SUBIC BAY – Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. claimed that the an-nouncement of Sen. Grace Poe to run for the presidency did not sur-prise him.

“It was very well expected. Ma-linaw noon pang nakaraang mga linggo na tatakbo siya bilang Pan-gulo [As early as last week, it was clear that she’s running for Presi-dent],” Marcos said.

He noted that the political terrain has become more clear.

“[Poe’s] declaration will help other candidates decide what they will do. We will also be forced to decide,” the Ilocano lawmaker said.

When asked when he will an-nounce his candidacy, Marcos said

he has no date yet.“We will announce it once I have

a date, a decision. I will make it known not only to the media but the whole country,” he added.

Marcos said his decision to run and be paired with Vice President Jejomar Binay will not be based on percentage.

“Hindi by percent ang pagde-desisyon. Kung gusto tumakbo, tumakbo. Kapag maayos na mga imponderable variables at mali-naw na, mas magiging maliwa-nag din ang dapat kong gawin [Making a decision should not be based on percentages. If you want to run, go run.If the imponderable variables are all right and clear, the clearer will be my decision],” he added.

Marcos said the Nacionalista Party to which he belongs has not yet decided on whom to support for President.

“Without a doubt, kahit ano pa mangyari, the NP will be involved in

WW E E K E N D

E D I T I O N w w w . a s i a n j o u r n a l . c o m

1210 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91204

w w w . a j d i g i t a l e d i t i o n . c o m

Tels: 818.502.0651 • 213.250.9797 • Fax: 818.502.0858 • 213.481.0854Also published in: • Orange County/Inland Empire • Northern California • Las Vegas • New York/ New Jersey

Th e F i l i p i n o–Am e r i cA n co m m u n i T y ne ws pA p e r

L o s A n g e L e s

DATELINEUSAFroM tHe AJPreSS NEWS TEAM AcroSS AMErIcA

September 19-22, 2015

SEAFOOD CITY 1

Volume 25 - No. 73 • 4 Sections – 34 Pages

Republican presidential candidates stand on stage during the main debate last Wednesday, September 16, at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. (L-R) US Sen. Rand Paul, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US Sen. Marco Rubio, US Sen. Ted Cruz, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, businessman Donald Trump, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, businesswoman Carly Fiorina, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. CNN photo

SIMI VALLeY, Calif. – Fifteen republican candidates took the podium on Wednesday, Sept. 16 in a two-segment debate at the ron-ald reagan Presidential Library’s Air Force one Pavilion.

the afternoon kicked off with second-tier candidates South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former Pennsylvania Senator rick Santorum and former New York Governor George Pataki, all of whom have been at the bottom of the polls at around 1 percent among primary voters. Issues cov-ered ranged from immigration, ISIS, Planned Parenthood fund-ing, Iran and religious freedom.

But, another topic dominat-ed the debate early on: Donald trump. though trump was not onstage during the first segment, the four candidates tried to dis-tance themselves from the repub-lican frontrunner.

Jake tapper — CNN’s chief

GOP presidential hopefuls square off on immigration in second debate

Marcos: Other candidates should now decideuPAGE A2

by ErniE EscondEManilatimes.net

MANILA – Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” roxas II has officially invited Camarines Sur rep. Leni robredo to run as his vice president in the 2016 national elections.

According to a report from ABS-CBN News Channel, robredo confirmed that roxas asked her to consider being his running mate.

However, the Camarines Sur lawmaker is yet to decide if she will accept the offer of the Liberal Party’s standard bearer.

robredo said that she will consider the opinion of her children in deciding her plans for the 2016 polls.

roxas is set to personally talk with ro-bredo’s children regarding the upcoming elections.

Mar asks Leni to be his VP in 2016

PreSIDeNt Barack obama has nominated a Filipina for a high-ranking promotion in the United States Navy.

rear Admiral raquel C. Bono, who was promoted in Septem-ber 2014, was nominated by the president to the rank of Vice Admiral and for the position of Defense Health Agency (DHA) director. She currently serves as director of the DHA’s National Capital region Medical Director-ate and the 11th chief of the Navy Medical Corps.

If Bono’s nomination is ap-proved, she will become the highest-ranking Filipino-Ameri-can naval officer in the US.

Fil-Am nominated to head Defense Health Agency

by Allyson EscobArAJPress

A MANNY Pacquiao fight could happen the Philippines as the eight-division World Champion seems to be in touch with people who can make it possible.

“I’m talking to people to schedule my next fight here in the Philippines, that would be great,” Pacquiao said in Filipino in an interview with reporters last Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Pacquiao, though, said there is still no definite date for a re-turn to the ring as he’s more fo-cused on the full recovery of his right shoulder which sustained an injury before his May 2 fight

Manny Pacquiao thanks his supporters after his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mayweather won by unanimous decision. Photo by Rem Zamora/inquirer.net

Pacquiao ‘talking to people’ for possible fight in PH

the news was announced by Defense Secretary Ash Carter on thursday, Sept. 17.

As DHA director, she will over-see an organization responsible for executing the military health program, including providing common health services for mili-tary hospitals and clinics, over-seeing tricare, and managing the system’s information technology, education, training, research and facilities programs.

Vice Admiral Matthew L. Na-than, the Navy surgeon general, has described Bono as a “role model for others to emulate,” ac-knowledging the contributions of her veteran family.

Bono’s grandfather served as a Filipino obstetrician in the US

Sen. Ferdinancd Marcos Jr.

uPAGE A2uPAGE A2

uPAGE A3uPAGE A3

SePteMBer 17 marks an impor-tant day in Ameri-can history--the Constitution of the United States was officially signed by delegates of the Constitutional Convention in Phil-adelphia, including Founding Fathers George Washing-ton, James Madi-son, and Alexander Hamilton.

Constitution and

Filipino youth sworn in as US citizens on Citizenship Day

Garcetti joins in celebrating the US Constitution and

young new citizens

WASHINGtoN – the obama administra-tion came under fire in the US Senate for not asserting its right to operate within 12 miles of artificial islands created by China in the South China Sea.

“this is a dangerous mistake that grants de facto recognition of China’s man-made sov-ereignty claims,” republican chairman Sen. John McCain said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on thursday, Sept. 17.

“And these restrictions have continued even after China sent its own naval vessels within 12 nautical miles of the Aleutian is-lands as President obama concluded his re-cent visit to Alaska,” McCain said.

Pentagon officials said Chinese navy ships entered within 12 miles of the Alaska coast-line under the maritime rule of innocent passage while President Barack obama was there on Sept. 2.

China has come under increasing criticism in the weeks leading to President Xi Jinping’s state visit here for its unrestrained reclama-

Obama under fire in United States Senate over sea row

uPAGE A4

uPAGE A5

by christinA M. oriElAJPress

Julia Aguirre

by bong lozAdAInquirer.net

by PAtriciA lourdEs VirAyPhilstar.com

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797A�

From the Front Page

30th NEGROS TRADE FAIR. Senate President Franklin M. Drilon (3rd from right) together with Senator Cynthia A. Villar, (2nd from left) lead the ringing of bells signifying the start of the five-day 30th Negros Trade Fair exhibit held at Glorietta 5 in Makati City on Tuesday, Sept. 15. The exhibit consists of over 80 selling booths showcasing the best of local products from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Negros Island. Also with Drilon and Villar in the ceremony were Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. (extreme left), Korina Sanchez-Roxas (2nd from right), wife of former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, and Yna Gaston (extreme right), 30th Negros Trade Fair President. Senate photo by Cesar Tomambo

Washington correspondent and moderator of the debate — asked Jindal to respond to re-marks made against Trump, say-ing they violated Reagan’s ‘11th commandment’ of not criticizing fellow Republicans.

“Let’s stop treating Donald Trump like a Republican,” Jindal retorted. “He’s not a conserva-tive.”

Santorum sought not to com-ment on Trump, but rather re-mind other candidates about the importance of this debate.

“I think personal attacks just please one person: Hillary Clin-ton. The focus of this debate should be on how we’re going to win this election and help improve the lives of American workers,” he said.

Pataki later chimed in to com-

plain that there were other issues to discuss -- given it’s an “impor-tant election with an enormous number of challenges facing the American people,” he said — yet, the opening questions were about the real-estate mogul.

“I will vote for the Republican nominee, but let me say this flat out, Donald Trump is unfit to be President of the United States or the Republican Party’s nomi-nee,” he said.

The four candidates tackled the issue of deportation and what the United States should do with the estimated 11 million undocu-mented immigrants in the coun-try.

Graham and Santorum agreed that a more rational immigration system should be implemented because of its declining work-force, yet diverged on exactly what needs to be done to achieve that.

“We’re not going to deport 11 million undocumented im-migrants here illegally, but we’ll start with felons, and off they

GOP presidential hopefuls square off…PAGE A1 t

uPAGE A3

the 2016 elections. Kung walang presidential candidate sa loob ng partido, hahanap ito ng ibang susuportahan kapag maliwanag na sitwasyon [If the party has no candidate for President, it will look for somebody to support if the situation gets clearer],” he added.

Marcos said members of the NP recently met and saw many political alliances and develop-ments as the date of filing of cer-tificates of candidacy in October nears.

“The NP is still in consultation with different groups and will choose the best programs it will support,” he added. n

Marcos:…

Robredo earlier said that she will only seek the vice presidency in 2016 if nobody else is up for the post.

The Interior secretary had asked Sen. Grace Poe to be his running mate but the senator recently announced that she will also seek the presidency in 2016. n

Mar asks…

PAGE A1 t

PAGE A1 t

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 A�From the Front page

Army as a colonel during World War II, according to Inquirer. Twenty years later, Bono’s par-ents migrated to the US and settled in Minnesota, where her father finished his surgical resi-dency and joined the Navy Re-serve, retiring as a captain.

Bono and her younger brother, retired Rear Admiral Anatolio B. “AB” Cruz III, made US Navy his-tory in 2012 when they became the first and only Filipino siblings to hold flag-officer ranks simulta-neously, the DHA reported.

Cruz served as deputy com-mander of the US Naval Forces Southern Command and deputy commander, US Fourth Fleet.

“These two Navy officers are serving as prime examples of the

diversity found within the Navy’s ranks,” said a press release from the US Department of Defense in 2012.

Service to others, service to country

Commissioned in June 1979, Rear Admiral Raquel Bono re-ceived her baccalaureate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and attended medical school at Texas Tech University, according to her official biogra-phy.

As the eldest child, she initially wanted to go into nursing, but her father challenged her to go even further to become a doctor.

“[Raquel] was the smart one and very disciplined at every-thing she did,” brother AB Cruz commented. “Dad set the bar and

she raised that bar. Quite frankly, she deserved to make flag before I did.”

Bono was well trained in the health professions; after complet-ing a surgical internship, Trauma and Critical Care fellowship, and her general surgery residency at the Naval Medical Center Ports-mouth. She was the first woman to graduate from the program.

“What I enjoyed about being in the Navy was that I always felt confident in my ability to be advanced was going to be based on my capabilities and my per-formance. I felt that I had an eq-uitable opportunity to succeed,” Bono said in a 2012 interview with the Asian Journal.

Shortly after training, Bono

Fil-Am nominated to head Defense…PAGE A1 t

against Floyd Mayweather Jr.“Though there’s still no defi-

nite date or month for my next fight, we will probably know by December.”

“Right now I’m more focused on the recovery of my shoulder.”

Pacquiao suffered a torn ro-tator cuff on his right shoulder during training for his fight against Mayweather in Las Ve-gas which he lost as Money boxed his way to a unanimous decision victory.

There have been names of pos-sible future opponents floating

around, Pacquiao cleared that he hasn’t struck a deal to fight any opponent.

“Kahit sino naman. Willing ako. Ang concern ko yung mga fans palagi. [I could fight anyone. I’m willing. My concern is always the fans],” Pacquiao said.

With the Elections season just around the corner, scheduling could be one concern for Pac-quiao if he intends to fight early next year.

When ask his fight could hap-pen just before 2016 presidential polls, Pacquiao answered, “It’s possible.” n

Pacquiao ‘talking to people’…PAGE A1 t

go. And, as to the rest, you can stay, but you got to learn our lan-guage,” Graham said.

He also added that “in my world Hispanics are Americans” (an answer that earned applaus-es), noting that Republican can-didates could target Hispanic voters next year.

“[I]mmigration without assim-ilation is invasion,” Jindal said. “We need to insist the people who come here come here le-gally, learn English, adopt our values, roll up their sleeves and get to work. We do need to se-cure the border.”

Hours before the debate, im-migration advocates bearing signs and oversized papier ma-che caricature heads of Trump, Rubio and Walker flocked to the entrance of the Reagan Library to protest the Republican can-didates’ stances on not granting citizenship to illegal immigrants.

Candidates also shared their positions on minimum wage, with Santorum proposing a 50-cent-per-hour increase through-out a three-year period.

“How are we gonna win if 90 percent of Americans don’t think we care about them and their chance to rise in America?” San-torum said.

However, Graham countered that a federal increase in the minimum wage would be detri-mental to businesses.

Though the first-round was brushed off by many analysts, the four candidates attempted to prove themselves with hopes of joining top-tier candidates in the polls.

The other 11 candidates (for-mer Florida Governor Jeb Bush, retired neurosurgeon Ben Car-son, New Jersey Gov. Chris

Christie, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Fio-rina, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Florida Senator Mar-co Rubio, Trump and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker) took to the stage at 5pm PST.

Each candidate was positioned on stage based on their rankings in recent polls.

During the first debate hosted by Fox News in August, Fiorina was considered a second-tier candidate, but her performance catapulted her in national polls and deemed her worthy enough to join the higher-ranking hope-fuls.

Leading into the debate, a CBS/New York Times poll showed Trump and Carson at 27 percent and 23 percent, respec-tively; Bush, Huckabee and Ru-bio each trailed behind at 6 per-cent of support from Republican primary voters.

The prime-time debate kicked off with a question directed to Fiorina, as to whether Trump could be trusted “with his finger on the nuclear codes.”

“I think Mr. Trump is a won-derful entertainer, he’s been terrific at that business,” she re-sponded, but said it’s “not for me to answer” whether Trump could be trusted with that power.

Later in the evening, Fiorina was asked another Trump-re-lated question — his comment about her ‘face’ in a recent Roll-ing Stone article.

“I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said,” she said, to which Trump awkwardly retort-ed, “I think she has a very beau-tiful face, and she’s a beautiful woman.”

After a commercial break, Tap-per moved the conversation to immigration, calling it a “com-bustible” topic during the cam-paign.

Trump tackled the issue first, saying that building a wall along the US-Mexico border is neces-sary and that if he gets elected, the “really bad dudes in this country from outside” would be gone starting on day one of his term.

The real-estate mogul has largely been seen as anti-immi-gration since he announced his plans to run for president.

“I took heat like nobody has taken heat in a long time. And, then they found out with the kill-ing of Katie, from San Francisco, and so many other crimes, they found out that I was right,” he said. “And, most people, many people, apologized to me. I don’t think you’d even be talking about illegal immigration if it weren’t for me. So, we have a country of laws, they’re going to go out, and they’ll come back if they deserve to come back. If they’ve had a bad record, if they’ve been arrested, if they’ve been in jail, they’re never coming back. We’re going to have a country again. Right now, we don’t have a country, we don’t have a border, and we’re going to do something about it, and it can be done with proper management, and it can be done with heart.”

Christie rebutted Trump’s plans, going a step further by say-ing electronics, drones and more government agencies need to be deployed along the borders.

“We need to take the finger-print of every person who comes into this country on a visa, and when they overstay their visa, we need to tap them on the shoulder, and say, ‘You have overstayed your welcome, you’re taking ad-vantage of the American people. It’s time for you to go,’” the New Jersey governor said.

Carson, who had been silent for a portion of the debate de-spite being second in the polls, said having a border simply isn’t enough. He cited Yuma County, Arizona, which has a “double fence with a road so that there [is] quick access by the enforce-ment people.”

“If we don’t seal the border, the rest of this stuff clearly doesn’t matter. It’s kind of ridiculous all the other things we talk about. We have the ability to do it, we

GOP presidential hopefuls square off…PAGE A2 t

uPAGE A4 uPAGE A4

US Rear Admiral Raquel C. Bono was nominated by Pres. Barack Obama to the rank of Vice Admiral and for the position of Defense Health Agency director. Photo courtesy of the Department of Defense

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797A� From the Front page

saw duty in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm as head, Casualty Receiving, Fleet Hos-pital Five in Saudi Arabia from August 1990 to March 1991. Later, she was stationed at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth as a surgeon in the General Surgery department; surgical intensivist

ter, and executive assistant to the 35th Navy Surgeon General and Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. She also held many top positions, such as commanding officer, chief of staff, deputy di-rector of the Office of the assis-tant secretary of Defense, Health Affairs (OASD/HA), director of Medical Resources, Plans and Policy (N093), Chief of Naval Op-erations, and in 2011, the com-mand surgeon of U.S. Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, as well as acting commander Joint Task Force National Capital Re-gion Medical (2013).

As of 2014, Bono currently serves as director, National Capi-tal Region Medical Directorate of the Defense Health Agency, and as the 11th Chief, Navy Medical Corps.

Bono’s personal decorations and recognitions include De-fense Superior Service Medal (2), Legion of Merit Medal (4), Meritorious Service Medal (2), and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal (2). She was also awarded in 2009 as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipi-na American Women in the US.

“Service to others; service to country,” Bono said of her words to live by. “It was ingrained in us by our father and mother in grati-tude to their adopted country, the United States.” n

in the Medical/Surgical Intensive Care Unit, and attending surgeon at the Burn Trauma Unit at Sen-tara Norfolk General Hospital.

Other prestigious duties/posi-tions she held were director of Restorative Care, medical corps career planning officer, director for Medical-Surgical Services at the National Naval Medical Cen-

Fil-Am nominated to head Defense…PAGE A3 t

don’t have the will to do it,” he said.

The retired neurosurgeon went on to say that a guest worker pro-gram, especially for those in the agricultural field, should be con-sidered.

Bush was asked to respond to Trump’s comment back in July about having “a soft spot for peo-ple from Mexico” because of his Mexican-born wife.

“We’re at a crossroads right now,” Bush said. “Are we go-ing to take the Reagan approach, the hopeful optimistic approach, the approach that says that, you come to our country legally, you pursue your dreams with a ven-geance, you create opportuni-ties for all of us? Or the Donald Trump approach -- the approach that says that everything is bad, that everything is coming to an end?”

The former governor of Flori-da mentioned his book that laid out a comprehensive approach to immigration reform, one that requires securing the border but not tearing families apart.

“It would send a signal to the rest of the world that the United States values that are so impor-tant for our long-term success no longer matter in this country,” he said.

Though some candidates seemed to acknowledge that Trump reopened the conversa-tion on immigration, Fiorina didn’t think so.

“Immigration did not come

up in 2016 because Mr. Trump brought it up. We talked about it in 2012, we talked about it in 2008. We talked about it in 2004,” she said.

Rubio, who is of Cuban ances-try, said the US has “three” im-migration problems: people who are still coming to the the coun-try illegally; an inoperable legal immigration system; and the 11-12 million people who have been in the country for the years are still without status.

“Here’s the way forward: First, we must -- we must secure our border, the physical border, with -- with a wall, absolutely. But we also need to have an entry/exit tracking system. 40 percent of the people who come here ille-gally come legally, and then they overstay the visa. We also need a mandatory e-verify system. After we’ve done that, step two would be to modernize our legal immi-gration system so you come to America on the basis of what you can contribute economically, not whether or not simply you have a relative living here,” he pro-posed.

Birthright citizenship—citizen-ship granted to children born in the US to undocumented immi-grants—was brought up, follow-ing some previous comments Trump and Bush, in particular, have made earlier this summer.

“Well, first of all, the 14th Amendment says very, very clearly to a lot of great legal scholars… that it is wrong…A woman gets pregnant. She’s nine

months, she walks across the border, she has the baby in the United States, and we take care of the baby for 85 years. I don’t think so,” Trump said.

Toward the end of the night, more light-hearted questions were asked: what woman the can-didates would put on the $10 and what their Secret Service code names would be. Some answers for the former question were Rosa Parks, Margaret Thatcher and Mother Theresa. However, Fiorina called changing the $10 bill a “gesture”; rather, “we out to recognize that women are not a special interest group,” she said.

As for the code names, some responses that drew in laughter and applause were from Bush, who said, “Ever Ready, it’s very high energy, Donald” and Trump who joked, “Humble.”

Wednesday night was the sec-ond debate for Republican can-didates, with another expected next month in Colorado. The first debate among Democratic candidates is scheduled for next month in Las Vegas.

CNN confirmed on Thursday, Sept. 17 that the prime-time debate on Wednesday, which clocked in at over three hours, averaged 22.9 million views, making it the most-watched pro-gram in the network’s history. The earlier “undercard” debate only raked in 6.3 million view-ers.

Capturing the Asian Ameri-can vote

Asian Americans are now the fastest-growing racial group in the United States, while Asian immigrants have the highest nat-uralization rate, Pew Research Center and Migrant Policy Insti-tute data have shown.

As the Asian Journal reported in May, a report from the UCLA Center for the Study of Inequality and Asian Pacific American In-stitute for Congressional Studies projected that the Asian Ameri-can electorate would double by 2040, reaching 12.2 million.

“Not only will Asian Americans be a politically influential voting bloc in select areas in the United States, they have the potential to be the margin of victory in criti-cal swing votes during the next six presidential election cycles,” the study’s authors wrote.

A voter survey by Asian & Pa-cific Islander American (APIA) Vote and Asian Americans Ad-vancing Justice | AAJC last year

GOP presidential hopefuls square off…PAGE A3 t

uPAGE A6

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti with the youngest new citizens of the United States.

Citizenship Day was established later by President Harry Truman to observe the landmark event and celebrate the achievements and naturalization of new Ameri-cans.

228 years later, on Thursday, Sept. 17, 79 young people were sworn in and given their official certificates of citizenship at the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles. The ceremony, pre-sented by the library and by US Citizenship and Immigration Ser-vices (USCIS), was held in recog-nition of children and youth who obtained citizenship through their parents.

“This nation is a proud nation of immigrants,” said keynote speaker LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, speaking directly to the dozens of immigrant families, leaders, and advocates at the event. “This is a chance for us to celebrate; for those of us who were born citi-zens, a chance for us to reflect on what that means; and for those of us who have earned citizenship, a chance to cherish how special that is.”

Immigrant families from the Philippines, Iran, Armenia, Egypt, El Salvador, Japan, Nepal, China, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and a multitude of nations were rep-resented at the ceremony. The Consulate General of Mexico, Carlos M. Sada, also graciously attended.

