Asian Journal Oct 9 2009

Bohol Sunset. Photo by Ferdinand Edralin

Philippine Scene

(Continued on page 14)


$34,000 condo units in Tagaytay. While you are away, you can rent out your unit as a condotel and make money on your investment. Presentations available on Saturday, October 31, 2009, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Asian Journal offi ce at 550 East 8th Street Suite 6, National City, CA 91950 (in Old Schoolhouse Square). Call (619) 717-6065 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.

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the high point of TagaytayPHILIPPINE NEWS

SERVICE -- Former police offi cer Glenn Dumlao is convinced that it was former President Joseph Estrada who ordered the execu-tion of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito.

Dumlao’s lawyers Rogelio Agoot and Morel R. Callueng revealed this in the wake of newspa-per reports quoting some personalities that there is no strong evi-dence linking the former leader to the cel-

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE -- SENATOR Loren Legarda could be the country’s temporary president if the auto-mated national elec-tions fail next year, according to a bill on succession approved by the House com-mittee on revision of laws yesterday.

After long de-bates, the panel chaired by Isabela

Loren could be temporary prexy

Senator Loren Legarda

Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao, a leader of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), adopted in principle House Bill (HB) No. 3194 fi led by Nueva Ecija Rep. Edno Joson after Makati City Rep. Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin moved for its approval.

The panel agreed to ap-

point the most senior member of the Senate with three more years in service after June 2010 as the acting president.

The acting president is obliged to hold a presidential election within 60 days after his assumption, the bill said.

The most senior

Erap ordered Dacer execution — Dumlao

ebrated double murder case.Callueng bared that his

client is morally convinced that Estrada gave the order to neutralize Dacer and Corbito.

He added that Dumlao was tasked by former Senior Supt. Michael Ray Aquino to conduct a tactical inter-rogation on Dacer after his

abduction in Novem-ber 2000.

“Dumlao was the one who conducted tactical interrogation on Dacer who was suspected to have fed information to the opposition regarding

BW scam. Dumlao was asked to secure the documents (taken) from Dacer,” Callueng said. “It’s in his (Dumlao) affi davit,’’ he added.

Agoot said Dumlao saw Dacer still alive

PNS -- JOEL Lamangan is certainly the busiest TV and fi lm director today. After “Adik Sa’Yo,” he now megs Mark and Jen in “Ikaw Na Sana.” He also directed them earlier in “Paano Ba ang Mangarap,” a hit. On the big screen, he has two fi lms in the can: the political thriller “Dukot” and the gay dance-drama, “I Luv Dream Guyz.” He’s now lensing two new fi lms: “Sagrada Familia” with Lovi Poe and Snooky Serna (“3 days na lang kami”) and just started “Mano Po 6” with Sharon Cuneta, Christopher de Leon, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Den-nis Trillo, Boots Anson Roa, Sid Lucero and as Sharon’s daughter, Heart Evangelista (so Dennis gets his wish to fi nally work with Heart, and in a movie at that, not just

Heart is Sharon’s daughter in ‘Mano Po 6’

Heart Evangelista

on TV.) He’s also set to start shooting a new indie drama, “Burak,” about the dregs of our society, written by Palanca award-winner, Eric Ramos.



By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Asian Journal San DiegoThe original and fi rst Asian

Journal in America

October 9 - 15, 2009

Light and Shadows EntertainmentThrough the Eye

of the Needle

In PerspectiveEmerging out

of ChaosSarah wouldn’t

do a Taylor Swift

Manny stood up. His heart was not hurting anymore.

Outside, the rain had stopped, making way for a nice cool breeze of air. It had been a beautiful

day after all, an enchanted evening for him.

By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.

Publisher and EditorAsian Journal

San DiegoThe original and fi rst

Asian Journal in America

See page 3

PHILIPPINES TODAY

It was a beautiful day after all

Manny stood up. His heart was not hurting anymore.

day after all, an enchanted

By Aurora S. Cudal

When Kalusugan Community Services (KCS) responded to the request of the Offi ce of Councilmember Tony Young and accepted the responsibil-ity to be the fi scal agency of

2009 FilAmFest draws more than 13,000 people at Paradise Hills

A huge crowd gathers at the Kalayaan stage to see the next performance.

Assembly member Marty Block awards a proclamation to Dr. Ofelia Dirige, Mrs. Aururo S. Cudal and Luisito Melchor Jr., while Assembly member LoriSaldana and Councilmember Ben Hueso look on.

the Filipino Heritage Festival in 2006, little did they know what they were getting into. Dr. Riz A. Oades and Dr. Ofe-lia V. Dirige went beyond the request and decided to write grant proposals to support

Manila, Philippines | Oct. 9, 2008 - My good friend and compadre, Riz Oades, had passed away at age 74. He was a “legend” of San Diego’s Filipino American Community, as well as a much-admired academician, trailblazer, community treasure and much more. Whatever super-latives one might want to apply to him, I must agree. For that’s how much I admire his contribu-tions to his beloved San Diego Filipino Americans. In fact, when people were raising funds for the Filipinos in the Philip-pines, Riz was always quick to remind them: “Don’t forget the Filipino Americans, They too need help!”

I am in Manila with my wife conducting business and visit-ing friends and relatives. I woke up at 2 a.m. and could not sleep. When I checked my e-mail, I read a message about Riz’s pass-ing. To say that I was shocked would be an exaggeration. I knew he was ailing and in the hospital. Weeks before, I was told that he was involved in a vehicular accident. When doctors examined him at the hospital, they discovered a tumor in his intestine. A good portion of the organ was removed. His family wanted privacy and only a few of us knew about his condition,

Only last April, Riz escaped death. I was also visiting the Philippines at that time when he had a stomach aneurysm. He was in coma for at least two weeks. Many gave up on him for good. All the people I knew who had suffered an aneurysm did not survive. Apparently invoking his luck in gambling, Riz be-came the exception. In just a few weeks, he was up and about. He would boast in the past that he didn’t care much about his health because of his good genes. His father lived up to his nineties and died in a freak accident. His mother, nearing the century mark, is still alive today despite surviving cancer. Riz, with his full head of hair and that mis-chievous grin, looked forward to a long life. But he had done more

Dr. Riz A. Oades passes away at age 74

October 9 - 15, 2009Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com


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Balik-Tanaw: The Filipino Stars

of Yesteryears

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

by Dr. Romy R. Protacio

Myrna Delgado with Norma Vales in Washington State.

Myrna Delgado is Beatriz Baker in real life. She was

born on May 10, 1936. She joins the likes of many actresses in the Philip-pine cinema who are of Visayan descent and whose origins are in Leyte. Her parents were Frank Baker, an American, and Regina Borela, a Filipina from the Visayas.

She started making movies in 1950. Like any growing girl during her time, she dreamt of becoming a movie star. She would often go to Sampaguita Pictures to watch shootings of her favorite movie stars. She would later on do bit roles until she met Nida Blanca and Cecilia Lopez. I remember Myrna doing mostly supporting roles but her acting was “may dating” and “markado.”

One evening when I was hav-ing dinner at the Aristocrat Res-taurant on Roxas Boulevard in April 2009, I bumped into Vicky Anson, with her sister Boots Anson-Roa. Vicky mentioned to me that Myrna Delgado is now in Washington States. I was excited to talk to Myrna. Kinu-lit ko ng kinulit si Vicky until I could get Myrna’s telephone number. Until then, I didn’t real-ize that there was a connection between the Ansons and Myrna. I learned later on that Myrna’s fi rst husband, Waldo, was the brother of Oscar Moreno, the fa-

Myrna Delgado:Living a Quiet Life

The young Myrna Delgado

Myrna Delgado in "Tulisang Pugot"

ther of Vicky and Boots. When I returned to Seattle, Washington, my fi rst order of business was to contact Myrna.

I didn’t have any problem call-ing Myrna’s telephone number. On my fi rst call, I had a long talk with her. It was not an interview really, more of a “chikahan.” I believe we talked for an hour reminiscing the past. I told her she will always be remembered as one of the prettiest faces of the silver screen back then and I enjoyed watching her fi lms. Her response was a very upbeat, “Echos!” The word “Echos” was a very popular term during Myrna’s time which describes somebody making “boladas” or someone who sounds insincere with compliments.

She was quite hesitant at fi rst to give an interview about her personal life. She had bad expe-riences previously with people talking about her life and making remarks on things that she felt were private and her own busi-ness. At the end, I convinced her to be interviewed. In our conversation, she mentioned that

Norma Valez, one of her con-temporaries, is also in the United States. Unfortunately, Norma does not want to be interviewed. Myrna tried to convince Norma but to no avail. For many years now, Norma has avoided the press to talk about her life today, and her choice to keep her life very private is something I thought I should respect.

After my fi rst phone conver-sation with Myrna, she promised to call me and let me know when would be the best time to call her. In a few days, I got her message on my answering ma-chine that I could interview her on a Wednesday morning. When the day came to call her, she was having her breakfast. I told her I would call her back to allow her to fi nish her breakfast. Ten minutes later, I was surprised to get a return call from her! She was very considerate in calling me instead, so that I won’t have an enormous phone bill. She said that her telephone plan is consumable and covers her long distance calls.

Her Movie CareerAlthough Myrna did several

movies starting in 1950, very few may remember her because she made a gracious exit at the height of her career. She left the Philippines in 1978. In fact, she could hardly remember the mov-ies that she made. Her Filmog-raphy, however, listed about 35 movies, such as: “Ang Princesa at ang Pulubi” (1950), “Tres Muskiteros” (1951), “Kasay-sayang ni Dr. Ramon Sega” (1951), “Teksas, ang Manok na Nagsasalita” (19520, “Monghi-ta” (1952), “Kasaysayan ni Rudy Concepcion” (1952), “Basahang Ginto” (1952), “Tulisang Pugot” (1953), “Recuerdo” (1953), “May Umaga Pang Darating” (1953), “El Indio” (1953), “Tres Ojos” (1954), “Matandang Da-laga” (1954), “Dumagit” (1954), “Waldas” (1955), “Artista” (1955), “Tatay na si Bondying” (1955), “Contravida” (1955) “Prince Charming” (1956), “Chabacano” (1956).

