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November 27 - December 3, 2010

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Fil-Am teen gang members lead double lives, experts say

By Alicia DeLeon-TorresFilipino Press Contributing Writer

The story is almost always the same. The first time parents find out their son

or daughter is involved in gang activity is when the police of-ficer comes to door and makes an arrest. Sometimes officers are met with crying or angry parents. Other times, the front door is slammed in their face. Most often, the officers encoun-ter parents who are in denial or blindsided because they truly didn’t know.

“For Filipino-Americans, family and cultural heritage strongly impact the way the youth act around their elders versus how they act with their peers,” said Dr. Reynaldo Mon-zon. “No matter what kind of trouble that youth may get into, they don’t want to disappoint their parents. They’re the good kid at home, the good student in school and the gang-banger

with their friends. They tend to lead double lives.”

Monzon is one of the few re-searchers in the nation who has studied Filipino-American fam-ily expression and youth behav-ior in a culturally sensitive and competent manner. He is also one of the original community leaders who assisted in develop-ing gang-prevention and inter-vention training during the late 1980s, when Filipino gangs first became known to San Diego law enforcement.

San Diego Police Depart-ment Lt. Rudy Tai agrees with Monzon.

“The one thing that peo-ple like about Asian-American and Pacific-Islander commu-nities is that they are family oriented. It’s a positive thing. B u t p a r e n t s a r e a l s o v e r y

busy with their jobs, church and community obligations,” said Tai, who is also a nation-al trainer on Asian-American and Pacific-Islander gang-pre-vention and intervention.

“Many of the parents come from different countries or ju-risdictions — they may not be aware of certain things, like

Editor’s note: This article was produced as a project for the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships, a pro-gram of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. This is the second of a three-part series on gang prevention through parent in-volvement in San Diego’s Filipi-no-American community.

REDISTRICTING | ASIAN-AmERICAN lEADERS mAkE CASE foR fAIR REpRESENTATIoN

By Aurora S. CudalFilipino Press Contributing Writer

The creation of a ninth city council dis-trict in San Diego is an imperative as a re-sult of voters’ approval of Proposition D in June, which cemented a strong mayor form of city governance and the formation of a new council district — the first new district since 1963. The question is, what areas will comprise the new district?

The newly formed Asian and Pacific American Coalition, spearheaded by Mitz Lee and Dr. Allen Chan, has appealed for support and participation of Asian-Amer-icans in their quest to have a city council district that will give fair representation to the growing Asian and Pacific-Ameri-can community in San Diego.

The approval of the new proposed council district depends upon full com-munity participation and support. Lee and Chan are seeking the cooperation of all concerned to attend the public hear-ings and to express their views on this significant matter.

The seven-member redistricting com-mission, chaired by Anisha Dalal, an Asian by ethnicity, led the discussion at a public hearing on Nov. 22 at city coun-cil chambers. The coalition hopes for more support after public testimony from inter-est groups begins with the release of Cen-sus data in April 2011.

In an earlier public hearing of the com-mission, Deven Patel, president of the Federation of India Organizations of San Diego County, representing the Asian and Pacific American Coalition, presented the newest proposed ninth council district’s map, which includes Rancho Penasquitos, Mira Mesa, Miramar Base West and Kear-ney Mesa (see map and community popu-lations). This map is based on the San Di-ego Association of Governments projection of population growth on each community plan area, not on 2010 Census projections. Adjustments using the Census informa-tion will be made as soon as it becomes available next year.

Based on the map and projected popu-lation, the Rancho Penasquitos and Mira Mesa communities would be the heart of the new district with a combined popula-tion of 128,257. The addition of Miramar Base West and Kearney Mesa is included in the proposal, since these communities appear to meet the definition of “commu-

nities of interest.”The proposed new district shares the

same major infrastructures and services. Both I-15 and Hwy. 56 are key transpor-tation corridors. They also share the city’s water and waste water distribution sys-tems. The safety of the residents in these communities is protected by the North Eastern Police Division stationed at Ran-cho Penasquitos.

“The familial, educational, socio-eco-nomic, commercial, recreational and spir-

itual ties in these communities are so in-tertwined. It is a shame to have kept them separated and placed into different dis-tricts for so long,” said coalition leaders Mitz and Chan.

According to Census estimates, Asian-Americans make up 15 percent of the city’s population. Growth in the city’s northern region in the last decade prompted Asian leaders to channel their efforts toward a new district that in-cludes Asian representation.

APAC proposes new political map for 9th council district

This map, based on SANDAG 2010 population and housing estimates, shows current city council districts (outlined) and (highlighted) the proposed areas that would make up the new ninth city council district in San Diego.

p h I l I p p I N E S w E E k I N R E v I E w

Pacquiao says he'll retire in three yearsMANILA, Philippines — On the heels of his decisive victory over Antonio Margarito for this eighth championship belt, Manny Pacquiao said he plans to hang up his glove in three years, according to an Associated Press report last week.

Pacquiao, a congressman, spoke in the Philippine House of Representatives on Monday. He received the congressional medal for the second time.

Pacquiao, who turns 32 in December, and was asked at a news conference when he intends to retire.

“Not too long from now,” he said. “But I don't want to go beyond 35.”

Pacquiao said he is willing to fight Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez again, according to the story,

although he said he understands that re-match might not excite fans.

“I think people are not so interested ... because if I were a boxing fan, I would not watch Pacquiao vs. Marquez,” he said.

Pacquiao was elected representative of southern Sarangani province in the May national elections.

In accepting the congressional award, Pacquiao said he was inspired in the ring by love for his country and that his achievements show Filipi-nos can excel against all odds.

“My championship belt in the eighth weight division, the first in the history of boxing, shall forever cement the Filipino people as the eighth wonder of the world,” Pacquiao said.

DOT forms committee to choose new slogan MANILA, Philippines — After the junking of “Pilipinas Kay Ganda,” the Philippine Department of Tourism has formed a committee to select a new and better slogan to lure more tourists to visit the country.

In a statement last week, the department said the committee would be comprised of experts from various tourism-related sectors who would shortlist suggested brands.

“The committee will shortlist brands suggested by the public and the final list will be subjected to market tests and group discus-sion prior to selection of the final

brand,” the statement said.

The department admitted committing a mistake in jump-starting the new slogan, which drew the flak of the tourism industry as well as other sectors.

“Past brand conceptualization efforts took many months to develop. We were impatient and wanted to jump-start our program. That was a mistake,” the DOT statement said.

“The majority of the stakeholders and general public do not support this concept. The message has been received,” the DOT added. (philstar.com)

National Day of Remembrance for Maguindanao massacre victims MANILA, Philippines — President Aquino last week issued Proclama-tion No. 73 declaring Nov. 23 as a National Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre.

“I call on the Filipino people to solemnly bear the departed in their thoughts, and for all the citizens from all walks of life to commit, in solidarity, to the quest for justice for the victims,” Aquino said in the proclamation signed Nov. 22.

He also made an appeal to all Filipinos to continue praying for the vic-tims of the bloody crime.

Fifty-seven people were confirmed killed on Nov. 23, 2009, when 100 armed men of the Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao province blocked a convoy of supporters of a political rival on his way to filing a cer-tificate of candidacy for governor. One victim remains missing to this day. (Inquirer.net)

Manny Pacquaio

See gangs on 21

“They’re the good kid at home, the good

student in school and the gang-banger with

their friends. They tend to lead double lives.”

Parents need to engage their children, look for signs of gang activity

2 November 27 - December 3, 2010THE FILIPINO PRESS

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino approved the promotion of 16 top police officials, including the No. 3 man in the Philippine Na-tional Police (PNP).

The President signed the promotion of Deputy Director General Benjamin Belarmi-no, PNP deputy chief for oper-ations, who got his third star. Belarmino headed the Nation-al Task Force HOPE B, which supervised the peace and order situation during the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections last Oct. 25.

Aside from Belarmino, the other police officials who got their second star or rank of police director included Di-rector Arturo Cacdac of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM), Director Rolando Anonuevo of the Director-ate for Integrated Police Op-erations (DIPO) in Southern Luzon; Director Danilo Abar-zosa of the Directorate for Human Resource and Doc-trine Development, Director Jaime Calungsod of DIPO Visayas, Director Lani-O Nerez of the Directorate for Research and Doctrine De-velopment (DRDD).

The PNP has 10 more new chief superintendents or one-star rank that included PNP spokesman Chief Superinten-dent Agrimero Cruz Jr.

The other new chief super-intendents are: Danilo Con-stantino, Francisco Cristobal, Pepito Domantay, Gil Hitosis, Edgardo Ladao, Henry Losan-es, Angelito Pacia, Arnulfo Per-ez, and Jose Erwin Villacorte.

Cruz said there would be no major movements in the PNP within the month de-spite the promotions, since a reshuffle is only implemented in the police force when posi-tions are vacated due to re-tirement or dismissal of po-lice officials. (philstar.com)

MANILA, Philippines – Pres-ident Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has formally asked the Su-preme Court to allow the live coverage of the Maguindanao massacre trial, a move that will show people that justice is mov-ing in the case.

In a letter to Chief Justice Re-nato Corona, Aquino said: “You and I, and the respective inde-pendent branches of govern-ment we head, are duty-bound to uphold the Constitution and our laws. We are all bound to en-sure that justice is done, and her interests served.”

Aquino said he is joining calls to have the case broadcast live since “we need to make people aware of, and convinced that, justice is being done and her interest served. This can be done by making the trial of im-portant and sensational cases such as the Maguindanao Mas-sacre case, public.”

Aquino has been lambasted by militant groups for failing to come up with measures that will put a stop, or even limit, impuni-ty in the country.

In a statement, Amnesty In-ternational said “how the Phil-ippine government handles this case will demonstrate how serious President Aqui-no is about reining in private armies and curbing human rights violations.”

In his letter, Aquino stressed

“it is my earnest hope that the Supreme Court will, within the many considerations that enter into such a historic de-liberation, attend to this peti-tion with the dispatch, dispas-sion and humaneness, such a petition merits.”

The National Union of Jour-nalists of the Philippines and the National Press Club have filed separate petitions before the high court.

Aquino noted: “Permitting the trial to be broadcast and covered fully by media would be a great consolation to the relatives of the massacre vic-tims and our fellow citizens who might otherwise have no opportunity to see justice tak-ing its proper course.”

He said it would be educa-tional for everyone to find out what really transpired.

“The more who participate in

this great teaching and correc-tive experience, the faster and the greater the chances will be, of this tragedy never being re-peated again,” he added.

Aquino has declared Novem-ber 23 a national day of remem-brance for the victims of the country’s worst politically-moti-vated massacre.

He was seen today wearing a black armband, also in commem-oration of the incident. (MNS)

MANILA, Philippines – The government is proposing a 13.6-percent increase in the bud-get of the Department of Health (DOH) for 2011 mainly to build more health centers and provide health insurance to poor families.

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III cited this in his re-cent speech at the 37th World Congress of the International College of Surgeons (ICS).

He noted that many health centers in the country, particular-ly in rural areas, lack both facili-ties and medical professionals.

Aquino also said the govern-ment is also aiming to improve PhilHealth coverage and insure about 4.6 million poor families within three years.

Around 192,000 families enrolled for health insurance dur ing the Nat iona l Phi l -

Health Registration Day in September, he noted.

"The government, through information campaigns, con-tinues to encourage the enroll-ment of those who can afford to join the program," he said.

He added that there are still around 5 million families who have not enrolled in PhilHealth.

Aquino said health teams composed of doctors, nurses, and midwives will also be de-ployed to poor, far-flung areas as part of the government's ef-forts to reach the Millennium Development Goals of improv-ing child and maternal health.

Aquino also appealed to doc-tors to do more charity work, especially in the countryside, to help the government ad-dress the sorry state of health care in the country.

Aquino told some 300 local and international surgeons present at the event that the government needs the help of all medical practitioners to achieve universal health care.

"I am thankful that many of you are now engaged in chari-ty work through surgical mis-sions. I hope it is not too much to ask for a little more of your time for the poor," he said.

Aquino also asked the sur-geons to share their knowledge with health care providers in rural areas to equip them with basic surgical skills.

"We welcome the assistance of our balikbayan surgeons as well as their friends, peers and fellow doctors from foreign shores, who are willing to share their time and expertise," said the president. (MNS)

ADB to lend Manila $2.3B up to 2013MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines stands to get more than $2 billion in loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the next three years, according to the National Economic and Devel-opment Authority (NEDA).

Documents from NEDA showed that ADB, under its Country Partner-ship Strategy (CPS), will lend Manila $2.319 billion from 2011 to 2013.

The Philippines can expect a total of $812 million for 2011, a total of $777 million for 2012 and a total of $730 million for 2013.

Of the total assistance, $1.57 billion is allotted for project loans and $750 million for program loans.

The ADB-Government of the Philippines Programming Discussion on CPS was held on Monday at NEDA headquarters in Makati City.

In September, the Manila-based lender approved the first loan of the Aquino administration amounting to $400 million, which will be used to support a government centerpiece program for the poorest Filipinos.

The $400-million loan was approved by the board of the ADB to support the expansion of the Philippines’ Conditional Cash Transfer pro-gram, known locally as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps and is seen as a cornerstone of the country’s social-reform efforts in the wake of the global economic crisis.

Under the pro-poor program, each family can qualify for a maximum monthly stipend of P1,400, or $31.

Administered by the Department of Social Welfare and Develop-ment, it will provide direct financial support to 582,000 of the country’s poorest families.

In 2009, the Philippines, among Southeast Asian countries, was the third-largest recipient of loan assistance from ADB to counter the world economic slowdown. Manila received $1.18 billion in ADB loans last year from $820 million in 2008.

