MM I D W E E K

E D I T I O N w w w . a s i a n j o u r n a l . c o m

1210 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91204

w w w . a j d i g i t a l e d i t i o n . c o m

Tels: 818.502.0651 • 213.250.9797 • Fax: 818.502.0858 • 213.481.0854Also published in: • Orange County/Inland Empire • Northern California • Las Vegas • New York/ New Jersey

Th e F i l i p i n o–Am e r i cA n co m m u n i T y ne ws pA p e r

L o s A n g e L e s

Volume 26 - No. 24 • 3 Sections - 20 Pages

March 23-25, 2016

MM I D W E E K

E D I T I O N w w w . a s i a n j o u r n a l . c o m

1210 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91204

w w w . a j d i g i t a l e d i t i o n . c o m

Tels: 818.502.0651 • 213.250.9797 • Fax: 818.502.0858 • 213.481.0854Also published in: • Orange County/Inland Empire • Northern California • Las Vegas • New York/ New Jersey

DATELINEUSAfrom the AJPress NEWS TEAM AcroSS AMEricA

THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY MARCH 24-30

1

w w w . i s l a n d p a c i f i c m a r k e t . c o m

Spring Sulit Savings! Opening Soon in Cerritos &Rancho Cucamonga!

Beef Shoulder Clod

WAS

$4.99SAVINGS

49%

$299/lb

Presyong Sulit!

Pork Spare Ribs

WAS

$2.59SAVINGS

23%

$199/lb

Presyong Sulit!

Jumbo White Shrimp H/L

WAS

$7.99SAVINGS

13%

$699/lb

Presyong Sulit!

Presyong Sulit!

Happ� Easter!

the Philippines and the United states on saturday, march 19, announced five loca-tions where American forces will have ac-cess under the enhanced Defense Coopera-tion Agreement (eDCA), including one facing disputed islands in the south China sea.

the announcement came after strategic talks in Washington, where the allies reit-erated their opposition to militarization of outposts in the south China sea, where six Asian countries have competing claims.

China has built artificial islands with air-strips and military facilities as it asserts its claim to virtually all of the south China sea, including islands and reefs claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, malaysia, Vietnam and taiwan.

the two sides also announced the pros-pect of “significant” Us funding for mari-time security initiatives in the Philippines, support that comes as manila pursues ef-forts to boost its external defense.

US, PH agree on 5 base locations under EDCA

US supplies, troops coming as Edca starts

mANILA – this time around, the candidates on sunday, march 20, pulled no punches as they resorted to name-calling and dragging family members in the fray as they tore at their rivals in a heated televised de-bate.

the second leg of the Pili-Pinas Debates 2016 debate in Cebu City was delayed for more than an hour reportedly over the insistence of Vice President Jejomar Binay to bring docu-ments to the event, which was strongly opposed by adminis-

Presidential candidates (from left) Vice President Jejomar Binay, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Sen. Grace Poe and former DILG chief Mar Roxas take the stage for the second round of the ‘PiliPinas Debates 2016’ at the Performing Arts Hall of the University of the Philippines campus in Cebu City. Photo by Kriz John Rosales

mANILA — the Bangladeshi government has re-jected an offer from a local money remittance com-pany to return the more than P10 million it earned in handling the $81 million stolen from its central bank and which found its way to rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (rCBC).

“Bangladesh has rejected the offer. of course they are not interested in the P10 million. they are interest-ed in recovering the $81 million,” sen. serge osmeña III said monday, march 21, in a television interview.

At thursday’s senate Blue ribbon Committee hear-ing on the money laundering scandal, Philippine re-

Bangladesh rejects Philrem’s P10-M restitution offer

Philippine Remittance Co. (Philrem) owner Salud Bautista said they would return the entire amount they earned to the ambassador of Bangladesh to Manila.

PH presidential candidates face off in 2nd debate

Candidates come out swinging in Cebutration candidate manuel roxas II.

roxas and the other candi-dates, sen. Grace Poe and Davao City mayor rodrigo Duterte, re-mained standing at the podium for over an hour waiting for the decision of the Commission on elections (Comelec) on whether to allow Binay to bring his docu-ments to the stage.

the debate, held at the Uni-versity of the Philippines cam-pus in Cebu City, resumed after a lengthy clarification was made disallowing Binay to bring any document to the podium.

Before the debates began, Binay explained to the audi-ence that he wanted to present

a waiver on his bank accounts that he signed to prove he was for transparency, challenging Duterte to sign the same docu-ment.

Duterte was about to sign the waiver but they were stopped by debate moderator Luchie Cruz-Valdes of tV5.

First salvoPoe fired the first salvo against

Binay on the issue of the failure of the administration to pass the freedom of Information (foI) Bill, a campaign promise of President Aquino.

“With all due respect mr. Vice President, there’re many ques-tions that you did not answer in

DIGos CItY—sen. francis es-cudero on monday, march 21, said politicians should stay away from the investigation of the $81-million money-laundering scan-dal as their participation could bring more harm than good.

“today is election season and many senators, especially those running [for reelection] are join-ing the investigation. We (Poe’s camp) have not dipped our fin-gers into it because we believe

Senator Franchis “Chiz” Escudero. inquirer.net file photo

Politicians urged to stay away from Senate probe on money laundering

UNIteD Nationalist Alliance (UNA) stan-dard bearer Vice President Jejomar Binay dared his rivals anew to sign their respective general waivers and voluntarily submit them-selves to lifestyle and performance checks to find out who among them is hiding anything.

In particular, Binay challenged other candi-dates to sign a waiver for the Anti-money Laun-dering Council (AmLC) to check their bank ac-counts and those of their closest of kin.

“hinihimok ko sila na kami ay magkaisa na pumirma sa isang general waiver na ganito (i am challenging them to sign a general waiv-er). Voluntarily submit ourselves to a lifestyle and government service performance check in accordance with law. Kasama dito ‘yong accounts ng asawa, kung may asawa, my children’s name, and my children’s children’s name (This should include the bank accounts of spouses, their children and children’s chil-dren),” Binay said in a press conference in Cebu City, where the second presidential de-

VP to rivals: Sign bank waivers

that we should not wash our dirty linen in public,” escudero told reporters here.

the senate blue ribbon com-mittee is looking into the $81 million stolen by hackers from the account of the Bangladesh central bank in the Us federal reserve Bank of New York.

the funds were sent to rizal Commercial Banking Corp., de-posited in five accounts, convert-ed into pesos, transferred into casinos and finally moved out of the Philippines.

uPAGE A2

uPAGE A2 uPAGE A3

uPAGE A3

uPAGE A3

by Tarra QuismundoInquirer.net

by Paolo romeroand alexis romero

Philstar.com

by Jess diazPhilstar.com

by allan nawalInquirer.net

by Joel m. sy egcoManilaTimes.net

the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) outreach director for Democratic candidate hillary Clinton has left the campaign.

Lisa Changadveja, who was first appointed outreach director last August, is moving to Colorado to take a position with the Demo-cratic Party, Clinton campaign spokeswoman Xochitl hinojosa told NBC News.

“the campaign is expected to announce a new director of AAPI outreach very soon,” hi-nojosa added.

Changadveja, who first joined Clinton’s campaign team in 2007 during her first presi-dential bid, broke the news in an email first dated march 18, according to reuters.

the resignation comes two months after the Clinton campaign formed an AAPI leadership council, comprised of more than 150 elected

AAPI director leaves Clinton campaign

uPAGE A5

uPAGE A4

PresIDeNt Barack obama became the first sitting Us president since 1928 to visit Cuba when he landed on the island nation for a three-day visit on sunday, march 20.

“this is a historic visit, and it’s a historic opportunity to engage with the Cuban peo-ple,” obama said, according to the Associ-ated Press (AP).

on monday, march 21, in an unexpected moment, obama and Cuban President raul Castro held a joint press conference, a rarity in a country where media is subject to strin-gent state control.

the United states severed diplomatic ties with Cuba in 1961 and imposed a trade em-bargo after the country’s former president, fidel Castro, led a revolution that incited fears of communism spreading to the West-

Obama meets with Cuban Pres. Castro in ‘historic’ visit

MARCH 23-25, 2016 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797A�

From the Front Page

EDUCATION WOES. Parents, teachers, and students from Manila Science High School on Monday asked the Supreme Court to expedite the proceedings on their petition to nullify the K-12 program, or else many teachers and education personnel will lose their jobs and students will be forced to quit school because they cannot afford an additional years of senior high school. In their motion to expedite proceedings, they urged the high court to issue a ruling before the start of the school year, otherwise senior high school will be forced to attend two additional years of senior high school. Inquirer.net photo

Ensuring strategic American presence in each of the Philip-pines’ island groups, Manila and Washington announced that they had agreed to use four air bases and one military reservation for deployment of US forces under the Edca.

One of the bases where US forces will have access is in Min-danao, where the United States is concerned about the presence of Muslim extremist groups.

Five locationsThe locations are at Antonio

Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princ-esa, western Palawan, which faces the hotly contested Spratly islands in the South China Sea; Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro, southern Mindanao; Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pam-panga province; Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province, used in joint Philippine-US military exer-cises, and Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu.

Notably out of the list are the two former US bases in the Phil-

ippines: Clark Air Base in Pam-panga and Subic Naval Base in Olongapo City, Zambales prov-ince, where US military ships dock every year on routine visits.

Subic is closest to Panatag Shoal (international name: Scar-borough Shoal), 230 kilometers west of Zambales, where the United States has seen Chinese activity that could be a precursor to more land reclamation in the South China Sea.

China seized the shoal in 2012 after a two-month standoff be-tween Chinese and Philippine vessels.

It was the incident that forced the Philippines to bring its ter-ritorial dispute with China to the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in January 2013, asking the tribunal to invalidate China’s claim to al-most all of the 3.5-million-square-kilometer South China Sea.

Reporting the Chinese activity at Panatag Shoal on Thursday, Adm. John Richardson, head of US naval operations, expressed

concern that a ruling on the case expected in coming weeks could trigger a Beijing decision to de-clare an exclusion zone in the South China Sea.

Richardson said the United States was weighing responses to such a move by China.

Call for restraintIn a joint statement issued

after the annual US-Philippine Strategic Dialogue in Washing-ton, Washington and Manila called for restraint among parties in the South China Sea dispute, saying claims should be pursued in compliance with international law.

“Both sides expressed their firm opposition to the ongoing militarization of outposts in the South China Sea and discussed their common view that the in-stallation of new military assets on the outposts escalates ten-sions,” the statement said, refer-ring to China’s deployment of fighter jets, surface-to-air mis-siles and installation of radars on

US, PH agree on 5 base locations under…

uPAGE A3

PAGE A1 t

mittance Co. (Philrem) owner Salud Bautista said they would return the entire amount they earned to the ambassador of Bangladesh to Manila.

“We will prepare a check. It will represent every centavo our company earned from this series of transactions. We will be re-turning P10,474,654,” she said.

She apologized for her compa-ny’s involvement in handling the stolen funds. It was “unintend-ed,” she said.

The $81 million allegedly sto-len by Chinese hackers was trans-ferred to four accounts in RCBC-Jupiter (Makati) branch, then to an account supposedly owned by businessman William So Go, then to Philrem, which delivered the bulk of the funds in pesos to Solaire Resort and Casino and Eastern Hawaii Leisure Co.

Go has denied owning the ac-count.

Businessman Kim Wong re-portedly owns Eastern Hawaii, a casino junket operator which operates in the Cagayan special economic zone. Sen. Juan Ponce

Enrile, who is from Cagayan, au-thored the law creating the free port.

According to his lawyer, Wong is willing to appear before sena-tors after he returns from Singa-pore, where he is supposedly un-dergoing medical treatment.

Osmeña said the money-laun-dering trail ended at the casinos.

“It’s very hard to trace the funds and recover them,” he said.

Aside from Solaire, there were reports that part of the funds founds its way to two other casi-nos – City of Dreams and Midas Hotel and Casino.

“At this point, we have no proof that Philrem was in on the money laundering scheme,” nor is there showing that Go “is a major character” in the contro-versy, Osmeña said.

Based on the testimony by RCBC-Jupiter branch manager Maia Santos-Deguito before senators in a closed-door hear-ing last Thursday, she said it was Wong who “referred” Philrem to her.

Bautista has testified that they received instructions from Degui-

to on how much to exchange in pesos and to withdraw in dollars, and to whom the funds would be delivered.

Osmeña said Weikang Xu, to whom Bautista claimed they had delivered P600 million and $18 million in cash at Solaire between Feb. 5 and 13, “is not a junket operator but a mere gambler.”

“We are now looking for this guy,” he said.

Most credibleOsmeña also said senators

have found Deguito to be cred-ible and her story as most likely the truth.

“Deguito’s story is closer to the truth. We believe most of the things she told us. She came across rather well,” Osmeña told ABS-CBN News Channel yester-day.

Deguito has consistently re-fused to answer questions from senators in public, saying any reply she gave might incriminate her. She promised the committee to tell all in an executive session.

Osmeña said the branch man-ager’s statements jibed with the

Bangladesh rejects Philrem’s P10-M…PAGE A1 t

uPAGE A4

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 23-25, 2016 A�From the Front Page

HOLY WEEK TRADITION. A priest blesses the palm fronds of devotees at Lourdes Grotto in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, on Palm Sunday, March 20. ManilaTimes.net photo by Ruy Martinez

the Senate. How can you make us believe that you’ll support the true FOI Bill?” Poe asked Binay, referring to the corruption al-legations against the Vice Presi-dent that was investigated by the Senate.

Poe also took potshots at Rox-as, saying the administration was not really supporting the FOI bill.

The debates heated up when Binay raised the issue of Poe’s citizenship, citing the recent Su-preme Court ruling on her citi-zenship issue.

“Are you a true Filipino? You’re ashamed to be a Filipino!” Binay asked Poe and went on to read the oath of allegiance for new US citizens.

“The oath of allegiance says ‘I abjure’– that means I’m ashamed of where I come from. I’m ashamed of being a Filipino,” he said.

Poe shot back saying Binay was insulting overseas Filipino work-ers and referred again to the cor-ruption allegations against him.

“Did I say that you pocketed funds? All I said was it’s better to leave and work honorably rather than to rely on your parents or steal,” Poe blurted out.

The candidates were so bent in demolishing their rivals that they veered away from the issues at hand.

Binay ended up being pounded by his rivals on the allegations of corruption.

Roxas, on the other hand, was pummeled for his supposed fail-ures and corruption while he was secretary of the Departments of the Interior and Local Govern-ment and Transportation and Communications.

While discussing energy secu-rity, Binay scoffed at Roxas’ plan to ensure stable power supply, saying the administration candi-date was incapable of being de-cisive.

“Mr. Roxas was guilty of pa-ralysis by analysis. He can never make a decision,” Binay said and went on to accuse his rival of stealing in connection with an MRT contract.

“You really are a disciple of Goebbels,” Binay said, referring to Josef Goebbels, the propagan-da minister of Adolf Hitler.

Roxas shot back and defended his “clear, effective and accom-plished track record that helped

our countrymen.”“I don’t really move when it

comes to stealing,” Roxas said.Duterte steered the issue back

to energy, saying “nothing can be achieved by just talking here.”

At one point, Duterte kidded Roxas, who made a lengthy pre-sentation of his program, for pla-giarizing his platform.

Roxas also hit Binay for his “convoluted thinking” on the latter’s proposal to exempt indi-viduals earning P30,000 a month from income tax.

Poe also hit the administration for persecuting its political oppo-nents while rewarding its allies, particularly those with the ruling Liberal Party.

Roxas, however, pointed out that many LP members have been charged.

Roxas also chided Duterte for mouthing his anti-crime stance when Davao City has a high crime rate, particularly drug cases.

“Those crime statistics are malicious, listing all violations of law…urinating in public goes into those statistics,” Duterte re-plied, adding Roxas should be blamed for the rising criminality in the country during his stint as DILG chief.

“You’re a fraud, even claiming that you graduated from Wharton when you did not…the problem is you’re afraid to die and kill. If you can’t do that, look for anoth-er job,” Duterte told Roxas.

Roxas countered that Wharton School in the US issued a certifi-cation that he had indeed gradu-

ated from there.Haunted by issuesAll the four presidential candi-

dates were haunted by the con-troversies linked to them during the fireworks-filled debate.

Candidates veered away from the issues raised by panelists to take a jab at their rivals during the intense nearly three-hour debate organized by The Star, TV5, BusinessWorld and Bloom-berg Philippines under the Com-elec.

The mudslinging started after Binay said he would follow the rule of law in the event that his son, former Makati Mayor Jun-jun Binay, is convicted for cor-ruption.

“Whatever will be the deci-sion, we will follow. We must be a government with a rule of law,” Binay said.

Poe, however, pointed out that someone seeking the presidency should also follow the rules of the debate, alluding to the earlier discussions on Binay’s insistence on bringing documents.

“It would be a good signal from those who are for rule of law if they respect the rules of the de-bate,” Poe said, adding that Bi-nay should have attended the Senate hearings on the corrup-tion charges against him.

Poe’s statement did not sit well with Binay, who hit back at the senator by bringing up the con-troversy surrounding the sena-tor’s citizenship. (With Christina Mendez, Helen Flores, Robertz-on Ramirez)

PH presidential candidates face off…

STANDEES. Backdrop of presidential candidates’ standees show majority of students’ votes. The leading candidates are Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Students from the University of the Philippines Cebu and other schools in the province participated in various programs on the UP Cebu grounds in preparation for the presidential debates. While waiting for the debate proper, students engaged in activities such as mock polls, held symposia and even played an election gaming app. Philstar.com photo by Rosette Adel

PAGE A1 t

Investigators don’t know where the funds went overseas.

The blue ribbon committee is chaired by Sen. Teofisto Guin-gona III, a reelectionist.

Other reelectionist sena-tors who took part in the two hearings the committee on the money-laundering case recently conducted so far were Senators Sergio Osmeña III, Ralph Recto and Vicente Sotto III.