Myrna thinks she stopped mak-ing fi lms for Sampaguita Pictures after 1956, after which she de-cided to go freelance. She made movies for Premier Productions and remember very well working with famous names like Gloria

Sevilla and Nida Blanca.When I asked Myrna what she

thinks about the movies today, she said, “Pareho pa rin nung araw. You can predict the end-ing,” and she laughed. During her time, she does not remember having any problem with movie stars exhibiting prima donna complexes or “pa star”. It was a terrible no-no for them to come late during shootings. Learning discipline was simply a part of the craft. She remembers very well that during shootings she was the “life of the party”, so to speak, always bubbly. “Ako ang kalog nun palagi sa cast”, she remembers very well.

Her online fi lmography shows that her last picture was “A Gift of Love” (1972).

Her Love life

I asked Myrna how she lived her life with her fi rst husband, Waldo Anson. “It was the very fi rst big mistake of my life!”, she recounts. “I was only 15 years old back then and at 15, sunod-sunuran lang ako kay Waldo who was nine years my senior and very domineering.” I remarked, “maaga ka pa lang kumiri!”, to which she agreed with laughter.

“Waldo left me when my daughter, Carol, was 10 months old. He went to Madrid to pur-sue his master’s degree in Civil Engineering. Our understand-ing was he’ll be back after 1/1/2 years. The year passed by and still, no Waldo came back. Our marriage lasted less than two years. I fi led an annulment. It was a tedious process because you know naman having your

marriage annulled in the Philip-pines is an ordeal. You deal with corrupt judges. To facilitate the annulment of my marriage, the judge even tried to be indiscreet with me!” she bitterly shared. From her voice, you can really sense the bitterness still. Be-cause she was not able to get an annulment, she could not marry the next man who entered her life. A fi ne American gentlemen with French descent, Etienne Elfer Jr. was her next lasting relationship, with whom she had two sons – Etienne III, and Steve.

I was feeling lucky that day, and tried my luck pushing for more “meaty” confessions. However, I told Myrna that she doesn’t have to answer my next question if she feels uncomfort-able sharing, not just to me, but of course to whoever will read this excerpt from her life. I asked her if she ever was in-volved with a fellow actor during her younger years. She says, “Parang hindi mo naman alam.” (Honestly, I could swear I was not aware of her love life until that very interview!) Then she quickly said, “Ibig mong sabihin hindi ka tsismoso?” And she laughed!

I was shocked from what I heard. Sa totoo ‘lang, wala talaga akong alam! Probably I was no longer in the Philippines when it happened or I was not paying attention to the “tsis-mis.” She then shared with me something that probably only her closest friends know about. She

said she had a steaming romantic affair with Romeo Vasquez, way before Amalia Fuentes married him. That relationship bore Myrna son whom she named Luigi. “Bobby is palikero,” she says.

It was a bit of a shock to me to learn this, as I’ve always thought that Amalia Fuentes was the only woman with whom Bobby Vasquez had children. It turned out, Liezel was not the only daughter of Romeo. He also had an affair with Nina Hernaez with whom he had a daughter named Carla. All in all, Romeo has 3 children --- one from Myrna, one from Nina, and another from Amalia. All along, I thought Romeo Vasquez’ true love was Amalia Fuentes. Ay mali!

And to this day …The last time Myrna was in

Manila was in 1978 when her mother had a stroke in 1979. When she left the country, she moved from one state to another – Massachusetts, New York, and then Los Angeles and Glendale, California. She decided to settle down in Washington State in 1979. Wala siyang dalang vin-tage photos when she moved to the US, but she promised to mail me a picture with Norma Valez.

For a while, Myrna owned and managed an Adult Family Home. She transformed her extra three bedrooms in her house into an Adult Family Home, where her fi rst clients were Senior citizens. Later on, she also welcomed physically handicapped clients.

Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comOctober 9 - 15, 2009

PHILIPPINE NEWS SER-VICE -- BRACE for a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. mega-fi ght come 2010.

In the event both boxing superstars hurdle their respec-tive coming fi ghts, the path to a multi-million showdown is ex-pected to be sealed and delivered

Manny to fi ght Floyd next

Manny Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

in what could yet be the biggest ever fi ght in the rich history of prize fi ghting.

A highly reliable source within the Pacquiao camp confi rmed that the unbeaten Mayweather is now within the radar of the Filipino ring icon, provided of

course, he gets past tough Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto in their World Boxing Organi-zation (WBO) welter-weight showdown on Nov. 14.

Mayweather also has to make his side of the bargain by beat-ing durable Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez when they face-off next week in a 12-round non-title fi ght at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“Pag nanalo kami parehas ni May-weather, kami na ang next na mag-lalaban,” the source quoted Pacquiao as saying shortly after the small entourage of the world’s top pound-for-pound fi ghter arrived in San Francisco to promote his title fi ght with Cotto.

“May mga pag-uusap na,” added the same source on the possibility of a mega-buck match.

First things fi rst, Pacquiao needs to concentrate on the 28-year old Cotto, whom he consid-ers as the biggest and hardest fi ght of his career.

“Focus muna tayo kay Cotto,” said the Pacman.

Pacquiao is guaranteed to earn $13 million in the Cotto fi ght, plus a lucrative cut in the pay-per-view earnings.

The amount is expected to

double in the event he collides with Mayweather Jr, whose high-ly-anticipated match with the great Oscar De La Hoya in 2007 generated a record pay-per-view of 2.5 million buys.

The 1996 Atlanta Olympics bronze medalist is coming off

a two-year retirement. He was generally regarded as the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world until he hang up his gloves in 2007.

Pacquiao’s eight round demoli-tion of De La Hoya last Decem-ber was a big hit as well with

1.25 PPV.Following a whirlwind pro-

motion of his fi ght in Cotto’s hometown in Caguas, Puerto Rico, Pacquiao was fl own in by Top Rank Promotions in Los Angeles, where the week-long, fi ve city tour is expected to end Tuesday.

He and Cotto dropped by the AT& T Park in San Francisco to hype the fi ght and at the same time, watched the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The two protagonists meet each other for the last time at the Beverly Hills Hotel Monday for the fi nal conference of the press tour.

Philippine Today

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

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

A knock at the door interrupted Manny’s nap at three o’clock

that Sunday afternoon. He was lying on top of an of-fi ce desk, enjoying the cool breeze of an air conditioner when he heard the three knocks. He quickly sat up, put his feet on the fl oor, and walked towards the door. When he opened it, it was Ferdie who was smiling at him mischievously. Behind him was a woman who was looking away from Manny.

“Are you alone?” Ferdie asked Manny.

“Yes,” he answered. Ferdie should know, Manny thought. The offi ce is closed on weekend, and hardly anybody comes in, especially on a Sunday.

Ferdie went inside, followed by the girl. The two went inside the offi ce suite of Ferdie’s father-in-law, the owner of the insurance agency housed in that offi ce. Af-ter a few minutes, Ferdie came out, smiling.

“I put the sofa right in front of the keyhole,” he told Manny. “You can watch us.”

“Who’s she?” Manny asked.“She’s the girl I met at Balete

Drive the other night, remem-ber?”

Manny remembered. The other night, Ferdie came again at 9 o’clock in the evening. It was way past closing time at the of-fi ce. Ferdie was quite drunk.

“I’ll just take a nap,” he told Manny. “I’m too drunk to go home.”

Manny was lying on the sofa when the phone rang. Ferdie answered it. As he was already half asleep, Manny could hardly hear the conversation. He was in deep slumber when Ferdie woke him up.

“Come on, Manny,” he said. “Come with me.”

“Where? I’m already asleep,” he protested.

“We won’t take long. Just ac-company me. I need to see this girl.”

The earlier phone call turned out to be a wrong number. But Ferdie was attracted to the sweet voice of the lady caller. He engaged her in a conversation and before they knew it, they were talking for almost an hour, enjoying each other’s company.

“I dared this girl to meet me near her house,” Ferdie ex-plained.

“Why do I need to go with you?” Manny asked.

“I need you to stay inside the taxi so that the driver won’t leave,” Ferdie answered.

Manny wanted to protest, but he could not. He owed Ferdie his job.

They took a cab and proceeded to New Manila in Quezon City. Near the corner of Balite Drive and Mother Ignacia streets, Fer-die ordered the driver to park on the side of the road. He got out and walked towards the dimly lit street corner. From the inside of the cab, Manny could see Ferdie standing under a lamp post. In a little while, a woman walked to-wards him and they talked. After fi fteen minutes, Ferdie returned. He was smiling.

Now, that Sunday afternoon, Ferdie and the girl were inside Ferdie’s father-in-law’s offi ce. He even invited Manny to watch them through the keyhole of the door.

IT WAS ONLY A MONTH

It was a beautiful day after all

The pain he felt remained in him for months. He buried himself to work, tilling the land and doing

other farm chores. But no matter how much he tried to forget her, he always thought of Sandy. In spite of the back-breaking farm work and the emotional pain he endured, he found the fi nancial reward too little at the end of harvest. It was not even enough for his

family’s needs.AGO when Manny took that janitorial/offi ce boy job in that small insurance agency. He was helping his father in the farm at their home in Barrio Lontok, Aklan, and he was fi guring out how he could come to Manila and pursue his col-lege studies. A neighbor recommended him to Ferdie, the son-in-law of the insurance agency’s owner, who was in search of a janitor. The ar-rangement suited Manny’s needs. He could work during the day and sleep in the offi ce at night. After a month, when the school semester starts, he could go to school. It had been his dream to be an accountant and escape the crippling poverty that hampered generations of his family. He hoped to be the fi rst in their fam-ily of farmers to obtain a college degree.

Right from the outset, how-ever, he found out that Ferdie was not only violating the trust of his wife and father-in-law; he was also making a mockery of the sanctity of the offi ce. He was using it as a motel room to enjoy private moments with his girlfriends. He swore Manny to secrecy; Manny could not help but agree because it was Ferdie who recommended him for the job.

The following Monday, a new clerk, Sandy, reported for work in the offi ce. Although she dressed simply, she was pretty, with long hair and fair complex-ion. Manny immediately fell for her. But because of his fi nancial and job situation, he brushed aside whatever feelings were de-veloping in him. He knew he had

other priorities: his studies and the need to alleviate his family from poverty. He had no time or the means to pursue the affection of a girl. He merely contented himself with looking at her from a distance, although he always felt a tinge of jealousy whenever Ferdie would fl irt with her.

