Filipino Press | Jan. 22-28, 2011

LUNA, STARSSinger Aira Luna

follows dream of stardom

A&E | PAgE 15

Since 1986 January 22-28, 2011 www.filipinopress.com • (619) 477-0940

BIG REMITOFW remittances may hit $18 billion

for 2010PiNEWS | PAgE 2

An Award-Winning Newspaper • San Diego’s No. 1 Source of News & Information for the Filipino Community

By Bill RamseyFilipino Press

Bo knows sports. For-tunately, Bo — Navar-ro, that is — also knows

marketing, media and person-al branding.

Since 2004, the Filipino-American entrepreneur and his partner Steve Miller (both of whom gained their mar-keting experience working at various marketing agencies and for the San Diego Char-gers) operated Proline Image, a professional sports market-ing agency in San Diego fo-cused on representing local athletes, marketing their im-ages and likenesses online and in person through camps,

charitable events and celeb-rity fundraising events. Pro-line managed or has managed such San Diego sports stars as former and current Char-

gers LaDanian Tomlinson and Brandyn Dombrowski, boxer Terry Norris, Mexican tennis star and model Angelica Ga-valdon and Eugene Amano, the Tennessee Titans center and the first full-blooded Fil-ipino to play in the National Football League.

But Narvarro wanted to grow his business, expanding beyond branding and market-ing. He said he wanted to rep-resent professional athletes on a larger level — a “Jerry Maguire”-level, minus the hu-bris — that incorporated as-pects of his already successful business with legal represen-tation.

Unfortunately, neither Na-varro nor his partner was an attorney, a requirement to represent professional ath-

San Diego sports group expands, turns ‘all pro’All Pro Sports Group goes national, signs new clients as it widens scope of services

All Pro Sports Group

San Diego Charger Brandyn Dombrowski visits Magnolia Special Health Care in San Diego in late December. Dombrowski is one of an expanding group of professional athletes represented by the All Pro Sports group.

“Social media changed everything. It’s no longer enough to simply put up a website. You have to be on top of all social media to ensure the athletes’ names are constantly out there.” Bo Navarro All Pro Sport Group

See SPORTS on 4

By Fe SeligmanFilipino Press

MOUNTAIN VIEW — More than 500 Asian American and Pacific Islanders gathered Jan. 7 in the heart of Silicon Valley at Microsoft’s cam-pus here for the White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders’ first summit on entrepreneurship and small business growth.

The event convened a group of Silicon Valley stakeholders and AAPI small-business entrepre-

neurs to discuss ways to ex-pand AAPI business opportu-nities through various federal programs and resources.

Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, in his keynote speech, raised the leadership role that the AAPI business community has played during the last five years in spurring U.S. economic growth.

“Hundreds of Silicon Valley’s tech compa-nies are run by the Asian American and Pacific Islander community,” Locke said. “In fact, AA-PIs have the highest rate of business ownership among all minorities and AAPI businesses ac-count for half of all business employment in the United States.”

AAPI entrepreneurs, along with other minori-ties, have generated $2.5 trillion in gross receipts and 16.1 million jobs. Interestingly, firms less than five years old have generated the highest rate of new jobs between 1980 and 2005. Nearly 40 percent of returns on investments were gener-

Hundreds assemble for AAPI economic summitWhite House convenes entrepreneurs to discuss expansion opportunities through federal programs

See SUMMIT on Page 11

gary Locke

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-San Diego) an-nounced on Jan. 18 that he is nominating 13 San Diego-area Filipino-American high school students for a possible appoint-ment to one of the U.S. mili-tary academies, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Air Force Acad-emy, the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

“I’m proud to nominate these outstanding students for the opportunity to be chosen to enter one of our prestigious military academies,” said Fil-ner. “Service to our country is one of the most honorable paths a student can take.”

In order for students to be considered for an appointment to a service academy, an appli-cant must be nominated by an authorized nominating source, which includes the president, vice president, members of Congress or the secretary of each service.

Receiving a nomination is just the first step in the pro-cess to being chosen for an ap-pointment to one of the service academies. Most appointees are informed of their selection in April by the service acade-my.

Nominated studentsHigh school

Academy/Academies

Jayson Aban School of Creative and Performing ArtsU.S. Air Force Academy

Alejandro Alarcon University City High SchoolU.S. Military Academy at West Point and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy

Nicole AguirreEastlake High SchoolU.S. Naval Academy

Jeffrey AyersChula Vista High SchoolU.S. Merchant Marine Academy

Samantha BaxleyMater Dei Catholic High SchoolU.S. Naval Academy

Rowena Benedictos Coronado High SchoolU.S. Air Force Academy

Alysa CaoileEastlake High SchoolU.S. Naval Academy

Jeff-Avery JoaquinSan Ysidro High SchoolU.S. Military Academy at West Point and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy

James MagnoEastlake High SchoolU.S. Naval Academy

Christopher MaligsaUniversity City High SchoolU.S. Naval Academy

Jonathan Moreno Bonita Vista High SchoolU.S. Merchant Marine Academy

Kristopher ObellosOlympian High SchoolU.S. Naval Academy

Claudine TuazonLincoln High SchoolU.S. Naval Academy

Filner nominates 13 Fil-Am students for military academies

HIGH STEAKSNational City firefighters,

police face-off atCheesesteak Challenge

COMMUNITY | PAgE 11

ERIcKEstEbanMOREthanMINNYThe comic actor scored with his Minny Pacquiao sketches. Now, the Chicago-born Fil-Am seeks TV stardom with a new series and his one-man showBy Bill Ramsey • Filipino Press

Minny Pacquaio has retired. Take note: That’s Minny — the boxing icon’s “short-est biggest fan” — not Manny himself.

Minny Pacquiao is the alter-ego of Filipino-Ameri-can comic-actor Erick Esteban and a hugely pop-ular character in Esteban’s arsenal, with thou-

sands of fans on Facebook and the star of more than 20 online come-dy sketches. But the time came for Minny to, well, “pac” it in.

After 23 episodes, Pacquiao’s even more dimin-

utive fan has come to the end of his run — in person, that is.

Comic actor Erick Esteban and (inset) as his hit character Minny Pacquiao: Manny Pacquiao’s Shortest Biggest Fan.

•Watch Esteban's hilarious adventures of Minny Pacquiao: Manny Pacquiao's Shortest Biggest Fan at minnypacquiao.com

ONLINE

See ESTEBAN on Page 14

2 Filipino Press • www.filipinopress.com January 22-28, 2011

MANILA — Overseas Fil-ipinos sent home $1.6 billion in November, bringing total remittances for the first 11 months of 2010 to $17 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipi-nas reported recently.

The central bank said de-mand for Filipino workers by employers in various parts of the globe remained strong.

Remittances in Novem-ber were up nearly 11 percent from the $1.5 billion recorded in the same month of the pre-vious year. The January-No-vember level was also up 8.2 percent from $15.8 billion in

the first 11 months of 2009.BSP Governor Amando Tet-

angco Jr. said the growing de-mand for Filipino workers must be credited to their di-versified skills, adding that government efforts to seek employment deals with host countries also helped increase the deployment rate.

The central bank said in its report that remittances from January to November last year came mostly from the United States, Canada, Sau-di Arabia, Japan, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emir-ates, Singapore, Italy, Germa-ny and Norway.

The BSP said the move of Philippine-based banks to open remittance centers and engage in tie-ups with mon-ey transfer agents in various countries has made it easier for overseas Filipinos to send money to the Philippines.

According to projections made earlier by the BSP, re-mittances for 2010 would hit $18.79 billion, marking an 8-percent increase from the $17.4 billion registered in 2009.

“Given the steady levels of remittances through Novem-ber, the projected full year 2010 remittance level will likely be achieved,” Tetangco said.

Citing documents from the Philippine Overseas Em-ployment Administration, ap-proved job orders for Filipino workers totaled 624,045 last year.

The newly hired Filipinos were expected to continue fu-eling remittances to the Phil-ippines this year, the central bank said. For 2011, the BSP said it expected another 8-per-cent growth in remittances.

Remittances are a close-

ly watched economic indica-tor given that these largely fuel consumption of Filipino households. Consumption is a bigger driver of the Philippine economy than investments.

Economic managers have admitted that money sent by overseas Filipinos was a huge source of stimulus for the do-mestic economy. There are an estimated 10 million Filipinos working abroad.

The Philippines is the fourth-biggest remittance-re-ceiving country after China, India and Mexico.

Although the government takes growth in remittanc-es as positive news, econom-ic managers agree that the big number of Filipinos work-ing or looking for jobs abroad is an indication that local em-ployment opportunities are not readily available at home.

— Philippine Inquirer

MANILA, Jan. 18 (MNS) — Despite the problems they face, Filipino’s optimism has remained high and even im-proving to near-record-high levels, according to a new sur-vey by pollster Social Weather Stations.

The SWS study, in which 42 percent of respondents expect the quality of their lives to im-prove in the next 12 months, was conducted in November 2010 and published last week on its media partner Business-World.

In contrast, only 7 percent said they do not expect the quality of their lives to im-prove in the next 12 months.

The SWS poll showed sig-nificant gains among the ABC class, where their “net per-sonal optimism” score rose to plus 35, up from plus 32 three months earlier and just one point below the record plus 36 posted a month before Presi-dent Benigno Aquino III took his oath of office.

The net personal optimism score is the difference between optimists and pessimists.

SWS classified all three scores as “very high,” add-ing that since September 2009, net personal optimism has re-mained above plus 20 (“high”).

Optimism regarding the economy also remained “very high” with 39 percent saying it would get better this year.

Only 8 percent said it would worsen, putting the net eco-nomic optimism score at plus 30, similar to the plus 29 re-corded three months earlier.

The record high plus 39, also hit in June last year. Prior to that, net economic optimism was in double-digit negatives in 30 of 46 surveys from Sep-tember 1998.

Asked to look back a year that passed, 30 percent of the respondents said their lives had worsened (losers) while 25 percent said it was better (gainers), for a “fair” net gain-ers and losers score of minus 5.

This was barely a change from the minus 2 in the previ-ous quarter.

Personal optimismPersonal optimism was

“very high” in all areas and so-cio-economic classes, the SWS said.

Net personal optimism im-proved to a “very high” plus 38 in Balance Luzon (Luzon minus Metro Manila) from a “high” plus 29 three months earlier.

It stayed at a “very high” plus 41 and plus 32, respective-

ly, in Metro Manila and in Min-danao.

Despite a three-point drop to plus 30, net personal op-timism also remained “very high” in the Visayas.

A 28-point gain was record-ed among the ABC class to plus 52, while much lower increas-es were noted among the class E (six points to plus 32) and D (one point to plus 35).

Net economic optimismNet economic optimism,

meanwhile, was also “very high” in all areas and classes.

It rose five points to plus 31 in the Balance Luzon and three points to plus 41 in Metro Ma-nila but fell two points to plus 30 in Mindanao and four points to plus 23 in Visayas.

By class, net economic op-timism increased 24 points to plus 47 among the class ABC; three points to plus 32 among the class E; and was “barely changed” (plus 28 from plus 30) among the class D or the “masa.”

The SWS survey, conduct-ed from Nov. 27-30, 2010, used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide. Error mar-gins of plus or minus 3 percent for national and plus or minus 6 percent for area percentages applied to the survey.

Optimism among Filipinos at 42 percent, near record high

Remittances rise 10.5%

By Armando ChavezPhilippine Daily Inquirer

SAN MATEO — They came as they always did for com-memorative events, dressed in their signature veterans’ uni-forms, some with medals proudly displayed on their chests.

They have been waiting for the day when their courage and commitment to America would finally be recognized, when

America would finally keep the promise it made to them at the onset of World War II.

At the moment, it’s still just House Bill HR 210, also known as the Filipino Veter-ans Fairness Act of 2011, introduced by U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco) and still to be debated on the floors of Con-gress but it was a first step — one of many previous first steps — and another reason for these largely ignored heroes of World War II to perk up with hope.

It was one more occasion among many during the past six decades, for them to feel that maybe the U.S. will stop trying to sweep them into the dust bins of for-gotten promises and undo the injustice that was the Rescis-sion Act of 1946.

Around the scheduled time of 1:45 p.m. on Jan. 11, Speier entered the conference room of the building where her of-fice is located in San Mateo, to a round of applause from the 25 or so veterans and another 20 veterans’ widows gathered there.

She went around one end of the room and shook hands with all the veterans lined up there and embraced some of the widows before taking her seat at the end of the long con-ference table. Then she proceeded to speak about HR 210, a bill that would effectively repeal the Rescission Act and give Filipino-American veterans and their widows full benefits.

She said that the bill is asking for nothing more and noth-ing less than what was promised to them, underscoring the fact that, among non-American nationals that fought be-side the U.S. in World War II, only Filipino veterans have been singled out for such discriminatory treatment. The bill would end 65 years of institutionalized discrimination

When World War II erupted, the Philippines was a com-monwealth of the United States, making Filipinos American nationals. Some 250,000 Filipinos fought side by side with the Americans. Many were imprisoned and tortured along-side them. And many died alongside them. At the start and then again immediately after the end of the war, the Filipi-nos were promised full benefits equal to those received by American citizens.

But on Feb. 18, 1946, the Rescission Act was signed into law, formally rescinding the promises and stripping the Fili-pinos of all the benefits promised them. Those who, by some legal quirk, could not be denied benefits outright did receive them but at the reduced rate of 50 cents for every dollar Americans received.

Speier addressed this particular act of injustice, stating that there is no such thing as a half-citizen. She said it was time to stop the discrimination and correct the injustice and HR 210 intends to do just that.

After Speier’s speech, Felino Punzalan, whose military-straight bearing belied his 93 years, sat down and spoke in behalf of the veterans. In a soft but firm voice that seemed filled not with anger or bitterness but with unrelenting faith that America will do right by him and his compatriots, he thanked the congresswoman and, at the same time, implored her to make this long-delayed promise a reality.