Escudero, running mate of Sen. Grace Poe, said the Bangko Sen-tral ng Pilipinas and the Anti-Mon-ey Laundering Council (AMLC) were capable of conducting the

investigation, which is why politi-cians should stay away from it.

“The central bank and AMLC should be left to investigate the issue on their own because I be-lieve they can do it right. I also don’t believe that we should make the investigation pub-lic, that we should point at how weak our banking system is (before the public) because our credit rating and standing in the global financial community will be affected,”� he said.

Escudero noted that in other countries, similar scandals also happened but investigations were not made public because

they really affected one country’s reputation.

If other politicians could not help it, they have to be careful and think of what the repercus-sions would be, said the vice presidential candidate.

“I hope that in the coming days, the central bank, the Sen-ate and the AMLC would be more circumspect in their pronounce-ments because it will not only make our banking industry suf-fer but our overseas workers as well. Remittance fees could in-crease,”� Escudero said.

“Our reputation is at stake here,” he added. n

Politicians urged to stay away from…PAGE A1 t

bate was held.“Isa sa mga dokumento ko

pong dala-dala dito ay pinirma-han ko na po ito (I have these documents and I have signed them),” he added.

The waiver, Binay explained, would authorize AMLC or its representative to “open and check all bank accounts under my name, under my spouse’s name, my children’s name and my children’s children’s name to ensure full transparency in this election process.”

The waiver also indicated that the candidates would “volun-tarily submit ourselves to a life-style and government service performance check in accor-dance with law.”

Binay brought to the 2nd PiliPinas debate the waiver; his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth from 1988 to 2014; the affidavit he submit-ted to the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee; his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE); and the AMLC ex parte motion to drop JCB Foundation, Agrifortuna and six other re-spondents.

He said the documents, which he considered crucial to the Sun-day debate, would have disproved the allegations against him.

Binay also brought with him his medical certificate; the plaque for the 2011 Seal of Good House Keeping from the Department of the Interior and Local Govern-ment signed by the late DILG

Sec. Jesse Robredo; the plaque for the 2014 Blue Certification for Business Permits from the Office of the Ombudsman signed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales; and the plaque from the National Competitive Council for being the 1st Place Most Com-petitive City in the overall com-petitiveness category.

Meanwhile, UNA president Toby Tiangco said that BInay’s performance during the second presidential debate surpassed their expectations.

“We are very satisfied with VP’s performance, actually, more than what the team expected out of the debate kaya kami ho ay tu-wang-tuwa doon sa performance ni VP Binay doon sa debate,” UNA president Toby Tiangco told a radio interview on Monday morning.

It was during the debate that Binay urged his fellow presiden-tial bets to allow the AMLC to scrutinize their bank records.

Also on Monday, Atty. Claro Certeza, counsel of the Vice President, slammed the AMLC for telling the Court of Appeals that all 242 bank accounts they earlier linked to Binay held ill-gotten wealth.

He said that most of the ac-counts were owned by “other people, other individuals, other companies, some of which hap-pen to be his friends’ or associ-ates’ before. As a matter of fact, some of those individuals na-in-clude din po ang nanay nila and so forth, who had nothing to do

with the VP.”“They declared under oath, sa

Court of Appeals, all these ac-counts contain ill-gotten wealth. Not content with that, after a brief period, they filed a petition to freeze those accounts, again they declared under oath, they said all of these accounts contain ill-gotten wealth, and then they waited for six months because it’s the period of freeze order,” Certeza added.

AMLC’s earlier assertions are conflicting with its latest request for the Manila regional trial court to drop from its list of respon-dents to the civil forfeiture case the only firm being used by law-yer Renato Bondal to link the Vice President to supposed dirty money.

In an ex parte motion to drop respondents dated January 6, 2016, the AMLC asked the Ma-nila court to drop as respondents in its petition for civil forfeiture Abba Land, Inc.; Agrifortuna, Inc.; JC Binay Foundation, Inc.; Makati Historical and Restoration Foundation, Inc.; Metrowaste Solid Waste Management Cor-poration; Powerlink.com Corpo-ration; Kenneth Sabino S. Tan; and Clara Mae U. Ong, indicat-ing that the agency failed to link the said entities and individuals to alleged illegal activities. The motion was granted by the court on January 19.

“This shows that AMLC has no evidence to link the Vice Presi-dent to Mr. Bondal’s allegations,” Certeza said. n

VP to rivals: Sign bank…PAGE A1 t

disputed islands and reefs in the strategic waterway.

The two sides also “discussed options to address further milita-rization and unilateral actions in the South China Sea,” it said.

They reiterated their stand that the ruling of the UN tribunal on the Philippine arbitration case against China “would be legally binding” on both claimants—an apparent call on Beijing to re-spect the legal process it has shunned, invoking instead “in-disputable sovereignty” over the South China Sea.

During the dialogue held on March 17 and 18, the two sides discussed next steps for the im-plementation of the Edca.

The 10-year Edca was signed by US and Philippine officials in 2014, but it only got the green light in January after the Philip-pine Supreme Court ruled it was constitutional. It is a key part of the Obama administration effort to reassert US presence in Asia.

The deal would give the US military greater access to Philip-pine military bases through rota-tion of troops, ships and aircraft for humanitarian and maritime security operations.

Foreign Undersecretary Evan Garcia and Defense Undersec-retary Pio Lorenzo Batino co-chaired the meeting with their US counterparts, Assistant Sec-retary of State Daniel Russel and Assistant Secretary of Defense David Shear.

Strengthening allianceThe United States and the Phil-

ippines also “reaffirmed [their] shared commitment to strength-ening [their] alliance, in terms of ensuring both countries’ mutual defense and security, as well as jointly contributing to regional

peace, stability and economic prosperity,” the statement said.

“They committed to continue developing, planning and ex-ecuting defense cooperation ac-tivities to reinforce their respec-tive national defense capabilities and interoperability, in the areas of maritime security and domain awareness, enhanced joint ac-tivities, humanitarian and disas-ter response, counterterrorism, cybersecurity and information sharing,” it said.

Discussions also touched on funneling greater US aid to boost the capacity of the Philippine mil-itary, including modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines with specific focus on maritime security and speedy delivery of humanitarian assistance in times of disaster.

In particular, the US Depart-ment of Defense is planning to seek congressional funding for maritime-related projects in the Philippines, the statement said.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Amy Searight said the Pentagon had told the US Con-gress of its intention to provide $50 million to help build regional maritime security.

She said the Philippines would get “the lion’s share” of the

funds, which are expected to go toward improving radar and oth-er South China Sea monitoring capabilities.

Movements ‘very soon’US Ambassador to the Phil-

ippines Philip Goldberg told reporters yesterday that move-ments of supplies and personnel to the base locations would take place “very soon.”

Goldberg described the Edca as “a pretty big deal” that would allow for a greater US presence as part of the US rebalance to Asia and enhance the alliance with the Philippines.

He stressed, however, that the agreement did not allow for per-manent US bases that existed for 94 years until 1991, when the Philippine Senate voted to evict them.

“This isn’t a return to that era. These are different reasons and for 21st century issues, includ-ing maritime security,” Goldberg said, adding that all US deploy-ments would require Philippine approval.

In a separate opinion issued with the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Edca, Associate Jus-tice Antonio Carpio, who is ac-tively campaigning against Chi-

US, PH agree on 5 base locations under…PAGE A2 t

uPAGE A4

MARCH 23-25, 2016 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797A� Dateline USa

na’s “creeping invasion” in the South China Sea, said the deal was essential in building “cred-ible defense” for the Philippines and that it would give the country “a fighting chance” against the Chinese.

In a statement issued on Satur-day, the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), one of the petitioners that lost the case against the deal in the Supreme Court, called the selec-tion of the five locations “a mid-night deal” by President Aquino’s administration, saying the bases were chosen within his last few months in office.

“Aquino will go down in histo-ry as the President who brought back US bases to our shores. There will be strong resistance from the areas where these bases will be set up,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes said.

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Za-rate called the selection of the five locations an “utter surrender of our national sovereignty.”

“President Aquino should be

called to account for this,” Zarate said.

Kabataan Rep. Antonio Tinio said the agreement would be the most extensive military bases deal since World War II.

“Under the postwar military bases agreements, US military presence was confined mainly to Clark and Subic. Under the Edca, US forces will be hosted continu-ously (in the guise of ‘rotational presence’) in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,” he said.

Senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares said the deal was a cause for alarm, as it would make the Philippines a target for ene-mies of the United States.

“The most prudent way to deal with China is through the [UN] ar-bitral court and the help of the in-ternational community,” he said.

Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla brushed aside the criticisms, cit-ing the Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the Edca.

“The ruling of the Supreme Court speaks for itself: There is no violation of the Constitution.

There are no new US bases be-ing built,” Padilla said.

In Cagayan de Oro, Councilor Teodulfo Lao said he did not understand why the city was of-fered to American forces when it was not a strategic location in the defense of Philippine interests in the South China Sea.

He said allowing US forces to use Lumbia Air Base could have negative effects, such as the rise of prostitution in the city.

On the other hand, he said, the presence of US forces could boost the confidence of investors in the city.

Councilor Lourdes Darimbang said she opposed the plan be-cause it could increase the secu-rity threat to the city.

But Mayor Oscar Moreno said he saw no problem with US use of Lumbia Air Base, home to the Phil-ippine Air Force 15th Strike Wing.

He said the long-term benefit of US use of the base should be considered. (With reports from Gil Cabacungan and Jaymee T. Gamil in Manila; Jigger Jerusa-lem, Inquirer Mindanao; AP)

US, PH agree on 5 base locations under…PAGE A3 t

IN the Philippines, when someone is asked to work in the United States, it’s tantamount to winning the lottery.

So when the option to do so was presented to Angela Guan-zon, 38, a Filipina who relocated to America about a decade ago to work as a caregiver, she grabbed the opportunity and applied for the position.

“If you were born poor [in the Philippines], you’re going to die poor,” she said.

Back home, Guanzon attained an associate’s degree in hotel and restaurant management but was unable to find a permanent job. She wound up working as a cashier where she got paid P200 (about $4) per day and subse-quently in the government where she made about P5,000 (about $100) per month. These were all contractual positions, and if there was no project, there was no work.

Guanzon didn’t meet her traf-ficker, Ilene Reyes*, until she arrived at Los Angeles Interna-tional Airport in 2005, but the two had previously spoken on the phone. Although Guanzon said she did not have money to pay for the visa or plane ticket, Reyes said she would take care of the expenses.

At the airport, Guanzon was overwhelmed with happiness and didn’t think twice about handing over her passport when Reyes re-quested to hold it for safekeeping.

“[I was] so happy and over-whelmed and I wasn’t paying attention and I didn’t realize it’s not right for her to take my pass-port,” Guanzon said.

When the two arrived at Reyes’s home in the South Bay, Guanzon said she was told she owed Reyes $12,000 for her visa fees and transportation, and had to work under Reyes for 10 years. After that time, Guanzon would be permitted to return home if she wished. However, she would not be allowed to work for any-one else.

“I was thinking, ‘OK, 10 years is fine.’ It was my first time [here] so I didn’t even realize what she was saying.... I was just so eager to start. She even hugged me and told me we would be like a family, and she told me, ‘I’ll take care of you and you will take care of my business. We will be like a family’,” Guanzon said.

She further thought the condi-

Angela Guanzon, 38, a Filipina caregiver who was trafficked to Southern California.

Former caregiver shares trafficking story, urges victims to fight for their rightsby Agnes ConstAnte

AJPress

tions were OK because it was her utang na loob, or debt of grati-tude, toward Reyes, as she was the reason she made it to the United States.

Guanzon was promised two days off a month, a monthly sala-ry of $600 and a raise if business did well. However, $300 would automatically be deducted from her monthly pay for the $12,000 she was told she owed. And sometimes, she ended up getting only one day off per month.

Reyes had two caregiving fa-cilities, Guanzon said, and each was staffed by two workers. Guanzon lived in the facility with the patients and wasn’t provided a room to sleep in. Sometimes, she would sleep on the floor in the hallways or on the couch. In addition, Guanzon was told to store her clothes in a garage where Reyes kept a dog.

“How can we put our clothes in the garage [if a] dog is there?” Guanzon said.

At the beginning of her em-ployment, Guanzon trained at the facility close to Reyes’s house starting at 4 am. She would go to bed at 10 pm and was required to get up every two hours to check on patients who would have sei-zures and those who wandered around at night.

While she worked under Reyes, Guanzon was cautioned not to talk to anyone, including Filipi-nos, as she was told she couldn’t even trust her own people. And if Caucasians found out she had no papers, they might call law enforcement who could put her in jail, Guanzon recalled Reyes saying.

Part of Guanzon’s caregiving responsibilities involved taking

the elderly patients outside for exercise and sun exposure.

It was through that part of her job that the escape door began to crack open for Guanzon, when, two years into her employment, a neighbor who noticed something seemed wrong: she didn’t appear to have any days off.

“Every time he asked [if I really had a day off], I got scared and panicked so I always said, ‘Yes, I was off yesterday.’ And he al-ways [said] that, ‘Every time I ask you, you’re off yesterday, it’s al-ways yesterday,’” Guanzon said. “He said people my age go out and have fun, especially on the weekend.”

Reyes noticed the exchange she had with the neighbor so she instructed Guanzon to exercise the patients in the backyard.

“I think the neighbor got cu-rious that he didn’t see us any-more,” she said.

One day, Guanzon received a text message from someone named Trisha from the FBI who said she received her number from her neighbor. Guanzon feared the text may have been Reyes testing her to see if she would talk, so she didn’t reply until a week later.

Guanzon said she wasn’t phys-ically abused, but saw Reyes’s harsher treatment toward care-givers at her other facility.

“She [swore] at them and [screamed] at them and [I was] kind of scared the time [would] come [where I would] be like them. I’m not used to that. Even when we were poor in the Philip-pines, my mom doesn’t scream at us,” she said.

Her employment situation with limited days off and long work hours was also taking such a toll on her mental and physical well-being that she was scared she might go as far as to kill herself or one of her patients.

“I said, ‘What if I can’t think straight and do something?’ I don’t want to come to the point that I’m going to do that.... So I said, ‘Whatever. I’m in a worse situation already.’ If I reply and if it’s [my trafficker], OK she kills me then. At least, if she kills me it’s finished. It’s gone. My life is gone and all the suffering is fin-ished.”

It was Trisha who responded to Guanzon’s text message, assur-ing her she wouldn’t end up in jail and that the FBI would help her in whatever way it could.

Guanzon was given the option to return home if she wanted or

help the FBI build a case against Reyes.

Although she wanted to go back to the Philippines, she chose to do the latter.

“I’m thinking, if I’m going to go home, I’m safe. But how about the other three [workers]? I feel bad if I leave them here. Then she [would] get another person [from] the Philippines and do what she’s doing to me. I was thinking maybe this is God’s plan for me. I’m the way to stop what shes doing. All I wanted was my freedom and freedom of the other three and for [Ilene] to stop what she was doing,” Guanzon said.

Guanzon convinced one other caregiver to talk to the FBI to make a stronger case against Reyes. She also got her trafficker to confirm that she had in fact held her pass-port, had paid $300 per month for two years, and had eight years left before she could go back home to the Philippines, while she was equipped with a wire.

Reyes was arrested and impris-oned in 2008.

“I can’t remember [Reyes’] sentencing, but [we] caregivers were there. [We] saw her with a chain and shackle in her hands. It was painful but [we were] kind of happy to see her there. She learned from her mistake,” Guanzon said.

Since fighting for her freedom, Guanzon obtained a T visa, which is designated for victims of human trafficking, got her green card in 2010 and visited the Philippines in 2012. She currently works as a certified nursing assistant in an assisted living facility in Santa Monica and commutes via bus to

work from Koreatown, where she lives, via bus. She also attends night classes for medical billing and coding, and hopes to become a registered nurse in the future.

Guanzon has also been a vo-cal advocate for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), a not-for-profit organiza-tion she was referred to by the FBI, where she serves as commit-tee membership chair of its Sur-vivor Advisory Caucus. Through CAST, Guanzon has gone to Sac-ramento and Washington D.C. to attend conferences about hu-man trafficking, and has helped develop training for law enforce-ment and health care providers on how to identify trafficking vic-tims. Guanzon has further shared her story on multiple occasions, which she says is a way of heal-ing for her.

“The first thing is that here in the US, everyone has rights,” Guanzon advised to Filipinos and others who may find them-selves in a situation similar to hers in 2005. “It doesn’t matter if you’re undocumented. You have a right as a human being and we all have freedom. It’s not right if someone’s holding your pass-port, if someone’s threatening u. I know it’s scary, but no one can help us to get out of that situation except us.”

[*Editor’s note: Ilene Reyes’s name has been changed for the purpose of this article. This article is part of an ongoing series on human trafficking in the Filipino-American community. If you think you may be a victim of human trafficking, contact the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking hotline at: 888-539-2373]

facts the Senate and the Anti-Money Laundering Council have already uncovered.

“She told us that she opened five accounts in May 2015, that the depositors were referred to her by businessman Kim Wong, that they met at the Midas Hotel and Casino, that Kim Wong gave her $2,500 to open the accounts with $500 each, that she veri-fied the identities of the deposi-tors with the identification cards given to her,” he said.

It was the first time Deguito claimed that Wong referred to her the five depositors. She has alleged that RCBC president Lorenzo Tan asked her to “take care” of Wong in a birthday party they attended in 2010, an allega-tion Tan denied.

Not a single transaction was made in the five accounts un-til last Feb. 5, when $81 million stolen by alleged Chinese hack-ers from the Bangladesh central bank found its way to four of them.

Osmeña revealed, based on Deguito’s testimony in the closed-door hearing, that on Feb. 5, Wong called her to inquire if one of the four accounts had al-ready received $30 million.