Days passed and Manny could not control his emotions. He found himself hopelessly in love with Sandy but he knew that pursuing her would be hopeless. He was poor as a rat, working as a janitor and would remain so unless he obtained a col-lege degree. But he thought of her day and night, at work, and before and after he went to sleep. The thought of winning her love someday motivated him more to pursue his goal and succeed in the big city.

Then it happened. Manny was coming back to the offi ce that Saturday afternoon after pick-ing up enrollment information from the university when he saw Sandy and Ferdie about to board a taxi. Ferdie saw him, smiled and winked. He fl ashed an “ok” sign at Manny. Manny thought Sandy was different from the other girls that Ferdie had pur-sued. He never imagined that she too would fall prey to Ferdie’s

charm, a mar-

ried man at that.

Manny was devastated. As the taxi sped away, his heart sank and his spirit defl ated. His feet weakened. The thought of Ferdie and Sandy consummating their illicit relationship in a cheap mo-tel room slowly and agonizingly ate him up for the rest of the day and the following morning. He lost his will to live. Before the night fell that Sunday, he gath-ered his belongings and took the bus to Batangas port. He wanted to escape the offi ce as everything in it reminded him of Sandy. From Batangas, he boarded a ferry that took him to his home-town in Aklan.

The pain he felt remained in him for months. He buried himself to work, tilling the land and doing other farm chores. But no matter how much he tried to forget her, he always thought of Sandy. In spite of the back-breaking farm work and the emotional pain he endured, he found the fi nancial reward too little at the end of harvest. It was not even enough for his family’s

needs. He looked at his parents as they quietly shared a meal of dried fi sh, the only ones they could afford, and once again, he came to the same old conclusion: working the farm would not do it. They would eventually die of hunger if he didn’t do anything. He had to endure the pain of his broken heart, forget about his lost love, face the music and go back to Manila to pursue his dream once again. Lucky for him, a cousin recommended him to a construction job. He worked hard until the fi rm’s owner, im-pressed with his dedication and honesty, hired him as a payroll clerk in one of his companies. After a year, he was ready to pursue his aborted college stud-ies again.

HE WAS SITTING ON A CHAIR inside the school canteen, staring at a blank wall while waiting for the rain to stop. It was not a beautiful day for him. It rained all day. After a hard day’s work, he attended his classes dispirited with the thought of his lost love, Sandy, gnawing inside him as usual. When it was time to go home, the rain poured once more.

Suddenly, he felt two cold hands covering his eyes. He also smelled a familiar scent, that of a

perfume on a handkerchief that he picked up on the fl oor of his former of-fi ce. When he turned around, he saw the smil-ing face of Sandy.

“What are you doing here?” was all he could say.

“I am enrolled here,” she said.“What about

Ferdie?” he asked.

“What about him?” she asked back.“I thought you

were together.”“What made you think that?”“I saw you board a taxi that

Saturday afternoon.”“That jerk,” Sandy was mad.

“I promised to treat him to lunch because he gave me the job, but he tried to take me to a motel afterwards. I escaped, quit the job, but not after calling up his father-in-law and telling him about Ferdie’s shenanigans.”

Sandy did not know that Man-ny also quit his job that weekend since she never returned to the offi ce. She found another job and was on her second year in her ac-counting course.

“Can I take you home?” Man-ny asked, fi nding the courage out of nowhere.

“Of course,” her sweet smile enlivening her angelic face.

Manny stood up. His heart was not hurting anymore. Outside, the rain had stopped, making way for a nice cool breeze of air. It had been a beautiful day after all, an enchanted evening for Manny.- AJ


by Genevieve Tagudin-Silverio

In Perspective

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

Sometimes it takes a storm to defi ne priorities. Lunging for cover at the height of Typhoon Yoling in the 70s, it took me a split second to break away from the huddle my brother, young sister, mother and father and I had formed in the middle of the living room awaiting the inevitable to decide a method of survival, when none seemed within reach. A moment before, I was sent scurrying down the stairway of our two-storey home pelted by shards of glass from a balcony window. It was shat-tered into hundreds of pieces by the negative air pressure of the twister hidden within Yolingís signal no 5 winds. In that mo-ment, the images of safety and comfort that the idea of home conjured in oneís mind blew out, chased by a force of nature few to this day have the ability to deal with.

Clothes neatly folded a second ago were now strewn on treetops or caked with mud and debris on the ground. Miraculously, I sur-vived without a scratch and so did my mother, father, sister and brother. The house, however, our shelter during the storm, was sliced sideways. The storm had lifted out the ceiling in the liv-ing room where we huddled in shock and emptied out what was above our heads, the bedrooms, the roof and the idea of the house as a shelter.

The stairway that once led to the door of my own bedroom, the sanctuary of a comfortable bed, and the desk that held the pencil sketches I often drew now

Emerging out of chaosopened to an empty sky. Had I made it up to the stairway a second earlier, I too would have been taken up like a ragdoll in the whirlwind. It was the guitar I wanted to retrieve from the bedroom. It was nowhere to be found.

Curiously, my bed and the headboard were still neatly in place although the sheets were gone. The storm that had demol-ished everything else around it left it alone, along with a small porcelain statue of the Blessed Mother I kept on the headboard and which had then fallen on the bed, it hands formerly folded in prayer broken in the storm.

Only the charity of a neigh-bor who took us all in brought a sense of normalcy in the aftermath. It felt like we lived with the family for weeks if not months on end until the house, the concrete structure of the lower level still intact, was fi nally rebuilt as a more modest bungalow with a roof construct-ed to weather the fury of the elements. Protected by a canopy of trees, the roof worn out by the storms that ravage the country still stands thirty years later to this day.

Storms are a great equalizer. The day before, we lived in a beautiful house that stood tall against the sprawling bungalows on our street. A day later, we soon found ourselves the recipi-ents of the good will of strang-ers who sent boxes of clothes. So did our neighbors who lost a roof here and there as the twister hop-scotched through the area.

We were not alone. Houses on our street were damaged along with a sari-sari store that tum-bled and rolled off the street like a cardboard box in the wind.

In the face of daunting odds, the neighborhood rebuilt and sprung back helped back on its feet by the countless and name-less good Samaritans who had taken people like us into their care. This was Marikina before it became famous. The Marikina I knew before it became the ìCleanest Cityî under the succes-sion of mayors surnamed Fer-nando. It is the same Marikina that I hardly recognized on past visits because it had grown more beautiful with time. It is also the Marikina that one Saturday ago had now been humbled and laid bare once more by a storm called Ondoy.

For those who survive to tell of their ordeal, time becomes a measurement of how far we have come. In several decades, Ondoy will fade like Yoling from this generationís memory. But the lessons will remain.

This is what I have learned in a nutshell.

Calamities may uproot us but they also leave us with an urgent sense that we belong to a com-munity. We may have lost sight of each other in our struggle to get ahead in fair weather. But our stories become entwined in the fury of a storm. When I look back, I remember being more shocked by the generosity of people and being made to see the goodness that I did not expect of my fellowmen. The seemingly brutal act of God revealed what was priceless about the human spirit.

Brought back to nothingness, we are forced to reassess our lives. What seemed important the day before no longer is. The fi ghts that were fought over issues now forgotten are wiped clean in an act of survival. In the face of destruction, storms allow us to rebuild our lives.

Storms also teach us to take nothing for granted. Time is a gift. And with it comes wisdom in hindsight. For this reason, if

you can do some small act of kindness for another, do it. If you are in offi ce and have the power to enact just laws that can save lives, do it. If you are a

builder, build with safety in mind on high ground. If you live in the foothills and valleys, plant trees in denuded watersheds uphill. If you are searching for meaning in

life, look down at the waters you are immersed in ñ not up. Take up the cause. Do it. These are all acts of humanity that are con-


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(Continued from page 1)

Dr. Riz A. Oades passes away at age 74

By Simeon G. SilverioPublisher and Editor

Asian Journal San Diego

(This article was originally printed in the San Diego Asian Journal on November 12, 2005.)

One of the most promi-nent, and perhaps, provocative Filipino

American intellectuals in San Diego today is Riz Oades, retired professor of history at San Diego State University and co-founder of Kalusugan Com-munity Services (KCS).

Hundreds of second-generation Filipino American students have passed through his hands and have imbibed his interpretation of Asian American history. To these young Filipino Americans, Riz presents their first encounter with a Filipino in the academe; one who is distinctly different from their first-generation im-migrant parents of whom many are unschooled and struggle with English.

For almost fifteen years, Riz carried on his love affair with the community by writing a col-umn, “Asian American Experi-ence,” in the Asian Journal. In words meant for his countrymen, his writings influenced many more Filipino Americans outside the four walls of the classroom.

Yet, the great responsibility of constantly being in the public eye has never been a cause of concern for the professor. As history has it, Riz has managed to stir some controversy for speaking his mind, among his countrymen whose sensitive na-ture makes them the least likely to enjoy being heaped with posi-tive criticism. Still, however, he remains greatly respected, and his contribution to the commu-nity much appreciated.

The paradox that is Riz Oades

By taking on the Filipino psyche, he has managed over the years to stir debate by speaking his mind and ruffling the very sensitive nature of his countrymen, who are not accustomed to the power of positive criticism

than enough good deeds and had accomplished a lot in his life-time. He and his beloved fam-ily should be very proud of his accomplishments. He must be up there, smiling in heaven, satis-factorily looking back at a job well done. From the time of his ailment in April to his death to-day, he had done even more with this borrowed time. He had writ-ten his memoirs (which I have been urging him to do for years). We were able to read about the adventures and misadventures of “Rosel Aquino Zobel“, includ-ing the time when as a student, he tried to kiss his girlfriend and she slapped him. Typical of Riz, he slapped the girl back, to the amusement of the people around them. Riz even outlived his younger brother Bernie and delivered his eulogy, recalling the time when as young kids, he used to bully Bernie.

“I kept hitting him. He kept

falling down, but he kept stand-ing up,” Riz recalled. “He was so stubborn that in the end, I was the one who gave up.”

