Asian Journal Jan 02.2009

(Continued on page 3)



GOODBYE 2008: Amidst Hard Times, Kalusugan...



LUCKY FRUITS: A vendor prepares fruits for sale in Ongpin . Borrowing a tradition from the Chinese community, Filipinos also collect 13 types of round fruits to bring luck in the New Year.

ROSES & THORNS By Alejandro R. Roces

Philstar, December 30, 2008

Born on June 19, 1861 and executed on Decem-ber 30, 1896 by the Span-ish government; today we celebrate the life and accom-plishments of Jose Rizal. We are famil-iar with the inspi-ration that Noli Mi Tangere and El Filibuster-ismo were to the nascent revolu-tion. These two books, completed in Europe (Noli in Berlin, Germany and Fili in Biar-ritz, in the Basque Country) became the underpinnings for a new Philippine identity and national consciousness. His books, and his death, are commonly referred to as the catalyst for the revolution; even though he himself was an advocate of non-violent

By Mike FrialdePhilstar

Alarmed over the appar-ent abuse of “psychological incapacity” as a ground for the filing and the subsequent granting of annulment of marriages, the Office of the Solicitor General recently said it will step up its watch of unjustified annulment cases.

In a statement, Solicitor

Have fun and safe during the Holidays!!! From, RCBC remitcenter... Because we care!!!

Photo on the left: Peping and Nancy, RCBC National City Branch 1430 E. Plaza Blvd. National City, CA 91950 (619) 4772400. Photo on the Right: Bernie, Emma and Pia, Mira Mesa Branch 8955-A Mira Mesa Blvd. San Diego, CA 92126 (858) 653-3818.

Annulments alarm SolGen

The fiestas of Rizalmeans for change. Through his writings, Rizal also helped preserve two fiestas and gave us a glimpse into the veneration of religious icons in the late 19th cen-tury.

The first step in the Ca-tholicization of the Philip-pines was the exchange of

pre-Hispanic pagan idolatry with Roman Catholic iconog-raphy. Local artisans were used to fill newly con-

structed churches and cathe-drals with artistic renditions of saints; filtered through the prism of the Filipino. The veneration of Catholic icons evolved; beginning with the Our Lady of Guid-ance (the oldest image of the Virgin Mary in the Philip-pines), proceeding to

By Joaquin HensonPhilstar, December 28, 2008

2008 will go down in sports his-tory as the year Manny Pacquiao affirmed his suprem-acy as the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound champion. No Filipino fighter – or athlete, for that matter – has gained as much global acclaim as Pacquiao, who is destined to be in the

The Year of PacquiaoHall of Fame as the first Asian to win world titles in five different divisions.

To be sure, Pacquiao – who turned 30 last Dec. 17 – has at least two megabuck fights left before re-tiring to run for public office in 2010. And even if Pacquiao succeeds in claiming the lone congressio-

nal seat in Saranggani

By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

The San Diego Asian Journal

The fact that they had long given Bong for dead

only to come back to Platerias Street decades

later, makes Eric feel that somehow, Bong’s daughter

can make it. And if she does, she would be a

surprising legacy to a pimp grandfather, a prostitute grandmother, and an ex-

convict father.

See page 5Quiapo Chuch and the street children of Quiapo

Quiapo Stories

Bong

Dr. Florabel F. Oliver-Badillo and Staff from let to right: Eliza-beth, Robin, Dr. Bel, Jobelle, Irene and Isabel. Story on page 9.

From Bula, Camarines Sur to Mira Mesa, San Diego:

Photo shows among others Greg Macabenta, National Chair, NaFFAA and Merly Ferrer, President of COPAO along with Mrs. Philipine Faire 2008, Ms. Alice Podschun; Kristine Bermudez, Miss Philippine Faire 2008 and Katelyn Gallardo, Little Miss Philippine Faire 2008. Photo courtesy of Joseph Roley Arzaga

Dr. Florabel F. Oliver-Badillo, DDS builds Mira Mesa dental practice

from satisfied customers

NATIONAL CITY, 01/02/08 -- In an encouraging show of solidarity, com-munity leaders and local youth turned out for the Jose Rizal Day Festivities on December 29 and 30. The highlight of the national holi-day in San Diego’s Filipino-American community was a ceremonial wreath-laying before a bust of the national hero of the Philippines, on Tuesday, the 30th, the official holiday, in front of the Sea-food City promenade in National City.

FilAms Celebrate Rizal Day

The day before, KCS FilAm Wellness Center ushered the event with a film classic based on the Life of Rizal, played by actor Cesar Montano. The movie began

at 3:00 pm Pacific Standard Time, which is 8:00 am, Phil-ippine time, and was synchro-nized with the beginning of the Rizal Day observation in the country.

The wreath-laying cer-emony was led Greg Ma-cabenta and Merly Ferrer, the newly elected chair of

January 2 - 8, 2009

Msgr. Gutierrez EntertainmentFrancis almost loses battle with the Big C

A New Year’s Resolution

Riz A. Oades

By Helen Flores

Nine out of 10 or 92 per-cent of Filipinos look forward to the New Year with hope rather than fear, a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

The Fourth Quarter Social Weather Survey found that hopes for the New Year are high in all areas – 94 percent in the Visayas, 92 percent in both Luzon and Mindanao, and 89 percent in Metro Ma-nila.

The non-commissioned survey, conducted from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1, used face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults in Metro Manila, Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

In Mindanao, hope for the New Year slightly increased from 87 percent in 2007 to 92 percent in 2008.

Hopefulness for the New Year in Metro Manila slightly declined to 89 percent from the record-high 95 percent in 2007.

92% of Pinoys enter 2009 with hope - poll

January 2 - 8, 2009Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

PEOPLE By Joanne Rae M. Ramirez


From the time she was a little girl, Grace Poe was fascinated by politics and social issues. She confesses that unlike her super-star parents (Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces), she wasn’t cut out to be a movie star.

“Even if I aspired to be in showbiz, I felt physically (inad-equate) being compared to both of them. I would be such a li-ability for my mom and my dad. I was just a child extra. Nakikis-ingit!” she recalls at the sidelines of a photo shoot in her house for People Asia magazine’s anniver-sary issue (now at your favorite newsstands.)

Instead, Grace was drawn to

The Grace God gave FPJ

socially-relevant activities in high school, joining declamation contests in school and immer-sion activities in depressed areas. (I know because Grace was my student then at the Assumption Convent.)

Grace felt even more inspired, “when I saw my dad doing (so-cial work) in his own unofficial capacity. He was already helping a lot of people.”

“For me,” continues Grace, “his entering politics in 2003 was just a more organized way of helping more people. He was sincere enough and honest enough that perhaps even a lack of formal education would not have spelled a difference because he was sincere to begin with. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani came here and gave this talk and he said the first

important criteria for a leader is sincerity and the desire to help. Because you may have all the titles and you may be so intel-ligent but if your goals are for yourself, what’s the point? That’s exactly what I feel is going on now in a lot of ways.”

Wife to Neil Llamanzares and mother of three (Bryan, Han-nah and Nika), she is even more interested now in politics, good governance specifically, and is

not shutting the doors to a politi-cal career.

“Actually, if I think of all the family members, I was probably the only one who was excited with the possibility of my dad’s entering public office,” recalls Grace, who took up Political Sci-ence at Boston College.

Her recent 40th birthday party at the El Cirkulo restaurant in Makati was seen by many as a foreshadowing of things to come, for political heavyweights all came to pay homage to the daughter of “Da King.”

“Why would I choose to cele-brate that way? I never really had a big party. Even during my 18th birthday, it was very small. My 40th marked a milestone because I’ve made a lot of decisions leading towards why I’m here in the Philippines. I thought of the people who have been a part of my life and who were also part of the life of my parents, so we can’t separate that. Like Tito Dolphy, who helped my dad and supported him. Erap was there. My dad’s friends, Mayor (Jojo) Binay and Chiz Escudero. Man-ny Villar was there, he is actually a friend also. In his own quiet way, he sympathized with us when my father passed away — which was so touching because during that time there really was no connection between us. So I never forgot that.

“The gathering had a politi-cal focus but it was also just a gathering of friends. They could also say that it was so showbiz, but when you think about it,

who are our friends? They’re both from showbiz and politics. That’s why my favorite Roderick Paulate had to be there. And my daughters love him; Maricel is my mother’s friend; Kris Aquino recently just became close to my mom. So all of them really have some sort of connection to me.”

* * *

At this point, Grace is just waiting for a sign — a dream — from FPJ whether or not she should run for senator or any other post.

“I’m still praying a lot about it and there are many differ-ent signs that have come,” she admits. She isn’t officially with any party yet, saying, “It’s also hard for me to align with any one standard bearer. Because I have to make sure that towards the end, towards the finish line, that they don’t waver in their vision. That they will uphold what’s good for the nation. What if at the last minute ... they go for the administration? Sira naman ako doon.”

So far, the people she trusts are Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and Sen. Chiz Escudero.

And of course her mom, Susan Roces, who has been bluntly honest with her, whether about her weight (“Because if people were honest with me about the weight I was gaining, I wouldn’t have gained this much weight!” declares Susan) or the world she was up against in politics.

For her part, Susan has thrown in the towel as far as politics is concerned. Her reasons are practical.

“I have to earn a living. I can’t be promoting Champion laundry detergent one day and then giv-ing angry speeches the next. It doesn’t jibe.”

* * *

Perhaps because she knows she already has two feet dipped into the goldfish bowl that is politics and showbiz, Grace is frank about many things.

For one, she talked to People Asia magazine about her feelings on being an adopted child.

“I think I was in first grade when I found out, and my class-

Fernando Poe Jr.

mates were making fun of me,” she recalls that painful episode in her life, with no trace of bitter-ness.

When she asked Susan about it, her mother simply said, “You were given to us by God. We chose you...”

FPJ, for his part, felt words were not necessary to convey the love he had for Grace.

“I never really talked to him about it because it was always my mom handling the emotional part. My dad never really asked what I felt, but it was more like he would always say, ‘When you came to us it was the best thing that ever happened.’ When I think about it now, it gives me more confidence and gives me more assurance.”

Grace also faces head-on ques-tions about her relationship with FPJ’s other children, answering them with the grace of a well brought-up lady.

“We’re OK...” she says, not at all uncomfortable with my question. “We’re not really close. We don’t talk regularly but we respect each other. I didn’t really grow up knowing them, but I grew knowing of them. My dad was very careful with regards to everyone’s feelings, but of course, we recognize them. My mom was very respectful also of their feelings when my dad passed away. “

As she was talking, I was thinking to myself, “What amaz-ing grace, from both mother and daughter.” Incidentally, today, Christmas Day, is the wedding anniversary of FPJ and Susan.

Whatever Grace decides to do in 2010 and beyond, you can be sure she will do FPJ proud. Then and now — she will always be his grace.

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REMEMBER WHEN? From the collection of

Danny Dolor

In the early ’50s, Bulaklak magazine carried the picture of Tita Duran and Pancho Magalona in its Christ-mas issue, titled Ang Pasko nina Tita-Pancho sa piling ng tatlong bunga ng kanilang pag-ibig (Baby Susan, Vic at Vicky). The whole family was dressed in Pilipino costume, with a Christmas tree as backdrop.

Baby Susan must have been named after Pancho’s sister, the legendary beauty Susan Magalona-Elizalde.

When the family picture

Ang Pasko nina Pancho at Titawas shot, the most famous child of Tita and Pancho, Francis, was not born yet.

The marriage of Tita and Pancho is one of the most beautiful and enduring in Philippine movies. — RKC

Bust of Jose P Rizal, Philippine National Hero and Martyr whose death sparked the Philippine revolu-tion against Spain in 1896. The bust is located in front of Seafood City in the city of National City. Photo cour-tesy of Joseph Roley Arzaga

Newly elected San Diego Council Member for District 3, Todd Gloria. Todd Gloria is the First Filipino-American elected to the San Diego City Council. Todd was one of several Newly elected offi cials who came to thank the Filipino Community for their support. Photo courtesy of Joseph Roley Arzaga

COPAO offi cers, community leaders and guests during the ceremonies. Photo courtesy of Joseph Roley Arzaga

FilAms Celebrate Rizal Day(Continued from page 1)

the National Federation of Fil-ipino American Associations (NaFFA) and the president of the Council of Pilipino Ameri-can Organizations (COPAO). They were joined by Alice Poschun (Mrs. Philippine Faire 2008), COPAO Ambas-sadors of Goodwill Kristine Bermudez (Miss Philippine Faire 2008) and Katelyn Gal-lardo (Little Miss Philippine Faire 2008).

Filipino community lead-ers fl ew in from out of town including Greg Macabenta, Eric Lachica, and Eleanor Castillo. In a speech, Ma-cabenta underscored the role of Filipno Americans at the local level and the community at large. “There is strength in unity” observed Macabenta before the gathering of lead-ers of various organizations and said that the challenge has not changed from the days of Rizal.

Adding to the solemnity of the well-planned event in front of Seafood City super-

market was the entrance of the colors by the 82nd Airborne Unit Color Guards comprised of Milo Santos, Shea Carter, Juna Catala Talito and Danny Espinosa. A poem recital in Tagalog by Pete Cortes, “Alay Kay Jose Rizal” followed. Master of Ceremonies Sal-vador Idos presided over the event.

The induction of COPAO offi cers and board members followed at its headquarters on E Avenue in National City. San Diego City councilman Todd Gloria and California Assemblymember Marty Block were on hand to preside over the induction of the CO-PAO offi cials. Ditas Yamane, one of the executive directors of COPAO, was the mistress

of ceremonies. Eric Lachica, executive

director of the ACFV, asked the local community to sup-port the Filipino American Veterans bill. He reported that $198M had been set aside but that the bill would have to be re-fi led for the 112th session of Congress. Lachica pre-sented several WWII veterans in the audience with a vintage

poster of the “Fighting Filipi-nos.”

“The biggest challenge is to get the checks out,” ex-plained Lachica. “We have the money but not the authorizing law.” He added that Senator

Inouye, who now heads the Appropriations Committee, pledged to “deliver on the bill before any veterans pass on.” He also added that ACFV needs help to “talk to Con-gressman Bob Filner to make sure it happens.”

National City Council-woman Rosemary Zarate, whose father was also in the war said that her father would

be very proud to see that something is being done for the veterans. She was joined by local public offi cial includ-ing Mayor Ron Morrison and City of San Diego offi cials.

The Council for Teach-ing Filipino Language and Culture (CTFLC), headed by Sally Idos, CTFLC president, presented a Tagalog language and cultural program attended by local youth based on the them “Si Gat Jose Rizal sa Buhay Natin Ngayon” (Jose Rizal in Our Life Today).

Filipino Language Teach-ers and Youth from Morse High School, Montgomery High School, Eastlake High School and other local schools participated in the CTFLC program. They are Haley Domingo, Christianne Daya-won, Kaisahan of Morse High School, Blancafl or Villanueva, Julita Biares, Virginia Ferrer, Salvador Idos, Fel Moscoso. April Paje performed a solo of “Ako ay Pilipino.”

The closing remarks were delivered by Aurora S. Cudal, chair of the 2009 Rizal Day Celebration.

A buffet lunch was pro-vided by Orignal Richards’s Bakery, Seafood City, CO-PAO and friends and Bert An-drade, NCPAC president, who is himself a WWII Filipino veteran.

January 1 is not only the start of the New Year, but is when many begin their New Year’s Resolu-tions. Mange stress. Eat healthier. Exercise more. Spend more time with family. Sticking to your resolutions and making changes can be diffi cult but not impossible. The American Psychiatric Asso-ciation (APA) would like to offer tips and other resources to help families and individuals keep their resolutions for a healthy mind and healthy life.

