s own mortgage crisis is as murky as a muddy pigpen, these analysts said. Job cuts are also mind-boggling as 130,000 jobless were recorded in the first two months of the year. Most of the unemployed, like camareros and employees of hotels and pension inns, came from the services sector.

“It has also been tough now for my employer to borrow money from the bank,” says Filipino camarero Bong Carreon, who resigned from his work given his restaurant’s layoffs and the additional responsibilities he got from the laid-off co-workers.

Not surprisingly, Filipino remit-tances from Spain went down in 2010 to US$69.776 million, from US$81.805 million in 2009, accord-ing to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data.

The slide was attributed to the US$66.006 million land-based Fili-pino migrants in Spain sent in 2010, which was lower by US$11.641 million from 2009 figures.

While majority of Filipinos earn below €1,999 monthly, says a recent survey by the Philippines-headquar-tered Scalabrini Migration Center, some Filipino workers here in Bar-celona have brought their families with them and remit less frequently to loved ones in the Philippines.

Philippine Consul-General to Barcelona Eduardo de Vega also said the Spanish government has also stopped labor arrangements with some developed countries, including the Philippines, to hire workers for specific occupations.

Yet life goes on for the Filipinos here.

Echoing billionaire Bill Gates, Rodrigo says that “in real life, people have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.” -- Courtesy of OFW Journalism Consortium with Busi-nessMirror, Vol. 11 #1 & 2

Stock of immigrants (2010) 6.9 millionStock of country’s emigrants (2010) 1.3 millionEstimated number of Filipinos (2010, as per the Commission on Filipinos Overseas) 52,611Overseas Filipinos’ remittances from Spain (2000 to 2011) US$650.532 million

Sources: World Bank-Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011; Commission on Filipinos Overseas; and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

By Mike Frialde, Philstar | MANILA, Philippines , 2/21/2012 - The Makati City government will award tomorrow 523 free land titles to qualified city residents as part of its “Handog Titulo” program.

Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay, together with Vice President and Hous-ing and Urban Development Coordi-nating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Jejomar Binay will lead the distribution of free patents or titles to qualified resi-dential land owners of the city.

The “Handog Titulo” program, is a joint project of the Makati city govern-ment, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Office of the Vice President.

Mayor Binay said the 523 land titles cover an aggregate area of 53,630.22 square meters in eight barangays in the city’s two districts.

Mayor Binay said the 523 land titles will be distributed to the following ba-rangays: Pembo (299 recipients); East Rembo (37 recipients); West Rembo, (70); Cembo, (38); Pitogo, (14); South Cembo, (31); Comembo (33); and Pio del Pilar (1).

According to Mayor Binay, the distri-bution of the free land titles is based on Republic Act 10023, or the “Residen-tial Free Patent Act” promulgated last

March 9, 2010.RA 10023 authorizes administrative

issuance of free patents on residential lands to every qualified Filipino with no land title. This means that claim-ants do not need to go through lengthy, tedious, and financially demanding court process to gain legal rights on the residential land that the claimants have been occupying and cultivating for a minimum of 10 years.

“This law is about formalizing land ownership of many residential lot own-ers and homeowners who only have tax declarations as proof of ownership. This distribution of titles is then aimed to secure the ownership of the beneficia-ries over the land they are occupying,” Mayor Binay said.

Binay said the beneficiaries of the “Handog Titulo” Program will not only have security and peace of mind over their lands, as they may also use their titles as collaterals for loans to be used as business capital.

Binay added that RA 10023 was sup-ported by the Chamber of Thrift Banks and the Rural Bankers Association as they have been complaining about a lack of supply of titles as collateral for lending, which limits their ability to grant loans and make the rural banking industry more viable.

Makati gov't gives away 523 free land titles

Showbiz Watcher(Continued from page 13)nito ang picture sa kanyang twitter account.

Pero marami pa rin ang naniniwala na magkakabalikan pa rin ang dala-wang eto, dahil alam nila na mahal na mahal ni Vicky si Hayden kung baga love is blind at di na natuto.

Sabagay kapag nagsasalita naman si Vicky Belo, halatang nagseselos lang ito at hindi naman galit kay Hayden. Nagtago pa nga ito sa media nang dumating ito sa NAIA kamakailan na galing sa LA, at takenote naka-belo siya para hindi ma-interbyu kaso nahuli pa rin siya at nakangiti habang sinasabi niya na wala na sila ni Hayden.Pwes, Naniniwala ba kayo?

DINA BONNEVIE , MAGBABA-LIK SA GMA 7 !!!Babalik pala si Dina Bonnevie sa GMA 7 para i-revive ang kanyang show na ‘Ms. D’ isang talk show na malamang itapat sa morning show ni Kris Aquino.

Isa sa pinakamagaling din host si Dina at nakakaaliw rin siya sa mga sinasabi niya dahil palaban din ito.Tiyak ,marami itong pasasabugin ng intriga, lalo na at si Kris ang makakabangga na show.

Mabuhay kaya ang iringan ng dalawa , isang mataray at palaban, samantalang yung isa taklesa naman pero kapatid naman ng Presidente.Abangan na lang natin.

Sana si Maricel Soriano rin bigyan

ng show ng ABS-CBN, tulad ni Dina magaling din itong si Diamond Star at malakas din ang appeal sa mad-lang people. Although may gagawin siya na movie sa Star Cinema,sana simula na ito ng pagbabalik ni Maricel sa showbiz matapos siyang manalo ng Best Actress sa Metro Manila Film Festival last year.

Sabi nga ni Gladys Reyes, si Ma-ricel raw kapag confrontation scene at may sampalan kakabahan ka raw dahil tiyak mamumula raw ng husto ang pisngi mo dahil sa lakas ng im-pact ni Maria. Ibig sabihin,magaling na aktres raw talaga si Maricel kaya ganon ang nangyayari.

Pero kami mas gusto namin makita si Maria sa isang Variety TV show na siya ang magho-host,masaya kasi si Maricel humawak ng isang show.Sa movie naman, aba wa-lang binatbat si Sharon Cuneta kay Maricel Soriano kapag pag-arte ang pag-uusapan.Say nyo, naniniwala ba kayo na mas magaling na aktres ang Diamond Star compare kay Megastar?

Email n’yo na lang kami sa [email protected] sa inyong opinion sa Philippine showbiz, at kung may request kayo about showbiz news.Hanggang sa susunod,maraming salamat po.


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Street Poetry

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

by Michael R. Tagudin

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

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*Former San Diego Regional Coordinator for U.S. Immi-gration Amnesty for Catholic Community Services, Catholic Diocese of San Diego

*Legal Advisor, Los Chabacanos of Cavite CityAssociation, Inc., San Diego, California

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

*Born in the Philippines (Cavite)

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by Rudy D. Liporada

Pusoy, A Russian Poker -- Chapter 29

10 Anti-Infl amma-tory Foods


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got ice?how could it be...how can you say that you have not...have not seen snow here in L.A....here in L.A.....snow white is really the queen of ICE!for sure you said i wish if i were to take the last...last moment of my stand...let me perish in snowto feel the cold till numbto succumbed to slumber and awake else wherenot here but some where else maybe some how...a lot...lot better place than this...this one hell of a reality we live inwherein the lords of chemistry designed this one hell...one hell of a potent of a substance to enslave...to subjugate...us ordinary people having to toll to this 9 to 5 gighaving us look up to some dumb ass role model who got it madeand yet living the life justifi ed in all its glorybecause it is all beautiful and sane to be like this...really...really the madness of it all...deja vu and all this...a repetition of history as its bestfrom the eighteenth century all the way back from the far east...per opium wars in China...to the twenty fi rst century here in our streetswhat comes around goes around...Instant...Constant...Energy...snow white being the ICE Queen...white blizzard right here in the streets of L.A!

Got Ice?

been found to be just as good if not better than over the counter anti-infl ammatories.

Cherry JuiceCherries are one of nature's most

powerful anti-infl ammatories due to the anthocyanins they contain. Researchers have found they prevent free radical damage and inhibit cyclooxygenase enzymes better than many anti-infl ammatory drugs. The Arthritis Foundation suggests that drinking tart cherry juice mixed with water three times a day may be ben-efi cial for some people with arthritis.

Extra-Virgin Olive OilOlive oil contains alpha-linolenic

acid (ALA), a type of omega-3 that is a potent anti-infl ammatory. Note that you shouldn't cook with extra-virgin olive oil but should eat it cold, for example tossed into salad dressings or drizzled over food after it's been cooked. For cooking, use regular olive oil or other oils that can be heated to high temperature like coconut oil.

GingerGinger is not only a natural anti-

infl ammatory and pain reliever, but it has also been shown to protect the stomach from the effects of NSAID pain relievers. Drinking ginger tea is a great way for people with arthritis. Many people with arthritis fi nd that ginger tea is helpful for their arthritis symptoms.

GarlicGarlic reduces infl ammatin and

pain in the body thanks to the sulfur compounds it contains.

BlueberriesA compound in blueberries called

anthocyanin is responsible for their anti-infl ammatory properties.

PapayaPapaya contains enzymes called

papain and chymopapain that have been found to reduce infl ammation in the body. Papaya also contains a wealth of vitamins, including C and E, that work against infl ammatory processes. -- Link: http://refreshing-news9.blogspot.com/2011/07/10-anti-infl ammatory-foods.html

PUSOY by Rudy D. Liporada | Chapter 29

Our combined income with Cyn-thia also allowed us to go home on vacation to the Philippines at least once a year. Everytime we did, we followed the ritual of lugging with us balikbayan boxes full of can goods, coffee, shirts, socks, soap, shoes, and whatever else for rela-tives. It was not actually just a ritual but an unwritten obligation for us, who, lucky enough to have escaped the poverty in the motherland, to not forget those wallowing in poverty back home.

