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Volume 9 – Issue 26 • 16 Pages

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MARCH 25-31, 2016

DATELINEUSAfrom the AJPress NEWS TEAM AcroSS AMEricA

NeW York lawmakers are scheduled to vote on friday, April 1 on a proposal that would increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour.

If approved, New York would become the first state in the nation to enact such a wage for all workers.

A coalition of low-wage workers, immi-grant activists, unions and other progres-sive groups called the Long Island fight for $15 is among those fighting to raise the minimum wage from the current $9 per hour.

In a blog by editors of the New York times called taking Note, a post by edi-tor teresa tritch, who specializes in tax, finances and economics, argues in favor of the wage hike. the piece cites a recent study by the Institute for research on La-bor and employment (IrLe) at UC Berke-ley, which found that setting the minimum to $15 an hour would “be very positive.”

NY lawmakers to vote April 1 on min. wage hike

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

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

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

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

the resignation comes two months af-ter the Clinton campaign formed an AAPI leadership council, comprised of more than 150 elected officials and community lead-

AAPI director leaves Clinton campaign

GLOBAL THREAT. President Barack Obama and National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice talk on the phone with Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco to receive an update on the recent terrorist attack in Brussels, Belgium. The President made the call from the residence of the US Chief of Mission in Havana, Cuba, on Tuesday, March 22. White House photo by Pete Souza

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three explosions in Brussels on tuesday, march 22, that killed at least 34 and wounded about 270, were conducted by two broth-ers and a suicide bomber linked to the Paris attacks in November.

Ibrahim el Bakraoui, 29, and his brother Khalid, 27, were Bel-gian nationals both known to authorities for previous crimes, UsA today reported. el Bakraoui carried out a suicide attack at

ISIS-claimed attacks in Brussels kill at least 34, wound over 30

rIZAL Commercial Banking Corp. president Lorenzo tan has gone on indefinite leave of absence on the heels of the gov-ernment’s probe on the $81 mil-lion in dirty money that slipped through the cracks of the local financial system with the bank’s branch in Jupiter street, makati as the gateway.

In a meeting on Wednesday, march 23, rCBC board accept-

ed tan’s second leave request.rCBC chair helen Y. Dee will

take over this post during tan’s absence. she will be assisted by a management committee led by vice chair Cesar Virata and Armando medina.

“tan insisted on taking a leave to allow him to focus on clear-ing his name in the money laun-dering issue a board committee is investigating. the committee is assisted by sGV auditors and external counsels,” rCBC said in a statement on Wednesday.

In a separate statement, tan’s lawyer francis Lim said: “ear-lier this week, my client asked again the rCBC board to let him go on leave. this was to avoid any perception of any undue in-fluence on his part in the ongo-ing internal investigation on the matter. It would also give him more time to address baseless personal attacks against him.”

As far as rCBC’s role as gate-keeper was concerned, rCBC has pinned Jupiter branch man-

RCBC chief goes on leave amid $81M dirty money probe

Lorenzo Tan

by Doris Dumlao-abaDillaInquirer.net

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the Philippine National Police Wednesday, march 23 assured the public, especially holy Week travelers, that there are “no vali-dated reports of terrorist threats in metro manila.”

the PNP assurance came a day after Islamic state (Is) bomb-ers killed around 35 people and injured hundreds in attacks at a Brussels airport and a metro train in Belgium on tuesday, march 22.

“security forces and the in-telligence network are continu-ously monitoring and doing their jobs,” Chief supt. Wilben may-or, spokesperson for the PNP, Passengers bound for provinces queue in line to check in for their flight at the Ninoy Aquino

International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City to take the Holy Week break. Inquirer photo by Richard A. Reyes

No terror threats in Metro, says PNP

PresIDeNt Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday, march 23 said he was hoping that filipinos will always choose what is right and just, amid the country’s progress in curbing corruption and poverty and ahead of the may national polls that will elect a new chief executive.

In his Lenten message for the observance of the holy Week, Aquino urged filipinos to be more united in prayer and in love as he touched on the achievements of the administration’s reform on good governance.

“sa pag-ikot po natin sa bansa, harapan kong nakikita ang layo ng ating narating kumpara sa ating dinatnan. Napakasarap pong gunitain ang dami ng ating napag-tagumpayan ng halos walang dagdag na pabigat sa bawat isang nakiambag. (As we went around the coun-try, i saw how far we have already come. it’s great to remember our many victories where we hardly had any encumbrance),” Aquino said in a video message.

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

the second leg of the PiliPinas Debates 2016 debate in Cebu City was delayed for more than an hour reportedly over the insistence of Vice Presi-dent Jejomar Binay to bring documents to the event, which was strongly opposed by administra-tion candidate manuel roxas II.

roxas and the other candidates, sen. Grace Poe and Davao City mayor rodrigo Duterte, remained standing at the podium for over an hour waiting for the decision of the Commission on elections (Comelec) on whether to allow Binay to bring his documents to the stage.

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

In particular, Binay challenged other candidates to sign a waiver for the Anti-money Laundering Council (AmLC) to check their bank accounts and those of their closest of kin.

“hinihimok ko sila na kami ay magkaisa na pumirma sa isang general waiver na ganito (I am challenging them to sign a gen-eral waiver). Voluntarily submit ourselves to a lifestyle and gov-ernment service performance check in accordance with law. Kasama dito ‘yong accounts ng asawa, kung may asawa, my chil-dren’s name, and my children’s children’s name (This should include the bank accounts of spouses, their children and chil-dren’s children),” Binay said in

Aquino’s Lenten message

Binay to rivals: Sign bank waivers

PH presidential candidates face off in 2nd debate

PRESIDENTIAL candidates (from left) Vice President Jejomar Binay, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Sen. Grace Poe and former DILG chief Mar Roxas take the stage for the second round of the ‘PiliPinas Debates 2016’ at the Performing Arts Hall of the University of the Philippines campus in Cebu City on Sunday, March 20. Krizjohn Rosales

by agnes ConstanteAJPress

Brussels Airport. Agence france-Presse reported that 24-year-old Najim Laachraoui, a Belgian who was linked to the Paris attacks in November, was confirmed by police sources as the second suicide bomber at the airport, where blasts occurred at around 8am. Investigators also believe that he was the bomb maker, eu-ropean officials told CNN.

Khalid blew himself up at the maelbeek metro station near the european Union (eU) headquar-ters at around 9am.

As of press time, 14 people were reportedly killed at the air-port and 20 at the metro station.

Brussels police are actively seeking a third unidentified man pictured in the CCtV footage who was seen pushing a luggage trolley in the airport alongside el Bakraoui and Laachraoui. he is believed to have fled.

the police are also said to be hunting down suspects and on Wednesday, march 23, Belgian media reported that a person who

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by Yuji VinCent gonzalesInquirer.net

by jaYmee t. gamilInquirer.net

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by Paolo romero anD alexis romeroPhilstar.com

by joel m. sY egCoManilaTimes.net

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Suicide bombers are brothers and believed to be dead, 1 suspect still on the run

MARCH 25-31, 2016 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (212) 655-5426A�

From the Front Page

INSPECTION. The K-9 team of the Philippine Coast Guard inspect bags of passengers at the North Harbor in Manila. The Lenten exodus from Metro Manila has begun, with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reporting yesterday that more than half a million people in the metropolis have boarded ships for the provinces since last Friday, March 18. Philstar.com photo by Miguel De Guzman

may be connected to the attacks has been arrested in Anderlecht.

After the attacks, a taxi driver tipped authorities to a house in Schaerbeek, a municipality of Brussels, where they found near-ly 33 pounds of explosives and about 40 gallons of chemicals used to create an explosive called TATP.

Authorities also found a com-puter in a trash can containing Ibrahim’s will.

“Being in a hurry, I don’t know what to do, being searched for everywhere, not being safe. If it drags on it could end up with me in a prison cell next to him,” El Bakraoui wrote. It was not imme-diately clear if he was referring to Salah Abdeslam, who was arrest-ed last week for his involvement in the Paris attacks.

At least one of the bombs used in the attacks, specifically one at the airport, appeared to be stron-ger than those used in Paris. It blew out a number of windows in the large departure hall and shook nearby buildings, The New York Times reported.

A third bomb at the airport was neutralized “with a controlled action,” said Florence Muls, a spokeswoman for the Brussels Airport.

ISIS-claimed attacks in Brussels kill…Adelma Tapia Ruiz, a Peru-

vian mother of twins, was the first victim identified from the attacks. Other confirmed deaths are Belgian law student Leopold Hecht and a man named Oliver Delespesse, CNN reported.

In response to the attacks, Bel-gium raised its terror alert to the highest level. Flights in and out of Brussels Airport are canceled until at least Saturday, March 26, Mirror Online reported. The country is also undergoing three days of mourning.

“What we feared has hap-pened,” Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told reporters, ac-cording to the Los Angeles Times. “In this time of tragedy, this black moment for our country, I appeal to everyone to remain calm but also to show solidarity.”

Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw called the three blasts in Brussels “terrorist attacks,” according to the Associ-ated Press.

Multiple Americans were also injured in the explosions, includ-ing three Mormon missionaries. A US service member and his fam-ily may have also been injured, though they have not been iden-tified by the US European com-mand, the LA Times reported.

US President Barack Obama,

who was in Cuba at the time of the attacks as America works to-ward normalizing relations with the communist country, urged international unity in the battle against terror.

“We will do whatever is nec-essary to support our friend and ally Belgium in bringing to peace those who are responsible,” he said, according to CNN.

In the United States, airports and transit systems nationwide were placed on heightened alert on Tuesday due to concerns about potential copycat attacks, the LA Times reported. Among these airports include those in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Miami and Philadelphia.

In a joint statement, 28 EU leaders mourned the victims of the attack.

“It was an attack on our open democratic society.

“This latest attack only strength-ens our resolve to defend the Eu-ropean values and tolerance from the attacks of the intolerant. We will be united and firm in the fight against hatred, violent extremism and terrorism,” the EU leaders said in the statement.

Information contained in this article is accurate as of press time. n

said in a statement Wednesday, March 23.

Ready to respond“The PNP assures the public

that sufficient units are on stand-by, ready to respond to any situ-ation and act on contingencies,” Mayor said.

The Armed Forces of the Phil-ippines gave the same assurance: “The AFP, together with other security forces, has taken up the necessary steps to prevent similar incidents from occurring in our country,” said Col. Noel Detoyato, AFP Public Affairs Office chief.

“Our intensified security and intelligence gathering efforts are [going on] to monitor threat groups and deter any terror at-tempt,” Detoyato said.

Detoyato said the Philippine

military condemned the terrorist attacks in Brussels.

“This attack cannot be justified by any ideology and has no place in any civilized society. We are also extending our heartfelt sym-pathy to the victims of this attack in Brussels and we hope that the victims will find the strength and resolve to move forward,” Detoyato said.

The PNP chief, Director Gen-eral Ricardo Marquez, has issued directives for all police units “to secure vital installations and im-plement target-hardening mea-sures” for the start of summer vacation.

The measures include deploy-ment of additional personnel to airports, increased police foot and mobile patrols, and deploy-ment of police assistance desks

and road safety marshals to bus terminals, seaports, train sta-tions, recreational areas and ma-jor roads.

Remain vigilantDetoyato, however, advised

the public to remain vigilant even during the long holiday.

