Asian Journal Feb 26, 2010

(Continued on page 19)

March 2nd Foreclosure Prevention Clinic with JPMorgan Chase & Mabuhay Alliance

to Help Distressed Homeowners | Page 8

(Continued on page 19) (Continued on page 20)

A Grade VI Filipino stu-dent has won the illustrated diary-making contest spon-sored by the Japan-based Mitsubishi Asian Children’s Enikki Festa.

Vance Galvin Tangcueco, a Grade VI pupil of St. Jude Catholic School, Manila, is the country’s Grand Prix winner in the event which is held every two years.

He received US$ 2,000 as prize, a medal and a plaque.

With the theme, “Here is My Life,” the art contest aims to offer Asian children the opportunity to make friends through “Enikki” (or illustrated diaries).

Participants in this con-test are public and private

Vance Galvin Tangcueco

Filipino kid wins Japanese art diary making contest

elementary school children aged 6-12. They showed other children in Asia how they enjoy their daily life by

By Perry DiazBalitang Kutsero

In July this year, Gloria Macapagal Ar-royo is expected to be chosen Speaker of the House of Representatives. And four other members of the Arroyo dynasty will be Representatives: Gloria’s two sons, Mikey and Dato; her brother-in-law Iggy; and her sister-in-law Lourdes. The House of Repre-sentatives will soon be known as the “House of Arroyo.”

But for Gloria to become Speaker, she must first win the election in the 2nd Con-gressional District of Pampanga. Well, if you listen to Gloria’s rival, Adonis Simpao, it looks like she will have the fight of her life. It’s going to be like the biblical battle between David and Goliath. Yup, it’s going to be Adonis vs. Gloriath.

Val left the party in shame and drove away. The trio of private school boys – Mandy, Monte

and Danny – continued with the party, although the affair was never the same without their

other friends. Bobby and Jimbo arrived an hour later. By two

o’clock in the morning, the party was over. The group walked

towards a main intersection to take a taxi home. A few meters away, however, they saw Val’s car parked on the side of the

street. Val was standing behind it.

“Where’s that guy?” he asked them. He was referring to Waldo, the toughie who embarrassed him earlier that evening.

“He went the other way,” Monte told him.The group was shocked to see Val holding a hand grenade. It was without its pin.

By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Asian Journal San DiegoThe first and original Asian Journal in America

See page 3

Summer of 1964

Grenade

House of Arroyo

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo(Continued on page 15)

February 26 - March 4, 2010

San Diego NewsMsgr. GutierrezLent: A Season to a

Tranfigured Life | 7

Interview with Tracy Matson | Page 6

Miles Beauchamp

$34,000 condo units in Tagaytay. While you are away, you can rent out your unit as a condotel and make money on your investment. Presentations available on March 1- 10, 2010, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Asian Journal office at 550 East 8th Street Suite 6, National City, CA 91950 (in Old Schoolhouse Square). Call (619) 474-0588 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.

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Philippine business is set to be in good hands in the Year of the Golden Tiger, which of-ficially starts on February 14.

According to Joseph Chau, resident feng shui master of Mandarin Oriental Manila, “the economy can be better after the election , as every-thing will settle down.”

Tiger Year predictions on RP biz & economy

He added: “It will be a good and peaceful year for business; money will come if you put effort into it. The key to success is communication. So every person running for office should pay attention to this skill.”

Feng shui or geomancy is the age-old Chinese prac-tice of arranging spaces and structures to achieve balance or harmony in life, and release positive energy or “chi.”

Geomancers make fore-casts based on the 12 animal signs in Chinese astrology.

In Chinese astrology, the Tiger is the strongest animal among all the 12 animal signs, after the Dragon. It is also the symbol of leadership. So this year, Chau said, “it will be a challenging year for most people, especially those born in the months of August, Sep-tember, October, November, December and January. You will have good luck for six years!”

Most businesses will face “many challenges” this year, especially business owners born in the year of the Tiger, Monkey and Snake. The in-dustries that will be lucky this year should revolve around metal, so these would be the

Filipino American Dr. Edgar Gam-boa, formerly a San Diego resident and now based in El Centro, Cal-ifornia, attends to a patient during a medi-cal and surgi-cal mission in earthquake devastated Haiti at the St. Francois de Sales Hospital in Port-au-Prince. The next mission is scheduled on February 28 to March 10, 2010. Medical/surgical and

other volunteers are needed. Donations and prayers are en-couraged. Accommodations (your choice of tents or rooms) still available at Apostolic Nunciature, courtesy of Papal Nuncio Bernardito Auza. Call Dr. Ed Gamboa of El Centro Regional Medical Center at tel. no. 760 352-7230. Photo courtesy of Bob Roller (Catholic News Service).

By Danny O. Calleja

The “saluyot” which is a highly nutritious leafy vegetable that is commonly cooked by Filipino peasants with bamboo shoots is now an internationally known Philippine agricultural crop for its premium, earth-friendly fabric.

Known as jute leaves called “famine food” by Africans because of its being a vegetable of last resort dur-ing droughts, the plant, with its fiber made a debut on the fashion ramp last year when unveiled by the Philippine

Saluyot now a popular nutritious vegetable

worldwide

Textile Research Institute (PTRI) during a conference in celebration of the United Nation’s Food and Agricul-ture Organization’s (FAO) International Year of Natural Fibers.

“We have weaved 80 per-cent polyester with 20 per-

Manila Forward-er has unveiled its operations in San Diego. The new office is located at 3104 E. Plaza Blvd. National City, CA 91950 at the corner of Harbison St. and Plaza Blvd. Tel: 619-434-7191.

Manila For-warder offers variety of services like money remit-tance and bill pay

Manila Forwarder in San Diego

services, also to include travel and tours, just to name a few but primarily the balikbayan box shipping to the Philippines. As the first to introduce the jumbo box in the balikbayan box industry in 1998 and inter-net package tracking in 2002,

Manila Forwarder answers the call to be earth-friendly with the Bianca and Roland shipping containers. These containers are advisable for expensive and breakable items as these drums are sturdy and will provide ad-

The new Manila Forwarder office in San Di-ego is at 3104 E. Plaza Blvd., National City

February 26 - March 4, 2010Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

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(while Benigno “NoyNoy” Aguino III just awakens from his deep slumber since his mother’s funeral)

From where I stand some-where in Southern California, I am having fun while gazing over the political landscape as I am critically analyzing, dissecting and discerning over the complex political circus that is now happening in my benighted land of my birth, to borrow my former profes-sor Lito Banayo’s adjective . This is one man’s soliloquy disguising as a political satire , written at the beginning of Lent 2010, about 80 days before the May 10th election, to provide some amusing political entertainment.

At the outset, a dis-claimer: I cannot vote in the Philippine election nor do I personally know the top two candidates, and more so the others. I only knew them from what I read and hear (from online, magazines, online newspapers and the in-ternet and YouTube) and also from informal discourse with politically-minded friends. Whoever wins the election (praying that there is NO failure of election) will have a very insignifi cant impact on my life, socially, economically or fi nancially simply because our busi-ness and livelihood do not depend on

Manny Villar’s lenten journey to Damascus, oops...

to Malacanang Palacethe Philippine environment but rather on the realities of America’s business climate. I am just as concerned as anybody else as I am still a Filipino who happens to live in another land.

Now, on my lead topic.Every body has read

about the gargantuan political expenditures of Mr. Manny Villar (not spelled MONEY) from his own independent wealth in having his name recognized by all voters, es-pecially the WoWoWee crowd (the show that “exploits the poor people”) that go to this shallow but popular show to win something without any labor except to fall in line and get a ticket , and if lucky enough to be a recipient of dole outs from big busi-nesses mar-keting their prod-ucts or wealthy people like

Manny Villar. (This WoWoWee mindset or phe-nomenon deserves another commentary, another col-umn).

* * *

Dreaming and assum-ing to be Manny Villar for a few minutes, I felt that I am just stricken – like Saul --- by an invisible lightning on my way to Damascus… ops Malacanang. I just made a timely, if not remorseful, decision not only to spend my wealth in my political cam-paigns but an inexplicable but profound heavenly voice told me to rather spend most of my wealth to make 1,000 more Manny Villars inside the Philippines. This silent voice advised me to invest more in the countryside, so the rural and poor people know that I am serious on my way to the Presidential Palace, after the term of GMA. my ‘secret’ supporter and ally for the years to come. After all, all that Gloria who wants is more MONEY (and protec-tion), while I, Manny, want more GLORY.

Once I become the presi-dent of this archipelago of a nation, I can make more money by buying agricul-

tural lands like where my friend Joc-Joc Bolante in Capiz, and converting them into residential zones and asked my party mates to invest their pork with me. But I will also be very generous to those who support me. I intend to become both a Robin Hood and a benevolent dictator. I

am convinced that the money that Manny makes

makes, makes more money that Manny really does not

need, but to provide as an opium to my own brand of Ali Baba followers, like my friend Gloria

successfully did the last nine years.

To decrease potential op-ponents I will build healthy coalition$ by hiring some of my opponents and a few unemployed politicians, to tap their talents and expertise and even arrogance, like Gordon who can be in my cabinet. Gibo can be the head of the AirForceAcademy, Bayani as an engineer can head the Dept of Public Works. Perlas to be in the Dept of Agricul-ture. Jamby ,the tomboyish senator, can be my partner to expand the Maritime Industry, to build more ships for fi sh-ing as well as transportation between our islands. Combin-ing our wealth, this Villar-Madrigal Industry is a done deal, to lure back all the DH s to work in this rediscovered industry.

Erap can be tapped, while he is still coherent somewhat and can still enjoy his drink, to become the offi cial “wine taster” of the Republic as my administration must also embark the wine making industry in the Philippines, especially in Mindanao and in the Cordilleras. It will take time, however, to think where the others can help me, if at all. I will extract from all my appointed government of-fi cials their “beginning bal-ance sheet: how much they own and owe” as of July 1, 2010, and every year, we must audit them that under my command… I will not allow anyone to be richer than me. Nor do I want that in six years of my Administration, any of my appointees will be richer than Gloria Arroyo or his very “talented” investment savvy son, Mikey, who made fortune only after marriage compounded a thousand times by being the son of a shame-less, evil mother, as de-scribed by her former cabinet members.

Right away, I will re-align

millions of education budget to construct and establish my MONEY aka ENTREPRE-NEURIAL COLLEGES for groups of 5 towns or less to teach how a “poor” boy from places like Tondo sell fi sh and then go to a private school, take up Business and MBA degree and then be-come one of the richest men in the Philippines in just one generation , which cannot be equaled even by the Ayalas, Sorianos or the Zobels. I can teach teachers to teach how I became mega-wealthy by simply selling fi sh in every town that capitalized my real estate developments without

using my political powers as a Speaker and Senate president. My innocence in the allega-tion of unethical behaviors is already explained to many naïve journalists who went along with me in the circu-itous and zigzagging journey along C-5, that is also ex-plained in my website. Those who accused me of impro-priety and corruption are just “inggit” (jealous) of my wealth! They refuse to “read my lips” that I am not guilty!

I believe in teaching the poor people “how to fi sh.” To the good fi shermen, I will give them loans to build or


Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comFebruary 26 - March 4, 2010

Philippine Stories

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

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

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Summer of 1964

Grenade(Last in a series of stories)

“Bakuran mo na (put a fence around her)”, Monte told his friend Val during a jam session they attended in Tambo, Paranaque during the summer of 1964.

He was referring to a pretty girl in yellow dress that Val took a fancy to. “Bakuran” meant that a guy would stay near a girl in order to make sure that he would be the first to ask her to dance whenever the music played. The girl had short hair and mestiza looks. To be sure, she was too pretty for Val, who was small in stature and suffered from low self-esteem. He always need-ed the support of his barkada (friends) – Monte, Mandy and Danny – to socialize and attend parties. He was the son of a general in the Philippine Army and, just like his three friends, went to the exclusive school for boys, the Colegio de San Juan de Letran.

Earlier that evening, a group of neighbors, who felt slighted that they were not invited to the party, started throwing stones at the roof of the house. Worried that the stones might hit his car parked in front of the house, Val pulled out a firearm attached under its hood, and warned

Girl in yellow dress.

the culprits to stop -- lest he would fire the gun at them. His friends were surprised by his reaction. For a long time, Val had not responded to any slight inflicted on him, and had quietly accepted his fate of being forever bullied by people. This time around, he seemed to have over-reacted.

Monte got the gun from Val to prevent him from in-flicting injury on anyone. He was worried that Val might lose his cool and wreck havoc as he seemed to be at a breaking point at that time. To divert Val’s attention, Danny urged Val to go after the girl in the yellow dress, the prettiest in the party that evening.

“She likes you,” Danny whispered to Val. “”Don’t you notice that she kept looking your way?”

Of course, Danny was lying. The girl never looked at Val’s direction, but his friends wanted to plant the idea in

his mind to diffuse his anger that evening. But they chose the wrong girl. She turned out to be the girlfriend of a tough-ie in the neighborhood who felt jealous when he noticed Val’s unusual attention to her. It was just a matter of time before he gave Val a stern warning. The toughie, Waldo, approached Val, grasped Val by his collars and barked: “The next time I see you near my girl, I am going to beat you up!”

Val was shaken and embar-rassed. The incident happened in front of everybody, includ-ing the girl and his friends. Danny could only console him.

“Don’t mind him,” he advised Val. “There are other pretty girls around.”

He felt guilty because he was the one who led Val’s attention to the girl. Though there were four of them, the group swallowed their pride and calmly accepted Val’s fate because all of Waldo’s friends were with him that evening. It would be an uneven fight. Besides, they did not have Jimbo, the son of a prostitute

and pimp from Quiapo whom they took in their inner circle to add muscle to their group. He was their “enforcer” and on a number of occasions, he earned his keep. Nonetheless, Danny called up Bobby, their other friend who was a neigh-bor of Jimbo, to bring Jimbo with him to the party.

