Asian Journal Aug 28 2009

Luis, Angel break up?

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE -- The number of unemployed nurses in the country could balloon to over a hundred =2 0thousand in three years.

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque raised this concern citing the increase in enrol-ment in nursing schools last year. He said finding jobs for the growing number of nurses will be a big challenge, espe-cially for the batches who will graduates in 2011 and 2012.

The labor chief, however, said students are not discour-aged from taking up nursing for as long as the enrolment figures would not be very high.

“Itong school year na ito I was told medyo bumaba ang enrolment. Ang pinakamab-igat dyan in the year 2011 and 2012 ang mga sophomores ngayon, there’s about 110,000 of them who will be graduat-ing yun ang medyo mabigat,” Roque told Palace reporters after the signing of a memo-randum of agreement between the DOLE and Glaxosmith-kline for the project Nurses Assigned in Rural Services.

Roque said the government is looking for “receptacle em-ployment opportunities” both here and abroad.

He noted that about 50,000 to 70,000 nurses pass the board examination every year but only 15,000 to 20,000 could find jobs here and an-other 15,000 abroad. He said the NARS program is another alte rnative employment for the remaining 15,000 to 20,000 nurses who could not immediately find jobs.

Under the NARS program, nurses are given an allowance of P8,000 every month out of national government funds and local government units provide their share ranging from P500 to P2,000.

Roque said these nurses are deployed to 4th, 5th and 6th class municipalities all over the country.

No jobs for nurses in the Philippines

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His pet duckling, his white hen and the flood of 1952 in his neighborhood

on Pepin Street, Sampaloc, Manila in the Philippines

reminded him of his childhood

years.By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.

Publisher & EditorAsian Journal San Diego

See page 5

PHILIPPINE STORIES

Childhood Tales

Micro loans campaign in Africa

Last week, while watching TV on CSPAN I hap-pened to watch

an hour address of Dr. Muhammad Yunus before the

media in Washing-ton D.C. before he was given a

“Medal of Free-dom Award” by President Obama

as one of 16

Muhammad Yunus formula on micro-loans must be spread to all countries

A rally on health care reform

Next year, Medicare plans to cut reim-

bursements further by another 20%.

Jolted by facts, my friend in Phoenix said

that Medicare had trou-ble containing costs and

that Medicare consti-tutes only a fraction of most medical practices anyway. He was right. Depending on type and

location of practice, Medicare makes up 20-

Health Care Reform: Getting the facts straight

people as “agents of agents” in our world today. I have read his book on Micro-Finance years ago, and I believe that the proven success of his Grameen Bank must be spread to all countries, especially the third world countries, in order to empower the poor faster, thereby contributing to the prog-

ress of their respective nations.

By Ernie DelfinThe Metamorphosis

See page 20

40%. However, what he did not know is this: most, if not all insurance companies, now set fee schedules as close to Medi-care rates as possible. And Medi-Cal rates are even lower than

Medicare.That is why most physicians, while recognizing the value of

universal heal th care, are concerned that the proposed govern-ment option plan will be nothing more than a Medicare clone.

By Dr. Edgar GamboaE-Mails from the Desert

See page 18

The Greatest Hitmakers, Rico, Marco, Hajji, Nonoy and Rey, together with their musical director, Gerry Matias, arrived at the San Francisco International Airport last August 19, 2009. They received a warm welcome from the show’s line producer, Ruby Paguinto together with friends who gave their time, energy and resources: Tony, Marissa, Manny, John & Imelda, Klaudia, Eddie and Emy. See story on page 24.

August 28 - September 3, 2009

Riz A Oades EntertainmentMsgr. Gutierrez

Philippine Scene

Pakikisama (Compadrazgo) and

Hypocrisy

A carabao feasting on lush vegetation in the countryside of Naga, Camarines Sur.

The Greatest Hitmakers Live in San Diego!

Quo Vadis, Filipino Unity & Empowernment?

August 28 - September 3, 2009Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

Laughing MatterRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-

journalusa.com

Guy : Doc, hina ng tenga ko. Di ko marinig kahit utot ko.

DR. : Heto inumin mo ng isang linggo.

GUY : Lalakas na ang pandinig ko?DR. : Hindi lalakas na ang utot mo!

Jinggoy: Dad, pang ilang Tirso Cruz na si Tirso Cruz III?

Mahina ang tengaErap :(natawa) trick question ba yan

anak? Eh, di pang-lima, kaya nga PIP ang tawag sa kanya, di ba?

Genie: Dahil pinalaya mo ako, may 3 wishes ka!

Man:UNA Gawin mo akong rich,pero di bayad ng tax;

PAGALAWA powerful, pero di

halata;PANGATLO notorious, pero wala

sabit.Genie: Okay, mula ngayon ikaw na si

PING LACSON.

Sgt: Boss, nakatakas si Al-Ghozi.Ebdane: Huh! Did you seal all exits?Sgt: Yes, sir!Ebdane: Eh paano siya nakatakas?Sgt: Doon po kasi siya lumabas sa

entrance.

A COW story:America has COWboy and COWgirl.England has madCOW.China has MaCOW.Russia has MosCOW .Philippines has politicians magnana-

COW.

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Walking into Smokin’ Sam’s BBQ on the corner of Eastlake Parkway and Otay Lakes Road in Chula Vista, diners are embraced by the sweet smell of smoked barbeque.

A year after opening its doors, the locally owned restaurant has built a reputation on quality in-gredients, affordable prices, gen-erous portions, and, of course, mouth-watering barbeque.

“We always try to improve what we do and come up with new things,” said owner and San Diego resident Sam Faibish.

The most popular items on the menu are the pulled pork sandwiches, baby back ribs, and brisket. Entrees run from $7.99 to $13.99. The fi ve family meal deals on the menu include up to three main entrees, a salad, and corn muffi ns. All orders can be called ahead and prepared to go.

A hands-on, homemade philos-ophy prevails at Smokin’ Sam’s BBQ. All of the items on the menu are prepared from scratch, including the sauces and side orders of baked beans, coleslaw, and fries.

Smoked Barbeque in the Heart of Eastlake

The kitchen, complete with a smoker and woodfi re oven.

The lively dining room, featuring draft beers, televisions, and soon, a pool table.

The rich, tender barbeque is prepared with special care. A smoker, fi lled with apple wood logs, is used to slow cook the brisket and pork shoulders for 12 to 14 hours overnight. A signature honey barbeque sauce is glazed on each St. Louis rib, baby back rib, brisket, and pork shoulder that leaves the kitchen.

Chicken is brined to add fl avor and moisture, while pizzas and

special entrees are also made on site in the wood fi re oven. Even salads, ranging from Cobb to Chipotle, are drizzled with hand-made salad dressing.

Faibish is a common sight at Smokin’ Sam’s BBQ and his Italian venture, long-time local favorite D’lish Gourmet Pasta and Pizza. “Some owners don’t enjoy being in the kitchen, but I enjoy prepping [and] cooking,” he said.

A successful businessman, Fai-bish entered the restaurant scene 20 years ago when he opened

D’lish in Chula Vista’s Terra Nova Plaza. D’lish “just took off right away,” says Sam. The Italian eatery was an immediate success, pioneering a new restau-rant scene in the South Bay by offering freshly made pastas and wood fi red pizza. Diners still line up for the Tequila Chicken Fettuccine.

Asked why he entered the restaurant business, Sam cites a love of cooking and food. This passion and care appears in every dish that arrives at diner’s tables.

Smokin’ Sam’s BBQ is located at 2260 Otay Lakes Road in Eastlake Village in Chula Vista. Call (619) 216-3900. D’lish is located off of the 805 Freeway at 386 East H Street in Terra Nova Plaza. Call (619) 585-1371. Ca-tering and take out services are available.

Sitting in the warm, sweet-smelling dining room of one of the South Bay’s top barbeque spots, Faibish promises, “We make sure you don’t leave hun-gry.”

by Ashley Silverio

On the moveRead Ashley Silverio’s previous articles by visit-

ing our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comAugust 28 - September 3, 2009


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San Diego- In its effort to reach out to the elderly popula-tion in the community, the Union of Pan Asian Communities (UPAC) announces the current sites where its senior nutrition program is being implemented.

The UPAC Senior Nutrition Program has been providing nu-trition services to senior citizens in diverse communities through-out San Diego County for more than twenty years, in collabora-tion with four community orga-nizations that sponsor it.

Its main objective is to assist older individuals to live indepen-dently by promoting better health and reducing isolation through a program of coordinated con-gregate meals and supportive services

UPAC Senior Nutrition Pro-gram is funded through Title III of the Older Americans Act through the County of San Diego Aging and Independence Ser-vices.

The program offers nutrition-ally sound meals to individuals who are 60 years of age or older in a group setting in three differ-ent sites in San Diego City and National City.

Nutritious hot meals are avail-able in all the three sites from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

One of the sites in San Diego is sponsored by UPAC collab-orative partner, the “Sons and Daughters of Guam,” for over twenty years now

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PHILIPPINE NEWS SER-VICE -- HERE’s another classic example of how some Korean nationals posing as legitimate businessmen in our country 20deceive not only fellow Koreans but even the government.

The scheme was uncovered in a civil case fi led before the Pasig City Regional Trial Court wherein the plaintiff and the defendants involved were all Koreans.

Plaintiff Jung Ku Lee of Unit 2804, Renaissance 1000, Ortigas, Pasig City, is asking the court to order the immediate rescission of the loan repayment agreement he entered into with defendants named as Sang Soon Lee and Won Sig Hwang, both of Unit 20-A, Wynsum Corporate Plaza, 22 Emerald Avenue in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

Lee is also requesting the court to declare null and void the deed of assignment which he executed in favor of another defendant -- the OFT Lending Inc., a corporation organized by the defendants with offi ce address at 3BB Building, 79 Kamuning Road, Quezon City. He also asked the court to order the defen-dants to refrain from exercis-ing acts of ownership over some 200 million worth of shares from his company as a result of his alleged loan that never materialized.

Lee said the case began in 2007 when a friend intro-duced Won Sig Hwang to him as an expert in securities and exchange. The interpreter, who asked not to be named, said that Hwang has even bragged of having lots of business partners who can invest anywhere in the world in the amount of trillions of Korean won.

The complainant invited

Probe on Korean lending fi rm in RP urged

Hwang to join his company -- the Running Mate Inc. (RMI), an electronic gaming corporation which he said offers more than 10 percent return on investment profi t per year to all its local and foreign investors.

Negotiations went on until Hwang eventually acquired the fi rm’s 60 percent shares of stock. And as promised, Hwang loaned to RMI an amount of U.S.$500,000 with two percent monthly interest.

Their partnership went high until an opportunity to invest in listed companies came up. They set their sights on the consolidation of Premiere Entertainment Philippines (PEP), a domestic corporation prominent in the entertain-ment industry, and the Digi-wave Corporation, engaged in the electronic gaming business.

Hwang later changed his mind and instead proposed a loan agreement amounting to 1.7 billion Korean won (P60 million) with terms requiring Lee to pay a fl at interest rate of 50 percent per year and an offering of the 40 percent shares of stock of RMI and 20 percent shares of Digiwave as collateral or security for the loan. Lee agreed.

When the time to infuse the necessary funds for the con-solidation has fi nally arrived, Hwang could not be located or reached, thus placing the supposed loan agreement in mid-air. It took sometime for Lee to be able to locate Hwang and talk to the latter personally.

At this point, Hwang laid another term for the said loan -- the collaterals are to be assigned to the OFT Lending Inc., the company controlled by the defendants.


Philippine Stories

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

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

D_643x21_4C_Fil.indd 1 8/25/09 5:04:26 PM

“He keeps following you,” three-year-old Borobot’s father said to him.

He was referring to Borobot’s pet duckling which quacked and followed Borobot wherever he walked around the second fl oor of their house on Pepin Street, Sampaloc, Manila. It was the year 1952.

Borobot’s mom was also delighted. At that time, she was nursing her fourth child, her newly-born daughter, Mila. She was on a maternity leave from the public school where she taught. Borobot’s father, who operated a printing press in Quiapo, Manila, was home for lunch.

Since his mother could hardly make it down the stairs, they had a picnic in the upper room of the house, spreading news-papers on the fl oor on which they laid down the plates, a

bowl of rice and dishes and ate with their bare hands.

Looking back on the early years, he could

Tricycle and fl ood

Childhood talesA strong typhoon hit that August of 1952. For three days,

the rain continuously pounded day and night, fl ooding Pepin Street in Sampaloc, Manila where Borobot and his family lived. On the second day of rain, Borobot’s mom went into labor. His dad hailed a passing jeepney

on Dapitan Street, and brought his wet wife to the nearby Family Clinic on Laong-Laan to deliver their fi fth child.

He was named “Santiago”, after St. James, the patron saint of his father’s hometown of Plaridel, Bulacan.

Because of the fl ood, the child, earlier on, was called “Tiagong Baha (fl ood Tiago)”.

hardly remember the moment. But in his faint and infantile memory, Borobot recalled that his pet duck-ling would eat the pieces of rice that would fall off the plate and on the

newspaper and drink from a cup with water, which

he fi lled for the duckling.

His elder brother brought the duck-ling home from

school one day from a man that sold duckling as pet among the vendors that sold wares

to school chil-dren outside the

school yard. If only he was

older, Borobot wished to imitate

the actions of his cousin Odeng.

Odeng was ten years old at that

time and his family lived next to Borobot’s. Odeng’s mother was the elder sister of Boro-bot’s mom.

Odeng put up a small four by four feet enclosure made of chicken wire that stood three feet high. Inside the enclosure, he dug a six-inch by six-inch hole and fi lled it with water. He placed a small iron roof in one corner of the enclosure. The fi ve ducklings inside the enclosure, sought shelter from rain or the heat of the sun in this corner. The hole with water would serve as a pool where they could swim.

