Weekend balita august 9, 2014

See NOT ENOUGH, page 16

It was during President Benigno Aquino III’s mother’s term (of the late President Corazon Aquino seen in the picture frame) when the 1987 Philippine Constitution was framed to prevent another dictatorial regime. However, ever since her successor, President Fidel V. Ramos, became president, many have said that the six-year one-term presidency is “not enough” to lead the country that many have proposed to amend the Constitution.

MANILA, Aug 7 (Mabuhay) – Sen. Nancy Binay believes six years may not be enough for a sitting President to achieve his or her goals in Malacanang. However, she also admitted there might not be enough time to amend the Constitution now to al-low a term extension.

Speaking to reporters, Binay said there is not enough time to study proposals to amend the Constitution and allow President Aquino to extend his term.

She said there are many pending pieces of legislation that need the attention of lawmakers including the proposed 2015 national budget and the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

“Unang-una, it’s not up to me. Wala akong choice pagdating sa pag-extend ng term ng Presidente kasi specific ito sa Constitution natin na there’s only one

Nancy: 6 years not enough for president

Senate President Franklin Drilon gestures to stress a point during an exchange of views with Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Monday (Aug. 4, 2014) at the Senate Session Hall in Pasay City. (MNS photo)

MANILA, Aug 7 (Mabuhay) – Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday ex-pressed alarm that one of Southeast Asia’s top Islamic militants is alive and hiding in Mindanao.

In a statement, Trillanes said intelli-gence reports that Zulkifli bin Abdul Hir, alias Marwan, is still alive “have serious implications on our national security.”

“He is one of the most wanted terrorists in the world and it is definitely not com-forting to know that he is still operating somewhere in central Mindanao,” he said.

The Philippine military on Wednesday confirmed that Marwan, a Malaysian bomb maker with a $5-million US-government bounty on his head, is still alive, more than two years after jubilantly declaring he had been killed in a US-backed airstrike.

“He is alive and we continue to monitor

MANILA, Aug 7 (Mabuhay) – Senator Chiz Escudero is not con-vinced that President Aquino would yield to pressures for him to seek a term extension.

Escudero said Aquino has been counting the days left in his term.

“That’s not allowed by the Constitu-tion. It should not even be discussed. I don’t think they should even be toying with that idea in their minds. On the part of President Aquino, to be fair, I don’t even think he wants that. In fact, huli ko siyang naka-usap, nagka-countdown siya sa kanyang termino at bilang niya ang araw a,” Escudero told reporters.

Escudero described the statement of Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda as “unfortunate” for not cat-egorically brushing aside the proposal for Aquino to seek another term.

Lacierda had stated that the Presi-dent listens to the voice of the people in response to calls for him to seek a term extension.

Escudero said Lacierda’s statement did not clarify the President’s position on the matter.

“That statement was clearly un-

Chiz: Aquino won’t seek term extension

Ms. Hasmin Mama, one of the 37 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) repatriated from Syria, expresses gratitude to the Philippine government and Embassy personnel who helped them come home. The female OFWs arrived last March 7 because of the ongoing civil war in the country. Now, OFWs are being urged to leave Libya, which is currently facing its own deadly political turmoil.(MNS photo)

MANILA, August 5, 2014 (AFP) – The Philippines said Tuesday it would send a ship to pick up at least 700 of its nationals trapped in strife-torn Libya as it presses on with efforts to rescue thousands of workers.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said it would pick up Filipinos from Mis-rata and Benghazi and hopefully Sirte, adding that others could still flee across the land border to Tunisia.

“We have 400 from Misrata, we have 300 from Benghazi and we have some-thing like a couple of hundred from Sirte but the boat cannot go into Sirte because it’s a shallow harbour so we need a small vessel to bring the people back out to the boat,” he said.

He said the ship, chartered for about

PHL sending ship for OFWs trapped in war-torn Libya

‘Alive’ terrorist has serious implications – Trillanes

See EXTENSION, page 16

See ALIVE TERRORIST, page 16

See SHIP FOR OFWS, page 16

LOS ANGELES

VOL. XXII, NO. 27 THE LEADING SOURCE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR FILIPINO-AMERICANSAUGUST 9-15, 2014

Lorna doesn’t seeherself gettingmarried again

See LORNA T page 29

2 Visit www.Balita.com Weekend, Sat. - Fri., August 9 - 15, 2014 BalitaLOS ANGELES

3Visit www.Balita.comBalita Weekend, Sat. - Fri., August 9 - 15, 2014 LOS ANGELES

MANILA, August 7, 2014 (AFP) – Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), the country’s leading telecoms provider, said Thursday it was buying a 10-percent share in German Internet devel-oper Rocket Internet for 333 million euros ($445 million).

The partnership will allow the two companies to “jointly develop mobile and online payment technologies and services in emerging markets”, a PLDT statement said. “The strategic partnership will allow us to leverage our combined strengths in developing online and mobile payment solutions in emerging markets,” PLDT president Napoleon Nazareno was quoted as saying.

PLDT cited its “experience and intel-

lectual property in mobile payments and remittance platforms”, often used by the many Filipinos working abroad to send money back home.

It also cited the Berlin-based Rocket’s ability “to provide products and services for the ‘unbanked, uncarded and uncon-nected’ population in emerging markets”.

The investment will entitle PLDT to one seat on Rocket’s nine-member supervisory board the statement said, adding that the investment would be sourced from avail-able cash and new debt.

Rocket bills itself as the world’s larg-est Internet platform outside of China and the United States, with a strong presence in Europe, Latin America, Russia, India, Africa and the Middle East.

MANILA, Aug 7 (Mabuhay) – Senator Pia Cayetano has filed a resolution calling for an investigation into the construction of a condominium tower in Manila that heritage advocates oppose because it would despoil the Rizal Monument.

Senate Resolution No.824 filed by Cay-etano, who chairs the committee on education, arts and culture, Wednesday said the construc-tion of DMCI Homes’ Torre de Manila would not only spoil the view of the monument but also disrespect the memory of national hero Jose Rizal.

Last month, the Manila City council, re-sponding to the clamor of those opposed to the condominium’s construction, unanimously passed a resolution suspending Torre de Ma-nila’s building permit for violating zoning ordinances.

An online petition on Change.org initiated by tourist guide and historian Carlos Celdran

has so far gathered more than 8,200 signatures.Cayetano’s resolution notes that, “the Rizal

Park and Monument is regarded not only as an artistic and cultural icon and famous tourist site,” but is also where “momentous events in our history” have taken place. It also said there is a need to review the laws and policies governing the preservation of national and historical sites.

Among these are:Article XIV, Section 15 of the Constitution:

‘The State shall conserve, promote, and popu-larize the nation’s historical and cultural heri-tage and resources, as well as artistic creations’

Republic Act No.4846, otherwise known as the “Cultural Properties Preservation and Pro-tection Act,” which defines a national cultural treasure as “a unique object found locally, pos-sessing outstanding historical, cultural, artistic and/or scientific value which is highly signifi-cant and important to this country and nation”

MANILA, Aug 7 (Mabuhay) – The World Bank on Thursday revised downward its economic growth forecast for the Philippines this year and in 2015, but despite the cut would still make the country Asia’s second-fastest next to China.

In a report, the Washington-based lender said the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to grow 6.4 percent in 2014, down from its previous forecast of 6.6 percent and below the government’s own target of 6.5-7.5 percent.

Philippine GDP, which is the amount of final goods and services produced in the country, grew by 7.2 percent in 2013.

For 2015, World Bank projects that the Philippine economy will grow 6.7 percent, also down from its earlier forecast of 6.9 percent.

“This projected growth remains one of the fastest in the East Asia region, second only to China among the major economies,” Motoo Konishi, Philippine country director of World Bank said.

The revision reflects the slow start of the economy in the first quarter of 2014 given the effects of Typhoon Yolanda, lower government spending in the second quarter, and monetary policy tightening in the first seven months of the year.

However, recent data trends suggest that higher growth has now begun to translate into significant poverty reduction, the lender said.

“After many years of slow poverty reduction, poverty incidence declined by 3 percentage points from 27.9 percent in 2012 to 24.9 percent in 2013, lifting 2.5 mil-lion Filipinos out of poverty. And in April this year, the economy created 1.7 million jobs,” Rogier van den Brink, World Bank lead economist for the Philippines said.

The World Bank Group estimates that the country needs to spend an additional 5 percent of GDP on health and education to raise the labor productivity and competi-tiveness of Filipino workers. This is on top of the government’s planned doubling of infrastructure spending to 5 percent of GDP.

“Going forward, the Philippines can sustain high growth by accelerating structural reforms and increasing investments in infrastructure and in the health and educa-tion of the Filipino people,” said Karl Kendrick Chua, World Bank senior country economist for the Philippines.

In the last four years, the government has doubled spending on social services and has provided more money for developing the country’s infrastructure. Sustain-ing these efforts will close the remaining gaps brought about by decades of lagging public investment:

“The government has successfully raised tax revenue equivalent to 1.2 percent of GDP in the last three years through the sin tax reform, improved tax administra-tion, and higher growth. Accelerating the current reform momentum would help the country yield additional tax revenues to further expand growth that can benefit more poor Filipinos,” said Chua.

In addition, accelerating key reforms to secure access to land, promote competi-tion, and simplify business regulations will also help create more and better jobs and bring more people out of poverty. (MNS)

PLDT buys into German Internet developer

Pia Cayetano seeks probe of ‘Torre de Manila’

World Bank cuts PHL growth forecast, but sees expansion outpacing most in Asia


Your first step in overcoming debt problems is recognizing you have a problem! If worries about your credit card bills or a pending foreclosure are keeping you awake at night, you probably already know you’re in over your head. Just cruising along, juggling credit cards, taking from one to pay the other is not a viable answer. So if this describes your situation, then take

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5. You skip payments on some bills in order to pay others, or use cash advances on one credit card to pay off another.

6. You find yourself arguing with your spouse over money.

7. You have recently been turned down for credit or a loan.

8. You panic when faced with an unex-pected expense, such as a car repair.

9. You owe more on your car than it’s worth.

10. There’s no more equity in your house.

11. Creditors are calling you about overdue bills.

12. You are either thinking about bank-ruptcy or a divorce.

We have all heard about bankruptcy, but what does it mean? What are the im-plications? As is to be expected, filing for bankruptcy can be complicated, unless you have professional help to walk you through the process.

Simply put, bankruptcy can be defined as the legal process thorough which indi-viduals or businesses in financial trouble are able to work out their debts and pay them out under the protection of the bankruptcy court. Often “liquidations” or “reorganizations” are the words that are used to sum up the process that unfolds when you file for bankruptcy.

The two kinds of bankruptcy that you can file for are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. There are various factors that would determine whether you should opt for the one or the other.

Through Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, you liquidate all unsecured debt, and hopefully protect any assets you have within the bankruptcy exemption rules. Most people are protected, because they don’t have any non-exempt assets. In the event debtor is making too much money, they choose Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, which is the reor-ganization type of bankruptcy. The debtor

is allowed three to five years over which to pay back a portion of the debts, based in part on the value of non-exempt assets, and their disposable income, left over from normal living expenses. Say that you have $100.00 in disposable income. You would have to pay that into a plan for 60 months. After 60 months, the balance of your debts would be discharged in full, even if they are far from being paid off.

One should keep in mind that there are intricate details to the legal process that need to be taken into consideration before decisions are made to file for bankruptcy. Who qualifies? Which kind would apply to you? Will you be able to keep all of your property? There are many such questions that arise in such a situation. In this situ-ation, you need to consult with an experi-enced bankruptcy law firm that can guide you through these complicated decisions and procedures.

Filing for bankruptcy may not be the solution to all your financial problems though. In fact, bankruptcy does not cover all debts. For example, debts related to child and spouse support, or taxes are not covered in bankruptcy.

Do you have a Co-signer?Before filing for bankruptcy it is im-

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Under chapter 13 bankruptcy, as long as the bankruptcy plan is active the co-signers will receive a stay. All the same, when the plan closes, the co-signer is once again li-able to pay any outstanding payments, even though the debt is discharged in favor of the bankruptcy debtor.

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MANILA, Aug 8 (Mabuhay) – A proposed joint resolution increasing the sub-sistence allowance of all officers and enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other uniformed personnel from Php90 to Php150 per day has been filed in the Senate.

Filed by Philippine Navy officer-turned-Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and spon-sored by Senators Teofisto Guingona III, Juan Edgardo Angara, Loren Legarda and Cynthia Villar, the Senate Joint Resolution No. 2 will also cover officers and enlisted personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protec-tion (BFP), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Cadets and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Guingona said the benefits aim to augment the meager income of the country’s uniformed officers and enlisted personnel and give them the dignity and honor they rightfully deserve.

“This measure will not only give them honor and recognition for the hard work and sacrifices they make daily to secure peace, to protect the country’s territorial integrity and to defend our sovereignty, but it is also one way of professionalizing these institutions that are integral to the nation,” he said.

Guingona also authored a bill with Trillanes under Committee Report No. 57 that seeks to increase the burial benefits of veterans and their dependents from Php10,000 to Php20,000.

“Our veterans have served this country well. It is high time to increase the benefits due them. It is one way of honoring our veterans and their valuable con-tribution to our nation’s democracy,” Guingona said.

Senators push Php150 subsistence daily allowance for AFP offi cers, enlisted personnel


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MANILA, Aug 7 (Mabuhay) – Months after his two colleagues ran to the high court for help, Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile has also sought redress from the Supreme Court to stop the ongo-ing Sandiganbayan plunder trial over his alleged involvement in the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

On Thursday, SC Public Information Office chief and spokesman Theodore Te confirmed to reporters that Enrile had filed a petition for certiorari with GR. No. 213455.

In his petition, Enrile asked the high tribunal to “issue a temporary restraining order to respondents from holding a pre-trial and further proceedings in Criminal

Case No. SB-14-CRM-0238.” He also asked the high court to set his petition for oral arguments.

Enrile filed his petition through his lawyer Estelito Mendoza and his law firm, Ponce Enrile Reyes and Manalastas Law Office.

Enrile is facing one count of plunder and 15 counts of graft.

In separate information sheets filed by the Ombudsman, Enrile and his co-accused, including his former chief of staff Gigi Reyes, are alleged to have amassed P172.8 million in kickbacks from 2004 to 2010 through non-government organiza-tions associated with alleged pork scam brains Janet Lim-Napoles.

Meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan on Fri-day denied the motion for reconsideration filed by detained Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile to gain temporary free-dom over the plunder and graft case he is facing in connection with the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam.

In a 14-page resolution, the Sandigan-bayan Third Division said it cannot grant Enrile’s request to fix his bail unless it hears and evaluates the evidence to be presented by the prosecution against him.

“No amount of legal hermeneutics can justify accused Enrile’s insistence that the court should already grant him bail pending the prosecution’s presentation of its evidence showing proof evident of his

guilt,” the resolution, penned by Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, read.

The court said the prosecution has the burden to show that the evidence of guilt against the accused is strong during the bail hearing. If the evidence of guilt is strong, it is the court’s duty to deny the application for bail. However, if the evidence is weak, “the bail becomes a matter of right.”

“It is only after the prosecution shall have presented its evidence and the court shall have made a determination that the evidence of guilt is not strong against ac-cused Enrile can he demand bail as a matter of right. Then and only then will the court be duty-bound to fix the amount of his bail,” the court said.

MANILA, Aug 7 (Mabuhay) – Around 900 rookie policemen will be deployed early next month to beef up efforts against crime in Metro Manila, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II said Thursday.

The deployment was decided during a meeting between Roxas, Philippine Na-tional Police Director General Alan Puri-sima and National Capital Region Police Office Director Mel Valmoria Wednesday.

“Kailangan natin ng isang full court press, kung baga sa basketball, laban sa mga kriminal na ito, organisado man o hindi (We need a full court press, in bas-ketball parlance, against these criminals, organized or not),” Roxas said in a state-ment, explaining the deployment.

Roxas said he ordered a complete map-ping of crime-prone areas and the profiling of members of crime groups, adding that

police commanders will be held liable for failing to restore peace and order.

“We are going to hold responsible or accountable any police district officials and their local chiefs of police if a crime wave will persist in their respective areas of jurisdiction,” he said.

In August 2012, the NCRPO, then un-der Purisima, declared 21 areas in Metro Manila “crime-prone.”

Among these areas were Bagong Silang, Caloocan City; Barangay Tugatog, Mala-bon City; North Bay Boulevard South, Navotas City; Marulas, Valenzuela City; Sto. Niño, Marikina City; Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City; Plainview, Mandaluyong City; Greenhills, San Juan City; Barangay Sto. Niño, Pasay City; Ayala, Makati City; Baclaran, Parañaque City; Barangay Pam-plona, Las Piñas City; Alabang, Muntin-

lupa City; and Signal Village, Taguig City.The current NCRPO leadership is as-

sessing developments in these areas.At the meeting, Purisima and Valmoria

said at least one company, or around 100 personnel, from the NCRPO’s Regional Public Safety Battalion will be tapped in

establishing regular checkpoints in strate-gic areas around the metropolis.

Roxas also ordered them to tap the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detec-tion Group and Intelligence Group to hunt down members of notorious crime groups in the National Capital Region. (MNS)

Enrile runs to Supreme Court, wants Sandiganbayan ‘pork’ trial stopped

900 rookie cops to boost Metro anti-crime drive


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MANILA, Aug 7 (Mabuhay) – The timing of the House investigation may be dubious, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Supreme Court still owes the public an explanation on how it utilizes the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF), a senator said Thursday.

“Wala namang above the law,” said Sen-ator Francis Escudero at a news forum at the Senate. “The issues and the principles of accountability and transparency apply to all, even to SC, even to the chief justice, as it does with the President and all of us.”

Still, he believes it was “bad timing” for the House of Representatives to investigate the JDF following the SC’s unfavorable

ruling on the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) and the Priority Develop-ment Assistance Fund (PDAF), which are both discretionary funds.

“Hindi ko maikakaila parang napak-asama ng timing at talagang mukhang resbak yan lalo na yung imbestigasyon sa JDF,” he said.

Escudero, however, refused to comment on the plan of Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas to file an impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno over the alleged questionable use of the JDF.

“Decision nila yun, ayaw kong panghi-masukan. Dapat kahit sinong senador ay wag na magsalita muna dahil baka sabihin na pinI-prejudge namin,” he said.

An impeachment complaint is initiated in the House, which will vote for or against it. Once the House votes for the impeach-ment of an official, it will be brought to the Senate, which will be convened into an impeachment court to try the case.

Sereno had earlier snubbed the House inquiry on JDF and instead sent a letter saying the investigation is premature.

Escudero, a former House member, recalled that former Chief Justice Hilario Davide did the same during a long-ago at-tempt by the chamber to look into the JDF.

“That was when the House tried to impeach Davide. The SC issued a TRO (temporary restraining order) against the House of Representatives at that time. Ang ginawa ng House noon, ay pinagbotohan ang TRO pero kulang ang boto so natapos dun,” he said.

At present, no resolution has been filed in the Senate seeking inquiry on the JDF. Escudero, who has no plans of filing one, said the SC always submits a report on the JDF to the Senate during budget hearings.

He also dismissed worst-case scenarios that could result from the clash between the highest court in the land and the House of Representatives.

“I think our institutions are strong enough to withstand these kinds of noises and these types of issues,” he said, recall-ing how the three branches of government “survived” the ouster of Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012.

“Yung pinakamatindi na sigurong banggaan sa pagitan ng mga ahensiya ng gobyerno... ay nung na-impeach si dating Chief Justice Renato Corona. Pero nag-survive, na-withstand yun ng institutions,” he said.

Escudero urged the SC and the House of Representatives to resolve the issue between them. (MNS)

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Attorney Gali Koren is the firm's founder and managing attorney. She received her Juris Doctor Degree, Magna Cum Laude, from Western State University. She obtained her LLM in International Law from the University of San Diego Law School, majoring in Immigration Law. Ms. Koren is a member of the State Bar of California and is authorized to represent clients on immigration matters in all 50 states.

