Volume 9 – Issue 51 • 16 Pages

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DECEMBER 25-31, 2015

DATELINEUSAFROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

“I WANT to show the world – the universe, rather – that I am confidently beautiful, with a heart.”

Those were the words of Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtz-bach, 26, who took home the crown for Miss Universe 2015 on live television Sunday, Dec. 20 at the Planet Hollywood Resort &

Host Steve Harvey mistakenly announces wrong name, creates confusion and controversyby ALLYSON ESCOBAR

AJPress

Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.“To be a Miss Universe is both

an honor and a responsibility. I will use my voice to influence the youth and to raise awareness to certain causes, like HIV aware-ness, that is timely and relevant to my country which is the Phil-ippines,” she said, during the fi-nal question-and-answer portion of the night.

In true beauty pageant fashion, the final crowning did not go with-

out drama and a surprise ending when show host Steve Harvey, a comedian and talk show per-sonality, accidentally announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez Arévalo as the winner, but back-tracked a few moments later to proclaim Wurtzbach as the true Miss Universe.

“I have to apologize,” Harvey said on live television, as a tearful Miss Colombia smiles and flashes

SIX days before Christmas, the three Demo-cratic presidential candidates faced off in New Hampshire for the final Democratic presiden-tial debate of 2015 and offered their opinions on issues such as terrorism, gun control, healthcare and foreign policy.

Hosted by ABC, the two-and-a-half hour debate took place Saturday, Dec. 19, in New Hampshire where Vermont Sen. Bernie Sand-ers holds the lead, despite former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s significant national lead.

Clinton, Sanders, O’Malley take stage in �nal 2015 Democratic presidential debate

LABOR groups and people supportive of the candidacy of Davao City Mayor Ro-drigo Duterte and Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday, Dec. 19, said they have re-packaged the tandem as “Team AlDuB.”

A take from the phenomenal noontime show love team between Alden Richards and Maine “Yaya Dub” Mendoza, popular-ly known as “AlDub,” the political “AlDuB” refers to Alyansang Duterte-Bongbong.

Bongbong is Marcos’ nickname.Duterte, the feisty mayor whose certifi-

cate of candidacy as a substitute candidate for President of PDP-Laban was recently accepted by the Commission on Elections, topped a recent pre-election survey, dis-

Duterte-Marcos is the new ‘AlDuB’

by IZA GABRIELLE IGLESIASManilaTiames.net

MANILA—It looks like a bleak Christmas for Sen. Grace Poe.

Comelec Chair Andres Bautista said the en banc has already voted to reject the motions for reconsiderations (MRs) filed by Poe regarding her disqualifica-tion from the 2016 presidential race.

“It looks like it’s denied (based on the votes),” Bautista told the Philip-pine Daily Inquirer in a phone inter-view.

However, he declined to elaborate saying he would call a press conference to explain how the en banc voted.

Asked if there were commissioners who changed their votes from when the First and Second Division decided on the cases, Bautista said: “There were some who reversed their deci-sions.”

Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon on Tuesday, Dec. 22 said that the poll body already voted on the MRs filed by Poe.

Comelec en banc a�rms Poe’s disquali�cation

First Filipino to get Pearl Harbor attack news dies in California

CARSON, Calif. —The first Filipino to receive the cable-gram message about the Japanese Impe-rial Forces’ attack on the US Naval Base on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 has died of a linger-ing illness here, ac-cording to a report by Guerrero Coloma of NorthboundAsia.

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III appeared to be avoiding any talk about newly crowned Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach whom he briefly dated earlier this year, evading questions from the media and ig-noring the good-natured ribbing of Executive Secre-tary Paquito Ochoa.

On Tuesday, Dec. 22 when Ochoa introduced the President before his speech at the signing of the 2016 national budget at the Rizal Hall in Malacañang, he addressed the other officials with a crowd-pleasing, “Isang magandang Miss Universe sa inyong lahat (A beautiful Miss Universe to you all).”

Aquino teased on romance with Wurtzbach

MANILA – Vice President Jejo-mar Binay has regained his lead in the latest survey on presiden-tial candidates conducted by Pulse Asia.

The non-commissioned poll, conducted from Dec. 4 to 11, found 33 percent of 1,200 re-spondents want Binay, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) stan-dard-bearer, as president.

Binay’s rating jumped by 19 percent from the 14 percent he garnered in the Pulse Asia survey in September.

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Grace Poe, with 23 and 21 percent, respec-tively, were statistically tied at

second place.Duterte, who filed his certificate

of candidacy (COC) for president under the Partido ng Demokra-tikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan on Nov. 27, got a seven-point in-crease in his rating from 16 per-cent in September.

Poe suffered a five-point drop in her rating from 26 percent.

Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas took the fourth slot with 17 percent, down from 20 percent in September.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-San-tiago was in fifth place with four percent, up from three percent in September.

Most favoredDuterte was the most favored

presidential candidate in Mind-

Binay back at the top; Duterte, Poe tied for 2ndby HELEN FLORES

Philstar.com

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A HISTORICAL moment for Filipino-Americans in the United States took place Friday, Dec. 18, when a middle school in Union City, California was officially renamed in honor of Fil-Am labor leaders Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz.

Alvarado Middle School is now offi-cially Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School,

and is believed to be the first school in the nation named for Filipino Ameri-cans.

“We’re very honored,” Johnny Itliong, the son of Itliong, told the Asian Journal on behalf of his family. “We’re also honored to have Philip Vera Cruz’s name alongside Larry’s even though they didn’t see eye to eye on many oc-casions. But they both stood up for the rights of people, first and foremost of

Union City middle school renamedin honor of Fil-Am labor leaders

by NIKKO DIZONInquirer.net

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by AGNES CONSTANTEAJPress

by TINA SANTOSInquirer.net

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

her crown. “The first runner-up is Colombia. Miss Universe 2015 is…Philippines.”

The cameras showed the speechless, stunned face of Wurtzbach, who was standing towards the back with the other top third finalist, Miss USA Olivia Jordan from Oklahoma. Wurtz-bach hesitantly came forward to be crowned, while Harvey apol-

ogized again and told the Fili-pina-German actress and model to take her first walk as the new Miss Universe.

“I will take full responsibil-ity for this. It was my mistake. It was on the card,” Harvey im-mediately said, flashing the card onscreen as the show’s credits began to roll. “Horrible mistake, but the right thing. I could show it to you right here. Please don’t

hold it against the ladies…it was still a great night.”

Fellow Colombian Paulina Vega, last year’s winner, had no choice but to awkwardly un-crown Arévalo and hand the title over to Miss Philippines, who was dressed in a stunning blue evening gown by Filipino de-signer Albert Andrada.

“I’d like to apologize whole-heartedly to Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible,” Harvey tweeted not long after the show. “Secondly, I’d like to apologize to the viewers at that I disappointed as well. Again it was an hon-est mistake. I don’t want to take away from this amazing night and pageant. As well as the won-derful contestants. They were all amazing.”

The public was in a laugh-able uproar after Harvey’s origi-nal tweet – “I want to apologize emphatically to Miss Philippians and Miss Columbia” – misspell-ing both countries’ names was swiftly deleted.

The official Miss Universe Twitter account also released a statement, calling the incident a direct result of “human error,” and apologized to each contes-tant, their families, and fans.

“The excitement of live TV was evident tonight on The Miss Uni-verse stage with over 10 million live fan votes tabulated. Unfortu-nately, a live telecast means that human error can come into play. We witnessed that tonight when the wrong winner was initially announced.”

“Everything happens for a reason,” said Arevalo in a video message later posted by the Miss Universe account. “I’m happy for all what I did to [reach] this dream.”

At a post-pageant press con-ference, Wurtzbach shared her sentiments about the crowning. “I felt calm when I was called first runner-up, because I felt like it was fate. But when they announced that I was Miss Uni-verse, I had mixed emotions. I was happy because I really want-ed to win, but felt sad for Miss Colombia,” she said, according to Inquirer.

“I was confused,” she told En-tertainment Tonight. “I wasn’t sure what was going on.”

Pia said she even tried to reach out to Miss Colombia after the

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But the President would not be baited. Responding to Ochoa, he said, “Executive Secretary na, kumpare ko pa, na nagmula ang relasyon natin sa aking mga magulang, sinira mo itong araw na ito (Executive Secretary, my good friend, with whom I share a relationship dating back to our parents’ day, you ruined this day).”

Mr. Aquino did not elaborate.He also did not seem inclined

to talk about the 26-year-old Wurtzbach, who was now offi-cially the most beautiful woman in the world, or rather, the uni-verse.

Cabinet members and journal-ists who were inclined to tease the bachelor President about his brief romance with the beauty queen held their peace, however, out of respect for Mr. Aquino’s privacy.

ReticentAt the 80th anniversary of the

Armed Forces of the Philippines in Clark Air Base, Pampanga province, on Monday, President Aquino was as reticent and did not grant any interview with the Malacañang press corps, devi-ating from his usual practice on previous AFP Day ceremonies.

At 55, Mr. Aquino was likely

to remain the country’s most eli-gible bachelor when he ends his six-year term next year. Despite regular updates on his various dates, he remains largely unat-tached.

At the Senate, a resolution had been filed commending Wurtz-bach for her Miss Universe feat.

“The Filipina beauty queen’s positive attitude and strong de-termination to fulfill her dream of winning the 2015 Miss Uni-verse title are indeed a positive example and great inspiration to her countrymen, particularly the youth, that no dream is impos-sible as long as he or she puts his or her mind and heart in it,” Senate President Franklin Drilon said in his measure.

UndauntedDrilon said Wurtzbach was

undaunted in her quest for the beauty title despite two previous attempts to win the top spot in the Binibining Pilipinas pageant.

The Senate President also praised the newly crowned Miss Universe for her statement that showed concern over issues af-fecting her country, including HIV awareness.

“For winning the Miss Uni-verse crown, which was last worn by a Filipina 42 years ago, she has brought great honor and

glory to the country and the Fili-pino people worthy of the praise and commendation of this august chamber,” he said.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III also commended Wurtzbach on how she handled the wrong an-nouncement that led to Miss Co-lombia being crowned the winner of the Miss Universe pageant.

Miss Universe host Steve Har-vey had initially announced Miss Colombia as the 2015 Miss Uni-verse and Wurtzbach as the first runner-up. After Miss Colombia had been crowned, the “Family Feud” host came back onstage to correct his wrong announce-ment, saying he had misread the cue card.

Through all the chaos that fol-lowed, the Philippine representa-tive kept her poise, her big smile after initially being declared first-runner-up a reflection of her hu-mility and grace under pressure, Pimentel said.

“It was destiny and determina-tion because she had dreamed of the crown since childhood and after three attempts at the (Binibining Pilipinas) pageant. And suddenly the moment had come. She was just persevering and hard working,” the senator said in a statement. (With a re-port from Leila B. Salaverria)

Aquino teased on romance with…t

anao, obtaining 43 percent voter preference.