But Borobot was just a tod-dler. It was beyond his capabil-ity to do what his cousin Odeng did. He was just content with raising his pet duckling within the enclosure of the second fl oor of their house. As soon as he woke up in the morning, he would look for his duckling in-side a card- board shoe box. He would take it out and let it follow him

around the whole day.

Even-tually,

he took the duck-

ling out of the house

and let it follow him in a wide al-leyway that separated their

house from his aunt’s home. Sometimes he would forget about the duckling when he became engrossed in playing with his cousins his age.

One day, however, his duck-ling went inside an opening un-der the house. Borobot waited for it to come out, but it did not. He waited and waited until it was dark. But there was no sign of the duckling. When his father came home that evening, he told him about his miss-ing duckling. His dad took a fl ashlight and pointed it toward the opening. He inserted a long stick inside and tried to stir it. They could hear some squeal-ing, but no quacking. Finally, his dad told him the bad news: “Your duckling was eaten by the rats.”

Borobot cried and cried for a long time.

The fi sh

A strong typhoon hit that August of 1952. For three days, the rain continuously pounded day and night, fl ooding Pepin Street in Sampaloc, Manila where Borobot and his family lived. On the second day of rain, Borobot’s mom went into labor. His dad hailed a pass-ing jeepney on Dapitan Street, and brought his wet wife to the nearby Family Clinic on La-ong-Laan to deliver their fi fth child. He was named “Santia-go”, after St. James, the patron saint of his father’s hometown of Plaridel, Bulacan. Early on, the child was called “Tiagong Baha (fl ood Tiago)”.

When the rain stopped on the fourth day, the fl ood waters had not yet receded from the street. Every child in the neighbor-hood came out to play in the fl ood. Borobot’s elder cousin, Odeng, brought out a sleek and beautiful toy boat, which he sailed in the fl ood water, to the envy of every boy in the neighborhood. Borobot’s father made him a simple plywood boat. By extending a rubber band from either end of the back of the boat and placing a piece of wood in between, the wood would spin around like a propeller and push the toy boat forward through the water.

Borobot and his playmates (who were mostly boy cous-ins), would go to the corner of Laong Laan and Pepin streets and swim in the fl ood water as if it were a community pool.

“Huwag kayong lumangoy di-yan at baka mahiwa ng bubog ang tiyan ninyo (Don’t swim there because your stomach might be cut by the broken

(Continued on page 13)


“Kabalikat sa buhay” comes to life at Seafood City

“Kabalikat” means solidarity with friends, fam-ily and the community. It is a relationship of caring and sharing in good times as well as in hard times. “Sino pa ba ang magtutulungan kung hindi tayo ring kapwa Pinoy?” said a Sea-food City company spokesperson, explaining that the new “Kaba-likat sa buhay” progam, now at Seafood City, reflects the compa-ny’s commitment to its custom-ers, especially in these challeng-ing times.

KABALIKAT SAVINGS

By working closely with long-standing vendors, Seafood City is able to obtain high quality products -- such as fresh seafood, produce and USDA-grade meat -- at the best prices. And Seafood City passes the savings on to its customers. According to the Seafood City spokesperson, “customers can expect to enjoy substantial Kabalikat Savings from 40% and more on thousands of products!”

REAL VALUE FOR REAL NEEDS;

A COMPLETE RANGE OF ITEMS

More important, these savings are on a wide range of products that Filipinos use every-day. “These are the ingredients that they need for preparing their favorite Pinoy dishes, and other items they use at home,” the Sea-food City spokesperson added.

ONE-STOP SHOP; “HOME AWAY FROM HOME”

But more than just a su-permarket chain, Seafood City offers the convenience of one-stop shopping -- with a variety of dining choices as well as services like money remittance and cargo forwarding -- all within the same premises. It caters to the Filipino lifestyle in the United States, and serves as the “home away from home” for the Fil-Am commu-nity. “Kabalikat sa buhay” after all is embodied in Seafood City’s Mission, Vision and Values: Car-ing for its customers, its employ-ees and business associates.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Belief in the “Kabalikat” prin-ciple is also evident in Seafood City’s service to the community, and in its deep ties to the home-land. “We strive to help enhance the lives of Filipinos everywhere, and to make a difference where it matters, through our Kabalikat Advocacies, such as Gawad Ka-linga and GILAS,” the Seafood City spokesperson said. As the Kabalikat Commu-nity Partner of Gawad Kalinga and GILAS (Gearing Up Inter-net Literacy & Access for Stu-dents in the Philippines), Seafood City helps build homes, establish livelihood programs and provide computer access for the less for-tunate back home. Kaibigan, kapitbahay, kapit-bisig, and most of all, “Kabalikat sa buhay”. These are cherished Filipino values. And at Seafood City, these values come to life.

We’re working closely with merchant partners

and allied businesses to help our kababayans —

especially in times like these. That’s why we’re

introducing industry �rsts like Kabalikat Savings.

Our partners have graciously cooperated with us

to give you unmatched value on items that you

need and use everyday. What’s more, our stores

have become both a haven and a hub for kapwa

Pinoys to �nd the people, services and the products

that matter most to them. Mabuhay nang

maginhawa at masaya — kayang-kaya kung

sama-sama, ‘ika nga — making life better, together.

Now more than ever, Seafood City gives its cus-tomers much-needed support and reassurrance. Because, at Seafood City, you can be sure you have more than a friend, more than a partner...you have “Kabalikat sa bu-

hay.” Seafood City has a total of 17 store locations in Southern California, Northern California and Nevada. For more information, visit www.seafoodcity.com.


Bill’s Corner

Read Bill Labestre’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

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Sometimes I wish I could type faster than I could think. That is one reason why I have short weekly column. I’m not a trained journalist but just a simple old man from Spring Valley. Writing this column helped me clear my busy mind and to share my thoughts and life experience with the few interested readers.

Many years ago, my friend Sim Silverio, encouraged me to write a column on his Filipino newspaper. It was a way of advertising my newly started tax service business. It was in a question and answer format on various topics about income taxes. Soon it became bor-ing so I tried writing about some interesting topics which most Filipino can easily relate to.

I have my sincere respect and admiration to all the editors, reporters and columnists of the many Filipino newspapers and magazines in San Diego. Most readers of these papers never real-ize how much time and effort we spent writing our columns. We don’t expect everybody to like our materials but, it would be greatly appreciated if the readers would let us know through e-mails or phone calls.

Thanks to all the advertisers who are the main reason why you get these papers free of charge. If you have a business and your market is the big Filipino com-munity, it really pays to advertise regularly. Let the customers know what you can do for them and where you are located. Without any advertising is like winking your eyes in the dark. You knew what you did but, nobody else knew and saw it.

Reading is my passion but,

White Outwriting is a hobby that helped me a lot. It’s a way to express my feelings or to document what I thought. It’s an outlet to relieve stress and vent my frustrations. When I was a kid I remembered writing my life story in the third person. I wished I wrote down all the stories and old folklores my grandfather told me. I was a very shy kid back then. Growing up as a teenager, it was a lot easier for me to write love letters to the girls I like than talking to them about it.

It was a few weeks before our graduation day in high school when I wrote a letter to one of my teachers. In my letter I expressed my strong disappointment about the new principal’s decision re-garding the number of students on the honor list. Traditionally five top graduating students were picked but that year (1970) it would only be three. I was in 4th place and a friend was 5th.

In my letter I also mentioned that I’ll be skipping the class grad-uation ceremony. I never expected that my letter will be read publicly. An emergency faculty meeting was held but the principal stood her ground. Two of my teachers came to our house and asked me to come back to school. I felt hu-miliated but I survived and went to college. I was only 16.

Years later, it was my friend and I that came to the U.S.A. She’s an RN in Los Angeles.

Writing love letters to my wife helped ease the loneliness and boredom at sea during my seven long Navy deployments.

Special thanks to the eleven people who read my short and bor-ing column regularly. I may write again one day.


Balik-Tanaw: The Filipino Stars

of Yesteryears

Read Dr. Romy Protacio’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Dr. Romy R. Protacio

She stands out as the only woman in Philippine movie history who was in-strumental in turning her breed of show-biz relatives into one of the most famous family dynasties in Philippine entertain-ment. Amalia Fuentes’s showbiz life interspersed with her personal life as her brothers, daughter, nephews and nieces also became famous in their own rights. Her “super moppet nephew” Nino Muhlach was at one time movieland’s most loved child actor. Her daughter, Liezl also dabbled on acting and married another well-known actor. Her niece Ar-lene Muhlach still acts in teleseries, while her famous nephew, hearththrob idol and box office blockbuster, Aga Muhlach con-tinues to wow audience with his eternal young face and great acting talent. Her brothers, Cheng and Alex Muhlach were her business partners at one time, but who chose to have their own film outfit later on. The Muhlach clan has been in the limelight since the 1960s and their love for the industry has brought fame and fortune to the family as well as controversies that caused occasional pain and heartaches to Amalia.

Amalia, better known as Nena to her family and friends, was born to Alvaro Muhlach, Sr., a Spanish-German, and Concepcion Amador, a Chinese mestiza. Amalia and her brothers, Cheng and Alex, were still small kids when their father passed away in 1945. Her mother remar-ried Isagani Fuentes, a Protestant Minis-ter. Thus explains Amalia’s screen name Fuentes. The second marriage did not last long because Isagani passed away. Isagani left behind the grown-up Muhlach chil-dren and his own four children, all boys (Isagani, Jr., Bebot, Ruben, and David), with Concepcion. Raising a big family without a father was a big struggle to sur-vive for the Muhlach-Fuentes family.

When her step-father passed away, Amalia became the bread winner of the family. In an interview with entertain-ment writer, Nap Alip, she said, “Alam mo noong maliliit pa kami nina Alex and Cheng ay parang tatay at nanay na nila ako. Pay may kaaway silang bata, sugod

Amalia FuentesThe Matriarch who led the

Muhlach Movie Dynastya series of successful starrers.

Amalia appeared in movies with in-triguing titles which some people think would rather describe her real life: “Asa-wa Ko, Huwag Mong Agawin” (1987), “Pagmamahal Mo, Buhay Ko” (1980), “Buhay: Ako sa Itaas, Ikaw sa Ibaba” (1978), “Kung Ako’y Patay na, Sino Ako?” (1975), “Kapatid ko ang Aking Ina” (1969), “Dalawang Daigdig ni Car-lota”, “May Lalaki sa Ilalim ng Kama Ko”, “Lulubog, Lilitaw sa Ilalim ng Tu-lay”, “Pwede Ako, Pwede ka Ba?” and “Room 69.”

She showed her flexibility in the roles she played, based on what was in tune with the times. In the 70’s when musi-cals were a hit, she was one of the casts of “Jesus Christ, Superstar” (1972). When bold movies became popular in the late 70s, she did “Mga Reynang Walang Trono” (1975). When it was time to do action films, she appeared in the movie “Urduja”.

For a while, horror films were in vogue. She made the movies “Dugo ng Vampi-ra” (1971) aka “Blood of the Vampire”, “Creatures of Evil”, “Curse of the Vam-pire” and “Kulay Dugo ang Gabi” (1966)

For several decades, Amalia lorded the movie industry because of her beauty and allure. She was the original “flawless beauty”, and because of her beautiful face, she became an endorser for the beauty product, Luxury soap, which prided itself in having glamorous Hollywood endors-ers like Jane Fonda and Debbie Reynolds. When they got Amalia as the first Lux model in the Philippines, she was paid P100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Pesos) for the job, a huge amount at that time. She was also chosen “Asia’s Most Beautiful Actress” in a survey conducted by the prestigious Asia Magazine in the 60’s, the first accorded a Filipino actress.

Although Amalia is grateful that she was born beautiful, she would not take credit for it. In an interview with enter-tainment writer Gypsy Baldovino, she said, “Ayokong maging proud dahil lang doon. I want to be recognized for my achievements, na may narating ako, either for myself or for others. I love women, who in their lifetime have done some-thing about their lives, other than just being beautiful.” In many years to fol-low, she proved that she’s more than just a pretty face. Amalia was a high caliber movie actress, as evidenced by the many award winning body nominations and awards she received for her work. She won her first FAMAS Best Actress trophy in the movie “Ibulong mo sa Hangin”. In the Manila Film Festival, she won again as Best Actress in the movie “Pagibig Mo, Buhay Ko”. Almost every year, she would be nominated in the Best Actress category.

Yet there was no stopping what Amalia can achieve. She did not only establish a movie empire (AM Productions), but she also became the first actress to become an independent film producer. She was the highest-paid movie star of her genera-tion. In an online blog about her, it was reported that her asking price was always several thousand pesos more than her col-leagues. For instance, when Fernando Poe, Jr. was being paid P30,000 per film, Amalia would charge P50,000 per movie. She was a tireless performer, and would do something like 15-16 movies per year.

was identified as a member of a promi-nent clan. She told the court that the af-fair was the biggest shock of her life.

Joseph claims that her marriage to Amalia in 1978 was null and void. His first marriage in the United States could still be considered legal because Philip-pine laws do not recognize divorce.

After an emotional confrontation, Amalia and Joey agreed that the latter will withdraw his petition for nullity of marriage. In turn, Amalia will file a case for legal separation before the courts in Manila.

Today

With the hullabaloo that is happening now about her married life with Joseph Stevens, how can I say that Amalia is liv-ing a quiet life? She is still the Amalia that we know who would always be in the limelight, who believes in her strength and has no qualms showing it. Agree-ably, she has aged but one would still see traces of her beautiful face that brought her stardom in her younger years.

have made through hard work and dedica-tion.”

If I were to write a song to describe Amalia’s life, it would be something simi-lar to the song, “Don’t Cry for Me Argen-tina”. The song, as everyone knows talks about Evita Peron’s life - the choices she made, the consequences of those choices and how her actions affected her and the people she loved. The message of that song is something that can aptly describe what Amalia’s life has been – “Don’t judge me by the choices I’ve made in the past. Judge me by who I am today. I did what I did to get here, to help you. I love you all, you are my descamisados.”