“We ask our people to report any unusual or suspicious items that may be used for terror acts. Security has always been a shared responsibility and their vigilance and cooperation are important in preventing terrorist attacks,” he said.

The PNP likewise encouraged the public to forward reports through its hotline 0917-8475757 or its social media accounts on Twitter (@pnppio and @pnpho-tline) or on the PNP Facebook page. n

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“Ang panalangin ko: Lalo pa nating paigtingin ang pag-mamahal sa kapwa at lagi tayong pumanig sa tama at makatwiran. Sa ating pagkakaisa at pagsunod sa ehemplo ni Hesukristo, maka-kamit natin ang lahat ng ating minimithi. (My prayer is that we strengthen our love towards oth-ers and that we side with what is right and just. In our unity and our observance to Jesus’s ex-ample, we achieve our goals),” he added.

Aquino said Filipinos should follow Christ as a role model in doing what is good and in mak-ing sacrifices despite persecu-tion and judgment from other people.

“Samakatuwid, pag-ibig ang dumaing sa mga hamong hi-narap ng sanlibutan. Maaalala natin sa hardin sa Gethsemane, alam ni Hesus ang lahat ng kan-yang haharapin. Alam niyang

Pres. Benigno Aquino III

Aquino’s Lenten…pagtataksilan siya ng isa niyang kasamahan. Alam niyang dadaan siya sa hagupit ng latigo, sa hapdi ng koronang tinik at sa sakit ng mga pako sa kamay at paa. (Love conquered all the challenges in the world. We can remember in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knew what He was going to face. He knew the betrayal of his dis-ciple. He knew he was going to go through lashing of the whip, the pain of the crown of thorns, and the agony of the nail in His hands and feet),” he said.

“Kung tutuusin, bilang bug-tong na Anak ng Diyos, pwede namang iniwasan na lang niya ang lahat ng mga pasakit ngunit batid ni Hesukristo ang kanyang dakilang misyon. Bukal sa puso niyang inialay ang kanyang sarili para matupad ang kalooban ng Diyos. Ang pagmamahal na ip-inamalas niya ang naging tulay sa ating kaligtasan. (In fact, as the only Son of God, He could

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

Before the debates began, Bi-nay explained to the audience that he wanted to present a waiver on his bank accounts that he signed

to prove he was for transparency, challenging Duterte to sign the same document.

Duterte was about to sign the waiver but they were stopped by debate moderator Luchie Cruz-Valdes of TV5.

First salvoPoe fired the first salvo against

Binay on the issue of the failure of the administration to pass the

Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill, a campaign promise of President Aquino.

“With all due respect Mr. Vice President, there’re many ques-tions that you did not answer in the Senate. How can you make us believe that you’ll support the true FOI Bill?” Poe asked Binay, refer-ring to the corruption allegations

PH presidential candidates face off in…

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have avoided all of that but he knew his noble mission. He wholeheartedly gave himself to fulfill God’s purpose. The love He showed became our bridge to salvation),” Aquino added.

The President said it was Je-sus’ lessons on love and sacri-fices that served as the govern-ment’s building blocks in its fight against poverty and corruption in the past years.

(212) 655-5426 • http://www.asianjournal.com NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 25-31, 2016 A�From the Front Page

SERVING THE PEOPLE. With the theme: “Serving the People. Securing the Land,” The men and women of the Philippine Army participate in the pass-in review during the 119th Founding Anniversary of the Philippine Army at the Brigadier General Tirso Fajardo Building, Headquarters Philippine Army Grandstand, Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City on Tuesday, March 22. Malacañang photo by Joseph Vidal

ager Maia Santos-Deguito and her deputy Angela Torres for their alleged involvement in the money laundering scandal. Tor-res was a senior customer rela-tionship manager at the branch. The two women – who were both fired effective Tuesday – were ac-cused of violating bank policies and procedures as well as falsify-ing commercial documents that facilitated the laundering of $81 million of remittance.

Deguito had pointed to busi-nessman Kim Wong as the one who had allegedly referred the suspicious accounts and tagged him as a major player in this scheme – but not before accus-

ing RCBC president Lorenzo Tan of knowing about the entire thing. She had even claimed that the president had handpicked her and guided her how to ex-plain the transaction. These in turn were branded by Tan as an “outright lie.”

“So far, no evidence has been presented against Tan linking him to the issue and the board has taken cognizance of the statement of Deguito before the Senate that Tan had nothing to do with the opening of the ac-counts that received the $81-mil-lion remittance,” the RCBC state-ment said.

In its separate letter of apol-ogy, RCBC vowed to identify and

address weaknesses in internal controls and operations that may have facilitated the entry of the $81 million dirty money.

“Within legal bounds, RCBC will cooperate with these and any subsequent government pro-ceedings,” RCBC said.

The bank also vowed to take “appropriate” action against any bank or officer or staff found guilty of fault or negligence.

Proceeds from what was now touted as the biggest bank heist in history were wired from the account of Bangladesh Bank with Federal Reserve Bank of New York to four bank accounts in RCBC Jupiter Street branch on Feb. 5. n

RCBC chief goes on leave amid $81M dirty…PAGE A1 t

a press conference in Cebu City, where the second presidential debate was held.

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

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

The waiver also indicated that the candidates would “voluntari-ly submit ourselves to a lifestyle and government service perfor-mance check in accordance with

law.”Binay brought to the 2nd PiliPi-

nas debate the waiver; his State-ment of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth from 1988 to 2014; the affidavit he submitted to the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommit-tee; his Statement of Contribu-tions and Expenditures (SOCE); and the AMLC ex parte motion to drop JCB Foundation, Agrifor-tuna and six other respondents.

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

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

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

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

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

Binay to rivals: Sign bank…

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against the Vice President that was investigated by the Senate.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I don’t really move when it

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Haunted by issuesAll the four presidential candi-

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

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

The mudslinging started after Binay said he would follow the rule of law in the event that his son, for-mer Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, is convicted for corruption.

“Whatever will be the decision, we will follow. We must be a gov-ernment with a rule of law,” Binay said.

Poe, however, pointed out that

someone seeking the presidency should also follow the rules of the debate, alluding to the earlier dis-cussions on Binay’s insistence on bringing documents.

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

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

PH presidential candidates face off in…PAGE A2 t

MARCH 25-31, 2016 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (212) 655-5426A� Dateline USa

UNESCO BIOSPHERE RESERVE. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently added Albay to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Albay was proclaimed along with 19 other sites on Saturday during their meeting in Peru. It is the third Philippine region to make it to the list, following Puerto Galera and Palawan. Photo from UNESCO’S Facebook page

day, March 21.It was during the debate that

Binay urged his fellow presiden-tial bets to allow the AMLC to scrutinize their bank records.

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

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

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

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

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

In an ex parte motion to drop

respondents dated January 6, 2016, the AMLC asked the Ma-nila court to drop as respon-dents in its petition for civil forfeiture Abba Land, Inc.; Ag-rifortuna, Inc.; JC Binay Foun-dation, Inc.; Makati Historical and Restoration Foundation, Inc.; Metrowaste Solid Waste Management Corporation; Pow-erlink.com Corporation; Ken-neth Sabino S. Tan; and Clara Mae U. Ong, indicating that the agency failed to link the said entities and individuals to al-leged illegal activities. The mo-tion was granted by the court on January 19.

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

Binay to rivals: Sign bank…PAGE A2 t

Researchers also found that 3.16 million workers would ben-efit if the proposal goes through, with the annual pay increasing by an average of 23.4 percent. Furthermore, the cost absorbed by employers would be offset by labor efficiencies like increased worker productivity, according to the study.

On the opposing side includes the editorial team of the New York Post, which cited the im-pact of $15 per hour minimum wage raise is having on Seattle. The Washington city passed its wage hike law in 2014 and be-gan boosting hourly pay from the state’s minimum of $9.32 to $10 and $11 for certain businesses. On Jan. 1, 2017, hourly wages will go up to $12, $12.50 and $13 for the majority of employers.

A report from the American Enterprise Institute, cited by the Post, found that Seattle experi-enced the largest employment drop in any nine-month period since 2009. The publication fur-ther pointed out that the city’s loss of 10,000 jobs from Septem-ber to November last year, a re-cord for any three-month period since 1990.

While a decision has yet to

be made for the state, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a $15 minimum for New York City government employees and workers who provide contract-ed work for the City at social service organizations. By the close of 2018, nearly 50,000 employees will see an increase in their wages.

Not too far from New York, Jersey City, New Jersey -- which is home to about 16,200 Filipinos reside -- will become the first municipality to increase the min-imum wage to $15 for city work-ers, Inquirer reported on Friday, March 18. This will affect more than 500 city employees.

“Not only is this the right thing for Jersey City, but it’s my hope that our actions today will help move Trenton towards providing all New Jerseyans a living wage,” Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said in a press release.

New York millionaires say they can pay more taxes

Separately, earlier this week, a group of more than 40 million-aires, including members of the Disney and Rockefeller families, requested to have their taxes raised to address poverty and de-teriorating infrastructure.

“We can well afford to pay our

current taxes, and we can afford to pay even more,” the group wrote in a letter to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other state lawmakers.

New Yorkers who make $1,062,00 are subject to an 8.82 percent tax rate. The proposal would maintain that rate for those who make between $1 million to $2 million, while progressively increasing taxes for millionaires with higher incomes.

Individuals making between $2 million to $10 million, $10 million to $100 million and more than $100 million would be sub-ject to higher rates of 9.35 per-cent, 9.65 percent and 9.99 per-cent, respectively.

“As New Yorkers who have contributed to and benefited from the economic vibrancy of the state, we have both the abil-ity and the responsibility to pay our fair share,” the millionaires wrote.

The proposal faces hurdles in the state legislature, with the Republican-dominant Senate against it and Democrat-led As-sembly planning to raise taxes on millionaires. Legislators hope to come to an agreement on a state budget by April 1. (Agnes Con-stante/AJPress)

NY lawmakers to vote April 1 on...PAGE A1 t

ers, who are tasked to organize support in AAPI communities.

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

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

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

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

(RNC). Clinton targets Trump on Is-

raelContinuing on the campaign

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

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

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

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

saying that one of her first acts as president would be to invite the Israeli prime minister to the White House.

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

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

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

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

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

AAPI director leaves Clinton…PAGE A1 t

NEW YORK—A forum, “Know Your Candidates” has been scheduled at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center here for Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 6pm. The forum is part of the “Kapihan” program of the Filipi-no American Press Club of New York (FAPCNY), Inc. This “Kapi-han,” however, is being held in collaboration with the Philippine Consulate General in New York.

As the title suggests, speakers will talk about the candidates they represent, the candidate’s main campaign issues, their planned program of government and oth-er information about them.

The “Know Your Candidates” forum will feature the following speakers to represent the named candidate for Philippine Presi-dent: Jesse Arteche for Jejomar Binay (UNA), Art Garcia for Grace Poe (Independent), Sani Guillena for Rodrigo Dutere (PDP-Laban), and Loida Nicolas-Lewis for Mar Roxas (LP).

“Kapihan” is a year-round pro-gram of The Filipino American

‘Know Your Candidates’ forum for Philippine president on March 30

Press Club of New York chaired by its new Vice President, Cris-tina DC Pastor.

The other officers of the media club are Ricky Rillera, President; Tambi Wycoco, Secretary; and Momar Visaya, Treasurer. Those on the Board of Directors are Grace Labaguis, Marivir Monte-bon, Noel Pangilinan, Monette Rivera, and Don Tagala.