“Take a cab and I’ll pay for your fare,” Danny ordered him.

Monte regretted their initial decision not to take their friends from the tough neighborhood in Quiapo. He thought that they, the private school boys, could enjoy the party without them. Now he realized how much they needed the two, poor they may be.

Val however, did not heed his friends’ advice to go after other girls. He left the party in shame and drove away. The trio of private school boys – Mandy, Monte and Danny – continued with the party, although the affair was never the same without their other friends. Bobby and Jimbo arrived an hour later. By two o’clock in the morning, the party was over. The group walked towards a main inter-section to take a taxi home. A few meters away, however, they saw Val’s car parked on the side of the street. Val was standing behind it.

“Where’s that guy?” he asked them. He was referring to Waldo, the toughie who embarrassed him earlier that evening.

“He went the other way,” Monte told him.

The group was shocked to see Val holding a hand gre-nade. It was without its pin.

“That sonofabitch,” he said. “I am going to kill him, mamatay na kami pareho (even if we both die)!”

Right away, everyone sensed danger. If Val let go of the grenade, it would explode on them.

“Wait,” Monte told him.

“Relax ka lang. Baka sum-abog iyan (It might explode).”

Bobby wanted to run away to save himself, but he didn’t want to disturb the unstable mind of Val who might panic and drop the explosive.

“Give me the grenade,” Jimbo calmly asked Val. “Don’t worry about him, I will take care of him,” he assured his friend. “Ipaghihiganti kita (I will avenge you).”

Val was hesitant at first. He was still mad. But he eventually acceded.

“Da-han-da-han lang (do it

slow-ly),” a ner-vous Danny cautioned as Val and Jimbo transferred the live grenade from one another.

They all heaved a sigh of relief when the grenade was safely in Jimbo’s hand. The Quiapo toughie who stood out like a sore thumb from his rich friends, firmly grasped the grenade’s level.

“What do you want me to do with this?” Jimbo asked the group. Initially, they knew what to do: let Jimbo take it away from Val. But they didn’t think of what to do afterwards.

“Put back the pin!” they chorused.

“Where’s the pin?” they asked Val.

Val did not answer. They did not ask him the second time around afraid to provoke him further. They all looked around for the pin on the

ground but could not find it.“Let us look for a vacant

space and I will throw this away,” Jimbo finally told them. He was excited for a chance to explode a live gre-nade for the first time.

“Monte,” Bobby told his friend. “You drive the car and bring Jimbo with you. You look for a vacant space

and dispose of the grenade.”

“No way,” Monte replied. “We have to this all togeth-er. Sama-sama na tayong mamatay (let us all die together) if something goes wrong.”

Reluctantly, the group got inside the car. Monte drove it

as Jimbo held the grenade in his hand.

Mandy, Bobby and Danny, who were in the

back seat, were scared, afraid that Jimbo might let go of the grenade and

blow all of them away. Val sat quietly with them, still seething with anger at Waldo who shamed him earlier that evening.

It felt like an eternity for Bobby as they drove around the neighborhood. Finally, they saw a wide open space. They all got out of the car.

“Do you know what to do?” Bobby asked Jimbo.

“Of course,” the excited Jimbo grinned. “I’ve seen a lot of war movies.”

“Just run away from us,” Bobby nonetheless instructed Jimbo. “Throw the grenade as far as you can, and drop to the ground.”

“Wait, wait,” Danny told him. “Don’t throw it yet.”

Danny hurriedly went behind the car and crawled under it.



(619) 702-3051

by Genevieve Tagudin-Silverio

In Perspective

Read Genevieve Tagudin-Silverio’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com


©2010 Michael R. Tagudin. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Michael R. Tagudin Educated as an engineer in the Philippines, the City of Los Angeles employee hopes his legacy of poems will provoke a dialogue about the human condition. He is donating the proceeds from the book “Crushed Violets” to anti-human traffi cking efforts in the City of Angels. Contact [email protected] for more informa-tion.

Street Poetry

Read about Michael’s upcoming book of poems by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Michael R. Tagudin

G. Tagudin-Silverio, Asian Journal | SAN DIEGO 02/25/10 -- The story of Fili-pino teachers who came to the US on H1 working visas and recruited to teach in Louisiana only to have their contracts re-scinded in the wake of a union dispute has been lost in the headlines. These are teachers who left everything behind and pawned their life savings to be able to come to the USA as professionals. Each one paid $15K to get on board lured by the promise of a career by a Los Angeles-based recruit-ment agency. Many came with families.

According to an uncon-fi rmed report from one of the teachers, the recruitment agency was paid $25,000 by the school district for each successful referral and place-ment on top of the fees the company charged the teachers.

Today only a few of the teachers remain in Louisiana. Many have dispersed. The lucky ones have managed to snag tourist visas and the

From the Classroom to the Street:

Searching for the Lost Filipino Migrant

Teachers of Louisiana

Poem No. 74I found peace and solace

In the middle of the stormThe eye of the hurricane

I made my homeLike a prisoner

I dread to venture forthAway from my comfort zone

The tempest would be strongestOnly this way I can survive

And see the chaos of lifeParade before my eyes!

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services of a pro bono lawyer. Others, taken in by relatives, have pushed on hop-ing for an employer or a school to petition them. For the most part, most have be-come invisible, lost in the under-belly of economic hard times and becoming easy targets for the dregs of human traffi cking.

The anomaly would have gone unnoticed until the mi-grant teachers caught the eye and ire of the local union. The recruitment was challenged by the local teachers labor union sealing the fate of the 350 or so migrant teachers whose lives continue to hang in the balance.

According to a USA To-day story published October 2009, the Louisiana Federa-tion of Teachers and its parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), alleged that Universal Place-ment International, the recruit-ment agency responsible for bringing 350 Filipino teachers to the States, charged Filipino nationals about $15,000 apiece to get jobs — more than 40% of some new teachers’ salaries in a few Louisiana parishes — and required that they pay 10% of their monthly salary for two years to keep them.”

Unfortunately, the plight of the teachers has been over-shadowed by more recent newsworthy events of a greater scale. The question remains:

Where are

they now and who is helping them?

Meanwhile as the lawsuit simmers between the Union and the School District, the migrant teachers languish in INS limbo. How long can they

hold out? What can be done to help them? Each has a story to tell. If they cannot speak for themselves, who will speak for them, if not us, the community of Filipino Americans?

The Asian Journal caught up with one of the high school teachers, Ojie Flores Cruz. Cruz was a math teacher at Arellano High School in Manila at the time he was re-cruited. All was well for about a year. He was able to teach for a time until the lawsuit fi led by the AFT labor union against the District sent his fortunes crashing. Today, Cruz is stranded with his family in Louisiana. Yet he is still one of the lucky ones. A sister has taken him in. He is represented pro bono by a Filipino lawyer from Virginia who heard about his case on the news program Adobo Nation on TFC. But Cruz is hoping that he will be able to move on. Cruz wants to teach again. In order for that to happen, an employer must fi le a petition on his behalf.

Cruz is good at math ac-cording to Elma Flores, an aunt of Cruz who called in from Bahrain, to discuss the matter. The call was prompted by a job lead which turned out to be a dead end. A tip from a local homecare facility was for a caregiver position not the ed-ucational coordinator a worker had fi rst described. Cruz was told he was misinformed, not to mention overqualifi ed.

Although the recent press


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Non US citizens including lawful permanent residents who have committed certain crimes and found to be removable will be subject to the mandatory detention provisions of the Im-migration and Nationality Act. The mandatory detention provi-sions require that these non-US citizens be detained pending the outcome of their removal proceedings. Detention is required even for individuals convicted of crimes as minor as shoplifting or misdemeanors with sentences that may not involve jail time.

Non-US citizens who meet the criteria of the mandatory detention provision will be de-tained even if they have a relief in removal proceedings. Non-

Detention of non-US citizens while in proceedings

US citizens who come into the initial custody and who are subject to mandatory detentions will be detained and will not be released even if the individual wishes to post bond to secure his temporary release.

The US Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the mandatory detention provi-sions as not violative of the due process clause. The enactment of the mandatory detention provision has been justifi ed to ensure the attendance of these individuals in their removal hearings and to prevent crimi-nal aliens from the commission of criminal acts.

Such a law is harsh as it penalizes individuals who have truly reformed and have no

intention of committing further crimes in the US. It restrains individuals of their right to lib-erty even if immigration courts have not found them remov-able. It deprives detained non-US citizens from continuing with their employment to sup-port their families. It prevents non-US citizens to be with their families while their removal cases are being heard.

It is important to note the type of crimes which will subject an individual to manda-tory detention and these include among others the following:

Aggravated felonies;1. Drug offenses;2. Firearms offense;3. Commission of two or 4. more crimes involving moral turpitude;Persons involved in ter-5. rorist activity;Espionage, treason, 6. sabotage;

Commission of a crime involving moral turpitude for which the sentence of impris-onment is at least one year.

Even if the government has found a non-US citizen to be subject to the mandatory deten-tion provision and has refused to release the individual on bond, the individual may still request for a bond hearing and argue that he was not properly included within the mandatory detention provision and avoid the harsh consequences of the law.

Atty. Dennis E. Chua is a partner in The Law Firm of Chua Tinsay and Vega (CTV) - a full service law fi rm with offi ces in San Francisco, San Diego and Manila. The infor-mation presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. The CTV at-torneys will be holding regular free legal consultations at the Max’s Restaurant in Vallejo, California. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (415) 495-8088; (619) 955-6277; [email protected]

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by Atty. Dennis ChuaLegal Buzz

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Dear Sim,

Read Ernie Delfi n’s “Help-ing Haiti” in your recent issue. Just a quick response as I am in the midst of preparing for our second medical/surgical trip to Haiti.

Ernie has valid points about the long history of government corruption in Haiti and the ineffi ciency of foreign aid. No question about that. It is worth keeping in mind, however, that among the root causes of the poverty, illiteracy, and many other socio-economic ills which have plagued this Caribbean nation has been the historical fact that the fi rst successful slave revolt in the history of mankind was bought at a very steep price: 150 million francs in gold (reduced in 1838 to 90 million francs) demanded by French colonizers in exchange for international recognition . Haiti spent 80% of its national budget towards debt repay-ment. This huge debt, which kept Haiti shackled in poverty, was not paid off until 1947 ! (see TIME Magazine special is-sue: Haiti: Tragedy and Hope).

It is no wonder that most, if not all current international aid, fl owing into Haiti has coursed through non-profi t organiza-tions, such as Catholic Relief Services, Doctors Without Bor-ders, Caritas International, Red Cross, etc. The government cannot be trusted. But even if it could be, Haiti’s governmental infrastructure has collapsed following the January 12th 7.1 earthquake. Key govern-ment buildings -- the President Palace, the Supreme Court, the Department of Health, Min-istry of the Interior, etc. etc. are in rubbles. Many leading

Letters to the EditorRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-journalusa.com

government offi cials perished or are currently incapacitated. Government records, computer data, telephone systems, com-munication systems are either gone or barely functional.

“Tough love” programs, which Ernie recommended, may work in other situations, but I respectfully disagree. Tough love is not the solution when victims are down and out. That is not the solution in caring for husbands who have lost wives, mothers who have lost children, teenagers who have lost parents, brothers, and sisters. 200,000 have died in the earthquake, and probably more because the population census was not accurate. One million of Haiti’s estimated 9 million inhabitants are homeless. Imag-ine if the inhabitants of San Diego lost everything they had (homes, cars, money, memora-bilia, etc.) and were housed in tents at Balboa Park, SeaWorld, PetCo Stadium, and the San Di-ego Zoo. Imagine if they have to fl ock to fi re hydrants to bathe and get water. Imagine if they all have to line up for food be-cause supermarkets and banks have been destroyed. 80% of Haitians were unemployed even before the disaster struck. 80% of food is imported. Gasoline is $5/gallon. Minimum wage is $1.75 to no more than $3 per day, depending on type of work. 50% of school age children were not attending school prior to the earthquake. Only 7% of the school system was subsidized by the govern-ment. Over 90% of the task of education was shouldered by the Catholic Church, faith-based organization, and private individuals.

Hospitals and clinics have

been destroyed. Where we worked at - the Saint Francois de Sales Hospital in downtown Port-au-Prince -- the Pediatrics and OB-Gyn ward crumbled and buried close to a hundred patients, family, and staff. We could smell the stench of hu-man remains as we continued to work in cracked buildings and makeshift operating rooms.

The landmark National Cathedral, where an entire choir was buried alive, is a wreck. Convents, monasteries, seminaries, religious houses are in ruins. Archbishop Serge Miot fell from his balcony and suffered fatal head injuries. A mother superior of a promi-nent religious order perished with other nuns while attend-ing a church service. We are witnessing a catastrophe of unimaginable consequences. Ken Hackett, the President of Catholic Relief Services, told me that in his many decades of work in disaster relief, he has never ever seen a destruction of this magnitude following an earthquake.

I left for Haiti a week fol-lowing the earthquake on the urgent invitation of the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, who, as you know, is the fourth Filipino Nuncio in Philippine history. Relief work and the task of rebuilding is, in Archbishop Auza’s word, “overwhelming.” Filipinos all over the world can be proud, however, that a Filipino cleric is leading and guiding the relief efforts and rebuilding of Haiti. Archbishop Auza needs all the help we can give him. If you course your donation to the Papal Nunciature of Haiti, you can be sure your help will go into much needed projects.

My warmest regards to Gen and the rest of the Asian Jour-nal staff.

Sincerely,

Ed


by Dr. Ofelia Dirige Co-Founder and Director, Kalusugan Wellness Center

Contemporary Asian American Issues

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

Perspectives

ASIAN JOURNALThe fi rst Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern CaliforniaAn award-winning newspaper, it is San Diego’s most

widely circulated Asian-Filipino newspaper!

Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

In Pursuit of ExcellenceEugenio “Ego” Osin, (1946 - 1994)

Joe Cabrera, (1924 - 1996)Soledad Bautista, (1917-2009)

Dr. Rizalino “Riz” Oades, (1935-2009)

The Asian Journal is published weekly and distributed in all Asian communties in San Diego County. Publication date is ev-ery 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 sub-missions. Entire content is © 2009 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

In this world there are many individuals involved with snow sports. There are those who manage it, those who create it, some who play games in it, committees that run Olympics in it, and those who just love it for the sheer exhilaration it can bring.

Tracy Matson loves it. In an interview with her it became easy to see why. She

Interview with Tracy Matson

Author of “Snowboarding with Tracy” looks at a very demanding sport

said that, “With the 2010 Olympics here in February we all got more focused on winter sports. I think that we all strive for that gold metal attitude. My favorite Olympic snowboarder is Hannah Teter. She got the silver medal in the Snowboard Ladies’ Halfpipe.

What fi rst got me interested in Snowboarding? I was a skier. I love the mountains

and the great outdoors. I’m a Southern California girl. I was born in San Diego. I dreamt of skiing all over central Eu-rope, mostly Switzerland, and Italy, and within a year I did. I lived there for three years skiing and teaching English to business executives. Then I noticed the snowboarders. It looked fun, but hard. On my fi rst run I fell a lot, and I was very sore the following day. Using all new muscles, and focusing on a new sport was very exciting. I knew this was the sport for me. I con-tinued for three days straight until I felt as in control of my board as I did with my skis. Two of the most important things to know about the sport are 1. wear the proper gear, and 2. get an instructor. These two things will help you want to keep coming back to a sport that you can enjoy all through your adult years. The equipment is expensive, but worth it.

Snowboarding is getting more popular every year. Beginners should drive up to the resort area the night before and get up early, rested and ready to put all of your energy into the best sport around. The biggest mistake that I see people make is they put their weight on their back foot. They should also bend their knees more. Sounds

Snowboard World Cup — halfpipe © VANOC/COVANFIS

Tracy Matson in Snowbird, Utah

simple, but this takes awhile to achieve.

Snowboarding is harder to learn than skiing, but after a few days you can become fairly competent. If I have a brand new student anywhere from fi ve years old to 85 years I can watch them take off in their new sport in a very short time. Being a snowboard in-structor is very fulfi lling, and it helps you stay very fi t. It is fun and healthy. It’s a great way to go on a vacation with your family and friends in the great outdoors.

I decided to write a book about the sport after seven years of teaching. Many of my students asked me to write a guidebook to take home with them. This guide turned into a book about everything

you need to know for your fi rst hour of snowboarding. It was exciting to write and even more fun to be able to share my knowledge with so many people. I have sold many books on Amazon and directly to my new and returning stu-dents. My future plans are to go to Livigno, Italy in May 2010. It is one of my favorite resorts with the longest runs that I’ve ever seen, and the most challenging terrain. My other favorite place to ride is Snowbird, Utah where the powder is deep, and the runs

are also long. The only hard part of leaving town is that I am a cat lover. I have two cats named Inky and Missy; plus San Diego is the best place to live even after living in central Europe. My hobbies are Mountain biking, traveling and writing. For more infor-mation about snowboarding or the book, I can be reached at [email protected] and I usually reply within 24 hours. Unless, of course, I’m on a plane to Italy. See you on the slopes!”

By Emma Abutin, RN, MPH and Ofelia Dirige, DrPH, RD

This article gives simple and engaging facts to help women assess their personal risk of

heart disease and outlines steps women can take to improve their

heart health and reduce their chances of developing heart

disease

Did you know that the number one killer of women in the United States and a lead-ing cause of disability among women is heart disease? It is not just a man’s disease. In fact, 1 in 4 women dies from heart disease. However, breast cancer, the major cause of death among Asian women in San Diego, is still the most feared disease by many women and kills 1 in 30.

Heart disease is especially dangerous in women, because they are more likely to die within a year of their fi rst heart attack. This is due in part to being older and having signifi cant health problems at the time the heart attack occurs. Also, their symp-toms are not recognized early enough, so treatment is delayed and they suffer more heart dam-age. Women experience symp-toms that were new or different a month or more before having a heart attack. Women’s symptoms are not as predictable as men’s.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) or simply “heart disease”

Taking care of yourself today may prevent heart

problems tomorrow

is a disorder of the heart’s blood vessels and is the most common form of heart disease. It is a con-dition in which plaques builds up on the inner walls of the coronary arteries. CHD can lead to serious heart problems such as heart attack, heart failures, irregular heartbeats and sudden cardiac arrest.

The buildup of plaque can narrow the coronary arteries over time. This reduces blood fl ow to the heart and can lead to symptoms such as chest pain or discomfort. The plaque can also suddenly rupture, caus-ing a blood clot to form on the plaque’s surface. This clot blocks blood fl ow within the artery and if large enough it can block blood fl ow to part of the heart muscle. This is the most common cause of a heart attack.

What can you do to help your heart?

The month of February is National Heart Month and to celebrate it we are sharing some information on how to attain a healthy heart. There are so-called risk-factors, conditions or habits that increases one’s chances of developing CHD or having it worsen. While most women’s risk factors are the same as men’s, certain heart disease risks have more signifi cance for women.

There are risk factors that you cannot change and those you can control. The smartest thing you can do to prevent heart disease is to know what your risk fac-tors are and make simple life-style changes to decrease this risk. The fi rst step is to see your doctor for a thorough check-up. Then, tell your doctor you want help in achieving your goal of heart health. To make changes, you have to understand the risk factors you can change and make

efforts to reduce them.

A. RISK FAC-TORS AND ACTION PLANS

1. Those you cannot change

FAMILY HISTORY. • Having a father or brother with heart dis-ease before age 55, or a mother or sister with heart disease before age 65 are factors that contribute to heart disease.

RACE. Blacks, • Hispanics and Filipinos have a higher risk of heart disease than Caucasians.

AGE. The older • you are, the more you are at risk for heart disease. About 4 out of 5 people who die of heart disease are 65 or older.

2. Those you can change

SMOKING. Cigarette smoking • greatly increases the risk of heart attack and stroke as well as lung cancer and other serious diseas-es. The risk of smoking is about the same for men and women. The smoker’s risk of heart at-tack is more than twice that of nonsmokers. There is a saying that if you quit smoking now, you will add at least 5 years to your life. Just one year after you stop smoking, your heart disease risk will drop by more than half. For information on how to quit smoking, call NO BUTTS, 662-8887.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. • High blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure and kidney disease. It increases the heart’s workload, causing the heart to enlarge and weaken over time. Your blood pressure should be less than 120 over 80 and if you have diabetes, your reading should be less than

130/90.

You can help lower high blood pressure by following the new DASH eating plan (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hyperten-sion) and cut down on salt intake. The Dash Eating Plan emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole-grain foods, and low-fat dairy products. It limits red meats, sweets and sugar-contain-ing beverages. It is rich in mag-nesium, potassium and calcium as well as protein and fi ber. It is also low in saturated fat, total fat and cholesterol

HIGH BLOOD CHOLESTER-• OL. The risk of heart disease rises as blood cholesterol levels increase. Total cholesterol should be under 200 mg/dl; LDL (bad cholesterol) should be less than 100; HDL (good cholesterol) should be above 50 mg/dl; and triglycerides under 150 mg/dl. Women with low levels of HDL are more likely than men to develop heart disease and high triglyceride levels are a stronger risk factor for women than for men.Keep track of your cholesterol and blood pressure numbers. If your numbers are off target, talk to your doctor about how to safely lower them.

UNHEALTHY DIET. You can • improve your heart’s condition by eating healthfully. Eat a bal-anced diet emphasizing lots of fruits and vegetables with a va-riety of grains especially whole-grains, low-fat or nonfat dairy products, fi sh, legumes and other sources of protein that are low in saturated fats and cholesterol such as poultry, lean meat and plant sources. Eat more fi sh. The omega-3 fatty acids in fi sh help keep the heart beat rhythmic and regular, according to studies.

OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY. • Maintain a healthy weight. People who have excess body fat are more likely to develop heart disease and stroke even if they have no other risk factors. Excess weight puts strain on the heart and arteries; it also infl u-ences blood pressure and blood cholesterol, and makes diabetes more likely to develop. It also increases the risk of congestive heart failure, gallbladder disease, arthritis, breath-ing problems, and cancer of the breast, co-lon and others.

Your Body • Mass Index (BMI) gauges your weight in relation to your height. The risk for diabetes, breast and uterine cancers starts to climb above a BMI of 23. Ask your doctor about your BMI reading. Waist size is related to one’s risk for heart disease. According to the National Institute of Health, women whose waist measure is more than 35 inches and men whose waist are larger than 40 inches are more likely to be at risk for heart disease than their trimmer counterparts.

PHYSICAL INACTIVITY. • The heart is a muscle and it needs regular exercise to stay in shape. Exercise at least 30 min-utes (60 minutes is much better) on most days of the week. The good part is you can take your daily exercise in increments, that is, 10 minutes in the morn-ing, ten minutes at noon and 10 minutes in the afternoon. Exercise can help control blood cholesterol, diabetes and obesity as well as lower blood pressure on some people. Consult with your doctor before starting an

exercise regimen.DIABETES: Diabetes is a ma-•

jor risk factor for heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and other diseases. It seriously increases the risk of developing cardiovas-cular disease for both sexes, but it is a 3 to 8 times more potent heart disease risk for women than men. Diabetes has two close ‘friends’: hypertension and high cholesterol. Either one of these three conditions can happen fi rst but surely, one or the other of the two will soon follow.

STRESS. Stress is a natural • part of our lives. In moderation it allows us to function effectively. But in certain circumstances, too much stress can create problems. Stress can raise blood pressure and make the heart beat faster. It often has unhealthy behavior partners- smoking and overeat-ing. Try to keep things in per-spective, set reasonable goals and let yourself relax.

In Conclusion: Research shows that women can lower their heart disease risk by 82% simply by leading a healthy life-style. This means:

Following a heart healthy eating plan

Getting regular physical activity

Maintaining a healthy weightNot smokingFor others: some may have to

take medications

References: The Heart Truth for Women, US Dept of Health and Human Services, NIH, NHLBI, 2010.

14 Reasons to get to the Emergency Room right away!Loss of consciousness• Chest or severe abdominal pain• Sudden weakness or numbness •

on face, arm, legSudden change in vision• Diffi culty speaking• Severe shortness of breath• Bleeding that does not stop after •

ten minutes of pressureAny sudden, severe pain• Major injury, such as head •

traumaUnexplained confusion or dis-•

orientationSevere or persistent vomiting or •

diarrheaCoughing or vomiting blood•

A severe or worsening reaction • to an insect bite, food, or medi-cationSuicidal feelings•

Do not drive yourself to the hospital: call 911

Source: Excerpts from Read-ers Digest, March 2010 issue.

The external structures of the heart include the ventricles, atria, arteries and veins. Arteries carry blood away from the heart while veins carry blood into the heart. The vessels colored blue indicate the transport of blood with rela-tively low content of oxygen and high content of carbon dioxide. The vessels colored red indi-cate the transport of blood with relatively high content of oxy-gen and low content of carbon dioxide.


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Aliens with legal perma-nent resident (LPR) status are commonly known as green card holders. For many, acquiring this status is a signifi cant event consider-ing the long and oftentimes complicated immigration process. Retaining this status is not quite simple. Most LPRs have lost the status for breaking laws while others for traveling abroad for extended period. This article will discuss the consequences of traveling abroad for LPRs or green card holders and how to avoid losing such status.

Under our immigration laws, an alien who was pre-viously issued a green card can be refused entry to the United States if he or she fails to present proof of his or her LPR status. A returning LPR (other than certain condi-tional permanent residents and U.S. government employees) shall present a valid, unex-pired immigrant visa; a valid, unexpired Form I-551, Alien Registration Receipt Card (if seeking readmission after a temporary absence of less than one year, except for cer-tain crewmen of U.S.-registry vessels); a valid, unexpired Form I-327, Permit to Reenter the United States (a “reentry permit”); or a valid, unexpired Form I-571, Refugee Travel Document, endorsed to show LPR status. The required en-try document may be waived if there is good cause.

How to preserve your legal permanent resident status

Returning LPRs are re-quired to be inspected by im-migration offi cers and may be challenged by an immigration offi cer at the port of entry on any of the following grounds:

has abandoned or 1. relinquished his or her LPR status;has been absent from 2. the United States for a continuous period in excess of 180 days;has engaged in illegal 3. activity after having departed the United States;has departed from the 4. United States while under legal process seeking his or her re-moval from the United States;has committed certain 5. criminal offenses and has not been granted relief from those of-fenses; orenters or attempts to 6. enter without inspec-tion by an immigration offi cer.

A returning LPR return-ing from an absence of less than a year who presents his or her Alien Registration Receipt Card at the port of entry is not assured that he or she will be readmitted to the United States. While an Alien Registration Receipt Card satisfi es the requirement of presenting a valid entry


FACE to Host Candidate

Meet & Greet on 13 March 2010

SAN DIEGO, California

(February 22, 2010) – over 30 leaders, representing a cross-section of the San Diego Filipino American Commu-nity, met on 6 February to plan this year’s Get Out the Vote Campaign, “FilAmVote 2010.” The planning sympo-sium, sponsored by Filipino American Community Em-powerment (FACE) provided a venue that allowed attend-ees to collaborate on how to increase voter participation in the 2010 San Diego County elections.

