asian journal sept 17 - 23, 2010

(Continued on page 2)

It could happen to you... p. 3

Put your money where your mouth is!

... p. 8

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“We laugh at other people for their bad English. Take a look at the signs in the Philippines. These are only a few ex-amples.”




couldn’t care less. They had been suffering the effects of economic injustice for decades. If one were to wait for the government and the rich politicians who ran the country to improve the lot of the poor, he would have to wait for a long time. The specter of poverty continued to linger on.

After a whole day of

Ni Percival Campoamor CruzKabanata 5

Sa muling pagkikita nina Dencio at Rosing ay sinadya nilang sila’y mapag-isa at nang magkausap ng puso sa puso. Sumakay sila sa isang bangka at tumungo sa isang pook sa laot na tahimik ang tubig.

-- Wala akong kamalay-malay, Dencio, na ako pala ang pinag-uusapan ng buong bayan. – bungad ni Rosing nang sila ay tumigil sa kalagitnaan ng laot at doon ay palutang-lutang lamang ang bangka.

-- Ako pala’y nakikipagkaibigan kay Jonathan at sa mata ng mga tao ay nagtataksil sa iyo. – dagdag pa ng dalaga. – Kasalanan ko na di ko kaagad ipinagtapat sa iyo na si Jonathan ay dati kong kaeskuwela sa uniber-

May Pakpak ang Pag-Ibig

Panaginip ba lamang?

The Mimosa Resort in Pampanga

September 17 - 24, 2010

Bill LabestreMsgr. Gutierrez Zena BabaoThe Blueprints

for Achievement... p. 9

Signs in the PhilippinesPNS -- The Armed Forces

of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday raised the red alert status to all military units in Mindanao to thwart any retaliatory attacks from the Abu Sayyaf group following the killing of three terrorists, including a sub-commander, midnight of Saturday in Sulu.

At a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. said that military units all over Mindanao have started inten-sifying intelligence operations after the killing of Gafur Jum-dail, younger brother of Abu Sayyaf top leader Gumbahali Jumdail, alias Doctor Abu.

“We are actually on red alert in the whole of Mind-anao,” said Mabanta.

“The Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces are on alert because of the possibility that the brother may seek revenge,” added Mabanta.

This, as at least two explo-sions were reported in Min-danao areas — one in Sultan Kudarat and another at the heart of Cotabato City.

Authorities, however, are still investigating whether the blasts were linked to the kill-ing of the younger Jumdail.

Mabanta, however, main-tained the military does not see the need for additional deployment of troops in the region.

“There is no need to add forces in the area because we have enough forces there. The important thing is stepped up intelligence operations,” said Mabanta.

Mabanta stressed that intensified intelligence opera-tions is now ongoing not only in Mindanao but throughout the country.

While there is no specific threat from the terrorist group, Mabanta said the PNP and AFP leadership opted to take pro-active stance to avert any retaliatory attacks.

“It has been decided by the PNP and the Armed Forces, that higher level of alert has been instituted considering the older brother of one of the fatalities is a significant leader in the group. In fact, he is called the bomber,” said Mabanta.

Doctor Abu is among the top-ranking Abu Sayyaf lead-

Armed Forces of the Philippines raises alert status

Four years ago, the only thing Jeson Patrombon knew about tennis was hitting a ball against a wall with an empty glass bottle.

Now the 17-year-old Filipino, who used to serve as a ballboy at his local club for some pocket money, is representing his country at the first Youth Olympics and has been ranked 43rd in the International Tennis Federa-tion Junior Rankings, thanks largely to his coach Em-manuel Tecson.

“When I first saw him, he was hitting balls with a bottle. I saw him and thought if this kid can hit a ball with a bottle without any shoes on, I thought let’s give him a racquet,” the 45-year-old

Jeson Patrombon

Tennis helps Filipino teener find way to Olympic stage

Filipino coach said.Soon after being spotted,

Patrombon moved to the tennis academy of the Philip-

By Dr. Cesar D. Candari22nd in a series of articles

It was a time of helping our countrymen. Medical missions were in abundance, participated by several medi-cal, civic, and social organi-zations in America. My wife and I made it a point to join these humanitarian projects. After participating a number of years in these medical missions, I had seen enough of the poorest of the poor. Yet, there were places in the Philippines that dramatically contrasted the life of the poor. These observations will be shared with you.

Access to medical care

for millions of very poor Filipinos was non-existent. It seemed that there was no way out for them even though the government was trying to solve the social, economic and political prob-lems in the country. The cost of medicines was expensive, if not prohibitive, and things

From Antique to America: Memoirs of a Filipino American Doctor

The Poor and The Rich

“How about our dinner, we are already hungry,” the mother asked her son.

Romy got enraged with the lack of con-cern of his parents. He railed: “ Putang na (Son of a bitch). Cook rice and eat it with salt and water. They’re always

the food you fed us when we were kids, anyway.”

By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Asian Journal San DiegoThe Original and First Asian Journal In

America

See page 8

Promised Land

Salt and Water

were not going to be better especially when there was a problem with the Philippine currency during those years. And whenever a crisis of this magnitude occurred, the price of every basic commodity went up, including the “ga-lunggong,” a small mackerel-like fish. Did I see in the faces of these poor families the currency crisis going on in the country? I’d say no. They

September 17 - 23, 2010Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com


poor families in barangays Sto. Nino and San Jose of Pampanga and of those living in the affl uent Mimosa Lei-sure Estate of Clark Air Base nearby. I was still in limbo as to where our country was going!

SURVIVED BOMBINGS IN MANILA AND KILLER TEMBLOR

It was Saturday morning

on July 9, 1990 when three of my friends, Jake Jacob, Art Gairanod, Mila Denton, and I arrived in Manila. We had a reunion of the Movement for Free Philippines (MFP). Mila’s brother a lawyer, Ben Maynigo, the son-in-law of Secretary Raul Manglapus, welcomed us. Despite the constant rumors of possible coup détats, we still decided to take a trip to the Philip-pines.

We checked in at the historic Manila Hotel. After a few phone calls to friends and relatives in the city, we learned that the reunion was postponed and we were scheduled instead to have a dinner-meeting with Secretary Manglapus on July 12th at his offi ce.

That following evening, we were treated by one of our local friends to a typical night-life in the metropolis. We stopped at two night clubs along Roxas Blvd. To our sur-prise, we found them crowded with Filipinos who looked and behaved like they had quite

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Law Offi ces of Chua Tinsay & Vegawww.ctvattys.com

by Atty. Jean TinsayLegal Buzz

Read Atty. Jean Tinsay’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

Almost everyone who is in the United States chasing their American dream aspires to be-come a naturalized U.S. citi-zen. With citizenship comes certain benefi ts, one of which is that you no longer need to fear that you may be subject to deportation. Thus, as soon as one is eligible and meet all the requirements, it is advisable to fi le a naturalization appli-cation. There is, however, a class of foreign-born children who automatically become U.S. citizens without the need for fi ling a naturalization ap-plication.

The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 which went into effect on February 27, 2001 provides for automatic citizenship for certain foreign-born children of U.S. citizens. To be eli-gible, a child must meet the following requirements:

The child must have at 1. least one United States citizen parent (by birth or naturalization);The child is under 18 2. years old;The child has been 3. admitted to the United States as a lawful per-manent resident or has adjusted status;The child is currently 4. residing permanently in the United States in the legal and physical cus-tody of the U.S. citizen parent.

Automatic CitizenshipThe law also applies to

adopted children provided they meet the above-require-ments. As to the legal cus-tody requirement, the USCIS presumes that the U.S. citizen parent has “legal custody” in cases where the child is a legitimate or legitimated child. For those children who meet the requirements, citizenship is acquired automatically by operation of law on the day of admission to the United States as an immigrant or on the day the last condition for acquiring citizenship is satisfi ed. There is no need to apply for natural-ization. However, if the child wants evidence of his U.S. citizenship he can either apply for a U.S. passport with the Department of State or for a Certifi cate of Citizenship with the USCIS.

To illustrate, let us take the case of 25 year old Mateo who was born in the Philip-pines in 1985. At the time of his birth, his parents were not married. Subsequent to his birth, Mateo’s father who was a benefi ciary of a family-based petition fi led by Ma-teo’s grandparent immigrated to the United States. A few years later, his father returned to the Philippines, married his mother and immediately fi led an immigrant petition for Mateo and the mother. In 1994 Mateo’s father became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

When, Mateo was 11 years old he came to the United States as a lawful permanent resident with his mother. During the Labor Day weekend, Mateo had one drink too many at his cousin’s house. While driving erratically on his way home, he noticed a police car follow-ing him. In his fear of getting caught drinking and driving he tried to elude the police before he was fi nally apprehended. Mateo now faces criminal charges of DUI and evading the police. Mateo is worried that he may be deported due to the criminal charges fi led against him.

Fortunately, for Mateo he is already a U.S. citizen and thus cannot be deported from the United States. Ma-teo automatically became a U.S. citizen when the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 took effect in February 27, 2001. At that time, he met all the requirements for automatic citizenship, he was admitted to the United States as a perma-nent resident, he had one U.S. citizen parent, he resided in the United States in the physi-cal and legal custody of his parents and he was under the age of 18 when the law took effect.

Atty. Jean S. Tinsay is a partner in the Law Firm of Chua Tinsay and Vega (CTV) - a full service law fi rm with offi ces in San Francisco, San Diego and Manila. The infor-mation presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (415) 495-8088; (619) 955-6277; [email protected]

grueling work at the medical camp mission in barrio San Jose, one of the local hosts, Lions Club Ms. Apostol, gave us a tour of the Mimosa resort. It was only a few miles away from San Jose but this place imparted to me Ripley’s “believe-it-or-not”…a con-trasting haven of affl uence from barrio San Jose.. This re-sort was formerly U.S. Clark Air Base’s 250-hectare lahar-covered landscape that was transformed into a resort.

As we entered the gated and guarded estate I asked myself if this was a real sign of economic growth in the Philippines spreading from Metro Manila to other regions like the Subic Bay of Olon-gapo and the Clark Air Base of Pampanga. Was this a sign of the eventual deliverance of the sordid living conditions and unimaginable poverty of the people of barangays Santo Nino and San Jose? I had re-ally hoped so. According to reports I have read, the Philip-pines now ranks fourth among the emerging markets in Asia.

There is this glamorous Mimosa Regency Casino, ala Las Vegas style, with 200 slot machines and card tables of all sorts. Entertainment and revue dancers from Las Vegas come here. For luxuri-ous resort accommodations, there is a Holiday Inn Hotel with 337-fully air condi-tioned rooms and formerly the Chamber’s Hall of the Ameri-can GI in Clark fi eld replete with gourmet restaurants, duty-free shops and bou-tiques. Imagine we were in the midst of a 125-hectare and a 36 all-weather golf course designed by the acclaimed Honolulu-based team of


The Poor and The Rich(Continued from page 1) Nelson, Wright and Haworth.

The course has four distinc-tive nines and was a dream for seasoned golfers. Designed by international consultants, the country club was sprawl-ing greenery with numerous foothills and challenging hazards surrounded by lav-ish fl ora and coconut trees. A natural creek gently snaked through a spectacle of breath-taking landscape. There were newly built two-car garage homes and tile-roofed villas clustered within the premises for long-term vacationers with spacious bedrooms, modern kitchens, tasteful fi xtures and furnishings. This was indeed a place for vacation, a fantasy, a home away from home, and the country’s fi nest destination for leisure in central Luzon! It was only a one-hour drive from Manila; an ideal nearby gateway from the hustle and bustle of urban life.

Let me describe to you what I saw in Mimosa. The scenery, the aura, the land-scape, the ambiance, and the bright neon lights sprouting from tree branches were like the brightest of day in con-trast to the darkest of night if I were to compare the beauty and lavishness of Mimosa with the conditions in the depressed areas of Santo Nino and San Jose. Such stark contrast in the Filipinos’ strata of life was glaringly apparent in the living conditions of the

Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comSeptember 17 - 23, 2010

Bill’s Corner

Read Bill Labestre’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Bill Labestre, MBA

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We can only wish that nothing bad could happen to us or our family. No matter how careful we are, accidents or calamities still occur be-yond our control. Maybe it’s a test of our faith or challenges to keep us stronger. We just have to be ready to respond when the unexpected happens.

What would you do if you get laid off from a job that you thought was secure until your retirement? What happens after the unemployment claim expired? That’s why we need to train for a back-up job. We have to make adjustments on our lifestyle and explain to the kids the realities of life. Never forget to save money for the rainy days when life is good and bountiful. Good thing do not last forever.

It’s always tempting to overspend and overindulge when there’s extra money in your bank accounts. You can always find reasons to justify unnecessary spending. Have you forgotten your younger days when you survived on paycheck to paycheck? Do you still remember why you came to America? We should never forget our humble be-ginnings.

We could learn from our mistakes and that of others. If you’re still young, you have plenty of time to recover from your financial chaos. If you are close to retirement, it’s not the end of the world. Think and analyze the bad situation and make adjustments. Ask for some advice or call for

It Could Happen To Youhelp.

Filipino husbands tend to shoulder most responsibilities at home. Times have changed and so are the roles we play. There is no shame in asking the wife and children for help.

Once upon a time you were single and doing just fine with your simple life. Then, you fell in love with somebody and things have changed. The dating and courtship was full of excitement and anticipa-tion. Life became fun and colorful. Of course, some fell in love many times while a few never had the experience at all.

One day you decided to get married and were hoping to live happily ever after. Surely, the first few years were fun and full of new adventures. You both learned to accept each others imperfections since the love was blooming. Building a new life together was really a big challenge.

Later, the children came and also the added responsi-bilities. Good parenting was hard enough and the financial burden was building up. The sporty cars were replaced by Minivans or Multi-purpose vehicles with unique interior smell. The designer purse was replaced by a diaper bag and the hot pumps by the ugly flat shoes. It also became harder to schedule your romantic date nights. Suddenly you felt old and always sleep de-prived.

Somehow, you both man-aged to become responsible

parents and kept the marriage intact. Life challenges have made you stronger and you still dream of growing old together. The kids are grown up and out of the nest. Full retirement is not far away but coming soon.

What would you do if

all of a sudden your loving spouse was diagnosed with a terminal illness? Are you strong enough to handle such a horrible scenario? We al-ways believe in living happily ever after but, this thing could happen to you.

By: Father Shay Cullen

It’s no secret that guards, police and barangay officials beat, abuse, kick and hu-miliate Filipino youth when apprehended and later await-ing trial in jails and detention centers. Their testimonies and their medical examinations when released prove it. It happens in the UK also as the Observer newspaper recently exposed a government manual that taught guards how to beat, punch and gouge youth in privately run UK detention centers.

In the Philippines and many developing countries the youth and children, aban-doned street children are arbitrarily arrested and held in medieval dungeon like condi-tions without beds, toilets, showers, dining facilities, exercise, sunshine, entertain-ment, recreation or education for months on end. They en-dure hunger, under-nutrition, lack of medical care, suffer diseases, scabies and some are brutalized and sexually abused by older inmates and guards.

They may be guilty but have not been convicted and are too poor to pay bail. They are held for weeks, months and even years before their case is heard and finished. Then it is frequently dis-missed for lack of evidence.

Respect, Affirmation, Dignity, Restores Broken Lives

Every day, tens of thou-sands of children around the world wake up behind bars. Many will have committed no offence.

The Philippines is 80 per-cent Catholic and these inhu-man conditions continue de-spite laws forbidding it. That needs a national examination of conscience and repentance. Jesus Christ said: “When I was in jail you came to visit me”... “So long as you did it to one of these the neediest of all you did it to me”. But who really cares? They are God’s children whom Jesus called to himself but society rejects them.

Likewise the general si-lence and failure of religious leaders and church goers to act and protest against the widespread rape, abuse and exploitation of children traf-ficked into the sex industry, the wide-scale abortion and incest it promotes, will surely bring God’s condemnation and great shame on all.

Faith without action is dead, St. James says. We live with shame that stuns the

world and that will continue until the sword of justice is raised and lady justice pulls off that blindfold to see the injustice and act to end the suffering of abuse victims.

Non-implementation of the law to save the victims of sex tourism and the dismissal by some prosecutors of traffick-ing and child abuse cases is shocking beyond belief. The endless courtroom delays, the sickening sympathy for the suspects of child rape and the legal manipulation that allows the rapists to go free is the most depressing and the worst corruption imaginable.

The greatest challenge of the Aquino Administration and Secretary of Justice Leila De Lima is to end this culture of corruption and blatant brib-ery that is robbing the poor Filipinos of the respect and dignity that they truly deserve.

While there are thousands of courageous Filipinos out in the streets, visiting jails and courtrooms fighting for the victims, there is little support for their heroic efforts. Their greatest enemy is apathy and indifference to the plight of the children in this nation.

The cries of the victims for justice go mostly unheard and all the while children are raped by local and internation-al sex tourists, and relatives. Many are made pregnant, children are having children, that’s when the abortionists don’t get them first.

In the Preda homes for abused children, the teenage mothers get all the help and support they need to give birth in dignity and decency and bring up the child in a safe and in a healthy environment.

Despite all the physical and psychological damage, they can recover once given sup-port, encouragement, respect, affirmation and dignity. These are the spiritual values that

restore broken and wounded lives.

In the Preda home for the teenage boys who have been rescued from jails and prisons where they were once treated as rejects, criminals, vermin, pests and punch bags do re-spond positively to affirming respect, friendship, care and dignity. They are transforming their lives and can live with-out violence and crime where their needs, so long denied them, are fulfilled.

Hundreds have been re-leased to this program over the past six years by compas-sionate judges and prosecutors all over Central Luzon. They come to the open center that has no walls, fences guards, or punishment and is free of abuse, physical, verbal and psychological.