It was on a December Sunday

morning when the phone rang at the Samson’s home where we stayed for our vacation.

“Rodel, it’s for you,” said Cynthia. We had been in the city for almost

a week and I had given the Samson’s number to several friends we have already met. “Just call me for what-ever,” I have invariably said.

“Hello!” I said.“Rodel? I recognized his voice which

sparked a rush of memories but I had to be sure. “Who is this?”

After a brief laugh which I also recognized, he said, “Merry Christ-mas. This is Simon.”

In a fl ash, Jenny, Room 10, shot-guns, prison, jumbled in my mind. How long has it been? Thirty years? Forty? “Simon? Simon, how are you?”

“Just great. Listen. I will be in the City only until tomorrow. Could we meet this afternoon?”

“Sure but how did you know I am here?”

“Through a mutual friend who saw you. Anyway, somebody will meet you at St. Vincent Church at the

most back left pew. Wear something green. Four thirty, okay?”

“Simon would like to meet with me,” I said to Cynthia.

“And you are going?”“I would like to.”“Are you sure it is him?”“Very sure.”Cynthia sighed. “Please be very

careful.”The man who fetched me from the

church appeared to be in his middle twenties. Clean shaven and with a crew cut, he lugged a clutch bag which I suspected to contain, maybe, a .45. Partisan, I thought.

He escorted me to a grey Toyota HiAce and opened the back door for me to get in. I sat beside a woman who smiled while handing me a ban-dana. I dutifully blindfolded myself with her help. The passenger front door slammed close and the van started to leave the church.

Simon and I embraced like we had to do all the embraces we had not done for all those years. Without ut-tering words during the hug, we had said everything about all the missed times. Tears mixed with our smiles and intermittent laughter.

He had dyed his hair black with pomade fl attening his once mopped hair. “They must be looking for an old man by now,” he said.

Three cell phones lined parallel to each on a table close by. “The right for Party calls,” he said. “The middle calls from security across the street just in case. The left for calls I have to make.”

Simon told me that he just met with city partisans for a special op-eration and was on transit to go back inside. He regaled me with his story of how he escaped from his guards when he was being transferred from one prison to another.

“And remember those tunnels that we planned in the mountains antici-pating bombings by the enemy?”

“Yes.”“Well, we have them now.”“How about Jenny? How is she?”“She is in Manila, training on

video productions.”“Do you have children?”“One. She is now 10 and is with

Jenny’s parents.” Simon also told me who kasamas

I knew still held steadfast in the mountains and those who have died. He also told me of those, who, like me, had vacillated but have not turned against the movement unlike a few who have become turncoats.

Close to our parting, he said, “I have an idea. How would you like to go inside and write about how we have developed?”

“What can I do for you?” the edi-tor of the Ventura Times had asked.

Though without an appointment, the secretary of the editor had just smiled and waved me towards his offi ce. It had been my practice to just barge in even if I had no appointment so long as there was nobody ahead of me. I did not even have to call fi rst for he had favored me such arrangement because I was the only conduit of the paper with the considerably large population of Filipino Americans in the county. My articles on anything about the Philippines help sell the paper to the focus ethnic group.

“Ask me what I can do for you.”“Okay?”“I can write a fi rst hand article and

have photos on the New Peoples Army in the Philippines in contrast to Philippine Independence stories that would be forthcoming this June.”

“Now, why would we want that?”“It would be a controversial item

and would generate more discussion in the community not only among the Filipino Americans but also…”

“I know that. What I am concerned about is how you are going to get the story.”

“I have this former classmate who had joined the NPAs almost 40 years ago during the time of Marcos. He is still there and has invited me to check them out.”

“In the mountains?”“In the mountains.”“Are you sure that it’s safe?”“I would not be asking if I did not

feel so.” “You are not afraid?”“You may not fully understand this

but there are ties that bind.”After dilly-dallying a bit, a editor

said “go ahead” with “if something happens to you, this conversation did not take place.”

To be continued…

(Publisher’s Note: Pusoy is Rudy D. Liporada’s second novel and third book being serialized in Asian Journal. One can get a copy of the book through Amazon.com – A Russian Poker - or by calling the author at 858-722-1465.)

Reconnection

New Chinese Envoy


the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea for resolution of the sea dispute through bilateral negotiation with relevant countries.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said that China’s rejec-tion of Manila’s suggestion that both countries elevate their dispute in the West Philippine Sea to the ITLOS is an indication that Beijing may not be able to validate its territorial claims.

The Philippines also urged the member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to take a common position and seek common approaches in addressing worrisome developments in the West Philippine Sea.


619.746.3416


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

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

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

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

On the Hail Mary beads say:

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

In conclusion say three times:

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

The Hour of Great Mercy

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

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

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

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

Kowalska

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

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

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

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

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

FilipinianaMiracles of The Divine Mercy: My Journey of Faith

6th of a Series by Mercy Lotilla-Asencio

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

journalusa.com

ROOM FOR RENT. Quiet Neigh-borhood in National City.

No smoking. No drugs. 619.746.3416

At 5, began studying under his cousins tutor.

At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.

At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.

At 16, entered the College of Wil-liam and Mary.

At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.

At 23, started his own law prac-tice.

At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.

At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America " and retired from his law practice.

At 32, was a Delegate to the Sec-ond Continental Congress.

At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence .

At 33, took three years to revise Virginiaąs legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.

At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.

At 40, served in Congress for two years.

At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.

At 46, served as the fi rst Secretary of State under George Washington.

At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.

At 55, drafted the Kentucky Reso-lutions and became the active head of Republican Party.

At 57, was elected the third presi-dent of the United States .

At 60, obtained the Louisiana Pur-chase doubling the nationąs size.

At 61, was elected to a second term as President.

At 65, retired to Monticello .At 80, helped President Monroe

shape the Monroe Doctrine.At 81, almost single-handedly cre-

ated the University of Virginia and served as its fi rst president.

At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence .

John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most

intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

When we get piled upon one an-other in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe .

>>> Thomas JeffersonThe democracy will cease to exist

when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

>>> Thomas JeffersonIt is incumbent on every genera-

tion to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.

>>> Thomas JeffersonI predict future happiness for

Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.

>>> Thomas JeffersonMy reading of history convinces

me that most bad government results from too much government.

>>> Thomas JeffersonNo free man shall ever be debarred

the use of arms.>>> Thomas JeffersonThe strongest reason for the people

to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in gov-ernment.

>>> Thomas JeffersonThe tree of liberty must be re-

freshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

>>> Thomas JeffersonTo compel a man to subsidize with

his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

>>> Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson said in 1802:I believe that banking institutions

are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the Ameri-can people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, fi rst by infl ation, then by defl ation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up home-less on the continent their fathers conquered.

I wish we could get this out to ev-eryone!! I'm doing my part. Please do yours......

Thomas Jefferson’S WisdomThe Awarding

Two years later, in January 28, 1985, at the Sheraton Hotel in Manila, the UST Alumni Association awarded me a plaque as ‘An OUTSTANDING THOMASIAN in the fi eld of Music’ in the presence of my family and other awardees!

I later recalled that the scenes in the award night were exactly as I saw them in that dream! Our business survived and trebled in volume after 1986 – end of Martial Law years! The Lord spoke His will through that dream.

Re-directed Ministries

As the Lord was forming me, He motivated me to go back to college at Notre Dame here where I fi nished a Master’s Degree in Education, major in Guidance and Counseling in 1988. That made my work more effective. Our parish priest then sent Johnny and me to Manila to join the PREX seminar and soon we served in a couple – servant-hood through the ‘Parish Renewal Experience Seminar’ (PREX) in 1988. Thank God PREX renewed so many people making the parishes alive. I was later requested by our parish priest to organize the Biblical Apostolate, and fi nally the Divine Mercy Apostolate (1993) where I am most active now, helping spread the devotion in many schools, jails, communities, offi ces, etc., These ministries have really promoted my growth!

The Realized Abundant Life Promised in John 10:10

Refl ecting on the past years of my life brings me a strong realization what an abundant life it has always been! The trials were God’s way of purifying me, molding and strengthening my spiritual muscles of faith. Were it not for them, could I have matured spiritually, psychologically, emotionally and intellectually? Our own six wonderful children who have become responsible Christian professionals (one SPC nun) who are products of parenting partnership with the Lord, and a manifestation that God honors the prayers of imperfect parents for their children. Only now have I realized that our trying period of time when the Lord planted us in Mindanao was in fact a blessing, for it is here where we grew spiritually and served the Lord more effectively. Our professional practice that earned for us awards would not have transcended our insignifi cant selves had we not been given the opportunity to contribute to our growing community’s spiritual and cultural upliftment. Everything is God’s love, grace and consolation.

In the later years of our life, the Lord blessed abundantly also our civic and community concerns. I have learned to work hard and to struggle less, and just to trust the Lord’s actions in our every endeavors. For instance, when Johnny’s Rotary Club sponsored him for Rotary governorship in District 3860 in 1991, I prayed: “Lord, if this is Your will, then facilitate everything; if not, put every obstacle to it.” Johnny was appointed uncontested and without any hassle. He also performed his task successfully.