I am going to miss Riz, our camaraderie, our banter, our private jokes. I mourn the loss not only for his family, who is financially secure, but also for San Diego’s Filipino Communi-ty, whose well being and interest he fought for tirelessly. Upon his retirement, he continued to pay back the community by put-ting up Project Kalusugan and helping raised millions of dollars worth of funds to ameliorate the poor living and health conditions of San Diego Filipinos. He was particularly proud of the fact that the project, which also bears the name “Filipino-American Well-ness Center“, is one of the few that owns its own building.

In the November 12, 2005 issue of our San Diego Asian Journal, I wrote a profile of Riz Oades which we are reprinting here.

Union article

I first came to know Riz Oades when I read his by-line in one of his articles published in 1982 in the San Diego Union, the county’s one and only major daily newspaper. “Rizalino,” the name he used is typical and exclusive to Filipinos, leading me to believe that the writer like me is Filipino.

He was named after the Philip-pines’ National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, known as “The Great Malayan,” who hailed from the same province where Riz Oades came from: Laguna, Philippines.

Riz and I initially met during community meetings. When I first published my news-paper, the Asian Journal, he approached me and declared: “Sim, I am going to write for your newspaper!”

He simply decided that he would do so and told me so! And not because I was invit-ing or asking him to write for the paper. But I was very much honored and pleased with his

demand. I would like to think that perhaps Asian Journal had passed his very high standard that he would not mind being associated with it. The publish-ers of other newspapers, who are also our mutual friends, I must say, felt slighted when Riz’s chose my newspaper over their publications.

For years, Riz wrote with gusto, gathering an eager fol-lowing of readers who relished his regular column in the Asian Journal every week, includ-

ing an offshoot student essay section called “Growing Up in America!”

Whenever I promoted the Asian Journal to advertisers, I always pointed out that sec-tion. I told them: “You know, many second generation Filipino Americans sometimes suffer from an identity crisis. Upon reaching their teen years, they realize their family is different from the mainstream American family. A professor from San Di-ego State University, Riz Oades,

Dr. Riz A. Oades in 2008



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)

Soledad Bautista (1917-2009)

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

Genevieve SilverioManaging Editor

Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Miles BeauchampAssociate Editor

Santi SilverioAssociate Publisher

by Riz A. Oades

Voices & Images

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

At Large...

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

by Miles Beauchamp

Sample U opened per-manently at Alliant International University

“following a successful pilot in March of this year. Sample U, the first marketing research product testing center in the U.S., opened its doors on the Scripps Ranch campus with a recent media event. KUSI, NBC San Diego and the Asian Journal provided media coverage of the center and a representative from the North County Chamber of Commerce was on hand for the

Sample U is OpenFirst marketing research product testing center in

the US opened at Alliant International UniversityBottom: from leftGeoff Cox, President, Alliant International University, Russ Newman,

Provost and VP of Academic Affairs, Wendy Chung, Program Coordinator for the Communication Program in the Marshall Goldsmith School of Man-agement, Craig Bongart, CEO, Sample U, Rachna Kumar, Program Direc-tor, Business & Management, Marshall Goldsmith School of Management

Top: from leftErica Nogueira, Center Director, Sample U, Marla Adams, Director of

Operations, Sample U, Linda Neuman, Principal, Brilliant Marketing Ideas

Dennis Weis in the middle of a survey

ribbon cutting. ‘Sample U at Alliant Inter-

national University is an in-novative research Tryvertising center where “trysumers” fill out demographic and psychographic information, try out and evaluate products on site, answer product-specific research surveys, then take sample products home to use, show and talk about with their friends and family. The Sample U experience allows product development manag-ers to target their markets and

get valuable feedback on their products.’

Companies, consumers and students benefit

The center is a value-added

initiative with great potential to provide Alliant International University a variety of benefits. Not only will it increase visibil-ity among the media and com-munities that visit as trysumers, it allows the university to forge meaningful relationships with

large, mid-size and small compa-nies who place their products in the Center. One large com-pany that is already expressing interest in forging such relation-ships is Intuit, one of Sample U’s first client companies.

The center also provides authentic opportunities for professional practice as students can complete their internships, CAPSTONE Experiences and service learning projects using its features. In fact, students from the Communication: Mar-

keting Public Relations (MPR) program have already completed their CAPSTONES and intern-ships at the center. In addition, faculty and students can capital-ize on the opportunities to pro-vide companies with the supple-mental research that they need to ensure the ultimate success of their products or business.”

Sample U is an opportunity for manufacturers, retailers and

designers to gain perspective and knowledge for an unlimited range of products and services. In the current economic climate, knowledge of consumer needs and wants is urgent for business and Sample U is one way that offers both immediate and long-term feedback.

Information and quotes from Sample U press information

2009 FilAmFest draws more than 13,000 people

at Paradise Hills what we now call “FilAmFest”. They put in place an Organizing Committee to plan and manage the event. That was three years ago and look what happened through the years! The growth is phenomenal, thanks to the dedi-cated young professionals and volunteers who took charge of planning, organizing and manag-ing the event with as much help as KCS can provide to ensure that their planning efforts will be amply supported.

This year’s FilAmFest gath-ered more than 15,000 people at the festival site – Paradise Valley Road and Potomac Park, with more than 300 student volunteers, and $8,000 worth of police security and crowd control. There were more than 100 booths, 11 of which were food booths. The crowd was so thick, one Paradise Hills resident said, “I haven’t seen so many Filipinos gathered in one place” It was awesome. The faith com-munity was more visible this year sharing the Good News to festival goers. Filipino talents overflowed in two entertainment stages.

The opening ceremony was at-tended by County, City and State Assembly officials among them, Board of Supervisor Ron Rob-erts, City Council President Ben Hueso, Council members Tony

Young, Todd Gloria and Carl de Maio, Assembly members Marty Block, Lori Saldana, Nathan Fletcher and Mary Salas; Mayor Ron Morrison and Vice Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis,. Joining them at the stage are some com-munity partners, namely, Evelyn Constantino of Union Bank, Rita B. Andrews, Community

Roberts said “I do not have a proclamation, but I usually pres-ent a check to help this festival

going”, referring to the Com-munity Enhancement Fund from his office. Robert’s remarks elicited resounding applause from the audience.

The goals and objectives of FilAmFest are (1) to foster a sense of community and en-hance pride of one’s cultural heritage. (2) To build inter-generational collaboration and cultural understanding among participating children, youth, adults, and senior citizens. (3) To promote effective network-ing between individuals and various groups representing businesses, civic organizations, local government, educational institutions, and public agencies. (4) To revitalize and enrich the 4th District of San Diego and present it as a growing commu-nity in which to raise families, operate businesses, and collabo-rate with diverse people, groups, and institutions.

Most of these objectives have been accomplished but instead of attracting 5000 people, as

originally envisioned, FilAmFest was able to draw an estimated 15,000 people from all sectors of

the community, much more than last year’s crowd.

This year’s event presented several singing sensations and dance groups, such as Ashley Robles, Charmaine Clamor, Lil Desi, Jacquilin Grace, Paul Dateh, Marlon Dane, After School Specials, D.W.A.I., Dinosaur Party, Wil-bur Baliton, Corner-stone Choral group, GMA Pinoy All-Male Chorale, Kaisahan Morse High School, and the International Christian Center Kids and Hip-Hop groups, such as Rob Grimes, Dannu of the Vision-

aries, D.W.A.I., and Bambu. The Filipino American Seniors of South Bay Terrace and the KCS Line Dancers opened the event with their graceful line dance presentations. There was an overflow of Filipino talent

and everyone seems to want to showcase them.

Several programs, services and campaigns were conducted at the FilAmFest. The Philippine General Consulate came in full force to extend consular servic-es, the Mabuhay Alliance had its

foreclosure counseling services and several or-ganizations with Gawad Kalinga in the forefront, campaigned for dona-tions to help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy/Ty-phoon Ketsana which hit Metro Manila recently. PASCCO had their Save the Center Drive and politicians and politi-cal groups had their day distributing flyers and winning adherents.

FilAmFest became a kaleidoscope of worthy causes, from GK’s Op-eration Walang Iwanan” to “Save the (Samahan Senior) Center”; much needed services such as passport renewal by the Philippine Consulate based in Los Angeles to foreclosure prevention counseling by Mabuhay Alli-ance; from youth development by the Kuya-Ate Mentorship Program to cultural immersion among children by the Gabriela Network. FilAmFest also took time to honor Filipino veter-ans groups who championed the cause of justice, honor and dignity for Filipino World War

became a healthy excuse to bring the community together to real-ize the utopian dream for unity and community empowerment.

We would like to thank our sponsors, community partners, and vendors for their support and cooperation - the San Diego City Commission for Arts and Cultures. The County of San Diego Community Enhancement Fund, Sempra Energy Founda-tion, the Council of Philippine American Organizations of San

Diego County (COPAO), Office of Councilmem-ber Tony Young, City of San Diego District 4, Union Bank, Neighborhood House, Mabu-hay Alliance, Commerica Bank, Operation Samahan, Inc. Jollibee, Corner-stone Church, San Castle Inn, Akroz Professional, Toltec Me-dia, FTS Technology Solutions, PST, Samson PCS, Samson Travel and the many Friends of FilAmFest, most of whom prefer to remain anonymous.

We would also like to ac-knowledge the support of FilAm ARTS, Kabalikat Society, Anak-bayan SD. YCS, Troop 114. Morse High School. Bethune Elementary School, Bell Junior High School, The Residents of Mariners Village, Kuya-Ate Mentorship Program, San Diego Parks and Recreation and Benjie Podschun, FilAmFest Security Consultant, Liezl Mangonon, Joyce Temporal and Ralph Dimarucut, FilAmFest Liaison, with elected officials, and Ed-ward Aparis, FilAmFest Media Coordinator.

FilAm Fest Management Group (Tagapamahala) poured their heart in planning and man-agement of the event, complete with timelines, guidelines and deadlines , and maximized the use of computer technology. Festival Administration was in

the hands of Dr. Aurora S. Cudal as Festival Chair, with Dr. Ofe-lia Dirige and Dr. Riz A. Oades as Finance and Management Consultants, respectively.