They can walk away any-time but 93% choose to stay and change their lives for the better. It could be replicated for thousands still in jails. What you can do to help is to clip this article, mail it to the Hon. Justice Secretary Leila M. De Lima, Padre Faura Street, Manila, Philippines. The truth may set them free. Write to Fr. Shay Cullen at P.O. Box 68, Olongapo City, Philippines email: shaycullen @ gmail.com

Reach the lucrative Asian Pacific Islander Market by advertising in the Asian Journal!Call (619) 474-0588


by Dr. Ofelia Dirige Founder, President & CEO Kalusugan Community Services

Contemporary Asian American Issues

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

Kalusugan Community Services (KCS) sponsored a workshop last Saturday to answer some of the questions or barriers that one may have that prevents them from being active. Topics included are:

how to incorporate walking or PA into your life, how many steps you need to take each day, how to walk properly, what kind of shoes to wear, how to measure the num-ber of steps you have done, and lastly, how to determine whether you have a “walk-able” neighborhood.

We have always advocated increased physical activ-

Strides to healthy livingWalking is one of the best forms of physical activity

you could possibly do, yet people do not walk as much as they should.

We should be taking 10,000 steps a day, which is the equivalent of five miles…..Champions for Change

ity (PA) and healthy eating as preventive measures for obesity and overweight. Yet, most of us concentrate more on dieting, reducing portion sizes and sometimes starv-ing ourselves so we can lose

weight or avoid gaining weight. We tend to forget PA thinking that if we eat alright that every-thing will be ok. Healthy eating and increased PA should always go together.

Some of our reasons

for not getting active are many. First of all, we are all so busy with many differ-ent activities that exercising has no place in our schedule. Some are just too lazy to ex-ercise and would rather watch TV or work at the computer. Other reasons may be the lack of a partner or friend to walk with or many may have no clue at all on how to increase

their PA. Most of all, there may be no places close to home that one can exercise. The neighborhood may not be “walkable” or friendly and safe.

The most important thing to start moving is to have a mind set for it. If you are convinced that you need to move to prevent obesity and its accompanying condi-tions such as diabetes, some types of cancer, heart disease, stroke, gout and others, then you will go out and exercise. Some of us wait until we have s stroke or heart attack before we move. Walking is the best form of exercise as it is free, there’s no need for a part-ner, you don’t have to dress up like you would to go to a gym, you can go anytime you want, as long as you have a walkable neighborhood.

Larissa Johnson, Physi-cal Activity and Community Youth Organization Coordi-nator for the “Network for a Healthy California- San Diego and Imperial Counties” facili-tated the workshop. She an-swered many questions asked by the participants as well as those posted above. This was a workshop where we moved constantly during the three hours instead of just sitting down listening to a lecture on PA and walking. We stretched, walked, jog, run and played games.

Here are some of the topics she discussed:

Physical Activity Guide-lines for 2008:

Physical inactivity and unhealthy eating contribute to at least 300,000 prevent-able deaths each year accord-ing to the Center for Disease Control. More than 61% of the American population are overweight (30% above their

ideal weight). Even children are 11% grossly obese. Our KCS survey showed that 48% of FilAms are obese and 13% are obese.

Nationally, only about 15% of U.S. adults engage in vigorous PA regularly and only 22% engage in sustained PA of any intensity during leisure time on a regular basis. In California, more than 1/3 (38%) of Latino adults and 19% of Caucasian adults re-ported having no leisure time PA. Our KCS survey done in 2000, showed that only 30% did moderate and vigorous ac-tivity most days of the week. The current guidelines state that “adults should do mod-erate exercise for 30 minutes most days of the week and 30 minutes of vigorous ex-ercise at least 2-3 times per week. Children are recom-mended to participate in PA for 60 minutes each day. Minutes of exercise can be broken down into 10 minute segments and need not be continuous.”

Moderate activities include ballroom and line dancing, biking on level ground or with few hills, canoeing, general gardening (raking, trimming shrubs), sports where you catch and throw (baseball,

softball, volleyball), tennis (doubles), using your manual wheelchair, using hand cyclers (ergometers), walking briskly and water aerobics. Vigor-ous activities include aerobic dance, biking faster than 10 miles/hr, fast dancing, heavy gardening (digging, hoeing), hiking uphill, jumping rope, martial arts (eskrima, karate), race walking/jogging/running, sports with a lot of running (basketball, soccer, hockey), swimming fast or swimming laps and tennis singles.

Finding Your Stride (long

step in walking) and Measur-ing It

To find your stride, step naturally forward with the right foot, and place a 6 inch tiny string to mark it.

Then walk forward natu-rally, heel first then toe for about 10-15 feet and count the number of strides.

Some of us have short strides and some have long ones.

Then walk back and count again the number of steps. Swing your arms while walking, chin up, and body forward. We can put variety in our walking by walking faster, sideways, backward, or

changing locations. We need to walk at least

10, 000 steps each day and this can be measured by using a pedometer. A pedometer is a small measuring device like a beeper that you attach to your body and measures the number of steps you took for that particular day. We have several pedometers available from KCS that we can spare if you need one and we can show you how to use it.

ASSESSING THE NEIGHBORHOOD

WALKABILITY

There is a theory that Americans are the fattest people in the planet due to suburban sprawl. This means that as modern suburbs have expanded, so has the nation’s waistline and researchers believe the exodus from urban centers- where stores, restau-rants, home and schools are clustered together – is partly to blame. This community design is the root cause of

low activity and increasing weight in millions of people. If there’s nowhere to walk in your neighborhood, why are you going to walk?

Studies show that walking trips in the U.S. are rapidly declining, while car trips are increasing. In 1977, nearly 10% of trips were made by walking and about 84% were by car. By 1995, walking was only 5.5% and car trips hit al-most 90%. Walking or cycling trips to school by children were down 40% in the same period.

It seems that the commu-nity is engineered out of the


Perspectives

ASIAN JOURNALThe first Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern CaliforniaAn award-winning newspaper, it is San Diego’s most

widely circulated Asian-Filipino newspaper!

Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

In Pursuit of ExcellenceEugenio “Ego” Osin, (1946 - 1994)

Joe Cabrera, (1924 - 1996)Soledad Bautista, (1917-2009)

Dr. Rizalino “Riz” Oades, (1935-2009)

The Asian Journal is published weekly and distributed in all Asian communties in San Diego County. Publication date is ev-ery Friday of the month. Advertising deadline is Thursday prior to publication date at 5 p.m. For advertising rates, rate cards, or information, call (619) 474-0588. Subscription by mail is available for $50 per year (56 issues). The Asian Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and photographs but welcomes sub-missions. Entire content is © 2009 copyrighted material by Asian Journal. Materials in this publication may not be reproduced without specific permission from the publisher.

Genevieve SilverioManaging Editor

Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Miles BeauchampAssociate Editor

Santi SilverioAssociate Publisher

At Large...

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

by Miles Beauchamp

There is an anonymous poem circulating around the net that looks back and says how good, and innocent, and wonderful everything used to be. Unfortunately that’s just so much nonsense. Things were never as good as we want to believe. I’m printing part of the ridiculous poem here with my comments in italics.

Long ago and far awayThings were never as good as you think they were

The Land of Sandra Dee

Long ago and far away,In a land that time forgot,Before the days of DylanOr the dawn of Camelot,There lived a race of inno-cents And they were you and me, (sorry, no, not you and certainly not me)Long ago and far awayIn the Land of Sandra Dee.

Oh, there was truth and good-ness in that land where we were born (no lies? No hatred? No war? Yeah, right),Where navels were for or-anges,And Peyton Place was porn.For Ike was in the White House and Hoss was on TV,And God was in his heavenIn the Land of Sandra Dee.

We learned to gut a muffler,We washed our hair at dawn,We spread our crinolines to dry, In circles on the lawn. (What about people living in slums? There weren’t many lawns in the inner cities)And they could hear us com-ingAll the way to Tennessee,All starched and sprayed and rumblingIn the Land of Sandra Dee.

We fell for Frankie Avalon,Annette was oh, so nice,And when they made a movie,They never made it twice.(They didn’t have to, they were all the same anyway)We didn’t have a Star Trek Five,Or Psycho Two and Three,Or Rocky-Rambo Twenty In the Land of Sandra Dee.

We had our share of heroes,We never thought they’d go,At least not Bobby Darin,Or Marilyn Monroe. (a hero?)For youth was still eternal, (not to all the young men lost in wars) And life was yet to be,And Elvis was forever, (while he was getting stoned)In the Land of Sandra Dee.

We’d never seen the rock bandThat was Grateful to be Dead,And Airplanes weren’t named Jefferson, And Zeppelins

weren’t Led.And Beatles lived in gardens then,And Monkees in a tree,Madonna was a virginIn the Land of Sandra Dee.

We’d never heard of Micro-waves, (no one was cooking by camp fire either, however)Or telephones in cars,And babies might be bottle-fed,But they weren’t grown in jars (still aren’t).And pumping iron got wrin-kles out,And “gay” meant fancy-free,And dorms were never coedIn the Land of Sandra Dee.

We hadn’t seen enough of jetsTo talk about the lag,And microchips were what were left at the bottom of the bag.And hardware was a box of nails,And bytes came from a flea,And rocket ships were fictionIn the Land of Sandra Dee.Buicks came with portholes, (and engines that spewed pollution everywhere)And side show came with freaks (oh, yeah, let’s make fun of a birth condition),And bathing suits came big enough to cover both your cheeks (um, no they didn’t).And Coke came just in bottles (wrong),And skirts came to the knee,And Castro came to power (what? this was good?)In the Land of Sandra Dee.

We had no Crest with Fluo-ride,We had no Hill Street Blues,We all wore superstructure brasDesigned by Howard Hughes.We had no patterned panty-hoseOr Lipton herbal teaOr prime-time ads for con-doms

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

There were no golden arches, (there were plenty of other drive through restaurants)And fish were not called Wanda (it was just a film),And cats were not called Bill.And middle-aged was thirty-five (not to anyone who was thirty-five)And old was forty-three (never),And ancient was our parentsIn the Land of Sandra Dee.

But all things have a season,Or so we’ve heard them say,And now instead of Maybel-lineWe swear by Retin-A.And they send us invitationsTo join AARP,We’ve come a long way, baby,From the Land of Sandra Dee.

So now we face a brave new worldIn slightly larger jeans,And we tell our children’s children of the way it used to Be, long ago and far awayAnd wonder why they’re us-ingSmaller print in magazines.

Can you say ridiculous?

So there you have an absurd poem, a lament for a land and time that never was. The real land was infinitely worse and very unfair. Love

that land of Sandra Dee? Well, love it unless you were a woman and wanted to climb a corporate ladder...or run for office.

Love that land of Sandra Dee? Well, love it as long as you were white. You prob-ably didn’t like it as much if you were African, or Latino, or Asian or well, most any-thing besides white. Yeah, love that land of Sandra Dee. Well, love it unless you happened to be an individual of color living in Watts…or Mississippi…or Alabama…or just about anywhere in the US. But hey, each to his neighborhood!

If there was truth and goodness in the land of Sandra Dee then why did women and individuals of non-European heritage want, demand, demonstrate, riot for more? Didn’t expect to see a Boy George with lipstick? True, the “Boy Georges” were all living in hiding, afraid of being killed if they came out.

You want a land of San-dra Dee? You’re welcome to it – that’s my nightmare. Personally, I want the land of Boy George, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and, well, I want the land of 2010. And I will tell my children the way it used to be long ago and far away in the Land of Sandra Dee and work to give her and him the intellect to see that it never comes back.



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Adultery (also called philandery) is a form of extramarital sex. It is sexual infi delity to ones spouse. Three recent studies in the United States, using nationally representative samples, have found that about 10–15% of women and 20–25% of men admitted to having engaged in extramarital sex. Adultery is still illegal in twenty-two (22) states, but not in California. However, the California Fam-ily Code section 720 clearly states that in a marriage, “Husband and wife contract toward each other obligations of mutual respect, fi delity, and support.” Since marriage is a contract, committing adul-tery is a breach of contract for which there must be a civil remedy. But are there really any consequences to adultery? California is a “no-fault” state, which means that the dissolution of a marriage requires neither a showing of wrong-doing of either party nor any evidentiary proceed-ings at all. Laws providing for no-fault divorce allow a family court to grant a divorce in response to a petition by either party to the marriage, without requiring the peti-tioner to provide evidence that the respondent has com-mitted a breach of the marital contract. Put it succinctly, the family court does not care if one party has cheated on the other party. Cheating alone

Some random thoughts on sexually illegal acts, infi delity, bigamy,

concubinage and adulterywould probably not affect cus-tody. The court has to make a fi nding that the cheater is an unfi t parent in order to affect custody and visitation. Child custody and visitation is determined by the “best interests of the children” rule. It is presumed that children will benefi t from “frequent and continuing contact” with both the mother and father. Adultery does not affect child support but may affect spou-sal support. If the cheater is living with somebody, then it may decrease his/her need for spousal support. For Immi-gration purposes adultery can be a lethal weapon. Adultery can be used as proof that the marriage was not bona fi de, as a form of emotional abuse, as proof of lack of good moral character. Under the USCIS regulations, the applicant for citizenship shall be found to lack good moral character if, during the required period, had an extramarital affair which tended to destroy an existing marriage UNLESS the applicant can establish “extenuating circumstances”. The applicant has the burden to show that extenuating cir-cumstances exist.

Now let’s go to Philippine law. The Philippines is one of a few states in the internation-al community that still consid-ers sexual infi delity, in a gen-eral sense, a crime. Honestly,


By RDLiporada

Publisher’s note: The complete novel serialized here is on Unholy Allied

Mountains by RDLiporada. For those who would

want to procure a copy of the book online, go to

unholyalliedmountains.com. In the previous series, Ding is invited by Commander

Ronald to visit the Cordilleras to write about

the NPAs in that area.

Chapter III continued (Sixth of a series)

“Allah-O-Akbar,” greeted the Pakistanis as, after one another, they shook the hand of Ronald as they entered the classroom of pine wood tables and pine stumps. They were darker and had thicker hair than the Filipino NPAs but, like Ronald, the nine Paki-stanis were barefooted and in varied shades of denims and shirts.

‘Allah-O-Akbar.’ Ronald was not used to being greeted ‘Allah-O-Akbar’ – God is great. To him, there appeared to be a bitter under taste in the greeting. These nine Pakistanis, however, are not only Muslims. They are also Marxist-Leninists.

Like the Hindu, Burmese, Myanmar, South American, and other communists who have come before them, these Pakistani members of the revitalized Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party have come to learn from the NPAs’ close to four decades experi-ence of protracted struggle. With their steady growth since their founding in 1969, the NPA revolutionary armed struggle against the Philippine Government stands to be the longest running among the Third World communist par-ties. In the spirit of Proletarian Internationalism, Ronald and the NPAs are only too proud to share their experiences

with other communists of the world. After all, this is the essence of the international struggle of all the oppressed of the world.

“Welcome,” beamed Ron-ald poised to start his lecture.

“Allah-O-Akbar,” respond-ed the Pakistanis in unison.

To be greeted in the Mus-lim way sounded really disso-nant to Ronald. Communists have considered religion to be an opiate of the people. Mo-hammedanism is a religion much like Catholicism that had been ingrained deeply among the Filipinos.

Catholicism is one fac-tor why the revolution in the Philippines is taking longer than it should. Being an opi-ate, it has lulled the masses where their exploited state is God given and must be ac-cepted. If it is their station in life to be mere peasants, to be housekeepers of the landlords and be raped by their mas-ters, so be it. They will not fight for blessed is the meek for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. When one slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek. He who lives by the sword will die by the sword.

It is a struggle of the mind to convince the masses that the exploiting classes are us-ing religion to hold the mass-es at bay – for them not to rebel so the exploiters could continue exploiting them.

Why not look at it the other way? The bible justifies revolution. Remember how Moses invoked the power of God to drown the Egyptians in the Red Sea? Also, didn’t Jesus Christ advise to visit those imprisoned? Who are being imprisoned anyway? Aren’t they the poor who, in their poverty, are forced to commit crimes? And who are the others being impris-oned? Aren’t they those rebels captured by the enemy? And how could we cloth the naked if we do not grab the garbs from the exploiters? Truly, those who live by the sword will die by the sword. Aren’t those in the ruling classes who brandish the arms? How could they die by the arms if we do not raise arms against them?

The masses might reluc-tantly agree with the passages in the bible invoking revolu-tion but still would not fight. It was God who drowned the Egyptians, not the Israel-ites. Someday, He will have mercy and shower us bounti-ful blessings. Bahala na. God

will decide our fate.They will not fight until a

qualitative leap changes their lives and have no recourse but to join the struggle – their final piece of land is land-grabbed, a member of their family is slain by the mili-tary for no justifiable reason, their employment has ceased because their justified asking for a raise during a strike has not been awarded for the em-ployer has applied brute force to break the strike.

For the convinced masses, religion is transformed from being an opiate to an in-vigorating energy to truly love mankind, to truly serve humanity, to truly serve the masses as Christ has com-manded. Christ has said love your neighbor and you would love me. How can one love his neighbor if you do not liberate him from his oppres-sion?

Mohammedanism is also a religion. As such, it should also be an opiate of the peo-ple. However, to extremists, Mohammedanism had be-come an upper inducing drug in their quest to annihilate the modern Gentiles, the infidels.

Extremists do no distin-guish between exploiters and the exploited. All Americans are infidels. Extremists do not distinguish between American exploiters who constitute the imperialists and the exploited Americans. Co-lateral dam-age, no matter how gargantu-an is no object as long as they slaughter infidels.

Yet in the greater scheme of things, the extremists are helping to weaken the forces of imperialism worldwide. We do not condone their terror-ism but like it or not, they do help out annihilate imperialist forces. The deployment of US armed forces in Iraq and Af-ghanistan lessens the US sol-diers that could be sent to the Philippines just in case their local military boys are finally annihilated by the NPAs.

Yes, such are the extrem-ists but these Pakistanis are not extremists. They are Marxist-Leninist Muslims. They are not terrorists and care about the masses.

“First on security,” said Ronald. “There are sentries posted well far from our perimeters. Should enemies be approaching from one side, we will be escaping towards the opposite side. Second, we will have three days of theo-retical reviews as applied to the conditions of the Philip-pine revolution. It will be up

to you to relate information you learn on your particular conditions in Pakistan. Third, after the discussions, you will be assigned to different squads for immersion with the masses. Any questions, com-ments, before we begin?”

“Allah-O-Akbar.”“So,” Ronald said. “Let us

draw the line between who our enemies are and who are the most revolutionary forces. See how it is similar to Paki-stan’s situation. Bear in mind Sun Tzu’s dictum – ‘Know your enemy, know yourselves; a hundred battles, a hundred victories’.

