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MANILA, Sept 18 (Mabuhay) – Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday in-sisted that there is no corruption in Makati projects, including the alleged overpriced Makati parking building, and said those who testified in the Senate hearing have been rejected by Makati residents many times as unfit to be public servants.

Binay said the same allegations of cor-ruption have been resurrected throughout his political life.

Binay pointed out that the Makati City Hall Bldg 2 project underwent 10 audits by Commission on Audit over a period of five years, and there has not been an instance of alarm issued by COA.

He cited several government-construc-tion projects, and quoted what he termed

were comparable or lower figures.Binay asserted that the overpricing ac-

cusations attributed to former vice-mayor Ernesto Mercado cannot hold water be-cause there was not a single credible docu-ment to back up the verbal claims.

“Walang ipinakitang ebidensiya. Hindi ito tatayo sa hukuman. Ipinakita lang ito sa mala-circus na pagdinig ng Senado,” he said.

Reiterating that all transactions during his term as mayor were above board, he said the allegations against him were old issues being rehashed time and again.

The Vice-President slammed some senators for taking the word of a former of-ficial who himself admitted that he gained

See BINAY INSISTS, page 12

Vice President Jejomar Binay hits back at his accusers during a televised press conference at the PICC in Pasay City on Thursday, September 18. Binay denied receiving kickbacks from the construction of the Makati City Hall Building II and from other projects in the city during his term as mayor. (MNS photo)

MANILA, Sept 18 (Mabuhay) – While Filipinos are free to speak up about issues, it should not result in violence, Malacañang said, a day after Budget Secretary Floren-cio Abad was mobbed by angry students.

“Every citizen is free to express his opinion on any matter. However, it is dif-ferent when an opinion is expressed with a view to violence or threats. The latter should have no place in our society,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

She was reacting to the protest at the

University of the Philippines (UP) in Dili-man where Abad, who spoke at a forum, was pelted with crumpled paper.

“Thankfully, most of the students who actually participated in the dialogue took time to listen to Secretary Abad,” Valte added.

Militant youth group Anakbayan said it was protesting against Abad for his defense of the Disbursement Acceleration Program, which has been dubbed as presidential pork and declared partly unconstitutional by the

Residents hold onto a rope as they wade through a fl ooded area during Tropical storm Fung-Wong in Pasay City, Metro Manila September 19, 2014. Tropical storm Fung-Wong dumped heavy rain on the Philippine capital on Friday, fl ooding many parts of the city, shutting schools, government offi ces and fi nancial markets. (MNS photo)

SINGAPORE, September 17, 2014 (AFP) – Asia’s billionaires led by Chinese tycoons enjoyed the fastest increase in their wealth this year compared to their peers in the rest of the world, a report said Wednesday.

The combined wealth of Asia’s bil-lionaires grew 18.7 percent from last year to $1.41 trillion, said the report by Wealth-X, a research firm specializing in ultra-high net worth individuals, and Swiss bank UBS.

Asia added 52 new US-dollar billion-aires so far this year, bringing the region’s total to 560, with China accounting for 33, or 63.5 percent, of the new entrants to the exclusive club.

Although Asia was in third place behind Europe and North America in terms of the total number of billionaires, those from Asia recorded the fastest growth in wealth of any region in the world.

Asia accounted for 30 percent of the net increase in global billionaire wealth in 2014, the report said.

It said the number of billionaires world-wide rose 7.0 percent from the previous year to a record 2,325 -- an increase of 155.

Their combined wealth reached $7.3

Binay insists no corruption in Makati projects

Palace frowns upon ‘violent’ UP protest vs Abad

Asia’s billionaires see fastest wealth growth: report

See PALACE FROWNS, page 12

See BILLIONAIRES, page 12

See ‘MARIO’ FLOODS, page 12

By Karl MalakunasMANILA, September 19, 2014 (AFP)

– Tens of thousands of people fled roof-high floods and one girl drowned in the Philippine capital on Friday as another vicious storm swept across the disaster-plagued country.

Rescue workers in trucks and rubber dinghies plucked residents from the tops of flooded homes, after one of Manila’s major rivers burst its banks, swamping heavily populated eastern districts.

“We’ll stay awake for as long as we can. When the water gets here we have to run again,” Mylene Reyes, 49, told AFP as she huddled on the damp floor of a gym crammed with 850 other evacuees in one of the worst-hit areas.

Reyes said she, her son and grandson fled their shanty a few blocks away before dawn. A short while later it was swallowed up by a nearby creek.

Street vendor Erma Jacob, 59, and her family sought refuge at a nearby school in

the morning, leaving their stove, television set and electric fan on the roof of their flooded home without having anything to cover them.

“This is depressing, but we’re used to it,” said the woman, who said it was the third time the house was hit by floods since 2009.

An average of 20 typhoons or major storms hit the Philippines each year, killing hundreds and bringing misery to millions.

Super Typhoon Haiyan, bringing the strongest winds ever recorded on land, left 7,300 people dead or missing across the central Philippines in November last year.

The latest foul weather began pounding Manila, a megacity of more than 12 mil-lion people, on Thursday night as tropical storm Fung-Wong approached the main Philippine island of Luzon.

Fung-Wong’s winds were relatively light, its peak winds slowing to 75 kilo-meters (47 miles) an hour at sea at 4:00pm (0800 GMT), four hours after it brushed

‘Mario’ fl oods paralyze Metro Manila

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LEGAZPI, September 17, 2014 (AFP) – Lava cascaded down the Philippines’ most active volcano on Wednesday as authorities rushed to evacuate thousands ahead of a possible deadly eruption.

Mostly women, children and the elderly carrying bags of clothes were hauled out of farming villages near Mayon volcano’s slopes on board army trucks and minibuses.

Soldiers went from house to house ask-ing residents to evacuate, after authorities on Monday raised the third highest alert in a five-step scale, meaning a full-scale eruption is possible “within weeks”.

Before dawn Wednesday, Mayon’s crater glowed red as molten rocks flowed as far as halfway down its slopes.

The volcano’s world-renowned perfect cone appeared to have been deformed, swollen with lava that had risen from the Earth’s core.

At least 8,000 of the target 50,000 people had been moved to temporary shel-ters, with the operation expected to run for

three days, regional civil defense director Bernardo Alejandro told AFP.

However he said the evacuation opera-tion was sapping precious disaster-relief funds and manpower in Albay province, which is regularly battered by typhoons at this time of year.

“The province can sustain them (in evacuation centers) for not more than a month... we cannot exhaust all our disaster funds on Mayon,” Alejandro said.

The deadliest and most powerful of the roughly 20 typhoons that batter the Philip-pines every year happen towards the end of the year, bringing floods, landslides and storm surges to eastern provinces such as Albay that face the Pacific Ocean.

State volcanology agency director Renato Solidum said more magma was moving up the crater each day, although for the time being the alert level would remain at three. Level five means an eruption is occurring.

The 2,640-metre (8,070-foot) Mayon,

Mayon Volcano on September 23, 1984: Pyroclastic fl ows descend the south-eastern fl ank of Mayon Volcano, Philippines. Then, the maximum height of the eruption column was 15 km above sea level, and volcanic ash fell within about 50 km toward the west. There were no casualties from the 1984 eruption because more than 73,000 people evacuated the danger zones as recommended by scientists of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. (Mayon VolcanoPublic Domain C.G. Newhall, Wikipedia)

Rushed evacuations as Mayon spews lava

located about 330 kilometers (200 miles) southwest of Manila, is a draw for local and foreign tourists but an enduring danger for anyone getting too close.

Four foreign tourists and their local tour guide were killed when Mayon last erupted, in May 2013.

In December 2006, 1,000 people died as a strong typhoon hit near Mayon, unleash-ing an avalanche of volcanic mud from an eruption four months earlier.

In 1814, more than 1,200 people were killed when lava flows buried the town of Cagsawa.

MANILA, Sept 18 (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Thursday assured Chinese tourists that it was safe to visit the Philip-pines, a day after a state-run newspaper in China accused Filipinos of “targeting” Chinese citizens.

“We would continue to convey our assurances that we maximize our efforts in protecting our friends who are visit-ing,” deputy presidential spokesperson Undersecretary Abigail Valte said at a press briefing.

She also downplayed the supposed “se-rial attacks on Chinese citizens,” saying

“unfortunate incidents” happen to tourists all over the world.

“Hindi lang naman po sa Pilipinas nagkakaroon ng ganitong hindi magan-dang insidente sa mga turista,” Valte said.

On Tuesday, Global Times, Chinese state-owned tabloid, published an edito-rial called the Philippines a “quasi-rogue state” for its supposedly “deteriorating security situation.”

The publication also demanded a public apology from President Benigno Aquino III for the crimes that supposedly targeted Chinese citizens.

Presidential spokesman Secretary Edwin Lacierda earlier told the Chinese newspaper to refrain from putting “po-litical color” to crimes in the Philippines.

China and the Philippines are cur-rently engaged in a territorial dispute over resource-rich parts of the South China Sea, which Manila calls the “West Philippine Sea.”

Crimes being probedValte further said that police officials

were adequately investigating crimes in the Philippines involving Chinese citizens.

“The unfortunate incidents are being given the attention when it comes to investigation and the appropriate police and law enforcement efforts,” the Palace official said.

She added that the government, through the Department of Tourism, would take steps to further encourage Chinese tourists to visit the Philippines.

“Considering that our friends from China are the fourth largest visitors to our country, we are hoping to make some steps to avert any impact on [our tourism industry],” Valte said.

Palace to Sino tourists: It’s not only fun in PHL, also safe


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MANILA, Sept 18 (Mabuhay) – Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima will be the first to undergo lifestyle check to be conducted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

BIR Commissioner Kim Henares said she and Roxas met last Tuesday regarding the procedure in subjecting police personnel under lifestyle check.

She said Roxas has volunteered to be the first one to have his assets scrutinized by the bureau.

“Tinanong niya kung pwede mag-volunteer. Sabi ko, ‘Pwede naman ho.’ So mukhang ganun na nga ang mangyayari. Kasi gusto niya daw by example, para hindi naman sabihin nung iba na, ‘Bakit ikaw, hindi mo ginawa yung lifestyle check sa sarili mo?’,” Henares said.

Henares said that after Roxas, the lifestyle check will be conducted on the highest ranking PNP officials, starting with Purisima. She, however, clarified that not all the 150,000 PNP members will be subjected to the lifestyle check as earlier reported by some media outfits.

Prioritization“Hindi naman lahat. Syempre wala naman tayong resources para isailalim

lahat. Magkakaroon tayo ng prioritization,” she said.“Ang pagkaintindi ko ho sa usapan ay gagawin nilang systematic. More on

yung pinakamatataas na opisyal muna pababa hanggang a certain level. Tapos yung sa mga mabababa ay random lang o kaya kung may reklamo,” she added.

Henares said the lifestyle check will be a joint effort of the Department of Interior and Local Government, National Police Commission (Napolcom), Office of the Ombudsman and the BIR.

Roxas on Wednesday ordered the lifestyle check of PNP officials following reports on the alleged involvement of several police officers in illegal activities.

Roxas, Purisima fi rst to undergo lifestyle check


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MANILA, Sept 17 (Mabuhay) – The Commission of Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday urged lawmakers to pass a law allowing Filipino voters abroad to cast their ballots online in order to encour-age them to participate in the 2016 local and national elections.

Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said the poll body will need Congress’ approval to implement an online voting system since Republic Act No. 10590 or the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2013 only allows Filipino voters abroad to cast their votes either through mail or at the Philippine embassy or consulate.

“We’re proposing [voting through] e-mail or the Internet… but this will require the approval of Congress. The system now is you have to go to the consulate or the embassy kaya kakakunti ang bumo-boto,” he said.

Comelec is also studying the possibil-ity of coming up with a resolution allow-ing online voting for overseas Filipino workers but Brillantes said he is worried this might be questioned.

OFWs may be able to vote online or via e-mail in the May 2016 polls if Congress passes a law allowing voting via the Internet by the middle of 2015,

Brillantes said.In particular, Comelec is eyeing the

implementation of online voting in key areas abroad with a large Filipino popu-lation such as Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East.

“Our information campaign is not the problem. Our problem is not increasing the number of registered voters but in-creasing [the number] of those who will vote, kasi kung umabot sa 2 million [ang nag-register] tapos 200,000 lang ang boboto, bababa na naman ang percent-age,” he said.

Based on government records, there are 737,759 registered overseas voters worldwide, excluding the 238,557 vot-ers who were supposed to be delisted for failing to vote during the 2007 and 2010 elections. They were eventually reinstated by the poll body.

Latest data from the Department of Foreign Affairs show there are 102,817 new overseas Filipino workers who have registered for the 2016 polls. Of these, 43 percent or 44,693 are from the Middle East and Africa.

The DFA and the Comelec earlier said they want to double the number of overseas voters for the 2016 polls. (MNS)

Sixto Brillantes (standing), chat with Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello as they wait for their respective agencies’ turn at the plenary budget deliberations on Wednesday (Sept. 17, 2014) at the House of Representatives in Quezon City. (MNS photo)

Congress pressed for law on online voting for overseas Pinoys

MANILA, Sept 17 (Mabuhay) – Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice is not dropping his plans to have allies push for amendments to the Constitution to give way to a second term for President Benigno Aquino III. Erice said he did not promise to close his doors on this action plan, but rather to only “set it aside” and revive in the near future.

He said he will push anew political amendments once Congress resumes in October after a three-week break.

“We should already be debating about this before the end of the year, and then the plebiscite may be held during the first quarter of next year,”

he said.He feels that Aquino’s statements on

a term extension have been consistent. “That the reforms he introduced must continue after 2016,” he said.

“His message last Friday was very clear. He set aside those who were not with his reforms. Some can’t pretend they are for reforms, but won’t translate this to actions,” he said.

Vice President Jejomar Binay was not present during an event in Malaca-ñang last Friday, which was attended by Aquino’s allies.

Binay’s camp said the vice president was not invited.

Erice won’t drop bid for political Cha-cha

MANILA, Sept 18 (Mabuhay) – The Com-mission on Elections said Thursday there was post-election tampering or manipulation of votes for defeated 2013 senatorial candidate Eddie Villanueva in a precinct in Nueva Ecija.

Reporting the result of the review it con-ducted between the physical and decrypted ballots in cluster precinct 19 in Barangay Concepcion in Gapan town, where there was alleged discrepancy in the votes for Villanueva, Comelec chief Sixto Brillantes Jr. said the physical ballots were touched after the elec-tions and the oval for Villanueva was shaded.

“In the paper ballot, there is a shade in the

Villanueva oval but in the decrypted image there is no shade. Our conclusion is that this was a case of post election tampering,” Bril-lantes told the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Automated Election System.

The decrypted image is a scanned picture of the ballot when the voter puts it in the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine during election day.

“At the time of election there, was no shade but when the ballot was opened (during a re-count conducted by the Regional Trial Court in Nueva Ecija), there was already a shade in the Villanueva [oval],” Brillantes said.

Comelec: Votes for Eddie Villanueva in Nueva Ecija precinct tampered

The Asian Pacific Women’s Center is offering a Free Volunteer Interpreter Train-ing on Oct. 10, Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center located at 244 S. San Pedro St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.

The free lunch training will help Asian and Pacific Islander families in the fol-lowing:

• Interpreting by phone from your home• Interpreting in-person at our shelters or community center• Translating materials at home via email• Reaching out to API communities at events or though ethnic media• Preventing violence through healthy relationship educationIf you want to take advantage of this free volunteer interpreting training you are

urged to contact Verena Kwan at 213-2502977 or send her an email at [email protected].

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Women’s group offers free volunteer interpreter training Oct. 10


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MANILA, Sept 18 (Mabuhay) – Sena-tor Miriam Defensor Santiago admitted Thursday that she received funds for her projects but clarified that she was not informed that it was sourced from the Dis-bursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

In a press statement, Santiago said she was even surprised upon seeing her name on the list of legislators who received DAP allocations.

“In my case, a few months ago, I even requested from the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) a list of any DAP releases to me. It took them some time to give me the list. And when I received it, even I was surprised, because when my Office reportedly received the funds, they were not identified as DAP funds,”

she said.Santiago maintained that she did not ask

for any DAP releases made to her.“They must have been received in due

course by my Office, from the Senate sec-retariat. If so, I would have assigned the funds to my usual PDAF projects – such as the UP system throughout the country, PGH, other hospitals, or local government units – but certainly not to NGOs,” she said. She added that the usual practice was for the Senate secretariat to inform a senator that a certain sum of money was available for use in favor of projects for their constituents.