2691 Richter Ave.,Suite 110

Irvine, CA 92606

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up her own religion. She converted to her husband’s religion and raised their children as Muslims. She learned to prepare “Halal” food for her husband. She traveled with her husband to Mecca and became “Hajih.” By all standards, she was happily mar-ried. She never asked her husband why he wanted a divorce.

But after the divorce, husband remar-ried a Muslim woman, who was 15 years younger than client. Was this the will of “Allah” that she would lose her husband to a younger woman after she renounced her own God to serve “Allah?” I can only say that client certainly has the training to heal her own mental health given her oc-cupation and academic background.

Let’s look at her financial situation. She

owns a house with a fair market value of $500,000. She took a reverse mortgage of $300,000 two years ago on the house. She doesn’t have to pay the monthly mortgage of $2,700 under the terms of the reverse mortgage but she now owes $330,000 on it.

When she stopped working, she de-cided to be part of a multilevel networking business, which required her to purchase inventory of $100,000. She used her credit cards to buy the inventory but found out that she could not sell the merchandise. So now she is stuck with the merchandise which is worth 10 cents on the $ in a fire sale and $100,000 of credit card debt which needs a minimum of $3,000 a month to keep current.

She receives net pension of $2,900

monthly and a car payment of $500 for a 2013 Honda Pilot, which she bought intending to use it to deliver the merchan-dise. She has a 2005 Camry, which is fully paid. Her granddaughter who is 12 years old lives with her as well as her 40-year old son who is divorced.

Son is a networking IT professional who used to make $80,000 a year but the company he worked for was bought by another company and he was terminated in the process of downsizing of the new entity. Although son is actively looking for another job, he has not gotten any satisfac-tory offers that will match the money he was making in his former job.

He’s had offers for half his former salary so he’s still looking around for a comparable job. His wife decided to leave him when he lost his job for his former boss who divorced his wife of 30 years to marry son’s wife who was also 15 years younger than he.

If you have the love of a good and faith-ful woman, consider yourself fortunate. Client’s other son is 38 years old and has just gotten married to a 20-year old Thai lady. The son lives with his Thai wife in Chang Mai trying to make money from a small business making handbags. Cash flow is very weak, so client has to send second son $500 a month so he can pay his rent and monthly expenses in Thailand.

Client will do a Chapter 7 to get rid of

credit card debt of $100,000 and to dis-charge the voluntary return deficiency on the Honda Pilot estimated to be $12,000. Client had no use for the SUV since she did not have any deliveries to make, and she needs to send 2nd son $500 a month so he can survive in Thailand with his new bride until their handbag business is strong enough to give them at least cash profit of $1,000 monthly so they can survive. So, at the age of 72, client will obtain a fresh start in life with no debt, keep her house with equity of $170,000, and her fully paid Camry. Since she does receive a pension of $2,900 and does not have to pay monthly mortgage with the reverse mortgage, she can retire in peace with a comfortable cash flow and no debt.

“The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philip-pians, 4:7.

Lawrence Bautista Yang is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and has been in law practice for thirty years. He specializes in bankruptcy, business and civil litigation and has handled more than five thousand successful bankruptcy cases in California. He speaks Tagalog and looks forward to discussing your case with you personally. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appoint-ment at 1000 S Fremont Ave., Mailstop 58, Bldg A-1 Suite 1125, Alhambra, CA 91803.

Senior citizen client seeks Chapter 7 reliefClient is a woman who is 72 years old. She worked as a

mental health therapist for 40 years since she was actually a physician abroad. She was happy doing her job helping people to get their sanity back on track. She married her co-employee and they had two children. After 20 years, husband told her he wanted a divorce.

Client thought she had a perfect marriage because they had never argued about any-thing. In fact, she even gave

MANILA, Aug 5 (Mabuhay) – The lead counsel of alleged pork barrel scam master-mind Janet Lim Napoles is mulling the idea of putting Napoles on the witness stand in the serious illegal detention case filed by pork scam whistle-blower Benhur Luy.

Atty. Bruce Rivera said he will talk to Napoles later Tuesday to convince her to take the witness stand on August 19 at the sala of Judge Elmo Alameda of Makati Regional Trial Court if her sked would allow it.

Aside from the serious illegal detention case, Napoles is also facing plunder and graft charges at the Sandiganbayan.

Rivera told the court he would present the names of the five witnesses in five days. He said the witnesses would debunk the

kidnapping allegations of Luy.He said he would have wanted Monsi-

gnor Josefino Ramirez of the Archdiocese of Manila to take the witness stand first but he is still out of the country.

Earlier, Rivera was admonished by the prosecution panel for not making it to the scheduled 9:30 a.m. hearing.

Judge Alameda had to ask the prosecu-tion panel to return to the courtroom after Rivera arrived past 10:30 a.m. The lawyer explained he failed to get the court order.

The defense panel has listed 18 persons who will testify for Napoles.

Rivera said he would study the list if all of those listed still need to testify. He said he may delete some and may also add new names if the court would allow it. (MNS)

Lawyer wants Napoles to testify in trial

MANILA, Aug 8 (Mabuhay) – After almost five years of handling one of the Philippines’ sensational cases, defense lawyers for a number of accused in the Maguindanao massacre trial have decided to call it quits.

In separate manifestations to the Que-zon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221, members of the defense team led by Sigfrid Fortun have withdrawn as lawyers for principal suspects, clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., his son Andal Jr., and 22 other accused.

“The undersigned counsel respectfully withdraws its appearance for accused An-dal Ampatuan Sr. and Andal Ampatuan Jr. It is respectfully requested that all plead-ings, orders, notices, and other process be furnished said accused at their place of detention at Quezon City Jail Annex, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Camp Bagong Diwa Complex, Taguig City,” said Fortun’s camp in a withdrawal of appearance dated June 30.

The development came amid accusa-tions of bribery involving some of the prosecutors in the case.

Also withdrawing were legal counsels for accused Sajid Islam Ampatuan, Datu Anwar Ampatuan, Datu Akmad Ampatuan Sr, Datu Anwar Ampatuan Jr, Datu Sajid Anwar Ampatuan, Nasser Esmail, Nico-medes Amad Tolentino, Bulatukan Omar Kayansang, Datutulon Malaguial Esmael, and Datukan Malang Salibo.

They are represented by lawyer Andres Manuel, who filed his withdrawal of ap-pearance on August 1.

Lawyers for the following accused also withdrew: Moktar Daud, Mohades Ampatuan, Misuari Ampatuan, Macton Bilungan, Tato Sampogao, among others.

Ampatuan lawyers withdraw from Mindanao massacre case


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offer because they only have a conditional green card. Individuals who encounter these type of discriminatory hiring pro-cesses have legal rights against companies engaged in these unlawful practices.

Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (“IRCA”), it is illegal for employers to discriminate in hiring, firing, or recruitment based on a person’s status as a citizen or an immigrant. This means that, as long as an individual has legal documentation to work in the U.S., a company or employer cannot refuse to hire him on the basis of his citizenship or immigration status, nor can they ask for additional documents beyond the valid documents listed in the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form.

So long as the requirements of the I-9 are satisfied by the documents provided, employers cannot (1) ask for additional documents, (2) reject valid documents, or (3) ask the employee to provide specific documents from the I-9 list. As long as the individual provides the required I-9 documents, as chosen by them, and they reasonably appear to be genuine, the employer must hire the individual even if they are only presenting a temporary work permit, conditional green card, or green card. The only exemption from this mandate is if there is a specific law, regula-tion, or government contract that requires the employer to hire only U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Individuals should be aware that a prospective employer can only ask for documents related to the I-9 form after the job has been offered. Verification of an individual’s employment eligibility cannot be used in an earlier stage of the hiring process since it may lead to denial of a job offer based on discrimination against an individual’s national origin. Rather, com-panies may only inform job applicants that they will verify employment eligibility, such as through the following notice: “In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity

and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.” Beyond this notice, companies may not engage in any other inquiry as to the individual’s employment eligibility during the hiring process.

As well, IRCA prohibits employers from preferring to hire temporary visa holders, temporary work authorized indi-viduals, or green card holders. Just like some companies prefer to hire permanent residents or U.S. citizens, other companies may indicate a hiring preference that is against U.S. citizens. This, too, is unlawful employment discrimination under IRCA. In short, employers cannot base a job offer on a person’s immigration status, whatever that may be, and may only conduct the required I-9 employment verification after a formal job offer has been rendered.

IRCA provides legal recourse for those who have been subjected to employment discrimination due to their immigration status. For those who are denied a job due to their immigration status, the law allows the individual to file a complaint seeking monetary damages against the company. As well, an employee may seek monetary damages if they are retaliated against for filing a complaint alleging discriminatory practices or are assisting in an investigation or proceeding under IRCA.

The right to work is one that is fun-damental and cannot be harmed due to notions of bigotry and discrimination. Individuals must understand their rights to ensure that they are protected, and seek justice when wrongful acts are conducted.

For further information, please sched-ule an appointment with an attorney at Aquino & Loew, Immigration Law Specialists; (888) 797-1140 or (626) 799-3089; [email protected]. Offices in Los Angeles (South Pasadena), CA and Honolulu, HI. Please also visit Aquino & Loew at www.aquinoloew.com. Aquino & Loew also handles family law and criminal matters.

Immigration rights in the hiring processMuch too often individuals are subjected to unlawful

discriminatory practices in the hiring process based on their immigration status. Not understanding their rights, job oppor-tunities may be unjustifiably lost and aspirations for a better future unattained.

For example, individuals are often unaware that they cannot be a refused for a job because they only have a work permit rather than a green card or US citizenship. As well, a job ap-plicant cannot be refused a job

WASHINGTON, August 7, 2014 (AFP) – The number of unaccompanied children illegally entering the United States at its southern border fell by half from June to July, US officials said on Thursday.

In a statement, US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh John-son said the number of children arriving without adult accompaniment was 10,628 in June, but fell to 5,508 in July.

An even more sizeable decline was seen in the number of adults arriving in the US accompanied by children, which fell from 16,330 to 7,410 during the same time period.

Johnson praised increased US vigilance at its border with Mexico for the declining numbers of undocumented migrants.

“We have surged resources and put in place an aggressive campaign to counter the rise of illegal migration into the Rio Grande Valley,” he said in a statement.

“We have dramatically reduced the removal time for many unaccompanied adults from about 33 to four days,” John-son said.

“We have increased the number of flights to repatriate people back to Central

America,” he said.He also said the United States has con-

structed additional holding facilities that can accommodate both adults and children

But Johnson said his department is rapidly running out of money to deal with the border crisis, and has had to take $405 million from other programs within his department to address it.

He blamed the shortfall on the US Congress, which last week departed for its summer holiday without voting on provid-ing additional funds for the border crisis.

“Given Congress’ failure to act, the department is left with no good choices,” Johnson said.

Number of unaccompanied child migrants falls by half: US

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emplary effort in pushing the environmen-talists’ agenda. Emerald Awards will be given to the “Best Green Company (City or Entity),” Best Green Product or Service”, and “Best Conservation Program”.

Close to a dozen companies and or-ganizations are pitching as sponsors and partners in this annual event which moved its venue from Orange County where it was traditionally held until two years ago to Los Angeles County.

Community activist, civic and religious leader, Atty. Linda Sarno, co-founder and presently Director Emeritus of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce has been credited for FACCOC’s adoption of the go-green project a few years back, being herself also a chemist who seriously con-cerned with environmental issues.

Participants to the annual event were quick to join the worthwhile movement during the initial staging and saw the op-portunity to put to public knowledge and consciousness their own environmental-friendly products and services as part of their contributions to the movement.

People from several sectors of the so-ciety had jumped into the bandwagon of the green movement which actually is not a recent development.

The Green Movement as we know about it today is an advocacy that has evolved since the early days. The Move-

ment traces its origin to the intellectual thought of the 1830s and the 1840s and was part of the “American philosophical thought first developed by Transcenden-talists and expanded during the era of American pragmatism in the second half of the 19th Century”. The quintessentially American Movement is a consciousness deeply rooted in American philosophy that’s “innovative and practical, idealistic and active”.

Environmentalists push the agenda of the sustainable management of resources and stewardship of the environment through changes in public policy and indi-vidual behavior and “recognizes humanity as a participants in the ecosystem where the movement is centered on ecology, health and human rights”.

The present focus on green initiatives has been triggered further by “sobering international events, catastrophic weather, visible climate change, the 9/11 and war, gas shortages and the vigorous scientific consensus that legitimized environmental concerns”.

The new consciousness has made people more aware of the problems that now become obvious everywhere they look – the chemically treated and modified food, the water contaminated with toxic chemicals, the resources running out, the wasteful habits that fill the landfills fast

and the soaring gas prices. Going Green has become everybody’s concern.

* * *Orange County Fi-Am Church Cel-

ebrates 22nd YearCornerstone Christian Fellowship of

Orange County celebrated its 22 years as a spiritual home to more than 100 Filipino American Christians in Southern California. The church started as a Mission outreach of Cornerstone International

Christian Church in La Puente where the first assembly of about 12 people was held at the garage of one of the members in Anaheim Hills. For the next five years since the first meeting , Sunday services had been held in at least five different venues. Since 1997, services are held in the City of Fullerton. The late Pastor Tim de Fiesta served as the first Senior Pastor of CCF. Pastor Joam Martinez now serves as the Senior Pastor.

Green is the color of the month for OC Fil-Am Chamber of CommerceThe Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Orange

County, in cooperation with Southern California Edison, will hold its 6th Annual Green, Conserve and Health Expo on August 21 at Southern California Edison Energy Education Center in Irwindale.

The occasion will mark the day that green conservationists and go green adherents and advocates will take center stage and get recognized for their ex-

OC Fil-Am Church Celebrates 22 Years: The Cornerstone Christian Fellowship of Orange County celebrated its 22 years “as the spiritual home of Filipino Americans in Southern California”. The church started by close to a dozen believers who met years ago at the garage of a member in Anaheim Hills. Senior Pastor Joam Martinez takes care of the spiritual needs of the church’s more than 100 members.

Candidate Kim Young: California Congressional District 65 candidate, North Orange community leader Young Kim (extreme right, seated) joins , civic/religious leader and pro-life advocate Atty. Linda Sarno (extreme left, seated) and her colleagues at the OC Fil-Am Chamber of Commerce celebrate a milestone in her life. The occasion was also the baptismal party of her only granddaughter held at the Los Coyotes Golf Club House in Buena Park recently.

San Diego – Seventeen years after its founding, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaF-FAA) opens its biennial empowerment conference today with a leadership insti-tute aimed at empowering the youth “to become more effective leaders in their respective organizations.”

Framed by the conference theme, “We Break the Dawn: Master Planning the Future,” the pre-conference event called “Empowering Youth Through Collabora-tion” (EPYC) aims to facilitate networking and sharing of best practices for student organizing and “promote substantial, sustainable, more effective mobilization of the youth.”

Inspired by successful collaboration with other organizers across the country, EPYC is adopting an agreed-upon theme – “Your Move” – to create an overall sense of unity and “jump-start a movement of cohesion between FilAm leadership con-ferences across the country.”

Through breakout sessions, panel dis-cussions, and crisis simulations, EPYC seeks to promote best practices for transi-tioning from student organizing to commu-nity organizing and sharing practical skills and effective strategies for mobilizing the students and youth.

“We envision a Filipino/Filipino Ameri-can community whose youth organizations effectively harness their incredible poten-tial to make an impact in the community,”

says Leezel Ramos, co-chair of the 2014 Empowerment Conference. “In this insti-tute, we want to challenge participants to leave their mark by making their move.”

Delegated the task a year ago of orga-nizing the national gathering by NaFFAA Region 10 Chair Aurora Cudal, Ramos had posed a challenge to Filipino American leaders “not to simply pass the baton to us, but to hold the baton with us side by side, step by step in leading our community into the future.”

NaFFAA National Chairman Ed Na-varra, in acknowledging the call for shared leadership, says the conference is an intergenerational effort of NaFFAA’s seasoned advocates and “the young folks” to bring about change. “The end result is a dynamic movement that strategically cre-ates a master plan for the future, ultimately meaningful to the conference’s intergen-erational participants and the larger diverse communities that they serve. I call on all delegates to embrace our youth leaders’ insights and ideas as we chart new direc-tions and build a new master plan for the next generation of leaders.”

POWER SPEAKERS. Scheduled on August 7-10 at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center in San Diego, the conference brings in notable Filipino Americans as speakers at plenary sessions, workshops, and after luncheon panel discussions on significant topics that highlights the theme.

Fil-Am empowerment conference opens with youth leadership institute


nickel ore the same way they poach fish in the shoals. Some local officials must have been bribed and they’re in collaboration with these Chinese miners.”

The three Chinese conglomerates listed operating there are:

Jiangxi Rare Earth & Metals Tungsten Group

Wei Wei GroupNihao Mineral Rsources, Inc.Bondoc further reports that ‘through

Filipino dummies they have set up five supposed ‘minahang bayan or small-scale mines.” These five “mines” load “ore and unload equipment in one common pier, be-traying the fact that they are actually one

and the same.”According to Philippine Republic

Act 6082, Section 1, “There is hereby cre-ated in the Department of Justice which shall be designated and known as the Anti-Dummy Law and shall be vested with and shall excercise the powers and duties herinafter:”

“Anti-Dummy Law protects the Philip-pines from unlawful use and exploitation having in its name or under its control , a right, franchise, privelege, property or business , the excercise or enjoyment of which expressly reserved by the Con-stitution or the Laws to citizens of the Philippines for at least 60% of the capital

of which is owned by such citizens and a maximum of 40% for a foreign investor.”

The Chinese mining companies alleg-edly paid the local people as dummies, but they “virtually own the 60% while control-ling the 100% full ownership.”

Further, Republic Act 6082, Section 3 on Anti-Dummy Law, states that “any corporation or association violating any of the provisions of the Act shall, upon proper court proceedings, be dissolved and offering rewards.25% to the informer in Section 3-A . If dummy will come out, they would have a chance to own 25% of the whole Chinese illegal investment and 75% would be turned over to the goverment.”

The five operatives “machinate under cover of the People’s Small Scale Mining Act of 1991 who use sophisticated explo-sives, excavators, drill and crushers.They blow-up mountains for tens of thousands of tons of nickel ore per day and they al-legedly turn these nickels into high-tech weapons at the expense of farmer’s lives.”

Reports have come out from this writer’s provincemates in Zambales that “residents of Sta. Cruz have witnessed

their forests being denuded and have poisoned its farmland, rivers and sea. Townspeople in both Masinloc (where Panatag/Scarborough Shoal is) and Infanta, Pangasinan (the other neighboring area of Sta. Cruz) both suffer environmental-related acute respiratory illnesses brought about my muddled coastal waters. These Chinese mines have not improved local household incomes either. Their entire mining industry still has one of the highest poverty rates.”

Health and environmental problems are accompanied by economic and politi-cal decay. According to Bondoc’s account, by “disguising these so-called small scale mines, the five Chinese owners are able to skirt the stringent rules on the large mining operations. Provincial business permits can be obtained within days for as low as P10,000 (pesos) and environmental clearances of P15,000 (pesos), as compared to the year-long wait for the large compa-nies who are more scrutinized.”

“Virtually unregulated, these five Chi-nese mines pay no duties, no taxes no fees or royalties; they’re not even responsible for the local townsfolk’s medical expenses” Locals from neighboring areas claim that they’ve watched the “departures of four ore-laden carriers from their common wharf per week.”

It was also reported that “the mayors of Sta. Cruz, Masinloc and Infanta, Pan-gasinan profess to oppose the Chinese mines but there’s widespread speculation that the provincial capitol of Zambales and Pangasinan go over the mayor’s area of responsibility by dealing directly with the barangay officials” which was some-what “questionable” because on December, 2013, the mayor of Infanta, Pangasinan was murdered.”