“It should be ironic that 90 percent of the wealth of our country benefits only 10 per-cent of the population. Of this, only one percent has actual control of the total economy. The other 90 percent of the population wallow in poverty, grappling, fighting over the 10 percent crumbs from the economy.

“Those in the one percent are of the Landlord Class who are the primary conduits of the Imperialists who would want to keep the Philippines

backward as a mere agricul-tural nation so they could have a perpetual source of raw materials. The landlords who own the vastest tracts of lands are only more than too happy to be exporters of these raw materials such as coco-nut, tobacco, sugar, hemp and others.

“Hand in hand with the landlord class are the Big Comprador Bourgeoisie. These are those who profit most as middle men between the landlords in exporting the raw materials and the impe-rialists in importing finish products. It is to their interest that the nation would never industrialize.

“Together, the landlords and the big compradors con-trol the government as only they can finance campaigns to make sure that their can-didates win to represent their interests.

“They then constitute the tripartite evils of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism.”

“And they use the state’s military to suppress those who would question and fight the system, right?” interjected one of the Pakistanis.

“Right.” Ronald beamed.“And that is called fas-

cism.”“Correct.”“Really no different from

our situation.”

(To be continued)

Unholy Allied Mountains

The book “Unholy Allied Mountains” by R.D. Liporada is available from Amazon.com.


The Poor and The Rich(Continued from page 2)some money to spend. We lingered around and listened to nostalgic music from a live band while sipping a few drinks.

Since our reunion meetings did not materialize, we totally changed our plan into a vaca-tion trip to beautiful and inter-esting places in the Philippine Islands. We enjoyed our stay at the Manila Hotel with all its luxurious, modern ameni-ties and facilities. The guest rooms induced an atmosphere filled with elegance and showcased the authenticity of Philippine culture. Our early mornings were spent in and around the naturally warm swimming pool. Our breakfast was served at the poolside bar in the center of the pool with benches submerged underwa-ter.

After breakfast we were indulged by professional masseurs—a very refreshing experience indeed.

On the evening of July 12,

we had dinner with the Sec-retary of Foreign Affairs Raul Manglapus. It was an infor-mal and friendly get-together. Sec. Manglapus expressed his desire to attend the opening of the Philippine Consular Office in San Diego.

After dinner, my group teamed up with the local MFP members and found ourselves at the Manila Bay Club. Again, it was a typical night-life in Manila with continu-ous live-band entertainment. This particular place had three separate bands playing three different kinds of music. Each had beautiful women croon-ers. The ‘lambada’ dance was the most popular.

At 12:30 a.m., we pro-ceeded to a sing-along joint in Makati and had a few more drinks. While we were enjoy-ing the Manila nightlife, we were unaware that some ho-tels had been bombed by ter-rorists. As a result, the streets were virtually deserted when

we drove back to our hotel at 3:00 a.m.

As we entered the gate of the hotel, Filipino soldiers, with rifles and pistols drawn, stopped and searched us and opened the trunk of our car. One soldier commented and apologized by saying, “May-roon lang kaunting problema” (Sorry, there is a small prob-lem). We later learned that six hotels were bombed in the city.

The late Dr. Gerry Delfin, my good friend and classmate in medical school, called me by phone at 6:00 a.m. and told me the details of the bomb-ings and strongly advised me to check out of the hotel as soon as possible.

That morning, Jake and I went to the office of the Secretary of Tourism, Peter Garrucho Jr., my town mate and cousin in the third degree. His office was located in Lun-eta, not too far from the hotel. Garrucho expressed concern about the possible adverse effects of the hotel bombings on tourism in the country. He dismissed them as nothing more than the workings of the “destabilizing forces of the right.”

That afternoon, we also met Ms. Narsalina Lim, the Undersecretary of Tourism, who visited me at the hotel. She was also from my home-town Pandan and a close relative. I always call her whenever I visit Manila. Jake and I discussed with her our personal business in Boracay.

Meanwhile, we learned that Mila Denton was leav-ing Manila for the province and Baguio City. My friend from Quezon City, Dr. Delfin, was insistent in inviting me to Baguio instead of going to Boracay, while Jake and Art were convincing me to join them in their trip to Cebu and Mindanao.

I decided to go with Jake and Art to the southern is-lands. This was one decision that I will never forget nor regret in my entire life. We were in Cagayan de Oro when we heard that a giant killer earthquake hit Luzon and primarily centered in Baguio City. The Hyatt Hotel, where I had planned to stay in Baguio with Dr. Delfin, was totally demolished and hundreds of people died. I considered this a close call!

When we came back to Manila, we saw that many rooms in the hotel had cracked walls and ceilings. The engineers assured us that the hotel was safe for occu-pancy. Mila was safe, too. She left Baguio the day before the killer temblor devastated the city.

Notwithstanding the fact that the forces of the right and the calamities of Luzon interrupted our short stay in Manila, our trip to the southern part of the Philip-pines was as peaceful as can be.


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

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

Phil - Am Law 101

We learned early on in law school that a Filipino woman can use either of three names after getting married. First, she can retain her maiden name. Second, she can use her first name and her husband’s last name. Finally, she can use her husband’s first name and surname, prefixed by the title “Mrs.” She is allowed this option by Article 370 of the Philippine Civil Code, which reads:

ART. 370. A married woman may use:

(1) Her maiden first name and surname and add her hus-band’s surname, or

(2) Her maiden first name and her husband’s surname, or

(3) Her husband’s full name, but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as “Mrs.”

So, for example, if Maria Reyes marries Juan Crisosto-mo, the law gives her the op-tion of using the name “Maria Reyes”, “Maria Crisostomo”, or “Mrs. Juan Crisostomo”.

Given this legal backdrop, one would think that there should be no problem if, after separating from her husband, Maria Crisostomo decides to drop her married surname and asks the Department of Foreign Affairs to issue her a new passport under her maiden name “Maria Reyes”. After all, the law gives her the option of using her maiden name, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately for Maria, in a case that reached all the way up to the Philippine Supreme Court, the Court ruled that she cannot force the DFA to issue her a new passport under her maiden name, unless she presents a court decree that her marriage to Juan has been annulled or declared void by the court, or that they have been legally separated by court decree.

In the very recent case of Remo vs. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, G.R. No. 169202, March 5, 2010, the Philippine Supreme Court cited Republic Act No, 8239, otherwise known as the Phil-ippine Passport Act of 1996, which limits the instances when a married Filipino woman may revert to the use of her maiden name in the fol-

Can Filipino wife use her maiden name in her passport?

lowing instances:The woman has been le-

gally separated; Her marriage has been an-

nulled or declared void by the court;

She has been widowed; orHer foreigner husband ob-

tains a foreign divorce against her.

Of course, the Supreme Court said, had Maria opted to use her maiden name in her passport at the very start, she would be allowed to do so pursuant to Article 370 of the Civil Code, Thus, after get-ting married to Juan Crisos-tomo, Maria could have asked the DFA to issue her a pass-port under her maiden name Maria Reyes. However, since she opted to use the married name “Maria Crisostomo”, she cannot now ask the DFA to just drop her married sur-name without a court order as required by RA 8239. Maria’s remedy, if she really wants to revert to her maiden name, is to go to court and get a decree of nullity, annulment, or legal separation.

This case applies only to a Filipino wife. If the woman is a U.S. citizen, the laws of the United States will naturally apply.

Atty. Rogelio Karagdag , Jr. is licensed to practice law in both California and the Philippines. He practices immigration law in San Diego and has continuously been a trial and appellate attor-ney in the Philippines since 1989. He travels between San Diego and Manila. His office address is located at 10717 Camino Ruiz, Suite 131, San Diego, CA 92126. He also has an office in the Philip-pines at 1240 Apacible Street, Paco, Manila, Philippines 1007, with telephone numbers (632)522-1199 and (632)526-0326. Please call (858)348-7475/(858)536-4292 or email him at [email protected]. He speaks Tagalog fluently. Articles written in this column are not legal advice but are hypo-theticals intended as general, non-specific legal informa-tion. Readers must seek legal consultation before taking any legal steps.

ON DISTANT SHOREby Val G. Abelgas

Juan comes home one

Friday with the small earning he got driving a pedicab the whole day. There’s not even enough for tonight’s supper and tomorrow’s meals and “baon” for the four children, who are going to school with the same clothes they have been wearing for three days now. Not to mention the electric bill Juan has to pay by Monday.

And then comes Jose, the neighborhood jueteng collec-tor. “Taya na!” prods Jose. “Kulang pa ngang pangkain ng mga anak ko itong kita ko,” Juan says as he scratches his head. “Malay mo manalo ka, di wala ka ng problema buong linggo. Kung siniswerte ka, baka makapag-down ka pa para sa sarili mong tricycle,” Jose eggs on. “Sige na nga. Magdilang anghel ka sana,” Juan says reluctantly, and places half of his meager earn-ing on his favorite combina-tions.

With close to a million-to-1 chance of winning big in jueteng, needless to say, Juan lost half of his hard-earned money that day. His wife had to get sardines on credit again the next day for the four chil-dren to share when they come back from school without a single centavo for “baon.”

That is the tragedy of jueteng. That is also the rea-son jueteng should never be legalized, as is again being proposed by some lawmakers, following the disclosure by re-tired Archbishop Oscar Cruz, the biggest crusader against jueteng, that two of President Aquino’s close aides are re-ceiving P2 million each month from jueteng operators.

While jueteng, or any form of gambling for that matter, offers a chance of solving one’s financial problems in an instant, it gives people false hopes and buries them deeper in a culture of dependency. Worse, jueteng virtually robs money from the bettors – who are almost certain to lose since only less than 10% of the total collection is earmarked for winnings.

The jueteng operator rakes in millions, the unscrupulous police and government offi-cials make millions in ex-change for turning a blind eye, the jueteng collectors make a little earning, and the poor bet-tors – millions of them – each lose thousands of pesos that should have gone to their fam-ily’s meals, to pay their bills, and to give their kids a decent education.

Jueteng: Where’s the will?

Proponents of the legaliza-tion of jueteng, like the top two Senate officials – Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senate President Protem-pore Jinggoy Estrada –say that the vice has been there for generations, and that “buy-ing dreams” for a few pesos wouldn’t hurt the bettors. So, instead of removing this “little joy” of poor Filipinos, why not just legalize it and make the government earn millions of pesos in taxes, instead of the money going to corrupt politicians? Besides, tens of thousands of bet collectors are earning income from jueteng, why deprive them of their livelihood?

If we are to follow this line of reasoning, the government might as well legalize the sale of shabu and other illegal drugs, too. And yes, prostitu-tion, too. Thousands of shabu dealers and drug pushers earn a living peddling these illicit drugs. Why deprive them of their livelihood? Tens of thou-sands of pimps and prostitutes make bundles of money luring men for sex. Why deprive them of their livelihood? And why deprive the shabu us-ers of their “little joy” and pastime? Why deprive the men of their “little joy” in the company of the sex-for-money women?

Imagine the money that the government would earn if jueteng, shabu and drug deal-ing, and prostitution would be legalized? All the money that jueteng lords, drug deal-ers, pimps and prostitutes pay as bribes to police, military, local and national officials

would go to the government coffers. And presto, no more budget deficit and the gross national product (which would include monetary transactions from these three vices) would increase threefold.

It is the same mentality that jueteng and other forms of gambling have inculcated in the minds of Filipinos for gen-erations – the chance to earn a quick buck. Indeed, with a magic wand that would legal-ize jueteng, the government gets to earn easy money from the gambling operators.

Jueteng victimizes the poor, indeed, the very poor. Jueteng deprives them of their hard-earned money. A jueteng bet gives them false hopes and false dreams. Every time the poor places his bet, he drowns deeper in the quicksand of hopelessness and despair, be-cause the “little dream” turns to disappointment at the end of the day.

The country’s leaders must erase the mentality of “if you can’t lick ‘em, join ‘em.” The fact that it has not been able to stop the numbers game for generations does not give the government reason to legal-ize jueteng. It must muster the political will to crush this cancer that has gnawed upon the people’s moral fabric for years. It must put a stop to this biggest source of corruption in the country.

When asked how the jueteng can be solved years ago, Archbishop Cruz said bluntly: “President Arroyo only has to say the word, and jueteng operations will stop.” The militant archbishop made it look too simple, but, on the other hand, come to think of it, all the country’s problems could be solved or at least minimized if the national lead-ership would only be sincere and determined to wipe them

out. It’s called political will.To paraphrase Archbishop

Cruz: “President Aquino only has to say the word, and jueteng operations stop.” But does he have the will? If he has, he hasn’t shown it.

When Aquino appointed highly respected former Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City to head the Department of Interior and Local Govern-ment (DILG), Robredo said the President had “issued a very clear directive to stop jueteng.” But the following day, Robredo, who completely crushed jueteng in Naga City when he was mayor, clarified that his focus would be the empowerment of local gov-ernments. Aquino was later quoted as saying that eradicat-ing jueteng was not a priority of his government.

When informed that Arch-bishop Cruz has tagged two of his closest aides as recipients of jueteng money, he went into the usual defensive mode: “Name names.”

Aquino said his aides could have been the victims of name-dropping or a set-up. Worse, he said P2 million a month is “such a pitiful amount: compared to the P37 billion annually estimated to be the size of the jueteng industry. Parang napaka-cheap naman naming lahat dito,” he said. Maybe the two aides should have asked for P10 million a month?

Archbishop Cruz, in exas-peration in the lack of resolve of the Aquino administration to stop jueteng, said: “The past administration was notorious for its patronage of jueteng. It is my hope that the present administration, which claims to be the opposite of the past administration, will be able to demonstrate its resolve and not just go ‘blah, blah, blah.’”

Again, I say amen.



705,418 Readson www.scribd.com /asianjournal

PhilippineStories

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

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

Chapter 25

“Papaano na ako ngayon (How will I do now)?” rued Isabel as she lay crying all night.

She had just committed the biggest mistake of her life, driving away the man she truly loved, one who showered her with material wealth, comfort and sincere affection. Earlier that evening, she went home confused and saw the packed luggage they were supposed to take to their cross-country trip the next day. They were supposed to enjoy the next few days. They would have been the happi-est days of their lives, a third honeymoon after their first in the mountain resort of Ba-guio and their second in the world-famous theme parks in Los Angeles. Now the beauti-ful dream they weaved just a few days ago crumbled like a castle in the sand.

She waited and waited for her lover to come home, although in her heart, she did not expect him to do so after the hurtful betrayal she made him suffer.

She took a shower, try-ing to get rid of any traces of the man who dishonored her husband from her body. She must have showered ten times that evening, but the feeling of dirt and shame had remained ingrained. She real-

Promised LandSalt and Water

ized she could only get rid of them if she would have gotten forgiveness from Albert and they would start fresh all over again.

“Ipaligo mo lang iyan (Just take a bath),” she remembered a story about the virtues of the old days when a woman kissed by a man would have to marry the violator lest she suffered shame from the eyes of the community the rest of her life. Some would advice the girls to just take a bath, but still, the truly virtu-ous would not get rid of the ignominy they felt. Later on, girls could sleep with men with their virtue still intact. But Isabel’s case was differ-ent from the liberalized norms of modern-day society. She was a married woman who betrayed her husband. No amount of shower could erase her disgrace.

She fell asleep crying in bed. The marks of her dried up tears were visible on the white bed sheet when she woke up later the next day. It was already ten in the morn-ing and the sun was up. She looked around, searching for traces of Albert. She felt the sheet on his side of the bed. It was cold and still neatly spread. Albert did not come home last night. She picked up her tired body, went out of the room and sat on a chair by the dining table. She rested

her head on her hand while her elbow was on the table. She bowed and closed her eyes. She didn’t know what to do. She was transfixed like a stone statue when the ringing of the phone broke the quiet stillness in the house.

“Kailangan mo ba ang tulong, Ate (Do you need help)?” it was her cousin Di-tas at the other end of the line. She was not aware of what happened. “I took the day off so I can help you pack and give you and Albert a send-off.”

Isabel bursted into tears.“Come over, I need you,”

was all Isabel could say.

IT TOOK AN HOUR for Ditas to arrive at Isabel’s apartment. Although Ditas had been in America much longer that her cousin, her husband Romy had not taught her to drive and bought her a car like what Isabel’s husband Albert did to his wife.

Ditas was shocked when she heard the news. She knew her cousin was quite liberated but she did not expect her to go to that extreme. Ditas felt guilty. It was she who paired Albert off with Isabel so that the latter could come over and live in America like her, just what Isabel asked her to do. Ditas knew that Albert had been burned once and had vowed not to marry a girl who needed a green card. She pit-ied Albert more than Isabel.

“He will be back. He’s just letting her hurt feelings subside,” was all Ditas could tell Isabel.

But days passed and there was no trace of Albert in sight.

“SABI KO NA NGA BA MASAMANG BABAE IYANG PINSAN MO, EH (I knew your cousin is a bad woman),”

her father-in-law, Mang Teban proclaimed. “Talagang masa-ma ang lahi ninyo, Kung bakit dinala-dala pa kayo ng mga asawa ninyo dito sa Amerika. Dapat nabulok na kayo sa Pilipinas (Your family is real-ly bad. Your husbands should have not brought you here in America. You should have rotten in the Philippines).”

Ditas was hurt by what her father-in-law had said. She just told her husband Romy what happened with Albert and Isabel in the presence of her in-laws.

She remained quiet. She was waiting for her husband to reprimand his father for the hurtful things he just said. Instead, Romy added fuel to the fire by commenting: “Sabi ko na nga ba diyan kay Al-

bert, huwag patulan iyang pinsan mo.

Pakawala iyang babaeng iyan

(I told Albert

not to marry your cousin. She’s a loose woman).”

Ditas bursted into tears and ran inside her room.

“Naku, nagdrama pa (She acted dramatically),” Ditas overheard her mother-in-law say.

She laid face down on the bed crying. She was hurt by what she heard. No matter how much she tried to respect her husband and his parents, she could not help but feel bad. She felt they did not have any respect on her, that they did not care if they hurt her feelings. She tried to obey her

father’s teaching to respect her elders, but at that moment, she wanted to talk back and defend the honor of her fam-ily. They may be poor but they have dignity. The best that she could do was bite her tongue and drown in her sorrows.