The top recipient of ADB assistance in 2009 was Indonesia with $2.18 billion from $1.09 billion in 2008. Jakarta was followed by Vietnam with $1.93 million in 2009 from $789.7 million in 2008.

ADB said that it had helped the government mitigate impact of the global financial meltdown through policy-based operations and a $500-million Countercyclical Support Facility loan.

It added that it also had helped promote energy efficiency and health-care, particularly for mothers and children.

ADB provided a $3-million grant under the Asia Pacific Disaster Re-sponse Fund to help Filipinos affected by Typhoon Ondoy, which devastated Metro Manila in 2009. (manilatimes.net)

Robinsons Land beefs up capital to P8.2B MANILA, Philippines – Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC), the property devel-opment arm of the family of taipan John Gokongwei, is beefing up its authorized capital stock from P3 billion to P8.2 billion to bankroll the expansion of its mall, office leasing and housing businesses.

The new capitalization will consist of 8.2 billion common shares with a par value of P1 upon approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

RLC president and chief operating officer Frederick Go said the expanded capital will give the company more financial muscle to support expansion.

“Our subscribed capital is almost reaching our authorized capital already. In-creasing our authorized capital will give us future flexibility,” he said.

Go said RLC is putting up four new malls and refurbish existing ones next year.

As of end-March this year, RLC’s mall network stood at 29 with a gross leasable area of 811,000 square meters.

The company turned over Robinsons Cybergate Plaza, RLC’s newest of-fice building, to tenants in May.

RLC is likewise active in the residential sector and has expanded into four brands: Robinsons Luxuria, Robinsons Residences, Robinsons Com-munities and Robinsons Homes. The residential projects launched in 2009 are scheduled for completion from August 2011 to January 2015.

It has 33 ongoing going projects in Robinsons Homes, having launched seven new and expansion projects in 2009.

RLC is a unit of JG Summit Holdings Inc., one of the country’s largest conglomerates with diverse interests in branded consumer food, agro-industrial and commodity food products, textile, telecommunications,

petrochemicals, air transportation and financial services. (philstar.com)

P&G sets P2.5-B expansionProcter & Gamble (P&G) said it would expand its Philippine operations through an additional P2.5-billion investment. On the sidelines of its 75th anniversary celebration, Jamie Endaya, P&G Philippines public relations manager, told reporters that the company would hire about 100 more people in the next two years to ramp up manufacturing operations at its Cabuyao, Laguna facility. P&G Philippines has about 1,300 employees.

“We would upgrade some lines so that we would have capacity to pro-duce more,” Endaya said.

He said production of disposable diaper brand Pampers is among those that would be expanded, mainly to supply domestic demand.

The official said they would likely increase export production.

At present, the Cabuyao plant churns out Pampers, three detergent brands (Tide, Mr. Clean, and Ariel), bath soap Safeguard, Joy dishwash-ing liquids, and Whisper feminine napkins.

Locally manufactured Joy is exported to Japan, while Pampers and Whisper are shipped to other Southeast Asian countries.

Endaya said the additional investment, part of which would be infused by the Cincinnati, Ohio-based parent firm, would come in soon.

“We are working with BOI how to best execute this investment,” he said, referring to the Board of Investments, which grants tax and other perks.

P&G Philippines corners almost a third of the local consumer goods market, Endaya said, adding that revenues last year were worth about P30 billion.

Its sales grew double-digits in the first quarter of this year, and it is “playing an important role in helping accelerate [Asia business,” said Deborah Henretta, P&G Asia group president.

The company offers about 20 brands in about 15 product categories, said Siddik Tetik, P&G Philippines general manager.

Other leading brands are fabric conditioner Downy, shampoo (Head & Shoulders, Pantene, and Rejoice), Endaya said.

The Philippine subsidiary is P&G’s first Asian operations, and the third oldest worldwide. (manilatimes.net)

Noy approves promotion of 16 police generals

Gov’t to raise DOH 2011 budget for health centers, insurance

Photo: MNS

President Benigno S. Aquino III answers questions from members of the Malacanang Press Corps about the Maguindanao massacre that left 57 people dead and one missing in the country's worst political massacre on Nov. 23, 2009.

Aquino to SC: Live hearings a consolation to massacre victims

MANILA, Philippines – A year after the bloody massacre that killed 58 people in Maguindanao, President Benigno Aquino III said he is not intent on lifting the state of emergency in the province be-cause of the proliferation of private armies.

Sporting a black armband in remembrance of

the victims, the President said he wants to keep the population of Maguindanao at ease as authorities continue to account for loose firearms and look for other perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre.

Aquino said that while there is some measure of success in the government's drive in dismantling pri-vate armies, he remains dissatisfied with the results.

"I'm not content. I want to see people arrested, I want to see arms confiscated and I want to see peo-ple brought to jail," Aquino said.

The President is however not in favor of disman-tling CAFGUs, saying there is a shortage of police and military personnel. But he wants the policy re-viewed to ensure there is accountability and that they are insulated from politics. Violators of the law should be penalized.

Aquino assured families of the victims of the massacre that authorities continue to look for re-maining suspects who are at large.

He said he considers the Maguindanao massacre case as a symbol in finding justice in the country and that is number 1 in his list of priorities.

Aside from the convention, Aquino also attended the groundbreaking of Nestle's factory in Tanauan, Batangas. (MNS)

Aquino keeps state of emergency in Maguindanao

Photo: MNS

Relatives of journalists killed in the Maguindanao massacre hold candles during a vigil in General Santos City, in the southern island of Mindanao.

November 27 - December 3, 2010 3THE FILIPINO PRESS

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SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The last day taxpayers may f i le protests concerning their 2010-2011 property assessments is just around the corner.

Applications to appeal property tax assessments must be received by the Clerk of the Board of Super-visors Office no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 30, or postmarked by mid-night that date. The regular filing period for an appeals application for your 2010-2011 property assessment is July 2 to Nov. 30.

Free, simple applications can be obtained on the Coun-ty Clerk of the Board web site at www.sdcounty.ca.gov. Res-idents may also speak with staff and access applications and information booklets at the COB office located in the County Administration Cen-ter, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 402 in San Diego.

Property owners must provide their parcel number or tax bill number, the prop-erty address and they must state their opinion of the property’s market value on the application.

An informational video is available online on the coun-ty’s YouTube page at http://bit.ly/3HmgdF.

For additional informa-tion, call (619) 531-5777.

By Jason Alderman

For many, mid-November through New Year’s Day is a blur of activity when im-portant tasks get ignored. Who has t ime to rev iew their benefits and tax paper-work when holiday planning looms overhead?

But what if spending a few minutes on such mundane tasks could shave hundreds of dollars off your taxes? Here are a few suggestions:

Review your 401(k)I f you haven ’t a lready

maxed out, ask your employ-er if you can make a catch-up contribution to your 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plan before year's end. Most people can contribute up to $16,500 in 2010, plus an additional $5,500 if they're over 50.

Note: The maximum 2010 contribution to a regular or Roth IRA is $5,000 ($6,000 for those 50 and older), but you have until April 15, 2011.

Exhaust your FSA balancesIf you participate in em-

ployer-sponsored health care or dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs), which let you use pretax dol-lars to pay for eligible expens-es, be sure to spend the full

NEW YORK — MetLife Insurance recently released findings focused on Asian-American consumers from the 2010 MetLife Study of the American Dream. While only 35 percent of all Ameri-cans expect their personal fi-nancial situation to improve in 2010 from 2009, almost half (47 percent) of Asian-Americans believe that their personal situation will im-prove this year. These re-sults are reported nearly two years after the start of the economic downturn.

S e v e r a l f a c t o r s f u e l this optimism, including a strong belief in their future. Like Americans overall, 34 percent of Asian-Americans believe they have achieved the American dream. And, of the Asian-Americans who report that they have not yet achieved the dream, 89 percent believe that it’s still possible in their life-time compared with 70 per-cent of Americans overall. Among those who say they have already achieved the dream, Asian-Americans are less worried than their peers (38 percent vs. 47 percent of the general pop-ulation) about their abili-ty to sustain it.

“Like the general popu-lation, most Asian-Ameri-cans believe that a full eco-nomic recovery is still three or more years away,” notes John Derbick, senior vice president, global brand and marketing services, MetLife. “Despite this, they are still more optimistic than the overall population about their personal finan-cial situation, possibly due to the personal safety nets they’ve put in place prior to the market downturn.”

Many Asian-Americans report relatively strong sources of personal income and protection. While only 31 percent of the general public describes their cur-rent personal safety net (a “cash cushion,” retirement

Nov. 30 deadlineto appeal

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“Like the general population, most Asian-Americans believe that a full

economic recovery is still three or more

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balance before the plan-year deadline (sometimes up to 75 days into the following year); otherwise, you'll forfeit the re-maining balance.

You can use your health care FSA for copayments, de-ductibles and medical devic-es (e.g., glasses, contact lens-es, braces); however, effective Jan. 1, 2011, over-the-coun-ter medicines will only be eli-gible with a doctor’s prescrip-tion (an exception is made for insulin), so you may want to stock up now. Read IRS Pub-lication 502 for a complete list of allowable and non-allowable expenses at www.irs.gov.

Charitable contributionsIf you itemize deductions

this year, charitable contribu-tions made to IRS-approved organizat ions by Dec . 31 , 2010, are generally tax-de-ductible. (See IRS Publication 78 for a complete list of orga-nizations.) If you’ve got extra cash now and want to lower your 2010 taxes even further, consider moving up donations you would have made in 2011.

Energy tax creditsAllowable tax credits for

certain energy-efficient im-provements to principal res-idences will be reduced after Dec. 31, 2010, unless Congress

votes to extend 2010 levels. Until then, you can claim a tax credit for 30 percent of the total cost of eligible products purchased in 2009 and 2010, up to a maximum combined credit of $1,500 per household.

Eligible products include: biomass stoves; heating, ventilating and air condi-tioning (HVAC) systems; in-sulation; roofs (metal and as-phalt); windows and doors; and non-solar water heaters. Carefully review the Energy Star website (www.energys-tar.gov/taxcredits) to make sure your purchases qualify.

GiftsYou’re allowed to bestow

a total of $1 million in gifts during your lifetime before the federal gift tax kicks in. One way to exceed that limit — and avoid having to file a Gift Tax Return — is by giv-ing separate, annual gifts of up to $13,000 per year, per person. (Married couples fil-ing jointly can give $26,000 per recipient.) Rules for gift and estate taxes are com-plex, so read IRS Publica-tion 950 and consult your fi-nancial advisor.

Jason Alderman directs Vi-sa's financial education pro-grams. To Follow Jason Al-derman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PracticalMoney.

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savings as well as auto, health, home and life insurance) as “ad-equate,” the percentage climbs to more than half (54 percent) of Asian-Americans. Further, while almost half (47 percent) of Amer-icans have credit card debt that they don’t pay off in full each month, less than 33 percent of Asian-Americans say the same.

And, while many Americans still find themselves close to fi-nancial ruin should they lose their job — 45 percent could not take care of expenses for more than a month, and 65 percent could not do so for more than three months — the concern is less for Asian-Americans. Twenty-eight percent of Asian-Americans report that they could not take care of expenses for more than a month, and 56 percent say they could not do so for more than three months.

Perhaps because of this, Asian-Americans are less likely than their peers to be frustrat-ed by the erosion of government and employer-sponsored pro-grams. More than half (54 per-cent) said “I am confident that I can rely on myself to provide for my family even if I get less from the government,” compared with 40 percent of Americans overall. And, 57 percent are confident that they can achieve financial security on their own, despite cutbacks in employer-sponsored health benefits and pension plans (compared with 44 percent of all respondents).

While all Americans define the dream first and foremost as “financial security,” Asian Americans are slightly more likely (28 percent) than the overall population (22 percent) to describe the dream in finan-cial terms. They are also much more likely (27 percent) than the overall population (8 per-cent) to equate the dream with “a successful career.”

Asian-Americans are also more likely than Americans overall to feel strong pressure to increase material possessions despite a challenging econo-my. Nearly four in ten (38 per-cent) say “For me, achieving the American dream is about im-

proving the quality of my life by increasing personal pos-sessions,” compared with 23 percent of the general public. And, more than half (55 per-cent) agree that “The pressure I feel to buy more and better material possessions is great-er than ever,” compared with 29 percent of all respondents.

While significantly more Asian Americans equate the dream with a successful ca-reer, many respondents say they have taken on more re-sponsibility at work and are more stressed about per-forming all the tasks their job requires. Sixty-one per-cent of Asian-Americans re-port taking on more respon-sibility, compared with 56 percent of the overall popu-lation. Similarly, 61 percent of Asian-Americans say they are more stressed at work, while 52 percent of the gen-eral public report the same.

From April 14-21, Strate-gy First Partners in conjunc-tion with Penn Schoen Ber-land, conducted 2,201 online surveys in the United States among the general popu-lation as part of The 2010 MetLife Study of the Amer-ican Dream.

Roughly half (52 per-cent) of the study partici-pants were Caucasian, 18 percent African-American, 9 percent Hispanic and 19 percent Asian-American. Asian-American respon-dents included 199 Chinese Americans, 178 South Asian Indians and 42 Americans from other Asian ethnicities.

Note that f indings for the general population as a whole are weighted based on age, gender, race, income, education, and region to re-flect the latest U.S. Census demographics.

dreamContinued from p age 4

saveContinued from p age 4"Asian-Americans are

also more likely than Americans overall

to increase material possessions despite a

challenging economy."


A day after President Aqui-no offered guarantees to foreign investors who

would participate in his admin-istration’s public-private part-nership (PPP) program, an official from a Belgian firm con-tracted to dredge the Laguna de Bay for P18 billion complained

that Malacanang unilaterally cancelled the contract without first informing them.