In Metro Manila, Binay, Duterte and Poe shared the top spot, ob-taining 30 percent, 27 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

In the rest of Luzon, Binay with 34 percent and Poe with 29 per-cent were the leading presiden-tial bets.

Binay was also the top choice among Visayans with 34 percent and Roxas, 27 percent.

Binay was the top choice of those in Classes D and E at 30 percent and 42 percent, respec-tively.

Duterte, Roxas, Binay and Poe with voter preferences of 28 per-cent, 22 percent, 20 percent and 19 percent, respectively, were leading in Class ABC.

The survey has an error mar-gin of plus or minus two percent-age points at the 95 percent con-fidence level.

Pulse Asia research director Ana Maria Tabunda said the rul-ing of the First and Second Divi-sions of the Commission on Elec-tions cancelling the COC of Poe for failing to meet the citizenship and residency requirements of presidential candidates affected Poe’s rating.

“Some respondents thought she has been disqualified. Others may be unsure she can still run,” Tabunda said in a text message to The Star.

Chiz tops VP raceSen. Francis Escudero contin-

ued to be the top choice for vice president, garnering a 29 percent voter preference.

Escudero’s rating increased

by six points from 23 percent in September.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took the second spot with 23 percent, up from 13 points in September.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and Liberal Party vice presidential candidate Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo got 18 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

UNA vice presidential can-didate Sen. Gregorio Honasan obtained nine percent. Honasan was not included in the Pulse Asia’s September 2015 electoral survey as he only announced his intention to run for vice presi-dent during the filing of COCs last October.

Independent vice presidential candidate Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV’s rating stayed at four per-cent.

Metro Manila residents and those in the rest of Luzon were most supportive of the vice presi-dential bids of Escudero (30 per-cent and 33 percent, respective-ly) and Marcos (28 percent and 26 percent, respectively).

In the Visayas, the leading candidates for vice president were Escudero, 27 percent; Ro-bredo, 21 percent and Cayetano, 18 percent).

Most of the respondents from Mindanao were inclined to elect Duterte’s running mate Cayetano with 27 percent; Escudero, 21 percent and Marcos, 19 percent.

In Class ABC, the top choices for vice president are Escudero (26 percent), Marcos (20 per-cent), Robredo (18 percent), Cay-etano (17 percent) and Honasan (11 percent).

Those in Class D are most

likely to vote for Escudero (29 percent) while those in Class E are most supportive of the vice presidential bids of Escudero and Marcos, 29 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

WelcomeBinay welcomed the results of

the survey. “Surveys, as I often tell my supporters, are snapshots of our people’s sentiment at a given time,” he said, adding that the most important survey is on Election Day.

Binay said Filipinos continue to trust him despite the efforts of his opponents to destroy his and his family’s name.

He said he expects his oppo-nents to continue their demoli-tion campaign against him as elections draw near.

AffectedPoe and Escudero admitted

the disqualification cases she is facing have affected her ranking in surveys.

“The disqualification cases thrown my way have created confusion among the people,” Poe said.

She expressed hope she could overcome the difficulties she is facing and prove that she is qual-ified to run for president.

“I will hurdle this and prove that I am a qualified and legiti-mate Filipino candidate. Sen. Grace Poe is still your candidate for president in 2016,” she said.

She said she regards surveys as a guide to “work harder, reach out to more people and get across my platform of governance, where no one is left behind.”

Escudero said he remains posi-

Binay back at the top; Duterte, Poe tied…t

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lodging Sen. Grace Poe. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano is Duterte’s running mate.

Marcos, son and namesake of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, is running for Vice Presi-dent as an independent and is in tandem with Sen. Miriam Defen-sor-Santiago.

“We are volunteer groups, we do not have anything to do with the campaign line of Duterte-Cayetano and Miriam-Bongbong because there are two tandems here. It was not started from just one group. This Team AlDuB was made by several groups, we are just trying to unify to solidify the win of Mayor Duterte and Sena-tor Bongbong,” Col. Jose Pallarca said.

According to Terry Tuazon, secretary-general of Lakas Manggagawa Labor Center, one reason they have chosen the two because both are against con-tractualization, outsourcing and the so-called 555 labor scheme.

“They have pronouncement that they are against this. Sabi

nga natin ang manggagawang Pilipino ang producers ng wealth ng ating bansa, sila yung nagpa-patakbo ng ating lipunan. Pero sila din yung uri sa ating lipu-nan na pinapabayaan ng ating gobyerno,” Tuazon told the me-dia.

“During the regime of Presi-dent Marcos, he gave benefits during Labor Day. It only stopped during the leadership of President Corazon Aquino until today, kaya sa palagay namin si Bongbong ang kaniyang plataporma ay na-katuon sa pagkalinga, pagasikaso at pagbibigay benipisyo sa ating working class,” he added.

Tuazon said he was jailed three times during Martial law for he was an activist, however, he is now campaigning for Marcos be-cause people should now move forward.

“Let’s give Bongbong a break to lead the Philippines. Yung kasalanan ng ama ay hindi na-man pwedeng kasalanan din ng anak. Hindi ako nagtanim ng galit. Ang kailangan ng ating bayan ay isang leader na kayang

Duterte-Marcos is the new…disiplinahin hindi lang ang mga mahihirap kundi pati na yung mamamayang umaabuso sa taas at yung military na abusado. Kaya ako naniniwala na ang tan-dem Duterte-Marcos ay people’s choice,” Tuazon said.

Pallarca, meanwhile, said that they are tired of hearing lead-ers who are full of excuses and who are blaming past adminis-trations. He said that it is about time that leaders who will as-sume in the office have the re-sponsibility to be accountable and who will make solutions

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“We have voted on the motion for reconsideration, it will be fin-ished most likely by tomorrow (Wednesday). We have all voted. It would be better tomorrow be-cause the promulgation will likely be tomorrow,” she told reporters in an interview on Tuesday.

“We have already cast our votes but it’s not yet promulgated, prob-ably by tomorrow…Certainly, be-fore Christmas, it’ll be finished here at the Comelec,” she added on Tuesday.

However, Guanzon had then refused to divulge the results of the Comelec en banc executive meeting.

“We cannot disclose our vote but the public should be assured that there is no delay. Many peo-ple have been asking why it’s tak-ing so long,” she added, saying they had to carefully study the cases.

“Some commissioners are not

yet done with their separate opin-ions so we have to wait for that,” she said earlier on Tuesday.

Asked if the poll body’s votes were too far from the second and first division decisions, Guanzon hinted some commissioners re-versed their earlier decisions.

“It can be different or can be the same but not all commission-ers voted the same. And I think that every commissioner, includ-ing the Chairman, has arrived at a decision after careful study,” she said.

Poe filed two separate MRs af-ter the first and second divisions of the poll body earlier ruled to disqualify her from the 2016 pres-idential race over her citizenship and residency.

On Dec 1, the Comelec 2nd Di-vision voted 3-0 to disqualify Poe from the presidential race for fail-ure to meet citizenship and resi-dency requirement. The petition

Comelec en banc a�rms Poe’s…

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their Filipino brothers and sis-ters, the manongs, and then for all others.”

Itliong and Vera Cruz were key leaders who helped orga-nize the United Farm Workers union in the 1960s and led Fili-pino farmworkers who were the first to walk out in the Delano Grape Strike on Sept. 8, 1965.

“I think it’s so important that we recognize Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz [who] inspire all of us to be change makers that we need in our community, our state our nation and our world,” state Assemblyman Rob Bonta said during the school’s dedication ceremony on Friday.

Although the renaming of the school gives recognition to Itliong and Vera Cruz, Johnny acknowledged that there were others who helped them.

“There were many other Fili-pino labor leaders and union or-ganizers who stood and fought with my dad ... it wasn’t just my dad and Philip. It was also Andy Imutan, Pete Velasco and there were many others,” he said.

Talks of naming a Union City school in honor of Filipino-Americans date back to 1992, said Joe Angeles, who is part of a coalition that urged the school to be renamed, according to the Contra Costa Times.

“We had two schools named

Alvarado: Alvarado Elementary and Alvarado Middle. Alvarado Elementary has more history; it’s one of the first elementary schools in the area,” Angeles said, the Times reported.

Though Itliong and Vera Cruz primarily worked in the Central Valley advocating for the rights of farm workers, Angeles said Itliong spent some time organiz-ing in Union City and worked with some residents from the area in the 1960s.

Approval for renaming the school came from a split 3-2 de-cision in 2013 by the New Haven Unified School District board. Some wished for the school’s name to remain Alvarado, which was in honor of 19th-century Mexican governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. Others said he was al-ready well-represented in Union City, with an elementary school, two streets, a park and a neigh-borhood bear his name, accord-ing to the Times. The issue re-sulted in staged demonstrations and full school board meetings.

In the neighborhood sur-rounding the middle school, 38 percent of residents are Filipi-no-American, said Joe Angeles, who is part of a coalition that urged for the renaming of the school, according to the Times.

Renaming the school is esti-mated to cost $60,000. The bulk of the price tag, $57,440, will

be covered by Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle, state Sen. Bob Wieckowski, Assem-blyman Bill Quirk, and Bonta.

Separately, an overpass in San Diego that intersects State Route 54, which is known as the Filipino-American Highway, was also set to be renamed in honor of the labor leaders to the Itliong-Vera Cruz Memorial Bridge.

“These [renamings] are huge strides for our Filipino commu-nity to be recognized in Ameri-can history, and we are basically indebted to the manong genera-tion, [which] has made our lives much better,” Johnny said.

In June of this year, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill des-ignating October 25 -- Itliong’s birthday -- as a day dedicated to recognizing the late labor leader’s contributions to the state of California. ■

Union City middle school renamed in honor…t

show, to apologize, but “I couldn’t get near her, as she was sur-rounded by the Latin American contestants. She was crying and then there was a crowd around her, the girls who were comfort-ing her. I was actually very close to her already, but I decided that maybe it was bad timing to do it now--to apologize to her for what happened. So maybe I’ll do that in the future.”

“I won Miss Universe based on the judges’ vote…it’s not as if I took the crown from her,” she added. “I had to ask [them] many times, ‘Did I really win? Am I re-ally Miss Universe? Are you go-ing to take the crown from me now?’ And they said, ‘No, you’re really the winner.’”

“It’s a very non-traditional crowning moment, isn’t it? Very…2015,” Wurtzbach later said, laughing.

The 26-year-old Wurtzbach was born in Stuttgart, a large city in southwest Germany, and grew up in Cagayan de Oro. She attended secondary school in Quezon City, as well as culinary arts school in Metro Manila, and speaks Tagalog, English, and German.