“A new year is a great time to think about the changes we want to make in our lives. Being and staying well is a resolution many people make for the New Year, but those resolutions can lead to frustration when we fi nd we have set unrealistic goals,” said Philip R. Muskin, M.D., Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Colum-bia University and Chair of the APA Council on Psychosomatic Medicine. “Making a resolution to

APA Offers Tips for Attaining Your New Year’s Resolutions

change one thing that will make us healthier is a priceless gift that only we can give to ourselves.”

Try again. Everyone has made, and broken past resolutions, that does not mean that you won’t succeed this time. Start with a positive approach, including think-ing about what has disrupted your good intentions in the past. Don’t discourage yourself with a nega-tive outlook.

Don’t make too many resolu-tions. Trying to eat better, exercise more, quit smoking, and reduce stress is too much to tackle at once. Pick a realistic, attainable goal with a reasonable time frame.

Choose your own resolution. Make sure this is something that you want to accomplish for your-self and not for friends or family. When you attain the goal they will benefi t from your success as well.

Make a plan and write it down. Plan what you’d like to accom-



Countdown time has begun once more. In the newspaper

business, that means some-one in production has just reminded me to turn in my article before close of business. I am writing this at nine o’clock in the morn-ing, just as Times Square is getting cordoned off as everyone prepares to greet another year while watch-ing the iconic New Years’ Eve Ball drop which is about twelve hours away their time, Eastern Standard Time.

As I do and get ready to down-load photos from my old beat-up digital camera, I realize that I had packed the camera’s old USB fi rewire connector cord, in a case of mistaken identity, into a laptop bag that has now made its way to Berkeley, which is only about fi ve hundred miles away from me.

The reminder that humor is good medi-cine for the moments when one realizes that the best-laid plans can go awry is a nice way to round up 2008. These are the mo-ments that remind me that in the glimmer of introspec-tion life is good. But you have to pay attention, step up to the mo-ment, and turn down the volume on CNN.

The opportunities often masked as interruptions allow one to en-gage life in a different way. It al-lows one to start over. Life is good if you look beyond the headlines.

A moment in another yearYesterday was a good example.

Yesterday I gave a ride to two WWII veterans. It was not in the plan. They had attended the wreath-laying at Rizal Monu-ment in National City but did not have anyone to take them to the COPAO offi ce which was right next to the Asian Journal offi ce. It gave me a chance to speak to Eric Lachica, the Filipino Veterans Bill advocate, who came down from Washington, DC. It also gave me the privilege to show my respects to two old warriors. One, Mr. Cannu penned an opinion about the plight of WWII Filipino Veterans in another local paper. As we rode on, he was telling the other gentleman to read page six. The two reminded me of the two no-nonsense protagonists in the movie “Second Hand Lions.” The victory of long-suffering veterans

like them is within reach. Life is good.

At the ceremony, in spite of re-ports to the contrary, I learned that the many Filipino organizations in the community came together to celebrate Rizal Day in a show of solidarity. They were sworn in as board members and offi cers of COPAO by no less than California Assemblymember Marty Block

and San Diego City Councilman Todd Gloria. National City Mayor Morrison again proclaimed Na-tional City to be the capital of the Philippines outside of the Philip-pines because of the concentration of Filipino American residents. The only dignitary missing was Congressman Bob Filner. Life, in spite of rumors to the contrary, is good.

Yesterday, I heard the new CO-PAO President Merle Ferrer repeat the hopes of NaFFAA President Greg Macabenta for unity even as he observed that if Rizal were alive, he would have found our times very similar to his times. Macabenta pointed out the many small ways balikbayans can help their countrymen. Based on the need for a unifi ed agenda of em-powerment, the alliance of these local and national organizations bodes well for the many of us who hope to see the day the Filipino American community can speak with one voice on issues – in the United States and back home. They were joined at COPAO by the Filipino language teachers among them Virginia Ferrer, Sally Idos, Dr. Estelle Matriano and Eleonor Castillo, who fl ew down from Washington DC where she is taking her PhD. Captain Cesar Solis came and so did Dr. Riz Oades. Ditas Yamane was doing the introductions from the podium. Macabenta encourages Filipino Americans to become dual citizens so that they can have a say in the

elections and the future of the Philip-pines. If Pacquiao can make history in our lifetime, so can we. Life is good if we choose to make it that way.

I had given up hope on the fi ght for the WWII Fili-pino Veterans Equity when the provision was killed during the approval of SB 1315. That is until I heard Eric Lachica

speak. Himself the son of a World War II veteran, Mr. Lachica orga-nized the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans (ACFV), now with 4,000 members. Yesterday, Eric Lachica announced that a bill, granting the surviving WWII veterans $198M, was approved by the House and that Senator Inouye, who now heads the Ap-propriates Committee, has pledged

to make sure that the monies will be released. It is not clear if this is the lump sum payment Congress-man Bob Filner had sponsored in a separate bill. The bill has to be re-fi led. Lachica is asking for the unifi ed support of the Filipino community. According to the In-ternational Leadership Foundation, the USC graduate has managed to chip away at the hostility and neglect these veterans once faced and has brought on others to the cause. Lachica inspires the best in people. Life is good because of leaders who fi ght on.

Even the unforeseen fog that kept commuters stranded at the airport yesterday gave local hosts a chance to spend more time with out-of-town visitors and talk about the future. It was time well spent. Many times people hesitate for the wrong reasons. It may not be the right moment because it was not planned. But it was another op-portunity to say hello.

This morning I was reminded again why life is good. Just as I was driving down to the airport, someone was thoughtful enough to park a truck above the freeway bridge with a sign that said “Jesus is Lord.” In spite of our troubles, I can look forward to another day knowing someone is leaving re-minders where and when we least expect it. Life is good because people still care about the small things.

Life is good because when in doubt and when one’s best-laid plans fail, one can fi nd strength in words that fi t the moment, such as “Love never fails.” (Corinthians 13:8) Perhaps that is the route the sign above the freeway is point-ing to. It is often missed when one makes too many wrong turns, as one chooses to trust in wealth, knowledge, one’s job and the crystal ball of the powers that have nearly been brought to nothing. Yet one hopes because the mishap has brought one closer to the truth and the sign that is only visible when one slows down.

The times may be bad but life is good.

Perhaps if we can manage to pay attention to the small things and moments that come our way, then we can take life in without unraveling under the weight of the full 365 days another year of uncertainty would bring.

That, my friends, is my New Year’s resolution. It sounds like a good plan, don’t you think?

plish in three or six months. Achieving small goals over time gives you a sense of accomplish-ment and motivation to keep going. Writing your goals down is a good way to keep track of your progress.

Involve friends and family. They can support your efforts, and can motivate you to keep going. Setting a personal goal is not a “promise” which can never be broken. Don’t paint yourself into a corner by overstating what can be a realistic change you plan to make.

Forgive yourself. If you get off track, don’t think that you failed. Review your plan and make ad-

APA Offers Tips for Attaining Your New Year’s Resolutions

(Continued from page 3) justments. Congratulate yourself. Reward

yourself when your intermediate goals or resolutions are met.

The most important point to con-sider when deciding on your reso-lutions is to decide if you are truly willing to make the change in your life. Deciding to make the change just to have a resolution will not keep you motivated to attain your goal. Many people fail because they are afraid or don’t fully real-ize how the goal can benefi t their every day lives. When you decide on your resolution, make a plan of action and list the ways it will improve your life. When you can see the prize, you are more likely to keep up the fi ght.

by G. Tagudin - Silverio

In Perspective

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

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Second in a series of articles

“Remember Bong?” Eric’s brother Eddie,

who had just arrived from a two-week Philippine vaca-tion asked him.

“Bong of Platerias?” Eric asked to clarify.

“Yes, Mando’s son.”How could Eric forget Bong?

When they were kids, Bong and Benny were his playmates, Benny was the son of a beauty parlor owner across the street from their apartment on the second floor of his father’s printing press on Platerias Street in Quiapo, the down-town area of Manila. Benny would chew a piece of Bon Bon chocolate, throw it on the ground, step on it with his slip-pers, and Bong would pick it up and put it in his mouth. He would chew the chocolate even if it was covered with dirt and little stones, and would happily show his toothless grin, with the gooey candy and dirt stick-ing to his gums.

Benny would throw another piece on the ground, step on it just for fun, and Bong would pick and eat it up because it was the only chance he had to eat such precious and tasty candy. It was like a freak show in a carnival. Eric would watch it with his other playmates, as Bong and Benny performed their act.

Bong is the son of Mando, a pimp and Anita, a prostitute. Anita worked in a brothel two doors away from the beauty parlor. Bong had a younger brother, Mario, a curly-haired, crossed-eyed and dark-skinned kid. Mando, Eric was told, used to be a well-off customer of Anita. No one knew how Mando lost his fortune and became a common-law hus-band of Anita. When Eric and his family moved to Quiapo in 1957, Mando was already a pimp, his wife a prostitute, and their two sons street-wise kids learning to survive in the jungle of the big city.

Occasionally, they would see Bong running away from business owners on Platerias Street, committing mischief and stealing. Whenever his father caught him, Bong would get smacked on the head and be brought by his father to the business owners to apologize. Like a criminal version of “Dennis the Menace”, Bong was able to “terrorize” the neighborhood even when he was still a kid. On Platerias Street, legitimate business own-ers learned to co-exist with the prostitutes and the pimps, in the same way that the authori-ties have turned a blind eye on the illicit activities, presum-ably because they were on the take. Neighborhood children like them also learned to take things for granted, befriending and even playing with the sons, daughters and sisters of the prostitutes. While Eric, Benny, and their Chinese playmate Manuel would ride their bikes around, Bong and his brother would wait on the sidewalk and ask for the ride when they are finished.

Suburbs

While Eric’s family eventu-ally moved to the suburbs of Quezon City, they did not lose contact with the people of Platerias Street. Their printing business in Quiapo continues to operate to this day, fifty years later. During that time, Eric would see the children of the prostitutes come and go. Bong, he was told, was in prison after graduating from mischief to

Quiapo Stories

Bongpetty crime years later after the family moved. Bong grew up short, just like his father. But he had nothing to lose, and as a result was never afraid to pick a fight or get into trouble with the law. Benny and his family also moved out of Platerias Street. Eric heard that Benny turned out to be gay and died of AIDS in Los Angeles, California. Manuel now owns and operates a branch of his family’s pawn-shop in the Cubao area while his younger brother still lives in their family’s building on Platerias. Manuel’s two sisters married well, one even owns a huge department store. Some of their female playmates who were daughters of prostitutes became prostitutes themselves.

Eric’s younger brother Eddie eventually became a lawyer and when Eddie was on his way to a trial in Manila, he heard somebody calling his name. It was their other child-hood playmate, Mark, who was shackled together with other prisoners as they squatted on

the floor of the stairs while waiting for their own trial to begin.

“Eddie, Eddie, helped me,” he called.

Eddie was surprised because Mark was the last person he expected to be in prison. His grandmother was rather afflu-ent. It was even suspected that she owned the brothel as she lived with her grandchildren and a daughter on the second floor of the building where the house of ill-repute was lo-cated. In fact, the common-law husband of Mark’s aunt was a Manila policeman.

“I will come back for you,” Eddie told Mark as he also had a trial to attend. The trial lasted for three hours, and when he re-turned, the prisoners, including Mark, were gone. A few years later, they heard that Mark was stabbed to death in prison dur-ing a jailhouse riot.

Big help

One time, Bong turned out to be a big help for Eric. Eric was walking on the sidewalk of Carriedo Street towards Rizal Avenue at seven o’clock one evening when he saw a university classmate of his, Michael Salustiano, standing by a shoe store. Michael looked happy, extraordinarily happy to see him. Eric thought that it was weird since they were not close.

“What are you doing here?” he asked Michael.

“I am waiting for my girl-friend,” Michael answered. “She works here as a sale-slady.”

Eric was quite surprised because he did not expect a

college-educated person like Michael to hook up with a lowly saleslady. But when he met the girl, he knew why. She was pretty, very pretty.

He was about to leave when Michael asked him to stay with him for a while. It turned out that one of the girl’s suitors was watching Michael from a distance. And he was with two other friends. And they looked like they were ready to gang-up on Michael.

“Stay with me,” Michael pleaded. “Let us pretend we are not intimidated by them.”

“Why ‘we’?” Eric protested. He wanted to tell Michael that it was not his fight and he didn’t want to get involved. Would he get a share of the girl if he lends him a helping hand? Besides, he was not the type to get involved in a physical confrontation. Cerebral par-ticipation was his forte. But he was embarrassed to tell Mi-chael what was on his mind. He did not want him to think that he would be cowardly enough to abandon his classmate in his time of need, although the thought of the two of them beating three determined, seemingly battle-tested guys seemed farfetched. Then Eric saw Bong coming.

“What are you doing here?” Bong asked him.

Eric explained to him his dilemma and pointed at the three guys. Without any warn-ing, Bong walked towards them and roughly shoved the guys. He brandished his knife to their faces and told them to leave, or else. The three scampered away in fright.

It was in 1970. That was the last time Eric saw Bong.

Michael, an activist, escaped to the United States to avoid being detained upon the dec-laration of Martial Law by the dictator Marcos. Eric read in a Filipino-American newspaper that Michael became a divorced father and an insurance agent in New York City. In 1986, when Marcos was deposed, Michael returned to the Philippines to-gether with the other members of the anti-Marcos movement in the U.S. and was rewarded with a juicy government post.

“So what about Bong?” Eric asked his brother Eddie.

“He’s back in Platerias Street,” Eddie answered. “He

does some errands for Elsa (their sister who now operates the printing press) occasionally to earn money.”

“I thought he was long dead,” Eric said.

“So did I,” Eddie replied. “Do you know that Bong now has a thirteen-year-old daughter?”

The daughter, according to Eddie, goes to school but lives on the street. She showed Elsa a term paper she wrote about how she is sometimes embar-rassed to ask building security guards to let her use the bath-rooms so that she could oc-


Our Life and Times

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

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.


Perspectives

ASIAN JOURNALThe first Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern California

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

In Pursuit of Excellence

Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

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

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

Genevieve SilverioManaging Editor

Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Miles BeauchampAssociate Editor

Santi SilverioAssociate Publisher

At Large...

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

by Miles Beauchamp

by Riz A. Oades

Voices & Images

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

This is it – 2009 is upon us. As usual, many of us make

New Years resolutions, if for no other reason than to at least feel good until we break them. But this year we should do something a bit differently. Let’s make resolutions that we can keep. So to that end, I offer these New Years resolu-tions. Feel free to use as many of them as you can

New Years Resolutions 2009Happy New Year – now behave yourself

stand.Now I have offered a similar list

before but thought that with the at-tention span that most of us have, it couldn’t hurt to offer it again. Plus I’ve been awfully busy trying to shovel all the snow away from the house since the latest snow storm hit here in San Diego. There is only so much time between shoveling snow, drinking hot buttered rum, watch-ing historic elections, and trying to write.

New Years resolutions that I will keep no matter what

1. Remember to breathe

2. Eat3. Drink plenty of fluids – of one

sort or another.4. Make at least some money one

way or another5. Spend some of it6. Spend some more of it7. Go somewhere8. Do something9. Watch TV10. Watch more TV11. Read the newspaper12. Read the newspaper13. Be grouchy14. Be grouchy some more15. Eat breakfast16. Eat lunch17. Eat dinner18. Do not confuse any of the

eating meals above with the general eating mentioned in number 2 – that one I will have to keep as well, no matter how hard it becomes

19. Kiss someone (are you busy tomorrow?)

20. Kiss someone again21. Kiss someone I know this time22. Do it again, do it again23. Take a vacation24. Pay for the vacation25. Let someone else pay for the

vacation (see time-share promo-tions)

26. Take another breath27. Smile at someone who doesn’t

expect it28. Frown at someone who

doesn’t expect it29. Have a snack29. Explore new snack foods so

number 29 doesn’t get too boring30. Pay the electric bill early (Got-

cha! Just seeing if you were still awake. Ignore this one)

31. Go somewhere again32. Do something else33. Stay in bed longer unless you

feel like getting up34. Ignore the laundry35. Ignore the kids36. Ignore someone – I’ll feel bet-

ter and after all, isn’t that what it’s all about?