To kick-off FilAmVote 2010, FACE will be spon-soring a Candidate Meet & Greet on Saturday, 13 March, from 10:30AM to 1:00PM at the Mission Valley Library Conference Room, 2123 Fenton Parkway, San Diego CA 92108, next to IKEA and across from COSTCO. FACE President, Mitz Lee, encour-

When: Tuesday, March 2nd Time: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Where: Mabuhay Alliance Address: 9580 Black Mountain

Rd., Suite A-B, San Diego, CA 92126

Mabuhay Alliance will be con-ducting a foreclosure clinic on Tuesday, March 2nd from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm with JPMorgan Chase that will focus on President Obama’s February 19th commit-ment of $1.5 billion to help ho-meowners facing foreclosure in California and four other states with high foreclosure and unem-ployment rates.

Faith Bautista has just returned from Washington, D.C. from meetings with key government officials, such as FDIC Chair-man Sheila Bair, and will be dis-cussing how the Administration’s $1.5 billion commitment and ma-jor changes in loan modifications could be of special benefit to Cal-ifornia, including the more than 50 thousand San Diegans facing foreclosure.

At this clinic, local Chase, WaMu and EMC officials will meet with trained Advisors for free counseling with special for-bearances, loan modifications and retention solutions. On-the-spot loan modifications will be done.

Assistance will also be pro-

Foreclosure Prevention Clinic with JPMorgan Chase and Mabu-hay Alliance to Help Distressed

San Diego Homeownersvided for customers of Bank of America, One WestBank, Ocwen, Citibank, HSBC, U.S. Bank, Downey Savings, Saxon Mort-gage, Litton Loan Servicing and Wilshire Credit.

In 2009, Mabuhay Alliance, in clinics throughout California and Nevada, has helped five thousand homeowners facing foreclosure or in default through its home counseling and foreclosure pre-vention offices in five regions of California and Nevada, including San Jose, Daly City/San Francis-co and Las Vegas.

Faith Bautista, Executive Di-rector of Mabuhay Alliance said, “The President is to be com-mended for his $1.5 billion com-mitment to help homeowners and for urging the Secretary of Treasury to follow homeowners’ advice relating to mortgage fore-closure moratoriums. JPMorgan Chase has been a leader in cre-ative efforts, including their more than 60 home foreclosure centers throughout the United States.

It is Mabuhay’s hope that the Obama Administration, major financial institutions and major nonprofits will join together to prevent the more than fifty thou-sand pending foreclosures in San Diego and the over one million throughout the state of Califor-nia.” (Continued on page 15)

Puwede kayong magparehistro para bumoto kungkayo ay: •Isang Mamamayan ng Estados Unidos•Residente ng California •Hindi bababa sa labing walong taong gulang sa o bago sumapit ang susunod na eleksiyon •Hindi nakabilanggo o parolado dahil sa napatunayang krimen •Hindi kinikilala ng batas ng korte bilang isang tao na may kakulangan sa pag-iisip.

Kailan ko kinakailangang magparehistro muli? Kung kayo ay lumipat ng tirahan, nagpalit ng inyong pangalan, o gustong magpalit ng pinapanigang partidong pampulitika.

Kung kakalipat ko lang ng California, kailan ako maaaring magparehistro?Walang panahon na kailangang hintayin sa California bago ka maaaring magparehistro para bumoto. Ngunit, kailangan na rehistrado kang botante ng labing limang araw bago sumapit ang eleksiyon para mapahintulutang bumoto.

Kailangan ko bang magparehistro sa isang partikular na partidong pampulitika?Hindi, sinasabi ng batas ng California na ang bawat tao ay maaaring pumili na magparehistro sa isang partikular na partidong pampulitika, magparehistro bilang walang partido, o tumangging magpahayag.

Hindi ako nakaboto noong nakaraang eleksiyon. Kailangan ko bang magparehistro muli?Hindi. Sa katunayan, ikaw ay rehistrado hangga’t ikaw ay nakatira sa iyong parehong address.

Paano ko malalaman kung ako ay rehistradong botante pa rin?Maaari kang tumawag sa Opisina ng Tagapagrehistro ng mga Botante para malaman kung ikaw ay rehistrado pa rin o bisitahin ang aming website sa www.sdvote.com

Paano kung kalilipat ko lamang at wala akong panahong muling magparehistro?Kung ikaw ay lumipat sa loob ng County ng San Diego ng 14 na araw o mas kaunti bago mag-

Sino ang puwedeng magparehistro para bumoto?eleksiyon, maari kang pumunta sa dati mong lugar ng botohan, sa iyong bagong lugar ng botohan, o sa Opisina ng Tagapagrehistro ng mga Botante. Kung pumunta ka sa iyong bagong lugar ng botohan, tiyaking magdala ng kahit anumang Lisensiya ng Nagmamaneho ng California, ID Kard, o dalawang ibang mga uri ng Identipikasyon na nagpapatunay na ikaw ay nakatira sa bagong adres. (Tingnan ang ‘Katibayan ng Kasalukuyang Tirahan’ na listahan sa ibaba.) Kung wala kang katibayan ng kasalukuyang tirahan, maari kang bumuo ng isang pagpapatibay sa aming mga opisina sa araw ng Eleksiyon.

Katibayan ng Kasalukuyang TirahanAng katibayan ng kasalukuyang tirahan ay binubuo ng: isang may-bisang lisensiya ng nagmamaneho ng California o ID kard, na nagbibilang sa pangalan ng botante at address ng kasalukuyang tirahan, o anumang dalawa sa sumusunod na mga dokumento, kapwa na dapat naglalaman sa pangalan ng botante at kasalukuyang address •Kuwenta ng Utilidad •Pahayag ng Buwis ng Ari-arian •Identipikasyong Militar •Kard ng Bayad ng Kolehiyo o Unibersidad o Identipikasyon ng Mag-aaral •Kasunduan ng Upa •Pahayag ng Buwis ng Kinikita •Rehistrasyon ng Sasakyan •Pahayag ng Bayad ng Bahay •Dating Nakalimbag na Tseke o Papel ng Deposito sa Bangko •Sulat na Nakapangalan sa Botante sa Kanyang Kasalukuyang Address •Pinatunayang Pahayag mula sa Isang Botante sa Presinto •Pahayag ng Bangko •Pahayag ng Kard ng Utang

Saan ako pupunta para bumoto?Ang iyong lugar ng botohan ay nakalimbag sa likod ng iyong pamplet ng ihemplong balota. Kabilang dito, ang Tagapagrehistro ng mga Botante ay nagpapanatili ng pahina ng lugar ng botohan sa aming website kabilang din ang isang awtomatikong sistema ng telepono humigit-kumulang na 3 linggo bago ang bawat pangkalahatang eleksiyon.

Light &Shadows

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

by Zena Sultana Babao

We usually find informa-tion and advice by reading books, magazines and news-papers, by attending classes and seminars, and by using Internet search engines such as Yahoo, Wikipedia, and Google. One likely (or is it unlikely) source of info and advice are forwarded emails. No searching is needed. Like homing pigeons, they find you wherever you are.

I welcome some of them because they can bring laugh-ter and tears, joy and love, and valuable info and advice. Here are a few that I’d like to share with you.

Four Rules to Live By

I once met a guy who told me he has a motto that he lives by everyday called “Four Rules to Live By: Drink, Steal, Swear and Lie.”

Here they are:“Drink” from the everlast-

ing cup every day.“Steal” a moment to help

someone who is in worse shape than you are.

“Swear” that you will be a better person today than yesterday.

And last but not least, when you “Lie” down at night, thank God you live in America and have freedom.

I like this motto, and I’m striving to live by it every day, just like him.

How to Stay Young

Throw out non-essential numbers. This includes age, weight, and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.

Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain go idle. “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop,

Info and Advice from an Unlikely Source

and the devil’s name is Al-zheimer’s!”

Enjoy the simple things. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have friends who make you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with them.

The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. Live while you are alive!

Surround yourself with what you love: family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, and whatever. Your home is your refuge.

Cherish your health. If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can im-prove, get help.

Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next country, but not where the guilt is.

At every opportunity, tell the people you love that you love them.

Good tips about Identity Theft

The following comes from a corporate attorney. He said that even if you hate attor-neys, you’ll love him for his tips.

Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead put, ‘Photo ID required.’

When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, do not put the complete account number on the “For” line. Instead, just

put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the num-ber, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won’t have access to it.

Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks. You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it printed, anyone can get it.

Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy ma-chine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe

place. I also have a photocopy of my passport when I travel here or abroad. We’ve all heard horror stories about fraud that’s commit-ted on us in stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards and other important documents.

We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

File a Police Report im-mediately in the jurisdiction where you credit cards, etc. were stolen. This proves to credit card providers you were diligent, and this is a fist step towards an investigation, if there is one.

Here is what is perhaps the most important of all. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number. Here are the numbers you need to contact if your wallet has been stolen:

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285Experian (formerly TRW):

1-888-307-3742Trans Union: 1-800-680-

7289Social Security Adminis-

tration fraud line: 1-800-269-0271


An Unauthorized History of the Philippines

Tenth of a seriesBy Rudy D. Liporada

In the fi rst series, the author stated that history is written by those who have the time to interpret events based on their perspectives and believed by those who do not know better. In the subsequent series, the author traced how the Spaniards conquered the Philippines with the sword and the cross; how, eventu-ally, the natives rose in pocket revolts; and how the middle class played their role in the advent of the Revolution of 1898.

The Malady of Andres Bonifacio

Andres Bonifacio, born

in 1863, is the founder of the revolutionary Katipunan and is renowned as the Father of Philippine Revolution. Though touted as a hero, however, he was relegated to one of the lesser ones, not the national hero. Even during the revolutionary campaign against the Spanish colonial-ists, he was several times de-moted from being the supre-mo of the Katipunan to almost holding no rank at all in the movement. In the end, he was even executed as a traitor, as a danger, to the armed revolu-tion he had started.

His personal malady was he was not an ilustrado. None-theless, his weakness in not being an ilustrado, was actu-ally his strength. It would be proven that during the propa-ganda movement to the height of the armed revolution, one’s adherence or commitment to the abrogation of Spanish op-pression in the islands would generally be proportionate to one’s stature in the social stratifi cation.

The wealthier one was, the higher would be his advocacy to mere reforms as he would want to cling to his acumens. The poorer one was, the stronger he would gravitate to a bloody armed confl ict for he would have no acumen more to lose.

To understand Bonifacio’s perspective on the revolu-tion, it should be noted that he came from the lower middle class. Though his mother was a Spanish mestiza who worked as a cabecilla in a cigarette factory and his tailor father was a teniente mayor of Tondo, their early demise led to Bonifacio to quit school. He then had to support his brothers and sisters by making walking canes and paper pans. He also became a messenger, a tar salesman, and a bode-guero or warehouseman.

Although he fi nished only second year high school, however, he was a voracious reader especially on subjects regarding revolution. Among those confi scated from his house when the Guardia Civil got wind of the insur-rection were: copies of the La Solidaridad, Rizal’s Noli and Fil, Les Miserables by Vic-tor Hugo, and books on the French Revolution.

Bonifacio and the La Liga Filipina

Infl uenced by the writings of Jose Rizal which merely refl ected the tyranny of the

colonialists and, initially, also believing in reforms, Bonifa-cio was one of the founders of the La Liga Filipina when it was organized by Rizal upon the latters’s arrival from Spain in July 1892. The league was a mere mutual help and self-help association designed to raise and award scholar-ship funds and legal aid, loan capital and organize coopera-tives. Though the objectives of the association was in no way contentious, the Span-ish authorities had become so jittery that they arrested and deported Rizal to Dapitan on July 6, 1892 – only four days after the association was organized.

Upon the deportation of Rizal, the League was split into those who wanted to con-tinue supporting reforms and those who became convinced that peaceful reforms were futile. Bonifacio was among the latter and went about organizing chapters in various districts of Manila. After few months, the reformist leader-ship of the Liga decided to dissolve the Liga because they got scared that the more radi-cal members might invite the ire of the authorities.

The reformists evolved the Cuerpo de Compromisarios

which pledged to merely sup-port the continued publication of the La Solidaridad. On his part, Bonifacio organized the secret society of the Katipu-nan.

The Katipunan was the crux of the realization that reformism or assimilation by Spain is wishful thinking. While the reformists provided the light of the situation, the revolutionaries lit the torch to guide a bloody armed separa-tion movement.

The stage for a bloody confrontation against the Spanish tyrants was set – led by a worker, who was not an educated ilustrado.

Bonifacio – the unfortu-nate Plebian

Although he organized the Katipunan, Bonifacio did not actually initially assert his leadership. Perhaps because, though he would be the most revolutionary by virtue of his being of the working class, years of such consciousness, made him view himself lower than those educated. The fi rst president of the Katipunan was Deodato Arellano who studied bookkeeping at the Ateneo Municipal and was an assistant clerk in the artillery

corps. The second president, Roman Basa was also of a higher education.

Bonifacio only asserted himself to be supremo after no qualitative actions were taken by Arellano and Basa to forward the belligerent goals of the Katipunan.

Nonetheless, perhaps, still considering himself inferior, Bonifacio sought the opinion of Rizal on how to guide the armed struggle. He sent Dr. Pio Valenzuela to confer with Rizal in Dapitan in June 1896.

In this regard, Teodoro A. Agoncillo wrote: “…Rizal feared that without arms the rebels would surely be defeated and thereby cause irreparable damage to the in-nocent people. His knowledge of history of revolutions in other lands led him to believe that any revolution was use-less unless the rebels were at least as armed as the enemy…(Bonifacio then) admitted that it would be fatal for them to start a revolution without enough arms with which to fi ght the enemy.”