And though he almost succeeded in holding back his emo-tions through his entire speech, his last words came halt-

ingly as tears started to well in his gray-ing eyes.

Ago Pedalizo, area coordinator for the organization appropriately named Justice for Filipino-American Veterans, gave an impassioned speech, calling the treatment of Filipino-American veterans discrimina-tion against people of color. JFAV, accord-ing to its national coordinator, Los Ange-les-based Arturo Garcia, has long been one of the major advocacy groups for the rights of Filipino American veterans. JFAV ar-

ranged this meeting between Speier and the veterans.Rowena Battong, 77, a veteran’s widow, spoke on behalf of

her fellow widows and reiterated the plea for help. Accord-ing to Violy Reyes of JFAV, many of the widows live on wel-fare, one even resorting to collecting cans from trash bins to eke out a living.

Also present was Daly City Councilmember Michael Gu-ingona. He stood among the veterans and the widows and engaged some of them in conversation before and after the conference.

In a show of continuing optimism and unconditional al-legiance to the country that has given them not much more than a big, broken promise and a life on the edge of poverty, the veterans and the widows ended the conference in a spon-taneous rendition of “God Bless America.”

OFWs send $1.6B through PI banks in November

VETERANS UPDATE

MANILA — Catholic Bish-ops’ Conference of the Phil-ippines-National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal judi-cial vicar Archbishop Os-car Cruz said recently he be-lieves that if House Bill 3952 passed, the sanctity of mar-riage will be diluted.

Cruz, formerly a CBCP president and the emeritus archbishop of the Lingayen-Dagupan archdiocese, also said that the proposed leg-islation would benefit more those belonging to the middle and upper class and not those classified as poor since many of the marginalized do not en-ter into marriage but engage in live-in relationships.

“I do not see the reason for filing the bill to help the poor secure ‘annulment de-cision’ because we have ac-cepted in the Philippines that most of the so-called poor people either just live togeth-er then separate later. They are not annulment seekers. So, there’s no rhyme or rea-son for a quicker and cheaper annulment process because of the poor. To me it does not hold water,” Cruz said.

— Philippine Star

Bishop bucks expansion of grounds for annulment

PiNews PHILIPPINES NEwS & wEEK IN REVIEw

House bill seeks to correct treatment of WWII vets, widows

U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier

Speier addressed this particular act of injustice, stating that there is no such thing as a half-citizen. She said it was time to stop the discrimination and correct the injustice and HR 210 intends to do just that.

Michael guingona

Balangay Expedition Team visits Aquino

President Benigno S. Aquino III receives a replica of “Balangay,” a pre-Hispanic indigenous water vessel, from expedition team leader Arturo Valdez during a courtesy call with the 39-member Philippine Balangay Expedition Team on Jan. 20 at the Premier guest House in Malacanang.

Rey Baniquet • Malacanang Photo Bureau

January 22-28, 2011 Filipino Press • www.filipinopress.com 3

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If your preteen child hasn’t hit you up yet for a cell phone, you’re among a rare breed in-

deed. Studies have found that rough-ly 70 percent of 11- to 14-year-olds now use cell phones. Closer to home, our 10-year-old has been hounding my wife and me for months to get his own phone.

My initial reaction was, “no way.” But upon investigation, I see why many parents eventually give in. Here are a few pros and cons for giv-ing your preteen a phone, and some safeguards you can take:

Safety. Anyone who’s ever had a flat tire or gotten lost can attest to cell phones' safety advantages. On the flip side, unless you install pa-rental controls, your child could ac-cess inappropriate content or be more vulnerable to bullying and predatory behavior.

Expense. Cell phone use, in-cluding calls, text messaging, web browsing and application down-loads, can be wildly expensive. You have two payment options:

• Prepaid plan – buy minutes “pay-as-you-go.” Plans vary widely in terms of fees and per-minute call-ing and text rates. Advantages: No locked-in service contract; know ex-actly how many minutes they’re us-ing. Disadvantages: Parental con-trols usually don't apply; phones more expensive than under a ser-vice contract plan.

• Family plan – sometimes it's cheaper to add a phone to your ex-isting plan. Some plans allow unlim-

ited calls/texts between friends and family or those using the same car-rier. Advantages: Generally cheaper if your kids make lots of calls/texts; most allow parental controls. Dis-advantages: Parental controls may cost extra; some plans don't allow usage caps, so undisciplined kids may rack up large bills; tied to ser-

vice contract.Parental controls. One of the best

ways to protect your kids is to sub-scribe to your carrier's parental con-trols plan. Plan features vary widely, but look for these when comparison shopping:

• Cost (free to $4.99 a month).• Ability to cap phone minutes

and text messages.• Allow emergency calls, even if

over monthly usage allowance.• Cap and/or block entertainment

downloads (costly/inappropriate ringtones, music, video, etc.)

• Block mature content websites from Internet-enabled phones.

• Restrict time-of-day usage (e.g., block during school hours or after bedtime).

• Block calls/texts from specific or unknown numbers (helps prevent stalking, bullying and inappropriate contact).

• Track your child’s physical lo-cation (requires GPS-enabled phone and typically costs $5 to $10 a month).

Parental control programs gener-ally are not available with prepaid plans. And, since no filtering tool is completely foolproof, it’s important to regularly discuss safety issues with your kids. Make sure they’re comfortable coming to you with any questions or details of inappropriate contact they’ve received.

Not every child is ready for cell phone responsibilities. Set ground rules and be prepared to withhold privileges if they cross boundaries, such as not abiding school regula-tions, exceeding curfews or usage limits, using to bully others, repeat-edly losing or damaging the phone, etc. And make sure they kick in part of their allowance to help pay.

With my son, it’s not a question of “if” but instead of “when.” And when the time is right, he'll bear the costs of the handset and adding a line to our family plan. This of course will allow him to hound me remotely for the latest must-have item.

Are your kids ready for a cell phone?

YourWorldJASON ALDERMAN

SAN DIEGO — The start of the new year always brings new resolutions. Among prom-ises to improve oneself and one’s home, there’s a resolu-tion that will save San Diegans money and conserve water. By conducting a landscape make-over and maintaining a healthy landscape, San Diego water customers may be eligible for cash-back rebates on:

• Smart controllers • Micro-irrigation • Sustainable landscapes

and turf replacement For those who are not sure

where to start or how to identi-fy water-efficient measures for their landscape or property, the city offers a free residential water survey or a commercial landscape survey. City Water Conservation Program repre-sentatives are available to visit a customer’s home or business and conduct a water audit on the property to find any water-saving opportunities and iden-tify costly leaks.

“With the call for conserva-tion, San Diegans have done a great job of conserving wa-ter and we want to support our customers integrating this wa-ter ethic as part of our long-term lifestyle,” said Kyrsten Burr-Rosenthal with the city’s Water Conservation Program. “This is an opportune time to start the year off by improving our landscapes now that water-ing times are permanent — wa-ter before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m. from November through May.”

Funded by state grants com-petitively sought and obtained by the city of San Diego, the rebates are available to eligi-ble single-family, multi-family and commercial customers on a first-come, first-served basis. For program guidelines and an application, visit www.sand-iego.gov/conservation or call (619) 533-7458.

The Water Conservation Program reduces water de-mand through promoting or providing incentives for the in-stallation of hardware that pro-vides permanent water sav-ings and by providing services and information to help San Di-egans make better decisions about water use. For more in-formation, visit www.sandiego.gov/water/conservation or call (619) 515-3500.

Landscape makeover can save money, water

SAN DIEGO — The world we live in is an ever-chang-ing place and being a parent hasn’t gotten any easier. Be-tween your child’s peers, the Internet, television and other adults, there are all kinds of influences and potential dan-gers for your children.

Parents are encouraged to attend the “Positive Parent-ing in a Changing World” par-enting conference hosted by The San Diego County Com-mission on Children, Youth and Families at the San Diego Convention Center on Satur-day, Feb. 5. The goal of the one-day event is to help par-ents learn specific techniques and skills to assist them in their efforts to raise healthy and happy children.

“CCYF and San Diego County encourages all indi-viduals to play a role in mak-ing San Diego a better place for families,” said Greg Cox of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

The conference is divided into two parts: a morning ses-sion beginning at 8 a.m. for parents of young children and an afternoon session starting at 11:30 a.m. for parents of teenagers. Parents are wel-come to attend both sessions or the one that interests them most. The cost is $25 per per-son for one or both sessions.

To register and purchase tickets online, visit www.sandiegoccyf.org. For more information, call (619) 338-2049.

County family commission to host ‘Positive Parenting’ conference in San Diego


Chances are you or some-one you know has been a victim of identity theft.

In 2009, more than 11 million people were victims of iden-tity theft with more than $54 billion in fraudulent charg-es. Here are some tips to help protect you from identity theft and what to do if you think you may be a victim.Identity-theft prevention tips

• Monitor your accounts regularly. The best way to dis-cover and prevent the damag-es done by identity theft is to check your bank and credit accounts as frequently as you can. I check mine daily and recommend that you do, too. Checking your credit report regularly is also a good idea to make sure that no one is ap-plying for loans or credit cards with your identity. You should check your credit report at least once every six months.

• Don’t fall for phishing scams. Phishing scams occur when a fraudulent person or organization attempts to gain sensitive information by pos-ing as a trustworthy source in an email sent to you. The e-mail scam includes requests for account numbers and oth-er personal identifying infor-mation. It may also include a link to an outside website ask-ing you to reveal sensitive in-formation. Never respond to an e-mail that requests your personal information and nev-er enter information into a website linked from an e-mail phishing scam.

• Internet settings. Most people bank and pay bills on-line and store a great deal of

sensitive information on their home computers. To protect your information, have repu-table anti-spam and anti-vi-rus software installed on your computer. You should also ad-just the privacy settings on your Internet browser to the highest level allowed by the websites you visit regularly and only enter personal infor-mation if absolutely necessary.

• Shred all documents that contain sensitive information. Items thrown into the trash are not safe from prying eyes. It is easy to throw away documents without thinking about their contents. Make sure you shred all documents with any per-sonal identifying information before throwing it in the trash.

• Home document securi-ty. Keep all personal identify-ing information in a secure lo-cation in your home. This will

prevent untrustworthy family members, roommates, friends and strangers from taking ad-vantage of you.What to do if you are a victim

of identity theft• Place a “fraud alert” on

your credit report. Contact each of the three major con-sumer credit reporting agen-cies — TransUnion, Equifax and Experian — and notify them of the fraudulent activ-ity. Once you have placed a fraud alert on your credit re-port, you are entitled to a free copy from each of the three credit reporting agencies. Re-view the report for any fraud-ulent activity or suspicious ac-counts.

• Resolve new and tam-pered accounts. Once you have identified fraudulent ac-tivity or accounts on your credit report, call the fraud department for each account involved. To dispute fraudu-lent charges on an existing ac-count, obtain the company’s fraud dispute form and com-plete it appropriately. To dis-pute a new account opened fraudulently in your name, you will need to provide the com-pany with an identity theft re-port. Be sure to keep a copy of

all communications and obtain mailing receipts for any docu-ments mailed to creditors.

• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. In any instance of identity theft, file an identity theft complaint with the Federal Trade Com-mission by calling 1-877-438-4338 or by completing an on-line complaint form at www.ftc.gov. Keep a copy of the complaint for your records.

• File a report with your lo-cal police department. Once you have filed an FTC com-plaint, go to your local police department and file a police report. Bring a copy of your FTC identity theft complaint and ask the police officer as-sisting you to attach a copy of this complaint to your police report. Keep a copy of the re-port for your records.

The local police report com-bined with the FTC identity theft complaint constitutes an identity theft report that en-titles you to protections from fraudulent accounts and activ-ity. With this report you may: place an extended fraud alert on your credit report; pre-vent the fraudulent informa-tion from re-appearing on your credit report; and also prevent collection efforts associated with fraudulent debts.

Grace K. Powell is a San Diego attorney who focuses on bankruptcy, real estate and small business matters. Powell is a lifelong San Diego resident with degrees in engineering and law. She can be reached at FRESH START SAN DIEGO, at (619) 727-1204 or at [email protected].

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They just don’t get it, these new tenants of Mala-canang, particularly

President Noynoy Aquino. His spokespersons insist there was nothing wrong with Aquino buying a P4.5-million Porsche because, after all, he used his own money. If Aquino were just the plain Noynoy, an heir of hacenderos, we would de-fend his right even if he were to buy a Ferrari or a Lambo-rghini and slam it against the wall. It’s his life and money, we’d say.

But Aquino tends to forget that he is no longer Noynoy, the bachelor, or Noynoy, the gun enthusiast. Since he took his oath as president of the Republic of the Philippines, he should have ceased to be Noynoy and become His Ex-cellency Benigno S. Aquino III, President of the Republic of the Philippines. If he had said from the start that he could not separate himself from Noynoy, the bachelor, then maybe we shouldn’t have supported him at all.

Aquino and his barkadas still think stopping by a hotdog stand on a New York street for a bite was cute, explaining that it showed that Aquino remains the same simple Noynoy, but ignore the fact that it exposed him to security risks. He used to do that when he lived in Bos-ton with his exiled father as a teenager, why couldn’t he do it now?

Just recently, he was pho-tographed in a pizza parlor in Baguio City with some of his buddies in the cabinet and an unidentified lady. Until now, he would divert his convoy to a favorite restaurant to grab a bite to eat. Whether these are being done as publicity stunts to show Aquino has remained the simple Noynoy is beyond the point. What we are worried about is the security risk he is exposed to every time he does something like this.

Reports say Noynoy drove all the way to the speedway at SLEX to test his new Porsche and his barkadas were proud to say that he was a good speed driver. Obviously, the speed trainer that went with the Porsche was a good mentor.

OK, we get it. Noynoy re-mains unaffected by the trap-pings of power and the same Noynoy who loves target-shooting, eating at his favor-ite joints in the middle of the night, scarfing hot dogs from food carts and now driving fast

cars. Hallelujah!But we don’t need Noynoy,

the man on the fast lane. We need Aquino, the leader.