37. Ignore number 36 above38. Pray for peace worldwide39. Pray for peace worldwide40. Pray for peace worldwide41. Decide to do something

you’ve never done before42. Decide to actually have fun

while doing number 41 above43. Be nice to your boss44. Be nice to your bosses boss45. Be nice to yourself46. Be nice47. Keep voting – see it does make

a difference!48. Go on a diet (again)49. Throw out that stupid diet idea50. Worry that San Diego politics

is becoming too weird

51. Buy a boat52. Invite someone for a cruise53. Hey, that was fun – let’s take

another one!54. Sell the boat because that’s

what people always do55. Be glad 56. Live, life to the absolute full-

est…and enjoy! Okay, there you go; fifty-six New

Years resolutions that might stand a chance of seeing more than a day or two of use. Well, except for number two which is eat. I’m pretty sure I’ll remember – and do – that often.

Finally I hope that everything is great for you in the coming year and that whatever you dream comes true. From the Beauchamp family to yours, Happy New Year!

The year is just about to end to another, people may be inter-

ested: What was the thing that happened to Kalusugan Community Services (KCS) in 2008? And what are the staff most looking forward to 2009?

KCS’s dream of a wellness and advocacy center officially opened on Saturday, November 2, 2002. We have since been providing valuable services to our underserved families and communities through a multi-faceted program.

We built the FilAm Wellness Center to meet the needs of expanding Filipino communi-ties, bringing under one roof piecemeal health services. It initially teaches healthy eating and cooking, offers information on disease prevention, provides exercise classes, and collects data to determine areas of need.

“There have been scattered programs addressing individual diseases and occasional health fairs,” The California Endow-ment Foundation (TCEF) Steve Eldred said. “This is the first time there is a comprehensive program that provides a full continuum of services.”

With the Center, KCS takes its programs, activities and

At the Crossroad

GOODBYE 2008: Amidst Hard Times, Kalusugan Looks to

2009 for Expansion

FilAm Center staff: Chris Feraro, Marybeth Bautisita, Dr. Aurora Cudal, Dr. Ofelia Dirige & Dr. Riz A. Oades

Comments from ManilaRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-

journalusa.com

BABE’S EYE VIEW By Babe Romualdez

Philstar

Manila Mayor Fred Lim will lead the unveiling tomorrow afternoon of the statue of Max So-liven at the Baywalk along Roxas Boulevard, in the area fronting Aristocrat Restaurant, with a number of friends and colleagues to witness the occasion which falls on the second death anniversary of Max. Some ignoramuses were asking why he is being given such an honor. The answer is very simple: There is only one Max — a freedom fighter, using his pen relentlessly without fear to right a wrong and take erring officials to task. I’m not saying this because he was a close personal friend, but many people agree that he de-serves to be honored and remem-bered by a country that he truly loved.

A prolific writer, poet, roman-tic, history expert, military buff,

avid traveler — Max was all these things, and more. He was the kind of man who would go to great lengths to protect a friend — but vicious to anyone who gets on his bad side.

Up to this day, people still miss his column, wondering what he would have said about Barack Obama becoming president of the US; the excesses of Wall Street executives and the resulting global financial meltdown; the political merry-go-round that’s happen-ing in the country today; or who would be the best next president of the Philippines. Among all the journalists in this country, he was the only one who could evoke such passion with his skillful use of words.

He was a voracious reader, able to pick out a quotation from any book he had read. He had 5,000 books in his study. He had a peculiar way of arranging his books and he knew exactly where

‘By the Way’ - There is only one Max


Perspective rendering of the Kalusugan Filipino Center’s future additional facility at East 8th Street, National City.

Drs Riz Oades & Ofelia Dirige ac-cept the 5th Annual Asiabn Heritage Award for “Distinguished Commu-nity service at Hyatt Hotel in April 2008.

services closer to the target groups, providing them with health information and increased opportunities to collaborate and get more involved. The fledgling nonprofit has a strong research and publication component. Its programs are based on research and evaluations.

The Center also offers after-school programs, chef demos, field trips, workshops, semi-nars sports events, mentoring, community forums, counsel-ing, screening, and referrals. It further functions as a resource library for books and valuable data for local history.

KCS also provides field work training to students from SDSU, UCSD, and community colleg-

es. It also sponsors conferences for health professionals and the local communities on such top-ics as parent-child relationships, alternative medicine, violence, substance abuse, and sexuality.

We have continued what and where we started – blaze new trails, dream of unique ideas, and implement innovative proj-ects and programs.

Over the years, KCS has helped the Filipino commu-nity build its problem-solving capacity, leadership, and health promotion programs. Through its Siglang Buhay (Cancer Pre-vention) project, for example, we have empowered local associations by expanding or

diversifying the lifestyle activi-ties of their members and their relatives, friends, and neighbors.

We encourage participants to make advocacy a habit in their own organizations. In its ground-breaking and ongo-ing Healthy Eating Campaign (H.E.C.) Project, KCS aims at preventing overweight and obesity in the Filipino popula-tion by working with restaurants and grocery stores and increas-ing the availability of healthy options they serve. We thank TCEF for extending the project for another year (2009) with a fine grant award.

We also manage the Filam-Fest (Filipino-American Arts & Culture Festival), perhaps the biggest Filipino street festival in San Diego County that drew 13,000 people on October 4, 2008. The purpose of the project is to host a quality festival in the City of San Diego District 4 that will showcase ethnic artists, community groups and busi-nesses while developing interac-tive partnerships.

In reaction to recent Novem-ber election, some key KCS volunteers met to brainstorm the organizing of a Filipino Voters Coalition (FVC). It is a call to involve Filipinos in public af-fairs in San Diego County. The grass-root movement propo-nents assure potential member or partners that they would re-tain their distinct identities and often special sets of interests.

The coalition is absolutely the way to go. The strength of this planned coalition can be found in its unified voice around five areas of work: encouraging voter registration, educating vot-ers, getting out the vote, moni-toring the polls, and advocating for voter rights.

This effort is an unprecedented move to blur the political party lines (Republican and Demo-crat) and set the groundwork for information and mobilization of a coalition group and/or PAC that works to educate Filipino Americans voters and solidify the community countywide as a major voting bloc.

Two important objects of FVC are to create a database of regis-tered voters in the County; and to identify Filipino Americans who can energize and motivate the community into political action.

Our challenge has always been how to maintain the Center and sustain its programs. And like many other nonprofits, we went through major declines in grant income that pressured us to do a variety of creative things. At the same time, we maintain strict standards of efficiency and ac-countability.

Thanks to the fine leadership of KCS staff and Board of Di-rectors. “They sometimes labor in obscurity, but their impact is felt throughout the community,” reported ASIA (Aug. 6, 2004).

This year is eventful for our FilAm Center as we recently garnered three outstanding community service awards: the Asian Heritage, the California American Cancer Society’s Harold P. Freeman Cancer Community Outreach award and Nutrition Network and the San Diego Coalition for Children and Weight.

These successes make us even more determined to expand our community outreach programs and Center facilities through capacity building events. The additional facility of 2,000 sq. ft. will be built on the Center’s adjacent lot.

I personally wish to thank everyone for the support in

2008 and to wish one and all in the coming New Year. Today is the final day (December 31st) to 2008, which is a very good year, despite my being afflicted with aorta aneurysm and slowly rehabilitating.

It was a year of real changes. It would be hard to understand how this coming year could top this one. But it will be absolute-ly a challenging one for me and

the nonprofit.All these good things and

works of hope in 2008 made me a true believer in the saying, “The true treasures of communi-ty lie not in material riches, but in men and women who shape their community’s destiny.”

Goodbye 2008, Welcome 2009! -- Riz A. Oades, KCS Founder & Director

Sol Poetry

Read Soledad Bautista’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Soledad O. Bautista

A Tropic DawnTossing , turning, stirringTrying to keep on sleepingTo go on dreamingBut Morpheus was really leavingFrom the open window watchingThe moon slowly driftingBehind the hills disappearingMarking the end of the evening

Birds start chirpingCocks lustily crowingA sliver of light outliningContours of the hills highlighting

The sliver started sheetingColored bulbs from it spewingPastel blue, baby pink floatingAqua, amber, lavender fleeting

Transfixed I stood, my eyes feastingOn the sight so amazingHoping, wishing, yearningThe colored bulbs will keep on lingering

Again that sight I’ll not be seeingIt’s really so disappointingBut to God I’m still thankingFor that short joy so pleasing

It is a seldom kind of dawningA repetition I’ll be waiting.

©2008 copyright by Soledad O. Bautista. All rights reserved.


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Bill’s Corner

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by Bill Labestre, MBA (Tax Practitioner)Tel: (619) 475-1931

The year 2008 was a terrible year for many of us but, it is over now and we should be happy that we survived to see the New Year. We could always start our day being thankful for the gift of life. We could try to learn living one day at a time without being in a hurry. We should learn from our mistakes and dream big again but, this time we won’t try to reach the sky. We don’t have to compare ourselves to others. We should try to keep smiling because it’s contagious and help spread hap-piness.

Maybe some of you lost a loved one, got divorced or had your house foreclosed. What else could you have done to avoid it? Some things or some events are well beyond your control. We could stop blaming ourselves or others for our mis-fortunes. Most likely it will not change a thing and will only add to our misery. It is time to pick ourselves up and start a new life. Tomorrow is a first day for rest of your life.

Well, if you lost your home through a foreclosure, just remember that mortgage debt maybe forgiven but, it is not forgotten. There are people who just quit paying their mortgages until they got the notices or evicted. Others packed their be-longings and walked away while some delivered or mailed their house keys to the lenders. In most cases, the fair market value of the house is so much lower than the mortgage debt. Once the foreclosure process is done, the lender will issue Forms 1099-A, 1099-C or both to the borrower and copies to the IRS. You may not be able to receive your cop-

ies but the IRS will. Even if you qualified under the 2007 Mort-gage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, it has to be reflected in your tax return. You have to inform your tax preparer about your home foreclosure. If it involves a second home or some rental properties, then it can be more complicated. Gather all your past records and documents on all these properties. If you filed for bankruptcy, don’t forget to mention it. In some cases where insolvency was claimed at the time of the foreclosure, you bet-ter have a solid proof for the IRS that your total liabilities exceed the fair value of your assets.

Another common issue is the property tax bill sent to people who lost their homes. Verify with the County, the Lenders or your Lawyer if who is liable to pay but never ignore those bills. Even the City of San Diego is collecting business taxes from its residents who filed Schedule C on their 2005 Tax Returns. These bills included penalties, interest and in some cases busi-ness tax for 2009. Call your pre-parer and the city before sending your payments.

It is not too early to start gath-ering your tax documents for 2008 and to call your tax prepar-er to schedule your appointment. If you own a business, get your books ready and pay outstanding taxes. The deadline for estimated tax payment is 01/15/2009. If you have a payroll, have your W-2 Forms done early and submit Payroll Tax returns on time. Most tax reports and even payments can now be done on line so check the websites for the various tax agencies. Try to avoid penalties and interest.

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HUMMING IN MY UNIVERSE By Jim Paredes Updated


There was something perplexing-ly magical about 2008. Many rules about how the world is supposed to work were blatantly and irrever-ently violated and broken.

I call this the year of the amateur, or the year where the startups, or the non-pros, were on a roll. It

2008: An end and

a beginningwas a David-beating-Goliath year, when total unknowns upstaged the sure thing. The winning horses were the ones nobody betted on initially. This is the year when all the experts were wrong so many times about so many things, the year of the left field upset.

Barack Obama, the upstart US presidential candidate from out of the blue, defied the odds in so many brilliant ways. First, he

trounced the “unbeatable” Hillary Clinton. And despite a non-typical background, he also upstaged an all-American war hero who at the outset seemed more well-known, experienced and knowledgeable about many things, especially foreign affairs.

We all know what happened. Obama ran a fabulously non-conventional campaign. For one, his masterful use of the Internet helped him raise phenomenal amounts of money and cemented his connection to young voters. This Internet coup is the new template for future elections and will surely be emulated all over the world.

In the world of sports, all the experts predicted an Oscar de la Hoya win over Manny Pacquiao. The odds in Vegas were going against Manny 3 to 1. All the sportswriters put their money on De la Hoya even if their hearts were for the Filipino champion. After all, Manny seemed so puny beside De la Hoya whose reach was superior to his opponent’s

shorter arms. But the unexpected happened, to the delight of Fili-pinos everywhere. That upset is something people will be talking about for a long time.

Then there was the biggest news of all — the economy — which is still unraveling. The major tsunami that hit the US financial system spread throughout the world, but seemed like it came from nowhere. The financial experts, bankers, Wall Street geniuses, the stock market traders, CEOs, CFOs, all the experts who were supposed to know everything in the universe of finance were caught completely unaware. The biggest banks and financial institutions began to fall like a house of cards.

People are losing homes and jobs in record numbers. The collapse is still ongoing with no end in sight. This is probably the biggest-ever threat to capitalism and it will probably transform it into some-thing more reliable.

Oil prices, predicted to just keep going up and up in 2008, went down dramatically to their lowest

levels in years.Meanwhile China, which is re-

garded as the manufacturing center of the world, was exposed as a dubious producer whose products have become increasingly dodgy and were even killing babies and children.

The thing of it is, who among the so-called financial or political experts could have predicted that any of these would happen even just three months before they did?

It raises the question: In a world where the people who make the rules and are supposed to enforce them are turning out to be com-pletely wrong, who can you trust?

It seems that everywhere you look, there is a feeling of instabil-ity. Events seem to suggest that the order of the world is rapidly changing. To some, this spells cataclysm; but to me, this is auspi-cious.

With everything seemingly going haywire, it is time to take stock of how we live our lives, how we impact everything on the planet and on each other. With Mother

Nature behaving more and more like Mommy Dearest, it’s time to reevaluate everything and come up with new alternatives to how we can all live so that all of life may become more sustainable.

“The whole of the global economy is based on supplying the cravings of two percent of the world’s population,” author Bill Bryson wrote to sum up everything that is wrong with the economic model we have now.

I asked a friend in the US if he thought that all this would change the lifestyle of Americans and force them to live simply and more frugally. He answered in the af-firmative, adding that the biggest impact of the crisis on the Ameri-can psyche is the realization that there is actually an end to what has seemed like the constantly growing and seemingly limitless American wealth and power.

To one who is always on the lookout for the new wave, I like to think that 2008 is the birth of new models of thinking: leader-ship, politics, religious thought, economics and lifestyles. How can it not be if so much of the old ways are self-destructing? New ways must take their place.

Will 2009 ring in an end to the rule of the Mugabes of the world? Darfur? Terrorism? Will it usher in a greener lifestyle? I am not sure. But I know something is afoot and will make itself more tangibly clear.

And if things are happening all over, the zeitgeist of change will probably find its way to our shores too. Will 2009 bring in the leader who will deliver us from evil in 2010? Will we finally put an end to the silliness that is Cha-cha? Will we at last have automated voting that does not only count fast but is also credible? Will we see an end to the GMAs, the Garcis and cor-rupt politics that stand in the way of our becoming a more functional nation? I hope so.