“After verifying, she told him that the funds were al-ready there. He called every 20 minutes to ask if the other remittances had arrived – $20 million, $25 million and $6 mil-lion, for a total of $81 million. True enough, the funds were transmitted to the four ac-counts. The fifth – opened by a certain Picache – did not re-ceive any funds. Kim Wong is

a major player in this scandal,” he said.

Wong is reportedly a casino junket operator, one who re-cruits high-stakes gamblers from abroad and flies them to the country. A junket operator also gathers Filipino gamblers and flies them to casinos abroad.

Osmeña acknowledged that the statements of Deguito and Jupi-ter branch officers Angela Torres and Romualdo Agarrado on the P20 million withdrawn from the account Go claimed was not his were contradictory. Go has de-nied receiving the money.

“But we will be the ones to de-termine who is telling the truth and who is lying, not RCBC offi-cers,” he said.

RCBC chief legal counsel Ma-cel Fernandez-Estavillo told the Senate last Thursday that Torres “perjured herself” or lied by sup-porting Deguito’s claim that they gave the P20 million to Go.

Agarrado, on the other hand, alleged that he saw Deguito load the money into her car and drive off with it.

Osmeña said one Deguito statement they doubted was her claim that it was Tan himself who recruited her.

“She was recruited by bank of-ficers but not by the bank presi-dent himself,” he said.

Tan had denied his branch manager’s claim, saying there is a vetting process for personnel in which he is not involved.

He said branch managers “are five layers below me.”

There was testimony last Thursday that Deguito was re-ferred to RCBC by one Jason Go, reportedly a big-time dealer of

luxury vehicles based in Makati.“I want to check the other ac-

tivities of Jason Go, William Go, Kim Wong and Eastern Leisure. I have information about them that I received from the business community,” Osmeña said.

TearfulAt the start of her two-hour

executive session with sena-tors, Deguito broke down and – after regaining her composure – tagged Wong and top RCBC of-ficials as the ones more deeply involved in the anomaly, Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said in an interview Saturday.

He also said Deguito seemed to be a credible witness and that the session with her established the culpability of other people, particularly Wong.

“I looked at (Deguito’s) de-meanor and she seems to be a credible witness, but I can’t con-clude yet that she’s not guilty,” Recto said.

It’s hard to say that no one in the bank knew because there is clearly human intervention, considering the huge amount of money involved.

“It is hard to believe Go was not involved. He is very familiar with that RCBC branch. It was very early in the day that RCBC cleared him,” Recto said.

Aside from establishing the cul-pability of the crime, Recto said the Senate wants the remaining stolen funds in the accounts of Solaire Resorts and Casino and Eastern Hawaii – at least $2 mil-lion is left in Solaire alone – to be returned to the government of Bangladesh.

According to gaming regula-

Bangladesh rejects Philrem’s P10-M…PAGE A2 t

uPAGE A5

ern Hemisphere. In December 2014, Obama announced the US would work toward normalizing relations with Cuba.

During their session with re-porters, both leaders agreed that the 54-year economic em-bargo needs to end.

“That is essential, because the blockade remains in place,

and it contains discouraging elements,” Castro said, accord-ing to Al Jazeera. He also called steps made by the Obama ad-ministration “positive but insuf-ficient.”

Obama said the embargo would end, although he isn’t sure when, Al Jazeera reported, also noting it is up to Congress to finish it.

Sharp differences on human rights and democracy emerged from the press conference. In response to one reporter who asked about the Cuban govern-ment’s human rights record, including the imprisonment of protestors and dissidents, Cas-tro said: “Did you ask if we have political prisoners? Give me a

Obama meets with Cuban Pres. Castro in…PAGE A1 t

uPAGE A5

Illustration by Kendrick Tan

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 23-25, 2016 A�Dateline USa

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Philip-pine officials huddled with U.S. legislators March 15-16 to mus-ter Congressional support for key Philippine advocacies such as military aid, Filipino WWII veter-ans and opposing China’s claims in the West Philippine/South China Sea.

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. and Acting Secretary of Justice Emmanuel L. Caparas on 15 March led the Philippine del-egation in separate meetings with Senator Bob Corker (GOP-Tenn) and Senator Ben Cardin (Dem-Maryland), Chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), respectively.

The Philippine officials noted the SFRC’s instrumental role in sustaining U.S. interest in the Asia-Pacific region and in giv-ing substance to the Asia pivot policy.

“We recognize the consider-able impact that the Committee’s initiatives has had on increasing U.S. foreign military financing (FMF) to the Philippines and in ensuring that the United States continues to be engaged in our region,” said Cuisia.

Senator Corker observed the importance of raising military in view of China’s behavior.

On the other hand, Sena-tor Cardin reiterated that while the U.S. maintains its neutrality with regard to the South China Sea dispute, his country takes a strong position against provoca-tive actions. He also expressed his firm belief in the rule of law and recognized the leadership of the Philippines in developing a regional Code of Conduct.

Representative Randy Forbes

Philippine Defense Undersecretary Pio Batino (left), Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr., Rep. Randy Forbes Executive Director of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement Eduardo V. Oban, Jr., and Undersecretary Emmanuel T. Bautista. Contributed photos

PH officials lobby in D.C. for military aid, Filvets, W. PH Sea

(GOP-Virginia), a senior mem-ber of the House Armed Services Committee and a member of the U.S.-Philippines Friendship Cau-cus, largely echoed the views of his colleagues in the Senate.

Forbes recently scored China’s recent actions in the South China Sea and reaffirmed the impor-tance of the alliance between the U.S. and the Philippines to the maintenance of peace and pros-perity in the region.

“China’s behavior in the Asia-Pacific has undermined regional stability and unnecessarily an-tagonized the Philippines and other partners in the region. The United States has an obligation under its decades-old security treaty with the Philippines to re-sist acts of aggression against our ally,” a portion of Forbes’ statement read.

Forbes expressed the opinion that the United States needs to be more present in the South China Sea and that joint patrols would be “hugely important,

helpful and useful.”The Philippines’ campaign to

combat trafficking in persons was likewise discussed with the Senators.

The meetings with the U.S. lawmakers also aimed to shore up greater support for a bill seek-ing to award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the more than 260,000 Filipino vet-erans of World War II.

The bill entitled “Filipino Vet-erans of World War II Congres-sional Gold Medal Act of 2015,” was introduced in the House (HR 2737) and the Senate (S1555) in June 2015. Cardin and Forbes are among the bill’s co-sponsors.

The bill includes a historical account of the dedicated service of Filipino and Filipino American servicemen and service women during World War II and rec-ognizes them for their courage, bravery, and valor as they served under the command of the Unit-ed States Armed Forces of the Far East. n

officials and community leaders, who are tasked to organize sup-port in AAPI communities.

Members of the AAPI leader-ship council include Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA.), Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), and Democratic Representative Gregorio Sablan from the North-ern Mariana Islands.

Both Democrats and Republi-cans have made great efforts in this year’s presidential race to court AAPI voters, who are nota-bly the least active participants in past elections. The electorate is expected to double by 2040, ris-ing to 12.2 million, according to a report last year from the UCLA Center for the Study of Inequality and Asian Pacific American Insti-tute for Congressional Studies.

“AAPI voters could play a key role in upcoming primaries and caucuses in states with sizeable AAPI communities, including Washington, New York and Cali-fornia. Asian Americans make up 5.4 percent of the U.S. pop-ulation,” according to the US Census.

“Clinton’s track record of con-sistent flip-flops on the issues, and support of failed Democrat policies that continue to hurt AAPI communities are a clear indication Clinton is the wrong choice for AAPI voters across the country,” said Ninio Fetalvo, AAPI press secretary for the Re-

publican National Committee (RNC).

Clinton targets Trump on Is-rael

Continuing on the campaign trail, Clinton spoke at the Ameri-can Israel Public Affairs Commit-tee (AIPAC) on Monday, March 21, where she challenged Re-publican front-runner and real estate billionaire Donald Trump, without explicitly naming him.

“The next president will sit down at that desk and start mak-ing decisions that will affect both the lives and livelihoods of every American and the security of our friends around the world. So we have to get this right,” Clinton told a large crowd at the AIPAC, held at the Verizon Center in Washington. “Candidates for president who think the United States can outsource Middle East security to dictators or that America no longer has vital na-tional interests at stake in this re-gion are dangerously wrong.”

Trump’s impending speech at the conference was called a source of controversy, largely due to the businessman’s rheto-ric singling out immigrants, and calling for a ban on Muslims en-tering the States, the Washington Post reported.

“Yes, we need steady hands, not a president who says he’s neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday, and who knows what on Wednesday, because every-

thing’s negotiable,” she added, saying that one of her first acts as president would be to invite the Israeli prime minister to the White House.

“Some things aren’t nego-tiable. And anyone who doesn’t understand that has no business being our president.”

Trump’s specific views on foreign policy have sparked na-tionwide debate. In the past, he has asserted he was the “most pro-Israel candidate,” but also said he would enter negotiations between Israel and Palestinians, framing himself as “somewhat neutral” in hopes of reaching a peaceful deal, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Clinton was the only Democrat candidate who spoke at AIPAC on Monday, but shared the stage with all three Republican candi-dates--Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Although it invited several big political figures to the event, the AIPAC did not endorse any one candidate.

“Let us never be neutral or si-lent in the face of bigotry,” Clin-ton said, finishing her speech as a campaign platform. “If you see bigotry, oppose it. If you see violence, condemn it. If you see a bully, stand up to him….Togeth-er let us defend the shared values that already make America and Israel great.” (Allyson Escobar / AJPress)

AAPI director leaves Clinton…PAGE A1 t

tor Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Solaire received $29 million and Eastern Hawaii received $21 million but initial investigation shows that only $2 million is left in the Solaire ac-count.

Recto also said the Anti-Mon-ey Laundering Council (AMLC) should file a case against Phil-rem and RCBC for possible neg-ligence in preventing the crime and not just against Deguito.

Likewise, AMLC failed to mon-

itor the suspicious activity and should also be made to explain, Recto said.

EWB’s concernMeanwhile, East West Banking

Corp. said yesterday it is puzzled by RCBC’s seemingly dragging the bank into the money launder-ing controversy.

“I am not sure why RCBC keeps on attaching the name of EastWest every time they men-tion RCBC employees who were hired from EastWest and who are involved in this money launder-

ing issue,” EastWest president and chief executive officer Anto-nio Moncupa Jr. said.

Go, who has accused Deguito of opening his alleged fake ac-count in RCBC, has also impli-cated Alan Peñalosa of EastWest, who reportedly tried to coerce him into owning up to the ac-count.

Moncupa said the mentioned employees have been in RCBC much longer than they were in EastWest. (With Iris Gonzales, Lawrence Agcaoili, Marvin Sy)

Bangladesh rejects Philrem’s P10-M…PAGE A4 t

list of the political prisoners and I will release them directly. Give me a name or names … It is not correct to ask me about political prisoners in general.”

CNN, however, reported that while Obama was on his way to Havana, many anti-Castro dis-sidents from the group Ladies in White were arrested and de-tained following their weekly demonstration in the country’s capital.

Cubans said they were sur-prised to see Castro answer questions from media live on state television.

“It’s very significant to hear this from our president, for him to recognize that not all human rights are respected in Cuba,” said Raul Rios, a 47-year-old driver, according to Al Jazeera.

Obama also gave credit to Cuba for its progress and said part of normalizing relations with the country means both

parties would directly discuss their differences.

“The future of Cuba will be decided by Cubans – not by any-body else,” Obama said, accord-ing to Al Jazeera. “At the same time, as we do wherever we go around the world, I made it clear the US will continue to speak up about democracy, including the right of the Cuban people to de-cide their own future.”

While Obama was in Cuba on Monday, Cruise giant Carnival Corp won approval for Cuba sailings, which are set to begin in May. Priceline unit Booking.com also became the first US online travel agency to strike a deal for Americans traveling to Cuba, making hotel rooms in the country available to US custom-ers, Reuters reported.

During the president’s visit, he and his family first stopped in Havana, after which they toured Old Havana on foot. In the city, he paid tribute to Cuban inde-

pendence hero Jose Marti, by adjusting a wreath at the foot of his statue, AP reported.

“It is a great honor to pay tribute to Jose Marti, who gave his life for independence of his homeland,” Obama wrote in the guestbook, according to the AP. “His passion for liberty, freedom, and self-determination lives on in the Cuban people today.”

Obama also visited the US em-bassy in Havana, which was re-opened in August 2015.

“Having a US Embassy means we’re more effectively able to advance our values, our inter-ests and understand more ef-fectively the Cuban people’s concerns,” he said, according to USA Today.

In an interview with ABC News taped Sunday evening, March 20, Obama said: “Change is going to happen here and I think that Raul Castro under-stands that.” (Agnes Constante / AJPress)

Obama meets with Cuban Pres. Castro in…PAGE A4 t

MARCH 23-25, 2016 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797A�

FeaturesOpiniOn

DANTE SAMBILAYArt Director

Main Office:1210 S. Brand BoulevardGlendale, CA 91204Tels: (818) 502-0651Fax: (818) 502-0858e-mail: info@asianjournalinc.comhttp://www.asianjournal.com

Northern California:1001 Bayhill Drive, Suite 200San Bruno, CA 94066Tel.: (650) 616-4150 • Fax: (650) 616-4152

Asian Journal Publications, Inc. (“AJPI”) reserves the right to refuse to publish, in its sole and absolute discretion, any advertising and advertorial material submitted for publication by client. (“Client’s Material”)Submission of an advertisement or advertorial to an AJPI sales representative does not constitute a commitment by AJPI to publish a Client’s Material. AJPI has the option to correctly classify any Client’s Material and to delete objectionable words or phrases.Client represents and warrants that a Client’s Material does not and will not contain any language or material which is libelous, slanderous or defamatory or invades any rights of privacy or publicity; does not and will not violate or infringe upon, or give rise to any adverse claim with respect to any common law or other right whatsoever (including, without limitation, any copyright, trademark, service mark or contract right) of any person or entity, or violate any other applicable law; and is not the subject of any litigation or claim that might give rise to any litigation.Publication of a Client’s Material does not constitute an agreement to continue publication.Client agrees and covenants to indemnify AJPI and its officers against any and all loss, liability, damage, expenses, cost, charges, claims, actions, causes of action, recoveries, judgments, penalties, including outside attorneys’ fees (individually and collectively “Claims”) which AJPI may suffer by reason of (1) Client’s breach of any of the representations, warranties and agreements herein or (2) any Claims by any third party relating in any way to Client’s Material.AJPI will not be liable for failure to publish any Client’s Material as requested or for more than one incorrect insertion of a Client’s Material. In the event of an error, or omission in printing or publication of a Client’s Material, AJPI shall be limited to an adjustment for the space occupied by the error, with maximum liability being cancellation of the cost of the first incorrect advertisement or republication of the correct advertisement.Under no circumstances shall Asian Publications, Inc. be liable for consequential damages of any kind.

ASIAN JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS, INC. publishes the Los Angeles Asian Journal, published twice a week; the Orange County and Inland Empire Asian Journal, Northern California Asian Journal, Las Vegas Asian Journal and the New York / New Jersey Asian Journal which are published once a week and distributed to Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange Counties, Northern California, Las Vegas and New York and New Jersey respectively.Articles published in this paper do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher. Letters to the Editor are welcome. Letters must contain complete name and return address. The materials, however, are subject to editing and revisions.Contributions and advertising deadlines are every Mondays and Thursdays. For advertising rates and other informations, please call the L.A. office at (213) 250-9797 or send us an email at info@asianjournalinc.com

ADVERTISING AND ADVERTORIAL POLICIES

Las Vegas Sales Office:3700 W. Desert Inn RoadLas Vegas, NV 89102Tel.: (702) 792-6678 • Fax: (702) 792-6879

The views expressed by our Op-Ed contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the predilection of the editorial board and staff of Asian Journal.

ROGER LAGMAY ORIELPublisher & Chairman of the Board

CORA MACABAGDAL-ORIELPresident

BELLE M. SISONExecutive Vice President

Los Angeles Asian Journal

MONETTE ADEVA MAGLAYASenior Vice President

Los Angeles Asian Journal

ANDY TECSON/TED TALAGBERT JAURIGUE

Photographers

MOMAR G. VISAYAExecutive Editor

ELIZABETH HILARIO SISONChief Financial Officer

IVY MANALANGVice President - MarketingLos Angeles Asian Journal

SHARON ANN SAN PEDROVice President - SalesBalikbayan Magazine

DING CARREONVideographer

Manila Office:2nd Floor Units D&E, Fort Palm Springs30th St., Cor 1st Ave, Bonifacio Global City, TaguigTel.: (632) 856-4921 • Fax: (632) 856-1661

New York:133-30 32nd Ave., Flushing, NY 11354Tel.: (212) 655-5426 • Fax (818) 502-0858

New Jersey:449 Hoboken AvenueJersey City, New Jersey 07306Tel: (212) 655.5426 • Fax: (818) 502.0858

Philstar.com photo

“THE world today no longer counts on God. We count on money, arms, private armies, intimidation and connection, and if we continue to do these, it is very easy to lose mercy [for] our neighbors,” said Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle as he celebrated a Mass at the Manila Cathedral on Sunday, March 20.

Holy Week message

In his sermon, Tagle encouraged Filipino faithfuls—who were clutch-ing olive branches and braided palm fronds—during Palm Sunday to forego their dependence on money, forsake violence and be merciful to neighbors and enemies.

“How can we learn from Jesus’ mercy and com-passion in a world without mercy and compas-sion?” Tagle asked. “This Holy Week, let us learn from Jesus Christ how we can bring back mercy and compassion to our world.”

The days making up this week hold a deep meaning to Filipino Catholics. Lent season comes to an end during the last week of Jesus’ life—tra-ditionally called Holy Week. During this week, the important events of His finals days on Earth are revisited.

The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ hold a fundamental place in the lives of most Filipi-no Catholics. It is central, not as an abstract belief, but rather as a medium of experience and tradition that provides continuity in life, a structure in the community, and principled purpose for existence.