If he wasn’t ready to tran-scend Noynoy, the bachelor, he shouldn’t have strived to be the leader of a nation beset with gigantic problems. He should have stayed on as Sen. Noynoy Aquino, where he could stay up all night, date disinterest-ed women and sleep off senate sessions and perhaps nobody would even notice.

But he ran to become presi-dent of the impoverished peo-ple of the problem-plagued Philippines who expect so much of him, who continue to hope that he will deliver them from poverty and political abyss. As the leader of a hope-ful nation, he should not just be simple and honest, but de-cisive and sensitive to the peo-ple’s needs and feelings.

He cannot go around driv-ing a P4.5-million Porsche while almost half of the popu-lation cannot even find enough money to pay for transporta-tion fares and toll fees that he allowed to be raised just a few days earlier.

He cannot go around driv-ing a Porsche while 30 percent of the people cannot find a de-cent meal for days on end, ac-cording to a survey by the So-cial Weather Station released just a few days earlier.

He cannot go around driv-ing a flashy Porsche while the judiciary is making a mockery of his anti-corruption drive, while the allies of his prede-cessor are obviously push-ing aggressively to make him a lame-duck president by try-

ing to amend the constitution and sending his Liberal Party in disarray.

He cannot go around driv-ing an expensive Porsche and think the poor would contin-ue believing that he is the God-sent savior to liberate them from hunger and injustice.

He cannot go around driv-ing a Porsche and think that nobody would question who the generous seller was who would sell a low-mileage, near brand-new luxury sports car for almost half the price it should have pegged in the open market? Or think peo-ple would not wonder why a known luxury sports car deal-er, as reported by former Sen. Ernie Maceda in his column, had been appointed vice pres-ident for marketing of cash-rich Pagcor?

If Aquino can make a deci-sion to buy a Porsche and not worry about or not know its consequences to his image, leadership and to the people’s feelings, can you imagine what kind of decisions he is liable to make in matters that would af-fect the country and the peo-ple? He cannot even decide on matters of the heart; how can he make firm decisions on matters of the state?

These actions of the unaf-fected Noynoy may not matter much to his buddies in the cab-inet, but in light of his noncha-lance and obvious lack of sen-sitivity, how can we not worry that Aquino, the president, is leading us not to the “tuwid na daan,” but to the scary fast lanes of racetracks?

E-mail Val Abelgas at [email protected].

Val Abelgas

On Distant Shore

We’re creatures of c o n v e n i e n c e . A t least that is what

we’ve been predisposed to think as we face the challeng-es of time constraints and busy schedules. The media encour-ages this by bombarding us with images and reports on the many products and services that will make your life easier, better, comfortable, results-orient and conveniently expe-dient.

Because of this — or at least in part — it often seems as if we avoid putting in the ex-tra effort it takes to get a job done well. Sometimes, when one encounters some inconve-nience, he gives up too easily or doesn’t attempt to try hard-er or do what it takes to go through the “process,” espe-cially in matters where other people are in involved.

If we do not want to be in-convenienced, then these are the opportunities that we may be missing along the way.

For example, when con-fronting the inconvenience of waiting, we often miss the op-portunity to do such produc-tive things as read a book, magazine or newspaper to fur-ther our knowledge of current

events or mingle with people around us to enhance our pub-lic-interaction skills.

We need to take these op-portunities — these moments of inconvenience — to take the time to think things through so we can arrive at a more ratio-

nal and well thought-out de-cision on issues or problems that may be confronting us. These moments present us with character-building op-portunities we can develop through perseverance and getting in touch with our faults and strengths which can later on result in self-discovery and enjoyment of the good and the bad that life has to offer as we grow and mature from the experi-ence. After all, as a wise per-son once said, if it’s worth doing (even if it seems in-convenient), it’s worth doing right.

For comments and sugges-tions, e-mail Susan delos San-tos at [email protected]. Come and visit www.filipino-press.com and be friends with us at Filipino Press on Face-book.

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P-Noy now ‘Playboy Noy’

Jesse Reyes

If he wasn’t ready to transcend Noynoy, the bachelor, he shouldn’t have strived to be the leader of a nation beset with gigantic problems. He should have stayed on as Sen. Noynoy Aquino, where he could stay up all night, date disinterested women and sleep off senate sessions and perhaps nobody would even notice.

Commentary

We need to take these opportunities — these moments of inconvenience — to take the time to think things through so we can arrive at a more rational and well thought-out decision on issues or problems that may be confronting us.

“There is a mistaken notion among some that to own a paper is to have a license to clobber one’s enemies and attack people we don’t like. A newspaper is an information tool to reach a large number of people at a given time.

A newspaper should inform, educate, entertain and provide viewpoints that could give us the means to make intelligent decisiions for ourselves and others.” — Ernie Flores Jr., Founding editor and publisher

Susan delos Santos

Publisher'sDesk

Take advantage of those moments of inconvenience

“Aquino gets himself a new toy – a Porsche,” headlines a news-

paper. Instantly, the news spread like a virus on social networks. And once again, denizens of cyberspace had a heyday criticizing President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III, this time for buying a 2007 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera sports car.

In an attempt to control any damage from this latest “fall-out,” P-Noy emphasized that it was a “third-hand,” used Porsche he bought for

the bargain price of only P4.5 million. But Mr. President, a Porsche is a “Porsche” and it’s emblematic of the “creamiest of the cream of the crop” in our society.

Indeed, driving a Porsche is unlike driving a Mercedes Benz, BMW, Lexus or Jaguar, which are expensive cars but are common sights on the road

so much so that they don’t even attract any attention. But a Porsche 911 sports car, espe-cially the Turbo Carrera that P-Noy bought, would raise eyebrows and elicit gasps from onlookers especially when it makes that awesome “turbo” noise when revving or accelerating it.

P-Noy driving a Porsche re-minds me of spoiled rich kids speeding at 150 kilometers an hour in the expressways. In-deed, P-Noy is like a spoiled rich kid who has grown but refuses to grow up. And that seems to be the message he conveys to the public with his latest toy.

Exclusive Porsche Club

In 1991, three friends who owned Porsche 911s would get together every Sunday morn-ing to drive their cars from the Manila Polo Club down the South Super Highway to Canlubang or Puerto Azul and back to Manila Polo Club in time for breakfast. Pretty soon, other Porsche owners joined in their “Sunday runs.”

The following year they in-corporated into the Porsche Club Philippines. To date, their exclusive — and elite — club has grown to 58 mem-bers who own a total of 174 Porsches among them. At one time their membership grew to 70, with each member own-ing an average of 3.5 Porsches (source: www.porscheclub-philippines.com). Should P-Noy join this very exclusive club, he may have to buy a few more Porsches just to keep up with the members.

CriticismsP-Noy’s critics include po-

litical leaders, sectoral and civil society leaders and the clergy. Even the youth did not

PerryScope Perry Diaz

Grow up, P-Noy, ditch the PorscheP-Noy is like a spoiled rich kid who has grown but refuses to grow up. And that seems to be the message he conveys to the public with his latest toy.

See PORSCHE on Page 13


President Noynoy Aqui-no’s vow to cleanse the government of corrup-

tion will soon get a major boost. You see, whenever people talk about fighting corruption, the only ones put on the carpet, the dogs who need to be fumigated and rid of lice, are public offi-cials. The other players in the Corruption Game are hard-ly ever mentioned. And yet, as we all know, where there are bribe-takers, there are bribe-givers.

Now comes the Makati Busi-ness Club, announcing it is launching the “Integrity Ini-tiative” in cooperation with the European Chamber of Com-merce of the Philippines.

According to a news item that I read a few days ago, the new MBC executive director, Peter A. Perfecto, in announc-ing the initiation of this very laudable undertaking, stressed that it is “high up on the agen-da” of the organization.

According to Perfecto, MBC plans to get Philippine busi-nesses to “sign on to an integ-rity pledge where the CEOs will ban bribes, conduct ethics training and improve the trans-parency of financial reporting.”

This specifically refers to “big public-private sector proj-ects” for which bids will be sought.

The MBC plans “to estab-lish guidelines and internal mechanisms to guard against corrupt practices.” The result will be an “integrity certifica-tion system” that will be used by the government in screen-ing bid participants. In other words, the equivalent of a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approv-al.

I guess it’s fair to assume that only those companies that

are “certified” to be of unques-tioned integrity will be allowed to bid on government projects.

This is fantastic! Can you imagine a bidding process where only those who have passed what, hopefully, will be a stringent “integrity-screen-ing process,” will be allowed to participate?

Wow!Without meaning to cast as-

persions on the members of MBC or on the Philippine busi-ness community as a whole, we have to hope that there will be enough “qualified bidders” af-ter such a rigid screening pro-cess.

I’m reminded of the old joke concerning the mayor of Ma-nila who issued a directive to the Manila Police Department (this was before the PNP took over) to the effect that ugly people should be picked off the streets of the city and brought to the Luneta. There, they would be lined up before a fir-ing squad and shot.

The following day, not one member of Manila’s Fin-est could be found out on the streets. Neither was the mayor.

Perhaps a reality check is in order. I assume that a very high IQ (Integrity Quotient) will be established by MBC, otherwise, why bother with such a program at all? But be-fore these very high standards of honesty and integrity are en-forced, perhaps Perfecto and

the directors of MBC may want to subject their member orga-nizations to a gradual cleansing process, pretty much the way tap water is made to go through a purification process before it is certified safe to drink.

Perhaps the board of MBC can first announce an Integ-rity Amnesty for all business-men and corporations, not just members of the club. Those who want to take advantage of it should be required to fill out a form in which they will con-fess all the instances where their integrity was below MBC standards.

Of course, the members of the board of MBC and the of-ficers of their respective firms will lead by example. There will be no recrimination. No gossiping. No questions asked.

In fact, Perfecto will kick off the process of exorcising the Demons of Corruption by de-claring, “Let him who has no sin among you cast the first stone.”

Having done that (and it is assumed that no one will dare cast the first stone among the members of MBC), all those who desire to avail of the In-tegrity Amnesty will undergo an Integrity Retreat, similar to the Cursillo.

They will all be contained in one dark hall, so dark that they cannot recognize each other. They will then be asked to con-fess their sins aloud, shouting

them out and asking for for-giveness. Every single trans-gression will be declared — the instances when they rigged bids, bribed government offi-cials, agreed to pad the cost of public works projects, cheated on their corporate and person-al taxes and, otherwise, con-tributed to the culture of cor-ruption in the country.

Having done that, they will then be submerged in a pool spring water, where every iota of corruption in their entire be-ing will be washed away.

Having gone through that process, they will be made to swear over a stack of Bibles that they will, henceforth, live lives of honesty, integrity and nobility. After that, they will be blessed by the bishops (who, themselves, will undergo their own cleansing process).

All the “graduates” of this process of cleansing and fumi-gation will be entitled to the In-tegrity Amnesty, all their past corrupt practices being forgiv-en and forgotten.

Only at that point will it be realistic for MBC to institute the “integrity certification sys-tem.”

Admittedly, setting the In-tegrity Quotient too high may be a turn-off for some mem-bers of MBC. I think it is rea-sonable to allow some flexibil-ity.

For instance, cheating on wives or husbands or having more than one of either should not be included in the list of forbidden practices — unless, they have a direct impact on the BIQ (Business Integrity Quotient).

Cheating on one’s golf scores may also be forgivable, a prec-edent having already been set in this regard. A public official

was accused of cheating on his golf score, yet was allowed to occupy his integrity-sensitive position.

There may be other excep-tions that the MBC board may want to consider. In the Unit-ed States, government officials, especially those who are in a position to grant favors, such as contracts or advantageous legislation, are strictly prohib-ited from receiving free tick-ets to concerts or major sports events or expense-paid over-seas trips or privileges and fa-vors that could unduly influ-ence them.

Now, we know that little fa-vors and privileges like these are normal in our beloved country and no one ever makes a fuss over them. Surely, ring-side tickets to a Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas, plus plush ho-tel quarters and an open tab on food, drinks and girls aren’t too much to give a politician. Didn’t the husband of the past president himself justify such perks?

And, surely, spending sever-al thousand dollars on a dinner in New York doesn’t qualify as abusive, if the folks who are wined and dined are important officials of the country. Again, didn’t the past president justi-fy that, too?

As one client of mine put it when I was still working with an ad agency in Manila, “Any-thing that’s consumable is for-givable.” That, of course, re-fers to gifts of food and drinks.

Besides, in this age of multi-million peso (and multi-million dollar) kickbacks and over-pricing, a night out, even with a harem, is small change.

E-mail at [email protected].

‘Integrity Quotient’ may be tough score for businessGreg B. Macabenta

Street Talk

My late wife and I took the Marriage Encounter Week-

end in the Philippines in the late 1980s. From the Cursillo, which was the devotional fad in the ’50s but later faded, the

e n c o u n -ter be-came the “ v o g u e ” a m o n g m a r r i e d c o u p l e s through-out the ’80s and

’90s and still exists. The program is an apos-

tolate of the laity. It has the support and encouragement of the Catholic Church be-cause it has enhanced family life, solidified love relations in marriages, made many homes more livable and lov-able and enriched parish life.

The weekend experience is designed to revitalize the interpersonal relations of married couples through a particular method of commu-nication and dialogue, with Christ in the middle. It is pre-ferred to have a live-in stay in which the couple are housed for two days and nights in a place with private accom-modations and a conference room adequate to accommo-date a manageable 25 cou-ples and their sponsors. A fee is required for the accommo-dations, but the foremost re-quirement of the candidates is an attitude of openness of mind and heart.

The encounter is usual-ly organized by a sponsoring class, the members of which are alumni of previous class-es. A priest and two or three lay couples take turns as presenters on specific sub-jects, such as feelings, masks, reaching out, openness, death and spirituality.

The priest is the moderator and guiding light. The pre-senting couples share their experiences on what had transformed them as husband and wife into sweethearts and lovers. The candidates learn from the sharing. After each presentation the couple-can-didates proceed to the priva-cy of their rooms to talk about the experience.