Bribery stories surrounding these Chi-nese mines have been around since they settled in 2005. “The Wei Wei Group al-legedly entered via Botolan, Zambales in 2005 through a “rushed approval during the Arroyo tenure. They came when GMA allowed China to “explore” Philippine waters under a “Joint Seismic Marine Understanding.” This led the group to later discover the Sta. Cruz-Masinloc-Infanta ore mines.”

Finally, Bondoc reported that the “Juangxi Group joined in partnership with a Nihao Minerals officers group who were in turn affiliated with Geograce Resources Inc. This was the group involved in the alleged illegal grant to ZTE International Corp. in 2005, regarding the mining rights in the gold rush area of Mount Diwalwal , Compostela Valley in Mindanao.”

It is therefore obvious that the Philip-pines is now China’s main source of nickel, although there is no exact figure, these “Small Scale Mines” operate under “local government licenses, beyond the scope of the Philippine Bureau of Mines and Geosciences.”

Our country prides itself on our resil-ience as Filipinos. Let us all rally against foreign aggression. This must be stopped!

Double jeopardy Chinese aggression in Zambales?Manila journalist Jarius Bondoc recently published a story

regarding Chinese aggression not only on the Panatag/Scar-bourough Shoal controversy in Bajo de Masinloc, Zambales, but the current invasion of a part of the West Philippine Sea-side in the town of Santa Cruz, Zambales.

As a native of Zambales and as one whose grandfather is Chinese, it pains this writer to learn of this story from Des King, our egroup moderator from Iba, Zambales.

Chinese miners have al-legedly landed there “stealing


MANILA, Aug 8 (Mabuhay) – Recruit-ment agencies that deployed land-based overseas Filipino workers to countries af-fected by the Ebola virus to submit regular updates on the OFWs’ status.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said this covers recruiters that sent OFWs to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

“Using (an) OFW Monitoring Form, all recruitment agencies which have deployed land-based workers to the said countries shall regularly submit to this Administration the following reports,” POEA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said in Memorandum Circular 6, dated Aug. 6.

He said they are to submit “on a weekly basis or immediately” a status report on the condition or situtation of the deployed workers on-site, when any worker mani-

fests Ebola virus disease symptoms.They are also to submit reports on

vacationing or returning workers “at least one week prior to their return to the Phil-ippines.”

Cacdac said the agencies are also to “closely monitor the condition of their deployed workers and coordinate with their respective employers on matters affecting the welfare and employment status of the workers due to the threats of the Ebola Virus Disease.”

Agency reports will be emailed to:Department of Health (DOH): Dr. Lyn-

don Lee Suy Tel. No.: 6517800 loc 2354 Email: [email protected]

Department of Foreign Affairs: Of-fice of Middle East and African Affairs (OMEAA): Iris Vanessa Caranzo

Tel. No.: 8343016

Email: [email protected] of Foreign Affairs: Office

of the Undersecretary for Migrant Work-ers Affairs (OUMWA): Director Lorenzo Jungco

Tel. No. 8344884Email: [email protected] Pre-Employment Services Of-

fice: Director Nini LantoTel. No. 7221150Email: [email protected] or mar-

[email protected] Workers Welfare Administra-

tion (OWWA): Hector CruzEmail – [email protected] testing, clearanceCacdac said employers should ensure

that medical testing and treatment will be administered to their workers at the first signs of EVD symptoms, which include

fever, headache, intense weakness, joint and muscle pains and sore throat.

“Workers who have been treated of the EVD symptoms shall seek medical clear-ance from the local health authorities of the country of employment prior to their departure for the Philippines,” he said.

RepatriationIf the alert levels in the Ebola-affected

countries reaches “3” (Voluntary Repatria-tion), employers or agencies shall ensure the immediate repatriation of their workers who wish to be repatriated, Cacdac said.

But if the alert level is raised to “4” (Mandatory Repatriation), employers/agencies shall ensure the immediate re-patriation of their workers, “with all the workers administered Ebola Virus Test, at no expense to the workers, prior to their departure for the Philippines,” he added.

POEA orders recruiters to monitor OFWs in Ebola-hit countries

MANILA, Aug 8 (Mabuhay) – Neophyte Senator Grace Poe is seeking to raise the minimum pay of public school teachers and non-teaching personnel in the elementary and secondary levels.

Poe filed Senate Bill No. 2310 to increase the minimum pay of public elementary and high school teachers from P18, 549 to P25,000 a month, and from P9,000 to P15,000 a month for non-teaching personnel.

The bill provides that the salaries of those occupying higher position, also in the elementary and high school levels, to be adjusted accordingly.

The initial funding needed to implement the proposed measure, the bill said, should be sourced from the savings of the executive branch of government and other possible resources that may be determined by the Office of the President.

“Subsequent funds needed shall be included in the General Appropriations Act for the year following the implementation of this Act,” it further said.

Poe pointed out that the salaries of public school teachers “do not compare favor-ably with other occupations in government as a duly licensed teacher occupying the entry level position of Teacher 1 earns P18, 549.”

The current pay of the teachers, she said, was also “unable to insure a reason-able standard of life for themselves and their families.”

“According to the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, the family living wage in the National Capital Region, estimated at P957 per day or more than P21, 054 per month, which means that many teachers resort to borrowing,” Poe said.

Poe pushes for higher pay for teachers


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President Benigno S. Aquino III leads the ceremonial laying of the San Gabriel Power Plant Project time capsule in Brgy. Sta Rita, Batangas City on Tuesday (January 14). The San Gabriel Power Plant and is the leading clean and renewable energy company in the Philippines with an installed capacity of 2,763 megawatts. (MNS photo)

MANILA, Aug 5 (Mabuhay) – Sena-tor Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday welcomed Malacañang’s open-ness to convert the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) as a natural gas-powered facility amid the worsening power situa-tion in the country.

“I welcome that direction. I think it’s a practical step, together with other strategies, towards attaining a sustainable solution to our power woes,” Marcos said.

Earlier, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said the proposal to convert the BNPP into a gas-powered plant would be studied carefully by the government.

The BNPP was built in Morong, Bataan during the administration of Marcos’ father, the late former President Marcos, but has remained idle since its completion in 1984.

The suggestion to convert the moth-balled BNPP into a natural gas plant was triggered by concerns over the lingering and worsening state of power supply.

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary

Carlos Jericho Petilla had reportedly pre-dicted massive brownouts due to expected 200-megawatt shortage in the summer of 2015.

Marcos said the government should gather the state’s energy executives and private stakeholders to conduct the study.

“I support the idea of conducting a study on whether the BNPP can be con-verted into a natural gas-powered plant. The BNPP is one practical option whether it will be gas-powered or something else as long as it’s doable and acceptable,” Marcos said.

In a privilege speech last June by Ori-ental Mindoro Rep. Rey Umali, chair of the House Committee on Energy, he said the BNPP, if operated using a natural gas, would generate up to 1,800 megawatts.

Meanwhile, Senator Serge Osmeña III, chairman of the Senate committee on energy, said he does not believe the BNPP will produce 1,800 megawatt once converted into natural gas-powered plant.

”Where they get that number? Anybody can say anything but I mean, that plant

Marcos welcomes Palace’s openness to convert BNPP into natural gas-powered facility

was built for 600 megawatt so how you can make it 1,800?,” Osmeña said in a media interview.

If the government would study the

conversion of the BNPP, Osmeña said: “Good luck to them.”

”They’re studying everything for the past 20 years,” Osmena added. (MNS)

MANILA, Aug 5 (Mabuhay) – To brace for the country’s looming power emergency that is bound to cause recurring outages dur-ing summer, a senior member of the House of Representatives urged the government to declare the use of daylight-saving time (DST) starting November this year to January 2015, and from March to June next year.

In his House Resolution 1334, LPG-MA Rep. Arnel Ty on Tuesday strongly urged the Palace to proclaim the observance of DST over the seven-month period “in order to significantly conserve energy” ahead of the Luzon grid’s projected 400 to 1,000 megawatt (MW) power supply shortage between March to June 2015.

“This early, it has become absolutely imperative for the country to adopt highly aggressive but practical energy demand man-agement strategies,” Ty said.

DST “saves” daylight by advancing, usu-ally by one hour, the official standard time. Filipinos would have to wake up an hour earlier than usual. But they would also leave work or school an hour earlier than customary.

According to Ty, Commonwealth Act 91 authorizes the President of the Philippines to proclaim the resort to DST, “when the public

interest so requires,” for a cumulative period not exceeding seven months each year.

CA 91 is an Act Fixing the Standard Time of the Philippines, and Authorizing the President of the Philippines to Establish a Daylight-Savings Time.

“DST has been proven to be effective in reducing energy consumption. In fact, many countries are already on DST mode for several months of the year,” Ty said.

The 1936 law further provides that: “The standard time of the daylight saving time herein established shall govern the movement of all common carrier. In all statutes, order, rules and regulations relating to the time of performance of an act by any officer or department of the Government, or relating to the time within which any right shall accrue or determine, or within which any act shall or shall not be performed by any person in the Philippines, it shall be understood that the time shall be the standard or the daylight saving time as herein established, as the case may be.”

He cited the case of the United States, which goes on DST mode every year from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.

“DST works in such a way that the more

Senior House member recommends DST to save electricity

days we are in DST mode, the greater the energy saved over time,” he pointed out.

Ty said Malacañang should consult with business sector, including the airline industry, which would have to adjust to DST.

Once on DST mode, businesses would have to recalibrate devices such as time clocks, security systems and timed safes. Even traf-fic lights may have to be reprogrammed to properly recognize rush hour.

DST was last proclaimed during the Ramos administration, when the country was reeling from a crippling power crisis.

In view of the approaching power crunch, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla previously urged President Benigno Aquino III invoke Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

Section 71 states that: “Upon determina-tion of the President of the Philippines of an imminent shortage of the supply of electric-ity, Congress may authorize, through a joint resolution, the establishment of additional generating capacity under such terms and conditions as it may approve.”

Thus far, the President has been silent on Petilla’s recommendation.

Instead, in his State of the Nation Address last week, the President ordered Petilla to confer with the Joint Congressional Power Commission and the Energy Regulatory Commission as well industry players and consumers, for the purpose of finding ways to deal with the impending exigency.


MANILA, Aug 5 (Mabuhay) – The Food and Drug Administration warned the public this week against buying what it called an unregistered anti-asthma syrup.

In its Advisory 2014-059, the FDA identified the product as PRED 5 mg per 5 ml syrup, labeled as a Corticosteroid with the generic name Prednisolone.

FDA said the product claimed “to con-trol the acute exacerbations of bronchial asthma, severe osteoarthritis, severe al-lergic reactions, auto-immune diseases and in rheumatoid arthritis.”

It said the importer and distributor of the product, Sham Chem Pharmacals Inc., was unlicensed.

FDA warned the use of the unregistered product may present “safety risks and ad-verse health consequences.”

It advised retailers and distributors of

FDA-regulated products to source their supplies from authorized dealers “so as to avoid processing fake and/or unregistered products.”

In the meantime, the FDA said its offi-cers have instructions to confiscate all un-registered drug products, including CEFX.

“All local government units and law enforcement agencies are requested to ensure that these products are not sold or offered for sale in their localities or area of jurisdiction,” it added.

Meanwhile, the FDA reminded consum-ers to buy and use only FDA-registered health products from FDA-licensed es-tablishments.

To verify if the product is registered with FDA, the public may search the FDA website, www.fda.gov.ph by typing the product’s name in the search tab.(MNS)

MANILA, Aug 6 (Mabuhay) – The Department of Agriculture on Wednesday reported that 65 percent of farmers in areas ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda in November of last year had already harvested their crops even as the agency continues its ef-forts to help all those affected by the super typhoon.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said the crop harvest was due to the joint efforts of the DA and UN’s Food and Ag-riculture Organization (FAO) to distribute sacks of certified seeds and fertilizer to af-fected farmers in 44 out of our 81 affected provinces barely a month after the passage of the strongest typhoon in history.

“The DA is proud to announce that farmers from Leyte and Samar have al-ready harvested crops four months after replanting their farms. They have now planted their second crop for the season,” Alcala said.

Additionally, he said the DA had also provided willing farmers with fast-growing crops, among them pechay and mustard, which can be harvested in 20 to 45 days.

The DA also has a midterm program for raising ruminants – either goats or sheep – for every five kilometers of the areas damaged by Yolanda.

Alcala said the department provided

planting materials for the grass that the animals will eat.

“Every five kilometers, we will put clusters of either goats or sheep to enhance the source of protein of our countrymen who were affected by typhoon Yolanda,” Alcala said.

However, he said that toppled coconut trees still posed a problem as they may harbor deadly insects.

“The DA continues to help in the clear-ing operations because rhinoceros beetles might multiply in them and later cause damage to the trees that survived,” he said.

Meanwhile, the DA has been busy in its Bankang Pinoy program.

The program aims to provide durable fishing boats to affected fisherfolk as part of the government’s “build-back better” strategy to help Yolanda-affected com-munities recover.

In June, the DA’s Bureau of Fisher-ies and Aquatic Resources launched the “unsinkable” Bangkang Pinoy to give fishermen, who risk their lives at sea on a daily basis, guaranteed additional protec-tion especially during inclement weather.

At least 5,000 of these unsinkable, tree-friendly and durable fishing boats are expected to be produced and distributed by the DA before the year ends. (MNS)

A sack of rice gives way as a man salvages rice at a destroyed warehouse after super typhoon Haiyan battered Tacloban City, in central Philippines on November 15, 2013. The death toll the powerful typhoon were more than 2,000. (MNS photo)

FDA warns public vs. unregistered anti-asthma drug

65% of farmers in Yolanda-damaged areas have harvested crops: DA


MANILA, August 5, 2014 (AFP) – Twelve Chinese fishermen were handed long prison terms on Tuesday for illegal fishing in the Philippines after their ship ran aground on a World Heritage-listed coral reef, a court official said.

The 12 were arrested at the Tubbataha Reef, a marine sanctuary in the western Philippines famed as a pristine dive spot, in April last year after their 48-metre (157-foot) boat hit and badly damaged it.

Boat captain Liu Chiangjie and his crew had pleaded not guilty, telling the court in the western city of Puerto Princesa that they had merely got lost but regional trial court judge Ambrosio de Luna rejected the explanation as “highly incredible and unbelievable”.

The court imposed the maximum pun-ishment of 12 years for the boat captain and prison terms of between six and 10 years for the rest of the crew, clerk of court Hazel Alaska told AFP.

The 12 told the court they would appeal against the ruling.

All were found guilty of violating the anti-poaching provisions of a 2009 law that gave the Tubbataha Reef protected status, according to Alaska.

The fishermen were also fined $100,000 each, while their boat was forfeited, Alaska added.

They were the first foreigners to be found guilty of violating the law, accord-ing to Herminia Caabay, legal officer for a council that helps the western province of Palawan protect its natural resources.

Dead pangolins in boat -The fishermen were still on trial for

possession of protected species within the park, Alaska said, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The Philippine coast guard had said hundreds of dead and frozen pangolins were seized from the Chinese fishing boat.

Pangolins are widely hunted in parts of

Asia, including Palawan, for their meat, skin and scales.

In China they are considered a delicacy and to have medicinal qualities.

The boat captain had earlier testified during the trial that the boat’s global po-sitioning system navigational equipment had broken down on their way home from Indonesia, and as a result they did not know where they were.

The 12 are among dozens of Chinese and Vietnamese fishermen who are de-tained in Palawan for illegal fishing.

Among the others are nine Chinese fish-ermen who were arrested on May 6 off Half Moon Shoal, a South China Sea outcrop claimed by both China and the Philippines.

However the 97,000-hectare (230,000-acre) Tubbataha Reef, which was listed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1993, is in a part of the Sulu Sea claimed only by the Philippines.

It requires long sailing in Philippine waters to reach.

Asked if the decision would affect ties with China, Foreign Department spokes-man Charles Jose said in a statement: “The verdict was based on applicable Philippine laws. And the place where these Chinese fishermen were apprehended in April 2013 is part of the Philippines’ internal waters where it has exclusive sovereignty.”

The Chinese boat ran aground less than three months after a US minesweeper ploughed into the reef while transiting through the area. The US Navy had to cut up the vessel in a salvage operation that took 10 weeks.

The Philippines fined the United States 58 million pesos ($1.33 million) for dam-aging the reef, but laid no criminal charges.

“This is a breakthrough in our campaign against environmental degradation,” chief provincial prosecutor Alen Rodriguez told AFP after the court handed down its verdicts.

12 Chinese jailed for illegal fi shing in Tubbataha Reef

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a termination. A termination may be illegal if motivated by discrimination against a legally protected characteristic such as disability, race, gender, or age. Unlawful constructive discharge remedies are the same as those available under wrongful termination.

To prevail on a constructive discharge claim, the employee must prove 1) that the working conditions were so intolerable that a reasonable person in such position would have been compelled to resign, and 2) that the employer either intentionally created or knowingly permitted the intolerable work-ing conditions.

The working conditions must be extraor-dinary and shockingly bad (“egregious”) and must be unusually “aggravated” or amount to a “continuous pattern” before the situation will be deemed intolerable. A single, trivial, or isolated act of misconduct may not be enough.

Consider the following case of con-structive discharge as reported by the Daily Journal:

Mitsuyo Kuwahara worked as an in-structor for several years at Asahi Gakuen, a Japanese-language school in Sta. Monica, CA. Ms. Kuwahara started reporting to Mr. Kawata, the new principal. She alleged that Japanese culture permeated the work cul-ture at Asahi, and as a result, Mr. Kawata treated her as a personal servant, and not as a working professional.

Ms. Kuwahara was degraded pub-licly, forced to scrub and clean desks even though there was a maintenance crew, was prevented from taking the lead because she was female, and was required to work longer hours without overtime pay. After she complained, she was given a negative performance review, and was demoted and transferred to a campus that required longer commute.

After years of unlawful treatment, Ms Kuwahara resigned and sued the employer for constructive discharge. She also al-leged discrimination based on gender and national-origin.

The employer said Ms. Kuwahara was a poor performer and was unfit for the job. The employer also hired a forensic psychiatrist to testify that the employee had a pre-existing “personality disorder, not otherwise specified” that caused her to react unreasonably to neutral workplace events.

After trial, the jury found discrimina-tion and decided that Ms. Kuwahara was wrongfully terminated. She was awarded a total of $1.3 million in damages, including emotional distress and lost wages.

There may be rude bosses at work. Unfortunately, rudeness is not illegal and employees are cautioned not to be unrea-

sonably sensitive to the working environ-ment or to expect a stress-free workplace. However, if the working conditions are “unusually aggravated” or a “continu-ous pattern” of oppression exists, it may be smart to consult with an experienced employment attorney to protect oneself.

[C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is trial attorney who has obtained several million dollar recoveries for his clients against insurance companies and employers. 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. He is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center Washington, D.C. and the Univer-sity of the Philippines. Visit his website at www.joesayaslaw.com or contact his office at (818) 291-0088 for a no-cost inquiry.]

‘Constructive discharge’ may be illegal terminationQ: I was recently forced to quit my job because of my abusive

manager. Can I still sue for wrongful termination even if I was the one who left?

A: If the manager’s conduct created working conditions that were so oppressive that a reasonable person in the em-ployee’s position is forced to resign, such resignation may be considered a constructive discharge, which is essentially

A registered nurse who operated GreatCare Home Health, Inc., a home health agency based in the Westlake district of Los Angeles, has been sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for orchestrating a $5 million Medicare fraud scheme involving kickbacks to doctors and patients who did not qualify for in-home health services provided by GreatCare.

Hee Jung Mun, who often used the name Angela Mun, 52, of Rancho Palos Verdes, was sentenced late yesterday by United States District Judge Dean D. Pregerson. In addition to the prison term, Judge Pregerson also ordered Mun to pay $5.144 million in restitution to Medicare. As part of the investigation, authorities previously seized $1.2 million from bank accounts owned by Mun and GreatCare. She is also ordered to pay $15 million to resolve a “whistleblower” lawsuit associated with the scheme.