Some of the movies she made were:Reputasyon (1997) Asawa ko, Huwag Mong Agawin

(1987) My Only Love (1982) Aguila (1980) Palaban (1980) Pagmamahal mo Buhay Ko (1980) Buhay: Ako sa Itaas, Ikaw sa Ibaba

(1978) Kung Ako’y Patay Na, Sino Ako?

(1975) Jesus Christ Superstar (1972) Jesus Christ Superstar (1972) Dalawang Daigdig ni Carlota (1969) Kapatid ko Ang Aking Ina (1969) Good Morning Titser (1968) Gaano kita Kamahal (1968) Kaming taga Bundok (1968) Anino ni Sisa (1968) Baril at Rosario (1968) De Colores (1968) Destination Vietnam (1968) Ito ang Digmaan (1968) Kiko en Kikay (1968)Mali-Mali Meets Batangueno (1968) Oh! My Papa (1968)Sa Manlulupig di ka Pasisiil (1968) Honey-Honeymoon (1967) Ibulong mo sa hangin (1966)Ang Senyorito at ang Atsay (1964) Kulay Dugo ang Gabi (1964) Siyam na langit (1963) Esperanza at Caridad (1963) The Big Broadcast (1962) Pitong Puso (1962) Tulisan (1962) Joey, Eddie, Lito (1961)Operatang Sampay Bakod (1961) Amy, Susie, Tessie (1960) Bilanggong Birhen (1960) Estela Mondragon (1960) Pitong Pagsisisi (1959) Baby Face (1959)Ipinagbili ko ang Aking Anak (1959) Pakiusap (1959) Mga Reyna ng Vicks (1958) Baby Bubot (1958) Bobby (1958) Madaling Araw (1958) Tawag ng Tanghalan (1958) Ulilang angel (1958) Pretty Boy (1957) yIsmol Bat Teribol (1957) Bituing Marikit (1957) Sonata (1957) Rodora (1956) Inang Mahal (1956) Lydia (1956)

For many years and to this day, Amalia has ensconced herself in her private havens --- an opulent mansion in New Manila and a tranquil house in Tali beach, Batangas. Amalia told me that she spends more time enjoying life. In September, she will be leaving for Europe followed by a trip to the United States in November.

In an interview Amalia said, “Tapos na ang panahon ko pero wala akong re-grets dahil narito pa rin ako at maraming maipagmamalaki kung tutuusin. I don’t give a damn kung halimbawang sabihin ng iba na laos na ako o kaya’y matanda na. What counts is how you project the best in you and the accomplishments you

Amalia accepting FAMAS trophy

Amalia Fuentes, second from left, with Sampaguita Pictures col-leagues, from left, Susan Roces, Barbara Perez, Daisy Romualdez, and Gloria Romero.Photo was taken during the recent 70th birthday celebration of Barbara,

agad ako sa pagtatanggol sa kanila. Pag may problema sa school at sa kanilang teacher, inaayos ko”. In the years to come, the love and affection of Amalia for her brothers Cheng and Alex, sadly turned sour as a price they all had to pay for becoming rich and famous.

Her movie career

Amalia was my classmate in high school at the Philippine Christian University – Union High School of Manila together with Marita Zobel. Although Amalia and Marita come from a family of Catholic be-lievers, they were welcomed by UHSM, as it is a school that is open to people of different religious beliefs. I am proud to say that Union High School developed in us the Christian life and helped in mold-ing our character. Aside from Amalia and Marita, there were other alumni of the school who made names in the entertain-ment industry like Ronaldo Valdez and Ronnie Rickets.

Amalia had always believed in the im-portance of achieving a good education, although she was not able to further her education because of her showbiz career. However, later in her life, she studied Business Law at the University of Califor-nia in Berkeley.

When we were in fourth year high school, I remember Amalia missing a lot of school days. We found out later on that she joined the Mr. Number 1 and Miss Number 1 movie contest sponsored by Sampaguita Pictures. She was crowned Miss Number 1 while Juancho Gutierrez won the Mr. Number 1 award. Her winning the contest led to the signing of an exclusive contract with Sampaguita Pictures. She would be partnered with Romeo “Bobby” Vasquez, who was also an upcoming Sampaguita actor. Together with other Sampaguita tal-ents like Susan Roces, and Liberty Ilagan, Amalia frequently appeared in youth-ori-ented movies back then that would usually have romantic twists to them.

Her first movie appearance was a mi-nor role as a fairy godmother in “Prince Charming” where she was billed Miss Number One. She was formally introduced as Amalia Fuentes in the movie “Lydia.” What followed next was her launch to full stardom together with Juancho Gutierrez in the movie, “Movie Fan”. The rest was

Amalia Fuentes in the movie Urduja

Amalia Fuentes

As is quite common with families in business. the once closely-knit Muhlach family crumbled as they reached the top of the ladder of success. Amalia’s nephew, Nino became movieland’s hot-test child star, which gave rise to a feud between Amalia and her brothers, because the Muhlach brothers left AM Produc-tions and built their own movie company, ‘D Wonder Films. Amalia’s affection for her brothers turned into anger and disap-pointment. Many years later, she found in her heart to forgive, yet the rift between

them will not easily be erased. Although “blood is thicker than water”, the family was never the same again. Time alone can tell when they would regain the joy of be-coming the family they were once before.

Amalia was known to be the “queen of controversies.” She is always at war with everybody, yet nothing fazes Amalia. She admits that she’s known for being vocal but she never holds a grudge forever. She has been known to be a fighter. When Ish-mael Bernal walked out of the set in the middle of the filming of “Anna Kerenina,” she ended up directing the movie. When she left Sampaguita Pictures to establish her own movie production, her relation-ship with Sampaguita Studio ended up in a legal battle.

“Life comes with setbacks,” says Ama-lia. “Kung hindi ka nakatikim ng failure, hindi mo mapapahalagan ang mga na-kakamit mo sa buhay.”

She admits making mistakes but she believes a person should be judged based on how one is able to recover from one’s failures. “You learn from your mistakes,” she says with candor.

Her love life

In my interview with her, we did not re-ally dwell on her past love relationships. However, her love life has always been an open book anyway because of her popu-larity.

The movie fans followed the love story of Amalia and Bobby Vasquez on and off screen. They made movies together starting with “Ikaw ay Akin” under RA Movie Fans Production owned by Ama-lia and Romeo. This was the movie that prompted Dr. Jose Perez of Sampaguita to sue them for breach of contract. But Dr. Perez was known to have a big heart for his movie stars. He readily forgave and forget because he treasured relationships more than anything else.

Together, Bobby and Amalia, made many more films after “Ikaw ay Akin” like “Anna Lizza”, “Kulay Dugo ang

Gabi”, “Ibulong mo sa Hangin”, “Anino ni Sisa”, “Sa Ating Muling Pagkikita”, “Wedding Bells” and many more.

When Amalia eloped with Bobby and got married in Hongkong, they were all over the news. They made headlines and were constantly the talk of the town. The media hype resulted to the couple com-ing up with a successful movie, entitled, “Honeymoon”.

Bobby and Amalia were blessed with a beautiful daughter, Anna Lizza (better known as Liezl). Liezl would inherit the talents of her parents. Although Amalia would prefer a good college education and a life away from showbiz for Liezl, she did not object when Liezl decided to try showbiz as well. Liezl would eventu-ally marry another well known movie ac-tor, Albert Martinez.

Like most marriages of showbiz cou-ples, Bobby and Amalia separated after many years of blissful marriage. Amalia pursued further her career in the movie industry while Bobby left for the United States to live a more quiet life. Eventu-ally, Bobby and Amalia would end up becoming friends. Many are wishing that they would some day be back to each other again. A wish that never came true because Amalia married Joseph “Joey” Stevens.

For many years, Amalia remained busy doing housing projects and spending her precious time with husband Joey and their son Gerald, who took up Law at the Ate-neo de Manila.

As is common knowledge now, Ama-lia’s marriage to Joey would again turn into a “not a happily ever after” story. Amalia’s love life is again the talk of the town. In a recent news report, Amalia faced her husband of 30 years before RTC Judge Teresita Galanida of Branch 56 to respond to the lawsuit filed by Joseph Ste-vens. She appeared with daughter Liezel during the hearing.

She was disheartened upon reading Jo-seph’s petition for nullity of marriage. At the court hearing, Amalia disclosed that Joseph sired a child with his lover, who


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Read previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjo-urnalusa.com

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

Phil - Am Law 101

$50United States immigration laws

are quite complex, particularly as they relate to laws of foreign countries such as the Philippines. Today, we wish to correct some misconceptions that we have heard from our readers.

Our hypothetical today is about Ed and Gretchen. Gretchen is a Filipino citizen who resides in Lucena City, while Ed is an American who lives in the United States. Five years ago, Ed went on vacation to the Philippines and met Gretchen. They fell in love and lived together every time Ed was in the Philippines. They are a happy couple and were plan-ning a grand wedding next year in Lucena City.

But ten years ago, even before Ed met Gretchen, he had mar-ried Nympha in Cebu City. Their marriage did not last long. Seven years ago, while he was still a Filipino citizen, Ed divorced Nympha in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Nympha still lives in Cebu City, but somehow came to know about Ed and Gretchen’s relationship. Instead of feeling aggrieved, she welcomed the news, because she herself is now living with another man and they have three children of their own.

Ed and Gretchen came to us to seek our advice. They want to know if they can push through with their wedding next year. After all, they tried to rational-ize, Nympha already has her own family.

The fi rst thing that Ed and Gretchen should understand is that Ed’s marriage to Nympha still exists in the eyes of Philip-pine law. This is because Ed was still a Filipino when he divorced Nympha seven years ago. Had Ed been already a U.S. citizen when

Some Misconceptions about Marriage and Immigration

he divorced Nympha, Philippine law would have recognized their divorce, and they would be free to marry. The status and legal capac-ity of Filipino citizens are gov-erned by Philippine law, wherever they may be. This “Nationality Principle” is found in Article 15 of the Civil Code of the Philippines:

Art. 15. Laws relating to family rights and duties, or to the status, condition and legal capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad.

On the other hand, the Family Code implicitly recognizes di-vorces obtained abroad by foreign-ers when it provided in Article 26 that:

Art. 26. All marriages solem-nized outside the Philippines, in accordance with the laws in force in the country where they were solemnized, and valid there as such, shall also be valid in this country, except those prohibited under Articles 35 (1), (4), (5) and (6), 3637 and 38. (17a)

Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Fili-pino spouse shall have capacity to remarry under Philippine law. (As amended by Executive Order 227)

As we have written in a previous article (Divorced Filipino Spouse Can Remarry, May 1, 2009), the reckoning point of determining if the other spouse is a Filipino or a foreigner is when the divorce decree was issued, not the time of marriage. Thus, even of the foreigner spouse was still Filipino at the time of marriage, but was already a U.S. citizen when he obtained the divorce, Article 26

will apply.Since Ed is considered as still

married to Nympha under Philip-pine law, he and Gretchen cannot push through with their planned wedding next year. Doing so will expose them to bigamy. The fact that Nympha now has a new fam-ily does not matter. Bigamy is a public offense, which means that any person can fi le a bigamy case against Ed and Gretchen, even a total stranger.

Our advice is for Ed to fi le a petition in the Philippine court to void or annul his marriage to Nympha. Or, Nympha can do this herself. Once a nullity decree is obtained from the court, Ed and Nympha will be free to marry again.

Which brings us to another misconception. Some think that if it is their spouse who accuses them of psychological incapacity, their spouse alone will be free to marry again but not them. This is not exactly true. If the court grants nullity under Article 36 of the Family Code on the ground of psychological incapacity, even the guilty party will be able to benefi t from that nullity decree. The logic here is that one may be psycho-logically incapacitated as regards one person, but not with respect to another.

How about getting a fi ancée visa for Gretchen? Sorry, it will not work. The USCIS and the U.S. consulate in the Philippines will surely know that Ed has an exist-ing marriage with Nympha, not-withstanding their divorce. They are quite familiar with Philippine laws and will be able to readily determine that Ed’s marriage to Nympha still exists under Philip-pine law.

Atty. Rogelio Karagdag, Jr. is licensed to practice law in both California and the Philippines. He practices immigration law in San Diego and has continuously been a trial and appellate attorney in the Philippines since 1989. His offi ce address is located at 16486 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite 228, San Diego, CA 92128. He also holds offi ce in National City inside the S&S Travel Agency at 2409 E. Plaza Blvd. Please call (858)348-7475 & (619) 475-3262 for your free consultation. Our email is [email protected]. Articles written in this column are not legal advice but are hypotheti-cals intended as general, non-spe-cifi c legal information.


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PNS -- SOME Vilmanians want to tell ABS-CBN to com-pile all the fi ve episodes of their idol’s TV special, “A Woman for All Seasons”, and release it in one special DVD. They say there’s a demand for this, especially from Vilmanians who live abroad who want to watch them all. We hope ABS-CBN will give in to their request as the fi ve-part special is really the fi rst tribute of its kind to any lo-cal actress. We’ve seen the fi rst three episodes and Vilmanians certainly have reason to rejoice as it chronicles both the public and private life of their idol.

The fi rst one centered on Ate Vi’s unquestionable talent as an actress. Scenes from her best fi lms were shown and today’s actors were asked to re-enact them, with Ate Vi herself and Director Laurice Guillen as facilitators.

Unfortunately, the young thes-pians chosen weren’t that fi nely honed yet when it comes to their craft so they undeniably fail in comparison to the original. The second episode, aptly hosted by actor-dancer Vhong Navarro, focused on Ate Vi’s long-running show, “Vilma”, where she displayed her terpsichorean prowess. She is made to dance again in the special and showed that she hasn’t lost her moves as a dancer.