Many happenings in our lives have taught me that the Lord speaks to His people through these events, through His Scriptural words, through the charismatic gifts (vision, locution, prophecy, discernment, etc.) through the Church, through other people, and even through dreams. How abundantly the

Lord has used these means in our life.

Thanksgiving

“Lord Jesus, thank You, for my ‘life lived to the full!’ Thank You for the good health, supportive children and friends, the many blessings, a happy and harmonious family life, travels abroad, fulfi lling servanthood, and a peaceful old age, reaching beyond our Golden Wedding anniversary (50 years of marriage). In this sunset of our life, we thank You for our children’s developing faith, strengthening love for and commitment to serve You. I know You will be my children’s anchor in times of trial and suffering. They will overcome as You have overcome!

Thank You, Lord, Lord God, and Mother Mary for the miracles in my abundant life, in my Journey of Faith!”

THE LORD LOVES US

Why is the devotion to the Divine Mercy so powerful today?

On January 1, 2008, God said to ‘Ian’ Raquel, “This is a year of Mercy.”

Why? Thousands are sick, many have accidents, businessmen are bankrupt, some have failed mar-riages, etc.,

With the many happenings this April 2008, Nargis cyclone at Myan-mar killing hundreds of thousands of children and adults; China’s 7.9 at the Richter scale, killing more than 100,000 people, oil’s costs are going up, worldwide food shortages, etc. I think we are nearing our New World!

The Lord Jesus said to Saint Faus-tina, “In the Old covenant, I sent prophets with a thunderbolt to My People... Today, I am sending My mercy to the whole of mankind. I do

not want to punish affl icted man-kind but I desire to heal it by press-ing it to My merciful heart...”

The Bible says that the Lord loves us so much. Indeed, we are so much loved by the Lord Jesus! Instead of punishing us for our sins, He is sending His mercy to the whole of\mankind!

In 1934, He emphasized to Saint Faustina, “Before the day of Justice (end of this world) comes, I am sending the day of My Mercy... All those who will come and ask for

My Mercy, I will forgive them... I will heal them” So hardened sinners

must come to His Mercy. He will heal even our stubborn heart and those who are sick.

Many miracles are happening everywhere. Amazing stories of physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual healing abound today. Conversions, healing of relation-ships, healing of the family tree and answered prayers of distressed people over material needs

have occurred. We have a direct access to the Lord when we pray with our hearts, and trust Him in His Mercy.

Do remember the words of Jesus to Saint Faustina. “O, how I love those souls who have complete con-fi dence in Me. I will do everything for them.” (#924) “If their trust is great, there is no limit to My gener-osity.” (#1602)

You see! The Lord promised to those who trust Him, sinner or saint, He will do everything for them!

There is no limit to God’s gener-osity! He will purify us so that we might live in His beautiful paradise, or become remnants of His New World!

In some of these stories, we discern Satan’s infl uence, as some people would say, “devils are leav-ing hell now to be in this world”. But God’s power is unfathomably greater than evil. God is working in the world today. He is even availing us a blessing out of our past mis-takes. All we need to do is to ask for His Mercy. He will forgive us.

Language

I asked the Lord why He made me unsophisticated in my words or a writer with the language of simple words. His answer seemingly, I dis-cern was, “You will write for those

who have not fi nished college, the simple but the wise.” Therefore, the stories are easy to understand.

God’s Instructions

The Lord God dictated to my friend visionary, Elsa “not to take away but to add more miracles until 10th edition”. Hence, I am adding more miracles since the 4th edition of ‘Miracles of the Divine Mercy”. That is probably the reason why He has preserved my mind even if I wobble in my walk. If the Lord will take me, I am ready but it seems that the Lord will make me live to old age despite my 73 years now.

Source of stories

These miracles are from many places where the Divine Mercy has spread. They are mostly from General Santos City, Davao, Basilan, Camarines Norte, North and South

Cotabato, Manila, Sultan Kudarat, Dumaguete, Leyte, Antique and Mindoro. Some stories are from for-eign lands like Sri Lanka, England and USA. I was a witness to some of these stories.

Mercy L. Asencio*Author-Compiler*The last book of Mercy L.

Asencio before this: LOVE AND TRUST: THE HEART OF

DIVINE MERCY. Address: MacLine Ads, Leon

Llido St., Gen.Santos City, Philip-pines.

Tel. (083) 552-2806 / telefax: (083) 553 2861; Cellphone-0916 543 6866, e-mail: [email protected]

Introduction

BUILD UP GRACE WITH PRAYER AND ACTS OF MERCY

THE ABC’s OF THE DIVINE MERCY

Our Lord Jesus, the Divine Mercy wants us to know that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we

will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it fl ow to others. Thus, all will come to share His joy.

The ABCs of Divine Mercy give us easy recall:

A... ASK FOR MERCYGod wants us to approach Him

in prayer constantly, asking Him to pour out His mercy upon us and

upon the whole world.God, who created us free, will not

force anything on us, not even His mercy. He waits for us to ask: Ask and

it will be given to you… for ev-eryone who asks, receives. (Matt.7: 7-8) The Scriptures are fi lled with examples

as of how to trust in God and ask for His mercy. Examples:

- The psalms- The faith of Abraham and Moses

who pleaded with God- The man who persuaded his

friends to get up in the middle of the night to lend him some bread

- The Canaanite woman’s plea for His mercy.

Pope John Paul II reinforces this Biblical message in his encyclical RICH IN MERCY when he says: “At no

time… especially at a moment as critical as our own – can the Church forget the prayer that is a cry for the

mercy of God… The Church has the right and the duty to appeal to the God of mercy with loud cries…”

To Sister Faustina of the Divine Mercy, Jesus said: “Souls that make an appeal to My Mercy delight Me.

To such souls I grant even more than they ask… Beg for mercy for the whole world… No soul that has

called upon My Mercy has ever been disappointed.”

B... BE MERCIFULGod wants us to receive His Mercy

and let it fl ow to others.Mercy is love that seeks to relieve

the misery of others. It is an active love, poured out upon others to heal,

to comfort, to console, to forgive, to remove pain. It is the love that God offers us, and it is the love He demands from us for each other. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6: 36)

Jesus said to St. Faustina: “I demand from you deeds of mercy which are to arise out of love for Me.

You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse yourself from it… Even the strongest faith is of no avail without works…

“If a soul does not exercise mercy in some way, it will not obtain My Mercy on the Day of Judgment.”

How can we exercise mercy? Through our actions, words, prayers, and an attitude of mercy in our daily

lives, and by doing these:The Corporal Works of Mercy1) Feed the hungry. Never turn

away anyone who is hungry, espe-cially the poor, elderly or disabled. Those in authority should try to prevent unemployment. Give work to the unemployed.

2) Give drink to the thirsty. A cup of water given in Christ’s name shall not lose its reward.

3) Clothe the naked. Give away your used or superfl uous clothing. Help with drives for used clothing.

4) Shelter the homeless. Give shelter, hospitality or fi nancial aid in cases of fi res and natural disasters.

5) Comfort the imprisoned. Visit prisoners in jail, console and help their families, provide assistance for

legal cases of poor families.6) Visit the sick. Visit, console and

give relief to the sick or elderly - at home or in the hospital. Provide medical assistance, medicines and proper food.

7) Bury the dead. Attend a wake or funeral; visit a home in mourning and aid the bereaved family.

The Spiritual Works of Mercy1) Admonish sinners. Whenever

we think our words may have a good effect, we should not hesitate to

admonish those in error - prudent-ly, gently and with charity. Show your good example.

2) Instruct the uninformed. By teaching religion or other useful knowledge we are doing an impor-tant work of mercy.

3) Counsel the doubtful. We should be eager to help (prudently and gently) those whose faith is weak.

4) Comfort the sorrowful. Show sincere sympathy by speaking of God’s providence, of His love and of

the happiness He reserves for us in heaven.

5) Be patient with those in error. With this, we benefi t both others and ourselves. Our patience can help

others realize their error.6) Forgive offenses. Be merciful;

never hold a grudge or seek revenge when offended. Forgive and always

seek reconciliation.7) Pray for the living and dead.

Pray for peace in the world, unity in the Church, family problems, the

sick, the souls in purgatory.C...COMPLETE TRUSTGod wants us to know that the

graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust.

Trust in God is the essence of the message of mercy. Our Divine Sav-ior made this clear to St. Faustina

several times:“I have opened My Heart as a liv-

ing fountain of mercy. Let all souls draw from it. Let them approach

this sea of mercy with trust… On the cross, the fountain of My Mercy

was opened by the lance for all souls- no one have I excluded! … The

graces of My Mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is

TRUST. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive…”

The ABCs are inter-related, and TRUST is the vital ingredient.

We ask with complete trust, and Our Lord fi lls us with grace so that we can be merciful as our Heavenly

Father is merciful.“I am Love and Mercy Itself.

When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fi ll it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls.