Dimitri Ditielleux, North Asia manager of Baggerwerken De-cloedt En Zoon (BDZ), said he was stunned by the statement released by Malacanang that Aquino had cancelled the project.

“How can you cancel a con-tract without informing the other party?” Ditielleux asked, criticizing Aquino for junking a project that he said had the support of the people living around the lake.

The Belgian executive said the BDZ will seek international arbitration and will inform the Belgian government about the unilateral cancellation. He said he would also ask the Belgian government, which is the cur-rent president of the European Union, to suspend all forms of assistance to the Philippines.

Presidential Spokesman Ed-win Lacierda said in a press briefing Friday that Aquino had cancelled the contract, which was signed in April during the last days of the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Aquino canceled the dredg-ing project, which aims to pre-vent water levels from rising and causing floods in nearby ar-eas, after learning of allegedly

questionable components of the project. He said the project was “illogical” since the dredged ma-terial would simply be dumped into another part of the lake.

“Even a Grade 5 student will easily see that this project is il-logical,” he said. “There are still people who think they can pull a fast one that would cost at least P18.5 billion,” Aquino said.

But the Kilusang Lawa Ka-likasan, an environmental group, said the president may have been misinformed about the project.

Obviously, whoever advised Aquino to cancel the proj-ect based his conclusion on a Grade 5 student’s logic. The project was the result of years of research, study and eval-uation by a team of experts whose findings and recom-mendations were reviewed by the National Economic Devel-opment Authority (NEDA) and experts from the Belgian gov-ernment, which was to provide the funding through its over-seas development assistance (ODA) program.

In effect, Aquino was saying a Grade 5 student’s “logical” opinion should be trusted more than a thorough study by en-gineers and other experts. No wonder Aquino’s policies and actions have been described as “amateurish” and his cab-inet members “lightweights” because they obviously look at things from the “logical” per-spective of a Grade 5 student.

Aquino scrapped the proj-ect for the simple reason that it was signed during the time of the despicable Arroyo ad-ministration. Aquino is fall-ing into the same mistake of his late mother, President Cory Aquino, when she indis-criminately stopped or aban-doned all projects initiated by her deposed predecessor, Ferdinand Marcos and the f o r m e r f i r s t l a d y, I m e l d a Marcos, simply because they were Marcos projects and were, therefore, considered tainted, including the com-mendable BLISS and other housing programs.

While the late President

Cory Aquino didn’t have to worry about the legality or con-stitutionality of her actions — her government being a revolu-tionary one — Noynoy Aquino must remember that the con-stitution is in place and all ex-isting laws are, therefore, bind-ing. These include the laws on contracts and obligations.

T h e B e l g i a n g o v e r n -ment was reportedly so in-c e n s e d b y M a l a c a n a n g ’ s unilateral scrapping of the contract and the “unprofes-sional” and “improper” act of announcing it to the press without informing the other party first, that it is threaten-ing to hold all ODA funding to the Philippines in abeyance. It is unfortunate for the Aquino administration that Belgium is currently the president of the powerful European Union and could, therefore, influence the European group’s deci-sions vis-à-vis the Philippines.

Malacanang seems to have forgotten that the Philippines is still being watched with skepticism by foreign inves-tors following unresolved com-plaints by two major investors involved in two major build-operate-transfer (BOT) proj-ects by previous administra-tions. BOT was the precursor of Aquino’s PPP program.

These projects were the

I recently came across a quote from W.J. Cameron that states, “Thanksgiving

is a word of action.” I certain-ly agree with this quote and de-cided to include it in my daily mantra to serve as a reminder that there is always something to give thanks for, even in the worst of situations or for peo-ple who we may have not gotten along with now or in the past.

It is a fact that we have our own likes and dislikes, prefer-ences and favorites, whether they be people, places, things or situations. Sometimes, we are blatant in expressing one

emotion over another, possibly because that is an extension of our personality. There are in-stances, though, when one is naturally coy or shy in express-ing oneself verbally, and doing so can be a painful experience. Thus, words are left unspoken, feelings bottled until one ex-plodes in the form of an emo-tional outburst. Bottling-up is not good for our health and can be detrimental to our relation-ship with other people, wheth-er we are close to them or not.

Being thoughtful is one of the virtues I value and I would like to take the time to give thanks

to those people whose lives our paper affects in a positive way or for whom we have been able to influence with our reporting and sense of community. For giving us the opportunity to be part of your lives on a weekly basis, we are very grateful.

As a businesswoman, I ac-knowledge the fact that if I don’t have your support and at-tention — as readers, sponsors and advertisers — my business would cease to exist. For that, I endeavor to remind myself that Thanksgiving is an every-day word of action.

E - m a i l y o u r c o m m e n t s and suggestions to me at [email protected]. Please also visit our website at www.filipi-nopress.com and our Facebook page by searching “Facebook | Filipino Press.”

Word of action

By Rudy M. Viernes

“Do unto others what you would like oth-ers to do unto you.”

That's the positive form. It's the Golden Rule.

“Do not do to others what you would not like to be done to you.” That's the negative form. It's the Silver Rule.

While similar in context and

meaning these forms aren't strictly the same: they differ in what to do with what you would like done to you and the other guy would not like to be done to himself.

The Rule, whether Golden or Silver, is an ethical conduct, a teaching that states one has a right to be treated justly and fairly, and it's also his responsi-bility to do the same treatment

for others. It's also called the Code of Reciprocity -- the mutu-al exchange of favor. In trade reciprocity is a commercial agreement between two or more parties, individuals, or nations. In the barter trade, for exam-ple, a product is exchanged for another the value of which maybe or may not be the same as long as both parties agree to the terns of the exchange.

The Golden Rule is essen-tially the basis for the concept of human rights or civil liber-ties. The key element is if you want to live by it treat others the same consideration not by their foreign looks. This was echoed by all the champions of civil rights throughout the world, like Martin Luther King

Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and Nel-son Mandela.

I still remember my high school days when I was co-ed-itor of our high school year-book. More than two-thirds of the members of our graduat-ing class of 90 (three sections of 30 students each class) had the Golden Rule their preferred motto. Up to now it's the max-im that I swear to live by. And it has worked for me. It has given me peace of mind and equanim-ity in my heart. I bear ill to no one and no one bears ill to me. It's as simple as that!

The Golden Rule is a stan-dard which different cultures use to resolve controversies. Philosophers and religious leaders have stated it in differ-

ent ways but its most common phrasing is attributed in the Scriptures of world's religions.

In the Roman Catholic Church the Apostle Matthew 7:12 said it “So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you,” while Luke 6:31 expressed it in like manner but less verbose “Do to others as you would have oth-ers do to you.” Tobit, the less-er of Christ's disciples expressed it in same way 4:15 "Do not do to another what you would hate done to yourself."

The followers of Confucius follow his edict: “Never im-pose on others what you would not do for yourself.” The rules of Dharma (Hinduism) states “One should never do that to another which one regards or

injurious to one's own self.”Islam has this to say “Hurt

no one that no one may hurt you.” Buddhism expressed it “Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.”

The concept of the golden rule in a Torah verse (Hebrew or Judaism): "You shall not take revenge or bear a grudge against your kinfolk. Love your neighbor as yourself." The sec-ond line is similar to the Chris-tian concept of neighborliness and found in Leviticus 19:18.

The golden rule was also a common principle in ancient Greek philosophy. Example by Plato: "One should not do

C o m m E N TA R y

Sending mixed signals

The Golden Rule(Or The Silver Rule)

See abelgas on 7

The

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Staff Writers: JeNNiFer aNareTa-bUrmaN • Fe seliGmaN • aliCia TOrres De leONFraNCiNe maiGUe • Valerie FarNal

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ViCTOr mUNiz • reN rOXas • bO NaVarrO

See viernes on 7

Noynoy Aquino must remember that the constitution is in place and all existing

laws are, therefore, binding. These include the laws on contracts and obligations.

“Bottling-up is not good for our health and can be detrimental to our

relationship with other people, whether we are

close to them or not."


How times have changed. In America, folks are Proud to be Pinoy.

Thanks to California Chief Jus-tice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, San Francisco Giants ace pitcher Tim Lincecum and Pamban-sang Kamao Manny Pacquiao.

Back in the early 80s, Fili-pinos in America were actual-ly embarrassed to admit their nationality. The image of the Philippines was mud. Mar-cos and his military had the country in an iron grip. Ninoy Aquino had been assassinat-ed. There were demonstra-tions and riots in Metro Ma-nila and the provinces. The economy was in a nose-dive.

We had just opened a branch of our ad agency, Advertis-ing & Marketing Associates, in the San Francisco Bay Area. One of our initial projects was a glossy magazine on U.S. Pi-noys. I planned to call it Filipi-no-American Heritage, but was

told that it would be more pru-dent to give it another name, like, Asian-American Heritage.

It was probably the worst time to enroll our only daugh-ter, Christina, in a high school exchange program in the U.S. We were sending a 16-year old alone to a place where people knew little about her country, and what they knew was likely going to be unflattering

Knowing that she would inevitably be asked to talk about the Philippines, I decid-ed to prepare her for it. I pro-duced a home video where she introduced herself, her fami-ly and her country, including a visit to Makati and a quick tour of the Philippines via Nayong Pilipino.

“When they ask you about the Philippines, speak of our country with pride,” I told her.

She did exactly that. And she became one of the best-liked girls in school. And, yes,

people had a positive impres-sion of the Philippines.

Indeed, the fact that the new Chief Justice of the Califor-nia Supreme Court is a bona fide Pinay, and the pitcher who helped give the San Francis-co Giants its first-ever world championship traces his roots to sacadas, were reason enough for us to walk with head high in America. Pacquiao’s one-sided victory over Antonio Margarito simply capped it all.

And yet, wasn’t it only a few months ago when we were walking with head bowed, em-barrassed over the hostage-tak-ing that resulted in the deaths of several Hong Kong tourists?

It seemed to me then that ev-eryone was talking about the Third Person Pinoy. The Sad Sack who could never do any-thing right. The public offi-cial who didn’t have the balls to take responsibility for gross incompetence. The mass com-municators who were prime ex-amples of miscommunication. The policemen and SWAT oper-atives who made the Keystone Kops look absolutely brilliant. And a media community that relished self-flagellation.

Such is our roller-coaster per-ception of ourselves as a people. One day, we’re walking head high with pride, because one of our own has just been conferred highest honors. The next day, we grovel in shame because of the incompetence or the dishon-esty of our public officials.

One day, we are thrilled at the prospect of one our own be-ing crowned Miss Universe. The next day, we speak with embarrassment about the fact our beauty queen spoke an in-teresting kind of English.

We think it’s cute when an American or any other foreigner tries to speak Tagalog and does so badly. Yet we laugh with de-rision at one of our own speak-ing imperfect English

Why this penchant for self-deprecation?

Do we have such a humon-gous inferiority complex and are we so unsure of our place in the world, that we sink to depths of embarrassment or soar to heights of pride, depend-ing on what we think other peo-ple think of things Pinoy?

Sadly, yes.I think this goes back to our

upbringing, at home and in school, especially during our early, impressionable years. To start with, our culture en-courages false modesty. To be “mayabang” or “mahangin” is to be obnoxious. Even genuine, well-deserved pride has to be doused with expressions like, “No, it’s not really much!” so as not to “sound boastful.”

While that is bad enough, what is worse is the lack of a conscious effort on the part of older people to imbue the young with pride in themselves as Fil-ipinos, and to express affection for the Motherland.

“God bless America!” is an

expression that easily flows from the lips of people in the U.S. I have to hear an equiv-alent expression among us Pi-noys. Somehow, “Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!” strikes me as just a cheer, rather an expres-sion of love.

Pundits and sociologists rou-tinely comment that Filipinos have “no sense of nationhood.” An American journalist wrote about our “damaged culture.” Parents encourage their chil-dren to go abroad as nurses or seamen or contract workers.. Around Asia and in Europe, Filipina has almost become a synonym for domestic. And for-eign governments routinely is-sue advisories against travel to our country, ostensibly because of terrorist threats.

We have gotten so used to be-ing told that the Philippines is “the sick man of Asia” and is “one of the most corrupt coun-tries in the world” that we have come to accept it as an incontro-vertible fact.

The result is that our chil-dren are raised feeling inferi-or and incompetent in a world that has little patience with born losers.

No wonder, we exult over a Pacquiao victory, much more than the fact that a provin-cial mayor like Jesse Robredo is one of the most outstanding local executives in the world. Whenever Pacquiao pum-mels his opponents, especially when they are so much bigger

than he is, we are there with him in the ring, letting our frustrations loose.

And yet, we have many rea-sons to feel Proud to be Pinoy. Not the least, the beauty of our people and our land.

I guess this is the rationale behind the new campaign of the Department of Tourism re-volving around the theme, “Pil-ipinas Kay Ganda” or “Philip-pines, the Beautiful.”

I think it’s a good advertising theme, reminiscent of ‘America, the Beautiful.” But to make this campaign fly, we need to work on our national psyche and im-bue our people with genuine pride in ourselves as a nation.

And not simply because of another Pacquiao world title. Or even the outstanding per-formance of a FilAm sports ace or the achievements of a Pinay jurist.

We need to imbue ourselves, especially our youth, with the kind of pride in the Philippines and the Filipino people that our daughter felt when she first left for a foreign country.

T h a t p r i d e s h o u l d b e strong enough to withstand another hostage situation or an advisory against traveling to the Philippines.

Meanwhile, let’s relish Pac-quiao’s one-side pummeling of Margarito. In fact, let’s join him in the victorious fray.

Take that. And that. And that. Ummmm. And that. ([email protected])

“A self-centered man is a dis-contented man. But the soul of the generous man, the man, who lives for the interests and benefit of others, will find blessing upon blessing in his life.”