Last Saturday, the third episode was hosted by Ai Ai de las Alas and gave an intimate portrait of Ate Vi as a wife and mother. For the fi rst time, she allowed the camera to enter her home in Ala-bang and she was shown having private moments with husband Ralph Recto (who just resigned from NEDA to prepare for his running in the Senate anew) and son Ryan Christian who’s now on the verge of adolescence at 12 and already sports a thin mus-tache. Both of them, including eldest son Luis Manzano, show-ered Ate Vi with praises for be-ing such a devoted and excellent wife and mom. One can easily feel the love that envelopes their whole family.

There’s now talk that she’s being considered to play the title

Gov. Vi to do Cory Film

role in Star Cinema’s planned fi lmbio of the late Pres. Cory Aquino. “It’s really a big honor for me to be considered to play one of the most signifi cant persons in our country’s history who’s an icon of democracy,” she says. “I’m sure maraming artista ang mag-aasam na makaganap sa ganyang role, but there are a lot of other things to consider. Unang-una, heto nga, tinatapos ko pa lang ang movie ko, ‘In My Life.’ So if ever, kailangang magpaalam na naman uli ako sa constituents ko, baka hindi na sila pumayag. Defi nitely, priority ko pa rin ang mga taga-Batangas. Also, election na next year and I’ll be busy with that. Kung ready na ang lahat sa project at walang hassles, then I’d be glad to play such an important role. Like I said, kung talagang para sa’kin yun, kahit anong mang-yari, it’ll be for me kung destined talaga. Kasi you really can’t fi ght destiny.”

In this coming Saturday’s episode of “A Woman for All Seasons”, a crew will accompany Ate Vi as she performs her job as governor of Batangas. This will be a day in her life as a public servant who won the UP Gawad Plaridel Award for her achieve-ments as an actress and a public offi cial. It will show her from the time she attends the fl ag ceremo-ny in the morning, the appoint-ments she has to attend to during the day, until she calls it a day at the Batangas capitol at day’s end.

Each episode of the special shows some footageof the shoot-ing of ‘In My Life’ in New York City and they showed the hard-ships they encountered while

making the movie on location while it’s still very, very cold at the Big Apple. The fi fth episode

Ate Vi

PNS -- WE know Robin Padilla as tough not only in his movies and soap operas but in his own family 20 affairs.

Last Sunday in the GMA 7 show, “Showbiz Central”, Rob-in was asked of his reaction to the report that her daughter Queenie is being romantically- linked to young actor-singer PJ Valerio.

Robin in dilemma

“Kung seryoso si Queenie diyan, ipapakasal na namin sila.” We know that they pro-fess Muslim beliefs which do not include courtship especially from non-Muslims.

PJ, a regular co-host of Ger-man ‘Kuya Germs’ Moreno in “Walang Tulugan” on GMA7 every Saturday and “Goals & Girls” or G&G Sundays on TV 5 is rumored to have been dat-ing Queenie.

will be devoted to the making of ‘In My Life’, where Ate Vi plays the role of a lifetime as Shirley Templo, a cold mother who is not demonstra-tive of her love to her kids. “It’s a very diffi cult role for me kasi I’m not at all like her in real life,” she says. “Alam nyo naman

ako, very warm and I show my family and friends how much I love them.” There will be ex-tensive interviews with co-stars John Lloyd Cruz, Dimples Ro-mana (her daughter), Tirso Cruz III (her estranged husband), Vice Ganda, Rafael Rosell, her own son Luis, and director Olivia “Inang” Lamasan.

If indeed they are and Robin’s statements are to be followed, will there be a wedding event anytime soon in the Padilla clan?

PJ says he is serious in his intentions on Queenie and stresses that he is not doing anything bad as he too has high respects for the action star.

Robin has a point in protect-ing his daughter because he has to follow certain practices un-

Robin Padilla

der their religion. But if the two are already on, he should also consider Queenie’s feelings.

It’s much more risky now that she just turned 18, when one wants to be more independent.

Robin knows little about PJ as he doesn’t even call him by name.

So with this, will the issue on religion hinder the chances of their relationship to go smooth-ly and long lasting?

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PNS -- TONIGHT is the last episode of ABS-CBN’s Korea-novela adaptation, “Only You”. Angel Locsin can now heave a sigh of relief as she could rest for a while before she starts a new teleserye that will pair her with John Lloyd Cruz. “But ‘Only You’ will always be very special for me kasi I really enjoyed when we shot part of it on location in Korea,” she says. “It’s such a beautiful place and I really plan to go back there someday na wala trabahong gagawin kundi mamamasyal lang para mas ma-enjoy ko siya.”

Angel is also supposed to shoot a new movie with Aga Muhlach but this has to wait as Aga is now shooting a movie with Regine Velasquez for Viva Films.

PNS -- GUESS who nearly stole the scene at the premiere night of “Love On Line” at SM Megamall? Leading man Vic Sotto’s own son himself, Oyo. It’s only to be expected that Vic

Luis, Angel break up?

Meantime, rumors that she has broken up with Luis Manzano continue to float. But neither she nor Luis will confirm or deny this. We’re sure the first one to feel sad if this were true would be Luis’ mom, Gov. Vi, as she has previously declared that she likes Angel for her son.

Angel Locsin and Luis Manzano

Oyo, Kristine steal scenes from Vic and Pia

Oyo Boy SottoKristine Hermosa

will come with girlfriend Pia Guanio. But when Oyo came up with Kristine Hermosa in tow, the TV crews covering the affair flocked to them and not to Vic and Pia.

It’s apparent that Oyo and Kris-

tine no longer hide their relation-ship. They’ve been together for three years and, although they keep saying they’re the closest of friends, surely their action speaks louder than anything they profess verbally. “Pag umamin kami, diretsong kasalan na,” says Oyo whose “Midnight DJ” on TV 5 continues to do very well. “We’re just waiting for sina Daddy. Alangan namang unahan namin sila.”

Why not make it a double wed-ding then?

Entertainment

glass under the water),” the elders warned them.

But wading in the flood, especially during the rain, was a fun way of spending the time when classes were suspended because of the typhoon.

During a break, Borobot picked up a can full of flood water and poured the contents out. To his surprise, a huge fish fell out and jumped into the flood.

For a long time, it had be-come his habit to pick up a can in a flood, hoping that a fish would come out. But nothing ever did.

The hen

When Borobot was four-years-old, his mother brought home a hen with white feath-ers. They planned to have it for dinner that weekend. But Borobot asked his parents to let him raise it as a pet. His parents winked at each other and let him have his way.

Borobot tied a piece of string on its right leg and led it around the house. He would feed it pa-lay and let it drink from a cup of water. He would play with it all day and throw it in the air to let it fly as the long piece of its string was tied to its leg, and

Childhood tales(Continued from page 5)



Perspectives

ASIAN JOURNALThe fi rst Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern California

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

In Pursuit of Excellence

Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

Eugenio “Ego” Osin, (1946 - 1994)Joe Cabrera, (1924 - 1996)

Soledad Bautista (1917-2009)

The Asian Journal is published weekly and distributed in all Asian communties in San Diego County. Publication date is every Friday of the month. Advertising deadline is Thursday prior to publication date at 5 p.m. For advertising rates, rate cards, or information, call (619) 474-0588. Subscription by mail is available for $50 per year (56 issues). The Asian Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and photographs but welcomes submissions. Entire content is © 2008 copyrighted material by Asian Journal. Materials in this publication may not be reproduced without specifi c permission from the publisher.

Genevieve SilverioManaging Editor

Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Miles BeauchampAssociate Editor

Santi SilverioAssociate Publisher

At Large...

Read Miles Beauchamp’s previous articles by visiting our web-site at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Miles Beauchamp

by Riz A. Oades

Voices & Images

Read Dr. Oades’ s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com


In celebration of Carni-val Cruise Lines’ new-est and largest ship,

the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream, the company today announced the Virtual Book of Dream contest, inviting residents in the U.S. and

Carnival Cruise Lines Encourages Children to Dream with the Virtual

Book of Dreams ContestCarnival to fi nd world’s fi rst offi cial cruise ship wa-

terslide Godchild; Donation to help kids battling cancer at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for

every online entry and vote

Canada to participate in a call for entries. Children between the ages of 7 to 12 have the opportunity to share their awesome dreams online at www.carnivalbookofdreams.com for a chance to become

the world’s fi rst-ever cruise ship waterslide Godchild, and travel to New York City to christen the spectacular Carnival WaterWorks aqua park on the Carnival Dream. The winning family will also receive a cruise on the Carnival Dream when the ship makes its North Ameri-can debut in November.

“At Carnival we value dreams and fun, and we know that no one excels at dreaming and having fun more than kids,” said Carni-val Cruise Lines Chief Marketing Offi cer Jim Berra. “The Virtual Book of Dreams is a terrifi c way to capture and share the fantastic dreams of children as we intro-duce the Carnival Dream — our most spectacular ‘Fun Ship’ yet.

In an effort to remind people why it’s important to dream, Carnival Cruise Lines also announced it will make a $2 donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for every entry received and $1 for each vote on the Virtual Book of Dreams web site www.carnivalbookof-dreams.com, with a maximum contribution of $25,000 donated to St. Jude. St. Jude is one of the world’s premier centers for the research and treatment of pediat-ric cancer and other catastrophic diseases. “Through the Virtual Book of Dreams, Carnival Cruise Lines has created a wonderfully unique way to support the lifesaving work of St. Jude,” said David L. McKee, chief operating offi cer and interim CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising organization of St. Jude. “Carnival Cruise Lines is encouraging kids to dream while also inspiring hope in our pre-cious patients and their families in the battle against cancer and other catastrophic diseases.”

Dream Big, Win Big

To enter the Virtual Book of Dreams™ contest, children must complete the thought “I’m always dreaming up fun stuff. Wouldn’t it be awesome if…” in 250 words or less. From August 18, 2009 until September 18, 2009, parents or legal guardians of children between the ages of 7 to 12 can submit their child’s written dream entry and corresponding hand-

drawn illustration online atwww.carnivalbookofdreams.

com. Dream submissions will be judged upon creativity and originality of the dream, expres-sion and emotional content. In late September 2009, Carnival will announce four fi nalists chosen by a panel of judges, in addition to one Wild Card fi nalist who will be selected via public online voting. Each of the fi nal-ists will be featured in a fi nal round of public online voting that will run through the beginning of October.

The Virtual Book of Dreams Grand Prize Winner will be chosen via the voting process in mid-October, named the God-child of the Carnival WaterWorks water slide aboard the Carnival Dream and invited to participate in a ship christening ceremony in New York City in mid-November 2009. The winning family will also receive a two-night cruise aboard Carnival Dream. All other fi nalists will receive digital cameras and other prizes from Carnival.

About Carnival Dream

Carnival Cruise Lines’ newest and largest ship, the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream, is a new class of vessel for the line and ushers in an exciting new era in “Fun Ship” cruising. The 3,646-pas-senger Carnival Dream will offer a host of innovations including a stunning indoor/outdoor café and entertainment venue called Ocean Plaza, a two-level Seren-ity adults-only retreat, a wrap-around promenade encircling the ship, the cruise industry’s largest water park that features the Carnival WaterWorks waterslide, and a 23,750-square-foot health spa – Carnival’s largest to date. Several new accommodation categories, including fi ve-berth, two-bathroom staterooms that will hold particular appeal for families, will also be offered on the Carnival Dream.

About Carnival Cruise LinesCarnival Cruise Lines is the

largest and most popular cruise line in the world, with 22 “Fun Ships” operating voyages rang-ing from three to 16 days in length to The Bahamas, Carib-bean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Canada, New England, Europe and

Bermuda. The line currently has two new ships scheduled for delivery between now and 2011. The fi rst of those, the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream, is set to debut Sept. 21, 2009. For ad-ditional information or reserva-tions on the “Fun Ship” vacation experience, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.

About St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in fi nding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. St. Jude is the fi rst and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as

a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Insti-tute. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with sci-entifi c and medical communities around the world. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by in-surance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the fam-ily’s inability to pay. St. Jude is fi nancially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization. For more information, please visit www.stjude.org.

NO PURCHASE NECES-SARY to enter or win. See www.carnivalbookofdreams.com for rules and details.

When NaFFAA was formed 11 years ago, the idea was not to create an umbrella orga-nization but to establish links among various autonomous national and local groups in order to harness our collec-tive strength…. [I consider myself] as the coordinator, in-tegrator and facilitator so that we as Filipino Americans can speak as one clear, powerful voice to government, busi-ness and the American main-stream. – Greg Macabenta. National Chair.

Filipinos have common traits that account for their homogeneity. But

they also have regional traits that distinguish one group from the other, sometimes with adverse consequences. Filipino im-migrants from dif ferent areas, speaking different dialects, tend to show dislikes and prejudices against one another.

Old-country tensions and internal cleavages, arising from frustra tions and disappointments in the new social situation, have troubled Filipinos in the initial phase of ad justment.

Regionalism, the tendency to emphasize and value—often times to the extremes- the quali-ties and characteristics of life in a par ticular region, partly ex-

Insights


NaFFAA offi cers, community leaders and Phillippine Embassy offi cials pose for a group photo follow-ing the conclusion of the organization’s planning meeting in Washington DC on Nov. 22. Photo by Les Talusana

Brawl

plains why Filipino Americans cannot seem to put their acts together and achieve unity. So-cial and economic factors play a crucial role in the regional differences

Tagalogs

The inhabitants of Southern and Central Luzon are predomi-nantly Tagalogs. Several ethno-linguistic communities live in the northern region. They are the Kapampangans, Zambale-nos, the Pangasinanese, and the Ilokanos. Farther south of Luzon are the Bikolanos, Bisayans, and Moros (Muslim Filipinos).

But the Tagalogs are the domi-nant and most urbanized of all these groups. They settle mostly in the fertile lowlands of Luzon, especially the coastal region around Laguna Lake and Manila Bay, where foreign contact is greatest. The various groups have, more or less, the same social and cultural tradi tions and invariably share the some historical experience.