It should be clear here that, although Bonifacio is of the lower class, possessing the ingredients of an uncompro-mising revolutionary, he still viewed himself as inferior and looked up to the ilustrado for guidance. He failed to see at this juncture, that Rizal was an ilustrado whose main line was reformism and who viewed that an uprising would bring forth further the ire of the enemy, thus, dashing

hopes for reform. Nonetheless, Bonifacio

continued to prepare for the uprising, ordering manufac-turing of more bolos to be distributed to members that have increased geometrically especially among the peas-ants. He also ordered rifl es and pistols to be stolen from the Maestranza or Spanish arsenal. Although he failed, he also sought the help of a Japanese, Admiral Kanimura, to commit Japan to help the insurrection. This Japanese episode would convince Bonifacio that they could only depend on themselves.

He also, on the advice of Rizal, tried to invite the wealthy ilustrado to join the cause but, consequently, found this move inutile because the ilustrados were more for reforms and, in fact, detached themselves from the insurrectos, even threatening to expose them to the enemy.

The Inevitability of the Uprising

With the rapid growth of the membership of the revo-lutionaries came the growing suspicion of the colonialists about a brewing revolt. And even if Bonifacio, upon the advice of Rizal, also believed that they must have arms fi rst, most of the Katipunan mem-bers have become restive. The Katipunan became the talk in whispers all over Manila and the neighboring provinces. Moreover, the publication of

the Kalayaan, prompted many more new members into the movement.

However, while suspi-cions, especially among the friars also intensifi ed, the Katipunan’s discovery rested mainly on a misunderstand-ing between Katipuneros Teodoro Patino and Apolonio de la Cruz. Both were work-ers at the Diario de Manila printing shop. To get back of de la Cruz, Patino squealed the secrets of the movement to his sister, Honoria who was an inmate at the orphan-age in Mandaluyong, Manila. Shocked at the revelation, she was caught crying by a nun, Sor Teresa. This led to Patino being forced to spit out every-thing he knew to the parish priest of Guadalupe, Father Mariano Gil. On August 19, 1896, the friar found the evidences against the secret Katipunan upon his search and discovery of the Kalayaan lithograph plate at the Diario de Manila premises. Found, too, in a locker were a dagger and other revolutionary docu-ments.

In the ensuing events, overnight, hundreds of revolu-tionary suspects were rounded up. Even members of the ilustrado who had nothing to do with the movement were incarcerated and executed.

Cry of Balintawak

Bonifacio, informed of (Continued on page 16)


A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years.

They had shared every-thing. They had talked about everything.

They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little

Old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had

Cautioned her husband

never to open or ask her about.

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

journalusa.com

The shoeboxFor all of these years, he

had never thought about the box, but

One day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said

She would not recover. In trying to sort out their

affairs, the little old man took Down the shoe box and

took it to his wife’s bedside. She agreed that it was time

that he should know what was In

the box. When he opened it, he found two knitted dolls

And a stack of money totaling

$95,000. He asked her about the

contents. ‘When we were to be mar-

ried,’ she said, ‘ my grand-mother told me

The secret of a happy mar-riage was to never argue. She told me that

If I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and knit a doll.’

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two

Precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two

Times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with

Happiness.

‘Honey,’ he said, ‘that explains the dolls, but what about all of this money?

Where did it come from?’ ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘that’s the

money I made from selling the dolls.’

A Prayer.......

Dear Lord, I pray for Wis-dom to understand my man;

Love to forgive him; And Patience for his moods;

Because Lord, if I pray for Strength, I’ll beat him to death,

Because I don’t have time to knit!


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

Taking a break from our busy schedule in Manila last month, we invite some close friends and their wives to dinner by the Bay at the back of Mall of Asia. Our favorite eating place there is the Trinity Ihaw-Ihaw and Food House. We eat dampa-style, which means that we buy raw food from the nearby wet market and bring it to Trinity for them to cook in whichever way we want. We have our favorite sinigang na maya-maya, inihaw na panga ng bariles (grilled tuna jaw), inihaw na liempo (grilled pork), halaan (clam) soup, kinilaw na tanigue (wahoo cooked raw in vinegar) and, of course, the Philippine mango, both ripe and green, the latter dipped in bagoong. Out-side, live music blares from the 3-man band. You can have your favorite song played by them. Gerby, who has been unusually quiet, writes “Isn’t She Lovely” on the tissue paper and gives it to the waitress. It was written in 1976 by Stevie Wonder to celebrate the birth of his daugh-ter. The band plays the song, and our friends start teasing Gerby “Lolo” (grandfather).

I have been out of loop but I easily grasp the situation. Gerby has only one child, my inaanak Aimee. Can it be that Aimee is already a mother, and Gerby a Lolo? To my reckoning, she is only 17, and the last time I saw her 5 years ago, she was just a petite 12-year old.

My thoughts are immediately confirmed when Gerby sits be-side me and starts a serious con-versation, something which I am not used to hearing from him. He begins by telling me right away

17-Year Old Expectant Dad Wants to Petition His Fiancee

that he is already a grandfather; that Aimee has just given birth to Andrea. Gerby breaks for a while, waiting for me to ask my questions. Instinctively, I asked who the father is. Gerby tells me that Andrea’s father is Ruffy, and that he and Aimee have been sweethearts for a couple of years now. They are both 17. Ruffy is a United States citizen and is now in California. Ruffy and his fam-ily have been calling them to ask about Aimee and Andrea. They want to bring them to America. My friend wants only the best for Aimee and Andrea, and asks for our advice on how they can go to the U.S.

We tell Gerby that Aimee can join Ruffy in the U.S. either as his spouse or his fiancée. In either case, Andrea will be com-ing with her. But they have to wait just for a little while. We explain that if Ruffy and Aimee decide to marry first, Philippine law requires that both the bride and the groom must be at least 18 years old for the marriage to be valid. Since they will first get married before Ruffy files the petition, this will mean that they have to wait until they both turn 18. As regards U.S. immigration law, there is no age requirement for a petitioner. However, as a petitioner, Ruffy is required to submit Form I-864 (affidavit of support), and USCIS requires that a sponsor in Form I-864 must be at least 18 years old and domiciled in the United States, or its territories or possessions. Thus, both Philippine and U.S. laws require a petitioner in a spousal petition to be at least 18 years old.

On the other hand, there seems to be no age requirement for a petitioner in a fiancée petition. Neither the Form 129-F (fiancée petition) nor the Form I-134 (affidavit of support for fian-cées) indicate any minimum age requirement. However, we must remember that the couple has to get married within 90 days from the fiancee’s arrival in the United States, and most states require the parties to be at least 18 years old to marry without parental consent. For example, California law requires that if ei-ther the bride or groom is under 18, at least one of the minor’s parents, or legal guardian, must appear with the couple. Certified copies of birth certificates are required. The couple must also schedule an appointment with a counselor and then appear before a superior court judge.

As we mentioned earlier, Andrea can come with Aimee to the U.S. either under a spousal of fiancée petition. If Ruffy and Aimee opt for a spousal peti-tion, Ruffy should file a separate Form I-130 petition for Andrea so she can come to the U.S. with Aimee. The rule is different in a fiancée petition. Ruffy needs only to file one petition – the Form 129F – for Aimee and after the petition is approved, Aimee can apply for a K-1 visa for her-self and a K-2 visa for Andrea.

Atty. Rogelio Karagdag , Jr. is licensed to practice law in both California and the Philippines. He practices immigration law in San Diego and has continu-ously been a trial and appellate attorney in the Philippines since 1989. He travels between San Diego and Manila. His office ad-dress is located at 10717 Camino Ruiz, Suite 131, San Diego, CA 92126. He also has an office in the Philippines at 1240 Apacible Street, Paco, Manila, Philippines 1007, with telephone numbers (632)522-1199 and (632)526-0326. Please call (858)348-7475 or email him at [email protected] for your free consultation. He speaks Tagalog fluently. Articles written in this column are hypotheticals intended for general informa-tion, and do not constitute legal advice. You must consult with an attorney before taking legal step.

From the Classroom to the Street:

Searching for the Lost Filipino Migrant

Teachers of Louisianacoverage from news media has helped, Cruz is still in a quandary. He is hoping that another employer would have an interest in his talent. It has been more than five months.

But Cruz is unfazed. The math teacher represents a class of teachers with an expertise in subjects like math and sci-ence that are hard to come by especially for smaller school

(Continued from page 4) districts that do not have the means to pay for top talent.

According to Cruz, even the government has recog-nized the problem stemming from the illegal recruitment of the 350 Filipino teachers. The migrant teachers have since been reclassified to another visa designation for trafficked individuals.

Still, the math teacher feels left out of the equation. The

fate of the migrant teachers like himself has been lost in the maze of the court system because the lawsuit has now become a two-party matter between the teachers union and the district. With no working visa, no job, no funds for proper legal representa-tion, and no way of seeking employment, Cruz has fallen through the cracks of the jus-tice system.

If you would like to help Ojie Cruz, please contact the [email protected] or call Ojie Cruz at 1.225.288.8711. The Asian Journal San Diego hopes to trace the whereabouts of the Filipino migrant teachers and pair them with sponsors.


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EntertainmentMovies to Watch

(Following are movies now showing or soon to be shown in San Diego.)

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: DANIEL ELLSBERG AND THE PENTAGON (opens 03/19) - Co-winner of the Freedom of Expression Award from the National Board of Review (and one of their Five Best Documentaries of the Year), and Winner of the Special Jury Award at IDFA, The Most Danger-ous Man in America tells the story of Daniel Ellsberg, a high-level Pentagon official and Vietnam War strategist, who in 1971 concluded that the war is based on decades of lies and leaks 7,000 pages of top secret documents to The New York Times—a daring act of con-science that leads directly to Watergate, President Nixon’s resigna-tion and the end of the Vietnam War. A riveting story of how this one man’s profound change of heart created a landmark struggle involving America’s newspapers, its president and Supreme Court. With Daniel Ellsberg, Patricia Ellsberg, Tony Russo, Howard Zinn, Hedrick Smith, John Dean and, from the secret White House tapes, Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, who called Ellsberg “the most dangerous man in America.” Narrated by Ellsberg. - www.mostdan-gerousman.org/ – 94 minutes. – Not Rated. - LANDMARK’S KEN CINEMA – Exclusive Engagement

Nominated For An Academy Award®!

An Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, Ajami is a brave, apolitical look at Jews and Arabs in Jaffa’s multi-ethnic Ajami neighborhood—a searing debut by Israeli and Palestin-ian co-directors Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, whose balanced perspective and use of non-professional local actors lend a palpable authenticity to a complex, cross-cultural drama. Shakespearian in its scope and themes—revenge, loyalty, hope and despair—the film draws us into the lives of two brothers fearing assassination; a young Palestinian refugee working illegally to cover his mother’s medical expenses; and a Jewish cop obsessed with finding his missing broth-er. Through its unprecedented authenticity and immediacy, Ajami forces us to look at the Middle East conflict through the commonal-ity of the human condition—and the tragic consequences of enemies living as neighbors. (Fully subtitled) www.kino.com/ajami/

PNS -- BEFORE doing a sequel for “Kimmy Dora,” Eu-gene Domingo is slated to do a comedy flick first with Angelica Panganiban for Quantum Films, “Here Comes The Bride.”

Angelica plays a young bride while Eugene is her ninang. It’s going to be a riot as the cast also includes Tuesday Vargas, John Lapus, and ex-PBB Double Up housemate Tom Rodriguez.

Meanwhile, Angelica is now leaving behind other sexy stars with her performance as a seductress in ABS-CBN’s new telerserye, “Rubi.” During the presscon-cum- Latin party for Rubi at Eastwood Central Park, Angelica looked so alluring in her scarlet sexy outfit, with her

PNS -- CELEBRITIES are hot commodities come elec-tion time.

Recently, it was rumored that Dolphy and Sarah Geron-imo received huge fees from presidential aspirant Sen. Manny Villar to help in his campaign.

In the industry where it’s normal that one works to make a living and have a career, this is considered a dif-ferent case.

Voters’ trust is what is at stake here, and considering the high talent fee, if true, we don’t know where to base the sincerity in endorsing a candi-date for a public position. In this case, should money really talk?

PNS -- AMIDST specula-tions of big stars biting the tempting offers made by TV5, German “Kuya Germs” Moreno unequivocally de-clared that he is rather happy with the status quo at GMA7 and would not consider trans-ferring to TV5.

Allegedly, the person responsible for axing his past GMA7 shows now works in TV5.

It is deemed more likely that Kuya Germs’ “That’s En-tertainment” will find a home in Q11. His current show, “Master Showman Presents: Walang Tulugan,” continues to enjoy big audience even abroad.

Talent Fee for Voters’

Trust?

Sarah Geronimo

Dolphy

“That’s Entertainment” on 11?

German Moreno

Angelica Seduces Viewers

Angelica Panganiban

PNS -- COLLEAGUE Ambet Nabus celebrated his 30 some-thing birthday at the Zirkoh Tomas Morato, Q. C. Thursday night with a mix of guests from politics and showbiz. We saw Korina Sanchez, minus hubby, vice presidential aspirant Mar Roxas with Veanna Araneta Fores and secretary, and senato-riable Gilbert Remulla who went straight from the airport coming from Palawan to greet his class-mate, Ambet. Well, they are both products of the State University (UP).

Korina just delivered a short greeting, while Gilbert sang. We never thought he is such a good singer who can put any profes-sional singer to shame with his rendition of “Nandito Ako.” Gil-bert that night might have gotten more votes than expected.

The Masculados 2, who’s man-aged by Direk Maryo J. made the evening hot with three sexy num-

Ambet Celebrates

Ambet Nabusbayani appeared like a shoot-ing star--she just extended her personal message to Ambet and gave her gift and gone. Benjie Paras was there, too. Jao Mapa sang two bouncy numbers, while Jaya, The Impersonator, sur-prised everyone with his singing voice. He/she sounded like the original Jaya when he belted out Jaya’s hit songs.