For more information on the “Know Your Candidates” forum, please call Cristina For more infor-mation on the “Know Your Candi-

dates” forum, please call Cristina General Vice Consul Khrystina Corpuz at (212) 764-1330 exten-sion 3005, or FAPCNY President Ricky Rillera at (718) 757-1064.

The Philippine Center, where Kalayaan Hall is on the second floor, which houses the offices of the Philippine Consulate General and other Philippine Government agencies and offices is at 556 Fifth Avenue, between 45th and 46th Streets in midtown Manhat-tan, New York City, New York 10036-5002. (Tambi Wycoco)

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

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

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

“We recognize the consider-able impact that the Committee’s initiatives has had on increasing U.S. foreign military financing

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

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

(FMF) to the Philippines and in ensuring that the United States continues to be engaged in our region,” said Cuisia.

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

On the other hand, Sena-tor Cardin reiterated that while the U.S. maintains its neutrality

with regard to the South China Sea dispute, his country takes a strong position against provoca-tive actions. He also expressed his firm belief in the rule of law and recognized the leadership of the Philippines in developing a regional Code of Conduct.

Representative Randy Forbes uPAGE A5

“Wala nga pong hihigit sa ehemplo ng sakripisyo at pag-mamahal kundi ang buhay ni Hesukristo. Kung ang ating Pan-ginoon mismo ay handang ibigay ang sarili sa karaniwang tao, hin-di ba’t mas handa dapat tayong kumilos para sa kapakanan ng

ating kapwa? (Nothing can sur-pass the example of sacrifice and love but the life of Jesus. If our Lord Himself readily gave him-self to normal people, shouldn’t we be more ready to act for oth-ers’ welfare?)” Aquino said.

“Sa pag-ibig natin sa kapwa, alinsunod sa aral ng Panginoon,

Aquino’s Lenten…PAGE A2 t

buong loob nating isinulong ang Daang Matuwid. Nilaban na-tin ang korupsyon at kahirapan upang maipamana ang mas mali-wanag na bukas sa mga susunod na salinlahi. (In our love to others, according to teachings of God, we push forward the “straight path.” We fought against corrup-tion and poverty so that we can bequeath a brighter future to the next generation),” he added. n

Who will be the next Philippine president? (L-R) Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Sen. Grace Poe and Former Interior Sec. Mar Roxas

(212) 655-5426 • http://www.asianjournal.com NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 25-31, 2016 A�Dateline USa

LENT IN PH. Rosaries are left by devotees at the Philippine Center of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina in Quezon City. during the Lenten season, on Sunday, March 20. Inquirer.ne photo by Raffy Lerma

THE Philippine Consulate Gen-eral in New York is pleased to an-nounce that the 2016 Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas is now open for nominations.

The awards, which was institu-tionalized through E.O 498 in 1991, are conferred by the President of the Philippines every two years on meritorious individuals and organi-zations overseas to give the highest recognition to their work in the ser-vice of the Filipino community or nation, and for exceptional achieve-ments or excellence in the pursuit of their endeavors.

The awards shall be open to Fili-pino and foreign individuals and organizations overseas. Nomi-nees should have accomplished at least five years work or contribu-tion in the field to which they are nominated.

Following are the four catego-

ries of awards:1. Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino

(Linkapil Award) – This award is conferred on Filipino associations or individuals for their exceptional or significant contribution to re-construction, progress and devel-opment in the Philippines.

2. Banaag Award – This award is conferred on Filipino individuals or associations for their significant contribution to advance the cause or promote the interests of over-seas Filipino communities.

3. Pamana ng Pilipino Award – This award is conferred on Fili-pinos overseas who, in exemplify-ing the talent and industry of the Filipino, have brought the country honor and recognition through ex-cellence and distinction in the pur-suit of their work or profession.

4. Kaanib ng Bayan Award – This award is conferred on for-eign individuals or organizations

for their exceptional or significant contribution to Philippine recon-struction, progress and develop-ment, or have significantly bene-fited a sector or community in the Philippines, or advances the cause of overseas Filipino communities.

The Commission on Filipino Overseas, who manages the Presidential Awards, must re-ceive the nomination forms, to-gether with the Endorsement Forms of the Awards Commit-tee headed by the Philippine Consulate General in New York, on or before 31 May 2016. For this reason, nominations must be submitted to the Philippine Consulate General for review by March 31. This will give time for the Awards Committee, headed by the Consul General, to review, validate and endorse the nomina-tions to the Commission on Fili-pinos Overseas in Manila. n

2016 Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas now open for nominations

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

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

“China’s behavior in the Asia-Pacific has undermined regional stability and unnecessarily an-tagonized the Philippines and other partners in the region. The United States has an obligation

under its decades-old security treaty with the Philippines to re-sist acts of aggression against our ally,” a portion of Forbes’ statement read.

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

The Philippines’ campaign to combat trafficking in persons was likewise discussed with the Senators.

The meetings with the U.S. lawmakers also aimed to shore up greater support for a bill seek-ing to award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the

more than 260,000 Filipino vet-erans of World War II.

The bill entitled “Filipino Veterans of World War II Con-gressional Gold Medal Act of 2015,” was introduced in the House (HR 2737) and the Sen-ate (S1555) in June 2015. Cardin and Forbes are among the bill’s co-sponsors.

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

PH officials lobby in D.C. for…PAGE A4 t

Filipino community pays honor andtribute to the late ambassador Willy C. Gaa

NEW YORK—The New York Filipino community gathered to-gether at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center to honor and pay tribute to the late Ambas-sador Willy C. Gaa last Friday, March 18. Ambassador Gaa, well known for his reputation as a mild-mannered and soft-spoken career diplomat, was very well acquainted with the Northeast U.S. Filipino community, having first served as a Consul at the Consulate General in New York from 1981 to 1985, and years later rose through the ranks to serve as Consul General from 1997 to 1999. The beloved Am-bassador’s last diplomatic post-ing before retiring was in Wash-ington D.C., where he served as the Philippine Ambassador to the United States from 2006 to 2011. He had also served as Am-bassador to Libya (1993-1997), Australia (2002-2003) and China (2003-2006), as well as Consul General in Los Angeles for six months before his assignment in Washington, D.C. Ambassador Gaa passed away after a linger-ing illness on 08 December 2015 at the age of 69.

New York Consul General Ma-rio L. De Leon, Jr. opened the program with his welcoming remarks and memories working shortly with Ambassador Gaa back when he was a Consul, then as Chief Coordinator at the Home Office in Manila, as well as when he began his tour of duty as Con-sul General here in New York in 2011 just when Ambassador Gaa was about to retire from the dip-lomatic service.

Community leaders, former colleagues and personal friends of Ambassador Gaa then took their turn in sharing their fond personal remembrances having worked with and becoming ac-quainted with him during his past tour-of-duties in New York, and even during his yearly visits to the area after his retirement. The speakers included current Philip-pine Ambassador to Norway Bay-ani Mercado, former New York Tourism Representative Emma Ruth Yulo-Kitiyakara, former New

York Consul Nini Garcia, former Jersey City Deputy Mayor Ador Equipado, and community fig-ures 2015 PIDC Chairman Atty. Reuben Seguritan, Mrs. Nelia Ferrette, Ms. Aida Bartolome, Mr. LP Pelayo (son of deceased ‘Filipino Reporter’ publisher Lib-ertito Pelayo), Ms. Vangie Lazaro and friends from his Upsilon fra-ternity Mr. Andrew Casino and Mrs. Marilen Paderon, wife of Willy Paderon and daughter of the late Philippine actor Mario Montenegro.

In between the shared testimo-nies, a short slideshow of photos from Ambassador Gaa’s time as New York Consul General in the late 1990s and then as Philippine envoy to Washington, D.C. in the late 2000s was shown on the au-ditorium screen.

Wendell Gaa, son of the late Ambassador and staff employee at the Consulate, then gave his words of gratitude on behalf of his attending mother Erlinda Gaa and his absent brother Warren,

proclaiming how the spirit, mem-ory and legacy of his father as both a diplomat and a family man would be well preserved and car-ried on through the mutual love and support given to him by his family, colleagues and friends in the community alike.

Ambassador Gaa in his two past postings in New York was active in enhancing the consular, cultur-al and substantive services of the Consulate General, endearing him to the Tri-State Metropolitan Fili-pino community. Even during his stint as Philippine Ambassador to the U.S., he would frequently at-tend official and social functions sponsored by the community, reuniting with old colleagues and friends in the process.

The memorial program was jointly organized by the Consul-ate General, Mrs. Ferrette, Mrs. Carol Baluyot and Mr. Nanding Mendez of the Fiesta in America.

Ambassador Gaa is survived by his wife Erlinda Concepcion and two sons, Wendell and Warren. n

THE US commercial space-craft Cygnus carrying the Philip-pines’ first microsatellite Diwata-1 was successfully launched into space on Wednesday, March 23 in preparation for the satellite’s eventual deployment into orbit next month.

Carlos Primo David, execu-tive director of the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technol-ogy Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), said that with the successful launch of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft that carried Diwata-1 as one of its 7,500 pounds of payload, the next step was for the release into orbit of Diwata-1 in late April.

Cygnus is expected to dock at the International Space Station (ISS) around six hours after its launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Flor-ida.

At the ISS, Diwata-1 will be placed inside the Japanese Ex-periment Module (JEM) Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) nicknamed “Kibo.”

Towards the end of April, Kibo will release Diwata-1 into space at an altitude of 400 kilometers from the earth’s surface.

David said Diwata-1’s deploy-ment into orbit was tentatively scheduled on April 20 or 21.

He pointed out that the main event for the DOST and engi-neers in the University of the Philippines in Diliman is when Diwata-1 proves it could do its mission of sending satellite im-ages of the Philippines’ land and waters from outer space a week or so after it is deployed into or-bit.

“We’re hoping that by the first week of May we’ll have the first few images from Diawata-1,” David told reporters.

David led UP Diliman officials led by chancellor Michael Tan and vice chancellor for Research and Development Fidel Nemen-zo and DOST PCIEERD engi-neers and scientists in viewing the live stream telecast of the launch of the Cygnus spacecraft via the Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral yesterday morning at the UP Diliman Electrical and Electronics Engineering Insti-tute conference room.

A video conference was also

US aircraft with PH’s first microsatellite launched into space

by RainieR allan RondaPhilstar.com

held that included the nine Fili-pino engineers and scientists currently based in Tohoku Uni-versity and Hokkaido University in Japan where they designed and built Diwata-1 over a period of less than one year.

“This is one step in our great mission. But it’s a great step,” Yukihiro Takahashi, director of the Space Mission Center of Hokkaido University which is providing technical assistance

to the Philippines’ DOST for its microsatellite project, said of the successful Cygnus launch.

In the weeks leading up to the release into orbit of Diwata-1, DOST-PCIEERD and another unit, the DOST Advanced Sci-ence and Technology Institute, will speed up work on the set-ting up of a temporary ground receiving station in the DOST ASTI building that will receive

uPAGE A7

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OpiniOn Features

Philstar.com photo

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

Holy Week message

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

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

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

The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ hold a fundamental place in the lives of most Fili-pino Catholics. It is central, not as an abstract belief, but rather as a medium of experience and tradition that provides continuity in life, a structure in the community, and principled purpose for existence.

These are the same lessons Manila Archbishop Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle shared to Catholics.