Health agency owner gets 5 years for bilking Medicare of $5-M


NOT ENOUGHFrom page 1

EXTENSIONFrom page 1

ALIVE TERRORISTFrom page 1

SHIP FOR OFWSFrom page 1

term so...Di ko rin nga maintindihan bakit pinag-uusapan natin yung another term for President Aquino when we all know there’s only one term allowed...Unless there is a move to change the Constitution,” she said.

Interior and Local Government Sec-retary Mar Roxas earlier told ABS-CBN News that President Aquino should stay longer in Malacañang so that he could continue his program of good governance. He also said he is aware this would require an amendment to the Constitution, which limits the president to only one 6-year term.

Binay, daughter of Vice President Je-jomar Binay, said that if Charter change is discussed, the first priority should be amendments to the Charter’s economic provisions. Asked if she is amenable to a term extension, she said: “I think, kailan-gan natin pag-aralan kasi nga kapag inisip mo, kulang nga yung six years kasi baka

nga mas maganda kung dalawang four years, di ba? Isang option yun eh.”

“I am open to the idea na kailangan gawing two terms na four years. Kasi sa US ganun eh. ”

The senator said one person that should be asked about term extension is President Aquino himself. She noted that she has news that Aquino is already counting the days that he has to stay in office.

The senator refused to speculate if Roxas’ proposal for Aquino’s longer stay in office means the ruling Liberal Party has no strong candidate for the 2016 polls.

This, amid Vice President Binay’s ad-mission that he has information that the LP might adopt him as a possible guest candidate. “Ayoko naman i-assume na wala silang malakas na kandidato. Matagal pa yung 2016. Anything is possible,” Senator Binay said. (MNS)

fortunate. Hindi sana ganoon kalabo ang naging kasagutan niya kaugnay sa tanong,” he said.

“Kailan ba siya naging maingat? I think it’s a usual problem ng spokespersons. They have to clarify and distinguish their own opinion from that of the President. Because usually they forget they are spokespersons only, that they are not shar-ing or enunciating their own opinion but whenever they open their mouth, it’s as if the President said it,” he added.

“I think ang nag-create ng confusion should clarify,” he said, referring to Laci-

erda.Meantime, Escudero said that a Binay-

Roxas tandem could not be discounted in the realm of possibilities.

As for Escudero’s political plans, the senator said he has not been thinking about 2016 elections. He said he would rather get married first but declined to divulge wedding plans.

There has been no discussion, he said, about the possibility of teaming up with Senator Grace Poe for the elections, adding that there are no offers to him as well to run under the Liberal Party. (MNS)

him,” Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala told AFP.

Philippine military chiefs said in February 2012 that Zulkifli was among 15 members of the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah organisa-tions killed in an airstrike on the southern island of Jolo.

Zulkifli is regarded as an expert bomb maker and a senior leader of Jemaah Is-

lamiyah who first went into hiding in the southern Philippines in 2003.

In 2007 the US government offered a $5-million reward for his capture, making him one of the United States’ most-wanted men. Another top Jemaah Islamiyah mem-ber, Singaporean Mohammad Ali, alias Muawiyah, was also declared killed in the airstrike, along with a Filipino leader of the Abu Sayyaf.

$1.8 million which can carry 1,500 pas-sengers, would reach Libya at the end of the week

“We are counting on getting as many people as possible,” so they can be brought to safety in Malta, he said.

An estimated 13,000 Filipinos were working in Libya when fighting between militia groups prompted the government in July to call for their “mandatory evacu-ation”.

Despite repeated calls to leave, about 11,000 Filipinos are estimated to still be in Libya even as the violence shut down the airport and endangered road travel out

of the country.Del Rosario said the land route between

Tripoli and Tunisia was now safe and would be used to evacuate people from the Libyan capital.

Some companies employing Filipinos were also evacuating them on their own, he said. Philippine officials have said Filipinos were delaying their evacuation because they were more worried about not finding jobs at home.

About 10 million Filipinos work around the world, earning more money in a wide range of skilled and unskilled sectors than they could in their impoverished homeland.


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ment of the child support. Consequences to this may involve suspension of driver’s license and or suspension of US passport. Having child support arrears would also show up in the credit report and could result on tax refunds being intercepted by CSSD.

Rather than running away from the problem, it is important for the non-custo-dial parent to deal with the situation head on. If you believe the child support arrear amount is incorrect, you can file a request for order (RFO) seeking determination of arrears and an audit of the arrears. If you

made payments towards child support which was not credited in the arrears, you can seek that you be given credit for these payments by presenting proof of payment. If your child was actually not with the custodial parent but instead was living with you during certain periods in which you were charged child support, you can seek that you be given credit for the months which your child has been living with you pursuant to the case Jackson v. Jackson 51 Cal. App. 3d 363. The rationale behind this is you are actually the one supporting

the child during the time the child lives with you. If the custodial parent did not receive welfare benefits on behalf of the child, you may negotiate a compromise of the arrears with the custodial parent. You may also seek payment terms on the outstanding arrears.

In addition to the above, you may also want to seek modification of the existing child support order if your income has gone down significantly since the time the current order was entered by the court. Child support arrears, if not dealt with, will continue to be an obligation even after your child has attained the age of majority. Child support arrears are not dischargeable in bankruptcy.

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.

Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Board 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 is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Admin-istration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, P.C. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail [email protected] or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com.

Dealing with child support arrears and CSSDChild Support Services Department (CSSD) are often sought

by the custodial parent to obtain and or enforce child support order against the non-custodial parent. If the non-custodial par-ent has not been paying the child support order or has not sought modification of the child support order, then the child support accumulates as arrears and compounds with interest. Often the amount becomes sizable by the time the custodial parent involves CSSD in the enforce-

WASHINGTON, D.C., Aug. 8 – What began as a program to reconnect with their Filipino roots ended up becoming a hum-bling learning experience for 10 Filipino-American youth leaders.

Now back in the United States after an immersive program in the Philippines, the delegates to the 3rd Filipino American Youth Leadership Program (FYLPro) said they are ready to make a difference in their respective communities.

“I think the FYLPro, in its own Filipino way, was an indirect immersion and an opportunity for the Philippines to reveal herself to us through indelible images and thoughts that will sit with us long beyond the airplanes carrying us have touched down back on American soil,” said Michael Dahilig, Director of the Department of Planning at the County of Kauai in Hawaii.

“The past week in the Philippines has placed into context the extreme privilege

my family has fought to allow me to live, and that my identity as an American needs to be softened and humbled by knowing the roots of my bloodline come from fighters and survivors,” Dahilig added. “I thank the program for stirring that hunger and thirst and allowing me to reflect on where my place remains.”

For some delegates, like Edward Aparis, a consultant from Chula Vista, Califor-nia, the program provided a firsthand perspective of where the Philippines is now and where it is headed.

“I have more to learn about this new and brave Philippines. At the end, I am a visitor here with sincere intentions to contribute, but I must learn from others,” said Aparis. “We are partners in this grand endeavor to bridge the new Philippines and the Filipino-American communities we work and live in.”

During the four-day program from 24

to 28 July, the delegates met and dialogued with senior officials and policymakers, leaders of industry, media, cultural experts, entrepreneurs both traditional and social, as well as innovators in different fields. They also had exposure trips in Marikina and Cavite.

“There is a fire that has been ignited in me to give back to the Philippines in more significant ways than I would have prior to the start of the program,” said Abbey Eusebio, a Constituent Advocate from Lin-colnwood, Illinois, who wants to take part in the Teach for the Philippines program.

According to Ryan Letada, Chief Execu-tive Officer and Co-Founder of NextDay-Better Inc., FYLPro offers an opportunity for young Filipino-Americans to find a meaningful connection to the Philippines.

“It’s about building empathy and learn-ing between Filipino-Americans in the US and Filipinos in the Philippines in the

hope of creating impactful collaborations that will push forward our global and local Filipino communities forward,” said Letada who wants to serve as a bridge between the innovation communities in the United States and the Philippines and “help grow this sec-tor in a meaningful and collaborative way.”

The opportunity to travel and interact with change makers in the Philippines was a learning experience for the delegates. For the participants, FYLPro is not an end but a means to continue bringing about positive change in their communities.

“I believe that FYLPro is about a vision. A vision to engage Filipino communities around the world for continued improve-ment in the Philippines. Closer to home, it is about uniting and empowering Filipino-Americans to connect and strengthen that bond between cultures and countries,” said Rafael Diokno, Project Lead at SGT Inc. in Washington, D.C.

Fil-Am youth leaders humbled by PHL immersion trip

18 Visit www.Balita.com Weekend, Sat. - Fri., August 9 - 15, 2014 Balita LOS ANGELES

OPINIONMANILA, Aug 6 (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Wednesday left open

the possibility of President Benigno Aquino III seeking an extension of his term in office despite a Constitutional ban the re-election of an incumbent Chief Executive.

Presidential spokesperson Secretary Edwin Lacierda said Aquino was “sensitive” to public sentiment on whether he should stay on as President beyond the end of his term in 2016.

“Marami po ang nagsasabi gustong magpatuloy si Pangulong Aquino na isa pang termino... Nagsabi na si Pangulo ng kanyang preference, pero siyempre, titingnan kung iyon ba ang tinig ng masa, tinig ng kanyang mga boss,” Lacierda told reporters.

“May mga sariling opinyon, may nagsasabing ipagpatuloy... Well, the President is sensitive to the voice of his boss, so let’s just wait for that,” he added.

Just a few days ago, Lacierda indicated that some administration officials were already anticipating the end of their tenure in govern-ment, saying they were already counting down the days to the end of Aquino’s term. He said then that the President’s resolve for just one term was clear. The Palace official however said there have been no “serious” talks on term extension within Malacañang at this point.

He added that the President’s “sensitivity” to public sentiment was only “a matter of principle.”

“Walang ganoong klaseng diskusyon ngayon. Ang nasabi lang nga ay there are a number of people who expressed the sentiment for another term. There has been no discussion on that,” Lacierda said.

“Like I said, the President listens to the voice of his boss,” he added.Cha-cha for term extension?On Sunday, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.

pointed out that the President’s re-election was not allowed under the 1987 Constitution, in reaction to a Facebook page created earlier this year entitled “One More Term for PNoy.”

Section 4, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution states that: “The President shall not be eligible for any re-election. No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time.

Asked if the President would push for Charter Change once if he decided to seek a term extension, Lacierda dismissed the matter as “speculative.” He added that Aquino had already repeatedly rejected moves to amend the 1987 Constitution, particularly its economic provisions.

“Ilang ulit na po natin nasabi. Alam na po ng sambayanan ang sentimyento ng ating Pangulo sa Charter change,” Lacierda said.

Chances in 2016 polls not a factorThe President’s spokesman further said that the Liberal Party (LP)’s

chances in the 2016 presidential polls had not been a factor for those pushing for Aquino’s term extension.

Lacierda attributed the “anecdotal” statements pushing for the President’s term extension to reforms undertaken by the Aquino administration.

Although Aquino has been silent about his choice for the next President, Transportation Secretary and acting LP president Joseph Emilio Abaya earlier identified Interior Secretary Mar Roxas as the ruling party’s lone choice for standard-bearer for the 2016 polls.

Roxas, however, has been lagging behind in surveys indicating the public’s choice for next president. Vice President Jejomar Binay has been leading these popularity polls.

MANILA, Aug 5 (Mabuhay) – President Benigno Aquino III’s endorsement would be unnecessary for Vice President Jejomar Binay to win the 2016 presidential elections, Senator Sergio Osmeña III told reporters on Tuesday.

Osmeña, three-term senator and campaign adviser to winners of national elections including Aquino in 2010, made the remark after Binay said on Monday that he received information the ruling Liberal Party was eyeing him as a guest presidential candidate two years from now.

“If the election will be held today, Binay will win by a landslide,” Osmeña said, citing the recent surveys that showed the Vice President leading by a wide margin over his closest pursuer. “The way the survey are today, these endorsements of Binay will not help [him] win… So there is very little plus, [if the President will endorse him],” he added.

In a survey conducted last June, Binay led by a wide margin gaining 41 percent of the nationwide votes. Meanwhile, Senator Grace Poe came in sec-ond with 12 percent of the overall votes.

“In this country, it is the survey that nominates the presidential candidate…. It has got nothing to do with party nominations,” Osmeña said.

‘Political Gambit’Regardless of whether Aquino’s party was indeed

keen on adopting Binay as its standard bearer for 2016, Osmeña said Binay’s remark has already paid off for his political positioning.

“[It is a] good political gambit on the part of Binay to say that,” Osmeña said.

“If you read between the lines ang sinasabi ni Vice President Binay, mukhang mahina ang candi-date ng Liberal Party, kunin mo na lang si Binay,” he added.

Osmeña, although an independent, ran as one of the candidates of the LP-led coalition in 2010.

Binay revealed on Monday that he received in-formation that the LP was considering adopting him as its standard bearer in the 2016 elections.

However, Senate President Franklin Drilon, who is also the vice chairman of the Liberal Party, denied that the party was eyeing the Vice President in the upcoming national elections.

“All I can say is that the spin masters are having their day. There is no such thing. I am a member of the Executive Committee of the Liberal Party, and there has been no discussion on that,” he said in a television interview. (MNS)

MANILA, August 4, 2014 (AFP) – The Philip-pines said Monday it has won support from Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei for a plan to ease tensions in the South China Sea which it intends to present at a regional meeting this week.

China and several of its Southeast Asian neigh-bors are embroiled in increasingly bitter territorial disputes over the strategic sea which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.

Manila’s plan calls for an immediate moratorium on activities which escalate tensions and implemen-tation of a code of conduct in the sea, which is home to vital shipping routes and is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits.

The plan, to be presented to an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Myanmar this week, was raised during Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario’s recent visits to Bru-nei, Vietnam and Indonesia, department spokesman Charles Jose said.

“He has taken trips (to these countries) precisely to raise the triple action plan and so far, all of these

countries have expressed support for the initiative,” Jose told reporters.

He said del Rosario and other Filipino delegates would try to raise the initiative at the various ASEAN discussions.

ASEAN includes the Philippines as well as Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam along with non-members China and Taiwan, have conflicting claims to parts or all of the South China Sea.

Tensions have risen in recent years as China has become more aggressive in enforcing its claims. Beijing’s deployment of an oil rig in contested wa-ters in May triggered anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam and sent relations plummeting.

Manila’s plan includes a call for implementation of a 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea and will also seek a settlement mechanism anchored on international law to resolve the disputes.

By Rob LeverWASHINGTON, August 6, 2014 (AFP) – Robots

and artificially intelligent devices will take over many jobs now done by people, and experts are divided as to whether their spread will do human society more good than harm.

The Pew Research Center said experts see a growing role for self-driving cars, delivery drones, robotic workers, smartphone-based assistants and even algorithmic journalism by 2025.

But they are divided on whether these techno-logical advances will be helpful, with 48 percent of respondents to Pew’s survey saying they will destroy jobs and increase income inequality.

Nevertheless, a slim majority said the technology will take over undesirable tasks and generate new kinds of human employment.

The report is not based on a randomized poll sample, but instead on an opt-in survey of people deemed experts or affiliated with certain organiza-tions, taken between November 2013 and January 2014. Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Research Internet Project, said experts see “the accelerating displacement of work that can be done more effi-ciently and cost-effectively” by robots.

This means “a transformation of labor, espe-cially in the fields of transportation, fast food and medicine; freedom from day-to-day drudgery that allows people to define work in a more positive and socially beneficial way.”

But Rainie said many see this as leading to “a shrinking of the middle class and expansion of the ranks of the unemployed.”

“Automation is (the ‘Harry Potter’ villain) Voldemort: the terrifying force nobody is willing to name,” said Jerry Michalski, founder of Relationship Economy eXpedition, a think tank of corporate ex-ecutives. “The race between automation and human work is won by automation, and as long as we need fiat currency to pay the rent/mortgage humans will fall out of the system in droves as this shift takes place.” Stowe Boyd, lead researcher at GigaOM Research, said the growing use of autonomous ve-hicles will take away important jobs for men such as truck and taxi drivers.

“An increasing proportion of the world’s popula-tion will be outside of the world of work – either liv-ing on the dole, or benefiting from the dramatically decreased costs of goods to eke out a subsistence lifestyle,” he said.

Palace: Aquino ‘sensitive’ to calls for term extension Serge Osmeña: VP Binay doesn’t

need Aquino’s endorsement

Action vs China ‘gaining support’: PHL

Robots to up-end the world of work, for good and bad


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By Mariano AndradeNEW YORK, August 2, 2014 (AFP) –

Evelin’s two daughters – who just arrived in the United States illegally from Central America – are facing deportation and so the concerned mother recently trekked across New York City to seek free legal advice.

Evelin, who is 35 and undocumented herself, joined 200 others, including 100 unaccompanied minors, at an event hosted by the New York Immigration Coalition last weekend.

“I have two girls, 15 and 18, who just got here with their kids. One was sent home to me with a hearing date for August 4. But the other one is still in Texas,” said the young Honduran grandmother, declin-ing to give her full name due to her own illegal status.

The “Immigrant Youth Fair,” which took place in Manhattan July 26 and 27, provided free legal help, as well as information about jobs, schools, health insurance and English-language classes, to children and adults of all ages.

“This is really what we need,” said Evelin, who left Central America well over a decade ago, shortly after her youngest daughter was born.

Camille Mackler, the coalition’s direc-tor of legal initiatives, noted that most of the workshops’ attendees came from Honduras.

“The majority were 13 to 18 years old, but we saw five to 10 kids who were 12

and under,” Mackler said.Honduras has the world’s highest mur-

der rate, with the United Nations record-ing more than 90 homicides per 100,000 people in 2012.

Crisis at the borderEvelin’s daughters are two of more than

57,000 unaccompanied minors – most from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras – who have been detained crossing the US-Mexico border since October, the majority fleeing gangs, violence and poverty.

US President Barack Obama who has called the situation a humanitarian crisis—met with his counterparts from those three Central American- countries last month, warning against false hope that unaccom-panied children will be allowed to stay in the United States.

But the problem remains unresolved and with political wrangling over how to handle the crisis showing little signs of abating, the focus is on what to do with the thousands of minors in the meantime.

In New York, authorities and communi-ty groups said they would work together to help welcome about 3,000 of the children to the state in the near future, and another 7,000 in the coming months.

Washington urged to act -Legal experts say that many could seek

asylum or some other type of protection from the US government.

Yet others find that hard to believe, and hard to act on.

SYDNEY, August 5, 2014 (AFP) – Australia’s immigration detention system was a toxic environment akin to torture, according to the chief psychiatrist for asylum-seekers for the past three years, a report said Tuesday.

Doctor Peter Young, until recently the mental health director for the company which provides care for immigration detainees, claimed detention was deliberately harsh to coerce people to return home.

“We have here an environment which is inherently toxic,” he told The Guardian Australia.

“It has these characteristics in it which, over time, reliably cause harm to people’s mental health. We got very clear evidence that that’s the case.”

Australia’s hardline immigration policies – designed to stop would-be refugees from risking their lives on people-smuggling boats – involves mandatory detention for those arriving by such means.

Under a tightening of the policy last year, those arriving on unauthorized boats are refused resettlement in Australia, even if found to be genuine refugees, and resettled in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has disputed claims of a cover-up of mental health problems at the offshore asylum-seeker camps, and urged people not to jump to conclusions while a Human Rights Commission inquiry is underway.

His office did not respond to Young’s comments on Tuesday.Young, who last week gave evidence to the inquiry, accused the government of

creating a system designed to produce suffering and create a negative mental state among detainees.

“If we take the definition of torture to be the deliberate harming of people in order to coerce them into a desired outcome, I think it does fulfill that definition,” he said.

He told The Guardian about one-third of Australian immigration detainees on the mainland, the remote Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island, and Pacific camps in Nauru and Papua New Guinea, had a significant level of mental health disorder.