Other guests include columnists Tita Cristy Fermin, Jobert Su-caldito, The Uragons, Veronica Samio, Pilar Mateo and a dozen more colleagues.

upper bumpers trying to spill out.

b e r s . S a w A t t y . C a r o l S a b i o enjoying the eve-ning im-mensely.

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WASHINGTON-The US Census Bureau is missing op-portunities to provide report-ing instructions to diverse communities in the United States by failing to fully uti-lize the ethnic media that can reach more than 60 million adults in those communities, according to testimony from New America Media (NAM) in Congress today.

Sandy Close, NAM’s executive director, called the 2010 Census advertising

program an “unprecedented investment” in ethnic and community media, having identified 3,000 media out-lets across the country. But she cautioned that many key media outlets were left out, including 47% of those that attended roundtable sessions organized by NAM and the Census Bureau last year to learn how they could help with the count. She noted that several prominent African American papers had been excluded.

“Many are frustrated – they don’t know why they fell through the cracks. Some are bitter. All very urgently want a role – even if small – and believe, as I do, that together they can move the needle those extra percent-age points,” said Ms. Close, testifying before the Oversight and Government Reform’s Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives. Her organization represents more than 2,500 ethnic media outlets across the country.

The roundtable discussions organized last year included more than 600 ethnic media representatives in 12 cit-ies from coast to coast. The ethnic media participating

New American Media tells congress to use the nation’s ethnic media more effectively to increase

accuracy of the 2010 Census Countincluded media giants like Univision, Asian language dailies, BET and Clear Chan-nel stations to established black and Spanish language weeklies, upstart radio and TV stations, as well as niche print and online outlets serv-ing Burmese, Ethiopian, Arab, Russian, Mixtec, Punjabi and Samoan communities.

“Their hunger to partici-pate in the 2010 Campaign is intense—you could cut the exuberance at these gatherings

with a knife,” Ms. Close testified. “For many media, it was the first time they’d come to-gether as a media sector in the same

city. They get the Census: they get their community’s stake in a complete count, and they get their own.”

In citing the importance of an accurate Census count not only on federal dollars, but private ones as well, she noted the experience of Juan Car-los Ramos of the El Tiempo Hispanic newspaper in New Orleans. Mr. Ramos said the 2000 Census undercounted Hispanics in New Orleans and as a result Coca Cola dropped New Orleans, and his paper, from their national ad cam-paign.

Many ethnic media out-lets are frustrated by being excluded from the Census advertising.

“From our first briefing in March of 09 until our last one in early December, ethnic me-dia attendees also expressed a uniform anxiety over the lack of transparency in the decision making process of the Cen-sus ad buy,” Ms. Close said, adding that she has received correspondence from ethnic media outlets across the coun-try not been utilized.

Moreover, there was also criticism that some of the communications vehicles chosen by the Census Bu-reau are not having the de-

sired impact. She quoted Joe Orozco, of Hoopa Radio in northern California, lament-ing that the Census spent the “the biggest chunk of money to reach American Indians” on billboards that don’t have much of an impact on isolated reservations like his. “Most of us don’t do a lot of free-way driving,” she quoted Mr. Orozco as saying.

Ms. Close said that hun-dreds of ethnic media like Hoopa Radio want to inform and mobilize their communi-ties to participate in the Cen-

sus. As the Census Bureau recognizes the regions with the lowest response rates, she recommended that the govern-ment fund a program similar to a NAM project launched to reach American Indian and indigenous communities in California.

The Save our Services campaign for Census 2010 replicates an approach that NAM has pioneered through numerous social market-ing campaigns over the last decade. It relies upon local ethnic media outlets to de-

The Church of the Resurrection in Escondido invites you, your family and friends to a TAGALOG MASS (not a healing mass) with Fr. Fernando

Suarez, C.C on Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. The Mission Topic is “The Power of the Eucharist”

The mass is part of a 4-Day Parish Mission with Fr. Fernando Suarez from February 27, to March 2, 2010. A Special Healing Mass for Family and Friends with Disabilities is scheduled for

March 1, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. This will be followed on

March 2, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. by a General Healing Mass.

Come and experience God’s love and gift of healing.

For a schedule of the 4-Day Mission, please contact the

Pastoral Office at 1445 Conway Drive, Escondido, CA 92027

or call 1.760.747.2322.

Fr. Fernando Suarez in San Diego Feb 27 to Mar 2 for 4-Day Parish Mission at the Church of the Resurrection

sign their own messaging campaigns and earned media components. Under this pro-gram, Hoopa Radio received a small grant of $2,000 that will help pay to develop a PSA that will grab listeners’ atten-tion with a message that says: “If we don’t let ourselves be counted, they’ll say no one lives here and take away our water rights.”

Ms. Close cited reasons why the Census Bureau should utilize the ethnic me-dia more. She noted that a sur-vey by San Francisco State’s Renaissance Center last year found that 68 percent of eth-nic media leaders described their primary goal as service to the community, with less than a third listing making a profit as their goal. In ad-dition, she said that while

mainstream media audiences have sharply declined, there has been a 16 percent growth in the ethnic media audiences over the last five years.

“Even a modest invest-ment of $2 million in those outlets that have been left out or, like Joe Orozco, believe they have more effective ways to message to their audiences could increase the response rate dramatically in some regions between the crucial period between April 15 and the end of July,” Ms. Close said. “More important, it would acknowledge that not just the primary ethnic news outlets but the entire ethnic media sector has an indispensible role to play in how government communi-cates with the governed.”

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Recently, Gloria an-nounced that she was go-ing on a “charm offensive” around the country because she wants to change the people’s impression of her by promoting her “legacy.” What legacy? Well, let’s see: legacy of corruption, legacy of poverty… Yup, she sure is going to leave a lot of lega-cies behind. Wah wah we!

But according to Gloria’s Exec Secretary, Eduardo Ermita, Gloria wants to rec-oncile with her enemies and detractors before she steps down. Gloria said she didn’t want to step down with a heavy heart. Or perhaps she’s scared that her enemies and detractors would file plunder charges against her when she steps down. Like they say, it couldn’t happen to a nicer person.

Sen. Aquilino “Nene” Pi-mentel Jr. told Gloria bluntly: “Admit first you erred.” Whoa! If Gloria would ad-mit that she erred, then she should also return her “loot” to the people, and as Bishop Oscar Cruz -- who threatened her with excommunication -- told her: “Confess your sins.” Now, these are tall orders and I doubt if Gloria would com-ply to their demands.

But somebody took her up. Former House Speakers Joe de Venecia reconciled with Gloria. Why not? With De Venecia’s perceived influence over 50 congressmen, Gloria needs Joe in her bid for the Speakership in July.

But what’s in it for Joe? For one thing, Joe’s wife, Gina, was tickled pink when the couple reconciled with Gloria. Happy days are here

again! Now, they can all go golfing in China again and hobnob with high Chinese officials. They should bring their caddy with them, former Comelec Chairman and “fixer extraordinaire” Benjamin Aba-los. He’s good at making deals at the golf course. Remember the ZTE/NBN scandal? Well, the project didn’t go through but somebody high up pock-eted a huge non-refundable commission -- or “tongpat” -- from the Chinese. But, hey, the Chinese are pretty smart, you can’t fool them a second time.

***Gloria’s “anointed” candi-

date, Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro put his foot in his mouth when he vowed to “put the economy in order once he is elected by working for a sustained an-nual growth of 8%.” Well, last year’s economic growth was 0.9% under Gloria, his mentor. Since he promised to run the government the way Gloria ran it, how could Gibo expect to increase growth to 8% an-nually and sustain it? Back to the drawing board, Gibo... or better, back to school.

Gibo has been winning in mock polls in university campuses. Well, the students probably thought that he was running for president of their student council. With an ane-mic 4% rating in recent poll surveys, perhaps Gibo should enroll in a university and run for student council president. In six years, he can try again to run for president of the country.

Meanwhile, Gibo’s cousin and presidential frontrunner Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III challenged his closest rival, Manny “Money Villarroyo” Villar, to a debate. Villarroyo accepted the challenge with one condition: “no hitting below the belt.” Huh? I don’t know if asking Villarroyo to explain the C-5 corrup-tion scandal would constitute “hitting below the belt”? It’s

not. But it sure would hit him where it hurts most: his char-acter. But why would he care about his “character” when he has lots of moolah to buy the presidency? What Manny wants, money gets.

The other day, Gibo and another presidential wan-nabe, former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada attended the 25th Feast of the “Tabernacles of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name,” hoping that the charismatic and influential Pastor Apollo Quiboloy would endorse one of them.

A few weeks ago, Pastor Q said that during the 2004 cam-paign, the Almighty Father re-vealed Gloria to him. He said that the Divine Providence told him that Gloria was the anointed leader of the coun-try when she was running for president in 2004. No wonder Gibo and Erap are competing for Pastor Q’s endorsement.

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(Continued from page 1) ages attendance from every-one in the FilAm community. Voter registration assistance will be available, along with raffle prizes and lunch.

RSVPs are requested no later than 5 March 2010, via email to Vince Bumanglag ([email protected]), Julio DeGuzman ([email protected]), Mitz Lee ([email protected]), or online at http://bit.ly/meetandgreet2010 Questions about the event may be directed to Vince Bu-manlag at (760) 224-4635.

Invitations have been sent to numerous candidates, who will be given an opportunity to briefly deliver their politi-cal message. Following the formal presentations, candi-

FACE to Host Candidate Meet & Greet on 13 March 2010

(Continued from page 8) dates will mingle with attend-ees to answer questions and discuss concerns. This will be a wonderful opportunity to understand candidates’ stands on issues that most affect the FilAm community.

FACE is currently regis-tered in the State of CA as a non-partisan, non-profit Politi-cal Action Committee. It was founded in 2005 to empower the Filipino American com-munity by creating positive change through the political process. Activities include voter registration, voter edu-

cation and increasing voter turnout; political advocacy and political endorsements; legislative advocacy and holding public officials ac-countable to the voters; and working with other commu-nity organizations to increase

voter involvement in politics. For membership information, please contact Ms. Katrina Benfer, VP of Membership, at [email protected] or visit the FACE website at http://www.filamvote.org/


the Katipunan’s discovery, escaped to Balintawak. On August 22, he proceeded to Pugad Lawin. The following day, with 500 men, Bonifacio committed to raise the arms of the revolution and everyone in the assembly tore up their cedulas as a sign of their com-mitment, shouting “Long Live the Philipines!”. This marked the historical event dubbed as the Cry of Balintawak or Sigaw ng Pugad Lawin.

True his stance as revolu-tionary, Bonifacio declared in his manifesto: “This mani-festo is for all of you. It is absolutely necessary for us to stop at the earliest possible time the nameless oppressions being perpetrated on the sons of the people who are now suffering the brutal punish-ment and tortures in jails, and because of this please let all the brethren know that on Saturday, the revolution shall commence according to our agreement. For this purpose, it is necessary for all town to rise simultaneously and at-tack Manila at the same time. Anybody who obstructs this sacred ideal of the people will be considered a traitor and an enemy, except if he is ill or is not physically fit, in which case he shall be tried accord-ing to the regulation we have put in force.”

The Cry of Balintawak marked a crux in Philippine history where the armed up-rising was not a mere pocket revolt but had the character of a broad national struggle. Amado Guerrero, nonetheless, says: “The Philippine Revolu-tion of 1896 was a national-democratic revolution of the old type. Though Bonifacio came from the working class, he was in possession of prole-

(Continued from page 9)

An Unauthorized History of the Philippines

tarian ideology. The guiding ideology of the revolution was that of the liberal bourgeoi-sie. Its classic model was the French Revolution and Boni-facio himself was inspired mainly by its ideas. At any rate, the revolution asserted the sovereignty of the Filipino people, the protection and promotion of civil liberties, the confiscation of the friar estates and the elimination of theocratic rule.”

In simpler terms, although Bonifacio, founder and leader of the Katipunan, was of the working class, the ilustrado strain still permeated the armed revolution. This would soon bring about his downfall.

Nonetheless, it should be emphasized that if Bonifacio followed the advise of Rizal – that of waiting for more arms, having higher education first, and co-opting first the wealth-ier ilustrado into the revolu-tion, the revolution would not have occurred as it did.

Coming in this series:The Revolution and the

Ilustrado Opportunists.About the Philippine flag

being made in Hong Kong.Should General Douglas

McArthur be venerated as a hero?

Statistics shows that almost 90 percent of the Filipinos are literate giving us the edge in the international employ-ment. It is as if the educational system was patterned to make Filipinos serve the needs of the world.

buy a boat, so they can em-ploy other poor people to fish with them… With the over supply of fish to be eaten do-mestically, I will partner with the Koreans or Chinese or Japanese or any of our Asian neighbors to can our catch and export them rather than importing them.

I will also lure back the supermaids to come back by creating jobs for them in the countryside, to become P.T. (Punas Tae) Pinays to their own young children and tend to their aging parents in their own backyard in the Philip-pines. I will give great incentives to the thousands of caregivers who will come back to the country and who can bring with them their aging patients and bosses, to take care of them in the Phil-ippines, instead . This can be arranged govern-ment to govern-ment especially the countries of Japan, the United States and Cana-da where there is a serious short-age of nursing and caregivers.

I will also create an ASaP (Alay Sa Pilipinas) program to have the 10% of the 8-9 Million Filipinos, especially those belonging to the baby boomers generation, like me, those who are about to retired or have been retired to give back to the country of their birth. After they achieved some degree of success in the foreign land, many suc-cessful doctors, engineers,

CPAs and businessmen have acquired and been conditioned to a better economic system where merits are rewarded more than affinity or pakiki-sama or the cumpadre system. With the full support of my administration, these balik –talinong Pinoys can be my priceless and effective part-ners as they will spearhead and create a new paradigm and a better environment for all to share and enjoy. These SCORE (Service Core Of Re-tired Expatriates) can be new breed of heroes, and not just the super maids, in our New Philippines!