Some of the children pres-ent were adopted by US citizen parents, while others derived citizenship when their immigrant parents became naturalized citi-zens.

“Sometimes, we come to the US in times of duress, times of tragedy; sometimes for opportu-nities, for studies, for many dif-ferent reasons. Some of you have crossed many borders, rivers, and oceans to be here,” Garcetti said.

“I always say Los Angeles is a city that reflects the world as it is today, and what the United States will be like tomorrow.”

Susan Curda, Los Angeles District Director for USCIS, also spoke to the kids about the his-torical importance of the Consti-tution and of the sacrifices their parents made for them to be here, as legal citizens. She also led the crowd in the official swearing-in Oath of Allegiance

“Your parents signed many pa-pers and took a big naturalization test for YOU,” she exclaimed. “This morning, when you came into this room, you were citizens of China, Mexico, Iraq, and Ethi-opia…but now you are all citi-zens of a new country, the USA. Welcome to our family.”

The USCIS and Garcetti also thanked the Los Angeles Library, one of over 70 branch libraries across the county that offer free ‘Path to Citizenship’ programs,

which assist eligible immigrants with their applications, and help new citizens assimilate into American life.

Over 2,000 participants and dozens of trained librarians have taken part of this free public re-source.

“The library has become a valuable center of citizenship,” Garcetti said.

“America offers you and your family many opportunities to succeed. So give something back to your fellow Americans--vote, stay engaged with the commu-nity, volunteer, make our streets safer. These things can strength-en the fabric of a city, and of your lives as well.”

He encouraged the roughly 800,000 Angelenos who qualify for citizenship to take advan-tage of these free opportunities, highlighting his Step Forward LA initiative, which will assist immigrants in applying for ben-eficial programs like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and possibly DAPA (Deferred Action for Parent Ar-rivals). The initiative--as well as a map of citywide “citizenship corners” hosting free work-shops and events--can be found online at www.stepforward.lac-ity.org.

To conclude, Garcetti spoke about his hopes for America to be a more inclusive nation, with

Filipino youth sworn in as US citizens…PAGE A1 t

uPAGE A5

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 A�Dateline USa

HELLO TO A NEW DAWN. Sen. Grace Poe waves to supporters shortly after declaring her intention to seek the presidency in 2016. The much-anticipated but predictable announcement on Wednesday at Ang Bahay ng Alumni inside the UP Diliman campus capped months of speculation about the senator’s plans. The ruling Liberal Party had been courting her as running mate for its presidential bet, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas. Inquirer.net photo by Marianne Bermudez

tion work in disputed areas of the sea, including the West Phil-ippine Sea, and the militarization of these areas.

The White House said Xi’s visit on Sept. 25 will give both lead-ers an opportunity to expand US-China cooperation on a range of global, regional and bilateral is-sues of mutual interest while also enabling them to address areas of disagreement constructively.

At Thursday’s Senate hearing, Republican senators in particular complained Washington’s South China Sea policy is confusing be-cause administration officials do not follow up on their resolve.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has said “turning under-water rock into an airfield simply does not afford the rights of sov-ereignty or permit restrictions on international air or maritime transit,” yet the US military has not operated within 12 miles of these features.

Asked why the US has not breached the 12-mile limit to send China a message, Adm. Har-ry Harris Jr., head of the US Pa-

cific Command and David Shear, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Af-fairs, could offer no satisfactory answer at the hearing.

However, Harris said this was an option he was ready to ex-ecute whenever ordered.

McCain in his opening state-ment said China has reclaimed nearly 3,000 acres of land in the South China Sea, more than all other claimants combined and at an unprecedented pace.

“What’s more, China is rapidly militarizing this reclaimed land, building garrisons, harbors, in-telligence and surveillance infra-structure and at least three air-strips that could support military aircraft,” he said.

“There is a gap between our words and our actions,” McCain said. “The US must be more as-sertive.”

He said the United States must uphold the principle of freedom of the seas for commercial and military purposes, on, under and below the water and the best sign of that commitment would be to conduct freedom of naviga-

tion operations within 12 nauti-cal miles of China’s reclaimed islands in the South China Sea.

Harris reaffirmed the United States does not take sides on is-sues of sovereignty with respect to territorial disputes, “but we do insist that all maritime claims be derived from naturally-formed land features in accordance with customary international law, as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention.”

China has overlapping claims with Vietnam, the Philippines,

Obama under fire in United States…PAGE A1 t

the people holding the power to govern, defining freedom and the American dream.

“I will never stand by and let anti-immigrant sentiment speak for the people of America, who understand that in a city like this, it is immigrants who work the hardest and who have made this country the greatest,” he said, before taking a large group photo with the newest young citizens.

“We are a place that has always been stronger when our arms are open, not when our borders are closed.”

Young, newly naturalized Filipinos express hopes and ex-citement

For Ruby Apolinario, whose 11-year-old daughter Darlene was among a number of Filipinos receiving their citizenship certifi-cates that day, the event was “a blessing.”

“We’re very happy and feel very lucky,” Apolinario, from Carson, California, told the Asian Journal. “Because our children are now full-fledged citizens with benefits and a naturalization

certificate, not just a passport. Because now they will have so many opportunities.”

The parents of 13-year-old Julia Aguirre also expressed joy and excitement for their daugh-ter. The Aguirres had emigrated from the Philippines to Long Beach, California in 2012, in search of “doing what’s best for our children.”

“I’m so happy and relieved

Filipino youth sworn in as US citizens…

The Apolinario family with their new certificates of citizenship. “We’re very blessed,” said Ruby Apolinario. AJPress photo by Allyson Escobar

that everything, all of the paper-work we did, came out right,” said Mary, Julia’s mom. “[Julia] has a passion to travel, and she wants to go around the world. Being a citizen, she can do all of that with a visa. She can work towards her priorities, like grad-uating from high school and col-lege. I hope to see her pursue her goals in life.”

Julia, an 8th grader at John Muir Academy, talked about her interest in the health sciences. She aspires to be a doctor and is interested in politics, particularly related to immigration.

“I am proud of being an American citizen,” Julia said. “I also want to thank my parents for sacrificing many things--money, time, and effort--in or-der for me to have certain abili-ties and to be here.” (Allyson Escobar / AJPress)

PAGE A4 t

Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.

All the speakers at the hearing lauded the Philippines for bring-ing its case against China before the UN arbitral tribunal in The Hague.

Analysts here believe even though China has refused to participate in the case, a ruling

against it by the tribunal would give Beijing the equivalent of a ‘black eye’ in the court of inter-national opinion.

Shear in his statement said China’s large-scale land reclama-tion on disputed features in the South China Sea over the past two years has brought concerns about regional stability into sharper focus. (Jose Katigbak/Pgilstar.com)

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797A� Dateline USa

VISIT FROM MAR. Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas is joined by students for a photo during his visit at the Balara Elementary School in Quezon City on Tuesday, Sept. 15. ManilaTimes.net photo by Miguel De Guzman

found that two-thirds of regis-tered Asian American voters had not been contacted by Demo-crats, while three-quarters had not been contacted by Republi-cans.

Reports showed that the Re-publican Party won 50 percent of the Asian American vote in the last midterm election, compared to 49 percent for the Democrats.

However, some say the anti-immigrant rhetoric is enough to persuade Asian voters to ques-

tion their political affiliation. “They’re seeing which party

seems like a welcoming party, which party seems like an exclu-sionary party,” Karthick Ramak-rishnan, a public policy professor at the University of California, Riverside, told NPR and gave the example of Bush referring to Asians in his usage of the “an-chor babies” term.

With the robust size of Asians who are eligible to vote — an estimated 9 million in 2014 ac-cording to Pew Research Center — the question of how to mo-bilize this segment persists for both parties, especially when a large percentage of voters label themselves as “independent” or don’t identify with a party at all.

In June, the RNC launched the Republican Leadership Initia-tive (RLI), a series of workshops to train Asian Pacific American grassroots leaders now to reach voters within their communities in the coming year.

“The Republican National Committee continues to lay the groundwork for our eventual nominee by engaging and hav-ing a strong presence with our Filipino communities across the country,” Ninio Fetalvo, APA press secretary of the RNC, said.

The RNC is planning to en-gage more Filipino-American communities in Nevada and oth-er battleground states, as well.

“Unlike the [Democratic Na-tional Committee], the RNC has

GOP presidential hopefuls square off…staff and volunteers listening to the concerns of Filipinos and en-couraging them to get involved with the Republican Leadership Initiative in an effort to take back the White House in 2016,” he added.

Genevieve Jopanda, state chair of the Filipino American Demo-cratic Caucus of the California Democratic Party, said the group will continue to reach out to community-based organizations and special-interest groups, and look at areas in the state where new Democratic clubs can be formed.

“The other way we reach out to the community is working with churches and faith-based organizations — our culture is very religious historically and that’s where a lot of our commu-nity congregates,” she said.

As election season heightens, Jopanda noted that Filipino Americans will be look-ing into issues that can affect the quality of life, like fair wages, in addition to immigration and healthcare.

“Our organization and other Filipino and political organiza-tions are always looking to reg-ister voters,” she said. “It’s great to have a turn out in presidential election, but it would be great if our community voted on a regu-lar basis and not have to wait for a presidential or big election to come around.” (Agnes Constan-te/AJPress contributed to this report)

PAGE A4 t

WASHINGTON — The chair-man of the Senate Armed Ser-vices Committee is pressing the Pentagon to sail Navy ships with-in 12 miles of artificial islands China is building in the South China Sea and claiming as sover-eign territory.

Republican Sen. John McCain says the US needs to go within the 12-mile limit to underscore it does not recognize China’s claims that the islands are its ter-ritory.

Assistant defense secretary Da-vid Shear says US ships haven’t done that since 2012, but it’s one option being considered.

China has reclaimed about 3,000 acres in the South China

Adm. Harry B. Harris, Jr., US Navy Commander, U.S. Pacific Command walks past a photograph showing an island that China is building on the Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea, as the prepares to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on maritime security strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. AP/Cliff Owen

McCain: US Navy should ignore China’s claims in South China Sea

Sea, triggering repeated objec-tions from the US and allies.

Shear and Admiral Harry Har-ris Jr., commander of the US Pa-

cific Command, testified before the committee ahead of the Chi-nese president’s Sept. 25th visit to the US. n

by Deb RiechmannAssociated Press

AIR pollution is killing 3.3 mil-lion people a year worldwide, according to a new study.

Scientists in Germany, Cy-prus, Saudi Arabia and Harvard University calculated the most detailed estimates yet of the toll of air pollution, looking at what caused it. If trends don’t change, they said, the yearly death total will double to about 6.6 million a year by 2050.

The study, published Sep-tember 16 in the journal Na-ture, used health statistics and computer models in its research.

“About three-quarters of the deaths are from strokes and heart attacks,” said lead author Jos Lelieveld at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Ger-many.

The report’s findings are simi-lar to other less detailed pollu-tion death estimates, outside experts said.

“About 6 percent of all global deaths each occur prematurely due to exposure to ambient air pollution. This number is higher than most experts would have expected, say, 10 years ago,” Ja-son West, a University of North Carolina environmental sciences professor, told the Associated Press.

“Air pollution kills more than HIV and malaria combined,” Le-lieveld said.

Study: Air pollution kills 3.3 million worldwideWith nearly 1.4 million deaths

a year, China has the most air pollution deaths in the world, followed by India with 645,000 and Pakistan with 110,000.

The study also surprisingly added that farming plays a large role in smog and soot-related deaths in industrial nations.

The United States, with 54,905 deaths in 2010 from soot and smog, ranks seventh highest for air pollution deaths. What’s unusual is that the study says that agriculture caused 16,221 of those deaths, second only to 16,929 deaths blamed on power plants.

In the Northeast, all of Europe, Russia, Japan and South Korea, agriculture is the top cause of the soot and smog deaths, ac-cording to the Nature study. Around the world, agriculture is the No. 2 cause with 664,100 deaths, behind more than 1 mil-lion deaths from in-home heat-ing and cooking done with wood and other biofuels.

“The problem with farms is ammonia from fertilizer and animal waste,” Lelieveld said. “That ammonia then combines with sulfates from coal-fired power plants and nitrates from car exhaust to form the soot par-ticles that are the big air pollu-tion killers.”

Lelieveld cited the example of London, where the traffic pollu-tion is converted into soot, “then it is mixed with ammonia and transported downwind to the

next city.”“We were very surprised, but

in the end it makes sense,” he said, adding that research sci-entists had assumed that traffic and power plants would be the biggest cause of deadly soot and smog.

“Agricultural emissions are becoming increasingly impor-tant but are not regulated,” said Allen Robinson, an engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University, who was not a part of the study.

Ammonia air pollution from farms can be reduced “at rela-tively low costs,” Robinson con-tinued. “Maybe this will help bring more attention to the is-sue.”

In the central US, the main cause of soot and smog prema-ture deaths is power plants. In much of the West, traffic emis-sions are tragically breaking re-cords.

Scientists and professors in-cluding West did dispute the study’s projections that deaths would double by 2050, based on no change in air pollution. West said it’s “more likely” that some places, such as China, will dra-matically cut their air pollution by 2050.

Lelieveld said it will be a “win-win situation in both directions” if the world reduces carbon dioxide (considered the main gas causing global warming) because soot and smog levels would go down too. n

by allyson escobaRAJPress

A BALLOT proposal that could completely abolish California’s death penalty is already on life support.

The initiative would strike death as a possible punishment from the state’s Penal Code, sub-stituting life imprisonment with-out parole. California state law currently allows for the death penalty.

“The death penalty in America may be living on borrowed time,” USA Today reported.

The ballot’s proponent, actor Mike Farrell, would have 180 days from when the secretary of state’s office enters the mea-sure into circulation to collect the needed 365,880 signatures.

California has not executed a death row inmate in nearly a decade, with the last one being in 2006, according to The Sac-ramento Bee. Farrell’s initiative also stresses in calling the death penalty an “empty promise” that

Lawmakers push initiative to end California death penalty

by allyson escobaRAJPress

drains public resources.“The state spends millions

of taxpayer dollars providing lawyers for death row inmates, only to see the murderers it has sentenced to death by execution die of old age in prison,” the pro-posal reads.

In June, death penalty advo-cates who sued in Sacramento Superior Court in 2014 won a critical settlement when the state agreed to develop a new method for lethal injection executions, using just one drug.

Opponents of the death pen-alty argue that it will take more time and money drawing up a new procedure to restart execu-tions in California, with many le-gal obstacles to face.

California currently houses the nation’s largest number of condemned inmates, nearly one-quarter of the more than 3,000 nationwide. The list also includes 21 women housed at a state pris-on in Chowchilla.

Other opponents say they doubt any more prisoners will

be executed at all, as more vot-ers turn against the practice and they continue to challenge the state in court at every turn.

Currently in California, nearly 20 inmates on death row are be-lieved to have exhausted all ap-peals and be eligible for execu-tion. However, the state lacks a court-approved way to kill them.

“There seems to be a mas-sive reassessment underway in this country in terms of capital punishment,” said Kathryn Kase, executive director of the Texas Defender Service, which pro-vides legal aid for those facing death row. “Everywhere you look with the death penalty, there’s a problem.”

Farrell’s ballot also points to the “fatal mistakes” of innocent people being carelessly sen-tenced to death as a reason to end capital punishment in Cali-fornia.

“Wrongful convictions rob in-nocent people of decades of their lives, waste tax dollars, and re-traumatize the victims’ families, while the real killers remain free to kill again,” the proposal said.

In 2012, California voters re-jected a death penalty repeal--known as Proposition 34--by a 52 to 48 percent margin. Polls have consistently shown general public support for capital punish-ment.

A growing number of states– seven, since 2007–have already abolished the death penalty. Ear-lier this year, Nebraska, tradition-ally a conservative state, became the 19th state to ban capital pun-ishment.

The federal government has not carried out an execution since 2003. An unofficial moratorium has been declared, pending the completion of a Justice Depart-ment review of the death penalty ordered by President Obama.

However, the average time spent on death row for those eventually executed continued to rise until 2011, with a peak of 16.5 years, before slightly dip-ping to 15.5 years in 2013. n

Hablamos español | Kami po ay nagsasalita ng tagalog

Evening & Weekend Consultations AvailableConsultations Available in Office, Telephone or Skype

• Deportation and Removal Defense• Employment Based Petitions• Investor Visas• Trader Visas• BIA & Federal Court Appeals• Waiver of Inadmissibility• Criminal• Criminal Waivers• Crime Victims & Trafficking Petitions• Religious Worker Petitions

• Family Based Petitions• Fiancé/Fiancée Visas• Domestic Violence Based Petitions• Same-Sex Marriage Petitions• Deceased Sponsor Remedies• Deferred Action (DACA) Petitions• Naturalization and Citizenship• Naturalization and Citizenship• Asylum Applications• Student Visas

info@aquinoloew.com | www.aquinoloew.com(626) 799-3089 | (888) 797-1140

CERTIFIED SPECIALISTS IN U.S. IMMIGRATION LAW

625 Fair Oaks Avenue, Suite 101 | South Pasadena, California 91030

Allison Aquino-Silva, Esq.

Join Us On LA18 Kababayan Today (KSCI Channel 18)

Tuesday, 09/08/15 from 3:30 - 4:00 PSTas Atty. Aquino-Silva & Atty. Loew Answer

Your Immigration Questions LIVECall-In Number: (800) 553-5724

Richard M. Loew, Esq.

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 A�Dateline USa

IMMIGRATION was a hot topic during the Republican de-bate on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, but the top 11 contenders for the GOP presidential nomination also ad-dressed other issues facing the United States, including foreign policy, Planned Parenthood and the economy.

The 11 Republican presidential hopefuls - former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker – took the stage for the prime-time debate at 5pm.

Foreign policyAmong foreign policy issues

raised during the three-hour fo-rum were Russia’s providing of troops and tanks to Syria, the Iran nuclear deal, and the upcoming state dinner with Chinese Presi-dent Xi Jinping.

When it came to the situa-tion with Russia, Trump said he would get along with many world leaders America does not get along with.

“I will get along – I think – with Putin, and I will get along with others, and we will have a much more stable, stable world,” he said.

Fiorina, having met Putin, said America has talked to the Russian leader too much and wouldn’t talk to him at all.

Her approach would involve immediately rebuilding the Sixth Fleet, the missile defense pro-gram in Poland and conducting regular aggressive military exer-cises in the Baltic states.

“I’d probably send a few thou-sand more troops into Germany. Vladimir Putin would get the message,” she said.

Fiorina said she would also provide Egypt with intelligence and that America could arm the Kurds.

While President Barack Obama’s incoming top military

Where GOP candidates stand on foreign policy, Planned Parenthood & the economy

adviser, Gen. Joseph Dunford, said Russia poses the greatest threat to America’s national se-curity, Cruz disagreed and said the biggest security threat is a nuclear Iran.

He called America’s deal with the Middle Eastern country, which would send more than

$100 billion to the Ayatollah Khamenei, “nothing short of catastrophic.” The deal, he said, further abandons four American hostages in the country, speeds up Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons. If elected president, Cruz said he would rip the deal

uPAGE A8

by Agnes ConstAnteAJPress

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797A� Dateline USa

thiS Week in RevieW US

THE tragic death of 19-year-old Paul Lee, a special needs stu-dent of the Whittier School District, circulated the news after Lee’s body in the aisleway of a school bus in the parking lot on Friday, Sept. 11. Lee, who was 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighed almost 300 pounds, was one of only three other students on the bus ride home. He was apparently forgotten by the substitute bus driver, who under protocol was supposed to walk to the back of the bus and make sure all students are off. Lee’s mother, Younha, said her son could not speak and had no capacity to yell, nor knock on the window of the bus he was trapped on. “He cannot ask for help,” she said. School district officials and Lee’s family are questioning how the tragedy happened, and an investigation is underway.

Autistic student found dead on school bus

A FRESHMAN at a Texas high school was the center of con-troversy after authorities thought his clock invention was a bomb, suspending him and calling police on Sept. 14. Ahmed Mohamed, 14, took apart and re-created the clock and brought it to school to show his teacher, who mistook the invention for something suspicious. Police in Irving, Texas questioned and detained the teen and then let him go without charges, calling the incident “an abundance of caution.” The Council on Ameri-can-Islamic Relations was outraged, saying this would not have happened if his name wasn’t Ahmed Mohamed, and he was sim-ply trying to showcase his engineering talents. A social media storm erupted with the trending tag #IStandWithAhmed, and people from Hillary Clinton to Mark Zuckerberg tweeted their support. President Obama also tweeted, “Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.”

Clock invention mistaken for fake bomb; ends in no charges

DESPITE steady job growth and a noticeable drop in unem-ployment, the nation’s poverty rate showed no improvement in 2014. A typical American household saw no real gain in come, according to the Census Bureau. Experts hoping for a second straight year of decline in the number of America’s poor and jobless were disappointed. According to the Bureau, 14.8 per-cent of people live in poverty, statistically unchanged from 2013 and well above the 12.3 percent in 2006, before the Great Re-cession.

US poverty rate and incomes stagnant in 2014

OFFICIALS confirmed several deaths this week in the Valley and Butte fires, both of which have burned over 70,000 acres of land. The Butte fire is 60 percent contained, with 365 homes and 261 outbuildings destroyed, and thousands of structures threatened. Two bodies were found as of Friday. The Valley fire is just 40 percent contained, with 13,000 people displaced and close to 7,500 homes threatened. Three bodies were found as of Friday. Fresno County’s Rough Fire made the top 15 largest wildfires in California history. The initial cause of the wildfires is still being determined, and evacuees are highly encouraged to follow authorities and leave the area.

California wildfires spread; bodies found

MORE than 70 shows later, New York Fashion Week ended with an economic impact currently estimated to be $900 mil-lion, nearly $15 million more than last year, according to Fash-ion Week Online. Approximately 125,000 people were in atten-dance at shows in various locations throughout the city, from the Skylight at Moynihan Station and Skylight Clarkson Square. Memorable shows included the opening ceremony, where mod-els’ simultaneously fell in a staged performance, Jeremy Scott’s bold 60s-themed presentation, and Diane von Furstenberg’s collection featuring the industry’s top models, Gigi and Bella Hadid, Jourdan Dunn, Karlie Kloss, and Kendall Jenner.