“Jesus was hurt but he chose to be silent and not

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

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

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

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

“If you want to truly make a good Holy Week love much. Love more. Give to the poor. Visit the jail. Visit hospital wards. “This pilgrimage to the poor will add to the holiness of our times,” Villegas said.

Editorial

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

“What makes this week holy is the immeasurable, unequaled love that Christ poured into these days,” he said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

impenetrable of mysteries be-came for her a cause for joy, faith and abandonment to the message revealed to her. The fullness of grace can transform the human heart and enable it to do some-thing so great as to change the course of human history.

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

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

witness of this promise and its fulfillment.

This Extraordinary Holy Year is itself a gift of grace. To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes ev-eryone and goes out personally to encounter each of them. This

will be a year in which we grow ever more con-vinced of God’s mercy. How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy (cf. Saint Augustine, De Praedestinatione Sanctorum, 12, 24)!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gel SantoS-ReloS

The Fil-Am Perspective

Faith BautiSta andJeFF nino lim

Community Voice

President should secure Supreme Court that is diverse

PRESIDEnT Obama, as is his right, has nominated to the US Supreme Court another white man from Harvard, Merrick Garland.

Yet Mr. Garland is highly un-likely to ever be confirmed given the Republican leadership’s unani-mous position that no Presidential nominee will be confirmed while President Obama remains in of-fice.

The question raised by Califor-nia’s more than six million Asian Americans and the nation’s twenty million Asian Americans is why did the President forgo an opportunity to win over our nation’s 130 mil-lion minorities and those who did not graduate from Harvard Law School?

As the President and Congress know well, in our nation’s more than 225-year history, no Asian American has ever been nominated for or served at the U.S. Supreme Court. However, an increasingly large pool of highly qualified, non-controversial Asian American ju-rists are available to be nominated. This includes California’s highly qualified ninth Circuit Appellate Justice Jacqueline nguyen and Sri Srinivasan, also highly qualified and noncontroversial from the D.C. Court of Appeals.

We raise the question of ignor-

ing Asian Americans in the context of both Asian American judges being highly qualified immigrants and being relatively noncontro-versial. Further, nomination of an Asian American jurist would be consistent with both President Obama’s call for more diversity and the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s call for more diversity, including end-ing the Harvard/Yale law school monopoly at the Supreme Court.

We are particularly mystified given that Mr. Garland is one of the oldest candidates nominated for the Supreme Court since Richard nixon’s day and President Obama has the opportunity to win over the Asian American vote over the long term whether or not an Asian American candidate is confirmed. In contrast, both Jacqueline nguy-en and Sri Srinivasan are under 50, as was Justice Scalia when he was successfully nominated by President Reagan (President Obama’s nominee is 63, which is a little too old to provide an endur-ing legacy. This is particularly so since a number of Americans believe that a mechanism should be put in place for mandatory or strongly encouraged retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court after the age of 75.)

Since the President’s nomina-tion of Mr. Garland will be futile, perhaps the President should consider an option that will en-

courage Mr. Garland to withdraw and provide the President the op-tion of nominating our first Asian American to the Supreme Court. This is a viable option since some nominees have withdrawn in the past when facing strong hurdles to confirmation.

The advantage to the Presi-dent includes the potential to convert what will be 50 million Asian Americans by 2050 to the Democratic Party. Although Asian Americans now strongly tilt to the Democratic Party in national elec-tions, this was not the case under President Reagan. Therefore, a reinvigorated Republican Party whose Presidential candidate sup-ports immigrants could evenly split the Asian American vote includ-ing securing a majority of Asian American business leaders.

Although the authors of this article have different political views, one generally supporting the Republican Party and the other supporting the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, we both concur that the Asian American vote, given its growing size, educational attainment and wealth accumulation should not tilt toward any major party. As other minorities have learned, we are often far more influential when our votes are up for grabs in both national and local elections. For

from his table, while sipping from a mug of San Miguel Beer. “That’s Danding Cojuangco, the chairman of San Miguel Corpo-ration.”

“That’s old news,” cuts in Ka Danny, an old hand in divining Philippine politics. “Poe’s hus-band works with San Miguel and Ramon Ang, COO of the corpo-ration has long been rumored to be bankrolling the Poe cam-paign. Siyempre, where Ang is, Danding is right behind.”

The conversation sparks my interest. “But I thought that it’s noynoy Aquino who is secretly supporting Poe,” I say. “Which is why some people refer to Grace Poe as Grace Poe-noy.”

“Poenoy, Poejuangco, same-same,” snaps Ka Danny. “It’s all in the family.”

“How about Poenocchio?” asks Jimmy, a newcomer to the watering hole.

“Poenocchio – as in Poe and Pinocchio, the wooden dummy? What makes you say that?”

“Well,” says Jimmy, “What makes you think that Grace Poe is charting her own politi-cal course? She’s obviously the dummy of big corporate groups with major interests to protect like the coconut levy. And a President Poe can do that for them.”

They all turn to me for con-firmation, as if I’m supposed to

know these things. I shrug my shoulders and admit that what I know is what I read in the pa-pers.

“But the Manila papers all have different versions of the news, depending on which pow-erful group is behind them,” complains Jimmy.

“Well, there you are,” I say. “All we can do is guess. Or make deductions.”

“For instance, what you can say about the rumor that Poe is the secret candidate of noynoy Aquino?” asks Pete.

“Well, why not?” butts in Ka Danny. “Everyone in the Phil-ippines has a number Two – I mean, a number One-A, One-B, etcetera. Ask Erap Estrada.”

“Ka Danny means that noynoy is supporting both Mar Roxas and Grace Poe and bahala na, which one of them wins,” Gerry explains.

“Isn’t that a double-cross?” asks Jimmy.

“That’s nothing new forAquino and Roxas,” says Ka Danny who seems to know everything about Philippine politics. “Remember what happened during the 2010 presidential campaign? Roxas was running for vice-president as the running mate of noynoy but the Aquino camp secretly supported Jojo Binay. That’s why Roxas lost.”

From Noy-Bi to Poe-Noy: The anatomy of a double-cross

GReG B. macaBenta

Street Talk

IT helps to visit my favorite watering hole in Daly City. I pick up insights from folks who can still see the forest from the trees, with respect to the passing politi-cal scene in the Philippines.

“Have you read the latest about Grace Poe in the Manila papers?” asks Pete from behind the bar and, without waiting for an answer, he reads from the online edition of the Philippine Daily Tribune:

“The senator also debunked the impression that there are emerging ties with influential business tycoon Eduardo ‘Dan-ding’ Cojuangco, founder of the nationalist People’s Coalition (nPC) and whom Poe recently defended over the coco levy is-sue.

“’That is not true,’ the senator said when asked on the alleged ‘Poejuangco’ being coined by critics pertaining to her and Co-juangco that is supposed to be similar to the ‘Villarroyo’, the purported unholy alliance formed in 2010 presidential elections by then candidate, Sen. Manuel ‘Manny’ Villar with unlikely ally, then President Gloria Macapa-gal-Arroyo.”

“Poejuangco? Meaning, Poe and Cojuangco?” pipes in Gerry PAGE A7PAGE A7

(212) 655-5426 • http://www.asianjournal.com NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 25-31, 2016 A�Dateline PhiliPPines

FACE-OFF. Men in Moriones masks reenact the chase and arrest of the Roman soldier Longinus through the streets of Marinduque in what has become the annual Moriones (masks) festival during Holy Week. According to legend, Longinus converted to Christianity when blood from the side of the crucified Christ splashed on his blind eye and restored his sight. Inquirer.net photo

Carlos Primo David, executive director of the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), said that with the successful launch of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft that carried Diwata-1 as one of its 7,500 pounds of payload, the next step was for the release into orbit of Diwata-1 in late April. NASA photo by Ben Smegelsky

OLONGAPO CITY — Finally, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Mar-cos Jr. has overtaken his closest rival in the vice presidential race– Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

Marcos overtakes Escudero in latest poll

Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. pays respect to 76-year old Marcos loyalist Nenita Leonor at the Adventist Medical Center in Pasay City last Wednesday, March 16. Senate photo

by Jaime R. PilaPilManilaTiames.net

the satellite images taken by Di-wata-1.

The permanent ground receiv-ing station, the Philippine Earth Data Resources and Observation (PEDRO) Center, will also be built in the next few weeks.

David said that there were changes in the location of PE-DRO, from Subic Bay in Zam-bales to Diliman, Quezon City.

The nine Filipino engineers in Japan are already working Diwata-2 that will be launched later. n

US aircraft with PH’s...PAGE A5t

From Noy-Bi to Poe-Noy: The anatomy...“I remember that,” says Pete.

“They called it Noy-Bi or Noynoy and Binay.”

“Now it’s Poe-noy or Grace Poe and Noynoy Aquino,” adds Gerry.

“But do you think Noynoy Aquino knew that people in his group were supporting Binay against Roxas?” asks Jimmy who is the youngest and most naïve of the group.

Ka Danny shakes his head at Jimmy. “Talagang may gatas ka pa sa labi, iho. Do you really believe Noynoy Aquino was not aware that his own relatives were double-crossing Roxas?”

“Of course, Noynoy would deny it,” butts in Gerry.

“Isn’t that what Aquino does all the time?” snaps Ka Danny. “He denied knowing that the SAF troopers were being massa-cred in Mamasapano. He denied bribing the senators to impeach Corona. He denied knowing about the pork barrel scandal and that the DAP was unconsti-tutional.”

“Imposibleng hindi alam ni Noynoy that his own camp was promoting Binay. Even his own sisters were for Binay,” says Johnny who has been listening quietly from another table. “La-hat ng tao sa Pilipinas, alam. Si Aquino pa?”

President should secure Supreme Court...example, the general absence of viable Republican candidates, par-ticularly on a statewide level, has meant that minorities in California are disproportionately ignored since their votes are far too pre-dictable.

As of the writing of this Op-Ed, we are endeavoring to meet

I finally manage to put in a word edgewise.

“What do you think will Mar Roxas do about it? The rumored double-cross, I mean.”

Johnny holds up a FilAm news-paper. “According to the papers, Roxas already called on those in the Liberal Party who are sup-porting his rivals to speak out. Sabi pa niya, if they are support-ing someone else, thank you na lang daw.”

“Isn’t that a very passive state-ment?” I ask.

Ka Danny shakes his head. “Poor Mar Roxas. There’s really nothing he can do at this point. If he breaks away from Aquino because of the double-cross to-das siya. The funding could be cut off.”

“What funding?” I ask.“The Bottom Up Budgeting

funds and the Yolanda funds that are controlled by the LP,” says Ka Danny, sounding as if he knew exactly what he was talking about. “Siyempre, hawak pa rin ni Noynoy iyong susi sa kaban.”

“So what do you think will Roxas do?” asks Jimmy, giving away his naivete.

Pete has a mischievous glint in his eyes when he butts in. “What do you think does a wife do when she finds out that her husband has a Number Two, este, Num-ber One-A? She either leaves the

husband or she accepts it as a fact of life and makes the most of it, hindi ba?”

“Aywan ko,” is my response. “Maybe Erap Estrada can answer that.”

Ka Danny heaves a knowledge-able sigh. “In Philippine politics, they call it gamitan. Meaning, everyone is using everyone else. Roxas will continue to use what-ever support Aquino will give him because that’s better than noth-ing. Of course, if Roxas wins, to-das naman si Aquino. Roxas will get back at him for the double-cross.”