There is too much to do, that I may not be able to fin-ish it only in six years. I am now getting stressed out just thinking how to make this nation great again! Can the people who are now making

more MONEY in Manny’s administration start a nation-wide referendum to extend the term of a moneyed President another 6 year term?

Then, I woke up from this fantastic dream!

* * * * On a serious note, there

are so many factors to con-

sider in choosing the “best” leader that the country needs to lead the Philippines to progress. Let me advance some leadership CRITERIA, that can somewhat measure the qualitative attributes of a better leader, based on our educated perception, if not factual knowledge. Although I cannot vote, I am optimistic that I can “dictate” (I mean recommend) to my relatives who still receive pecuniary, spelled dollar$$$$, consid-erations from me, to vote according to my invented criteria.

Let me share my scoring between Aquino and Villar with my readers, done this Ash Wednesday 2010, the beginning of Lent. It is still incomplete and will change again as soon as I am done with more research in some equally important areas, especially in Social Justice is-sues. However, the intelligent readers will somehow get the “drift” to challenge them to have their own criteria and not just vote for a candidate

based on their self-serving advertise-ments.

(NOTA

BENE: I will update this CRITE-RIA every month or so, and will then publish it in my

“THE METAMORPHOSIS BLOG :

http://ed-metamorphosis.blog-spot.com/

***

Email this writer at: [email protected] or [email protected]

Manny Villar’s lenten journey to Damascus, oops

...to Malacanang Palace(Continued from page 2)

C R I T E R I A MAXIMUM POINTS AQUINO VILLARA. INTEGRITY/CHARACTER 25 24 11B. COMPETENCY 25 12 23(Executive, EntrepreneurialExperience)C. DECISIVENESSS/INTELLIGENCE 10 6 8(Decision making experience) D. TEAM (COALITION) BUILDING 10 6 8 E. CHARISMA / COMMUNICATIONSKILLS 10 8 6F. WORK ETHIC (industriousness) 10 7 8 Sub Total 90 63 64 G. SOCIAL JUSTICE PLATFORM 10 ?? ??(Example: level of support to empowering the poor like the Gawad Kalinga Movement) ____ ____ ____ TOTAL 100 ?? ??


Spiritual Life

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

by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez

Lower Your Nets

BakasyonKay sarap ng pakiramdam sa panahong tulad nitotigil muna sa hirap at lalo na nga sa trabahopahinga munang sandali kaunting pakonsuwelo‘di ba’t magaan sa pakiramdam kahit na paano?

Ito ang mga panahon na masarap ang mamasyaldalawin silang lahat na mga mahal mo sa buhaykumustahan at kuwentuhan na walang kasawaankasabay ng matunog nakakabinging halakhakan.

Palibhasa’y walang trabaho, walang alalahaninat hindi okupado kaya masarap ding kumainpansit palabok at puto may gulaman pang inuminwow naman ito tiyak lahat kayo ay bubusugin.

Subukannaman natin ang maglaro ng patinteromaghati-hati tayo bumuo ng dalawang gruposa una’y kami ang taya at papasok naman kayomagpapakain ng bananacue ang siyang matalo.

Puwede akong magpuyat at panoorin ang programana lagi kong sinusubaybayang iyakan at dramakung bakit ay lagi na lamang kawawa itong bidapero sa huli naman siyempre siya ang tatawa.

Joke of the Week: A very proper woman had a little parrot as a pet – prim, proper, and pretty. Polly had an awful habit. Whenever she saw any-one, she screeched, “Whoop-ie, Charlie, I’m a good time girl!” One day a religious minister came to call. As she entered the apartment, Polly shouted, “Whoopie, Charlie, I’m a good time girl!” The minister was shocked and so was the very proper owner of the parrot. “I think I can help you,” said the minister. “I have two parrots down in my office at the church. They would be a good influence on your Polly. All they ever do

Lent: a season to a transfigured life

is pray.” So the minister took poor, misbehaving Polly to his church office. Sure enough his two parrots were respectfully praying. And Polly, seeing them, bellowed, “Whoopie, Charlie, I’m a good time girl!” The minister’s parrots stirred a bit. Then one of them nudged the other with the tip of his wings and quite excit-edly said, “Hey, Ron, wake up. We finally got what we’ve been praying for.”

Scripture: First Reading: Genesis 15: 5-12; 17-18. The Bible is replete with stories about the mortals actually speaking with and hearing from the immortal and infinite

God. Today’s passage from the first book of the Penta-teuch is one of such stories. Abraham has experienced God in prayer. God and his presence that is symbolized here by the smoking fire pot and flaming torch shows his desire to be with Abraham and his descendants. Second Reading: Philippians 3: 17-4: 1. Philippi took great pride in its claim as a Roman colony. Its citizens are loyal to Rome and the imperial representa-tives are considered the “sav-iors.” Paul reminds the Chris-tians at Philippi not to side with the legalistic faction that wishes to transform Christian-ity into a Hebrew religion nor give in to the libertarian group that wants to do away with the demands of the Christian faith on them. Paul reminds the Christians that their true citizenship is in heaven where a change to a transformed life is going to occur. Gospel: Luke 9: 28b-36. Many ex-egetes agree that this Gospel passage on the Transfiguration is an attempt of Luke to link it with the Resurrection event and the Ascension of Jesus. All three narrations reveal the glory of Jesus that also

awaits all believers. However, just as the Israelites had to go through the hardships of the “Exodus” before they reached the Promised Land, Jesus and his followers have to experi-ence also their own “Exodus” before they could enter the true Promised Land with God in his glory.

Reflections: Among the evangelists it is only Luke who mentions the appear-ance of the “two men” and the contents of their conversa-tion with Jesus. The presence of the two men connotes an event of great significance that is going to occur. “Two men in “dazzling garments” appeared at the empty tomb (Luke 24: 4), and “two men dressed in white garments” stood beside the apostles at the Ascension of the Lord (Acts 1: 10). Two men ap-peared in glory at the Trans-figuration and spoke of Jesus’ exodus. Like Moses and Elijah, Jesus would also suffer rejection. As an essential part of his mission as the mes-siah, Jesus would experience his own exodus: suffering and death before entering into his glory. Therefore, the Transfiguration is closely linked with the Resurrection and Ascension: Jesus died to rise again, and ascended to a better life. Like the Israelites who after the Exodus from Egypt wandered in the desert for forty years before entering the Promised Land, we too have our own “exodus.” Lent is a time to reflect on our own “exodus,” our own liberation through repentance, and ac-ceptance of our responsibili-ties as Christians, in order to experience our share in Jesus’ Resurrection and enter the true Promised Land, God’s heavenly Kingdom, in a trans-figured life.

Dr. Sheila Cassidy tells that she left England in 1971 because she was tired of too much professionalism in Brit-ish medicine and she went to work among the poorest of the Chilean poor. In 1975, the Chilean police arrested her for having medically treated a wounded revolutionary leader. At the interrogation room,

she was stripped naked, tied to a bed, and tortured. Later on, for three weeks she was in solitary confinement and kept in a detention camp for another five weeks before she was finally released and deported from Chile. In her book, Audacity to Believe, Dr. Cassidy writes, “ I did not hate the men who had hurt us … the freedom of spirit we enjoyed was something that our captors did not pos-sess. Incredibly, in the midst of fear and loneliness I was filled with joy, for I knew without any vestige of doubt that God was with me, and that nothing they could do to me could change that.” Her inner strength transformed Dr. Cassidy into a formidable

BalintatawRead Virginia Ferrer’s previous articles by visiting our website

at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Virginia H. Ferrer

prisoner and kept her spirit free inside the prison bars. Neither tortures nor physical abuse did imprison her spirit that transfigures her to endure all the hardships of prison life. By God’s grace, we too can transform ourselves into holy and courageous Chris-tians in spite of the problems and trials of life. This Lenten season is not just about fast-ing and abstinence. Lent is more importantly about mak-ing ourselves better Christians so that we could share in the glory of a “transfigured” life.

Quotation of the Week: “ Blessed are they that are homesick for they shall come at last to their father’s house.” Jean Paul Richter.


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

(Continued from page 7) application for reentry while the LPR is in the United States. It usually takes three months to process a reentry permit application. The LPR can travel while the applica-tion is pending. Departure after the application is fi led and before a decision is made do not affect the applica-tion. A reentry permit may be sent to the U.S. embassy or an overseas offi ce of the INS, provided such request is

indicated in the reentry per-mit application. The reentry permit is usually issued for two years. However, if the LPR has been absent from the United States for more than four of the fi ve years preced-ing the application, the reentry permit may be issued with one year validity only. As long as there is genuine reason for the application, there should be no reason for USCIS to deny the reentry permit. One good reason is to fi nish school in the home country.

A reentry permit cannot be extended, but the LPR can apply for a new one. The LPR has to return to the United States to make the new application because an applicant for a reentry permit must be physically present in the United States. Until the application is fi led with USCIS, the LPR must not leave the country. It is safe for the applicant to wait for USCIS to accept the applica-tion and fee before leaving the United States. The applicant can either wait for the receipt notice from USCIS or check with the bank if the check for the fi ling fee has been cashed. An applicant for a new reen-try permit must surrender his or her expired or unexpired reentry permit.

When a returning LPR has a reentry permit, he or she has well established that the visit abroad is “temporary”. How-ever, it does not establish that he or she has no intention of abandoning the LPR status. Regulations on the inspection of returning resident aliens provide that an immigrant alien may present a reentry permit in lieu of an immigrant visa only if he or she is “re-turning to an unrelinquished lawful permanent residence in the United States.” Regula-tions on the effect of reentry permits clarify that an LPR with a valid reentry permit “shall not be deemed to have abandoned status based solely on the duration of an absence or absences while the per-mit is valid.” However, it is possible that an LPR with a reentry permit may be deemed to have abandoned his or her lawful permanent residence based on facts other that the length of his or her absence

or absences, or based on the length of his or her absences in combination with other facts. For example, an LPR who continues to practice his or her profession in his or her home country and shows no intention of terminating that practice could be questioned upon his or her return to the United States despite the fact that he or she is in posses-sion of an unexpired reentry permit.

The Board of Immigration Appeals provided guidance in determining whether an LPR is deemed to have abandoned his or her status as such. The following factors are consid-ered relevant: the location of the alien’s family ties, property holdings, and job; whether the alien is returning to the United States as a place of employment or business or as an actual home; the alien’s purpose in departing from the United States; whether the visit abroad can be expected to terminate within a rela-tively short period of time; and whether the termination date of the visit abroad can be fi xed by some early event. Another signifi cant factor in determining an LPR’s inten-tion to retain his or her status is the U.S. income tax fi l-ing status (resident or non-resident) claimed during the alien’s absence, or the alien’s failure to fi le a U.S. income tax return for periods in which the alien was abroad. Indi-cating the status as non-resi-dent, claiming nonresident tax treaty benefi ts or failing to fi le a U.S. tax return is inconsis-tent with an intention to main-tain lawful permanent resident status. A fi nal consideration with respect to retention of residence is the LPR’s pat-tern of travel. Where the LPR spends signifi cant amounts of time in his or her home coun-try over the course of several years, returning only after a brief annual visits on round-trip tickets both originating

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Sa twing kita ay kausap, ligaya ang nadarama,Na hindi ko mailihim, sa kislap ng iyong mata.Bawat saglit ay langit ko ngunit ako’y nangangamba,Paano ko sasabihin ang totoong, mahal kita.

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document, its presentation is not evidence that the LPR is “returning from a temporary visit abroad.” For this reason, it is possible that a returning resident might be denied entry if deemed to have abandoned his or her LPR status. To show that at the time of depar-ture, no abandonment of LPR status was intended, it is best to apply for a reentry permit.

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means of a five-day illustrated diary.

The Festa featured the il-lustrated diaries of children from 24 countries throughout Asia.

In winning the contest, the National Screening Commit-tee in each participating coun-try sends selected entries to Japan where an International

Filipino kid wins Japanese art diary making contest

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(Continued from page 1) Screening Committee selects the final winners from each country.

One entry from each of the 24 countries will receive the Grand Prix Award, two entries for the Organizers’ Award and five entries for the Excellence Award.

Tangcueco said his outputs are usually based from his own experiences, adding that

he likes to use nature as his subject. “I want to preserve the beauty of nature through this art form which we all know continues to deterio-rate,” he explained.

His advice to fellow stu-dents who are also artistically inclined: “If criticized, never give up no matter how bad the criticisms are. Learn from oth-ers’ criticisms, they criticize you for you to improve”

The other Filipino winners who received commemorative gifts aere Trisha Co Reyes of St. Stephen’s High School in Manila, Rocky Inawasan of Malinao Elementary School in Aklan, Jerrika Shi of St. Jude Catholic School in Manila, Jade Maxiell de Felipe of Sto. Tomas Central Elementary School in Davao del Norte, and Justine Kaye Solano of Diliman Preparatory School in Quezon City.

Meanwhile, the National

Federation of UNESCO As-sociations in Japan awardee is Veronica Gayle Tangcueco of St. Jude Catholic School in Manila while the Mitsubi-shi Public Affairs Committee awardee is Judy Ann Landi-cho of Paaralang Elementarya ng Ajos in Quezon Province.

(Story courtesy of PNA)



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automotive industry, banking, computers, electronics and mining. “Those with better prospects in 2010 are also the hotel and tourism industries, because the Philippines is a hot country, thus has a fire

Tiger Year predictions on RP biz & economy

element. You need to cool it down with water which is the element for hotels and tour-ism.”

He cautioned people from becoming “too greedy,” how-ever, as one can easily lose his shirt this year. “Don’t expect too much; you can win greatly and also lose greatly. You must be satisfied with what you have. For instance, you will put your money in a high-risk investment-you can earn big and then lose everything.”