AFTER AN HOUR, ROMY’S MOTHER SAID: “Ano ba? Hindi ba lalabas ng kuwarto iyang asawa mo? Aba, nagugutom na tayo ah (Won’t your wife come out of the room? We are already hungry).”

Just like what she did every day, Ditas was supposed to cook dinner for her hus-band and his parents. But that night, she felt so hurt that she remained inside the room.

“Tawagin mo na, at utusan mong magluto (Call her and order her to cook).”

Romy stood up from watching TV on the sofa and walked towards their room.

He tried to open the door but it was locked.

“Ditas, magluto ka na. Gutom na kami (You cook now, we are already hungry),” he said as he knocked at the door.

There was no an-swer.

“Ditas!” he yelled at his wife.

Still Ditas remained quiet.“Aba, lumalaki na ang

sungay ng asawa mo (The horns of your wife is grow-ing),” Mang Teban prodded his son. “Kung ako, tatamaan sa akin iyan (For me, I will hit her).”

“Ditas!” Romy was now embarrassed. “Buksan mo ang pinto (Open the door).”

Ditas did not respond.“Ditas!” Romy yelled

again. This time, it was louder. He was already raging mad.

When he realized his wife would not follow his demand, he kicked the door open. He saw Ditas lying face down in bed and still crying.

“Ano ba? Hindi mo ba na-rinig ang utos ko (Didn’t you hear my order)?”

Ditas remained silent. She wanted him to apologize. Instead, Romy pulled up her right shoulder so that she could face him.

“Susunod ka ba o hindi? Tatamaan ka sa akin (Are you going to follow or not? I am going to hit you).”

Ditas bursted into tears. She pitied herself for the disrespect of her husband. She felt all the humiliations she had been suffering during the time they were together in America. She thought she could withstand all the hard-ships so long as she could work in America and send money for the medical needs of her ailing mother. But she felt her husband and his parents had crossed the line. There was a limit to a per-son’s sufferings. She had to maintain her dignity. For it was her family’s honor that was assailed.

Her lack of response drove her husband into frenzy. She remained like a statue, un-moving and unresponsive. To elicit the response he wanted from her, Romy slapped Ditas on the face. Blood flowed from her mouth. Instinctively Ditas covered her face with her hands. But her husband hit her again on the side of her forehead, leaving an obvi-ous black mark. Ditas stood up and ran towards the door. Romy remained in bed catch-ing his breath. He was so mad. His parents sneered at their daughter-in-law as she passed by.

“Tamo, di nakatikim siya. Susunod din pala (See she got what she deserved,) Mang Teban told his wife.

“Tawagin mo kami pag naka luto ka na (Call us if you are done cooking),” Aling Munda ordered her daughter-in-law as she went inside their room with her husband.


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Light &Shadows

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

by Zena Sultana Babao

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*Legal Advisor, Los Chabacanos of Cavite CityAssociation, Inc., San Diego, California

*Juris Doctor law degree, University of San Diego (1985),Diploma; Oxford Institute on International and Comparative Law (USD), Oxford, England (1984);Bachelor Degree, University of Southern California (1983);Montgomery High School, San Diego (1979)

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“What would be worse than being born blind? It’s to have sight with no vision.” – Helen Keller

Vision is the ability to see today what is beyond tomor-row. Visions are dreams for the future, and for those dreams to have strength they must be crystal-clear instead of hazy, as they are the blue-prints for achievement.

“Before you can proceed on a great journey, you must have a dream,” wrote Dr. John Maxwell in one of his best-selling books, the “Bridge to a Better Future.” Maxwell, a former pastor of mine in my church, the Skyline Church in La Mesa, is an international speaker on leadership and personal develop-ment.

Bridge to a Bet-ter Future is a very slim volume of quotations that I love to read in my moments of repose. The quotes and passages freshen up my mind, energize me as well as give me challenge, and most of all give me joy. I love shar-ing this book with my friends because what’s in it acts as a guide through the process of building a better tomorrow.

Speaking more about dreams, Maxwell wrote: “The promise of the dream helps you take the first step. The hope of achieving the dream

The Blueprints for Achievement

keeps you going. The joy of fulfilling the dream leads to contentment. The journey is awesome but you can’t get started until you’ve developed a dream.”

Here are some quotes from the great minds of the world regarding dreams and visions, and Dr. Maxwell’s explana-tions about each quote:

“You are never given a wish without being given the

power to make it true. You may have to work for it, how-ever.” – Richard Bach

The road to your potential is open and waiting for you. It offers you the opportunity to travel to almost anywhere. But just a trip cannot be made until you take the first step, so your dream can only come true when you start to work at it. Don’t let your dream remain just potential. Start working today. Do what you can at this moment. Tomor-row will come soon enough.

“As important as your past

is, it is not as important as the way you see your future.” – Author Unknown

The best way to seek a positive future is to look for-ward to it. If you’re looking over your shoulder, you won’t go far before you start bump-ing into things. But when you believe that great things are ahead and you meet each day with eager anticipation, you’re creating incredible opportuni-ties for success.

“There are really two kinds of people in this world – the realists and the dreamers. They realists know where they are going. The dreamers have already been there.” – Robert Orben

Where have you been late-ly with your dreams? Your future is likely to be only as exciting as your answer to that question. Explore your possi-bilities in your thoughts. Take the journey in your dreams. Then wake up and prepare to make them happen.

“You have never tested God’s resources until you have attempted the impossible.” – Author Unknown

Never wait for a miracle. Go af-ter your dreams. Do your part to the very best of your ability, and ask God to make up the difference. He won’t act until you step out

in faith.“Cherish your visions

and your drams as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.” – Napoleon Hill

In life, we must make many trade-offs to get to the highest level. We trade being accepted by others to achieve excellence. We trade financial gain for the promise of greater potential. We trade secu-rity for the hope of increased significance. But we should never trade away our dreams.

Nothing can take their place, and nothing holds greater hope for the future.

“Big thinking precedes great achievement.” – Wilferd A. Peterson

No person has done any-thing great without first dreaming great dreams. Let your mind go. Think out-side the lines! And don’t let anyone tell you to think small. Go in a new direction. Af-ter all, you’ll never succeed beyond your wildest dreams – unless you have some pretty wild dreams.

“Dissatisfaction and dis-couragement are not caused by the absence of things but by the absence of vision.” – Author Uknown

If life isn’t looking espe-cially wonderful today, then step back from your circum-stances for a moment. Then ask yourself this question: “Why am I doing what I’m doing?” If you don’t have a ready answer, then maybe you’ve lost sight of your vision. Do what you must to recapture your dream. It puts everything you do into perspective and keeps your thinking positive.

“One can never consent to creep when one feels an im-pulse to soar.” – Helen Keller

God gives each one of us the desire to soar. We are created in His image, which means we were not meant to creep. Fan into flames your highest ideals, your greatest God-given desires, and let them take wing. You were designed for the heights.

“Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished. If you’re alive, it isn’t.” – Richard Bach

Never give up on your dream. And don’t expect to one day “arrive” so that you can stop living or growing. Live each moment, day, week, year, to the fullest. Your mis-sion in life isn’t through until you’re through.

What is the Bayanihan Spirit? The term originated from the Philippines refer-ring to a community working together to achieve a com-mon goal. It is reminiscent of people in the community carrying a bahay kubo, or nipa hut, from one place to another. In essence, the task cannot be done single handedly.

This year will be the 6th annual Filipino American Arts & Culture Festival, also known as FilAmFest. It will take place on Saturday, Oct. 2 on Paradise Valley Road in between Woodman St. & Gilmartin Ave from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. This year’s festival theme is Celebrating the Bayanihan Spirit.

The FilAmFest embraces the Bayanihan spirit with its four goals: to foster a sense of community and enhance pride in the Filipino cultural heritage; to build intergen-erational collaboration and cultural understanding among children, youth, adults and seniors; to promote effective networking among individu-als and various groups rep-resenting businesses, civic organizations, local govern-ment, educational institutions and public agencies; and to revitalize the Paradise Hills community as a place to raise families, operate businesses and collaborate with diverse peoples, groups, and institu-tions.

The FilAmFest Organiz-ing Committee (FAFOC) is a group of 20 individuals and Kalusugan Community Ser-vices have graciously been the FAFOC’s fiscal agent since 2005. The FAFOC is from the

Celebrate the Bayanihan Spirit at FilAmFest!!!

The Filipino American Arts & Culture Festival is just around the corner!!!

newer generation and have been working diligently since February to organize FilAm-Fest. The three departments include programs, logistics, and marketing and fund de-velopment.

Last year’s festival, there were 15,000 people in atten-dance. This year, the organiz-ing committee is excitingly preparing and planning for 20,000 people to attend.

Scheduled to perform on the main stage include You-Tube sensation, Gabe Bondoc, American Idol season seven finalist, Ramiele Malubay, hip hop artist Bambu from the Native Guns, and female em-cee from the Bay Area, Hopie Spitshard. There will also be returning acts such as hip hop dance crew, Indecisive Dance Krew (IDK), and a local reg-gae band, Monday’s Alibi. The main stage will be packed all day with entertainment for the whole family to enjoy.

Hosting the festival during the first portion is Michael Copon, actor, model, and singer best known for his role as Felix in the hit series One Tree Hill and also one of People Magazine’s 50 hottest bachelors in 2005.

Another master of ceremo-nies the FilAmFest is going to have is comedian and magi-cian Justin Rivera from Chino Hills. His first nationally televised gig was on Comedy Central’s “The Gong Show with Dave Attell”.

The FilAmFest is continu-ing the youth program with arts and crafts where they can learn how to make parols and


Spiritual Life

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

by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez

Lower Your Nets Balintataw

Read Virginia Ferrer’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Virginia H. Ferrer

Now Available:

Tawa’t Tula ng mga Piling Katatawanan

By Joe Cabrera

A Collecton of Jokes Written in Pilipino Verse

$10.00 a copy

Call Asian Journal San Diego619-474-0588

©2010 Virginia H. Ferrer. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Virginia H. Ferrer is a Filipino Language Teacher at Otay Ranch High School in Chula Vista.

Hindi ko AlamNapag-isip mo na ba kung bakit ikaw ay naritoanong tunay na dahila’t nakikibaka ng hustopilit pa ring inuunawa yaring magulong mundoang malaking tanong, may katapusan ba kaya ito?

Bakit tinatanglawan itong buong sangkatauhanat minsan naman ay nalalatagan din ng kadilimanmaging ang tuwa at saya minsan din ay napaparamnababaligtad, nababalutan din ng kalungkutan.

Ikaw, iginalang mo ba ang mga puno sa gubatna ipinagkatiwala N’ya para sa ating lahatkayamanan ito na kailanma’y hindi masusukatnasabi mo ba Kanya na “marami pong salamat”.

Umiiyak ka ba na kung minsan ikaw ay madapasinisisi ang iba sa kasawiang nadaramadapat ay bumangon ka at idilat ang mga matabagkus ay alisin batong nakahalang sa kalsada.

Bakit minsa’y nagalit sa iyo itong kaibiganna lagi mo nang karamay sa lhat ng kasawiannauunawaan mo ba ang tunay na katapatanpuntahan mo na siya’t humingi ng kapatawaran.

Joke of the week: A wealthy jazz musician decided to go to church one Sunday. He was very enthusiastic about the sermon and ap-proached the pastor after the service. “Reverend, “he cried, “that was the swingiest ser-mon I ever heard. Man, I re-ally flipped my lid! That was the grooviest!” “I’m glad you liked it,” replied the pastor, “but I rather prefer that you don’t use those words to de-scribe it.” “I’m sorry, man, but I really dug that sermon. Man, it was way out. It was cool. It sent me so much I flipped a C-note in the collection pot.” “Crazy, man, crazy!” shouted the pastor.

Scripture: First Reading: Amos 8: 4-7. The rich and well fed authority figures of ancient Israel could not wait for the new moon festival or the Sabbath to be over. Driven by greed for money and human goods, they took a break from their religious observance and engaged in fi-nancial business. Their action became worse when they ex-ploited and cheated the poor. Second Reading: 1 Timothy 2: 1-8. St. Paul teaches that it is the duty of Christians to pray for all, including those in the government, even if their administration is unjust and oppressive. Prayers are of-fered for them so that the op-pressive leaders of that state would rule with justice and those who are morally and rightly using their authority would continue to do so that peace would prevail over that state. Gospel: Luke 16: 1-13. Money is not bad in itself. It should be used for what it is intended: to share with oth-ers, to help the needy and the poor, to use it morally to maintain an upright relation-ship with God.

Reflections: In Western societies there is a less num-ber of people who are directly involved in agriculture than in the time of Jesus. During Jesus’ time agriculture was the main source of livelihood. As a result, the cycle of sowing

Put your money where your mouth is!

and harvesting is used meta-phorically to teach prudence and wisdom, moral conse-quences of one’s choices, and judgment when God’s king-dom ends. Closely tied with agriculture is possession of land.

The land for the ancients, unlike their modern counter-parts, considered real estate not as a private property, a means for investment or fi-nancial gain, but as life itself. The land for the ancients was a source of their survival as a people; it was for the Israel-ites also a sign that God had formed and identified them as his people. It is no wonder that the Bible thrives with sto-ries that focused on the land as central.

Continuous settlement on the land depended on the people’s fidelity to God and strict observance of his commandments. When God’s people sinned, they became exiles in Babylon where they lamented the loss of their land, “How could we sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4).

With the coming of Jesus, his life, not the land, becomes the central theme of his mes-sage. Though the land did not completely vanish from his teachings, it, however, comes to be associated with preparedness for the coming of God’s judgment, prudence in the wise use of the world’s goods, and justice, especially for the poor and the outcasts.

If we consider the volatile market for today’s real estate, the Gospel reading is a wake-up call for real property own-ers, real estate agents, lend-ers, and banks. Newspapers report almost daily the fears of so many property owners who cannot keep up with the rising mortgage payment, their anxieties of having their homes foreclosed and repos-sessed, their woes of having been deceived by lenders and unscrupulous mortgage companies.

The First Reading narrated the resourcefulness of the

ancient Israelites who were so preoccupied with financial deals that they took a time-off from the religious service. Likewise, the Gospel cited the astute and cunning attitude of the steward. What it would be like if their traits would be ours in dealing with what pertains to our salvation? It would mean that we would be using wisely our resources, time, talents, and money to earn a place in heaven! We should be taking stock on what we do with our money and with what God has given us. Money is for helping and sharing, as the Gospel pas-sage makes it clear. With our money and talents, do we treat others respectfully and charitably, especially those in dire need, such as homeown-ers on the verge of losing their home? Take heed of today’s Gospel message: there are more shrewd men and women of this world who use their wisdom in what pertains to worldly things than good real estate agents, lenders, and mortgage companies who could use wisely their re-sources to further God’s love and Jesus’ message!

Quotations of the week: “What is that which shines through me, and strikes upon my heart without hurting it? And I shudder and kindle; shudder, inasmuch as I am unlike it; kindle, inasmuch as I am like it. It is Wisdom, Wis-dom’s self which thus shines into me.”

St. Augustine of Hippo.

Celebrate the Bayanihan Spirit

at FilAmFest!!!write their name in Alibata (hosted by AF3IRM/GABRI-ELA Network San Diego) and a children’s area to play fun carnival games to win prizes hosted by Gawad Kalinga.

The Kabataang maka-Bayan (KmB / Pro-People Youth) is going to host the senior program with bingo, a dancing area, a videographer who will be interviewing and documenting people’s stories, and also a photo booth to take pictures with their families.

Next to the senior program is the health and wellness program hosted by Opera-tion Samahan. There will be information booths and testing areas that will address health issues apparent in the com-munity.

In an effort to increase awareness toward higher edu-cation and positive well being within the Filipino American community, the FilAmFest is going to award selected scholarship applicants $500. Students can still apply online at www.FilAmFest.org.

There will also be vendor booths from different schools to assist prospective students

(Continued from page 9)

with any information they would like to know. The FA-FOC have outreached several high schools and Bell Jr. High to let students know how they can get involved with the community by volunteering for community clean ups and for FilAmFest.

The art program will be hosted this year by Thumb-print Gallery. This is a great way for artists to exhibit their work ranging from digital prints, photography, acrylic, and spray paint. Some of the artwork displayed will en-compass the festival’s theme “Celebrating the Bayanihan Spirit”. Festival attendees can interact with the artists while they are creating their artwork.

The cultural program, spearheaded by the Kuya Ate Mentorship Program (KAMP), is dedicated to making this year’s festival an enriching cultural experience for all.

At the cultural tent, there will be workshops hosted by the PASACAT Philippine Per-forming Arts Company, and martial arts exhibit by Doce Pares San Diego, and SA-MAHAN Filipino American Performing Arts an Education Center and more.

There will also be a desig-nated area in the cultural tent that showcases information about Filipino heroes, Philip-pine American history, politi-cal issues, games, comics, and a photo booth for the Bayani-han spirit. The purpose of the cultural tent is to showcase and educate festival goers on the beauty of Filipino art and culture.

This year’s FilAmFest sponsors include title sponsor Barona Casino, Kalusugan Community Services, Coun-cilmember Tony Young of District 4, Commission for Arts & Culture City of San Diego, City of San Diego, San Diego County, Operation Samahan, Pinoy Street Team Gear, Comerica Bank, Sempra Energy, The Sandcastle Inn, and American Dental.

Our community partner-ships understand the im-portance of engaging the community to Celebrate the Bayanihan Spirit. PASA-CAT Philippine Performing Arts Company, SAMAHAN Filipino American Arts and Education Center, Festival of Philippine Art & Culture- FilAmArts (FPAC), Asian Cultural Festival, the Emilio Aguinaldo Foundation Phil-ippine Independence Day Festival, San Diego Padres, and Gawad Kalinga are some of our community partners.

The FilAmFest is still ac-cepting vendor applications and sponsorship applications. Last day to apply is on Sept. 17. For more info, please email [email protected] or visit our website at www.FilAmFest.org.

But instead of proceeding to the kitchen, Ditas walked towards the phone and called the police.

THIRTY MINUTES HAD PASSED, when Romy heard a knock.

