Weekend Balita November 28, 2015

VOL. XXIII, NO. 43 LOS ANGELES THE LEADING SOURCE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR FILIPINO-AMERICANSNov. 28 - Dec. 4, 2015

The overlooked

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And these attributes apparently explain why Duterte has a strong following, especially among voters hoping for a government that would really go hard on criminality.

But at what cost is another story.Rosales warned that Duterte,

dubbed “The Punisher,” might have the makings of a dictator, considering his alleged vigilante-style approach against suspected criminals in his city.

“He hates criminals. Suspected criminals have no space for him. He guns them down if he feels like it,” she said.

“The moment you take the law in your hands and you think you can get away with it, then you become part of the problem, and that has been the way of all authoritarian rulers.”

Duterte, 70, has stopped playing coy and fi nally announced that he’s

HR abuses feared in Duterte presidencyEx-CHR chair wary of Duterte’s vigilante style

MANILA, Nov. 25 (Mabuhay) – Former Commission on Hu-man Rights (CHR) chairperson Loretta Ann Rosales acknowl-edged presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte’s “political will” and “resolve” as a longtime mayor of Davao City.

MANILA, Nov. 25 (Mabuhay) – A rare 25-carat, barrel-shaped pink diamond has been found among the jewelry collection of former Philippine fi rst lady Imelda Marcos, Christie’s said on Tuesday after the government asked the auction house to appraise her collection of rare stones.

The Philippine government could decide to auction the collection after Christie’s and rival Sotheby’s appraise three sets of jewelry confi scated

Specialists from Christie’s examine the confi scated jewelries of former First Lady Imelda Marcos during an appraisal authorized by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas headquarters in Manila Tuesday.(MNS photo)

Christie’s, Sothesbys’s ready to sell Imelda jewelry

MANILA, Nov. 25 (Mabuhay) - President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday held a dialogue with Lumad leaders, Malacañang said.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Aquino listened to the concerns of the indigenous people and called for action plans to address these.

“He heard the totality of their concerns and issued directives to come up with concrete action plans to address these, both in the immediate and long-term,” said Lacierda.

Present in the meeting were Edu-cation Secretary Armin Luistro, Bud-get Secretary Butch Abad, Health Secretary Janette Garin, Secretary to the Cabinet Rene Almendras, and Presidential Management Staff Chief Julia Abad.

A joint National Bureau of In-vestigation (NBI) and National Prosecution Service (NPS) team was earlier formed to probe the alleged attacks against the Lumad in Davao del Norte, Bukidnon, and Surigao del Sur.

Last September, three Lumad tribal leaders and teachers were murdered by an alleged paramilitary group in front of their community in Han-ayan, Surigao del Sur. (MNS)

MANILA, Nov. 24 (Mabuhay) – The fi rst round of oral arguments in the case the Philippines fi led against China on the West Philippine Sea issue starts Tuesday at The Hague, Netherlands.

A report said that according to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the oral arguments will continue until November 30.

The Philippines has sent a 48-man delegation led by DFA Sec. Albert Del Rosario.

Also with the delegation are Solic-itor General Florin Hilbay, Supreme Court Associate Justice and former Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza, Political Affairs Secretary Ronald Llamas, SC Associate Justice An-tonio Carpio, Rep. Rodolfo Biazon (chairman of the House Committee of National Defense and Security), and Deputy Executive Sec. Menardo Guevarra.

The delegation is ready for the oral arguments and is confi dent of the strength of the evidence in favor of the Philippines.

President Benigno Aquino III, meanwhile, said he will respect the decision of the tribunal.

The Philippines fi led a case vs. China at the Permanent Court of Ar-bitration to invalidate China’s mas-sive claim over the South China Sea.

China’s so-called nine-dash line – a tongue-shaped encirclement cov-ering nearly the entire South China Sea including those within the Ma-nila’s territories – did not conform with the United Nations Convention of the Law and the Sea (UNCLOS), the Philippines said.

On October 29, 2015, the PCA ruled that it has jurisdiction over seven out of 15 issues raised by the Philippines against China, and set the schedule of hearings.

PNoy meets with Lumad leaders

Arbitral tribunal oral arguments on West PHL Sea issue start Tuesday

Men try to catch free-range pigs during a traditional Ibaloy festivity called “Avang” in La Trinidad, Benguet on Monday. Tribal folks from Benguet’s 13 municipalities participate in the annual “Adivay,” where pigs are slaughtered, cooked and shared with the community. (MNS photo)

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See JEWELRY, page 8

2 Weekend Balita, Sat.-Fri., Nov. 28 - Dec. 4, 2015 Balita

3Visit www.Balita.comBalita Weekend Balita, Sat.-Fri., Nov. 28 - Dec. 4, 2015

change the terms of payment on the fi rst mortgage. Frequently, we use a combination of strategies including bankruptcy to strip all secondary liens, modify the terms of the fi rst, and convert the adjustable to an affordable fi xed loan.

Some lenders offer workout op-tions. Others want you to “catch up” all the missed payments fi rst. A few major banks have sent out letters to their borrowers, offering to modify and lower the loan balance if you meet certain qualifi cations. How-ever, in instances where you do not qualify for a loan modifi cation, the home owner should defi nitely con-sider a “Short Sale”.

Short Sale Facts.If you are facing foreclosure, a

short sale can be a benefi cial alter-native. It is an agreement with your bank or mortgage company, allowing you to sell the property for an amount less than what you owe. Usually, the bank requires an appraisal, and will accept an offer that’s relative to the current fair market value. Unfor-tunately, the seller (current home owner) cannot also be the new buyer.

What are the advantages of a short sale vs. foreclosure?

The main advantage of a short sale is preventing foreclosure and the consequences that foreclosure incorporates. Short sales are con-siderably less damaging on credit ratings than foreclosures. Remain-ing on your report for up to 7 to 10 years, a foreclosure is often times more damaging than a bankruptcy, (unless it’s included in a bankruptcy), and may take you 3 years or more to re-qualify for a new home loan. While Short sales may be reported to the credit bureaus, they are noted as “paid in full” or “settled for less than owed” and have far lesser effect on fi co scores.

2013 is a great year to complete a short sale, and get out of a prop-erty that is “under water”. Because a short sale allows the homeowner to sell their property for less than the outstanding mortgage debt, it creates a “defi ciency”, written off as a “forgiveness of debt” by the lend-er. In years past, debt forgiveness was considered taxable income. The lender would send out a 1099. Imag-ine adding $200,000 to your regular taxable income!

However, for 2012 and 2013, the federal government has given us a pass on debt forgiveness taxable income on short sales. However, it is wildly expected to end in 2013. (Please note, this column does not provide tax advice. Always seek ad-vice from a tax professional, when considering tax ramifications in p roperty sales)

Short Sale SummaryYou can buy another home in as

little as 12-18 months.Under Mortgage cancellation Tax

Relief Act of 2007 (H.R. 3648) Forgiv-en debt may NOT be taxed.

Get more time in your home, and avoid the threat of immediate evic-tion pending a short sale process.

Permanent tax free debt relief.It usually takes 1-4 months to com-

plete a short sale; you may remain in your home during this time.

May qualify for Government relo-cation assistance – up to $3000

What is a Loan Modifi cation?Loan Modifi cation FactsA Loan Modifi cation is usually a

conversion from an adjustable (and uncontrollable) to a fi xed interest loan. It could also involve changes to one or more of the following: Interest Rate; Principal Balance and even for-bearance on penalties. It also should bring the account current, creating a fresh start for the borrower. There are many reasons for seeking a Loan Modifi cation, however not everyone can qualify. Most Lenders will tell consumers they do not qualify, or deny the fi rst attempt in order to collect the full amount due. Our law offi ce will qualify you according to the lender’s guidelines and negotiate on your behalf to get the lender to accept your situation and thereby agree to the modifi cation.

A loan modifi cation will take the mortgage you now have and change the interest rate, terms or payment requirements in order to convert to a fi xed rate. Changes in rates and payments do not require new closing costs, legal fees, survey, appraisal, or taxes. In contrast, if you “refi nance” a loan you’ll be required to have a closing and be forced to pay a variety of fees and taxes.

If you are facing the dilemma of owing more than the property is worth, or you cannot afford your mortgage payments, give us a call. Let’s see what my offi ce can do for you.

Some people try this on their own, but get lost in the system and end up with an unnecessary eviction instead of a workout. That’s why a lawyer makes a difference. When a lawyer is involved, calls start to get answered and the letters responded to. This could make the difference between keeping your home or losing it.

Get the help you need. Call the Law Offi ces of Paul M. Allen, three locations to serve you: Glendale, Cer-ritos and La Palma. My consultations are free, but it is by appointment only. Call now at 818-552-4500 and 818-334-5445..

Avoid foreclosure with a loan mod or short sale

There are many solutions avail-able to homeowners falling behind on their payments. Most people think Bankruptcy is the only option, short of just letting the Bank take their home. Bankruptcy is a good option, and while it can strip off the second trust deed if the home is upside down in current value, bankruptcy cannot


by Camille Bas-WohlertKirkenes, Norway | AFP | Tues-

day 11/24/2015 – Pedalling a bicycle through a freezing blizzard, Rehman fi nally crosses the border between Russia and Norway where he hopes to be given asylum, half a world away from his home in Pakistan.

“It’s snowing. It’s slippery and very cold, and very hard because some people don’t know how to bike,” says the strapping and affable 34-year-old, exhausted but relieved to have reached the end of his long odyssey.

While hundreds of thousands of people fl eeing war, persecution and misery are crossing the Mediterra-nean in unseaworthy dinghies, each day about 100 people are opting for the longer, but usually safer, “Arctic route”, the northern European gate-way to the Schengen zone.

The last stretch of the journey must be completed by bicycle because Russian authorities do not let pedes-trians cross the border and Norway considers it human trafficking to transport migrants in a vehicle.

“I checked on the Internet and saw that Norway has an open border,” says Hichem, a 24-year-old Tunisian, echoing a widely held belief that the Scandinavian country is trying to quash.

With a 15-day Russian tourist visa, Hichem fl ew from Tunisia to Moscow and then boarded a train to Murmansk, before hopping in a taxi to Nikel, a small town near the Nor-wegian border 185 kilometres (115 miles) away.

The only land entry point between Russia and Norway, the small Stor-skog border crossing is 400 kilome-tres north of the Arctic Circle.

Wooded snow-covered valleys, fro-zen lakes, starry night skies lit up by the greenish fl ames of the Northern Lights: the pristine nature here re-sembles something out of a fairytale but its tranquility can be unsettling for the unaccustomed.

But it doesn’t seem to put off refugees -- not even the subzero temperatures.

More than 5,000 migrants have crossed the border since the begin-ning of the year, compared with only 10 in 2014.

“There’s way too much snow,” complains Hichem, jumping up and down quickly to keep warm as the mercury hits -15 Celsius (5 Fahr-enheit) outside the former military barracks that now house the newly arrived refugees.

- Crossing the Arctic in sneakers -Shivering and rosy-cheeked, with

their shoulders pressed up around their ears, groups of refugees arrive every day, usually in clusters of fi ve or six at a time.

Some carry suitcases and push their bikes across the border. Others bravely pedal down the snowy road, not stopping until they reach their goal. A young mother clutches the handlebar of her bike tightly with one hand, struggling to carry her infant bundled up in a snowsuit in the other.

Wearing jeans and down jackets, many refugees have just sneakers on their feet -- a sharp contrast to the big fur-lined boots worn by locals.

In the refugee centre where they are transferred, they are given a kit more appropriate for the colder cli-mate: a warm coat, ski pants, a hat and gloves.

Inside the centre, the furnishings are spartan in order to make as much

space as possible for bunk beds.Rehman stayed in Russia for

almost a year on a student visa. Annoyed by the corruption he saw everywhere, he decided to leave for Norway.

Getting off the train in Murmansk, “police caught us and they said ‘Give us your money if you want to go to Norway’. I said ‘Why give you money, we don’t have money! We’re going to Norway because we have problems’,” he recalls, puffi ng on a cigarette.

He is however one of many who risk being sent back to Russia.

Norwegian authorities have said they want to send back to Russia those who have been granted resi-dency or a visa there, arguing that it is a safe country for them.

Mounir, a 50-year-old Tunisian, also made the heart-wrenching de-cision to leave his restive homeland.

In Kirkenes, he may be freezing cold but he feels free. The cold – and the darkness that falls in mid-after-noon at this time of year – don’t both-er him. He hopes to stay in Norway and bring over his wife and the rest of his family.

But he still can’t believe he had to fork out 10,000 rubles (about 145 euros, $155) for the children’s bike he had to buy to cross the border.

“It’s very expensive for those who arrive here after a long journey, who have no money and are looking for a safe haven,” he railed.

“One of us had to stay behind be-cause he didn’t have enough money.”

Freedom is a bike, for migrants crossing Arctic border

MANILA, Nov. 25 (mabuhay) -- Senators yesterday deplored President Aqui-no’s attempt to belittle the alleged existence of a syndicate victimizing travelers in the country’s airports by planting bullets in their luggage.

Short of branding his statements as another insensitive remark, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said it is “unfortunate” for the President to disparage victims of “tanim-bala” (bullet-planting) scheme with statistics. The syndicates seemingly preyed mostly on elderly passengers and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). “It is unfortunate that instead of trying to get into the bottom of these allegations, the President instead chose to dismiss these outright with statistics and even defended the airport authorities,” Marcos lamented.

Aquino, in an interview in Malaysia, expressed doubts about an organized “tanim-bala” extortion scheme, noting that only three passengers from 34 million that pass the airports annually had complained so far about the alleged extort scheme. Aquino also said that only 1,200 cases of illegal possession of bullets were reported.

Monday November 16 2015 (Lod, Israel-AFP) – Israel will present to the public for the fi rst time this week an “impressive” mosaic accidentally discovered in what was a wealthy neighbourhood in Roman and Byz-antine times, offi cials said Monday.