“The longer people stay in detention, the higher the risk that those symptoms will develop into something which is a recognizable psychiatric diagnosis,” he said.

Australian immigration detention like ‘torture’: doctor

Harrowing journey turns into US deportation nightmare

Shield of CA, L.A. Care, Molina, etc.) – Starting on July 28, 2014, Covered CA sent out letters enjoining Health Plan members to create an account with Covered CA online (if they have not done so already) including therein a specific code for the individual member.

Health Plan Members who enrolled thru Covered CA (HelthNet, Anthem, Blue Shield of CA, L.A. Care, Molina, etc.) – By now, you must have already received a letter from your Health Plan, in compliance with a California law, explain-ing the 90-day grace period allowed in the payment of your monthly premium. Do not be alarmed by this letter. If you have been paying your monthly premiums on time, just disregard the letter. If you want to be 100% certain, call your Health Plan’s Customer Service Rep.

Medi-Cal Applicants – If you are one of those who applied for a free health insur-ance coverage thru Covered CA and have not received a word from them yet, you may be one of the “unlucky ones” whose application has not yet been processed by the Department of Health Care Services. On July 15, 2014, in a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mr. Toby Douglas, director of the Department of Health Care Services, promised to re-duce the backlog to 350,000 by September, 2014.

If you need to see a doctor, visit a De-partment of Public Social Services office near you and ask for a “temporary” Medi-Cal card. In an emergency, you may go to any Emergency Room (ER) in any hospital in the country. If eventually you get ap-proved on MEDI-CAL, your approved medical bills 3-months prior to approval

will be taken care of.Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) – a provi-

sion of the law (Obamacare) stipulating that health insurers rebate to Health Plan members the difference if the former are unable to spend 80-85% of the premiums for the members’ health care and improve-ment. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reports that in 2011, 1.3 million Americans received a total of $1.1 billion rebates. In 2012, GAO esti-mates this to be $520million.

Cal Medi Connect – Too much informa-tion has been spread regarding this county project. There are close to 20,000 Los Angeles Medicare/MediCal (Medi-Medi) members who have received a blue letter concerning this. If you don’t do anything, the county will automatically enroll you and you will, by default, entrust your health care to them. If you want to retain control of your health care and go to your favorite physicians, you have to opt out by inform-ing them of your choice.

In all of the above, if you need further help, call me.

About the author:Leo Monsalud hails from Sta. Cruz,

Zambales. He studied for his MBA and LAW at the University of the Philippines. He worked for UNILAB where his last position held was vice-president assigned as general manager of a division. He was a joint-venture partner of the San Miguel Corporation in an agri-business project. He provides free consultation on Medi-care and Obamacare. He holds CA license #0G55218. He is certified as a Certified Insurance Agent for Covered CA. You may reach him at 323-535-7373 or e-mail at: [email protected].

Obamacare and Medicare updatesMEDI-CAL Beneficiaries of ALL ages – Starting in May,

2014, dental benefits will be covered. In short, you will NOT be paying for the following dental services: exams/x-rays, cleaning, fluoride treatment, fillings, anterior root canals, prefabricated crowns, full den-tures, etc.

Hea l th P lan Members who enrolled thru Covered CA (HealthNet, Anthem, Blue


pay for your mortgage is not really a benefit from what I have seen. Its more like a bur-den and seems like you owe your tenants more than what they deserve. For some homeowners, trying to rent rooms out to survive the mortgage payments, I believe they are delusional in term of thinking that this will last.

Leveraging is not a fashionable phrase anymore, Leveraging is borrowing more to own properties. Borrowing more from the banks and putting the least amount of money down to buy a house, that is no longer a trend. In fact now, its buying a house with cash in King. So, what do home buyers with little money do to invest, they save! Learn to discipline and save more money for when the time comes, you will know then to invest that money back into real estate.

Remember, if you have a rental property that means you will also have a residential property that you are living in, make sure to properly assess both financial situation and not to carry the losses just because you want to keep your house. Learning to keep your hard earned money to yourself is the best policy. Don’t work for a mortgage payment and don’t work for your tenants.

Math not emotion is what’s going to help make the best financial choices!The best times to sell rental property

Real estate almost always seems expen-sive at the time of purchase because real estate is almost always the largest asset you’ll buy in your life time. Unless you’re really disciplined by buying below your means, you’ll generally tend to buy what you can afford or stretch to the max instead.

As we get older and hopefully wealthier, time becomes more of a premium over money. Rental property is the most active passive income stream now , but the ideal scenario is to earn lots of money and seri-ously do nothing at all. The problem with totally inactive money is that CD returns are too low while stocks and bonds can turn violent in any given year.

So, why do people sell their rental prop-erty. Here are the reasons why you wont benefit from your rental property:

If you owe more than 80% of the ap-praised value and your rent payment does not cover your entire mortgage payments. Please spare me by including tax payments, insurance and association payments. I know you, when you tell me what your payments are you don’t usually include taxes and insurance. As if it is not needed to be paid!

Renters paying late and you have not raised their rents in years. This is a tell tail sign that your tenants cannot afford the property, your tenants will give you a hard

time when you are to evict them and most importantly your tenants are probably not taking care of your house. Therefore, once you have successfully evict them, your will have a large repair expense bill on your hands. Your property located in an area where rents are not increasing every year due to demand. If you are in an area where there is no well know school that people move into, an area where it is far from civilization, an area where the only thing happening in a 5 mile radius is a shopping strip mall with CVS or 99 Cent store, your renters will be limited to the apartment

suited renters. That means your house may not rent for too high to compete with the apartments that are more affordable for these renters. These are some signs that you have to unload your non performing rental properties and possibly. There are tax benefits to selling your rental properties at a loss, please check with your CPA and ask them how selling these non performing rental properties would benefit you.

If you have any questions or comments, please call Ken Go of 1st Innovative Fi-nance Group at 562-508-7048 or write to [email protected].

When do I decide to let go of a rental property that is not making any money?Owning a rental property might sound prestigious for others

but not for the landlord, especially if the landlord is not re-ally benefiting from the rent nor tax breaks. Homeownership in my view now a days have to come with equity reserves. Meaning, if the rental property is just treading water and not really building up a lot of equity, the tenant issues, the repairs, rising interest rates will eat up all your profit. All is left are your tax write offs, if you even can benefit from it?

Renting a room out to help

NEW YORK, August 6, 2014 (AFP) – Bank of America has tentatively agreed to pay a record $16 to $17 billion settlement to resolve allegations it misled investors on mortgage-linked securities, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The Justice Department settlement – covering securities allegedly mis-sold ahead of the housing bust – is expected to be revealed by next week, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity and confirmed reports in US media.

Under the preliminary agreement, the latest covering bank misconduct before the housing bust, BofA would pay a roughly $9 billion cash penalty to the US Treasury. Negotiations are currently focusing on the remaining portion of the agreement cover-

ing consumer relief, the source told AFP.There is still a slim chance the deal

could fall apart, the source added.The sum now being discussed is billions

above the level BofA said it was willing to accept earlier in the talks, according to reports Wednesday in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. nIt would also exceed a record $13 billion pact between JPMorgan Chase and the Justice Depart-ment last November over similar allega-tions. Large US banks continue to face massive settlements with US agencies over their work to prepare and sell securities that misrepresented the risk of underlying mort-gages, often rating the loans as safe when they were high-risk and later went bust.

Citigroup in July agreed to pay $7 bil-lion to settle similar claims.

Bank of America expects to pay $16-17-B US settlement

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in life, fear often comes from a lack of understanding. Most people have heard

negative things about bankruptcy so they try to stay away from it the best they can-

until one day they realize that it’s the only option they have left. Understanding that bankruptcy is not the end of the world and that it is simply a chance for you to start over can be helpful if you ever find your-self in such. Under what circumstances is bankruptcy advisable? Well, cases vary, but let me mention a few examples.

When There Is No Other Way Out of Debt- Some people are so buried in debt that unless they file bankruptcy, they will simply remain in debt until hell freezes over. This is especially true for people who owe large amounts of credit card debt. As you already know, credit card companies usually charge anywhere from 18-29% in interest and paying only the minimum required every month guarantees that you will never pay off what you owe. If your credit card accounts are now seriously de-linquent and you’ve been sued by creditors or about to be sued, filing bankruptcy may be the only way for you to either wipe out or consolidate your debts.

When Creditors Have Taken You To Court- Creditors will often harass you for months, making you feel like a deadbeat and a criminal, to force you to pay. But sooner or later, they will bring a lawsuit so they can obtain a judgment against you. Once they have a judgment, they can en-force the judgment by several ways- going to your employer to garnish your wages, levy your bank account or place a lien on your home or other real property. Unless you can work out a reasonable settlement with creditors to avoid the above, you may be forced to file bankruptcy in order to protect yourself and your assets. Filing for bankruptcy protection immediately stops all legal proceedings against you and your property. Even the IRS (a govern-ment agency that you don’t want to mess

with), who has more powers than ordinary creditors, cannot continue to collect from you once you are in bankruptcy. Unpaid tax liabilities can either be discharged in bankruptcy or be paid back with no interest and additional penalties.

If Your Home or Other Property Is In Foreclosure- Bankruptcy immediately halts foreclosure proceedings. If a Notice of Default or a Notice of Trustee Sale has been filed by your lender, you have very limited time to protect your property so you must act quickly. Chapter 13 may be an option for you if you have regular income and you can afford to continue making mortgage payments. All back mortgage payments are combined with other debts and can be paid back under a 5-year plan. In certain cases, you may even be able to wipe out debt owed under a second mortgage (lien stripping) or significantly reduce the amount owed. If mortgage payments are too high, modify-ing the first mortgage and then “stripping off” the second mortgage may be your best strategy in making your home more affordable.

Bankruptcy can be a tool for financial recovery. The process is not as compli-cated as most people think and it could be the only way for you to put your finances back in order. To schedule a free consulta-tion, please call Toll-Free 1-866-477-7772. We have offices in Pasadena, Valencia and Cerritos.

(None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped over 5,000 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).

When does fi ling bankruptcy make sense?No one ever likes to talk about bankruptcy. However, it’s

simply a fact of life. Things happen. Whether it’s losing your job, going through a divorce, having huge medical bills that you can’t pay – or sometimes simply making poor financial decisions- any of these can lead to bankruptcy. It’s a scary thing to a lot of people and most never imagine that it could ever hap-pen to them.

But like everything else

LONDON, United Kingdom (August 1, 2014) – ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Chan-nel (TFC) explores the rich and varied stories of Pinoy expatriates in Europe in a new, monthly magazine program, Juan EU Konek.

Airing every first Sunday of the month on TFC in Europe and Middle East and on TFC.tv worldwide,Juan EU Konek brings to life the passions, adventures and suc-cess stories of the Filipinos in Europe, in a 45-minute program hosted by ABS-CBN Europe’s news team of seasoned journal-ists – Danny Buenafe, Rose Eclarinal and Gene Alcantara.

TFC Europe’s first foray into long-form, magazine reporting, Juan EU Konek delves deeper into the lives of Europe-based Filipinos, tackling both their political and social concerns, including immigration matters, as well as their lighter moments.

ABS-CBN Europe and Middle East News Bureau Chief Danny Buenafe inves-tigates the big issues that affect the Filipi-nos in Europe or the European Pinoy, such as the plight of migrant domestic workers in the UK and the impact of Spain’s eco-nomic crisis on Filipino families there.

Senior Correspondent Rose Eclarinal, who also produces the show, shines a light on the lifestyles and success stories of the Filipinos in Europe, animating their triumphs and struggles to make it on the continent.

Whether following the new Filipino leads of the West End revival of the hit musical “Miss Saigon”, or probing the psyche of Pinoy transsexuals in the UK, Eclarinal offers revealing portraits of Fili-pino life in Europe.

Legal consultant and long-time com-munity leader Gene Alcantara, meanwhile, hosts “Immigration 101,” a segment dedicated to immigration concerns for Europe-based Filipinos. The first of its kind for TFC Europe, “Immigration 101” keeps viewers abreast of the latest developments in immigration law in Europe, covering the range of issues from travel restrictions and work permits to changes in European laws.

Says Alcantara of Immigration 101: “It is important for Filipinos to know their immigration rights, what is possible and what is not, especially for those who are already citizens of Europe. Particularly with the growing popularity of right-wing views and anti-immigrant sentiments in the UK, France, Greece and elsewhere, it is vital that Filipinos in Europe stand firm especially when we know we are in the right. And I think showing case studies on TFC will allow them to see and understand how it all works. Hopefully we will see a more knowledgeable and empowered community able to exercise their lives in Europe to its fullest.”

Juan EU Konek was first conceptual-ized by Rose Eclarinal as one-off specials for the 20th anniversary of TFC. Having cut her teeth with news and current affairs at ABS CBN in Manila, Eclarinal wanted to showcase in detail the lives of Filipinos

in Europe, in a longer format that would bring out to the fullest their stories, their aspirations and concerns.

Now as Juan EU Konek’s executive producer, Eclarinal is excited about the prospects of the show. “I am so grateful for this opportunity,” she said. “Now our team can do more in-depth stories and presenta-tion on the issues concerning the Filipino diasporas in the region, as well as features on the inspiring stories of our kababay-ans who are making us proud by excelling in various fields. I look forward to telling inspiring stories that showcase the core values of Filipino migrants.”

Adds Buenafe: “As a news format, Juan EU Konek goes beyond the mere news item. It’s a medium where we can further tell the story of overseas Filipinos at length, their triumphs and failures, how they cope with foreign cultures and fight depression with their families back home.” The recent episode featured the religios-ity of overseas Filipinos, the first Filipino businesses in the UK and segment on unauthorized migration.

“I congratulate the ABS-CBN News Bureau team for their commitment to serve the Filipinos in Europe through journalis-tic excellence as manifested in this new show, Juan EU Konek,” said ABS-CBN Europe & Middle East Managing Direc-tor Edgardo Garcia. “I salute the team’s strategic and creative initiative to serve the overseas Filipinos in ways most beneficial to them.”

Juan EU Konek airs on TFC every first Sunday of the month. It is slated to be shown again on August 3 at 10:35 p.m. (Italy, EU) and 11:35 p.m. (Saudi Arabia, ME), with replays on Thursdays at 9:05 a.m.(Italy, EU) and 8:45 a.m. (Saudi Ara-bia, ME).

ABS-CBN Europe Ltd.To serve the Filipinos in Europe, ABS-

CBN Europe Ltd. was established in 2003. With corporate headquarters in Lon-don, United Kingdom, ABS-CBN Europe Ltd. aims to answer the information and entertainment needs of Filipinos all over the continent by bringing award-winning content from the Philippines’ premier net-work ABS-CBN, to the overseas Filipinos (OFs) via TFC’s platforms: satellite, IPTV and online (TFC.tv) and channels TFC, ANC, Cinema One Global, BRO, DZMM Teleradyo and 630, My Only Radio For Life or MOR plus pay-per-view and ex-clusive content.

Since launch, ABS-CBN Europe Ltd. has continuously evolved with its market and has gone beyond television.

To date, ABS-CBN Europe Ltd. has been providing OFs the avenues to herald the Filipino culture, showcase their skills and give back to their country through community and special events.

For more information, call their toll-free hotline at 1-800-7868 4535 and visit www.facebook.com/TFCEurope, instagram.com.KapamilyaTFC and twitter.com/KapamilyaTFC.

TFC Europe launches ‘Juan EU Konek’: Inspiring Stories of Pinoys in Europe


HEALTH & BEAUTY(PARIS-AFP) – Daily, long-term

doses of aspirin can slash the risk of cancer of the digestive tract, according to an overview of research published on Wednesday.

Aspirin greatly reduces the risk of de-veloping and dying from bowel, stomach and esophageal cancer, its authors said.

They found that taking aspirin for 10 years could cut bowel cancer cases by around 35 percent and deaths by 40 percent.

Rates of esophageal and stomach can-cers were cut by 30 percent and deaths from these cancers by 35-50 percent.

To gain these benefits meant people had to start taking a daily dose of 75-100 mg for at least five years and probably 10 years between the ages of 50 and 65.

No benefit was seen while they took aspirin for the first three years, and death rates were only reduced after five years.

Aspirin has long been considered to be a boost in the fight against cardiovas-cular disease and has also been inves-tigated for reputed anti-cancer effects.

This is the first to throw up broad evidence that it can be a shield against these types of cancer, the scientists said.

The study, published in the European cancer journal Annals of Oncology, was led by Jack Cuzick, a professor at the the Centre for Cancer Prevention at Queen Mary University of London.

It looked at more than 200 clinical trials and other studies that explored aspirin’s anti-cancer effects.

“Our study shows that if everyone aged between 50-65 started taking

aspirin daily for at least 10 years, there would be a nine-percent re-duction in the number of cancers, strokes and heart attacks overall in men and around seven percent in women,” Cuzick said in a press release.

“The total number of deaths from any cause would also be lower, by about four percent over a 20-year period. The benefits of aspirin use would be most visible in the reduc-tion in deaths due to cancer.”

The research said there was a down-side to taking daily doses of aspirin – po-tential side-effects such as peptic ulcers and bleeding in the digestive tract. In a very small number of elderly people, the bleeding could be life-threatening.

It said further work was needed to see who would benefit most from taking aspirin and determining the right dose to maximize the protective effect.

“It has long been known that as-pirin - one of the cheapest and most common drugs on the market - can protect against certain types of can-cer,” Cuzick said.

“But until our study, where we analyzed all the available evidence, it was unclear whether the pros of taking aspirin outweighed the cons.”

Cuzick added: “Whilst there are some serious side effects that can’t be ignored, taking aspirin daily looks to be the most important thing we can do to reduce cancer after stopping smoking and reducing obesity, and will probably be much easier to implement.”

Aspirin reduces risk from some cancers, says study

(Relaxnews) – A study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences suggests shifting focus from omega-3s to fish, pure and simple, baked or broiled, for better brain health. “Our study shows that people who ate a diet that included baked or broiled, but not fried, fish have larger brain vol-umes in regions associated with memory and cognition,” says senior investigator James T. Becker, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, Pitt School of Medicine.

While studies abound hailing the multitude of health benefits that omega-3 fatty acids offer and associations with brain health account for a large portion of them, Dr. Becker and his team were

underwhelmed by the influence of omega-3s in their study.

“We did not find a relationship be-tween omega-3 levels and these brain changes, which surprised us a little,” he says. “It led us to conclude that we were tapping into a more general set of lifestyle factors that were affecting brain health of which diet is just one part.”

Using high-resolution MRI scans of the brain, lead investigator Cyrus Raji, M.D., Ph.D., who now is in radiology residency training at UCLA, and the research team analyzed data from 260 people who were concurrently participat-ing in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS).

Baked or broiled fi sh could boost seniors’ brain health: study


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When it comes to mealtime, a well-stocked pantry can be the diff erence between culinary success and a dinner dud.

Too oft en we contemplate what to make for dinner, only to realize that we don’t have the right ingredients on hand or the food in the fridge has spoiled. But with a pantry full of canned foods, a delicious and easy, homemade meal is just minutes away.

It’s no secret that canned foods are convenient, but did you know that cans are also one of the best ways to get food from the farm to your family’s table? Canned fruits and vegetables are picked and packed when they’re at their peak of ripeness and nutrition, sealing in their freshness and fl avor, so you can feel confi dent about serving them anytime.

Less waste, more mealsAnd if you fi nd that you’re oft en throwing away fresh food, you’re not alone. Accord-ing to a recent study, most Americans throw away spoiled fresh fruits and vegetables two times a week on average, wasting a staggering 15 to 20 percent of fresh produce each year. By keeping your pantry stocked with essential canned ingredients, you know the food you purchase won’t go to waste, saving you money and helping reduce your impact on the environment.

With your favorite canned food staples, you’ll be on your way to creating delicious and nutritious meals like Hearty Chickpea Vegetable Soup, Neopolitan Tuna Fettuccine and Falafel Burgers. Th anks to your well-stocked pantry — or “Cantry” — mealtime success is achievable anytime.