She appeared in several TV and film roles under Star Magic Talent, going by the stage name Pia Romero. Known for her deter-mination and strong personality, Wurtzbach has been training for beauty pageants since late 2012. She competed in several com-petitions including Binibining Pilipinas and Miss Universe-Phil-ippines, winning the title as suc-cessor of Mary Jean Lastimosa.

After three tries at the Binib-ining Pilipinas crown, Pia also hoped that her fans worldwide can learn from her story.

“Wow, what an honor it is to represent our country in the most prestigious pageant ever. This may very well be the high-light of my life. Absolutely no regrets,” she said in an earlier Instagram post, the night before the big show.

“Of course most important-ly, I hope I inspired you. Never give up on your dreams and be-lieve that dreams do come true! Walang susuko! Ang Pilipino, palaban (No giving up! The Fili-pino is a fighter),” she wrote, ac-cording to Rappler.

The following day after her win, the pageant queen posted a stunning photo with her crown and sash, with the caption: “42 years of drought and now it final-ly reigns. Mabuhay! Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat!”

When asked by Harvey about US military presence in her home country, Wurtzbach grace-fully responded, “I think that the United States and the Philippines has have always had a good re-lationship with each other. We were colonized by the Ameri-cans and we have their culture

and our traditions even up to this day, and I think that we’re very welcoming with the Americans. And I don’t see any problem with that at all.”

Filipinos react, Colombia in uproar

On the Internet, the announce-ment was met with mixed reac-tions: shock, anger, excitement, and an abundance of humorous memes.

“Our Miss Philippines didn’t get her shining moment,” a fan said on Facebook. “It feels like she and our country were robbed of the winning moment, shame!”

“It was a horrible mistake that hurt both [Colombia and Philip-pines], because Miss Philippines didn’t get her time to shine. And that’s devastating to Colombia, to have that taken away right when you thought you won,” said Mariel Camiling from Chino Hills, CA.

Immigration activist Jose An-tonio Vargas tweeted: “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?!?” and later, “Imagine if [Steve Harvey] DID NOT correct his mistake be-cause he feared the reaction??”

Broadway star Lea Salonga also chimed in, “Mabuhay ka, Pia Wurtzbach! Congratulations! We have something to smile about! This high is going to last us awhile!”

Salonga also said: “I shall re-frain from the #MissUniverse host-bashing today. He takes full responsibility for the error and in the end, he righted the wrong. Let’s keep it classy, everyone.”

Philippines presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda commented Wurtzbach for her poise and grace throughout the competition and during the an-nouncement. “In the first few mo-ments of the original announce-ment, she showed tremendous poise and control, and even more tremendous graciousness when the real verdict was finally an-nounced,” Lacierda said.

Past winners, including Mar-garita “Margie” Moran-Flo-reindo, the last Filipina Miss Universe crowned in 1973, also criticized the incident.

“It robbed [Pia] from the glory of that moment, of the excite-ment and waiting to be called Miss Universe and hearing the rejoice of all the Pinoys watching it. That was the most unfortunate part of the whole contest. Unfor-tunate, but she won. That’s all that matters really.”

Another former Miss Universe Philippines, Gloria Diaz, told TV Patrol that Harvey should pay a fine of “$100,000, to Miss Co-lombia and to the Miss Universe [Wurtzbach].” Diaz won the title in 1969.

Other Filipinos were not happy with certain aspects of the re-sults, arguing it was a “shallow victory.”

Arturo P. Garcia, national co-ordinator of Justice for Filipino

American Veterans (JFAV) said in an email, “We respectfully disagree to the statement of win-ner of Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach for saying that ‘the Philippines and the US have al-ways had a good relationship.’ Injustice and racial discrimina-tion in America still prevails. It is due to the fact that until today, 250,000 Filipino-American sol-diers who served this country in WWII had their benefits exclu-sively rescinded by the US, and remained unrecognized and de-nied of their rights and benefits as American soldiers…Coloni-zation is the exploitation and oppression of a people. Histori-cally, the US has subjugated the people of the Philippines through plunder, rape, and genocide.”

“We have not won. Our win-ning is very shallow for our peo-ple still fighting for true indepen-dence, freedom, and justice. We understand Ms. Wurtzbach for [in] her mind she ‘won,’ but at the expense of the great patriotic and brave heart of all patriotic Filipinos,” he added.

“I’ll tell you what I think I’d do…I’d make ‘em a co-winner; it’d be very cool,” Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (who was cut off from NBC in June amid controversial comments, and later sold the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants to WME/IMG), told Matt Lauer on the Today Show.

In Colombia, celebration turned to anger just moments later as the real results were announced. “They took away her crown” and “the shortest reign in history” was voiced on Twitter, and the hashtag #RespecttheCrown be-came the country’s top trending topic. #Colombiazoned was also trending on social media.

“I was watching Miss Universe with my family. We started a huge celebration when they said Colombia had won the Miss Uni-verse title for the second straight year,” said Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, according to Radio Nacional. “They put the crown on [Arévalo’s] head. The photos are there to prove it. To me, as a Colombian, she is still Miss Universe.”

Fil-Am Jenine Nerecina from Northridge, CA expressed her overall excitement, pride and joy for her country. “When I first heard that Pia won, I couldn’t believe it. I was filled with ex-citement and pride that the Philippines is gaining deserving recognition. I am so proud that in these modern times Filipinos are actually making a difference, and that the world is finally see-ing it!” she exclaimed.

“Humility is one of the most im-portant attributes in our culture, and Pia showed that throughout the competition,” Nerecina add-ed. “It feels amazing to be a part of this moment because this is going to be a part of history!” ■

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tive Poe would bounce back once the SC rules in her favor.

UnfazedRoxas was unfazed by the lat-

est Pulse Asia survey, saying the most important survey is during the Election Day.

“We have seen things are still volatile. Last month, Grace was on top. Last week, it was Duterte. Now it’s Binay. Maybe next time, I will be the frontrunner,” Roxas said.

He said what is important is he has a clean record, a clear platform on where to bring the country. “I’ll just continue my campaign,” he said. (With Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez, Au-rea Calica)

Binay back…

for the problems ahead and the problems to be inherited in the past administration.

“Kung hindi nila lalapatan ng solusyon ay dapat hindi po natin dapat sila iboto. Si Mayor Duterte lang ang nagsabing ‘When I as-sume command, wala na akong problema sa nakaraan, gagawan natin ng solusyon’. Si Bongbong naman also stood by his prinici-ples,” Pallarca said.

On the other hand, Atty. Raul

Lambino, who was the spokes-man of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, said he start-ed supporting Duterte as early as April 2014 when the mayor start-ed going on a nationwide speak-ing tour purportedly to campaign for a shift to the federal form of government.

“Hindi na ako nagpatumpik-tumpik pa dahil sa pagkakakilala ko kay Mayor Duterte sa husay sa pamumuno sa Davao City. Yung pag suporta ko naman kay

Duterte-Marcos is the new…

was filed by former GSIS lawyer Estrella Elamparo.

More than a week later, the poll body’s First Division voted 2-1 to cancel Poe’s certificate of candi-dacy for president after finding that she committed material mis-representation when she claimed to be a natural-born citizen and has resided in the Philippines for at least 10 years.

The First Division ruling cov-ered three consolidated petitions filed by former senator Francisco Tatad, De La Salle University Pro-fessor Antonio Contreras and for-mer University of the East College of Law dean Amado Valdez.

Guanzon said the members of the en banc voted separately on the two cases.

“We did not consolidate be-cause these are different cases in two divisions. So the MRs were also voted upon separately,” she said.

Guanzon said only Commis-sioner Christian Robert Lim inhib-

Comelec en banc a�rms Poe’s…ited from voting on the 2nd divi-sion appeal because the petitioner in the case, former Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) lawyer Estrella Elamparo, was an associate in his former law firm.

No one inhibited from voting on the 1st division case.

“No one inhibited (in the 1st division) because Commissioner Lim has no conflict of interest. So this is good because the parties can now go to the Supreme Court very soon. As we said the SC is the final arbiter,” Guanzon added.

Without particularly referring to the Poe case, Guanzon said any candidate had only five days after promulgation of decision to secure a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court.

“If they don’t meet the deadline to get a TRO, they will not be on the ballot. I’m not speaking about any particular candidate, that’s just the rule. It’s better for the cases to go up to the Supreme Court.”

“It’s really the SC and person-

Senator Bongbong bilang pan-galawang pangulo ito po ay com-mitment naming mga taga Norte and Central Luzon, hindi bababa ng 90 percent ay naniniwala kay Sen. Bongbong Marcos,” Lam-bino said.

Lambino cleared that he is not a Marcos loyalist, in fact he was anti-Marcos when he was young-er, but according to him he have seen huge difference between Senator Marcos and the regime of President Marcos.

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com.Simeon Marcos Dumlao, 93, of

Laoag City, died on December 9; he was born on March 28, 1922.

Dumlao in 1941 was a 19-year-old radio operator of Mackay Ra-dio and Telegraph Co., with of-fices at the Trade and Commerce Bldg. along Juan Luna Street in Binondo, Manila.

Dumlao was on the night shift on December 8 (Philippine time)

when he received the cablegram at about 3:00 in the morning, when more than 100 Japanese airplanes bombed the US Navy installations at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, starting the war with the United States.

In an interview with the North-boundAsia.com reporter early this year, Dumlao recalled that his speaker monitor suddenly be-came alive with an urgent mes-sage.

“I automatically switched on the tape recorder and inserted a half-inch wide white paper on the typewriter on which the en-crypted message, in Morse code, was printed and encoded,” he said.

The message was addressed to the Associated Press, inform-ing their reporters about the Japanese surprise military attack. Dumlao said a series of press re-

First Filipino to get Pearl Harbor attack news…t

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ally I think the sooner that we re-lease this decision, the better for parties and the better for the Fili-pino poeple,” she added. ■

PRESIDENT Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle visited San Bernardino, California on Friday, Dec. 18, to meet privately with families of the victims of the mass shooting in the city that killed 14 and injured more than 20 others.

The president was slated to stop in San Bernardino while en route to his Christmas vacation in Hawaii, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said on Wednesday, Dec. 16, but was not set to make a public appear-ance.

In his third address to the nation from the Oval Office, the president condemned the at-tack in Southern California and sought to reassure Americans that the country can handle the dangers of terrorism.

“As a father to two young daughters who are the most pre-cious part of my life, I know that we see ourselves with friends and coworkers at a holiday party like the one in San Bernardino. I know we see our kids in the faces of the young people killed in Paris,” Obama said during the address to the nation earlier this month.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Red-lands), who represents the area, said he is pleased of the presi-dent’s visit to families.

“I’ve conveyed to the White House the importance of the president’s presence in our re-gion as we rebuild, and I join with our community in welcom-ing him to San Bernardino,” Aguilar said in a statement.