“Dinner must be ready,” he thought as he stood up from the bed and walked toward the door. Instead, he saw a police officer staring at him.

“Are you Romy?” the of-ficer asked him.

“Yes,” he answered.“Did you hit your wife?”“She was stubborn, she

pissed me off,” he replied.“Did you hit your wife?”

the officer asked him again.“Yes,” he admitted. He

could not deny his offense since the mark on Ditas’ face was obvious.

“We have to arrest you and take you to the precinct for domestic violence,” the officer said while his partner handcuffed Romy’s hands at

Promised LandSalt and Water


his back.Romy’s parents heard the

commotion and went out of their room. They also thought dinner was ready.

“What happened,” the father asked.

Romy did not respond as he was being led out of the house.

“How about our dinner, we are already hungry,” the mother asked her son.

Romy got enraged with the lack of concern of his parents. He railed: “ Putang na (Son of a bitch). Cook rice and eat it with salt and water. They’re always the food you fed us when we were kids, anyway.”

For the first time since they arrived in America, Romy’s parents had a taste of the kind of food they used to eat when they were living poor in the Philippines. – AJ

(To be continued)

To read the previous and weekly installments of this series, visit www.asianjour-nalusa.com


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The Law that Matters

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

by Atty. A. Erwin Bautista

How you can get a green-card even if your USC spouse died.

Question: My U.S. Citi-zen spouse died without ever filing a petition in my behalf and my minor children, can I still get a greencard for myself and my children?

Answer: Yes, you can un-der the October 28, 2009 DHS Appropriations Act of 2010. If your spouse died before that date you have until October 28, 2011 to file and if on or after October 28, 2009 you have 2 years to file.

How does DHS Appro-priations Act of 2010 affect widow/er without pending cases?

On October 28, 2009 Presi-dent Obama signed into law the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010 specifically section 568(c) which allows for ad-justment of status of widows or widowers of U.S. Citizens.

Section 568 (c) reads as follows:

“(c) Relief for Surviving Spouses-

(1) IN GENERAL- The second sentence of section 201(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Immi-gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(2)(A)(i)) is amended by striking `for at least 2 years at the time of the citizen’s death’.

(2) APPLICABILITY- (A) IN GENERAL- The

amendment made by para-graph (1) shall apply to all applications and petitions relating to immediate relative status under section 201(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(2)(A)(i)) pending on or after the date of the enact-ment of this Act.

Immigration: Humanitarian Reinstatement

(B) TRANSITION CAS-ES-

(i) IN GENERAL- Not-withstanding any other provi-sion of law, an alien described in clause (ii) who seeks im-mediate relative status pursu-ant to the amendment made by paragraph (1) shall file a petition under section 204(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(A)(ii)) not later than the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(ii) ALIENS DE-SCRIBED- An alien is de-scribed in this clause if—

(I) the alien’s United States citizen spouse died before the date of the enactment of this Act;

(II) the alien and the citi-zen spouse were married for less than 2 years at the time of the citizen spouse’s death; and

(III) the alien has not re-married.”

The law allows for the adjustment of status to legal permanent resident of widow/er even if their marriage is less than 2 years and even if there was no petition filed in their behalf prior to the death of their U.S. Citizen spouse. Previously prior to the enact-ment of this law only widow/er married for 2 years with their U.S. Citizen spouse can adjust their status.

The law applies to those widow/er who present in the U.S. or residing abroad.

How, when and where will widow/er file petition?

These widow/er will have to file Form I 360 in order that they can adjust their status together with their minor chil-dren. They should send it to the Vermont Service Center.

The Form I-360 should be filed on or before October

28, 2011 if the US Citizen spouse died before October 28, 2009 but the widow/er can file within 2 years of the death of the US Citizen spouse if the death occurred on or after October 28, 2009.

Is Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Resi-dence needed to be filed?

There will be no necessity to file Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Resi-dence because those widow/ers who will obtain permanent residence are not subject to conditional permanent resi-dence, hence Form I-751 need not be submitted.

Will you still be covered if you remarry?

If you remarried after the death of your US Citizen spouse you are not eligible for this benefit. Also if you divorced or are legally sepa-rated from your U.S. Citizen spouse at the time of death you will not be eligible for the benefit.

Should you or anyone you know is in a similar situation consult an attorney to find out if you will qualify for this benefit.

[We invite readers to call Atty. A. Erwin Bautista to set up your initial consulta-tion. Atty. Bautista obtained his law degree from Western State University College of Law, Fullerton, CA and his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of the Philip-pines. Atty. Bautista practices Immigration, Bankruptcy, Family, and Personal Injury Law and Income Tax Prepara-tion. Call his office at (619) 474 7755 in San Diego at 550 E. 8th St., #11, National City, CA 91950 and at (213) 365 7690 in Los Angeles at 3435 Wilshire Bl., Ste. 2700, Los Angeles, CA 90010.]

Room for rent Call (619) 746-3416

by RG Cruzfrom ABS-CBN News MANILA, Philippines

(UPDATED) – The House of Representatives and the Supreme Court appear to be headed for a showdown over the impeachment of Ombuds-man Merceditas Gutierrez.

Leaders of the House of Representatives have recom-mended to the Speaker to con-

tinue the impeachment pro-ceedings, which the Supreme Court stopped through a status quo ante order announced on Tuesday.

House Justice Commit-tee Chair Niel Tupas said he wants his committee to go on with the determination of sufficient grounds in hearings already scheduled for Septem-ber 28 and 29.

Both Tupas and House Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III said the High Court encroached on the House of Representative’s exclusive power to impeach.

They also expressed the view that the Supreme Court

Supreme Court, House headed for showdown

cannot amend a constitutional provision that requires them to finish impeachment pro-ceedings within 60 session days from filing.

Invoking the principle of separation of powers in the Constitution, the lawmak-ers said they will not file any pleadings with the High Court as it will be tantamount to the House of Representatives sub-jecting itself to proceedings which they disagree with.

Tupas hopes the House leadership will come up with a firm stand over this as it sets precedents.

“If we allow this to hap-pen, what if members of the Supreme Court are charged for impeachment? Can it be allowed? These are situations that we want to avoid. We’re proceeding under our consti-tutional mandate,” Tupas said.

Tañada stressed the Su-preme Court’s current tack differs from the stand it took in the 2003 impeachment of then Chief Justice Hilario Davide.

Tañada noted that in the Davide Impeachment, the Supreme Court didn’t stop the

House of Representatives, but instead ruled that the Davide impeachment case was a pro-hibited pleading.

Just like the impeachment of Gutierrez, the Davide im-peachment also had 2 separate complaints.

The first Davide im-peachment, filed by former President Joseph Estrada, was dismissed.

The second one, over the Judiciary Development Fund, was declared a prohibited pleading.

Then House Speaker Jose de Venecia refused to transmit the Articles of Impeachment

to the Senate for trial.

Tañada said: “With all due respect, we don’t want to add to a tense situation. This is a dangerous precedent. If we al-low this to happen, anybody can seek a TRO [Temporary Restraining Order] against an action done by the House of Representatives. This shouldn’t be allowed to happen.”

Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr., meanwhile, said that the lower House

will abide by the High Court’s order “as a courtesy to a co-equal branch of government.”

He stressed, however, that the House committee is required to fulfill its duty as stated in the Constitution.

“Nonetheless, we shall not abdicate on our duty to perform our mandate under Article 11, Section 3(2) of the Constitution which com-mands the Committee on Justice to submit its report on the impeachment complaint to the House within sixty session days from its referral, together with the corresponding resolu-tion,” he said in a statement.


Telecoms giant Phil-ippine Long Distance Telecom topped the short list of leading compa-nies in the country in the 2010 Forbes Magazine world’s top 2,000 firms.

Only three companies in the Philippines made it into the top 2,000 , ac-cording to the May 2010 issue of Forbes Asia Magazine: PLDT (ranked No. 1,080), San Miguel (No. 1,566) and SM Investments (SMIC) (No. 1,707). PLDT also topped the short list of

Philippine companies in last year’s list, where it ranked No. 1,138.

Forbes, one of the world’s leading business magazines, used several metrics that com-bined sales, profits, assets and market value in order to rank companies worldwide and to come up with its Global 2000 list. The approach provides a more thorough and holistic assessment of companies.

“This year’s list reveals the dynamism of global business. The rankings span 62 coun-tries, with the US (515 mem-bers) and Japan (210 mem-bers) still dominating the list, but with a combined 33 fewer entries,” according to Forbes.

3 Pinoy firms in Forbes top 2000 global companies

com, the magazine’s website.PLDT Chairman Manuel

V. Pangilinan remarked that PLDT’s ranking in this global list “reflects the commit-ment of its shareholders and

the dedication of its management and staff to world-class excellence.”

“This recognition highlights our efforts to transform PLDT into communications and multimedia com-pany,” added PLDT President and CEO Napoleon L. Naza-reno.

Recently, PLDT was cho-sen “Best in Investor Rela-tions” and “Most Committed to Strong Dividend Policy” for the second consecutive years in the annual survey conducted by FinanceAsia magazine, a leading finance publication in Asia.

Global IT, BPO firm expands

Philippine footprint

Cognizant , one of the world’s top information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services company is expand-ing its global delivery center in Manila.

Employing some 200 professionals in Manila, the expansion would allow the company to accommodate as much as 600 more profession-als.

“Within months of opening our Manila center in October 2009, we have steadily grown our presence and investment in the Philippine capital, and have moved into a larger facility,” said R Chandraseka-ran, president and managing director of Global Delivery, Cognizant.

“Our Manila center will continue to strengthen our integrated global delivery capabilities, as our invest-ments in new global, regional,


Business and Finance


The Asian Journal San Di-ego wel-comes Ogie Cruz, veteran enter-tainment writer, who is writ-ing his column “Show-biz Watcher” from Loui-siana, USA. Ogie, who writes in

(619) 474-0588

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich recently described President Obama as one who has a “Kenyan anti-colonial world view.”

Asked what his under-standing of the statement was, my barber whose interest in political history seems never-ending answered, “I think Gingrich believes that Obama is individualistic, an isolation-ist and against colonizing or being colonized by others. In Filipino translation, Obama prefers, “Kenya, Kenya”.

SONA (State of the Na-tion): 8 Killed in hostage crisis. President Noynoy Aquino assumed full responsi-bility following the Principle of Command Responsibility. The amount of responsibil-ity is always commensurate to the amount of power and resources available to him in meeting his responsibility. He definitely had the power and resources to have prevented the killing. Although one was supposedly willing to take the bullet for him, none of the underlings willingly accepted blame and none offered to resign.

SANA (My barber’s wish): 1) Si Manila Mayor Lim na head of the crisis team did not go off to eat at Emerald restaurant at the height of the crisis; 2) yung second-in-command did not go drink-ing coffee at a bar; 3) yung phone call from the Hong

SONA, SANAKong chief executive was returned; 4) the right team had been sent in; 5) media did not breach the boundaries; 6) walang hostages na killed by local fire; and 7) kung si Secretary Robrero remains as DILG Secretary, he should be given full powers, responsi-bility and trust in running the department including the PNP.

SONA: Appointment of the new Chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications Tech-nology (CICT) announced. As provided in EO 269, the CICT shall be the “primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, regulating, and administrative entity of the executive branch of Govern-ment that will promote, de-velop, and regulate integrated and strategic ICT systems and reliable and cost-efficient

communication facilities and services.” In its mandate, it

defined “Information and Communications Technology” (ICT) as the totality of elec-tronic means to collect, store, process and present informa-tion to end-users in support of their activities. It consists, among others, of computer systems, office systems and consumer electronics, as well as networked information infrastructure, the components of which include the tele-phone system, the Internet, fax machines and computers.” More than 2 months after the turnover, the website has not been updated. The key of-ficials listed in the site are still the ones of the previous administration.

SANA: The website of the CICT is updated and the new key officials listed. In fact, the news updates should really be up to date if not in real time. Among the cabinet departments it should take the lead in the utilization of new information and communica-tions technologies. A look at its website, http://www.cict.gov.ph/ would explain our concern. The latest news in the commission happened during the GMA Administra-tion.

My barber says, “Life is really unfair. The Filipino Muslims successfully resisted foreign occupation and colo-nization and yet many of them

continue to live in abject poverty and sub-human conditions.”

I told him about one of the most memorable quotes that I heard in my early years of marriage. It came from Tita Techie la O’

Velasquez, sister of my late mother-in-law, Pacita la O’

Manglapus when she said, “To say that life is fair is like saying the bull won’t come after me because I am a veg-etarian.”

On the Filipino Muslim situation, I told my bar-ber,” President Benigno S. Aquino III in his remarks at the Hariraya dinner held at Malacanang’s Rizal Hall on Monday assured Muslim com-munities that his administra-tion will work doubly hard to advance the welfare, aspira-tions and interest of Muslim Filipinos by supporting and strengthening the autonomous region in Southern Philip-pines.”

“Mosque papaano, si Noynoy naalaala ang mga Muslim! Sa America yung iba ayaw sa Mosque at gusto pang sunugin and Koran!” my barber exclaimed.

SANA: I got this mes-sage from Jose Alejandrino, a former Presidential Assistant of President Fidel Ramos and a friend of mine. He has some tips to President Noynoy Aquino which I think are worth considering:

“I just read your Perception vs Reality. Very informative. If we had one or two Fil-American cabinet secretaries, it might not be a bad idea. For one, they would provide fresh ideas. For another, they would inject a new set of values. For

a third, the Pinoys in the US would take greater interest in their country, maybe even en-couraging the most successful entrepreneurs among them, to invest in the Philippines. India is trying to woo back Indians abroad. Many in England have gone back to invest in Mumbai.

The private sector should be the engine of growth. Also, the president must learn to “harness” the media and not be reactive. He must remind the media of their responsibil-ities, that is, to inform objec-tively, to educate the people, and to look to the national interest rather than the interest of a small group that has its own agenda. He must be an excellent communicator and learn how to use “sound bites” that are effective on televi-sion.

The president must learn how to turn questions around at press conferences. Often a bit of wit and humor will help. Everybody, including the press, loves a witty person. When asked a provocative question, he should answer, “Now, what you really meant to ask is this. Let me refor-mulate your question.” So he turns the table to his advan-tage.

The lesson to learn is that when the media warms up to you, they become less aggres-

sive.The second lesson to learn is that when you impress the media by your intellect, they feel inferior. So they become less ag-gressive. The third lesson is that the media can be your enemy or your friend. To become your friend, they must respect you. When you have lost the media battle, your presi-dency is doomed because they influence the opinion polls.”

SANA: After reading my article on Dreaming...Hoping...etc., Joe Alejan-

drino also had this to say: “Very nice. It’s what life is all about...dreaming...hoping...fighting...winning. My dream was that the Philippines would reach Camelot. We are a long way from there.”

This was my response. “Thanks Joe. Your dream about the Philippines reach-ing Camelot is a positive step. Writer Theodore White once wrote what Camelot represented, “a magic mo-ment in American history, when gallant men danced with beautiful women, when great deeds were done, when artists, writers, and poets met at the White House, and the barbarians beyond the walls held back.” Indeed, reach-ing a situation where a King Arthur with his Knights or a Kennedy surrounded by “the best and the brightest” seems a long way to go.

The crisis that Noynoy ini-tially faced was minor com-pared to those that occurred during the Camelot years of King Arthur and John F. Kennedy. Remember Arthur’s wayward wife and Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs? Noynoy’s as-sumption of responsibility over the hostage issue showed signs of command leadership and humility. I continue to hope......”


opportunity to get PA and it may have to do with the way we have designed our com-munities. The modern suburb, were homes are far from the megamall, replaced traditional pre-WWII communities with a grid like pattern of homes and businesses. The Clare-mont community is dotted with single family homes on small lots where streets are interrupted by canyons, dead ends and cul-de-sacs. Er-rands usually are done by car

because stores and businesses are hard to reach by foot. In contrast, Normal Heights is densely populated, with a mix of houses, shops, eateries and other businesses. It has a grid pattern of streets that gives walkers a change of scenery or a direct route.

At this KCS workshop, participants walked around the neighborhood of the Center, to assess whether it has an enjoyable, beautiful, healthy and safe environment for walking. We looked at whether there were sidewalks and their condition; traffic and safety in crossing the street; behavior of the drivers; overall safety such as un-leashed dogs; and its comfort or appeal such as landscaping or presence of trees, grass, flower, trash and unkempt sur-rounding. We found that the area around the FilAm Well-ness Center has fair walkabil-ity due to the poor condition of the sidewalks with some not being paved, closeness to busy traffic and drivers that are often in a hurry to go places, presence of unleashed dogs, and lack of trees, grass-es, and many unkempt houses.

We have extra forms avail-able if you want to do an as-sessment of the walkability of your neighborhood at home. To obtain the forms, visit the Center at 1419 East 8th Street, National City, 91950 , call (619) 477-3392 or send e-mail to [email protected]

OVERALL RESPONSE

The participants, males & females, adults and children, were all energized at this workshop and left learning a lot about walking and PA. There were 25 attendees. Con-tinental breakfast and lunch was served. Salad Master did a food demonstration of “Can-taloupe Juice.”

***

References: Fresh Ideas for community

nutrition and physical activ-ity. Center for Civic Partner-ships and California Nutrition Network for Healthy, Active Families, Sacramento, CA: Public Health Institute, 2002.

Kelly Thornton. Feet Obsolete. SD Union Tribune, May 19, 2001, p.1.

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Strides to healthy living

May Pakpak ang Pag-Ibig

Panaginip ba lamang?(Continued from page 1)

sidad. Bukod diyan ay wala na akong iba pang kasalanan. Walang pagtataksil, Dencio . . . Walang layunin na makasakit ng kapuwa. At nagsimulang maluha si Rosing.

-- Huwag kang mag-alaala, Rosing. Nagtitiwala ako sa iyo! – patiyak ni Dencio. – Higit na malaking alalahanin ang nangyayari sa ating nayon at ang maaari pang maganap na kasindak-sindak. Tayo’y tila mga manyika lamang na pinagagalaw sa pisi ng mga may kapangyarihan sa atin. Pag nakalagpas na ang mga panganib at nagkalinaw na ang mga hiwaga, sana ay magbabalik ang dati nating kalayaan at pag-ibig sa pag-ibig.