The colourful mosaic measuring some 11 by 13 metres (36 by 43 feet) discovered in Lod in central Israel is believed to have been the courtyard pavement of a “magnifi cent villa,” the Israel Antiquities Authority said.

It is the second such mosaic found in the area, following another uncov-ered in the 1990s that was the fl oor of the villa’s living room 1,700 years ago and has since been exhibited in prestigious museums worldwide.

The authority called the fi rst mo-saic “breathtaking” and “among the most beautiful” in Israel. It depicts roaring lions, elephants in battle, giraffes and dolphins.

The recent excavation in 2014 was to prepare for the construction

of a visitor centre to house the fi rst mosaic, currently on display at the Palazzo Cini Gallery in Venice, when it returns.

Scenes in the newly discovered mosaic include hunting and hunted animals, fish, flowers in baskets, vases and birds.

“The quality of the images por-trayed in the mosaic indicates a high-ly developed artistic ability,” Amir Gorzalczany, excavation director, said in a statement.

The authority said that numerous fragments of frescoes discovered also “refl ect the decoration and the metic-ulous and luxurious design, which are in the best tradition of the well-born of the period”.

It said that “in light of the new dis-coveries, this part of the villa will also be incorporated in the visitor centre”.

Lod was known as Diospolis at the time, and served as a district capital. Today it is located near Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion international airport.

Israel accidentally fi nds ‘impressive’ ancient mosaic

A worker of the Israel Antiquities Authority cleans a 1,700-year-old mosaic. ©AFP PHOTO / MENAHEM KAHANA

Senators assail attempts to belittle ‘tanim-bala’ cases


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MANILA, Nov. 25 (Mabuhay) –The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday extended for another 90 days its order that stopped the Sandigan-bayan from proceeding with the trial of the plunder case against former President Gloria Macapa-gal Arroyo involving alleged mis-use of P366 million in funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Offi ce (PCSO) from 2008 to 2010.

In a press briefi ng, SC spokes-man Theodore O. Te said:

“In the matter of GR No. 220598… the Court issued a sta-tus quo ante order for 90 days, or until February 19, 2016, directing the parties to observe the status quo prevailing before the issuance of the assailed orders of the San-diganbayan dated April 6, 2015.”

Last month, the SC issued a sta-tus quo ante order that stopped the Sandiganbayan from proceeding with Mrs. Arroyo’s plunder case for 30 days.

The SC acted on Mrs. Arroyo’s new pleading that invoked a rec-ommendation of the United Na-tions Technical Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on her release from detention “in accordance with

the relevant international human rights standards.”

It also ordered the Sandigan-bayan’s fi rst division where the plunder case is pending to com-ment on Mrs. Arroyo’s pleading.

The suspension of proceedings would enable the SC to rule on Mrs. Arroyo’s plea to reverse the Sandiganbayan’s ruling that de-nied her motion to post bail, oral arguments, and the issuance of a temporary restraining order that would stop the trial on her plunder case.

Mrs. Arroyo, now a member of Congress representing Pampan-ga, filed her petition last April challenging the Sandiganbayan’s ruling that denied her plea for bail.

While the SC had ordered the Sandiganbayan to comment on the petition last June, the issue has yet to be resolved by the High Court.

Mrs. Arroyo pointed out that the UN panel’s position was in line with the arguments she had raised in her petition to post bail fi led by her lawyers with the San-diganbayan’s fi rst division. In her bail petition, Mrs. Arroyo cited her deteriorating health.(MNS)

MANILA, Nov. 24 (Mabuhay) – Vice presidential candidate and Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero yesterday expressed optimism that the Supreme Court would rule timely and in favor of presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe Llamanzares should the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) ruling on the disqualifi cation case against her be questioned before the high tribunal.

Escudero, who is Poe’s running mate in the May, 2016, elections, also said he believes the lady senator would be able to hurdle the legal chal-lenges thrown against her, saying the SC will take into consideration the importance of the lawmaker’s case the same way it did when it ruled on the case of actor Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) – Poe’s adoptive father – in 2004.

“Well I am hopeful and I think they will (rule timely). They know the importance of the case. And what I am holding on and vouching for is their decision in 2004,” Escudero said.

FPJ, then presidential candidate running against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA), won the legal battle in the Supreme Court which voted 8-5, with one abstention.

The SC then upheld the previous ruling of the Commission on Elec-tions (Comelec) and declared FPJ a “natural-born citizen and qualifi ed to run.”

“You have to remember, majority of the court was appointed by GMA already at that time and the incum-bent and sitting president was the one who was running (for president) and yet the Supreme Court, which could have sat on the case, ruled timely on the case sometime late March,” said the senator from Sor-sogon, referring to then President Arroyo.

Arroyo beat then presidential can-didate FPJ in the 2004 presidential elections. Like her, FPJ also faced a similar disqualifi cation case.

Escudero said the same scenario

can happen again, “more so now when you have a freer court.”

“You have a court that decides unanimously against the sitting president. And if you look on the oth-er side you have a sitting president who says, that if you ask him, Grace should be allowed to run,” said Escu-dero referring to President Aquino’s earlier statements on Poe.

“So on both scores, there is suffi -cient reason I believe to hope and to believe that the court will rule timely on this case,” said the senator.

Escudero also said there is no law that precludes the SC from coming up with an adverse or favorable ruling after the elections.

“Their decision would still have to be followed. Whether it’s favorable or against, the respondent or petitioner as the case maybe, it depends but until now we still don’t know who is going to lose in the case,” he said.

Last week, the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) ruled 5-4 in favor of junking the petition to disqualify the senator, who is running for president in next year’s polls, which defeated senatorial candidate Rizalito David fi led before the tribunal.

Those who voted to junk the disqualifi cation case were Senators Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV, Pia Cayeta-no, Loren Legarda, Cynthia Villar and Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, while those who voted in the negative were Sen. Ma. Lourdes “Nancy” Binay, Supreme Court Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Teresita Leonardo de Castro, and Arturo Brion.

Escudero reiterated that the three associate justices who voted against Poe must inhibit in the SC deliber-ations if the disqualifi cation case is heard by the high court.

“They should if they follow practice and tradition. Because in the SET and the HRET (House of Represen-tatives Electoral Tribunal) there are also three justices in the SET and three in HRET as well and six (6) members of Congress,” Escudero pointed out.

Presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe and runningmate Sen. Chiz Escudero

SC may be Poe’s saving grace: Chiz

SC extends order stopping Sandiganbayan trial of GMA PCSO plunder case


MANILA, Nov 23 (Mabuhay) – Pres-ident Benigno Aquino III said Chinese President Xi Jinping would like to return to the Philippines amid the two countries’ territorial dispute over the South China Sea. Aquino said that the Chinese pres-ident expressed his intention to return before leaving Manila last week after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

In a coffee meeting with the media at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Sunday, Aquino also shrugged off insinuations that he appeared “aloof” to Xi. Aquino was in Malaysia over the weekend to attend the ASEAN Summit, his last as chief executive. “Medyo mahirap talagang mag-uusap kayo kung iba ang lengguwa-

heng gagamitin niyo ‘di ba? Pero, sorry ha, nabasa ko lang somewhere na parang ano, paano ba ‘yon? ‘Aloof’ kami. Hindi aloof ano. Talagang kapag wala si trans-lator, walang dialogue,” said Aquino.

During the APEC leaders’ November 18 plenary session with members of the APEC Business Advisory Council, Aquino was seen conversing and walking beside Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. To Bachelet’s left was President Xi.

“Every time kaming nagkaroon ng interaction parating may interpreter. Iyong kapag sinabi ko sa kanyang ‘good morning’ sagot niya sa akin Chinese. Noong naglalakad kami papunta doon sa function, wala akong katabi --- wala siyang interpreter at wala rin akong interpreter,” Aquino explained.

Xi was said to have hesitated coming to the Philippines for the APEC summit due to security reasons.

But according to a Cabinet secretary who led the send off for Xi, Aquino said the Chinese president indicated that he wants to return to the Philippines.

“Noong pauwi napaka-animated raw. Nagpasalamat, nagsabi sana makabalik kaagad, pati...Ang sabi sa akin ‘nung Cabinet secretary na kasama bakit hindi daw niyo tingnan ‘yung litrato dahil ang laki-laki ng ngiti,” said Aquino.

Aquino said this was despite a “minor technical diffi culty” during the leaders’ retreat concerning the translator of Xi, prompting Aquino to approach Xi to apologize for the incident.

“Siyempre napahiya tayo ng konti doon...nilapitan ko at ipinaliwanag ko ‘yung paliwanag sa akin. Tapos ang sagot sa akin ‘may mga technical ‘yan e, nangyayari naman talaga ‘yan maski saan e’,” said Aquino.

“Parang sa dulo hindi sisi, parang nag-thank you pa siya doon sa paliwanag. Ang pagkaintindi ko ano. Talagang tinanggap niya na wala tayong masamang inten-

syon,” he added.China and the Philippines are locked

in a territorial dispute over the South China Sea. APEC national organizing council director general Ambassador Marciano Paynor had said that the terri-torial disputes was not discussed during the APEC meetings.

Emerging from a bilateral meeting with Aquino at the sidelines of the APEC summit, US President Barack Obama said China must stop its land reclamation in the disputed seas.

“We discussed the impact of China’s reclamation and construction activities on regional stability. We agreed on the need for bold steps to lower tensions in-cluding pledging to halt further reclama-tion, new construction, and militarization of disputed areas in the South China Sea,” said Obama.

At the ASEAN, Aquino told his fellow leaders that China’s land reclamation threatens stability in the Asian region.

He added that no country to “claim an entire sea as its own and to use force or the threat thereof in asserting such a claim.” (MNS)

President Benigno S. Aquino III, accompanied by AFP Chief of Staff General Hernando Iriberri review the honor guards during the arrival ceremony at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 in Pasay City on Monday (November 23) after attending the ASEAN Leaders’ 26th ASEAN Summit held in Kuala Lumpur. (MNS photo)

By Andrew BeattyK u a l a L u m p u r , M a l a y -

sia | AFP | Sunday 11/22/2015 – China came under renewed criticism Sunday over its rising profi le in the South China Sea as it jostled with the United States for regional infl uence at the conclusion to a week of top-level diplomacy.

Asia-Pacifi c leaders met in Malaysia with China fi nding itself in the fi ring line over its land reclamation projects that have turned tiny atolls into fully-fl edged islands with potential military uses.

“The world is watching,” to see if Beijing will behave like a “responsible global leader” in the standoff, Philippine President Benigno Aquino told the as-sembled leaders.

The talks—which included the United States, China, Japan and others – were hosted by the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

President Barack Obama, who earlier in the week repeated US calls for China to stop the land reclamation, announced Sunday he would host the ASEAN lead-ers at a meeting in the United States next year.

“This region ... is critical to security, prosperity and human dignity around the world,” he said, while also pledging continued trade, diplomatic, and security support for the region.

The annual season of summitry, which began a week ago in Turkey for the Group of 20 meeting, and continued with region-al forums in Manila and Kuala Lumpur, has been overshadowed by the string of recent deadly extremist attacks.

But attention in Malaysia shifted back to Chinese actions, which have raised fears of potential confl ict at sea.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe waded into the fray, calling for the South China Sea, a key route for global sea-borne trade, not to be militarised, while refraining from directly naming China,

according to Kyodo news agency.‘Political provocation’China insists on sovereignty over

virtually all the resource-endowed South China Sea, which is also claimed in part by Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, and non-ASEAN member Tai-wan.

Beijing has displayed irritation with Washington’s expressions of support for the claims of China’s neighbors, and once again refused to budge on the issue in Kuala Lumpur.

With Obama present, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told Sunday’s closed-door summit that countries “from outside the region” should stop infl aming tensions over the maritime dispute, a Chinese offi cial said afterward.

The official, Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin, also criticised the recent US deployment of naval vessels to the South China Sea.

Washington has said the move was meant to stress the right to free passage in waters China claims, but Liu called it a “political provocation.”

At the same time, China offered its own carrot to ASEAN, announcing a new raft of infrastructure loans totalling some $10 billion. ASEAN on Saturday issued a joint statement stressing the need to maintain freedom of navigation and over-fl ight rights in the South China Sea.

Washington says navigation in a sea through which much of the world’s trade passes could be threatened by actions such as China’s island-building.

ASEAN also called for quicker prog-ress on agreeing a code of conduct at sea with Beijing.

China has been accused of dragging its feet on the code – which could hamper its freedom of action at sea – and seeking to run out the game clock while it works to turn its disputed territorial claims into a fait accomplished.

Aquino says China’s Xi wants to come back to PHL

China under fresh fi re over sea rows as US courts SE Asia


West Coast include performances in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Oregon. His recent performance in Las Ve-gas, Nevada this past weekend was sponsored by the Miracle Ministries International. Next week, Jona-than will join the 2015 Filpinotown Christmas Parade at 4:00 pm on Friday, December 4th and the fol-lowing day, he will be featured at an “Evening of Timeless Music” Soiree, 6:000 pm at Jade’s Fashion in the City of Alhambra. On Friday Dec. 11th Jonathan is scheduled to sing at the Filipino-American Christian Church’s ‘Thanksgiving Service, ” in Long Beach. He will then proceed to serenade the pageant participants at the Miss Filipinotown Beauty Pageant on the same day, to be held at the Dream Banquet Hall located at 3255 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.

Pinoys here in the US can’t seem to get enough of this amazing popop-era tenor, so he will proceed to the East Coast, where he is scheduled to perform in New York on December 12th through the 14th and in Balti-more, Maryland on December 18th.

Jetsetter as he is, after New Year, Jonathan comes back to the West Coast to perform at a fashion show in Portland, Oregon on January 2, 2016, before he heads back home to Manila, where he already has a full year’s schedule of appearances in various concerts and/or musicales.

On a flashback performance in 2009, this author met Jonathan when he was a guest performer at Global Link Media’s concert at the Crystal Cathedral.