— Proverb 11:24-5

As we celebrated our na-tion’s Thanksgiving Day this past week, our con-

scious attention often turns to what we don’t have rather than what we do — and for a very good reason. The season of non-stop shopping has arrived!

With Thanksgiving only just behind us, the race to get ready for the next round of holidays begins. No sooner have we cel-ebrated the season of plen-ty than, with the advent of the first official days of Christmas shopping — we enter four fre-netic weeks of looking, find-ing, buying and ordering — but not for ourselves. We feel over-whelmed by a season of lack.

So, before we head to the

mall, it would do our souls good to have a reality check, in the form not only of counting our blessings, but also of focus-ing on them and embracing thoughts of contentment.

Indeed, it is good to be re-minded of our need to be content.

Obviously the past few days we wanted to pause and ask the question: Was I really thankful? Am I really thankful to God in my life? Does an awareness of all that God has done for me live daily in my heart?

But there is an even more ba-sic question: Am I content with the ways of God? Does the grace of contentment live in me? The way I see it, without content-ment you cannot be thank-ful. And if we are not thankful, it is because we are not living in contentment. For when the grace of contentment dwells within our hearts, we are then ready to give thanks.

The very idea of “living con-tentment,” in which every mo-

ment is a state of ease and peace of mind — no matter what your circumstances have really in-trigued me. I discovered I am not really that enlightened. I am, however, able to find mo-ments when I experience “liv-ing contentment.”

For me, it is actually an hour (or a day, for that matter) of con-tentedness. It’s a precious mo-ment of happiness. Or even a few minutes of relaxation. Each of us has a setting in which satisfac-tion pays a visit.

It could be early in the morn-ing while the coffee is hot and everyone else is asleep. It might be late in the night as you kiss your little grandson’s sleepy eyes. Or it is in a boat on a lake when memories of a well-worn, dog-eared, even tear-stained love story return.

Perhaps for you it is in the arms of a spouse. Or maybe, even at that Thanksgiving din-ner itself. Oh, yes,what is a bet-ter time to practice this skill of contentment than on Thanksgiv-ing Day, wouldn’t you think so?

Just what is the secret of Thanksgiving? Why is it that some folks approach this holi-day with rejoicing and others with trepidation? Some people actually are even not looking forward to the holiday. Some of you knew that for you Thanks-giving is meant to be a day of loneliness, a day of busyness, just another day of work or per-haps a day of family strife that is pushed just below the surface.Some of us look over the past 12 months, and say, “I don’t real-ly have that much to be thank-ful for.” If you add up the pluses

and minuses of the past year, it may seem to you that the minus-es are greater than the pluses.

And as you faced Thanks-giving last Thursday, you were just another Ebenezer Scrooge: “BA-HUMBUG on the whole thing. I don’t have anything to be grateful for.”

My dear folks, I am going to give you the little secret. It is just one word. It is the word “c-o-n-t-e-n-t-m-e-n-t.” Yes, con-tentment, it is! Not prosperity. It is in that passage in the Bi-ble when the Apostle Paul said, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plen-ty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plen-ty or in want.”

Would you like to know the true definition of contentment? I say contentment is realizing how much you already have, how much God has already giv-en you, how rich you already are. The problem with many of us is we approach Thanksgiving fo-cused on the circumstances of life. Far too many of us take our happiness and our joy and sat-isfaction by how things are go-ing on the outside. It is simply

not like that, folks. Contentment is not a matter of outward cir-cumstances. Contentment is an instance of understanding how much you already have.

How often do we not go to the closet and express our discon-tentment? A closet filled with clothes and yet we come out say-ing, “there’s nothing to wear.” Or, as a teenager, we go to the cup-board and we say, “Mom, there’s nothing to eat,” while the repos-itory is filled with food and box-es of goodies. We have so much! Especially here in the land of plenty — America — my dear friends! But I reckon covetous-ness is really a sin, you see, that is very much present in prosper-ity. The more we have the less that we will be satisfied, by na-ture, and the more we will want and the less we will appreciate.

So what is the reply for us, swamped in prosperity (even by today’s economy and reces-sion standards) and so often bankrupted in thanksgiving? I would say the answer is: the grace of contentment. Desper-ately we all need to learn what is to be content. For only out of the soul where godly content-ment is living, only there will one find the delightsome activ-ity of thanksgiving to God.

So, where does a happy, con-

tented Thanksgiving begin? You definitely have to add some-thing, subtract something, mul-tiply something and even divide something — just like a little mathematical equation. It is not too difficult, come to think of it.

First of all, add all your blessings. Take a moment to remember at least three bless-ings God has sent into your life in the past 12 months. Then, subtract all your losses, diffi-culties, defeats, failures, hu-miliations; times in the past year when it didn’t work out the way you thought it was go-ing to. Do it right now. Third, multiply your promises that as a Christian are sustaining your life right this minute. Write down at least three. Finally, di-vide your burdens — when you help somebody else with their load, your own grows lighter. I believe so many of us are a little too inward-focused, just look-ing at ourselves. Aid someone this week — assist them with a project, spend some time with them and ask how you could be of help today. You will actual-ly be surprised by the results it will have on you!

So, there’s our little project on our path to contentment and I do say genuine thanksgiving, my dear folks. Take this little idea that we have gone over, go home and do it with your family and friends. Sit down, do a little adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing today.

May the past week for all of you, be what every day should be — a day of true thanksgiving to God, who is good all the time.

Amen.

Thoughts on contentment

Proud to be Pinoy

wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him." Meaning it's not tit-for-tat.

You will note that all the world's major religions and cul-tures have kindred thoughts about the golden rule. They all expressed it in the nega-tive form. Well, different people have different tastes.

However, all sound the same. They can be translated to the most important of the Ten Com-mandments: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Some people have criticized the Golden Rule, though. The erudite Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once said that "The golden rule is that there are no golden rules." The phi-losopher Immanuel Kant criti-cized it for not being sensitive to differences of situations not-

ing that a prisoner convicted of a crime could appeal citing the golden rule, while asking the judge to release him saying that the judge would not want any-one else to send him to jail, so he should not do so to others.

The "Love thy neighbor" in-junction is very relevant.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Samaritans abjure any orthodox religious beliefs), this edict emphasized the need for positive action that brings benefit to another, not just re-straining oneself from negative action that hurts another.

The Samaritan who came upon a beaten traveler on the highway felt for him as a neigh-bor and a brother by giving him a helping hand, while the priest and Levite, both men of cloth, acted negatively avoiding him like the plague, insensitive and un-Christ-like because their ac-tion negated the lesson they are preaching. They didn't lose

anything but their indifference hurt the man all the more.

The Samaritan showed a Christ-like virtue even as a non-believer. He "gave up" something and gained something in return -- the aura of recognition for do-ing a good deed and his becom-ing an instant believer and his storied kindness was told and re-told that made him the legend-ary "Good Samaritan." This has become an inspiring civic les-son that is taught in the schools. "Kindliness is neighborliness."

The vignette about the bibli-cal Samaritan became the con-cept for the foundation of the Christ-centered Good Samaritan Society by the Lutheran Congre-gation of the United States whose mission is to serve God's love in word and deed by providing care to the forgotten people who have no other options for care and no one to care for them by believing that "In Christ's love, Everyone is Someone."

viernesContinued from p age 6

NAIA 3 airport terminal proj-ect and the Southern Luzon Ex-pressway (SLEX) project.

The NAIA 3 contract was awarded to Piatco by the ad-ministration of President Fidel Ramos in 1997. It was amend-ed under President Joseph Es-trada's government. Piatco partnered with German airport operator Fraport.

The facility was scheduled to open in late 2002. That year, Arroyo sought a review of the contract, saying it was unfair and breached Philip-pine law. In 2004, the Phil-ippine Supreme Court ruled the contract void and the gov-ernment subsequently seized the terminal.

Consortium members lost $1 billion in compensation claims before arbitration courts in Washington and Singapore on

jurisdiction grounds. Appeals are pending. The terminal, mothballed from 2002 to 2008 due to the court cases, is now only being partly used.

The other case involved Ma-laysia's MTD Capital Bhd, op-erator of SLEX, connecting the capital to southern provinc-es. It has been trying to imple-ment toll increases that were allowed by its contract.

The Supreme Court last month upheld the toll increas-es, but referred them for re-view and declared void and un-constitutional clauses in the contract covering compensa-tion for the operator if the in-creases were not implemented.

Prior to the two-day con-ference on the PPP last week, foreign investors expressed skepticism over the govern-ment’s sincerity in attracting investors, largely because of previous experiences where the Supreme Court interfered

in the decision-making pro-cess for large infrastructure projects and the Philippine government unilateral ly cancelled contracts.

A n d n o w c o m e s M a l a -canang scrapping another huge public-works contract for the dredging of Laguna Lake on the eve of its moves to attract foreign investors to bid for its PPP projects.

Not one of the almost 600 investors who attended the conference had signed up nor showed interest in the 10 in-frastructure projects despite guarantees and risk insur-ance promised by the Aquino administration.

By sending mixed signals to the investors following the cancellation of Laguna Lake contract based on the logic of a Grade 5 student, the Aquino administration is not helping its cause. ([email protected])

abelgasContinued from p age 6

Would you like to know the definition of contentment? I say contentment is realizing how much you already have, how much God

has already given you, how rich you already are.


Alcohol withdrawal syn-drome is a potentially life-threatening condition that can occur in people who have been drinking heavily for weeks, months, or years and then either stop or signifi-cantly reduce their alcohol consumption.

Alcohol withdrawal symp-toms can begin as early as two hours after the last drink, persist for weeks, and range from mild anxiety and shaki-ness to severe complications, such as seizures and deliri-um tremens (also called DTs). The death rate from DTs -- which are characterized by confusion, rapid heartbeat, and fever -- is estimated to range from 1% to 5%.

Because alcohol with-drawal symptoms can rapid-ly worsen, it's important to seek medical attention even if symptoms are seeming-ly mild. Appropriate alcohol withdrawal treatments can reduce the risk of developing withdrawal seizures or DTs.

It's especially important to see a doctor if you've ex-perienced previous alcohol withdrawal episodes or if you have other health conditions such as infections, heart dis-ease, lung disease, or a histo-ry of seizures.

Severe alcohol withdraw-al symptoms are a medical emergency. If seizures, fe-ver, severe confusion, hallu-cinations, or irregular heart-beats occur, either take the patient to an emergency room or call 911.

Causes of alcohol withdrawal syndrome

Heavy, prolonged drink-ing -- especially excessive daily drinking -- disrupts the brain's neurotransmit-ters, the brain chemicals that transmit messages.

For example, alcohol ini-tially enhances the effect of GABA, the neurotransmit-ter which produces feelings of relaxation and calm. But chronic alcohol consump-tion eventually suppresses GABA activity so that more and more alcohol is required to produce the desired ef-fects, a phenomenon known as tolerance.

Chronic alcohol consump-tion also suppresses the ac-tivity of glutamate, the neurotransmitter which pro-duces feelings of excitability. To maintain equilibrium, the

By Jason Alderman

At t h i s t i m e o f y e a r, many people overin-dulge, whether it's over-

eating or drinking too much at holiday parties or spending too much on gifts and decorations. You'll regret the former the next morning; but with over-spending you may not feel the hangover effect until the bills come due in January.

Here are a few tips for man-aging holiday expenses to avoid a holiday spending hangover:

BudgetingBefore spending a dime on

holiday expenses, calculate

how much you can afford rel-ative to your overall budget. Many financial planners rec-ommend spending no more than 1.5 percent of annual income on holiday expenses. Consider:

• Will your savings cover a few months' expenses in case of a layoff, unexpected medi-cal bills or another financial emergency?

• Can you pay off all holi-day-related bills within a cou-ple of months?

• Do you already struggle to pay your monthly bills?

• Would you need to suspend retirement savings to buy gifts?

Scale backExamine how much you've

spent in past years and look for areas to trim. Consider: gifts for family, friends and coworkers; decorations; new clothes/accessories; gift wrap and cards; special meals; year-end gratuities; and travel-re-lated expenses. A few tips:

• Review old credit card and bank statements to jog your memory.

• Arrange gift lotteries with family, friends and co-workers so you each buy few-er, nicer gifts.

• Suggest pooling resources to make a sizable group chari-

table contribution rather than individual gifts to each other.

Get organizedOnce you've determined

your overall holiday budget, make a list or spreadsheet with columns for:

• Everyone you need to shop for – relatives, friends, cowork-ers, service providers, etc.

• Spending limits and gift alternatives for each person.

• How much you actu-a l ly spend on each g i f t . (Overspending on one pres-ent means trimming some-where else.)

Women who report having high job strain have a 40 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and the need for procedures to open blocked arteries, compared to those with low job strain, ac-cording to research presented at the American Heart Associ-ation’s Scientific Sessions 2010.

In addition, job insecuri-ty – fear of losing one’s job – was associated with risk fac-tors for cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure, in-creased cholesterol and excess body weight. However, it’s not directly associated with heart attacks, stroke, invasive heart procedures or cardiovascular death, researchers said.

Job strain, a form of psycho-logical stress, is defined as hav-ing a demanding job, but little to no decision-making authority or opportunities to use one’s cre-ative or individual skills.

“Our study indicates that there are both immediate and long-term clinically document-ed cardiovascular health ef-fects of job strain in women,” said Michelle A. Albert, M.D., M.P.H., the study’s senior au-thor and associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hos-pital, Boston, Mass. “Your job can positively and negative-ly affect health, making it im-portant to pay attention to the stresses of your job as part of your total health package.”

Women with high job strain at risk for heart disease

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome

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• What you gave each person – to avoid giving them the same thing next year.