(to be continued)

The ABC’s of Mercy

Medjugorje:The Virgin Mary’s

Message Given on February 2, 2012

“Dear children; I am with you for so much time and already for so long I have been pointing you to God’s presence and His infi nite love, which I desire for all of you to come to know. And you, my children? You continue to be deaf and blind as you look at the world around you and do not want to see where it is going without my Son. You are renouncing Him - and He is the source of all graces. You listen to me while I am speaking to you, but your hearts are closed and you are not hearing me. You are not praying to the Holy Spirit to illuminate you. My children, pride has come to rule. I am pointing out humility to you. My children, remember that only a humble soul shines with purity and beauty because it has come to know the love of God. Only a humble soul becomes heaven, because my Son is in it. Thank you. Again I implore you to pray for those whom my Son has chosen - those are your shep-herds.” -- Link: www.medjugorjeto-day.tv


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CKNOWLEDGE THEIR SPIRITUAL GIFTS AND TALENTS EVELOP THEM TO BECOME LEADERS AND WORKERS FOR GOD

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Lifestyle

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

by Joe Son

spondents saying they would spend between 15 and 30 minutes a day to communicate with their loved ones, while another 23 percent said they would spend at least an hour.

“The fi ndings show that technol-ogy has become an intrinsic part of our daily lives. Filipinos are big believers that technology helps us to communicate better, and it is obvi-ous from the rate of adoption that everyone from young kids to grand-parents is fi nding technology easier to use,” said Mae Moreno, Microsoft Philippines Windows Client product manager.

Social networks preferredUnlike in other parts of Asia where

the telephone is still the medium of choice for communicating with family members and loved ones, Filipinos are more inclined to use social networks to stay in touch.

More than a third, or 34 percent, of Philippine respondents named social networks as their most preferred family communications tool.

In China and Indonesia, text mes-saging reigned supreme, as cited by 74 percent and 41 percent, respec-tively, of those polled.

Across the region, however, the telephone was still the most impor-tant medium of communication, cornering a 67 percent share of total responses in the seven countries included in the survey.

Love for sharing photosOne reason Filipinos prefer to use

social networking sites as a means to stay in touch with loved ones is their love for taking and sharing photos, something that cannot be done when talking over the phone, the survey said.

As many as 73 percent of the Filipinos polled said photos were their most-often shared content on social networks, against the regional average of 50 percent.

Impact on family“The results of the poll show that

the popular notion of technology being a purely negative infl uence on family relationships is a misconcep-tion,” Moreno said.

The poll revealed that as many as 89 percent of Filipinos believed that technology had a good impact on family relationships, with 28 percent saying this had a “very positive” impact.

The survey, “Families and Tech-nology 2011,” was conducted via MSN in seven countries across Asia, including the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It had more than 3,700 respondents.

(Story courtesy of Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Abigail L. Ho)

School receives 500 sets of supplies for 500 pupils

Pasig City (Jan 31, 2012) – For many people around the world, the holiday season is usually a time of happiness, yet for others, it is a time of increased struggle and stress in trying to meet signifi cant and unmet needs. To help spread some holiday magic to those in need, MoneyGram launched a round-the-world relay to support the educational needs of some children across eight countries and four continents.

MoneyGram’s “Spreading Holiday Magic “ program is a relay-style pro-gram in which the company will dis-tribute much-needed money, school supplies and learning tools to 11 schools in eight countries. The relay kicked-off at an elementary school in Dallas, Texas, home to MoneyGram’s global headquarters, before stopping today at Rizal High School.

“Our round-the-world relay is intended to spread the magic of the holidays to schools in need, and bring important learning tools to children in the classroom,” said Pamela H. Patsley, chairman and chief execu-tive offi cer of MoneyGram. “We hope that we’re able to make this time of year a little brighter for the children at Rizal High School and to encourage learning in the classroom as we fi rmly believe in the magic of education.”

During a classroom visit, Alex Lim, MoneyGram International’s country manager of Philippines, presented the school with school supplies for the school and each student. The chil-dren also posted holiday greetings on

MoneyGram’s “Spreading Holiday Magic” website (www.moneygram.com/holidaymagic), which will be read by children at other schools in the global relay.

“We are very fortunate to have been selected to participate in Money-Gram’s round-the-world relay. It’s a great program that will touch the lives of so many children around the world,” said Dr. Josephine Cruz, Principal of Rizal High School. “The donation couldn’t come at a bet-ter time. We can always use more resources in the classroom, and this donation will help us meet the special needs of our students.”

Between early December 2011 and January 2012, MoneyGram is deliv-ering holiday magic to schools in:

• United States • Ghana • Haiti • Italy • Mexico • Philippines • Romania • Russia

Holiday blog encourages students to share thoughts

As part of the program, Money-Gram launched the blog – www.moneygram.com/holidaymagic – to give the children at the schools – and globally – the forum to share holiday greetings and words of encourage-ment to children at the next school in the global relay.

“Spreading Holiday Magic” is an extension of MoneyGram’s global holiday marketing campaign in which

the company encourages consumers to “enjoy the magic of the holidays, send money around the world, and watch the happiness grow” in a series of print ads and TV commercials.

This community initiative is a natu-ral extension of MoneyGram’s global marketing campaign and Global Giv-ing program. Annually, the company gives approximately $500,000 to non-profi t organizations around the world for essential education needs and disaster recovery programs.

Those interested in learning more about MoneyGram services and loca-tions and its Global Giving program can visit www.moneygram.com. In addition, consumers interested in learning more about safe, effi cient money transfers this holiday season, including ways to prevent fraud, can access MoneyGram’s Money Trans-fer Fraud Education Center at www.moneygram-preventfraud.com.

About MoneyGram InternationalMoneyGram International, a lead-

ing money transfer company, enables consumers who are not fully served by traditional fi nancial institutions to meet their fi nancial needs. Money-Gram offers bill payment services in the United States and money transfer services worldwide through a global network of more than 256,000 agent locations -- including retailers, in-ternational post offi ces and fi nancial institutions -- in 192 countries and territories. To learn more about money transfer or bill payment at an agent location or online, please visit http://www.moneygram.com or con-nect with us on Facebook.

MoneyGram’s Round-the-World Relay, Spreading Hol-iday Magic to Children in Eight Countries, Makes Stop

at Rizal High School In Pasig City, Philippines

Since early last 2010, I had been doing online banking on the advice

on my bank. I want to order new check books, but their customer service convinced me about the convenience of online banking and some good features. Not until last June of last year when I paid through online bill pay, that my water connection was cut-off because my bank paid another water district instead of San Diego, though I was refunded for reconnec-tion fees, but then again last October, our water service was cut-off for four-hours due to my bank’s ineffeciency. I am now back to pay my utility bills by check, to avoid incon-venience.

With the advent of the high-tech world, small business owners and bank clients are often advised by their banks to use online banking business including bill pay online banking for household utilities and other monthly bills for a fast, safe, convenient and reliable service rather than check payments. But recent news about common tools of the trade hasn’t been good.

The FBI even issued a warning soometime in the last year about a serious trend in online banking fraud targeting small businesses, espe-cially Automated Clearing House transactions- which are used for direct depositof payroll, vendor pay-ments and the like, wire transfers nd malwre that steals sensitive informa-tion, includingaccount numbers and

passwords.It seems that the problem is so

bad that the Better Business Bureau has launched an initiative to help businesses keep all of their data- including sensitive banking bank-ing information secure. Experts on online banking business warn the public to beware on the pitfalls of convenience when it comes to con-ducting transactions via the web, and offer some tips for businesses that use online banking:

Question your bank about what they’re doing to protect your ac-count. Do periodical checking in your business accounts daily for unauthorized transactions, and ask your banking representative whether they offer any protection like dual authorization which requires two

separate log-ins and authorization from different people to process transactions.

They also advised to use a dedi-cated computer that is operated only for the banking transactions and for virus and malware checks, then shut down. This limits the ability of hackers to access information and makes it less likely that malware can inadvertently installed and steal sensitive in formation. The computer shouls also be password-protected and used only by those who conduct online banking transactions.

In the business world and high

technology era, risk is always at stake, no virus or malware protec-tion is perfect, but it’s important to take advantage of the protection offered in the market. You have to check on updates each time you open your computer for any bank-ing transactions and run the updated software after each session.

Joe [email protected] Diego, CA

Is online banking really safe?


Promised Land

Simeon G

. Silverio Jr.

SIMEON G. SILVERIO, JR.

PROMISED

LAND

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now Available: Books by Asian Journal San Diego

Betel Nuts &

Other Stories

Simeon G

. Silverio Jr.


BETEL NUTS &

OTHER STORIES

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

Filipino’s experience in growing up in the Philippines.

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

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

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

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

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

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


Philippine Hom

ecoming

Simeon G

. Silverio Jr.

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

interesting memories it triggered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


PHILIPPINE HOMECOMING’S

CHERISHED MEMORIES

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

For more information, e-mail [email protected] To order copies through the Internet, go to amazon.com, go to

“books”, go to “advance search” and type name of author, SIMEON SILVERIO, and follow instructions.

To order by mail, fi ll outMail Order Form

(Check quantities in space before book title)

____ Promised Land by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

____ Betel Nuts and Other Stories by Simeon G. Sil-verio, Jr.

____ Philippine Homecoming’s Cherished Memories – by Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.

____ Complicated Affairs by Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.

___________ Total number of booksTimes $13.95 each (mailing cost included)

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Fill out form below and send it together with check pay-ment payable to: Asian Journal San Diego, 550 East 8th Street, # 6, National City, CA 91950

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Com

plicated Affairs

Simeon G

. Silverio Jr.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

COMPLICATED AFFAIRS

Promised Land

by Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.

The inspirational and diffi cult journey of two Filipino cousins

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

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

the lives of all people.

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

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

“Betel Nuts & Other Stories”


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

experience in growing up in the Philippines.

Excerpts from the book

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

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

Philippine Homecoming’s

Cherished Memories


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

homecoming to the Philippines and the interesting memories it trig-

gered.