While I may invoke the stars from time to time, I also know that we must do what we need to do on our end. After all, while the stars may deliver a winning lotto ticket, we have to work on our lives so we can’t blame anyone else for our own troubles. As Julius Caesar said in the Shakespearean play of the same name, “The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves, if we are underlings.”

Let us hope for the best and work like we have to prevent the worst from happening.


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By Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

San Diego Asian Journal

“As someone who grew up in a place where basic resources are scarce and is now living in a prosperous community, I can readily say that prosperity is a matter of will and sense of self-purpose,” says Dr. Florabel F. Oliver, DDS.

A native of the Bicol Region in the Philippines, Dr. Oliver practices dentistry in her office at 10710 Camino Ruiz in Mira Mesa.

“No business can thrive un-less quality service is given to clients,” Dr. Oliver says. “As a professional, the best acknowl-edgement of my work is to know that my customers are satisfied with my service. It is my profes-sional goal to provide quality service to my clients.”

A strong will and sense of self-purpose are what drove Dr. Oliver when she first opened her doors. She began with only a few clients and built up her client base through referrals, advertis-ing in well-known Filipino/Asian newspapers, and giving out flyers and business cards “when-ever and wherever” she could.

“Some may consider obstacles as problems- but to me, chal-lenges are ‘motivators’ hence I always strive harder whenever confronted with seemingly insur-mountable personal or profes-sional issues,” she says, “Having a positive outlook in life makes one confident to achieve some-thing worthwhile.”

Dr. Oliver grew up in Bula, Ca-marines Sur in the Bicol Region. Her bucolic childhood took place within beautiful, natural land-scapes. [My childhood playmates and I did] “what kids really love to do - running around the place, climbing trees, bathing in the river, picking tree fruits, harvest-ing ‘palay’, playing games like there [was] no tomorrow. My life as a kid [was a] simple and a happy one,” Dr. Oliver recalls.

But hardships were also pres-

ent, even in such picturesque surroundings.

“As a child growing up in a rural setting, life is harsh. It is challenging in the sense that even simple amenities and other basic services are lacking,” she says. Her daily walks to school were an important learning experience. “[I saw] the same people working the rice field and I began asking myself… ‘What does the future holds for me in this place?’” Dr. Oliver says. “I feared that I may not last long working [on] the farm; I feared that I [was] too weak to engage in manual and back-breaking labor. If I can’t, what can I do best in my life? How can I make a difference in my community?’” she asked herself.

Her parents made sure that she had the tools to succeed later in life. Her father was a public school principal and her mother was a homemaker, so education was highly valued in her house-hold.

“My parents are disciplinarians and strong believers in the power of education to transform one’s life. As a kid, they never failed to remind me the importance of getting good education and never stop learning new skills. Their example and advices guided me well growing up,” she says.

Dr. Oliver’s strong work ethic and concern for the community play an integral part in her life.

“My immediate plan for the future is to stabilize my business while fulfilling my social responsibility at the same time,” she says.

“Hardwork, consistency, and self-purpose is what made me what I am now,” Dr. Oliver says.

Another constant in her life is God.

“No matter how dire one’s situ-ation is, we should never cease to believe in the Almighty,” she says, “He is always there for us, He does not give us any chal-lenge that we could not over-come. Make Him the center of our lives and we will surely sail smoothly through the rough seas of life.” - AJ

From Bula, Camarines Sur to Mira Mesa, San Diego:

Dr. Florabel F. Oliver-Badillo, DDS builds Mira Mesa dental practice

from satisfied customers each one was located. It was even said that when Precious tried to organize his room and catalogue his collection, he could not find anything.

He would write straight from his mind to his old Olympus typewrit-er, which went with him wherever he went. I remember when we were in Washington D.C., shortly before attending the state dinner at the White House given by George Bush for GMA in 2003, Max had to rush a whole column about the GMA visit, the background of the presidential visit, Washington, George Bush, the whole thing — and it was amazing how he was able to put everything together in one brilliant column. It was a photo finish, with him having to be escorted into the White House by the Secret Service.

Max loved to travel, and he used to say there are 1,000 places in this world that one must see, and he had only completed 400 with 600 more to go. Maybe by now he had completed visiting the 1,000 destinations twice over because his spirit is free to roam anywhere in the world.

There is really no one quite like him. He was a fun person to be with, inviting Arthur Lopez and myself to walk with him around the mall regularly. It was his unique way to stimulate his mind and process his thoughts before going home to write his daily column.

A journalist through and through, Max was not cowed by the threat of incarceration and continued to wield his pen fear-lessly, believing that the press was “our last best hope” in fighting any kind of tyranny.

Together with Mrs. Betty Go-Belmonte, he founded the Philip-pine STAR. Both of them under-stood what the newspaper business was all about. They made such a perfect combination and together, they built the STAR into the kind of newspaper that it has become today.

There is only one Max, and we his friends, can only say of him, with such great fondness — “What a character!”

‘By the Way’ - There is only

one Max(Continued from page 6)

* * *

With all the controversies that are happening in this country like the JocJoc Bolante issue, the PNP “Euro Generals” and other concerns about corruption and the economy, we don’t know if the move to bring Charter change into the picture once again is a strategy of the administration to divert the attention of the public.

I remember Max used to write about Charter change and he was vehemently against it if it will be used as a vehicle for term extension. He went against FVR because he suspected that moves to amend the Constitution were being used to perpetuate FVR’s term, and he would probably say the same thing again if he were alive today.

While many people agree about the necessity of changing the Constitution, the bottom line is that its proponents should remem-ber what many people have said so

many times before: they will not allow any Charter change if it will be used to extend the term of an incumbent president.

Jess Dureza’s “prayer” still lingers in the mind of many. It just killed whatever assurances GMA had given us when she said she is ready to step down when her term ends in 2010. That one, careless comment made people suspicious once again. And let’s not forget, even if GMA is leaving in a year and a half, the anger of people could get filled to the brim, and there is a possibility that they may

resort to rash actions and deci-sions that would make everyone suffer in the end. There’s a limit to how much people can take, so the administration must be very care-ful on how they handle a sensitive issue like Charter change.

The Nationalist People’s Coali-tion had already indicated they will only support Charter change as far as the economic provisions are concerned. It has to be very clear that people will only accept any constitutional amendment if it is done or initiated after 2010.

“The instinct of nearly all societies is to lock up anybody who is truly free. First, society begins by trying to beat you up. If this fails, they try to poison you. If this fails too, they

finish by loading honors on your head.”- Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)


The recent apparent kidnapping of a 75-year-old La Mesa woman is a reminder of the need to take extra precautions to avoid being a victim of a similar situation. The County of San Diego is offering educational sessions to help older adults protect themselves from both physical and financial attacks.

“Seniors are increasingly the targets of criminals who prey on people they feel are less likely to defend themselves,” said Dianne Jacob, Vice Chairwoman, San Diego County Board of Supervi-sors. “With these tough economic times, physical and financial at-tacks may happen more frequently and it’s important to give people the tools necessary to protect themselves.”

In November, two sessions of the “Senior Expo: Protect Yourself & Your Wallet” drew dozens of interested participants. Three more sessions are set for next year.

At the expos, Mary Davis, a 69-year-old, third-degree black belt in Karate, talks about ways to avoid physical attacks and dem-onstrates techniques to use when an assault occurs. Speakers from

Learn Tips from 69-Year-Old Black Belt, Plus Experts in Financial Abuse

Self-Defense courses help seniors protect selves & wallet

(858) 534-3409 • olli.ucsd.edu

Never Stop Experiencing LifeThe Osher Lifelong Learning Institute - UC San Diego Celebrating 35 years of Excellence

Winter New Member Information MeetingSaturday, January 10th, 9:30-11:00a.m. Classes start January 20th

Refreshments will be served at 9:30 a.m. followed by a presentation at 10:00 a.m.

Free parking is available adjacent to the Extension Campus.

Osher features over 120 academic courses, plus tours, and social events each year.

Enrich your RetirementFor more informationEmail [email protected]

Adult Protective Services (APS) and the District Attorney’s office address ways to avoid scams, fraud and other financial abuse. Participants receive helpful mate-rials to take home, and a lunch is served.

The Senior Expo is coordinated the County’s Health and Human Services Agency, in partnership with the San Diego District At-torney’s office and the County Library. Funding for the sessions is provided by the Barona, Sycuan and Viejas tribal governments.

Please register early as space is limited:

Jan. 23 - 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Encinitas Community Library, 540 Cornish Dr., Encinitas

Feb. 20 - 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the County Library, 11555 Via Rancho San Diego, El Cajon

March 5 - 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the County Library, 4375 Bonita Rd., Bonita

Reservations required; call (800) 510-2020 and press “4” when you hear the menu. Leave

your name, phone number and the date or location of the event you wish to attend.

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – The San Diego Museum of Man, the museum that teaches people about people, will celebrate the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday with an event for local families. The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Day is Monday, Jan. 19 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Balboa Park. For reduced admission ($5 for adults, $1 for children) families can

San Diego Museum of Man celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with

activities for children and familiesAnnual Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Day is

Mon., Jan. 19 – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Balboa Parkenjoy free exhibition tours, work-shop activities, refreshments, and cultural performances such as Na-tive American storytelling, musical performances, and cultural dance.

This year, the San Diego Museum of Man celebrates world-renowned naturalist Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday with evolution-themed activities and live animal demon-strations by the San Diego Herpeto-

logical Society.For more information about the

event, visit the museum’s web site at www.museumofman.org or call (619) 239-2001.

The San Diego Museum of Man is an educational, non-profit corporation founded in 1915 with a commitment to educating people about people. Located beneath the landmark California Tower in Balboa Park, the Museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For further information, please call (619) 239-2001 or visit the Museum of Man’s Web site at www.museu-mofman.org.

SAN DIEGO, Calif., December 29, 2008 – Decades of NASA re-search and stunning color photog-raphy from robotic spacecraft come to life in “Giant Worlds: A Voyage to the Outer Solar System,” a three-dimensional, interactive exhibition opening at the Reuben H. Fleet Sci-ence Center on Saturday, January 31, 2009. The new exhibition is just one of many ways the Fleet Science Center will celebrate International Year of Astronomy throughout 2009.

Making its West Coast debut, the 3,500-square-foot national traveling

Reuben H. Fleet Science Center Brings Jupiter,

Saturn and Other Giant Planets Down to Earth

with Interactive Astronomy Exhibition

“Giant Worlds: A Voyage to the Outer Solar System” to headline Fleet Science Center’s celebration of International Year of

Astronomy 2009

exhibition invites visitors to explore the amazing wonders of our solar system and its enormous giant plan-ets. “Giant Worlds” is intimately linked to the progress and discover-ies of NASA missions to the outer planets, and it provides an engag-ing, real-life context for learning about science, math and technol-ogy. Designed to engage curious minds of all ages, the exhibition is especially geared toward young people, with the hope of inspiring the scientists, engineers and solar system explorers of tomorrow.

“Giant Worlds” consists of 20 individual exhibits filled with inter-active experiences, models and-20spectacular murals that reveal the grandeur of these amazing planets. Visitors can learn about gravity in a simulation that assigns a mass to the visitor’s shadow and demon-strates how particles, such as those in Saturn’s spectacular ring system, interact with the shadow. They can design and launch a virtual probe into Jupiter’s crushing atmosphere

and see how far their probe gets before it is destroyed. Visitors can also experiment with the properties of visible and infrared radiation and learn how scientists use light to probe phenomena like Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.

Each giant planet is a dynamic and changing family of objects including the planet, its moons and rings. Visitors will learn how scientists study planets, from Gali-leo’s early telescope to a bus-sized spacecraft that orbits Saturn a bil-lion miles away.

“Giant Worlds” was produced by the Space Science Institute (SSI), a nonprofit organization that car-ries out world-class research in space and Earth science, together with innovative science education programs that inspire and deepen the public’s understanding of planet Earth and its place in the grander Universe. The institute’s integrated research and education programs spa n planetary science, space physics, astrophysics, astrobiology,

and Earth science. The exhibition was made possible by $1.8 million in funding from the National Sci-ence Foundation. Partners include NASA’s Cassini and Juno missions.

“Giant Worlds” will be open daily at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center from January 31 to May 3, 2009. For current hours and admis-sion prices, visit www.rhfleet.org.

About the Reuben H. Fleet Sci-ence Center

With exhibits to touch, IMAX® films to watch and motion simula-tor rides to experience, the Reu-ben H. Fleet Science Center (“the Fleet”) offers an educational, en-tertaining experience for visitors of all ages. Located at 1875 El Prado, two blocks south of the San Diego Zoo on Park Blvd, the Fleet is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the public understanding and enjoyment of science and tech-nology. For information regarding current admission price s, please call (619) 238-1233 or visit our Web site at www.rhfleet.org.

San Diego News Update


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THE YEAR THAT WAS: Photo collage shows (main) the bow of the Prin-cess of the Stars off the coast of Romblon; (clockwise from top right) former agriculture official Jocelyn Bolante in the hot seat at the Senate; boxer Manny Pacquiao destroying Oscar de la Hoya in their Dream Match; and a gasoline station attendant informing motorists of another price rollback. PhilStar photo.

ZOETROPE By Juaniyo Arcellana


The following are my answers to a questionnaire sent by the nephew and niece of the late national artist for literature Nick Joaquin, who are at present working on his biography.

How did you first get to learn about Nick Joaquin and what was your reaction? Did it leave you curi-ous? Indifferent or unmoved? What were your thoughts about him at that time?

I learned about Nick Joaquin (NJ, from hereon) because he was my father’s kumpare. NJ was the ninong of my elder brother Joey, so he always seemed to be around the house whenever it was Christmas or some such holiday. Though Joey was his inaanak, this did not mean we the younger siblings did not get crisp bills whenever he visited. His voice would fill the house so that even if we were in our rooms we would know that NJ was around because of his booming voice. Always teasing us kids as well his kumare, my mom, about her weight. There was one instance when he kept referring to me as Joey and to my elder sister Mayi as my eldest sister Beth. Finally, I told Mayi, don’t listen to him, he’s a fool. This only served to further crack NJ up.

Could you please describe your very first meeting with Nick: was there anything in particular that made it memorable? Was there anything about him that struck you? impressed you? How did you feel about him after that meeting? Did it affect any possible preconceived ideas you may have had about him?

He always seemed to be in a taxi with friends and making that taxi wait while he was at a friend’s house for some food, beer and conversation. As a boy I remem-ber having field trips to Pateros at the Lacabas place, and NJ and my father would be there.

One evening NJ and Ding Nolledo would drop by our place at Magin-hawa, UP Village, and the dog Igor would lick their shoes under the table. To this NJ would say, “I don’t need compassion, I need passion!”

How would you say Nick com-pared to other writers or artists you may already have known or met before? What aspect of his character stood out in your opinion?

During the necrological services for my father at the CCP in August 2002, it was NJ who delivered the main address, ending his speech with, “See you soon, Franz!”

While we were in our seats wait-ing for the program to begin, NJ had tried shooing away Sionil Jose from the VIP seats reserved for National Artists, saying “That’s what you deserve.”

Some time later, when I showed my son who was 10 years old at the time his lolo died, a picture of NJ, he remembered the phrase, “That’s what you deserve.”

Billy Lacaba recalled that after the burial, NJ and he went to Sulo Hotel and my late father’s kumpare raised a beer, saying, “This is for you, Franz.”

About St. Nick

In what way did you relate to Nick after that first meeting? Did you get to know him better and meet him often? What types of situa-tions did you have the occasion to get together? Could you please describe those situations and share them with us? How was Nick during those occasions? Quiet? Boisterous? Withdrawn?