The Tagalogs in Metro-Manila consider themselves cul turally superior, an ethnocentric contact with the more civilized and het-erogeneous elements in the city. Historical developments and lo-cal socioeconomic arrange ments made the Tagalog com munity somewhat different from the other regional groups. Hence, it

is not unusual for non-Tagalog in America to claim that he or she comes from Manila to impress or put on a cosmopolitan fl air.

What clearly distinguishes the Tagalogs from the rest of the population is language. Tagalog, the basis of the offi cial national language, Filipino, provides them with a special identity or a sense of group solidarity.

The Tagalogs are gener-ally characterized as hospitable, easygoing, articulate, and proud. They are sensitive to insult and are vindictive. Their code of ethics is strict. They are faith-ful lo their moral and economic obligations and love the fi ner things in life. But they are neither extravagant nor frugal. They are also “lovers”, born poets, and musicians.

Strong ties bind them to their homes; they therefore show little inclination to emigrate -- at least until the 3rd quarter of the 20th century. Unlike the Ilokanos and Bisayans, they generally prefer their “native soil” to any other; thus, they develop the ten dency to live with their parents or in-laws even after marriage, a life style that gives an outsider an im pression that Tagalogs tend to

be dependent and indolent.

The Where and When Ques-tions?

When Filipinos meet in America for the fi rst time, the two frequently asked questions are “Where do you come from?” and “When did you arrive?” The ex pected answer to the fi rst is a town or a province in the Philippines which places one in a linguistic category. One or two things occur, according to E. Admirol of UC Davis: “The conversation im mediately changes to the indicated regional dialect or if the conversants came from different lan guage areas, they would usually settle for Tagalog.”

“The other alter native, contin-ues Admirol, “is for one or both of the conversants to claim that they have forgotten their Philip-pine lan guage, including Taga-log and thus English is used for ‘convenience.’”

But persons who opt for the latter alternative are often looked down on particularly by the older Filipinos as ‘shame-less’, ‘arrogant’, ‘stupid’, or ‘putting on false airs’. Admirol insistently maintained. The per-son who ad mits knowledge of a Philippine language and speaks it is con sidered ‘friendly’, ‘sin-cere’, and ‘likeable.’

The answer to the question “When did you arrive?” usually signals which of them could presume to have a better under-standing of “American ways”; and consequently, a higher

social standing.

Viable Community But Not United

The Filipino-American com-munity is a viable but not a united whole. Family rivalry, generation al competition, and regional dif-ferences tend to segment the com-munity.

The Tagalogs, for ex ample, regard themselves as urban, better educated, more sophisticated, and superior to all the Filipino ethnic groups; and thus, they court the resent-ments of the Ilokanos (and their Pangasinanese cousins) and the Bisayans, who counter that Tagalogs are snobbish and lazy, “mayabang” (haughty) and lazy.

Rabid Priests and Lusty Women

Generally, the Tagalogs have frequently look down on the Ilokanos as “barrio rubes,” “tightwads,” and “passive”; the Bisayans are “bakya” (no class), carefree, irresponsible, and hav-ing a predilection for laziness.

Because the Bisayans are known for their guitar-making and “tuba” (palm wine), they exceed the Tagalogs in their love for the fi ner things of life and, consequently, “they are prepared to spend their last peso or dollar to enjoy life to the utmost.”

They are hedonists. “Give

them a jug of ‘tuba’ and dried fi sh and they will sing the wil-derness to paradise.” (Bisayan songs are not as sentimental as those of the Tagalog, but they are quite lively and coquett-ish). They are “happy-go-lucky” people, more interested in the here and now rather than the hereafter and a spendthrift.

Like their northern Ilokano brothers Bisayans are adven-turous and affl icted with wander-lust. Their womenfolk, unlike the Tagalogs are more festive, sen sual, self-reliant—and “can leave their homes without any ap prehension for the greener pas tures.”

“A standing joke in Hawaii is that Bisayan men, like their Bikolano cousins, become very

rabid priests to counteract the effects of their more lusty and earthly sisters,” commented Dr. Danilo Ponce of Honolulu.

Scotsmen of the Philip pines

The Bisayans and Tagalogs grant the Ilokanos as serious, hardworking, and industrious.

The Ilokanos live in the moun-tainous region, not suffi ciently fertile for an industrious, hardy, frugal people. Economic pres-sure early forces many of .them to migrate to less unkind regions, either in Mindanao or in Hawaii and the mainland United States. Today, they migrated all over the globe. Their frugality and work ethics compare favorably with the Scots or the Chinese.

They have no “sense of hu-mor”, observes historian T.A- Agoncillo, “for their environ-ment forces them to look upon life as an object of serious


Two weeks before SGM Cacoy Canete’s 90th birthday celebra-

tion in Van Nuys, Califor-nia, he conducted a seminar in San Diego (Saturday, July 25, 2009) hosted by the Babao Arnis Academy and organized by Narrison Babao, my eldest son and an instructor in our martial arts school.

A Filipino tradition was bro-ken when SGM Cacoy started the seminar fi fteen minutes ahead of schedule. Some of the attendees, who arrived on time, were surprised to fi nd that the seminar had already started. Filipino time usually runs later than the appointed time.

The seminar’s venue, Aishinkan Dojo in Alpine,

SGM Cacoy Canete’s San Diego Seminar

Crowded Seminar

California, is an Aikido school owned by Marc Fox, one of our senior students. Besides being a practitioner of Philip-pine martial arts, Sensei Fox, a 5th degree Black Belt in Aikido, practices Iaido and Jo Do, the

Zena, SGM Cacoy and Narrie paid their respects to the Philippine National Hero- Dr. Jose Rizal.

Japanese stick fi ghting art. The dojo’s fl oor is covered with authentic tatami mats, and the

entire building, which resembles the Kodokan dojo of Japan, was built personally by Marc and his students.

SGM Cacoy instantly felt at home in the dojo because he him-self spent many years studying Judo under Japa-nese senseis, and had competed

in Regional and National Judo tournaments in the Philippines during the 50’s.

Around forty attendees were crammed inside the dojo. Most of the seminar participants were students of Babao Arnis who

are also practitioners of the Cacoy Doce Pares Eskrido/Eskrima system of martial arts. Master Manuel Franciso and fi ve of his students fl ew in from San Jose, Califor-nia. Thomas Snowden, an 8th degree Aikido master, attended with seven of his students from his Aibukan Dojo in Chula Vista, Califor-nia.

Fred Grochulski of Richard Bustillo’s IMB Academy drove in from

Riverside, Calfi ornia. Steve Furbush, however, beat Gro-chulski by driving farther. He came all the way from Arizona.

Among the notable persons who attended were retired San Diego Police Captain Greg Clark, and Deputy Sherriff Chris Cross, the Defensive Tactics Dean of the San Diego Regional Safety and Law Enforcement Academy. Cross is a student of GM Babao.

The Babao Arnis Guros who attended included: San Diego Police Sergeant Romeo Delos Reyes, his brother Rudy Delos Reyes, DA Investigator Liza Prodigalidad, retired SDPD SWAT SRT member Dave Bertrand, Narrison Babao, Eric Punsalan and Rick De Jesus, who fl ew in from Pittsburg.

After the seminar, SGM Cacoy distributed certifi cates of promotion to most of the guros. Narrison Babao was promoted

Above: San Diego CDP . Below: Snowden GroupFrancisco Group

to Master, 6th Grade Black Belt level. Congratulations, Nar! What followed after the seminar and promotion was the Pot Luck Barbeque party. The celebrant was served with barbecued fi sh.

After everyone had their fi ll, a large birthday cake adorned with “9” and “0” lit candles was presented to SGM Cacoy. The attendees sang “Happy Birthday”while SGM Cacoy made his wish and blew out the candles. When asked what his wish was, the celebrant said,

“To do this again next year.” Stories and jokes followed, as the fi rst-time attendees were curi-ous about the secret of SGM Cacoy’s longevity.

Light &Shadows

Read Zena Babao’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Zena Sultana Babao


Spiritual Life

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

by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez

Lower Your Nets

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Harapin mo ang ‘yong pangarap at huwag kang matakotsige magpakatatag ka lakasan ang iyong loobikampay ang mga bagwis lumipad ka ng matayogisa lamang ito sa maraming pang mga pagsubok.

Hindi ba’t nais mong hanapin yaring kaligayahanmaghanda ka’t tiyak na mabato iyong daraanantawiring pilit ang bundok matarik man o mababawkaya mo ‘yan anak sadyang ganyang talaga ang buhay.

At kung talagang sa huli ay nahihirapan ka nahuwag kang sanang mag-alala, at sige, umiyak kahuminto ka sandali, lumuhod, ulo’y itingalanakatingin siya sa ‘yo,dahil nariyan lang siya.

Sige Anak

Joke of the Week: There were several lines waiting to enter the Pearly Gates of heaven. Overhead was one sign which read: “For husbands who have been dominated by their wives all their lives.” Standing under it was a line longer than one could see. Nearby was another sign: “For husbands who have never been dominated by their wives.” Under it stood one man, a meek looking fellow. When St. Peter asked him, “Why are you standing here?” The fellow replied, “My wife told me to stand here.”

Scriptures: First Reading: Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, 6-8. For the Hebrews, Yahweh had been heard, but had not been seen. For them, the invisible God is seen in the demands of the Torah. It is through obedience to the demands of the Torah that the Hebrews hear Yahweh and experience his presence. Second Reading: James 1: 17-18, 21-22, 27. The writer does not be-little the importance of liturgy, but he emphasizes that baptism and the hearing of the word are made visible by deeds of com-passion and honor. Christian dis-cipleship demands both hearing and doing. Gospel: Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23. Jesus teaches that

22ND SUNDAY: ORDINARY TIME

Pakikisama (Compadrazgo) and Hypocrisy

conversion of heart or internal disposition is crucial to settle issues on ritual purity or impu-rity. He emphasizes that it is not what people eat that makes them impure, but what comes from within one’s heart and appears in outward actions, such as evil thoughts, theft, and adultery.

Refl ections: In today’s Gos-pel, Jesus called the Pharisees “hypocrites.” The Greek, “hypocrites,” is the word for the English, “actor”. The word hypocrite metaphorically con-notes a pretender, someone who manifests an outward piety without an internal disposition, or one who is faithful to ritual requirements, but without real conversion of the heart. Due to its close link with the idea of de-ception and craftiness, the word hypocrite is often associated with evildoers and sinners.

Some anthropologists describe the Filipino society as a “high-context” culture in comparison with the Western “low context” societies. It is believed that in the Philippines a “yes” is “no,” and “no” is “maybe.” Though “maybe” of the Filipino may appear indecisive to Westerners, yet it shows the Filipinos well-mannered ability not to directly

hurt the other person’s feelings. By contrast, the “low-context” behavior of Western societies is described as abrasive, imper-sonal, untactful, and direct.

Philippine society is character-ized by many strong positive traits, such as “amor propio” (self-esteem) and smooth in-terpersonal relationship (SIR). Filipinos are sensitive to criti-cisms on their own self-esteem and intuitively sharp to the self-esteem of others as well. Anything that hurts one’s self-esteem is not allowed because it endangers smooth interpersonal relationships and harmony in society. Filipinos highly value their “being-in-relation,” or fi nd their identity in the kinship group to which they belong, such as “kamaganak” (family), or “kababayan” (townsfolk). Because of this cultural trait to fi nd one’s identity always in relation with the community or group, it is not surprising for a Filipino to always look for levels of connectivity to estab-lish personal and social relation-ships. (Taga-saan ka sa atin? “What is you residence in the Philippines?”)

However, those positive traits can also give rise to deception, pretension, and hypocrisy. To achieve smooth interpersonal relationship and not to embar-rass self and others, a Filipino will avoid open confl ict and frank dialogue, or give in to community or group pressure. A Filipino will still show a happy face even if he is hurting, and refrain from expressing anger, in order not to lose face, dis-please others and sever one’s ties with the kinship group. Because the family and kinship ties are of the highest value for a Filipino, he would sacrifi ce his personal integrity, true feel-ing, and principles to remain in good standing with the kinship group. This negative attitude gives rise also to clannishness.

Beyond his community, fam-ily, and clan, the Filipino could care less, because he does not expect support, loyalty and trust beyond his immediate group or family. The Filipino could care less for the greater good and welfare of the majority, as long as they do not impact on his clan and community. This attitude is a stumbling block to the nation’s building as well to its spiritual and political growth. Probably, this attitude is one of the rea-sons why some Filipinos are not actively involved in the parish. They are just contended with going to mass (this is great, but not enough). They relegate other church activities to a few. These Filipinos will have something to do with their parish only when affects their clan or group, such as the occasion of baptism or wedding.

A food for thought from Abra-ham Lincoln: “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to the light I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.”

Quotation of the Week: “There are people who laugh to show their fi ne teeth, and there are those who cry to show their good hearts.” Joseph Roux.

BalintatawRead Virginia Ferrer’s previous articles by visiting our website

at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Virginia H. Ferrer


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by Dr. Ed Gamboa

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As I write about the current national de-bate on health care,

I get a sense of what Pope Benedict XVI might have felt at Regensburg. Com-pelled to speak about Islam and violence, the Holy Father was keenly aware he was walking on thin ice. The Vatican’s track record during the Crusades was not a shining example of Christ’s teaching on peace and justice . Yet, despite the historical baggage, Pope Benedict forged ahead to address the errors of Islamic fundamentalism.

In good company, therefore, I will speak about health care reform. A short essay like this simply cannot cover the health care debate in a fair and com-prehensive manner. So, I will address the issue in a series of articles.

At a recent Knights of Co-lumbus convention in Phoenix, a well-educated Filipino, upon learning that I was a surgeon, brought out the topic of health care reform. From his perspec-

tive, the solution to providing health care to 40 million people without medical insurance was simply to reduce payments to physicians, hospitals, and drug companies. He must have read the USA Today interview of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who assured the nation that securing $1.4 trillion to fund a new government program was easy – the government would simply tax doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies.