“And what about Poe? Asks Johnny.

“Siyempre, Roxas will do ev-erything to make Poe lose. Who do you think has been putting out the stories about Poe using an illegal social security number in America?”

“Pero, that’s true, isn’t it?” asks Jimmy.

Ka Danny lightens up at this new topic. “Let me give you the lowdown on that,” he says. “Alam mo iyang si Grace Poe…”

There is a conspiratorial look in Ka Danny’s eyes, as if he doesn’t want everyone to hear what he is about to say.

Ka Danny seems to know ev-erything about Philippine politics. He should be a Manila columnist. (gregmacabenta@hotmail.com)

PAGE A6 t with the President on this matter. The meeting will include a broad range of Asian American leaders from both parties. However, we are not unduly optimistic given that the President rejected our mid-February request to meet with him in D.C. during a time when we met with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, the

Chairs of the FDIC and FTC, and the Director of CFPB on income and wealth inequality.

* * *Faith Bautista is the President & CEO National

Asian American Coalition and an immigrant* * *

Jeff Nino Lim is the owner of 15 Island Pacific Supermarkets and Chair of National Asian American Coalition and an immigrant

In the latest Pulse Asia survey taken from March 8 to 13, 2016, the ABS-CBN commissioned sur-vey showed Marcos edging out Escudero, getting 25 percent of the vote of the 4,000 people polled.

Escudero got 24 percent, one

point lower than the 25 percent he got in the previous survey.

Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Ro-bredo trailed the two senators at 20 percent, followed by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, 13 percent, Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th, six percent and Sen. Gregorio Honasan, five percent.

“We are happy that our mes-sage of unity resonates and is being accepted by the people. I think we are moving in the right direction. We remain focused on the campaign and we will con-tinue to work harder to get our message across to more people,” Marcos said.

His latest rating was three points higher than the rating he got in the March 1 to 6 Pulse Asia survey also commissioned by ABS-CBN.

He retained his lead in the National Capital Region(NCR or Metro Manila) at 35 percent and the Balance of Luzon, 29 per-cent.

Marcos also took Class ABC at 31 percent and Class D at 27 percent.

In a statement, the senator said the latest survey inspires him to work even harder in the cam-paign. n PAGE A6 t

MARCH 25-31, 2016 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (212) 655-5426A�

peopleevents

artsculture

entertainmentMarch 25-31, 2016

Eric SalcEdoNatioNal FiEld dirEctor, aPia VotE

rolaNdo laVarro couNcil PrESidENt, city couNcil oF JErSEy city

Jt MalloNgachair, NaFFaa

Photo by lorEN SaN diEgo

Jersey City community leaders join NaFFAA and PAFCOM officials to launch Fil-Am Vote, an initiative to encourage eligible Filipinos in the United States to register and vote in the upcoming November presidential elections. Photo by lorEN SaN diEgo

2The Asian Journal NEW YORK / NEW JERSEY MARCH 25, 2016

An Asian Journal Magazine

Filipino-AmericAn community leaders have joined together to call on members of the community to show their commitment by registering and voting in the upcoming november presidential elections.

“As a national organization, we at the national Federation of Filipino American Associations (naFFAA) have decided to implement Fil-Am Vote, a movement whose goal is to encourage all eligible Filipinos to register and vote,” naFFAA chairman says JT mallonga told the Asian Journal. “it is now generally known that Asian Americans are the fastest growing voters in the United States today. They are emerging as a key voting block that could significantly influence national and local elections in the coming years.”

Fil-Am Vote is a national program directed at strengthening the voter registration, voter education, voter protection and get-out-the-vote capabilities of Filipino American communities nationwide.

“our immediate objective is to register more Filipino voters between now and november 8, and mobilize a huge voter turnout by the time polling booths open,” said Juanito Amor, Fil-Am Vote national Director. “We know that by increasing the voting ranks of the Filipino American community, we will not only make our voices heard

Filipino-American Leaders UrgeCommunity to Register and Vote

by MoMar G. Visaya/AJPress

Community leaders of NaFFAA and PAFCOM participated in the launching of Fil-Am Vote in Jersey City.

Jersey City Council President Rolando Lavarro congratulates NaFFAA and PAFCOM for working together on Fil-Am Vote in Jersey City.

Eric Salcedo of APIA Vote explaining the need for eligible Filipinos to become regular voters so that the main political parties will be able to see that the community is engaged. AJPress photos by Momar G. Visaya

NaFFAA’s JT Mallonga explains the importance of Fil-Am Vote to the Filipino community.

naFFAA is a non-partisan organization recognized by Washington policy-makers, private industry and other advocacy groups as the voice of Filipinos and Filipino Americans throughout the United States. in Jersey city, naFFAA has partnered with the philippine American Friendship committee (pAFcom).

“This is an important collaboration because we share naFFAA’s goal in getting our numbers recognized and the only way we can do that is by showing up in the polls,” said pAFcom president ledy Almadin.

“You are not elevating the platform if you are not engaged that is why voter outreach like this is very important for the community,” said George Helmy, new Jersey senator cory Booker’s chief of staff.

People PowerFil-Am Vote’s launching,

Amor pointed out, is not only “an affirmation of our civic responsibility as American citizens, but also a commemoration of the 1986 people power revolution in the philippines, which occurred 30 years ago last February. That historic moment taught the world what people can do collectively to assert their democratic rights to vote, fight against election fraud and ensure that the people’s will is carried out.

“Fil-Am Vote, therefore, draws from the energy, inspiration, passion and courage of the

millions of Filipinos who used the ballot box to make their voices heard. Despite the threat by an authoritarian regime to suppress their right to participate in the electoral process, the Filipino people stood up to make sure each vote counted.

“Fil-Am Vote honors this powerful movement and is committed to carrying on the legacy of full, active civic engagement of the Filipino American community.”

“it is upon us, Fil-Am vote and the community organizations to encourage our friends and relatives to vote regularly so that the mainstream parties see and realize that we are committed,” added eric Salcedo of ApiA Vote. “We can start at the local level where we can show our influence by voting for our city council, then the state level.”

Highest Naturalization RateThe latest U.S. census

Bureau data indicate there are 2,790,928 potential Filipino voters nationwide. Figures from the U.S. citizenship & immigration Services also show that Filipinos are among the top AApi groups with the highest naturalization rates.

“But we have been lagging behind in terms of registered voters and voter turn-out,” explained Fil-Am Vote national adviser Gloria T. caoile of Henderson, nevada. “our numbers won’t matter unless we enlist community members to register

but will most assuredly make a difference in determining who will lead our country.”

A report from the center for American progress shows Asian American voters in the last decade nearly doubling from more than 2 million voters in 2000 to 3.9 million voters by 2012, and is estimated to reach 5 percent of the voters nationally by 2025 and 10 percent by 2044.

“We are four million Fil-Ams in the U.S. today but we don’t have a political clout. As the second largest Asian American population in the U.S., our challenge as Filipino Americans is to translate these numbers into political power,” mallonga added. “That means being actively engaged as informed citizens, exercising our voting rights and casting our ballots on election Day.”

and show up at polling places on november 8 to cast their votes.”

naFFAA regional chair myrna Farinas reyes of San Diego, cA. has called on the Filipino American community to “come together and demonstrate our collective strength as an

influential voting bloc. let us proudly and unequivocally assert ‘i am a Filipino American Voter.’”

“Because most of us have Hispanic last names, we are identified as such that is why we need to help identify our fellow Filipinos,” Salcedo added.

Photo by Loren San Diego

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

in an interview with mario lopez on “extra” which was aired on monday, miss Universe 2015 pia Wurtzbach admitted that she is dating someone.

lopez asked Wurtzbach: “is there a mr. Universe?”

To which the Filipina beauty queen coyly replied: “i’m dating.”

Wurtzbach did not explicitly say that she is dating mikhail Varshavski, whom people magazine referred to as the “sexiest doctor alive.”

Yet Wurtzbach’s admission came after Varshavski’s revelation that he is dating the most beautiful woman in the world—the universe, rather.

The 26-year-old doctor told wonderwall.com: “i am dating pia. it’s a fairly new relationship, but i’m really excited to see where it can go!”

photos of Wurtzbach and Varshavski first circulated last month, sparking dating rumors.

A photo of Wurtzbach’s alleged relationship status with the doctor posted on her

Pia Wurtzbach confirms dating a ‘Mr. Universe’

personal Facebook account also circulated last week.

meanwhile, the “extra” interview also featured Wurtzbach’s best friend miss

USA olivia Jordan who said that she is also currently seeing someone but not yet at the point of getting hitched. (Inquirer.net)

Cesar Montano came to the defense of his son Diego Loyzaga whom he said was a victim too in the recent alleged mauling incident in Taguig City. Instagram photo by Cesar Montano

Cesar Montano on son Diego Loyzaga: He’s a victim tooceSAr montano defends son

Diego loyzaga from the people bashing him after he was tagged in an alleged mauling incident in Taguig.

“Yes, Diego was in the area where the commotion took place but definitely not part of it,” said montano in a statement he sent to Ginger conejero, published in ABS-cBn news. “He was a victim, too. He got injured and he has a medical certificate to prove it.”

on monday, march 21, the lopez brothers claimed that loyzaga’s group mauled one of them, paolo, after a “heated argument.”

This claim was already denied by the Kapamilya actor and said that he didn’t instruct anyone to hit anybody.

cesar said his son was involved in a “small version of what we used to call back in the day, a rumble.”

“The moment it ignited, sa sobrang gulo at dami ng tao hindi mo na alam kung sino ang kakampi mo at sino kalaban mo,” he added.

montano also relayed what his son said happened on the night of

march 13 outside a club in Taguig city.

He said his son told him that that he had a “misunderstanding” with one of the lopezes, but they were able to settle the issue “like real gentlemen.”

Until few hours later “this commotion broke out where [a] lopez brother apparently got beaten up. Sa sobrang dami ng tao, you cannot name names except for the actor himself, my son Diego,” cesar said.

He then continued saying, “the truth of the matter is, from the time this rumble took off, Diego, my son, was a few meters away from

where lopez was being beaten up. Simultaneously, Diego was trying to protect himself from being hit by flying fists coming from different directions.”

He also noted that his son was looking for a “safe place” since his nose got punched which is why Diego’s face was covered with blood.

“At the end of the day, they need somebody to point their finger at and get all the blames and my poor son was the most qualified because that night he was the only personality you can name and no one else,” he concluded. (Philstar.com)

Regine Velasquez-Alcasid stars as Rita Villon in the upcoming GMA 7 primetime series Poor Señorita. Above: With director Dominic Zapata (seventh from left) and the rest of the cast (from left) Zymic Jaranilla, Miggs Cuaderno, Caprice Cayetano, Valeen Montenegro, Jillian Ward, Snooky Serna, Jaya, Mikael Daez, Sheena Halili, Kevin Santos, Ayra Mariano, Elyson de Dios and Ralph Noriega.

HAVinG left the primetime scene when she got pregnant five years ago, regine Velasquez-Alcasid is all geared up to return to teleserye acting.

in “poor Señorita,” GmA 7’s latest primetime offering, regine plays the character of rita Villon, an heiress and successful owner of a perfume company. Yet despite her wealth, rita is sad and lonely, and feared by her employees for

Regine ‘quirky & animated’ in primetime comebackby Phoebe Marquez

Philstar.com

being a strict and perfectionist boss. But in a twist of fate, rita will find herself stripped of her wealth and dependent on five street children to survive. “That’s when the adventure starts,” regine says during a presscon for the show.