Though he left for Manila after our chance meeting, he became this thoughtful friend, sending me updates on his performances. So, in 2012 when he returned to Los Angeles, our media group, the orig-inal Filipino American Press Club of Los Angeles (established 1978), Inc., invited him to participate at our Typhoon Sendong fundraiser as one of the 24 guest performers at the

Noypitz Restaurant in Glendale.In his youth, Jonathan was en-

riched with a delightful appreciation for music through his mother, Re-medios Badon’s singing techniques. She was a soprano and a “Tawag Ng Tanghalan” champion. His brother, Kelly Badon, was a former member of the then famous Side-A-Band.

As a popopera tenor singer, Jonathan has received numerous awards such as: “Aliw Awardee for Best Classical and Global Perform-er” in 2010 and in the same year, he was also given the honor of being an “Emissary of the Muses” in the City of San Antonio, Texas. and in 2012, he was cited and honored by the Legis-lature of Hawaii as an “Outstanding International Artist.”

Jonathan Badon attended the University of the Philippines, College of Music, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music, majoring in Voice, under the tutelage of Prof. Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. During his college days, he was an active mem-ber of the UP Concert Chorus and a scholar with the Music Promotion Foundation of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, where he has per-formed lead roles in various operas, oratorios, sarzuelas and musicales.

As a music ambassador, Jona-than has likewise done solo concerts worldwide including:US, Canada, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Swe-den, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam.. His exceptional talent in singing has made him the top choice in rep-resenting the Philippines in various musical and cultural festivals across the globe, such as: Wales, Scotland, France, The Netherlands, Indonesia, Cambodia, Hongkong, Korea, China, Japan and of course, here in the US.

A versatile performer, Jonathan is one of the most-sought-after stage and music personalities in the Phil-ippines today. He is the ultimate cross-over artist, whose musical ability allows him to transition from

Multi-awarded Prince of Popopera Jonathan Badon Serenades US Fans!Fans of multi-awarded Prince of

Popopera and tenor singer Jonathan Badon are once again looking forward to hear and see their “Lion King/Josh-Groban-like” idol here on the West Coast.

This year, his holiday trip on the

classical to pop, which is truly remarkable.

Among Jonathan’s many talents include being a composer and an arranger, thus win-ning the grand prize for his song “Dugong Pilipino” at the AFP National Songwriting Contest in 2012. He is not only gifted with musical talent, but with creative repro-ductions as well.

In his foreign coun-try engagements, he would often draw lo-cal objects, structures, historical landmarks or spectacular views of mountains and scen-eries. His sketches are reproduced in his album called “Sketches and Melodies.” As a seasoned theater performer, he has performed various musicales, which are quite lengthy to enumerate, but some of them were: Paguio and Asencio’s “Mayo...Bisperas Ng Liwanag,” Bernstein’s “Candide,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Walang Sugat,” “Westside Story,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Miser-ables,” “Camelot,” “Titanic,” and ma-jor roles in Singapore Lyric Opera’s

production of “The Student Prince,” and the Malaysian Art Council’s “La Traviata” and “Madame Butterfl y.”

Indeed, Jonathan’s future looks bright and still on the rise. If you are one of his fans, try to catch his perfor-mances in your area, and surely, you will always be mesmerized hearing his voice, while at the same time you’ll be awed by seeing a gifted and handome tenor who is most certainly our Pinoy pride.

Popopera Jonathan Badon

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DUTERTEFrom page 1

JEWELRYFrom page 1

Thursday November 19 2015 (South Africa-AFP) – A 1,111 carat “high quality diamond” has been discovered at a mine in Botswana, said to be the biggest fi nd in more than a century, according to the mine company.

The gem, only second in size to the Cullinan diamond which was unearthered in South Africa in 1905, was mined by Lucara Diamond Corp.

“The magnificent stone, which originated from the south lobe of Lucara’s Karowe Mine, is the world second largest gem quality diamond ever recovered and largest ever to be recovered through a modern process-ing facility,” the Stockholm listed

company said a statement.Shares in Lucara shot up 34

percent to 14.2 kronor in morning Thursday trading in Stockholm.Botswana is the world’s second big-gest diamond producer, and Lucara said the gem was the largest ever to be recovered in the country.

“The signifi cance of the recovery of a gem quality stone larger than 1,000 carats, the largest for more than a century....cannot be overstat-ed,” said William Lamb, the Presi-dent and chief executive of Lucara.

The stone is yet to be evaluated, but commodities and mining analyst Kieron Hodgson, said it has “the potential to be one very expensive diamond.”

running for president next year. Unlike other presidential hopefuls, he claims to be a reluctant candidate.

But his campaign against crim-inality has unsettled the likes of Rosales and other human rights activists. In previous interviews, Duterte had made no qualms about killing people in the name of peace and order, a tough-guy image his supporters hope he would also bring to the presidency.

But Rosales said these people should be careful with what they wish for.

“These people who say we need a Duterte, they don’t think of the law. They don’t realize that if you don’t respect the law, it would affect also you and your family,” she said.

“As mayor, I don’t understand it, but he felt that he had the authority

to gloss over the rule of law, to gloss over due process, and to let people know that he could get away with murder, and that’s what makes it dangerous.”

Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, president of Duterte’s PDP-Laban party, said he would “make sure that he doesn’t close over the law.”

“In the Duterte administration, I will be the constant reminder to respect the Constitution, human rights, Bill of Rights,” Pimentel said in a text message.

What also worries Rosales is that while Duterte “knows the difference between right and wrong” and also “knows how to avoid prosecution.”

To his critics, Duterte’s alleged human right violations are ironic. Because at one time, he was a human rights lawyer. (MNS)

almost three decades ago after the fall of Imelda’s husband, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

“We had an extremely exciting fi nd,” said David Warren, director of jewelry at London-based Chris-tie’s. “We found an old briolette-cut diamond, which is 25 carats. It has a distinct pink color. Pink diamonds are exceedingly rare.”

He said the diamond could be valued at $5 million and would sig-nifi cantly increase the value of the entire collection if the collection is auctioned. The three sets in the col-lection were valued at $6 million-8 million in 1991.

Only three pure, vivid pink dia-monds of more than 10 carats have appeared for sale in almost 250 years of auction history, according to Chris-tie’s. A large cushion-shaped, pink-hued diamond sold for $28.55 million at the Christie’s semi-annual jewelry sale in Geneva on Nov. 10.

The Philippine government had tried to auction the three sets in 2005 but Imelda Marcos contested

the move, claiming ownership of only two of the sets. One was found in the presidential palace after her family’s hasty departure in 1986 and another was seized in Hawaii, where they lived in exile.

Imelda Marcos, now an elected member of Congress, is best known for leaving behind more than 1,200 pairs of shoes when her family fl ed. She has vowed to recover her family’s seized assets.

Ferdinand Marcos was president for nearly two decades before he was ousted in an army-backed uprising in 1986. He was accused of amassing more than $10 billion while in offi ce and died in exile in 1989.

Among his assets were paintings by such masters as Monet, Picasso and Van Gogh.

The government displayed the 750 pieces in the three sets of jewelry to the media. The collection, kept in a vault at the central bank, includes Burmese rubies, Indian and South African diamonds and Colombian emeralds.

Largest diamond in over century found in Botswana

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“Valuation will depend on poten-tial inclusions, how it would behave in cutting, optimal shape as well as fi nal color,” he told AFP.

“All these things will need to be evaluated prior to bidding.”The biggest diamond dis-covered is the 3,106-carat Cullinan, found near Preto-ria in South Africa in 1905. It was cut to form the Great Star of Africa and the Lesser Star of Africa, which are set in the Crown Jewels of Britain.Lucara indicated on its web-site that the Karowe Mine had also this week turned up further fi nds – an 813 carat

stone and a 374 carat stone, prompt-ing Lamb to laud “an amazing week” for the company.


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His word is good, but we still have trash, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero remarked as Canadian Prime Minis-ter Justin Trudeau left Manila after the conclusion of the Asia Pacifi c Eco-nomic Cooperation (APEC) meetings without providing a clear solution to the problem of Canadian garbage on Philippine soil.

Escudero, who has asked the Phil-ippine government to compel Canada to take back the thousands of tons of trash shipped by a Canadian fi rm to Manila, said the prime minister remained vague on whether his gov-ernment would take the trash back.

At a press conference, Trudeau said he has been “made aware of this situation and told that there’s a Canadian solution being developed.” At the same time, he said, “this is a problem that needs fi xing within our own legislation.”

“I appreciate his comment and thank him for his effort. However, the fact remains that the trash is here and we are left to fend for ourselves and spend our own money to dispose of it despite the clear treaty obligation of Canada to get it back at their ex-pense,” said Escudero, who chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

Both the Philippines and Canada have ratifi ed the Basel Convention, which deems illegal the transbound-ary movement of waste and obliges the country of origin to take back its waste in an environmentally sound manner, without transferring the cost of managing such waste to the country of import or transit.

The shipment of garbage here also violates the Philippines’ Toxic Sub-

stances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of 1990.

Trudeau admitted that “there were loopholes that were skirted” in the shipment of the trash to Manila. He said these must be closed so that the Canadian government can demand action from erring companies in the future and maintain “a good relation-ship with our neighbors.”

At a recent Senate hearing pre-sided by Escudero, it was found that Chronic Inc., a private company in Ontario, has shipped a total of 103 container vans of garbage mislabeled as “recyclable plastic materials” to Manila since 2013.

The Department of Health has al-ready said that the 18 container vans that were inspected contained mixed waste such as adult diapers, waste paper and other household trash, and must be disinfected immediately. An-other 26 container vans of trash had been dumped into a landfi ll in Tarlac.

“If the Philippine government has given up on compelling Canada to take back its trash, then it should start addressing the problem now. What is the Philippine government’s course of action in the face of the environmental and health hazards posed by this Canadian garbage that is rotting on the Bureau of Customs (BOC) premises?” Escudero asked.

As of last year, the storage of the container vans of trash alone has cost the Philippine government around P66 million, according to media re-ports. Meanwhile, the cost of disin-fecting it has been pegged at P18,000 per container van, on top of the cost of moving the trash to a treatment site, which is P8,000 per container van.

MANILA, Nov. 24 (Mabuhay) – PAL is in talks with Airbus Group SE and Boeing Co. to buy as many as 12 aircraft and will decide on the purchase before the end of the year, the fl ag carrier’s President Jaime Bautista told Reuters.

PAL in August had said it was planning to buy eight planes, but Bautista said the amount had increased to cater to growing demand for long-haul fl ights to the United States and Europe.

PAL will choose one supplier, and is considering the twin-engine Airbus 350 or Boeing 787 aircraft, Bautista said late on Monday.

The airline will put fi rm orders for six aircraft worth around $1 billion for delivery in 2017 and 2018, with the option to buy six more jets for 2019 and 2020 delivery, he added.

The Philippines’ fourth richest man, Lucio Tan, last year took over management of the airline and started a review of its operations, which included jet retirement and purchases. (MNS)

The nation’s fl ag carrier, Philippine Airlines, buy eight planes, but Bautista said the amount had increased to cater to growing demand for long-haul fl ights to the United States and Europe.

PAL plans to buy more planes

Chiz: PHL still left to deal with Canada’s trash


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are now able to have as much fun in the ballroom as they did in the boardroom.

Loida has enjoyed a long career as a successful businesswoman, and she remains just as active today. Bilang miyembro ng halos 20 na taon, she keeps current with AARP publications on health, diet, exercise at iba pang activities that help her enjoy life and live it to the fullest. Not surprisingly, her boundless energy and generous contributions para sa Filipino community have made her a role model for many. Para kay Loida, walang hanggan ang mga posibilidad and the best is yet to come. AARP offers members a wealth of resources na siguradong makapagbibigay ng saya, sigla at importanteng impormasyon para rin sa inyo. To learn more, visit aarp.org/aapi or call 1-866-805-1986 today.

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Friday November 20 2015 (Relax-news) – Bereavement, moving house, divorce and retirement are all major stress events which make those who have lived through them more resil-ient in the face of adversity and less affected by the stress of daily life, reports an American study.

While several scientific studies have already focused on individual responses to stress, the research-ers from the North Carolina State University in the US sought to link major stressful events and the stress of daily life. They asked 43 adults aged between 60 and 96 to fi ll in a questionnaire every day for eight consecutive days.

At the beginning of the study, all the participants were asked if they’d experienced any major stressful events in the previous year. The questionnaires asked about any stress experienced each day.

To assess the volunteers’ sense of well-being, the researchers also asked them three questions. They asked them how old they felt, how old they would like to be, and how old they looked. The team noted that the response to daily stress was different, depending on whether or not the

participants had experienced a major stressful event during their lifetime.

Those who had not experienced a major life stressor said they felt signifi cantly older on stressful days.

In contrast, the researchers noted that the volunteers who had faced intensely stressful events in the past were less likely to fl uctuate in how old they felt on a day-to-day basis

On the “good days”, all the partici-pants thought they looked around 10 years younger than their actual age.

But there was a notable differ-ence on more stressful days. The participants who had experienced a major stressful event reported in the questionnaire that they looked 20 years younger, while those who had not experienced a major stressor said they looked their actual age.

“Our study tells us that there’s no expiration date on the impact of life-changing, stressful events”, said Shevaun Neupert, co-author of the paper on this work. “And it tells us that many people actually weather these major stressors and emerge more resilient and less easily infl u-enced by daily stresses.” This study was published on 18 November in The Journal of Gerontology.

We do not all react in the same way to everyday stress, especially if we have experienced a particularly diffi cult life event. ©Karuka/Shutterstock.com

A major stress event helps us cope with everyday worries

Thursday November 19 2015 (Par-is, France-AFP) – Giving anti-AIDS drugs directly to infants breastfed by their HIV-positive mothers signifi -cantly reduces their risk of contract-ing the killer virus, researchers said Thursday.