He was always teasing us younger writers. Once at a gathering at Heri-tage Gallery at an art exhibit, one kibitzer accosted NJ, “Nick, painom ka naman!” To which the National Artist replied, and this has become part of literary folklore, “Painumin mo titi mo!”

Confronted with a boisterous non sequitur, “So you’re a great man,” that was in vogue during the ’70s

and ’80s, NJ might well have riposted, “Great man mo titi mo.”

Was there any special event that you remember in particu-lar that will always stand out in your memories about Nick Joaquin?

About a month before leaving for the US as an exchange student in my fourth year of high

school, I was asked by my dad to go with NJ to get fitted for a suit at Linea Italiana in Cubao which he would pay for. But since I knew NJ was a board of censors member and could gain free entry to the mov-ies, I asked if we could see a movie after the fitting. It was a “bold” or soft porn type, and when one of the actresses bared her breasts, NJ sud-denly hollered in the dark, “Look at those peaches!”

Eventually we repaired to the old Alibangbang for some beers and to watch ago-go dancing. One of the dancers whom we “tabled” was named Olga, a strange coincidence since my high school crush at the time had the same name.

We were at the tricycle stop in Homesite, UP Village when I left him while he was emptying his bladder. I somehow managed to crawl home in the drizzle; it was the first time I got drunk.

NJ was proud of this, and when-ever we would meet at literary func-tions or gatherings, he would always point out, “The first time this guy got drunk was under my auspices...”

Where would you stand in terms of the critiques written about Nick both at home and abroad. Would you agree with all the favorable things said about his writings as well as certain points of view that you might disagree with. Which of his writings are the ones you would always go to first, and why?

I remember weeping when I first read Portrait of the Artist as a Filipino. It was so good I wanted to throw the book across the room. Candido’s Apocalypse also greatly influenced my way of thinking as an adolescent, much more than Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye: it taught me to embrace the so-called ugly and despicable, that we were all the same frail human beings any-way. “May Day Eve” inspired my siblings and I to try looking in the mirror at midnight of April 30, good for a few childhood creep fests.

“The Mass of St. Sylvester” is both eerie and beautiful and brings to life the cobblestones of Intramuros under the moonlight. “The House on Zapote Street” is an absolutely riveting true-to-life suspense thriller, and the movie version Kisapmata had actor Vic Silayan fitting the role to a tee.

“The Legend of the Dying Wan-ton” made me want to go to Ma Mon Luk and order some mami.

Kindly add any additional in-formation that you feel should be included in both of the man as well as his works.

I interviewed him for Sunday Inquirer magazine in 1989 at Calle Cinco while a loud all-female rock band played. He was with his best friend Elena Roco.

He also made a UP writers work-shop fellow weep, one Peachy Lon-toc, who was perhaps overwhelmed by his presence and overall boister-ousness. But NJ seemed traumatized too after that, and vowed never to attend a workshop again.

Would you happen to have a photo with Nick, preferably an action shot which you might want us to include in the book?

Nunca.

casionally take a bath before attending classes.

“She writes well and seems to be a good student,” Eddie said. “But she is dirt poor since Bong can hardly support her and I doubt if she would be

Quiapo Stories

Bong(Continued from page 5)

able to finish her studies despite her strong determination.”

Indeed, it was a long shot. But the fact that they had long given Bong for dead only to come back to Platerias Street decades later, makes Eric feel that somehow, Bong’s daughter can make it. And if she does, she would be a surprising legacy to a pimp grandfather, a prostitute grandmother, and an ex-convict father. Certainly, her success would be a triumph

of the human spirit. Maybe God, after two generations of criminals, will give her fam-ily a break. Eric hopes that she succeeds, because hers will be an interesting story to tell and will have a good moral les-son to learn from during these times of apathy on the plight of the poor children of God.

No. Bong won’t pick up and eat Bon Bon chocolate candies, pressed on the ground, any-more. - AJ


Community

Work Visas (H1B, H2B)• PERM – Labor Certifi cation• Green Cards• Family Visa Petitions• Marriage/Fiancee Visas – K1• Citizenship• L1 Visas – Company Transfer• Investor Visas E2 (Business • search assistance)

FREE IMMIGRATION SEMINAR UPDATES AND NEW CHANGES FOR 2009

Thursday, January 22, 2009 from 5-8 P.M.at SIZZLER Restaurant, 1325 E Plaza Blvd., National City 91950

With America’s growing immigrant population and with the changes in the administration, many immigrants are anxious to now what the future will hold for Immigration Law. This seminar will present an Immigration law basics, covering the various categories of immigration and inadmissibility in the United States. The seminar will address some potential changes in Immigration law in 2009 and beyond. This is an exclusive seminar for the Filipino community and is offered as a public service to our community readers

Space is limited so RESERVE YOUR SEAT as soon as possibleEmail: Jacob - [email protected] or call (619) 819-9204

Susan - [email protected] or call (619) 819-8648

Presenters:

Atty. Susan Perez(619) 819- 9204

Atty. Jacob Sapochnick (619) 819-8648

Cost: FREE OF CHARGE ($11 for salad bar and drinks)

Topics Covered:

Student Visa Issues (Job search • Support)Extension of Stay• Business Visas• J1 Visas for Trainees/ F1 Student • VisasConsular Support in Manilla• Immigration Reform plans and • the Obama Administration

BLUETEC DIESELS AVAILABLE NOW!!!

Salvador Belisario

1-866-572-9030

[email protected]

Saturday, Jan. 17 - The 11th an-nual free San Diego Multicultural Festival celebrates cultures from around the world through perfor-mances including storytelling, music and activities and a variety of food, merchant, informational and educational booths ranging from local to international orga-nizations. Students from three local schools will build Global Villages which highlight customs and ways of life from around the world. A new addition to the fes-

San Diego, CA – Campaign organizers are proud to announce the winners of the first-ever “I’m Thankful For My Teacher” Contest, hosted by Mission Federal Credit Union, Junior Achievement of San Diego, and Cox Communications and Channel 4 San Diego. Throughout the month of No-vember, thousands of students throughout San Diego County took the opportunity to thank a teacher for all of the special things they do in their mission to educate local students and future generations. More than 3,850 postcards were turned in to recog-nize hundreds of teachers at 136 schools throughout San Diego County.

After tallying the postcards, the results are in! Six teachers, two from each school level, received the most postcards. These top winning teachers are (in alphabetical

Mission Federal Credit Union, Junior Achievement, Cox Communications & Channel 4 San Diego Announce

Winners of Inaugural ‘I’m Thankful For My Teacher’ AwardsSan Diego County teachers recognized with thousands of ‘thank yous’ from grateful parents, schoolchildren

Diversity celebrated at free downtown family-friendly festival

11th Annual Multicultural Festival Scheduled for Saturday, January 17

tival is the Downtown Education Fair, a special section of booths showcasing many of downtown’s unique learning opportunities This family-friendly free event will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17 along the Martin Luther King Jr, Promenade (between Fourth Ave. to Market St. on Harbor Dr.). For more infor-mation about the festival, please visit www.ccdc.com and click on Special Events.

Why were we Filipino Americans at San Diego County so uninvolved in the recent election years? We’re so dismal failure!

The fact remains there is work to be done; and working together in a coalition makes our voice stronger. A coalition is composed of discrete persons or groups for the purpose of achieving a common objective.

Coalition partners retain their distinct identities and often special sets of interests. A Filipino Voters Coalition (FVC) that will provide a voice for everyone is absolutely the way to go. Its unified voice may be found around five areas of work: encouraging voter registration, edu-cating voters, getting out the vote, monitoring the polls, and advocating for voter rights.

We have to move to blur the political party lines (Republican and Democrat) and set the groundwork for information and mobilization of a coalition group and/or PAC that works to educate Filipino Ameri-cans voters and solidify the commu-nity countywide as a major voting bloc. We have to create a database of registered voters and network.

FILIPINO VOTERS COALITION: 3rd round of Brainstorming, January 6th

Among other things, we have to identify Filipino Americans who can energize and motivate the commu-nity into political action.

As one 2008 defeated candidate said: ‘Let’s not point fingers or play the blame game, but pick up the pieces instead and move on.’

Included in the agenda are reports of ad hoc membership committee and by-laws and organizational structure committee.

Join us in a 3rd brainstorming ses-sion to create a community-based voters coalition at Kalusugan Com-munity Center, 1419 E. 8th Street, National City, on January 6, 2008, Wednesday, 6:00-8:30 p.m. Let us address and decide together issues relevant to electoral empowerment. It’s time to move forward.

For further information, call Dr. Riz A. Oades, 619-917-0728, and e-mail: [email protected]; Dr. Aurora Cudal, 619-399-9982, or Chris Feraro, 619-477-3392.

1419 East 8th Street • National City, CA 91950 • 619.477.3392 • Fax 619.477.3391

www.WebKalusugan.org

order):*Allen Brooks, San Elijo Middle School

(San Marcos/Grade 8) *Carol Kawamoto, Kellogg Elementary

School (Chula Vista/Grade 5) *Karen Manns, Grossmont High School

(La Mesa/Grade 10) *Adrian Pearson, Grossmont High

School (La Mesa/Grade 9) *Celia Ramirez, Chavez Elementary

School (San Diego/All Grades) *Jill Rockwell, San Elijo Middle School

(San Marcos/Grade 6)The students in the class of these top six

winning teachers will receive a gift card for classroom party or field trip of their choice and the invaluable gift of Junior Achieve-ment’s award-winning financial educa-tion curriculum taught in their classroom,

compliments of Mission Federal Credit Union. The winning teachers can pamper themselves too, as they each receive a Westfield Shoppingtown gift card valued at $175 to reward themselves for all their hard work throughout the school year.

Ten additional teachers from around the county received Honorable Mentions, and were selected by the event organizers for their extraordinary dedication and commit-ment to their students as reflected in the volume and sentiments expressed in the student postcards. These teachers are (in alphabetical order):

*Joe Anthony, Dingeman Elementary School (San Diego/All Grades – Technol-ogy)

*Cindy Barron, Ocean View Hills El-ementary School (San Ysidro/Grade 6)

*Karen Brand, Crawford High School (San Diego/Grade 12)

*Maria Dias, Ocean View Hills Elemen-tary School (San Ysidro/Grade 5)

*Pat Howell-Schmidt, Hage Elementary School (San Diego/Gra des 2 & 4 – Lan-guage)

*Stephen Keiley, Monarch School (San Diego/Grade 5)

*Liz Kuttler, Flora Vista Elementary School (Encinitas/Grades K-3 – Special Education Program)

*Rochelle Schwartz, Dingeman Elemen-tary School (San Diego/Grade 5 – Focused on Community Service)

*Lori West, Rincon Middle School (Escondido/Grades 6, 7, 8 – Physical Education)

Connie Willis, Horizon Christian El-ementary School (San Diego/Grade 4)

Teachers who were recognized in the Honorable Mention Award category will receive a Visa gift card from Mission Fed-eral, along with the recognition that they are among San Diego’s finest teachers.

Because of the immense support by the public for this first-time campaign, event organizers created a new category, the School Spirit Award, to honor the schools whose students submitted the most post-cards (in alphabetical order):

*Crawford High School (San Diego) *Dingeman Elementary School (San

Diego) *El Toyan Elementary School (National

City) *Grossmont High School (La Mesa) *Jerabek Elementary School (San Diego) *Rancho de la Nacion Elementary

School (National City)Schools honored in the School Spirit

Award Category will receive a $200 donation for their school, compliments of Mission Federal Credit Union.

“Cox Communications enjoyed partner-ing in this important campaign,” says Amy Berry, community relations manager, Cox Communications San Diego. “Teachers play a very important role in shaping the futures of children of our community,

and they deserve to be recognized and rewarded for their outstanding commitment to their students.”

Due to the impressive response from students and parents, event organizers are already hoping to host the campaign again in 2009.

For more information, visit www.jasandi-ego.org.org.

About Mission Federal Credit Union Mission Federal Credit Union is a

progressive member-owned organization providing high quality financial and related services to meet the needs of a growing and diverse membership base. With $2 billion in assets, 23 branches, and over 128,000 members, Mission Federal is the second largest credit union in San Diego County. Mission Federal enhances the lives of its members through education and lifelong fi-nancial services. In addition, Mission Fed-eral contributes to hundreds of non-profit educational and community organizations. To learn more, visit www.missionfcu.org.


(858) 534-3409 • olli.ucsd.edu

Never Stop Experiencing LifeThe Osher Lifelong Learning Institute - UC San Diego Celebrating 35 years of Excellence

Winter New Member Information MeetingSaturday, January 10th, 9:30-11:00a.m. Classes start January 20th

Refreshments will be served at 9:30 a.m. followed by a presentation at 10:00 a.m.

Free parking is available adjacent to the Extension Campus.

Osher features over 120 academic courses, plus tours, and social events each year.

Enrich your RetirementFor more informationEmail [email protected]

province, it’s not likely he’ll give up boxing completely. The lure of the ring is a compelling temptation, especially for a fighter who’s still at the top of his game.

What makes Pacquiao special not just as a fighter but as a Filipino is his ability to defy the odds. There is no more glowing personification of the slogan, “Yes, the Filipino can” – for Pacquiao is like a David who has made it a habit to slay Goliath.

Somehow, Pacquiao seems more determined to win when there are doubts on his ability to deliver.

Whenever he enters the ring, Pacquiao never fails to get down on his knees, bow his head and pray in a quiet moment in a corner. That’s also what he does right after a fight. Pacquiao leaves his fate in God’s hands. He’ll do his best when the bell rings but the rest is up to the Man upstairs.

It’s a fact that the entire country is frozen into a sense of paralysis during every Pacquiao fight. Mil-lions watch in theaters, restaurants, bars and on TV as the folk hero puts

The Year of Pacquiao

(Continued from page 1)

on his gloves and the country on his back to go to war. Each fight is a story that adds to his legendary status.

If it’s not Pacquiao’s power that propels him to victory, it’s his guts or his heart or his speed or his smarts or a combination of all those. To his adoring fans, Pacquiao isn’t just Pacman – he’s Superman.

The inspiring message in Pac-quiao’s tale is you can be anything you want to be if you put your heart into it, work hard, believe in your-self and let God show you the way. Pacquiao’s rise from rags to riches is a story that will be told and retold for generations to bring hope to the hopeless and faith to the faithless.

Born to a poor family, Pacquiao sold bread in the streets of General Santos City as a boy and figured in streetfights to survive. He was barely 15 when he joined nine other amateur fighters in a boat to Manila, without a centavo in his pocket, seeking fame and fortune in the Big City. In the Sampaloc gym where he trained, Pacquiao slept in the ring, damp with sweat and stained with fighters’ blood.

Pacquiao persevered. He saw action in little backyard smokers, trying to make a name for himself. Slowly, his reputation as an excit-ing, devil-may-care brawler spread

far and wide. Pacquiao became the darling of local boxing.

In 1998, Pacquiao won his first world title – the WBC flyweight crown at Chatchai Sasakul’s expense in Thailand. In 2001, he an-nexed his second jewel, the IBF su-perbantamweight championship. In 2003, Pacquiao stopped Marco An-tonio Barrera for the Ring Magazine or “people’s” world featherweight title. And this year, he added two more belts to his growing collection – the WBC superfeatherweight title and the WBC lightweight diadem.

It was last March 15 at the Man-dalay Events Center in Las Vegas where Pacquiao wrested the WBC 130-pound title via a split 12-round decision over Juan Manuel Mar-quez.

Pacquiao floored Marquez with a left hook in the third round and the knockdown proved to be decisive. Judge Tom Miller had it 114-113 and judge Duane Ford, 115-113, both for Pacquiao while judge Jerry Roth saw it 115-112 for Marquez.