Excerpts from the book

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

Complicated Affairs


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

cated affairs.

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

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

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

Tula ng mga Piling

KatatawananBy Joe Cabrera

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

rio”Na ang hanap buhay, maglabas ng

floor showMinsa’y nag-advertise, ng bihirang

aktoNa naiba naman, diyan sa ordi-

narioMay isang dumating, nag-prisinta

bagaAng mga ibon daw, kanyang na-

gagayaKay daling gawin niya, ang sabi sa

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

dakaHEEEEHAAWWWW!!!

Balik Tanaw:The Filipino Movie Stars

of Yesteryearsby Dr. Romy Protacio

Lives and Loves of the Filipino Movie Stars of Yesteryears

Tidbits from this book your inquiring mind wants to know:

How many children does Tessie Agana have?

Who are the two movie star cousins of Robert Arevalo?

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

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

Who is the other movie star brother of Robert Campos?

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

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

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

How did Amalia Fuentes get her last name?

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

The Filipino Movie Stars of Yesteryears”!

Light &Shadows

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

by Zena Sultana Babao

This Lent ..(Continued from page 11)

By Zena Sultana Babao

“Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone.” – You’ll Never Walk Alone by Rodgers and Hammerstein

I have always enjoyed stories that warm the heart, lift the spirit, and en-rich the soul – stories full of hope and inspiration. With these kind of stories, we’ll never walk alone.

How privileged we are to be human – to create and to share the exquisite gift of a story. The uniquely human gift of story has guided, comforted us, and gave us hope from time im-memorial. It is with the miracle of a story that our ancestors passed along humanity’s empowering truths, and history’s most powerful lessons.

A few weeks ago I shared with you one of the stories I have read, a story entitled “Make a Wish, Mommy.” To-day I have for you “My Dad, the Pink Lady” written by Lynn M. Huffstetler, an award-winning author of outdoor hunting stories, inspirational and nostalgic tales, science fiction, and novels. Touchingly moving, this story

is guaranteed to warm your heart.Both stories are from the book “A

Cup of Comfort” edited by Colleen Sell and published by the Adams Media Corporation. What I love about these stories is that they take us readers through life’s most special moments and make us feel a renewed sense of fulfillment of the joys present in everyday life.

* * * My dad and I seldom saw eye

to eye when I was growing up in the 1950s. I march to a different drum-mer, one he couldn’t understand. Oh, he took pride in my accomplishments, but almost daily he would ask my mother, “Why does that boy always have to learn things the hard way?”

It is one of the greatest tragedies of modern life that we never fully appre-ciate those who have loved us, taught us, and managed somehow to raise us until their counsel is no longer avail-able. Our schedules are just too busy to allow for so much reflection until it is often too late to say thank you. The fact that I am not unique in this regard offers little consolation.

I did not fully grasp the enormity of my father’s example and counsel until his recent death caused me to carefully consider his many contributions to our family, as well as the principles he stood for throughout his 82 years.

Dad was a blue-collar worker who built machines from blueprints. He had a gift of turning absolutely noth-ing into something useful. He once fashioned a soap-box racer for me out of scrap wood and a metal trash can. It was the envy of the neighborhood, winning our championship race down the infamous Big Hill. Our church’s nursery and kindergarten are full of toys he made – some of them nearly 50 years old – and his repair work is evident throughout the building.

My father had a tremendous work ethic. After a 41-year career in a

machine shop, he retired, but only from his paying job. Before his health forced him to stay at home, he had logged in more than 18,000 hours of voluntary service in the local hospital, a record expected to stand for all time.

He called himself a “Pink Lady” and proudly wore his pink volunteer vest and many service pins. Dad’s sense of compassion and his good nature endeared him to thousands of patients and families.

“Mr. H,” as all affectionately called him, also had a strong sense of humor. One morning he arrived at the hospital just before daybreak (my father was an early riser). After park-ing his Lincoln, he began shuffling arthritically toward the hospital door when a security guard called to him.

“Hey, Mr. H, you left your lights on.”

Dad stopped, looked back, placed a finger beside his nose, and then pointed sharply at the car. As if on command, the lights turned them-selves off.

Dad smiled mischievously. “Thank you,” he said to the guard.

My brother and I often wondered how many days he had tried timing those lights in anticipation of that morning.

One Christmas day my father learned of a woman’s vigil at the bedside of a comatose and terminally ill husband. She’d been there for days. Following a somewhat heated discussion in the hospital administra-tion office, he was able to arrange for the woman an empty room for a few hours’ rest and a shower.

When he came home for Christmas dinner, he told my mother he had just given the most unusual present of his life. Mom recognized his impish smile and played along, “And what was that, Frank?”

His chest swelled. “I just gave a woman a bath and put her to bed.”

The next day he showed up at the hospital with a big lump on his head. After suffering his peers’ meddlesome pestering for a while, he finally uttered matter-of-factly, “My yardstick … my wife … my business.”

For a man who had hopped a freight train to a new life during the Depres-sion with only a dime in his pocket and who had later completed only a year in college, my father was both well read and quite a philosopher. He would always tell me, “Son, you could generally have anything you want from life, but you can’t have every-thing,” and “Never give up or give in to adversity.” He not only espoused

these philosophies, he lived them. Even in the autumn years of his life, while putting up with severe arthritis and asbestosis (lung disorder caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers) he brought warmth, humor, and moral support to countless others.

Late in life he and Mother moved into an assisted-living apart-ment at a retirement center. At his funeral I learned he had joined the po-etry club there. I found it remarkable that he had regularly stood in front of the group reciting works he had committed to memory 65 years earlier. I’m sure Longfellow’s “Paul Revere Ride” had been one of them, as he had recited it so often to us while we were growing up.

Perhaps the advice that grows increasingly meaningful for me with each passing year is my father’s famous, “Son, anything you’ll ever want to know is written somewhere in a book. So read ‘em all.” Dad, you were right again, and I trust you wouldn’t have minded the fact that I have written a few of them myself. As I finish my fourth novel, I know he is watching and smiling down on me.

My father died on a Friday, we buried him the following Sunday. Only one paper published his obituary on Saturday, but over 300 attended the funeral. In the receiving line I kept asking all the hospital employees and volunteers who attended, “Who’s run-ning the store? You’re all here.”

Just before his death this very wise, devout man had told his wife of 60 years, “You have always made a good home for me. This time I’m going to go ahead and prepare a place for you.”

Although Dad and I didn’t grow close until his later years, a fact I now lament, I know he passed on satisfied in having seen his two hellion boys turn into responsible grownups with wonderful children of their own. I know this because long before the end he told me so.

Thank you, Dad.

My Dad, the Pink Lady

-- The husband who keeps his wife so busy that she has no time for any-thing else.

-- The believer who wants to meet with the pastor each week to talk about the same old, same old.

-- The teacher who drowns the stu-dent with excessive tutoring.

-- The friend who never goes home. -- The boss who continually has you

in his office to sit and listen.Asks Jonas: “Do you ever feel that

everything is your fault? Do you know someone that feels like they have not done anything wrong after they have abused you? Do you always blame your problems on someone else? Have people told you they were sorry but you knew they weren’t?”

Get yourself free.Live in the liberty of goodness.Find the solitude of prayer -- away

from the world.Operate in the construct of God.This is our “word” of the week. It

means turning off the world. It means controlling what you say. It means controlling what enters your ears. It also means not letting others control you.

It can be as simple as a television knob or radio dial or the click of a mouse -- for the media seeks control, as do advertisers, commentators, and politicians.

Turn off what and who is not good -- what controls you, what sends static into your spirit. Do the math: click off the fruits that are good and those that drain you. (What does the equation equal?)

Withdraw from the clamor of the world.

This means politics. It doesn’t mean ignoring the duty to vote. It means stepping back from the noise of acrimony. Many try to make it more important -- the constant drumbeat of “news” -- than it is. Many try to get their faces in public places which

brings no peace because it is the fruit of pride. We talk or listen so much about the failings of others! Operate in the vocabulary of the Lord; this is the power of simplicity, which is so much greater than the sophistication of sci-ence (which befuddles itself).

This Lent, try giving up the noise of television and radio. Have you ever meditated on how much time that consumes? Do you contemplate how Satan is prince of the power of the air? Have you ever meditated on how much time could be spent on spiritual cleans-ing if you were not immersed in the sounds of public rancor (the electronic cacophony)?

“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is vain,” said the Mass reading Wednesday. “Reli-gion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27).

When we are quiet and pray we are unstained; when we pray God is present; when we always pray, God is present always. Live a life of constant miracles.

There is redemptive suffering but it’s also true that much illness and suffer-ing can be prevented by a spirit that is balanced, quiet, and in control of itself. -- Link: http://www.spiritdaily.com/control.htm

Resources: Exposing Spiritual Witchcraft, by Jonas Clark, a general Christian book we suggest on how spiritual ‘witchcraft’ may be attacking you and your family without your even knowing it. Spiritual witchcraft comes in many forms and originates not just from covens but from people who try to spiritually or emotionally manipu-late you. It is in the deeper perception of life and its spiritual ‘backstage’ that we often find the root of niggling prob-lems and through the power of Christ come to the means of solving stub-born issues! (88 pp) $12.00 Link: http://www.spiritdaily.com/bookssw.htm#exposing

Scripture Passage for Lent:Peter's Message | Acts 2:14-2114 Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd: "Fellow

Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell you what this means. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose; it is only nine o'clock in the morning. 16 Instead, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about: 17 'This is what I will do in the last days, God says: I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your young men will see visions, and old men will have dreams. 18 Yes, even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will proclaim my message. 19 I will perform miracles in the sky above and wonders on the earth below. There will be blood, fire, and thick smoke; 20 the sun will be darkened, and the moon will turn red as blood, before the great and glorious Day of the Lord comes. 21 And then, whoever calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.'