Less than 1.5 percent of children, given one of two anti-viral drugs during 12 months of breastfeed-ing, caught the virus from their mothers, said a study published in The Lancet medical journal.This was the first study to as-sess the effectiveness of AIDS drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission in infants breast-fed for longer than six months.

Breastfeeding, especially in poor countries, is one of the best ways to improve infant survival, but is also an avenue for women to pass the AIDS-causing virus on to their infants.The latest fi ndings will feed into an ongoing debate which stacks the nutritional benefi ts of breastfeeding up against the risk it holds for trans-mitting the virus which causes AIDS.The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that HIV-pos-itive women, especially in devel-oping countries, breastfeed their infants for at least 12 months – the best way to get the nutrients they need and avoid serious illnesses such as diarrhea and pneumonia.

Drug shields infants from HIV in breastmilk: study


and enroll on a Medicare Supplement Plan to protect yourself from your share of costs. Or, enroll on a Medi-care Advantage Plan (also known as Part C) which combines all Parts A, B, and D benefi ts in one plan.

Secondly, consider where you are at present. Depending on which coun-ty you reside, you may fi nd Medicare plans suitable to your particular circumstance.

Third, consider your own state of health. Are you very sick that you see many doctors (specialists) to take care of your ailments? Or, you feel very healthy that you only need to see any doctor to consult for wellness or preventive measures?

Fourth, are you taking multiple prescription drugs? Medicare plans maintain a drug formulary which you are advised to view before enrolling on their plan. Furthermore, apply for extra help under Social Security’s Low Income Subsidy program to re-duce your prescription cost.

Fifth, consider the Medicare plan’s premium. While most Medicare Ad-vantage Plans have “$0” premiums in most counties, staying on Original Medicare plus stand-alone Part D and a Medicare Supplement Plan (with monthly premiums) may be the perfect fi t for you.

Lastly, get yourself a competent and compliant broker. Most of their services are free. They will help you navigate the complexities of Medi-care and act as your advocate, if you

encounter problems with your Medi-care in the future.

Medicare has become complicated since its enactment into law in 1965. It has undergone several transforma-tions that we sometimes lose track of. This column’s intent is to bring you new information each week so you will enjoy your Medicare benefi ts and improve your lives.

Leo Monsalud hails from Sta. Cruz, Zambales. He studied for MBA and Law at the University of the Philippines. He worked for United Laboratories, Inc. where his last posi-tion held was vice-president assigned as general manager of a division. He holds CA license # 0G55218 and a Non-Resident license for Nevada. He may be reached at 323-535-7373 or, e-mail at: [email protected]. He is a Certifi ed Insurance Agent for Covered California.

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(Relaxnews) – A study published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke suggests that bilin-gual patients could be twice as likely as those that are monolingual to regain normal cognitive abilities fol-lowing a stroke, a cause of dementia.

To look at the effect that bilingual-ism might have on cognitive function researchers based in India and the United Kingdom examined records of 608 Indian stroke patients from 2006-2013. Over half of the patients were considered bilingual, speaking two or more languages.

Accounting for other factors that may have affected patients’ health be-fore the stroke such as smoking, age, high blood pressure, and diabetes, the team concluded that post-stroke around 40% of the bilingual patients had normal cognitive functions, while the same could be said of just 20% of monolingual patients. In addition to this, bilingual patients showed better attention and were more capable in tests that involved retrieving and organizing information. However, researchers did not notice any differ-ence between the groups of patients when it came to the likelihood of experiencing post-stroke aphasia, a disorder that affects communication functions including speech, reading and writing.

The team behind the study cau-tioned against applying the results to all bilingual people. Hyderabad is a multicultural city in which many lan-guages (including Telugu, Urdu, Hin-di and English) are regularly spoken. “Constantly switching languages is a daily reality for many residents of Hyderabad,” said Suvarna Alladi, lead author of the study, “The cogni-tive benefi t may not be seen in places where the need to function in two or more languages isn’t as extensive.”

The team also advised that many activities, not just language learning, can help to improve cognitive func-tion. Subhash Kaul, who also worked on the research said, “Our study sug-gests that intellectually stimulating activities pursued over time, from a young age or even starting in mid-life, can protect you from the damage brought on by a stroke.”

On average, someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds, according to the American Heart As-sociation’s 2015 Statistical Update. It is the leading cause of disability in the United States, and the leading preventable cause of disability.

The abstract to the study and a PDF of the full study can be viewed here: http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/early/2015/11/19/STROKEA-HA.115.010418.abstract

Speaking more than one language could be of benefi t to stroke victims

Monday November 23 2015 (Re-laxnews) – Researchers from the Uni-versity of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA, have developed an app designed to improve the lives of seniors residing in independent living communities. Still in the development stage, the app aims to empower seniors in the community and provide support for the nursing staff who often have many patients under their care.

There is an increasing number of tech solutions that have been developed with seniors in mind, from brain games to help improve memory to medication trackers with programmable reminders and health and fi tness wearables.

In order to make this new app differ-ent, the team behind it not only brought together games and trackers in one convenient app, but also developed the app, named eSeniorCare, to be a more interactive tool for seniors than the ex-isting app offering. Enabling seniors to manage and improve their own health, but working as more than just a track-er, seniors can input and monitor their own medical information and set their own personal health goals. Seniors can, for instance, set the goal of eating less junk food or cutting back on coffee,

and then record their progress towards reaching these goals to send on to the care team. The interface allows them to maintain social interactions with the team, but also increase autonomy.

The app also keeps a record of medication, with reminders of when medication is to be taken and tracking of medication history.

This information is also visible to the care team so they can quickly in-tervene if they see medication is being missed or taken incorrectly, but also gives the user independence to manage their own medical regime. And unlike many existing apps which just track data, eSeniorCare also enables seniors to connect with the nursing team and caretakers by sending their concerns and questions as text or voice record-ings, which in turn enables the team to monitor patients and their health concerns and reach out more easily to those who need it.

As well as its organizational fea-tures, the app also includes a variety of brain games such as crosswords and Sudoku puzzles, to help improve men-tal stimulation and cognitive health, a key factor in the development of dementia in seniors.

Can an app help seniors be more involved in their own care?


MANILA, Nov. 25 (Mabuhay) – The Philippine central bank will require lenders to submit quarterly reports on their residential loans and will publish a property price index based on the data, as regulators seek to better gauge risk in the country’s booming property sector.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a statement released Wednes-day the Residential Real Estate Price Index is the fi rst such indicator for the country and will be based on banks’ approved housing loan applications.

Under the new rules, banks will have to provide information such as the month of loan granted and booked, location of property, type of property, type of housing unit, and the number of fl oors and bedrooms.

The quarterly report must be sub-mitted no later than the 20th banking day from the end of the reference quar-ter. But the reports covering the second and third quarters of this year must be in on or before Dec. 29, the BSP said.

Policymakers have repeatedly said there are no signs of an asset bubble in the country’s rapidly expanding prop-erty market, noting that while banks’ property exposure continued to rise, their non-performing real estate loans

were declining.Strong consumption, fuelled by ris-

ing incomes from a growing outsourcing industry and steady remittance infl ows from Filipino workers overseas, was driving the property market upturn.

The Philippines is expected to re-main one of the fastest-growing econ-omies in Asia, with the government expecting a growth of 6-6.5 percent this year.

Meanwhile, the Aquino administra-tion justifi ed the government’s expense during the just concluded Asia-Pacifi c Economic Cooperation (APEC) Sum-mit.

It said even taxi drivers and hotel employees benefitted from the P10 billion spent by the government, Dep-uty Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte told state-run radio dzRB that the P10-billion APEC spendings of the government actually went to the local economy.

“Saan po ba pumupunta ‘yan? ‘Di po ba sa mga lokal na hotel, sa mga tip na naibibigay sa ating mga nag-se-service doon sa hotel, sa mga taxi, sa mga local car services, sa mga local airlines, sa mga local restaurants so lahat po ‘yan pumasok sa ating local economy,” Valte explained.

L o n d o n , U n i t e d K i n g -dom | AFP | Monday – Shops and some major British tourist attrac-tions saw a decline in visitor numbers following attacks in Paris this month, according to fi gures from consultants Springboard published on Monday.

According to the estimates, No-vember 14, the day after 130 people were killed in coordinated attacks on public spaces in Paris, Britain’s high streets saw a drop in visitors of 16.7 percent compared to the same day a year previously. The London Eye ferris wheel on the bankside of the River Thames saw 32.1 percent fewer visitors, while the National Gallery recorded a 25.3 percent drop and the British Museum was down 4.0 percent.

In some cases the downward trend was seen across several days, with the restaurant and opera district of Covent Garden in London seeing days of decline, with visitor numbers down 56.6 percent on Thursday.

“The drop in footfall recorded post

the atrocities in Paris are likely to be result from a cautiousness amongst visitors in terms of making trips to key attractions,” said Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard.

Nevertheless other factors could be at play, she added. Shops could be seeing the effect of consumers post-poning purchases until “Black Fri-day” on November 27, a day of sales in the United States that has become increasingly popular in Britain.

The Springboard fi gures are com-piled through electronic people count-ers at the destinations, and compared to the same day of the week a year previously. Bernard Donoghue of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions said the decline recorded was modest and that cancellations by French visitors played a role.

“There has been a very small decline in visitor numbers reported across some London attractions over the last week, compared to the same week last year,” Donoghue said.

NEGROS ORIENTAL, Nov. 25 (Mabuhay) -- The Philippine Insti-tute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) yesterday raised the alert level No. 1 over Mount Kanlaon in Negros Oriental following a steam explosion at the active volcano Mon-day night.

The eight-minute explosion oc-curred at 9:55 p.m. last Monday, followed by a 1 to 1.5-kilometer-high white plume above the volcano’s summit before it drifted southwest.

Phivolcs said the event was record-ed by the Kanlaon Volcano seismic network “as an explosion signal beginning at 9:30 p.m. and lasted 30 minutes.”

Rumbling sound was heard in Sitio Mananawin and Sitio Upper Pantao, Barangay Pula in Canlaon City, Ne-gros Oriental.

A week prior to the explosion, only four volcanic earthquakes had been recorded by Phivolcs. However, after

the explosion, the seismic network recorded volcanic tremor that lasted for fi ve hours.

Phivolcs said a continuous emis-sion of steam with minor ash from the summit crater was observed yesterday morning, while previously there was none.

Due to the volcano’s increased activity, Phivolcs has raised Mt. Kanlaon’s alert level status from 0 to 1, which means volcano is “at an abnormal condition and has entered a period of unrest.”

Phivolcs advised the concerned local government units and the public to avoid entering the four-ki-lometer permanent danger zone due to possible sudden and hazardous steam-driven or phreatic eruptions.

Likewise, civil aviation authorities were also advised to warn pilots from fl ying close to the volcano’s summit as “ejecta” from any sudden phreatic eruption can be hazardous to aircraft.

Mt. Kanlaon in Negros Oriental

Alert level No. 1 raised over Mt. Kanlaon; no-fl y zone declared

British shops and attractions see drop after Paris attacks

BSP to list new home price indicator

14 Visit www.Balita.com Weekend Balita, Sat.-Fri., Nov. 28 - Dec. 4, 2015 Balita

OPINIONAmid a fl urry of differing interpretations of the Consti-

tution, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero urged critics of his running mate, independent presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe, to respect the decision of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) as the judgment of a quasi-judicial body that is duly constituted and empowered by the law.

Escudero pointed out that the SET was created under Section 17, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, precisely to decide on matters such as Poe’s case, which inspire spirited debates stemming from various political and legal perspectives.

By criticizing the SET’s decision declaring Poe a natu-ral-born citizen, Escudero said their political opponents – many of whom are also lawyers – are assaulting the integrity of a constitutional body that was mandated to be the “sole judge” of all contests on the qualifi cation of senators, and which the Constitution itself deemed to be “an independent, impartial and non-partisan tribunal.”

“Bilang abogado rin, nais ko rin galangin at ipaglaban ang Saligang Batas. Nagkataon lang siguro na magkaiba kami ng pananaw at interpretasyon kaugnay ng Saligang Batas at pagiging natural-born ni Senator Grace,” he said.

Escudero reiterated that he respected the views of Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who decided to run for president supposedly because he could not accept the SET’s decision on Poe, but urged the tough-talking mayor not to belittle those who do not share his views.

“Hindi naman siguro dahilan iyon para maliitin o paratangan ako o si Senator Grace o sinuman, dahil la-mang magkaiba kami ng pananaw,” said the lawmaker, who acted as spokesperson for Poe’s father, Fernando Poe Jr. when he ran for the presidency in 2004.

Duterte had accused Escudero of “using” Poe while Escudero asked the mayor not to use Poe as an excuse to aim for the highest post of the land.

“Kung may nanggagamit, may nagpapagamit palagi. At hindi naman porke’t babae o baguhan sa pulitika si Senator Grace, mayroon dapat nasa likod niya o mayroon nagdidikta sa kanya,” Escudero said.

“Huwag naman sana ilagay siya sa ganoong posisyon. Sa maikling karanasan niya sa Senado, naipakita niya na may sarili siyang paninindigan – sariling paniniwala na tinatayuan niya mismo nang hindi inaasahan ang sino pa man,” he said.

Poe and Escudero are leading the voters’ preference surveys for president and vice-president, respectively.

Escudero said the fact that Poe had been given a birth certifi cate and passport, was legally adopted, and later allowed to run for and serve as a senator, meant only one thing: she is a Filipino and qualifi ed to be a public servant.

“Hindi po nasusukat ang pagmamahal sa bayan dahil lamang siguro sa pananaw ng isa o iilan. Nasusukat lamang iyan sa puso, sa intension, sa galaw at sa gawa bilang isang Pilipino,” he said.

Washington, United States | AFP | – President Barack Obama’s national security team believes there is “no specifi c, credible threat” to the United States from Islamic State, the White House said Tuesday, amid stepped up coalition strikes on the extremist group.