The global economy continues to be depressed, he said, explaining that the “wealth star is in prison.” To release it, the home or office

should be sparsely designed. “There should not be too many furniture, or not have big furniture as these will block the flow of energy. Money will not come in.”

The lucky zodiac signs in 2010 are the Rabbit, Dragon, Horse, Goat, Rooster, Dog and Pig, while those signs said to be “offending the Tai Suey [Grand Duke of the year]“, or the unlucky signs are the Tiger, Monkey, Snake, Pig and Ox. - From Good News Philippines

(Excerpts of the story from Stella Arnaldo of the Business Mirror)

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(Continued from page 1)(Continued from page 3)

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cent spinned saluyot fibers to make smooth fabrics; the mix can go as high as 40 percent saluyot that has been treated to make fiber,” PTRI Director Carlos Tomboc said in a state-ment here Thursday.

To make an all-natural blend, saluyot may also be weaved with cotton and is ideal for curtains and drapes, beddings, table runners and linens as well as burlaps for nets, ropes and geotextiles against soil erosion, Tomboc said.

Saluyot stems soaked in water for about three weeks yield at least five percent fibers that passed textile tests for fineness, tensile strength and residual gum properties, he added.

A part of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the PTRI in recent years has concentrated on research and development of saluyot, maguey, water hya-cinth, abaca, anabo, banana, kenaf, pineapple and ramie as fabrics.

Having established the procedures for mechanical and chemical pretreatment, yarn and fabric processing, the PTRI has commercialized the technologies for abaca, banana and pineapple fibers and is ready to do the same for saluyot, water hyacinth and maguey.

Water hyacinth grows in almost all of the country’s freshwater bodies. It is so prolific in fact that the plant is considered a “weed” be-cause it clogs waterways and kills aquatic life in rivers and lakes.

Maguey grows wild in northern Luzon, Cebu and Panay. It is used in cordage, ropes, twines, carpets, wall coverings, crafts and hand-made paper.

Saluyot now a popular nutritious vegetable worldwide

It is also planted on 500 hectares, mostly in Bohol but production has declined because of inefficient fiber extraction and dwindling fiber supply due to old, sparsely planted or abandoned planta-tions. It takes four years from planting to harvesting while productions returns are low.

The PTRI is about to dras-tically change the status of these seemingly lowly plants to reverse the sliding textile industry owing to stiff com-petition from China, cheaper fabrics from abroad, imported raw materials, local labor un-rest, higher production costs and widespread smuggling, Tomboc said.

Substituting just a fourth of imported textile with local tropical fabrics means for-eign exchange savings for the Philippines of 6.72 million, according to Nora Mangal-indan, head of research and development at PTRI.

“The world textile indus-try has been devoid of new natural textiles for 15 years now and it is a great opportu-nity for tropical fibers made in the Philippines,” Mangalindan said.

About 99 percent of tex-tiles currently used are syn-thetic. Natural cotton, mostly from Mindanao, is sporadic and supplies less than three percent of demand from tex-tile mills.

The use of tropical fabrics is required by law to com-pose at least three percent of government uniforms. When implemented fully, this could mean import substitutions of 481 metric tons of fibers worth 7.8 million.

Mangalindan said, the Phil-ippines has some 30 useful fiber crops of which abaca, ramie, coconut coir, salago, maguey, buntal, raffia, kapok, pina, banana, kozo, kenaf and

silk have commercial applica-tions.

About 143,585 hectares are currently planted to fiber crops–94.7 percent or 135,958 hectares to abaca and the rest to ramie, salago, burl, magu-ey, mulberry and other fiber crops.

Fiber production in 2005 was 79,131 metric tons worth P2.65 billion, a steep increase over P2 billion in 2004. High abaca demand in 2005 caused fiber exports to rise to P4.99 billion, compared to P4.35 billion the previous year.

In 2005, abaca accounted for 93 percent representing 73,875 tons worth P2.61 bil-lion, or 98 percent of the take.

For all its worth, abaca is plagued by low farm income productivity due to pests and diseases, inconsistent fiber quality, limited markets and relatively high prices.

The country’s dominance is threatened by Indonesia’s massive abaca plantations and the expansion of abaca farms in Ecuador.

There are low-volume, high-value tropical fibers. Pineapple for example, has an edge because it is high-end with upscale niche markets that demand exquisite and hand-woven products.

Pineapple fiber, mostly from Aklan and Camarines Norte is used for barong, pan-uelos, gowns, handkerchiefs, table linens, table napkins, table cloth, pillow cases fans and other household items.

Then there is raffia which can replace cord, grass, leaves, fabric, ribbon, stuffing, floral string and even paper. Hats, mats, baskets, bags and twine are also made from raf-fia.

Last year, because of in-creased demand, raffia pro-duction in Quezon surpassed the output of Aklan, the major producer.

Salago, farmed in Cebu, Bohol and Negros Oriental, is used for handmade paper,

stencil paper, currency paper, check paper, Japanese ki-mono, Japanese sliding door (shoji) as well as components for radio and computers.

Its production however fluctuates due to a two-year harvesting cycle but exports earnings average S531,498 per year. Taiwan is the biggest buyer.

Demand for coconut coir meanwhile is improving with local purchases from uphol-stery and mattress makers as well as for panel board, or-ganic compost, vehicle uphol-stery, insulator pads against erosion and as biodegradable cover for soil regeneration.

Sourcing husks remains a problem due to high freight cost and lack of drying facili-ties and high density baling press, Mangalindan said.

Worldwide, she said, some 30 million tons of natural fibers are produced annually but have lost market share to synthetic fibers. The Interna-tional Year of Natural Fibers aimed to promote them as viable crops for farmers.

Cotton, which is pure cel-lulose, is the world’s most widely used natural fiber and still the undisputed “king” of the global textiles industry. Around 25 million tons of cotton is produced worldwide each year, a volume four times greater than that all other natural fibers combined.

China, the United States, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Brazil are the main pro-ducers.

Jute, the strong threads made from jute fiber, is used worldwide in sackcloth. One of nature’s strongest vegeta-ble fibers, it is second only to cotton in terms of production quantity and range of uses.

Sackcloth makes up the bulk of manufactured prod-ucts but it is now made into floor coverings, jute compos-ites, geotextiles, non-wovens, paper pulp, technical textiles, chemical products, apparel,

handicrafts and fashion acces-sories.

India produces 60 percent of the world’s jute, with Ban-gladesh accounting for most of the rest.

Flax is much stronger than cotton and used in cloth-ing, bed and bath fabrics and household furnishings. It is grown in more than 30 coun-tries led by China, the Rus-sian Federation, Belarus and France. Almost one million tons are produced each year, with the finest linen produced in Belgium, Ireland and Italy.

Ramie, white with a silky luster, is one of the strongest natural fibers, similar to flax in absorbency and density. Usu-ally blended with cotton and wool, it increases the luster and strength of cotton fabric, and reduces shrinkage in wool blends. Almost all are grown in China.

Hemp is a non-drug rela-tive of marijuana. Its recent “cottonization” could open the door to the high quality clothing market. A clothing, cordage and paper material, hemp is increasingly used in construction and as bioplastics in automobile panels.

Almost half of the world’s industrial hemp is grown in China, followed by Chile, France, North Korea and Spain.

Sisal, too coarse for cloth-ing and upholstery, is replac-ing asbestos and fiberglass in many composite materials and is found in specialty paper, filters, geotextiles, mattresses, carpets and wall coverings. The major producers are Bra-zil, Tanzania and Kenya.

“Through saluyot, the Phil-ippines adds its contributions to fiber production worldwide. Abaca, ramie, pineapple and coconut coir are the early contributions of the country to this area of agricultural products for industrial uses,” Mangalindan said.

(Story courtesy of PNA)

“A fragment might hit the car and burn it,” Bobby warned him.

Danny quickly crawled back from under the car and held his hand in both of his ears. When everyone was ly-ing on his belly, Monte yelled at Jimbo: “Go!”

Like a wild man, Jimbo uttered a loud and long kami-kaze cry, ran away, hurled the grenade, and dropped to the ground.

A loud explosion rocked the peace and tranquility of the quiet residential neighbor-hood. In an instant, the lights inside the houses turned on, one after another. The group felt their bodies and checked out for any injury. They then quickly boarded the car and drove away as they yelled in excitement. The rush of adrenaline they felt was too much compared to what they had experienced before.

Two years later, when a house was about to be built in one of the lots, the owner was surprised to see a wide, deep hole in the ground. He thought that a meteor from outer space hit it, but could not confirm his theory as he saw no meteorite lying around. Puzzled, he just had to scratch his head, forever wondering what happened.

The group went on with their lives after that summer of 1964. Mandy became a politician, Jimbo his body guard, Bobby a doctor, and Danny and Monte busi-nessmen. Val died of drug overdose five years later. He never overcame his feeling of insecurity and failure to meet the expectations of his father, a tough and macho general in the Philippine Army. – AJ

The End

Summer of 1964

Grenade


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Pangalan : Mia Angeli GonzalesGrade 10 – Otay Ranch High SchoolSlogan – “Di Ako Papahuli” Importante na kami at tayong lahat ay makasali sa Census 2010.

“Di Ako Papahuli”

By Harold Geronimo

There’s no doubt that Fili-pinos are among the happiest people in the world. No matter how many times calamities hit the country, the Filipino’s pur-suit for happiness remains and never changes. In fact, revelry and merrymaking continue in different parts of the archi-pelago as many provinces and cities celebrate their festivals month after month. Just as we start the year, three major festivals honoring the Santo Niño are held in Cebu, Iloilo and Kalibo. These festivals draw hundreds of thousands of local and international tour-ists every year.

There are more than a hun-dred fi estas being celebrated in the country yearly, and

Masskara Festival [Jojie Al-cantara]

Panagbenga Festival

Ati-Atihan [Mai Geronimo]

Celebrating the Philippines’ most colorful festivals

Pahiyas Festival

Kadayawan Sa Dabaw [Rhonson Ng]

most of them are religious in nature. I’ve been to most of these festivals and all these joyous, colorful festivities make me more proud to be Filipino!

Masskara Festival—Ba-

colod City

When it comes to colorful

parades, Bacolod’s MassKara Festival defi nitely tops the list. This weeklong celebra-tion in the capital city of Ne-gros Occidental is highlighted by a street dancing competi-tion of colorfully-masked dancers gyrating to the beat of Latin music. This is Bacolod’s version of Mardi Gras, which started during the sugar crisis in the early 80s, and the sad faces of the Negrenses were concealed by masks deco-rated with beads and colorful ornaments. MassKara came from the words mass, which means many, and kara, the Spanish term for faces. Thus,

MassKara is a showcase of many faces that are smiling, making Bacolod as the Phil-ippines’ City of Smiles since the 1970s.

Panagbenga Festival—Baguio City

Held every February, Baguio City’s Panagbenga Festival is defi nitely a must-see and must-experience fes-tivity in the country. Similar to Pasadena’s Rose Parade in the United States, this festival is highlighted by a parade of fl oats decorated with fresh fl owers. It is also highlighted by a street dance, performed by dances clad in fl ower-inspired costumes inspired by the Bendian, a traditional Ibaloy dance of celebration in the Cordillera region. This month-long annual fl ower fes-

tival was created as a tribute to the city’s bountiful fl ower produce, and as the people’s way to rise up from the dev-astation of the 1990 Luzon earthquake that badly hit the city and claimed thousands of lives. Every year, the month of February becomes the busiest

month for the City of Pines as thousands of foreign and local tourists visit this lovely city. This congestion of tourists extends up to the months of March and

April as Baguio becomes one of the most visited places in the country during the sum-mer season.

Ati-Atihan, Sinulog and Dinagyang Festivals

These January festivals are held to honor the feast of the Santo Niño or Child Jesus.

The Ati-Atihan Festival of Kalibo, Aklan is known to be the Mother of All Philippine Festivals since it is one of the oldest festivals being celebrat-ed in the country every year. It is also the wildest among Phil-ippine fi estas as revelers paint their faces with black soot and wear outlandish costumes as they dance during the last three days of the two-week long festival. Sinulog Festival, on the other hand, is known to be the grandest Philippine festival celebrated by the Queen City of the South. Cebu becomes the central venue of Pinoy merrymaking dur-ing this time of the year. The dance ritual commemorates the Cebuanos’ pagan origin and their acceptance of Chris-tianity. Likewise, the Dinag-yang Festival of Iloilo City is both a religious and cultural festival as it commemorates

the arrival of Malay settlers on Panay island and the sub-sequent selling of the island to them by the Atis (black people). These three festivals share their own unique cultur-al identities as they all shout Pit Senor!

Pahiyas Festival—Lucban, Quezon

The 15th of May marks the celebration of Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, Quezon in honor of the patron saint of farmers, San Isidro de Labrador. The festival show-cases a street of houses that are adorned with agricultural products such as fruits and vegetables, as well as handi-crafts and kiping, a rice-made decoration in different col-ors that are usually edible. Some local folks would fry or grill these kipings to serve to guests during the celebra-tion. This is Lucban’s way of thanksgiving for the year’s bountiful harvests. The best decorated houses are being awarded every year.

Kadayawan Sa Dabaw

The Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival is an annual celebra-tion in Davao City held every third week of August. The festival is a celebration of life and the Davaoenos’ thanks-giving for the gifts of nature, wealth of culture, bountiful harvests and the serenity of living. Dancers clad in color-ful native costumes perform in the streets during the high-lights of the celebration. The name Kadayawan is derived from the local friendly greet-ing madayaw, from the Bisaya term dayaw, meaning good, valuable or beautiful. Dur-ing this weeklong festival, Davao City also showcases its popular local produce Durian which can be sold everywhere in the city.

Asian Journal Feb 26, 2010

Documents

Transcript of Asian Journal Feb 26, 2010