Obama has previously at-tended memorial services for the victims of mass shootings across the country, including in Tuscon, Arizona, Newton, Connecticut, Charleston, South Carolina, Fort Hood, Texas and the Washington Navy Yard.

He has also privately met with victims’ families, including in Oc-tober after nine people were shot dead at Umpqua Community Col-lege in Roseburg, Oregon.

Also announced on Wednes-day was that the Inland Region-al Center, where the shooting took place, will reopen on Jan. 4, 2016. However, officials said the conference room, the area in the building where the attack occurred, will be closed indefi-nitely.

Friend of San Bernardino shooters arrested and charged

Obama visits families of San Bernardino shooting victims

Friend of shooters arrested and chargedby AGNES CONSTANTE

AND ALLYSON ESCOBARAJPress

WASHINGTON—A new con-tingent line of credit to support the Philippines’ efforts to manage the risks posed by natural disas-ters was approved Tuesday, Dec. 22 by the World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors.

The Second Disaster Risk Management Development Poli-cy Loan with a Catastrophe-De-ferred Drawdown Option (CAT-DDO 2) provides US$500 million to strengthen investment plan-ning and regulations to reduce disaster risks and help manage the financial impacts when disas-ters strike.

“The Philippines is among the most vulnerable countries in the world. Together, the 20 most vulnerable countries face esca-lating losses of $44.9 billion due to climate-related natural disas-ters alone. Inaction is set to cost us even more. With the number set to multiply almost ten-fold by 2030, amounting to $418 billion, we turn to innovative financing mechanisms to boost our resil-ience,” said Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima.

The Philippines can access the new credit line following “a state of calamity” declared by the President.

CAT-DDO 2 gives the Philip-pines flexibility to use the funds as needed. The drawdown peri-od is three years and renewable up to four times for a total of 15 years. Amounts repaid during the drawdown period are avail-able for subsequent withdrawal.

The Philippines was the first country in the Asia and Pacific region to use this type of financ-ing option with the CAT-DDO in 2011. This second CAT-DDO will provide the government with a platform for sustaining reforms and effectively implementing the

country’s disaster risk reduction and management program.

On average, more than 1,000 lives are lost every year in the Philippines, with typhoons ac-counting for 74 percent of the fatalities, 62 percent of the total damages, and 70 percent of agri-cultural damages. Also, the coun-try is highly exposed to geologic hazards including earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

In 2013, Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) devastated the country causing over 6,000 fatalities and thousands more missing, and cre-ating extensive damage to prop-erties, infrastructure, businesses, and livelihoods. Total damage and losses reached P571.1 bil-lion (USD 12.9 billion), cutting economic growth by about 0.9 % in 2013, and another 0.3 % in 2014. As a result, about 2.3 mil-lion people fell below the poverty line.

“Financial shocks caused by natural disasters undermine economic growth and poverty reduction. This is the environ-mental equivalent of the middle income trap. Governments need to be agile in mobilizing resourc-es if we are to break free from di-saster-traps that knock back the poorest and most vulnerable,” said Secretary Purisima.

The Department of Finance (DOF) developed the Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Strategy in 2015 to ensure finan-cial resilience at the national, lo-cal, and individual levels.

• At the national level, the government will combine differ-ent financial instruments to pro-tect the country against major events, including reserves such as the national and local disaster risk reduction fund, and contin-gent credit such as CAT-DDO 2.

• At the local and individual levels, the DOF is working with the World Bank to set up a sub-national insurance pool to pro-vide local government units with immediate liquidity following di-sasters and design a property ca-tastrophe risk insurance pool for homeowners and businesses.

• The DOF is also collaborat-ing with Department of Social Welfare and Development to set up a system of emergency in-come support through post-di-saster cash transfers utilizing the payment infrastructure of Panta-wid Pamilya, the country’s con-ditional cash transfer program. This will help strengthen post-disaster assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable.

According to World Bank Country Director Motoo Konishi, this new operation signifies the World Bank’s recognition of the Philippines’ comprehensive ef-forts to strengthen the country’s capacity for managing disaster risks.

Following Tropical Storm Ondoy (Ketsana) and Typhoon Pepeng (Parma) in 2009, legisla-tors passed Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Act mandating a shift from disaster response to disas-ter risk reduction and prepared-ness.

“If not managed well, disas-ters can roll back years of devel-opment gains and plunge mil-lions of people into poverty,” said Konishi.“Disasters can induce and exacerbate poverty through the loss of lives, destruction of assets, disruption of economic activities and trade, and indirect impacts on health, mobility, gen-der equality, and access to edu-cation.” ■

World Bank initiative to boost PH resilience against natural disasters

with terror plotGun charges were filed against

a friend of Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the married couple that carried out the Dec. 2 attack and died in a shootout with police a few hours later.

Enrique Marquez, 25, pur-chased the assault rifles used by the shooters, US law enforcement officials said Thursday, Dec. 17. The weapons were purchased in 2011 and 2012, authorities said.

Marquez was arrested Thurs-day and charged with “conspir-ing to provide material support to terrorists,” and with making a “straw purchase” of the two rifles used in the attacks, officials said.

Under California law, trans-ferring gun ownership must be conducted through a registered dealer, with exemptions such as transfers between spouses or from a parent to an adult child. However, federal law enforce-ment sources told The Wash-ington Post that no transfer re-cord exists between Marquez and Farook or Malik, and when he handed them the rifles is un-known.

In addition to the terrorism charge, Marquez faces a count of lying on gun purchase forms to hide that he was really buying the rifles not for himself, and one of defrauding the immigration system by entering into a sham marriage with a Russian immi-grant--the sister of the woman married to Farook’s brother, so that she could gain legal immi-gration status paying him $200 a month, the New York Times reported.

Marquez told investigators that he and Farook, a longtime neighbor, had been discussing radical Islam since 2007.

“Farook introduced Marquez to radical Islamic ideology,” FBI agent Joel Anderson wrote in the affidavit filed with the charges, which also discussed the time Marquez spent at his neighbor’s house, reading articles and watching videos involving radical Islamic content. Marquez con-verted to Islam later that year.

Though Marquez had no di-rect role in the Dec. 2 massacre, he admitted to “conspiring with Farook to commit vicious attacks, as set forth in [the] charges,” said US attorney Eileen M. Deck-er in a statement. “Even though these plans were not carried out, Mr. Marquez’s criminal conduct deeply affected San Bernardino County, Southern California and the entire United States when the guns purchased by Marquez

were used to kill innocent people and wound many others.”

“His prior purchase of the fire-arms and ongoing failure to warn authorities about Farook’s intent to commit mass murder had fatal consequences.”

On the day after the shooting, a distraught Marquez allegedly called 911 to report Farook: “My neighbor did the San Bernardino shooting.” He also said that Fa-rook had “used my gun in the shooting,” and “they can trace all the guns back to me.”

Officials who requested ano-nymity told CNN that Marquez told investigators he and Farook were planning a terror attack in 2011 and 2012 at Riverside Com-munity College, but dropped the plan partly because they were concerned about arrests of four Riverside-area men who were charged with attempting to travel abroad to carry out jihad.

In a report from The New York Times, Nick Rodriguez, a frequent patron at Morgan’s Tavern, where Marquez worked, said he would say things like, “‘There’s so much going on. There’s so many sleeper cells, so many people just waiting. When it happens, it’s going to be big. Watch.’”

Rodriguez said the remarks were taken as a joke.

“When you look at the kid and talk to him, no one would take him seriously about that,” he told the Times.

But Marquez’s link to the San Bernardino incident came as a surprise to his boss, Jerry Mor-gan, owner of the tavern in Riv-erside, California, according to USA Today.

He described Marquez as an “emotionally immature” man who enjoyed reading comic books, but was not terrorist ma-terial, the publication reported.

“He was a goody, goody two shoes type kid,” Morgan said. “If anybody was talking about sleep-er cells, if I had any suspicion he was a weirdo, I would have fired him.”

If Marquez was aware of a plot and aided it, he could face charges that could amount to a maximum life sentence to prison. Marquez will return to court on Monday, Dec. 21 for a bail hear-ing. His arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 6, where he is expected to enter a plea.

The conspiracy charge against Marquez carries a maximum sen-tence of 15 years in prison, and 10 years each for the firearms and marriage visa charges. ■

leases addressed to other press offices in Manila followed.

His fingers froze and became numbed and he could not type out the messages. “So I asked the traffic clerk to massage my fingers, which he did, to calm me down,” Dumlao said.

The three telegraph compa-nies operating in the Philippines at that time used short wave ra-dio as medium of transmission of cablegrams, telegrams or radio-grams, to and from international

First Filipino to get Pearl Harbor…

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley also participated in the debate.

During the early stages of the discussion, Sanders apologized to Clinton for a breach of voter data – which is typically shield-ed by a firewall from other op-ponents – involving at least one campaign aide.

“This is not the type of cam-paign that we run, and if I find anybody else involved in this, they will also be fired,” the sena-tor said.

Clinton then thanked Sanders for the apology and the debate pressed forward without much time spent on the breach.

“Now that, I think you know,

we have resolved your data, we have agreed on an independent inquiry, we should move on. Be-cause I don’t think the American people are all that interested in this,” she said.

Foreign policy and terrorismTerrorism consumed the first

half of the debate, and all candi-dates agreed that air strikes on ISIS were necessary, as well as a Sunni army to fight jihadi fight-ers on the ground.

Clinton expressed support for sending special operations forces to Syria. And when asked if she would shoot down a Syr-ian military aircraft or Russian airplane, she responded that she didn’t think it would come to that point.

“We are already de-conflicting air space.

“I am advocating the no-fly zone because I think it would help us on the ground to protect Syrians; I’m also advocating be-cause I think it gives us some le-verage in our conversations with Russia,” she said.

Sanders was much more skep-tical about American involve-ment beyond bombing, and said the US cannot fight the Islamic State and the Assad regime si-multaneously.

“I worry too much that Secre-tary Clinton is too much into re-gime change and a little bit too aggressive without knowing what the unintended consequences might be,” Sanders said.

In his opening statement, O’Malley addressed the issue by saying the United States would only defeat ISIS “if we hold true to the values and the freedom that unites us, which means we must never surrender to them terrorists, must never surrender our Americans values to racists, must never surrender to the fas-cists pleas of billionaires with big mouths.”

Gun controlFollowing an ISIS-inspired

mass shooting in San Bernardino earlier this month, the former Secretary of State also said she

Clinton, Sanders, O’Malley take stage in…

points.Mackay Radio merged with

Globe Wireless and Press Wire-less to become what is now Globe Telecom, where Dumlao retired in the late 1980s.

Dumlao, a guerrilla officer in Ilocos Norte during World War II, died at the Harbor UCLA Med-ical Center. He is survived by his brother Tony, his wife, Ana Julian Miguel, 89, and five children, all professionals working in Canada, the US and the Philippines; and several grandchildren. ■

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Philippines received a unani-mous thumbs up for a second grant from the board of the Mil-lennium Challenge Corporation on December 16, in recogni-tion of the country’s efforts to improve its performance on the corporation’s scorecard.