So I asked my brother knight what he thought I would get compensated for if I got out of bed at 2 in the morning, rushed to the ER to examine a patien t, reviewed the blood tests and CT scans, diagnosed appendicitis, then brought the patient to the Operating Suite for emergency surgery. And what if I kept the child or adult in the hospital for several days of intravenous anti-biotic treatment, saw him or her every day on rounds, conferred with the nurses and updated the family regarding the patient’s clinical progress, then checked the patient again in the office for the next couple of weeks until he or she could go back to school or work?

My fellow knight promptly mentioned a dollar amount

that was easily ten times what I would actually get paid for. Assuming, I did not get an IOU check from Sacramento, as is happening these days under the state budgetary crisis.

And what did he think I would get paid for services rendered after surgery? He guessed wrong again. How about zero dollars, I said. Everything that surgeons do after surgery falls into what is called a postoperative “global period” of 60-90 days when all services provided for the patient are free.

He thought I was joking. “Doc,” he said, “don’t you get paid $500 every time you opened a chart?” This led me to conclude that he (and millions of Americans) must have been listening to the President of the United States who claimed that surgeons got $50,000 for ampu-tating a leg. I wonder on which planet these surgical fees are be-ing disbursed. Overworked phy-sicians can certainly use such generous reimbursements here on earth for the ever increasing malpractice premiums we pay to protect ourselves from lawsuits that have become casino lotter-ies for patients and malpractice lawyers.

Knowledgeable experts esti-mate that if tort or much-needed malpractice reforms were insti-tuted, and defensive medicine eliminated, health care expen-diture in the United States will immediately be reduced by $200 Billion a year.

Last year, an article entitled “Patient Perception of Medicare Fee Schedule of Laparoscopic Procedures was published in a surgical journal (Surgical Inno-vation, September 19, 2008). It was a study conducted by a team from the University of Miami School Of Medicine and pre-sented to the Society of Ameri-can Gastrointestinal Endoscopic

Surgeons annual meeting.Concerned that the public (and

congressional representatives) are under the erroneous notion that physicians receive substan-tial remuneration for surgical procedures, the team surveyed 96 patients. 83% of the patients had been operated on.

The survey revealed the following: Almost all of the pa-tients (98%) thought Medicare should pay more for technically difficult surgical procedures. 32% felt Medicare paid physi-cians well but 91% thought Medicare should increase fees for doctors.

Interestingly, patients thought that surgeons were paid $14,963 for a gastric bypass opera-tion and that Medicare should increase payment for the laparos copic procedure to $16,877, when, in fact, Medicare pays only $1,504 for such an opera-tion.

For gallbladder surgery, patients thought that surgeons were paid $8,746 and that they deserve to be paid $10,555 for the operation. In actual fact, Medicare pays $620.

Medical students surveyed in a 2007study thought that surgeons got paid $3,000 for gallbladder surgery while most surgeons thought they were get-ting paid $700. Again, the actual payment was $620 for removal of the gallbladder by laparo-scopic surgery. Such compensa-tion also included medical care before and after surgery.

For initial patient visit to the doctor’s office, the survey showed that patients think Medi-care pays $144 and that doctors deserve to be paid $181. In fact, Medicare pays surgeons $90.58 for a patient’s visit. Additional visits are paid lower.

The study concluded that “lawmaker perception of Medi-care physician reimbursement probably resembles public perception, which may explain the fact of the ever-threatening cuts in Medicare reimbursement to physicians.”

Next year, Medicare plans to cut reimbursements further by another 20%.

Jolted by facts, my friend in Phoenix said that Medicare

had trouble containing costs and that Medicare constitutes only a fraction of most medical practices anyway. He was right. Depending on type and location of practice, Medicare makes up 20-40%. However, what he did not know is this: most, if not all insurance companies, now set fee schedules as close to Medicare rates as possible. And Medi-Cal rates are even lower than Medicare.

That is why most physicians, while recognizing the value

of universal heal th care, are concerned that the proposed government option plan will be nothing more than a Medicare clone.

I will examine another aspect of health care reform in the next article.

###

Next Article: The Pros and

Cons of Nationalized Health CareHealth Care Reform:

Getting the Facts Right


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by J’Son

Any group or association that undergo into a fund-raising program knows that fund-raising takes sometime. Every organiza-tion is looking for a fund-raising program that doesn’t require too much time to increase profits. From schools, churches to com-munity organizations undertake fund-raising programs for only one goal, “profit.”

As the saying goes, “money begets money!” All fund-raising programs require capital in order to make profit. Community or-ganizations like: Paradise Valley International Medical Mission (PVIMM) is planning to have a LUAU fund-raising next month

A perfect fund-raisingto raise fund for its forthcoming medical mission to the Philip-pines, Samahan Senior Center in Market St. is regularly doing casino trips to help maintain the center, CEBOLEY USA, holds annual dance fund-raising for scholarship and feeding pro-grams, Kalusugan writes grants for a specific program they may undertake, schools and many other groups resort to buy and sell and lately some are now us-ing online to do fund-rising.

With a fund-raising topic, a unique true story of a friend Linda Aquino from the book, “Acres of Diamonds”, by Dr. Russell H. Conwell, correlates

and proves “WHAT GOD CAN DO WITH 57 CENTS.“

A little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it was too crowded. ‘I can’t go to Sunday School,’ she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by.

Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and, taking her by the hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class. The child was so happy that they found room for her, and she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus.

Some two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings. Her parents called for the kindhearted pastor who had befriended their daugh-ter to handle the final arrange-ments.

As her poor little body was be-ing moved, a worn and crumpled red purse was found which seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump. Inside was found 57 cents and a note, scribbled in childish handwrit-ing, which read: ‘This is to help build the little church bigger so

more children can go to Sunday School.’

For two years she had saved for this offering of love. When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do. Carrying this note and the cracked, red pocketbook to the pulpit, he told the story of her unselfish love and devotion.

He challenged his deacons and parishioners to get busy and raise enough money for the larger building. In an all-out fund-raising scheme which probably guided by God lots of people responded the call including a local newspaper who learned the story and published it. It was read by a wealthy realtor who of-fered them a parcel of land worth many thousands... When told that the church could not pay so much, he offered to sell it to the little church for 57 cents.

Church members made large donations. Checks came from far and wide..

Within five years the little girl’s gift had increased to $250,000.00--a huge sum for that time (near the turn of the century). Her unselfish love had paid large dividends.

When you are in the city of Philadelphia , look up Temple Baptist Church , with a seating capacity of 3,300. And be sure to visit TempleUniversity, where thousands of students are edu-cated.

Have a look, too, at the Good Samaritan Hospital and at a Sunday School building which houses hundreds of beautiful children, built so that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside during Sunday school time.

In one of the rooms of this building may be seen the picture of the sweet face of the little girl whose 57 cents, so sacrificially saved, made such remarkable history. Alongside of it is a por-trait of her kind pastor.

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The MetamorphosisRead Ernie Delfin’s previous articles by visiting our website at

www.asianjournalusa.com.

by Ernie Delfin

Last week, while watch-ing TV on CSPAN I happened to watch an hour address of Dr. Muhammad Yunus before the media in Washington D.C. before he was given a “Medal of Freedom Award” by President Obama as one of 16 people as “agents of agents” in our world today. I have read his book on Micro-Finance years ago, and I believe that the proven success of his Grameen Bank must be spread to all countries, especially the third world countries, in order to empower the poor faster, thereby contributing to the prog-ress of their respective nations.

As a brief background, Dr. Mu-hammad Yunus is a global leader in anti-poverty efforts, and has pioneered the use of “micro-loans” to provide credit to poor individuals without collateral. Dr. Yunus, an economist by training, founded the Grameen Bank in 1983 in his native Bangladesh to provide small, low-interest loans to the poor to help better their livelihood and communities. Despite its low interest rates and lending to poor individuals, Grameen Bank is sustainable and 98% percent of its loans are repaid – higher than other banking systems. It has spread its successful model throughout the world. Dr. Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work.

Having been born and raised in the Philippines, still a devel-oping nation, I have witnessed that t the World Bank model of primarily lending and dealing with the established institutions has kept the progress mainly on

Muhammad Yunus formula on micro-loans must be spread to all countries

the top of the economic pyramid. The trickle down theory has not worked well but kept the status quo where the poor gets poorer, and the rich richer. Lack of capi-tal aggravated by lack of educa-tion and business know how made those in the bottom of

the pyramid preys of predatory lending, where the Shylocks of the world make a ton of money at their expense, without even realizing it. In many develop-ing countries in Asia, Africa or Latin America, the Shylocks of the world are still making a lot of money because there is only a few Grameen Banks. This where businesspeople as well as NGOs from first world countries like the Rotary International with its 1.25 million Rotarians in 200 countries, or Lions Interna-tional, must get involved NOW to accelerate the expansion of micro lending, the Grameen Bank way.

-------------------

Briefly, allow me to illus-trate the modus operandi of this “underground lending” (that is the only one available) in many rural villages in the world:: The

venture capitalist (Shylock of the village) lends FIVE PESOS to a market vendor on Monday morning, then collecting ONE PESO as interest ONLY the next Friday! So the ORIGINAL FIVE PESOS earned 52 PESOS for one year! But after 5 weeks, Mr. Shylock has earned another FIVE PESOS to lend. Begin-ning on the 6th week, he will be collecting TWO PESOS AS INTEREST ONLY from two market vendors! Just extrapo-late what happens every five weeks, or after several years from the day when the original FIVE PESOS that was lent to the first vendor!

That is the factual scenario of many third or fourth world country’s poor villages, where credit facilities of the World Bank or any traditional banks cannot or do not want to reach. I am not surprised at all why Grameen Bank is succeeding,

after great patience in dealing with the slow pace of changing the mindsets of those in the bot-tom of the economic pyramid.

Another excellent book that deals with developing nations is “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” by Dr. Prahalad. The book suc-cinctly describes the successes of several business enterprises in India, Mexico and Latin Ameri-can countries that thrives in the lower economic strata the coun-try by the application of revolu-tionary marketing and consumer principles, and diligently work-ing with a different mindset of their client base. The companies that were showcased in the book illustrate how a social enterprise can make a fortune by incorpo-rating the prevalent values of the market place and never imposing the traditional business practices of Wall Street.

The building of a nation is

never easy but I believe it can be accelerated through the in-novative fusion of labor, com-mitted entrepreneurs and social capital that is not only centered on making profits that only go to the owners of the enterprise. Socially oriented businesses as advocated by Drs. Yunus, found-er of the Grameen Bank, and Dr. Prahalad, author of “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” should be supported and encour-aged to expand faster in as many countries as possible. It is one proven way to make the gap between the very rich and very poor narrower in many countries of the world.

--------- 30 ------- Email: [email protected]

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

journalusa.com

Noong araw. . . .. Panciteria Moderna was the place to go for pancit miki and miki bihon already wrapped in their version of ‘tetra pak’ (banana leaves on wrapping paper tied with a rubber band). Pancit bihon was the specialty of Panciteria Wa Nam ..

Kung gusto mo naman ng chopsuey rice doon ka sa Hen Wah, tabi ng Avenue Theatre.

At sa Ma Mon Luk, siopao was at 30 centavos; mami was at 70 centavos or 2 pcs. of siomai (large) with unlimited soup for 30 centavos.. So with one peso busog ka na. Ngayon bigay mo piso sa pulubi, titig-nan ka pa ng masama.

The Shangri-la in the base-ment of Shelborne Hotel (at the back) was the place to go for dates if you wanted a dark and cozy atmosphere.

The Black Angel along Shaw Blvd near the corner of Kalen-tong in Mandaluyong was a very good place to listen to soft music (Fleetwoods, Lettermen, Cascades) and the lights were also quite low..

Then with the introduction of the ‘black light’ you look like Dracula about to devour a beau-tiful victim. Kaya lang pag may pustiso ka itim ang labas kaya mukhang kenkoy ka. So do not dare to smile.

With Php 30.00- 50.00 in your pocket you were in pretty good shape for a date.

‘Bakuran’ was the in-thing at parties with ‘screening’ from a friend to assist you in getting a dance with a girl who was very sought after. Wack-Wack, the Sky Room in Jai-Alai, the pent-house at the Rufi no Bldg. as well as Capri at the Sarmiento Bldg right opposite it were the favorite places for proms and balls.

Sikat ang event if the Dyna-

Noong Araw Part 1Souls (dubbed the Beatles of the Philippines ), The Tilt Down Men (the Sotto brothers, Tito, & Val, favored the Dave Clark 5), Hi-Jacks, the Electromani-acs (later Electros) or the Bad Habits was the ‘combo’ play-ing. Other popular bands then were the Bits and Pieces ( after the Dave Clark 5 hit), Purple People, Versatiles (remember the late Bobby Lim), Techni-colors (whose drummer Tony Tuviera is now the producer of Eat Bulaga), Red Fox (forerun-

ner of Hotdog), Jungle Cats, Glenmores, Robins, Crystals , Phantoms, and the Downbeats (where most of the Juan de la Cruz band came from notably Pepe Smith or Joey Smith then).

What about gate crashing a ‘Tipar’ (for party) and the ensuing rumble between feud-ing barkadas: Havocs, Combat, Axis, Amboys, Mobs & Exot-ics, meron pang kanya-kanyang busina (car honking ID)...

Remember BMI (Baguio Military Institute)? That school was a dumping ground for kicked out students from Manila and kids that needed discipline. Let us not forget ang mga taga ‘Baste’ ( San Sebastian ).

Ang daming siga noong araw. Alta Vista along Roxas Blvd. was the favorite place for wedding receptions at Php 8.50 per cover! Ngayon, kulang pang

pambayad ito sa parking fee. Special ringside seats for

performances at the Araneta Coliseum were at P5.00 per. So with P20.00 you could safely invite someone and still have enough for a snack afterwards or a game of ‘putt and putt’ at the mini-golf place located at the back of Araneta. Among the more popular celebrities who performed at the Big Dome were Neil Sedaka, Anita Bry-ant, Teddy Randazzo, Nat King Cole, Jo Ann Campbell, Paul Anka, Johnny Mathis, Matt Monro, Gary Lewis & the Play-boys, Dave Clark 5, Zombies, Peter and Gordon and many many more.