The dialogue is a frank expression and honest ex-change of thoughts and feel-ings in a dispassionate way. In fact, it is essentially a com-munication of feelings, not ideas, done in a manner of collegiality, civility and mu-tual respect for each other. Each must accept the other to be as he/she chooses, defer-ring to the other.

For instance, if she wants to watch her favorite teleno-bela, let her to make her hap-

Fast Food for Thought Rudy M. Viernes

A weekend encounter with bliss

Books, poetry and mu-sic have been written about USS Pueblo, the

U.S. Navy ship that North Ko-rea seized in 1968 in waters off the country’s east coast, set-ting off an international crisis.

Yet its story is not a roman-tic one. On a cold January day, this uncelebrated ship sailed out of Sasebo, Japan, into the Tsushima Straits and then north into the Sea of Japan. Most of the Pueblo crew wore the communications techni-cian rating badge.

On Jan. 23, 1968, while in international waters, the ship was attacked and boarded by North Korean forces. Impris-oned for nearly a year, the ship’s crew of ordinary sail-ors became exceptional men. Through courage and leader-ship they survived a long, in-humane and unjust captivity.

After their repatriation, and after time passed, more than 100 awards, including the Navy Cross, Silver Stars and Bronze Stars, were award-ed to many of the crew. Now moored on a river in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, described to visitors as an “armed spy ship of the U.S. imperialist aggression forc-es,” the Pueblo remains ac-tive and in commission per the U.S. order of battle rolls.

This week is the 43rd an-niversary of the Pueblo Inci-dent. We haven’t heard much anything on this upcoming commemoration from the rest of the media, so I took it upon me to do this little perspec-tive. More people should know and remember the Pueblo sto-ry. Not enough really do. I am quite sure we have more ma-terials to add to the Pueblo ac-count and I thought I would share mine with you all.

The seizure of the Pueblo became a defining moment in modern American history. To be sure, the capture of the ship would come to symbolize both the frustrations and limita-tions of American foreign pol-icy during the 1960s and ’70s.

I remember this quite well and very vividly, too. I was aboard my first Navy duty sta-tion then, the USS Chicago, dubbed the world’s most pow-erful guided missile cruis-er, when our tour of duty on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin (Vietnam) was inter-rupted and cut short as the ship was ordered to head north to the coast of Korea following the seizure of the Pueblo. The Chicago was tasked to provide “PIRAZ” (Positive Identifi-cation Radar Advisory Zone) support to the Seventh Fleet forces operating in the frigid Sea of Japan.

A popular quote goes, “The United States won the Cold War without ever firing a shot.” Like many other military vet-erans, it’s a claim I’ve never really understood. Though our victory was secured without a cataclysmic nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union, it took a terrible toll on American lives, limbs and treasure.

Cmdr. Lloyd “Pete” Buch-er, the Pueblo’s command-ing officer and one of the most courageous of those “Cold Warriors,” passed from this veil of tears a few years back on Jan. 28, 2004, partly as a re-sult of complications from the injuries he suffered during his time as a prisoner of war in

North Korea — a loss barely noted in the news. Now, Pete Bucher is at rest overlooking San Diego Bay at Fort Rose-crans National Cemetery. His pallbearers included three of his former crewmen (“Buch-er’s Bastards”) who recalled his bravery and leadership during their ordeal in North Korean hell.

It’s also the reason my fel-low Navy shipmates (and our kababayans, too) — Storekeep-er First Class Policarpo Polla “PP” Garcia, Steward Rogelio P. Abelon and Steward Rizali-no L. Aluague — spent 1968 as “Bucher’s Bastards” in North Korea enduring beatings and paltry prison meals of gum-my rice and turnips served in a water pail.

For the three Filipino-American sailors, the Navy in-telligence-gathering ship USS Pueblo is both the source of nightmares — and pride.

They won their freedom af-ter 11 months, but the Pueblo still stands prisoner 43 years after its capture. Tethered on the Taedong River in Pyong-yang, the only commissioned U.S. Navy ship in foreign hands is promoted as a trophy celebrating the communists’ nation’s Cold War conquest.

Understandably, “Bucher’s Bastards” are old men now (several had passed away), but their message is still the same: “Remember the Pueblo.”

Indeed, it’s high time and fitting for all of us to learn from the Pueblo again and honor the legacy of the sacri-fice of the heroic crew mem-bers.

How could the U.S. Navy allow such a thing to happen? Was the crew at fault for al-

lowing their ship to fall into enemy hands?

When torpedo boats and MiG jets attacked the Pueblo on Jan. 23, 1968, one Ameri-can sailor was killed. Eighty-two others had their hands tied, were blindfolded, beaten and prodded with bayonets — and then imprisoned for near-ly a year and tortured into writing confessions.

While the North Korean government says the capture was justified, as the Pueblo had crossed into their waters, U.S. officials say the ship nev-er trespassed.

Forty three years later, there is no dispute that the Pueblo was dispatched to monitor ship movements and intercept messages.

“We were there to collect intelligence, but we were in international waters, so its fair play,” one crewman recalled.

Certainly, the plight of the USS Pueblo continues to ex-pose the wounds of the Cold War. While North Korea and the United States have made some progress in resolving the dispute over its nuclear pro-gram that led former Presi-dent Bush to describe its re-gime as part of the axis evil, normal relations seem elusive.

In recent years, North Ko-rea has tried to use the Pueblo as a bargaining chip, offering

to return the ship in exchange for a visit from top U.S. au-thorities such as the secre-tary of state. The attack on Yeonpyeong Island a couple of months ago is the latest in a long-running game of diplo-matic cat-and-mouse in which North Korea periodically flex-es its military muscle in or-der to try and win concessions from the international com-munity.

This is being seen as yet an-other attempt to raise the dis-

USS Pueblo still imprisoned 43 years after captureJesse T. Reyes

Filipino Potpourri

See ENCOUNTER on Page 12

The dialogue is a frank expression and honest exchange of thoughts and feelings in a dispassionate way. In fact, it is essentially a communication of feelings, not ideas, done in a manner of collegiality, civility and mutual respect for each other. Each must accept the other to be as he/she chooses, deferring to the other.

See PUEBLO on Page 12

The USS Pueblo off the San Diego coast in 1967.

For the three Filipino-American sailors, the Navy intelligence-gathering ship USS Pueblo is both the source of nightmares — and pride.

A popular quote goes, “The United States won the Cold War without ever firing a shot.” Like many other military veterans, it’s a claim I’ve never really understood. Though our victory was secured without a cataclysmic nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union, it took a terrible toll on American lives, limbs and treasure.


MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Jane Fraser, president of The Stut-tering Foundation (www.stut-teringhelp.org), issued the fol-lowing reaction to the recent Golden Globe Awards:

“A tsunami called ‘The King’s Speech’ has turned our world upside down,” said Fraser. “This movie has done in one fell swoop what we’ve been working on for 64 years — raising awareness of the complexities of stuttering and the help that is available to those in need.

“‘The King’s Speech,’ with its seven Golden Globe nom-inations and much-deserved Best Actor in a Motion Picture Award for Colin Firth is more than entertainment to people who stutter. We have heard universal praise for both the movie and the actors’ perfor-mances from the stuttering community across the world. People who stutter have a movie and a hero they can call their own. We congratulate the director, producers, writ-ers and actors for their work, and their humanity in helping millions of people who stutter with understanding and hope.”

The foundation offers a toll-free helpline, 800-992-9392, and free online resources on its website, www.stuttering-help.org, including services, referrals and support to people who stutter and their families, as well as support for research into the causes of stuttering.

‘King’s Speech’ more than just entertainment to people who stutter

By Jennifer Warner

A new study shows most tanning bed operators don’t restrict teens’ ac-cess to indoor tanning beds during the first week of use as recommend-ed by the FDA.

The FDA recommends but does not require that indoor tanning bed oper-ators limit teens to three or fewer tan-ning bed session in the first week. But researchers found only about 11 per-cent did so, and 71 percent of tanning bed operators said they would allow a teen to tan seven days a week.

"Exposure to UV radiation from in-door tanning lamps has been linked with both melanoma and squamous cell cancer, and first exposure before age 35 years may increase melanoma risk by as much as 75 percent," wrote researcher Latrice C. Pichon, Ph.D. MPH, of San Diego State Universi-ty and colleagues in the Archives of Dermatology.

Researchers said the popularity of indoor tanning with adolescent girls in recent years may also be behind a recent increase in melanoma rates among U.S. women aged 15-39.

In the study, researchers surveyed 3,647 indoor tanning operators in the U.S. by phone. The caller posed as a prospective fair-skinned 15-year old customer who had never tanned be-fore.

The results showed about 87 per-cent of the tanning bed operators re-quired teens to get parental consent, 14 percent required a parent to ac-company the tanner, and 5 percent would not allow a 15-year-old to tan at all.

Researchers found facilities in states with laws regulating indoor tanning or youth access to tanning beds were much more likely to re-quire parental consent than those without such laws. As of 2005, 28 states had laws regulating indoor tan-ning and 21 had youth access restric-

tions.The study also showed only about

11 percent of tanning bed opera-tors limited teens to the FDA-rec-ommended three or fewer sessions the first week. The average number of tanning bed sessions allowed per week was six and 71 percent said

they would allow a teen to tan seven days a week.

Researchers say more states should consider laws restricting teen access to indoor tanning beds to more forcefully educate teens and parents about the real dangers of indoor tan-ning. (webmd.com)

New study shows most tanning bed operators don’t restrict teen access

HealthyLivingToo much tanning for teens?


Special to the Filipino Press

It’s a new year and your No. 1 resolution is to start a reg-ular exercise routine. And

this time you’re serious, moti-vated and committed. Congrat-ulations — you made a very wise decision!

However, if you’re new to the world of fitness, you may be swayed by some false ideas about exercise.

“There are a lot of miscon-ceptions out there that have to be debunked and clarified,” said Coach Berry R.B. a per-sonal trainer at “Dare to be Fit,” his personal sraining stu-dio in Oceanside. “The more in-formed people are before they start working out, the more benefit they will be able to get from their regimen.”

Some of the commonly held myths about exercise that Ber-ry said have no merit are:

No pain, no gainAbsolutely not true, Berry

said. “While you might feel a burn

in the belly of the muscle if you are training hard, you should not be feeling pain in any of your joints. You may experi-ence some soreness and mi-nor aches when you first start working out. But the way to minimize this is to gradually increase intensity over time. Your exercise program should take off more like a plane than a rocket. The key is to start grad-ually. If you’re in a lot of pain or discomfort, you may have in-jured yourself. Maybe you did start exercising too abruptly, without a proper warm-up. Or perhaps you’re not doing the exercises correctly. In either case, ask a fitness profession-al to show you how to work out safely and effectively. Remem-ber: Often, pain is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong.”

Any exercise is good“Actually, no. There are

some moves that can definite-ly harm you,” he said. “For ex-ample, if not done properly, the lat pull-down behind the head can cause serious injury to your shoulders or vertebrae. The list of potentially dangerous (and often useless) exercises is long. Again, ask your fitness profes-sional for safer and more effec-tive alternatives.”

Exercise alone will make me lose weight quickly

Exercise is very effective in weight loss and weight man-agement if it goes hand-in-hand with sensible eating. But if you don’t pay attention to your calo-rie intake, it will be difficult — for most people — to achieve enduring weight loss through exercise alone. Remember: while exercising will burn a significant number of calories, a weight loss will occur only if you don’t replenish those calo-ries in between workouts. Com-bining exercise with eating in a way that supports your metab-olism, on the other hand, will give you the results you want.”

Toning sneakers will burn more calories than “regular”

athletic footwear“That’s what all the ads

would have you believe. How-ever, the American Council on Exercise says there is no evi-dence to suggest that these ex-pensive shoes will help you firm up butts, legs and calves. In fact, sports experts say that this footwear has special design features such as rounded soles, which may cause people with balance problems to fall down while walking or running.”

Berry is a retired Marine with more than 30 years of experi-ence keeping Marines and civil-ians in top physical condition. To learn more about his weight loss program, e-mail [email protected] or call (760) 967-6847.

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NATIONAL CITY — Par-adise Valley Hospital and La Maestra Community Health Centers recently announced a new partnership that will lead the way in comprehensive healthcare for South County patients directed at the more than 53 of the population in National City that live in pub-lic housing.

When Prime Healthcare purchased Paradise Valley Hospital in 2007, the attor-ney general put several stipu-lations on the sale in order to ensure the community’s best interest was accommodated.

To date they have more than met their requirements and are looking forward to continuing to develop oppor-tunities to better meet the health services needed within the community.

“We have made many in-roads with the community and felt that a pilot partnership with La Maestra would take us to the next level in com-ing full circle with communi-ty health needs,” stated Luis Leon, CEO of Paradise Valley Hospital.

La Maestra is one of the first health centers in California to use the cutting edge technol-ogy for telemedicine. With this new partnership La Mae-stra’s patients will have ac-cess to Paradise Valley Hos-pital’s facilities for acute and in-patient behavioral servic-es at Paradise Valley and Bay-view as well as other special-ties located at Paradise Valley Hospital.

La Maestra is excited to be able to focus on women’s care, deliveries at Paradise Valley hospital and chronic disease management.

“This is such a tremendous

opportunity for the National City community,” said Zara Marselian of La Maestra. “In addition to our general health and telemedicine services La Maestra brings a strong com-ponent of social services and cultural sensitivity to the mix as well. This partnership is a win for everyone.”

Prime Healthcare Founda-tion, a nonprofit public chari-ty funded by Dr. Prem Reddy, has leased space from Para-dise Valley Hospital under a multi-year agreement for use as a clinic by La Maestra to offer primary care, pediatric care, OBGYN and behavioral health services. This will be a new service site for La Mae-stra, which also full service clinic that includes dental ser-vices located at Highland and Second Street in National City.

For a site tour or addition-al information, please contact Trisha Brereton at 619-318-2586. For more information on La Maestra Community Health Centers, visit www.la-maestra.org or Paradise Val-ley Hospital, visit www.para-disevalleyhospital.net.