The MCC measures countries’ commitment to just governance, ensuring economic freedom and

PH gets thumbs up for another Millennium Challenge grant

investing in their people. It is an independent American aid agen-cy created by the U.S. Congress in 2004.

The second compact follows the first compact, which is about to expire at the end of May 2016. Approved in 2010, the first com-pact, which provided the follow-ing:

$262 million for the Second-ary National Roads Development

Project to improve access to mar-kets and services for farmers, fishermen and small business-men;

$120 million for Kalahi-CIDSS that empowers communities by encouraging their participation in poverty reducing activities;

$54.3 million for the comput-erization and streamlining of business processes of the Bureau

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OPINION FEATURES

GIVEN the unsure situation the world is facing today, we are look-ing for some sort of a sign this Christmas—something that could calm our fears about what lies ahead. Times may be difficult, but Christmas and its spirit of love, faith and hope will always endure. It’s that time of the year—when war, conflict, political differences, disputes and ill wishes come to a grinding halt, replaced by warm tidings of love, hope, peace and generosity.

Christmas wish

For Pres. Benigno Aquino III, “this is the time for reunions. This is the time to bond with each other and also commune with God, and we are re-energized for all of the challenges in the coming years.” Aquino wishes Filipinos to have a peaceful, clam and optimistic Christmas celebration.

Meanwhile, Pres. Barack Obama and the first family arrived in Hawaii on Saturday, Dec. 19 to celebrate their annual Christmas vacation. But before heading to Hawaii, Obama and First Lady Michelle stopped by in Southern California to console the loved ones of the victims of the San Bernardino shooting, where a married couple opened fire on the husband’s co-workers at a workplace holiday party. At least 14 people were killed in the shooting.

“You had people from every background, every faith. Some described loved ones who had come to this country as immigrants, others who had lived in the area all their lives, all of them extraordinarily proud of the work they were doing to keep people healthy and safe” Obama shared. “As difficult as this time is for them and for the entire community,

they’re also representative of the strength and the unity and the love that exists in this community and in this country.”

With less than a year left in office, Obama vowed to focus on the US-led campaign to defeat IS. “Since taking this office, I’ve never been more optimistic about a year ahead than I am right now,” he said. “And in 2016, I’m going to leave it out all on the field.”

Earlier this month, Obama also listed down the top 10 things that happened in 2015.

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Not just for spreading holiday cheer—but also for list makers. You’ve got wish lists; Santa’s list; and of course, a blizzard of year-in-review lists. So I de-cided to get in on the action,” Obama said.

Among the country’s recent achievements in-cluded in the President’s list are the positive per-formance of the economy, more Americans getting health coverage, and the US-led campaign on cli-mate change and terrorism.

The President said that it’s been a good year and that he is confident of bigger things in the new year.

Editorial

“And the number one reason I’m optimistic go-ing into 2016: It’s you—the American people. All of this progress is because of you—because of workers rolling up their sleeves and getting the job done, and entrepreneurs starting new businesses. Because of teachers and health workers and par-ents—all of us taking care of each other. Because of our incredible men and women in uniform, serv-ing to protect us all. Because, when we’re united as Americans, there’s nothing that we cannot do,” Obama concluded.

So as we look for answers, and as we try to search for Christmas and its true meaning in these troubled times, we must be reminded that our fo-cus should not be on what we don’t have today. Christ was born in a manger, with hardly any pos-sessions. And yet His birth is a symbol of hope for all Christians.

Christmas is also about sharing more than mate-rial things. It is embracing its true meaning, and knowing that it should always be in our hearts. (AJPress)

THE Commission on Audit had been, even through martial law, one of the most pres-tigious agencies of our Republic, its reputation untainted by graft or partisanship.

With just a few months remaining for this inglorious Administration, the COA will be left as another institution dam-aged by President Benigno Aquino 3rd, who has turned it into a political weap-on.

Even in this rather late stage of the electoral game, this yellow regime is us-ing the COA for its political ends, as in a report mysteriously leaked the other day alleging unliquidated funds of the Office of the Vice President. The next day, of course, as if on cue, was another accusa-tion against Binay by former Makati vice mayor Renato Bondal – yes, the same accuser whose allegations have been proven false, yet hogged the headlines of the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s front pag-es for 44 nearly consecutive days. (See http://www.manilatimes.net/inquirer-vs-binay/155669/) It’s the familiar flurry of accusations for a vilification campaign.

I had been asked in the comments sec-tion of my column why I haven’t written much about the allegations against Bi-nay. My simple answer is: Why should I, when the Philippine Daily Inquirer,

which claims to have the biggest circula-tion (Manila Times is just no. 4 among the broadsheets) seemed to have found as its newest cause this year the demonization of the Vice President? Why should I help it in

its project, which could have been under-taken for not-so-noble reasons?

I am not only talking about its news sections. Columnist Solita Monsod, its most widely read columnist, must have written over 50 columns against Binay, with many of the occasional contribu-tors trying to show off, unsuccessfully, their polemical skills to vilify the candi-date. Fair play, I say, so I have presented the other side to the allegations, most of which, I think, had been indisputably de-bunked as pure lies. And these lies, the Ombudsman insists, should be investi-gated in the courts.

For example, both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR) records showed that the Batangas estate belonged to a Chi-nese-Filipino businessman, and not to Bi-nay. The Makati Building II’s costs were comparable in terms of price per square feet to Senate President Franklin Drilon’s Iloilo Convention Center, or to the Bang-ko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) branches

in three provinces, which all had the same contractor. Binay’s “crime” is his inarticulateness or his campaign staff’s inefficiency in debunking and burying the corruption allegations against him.

But back to the COA. It was astonish-ing that former chair Grace Pulido-Tan claimed, when she stepped down, at the pork-barrel investigations what her lega-cy was: the pork-barrel exposés. How on earth could she claim that, given the fact the probe had been ordered undertaken by her predecessor who was appointed by President Arroyo, and when most of those investigated under her adminis-tration, and charged, were opposition figures like senators Enrile, Estrada, and Revilla?

Pulido-Tan herself said two years ago that a special audit was also being under-taken to investigate the pork-barrel funds released during Aquino’s Administration, from 2010-2012.

The report had been completed and I myself viewed a TV report in 2013 by broadcast journalist, Anthony Taberna, about that investigation. A camera even panned a copy of the actual report.

Two years after it was completed, COA hasn’t released the report. And she has the gall to claim that she did her part in Aquino’s anti-corruption crusade?

Is it because the COA itself received P143.7 million in 2012 from President Aquino’s scandalous “Disbursement Acceleration Plan” (DAP), which the Su-

preme Court has ruled unconstitutional? Or was it because Pulido-Tan has been angling for a position in the Supreme Court when it announced a vacancy in 2012? (Aquino, instead, appointed Mar-vic Leonen, who is as inexperienced in legal practice as the Chief Justice is. Is Tan still hoping she will be the last Aqui-no appointee in April 2016, when Justice Martin Villarama retires?)

In the past, those appointed by Presi-dents as COA chair and members were people of unquestionable integrity, with-out the slightest taint of partisanship, such as Teofisto Guingona (chair 1986 to 1987), Eufemio Domingo (1987-1993), Celso Gangan (1994-2001), Guillermo Carague (2001-2008) and Reynaldo Vil-lar (2004-2008), who ordered the special pork-barrel audit. It had also been a tra-dition for the other two members of the commission to be appointed among the COA’s veteran auditors, especially for those who spent their entire professional career in the agency.

Contrast that to Aquino’s appointees to the COA:

• A nearly retired Heidi Mendoza – who had vowed to pin down Binay on corruption charges many years ago, jumping several pay levels – was ap-pointed as one of the three COA commis-sioners. It was Mendoza who provided Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, when she testified in Chief Justice Renato Corona’s impeachment trial, with grossly

false analysis that artificially bloated his bank accounts. For that monumental fab-rication that whipped up a mob against the Chief Justice, she, together with Car-pio-Morales, should have resigned their posts.

• Jose A. Fabia was appointed a COA member in 2014. Who is he? The Di-rector-General of the Philippine Infor-mation Agency since Aquino assumed office, up until 2012, when he reached the government’s retirement age. He re-placed a former Liberal Party Cadiz City mayor Rowena Guanzon, who served only a year, since she was given what Aquino thinks is a more important task, as Commission on Elections member. (I am hopeful, though, that Guanzon, at the end of the day, would live up to her lofty principles.)

• Aquino in March appointed Michael G. Aguinaldo as COA chair. Aguinaldo was the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs of the Office of the Presi-dent since Aquino assumed office, and reportedly his classmate in their Ateneo days.

Isn’t that, in his hubris, Aquino’s way of practically telling the country: “The COA, one of my favorite political weap-ons, has been attached to the Office of the President”?

It is a wasteland of damaged insti-tutions that Aquino will be leaving us with when he steps down in office a few months from now. (Manilatimes.net)

RIGOBERTO TIGLAO

Commentary

COA: Another institution Aquino damaged

House failure to pass Bangsamoro Basic LawDESPITE President Benigno

Aquino’s challenge for them to pass the measure before the holi-days, the House of Representa-tives adjourned for its Christmas break without passing the Basic Bangsamoro Law (BBL), now called the proposed Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BLBAR). The House will reconvene on Jan. 18, 2016, with a three week final session to Feb.5.

The blame falls on the Moro Is-lamic Liberation Front (MILF), not the government. The MILF was responsible for the Mamasapano massacre of 44 Philippine Na-tional Police-Special Agent Force (PNP-SAF) commanders. That in-cident was the turning point in the change of mind of majority of the lawmakers.

Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said the BBL is dead. He blamed the Aquino administra-tion for the delay in the submission of the draft bill which forwarded it to Congress in September 2014, instead of April that year.

Senate President Franklin Drilon has countered Marcos’s statement by expressing confidence the Sen-ate will still pass the stalled BBL by

ERNESTO M. MACEDA

Search ForTruth

January.MILF wants the Bangsamoro

measure passed under the cur-rent administration because the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro was forged under President Aquino’s watch.

The MILF warned that it will not lay down more arms if the BBL is not passed. Failure of the Con-gress to pass the BBL would freeze the agreement to decommission firearms of the MILF, MILF chief negotiator Mohagner Igbal said. However, Igbal remains hopeful that the House of Representatives will be able to pass the bill next year. Moreover, the MILF leader warned that the non-passage of the controversial measure may also prompt extremists to mount attacks.

One thing is clear, President

Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino Jr., who has repeatedly been calling on Congress to pass the contro-versial measure, did not push hard enough for the approval of the BBL.

Pulse Asia senatorial surveyPulse Asia survey released its

latest presidential survey as com-missioned by ABS-CBN.