May sasabihin pa sana si Dencio kay Rosing nang natanaw niya ang isang bangkang may motor na matuling papalapit sa kanilang kinalalagyan. Kumaba ang dibdib ni Dencio habang ang sasakyang-dagat ay papa-palit nang papalapit sa kanila. Sumagi sa isipan niya ang pangamba na baka ang sa-sakyang-dagat ay may pakay na masama sa kanila. Walang nagawa si Dencio kundi ang maghintay at umasa na wa-lang mangyayaring masama sa kanilang dalawa ni Rosing.

Nang makalapit na ang bangkang may motor, ang nagpapaandar nito at ang mga kasamahan ay tumayo mula sa pagkakaupo at ang pinuno nila, gamit ang isang mega-phone, ay nagbigay ng kalatas kay Dencio.

-- Sabihin ninyo sa inyong mga kababayan na lisanin ang pulo sa lalong madaling pana-hon. Ang Paraiso ay nabibil-ang sa mga pulong pag-aaari ng aming bansa. Kailangan namin ang pulo sa pamama-raang militar. Mayroon kay-ong apatnapu’t walong oras na mai-alis ang inyong mga sarili at ang inyong mga kagamitan at pagkatapos ng panahong iyan ay maglulunsad kami ng malaking paglusob na gamit ang isang libong kawal at daan-daang sasakyang-dagat na may armas na ang pakay ay itatag ang aming karapatan at pamamahala sa pulo. Ang

sino mang lalaban sa amin ay makatitikim ng mapait na kamatayan; at ang sino mang mananatili sa pulo ay inaasa-hang susunod sa aming mga pag-uutos at kikilala sa aming karapatan. Sana ay maibalita ninyo kaagad sa inyong mga nasasakupan ang paalalang ito. Paalam! – at mabilis na bumalik sa karagatan ang sasakyang-dagat lulan ang mga lalaking singkit ang mga mata. Sinundan ng tingin ni Dencio ang bangkang may motor hanggang sa ito ay mawala sa guhit-hanggahan ng dagat at langit.

Pagbabalik sa nayon ay tumawag kaagad ng pulong si Dencio. Ibinalita niya ang natanggap na babala. Ang naging pasiya ng mga taga-Paraiso ay ang lumaban at ipagtanggol ang kanilang tahanan at karapatan. Ang lahat ng mga lalaki ay magha-hawak ng ano mang armas at paliligiran ang pulo at nang ang mga mananalakay ay mapigilan ang paglusong sa dalampasigan pa lamang. Ina-tasan ni Dencio si Rosing na siyang manguna sa mga babae at sa mga bata. Magsasama-sama sila at hahanap ng pook na pagtataguan habang ang maaaring maging madugong labanan ay nagaganap.

Malamlam ang buwan nang gabing iyon at ma-lamig ang simoy ng hangin. Makikita ang mahabang pila ng mga babae at mga bata na magkakahawak ang mga ka-may na tinutunton ang landas patungo sa kabundukan. Tila isang himala, di sila nahirapan at natagalan sa pagtuklas ng isang bunganga ng kuweba, na tila lagusan patungo sa isang ligtas na pook sa ilalim ng lupa. Sinundan nila ang lagusan hanggang sa makarat-ing sa isang pook na malawak at maliwanag.

Sinalubong sila ng isang babaeng tila siya ang may-ari ng pook; siya’y napaliligiran ng mga bata at mga kasamah-ang babae.

-- Masayang pagdating sa Pook ni Dalisay. Pabayaan ninyong magdulot kami sa inyo ng mga pagkain, inumin, at himlayan, samantalang kayo ay nagpapalipas ng oras.

Malayang kayo’y makapagla-lakad o makapagpapahinga, alin man ang inyong pipiliin; at ang mga bata ay malaya rin na makapaglalaro at makapa-pamasyal o makalalangoy sa batis . . . kung ano man ang kanilang iibigin. Narito kam-ing lahat upang kayo’y aliwin at paglingkuran. – pahayag ng mahiwagang babae.

At kaagad ay nakatikim ng kaginhawahan at katahimikan ang mga babae at ang mga bata ng Paraiso.

-- Iiwan ko kayo rito pansamantala – sabi ni Ros-ing kina Kiko at Neneng. -- Babalik ako sa nayon upang hanapin ang inyong ama. Baka kailangan niya ang ak-ing tulong. --

Pinagpayuhan si Rosing ng ibang mga kababaihan na huwag nang lumisan at nang hindi siya mapasuong sa pan-ganib, na pabayaan na, na ang mga kalalakihan na lamang ang magsagawa ng pagtatang-gol sa nayon. Datapuwa’t si Rosing ay nagmatigas at lumisan pa rin.

Sa labas ng pook na ma-hiwaga ay narinig ni Rosing ang putukan at ingay ng mga sasakyang may motor. Tiyak na nagkakasagupaan na ang mga manlulusob at ang mga kalalakihan ng Paraiso.

Sinundan niya ang landas patungo sa dalapampasigan na kung saan ay tiyak na mainit ang labanan. Walang takot si-yang sumugod sa panganib na ang tanging hawak na sandata ay ang kanyang lakas ng loob at paniniwala sa pangangalaga ng Maykapal.

May nakakita kay Rosing. Mula sa itaas ay nakita siyang nag-iisang naglalakad. Isa sa mga binata ng nayon ay sakay ng isang kalabaw na may pakpak. Narinig ni Rosing ang pagakpak ng pakpak habang humahampas sa hangin. Nang siya ay tumingala upang mala-man kung saan nanggagal-ing ang ingay ay nakita niya ang dambuhala ng bukid na lumilipad sa papawirin, lulan sa likuran nito si Nilo.

-- Rosing! Kukunin kita, sandal lamang, -- sigaw ni Nilo. At lumapag siya sa lupa at isinama si Rosing sa kan-yang paglipad.

Umikot sila sa ibabaw ng dalampasigan at napamangha si Rosing sa kanyang nakita. Nagkalat sa dalampasigan ang mga kawal ng bansang

lumusob na wala nang bu-hay. Isang daang bangkang may motor ang nasa tubig, ang karamiha’y nag-aapoy; at ang mga dumarating pa ay sinasalubong ng tila sulo na nagliliyab. Ang sulo o siga ay inihahagis ng isang kapre na nakita niyang tumatakbo, paparoo’t paparito sa dalam-pasigan, tumatalon, pinupulot ang mga sanga ng kahoy, pinaliliyab ang mga ito at ib-inabato sa mga bangkang du-marating. Pagbagsak ng apoy sa mga bangka, ang mga ito’y kaagad-agad na sumasabog at nag-aapoy, at ang mga sakay ay napapatilapon sa dagat.

Sa dagat ay nakita niyang naglipana ang malalaking isda – may mga dugong at baly-ena – na sumasagasa sa mga kawal na nasa tubig o sumi-sisid sa ilalim ng mga bangka at itinataob ang mga ito.

Sa iba’t ibang sulok ng da-lampasigan at sa may batuhan ay nakita niyang lalaki sa la-laki, kamay sa kamay, yantok sa yantok ay nasa gitna ng paglalaban ang mga manlulu-sob at ang mga tagapagtang-gol ng Paraiso.

Sa isang dako ng dalam-pasigan ay nakita niya si Jonathan na nakikipagtagisan ng lakas sa tatlong kawal. Pati si Padre Mario ay nakita ni Rosing na walang suot na damit ng pari at sa halip ay hubad mula sa ulo hanggang sa baywang at siya ang katu-long ng kapre sa pagpapaliyab ng mga kahoy.

Nguni’t saan naroroon si Dencio? Pag-aalala ni Ros-ing. – Nilo, hanapin natin si Dencio, para mo nang awa! -- pakiusap niya.

Inutusan ni Nilo ang kala-baw na lumipad ng mababa o malapit sa lupa at daanan ng lipad ang mga taong nakatum-ba sa buhanginan. Naghanap si Nilo at si Rosing ng na-kikilalang mukha at pangan-gatawan. Sa huli ay nakita nila si Dencio na walang malay at duguan.

Binuhat ni Nilo ang lupay-pay na katawan ni Dencio at inilulan siya sa likuran ng ka-labaw. Bago inutusan si Ros-ing, at ang kalabaw – Rosing, sumakay ka at alalayan mo si Dencio at nang siya ay hindi mahulog. Dalhin mo siya sa pook na malalapatan mo siya ng lunas. Hala, Dagul, lipad! –

Tila may isip si Dagul. Mabilis siyang lumipad patun-go sa mahiwagang kuweba. Paglapag pa lamang nila sa lupa ay nandoon na’t naghi-hintay ang mga kababaihan, sa pamumuno ni Dalisay, upang ilikas si Dencio mula sa likuran ng kalabaw patungo sa loob ng mahiwagang kuweba, at nang doon ay magamot at mailigtas siya mula sa bingit ng kamatayan.

Nagtulung-tulong ang mga babae sa paglilinis at paglala-gay ng gamot sa mga sugat ni Dencio. Naroon sa kanyang tabihan si Nana Koring, ang nars ng nayon. May mga katas ng dahon at usok mula sa kung anong halaman ang ipinagamit ni Dalisay upang magbalik ang lakas at uliran ni Dencio. Makalipas ang maikling panahon ay bahag-yang dumilat at napangiti si Dencio. Nasilip niya sa kanyang mga mata, kahi’t na may kalabuan ang mga hugis, ang maaamong mukha ng dalawang babae na mahalaga sa kanyang buhay. Ang mukha nina Dalisay at ni Rosing. – Panaginip ba lamang ang lahat? – ibig malaman ni Den-cio. Nguni’t siya ay nanghi-hina at nahihilo pa. Napapikit siyang muli at nahulog sa isang mahaba at malalim na pagtulog.

Nang sumunod na Araw ng mga Yumao, ang buong bayan ay nagsadya sa libingan ng nayon at doon ay nagbigay ng parangal sa kanilang mga minamahal na nauna na sa kabilang-buhay, kabilang na ang mga bayaning nagtang-gol sa katatapos pa lamang na labanan. May isang puntod na nababalot ng napakaraming

bulaklak na ganito ang na-kaukit sa lapida:

Maria DalisayAbril 14, 1960 - Hulyo 7,

2007“Ang pag-ibig niya ay

walang hanggahan.” Marami nang ulit na si

Dencio ay dumalaw sa lib-ingan ng kanyang yumaong kabiyak na nag-iisa upang magpahayag ng pagmamahal at pasasalamat; sa pagkakata-ong ito, hindi siya nag-iisa, sa paanan ng puntod ay magkak-ahawak ng kamay sina Dencio at Rosing, Kiko at Neneng at sama-samang namumutawi sa kanilang mga labi ang dasal, pasasalamat, at ang pangan-gako ng walang hanggang pag-ibig.

Wakas

ers who have direct links with the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants operating in south-ern Philippines. He is tagged as involved in several high-profile bombing and kidnap-ping incidents during past years that made him in the list of the United States wanted terrorists.

Asked if Abu Sayyaf ret-ribution is possible in Metro Manila, Mabanta replied “ter-rorism chooses no time and place. For any eventuality, the Armed Forces and the PNP are ready.”

“The Armed Forces is ready for any eventuality. This accomplishment of the PNP certainly preps up our enthu-siasm to be able to neutralize and engage this group,” added Mabanta.

About midnight on Sat-urday, combined elements of the PNP’s Directorate for Integrated Police Operations-Western Mindanao and the elite Special Action Force (SAF) caught up with a group of Abu Sayyaf terrorists on the outskirts of Maimbung town, Sulu, sparking an in-tense firefight.

Initially, there were re-ports that JI militant Marwan, an Indonesian, was with the group but no confirmation from the authorities were made.

Armed Forces of the Philippines

raises alert status(Continued from page 1)

pines foundation in the capital of Manila, starting a new page of both his sports career and life.

“When I coach players, I ask them why they want to play and they often say to be a champion and that sort of thing. But when I asked Jeson why he wanted to play, he said, ‘to help my family’, so I gave him a chance.”

With coach’s help, Patrom-bon’s results thus had been on a steady upward spiral, earn-ing himself a valuable berth at the Olympic arena.

Tennis helps Filipino teener find way to

Olympic stage(Continued from page 1)



3507 S. Maryland Parkway Suite A.Las Vegas, Nv 89169 (702) 608 2527

Las Vegas Branch

San Diego, California. A group of community vol-unteers have formed a new Filipino language organization called “Mag-Filipino Tayo” (Let’s Speak Filipino). The organization, operating as a non-profit California public benefit corporation, will be focusing on promoting the learning and use of the Filipi-no language for individuals at all levels, who do not neces-sarily have access to public schools where it may already be taught. The organization will target Filipino-Americans who were born or raised here that either want to learn the language, or just want to improve their skills, but have few or no opportunities to learn or improve.

Vince Bumanglag, one of the organizers, is a business owner who wants to learn the language so he can relate better with his Filipino cus-tomers. “I was born in the Philippines, but did not grow up speaking Filipino. This school definitely fills a need,” he stated.

However, Mag-Filipino Tayo is not just for beginners. It is also for those who al-ready understand the language or can actually converse in the language, such as intermedi-ate or “heritage” speakers. Genevieve Esmende, one of the volunteer organizers, is one example. “I understand fluently because my parents

CommunityNew Filipino Language

Organization Offers Filipino Classes For Adults

spoke to me. But I did not always reply back in Filipino because, unfortunately, I was not confident enough. An organization like this would help me gain more confi-dence.”

The organization has al-ready organized Filipino mix-ers, where people at all levels have showed up at a restau-rant to practice the language in an informal setting. So far, the mixers have been popular, with attendees partipating in fun exercises in a positive set-ting. The next one will be on Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 5:30 PM Quizno’s, 5252 Balboa Ave, San Diego, CA 92117 ([email protected]).

The organization’s first 6-week classes will begin next month on October 5, twice per week, 6PM to 7:30PM Tuesday and Thursday. The 18-hour total “crash course” is designed for adults in learn-ing common phrases used in different real life situations relating to the culture and tra-dition for everyday conversa-tion. The cost is $99, but some financial assistance has been made available by anonymous donors. For more information and registration, please con-tact Dr. Juanita Santos Nacu at (858) 335-5024 or email at [email protected] or Vicente Bumanglag at (760) 224-4635 or email at [email protected]

The Capasenans Associa-tion of San Diego County cel-ebrated its version of a town fiesta with a pageantry that was capped by the crowning of its new muse and a parade of the banners of all baran-gays of Capas, Tarlac, Phil-ippines. Marifel Lopez was installed CASDC muse for the 2010-1012

Pageantry Capasenas Town Fiesta Celebration

In a ceremony similarly done during the coronation of a town fiesta beauty queen in the Philippines. Miss Lopez succeeded Christel Calaguas whose reign from 2008-2010. A touching moment put the audience into silent mode with the singing of melodious love songs by Sam Santiago, young a professional singer, who had joined Sheryn Re-gis at a concert at one time , serenaded the newly crowned muse, much to the enjoyment of the audience were asking for more!.

Staged at the Hilton hotel in Mission Valley on Septem-ber 11th, the biennial festivity opened up with by June Vil-lacruz who also set the stage for the festive program with his fine work as the night’s emcee. That led the soulfoul singing of the “ Star Spangled Banner” by Sam Santiago while Cesar Soliman gave the

boomimg rendition of the “ Pambansang Awit ng Pilipi-nas” during the singing of the National anthems of the USA and the Philipines. Catholic priest, Father Ramon Capuno, a native-born Capasenan was not able to come due to un-foreseen reason, however, Fa-ther Matt Batario was on hand to do the invocation, invok-

ing the Almighty’s continued blessing for the Association and Capasenans living here in the San Diego. The celebra-tion was well attended and everyone seemed to enjoy the music of the fantastic South Coast Rhythm Band that titil-lated the members and guests to come to the floor and show their dancing skills that lasted until midnight. The holding of a town fiesta with coronation and ball has been a tradition presentation of the association every two years. Ferdie Balagtas, the founding chairman closed the pro-gram with the expression of gratitude to the members and guests for their continued sup-port for the Association as he pledged his total commitment to the realization of its goals. This year’s event is coordinat-ed by the overall chairperson Carmel Celis Balagtas

BY MARISSA ACIERTO

SAN DIEGO-A commend-able team of API’s youth and community leaders remem-bered 911 and volunteered for Feeding America at 9151 Rehco Road, Suite B, San Di-ego, CA 92121 on September 11, 2010 on Saturday from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. The facilitator was Joe Long a Vietnamese American, an organizer of the Asian Community Luncheon which is a newfounded com-munity organization commit-ted to focusing on bringing people together.

Joining the volunteer crew was the Asian Community Luncheon (ACL) with Julio de Guzman. The supported team was Katrina Gaffud-Benfer, Gwen Coronado and Eddie Enriquez. Members of the Lions Club attended in the later period was Clando Brownlee (Brotherhood Lions Club), June Barnick and Steven Barnick. As for

API youth group remembers 911 and joins feeding America

API’s Collaborative Group Photo of the Pilipino American Youth Organization “PAYO”; Vietnamese American Youth Alli-ance “VAYO”; American Red Cross Council; Asian Community Luncheon

the collaborative API youth organizers were Pilipino American Youth Organization (PAYO) with Julius Alejandro and Juanito Amor (Advisor). Then Alex Nguyen, June Nguyen and Sydney Tran from the Vietnamese Ameri-can Youth Alliance (VAYO) and American Red Cross Council supported by Angela Nguyen. A special appear-ance to assist was Hoa Quach the AolPatch.com Editor who happily helped with the youth.

Feeding America modus operandi is to feed the hungry, to advocate and educate. Ap-proximately 437,500 multi-ethnic individuals receive assistance. A total of 73,200 are given every week. The assistance is given to the seniors, members who have children under 18 years old, for one employed adults and incomes below poverty level and homeless.

Feeding America is one of the newest food bank. In October 9, 2007, the first food

was distributed in the parking lot of a local partner agencies, The San Diego Rescue Mis-sion. Within 4 months from the first food drive distribu-tion led to a move to a ware-house in February 2008.

The warehouse for Feed-ing America is 30,000 square footage which contains an office and warehouse located in the Miramar area. The organization encourages tours to their facility.