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Hospital, health centers partner to offer services to N.C. public housing residents

“We have made many inroads with the community and felt that a pilot partnership with La Maestra would take us to the next level in coming full circle with community health needs.” Luis Leon CEO, Paradise Valley Hospital


By Henry EmpenoSpecial to the Filipino Press

SAN DIEGO — The top three awards of the 2010-12 Ameri-canism Essay Contest, “What Patriotism Means to Me” were announced by Fleet Reserve Association Branch 84 Presi-dent Manny Cabildo at the or-ganization’s monthly meeting this month.

Christine Hillman, a senior at Mater Dei Catholic High School grabbed the top award. The second and third con-testant winners are, respec-tively, Rochelle Manongdo, a

ninth-grader from Morse High School and Christie Lyn A. del Rosario, a senior at Mira Mesa High School.

FRA Branch 84 San Diego award levels are $250, $150, $100 for the first, second and third place respectively.

Top prize-winner Hillman’s essay is being forwarded to Fleet Reserve Association na-tional headquarters in Alexan-dria, Va., to compete with oth-er award entries from other FRA branches worldwide. The grand prize is a $10,000 U.S. Savings Bond.

The event is an opportuni-

ty for students to develop writ-ing skills and to be selected as a winner at the national lev-el to receive the savings bond, which can be used toward a college education.

The FRA and Branch 84 An-nual Essay Contest is open to all students grades 7-12 (in-cluding those who are home-schooled). Each entrant must be sponsored by a member of FRA Branch 84 or Ladies Aux-illary Unit 84 in good standing.

For more information about the contest or the organization, contact the branch secretary at (619) 421-2964.

JANUARY26 • CHULA VISTA/BONITA REPUBLICAN WOMEN’S LUNCHEONThe Chula Vista/Bonita Reppublican Women Federated invite you to their luncheon, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at the San Diego Country Club, 88 L St., in Chula Vista. Speaker: Steve Baldwin, former 77th District State Assemblyman, presently writer and researcher. Cost: $18. Reservations required five days in advance. For more information, call (619) 466-3494 or e-mail [email protected].

29 • NATIONAL CITY CHAMBER ANNUAL DINNERThe National City Chamber of Commerce will hold its Annual Dinner on Jan. 29. This an annual celebration inaugurates the incoming board of directors. It is also a great opportunity to network with city leaders, business owners and other chamber members. With raffle prizes, live auctions and entertainment, this night is sure to be filled with fun and excitement. Contact Jacqueline Reynoso at [email protected] for more information.

FEBRUARY5/23 • FREE TAx ASSISTANCE EVENT A free tax assitance event will be held at the Logan Heights Branch Library in partnership with Intuit Tax Freedom Project. Volunteers will be on site at 567 S. 28th Street in San Diego on Saturday, Feb. 5 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Wednesday, Feb. 23 from 1to 7 p.m. to help file your taxes for free if you qualify. For qualification information and Tto avoid waiting in line, call (866) 577-1231 to make a reservation, and mention that you are calling to reserve your spot for the Intuit Tax Freedom Project.

12 • FAPAC SOUTHWEST INDUCTION OF OFFICERS AND SHINDIg JAM SESSION FAPAC Southwest hosts the Shindig Jam Session and Couples Night following the induction of officers for 2011-12 at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12, at the Nationa City Middle School Auditorium, 1701 D Ave. Attire is smart casual. For tickets, contact Lorna at (619) 477-0940 or visit www.2011sjsgrandreunion.com.. Music by DJ Kristina. Hosted by SJS Batch '81.

17 • 17TH ANNUAL LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION 2011 | YEAR OF THE RABBITThe Asian Business Association of San Diego presents this annual event with the support of title sponsor Viejas, along with supporting sponsors SDG&E and Cox Communications, held this year from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the NTC Promenade at the McMillin Event Center, 287 Dewey Road in San Diego. ABA and partner members: $25; non-members: $30; at the door: $35.. Free parking. For more information, contact the ABA San Diego at [email protected]. The ABA San Diego is headquartered at 5675 Ruffin Road, Ste. 305, San Diego, CA 92123.

19 • SAN DIEgO CHINESE HISTORICAL MUSEUM 15TH ANNUAL BANqUET & ANNIVERSARYThe San Diego Chinese Historical Museum celebrates its fifteenth anniversary at its annual banquet at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at the Pearl Restaurant in Rancho Bernardo, 11666 Avena Place. The celebration features musical performances, a silent auction of exquisite antiques from Genghis Khan Furniture and a delectable, ten-course Chinese feast. Tickets are available for $60 or $120 for a front-row sponsor. You can also reserve your own table of 10 for $600 or a sponsor table for $1200. For more information or tickets, contact the museum at (619) 338-9888, via e-mail at [email protected] or visit the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum located at 404 Third Ave. in downtown San Diego.

28 • ASIAN AMERICAN VOTERS: THE TIPPINg POINT IN CALIFORNIA POLITICSThe Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment will host "Asian American Voters: The Tipping Point in California Politics," a luncheon discussion from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 28, at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Board Room, 350 Bixel St., in Los Angeles. The event will feature Prof. Jane Junn, research director for the USC/Los Angeles Times poll on the 2010 November election, who will talk about key findings in the study. Frank Stoltze, political reporter for KPCC, and Ron Wong, political strategist and president of Imprenta Communications Group, will also be present to comment on the results. Tickets are $15. Visit http://causeasianpollresults.eventbrite.com for more information.

APRIL30 • 27TH ANNUAL CHILDREN’S BOOK PARTYAttention parents and kids from grades K-12, you are invited to the 27th Annual Children’s Book Party. This fun and popular event is free and open to the public. It will feature entertainment, refreshments and each child will receive two free brand new books to call their own. The event will take place Saturday, April 30, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park. For more information or to volunteer, call Roosevelt Brown at (619) 266-4118 or (619) 804-7992.

MAY1 • SECOND ANNUAL ASIAN CULTURAL FESTIVALThis event will be held at the NTC Promenade at Liberty Station from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to celebrate the diversity of the Asian and Pacific Islander communities during Asian Heritage Month.Share the unique cultures with traditional and modern performances. The festival will include areas for a main stage, two performance areas, general retail and information vendors, food vendors, a Kid’s Play Zone and Health and Wellness Village. The Asian Cultural Festival is a free, family-oriented event. For more inforomation, e-mail Megia at [email protected] or you can visit www.AsianCulturalFestivalSD.com.

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.

Save the Date

CHULA VISTA — Palomar High School is once again on the list of Model Continuation High Schools in California.

With an enrollment of 441, Palomar High offers an al-ternative for students in the Sweetwater District who have struggled to achieve academic success in a traditional school environment.

“In the Sweetwater School District, we recognize that each child has potential,” said

Sweetwater School Board President John McCann. “Palomar High provides stu-dents with the help they need to stay in school. A highly qual-ified team of teachers, admin-istrators and counselors offer students daily encouragement and support to push beyond the obstacles.”

Statewide, there are 509 con-tinuation high schools. Each year, the California Depart-ment of Education reviews ap-plications from schools vying for model school status. Palo-mar was one of four San Diego County schools that made the 2011 Model Continuation High School list.

“The hard work, passion, and always placing the stu-dents first, is what makes the teachers and staff at Palomar a group of people who are here to change lives, “ said Palo-mar High Principal Grisel-da Delgado. “Being chosen as one of the 27 model schools

in the state means that we are making a difference in giving students hope to keep their dreams alive.”

Palomar High is the only continuation high school in the district. The school pre-pares students for success in college or the world or work by providing school-to-career education, intensive counsel-ing, individualized academ-ic support, a flexible morning and afternoon schedule, small-er classes and personalized at-tention.

A strong track record of success has allowed Palomar to earn Model Continuation High School status since 1992.

Palomar High recognized as Model Continuation SchoolSchool offers an alternative for students who struggle with academic achievement

FRA Branch 84 honors winnersof Americanism Essay Contest

“Palomar High provides students with the help they need to stay in school.”Sweetwater School Board President John McCann

Valedez is new S.D. City Council District 6 representative

SAN DIEGO — Joining San Diego Councilmem-ber Lorie Zapf’s District 6 staff is her newly appoint-ed Council Representative Elaine Valdez.

Valdez is an active lead-er within the Asian-Amer-ican community. Most re-cently she was with the National Asian American Coalition, formerly known as the Mabuhay Alliance. While there, she advocat-ed locally and nationally on small business issues, access to resources for mi-nority and small business communities as well as cross cultural awareness and understanding.

Valdez has a history of bringing divergent groups to the table to achieve con-sensus and will be respon-sible for outreach to the Asian-American commu-nity, Serra Mesa, Kearny Mesa and Mission Trails Park as well as working policy issues related to land use and small busi-ness.

Community&BusinessEvents

WASHINGTON — OCA, a national organization dedicat-ed to advancing the social, eco-nomic and political well-being of Asian Pacific Americans, is accepting applications for the OCA-AXA Achievement, OCA-UPS Gold Mountain and OCA-Verizon College scholarships. Each scholarship is valued at $2,000 and is nonrenewable. Applications for all scholar-ships are due by April 4.

“For over 10 years, OCA has been providing scholarship as-sistance to those with finan-cial need, who otherwise may not have the opportunity to at-tend college,” said Ken Lee, OCA national president. “OCA

is proud to be able to recognize students who have demon-strated a strong commitment to academic achievement and civil engagement.”

In order to be eligible for the OCA-UPS Gold Mountain and OCA-AXA scholarships, stu-dents must be a current Asian Pacific American high school senior entering their first year of college, demonstrate finan-cial need, be a permanent resi-dent or U.S. citizen and have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 or above (on a 4.0 scale).

The OCA-UPS Gold Moun-tain scholarship is intended for APA students who are the first person in their family to

attend an institution of high-er education. The OCA-AXA scholarship is geared for stu-dents who have dedicated time to community service and demonstrated leadership abil-ity.

Current undergraduates who are studying technical majors and are entering their third or fourth year in college may apply for the OCA-Veri-zon College scholarship. Ap-plications for the OCA-Veri-zon College Scholarships must be submitted online.

For more information, or to download the application, please visit www.ocanational.org.

Asian-American group now accepting scholarship applications for fall of 2011

FACC-Inland Empire Inaugural Event

Members and guests celebrate at the FACC-Inland Empire Inaugural Event launching the latest branch of the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 18 at goldilocks Bakery and Restaurant in Temecula. For more photos, visit the Filipino Press Facebook page.

API Caucus chair applauds merger of NBC, Comcast

SACRAMENTO — Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Chairman Warren T. Furutani praised the re-cent merger between Com-cast Corporation and NBC Universal.

The merger will result in a series of unprecedent-ed investments in the AAPI community, he said.

“I applaud the approv-al of this joint venture be-tween Comcast and NBCU that will enable landmark commitments set forth in the memorandum of under-standing they negotiated with key stakeholder groups in the AAPI community,” said Furutani.

The memorandum of un-derstanding was negotiated between Comcast and NBC Universal and the Asian Pa-cific American Media Co-alition and includes invest-ments such as expanding distribution of Asian-Amer-ican owned-and-operated and targeted programming, as well as launching a new video on demand offering called Cinema Asian Amer-ica as part of its standard digital package.

Alicia DeLeon-Torees


By Bill RamseyFilipino Press

NATIONAL CITY — The steaks were high, the rules were clear: Whichever four-man team representing the National City Fire and Po-lice Departments finished the most cheesesteaks in 30 minutes would take brag-ging rights — and perhaps a stomach ache — home from the first McGonagle’s Cheesesteak Challenge.

When the beefy carnage cleared, National City fire-fighers emerged victorious on Jan. 19, downing a col-lective 13 cheesesteaks ver-sus nine eaten by their ri-vals.

The two teams faced off for the challenge in the parking lot of Walmart on Highland Avenue across the street from the new Mc-Gonagle’s location. As a crowd and media gathered to view the competition, Na-tional City Mayor Ron Mor-

rison served sandwiches and kept score.

Billed as an opening event for the new National City McGonagle’s located at

1231 Highland Ave., which opened late last year, the challenge was concocted by McGonagle’s owner Brian McGonagle and Morrison.

McGonagle brothers Bri-an and David, both Philadel-phia natives, opened their first location at 2319 Reo Drive in San Diego in 2009.

Where’s the beef? National City firemen, police face-off at Cheesesteak Challenge

SAN DIEGO — A recent endorsement by U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-San Diego) to a petition from San Diego se-niors for an additional Met-ropolitan Transit System bus stop to resolve overcrowding of Route 3 due to the large volume of seniors who part-cipate in activities the West Senior Wellness Center has prompted the MTS to revue its service to the area.

In a reply to Filner, MTS CEO Paul Jablonski indicated the MTS would evaluate over-crowding on the route to de-termine if additional stops at Fifth Avenue and Fourth Av-enue would alleviate over-crowding.

“MTS has been looking at ways to address perfor-mance deficiencies on Route 3,” Jablonski wrote in a Nov. 16, 2010, response to Filner.

“Additional capacity between downtown and the Senior Wellness Center where the overcrowding is taking place is being evaluated to deter-mine if it will alleviate prob-lems. Other potential solu-tions include rescheduling of existing service, adjusting bus stops or some combination of these changes. We hope to implement a combination of measures in January.”

Among those petitioning MTS for a solution to the over-crowding were Cresencio R. Feria, Dencea Encarnacion, Connie Aycardo, Primitiva Antonio, Emerenciana Reyes, Caridad Carolino, Constanti-no Asuncion, Salvador Esquil-lo, Jose Fernandez Jr., Fran-cisco Ventigan and others.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders also endorsed the re-quest.

Filner endorsement yields MTS bus schedule revue

ated by these businesses. Fili-pinos make up more than half of the AAPI community in Cal-ifornia alone.