Topping the list of winners is Senator Tito Sotto with 72.6 per-cent, followed by Sen. Panfilo Lac-son with 65.3 percent.

Third place was Sen. Ralph Recto with 62.9 percent, followed by Sen. Francis Pangilinan with 58 percent. In fifth place were Sena-tors Frank Drilon and Miguel Zu-biri with 57.5 percent.

Next came Senator Sergio Os-meña, 52.17 percent; Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao, 50.2 per-cent; Sen. Richard Gordon, 49.7 percent; Sen. T.G. Guingona, 44.8 percent; Secretary Leila De Lima, 37.9 percent; Rep. Rizza Honti-veros, 36.5 percent; Vice Mayor Isko Moreno was on 13th place with 30.4 percent. Former Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Francis Tolen-tino was 14th with 23.4 percent.

Actor Edu Manzano and Valenzu-ela Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian tied for 15th place with 22 percent.

The survey was taken from Nov. 8-15 with 1,200 respondents na-tionwide.

Comelec accepts Duterte’s COC

Voting 6-1, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc voted to accept Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s certificate of candidacy (COC) for president as a ministerial duty of the commis-sion. According to the Comelec, Duterte was able to comply with all the requirements stipulated in the Omnibus Election Code. Despite the ruling, Chairman Andres Bau-tista said the Comelec 1st Division will still hold a hearing on the dis-qualification case filed by broad-caster Ruben Castor. Duterte is still at risk of being removed from the 2016 presidential race.

Bautista said this acceptance of the COC is ministerial and without prejudice to the disqualification charges filed against Martin Diño – the candidate Duterte is replac-ing.

With this positive decision, Sen. Grace Poe remains hopeful that

the Comelec en banc applies con-sistency in rendering decision on the motion of reconsideration for her “honest mistake” in her 2013 COC.

Commissioner Rowena Guan-zon dissented saying it would have been procedurally preferred to first review the veracity of Duterte document before acceptance. She also noted the fact that there is still a pending case alleging Duterte’s COC being “void” because it con-tains untruthful acts or misrepre-sentations.

Senate President Franklin Dril-on urged the Comelec to postpone the printing of the ballots until after the Supreme Court (SC) has decided on the disqualification case of Sen. Grace Poe.

Duterte said, should he and Poe get disqualified, he will support the candidacy of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Binay’s energy platformVice President Jejomar “Jojo”

Binay speaking in Tupi, South Co-tabato unveiled his complete en-ergy platform to solve the power crisis in Mindanao.

Binay said his administration will move toward ensuring that all

Filipinos, particularly in Mindanao, will have access to cheap electric-ity and long-term energy supply and security.

Binay stressed the need for get-ting more investors in the power sector; and vowed to streamline the application process for the construction of power plants.

Outstanding government of-ficials

Commendations are extended to these government officials for their outstanding work perfor-mance.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Sec. Albert del Rosario; De-partment of Tourism (DOT) Sec. Ramon Jimenez; Department of Education (DepEd) Sec. Armin Luistro; Government Service In-surance Service (GSIS) president Robert Vergara; Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) chief Percida Acosta; Pag-IBIG president Darlene Ber-berabe; Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Lilia de Lima; Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Sec. Gregory Domingo; Department of Finance (DOF) Sec. Cesar Purisima; Am-bassador Marciano Paynor. (Phil-star.com)

does support Republican front-runner Donald Trump’s idea that arming more Americans will make citizens safer.

“Guns, in and of themselves, in my opinion will not make Americans safer. We lose 33,000 people a year already to gun vio-lence. Arming more people to do what I think is not the appropri-ate response to terrorism,” Clin-ton said.

Sanders cited that more than half of the population in Vermont – a state with virtually no gun control – owns guns, but said he believes there is a consensus on sensible gun safety regulations.

“Who denies that it is crazy to allow people to own guns who are criminals or are mentally un-stable? We’ve got to eliminate the gun show loophole. In my view, we have got to see that weapons designed by the military to kill people are not in the hands of ci-vilians,” he said.

O’Malley cited his own track record when responding to the issue, saying he was the only can-didate on Saturday’s stage that approved comprehensive gun safety legislation with a ban on combat assault weapons. How-ever, he said he would not con-fiscate semi-automatic rifles that an estimated seven to 10 million Americans currently own.

Government programs and the middle class

Contrasts emerged between Sanders and Clinton when it came to addressing domestic is-sues. Clinton vowed she would not raise taxes on the middle class, specifically those making less than $250,000 annually.

“That is off the table as far as I’m concerned,” Clinton said. “That is a pledge that I am mak-ing.”

She said the cost of paid leave could be covered by increasing taxes on the wealthy.

However, Sanders said Clin-ton’s plan would exempt every-one but 2 to 3 percent of Ameri-can families, and it would rule out the possibility of any new programs similar to Social Se-curity, which are funded by na-tional taxes.

“She is disagreeing with FDR on Social Security, LBJ on Medi-care, and with the vast majority of progressive Democrats in the House and the Senate, who are fighting to end the disgrace of the United States being the only ma-jor country on Earth that doesn’t provide paid family and medical leave,” Sanders said.

The senator discussed his own proposal for paid leave, which he said would cost the average household just $1.61 per week.

“Now, you can say that’s a tax on the middle class. It will pro-vide three months paid family and medical leave for the work-ing families of this country. I think, Secretary Clinton, $1.61 a week is a pretty good invest-ment,” he said.

Donald TrumpSanders and Clinton also

agreed they dislike Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

Sanders said Trump’s popular-ity reflects Americans’ fears of another terrorist attack and put it in the context of stagnant wages, increasing inequality and wide-spread disaffection with the po-litical process, according to The New Yorker.

“Somebody like a Trump comes along and says, ‘I know the answers. The answer is that all of the Mexicans, they’re criminals and rapists. We’ve got to hate the Mexicans. Those are your enemies. We hate all the Muslims, because all of the Mus-lims are terrorists. We’ve got to hate the Muslims.’ Meanwhile, the rich get richer,” he said.

Clinton called Trump, who suggested a controversial ban on all Muslims entering the United States, a powerful tool for the Is-lamic State.

“He is becoming ISIS’ best re-cruiter. They are going to people showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical ji-hadists.”

Steve Elmendorf, a veteran of Democratic presidential and congressional campaigns, said focusing on Trump was a good strategy for the democratic can-didates.

“He provides a useful foil to re-mind Democrats what the stakes of the election are,” Elmendorf, who is supporting Clinton, told The Wall Street Journal.

Even if Trump doesn’t win the nomination, Elmendorf told the Journal that “it’s in the Demo-crats’ interest to make the Re-publican Party own him.

Winners and losersVarious publications had dif-

ferent takes on who won Satur-day’s debate.

The New Yorker magazine said there were no winners; Washing-ton Post political reporter Chris Cillizza said Clinton won, while Sanders and O’Malley lost; in an opinion piece, Fox News contrib-utor Douglas Schoen wrote that

Clinton won, executing a “mas-terful strategy,” while O’Malley lost.

“The former secretary of state was the only one on stage Sat-urday night who looked like she could step into the presidency tomorrow,” Cillizza wrote, cit-ing that her knowledge was evi-dently significantly greater than her opponents, and that she of-ten focused on the differences between Democratic candidates and Trump rather than disagree-ments between members of her party.

Cillizza pointed out that O’Malley attempted to portray Sanders and Clinton as old Wash-ington politicians and highlight that he was the youngest candi-date. However, Cillizza said this made him appear too scripted and forced.

Schoen wrote Clinton was “the most balanced candidate on how she’d manage the economy.”

He also wrote that Sanders was “completely sincere and passion-ate, showcasing his major selling points.”

While O’Malley has experi-ence, Schoen said he is not ap-pealing to voters.

“[O’Malley did] his best, but flopped on a number of issues. He took swipes at both Clinton and Sanders that won’t resonate with viewers and voters,” he wrote.

Separate from the issues dis-cussed, Cillizza said there was no justification for hosting the final debate less than a week before Christmas.

“Unless the goal is to en-sure that said debate is lightly-watched and, therefore, any mis-takes made by the presumptive frontrunner are lessened,” he wrote on “The Fix,” a political blog for the Post.

Republican National Commit-tee Chairman Reince Priebus ex-pressed a similar view.

“It’s clear the Democrat es-tablishment worked hard to bury their debate on a Saturday night just days before Christmas, when few would be watching, in order to prevent the American people from seeing Hillary Clinton’s re-cord of dishonesty and her role as the architect of the Obama ad-ministration’s failed strategy for confronting radical Islamic ter-rorism,” Priebus said in a state-ment.

The final debate came less than two months before the Iowa caucuses and the New Hamp-shire primary. (Agnes Constante / AJPress)

Clinton, Sanders, O’Malley take stage in…t

of Internal Revenue to bolster tax collection and reduce corruption under the Revenue Administra-tion Reform Project.

Ambassador Jose Luis Cuisia called the second compact a rec-ognition of President Aquino’s “firm and continuing commit-ment to good governance.”

Cuisia said that in the latest MCC scorecard the Philippines passed 12 out of 20 indicators, including Trade Policy, Land

Rights Access, Rule of Law and the “must-pass” indicators of Control of Corruption and Demo-cratic Rights, both of which are considered “hard hurdles.”

“I expect that the reforms and good governance that the Philip-pines has embraced under Presi-dent Aquino will be sustainable even after June 30, 2016 because these have been institutional-ized and the Filipino people will continue to be vigilant,” Cuisia added, also noting that the Phil-

ippine Core Team is developing concept notes on possible invest-ment areas that will be proposed to the MCC.

It is expected that the MCC investments for the second com-pact will likely be in projects ad-dressing the constraints that have so far been identified, namely, government coordination and implementation capacity, high costs of transport logistics, cost of electricity and land and mar-ket failures. (Inquirer.net)

PH gets thumbs up for another…t

DATELINE PHILIPPINES

MANILA—Department of Tourism (DOT) officials on Mon-day, Dec. 21 dawn surprised the 5 millionth person to visit the Philippines this year.

Tourism Assistant Secretary Alan Canizal and Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. warmly wel-comed and greeted the lucky Fil-ipino-American female tourist at the Ninoy Aquino International Terminal 2.

The lucky visitor, 23-year old New York-based Gabby Grantham, received a bouquet of flowers from the DOT officials which caught her by surprise.

Canizal said that Grantham will also be receiving a package tour

DOT surprises PH’s 5 millionth visitor by ROSETTE ADEL

Philstar.com

with hotel accommodation as a prize for being the 5 millionth visitor in the Philippines.

“I thought I was in trouble,” Grantham said.

It was Grantham’s second time to visit the country while the last time was when she was still sev-en years old.

Grantham, born to a Filipino mother and American father, flew via Philippine Airlines flight PR103 and landed in Manila at 3:48 a.m. She planned to visit her grandparents in Cebu and explore Palawan in her two-week stay in the country.