These are the same lessons Manila Archbishop

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle shared to Catholics.

“Jesus was hurt but he chose to be silent and not to seek ven-geance...He even begged God to

forgive those who hurt him. Let us put our faith in God [so] we will have peace of mind and we will learn to love our enemies,” Tagle said.

Remembering these events is more than a his-tory lesson. To many devout Catholics, the Holy Week is a chance to reenact the significant mo-ments of Jesus Christ’s life. Pinoy Catholics reflect on the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ through prayers.

Some pray for good health and fortune, while others wish for deliverance. Some ask for a mira-cle, a few want to give thanks. Regardless of one’s desire behind his or her reflections, this week is all about attesting one’s faith.

Aside from prayers and sacrifices, Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bish-ops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said this Holy Week could be more meaningful if Filipi-nos perform acts of charity.

“If you want to truly make a good Holy Week

Editorial

love much. Love more. Give to the poor. Visit the jail. Visit hospital wards. “This pilgrimage to the poor will add to the holiness of our times,” Villegas said.

The archbishop added that what makes these days holy is not self-inflicted pain, not publicized pious devotion, and not daydreaming meditation.

“What makes this week holy is the immeasur-

able, unequaled love that Christ poured into these days,” he said.

The life and times of Jesus Christ leave us with a great example to emulate. We are called to live like saints, not to make a mark in the world through suffering or death—but to appeal similar honest lives. Saintly people live life the best way they can, to simply make a difference. (AJPress)

LAST DECEMBER 8, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of Mercy of the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, inaugurating the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Mercy is defined as getting the grace that we do not even deserve, including God’s compassionate forgiveness of our sins, liberating us from condem-nation so that we could start life all over again.

This, to me, sums up the true meaning of Easter, God’s passion and death — the mercy of God so we may be with Him in His resurrection.

Let me share with you how Pope Francis talked about this in his homily, so we may reflect on what Mercy means to us in our own lives, and how we are called to show mercy to others in return:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,In a few moments I will have the joy of opening

the Holy Door of Mercy. We carry out this act, so simple yet so highly symbolic, in the light of the word of God which we have just heard. That word highlights the primacy of grace. Again and again these readings make us think of the words by which the angel Gabriel told an astonished young girl of the mystery which was about to enfold her: “Hail, full of grace” (Lk 1:28).

The Virgin Mary was called to rejoice above all because of what the Lord accomplished in her. God’s grace enfolded her and made her worthy of becoming the Mother of Christ. When Gabriel entered her home, even the most profound and impenetrable of mysteries became for her a cause

for joy, faith and abandonment to the message revealed to her. The fullness of grace can transform the human heart and enable it to do something so great as to change the course of human history.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception expresses the gran-deur of God’s love. Not only does he forgive sin, but in Mary he even averts the original sin present in every man and woman who comes into this world. This is the love of God which precedes, anticipates and saves. The beginning of the history of sin in the Garden of Eden yields to a plan of saving love. The words of Genesis reflect our own daily experience: we are constantly tempted to disobedience, a disobedi-ence expressed in wanting to go about our lives without regard for God’s will. This is the enmity which keeps striking at people’s lives, setting them in opposition to God’s plan.

Yet the history of sin can only be understood in the light of God’s love and forgiveness. Were sin the only thing that mattered, we would be the most desperate of creatures. But the promised triumph of Christ’s love enfolds everything in the Father’s mercy. The word of God which we have just heard leaves no doubt about this. The Immaculate Vir-gin stands before us as a privileged witness of this promise and its fulfillment.

This Extraordinary Holy Year is itself a gift of grace. To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out person-ally to encounter each of them. This will be a year in which we grow ever more convinced of God’s mercy. How much wrong

we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy (cf. Saint Augustine, De Praedestinatione Sanctorum, 12, 24)!

But that is the truth. We have to put mercy be-fore judgment, and in any event God’s judgment will always be in the light of his mercy. In passing through the Holy Door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of love. Let us set aside all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us ex-perience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things.

Today, as we pass through the Holy Door, we also want to remember another door, which 50 years ago the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council opened to the world. This anniversary cannot be remembered only for the legacy of the Council’s documents, which testify to a great ad-

vance in faith. Before all else, the Council was an encounter. A genuine encounter between the church and the men and women of our time. An encounter marked by the power of the Spirit, who impelled the church to emerge from the shoals which for years had kept her self-enclosed so as to set out once again, with enthusiasm, on her mis-sionary journey.

It was the resumption of a journey of encoun-tering people where they live: in their cities and homes, in their workplaces. Wherever there are people, the church is called to reach out to them and to bring the joy of the Gospel. After these de-cades, we again take up this missionary drive with the same power and enthusiasm. The Jubilee chal-lenges us to this openness, and demands that we not neglect the spirit which emerged from Vatican II, the spirit of the Samaritan, as Blessed Paul VI expressed it at the conclusion of the Council.

May our passing through the Holy Door today commit us to making our own the mercy of the Good Samaritan.

—Pope Francis’ Homily During the Inaugura-tion of the Jubilee of Mercy, Dec. 8, 2015.

* * *Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos

Observing Holy Week in the Jubilee Year of Mercy: What does this mean to Christians?

Gel SantoS-ReloS

The Fil-Am Perspective

THE New York Times just described our banking system as “murky”. It makes you think of some Caribbean country whose economy gives it no choice but to wel-come shady financial characters. Have we stooped that low? Money laundering for criminals, after all, is as threatening to world order as providing safe shelter for terrorists.

Here is that NYT quote: “the ca-per is highlighting what looks like a weak point in the global financial sys-tem that allowed the money to get by regulators: the murky banking system of the Philippines.” We are the weak point of the global banking system? That should hurt.

Our Central Bank Governor is cited as one of the best in the World for many years now. That honor is thrown away by one commercial bank that was less than true to its responsibility as a bank and as a Philippine institution. RCBC is or was a reputable bank with no less than the IFC, an affiliate of the World Bank, among its shareholders. But I don’t think I can ever look at RCBC the same way again.

The worst part of the deal is that the bank and its CEO refuse to take respon-sibility. Even assuming that everything the bank lawyer told the Senate com-mittee is true, the other plain and sim-ple truth is that their control systems failed rather badly.

Lorenzo Tan, RCBC president and CEO, was until recently President of the Bankers Association of the Philip-pines. I want to believe he had nothing

to do with the caper of the branch manager, as he claims. But that doesn’t absolve him of command responsibil-ity. At the very least, he should have apolo-gized quickly.

There is nothing wrong with an apology.

It is not an admission of guilt. As former banker Leo Alejandrino observed in his blog, an apology “connotes humility for the frailty of the human condition. Nei-ther RCBC nor any of its management has to my knowledge apologized for the harm it may have caused this country’s international standing and the bank’s constituents- its shareholders, its staff, its depositors, its public. There is still time to do this but not much because a late apol-ogy is almost worse than none at all.”

Mr. Tan cannot escape the fact the caper happened in his watch. He is re-sponsible for the total operations of the bank and its control mechanisms. Com-placency or plain bad luck it may all be but he is responsible for making sure RCBC’s system is working to prevent capers such as this.

As a former banker himself, Mr. Ale-jandrino suggested that Mr. Tan “may want to offer to fall on his sword not as an admission of guilt or an act of con-trition but as an expression of honor, of putting his institution ahead of him-self.”

If this happened in Japan, he would have immediately resigned out of a sense of honor and responsibility. The necessary bloodletting mitigates the damage on the institution and on the country.

Indeed, RCBC’s Board of Directors

shouldn’t have quickly reassured Mr. Tan he still had their trust and confidence when Mr. Tan asked to go on leave. They should have asked him to resign. Bank Presidents and CEOs get outrageous salaries and benefits packages because they have to put their job on the line and take big risks on their own reputation ev-ery minute of the day.

Pinning the blame on the branch manager is just a legal maneuver to es-cape possible criminal prosecution. But it is difficult to believe a lowly branch manager can move that much money without alarm bells sounding and high-er officials noticing and asking very ba-sic questions.

In the He said/She said exchanges, the one that suffers most is the bank’s credibility. It doesn’t matter whoever is telling the truth because both are after all, working for the same bank and one of them must be a liar.

I have worked in two banks myself in the course of my career. I know branch managers have limited authority even if they have outsized responsibilities for bringing in business and relating to customers.

The branch at the center of the caper is supposed to be one of RCBC’s top branches so the branch manager may have wider latitude to move. But the amounts involved should be well above her approving authority, indeed may be above the authority of even a bank vice president. If Mr. Tan was unaware that about P4 billion was moving in and out of his bank quickly, there is something wrong with his management system.

In any case, RCBC’s integrity has been compromised. They can dismiss the branch manager but it doesn’t change the fact she was acting on be-

half of the bank at the time the caper was going on.

Forged signature cards, fictitious persons opening accounts, transfer-ring funds to an account whose owner claims was opened without his permis-sion, ignoring a stop payment order and getting away with it… How can all these happen in a bank previously as respected as RCBC? These are all viola-tions of basic banking rules. This slop-piness affects the trust customers have with their bank.

None of these violations happened overnight. The accounts were dormant for a year before the big remittances were deposited and withdrawn. The bank’s auditors and senior management should have caught something amiss. This failure is what the bank president and CEO must take responsibility for… must apologize for and even resign for.

Do-gooders in the private sector of-ten denounce government officials for lack of delicadeza or a sense of shame when something less embarrassing to the nation happens.

But we now have a private banking official in a similar or even worse situ-ation and all we can hear from him is how innocent he is. He probably is but where is his sense of shame? Where is his sense of responsibility for something really bad happening in his watch? Maybe he should run for public office.

RCBC has tarnished the country’s image in a way that makes us bow in shame because we were all tarnished as a people. Our reputation as a fast rising star and an ideal investment destination may have been damaged as well.

BSP Gov. Say Tetangco worries that the caper puts the Philippine financial system at risk. He didn’t specifically say

it, but we could end up in the gray or black list again of non compliant coun-tries to anti money laundering prac-tices. That would make it difficult and expensive for our OFWs to send money back home.

I found this comment of Wilfredo G. Villanueva (he might be the same Willy Villanueva I worked with early in my career but lost track of) in a blog by “chempo” in Joe America’s blogsite on the subject that sums up my feeling as well:

“The world is watching. Not a boxer’s victory, not a beauty title or titles, not good singers, not a well-educated and English-speaking work force here and abroad, no not those. Not even a mil-lion Pacquiao victories can erase what money launderers and RCBC did to Bangladesh.

“The country is almost a twin of the Philippines—an emerging economy subject to vagaries of weather, recov-ered from a severe drought in the sev-enties, poor but struggling to break free from poverty just like us.

“USD81 million lost by hacking. That’s widow’s mite. The world is watching. Not too much talk, please, Senators of the realm. Let’s not play politics again, until the issue dies down and Bangla-desh is left with an empty bag, issue unresolved as usual, lost in rhetoric and political grandstanding and one-up-manship. Do everything you can to give justice to the poor country.”

I still want to believe that we have not lost our sense of honor as a people. I hope the resolution of this case will prove that to the world.

* * *Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco.

We’ve lost our sense of shame

Boo ChanCo

Demandand Supply

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 23-25, 2016 A�

Dateline PhiliPPines

SEPARATE WAYS. One Cebu, headed by its standard bearer Winston Garcia, has severed its ties with Vice President Jejomar Binay and the United Nationalist Alliance. Among the Garcias in One Cebu are former Cebu Governor Pablo Garcia, incumbent Cebu third district Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia who is seeking reelection and former congressman Pablo John Garcia who is seeking a House seat in Cebu’s newly-created seventh district.  Philstar.com photo

CEBU CITY – The late dicta-tor Ferdinand Marcos deserves a hero’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City as far as presidential candidates Vice President Jejomar Binay and Davao City Rodrigo Duterte are concerned.

Duterte and Binay indicated they want Marcos buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani dur-ing the “Taas Kamay” segment wherein the candidates are asked to raise their hands if they agree with the question posed during the second leg of the Pilipinas Debates 2016 held at the Univer-sity of the Philippines here last Sunday, March 20.

The candidates were not al-lowed to explain their position.

Duterte, however, explained his side to reporters while Binay refused to grant interviews about after the debate.

Duterte said Marcos should be buried at the hero’s cemetery as it is time that the Filipino people unite and move on.

He explained that as long as the Marcos burial issue remains hanging, it would be a divisive

Binay, Duterte want hero’s burial for Marcos

Presidential candidates Vice President Jejomar Binay and Davao City Rodrigo Duterte indicated they want the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani during the “Taas Kamay” segment wherein the candidates are asked to raise their hands if they agree with the question posed during the second leg of the Pilipinas Debates 2016 held at the University of the Philippines in Cebu last Sunday, March 20. Philstar.com, file

factor in the Philippines.“It is time to move on, some-

one has got to give. Just bury him and end it, anyway if a person is dead, that’s it,” he said.

Duterte said he would consult with martial law victims regard-ing Marcos’ burial and submit

the issue in a sort of consensus then hold a plebiscite.

Duterte denied that his deci-sion to bury Marcos has noth-ing to do with his ties with the dictator’s son, vice presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand Mar-cos Jr. n

by RobeRtzon RamiRezPhilstar.com

MANILA – Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao will not be using a mouthguard with the logo of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) in his bout with American Timothy Bradley, his lawyer said on Monday, March 20.

“There is no truth to the report that (Sarangani) Representative Pacquiao will use a mouthguard which bears the logo of the United Nationalist Al-liance when he fights Timothy Bradley in Las Ve-gas City on April 9,” Romulo Macalintal said in a statement.

Macalintal said he immediately texted Pacquiao to inquire upon hearing the report, but the boxer texted back and denied the issue.

“I am sure Manny knows that it would not be in good taste and he would be courting a political di-saster if he would use such gadget during the fight or even during his practice sessions with media coverage,” Macalintal pointed out.

Macalintal said whoever made the mouthguard apparently did not consult Pacquiao.

“It could be assumed that it was just part of an

artwork or creativity of its maker and was never intended to be a campaign propaganda material for Manny, who is a senatorial candidate of UNA in the May 9 elections,” Macalintal added.

Macalintal said Pacquiao would rather focus on his training for the upcoming fight with Bradley than be distracted by such highly politicized mat-ter like a mouthguard. n

DAVAO CITY — The Bangsam-oro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) slammed presidential can-didate Mar Roxas for using the terms “Muslim na mananakop” during the second leg of debates among presidential bets in Cebu on Sunday, March 20.

BIFF spokesperson Abu Misri Mama said Roxas was being “ig-norant and an aggressor” when he referred to the Moro National Liberation Front forces who were in the 2013 Zamboanga fighting as “Muslim na mananako.”

The rebel spokesman also dared Roxas, if he ever won as the country’s president, to fight the Moro rebels at the frontline.

Mama told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the statement of Rox-as showed his lack of understand-ing and knowledge of the context and history of the Bangsamoro people and Mindanao.

“It is not true that Muslims are invaders most especially here in Mindanao. This is our home and, in fact, we are one of the original inhabitants here,” Mama said.

The rebel leader said that when settlers from the Visayas arrived in their areas, they welcomed them with open arms and helped

BIFF throws dare at Roxas for uttering ‘Muslim na mananakop’

them start a living by utilizing the rich resources of the island.

“We accepted them as neigh-bors without any shade of dis-crimination,” Mama said.

But this good relationship was tarnished after the government, most particularly during the dic-tatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, employed a counter-insurgency campaign that spurred ethnic and religious divisions in the communities, Mama explained.

“During that time, we were fighting for our rights under the name of Black Shirts, and the government recruited settlers and armed them to crush our struggle. They were called Ila-ga,” Mama said.

Mama added that they were fighting for their identity as well as their political and economic rights, and that they understood that the settlers who were re-cruited by the government were just hoodwinked in an atmo-sphere of fear and distrust. The same strategy, Mama said, was implemented while they were fighting for the Moro Islamic Lib-eration Front and recently after they created the Bangsamoro Is-lamic Freedom Fighters.

“There is bitterness because of this but we do not general-ize all settlers and Christians.

Many of them are good people,” Mama said.

“When a Muslim is guilty of robbery, you do not call Muslims as thieves the same way you do not call Christians corrupt just because a Christian president or politician is corrupt,” he added.

Mama lamented the “persist-ing religious bigotry” asserting that a person’s character should not be based on labels most es-pecially faith-based identities.

The BIFF claims that it is fight-ing for independence in Mindan-ao and for the creation of a state based on the Islamic faith and the Shariah Law.

But Mama said that non-Mus-lims would be given equal rights and religious freedom if ever they achieved the goals of their struggle.

The veteran rebel, however, ex-pressed worry over the elections if “politicians like Roxas” would win and lead the government.

“Roxas cannot become presi-dent. His victory would mean more wars in Mindanao,” Mama said.

But should Roxas win, Mama said the BIFF would challenge them to meet and fight them at the frontline.

“If he becomes president, we will invite him at the frontline to join the fighting,” Mama said. n

Pacman not using UNA logo in fight

“There is no truth to the report that (Sarangani) Representative Pacquiao will use a mouthguard which bears the logo of the United Nationalist Alliance when he fights Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas City on April 9,” Romulo Macalintal said in a statement. Photo from Dr. Ed de la Vega’s Twitter account

by mayen JaymalinPhilstar.com

by KaRlos manlupigInquirer.net

MARCH 23-25, 2016 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL A�

SEAFOOD CITYREGULAR AD

FPFC

http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 23-25, 2016 B�

BUSINESS&COMMUNITY J o u r n a l

MANILA – The Philippines is the most fundamentally sound economy in the Asian region, a top bank economist.

Frederic Neumann, managing director and co-head of Asian Economic Research of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC), said Monday, March 21.

“And the more important thing, so far, is that the present growth comes with a very low debt-to-GDP ratio,” he said, adding the rest of Asia is entering a period of critical debt saturation.

India and Indonesia are the other Asian economies that measures closest to the Phil-ippines in terms of low debt-to-GDP ratio, he added.