“Quirky and animated” is how regine describes rita. She admits that she’s more comfortable doing comedy rather than drama because it is closer to her real-life personality. “mas sigurado ako sa comedy. mas kengkoy ako, i don’t mind kung pumangit ako,” regine

explains.For her portrayal of rita,

regine says she doesn’t want rita to be a loud character but rather an imposing one. regine says she’s basing her portrayal of rita on meryl Streep’s miranda priestly in “The Devil Wears prada.” But regine admits that since it’s a comedy, one of her biggest challenges is to bring out the comic side in rita’s strict character.

“With this soap, i have to be consistent in terms of movements. i have little gestures, little

mannerismspara kapag nabago siya ng panahon, makikita mo rin yung difference, na binago siya ng experience niya,” adds regine.

That said change in behavior will come when rita stumbles upon the five street children, played by Ayra mariano, Jillian Ward, miggs cuaderno, Zymic Jaranilla and caprice cayetano, who will teach her the true value of life and happiness. Also joining the cast are mikael Daez, Sheena Halili, Kevin Santos, Valeen montenegro,

Continued on Page 5

Voter registration & Get-out-the-vote drive launched in Jersey City

3The Asian Journal NEW YORK / NEW JERSEY MARCH 25, 2016

An Asian Journal Magazine

One of the most precious traits of the Filipinos is our close family ties. Compared to other cultures Filipinos keep their relationship with their families intact. That being said, for us Filipinos who are residing overseas “vacation” generally means taking a trip back to the Philippines to visit and spend sometime with our families and friends.

naturally a trip way across the other side of the globe could be expensive especially during holidays when we all wish to be with our families. Fortunately there are several options available to Filipinos flying to the Philippines or

to any points in Asia. One of them is China Southern Airlines, which flies to Manila with a stopover at Guangzhou, China.

China Southern Airlines is Asia’s largest airline in fleet size and passengers carried. It is therefore a surprise to know that many Filipino travelers have not flown or traveled via China Southern Airlines, which offers one of the lowest fares going to Asia if you travel at the right time, day or month.

For its new York-Guangzhou flights, the airline utilizes its fleet of brand new Boeing 777-300eRs with 4 exclusive noble space in the First Class, equipped with 180º

China Southern Airlines: Another viable option of flying to the Philippines

China Southern Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ER aircraft flies the San Francisco-Guangzhou route.

For its LAX-Guangzhou flights the airline utilizes its new Airbus 380 aircraft which passengers will find very efficient, with comfortable economy seats. Its SFO-Guangzhou flights meanwhile uses the Boeing 787s.

In addition, China Southern Airlines has one of the shortest layovers, with only about 1 hours and 30 minutes. If you are a US passport holder you are granted a visa free stay of up to 72 hours when taking an international transfer via Guangzhou. Plus China Southern Airlines passengers with layover between 8 to 48 hours may now be offered complimentary hotel accommodation – which could reach up to five-star standard.

The next question is: What do you do if you are stuck in Guangzhou for a long layover? Don’t despair. You will not run out of things to see and do in Guangzhou if you want to explore the city using the 72-hour free visa program.

One option is to take the one and a half hour evening cruise on the Pearl River. This cruise comes with a private hotel transfer plus a knowledgeable private guide to point out all the highlights to you. This cruise takes you beneath the striking Guangzhou and Haizhu bridges, pass the glittering landmarks like the Zhuhai Square, the Aiqun Mansion, once considered China’s highest building, the north Gate Square of Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall and the amazing architecture on Shamian Island. The cruise will also take you to White Goose Pool, also known as “night Moon Over the Goose Pool”, one of Guangzhou’s top attractions. You’ll also see

Xinghai Concert Hall, Guangdong Art Museum and Guangdong Overseas Chinese Museum on ersha Island.

Back on solid ground you may want to see the Canton Towers, which at one point was the largest in the world, and still dominates Guangzhou’s modern skyline at over 2,000 feet. It is home to the world’s highest and largest outdoor observatory.

You may also visit Yuexiu Park. There’s so much history here. However, this park is so big that you can spend at entire day just exploring it on its own. There are old city walls, unique sculptures and lakes with paddle boating. If you have time, check out Guangzhou Xiangjiang Safari Park, the largest animal park in Asia with more than 400 species of wild animals including more than 70 white tigers.

Of course, you won’t want to leave Guangzhou without trying Cantonese food, especially the dim sum which ranks the best in the whole country.

International long haul flights, no doubt, could be very exhausting. A relaxing city tour in Guangzhou is an excellent way to break that long journey to your final destination, as personally experienced by travel agents who participated in the Fam Tour jointly organized by GTT International/Majestic Vacations and China Southern Airlines last november 6 to 13, 2015 headed by GTT International Regional Director eliza Chung and Flora Wang, China Southern Airlines’ Director, Sales Development Division Southwestern Region and Purificacion Molintas, PDOT-San

Francisco Tourism Attache. The fam tour was held in cooperation with the Philippine Department of Tourism as part of continuing education of travel agents on Philippine tourism products.

Of course, for Filipinos a trip to the Philippines would seem incomplete without visiting Boracay, Palawan, Cebu and other popular tourist destinations in the country, which are among the highlights of various Fam Tours held last year.

Boracay, which is consistently rated as one of the top beach destinations in the world is high on everyone’s list. The same could be said about Palawan which boasts of the Puerto Princesa Underground River, named as one of the new 7 Wonders of nature, Coron and el nido – both of which are attracting local and foreign tourists alike all year round.

So, for your next trip to Asia, you may want to try flying China Southern Airlines. You will not only get a real value for your money, you will also have the chance of exploring Guangzhou before heading to the Philippines and enjoying our own amazing tourist destinations.

***Manny V. Ilagan is a Tourism Specialist

with over 23 years experience in the tourism and travel industry. He provides travel consultancy services to some of the biggest wholesalers and tour operators in the country as well as to some airline companies. He is the former Tourism Director-OIC of the Philippine Department of Tourism-Los Angeles, where he worked for over two decades. As a writer, he has written numerous articles about travel and tourism which have been published in various Filipino-American newspapers in Los Angeles. (Advertising Supplement)

fully flat bed, 23” high-resolution touchscreen entertainment system, and offer a variety of food selection. Its B777-300eRs also offers the best Premium economy seats with 123º recline and extra legroom, equipped with10:6” high-resolution touch-screen TV, an in-seat power outlet and multi-port connector for personal devices.

China Southern Airlines’ Boeing B777-300ER planes flying the New York-Guangzhou route has four exclusive noble space in the First Class, equipped with 180º fully flat bed, 23” high-resolution touchscreen entertainment system.

China Southern Airlines’ B777-300ERs also offers he best Premium Economy seats with 123º recline and extra legroom, equipped with10:6” high-resolution touch-screen TV, an in-seat power outlet and multi-port connector for personal devices.

Participants to the joint DOT-GTT-China Southern Airlines Fam Tour to Guangzhou and the Philippines held November 2015.

A clean and green Plaza Binalonanby Paulo alcazaren

Philstar.com

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

4The Asian Journal NEW YORK / NEW JERSEY MARCH 25, 2016

An Asian Journal Magazine

SERVICESEMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES

BoBBy T. yalong

On thePEP FrontPeople, Events, Places

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

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

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

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

The more formal history of the place indicates that the town was established as a settlement of Ilocano immigrants who worked as herdsmen and laborers in the early 1800s. records state that a Fr. Julian Izaga set the original site of Binalonan in the barrio of San Felipe. It was later moved to the barrio of Santa Catalina, where the good father constructed a church and a convent. Initially made of light construction materials, the church complex was rebuilt several times after an earthquake in 1882 and the Filipino-American war.

The town grew and established itself as a key municipality in rice production for the province. The town today boasts a population of close to 60,000. Its proximity to Urdaneta City has contributed to

its growth. mangoes augment its main produce of rice. The town also hosts an airfield for civil aviation and a college related to it, the WCC Aeronautical and Technological College.

In 1968 Binalonan was awarded “The most Beautiful and Cleanest Town in the Philippines” by malacañang Palace. Since then it has garnered several citations, as “most Beautiful Plaza and Parks,” “outstanding Community Development model” and “Urban model Community,” among others.

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

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

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

in the space. It might be more appropriate to call the complex a park, as the plaza component is embedded within the green.

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

An odd portal structure was built over this entry, probably in the 1970s, and houses one of the municipal offices above. more recently, on both sides of the pathway, the town has added more small but modern structures, housing a Community E-Center and a Techno-Hub. The rest of the area contains a gymnasium, a large concrete tree house and other elements providing a good variety of facilities to the public.

The Sto. Niño parish church at the rear appears also to be a post-war reconstruction or renovation. It sits comfortably in a complex of about a hectare and is accessible from three sides. We noticed several small buildings under construction around the area, but nonetheless the pervasive shade and structure of the acacia canopies seem to smooth out all these separate elements and the space seems to be very popular and well used by the townspeople.

I give this plaza a 7.5 out of 10. The town has done a good job of keeping its generous area of green conserved, clean, and well maintained.

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

THE primordial thread that links the feminine essence of every woman to nurturing and caring had been deeply rooted since the dawning of creation. According to Diane mariechild: “A woman is the full circle…within her is the power to create, nurture, and transform!” Indeed, women in the world deserve nothing but only the best accolade and honor that humanity could offer!

Through the years, history has remarkably generated an immense number of empowered women who were capable of changing the world’s social, industrial, political, and educational landscape where they competently dominated the areas with their notable contributions and significant achievements.

The Pan American Concerned Citizens Action League, Inc. (PACCAL), a 501-c3 Jersey City-based organization, has consistently recognized and awarded outstanding Filipino-American women in the various aspects of their professional endeavors. PACCAL does not only duplicate successful events that manifested its worth-praising advocacy but more so to empower the worth-emulating status of womanhood in our current socio-economic setting.

on Saturday, April 2, 2016, ten outstanding women will be honored at a blue-themed dinner-dance bash and recognition ceremony at the ramada Plaza Hotel (160 Frontage road, Newark, New Jersey) under the chairmanship of rose P. Javier with two equally distinguished personalities in the Filipino-American community as Honorary Chairpersons: Joanne Sy Bhatia and Fe martinez.

PACCAL’s 2016 Women Achievers are as follows:

1. KIRBY ASUNTO - - - “Young Entertainer of the Year”

Loaded with talent and effervescence, Kirby is one of the fast-rising singer-performers this side of the eastern seaboard.

PACCAL proclaims 2016 Women’s History Month awardees

Fe Martinez, Honorary Chair

Joanne Sy Bhatia, Honorary Chair

other achievements neatly tucked under her sleeve: as a community service volunteer, a conscientious ace-rated student leader, and a capable Ambassadress of Goodwill with genuine advocacy.

3. JOYCE ANDES DAVID - - - “Young Professional of the Year”

A Clinical research Project manager supervising clinical trials covering the entire country, Joyce responsibly manages a group of about 200 professionals during the trial phases thereafter creating progress reports based on the team’s findings in Hematology and oncology therapeutic areas. Joyce in her almost 16 years in the research industry has satisfactorily worked with major pharmaceuticals and Clinical research organizations such as Pfizer, Hoffman La-roche, Schering Plough, and Amgen. She is also one of the founding members and current President of the Junior Chamber International-North Jersey Chapter, Council member of the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets Campaign and an Ambassador for Peace by Universal Peace Federation.