She said since the notice came from the secretariat, she simply relied on the presumption of regularity in the discharge

of official functions. “I did not inquire whether the funds

were PDAF or DAP. All disbursements that I made were properly reported as required by law,” she said.

Futher, Santiago said that if the inclu-sion of her name is necessitated by a listing of all DAP releases, “then I understand that there is no malice. But if my name alone is given prominence, then I will interpret this news as an attempt to cow me, because I authored the resolution calling for Ques-tion Hour with the secretary of Budget and Management.”

She said the scandal about DAP in-volves members of Congress who gave DAP to NGOs, which are either non-existent or corrupt.

MANILA, Sept 18 (Mabuhay) – Sena-tor Ramon Bong Revilla Jr.’s lead coun-sel on Thursday said pork barrel scam whistleblower Merlina Suñas has helped the defense more than the prosecution with her testimony.

“Nakatulong siya sa amin kasi kinon-firm niya na di niya binigay kay Sen. Re-villa yung pera, kung di sa pamamagitan lang daw ni Attorney Cambe,” lawyer Joel Bodegon told reporters after the morning session of Revilla’s bail hearing at the Sandiganbayan First Division.

Cambe is Revilla’s senior staff and co-accused in the plunder and graft case filed in connection with the alleged pork barrel scam.

“Maski yun ay hearsay evidence,

walang weight yun. So nagpapasalamat kami kay Mrs. Suñas sa kaniyang tulong sa depensa ni Sen. Revilla,” Bodegon added.

Revilla has been charged with plunder and multiple counts of graft for suppos-edly conspiring with businesswoman and alleged mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles in diverting millions of pesos in his pork barrel funds to bogus non-government organizations.

Bodegon noted how Suñas failed to show that Revilla directly benefitted from the alleged scam, adding that her testimony is no different from co-whistleblower Ben-hur Luy’s claims.

“Of course, ang husgado naman ang magde-determine. Pero pareho lang na-man ang sinabi niya kay Benhur Luy. Si

Benhur ang star witness, so this witness can’t be better than him,” he said.

Suñas, Luy and Marina Sula were the whistleblowers who first exposed the pork barrel scheme.

Meanwhile, during Thursday’s bail hearing, Bodegon asked the court to deter-mine whether the prosecution has enough evidence for the case to stand. He said they do not believe the state lawyers have enough evidence to keep Revilla in jail.

Plunder is a non-bailable offense when evidence against the accused is strong.

“Whether the evidence of the prosecu-tion is strong is based on the evidence of the prosecution. As of now our thinking is we do not even need to present evidence dito sa bail hearing,” Bodegon said.

MANILA, Sept 17 (Mabuhay) – The House of Representatives will have to vote as a chamber if it would suspend former President and now Pampanga Representa-tive Gloria Arroyo for graft over the NBN-ZTE deal, a House leader said.

Majority floor leader Mandaluyong Representative Neptali Gonzales II said under the Constitution, the lower chamber will have to get two-thirds vote before it could implement the order from the San-diganbayan to suspend Arroyo over her graft case.

“In the past, we follow what is strictly provided for in the Constitution, that any member of Congress can be suspended only for disorderly behavior upon two-thirds vote of all members,” Gonzales told report-ers on Wednesday.

He said to his knowledge, the lower chamber has not yet suspended any member of the House. Gonzales said two congress-men faced suspension orders from the anti-graft court, but they voluntarily complied with the order.

“In the past, I don’t remember any instance in the House that it has ever sus-pended any member upon the order of the Sandiganbayan,” Gonzales said.

In a letter to Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. the anti-graft court on July ordered the lower chamber to suspend Arroyo for 90 days over graft in connection with the controversial NBN-ZTE deal.

The court, in a letter received by Con-gress on Sept. 11, wrote to Belmonte, ask-ing for an explanation why the chamber has not yet suspended Arroyo.

Gonzales said the Speaker has no au-thority to implement the suspension order.

Miriam says she was not informed funds for projects were from DAP

Revilla’s lawyer says Suñas testimony benefi cial to defense

Arroyo may only be suspended through Congress vote


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PARIS, France, Sept 19 (Mabuhay) – President Benigno S. Aquino III invited French businessmen to explore investment opportunities in the Philippines, saying that the “country’s momentum is stronger that it has ever been in recent memory.”

Speaking before the Philippine Busi-ness Opportunities Forum here, President Aquino told France-based companies that this is the best time to invest as the Philip-pine economy continues to grow.

“Indeed, our country’s momentum is stronger than it has ever been in recent memory, and we will not sit idly by; we will build on this momentum,” the Presi-dent told the French business community.

“I am here today to invite all of you to be part of our story – take a closer look at our country, study your prospects, and ul-timately, take part in the Philippine renais-sance that continues to win the admiration of the world,” he added.

President Aquino, who is on an of-ficial two-day visit to France, trumpeted economic gains and the reforms instituted by his administration before French busi-nessmen.

“As one would expect, our good gover-nance efforts have breathed new life into our economy. In 2013, the economy grew

by 7.2 percent, making us one of the fast-est growing economies in Asia,” he said.

“The business community – both do-mestic and international – has also noted the sea change in our country,” he said, adding that international rating organiza-tions have also noticed the Philippines’ comeback.

President Aquino cited the investment grade status the country obtained from Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s.

Even the World Economic Forum’s yearly Global Competitiveness Report has named the Philippines as the most im-proved country in terms of competitiveness since 2010, he added.

With the economic reforms put in place by his administration, President Aquino said that his administration is poised to sustain the country’s momentum.

“I suppose the point of these recollec-tions is to emphasize the reality: Yours is a matured, developed country, while ours has just been recently gaining momentum towards development,” he said.

“There is a natural synergy between our requirements and aspirations, and your strengths and capabilities. Together, let us maximize the opportunities before us, for the mutual benefit of our peoples,” he

(PARIS, France) President Benigno S. Aquino III graces the meeting with the Filipino community at the Chapelle Sainte Bernadette on Wednesday (September 17). (MNS photo)

French businessmen urged to invest in PHL

added. (MNS)

PARIS, France, Sept 19 (Mabuhay) – President Benigno S. Aquino III on Thursday witnessed the signing of a tech-nical service agreement between RATP Developpement and the Light Rail Manila Consortium for the operations and mainte-nance of Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1.

The agreement, signed between RATP Developpement President Pierre Mongin, and Jose Ma. Lim, President and CEO of the Metro Pacific Investments Corp., at the Philippines-France Business Forum at Intercontinental Paris Le Grand Hotel, aims to provide operation and maintenance service and technical advice and expertise relating to the operations and maintenance of the Manila LRT 1 Cavite Extension, Operation and Maintenance Project.

The Light Rail Manila Consortium also signed an engineering, procurement and construction agreement with Bouygues Travaux Publics and Alstom Transport on Thursday for the design and construction of the Manila Light Rail Transit Line 1 Extension Project that will extend Line 1 by 12 kilometers to add eight more stations.

Fernando Zobel de Ayala, president and COO of Ayala Corporation, and Trans-portation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya were also present during the signing of the two agreements. (MNS)

PHL-France sign agreements for operations of LRT 1

PARIS, France, Sept 18 (Mabuhay) – The Philippines and France further strengthened its bilateral relations with the signing of several agreements on transpor-tation and communications, culture and education.

In a statement delivered after his meeting with French President François Hollande, President Benigno S. Aquino III said these agreements “will facilitate meaningful dialogue and fruitful exchang-es between our two countries.”

One of these is the agreement on air services, which was signed by Philippine Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development Laurent Fabius.

President Aquino and President Hol-lande witnessed the signing during a simple ceremony held at the Elyseé Palace.

According to President Aquino, the air services agreement would “open more doors of opportunity for both our peoples, as we strengthen tourism, trade, business activity and our people-to-people ties.”

The two leaders also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of under-standing between the École Nationale d’Administration and the Development Academy of the Philippines, and the 2014-2017 Administrative Agreement on Cultural Cooperation.

“The agreement between the École Nationale d’Administration and the De-velopment Academy of the Philippines looks into the establishment of training and exchanges that will benefit our many civil servants in the Philippines, as they work to provide improved services,” President Aquino said.

“In the same manner, cooperation in the cultural field will, without doubt, promote

heritage conservation, language and arts training, and cultural management – areas that are of vital importance in fostering greater understanding, thus, adding to the reservoir of goodwill between our peoples,” he added.

In addition to the three bilateral agree-ments, the two leaders witnessed on Wednesday the signing of a contract entered into between 4G Alcatel Lucent and GLOBE Télécom for the purchase of equipment.

President Aquino and President Hol-lande also welcomed the forthcoming signing of the updated Philippines-France Arrangement on Defense Cooperation by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian.

“We have made significant strides as well towards updating our bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement,” the President said.

“The Philippines is in the process of modernizing our armed forces and improv-ing our defense capability, and we believe that France will be a reliable partner in this regard,” he added.

The Philippines and France have also agreed on the need for concrete and ef-fective results for climate talks in order to move forward efforts in dealing with the threats of climate change.

During a bilateral meeting between President Benigno Aquino III and French Republic President Francois Hollande here on Wednesday, both leaders committed to work closely to adopt a new agreement applicable to all countries during the 21st

Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the Framework Convention of the United Na-tions on Climate Change to be hosted by France in 2015.

PHL, France ink bilateral agreements to strengthen ties


time trading counterparts.“It is evident that the media hype on the

artificial shortage and the earlier issue on the import permit monopolization is the handiwork of smugglers and illegal trad-ers who, by publicly pinning the blame on local producers, intend to ease out farmers’ cooperatives and associations from their 60 percent share in the country’s garlic importation business,” NGAT farmers told Guanlao whose committee is investigating the matter.

The letter was signed by NGAT farm-ing cooperative leaders led by George Calaycay of the Onion Garlic Farmers of Ilocos Norte; June Nunez, Magtutumana ng Sta. Rosa; Paul Jonathan Manalo, Ilocos Multi-purpose cooperative; Orestes Salon, Kooperatiba ng Bayang Sagana; Pruden-cio Ruedas, Magsaysay Allium Growers; Gaudioso Bartolome, Kapisanan ng mga Samahang Magsisibuyas ng Nueva Ecija; Fe Amore Ilagan, National Onion Growers Cooperative Marketing Association and Magtanggol Alvarez of Union of Growers and Traders of Onion.

In the letter,they explained that for “more than two decades, the privilege to import garlic was exclusively enjoyed by private businessmen and traders.”

The garlic farmers said this practice

brought the garlic business to the ground because these traders were buying locally grown garlic at such “ridiculously low prices” that farmers in Itbayat, Batanes were reportedly “dumping their products into the waters just to retrieve the knit bags which became more valuable than their contents.”

However, the decision of the Depart-ment of Agriculture (DA) to give garlic farmers a 60 percent share in the impor-tation of the commodity helped garlic farmers and cooperatives gain some form of government support and subsidy that enabled them to return to profitable garlic farming and vegetable trading.

With the increased productivity, lo-cal garlic cooperatives and farmers were encouraged to produce more and are now working to raise the country’s “garlic output to about 80 percent of the national demand.”

But the growth of the local garlic indus-try is bad news for smugglers and traders who have started working to deprive them of their import share, they said.

Garlic farmers said that by “appropriat-ing exclusively among themselves import privileges, cartels could gain control of garlic and other food products, a monopoly which they enjoyed for so many years amidst the silent misery of local farmers.”

The farmers also denied reports that they were engaged in smuggling because as small-time importers, they get their garlic supply on consignment basis and must dispose of their imports within 30 days after its arrival to regain capital.

They also denied reports there is short-age of garlic nor are reports true that garlic price shot up to as much as P400 per kilo since “they were selling locally harvested garlic direct to retailers at P100, P130, P150, P180 and P200 per kilo depending on the size during the said time.”

“We can only speculate that the price increase is from the handiwork of unscru-pulous traders and price manipulators to shore up the price of smuggled garlic by taking advantage of the high consumer demand for imported garlic,” the farmers said in the letter.

NGAT is a multi-sectoral consultative group that comprises the national garlic industry that includes farmers’ coopera-tives, processors, traders, vendors, and the academe.

The group was formed in support of the government’s effort to resurrect the dying local garlic industry.

Prior to the establishment of NGAT, local farmers only account for 2 percent of the total garlic demand.

They now account for almost 30 percent of the total garlic supply in the country.

NGAT also includes various agencies under the DA, Bureau of Customs and the Department of Interior and Local Govern-ment. (MNS)

Farmers blame garlic crisis to smugglers and illegal traders out to corner garlic import businessMANILA, Sept 17 (Mabuhay) -- An

organization of provincial garlic farmers and traders on Wednesday assured that there is adequate supply of garlic in the country and blamed big-time “smugglers and illegal traders” out to corner the bulk of the garlic import allocation over the media

hype on the alleged shortage of the crop.In a letter to Rep. Agapito H. Guanlao,

chair of the House committee on Food Security, the farmer cooperatives who are part of the National Garlic Action Team (NGAT) also denied engaging in smug-gling or hoarding as claimed by their big-

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BRUSSELS, Belgium, Sept 18 (Mabu-hay) – President Benigno S. Aquino III on Tuesday assured the international com-munity that the Philippine government is addressing human rights complaints and is ready to apply the full force of the law against those who are found guilty of abuses and extra-judicial killings.

President Aquino told the Egmont In-stitute where he delivered a policy speech

that his administration has taken steps to uphold human rights in the country and bring to the bar of justice the culprits.

“We have instituted a task force whose primary mission is to take cognizance of all of these extrajudicial killings or al-leged extrajudicial killings with the end in view of arresting every culprit regard-less of whether it was a media individual, an activist, or any other individual,” the

President said.“Bottom line is, you commit a crime

in our country, there has to be certainty of punishment and that is the focus,” he added, when asked about the state of hu-man rights in the Philippines during the forum.

The President also stressed that it is not in the policy of the Aquino administra-tion to encourage any transgressions of

the law. “And towards that end, we have been investigating all of these allegations,” he said.

One of these is the case of retired Major General Jovito Palparan, who was arrested on August 12 in Sta. Mesa, Manila, by the authorities after almost three years in hid-ing, he said. He is facing charges for the disappearance of two students of the Uni-versity of the Philippines in 2006. (MNS)

The Knights of Columbus (KofC) Council 1920, which is comprised of these 5 parishes, St. Dominic’s Church (Eagle Rock), Cristo Rey Church (Los Angeles) Incarnation Church (Glendale), Holy Fam-ily Church (Glendale), and Holy Trinity Church (Atwater) parish, is celebrating its 96th anniversary on Sept. 29, 2014.

The “Modern day Knights” serves! He serves the papal tenets, the church, and fulfills the needs of his fellow parishioners and communities. The KofC is a Fraternal Order of Catholic men dedicated in Char-ity, Fraternity, Unity and Patriotism!

However, in observance of tradition, the requirement for joining the KofC still re-

mains fervently the same. To join, one must be 18 years of age and must be a “practical” catholic man. To be a “Practical Catholic”, one needs to be in communion with the Holy See!

KofC Council 1920 meets at the KofC Hall located at 2515 Canada Blvd, Glen-dale CA 91208 every first Thursday of the month and is very active in church, catholic schools, and in their respective parishes.

The KofC Council 1920, in this very festive occasion… and for its 96th anniver-sary celebration, is inviting you to become a member, and be involved!

Also, on September 20th 2014, Satur-day from 12-2PM, we will be having a

“Free Kick” soccer competition at the St. Dominic Church’s parking lot at Eagle Rock Los Angeles. This event is open to all boys and girls ages 9-14. For further details about this event please contact Pablo at (323) 257-8896 or (323) 580-1926 (cell).

To learn more about us, please visit our website at Www.JoinKnightsOfColumbus.org.

For Banquet Hall Rental, please call “John” at (818) 545-0175. To join the Knights of Columbus Council 1920, please call “Ferdinand” at (818) 600-1658.

“In Service To One, In Service To All”.

MANILA, Sept 18 (Mabuhay) – A House member has criticized the insuf-ficient budgetary support being given to the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP) despite the many high profile cases pending at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

During the plenary deliberations Wednesday night on the P3.5 billion proposed budget of the Department of Justice for 2015, Rep. Jonathan A. Dela Cruz (Party-list, Abakada) said the P190.7 million allocation for the DOJ’s WPP program next year can only cover two or three high profile cases being handled by the DOJ.