Obama convened his National Security Council to discuss the recent string of attacks by the self-proclaimed Islamic State, which claims it has created a caliphate taking in huge swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Washington and Paris have stepped up their fi ght against IS, with France launching its fi rst strikes from a newly deployed aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean and the United States calling for more international cooper-ation against the group.

Underlining heightened global fears of attacks after violent extremists killed scores in Mali, Lebanon, Nigeria and Turkey in

recent weeks, the US government issued a worldwide travel alert on Monday warning American citizens of “increased terrorist threats.”

But Obama “was briefed that there is currently no specifi c, credible threat to the homeland from ISIL,” the White House said in a statement.

“The president directed his national se-curity team to continue to intensify ongoing efforts to degrade and destroy ISIL.”

It said Obama called for increased security and intelligence cooperation with allies.

“The president emphasized that degrading and destroying ISIL will continue to require coordination and cooperation among a wide range of global partners,” the White House said.

“The United States is strongly committed to continuing to lead the shared efforts of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.”

Chiz calls on Poe’s critics to respect SET’s constitutional integrity ‘No specifi c, credible threat’

to US from IS: White House

several extensions. HAMP was a direct result of the mortgage bubble in 2007 to 2009 when everyone, includ-ing your dog, could qualify for a zero down mortgage to buy a house that would increase in value almost immediately. Since the in-vestment bankers in Wall Street concocted this plan of making the American dream of owning a house come true for anyone with a social security number, real or not, doesn’t matter, when the bubble burst and home-buyers who really were not qualifi ed for the mortgage started defaulting, the en-tire fi nancial system of the United States and the world collapsed.

The stock market lost 50% of its value and we elected our first minori-ty President to rescue us from the fi nancial chaos un-leashed by Wall Street. Our President gave us HAMP and told the banks that got bail out funds to give loan modifi cations to those who qualified under the guidelines. If your mortgage exceeded 31% of your gross income, you could qualify. But a lot of homeowners still could not qualify under this guideline. So, that guideline was eventually removed.

In the midst of this chaos, there were some fortunate benefi ciaries. By fortunate benefi ciaries of this chaos, I mean homeowners who have not paid their mort-gage for several years with-out the bank making a move to foreclose.

I’ve seen clients who have not paid their mort-

gage for two or three years and still own their house today. However, recently, banks have been starting to ramp up foreclosures. Believe it or not, I have one client who has not paid his mortgage for 9 years as of today and the bank just sent him his notice of default, the start of the foreclosure process last week. That’s 9 years of free rent worth $324,000. Not bad at all. He is way ahead in the fore-closure game. I don’t think anyone can beat his record. It’s like winning the lottery and receiving $324,000 of cash over 9 years.

Client no. 1 is 55. He has not paid his mortgage for 2 years. His mortgage arrears total $120,000. I asked him if he disputes the arrears. He said no, that’s correct. His house now has equity of $300,000. I asked him are you sure you can afford to pay the current mortgage plus $2,000 a month plan payment to cure the default of $120,000? He said yes. He wants to keep his house. Apparently, some business associates owe him some money, about $200K, which he expects to collect in a couple of months.

He decides to fi le a Chap-ter 13 to protect his house from foreclosure. It remains to be seen if he can actually produce the plan payments. But who am I to question client. If he says he can pay it, then well and good, it’s a good faith fi ling.

Client no. 2 is 63. Her default is $118,000. She owns a 4-plex. She lives in one unit and rents out

Clients with very large default on mortgage seek to save house by chapter 13

the other 3. The rent she receives is about $45K a year. She and her husband receive about $3K a month total of social security. She has not paid the mortgage for 2 years. She actually sold her house in Orange County 6 years ago and transferred her net profit to buy the 4-plex where she planned to retire with her husband. The problem, it appears is that some scofflaws in Countrywide Home Loans, created a fake trust deed and drew out $40K and left her holding the bag.

In addition, they added another $30K, which is part of her $120K default. So, she’s been working with another lawyer for the last 4 years trying the get his matter resolved without any success so far. But the cur-rent lender, the bank that purchased the notes, has set the foreclosure sale for next week. ONLY A CHAPTER 13 CAN STOP THE FORE-CLOSURE SALE. Client sees the urgent need for Chapter 13 and decides to fi le one to save her 4-plex.

“GIVE UNTO THE LORD THE GLORY DUE TO HIS NAME; WORSHIP THE LORD IN THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS.” PSALM 29:2.

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 fi ve thousand successful bank-ruptcy cases in California. He speaks Tagalog and looks forward to discussing your case with you personal-ly. Please call Angie, Barba-ra or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S Fremont Ave, MAILSTOP 58, BUILDING A-1 SUITE 1125, Alhambra, CA 91803 OR at 20274 Carrey Road, Walnut, CA 91789.

Practically ev-eryone knows that the good times of loan modification are going to end next year. Loan modifications un-der HAMP are set to expire Decem-ber 31, 2016 after


I look forward to help you: discharge debts; stop foreclosures; wage garnishments; stop harassments from collectors; stop repossessions.

Have you mortgaged your grandchildren to Mastercard and Visa? Snowed under by a mountain of debt? Worried about losing your home and car? Call me immediately today! Yes, I speak Tagalog. No, I won’t charge you for consultation. I can help you keep your home, car

BANKRUPTCYWE ARE A DEBT RELIEF AGENCY. WE REPRESENT DEBTORS IN CHAPTER 7, 13, 11 AND 12 OF THE NEW BANKRUPTCY LAW. THIS INCLUDES RELIEF FROM MORTGAGE PAYMENT DEFAULTS AND PRE-FORECLOSURE RELIEF FOR RESIDENCESAND OTHER REAL ESTATE PROPERTIES.

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A retired Comelec offi cial and a noted election lawyer gave confl icting legal views on Duterte’s eligibility to be a substitute presidential can-didate.

According to news reports, Dute-rte was compelled to join the 2016 presidential derby because he “can

not accept an “American” to become President of the Philippines.

He also expressed his disappoint-ment with the recent ruling of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) junking the disqualifi cation case fi led against Senator Grace Llamanzares.

Mayor Duterte, however said he

Duterte to run? I’m still not sureAfter months of keeping the voting

public in suspense, Davao city Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has fi nally declared that he is now ready to run for resident.

Duterte, however, is facing possible legal technicalities on his eligibility to be the substitute presidential candidate of Partido Demokratiko Pilipinas-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

will forego his presidential aspiration if the SET will reverse its decision on the disqualifi cation case or if Senator Poe Llamanzares will tell the public who her real mother is.

He said he will not only abandon his decision to run for president, but will actively campaign for Senator Llamanzares.

Senator Poe Llamanzares has been accused of not being a natural -born citizen of the Philippines. Most legal experts believed that based on the Constitution ratified in 1987, Senator Poe Llamanzares is not eligible to run for a public offi ce for renouncing her Filipino citizenship to obtain American citizenship.

As of now, the political handlers of Mayor Duterte must be ecstatic that he fi nally decided to join the presidential derby for 2016.

I wonder if Mayor Duterte will again change his mind about his presidential ambition once the Su-preme Court, as expected, will over-turn the SET decision on Senator Poe Llamanzares’ citizenship issue.

There is no iota of doubt that Mayor Duterte is a smart politician. No wonder he has been the Mayor of Davao city for so many years. No one dared to run against him. Months ago, there was an overwhelming clamor among Filipinos for Duterte to run for the presidency out of frus-tration on the mediocre performance of an Aquino presidency.

However, his constant procrasti-nation to run in the 2016 presidential election might not do him any good at this time. I think it is a bit late for him and his campaign managers to put up an effective political ma-chinery to launch his presidential aspiration. I just hope I am wrong.

All the people that used to get excited about the prospect of a Dute-rte presidency waned because of his being indecisive. As a matter of fact, some of my friends in Metro Manila were telling me that the public’s

response to Duterte’s declaration of presidential candidacy was luke-warm.

As this point in time, Duterte should not be worried about the luke-warm response of the voting public on his announced candidacy.

He should be more worried on the possible legal ramification or impediment on his eligibility to be a substitute presidential candidate of a political party.

Retired Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said Duterte is qualifi ed to run under the PDP-Laban politi-cal party since its offi cial candidate, Martin Dino, has withdrawn.

Under Comelec rules, Brillantes said the grounds in fi elding a substi-tute candidate are death, disqualifi -cation and withdrawal.

However, according to noted elec-tion lawyer Romeo Macalintal, there are legal obstacles or technicalities that Duterte has to face or hurdle once he become the presidential can-didate of PDP-Laban.

Macalintal pointed out that al-though Dino fi led his Certifi cate of Candidacy (COC) form for president, he indicated that he was running for mayor of Pasay city.

I am not a lawyer, but Macalintal is right. There is no way for Dute-rte to be a substitute candidate for president since Dino indicated in his COC that he is running as Pasay city mayor and not as president.

I don’t know how the Comelec will rule on this technicalities which I am sure Macalintal will question once Duterte fi les his candidacy as Dino’s substitute.

So if Senator Poe Llamanzares is declared not eligible to run for the presidency by the Supreme Court and Duterte disqualifi ed too due to legal technicalities, it will be a three way fight between Vice President Jojo Binay, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and former DOTC Secre-tary Mar Roxas.

A non custodial parents can no longer fi le as head of household, even if the non custodial parent is allowed to claim the children as dependents under the divorce judgment because this requires that the parent have custody of the children at least 6 months of the year. Non custodial parents also can no longer claim the earned income tax credit. However, the non custodial parent can claim the child tax credit

In the absence of a provision in the judgment which states otherwise, the parent with primary custody of the children is ordinarily entitled to claim the children as dependents for tax purposes. If a qualifying child is claimed as a dependent by both parents and the parents do not fi le a joint return, the child is normally treated as the qualifying child of the custodial parent IRC § 152©(4)(B)(i)

However, the Code allows the dependency exemption and child tax credit to be shifted to the noncustodial parent when a child receives over one-half of the child’s support during the calendar year from the child’s parents who are either (i) divorced, (ii) legally separated, (iii) separated under a written separation agreement, or (iv) living apart at all times during the last six months of the calendar year. The child must be in the custody of one or both of the child’s parents for more than one-half of the calendar year. IRC § 152(e) (1)(A) & (B)

To shift the exemption and child tax credit to the noncustodial parent, the custodial parent must release or waive his or her claim to the exemp-tion for the year by executing IRS Form 8332. IRC § 152(e) (2). The custodial parent can waive this right to claim the children as dependents and let the non custodial parent claim them by executing IRS Form 8332 and fi ling it with his or her return.

Certain Tax Court cases held that the waiver is effective even if the Form 8332 was not fi lled out in detail. In Bramante (T.C. Memo 2003-228), the custodial parent and agreed to waive her right to exemptions on Form 8332. The custodial parent real-ized that as her income increased, the value of the exemptions increased. The custodial parent discovered that her Social Security number was miss-ing on the form and that the noncus-todial parent, had dated the form in his handwriting. The tax court still upheld the waiver as effective despite the missing details from Form 8332.

In Boltinghouse, the IRS argued that missing details in the separa-tion agreement defeated the waiver (T.C. Memo 2003-134). In this case, the parties executed a separation agreement allowing the non custodial

parent to claim one of his children, but the non custodial parent did not fi le a Form 8332. As a result, the court had to decide whether the agreement conformed in substance to Form 8332. The IRS contended that the agreement was not in substance a Form 8332 because it did not refl ect the years the exemptions were to be waived and it did not provide Social Security numbers for the parents. Al-though the IRS pointed to some cases in which the Tax Court had rejected waivers that were ambiguous as to the applicable years, the Tax Court said that it was clear that this agree-ment applied to the years the parents began fi ling separate returns. As in Bramante, lack of Social Security numbers was not considered a serious defect by the Tax Court.

The custodial parent can waive the dependent exemption each year or for a number of years. The non custodial parent should fi le form 8332 with his or her tax return in order to be entitled to the exemption. To avoid any confusion and tax issues with the IRS, the parties should attempt to agree or resolve in court the issue of who will claim the dependency exemption of the children as part of the divorce judgment. Parties should seek the assistance of an experienced attorney to weed through complex family law issues.

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-specifi c legal information.

This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic dis-cussed. The specifi c facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you.

This article does create any attor-ney client relationship between you and the Law Offi ces of Kenneth U. Reyes, APLC. This article is not a solicitation.

Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certifi ed Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine Amer-ican 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 Uni-versity Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Ad-ministration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, APLC. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail [email protected] or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com

Tax consequences of divorce on non-custodian parents

Consider the common divorce scenario where the divorce judgment provides pri-mary custody of the children to one spouse while the other spouse only gets visitation. The parties begin to fi le separate tax re-turns. What are the tax consequences of the non custodial parents with regards to claiming the children in his or her return?


Jannelle So-Perkins, regarded as a Filipino-American media pioneer who created, hosted and produced America’s fi rst and only daily Filipino talk show for nine years before she took a break to start her own family, was a guest of honor at a baby shower thrown by family and friends eagerly awaiting the arrival of her fi rst child with husband Lester Perkins, VP/Creative Director of CBS company EcoMedia. The baby girl will be called “Lilly,” short for Lillianna Jade Perkins.

Unlike the traditional all-women baby showers, men were invited and even joined in on some fun games, like this race to fi nish drinking soda from baby bottles.

There was an endless supply of top of the line champagne, red and white wine from Leveson and Legion Advertising.

The rustic-themed autumn shower, titled “Falling for Lilly” was held at an event space in the arts district of downtown Los Angeles. Here are the parents-to-be with Mommy Jannelle’s family.The menu of passed hors d’oeuvres consisting of lamb chops, scallops,

caviar, salmon and other fusion dishes was created by esteemed chef Cecilia de Castro whose credits include working with Julia Child and Wolfgang Puck. She helped developed the menu for the glitzy Beverly Hills hotspot Spago. In picture is one of the hits from the afternoon - Lavander Macaron Stuffed with Foie Gras au Torchon

Guests were asked to wear white, in honor for the fl ower Lily, which will be the baby’s name.