• What each person gave you. That way, you won't acci-dentally "re-gift" something to the same person.

• Other expenses (decora-tions, etc.)

Gift cardsIf you give gift cards, sever-

al changes were made to laws governing these cards. For gift cards sold on or after August 22, 2010, the Credit Card Account-

ability, Responsibility and Dis-closure (CARD) Act of 2009 re-quires that:

• Money loaded on gift cards must not expire for at least five years from date of purchase or after funds were last added.

• If the card expires but the funds haven't, you can request a free replacement card.

• Inactivity and service fees may not be charged until af-ter 12 months of inactivity; af-ter that, only one such fee may be deducted from the balance each month.

• All fees must be clearly disclosed on the card or its

packaging.A few additional tips:• Note return policies for

stores and online shopping sites. Watch for deadlines, ex-clusions for sale or clearance items and restocking charges.

• Retain receipts. Many re-tailers will refund the price difference if an item goes on sale within a few weeks after purchase.

• Check whether your cred-it card agreement provides free product warranty extensions and/or price protection (i.e., will reimburse the difference if you find an identical item for less).

sPendingContinued from p age 8

Researchers analyzed job strain in 17,415 healthy wom-en who participated in the landmark Women’s Health Study. The women were pri-marily Caucasian health pro-fessionals, average age 57 who provided information about heart disease r isk factors, job strain and job insecurity. They were followed for more than 10 years to track the development of cardiovascu-lar disease. Researchers used a standard questionnaire to evaluate job strain and job in-security with statements such as: “My job requires working very fast.” “My job requires working very hard.” “I am free

from competing demands that others make.”

The 40 percent higher risks for women who reported high job strain included heart at-tacks, ischemic strokes, cor-onary artery bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty and death. The increased risk of heart attack was about 88 percent, while the risk of by-pass surgery or invasive pro-cedure was about 43 percent.

“Women in jobs character-ized by high demands and low control, as well as jobs with high demands but a high sense of control are at high-er risk for heart disease long term,” said Natalie Slopen, Sc.D., lead researcher and a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard University Cen-

ter on the Developing Child in Boston.

Previous research on the ef-fects of job strain has focused on men and had a more re-stricted set of cardiovascu-lar conditions. “From a public health perspective, it’s crucial for employers, potential pa-tients, as well as government and hospitals entities to moni-tor perceived employee job strain and initiate programs to alleviate job strain and perhaps positively impact prevention of heart disease,” Albert said.

Co-authors are Robert G. Glynn, Ph.D., and Julie Bur-ing, Sc.D. Author disclosures are on the abstract.

The National Institutes of Health funded the Women’s Health Study.

strainContinued from p age 8

glutamate system responds by functioning at a far higher level than it does in moderate drinkers and nondrinkers.

When heavy drinkers sud-denly stop or significantly re-duce their alcohol consump-tion, the neurotransmitters previously suppressed by alco-hol are no longer suppressed. They rebound, resulting in a phenomenon known as brain hyperexcitability. So the ef-fects associated with alcohol withdrawal -- anxiety, irrita-bility, agitation, tremors, sei-zures, and DTs -- are the op-posite of those associated with alcohol consumption.

Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome

In general, the severity of alcohol withdrawal symptoms increases in tandem with the amount and duration of prior alcohol consumption.

Minor alcohol withdrawal symptoms often appear six to 12 hours after alcohol cessation, sometimes while patients still have a measurable blood alcohol level. These symptoms include:

• Shaky hands• Sweating

• Mild anxiety• Nausea and/or vomiting• Headache• InsomniaBetween 12 and 24 hours

after alcohol cessation, some patients may experience visu-al, auditory, or tactile halluci-nations which usually resolve within 48 hours. Although this condition is called alcoholic hallucinosis, it's not the same as the hallucinations associat-ed with DTs. Most patients are aware that the unusual sensa-tions aren't real.

Withdrawal seizures usual-ly first strike between 24 and 48 hours after alcohol cessa-tion. The risk of seizures is es-pecially high in patients who previously have undergone multiple detoxifications.

DTs usually develop be-tween 48 and 72 hours after alcohol cessation, although they can appear as early as two hours after cessation. Risk factors for DTs include a history of withdrawal sei-zures or DTs, acute medical illness, abnormal liver func-tion, and older age.Symptoms of DTs, which usually

peak at five days, include:• Disorientation, confusion,

and severe anxiety

• Hallucinations (primarily visual) which cannot be distin-guished from reality

• Profuse sweating• Seizures• High blood pressure• Racing and irregular

heartbeat• Severe tremor• Low-grade feverPreventing future alcohol

withdrawal episodesBecause successful treat-

ment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome doesn't address the underlying disease of addic-tion, it should be followed by treatment for alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence.

Relatively brief outpatient interventions can be effective for alcohol abuse, but more intensive therapy may be re-quired for alcohol dependence. If you have alcohol dependence, your doctor may prescribe oth-er medications to help you stop drinking. He or she also may recommend joining a 12-step group -- such as Alcohol-ics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous -- or staying at a comprehensive treatment fa-cility that offers a combination of a 12-step model, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and family therapy. (webmd.com)

alcoholContinued from p age 8

By Daniel J. DeNoon

The FDA has approved Pradaxa, a new drug to pre-vent blood clots in patients with atrial fibrillation.

In a clinical trial, patients on Pradaxa had fewer strokes than those on warfarin (Cou-madin, Jantoven).

"People with atrial fibril-lation are at a higher risk o f developing b lood c lots , which can cause a disabling stroke if the clots travel to the brain," Norman Stock-

bridge, MD, PhD, director of the FDA's division of cardio-vascular and renal products, says in a news release.

Many peop le wi th a tr i -al fibrillation take warfarin, which requires frequent mon-itoring with blood tests. Such monitoring is not necessary with Pradaxa.

Like other anti -c lott ing drugs, however, Pradaxa can have adverse effects, includ-ing life-threatening bleed-ing. Other side effects may i n c l u d e g a s t r o i n t e s t i n a l

symptoms (including dys-pepsia, an unpleasant feel-ing in the stomach), stom-ach pain, nausea, heartburn, and bloating.

The drug will be distribut-ed with a medication guide explaining the risk of serious bleeding. Patients will get a copy of the guide every time they fill or refill a Pradaxa prescription.

Pradaxa's generic name is dabigatran etexilate. It is made by Boehringer Ingelheim Phar-maceuticals. (webmd.com)

Atrial fibrillation drug approved


Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.

Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. (1 Corin-thians 1:26)

Are you facing a road block? I’m not talking about a minor detour, I mean a “stop you in your tracks” wilderness time? Jim was there and the story of his journey is inspiring. Af-ter his divorce, a distraught Jim left the pastorate and be-gan a wilderness journey to find what he was born to do. He de-voted himself full-time to the searching. In the meantime, he worked odd jobs on the side un-til it emerged. Jim tried a con-struction gig, carpet selling — for a time he was the cashier and more at CJ's Cafe — then he endured a Christmas sea-son working the back sector at Kolh's. But it was still illusive. With each sheet of plywood, car-pet measurement, pot of coffee and folded towel, he was sink-ing deeper into confusion and discouragement. He was barely

able to pull his aching body out of bed for the construction job. How was he supposed to have his morning quiet time with God? It was a wilderness time.

During these days of down-ward mobility, Jim found es-cape in the local Waffle House. There was little chance of run-ning into someone from his past (they would be in the Cracker Barrel). It was his oasis, except for waitress Wanda, the talker. She was a durable woman with a difficult and storied past writ-ten across the wrinkles of her face. And she bantered with ev-eryone. One afternoon Jim was drinking coffee and reading one of his Christian books. Wanda warmed his coffee and offered him conversation.

“Honey, I read all that stuff. Started back in my AA days,” she said.

“Do you go to a church any-where, Wanda?” he replied.

“I work on Sundays, hon,” came her answer.

She left for other custom-ers, then returned, “Besides, I tried all that once and it never worked for me. I guess it does

for some people. I could never be one of them. They don’t want people like me. That’s what I found out. Anyway, this is my church right here.”

On his way out, Jim stopped to respond, “Wanda, I'm sorry if…”

“J im, honey, ” she said , “don’t you go being sorry. I just never seemed to fit in at church, you know? I’d some-times be in my uniform, and folks stared like I was some kind of prostitute. I ain“t no whore! I’m a waitress. Nev-er finished high school. That preacher was way too smart for me. I ain’t afraid to admit it. Let’s just say all them fan-cy words don’t mean much at Waffle House. Now don’t you think another thing about it, hon. Shoot, I might go back yet. Teach ’em a thing or two.”

Who are you called to serve?Visit after visit, Jim lis-

tened to Wanda's teaching. She told of the Christian group who would pray before their meal, complain about every-thing and then leave a Chris-tian tract for the tip.

Jim was immersed in a world of nobodies and after a while God revealed HIS calling. He was called to them, to this cast of characters, these nobodies that were outside the walls of church. Perhaps the best ques-tion is not what are you called to do, but who are you called to?

Jim Palmer put his search for it in a great little book, “Di-vine Nobodies.” I encourage you to read it! I think, in one way or the other, Jack Nicholson’s fa-mous words are poignant here: “You can’t handle the truth!” Can you? It’s risky! It’s worth it!

What is God’s Spirit saying to you about this?

It’s the season of Advent. Here are some inspiring thoughts about Advent to reflect upon.

“Advent is concerned with that very connection between memory and hope which is so necessary to man. Advent’s in-tention is to awaken the most profound and basic emotional memory within us, namely, the memory of the God who became a child. This is a healing memo-ry; it brings hope. The purpose of the Church’s year is continually to rehearse her great history of memories, to awaken the heart’s memory so that it can discern the star of hope... It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope.”

— “Memory Awakens Hope” from “Seek That Which Is Above,” then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (1986)

“Take time to be aware that in the very midst of our busy preparations for the celebra-tion of Christ’s birth in ancient Bethlehem, Christ is reborn in the Bethlehems of our homes and daily lives. Take time, slow down, be still, be awake to the

Divine Mystery that looks so common and so ordinary yet is wondrously present.

“An old abbot was fond of say-ing, ‘The devil is always the most active on the highest feast days.’

“The supreme trick of Old Scratch is to have us so busy decorating, preparing food, practicing music and clean-ing in preparation for the feast of Christmas that we actually miss the coming of Christ. Hurt feelings, anger, impatience, in-jured egos — the list of clouds that busyness creates to blind us to the birth can be long, but it is familiar to us all.”

— “Take Time to be Aware,” from “A Pilgrim’s Almanac,” Edward Hays

“Advent is the perfect time to clear and prepare the Way. A d v e n t i s a w i n t e r t r a i n -ing camp for those who de-sire peace. By reflection and prayer, by reading and med-itation, we can make our hearts a place where a bless-ing of peace would desire to abide and where the b irth of the Prince of Peace might take place.

“Daily we can make an Ad-vent examination. Are there any feelings of discrimination toward race, sex, or religion? Is there a lingering resent-ment, an unforgiven injury liv-ing in our hearts? Do we look down upon others of lesser so-cial standing or education-al achievement? Are we gen-erous with the gifts that have been given to us, seeing our-selves as their stewards and not their owners? Are we rev-erent of others, their ideas and needs, and of creation? These and other questions become Advent lights by which we may search the deep, dark corners of our hearts.”

— “An Advent Examination,” from “A Pilgrim’s Almanac,” Edward Hays

“Life is a constant Advent season: we are continually waiting to become, to discov-er, to complete, to fulfill. Hope, struggle, fear, expectation and fulfillment are all part of our Advent experience.

“The world is not as just, not as loving, not as whole as we know it can and should be. But the coming of Christ and his presence among us — as one of us — give us reason to live in hope: that light will shatter the darkness, that we can be liberated from our fears and prejudices, that we are never alone or abandoned.

“May this Advent season be a time for bringing hope, transfor-mation and fulfillment into the Advent of our lives.

“With these thoughts, we hope that you are preparing your hearts for the Christmas Season.”

— “Life Is an Advent Season,” from Connections, Nov. 28, 1993

DANNY HERNAEZ

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NOVEMBER 26 - JANUARy 2, 2011

THE 16TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY OF LIGHTS RETURNS TO THE DEL MAR FAIRGROUNDSWith more than 400 lighted and animated scenes, this 1.5-mile drive around the world-famous Del Mar Racetrack is sure to get everyone from ages 1 to 100 into the holiday spirit. With returning holiday favorites such as Toyland, Candy Cane Lane, Treasures by the Lake and Elves at Play, the holiday tradition continues with opening night on Nov. 25 (Thanksgiv-ing) and running through Sunday, Na. 2, 2011.

Returning this season is the "Holiday Hayride" on Friday nights, Nov. 26, Dec. 3, 10 and 17 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Included with your ride are hot chocolate or cider and a holiday cookie! Dress warmly and enjoy holiday music and carolers while roasting marshmallows at the fire pits before boarding the hayride in the Paddock. Santa’s Elves will be open for busi-ness, serving up cold-weather food favorites to warm up your insides. "Holiday Spirits" will also be available for those 21 and older.

Tickets for the Holiday Hayride are $10. Call the Fairgrounds Box Office at 858-792-4252 or go to Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com after Nov. 15.

For ticket and time information regarding the “Holiday of Lights”, visit www.holidayoflights.com.

DECEMBER 1, 4

PAROL LANTERN FESTIvAL & WORKSHOPThe Philippine-American Society and Cultural Arts Troupe (PASACAT)will host a free parol-making workshop from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 1, at Skyline Hills Library, 480 S. Meadowbrook Drive.

The 13th Annual Parol Lantern Festival is set for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sat-urday, Dec. 4, at the Joe and Vi Jacobs Center, 404 Euclid Ave. Winners of the parol contest will be announced at the end of the festival. Advance tickets are on sale for $10 by Nov. 30. General admission is $12; preferred seating is $20.