“This particular amount is good for only two or three high profile cases. What kind of Witness Protection Program do we have?,” said dela Cruz during his in-terpellation of Rep. Mercedes K. Alvarez (6th District, Negros Occidental) who sponsored the DOJ’s budget on the floor.

Alvarez said the original budgetary request of the DOJ for its WPP was P219

million, but the Department of Budget and Management approved only P190.7 mil-lion. Dela Cruz was further disappointed after learning from Alvarez that personnel assigned at the WPP do not have perma-nent employment status.

“Why is that the case? The WPP is a very critical program of the government. I don’t understand why we don’t have plantilla positions (at the agency handling it),” said dela Cruz.

He also asked if these personnel are specifically trained to handle the WPP. “WPP witnesses require protection in a manner deserving of witnesses in high profile cases,” said dela Cruz.

Alvarez said there are 318 personnel assigned to the WPP, 247 of whom have contractual status while 71 are organic, meaning they belong to the different units of the DOJ. Of the 247 contractual personnel, 210 are assigned to security protection while the remaining 37 are doing administrative work.

“There are no permanent employees

in the WPP, only contractual employees,” said Alvarez.

Alvarez said the DOJ has proposed the amendment of “The Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act,” and one of the proposals is to regularize the status of employees under the WPP.

Dela Cruz vowed to help in pushing for the immediate amendment of the law. “So there is already a proposal to amend the law for purposes of ensuring a certain level of permanence in the WPP. We will request the chairman of the committee on justice to accelerate the process of amend-ment,” he said.

The WPP is a program established under Republic Act No. 6981 otherwise known as “The Witness Protection, Se-curity and Benefit Act,” which seeks to encourage a person who has witnessed or has knowledge of the commission of a crime to testify before a court or quasi-judicial body, or before an investigating authority, by protecting him from reprisals and from economic dislocation.(MNS)

MANILA, Sept 18 (Mabuhay) – Seek-ing to make health care more accessible to citizens, the Senate of the Philippines on Wednesday passed on second reading a bill aiming to extend the coverage of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to all senior citizens.

Senator Ralph Recto penned Senate Bill 712 which mandates the PhilHealth to automatically enroll all senior citizens regardless of their socio-economic status.

“Enrolling them must be automatic, not optional. The ideal is that the minute they blow out the candles on their 60th birthday cake to the moment they breathe their last – they should be PhilHealth members,” Recto said.

At present, Republic Act 9994 or Ex-panded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 only indigent senior citizens are automatically covered by the national health insurance program.

Recto also added that the bill will cater to 2.2 million more senior citizens and will need P5.2 billion budget annually to be implemented.

The senator also said that the third read-ing approval of the bill is expected to be done next week.

Meanwhile, with a little help from a new “wonder pill,” Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Wednesday expressed hopes she would recover from her lung cancer within the year.

“With the new wonder pill, I hope to attain full recovery by the end of this year,” the feisty senator told reporters in a press conference.

Earlier reports said Santiago described the “wonder pill” as “chemotherapy (that) has been reduced to a tablet.”

Last July, Santiago revealed that she was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer.

For the sake of those who may still have doubts if she has cancer, Santiago showed to reporters the bandages in her fingers and toes, saying people with lung cancer is prone to bleeding.

Aquino says gov’t addressing human rights

The Knights of Columbus Council 1920 celebrates its 96th Anniversary

Solon hits measly P190-M proposed budget for DOJ’s Witness Protection Program

Senate okays PhilHealth automatic coverage to senior citizens


LOS ANGELES, September 18, 2014 – The Multicultural Health Awareness and Prevention (MHAP) Center at St. Vincent Medical Center held a press conference on September 18,in partnership with the consulate generals of the Philippines, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Korea, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Thailand to encourage the community to attend the Free Multicultural Health Fair on September 28 from 9 a.m.- 3p.m.

Location of health fair: St. Vincent Ocean View Building at 2222 Ocean View Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90057 (near Third and Alvarado Streets).

At the press conference, St. Vincent Medical Center President and CEO Cathy Fickes said, “The annual health fair is an introduction to people and it’s a lot of fun but the health fair also provides the opportunity for people to get some basic health measures tested and checked. What is significant about the annual health fair is that it is a partnership that enjoys the power of an entire health community and would greatly advance our goal of providing health access in our communities”.

The annual health fair supports St. Vincent Medical Center’s mission to serve the sick and the poor and also in response to the population needs of each consulates to provide low-income, uninsured and un-documented individuals with free access to primary care, health screenings, and educa-tion and health and social-welfare referrals.

Pedro Ramirez, director for the Multi-cultural Health Awareness and Prevention (MHAP) Center encourages everyone to avail themselves of the free health services such as mammography screening, flu shots, cholesterol screening, dental screening, glucose/diabetes screening, ultrasound screening, pap smear screening, blood pressure screening, anemia screening, body fat screening, osteoporosis screening, HIV/

STD screening, vision screening, acupunc-ture, depression and anxiety screening, and free or low-cost health insurance information and enrollment. Information about cancer, heart disease, diabetes and nutrition, and other chronic diseases will also be provided. Ramirez adds that these services are available at no cost to anyone on that day, with or without any insurance coverage.

The event is made possible by the generous support of the Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell and Councilmember Gil Cedillo, St. Vincent IPA, AltaMed and the Pico Union Neigh-borhood Council.

For the past 12 years, MHAP Center Team is responsible for the organiza-tion, management and leadership of the hospital’s community outreach and health services program as well as the health education and prevention program, which includes community building, access to healthcare and continuum of care for the underserved individuals.

MHAP organize and maintain an amaz-ing network of community partners from ten consulates, schools, community and faith-based organizations, medical pro-viders, and government agencies and has served tens of thousands of underserved individuals, providing them with health access to preventive screenings, opportuni-ties to learn about healthy behaviors and referrals for medical treatment and follow-up services to augment their health needs.

MHAP Center is one of St. Vincent Medical Center’s key community out-reach and benefits programs that focuses on health education, disease prevention, early detection and information and refer-ral services for at-risk ethnic multicultural communities.

MHAP Center is recognized in the Los Angeles healthcare community as a

St. Vincent Medical Center ‘Free Multicultural Health Fair’ Sept. 28significant community outreach program. Its services are a cornerstone of the St. Vincent Medical Center’s mission to serve the sick and poor in the timeless tradition of the Daughters of Charity.

About St. Vincent Medical CenterProviding compassionate healthcare

and serving the sick poor has been the mission of St. Vincent Medical Center for more than 156 years. Located near downtown Los Angeles, St. Vincent is a world-renowned, 366-bed facility, offering comprehensive medical services, includ-

ing ear surgery and neurosurgery, general orthopedics spine care, joint replacement, cancer treatment, cardiovascular services, thoracic surgery, electrophysiology, in-terventional cardiology, and multi-organ transplantation.

St. Vincent Medical Center is part of the Daughters of Charity Health System, a nonprofit Catholic health system spanning the California coast.

For more information on the health fair, please call the MHAP Center (213) 207-5766.

St. Vincent Consulate Partners (from left front row) Consul Adriana Lucia Argaiz Parr of Mexico, Cathy Fickes, SVMC President/CEO, Ambassador Liliana Cino of Peru, Sr. Patricia Miguel, SVMC Vice President, Mission Integration; (2nd Row L-R) Jan Stein, Vice President & Executive Director, St. Vincent Foundation, Consul Jong Han Kim of Korea, Consul General Leo Herrera Lim of the Philippine, Consul General Pablo Garcia Saenz of Guatemala, Consul General Pablo Ordonez Guzman of Honduras, Pedro Ramirez, SVMC MHAP Center Director, and Deputy Consul General Sorasak Samonkraisorakit. Photo: Jun Camacho

Program Partners: Pedro Ramirez, Director for St. Vincent MHAP Center and Consul General Leo Herrera Lim of the Philippine Consulate


Are taxes discharged in bankruptcy if returns are filed late?Discharging income taxes owed to the IRS in bankruptcy

requires compliance with certain rules. One rule states that the taxes sought to be discharged is for a return that was filed

Are taxes discharged in bankruptcy if returns are fi led?

at least three years before the bankruptcy filing. For in-stance, you owe $100,000 of income taxes to the IRS for the year 2010. You filed your tax return timely on April 15, 2011. You decide to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to discharge the $100,000, and your credit card debts of $60,000. Since it has been more than 3 years from April 15, 2010 to now which is April 23, 2014, you have complied with the 3-year rule to dis-charge taxes. Assuming you comply with the other rules, then your bankruptcy will discharge the $100,000. But, what happens if you filed your tax return LATE? Let’s say you filed your return on April 24, 2011, will your taxes be discharged? The answer is NO; they will not be discharged because it’s less than 3 years since you filed your tax return for the year 2010.

But if you lived in Massachusetts, there could be a different outcome even if you filed your tax return late. In Re Gonzales, was decided by the 1st Circuit court of ap-peals last month. On February 28, 2004, debtor filed his state income tax returns for tax years 1999 through 2002. On July 19, 2005, he filed his returns for tax years 2003 and 2004. All were filed LATE, but before any assessment was made by the Commissioner of Revenue. On April 19, 2010, debtor filed for Chapter 7 relief. He listed outstanding state income tax liabili-ties for 1999 through 2004 of $36,174. On September 23, 2010, the debtor received a discharge. In November 2011, debtor filed an adversary proceeding against the

Massachusetts Department of Revenue (MDOR) asserting that his state income tax liabilities had been discharged. The MDOR ASKED FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE BASIS THAT THE DEBTOR’S LATE FILED TAX RETURNS DID NOT QUALIFY AS “RETURNS” for purposes of Section 523(a), and that Section 523(a)(1)(B)(i) rendered non-dischargeable tax liabilities for which a return was not filed. The bankruptcy court ruled for the debtor. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals AFFIRMED. The 1st Circuit found that the new bankruptcy law’s amendment to Section 523(a) provides an unambigu-ous definition of “return.” Therefore, the court said there was no need to determine whether pre new bankruptcy law rulings defining “return” were still applicable.

“Because Massachusetts law provides a definition of a ‘return’, we limit our ex-amination to whether the debtor’s state tax returns that were filed after the deadline but more than two months prior to his bank-ruptcy filing, qualify as ‘returns’ within the Bankruptcy Code’s definition of ‘return’ set forth in Section 523…”, the court said. Massachusetts law defines “return’ as a taxpayer’s signed declaration of the tax due, if any, properly completed by the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s representative on a form prescribed by the Commissioner and duly filed with the Commissioner.” The law does not set a deadline for filing

returns. Instead, the court said the law is concerned with what the taxpayer filed, not when it was filed. “Nowhere in the Massachusetts regulatory or statutory law, is it specified that a return will be deemed something other than a return in the event of its untimely filing. Thus, we discern no timeliness requirement encompassed in the applicable non-bankruptcy law which governs the specific situation confronting us, namely the case of late-filed-but pre-assessment – state income tax return. We need not delve into questions regarding the consequence of filing either a state or federal income tax return post- assessment, as that issue is not before us. Moreover, the MDOR did not conduct an assessment of the debtor’s tax liabilities prior to the filing of his belated returns.”

Concluding that the debtor’s late filed

returns qualified as returns for purposes of determining the discharge of taxes, the court rejected a per se rule that any return that is filed late is not a “return” under Section 523(a).

Jesus is our risen and living Savior!”One Seraphim cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” Isaiah 6:3.

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


WASHINGTON, D.C., September 18, 2014 – AARP Foundation is seeking volunteers to provide free tax assistance and preparation for taxpayers with low to moderate income through the AARP Foun-dation Tax-Aide program. Celebrating its 46th year, AARP Foundation Tax-Aide is the nation’s largest free tax assistance and preparation service, giving special atten-tion to those 60 and older.

Volunteers will work with taxpay-ers directly to fill out tax returns, greet taxpayers, manage computer equipment, and oversee site activities. There is a big demand for bilingual speakers in all roles. Many Tax-Aide sites offer tax prepara-tion assistance in additional languages, including Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Spanish, and more.

“Bilingual volunteers are urgently needed to help taxpayers who don’t speak English or speak English as a second lan-guage,” said Daphne Kwok, AARP Vice President of Multicultural Markets and Engagement, Asian American and Pacific Islander Audience. “If you can help other members of your community by helping to translate, please join our Tax-Aide vol-

unteer team! Your invaluable contribution will be greatly appreciated by taxpayers and our other volunteers alike.”

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide thrives due to the remarkable efforts of its volun-teer base. With nearly 50 million low- to moderate-income taxpayers helped and growing, there are always opportunities for new volunteers.

Lack of experience shouldn’t stop anyone from volunteering. Tax volunteers must complete a tax preparation workshop from the Internal Revenue Service prior to working with taxpayers.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide has grown tremendously since its inaugural team of just four volunteers in 1968. In 2014, 35,000 compassionate volunteers at over 5,000 sites provided 2.6 million people with free tax help.

Taxpayers who used AARP Foundation Tax-Aide received $1.3 billion in income tax refunds and more than $257 million in Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs). You do not need to be a member of AARP or a retiree to use this service.

To learn more about becoming an AARP Foundation Tax-Aide volunteer, visitwww.aarp.org/taxvolunteer.

AARP Foundation seeks bilingual volunteers for free tax assistance and preparation

BINAY INSISTS

PALACE FROWNS

‘MARIO’ FLOODS

BILLIONAIRES

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From page 1

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financially from kickbacks associated with the construction project, and challenged his detractors to raise the standard of politics in the country. Binay also urged his critics to “stop lying” and instead, face him in a fair election in 2016.

The Vice President has been topping surveys for the presidential race. “Ginamit nila ang mga taong matagal nang hinus-gahan ng mga tao ng Makati. Itinakwil sila. Hindi sila karapat-dapat na maging opisyal ng Makati,” Binay said.

Binay said he will fight in all the legal ways against this perceived campaign to smear the name of his family, and pledged to carry out his mandate as Vice-President in the face of the continued mudslinging against him.

The fight to clear the Binay name, he said, is not just for him or his family to lead, but for the entire Filipino people, describing the allegations made in Senate sub-committee hearings as hearsay and that will not stand in a court of law.

Supreme Court.A video of the incident made available

to media by the Congress of Teachers and Educators for Nationalism and Democracy – UP (CONTEND-UP) showed students bearing placards and chanting “Noynoy patalsikin (Oust Aquino).”

Abad made his way out of the building shielded by aides as the students shouted

“Magnanakaw (thief)!” The footage also showed his vehicle being blocked by some of the protesters.

The students said “plunderers and thieves” were not welcome in the uni-versity.

They said Abad and President Benigno Aquino III should be held accountable “for their crimes.” (MNS)

“Mindful of the need for rational and re-sponsible action, the President and I talked about the threat of climate change and the need for concrete and effective results for climate talks,” President Aquino said in his statement following the meeting.

trillion, up 12 percent.Europe topped the rankings with 775

billionaires, followed by North America with 609, while the Middle East with 154 billionaires came in fourth place behind Asia.

“The rise of Asia as a global economic powerhouse has already started, and the performance of the region’s billionaires illustrates just how strong the region is and how many opportunities for wealth accumulation it offers,” the report said.

Most of Asia’s billionaires made their fortune from within the region mainly from real estate and industrial conglom-erates.

Only 11 percent of them have amassed their wealth through finance, banking and

Both leaders affirmed the importance of continuing efforts to address climate change, with the overall objective of lim-iting the increase in global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius, and reiterated the invitation to parties who are ready to do so to provide their contributions to the 2015 agreement by the end of the first quarter (MNS)

investment, a percentage “much lower than in other regions,” the report added.

Asian billionaires are also the youngest worldwide, with the average age at 61, with only 13 percent having fully inherited their wealth.

Within Asia, China has the most num-ber of billionaires at 190, followed by India (100), Hong Kong (82), Japan (33) and Singapore (32).

Taiwan was in sixth place with 29, followed by South Korea (21), Indonesia (19) and Thailand (17). The Philippines rounded up Asia’s top 10 with 13 bil-lionaires.

Relative to population, Hong Kong topped the list in Asia with 11.2 billion-aires per one million people, followed by Singapore with 5.8 billionaires per one million people, the report said.


immediately acquired a wide range and broad based bank customers for its out-standing customer service which includes free sips of their tasteful Keurig coffee flavors, refreshing iced tea on warm days and free cold bottled water giveaways to their customers’ delight. The neighboring CitiBank branch, also promotes lemonades on warm days but most of their staff aren’t as friendly as this particular Wells Fargo branch.