Pacquiao led in the three score-cards after five rounds. Two of the three judges gave the last round to Marquez. The big difference was the knockdown that Pacquiao scored – it meant an automatic two-point margin. In punchstats, Pacquiao



Health

AN APPLE A DAY By TYRONE M. REYES, M.D. Philstar, December 30, 2008

You can’t control genetics or the guy on the bus who sneezes on you, but many factors that affect your health are well within your control. Here are nine simple and surprising ways to improve your and your family’s health in 2009.

1. Get more vitamin D. One of the hottest topics in medicine these days is vitamin D, says Kenneth Cooper, the father of aerobics and founder of the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas. A July 2007 article in the New England Journal of Medicine cited insufficient levels of vitamin D as a key factor in osteoporosis. “More women will die of complications of osteoporo-sis of the hip than of breast cancer, and you can’t just take calcium and expect it to prevent osteopo-rosis unless you have sufficient vitamin D,” says Cooper. Insuf-ficient vitamin D is clearly linked to colon cancer, and may be linked to prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, and breast cancer, says Cooper.

Vitamin D is not found in many foods. It’s present in high levels in salmon, tuna, sardines, and — ooh, yum — cod liver oil. Milk is forti-fied with vitamin D, but most other dairy products are not. Fortified margarines contain vitamin D. You can get 10 percent of your daily recommended dose in some ready-to-eat cereals.

Ironically, one reason more people have low levels of vitamin D these days may be because of increased use of sunscreens. UV rays from sunlight trigger vita-min D synthesis in the skin, but sunscreens block those rays. Do not skip your sunscreen though. Instead, make sure to drink milk and consider taking a vitamin supplement.

2. Sleep more …. and lose weight. Well, it’s not quite that straightforward, but a number of intriguing studies have found that people who get lots of sleep are less likely to be overweight,

9 simple steps to make 2009 your year to get healthy

including a November 2007 study published in Pediatrics.

The study followed 785 children for three years and found that those who get more sleep in third grade were less likely to be over-weight in sixth grade. Researchers analyzed data from the massive Nurses Health Study of 68,000

women and found that women who slept five hours a night were 30 percent more likely to gain 30 pounds during a 16-year period than women who slept seven hours a night, according to a 2006 article in the American Journal of Epide-miology.

And it’s not just because you can’t eat while you’re sleeping. Scientists believe the hormones ghrelin, which send a “feed-me” signal to the body, and leptin, a “feeling-full-now” hormone, get out of balance in the bodies of people who don’t have enough sleep. In the past 40 years, average sleep time has dropped by nearly two hours, according to University of Chicago researchers who stud-ied the relationship between sleep deprivation and eating patterns in young men. Skimping on sleep? You’re much more likely to crave candy, cookies, chips or nuts.

3. Learn yoga breathing. The slow, deep inhale and long ex-hale of beginner yoga, expanding

your abdomen as you fill up with air, softening as you exhale, is an excellent general relaxation technique. Practice this slow deep breathing at a weekly yoga class or on your own for a couple of minutes several times a week, till it becomes something you can do easily.

You can then use this breathing technique to help you relax, both mentally and physically. Got a charley horse in your leg? Deep breathing will usually clear it up quickly. Lower back pain got you hunched over? Try taking five or

six long, slow breaths, and you just might find yourself standing straight. A couple of minutes of focused yoga breathing can also help you cope with stress. And if you’re lying in bed worrying about something and can’t fall asleep. Concentrating on your breathing for a few minutes could help you relax and let go of whatever you’re worrying about.

4. Read your food labels, looking for trans fats. “Trans fats prolong shelf life but shorten your life,” Cooper says. He suggests reading labels on all processed foods and buying only items that contain zero grams of trans fats. “If it doesn’t, I wouldn’t eat it,” Cooper says. “It’s poison.” Trans fats increase total cholesterol; they decrease the good or, HDL, cholesterol; and they tend to add weight around the belly, which is associated with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance.

5. Move. That’s right. If you can do it, move away from places with polluted air, suggests Robert

Cluck, MD of the Arlington Me-morial hospital in Texas. “If you are a nonsmoker and you live in a nonattainment area, your chances of developing lung cancer are about the same as a smoker (in an attainment area),” says Dr. Cluck.

Wondering what “nonattain-ment” means? The US Environ-ment Protection Agency sets standards for acceptable levels of six pollutants, including ozone. Nonattainment areas haven’t met those standards. High concentra-tions of ozone can also aggravate bronchitis, emphysema, and other

respiratory disorders.6. Get the shingles vac-

cine. If you are over 60, ask your doctor about the vaccine for shingles, sug-gests Dr. Cluck. Shingles, a disease characterized by rash and nerve pain, most-ly occurs in older people (and people with weak-ened immune system) who had chicken pox as a child. The chicken pox virus lodges in nerves, but is kept in check by the body’s immune system. When the immune system weakens — as it does when people age — the virus can begin multiply-ing in the nerves, causing

the painful condition.Thousands of people a year suf-

fer from shingles, and half of all people who live to be 85 have at least one outbreak. The shingles vaccine is based on the chicken-pox vaccine but is 14 times more potent. It can cut the likelihood of an outbreak, as well as the inci-dence of long-term chronic pain, in individuals who do get them.

7. Teach your children to exer-cise. Obesity rates in children are on the rise so encouraging them to be active helps prevent childhood weight difficulties plus teaches them habits that are important throughout life. Organized sports get kids moving, but casual exer-cise — walking and riding bikes — can be even more important, especially if it’s part of their day-to-day lifestyle.

One good holiday gift you can give your kids is a pedometer. En-courage them to record the number of steps they take, and try to get them to walk 10,000 steps per day.

8. Add weight training to your exercise routine. The founder of aerobics has a new exercise mantra these days: weight training. Cooper still wants to see people

raising their heart rate at least three times a week through aerobic ex-ercise, such as running, but warns them that if they don’t add weight



Spiritual Life

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

by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez

Lower Your Nets

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

journalusa.com

Joke of the week: A cruise ship sinks and three men make it to a des-ert island. The first man, a Catholic kneels down and prays to the Lord to be rescued from the island. The second man, a Baptist, kneels down and asks the Lord to be saved from the island. The third man, a business-man, says, “Hey, two years ago I gave a million dollars to IRS. Last year, I paid two million. This year I pledged three million. Don’t worry, they’ll find me.”

Scripture: First Reading: Isaiah 60: 1-6. The exiled Jews who had returned to the City of David found it in complete ruins. Finding that ev-erything does not match up accord-ing to the Lord’s promise that the “long night has ended,” the prophet encourages the returnees whose spirit was low to rise up in splendor. This prophecy-poem speaks of hope. There is hope that the holiness and prominence of the city will be re-stored. People from different corners

of the earth will cross the desert and come to the city. This prophecy will come to pass, because the light and splendor of the Lord will break forth into the city. Second Reading: Ephe-sians 3: 2-3; 5-6. The apostle Paul declares that the mystery of God’s plan – to make the Gentiles coheirs with the Jews – has been revealed in Jesus Christ. Gospel: Matthew 2: 1-12. The Magi began their long journey to find the newly born King. They did not rely on their human wisdom, but allowed God’s light to guide them on the long search for the Child. They patiently and painstak-ingly travelled miles and miles until they found the Child Jesus.

Reflections: “Epiphany” is a word of Greek origin signifying “manifes-tation” or “revelation.” Originally, this feast started in the East and is associated with the Baptism of the Lord. When it was observed in the West, it came to be associated with Christmas celebration and later on

came to be known as the Feast of the Three Kings or Magi. It gains a wider meaning – manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles - down through the centuries.

God came into the particulari-ties of our space and time when his Son, Jesus Christ, assumed our human nature through the mystery of the Incarnation. The exiles did not find the city in conformity with God’s prophecy. The Magi did not witness a Child King wrapped in precious robes and surrounded by royal attendants. But the exiles and the Magi saw something else that lies beyond the naked eyes. They all saw the glorious splendor of God shining forth to the world to bring in hope and salvation. Every day, God continues to break into the particu-larities of our lives. We need the eyes of faith to discern and recognize his glorious splendor that offers grace and redemption. In a certain sense, we, the new “exiles” and “Magi” will have to look beyond what the naked eyes could not see. To do this we will have to rely not on our human wisdom and instincts, but on the “guiding star” or the “light” from God. Even if the realities of life look just the very opposite of what our faith tells us, we have to trust in God’s guidance and providence. When life’s sailing gets rough, when we do not know what to do, where to go, and how to accomplish our goals, we must trust, not in our wisdom, but more than ever before in the “Star” from above. Let a stronger faith in God be one of our New Year’s resolutions.

Reflecting on the importance of light in people’s lives, Frank Mihalic wrote the following. “Light is such an important thing that God created it even before he created heaven and earth. Genesis tells us that. Once light began to exist many good things followed it. If we look around us, we find that light helps us in many ways. Sunlight, for example makes things grow, it warms our skin and, dries our clothes. Because we have sunlight, we can see things around us. Sunlight is a medicine which kills many germs. Think of other lights that we use. Notice how we string up lights, to decorate a house when we have a party. A torch or kerosene lamp lights our path in the bush, and also draws fish our canoe at night. In contrast, night and darkness are times of sleep. Nothing grows in darkness. If it is dark too long, everything dies. We also refer to darkness as a time of sin, the time of evildoing, the time of Satan. We feel uneasy and afraid in times of darkness.”

Quotation of the week: “The

A New Year’s ResolutionDad: Anak bili mo ko soft drinks

Anak: Coke o Pepsi? Dad: Coke! Anak:Diet o Regular? Dad: Regular! Anak:Bote O Can? Dad: Bote! Anak: 8 oz. o Litro? Dad: Punyeta! Tubig na lang! Anak: Natural o Mineral? Dad: Mineral! Anak: Malamig o Hindi? Dad: Hampasin kaya kita ng walis? Anak: tambo o ting ting Dad: Animal ka! Anak: Baka o Baboy? Dad: Layas! Anak: Ngayon o bukas? Dad: Ngayon na!!! Anak: Hatid mo ko Indi? DAd: Patayin kaya kita? Anak: Saksakin o barilin? Dad: Babarilin!! Anak: Ulo o Tiyan? Dad: Pesteeeee!!!! Anak: Ipis o Daga??

Dad: waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Absent sa Trabaho

Isang hapon sa Company, nag paalam si Kulas sa mahigpit na Boss.

Kulas: Boss, bukas kailangan ni Mrs. na mag-absent ako para tulungan siya sa pag decorate ng bahay. May darating na mabibigat na furnitures at ilalagay namin ito sa living room at sa kitchen. ‘Yung mga lumang furnitures, gusto niyang itago doon sa masikip na attic. Isa pa, lilinisin ko ang buong bahay para naman maayos tingnan.

Boss: (malakas ang boses) Kulas, alam mo naman na short-handed tayo dito sa trabaho kaya’t hindi pweding mag-absent ka bukas!

Kulas: (nakangiti) Boss, thank you very much. Alam ko na maa-sahan kita tungkol dito!

MaLL of Asia

Complete Version

Boy: Knock knock!! Girl: whos there??

Boy:MALL OF ASIA Girl:MALL OF ASIA who??? Boy:(kumanta) Hapi hapi hapi birthday.Sayo ang inumin,sayo ang pulutan,hapi hapi hapi birthday sanay mabusog mo kami!! Girl: huh? asan yung MALL OF ASIA??!! Boy: ha? edi nandun sa PASAY!!!

My Vocabulary

Contemplate-konte ng plato Ice buko-maayos ba ang buhok ko? CD-ROM- tignan mo ang kwarto Dfrag-ang palaka Defense-ang bakod Detail-ang buntot Persuading-unang kasal City-bagu mag utso, a number fol-lowed by number 6. Devalue- A letter that comes after v. Calculator- call u l8er. Statue- ikaw ba yan? Tissue- ikaw nga

Bakla!!!

Anak: Tay bumili ka ng laruang sasakyan, yung racing car. Itay: (Hay salamat, akala ko bad-ing ang anak ko,) Eh aanhin mo naman ang laruan mo, aber? Anak: Pasasakayin ko si BAR-BIE!!!!!



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

Ang Aking TahananTanging iisa lamang ang aking tunay na tahananat sana ay iyo itong laging mauunawaanito’y walang nang iba pa kundi sa piling mo lamang sa iyong isipan ay huwag sanang kalilimutan.

Kahit saan ako dalhin nitong aking mga paamakarating man ‘ko sa pinakamalayo hilagamadalang man ako na sa piling ninyo ay mapuntabuong puso’t kaluluwa ko sa inyo pa rin sinta.

Sa aking isipan ay hinding-hindi ka mawawaglitmatatamis na sandali natin laging nasa isipdangan nga lamang ay kinakailangan kong umalisang dahilan ng lahat ng ito ay aking pag-ibig.

The current processing time for “Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens” (F-3) is 18 years. Because of the very long wait, many petition-ers do not survive long enough to see their sons and daughters migrate to the United States. So what hap-pens if the petitioner dies before they become immigrants?

In the past, the death of the petitioner during the pendency of the immigrant petition meant the automatic revocation of the petition. There was no exception to that rule. No ifs and buts. The reason for this is that, under the then applicable provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the petitioner must himself sign the Affidavit of Support (Form I-864). Even when there was a joint sponsor, the peti-tioner was still required to person-ally submit his own Form I-864.

Then, in 2002, President Bush signed into law the “Family Sponsor

Immigration Act of 2002.” This new law allows the petition to continue, under certain strict conditions.

The first condition is that the petition must have been approved already before the petitioner dies. This should not be a problem for most petitions since approval usu-ally comes a short time after the filing of the petition.

The second condition is that there must be a substitute sponsor who is willing to sign the Affidavit of Sup-port. Only certain family members may qualify to become “substitute sponsors”. They include the spouse, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sibling, child (if at least 18 years of age), son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, broth-er-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild or legal guardian. This should also not be a problem for most petitions.

The third condition is that the At-torney General has determined for

humanitarian reasons that revoca-tion of such petition under section 205 of the INA would be inappro-priate. Although the law mentions the Attorney General, this power is exercised through the United States Citizenship and Immigra-tion Services (USCIS). This is the difficult part. The law does not lay down guidelines on what constitutes humanitarian reasons.

However, the USCIS has given us some hint. In its Memo dated June 15, 2002, the USCIS said that “Re-instatement continues to be a matter of discretion, to be exercised in light of the facts of each individual case, particularly those cases in which failure to reinstate would lead to a harsh result contrary to the goal of family reunification.”

We are presently preparing a re-quest for humanitarian reinstatement in behalf of a client in Manila. Let us call him Jose. He was petitioned by his biological father in 1997. The petition was approved a month later. Since he is an unmarried child of a US citizen, his visa became avail-able a few months ago. Unfortunate-ly, last month, while he was waiting for the interview appointment, his father died.

We looked into Jose’s situation. His mother passed away in 2005. He now lives with his mother’s rela-tives but they do not support him and even maltreat him. Jose receives financial support from his father’s legitimate family here in the United States. His stepmother and stepsib-lings consider him as their own and have been looking forward to his arrival. In fact, they were the ones who came to my office to ask me to help Jose. They are concerned about Jose’s situation in the Philippines.

Jose has finished high school and did not anymore enroll for college because he plans to continue his studies in the United States.

We believe that Jose’ case has a good chance. First, he has waited a long time for his visa and it was about to come when his father died. He was almost there. Second, he is an orphan and his only close rela-tives are here in the United States, ready and capable of supporting him. Third, he is being maltreated by his relatives in the Philippines, such that it would not be humanitar-ian to allow this minor to continue suffering. Fourth, he has firmed up plans to study in the U.S., again under the sponsorship of his step-mother and stepsiblings. All these show that he has no significant ties in the Philippines, and that his place is here in the United States.