Program planning and orga-nizing was ably handled by Luisito Melchor, Jr, Festival and Program Director; Alyssa Guzman, Secretary; Dennis-Michael Broussard, Fund Development Director, Cynthia Francisco, (Logistics Director, and Virgil Yalong, Marketing Director. Assisting them are dedicated volunteers -Willy Gloria (Entertainment), Alyssa de Guzman (FilAmFest Secre-tary/Finance),Danielle Iwatsu (Volunteers) Miguel Mejares (Vendors) Chris Feraro (Graphic Designer), and a strong commu-nity outreach and special events team – Trisha Yalong, Liz dela Cruz, Ferchil Ramos, Jonathan Valdez, and Justin Villanueva.

The Programs Department was composed of Willy Gloria (Entertainment), Paul Ecdao and Karl Gindelberger (Art), Van-essa Andrade (Dance Competi-tion), Abigail Zamudio (Educa-tion), Charisma delos Reyes, Olive Panes and Ley Ebrada (Youth program) and Eugene Gambol, (Cultural Program).

A late but most welcome ad-dition to FilAmFest was GMA Pinoy represented by Josh Andowitt. He said, “I will help

you next year. I will see to it that GMA will be your partner. It will be a bigger event with celebri-ties coming from the Philippines, courtesy of GMA and other me-dia companies that he will draw in to make FilAmFest as the real big community event not only in San Diego but throughout the United States.

The Souvenir Program was made possible by the advertise-ments placed by Village Club, Sempra Energy Foundation, American Dental Clinic, Flip Squad Apparel, Thumbprint Gal-lery, 114 Entertainment, Family Health Centers of San Diego, Operation Samahan, Mabuhay Alliance, PST (Pinoy Street Team) Gear (the donor of the Volunteer’s colorful T-Shirts), Neighborhood House, Union Bank, International Christian Center, JNC Pinoy Mart, and many others.

If you need a copy of the 2009 Souvenir Program email at [email protected] or visit Kalusugan Community Services at 1419 E. Street, National City, 91950, or call (619) 477-3392.

Partnership Specialist for U.S. Census 2000, and Luis Gonzales of Neighborhood House. Dr. Ofelia Dirige received several proclamations from the elected officials declaring “October 3, 2009 as FilAmFest Day”. On the other hand, Supervisor Ron

II veter-ans, to give substance to the theme: “Honor the past, Build-ing the future”.

The Fili-pino Ameri-can Arts and Culture Festival or FilAmFest, for short,

IDK; one of the dance teams for the Best at the Fest dance competition.

Filipino veteran and National City Mayor Ron Morrison.

An artist putting on the finishing touches on a picture in the Art Program area for the FilAmFest.

Luisito Melchor and Mrs. Aurora S. Cudal opening up the stage program for FilAmFest 2009.

The crowd cheering on the performers at the Kalayaan stage.


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

journalusa.com

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago.

Capone wasn’t famous for anything heroic. He was notori-ous for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nick-named ‘Easy Eddie.’ He was Ca-pone’s lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie’s skill at legal maneuver-ing kept Big Al out of jaiil for a long time.

To show his appreciation, Ca-pone paid him very well.

Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends,nas well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day.

The estate was so large that it fi lled an entire Chicago City block.

Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little con-sideration to the atrocities that went on around him.

Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Noth-ing was withheld. Price was no object.

And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.

Yet, with all his wealth and in-fl uence, there were two things he couldn’t give his son; he couldn’t pass on a good name or a good example. One day, Easy Eddie reached a diffi cult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done.

He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al ‘Scarface’ Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of

integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testifi ed.

Within the year, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfi re on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifi x, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.

STORY NUMBER TWO

World War II produced many heroes.

One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare.

He was a fi ghter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacifi c.

One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.

He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship.

His fl ight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fl eet.

As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fl eet.

The American fi ghters were gone on a sortie, and the fl eet was all but defenseless. He couldn’t reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fl eet. Nor could he warn the fl eet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fl eet.

Laying aside all thoughts of

Story number one



Light &Shadows

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

by Zena Sultana Babao

(619) 702-3051

Jesus said in the Bible, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.”

What is “the eye of a needle”? Is it a fi gure of speech, or is it a physical location as some people believed? What exactly was Jesus telling us?

In “Tools of a Bible,” a Bible resource, it said that the eye of the needle is not a physical location: “Jesus’ words that it is easier for a rich man to enter heaven than ‘for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,’ refl ect an idea found in early rabbinic writing. There is no archaeological or historical sup-port for the common idea that the ‘needle’s eye’ was a small pedes-trian gate in the city wall through which camels had to kneel to

Through the Eye of a Needle

He was warning us, his followers, not to put our trust in riches.

I am not saying that money or riches is evil. Neither does the Bible. What is not good is

enter.”What Jesus was telling us is that

it is impossible for a camel to go through the tiny eye of a needle, as it is equally impossible for those who trust in riches instead of God to enter into His Kingdom.

the “love of money” forsaking all else. Money is important in life. It makes the world go round. Vast sums of money change hands every day in a global economy that affects every man, woman and child on this Earth.

It is how we view

money that’s at issue here.People hold divergent views

about money. Some view it as the root of all evil and believe that poverty brings us closer to God. Others accept the health-

and-wealth concept that Christians are almost automatically destined to become fi nancially successful if not fabulously wealthy.

Let’s take the middle ground! God is not opposed to riches. After all, He is the originator of all our fi nancial blessings! Jesus Christ, the Son of God, talked about freedom from economic want: “I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Abundant life includes fi nancial peace of mind.

However, the followers of God who want to make money but con-tinue to follow God must avoid certain spiritual traps. It becomes easy, as a person accumulates worldly goods, to view money – rather than God – as a source of protection and stability.

According to the apostle Paul, “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruc-tion and perdition. For the love

of money is the root of all evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

In this passage Paul elaborates on the perspective toward wealth that Jesus Christ had given many years earlier. In speaking of a

Christian’s proper priorities, Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” The English “mam-mon” is translated here from a similar Aramaic word that means riches, especially riches that turns one’s attention away from God.

While recognizing that people have physical needs, Christ em-phasized that our priority must al-ways be God. Jesus taught us that we must “seek fi rst the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added …”

Jesus explained that eternal life is a spiritual issue of paramount importance. The wealth of a man is not intrinsically wrong … what is wrong is man’s misplaced priorities and his improper attach-ment to material wealth.

Keeping priorities straight can be quite a challenge, especially to some people who have been blessed with too much. It is good to remember and practice Christ’s instruction: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves trea-sures in heaven … for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

People can be prejudiced about money. Sometimes the wealthy despise the poor, and sometimes the poor despise the rich. It hap-pens, though it should not be the case! Hence, the popular concept nowadays of redistribution of wealth! But what is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular.

Since money is a tool that can be used for good or evil, it is important that we understand how it should be used. God reveals that He is the creator of heaven and earth, and as such, everything belongs to him. In Exodus, God said, “… all the Earth is Mine.” We are just taking care of every-thing for God!

God expects spiritual and humanitarian work from all of us. Just as we work to sustain us physically, we must also for work for a greater spiritual purpose. Of course we cannot earn salvation by human efforts, since salvation has already been freely given to us by Jesus’ death on the cross.

But God makes it clear that we were created to do “good works” that have vital spiritual dimen-sions; good works that will show the Principle of Stewardship. And that is, “To whom much is given, much is required.”

PRESIDENTIAL RELIEF. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo personally distributes relief goods to the typhoon Ondoy victims in Brgy. Remedios, Lubao, Pampanga. She later inspected a multi purpose building to be constructed in the said place. Pampanga is one of the provinces most affected by the fl ash fl ood that over-whelmed the residents Luzon Island 2 weeks ago. AVITO DALAN/PCPO/ PNS

PHILIPPINES NEWS SER-VICE -- THE al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group is getting weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades from “neighboring countries,” which intelligence of-fi cials say could be Indonesia and its allies.

“May nabibili sila sa neigh-boring countries natin sa south. Ang RPG ‘di natin ginagamit sa AFP. At bukod sa binibili nila sa labas ng bansa, gumagawa sila ng sariling RPGs,” Armed Forces information chief Lt. Col. Ro-meo Brawner, Jr. said in a radio interview. He said the “imported” weapons were used in last Mon-day’s attack that killed 8 Marines in Sulu.

Brawner said the government’s counterterrorism efforts seem to have pressured the group.

“Abu Sayyaf has been improv-ing ties with regional organiza-tions, like Jemaah Islamiyah and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, an Islamic separatist group. Thus, even though Abu Sayyaf’s armed strength fell from an esti-mated 1,000 in 2002 to between 200 and 400, the capabilities of the organization may be growing. The 2008 U.S. State Department estimates the group to consist of between 200 and 500 members,” he said.

Abus getting weapons from neighboring countries

Brawner did not name the sources of the weapons, citing the diplomatic ripples it can create in neighboring countries. But an offi cial of the Philippine Na-tional Police Intelligence Group,

who declined to be named, said the Middle Eastern donors who provided funding to the group and to Islamic militants in Indonesia could be the possible sources of fi rearms Brawner is talking about.

According to the offi cial, al-Qaeda’s presence in the country has had the effect of profession-alizing local groups and forging ties.

“In many cases, this cooperation has taken the form of ad hoc ar-rangements of convenience, such as helping procure weapons and explosives,” he said.


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

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

Phil - Am Law 101

Note: We are updating this article that earlier appeared in the January 2, 2009 issue of the San Diego Asian Journal, in response to numerous inquiries about humanitarian reinstate-ment.

The current processing time for “Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens” (F-3) is 18 years. Because of the very long wait, many petitioners do not survive long enough to see their sons and daughters migrate to the United States. So what happens 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 him-self sign the Affidavit of Support (Form I-864). Even when there was a joint sponsor, the petition-er was still required to personally 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 cer-tain 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 usually comes a short time after the filing of the petition.

The second condition is that

When the petitioner dies (Humanitarian reinstatement)

there must be a substitute spon-sor who is willing to sign the Af-fidavit of Support. 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, brother-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild or legal guardian. This should also not be a prob-lem for most petitions.

The third condition is that the Attorney General has determined for humanitarian reasons that revocation of such petition under section 205 of the INA would be inappropriate. Although the law mentions the Attorney General, this power is exercised through the United States Citizenship and Immigration 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 “Reinstatement 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.”