Branch Manager, Toros Danielyan and his staff ought to be commended for their staff’s outstanding customer service pro-grams which include, greeting customers warmly at the door and a helpful staff of eleven tellers assisting customer’s financial needs including addressing customer’s concerns in person by phone or by mail.

This writer has interviewed several of its customers who specifically come to this branch for their “more friendly” atmo-sphere compared with their other branches in town.

Likewise, in the neighboring City of Arcadia, there’s a classy furniture store, which resembles the former Bombay home decor shops sometime back. This unique store is called Room at the Santa Anita Fashion Square, managed by a very nice, hard-working gentleman named Vedat Kurdoglu, who likewise entices his customers with superb customer service.

Much like the “customer satisfaction” program promoted by its nearby Nordstrom Department Store, Mr. Kurdoglu does a similar “guarantee” program on his mer-chandise, which I personally can attest to.

This writer has experienced buying a furniture item from Vedat’s store, but after a couple of months, I stopped by the store to inform him that the furniture I bought didn’t meet my expectation, so he suggested that I bring the item back and he would gladly reimburse me with no additional interest. Though hesitant, I agreed bringing the furniture item back and was grateful for his sincerity, honesty and outstanding customer service as well.

In the neighboring Eagle Rock Mall, the CaraMia Gelato shop, managed by Bosconian Rene Ramos sparked the gelato children’s party of this writer’s grandson Kayden this past weekend with its gelato-serving paraphernalia which included var-ious-sized scoops, cones, tasty cups, with

luminous scoopers, along with its super tasty gelato flavors of ube, cookies and cream and caramel. The re-freshing dessert was such a hit to the 15 kids who celebrated on a Sunday af-ternoon of sweltering heat. Rene’s management style of going the extra mile to help his customers is no surprise to those of us who learned of his CaraMia Gelato shop’s award from CBS TV Channel 2 as “one of the best Gelato shops in LA.”

Nowadays, we seldom find business owners who would step forward and go the extra mile beyond a simple customer service, so when we do find them, we’re able to establish not only loyalty but more

lasting business relationships that is cer-tainly more equitable and beneficial to everyone. Maintaining lasting business relationships with customers definitely makes one’s business thrive in this com-petitive world.

Local Bank/Furniture/Gelato Shop promotes outstanding customer service The City of Alhambra is known as “The Gateway to the

San Gabriel Valley.” It has approximately 330,000 Chinese residents, around 400 businesses, including a choice of around 40 restaurants, three hospitals, three major supermarkets (two Raphs and one Albertsons), two bulk food stores such as Cost-co and Smart and Final, 13 banks and most specifically, four Wells Fargo Bank Branches..

The newest Wells Fargo Bank Branch located on 701 E. Main (cor. Hidalgo) has

Shop Manager Rene Ramos serves directly from the CaraMia Gelato cart

Branch Manager Toros Danielyan and his staff on Main St. and Hidalgo in Alhambra.


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list “setting an overall record in temperature with even the largest departure from average of any month”.

August of this year recorded the 38th con-secutive August (and the 354th consecutive month) that saw a global temperature above historic averages. The last recorded below-average for August was in 1976. The assess-ment had been culled from the record going as far back at 1880. For the year to-date, 2014 is the third-warmest year on record.

Correspondingly, there has been a notice-

able increase advertisements from every me-dia available for consumer to take advantage on the free energy that the sun affords by way of “going solar” in their homes.

How viable is solar power? Historically, capturing the energy potentials of the sun for various purposes in the home has been evolving in the last 50 years into sustainable and adaptive technology. It is predicted in the next decade that with the improvements in the efficiency of the technology, solar power use will gain more acceptances and become an

increasing cost-effective and clean alternative to conventional energy sources.

Solar energy is an inexhaustible resource. The sun produces vast amounts of renew-able solar energy that can be collected and converted into heat and electricity.

In North America, the market for solar power has experienced tremendous growth during the last three years because of the increasing government concerns on energy security and independence. Factors such as the rising energy prices, volatility of fuel costs, and state and federal government incen-tives and subsidies, such as the production tax credit and the renewable portfolio standards, have contributed to the hastening of the use of solar power. More than 90 percent of total installations of solar energy projects in North America are in the U.S. with Califor-nia taking the lion’s share the technological advantage.

At the end of 2013, California had 490 MW of concentrated solar power and 5,183 ME of photovoltaics capacity in operation (concentrated solar use mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight, or solar thermal energy, onto a small area).

Demand for renewable energy is expected to boost the popularity of solar power as a result of the incentives and subsidies provided by the federal and state governments. The U.S. also is expected to increase its domi-nance and perform strongly in the field of solar energy use. California has its Solar Ini-tiative programs as part of the Million Solar Roofs Program of former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The program envisions the creation of 1,940 megawatts of “new, solar produced electricity by 2016 which will move the State of California toward a cleaner energy future and help in lowering the cost of solar systems for consumers”. The California Solar Initiative has a seven-year budget of $2.167 billion until 2016.

CSI also provides more than $2 billion worth of incentives to customers for install-ing photovoltaic, and electricity displacing solar thermal systems in the three California Investor-Owned Utilities service territories.

California leads the nation in the number of homes which have solar panels installed,

totaling over 230,000 many of which became possible because of the Million Solar Roof Initiative.

California weather increases awareness on solar energy potentialsCalifornia has been besieged by unusual episodes of high

temperatures over the past weeks to the discomfort of even the sun-lovers. For the record, the phenomenon is worldwide with the National Climatic Data Center report that “the planet had its hottest summer on record and is well on its way to having the hottest year ever”.

The global temperature for sum-mer was 1.28 degrees above the 20th-century average of 61.5 de-grees. Climatologists define sum-mer as the months of June, July and August with the last month on the

Filipino Great in Light Mood: Manny Pacquiao feigns “discomfort” on his friend Nick Enciso’s reaction with his Championship Belt in this fi le photo after a hectic day of training. The Filipino WBO Welterweight Champion will face WBO Light Welterweight Champion, Chris Algieri, who moved up at the catch weight of 144 lbs. on November 23 at Cotai Arena in Macau.

Former World Boxing Champ at Wild Card: Former IBF World Flyweight titlist, Rolando Bohol, now a web designer/entrepreneur based in Las Vegas, beams a his friend from California documents his visit to Wild Card Boxing Gymn in Los Angeles where his fellow champion Manny Pacquiao used to train for his many successful fi ghts. The California visit is the fi rst outing for Bohol since calling the U.S. his adopted home many years ago.



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owe you unpaid wages for the days you have worked prior to your termination. Have you been paid for all work performed beyond 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week? Have you been paid for work done during missed lunch or rest breaks? If you were eligible for vacation, you may also be owed payment for unused vacation time. (Note: “Use it or lose it” vacation pay policies are illegal.)

If any payment is due, your employer must immediately pay all compensation due to you. The employer should pay you “at the place of discharge.” If the employer tells you that

they will mail the check, you must consent to such an arrangement.

Third: Employers are prohibited from requiring employees to sign a release of the employee’s right to any wages due, unless those wages have been paid. Some employ-ers hold their employee’s final paycheck “hostage” until the employee signs a release. This conduct is prohibited by law. It is also illegal to require employees to execute a false statement of their hours worked.

If an employer refuses to pay all wages due after termination, the employee’s wages

continue as a penalty until paid, for up to 30 calendar days. This is called “waiting time penalties.” Hence, if the employee is regularly paid $120 per day, the employer may be held liable to pay up to $3,600 in penalty for not paying the terminated employee on time.

Finally, consider the circumstances of the termination. Even though employment rela-tionships are generally at-will, an employer may not fire an employee for a discriminatory or retaliatory reason.

Discrimination based on age, race, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability, medical condition, and pregnancy are illegal. It is also illegal to fire an employee in retali-ation for the employee’s exercise of a legal right or for refusal to violate the law.

An employer who recognizes that an employee may have potential claims for ad-ditional wages, discrimination, or harassment

may offer the employee additional money in exchange for signing a release. In this in-stance, the employee would be wise to consult with a knowledgeable employment attorney before signing the release or any document in order to protect his or her rights.

[C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is trial attorney who has obtained several million dollar recoveries for his clients against insurance companies and employers.

He has been selected as a Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum. He is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center Washington, D.C. and the University of the Philippines. Visit his website at www.joesayaslaw.com or contact his office at (818) 291-0088 for a no-cost inquiry.]

What to do if you were fi redTerminations can be difficult situations, particularly where

employees see the firing as unfair. The following are some helpful guidelines in navigating this difficult time:

First: Make sure that the em-ployment relationship has ended and there is no misunderstanding about this. Employment may end by resignation, lay-off, or dis-charge. “Discharge” includes in-voluntary termination (being fired).

Second: Your employer may

family when a breadwinner is taken out of the picture. funds that the surviving spouse and children may use to re-adjust themselves to nor-mal lives. Those departed (the insured) will be smiling in their graves because they rest assured that their loved ones – those left behind – will be financially taken cared of because they were smart enough to get financial protection for their family during their lifetime.

The uses of life insurance has expanded over the years.

From mere financial protection, families now use life insurance to save for a future expense that they want to provide for, like chil-dren’s college education. The cash value feature of a permanent life insurance is simply superior with its higher than bank CD’s rate of interest and compounding interest characteristic.

Life insurance products’ living benefits

feature (Benefits you don’t have to die to en-joy) is certainly appealing specially to women because they live longer than men. If an insured develops terminal, chronic, or critical illness, a portion of the death benefit will be made avail-able for her/him to use for whatever purpose she/he may deem fit.

The tax-free feature of the death benefit has remained sacred over the years. No leg-islator both in the federal and state levels will dare touch it primarily because of the strong vigilance of brokers and their associations. this feature makes life insurance ideal to take care of mortgage payments, inheritance taxes, and the like. through a single-premium life insur-ance, the estate of the insured avoids risks while increasing the legacy in value for his loved ones to enjoy.

September is Life Insurance MonthAs a licensed life insurance broker, I feel honored to join my

colleagues in celebration of life insurance this month. Allow me, therefore, to digress from my usual Medicare and Obamacare top-ics and devote, at least for this one time, one whole column, albeit briefly, on this magic called life insurance.

MAGIC because from small, nominal monthly contributions called premium, a reservoir of funds is suddenly created for the

See MONSALUD, page 17


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MANILA, Sept 17 (Mabuhay) – The Commission of Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday urged lawmakers to pass a law allowing Filipino voters abroad to cast their ballots online in order to encourage them to participate in the 2016 local and national elections. Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said the poll body will need Congress’ approval to implement an online voting system since Republic Act No. 10590 or the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2013 only allows Filipino voters abroad to cast their votes either through mail or at the Philippine embassy or consulate.

“We’re proposing [voting through] e-mail or the Internet… but this will require the ap-proval of Congress. The system now is you have to go to the consulate or the embassy kaya kakakunti ang bumoboto,” he said.Com-elec is also studying the possibility of coming

up with a resolution allowing online voting for overseas Filipino workers but Brillantes said he is worried this might be questioned.

OFWs may be able to vote online or via e-mail in the May 2016 polls if Congress passes a law allowing voting via the Internet by the middle of 2015, Brillantes said.

In particular, Comelec is eyeing the implementation of online voting in key areas abroad with a large Filipino population such as Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East.

“Our information campaign is not the problem. Our problem is not increasing the number of registered voters but increasing [the number] of those who will vote, kasi kung umabot sa 2 million [ang nag-register] tapos 200,000 lang ang boboto, bababa na naman ang percentage,” he said.

Based on government records, there are

737,759 registered overseas voters world-wide, excluding the 238,557 voters who were supposed to be delisted for failing to vote during the 2007 and 2010 elections. They were eventually reinstated by the poll body.

Latest data from the Department of Foreign Affairs show there are 102,817 new overseas Filipino workers who have registered for the 2016 polls. Of these, 43 percent or 44,693 are from the Middle East and Africa.

The DFA and the Comelec earlier said they want to double the number of overseas voters for the 2016 polls. (MNS)

Congress pressed for law on online voting for overseas Pinoys

than a rift in the spouses’ relationship. The date of “separation ” occurs only when the parties have come to a parting of the ways with no present intent to resume their marriage and their conduct evidences a complete and final break in the marital re-lationship. In simple terms, it the first point in time when either party decides to finally end the marriage with no intent to return to their spouse. The burden of proof required to prove this is a preponderance of the evidence. A spouse must show that 1) the spouse entertains the subjective intent to end the marriage, and 2) there is objective evidence of that intent. A party’s intent

Why is the date of separation signifi cant in divorce cases?This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, P.C. This article is not a solicitation.

Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certi-fied Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, P.C. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail [email protected] or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com

tions,) may show conduct inconsistent with a complete and final breakdown in the marriage. Discontinuing sexual relation-ship with your spouse and commencing extramarital cohabitation may not suffice to signify a separation date either.

The parties must be living apart physi-cally. The Court usually looks at all objective facts and circumstances in de-termining whether the parties are living apart physically.

Living in separate dwellings alone may not meet this requirement. Some couples have successive series of separation then reconciliation. The act of reconciling in essence vitiates any evidence of a complete and final breakdown of the marriage. Due to the heavy factual showing required in litigating this issue, the date of separation is susceptible to trial bifurcation.

Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information.

The date of separation is one of the most litigated issues in a divorce case. Its determination can have a significant economic consequence in the outcome of the case. The reason being, a spouse’s “earnings and accumulations” after separation are his or her separate property. A spouse’s “earnings and accumula-tions” while living separate and apart from the other spouse are his or her separate property as well pursuant to Family.Code. § 771(a)).

“Separation” requires more

For those who have realized the value of life insurance a bit late in life, the final expense type is available so that their loved ones will be free of the funeral’s financial burden allowing them to freely grieve and celebrate the legacy the insured has created.

Today, may I respectfully enjoin each of you to have your life insurance needs reviewed by an insurance professional?

Thank you.Leo Monsalud is a licensed life and health

broker for California (0G55218) and holds a Non-resident license for Nevada. He is an inde-pendent broker contracted with various life and health and annuity companies in North America. His passion is to educate Filipino Americans on the value and importance of life and health insurance. He may be reached at 323-535-7373 or, e-mail at: [email protected].

MONSALUDFrom page 16

may be evaluated in terms of the spouse’s words and conduct evidencing this intent and this should occur simultaneously.

Moving out of the house from where your spouse resides may not be sufficient to signify a separation. The party’s con-duct toward each other evidences ongoing economic, emotional, sexual and social ties ( such as joint checking accounts, credit cards, tax returns; joint acquisitions; joint vacations; exchange of gifts and cards; continuing financial contributions to the marital community; attempted reconcilia-

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OPINIONMANILA, Sept 17 (Mabuhay) – While President Benigno Aquino

III believes there’s still a chance to push for Charter change and staying in Malacañang beyond 2016, his ally Senate President Franklin Drilon on Wednesday said there simply was no time to discuss amendments to the Constitution.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, the opposition’s presumptive stan-dard bearer, on Wednesday indicated his opposition to proposals giving Aquino a stab at term extension by reiterating his stand against Charter amendments other than those on its economic provisions.

Binay and Drilon made the remarks after the President said on Monday that there “[would] be a way” to amend the Constitution to give him the opportunity to extend his term if Filipinos would want him to stay on after his term expires less than two years from now.

‘No time for Cha-cha’In a radio interview, Drilon said the Senate had too much on its

plate to to discuss amendments to the Constitution.“Alam mo sa Senado pinaguusapan na natin ang dalawang panu-

kalang batas na kailangan naming tapusin agad,” Drilon said.“Nandiyan ang Bangsamoro Bill, na kailangan matapos in the first

quarter of next year, at itong emergency powers na dapat by October ay may talakayan na at by my estimate sa November pa namin matatapos iyan,” he said in a radio interview.

He added that the senators are now hearing the proposed P2.6-tril-lion 2015 national budget, which senators aim to approve by December.

“Hindi ko po nakikita iyan (Charter change), at wala pong panahon para diyan. Itong tatlong batas will occupy the calendar of the Senate. ‘Yan po ang sitwasyon. Ang mga panukalang batas na aming hinaha-rap ay mabibigat at hindi pwede basta basta madaliin,” Drilon said.

The proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law needs to be passed soon enough for the transition to start as regards the proposed Bangsamoro entity that will replace the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao.

Aquino’s emergency powers is said to be needed by October for the executive branch to have enough time to contract deals to avert a power crisis by the summer of 2015.