The positive outlook towards the Philip-

pine economy prompted HSBC to revise up-ward the gross domestic growth (GDP) fore-cast to 5.9 percent this year from an earlier 5.7 percent and 5.8 percent in 2017.

“We increased our 2016 outlook slightly due to the anticipated positive influence of election spending,” he said.

But there are challenges internally that the Philippines must address to keep a strong growth momentum, he said.

“The next administrations must increase infrastructure spending at a much faster pace,” Neumann said.

Infrastructure spending should focus on building more world-class airports, more railways, reduce congestions in ports and roads, make electricity more dependable, and to ensure sufficient water supply.

The Philippines must attract more foreign direct investments (FDI), as it would add

more capital, more know-how, and competi-tive pressure to the domestic business mar-ket.

FDIs rose from $1.07 billion in 2010 to $6 billion in 2014. Comparatively, Indonesia re-ported $13.8 billion in 2010 to $ 21 billion in 2013.

Newman explained the manufacturing sector should produce consumer products that can replace their imported counterparts. It could also employ a large number of Filipi-nos than any other sector in the economy.

The agriculture sector is also another sec-tor that should increase its contribution to the economy. It produces consumer goods that could replace imported counterparts thus avoiding the need for debt.

“The Philippines would be a victim of its own success unless it can overcome the dif-ferent roadblocks,” Neumann added. n

PH most fundamentally sound economy in Asia – HSBC exec

MANILA — The US and the Philippines vowed to further strengthen bilateral ties, with the latter likewise securing the sup-port of the world’s largest econ-omy in advancing the trade and investment agenda within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which it will assume chairmanship next year.

US, PH hold talks on expanding trade, investmentsThe United States Trade Rep-

resentative said government of-ficials from both countries held a meeting last Wednesday, March 16, under their Trade and Invest-ment Framework Agreement and agreed to expanded engage-ment in the coming months.

“The United States and the Philippines engaged on key bilat-eral issues, including investment, customs, intellectual property rights, and agricultural trade is-

sues, and made plans to continue their dialogue on these issues. These discussions built on earlier talks, including in the new TIFA Labor Committee, which held its first meeting early this month,” the USTR said.

In addition, the USTR said the US and Philippines had discus-sions on how to intensify coop-eration on World Trade Organi-zation, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and ASEAN issues

including the WTO information technology agreement expan-sion and WTO trade facilitation agreement as well as a Philippine proposal in APEC on ways to continue to support micro, small, and medium enterprises partici-pation in international trade.

“They agreed to work closely together to advance the trade and investment agenda for ASEAN, which the Philippines

MANILA — Conglomerate Ayala Corp. is seeking to ex-pand its foothold in healthcare and education and hopes to seal more deals this year.

Ayala group head for Cor-porate Strategy and Develop-ment Paolo Borromeo said the conglomerate wants to increase investments in human capital through healthcare and educa-tion.

“We are looking for invest-ments in healthcare and edu-cation. There are a number of opportunities that we are

Ayala expands healthcare portfolio

evaluating in (the two sectors),” Borromeo said.

Borromeo declined to con-firm whether there are ongoing talks with some parties but said the group hopes to seal some deals soon.

“Hopefully, (we can do it soon). Possibly, we’d like to do that this year,” Borromeo said.

He said social infrastructure is very important for the group.

“People tend to neglect social infrastructure and are focused on hard infrastructure but (so-cial infrastructure) is equally important,” he said.

The country’s oldest con-

MANILA — Investors have not punished the country so far as a result of the $81-million money laundering case involv-ing the cross-border transfer of funds from Bangladesh to the Philippines.

“If you look at the behavior of

Regulators are scrambling to trace and retrieve stolen funds from the Bangladesh Bank. File photo

BSP: No negative impact of banking heist to financial markets

financial markets over the last several years, there has been no indication that there is a nega-tive impact,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Aman-do Tetangco Jr. told reporters on Friday morning, March 18.

“But we have to recognize that there is a risk associated with this and therefore we need

uPAGE A2

uPAGE A2

uPAGE A4

by IrIs GonzalesPhilstar.com

by PrInz P. MaGtulIsPhilstar.com

by ted torresPhilstar.com

by rIchMond s. MercurIoPhilstar.com

MARCH 23-25, 2016 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797B� Business news

MonetteAdevA MAglAyA

ImmigrantLiving: 101 and Beyond

THE practice of deferred grat-ification is a painful one. And who wants pain? It means let-ting go of the perceived whim-sical, multiple yet tiny pleasures of the moment over a length of time in order to be in a financial position to afford the more sig-nificant purchases in one’s life.

It involves avoiding spending money on trivialities in order to save and accumulate substantial sums for the really important things in life — like being able to afford to have more time to do the things one likes to do: study, travel, paint, dance, write and a host of other things that one would have liked to do if there was time enough. In the mun-dane world, it means quite sim-ply, to be able to afford to buy what he believes to be important to his life, whatever these may be.

Deferring gratification in-volves discipline, patience and sacrifice and having to make do with what one has and forgoing the things one wants right at that moment. Our natural tendency is to get the things that we want right at this moment to satisfy a whim or placate that impatient part of ourselves — even if we have to go into debt to do it.

Most trailblazing, first genera-tion immigrants who have had to start from scratch and have had to make do during the early part of their immigrant lives, do not have a problem with sacrifice. It is part of who they are and what has made them strong and resil-

The art of deferring gratification“In the world of ordinary, earned money, it is not what you make that counts, it is what you get to keep.”

ient in the face of adversity. The supreme irony is that pa-

tience as a virtue is not some-thing that is automatically, ge-netically passed down to young people. We all have a natural aversion for pain and sacri-fice yet this feeling is strongest among the young ones in an af-fluent society.

Teaching a person to save and not spend all the money that he has in one fell swoop in consum-able, useless, mere image-build-ing items is done best at a very young age. Parents who suc-ceed in teaching their children to save even small amounts of money will have laid one of the basic foundations of building character in a young person.

The way to save money has al-ways been to pay one’s self first and accumulate small amounts prodigiously over a length of time. In the world of ordinary, earned money, it is not what you make that counts, it is what you get to keep.

Out of any amount earned, won or received, and before buying anything, a minimum of 10% is taken out and is socked away in a savings account that should earn interest. In some cultures, parents teach their children to put away 20% or more of whatever money their children receive. This account is maintained and added to on

a regular basis and kept until it reaches a critical mass and can then be placed in safe fi-nancial instruments for longer terms that can earn compound interest. This practice teaches patience and a healthy respect for saving money over time and keeps a run-away consumer frame of mind in check.

Be warned that at certain points, young people will be tempted to spend it all on one big purchase that they feel is some-thing that they need or they may feel like giving it all away on a worthy cause. It is their money after all and they should be able to do so. Their decision to spend it all after they have taken the time and the effort to save it can provide them one valuable learning experience about how to make judgment calls when it comes to money.

The idea is to start them think-ing and developing the disci-pline of paying one’s self first with any amount of money they earn or receive as a gift. They will begin to regard small bits of money as tiny droplets that in time can form a pond or a lake that is ready to be tapped when a really important need arises.

* * *Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette.maglaya@asianjournalinc.com

MANILA — Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., the property holding company of former senator Manuel Villar, will launch its own ho-tel brand as it moves to become one of the country’s leading inte-grated property devel-opers.

In a briefing, Villar said the group bought a small hotel last year, the 54-room Sands Ho-tel in Boracay Island in Aklan as it prepares to put up its own hotel brand.

“We are putting up our own hotel brand,” Villar said.

He said the company’s venture into its own ho-tel brand may consist 150- to 200-room hotels in prime areas around the country that would cater to local businesses and could be similar to Seda Hotels of the Ayala Group.

“We have quite a number of prime properties,” he said, adding that a hotel brand under its portfo-lio would make Vista Land a complete real estate company.

“Now we feel we are ready. We have a decent number of malls, BPOs and offices,” Villar said.

The company last week reported a net in-come growth of 14 percent to P7.2 billion last year, calling 2015 a banner year for the com-pany which has also completed the acquisition of Starmalls.

The P7.2 billion includes Starmalls’ net income for the year as it already became a subsidiary after its acquisition last year.

Vista Land alone reported a P6.3 billion net in-come, 10 percent higher than the previous year, while Starmalls reported a P904 million income or an increase of 57 percent over 2014 income.

Revenues last year, meanwhile, rose to a record P28.7 billion or 12 percent increase.

The company has completed its acquisition of 88.34 percent of Starmalls after the end of its ten-der offer period last Feb. 15, 2016.

Total consolidated assets as of end-2015 totalled to P152.9 billion.

Vista Land is the holding company of five resi-dential business units, Britanny, Crown Asia, Ca-mella Homes, Communities Philippines and Vista Residences with the addition of Starmalls, its com-mercial business arm.

At present, Vista Land is in 95 cities and mu-nicipalities across 36 provinces. It intends to fo-cus on the development of “communicities,” an integrated urban development combining lifestyle retail, prime office space, university town, health-care, themed residential developments and leisure components. n

Villar Group ventures into hotel business

glomerate has its own line of com-munity-based clinics, FamilyDoc, which Ayala put up through its health-related subsidiary, Ayala Healthcare Holdings.

The group has two commu-nity-based clinics, in Las Piñas and in Imus, which started in De-cember.

The so-called community-based clinics, with a size of around 100 square meters, have five staff at any given time includ-ing one doctor and two nurses.

With a consultation fee of P350 and clinic hours from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., the clinic is equipped with

an X-ray, an ultrasound as well as first-aid response equipment.

It is seen complementing the government-run health centers and other community-based clin-ics.

Depending on the success of the first two pilot clinics, Ayala may put up more of these com-munity-based clinics.

In July last year, Ayala Corp. also announced its venture in healthcare through the acqui-sition of a 50 percent stake in drugstore chain Generika Group.

Its wholly owned subsid-iary Ayala Healthcare Holdings signed the agreement with the

family of co-founder Julien Bello.Generika is among the pio-

neers in the retail distribution of quality generic medicines in the country with over 500 stores na-tionwide. Bello and businessman Teodoro Ferrer co-founded the drugstore chain.

Established in 2003, Generika promotes the use of generic drugs in the country. Its first out-let opened in May 2004 in Mon-tillano, Muntinlupa.

In the area of education, Ayala, in partnership with the Pear-son Group, has APEC Schools, which is a low-cost high school chain. n

Ayala expands healthcare…

to address that,” he added.Regulators are scrambling to

trace and retrieve stolen funds from the Bangladesh Bank, the South Asian nation’s central bank, after they found their way to three local casinos last month.

Tetangco said the probe by the Anti-Money Laundering Coun-cil (AMLC), which he chairs, is still ongoing, but vowed to pur-sue “appropriate action” against those that will be found liable.

“We have to show that there is action that’s being taken with re-spect to this particular case and with respect to further strength-ening the legal framework...,” he explained.

Jun Calaycay, analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp., agreed with Tetangco, saying financial markets may react once probe results are released.

“What investors are necessar-ily looking for is if someone will get punished as a result of this case. Remember, that this is not a simple case, this includes an-other jurisdiction,” Calaycay said in a phone interview.

So far though, he noted that companies dragged in the case have “even posted gains” so far this year.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was up 5.10 percent as of Friday after it closed 7,306.74 from its De-cember 29 closing of 6,952.08.

“This is a litmus test for us in terms on the implementation of our laws. Investors would want to see how we go about it,” Ca-laycay said.

Nicholas Antonio Mapa, re-search officer at Bank of the Phil-ippine Islands, said any impact on financial markets will be felt in the bourse than in the foreign

exchange market.The peso moved sideways to

close at 46.36 to a dollar Friday, the strongest since October 20 last year.

“It would be more in the stock market. But so far, we have not seen any major impact yet. The financial markets continue to be stable,” Mapa said in a separate phone interview.

Latest BSP data showed for-eign portfolio investments swang to a net inflow of $57.74 million in February from three succeed-ing months of net outflow.

A net inflow indicates more investments entered the country than left. Portfolio flows or hot money are usually channeled to the financial markets.

Bulk of inflows or 77.1 percent entered PSE-listed firms, while 22.9 percent went to the peso bond market, the central bank said. n

BSP: No negative impact of banking…

by IrIs GonzalesPhilstar.com

PAGE B1 t

PAGE B1 t

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 23-25, 2016 B�Community Journal

Atty. LAwrence yAng

Debt Relief

WHO said that, first is chance, twice is coincidence and third is habit? I have two new clients who are actually previous clients. The first is 55 and she filed jointly with her husband 12 years ago for chapter 7 relief of credit card debt. To tell you the truth, I still remember mostly everything about client and her husband one and a half decades ago. At that time, my main office was on Figueroa and 2nd street in downtown LA, and it was just the next building from where the bankruptcy trustee hear-ings were being heard. I would just walk with clients from my office to the hearing. That was so convenient. Creditor reps would pass by my office for cof-fee after the hearings and talk about reaffirmation, and pos-sible objection to discharge of claims. Creditor would some-times show me the pattern of credit card usage of the last month, and say look, debtor’s income is only so much; how in the world can he pay his credit card debt, implying that there was some kind of fraud and absence of intent to pay for credit card debt inferred from insufficiency of income. Or, sometimes creditors would offer to keep the credit line open despite bankruptcy.

I remember this client clear-ly because her husband was a famous sports personality and actually held a world champion title in his sport. World cham-pions are rare indeed, few and far in-between, and they stand out from the regular Joe or Mary. At that time, they had racked up about $60K of credit card debt. The minimum pay-ment of $1,800 was putting a lot of strain on their financ-es. So, they opted for a fresh start without the $60K credit cards. A fresh start is what they got on the financial side, but husband had other per-sonal problems, and addiction to alcohol was one of them. When you start with beer for breakfast, beer for lunch and beer for every hour of the day and night, your liver just can-not process the alcohol quick enough. When push comes to shove, cirrhosis of the liver is

Client seeks chapter 7 relief again for $48 credit cards

Client seeks chapter 13 again for default on residence

the result after a decade and a half more of this kind of drink-ing. That’s when the whites of your eyes turn yellow, then you know you’ve met the end of your drinking days because you will soon die because your liver doesn’t work anymore.

Client tells me that her hus-band died two years ago from too much drinking. He just could not stop. He literally drank himself to death. What a sad way for a world champi-on to die. Once an epitome of good health to such an extent he become a world champion but he ends up dying the sad death of a drug addict. What a change of fortune. He had the background to be productive for the rest of his life just by teaching kids in his commu-nity how and what it takes to become a world champion like himself. This would be maxi-mizing his God given talents. But alas, the “spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” – This is what Jesus said to Peter as He agonized on that night think-ing about what He had to do to fulfill the will of God the Fa-ther, to redeem mankind from the consequences of sin. He said of his anticipated torture and death on the cross, Jesus prayed to the Father as He perspired blood, “Father, if it is possible that I pass on this cup, but nevertheless, Thy will be done, not mine!”

Client managed to get a di-vorce just a month before hus-band died, so technically she was not a widow. At any rate, client’s new credit card debt post fresh start 15 years ago, now reached $48K. So since this is her second time to seek a fresh start without debt, it’s just a coincidence. It’s not yet a habit. But client is such a positive outlook in life, her second fresh start, includes a new husband! She remarried last year. Our God, Adonai, and His one and only Son who died for ours sins, blesses her indeed!

My second old & new client filed a Chapter 13 case to cure arrears in his house 20 years ago. At that time, there was still the 6-month rule concoct-

ed by the bankruptcy judges in the central district of Califor-nia to protect mortgage hold-ers from debtors who file a 2nd Chapter 13 case. If debtor filed a 2nd Chapter 13 case, he would have to bring to the first hearing of creditors, all of the mortgage payments due in the last 6 months. So, if the mort-gage is $2K a month, debtor would have to bring $12K in certified funds to be paid to mortgagee. For most debtors who were even having a hard time paying one mortgage payment, the 6-month rule, pretty much rooted out a lot of debtors from being able to get to second base. Client was one such debtor. He got hit hard with the 6-months rule. But fortunately for him, the first mortgage on which he had ar-rears went bankrupt, and the bank that took over the loan did not surface for a very long time. I believe the new bank did not appear for 3 or 4 years. By that time, debtor had set aside enough funds to get cur-rent on his mortgage and all went well for him until recent-ly when he retired. He’s now behind 4 months on the mort-gage. Now, Chapter 13 again is required to help him cure the default. He will be give 5 years to pay the default in 60 equal monthly installments, thus protecting his house from foreclosure.

Again, this is client’s second time, so it’s just a coincidence. It’s not yet habit.

Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss; “The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest Him and lead Him away securely. He came & immediately went over to Him and said, ‘rabbi’. And he kissed him. At this, they laid hands on him and arrested him.” — Mark 14:43-46

* * *Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in bankruptcy, business, real estate and civil litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S. Fremont Ave, Mailstop 58, Building A-1 Suite 1125, Alhambra, CA 91803. (Advertising Supplement)

If you have an upcoming event and would like us to post it, please email us the details at info@asianjournalinc.com or calendar@asianjournalinc.com

Americaalendar of EventsacrossC

ADVERTISE YOUR EVENTS!PRE-EVENT AND POST-EVENT

GO DEEPER. GO WIDER. LET THE WORLD KNOW.CALL ASIAN JOURNAL: (818) 502-0651DISPLAY AD SIZES AT SPECIAL RATES

FOR NON-PROFIT GROUPS

Eagle Rock High School Monthly Open House Tours laureate Open House Tours, from 8-10am during the spring semester on Friday, April

1. Eagle Rock Junior/Senior High School serves students in grades 7-12, and was the first school in the LAUSD to be authorized to offer the prestigious International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (grades 7-10) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (grades 11-12), a project-based program for concept and content-based learn-ing to promote global mindedness and service to others. The IB Open House is open to all interested students, and will include an introductory presentation in the ERHS library, followed by campus tours, classroom visits, and a short question-and-answer period. To register for the Open Houses, please visit www.erhs.la, and click on the “IB Open House Registration” link. Please email Mylene Keipp mylene.keipp@lausd.net for more informa-tion. We look forward to your visit!