FALLING FOR LillyFriends and family gather to usher the arrival of Lilly, the would-be-daughter of Filipino-American celebrity Jannelle So-Perkins and her husband Lester Perkins of CBS company EcoMedia. Photos by MELVIN SO


ENTERTAINMENTNanette Inventor would

never forget the date Nov. 14, 1983. It’s when she debuted on the now-defunct variety show “Penthouse Live” as Doña Leonila Evaporada Viuda de Ford a.k.a. Doña Buding, a character which established her career as a comedian of note.

However, not everybody knew she’s a singer, fi rst and foremost.

A church choir member at the tender age of seven, Nanette would later become an active member of the U.P. (University of the Philip-pines) Concert Chorus. She would join them for three world tours before graduat-ing with a degree in Foreign Service.

She didn’t dive into show-biz right after but worked for the then Department of Pub-lic Works, Transportation and Communications as personnel offi cer.

But the call of music was relent-less. She would often moonlight as back-up singer for big stars of the day including Basil Valdez, Pilita Corrales, Celeste Legaspi, Leah Na-varro, Apo Hiking Society and even Yoyoy Villame.

Her late lawyer-father didn’t like the idea though. “He wanted me to go to law but then my heart was telling me to go to music,” she said in an interview. “But he was the proudest when Doña Buding happened.”

Mind you, she was second choice to portray the well-loved TV character. She probably wouldn’t have gotten the part if Cynthia Patag, the fi rst choice, didn’t have to back out after fi guring in an accident.

“Penthouse Live” writer Jose Javi-er Reyes suggested Nanette.

“So I auditioned on a Monday, I said, ‘Is this a make or a break? It’s okay, I’ll just gonna do my best.’”

Despite her nerves, she aced the audition. Show director Fritz Yn-fante even gave a thumbs up on her performance halfway through the first paragraph of the three-page single-spaced script.

The character paved the way for more successful appearances on dif-ferent shows, particularly “Tit For Tat,” which won for her and cohort Mitch Valdes the Best Stand-Up Comedy Act award at the 1984 Aliw Awards.

While still enjoying popularity as Doña Buding, Nanette returned to her fi rst love – music. She interpreted “Salamat, Salamat Musika,” which won the grand prize at the 7th Metro Manila Popular Musical Festival.

Nowadays, Nanette is happy that there are more platforms from which talented individuals could share their gifts to the world, like social media.

“Kasi most people today are techy. So social media is a big help (to bud-ding artists hoping to make a mark). Even I, I actually feel the need to be educated on social media,” she said.

Now a well-respected veteran per-former, she advises those who want to enter showbiz not to give up too easily. She recalls continually audi-tioning for projects even after being

constantly rejected for being on the heavy side.

“I wasn’t so hurt. I would always think, ‘Ay, hindi para sa akin ’yan. Ayaw ng D’yos ’yan sa akin, meron s’yang ibibigay na mas higit pa.’ I would always have that kind of an attitude,” she said.

Citing singer Frenchie Dee, Na-nette said, “I guess acceptance will just follow. Sa atin kasi, if you have a ‘fl aw,’ ililinya ka kaagad sa comedy. So tuloy mo lang. In the end, mapa-pansin din ’yung talent mo.”

Nanette remains active in show business. She is seen weeknights as James Reid and Albie Casiño’s grandmother on “On The Wings Of Love.”

Just recently, too, Nanette per-formed in “Stages Sessions,” an acoustic concert series held at the 26th Bistro by Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

Her repertoire consisted mostly of

the classics, but she also performed several current hits namely “Pusong Bato” and “All About That Bass” but in the “Nanette Inventor way.” The series will soon make its way onto digital space via YouTube and

SoundCloud.For her next endeavor, Nanette hopes to cut an album with a big band as backup. “I’ve always wanted to do a jazz album, ’yun ta-laga ang gusto ko,” said the Funny Lady of Songs. (MNS)

The overlooked side of Nanette Inventor

Nanette Inventor




A lot of people who consult with me about their debt problems are going through the worst time of their lives. Unlike other problems in life that sometimes just go away on their own, debt problems will only get worse unless you do something about them. While dealing with debt and coming up with a solution can be challeng-ing and nerve-wracking, there are usually options available. You don’t need to remain stuck where you are if you are willing to do what it takes to change your life for the better. Don’t confuse “hard” with “impossible” Some things may be hard but they are not impossible. Sometimes you need to adjust your thinking to gain a better perspective of your situation.

Life is all about making choices. The choices we make today deter-mine our future. What will my life be like 3, 5 or 10 years for now? Will I be fi nancially secure? Will I remain in the same dead-end job or perhaps move somewhere else that makes my time more worthwhile? Will I be able to send my children to college?

Will I be able to retire comfortably and enjoy my older years?

These are questions that go through our minds all the time. Unfortunately, when you’re in debt, it’s not easy to come up with the an-swers to them. Why? Because being in debt restricts your options most of the time. When you’re in debt, you’re basically just in “survival mode” all the time- just trying to live paycheck to paycheck.

There’s no planning for the future. You barely make it from month to month. Your mind is just fi lled with money worries all the time that you can’t even enjoy your time with loved ones when you’re home. At the end of the day, you’re dead tired and just want to go to bed. The cycle repeats itself every single day.

Since both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were put in government conser-vatorship during the housing and mortgage market crashes, they are required to pay all profi ts to the U.S. Treasury department in the form of dividends. Shareholders get nothing.

But if the rates are raised higher like what is happening now, I believe they will be targeting a much higher dividend yield to be able to pay off the government loan and its share-holders. Ultimately get privatized. I strongly believe that Fannie and Freddie needs to be back to Main Street (private fi rms) less scrutiny and much more fl exibility.

What I am saying is that when rates do go up slowly it is actually good for the economy, it is good for investors and it will be overall good for everyone. Banks, fund manager, mutual accounts will have to offer you better yields for your parked monies. Although the borrowing rates will be higher it should have the trickledown effect where at the end of the day everyone benefi ts.

HOME PRICES RISING AGAINThe median price of a newly built

home soared to $271,600, the highest level on record dating back to 1963, according to a new report from the U.S. Census. Prices are now 15 per-cent higher than they were a year ago for new construction and around 10 percent higher for existing homes.

Short supply, cheap credit and ris-ing demand are pushing overall home prices higher, but land is the issue in the new-home market. Builders are in fact slowing production to take advantage of pricing power, which is only adding to the still tight supply. It is a form of rationing.

Caution, the draw back for me is that when all the inventory comes back to a normal number what will happen to home sales? Especially if rates are much higher now?

Another concern now is that home prices are rising too fast – faster than incomes and job growth. Realtors worry that, at some point, buyers will be priced out.

“These price increases are not healthy,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Asso-ciation of Realtors. “We need to moderate price growth and get more supply.”

Supplies of new and existing homes are at levels not seen since the frenzy of the last housing boom. The phenomenon is national and not just relegated to the former boom markets. April listings were down 41 percent from a year ago in Los Angeles, down 24 percent in Houston, down 27 percent in Washington, DC and down 29 percent in Minneapolis. While the stock of newly built homes on the market rose to an 18-month high, builders are still facing land and labor shortages, which will keep starts lower than they could or should be based on demand.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yel-len on Monday argued for gradual rate normalization, and called an interest rate hike “appropriate” if central bank offi cials see progress toward labor and infl ation goals.

In the end, sales will come down to buyer confi dence, affordability and mortgage rates. Even if that last one moves higher, rates are still histor-ically low and confi dence is gaining steam despite the rising prices.

I still feel optimistic about the economy and Real Estate, I think that if you can afford to pay 1/3 of your gross income towards a mort-gage payment, you should explore the idea of becoming a home owner.

Real estate market have slow down towards year end which is usually the case, so aggressive buyers can take advantage of other serious buyers taking a small break for the holidays.

Please call Ken Go of 1st Innova-tive Finance Group at 562-697-7028 or call 562-508-7048 or write to [email protected] for your further inquiries and comments.

Sounds familiar? Well, I’m telling you that things don’t have to be this way. There is a better way to live. There is a way to take control of your fi nances again so that you are not just scraping by from month to month. If your debt problems have taken over your life, something needs to change- and the sooner you take action, the sooner you will turn things around.

As a bankruptcy attorney, I un-derstand that NO ONE ever wants to fi le bankruptcy. It’s always a last resort. But if you’ve done your best on your own and your situation hasn’t changed until now, let me ask you this question: What are you going to do about it? Are you simply going to remain stuck in debt with no way out, wait until your creditors take everything you’ve worked hard for and have nothing left for yourself and family after all your long years of hard work? Is this your only plan? I know this may seem harsh but some-times, reality is harsh. And if this is your reality staring you in the face, you need to do something about it or

hate yourself later.Instead of hopelessly trying to pay

your debts and not making progress, you may be better off just fi ling bank-ruptcy now to start fresh and rebuild your credit sooner than later. If you need help in getting out of debt, I would like to help you. Please call Toll-Free 1-866-477-7772 to schedule a free consultation. We have offi ces in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Valencia and Cerritos.

(None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specifi c situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped over 5,000 cli-ents in getting out of debt. For a free attorney evaluation of your situation, please call RJB Law Offi ces at TOLL FREE 1-866-477-7772).

(None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specifi c 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 RJB Law Offi ces at TOLL FREE 1-866-477-7772).

Do you feel like you’re stuck in debt forever?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the leading indicator and director of mortgage interest rates. You and I are at their mercy to keep rates low in order for more homeowners to be able to buy or refi nance to a cheap rate.

Shares of Federal National Mort-gage Association FNMA or Fannie Mae declined marginally after it reported third-quarter 2015 net income of $2.0 billion, down 49.8% year over year. The huge earnings decline led to negative market senti-ment despite the government backed mortgage financier delivering its

15th consecutive quarterly profit.Results were adversely impacted by lower net revenue and elevated expenses, partly offset by a rise in credit related income. Further, im-provement in credit quality and a strong liquidity position continued to be the positives during the quarter.

How higher interest rates will affect your home buying power

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COMMUNITYOn Saturday, November 14, 2015,

APAICS launched its first ever Young Leaders Summit in Salt Lake City at the Utah State Capitol. The summit is geared towards college students and young professionals to promote and inspire leadership and public service.

“We are excited to launch the very fi rst APAICS Young Leaders Sum-mit, giving students the opportunity to develop their leadership skills to create positive change through pub-lic service and civic engagement in their local communities and campus groups,” said Amy Watanabe, APA-ICS Program Director.

“This is an important building block for a strong foundation for the next generation of leaders and creating the political pipeline for Asian Americans and Pacifi c Island-ers. From this group, we hope to see many of these young AAPI leaders involved in local politics, be future members of Congress and even get

to the Oval offi ce,” said Floyd Mori, APAICS CEO & President.

Over 45 participants from Univer-sity of Utah, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, Salt Lake Community College, Brigham Young University, Weber State University and the local community attended the full-day summit.

JACL NY/SC, LEAP, APAICS and APIAVote/National Tongan Society led workshops for students to explore how to to be an effective leader, network and create positive change through public service and civic engagement. State Farm hosted a workshop on fi nancial literacy and American Petroleum Institute facil-itated a dynamic role-playing simu-lation that gave students fi rst hand experience of making legislative decisions and competing pressures elected offi cials face everyday from constituent relations, fundraising to media.

The Young Leaders Summit is a

APAICS hosted a Community Reception for the local community. Kathy Ko Chin, CEO & President, APIAHF, and Judge Michael Kwan, OCA National President, gave welcome remarks to the young Utah leaders.

Los Angeles – Calling All Filipino-American Youth and Student writ-ers in California.

The Knights of Rizal-Historic Filipinotown (HFT) announced on November 15, 2015 that will hold the fi rst ever Rizal Memorial Essay Writing Contest for 2015. In California.

Knights Commander Arturo Garcia of Historic Filipinotown (HFT) announced that the Rizal Memorial Essay Writing Contest will start accepting entries from November 18 to December 18, 2015.

Rules of the Contest:The last day for submission of entries will be on 6:00 PM. December

18, 2015 (must be postmarked on that day)Those who are interested to join the contest must submit their entries

at KOR-HFT c/o People’s CORE at 1610 Beverly Blvd. Suite No. 2, Los Angeles .California, 90026.

They must submit their entries in two separate envelop and must contain 1,500 words, double spaced with their assumed name or coded number.

The theme of the contest is: IF RIZAL WAS IN HISTORIC FILIPI-NOTOWN, HOW WILL HE ENVISION THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AREA?

Another envelop must contain the following: 1) assumed name or coded number. 2) true name, address and telephone number.

This process is to maintain the impartiality of the judges. The en-tries will be safeguarded by the KOR-HFT offi cials and will be held for safekeeping.

Bro. Eric Serrano, an alumnus of the University of Santo Tomas (Pi Chapter) is the new President of Alpha Phi Omega of Greater Los Angeles (APOGLA) for Development Year 2016.

A physician from the Philippines who is now employed as a registered nurse and Director of Patient Care Services (DPCS) of a Home Health Agency, Bro. Eric will succeed Bro. Dan E. Nino, whose term will end Dec. 31, 2015. He will be sworn in with his executive offi cers on Dec. 12 at the Embassy Suites Ana-heim-South on 11767 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove, near the Disneyland Resort and coinciding with APOG-LA’s 35th foundation anniversary.

Bro. Aleks Garcia, president of Alpha Phi Omega Council of North America (ACNA) based in Dallas Fort Worth, Texas, will induct the offi cers, while APO Philippines National President, Bro. Luis Paredes, will be the guest of honor and guest speaker.