Passing the proposed General Appropriations Act has always been a priority for the Aquino administration to avoid a reenacted budget or having using the previous year’s allocations.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte have filed resolutions in the Senate and in the House of Representatives calling for amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution. No resolution has been filed calling for amend-ments to the Constitution’s political provisions such as those on a President’s term.

No to Charter change, term extensionBinay, who has been topping popularity and trust surveys, didn’t

say it categorically but expressed his objection to Aquino seeking an extension of his term.

“Basta’t ako I’m against Charter change except the economic provisions,” Binay told reporters when asked on his position on term extension. He was interviewed after his keynote speech at a mining conference in Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Pasay City.

Pressed if he would oppose the term extension of Aquino, the Vice President just said: “Paghalu-haluin mo na muna lahat basta sinasabi ko no to Charter change.”

The Constitution provides for a single six-year term for the Presi-dent and bans the incumbent Chief Executive from seeking re-election.

Senate has no time for Cha-cha, says Drilon September 23 – An Earth Day for Voters

MANILA, September 19, 2014 (AFP) – The Philippines has pulled its peacekeepers from the Golan Heights ahead of schedule amid worsening security there, a military spokesman said Friday.

A total of 244 of the 344 Filipino soldiers and staff will arrive back in Manila later Friday, Sept. 19, with the rest flying in the next week or so, military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ramon Zagala told AFP.

“Troops are being repatriated because of the de-teriorating security situation,” Zagala said, adding the United Nations had approved the withdrawal.

“Protection of our soldiers is in the national interest.”

The Filipino soldiers were supposed to come home this October but would arrive earlier than expected.

“Due to the escalating violence in the Syrian side of Golan Heights, all peacekeepers were re-positioned in the Israeli-side of the mission area. Because of this repositioning, Undof (United Na-tions Disengagement Observance Force) deemed it practical that the Philippine contingent be repatri-ated earlier than expected,” Zagala said.

He said the AFP would honor, through a “heroes’ welcome” with their families, the peacekeepers who exhibited courage, bravery and commitment, while in the face of overwhelming threat.

Some of these troops had traded fire last month with Al-Qaeda-linked Syrian rebels who wanted them to surrender their weapons.

The gunmen also disarmed and abducted 45 Fijian peacekeepers who were later freed unharmed.

The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force withdrew hundreds of members of the peace-keeping force from the Syrian side to the Israeli-occupied sector of the area on Monday after Syrian fighters advanced near their positions.

Even before last month’s stand-off, the Phil-ippine government had decided not to renew its peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights due to safety concerns.

The Filipino soldiers were scheduled to end their mission next month.

More than 100 Filipino UN peacekeepers have also been recalled from Liberia amid the deadly Ebola outbreak there.

Despite the Golan pullout, the Philippines will continue joining UN peacekeeping missions abroad and is set to replace its 150-strong force in Haiti this month, Zagala said.

“We are still committed to the UN,” he added.The Philippines also maintains three peacekeep-

ing observers and three staffers in the Ivory Coast and four in the Kashmir region between Indian and Pakistani forces.

PHL pulls Golban peacekeepers early as security worsens

By Anna Challet New America Media

September 11, 2014 – In a world where every day is a holiday – there’s National Doughnut Day, Pi Day (honoring the number 3.14 and celebrated by eating pie), and Talk Like a Pirate Day (that one is inter-national) – a group of organizations came together and decided that surely one of these days should be dedicated to voter registration. They designated a day and proceeded to register over 300,000 voters in their first such effort – on the fourth Tuesday of September in 2012.

“The main idea was to try to do for civic engage-ment what Earth Day did for the environment, and really create one positive, fun, exciting day where everybody could plug in, in whatever way was easiest for them,” says Jessica Reeves, the vice president of partnerships at Voto Latino, one of the organizations involved in starting National Voter Registration Day (NVRD).

This year NVRD falls on Tuesday, September 23, about a month before the Nov. 4 general elections. Through on-the-ground efforts by participating organizations, as well as online and media com-munications, the initiative has registered voters in every state – the highest numbers in California, New York, Illinois, and Texas, the last of which saw nearly 11,000 registrations in the first year alone. Over 235,000 of the registrations took place online (which is available in 22 states), and the rest at field events and through the mail.

It started back in 2011, according to Matt Singer, the executive director of the Bus Federation Civic Fund, which mobilizes a network of grassroots or-ganizations to participate in leadership development and other civic programs like NVRD. Singer, one of the individuals behind the day’s founding, was alarmed by 2008 U.S. Census data indicating that about 6 million people hadn’t cast a ballot that year because they didn’t know how to register to vote or had missed a registration deadline. And, he thought, the central importance of voting to democracy was in danger of falling out of the public consciousness.

“The core idea of voting, which is central to what it means to be American, has been caught up in partisan squabbles … rather than a celebration of this right that people have fought and died for,” says Singer. “We wanted to bring back this idea of voting as being centrally American.” He adds that recent research shows that voter registration drives do lead to a measurable increase in voter turnout.

In its first year, the initiative recruited over 1,200 partner organizations to host voter registration events, and today has over 1,800. Partners include well-known organizations like Rock the Vote, as well as a host of local institutions like churches

and food banks. The day has been declared official by the National Association of Secretaries of State. Gregory Cendana, the executive director of the Institute for Asian Pacific American Leadership and Advancement, one of NVRD’s partner organi-zations, says that the initiative is structured around “key community stakeholders who aren’t always the go-to people around civic engagement.”

“So we’re thinking about community health cen-ters, we’re thinking about small businesses, we’re thinking about a variety of community organizations that don’t necessarily have civic engagement as their focus of work, to help them have voter reg-istration as part of their program,” Cendana says. He mentions Chambers of Commerce in ethnic com-munities, such as those reaching Asian American small business owners, as being key for outreach.

Also integral to the day’s success are partners like universities and community colleges, because of their ability to reach young eligible voters. “Al-most any [initiative] that aims to register voters in America is going to end up having about half the people it reaches be under the age of 30, often because they just haven’t been asked,” says Singer. “They need someone to talk to them.”

Many of Voto Latino’s NVRD efforts center around “reaching young Latinos through technol-ogy, media, and pop culture in ways that are relevant to them,” such as contests and celebrity partnerships, according to Reeves. She adds that reaching young Latinos is also important because they are often “gatekeepers for their families. They’re translators for Mom, Dad, Grandma, for other folks in their family who maybe aren’t as fluent, or not as well-versed in the legal language of registering to vote.”

NVRD’s website provides online voter registra-tion in 11 languages. Other key partners for register-ing voters include organizations that work with new citizens or are embedded in immigrant communities, like the Korean Resource Center in Los Angeles, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and several chapters of OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates.

For now, Singer hopes that more organizations will sign up as partners to promote the day and host events on the 23rd. “It’s a good opportunity to do something simple and non-partisan, and just make sure that your own community is registered and ready to participate this fall,” he says.

National Voter Registration Day is on Tuesday, September 23. The online registra-tion tool is available in English, Spanish, Ilo-cano, Tagalog, Chinese, Bengali, Hindi, Jap-anese, Korean, Thai Urdu, and Vietnamese. Organizations can still sign up to take part in Sep-tember 23 and help register voters.


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mayor Elenita Binay, son and current Makati Mayor Junjun and eldest daughter Senator Nancy Binay.

A plunder case filed against the Binay family by their political opponents in Makati prompted senators to call for a hearing. The elder Binay and his son are being investi-gated for allegedly receiving “kickback” from the construction of the P2.3 billion Makati carpark building.

Ernesto Mercado, former vice mayor of Makati, pointed to Binay and his son as having received “commission” from the construction of the parking building. He also claimed to have delivered part of the “kick-backs” to Mrs Binay through her daughter Nancy. He also accused senator Binay of selling her overpriced birthday cakes given by Makati City Hall to its senior citizens. He claimed the lady senator used to bake these cakes before she became a senator.

The Philippines is still perceived as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. The election of Noynoy Aquino as President in 2010 did nothing to slow down corruption in the government. Despite glaring evidence of corruption among his KKK (kaibigan, kaklase and kabarilan), and lawmaker allies, no one has been prosecuted.

The senate inquiry should also look close-ly into how the other senators disbursed their DAP allocations totaling P1.107 billion in lump sum appropriations. Topping the list is Senate President Frank Drilon who got P100 million per the “sanitized” list submitted by Budget Secretary Butch Abad to lawmakers.

Abad, chief architect of DAP, admitted during a recent Senate inquiry that lawmak-ers received their disbursement allocations six months after they have convicted im-peached Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Opposition lawmakers are saying that Senator Drilon, a noted brown noser, got the biggest allocation from among the senators. He reportedly received close to P1 billion from DAP. It was reported that Drilon received P450 million for the Jalaur River Purpose Project, P150 million for the Iloilo River Develop-ment Program and P100 million for the Iloilo Convention Center. All these projects were funded through his DAP allocations.It is also worth mentioning that the construc-tion company that built the controversial over-priced Makati carpark building (Hilmark’s construction corporation) is the same compa-ny that erected the Iloilo Convention Center.When informed about his supposed P1bil-lion DAP fund allocations, he flatly denied it although he rejected a challenge hurled by an opposition lawmaker that he should get a funky haircut if proven that he in-deed got P1billion from his DAP funds.Many political observers do agree that Drilon is no saint when it comes to “grease money” and is among the list or on top of the list of “pork thieves.” It is no secret that Drilon’s personal wealth cannot be ignored.It was in 2012 at the height of the im-peachment trial of Corona when Sena-tor Drilon’s seemingly vast unexplained wealth was put in the spotlight, because of

his brazen show of bias as a senator judge.It was revealed that a 1,542 square meter property in the expensive Forbes Park is owned by Drilon’s stepdaughter, Eduarda Genuino. It was also reported that in 2004, Genuino, who is employed as an executive at Starbucks of the Tantoco Lopez family, purchased the foreclosed property for P50 million. The property is located at 17 Kaway-an Road, North Forbes Park, Makati, from the Bank of Philippine Island. The original owner is listed as one Amelia Montecillo.

Genuino’s widowed mother, Milagros, married Drilon in 2000 after the senator’s first wife died. Drilon and his wife Milagros and all their kids reside at 49 Polk Street in Greenhills, San Juan.

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee headed by Senator Teofisto Guingona III should look into how the stepdaughter of Drilon, a single woman with no visible means of income aside from her Starbucks job, can purchase an expensive property.

No wonder, Drilon’s weight keep going up because of all the perks he enjoys through his DAP allocations.

Another government official who should be investigated is DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman. She has no business being the head of the DSWD. She is ruthless and heartless. Despite repeated public clamor demanding her resignation after COA reported that food packs worth P2.7 million were lost to spoil-age because of improper handling, she’s still in the Cabinet. The much needed food relief should have been able to feed hundreds of

typhoon Yolanda victims still suffering from hunger, particularly in Tacloban city.

Soliman is also accused of not disburs-ing funds donated by foreign countries to typhoon victims to help them ease their suffering, particularly during the first weeks after their homes were devastated by the su-per typhoon. Most of these funds reportedly remain unaccounted for.

Soliman served as DSWD Secretary dur-ing President Gloria Arroyo’s term. She was among those who convinced Arroyo to do the then “I’m sorry” video after the President was implicated in a presidential electoral fraud. When the public outrage did not die down after Arroyo’s apology, she and other cabinet officials resigned.

As of now, more and more people are get-ting tired of the Aquino regime. Corruption remains pervasive in almost all branches of the government. The Police force, suppos-edly the savior of the people from criminal elements, are the ones perpetrating the high profile crimes like kidnapping, robbery ex-tortion and drug trafficking.

After four years of Aquino leadership, nothing has change. People are tired. The Catholic church have recently joined the people in demanding accountability and transparency promised by Noynoy during his presidential campaign in 2010. They also chided Noynoy for reneging his promise to scrap the pork barrel funds.

It’s a shame that millions of Filipinos elected do nothing as a self-centered presi-dent in the person of Noynoy Aquino.

Expand DAP probe; Include other lawmakers and offi cialsThe current probe being conducted by the Senate on alleged

corruption among elected public officials should be expanded to dispel public perception that the Aquino government is only after its perceived political enemies.

So far only Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jingoy Estrada and Bong Revilla have been charged with plunde for allegedly receiving “kickbacks” from their controversial DAP and PDAF allocations. Estrada and Revilla are under detention while Enrile is still at the Philippine National Police hospital in Camp Crame due to his medical condition.

Also being investigated in the Senate is Vice President Jojo Binay and some members of his family, in-cluding his wife and former Makati


pay your creditors slowly as you’re able. The law says that once you file, creditors must leave you alone immediately. This gives you some breathing room, allowing you think more clearly while trying to get back on your feet. Bankruptcy is noth-ing more than a tool that you can use for financial recovery.

Consult with an experienced bankruptcy attorney who can explain to you how bankruptcy may possibly work to your advantage. And if you come to the conclu-sion that it is in fact your only way out of debt, don’t drag your feet in implementing the solution.

Keep in mind that the sooner you act to know your options, the sooner you will also find out if non-bankruptcy alterna-tives exist. Inaction can only worsen your

problems, and you may find yourself hav-ing no choice but to file bankruptcy at the last minute in order to deal with lawsuits, garnishments, bank account seizures or liens against your property. Plan ahead of time so you’re not caught unprepared. If you need help, call my Valencia office at (866) 477-7772 and I will help you make the right decision for yourself and your family. We have offices in Pasadena, Va-lencia and Cerritos.

(None of the information herein is in-tended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has success-fully helped more than 5,000 clients get out of debt. To schedule a free attorney consultation, please call Ray Bulaon Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1-888-224-7224 or 1-866-477-7772.)

to be paralyzed with fear when we are dealing with uncertainty so most people end up doing nothing. Initially, you may believe that you can handle your financial problems on your own without getting any help. Unfortunately, once you let your bills get behind, the problem quickly escalates and it becomes harder and harder to catch up with every month that goes by. This is a risky game to play especially when you’re falling behind on your mortgage or

car payments since you’re now in danger of losing the roof over your head or your only reliable transportation to get to work. If you don’t find a quick solution, things can easily go from bad to worse. This is not what you want, is it?

How about putting the law to work for you? Filing bankruptcy can provide imme-diate debt relief, whether you’re eliminat-ing debts you can no longer pay or simply reorganizing your finances so that you can

Can bankruptcy really put an end to all your fi nancial worries?If you are facing the prospect of filing bankruptcy for the

first time in your life, this could be a frightening process. You probably have a thousand questions going through your mind as you contemplate your next move. Is bankruptcy the right thing to do or will it only make my situation worse? Will I lose everything that I have? Will my credit ever recover? Will the whole world know that I filed bankruptcy?

I think it is human nature

BEIJING, September 19, 2014 (AFP) – Chinese Internet retail giant Alibaba made its historic Wall Street trading debut Friday, breaking the record for the largest-ever initial public offering by raising $25 billion.

The following is a fact-file about the e-commerce titan, founded by Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma, who was in New York for the stock launch.

FOUNDING: Alibaba Group was founded in 1999 by 18 people led by Ma.WHY ALIBABA?: Ma chose the name because it is “easily pronounced in

practically all languages” and because the “open sesame” catchphrase from 1,001 Nights signifies that the company’s platforms “open a doorway to fortune for small businesses”, the company’s website says.

SIZE: A total of 20,000 people are employed by Alibaba, which has its head-quarters in Hangzhou, Ma’s hometown in China’s eastern province of Zhejiang. The company has 73 offices in mainland China and 16 overseas.

COMPONENTS: Taobao.com, China’s most popular online consumer market-place, and TMall.com, a website for business-to-consumer transactions, are among several online platforms which operate within the Alibaba structure. Raising its profile internationally is US shopping website 11 Main, launched in June. It also has a payment unit, Alipay, which is not included within the IPO vehicle.

CUSTOMERS: Taobao has more than 800 million product listings and over 500 million registered users. It is estimated to have more than 90 percent of China’s online consumer-to-consumer market.

THE MARKET: China’s online shoppers spent nearly 1.26 trillion yuan ($200 billion) in 2012, up 66.5 percent from the previous year, the semi-official China In-ternet Network Information Centre said in an April 2013 report. 11 Main potentially opens the door to a wider global audience.

Alibaba, China’s Internet behemoth

See ALIBABA, page 21


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these attitudes are absolutely wrong and that assistance is available to help get them out of the abusive situation. In addition to organizations that assist victims with basic needs, like shelter, food, and medical treatment, there are also immigration laws that allow victims of domestic violence to legalize their immigration status in the United States. The immigration laws pro-vide assistance to anyone who is the victim of “extreme cruelty,” whether the abuser is a spouse, parent, step-parent, child, or unmarried partner.