Let us cite a hypothetical case to better understand what the law says. Boyet was petitioned by her mother under the F2B cat-egory. Two years ago, he went to the U.S. Embassy in Manila for his interview. He brought with him the documents mentioned in

the checklist that came with the Packet 3. Although he brought with him his birth certificate, the interviewing officer still asked for his baptismal certificate. Since he failed to bring it with him, he was scheduled for an-other interview a month later.

It was not easy for Boyet to get his baptismal certificate. He was born in Mindanao. He does not know anyone there, as his family moved to Manila when he was still very young. So, Boyet himself went to Mindanao and stayed there for almost a week. In the end, all he got was a cer-tification from the parish priest that his baptismal certificate was among those destroyed by fire many years ago.

So, Boyet went back to the U.S. Embassy the following month with the certification, but the officer still asked for other documents, including affidavits from disinterested parties. Boyet was naturally dismayed, but he did not show his reaction. After all, the officer could have told him during the first interview that he could produce the af-fidavits in lieu of the baptismal certificate. It would have spared him the expense and effort of going all the way to Mindanao. After a few days, Boyet submit-ted the affidavits. He was told to just wait for the decision.

Six months later, the petitioner died. Boyet was severely grief-stricken. He was his mother’s favorite. She was calling out his name until her last moments.

Then, after four months, Boyet received a letter from the U.S. Embassy asking him to come for his interview. Finally, Boyet thought, he would be able to join his siblings in the United States and visit his mother’s grave. He remained single all those years in an effort to preserve his peti-tion. But what he heard from the interviewing officer shocked him. They are denying his im-migrant visa application because his mother, the petitioner, was already dead.

We believe that Boyet’s case has a good chance. First, under normal circumstances, he should have been issued his immigrant visa right after the first inter-view. He had with him his birth

certificate, so there was really no reason for the officer to ask for his baptismal certificate. (What if, one may ask, his parents were atheists? Would that deprive him of his visa?).Normally, a baptis-mal certificate is only second-ary evidence in lieu of the birth certificate. The same thing with the affidavits; they are usually required only if the birth certifi-cate could not be produced. Be that as it may, Boyet submitted the certification from the parish priest and the affidavits. His visa should have been issued after he submitted them, but the U.S. Embassy still delayed ruling on his case, until it was superseded by his mother’s death six months he had submitted everything. Boyet would have already been in the United States by that time. Because of the bureaucratic delays, Boyet not only failed to get his visa; he also failed to be with his beloved mother during

her dying moments.In addition, Boyet has siblings

in the United States who are willing to act as substitute spon-sors. All his close relatives are already in the United States. He has remained single and has no children. All these years, he has set his mind into joining his fam-ily in the United States.

But to win his case, Boyet must present it well. He needs 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 read-ily show all these exceptional grounds to convince the USCIS that the case deserves its special attention. Bear in mind that a lot of similar requests reach the US-CIS, each claiming humanitarian reasons. In fact, “humanitarian”

has already become one of the most abused words before the USCIS, so your case must stand out as one really 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 continu-ously 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 Ber-nardo Center Drive, Suite 228, San Diego, CA 92128. He also has an office in the Philippines at 1240 Apacible Street, Paco, Manila, Philippines 1007, with telephone numbers (632)522-1199 and (632)526-0326. Please call (858)348-7475 or email him at [email protected] for your free consultation. He speaks Tagalog fluently.


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Several Kapuso stars continue to lend their hand in helping the victims of typhoon Ondoy by serving as operators in the Ondoy Kapuso Helpline and as volunteers in GMA Kapuso Foundation’s Operation Bayani-han: Typhoon Ondoy.

Lucy Torres-Gomez, Marvin Agustin, Iza Calzado, Mark Her-ras, Ryza Cenon, Aljur Abrenica, Kris Bernal, Isabel Oli, Benjie Paras, Arnell Ignacio, Butch Francisco, Princess Violago, Ynna Asistio, Vivo Ouano, Gino dela Pena, Jonalyn Viray, Aicelle Santos, Jay Perillo, and Mocha Unson are just some of the Kapuso stars who have lend their time at the Ondoy Kapuso

Kapuso Celebrities Help Ondoy Victims thru GMA’s Operation

Bayanihan: Typhoon Ondoy

Several Kapuso stars continue to lend their hand in helping the vic-tims of typhoon Ondoy by serving as operators in the Ondoy Kapuso Helpline and as volunteers in GMA Kapuso Foundation’s Operation Bayanihan: Typhoon Ondoy.

Helpline.The Kapuso Helpline – led

by broadcast journalist and GMAKF Executive Vice Presi-dent Mel Tiangco together with various GMA personalities including Dingdong Dantes, Dennis Trillo, Arnold Clavio, and Pia Arcangel among others – has already received dona-tions amounting to more than P15 million (cash and pledges), including the P1 million dona-tion from GMA Network.

Cash donations were also giv-

en by Richard Gutierrez, Mar-ian Rivera, Ogie Alcasid, Rhian Ramos, Mark Herras, LJ Reyes, JC De Vera, Sunshine Dizon, German Moreno and Francine Prieto. Boxing’s pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao also donated P1 million cash.

Also serving as volunteers in GMA Kapuso Foundation’s Op-eration Bayanihan: Typhoon On-doy were boxing champ Nonito Donaire, Joey de Leon, Chris Tiu, Raymond Gutierrez, Bub-bles Paraiso, Chynna Ortaleza, LJ Reyes, Michelle Madrigal, together with Sexbomb Dancers and Survivor Palau castaways Justin, Marvin, and Jef.

For donations for victims of

typhoon Ondoy, the following are the Kapuso Foundation’s dol-lar accounts:

Metrobank2-098-00244-2 code MBTC PH

MMUCPB01-160-300427-601-115301177-9 code UCPB PH

MMPNB121-0032000-25 code PNB MPH

MMDonations may also be made

online via http://www.kapusofoun-dation.com/donate

PNS -- WHAT will Sarah Geronimo do if she were Taylor Swift and Kanye West would say the award she got should be for Beyonce? “Siguro, like Taylor, tatahimik din lang ako. Pero ma-sakit ‘yung ginawa sa kanya. Biro mo, babawiin ‘yung award sa’yo. Buti si Beyonce at nilapitan siya later to uplift her ego and self-esteem. “

What if she were Rihanna? “Ay, lalayasan ko si Chris Brown. Bakit niya ako sasaktan? Kaya nga my parents are always pray-ing for me to get a man of God na mabait talaga.”

As usual, the press continues to pressure her to have a boyfriend soon. “Magbo-boyfriend lang po ako when the right one comes along. Ba’t naman kailangang ma-daliin ako? Happy naman ako with what I have now kahit bahay-trabaho lang ako. Saka very busy ako sa career ko kaya huwag n’yo na kong pilitin. Gaya ngayon, I am preparing for my fourth big concert at Araneta Coliseum, ‘Record-Breaker, ‘ on November 7.”

“Record-Breaker” is based on her new song that reminds one of Lady Gaga. Will she be perform-ing like Lady Gaga too? “I saw her concert. Sobrang daring and her clothes, so revealing. Hindi ko kaya ‘yun, dadaanin ko na lang sa attitude. This new concert will be bigger and more exciting than my three previous ones, not only in terms of music but also visually, sa production values.”

Is she still doing her new movie with Judy Ann Santos? “Next year na po kasi I’m busy with the concert nga and after this, I’ll leave for a European concert tour starting in Milan.”

What about the proposed movie with Gerald Anderson? “Baka next year na rin po, pero uunahin ‘yung kay Ate Juday.”

She’s the current Box Offi ce Queen because of “Very Spe-cial Love” and she’ll probably

Sarah wouldn’t do a Taylor Swift

Sarah Geronimo

win it again next year for “You Changed My Life.” Which does she prefer: acting or singing? “First love ko pa rin po ang sing-ing. Saka mas may pressure pag may bagong movie kung kikita nga kaysa kung sa concert lang.”

PNS -- AIKO Melendez is tried and tested as an actress. In politics, she has also proven her worth as an elected councilor of Quezon City. Her constituents are satisfi ed with her perfor-mance that she is now on the last leg of her second term. The next move? People are telling her she could be the next vice mayor. Some say she could be the next mayor even.

But Aiko is playing it by ear. Meanwhile, she is back in showbiz playing the role of Ogie Alcasid’s mother in the movie “Yaya and Angelina: The Spoiled Brat Movie.” And of course, people know by now that Jomari Yllana is playing her husband in the movie. Will there be a second wind romance? “No,” she says. “I am in a happy and comfortable situation as far as lovelife is concerned.”

Aiko, Jom laugh about their past

But just because of their son, Andrei, they are in better terms now. They can talk in the most civil manner, and they can even laugh about the past. Their roles as husband and wife are quite funny, considering that Ogie, who’s 42, plays their seven-year-old daughter, Angelina.

Aiko Melendez


Spiritual Life

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

by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez

Lower Your Nets

Ang Babae (2)Ginawa niyang mga babae’y maging mapagmahalsa kanyang mga anak ng walang alinlangansa kahit anong unos na sa kanilang dadaanan ay makakaya niyang lahat ng ito’y malampasan.

Kakaibang tatag sa babae’y ipinaubayapara sa pagkakataong kabiyak ay nadadapasa ibang kandungan o mga bisyong nakakahiyaang siya ay maibangon sa isang bagong simula.

Minarapat niyang ang babae’y maging marunongmay angking talino sa ano pa mang pagkakataonlutasin ang mga problemang sa kanya’y sasalubongsa lahat ng oras at saan man siya naroroon.

Joke of the Week: A stranger entered the church in the middle of the sermon and seated himself in the back pew. After a while he began to fidget. Leaning over to a white-haired man, evidently an old member of the congrega-tion, he whispered, “How long has he been preaching at this church?” “Thirty or forty years, I think.” “I’ll stay then, declared the stranger. “He must be nearly done.”