The other officers who will be sworn in are Bro. Rocky Marte (The-ta-UP Los Banos) vice president; Sis Ruth Manalastas (Pi-UST) sec-retary; Bro. Troy Agagon (Gamma Epsilon-De La Salle University) treasurer; Bro. Bong Ansula (Pi-UST) assistant treasurer; Bro. Raul David (Sigma-Adamson University) audi-tor; Bro. Rene Madella (Sigma-Ad-amson University) sergeant-at-arms and Bro. Jobee Jovellanos (Delta Nu – Philippine Air Transport & Train-ing Services College of Aeronautics) sergeant-at-arms, as well as Board members, Sis Ophel Amon and Fely Montecillo (both from Alpha – Far Eastern University).

After his election as president, Bro. Eric said, “as your next leader

and with your unfl inching support, allow me to be as a father, a friend and servant brother to all – pledging to do all I can to fulfi ll my campaign promises.”

Bro. Eric Serrano was a former Board chairman (2012 and 2014) and current Board member and service project chairman of the successful Heal The Bay Coastal Clean Up conducted at the Echo Park Lake last September. He was also a recipient of the Dr. Librado I. Ureta Award.

He pledged to work with members of the ACNA Board and its executive leaders on some of the more pressing issues besetting the Council. “I will lead by example. We will continue to perform community service as much as allowable within our annual schedule of activities. We will also engage with the City of Los Angeles in line with many of their commu-nity-oriented services; to strength-en our ties with APO-USA and APO-Philippines. We should foster better and stronger ties with them.”

APO of Southern California, the precursor of APO-GLA, was founded on Oct. 30 1980, as the fi rst APO alumni association organized out-side of the Philippines. Among its community service programs are providing manpower volunteers for the Los Angeles Marathon, Feeding America, Heal The Bay Clean Up and Operation Gratitude.

Alpha Phi Omega Collegiate Fra-ternity was founded on Dec. 16, 1925 at the Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. In the Philippines, it was established by Bro. Dr. Librado I. Ureta at the Far Eastern Univer-sity. For many of us, even beyond graduation, the over-riding spirit of the Fraternity refuses to fade.

APAICS hosts fi rst ever young leaders summit for AAPI college students, young professionals

regional event and done in collab-oration with local community, gov-ernment and student organizations. We like to thank our collaborative partners of the Salt Lake City Young Leaders Summit: Japanese Amer-ican Citizens League’s National Youth/Student Council (JACL NY/SC), LEAP and OCA National.

This program is made possible

with the support of our national and local Utah sponsors: American Petro-leum Institute, Comcast, State Farm, Southwest Airlines, Utah Offi ce of Multicultural Affairs, National JACL Credit Union and Salt Lake County.

Check out highlights from the Young Leaders Summit below! Click here to see full photo album and here for full agenda.

UST alum Bro. Eric Serrano is new president of APOGLA

FOR MORE NEWS AND INFORMATIONVISIT OUR WEBSITE

Knights of Rizal-Historic Filipintown (KOR- HFT) announces The First Rizal Memorial Essay Writing Contest 2015


Rhony Laigo, editor of Weekend Balita and US Asian Post, sings a heartrending song about love and grieving.

Arnedo Valera, le-gal counsel for NU-JP-USA, said the massacre could not have taken place without the “existing culture of impunity” in the Philippines.

To date, none of the suspects have been convicted of the crime. Interna-tional media groups, including the New York-based watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Jour-nalists (IFJ), have condemned the slow progress of the case and the continued killing of journalists in the Philippines.

Hollywood event pays tribute to slain journalistsBy Nimfa U. Rueda

LOS ANGELES – Filipino-Ameri-can media groups held a photo exhib-it and a tribute concert Sunday night (Monday in Manila) in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles to honor the memory of the 32 journalists killed in the Ampatuan massacre.

The show staged by the National Union of Journalists of the Phil-ippines (NUJP)-USA Chapter at the Celebrity Centre International marked the sixth year after the attack that claimed the lives of 58 people, 32 of them journalists, in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province.

“May we not forget the victims of the massacre and may justice prevail,” said Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim, in his remarks.

show and be the voice for the slain journalists,” said rock musician Joe Awayan, who performed with the newly formed Fil-Am Media Band.

The youth band Back2Jupiter performed an original composition, titled “Maguindanao” and dedicated the song to the children of the slain journalists.

“We’re here for them and we want to help and support them, said 13-year-old Sian Guirao, the band’s lead vocalist who competed on The Voice Kids in Spain.

Other performers included Mon Concepcion, Matthew Parry-Jones, Rhony Laigo, Bagyo & Mervin ML, Mat Relox, Andy Tecson and Malou Toler.

NUJP-US A produced the event in partnership with the Filipino American Press Club of California, F7 Photographers, Frontliners, Press Photographers of the Philippines

Los Angeles, 23 November 2015 – The Social Security System (SSS) conducted at one (1) day outreach mission at the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles on 20 No-vember 2015.

President and CEO Emilio S. De Quiros, Jr., led the SSS delegation accompanied by Senior Vice Pres-ident for International Operations Judy Frances A. See, Vice President Maria Lourdes N. Mendoza, Repre-sentative Marites Marin of SSS San Francisco and Representative Rober-to Roldan of SSS Toronto.

SSS President De Quiros informed the audience on the newly estab-lished SSS Offi ces in Toronto, Cana-da and in San Francisco, California

as part of effort to bring their services closer to overseas Filipinos in North America.

He briefed the audience on perfor-mance levels of the SSS and contin-uous improvement in its operations, services and related systems.

The SSS has migrated its service delivery platform from branch-based transactions to internet-based chan-nels in order to give their clients the flexibility of transacting with the SSS within the comfort of their own homes.

On-site services were also offered to SSS members and pensioners during the program. Foreign Repre-sentatives Marin and Roldan assist-ed and provided services.

Photo above shows SSS Representative from San Francisco Marin and SSS Toronto Representative Roberto Roldan providing services.

SSS conducts outreach mission in Los Angeles

The Fil-Am Media Band: From left, Nukie Santiago, Roy Cuchado, Ana Mendoza, Abner Galino, Christy Rosacia, Joy Macainan, Nikki Arriola, Andy Tecson and Robert Gamo.

Earlier this month, radio broad-caster Jose Bernardo was shot dead by still unidentified assailants in Quezon City. He was the fi fth jour-nalist killed in 2015 and the 169th since 1986, according to NUJP.

“Justice remains elusive,” said former broadcast journalist Thelma Aranda-Sugay, who emceed the event.

“Tonight we will keep the story alive and honor (the slain journal-ists) with songs of hope and remem-brance.”

Original Pilipino Music (OPM) icon Florante, the show’s headliner, said he joins the media groups in calling for justice for the victims and supports efforts to help the children they left behind.

“It is an honor to be a part of this

(PPP)-USA and Pen and Lens Press Club.

.


The small business entrepreneurs have been credit-ed as a factor in the gradual economic bounce back the U.S. economy. This sector never gave up in spite of the overwhelming hindrances that would make lesser mor-tals cringe given the formidable odds. Possessed with overwhelming determination, these small business

Asian-Americans Shine at ABOC 20th Awards Gala at Disney’s Grand Hotel

This bunch of innovators by sheer guts and courage waded through the tumultuous business waters to fi nd fi rm anchor in overcoming the many odds in steering their businesses into smoother sailings.

Orange County’s 34 cities have a good number of these never-say-die entrepreneurs whose creativity and rock-like resolved enabled them to ride over the uncertain waves of eco-nomic recovery. And many of these entrepreneurs became richer not only in experience but also glossed in pride that their strategies to rise above the challenges worked.

These dedicated bunch of people and business entities had their moments in sharing the limelight at the 20th edition of its Annual Recognition and Awards Gala at Disney’s Grand California Hotel last November 20 in Anaheim.

A total of eight exemplary achiev-ers were given due recognition at the annual event for their sterling accom-plishment that illustrated that doing business in Orange County pays, These corporate and small businesses had been heralded “for contributing to the economic vitality of Orange County and exerting continuous ef-fort to improve the community.”

The Asian Business Association of Orange County (ABAOC) which for this year had the event themed “Business in Excellence” has consis-tently been recognizing the valuable contributions of corporate business

and individuals in making Orange County a suitable area for business endeavors.”

ABAOC has been acknowledged by the business community for its role in fostering businesses in Orange County and counts in its membership role a host of successful business entrepreneurs.

This year’s litany of achievers included: Southern California Edi-son (Eric Fisher, Principal Manager -Corporate Eagle Award; Wells Fargo (Jimmy Mai, Vice President/District Manager. Orange County Division – Executive Eagle Award; Kathlina Lai, Manager Supplier Diversity – Person of the Year Award; Vaughn Millard Williams III, Advocate of the Year Award; Arnice Lam, Advocate of the Year Award; Brian Tom of Blind Start of America – Communi-ty Advocate of the Year Award, and Aaron Walton – Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Assemblywoman of the 5th Dis-trict of California Legislature who counts herself “as a friend and advo-cate of the Asian American commu-nity” was on hand to install in offi ce the offi cers and members of the board of directors whom she recognized in her short remarks for their “effort to make ABAOC successful”.

As Vice-Chair of the Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy, the Congresswoman has been a supporter and ally of the 25-year old association a whose legis-

lative agenda “focus on helping business-es succeed and on the creation of an envi-ronment where they can grow and thrive , so that they can contribute to a pros-perous economy”.

Installed in offi ce were: Tom Nguyen, on his second term as president, Gloria Rull, Roger Cheng, Kent Foltz , Ker-ry Ozaki (Director Emeritus). Board of Directors – Lily Otienno, Edith An-dres, Christine Tang, Marlene Gomez and Pramod Kunju.

entrepreneurs were never afraid to make critical ad-justments in their battle against the unprecedented downturn.

Asian -Americans at the Forefront: Asian-American business community’s friend and advocate, Young Kim, Assemblywoman of California’s 65th District (at the middle), obliges for this photo opportunity after installing in offi ce the 2016 offi cers and board member of the Asian-American Business Association of Orange County at Disney’s Grand California Hotel.


MOTORINGFOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif.,

– Hyundai marked a monumental milestone today, selling its 10 mil-lionth vehicle in the United States. Having started in 1986 with a single nameplate, reaching 10 million sales is a significant achievement that showcases the success of Hyundai’s continually expanding lineup.

“The United States has been a key region of focus for nearly three decades, and this landmark achieve-ment comes after years of accelerated growth and the strategic rollout of our product line,” said Derrick Hat-ami, vice president of national sales, Hyundai Motor America. “Today serves as a testament to the design, quality and value of Hyundai’s product portfolio. The American car market continues to be on the rise, with more than 17 million new car sales expected in 2015. Hyundai is well positioned for continued growth in this market, offering consumers a variety of vehicles that meet their needs.”

Hyundai entered the United States market in 1986 with the sub-compact Excel, and with very little awareness of the Hyundai brand or its products, customer response was immediate – Hyundai sold 168,882 Excels right out of the gate. With-in seven months, Hyundai sold its 100,000th Excel, helping to set an industry record for the most fi rst-year sales for an import car company.Hyundai has since demonstrat-ed its high-velocity growth by

achieving increased year-over-year sales volume for the past seven consecutive years. Hyundai has been one of the fastest-growing automobile companies in America, due to its current lineup of Ac-cent, Azera, Elantra, Equus, Gene-sis, Genesis Coupe, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Sport, Sonata,Sonata Hybrid, So-nata PHEV, Tucson and Veloster.

This diverse lineup incorporates new levels of quality, safety, perfor-mance and luxury, all while retaining Hyundai’s legacy for great value.Ten years ago, Hyundai expanded its operations to include building cars in the United States when it opened the doors of its Hyundai Motor Man-ufacturing Alabama (HMMA) plant in 2005. Through today, HMMA has built 2,660,314 vehicles, including two of Hyundai’s all-time best-selling models: Sonata, which comprises 64 percent of total production at HMMA, and Elantra with 23 percent.“This special milestone of hitting 10 million sales in the United States exemplifies that Hyundai is part of the American fabric,” said Dave Zuchowski, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor America. “Our plant in Alabama provides jobs to nearly 3,000 Alabama residents and contrib-utes approximately $4 billion to the state’s economy each year.

Also, about 56 percent of the cars Hyundai sells in the Unit-e d S t a t e s a r e m a d e h e r e . ”Hyundai shocked the automotive industry in 1998 when it introduced

its warranty program, which is known today asHyundai Assur-ance or America’s Best Warranty. All Hyundai vehicles sold in the United States are covered by theHyundai Assurance program, which includes the 5-year/60,000 mile fully trans-ferable bumper-to-bumper warranty, Hyundai’s 10-year/100,000 mile pow-ertrain warranty and fi ve years of complimentary Roadside Assistance. Hyundai also challenged the industry in 2011 with the introduction of Blue Link, the telematics platform exclu-sive to Hyundai models.

Meanwhile, the Hyundai Tuc-son and Veloster received 2015 Motorist Choice Awards from es-teemed automotive industry research fi rms AutoPacifi c and IntelliChoice. The Tucson and Velosterwere rec-ognized as best in their class among 66,000 new vehicle buyers for deliv-ering the compelling and sought-af-ter combination of high consumer satisfaction and lower-than-expected ownership costs over time.

“The Motorist Choice Awards are

signifi cant because the vehicles are rated by new car buyers on 50 key attributes,” said Mike O’Brien, vice president of corporate and product planning, Hyundai Motor America. “This accomplishment demonstrates that Hyundai meets the needs and expectations of compact crossover and sporty car shoppers.”

The Motorist Choice Award com-bines complementary analyses from AutoPacifi c’s new vehicle satisfaction survey with IntelliChoice.com’s pro-prietary cost-of-ownership data. The fi rms then use this consumer data to determine winners in each of 23 vehicle segments. The methodology provides a superior means of eval-uating best-in-class vehicles that align consumer shopping patterns with probability for both satisfaction and value.

The 2015 Tucson comes standard with premium features such as 17-inch alloy wheels, projector head-lights with LED headlight accents and a remote keyless entry system with alarm. In addition, Tucson of-fers a generous amount of standard safety equipment, including ad-vanced front, front-side impact and side-curtain airbags with rollover sensors, four-wheel disc brakes and ABS with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist. The all-new 2016 Tucson improves on an award-winning formula, and is expected to delight consumers on satisfaction and low ownership costs even more.