Physical abuse is most commonly thought when individuals think of “extreme cruelty.” However, individuals must also recognize that psychological and mental abuse can also be deemed as domestic violence rendering an individual eligible for a visa.

In a recent court decision, an individual was granted a green card based entirely on non-physical abuse. The court agreed that the individual had been the victim of “extreme cruelty” due to her husband’s alcoholism and gambling. The individual had provided extensive testimony describ-ing how her husband’s alcoholism had put himself and others in danger when he drives, socially isolated her, and caused him to be aggressive toward her. She also testified about how his alcoholism wors-

ened his gambling addiction, causing him to psychologically abuse her and place her welfare at risk. As well, she testified as to how her husband failed to support her adjustment application because of his alcoholism. The court determined that the long-term impact of her husband’s alcohol-ism and gambling amounts to “extreme cruelty” as it affects her psychological, emotional and financial well-being.

Individuals subjected to extreme cruelty have options to seek either a green card or a U nonimmigrant visa for both those who are in the United States and those residing overseas.

Under the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA), which also applies to men de-spite the law’s name, a victim of domestic violence may file a self-petition for a green card as follows: (1) He/she is a battered spouse of a US citizen (USC) or lawful permanent resident (LPR); (2) He/she is a parent who has been subjected to extreme cruelty by a USC son or daughter; (3) He/she is the parent of a child who has been abused by a USC or LPR parent; or (4) He/she is an unmarried child under age 21 who has been abused by a USC or LPR parent.

To qualify for a green card, the applicant must meet the following requirements: (1) Abuse must have been in the US, unless the abuser is a US government employee

or member of the US military; (2) Victim must have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty during the marriage; (3) Applicant is a person of good moral char-acter; and (4) Marriage must have been entered into in good faith. Additionally, if the parties are divorced or the abuser has died, the self-petition must be filed within 2 years.

For those who do not qualify under VAWA, an individual may apply for a U visa in order to obtain temporary lawful status that may later on be converted to a green card. Unlike VAWA, the abuser and victim do not need to be married. As well, the abuser can also be an undocumented individual in the US.

Eligibility for a U visa as the victim of domestic violence requires the following: (1) He/she suffered substantial physical or mental abuse due to the domestic violence; (2) He/she has information concerning the domestic violence; (3) He/she has been helpful, is being helpful, or is likely to be helpful to law enforcement officials in in-vestigating or prosecuting the perpetrator; and (4) the domestic violence violated US laws or occurred within the US.

The U visa grants an individual tem-porary lawful status and work authoriza-

tion for 4 years. If the victim is under 21, then his/her spouse, children, parents and unmarried siblings under age 18 are also eligible for a U visa. If the victim is 21 or older, then the victim’s spouse and children may obtain derivative U visas. After 3 years, U visa holders may apply for permanent residency.

The VAWA and U visa regulations em-power victims of extreme cruelty to not only ensure that justice against the abuser is obtained, but also to secure justice for himself/herself as a victim deserving of an opportunity in the United States. The im-migration laws provide refuge to those who are faced with an intolerable situation of abuse. There is help for victims of domes-tic violence and hopefully victims can find the strength within to take advantage of the various avenues of assistance so that they can have a safe, secure, and healthy future.

For further information, please sched-ule an appointment with an attorney at Aquino & Loew, Immigration Law Special-ists; (888) 797-1140 or (626) 799-3089; [email protected]. Please also visit Aquino & Loew at www.aquinoloew.comand connect with us on Facebook and Twit-ter. Aquino & Loew also handles family law and criminal matters.

Visa relief for domestic violence, including non-physical violenceBeing a victim of domestic violence is an extremely dif-

ficult situation. Not only does the individual experience the physical, emotional and/or psychological abuse itself, but often times has no one to turn to for support out of fear or humiliation. Sometimes family members or friends even try to persuade the victim to not make the domestic abuse public because of the potential negative consequences that the abuser may face.

Victims of domestic vio-lence must understand that

ACQUISITIONS: Alibaba went on a deal-making frenzy ahead of its share offer in the United States.

Its purchase of Chinese mobile browser developer UCWeb for an undisclosed sum in June came after it paid $192 million for a 50 percent stake in top Chinese football club Evergrande earlier that month.

In May, it paid $249 million for a stake in Singapore postal service Singapore

ALIBABAFrom page 20

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Because canned and pouched salmon is shelf-stable, you can always have some on hand for a quick, tasty meal or fl avorful snack. At the grocery store, simply look for “Alaska” on the lid or label to ensure a top-quality, wholly natural product with nothing added but a pinch of salt for fl avor.

Th ese recipes showcase how Alaska canned salmon can be adapted to a wide range of meals and life styles, from the indulgent to the über-healthy. For additional preparation tips and recipes, visit www.wildalaskaseafood.com.

Alaska Salmon Pesto Pasta SaladPrep time: 25 minutesServings: 8 to 10

8 ounces dry, small shell pasta 2 to 3 teaspoons garlic, fi nely minced 1/2 cup prepared basil pesto 1/2 cup light Italian salad dressing 1 zucchini, cut in 1/2-inch half-moon slices 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved 1 small red onion, thinly sliced 3/4 cup frozen peas, defrosted 1 can (14.75 ounces) traditional pack Alaska salmon or 2 cans or pouches (6 to 7.1 ounces each) skinless, boneless salmon, drained and chunked Salt and pepper, to tasteCook pasta according to package directions; drain well. Let cool slightly then toss with garlic, pesto and dressing. Set aside.

Cook zucchini in covered microwav able container on high 2 minutes or until just tender and bright green.

Toss blanched zucchini, tomatoes, onion and peas into pasta and stir to combine. Gently fold in drained salmon; season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or chill before serving.Nutrients per serving: 310 calories (46% from fat), 16 g total fat, 3 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 17 g protein, 26 g carbohydrate, 3 g fi ber, 485 mg sodium, 214 mg calcium and 1300 mg omega-3 fatty acids

In bowl, mix lime juice, chiles, cilantro, bell pepper, red onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Gently stir in salmon until blended.

In small bowl, blend cream cheese and adobo sauce. Spread 1/4 mixture over each tortilla to within 1 inch of edge. Spread 2/3 cup salmon mixture over cream cheese. Top with 1/4 of lettuce and roll up burrito-style. Repeat for remaining tortillas. For appetizers, cut each wrap into thirds

(makes 12 appetizer servings). As a meal, cut each wrap in half (makes 4

entree servings).Serve immediately.

Nutrients per serving (4 entrees): 305 calories, 8.5 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 25% calories from fat, 88 mg cholesterol, 32.5 g protein, 26.5 g carbohydrate, 4 g fi ber, 1228 mg sodium, 130.5 mg calcium and 1290 mg omega-3 fatty acids

Yogurt Dill SauceMix yogurt and garlic, and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in dill and cucumber. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.Nutrients per serving: 217 calories (34% from fat), 8 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 112 mg cholesterol, 27 g protein, 8 g carbo hydrate, 0.5 g fi ber, 897 mg sodium, 320 mg calcium and 1800 mg omega-3 fatty acids

Alaska Salmon and Chipotle WrapPrep time: 15 minutesServings: 4

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 tablespoon chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped red onion 1 teaspoon chopped garlic 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 can (14.75 ounces) traditional pack Alaska salmon or 2 cans or pouches (6 to 7.1 ounces each) skinless, boneless salmon, drained and chunked 3 tablespoons light cream cheese or light sour cream 1 teaspoon adobo sauce 4 whole wheat tortillas (8-inch) 4 large lettuce or cabbage leaves, shredded

1/2 cup nonfat yogurt 1 1/2 teaspoons fi nely minced fresh garlic Salt and pepper 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed 1/4 cup grated cucumber (squeeze dry)

Alaska Salmon Cakes with Yogurt Dill SaucePrep time: 21 minutesServings: 4 1 egg 1/4 cup small-curd nonfat cottage cheese 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning 1/4 cup sliced green onions 1 can (14.75 ounces) traditional pack Alaska salmon or 2 cans or pouches (6 to 7.1 ounces each) skinless, boneless salmon, drained and chunked 3 tablespoons garlic-and-herb bread crumbs Vegetable oil Yogurt Dill SauceIn medium bowl, whisk egg lightly. Add cottage cheese, dill, lemon pepper and green onions; mix well. Mix in drained salmon, then sprinkle in bread crumbs and mix well. Shape mixture into 4 patties, 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter.

Heat nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and brush skillet with oil. Fry salmon cakes for about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes per side. Cakes should be crisp and golden on the outside and still moist on the inside.

Serve with Yogurt Dill Sauce.





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ENTERTAINMENTLos Angeles – In celebration of October

as Filipino-American Heritage month, Ballet Philippines, the premier ballet com-pany of the Philippines, has announced a four-week North American tour to com-memorate their 45th anniversary. The tour begins on Saturday, October 4 at the Pasa-dena Civic Auditorium, then goes to the California Theater in San Jose on Sunday, October 12 with performances following in Oregon, Washington and Vancouver. Featuring award-winning, notable works,

the performances will highlight different facets of the Filipino indomitable spirit and diverse culture. Ranging from traditional folksongs to the most contemporary ex-pressions, the production promises to bring a taste of home to many Filipinos here as well as an invitation for all to partake of the fun, dynamic energy of the Philippines.

“Ballet Philippines is the first profes-sional dance company in Southeast Asia and it has made significant contributions to Asian arts and culture in the develop-

Ballet Philippines brings ‘master pieces’ to the US, Canada

Embarking on the next season of his career after a very successful and eventful 30-year celebration, “Mr. Pure Energy” Gary Valenciano is set to conquer the globe once again with a series of shows set in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the USA at the Mark J Ettes Hall, Trump Taj Mahal on September 20, at the Victory Conven-tion Centre in Auckland New Zealand on September 26 and at the Rosehill Gardens in Sydney, Australia on September 28.

Gary V has been touring the world since last year being the Ambassador of ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel (TFC) for its 20th anniversary celebrations. After an explosive performance with son Gab in New York last year, Gary has toured To-ronto, San Francisco, and London for TFC and is set to visit Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Guam, as well. He received a standing ovation from ABSCBN President Charo Santos-Concio when he performed for over 25,000 people in London. He also staged a powerful 5-city tour of Australia (Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane) with son Paolo in July just before he staged the successful repeat of his ARISE Gary V 3.0 concert franchise, which was staged for the second time this year at SM MOA Arena after filling up the Smart Araneta Coliseum for two nights in April. Paolo and Gary received a trophy for co-directing the con-cert series which won Best Concert of the Year at the recent 6th PMPC Star Awards at the Solaire Grand Ballroom. Aside from receiving countless nominations that night, Gary also received three other awards for Best Male Recording Artist for his WITH YOU album as well as Best Male Star of the Night and Best Male Celebrity of the Night.

In the USA, he sold out the Chumash Resort in Santa Barbara and filled Harrah’s Rincon in San Diego last February. For his upcoming concert “Gary V Live at the Taj Mahal,” Gary will share the stage with the same special guests headed by international super selfie king Gab Valenciano who re-cently graduated from Full Sail University with an associate’s degree in Recording Engineering and the best female quartet in the country, top 10 of The X Factor Philip-pines and Top 3 for Showtime’s Bida Ka-pamilya for 2013, AKA JAM. The group is composed of four talented ladies, Suklay Diva Katrina Velarde of the Trenderas soap opera, Monique Lualhati, Ashley Campbell, and Jhelsea Flores. Acclaimed music producer/arranger Mon Faustino is the concert’s musical director.

Philippine fans around the world can look forward to witnessing one of the coun-try’s greatest artists perform his greatest hits live and in person. In the course of over 30 years, Gary has produced and recorded countless hit songs that helped define the history of Pinoy pop culture. Gary has also inspired millions of people around the world as UNICEF’s Philippine National Ambassador for 15 years, and through his craft as the country’s most prolific and ac-complished singer, songwriter, producer, and performer.

For more on Gary, please check www.manilagenesis.com www.garyv.com and his Facebook site Gary Valenciano Official, as well as his Twitter site @GaryValen-ciano1 and @therealgaryv for Intragram.

ment of dance through new works and Filipino and international classics,” stated Margie Moran Floirendo, President of Ballet Philippines’ Board of Trustees and former Miss Universe (1973). “It has been over 15 years since we have performed in the United States and we feel that it is a big opportunity for us to celebrate our 45th year by staging a presentation that has earned critical acclaim at home and abroad for its culturally unique demonstration of Filipino artistry to our Filipino-American audiences. It is our way to contribute to the promotion of our country’s wealth of arts”.

Ballet Philippines will be performing a showcase of several of the company’s best and most celebrated works from no-table choreographers which highlights the company’s dual mastery of classical and contemporary dance. The “MasterPieces” repertoire includes George Birkadze’s Fa-randole, Alden Lugnasin’s Aku, Denisa Reyes’ For the Gods, and Agnes Loc-sin’s Moriones. The company will also perform The Bungkos Suite, the work of Ballet Philippines founder, Artistic Direc-tor Emeritus and just named Philippines National Artist for Dance, Alice Reyes.

A portion of the proceeds from both the Los Angeles and San Jose performances will be donated to the Ballet Philippines Foundation, for their continuing arts educa-tion work, and to the Apl.de.ap Foundation Int’l, for their continuing humanitarian work with disenfranchised children and Ty-phoon Haiyan survivors in the Philippines.

Gary V around the world


COMMUNITY

Los Angeles, 15 September 2014 – Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim con-gratulates newly appointed PHL Honorary Consul Audie de Castro for San Diego, CA. Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. adminis-tered the oath taking of Mr. de Castro’s at Malacañang Palace in Manila on 30 August 2014.

Honorary Consul Audie de Castro, is the founder of de Castro, P.C. Attorneys & Counselors. He graduated Cum Laude from the University of San Francisco School of Law. He was a member of the University of San Francisco Law Review and McAuliffe Honor Society (top 10%). Prior to graduating from law school, Mr. de Castro practiced as a Certified Public Accountant.

Mr. de Castro is actively involved in civic and community affairs. He serves on the Board of Governors for the San Diego Foundation. In 2011, he was appointed by the Mayor of San Diego as Chairman of the Consolidated Plan Advisory Board for the city, which advises the City Council on the fair distribution of millions of dollars

of community development block grant funds (CDBG) each year. He is former Commissioner of the City of San Diego Citizens Equal Opportunity Commission and previously served on an Advisory Board for another local Mayor. He is also past President of the Asian Business As-sociation of San Diego and the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of LEAD San Diego (2003). Mr. de Castro has received numerous awards for his community service, including a Star Award from the San Diego Performing Arts League, President’s Award of Community Service from the Filipino American Law-yers of San Diego, and Pan Pac Honors Award from the Pan Pacific Law Enforce-ment Association.

Consul General Herrera-Lim welcomed the appointment of Mr. de Castro. In the next few weeks, Mr. de Castro will pre-pare his office in close coordination with the Philippine Consulate General, to start serving the Filipino-American community in San Diego and to represent the interests of the Philippines in his area of jurisdiction.

Photo above shows Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim congratulating Mr. Audie de Castro as the Philippine Honorary Consul for San Diego, CA.

De Castro, new PHL honorary consul for San Diego

LOS ANGELES, September 18, 2014 (AFP) – US police have arrested a 37-year-old man suspected of starting a wildfire which doubled in size overnight and is threatening over 2,000 homes in northern California, officials said Thursday.

Some 2,800 people have evacuated their homes in the face of the raging King Fire, which has expanded to cover 71,000 acres (29,000 hectares).

Wayne Allen Huntsman was arrested Wednesday for arson for allegedly starting the blaze near Pollock Pines, about 140 miles northeast of San Francisco, a Cal Fire spokesman told a press conference.

Nearly 3,700 firefighters and 300 fire trucks are battling the blaze, one of a dozen raging across California, which is in the third year of its worst drought in decades.

“The fire continued to burn actively throughout the night,” said Cal Fire – California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection – explaining the blaze had doubled in size.

“Due to the day’s extreme fire behavior, steep terrain, inaccessibility, variable wind direction and darkness, it was unsafe to approach the north portion of the fire,” it said in an online update.

The fire, which is only five percent con-tained, was likely to grow further, it said.

“There is a high potential for extreme fire behavior today,” it warned.

California is baking in temperatures of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (nearly 40 degrees Celsius) and the prolonged drought is devastating California’s largely agricul-tural Central Valley in particular.