APRIL 1

Prisoners of War Day at the Filipino Veterans Education CenterAll WWII veterans and families, please join us as we commemorate the historic 74than-

niversary of Prisoners of War Day and the Fall of Bataan, the Day of Valor, on Saturday, April 9th. In the spirit of reconciliation, friendship and international cooperation, let us leave the past behind us as we move forward with joined hands to attain peace for all mankind. The formal Commemoration and remembrance ceremony will start at 2:00pm in the Filipino Veterans Education Center, at the War Memorial Performing Arts Veterans Building (401 Van Ness Ave. San Francisco, CA 94102). This event is open to the public. Please RSVP RudyAsercion@gmail.com; naffaasf@gmail.com. Tel: 415 564 6262.

APRIL 9

Pilgrimages to Eastern Europe, Mexico and IndiaAmazing Pilgrimages for the Jubilee Year of Mercy! All are welcome to join Fr. Joe

Joseph of Holy Trinity Church for the spiritual and fun-filled experiences of EASTERN EU-ROPE (April 17- 30): Poland, Czech., Austria, Hungary, Medjugorje; COLONIAL MEXICO/OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE (June 20 - 27): Mexico City, Theotihuacan, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Ocotlan, Xochimilco, Guanajuato, San Miguel De Allende, Guadalajara, San Juan De Los Lagos, Cristo Rey, Zapopan, Tonala; and INDIA (September 15 - 29): Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kerala. For more pilgrimage information and detailed flyers, please contact Berna-dette at bcorp1114@hotmail.com OR call 323-344-1548 & 323-547-6618.

APRIL — SEPTEMBER

PUP/PCC to hold 1st Global ReunionAttention all graduates of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the Philip-

pine College of Commerce: join us in our FIRST GLOBAL REUNION being organized by the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Alumni Association, USA Inc. scheduled on May 27-29, 2016 (Memorial Day Weekend) at the New Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. We promise a weekend of fun-filled activities, of friendship and camaraderie as we reminisce our best memories during our high school and college days. There will be lots of entertain-ment, singing and dancing and photo opportunities with your classmates and friends.

For more information, please contact any of the following: Loi Herrera at 562-544-8210 orloiherrera@yahoo.com; Monette Santillan-Rivera at 818-970-8317 orMonette_san-tillan@yahoo.com; Rose Mejia at 323-997-3838 or Rosemariemejia@kw.com; Marissa Sugay-Palanca at 818-281-7460 or marispalanca@yahoo.com; Rose Maghari at661-794-8906 or rmaghari@gmail.com; Sally Mendoza at 323-695-0235 or sally.mendoza616@yahoo.com; Honeylette De Leon at 562-480-5743 orhoney@worldclassfreight.com; Virginia Herbito at virginiaherbito@gmail.com; Connie Acosta at 323-854-5303 or connieacosta1@att.net; Violeta D. Cristobal at 310-880-5808 orvee@cristobalcpa.com; Jun Mapoy at 323-627-5326 or jcmapoy@yahoo.com.

MAY 27-29

Piyesta Pinoy BolingbrookPlease join us on Saturday, June 4 for the 3rd Philippine Fest Celebration (Piyesta Pinoy

sa Bolingbrook) at the beautiful Bolingbrook Performing Arts Center (375 W. Briarcliff Rd. Bolingbrook, IL). This year’s event will include a variety of food vendors, business, merchan-dise, and non-profit organizations, as well as hours of dance, games, and musical entertain-ment, including special guest performances. The Philippine American Cultural Foundation (PACF) is proud to promote and share our rich Filipino cultural heritage and traditions in America. Your participation and support are always valuable and critical to the survival of PACF and its programs. For more information, or to volunteer, perform, exhibit, or donate, please visit www.piyestapinoy.net,

JUNE 4

FREE Citizenship Workshop in Los AngelesOn Saturday, March 26, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles will help local

green card holders take the first step towards becoming citizens through a free event as part of the New Americans Campaign. This workshop will provide lawful permanent resi-dents with free naturalization application assistance by professional and trained volunteers. Legal counsel by probono attorneys and legal experts will be available. Services are avail-able in English, Chinese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese and Spanish.

WHAT: Free Citizenship Workshop WHERE: Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles, 1145 Wilshire Blvd., Los

Angeles, CA 90017WHEN: Saturday, March 26, 2016 at 9:00 am RSVP: Registration for this workshop is required. For more information and to register,

call 888-349-9695

MARCH 26

An Evening with Jose Antonio VargasFilipino American, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Var-

gas will be speaking at Pasadena City College (1570 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA) on Monday, March 28, from 6 to 8 pm in Sexson Auditorium at the Pasadena City College. Vargas’ work centers on advocating for undocumented immigrants, and in June 2011, through The New York Times Magazine, he revealed and chronicled his life in America as an undocumented immigrant. A year later, Vargas appeared on the cover of TIME maga-zine worldwide with fellow undocumented immigrants as part of a follow-up cover story he wrote. Now, he is the head of Define American, a non-profit media and culture organiza-tion that seeks to elevate the conversation around immigration and citizenship in America. We excited to bring this speaker to campus and we hope that you will join us. Doors open at 5pm. This event is open to the public and tickets are FREE, so please feel free to share with your networks! Tickets are available at http://joseavargas-mar28.eventbrite.com/

MARCH 28

Chino Hills Multicultural FestivalInspired by last year’s successful celebration of the community’s diversity, the Rotary

Club of Greater Chino Hills Foundation will host its second Multicultural Festival on Satur-day, April 23, from 3 to 9 pm, at the Chino Hills Community Center (14250 Peyton Drive, Chino Hills, CA 91709). Admission is free. There will be food booths, live entertainment, music, dance and performances by an array of participants. Sponsorship and advertisement packages are available for non-profit organizations to fundraise, and for businesses inter-ested in market their products and services. For more information, contact rotary.chino-hills@gmail.com or visit www.chinohillsrotaryclub.org. Contact: Ted Alvarez (909) 456-0359, tedalvarez@verizon.net; Tessie Lightholder (909) 576-4152,tessielightholder@gmail.com, or Ginny Mondonedo (951) 212-4624, vmondonedo55@gmail.com.

APRIL 23

COSC celebrates 27th Anniversary The Candonians of Southern California (COSC), under the leadership of their newly

elected president, Mrs. Elizabeth Gacula Singh, will celebrate their 27th Anniversary on April 30 at the Doubletree Hotel-Monrovia (924 W. Huntington Dr., Monrovia). Music will be provided by The Midnight Motion Band. For questions and those interested, please email thecandoniansofsocal@gmail.com.

APRIL 30

MARCH 23-25, 2016 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797B� Community Journal

Arlene Al-os,CPA, MBA

What’s New

Atty. Kenneth UrsUA reyes

Barrister’s Corner

A TENANT may terminate his or her tenancy on written notice to the landlord that the tenant, or a household member, is a victim of domestic violence, sexual as-sault, stalking, human traffick-ing or elder or dependent adult abuse. Civil Code § 1946.7

Code of Civil Procedure Sec-tion 1946.7 provides (a) A tenant may notify the landlord that he or she or a household member was a victim of an act that constitutes an act of domestic violence as defined in Section 6211 of the Family Code, sexual assault as defined in Section 261, 261.5, 262, 286, 288a, or 289 of the Pe-nal Code, stalking as defined in Section 1708.7, human traffick-ing as defined in Section 236.1 of the Penal Code, or abuse of an elder or a dependent adult as de-fined in Section 15610.07 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and that the tenant intends to ter-minate the tenancy. (b) A notice to terminate a tenancy under this section shall be in writing, with one of the following attached to the notice: (1) A copy of a tempo-rary restraining order, emergen-cy protective order, or protective order lawfully issued pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 6240) or Part 4 (commencing with Section 6300) of Division 10 of the Family Code, Section 136.2 of the Penal Code, Section 527.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or Section 213.5 or 15657.03 of the Welfare and Institutions Code that protects the tenant or house-hold member from further do-

Victims of domestic violence can terminate a lease on written notice to the landlordmestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or abuse of an elder or a dependent adult. (2) A copy of a written re-port by a peace officer employed by a state or local law enforce-ment agency acting in his or her official capacity stating that the tenant or household member has filed a report alleging that he or she or the household member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or abuse of an el-der or a dependent adult. (3)(A) Documentation from a qualified third party based on informa-tion received by that third party while acting in his or her profes-sional capacity to indicate that the tenant or household member is seeking assistance for physi-cal or mental injuries or abuse resulting from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent adult abuse.

The notice to terminate the tenancy should be given within 180 days of the date that any domestic violence restraining order or police report. If notice to terminate the tenancy is pro-vided to the landlord, the tenant shall be responsible for payment of rent for no more than 14 cal-endar days following the giving of the notice. The tenant shall be released from any rent pay-ment obligation under the lease or rental agreement without pen-alty. Civ. Code, § 1946.7.

This provision is particularly helpful in a divorce situation where the spouse who is the

victim of domestic violence is a signatory to the rental agreement and the victim spouse wants to move out of the apartment or house. This situation is not limited to divorcing couple. This provision can also be applied to unmarried couples and room-mate situations where one of the roommates is a victim of do-mestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent abuse. The domestic violence perpetrator does not even have to reside with the victim.

However, in order to avail of the benefit of this statute the domestic violence victim should strictly follow the procedures for providing notice to the landlord under the statute.

* * *Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, P.C. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kureyeslaw@gmail.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com.

* * *Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, P.C. This article is not a solicitation. (Advertising Supplement)

RECENTLY, the IRS issued rules that require you to attach a disclosure statement to your income tax return if you have an interest in a “specified foreign fi-nancial asset” for any year when the aggregate value of such as-sets exceeds reporting thresholds at end of the year or anytime dur-ing the year. Different thresholds apply to taxpayer living in the US and taxpayer living outside of US or tax home is in foreign country. The IRS has issued a new Form 8938 (Statement of Specified For-eign Financial Assets) to be filed. The new form does not replace FinCEN Form 114(Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Ac-counts).

What are specified foreign financial as-sets?

• Depository or cus-todial accounts at for-eign financial institutions.

• To a certain level not held in an account at a financial institu-tion:

• Any interest in a foreign en-tity.

• Stocks or securities issued by foreign persons,

• Any other financial contract or instrument held for investment that is issued by or has a Non-US person counterpart, and

Who must file form 8938? • US Citizens, resident aliens,

and certain non-resident aliens. • When the value of those as-

sets is more than the applicable reporting thresholds.

• A particular person that has an interest in certain foreign fi-nancial assets.

When and how to file form 8938?

• Filed with your annual return

New form requirement to report foreign financial assetsForm 1040 or Form 1040NR by the due date.

• Annual return includes in-come tax return or information return.

What if I fail to file form 8938?

You will be subjected to a $10,000 penalty. A continuing failure of more than 90 days af-ter the day on which IRS mails a notice subjects the particular person to an additional penalty of $10,000 for each 30-day period (or fraction thereof) during which the failure persists after the 90-day period has expired, up to a maximum penalty of $50,000 for each such failure. If the failure was due to reasonable cause and

not willful neglect, then, no pen-alty applies.

For Individuals living in the US, the following reporting thresholds apply:

• A single or married taxpayer filing a separate income tax re-turn is only required to file if the overall value of his specified for-eign financial assets is more than $50,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $75,000 at any time during the tax year.

• Married taxpayers filing a joint tax return are only required if the overall value of their speci-fied foreign financial assets is more than $100,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $150,000 any time during the tax year.

Individuals living abroad: The subsequent reporting thresh-olds apply to a taxpayer whose

tax home is in a foreign country, is living abroad and who is (1) a US citizen that’s been a bona fide resident of a foreign country for a consecutive period that includes an entire tax year; or (2) a US resident or citizen who is present in a foreign country at least 330 full days during any period of 12 uninterrupted months that ends in the tax year being reported:

• A single taxpayer is only re-quired to file if the overall value of his specified foreign financial assets is more than $200,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $300,000 at any time during the tax year.

• A married taxpayer filing a joint income tax return only sat-

isfies the reporting threshold if the over-all value of all speci-fied foreign financial assets the taxpayer or his/her spouse owns is more than $400,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $600,000

at any time during the tax year. • A married taxpayer who is

filing a separate income tax re-turn is only required to file if the overall value of his speci-fied foreign financial assets is more than $200,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $300,000 at any time during the tax year.

In accordance with IRS Circu-lar 230, this communication is not to be considered a “covered opinion” or other written tax advice and should not be relied upon for IRS audit, tax dispute, or any other purpose.

* * *Sy Al-os Accountancy Corporation provides accounting and tax services to individuals, corporations, LLCs and business entities. The Firm has a niche in defending taxpayers audited by the IRS and other governmental agencies. (Advertising Supplement)

will host in 2017, including on the new US-ASEAN trade work-shops agreed by ministers at the US-ASEAN TIFA meeting held in San Francisco last month,” the USTR said.

“The two teams also discussed the Philippine’s interest in join-ing the Trans-Pacific Partner-ship. The United States briefed the Philippine officials in detail on key TPP chapters of interest,

and reviewed plans for further technical consultations on TPP outcomes,” it added.

The USTR said the meeting was chaired by Southeast Asia director Christine Brown and Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo and was also attended by Department of Labor and Em-ployment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and other senior Philip-pine and US officials from the trade, agriculture, customs and

US, PH hold talks on expanding trade…intellectual property agencies.

The US is one of the country’s major economic partners.

Last year, total goods traded between the US and the Philip-pines reached more than $18 billion while services traded ex-ceeded $6.8 billion in 2014.

Investments from the US, meanwhile, accounted for about 19 percent of total foreign direct investment inflow in the country in 2014. n

PAGE B1 t

WASHINGTON, D.C. — There is one week left to submit your nominations for AARP’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Hero Awards. Ac-knowledge the hard-working staff and volunteers of non-profit organizations now until March 31, 2016 at AARP’s AAPI Com-munity Facebook page.

“We encourage everyone to nominate the passionate and committed individuals in our community for their work helping older adults,” said Daphne Kwok, AARP Vice President of Multicul-tural Leadership, Asian American

Submit your nominations for AARP’sAsian American & Pacific Islander Community Hero Awards

and Pacific Islander Audience Strategy. “This award is our way to say thank you to individuals who are making the lives of our older adults better. This award is also an opportunity to inspire others to work for or to volunteer time assisting our elders.”

To submit a nomination, visit facebook.com/AARPAAPICom-munity to fill out the online form. Eligible nominees include any employee or volunteer of a non-profit organization that serves Asian Americans and Pacific Is-landers age 50-plus. Nominees can be any age and ethnicity.

Finalists will be chosen from the submitted nominees and fea-tured on a Facebook photo album for open voting. Users can “Like” the finalist to cast their vote dur-ing Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May. Three heroes will be announced in June, and they and their orga-nizations will each receive a cash prize of $1,000.

For more information about how AARP helps Asian American & Pacific Islander families get more out of life, visit aarp.org/aapi, facebook.com/AARPAAPI-Community and @AARPAAPI. n

“ A single taxpayer is only required to file if the overall value of his specified

foreign financial assets is more than $200,000 on the last day of the tax year

or more than $300,000 at any time during the tax year.”

(818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 • http://www.asianjournal.com LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 23-25, 2016 B�Community Journal

OVER 3,500 runners and walk-ers will be on hand at the 2016 Walk to Cure Arthritis on May 14 at Exposition Park – South Lawn in Los Angeles to help sup-port the Arthritis Foundation and its mission to cure arthritis and make it easier for people living with the disease to achieve ev-eryday victories. As the Arthritis Foundation’s signature, national fundraising event, the Walk to Cure Arthritis brings together communities to fight arthritis, the nation’s leading cause of disability, and is a great way to experience the power of giving back to your community.

Local honorees will share their inspiring stories of living with arthritis during the Los Angeles Walk to Cure Arthritis. The event’s Orthopedic Honor-ee is Jason Snibbe, MD, Ortho-pedic Surgeon and the Medical Honoree is Samy Metyas, MD,

Los Angeles will Walk to Cure Arthritis on May 14Rheumatologist. The event also spotlights Youth Honoree, Grace Lewis, 14 years old, who was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age 12, and Adult Honoree, Carly Pan-chura.

In the United States alone, more than 50 million adults and 300,000 children live with arthri-tis. Costing the U.S. economy $156 billion dollars a year, arthri-tis affects one in five Americans and causes more activity limita-tion than heart disease, cancer or diabetes. The Los Angeles Walk to Cure Arthritis will help those living with arthritis by support-ing programs, research and ad-vocacy initiatives as well as fund crucial research aimed at finding a cure for the disease.

When you support Walk to Cure Arthritis, you become a Champion of Yes, helping us build a lifetime of better while ac-

celerating the search for a cure. Whether you are close to the disease or simply looking for an inspiring charity event that truly makes a difference, Walk to Cure Arthritis is a great way to expe-rience the power of standing together and giving back to the community. Together, Los Ange-les can Walk to Cure Arthritis and help us reach our goal of raising $450,000 to help find a cure for this disease.”

The Walk to Cure Arthritis is nationally presented by Am-gen and sponsored by Massage Envy and Aleve. To register for the Los Angeles Walk to Cure Arthritis or to learn more about the event, visit www.WalktoCu-reArthritis.org/LosAngeles or contact Debbie Martin at 323-954-5760. To learn more about the Arthritis Foundation’s quest to cure arthritis, visit www.ar-thritis.org. n

PALM Springs Life Festival (www.palmspringslifefestival.com) announced the launch of the first season of the premier cultural arts and lifestyle event in the Coachella Valley to be presented by Palm Springs Life magazine and IMG Artists and produced by Barrett Wissman, the Chairman of IMG Artists. The inaugural festival will fea-ture a stellar lineup of some of today’s top artists, fashion de-signers and culinary superstars.