The Veloster lineup offers con-venience, safety and performance for 2015, with continuing appeal for the popular sporty coupe. Both Ve-loster and Veloster Turbo models feature cutting-edge powertrain technologies like direct injection, op-timizing their appeal to youthful cus-tomers by combining excellent fuel economy, spirited performance and low emissions without compromise.

AutoPacifi c is a future-oriented automotive marketing and prod-uct-consulting firm. Every year AutoPacifi c publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies on the automo-tive industry. The fi rm also conducts extensive proprietary research and consulting for auto manufacturers, distributors, marketers and suppliers worldwide. Company headquarters and its state-of-the-art automotive research facility are in Tustin, Cali-fornia, with an affi liate offi ce in the Detroit area. Since 1986, AutoPacifi c has provided innovative, methodolog-ically sound, strongly implemented research, in addition to expert auto-motive analysis.

Whether you prefer Sonata or oth-er Hyundai vehicle, Hyundai is one of America’s sought-after car brands.

And if you would like to check out why Hyundai is among the best selling cars, call our kababayans Jun Milan or

Jay Trinidad, Filipino Sales & Leasing professionals at Win Hyun-dai of Carson at 1-888-718-7473. Better yet, drive down to Win Hyun-dai and feel the luxury of Sonata fi rst-hand. Win Hyundai is conve-niently located at 3462 N Peck Road, El Monte, CA 91731 in San Gabriel Valley and at 2201 East 223rd St. in Carson, CA 90810.

Win Hyundai helps brand achieve 10-M sales in USMilestone marks automaker’s continued investment in US market and economy


The 2016 Toyota Prius c may be the smallest of the brand’s eight hybrid models, but the new-for-2016 Toyota Safety Sense-C system gives it a big advantage over other small cars. And no other car in the compact segment can touch its remarkable 53-MPG EPA-estimated city fuel econ-omy, making Prius c big on eco and fun. A new Persona Series Special Edition combines eye-grabbing color combos and other upgrades.

Toyota gave the Prius c a major styling and interior upgrade for 2015, and so the big news for 2016 is the available Toyota Safety Sense C (TSS-C), which equips the car with an array of driver-assist technol-ogies: Pre-Collision System, Lane Departure Assist, and Automatic High Beams.

Toyota is giving the Prius c an infusion of playfulness for 2016, too, with the Persona Series Special Edition. This distinctive model goes on sale in December and is limited to just 1,500 units. The Persona Series Special Edition comes exclusively in Black, with a choice of two unique color accents that amp up the fun: Electric Lime and Cherry Pearl. The contrast color accents can be found on the lower front grille trim, beneath the headlights and on trim beneath the side windows.

The accents also cover the outside power mirrors and interior rear-view mirror shell. You may have seen such paint schemes on customized exotics driven by pro ballplayers, but the effect costs far less on a 2016 Prius c Special Edition, which also includes 15-inch black alloy wheels and a cus-tom “Persona Series” badge.

The Prius c is offered in four num-bered grades, and the Special Edition

cu. ft. passenger volume plus 17.1 cu. ft. cargo volume). The 35-inch rear legroom rivals some larger compacts.

Prius c Hybrid TechnologyIn adapting Toyota’s hybrid tech-

nology to the Prius c platform, each of the system’s major components ben-efi tted from a design focus to reduce weight, and size while improving effi ciency. Toyota’s hybrid technol-ogy integrates a gasoline engine, an electric motor within a Continuously Variable Transaxle, a nickel-metal hydride battery, a power control unit (inverter), a DC-DC converter, a step-up converter and a hybrid control computer. The hybrid control computer governs the seamless appli-cation of gasoline engine and electric power depending on driving demands and selected drive mode.

The Prius c’s SULEV (Tier 2 Bin 3)-rated 1.5-liter inline four-cylinder gasoline engine utilizes an Atkinson cycle to increase effi ciency. The en-gine produces 73 horsepower and 82 lb.-ft. of torque, contributing to a total hybrid system output of 99 hp. Prius c offers three distinct drive modes: Normal, ECO, and EV Mode. ECO reduces overall energy consumption by governing climate control and throttle operation to improve vehicle effi ciency. Under certain conditions EV Mode allows the Prius c to be driven solely by electric power for under one mile while remaining be-low 25 mph.

For more information on the various Toyota vehicle choices, visit Wondries Toyota at: 1543 W. Main St., Alhambra, CA. 91801 or call: 626/414-2528 (Paul); 626/524-0579 (Quang) or 818/653-4410 (Alex). Visit their website at: www.wondriestoy-ota.

2016 Toyota Prius c goes small on fuel consumption, big on safety and bold on color

From left Quang Huynh, Alex Almavez and Paul Luong of Wondries Toyota. Visit them today

is built on the Two. That means it’s equipped with extras including fab-ric-trimmed two-tone seats; 6-way adjustable driver’s seat; 60/40 split fold-down rear seats; cruise control, a cargo area cover and engine im-mobilizer.

Toyota remains the world’s hybrid leader in terms of both models offered and total sales.

Since the fi rst generation Prius in 1997 (2000 in the United States), about four million Prius vehicles have been sold worldwide. Prius re-mains the world’s premier eco-vehicle brand, and has also been instrumen-tal in establishing consumer trust in hybrid technology. (You’re welcome, competitors.)

c Stands for “City,” but “Clever” Works, Too

Urban dwellers like the packag-ing of the Prius c, which at 157.3 inches long must be one of the eas-iest-to-park cars on the market. So it’s no wonder that c stands for city. And what could be more appropriate

than bright lights in the big city? The Prius c shines the way with standard single LED projector low- and high-beam headlights and LED tail and brake lights.

Colors like Electric Lime Metal-lic, Sun Fusion, Tangerine Splash Pearl and Sparkling Sea Metallic sound tasty enough to drink, and they ensure a glowing appearance in daylight, too.

The Prius c’s clever design strate-gically locates key drivetrain compo-nents to maximize cabin space. The compact gasoline engine, transaxle and power-control unit are optimally placed within the vehicle to help en-hance weight distribution and lower the center of gravity. The hybrid battery and fuel tank are positioned beneath the rear seat, ideally dis-tributing their masses within the car’s wheelbase to improve weight distribution and, therefore, handling agility.

As a result, the Prius c offers 104 cu. ft. of total interior volume (87.4


TORRANCE, Calif. (November 3, 2015) – Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today reported October 2015 sales of 204,045 units, an in-crease of 13 percent on a volume

basis. With one more selling day in October 2015 than in October 2014, sales were up 9.0 percent on a daily selling rate (DSR) basis.

Toyota Division posted October 2015 sales of 177,609 units, up 13 percent on a volume and 8.9 percent on a DSR basis.

“October was a huge month for the industry, smashing expectations and continuing its hot streak,” said Bill Fay, group vice president and gener-al manager for the Toyota Division. “Toyota Division posted best-ever sales for the month led by October record-breaking sales of Highlander and RAV4.”

Lexus reported October 2015 sales of 26,436 units, up 13.2 percent from October 2014 on a volume basis and 9.1 percent on a DSR basis.

“We continue to see strong sales for our luxury utility vehicles as evident by a solid month posted by NX and GX. The LS fl agship luxury

Toyota exceeds expectations by topping 200,000 sales in October

The Filipino Department of DCH Toyota of Torrance

sedan and RC F coupe also posted gains

that helped pro-pel us to a best-ev-er October,” said J e f f B r a c k e n , group vice presi-dent and general manager, Lexus Division. “We are most excited about the arrival of the all-new RX as it hits showrooms today. We expect this new model to continue energizing the brand as we close the year.”

October 2015 Highlights:Corolla posted sales of 27,951

units, up 12 percent; Camry October up nearly 5 percent; Prius up 12.5 percent; Highlander up 10 percent, a best-ever October; 4Runner up over 36 percent; RAV4 up 31.3 percent, a best-ever October; Sequoia posted sales of 1,303 units, up 43 percent But as far as Loyd is concerned, any Toyota vehicle remains the best and

I recommend to all the readers of Weekend Balita to have and drive a Toyota because it’s a great car or truck. Weekend Balita and US Asian Post readers should get their next car

from us because we have the Number 1 Toyota Store in Southern California and we have more offers that can save a lots of dollars.”

DCH Toyota of Torrance is located at 2909 Pacifi c Coast Hwy Torrance, CA 90505.

You can reach Loyd Aler or his

fellow kababayan, Sales & Leasing Consultant Phillip Rivera at 1-888-311.0102.

Meanwhile, the world’s largest carmaker believes that AI will not only be a crucial component of future mobility but will also revolutionize everything from product develop-ment to manufacturing and safety. So much so that on Friday it announced it is investing over $1 billion over the next fi ve years in a new R&D company – Toyota Research Institute – which will offi cially open in Silicon Valley in January under the leader-ship of Dr. Gill Pratt, a luminary in the fi eld.

Elon Musk, the charismatic head of electric car company Tesla has de-scribed Artifi cial Intelligence as “our greatest existential threat” especially if it is free to develop and evolve with-out oversight. However, Akio Toyoda, head of Toyota, believes that when combined with big data, it has the possibility to be truly revolutionary.

“At Toyota, we don’t pursue in-novation simply because we can,” said Toyoda at a press conference in Tokyo, “We pursue it because we should. It is our responsibility to make life better for our customers, and society as a whole.”

As for potential concerns about a Terminator-like future nightmare scenario, Toyoda and Dr. Gill Pratt were equally fi rm on stressing the importance of control and collabo-ration rather than simply trying to stay ahead of potential competitors.

“Gill told me that AI can reduce traffi c accidents, but it cannot com-pletely eliminate them without hu-man input, and it is essential that people and machines collaborate to create a truly safe and secure mobile society,” Toyoda continued. “This col-laboration is important also outside the mobility fi eld. AI has signifi cant potential to further improve all of society.”

Therefore, when the new company begins operations, it will have strong ties with both Stanford University and MIT and according to Dr. Pratt will be focused on bridging “the gap between fundamental research and product development of life-saving and life-improving technologies.”

The projects it undertakes will target one of three long-term goals -- safety; accessibility; and robotics. Many leading minds -- those at Goo-gle in particular -- believe that AI will be key to truly autonomous vehicles that can avoid collisions regardless of a driver’s actions.

However, Toyota wants to explore how the technology can help people in remote areas or with illnesses and disabilities improve their mobility. As for robotics: “Our goal is to im-prove the quality of life for all people, and in particular to allow seniors the dignity of aging in place, in their own familiar homes, regardless of age or infi rmity,” said Dr. Pratt.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Nissan Versa Note has been named by the editors at Kelley Blue Book to its annual KBB.com “10 Best Back to School Cars of 2015” list.

It is the latest honor for Nissan’s popular entry-level hatchback from KBB.com, which has also included Versa Note on its “10 Tech-Savviest Cars Under $20,000” (2015) and “10 Coolest Cars Under $18,000” (2014) lists. The vehicles selected for this year’s “Back-to-School” recommen-dation had to be available for around $20,000 or less and meet the editors’ criteria of being “practical, function-al, safe and affordable” – as well as “something fun and stylish.”

The 2015 Versa Note has a start-ing Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail

Manuel Lava of Nissan Mission Hills. Call now toll-free 888-588-7635.

Nissan Versa Note, the best car of the youth

Price* (M.S.R.P.) of $14,180 USD, making it the lowest priced vehicle on the list. “We are honored that Kelley Blue Book has recognized the Versa Note as one of its Best Back-to-School Cars of 2015,” said Fred Diaz, senior vice president, Sales & Marketing and Operations, U.S.A., Nissan North America, Inc.

“Versa Note has a great combina-tion of an affordable starting price, excellent fuel economy and long list of available safety and security fea-tures, combined with a sporty style and one of the roomiest interiors in the segment.”

The five-passenger Versa Note cabin provides a spacious total inte-rior volume of 112.9 cubic feet and ample cargo space of 18.8 cubic feet. A low cargo area liftover height pro-vides easy loading and unloading of heavy or bulky objects.

The interior also offers front head-room of 40.8 inches and rear legroom of 38.3 inches. Interior versatility is further enhanced with the standard 60/40-split fold-down rear seat, large fl at cargo area and an available Divi-deN-Hide Adjustable Floor.

The 2015 Versa Note is offered in fi ve well-equipped models: S, S Plus, SV, SR and SL. Each is powered by a 1.6-liter DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder. Versa Note S features a 5-speed man-ual transmission. The S Plus, SV, SR and SL models are equipped with a next-generation Nissan Xtronic transmission, helping them achieve 40 miles per gallon highway fuel economy.

Also offered are NissanConnectSM with Navigation and Mobile Apps, HandsFree Text Messaging Assis-tant, RearView Monitor, Bluetooth Streaming Audio and class-exclusive Around View Monitor, which provide a virtual 360° view of objects around the vehicle, with selectable split-screen close-ups of the front, rear and curb views, helping students maneuver the Versa Note into tight spots around campus or anywhere else they go.

If you have been desiring to own a new Nissan vehicle, come down to Nissan Mission Hills and check out our kababayan Manuel Lava of Nis-san Mission Hills. Call now toll-free 888-588-7635. For more information on Nissan of Mission Hills call or visit www.nissanofmissionhills.com.

2015 Nissan Versa Note: The companion vehicle to the popular Versa sedan, Versa Note, celebrates the unique qualities of its 5-door hatchback design. It shares its advanced plat-form and drivetrain with the Versa sedan, yet Versa Note has its own distinctive look and feel inside and out.



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PRAYER to the BLESSED VIRGIN(Never known to fail)

Heaven.Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh Star of the Sea. Help me and show me here you are my Mother. Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity. (make request). There are none that can withstand your power. Oh Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands (3 times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days and then you must publish and it will be granted to you. Grateful Thanks.- CARMEN

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Weekend Balita November 28, 2015