New York Fashion Week

MARK Zuckerberg, the co-founder and chief executive of Facebook, said the company was “very close to shipping a test” of a dislike button. He suggested that the new button would probably be more nuanced than just a simple thumbs-down op-tion, but his comments nevertheless raised the possibility that Facebook, now the world’s largest social network, could become a more negative place. There are now 1.5 billion Facebook us-ers, and many have long requested a way to express negative emotions or empathy with something sad or tragic posted on the site, Zuckerberg said. “Not every moment is a good mo-ment, and if you are sharing something sad…then it may not feel comfortable to like that post. So I do think it’s important to give people more options than just like.”

Facebook to soon add a ‘dislike’ button

to shreds.Trump took a position on Iran

parallel to Cruz’s, calling the agreement “terrible” and “in-competent.” He then segued into comments on North Korea.

“And nobody ever mentions North Korea where you have this maniac sitting there and he ac-tually has nuclear weapons and somebody better start thinking about North Korea and perhaps a couple of other places. But cer-tainly North Korea.”

Few candidates touched on their stances regarding the up-coming Chinese state dinner at the White House on Sept. 25.

Walker has expressed favor to-ward canceling the dinner given the country’s currency manipu-lation and alleged cyberattacks against America, though Paul said, “I don’t think we need to be rash, I don’t think we need to be reckless, and I think we need to leave lines of communication open.”

“It doesn’t mean we give … China a free pass, but, to be engaged, we need to continue to talk. We did throughout the Cold War, and it would be a big mistake not to do it here,” Paul added.

Planned ParenthoodCandidates spoke in harmony

about stripping federal funding from Planned Parenthood, cit-ing pro-life values and graphic videos depicting the non-profit organization’s selling of fetal body parts.

Christie and Bush said they had defunded Planned Parent-

hood in their respective states; Cruz called the videos “horrify-ing” and encouraged all Ameri-cans to view them.

“Seeing your Planned Parent-hood officials callously, heart-lessly bartering and selling the body parts of human beings, and then ask yourself, ‘Are these my values?’” Cruz said.

Fiorina dared Clinton and Obama to watch the tapes.

“Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking while someone ways we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain. This is about the character of our nation, and we will not stand up in and force President Obama to veto this bill, shame on us,” Fiorina said.

Dozens of House Republicans have vowed to reject a govern-ment funding bill that includes money for Planned Parenthood. On Friday, Sept. 18, in a nearly partisan 241-187 vote, advanced a bill that would halt federal funding to Planned Parenthood for one year. But the Senate has enough votes from Democrats to stop the measure, while the White House said Obama would veto the legislation if it reaches his desk.

During the debate, candi-dates expressed determination to defund the organization while averting a government shutdown. Funding for the government ex-pires at the end of September.

“We got to talk about what we would be willing to shut down for. Why don’t we put tax reform on this president’s desk, and make him veto it if that’s what he wants

to do? Why haven’t we repealed and replaced Obamacare?” Ka-sich said.

Bush suggested funding should be redirected from Planned Par-enthood to the 13,000 communi-ty-based organizations through-out America that offer health services for women.

“There are ways to do it with-out having to shut the govern-ment down, but I’m sympathetic to the fact that we don’t want this organization to get funding, and the money ought to be re-programmed for family planning in other organizations that don’t support this tactic,” Kasich said.

Economy: Back-and-forth be-tween Fiorina and Trump

The state of America’s econ-omy and how to improve it was a topic that elicited candidates’ harping about their track re-cords. Fiorina and Trump were spotlighted in the beginning of the discussion, given their busi-ness backgrounds.

The former Hewlett-Packard CEO offered her experience with the company, how she led it dur-ing “the worst technology reces-sion in 25 years” when the NAS-DAQ stock index plummeted 80 percent and took 15 years before it recovered.

“Despite those difficult times, we doubled the size of the com-pany, we quadrupled its topline growth rate, we quadrupled its cash flow, we tripled its rate of innovation,” she said.

Fiorina added that by making hard decisions, Hewlett-Packard managed to save 80,000 jobs, grew to 160,000 jobs; Now, the

company employs nearly 300,000 people.

“We went from lagging behind to leading in every product cate-gory and every market segment,” she said.

Trump took to counter Fio-rina’s resume by citing a re-cent paper by the head of Yale Business School who wrote that Fiorina’s time as head of Hewlett-Packard was one of the worst tenures he has ever seen. He added that the company’s revenues increased because it acquired Compaq.

To Trump’s comment, Fiorina responded by saying Trump had filed for bankruptcy four times.

“Why should we trust you to manage the finances of this na-tion any differently than you managed the finances of your casinos?” she said.

The real-estate entrepreneur went on to talk about how he has made more than $10 billion.

While both businesspeople used their records as a basis for why they could be effective na-tional leaders, Christie said the focus of the discussion should be on the middle class.

“You’re both successful peo-ple. Congratulations. You know who’s not successful? The mid-dle class in this country who’s getting plowed over by Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton. Let’s start talking about those issues tonight and stop this childish back-and-forth between the two of you,” Christie said, drawing applause from the audience.

Economy: improvements through tax cuts, minimum wage approaches

A variety of tax proposals were

PAGE A7 t

uPAGE A9

Where GOP candidates stand…

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 A�Dateline USa

BETHESDA, Maryland – Po-lice in Montgomery County be-lieve that a Filipino caregiver, who was arrested for allegedly stealing $193,000 from an el-derly couple and fled after post-ing bail bond, is now hiding in the Philippines.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department has issued an active arrest warrant for Al-exander Manguiam, 46, who was already facing charges of theft scheme $100,000+, theft $100,000+ and stealing prop-

Filipino caregiver wanted for alleged $193K theft in Marylanderty of a vulnerable adult, ac-cording to an August 25 WJLA (ABC7) report.

Manguiam was reportedly hired in February 2010 to care for a Bethesda couple then in their late 80s in declining health. The husband passed away in Febru-ary 2013. His wife was confined to a bed and wheelchair but is still alive today.

In September 2013, Wells Fargo Bank’s financial crimes unit contacted Montgomery County Police after flagging a

forged check Manguiam had deposited in his personal ac-count.

After an investigation, de-tectives found that Manguiam allegedly altered 44 of his pay-checks, for instance, in one case he turned a check for $1,630 into $4,630.

In 21 other instances, Man-guiam allegedly stole checks from the elderly couple’s din-ing room cupboard drawer and later made them out to himself. The grand total stolen over

three years was $193,608.Police arrested Manguiam in

December 2014. He later posted bond and moved into a friend’s Silver Spring home while await-ing trial.

But Manguiam did not show up for his August 7, court date at Montgomery County Circuit Court. He had to surrender his Filipino passport prior to post-ing bond, but authorities fear Manguiam still managed to flee to the Philippines. (Inquirer.net)

pitched by Republicans during the debate as solutions to further propel the US economy.

Paul, who has served in the Senate since 2010, proposed a single rate 14.5 percent tax for business, corporate and personal income. He also suggested elimi-nating the payroll tax, which would allow the working class to receive a tax break.

Huckabee suggested eliminat-ing all taxes on those who pro-duce.

“Why should we penalize pro-ductivity?” he said.

Walker, who has served as governor of Wisconsin since 2011, suggested a plan based on the Ronald Reagan tax cuts of 1986 and said he would repeal Obamacare on his first day in of-fice if elected president. He also explained by he finds raising the federal minimum wage a “lame idea.” He said the best way peo-ple can attain higher wages is through acquiring the education and skills they need to secure careers that pay more than mini-mum wage.

“The real issue is about jobs,” he said.

Carson, who had nearly caught up to Trump in the polls a day before the debate, offered an ap-proach to the minimum wage by proposing a two different types: a starter and sustaining minimum wage, “because how are young people ever going to get a job if you have such a high minimum wage that it makes it impractical to hire them?”

Trump addressed the middle class by proposing a “major re-duction” in taxes.

“I know people that are making a tremendous amount of money and paying virtually no tax, and I think it’s unfair,” he said.

Another tax cut proposal came

from Kasich, Ohio’s 69th gover-nor, who also laid out his resume for debate viewers.

“Well, look, people still have to get to know me, so I want to spend my time talking about my experience reforming welfare, balancing budgets, cutting tax-es, providing economic growth when I was in Washington, turn-ing Ohio around. Eight billion in the hole, $2 billion surplus, up over 300,000 jobs, big tax cuts, strengthening our credit,” he said.

“We’ve had the largest amount of tax cuts of any sitting governor. We’ve grown well over 300,000 jobs. You see, I’ve done it in both places. I’m the only one here that has done it in both places,” the governor added.

Clinton’s post-debate com-ments

Less than a day following the CNN debate, Democratic presi-dential candidate Hillary Clinton, the party’s frontrunner, warned Republicans about jeopardizing the economy by shutting down the federal government by block-ing funding for Planned Parent-hood.

“I would hope that the Re-publicans, and particularly the Republicans in the House led by Speaker Boehner, would not put our country and our economy in peril pursuing some kind of emotionally, politically charged partisan attack,” Clinton said in an interview with CNN the day before the House voted to freeze funding for Planned Par-enthood for a year. “That would be a very, very unfortunate de-cision.”

In an earlier statement, she also said Republican presiden-tial candidates’ pledge to defund Planned Parenthood propels a “race to the bottom” on women’s health and rights issues. n

PAGE A8 t

Where GOP candidates…Suspect Alexander Manguiam

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797A10

After all the anticipation, suspense, and cliff-hangers of teleseryes that mirror her personal nar-rative, Senator Grace Poe has finally made it official: She is running for President.

this makes the Presidential election in May 2016 a choice among the three candidates who have made their intent to run public and official: VP Jejo-mar Binay, Mar roxas and Grace Poe.

While Poe has lorded over her political opponents in the polls, more recent independent surveys still have to reveal how her move to protect the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) over the rule of law could have af-fected her favorability rating. Her stand on the INC fiasco gave an impression to many that she is just as “trapo” as the old timers in politics, who would do everything to win the endorsement of big religious voting blocs.

But there is no denying that Poe, finally being in the race to Malacanang, has energized so many kababayans who have been looking for a candidate who can be an alternative to those who had been tried, tested, and somehow failed peoples’ expecta-tions in governance.

“Ako po si Grace Poe. Pilipino. Anak, asawa at ina, at sa tulong ng Mahal na Diyos ay inaalay ko sa inyong lahat ang aking sarili sa mas mataas na paninilbihan bilang inyong Pangulo,” Poe declared before hundreds of supporters at the University of the Philippines (UP) Bahay ng Alumni Wednesday evening, September 16, as reported by ABS-CBN News.

“Sana po ay samahan ninyo ako sa pagpapanday ng maganda at makabuluhang hinaharap ng ating inang bayang Pilipinas,” said Poe, complete with all

the necessary elements of stage-craft for maximum intensity effect among prospective voters.

Poe had an all-star cast that in-cluded her family and many other showbiz personalities from dif-ferent generations who were all there to show their support for the daughter of the late King of fili-pino movies fernando Poe Jr. and the reyna—veteran actress, Susan roces.

the stage design optics and sounds included fans and supporters who repeatedly chanted her name, holding banners in support of Poe. Boldly written on the banners inside the UP Bahay ng Alumni were: “Sama-sama Poe tayo,” “Tuloy na Poe,” “Eto na Poe,” and “Maasahan, matapang, tapat Poe.”

And then this. As expected, she invoked the name of fPJ:”Nung ako po’y unang kumatok sa inyong mga puso, ang sabi ko gusto kong ipagpatuloy ang mga simulain ni fPJ. Simple lang ang prinsipyo ng aking ama na siya ring naging dahilan ng kanyang pagtakbo. Sinabi niya sa bulwagang ito mahigit 11 taon ang nakalipas: Importante sa isang leader ang katalinuhan pero mas importante na may tapat na pusong manilbihan upang tulungan ang mahihirap, labanan ang pang-aabuso, at pumanday ng isang li-punang masagana at makatarungan,” Poe said.

In her 25-minute speech Poe said that she draws inspiration from ordinary filipinos—farmers, fisher-men, drivers, teachers, health workers, police, sol-diers, those who brave the traffic everyday, overseas filipino workers (OfWs), and other people strug-gling to make their lives better.

“Kayong lahat ang pinaghuhu-gutan ko ng inspirasyon. Kayo ang nagbibigay sa akin ng lakas na ialay ang aking sarili sa mas mataas na paninilbihan sa bayan,” she said.

Poe’s promisesABS-CBN News report-

ed about how Poe went on to present her platform:

Pushing for inclusive growth, addressing the backlog in classrooms, creating a Standard Lunch Program in all public schools, crusading against crime and illegal drugs, and respecting the rights of everyone especially those in vulnerable sectors including senior citizens and members of the LGBt community.

She also highlighted the need of improving health services, pushing for the passage of the freedom of Information (fOI) bill, and fighting for the West Phil-ippine Sea which is also being claimed by China.

“Walang maiiwang Pilipino at walang maiiwang lugar sa Pilipinas. Sabay-sabay tayong aangat at sama-sama tayong uunlad,” Poe said.

Poe also said that no one man or group holds a monopoly on “Tuwid na Daan,” and vowed to con-tinue the Aquino administration’s fight against cor-ruption.

She explained, “Malaki at malayo na ang nagawa ni Pangulong Aquino kaugnay sa pagpapanagot sa mga tiwali, at ako ay personal na nagpapasalamat sa kanya sapagkat nanumbalik muli ang kumpyansa natin sa isang lider na tapat.

“Dapat lang na ituloy at paigtingin ang pagsugpo

sa korapsyon. Papanagutin ko ang tiwali, kaibigan man o kaaway, subalit ‘di lamang isang tao o partido ang dapat nagsusulong nito kundi ang bawat isang Pilipino,” she added.

ABS-CBN News further reported that Poe includ-ed in her campaign promises that she will lower the tax rates and power costs in the country. She also advocates for faster Internet, quipping that “con-necting should not take forever.”

Poe also stressed the need to build more roads and trains, to clean the drainage systems, and to remove colorum and illegally parked vehicles to im-prove the already worsening traffic situation in the country which she called “OA.”

the senator also promised to pursue peace with all groups, particularly the Muslims, saying filipinos should no longer be fighting fellow filipinos.

“Sa mga kapatid nating Muslim, naging inspira-syon kayo sa maraming pelikula ni fPJ, ang inyong kultura at kagitingan. Panahon na para mabigyan kayo ng patas na pagkakataon at tunay na tulong,” she said.

How will Grace Poe’s running for President change the political campaign dynamics? Who be-tween Binay and Mar roxas will benefit from her candidacy?

If the election is held today, who will you vote for? VP Binay? Sec. Mar roxas? or Sen. Grace Poe?

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

Philstar.com photo

OpiniOn Features

DANTE SAMBILAYArt Director

Main Office:1210 S. Brand BoulevardGlendale, CA 91204Tels: (818) 502-0651Fax: (818) 502-0858e-mail: info@asianjournalinc.comhttp://www.asianjournal.com

Northern California:1001 Bayhill Drive, Suite 200San Bruno, CA 94066Tel.: (650) 616-4150 • Fax: (650) 616-4152

Asian Journal Publications, Inc. (“AJPI”) reserves the right to refuse to publish, in its sole and absolute discretion, any advertising and advertorial material submitted for publication by client. (“Client’s Material”)Submission of an advertisement or advertorial to an AJPI sales representative does not constitute a commitment by AJPI to publish a Client’s Material. AJPI has the option to correctly classify any Client’s Material and to delete objectionable words or phrases.Client represents and warrants that a Client’s Material does not and will not contain any language or material which is libelous, slanderous or defamatory or invades any rights of privacy or publicity; does not and will not violate or infringe upon, or give rise to any adverse claim with respect to any common law or other right whatsoever (including, without limitation, any copyright, trademark, service mark or contract right) of any person or entity, or violate any other applicable law; and is not the subject of any litigation or claim that might give rise to any litigation.Publication of a Client’s Material does not constitute an agreement to continue publication.Client agrees and covenants to indemnify AJPI and its officers against any and all loss, liability, damage, expenses, cost, charges, claims, actions, causes of action, recoveries, judgments, penalties, including outside attorneys’ fees (individually and collectively “Claims”) which AJPI may suffer by reason of (1) Client’s breach of any of the representations, warranties and agreements herein or (2) any Claims by any third party relating in any way to Client’s Material.AJPI will not be liable for failure to publish any Client’s Material as requested or for more than one incorrect insertion of a Client’s Material. In the event of an error, or omission in printing or publication of a Client’s Material, AJPI shall be limited to an adjustment for the space occupied by the error, with maximum liability being cancellation of the cost of the first incorrect advertisement or republication of the correct advertisement.Under no circumstances shall Asian Publications, Inc. be liable for consequential damages of any kind.

ASIAN JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS, INC. publishes the Los Angeles Asian Journal, published twice a week; the Orange County and Inland Empire Asian Journal, Northern California Asian Journal, Las Vegas Asian Journal and the New York / New Jersey Asian Journal which are published once a week and distributed to Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange Counties, Northern California, Las Vegas and New York and New Jersey respectively.Articles published in this paper do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher. Letters to the Editor are welcome. Letters must contain complete name and return address. The materials, however, are subject to editing and revisions.Contributions and advertising deadlines are every Mondays and Thursdays. For advertising rates and other informations, please call the L.A. office at (213) 250-9797 or send us an email at info@asianjournalinc.com

ADVERTISING AND ADVERTORIAL POLICIES

Las Vegas Sales Office:3700 W. Desert Inn RoadLas Vegas, NV 89102Tel.: (702) 792-6678 • Fax: (702) 792-6879

The views expressed by our Op-Ed contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the predilection of the editorial board and staff of Asian Journal.

ROGER LAGMAY ORIELPublisher & Chairman of the Board

CORA MACABAGDAL-ORIELPresident

BELLE M. SISONExecutive Vice President

Los Angeles Asian Journal

MONETTE ADEVA MAGLAYASenior Vice President

Los Angeles Asian Journal

ANDY TECSON/TED TALAGBERT JAURIGUE

Photographers

MOMAR G. VISAYAExecutive Editor

ELIZABETH HILARIO SISONChief Financial Officer

IVY MANALANGVice President - MarketingLos Angeles Asian Journal

SHARON ANN SAN PEDROVice President - SalesBalikbayan Magazine

DING CARREONVideographer

Manila Office:2nd Floor Units D&E, Fort Palm Springs30th St., Cor 1st Ave, Bonifacio Global City, TaguigTel.: (632) 856-4921 • Fax: (632) 856-1661

New York:133-30 32nd Ave., Flushing, NY 11354Tel.: (212) 655-5426 • Fax (818) 502-0858

New Jersey:449 Hoboken AvenueJersey City, New Jersey 07306Tel: (212) 655.5426 • Fax: (818) 502.0858

“IF you go to someone’s home and they offer you their food, they’re giving something of themselves. Once people give, then their heart is involved. Giv-ing – making your contribution – is what brings community alive.” — Cesar Chavez

I have heard this quite a few times -- it is valuable to honor a contribution, however small. It makes a difference in keeping a community together. I have observed this, like other Americans, when it was concretely done by the Obama presidential campaign. Pres-ident Obama validated the smallest contribution, a $3.22 donation sent by a retired senior. Pres. Obama gave it such center stage importance.

the campaign focused on small, as well as grand participations, and be-hind-the-scenes strategy-making. this practice of gratitude has built a culture of mutual caring and continues to sus-tain a community to stay together. And in staying together through the recog-nition of contributions, whatever the amount, the equalizing factor of a de-mocracy is kept vibrant.

I believed this practice allowed the Obama campaign to thread together the hearts of the few initial supporters until they ballooned to 3,000,000 vol-unteers who participated through vari-ous commitments: hosting fundraisers, knocking on doors, organizing phone booths, writing blogs, street rallying,

and for op-ed writ-ers, utilizing news-papers through their columns. All were ac-knowledged, through Obama’s website and with personal letters of thanks.

these acts of ap-preciation by Pres.

Obama and Cesar Chavez bring another individual who practiced the same show of gratitude -- Lean Alejandro.

* * *Lean and lanky, he was often teased

and likened to a bean stalk. Lean was married to Lidy, a good-looking woman who is known for remembering precise details, including analyzing patterns and behaviors of folks she meets. She is very observant of people and listens perceptively. She is also equally gener-ous with sharing her own travels and interactions with different cultures.

Before Lean was murdered by un-identified men in the Philippines, the couple traveled abroad, courtesy of Lidy’s parents. they made trips to visit family in the summer. During these trips, we were usually their first or last stop. Being their first stop would mean picking them up at the airport and be-ing their last stop would entail a trip to Lidy’s parents house -- a 60-mile jour-ney from Los Angeles County to visit and bring them to the coast.

What I remember most were the laughs, the endless eating, and analysis of the political climate back home.

Oh, how he enjoyed life! On the way back from the airport, he would ea-

gerly recall the details of his last visit. He would remember everything, from the steamed crabs that we had at the pier to the spot where we went fishing which we showed him.

Lidy, usually would have a more precise recall. During that time, Santa Monica Pier was quite clean and fishing was al-lowed from the pier. We would catch barracuda and even some perch. But, after fishing, per-haps Lean remembered the coast so well -- the breeze, the languid waves lapping back and forth and he would asso-ciate our fishing with buying steamed, cooked crabs.

We (enrique, myself, Lean and Lidy) would drive to re-dondo Beach to buy steamed crabs to take them home and eat them with rice, vinegar and garlic. Kamayan lang, okay, Lean would say. We would laugh so hard as we pried open, with difficulty, the crab claws. He made an analogy of the crabs with a person whom he encountered.

He had many reflections, perhaps foreshadowing how he needed to make the most out of what turned out to be a very brief life. Lean died at the age of 27.

He had grand stories to tell -- stories of how he persuaded folks to change their perspectives, while organizing students and many others, to lift mar-tial law, to restore democracy and hu-

man rights in the Philippines, during the Marcos’ dictatorship from 1972 to 1986.

And his story took us to the Lords of the rings. He loved it so much that J. Uy of the Philippine Inquirer, Sept. 19, 2007 wrote: “ I (Lidy) introduced him

to the ‘Lord of the rings.’ But he didn’t tell his friends that he got it from me. Macho kasi,” said the feminist firebrand, (Lidy) chuck-ling at the memory of her hus-band, Lean.

Lean spoke in layered volumes, disclosing at times his dilemma, using the Lord of the rings anal-ogy: “Does the fellowship have what it takes to complete its task, or will the powers of evil over-come those of good leaving be-hind a world ravaged by the rage of Sauron, the Dark Lord?“

the Dark Lord of course, he was insinuating in the context of the Marcos dictatorship -- a regime that instilled fear among filipinos. former President Marcos was known for unrea-sonably sending the opposition in prison, stifling the media, and taking ownership of key indus-tries.