Wildfi res rage across drought-hit California

Proud parents Mike (left) and Lesa Cabatingan (extreme right) with daughters Mikaela and Mariel, would like to thank all their guests and well wishers at the 18th birthday celebration of Mikaela at the Westin Long Beac last August 31. The event was attended by close friends and families. The theme was Pokemon – Disney Debut and everybody was charmed by the musical performances of the sisters and guest performers. The Cabatingan sisters are both alumni of St. Philomena Catholic School in Carson, a school administered by the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles since 1958.

The Philippine Heritage Institute International commemorates its Silver Jubilee on October 11, 2014, honoring outstanding Filipino American nurses, community leaders and one organization, the Dr. Jose P. Rizal Monument Movement. Photo shows awardees at the Sept. 7 orientation at the Double Tree by Hilton in Norwalk, Calif.Seated from left: Leni Bigornia, Diane Aguilar, Marigene O. Strouse, Delilah Dijamco, Yolanda Lasmarias, and Evangeline So. Back row: Marla Udarbe-Raquel (representing Ridgway, Penn. Mayor Guillermo Udarbe, M.D.), Jeannie Hermio, Francis de Guzman, Consuelo Chaneco, Adolfo Famas Jr., Millicent de Jesus, Mariane Ivy Dimalanta, Lorceli Tulao, and Alma Pedralvez. Photo: Romy Lara


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all points leading to a huge similarities between 2007 and this year 2014. As you are about to see, U.S. home sales fell dramatically throughout 2007. The RE market has slowed down but my thoughts after reading what the analyst are predict-ing is somewhat skeptical. Here is what The Crux is saying:

Initially referring to 2007:It was the worst economic crisis since

the days of the Great Depression. And you know what they say – if we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it. Just like seven years ago, the stock market has soared to all-time highs... Just like seven years ago, the authorities are telling us that there is nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, just like seven years ago, a housing bubble is imploding and another great economic crisis is rapidly approaching.

New home sales are also following a similar pattern. In fact, we just learned that new home sales have collapsed to an 8 month low...

Sales of new single-family homes dropped sharply last month as severe winter weather and higher mortgage rates continued to slow the housing recovery.

New home sales fell 14.5% to a season-ally adjusted annual rate of 385,000, down

from February’s revised pace of 449,000, the Census Bureau said.

Once again, this is similar to what we witnessed back in 2007. That shows how new home sales declined dramatically throughout that year...

And this chart shows what has happened to new homes sales during the past several months. Sadly, we have never even gotten close to returning to the level that we were at back in 2007. But even the modest “re-covery” that we have experienced is now quickly unraveling...

If history does repeat, then what we are witnessing right now is a very troubling sign for the months to come. As you can see, new home sales usually start going down before a recession begins.

And don’t expect these housing num-bers to rebound any time soon. The de-mand for mortgages has dropped through the floor.

One of the key indicators I follow in respect to the state of the housing market is mortgage originations. This data gives me an idea about demand for homes, as rising demand for mortgages means more people are buying homes. And as demand increases, prices should be increasing.

But the opposite is happening…In the first quarter of 2014, mortgage

originations at Citigroup Inc. (NYSE/C) declined 71% from the same period a year ago. The bank issued $5.2 billion in mort-gages in the first quarter of 2014, compared to $8.3 billion in the previous quarter and $18.0 billion in the first quarter of 2013. (Source: Citigroup Inc. web site, last ac-cessed April 14, 2014.)

Total mortgage origination volume at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE/JPM) declined by 68% in the first quarter of 2014 from the same period a year ago. At JPMorgan, in the first quarter of 2014, $17.0 billion worth of mortgages were issued, compared to $52.7 billion in the same period a year ago. (Source: JPMorgan Chase & Co. web site, last accessed April 14, 2014.)

It is almost as if we are watching a re-play of 2007 all over again, and yet nobody is talking about this. Everyone wants to believe that this time will be different. The

human capacity for self-delusion is abso-lutely amazing.

Right now, 2014 is turning out to be eerily similar to 2007. Will 2015 turn out to be a repeat of 2008?

My thoughts, I am still a bit optimistic because the cause of the 2007 RE bust was due to faulty Mortgages written to homeowners who really cannot afford inflated homes.

Remember the first wave of foreclo-sures that year where to homeowners owning their properties for less than a year, some even started defaulting their home loans after just the first few payments.

I hope I am right and that we just see a little hiccup and not a repeat of 2007.

Thanks for your inquiries and please call Ken Go of 1st Innovative Finance or write to [email protected]. Please all Ken at 562-508-7048. Like us on facebook : 1st Innovative Finance Group.

My prediction in April 2014 about the real estate marketI am not a pessimist just yet, but I would like for buyers to

be smarter buyers and continue to be very conservative. Happy Days are not here yet. The Northern California Market might not be as affected as the rest of the nation, as I have always said that Northern Cal seems to be a different world. It’s got all the jobs and the internet money floating around. Therefore, it will continue to be very aggressively

If you read charts and be-lieve in the real estate cycle,

LOS ANGELES, September 12, 2014 (AFP) – A proposal to split California into six separate US states has failed to garner enough signatures to put it to voters, officials said Friday.

Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper an-nounced in July that he had submitted 1.3 million signatures backing his idea, in theory enough to get it on a state-wide ballot in No-vember 2016.

But California’s secretary of state ruled Friday that only 66 percent of the signatures, from a random sampling, were valid, and therefore rejected the proposal.

Even if the measure made the ballot, and even if California’s 38 million voters backed it, it would still need approval by state law-makers and Washington DC.

The six new states it proposed were Jeffer-son – which already has a separatist movement near the Oregon border – North California, Silicon Valley, Central California, West Cali-fornia and South California.

Six Californias, the group behind the initiative, immediately contended that the signatures had not been counted properly and vowed to re-count all of them themselves, and persuade authorities to change their mind.

“It is unfortunate that the current archaic system has delayed this process. It is yet an-other example of the dysfunction of the current system and reinforces the need for six fresh, modern governments.

“In the meantime, we will work with the secretary of state to verify all of the signatures gathered during the petition process.”

California split plan fails to make state ballot


HEALTH & BEAUTYWASHINGTON, September 16, 2014

(AFP) – The average American’s waistline has expanded over the past decade, adding about one inch (2.5 centimeters) of belly fat among the general public from 1999 to 2012, researchers said Tuesday.

The findings in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) are the first to show how the nation’s obesity epidemic has translated to added paunch in recent years, and the study said the trend toward larger waistlines was “significant.”

About one third of American adults – 34.9 percent or 78.6 million people – are considered obese, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Preven-tion, a condition that raises the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

Those figures are based on body mass index, a ratio calculated from weight and height. Recent research has shown no change in obesity rates according to BMI between 2003-2004 and 2011-2012.

But when CDC researcher Earl Ford

and colleagues examined data about waist circumference from the same national health registries, dating from 1999-2012, they found that there was a definite trend toward bigger bellies in the United States.

“Our analyses using data from the same surveys indicate that the prevalence of abdominal obesity is still increasing,” said the report.

“The reasons for increases in waist circumference in excess of what would be expected from changes in BMI remain speculative, but several factors, including sleep deprivation, endocrine disruptors, and certain medications, have been pro-posed as potential explanations.”

For the purposes of the study, abdominal obesity was defined as a waist circumfer-ence greater than 40.2 inches (102 centi-meters) in men and greater than 34.6 inches (88 centimeters) in women.

From a pool of nearly 33,000 men and nonpregnant women ages 20 years or older, “the overall age-adjusted average waist circumference increased progressively

and significantly, from 37.6 inches in 1999-2000 to 38.8 inches in 2011-2012,” said the study.

Men gained on average 0.8 inches and women added 1.5 inches, it said.

“The overall age-adjusted prevalence of abdominal obesity increased significantly from 46.4 percent in 1999-2000 to 54.2 percent in 2011-2012,” the study added.

Men and women saw “significant in-creases,” with male abdominal obesity in-

creasing from 37 to 44 percent, and women going from 55 to 65 percent.

The gains were highest among African Americans and Mexican Americans, the researchers found.

“Our results support the routine mea-surement of waist circumference in clinical care consistent with current recommenda-tions as a key step in initiating the preven-tion, control, and management of obesity among patients,” said the study.

American waistlines get bigger and bigger: study

NEW YORK, September 17, 2014 (AFP) – Animal rights charity PETA de-clared New York vegan capital of the world on Wednesday as Scottish actor Alan Cum-ming unveiled a replica of the Manhattan skyline carved out of vegetables.

Dan Mathews, senior vice president of PETA, said the Big Apple was “2014 most vegan-friendly city” of the year due to a first vegetarian public school, vegan fast-food outlets and increasing offshoots of vegan gourmet restaurants.

Mathews said celebrities such as Be-yonce and Jennifer Lopez were among those who had taken the 22-day vegan cleanse, saying that incorporating vegan elements into diets was healthy.

“I am a vegan and to be in a city which is so vegan friendly is great,” Cumming, who went vegan a couple of years ago and currently stars on Broadway in “Cabaret,” told reporters.

“Everyone realizes that these things are delicious and good for you and I think it’s an indication of how we’re becoming more conscious about what we do to our bodies,” he added.

Previous winners of “most vegan-friendly city” are Los Angeles, London and Austin, Texas, Mathews said.

The vegetable skyline took three days

to carve from squash, taro root, radishes, eggplant, broccoli, carrots, lemongrass, ba-nana leaves and beets by food artist James Parker, organizers said.

It was shown to New York mayor Bill de Blasio, with whom Cumming said he discussed Thursday’s independence refer-endum in Scotland.

Cumming, who on Wednesday pub-lished an op-ed in The New York Times calling for independence, told AFP he would not be able to vote because he was in New York.

City Council member Corey Johnson said he was “thrilled” that New York was number one in vegetarian and vegan dining, saying there were more than 140 vegetarian restaurants in the city.

PETA, known for its media stunts, is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than three million members and supporters.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal (PETA) activists carry a Manhattan skyline replica carved entirely from vegetables. ©AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad

Charity declares New York vegan capital of 2014

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PRAYERSA PRAYER OF HOPE

Lord jesus, i pray this day for strength, because there are times when things get tough and i feel like quitting. lord jesus, i ask this day for the comforting reassurance of your love, because there are times when people fail me, and i am tempted to lose hope. lord jesus, i seek this day for your light to guide my steps, because there are times when life is confusing and dif cult, and i lose my way. help me, o lord, to pick up the pieces, wipe my tears, face the sun, and start over again, for all is possible when i place my faith and trust in you, my saving god. amen.-J.M.B

JAY D” PLUMBERHANDY-MAN

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PRAYER to the BLESSED VIRGIN(Never known to fail)

Oh most beautiful ower of Mt. Carmel, fruit wine splendor of 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. Thank you Blessed Virgin. -R.E

PRAYERS

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APTS. FOR RENTMid-Wilshire- 322 N. Ox-ford Ave., Beverly / West-ern. 1 BR 1 BA $1,095, a/c, new paint, carpet, w/ parking. Filipino mngr. 626-795-7888.

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SPORTSUFC 178: Johnson vs. Cariaso; Saturday, Sept. 27 – Live on Pay-Per-View; MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas

Las Vegas – UFC officials announced today that UFC light heavyweight cham-pion Jon Jones suffered a leg injury while training for his bout against No. 2 con-tender Daniel Cormier, forcing the post-ponement of the title fight. Jones will now battle bitter rival Cormier in their highly anticipated title showdown on Saturday, Jan. 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

With Jones injured, UFC 178 will now be headlined by the UFC flyweight title bout between champion Demetrious John-son and surging contender Chris Cariaso. The Johnson-Cariaso bout moves from its originally scheduled date of Aug. 30 in Sacramento to Sept. 27 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

UFC 178 also features Conor McGregor taking on Dustin Poirier in a can’t-miss featherweight bout. Other key bouts in-clude Cat Zingano vs. Amanda Nunes in a pivotal women’s bantamweight title con-tender bout, Tim Kennedy vs. Yoel Romero in a middleweight clash, and former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz returning from an extended absence to battle Japanese star Takeya Mizugaki. More information on UFC 178, including additional bouts, will be announced in the days to come.

Due to the UFC 178 main event change, refunds will be given upon request at point of sale only. Deadline for refunds will be August 22.

Tickets for UFC 178: Johnson Vs. Cariaso, presented by MetroPCS, are on sale now and priced at $800, $600, $400, $250, $125 and $75 (prices do not include applicable service charges). Tickets are available for purchase online at www.tick-etmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000 and will be available at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.

UFC 178: Johnson Vs. Cariaso will be available live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on BellTV, Shaw Commu-nications, Sasktel, and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.99 US/$49.99 CAN for Standard Definition and $54.99 US/$59.99 CAN for High -Definition.

All bouts live, subject to change, and subject to approval by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live

events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS, a digital subscription service

with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM locations, and owns UFC.TV (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT

(an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame fran-chise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club, UFC Fan Expo, Octagon branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Fil-Am Chris Cariaso in main event of UFC 178

With Jones injured, UFC 178 will now be headlined by the UFC fl yweight title bout between champion Demetrious Johnson and surging contender Chris Cariaso. The Johnson-Cariaso bout moves from its originally scheduled date of Saturday, Aug. 30 in Sacramento to Saturday, Sept. 27 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.



MOTORING

September 16, 2014 – The stylish, feature-rich and fun-to-drive 2015 Honda Civic goes on sale tomorrow with a manu-facturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) starting at $18,2901 for the Civic Coupe LX with manual transmission, and a fuel-efficient lineup that includes the Civic Sedan HF with an EPA highway rating2 of 41 mpg. Joining the Civic fam-ily for 2015 is a new Special Edition (SE) sedan positioned between the LX and EX to provide customers with an even higher-value option, adding over $1,100 worth of telematics, audio, comfort, convenience and style upgrades for just $700 over the Sedan LX.

The Civic lineup received significant upgrades for 2014, including a redesigned Coupe exterior, new wheel designs, in-terior refinements, a new continuously variable transmission (CVT) and a host of available premium features, all of which are retained for 2015. The substantial list of high value standard features on the 2015 Civic includes a rearview camera with guidelines, expanded view driver’s mirror and Bluetooth HandsFreeLink 3. Available features include the 7-inch capacitive touch-screen Display Audio, HondaLinkTM next-generation connect-ed-car technology, LaneWatch™ display and Smart Entry with Push Button start.

The CVT, available on the Civic Se-

dan LX, Civic Coupe LX and EX, and standard on all other trims, enhances the responsiveness of the Civic’s 1.8-liter i-VTEC® engine by providing quick and smooth acceleration, while its wide ratio range and low internal friction help provide superior fuel efficiency. A slick shifting five-speed manual transmission is standard on the Civic Sedan and Coupe LX and Civic Coupe EX.

The new 2015 Civic Sedan SE comes equipped with the CVT, 15-inch alu-minum alloy wheels with black painted inserts, Honda LaneWatchTM, automatic climate control, Display Audio with next-generation HondaLink and additional tweeter speakers.

The 2015 Civic Sedan and Coupe will be joined by the Civic Si Sedan and Coupe, Civic Hybrid and Civic Natural Gas in the fall. The new 2015 Civic Sedan SE will also be available in the fall.

Although a Honda is a Honda wherev-

Carson Honda Filipino sales team (from left) Ricky Agagas, Rohmer Manalese, Terzo “T” Pallen and Christian Reyes.

Style, substance, and performance come together as Honda Civic Returns for 2015 with new high-value special edition sedan

er you see one, Filipinos flock to Carson Honda because of the friendly Filipino staff at the dealership and of course be-cause of the service our kababayans provide. One of them, Rohmer Manalese, has even earned the “Best in Customer Satisfaction,” an honor he keeps consis-tently, along with the three other Filipino sales staff in the persons of Ricky Agagas,

Terzo Pallen and Christian Reyes, all of whom are veterans in the car sales indus-try. “We have a great staff and this is a great dealership,” Carson Honda General Manager Krisztian Kratky said. “We have a friendly atmosphere.”

Carson Honda is located at 1435 E. 223rd Street, Carson, CA 90745. They can be reached toll free at 1-800-503-2321.

(Relaxnews) – Audi and GM luxury brand, Cadillac, have both set their sights on bringing autonomous driving features to their cars in 2016.

Audi has been wowing the crowds at technology events and auto shows for the past two years with demonstrations of the autonomous driving capabilities it’s currently developing. But until now, the Volkswagen-owned company has been less

than willing to put a timeframe on when some of the self-driving features would be leaving the lab and becoming features on actual cars.