A brief presentation was conducted by the ACL orga-

nizers and ceremony in the midst of an American Flag symbolic on the wall. Then the API team toured the ware-house before sorting, repair-ing damaged boxes, lifting and a portion control of food contents such as macaroni and rice being self packaged in plastic bags.

Many of the API Teams spreaded apart in different task such as the heavy lift-ing provided by the PAYO organizers. Juanito Amor has



AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR

by William M. Esposofrom The

Philippine Star

The Captain Rolando Men-doza Hostage Tragedy exposed the Filipino tendency to be the country’s greatest national security risk. This fl aw in the national character is promoted by irresponsible media which also manifest signs of idiocy — not knowing the truth.

The fact is our government and people have more than undertaken enough to express our collective regret and apol-

How come that we’re the fi rst to put our country down?

Tampa, Fla. (August 9, 2010) – As new and existing home sales remain sluggish, one way sellers can increase appeal of their homes is by adding disaster-resistant retrofi ts, according to the In-stitute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).

For sellers, the addition of properly installed disaster-re-sistant retrofi ts is a great way to differentiate their home from others on the market. For buyers, a disaster-resis-tant home represents a sound investment. “The bottom line is the buyer is getting more house for their money when they buy a home that has

Increase Your Home’s Value with Disaster-Resistant Retrofi ts

Read Romeo Nicolas’s previous poems by vis-iting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

Ni Romeo Nicolas

Mga Tulang Tagalog

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

journalusa.com

Bagong KabanataSa tinagal na panahong tuloy tayo sa pagusad,Ang lahat ng pagbabago, pilit na pinatutupad.Subalit sa POLITIKA, sobra-sobrang nagmakupad,Natapos man ang halalan, “manual” pa ang nasa utak.

Ngayong tanggap ng marami, “automation” na halalan,Paghahanda sa susunod ang sya namang tututukan.Iyan ang syang nararapat at ‘di puro KABALBALAN,HAKA-HAKA at akalang nagkaroon ng DAYAAN.

Limutin ang mga NULL VOTES, ‘di dapat na mapabilang,Kasama naman ito lagi, pagdating na ng BILANGAN.Turuan o ma-EDUCATE itong ating mamamayan,Sa paraang siyang tama, mapabilang ang HINALAL.

Hindi dapat WARDIWARDI ang paraan sa pagboto,Hindi sapat na sabihing, AUTOMATION, kaya ko ‘to.Lagi nilang iisipin, magbabasa’y hindi tao,Kaya dapat na linawin kung sino ang IBOBOTO.

Marahil ang mga iba ang kamay ay NAGSASAYAW, O ‘di kaya yaong mata ay mayron ng KALABUAN.Gawain na ng COMELEC kung ano ang kailangan,Tulungan ang KAPUSPALAD upang BOTO, mapabilang.

Lagi lamang tatandaan, ang “Garbage In” ay “Garbage Out”,Ang MASAMANG ipinasok, MASAMA rin na lalabas.Ang MASAMA’Y ‘di kabilang at ito’y ‘di nararapat,PCOS Machine ay may “program”, basahin lang yaong TUMPAK.

Bago itong kabanata sa buhay ng Pilipino,Nasaksihan ang hiwaga nitong ating pagbabago.Sa halalang nagaganap, tumutok ang buong mundo,Tagumpay ang ating bansa sa paghalal ng PANGULO.

Romeo S. Nicolas6/10/2010Bocaue, Bulacan

A couple was celebrating their golden wedding anniver-sary on The beaches in Gold Coast

Australia. Their domestic tranquility had been the talk of the town. People would say, ‘What a peaceful & lov-ing couple. The local newspa-per reporter was inquiring as to the secret of their long and happy marriage.

The husband replied: ‘Well, it dates back to our honeymoon in America ‘. We visited the Grand Canyon, in Arizona , and took a trip down to the bottom of the canyon, by horse. We hadn’t gone too far when my wife’s horse stumbled and she al-most fell off.

The secret of a good marriage

My wife looked down at the horse and quietly said, ‘That’s once’ ‘We proceeded a little further and her horse stumbled again. Again my wife quietly said, ‘That’s twice.’ We hadn’t gone a half-mile when the horse stumbled for the third time my wife quietly removed a revolver from her Purse and shot the horse dead.

I SHOUTED at her, ‘What’s wrong with you, Woman! Why did you Shoot the poor animal like that, are you $%#@! crazy?’ She looked at ME, and quietly said, ‘That’s once.’

And from that moment on! We have lived happily ever after.’

ogy over the hostage tragedy. The fact is President Noynoy Aquino (P-Noy) has more than bent over backwards to try to ease the pain of the Chinese people, including those in Hong Kong where most of the fatalities came from. The fact is that there is a multi-agency probe underway and there is no attempt to cover up for any-body.

The fact is the Hong Kong offi cials have been exceeding their limits on what they can say and do under diplomatic protocol. The fact is that the Hong Kong Journalist Asso-ciation erred when they cited

P-Noy for allegedly blaming media for the tragedy because P-Noy did no such thing — but merely mentioned that media (specifi cally broadcast media) added to the problems. The fact is the national government had nothing to do with draping the Philippine fl ag over the casket of Captain Rolando Mendoza.

So how come Philippine media sensationalized all the negative aspects of the Hong Kong issues without as much as citing the facts governing these? What kind of journalism is that? It was as if our media was on the payroll of Hong Kong masters — buying and disseminating every line Hong Kong throws at us and our government. This goes beyond the issue of corruption in media and simply borders on treason.

How come when the issue of Mendoza’s fl ag draped cas-ket was raised, media here did not even bother to check if this was a government initiative, was done with government consent or simply an individual act? How come nobody, except Senator Kiko Pangilinan, both-ered to place this issue in its proper perspective?

Sen. Pangilinan stated: “While I personally object to and disagree with the using of the fl ag to cover the casket of Mendoza, there is no law that explicitly bans the use of the fl ag in such a manner and therefore we will have to respect the individual freedoms of our people.”

He added: “We ask for China’s understanding in that we live under different systems and what may be prohibited and banned in their nation may not be so in ours. We are both sovereign nations and trust that China in the fi nal analysis will respect Philippine sovereignty and not bully a small nation like the Philippines despite the recent hostage taking tragedy involving their nationals.”

China should be the last to posture as if they hold a candle to us when it comes to preventing tragedies like the Luneta Grandstand Incident. On August 19, 2005, Shell executive Emmanuel Madrigal and his family alighted from a tourist bus in Beijing’s Tianan-men Square when they were attacked by a blade wielding man, later identifi ed as 25-year old Wang Gongzuo. Emmanuel Madrigal and his daughter Re-

gina Mia died from that attack.Did a Chinese offi cial

apologize to the Madrigal fam-ily, the Philippine government or the Filipino people for their failure to protect Filipino tour-ists in one of the most visited sites in their capital? Was there even an offi cial expression of regret from the Chinese gov-ernment for that failure to pro-tect visitors in what is expected to be a well secured area? Where then do they get the gall and the temerity to disrespect us and our president due to a similar incident?

So, how come we pander to all these assertions by Chinese offi cials and journalists ema-nating from the Luneta Hostage Tragedy? How come our media pander to all these violations of protocol, baseless attacks and arrogance of Chinese offi cials?

When China raised the is-sue, how come our media did not even bother to explain the facts surrounding the drap-ing of the Philippine fl ag over Captain Mendoza’s casket? How come our media did not even take Hong Kong’s Don-ald Tsang to task for violating protocol and even complaining about P-Noy’s inability to take his call? How come our media disseminated Hong Kong’s demand to conduct their own forensic probe without as much as stating that this entails sovereignty issues and is only allowed under a special ac-commodation? Have our media been secretly bought by the Chinese for them to espouse the Chinese line like this?

Frankly, many Filipinos have been more circumspect about this hostage tragedy than Philippine media. On Face-book and the blogs, you’ll see many Filipinos who have taken China and the Hong Kong local government to task for their arrogance and overbear-ing attitude towards us and our government.

Hostage Crisis Handling can be easily addressed by proper staffi ng, better planning and training and the procurement of better equipment. The big-ger Philippine tragedy which is more diffi cult to address is our damaged culture. We are our country’s greatest enemies, especially those who have a major infl uence on how we acquire information and shape our opinions.

been properly retrofi tted with disaster-resistant features,” said Julie Rochman, CEO & president of the IBHS. “A buyer is getting a house that is going to perform better during a natural disaster.”

The U.S. has experienced record snowfalls, fl ooding, tornadoes, wildfi res and earthquakes – and that’s just in the fi rst half of 2010. With 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season activity predicted to be above average, the number and severity of natural disas-ters in the second half of the year could match, if not sur-pass, that from the fi rst half.

The type of disaster-

resistant retrofi t(s) homeown-ers should make depends on the location of the home. For example, homes in the Southeast within 50 miles of the coast should implement retrofi ts to make them more resilient to hurricanes; homes in the West should implement retrofi ts to make them more resilient to wildfi res.

To help homeowners iden-tify and learn more about sev-eral types of natural disasters where they live or may want to live, the IBHS offers a ZIP Code-based tool at Disaster-Safety.org. The tool provides a list of the natural disaster(s) that may occur in that par-ticular area.

“Reports are that it con-tinues to be a very diffi cult home sales market right now,” Rochman said. “Sell-ers compete not only with other sellers but also with low-priced foreclosures. Disaster-resistant retrofi ts are an excellent way for a seller to get a leg up on the compe-tition.”

Rochman urges hom-eowners to invest in disaster-resistant retrofi ts fi rst before more cosmetic changes. “For example, all the money spent on new cabinet fronts or hardware, different col-ored appliances and granite countertops in a kitchen will

have been totally wasted your house is severely dam-age or destroyed by a fl ood, wind storm or fi re,” Rochman said. “The better value for that same money would be to invest it in things that help keep the house intact, so it is livable. Protect the structure fi rst.”

IBHS Chief Engineer and SVP of Research Dr. Tim Reinhold recommends that homeowners in hurricane-prone regions make their roof the highest priority, fol-lowed closely by protecting and strengthening doors and windows.

In wildfi re-prone areas, again Dr. Reinhold recom-mends starting with the roof. If the roof isn’t fi re resistant all the other retrofi ts are rela-tively unimportant. After the roof, keeping embers out of vents, replacing single-pane windows with double-pane units and tempered outer panes, and vegetation control are among the most important retrofi ts.

IBHS’ website, Disas-terSafety.org has a series of guides to help homeowners retrofi t for hurricanes and wildfi res as well as other information on what can be done to protect your home from damage during a severe weather event.

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

journalusa.com

(NewsUSA) - In an ideal world, you’d shop every day for the freshest ingredients to make gourmet meals for your family. However, family obli-gations keep you so busy that dinner often means fast food or take-out.

Fortunately, there is a hap-py medium between healthful-ness and convenience. With a well-stocked pantry, it’s easy and less expensive to create healthy meals in min-utes without extra trips to the grocery store.

Elizabeth Ward, a regis-tered dietitian and nutrition book author, provides these tips for creating the perfect pantry:

* Keep supplies for healthy last-minute meals on hand. Pantry staples like whole-wheat pasta, eggs, to-mato sauce, canned tuna fish, peanut butter, canned salmon and canned beans (such as black beans and garbanzos) can make quick and healthy sandwiches, soups, omelets and more.

* Stock up on natural foods. Many common pantry supplies, like canned soups, crackers and sugary cere-als, contain large amounts of high-fructose corn syrup, trans fats and sodium. Choose more nutritious alternatives. For example, start off your day with a healthy breakfast

Revamp Your Pantry For Healthier Meals

including Mom’s Best Natu-rals (www.momsbestnaturals.com) cereals. This line comes in delicious family favorite varieties, and unlike a lot of natural/organic cereals, this brand is affordably priced so it’s a good, budget-friendly option for families.

* Choose whole grains. Oatmeal, whole wheat bread and brown rice are healthy staples, but you can also cre-ate quick, easy meals and side dishes from grains like bulgur wheat, buckwheat, quinoa and whole wheat couscous. Snack on popcorn (a whole grain) instead of fatty chips, and make a delicious trail mix with whole grain cereal, dried fruit and nuts.

* Spice it up. With a well-stocked spice rack, you can prepare simple dishes such as beans and rice with an Indian, Mexican or Mediterra-nean flare. Stock dried rose-mary, thyme, tarragon, dill, cumin, cinnamon, sage, chili powder, turmeric, bay leaves, curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder and black and red pepper. Toss dried herbs and spices after a year, as their flavor fades.

For more tips on healthy eating from Elizabeth Ward, please visit her blog at http://momsbestnaturals.com/blogs/moms-best-blog/.

On October 9th, the Malashock Thinks You Can Dance! annual fundraiser will take place in the Birch North Park Theatre in San Diego. Benefiting Malashock Dance Education Outreach and Scholarship programs, proceeds from the event will be used to help over 2,500 students in the area.

Inspired by TV’s “So You Think Can Dance” and “Dancing With the Stars,” San Diego celebrities are partnered with professional dancers in a friendly ball-room dance competition. Local personalities including KFMB News Anchor Carlo Cecchetto, Channel 4 Sports Anchor John Weisbarth, San Diego Asian Film Foundation Executive Director Lee Ann Kim, and Gente Bien Creative Director Danitza Villanueva will team with professional partners to compete in a one night dance-off, with winners being determined by audience vote.

Malashock Thinks You Can Dance!

Fundraiser Celebrates 4th Year - Previous 3 Years SOLD OUT!

The event will also be overseen by a cast of San Diego notables such as Hon-orary chairs Mayor Jerry Sanders and Rana Sampson, comedian emcee Monique Marvez, and celebrity judges Brian Malarkey of Top Chef and San Diego’s popular radio personality Jerry Cesak.

VIP ticket holders enjoy pre-show cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, and all audience members are invited to a post-show “Meet the Dancers” Wrap Party with coffee and dessert. Malashock Thinks You Can Dance! brings sup-porters of San Diego dance together, while raising the much-needed funds for youth arts education programming throughout San Diego.

4th Annual Fundrais-er, Malashock Thinks You Can Dance!

“Transforming the lives of underserved children.”

Saturday October 9, 2010

“Honoring Our Communi-ties, Building Our Futures”

Friday & Saturday, Octo-ber 1-2, 2010

Building G-103San Diego Mesa College

Special GuestsAuggie Romero, Direc-

tor of Student Equity, Tucson Unified School District

Sean Arce, Director of Mexican-American Studies, Tucson Unified School Dis-trict

Sparked by the recent pas-sage of Arizona’s House Bill (HB) 2281, which eliminates Ethnic Studies courses at secondary level educational institutions, the San Diego Ethnic Studies Consortium (SDESC) invites you to attend its first annual conference on Ethnic Studies. We seek to unite faculty, students, staff, and community members throughout San Diego County in order to reflect upon the re-cent attacks on the Raza Stud-ies Department in the Tucson Unified School District and its impact on our disciplines. Our conference examines the state of Ethnic Studies on our campuses and celebrates how our important work continues to transform social, political, and community landscapes.

The two-day conference features keynote presenta-tions, a teach-in, press confer-ence, workshops, and perfor-mances from faculty, students,

(San Diego, CA – Septem-ber 2, 2010) – The San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF) is excited to announce its eleventh season which runs OCTOBER 21-28, 2010 at the Mission Valley UltraStar Cinemas (7510 Hazard Center Drive, San Diego, CA 92108). As one of the largest film ex-hibitions of its kind in North America, the SDAFF kicks off a brand new decade and 11th Festival with more than 140 films from 20 countries including Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Ire-land, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Mex-ico, North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and the U.S.

More than 100 filmmak-ers and actors are scheduled to attend including John Cho (Harold and Kumar, Star Trek), Aaron Yoo (21, The Wackness), Daniel Dae Kim (Lost), Justin Lin (Director Fast and the Furious), Justin Chon (Twilight), Danny Pudi (Community), Ellen Wong (Scott Pilgrim Vs The World) and Harry Shum Jr. (Glee, League of Extraordinary Dancers). The Festival will also honor CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertain-ment).

PROGRAM HIGH-LIGHTS:

Opening night film on Thursday, October 21 with the U.S. premiere of LEGEND OF THE FIST, an epic Chi-nese martial arts film starring Donnie Yen

Closing night film on Thursday, October 28 with

1st Annual Ethnic Studies Conference

and community members. Invited guests Auggie Romero and Sean Arce from the Tuc-son Unified School District will offer a special presenta-tion on Saturday 10/2 at 9:00 am. This weekend event kicks off national Ethnic Studies Week which runs October 1-7, 2010. For more information, please email [email protected].

About the San Diego Ethnic Studies Consortium (SDESC)

SDESC is a collaborative of faculty, staff, students, and community members com-mitted to the study of race, ethnicity, and social justice. We represent autonomous academic disciplines and intellectual traditions, includ-ing American Indian Stud-ies, Asian American Studies, Black/African American/Africana Studies, Chican@/Latin@ Studies, and Ethnic Studies. Viewing ourselves as distinct and interconnected, we are dedicated to the pro-motion and advancement of our disciplines through schol-arship, teaching, institutional and community engagement, advocacy, and collaboration.