4. JOJI BABUSCHAK - - “Entertainment Producer of the Year”

The lady on the totem pole behind JB Entertainment Productions holds the distinction of being a fast-enterprising producer with unprecedented professionalism and unrivaled integrity who brought stars and celebrities to the fore not only for amusement but beneficial intents, too. Despite being newly fielded

Already a name to reckon with in terms of stage appearances and fundraising events, Kirby epitomizes this new generation’s Filipino-American youth who conquers the world with her limitless aptitude and unbounded capabilities. She has appeared on local and Philippine television, participated in various concerts to raise funds for disaster victims, and joined prestigious singing competitions that earned for her 2 Gold Trophies and a Silver medal from Access Broadway, Championship title from The Philippine Fiesta Grand Idol, and a rare exposure at the Kidz Bop Halftime Sport Jams Talent Search at the madison Square.

2. NINA SOFIA MOJARES - - - “Young Achiever of the Year”

A Junior at Freehold Township High School with a 4.64 GPA and a student in the Global Studies Learning Center, Nina is one bundle of feminine pulchritude gifted with impressive multi-faceted talents: She’s a singer-songwriter, a national ballroom champion, a TV and print Ad model, a school and community theater actress, a potential instrumentalist with virtuosity in piano and the guitar, a model student, and just recently another feather was added to her already feathery cap…a state beauty title as miss New Jersey’s outstanding Teen 2016. The newly crowned teen beauty has also a roster of Continued on Page 6

5The Asian Journal NEW YORK / NEW JERSEY MARCH 25, 2016

An Asian Journal Magazine

Atty. MichAel

Gurfinkel, eSQ

ImmigrationCorner

A MOTHER’S AND HER ATTORNEY’S PERSISTENCE RESULT IN HER DAUGHTERS FINALLY BEING ISSUED CSPA VISAS BASED ON “EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES”— ON A BRAND NEW EPISODE OF “CITIZEN PINOY!” Lolita (left) left her two daughters in the Philippines to seek a better life in the US, with the dream that she would eventually have them join her. However, her previous attorney missed the one year “sought to acquire” filing deadline for CSPA eligibility, resulting in the Embassy refusing to issue their immigrant visas. Leading US immigration attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel (right) was her beacon of hope, as he did not give up in trying to convince the Embassy that the daughters should be entitled to visas, despite missing the one-year deadline. Find out how Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel was able to prove extraordinary circumstances, have the two “aged-out” daughters be issued visas, and reunite this family on a brand-new episode of “Citizen Pinoy” – on Sunday, March 27 6:15pm (PST) on TFC.

SOME people, with only limited knowledge or understanding of immigration laws, try to strategize and handle their immigration case on their own. They follow the advice of friends or relatives, or listen to gossip or rumors they hear on the streets or at parties. But they may not be aware of all the critical facts or laws, or recent developments.

Partial or incomplete information about immigration laws and benefits can have devastating effects, resulting in denials, deportation, or many additional years of separation from your family.

A woman came to my office for assistance for her daughter, who aged out. She followed the wrong advice. But had she gone to an attorney at the outset, her child would have been in the US years ago.

In this woman’s case, she was petitioned by her mother, right after the mother had naturalized. But the mother could have filed a petition for her, as a single adult child of a green card holder parent (F-2B) years earlier, which would have included the woman’s daughter, who was still under 21. Instead, the family thought it would be “faster” for the mother to hold off for at least 5 years to become a US citizen,

and then file the petition. That is wrong!

By waiting until the mother naturalized, and only then filing a petition, they wasted at least five years. Also, a petition by a US citizen takes much longer than a petition by an immigrant parent. So, by the time the priority date became current, the child had already aged out.

Now, the woman wanted to know if her daughter was eligible under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), under her mother’s original petition. After doing the mathematical computation, the daughter was considered mathematically over 21 and not CSPA eligible. The mother will now need to file a new petition for her daughter, which could take another 10 years before the daughter can finally immigrate to the US. Had they obtained proper legal advice from an attorney at the outset, both this woman and her daughter could have been in the US years ago! Instead, by relying on partial information, the daughter now must wait again for decades to immigrate.

My point is that people think, “What’s so difficult about petitioning a family member? I can just do it on my own, because it is simple and straightforward.” Just as some people may say, “Why should I

have to hire a surgeon? It’s easy. I can do it myself.” But there could be complications. And in immigration, there may be faster ways to bring family members to the US, which a person may not be fully aware of. Instead, they rely on partial information, which, as you can see from the above example, can have devastating effects. That is why you should consult with an attorney, who can evaluate your situation, to make sure you are going the fastest, most direct route, to accomplish your immigration goal.

* * *Michael J. Gurfinkel is licensed, and an

active member of the State Bar of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California. Each case is different. The information contained herein including testimonials, “Success Stories,” endorsements and re-enactments) is of a general nature, and is not intended to apply to any particular case, and does not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.

WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.comCall Toll free to schedule a consultation

for anywhere in the US: (866)—GURFINKELFour offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES

· SAN FRANCISCO · NEW YORK · PHILIPPINES (Advertising Supplement)

Would you perform surgery on yourself, or would you let a doctor do it?

New hope for family who missed CSPA’s one year ‘Sought to Acquire’ filing deadline on ‘Citizen Pinoy’

LOLITA went through two previous lawyers, hoping to have her two aged-out daughters join her in the US under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). Each time, her dreams were shattered, and the daughters were left devastated – as the Embassy said they were not eligible, because years ago, they missed the one year deadline to “seek to acquire” a visa. The other attorneys gave up, and said there was nothing more that could be done.

When Lolita finally consulted with the Law Offices of Michael J. Gurfinkel, he immediately requested the Embassy to reconsider, based on “extraordinary circumstances,” since it was the previous attorneys who missed the one-year filing deadline, not Lolita. However, the Embassy declined to recognize an attorney missing the CSPA filing deadline as an extraordinary circumstance. But Atty Gurfinkel never gave up. His persistence and multiple

requests for reconsideration resulted in a major policy shift that qualified Lolita’s case under “extraordinary circumstances.”

A mother who never lost hope and an attorney who never gave up resulted in visa issuance and much-awaited reunion with Lolita and her daughters, on a brand-new episode of “Citizen Pinoy”–on Sunday, March 27 at 6:15pm PST/EST (9:15 pm EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers).

(Advertising Supplement)

From Page 2

Regine ‘quirky & animated...Jaya, Ervic Vijande, Ralph Noriega and Snooky Serna. Ricky Davao and Dingdong Dantes will also play special roles.

On the other hand, Regine admits to limiting her interactions with the kid actors on the set. She explains that now that she’s a mother to four-year-old Nate, she has the tendency to be close to children. Regine, however, fears that if she sees the child actors cry for a scene, it might make her break out of her character. She says Rita is still in her cruel personality stage.

“Kapag nanay ka na, iba na yung tingin mo, kapag nagda-drama na sila, iba na eh, parang iba effect nila sa akin. So ayoko muna, kasi masisira yung mojo ko sa character ko. I’m trying to build up the character,” Regine explains.

Asked for an opinion on actors’ working hours, Regine says there has to be a regulation to be able to protect both the actors and the production people. Just recently, she posted on her Instagram account a news article about Chiz Escudero’s proposed bill limiting working hours for the

entertainment and information industry to 12 hours, captioning the said post with “Praying for this.”

“We also want to perform to the best of our abilities. We don’t want to get sick because we know that the production and the show that we’re doing will suffer,” she says. But Regine also understands that less working hours may mean more expenses for the production. “So you also have to take that into consideration. We’re also aware of that, which is why gusto namin to meet halfway. We don’t want to demand na very ridiculous na, we don’t want that. We wanted it regulated lang. Hindi naman yung 24 hours,” she explains.

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

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

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

APRIL 1

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

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

APRIL 9

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

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

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

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

call 888-349-9695

MARCH 26

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

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

MARCH 28

6The Asian Journal NEW YORK / NEW JERSEY MARCH 25, 2016

An Asian Journal Magazine

NEW YORK—Roots of Health proudly presents “Raised Pinay”, a community-centered benefit production based on original stories & performances by an all-Filipina cast. There will be three shows: Thursday, March 31 (6pm at the Philippine Consulate), April 2 (1pm at NYU Palladium), and April 2 (6pm at NYU Palladium).

It is a major collaboration between Roots of Health, Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro), NYU International Filipino Association (NYU IFA), The Journey of a Brown Girl, Philippine Consulate General in New York, and Synergy Production & Marketing Inc. Proceeds for this event will benefit Roots of Health (Ugat Ng Kalusugan), a 501c3 nonprofit organization providing free reproductive clinical and educational services to women and girls in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

Through original story submissions, an all-Filipina cast will perform stories of Pinayhood that have formed their identity. The process brings together a group of intergenerational pinays who want to share unique and powerful stories to collaborate, relate to each other’s struggles, celebrate these experiences, and share them with the NYC community. Pinay stories will be showcased through monologues, dialogues, poetry, visual art, song, and movement which embrace the cultural nuances of our authentic experiences.

The show is directed by JL Umipig and is produced by Roots of Health Board of Directors, Justine Ang Fonte and Rachelle Peraz Ocampo. The diverse group of writers and performers include stories and performances by pinays Glorietta AngFonte, Gigi Bio, Grace Bio, Kristina Bustos, Zarah Cabañas, Anjelica M. Enaje, Twinkle Ferraren, Justine Ang Fonte, Rachelle Peraz Ocampo, Karen Joy Pangantihon, Aurerose

‘Raised Pinay’ all-Filipina production to raise awareness on roots of health

Piaña, Krissy Reyes, Maria Rubio, and Joanne Fe A. Talingdan-Dolman.

Philippine Consul General Mario de Leon Jr. shares, “We are happy to partner with Roots of Health for “Raised Pinay’ which celebrates the Filipinas’ own and unique stories in commemoration of International Women’s Month. I welcome the second-generation FilAms’ contribution in community building and this original production which further elevates the profile of Filipinas in the mainstream American society.”

“Raised Pinay” was the brainchild of Justine Ang Fonte and Rachelle Peraz Ocampo who share interests in public health and women empowerment. Justine, Director of Health & Wellness at The Dalton School, shares, “As women of color, our stories are often told by those who are not like us. As pinays, we learn to silence our stories at an early age. This production is the first of what we hope to be many that brings us out of that silence to decolonize our narratives, experiences, and our worth. It’s

time for us to tell our own stories now.”

Rachelle, Associate Director of Health Education at Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, learned about Roots of Health last year and views the organization as “the ideal connection for me to the Philippines.” She learned that “the challenges of reproductive health is way more than providing comprehensive clinical services and health education. It is a social justice issue that involves severe poverty, food insecurity, joblessness, and inadequate infrastructure for providing these resources to the women and their families of the Philippines.”

Kirklyn Escondo, President of Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro), states “UniPro is dedicated to supporting local artists and community members who showcase the Pilipino American experience through the arts. In celebration of Women’s History Month, we are proud partners for the “Raised Pinay” benefit production, supporting reproductive justice

THE new officers and board of directors of the De La Salle Alumni Association – Metro New York chapter (DLSAA-MNY) were graciously inducted by Ambassador Mario Lopez De Leon, Jr., the Philippine Consul General to New York, last Friday, March 11 at the Philippine Center, 5th Avenue, New York City.