Noon 5 centavos sa mga bata at 10 centavos naman para sa matatanda ang bayad sa jeep. Manila and Suburbs ang lahat ng biyahe ng jeep noon na 3 seater lang (AC ang tawag nila dito) at talagang Upong Diyes lang ang sigaw ng driver. Sa Avenida Rizal at Sta. Cruz, Blumentritt, Tayuman, Espiritu Santo Church , Grace Park, Pasay-Taft, Dakota - Harrison, Paco-Taft, Sta. Ana Tulay at BBB-Monumento ang mga sikat na lugar.

Did you get an opportunity to ride the G-Liner from San Juan to Quiapo? It would crawl up to the corner of N. Doming to pick up passengers. That’s why we called it Gapang Liner.

Gas was very cheap then and they can afford to keep the motor running for 2 hours at a snail’s pace. Gasoline prices then were at 25 centavos per liter and there were only two types of gas; Premium or Regu-lar..

Caltex called their premium ‘Boron’ as advertised by that multi-colored dancing lights on top of the old San Miguel Ice Plant. Near those dancing lights was the big white kettle pouring hot chocolate on a giant cup. It was sponsored by Cocoa Ricoa. Esso named theirs Extra to ‘put a Tiger in your tank’.

(Continued next issue)


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Calling all CUBAO HIGH SCHOOL/RAMON MAGSAY-SAY (CUBAO) HIGH SCHOOL Class of 1967 graduates to come out and join up for a Get-Together on Saturday, September 19, 2009 to talk about the 2010 Grand Reunion and BG (Bakasyon Grande) 2010. Alumni now residing in Canada, the United States of America, and20other parts of the world are invited to share this special day with their fellow graduates. For more information regarding this celebrations, please contact the following Class of 1967 alumni:

Charlemagne B. Palaganas - (310) 699-6034 or e-mail: [email protected] Cabison - (323) 646-0732 or

e-mail: [email protected] V. Arzaga - (310) 412-4348 / (310) 756-4323

or e-mail: [email protected] Iglesias – (562) 773-1962 or e-mail: [email protected]

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To:

From: Eugene De Leon

Herewith is proof of your classified ad for publication in the Asian Journal. Please proofread i t and fax back the correction if any or call us for your approval. The ad is tentatively scheduled to be published in the

issue of the Asian Journal if we receive your approval on time. At $4 per line

lines, it costs

$______.00 to be paid upon your receipt of the invoice and tear sheet. Thank you.

Fax #

If approved please sign and fax back to

(619) 474-0373

__________________

Asian JournalFirst Asian Weekly Newspaper in Southern California & San Diego’s Most Widely Circulated Asian-Filipino Newspaper

550 East 8th Street, Suite 6, National City CA 91950 • Tel. (619) 474-0588 • Fax (619) 474-0373

08/28/09

440

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11x4x10

CITY OF SAN DIEGOPublic Utilities Department

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALFOR

As-Needed Condition Assessment 2009-2012 (H104891)

The City of San Diego (City) is requesting proposals from highly qualified condition assessment engineering firms for consultant services for As-Needed Condition Assessment 2009-2012 (H104891).

It is the policy of the City to provide equal opportunity in its condition assessment engineering professional services contracts. Toward this end, proposals from small businesses, disabled owned businesses, women owned businesses, firms owned by African-Americans, American Indians, Asian-Americans, Filipinos, and Latinos, and local firms are strongly encouraged. Prime consultants are encouraged to subconsult or joint venture with these firms. The City endeavors to do business with firms sharing the City’s commitment to equal opportunity and will not do business with any firm that discriminates on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, medical condition or place of birth. This project has a voluntary Subcontracting Participa-tion Level (SPL) goal of 15%. SPL goals are achieved by contracting with any combination of Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), Women Business Enterprises (WBE), Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE), Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises (DVBE) or Other Business Enterprises (OBE) at the prime or subcontractor level. Definitions of MBE, WBE, DBE, DVBE and OBE are contained in the Request for Proposals (RFP). Attainment of the SPL goal is strongly encouraged, but strictly voluntary.

The City of San Diego will ensure that full access to programs, services, meetings and activities comply with Section 504, Title V, of the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 1990, Public Law 101-336.

In-depth knowledge and a strong understanding of the local environment, and a local presence for interfacing with the City’s project management staff are essential to the successful completion of this project. The proposal must address the consultant’s knowledge and understanding of: the City and other local agencies regulations and policies; local environment; and local building codes and other criteria. The proposal must also address how the consultant plans to interface with the City’s project management staff and the consultant’s workforce in San Diego County.

All proposals submitted must be in full accord with the Request for Proposal (RFP) which can be obtained by requesting it by email from John Mendivil, Consultant Services Coordinator, at [email protected] :

City of San Diego, Purchasing & Contracting DepartmentAttn: John Mendivil, Contracting Division

1200 Third Avenue, Suite 200San Diego, CA 92101.

For questions about the RFP please call John Mendivil at (619) 235-5855. When requesting the RFP, please refer to the specific project title listed above.

A pre-proposal meeting will be held on Thursday, September 17, 2009, 10:00 AM, at MOC 2, Conference Room 1D, 9192 Topaz Way, San Diego, CA 92123. It is strongly recommended that all interested parties attend. For more information, assistance, to request an agenda in alternative format, or to request a sign language or oral interpreter for the meeting, please contact Monika Smoczynski, at 858-292-6455 at least five working days prior to the meeting to ensure availability.

Proposals are due no later than 5:00 p.m. Friday, October 09, 2009, at the location stated in the RFP. This RFP does not commit the City to award a contract or to defray any costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal pursuant to this RFP. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received as a result of this RFP. The City also reserves the right to revise this RFP, including but not limited to the pre-proposal conference date and the proposal due date. If the City revises the RFP, all RFP holders of record will be notified in writing by the City.

Summary Scope of Services

The City has a need for professional engineering consultant services on an as needed basis to provide condi-tion assessment of its large diameter water and wastewater pipelines up to 114” inches in diameter (water and wastewater transmission lines, trunk sewers, interceptors and outfalls). Due to the ongoing program develop-ment, identifying specific tasks for the consultant to perform will also be ongoing. As specific requirements are established, the consultant will be authorized in writing by the City to perform said requirement via “Task Orders”. The objectives of a pipeline condition assessment include evaluation of the structural integrity, liner integrity, and other localized defects resulting from corrosion or liner failure. The as needed engineer must also be able to provide design improvements or restoration to all pipelines assessed.

The Consultant will be required to prepare condition assessment reports including video recordings of all inspec-tions, provide pre-design reports and 100% design documents to facilitate rehabilitation. As a requirement, the Consultant must be able to perform work in the following areas: Soil and Geotechnical Engineering, Traffic Engineering, Water/ Wastewater Engineering, Survey Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, “Fair Cost” Estimates, Structural Engineering, Corrosion Engineering, and Construction Management. The re-mainder of the Scope of Services is contained in the Request for Proposal for As-Needed Condition Assessment 2009-2012 (H104891), as Exhibit A to the Draft Agreement.

To:

From: Eugene De Leon

Herewith is proof of your classified ad for publication in the Asian Journal. Please proofread i t and fax back the correction if any or call us for your approval. The ad is tentatively scheduled to be published in the

issue of the Asian Journal if we receive your approval on time. At $4 per line

lines, it costs

$______.00 to be paid upon your receipt of the invoice and tear sheet. Thank you.

Fax #

If approved please sign and fax back to

(619) 474-0373

__________________

Asian JournalFirst Asian Weekly Newspaper in Southern California & San Diego’s Most Widely Circulated Asian-Filipino Newspaper

550 East 8th Street, Suite 6, National City CA 91950 • Tel. (619) 474-0588 • Fax (619) 474-0373

08/28/09

120

A. Nieden

3x4x10

Request for Proposals (RFP)Electronic Bicycle Locker Manufacture and Installation

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is soliciting proposals from qualified contractors for the provision of electronic bicycle lockers to be manufactured or procured and installed at various sites in the San Diego region.

A copy of the RFP (No. 5001114) can be accessed from the SANDAG Web site at www.sandag.org/contracts or by contacting:

Janet YehSANDAG

401 B Street, Suite 800San Diego, CA 92101

(619) [email protected]

Proposals are due by 4 p.m. on Friday, September 25, 2009.

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the other end to his arm. He kept the string tied to him, even when he was asleep.

On the third morning, however, he woke up with no hen in sight. The piece of string was still tied to his arm, but the hen was not tied to other end. He asked ev-eryone in the house, but nobody had seen the hen.

“Maybe it plucked the string with its beak and got loose,” his elder brother Buddy told him. He was smirking. “Or maybe, the chicken monster took it away.”

His mother promised to buy him another one.

“When I go to the market next

Childhood tales(Continued from page 13)

week,” she assured him.But his feelings would not be

assuaged. When he looked out of the window, he saw his hen, white feathers and all, tied to his cousin’s house by a string.

He ran downstairs, removed the string, grabbed the hen and proceeded to take it home.

“Manok ko iyan (That’s my hen),” he cousin Rey, who was his age, wailed from the window of their house.

Rey rushed outside and grabbed back the hen from Boro-bot. The two cousins pulled at the helpless hen until the elders came out and tried to separate them.

“That’s Rey’s hen,” his mother told Borobot. “It may look like

your hen, but Rey’s mother bought it for him yesterday.”

But Borobot would not hear of it. He insisted that the hen was his until he started crying. His mother brought him inside the house where he cried his heart out.

That evening, they enjoyed a delicious chicken dinner.

Borobot looked forward to the day when his mother would buy him another hen at the market. But after only three days, he for-got about his missing hen. Rey’s hen, with white feathers and all, was also mysteriously lost.

“Maybe it was also taken by the chicken monster,” Borobot told Rey.

That evening, Rey and his family also enjoyed a delicious chicken dinner. - AJ


(Continued on from page 14)


struggle. It is for this reason they appear “sluggish and shy”, Agoncillo maintained. They are however lovers of culture and take pride in cultivating it. Of all Filipinos, the Ilokanos have the best chance of survival.”

The Ilokanos and Bisayans consider the Tagalogs “maya-bang” or “burot” (arrogant) and “inveterate show-offs”. Thus when someone is a show-off and happens to be a Tagalog, the Ilokanos and Bisayans would usually say “because he is a Tagalog,” sur passed only by Kapampangans, another lin-guistic group in Central Luzon, in kayabangan.

“When a person has dif ficulty in pronouncing English words,” writes Admiral, “he is as-sumed to be an Ilokano because ‘Ilokanos have thick tongues’, meaning that they have ‘in-herent’ difficulty in learning any language aside from their own.”

The Ilokanos are by far the largest immigrant group in the United States.

Early Perceptions and Problems

Two patterns of difficulties that normally confront im-migrant groups in the initial phase of ad justment troubled the Filipinos. First was the pat-tern of hostility shown toward any new group by older ethnic immigrants, and second was the sharpening of regionalist tensions and internal cleavages because of the frustra tions and disappointments in the new social environment.

The immigrant Japanese in Hawaii resented Filipinos and considered them uncouth, bois-terous, fun-loving, and seem-ingly irresponsible. The Japa-nese fathers and mothers were quite disturbed about Filipinos having no families. They did not find it amusing at all that Filipinos fought over women; gambled their wages away; and spoke a strange language.

“The Filipinos were Catho-lics, but unlike haoles (Anglos) or Asian Catholics, they did not seem to be burdened with their religion,” writes L.A. Fuchs, author of Hawaii Pono.

Even on Christian Sundays, Fil-ipinos tended to go to cockfight or an improvised taxi dance hall than church.

Reinforcing the scornful Japanese attitude was their nagging fear that Filipinos would oversupply the labor market and minimize their economic opportunity. Eth nic newspapers warned against the Filipino threat as early as 1909, maintaining that they reduced American standards, using in fact the very argument that had been hurled against the Japa-nese by the Anglos.

The major internal conflict in the Filipino community was be tween the Ilokanos and Bisayans. They constantly “picked” on each other. The Tagalogs, the group with the highest social prestige in the Philippines, supplied few im-migrants to Hawaii and Califor-nia: hence, they were not deeply involved.

The Bisayans had taken the place of the Tagalogs as the upper status group. Not as liter-ate, sophisticated, American-ized, or urban they displayed these qualities in much greater degrees than the Ilokanos.

The Bisayans, for example, usually blamed the Ilokanos for the low status of the Filipinos in the States and accused them of being parochial, clannish, slug gish, timid, and cheap.

The Ilokanos often countered with accusations of Bisayan laziness, ex travagance, and unreliability, charges reportedly substantiated by impartial ob-servers, occasionally by some Bisayans themselves.

Early surveys also showed that Ilokano families averaged nearly twice the savings and only a fraction of the indeb-tedness of Bisayan households.

The petty jealousies that the Chinese and Japanese thought unique to their own groups were repeated among the Fili-pinos. Curious Filipinos often wonder why other groups were so united: “Why do the Japa-nese get ahead? How it is the Chinese are success ful? Where are our leaders? Why don’t we trust each other? Why do we fight among ourselves?”

Answers to these questions are varied and frequently repeated by Filipinos. The popular one runs: “The trouble with Filipinos is that they have low opinion of themselves, that they do not trust each other and will ex ploit other Filipinos; in business, they will rather pa-tronize the Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, or Thais.”

To KCS board member Paul S. Ones: “It’s plain Filipino ‘crab mentality, no more.’”

The story so frequently told by Hawaiian Chinese, Japa-nese, and Portuguese is ‘that individuals who succeeded were scorned by their country-men through petty jealousies and spats’ --was repeated by Filipinos, as though it hap-pened only to them.