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Th e key to mealtime success

Falafel BurgersServings: 4

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 small red onion, fi nely chopped 1 large garlic clove, minced 1 (16-ounce) can Bush’s garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs 1 (7.75-ounce) can Allens spinach, well drained 4 hamburger buns Sliced tomato Sliced red onion Tzatziki sauceIn 12-inch skillet over medium heat, in 1 table spoon hot olive oil, cook red onion and garlic about 5 min utes until tender-crisp. Remove vegetables to bowl of food processor.

To food processor, add one-fourth of garbanzo beans, lemon juice and salt; pulse with spinach mixture until smooth paste. Add remaining garbanzo beans, bread crumbs and spinach; pulse until coarsely chopped.

Shape mixture into four 4-inch patties. If desired, refrigerate until ready to cook. In 12-inch skillet over medium heat, in remain-ing tablespoon hot olive oil, cook falafel patties until golden and crisp, turn ing once.

Serve on buns and top with tomato, onion and Tzatziki sauce, as desired.

Orange Pork Stir FryServings: 4 1 pound pork tenderloin 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon salt and ground black pepper 1 tablespoon peanut oil 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

3 cups baby spinach leaves 1 (15-ounce) can Del Monte mandarin oranges in light syrup, drained 1 (15-ounce) can KAME stir-fry vegetables, drained 3 tablespoons sweet Asian chili sauce 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce 2 teaspoons sesame oil 2 scallions, thinly slicedCut pork tenderloin into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, then into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Place pork tenderloin strips in medium bowl; add

cornstarch, salt and pepper; toss to mix well. In 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat,

heat peanut oil; add ginger. Cook 30 seconds; add pork strips. Stir-fry until pork is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add spinach; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly until just wilted. Add mandarin oranges, stir-fry vegetables, chili sauce, soy sauce; cook over medium heat until mixture is coated and thickens slightly.

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Actor Piolo Pascual said he is open to the idea of doing a movie with Pop Star Princess Sarah Geronimo.

“Definitely. She is one of the few na gusto kong makasama but nagkasunud-sunod sila ni Lloydie,” he said, referring to Geronimo’s movies with John Lloyd Cruz.

In a previous interview, Geronimo said that she dreams of working with Pascual.

Despite his willingness to work with

Geronimo, however, Pascual admitted that it will be hard for him to shoot a film while doing “Hawak Kamay”.

“It’s hard kasi hindi pa kami nage-ere eh everyday taping na kami. So I don’t think I will be able to devote time kung pagsasabayin ‘yun,” he said.

Pascual said that he is set to do two movies, one of them with Toni Gonzaga, his leading lady in “Starting Over Again”.

“Sabi sa Star Cinema, there’s going to be one movie before I do another [with] Toni. So it still depends kasi we are tap-ing four times a week for the soap. I will concentrate on this one first bago ko isipin ang pelikula,” he said.

Meanwhile, Piolo vowed that he will end his career in ABS-CBN.

Pascual said staying with ABS-CBN is the greatest gift that he could give to the network.

“I think ang pinakamagandang regalo na maibibigay ko sa ABS-CBN – and you can quote me on this – is that I started with ABS-CBN and I will end my career in ABS-CBN,” he said. (MNS)

Piolo open to doing a fi lm with Sarah

Piolo Pascual

Nikki Gil, who started her career as a singer, is grateful that audiences have also accepted her as an actress.

Gil is part of the upcoming series “Hawak Kamay” with Iza Calzado and Piolo Pascual.

“Siyempre nakakataba ng puso kasi hindi ko naman talaga pinangarap ‘yon, hindi ko siya goal kasi nag-umpisa naman ako as a singer,” she said of her acting career.

“But para mapabilang at makatrabaho ko sila ay sobrang malaking karangalan and I’m very happy to be given a chance to learn also from great artists,” said Gil, who won the Best Single Performance by an Actress award at the 2013 Star Awards for Television for her performance in the “Ilog” episode of “Maalaala Mo Kaya.”

In the new series, Gil plays the role of Pascual’s girlfriend.

“Nagtrabaho siya sa cruise ship at nung medyo lost si Gin (Pascual) at ‘di niya alam ang gagawin niya sa life niya, nandoon ako, na-witness ko ang struggle na ‘yon,” she said of her role in the soap.

Gil said she feels “blessed and privileged” to be given another soap, after last year’s “Maria Mercedes” and “Apoy sa Dagat.

“I feel very blessed and privileged to be given a chance to work again. And, of course, it’s an honor to work with Papa P (Pascual) and Iza and, of course, the kids. I mean for this talagang kinuha nila only the best,” she said, referring to child stars Andrea Brillantes, Xyriel Manabat and Zaijian Jaranilla.

Asked if she’s hoping to get more awards as an actress, Gil replied: “Ako naman ginagawa ko lang ang trabaho ko. ini-enjoy ko lang siya. I’m just passionate about it. If I happen to get recognition along the way, bonus na lang ‘yon, hindi siya ang main goal. Ang main goal ko dito ay maibahagi ang maraming kwento ng ating mga Kapamilya sa pamamagitan ng pag-arte.”

Nikki Gil thrilled to be accepted as an actress


Comedienne Ai Ai delas Alas is earning rave reviews for her dramatic turn in the in-die film “Ronda,” one of the 10 films in the New Breed category of the 10th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.

In “Ronda,” which is directed by Nick Olanka, Delas plays a policewoman work-ing the graveyard shift who roams the streets of Manila to fulfill her duties as a police patrol, as well as to look for her lost son. The film also stars Cesar Montano, Julian Trono, Carlo Aquino, and Angeli Bayani.

This early, several critics are predicting that Delas Alas will be a strong contender for best actress award for her performance.

The veteran actress said she is proud of the indie film, which she also co-produced.

“Natuwa naman ako kasi for the first time iba naman ako dito. Nagkaroon na ako ng contribution sa industriya sa Cin-emalaya,” she said. “Kahit hindi man ako maging best actress, ma-nominate lang ako at maka-attend ako ng international film festival, ‘yun ang gusto ko talaga.”

Meanwhile, in a separate interview on DZMM Sunday night, Delas Alas said her Cinemalaya entry made her realize that she still has a lot to learn about her craft.

“Na-realize ko na hangga’t nandito tayo sa industriya, meron pang room for improvement. Ibig sabihin marami pa tay-ong kayang gawin pala, innovation. Alam mo ‘yung may ginagawa kang iba naman sa buhay mo,” she said, adding that Cin-emalaya allowed her to rediscover herself as an actress.

Saying it felt good to portray a role far from what she normally plays, Delas Alas said: “Maganda ang experience… Kasi siyempre iba pa rin ‘yung art eh. Bilang artist, lumalabas talaga sa katawan mo ‘yun. Gusto ko ng iba naman. Ito na nga ‘yun, first time ko sa Cinemalaya so natu-wa naman ako at nakasali ako this year.”

Meanwhile, a year after her failed mar-riage to businessman Jed Salang, Delas Alas is back in the dating game. She ad-mitted she is going steady with a younger man. (MNS)

Ai Ai wins raves for Cinemalaya fi lm

Ai-Ai de Las Alas

MANILA, Aug 5 (Mabu-hay) – He played supporting roles in numerous programs on television, but this time actor-singer Lloyd Zaragoza embraces the spotlight as he pursues his passion for music.

The 31-year-old brother of singer-actress Jessa Zaragoza has been in the entertainment business for 12 year now but he plans to release her first single only this year.

“It’s been 12 years na ku-makanta ako. Some people know that I’m just this guy na nagpapatawa, maraming tattoo and nasa teleserye. But hindi nila alam yung passion ko as a singer. So, let’s give it a try and para marinig na din ng tao ang music ko,” he said at the grand launch of Jet 7 Bistro in Quezon City.

Lloyd knows that the com-petition for up and coming artists like him in the business is steep. However, he said he is passionate about music.

“Yung ganitong acoustic set, compared sa mga teleserye, malayo siya (sa kikitain mo). But still, masaya ako dito. I’m excited for them to hear my music,” he said.

He added that his older sister approves of this new endeavor but Lloyd said he wants to make a name for himself as both an actor and a musician.

“Si Ate laging andiyan siya. But may family na siya and may work din. Nahihiya din ako and as a guy, I want to do it for myself. As much as possible ayoko siyang bigyan ng stress,” he said.

Lloyd is part of the newest family drama “Hawak Kamay,” which stars Zaijan Jarnilla, Xyriel Manabat, Andrea Brillantes, Nikki Gil, Iza Calzado and Piolo Pascual. (MNS)

Lloyd Zaragoza tries his hand at singing

Lloyd Zaragoza

ESTRANGED couple Claudine Bar-retto and Raymart Santiago has set their is-sues aside to celebrate the seventh birthday of their son, Santino.

On Sunday, the actress uploaded several photos of the Minecraft-themed party held at the Blue Leaf Events Place in McKinley, Taguig City.

Raymart was present in the celebration.This was not the first time the couple

was photographed together alongside Santino and 10-year-old daughter, Sabina.

Last June, the ex-couple met over dinner to bond with their children.

Claudine was even quoted as saying they will prioritize the kids amid the on-going legal battle between them.

“It’s for our kids. Sabi ko nga, if we failed as husband and wife, let’s not fail naman as parents. Sabi ko career-in na natin ito,” she said.

Raymart said in several interviews said he wants to spend more time with his kids. (MNS)

MANILA, Aug 6 (Mabuhay) – Six years since her husband, actor Rudy Fer-nandez, passed away, actress Lorna To-lentino confessed she does not see herself walking down the aisle again.

Tolentino said she is now okay with having her two sons with her, as well as her granddaughter.

“I’m happy with my life now,” she said. “I am happy being a lola. I have two men in my life and I don’t need one more.”

This despite the fact that Fernandez had told her it’s okay if she falls in love again.

“He told me naman that it’s okay lang for me to fall in love again. Kaya lang huwag daw d’un sa kasing-edad ng mga anak namin. But then, okay sana if I were in my 40s. Kaya lang nasa 50s na ako. As it is, as of now, okay lang ako,” she said.

Tolentino is currently 52 years old and she will be turning a year older in December.

While she tells everyone that she has already moved on from losing Fernandez, Tolentino admits she still has her husband’s things intact in their home.

“They are intact, nasa cabinet. Rudy’s things are in order, ayos na ayos, so why touch them?” she said.

“Actually, Rap and Renz (her sons)

are using some of their dad’s things. They would say, ‘Ay, kelangan ko ng ganito.’ And I would tell them, ‘Ayan, tumingin ka sa cabinet ng Papa n’yo, mayroon dyan.’ It’s a good thing na magkasukat sila…shoes, shirts etc.”

Asked how she envisions herself 10 years from now, the actress said: “Sana umaarte pa rin ako; sana I will still be in this business. I see myself managing a business on the side, like farming.”(MNS)

Claudine, Raymart together for son’s b-day

Lorna T doesn’t see herself getting married again

Lorna Tolentino


COMMUNITY

By Manny V. IlaganMANILA – Another ‘FUN’ homecom-

ing full of exciting activities marked this year’s 9th Ambassadors, Consuls General and Tourism Directors Tour to the Philip-pines (ACGTDT).

Despite the threat of Tropical Depres-sion Inday brewing at the northeast of the Philippines area of responsibility, the 9th ACGTDT, held from July 28 to 31, was generally blessed with good weather with only scattered rain showers that did nothing to dampen the high spirits of this year’s tour participants.

Close to 300 Filipino-Americans from all over the United States under the jurisdiction of Foreign Service Posts in Agana, Honolulu, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C. arrived to a VIP reception on July 28 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The next three nights and four days were a whirlwind of activities for the par-ticipants who were entertained, serenaded, wined, dined and were accorded with some of the best receptions organized by Tourism Promotions Board, DOT’s mar-keting arm and Rajah Tours Philippines, the ground handler of ACGTDT.

Cultural presentations highlighted the

welcome reception especially arranged for the tour participants held at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia Jr., who headed the delegation from Washington D.C., warmly welcomed the participants and further encouraged them to often visit the Philippines for deeper appreciation of all things Filipino.

Meanwhile, the fellowship night hosted by Western Union at Dusit Thani Hotel on July 29 was marked by lots of music, entertainment by a live band, and a lot of dancing among participants. The all-white-dress themed fellowship night was made more exciting by the surprise raffle prizes with a lucky participant winning a round trip ticket to the United States and the Philippines.

Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim, who delivered his speeches at both parties stressed the importance of revisiting the homeland.

Those who joined the Studio Tours of GMA Network and ABS-CBN TV had a blast as they met and had selfies with showbiz personalities when they at-tended GMA’s noontime game show “Eat Bulaga” and ABS-CBN’s musical variety show “It’s Showtime.”

The special Makati and Manila city tours also included visits to Intramuros, Metropolitan Museum at the Bangko Sen-tral ng Pilipinas, San Agustin Museum, Manila’s Ocean Park, among others.

One of the highlights of this year’s visit was a guided tour to the Pico de Loro Cove at Hamilo Coast resort in Nasugbu, Batangas. Travelling to Nasugbu via the Cavite Expressway or popularly known as Cavitex was without delay courtesy of the PNP (Philippine National Police) motorcyle cops who provided escorts the tour participants.

On hand to welcome and joined the tour participants throughout their stay at Pico de Loro were Mayor Charito Apacible of Nasugbu, Batangas, DOT-Region 4 Director Rebecca V. Labit and Ms. Emily Katigbak, Batangas Provincial Tourism Officer who represented Batan-gas Governor Vilma Santos.

At Pico de Loro the participants were treated to whole day of fun activities that included a warm VIP welcome with fes-tive cultural entertainment, VIP dancers, rondalla music, a sumptuous lunch, and lots of opportunities for swimming, div-ing, snorkeling or simply strolling around the resort. Even the send-off party was done in style with upbeat music and mob dancing as participants started to board their buses for the trip back to Manila.

Participants also joined the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the Rizal Monument in Luneta. Thereafter, they motored to Malacanang for a tour and a luncheon at the Palace.

While the participants were unable to have an audience with President Benigno S. Aquino III, Secretary Herminio Co-loma, Jr., head of the Presidential Commu-nications Operations Office (PCOO) and Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario were on hand to wel-come the delegates.

Ambassador Cuisia presented this year’s participants to the 9th ACGTDT and introduced each delegation from all Foreign Service Posts. Secretary Coloma gave the welcome address. Secretary Del Rosario in his speech positively talked about EDCA, the strong Philippine-US relationship and the two countries’ eco-nomic partnership.

As the four-day tour ended, Rajah Tour Philippines, ACGTDT tour ground handler, has arranged optional out-of-town tours for participants who want to have additional travel experience in other Philippine destinations.

These destinations include Laoag-Vi-gan, Cagayan de Oro-Camiguin, Southern Luzon Golf Tours, Davao, Cebu-Bohol, Iloilo-Bacolod, Kalibo-Boracay, Cama-rines Sur-Albay, and Puerto Princesa-Palawan.

ACGTDT, which was launched in 2005 during the term of then Philippine Ambassador to the United States and now Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, is now nine years old and has consistently attracted hundreds of partici-pants every year.

It is a joint project of all Philippine Foreign Service missions in the U.S. lo-cated in Agana, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

The program, which was by the De-partment of Tourism (DOT) as a banner tourism project in 2011 is aimed to en-courage Filipino-Americans to visit the Philippines’ various tourist destination and to develop a deeper appreciation of the history, heritage and cultural of our country.

Based on the DOT’s most recent indus-try performance report for the first half of 2014, visitors from the United States constituted the second biggest arrivals for the period.

Fil-Ams enjoy fun, exciting activities at 9th edition Ambassadors tour

MANILA, Aug 6 (Mabuhay) – Aimed at further boosting the country’s tourism industry, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will commence this year the implementation of Tourism Water Supply Infrastructure Program (TWSIP)to provide potable water supply to 30 waterless tourism spots across the country.

DPWH secretary Rogelio L. Singson said with the release by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) of P1.73 Billion for the TWSIP, the depart-ment is now set to begin with the water source development and corresponding detailed engineering design of projects that were identified in coordination with the Department of Tourism(DOT), Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), and the National Anti-Poverty Commis-sion (NAPC).

Singson said areas that were identified as recipients of the projects are considered in-need locations or those that have remain waterless for years, but have potential for

growth particularly in the tourism industry.“Tourism spots need to have safe and

sustainable water supplies in order to cater to more tourists. This will be addressed once our water resource projects are com-pleted,” the DPWH Secretary said.

“Our target is to start the implementa-tion of TWSIP this year, or as soon as possible,” Singson also said.

The DPWH chief said among the 30 municipalities that will be covered by the project are: Currimao and San Nicolas in Ilocos Norte (Region 1); Baguio City in Benguet (Cordillera Administrative Region); Roxas and El Nido in Palawan (Region 4B); Aroroy in Masbate (Region 5); Murcia and San Carlos City in Negros Occidental, Balete and Libacao in Aklan; Jamindan and Pres. Roxas in Capiz and Passi in Iloilo, all of Region 6.

Also included are eight (8) municipali-ties in Central Visayas, with five in Cebu namely: Aloguinsan, Toledo City, San Fernando, Sibonga, and three in Bohol namely: Jetafe, Talibon, and Trinidad.

DPWH to build P1.73-B water supply projects in 30 tourism areas: Singson


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LOS ANGELES, Aug. 6 – U.S. Cus-toms and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Los Angeles/Long (LA/LB) Beach Seaport seized seven boxes of mounted wildlife, antlers and horns, headed for the Philippines in a consolidated shipment, declared as household goods, on July 23.

The menagerie CBP seized are a bear skull; full mounts of a baboon, lynx with a bird, bobcat; shoulder mounts of three deer, a wildebeest, a zebra, an African antelope, an African gazelle, a goat; six pairs of deer antlers; a pair of kudu horns, a pair of impala horns; two smallmouth bass full mounts and an alligator gar fish head mount. The estimated total value is $8,875.

“This is the largest and has the most assortment of wildlife that CBP at the LA/LB seaport has seized,” said Todd C. Owen, CBP director of field operations in Los Angeles.

CBP officers selected the outbound container for inspection. In it they found seven boxes with animal heads written in capital letters in red ink, amongst the consolidation.

None of the mounts were declared to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or had any required export permits. The bear skull, full mounts of a baboon, lynx with a bird, and bobcat are also protected by CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and

Flora) and required that additional export permit.

The violator, a 44 year-old citizen of the Philippines was visiting the United States on vacation for the first time together with his wife and two children. They rented a minivan in Los Angeles and toured parts of the U.S. He purchased most of the trophy mounts from a liquidator in Texas.

He said he had no plans of buying such a quantity and got carried away buying the mounts. After he realized it all wouldn’t fit in the van, he rented a 14 foot U haul van, the only size available - which he later regretted driving back to California. When he returned to the store, started loading the animal trophies into the U-Haul, he saw that there was still more space, so he bought more mounts thinking he might as well make the most of it.

He said he was unaware of the export requirements and that that day in Texas was more like a ‘seize the day’ sort of moment.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protec-tion is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and ter-rorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Filipino Community in the United States will now be able to listen to daily news updates from GMA Network, one of the larg-est broadcasters in the Philippines, as part of a public diplomacy initiative being undertaken by the Philippine Embassy in cooperation with AudioNow, the world’s leading call-to-listen platform.

The Embassy announced today that as part of its efforts to better serve the diaspora, it was able to convince GMA’s premier radio station, DZBB, to offer US-based Fili-pinos daily five-minute news headlines on any phone through a simple telephone call.

In a statement, the Embassy said GMA Network joins other industry leaders, such as Veritas 846 AM, the Catholic Media Network, and the People’s Television Network, as a part of a public diplomacy initiative to serve the Philippine diaspora in the US with greater access to media. The pioneering initiative also features Radyo Tambuli, a virtual radio station created by the Embassy exclusively for the Filipino Community that broadcasts news, interviews, folk music and opinion polls.