2016 President Vitaliano “Nonoy” Rafael affirms, “Our association is committed to continue what it has started in the past years and to ponder new fund-raising projects and reach out and collaborate with other Fil-Am associations benefitting various programs that help the needy and under-privileged groups.” Rafael is a Bachelor of Science graduate in Industrial Management Engineering with minor in Mechanical Engineering at De La Salle University, Taft Avenue, Manila.

The evening initiation was preluded by ConGen De Leon’s half-hour throwback of the conception of La Salle and Ateneo’s life-long rivalry in almost all aspects of the schools system. Incidentally, the ambassador is an Atenean (College

Angelica Enaje Aureose Piana

DLSAA-MNY induction ofofficers and board of directors

and High School graduate.)The 2016 De La Salle Alumni

Association – Metro New York:President: Nonoy Rafael Vice-President External: Maricel

Reyes Vice-President Internal: Glenn

Chua Secretary: Karen Ann Quinto-

Gorospe Treasurer: Rosalie Divall Auditor: Cristina Ramos

Adviser: Edgar Lago Board of Directors: 1. Marites Canlas-Mojica 2. Glenn Chua 3. Frank Cruz 4. Eric Hernandez 5. Frank Jimenez 6. Dr. Ramon Legarda 7. Maricel Reyes 8. Monette Rivera 9. Archie Alvarez (immediate

past president)

into the entertainment arena, Joji’s fully licensed company has successfully and notably produced shows for movie screen icon Gabby Concepcion, balladeer Bert Nievera, Concert King, Martin Nievera, former teen idol Raymond Lauchengco, comedian Rex Navarrete, and recently, Asia’s Nightingale and Siren of the Strip Lani Misalucha. Some of the foundations that benefited her productions are Bantay Bata, RJ’s Battle for Cancer, the Filipino-American Community Development Center of Ocean County, Inc., (FCDC) a non-prfit organization based in Toms River.

5. MARIFE PATAGAN - - - “Excellence in Nursing Profession”

In her more than 33 years of progressive Nursing experience with track record as a change agent, Marife’s full circle-experience in administrative and clinical coordination of the Nursing Department proved to be her crowning glory while simultaneously working collaboratively with other disciplines. Equipped with BS Nursing, Masters in Nursing Administration and Doctor in Education degrees, Marife has had masterfully accomplished a slew of staffing and supervising skills providing quality Nursing care and an unparalleled directing knowledgeability and experiences in every single facet of her field of specialization that covers or is related to the Nursing profession. Curently, Marife is an Associate Director of Nursing at NYC Health & Hospitals Kings County in Brooklyn.

6. STACEY FLANAGAN - - -Excellence in “Health & Human Services”

Stacey was the former Director of Neighborhood WIC at Public Health Solutions and currently the Director of Health and Human Services for the City of Jersey City

From Page 4

PACCAL proclaims 2016 Women’s History...under the Fulop Administration. The indefatigable public servant has effectively served as the Mandel Fellow at the Leader to Leader Institute and as US Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica where she provided training and technical assistance to local municipalities and planned programs that supported alternative education to adults. This BA in Political Science and MS in Nonprofit Management title holder from Michigan State University and Milano the New School for Urban Policy and Management, respectively, is committed to higher education having been Adjunct Faculty at NJCU and St. Peter’s University.

7. SYLVIA LABIAL BUHIAN - - -“Excellence in Community Service”

This compassionate, emphatic lady from Cagayan De Oro has consistently devoted her life in the pursuit of aiding the under privileged in her community through the implementation of various livelihood programs, fundraising events, and donations. Sylvia, despite her physical status as a cancer survivor never lost enthusiasm and focus in sustaining the effectual continuity of her advocacy and service. She was the Founding President of Women’s Council for Progress, Secretary of the Urban Poor Coordinating Council, Over-all Chair of 6 successful NY concerts of the Filipino Singing Priests, organizer of the 2013 Grand Prayer Rally for Typhoon Sendong victims, and organizer of Oro Priests Retirement Home Fund Raising Project.

8. ROSALINDA BAJOLO - - - Excellence in Education

A devout educator and a strong believer in the nobleness of the teaching profession, Teacher Rosalinda is a Certified General Science and Biology Middle School

educator recognized as Finalist for Teaching Excellence and sole Filipino finalist for the 2015 New York Department of Education Big Apple Awards, Mrs. Bajolo is armed with a Master of Arts in Education. Her expertise isn’t only confined in the classroom for she’s also an active Certified Edmodo Trainer and Ambassador. A recipient of 2015 Most Influential Teacher award from UNIFFIED and an Honor & Distinction award from the Association of Filipino Teachers in Eastern America, this multi-awarded educator never ceases to reap recognitions in her meritorious advocacy and finds fulfillment in what she does best---educating the youth.

9. VIOLA SHOEMAKER - - - “2016 Mother of the Year”

A self-sacrificing mom with a munificent heart to her 3 sons, Viola tenderly extends her compassionately caring ways to her 9 grandchildren. A hands-on mom, she has devoted her life to being an encourager and shaper of children both at home and in the public arena. A first grade teacher for 29 years who has worked with children at the Jersey City First Wesleyan Church for the past 43 years, Viola is a firm believer in the philosophy that it takes a village to raise a child. The dutiful wife of the Reverend Donovan Shoemaker has deliberately influenced a great number of children who are now adults virtuously guided with her sterling examples.

10. ADELE BERNARDO - - - “Senior Citizen of the Year”

Another quintessential exponent from the academe who was copiously fortified with BSE Bio-Science, MS in Biology, and PhD I Academics degrees, Adelina M. Bernardo became a regular classroom fixture in both New Jersey and New York public school

WASHINGTON, DC—There are only two weeks left to submit your nominations for AARP’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Hero Awards. Acknowledge the hard-working staff and volunteers of non-profit organizations now until March 31, 2016 at AARP’s AAPI Community Facebook page.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Continued on Page 7

Continued on Page 7

7The Asian Journal NEW YORK / NEW JERSEY MARCH 25, 2016

An Asian Journal Magazine

“TIPANAN” means gathering. At TIPANAN everyone can experience Filipino food and drinks, tapas style. As Chef Froilan said “ the food I will serve will not look like the traditional Filipino food but will certainly taste like it.” During the event there will be live music and art exhibit, at its best!

Philippine American Friendship Committee, Inc. (PAFCOM), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization presents its very first foodie event, “TIPANAN” on Friday, April 1, 2016 from 6:00PM to 9:00PM. It will be held at the Skyline NJCU School of Business Harborside. Skyline, NJCU’s state of the art facility for graduate business programs is conveniently located in the heart

of Jersey City’s financial district and minutes from New York City, convenient to the NJ PATH and Light Rail system. Address is 160 Harborside Plaza 2, Jersey City, NJ 07302.

One of PAFCOM’s mission is to share the richness of the Philippine culture with our communities and this time through food and drinks. TIPANAN will also serves as the stage to present some of the best Filipino American chefs in New Jersey, all of them have been in the food industry for quite some time, with culinary degree and one have been featured in Food Network Iron Chef America.

TIPANAN will be featuring famous creations of four

Filipino-American Chefs, Chef Froilan Serenas, Altas Manuel Amante, Chef Ryan Postadan and Chef Mia Lontoc and two food establishments such as Max’s of Manila Restaurant and Bibingkafe. The Filipino flavored cocktails will be served by LITM, the 13 year running restaurant and bar located in downtown Jersey City owned by Jelynne Jardiniano. The live music featuring Angel Ram, the versatile diva of Tri State and the extra ordinary art exhibit by Jamaila Hernandez.

PAFCOM is grateful to have Western Union and Max’s of Manila Restaurant as its community partners and major sponsors of TIPANAN.

PMA New England gala night on March 26

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS—The Philippine Medical Association of New England (PMA New England) is holding a launch gala night this Saturday, March 26 at the Taj Boston. The sold-out event will host more than 200 individuals committed to re-invigorating the organization and its mission to unify a network of medical professionals of Filipino-American heritage residing or practicing in

New England through educational, scientific, philanthropic and socio-cultural activities. PMA New England was established in the 1970s by Filipino physicians who moved to the area. The majority of the organization is now composed of early to mid-career physicians.

“I am both humbled and ecstatic about this positive response from the community to support our organization” said Dr. Grace

Perez-Lirio, President of PMA New England. “We are looking forward to many years of raising awareness of issues that face the health of Filipinos and to giving back to the Boston and New England Community.”

For more information about the gala, please call PMA New England at (781) 343-1340, email pma.newengland@gmail.com or visit www.pmane.org.

PAFCOM presents ‘Tipanan’

NEW YORk— Philippine artist Christina Poblador made her New York City debut with Venus Freed, a solo exhibition, opening at The Philippine Center Gallery on Monday, March 21.

“I use glass, scent, sound, installation, and performance to explore themes of oppression, reclamation, and freedom,” said Poblador. “ I am motivated by a desire to express an emancipation of the body, a sense of freedom in movement and emotion and redemption.”

Poblador’s collection of interactive blown glass objects, flowers and found materials are inspired by the Philippine myth of the ylang ylang, a flower indigenous to the country.

Through her work, the artist attempts to examine the loss of identity and empowerment of the Filipino woman in a global setting where consumerism and foreign cultural imperialism

The exhibit will feature various

‘Raised Pinay’ to raise awareness...From Page 6

for women in the United States, the Philippines, and across the world.”

Grace Labaguis, Marketing Director for Synergy Production & Marketing, Inc., a multicultural marketing company states, “I would like to congratulate the producers of Raised Pinay for taking a grass roots approach

to helping girls and women back home, who lack access to health care and essential health information. It is very important to have this program in our community to raise awareness. Hats off to the entire cast for sharing their time, talent and story for this fundraising event. I’m happy to collaborate with the whole team in this amazing and

worthy project!Silent Art Auction items

from community artists will take place on April 2, while ongoing raffle prizes is occuring before and during the shows including Grand Prize winner of one (1) free Round trip Ticket from JFk to MNL sponsored by Philippine Airlines. Check eventbrite for uptodate details.

Philippine glass artist makes New York City debut

glass and scent pieces by the artist and will be on display until April 15.

Christina Poblador was born in Manila, Philippines and moved to the United States to pursue her MFA at Rhode Island School of Design, where she got her masters in Glass in 2015. Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in Singapore, Thailand,

Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and the Philippines.

Venus FreedBy Christina PobladorMarch 21- April 15, 2016Philippine Center Gallery556 5th AvenueNew York, NY 10036Admission is Free.

classrooms following her substantial teaching experiences in the Philippines and Nigeria. Currently out of the hectic demands from being a teacher, Adel devotes her time traveling, gardening, and actively participating in various

From Page 6

PACCAL proclaims 2016 Women’s History...community civic and social activities like being President of the ACES, Vice-Pres. of the Barangay of the Virgin (Hudson Chapter), and member of UNIFFIED and the Hudson County Board of Election.

Slated to grace the significant event is Hon. Con. General Mario

De Leon, Jr., while up-and-coming teen singing sensation Alyssa Jade Shoemaker and RELM Music lead vocalist Maureen Javier are set to provide entertaining vocal numbers.

For comments and suggestions, please email to: gemini0646@yahoo.com

8The Asian Journal NEW YORK / NEW JERSEY MARCH 25, 2016

An Asian Journal Magazine