Lean was then aspiring to run for Congress, at a young age of 27. As a student leader, he attracted legions and inspired crowds. He got along with ev-eryone -- the poor, the middle-class and the wealthy elite. He was welcomed in the mansions of the rich, in churches, even in a humble slum dwelling. He

inspired folks with simple words and with his abundant humor. He had a knack for creating slogans spontane-ously: “ the struggle for freedom is the next best thing to actually being free,”

Remembering Lean Alejandro: A short life well-spent

Prosy AbArquez-DelAcruz, J.D.

Rhizomes

uPAGE A11

Who will you now vote for: Grace Poe, Mar Roxas, or Jejomar Binay?

Gel SantoS-ReloS

The Fil-Am Perspective

WHEN President Aquino talks of continuity, he may want to focus on the short-term, which is ensuring that public services will not be disrupted by the departure en masse of executive officials who will seek elective posts next year.

No disruptions

even before the departures, the public has already had a taste of the consequences of having execu-tive officials distracted by political plans for 2016. Chairman francis tolentino of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, who is known to be eyeing a Senate seat, has received heavy flak for his provincial sorties while the re-gion under his jurisdiction is paralyzed by mon-strous traffic jams.

Manuel roxas II and francis Pangilinan have resigned to pursue their bids for positions in the general elections next year. More resignations are expected as the October deadline nears for filing certificates of candidacy. the secretary-general of the Liberal Party has been named to replace rox-as, the LP’s standard bearer, as secretary of the interior and local government – a position that will play a key role in the elections.

Pangilinan, who was appointed to a position that was created amid reports that President Aquino was unhappy with the performance of his agri-culture secretary, is expected to run again for the

Senate. the President has yet to disclose whether Pangilinan will be the first and only adviser on agriculture and food security and

whether his functions will be given back to Agri-culture Secretary Proceso Alcala. Key agencies under Alcala’s department had been placed under the office created for Pangilinan.

Also likely to seek elective posts in 2016 are Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and director Joel Villanueva of the technical education and Skills Development Authority. Gregory Domingo has re-signed as secretary of trade and industry but has agreed to stay on until the annual Asia-Pacific eco-nomic Cooperation Leaders’ Summit in Novem-ber. Domingo is reportedly burned out, but there is also speculation that he will again help roxas in the campaign for 2016. transport Secretary Joseph emilio Abaya may want to return to the House of representatives.

Investors are reportedly putting plans on hold be-cause of the election season. Government services, however, cannot be disrupted by the departure of

Guest Editorial

agency heads. the President must fill vacancies quickly and when needed, the Commission on Ap-pointments must act just as speedily on the nomina-

tions. there are still nine months left in the Aquino administration, and public services cannot be put on hold for the elections. (Philstar.com)

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 A11

Dateline PhiliPPines

or “ In The line of fire is a place of honor.”In her August 2008 article, Marlu Villanueva-

Balmaceda of Philstar.com, had this to say: “I liked Lean because he was oozing with confidence, he was so articulate, and he was totally charismatic. He was like a magnet. Even if he was talking ideol-ogy, it all made sense to me.”

My most vivid memory of Lean was how he shook my hand and how he would hold my right hand with both his hands, how he would look into my eyes and smile. He would thank us profusely for the slightest thing -- from picking them up at the airport, even to taking them out for coffee. He was always generous with his gratitude. He was consciously living, moment by moment.

Lean understood the price of good, effective leadership. He knew his life would be on the line, and he was acutely aware that it could end prema-turely. Yet, he never failed to thank folks that he encountered in his path. He was the first leader/aspiring politician to campaign in his kamiseta and tsinelas, a way of honoring the folks he met: fish vendors, palengke workers, cooks, sidewalk ven-dors, working poor, teachers and many more. To-day we revere the likes of Lean and recall some of his simple humble ways similar to that of Secretary Jesse Robredo, who too made himself accessible in Naga, wearing his kamiseta at tsinelas, giving a brand of tsinelas leadership -- accessible, truthful, accountable, progressive, just, fair, and people-centered, without unjustly enriching himself in office.

Twenty -eight years later, those who murdered Lean Alejandro have still not been brought to jus-tice. Up to now, those who pulled the trigger on Lean and Ninoy Aquino are still unidentified.

Rumors abound that both Lean and Ninoy were assassinated by the radical arm of the military, the same people who made six coup attempts to de-pose the presidency of Cory Aquino.

We may never know who killed Lean. But what we do know is that his widow, Lidy Nacpil Alejan-dro, now remarried, is moving forward with her progressive vision. Lidy has traveled to more than 220 cities in the world, speaking on behalf of pro-gressive causes. Her latest journey was made for the Freedom from Debt Coalition, and now, Bonn to negotiate for climate change, educating people about how climate change is integrated with in-come inequality.

Today, Lean’s legacy and the community he built lives on in our hearts, immortalized in a wing of Vinzon’s Hall in the University of the Philip-pines Diliman campus, named after him. Photo-graphs of his life as an activist are displayed in his memory. A Lean Musical was staged in his mem-ory, during the 40 years’ anniversary of the decla-ration of martial law. A Lean anthology was com-missioned by a major publisher in the Philippines and folks submitted essays on their experiences of organizing against the Marcos dictatorship and to restore human rights in the Philippines.

The price of democracy is not free, it is some-times paid with blood and a selfless life’s journey of working to bring about a progressive vision. Now, we know Sec. Jesse Robredo might be hav-ing a robust conversation with Lean Alejandro, somewhere up in heaven, challenged by my dad, Eleazar who was pro-Marcos.

* * *Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for Asian Journal Press for 8 years now. She contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in the field of science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium and Mexico and 22 national parks in the US, in pursuit of her love for arts.

Remembering Lean Alejandro…PAGE A10 t

MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thurs-day, Sept. 17, confirmed that there were no Filipinos affected in the 8.3 magnitude quake that hit central Chile.

“So far we have not received report of Filipinos affected by the earthquake in Chile,” DFA spokesman Charles Jose said in a text message.

Jose said there are over 300 Filipinos working and residing in the Latin American state.

Reports said at least five peo-ple were killed and 1 million resi-dents have been evacuated from coastal areas due to the quake.

The magnitude 8.3 tremor triggered waves of up to 15 feet

DFA: No Filipinos affected in Chile quake

People evacuate a mall in Santiago after a powerful earthquake, in Santiago, Chile Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015. Nadia Perez/agencia Uno via AP

along the coast of Coquimbo re-gion.

Due to tsunami alarm, the Phil-ippine Institute of Volcanology

and Seismology also raised tsu-nami alerts in 20 provinces in the country but clarified that there is no evacuation in effect. n

by Rosette AdelPhilstar.com

One is gOOd. TwO is even beTTer!Are yOu prepAred?

When you have a family, you need to learn how to protect them and plan for the future.Whether you want a bigger car or life insurance that better serves your needs, State Farm®

can customize your coverage to help protect everything that matters to you.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, State Farm Indemnity Company – Bloomington, IL

Call an Agent today!

855-414-7565

15-SFI-899State Farm Insurance - Pregnancy

11.50” (w) x 10.55”(h) / HP4CAsian Journal SF, LA

Prepared by interTrend Communications, Inc.

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797A12

SEAFOOD CITYADVERTORIAL

FP

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 A13Dateline PHiliPPineS

JOINT CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON AUTOMATED ELECTIONS SYSTEM. Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Cavite 4th District Representative Elpidio Barzaga are updated by officials of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on the agency’s preparations for the 2016 National and Local Elections during a joint congressional hearing on the automated election system on Thursday, Sept. 17. The panel was also given a progress report on voters’ registration and biometrics validation for the upcoming elections. Senate photo by Alex Nuevaespaña

THE family of slain car rac-ing champion Ferdinand “Enzo” Pastor has offered a P1-million reward to informants who could provide leads on the arrest of Pastor’s wife Dahlia Guerrero and her alleged lover Domingo “Sandy” de Guzman.

Pastor’s father Tom announced the bounty for Guerrero and De Guzman in a press conference on Friday at Hotel Rembrandt, Que-zon City.

De Guzman and Guerrero are facing murder charges with no bail recommended for their al-leged involvement in the June 12 killing of Pastor.

The older Pastor also urged the informants to contact him at 09285044931.

He also gave the contact de-tails of the National Capital Re-gion – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Superintendent Danilo Macerin and Quezon City Police District Criminal Inves-tigation and Detection Unit’s Police Senior Inspector Rodel Marcelo.

Macerin and Marcelo could be reached through contact

Tom Pastor, father of slain car racing champion Enzo Pastor, offers P1-million reward for the capture of the suspects in his son’s killing, Dahlia Guerrero-Pastor and Domingo “Sandy” de Guzman. Julliane Love De Jesus/Inquirer.net.

P1M bounty for wife of slain racer Enzo Pastor, alleged lover

numbers 09178420992 and 09185315178.

The Interpol, of which the Philippine National Police is a member, recently issued a “red notice” for Dahlia after reports came out that the widow has fled the country after the incident.

A red notice is an international warrant against a fugitive of the law based on a request submit-

ted to Interpol by a member country.

Meanwhile, Pastor said De Guzman is still in the country.

The 32-year-old car racing champion was shot by a motor-cycle-riding man, a Pasay po-liceman allegedly hired by De Guzman, while traveling along Congressional Avenue in Quezon City. n

by Julliane love De JesusInquirer.net

WHAT’S sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

Invoking the contentious Su-preme Court decision which granted Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile’s bail plea last month, lawyers of former President and now Pam-panga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Thursday, Sept. 17, reit-erated that she should be placed under house arrest.

In an eight-page reply to the prosecution’s opposition, Ar-royo’s counsels told the Sandi-ganbayan First Division that En-rile and the former president are “similarly situated” as both are already sickly and are not con-sidered flight risk.

The defense also cited the case of former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, whose request to be held at his sprawling rest house in Tanay, Rizal, was granted by the anti-graft court while he was being tried for plunder.

Arroyo, 68, had been in hospi-tal detention at the Veterans Me-morial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City since October 2012 after she was indicted for plunder over the purported misuse of P366 million in intel-ligence funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

“If bail may be granted on grounds of unlikelihood of flight and/or poor health, then it stands to reason that [Arroyo’s] present custodial arrangement may be modified to transfer the place of her detention from the [VMMC] to her residence in Quezon City or Lubao, Pampanga,” Arroyo’s lawyers argued.

Fragile health“[Arroyo] and Senator Enrile

are similarly situated,” the peti-tion read. “Like Senator Enrile, [she] is also of fragile health and is a nonflight risk.”

Enrile, who is facing plunder and graft charges over the P10-billion pork barrel racket, was purportedly known as “Tanda” (old) in the records of the scam’s alleged mastermind, Janet Lim-Napoles.

The 91-year-old senator was able to secure his provisional liberty on Aug. 18 after eight jus-tices of the high tribunal voted to approve his bail petition on hu-manitarian grounds.

Arroyo’s lawyers told the court that government doctors had certified that she had yet to “fully recover” from a debilitating age-

Gloria Arroyo cites Enrile verdict in petition for house arrest

related bone ailment and that she underwent three major spinal surgeries.

They said the government prosecutors’ claim that Arroyo’s petition for house arrest had no legal basis was “without merit.”

“But unlike Senator Enrile, [Arroyo] is not asking for bail … but simply that her current custodial arrangement be modi-fied,” they said. (Marlon Ramos/Inquirer.net)Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797A14

SEAFOOD CITYREGULAR AD

FP

(213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 B�

SHOWBIZ&STYLEJournal

Kim Chiu admitted feeling hesitant at first to do “Etiquette for Mistresses,” but later realized she needed to do something new for her fans. Philstar.com photo

Kim Chiu after doing mistress role: Woman na ako!by Joyce Jimenez

Philstar.com

MANILA - Kim Chiu felt that she’s now a woman after doing her upcoming film “Etiquette for Mistresses.”

She didn’t deny that at first she hesitated doing the role since it’s different from the roles she usually portray. Her mind changed after reading the script and talking to Kris Aquino who is also part of the film.

The Kapamilya actress said Kris made her realize that “it’s time for me to mature, hindi na ako dapat pabebe na patawa, pa-jologs. Kai-langan mo rin gumawa ng isang proyektong magsasabi na actress ako at woman na ako,” she said during the press gathering for the film on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

“So sa movie na ‘to ‘yon ang nasabi ko, ‘ay, woman na pala ako,” she added.

Kim also thanked their director

Chito Roño for teaching her the “movie drama.”

“‘Yong teleserye acting ko ayaw ni direk,” she recalled, laughing. “Nagda-drama lang kasi ako sa soap opera, e, paano ba ‘yong pelikulang drama? So medyo ma-hirap kasi may tamang paghinga, ganyan. So at least natutunan ko kung paano ang movie drama.”

Aside from changing her as an actress, Kim also mentioned how her role in the film as an enter-tainer made her respect people with that profession.

“Tumaas ang respeto ko sa mga entertainer, kasi parang ma-hirap pala ‘yong ginagawa nila, kasi minsan nabobosohan sila, hinahawakan sila pero wala silang magawa kasi nagta-trabaho sila,” she said.

“Etiquette for Mistresses” also stars Claudine Barretto, Iza Cal-zado and Cheena Crab. It’ll be in cinemas on September 30.

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (213) 250-9797B� Features

Moonlighting

by Mylah de leon

THE alpha lunch, the stage setting for our first gathering at the Kapistahan, which lasted two hours, was no big deal. “This is good,” she said. I felt an instant spark of connection.

Instinctively, I felt she would not stick to polite comments. It was my first glimpse into a won-derful and ruminating mind that takes perspectives seriously. She is a woman who is not afraid to admit that she was on a learning curve—not an intellectual know-it-all—but someone who is willing to explore a topic other than her own. Her openmindedness is one of her greatest gifts. It comes more than as an intellectual curiosity but as a deep charitable core in Rosemarie Belle Mejia.

In many ways, the first lunch set the tone of a friendship, which is based on vulnerability, trust and mutual understanding. It allows us to be ourselves without softening or embellishments, to swap strengths and weaknesses, to explore minds as well as our hearts. Her covenant with public service in the Fil-Am community is that instead of party-ing and hanging out with friends, she would rather spend time serv-ing the community.

Rosemarie Bell Mejia on what success means

Rosemarie Belle Mejia with the Moonlighter Rosemarie Belle Mejia, Lakambini Kalayaan 2015 Photos by Joy Marivic Macainan

She talked about family, the business world, change and sup-portive echoes, that offered a thought or point of view often unexpected. We offered each other advice, came close to tears, laughed like crazy at some funny or forbidden memories. We felt invigorated and more than a little buzzed over a shared cherry wine. Whatever hurt done to us by others, past or present, angered us.

Today, Rosemarie Belle Mejia is breathless—coping with work and family, and the business of

sharing her expertise with the Fil-Am community—especially to those who have the courage to try entrepreneurship. More sure than ever now, she guides little or big businesses, by counseling them in the best way she can.

What do we really know about her? She’s known among the Fil-Am community through acknowledged attributes: beauty with charm, warmth, the fundamental decency and refinement. Based on my research, her credentials, awards, recognitions, community leader-ship and organization involvement can only be truly appreciated or admired when synopsized in pen and paper. We already know she continued being a beauty queen, from her teens: Miss Earth and the Lakambini of Kalayaan 2015.

How alluring she looks when she evokes her children, her friends and their own accomplishments, in their family and chosen careers, all done with discipline and hard work.

Like most of the young women, after college back home, she mus-tered enough courage to start life here in US and went into great lengths to support her family here and folks back home.

I have yet to know and hear of any fine person who has done more than she has for the Fil-Am com-munity here in Los Angeles.

People around her agree that her motives are beyond question; her word is gold. From the time Rosemarie settled here, she felt

PAGE B5

Must try dishes next time you are in Manila

Crabs with Alavar: The Zamboanga Alavar sauce with fresh crabs from the seafood capital of the Philippines.

Nico’s Mango Delight: Never fails to elicit “awws” and “oohs”!

White Marlin: This delectable fish comes all the way from Capiz and is even better than the Blue Marlin fish! Best simply grilled.

Palabok Tisay: Sauceless tasty palabok.

Kaldereta Lasagna: A Filipino twist on the usual lasagna dish.

vanced notice for event booking, the dish could be made using prawns from Capiz and Curacha crabs from Zamboanga.

Do not forget the desserts! Original Mabuhay Restop des-serts are “Nico’s Mango Delight” and “Mommy’s Tapioca Pudding” which are sure to satisfy discrimi-nating palates.

The beauty of trying these dishes at Mabuhay Restop for your special events is that you may enjoy them with topnotch Filipino entertain-ment in an ambience of a refreshing variety of Filipino artwork, all while contributing to nation-building with Gawad Kalinga.

Mabuhay Restop is located in Rizal Park, near the corner of Roxas Blvd. and Kalaw St. heading towards the Quirino Grandstand and Manila Ocean Park.

(Advertising Supplement)

HAvE you tried the “White Marlin” fish? What about “Palabok Tisay,” “Kaldereta Lasagna” and “Shrimp with Alavar Sauce”?

These are original dishes served at Mabuhay Restop in Rizal Park, a social tourism enterprise that seeks to showcase the best of the Philippines and the beauty of the Filipino.

Mabuhay Restop is a perfect stop for Philippine visitors because they get to sample Philippine cul-ture and enjoy exceptional Philip-pine experiences in one venue through local home-style FOOD, cultural SHOWS with a modern twist, eye-opening social TOURS, topnotch Filipino ARTWORKS, and community MERCHANDISE, while also contributing to nation-building through Gawad Kalinga & GKonomics.

The food at Mabuhay Restop are primarily family favorites of the owner Rose Isada Cabrera who be-longs to a very large family, as well as original creations by their chefs which give a wonderful taste of the Philippine islands. As the Mabuhay Restop menu says, “meet a Filipino family of 14 through their favorite dishes.” Bestseller family favorites are “Rose’s Chicken Alexander”, “Gerry’s Callos” and “Daddy’s Lucban Hardinera.”

“Palabok Tisay” and “Kaldereta Lasagna, “are original creations of Mabuhay Restop’s very own chef, chef Ed Garcia. “Palabok Tisay” is a sauceless noodle dish but is very tasty because of the combination of smoked Tinapa flakes, sesame oil, and ground chicharon.

Kaldereta is a beef stew dish fam-ily favorite of the owner, Rose Isada Cabrera, and Mabuhay Restop’s chef thought of creating a new com-plete dish that incorporates lasagna noodles and made it into a delicious pasta dish. The result is “Kaldereta Lasagna” and it has been receiving accolades from everyone who has tried it. In POPTALK, a lifestyle review show the dishes got a “Pop na Pop” rating which is a glowing approval by the team.

Another Mabuhay Restop origi-nal is the “White Marlin” which could be enjoyed either grilled or with coconut milk (“guinataan”) by special advanced order in special events booked at Mabuhay Restop. The delectable fish comes all the way from Roxas City, Capiz and it is so delicious and is even better than the Blue Marlin!

Another Mabuhay Restop origi-nal is the “Sayote & Shrimp with Alavar Sauce” which uses the famous sauce from Zamboanga made from crab aligue. With ad-

(213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 B�Features

THREE PETITIONS BY TWO MOTHERS AND A “SISTER/MOTHER” CREATE VISA CONFUSION — ON A SPECIAL ENCORE EPISODE OF ‘CITIZEN PINOY’. A teenage pregnancy forced Armi (middle) to keep the birth of her son, Kevin (right), a secret. Kevin’s birth certificate listed his grandmother (Armi’s mother) as his mother. Years later, Armi became a US citizen. She petitioned her mother immediately. When Armi’s mother arrived in the US as an immigrant, she petitioned all of Armi’s brothers, including Kevin, who is actually her grandchild (Armi’s son). Armi also filed a sibling petition for Kevin. After much guilt and reflection, Armi decided to come out with the truth to set things straight and admitted to Kevin that she is his biological mother. After that major revelation, Armi filed a petition for Kevin (now as parent-child petition). This resulted in three distinctive petitions filed for Kevin (as a grandchild, Armi’s brother, and son) which caused a major confusion for the National Visa Center. Watch this inspiring story and find out how Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel helped Armi and Kevin on an encore episode of ‘Citizen Pinoy’ – on Sunday 6:15 pm (PST) on TFC.

McDonald’s to fully transition to cage-free eggs for all restaurants in the US and Canada

OAK BROOK, Ill—To meet con-sumers’ changing expectations and preferences, McDonald’s an-nounced that it will fully transition to cage-free eggs for its nearly 16,000 restaurants in the US and Canada over the next 10 years.

“Our customers are increas-ingly interested in knowing more about their food and where it comes from,” said McDonald’s USA President Mike Andres. “Our decision to source only cage-free eggs reinforces the focus we’re placing on food quality and our menu to meet what consumers truly want.”

“We’re proud of the work we’re doing with farmers and suppliers to advance environmentally and socially conscious practices for the animals in our supply chain,” said Marion Gross, senior vice president and Chief Supply Chain Officer of McDonald’s North America. “This is a bold move and we’re confident in our abil-ity to provide a quality, safe, and consistent supply.”

On an annual basis, McDonald’s USA purchases approximately two billion eggs and McDonald’s Canada purchases 120 million eggs to serve on its breakfast menus, which includes popular breakfast sandwiches, such as the Egg McMuffin and Egg White Delight. Since 2011, McDonald’s USA has been purchasing more than 13 million cage-free eggs annually.

“Animal welfare has always been important to us and our cus-tomers,” added Gross. “Today’s announcement is another big milestone building on our work with industry experts and sup-pliers to improve the treatment of animals.”

Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch, a family-owned and operated farm in Michigan, has worked with McDonald’s for decades to sup-ply nutritious eggs. “Cage-free systems play an important role in our work to keep hens healthy and meet the growing consumer demand for responsibly-sourced food,” said Greg Herbruck, execu-tive vice president of Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch. “We welcome McDonald’s actions to continue these efforts and are pleased to join them in sourcing cage-free eggs across their supply chain. We continue embracing new tech-nologies and strategies to ensure our hens are well-cared for.”

McDonald’s USA and Canada to source 100 percent cage-free eggs within 10 years

LAS VEGAS—The Annual Grand Dragon Master Baccarat Champi-onship, with a total global prize pool worth over $10,000,000*, kicks off the Las Vegas leg of the competition on Oct. 2, 2015 at The Palazzo. The global championship spans Las Vegas Sands properties in Macao and Singapore.