“We applaud GMA’s initiative to join in our efforts with other leading Filipino broadcasters to serve the diaspora. This is another great step towards a digital public diplomacy for the Embassy,” said Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.

GMA’s flagship AM radio station DZBB, established in 1950 in a small office space in Manila, has become one of the most awarded radio stations in the Philip-pines by the Association of Broadcasters in the Philippines (Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas), and serves the entire Manila region as well as millions of Filipinos living abroad.

Radio veteran Mike Enriquez hosts popular morning news program Super Balita sa Umaga Nationwide and Saksi sa Dobol B, which features segments such as Bara-Bara and Sports Saksi. For the first time ever, digests from Enriquez’s daily headlines will be aired to Filipinos in the United States through a simple telephone call from any phone.

To listen, simply call 712.432.9777 from any phone. Calls use mobile minutes and incur no extra charges.

“We are excited to partner with the Embassy of the Philippines on this project, and to use AudioNow’s call-to-listen service as a new alternative to better serve our listeners,” said Enriquez, who is also GMA consultant for radio operations, and Saksi sa Dobol B show host.

This arrangement was made possible through GMA International, which manages the operations and distribution of the Network’s international channels, GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV and GMA News TV International.

“It is our goal to bring Filipinos abroad closer to home by providing them with accurate, relevant and reliable news and information. And we hope that through this project, we are able to do so in a faster and more convenient manner,” said GMA Vice President and Head of International Operations, Joseph T. Francia.

By Nina LarsonGENEVA, August 8, 2014 (AFP) – Ni-

geria became the latest country to declare a national emergency over the deadly Ebola virus on Friday, as the World Health Organisation called the epidemic that has claimed nearly 1,000 lives a global health crisis.

The WHO appealed for international aid to help afflicted countries after a rare meet-ing of the UN health body’s emergency committee, which urged screening of all people flying out of the affected countries in west Africa.

It stopped short of calling for global travel restrictions, urging airlines to take strict precautions but to continue flying to the west African countries hit by the outbreak. And it called on countries around the globe to be prepared to “detect, inves-tigate and manage” Ebola cases if they should arise.

WHO director-general Dr Margaret Chan appealed for greater help for those worst hit by the “largest, most severe and most complex outbreak in the nearly four-decade history of this disease.”

“I am declaring the current outbreak a public health emergency of international concern,” Chan said, warning of the “se-rious and unusual nature of the outbreak and the potential for further international spread.”

States of emergency had already been declared in the hardest hit countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nigeria became the latest on Friday. Two people have died there and five others have been infected.

President Goodluck Jonathan ordered the immediate release of 1.9 billion naira ($11.67 million) to fund the fight against the disease, and urged the population to avoid large gatherings.

The Ivory Coast, which neighbours Guinea and Liberia, said it was declaring a “very high” level of alert, while Benin is also investigating a suspect patient.

ArcelorMittal said it had halted work to expand its iron ore mines in Liberia after staff were evacuated due to concerns over the epidemic.

In the first European case, Spain is treat-ing an elderly priest who contracted the disease while helping patients in Liberia.

Defining the epidemic a public health emergency of international concern—a label only used twice before, during the H1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009 and last May for the reemergence of polio—“alerts the world to the need for high vigilance,” Chan said.

The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity, which has warned the virus is “out of control”, hailed the move, but said there needed to be immediate action on the ground. “Lives are being lost because the response is too slow,” said head of opera-tions Bart Janssens.

Ebola had by Wednesday claimed at least 961 lives and infected nearly 1,800 people since breaking out in Guinea earlier this year, with 29 people dying in just two days, the WHO said.

“The likelihood is that it will get worse before it gets better,” WHO health security chief Keiji Fukuda said, with the outbreak likely to last for months.

In Liberia, soldiers in Grand Cape Mount province – one of the worst-affected areas – have set up road blocks to limit travel to the capital Monrovia, as bodies reportedly lay unburied in the streets.

In Sierra Leone, which has the most confirmed infections, 800 troops were sent to guard hospitals treating Ebola patients. Two towns in the east were put under quarantine.

CBP foils export of bear skull, baboon, lynx and bobcat full mounts bound for PHLCBP arrests Pinoy, seizes wildebeest, zebra, gazelle shoulder mounts

WHO declares Ebola epidemic ‘global emergency’

GMA Network now offers daily news updates to Filipino community in US via mobile phone


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From conquering corporate America to flunking retirementShe successfully conquered the competitive and often-stress-

ful world of corporate America... but failed in what is perceived to be a most fun and relaxing period...retirement. That’s how influential Filipina Cora Tellez, explains her professional life.

“I had completed a great run of corporate life,” said Tellez who has had 25 years of management experience in healthcare

From conquering corporate America to fl unking retirement

finance and delivery, having worked for Health Net, Inc., Blue Shield of California, Kaiser Permanente. “When I retired, my husband said ‘You’re going to drive all of us crazy, because of all this energy.’ He was right. I experienced retirement for two hot months. I flunked retirement,” said Tellez, President and CEO of Sterling HSA, a company she founded in 2004.

But whether working for others and now working for herself, Tellez admits she has always been focused on her career, which made her a very busy wife and mother to her two sons.

“My family is very important to me. I’m a lola now, to two grandchildren, two sons and a husband I’ve been married to for 38 years,” she said. “But I remember when I was working for Kaiser. I commuted to and from Hawaii for five years. I would leave my family on Monday and come back on Friday. My sons dealt with a corporate mom who wasn’t always there. This was before cellphones. They would fax over their homework so I could help them.”

Tellez considers this to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest sacrifice she’s ever had to make, being away from family. But she’s always very thankful that she had help along the way.

“The secret is to have a great nanny,” she shared with me during a meal after the interview. “I was lucky to find a nanny who was older. She was motherly to my children.” Tellez also points out that she specifically looked for an older sitter because younger ones could leave at any point “if they find a husband; or if they get a better offer or opportunity; even after you’ve trained them.”

Aside from the nanny, when asked about people she thanks for her success in life, Tellez credits her mother: “My mom is a devout Catholic Filipina woman and she

had her dream for me which was to be a nun. She even had a convent picked out for me. But it turned out that I’m not a terribly obedient person. I don’t handle authority very well.”

Tellez came to America when she was 11. And though she did well in school, she says she also observed others who did better, “I realized I could learn from them because they had certain traits that made them successful. I realized I was rather timid and afraid. I started debating and public speaking helped me develop confidence. Debating also helps you to be able to communicate clearly; to disagree without being abrasive; think on your feet and have and defend your own opinion.”

She said that helped her navigate the corporate jungle; adding that as soon as she entered the corporate world, she realized that “America doesn’t particularly value timidity and humility. America values as-sertiveness. And that’s what we should be, Because we’re good and there’s nothing to be afraid of or ashamed about.”

Tellez also thanks her father for her success, “My father always said women need to achieve as much as men. In some cases Filipinas have to fight internally re-ally hard to be able to create an image that is in consonance with our core values but will not minimize who we are.”

She recalls a particular conversation she had on a call with a company in Ha-waii: “I was chatting with the CEO, nice fellow. And during the conversation, he said: ‘This is really interesting but I really need to speak to your boss.’ My boss was a white male, so I said; ‘Good for you. But my boss only comes once a year. So if you want to wait, feel free. But if you want to do business now, with me, I’m happy to do

it with you. Right now.’”Tellez admits she dealt with some

prejudices like this, along the way. But she didn’t take it personally. “When you’re younger and vulnerable, it’s easy to take things personally, and think it’s always your fault. But at work, you’ve got to put on an academy award-winning perfor-mance all the time. The public face is never hurt. If you are hurt, cry in private. The public face shows ‘I am a strong person, I can take this.’”

And while she gives advice to others now and generously shares her learnings, Tellez also gratefully credits one who gave her what she considers a most valuable ad-vice, a Filipina janitor whom she encoun-tered in Hawaii: “She cleaned my office in Hawaii; and she worked hard. Like many of us, she had two jobs. She already put in a full day’s job in McDonald’s; at night, she came to clean our offices,” said Tellez who recalled what the kababayan told her when she got promoted one day: “She said to me, ‘You have to work very hard. You can’t let us down. There are very few who make it to the top. You have to be very careful that you are a role model for others and that you help other people.’”

According to Tellez those words made it possible for her to be grounded; “to be mindful of where I came from and it made me realize that I have an obligation. That’s

why I always hold the door open to aspiring Filipino and Filipina women. That’s my way of giving back.”

As part of her giving back, Cora speaks nationwide, whether on topics of health care, or to share her inspiring story. I first heard her speak at the awarding of 100 Most Influential Filipina in the World last October 2013. This coming October 25th 2014, Tellez is going to be a panelist at the “Impactful Leadership Conference” organized by the International Society of Filipinos in Finance and Accounting (ISFFA.) For more information, log on to: www.isffa.org.

For now, here’s another advice for all kababayans: “Be proud of being a Filipina. Be true to yourself. Be clear and honest about what you’re sacrificing for. Have the guts to say no. Take care of yourself,” she said, adding that there’s something to be learned from the reminder travelers get before a plane take off, “Put on your mask first before helping others with theirs.”

Above all, “work hard,” Tellez said. “God helps those who help themselves. Luck comes to those who are prepared.”

Jannelle So is taking a break from 20-years of print and broadcast journalism career that began in the Philippines and continued here in the US. Connect to her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/JannelleSoOFFICIAL); Twitter(www.twitter.com/JannelleSo); and In-stagram (www.instagram.com/JannelleSo) or email her at [email protected].

Cora Tellez, president and CEO of Sterling HSA


SPORTS

MANILA, August 6, 2014 (AFP) – The Philippines’ football team has been rocked by a player revolt with two Azkals senior players refusing to suit up for American head coach Thomas Dooley.

Midfielder Stephan Schrock and fel-low mainstay Dennis Cagara declared on social media this week they had played their last match under Dooley, amid spec-ulation they were unhappy over a policy perceived to favour younger players.

“As long as coach Dooley will lead the team I won’t wear the jersey of Az-kals again,” Schrock, 27, told fans on his Twitter and Facebook pages.

“I hope I will give my comeback one day!!” said German-born Schrock, who has a Filipina mother and scored three goals in 17 senior caps.

He plays club football with Greuther Furth in the Bundesliga second division.

Left-back Cagara, who was born and plays in Denmark, also tweeted that he would not suit up for the Azkals under its current manager. “Dooley is also the reason why I won’t play for the Azkals for the moment,” added the 29-year-old Lyngby BK defender, who has 13 national

caps.The Philippine Football Federation

said management was still to fully address the issue, as the players had only made their statements on social media.

“This is best resolved by the team management. It is looking into this,” fed-eration general secretary Edwin Gastanes told AFP from Hanoi.

Dooley and Gastanes had attended Tuesday’s draw in Vietnam for Southeast Asia’s Suzuki Cup, which kicks off on November 22.

Neither Dooley, Schrock nor Cagara could be reached for comment by AFP on Wednesday, but local press reports said the veterans had both complained about their reduced roles in the side.

Ex-US international Dooley was named Azkals head coach in February and led the former Southeast Asian min-nows to a runners-up finish in the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup in May. The Azkals’ 0-1 defeat in the final to Palestine, which featured many younger Filipino players, meant they just missed out on qualifying for their first ever Asian Cup.

Los Angeles, CA – Hooptown International Youth Basketball will host its 20th An-nual Summer Basketball Camp at Bishop Alemany High School (11111 N. Alemany Dr., CA 91345). The Camp will be held on Saturday and Sunday August 16-17, 2014. Boys and girls ages 7 to 16 of all skill levels are welcomed to attend. Campers will learn the fundamentals of basketball and develop the skills necessary to improve their game. The Hooptown Basketball Camp provides a solid foundation for beginners and a very intense challenge for advanced players. Campers will be exposed and learn the latest drills as well as techniques from guest college coaches/clinicians.

The Hooptown Basketball Camp will teach each camper the fundamental skills to be a well-rounded basketball player. Players will learn proper defensive technique and footwork, intense, specialized game situation dribbling and accurate, quick release shooting skills. The camp will provide campers of all ability levels a rewarding and enjoyable experience. Individuals compete in shooting, free throw, and 3-on-3 team competitions as part of camp activities.

Hooptown Alumni have gone on to play professionally overseas in the PBA (Alex Cabagnot and JR Buensuceso of GlobalPort Batang Pier) and for various universi-ties such as: Air Force Academy, Hofstra University, Brigham Young University (Hawaii), Cal State University Chico, Whittier College, Pomona-Pitzer College, Cal State Maritime, University of Great Falls (Montana), University of Hawaii (Hilo), Howard University, University of Puget Sound, Letran College (Philippines) and others.

For more information, please visit www.hooptown-bball.comAbout Hooptown International Youth BasketballHooptown was established in 1993 to assist in the development and success of

student-athletes on and off the basketball court. The coaching philosophy focuses on teaching players the importance of life skills such as leadership, communication, responsibility, teamwork and a strong work ethic. Hooptown coaches are committed to the success of every individual player, however, the goal must be the success of the team and not just individual accomplishments. Hooptown focuses on academic achievement while teaching proper basketball fundamentals. Hooptown competes in competitive basketball tournaments across Southern California and Las Vegas.

Azkals rocked by player revolt

20th Annual Hooptown International Youth Basketball Summer Camp August 16-17 at Bishop Alemany High School

LAS VEGAS, August 2, 2014 (AFP) – Paul George could miss the entire 2014-15 NBA campaign after the Indiana Pacers playmaker suffered a broken right leg dur-ing a practice match by the US Basketball World Cup squad.

Doctors said Saturday that George suffered an open tibia-fibula fracture in a gruesome moment in the fourth quarter of Friday’s match in Las Vegas, played between members of the US squad but for which tickets were sold to the public.

George, 24, underwent successful sur-gery to fix the fracture but is expected to remain hospitalized for about three days.

Players turned away after seeing George suffer the injury when he landed after foul-ing James Harden.

“It was difficult to watch the injury that Paul George sustained,” NBA commis-sioner Adam Silver said. “The thoughts and prayers of all of us at the NBA are with Paul and his family.”

Larry Bird, the retired NBA legend and Pacers president of basketball operations, said it is too soon to consider George’s status for next season, which starts in late October.

“Our first thoughts are with Paul and his family,” Bird said Saturday. “It is way too early to speculate on his return as the number one priority for everyone will be his recovery.

“Our initial discussions with our doctors and the doctors in Las Vegas have us very optimistic. We are hopeful at some point next week Paul will return to Indianapolis to continue his recovery.”

Losing George is a major blow to an Indiana squad that last season reached the Eastern Conference final, losing to Miami.

“There is no question about the impact on our team but our goal is to be as strong-willed and determined as Paul will be in coming back,” Bird said.

Bird also sought to play down any trade talk or signing moves the team might make presuming George’s long-term absence.

“Any discussion regarding the future of our team would be inappropriate at this time,” Bird said. “Our focus is solely on Paul and doing whatever we can to help.”

Bird, a member of the original 1992 US Olympic “Dream Team” of NBA stars, said he still supports having NBA stars play in Olympic and world championship

Broken leg could jeopardize George for full season

competitions.“We still support USA Basketball and

believe in the NBA’s goals of exposing our game, our teams and players worldwide,”

Bird said. “This is an extremely unfor-tunate injury that occurred on a highly-visible stage, but could also have occurred anytime, anywhere.”

LOS ANGELES, August 4, 2014 (AFP) – NBA star Tony Parker married his French girlfriend Axelle Francine in Texas over the weekend, People magazine has reported.

The 32-year-old San Antonio Spurs point guard and Francine, a journalist, were wed on Saturday, after a party two nights before with close friends and family in the Texas city, the celebrity magazine said.

Parker and Francine welcomed their first child, Josh, in April.

The French NBA star, a 13-year veteran

whose Spurs won the National Basket-ball Association championship this year, signed a contract extension last week reportedly worth about $45 million over three years.

Parker was previously married to US actress Eva Longoria. The couple’s divorce was finalized in 2011. He met Francine that same year.

Parker, who led the Spurs in scoring for the fourth consecutive season, was San Antonio’s lone player in last season’s NBA All-Star Game. He has won four titles with the team.

Parker weds French girlfriend PRETORIA, August 8, 2014 (AFP) – A verdict in the high profile murder trial

of sports star Oscar Pistorius has been set for September 11, after lawyers on Friday wrapped up five months of drama-filled proceedings.

Eighteen months after Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013, the Paralympian’s fate now lies in the hands of South African Judge Thokozile Masipa.

“We shall be back here on the 11th of September at 9:30 for the judgment,” said Masipa, drawing proceedings to a close.

Pistorius stands accused of deliberately shooting dead his glamorous 29-year-old lover with hollow point “cop killer” bullets after an argument.

He faces 25 years in jail if convicted, but has pleaded not guilty, saying he mis-took Steenkamp – who was in a locked toilet cubicle at his Pretoria home when she died – for an intruder. During a trial that has heard testimony from nearly 40 witnesses, the athlete – celebrated for his courageous journey from disabled child to Olympic champion – often cut a wretched figure.

Pistorius trial concludes, verdict set for Sept. 11


MOTORING

TORRANCE, Calif.,– Already estab-lished as one of the most versatile and family-friendly vehicles on the market, the Toyota Sienna has been named one of the “12 Best Family Cars” for 2014 by Kelley Blue Book‘s KBB.com.

KBB.com editors were impressed with the Sienna’s family comfort and versatility, stating “with reclining captain’s chairs – in-cluding a footrest – the Sienna may be the most passenger-accommodating minivan you can buy.

And, with more varied configurations than any other minivan on the market, the Toyota Sienna is the perfect family-car for more than 100,000 families each year.”

“Best Family Cars 2014” was compiled by recruiting families to assist nine Kelley Blue Bookeditors in comparison testing of eligible vehicles after editors narrowed more than 300 vehicles down to 21 semi-finalists.

“The testing centered on the areas of safety, comfort, driving performance, room for child seats, cargo space, rear-seat entertainment, and other family-friendly features. The goal was to determine the “most functional new cars for families.”

Toyota demonstrated their versatility as four diverse vehicles, the 2014 Prius hybrid, 2014 Avalon full-size sedan, 2014 Highlander mid-size crossover SUV, and

2014 Sienna van were each named “Top Rated Vehicles” by Edmunds.com.

Edmunds.com also bestowed top honors to Sienna and other Toyota models for being one of the 2014 Most Popular on Edmunds.com vehicles in their respective segments. The winners in their segments included:Sienna: Minivan

RAV4: Compact Crossover SUVTacoma: Compact TruckAvalon: Large CarTundra: Large TruckCamry: Midsize CarHighlander: Midsize Crossover SUVIf you want to check out the new Toyota

Sienna or buy one now, come and visit our friends and kababayans at Toyota of Glendale.

Toyota of Glendale has Cecille Benitez,

Toyota Sienna minivan one of ‘12 Best Family Cars for 2014’ says Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com

Richard Cruz, and Kay Cajulis, all of whom can help you get into a new Yaris or any other Toyota vehicle of your choice.

Toyota of Glendale is located at 1260 S. Brand Blvd. Glendale CA 91204. You can reach them toll free at 1- 866-522-5154.

2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan





(NewsUSA) – As the economy con-tinues to rebound, more Americans find themselves strolling the lot of their local car dealership and facing a difficult deci-sion – whether to buy or lease a new vehicle.

“Both options have their pros and cons,” said Joe Wiesenfelder, senior editor at Cars.com. “It really depends on your personal driving habits, the amount of money you’re willing to spend and how often you like driving a new car.”

Wiesenfelder offers these tips for car shoppers:

Benefits of Leasing1. Driving a New Car. Leasing allows you to get a new

car frequently. While this may not be the best reason to get a car, it does mean you’ll always have the latest safety technology and comforts.

2. Affordability. With leasing, you’re getting more car for a lower monthly payment.

3. Less Maintenance. Leasing can help you avoid some

hefty maintenance and repair bills. With the exception of a few oil changes and fil-ter replacements, there should be no need for any heavy maintenance. Assuming that you’ve kept the car in good condition and stayed within the mileage limits, when your lease is up, you can simply turn the car in and walk away.