Scriptures: First Reading: Wisdom 7: 7-11. The author, influenced by Platonic philoso-phy, wrote about two kinds of wisdom: one is within the human realm of experience and power, and the other lies beyond man’s limits, pertains to God alone and falls within the world of mys-tery. To accept one’s inability to grasp what lies beyond his nature is to submit to God’s plan. It is foolishness on the part of man to explain what is incomprehen-sible. It is wisdom to accept what is unexplainable - a mystery. Second Reading: Hebrews 4: 12-13. God’s word is powerful for it is “more incisive than any two-edged sword” and exposes also the evil of man’s hearts. For this reason, mankind tries within all its power to ignore God’s word. Mankind can do everything vis-à-vis God’s word - deny it, ridicule it, disregard it -, but in the end, his word is going to triumph. Gospel: Mark 10: 17-30. Attachment, believing an ideology or fol-lowing a charismatic figure in the Mediterranean world means detaching oneself from what he importantly cherishes in life: his family, community, and posses-sions. The trouble with the rich young man in today’s Gospel is not simply his attachment to what he greatly values and his refusal to renounce them, but more importantly because he was greedy. He wanted to benefit from both worlds: to follow Christ without detachment from his cherished ties or to remain attached to his possession while following Christ. Discipleship is a question of either/or, not of both. Either one is detached from what prevent him from following Christ or he remains attached to them and does not follow Christ.

Reflections: Lee Zook, an asso-ciate professor at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, commenting on the previous tragic event at the Amish community, says that the for the Amish “death at any age, and for any reason, is more accepted as a part of life and nature than it is in the larger cul-ture. There’s a matter-of-factness about death and dying” (USA Today, Oct. 5, 2006). This resil-ience is attributed to the Amish faith and agrarian lifestyle. A reporter asked an Amish grand-parent whose granddaughter was among those killed at the school-house how he could forgive the gunman for what he did to his community. His reply was, “By the grace of God.” In a society that is so much preoccupied with laws, the grandfather’s response sounds strange and unbeliev-able. A society of laws’ normal response to such a tragedy is not forgiveness, but litigations and protracted lawsuits.

The Amish community takes its name from a 17th century Swiss Mennonite spiritual leader, Jacob Amman. The first group of Amish migrated to the United States as early as the 18th century to escape the religious persecu-tion and compulsory military service in their homeland. The Amish community has two important religious teachings: abhorrence toward pride and

The Resilient Faith of the Amish

arrogance, and high regard for humility that is best translated into one’s willingness to submit to God’s will. To avoid individu-al competition for worldly goods that promote not only individual-ism and vanity, but also disrupt their community life, the Amish rejects the use of labor and time saving technologies, such as electricity, radio, photographs. What the mainstream Americans consider as important, such as competition, self-reliance, indi-vidualism, are in direct opposi-tion to the Amish core spiritual values.

Today’s Gospel points out the harm that attachment to things or persons other than God could do to one’s faith. By today’s stan-dard, the young man in today’s Marcan passage is financially doing well. He probably owns a condominium in an affluent neighborhood, drives a sports car, and has a high paying job. Though he has the good desire to follow Christ, yet his faith is not strong enough to renounce all those worldly goods. In a certain sense, he feels more secured with those things than following

Christ. But if his faith in Christ is strong and truly vibrant, he could take the bold step and face the uncertain challenges of the future. The Amish community has shown us that faith in God, if truly lived, can overcome the uncertainties and misfortunes of life, such as death and dy-ing. The Amish community keeps its faith in Christ strong and undeterred by tragedies; their members do not depend on modern conveniences of life so that their faith would remain fo-cused God. I am not downplay-ing the beneficial contributions of modern technologies to life. But when our hearts are more attracted to worldly goods and less to the One who should count very importantly in life, then we are no different from the rich young man who turns his back on Christ.

Quotation of the Week: “If a man believes and knows God, he can no longer ask, ‘What is the meaning of my life?’ But by believing he actually lives the meaning of his life.” Karl Barth.

member refers to the senator who garnered the highest votes in 2007 senatorial election.

It will be recalled that the of-ficial votes of Legarda, being considered by NPC as its stan-dard-bearer like Sen. Francis Escudero, reached 18,069,466 votes after topping the senatorial race in 2007.

Under the agreement, Escud-ero, who got 17,858,416 votes or the second highest votes will be next to Legarda in line of succes-sion. After Legarda and Escu-

Loren could be temporary prexy dero, the next in line based on

their votes gathered will be Sens. Panfilo Lacson, Manny Villar Jr., Francis Pangilinan, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Edgardo Angara, Alan Peter Cayetano, Joker Arroyo, Gregorio Honasan, Antonio Trillanes IV, and Juan Miguel Zubiri.

when he left him with Task Group Visayas. “He was still

Erap ordered Dacer....

alive when he left Dacer in the company of Task Group Visayas members,” he said.

The two lawyers said

Estrada could give direct orders to subordinates of Sen. Panfilo Lacson, then chief of Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force. “He can give direct orders bypassing Lacson and this is not unlaw-ful. It becomes unlawful only if the order itself (of Estrada) is not lawful at all,” said Agoot.

BalintatawRead Virginia Ferrer’s previous articles by visiting our website

at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Virginia H. Ferrer

As the years passed by, how-ever, she decided that she would prefer to spend her remaining days in a quiet atmosphere with her husband, Ronald Hill. She then decided to close her Adult Family home.

Her four children (two with Etienne, one with Waldo and one with Bobby) would often visit her and bring along her “apos”. She always looks forward to those days when she sees her

Myrna Delgado: Living a Quiet Life


children and grandchildren. Myrna Delgado is now resid-ing in Lacey, Washington living a quiet life. She is enjoying a quiet life with her American husband, Ronald, children, and grandchildren. I told her I would drive to Lacey and would like to invite her and Ronald for lunch, but she declined. It was great talking to her.

Once again, I ended that inter-view thinking that I’m so blessed to see glimpses of the lives of women like Myrna who had once graced our silver screens.

In a few days after the inter-view, I received from the mail the pictures she promised to give me. Two of them are vintage photos – one is a picture taken when she did the film “Tulisan.” The other picture was taken with Norma Vales when the latter paid her a visit. Thanks, Myrna. I will always treasure these photos.




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

journalusa.com

Most of these Japanese words are adopted by Filipino lan-guage.

I’m warning you - makiki-tamo

Where are we going? - San-batayo?

Stewardees - Oto-sanIs this your car? - Otomoto?This is my car - OtokotoSugar daddy/mommy - Otoo-

toIs this your property? - Arim-

oto?Yes, this is my property -

ArikotoIs this yours? - Sayobato or

sayoto?Is this mine? - SakinbatuThis is mine - SakinituCan I have it? - Akinato?

Japanese TranslationsYou can have it - SayonatoCan we have it? - Saminato?

You can have it - Sanyonato (plural)

You haven’t washed your face - Mimutamatamo

You’re so thin! - Kitanabu-tomo

We saw each other - KitakamiWe had reunion - Kitakita-

kamiHave a drink before you go -

TomakamunaThat was my assumption -

InakarakoLet’s go! - Bachinatayo!We will boycott the election -

DikamibobotoUnderarm odor - KirikiripawaAre you oppressed? - Mina-

matakaba?I give up - SukonakoOuch! - Araiku!What life is this - HainakuI’m going to leave you -

SawanakosayoJust take it! - Sayonarang!Skeleton - purobutoYou look like your mom -

kamukamumamamuYou look like your dad - ka-

mukamupapamuUgly - kamukamu or kamu-

kanyaPretty or handsome - kamu-

kakuFull of monkey - kamukanyoAre you nervous? - kakabaka-

bakaba?Are you a loyal customer? -

sukikaba?Later - sakanaI surrender - sukunakoJust surrender - sukukanakasiRemember? - naaararamo?I remember - naaararakoGo and work! - ararona!Can you see? - kitamoba?I told you - nakitamo?Let’s go to your place - sany-

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The paradox that is Riz Oades

required his students to write their experiences about growing up in America. By publishing the stories, we were hoping to give second generation Filipino Americans the insight that they are not alone. The experience of growing up Filipino in America is the recurrent theme of each story; giving the teens the confi -dence they need to reclaim their history, and come to peace with their identity. So you know, aside from providing information and entertainment, we were helping save many from counseling!”

Impact

One therefore cannot over-estimate Riz Oades’ impact on the Filipino-American commu-nity. He has written some seven hundred articles all related to the lives of Filipino-Americans. He is one of the very few persons in San Diego, if not in California and in the United States, or even in the world, who has extensive-ly done so.

What about the hundreds, if not thousands of Filipino-American

students whose minds he helped mold? Since most Filipino par-ents came here through the Navy with barely a high school educa-tion, they cannot be expected to be a role model for the second-generation Filipino Americans when it comes to discussing history, literature, academics or debating with American educa-tors and scholars. Thus I believe that even with his average height, Riz Oades remains one of the “tallest” Filipinos around since he is one of the few role models these second generation Filipino Americans can look up to.

Christmas ad

On December 16, 1989, we published a full page Asian Journal Christmas ad to greet our readers and advertisers. I asked my talented cartoonist Eugene “Ego” Osin, who has since passed away, to draw cartoon images of all our staff members in an offi ce situation. On the top corner, we featured Riz Oades typing his article with a laurel crown on his head just like a poet laureate. He is shown typing an

article with a very long paper that extended up to the lower corner of the page where I was shown cutting the middle part of the said paper. We would like to imply that he writes very long articles. In reality, however, we condoned this practice since it was simply diffi cult to cut his articles without sacrifi cing their quality.

In that caricature, we showed Riz Oades wearing a jacket and a T-Shirt with the words: “If you are as handsome as I am, it is hard to be humble!”

Although it was also a joke, I later realized that it aptly de-scribes Riz Oades. He likes to say controversial things during a meeting or a lecture, whether he believes them or not, simply to provoke discussion, just like any good professor who would ex-press a unique but not necessar-ily correct idea simply to make his students think and form an opinion.

But sometimes however, because of the sensitive nature of his fellow Filipinos, a few are offended by his remarks. Riz, however, does not mind. He exudes so much confi dence that oftentimes, he seems to relish turning off people.

“Yoong ‘auntie’ mo, napikon! (Your ‘auntie’ got pissed off),” he would tell me with delight.

Self appointed critics

As self-appointed critics of the community, Riz and I enjoy pointing out several Filipino idiosyncrasies in our community. In one of his articles entitled “Kill the Light” he told the story of a Filipino who often translate Pilipino phrases into English literally. Hence, when the trans-lation of the phrase “turn off the light” in Pilipino is “patayin mo ang ilaw,” “patayin” meaning “kill,” he told somebody: “Will you kill the light, please?” And then there was this woman who did not want to be identifi ed as a Filipino. When a fellow Filipino asked her during a gathering, “Are you Filipino?” she replied in Tagalog, “Hinde (No)!”