The Grand Dragon Master Bac-carat Championship provides baccarat enthusiasts the ultimate tournament experience. Las Vegas players can compete for a portion of a $1.6 million prize pool over three tournaments - the $280,000 Golden Dragon Baccarat Tourna-ment, the $350,000 Ruby Dragon Baccarat Tournament, and the invitation-only $1 Million Royal Dragon Baccarat Tournament – all culminating in the Global Final to be held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore in March 2016.

The $280,000 Golden Dragon Baccarat Tournament takes place from Oct. 2 through Oct. 5 and Oct. 9 through Oct. 12. This tournament features a $35,000 daily cash prize pool. All Grazie members receive one complimentary tournament

entry per day. Unlimited rebuys can be made for $50. The top three daily winners in the Golden Dragon Baccarat Tournament will automatically advance to the Semi-Finals of the Ruby Dragon Baccarat Tournament.

The Ruby Dragon Baccarat Tournament offers a $350,000 cash prize pool with daily prize pools of $75,000. Ruby Dragon Baccarat Tournament preliminaries take place Oct. 16 and Oct. 17. All Grazie members will receive one compli-mentary tournament entry per day, and unlimited rebuys can be made for $150. The top six daily winners in the Ruby Dragon Baccarat Tour-nament preliminaries will advance to the semi-final round on Oct. 18, where the top six finishers will receive one complimentary entry each to the semi-final round of the invite-only $1 Million Royal Dragon Baccarat Tournament on Nov. 7.

In addition to sharing in a $1,000,000 promotional chip prize pool, the top three finishers in the invitation only Royal Dragon Bac-carat Tournament will advance to the Global Final at Marina Bay

Sands in Singapore in March 2016. Each advancer to the Global Final will receive round-trip transporta-tion to Singapore, accommoda-tions at Marina Bay Sands, and a food and beverage allowance for the player and a guest. In addi-tion, each advancer will receive one complimentary entry to the Semi-Finals of the Global Final Tournament.

The traditional table game of baccarat has taken on a new level of popularity with American audi-ences, so much so that The Vene-tian and The Palazzo have taken strides to make the game much more accessible to players with traditional tables available from only a $25 minimum bet, as well as the only Imperial Baccarat on the Strip – a live dealt $5 minimum baccarat played on an electronic betting terminal.

For more information, visit venetian.com/dragon or call 866-898-8013.

*Based on accumulated total prize amount from Las Vegas, Macao, and Singapore.

(Advertising Supplement)

World’s largest baccarat tournament returns to The Venetian and The Palazzo Las Vegas on October 2 with $10,000,000 Global Prize Pool

Complimentary entry for Grazie members in first two tournamentsof the Annual Grand Dragon Master Baccarat Championship

In 2000, McDonald’s USA was the first food service company to adopt a standard for hen housing systems, which provided more space per bird than the industry standard. In 2010, the company initiated research with the Coali-tion for a Sustainable Egg Supply to better understand the impact

PAGE B5

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (213) 250-9797B� Features

By Monet Lu

is always blooming. Djoanna and her husband stayed in Monterey, CA for a while and then moved to San Diego. In 2007, Djoanna received a wonderful business op-portunity from her friend that made her decide to move to LA. Djoanna is the owner and CEO of Helping Hands of Beverly Hills Home Care Services. They provide nursing and caregiving services to seniors. They are looking to expand soon, as God wills.

Aside from being a successful wife and a hardworking business owner, Djoanna is a passionate singer. She still goes to singing en-gagements and gigs when she can. She tries to find time to improve her craft, which she believes is her passion and her first love – after God and her husband. She says that singing really makes her really happy. In her own words: “You get a certain high when you sing in front of audiences who appreciate it.”

As Djoanna and I were talking, I asked her to talk about her faith. She recounted everything with joy and pure conviction. She said she became a born again Christian in 1980. However, she thinks that dur-ing that time, her faith was not as deep as it should be. She would go through the motions but did not feel

Djoanna Garcia- Kocher: On faith, fame and friendship

A GrEAT Athenian playwright named Euripides wrote this about friends: “Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness. “ I have not read Euripides’ work but is quote described exactly what I experienced with one of my dearest friends, Djoanna.

Djoanna Garcia-Kocher is one of the greatest individuals I know. I met Djoanna in the early 90s when things were less complicated and having “friends” was not based on getting a number of “likes.” There were no social media then; friends met face to face when they need a shoulder to cry on. Djoanna be-came my advisor when I was going through the worst times in my life. She would always listen to me, and in all my troubles she would tell me one thing – “Monet, you have to seek God.”

I had the privilege of writing her life story in my column and I hope that after reading this, you would have a different perspective on faith, fame and friendship.

Djoanna was a former singer-ac-tress in the Philippines. She started out as a contestant in Tawag ng Tanghalan, a talent search show when she was 15 years old. Soon after, ABS-CBN gave her more projects, and one of them was a TV show named “Stop, look and listen,” which co-stars the late Jay Ilagan, Tirso Cruz, Eddie Mercado and Tina revilla, among others. During her flourishing career, she had a relationship with former Caloocan Mayor Macario “Boy” Asistio. They have 2 daughters and now have 4 grandchildren.

In 2001, Djoanna moved to the US when she married her husband, Vincent Kocher. Vincent is a Fili-pino from Davao who is one of the reasons my dear friend Djoanna

G. TönGi

The Global Kababayan

Programming of Kababayan Today, September 21-25, 2015

that she has a real relationship with God. But now, by the grace of God, she dedicates more time to church and bible studies. And says that she prays every single day of her life. Djoanna goes to The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, CA. When I asked her to describe her faith now, she said, “God steered me toward the right direction. Without God, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. My faith is the most important thing in my life. It is non-negotiable. I will never give it up. It is The one thing that I will never compromise.”

I’ve known Djoanna as a very compassionate person. It is nice to see her having a far greater reason to be that way. And that is because of her faith in Christ. She said that they’ve never been so much hap-pier. She and her husband live a very simple life. They try to live within their means and enjoy the blessings that come their way.

As I recall when I ran to her in times of trouble, I couldn’t help but appreciate how deeply rooted our friendship is, and how much impact her words brought to me. I remember her saying, “When you encounter these challenges, you have surrender to our Savior. It has to be His will, not our will that has to be done. Whatever happens, I will continue to pray for you.”

To my God-fearing friend Djo-anna and her husband: Thank you for your prayers and for the gift of friendship. I hope that God will con-tinue to bless all your endeavors.

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

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

LAKEWOOD—Homeownership is more attainable than ever for first-time buyers at William Lyon Homes’ brand-new Canvas neigh-borhood, with a limited selection of upgraded residence One town-homes available for quick move-ins. These rare offerings showcase the attached-home collection’s row townhome-inspired architecture and spacious, three-level designs with approximately 1,647 square feet of living space that includes two bedrooms; two full baths and two half baths; a well-equipped kitchen leading to the dining and living areas; a versatile first-level bonus room; a direct-access two-car garage and valuable upgrades that include a large patio. Those eager to finally have a home of their own are encouraged to explore these select residence One upgrade opportuni-ties, or learn more about Canvas’ other floorplan options by visiting the Canvas sales gallery today. For additional details, log on to www.

Limited upgraded two-bedroom townhomes available for quick move-ins at new Canvas neighborhood

Canvas’ three attached-home designs span from approximately 1,647 to 1,801 square feet, with two to three bedrooms, two full baths and two powder baths, and direct-access two-car garages.

Buyers also value the confidence and quality that come with any new construction by William Lyon Homes.

The setting near Long Beach in commuter-friendly Lakewood puts Davenport Park, Lakewood Country Club, Lakewood Golf Course, Mayfair Park and Pool and other recreation all within reach. Lakewood Center’s Costco, Best Buy, Macy’s, and Target are also nearby, as well as attractions at the Long Beach Towne Center. Downtown Long Beach, The Pike at rainbow Harbor, Belmont Shores and the Aquarium of the Pacific are also convenient, while medical services are accessible at Lakewood regional Medical Center.

It matters who your builder is and William Lyon Homes is a com-pany built upon a legacy of pride and integrity. A team of visionaries who are passionate about home-building and committed to provid-ing a high quality homebuying and homeownership experience, William Lyon Homes has earned a solid track record for outstanding construction and customer service since 1956. The company continues to expand its well-respected brand beyond California, Arizona and Nevada and into other market areas across the Western region with the acquisition of Polygon Northwest Homes, its newest division in Washington and Oregon, and its Village Homes division in Colorado. William Lyon Homes’ shares are publicly traded on NYSE under the symbol WLH. For updated informa-tion and to learn more, visit www.lyonhomes.com.

To visit Canvas, travel the 405 Freeway, exit Lakewood Blvd., and head east. Turn left on E. South St. and follow the signs to the Sales Gallery, which is located on the left hand side.

The sales gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more in-formation, please call 562.470.7404, or visit www.LyonCanvas.com and register your interest.

Prices are effective as of the date of publication. Pricing is ap-proximate and is subject to change without prior notice. CalBrE Officer License: 00982816.

(Advertising Supplement)

LyonCanvas.com. “Offering a modern design, valu-

able upgrades and quick move-in convenience, our limited selection of residence One homes will defi-nitely sell quickly,” said Lesley Pen-nington, Vice President of Sales for William Lyon Homes. “We advise interested buyers to take advantage of these incredible ownership op-portunities.”

SEPTEMBER 21 - EMPLEO-PINOY launch. EMPLEO-PINOY is a hotline (1-877-TULONG-1) that employers and employees can call if they have any inquiries concern-ing wages and labor questions. A trained volunteer will answer your calls confidentially. Tagalog speak-

who has experienced several wage and labor inequalities in the agen-cies she has dealt with. “Tita T,” another caregiver also shares her experience of almost being beaten to death by her patient.

September 22 - Our #TalkTues-days Panel features a never before broadcast film about suicide called “Silent Sacrifices: Voices of the Fili-pino American Community.”

Spearheaded by Dr. Patricia Heras, “Silent Sacrifices: voices of the Filipino American Community” finally makes its public debut, 14 years after its completion. This is the first time this documentary will be available to audience. This is made possible by Center for Asian American Media (CAAM). For more info, visit: http://caamedia.org/films/silent-sacrifices-voices-of-the-filipino-american-family/

September 23 - Midweek News Updates from Asian Journal and real Estate Buzz with Mia McLeod.

Christine Sumiller talks about the importance of being insured as we mark Life Insurance Awareness Month this September.

September 24 - Now available at Mitsuwa, Hakubaku is a healthy barley grain that is easy to mix with rice. Check out the recipes we made at Mitsuwa Marketplace.

Hitmaker Nonoy Zuniga and Baladeer Julius Obregon share their latest collaboration to restage their wildly successful concert.

September 25 - Learn the an-cient traditions of the Philippines with a manghihilot, Virgil Mayor Apostol, who is the Author of “Way of the Ancient Healer: Sacred Teachings from the Philippine An-cestral Traditions” and Shamanic healer Lyn Pacificar. Lyn Pacificar is descended from a long family line of shamanic healers. In her healing practice, she employs reiki, energy clearings and extractions, chakra aligning and activation, drumming and tribal singing. She is a certi-fied Usui Holy Fire reiki practitioner and a certified Psychic Housewife for readings and mediumship.

*** Giselle “G” Töngi is the host and producer of

Kababayan Today, a daily talk show that features relevant topics for Filipino’s living in America. Her aim is to bridge not only the cultural gap between America & the Philippines but to help with the generational gap between our own people. She is married with two children and is based in Southern California and makes frequent trips in the Pacific Rim to Hawaii and Manila to feature fellow kababayans who are empowering the FilAm community.

ers are also available.Aquilina Soriano of the Pilipino

Workers Center also comes to the show with “Tita Boots,” a caregiver

(213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 B�

Wi Spa: an urban sanctuary in the

heart of LA

benefits of anything you decide to do, like sweating it out in the sauna. Outside the bath-ing areas, you’ll find changing rooms, complete with vanities and toiletries.

And take this as a fair warning to expect nudity from guests of the same gender, but any judg-ments and awkwardness should be left at the door.

If you want to treat yourself further, the spa offers a menu of body treatments at the fraction of the price tag you’d find at a spa elsewhere in the city. Better yet, if you purchase a treatment worth $110 or more, the en-trance fee is waived. The usual spa treatments, like acupressure massages, facials, manicure/ pedicure, can be booked by reservation. But one must try the full-body scrub, perhaps Wi’s signature offering.

Based on the traditional Ko-rean technique of buffing, the

scrub entails a procedure of sloughing off dead skin cells with an exfoliating towel, as you lie down on a table and get doused with water every so often. It may take a few min-utes to get accustomed to the intensity, but the person (of the same gender) administering the service repeatedly asks you if you’re doing fine. The service can last 35 minutes ($30) or can be reserved as a $90 package complete with the scrub, aroma oil massage, a face mask and hair shampoo, which all lasts for 90 minutes. Depending on one’s pain tolerance, the impression afterward may vary, but you’ll feel cleaner after the dead skin is washed off to make way for the lasting effects of radiating, supple skin.

On the co-ed floor (called the Jimjilbang, which translates to “bathhouse”), guests are required to wear the yellow T-

shirt and khaki shorts received upon check-in. There you’ll find families and couples convening at one of the five specialty sauna rooms, noshing on Korean cui-sine staples at the full-service restaurant, or taking in fresh air on the rooftop deck. The floor also features a kid’s area, a li-brary and computer room.

It’s worth noting that the five sauna rooms—Bulgama, Salt, Clay, Jade and Ice—boast unique characteristics that con-tribute to the detoxification and healing powers. The Bulgama is set at 231 degrees, inviting guests to lie down somewhere between 10 to 15 minutes to sweat out toxins from the body; Salt features minerals to purify and strengthen the body; layers of clay improved from Korea are placed in the Clay sauna to aid in lymphatic stimulation and heavy metal detoxification; the Jade room is hot to relieve any tension

and stress; and the Ice sauna is recommended to end your visit to cool the body’s temperature, tighten the skin and improve circulation.

If you felt like you’ve detoxed enough from technology, free Wi-Fi is provided throughout the building to bring you back from your moment of zen, as are TVs in lounge areas.

Before you leave, don’t forget to take another shower and close out your tab. Whether you stay for an hour or the whole day, it’s nearly impossible to not feel rejuvenated and make you itch for another visit. Good thing, Wi won’t leave holes in your wallet. (AJPress)

Wi Spa is located at 2700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057 (on the corner of Ram-part). Visit http://www.wispausa.com/ for more details on spa services and specials.

(Advertising Supplement)

ThInK of a spa and the im-mediate perception is an air of pretense and privilege that only a select few can indulge in, given the exorbitant prices.

however, if you live in Los Angeles, Korean spas have sprouted up, contributing to the idea that pampering oneself and affordability are not mutually exclusive.

Though the options are abun-dant, among the best is Wi Spa, known as the “Disneyland of Korean day spas.” While there are no shiny bells and whistles to it, the spa certainly lives up to its reputation as an urban sanctu-ary, and it’s family-friendly too.

Prior to venturing into a Ko-rean spa, one must understand the significance it plays in Ko-rean culture: a communal place for friends and families to gather, bathe and receive the therapeu-tic benefits rooted in ancient bathhouse traditions.

Conveniently located in be-tween Koreatown and Down-town, Wi Spa itself is an expan-sive, multi-level facility (48,000 square feet, to be exact) that blends the bathhouse tradition with the modernity of marble and glass interiors. It is open 24/7, so you can go anytime,

even on a whim. Enter Wi and the process of

unwinding begins. For starters, valet parking is complimentary to relieve you of the stress of having to find parking, especially when there are a lot of guests checked in.

With the $25 admission fee, you gain full access to amenities like a fitness room, pools, show-ers, saunas, a restaurant, and the rooftop deck. A wristwatch is given as your locker key and form of identification during your stay.

The rush of cramming in the day spa experience and trying out all the rooms is practically gone, as you are welcome to stay for hours on end. There are spaces to lounge in between services and even designated “sleeping rooms” for those who want to doze off in peace.

Wi is divided into gender-specific floors, where the spa and other facilities are located, as well as locker rooms and changing areas. For Korean spa newbies, it’s best to take a shower once you get settled in to wash away the day’s grime (dirt and the tubs do not make a great combination) and to ensure you get the maximum

PAGE B3

McDonald’s to fully transition...of various hen housing systems on animal health and welfare, the environment, worker health, food safety and food affordability. This research provided impor-tant insights into the trade-offs of various housing systems for the company to make informed sourcing decisions.

Today’s news follows other actions announced this year by McDonald’s USA to source only chicken raised without antibiot-ics important to human medicine by 2017 and to offer milk jugs of low-fat white milk and fat-free chocolate milk from cows that have not been treated with rbST, an artificial growth hormone.

PAGE B2

it was a place to learn where one could experience anything and evolve in it.

“The sense of being more than ourselves is our most precious possession. Achievements will reflect meaningfully, if you try to rise above others in small ways,” she said. “Life is best kept simple, pleasures simple and not measured through possessions.”

Rosemarie’s formula for suc-cess: “I am instinctively guided by the Golden Rule, the value of honesty and hard work, tenderness and fair play. I try to set an example

Rosemarie Bell Mejia...of guidance. Make a way out of no way! That is why I love numbers!”

This interview is about a remark-able lady who has found her niche in LA real estate through business counseling and entrepreneurship. This is not praising, but simply ac-knowledging and sharing the pride of what it is to be a true human being in this turbulent economic times.

“We all have a place from where to begin. You will discover that your opportunity for personal suc-cess, real happiness and financial serenity is in your soul’s blue print for happiness,” she said.

In addition, McDonald’s USA introduced the Artisan Grilled Chicken patty, seasoned with simple, everyday ingredients and introduced a new contem-porary salad blend of romaine, baby spinach and baby kale. McDonald’s is also moving from liquid margarine to real butter on English muffins, biscuits and bagels on the breakfast menu and has introduced a new Butter-milk Crispy Chicken, which uses real buttermilk in the breading. McDonald’s Canada introduced a salad leaf blend, including baby kale, in its three chef-inspired contemporary salads in May 2015.

(Advertising Supplement)

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (213) 250-9797B� Features

seafood cityfood service

fpfc

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 C�

COMMUNITYJ o u r n a l

Atty. RobeRt Reeves ben LovemAnAnd nAncy miLLeR

Your ImmigrationSolution

UNITED States Citizenship and Immigration Services (US-CIS) and Department of State (DOS) have announced a signifi-cant modification to the visa bul-letin system. The change is part of President Obama’s package of administrative actions aimed at improving the immigration system. The new system allows thousands of people to file their applications for adjustment of status (green cards) with USCIS in advance of the date that their application can be approved. Al-lowing early filing will provide huge benefits for potential appli-cants who will be eligible for em-ployment authorization, advance parole, job portability, and other benefits based on the ability to file their adjustment of status ap-plications early.

Effective October 1, 2015, the visa bulletin will include two sep-arate charts for each employment and family-based visa categories. The two charts will be posted in the visa bulletin and will be la-beled as “Application Final Ac-tion Dates” (the date when DOS or USCIS may issue a visa or approve an adjustment of status application) and “Dates for Filing Applications” (the earliest date on which an applicant may sub-mit a visa application with DOS or adjustment application with USCIS). In practice it appears that the date for filing chart will indicate dates well in advance of the final action dates chart. For instance, on October 1, 2015 the F-1 Family Preference for the Philippines (unmarried son or daughter of US citizen) date for filing will be September 1, 2005 whereas the final action date will be June 1, 2001. This means that eligible applicants with priority dates earlier than the filing date can submit their applications for adjustment of status (if in the US) beginning on October 1, 2015 but that the application will likely not approved for several years. The filing date is well in advance of

Early filing for green cards and EADs is herethe action date for several other categories including the F2B, F2A and EB-3 categories.

The beneficial effects of the addition of this new earlier date for filing chart will primarily ac-crue to persons inside the United States who are either maintain-ing lawful status or are covered by INA § 245(i) (because they are the principal or derivative benefi-ciary of a petition of labor certifi-cation filed earlier than January 14, 1998 or earlier than April 30, 2001 and they were physically present in the US on December 20, 2000). For applicants out-side the United States the date for filing chart may correspond with the date that the National Visa sends out notice that they may submit their visa applications and pay visa fees. However, they will still need to wait until their priority date is earlier than the date listed in the final action date to be eligible to receive a visa.

For persons in the US, the change is extremely important and the benefit will be clear. Ap-plicants in the US will be able to submit their adjustment applica-tions based on the date for filing chart and then, on the basis of the pending application, they will be eligible for temporary and renew-able work authorization and travel permission. Further, for employ-ment based applicants, the abil-ity to file an adjustment applica-tion early should lead to greater job flexibility and the ability for derivatives spouses and children to obtain employment authoriza-tion. While the new system is

extremely beneficial to numerous potential applicants it does not eliminate backlogs or necessarily even reduce current wait times. What it does is provide benefits to a portion of the applicants, here in the US, who are waiting in those backlogs for the chance to become a resident.

The new two chart system rais-es issues which have not yet been addressed by USCIS or DOS in connection with this announce-ment. For instance, it remains to be seen which chart will be used to determine when the visa is considered to be available for the purposes of the Child Status Pro-tection Act. Allowing applicants to use the date for filing chart for the CSPA would be a major benefit (to applicants abroad and in the US) because the earlier a visa is considered available, the earlier the applicant can lock in their children’s ages under the CSPA. For instance, an EB-3 ap-plicant from the Philippines with a priority date earlier than Janu-ary 1, 2015 could lock in their children’s age now whereas un-der the prior system they might have had to wait eight or more years in order to do so.

The new visa bulletin system represents a fundamental change to the way visa and adjustment of status applicants will be treated under the law. The change may impact many aspects of a poten-tial applicant’s case. If you or a loved one believe this new system will impact your case you should contact an experienced immi-

uPAGE C5

MAP NOT TO SCALENN

Lakewood

91Cherry Ave.

E. South St.

Lakewood Blvd.

N. Orizaba Ave.

19

405

LyonCanvas.com 562.470.7404

A Home To Own. Make It Yours.Your opportunity for homeownership is closer than you think. Canvas offers attainably priced new townhomes to get you from renting to owning in a convenient Lakewood location. It’s the ideal balance of attached designs, modern amenities and proximity to the places you need to go. Visit today, Canvas is the one new neighborhood you cannot afford to miss!