4. Avoid Upside-down Loans. When you lease, you there is no danger of getting stuck in an “upside-down” loan, where you owe more than the car is worth.

Benefits of Buying1. Ownership of the car. When you buy a car, you own

the vehicle and will eventually be free of car payments.2. Lower Costs in the Long Run.While the monthly

payments for buying a car are higher than payments for leasing, you will eventually pay the loan off. Those initial high payments make up for themselves with years of be-ing payment free.

3. No Restrictions. A lease contract contains many

restrictions, such as mileage limits, which may be incon-venient and costly in the long run. An owner can sell at any time, while leases usually include hefty penalties for early termination.

4. Rebates and Incentives. Rebates and incentives for new cars are abundant for buyers right now. In some cases, these offers might make buying a significantly less expensive option than leasing.

For many people, the decision to buy or lease comes down to price, says Wiesenfelder. “We encourage people to use our automatic Loan vs. Lease calculator at Cars.com. By entering in the monthly payment you can afford, you’ll get an idea of which car you could afford to own, or if leasing is a better option for you.”

For the best advice on whether to lease or purchase a car, check our friends at CARSPECS, specifically our kababayan Romeo Morales and experience his personal-ized service in finding the right car for you. Please drop by CARSPECS USA located at 1678 Broadway, Anaheim, CA 92802. Or, visit their website is: www.CARSPEC-SUSA.net. They can be reached at 626-244-4262.

The great car debate: To buy or to lease?

Romeo Morales, CEO of CARSPECS USA

TOKYO, August 5, 2014 (AFP) – Toy-ota said Tuesday its net profit in the three months through June came in at a record $5.7 billion, with the rise largely thanks to cost-cutting and a weak yen.

The world’s biggest automaker also said it was on course to deliver a profit of 1.78 trillion yen ($17.4 billion) in the current fiscal year.

However, the firm trimmed its calendar year global sales target to 10.22 million units, from an earlier estimate of 10.33 million, as demand across Asia, including Japan, slipped in the latest quarter from a year ago.

Japanese car companies have been big winners over the past year as a sharp drop in the yen inflated their repatriated profits, while sales accelerated in key markets including the US and China.

Toyota’s results come after rivals Nis-san and Honda both booked fatter profits in the quarter.

On Tuesday, Toyota said it earned 587.8 billion yen in the quarter, up nearly 5.0 percent from 562.2 billion yen a year earlier. Sales rose 2.2 percent to 6.39 tril-lion yen, it said.

The firm said it sold 2.24 million ve-hicles globally in the quarter, slightly up from a year ago.

Toyota kept the title of world’s biggest automaker with 2013 sales of 9.98 million vehicles, outpacing Germany’s Volkswa-gen and General Motors, as it looks to become the first automaker to break the 10 million vehicle sales barrier.

In the latest three months, Toyota said sales in North America and Europe rose, while demand in Japan and the rest of Asia

slipped.The automaker pointed to an April sales

tax hike in Japan among the factors for the weaker results at home.

“Our numbers are steadily recovering (in Japan),” Toyota managing director Takuo Sasaki told reporters.

“In June and July, the figures were almost the same as the same period last year. It is too early to say that we have hit the bottom though.”

The Japanese auto industry has benefit-ed from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s bid to kickstart the long-lumbering economy, with huge monetary easing measures from the premier’s hand-picked team at the Bank of Japan helping push down the currency.

The weaker yen boosts Japanese manu-facturers’ bottom lines by making them more competitive overseas and inflating

repatriated overseas profits.“The impact of a weak yen is fading,

although its level right now is still positive for the auto sector,” said Tatsuya Mizuno, auto analyst with Mizuno Credit Advisory.

“But foreign exchange rates are always an unpredictable factor,” he added.

In Japan, vehicle sales fell by 19,950 units to 505,827 for the quarter, while sales in North America rose by 21,753 units to 710,409 units.

Sales in Europe came to 207,481 units, an increase of 14,970 units, while those in Asia stood at 385,376 units, a decrease of 9,490 units.

Toyota’s rival Honda said last week its latest quarterly net profit jumped 19.6 percent to 146.5 billion yen, while Nissan said its net profit for the April-June quarter soared 37 percent to 112.13 billion yen.

Toyota says net profi t rises on weak yen, cost cuts



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(Relaxnews) – The first details are emerging of what Volkswagen has planned for the Bugatti Veyron’s replacement as well as a potential date for when well-heeled petrol heads can expect to place their orders.

The successor to the Veyron will have a tough act to follow. It may be approaching its tenth birthday but in terms of perfor-mance, reliability and usability there still isn’t a single car in production, anywhere in the world, that truly comes close to challenging its supremacy.

Capable of accelerating from 0-100kph in just 2.5 seconds and of hitting a world-record top speed of 431kph, it’s little wonder that despite its multi-million-dollar price tag, the car has always been in short supply.

Only 15 examples of the car re-main available to order; the oth-er 435 already having found homes. And, according to insider sources quoted by Autocar, it is on breaking the Veyron’s current records that Bugatti’s engineers will be focusing all of their efforts. They are certain that they can build a car that

can hit 460kph yet is more environmen-tally friendly and fuel-efficient than the outgoing model.

This will mean going hybrid, using a battery-powered electric motor to boost the performance of the V16 quad-turbo petrol engine and making significant ad-justments to exterior styling so that it slips through the air better.

However, the new car isn’t expected to look too different form the Veyron as its shape was dictated by aerodynamic neces-sity and the new car will therefore be more of an evolution, rather than a revolution.

Inside it’s going to be a different story. The existing car still can’t be matched in terms of performance, but 10 years is a very long time in terms of in-car technol-ogy and creature comforts and in that respect alone, the Veyron is beginning to show its age.

So, as well as incredible speed, expect a raft of cutting-edge driver aids and con-nectivity features when the car is unveiled to the public in 2016, with the first models expected to go into production one year later.

New Bugatti will aim for a 460kph top speed

I have been driving a 40 year old mus-tang for two years now. Between school, work and trying to have a social life, I needed something more reliable and defi-nitely more fuel efficient. 15 mpg was not cutting it anymore.

I looked around at dealerships for months, the high prices and insane interest rates made me think I would never get a new car. One day, my co-worker Pancho heard I was looking for a car and told me to follow him to a dealership after work . He brought me to Victory Autos and told me to look around.

From the moment I got to Victory Autos, the staff were very helpful. They treated me like family, they did everything they could to find me the perfect car. I test drive a 2008 Toyota Prius and knew it was the car for me. My only concern was if I could afford it with my lack of credit.

The staff including Victory Auto’s owner, Heddy, worked on getting me a great deal. They got me a great price on the Prius and find me an amazing rate. I wasn’t planning on buying a car so quickly but the deal they got me, I couldn’t refuse.

My car payments are affordable and more than idea. The staff has been such a great help and made buying a car worry free. I have already saved a small fortune on gas and could not be more grateful for the awesome staff at Victory Autos.

Thank you for being an amazing dealer-ship! – MAT

Backed by their 25 years in car business, Victory Autos is dedicated to offering high-quality, pre-owned vehicles to our custom-ers. And in order to make a bigger impact in the community, Victory Autos has come up

with a new logo that was designed to show Victory Autos’ commitment to high quality service and a friendly staff that is ready to help. From the moment you walk through our door, “we’re committed to providing you with a great car-buying experience. With our skilled sales staff and financing options, we’ll help you get the vehicle you want, at the great price you deserve,” Victory Autos owner and proprietor Heddy Trinidad said. And if you think you need a new car, a pre-certified vehicle, or a luxury automobile, “I urge you to call my very reliable staff in Danilo Tirante who can help you with your car needs.”

Victory Autos is dedicated in providing the ultimate automobile buying experience. Victory Autos is your #1 source for buying a quality pre-owned vehicle at wholesale price. We have extensive relationships in the dealer community allowing us to pur-chase a wide variety of lease returns and new car trades at exceptional values. This enables Victory Autos to pass along huge savings on the highest quality vehicles of your choice. In addition, we offer a full array of financing options to meet your needs.”

For more details, please visit Victory Autos Showroom at 791 E. Arrow High-way, Azusa, CA 91702, (626) 859-9199 or (626) 969-6169; Victory Auto Broker at 1579 E. Amar Road, West Covina, CA 91792, (626) 253-7576; and Victory Auto Care at 352 S. Irwindale Avenue, Azusa, CA 91702, (626) 334-7573.

For more information, please call Victory Autos’ toll free number at 1-877-821-7145. Or, visit their website at www.victoryautoconnect.com.

A very satisfi ed client of Victory AutosMat, shown here with Merlina Dichoso (right) shows off his new car he purchased at Victory Autos.


NEW ‘14 Mercedes-Benz E350

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LOS ANGELES, July 31, 2014 (AFP) – US electric automaker Tesla Motors reported Thursday a widening loss in the past quarter amid record revenues as it ramped up plans for a giant battery plant for future vehicles.

The loss in the quarter ending June 30 was $61.9 million, compared with $30.5 million in the same period a year ago, while revenues jumped more than 90 percent to $769 million.

Tesla, which earlier in the day unveiled plans for its so-called “Gigafactory” with Japanese electronics giant Panasonic to produce lithium-ion batteries, said its production plans are on track as it expands globally.

“We are adding new production capac-ity at our Fremont (California) factory that will allow us to meet the growing worldwide demand for our vehicles,” said a letter to shareholders from chief execu-

tive Elon Musk and chief finance officer Deepak Ahuja.

“The speed at which we are executing this capacity upgrade will allow us to ex-ceed 35,000 Model S deliveries this year. Provided that we execute well and there are no serious macroeconomic shocks, Tesla’s annualized delivery rate should exceed 100,000 units by the end of next year.”

While Tesla produces a relatively small number of vehicles, it has become a star in the sector due to keen demand and a reputation for high quality. A surge in its share price over the past year has pushed its value over $27 billion.

Tesla’s Model S sells for around $75,000 but it is working on a less expensive Model X that is expected to garner wider appeal.

“We continue to open stores and service centers worldwide to support our global expansion,” the letter said.

“For the rest of 2014, the rate of location

openings will be fastest in China, followed by Europe, and then North America. We also continue to expand our supercharg-ing network, with the introduction of our superchargers in Canada and a substantial increase in the rate of deployment in Eu-rope and China.”

Encouraging start in ChinaThe letter said Tesla’s Model S “is

off to a very encouraging start in China, especially considering that we are deliver-ing cars only in the areas around Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and recently Hang-zhou where we can assure customers of service coverage.”

Tesla is planning to launch service and deliveries “in many additional cities in the upcoming months, including Chengdu and Guangzhou,” it added.

Tesla said its right-hand drive Model S “is also being well received in the United Kingdom where it launched in June and in

Hong Kong where it launched last week.” Deliveries of this version are set to begin in Japan and Australia later this year.

Tesla said it opened a site in Nevada which could host the Gigafactory but that other locations were still being evaluated.

Tesla will run the operations while its Japanese partner will make battery cells destined for the plant and invest in equip-ment and machinery, according to a joint statement.

The companies did not disclose finan-cial details, a location or other terms of the agreement.

Japanese media previously reported that Panasonic would invest as much as 30 billion yen ($290 million) in the multi-billion-dollar plant.

The pair said the large-scale plant should drive down the cost of batteries and eventually help popularize electric vehicles.

Tesla loss widens as it ramps up expansion plan

Beginning Aug. 2, the class-leading 2015 Honda Odyssey goes on sale with a starting Manufacturer’s Sug-gested Retail Price (MSRP)1 of $28,975. The Odyssey was the top selling minivan with individual (retail) car buyers in the U.S. in 2013 and in the first five months of 2014, based on new-vehicle registration statistics from IHS Automotive2.

The Odyssey received a host of powertrain, styling, interior, feature and safety equipment upgrades for the 2014 model year, including the acclaimed in-vehicle vacuum cleaner, the HondaVAC™, featured on the Od-yssey Touring Elite.

These changes plus the functionality of the fundamen-tal design elicited numerous 2014 awards. These ranged from Parents Magazine and Edumunds.com Best Minivan for Families and a Best Value award from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance to a Good Housekeeping VIP (Very

I n n o v a t i v e P r o d u c t s ) a w a r d a n d the American Council for an Energy-Effi-cient Econo-my (ACEEE) naming the O d y s s e y a “ g r e e n e r c h o i c e s o f 2014” as the highest ranked minivan. The 2014 Odyssey was the first and only minivan that model year to earn the coveted Top Safety Pick+ rating from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, and the 2015 model is expected to be similarly honored. View, build and price at 2015 Honda Odyssey atautomobiles.honda.com/odyssey.Refined and youthful, sporty and advanced, the Odys-sey’s styling includes premium elements including black-trimmed headlights, available fog lights, a mus-cular hood, and black-surround grille for an upscale appearance.

The 2015 Odyssey EX, EX-L, Touring and Touring Elite models have a wiper-linked headlight system that automatically turns on the headlights when the front wipers are activated. In addition, standard one-touch turn signals provide convenience for the driver when making routine lane changes. With this system, one flick of the turn-signal lever provides three blinks of the turn signals – ideal for changing lanes. Pressing the lever past the “click point” provides continuous blinking.

Meanwhile, if you want to belong to the select group of Honda owners, all you have to do is visit the Diamond Honda of Glendale and get in touch with our kababay-ans Tito Adriosula, Cruzella Clemente and Orly Roque, who are more than ready to serve you and find you your new Honda Hybrids or any other Honda vehicle and be assured of top fuel efficiency as well as safety and maintenance.

These are just some of the reasons why Filipino-Americans come to the dealership. Above all, at Diamond Honda of Glendale, customers are treated like Diamonds! That statement is backed up by General Manager Philip Keung, who has endeared himself to Filipino customers because of his professionalism and his recognition and vast understanding of Honda’s multi-ethnic market. “He is a great anchor. We rely on his wisdom and professional savvy all the time. He is very helpful to the Filipino sales-men and customers alike,” says Tito.

Diamond Honda of Glendale is located at 138 S. Glen-dale Avenue, Glendale, CA 91205. Its toll-free number is 1.866.237.7092.

Best-selling Honda Odyssey returns for 2015 with stellar reputation for safety performance, innovation, fuel effi ciency, purchase value and retained value

Honda Odyssey



SUMMER CLEARANCE SALE

2014 Nissan Rogue highest ranked Compact SUV; 2014 Quest awarded highest ranked minivan

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The 2014 Nissan Rogue is the most appealing new Compact SUV to own and drive, according to a study of more than 86,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2014 model-year cars and light trucks. As part of the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) StudySM, Rogue achieved a segment-best score of 786, with the Nissan Quest ranking highest in the minivan segment with 790 points.

The industry benchmark for new-vehicle appeal, the APEAL Study gives owners a platform to evaluate their vehicles across 77 attributes. These combine into an overall APEAL score measured on a

1,000-point scale. “The all-new 2014 Rogue has received

numerous accolades in the automotive in-dustry, but the most important test comes when owners evaluate the vehicle for themselves,” said Fred Diaz, senior vice president, Nissan Sales & Marketing and

Operations. “Driven by owner feedback, the J.D. Power APEAL Study serves as an important benchmark indicating where our products stand with consumers. It’s both an honor and a demonstration to the quality of our vehicles for Rogue and Quest to rank highest in their segments.”

The Nissan Rogue, which was com-pletely redesigned for the 2014 model year, challenges convention once again with bold emotive styling. Its premium interior was created with comfort and multi-tasking in mind, and an array of available afford-able and convenient technologies.

Rogue offers optional 3-row/7-pas-senger seating, along with exceptional passenger and cargo flexibility with its innovative EZ Flex seating System and innovative Divide-N-Hide Cargo System. Every 2014 Nissan Rogue is equipped with

a responsive 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine rated at 170 horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque. The engine is matched with an advanced Xtronic transmission. Rogue comes in three well-equipped models, S, SV and SL, each in a choice of front-wheel or all-wheel drive.

The Nissan Quest minivan offers an extensive list of family-friendly features.

If you want to find out more about Nis-san Rogue or Nissan Quest, get in touch with our kababayans Augusto Montemayor and Mariefe Alipio of Nissan of Van Nuys, each of whom are experts in helping cus-tomers choose the best Nissan vehicle for their use. You may reach them on their mo-bile phones at 818-943-5471 (for Augusto) and 818-442-1983 (for Marie). Nissan of Van Nuys is located at 5425 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys, CA CA 91401.

Nissan receives highest ranking in two vehicle segments in J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study

LOS ANGELES (July 23, 2014) – There are many attractive reasons for Angelenos to own the all-electric Nissan LEAF: single-occupant access to high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes; an available California state tax rebate of $2,500; much lower operating costs than a gas-powered car and now, free public charging.

Nissan announced today that it is adding Los Angeles to its “No Charge to Charge” promotion, a program that will offer two years of no-cost public charging at hundreds of stations with the purchase or lease of a new Nissan LEAF in the Los Angeles area. This includes no-cost access to fast chargers that can charge a LEAF battery pack from zero to 80 percent in less than 30 minutes.

“Los Angeles has long been one of the

world’s top markets for electric car sales,” said Brendan Jones, director, Nissan Elec-tric Vehicle Sales and Infrastructure. “Add-ing free access to public fast charging in the LA market gives us a competitive edge over other vehicles, regardless of their fuel source.”

“No Charge to Charge” takes advantage of the new EZ-ChargeSM card, a first-of-its-kind card that offers Nissan LEAF owners access to five leading EV charging networks with a single card. New owners will receive an EZ-Charge card that will provide access to chargers with Charge-Point, Blink, CarCharging, AeroVironment and NRG eVgo. (Note: not all chargers available with the EZ-Charge card are part of “No Charge to Charge.”)

Nissan now offers “No Charge to Charge” in 11 of the top markets for Nis-san LEAF sales, including San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Nashville, Phoenix, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston and Washington, D.C. In the next year, Nissan plans to offer the “No Charge to Charge” program and EZ-Charge card at LEAF dealers in at least 14 additional U.S. markets.

“No Charge to Charge” will launch at Nissan LEAF dealers in the Los Angeles market on August 15, 2014. LEAF owners who purchased or leased their vehicle on or after July 1, 2014, in the Los Angeles market will receive entry into the “No Charge to Charge” program retroactively.

For more information on the “No Charge to Charge” promotion and EZ-Charge, visit www.EZ-Charge.com/FAQ.

About Nissan LEAFWith about 125,000 global sales since

launch, Nissan LEAF is the world’s top-selling electric vehicle. LEAF seats up to five passengers and boasts an estimated driving range on a fully-charged battery of 84 miles and MPGe ratings of 126 city, 101 highway and 114 combined. The ef-fective price of a Nissan LEAF starts at about $20,000 after the available $7,500 federal tax credit and $2,500 California state rebate, which is competitive with similar gas-powered cars while providing the benefits of lower running costs and less scheduled maintenance. LEAF is powered by an advanced lithium-ion battery and an 80kW motor that provides a highly respon-sive, fun-to-drive experience.

The all-electric Nissan LEAF is offered in three trim levels, and shoppers can choose from a variety of available premium features such as leather seats, 17-inch alloy wheels, 7-speaker BOSE energy efficient audio system and a 6.6 kW onboard charger that significantly reduces 220V charging times.

“No Charge to Charge” will launch at Nissan LEAF dealers in the Los Angeles market on August 15, 2014. LEAF owners who purchased or leased their vehicle on or after July 1, 2014, in the Los Angeles market will receive entry into the “No Charge to Charge” program retroactively. For more information on the “No Charge to Charge” promotion and EZ-Charge, visit www.EZ-Charge.com/FAQ.

Nissan offers free charging for new leaf buyers in Los Angeles

Augusto Montemayor and Mariefe Alipio, the friendly Filipino sales professionals of Nissan of Van Nuys.


NAGBABAGANG SUMMERBONANZA SALES!

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