Meanwhile, Canizal said the next to be welcomed and re-warded will be the 6 or 7 mil-lionth foreign tourist.

Bengzon described welcoming

the 5 millionth visitor as a very significant event.

“This milestone is a result of the collaborative and sustained efforts of all partners in tourism industry,” Bengzon said.

He said that motivation to push harder is better than the head-count.

“The fact that we have crossed the 5 million mark is that we are already in the big league,” Beng-zon said.

“This will allow us to compete more strongly against other des-tinations in the region. After the 5 millionth mark the next will be 5 millionth,” he added.

DOT eyes to have 5.2 million tourist arrivals before 2015 ends and aims to double the visitors by 10 million next year. ■

peopleevents

artsculture

entertainmentDECEMBER 25-31, 2015

An Asian Journal Magazine

As William Shakespeare put it, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely play-ers…and one man in his time plays many parts.”

For Filipina actress Deedee Lynn Magno Hall, life has many di�erent stages, and on each she has had many roles -- from a peasant bargirl, to a Wicked Witch, an Arabian princess, and an alien crystal gem.

But her most favorite role to play is herself.

“This is what I love to do,” she told the Asian Journal. “I am so blessed and grateful to be able to perform and act for a living, for my whole life, and to also provide for my family. To be able to do what I love and say that’s my job? It’s wonderful.”

For Deedee, performing has been a series of blessings in disguise: her �rst audition, her �rst lead role, �nding love and begin-ning a family. It didn’t happen all at once; rather, like a musical, her life has had many acts. At 40, with two kids and an exciting role in a new touring musical, Deedee’s show has just begun.

Act I: Growing up, Mickey Mouse Club, & The Party

Deedee was raised in sunny San Diego, California, where her Navy family relocated from Portsmouth, Virginia. Her dad is from Baguio, while her mom grew up in Manila.

“I really wish my parents had taught me �uent Tagalog. They didn’t want us to grow up with an accent or have di�culties in school,” she recounted about her upbring-ing. “But aside from language, we were so immersed in Filipino cul-

ture—we always ate the food and had movies, music playing in our house. I always gravitated toward Sharon Cuneta, of course.”

She grew up listening to Original Pilipino Music (OPM) and a variety of Filipino singers, including Cuneta, Kuh Ledesma, Regine Velas-quez, Vilma Santos, Lea Salonga, and Gary Valenciano.

“They’re some of my biggest vocal in�uences,” she said. “Filipinos are amazing singers.”

Encouraged by her parents and three siblings, she often performed at school talent shows, local compe-titions and pageants. As a child, she was a sensation at family “pancit parties,” where the house karaoke machine was a must.

She remembers her �rst large stage performance—a humble singing gig at a new park attraction at SeaWorld. “I was hooked,” she said. “Afterwards, I always knew I wanted to perform.”

After quickly gaining local fame and performing a few gigs, Deedee and her family knew this would be her full-time commitment. When she was 12, she traveled across the country to Orlando, Florida to audi-tion for the revival of an audience-favorite variety TV show, The Mickey Mouse Club.

“We sang and danced, per-formed comedy skits and music videos, interviewed outstanding kids and celerity guests,” Deedee recalled of her �rst professional act-ing job. “It was like ‘Saturday Night Live’ but for kids. It was fantastic, because at such a young age I got to learn many di�erent aspects of the entertainment business: being in front of the camera, knowing my Continued on Page 6

DEEDEE MAGNO HALL On a passionate career, family & favorite roles

If life is one big stage production, then everyone plays a role: mothers and fathers, daughters, sons, siblings, students, workers,

even humanitarians and CEOs.

blocking, live audience participa-tion, choreography and lighting, etc.”

“It was like an acting school. [The Mickey Mouse Club] provided great training for what was to come in my future,” she remarked. “And of course, �lming on a set so close to Disney World, we snuck out some-times for a few rides and ice cream bars between lessons.”

From 1989 until 1991, Deedee was a TV Mouseketeer until Hol-lywood Records noticed her distinct voice and all-around talent. She was recruited to a new teen pop group, “The Party,” where she recorded and traveled worldwide for a few years. The Party’s initial success landed it opening-act spots on major tours, with artists such as Hi-Five, Taylor Dayne and Vanilla Ice.

“It was so exciting, especially at such a young age, to be traveling and performing everywhere. And all with the amazing support of my family, who has worked hard and sacri�ced so much for me,” she added, tearing up. “I really owe it all to them. It could not have been a more perfect beginning of a career.”

Act II: Miss Saigon and Princess Jasmine

At 19 years old, Deedee found herself in Los Angeles auditioning among hundreds of girls for a new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, “Sunset Boulevard.”

“My �rst thought was, I don’t

look anything like these tall, blonde, long-legged women. But my manager told me to stick it out. And it ended up being the greatest blessing,” Deedee shared. “The cast-ing managers called me back not too long after my audition, only it wasn’t for ‘Sunset Boulevard’—but for the Toronto company cast of ‘Miss Saigon.’”

At the time, due to an impor-tant family trip to the Philippines, Deedee ended up not taking the part. But her initial “no” ended up a huge blessing in disguise.

Not long after her return, Deedee was o�ered the starring lead role of Kim in the 2nd US national tour of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s musical drama, “Miss Saigon.”

“Of course, I freaked out,” she re-membered. “I had seen the show in London with my mom a few years before, and I fell in love with the role. I told my mom, I want to play that part. I wanted to play Kim.”

From 1995 and several years afterward, Deedee toured the country in her �rst major theatrical role. She also played Kim for a time on the Broadway cast, following veteran Lea Salonga’s departure in New York City.

“Lea is lovely,” Deedee gushed when asked about working with Sa-longa, at the “Suites by Sondheim” show sponsored by the Philippine Development Foundation in 2011.

“We never quite worked together in Broadway, most likely because we’re often auditioning for the same roles. But she has always been one of my musical idols.”

Deedee also shared of her deep connection with the show, and how it has opened many doors for her professional and personal life.

“In retrospect, if I were given the opportunity to play a role again, it would be Kim. I think now after hav-ing my own children, I would have a deeper connection to the role. Singing the words, ‘I’d Give My Life For You’ would mean so much more, and I’m sure it would be extremely di�cult to get through night after night without a good cry.”

Expanding her colorful acting resume, Deedee has had several roles in major �lms and produc-tions, including “Sister Act 2”, the Tony award-winning “Wicked” (as Nessa Rose), and a brief run in the contemporary musical “If/Then” (as ensemble part/understudy). In 2003, she also played the original Princess

Jasmine in Disney’s “Aladdin: A Musi-cal Spectacular” showing at Disney’s California Adventure.

“Alan Menken wrote a new song for the show, and it was amaz-ing to be featured on the original soundtrack,” Deedee shared. “And in ‘Wicked,’ at the time, I was the �rst Filipina to play Nessa Rose, which was special because they hired someone who didn’t look Caucasian. And someone said, ‘It makes sense; you are the Wicked Witch of the East!’ ”

Her most recent, favorite role was playing Mrs. Walker in the Los Angeles-based East West Players’ rock musical production of The Who’s “Tommy.” She also got to play the part alongside her husband, Cli�ton Hall.

“I’ve been a fan of EWP for years. I think more and more because of things like East West Players, and theater companies that promote heritage and encourage diversity onstage, it is slowly getting to a

by ALLYSON ESCOBAR/AJPress

REVISED_AARP_15_Lacuesta Testimonial_HP_FIL_AJ_final.indd 1 10/23/15 11:17 AM

An Asian Journal Magazine

By AGNES CONSTANTE AJPRESS

ATTY. MICHAEL

GURFINKEL, ESQ

ImmigrationCorner

AN important part of Christmas is buying gifts for loved ones. Filipinos are busy �lling their balikbayan boxes with pasalubong, to send to their families “back home.” The pasalubong may consist of clothes, food items, electronics, or other useful items, given as a way of “sharing one’s blessings.”

However, many Filipinos forget about what could be the most important “gift” for their family members: legalizing their status, or �nding a way for their family members to immigrate to the US and be reunited, under the same roof, not only during Christmas, but all year round. I know that some people have been separated from their family members for many years, because they have not done anything about their immigration situation. Yet if you ask the family

A wonderful Christmas gift for your familymembers back home, they probably believe that nothing that could be bought in any store would mean as much as the family being together.

Other people have their children with them in the US, and their children could be eligible for work authorization, driver’s license, SS #, etc. under DACA. What a wonderful present for a child!

If you have not yet done anything about your immigration situation, and are spending yet another lonely Christmas in the US, maybe now is the right time to switch your spending priorities—from the usual balikbayan box items to the real gift a family wants—being together in the US. Or at least make a New Year’s resolution to �nally take steps to either legalize your status and/or bring your family to America.

On behalf of myself and my law

o�ce, Maligayang Pasko sa inyong lahat!

***

Continued on Page 5

MONETTE

ADEVA MAGLAYA

ImmigrantLiving: 101 and Beyond

Christ is still the reason for the season

“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.”

-Roy L. SmithLest we forget, Christ is the reason for the season. The generosity personi�ed by the iconic Santa Claus �gure comes from the love of God who sent His only begotten Son as a gift to the world. We need to refocus with laser sharp accuracy on what is truly important about the season.

So say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays if you agree. Those who wish to stay politically correct will say Happy Holidays or Season’s Greetings. Businesses who cater to all denominations and do not wish to “o�end” will stay the course of political correctness. It’s a matter of survival these days given the cultural climate.

But take heart, it seems the pendulum is swinging. Soon the scourge of political correctness in our time and all its dark assaults on morality, truth and goodness will go the way of the dodo.

The weather is highly unusual in most parts of the world this year but if you tune in to sky watchers’ websites and yahoo news segments devoted to science, the heavens are putting out spectacular light shows seen during midnight and the early

morning hours. If you live in Los Angeles, go

check out the schedule at the Gri�th Park Observatory. Tune out of the internet. We live too much in our heads gawking, gaping tethered to our phones. We become virtual slaves to our ipads and our computers — our eyesight becoming progressively weak, our derrieres getting bigger, our muscles getting �abbier and sadly, our lives becoming predictably boring. We fail to see the big picture.

We need to stop living virtual lives. We need to CHOOSE TO REALLY LIVE with all our senses and marvel at the heavens. If you live in areas with very little light pollution or you can �nd a group of friends who love to watch the night sky with their telescopes on higher ground, bundled up like Eskimos for the frigid hours of the night and early morning hours with their thermos full of hot cocoa, you can really feel the velvet grandeur of the night skies around this time of the year.

At no other time during the year

is the line, “Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.” more appropriate to ponder than at Christmas time when all the splendors of the world around us, if we look carefully and listen well, take on special meaning.