2 to 3 Bedroom Townhomes, up to 1,801 sq. ft.From the Low $400,000s

Plan, pricing and product information are subject to change without prior notice. Prices effective as of date of publication. Rendering and map are an artist’s conception and are not to scale. Rendering as shown is conceptual only and may not reflect current modifications to the building elevations. Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook inc. Tony Membiela CalBRE License #01099492 and Wendy Wagner CalBRE License #01372598.

Find LyonHomesCanvasOn Facebook

A Home To Own. Make It Yours.

Sales Gallery 5794 Acacia Lane

Lakewood, CA90712

Open Daily10 am - 6 pm

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797C� Community Journal

Atty. RAymond BulAon

Minding Your Finances

VictoR Sy, cPA, mBA AndARlene Al-oS,cPA, mBA

Tax Tips

(Part 2 of 2)THE Internal Revenue Service

(IRS) announced a major expan-sion of its “Fresh Start” initiative to help struggling taxpayers by providing:

• Offer in Compromise (OIC) - more flexible guidelines for col-lection potential.

• Payment plans - more tax-payers can apply without finan-cial statements.

We discussed OIC in a prior article. Let’s now discuss pay-ment plans.

Installment Agreements (Pay-ment Plans):

• An installment agreement is an option if you cannot pay all of your tax debts at their due dates.

• Fresh Start provisions allow you to use streamlined install-ment agreements to catch up on back taxes.

• The threshold for using an installment agreement without having to supply the IRS with a financial statement has been raised from $25,000 to $50,000. As you know, the preparation of

IRS announces ‘fresh start’ initiative for payment plansfinancials is a major chore that discourages taxpayers from ap-plying. It involves a lot of work and a lot of costs.

• Taxpayers who owe up to $50,000 in back taxes will now be able to enter into a stream-lined agreement with the IRS that stretches the payment out over a series of years.

• The maximum term for streamlined installment agree-ments has been raised from 60 to 72 months.

• Individuals seeking install-ment agreements exceeding $50,000 will still need to supply Collection Information State-ment Form 433-A (Form 433-B for businesses).

• TIP: If you owe more than $50,000, pay it down to $50,000 to take advantage of this pay-ment option.

• Penalties are reduced (but interest continues to accrue on the outstanding balance).

• You must agree to monthly direct debit payments.

• You can go to the On-line Pay-ment Agreement (OPA) page on IRS.gov to set up a payment plan.

As you can see, this initiative is designed to help individuals and

businesses pay back taxes with less burden. IRS also promised to is-sue fewer tax liens. These changes supplement a number of efforts to help struggling taxpayers. Former IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman stated that the goal is to help peo-ple meet their obligations and get back on their feet financially.

TIPS - Here are my personal observations from decades of pro-cessing OICs and Payment Plans:

• If you are young, healthy, and have good earning potential, IRS will probably reject your offer.

• On the other hand, if you are retired, have a serious medical condition, do not have enough as-sets, or are merely surviving now and in the foreseeable future, you have a better shot at an OIC.

• If in doubt, give it a try, even if you feel that your offer may be rejected.

• And when you give it try, take a dual approach - apply for both Offer in Compromise and Installment Agreement. If your OIC fails, move to plan B for an Installment agreement.

• There’s another advantage to this dual approach: you are shoot-ing two birds with one stone. You

uPAGE C4

I KNOW we’ve never met. But there’s a common fear everyone shares when they’re in drowning in debt. As a debt relief attorney, I hear it from people who consult with me every day. It is this: The possibility of losing what they’ve worked hard for all their lives…their homes, their savings, their retirement money, their business, etc. Why is this fear so common?

Personally, I think the fear comes from a feeling of losing control. As a debt relief attorney, I deal with a lot of clients who are feeling very vulnerable because of the financial situation that they’re in. They could be facing a financial crisis for the first time in their lives and they don’t know what to do.

If you are facing serious debt problems, a foreclosure, a law-suit, judgment or a pending wage garnishment, it’s not the

The ‘secret’ fear that comes with being in debt

end of the world and chances are that you have options that you didn’t even know existed. It may be possible to settle your debts out of court or as a last resort, file bankruptcy to either wipe out or reorganize your debts.

Recently, a couple came to my office for debt help. They’ve just been assessed huge taxes by the IRS and they had to enter into a payment plan for that reason. But they were already behind on their mortgage payments, not to mention the credit card debts that were piling up. One car just broke down and needed replace-ment. Over the last few years, they’ve been borrowing money from all sources just to keep their heads above water, includ-ing their 401K plans. The 401K loan payment deductions from their paycheck are not helping. If you were in this situation, what would you do? The tremendous debt burden has put a strain on their marriage and has caused a lot of grief at home.

I helped this couple reorganize their debts under Chapter 13. We came up with a payment plan that combined all their debts into one low payment every month- a pay-ment that they could afford. This has allowed them to sleep better at night knowing that they are paying their creditors the best they can. More importantly, they now have peace of mind knowing that they will not lose their home and everything they’ve worked so hard for.

If you need help figuring out your options, I’d like to help you. Call us for a free consultation at Toll-Free 1-866-477-7772. We have offices in Los Angeles, Cer-ritos, Pasadena & Valencia.

* * *None of the information herein is in-

tended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped thousands of clients in getting out of debt. For a free attorney evaluation of your situation, please call Ray Bulaon Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1 (866) 477-7772.

(Advertising Supplement)

Annual Awards Banquet presented by TOYOTA

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

The Globe Theatre Universal Studios Hollywood

Black Tie Optional

Honorees

Business Enterprise of the Year CJ America, Inc.

Media Company of the Year Wong Fu Productions

ABA Chairperson Award

Honorable David E. Ryu

Corporation of the Year U.S. Bank

Advocate of the Year Richard Chacon

Celebrating the success of Asian owned businesses.

abala.org ǀ @ABALosAngeles ǀ #ABAAwards

Emcees

James Kyson Mei Melançon

Entertainment

Paul Dateh Maker Empire

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 C�

LAST September 11, 2015, the incumbent mayors of Los An-geles, San Francisco, San Jose, Long Beach, and Oakland issued a joint letter addressed to Cali-fornia Senators and Represen-tatives entitled “Opposition to Proposed Federal Funding Cuts for Cities with Sanctuary Ordi-nances”. They expressed their opposition to “recent proposals in Congress that would withhold funding from cities with so-called sanctuary ordinances” and em-phasized that as mayors of some of California’s largest cities, they rely on federal homeland secu-rity and public safety funds for the safety of their respective cities.

As you may be aware, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the enforcement arm of the USCIS, usually request cities and counties, through the issuance of an immigration detainers, to keep undocumented aliens in their local jails un-til ICE officials can take them into custody, even after they are already eligible for release. Around 300 cities and counties in the US no longer honor these requests for immigration detainers. Fur-ther, some cities have issued ordinances meant to “shelter” undocumented aliens. San Francisco, for instance, has the “Due Process for All” ordi-nance which prohibits the further detention of an undocumented alien after he has been eligible for release for custody, unless the alien has a prior vi-olent felony conviction or there is a court warrant.

While not a new issue, “sanctuary cities” or cit-ies with sanctuary ordinances have been the focus of recent debates again lately. The fatal shooting of a 32-year-old lady on July 1, while strolling at the Embarcadero, one of San Francisco’s popular tourist spots, by an undocumented Mexican na-tional, brought once again this issue in the fore-front of national news. The victim was strolling with her father when the assailant, with 7 prior felony convictions and deported five times, shot her on the back.

In response to the public outcry, the House of Representatives passed on July 1, a bill to cut federal funding for cities and towns that refuse to comply with federal immigration laws, includ-

ing federal detention requests for undocumented aliens. That bill is now with the Senate for approval. This move from the House of Representative prompted the issuance of said letter from the CA mayors.

Whatever your position is on the issue, it should be pointed out that the Secretary of Home-land Security which oversees ICE issued a memorandum dated Nov. 20 addressed to the Acting Director of ICE entitled “Policies for the Apprehen-sion, Detention and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants”.

In this memorandum, the Secretary instructed that enforcement and removal policies should prioritize undocumented aliens who are threats to national security, public safety, and border se-curity. Three civil immigration enforcement pri-orities were identified under the memo: Priority 1 - threats to national security, border security, and public safety, Priority 2 - misdemeanants and new immigration violators; and Priority 3 – other immigration violations or those who have been issued final orders of removal. Thus, while there is no guarantee, an undocumented alien not be-longing to these 3 enforcement priorities will not be considered a priority for ICE enforcement and/or detention.

If you are contemplating filing any other immi-grant or non-immigration application, it is advis-able to seek the counsel of an immigration lawyer to guide you on the intricacies of filing for such a petition.

* * *Atty. Gwendolyn Malaya-Santos is a member of the State Bar of California and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. To schedule for a free initial in-person consultation, please call Tel. Nos. (213) 284-5984 or (626) 329-8215. Atty. Santos’ office is located at 3450 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1200-105, Los Angeles, CA 90010.

* * *Information contained in this article does not, nor is it intended to, constitutes

legal advice for any specific situation and does not create a lawyer-client

relationship. It likewise does not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction

regarding the outcome of your legal matter.

We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the

Bankruptcy Code. (Advertising Supplement)

Community Journal

Atty. C. Joe SAyAS, Jr.

Protecting Employee & Consumer Rights

Atty. Gwendolyn Malaya-Santos

Policy on ‘Sanctuary Cities’

Atty. EthElEnE F. SAlAS

Family Law

BEGINNING October 2015, the USCIS will allow persons who have an approved family-based or employment-based immigrant petition, but who are waiting for their priority date to become cur-rent, to file their adjustment of status (green card) application even though their priority date is not yet current. The benefit of this new USCIS policy is that you and your immediate family can apply for work authorization and be able to work until your priority date be-comes current.

Under the new Visa Bulletin, 2 charts per visa preference cat-egory will be posted:

1) Application Final Action Dates (dates when green cards may finally be issued)

2) Dates for Filing Applications (earliest dates when the green card application can be filed)

Example applying the above chart: an unmarried son who is the beneficiary of an approved I-130 petition filed on August 20, 2005 by his US Citizen parent can file his adjustment of status applica-tion since it was filed before the cut-off date (“Date of Filing Ap-plications”) of September 1, 2005 for F1 preference category. With the filing of the adjustment application, he can also apply for work authorization. When the “Application Final Action Date” changes to a date later than his August 20, 2005 filing date, the USCIS can proceed with approving his application, and issue him a green card.

Another example: A beneficiary of an approved I-140 petition in the 3rd employment-sponsored preference category with a priority date of December 20, 2014 can file his adjustment of status ap-plication since it was filed before the cut-off date (“Date of Filing Applications”) of January 1, 2015 for 3rd preference category. With the filing of the adjustment application, he can also apply for work authorization. When the “Application Final Action Date” changes to a date later than his December 20, 2014 filing date, the USCIS can proceed with approving his application, and issue him a green card.

* * *Darrick V. Tan, Esq. is admitted to practice law in California and Nevada. Mr. Tan is a gradu-

ate of UCLA and Southwestern University School of Law. He is a member of the Consumers Attorney Association of Los Angeles and is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Philippine American Bar Association. LAW OFFICES OF DARRICK V. TAN, 3580 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 900, Los Angeles, CA 90010. Tel: (323) 639-0277. Email: info@dtanlaw.com. (Advertising Supplement)

USCIS allows beneficiaries of approved immigrant petitions to file green card application

and obtain work Authorization Earlier

The October 2015 Visa Bulletin for the Philippines is summarized below:

Family-Sponsored Preference Category (Philippines)

Date for Filing Applications Application Final Action Dates

F1 - Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens

September 1, 2005

March 1, 2015

January 1, 2005

August 1, 1995

January 1, 1993

June 1, 2001

April 15, 2014

October 1, 2004

October 1, 1993

May 1, 1992

**1st, 2nd, and 4th employment-sponsored preference categories are current, which means that the USCIS is presently accepting all green card applications for filing in these categories, and may immediately approve

applications submitted.

F2A - Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents

F2B - Unmarried Adult Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents

F3 - Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens

F4 - Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens

Employment-Sponsored Preference Category (Philippines) Date for Filing Applications Application Final Action Dates

3rd - Skilled Workers, Professional, and Other Workers

January 1, 2015 January 1, 2007

EDWARD, a 45 year-old mar-ried man from Manila came to the United States in 1999. His mom and dad are U.S. citizens and filed a petition for him in De-cember 1994. He has been wait-ing 20 years for his priority date to become current so that he could adjust status in the United States. Edward has been check-ing the visa bulletin every month only to see it move about 10 to

Atty. KElly O’REilly

Problem Solved

File your green card application now!

15 days each month. In Septem-ber 2015, the priority date for his F-3 preference category for the Philippines was only current to September 15, 1993. At this rate, Edward would have to wait at least another year or perhaps much longer.

On September 9, the October 2015 visa bulletin was issued. The priority date for the F-3 preference category only moved about 15 days to October 1993. However, a significant change occurred in the October visa bul-

letin which proved to be very beneficiary to Edward. The U.S. State Department announced that starting from October 2015, the State Department will not is-sue two separate priority date charts. The first chart of prior-ity dates is the original chart which shows if a visa is available. However, a second chart which is titled “DATES FOR FILING VISA APPLICATIONS” indicates advanced priority dates to al-low individuals that have prior-

Q: I TRAVEL several times a month as part of my job duties using my own car. I also make several business-related calls on my personal cell phone. My work duties sometimes require me to stay out of town overnight and I incur further expenses. My em-ployer pays me a fixed amount of money, included in my tax-able wages. My higher wages is supposed to account for all my business-related expenses, but this does not seem to be enough. What are my rights in this situ-ation?

A: Under California law, an employer shall reimburse an em-ployee for all necessary expen-ditures incurred in direct conse-quence of the discharge of the employee’s duties. These include costs spent complying with the employer’s instructions. If your travel expenses and cell phone use were necessary for you to be able to do your job, then your employer should pay for these.

Other expenses reimbursable to employees include:

(1) transportation, living, and other travel expenses;

(2) purchasing, laundering or repairing uniforms or special clothing required by the em-ployer;

(3) purchasing supplies, tools, materials, or equipment;

(4) for “supper money” to cover the cost of supper when an employee is requested to work during the evening hours; and

(5) excess home-to-work travel expenses incurred by the em-ployee due to extraordinary cir-cumstances.

Is the employer allowed to ful-fill its reimbursement obligation by paying employees increased

Are you correctly reimbursed by your employer for business expenses?wages instead of separately re-imbursing them for their actual expenses? This is the question that employees had in the case of Gattuso v. Harte-Hanks Shopper, Inc.

Frank Gattuso is an outside sales representative in Harte-Hanks’s Southern California unit. Harte-Hanks distributes adver-tising materials in California. To sell advertising space in its pub-lications, Harte-Hanks employs outside sales representatives to meet customers in person at their places of business. Outside sales reps must drive their own vehicles to contact customers. Harte-Hanks does not separately reimburse outside sales reps for their automobile expenses.

Gattuso and other employees sued Harte-Hanks in a class ac-tion seeking reimbursement for expenses incurred in using their own vehicles to do their work. In response, the employer claimed that that it had complied with the reimbursement law by paying its outside sales reps higher base salaries and higher commission rates than its inside sales reps. The case went all the way to the California Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ruled that an employer may fulfill its le-gal reimbursement obligation by paying employees enhanced compensation in the form of increases in base salary or in-creases in commission rates, or both. However, there must be a means or method to apportion the enhanced compensation to distinguish what amount is be-ing paid for labor performed and what amount is reimbursement for business expenses.

The court emphasized that wages and expense reimburse-ment are not the same thing. An

employer should not combine the payments for both if doing so would violate any law. This means the employer must pro-vide some method or formula to identify which of the combined amount is intended as wages (payment for work performed) and which is intended as expense reimbursement.

An employer is allowed to pay employees a lump-sum amount sufficient to provide full reim-bursement for actual expenses necessarily incurred. However, if an employee shows that the re-imbursement amount is less than the actual expenses incurred, the employer must pay the dif-ference. Lastly, employers may not take any deductions from the reimbursement amount, e.g., ex-pense reimbursement is not tax-able.

There are other methods al-lowed by law for employers to re-imburse employees for business expenses. If employees have questions regarding this issue, they would be smart to consult with an experienced employ-ment attorney.

***The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost. Atty. Sayas’ Law Office is located at 500 N. Brand Blvd. Suite 980, Glendale, CA 91203. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www.joesayaslaw.com.

***C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is trial attorney who has obtained several million dollar recoveries for his clients against employers and insurance companies. He has been selected as a Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.

(Advertising Supplement)

A JUDGMENT of nullity is when the Court deems a void-able marriage or a void marriage as never having taken place for reasons such as a defect in age, unsound mind, fraud, force, physical incapacity, bigamous, or incestuous marriage.

A judgment of nullity should be considered only where the va-lidity of the marriage is in doubt.

Nullity of marriageA nullity is maintained on the theory that, for reasons exist-ing at the time of the marriage, no valid marriage ever occurred. This means that the marriage, from its inception or start, is ei-ther void or voidable. Whereas a dissolution of marriage seeks to terminate a valid marriage, a nullity action seeks to inquire whether any such marriage ever existed.

There are many reasons why a nullity would be better in cer-tain circumstances. In terms of procedure, the mandatory six months waiting period does not

apply in a nullity proceeding. The marital status can be termi-nated immediately, thus freeing the parties to remarry sooner.

On the contrary, in a disso-lution proceeding, there is a mandatory six months waiting period before a marital status is terminated. This means that even though parties are anxious in freeing themselves, they must wait six months before their marital status is changed to a “single” status.

One advantage in a nullity pro-ceeding is the effect on property

uPAGE C4

uPAGE C4

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797C� Community Journal

ReveRendRodel G. BalaGtas

To Live With Faith

atty. lawRence yanG

Debt Relief

SOMETIMES companies get into financial trouble. They have leadership issues, they have fail-ures by suppliers, and they have cash flow problems. Companies have a lot of problems, often ev-ery day. Most of the time, com-panies get past their problems and move on, they continue to make money, pay their employ-ees and the owners take home some money.

Sometimes the problems are just too big to fix without serious legal assistance. That is where Chapter 11 reorganization can allow a company to rebuild. Her are some examples of what Chap-ter 11 reorganization can do:

– Creditors cannot demand payment of past due debts. The threatening letters and phone calls stop.

– Most creditors cannot be paid without permission of a United States bankruptcy judge.

– Creditors have to wait while the company reorganizes itself, takes care of its problems and then announces a financial plan to pay creditors money.

– Unprofitable contracts and leases (including building leases) can be rejected.

– A company can rebuild itself and can bring in new employees, new products, new ideas and new vendors.

– In some instances, a com-pany can sell its assets free and clear of creditors to third parties who take over the company’s business.

The third parties can be the owners of the companies. With disclosure of this fact, and a fair price for the circumstances, a federal can approve the sale.

– While there are things about Chapter 11 that are not good,

Chapter 11 business re-organization

Signs of a company headed toward failure and important ways to fix the problems

e.g., the reorganization may fail, a Chapter 11 gives a chance to a struggling company to rise from failure to the road to success.

Here are some signs of a busi-ness headed toward either fail-ure and shutting down or toward reorganization, a second chance:

• Product/service quality de-clines; customer complaints rise.

• Over expansion leads to working capital shortage.

• Stale inventory.• Sales stagnate.• Profit margin erodes.• Aging of receivables increas-

es.• Payables paid with difficulty.• Advertising and sales bud-

gets cut.• Payment of payroll taxes de-

ferred.• Cash balance declines; float

played.• Credit difficult to obtain.• Creditor lawsuits begin.• Lender turns matter over to

problem loan department.• Employee morale low; key

employees seek new jobs.• Layoffs begin.• Business failure imminent.• Company leaders do not

want to go to work, they not want to hear about the problems and it hurts to go to work. Their fami-lies are nervous or scared. They are having their own financial problems.

Chapter 11 is serious business. To win, that is to reorganize the company under an order of a United States bankruptcy judge, certain things must happen:

• A plan must be confirmed. Creditors may be paid in part or in full at one time or in payments over time.

• A careful strategy must be put into place before the Chapter

11 case begins. Some of the is-sues are:

• How does the company go into the Chapter 11?

• Who are the important credi-tors and vendors?

• How much money does the company need to have in the bank?

• With whom does the com-pany ally?

• Who will the problem credi-tors be? And

• How does the company get out of Chapter 11? In other words, before going into Chap-ter 11, the company and its legal team

Develop what they believe is the company’s best exit strat-egy?

“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the govern-ment will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Ever-lasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6

* * *Lawrence Bautista Yang and Steven R. Fox are experienced attorneys with deep bankruptcy experience. Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in bankruptcy, business, real estate and civil litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S. Fremont Ave, Mailstop 58, Building A-1 Suite 1125, Alhambra, CA 91803, OR at 20274 Carrey Road, Walnut, CA 91789.Steven R. Fox has represented companies and individuals in Chapter 11 for over 25 years both locally and nationally, representing businesses and business creditors. He is a well-known writer and speaker on bankruptcy issues. His office is located at 17835 Ventura Blvd., Suite 306, Encino, CA 91316. Tel (818) 774-3545 Fax (818) 774-3707. His website is www.foxlaw.com. (Advertising Supplement)

prepare documents and forms only once for both OIC and pay-ment plan. It saves time, energy, money, and aggravation as well as tax representation fees.

• Finally, convince the IRS that they are better off getting some-thing from you now, rather than gambling for nothing when you go upstairs, high upstairs.

* * *Sy Al-os Accountancy Corporation provides

accounting and tax services to individuals, corporations, LLCs and business entities. The Firm has a niche in defending taxpayers audited by the IRS and other governmental agencies. The firm celebrates its 38th anniversary in 2015.

* * *Victor Santos Sy graduated Cum Laude from UE with a BBA and from Indiana State University with an MBA. Vic worked with SyCip, Gorres, Velayo (SGV - Andersen Consulting) and Ernst & Young before establishing Sy Accountancy Corporation in 704 Mira Monte

Place, Pasadena, CA 91101. He has 50 years of experience in accounting, consulting, and tax work.

* * *The Firm proudly welcomes Arlene Al-os in 2015. She obtained her bachelors of Science in Accountancy from Mindanao State University and MBA from Ateneo de Manila University. She teaches intermediate accounting at UCLA and was a professor of Economics at Asia Pacific College. She has over 15 years of experience including member firms of KPMG and BDO Seidman accounting firms.

* * *Our readers may call (626) 744-0200 or email tax questions to info@victorsycpa.com. Please visit our website for about 300 tax tips at www.victorsycpa.com. (Advertising Supplement)

IRS announces ‘fresh start’…PAGE C2 t

ity dates current on the second chart to file for adjustment of sta-tus while waiting for the actual priority date to become current. An application for adjustment of status will afford the applicant an employment authorization and advanced parole for travel.