For more information on the festival or to register for the parol competi-tion, contact PASACAT at (619) 477-3383, e-mail [email protected], visit the website at www.pasacat.org or search Facebook for "PASACAT Philippine Performing Arts Company."

DECEMBER 9 - 23 AND 26 - 30

GARDEN OF LIGHTSAfter the sun goes down, the San Diego Botanic Garden is transformed into a dazzling winter wonderland with over 100,000 sparkling lights illuminating the Garden for a magical holiday experience. Many of these lights are LED, which are much brighter than regular lights. Adding to the sparkle is the “Poinsettia Garden,” festively decorated with many varieties of poinsettias.

Activities include horse-drawn-wagon rides, holiday crafts, marshmallow roasting, visits with Santa, live music, hot mulled wine in the Poinsettia Garden, and refreshments.

The event will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 9 - 23 and Dec. 26 - 30, 2010.

Admission is $6 for members, non-member adults are $12, seniors are $12, military and students are $8 and children 3-12 are $4.

There will be additional fees for some activities.

The garden is located at 230 Quail Gardens Drive in Encinitas. For more information, call (760) 436-3036 x206 or visit www.SDBGarden.org.

DECEMBER 11

TRANSFORM SKY vIEW PARK INTO A BEACON OF HOPEJoin us on Dec. 11 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m at Sky Veiw Park located at 7200 block of Skyline Drive.

We are informing our communinty on plans to turn this community eye sore into a Beacon of Hope for the young people and families of our community!

There will be clowns, a dunk tank, jumpers and a community barbeque. KURS Radio Station will be doing a live remote and Councilman Tony Young, Congressman Bob Filner, Captian MC Elroy of Skyline Sub Station Police Dept. of San Diego will also be on hand.

For more information please contact Robert Coons USIAA at (619) 708-1521, email [email protected] or visit www.USIAA.org. You may also con-tact Guro Cesar Alfafara, Instructor of USIAA Pilipino American Martial

Arts, at (619)581-2561 or email [email protected].

DECEMBER 11 - 30

BONFIRE NIGHTS ILLUMINATES OLD TOWNThroughout the month of December, bonfires and old-fashioned piñata parties will be bringing a festive holiday atmosphere to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.

At 7 p.m. on Dec. 11, 18, 28 and 30, El Fandango Restaurant will host a special piñata party where children of all ages will get a chance to whack a holiday piñata. Bonfire Nights will take place Dec. 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 28, 29, and 30.

DECEMBER 12

LAS POSADAS HOLIDAY EvENT CELEBRATES ITS 60TH YEARThe Las Posadas procession will be lead by professional actors in period costume, including Willie, the acting donkey.

Before the procession that takes place at 5 p.m., this event will also fea-ture a daytime celebration and preshow with live music, performances and activities for children from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

A variety of local music and performing arts groups such as Metro Dance and Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church will perform from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

For children’s entertainment, there will be free craft activities that include making pioneer-style cloth dolls, as well as corn-husk dolls and paper holiday flowers.

At end of the festival, a bonfire will be lit in the middle of the state park and El Fandango Restaurant will host a piñata-breaking party following the Las Posadas procession at 6 p.m. Stores and museums within the state park will have extended hours until 8 p.m. that evening.

Admission to Las Posadas is free. For more information, phone (619) 297-3100.

This holiday season kicks off on Thanksgiving night when the 16th an-

nual "Holiday of Lights" opens at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

With more than 400 lighted and animated scenes, this 1.5-mile drive around the world-fa-mous Del Mar Racetrack is sure to get everyone from ages 1 to 100 into the holiday spirit. With returning holiday favorites such as Toyland, Candy Cane Lane, Treasures by the Lake and Elves at Play, the holiday tra-dition continues with opening night on November 25 (Thanks-giving) and running through Sunday, January 2, 2011.

Returning this season is the "Holiday Hayride" on Friday nights, November 26, Decem-ber 3, 10 and 17 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Included with your ride are hot chocolate or cider and a holiday cookie! Dress warmly and enjoy holiday mu-sic and carolers while roast-ing marshmallows at the fire pits before boarding the hay-ride in the Paddock. Santa’s Elves will be open for busi-ness, serving up cold-weather food favorites to warm up your insides. "Holiday Spirits" will also be available for those 21 and older. Advance ticket pur-chase is recommended to guar-

antee your space on the "Holi-day Hayride!"

Tickets for the Holiday Hay-ride are $10. Call the Fair-grounds Box Office at 858-792-4252 or go to Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com.

The Holiday of Lights runs nightly through Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011, including Christ-mas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Closed three Mondays: Nov. 29, Dec. 6 and Dec. 13

It runs Sundays through Thursdays, from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Price:* $14 per car, up to 5 people* $19 per vehicle, 6 or more people* $49 per bus* $10 per person for the Hol-

iday Hayride (includes cookie and cider or hot chocolate); free for children 3 and younger.

Buy tickets for $12 at Alb-ertsons/Sav-on stores.

The events take place on the racetrack at the Del Mar Fairgrounds 2260 Jimmy Du-rante Blvd., Del Mar, Calif. Interstate 5 at the Via de la Valle exit.

For more information visit www.holidayoflights.com

You can help the U.S. Marine Corps and San Diego County put smiles on the faces of less fortunate children this holiday season by donating new, un-wrapped toys at County air-ports in Fallbrook, Ramona, Carlsbad, El Cajon and Borrego Springs during the Marines’ an-nual Toys for Tots campaign.

County residents can drop off their donated toys at each of the airports any time up un-til Dec. 4, with the exception of

Fallbrook Airpark, which will continue collecting donations until Dec. 11.

Uniformed Marines plan to collect the toys in person at special events at Ramona Air-port and Fallbrook Airpark. The first collection will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Saturday Dec. 4 at Ra-mona Airport. The second will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 11 at Fallbrook Airpark. People who

come to the events will be able to see Marine Corps vehicles, vintage World War II aircraft and other private aircraft, on the ground and in flight. Toys collected at El Cajon’s Gil-lespie Field, Carlsbad’s Pal-omar-McClellan Airport and Borrego Valley Airport will be flown to Ramona Airport and collected at the Dec. 4 event.

Pam Slater-Price, Chair-woman of the County Board of Supervisors, said, “We’re

honored to work with the Ma-rine Corps and be a part of the Toys for Tots campaign. Toys for Tots is a Marine Corps tradition that goes as far back as I can remember. They spread holiday cheer to both the children and to ev-eryone who donates.”

Last year, San Diego Coun-ty resident’s donations at the airports filled six 7-ton trucks. For more information contact Bo Donovan at (760) 787-1523.

The 16th annual Holiday of Lights returns to the Del Mar Fairgrounds

GET LISTED: To have your event listed in Save the Date, e-mail your information (include date, time, location, cost, and phone/e-mail) to [email protected]. Keep in mind we publish on Saturdays, so ensure your event happens on the day of publication or during the following week.

County, Marines team up to collect Toys for Tots


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What’s HappeningOn and on ... with Stephen Bishop

By Bill RamseyFilipino Press Staff Writer

You’re fine. The weather’s fine. Ev-erything is fine. Then one day it hits you. That song. And the mem-

ories come rushing back. And everything is still fine, but not as fine as it was. And then — after the song rotates in your head for days; after you find yourself randomly singing it — it slips away. And you shrug it off. And everything is fine again.

That, in a nutshell, could be called “On and On” Syndrome. Singer-songwriter Ste-phen Bishop is the melancholy musical chemist responsible.

Anyone over 40 will likely remember the song, a Top 40 hit for Bishop in 1977. With its lazy, tropical rhythm melding ef-fortlessly with Bishop's wispy, lonely voice, “On and On” became a radio staple for years, the musician’s signature song and, along with his other hits — “Save It For a Rainy Day,” “It Might Be You” and “Sepa-rate Lives” among them — cast him as the go-to artist for the broken-hearted.

“I write much better when I’m heartbro-ken and sad or melancholy,” Bishop has said many times. And he hasn’t drifted far from that sentiment in the 35 years since he first penned the song.

“A lot of people thought it was an upbeat song at first,” Bishop said during a recent phone interview from his home in Los An-geles. “But I’m just like everybody else. I have a bunch of different dimensions to my personality. Sometimes I’m sad, sometimes I’m in a good mood. It just so happens that when I’m sad, that’s when I write the best.”

Despite its breezy feel and an opening line that suggests Bishop finding solace “Down in Jamaica,” he said he wrote the song not in the tropics but from his then-home in Silver Lake. “I took some poetic li-cense,” he said.

As much as “On and On” has been em-bedded in the inner jukebox of those who remember it fondly, the song has followed Bishop — who, beyond his chart success, found further renown as a songwriter for other artists and as a genuinely funny (in a subdued, melancholy way, of course) ac-tor and author — ever since. The singer, who turned 59 on Nov. 11, will perform “the song,” along with his other hits when he joins David Pomeranz and Joey Albert for a package concert on Sunday, Dec. 5, at Pala Casino (see What’s Happening for more information).

While the concert is billed as “Flash-

back! Best Hits of the ’80s,” it stars a trio of stars who have become Filipino favorites, Bishop among them. As it turns out, Bish-op is huge in the Philippines.

“I’ve toured there five or six times,” he said. “And I’m going back in February (2011).”

The Pala concert is also something of an homecoming for Bishop. Born in San Diego in 1951, Bishop attended Horace Mann Junior High School (now Mann Middle School) and graduated from Craw-ford High School (now the Crawford Ed-

ucational Complex). As a teenager, the singer had several ambitions: He played the clarinet in the school orchestra, con-sidered becoming a history teacher and, typically offbeat, aspired to be president of French's mustard, simply because, he said, “I loved French’s mustard.”

Fortunately, The Beatles changed every-thing for the young mustard-lover. Bishop traded his clarinet for guitar, joined The Weeds, a local rock band, and set out for stardom in Los Angeles, where he sought a record deal by just “walking around,” he said, before winding up as a staff songwrit-er for EH Morris Music Publishing for $50 a week. “That wouldn’t happen today,” he said. “These days its so hard.”

While laboring at Morris penning songs for such diverse artists as Chaka Khan, Barbra Streisand and the Four Tops, Bish-op began compiling the songs that would form his 1977 debut album, “Careless.” Along with "On and On," which climbed to the No. 11 spot on the Billboard charts that year (the album also earned him a Gram-my nomination), Bishop scored with “Save It for a Rainy Day.” That same year, “Sat-urday Night Live” went on the air, with Bishop as the show’s second musical guest with host Art Garfunkel, who discovered Bishop's talent at Morris.

His association with the show’s first breakout star, John Belushi, and his friendship with director John Landis, led Bishop to a sideline career as a bit play-er in “Animal House” (as the folk singer whose guitar Belushi smashes during a toga party — Bishop still has it; he also sang the movie’s title theme song) and “The Blues Brothers,” to name a few.

Although “Careless” and his second al-bum, “Bish” earned gold records, Bishop’s solo career began to wane by the 1980s. Still, his songs were in demand and Bish-op found even greater success as a song-writer, composing such hits as “It Might Be You,” the theme from “Tootsie,” and 13 other films, including the Grammy- and Oscar-nominated “Separate Lives,” from “White Nights,” a smash hit for Phil Collins. His songs have been recorded by Eric Clapton, Barbra Streisand, Art Gar-funkel, Steve Perry, Stephanie Mills, Kenny Loggins, Johnny Mathis, Phoebe Snow, David Crosby, The Four Tops, As-wad and Pavarotti.

Fast-forward 25 years and Bishop — with a catalog of a dozen solo albums be-hind him — is still churning out new ma-terial. His newest album is “Yardwork," an acoustic guitar and vocal solo album.

But after all these years, he's still play-ing “On and On.” The song, he said, has been very good to him and — you can al-most see him smiling when he feels like crying — he wouldn’t dream of leaving home without it.

“I'd better do it,” he said with a laugh.

Stephen Bishop performs with David Pomeranz and Joey Albert at Pala Casino on Sunday, Dec. 5.

Photos: Courtesy photo

Pop classic follows melancholy musicianas he keeps on tryin’

IN CONCERTPALA CASINOStephen Bishop, David Pomeranz and Joey AlbertWhen: 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 5Tickets: Tickets start at $48 at the Pala Box Office or Star Tickets. Call 1-877-946-7252 or visit www.palacasino.com.

SYCUAN CASINO Martin NieveraWhen: 7 and 8:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 17Tickets: $35-$45. Call (619) 445-6002 or visit www.sycuan.com.

CLUBS

CAFE LA MAZE STEAKHOUSEJulius Obregon and Friends ShowWhen: 7 p.m. Sundays

Where: 1441 Highland Ave., National City, (619) 474-3222

LUCKY STARWednesdays: Filipino Night with Eric de LeonThursdays: Moonlight Serenade Orchestra Big BandFridays: Ballroom dancing/KarokeWhere: 3893 54th St., San Diego, Phone: (619) 229-8228

MCDINI'S DINER & EvENTSFilipino food every Saturday with live Filipino BandsWhere: 105 E. 8th St., National City, Phone: (619) 474-6771

KARAOKEEL JUAN RESTAURANTEric de Leon one-man bandWhen: 6-9 p.m. ThursdaysWhere: 2316 Highland Ave., National City Phone: (619) 477-6262

GAPORESTO & KARAOKEWhen: 7 p.m.-midnight, Tuesdays to SundaysWhere: 933 S. Harbison Ave., National City Phone: (619) 267-3746

SIZZLER JULIUS OBREGON SHOW ROOMWhen: 7 p.m. Fridays and SaturdaysWhere: 1325 E. Plaza Blvd., National City Phone: (619) 477-2590

GET LISTED: To have your concert, club or event listed in What’s Happening, e-mail your information (include date, time, location, cost and phone/e-mail) to [email protected]. Keep in mind we publish on Saturdays, so ensure your event happens on the day of publication or during the following week.