Optimistic View of Region-alism

The tendency to rate in-dividuals in terms of their regional origins in the Philip-pines is diminished somewhat by the in creased interaction among Filipinos, particu-larly true among the emergent middle class and better educat-ed Filipino Americans, made possible by the development of common languages such as English and Filipino.

Regionalism is an important factor that cuts across a com-munity. But this should not be misinterpreted as an absence of a “Filipino community,” argues Admirol. “The fact that there is a conflict does not mean that there is no feeling of com-munity; quite the contrary, the conflict indicates that the mem-bers and different elements and interests within the community were in touch with each other, share common sym pathies and loyalties and under stand what is worth competing for within the ethnic community.”

The truth however still remains that the contin-ued strength of regional-istic and lin guistic group identification—al though diminishing—is a roadblock to the development of national in-tegration in the Philip pines and Filipino economic and political muscles here in America.

Filipinos in the Forum

In the early 1990s, I was ac-tive in the San Diego’s Filipino Men’s Forum (FMF). Some exchanges on the subject of unity among the participants really amused me. Here are some examples.

“Until you Filipinos whole-heartedly accept that you are now Americans,” said my good friend Jun Galang in a FMF’s breakfast meeting, ‘it’ll be a long, bumpy road to achieving your goals and agenda – [i.e., Filipino unity and empower-ment.] Enlightenment is what you guys need!”

The late Papa Remotigue disagreed and insisted that “no matter what,” he still considers himself a Filipino!

The usually enlightened Rolly Villarba somewhat disturbed and at a loss as to what the whole issue or debate was about, of fered to do research on “whatever” and promised to come back with a solution. And to the civic leader Cris Ramos “the solution is simple: Dis-solve the forum.”

Upon hearing the remark, the engineer-philosopher Sam Re-spicio almost fell on his chair in disbelief.

There has been several at-tempts to unite the Filipino Americans not only here in San

Diego but nationwide. NaFfAA (acronym for National Federa-tion of Filipino American Asso-ciation) mission is to empower Filipinos in America.

I know and met several NaF-FAA’s top officials, and they are well-meaning men and women. But in the wake of the current NaFFAA’s alleged $450, 000 to $1-million scan-dal, one wonders how long still Filipino vision of unity and political empowerment will take. Why can’t we Filipinos get along and be transparent? -- Riz


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The Greatest Hitmakers Live in San Jose marks a

successBy VIÑA M. PHELPS SAN DIEGO, Calif, - The

San Diego Majestic Lions Club will celebrate its 15th Anniversa-ry and Installation of 2009-2010 Officers with a dinner-dance to be held at the Skies Lounge of the Four Points Hotel on 8110 Aero Dr. (by Sheraton) on Sept. 5 starting at 6:00 p.m.

With 1st Vice District Gov-ernor Susan Hatch, District 4L-6, as inducting officer, incoming set of officers include: Pete Lustria who was unanimously elected and will be serving his 2nd term as president; Florfina Arce, 1std vice president; Myrna Psillas, 2nd vice president; Nario Idos, 3rd vice president; Florfina Arce, secretary; Mariqita Ridge-way, treasurer; Trinidad Lustria, lion tamer; Carmen Labaco, tail twister.

Two-year Board of Direc-tors: Stephanie Psillas, Dr. Ceferina Ruiz, Josie Robles, Vicky Basilio. One year Board of Directors: Letty Ancho, Flo-rfina Arce, Letty Bustria.

Membership Committee: Rose San Pedro, chairperson; Napoleon White, senior mem-ber; and Dr. Ceferina Ruiz, junior member. 2nd Vice District Gov. Jan Gustavel will induct the club’s new members.

Atty. Ayne Majul will be this affair’s inspirational speak-er. Music will be furnished by the Four Points Hotel that will serve dinner buffet-style at $20 per person. The club is seek-ing support and cooperation of other Lions in District 4L6, in San Diego County, as well

San Diego Majestic

Lions Club celebrates 15th

Anniversary

PNS -- TWO shows of Marian Rivera debuted this month on GMA-7. First was “Darna” and, starting this Sunday after “All Star K” is her sitcom with Manny Pacquiao, “Show Me the Manny”. “Tapos may movie pa ‘ko, ‘Tarot’, to be shown on August 26,” she says at the birthday party cum presscon hosted for her by Mother Lily. “I really feel so blessed sa birth month kong ito. I can’t wish for anything more. ‘Darna’ rates so high kaya I’m confident magiging toprater din ang ‘Show Me the Manny’ and ‘Tarot’ will be blockbuster. Dapat posi-tive thinking, di ba?

How is it working with Manny? “Ang saya. Hindi lang siya ang masarap katra-

Marian Enjoys Manny, Mommy Dionisia

nakakatawa talaga lumabas ang scene na ‘yun.”

Marian and Manny are sup-ported by Paolo Contis and Ben-jie Paras as Marian’s brothers, John Lapus, Lovi Poe, Rochelle Pangilinan, Tuesday Vargas and others. Advertisers are now lining up for the show, which is not surprising since both Marian and Manny have many endorse-ments. “Sa ads pa nga lang nil-ang dalawa, puno na ang show at bawi na ang production cost nito,” says GMA exec Redgie Magno who’s also in charge of Marian’s toprating “Darna”.

baho but also his mom, Mommy Dionisia. Hindi nga ako nakara-mdam ng pagod kasi tawanan lang kami nang tawanan sa set. Lahat, ganado at game na game sa taping. Si Mommy Dionisia, kasama ko sa dressing room, ang daming kuwento at na-kakatuwang kausap. Si Manny, napakabait. Walang ere. Down to earth. You wouldn’t think famous siya sa buong mundo. Sa story, magkaribal ang gyms namin ni Manny kaya inaaway ko siya. May eksenang sinugod ko siya at hinamon ko talaga ng suntukan. Don’t miss it,

Marian Rivera

as outsiders who continue to support Lionism’s top-level service to local and interna-tional communities..

For dinner tickets and further information, please contact: Lions Boodgie Arce, (619) 245-5091; Pete Lustria, (619) 246-4557; Dr. Cef. Ruiz, (619) 470-3164. Apparel:

Dress to Impress. Part of the funds raised

during this dinner-dance will help San Diego Majestic Lions Club buy medicines for its two-week Medical Mission to the Philippines starting late Janu-ary 2010 in Pozorrubio, Pan-gasinan and ending in Capas, Tarlac.

It was indeed a big hit, The Greatest Hitmakers Live in San Jose concert marks a suc-cess not just for the stars and production team but also for the people who have watched the show. Rico J. Puno, Hajji Alejandro, Rey Valera, Marco Sison and Nonoy Zuniga sang their timeless hits and remark-able songs at the Center for the Performing Arts in 255 Almaden Blvd., San Jose CA 95110 on August 22, 2009,

The Greatest Hitmakers first of its US concert tour was a big hit! This was held at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. The concert viewers were so excited and everybody had a great time watching and singing with their timeless idols. No wonder some even commented this is the best they have ever seen. The next con-cert will be in Chicago-Aug 28, New Jersey-Aug 29, Pala Casino-Sept 5, Dallas-Sept 12, Heritage Forum, Anaheim-Sept. 19.

Saturday, 7:00 pm. As early as 5:00pm, many people were at the venue to get ticket and wait for the concert to start.

The Greatest Hitmakers stars have once again proved that their voice combined with un-dying hits surely gives full en-tertainment. These four veteran singers became big stars during the golden era of the Filipino music industry catapulting their songs as certified hits because of their talent, knowledge and experience in singing.

Rico J. Puno tagged as “The Total Entertainer” mix his hoarse voice with comedy and jokes on his performances which brought more joys and laughter to the audience. His antics were so clicked with the crowd who were so sport enough with him. Rico was singing in a small joint called Spindle in Banawe when the Manila Sound happened. He was inspired by Pers Lab and took to adding Tagalog words to popular songs like The Way We Were. Since then, he recorded his first album and performed to bigger clubs and became one of the most legendary singers in the Philip-pines. Every album Rico has made has shown his growth as a singer. His impressive col-lections of hits under his belt have been enough to say that Rico J would continue to be in demand as a live performer for many years to come. More than the Total Entertainer, as he has been dubbed, Rico is also a skilled comedian, almost as famous for his naughty jokes as for his singing. His fans that were young during his heyday in the ‘70s now go to see him sing all their old favorites with good laugh to his naughty-but-hilarious jokes.

The original “Kilabot ng Kolehiyala” (College Girls‘Heartthrob), Hajji Ale-jandro makes all girls from all ages scream when he sings his timeless hits at the concert. His jokes revealed another side of him that is quite a revelation to us. In 1973 the young Hajji started singing profession-ally with the renowned Circus Band. He signed up with Jem Records in 1976 and officially launched his solo career. Tag-araw, Tag-ulan and Panakip Butas were his first record that became instant hits and eventually earned him his first platinum record. The climax of his career came in 1978 when he interpreted Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika of Ryan Cayaby-ab at the first Metropop Music Festival. They won the grand

prize and Hajji was chosen to represent Philippines to the First International Seoul Song Festival in Korea. Proving his inimitable talent he became the pride of the Philippines when he won the grand prize. Hajji is the first Filipino to win the highest award in an internation-al singing competition.

Unforgettable songs from the singer, songwriter, music director and a film scorer, Rey Valera were applauded dur-

ing the concert. His songs truly touched their hearts you can even see some of them so moved and teary eyed. Rey wrote and produced songs that were recorded by various singers in the Philippines, most outstandingly Sharon Cuneta. Rey‘s memorable songs made mark also as theme songs and movie titles. His passion for writing songs brought him to be one of the greatest hit mak-ers in the Philippines. In 1979, he started as in-house producer of Vicor Records and later ap-pointed as Vice President for artist and repertoire in Vicor‘s newly opened sister company, Blackgold Records. His initial project was to make a song for the 12 year old Sharon Cuneta, the birth of the hit “Mr. Dj.” This song launched the young singer’s career and was fol-lowed by the song Kahit Ma-puti na ang Buhok Ko. Rey also composed songs for Rico J. Puno; some of these are Sorry Na, Pwede Ba and Daigdig Ng Ala-ala.

Marco Sison, one of the Phil-ippines‘ best crooners sounded as sweet and clear as before throughout their concert. Marco still possesses that same charm and appeal that he has decades ago. He won as the champion on the noontime show, Student Canteen singing competition that led his career on television; a regular stint on the show, and a recording contract with Zodiac Records. His star shines more when he joined WEA Re-cords (now Universal Records). They’ve produced series of Marco Sison‘s album Make believe in 1982, My Love Will See You Through 1984, Always 1985, Filipino Hits: Then & Now 1986, Bahala Na 1989, Best of Marco Sison 1992 and After All These Years in 1993.

Marco entered the movie and television world in the early part of his career in 1980’s. He is the only singer in the Philip-pines who was able to have two songs, My love Will See You Through and I’ll Face To-morrow at the top of the charts for months from two different recording companies.

Best known as The Voice, Nonoy Zuniga made outstand-ing performances at their con-cert in San Jose. His charm is so wholesome and “the voice” made the crowd want for more. He is known pop icon and quintessential singer in Philip-pines’ music industry. Nonoy‘s singing career started in 1971 to 1975 as a folksinger. He is also one of the lead singers of the Family Birth Control Band which performed in the best nightspots and hotels like Phil-ippine Plaza, Holiday Inn and the Manila Hotel from 1975-1980. He took special voice training from the late Aurelio Estanislao, a well-known tenor singer and music-voice pro-fessor at the University of the Philippines to sharpen his skill. Having a clear baritone voice, Nonoy started to get the at-tention of the people. His own style and version of different songs, especially love songs, made him acquire the respect of many people.

These five legendary singers established their own trade-marks as singers for more than three decades. Attending their concert is like pulling your cas-sette tapes and cd’s and listens to their classic songs over and over again. Some of the audi-ence even asks for a repeat because as they say the Great-est Hitmakers Live in San Jose concert was the best concert they have ever seen.

Happy Chows Entertainment and US Asia Media Center would like to thank all the proud sponsor of the show Cosmopolitan Health Services, In Focus Magazine, BPInoy Remittance, Pinoy BBQ, State Farm Insurance, Pampanga Cuisine, Manila Mail, Phil-ippine Headlines, Poklat’s Lugawan Republic, Gerry’s Grill, Bobby’s Bamboo Grill, Presidential Home Rental, Kuya’s Asian Cuisine, Pilipinas Café & Restaurant, Meraviglia Beauty Loft, Savory Chicken, Cherry Garden Filipino & Chinese Restaurant, Tribu Grill, Boracay Garden & Grill Asian Cuisine and Carmen’s Restaurant and of course all the people and press who helped made the show successful. To all the concert goers who came and gave their support, thank you very much.

If you missed their San Jose concert you can still see Rico J. Puno, Hajji Alejandro, Rey Valera, Marco Sison and Nonoy Zuniga in their Greatest Hitmakers concert on August 28, 2009 at Copernicus Center in Chicago, August 29, 2009 at St. Peter’s College Yanitelli Center in New Jersey, Septem-ber 5, 2009 at Pala Casino Spa Resort in Pala, September 12, 2009 at Naomi Bruton Theater in Dallas, Texas and September 19, 2009 at Heritage Forum in Anaheim.

For more information on The Greatest Hitmakers concert, please call US Asia Media Center Toll Free No. 1-888-874-1719. Tickets are now available online, just log on to www.shop.usasiamediacenter.com.

Toastmaster’s Fil-Am Club #9493, the only Fil-Am Toastmaster’s in the nation, gathered outside of Seafood City in National City on Saturday to launch their membership campaign. L-R Vice President of Public Relations Malcolm X. Pusey, Vice President of Membership Quint Ramil and President Eleuterio Buquiran.

Asian Journal Aug 28 2009

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Transcript of Asian Journal Aug 28 2009