These figures show a shift in the type and trend of products and services that have helped stabilize the struggling U.S. economy. Silicon Valley also houses key business enterpris-es that drive innovative ideas, Locke said. Clean energy and health care technology were identified at the summit as promising industries that can be scaled globally for the U.S. economy. Federal funding has been appropriated to encour-age and support these innova-tive ideas.

While there are federal re-sources that may be available to AAPIs, the summit recog-nized that these resources may, at times, not reach small AAPI grass-roots entrepreneurs who need them the most. There are, for instance, cultural and lin-guistic barriers faced by the AAPI community as a whole in accessing federal loans and other programs to start or sus-tain their businesses.

Efforts are currently under way to ensure that AAPI com-munities will be able to access these services and resourc-es easily. Social entrepreneur-ship, as well as programs for the underserved, are issues that have not been commonly addressed in business gather-ings. The summit encouraged the AAPI community, par-ticularly small-business en-trepreneurs, to tap into these resources and engage them-selves in an active dialogue with federal officials.

The summit’s highlight was the presence of the President’s Advisory Board, which dis-cussed the various initiatives and resources to help business owners, financiers and bud-ding entrepreneurs. Panelists included senior White House economist Ronnie Chatterji, Small Business Administration Region IX Administrator Eliz-abeth Echols Deputy Assis-tant Treasury Secretary Don Graves.

In addition, the participants also engaged in interactive dis-cussions with specialists on the following topics:

• Financing the Next Amer-ican Start-up Companies, a workshop on federal opportu-nities focusing on Small Busi-ness Administration loan pro-grams that featured venture and private equity special-ists and small business owners who have taken advantage of federal funding options.

• government Contract-ing, a workshop on becoming a federal contractor.

• Exporting — Taking Your Business global, a workshop that introduced participants to the federal government’s do-mestic assistance programs, trade promotion and export fi-nance agencies.

• Clean Energy Technology, a workshop that discussed op-portunities and programs for this new and growing industry.

• Healthcare IT, a workshop on the new technology markets and job opportunities created in this growing field.

The summit concluded with reports from representatives of the office of the president fo-cusing on the administration’s thrust and strategy to support job growth, business develop-ment and improvement of the nation’s overall welfare.

Department of Commerce• www.commerce.govEntrepreneurship Resources • www.entrepreneurship.govExport Assistance• www.export.govNational Export Initiative• www.export.govExport-Import Bank of the United States• www.exim.govSmall Business Administration and the Small Business Jobs Act• www.sba.gov

Starting and Managing a BusinessLoans & GrantsContractingCounseling and TrainingInformation for Lenders

Department of Energy• www.energy.govRenewable Efficiency and Renewable Energy• www.eere.energy.govDepartment of Health and Human Services• www.hhs.govAdvancing a Culture of Innovation at HHS• www.hhs.gov/openCommunity Health Data Initiative• www.hhs.gov/open/datasets/communityhealthdata.htmlHealth IT• HealthIT.HHS.govFor information on current health IT programs and workforce training programs• healthit.hhs.gov/portallserver.pt/community/healthit hhs gOY hitech programs/1487Department of Treasury• www.treasury.govSmall Business Lending Fund• www.treasury.gov/resource-centerlsb-programs/PagesSmaIlBusiness-Lending-Fund.aspx• www.Challenge.gov is a site where the public and government can solve problems togetherThe White House• www.whitehouse.govOffice of Science and Technology Policy• www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostpEconomy• www.whitehouse.gov/issues/economyClean Energy• www.whitehouse.gov/issues/energy-and-environmentTechnology• www.whitehouse.gov/issues/technologyThe White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders• www.aapi.govFacebook• www.facebook.com/pages/White-Hollse-Tnitiative-on-Asian-Americans-and-PacificIslanders/116414408392302YouTube• www.youtube.com/user/WhiteHouseAAPITwitter• twitter.com/WhiteHouseAAPI

HELPFUL LINKSSUMMITContinued from Page 1

Bill Ramsey • Filipino Press

Above: National City firefighters cheer as National City Major Ron Morrison (left) announces the team’s victory over National City police officers at the Cheesesteak Challenge on Jan. 19 in the Walmart parking lot in National City. The firefighers consumed 13 cheesesteaks in 30 minutes, topping their opponents, who ate nine sandwiches. The event was sponsorsed by Mcgonagle's Authentic Philly Cheesesteaks, which opened its National City location in late 2010. Above right: Brian Mcgonagle mans the grill for the event.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-San Diego) an-nounced Jan. 19 that the Na-tional City Fire Department will receive $40,000 under a grant award from the U.S. De-partment of Homeland Securi-ty’s Federal Emergency Man-agement Agency.

“This is great news for fire protection in National City,” said Filner. “With tight bud-gets in every city right now, federal funding can go a long way to helping our cities meet the demands they face to strengthen vital emergency services.”

The Assistance to Firefight-ers Grant Program of the Fed-eral Emergency Management Agency and the Department of

Homeland Security is a compo-nent of the larger, coordinated effort to strengthen the nation’s overall level of preparedness and ability to respond to fire and related hazards.

The purpose of the AFG is to award grants directly to fire departments and emergency medical service organizations that are unaffiliated with a hos-pital to enhance their ability to protect the health and safety of the public, as well as that of first-responder personnel.

Using a competitive process that is overseen by fire service subject matter experts, AFG grants are awarded to appli-cants whose requests best ad-dress the priorities of the AFG Program.

National City Fire Departmentto receive $40,000 in grant from Homeland Security Dept.


I woke up early Tuesday morning and the first thing I did was to thank God for

keeping me safe through the night and for enabling me to wake up to a new day. I prayed for strength and wisdom as I faced the challenges and op-portunities that may come my way. I asked for God’s unfail-ing love and mercies for all my loved ones and friends and for His healing touch to those who are sick and infirm. Then I opened my Bible and I felt reassured by the message of Psalm 46, which says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”

God is a refuge from the ravages of earthquakes and floods. One’s spiritual life is also beset by “climate chang-es.” I am currently experienc-ing so many earthquakes in my life and floods of devastat-ing emotions, but I hold on to God’s assurance: “God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble.” Then God says, “Be still and know that I am God.”

Last year ended with the stark realization that my hus-band could no longer drive. That was earth-shaking for me. I’ve been so used to being driven whereever I would like to go for the past 55 years, but the time has come for him to give up this skill that he has been so good at since he was

14 years old. Although my chil-dren and friends assured me of their availability, we don’t want to impose on them. So we are learning to use the public transit. Others can, why can’t we?

I think it is a matter of changing our mind set. I re-ally need to pray hard for ac-cepting this change in my life.

A grandson, Jansen, is leaving for Japan to take on a new job. This is a new expe-rience for a closely knit fam-ily. A well-loved son going to a foreign land evoked a flood of

emotions.There is a numbing separation anxiety among the siblings and the whole fam-ily. We believe that God will be with Jansen as he embarks on a new career as a language teacher to Japanese students. A graduate of the University of California at Irvine, Jan-sen is very talented and is not wanting for jobs here, but he decided to go abroad — per-haps to broaden his horizons, to acquire new experiences, to be independent or to test his own capabilities away from his comfort zone. Whatever his motives, we wish him well.

My prayer: Almighty God to whom all desires are known, and with whom we live and move and have our being, grant us peace of mind as we let go of our worries and our fears. May we accept the changing seasons in our lives with se-renity and faith that You will never leave us nor forsake us. Teach us to trust you more, to abide in your love, and to rest in your care, as You are our refuge and strength. Be with our grandson as he trav-els across the seas. May your traveling mercies keep him safe and sound. All these we ask in the most precious name of Jesus, Amen.

Aurora Soriano-Cudal

My Personal Testimony

“Commit to the Lord what-ever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

—Proverbs 16:3

We are creatures of habit, aren’t we? Whether those habits

are beneficial to us — or even if we regret them time and again — we tend to repeat the same behaviors day after day:

• We light another cigarette, even though we just said yes-terday we want to quit.

• We eat the brownies, in our pantry even though we’re aiming to lose weight in the new year.

• We camp in front of the TV for hours most evenings, even though we want to be the kind of person that goes for walks and reads novels instead.

• We leave things laying where we last used them, even though we long for uncluttered surroundings.

• We buy a new Bible, figur-ing that will propel us to get in the Word more. Two weeks lat-er it sits on the shelf.

• We want to be the person God calls us to be, so we use January to make new year’s resolutions about how we’re going to change this year.

• We give voice to that long-ing in our hearts to be differ-ent — to be somehow better. And we decide to give a heart-felt go at changing.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, it’s a move in the right direction.

However, the Bible advises us to check our plans against the Lord’s and then ground our commitments in His truth and power in order to succeed. Remember this: For the Holy Spirit to facilitate God’s work and purposes in us, He must first (re)define our definition of reality and our priorities.

For example, say that you wish to spend time in God’s Word in 2011. Great — that’s

God’s will for you as well. For that to happen, your habits-must change. And for that to happen, your perception of re-ality must be redefined. I’m guessing you currently believe, and your current actions dem-onstrate, that you don’t have time to really pursue God like you want to. You’re convinced you’re too busy to join a Bible study or have a regular quiet time of prayer and Bible read-ing without quitting your job or neglecting your family in the process. But is that true?

“God has given everyone enough time to seek Him. It is there,” says Francis Fran-gipane. He continues, “Those who would find God, find time.”

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

—Ecclesiastes 3:1When a favorite TV show

comes on, we find time to watch. When a favorite store announces a big sale, we find time to go. When a friend wants to meet for coffee, we make time to meet her. We find or “make” time all the time! So rest assured that if you live a healthy, God-honoring life,

there is plenty of time there to grow in your knowledge of,and connection with your Creator.

It is true that in our busy lives we cannot do every-thing. But we can choose which things absolutely will get done. We can choose what to do first. And that’s precisely what the Bible tells us to do. Jesus calls His followers to seek first God’s kingdom and His righ-teousness, and then He prom-ises we will have all we need (Matthew 6:33). It is also true that our willpower is limited. Our dedication wanes. Our in-tentions are good but our fol-low-through is shaky. We don’t have what it takes to revolu-tionize our entire lives. But God does — and He lives in us.

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.”

—2 Peter 1:3You absolutely have time to

spend 10 or 20 minutes a day getting to know God and His promises for you in His Word. You also have the extra eight seconds it typically takes to put an item back in its place. Watch one less TV show a night and you'll have created time to read three or more books ev-ery month, and take a brisk walk after dinner. Seek God first — time after time — and you’ll even have the power you need to put down the brownies or cigarettes.

Danny Hernaez

From whom All Blessings Flow

Seek God first, time after time

God, our refuge and strength

SpiritualLife

It is true that in our busy lives we cannot do everything. But we can choose which things absolutely will get done. We can choose what to do first.

py and subdue your own de-sire to watch your favorite ball game.

Listen. Dialogue. Never ar-gue in front of your children.Better still, don’t argue. Two strong-willed and egotistic in-dividuals are like two-pointed swords crossing at each other. Somebody may get hurt.

Be generous and sincere with your compliments and with your apologies. And nev-er be sparing with your “thank you’s.” Most importantly, de-

plete your ego or pride and see your partner as an equal and responsible individual. Not do-ing so defeats the purpose of openness and reaching out.

Toward the end of the course, guided by the Holy Spirit, the couple is expect-ed to benefit from the process. They will see each other in a new light as a caring partner, a trusted friend, a lover, whose fervent feelings are the same as during courtship.

Many graduates have morphed into enthusiastic workers in the vineyard of the Lord and as core leaders of

parish life. They have formed so-called Catholic communi-ties that are empowered by the clergy to go and multiply and be fishers of men — and the weekend is a vast and fertile fishing ground.

In the Philippines, they come with such names as Cou-ples for Christ, Love Flock, Lord’s Flock, El Shaddai, Bu-kas Loob and later the Hearts of Jesus and Mary Prayer Community, where we belong.

The catchphrase couples pledge during the first day is, “Today is the first day of the rest of our life.”

ENCOUNTERContinued from Page 7

cretionary stakes, spook the financial markets and turn the region into a conflict zone. North Koreans often used the anniversary of the Pueb-lo’s capture to say the Unit-ed States should remember the “bitter lesson” of the ship, saying, “The incident was a product of the U.S. gangster-like policy of aggression,” the communist nation’s vitriolic statement read.

Today, the Pueblo is still held by North Korea. In Oc-tober 1999, it was towed from Wonson on the east coast, around the Korean peninsu-la to Nampo on the west coast. This required moving the ves-sel through international wa-ters. No attempt to recapture the Pueblo was made. This was done just before the vis-it of U.S. presidential envoy James Kelly to the capital Pyongyang.

The Pueblo now sits as a museum on the Taedong Riv-er. Often, tour groups are tak-en to the ship, which serves as a great propaganda tool of the North Korean’s military strength.

One do wonders if the fate of the USS Pueblo is even mentioned in any negotiat-ed settlements with Pyong-yang. It does seem likely that the U.S. government consid-

ers the Pueblo a low priority, compared to issues such as North Korea’s nuclear ambi-tions, human rights, its rela-tions with South Korea and its designation as a state spon-sor of terrorism by the Unit-ed States.

I truly believe the return of the Pueblo should be included in any arbitrations conducted with North Korea. The coura-geous men of the Pueblo were “abandoned” by the govern-ment in 1968, but by demand-ing the return of the ship it-self now would in effect show these brave Americans who gave 11 precious months of their lives for their country that their losses are not for-gotten. Unfortunately, I think

the sacrifices of these men are consigned to oblivion now by our country’s leadership as they were in 1968.

Incidentally, there was some extremely interesting news that came out of a U.S. court about three years ago: a federal judge has awarded more than $65 million to sev-eral men of the USS Pueb-lo who were tortured by the North Koreans. U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy, Jr. issued judgment against North Korea. The commu-nists, naturally, did not re-spond to the lawsuit, which accused the North Koreans of kidnapping, imprisonment and torture.

This is a large settlement, but I don’t think they have much chance of seeing any money, considering North Korea has little to no funds at all to confiscate. But the impact of the ruling on the U.S.-North Korean future talks could definitely be very thought-provoking.