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For more and more parents, mak-ing the child care decision is not a simple choice. Along with weighing your child’s needs, there are three main types of child care to think about. There is no simple formula for choosing the right child care provider for your child. However, learning as much as you can about your options can help you decide what is best for your family.

What Type for Your Child?There are three basic types of child

care:• In-home care: A caregiver

comes into your home and supervises your child there.

• Family child care: Child caregivers provide their service out of their own homes.

• Center-based care: Child care organizations feature structured activities and programs, as well as a trained staff.

Choosing the right option for your family comes down to thinking about the pros and cons of each type.

In-Home CareFor some families, the most conve-

nient option is having the caregiver come to your own home. In some cases, caregivers may even live in the family home. The advantages to this approach include the potential for your child to receive more indi-vidual attention, limited exposure to seasonal ailments such as colds and the fl u, and your child’s comfort level with a familiar place.

There are challenges to having an inhome caregiver, however. For start-ers, skilled in-home providers are not easy to fi nd. If you do fi nd one, real-ize that both the caregiver and child need clear rules about what your expectations are. These rules should include how to discipline the child in your absence; how much TV time (if any) is OK; what activities you want your child to take part in (reading, playtime, etc.); and when it’s OK to

take your child on an outing.An in-home caregiver should be

willing to provide a complete daily schedule and report of your child’s activities, and to make use of posi-

tive, effective methods of discipline. Even so, it’s not easy to know for sure what your child’s caregiver is doing when you’re not there. That’s why frequent, unannounced visits from friends or family members are a good idea.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to have a backup plan in place for those times when your child’s caregiver is sick, needs personal time, or is on vacation.

Family Child CareSome child care providers work out

of their own homes, often supervising other children alongside their own. These family child care providers are usually not as convenient for parents as in-home care. But they can sometimes provide a more focused, home-like environment than center-based care and are usually easier to fi nd than in-home caregivers.

If you are thinking about a family child care situation, there are some

questions you will want to ask:• What are the caregiver’s

policies and qualifi cations? Is he or she licensed or registered with the state, or accredited by a recognized

child care organization?• What kind of program does

the caregiver provide, and what con-dition is the caregiver’s home in?

• Are there other children, teens, or adults in the home besides the caregiver? If so, who are they, what are their backgrounds, and how will they be involved in the care of your child?

The American Academy of Pediat-rics recommends that a family child care business have no more than six children per adult caregiver (includ-ing the caregiver’s own children), with no more than two of those children younger than 2 years old. However, be aware that state regula-tions often allow for more children per caregiver. Also, make sure that you have a backup plan. If your caregiver is sick or unavailable, or in case of emergencies, you’ll need a fallback option since usually only one adult is providing the care. Ask the provider if he or she belongs to a lo-cal network that can provide support if needed.

Center-Based CareChild care centers are widely

available. Some are independently owned, while others are sponsored by churches, employers, schools, or gov-ernment agencies or programs, such as Head Start. Whether it’s called a child care center, preschool, nursery school, learning center, or something similar, it serves the same basic func-tion: providing care for children at a central location.

Regardless of who sponsors it or what it is called, a child care center should be licensed and inspected on a regular basis for health, safety, cleanliness, staffi ng, and program content. Many states license child care centers, but these regulations set only the minimum standards for operating — and some types of child care operation may be exempt under the law. Either way, be sure that what the center offers meets not only the state’s standards but also your expectations for appropriate care for your child.

As with family-based care, written policies and safety guidelines should be available for your review.

What You Need to ConsiderA good place to start your search

for a quality child care option is

to contact a reliable information resource, such as Child Care Aware (1-800-424-2246). This organization can provide helpful information and contacts to steer you toward locally available child care in your commu-nity.

Get a list of child care providers in your community, then call them and ask for information about who they are and what they offer. As you review those materials, write down the questions you want to ask them when you call them back.

Here are a few things you want to think about in choosing a child care provider:

• Location: Is the provider near your home or workplace? Can a parent get there quickly in case of emergency?

• Hours: When is the opera-tion open to parents? What is their policy regarding parents who are late picking up their children?

• Licensing and accreditation: Is the facility licensed with the state, or accredited by a recognized profes-sional child care association?

• Inspections and consulta-tions: Does the program have a qualifi ed health professional such as a doctor or a nurse who serves as consultant? Keep in mind that the national standard is for centerbased child care facilities to be visited by a health professional at least monthly, with all others to receive quarterly visits.

• Policies: Does the provider welcome parent visits during normal operating hours, including after en-rollment? Can you inspect the areas your child will use? What is the sick child policy? Are the center’s policies available in writing, and are they con-sistent with your own?

• Staff: What is the care-giver’s educational and professional background? Has he or she received any outside training from qualifi ed experts in the past year? Is CPR/First Aid training required of the staff? How many trained adults are avail-able for the children there? Are there enough staff members per number of children, and is the staffi ng suffi cient to cover absences?

• Availability: Does the center keep reasonable hours, given your schedule? Do you have access to the caregiver during the day or by phone on a regular basis?

Once you’ve narrowed your list down, visit the providers you’re con-sidering and notice how they operate. Note any concerns you have about:

• How children are treated• How clean the facilities are• Whether the food seems to

be nutritious and well prepared• How safe the rooms are• How much space is avail-

able for activities• Whether the children and

caregiver(s) there seem happy• Any other such measures of

quality child careWith some very worthwhile

homework, you can rest assured that you’ve made the right child care decision for your child and your fam-ily. --Author Sam Gaines, Healthy Children Magazine

Last Updated 12/19/2011, Source Healthy Children Magazine, Summer 2007, www.healthychildren.org

Making Child Care Choices Count for Your Family

(Second edition - A revised and expanded version of 100 modi� ed choices with nutrient analysis)By Dr. Ofelia V. Dirige et al.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 5:00 to 8:00 PM

Villa Manila Restaurant, 500 E. 8th Street,

National City, CA 91910Minimum Donation: $20

(Proceeds to cover programs and services of FilAm Wellness Center)

An Invitation“Celebrating Global Filipino Cuisine”

Features:Food tasting and dinner

Launching and Book Signing:

Global Filipino Cuisine: Healthy Recipes

Consumer demand for safer products drives fastest-grow-

ing market segmentSAN FRANCISCO --The Cam-

paign for Safe Cosmetics announced today that 321 cosmetics companies have met the goals of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, the Campaign’s voluntary pledge to avoid chemicals banned by health agencies out-side the U.S. and to fully disclose product ingredients – a pioneering practice in the cosmetics industry. An additional 111 companies made signifi cant progress toward those goals. “These companies have truly broken the mold. They are lead-ing the cosmetics industry toward safety, showing it’s possible to make products with full transparency and without using hazardous chemi-cals,” said Janet Nudelman, program director of the Breast Cancer Fund, a founding member of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. The new report released today, “Market Shift: The story of the Compact for Safe Cos-metics and the growth in demand for safe cosmetics,” describes the seven-year project during which the nonprofi t organizations that make up the Campaign worked with com-panies in a unique partner-ship to raise the bar for safer personal care products. More than 1,500 companies signed the Compact from its inception in 2004 until August 2011, when the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics closed the Compact project. The research team at Envi-ronmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database developed tools for tracking each company’s compli-ance with the goals of the Compact. Through these tools, the Campaign determined that 321 companies achieved “Champion” status by ful-fi lling the goals of the Compact, and an additional 111 companies reached “Innovator” status by getting most of the way there. The report describes how these companies – from small mom-and-pop businesses to some of the largest businesses in the natural products sector – are setting a new high-bar standard for personal care products. The Champions are dem-onstrating best practices by:

Making effective products without using ingredients prohibited for use in cosmetics in other countries.

Disclosing all their ingredients, including those that make up “fra-grance,” showing that it’s not neces-sary to hide these ingredients from the public.Working together with nonprofi t health groups to increase market de-mand for safe, sustainable products and practices. “Congratulations to all the Cham-pions and Innovators. Their ability and willingness to work toward the Compact requirements shows not only that it is possible to make prod-ucts that far exceed current safety standards in the United States, but also that making safe personal care products can be part of a successful business model,” said Mia Davis, organizing director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and coordinator of the new Safe Cosmetics Business Network.

“Due to consumer demand for products made without hazardous chemicals, natural and safe cosmet-ics are now the fastest-growing segment of the $50 billion cosmetics industry.”

Although the Compact

project is completed,

the Cam-paign for Safe Cos-metics will con-tinue to advo-cate for safe, healthy prod-

ucts for all consumers by working with a broad range of companies in the new Safe Cosmetics Busi-ness Network and by working with voters and Congressional leaders to pass the Safe Cosmetics Act, which will update the 1938 cosmetics regulations that are failing to protect health.

More information: www.safecos-metics.org/marketshift

###The Campaign for Safe Cosmet-

ics is a coalition of more than 150 nonprofi t organizations working to protect the health of consumers and workers by eliminating dangerous chemicals from cosmetics. Core members include: Clean Water Ac-tion, the Breast Cancer Fund, Com-monweal, Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth, Massa-chusetts Breast Cancer Coalition and Women’s Voices for the Earth.