Some of the stars to appear include opera legends Plácido Domingo and Renée Flem-ing, violinists Midori and Sarah Chang, cellist Nina Kotova, pia-nist Jean Yves Thibaudet, gui-tarist Angel Romero, fashion de-signers Zandra Rhodes, Michael Costello and Marc Bouwer, and chefs Cat Cora, Gail Gand, and the Hearty Boys.

Last spring, the festival was launched in a one-day event at the Sunnylands Center and Gardens

Palm Springs Life Festival to celebrate music and arts, fashion, food and dine with today’s leading luminaries

Festival runs through April 24in Rancho Mirage. Performers and curators included producer Quincy Jones, opera star Renée Fleming, dancer David Hallberg, and conductor Philippe Jordan. Due to the event’s success, ex-ecutive producers Barrett Wiss-man and IMG Artists decided to partner with Palm Springs Life to present the first full season of the Festival in 2016. This year will bring together the Festival’s arts programming alongside two desert standouts, the Palm Des-ert Food & Wine festival (www.palmdesertfoodandwine.com) and Fashion Week El Paseo (www.fashionweekelpaseo.com), giving the Coachella Valley an unprecedented array of talent across multiple disciplines.

“I think it’s a real opportunity for Southern California to have an independent festival that can bring many art forms together from music, to fashion, to the culinary world. To have a first season that includes luminar-

ies such as Plácido Domingo, Cat Cora, Renée Fleming, and Zandra Rhodes is inspiring,” said Barrett Wissman, Executive Producer of Palm Springs Life Festival and Chairman of IMG Artists.

The festival opened with a Gala concert on March 20 at The Show at Agua Caliente Ca-sino Resort and Spa, featuring Plácido Domingo conducting Renee Fleming, with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra. The festivities will continue with an array of music, food and wine and fashion events over the fol-lowing four weeks. Concerts and events will take place at multiple venues in the greater Palm Springs area including the new Rancho Mirage Am-phitheater, The Helene Galen Auditorium at The Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower and the Gardens of El Paseo. The Festival will be capped off on April 23 and

24 with a signature event “In Vino Veritas” at The Ritz-Carl-ton Rancho Mirage. The event will feature the greatest Italian wines, winemakers and chefs of today and will be presented in partnership with and curated by Gambero Rosso, the leading

Italian guide to the best wines and restaurants of Italy (www.gamberorosso.it).

Maestro Plácido Domingo said, “I am very much look-ing forward to coming to Palm Springs with the LA Opera Or-chestra. The surroundings are

absolutely spectacular and I can’t wait to perform for the au-dience there. “

For the full schedule and ticket information for the Palm Springs Life Festival, visit www.palmspringslifefestival.com. n

SERVICES

EMPLOYMENT

FOR RENT

EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT

MARCH 23-25, 2016 • LA MIDWEEK ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797B�

The Asian Journal

MDWKMAGAZINEWednesday, March 23, 2016

Photo by Gerry Edra

The Asian Journal MDWK MAGAZINE - March 23, 2016

2 cover story

by Christina M. Oriel / aJPress

Dancing his way to fameHow John Philip ‘Balang’ Bughaw

became an Internet sensation

Among the many talents that Filipinos display on the global stage, dancing is one of them. The latest source of Filipino pride is 7-year-old John Philip Bughaw, better known as ‘Balang.’

Hailing from Bacoor, Cavite, Balang has won over millions of Internet users across the globe with viral videos of himself en-thusiastically dancing along to pop hits. His energetic moves even caught the attention of El-len DeGeneres, who has invited him to appear on her talk-vari-ety three times now.

With no formal training, Balang started dancing at 4 years old, emulating motions picked up from videos or by simply just moving along to the background music heard on TV shows.

“Natuto akong sumayaw sa pamamagitan ng panonood ng mga videos (I taught myself how to dance by watching vid-eos),” Balang shared during an recent interview with the Asian Journal, adding that artists Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and Meghan Trainor, among others, have inspired him to dance.

But it wasn’t until he was 6 years old when his dancing gar-nered international attention.

Danica Doma, a neigh-bor and close family friend, started uploading videos of Balang dancing on YouTube and Facebook. The first video posted that gained popularity was a dance cover to Meghan Trainor’s “All About that Bass.”

“Nag like and share yung video. Doon na ako sumikat (The video was liked and shared. There, I got famous),” Balang said.

Doma explained that fame wasn’t the intention, as the videos were initially meant to be shared among family and close friends. “It was supposed to be for fun. We didn’t expect that his videos would go viral,” she said.

She has since become Balang’s interpreter, and ac-companies him during his vari-ous appearances and trips.

Balang’s subsequent video was for “Bang Bang” (by Jes-sie J, Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande), which caught the attention of Ellen DeGeneres,

who played a clip on her show. After that video was posted,

a producer from the show contacted Doma about bring-ing Balang to the US for an appearance.

“The producer and I kept on talking…and we were told we were going to be on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show.’ They gave us money for the visas, then we went to the US Embassy for the interview. The next day was the release of our visas,” Doma said.

Balang, accompanied by Doma as his interpreter, made his US debut in May 2015 on DeGeneres’s show.

“A couple of months ago I showed you this video of a young boy dancing ‘Bang Bang’ in the Philippines. I said ‘bring him to me’ and I’m happy to say he has been brought,” De-Generes said during her intro-duction of the Filipino dancer, who was then 6 years old.

During the interview, Balang made the crowd laugh, jok-ing about how there is a lot of chocolate in the United States. He also shared his aspirations to become a Zumba instructor to “help everyone be healthy.”

Clad in a beige fedora, red collared shirt and black and white suspenders, Balang wowed the audience with a live dance performance of “Bang Bang.” The video, which has been uploaded to show’s You-Tube channel, has over 5 million views as of this writing. After the performance, Balang was gifted with lots of sweets, in-cluding a chocolate fountain.

In late 2015, DeGeneres invited Balang again to perform a dance to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” and have a dance off with the show’s resident DJ tWitch to Silento’s “Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae).”

Being in the spotlight, he said, is exciting because he gets to help his family financial-ly and entertain people around the world.

“Masaya, po, kasi, naka-

kapera kami. Natutuwa din mga tao (It is fun because we are getting money. Also, people are amused),” he said.

Earlier this year, Doma uploaded a video of Balang dancing to Justin Bieber’s hit “Sorry” on Facebook, ac-cumulating over 28 million views. Bieber himself re-posted a link of the video on his Twitter account, writing that Balang “kills it.”

Balang returned to DeGe-neres’s show for the third time to dance to “Sorry” in February.

Ditching the outfit preppy combination from the two previous appearances, Balang wore a sleeveless tiger print top, a look he said was inspired by Bieber.

After the three appearances on the talk-variety show, Balang shared that he was gifted an iPad, chocolates, art materials and a stationary bike, which he uses a few times a week to work out.

Balang was back in the US in early March — along with Doma and his mother Mary Jane — to tape an appearance on “¡Qué Noche! con Angelica y Raul,” a variety and entertain-ment show with Angelica Vale and Raul Gonzalez on Telemun-do. The episode, which was filmed at the network’s studios in Miramar, Florida, is slated to air this July.

Balang and his mother Mary Jane both remarked how he received special, red carpet treatment during the taping,

and that they were both picked up in a limousine.

“Balang is a very rare talent that is why he is a phenomenal Internet sensation,” Vic Perez, Balang’s international manager, told the Asian Journal. “This dance prodigy kid will soon be the next Filipino pride glob-ally.”

Balang is the newest talent under Perez’s LA-based enter-tainment company, V Entertain-ment, which has several projects lined up for him this year.

“We’re planning to have a record for him here [in the United States]. The title is ‘Big Bang Bounce’ and it’ll have its own dance like ‘Gangnam Style,’” Perez said. “By June it should be out.”

Balang will also be involved with Operation Smile — an interna-tional

charity that provides children with cleft lip and palate repair surgeries — as a goodwill am-bassador.

Now that he’s visited the United States several times and is continuing to build his dancing career, Balang said he hopes to visit and perform in London and one day meet his idols Bieber, Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj.

But even with the fame,

Photo from Facebook.com/ JPLBalang

Photo by Gerry Edra

Photos by Danica Doma

he isn’t backing down on his dreams to become a police officer and Zumba instructor.

“Gawain yung gusto mo para magig-ing masaya

din kayo at pamilya mo. Patulo magaaral at mag matapos na

maaral, sundin ang iyong mga pangarap (Do what you like so you and your family can be happy.

Continue to study and after you finish your education, fol-low your dreams),”

Balang said.

Photos by Danica Doma Balang at the taping of Telemundo’s “¡Qué Noche! con Angelica y Raul!

features 3The Asian Journal MDWK MAGAZINE - March 23, 2016

Egging on EasterEvEr wondered why eggs

are such popular symbols for Christ’s resurrection? Appar-ently, during pagan times, eggs were considered to symbolize fertility and new life.

To celebrate Easter, early Christians took to the second symbolism of eggs to help re-mind the faithful how everyone is given a new life through the Lord’s triumph over death.

Moreover, the shape of the egg was likened to the tomb where Jesus’ was laid to rest, but found empty on the first Easter Sunday.

Meanwhile, it is not as com-mon knowledge that ancient Persians and Egyptians used eggs to celebrate New Year, which back then coincided with spring, ergo the Easter season. It was them who began the tradition of coloring eggs before eating them during their celebration.

In Eastern European coun-tries, such as Hungary and ro-

mania, wooden eggs are beauti-fully painted in lots of different patterns, which often given special names and meanings to help tell the Easter Story.

In the Philippines, it is safe to say that the practice of mounting Easter Egg for children were an influence of the American settlers. And while more traditionally Filipino

Easter practices continue to take place in communities, like the “Salubong” or meeting of Mother Mary and the resur-rected Christ, egg hunts are very much a part of this season’s celebrations across the metro, as The Manila Times gives its annual guide of activities for families to enjoy this coming week. (ManilaTimes.net)

A clean and green Plaza Binalonanby Paulo alcazaren

Philstar.com

FroM last week’s trip down to Cagayan de oro in Mindanao to visit Gaston Park, we head back to Luzon for the ninth in our series on Philippine plazas. We visit a town in Pangasinan whose origin traces itself back to where farmers used to take their packed food (balon or baon) to enjoy a midday break in the fields just outside mod-ern-day Urdaneta City.

I was traveling north on busi-ness and decided to take a road trip with a few associates to as many towns in our weekday jaunt as we could. The object was to do a quick documenta-tion of these towns’ and cities’ plazas. I’ll feature the other plazas of Pangasinan and Pam-panga in the following weeks, but we start with the expansive and well-maintained plaza of Binalonan.

The town’s origin was as a land grant to a Spanish official named Don Salvador. The story goes that he ordered workers to construct a simple fence along his entire property, a project of no small size. Don Salvador’s men would bring their food and eat under shady camachile trees near the center of the property as it was breezy there.

Don Salvador eventu-ally offered his land for tilling and, when asked how to find it, answered, “It is the place where people bring their balon to eat.” Binalonan in Ilocano means “a place where people bring and eat their baon (or balon).”

The more formal history of the place indicates that the town was established as a settlement of Ilocano immi-grants who worked as herdsmen and laborers in the early 1800s. records state that a Fr. Julian Izaga set the original site of Binalonan in the barrio of San Felipe. It was later moved to the barrio of Santa Catalina, where the good father constructed a church and a convent. Ini-tially made of light construction

materials, the church complex was rebuilt several times after an earthquake in 1882 and the Filipino-American war.

The town grew and estab-lished itself as a key municipal-ity in rice production for the province. The town today boasts a population of close to 60,000. Its proximity to Urda-neta City has contributed to its growth. Mangoes augment its main produce of rice. The town also hosts an airfield for civil aviation and a college related to it, the WCC Aeronautical and Technological College.

In 1968 Binalonan was awarded “The Most Beauti-ful and Cleanest Town in the Philippines” by Malacañang Palace. Since then it has garnered several citations, as “Most Beautiful Plaza and Parks,” “outstanding Commu-nity Development Model” and “Urban Model Community,” among others.

From Urdaneta City one enters the town off the main highway via McKinley Street. The town’s streets are wide and the streetscape noticeably clean and green. Less than a kilometer in, you will hit the town center, a large four-and-a-half-hectare oasis of green. This greenery is made distinctive because of a forest of mature acacia trees. The majestic cano-pies remind me of UP Diliman. The town’s website claims they are a century or so in age.

The Binalonan city hall

complex is inset from the main street about 80 meters and is accessed by a wide driveway, which culminates in a grand fountain. on both sides of the driveway are manicured lawns. When we stopped to take pictures, we saw two horses grazing on the lawn.

The city hall structure itself appears to be a ’60s-era structure, a two-story affair, which would benefit from a more imposing façade. It gets lost in proportion to the open space in front of it. Unlike other town plazas, Binalonan’s is less defined by structures along the perimeter than by the trees which frame and are contained in the space. It might be more appropriate to call the complex a park, as the plaza component is embedded within the green.

The locals call the center of this greenery the Binalonan rock Garden. The park and the church complex behind is ac-cessed by a tree-lined “mystic pathway.” The entrance to this pathway holds the 1968 marker that declares the town the most beautiful and cleanest in the country.

An odd portal structure was built over this entry, probably in the 1970s, and houses one of the municipal offices above. More recently, on both sides of the pathway, the town has added more small but modern structures, housing a Communi-ty E-Center and a Techno-Hub.

Binalonan plaza’s wide expanse is as expansive as the Central Plains around it. Philstar.com photo

Sit back, relax, reflect and watch these recommended movies for Holy WeekYoU can still spend the

Catholic holidays in a productive and meaningful way even at the comfort of your own homes by watching these films that are not only religious in nature, but also teach values and give inspiration to those who badly need it.

Sit back, relax and reflect with these must-watch films that Inquirer.net would like to sug-gest to you. rest assured, these classics will nourish your mind and soul during this important religious observance that will cap the Lenten season.

1. “God’s Not Dead” (2014)This 2014 Christian drama-

comedy film revolves around the story of devout Christian student Josh played by Shane Harper who is on a mission to prove the existence of God to his college philosophy professor Mr. Jeffrey radisson. An atheist, radisson asks his students to sign a decla-ration saying that God is God to pass his class, but Josh refuses to do so and stands by his belief.

The rest of the film will focus

on Josh’s series of debates with radisson to prove God’s exis-tence that will also reveal the professor’s background.

2. “Jesus Christ Superstar” (1973)

This 1973 musical drama film deals with Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus Christ which led to the latter’s crucifixion. Based on the rock opera of the same name, the performance of Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson earned them nominations for the Golden Globe Awards in 1974.

3. “The Passion of the Christ” (2004)

This highly successful religious film depicts the final 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life starting with the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, based on the accounts on the New Testament, particularly the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Directed by Mel Gib-son and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus, the movie was nomi-nated for three oscars at the 77th Academy Awards and was

“God’s Not Dead” (2014) “Jesus Christ Superstar” (1973)

Continued on Page 5Continued on Page 4

Inquirer.net photos

4The Asian Journal MDWK MAGAZINE - March 23, 2016

entertainmentAgeless Dawn Zulueta is happy with mother roles

DresseD impeccably as always and ageless as ever, A-list actress Dawn Zulueta graciously talked about how she is completely comfortable playing mother roles at this point in her career.

she is just about to wrap up her latest mother role as Mar-

ian in ABs-CBN’s prime time drama, “You’re My Home,” where she stars across peren-nial on-screen partner richard Gomez, and young actors Jessy Mendiola and JC de Vera. Her part as a mother who loses her child for many years, finds him and tries to win him back was

both challenging and fulfilling for the actress.

“I’m happy with the roles I’m getting in my career now—mga anak ko sila and mahal ko sila,” Dawn said as she looked at Jessy and JC who were sat beside her at a news confer-ence on March 14, announcing the last two weeks of the show.

Meanwhile, the real life mother of two shared that she learned important lessons as well from her latest family drama.

Dawn, meanwhile, said “I learned the value of love, pro-tecting each other. That even though our loved ones make mistakes, we should always be there to support them.”

Jessy and JC, on the other hand, took the press gather-ing as an opportunity to thank viewers for supporting their program.

“We want to thank those who stay up late to watch our show. The fact that they stay up late to wait for us and our show is heartwarming. We did not expect it would get high ratings and that our characters and the story would make a mark on them,” Jessy related. (ManilaT-imes.net)

Zulueta says she is completely comfortable play-ing mother roles at this point in her career.

MANILA—“Once in showbiz, always in showbiz.” Trite, but generally true.

It took singer-actor Dante Ponce 20 long years to revive his showbiz career. Yet, he has no regrets about leaving the busi-ness then even at the peak of his career. Today, he is indeed mak-ing up for lost time and busier than ever before.

Although his entertainment career was halted while he was in the Us, going back to showbiz had always been at the back of Dante’s mind. He attempted to stage a comeback repeatedly, albeit always postponed. Yet, he never totally turned his back on being an entertainer.

Wherever the family settled — from Arkansas to Hawaii to California — Dante always wel-comed invitations from Filipino groups to grace events and render a song number or two.

The year was 1993 when Dante packed his things and went to the Us, leaving behind his immediate family in Manila and giving up a thriving showbiz (read: acting and singing) career. He got married (to radiation on-cologist Winlove suasin), started a family and raised four children.

The eldest, Glys Angelique, 21, is now taking up a culinary course in san Francisco. The only boy and towering Dante Armand, 19, will enter college but is now vacationing in the Us. Jasmine, 17, is in Kona, Hawaii, studying at the Hawaii Prepara-tory Academy. The youngest, sofia, 13, is in seventh grade at Brent.

“The kids have adjusted really well since we decided to settle here in June 2013,” Dante offers. “They actually love the culture. Armand has even shown some interest in joining show business, that’s why he’s taking a year off from school to try it out.”

In October 2012, Dante came for a mere visit and at-tended the CITeM Furniture Trade show at the sMX Conven-tion Center. “It just hit me when I got here that I really wanted to come back, bring my family here in Manila and go back to show business,” he recalls.