However, during a keynote address at the Frankfurt School of Finance, attended by Bloomberg, Audi’s CFO Axel Strotbeck detailed a system that would enable a car to follow at a safe distance from the one ahead, automatically accelerating and braking and capable of autonomously ad-justing steering to maintain the line, too. He said that the feature would be coming “very soon”, but that statement is being interpreted to mean in 2016.

The date hasn’t been plucked out of thin air. BMW, Mercedes and Volvo are all currently putting similar systems through their paces, getting them safe and reliable enough for the real world and, on Mon-day, GM’s CEO Mary Barra confirmed that car2car communication and “super cruise” technologies would be coming to the Cadillac range in 2016. Super Cruise is GM’s term for the same enhanced cruise control technology that its Germany luxury competitors are developing offering semi-autonomous driving capabilities in very specific circumstances, such as on free-ways and in traffic jams.

Announcing the addition of car2car communication, a technology that uses wi-fi signals and 3G or 4G mobile internet for vehicles and elements of road infra-structure to talk to each other in order to avoid collisions and eliminate blind spots, Barra said “We are not doing this for the sake of the technology itself; We’re doing it because it’s what customers around the world want.” And a report by ABI Research out this week backs up her statement that driverless vehicles will be increasingly in demand, predicting shipments to go from 1.1 million in 2024 to 42 million in 2035 and projecting an “installed base” of 176 million driverless vehicles.

Mary Barra was speaking at the Intel-ligent Transport System World Congress in Detroit where a host of car companies demonstrated their latest breakthroughs in the field of autonomous and connected driving. Honda showcased how its system is capable of controlling a car as it merges on to or exits the freeway, as well as chang-ing lanes and making allowances for other cars merging on to the road.

Self-driving cars take a small step closer to reality



Financing is subject to NMAC Tier 1 through Tier 3 credit approval. $13.89 per month per $1,000 financed at 0.0% for 72 months, subject to credit approval. Down payment may be required. See Carson Nissan for details. Good thru 10/31/14.

Woodcliff Lake, NJ, September 9, 2014 – Few new cars have been more antici-pated than the BMW 2 Series Coupe when it arrived in early 2014.

Hot on the heels of the widely acclaimed BMW 228i and M235i Coupe, BMW an-nounces the new BMW 2 Series Convert-ible. Available in the US as the 228i and M235i, the 2 Series Convertible blends the style and dynamic driving character for which the 2 Series Coupe is already renowned with the open-air pleasure of a folding soft-top. The BMW 2 Series Con-vertible will make its world debut at the Paris Motor Show.

The 2015 M235i and 228i as well as the 228i xDrive, featuring BMW’s intelligent all-wheel drive system, will arrive in US showrooms in early 2015. The 2015 BMW 2 Series Convertible will be offered at a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $38,850 for the 228i, $40,650 for the 228i xDrive, $48,650 for the M235i, including $950 destination and handling.

The BMW 2 Series Convertible follows in the tire tracks of the pioneer and undis-puted leader in its class - the BMW 1 Series Convertible. The 1 Series Convertible en-

tered the fray as the first open-top premium model in the sub-compact segment, went on to defend its position as clear market leader against subsequent pretenders to its throne, and achieved sales figures in excess of 130,000 units worldwide. The development team for the new BMW 2 Se-ries Convertible has focused squarely on building on the strengths which proved pivotal to this success.

With even more grace, athleticism and sharpness about its design, clear advances in terms of performance as well as efficien-cy, and improvements in the driving com-fort, functionality and innovative equip-ment features it offers, the BMW 2 Se-ries Convertible takes the qualities dis-played by its predecessor to a new level.

Elegance and openness in the estab-lished style of BMW Convertibles.The exterior design of the BMW 2 Series Convertible displays the typical character-istics of an open-top four-seater from the Bavarian brand.

The BMW 2 Series Convertible com-bines a low-slung silhouette and dynami-cally stretched lines with compact propor-tions and powerfully contoured surfaces. As with the 2 Series Coupe, its distinctive looks underline its standalone status in the brand’s model line-up and spotlight the dynamic potential, exhilarating open-top driving experience and premium charac-teristics which customers can expect.

All in all, the eye-catching features which distinguish the BMW 2 Series Convertible from its rivals need no second introduction.Hallmark BMW design language, classical features of a BMW Convertible.

The front end of the BMW 2 Series Convertible, which adopts the brand’s familiar design language, exudes power and presence.

As with the BMW 2 Series Coupe, front-end structuring comes courtesy of lines that converge dynamically on the

large, slightly forward-slanting BMW kid-ney grille. The contours of the twin circular headlights narrow at their inner extremes and are replicated by the outlines of the outer air intakes. Air Curtains integrated into the front apron serve to channel the onrushing air precisely behind the front fenders, reducing turbulence in the wheel arches.

The headlight units are separated from the BMW kidney grille by narrow strips on either side. An LED accent strip – or, if the Xenon lights are fitted, an LED accent light – cuts across the top of the headlights.For more information on the all new BMW 2 Series Convertible, please call our kababayans Ed at 818-601-5667 (cell) and Ronald at 323-683-9351 (cell) or call Pacific BMW at (818) 246-5600 and come down to the dealership located at 800 S. Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91204 and find out why. Who knows you may be the next new BMW owner? Or you may want to up-grade. Of course, we don’t need to mention that BMW is a favorite brand for luxury vehicles for the Fil-Am community, which is one of the car brand’s biggest consumer group in Southern California.

The new BMW 2 Series Convertible

Have you ever wondered how to luxury car owners are pampered with top quality service wherever and whenever they want one for their vehicle? Hmmm…

Many of us who own a car – which means that just like the majority is a stan-dard sedan that we drive to work – are but simple motorists who rely on their vehicle just to get where they need to be. Sure, every driver wants to own a luxury vehicle someday, but that depends on each person’s earning capacity.

Lucky for you, rather us, Hooman Toyota is here that basically leveled the playing field for any motorist whether they own a luxury car or not.

With Hooman Toyota’s VIP Customer Privileges, anyone can be entitled to the pampering and luxury service that luxury car owners enjoy by just buying a Toyota vehicle (or Scion) at the Southbay-based Toyota dealership. And it doesn’t have to

a brand-new car!Perhaps the best example of these VIP

Customer Privileges is a free oil change service for as long as you own your car. That’s not a typo error.

That means you may be able too keep your car as long as it’s supposed to last. As long as you own the car, you get free lube and oil service. This alone can save you as much as $657 for three oil changes in just five years. And there’s more. Check these VIP Privileges:

Tires for LifeWe will replace your tires based on nor-

mal wear and tear. Based on average of 4 new tires every 18 months for 5 years, you Save $1650 (Original factory equipment tires on new cars only).

Complimentary Car Wash100% hand wash, anytime, with or

without service. Includes vacuuming and tire dressing. Based on an average of 1

wash per week for 5 years, you Save $3750Complimentary Flat Tire RepairFor your convenience you will receive

complimentary tire repair for the lifetime of your vehicle.

Complimentary Road Hazard Replacement

For your first year, you are entitled to a complimentary tire replacement caused by a road hazard on any new vehicle. (Original factory equipment tires only).

Courtesy Loaner VehicleA complimentary loaner vehicle is

available to you for up to 2 days while your vehicle is visiting our award winning service department. Based on an average of twice per year for 5 years, you save $390 (Excludes body repairs & oil changes).

Express Shuttle ServiceWe will provide complimentary pick-up

and delivery of you and your vehicle to your desired destination. Based on twice

per year for 5 years, you save $300 (Valid within 15 miles of Hooman Automotive Group)

Pre-Registered Repair ServiceCall your service advisor for an ap-

pointment and your service order will be prepared and waiting for you upon your arrival.

Based on an average service charge for all of these for five years, you save a whopping $6,747!

So, what are you waiting for? The new 2015 Toyota and Scion models are already available at Hooman Toyota. And as men-tioned, you don’t need a brand-new car to enjoy these privileges.

For details, call our kababayans Fili-pino Sales Manager Wilford Solancho and Filipino Fleet Manager Jay Soriano or call them toll free at 1-800-519-2446. Hooman Toyota is located at 4401 Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90804.

VIP treatment not just for luxury car owners Hooman Toyota in Long Beach off ers VIP privileges for any car owner who are just like us



Mitsubishi Motors continues strong sales pace

(Relaxnews) – A few months after launching the new Mini, the British brand has expanded its offering with a new five-door variation, complete with a more spacious cabin. The Mini 5-Door is nothing short of a revolution for the brand, which is slowly but surely edg-ing towards the premium compact family car segment.

For enhanced comfort, the body of the new Mini 5-Door has been lengthened by 16.1cm compared to that of the classic three-door ver-sion, while the wheelbase has been widened by 7.2cm. The rear of the car includes a bench seat with room for three and a 278-liter trunk. When the seat bench is folded down, the car’s storage

space reaches 941 liters.Together with the new model, the brand is in-

troducing two new three-cylinder fuel engines, with 102hp and 136hp, for the Mini One 5-Door and Cooper 5-Door. A new four-cylinder diesel engine with 170hp is also available on the Mini Cooper SD 5-Door.

Prices for the Mini 5-Door start at €21,100 (around $27,300) in Europe. In general, the five-door models cost €900 (around $1,160) more than their three-door equivalents.

The Mini 5-Door will be on display at the Paris Motor Show. Previously, the Countryman crossover was the only vehicle in the Mini catalogue with five doors.

Mini gets family-friendly with new 5-door model

Best August sales in 3 years; Redesigned Outlander experiences best year-to-date sales in 6 years

Richard Samaco (left) and Cesar Macandili, Filipino Sales, Glendale Mitsubishi.

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.MNA) continues its upward sales momentum through the month of Au-gust with sales totaling 6,786 units, a 28.5 percent increase over the sales total from August 2013.

The American-made Outlander Sport 5-passenger compact crossover/SUV was the brand’s sales leader among its diverse model lineup with sales of 2,869 units in August – the best August sales month and the sec-ond best all-time month of sales since its release in 2010.

Like the Outlander Sport, the extremely fuel-efficient Mirage 5-door sub-compact scored its second best all-time month of sales in August with 1,666 units sold.

The recently redesigned Outlander

7-passenger crossover/SUV also demon-strated exceptional sales momentum with sales of 1,134 units for August. Sales for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) “Top Safety Pick+”-rated Outlander are now up 19.9 percent year-to-date and represent the best January through August sales for the model since 2008.

“Outlander Sport and Mirage con-tinue to lead the way with consistently strong sales,” said MMNA Executive Vice President of Sales, Don Swearin-gen. “And it is equally gratifying to see our redesigned Outlander crossover/SUV have its strongest sales run since 2008. Outlander offers excellent fuel efficiency and highly advanced safety technologies all at a very affordable price.”

Other highlights of August sales include:• Total Mitsubishi sales are up 28.9

percent year-to-date• Best August sales for the brand since

2011• Best Lancer Evolution sales in August

since 2008• Outlander Sport sales are up 25 per-

cent year-to-dateIf you want to know why the Mitsubishiis up in its sales and why the Outlander

is America’s top Mitsubishi vehicle for the past several months or why the Outlander is the choice of many who are looking for speed, call Richard Samaco or Cesar Macandili, the dealership’s Filipino sales-persons at Glendale Mitsubishi at (888) 465-7218.

Glendale Mitsubishi, a favorite car dealership among Filipino-Americans, is located at 1235 S. Brand Blvd. Glendale, CA, 91204.

Call now or come and visit our kababay-ans for a closer look at the new Mitsubishi vehicles. What’s more, test drive a Mitsubi-shi and you can get a three day/two night stay in Las Vegas for free.



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September 16, 2014 – A bold new look with a distinct European flavor. A new, quieter interior, crafted from improved materials. And a new attitude.

The redesigned 2015 Toyota Yaris checks all the boxes for small-car shop-pers. And then it adds and checks two more boxes for fun and value. In 3-door or 5-door liftback models, the 2015 Yaris makes every day driving less every day.

The 2015 Yaris, like the previous-generations design, comes in 3-door and 5-door liftback configurations, but the style is all-new, and functionality is improved. The new design comes from Toyota’s ED2 design studio located in the South of France, where they know “Hot Hatches.”

The new Yaris is also assembled in France, where they have been manufac-turing Yaris since 1999 for the European market.

The new Yaris gets an aggressive new look with a horizontal chrome grille treat-ment that appears to continue right into the headlamp.

The large grille opening gives this fun-to-drive car just the right touch of “mean” in its look.

Yaris drivers love the cars’ easy maneu-verability, and the 2015 model keeps that intact with a class-leading 31.5-ft. turning circle (three-door model). In some situa-tions, that’s small enough to turn a “K” into a “U” for turns.

Newness permeates the Yaris cabin. Sitting in the more premium seat, the Yaris driver faces a sporty new dashboard design and touches new, softer materials throughout.

A retuned suspension, a more rigid body structure, additional sound insula-tion and attention to aerodynamic details all help to give the 2015 Yaris a smoother, quieter ride.

With safety always at the forefront, the Yaris comes equipped with nine standard SRS airbags, including curtain side airbags and front seat cushion airbags.

Altogether, that’s a lot of new packed into an easy-driving small car with big fuel economy numbers and the brand’s penchant for high QDR (Quality, Depend-ability and Reliability).

Sizing Up Without UpsizingThe 2015 Yaris keeps the tidy size own-

ers prefer, inching it up just a bit with an increase in overall length of two inches. A lower windshield angle, short overhangs and wheels pushed out to the corners give the new Yaris a sporty, road-hugging stance.

Those smallish changes translate to a transformative look. The more aerody-namic 2015 Yaris slips through the air more cleanly with underbody components and new side mirrors cutting drag and wind noise.

The Yaris becomes especially sporty looking with the SE grade that adds a black front grille with piano black accent, rear spoiler, black exterior trim, and 16-inch alloy wheels.

A Clear OutlookThe 2015 Yaris is all new inside, and

the first thing you notice is that you notice more. And, on the SE grade other drivers see you more easily thanks to new LED daytime running lights that also give the Yaris an advanced and sporty look.

The wide-sweeping single windshield wiper design uses an innovative wet-arm washer system that sprays washer fluid from the base of the wiper arm directly into the blade’s path for improved cleaning.

All models come with a standard rear window wiper.

Frugal FunFun, functionality and frugality come

together in the 2015 Yaris. The smooth-revving 1.5-liter, 16-valve, four-cylinder DOHC engine equipped with variable

Redesigned 2015 Toyota Yaris: Sharper for the Eyes, Smoother for the Bodyvalve timing with intelligence (VVT-i) produces 106 hp at 6,000 rpm and 103 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,200 rpm.

The broad torque curve makes those numbers seem even bigger when you’re driving the Yaris, which offers snappy response with either transmission.

A smooth-shifting five-speed manual transmission, made smoother by an im-proved hydraulic clutch, is standard. An available four-speed electronically con-trolled automatic transmission features a compact, lightweight design and low friction for high fuel efficiency.

A more rigid body structure does its part to reduce noise and sharpen handling response, while taking 44 pounds out of the already svelte Yaris.

The more rigid body structure, together with retuned suspension, provide for a smoother, more confident ride.

The Yaris rides on front MacPherson-strut and rear torsion-beam suspension systems.

Not only does sport-tuned electric power steering help make the Yaris nimble and easy to park on crowded city streets, but there’s no hydraulic fluid to check or replace.

The Yaris L rides on 15-inch steel

The friendly sales team at Penske Toyota of West Covina: (from left) Brian Bautista, Oscar Monge and Daniel Rocha (rightmost).

wheels and the LE comes with 15-inch al-loy wheels as standard, while the SE rolls on 16-inch machined alloy wheels with 195/50R16 tires.

Sporty Yaris SEThe SE turns the Yaris into an urban-

cool sporty ride, with black headlight trim and special gloss black with ma-chined spoke 16-inch alloy wheels with 195/50R16 tires. Behind the wheels are four-wheel disc brakes. A rear diffuser

rounds out the package.Inside, the leather-trimmed tilt three-

spoke steering wheel includes audio con-trols and standard cruise control.

If you want to check out the new Toyota Yaris or buy one now, come and visit our friends Brian Bautista, Daniel Rocha and Oscar Monge at Penske West Covina Toyota located at 1800 E Gar-vey Ave S West Covina, CA. They can be reached toll free at 1-855-593-2298.




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Weekend balita september 20, 2014