Hopefully, winning the lawsuit helps heal (even just a little) the scars of what hap-pened to all of “Bucher’s Bas-tards.” I’m quite sure in many folks mind the officers and men of the USS Pueblo are authentic American patriots and genuine heroes who nev-er received total due recogni-tion they truly all deserve.

Remember the Pueblo!

PUEBLOContinued from Page 7

One’s spiritual life is also beset by “climate changes.” I am currently experiencing so many earthquakes in my life and floods of devastating emotions, but I hold on to God’s assurance: “God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble.” Then God says, “Be still and know that I am God.”

Today, the Pueblo is still held by North Korea. In October 1999, it was towed from Wonson on the east coast, around the Korean peninsula to Nampo on the west coast. This required moving the vessel through international waters. No attempt to recapture the Pueblo was made.


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approve of his purchase. Ka-bataan Party-list Rep. Ray-mond Palatino, who represents the youth in Congress, said that P-Noy was being insensitive to the plight of his people. In a statement he released to the media, Palatino said, “The sheer insensitivity of President Aquino is breathtaking. He burdens the people with tolls, fares and price hikes. He wants us to be calm about the increas-es as he delights himself with a luxury sports vehicle.”

Palatino hit the nail on the head when he said, “It would appear as though the president is very much deserving of re-laxation, while the people have to suffer from the increases. His display of wealth is a trou-bling reminder of the wide dis-parity between the rich and poor in the country.”

Critics also reminded P-Noy that, only last month, he is-sued a memorandum “prohib-iting all agencies from acquir-ing and using luxury vehicles for their operations, and to be more prudent in spending gov-ernment funds, especially in the acquisition of motor vehi-cles to maximize the utilization

of scarce government resourc-es.”

However, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacier-da was quick to defend P-Noy saying that he did not violate the memorandum because he used his own funds to purchase the Porsche. Huh? Mr. Lacier-da, you don’t get it, do you?

The real issueThe real issue is not wheth-

er P-Noy used his own funds to buy the car or not; it’s a question of appropriateness. Should the country’s lead-er live in pomp and splendor while the poor are suffering the pain of poverty and the gnaw-ing pang of hunger?

A Porsche symbolizes the lifestyle of the rich and power-ful class of our society. Driving fast sports cars while the poor are eating “pagpag” and scav-enging in garbage dump sites reminds me of the vainglorious Marie Antoinette when she told the French peasants to eat cake when she heard they didn’t have bread.

On a more serious note, there is the question of the car’s provenance. P-Noy claimed that he bought the “third-hand” Porsche Turbo 911Carrera for P4.5 million from his personal funds. However, according to

Manila columnist Ernesto M. Maceda, Porsche enthusiasts who hang out at Burgos Circle at Global City said, “that sec-ond-hand Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera would sell at P7.5 mil-lion, definitely not P4.5 million as President Noynoy claimed.”

Indeed, Maceda had sever-al unanswered questions: How much did P-Noy really pay for it? Or was it really a gift from some big, rich businessman friend? P-Noy should now re-veal who sold it to him and how he paid for it if he did, by check or in cash? Did he check if it was tax paid? Did it enter the country through the port of Manila, Cebu, Subic or Cagay-an CEZA? And, interestingly, Maceda added, “Chris Tiu, the biggest ‘importer’ of Porsche and other luxury cars through the Port of Cebu has been ap-pointed vice president for mar-keting of Pagcor. That’s a great

leap from car salesman to vice president for marketing of a P100-billion corporation.”

Coincidence?Facebook buzz

The buzz going around in Facebook is that P-Noy did not buy that Porsche, that it was a gift from an architect friend who would benefit from “cornered” government con-tracts. Now, what the hell does “cornered” mean?

While I tend to believe that P-Noy is fundamentally hon-est and incorruptible, things like this could cast a dark cloud over him, alternately casting a shadow of doubt on the “honest and incorruptible leader” that he projects himself to be.

The last thing P-Noy would want to happen early in his ad-ministration is to create the perception that he is no differ-ent from his corrupt predeces-sor. And, like his predecessor, once that perception is created in the people’s minds, it stays there for a long time.

Indeed, in politics, percep-tion is reality. You are what you are perceived to be.

Mr. President, please don’t let your people down.

E-mail Perry Diaz at [email protected]

PORSCHEContinued from Page 6 The real issue is not

whether P-Noy used his own funds to buy the car or not; it’s a question of appropriateness.


“I retired the live Minny Pacquiao at 23 episodes as a homage to the Michael Jor-dan Nike commercials that in-spired the sketches,” Esteban said in recent phone interview. “But Minny will live on with the help of Ricecooker Studios as an animated character.”

Life in Esteban’s post-Min-ny world is full — literally. He is calling from his home in North Hollywood where, he said, it was “just another day of Daddy day-care.”

Esteban and his wife Mere-dith have just welcomed their first daughter — a four-month-old bundle of joy for the Este-bans who signaled a change in direction for the Chicago-born actor.

“I’ve been acting and per-forming for 15 years, but par-enthood has really changed me for the better,” he said. “I’ve never been so focused. As an artist, my route seems clear.”

The major elements of clar-ity for Esteban are manifesting themselves in his current pro-fessional pursuits.

First in line is the success of “DeckTechs,” a romantic sci-ence-fiction comedy set in 2075 that is currently being shopped for a network deal. Esteban stars as Albert, the comic side-kick to Don, the show’s lead character played by Reece Thomas.

“It’s one of the best things I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. “The script and cast are great and I’m really excited about it.”

The second element is “Fight Club for One,” Este-ban's one-man show.

In the show, he said, we meet Minny, his father, Bruce Lee and a host of characters who influenced the young Es-teban.

“It’s a coming-of-age sto-ry through all the differ-ent fights and arguments I’ve been through, with an animat-ed Minny commenting on the sidelines,” he said.

“It’s been my dream to do a one-man show. We did it in Chicago, twice in Los Ange-les. Hopefully, we’ll bring it to San Diego. There’s a lot in the works.”

Comedy and acting come naturally for the 36-year-old Esteban.

Born and raised in Chica-go, a first-generation Filipino-American — his parents are both from the Philippines who met in Chicago in the 1970s — Esteban recalls growing up telling jokes at family gather-ings.

“My parents always encour-aged us to perform,” he re-called.

Esteban took that encour-agement to new level as a young man in the 1980s and ’90s, studying under Del Close, the legendary mentor to such Second City icons as John Be-lushi, Bill Murray and Mike Meyers at the famed Second City Comedy Club and the Im-provOlympic Theater.

“He was stern, but encour-aging and I learned a lot,” he said of his time under Close’s tutelage, who sadly died before Esteban got the chance to per-form with him — a rite of pas-sage for Close protégés. “He always stressed that reality serves you better than some-thing off the top of your head you think is clever. Minny Pac-quiao came from those roots.”

Esteban found he had a knack for creating characters and his Filipino heritage has served him well in the theater, where he found he could “play all different shades of brown — Filipino, Cuban, Mexican,” he said with a laugh.

Esteban studied political science in college, but the al-lure of the stage drew him away from a career in law.

“I was in pre-law and I love politics, but I really just want-ed to be on ‘L.A. Law,’” he said with a laugh.

His evolution as an actor be-gan in Chicago theater, where he honed his stage skills with performances at the Victory Gardens in “The Romance of

Magno Rubio.” He also wrote, composed, directed and per-formed in “NEO! A Matrix Musical,” which had success-ful runs at the Live Bait, the ImprovOlympic and the Jour-neymen Theatre. Esteban also worked at the Goodman, North-light, Collaboraction, Strawdog and Second City in Chicago.

“Whenever the opportuni-ty presented itself, I took it,” he said, “at the Improv and in acting classes, theater, com-mercials, corporate video, you name it — and that was just in Chicago.”

The work was coming in Chi-cago, but when a friend sug-gested he move to Los Angeles to further his career, Esteban knew that’s where he had to be.

Like his “Saturday Night Live” idol Eddie Murphy, Es-teban saw himself following in the footsteps of the great com-ic actor.

“I watched his rise to fame,” he said, “from ‘SNL’ to the movies and I was, like, ‘Wow — thats incredible.’”

After moving to Los Ange-les, the audition grind began as Esteban struggled to make a name for himself.

“I hadn’t booked anything, but I had a little money,” he said. “So, I bought a camera like a lot of performers were doing and began shooting com-edy sketches to post on You-Tube.”

A lifelong boxing fan, Es-teban had watched the rise of Manny Pacquiao and after the boxer’s victory over Oscar de la Hoya, his Filipino pride swelled. Minny Pacquiao was born.

“Everybody started watch-ing it,” he said. “I was sincere-ly surprised — and it wasn’t just Filipinos. But the moment I Velcroed my old Nikes to my knees, I knew Minny Pacquiao had potential to be the a hit.”

To date, the Minny videos have been viewed more than 170,000 times on YouTube and have since been collected on the website www.minnypac-quiao.com. The character’s Facebook page boasts more than 3,500 fans.

Esteban has even stood — or kneeled, as Minny — alongside his idol, filming the encounter for his final episode.

“It was a little surreal,” he said. “People were yell-ing ‘Minny, Minny.’ That kind of freaked me out, but Man-ny was really gracious about it and Freddie (Roach) was real-ly cool.”

The universal appeal of Pac-quiao brought Esteban a larg-er audience, but he now sees the rise of the Filipino-Ameri-can coming of age in the mov-ies, on TV and across the pop-culture landscape, just as such actors as Freddie Prinze paved the way for young Latin-Amer-ican comics and actors.

“I think for Asians, in gener-al, our time is coming,” he said. “I’d love to continue in that tra-dition, just like Freddie Prinze and all the people who influ-enced me. But when I started acting, I set out to become the actor who people would say, ‘Yeah, he’s Filipino, but he’s also a good actor.”

Esteban has visited but not performed in the Philippines.

“That’s on the ‘Bucket List,’” he said. “I want to do it really soon and take my daugh-ter. Visiting was a life-chang-ing experience. It’s a beautiful place.”

For now, Esteban is hard at work promoting “DeckTechs,” working on the national tour of his one-man show and oversee-ing the production of the Min-ny Pacquiao animated series.

Soon, Esteban hopes to take the show back to Chicago and then to San Diego. The actor has appeared here numerous times and remains fond of the city.

“We’re reworking a little bit of the show to include my ex-periences as a father” he said, “but there's just too much ma-terial.”

As his daughter cries out in the background, signaling an end to our interview, Esteban laughed and sighed, “There’s enough material for a whole other show.”

letes through contract negoti-ations and other hurdles.

“Athletes need profession-al representation for contract negotiations and we didn’t of-fer that,” said Navarro. “We had the other pieces in place, but we saw a need for the total package. Athletes had agents, lawyers, marketing and media people, merchandising and personal representation rep-resentatives, but they were all mostly individual agreements. We wanted to offer them an all-in-one agency.”

The “we” in Navarro’s new venture, All Pro Sports Group, added the crucial expertise of sports attorney Ethan Watts, a former Olympic and profes-sional volleyball player and Brigham Young University Hall-of-Famer who is certi-fied by the NFL Players Asso-ciation to represent athletes in the league; and Fred Amano, brother of NFL pro Eugene, an athlete himself and a pro-fessional scout who also pre-sides over his brother’s char-itable foundation.

“When Bo approached me about his idea of expanding into athlete representation, I jumped on the opportuni-ty,” said Watts. “Bo, Steve and Fred are very talented and knowledgeable guys and to-gether I think we make a for-midable team.”

The new, combined team was, as Navarro puts it, “in full recruit-mode by Decem-ber.”

The goal, he said, is to at-tract new athletes to the group, expanding beyond San Diego and Southern California, of-fering a turn-key service rep-resenting professional ath-letes in contract negotiations, sports marketing, endorse-ments and nonprofit manage-ment.

“We have 35 years of expe-rience collectively,” said Na-varro, 32, adding that Proline’s past experience, combined

with his new partners’ sports backgrounds and profession-al experience, offer potential clients a comfort level they don’t necessarily have when their representation is divid-ed among different individu-als and companies.

“They are great at what they do,” said Dombrowski, the former San Diego State University tackle who was signed by the Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2008. “Besides being my trust-ed guys here in San Diego, they’re good friends of mine. It’s not just a business part-nership with them. They truly care about me and continually remind me to increase my in-volvement in the community. Our next project is my celeb-rity football camp in Las Ve-gas, which they’ll be manag-ing. I’m confident they’ll do a great job.”

That job has changed, said Navarro.

“Social media changed ev-erything,” he said. “It’s no longer enough to simply put up a website. You have to be on top of all social media to ensure the athletes’ names are constantly out there. We real-

ly try to keep them involved in personally communicating with their fans. They all enjoy it and participate when their schedules allow.”

To that end, the APSG team spends significant time on-line, promoting existing and new clients through their own Facebook pages and Twit-ter accounts, as well as the group’s own Facebook page.

The new firm is competitive and aggressive, said Navar-ro, but, he added, “It’s not the stereotype of ‘Jerry Maguire.’ And it’s not all about marquee players. We do everything by the book and try to foster a positive attitude toward giving back to the community. For every ‘name’ player, there’s dozens of athletes who need attention and we devote as much time and effort to them as any client.”

As a proud Filipino-Ameri-can, Navarro also feels a duty to shine the spotlight on Fili-pino athletes in the United States and in the Philippines. The group already represents Amano, the Rancho Bernardo High School graduate who re-turns to the area frequently to encourage young athletes, and

has also provided consulting for Filipino icon and boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. Na-varro is also heavily involved in Gawad Kalinga, a nonprof-it organization that helps give back to the Philippines by building communities.

“We’re also working with the Philippine Sports Founda-tion and the Philippine Olym-pic Committee to support Fil-ipino-American athletes and Filipino athletes,” Navar-ro said. “Most athletes in the Philippines don’t suffer from a lack of talent, but a lack of resources. We want to help change that and hopefully bring Filipino athletes to the U.S. to train.”