For example, the second pri-ority chart indicates that the F-3 preference category for the Phil-ippines is August 1, 1995, which is almost 2 years further than the actual priority date. In Edward’s situation, he would be eligible to file for adjustment of status in Oc-tober 2015 as opposed to waiting for another year or more. During this time, he would be eligible for a work permit and advanced pa-role to travel.

These changes affect not only family-based petitions, but also employment-based petitions. Therefore, for those people who

are waiting for an employment based petition to become current in the U.S., may be eligible to file for adjustment of status earlier so that they do not have to worry about the limitations of their non-immigrant visas. The U.S. Depart-ment hopes to relieve some of the agony of waiting for prolonged priority dates with this new policy.

This significant change will benefit all immigrants in the U.S. with a petition from a family member or employer. However, one must still be admissible and otherwise eligible for adjustment of status. Therefore, it is impor-tant to note that the visa bulletin change does not affect an indi-vidual’s eligibility for adjustment of status. Rather, it only changes WHEN the application may be submitted. Premature or incor-rect filing could lead to denials, wasted filing fees or perhaps even removal proceedings.

It is important that you consult with a competent immigration attorney to determine whether you are eligible to apply for ad-justment of status now. At Wil-ner & O’Reilly, we are former immigration officers, board-cer-tified specialists and true immi-gration experts. We have offices conveniently located in Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Utah. Schedule your free con-sultation today.

* *Kelly S. O’Reilly is a nationally known immigration expert and former immigration officer. He is a highly sought after speaker on immigration and employment compliance issues. Mr. O’Reilly serves as the current chair of the Riverside County Bar Association Immigration section and is a partner in the full-service immigration firm of the Wilner & O’Reilly where he provides free consultations. Mr. O’Reilly can be contacted at (714) 919-8880 and he welcomes email inquiries at kelly@wilneroreilly.com. (Advertising Supplement)

File your green card…PAGE C3 t

rights. A spouse to a voidable marriage who wants to defeat community property claims by the other spouse may be more successful in a nullity proceed-ing. In other words, the issue of community assets and communi-ty debts may become a non-issue if a nullity of judgment is pur-sued. Since the marriage is not valid, community property laws

will not necessarily apply.For example, let’s say I bought

a house that I purchased before I was married. The mortgage pay-ments on that house would last me twenty years before it was ac-tually mine, free and clear. Two years after I bought the house, I got married and the “communi-ty” contributed to the payments of the house mortgage. In other words, our earnings during mar-

riage were used to pay the mort-gage.

After one year of marriage, I initiated a nullity proceeding because I found out that my hus-band was previously married and did not obtain a divorce from that marriage. He was married to someone else at the time when we got married. Therefore, I have a nullity action because my marriage was considered void from the start.

Because of the nullity pro-ceeding, my husband’s potential claim of a community property interest in the house can be de-feated. He will argue that com-munity earnings were used to pay for the mortgage of one year. He will claim that during that one year, he is entitled to 50 percent of the equity created within that time span.

However, I will argue that community property laws do not apply because the marriage nev-er took place from its inception since he was previously married. He knew about the previous mar-riage, yet he intentionally entered into a bigamous marriage with me. In all likelihood, the house would be mine free and clear from my husband’s community property claim.

If I had filed for a common divorce because I did not know about nullity proceedings, my husband’s claim of a community property interest would succeed. He would have been entitled to 50 percent of the community in-terest during our marriage. Be-cause I filed for a nullity – what was mine remained mine.

* * *Ethelene F. Salas, Esq. is a practicing family law attorney. Ms. Salas is a Filipino-American born in the Philippines, raised in the United States, and speaks Tagalog fluently. The Law Offices of Ethelene F. Salas is located at two locations – the main office at 100 N. Barranca St., Suite 700, West Covina, CA 91791 and affiliated offices at 18000 Studebaker Road, Suite 700, Cerritos, CA 90703. To schedule an appointment with her, please call (626) 858-4646 or visit www.EFS-Law.com. (Advertising Supplement

Nullity of marriage…

THIS coming Tuesday, Sept. 22, Pope Francis will start his journey to the United States of America. He will be arriving in Washington DC from Cuba at 4pm and will be welcomed at the White House by President Barack Obama and his staff.

His weeklong visit is packed with parades, processions, meet-ings, visits, Masses, and speech-es in Washington DC, New York and Philadelphia.

He will address the United Congress and the United Na-tions and will hold a multi-reli-gious service at 9/11 Memorial and Museum, World Trade Cen-ter. And as he has always done in his visit to other countries, like the Philippines, his journey will not be complete without be-ing with the poor and the weak members of the society. He will visit the poor children of Our Lady of Queen of Angels School in East Harlem, New York and the prisoners in Curran-From-hold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia.

The Holy Father will conclude his visit on Sunday by meeting with US bishops and by celebrat-ing Mass at the conclusion of the World Meeting of Families. Thereafter, he will meet with the organizers, volunteers, and bene-factors of the World Meeting of Families and then will depart to Rome.

At 78 years old, Pope Francis has been tirelessly reaching out to the whole world through his homilies, speeches, visits and personal encounters with people from all walks of life.

But beyond his charisma and popularity, Pope Francis projects a profound prayer life and an in-timate connection to God. In his personal interview in August 19,

Pope Francis: A courageous ambassador of faith and advocate for the poor and the weak2013 by Father Antonio Spadaro, S.J., editor-in-chief of La Civilta Cattolica -- on behalf of America and several other major Jesuit journals around the world -- he spoke about his difficulty in giv-ing interviews. He said that he prefers to think carefully rather than give quick responses to on-the-spot interviews. This ap-proach shows how he would like to put all his thoughts in prayer and would connect first with Jesus, our Lord, to discern the Father’s will at every moment of any difficult question regard-ing Catholic faith, teachings, and practice.

One would say without a doubt that the words and phrases that come from his mouth are prod-ucts of his profound prayer life and his intimate relationship with Jesus of the Poor and the Weak.

“I can see clearly that what the Church needs today is the ability to heal wounds and warm hearts of faithful, it needs to be by their side. I see the Church as a field hospital after a battle,” he said during his interview with Jesuit priest, Fr. Spadaro.

“The ministers of the Gospel must be people who can warm the hearts of the people, who walk throughout the dark night with them, who know how to dialogue and to descend them-selves into their people’s night, into the darkness, but without getting lost. The people of God want pastors, not clergy acting like bureaucrats or government officials. The bishops, particu-larly, must be able to support the movements of God among their people with patience, so that no one is left behind. But they must also be able to accompany the flock that has a flair for finding new paths,” the Holy Father re-marked.

It is no wonder that he brave-

ly decries the crisis in Iraq and Syria as “one of the most over-whelming human tragedies of recent decades.” He calls it an “ocean of pain” that hit the poor, women, children and the elderly the hardest. “In Syria and Iraq evil destroys buildings and in-frastructures, but especially the conscience of man,” the Pope told his morning audience with participants of a symposium or-ganized by the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” on the humanitarian crisis in Syria and Iraq, accord-ing to Vatican Insider.

At the international sympo-sium on the pastoral care of street people, Pope Francis also mentioned that street women and children are not “packets” to be traded; they are human be-ings, each with his or her own name and face, each with God-given identity.

As we welcome Pope Francis here in the US, let us see a man of God who truly represents the truth of the Gospel and the Per-son of Jesus Christ. Let us see him as an ambassador of faith who advocates for the poorest and weakest members of our society. And let us respond to him with great respect and will-ingness to work together for the dignity of every human person. Amen!

* * *From a Filipino immigrant family, Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas was ordained to the priesthood from St. John’s Seminary in 1991. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Augustine, Culver City (1991-1993); St. Martha, Valinda (1993-1999); and St. Joseph the Worker, Canoga Park (1999-2001). In 2001, he served as Administrator Pro Tem of St. John Neumann in Santa Maria, CA, until his appointment as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, in 2002, which lasted 12 years. His term as Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education at St. John’s Seminary began in July 2014.

PAGE C3 t

CARMEN R. PARUNGAOA P R I L 2 1 9 1 7 – S E P T E M B E R 1 1 2 0 1 5

EDGARDO PARUNGAO (JANE)ZENAIDA PARUNGAO GOMEZ (ARTURO GOMEZ

DANILO PARUNGAO SR. (JULIE PARUNGAO)ROGELIO PARUNGAO

ROBERT PARUNGAO (BLESILDA PARUNGAO)MANUEL PARUNGAO (LORAINE MARSHALL PARUNGAO)

APOLINARIO PARUNGAOEMILITA PARUNGAO GABAT (EDGARDO GABAT)

GRAND CHILDRENEDMUNDO (TESS), MARIA TERRESSA (CHRIS), MYLENE, ANSELMO (MILLIE),

ALVIN, ANNA (BILL), JOHN DENNIS (MEL), JOANNE (NELSON), DANILO (DARLENE)DEXTER, JOYCE, JAQUELINE, ROGELIO JR, JOEL, KENNETH, KIT, KEITH, MARLON (AMY)

GENEVIER, KRISTINE, KELLY, ERWIN, ELAINE

GREAT GRAND CHILDRENKRISTINETTE, BRIAN, ERIC, ANALENE, ALEX, AMELIA, MATTHEW, MAXINE

SOPHIA, OLIVIA, LUCAS, ISAIAH, ETHANSERVICE:

SEPTEMBER 19TH 5PM-8:3-PMROSE HILLS MEMORIAL CHAPEL 3888 WORKMAN MILL RD WHITTIER CA 90601

CONTACT: ROBERT PARUNGAO 562.322.0586

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 C�Community Journal

Atty. Kenneth UrsUA reyes

Barrister’s Corner

Family Code 760 provides that all property acquired by the spouse during the marriage is community property. That means each spouse has a half interest on any assets that are ac-quired during the marriage, with certain exceptions, since it is generally characterized as com-munity property. On the same to-ken, Family Code 771(a) provides that earnings and accumulations of a spouse while living “separate and apart” from the other spouse, are the separate property of the spouse. How about the situa-tion where the couple continues to live together due to economic reasons like roommates. Is a cou-ple living “separate and apart” under family code 771(a) when they continue to live together in the same home even though they no longer live their lives like mar-ried couple?

The California Supreme Court, in a recent case In re Marriage of Davis, 61 Cal 4th 4th 846 (2015), held that the phrase “living sepa-

Do you need to be living in separate residences to be considered ‘separated’ from your spouse under the California family law?

rate and apart” in the California family code refers to a situation in which spouses are living in separate residences and at least one of them has the subjective intent to end the marital relation-ship, abrogating In re Marriage of Johnson, 134 Cal. App.3d. 148. Prior to this decision, the date of “separation” occurs only when the parties have come to a part-ing of the ways with no present intent to resume their marriage and their conduct evidences a complete and final break in the marital relationship. The Court would consider all of the relevant evidence regarding whether the parties’ conduct evidences a complete and final break in the marital relationship. Living in separate residences, although a factor to be considered, was not required for a separation.

In re Marriage of Davis in-volved husband and wife mar-ried in 1993. The couple had 2 children. Couple stopped hav-ing sexual relationship in 1999. Wife moved to another bedroom in the house either in 2001 or 2004. Husband and wife at-

tended children’s activities but used separate cars. On June 1, 2006 wife announced she was “through” with the marriage. Wife believed couple were acting simply as roommates after 2006. Wife increased her earnings af-ter this date while husband left his job. Parties continued to live in the marital home and went on vacation together. Wife filed for divorce in 2008. Wife moves out of the marital residence on July1, 2011. Wife alleges date of sepa-ration of June 1, 2006. Husband alleges a date of separation of July 1, 2011. The trial court and the court of appeal found June1, 2006 as the date of separation. The California Supreme Court reversed the decision holding that living in separate residences “is an indispensable threshold requirement for a finding that spouses are “living separate and apart” for purposes of section 771(a). The interpretation aligns with the common understanding of the words, the statutory his-tory of the provision, and legiti-mate public policy concerns.

The In re Marriage of Davis de-

cision now requires the parties to be living in separate residences as a prerequisite to a separation. In IRMO Davis, the California Supreme Court looked into the plain meaning of the statute, the legislative intent and history of the statute, and the case law in interpreting the term “sepa-rate and apart.” The California Supreme Court looked into the wording and legislative intent of family code 771(a) by tracing it back to a 145 year old predeces-sor statute enacted in 1870 “ An Act to Protect the Rights of Mar-ried Women in Certain Cases.” Section 4 of the 1870 act pro-vided a procedure for a wife who was “living separate and apart” from her husband to sell her real property without joining with her husband by stating in a declara-tion ”her own place of residence that is “separate and apart from her husband” which strongly suggests that the statute was di-rected at a situation where the spouses had physically separated and the wife in fact had her own residence. The Supreme Court also relied on the holding in the

Norviel case which held that liv-ing apart physically is an indis-pensable threshold requirement to separation, whether or not it is sufficient, by itself to establish separation. The date of separa-tion is one of the most litigated issues in a divorce case since it directly affects the characteriza-tion and division of community property. This case changes that analysis and may create prob-lems in its practical application to the realities of contemporary families.

* * *Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is

a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, P.C. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kureyeslaw@gmail.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com.

* * *Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, P.C. This article is not a solicitation. (Advertising Supplement)

gration attorney immediately to discuss the potential benefits to your case.

***Atty. Reeves has represented clients in numerous landmark immigration cases that have set new policies regarding INS action and immigrants’ rights. His offices are located in Pasadena, Irvine, San Francisco, Las Vegas

and Makati City. Telephone: (800) 795-8009 E-mail: immigration@rreeves.com Website: www.rreeves.com.

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

Early filing for green cards…PAGE C1 t

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2015 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797C�

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEptEmbER 19-22, 2015 D�

&MARKETPLACESHOWROOM

What investors look for in presidential bets

Women’s economicparticipation crucial inboosting APEC region

Atty. MichAelGurfinkel, eSQ

ImmigrationCorner

STARTING in October 2015, the Department of State (DOS) and the USCIS will utilize a new format for priority dates. (I post-ed those priority dates already on my website).There will be two separate charts (or priority dates) for people to follow or monitor:

• Dates for filing applications

October 2015 visa bulletin allows early filing of adjustment applications and work authorizations(earliest date when a person may file for adjustment of status or for an immigrant visa)

• Application “final action dates” (dates when visas may fi-nally be issued.)

The “final action dates” are simply the old “priority dates” that have been listed on the Visa Bulletin for decades. When the dates in the “final action dates” chart are current, a person’s visa can be issued (if he is outside of the US) or adjustment application approved (if he is in the US), and

they receive their green card.The new chart shows the

“dates for filing,” but it is really not a new concept. The State De-partment has been following this practice for years for people ap-plying for their immigrant visas abroad. Months before the pri-ority date is actually “current,” applicants were able to submit forms and documentation to the NVC, so that by the time the pri-ority date was current, the case is “ready to go” for visa issuance.

That same concept will now be applied to the filing of an adjust-ment of status application (Form I-485). People will be able to file for adjustment of status (and work authorization) months (or sometimes years) before their priority date (or final action date) is actually current. Once the ad-justment application and work authorization are filed, the per-son could be issued the work authorization and renew it each year, until the final action date is current and the adjustment of status is granted.

Allowing the “early” filing of adjustment applications could have tremendous advantages. For example, the priority date for “filing applications” for em-ployment-based third preference (EB-3) and other workers (OW)

is January 1, 2015. However, the “visa issuance” date for the same two categories is January 1, 2007. This apparently means that workers in the EB-3 and OW cat-egories may file for adjustment of status and work authorization, if the “filing date” (or the old prior-ity date) on their case is earlier than January 1, 2015. However, no visa will be issued (or adjust-ment of status will not be granted) until the January 1, 2007 “visa is-suance” priority date is current. Under this example, a person may file for adjustment of status if they have a priority date earlier than January 1, 2015, and renew work authorizations for approxi-mately 8 years until the “visa is-suance” date is reached, and ad-justment of status is granted.

There are other advantages as well. The law allows a person to change jobs or employers if their adjustment of status application has been pending for over 180 days, as long as it is a similar job, and the new employer is willing to continue the case. Some peo-ple may, under certain circum-stances, obtain “advance parole” to travel outside the US while their adjustment application is pending. This may give them the chance to visit their family years earlier than if they had to wait for

the “visa issuance date” to be-come current.

However, in November 2015, the filing dates may dramatically change, and in some cases could only be a few months ahead of the visa issuance date, rather than years. Therefore, you may want to take advantage of the October 2015 dates. In addition, if you are out of status, you may not be eligible to file for adjust-ment of status unless you have the benefit of Section 245(i).

If the priority date (on your employment or family based pe-tition) is now “current” in the application filing date chart, you should seek the advice and guid-ance of an attorney, who can evaluate your situation, and de-termine if you can file for adjust-ment of status (and work autho-rization) years before your “visa

issuance” priority date becomes current.

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

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

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

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

SAN FRANCISCO · NEW YORK · PHILIPPINES

(Advertising Supplement)

Business Quote of the Week“Don’t pick a job. Pick a Boss.

Your first boss is the biggest factor in your career success. A boss who doesn’t trust you won’t give you

opportunities to grow.” - William Raduchel, Independent director

and angel investor

by Doris Dumlao-abaDilla Inquirer.net

AS THE 2016 presidential race heats up, foreign investors look forward to Filipinos electing a president with “integrity and a clear-cut economic agenda,” the country chief of European banking giant ING said.

“We would want to have a leader with integrity. I think that kind of covers a lot of things that you would want to see in a leader,” ING country manager Consuelo Garcia said in a recent briefing, when asked about a wish list for the next president.

Integrity is something that Gar-cia said anyone would want to look for not just in the president but in

any leader.In the last five years, the good

governance agenda of President Aquino has helped rekindle inves-tor confidence in the Philippines.

In every country holding na-tional elections, Garcia said there would always be a period of uncer-tainty and “pause” for investors. “But at the end of the day, what they (investors) look for is a front-runner and if that front-runner has clear economic policies, then the uncertainty is reduced.”

“The market or the investors just don’t want to be surprised,” she said.

ING, which has been operating in the Philippines for 25 years, has

Sen. Grace Poe, former Interior Sec. Mar Roxas and Vice President Jejomar Binay.

by Kristine angeli sabilloInquirer.net

TRADE and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo on Friday, Sept. 18 stressed the importance of women’s participation in the econ- omy, as well as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation’s role in eliminating barriers.

Domingo, one of the speakers at the High Level Policy Dialogue on Women and the Economy (HLPD on WE), said APEC is focusing on helping women reach their full economic potential.

“In 2010 the United Nations es-timated that the APEC region stand losses up to $47 billion in output

each year due to lack of women’s participation in labor markets,” he told heads of delegations attending the HLDP on WE.

“In 2012, it estimated that up to 89 billion (dollars) a year could be added to the regional economy when barriers to women’s econom-ic participation are eliminated,” he added.

The Philippines is this year’s host of the APEC. Various events, including the ongoing Women and the Economy 2015 Fora at the Philippine International Conven-tion Center, are being held in the country.

The APEC Women’s Business and Smart Technology Seminar was one of the side events of the APEC Women and the Economy 2015 Fora happening from September 15-18, 2015 at the Philippine International Convention Center. In the photo during the conferment ceremony are (L-R): Yong Ja Kim, Vice President, GWIN; Hon. Nora K. Terrado, Undersecretary, Department of Trade and Industry; and Myonghee Kim, Director, APWINC. APEC photo

Palace: Aquino may not change mind in rejecting income tax cuts

MANILA—President Benigno Aquino III is unlikely to reconsider his rejection of proposals to lower income tax rates, Malacañang hinted on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

“The President prefers to stay the course for the remainder of his term in order to preserve and consolidate the gains achieved through sound management of macroeconomic fundamentals,” Communications Secretary Her-minio Coloma Jr. said.

On Monday, Sept. 14, Aquino disagreed with the proposed in-come tax cuts, saying he is not convinced that these will benefit Filipinos and the economy.

Aquino argued that lower in-come tax rates will lead to fewer government revenues and may affect the country’s credit ratings.

In a press briefing on Friday, Sept. 18, Presidential Spokes-

person Edwin Lacierda said the administration is batting for a “comprehensive discussion on the tax system.”

“We are looking not just at the income tax system, but we are looking at the entire comprehen-sive taxation reform that we want to happen,” Lacierda said.

Earlier, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima also said there must be a holistic review of the tax structure so as not to put the country’s fiscal gains and fiscal health at risk.

“We cannot put our fiscal sus-tainability and credit rating at risk by doing piecemeal revenue reduc-ing legislation,” he said, referring to the proposed income tax cuts.

He said Congress should strive to make the country’s tax structure more “buoyant, equitable, pro-gressive and competitive.” (Louis Bacani/Philstar.com)

PAGE D2

PAGE D2

september 19-22, 2015 • LA WeeKeND AsIAN JOUrNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797D�

Metro Manila’s worst chokepoints up close and personalPH eyes to increase trade, investments from China

PAGE D1

by Botchi SantoSInquirer.net

Marketplace & ShowrooM

What investors look for in...arranged a number of merger and acquisition and corporate financ-ing deals in the country, including big-ticket deals that brought in foreign investors.

“If you look at the ones that may be running, they seem to be saying the same things,” Garcia said.

“The market wants to see a front-runner. If it’s a close fight, uncertainty comes in,” she said.

Three aspirants have so far of-ficially announced their bid for the presidency in the 2016 elections: President Aquino’s anointed one, Mar Roxas; popular neophyte Sen. Grace Poe and Vice President Je-jomar Binay.

Binay, a long-time mayor of Makati before beating Roxas for the vice presidential race in the 2010 elections, is now facing graft and corruption charges but remains a popular candidate. Roxas and Binay have yet to pick their running mates while Poe has announced her choice, Sen. Chiz Escudero.

“As long as there are no nega-tive surprises and there’s a clear direction, investor confidence will be there,” said ING global head of commercial banking Willian Con-nelly said.

Garcia said it had been easy to

Women’s economic participation...The secretary said an earlier

APEC meeting held in Boracay already identified ways to help address issues affecting women entrepreneurs. These include us-ing gender disaggregated data in measuring economic and social im-pacts of businesses and promoting “an understanding of the divergent constraints faced by male- and female-led businesses.”

“APEC ministers and leaders have agreed to work together to focus on eliminating barriers that curtail gender equality and women’s economy empowerment and facilitate their access to mar-kets, skills and capacity building, health, leadership, innovation and technology,” he said.