Martin Nievera at Sycuan on Friday, Dec. 17.

“I’m just like everybody else. I have a bunch of different

dimensions to my personality. Sometimes I’m sad, sometimes

I’m in a good mood. It just so happens that when I’m sad, that’s when I write the best.”

By Francis T.J. Ochoa

GUANGZHOU, China — China continues to dom-inate the 16th Asian Games with 145 gold medals and 69 each in bronze and silver. The Philippines was still stuck at two golds, two silvers and eight bronzes and lost trac-tion in the race among South-east Asian nations as of press time. In a span of just a day, with victories in dragonboat and taekwondo, Thailand zoomed to seven gold medals to lead the SEA Games coun-tries. Malaysia has five and Indonesia has four.

“We still have boxing and hopefully, karate and wres-tling,” said Philippine team chief of mission Joey Roma-santa. “There might be med-als there.”

In wrestling, however, Mar-garito Agana caught a bad break and was injured near the end of his 55 kg match against Iraq’s Mohammad Alsaedi. Agana was leading, 3-2, before the fight was stopped.

The delegation faced a rush of injuries recently, notably taekwondo, whose two jins — Tshomlee Go and Paul Rome-ro — may require surgery after returning to Manila.

But Dr. Martin Camara, part of the Philippine medical team here, said there was little else to worry about from ath-letes still to see action.

In bowling, one of the events still being counted on to deliv-er medals, the country crashed

out of the race in the men’s team of five, as Chester King, Benshir Layoso, Raoul Miran-da, Frederick Ong and singles gold medalist Biboy Rivera could only muster a 2994.

The team finished 361 pins be-low pacesetting Malaysia’s 3355.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Olympic Committee announced that it has been awarded host-ing rights for the 2013 Asian Beach Games by the Olympic Council of Asia.

Sheikh Ahmad gave the guar-antee to Philippine Olympic Committee President Jose Co-

juangco Jr. i n a b r i e f meeting with Phi l ippine delegat ion officials here.

“ T h e Sheikh was very kind in allowing us to host the

Asian Beach Games on 2013 should we feel we are ready by 2013,” Cojuangco said in a press statement.

Cojuangco also announced the Manny Pacquiao’s condi-

tioning coach Alex Ariza will help plot the country’s prep-arations for the 2012 London Olympics. The POC told the Inquirer that Ariza is due probably around February to begin his study of the Fil-ipino athletes so he can be-gin drawing up a condition-ing and nutritional program for the squad.

Pacquiao, who has had Ariza in his employ since the David Diaz fight, was instrumental in getting the Colombian to agree to help Team Philippines.

Cojuangco said Ariza will deal with elite athletes first and then coaches will filter down what they learn from the conditioning mentor to the other athletes.

“This will really be a big help to the country’s Olym-pic efforts,” said Cojuangco. (Inquirer.net)

RP faces tough race to Asian Games finish linePhilippines will host

2013 Asian Beach Games; Pacquiao coach to prep RP for Olympics

“We still have boxing and hopefully, karate and wrestling. There

might be medals there.”

Alex Ariza

Get breaking updates on news and entertainment online @ Filipino Press | Facebook

WIN FREE TICKETS!

Flashback!Best Hits of the ’80s!Win 2 tickets to see David Pomerantz,

Stephen Bishop and Joey Albert live on Sunday, Dec. 5

at Pala Casino!Visit Filipino Press | Facebook for details!

Julius Obregon and Friends Show Sundays at Cafe La Maze.


SAN DIEGO, Calif. – For-mer Mrs. Philippine Tourism and businesswoman Blesi-la “Blessie” Sanchez Trott was elected as second vice district governor for District 4L6 of the Lions Club International in an unprecedented election process to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of District Gover-nor Susan Hatch.

Election of officers is usual-ly held during district conven-tions, however with the resigna-tion of the incumbent governor due to ill health, an interim election was held in accordance with the procedures outlined by the Lions Club International.

First Vice District Governor Jan Gustavel was elected and el-evated to the position of District Governor. Then, following the same procedure, the Second Vice District Governor Brad Weeks became the First Vice District Governor, leaving the position of second vice governor vacant.

Three Lions vied for the va-cant position, among them cur-rent North East Region Chair Blesila Sanchez Trott of the Es-condido Host Lions Club. Vot-ing was through secret ballot and Trott was elected on the first balloting.

The meeting was held on Nov. 9 and was attended by all past district governors, vice

district governors, cabinet offi-cers, region chairs, zone chairs and past International officers, the majority of whom support-ed Trott’s candidacy.

Trott has been an active member of the Lions Club Inter-national even before she came to the United States. She has served the club of for the past 28 years, starting as president of the Quezon City Silangan Lion-ess Club. During her incumben-cy, her club was chosen by Li-ons Clubs International as one of the Top Ten Lioness Clubs in the World for its nutrition and feeding program serving mal-nourished children in the sub-urbs of Manila. Trott was also elected district president of Dis-trict 301D2 in 1991 at the Mul-tiple District Convention held in Davao City, Philippines.

When Trott arrived in San Diego in 1999, she was invited to help in organizing the San Diego Executive Lions Club and was subsequently elected as its charter president. Her dedication and loyalty enabled her to serve twice as zone chair and three times as region chair.

A progressive Melvin Jones Fellow, Trott supported Inter-national Lions Clubs projects such as the Diabetes Aware-ness Program and the Sight First II Project.

A philanthropist at heart, Trott has been responsible in helping children who grew up in the Philippines’ largest dumpsite, popularly known as “Smokey Mountain,” in Tondo, Manila, by hosting them in her home and organizing shows for them for the last four years.

Through her partnership with Fr. Ben Beltran, she has showcased the talents of these children in San Diego in their heartwarming presentation of “Children of Mother Earth.”

Trott elected to top Lions Club post

Blesia Sanchez Trott

SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Looking for unique holiday gifts? Palomar College’s semi-annual glass, pottery and art sale fea-tures a variety of one-of-a-kind, handmade items.

The sale will take place Wednesday through Saturday, Dec. 1 - 4 at the College’s San Marcos campus, 1140 W. Mission Road. Shoppers are asked to take note of note of a new location for the sale event – in the courtyard outside the art department, near the Boehm Gallery. Sale hours are, on Wednesday, 1 – 8:00 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

The sale will coincide with the Opening Reception of the Fac-ulty Exhibit at the Boehm Gal-lery – on Wednesday, Dec. 1 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Also on that day, a large scale throwing demonstration by renowned local ceramic artist Alex Long will take place in the art complex courtyard from 3 – 6 p.m. More live artist demonstra-tions will occur throughout the days of the sale.

Parking is available in Lots 1, 2 and 15 without a permit. Those who wish to park in other lots must obtain a one-day visi-tor’s pass from Campus Police.

All items on sale have been handmade by Palomar College students, faculty and staff. The sale includes pot-tery, ceramic sculpture, blown glass, stained glass, fused and slumped glass, metalwork, jewelry photography and a va-riety of handmade gift items.

Proceeds from the sale will benefit the College’s art stu-dents and the department. Shoppers may pay with cash, checks or credit cards.

For more information, call the college Art Department at (760) 744-1150, ext. 2302.

Palomar College presents semi-annual glass, pottery sale


SAN DIEGO, Calif. – San Di-ego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) was recently recognized by PA Consulting Group (PA) as the recipient of the ReliabilityO-ne™ 2010 National Award for Outstanding Reliability Per-formance. SDG&E was also the top winner of the Reliabil-ityOne™ award among West-ern U.S. electric utilities for the fifth year in a row.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized as a national leader for our reliability,” said David L. Geier, vice president of electric operations for SDG&E. “This award really is an ex-traordinary team effort and be-longs to our employees who go above and beyond ‘the call of duty’ on a daily basis to keep the lights on for our customers.”

All utilities operating elec-tric delivery networks in North America are eligible for consid-eration for the ReliabilityOne™ award. There are a total of five regional awards including Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Plains and Western region.

The ReliabilityOne™ Na-tional Award is given to the Re-liabilityOne™ regional award recipient that has demonstrat-ed sustained leadership, inno-

vation and achievement in the area of electric reliability.

“SDG&E has set the indus-try bar for electric system reli-ability, implementation of ex-citing new technologies, and total commitment to the safe and effective restoration for customers," said Jeff Lewis, PA's ReliabilityOne™ Program Director. “As one of the top utilities in the country when it comes to keeping the lights on, this honor is well deserved.”

The selection of provisional recipients is based primarily on system reliability statistics that measure the frequency and du-ration of customer outages. Af-ter provisional recipients are selected, each company under-goes an on-site certification pro-cess, which provides an inde-pendent review of the policies, processes and systems used to collect, analyze and report a company's reliability results.

PA Consulting Group is a leading management and IT consulting and technology firm. Independent and employ-ee-owned, we operate globally in more than 30 countries and transform the performance of major organizations in both the private and public sectors.

From initial idea gener-ation and strategy devel-opment through to detailed implementation, we deliver significant and tangible re-sults. We have outstanding technology development ca-pability; a unique breadth of skills from strategy to per-formance improvement, from HR to IT; and strong exper-tise in communications, me-dia and entertainment, de-fense , energy, f inanc ia l services, government and public services, healthcare, manufacturing, and trans-portation and logistics.

SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reliable energy ser-vice to 3.4 million consum-ers through 1.4 million elec-tric meters and more than 845,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The util-ity’s area spans 4,100 square miles. SDG&E is committed to creating ways to help our customers save energy and money every day. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Ener-gy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego.

SDG&E receives 2010 National Award

The new owners of South Bay Fish & Grill, Ehab Khalil, Joseph Zakhary and Eduardo Martins, have remodeled and upgraded the popular local restaurant on the Chula Vista bayfront.

The facelift included dra-matic changes in both banquet dining rooms. The Captain’s room features new hardwood flooring and a new bar. The Sunset Room has new carpet as well as hardwood flooring, ceiling fans and wallpaper.

The total cost of the remod-el is estimated at $150,000 and more upgrades are planned in the near future, including an overhaul of the main kitchen and grill.

“The changes have really made the two banquet rooms shine,” stated David Poret, sales manager at South Bay Fish & Grill. “The rooms are beautiful and waiting for par-ties and events.”

South Bay Fish & Grill was recently purchased by the New England Restaurant Group, which owns several restau-rants in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. South Bay Fish & Grill is its first venture on the West Coast.

The owners will be ex-panding their menu and have brought on Beverly Hills chef

John Cuevas to develop new items for quick-service lunch as well additional dinner items.

New England Restaurant Group also purchased South Bay Fish & Grill’s catering arm, San Diego Catering Con-cepts, which caters all types of events, from weddings and hol-iday parties to company picnics and school carnivals through-out San Diego County.

South Bay Fish & Grill is located at 570 Marina Park-way on the picturesque Chua Vista harbor, with dramat-ic views from the many win-dows in the 10,000-square-foot property. The restaurant features a blend of fine din-ing and casual fare with a maritime ambiance created by a unique collection of nau-tical antiques and yacht club memorabilia. South Bay Fish & Grill offers daily specials such as all-you-can-eat Mahi Mahi Mondays, Lobster Tues-days, 1/2 lb. hamburger and fries Wednesdays and live music all week long. The res-taurant offers a 15 percent discount to all members of the military with a military ID. Seniors also receive a 10 percent discount. For more information, visit http://www.southbayfishandgrill.com or call (619) 420-7234.

South Bay Fish and Grill gets a facelift

South Bay Fish & Grill is a hidden gem located on the Chula Vista bayfront and has recently undergone $150,000 in renovations.

Photo: Courtesy photo


At Walmart, we are thankful for the hundreds of large and small businesses in San Diego that have partnered with usto bring quality, affordable products to San Diego’s hard-working families.

Since 2007, Walmart has purchased more than $1.4 BILLION in goods and services from San Diego County suppliers –supporting more than 10,000 jobs. So, on this holiday of giving thanks…

Here’s to them!

Walmart is proud to be a part of their success.