With the regular football season now complete, Navarro said, his new company’s work is just beginning. In addition to their existing roster of tal-ent, APSG has signed such new clients as Donald Penn of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Chargers’ Craig “Buster” Davis, Jacob Bell of the St. Louis Rams, former Tennes-see Titan Jorge Cordova, for-mer Charger Vaughn Parker and SDSU defensive lineman Ernie Lawson.

SPORTSContinued from Page 1

All Pro Sports Group

ALL PRO SPORTS gROUP: (Left to right) Ethan Watts, Fred Amano, new client and SDSU defensive lineman Ernie Lawson, Bo Navarro and Steve Miller.

ESTEBANContinued from Page 1


Bill Ramsey • Filipino Press

Samahan dancers at Multicultural Festival

Dancers from the Samahan Filipino-American Performing Arts group enchant the crowd gathered Jan. 15 for the San Diego Multicultural Festival.

A&E ARTS • ENTERTAINMENT • SPORTS

Aira Luna follows dream of stardom

By Reyllen BangsalFilipino Press

They say your dreams are reflections of who you are. Dreams are

the driving force within us that keep us going to get to where we want to be some-day. For Aira Luna, a sing-er, comedian and actress, the dream is coming to life.

As a child, Luna discov-ered her love for singing and, as she grew older, de-veloped a talent for acting. It didn’t take very long be-fore she decided to chase her dreams.

She went to Guam and Japan to work as a singer. Luna also tried her luck in Manila, entertaining people in hotel lounges with her angelic voice.

In 1998, Luna got her break in Philippine show business landing starring roles in movies such as “Tatlong Puso” and “Iisang Pangarap,” to mention a few. The budding star also appeared in several soap operas on GMA Kapuso and released two singles with Kara Yama. Luna has also appeared on the ABS-CBN Kapamilya network and joined the prestigious Treble Music Philippines to hone her singing skills.

After five years in the Philippines, Luna moved to San Diego for good, where opportunities opened up for her showcasing her first love — singing.

In 2003, the sultry vo-calist launched her singing

career and has been per-forming in different loung-es, bars and restaurants all over California. When she’s not busy doing shows, Luna studies at Southwestern College to fulfill yet another dream: a bachelor’s degree.

Luna recently opened a three-show concert stand at Ben’s Bar & Restaurant in National City. The show opened Jan. 15 and contin-ues on Saturday, Feb. 12 and 24 with special guest Genesis Walcher (aka Pa-tricia Javier).

Luna promises lots of singing and laughs, cour-

tesy of her comic friends. Tickets are $20. Ben’s is lo-cated at 1615 Sweetwater Road. For more informa-tion, call (619) 474-9811.

You can catch the sing-er Fridays in February at Ben’s with special shows each month featuring dif-ferent guest artists per-forming with her.

Also in February, Luna will be releasing an album featuring her most request-ed songs.

To learn more about Luna or to book the sing-er, call (858) or e-mail [email protected].

San Diego singer honed stage skills in Philippines

Singer Aira Luna headlines upcoming shows on Saturday, Feb. 12 and 24 at Ben's Bar & Restaurant in National City.

LOS ANGELES — Most people would agree that Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lak-ers is one of the greatest NBA players of all time. But his rep-utation could have been tar-nished a bit after a Filipino busboy beat him in a basket-ball shootout.

Bryant was simply no match for the awesome skills of Ri-cardo Reyes in a mini-bas-ketball game of “Pop-a-Shot.” Bryant lost to Reyes, 82-58.

At one point in the shootout, with Reyes poised to outshoot him, Bryant deflected a shot off Reyes, but this did not pre-vent the Filipino busboy from winning the game.

Reyes went home driving a new car, leaving Bryant eating his dust, so to speak, wonder-ing how he lost.

Bryant, who has won Most Valuable Player honors both for the NBA season and the fi-nals, showed up recently on “Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night” to compete with Reyes, who has already earned a rep-utation as a “Pop-A-Shot” master. Reyes, who works as a busboy at Barney’s Beanery in Los Angeles, began playing the game 10 years ago. Kim-mel discovered Reyes and brought him on the show.

After routing Bryant, a sur-prised Reyes was handed the keys to a Ford Mustang by Kimmel. — Philippine Star

Fil-Am busboy outshoots Bryant

HOLLYWOOD — Fil-Am actor Edwin Bravo goes head-to-head with Academy Award-winning actress Kathy Bates in the premiere episode of NBC’s new series, “Harry’s Law,” which debuted on Jan. 17.

The new series was creat-ed by award-winning writer/producer David E. Kelley and follows attorney Harriet Korn (Bates), who, at the top of her game and bored to tears, quits her cushy job to find a whole new way of life. In the pre-

miere epi-sode, Bra-vo walks in to Harri-et’s office a street thug, but ends up needing her legal advice.

Bravo was thrilled at the chance to work on the series premiere epi-sode, especially alongside such talent.

“Working with Kathy Bates

was the biggest honor of my young acting career,” he said. “She was so unbelievably gra-cious and kind. Whatever doubts I had about my acting were put to rest when I worked with her. I owe her so much for that confidence.”

Bravo can also be seen as a member of the biker gang ‘The Wrecking Crew’ and attempt-ing to break out of prison in the second episode of Nickelode-on’s new live-action comedy series, “Supah Ninjas.”

Bravo joins Kathy Bates in premiere of ‘Harry's Law’

Edwin Bravo


Special to the Filipino Press

SAN DIEGO — Looking for the ultimate steakhouse desti-nation in San Diego? Look no further than Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.

Nationally renowned for its prime beef and steakhouse fare, Fleming’s is offers a styl-ish, lively and memorable din-ing experience for food and wine lovers.

Celebrated for its award-winning Fleming’s 100 wine program — which features 100 wines-by-the-glass — Flem-ing’s was founded on the prem-ise that a steakhouse can be so-phisticated yet comfortable and not overpriced.

Fleming’s offers an engag-ing abmience and lively envi-ronment where one can enjoy great food and a broad selec-

tion of fine wine completment-ed by attentive and knowledge-able service.

Fleming’s features USDA Prime corn-fed beef, aged to perfection and hand-cut. The restaurants two San Diego lo-cations offer a wide selection of sizes and cuts, ranging from the eight-ounce Petite Filet Mi-gnon to the 40-ounce Porter-house for two guests. All steaks are seared at extremely high temperatures on gas broilers to seal in the beef's natural juices and flavors.

While prime beef reigns su-preme at Fleming’s, other fla-vorful dishes offered include daily feature selections of fresh seafood, salads and tasty appe-tizers. Critically acclaimed for its simple fare, the restaurant serves fresh vegetables fami-ly-style. Among the selections are four different potato prep-arations. Tempting desserts made from scratch daily in-clude the Chocolate Lava Cake and Créme Brulée.

Through March 29, Flem-ing’s is offering its Winter Prix

Fixe Menu — three tantaliz-ing courses for $39.95 created by executive chef Russell Skall and designed to cure the winter blues with bold and flavorful of-ferings, including the choice of an appetizer, two entrees and dessert.

The Fleming’s 100 wine pro-gram is truly a point of differ-entiation and an integral part of the dining experience at Flem-ing’s. Each year, wine director Marian Jansen op de Haar se-lects a majority of the wines to appear on Fleming’s wine lists throughout the country. The other wines on the list are se-lected in conjunction with lo-cal wine managers to reflect re-gional tastes.

This year’s collection ac-knowledges the pleasure of dis-covering a great wine at a great value and features 30 wines available for $10 a glass or less. The wine lists are compirsed of boutique wines as well as well-known labels from throughout the U.S. and the world. Special two-ounce wine-tasting pours are offered as wine flights to as-sist diners in finding the per-fect wine to compement their culinary choice. These are

served in the attractive wine vine. The Reserve List includes more than 80 limited-availabil-ity wines offered only the bottle from internationally renowned wineries.

Fleming’s has also intro-duced a new way to make a memorable start to the evening with its “5 for 6 ’til 7” bar menu. The menu offers five premium coctails, five award-winning wines-by-the-glass and five sig-nature appetizers — all priced at $6 each and available until 7 p.m. seven nights a week.

Since launching in 1998 in Newport Beach, Fleming's has earned more than 100 pres-tigious awards from Nation's Restaurant Magazine, Food & Wine, Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast.

Fleming's two San Diego lo-cations — at 380 K St. down-town, (619) 237-1155; and 8970 University Center Lane in La Jolla, (858) 535-0078 — are open for dinner seven days a week (with the exception of Thanksgiving Day and Christ-mas Day).

For more information, vis-it www.FlemingsSteakhouse.com.

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Fleming’s fine for steak and wineDINING OUT

SAN DIEGO — Dust off those leg warmers, big shoul-der pads and headbands as they will be back in style for one night only at Barona Re-sort & Casino’s inaugural “To-tally 80s” Power Party.

Club Barona members have a chance to win $500 in my-FREEPLAY that will be given away throughout the night for a total of $50,000 in cash give-aways.

The first of the monthly Fri-day Power Parties takes off at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 28, in a

casino-wide celebration fea-turing iconic Oingo Boingo tribute band Dead Man’s Par-ty, performing hits from the 1980s on the Hayloft stage and classic 80s music videos showing throughout the casi-no. Guests are totally encour-aged to come dressed in their 80s best.

From 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 28, through 2 a.m. on Satur-day, Jan. 29, 100 Club Bar-ona members playing at a ma-chine or table game with their Club Barona Card are eligible

to win $500 in myFREEPLAY every five minutes with the last four winners announced at 2 a.m.

“We’re looking forward to our valued Club Barona mem-bers winning a total of $50,000 at our awesome Power Party,” said Maylette Garces, execu-tive director of casino market-ing at Barona Resort & Casi-no. “Paying tribute to one of our most fun decades by giv-ing away $500 every five min-utes will create fun memories for all of our guests.”

Get ‘Back to the Future’ at Barona


In the time of Emily Post, perhaps the most fa-mous keeper of social

code and decorum, men wore vests and women wore floor-length skirts on a regular ba-sis. Though the days of dance cards and fan language are practically extinct, our mod-ern times have brought about modern etiquette. The use of technology and social media, in particular, has created new sets of rules. Here are some tips, so you don’t get caught making some of the most of-fensive (and, let’s face it, an-noying) social media faux pas.

E-mail• Forwarding. Spam may be

delicious with fried rice and eggs for breakfast, but there’s nothing appetizing about spam e-mail, especially the kind that may contain viruses. Think wisely before forward-ing mass messages. Viruses can be hidden within e-mails containing jokes, health tips — even stories that challenge, even threaten, your religious faith. Just as you wouldn’t want to be held responsible for spreading the flu, don’t take a chance in forwarding questionable, possibly virus-laden email.

• CC-ing. Keeping others in the know by CC-ing them on e-mails can be a thought-ful gesture, but you should re-spect others’ privacy. Use the BCC (blind carbon copy) fea-ture when appropriate. Treat someone’s e-mail address the way you would a phone num-ber and only pass it on with permission.

• This is not a text. Wheth-er business or personal, an e-mail should still remain respectful and easily under-standable. Just because it is not a handwritten message doesn’t mean it should read in a code more suitable for texts. Correctly spelled, punctuated and tactful e-mails (no matter how short) show respect for both the recipient and your education/intelligence.

Texting• What is this, a tennis

match? If you’re served a message, you don’t always have to hit back. Having the last word just to have the last word is a habit that only dis-plays someone’s need for pow-er — or lack of something bet-ter to do. If you find yourself having to go back and forth more than twice, perhaps a phone call would make for more effective, clear commu-nication and a more efficient use of time.

• Friends don’t let friends text and drive … EVER. Many car accidents occur because of poor, split-second decisions. Causing an accident because you were too busy texting (even if only for a moment) does not make for a good ex-cuse or strong defense in a courtroom. There was life be-fore cell phones. Messages can wait.

• This is not a masquerade.

With texting comes a certain level of trust and respect. Text from your phone only, or sign your name at the end of a text made from someone else’s cell. If you are not clear and honest about whom the send-er or intended recipient is you may find yourself in a poten-tially embarrassing comedy of errors.

Social networks• Status updates and

tweets. Leave the emotional rants for the young. You’re an adult. Act like one. Also, con-sider your level of safety when saying where you are and for how long you’ll be there. Say-ing you are home alone (young ladies, especially) or that your family will be out of town (thus leaving an empty house) can invite criminals and mis-chief.

• Tagging photos and vid-eos. Private matters do not warrant public display. What is funny to you, may be terri-bly embarrassing, even con-demning, to someone else. Consider who and when you tag photos and videos. Friends will appreciate you keep-ing them in the most flatter-ing light. Also, using some-one else’s online popularity by tagging them when they have nothing to do with a certain image or video is not respect-ful. There are other effective ways of spreading your news.

• Uh, oh … You’ve been hacked. Has a random post (supposedly made by you) ap-peared on your friends’ pag-es? It is possible that you have been hacked. Immediate-

ly change your password and let your friends know to ig-nore the message (which may contain viruses and, many times, obscene graphics and language). If you receive a post or message from a friend that looks uncharacteristic of them, let them know ASAP.

Facebook Shout-OutsThis week, I asked Pam-

pered Pinay Facebook Friends, “What etiquette faux pas bugs you the most?”

Pampered Pinay fan Diana Alcausin of Chicago answered, “When people complain about THE MONDAYS!!! … and the DUCK FACE!!”

Pampered Pinay fan Jona-than Cathèll-Williams of Man-chester, Conn., answered, “When San Diego people brag about the weather through so-cial media sites.”

I agree about the duck face, Diana. Jon, I hope you stay safe through those east coast snowstorms. Thanks for your responses, my pampered friends!

• Wanna keep in touch and join in on fun weekly chats with other Pampered Pinay fans? Simply check out www.Face-book.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].

Francine Maigue

Pampered Pinay

The rules of tech-iquette

Filipino Press | Jan. 22-28, 2011

Documents

Transcript of Filipino Press | Jan. 22-28, 2011