But to win a case, it must be well presented. We need to clearly show humanitarian reasons and submit the proper documentation to support them. It is always advisable not to make things difficult for the USCIS since they are already overburdened with a lot of cases. The documents should readily show all these ex-ceptional grounds to convince the USCIS that the case deserves its special attention. Bear in mind that a lot of similar requests reach the USCIS, each claiming humanitar-ian reasons. In fact, “humanitarian” has already become one of the most abused words before the USCIS, so your case must stand out as one re-ally worthy of its consideration.

Atty. Rogelio Karagdag , Jr. is licensed to practice law in both California and the Philippines. He practices immigration law in San Diego and has continuously been a

trial and appellate attorney in the Philippines since 1989. He travels between San Diego and Manila. His office address is located at 16486 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite 228, San Diego, CA 92128. He also has an office in the Philippines at 1240 Apacible Street, Paco, Manila, Phil-ippines 1007, with telephone num-

bers (632)522-1199 and (632)526-0326. Please call (858)348-7475 for your free consultation. We also encourage readers to write us ques-tions about both U.S. immigration and Philippine laws to be future topics in this column. Our email address is [email protected].

When the petitioner dies(Humanitarian Reinstatement)

BalintatawRead Virginia Ferrer’s previous articles by visiting our website

at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Virginia H. Ferrer


By Juaniyo Y. Arcellana Philstar, December 28, 2008

There’s a hint of nostalgia, a scent of days gone by when things were simpler and far from drowning in the vogue of virtual confusion in the recently launched collection of short fiction from Benjamin Bautista, Stories from Another Time (Ateneo de Manila Press 2008).

Here are 17 stories, brought to light again auspiciously enough on the 17th of last November at the Ateneo Professional Schools

Romance a la New Manila

at Rockwell Makati, where the liquor flowed and tasty viands filled many a jowl till late in the evening, gathering a motley group of liter-ary lions and aficionados as well as Bautista’s old classmates at the Ateneo, dare we say it, all with the fine taste of the bourgeois.

But wait, there’s more here than meets the eye of plain retrospective and recollection, and even if the fiction writer’s mentor and fellow Atenean Greg Brillantes aptly writes the foreword that itself reads like a short story, par for the course for

him and just Greg being Greg, the real deal is in these stories from another time, another place: a young writer speaking from a wrinkle of a spatial conundrum because, anyway, E is not always equal to mc squared.

Or is it? A good number of the stories were published in the 1950s in Heights, the Ateneo publication, when Bautista was still in his teens, and in many ways show a bright-eyed young man coming to terms with the world at large. If the author seems at the outset to be fond of rites of passage tales, then so be it; when we read them we cannot help but be remind-ed of our own rites of passage and initiation blues, when we realized that the things around us weren’t always what they seemed and the

awakening was not so much rude as enlightening, indeed surly epipha-nies waiting to be found.

The oldest story in the collection is ‘Sin’, published 1954 when Bautista was 16 years old. It tells of a boy who trades a medallion given by his mother for a toy airplane that easily breaks. Short but sweet, like truth revealing the unkindest cut: how many times have we ourselves fallen prey to lemons and in so doing given up a potential heirloom?

In the late 1950s the author was ready for a bigger stage, and so

several of his stories came out in the Philippines Free Press, whose editor Teodoro Locsin had invited him to lunch in the old office building in Sta. Cruz and treated him like a peer.

Among the stories that appeared

in Free Press were ‘The Baby in the Bottle’ and ‘Sampaguitas for Tonight’, both notable for their peacetime realism with an undercur-rent of social as well as domestic turmoil. The first is about a childless couple whose only failed miscar-riage is preserved in a bottle, even as the fetus itself slowly crumbles in the fluid. The second about an old man who gives up his dinner money to buy a garland of sampaguitas from an indigent girl, almost like a folk tale told from an alternative point of view.

In many ways they represent the author coming down from Jesuit hill. Let’s hear from Bautista in his introduction: “More frequently, I wrote dark, tragic stories because I thought they reflected a more seri-ous, more authentic perspective.”

Another magazine from which the stories were culled is Filipino Home Companion, which we surmise to be the predecessor of the Woman’s

Home Companion.Also in the ’60s ‘All the Girls

Named Lydia’ was published in Sunday Times Magazine, and bears a recurrent motif in the young writ-er’s early works. A young man tries but fails to rekindle an old flame who sadly enough has changed after a trip and studies abroad, and in the wide yard where a bienvenida party is held the heartbroken protagonist decides to stumble drunkenly home, saying goodbye to naive romance and all the girls named Lydia, why the setting almost seemed like New Manila, with the colored lights strung high above the garden and the whisky flowed like single malt memories in the gutter of disillu-sion.

Quite a unique piece in terms of construction is ‘Whatever hap-pened to Nenuca Montilla?’ with its shifting points of view, part society column and part news item, a bit of correspondence and a sampling of yearbook entries. Published in the late 1970s in the Brillantes-edited Manila Review, the story gives evidence of a mature writer willing to experiment with what might be called the first person plural, in the very real sense of plurality because the ‘I’ here is actually many persons.

Also in the ’70s was ‘The Student’ that came out in Focus, and captures well life in the university belt, par-ticularly one scholar newly arrived from the province who, reeling from a kind of culture shock in the big city, decides to steal a microscope from the school laboratory in order to see things - a strand of hair, a sampaguita bud left in the seat of a waitress in a beer garden – up close.

Let’s hear from the author again: “Writing became a frame of mind, a mode of thinking, a way of looking at myself and at the world outside and sorting things out in my head – ideas, feelings, perceptions, dreams – and then recasting and reshaping them on paper. The process became an ongoing experience which was, and remains to be, most gratifying.”

Among the authors Bautista men-tions he looks up to are Franz Arcel-lana, whose interior monologue by narrator is at times echoed in the younger writer’s stories; and Nick Joaquin, who Bautista lightheartedly admits had more influence on his drinking than on his writing.

The curious reader might well ask, where is the young writer of these stories now? One could hazard a guess and not be wide off the mark and say he is very much around, somewhere in New Manila, though thinly disguised as a man of about 70.

Long ago we wondered about the guy and the gatherings he held at his place in one of the numbered



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Waltz with Bashir - One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari Folman about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the fi rst Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing any-more about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mys-tery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images… Fol-man’s animated documentary has been acclaimed worldwide and is winner of 6 Israeli Film Academy Awards, including Best Film, Director, Screenplay and Art Direction. (Fully sub-titled) www.sonyclassics.com/waltzwithbashir/ This fi lm is Rated R by the MPAA. Running time 87 minutes.

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FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo


Revealed: Sepsis almost derailed Francis Magalona’s battle with the Big C.

Until he guested in a phone patch in last Saturday’s edition of Startalk, we didn’t know that Francis almost lost his continuing, brave battle with leukemia which was diagnosed last August after he came back with the Eat, Bulaga! people from L.A. where the show was mounted.

His voice as cheerful as if he’s in the pink of health, Francis revealed that he almost bade the world good-bye fi rst week of December when his blood pressure went alarmingly down to 35/20 due to sepsis (which is, according to Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, “a toxic con-dition resulting from the spread of bacteria or their toxic products from a focus of infection”).

“Sepsis is one of the deadliest diseases,” said Francis who recov-ered in time to celebrate Christmas Eve with all the members of the Magalona family (brothers and sisters, together with his and wife

Pia Arroyo’s children). “It was my happiest Christmas.”

Francis has been undergoing che-motherapy and has just completed his third session.

“I am now in remission,” he added.

But early next year, Francis said that he will undergo a bone-marrow transplant.

Funfare is again asking the readers to pray for Francis’ recovery. As the saying goes, More things are wrought by prayers than this world dreams of. Yes, indeed, prayers can move mountains.

Jose Rizal showing in New York Dec. 30

Ten years after it was made and hailed as one of the most signifi -cant Filipino fi lms of all time, Jose Rizal, the 1998 Marilou Diaz-Aba-ya epic with Cesar Montano in the title role, continues to be celebrated in various Filipino communities worldwide, particularly during the celebrations of Dr. Rizal’s birth (June 19, 1861) and martyrdom (Dec. 30, 1896).

Tomorrow (Dec. 30), the Filipino community in the New York area

(NY, New Jersey, Connecticut and Philadelphia) will screen the multi-awarded biopic at the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue in Manhat-tan, in commemoration of the 112th death anniversary of the Philip-pine national hero by execution at Bagumbayan (formerly Luneta, now Rizal Park).

This report came

from Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre (of The Filipino Reporter).

Said Edmund, “Co-sponsored by the Knights of Rizal-New York (KOR-NY) Chapter and the Philip-pine Consulate General in New York, the 7 p.m. fi lm showing will be preceded by a wreath-laying ceremony led by KOR-NY at the statue of Dr. Rizal at the Philippine Center lobby. Messages will be given by Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations Hilario Davide, a former KOR supreme commander; and Consul General Cecilia Re-bong.”

Jose Rizal has won over 70 local and international fi lm awards for Abaya, Montano and its powerhouse cast that includes Joel Torre, Gina Alajar, Jaime Fabregas, Gardo Ver-zosa, Chin-Chin Gutierrez, Mickey Ferriols, Pen Medina, Irma Adla-wan, Ronnie Lazaro, Peque Gal-laga, Subas Herrero, Tony Mabesa, Marco Sison, Tanya Gomez, Bon Vibar, Fritz Ynfante, Jong Hilario and Chiqui Xerxes-Burgos, with Gloria Diaz as Teodora Alonzo and Monique Wilson as Maria Clara.

“Now more than ever, Jose Rizal is the kind of movie that must be shown to the young generation to instill pride in their heritage and genuine love for their mother country,”

Edmund quoted Sir Prospero Lim, NY chapter commander of KOR, as saying.

Another KOR-NY member, Sir

Francis almost loses battle with the Big C



Light &Shadows

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

by Zena Sultana Babao

The year 2009 is here!What is it about the New Year

that strengthens our resolve to make a fresh start? Is it because every January we have that opportunity to transform and take our life to a new direction? Is it because “hope springs eternal” and we have hope that we can change for the better? Or is it because the decisions that we make today will impact our tomorrow?

Whatever it is – we are ready to once again to meet the New Year with positive expectations. The year 2008, with all its accompanying problems, is now a thing of the past and relegated to yesterday!

As we ease our way into 2009,

Ring In the New: A Fresh Start for 2009

and begin to formulate new resolu-tions, we are optimistic that despite difficult times, we can transform our life, have a better self, and perhaps a better world. In making our new year’s resolutions we need do away with the mistaken notion that resolu-tions are made to be broken. If not, our plans are dead in the water even before we start.

Once again we tell ourselves that we can take control of our lives. We can learn new things, find another job, and take control of our finances. We can do things we have never tried before. All we need to do is de-cide what and take action. And here is where the resolutions come in.

Okay, what is the number one

resolution every new year? You guessed it right – something related to health: like losing some weight, quitting cigarettes and booze, going on a diet, and working out in the gym more. Other favorite resolu-tions are: going to church and read-ing the Bible more often, attending family obligations, spending less on stuff we don’t even need, and saving and investing more.

I was watching an interview on Channel 9 yesterday about making goals or resolutions. The expert being interviewed has this advice: First, have a “Goal Book” in front of us, so we can start writing down the changes we wanted to make. Second, make our resolutions less daunting and more doable to make it easy for us to accomplish them. If it’s too difficult and too compli-cated, we will be putting it off and putting it off until we forget about it. Third, make resolutions that will make us feel great. Fourth, formulate some back-up plans just in case Plan A does not work, and we need to switch to Plan B. And fifth, is focus on our goals and not be sidetracked.

What are my resolutions this year? I only have a few.

First, I wanted to learn more. I don’t want to go back to school anymore, I’m done with it. What I wanted is to learn the easy way. Since I love to read books, I will continue to read books about every topic under the sun. I love to be challenged by new ideas.

Jim Rohn, one of America’s top motivational speakers, has this to say about ideas: “Ideas are life-changing. The ideas that you grab hold of today, and act upon, can make all the difference in the fulfill-ment of your dreams.” Some of these good ideas will probably stick to my mind, and I will be able to use them.

There’s a saying that “knowledge is power.” Yes it is, if we put that knowledge to good use. Otherwise it is not power. Our church’s former pastor, Dr. John Maxwell, said that anything that we do in life should create or add value to another’s life. Then the value that is created can be passed on to future generations to benefit more people. I wanted to be able to do that too – add value to another person’s life.

Second, I wanted to connect more with other people this year. In the past years, I don’t go out much except to travel when I have writing assignments. I have not attended most local community events here in San Diego, and I plan to do that this year. I feel that if I don’t con-nect more with people in our com-munity, I will be the worse for it.

Third, I will talk more to my friends face-to-face instead of relying on emails alone. Words on the screen no matter how great can never replace the sound of a friend’s voice or fully capture their emo-tions. I always turn to friends and loved ones when I am beset with problems. They are irreplaceable and I am filled with gratitude for their love and support.

Fourth, I will attend Toastmasters International meetings and confer-ences again. I have been absent from Toastmasters for six months because of health and other personal problems that I won’t go into right now. I really miss the camaraderie in Toastmasters, the joy of public speaking, and the excitement of joining and winning speech con-tests.

Toastmasters International, by the way, is the leading movement devoted to making effective oral communication a worldwide real-ity. Through its member clubs in over 90 countries, Toastmasters International helps men and women learn the arts of speaking, listen-ing and thinking – vital skills that promote self-actualization, enhance leadership potential, foster human understanding and contribute to the betterment of mankind.

And fifth, I wanted to serve God more. With the help of the Lord, I have realized most of my dreams except one – and that is becoming a minister. Maybe this year will be the year I will become one, God willing.


General Agnes Devanadera said that her office will see to it that no marriage in the Philippines is an-nulled or declared void without the evidence required by law.

“We are specifically alarmed with how psychological incapacity has been used by those spouses who wish to have their marriage declared void from the beginning,” Devanad-era said, adding that although the parties seeking annulment may not like the intervention of the OSG, as the defender of marriage bonds the OSG cannot allow a marriage to be dissolved without legal justification.

“Although the Supreme Court already laid the guidelines in the interpretation and application of psychological incapacity, some of our trial courts have become lenient in granting petitions for the annul-ment of marriage based on this,” she said.

Devanadera explained that the Supreme Court ruled that psycho-logical incapacity must be charac-terized by juridical antecedence, gravity and incurability and not just by mere “irreconcilable differences” or “conflicting personalities.”

“Proof must be given that the spouse who is alleged to be psycho-logically incapacitated is incapable of performing the duties and respon-sibilities of marriage and not just because he or she refuses to do so,” Devanadera said.

“Thus, refusal of the husband or the wife to get a job to support his or her family or being a drunkard is not psychological incapacity per se,” she added.

“While we sympathize with couples whose relationships appear to be without hope of reconciliation, we agree with the Supreme Court that the remedy, however, is not always to have marriage declared void ab initio (void from the start),” Devanadera said.

Annulments alarm SolGen(Continued from page 1)

New Year hopefulness in Luzon barely changed from 91 to 92 per-cent and stayed at 94 percent in the Visayas.

The 92 percent hopeful about the coming year is similar to the 91 percent posted in 2006 and in 2007. From 2000 to 2004, New Year hope ranged from 81 to 95 percent, the SWS said.

“In Germany, where the survey question originated, those express-ing hope ranged from 31 percent to 58 percent in 1991 to 2002. German hope in the coming year has not exceeded 58 percent since 1991,” the SWS said.