Market Shift: Hundreds of Cos-metics Companies Fulfi ll Safe

Products Pledge


Spot Early Signs Your Teen is Struggling – Before It Gets BadAdolescence is diffi cult in the

best of times. It’s doubly stressful for kids today; they’re experiencing the same worries and insecurities as adults in this troubled economy, and with far fewer coping skills. From families struggling with jobless-ness and foreclosure to increasing competition for college admissions to the normal fears associated with impending adulthood, they’re par-ticularly vulnerable.

“Teens who are overwhelmed by stress often are unable or unwill-ing to ask for help,” says noted psychologist Dr. Gregory L. Jantz, (www.drgregoryjantz.com), author of When Your Teenager Becomes…The Stranger in Your House.

“But the longer they continue to fl ail and struggle emotionally, the greater the chance they’ll develop more serious problems like clini-cal depression, generalized anxiety disorder, dependence on alcohol or drugs and, sadly, suicidal tenden-cies,” Jantz says. “It’s up to parents and other adults to recognize when a teen is struggling and intervene.”

So how do you know when typical teen characteristics, such as moodi-ness, have moved beyond “normal?” Jantz offers these tips:

• Arguing is normal; constant anger is not. Sometimes teens argue just to argue. It allows them to let off steam, express their displeasure about life in general and test boundaries. The occasional dramatic meltdown is to be expected. But it’s not normal for a teen to be angry and hostile all the time, constantly fi ghting and yelling.

• Withdrawal from parents is normal; pulling away from family and friends is not. Expect your teen to start pulling away from you – unless she wants something – and occasionally from their friends, as well. Sometimes, they just need to pull back for a few days, even from friends. But when they appear to

isolate themselves for weeks, spend-ing weekend after weekend alone in their room, they may be struggling with depression. Socializing with friends is one of the fi rst things to go as depression sucks the joy out of life.

• Anxiety is normal; feeling con-stantly overwhelmed is not. Teens have a lot to be anxious about – the prospect of independence is both exhilarating and terrifying, so some worrying is to be expected. But a teen who seems to be, or says he is, struggling daily with stress needs help. Two types of kids are especial-ly vulnerable to developing general-ized anxiety disorder, a heightened, constant state of anxiety: The worker bee perfectionist who crams his schedule with activities, responsi-bilities and tasks, and the kids who worry so much over anything, they can’t get anything done.

• Being upset for days after a bad experience is normal; more than two weeks is not. Teenagers tend to react dramatically when things go wrong – their boss chews them out, they fail a test, they get in an argu-ment with their sweetheart. Adults know from experience that these things aren’t the end of the world and all will be well again, but teens lack that perspective. It’s normal for them to be in a bad mood about it for a few days, but to dwell on the problem for more than two weeks indicates they’re struggling.

The most recent data available, which is about 3 years old, puts suicide as the third-leading cause of death for teens after unintentional injuries (such as car accidents) and homicide, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. More than 2 million teens attempt suicide each year.

“I suspect new data will put suicide as the second and possibly even the leading cause of death for that age group, because depression

Increased Stress Puts More Teens at Risk, Doctor Warns



Imelda brother Kokoy dies


Anybody who knows the whereabouts of Richard Schaeffer

alias "Richie" please call (619) 746-3416

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

journalusa.com

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By: CESAR D. CANDARI, MD, FCAP EMERITUS

Henderson, NV.

Valentine’s day, albeit celebrated yesterday shall not be forgotten

for February is a month of romance.

Julio Iglesias the formidable singer from Spain made worldwide popularity with a song “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before”. I will add “My Funny Valentine” a song that be-came a popular jazz standard, sung by Frank Sinatra when I was young. It originated from a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rod-gers and Lorenz Hart musical Babes in Arms in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green. I am one of those frustrated singer and I sing all these songs ac-companying myself in my favorite incredible and a complete marvel Kawaii Grand piano. I remember that the birthday of one of my girls was in February 14. Am I stupid to recollect all these things now? My brain cells synapses demonstrate the famous Alzheimer is not here with me yet.

Valentine’s day is romantic, nostalgia of the distant past that will remain forever in ones heart. This is a holiday to honor St. Valentine.

In this country, we have adopted as our second homeland, Valentine’s Day is an extremely popular festival. As a matter of a fact, it has been commercialized to a great extent in US. It is estimated that Valen-tine’s Day is the major card and gift giving festival in US; dinner and dance parties are organized; private celebrations in homes or restaurants abound.

In a recent analysis in USA Today those celebrating Valentine’s Day will “spend an average of $126.03, up 8.5% from 2011 based on recent survey of National Retail Federation (NRF) which began 10 years ago.

Total spending is expected to reach $17.6 billion.

Men will outspend women on the holiday by almost double, spending an average of about $169 vs. about $86 for women.”

Taking opportunity of the festival people express gratitude and love for sweethearts, spouses, teachers, parents or any other person close

to them. Virtually no different from what we Filipno Americans cel-ebrate the love day.

The crux of the matter: Now, Cupid wants your money. Or are we able to do this now in the current fi -nancial crisis? The U.S. economy is facing some formidable challenges in 2012. But that doesn’t mean that your love ones will not spend the money.

Can we Fil-Am spend that much? How do Filipinos celebrate this event, the so-called love holiday? It is a day when Pinoy gentlemen are deeply engrossed about what perfect

gift they could send to their beloved special ones … defi nitely not surprising because that is usually how Filipinos celebrate of Valentines Day.

A friend told me, “However, if you don’t have enough money during this economy, and time to have your partner for an exclusive date , you can send cards and Valen-tines Text Messages

or Funny Valentine’s Day Quotes to them without spend-ing much money from your own pocket!”

A phenomenal song, “Love is a Many Splendored Thing”, is an understatement for this special day. This holiday we observe with our heart and soul, is an ultimate Splendor of celebrating, rekindling love and devotion, fresh intimate affection and relations, and new memories made to place us into the horizon of the moonlight. Love your love once. The greatest science in the world; in heaven and on earth - is love.

I wish to share some of my favor-ite quotations I’ve found on the sub-ject of love from my search engine:

• “Love has the power of making you believe what you would normally treat with the deepest sus-picion.”

• “When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start com-ing out.”

• “Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fi ght.”

• “I detest ‘love lyrics.’ I think one of the causes of bad men-tal health in the United States is that people have been raised on ‘love lyrics.”

• “I should like to see any kind of a man, distinguishable from a gorilla, that some good and even pretty woman could not shape a husband out of.”

Valentine’s Day

Featured Essay

STUDENT WHO OBTAINED 0% ON AN EXAM (I would have given him 100%)

Q1. In which battle did Napoleon die? * his last battle

Q2. Where was the Declaration of Independence signed? * at the bot-tom of the page

Q3. River Ravi fl ows in which state? * liquid

Q4. What is the main reason for divorce? * marriage

Q5. What is the main reason for failure? * exams

Q6. What can you never eat for breakfast? * Lunch & dinner

Q7. What looks like half an apple? * The other half

Q8. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will become? * It will simply become wet

Q9. How can a man go eight days without sleeping ? * No problem, he sleeps at night.

Q10. How can you lift an elephant with one hand? * You will never fi nd an elephant that has only one hand.

Q11. If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in other hand, what would you have ? * Very large hands

Q12. If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how long would it take four men to build it? * No time at all, the wall is already built.

Q13. How can u drop a raw egg onto a concrete fl oor without crack-ing it? *Any way you want, con-crete fl oors are very hard to crack.

Wise Guy's Answers To Stupid Questions

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Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Ro-mualdez and the Romualdez family.

“We join them in praying for the eternal repose of their loved one’s soul. We also pray that they be com-forted by the Lord in this time of their mourning,” he said.

Marcos had appointed him ambas-sador to China, Saudi Arabia and the United States while he served as Leyte governor.

Aside from Gonzales, Representa-tives Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar, Bem Noel of the party-list group An

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Waray, Danilo Suarez of Quezon, and Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga, sent messages of condolences.

Evardone said the late Kokoy served his country well as ambassador during the Marcos era.

“He had the complete trust and con-fi dence of the late President Marcos,” he said.

Noel said the late ambassador was a “good man.”

“People always called him ‘Puti’ be-cause of his all-white attire,” he said.

Noel, who is from Tacloban, said he was extending his condolences to the Romualdezes “not only in behalf of my family but in behalf as well of An Waray, which is composed of Warays and Waray-speaking people.” – With Jess Diaz, Charmie Pagulong, Mike Frialde

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Telehealth(Continued from page 1)

Classifi ed Ads

Dado Banatao(Continued from page 1)

Anti-Mining(Continued from page 6)

Unoffi cially Yours



Increased Stress(Continued from page 21)

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Herewith is proof of your classified ad for publication in the Asian Journal. Please proofread i t and fax back the correction if any or call us for your approval. The ad is tentatively scheduled to be published in the

issue of the Asian Journal if we receive your approval on time. At $4 per line

lines, it costs

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is the biggest risk factor,” Jantz says. “We’re seeing more teenagers suffering from depression in recent years because of the economy and overstimulation by technology.”

Visit www.aplaceofhope.com for an online survey to see if you or your teen is showing signs of depression (click “Depression” and then “Depression Survey” in the drop-down menu).”