3E COMPANY ENVIRONMENTALAARON CHANG INTERNATIONAL LLCADIDAS GOLF USA, INCAERO DRIVE ASSOCIATES LIMITED LPAFFORDABLE PRESSURE WASHAGRIFLORA CORPORATIONAL TECH PLUMBINGALTMAN SPECIALTY PLANTS, INC.AMERICA FREEZE DRY, INC.ANHEUSER-BUSCH, INCORPORATEDAQUA-LUNG AMERICA, INC.ATLAS PRESSURE WASHINGB & B PLUMBING HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING INCB&C ENTERPRISES INCBAILEY'S WHOLESALE TROPICAL FISHBAKER & TAYLOR, INC.BARCELO ENTERPRISES INCBARD VALLEY MEDJOOL DATE GROWERS ASSOCIATIONBAY SYSTEMS INCBEE BUMBLE FOODS LLCBERGENSONS PROPERTY SERVICES, INC.BIOFILM, INCBIOPHARMA SCIENTIFIC, INCBLANCHARD TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, INCORPORATEDBRAINSTORMPRODUCTS LLCBRIGHTON PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.BROKERAGE AND LOGISTICS SOLUTIONSC. W. MCGRATH, INC.CALIFORNIA CREATIVE FOODS, INC.CAL-MIL PLASTIC PRODUCTS INCCANTARE FOODS, INC.CARL ZEISS VISION INC.CARTTRONICS LLCCELERGY NETWORKS, INC.CHAMBERS BELT COMPANYCHESAPEAKE FISH CO.INC.CIRCLE FOODS, LLCCLARK SECURITY PRODUCTS, INC.COAST CITRUS DISTRIBUTORSCOCA-COLA ENTERPRISES INC.COLOR SPOT NURSERIES, INC.COOPSPORT INTERNATIONAL LPCOZZA, INC.CPI CORP.CRI 2000, L.P.CRICKET COMMUNICATIONS, INC.DARN GOOD FOODS, LLCDAVID D MILLERDAYCOM SYSTEMS, INCDEI SALES, INC.DELKIN DEVICES, INC.DIRECTED ELECTRONICS, INC.DISGUISE, INC.DOOR WORKXDOUG STAMPFLIDRAIN MEDIC INCEARTHLITE MASSAGE TABLES, INC.EASTLAKE PETROLEUM, L.P.E-LAKE HOLDING, L.P.ELEVEN WESTERN BUILDERS INC.ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALIZED SOLUTIONS, INC.EVERGREEN RESEARCH LLCEXPORT COMPANY OF AMERICAEXPRESS TRADING INTERNATIONAL INC.EYE TRACKING INCFIESTA PACIFIC PRODUCTS, INC.FILLMASTER SYSTEMS, LLC

FRANCIS BIDDLE INTERNATIONAL, INC.FREEDOM GRILL, INC.FREESTYLE AUDIO LLCFRESH WATER SYSTEMS, INC.FRIENDLY GAMES, INCG7 PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMS INCGAMMA2 INC.GATHERING STORM, LLCGENEVA HEALTH AND NUTRITION LLCGLACIER WATER SERVICES, INCGLOBAL AMICI, INC.GRINGO VENTURES LLCGROSSMONT ELECTRIC CORP.GROSSMONT HOSPITAL CORPORATIONH. & P. SALES, INC.HOT CONCEPTS LLCHPF CORPORATIONHYUNDAI TRANSLEADIMAK PRODUCTS CORPORATIONIN CALIFORNIA INCINFANTINO, LLCINTERNATIONAL MEDICAL SYSTEMS INCJ & S COMMERCIAL SERVICES INCJ R COMMERCIAL CLEANING EQUIPMENTJAKKS PACIFIC, INC.JASMINE CREEK FLORISTJASWIND TROPICALS, INC.JAUREGUI & CULVER, INC.JB PLUMBINGJENSEN MEAT COMPANY, INC.JOHN LENORE & COMPANYK2 LICENSED PRODUCTS, INC.KLEIN ELECTRONICS, INC.L. SCHULTZ INCORPORATEDLE PERV LANDSCAPE INCLEE SOUTH COAST PUBLICATIONS COLENORE JOHN & COLOGRET IMPORT & EXPORT COLONE STAR GROWERS L PMAD CATZ, INC.MAD DOG MULTIMEDIA, INCMAD ENGINE, INC.MAR VIVO USA INCMARTINEZ FARMS INCMcDANIEL FRUIT CO.MIDWAY GAMES INC.MILTONS BAKING COMPANYMIRAMA ENTERPRISES, INCMOBIL EXPRESSMONTERREY PROVISION CO., INC.MOTSENBOCKER ADVANCED DEVELOPMENTS, INC.MR PROPANE, INCMSB DISASTER RECOVERY SERVICES, INC.NASLAND ENGINEERINGNATIVE BOUQUET, L.L.C.NAUTILAS ENTERTAINMENT DESIGNNEOSTYLE EYEWEARNEW WEST PRODUCTS, INCNEXT PROTEINS, INCNOSTALGIA VENTURES, INCNULITE INCOBESITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, LLCOLAES ENTERPRISES, INC.ONE DIAMOND ELECTRONICS, INC.ONTECH OPERATIONS, INC.P R T C INCPACIFIC PATHWAY, LLC

PAN PACIFIC RETAIL PROPERTIES, INC.PERFECT OPTICS LLCPHANTOM RESEARCH LABORATORIESPHARM-AID, INC.PHOENIX FOOTWEAR GROUP, INC.PLACONTROL, INC.PREMIER NUTRITION, INCPREVENTIVE DENTAL PRODUCTS COMPANY INCPRIMO FOOD MARTPRO PERFORMANCE SPORTS, LLCPRO SPECIALTIES GROUP INC.QUALITY ASSURED INCQUALITY CANDY COMPANY, INCQUALITY DISCOUNT ICE CREAM DISTRIBUTORS, INC.QUARRY SPECIALTIESQUASIMOTO INTERACTIVE INCR D H CHEMICAL COR.B. PACKING OF CALIFORNIA, INCRAINBOW TROPICALSRDH CHEMICAL CO.RHODIANA CORPORATIONROAD RUNNER CARD COROBERT L LYNCH TRUCKING INCROBERTA REA CO INCROMLA CO.SANYO NORTH AMERICA CORPSAVVIER LPSEACOAST DISTRIBUTINGSEATECH ENVIRONMENTALSEPHRA FOUNTAINS, LLCSEPHRA LLCSHLOMO SHVILSIGNET ARMORLITE, INC.SNACK EXPORT, INC.SPOTLESS WATER SYSTEMS LLCSUNBURST MERCANTILESUN-PRO OF CALIFORNIA INCSUNRISE EQUIPMENT REPAIR LLCSUPER WAREHOUSE GOV, LLCSUUNTO U S A, INCT ROWE PRICETEMP TRONIX INCTERRACOSTA CONSULTING GROUP INCTERRY G YOUNGTHE HEAT FACTORY INCTHE SCOUTTOTAL TRANSACTION MANAGEMENT, LLCTOYOTALIFT, INC.TRANGO SYSTEMS, INCTRELLION TECHNOLOGIES, INC.TRI-MEX DISTRIBUTOR INCTRI-UNION SEAFOODS LLCTV EARS, INC.TVA FIRE & LIFE SAFETY, INC.ULTIMATE NUT & CANDY COMPANYVICTORY PHARMA, INC.WAXIE'S ENTERPRISES INCWD-40 COMPANYWESTFIELD AMERICA, INC.WHALEN FURNITURE MANUFACTURING INC.WILLIAMS RESEARCH INCWOW WEE MARKETING, INCX CONCEPTS LLCYEISER RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, LLCZEN SPORTS AIDS LLC(partial list)

www.walmartsandiego.comPaid for by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. – Supplier figures provided by Dun and Bradstreet

We all have a lot tobe thankful for this

holiday season!

Helping communities save money and live better

Community

Walmart_SuppliersAd_13x215Filipino_Layout 1 11/23/10 5:22 PM Page 1


At Walmart, we know we can make the biggest impact on our communities by supportingcauses that are important to our customers and our neighborhoods.

That’s why over the past 10 years, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have contributedmore than $10 MILLION to San Diego charities and community programs that are focused onpromoting education, developing a strong, diverse workforce, improving health and wellness,creating economic opportunity, and fighting hunger.

This holiday season, we give thanks to San Diego organizations we partnered with in fiscal yearending 2010, including:

American Cancer Society, Inc. California DivisionCalifornia Center for Sustainable Energy

Council of Philippine American Organization of San DiegoFamily Justice Center

Habitat for Humanity International Inc., San DiegoMama’s Kitchen

Rady Children’s Hospital FoundationSan Diego Food Bank

San Ysidro Health CenterTomlinson Touching Lives Foundation

Urban League of San Diego County

www.walmartsandiego.com

Paid for by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Giving back toSan Diego

Helping communities save money and live better

Community

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Every year, there is one startling fact that can al-ways wake us from our

lovely Thanksgiving food coma: Christmas (gulp) will soon be here! Aside from dashing from store to store with daunting shopping lists, we’ve also got to look chic, festive and fabulous for a variety of special events!

Holiday parties, family por-traits, Christmas cards … there are plenty of reasons to get dolled up in the next month, but saving here and there can add up to funds, which can be used on everything from gifts to holiday outfits. To help you get started on pinching pennies without sacrificing your fabu-lousness, here are my Pampered Pinay Picks for which items in your makeup bag you ought to

pick up right in your drugstore aisles instead of a department store counter.

Cheers to our wallets looking as oh-so-pretty as our makeup this holiday season!

FoundationThe quality of your foundation

determines how long everything else will stay put during the day, how well blemishes will be con-cealed, and how healthy and lu-minous your complexion will ap-pear both in photographs (Hello, Facebook!) and in real life.

Pampered Pinay’s Pick: Rev-lon’s Photo Finish Foundation.

Loose powderSetting your foundation with

a loose powder is an important step in controlling oil and blend-ing. Using a loose powder helps gives your skin a silky smooth,

airbrushed effect.Pampered Pinay’s Pick: Cover

Girl Professional Loose Powder in Translucent Medium.

Brow fillerEyebrows give our face the

most character. I’m a fan of light-ly filling them in with a brow lin-er then finishing them off with a brow powder. This way, their pol-ished appearance will match the rest of my makeup all day long.

Pampered Pinay’s Picks: Cov-er Girl’s Brow & Eye Maker Lin-er in Midnight Brown and May-belline New York’s Ultra Brow Brush On Color in Light Brown.

MascaraWith all the reunions of

family and friends, the holi-days stir up all kinds of emo-tions. But here is nothing fabu-lous about runny mascara, my pampered friends. Luckily, we don’t have to waste a fortune on quality mascara these days. Frame your favorite eye looks with this must-have.

Pampered Pinay’s Pick: May-belline New York’s Colossal Volum’ Express Waterproof Mas-cara in Glam Brown.

EyelinerSeduce Santa and suitors

alike with sexy eyes. This su-per stay-put eyeliner is also self-sharpening! This liner is easy to control and provides ex-treme color intensity. This liner is my favorite when lining the inner part of the lid, in partic-ular, because it doesn’t smudge or budge a bit. It’s great for

those busy days (which is ev-ery day, right?) as well as for special occasions.

Pampered Pinay’s Pick: May-belline’s Unstoppable Water-proof Eyeliner in Onyx.

Lip GgossThe mistletoe is calling! Don’t

get caught underneath it with dry smoochers or goop-laden kissers. After lining your lips with your favorite brand and color of lip liner, make your lips feel, look, and taste (yes, taste) extra luscious with this gloss that is a favorite of all ages.

Pampered Pinay’s Pick: Bonne Bell Smackers’ Lip Sparkler in Vanilla Frosting.

I hope you all are pamper-ing yourselves with some qual-ity time (and amazing food, of course) shared with dear, loved ones. Personally, I am so thank-ful for the support of friends and loyal readers like you that make each week that much sweeter.

Wanna keep in touch and join in on fun weekly chats with oth-er Pampered Pinay fans? Simply check out www.Facebook.com, and search “Francine Maigue.” See you online!

Check back every week for ways to pamper yourself and those you love. Why? The an-swer is simple: You deserve it!

Got a business or event I should know about? Wish to agree or disagree with me? Want to send me a love note? (I love those.) E-mail me at [email protected].

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Francine Maigue

The PamperedPinay


signs for gang involvement,” he added.

While several agencies and schools offer parental gang awareness training, they rarely get Filipino-American parents to attend. Pureza Bacor, for-mer mentorship director at the Union of Pan Asian Communi-ties, offers insight.

“Most Filipino-American parents think their child would never be involved in gangs. It’s going to be someone else’s child,” she said.

Still others in community service maintain that those doing the training are “old school,” meaning that they use a “cookie-cutter” approach with the information and how it’s presented. Social service providers and law enforce-ment officials agree that Fili-pino parents need to become more aware of youth issues,

know what their children are involved in and who their friends are.

“Just because the parents are busy, it doesn’t mean the kids are. They’re looking for some-thing to do,” said Tai. “Help them build their self-esteem. Let them be involved in school, sports and other worthwhile ac-tivities that will keep them out of gangs and way from gang vi-olence. Talk to them about con-sequence. Don’t wait until lat-er. Don’t wait until the time is right — that time may never come. At best, kids will be OK and find positive role models and activities by themselves. At worst, they could become in-volved in gangs or become a vic-tim of gang violence.”

Signs your child may be involved in gangs

• Likes to wear clothing that is the same color for almost ev-erything (e.g., all red, all blue, all yellow, etc.);

• Gang graff it i on note -

books, books, photo albums, bedroom adornments, in-side their closet, MySpace or Facebook page, etc.;

• Use of gang signs (e.g., hand signs) and;

• Pictures (hand signs, in-volving weapons, other gang members, etc.).

These are additional sig-nals that youth may be in-volved in gangs, but could also be signs of other illicit behavior such as drug use:

• Staying out late or all night;

• Strange or cryptic phone calls or texts;

• S u d d e n c h a n g e i n friends;

• Arrogant or defiant attitude;• Have money without

having a job; and• Use of illicit drugs.The final part in this se-

ries will feature communi-ty resources for families in need of additional services and support.

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gangsContinued from p age 1 iDK dance team stretching out

Photo: Courtesy iDKIndecisive Dance Krew, aka iDK, a junior division hip-hop dance team primarily located in the South Bay of San Diego performs and competes in events within the community and as far north as San Luis Obispo. Members range from middle school to graduating high school students, ages 10 to 17. As 2008-10 Maxt Out defending champions, iDK is becoming a better established team, performing and competing in larger events across the state.


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Walking for the Cure

Photo: Filipino Press Staff

An enthusiastic group of participants gather for a training day in Mission Bay on Veterans Day prior to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure in San Diego. The walk, which began on Nov. 19 and ended on Nov. 21, is a sister event to the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure held on Nov. 7. Both events benefit breast cancer education, treatment and research. Rhea Tabler, author of the blog Mommy23Monkeys, was selected as the Energizer Keep Going blogger for the San Diego event.

Filipino Press Digital Edition | Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2010

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Transcript of Filipino Press Digital Edition | Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2010