The SWS said New Year hopes are high across socio-economic classes – 92 percent among the middle to upper classes ABC, 92 percent among D class or the “masa” and 90 percent among the very poor class E.

Hopefulness for the New Year slightly increased among classes ABC, from 88 percent in 2007 to 92 percent in 2008.

Compared to 2007, it did not change among class D at 92 percent and class E, from 91 percent to 90 percent.

Among the 63 percent who expect a happy 2008 Christmas, 95 percent say they are entering the coming year with hope.

However, even among the eight percent who expect a sad Christmas, 76 percent look forward to 2009 with hope, the SWS said.

It said the survey question on hope versus fear about the New Year was patterned after the polls conducted annually by the Allensbach Institute of Demoskopy (http://www.ifd-allensbach.de), a pioneering opinion research center in Germany.

The SWS used sampling error margins of ±2.5 percent for national percentages, plus or minus six per-cent for Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao, and plus or minus four percent balance Luzon.

Deputy presidential spokesper-son Lorelei Fajardo welcomed the survey result.

“We have much to be hopeful about and grateful for. We have triumphed over the difficulties of this year from which we take away many valuable lessons that strength-en and make us, more prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.”

92% of Pinoys enter 2009 with

hope - poll

“2008 will be a hallmark year for the administration and the Palace vows to realize its vision for the country and enjoins every Filipino to support the government and work for the betterment of the nation. We are a country of strong, hardworking and kind people and hope springs eternal in the Filipino heart.” – Marvin Sy


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Francis almost loses battle with the Big C

(Continued from page 19)Joe Ramos, said the movie shows how strong and resilient the Filipino race is in the face of trials and tribu-lations. “It really is inspiring for Filipinos of all ages,” Ramos said.

Jose Rizal was a GMA Films entry to the 1998 Metro Manila Film Festival. Made with a reported record-breaking P80-million budget, it packed theaters and swept awards ceremonies. At the 1998 MMFF, it won all major awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Cesar Montano), Best Director (Marilou Diaz-Abaya), Best Supporting Actor (Jaime Fabregas), Best Supporting Actress (Gloria Diaz), Best Screen-play (Ricardo Lee, Jun Lana and Peter Ong Lim), Best Story, and the Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cul-tural Award, among others.

Edmund asked, “Now, 10 years later, can Baler, Viva Films/Bida Foundation’s official entry at this year’s MMFF, duplicate Jose Rizal’s success? I heard that Baler (or The Siege of Baler) is another historical masterpiece with Mark Meily at the helm. It also has a powerhouse cast including Jericho Rosales, Anne Curtis, Phillip Salvador, Joel Torre, Michael de Mesa, Ryan Eigen-

mann, Rio Locsin, Carlo Aquino, Mark Bautista, Bernard Palanca, Jao Mapa, Nikki Bacolod, Leo Martinez, Allen Dizon, DJ Durano, Andrew Schimmer, Alvin Anson, Mikel Campos, PJ Valero, Arvee Quizon, and Baron Geisler.”

For the information of Edmund, Baler has been getting rave reviews. The story and screenplay were written by Roy Iglesias. The theme song, Ngayon, Bukas at Kailanman, was composed by Louie Ocampo with lyrics by Edith Gallardo, and performed by Sarah Geronimo.

training, “You’ll end up as I was at 55, able to run five miles in 40 minutes, but unable to pick up a sack of groceries without putting out my back.”

9 simple steps to make 2009

your year to get healthy


For those under age 50, he rec-ommends a 70-80 percent aerobic and 20-30 percent weight train-ing exercise regimen. Over 50, decrease the aerobic exercise to 55-60 percent and increase weight training.

9. Train your brain to improve your thinking abilities. Seniors who participate in certain brain “exercise” programs can gain real cognitive improvements — im-provements that last for several years, according to a study in the December 20, 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study random-ized 2,832 people (average age: 74) to one of four groups: memory training, reasoning training, speed processing training, or no train-ing. Each group participated in 10 one-hour to one-and-a-half-hour training sessions.

Participants who took part in the training showed immedi-ate improvements in the specific cognitive ability in which they were trained, and those enhanced abilities continued even after five years. Other studies suggest that you don’t need to participate in organized training sessions to keep your mind limber. You can play intellectual games right at home such as chess or bridge, do Sudoku or crossword puzzles, or get to-gether with friends for some social interaction.

Have a happy and healthy New Year!

BUSINESS MATTERS (BEYOND THE BOTTOM LINE)

By Francis J. KongPhilstar

Husband and wife were convers-ing a few days before the end of the year.

Husband says: “Did you make a New Year’s resolution for the year 2005, dear?”

Wife says: “Yes, I promise start-ing the first of January I’ll spend less money at the mall.”

Husband says: “That’s wonder-ful. Now, how would you like to spend New Year’s

Eve?” Wife answered: “I want to go to

the mall and shop like crazy until midnight.”

I didn’t know there’s a thing called “Last supper shopping!”

Well, the year is about to end.Allow me to greet you with a

greeting I got last year from an anonymous source.

Here’s how it goes.Have a safe and happy new year!May your hair, your teeth, your

face-lift, your abs, and your stocks not fall;

and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your choles-terol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.

May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your car-diologist, your gastroenterologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your plumber, and the BIR.

What a resolution!May you find a way to travel

from anywhere to anywhere dur-ing rush hour in less than an hour, and when you get there may you find a parking space.

May this evening, Dec. 31, find you seated around the dinner table, together with your beloved family and cherished friends, ushering in the New Year ahead. You will find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure much more fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do that night.

May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them.

May the telemarketers wait to make their sales calls until you finish dinner, may your checkbook and your budget balance, and may they include generous amounts for your church and charities.

May you remember to say “I love you” at least once a day to your spouse, your child, and your parent(s). You can say it to your secretary, your nurse, your butcher, your photographer, your masseuse, your seamstress, your hairdresser or your tennis instruc-tor, but not with a “twinkle” in your eye.

May we live as intended, in a world at peace with the aware-ness of the beauty in every sunset, every flower’s unfolding petals, every baby’s smile and every won-derful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our heart.

Bless you with every happiness,

great health peace, and much love during the next year and all those that follow.

The New Year carries new chal-lenges but we need to live life one day at a time.

To be thankful to God for the grace and mercy He has showered upon our lives.

And so let me end this year’s message with the following greet-ing:

May you have:

Enough success to keep you eager,

Enough failure to keep you humble,

Enough joy to share with others,Enough trials to keep you strong,Enough hope to keep you happy,Enough faith to banish depres-

sion,Enough friends to give you

comfort,Enough determination to make

each day better than yesterday.

And may your love for Jesus Christ the Savior grow more in grace and knowledge everyday for the year to come.

A Blessed and a Christ filled New Year to one and all!


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threw 619 blows to Marquez’ 511 but was less accurate, 25 percent to 34. In jabs, Pacquiao landed 43 and Marquez, 42. In terms of volume and work rate, Pacquiao had the edge.

Pay-per-view hits went up to 405,000 translated to $20 million with Pacquiao claiming a share of at least $2 million added to his guar-anteed purse of over $5 million. The gate of more than 11,000 contrib-uted $3.3 million to the pot.

Pacquiao’s second fi ght of the year fell on June 28. This time, he faced WBC lightweight champion David Diaz at the Mandalay Events Center.

There was some apprehension that Pacquiao wouldn’t be able to carry over his speed and power to the lightweight division where the limit is 135 pounds compared to the superfeatherweight limit of 130.

But Pacquiao proved his resiliency in disposing of the durable Diaz in the ninth round of an action-packed thriller. Diaz went down, face fi rst, from a left hook to the jaw and referee Vic Drakulich didn’t bother to count. In a gesture of compas-sion, Pacquiao rushed in to check on Diaz’ condition as he lay on the canvas.

For seven weeks, Pacquiao was immersed in hard training at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, preparing for Diaz by adding muscle to his physique. With strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza lay-ing out a program designed to keep Pacquiao potent at his new weight, the jump to lightweight went smoothly.

As the challenger, Pacquiao

The Year of Pacquiao


earned about $5 million for the workout, including his share of the pay-per-view receipts from some 250,000 subscriptions. It was more than the $850,000 the champion received, a disparity that only con-fi rmed Pacquiao’s box offi ce stature.

Only eight fi ghters in history have claimed fi ve world titles in different divisions. Pacquiao joined Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar de la Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Lester Ellis, Hector Camacho and Roberto Duran in the elite cast.

In August, Pacquiao led the Philippine delegation in holding up the colors at the National “Bird’s Nest” Stadium in Beijing to open the Olympics. It was a role that President Arroyo herself assigned to Pacquiao. Never in the history of the Olympics had a professional boxer been accorded the honor of being a fl ag bearer for a country in the traditional inaugural parade. “While Manny’s not a participant in the Olympics, he epitomizes the ultimate Pinoy athlete, hav-ing gained unprecedented records and success as a world champion,” said Rep. Monico Puentevella, the newly-elected Philippine Olympic Committee chairman.

“The fl ag bearer represents the best of any country plus the fact that any Juan de la Cruz identifi es sports today with Manny. There is no greater once-in-a-lifetime honor our country can give than to make Manny walk beside Federer, Nadal, Kobe, LeBron and the others in the same arena. Manny deserves it.”

Then came the Dec. 6 showdown between Pacquiao and De la Hoya at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The fi ght was set at the catchweight limit of 147 pounds and Pacquiao checked in at l42, the heaviest he has ever scaled for a bout.

Again, there was apprehension

that Pacquiao wouldn’t be able to handle the extra weight, that his power would be severely dimin-ished.

But like the hero in a storybook ending, Pacquiao upset the odds in stopping De la Hoya at the end of the eighth round. He had a look of concern when De la Hoya, his face puffy from constant pounding, sur-rendered and told the Golden Boy, “You’re still my idol.” To which De la Hoya responded, “No, now you’re my idol.”

Pacquiao’s reward was recognition as the world’s best fi ghter today. Depending on the fi nal count of pay-per-view hits, he could walk away with a gross take of $20 million to $25 million. Pacquiao broke the one-million pay-per-view barrier for the fi rst time in his career as indica-tions pointed to at least 1.25 million buys for a gross income of about $70 million.

The Dream Match with De la Hoya tied for ninth overall in the all-time list and was the third biggest-selling non-heavyweight fi ght in pay-per-view history.

Last Dec. 17, Pacquiao hosted a lavish birthday treat for 2,000 well-wishers at the convention center of the KCC Mall in General Santos City. President Arroyo led the star-studded guest list which included Diaz, unbeaten knockout artist Ed-win Valero of Venezuela, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, trainer Freddie Roach, former Gov. Chavit Singson, Secretary Lito Atienza, Rep. Puent-evella, Bacolod City Mayor Bing Leonardia, Gen. Alexander Yano, Solar chairman William Tieng, Solar president Wilson Tieng, Solar chief operating offi cer Peter Chanliong, Michael Koncz, Rob Peters, Wakee Salud, Eddie Gutierrez, Annabelle Rama, Atlanta Olympics silver medalist Onyok Velasco and Smart Sports’ Patrick Gregorio.

The estimate was Pacquiao spent at least P5 million for the affair which featured a Las Vegas show-time theme with slot machines, poker tables and dancing girls on stage. Pacquiao treated his guests,

dressed to the nines, with endless food and drinks but didn’t forget his fans who couldn’t be accommo-dated. He provided food and drinks, too, for 5,000 more at the nearby Oval Plaza.

Pacquiao is now in the US to celebrate the holidays with wife Jinkee – expected to give birth to their fourth child, a girl to be named Queen Elizabeth any day now – sons Jemuel and Michael and daughter Mary Divine Grace.

Up next is a duel with IBO lightwelterweight champion Ricky Hatton of England on May 2 in Las Vegas. That should bring in another $20 million to Pacquiao’s bank ac-count. And to cap the year, Pacquiao will likely face unbeaten Floyd Mayweather.

The sky’s the limit for Pacquiao as he brings pride, honor and glory to the Philippines as a global icon and living legend. The story of the King of the Ring is far from over.

the discovery and subsequent vener-ation of the Santo Nino de Cebu by Friar Andres de Urdaneta, and peak-ing during the era of Rizal. In his descriptions of Capitan Tiago’s pri-vate chapel, Jose Rizal gave future scholars an insight into the manic

The fi estas of Rizal


level the veneration of iconography reached: “There was a group of the Holy Family, their busts and limbs done in ivory…oil paintings, also by Filipino artists, depicting the suffering of the holy martyrs and the miracles of the Virgin...”

Of the two fi estas, Rizal’s re-nowned powers of observation have given us an insight into rites and rituals of the communal activities. In Obando, their Orational Dance was a fertility ritual, aimed at help-ing childless couple conceive. The legend was if the couple danced be-fore the image of San Pascual they would be blessed with a child. Rizal made mention of this ritual in Noli me Tangere: “…Father Damaso advised her to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Obando, there to dance on the feast of San Pascual and ask for a son…” As the story goes, Doña Pia went, danced and gave birth to Maria Clara.

Once, the premier pilgrimage in the Philippines was to Our Lady of Antipolo. The legend of Our Lady of Antipolo was directly connected to the Manila galleon trade. The galleon trade was the economic life-blood of the islands, and she became famous for saving a galleon from a tempest during her journey to the islands. She then became the patroness of the galleon trade and known as Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage. Rizal was likely not a devotee of Our Lady of Antipolo, however he made her fl uvial proces-sion the centerpiece of his one-act zarzuela (written at age 19) and, through his writings, preserved our vision of the Antipolo pilgrimage at the height of its devotion. Jose Rizal gave us the best contemporary description of the pilgrimage. To-day, much of the devotion has been forgotten and few remember the mystique with which she was held.

In crafting his tales of the Philip-pines, Jose Rizal spurred the forma-tion of a new Philippine identity and national consciousness and created a snapshot of the devotions and venerations of his period. How many countries can boast having a National Hero acclaimed not on the strength of his arms, but on the power of his mind? He left us with a wealth of knowledge; observations and thoughts that remain paramount in Filipino literature. We do not need to rely on second-hand stories and legends of his accomplishments;

we just need to read his works to gain the measure of the man and the hero.

streets perpendicular to Gilmore and Hemady, and where the elder generation of writers would come home with t-shirts that read ‘I AM a friend of A NATIONAL ARTIST’ and ‘Palayain si Ben Bautista!’

But perhaps Greg B. said it best when he praised these stories for being none other than short stories as we knew the term to be, no more no less. In their unpretentiousness lies their power. And the writer, long missing in his abode in New Manila (having disappeared into the business of earning a living), the romance not so much having to do with eros as with another time in a distant place, remains in this collec-tion forever young, a lost-and-found link in the history of our fi ction in these islands.

Romance a la New Manila


most chaste Virgin Mother of God bore in her arms the true light and came to help those who were lying in darkness. In the same way, we must hurry out to meet him who is truly light, enlightened by the beams of his brightness and bearing in our hearts the light which shines for all men. Indeed, this is the mystery that we celebrate, that the light has come into the world and has given it light when it was shrouded in darkness, and that the dayspring has visited us from high and given light to those who were sitting in darkness. That is why we go in procession with lamps in our hands and hasten bearing lights showing both that the light has shone upon us, and signifying the glory which is to come to us through him. Therefore let us run to meet God. That true light which enlightens every man coming into the world has come. Brethren, let us all be enlight-ened, let us all be fi lled with light.” St. Sophronius.

A New Year’s Resolution


Balayan Association to Host Pre Valentine’s Day Dinner-Dance;

Everyone is Welcome

Asian Journal Jan 02.2009

Documents

Transcript of Asian Journal Jan 02.2009