For years, Riz often criticized his fellow Filipinos who have a penchant for delivering long-winded speeches and yet not say anything. He always likes to talk about his old country country-men who would all converse in the same language of English during meetings and still not understand each other.

“Tagalugin na lang ninyo (Just speak in Pilipino language!),” Riz would, with mock annoy-ance, tease them.

This penchant for not taking some people seriously has led

a few friends to believe that he was merely a kibitzer, just out there to have fun. But Riz proved them wrong. He proved himself up to the task when he tackled a project seriously and succeeded. In just three years, KCS has helped hundreds of people and is one of the very few commu-nity entities to have built its own facility in the shortest possible time!

Basketball

When I fi rst played basketball with Riz Oades, I found out that he has an awkward way of shoot-ing the ball. He would shoot it from below the waist with two hands just like the way early basketball players used go do it. The style was so funny, it threw me off guard. Thinking there was no point to guarding him, I turned my attention elsewhere. But the joke was on me, howev-er, because more often than not, he would make the shot, to the point that later on, our instruc-tions was not only to stop him from shooting but to not even let him touch the ball! We later found out that he was a varsity basketball player at the Univer-sity of Hong Kong when he was a graduate student. If only he was a British subject, Riz would have made it to the national team and would have played in inter-national tournaments. Anyway, he won several championships for the Asian Journal Basketball Team, not only as a player, but also as its coach! He was also, would you believe, at one time a concert pianist!

With all the awards, recogni-tions and accolades Riz Oades has received. I believe that his greatest achievement is win-ning the heart of his beloved and beautiful wife, Zeny. For Zeny is not only pretty but also intel-ligent. She is accomplished in her own right, being a scientist herself, and a chemistry graduate at the prestigious University of the Philippines. She also belongs to a very respected and rich fam-ily in the Philippines. Among friends, I used to joke that Zeny must have resolved that she would marry the very fi rst Filipino she saw, who happened to be Riz Oades after being alone

and buried in books during her years of study here in the U.S.! This, of course, in not true. As many have found out, Riz has exceptional charms of his own, sealing Zeny’s fate in the stars.

Their love story, I found out, was typical Riz Oades. He once attended a gathering of Filipino students as a Fullbright Scholar at the Cornell University, the Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. It was in the 60s, and the very few Filipino students at Cornell were either the scions of rich families in the Philippines who could afford a U.S. educa-tion, or the very bright who won scholarships like Riz. Zeny stood out because she was the only as-sistant professor (of Chemistry) while the rest were all students.

Riz approached her and boldly declared: “Just ignore all of these other men because I decided you will be the mother of my chil-dren.”

Zeny was taken aback and could hardly speak.

“I will just be busy in the next two months, but I will attend to you afterwards,” Riz added.

Whenever they met in the cor-ridors or in the library, Riz would teasingly remind her: “Just a few more days, be patient!”

When Riz graduated and de-cided to teach in Hawaii, he told Zeny, who was already his girl-friend then: “I will understand if you decide not to go with me.”

Even to this day, Riz would proudly boast: “My wife gave up Cornell for me!”

When I confronted Zeny about this, she just smiled. “It did not happened that fast,” she merely said. The fact that she did not deny it gave more traction to Riz’s version of events.

Another career

There is no doubt that if Riz Oades did not leave the Philip-pines as a scholar, he would have been one of the foremost histori-ans in the country.

Yet, even after he retired, he managed to make himself useful and carve another distinguished career for himself by co-found-ing the Kalusugan Community Services with Dr. Ofelia Dirige, a public health professor at San Diego State University, to pro-

mote good health among Filipino Americans in San Diego.

Today, November 12, 2005, the KCS will be celebrating its third anniversary with a gala night at the Marriott Hotel Mission Val-ley from 6:00 p.m. to midnight.

“The gala will offer an exciting look at the Center’s accomplish-ments and its trajectory into the future,” claims Riz Oades during an interview with the Asian Journal.

He said that awards would be given to key KCS collaborative and civic leaders. A short Power-Point presentation by Dr. Ofelia V. Dirige and Ms. Wai-ling O. Rubic will highlight the celebra-tion.

The formal program will be followed by festive activities including entertainment by the famous Filipino singer, Ric Man-rique, Jr., as well as fi ne music by the Harana Band and dance performances by local groups.

A nonprofi t, multi-service organization, KCS provides high quality, professional services to Filipino communities and other underserved groups through projects and programs.

Big debate

When all his accomplishments are summed up, there will surely be a big debate on how Riz Oades should be remembered. Would he be remembered as a chronicler of Filipino idiosyn-crasies in San Diego, historian of the Filipino Americans, com-munity leader who wants to shake things up, or co-founder of Kalusugan Community Services and promoter of the Filipino-Americans’ health?

While the title of “historian” and “university professor” might elicit more prestige, I guess he would rather be remembered as the father of his three-year old pet project, the Kalusugan Com-munity Services whose anniver-sary is being celebrated tonight.

But then, just to provoke his audience again, he might mimic the favorite expression of Don Mariano Batekabesa, AKA “Pugo,” in the legendary Filipino television show, “Tang Tarang Tang” and blurt out: “Das a las a nansens!” - AJ


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nected in some way.Likewise, storms compel us

to look for a spiritual higher ground. Nothing is permanent in life. All can be taken away in an instant. The only constant is the belief that we are living our lives for a higher purpose. We can find that purpose in the service of others no matter how humble that calling may be. It is time well spent. In broken world, we are called to mend and to heal. This we do with words and deeds and by being present and engaged in the events that may come our way. It was the message Mother Teresa gave the world: to do small things with great love.

Storms also mete out the true measure of character. As Ty-phoon Ondoy has taught us, it is not the respected leader, scholar or politician who will come to save you from the torrent but the person who reaches to you at the crucial moment. It is an act that will surprise you when you least expect it.

We have read stories of neigh-bors and men in uniform who swam out to save others trapped in the rising waters of rivers and lakes during the peak of the storm only to lose their own. These are the ones who acted

Emerging out of chaoswithout hesitation.

It is in their memory that we can emerge from chaos with re-newed courage and purpose. For those who have lost their lives saving others, we will always remain indebted to you. Natureís fury reveals the timeless courage and the sacrifice of people, who neither have title, fame, power or fortune to their name. These are the ones who teach us the value of life and remind all of what is noble in an age of materialism, status-worship and self-interest. They serve to remind us of how we should live and what we should live for in our own little way. It is up to us to honor them with our lives or revert back to our old ways.

***In a larger sense, it is likewise

up to each one of us to put to use what we have learned and taken from other cultures in terms of science and technology and har-ness this knowledge to heal and mend our corner of the earth. We hopefully will be joined by an enlightened leadership that can say enough to corruption and can learn from the costly lessons of Ondoy to build new pillars of good governance and social responsibility to benefit not one, not a few, but all.

***Filipinos have adapted to


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240 Woodlawn Avenue, Suite 3 Chula Vista, CA 91910

Isang mamamayan, ang syang na sa bancoMag-ca-cash ng cheque, and syang pakay nitoKinuha ng teller, ang cheke ni SebioTinignang mabuti, siniguro kamo

Inusisa muna, bank account ni SebioNa malinis naman, talagang may pondoAddress naman ngayon, ang hinigi nitoSa medyo inis nang, si Sebio Alonzo

Drivers license naman, ang sinunod ditoAt telephone number, hinigi rin kamoIsang I.D. card, kailangan nitoIto pong si Sebio, kunot na ang noo

Pagkatapos nito, humingi pa munaNang isang credit card, bank policy bagaSa galit ni Sebio, manggas nililis naItong blood sample ko, kailangan nyo pa?

Sa Banco

Tawa at TulaRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-

journalusa.com

ni Joe Cabrera

As an on-going effort to raise the awareness of the San Di-ego community and to ask the County Board of Supervisors to continue to fund PASCCO’s (Pilipino American Senior Citizens of San Diego County Corporation) Samahan Senior Center Projects, Mimi’s Café in Mira Mesa has agreed to donate 15% of all sales on Thursday, October 15, 2009 towards our “SAVE OUR CENTERS” initia-tive.

Invite family, friends and col-leagues to Mimi’s to support our all day fundraiser. Please take a copy of this article and show it to your server to confirm Mimi’s Café’s donation to PASCCO.

Mimi’s Café in Mira Mesa is located at 10788 Westview Park-way, San Diego and the event is from 7AM to 11PM, Thursday, October 15, 2009.

Please contact Maria Endriga at (858) 717-4007 for more information.

Fundraising Event to Save the Samahan Senior Center on Oct. 15

disasters because calamities helped shape our culture accord-ing to Greg Bankoff, a visiting British scholar who wrote the 2003 book “Cultures of Disaster: Society and Natural Hazards in the Philippines”. In a report published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer entitled “Calamities shape bayanihan culture” (PDI 10/07/09), Bankoff said that the Filipinoís sense of “bayanihan” (spirit of cooperation) would be important as a model for community-based cooperative activity in disaster-risk manage-ment.

The report continues, “Gov-ernment reports on disaster risk management apply technology and science in defining disas-ters but the same documents acknowledge how Filipinos respond to tragedy.”

Most people would freeze in the face of calamity due to shock but Oliver Luces, director of the Office of Civil Defense in the Cordillera, said Filipinos are quick to rescue and help calam-ity victims.

“This is a quality that would be important to a world confronting the impact of climate change,” Bankoff said.

Story number one(Continued from page 9)personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 calibers blazed as he charged in, attack-ing one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.

Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many en-emy planes as possible, render-ing them unfit to fly.

Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.

Deeply relieved, Butch O’Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.

Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surround-ing his return.

The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of

Butch’s daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, de-stroyed five enemy aircraft.

This took place on February 20, 1942 , and for that action Butch became the Navy’s first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Na-val Aviator to win the Congres-sional Medal of Honor.

A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O’Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

So, the next time you find yourself at O’Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch’s memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It’s located between Terminals 1 and 2.

SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?

Butch O’Hare was ‘Easy Ed-die’s’ son.

Asian Journal Oct 9 2009

Documents

Transcript of Asian Journal Oct 9 2009