Assessing the two decades that he has been out of the limelight, Dante admits he and his wife nonetheless had a great

Dante Ponce revives career after 20 yearsby Leah C. SaLterio

Philstar.com

time watching their kids grow up. For his part, he also worked different jobs in marketing and sales.

Yet, there’s nothing in showbiz that Dante didn’t miss. “I missed performing live as a singer and the acting part,” Dante reveals. “Maybe if there’s one thing I didn’t like, it’s the late shooting hours. It doesn’t get any easy, especially when we are shooting scenes that are for airing. They have to be finished at all cost.”

Only two weeks after he returned, Dante was cast in the ABs-CBN afternoon soap series, “Galema,” which topbilled Andi eigenmann. His memorable role as Gen. roger Barredo, the dad of Andi’s character, lasted for eight months. Undoubtedly, with that series, Dante made his strong comeback mark in the industry.

He has since done other teleseryes like “Please Be Care-ful With My Heart,” “Dream Dad,” “Pure Love” and the recently concluded “Pasion de Amor.” He also guested in dra-ma anthologies like “Ipaglaban Mo” and “Maalaala Mo Kaya,” and even in the fantasy drama, “Wansapanataym,” playing all sorts of challenging roles, from good dad to bad boy.

In between his television assignments, Dante was also able to do movies like director Wenn Deramas’ comedy flick, “Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy,” starring Vice Ganda and the horror-suspense thriller Maria, Leonora, Teresa, where Dante played husband to Iza Calzado’s character; the sarah Geronimo-Coco Martin box-office starrer,

“Maybe This Time,” directed by Jerry Lopez sineneng; and star Cinema’s opening salvo for 2016, Joyce Bernal’s “everything About Her,” starring Vilma san-tos and Angel Locsin.

“It has been a long journey for me to end up here in the Philippines and work in the entertainment business again,” Dante asserts. “For me, the feel-ing is indescribable.”

Back in 1993, he made his big screen debut in director Joel Lamangan’s drama, “Hanggang saan,” “Hanggang Kailan,” where he shared stellar credits with Dina Bonnevie, Alice Dixson and Cesar Montano.

Apart from acting on TV and the movies, Dante is also set to revive his singing career. He did a self-titled debut album before, which was launched with the hauntingly sentimental car-rier single, “Para Lang sa ‘Yo,” penned by Vehnee saturno.

With the help of his new manager, June rufino, as well as some old friends from the industry, Dante is soon bracing himself to do TV guestings in musical programs and record a new CD, reviving old hits and singing new compositions.

“I’ll be relaunched as a singer again and it’s a very exciting time for my career right now to be able to get back into singing,” Dante says. “My wife and our kids have been very sup-portive of my decision from the beginning. I can’t ask for more. We’ve sacrificed a lot as a family to be able to come back here not just to pursue my dreams, but to also let the kids experi-ence their culture.”

Dante Ponce (with “Everything About Her” co-star Vilma Santos) is making up for lost time and busier than ever before.

‘Sexiest doctor alive’ confirms he’s dating Miss UniverseA Us celebrity news site on

sunday reported that Mikhail Varshavski, who is known as “Dr. Mike” on Instagram, has con-firmed that he is indeed dating Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.

According to a report from Wonderwall.com, Varshavski said: “I am dating Pia. It’s a fairly new relationship but I’m really excited to see where it can go!”

Wurtzbach has yet to react on the doctor’s admission.

rumors on the relationship of the Filipina beauty queen and the “sexiest doctor alive” started when Varshavski posted a photo of him with Wurtzbach on Instagram last month.

Wurtzbach later posted a photo of her with Varshavski after a workout.

snaps from Wurtzbach’s and Varshavski’s snapchant accounts which showed the two of them together have since been mak-ing the rounds online.

During a Facebook live inter-

Pia Wurtzbach with Dr. Mike Varshavski. Screengrab from Pia Wurtzbach’s Twitter account

view last March 12, the beauty queen said that her reign as Miss Universe 2015 remains her top priority.

“No, there’s no specific someone in my life. This is the specific someone,” Wurtzbach said while showing her sash. “This is the priority.”

Meanwhile, in a BuzzFeed Philippines video, Wurtzbach only laughed when an indirect reference to Varshavski was made.

she then said that if she had to pick between love and career, she would choose the latter. (Inquirer.net)

Sit back, relax, reflect and watch...dubbed as the highest grossing religious film of all time despite mixed reviews from critics due to its very visual and sometimes violent scenes.

4. “The Bucketlist” (2007)This American comedy-

drama film follows the journey of two men played by Jack Nichol-son and Morgan Freeman with terminal lung cancer who went on a road trip after they escaped from the hospital they were confined in. The two, who are total strangers, become friends and list the things they want to do before they die.

5. “The Pursuit of Happy-ness” (2006)

This biographical drama film based on a memoir tells the story of a homeless salesman and single father played by Will smith, who has to endure a lot of difficulties, aside from having no place to go, to give his only son a better life.

6. “Pay It Forward” (2000)

This novel-based film title was the name of the charitable program devised by seventh-grader Trevor McKinney as part of his assignment given by his social studies teacher eugene simonet. eyeing to make the world a better place to live in, the goodwill movement did not only affect the life of his mother but also hundreds of people as his movement turned into a social phenomenon.

7. “Magnifico” (2003)This highly acclaimed Fili-

pino film revolves around a boy named Magnifico who is from a poor family and community. He touches the lives of the people around him with one little act of kindness at a time. Directed by Maryo J. Delos reyes, this movie won the Famas Best Picture and Best Child Actor for Jiro Manio. Upon learning that his sick grandmother was dying of stom-ach cancer, Magnifico devotes his time in preparing a proper funeral for her. (Inquirer.net)

From Page 3

“Magnifico” (2003)

“The Bucket List” (2007)

Harmonizing with nearby natureMango Mix

by Martin Jason

L. ita-as

5The Asian Journal MDWK MAGAZINE - March 23, 2016

featuresMoonlighting

by MyLah de Leon

If I could interview Jesus Christ

The Lenten season is the time for people to renew themselves with the teachings of Christ. Presented in words in a thousand pulpits across the nation, some may be true to the teachings, but some may self-righteous, mournful and/or violent.

If I was asked about the rationale of my faith, I’d say that first, I believe in an universal order and meaning, and that in a power that is both greater than us and within us. I believe in a God I could worship formally wherever I am — a God that answers, that guides and shapes, and comforts us, a God that sees all.

And more than that, I believe in the God invoked by our public characters as an ally in righteousness. That which is, to believe with passion, kindness, decency, humility, courage and honor.

Isn’t the magnificence of the universe and the wonders of man and life like some cos-mic pattern? I see it revealed equally in a raindrop, in a gentle caressing breeze, in the shape of a leaf, the palpitating body of a tiny bird or the swell of a cumulus cloud. I can hear it in the chorales of Johannes Sebastian Bach. So now I ask, what can a preacher give me that Beethoven cannot? What can a sermon give me that that I cannot find in a Shakespeare sonnet, or in the lines of a great philosophers or poets like John Donne?

Still, can anyone imagine what it would have been to inter-act with the Lord? The ONe who

knows your every thought, your every word, even before you ever spoke. how do I attempt to clear away the cobwebs of formalism and tradition to take a fresh look at who Christ is, and what is he saying to me, through my amateur theologizing.

Imagining the sce-nario, I know I will come very prepared. I would read reli-giously, not browse, on the dogmas and every theological attribute I could muster. Of course, I will still be so intimi-dated!

If I could have a one-on-one with Jesus Christ, knowing that he existed, I will ask these ques-tions:

• Lord, given the fact that you have bestowed life, why did you give us death? Since we are born, why should we die?

• I will ask Jesus about everything — from the Virgin Birth, to the betrayal of his friend Judas Iscariot (whom Dante Alighieri in his “Divina Comedia Inferno Canto Uno” he put at the deepest layer of hell for that offense of treachery and betrayal).

• I would ask about Good Friday, easter Sunday and “free will.” I would ask why he gave Adam and eve free will, but banished them for their sin of disobedience they were predestined to do. (While on that topic, wasn’t the virtue of disobedience born on the day eve, that careless woman, bit the apple from the tree of knowl-edge of good and evil?).

About Good Friday, I don’t know why on the day on which man denied God, should it be called “Good?”

• Christ was both “Man” and “God,” had to experience mans refusal of the spirit, why is man unperturbed by what he did and does?” Lord Jesus as

a Man, you knew God. “I am “Man” and “God” so it is with each of you.

I struggle to understand that, we do not really know what we mean by “God” or “Man,” and the drain of its contradiction and resolution is everything.

The Blessed Virgin: The Great Mediatrix

One of the pleasures of be-ing in my age is reading books long forgotten, like Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and the Prarie Queen, which is alluded to the Blessed Virgin Mother. I’ve read the great flowering of trust in the Virgin, of glorious building in her honor, of the consummate artistry and rich harmony that flourish on every hand. From childhood I was so moved by the abundance of beauty that I was healed out a wound that ached in me — the inferiority of women.

Some men feel the need to make women inferior. We are galled, distorted, mortified and forever puzzled by it. They tend to take credit for achievement that are not theirs and some of us silently allow it, but why do they need to give us pain, we who are their mates and moth-ers? It intoxicates, heals and shames me.

Putting my trust and faith, I’ve learned dogmas declared that the Blessed Virgin was loved for her mercy, beauty and gift of inspiring its creation in others. Above all, she is loved for her generosity and power since she gave and forgave.

The Virgin’s virtue gave me strength and faith that I was so moved by the abundance of beauty that I was healed out a wound that ached in me — the inferiority of women.

***E-mail Mylah at moonlightingmdl@aol.

com

With the age of industrializa-tion, a lot of places that were once full of thick trees and soil have now been converted to concrete jungles. Places that were once untouched by nature now have cabins or tiny buildings built in the thick of them all. But even with the changes in their habitats, the animals native to the place manage to survive and adapt to their new surroundings.

If you live close to a forest or a park, you may notice the wildlife appearing around your gardens now and then. It can be entertain-ing and even rewarding to help out your animal neighbors, so here are 5 tips you can try out in order to harmonize with the nature around you:

For the birdsProbably the easiest neigh-

bors you can observe, birds can easily pop in and out of places with their natural ability to fly. It can soothe the heart and fill you with peace when you observe the little creatures hopping around your backyard, chirping a song or two. To get to know these flapping friends, leave out a plate, a bowl or a feeder filled with the kinds of seeds birds enjoy eating. You can also google how to make your own feeders with simple household appliances you have on-hand.

By the riversideIf your house is close to a

river or a body of water, it can give you the opportunity to find aquatic creatures like ducks, pond skaters and frogs (frogs are considered good omens in some cultures). Do your part and help clean up any garbage that may wind up in the water. The animals can choke or get hurt interacting with it. If you’re feeling a little generous dur-ing your free time, take some bread with you and feed the fish or ducks that have made their home in the area.

Bug buddiesYou may be thinking “ew!

Bugs!”, but not all insects are creepy, crawly or entirely useless. Butterflies are great example as they are both beautiful and help

with plant pollination. These crit-ters are attracted to plants native to the area that bloom midday and are brightly colored (warm colors like red and orange). Don’t kill spiders or shoo ladybugs ei-ther. They can help lowering the pest count in your garden by a lot. No more worrying about your garden being gobbled by aphids and such.

Four-legged friendsIf your home is near a

thicket or even a small untouched environment, you may catch a glimpse of rabbits or even deer. To attract and observe these animals close to your home, leave an easily accessible water source outside. You can purchase a bushel of inexpensive apples or collect acorns which you can then leave in pails outside your home. Research about other ways you can attract these creatures to your abode and try to avoid leaving foods that can attract

unwanted visitors like bears or foxes.

Observing animals close to the comfort of your home is a great activity for you to do with nature-minded friends or with your kids. Just remember: if you respect nature, nature will respect you back. If you are careful with these creatures, they won’t attack or bother you.

***Mango Tours is a provider of quality, affordable and convenient travel services that include low-priced airline tickets, customized Philippine and International Tour Packages, Cruises, Land Transfers, Passport and Visa Concerns. It is the #1 producer of reliable travel services particularly when it comes to Philippine travel arrange-ments to the Filipino-American community in the US Mango Tours is able to provide its customers with a number of travel options at affordable rates because of its consolidator contracts with over 11 airlines. Book your travel bookings with Mango Tours by calling its 24/7 U.S. toll-free number at 1-866-2-MANILA (1-866-2-626452). Visit www.mangotours.com to know more about its latest promos and travel offers.* *Advertising Supplement

A clean and green Plaza...The rest of the area contains a gymnasium, a large concrete tree house and other elements providing a good variety of facilities to the public.

The Sto. Niño parish church at the rear appears also to be a post-war reconstruction or reno-vation. It sits comfortably in a

complex of about a hectare and is accessible from three sides. We noticed several small build-ings under construction around the area, but nonetheless the pervasive shade and structure of the acacia canopies seem to smooth out all these separate elements and the space seems to be very popular and well

used by the townspeople.I give this plaza a 7.5 out of

10. The town has done a good job of keeping its generous area of green conserved, clean, and well maintained.

More Philippine plazas next week as we rediscover public space and its importance to our increasingly urban lives.

From Page 3

6 The Asian Journal MDWK MAGAZINE - March 23, 2016

San Miguel Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdog 16oz

WAS$3.99

SAVINGS37%

$52for

Pampanga Sweet/Hot Sausage 12oz

WAS$3.99

SAVINGS25%

$62for

King Carp Fish Crackers 100g

WAS$1.29

SAVINGS23%

99¢

IP Chicharon Asstd Flavors 2.5oz

WAS$1.29

SAVINGS23%

99¢

7-Up Soda Assorted Flavors 2L

WAS$1.89

SAVINGS48%

99¢

Hobe Bihon/Palabok 16oz

WAS$1.39

SAVINGS10%

$54for

Del Monte Fruit Juice Asstd Flavors 1L

WAS$2.79

SAVINGS28%

$42for

UFC Refresh 100% Natural Coconut Water 1L

WAS$3.99

SAVINGS37%

$52for

$3.99WAS

$5.99SAVINGS33%

Nestea Iced Tea Lemon 12/.5L

$1.99WAS

$2.59SAVINGS23%

Calbee Shrimp Chips XL

$14.99WAS

$20.99SAVINGS29%

IP Jasmine Rice 25lbs

$8.99WAS

$13.99SAVINGS36%

Colusa Calrose Rice (White/Brown) 15lbs

$5.99WAS

$8.99SAVINGS33%

San Miguel "Best of the Phils" Ice Cream Asstd Flavors 1.5L

$4.99WAS

$5.99SAVINGS17%

San Miguel Purefoods Corned Beef 12oz

$4.99WAS

$5.99SAVINGS17%

Bestaste Siopao Regular Asstd Flavors

$8.99WAS

$12.99SAVINGS31%

Pampanga Pork/Chicken Shanghai 36oz

$7.99WAS

$10.99SAVINGS27%

Gold Medal BBQ Fiesta Pack Asstd Flavors 20oz

$5.99WAS

$8.99SAVINGS33%

Ajinomoto Gyoza Asstd Flavors Family Pack 24.7oz

$1.99WAS

$4.69SAVINGS58%

Del Monte Spaghetti Sauce (Sweet/Filipino) 1kg

NEW

$1499WAS

$17.99SAVINGS

17%

IP Brown Jasmine Rice 20lbs

Presyong Sulit!

WAS

$0.99SAVINGS

49%

Chinese Eggplant

$12lbsfor

Presyong Sulit!

WAS

$0.79SAVINGS

37%

Regular Banana

$12lbsfor

Presyong Sulit!

WAS

$0.79SAVINGS

37%

Jicama

$12lbsfor

Presyong Sulit!

WAS

$0.99SAVINGS

49%

Spinach

$12pcsfor

Presyong Sulit!

WAS

$1.29SAVINGS

47%

Green Papaya

Presyong Sulit!

$129/lbWAS

$2.99SAVINGS

57%

Snow Peas

Presyong Sulit!

69¢/lbWAS

$0.50SAVINGS

34%

Green Cabbage

Presyong Sulit!

99¢3lbsfor

WAS

$0.79SAVINGS

58%

Navel Orange

Presyong Sulit!

99¢3lbsfor

WAS

$0.50SAVINGS

60%

Cilantro

Presyong Sulit!

$15pcsfor

$199/lbWAS

$2.59SAVINGS

23%

Pork Spare Ribs

Presyong Sulit!

$299/lbWAS

$4.99SAVINGS

40%

Beef Shoulder Clod

Presyong Sulit!

$149/lbWAS

$2.49SAVINGS

40%

White Bass

Presyong Sulit!

$149/lbWAS

$1.99SAVINGS

25%

Japanese Yellowtail Hamachi

Presyong Sulit!

$288/lbWAS

$3.49SAVINGS

17%

Fresh Tilapia

Presyong Sulit!

$699/boxWAS

$8.99SAVINGS

22%

1/2 Shell Mussel 2lbs

Presyong Sulit!

$699/lbWAS

$7.99SAVINGS

13%

Jumbo White Shrimp H/L

Presyong Sulit!

Meat & Seafood!

Fresh Produce!

Pantry Favorites!

“WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO TERMINATE THE SALES PROMO WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE. WE ALSO RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REPLACE ITEMS WITH PRODUCTS OF APPROXIMATE VALUE. NO RAIN CHECKS. PROMO GOOD WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER COUPON OR PROMO. PRICES MAY CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE. GIVEAWAYS NOT VALID FOR CUSTOMERS WITH DISCOUNT.”

Opening Soon in Cerritos & Rancho Cucamonga!

Valid at Island Pacific West Covina, Panorama, Canoga Park, N. Vermont Los Angeles, S. Vermont Los Angeles, Oxnard. Thursday - Wednesday • Mar 24-30

Happ� Easter!

Spring Sulit Savings!