About Gregory L. Jantz, Ph.D.Gregory Jantz has more than 25

years experience in mental health counseling and is the founder of The Center for Counseling and Health Resources, near Seattle, Wash. The Center, “a place for hope,” provides comprehensive, coordinated care from a treatment team that addresses medical, physical, psychological, emotional, nutritional, fi tness and spiritual factors involved in recov-ery. He is the best-selling author of more than 20 books on topics from depression to eating disorders.

tronic Bridge That Brings Doctor and Orphan Face-to -Face

Lourdes Garcia, a nurse in Glendale, Calif., joins in on the digital medical mission tenderly noting names of each child while they stand before a web-cam set up by an assisting nurse on location in the Philippines. Carefully studying the screen, Dr. Henderson confi rms the illness and advises the on-site nurse with the child to provide the appropriate medication or sanitation practice. Over the course of an hour, Dr. Henderson and Nurse Garcia along with the nurse in Cebu City examine and treat several children.

Thanks to a video conferencing system that Dr. Henderson and his team have designed under the umbrella of the TeleHealth Medical Group, “A Clinic without Walls” has been established to help these children, who suffer from a range of maladies due to malnutrition, mosquitoes, parasites and foul water. Besides providing vital medical care in real time, the TeleHealth Medical Group also raises funds, which are used to purchase medical supplies (antibiotics, vaccines, toiletries and other basic medicines) designated specifi cally for the orphans. (Photo: Orphans celebrate receiving toothbrushes.)

Maximizing WHO Protocols And Lending a Helping Hand to Mis-sionaries

During the video conferencing session, which runs on ooVoo, Dr. Henderson and Nurse Garcia often re-fer to the World Health Organization’s website to gain insight on improving the orphan’s nutrition, water supply and sanitation, which are as critical as the receiving the personalized medi-cal consultation. Pastor Ernie Miego and his wife, Lyn, who operate Life of Light Ministry in Cebu City, are grateful to see the orphans they teach and feed receive expert medical care on a weekly basis. In most cases, the remedies are simple, yet mean life or death for these children whose ages range from toddlers to teenagers.

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and teachers that poverty need not be a hindrance to success and that it is only education that can truly transform lives. On this January weekend the Salvador & Rosita Banatao Foundation, named to honor his parents, was sponsoring two simultaneous teacher training workshops in Iguig: one for high school science teachers and another for Grade 4 elementary teach-ers in partnership with the Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation (SAS) to nurture the love of reading in students.

The latter was what brought us to Iguig for SAS’ 60th teacher training workshop. One can look at that 60th feat of introduc-ing the Read-a-thon Reading Program—with a mandatory two-day teacher training workshop, a library of 60 books by Filipino authors, Reading Passports and all other required materials for every participating Grade 4 class, a teacher’s manual to lessen note-taking, etc.—in two ways. Something to crow about, as it has traveled nationwide to 882 schools and introduced the reading habit to 175,687 students. On the other hand, one turns impatient that over the SAS’ 11 years of existence and in the con-text of the Department of Education’s latest count of 37,807 public elementary schools, the reach of such an endeavor is admittedly still limited.

It is interactions with teachers like this that make one cease lamenting the seeming futility of even the most earnest of efforts. The 32 teachers from the 13 schools of Iguig were so enthused about discover-ing other ways to teach reading—look, teacher, it can be fun and painless, too. An important initial discussion was elicit-ing their views on reading—a right or a privilege? Does one read only good books? Is a good reader a good writer? Juliet Guer-rero of Dumpao ES and Lory Cadiguian of Gammad ES reported using books from the DepEd’s library hubs. Tuguegarao has three such hubs but the distance from their schools limits their patronage.

The teachers were fi red up playing vocabulary games, honing the art of ques-tioning even through a Pinoy Henyo game, dressing the book characters using inex-pensive materials given them to portray the characters’ personalities, practicing ways to make each of the 31 reading days of the program exciting and creative. The teachers said that compared to previous workshops, this was refreshingly lively and this time, they did not grow roots in their seats.

It helped that the Malabbac district supervisor, Jorge Taguinod, was physically present during the two days. He felt that he had to be familiar himself with the intrica-cies of the reading program so he could supervise it better. It only seemed fair, he said, to do what he was demanding of his teachers and principals for this weekend. To the training team from Manila, it showed

the value the 13 schools from the district of Iguig placed on the program. And even as he was introducing us to Pancit Tuguegarao and bulalo, he was relating how he wished his administrative duties gave him more time to do what he prefers to do—checking for himself that his Grade 1 students are able to read. Iguig Mayor Julita Trinidad also manifested support for the project by ensuring that the trainors got to the venue on time.

It is most heartwarming to witness how somebody like Dado Banatao cares enough for the hometown that nurtured his curios-ity and passion to learn, to achieve, to ex-cel. May many more Filipino-Americans be similarly inclined to look back to their roots and share their largesse through logistical support for education.

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to bring another memorable movie experience with Unoffi cially Yours.

Produced by ABS-CBN Corpora-tion subsidiary Star Cinema, the movie fi rst premiered in Manila, fi ttingly a day after Valentine’s Day. TFC hopes to duplicate the success on February 24, Friday at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA. Showtimes are at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Unoffi cially Yours, as its title con-notes, breaks norms by highlighting a relationship without the benefi t of commitment – a theme not common-ly tackled in Philippine cinema. In a much-awaited reunion, former Imor-tal (the famed TFC teleserye) leads John Lloyd Cruz star as Mackie Galvez, a straight-laced dentist who believes in commitment and Angel Locsin as Princess Medina, a liber-ated lifestyle reporter who puts no labels to her relationships. Together they share a one-stand stand that

you to show decisive action and be responsive those reaching out to you from your domain?

Mining at Northwest Panay at ar-eas sought to be protected under var-ious acts of government is a scourge to the inhabitants and a travesty of the rights of the residents. Allowing yourselves to be used as pawns of strangers who seek to destroy and wreak havoc to the land that gives us water to drink and bathe, clean air to breathe, animals and plants for food and shelter, and natural blessings to enjoy and admire, is betrayal and treachery by you who we trusted and expected to uphold us against such kind of evil. Material gains will pass away and in time you will no longer derive pleasure from them. But the stigma of your misdeeds and sins to mankind will haunt you up to your grave and long after you have left this world, and you will be remem-bered as the ones who caused the destruction and irreversible deterio-ration of the environment in what was once a beautiful God-crafted paradise meant to be enjoyed by the greater multitude of simpler folks that you have allowed to be trampled upon and left to languish in misery and deprivation.

It is a pity that a greedy few would cannibalize their own neighbors and town mates for short-lived glory and gluttony, where a greater lot could

have been allowed to live and exist in peace and health in harmony with nature and environmental provi-dence. The damage is not yet abso-lute. You who have done us wrong can still rectify your blunders.

Think deep and hard and make that critical decision to change your name in history forever, as one who fought for us so that many will live and survive. Be remembered as someone who never succumbed to the temptation of gold and power, but one who lived according to his conscience, who opened his eyes to the overwhelming calls for jus-tice and life, and did not allow the plague of destruction and exploita-tion to bury his own constituency.

Heroes are made out of extra-ordi-nary people. Unfortunately, monsters are created out of sometimes the best of minds that have been distorted and driven crazy by the taste of pow-er and wealth. We will all be judged in the end – be prepared for yours! Choose well. Not a toxic leader, ‘little Hitler/’manager from hell’.

( Dr. Cesar D. Candari is an author of a book entitled “SUCCESS IS A JOUR-NEY” memoirs of a Filipino Ameri-can doctor creating a life from Antique to America.) Visit www. amazon.com; http://www.pandan.ph and http://www.pandan.ph/news/2010/11/08/from-an-tique-to-america-memoirs-of-a-fi lipino-american-doctor/). He writes a column in Philippines Times Southern Nevada. An 11-year old teaches us! Little

Chiara is riddled with cancer. Last January, she came from the United States with her father, her grand-mother, her godmother and some friends. Her fam-ily wanted to implore the Blessed Mother to help their little girl.

Her mother stayed home with her 2 younger children. During the deep encont-er we had with her, we would never have guessed that the doc-tors had not given her long to live. She was lead-ing the conversation with surprising joy and serenity, cracking jokes and reassuring everyone by her positive spirit. Then, with the simplicity of a pure heart, she explained to me, "You know, Jesus will decide for me, I know that He will make the best decision. I am confi dent! Either I will be healed and I am happy, or I will not be healed and I am happy

too! In both cases, I win because I know that it is He who decides".

She said to her family, "If I die, I will go to heaven and I will wait for

you there!"Chiara

was able to meet Vicka who kissed her ten-derly and prayed for her for 20 minutes. Chiara said to her, "You know, Vicka, I am not afraid to die! If I live, I win. If I die, I win! In both cases I'll be with Jesus!" Vicka an-

swered her in her ear, "You are right, you have no reason to be afraid!" Her father was deeply moved and he confi ded to us, "I realize that Chiara actually did not need to come to Medjugorje, she already had peace in her heart. But it is us (her family) who needed to come ! Here we have found peace." -- Link: http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com/

An 11 year old child teaches us

lead into another then another and later face the pressure of “offi cially” getting into a relationship.

John Lloyd along with Angel Locsin will iget the chance to see the reaction of their fans in the U.S. as they are set to grace the premiere in California. For ticket purchase information, visit www.abs-cbnglobalmovies.com. (Aaron Domingo/Marianne Ferrer De Vera, ABS-CBN Manila)


Documents

Asian Journal February 24 - March 1, 2012 edition