Organized by Ethnic Stud-ies faculty, staff, and students from San Diego Mesa Col-lege, City College, Palomar College, San Diego State University, CSU San Marcos, University of San Diego, & UC San Diego.

at Birch North Park Theatre 2891 University Avenue,

San Diego, CA 92104 Phone: (619) 239-8836

VIP Reception 6.30pm, Performance 8pm

Ticket Price Range $50-150

Honorary Chairs: Mayor Jerry Sanders & Rana Samp-son; Dea & Osborn Hurston

Event Chair: Yolanda S. Walther-Meade

Emcee/Host: Monique Marvez, Showtime’s Latin Divas of Comedy

Celebrity Judges: Brian Malarkey, Celebrity Chef/Executive Chef and Partner, Searsucker Restaurant; Jerry Cesak, San Diego radio per-sonality; Yolanda S. Walther-Meade, San Diego Latino Film Festival

Celebrity Contestants: Carlo Cecchetto, Anchor,

KFMB TV (News 8); John Gomez, Attorney, The

Gomez Law Firm; Lee Ann Kim, Executive

Director, San Diego Asian Film Foundation;

Mo King, Chairman, Scripps Mercy Hospital Foun-dation;

Tania Luviano, Spokes-woman, Procter & Gamble;

Mitch Mitchell, Regional Vice President of External Af-fairs, SDG&E

Alexander Salazar, Owner, Alexander Salazar Fine Art;

Fiona Tudor, Executive Director, ResMed Foundation;

Danitza Villanueva, Cre-ative Director, GB Magazine;

John Weisbarth, Sports An-chor, Channel 4 San Diego;

Celebrity Stylist: Melissa Jaqua, Fox TV’s So You Think You Can Dance;

Further information available at

http://www.malashockdance.org/thinksyoucandance

San Diego Asian Film Festival celebrates 11th season and kicks

off new decade of cinemaTaiwanese crowd-pleaser, AU REVOIR TAIPEI

Spotlights on trans-racial adoption (4 feature films) with most directors in attendance for Q&A

Free Films at Four – every weekday at 4PM films are free to the public

All fourteen short film programs including will be presented in HD for the first time

Special events each night, including Gala Awards Dinner (Oct 23), live music show-case, and a panel celebrating the art of dance in films and music videos.

“We are especially grateful to our top sponsors – Toyota, our Official Car Sponsor, Barona, and Wells Fargo, for supporting our vision. Thanks to the generous support of many corporate partners, we are able to present a high quality, meaningful Festival experience,” says SDAFF ex-ecutive director Lee Ann Kim.

Since the Festival ends less than a week from the general election, the SDAFF is also promoting civic responsibility and democratic participation through a campaign called REEL IN THE VOTE, show-casing Public Service An-nouncements that were cre-ated by artists to encourage Asian Americans to vote.

Discounted tickets are available online until October 17. Tickets can be purchased at the Hazard Center UltraStar box office starting October 19. Festival updates are avail-able on cell phone by texting “SDAFF” to 53137. For tick-eting info, film details, and schedule, please go to www.SDAFF.org.

been a youth advisor for the Filipino American community and has paved the way for mentoring the youth such as Julius Alejandro to show that the youth can partake a role in many activities in the Fil-Am and mainstream communities.

Then the macaroni and rice sorting was coordinated by the VAYO group and June Nguyen, the second genera-tion Vietnamese American youth organizer conveyed, “Our youth organization is busy with so many projects especially the annual Tiet Festival in Balboa Park which I am very proud to be a part of, and we want to show our

elders that they have showed a way for us youth to perpetu-ate and continue our vision and culture meanwhile allow-ing us to also participate in worthy causes such as the one we are now involved in such as Feeding America.”

Then the sorting, expira-tion checked and damaged boxes being taped to give the food a better presentation was taken cared of by the American Red Cross Council from the students up in North County such as 4S Ranch and neighboring cities within.

As the hours were ending, at times like these prayers are being answered to help many San Diego people of needs and remembering the freedom call of 911 and being Ameri-cans.

For inquiries on how to volunteer, contact Brandi Love, Volunteer Coordinator at [email protected] or for future API annual volunteer for the year 2011, contact Joe Long at [email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected]

API youth group

remembers 911 and joins

feeding America



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and local delivery centers help our clients harness special-ized talent globally in order to meet their requirements and risk preferences, as well as provide business continuity,” Chandrasekaran said.

“ We are committed to working closely with the academic community in the Philippines to develop tal-ent across our full range of services,” he added.

Oscar Sañez, president and chief executive officer of the Business Processing Associa-tion of the Philippines, wel-comed Cognizant’s expansion in the Philippines.

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“We thank Cognizant for investing in the Philippines and providing an opportunity for experienced profession-als as well as fresh graduates in the country to serve global customers,” he added.

The Cognizant’s Manila office, which provides high-end operational and contact center business process services to clients worldwide, also runs on Cognizant 2.0, a Web 2.0-based platform that allows the company’s associ-ates worldwide to collaborate and deliver important time-to-market, cost and transforma-tional value to its clients.

by Christine O. Avendaño, Alcuin Papafrom Philippine Daily

Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—A bar topnotcher, who once headed a task force that inves-tigated the killings of media people and political activists, has been named the new chief of the Philippine National Police.

Deputy Director General Raul Bacalzo will replace out-going PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa, who is retir-ing from the service Tuesday, President Benigno Aquino III said Monday night.

Mr. Aquino’s choice was relayed to the media by Assistant Press Secretary Rey Marfil. The President is scheduled to attend a change of command ceremony at Camp Crame on Tuesday.

Bacalzo, a member of Philippine Military Academy Class 1977, used to head Task Force Usig, the body cre-ated under the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to look into the killings of journalists and political activists.

Verzosa was to reach the official retirement age of 56 in December but chose to retire early.

Mr. Aquino has said that Verzosa’s decision to retire early had nothing to do with the Aug. 23 hostage tragedy at Quirino Grandstand, where the police received heavy

Aquino appoints Bacalzo PNP chief

criticisms for bungling the negotiations and the rescue of Hong Kong tourists on a bus seized by dismissed Senior Insp. Rolando Mendoza.

Eight tourists and Mendoza were killed after an 11-hour

standoff.

12th in bar exams

Mr. Aquino has said that he and Verzosa had agreed long before the hostage tragedy that the latter would retire this month.

Bacalzo is an advocate of improving the investigative capabilities of the PNP.

Before being appointed PNP chief, he was deputy chief of operations, No. 3 on the PNP hierarchy.

In the 1984 bar exams, Bacalzo placed 12th.

Before ascending to the PNP’s Command Group, the top echelons of the 130,000-strong national police force, Bacalzo worked for the revision of the PNP Criminal Investigation Manual.

Antidrug operations

He also served as director for investigation and detec-tive management, where he called for enhancement of the technical capabilities of police investigators.

In particular, Bacalzo moved to develop the Auto-mated Fingerprint Identifica-tion System that speeds up the identification of criminals through fingerprints.

He also served as head of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force.

Bacalzo is not without his detractors.

As head of Task Force Usig, he was criticized by militant groups for failing to stem the killings of journal-ists.

Not their choice

Just recently, a group call-ing itself the “Junior Officers of the Philippine National

Police” circulated a “white paper” addressed to President Aquino.

Using what seemed to be an official stationery of the PNP, the officers said in the letter—a copy of which was sent to reporters in Camp Crame—that they opposed the appointment of Bacalzo to the top PNP post.

They claimed Bacalzo was involved in gambling and illegal drugs. They also said that as head of Usig, Bacalzo failed in his mandate to curb the killings of media people.

PNP spokesperson Senior Supt. Agrimero Cruz said he had not read the letter, and would not comment. The In-quirer tried to contact Bacalzo but he could not be reached.

Bacalzo is set to retire in September 2011.

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there is no crime under the Philippine Penal Code which is denominated as infidelity. There is in its stead the crimes of concubinage, adultery, and loosely the crime of bigamy. What is bigamy? Bigamy should be out of place here because what is punishable as such is having two mar-riages at the same time. It is not per se a sexually illegal act because it is not really a crime against the other spouse as being more a crime against the State for messing up the marriage registration system by marrying for the second or subsequent time. In this day of searchable databases and cen-tralized registration (NSO), it behooves upon the authorities concerned as to how and why bigamy is such a prevalent practice or occurrence.

Sexual infidelity in a gen-eral sense, as we said, is not a crime. The term made its de-but into Philippine law under the Civil Code provision on Legal Separation, unabashed-ly lifted from Catholic Canon Law. Curiously, sexual infidel-ity as a term was carried over as one of the manifestations (albeit may not be by itself according to some authors) of psychological incapacity as a ground for declaration of nullity of a marriage. The Civil Code of the Philippines prior to the Family Code did not even consider sexual infidelity as a ground for an-nulment, although ironically our Victorian forebears could conceivably put their respec-tive spouses in jail if he or she committed the specific crimes of concubinage or adultery. But anti woman’s lib as the original drafters of the 1920’s Revised Penal Code were, the crime of adultery on the part of the woman was easier to prove than the crime of concubinage on the part of the man. For the woman, all one has to prove is that she had sexual intercourse with a man

Some rando thoughts on sexually illegal acts, infidelity, bigamy,

concubinage, and adultery(Continued from page 5) other than her husband (cir-

cumstantial evidence being possible in such a case espe-cially so in an age when video cameras have not yet been invented). For the man, a wife has to prove that the act is scandalous to constitute con-cubinage. So if the infidelity was discreet (perhaps mean-ing not demonstrative or of an exhibitionist nature) then it would not be concubinage. This may, after all, be the precursors of the oft depicted scene in Tagalog movies of the legal wife “scandalously” confronting the “kulasisi” so as to come within the purview of the law.

But the Family Code of the Philippines has changed all that, for better or for worse, by introducing the concept of sexual infidelity as a ground for legal separation, and suggestively, as a possible manifestation likewise of psychological incapacity. So any form or fashion of sexual infidelity, be it scandalous or not, straight or gay, can now be considered as a ground for the declaration of nullity or annulment (in a loose legal sense) of a marriage. Con-ceivably, there may even be no sexual intercourse to con-stitute infidelity?? Aha, that would be a novel idea. Some sort of a Lewinskiesque twist to the law. A recent develop-ment is the concept of sexual infidelity under the Anti Vio-lence Law (RA 9262) which mentions sexual infidelity and other sexually violent acts as punishable offenses. How this will impact on the concept of psychological incapacity and the criminal law would be interesting to see.

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by Inquirer Bureausfrom Philippine Daily In-

quirer MANILA, Philippines—

In public markets, carinderia (eateries), beauty parlors and barber shops, even church grounds and government of-fices, “jueteng” bet collectors approach people discreetly to record and accept bets.

This is happening in several provinces in northern and central Luzon amid pro-nouncements from local of-ficials that the illegal numbers racket had been stopped.

In other provinces, jueteng oper-ates behind the cover of the govern-ment-sanc-tioned Small Town Lottery (STL). Some legitimate STL collec-tors have been soliciting bets on behalf of jueteng operators.

In the Visayas, the com-mon forms of illegal gambling are the “daily double,” video karera, “first two” and “last two,” which are based on the STL results.

In Mindanao, a retail ver-sion of the “Swertres” Lotto betting is the most popular, covering the midday, after-noon and evening lottery draws.

Jueteng bet collectors and supervisors interviewed by the Inquirer showed that the numbers racket did not really stop in several provinces in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera and Central Luzon. Some illegal operations have intensified after the May 10 elections.

STL = jueteng

On Monday, at the Pam-panga capitol in the City of San Fernando, “Pogi” mingled in the crowd, mostly help-seekers, and hopped from one office to another, getting bets for what to him is the STL.

He did not wear an identifi-cation card attesting that he is a collector of Suncove, one of the STL agents of the Philip-pine Charity Sweepstakes Of-fice (PCSO). The long strips of yellow paper he was hold-ing were marked with “STL” but that’s just about it.

He did not issue receipts for bets. A bettor, a capitol employee, was content at receiving a small piece of paper where Pogi wrote the pair of number he chose. At any day, eight collectors make the rounds of the government offices there.

“Yes, jueteng is kicking in the form of STL,” Fr. Marius Roque said, adding that both the lottery and jueteng have the “same effect on the people and society.”

Chief Supt. Alan Purisima, Central Luzon police director, said it was difficult to distin-guish between jueteng and the STL. “Malaking proseso yan. (That will be a big process). You will need lots of person-nel to check on the IDs [of collectors],” he said by phone.

In the first week of August, the PCSO announced an audit of STL income from its 22 agents throughout the country on the heels of reports they were understating their collec-tions and short-changing the government.

Possible shares lost from six agents in Batangas, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Bulacan and Pampanga from January to June amounted to P9 billion, a PCSO report showed. Total sales reported by six agents reached only P448,369,062 in the first half of 2010, the

‘Jueteng’ in North, ‘swertres’ in South

report said.In Bulacan, a former bet

collector in Bulakan town said that despite announcements during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, jueteng did not really stop in the province.

A bet collector from Calumpit town said draws were being held in Apalit, Pampanga, three times daily.

But Senior Supt. Fernando Villanueva, Bulacan police director, said what police were receiving are reports of “STL bookies,” not jueteng.

Uninterrupted in Ilocos

In Ilocos Norte, jueteng operations in Laoag City and elsewhere have never been interrupted since President Aquino assumed power.

A bet collector said jueteng draws were being conducted three times daily for seven days, except on declared holidays.

“In the past, operators and managers would immediately alert us to stop collecting bets because of intensified anti-jueteng drives. But we haven’t been notified of any suspen-sion since the exposé,” said Manong Jun, a bet collector.

The area where the draws are held would be moved from time to time not to keep policemen away but to avoid the heat from residents who are against illegal gambling, he said.

In Pangasinan, Mayor Benjamin Lim of Dagupan City said jueteng “has been here since time immemorial” unless the government begins to legalize it. “And I think ev-erybody should be courageous enough, honest enough and frank enough to say that it’s difficult to stop,” he said.

Asked if jueteng thrives in Dagupan, Lim described it as “on and off.” He said the city police chief had told him jueteng bets were being collected in the city but draws were being done somewhere else.

‘Everybody happy’

A former jueteng man-ager in an eastern Pangasinan town said operations never stopped in the 10 towns of the sixth district. The “beauty” of jueteng is that “everybody is happy,” he said.

Of the collection in the town, he said the mayor gets a 6-percent share; the police, 2 percent; the cabo and bet collectors, 11 percent; “na-tional” (remittance to national officials, governor and repre-sentatives involved in jueteng operations), 12 percent; and manager, 1 percent.

The remaining 68 percent goes to the management, including payment for jueteng staff, prize money and “inci-dental expenses” like grease money for media workers, the manager said.

When he was still working for the operator, the manager said the daily collection in his town was between P120,000 and P150,000 for the three daily draws. “During the gawat (lean months in agri-culture areas), the collection could go down to P120,000 but will peak up after the har-vest season,” he said.

But he said collection for

each draw in some cities and urban areas could reach as high as P300,000.

Mayors’ payola

The manager said mayors were forced to accept jueteng payola because “after elec-tions, plenty of supporters will seek employment from them.”

In Olongapo City, a former bet collector said the numbers racket was thriving because “it is one of the easiest ways of making money.”

“It’s not like we’re selling illegal drugs or something. It’s harmless, and everybody gets to profit from it,” he said.

He said the operations of the STL and jueteng in Olongapo were “actually run by the same person [who is]

well connected to the police and the local government.” He, however, said the sale of the jueteng op-erations in Olongapo and Zambales were nowhere near those in Pampanga and Pan-gasinan.

“Here, it’s just small independent op-erators—or a few of them working togeth-

er—as financiers or operators. They have other legitimate businesses … Jueteng and the STL are just ways of making money for these people and they can probably live without it,” he said.

In Isabela, Ilagan Bishop Joseph Nacua urged govern-ment and police officials to do their job in stopping jueteng. “It is the government’s duty, following right reason, to curb that social dysfunction,” he said.

Chief Supt. Benedict Mi-chael Fokno, Cagayan Valley police director, said his men had been relentless in their campaign to stop jueteng and would soon release a report on the status of operations against illegal gambling in the region.

Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. said his province may be jueteng-free but some bet collectors from neighbor-ing provinces would go to his province.

Visayas

The STL bet collectors acting on behalf of illegal operators have been reported in Guimaras and Iloilo, which were not covered by the STL franchise in Iloilo City. The bettors would not know that the operation was illegal and that the winners were paid by the illegal operator.

The draw results are based on the STL results, according to Supt. Ranulo Demiar, West-ern Visayas police spokes-person. Collectors get from 30 to 50 percent of the total bets, while the illegal operator keeps the rest, he said.

Police officials in Bohol and Cebu City admitted the proliferation of swertres, which is based on the Swer-tres Lotto of the PCSO.

But Chief Insp. George Ylanan, head of the Cebu City police’s Investigation and De-tective Management Bureau (IDMB), said only a small percentage of the city resi-dents bet on swertres and even “masiao,” which is based on the results of jai alai games.

Swertres is also present in Eastern Visayas but not as widespread as in other parts of the country, according to Senior Supt. Manuel Cubillo, regional police information officer.

Pilita, a bet collector in Tacloban City, explained that she gets 30 percent of the P7,000 average collection each night, while the rest goes to the operator.

All her collections were remitted to a “coordinator,” whom she declined to identi-fy, then to the financier, a city resident. A bet of P5 could

win P2,000, she said.

Mindanao

In the Zamboanga Penin-sula and Northern Mindanao, swertres bets are collected by “ushers” who would make the rounds in houses and offices. The ushers prepare the tally sheets containing the number combinations and their corre-sponding bets.

The sheets are “remitted” to a coordinator, who con-solidates the bets for a certain territory or network of ushers in behalf of a financier.

During police crackdowns, the betting goes electronic. A bettor sends a text message to the usher, who then sends by fax or e-mail the tally sheets

to the coordinators. In these cases, the bets become “col-lectibles.”

In the retail or masiao version, a peso wins P400, while in a PCSO outlet, a peso wins P450. Both use the same results as the PCSO draw.

Senior Supt. Edwin Deo-campo, police chief of Zam-boanga City, said swertres “operates guerrilla-type, espe-cially in the eastern boundary. Financiers come from Zam-boanga Sibugay and Zam-boanga del Norte, he said.

In Caraga, swertres op-erations are believed to be financed by influential politi-cians and businessmen.

A PCSO regional official said the rampant proliferation of the numbers racket drasti-

cally reduced the agency’s revenue by at least 60 percent.

In Southern Mindanao, the illegal numbers game “last two” is also popular.

“Last two” gets its win-ning numbers from the last two digits of the PCSO’s lotto results, a P10 bet would win P700 or P600. Tonette Ore-jas, Carmela Reyes, Robert Gonzaga and Armand Ga-lang, Inquirer Central Luzon; Villamor Visaya Jr., Cris-tina Arzadon and Maurice Malanes, Inquirer Northern Luzon; Nestor Burgos Jr., Jhunnex Napallacan, Joey Ga-bieta and Jani Arnaiz, Inquirer Visayas; and Ryan D. Rosau-ro, Julie S. Alipala, Richel V. Umel and Franklin Caliguid, Inquirer Mindanao


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