Domingo emphasized that the APEC region, composed of 21 member economies, could gain up to $89 billion per year “if women across the region will realize their full economic potential.”

Irene Sim, Chief of Staff of the APEC Secretariat, said APEC leaders have long recognized the “crucial role of women in the development and prosperity of the Asia Pacific.”

She said women are “prime

sell the Philippines to foreign in-vestors. But as to why the country has been getting a much smaller share of foreign direct investments (FDI), she said this could partly be attributed to restrictions in certain sectors.

“There are still a number of industries where foreign owner-ship is limited compared to other countries that are a lot more open to foreigners,” she said.

ING, however, expects the privatization thrust in the Philip-pines to attract more foreign inves-tors. “It will happen but it’ll just be a little bit slower,” she said.

Asked whether she would wish the next president to amend the Constitution to liberalize the econ-omy, Garcia said investors were generally fine with taking “mea-sured” steps.

“Changing the Constitution may be a big step but there are a number of economic provisions that they feel could be done with executive decrees. Those will be good enough for a lot more foreign investors or technical investors to come in,” she said.

Among the sectors where for-eign ownership is restricted are: land holding, mass media and ad-vertising, educational institutions, utilities and natural resources.

movers of inclusive growth.”The heads of delegations of

the 21 economies are expected to adopt a Women and the Economy statement, which aims to specify actionable, measurable and con-crete policy recommendations for the APEC Economic Leaders meet-ing in November.

Department of Trade and Indus-try Undersecretary Nora Terrado said the annual gatherings of APEC delegates is an “invaluable op-portunity to deliberate and reason together on the many possibilities for cooperation and collaboration in policy directions, programs and strategies to advance [the] com-mon objectives for Women and the Economy.”

Fumiko Hayashi, the mayor of Yokohama City, said during her keynote speech that efforts to empower women in Japan have “grown at a faster pace” under the term of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“We were quick to focus on the number on barrier to social advancement: availability of child care,” she said, adding that various measures such as increasing the number of child care facilities have been put in place.

FoR months, EDSA has been under intense scrutiny due to the massive traffic jams that it has created.

Due to our resilience, the Fili-pino motorist who plies EDSA has been accustomed to three-hour traffic jams—which I think is bad.

We deserve a far better man-aged national highway system, free from colorum buses, illegal PUV terminals, illegal sidewalk stalls and corrupt traffic enforcers.

But clearing up EDSA is just one part of the equation. There are other major roads that need mas-sive fixing to help free up traffic.

Here’s a short list of some of the roads that I consider to be the worst-managed stretches and their corresponding intersections in Metro Manila. I’ll be doing a follow-up story, hopefully with the help of eagle-eyed, pro-active readers who are just as fed up encountering massive traffic jams in what should ultimately be a 15-30-minute drive.

1. Shaw east- and westbound lanes. The Shaw eastbound lane is terrible. I get onto this stretch of road everyday from my home in Mandaluyong to my office in ortigas CBD.

on a Sunday, it takes me all of seven minutes to get from my home to my parents’ house. on a weekday, especially payday Friday, it can take me an hour to clear Shaw Boulevard.

The major holdup is the inter-section of Shaw Boulevard and San Miguel Avenue. on this side, I feel the Pasig City Police are not as effective in managing the flow

THE Philippine government hopes to bring in more investments from China, as well as increase trade activities between the two countries, a Department of Trade and Industry official said.

“We wish that we would be able to increase Chinese investments into the country (Philippines)… as China, by far, is our second big-gest trading partner in the world,” Trade Undersecretary Ponciano Manalo said in a meeting on the sidelines of the 12th China-Asean Expo (CAExpo).

China was the Philippines’ larg-est source of imports in 2014 with shipments amounting to $9.57 billion.

At the same time, China was the Philippines’ third largest export market in 2014 following Japan and the US. The Philippines shipped $8.03 billion worth of commodities to China in 2014, up 14 percent over 2013 levels.

“I believe there are many op-portunities for us to work together, for China to utilize some of our labor which has already been very, very strong performers in Asia,” he continued.

The Philippines is among the participating countries in the an-nual China-Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Expo. Manalo said the government has al-ways been supportive of local busi-nesses joining the expo, which is aimed at increasing trade between the participating countries.

“This has been a very important expo for us, the Philippines. We’ve been here for all the 12 years and the Philippine government makes

it a very important part of its yearly planning activity to be present and to provide a delegation to the expo-sition,” Manalo said.

“We’re very glad to know that you have a very strong focus on Asean as part of the activities for the CAExpo. The Philippines is a very big supporter of Asean integration and the China-Asean free trade agreement (CAFTA) we have right now is certainly something that we’re looking up to,” he added.

He further said China should consider the Philippines as its gateway to other Asean member countries given the location of the latter.

Speaking with officials from the Chinese People’s Political Consulta-tive Conference (CPPCC) Guangxi Committee, Manalo said given the Philippines’ shared similarities with the province of Guangxi, China, the two may work on further growing their ties and cooperation.

Liu Zhiyong, vice chairman of the CPPCC Guangxi Committee, told Manalo he hopes the Philip-pines may be able to strengthen maritime relations with China, increase agricultural cooperation, and also grow the number of sister cities between the two countries.

Manalo expressed support on the Chinese official’s suggestions and also hoped for the success of China’s aim to create a “Maritime Silk Road” in the region to boost trade and investments.

The 12th China-Asean Expo and 12th China-AseanBusiness and Investment Summit opened yes-terday here in Nanning. (Kathleen A. Martin/Philstar.com)

How to fix it? I don’t know at this point, but suffice to say, it needs fixing.

The second chokepoint is the ortigas-Boni Serrano crossing. From five lanes, the majority of vehicles turn into two-lane roads, going further westward onto New Manila, or turning left to San Juan.

The commercial establishments just past this intersection are the major causes of traffic as vehicles double-park and wait for parking. The LGU should monitor this situ-ation to help speed up and improve traffic flow.

Dear establishments (Chinese food establishments, need I say more?), please bear in mind that your patrons are causing traffic.

3. C-5 Road/CP Garcia. C-5 is another oddly traffic-riddled stretch of road.

on the southbound lane, the major chokepoint is the Pasig-Kalayaan flyover, where five lanes try to squeeze themselves into two lanes as they enter the flyover.

This chokepoint pushes traffic all the way Eastwood where motor-ists can crawl through this stretch for as much as two hours on a very bad day.

once past this chokepoint, traffic flows freely until it hits the bridge over the Commando Link Road, just past McKinley Hills in Bonifacio Global City, due to the sheer number of vehicles taking the service road and turning left to Taguig or making a U-turn.

If the Taguig city government fixed the roads and cleared up all the illegally parked vehicles and illegal stalls on this very tight but crucial road, traffic would flow much more freely. As it is, of the five southbound lanes of C-5 pass-ing here, only two become pass-able during the rush hour as the other three lanes are stacked with motorists trying to squeeze their

way to the leftmost to enter the ser-vice road. We need the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group here as well.

Coming back into Pasig City, the chokepoint is caused by the Pasig-Kalayaan flyover, where vehicles can take the service road to get to Pasig City proper, or go further down before exiting the flyover and onto Bagong Ilog, Valle Verde and Eastwood, Quezon City.

4. McKinley Road. Even Ma-nila’s elite aren’t spared from traf-fic. Robert Coyiuto III, managing director of Porsche Philippines and Lamborghini Philippines, says that McKinley Road, once a quiet thoroughfare, isn’t spared from intense traffic during rush hour as it has become a major artery to and from EDSA to BGC.

The major chokepoint is the entrance to BGC. The BGC secu-rity needs to reassess the flow of traffic, giving perhaps triple the time for incoming cars to get into BGC to help speed up traffic along McKinley Road.

5. Estrella Street. Edbert Tiu, big boss at Waido, distributors for Blaupunkt, Sonax, PIAA and CTEK car chargers, had two sug-gestions:

Estrella Street, entering from EDSA and going back to Barangka in Mandaluyong, is a crucial ar-tery that can truly help decongest EDSA. Unfortunately, it’s narrow, and once down the bridge, it’s a tight four-way intersection.

While the Mandaluyong side is managed as well as it can be (I pass there often enough), it’s the Estrella stretch along Rockwell that needs sorting out. The private security force of Rockwell needs the support of the Makati City Mapsa traffic enforcers and the PNP to help keep this stretch of road moving freely.

6. Makati Avenue. This is an-

EDSA-Shaw Boulevard southbound is one of the six major chokepoints on EDSA. Inquirer.net photo by Eloisa Lopes

PAGE D1

PAGE D6

of traffic compared to their Man-daluyong counterparts.

But Mandaluyong traffic police don’t get off cleanly. The intersec-tion of Shaw Boulevard, Lee Street and Wack Wack Road is a mess as well on the westbound side.

I beg Mayors Maria Belen Eu-sebio of Pasig and Benjamin C. Abalos Jr. of Mandaluyong to please pay special attention to these two intersections, which clog up the entire length of Shaw for kilometers on end. of special mention is S&R Shaw; this one single establishment really messes up the flow of traffic.

I suggest that the entrance to S&R Shaw facing Laurel Street be used only for exits. Vehicles should enter the second entrance along Shaw Boulevard to help prevent the buildup of traffic as vehicles coming from the westbound lane of Shaw need to loop around Lee Street and exit Laurel Street to swerve in and enter S&R.

2. ortigas Avenue. There are two critical chokepoints on ortigas Avenue: the La Salle Green Hills (LSGH) side, which ultimately constricts the five lanes of ortigas Avenue to a single moving lane, and at the intersection of ortigas Avenue and Boni Serrano (formerly Santolan) Road.

LSGH is one of Metro Manila’s premier private schools. But it is a paradigm of viciousness, stupidity, crab mentality and indifference, if you see how motorists behave when picking up their charges from school upon dismissal.

It is ultimately impossible for the LSGH management to fix this be-cause a lot depends on the motor-ists who pick up the school kids.

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEptEmbER 19-22, 2015D�Showroom

Honda launches all-new Civic sedan

by Louise Maureen siMeonInquirer.net

Honda took to YouTube to unveil an all-new, dynamically styled 10th-generation 2016 Civic Sedan, slated for sale in the US this fall. With a more athletic stance and sportier driving posi-tion, the 2016 Civic Sedan is a new-from-the-ground-up design intended to recapture the sporty character of Civic while creating the world’s best compact car – setting a new benchmark in the mainstream compact class for fun-to-drive performance, safety performance and fuel efficiency, together with a new level of refinement.

The Civic Sedan is the first in a series of new 10th-generation Civic models that will include a sedan, coupe, high-performance Si models, a 5-door hatchback

and the first-ever Civic Type-R model for the US market, com-prising the most diverse and innovative lineup in Civic’s 43-year history.

Backing up the new Civic’s dramatic and sporty design with new power and efficiency, for the first time the 2016 Civic will feature two all-new engines – in-cluding the first-ever application of Honda turbo engine technol-ogy in the US. These powerful and fuel-efficient new engines combine with a sophisticated new body and chassis design to deliver incredibly responsive and sporty performance with a higher level of ride refine-ment and class-leading fuel efficiency.

The 2016 Civic Sedan will be

available with the Honda Sens-ing suite of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies, including Collision Mitigation Braking, Road departure Mitiga-tion and, for the first time in a Honda, adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow – bring-ing new value to the compact segment.

Further, the 2016 Civic lineup joins the freshened 2016 accord in offering advanced smart-phone integration with a new, 7-inch high-definition display audio touchscreen, offering tech-savvy customers a more ad-vanced and intuitive connected-car experience. The Civic will feature smartphone integration via apple CarPlay and android auto. (Inquirer.net)

Asia Pacific still largest aviation marketManILa—The asia-Pacific

region remains the largest avia-tion market worldwide with over 40 percent of international traffic for 2014, latest statistics from the International air Transport association (IaTa) showed.

International traffic to, from and within asia-Pacific repre-sented 42 percent of total in-ternational revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs).

airlines in the region once again carried the largest number of passengers with 33.3 percent market share or a total 1.1 billion passengers, an increase of eight percent from a year ago.

The top five international and regional passenger air-port-pairs were all within the asia-Pacific region namely,

Hong Kong-Taipei (5.1 million), Jakarta-Singapore (3.5 million), Hong Kong-Singapore (2.8 mil-lion), Hong Kong-Shanghai (2.7 million), and Hong Kong-Seoul (2.5 million).

In the recently released 59th Edition of the World air Trans-port Statistics (WaTS), the year-book of the airline industry’s annual performance, it said com-mercial aviation is a remarkable engine for economic activity and a billion more people boarded aircraft last year than a decade ago.

“Much of that growth has been in the asia-Pacific region where expanding connectivity has gone hand-in-hand with eco-nomic opportunity. The indus-try’s 2014 performance shows aviation connectivity as a driving force in emerging economies

and a critical component in the developed world,” IaTa said.

Last year, airlines operated around 100,000 flights per day and transported 51.3 million tons of cargo, equivalent to around 35 percent of the total value of all goods traded internationally.

airlines globally carried 3.3 billion passengers on scheduled services, an increase of 5.8 per-cent from 2013.

Meanwhile, Europe ranked second with 26.3 percent market share or 873.4 million passen-gers followed by north america with 25.3 percent market share or 841.8 million passengers.

Latin america and the Carib-bean which shared 7.7 percent or 255.9 million and Middle East with 5.2 percent market share or 173 million, ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

The Civic Sedan is the first in a series of new 10th-generation Civic models that will include a sedan, coupe, high-performance Si models, a 5-door hatchback and the first-ever Civic Type-R model for the US market, comprising the most diverse and innovative lineup in Civic’s 43-year history.

september 19-22, 2015 • LA WeeKeND AsIAN JOUrNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797D�

EMPLOYMENTEMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEptEmbER 19-22, 2015D�

FOR SALEEMPLOYMENT FOR RENT

september 19-22, 2015 • LA WeeKeND AsIAN JOUrNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797D� Marketplace & ShowrooM

AZUSA—Rosedale, the San Gabriel Valley’s finest mas-ter-planned community, of-fers homebuyers a fulfilling lifestyle close to everything they need, yet surrounded by nature. Not only can homeown-ers at Rosedale enjoy countless opportunities for picnics, play dates and pick-up games at the assortment of neighborhood parks, but residents will also appreciate the convenience of a new Metro Gold Line station located within walking distance of home. Rosedale is excited for the new Foothill Gold Line from Pasadena to Azusa, which is on time for construction to be finished in late September. The public is invited to join the City of Azusa, elected officials, the Construction Authority and Metro for a dedication ceremony at Azusa’s downtown station on Saturday, September 19 at 9:30am to celebrate the upcom-ing completion. The project includes the future Metro Gold Line boarding station at Citrus Avenue and Palm Drive, which is scheduled to open in March 2016. Rosedale residents who want a simple, cost-efficient alternative to driving for both work and leisure will enjoy the close proximity to this new sta-tion. For more information and additional updates on the Metro Gold Line’s progress, visit www.foothillextension.org. Homebuy-ers are also invited to visit the master-planned community to learn how they can call Rosedale home or join the interest list on-line at www.LiveRosedale.com to receive important information and updates on the community.

“We are thrilled for the ad-dition of the future Metro Gold Line station at Citrus Avenue and Palm rive, as it will provide a great alternative to travel for residents at Rosedale when it opens early next year,” said Mer-cedes Meserve, Vice President of Marketing for Rosedale Land Partners, LLC, the developer of Rosedale. “Exciting new hap-penings also continue to evolve within the community with the addition of new parks and ame-nities coming soon. Buyers are encouraged to visit this thriving master-plan and explore the vi-brant lifestyle that awaits.”

With a variety of parks and an array of resort-inspired ame-nities for buyers to enjoy just moments from home, Rosedale

Rosedale excited for dedication ceremony of new Metro Gold Line stations in Azusa

Bring FREE solar energy to your home!

Mon CaleonJun Pereyra

GoiNG solar is easier than you think, with SouthWest Sun Solar.

our well-trained, solar specialist team will evaluate your home free of charge to assess for potential savings, and generate your custom SouthWest Sun Solar proposal and a low-rate agreement bringing clean power and energy to your home.

our in-house engineers and specialists will design and install a solar system meeting all of your energy needs. We specialize in rooftop solar panels, converting natural energy from the sun to produce a clean, solar electricity system—while saving you from piles of local utility bills.

“This is relatively new, inno-vative, and best of all affordable technology. our business model is we aim save people money,” says executive director Hugh (Hieu) Nguyen. “And we are going green too, green in your homes and in your pockets.”

We always ensure that your home’s new solar system will always meet our solar standards, producing efficient, clean, “green” energy. The system is also net-metered, allowing excess power production to flow back into the grid.

Keep more money in your pocket. With SouthWest Sun Solar systems, your family can cut the electricity bill between as much as 20-60% after installation, and you can raise the value of your home by 15-25%.

We have a zero down, no cash required agreement, and no in-stallation fee. With our innova-

tive Power Purchase Agreement, you just pay us back in the future, at a much lower price. in addition, every customer who signs up with SouthWest Sun Solar receives $500 back. Customers who refer us and to their friends and family also get a $500 referral!

our in-house team has installed solar panels in over 100 homes across California. We also offer 25-year warranty, a $500,000 roof insurance policy, system routine maintenance and rooftop damage repair, and we guarantee quality performance that will lower your electricity bill. With fast installa-tion and customer service, we truly care about our customers. We also speak English, Tagalog, Spanish, and Korean, to better serve the larger California community.

To our kababayans, please ask for our Filipino sales team, Jun Pereyra (415-350-4631) and Mon Caleon (714-369-4490), and they

will be happy to assist you! our new Filipino office is located at 2610 orangethorpe Ave. #101 Fullerton, CA 92833.

Go solar now, with more confi-dence in the future. With our main offices in Fullerton (Filipino office), Westminster, La Mirada, Laguna Hills, and San Jose, we are happy to serve customers throughout Northern and Southern California. With a 5-star rating on Yelp, we are dedicated to providing affordable, quality professional service and promoting clean, green energy. Give us a call and find out if your home is eligible today!

For more information or contact details, including specials on solar systems and services, please visit our website at www.southwestsun-solar.com, or contact us directly at: 1-800-418-8582; 1-855-274-5502 (fax). Make the switch to solar today!

(Advertising Supplement)continues to expand with the addition of new opportunities for leisure and recreation coming soon. These include Arroyo Park, which will feature a walking loop trail perfect for a leisurely stroll or morning run and picnic tables to enjoy lunch outdoors with neighbors. in addition, Sierra Madre Park will introduce a new open-turf play area and a full basketball court to enjoy a pick-up game with friends.

in addition to the new parks and amenities coming soon, Rosedale residents have access to The Resort and central arroyo. A 4,500 square-foot private club-house and two-acre recreation center, The Resort is the social centerpiece of the community. The facility features a Junior olympic swimming pool and children’s wading pool, an open-turf play area with Adventure play structure, turf volleyball, a private state-of-the-art fitness center that will soon introduce new exercise equipment and yoga classes and much more. The Resort will also soon start offering English educational classes for residents. The central arroyo features 13.5 acres of beautiful open space that runs through the community with miles of trails for residents to enjoy an afternoon hike, walk or bike ride.

There are three neighbor-hoods currently selling within the Rosedale community. Wheth-er homebuyers are looking for a convenient attached home design or a spacious new luxury residence, Rosedale has some-thing for everyone. The new home opportunities include the

single-family luxury homes at Aster Heights by Brookfield Resi-dential, the single-family luxury homes at Azalea by Christopher Homes and the single-fam-ily luxury homes at Camellia by Brookfield Residential.

Rosedale residents are con-veniently located within close proximity of the i-10 and 210 corridors, making downtown Los Angeles, orange and San Bernardino counties within easy reach for commuters.

Great shopping, dining and entertainment destinations are also nearby including old Town Pasadena, Westfield Santa Anita Fashion Square, Westfield West Covina, Home Depot, Target,

Trader Joe’s and Costco. Azu-sa Pacific University and Citrus Community College are also within a short walk of the com-munity.

To visit the master-planned community of Rosedale from Pasadena, take the i-210 trav-eling east and exit Grand Av-enue.

ownership and development management of the 518-acre master-planned community of Rosedale in the city of Azusa, CA is a new partnership between Brookfield Homes, Christopher Development Group (CDG) and Starwood Capital Group. As Rosedale Land Partners, these companies bring together the necessary depth of large-scale community planning, develop-ment and financing experi-ence required for the successful implementation of community-based master planning and development.

(Advertising Supplement)

Metro Manila’s worst chokepoints up...other stretch of road Tiu mentioned that needs far better policing. The chokepoint on the northbound lane is the entry to the bridge, which is at the intersection of JP Rizal and Makati Avenue.

once past the bridge that cross-es Pasig River, the next major chokepoint is the Mandaluyong Circle itself, which used to be a ma-jor throughfare but is now nearly impassable—and completely im-passable once the moderate rain starts falling, as the areas becomes knee-deep in flood.

7. Commerce Avenue. From the south, Danny isla, president of Lexus Manila inc., states that Commerce Avenue is still heav-ily congested. The opening of the MCX Toll Road helped alleviate the traffic along Commerce Av-

enue, but during rush hour, the traffic rivals that of downtown Manila.

While this area is private and utilizes its own security force, the private sector needs to work closely with the local government and the PNP to help improve traffic along this stretch of road.

8. Southbound EDSA-ortigas flyover. Special mention is the southbound lane of EDSA-ortigas entering ortigas CBD. This par-ticular lane gets clogged up due to vehicles coming down the flyover and turning to F. ortigas Road to go to Robinson’s Galleria, San Miguel Avenue and the elite private school St. Pedro Poveda College.

The four lanes of the eastbound lane of ortigas Avenue get clogged up, and only a single lane becomes passable as vehicles squeeze and

merge all the way from the leftmost lane to the rightmost lane.

Perhaps we should lengthen dividers from the flyover to cover the stretch all the way until the Shell station, beside the old or-tigas Building, to prevent this chokepoint.

once this is clogged up, traf-fic can get backed up all the way to Cubao. PNP-HPG, please take note of this.

These are just eight chokepoints i’ve identified. i would very much like to hear from you readers out there, so we can elaborate on these major chokepoints aside from EDSA.

Remember, if we can help un-clog the secondary but equally important arteries of Metro Manila, we also help unclog traffic as a whole, and free up EDSA.

PAGE D2

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • SEptEmbER 19-22, 2015D�

september 19-22, 2015 • LA WeeKeND AsIAN JOUrNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797D