Christmas is a time for remembrance of things past, mostly the good ones. We ought to edit out and leave the unwanted footage of those memories that are best left forgotten on the cutting room �oor.

Above all, it is a time to say “THANK YOU”, a time to draw lessons from the year just past in order to use a new and fresh supply of God’s gift called TIME, given in equal measure to all men, rich or poor, from one glorious day to the next.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! ***

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

ABOUT one-�fth of ovarian cancer deaths could be prevented if women were given yearly blood tests that screened for the condition, a new study has found.

The �ndings, published in The Lancet, a medical journal in the United Kingdom, are based on a 14-year-study of 200,000 post-menopausal women in Britain between the ages of 50 to 75.

Each woman was randomly assigned to three di�erent groups: 50,000 were given transvaginal ultrasound tests; another 50,000 were screened by a new test to measure changing levels of a blood protein, CA125, which has been linked to ovarian cancer; and a control group of 100,000 was not screened.

The women did not have what researchers considered “a strong family history” of ovarian cancer.

A total of 1,282 were diagnosed with the cancer, and by the end of the study, 649 had died. More women from the control

Study: Screening for ovarian cancer could reduce related deaths

group died than those who were screened every year.

The trial, led by University College London, was the world’s largest screening test for ovarian cancer and was designed to compare the outcomes of regular blood tests versus alternate screening methods or no screening at all, The Guardian reported.

Dr. Usha Menon, a co-author of the article in The Lance and head of the gynecological cancer center at University College London said follow-up is needed to con�rm that the �ndings are signi�cant throughout.

“This is almost there, but not yet,” she said.

Another �nding from the study was that two out of every three women that underwent surgery to check for the cancer, which was based on their blood test results, did not have any condition. Such an outcome results in unnecessary worry for women. Additionally, 3 percent of women who had surgery wound up with major complications.

Menon said the apparent

bene�ts of screening may have been due to chance, according to The New York Times, adding that monitoring the participants for a few more years will clear up the issue.

Dr. Clare Mckenzie, consultant gynecological oncologist and vice president for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the UK, agreed, according to The Telegraph.

“Women who are worried about ovarian cancer should talk to their doctor who can explain the risk of cancer and available tests,” she said.

With a poor prognosis for ovarian cancer, the results of the trial, the biggest of its kind, have been long-awaited. Scientists have been seeking a method for decades that would detect the disease in time to save lives, according to The New York Times. In the early stages of the cancer, there are no symptoms and it can progress quickly. As a result, most cases of the condition are advanced by the time women are

Chair and CEO of TLC Beatrice, LLCPhilanthropist

Loida has enjoyed a long career as a successful businesswoman, and she remains just as active today. Bilang miyembro ng halos 20 na taon, she keeps current with AARP publications on health, diet, exercise at iba pang activities that help her enjoy life and live it to the fullest. Not surprisingly, her boundless energy and generous contributions para sa Filipino community have made her a role model for many. Para kay Loida, walang hanggan ang mga posibilidad and the best is yet to come. AARP offers members a wealth of resources na siguradong makapagbibigay ng saya, sigla at importanteng impormasyon para rin sa inyo.

AARP_15_Lewis_Testimonial_HP_FIL_AJ.indd 1 10/9/15 12:08 PM

An Asian Journal Magazine

Sylvia Labial Avanceña Buhian: Her life beyond being a cancer survivor

BOBBY T. YALONG

On thePEP FrontPeople, Events, Places

CANCER, according to the American Cancer Society, is the second most common cause of death in the US and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths in 2012 based from the World Health Organization estimated data.

The astounding �gures alone are more than enough to set one’s mode in to a panic attack but such is overwhelmingly the e�ect of environmental factors a�ecting human conditions.

The word “cancer” is as old as history with its etymology dating back since 400B.C. when Hippocrates, (the Greek scientist regarded as the Father of Medicine) was said to have named masses of abnormal cells “karkinos” (which means crab in Greek) because the swollen veins around them resemble the limbs of a crab.

The complicatedly atrocious syndrome inexorably attacked hard-working and indefatigable community leader Sylvia Labial Avanceña Buhian on October 24, 2009 when she was 58. She felt the initial symptom while occupied with the annual Tapok (Visayan for

‘to converge’) International social fundraising but bearably ignored the pain. She went about the routine and fully delivered what was expected of her as the event’s organizer.

Two days later, the pain grew insu�erable as she was threatened unrelentingly only to �nd out the harsh reality --- that she was su�ering from uterine cancer.

“I felt numbness all over me upon learning about it,” she inaudibly muttered with misty soulful eyes. “It was such deafening to hear… but I had to be strong. I didn’t blame God for I knew I was just one among those that su�er from cancer… and with His ultimate power and grace, I would be healed!”

The grueling agony of the dreadful disease and the morbid thought of possibly losing her life once crushed in the battle have constantly blighted her daily routine that used to be well-planned and full of enthusiasm. Accepting reality was almost a bitter pill to swallow, “…but such is life!”

Then suddenly her life was shattered… her dreams were doomed… while her hopes grew thin and jilted. There was no other recourse for her but to solely depend on her Creator and embrace her faith even more fervently. Every morning was a blessing… a gifted opportunity to face another challenge.

“I felt like being pushed into some unfathomable couloirs or some kind of abysmal depth that could have left me for dead,” the �erce, well-heeled Sylvia intensely recounted her perturbing encounter during the early stage of treatment. “The tedious 6 cycles of chemotherapy and 28 times of radiation procedures were actually burdensome as they were excruciating and torturing… I had no option but to undergo such unbearable measures because I really wanted to prolong my life.”

She tried to remain tough about the whole situation. There was �rmness in her determination to face the trial straightforwardly while insistently struggling to maintain

her sanity. She was positive that things would be okay. Despite the fact that she was dwelling in such tormenting predicament there never was a single moment when she would regret having existed or blame anybody… instead her ponderous anguish made her even physically powerful and hopeful that a second lease of life would be possible.

“I regularly saw my doctor for check-ups and up-dated cancer-free development analysis. I tried to manage my emotions. I was concerned not only about my physical condition but also about my mental healing. Through family and friends’ support I was able to take control of my fears, grief, and lonesomeness that inevitably interfered with my life while recovering from cancer treatment,” she said.

And true enough, after 4 years her conscientious therapy, excessive misery and undiminished faith in God, she was pronounced cancer-free in 2013… but with internal complications that were medically addressed.

For others, a cancer survivor would be someone who is su�ering from the dreaded disease and still trying to cope up with the situation. And still others de�ne survivorship as crossing the �nish line to remission or a cure. For Sylvia: “Cancer isn’t only about that alarming disease but also about the harrowing experiences we encounter everyday that left us stressful, tensed, and sleepless. Successfully overcoming all these makes one a survivor… because these are the negative elements that trigger the rapid production of cancer cells.”

“I’m relating my story not for anything else…neither to catch the attention of the public nor gain sympathy but to inspire others who are a�ected by cancer and undergoing the same trial and agony that I went through,” the strong-willed lady uttered with full conviction.

Incidentally, having had

regained health and with her life back to normalcy, the former secretary of the Minister of DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, is visibly full of zip again and back in circulation… attending to what she loves doing best --- organizing and planning fundraising events.

A Commerce graduate from the Liceo de Cagayan, in 1968, she responded early to the call of wedded life when she was barely 16 and he was 25. She was not even a full woman when she started a family but her innately compassionate nature made it undemanding for her to tackle the role of motherhood while being a perfect partner to her spouse.

Sylvia was admirably credited for being the founder of the Oro Women Society, Inc. (OWSI), a civic-oriented organization of humanitarian women from Cagayan De Oro, where she also sits as its President and Chair of the Board.

It will be recalled that OWSI was instrumental in bringing over to the US the Singing Priests from di�erent western archdioceses: Cagayan De Oro, Bukidnon, Bohol, and Cebu; the 2007 grand prayer rally for Typhoon Sendong with a huge latitudinarian and ecumenical attendance; had sent units of computers for community use; annually hosting children’s Christmas Feeding Program in Cagayan de Oro; sponsoring medical and dental pack for distribution among under privileged children; and providing livelihood program for the urban poor.

“Actually, most of the people we are helping are living inside the cemetery compound with menial jobs as either maintaining niches or caretakers. We thought of providing them a good source of income by teaching them how to manufacture hollow blocks and supplied them with bags of cement courtesy of generous NGOs. They earned reasonable amount from burial and niche construction service s until they were able to establish a

cooperative store to sustain their livelihood,” Sylvia extensively related with digni�ed pride.

A divorcee from a 20-year connubial relationship with 3 grown-up children, Sylvia found a more meaningful and rewarding life after being freed from a tormenting matrimonial bondage. She migrated to the US and turned herself into an HHA (Home Health Aide), a trained and certi�ed health care worker providing assistance to patients at home.

For the last 17 years, Sylvia had stanchly adhered to her profession. Each day was always a special one since she would be out again doing things to make other’s life free from stress and strenuous physical activities.

Her daily grind became even more exciting upon meeting a colleague, Gil Buhian, a former Certi�ed Public Accountant (CPA) from Davao. In 2004, Sylvia’s world turned kaleidoscopic again and life became worth living once more when she changed her status, got married and established a home for two in Queens, New York.

“A second wind is indeed achievable. There’s another heaven after losing one,” she quipped.

But Sylvia’s untiring mind never ceases to create huge ideas and ambitiously grandiose projects that bene�t the community. “I don’t know why but I always feel contented whenever I could create a worthwhile event that bene�ts the majority.” She clari�es. “There’s this very rewarding satisfaction in me every time I was

able to help even to the point when nothing more was left for me.”

For this coming 2016, this empathetic lady has already a list of what she has planned.

“I’m planning to invite all existing Filipino-American organizations in the tri-state area to participate in a regional dance contest. This may sound ambitious but there never was somebody who has done it so why not me?” Sylvia proudly divulged what’s in her priority list. “I was also thinking of having at least one fashion model from every organization to showcase the best creative design out of a region’s native woven fabric or whatever indigenous material distinctly signi�cant in the area. In that way we can bring together all Fil-Am communities while promoting our regional culture.”

“Unite with Peace and Grace. That’s what I want to aptly dub the project. Isn’t that great?” She conceitedly expressed. “2016 will undoubtedly be a good year for Oro Women Society, Inc….with God’s grace.” And she punctuated it with a candid smile.

Indubitably, there’s still an e�ervescent life after tempestuous trials. Life doesn’t end after failures and remember, there appears clear open skies after every storm… and these have been Sylvia Labial Avanceña Buhian’s guiding principle in life. No wonder, life has been good to her!

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

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We invite you be a part of our annual celebration of an old-time Filipino Christmas tradi-tion, Simbang Gabi, a project of the Filipino Catholics of Saint Paul the Apostle Ministry. Simbang Gabi (meaning “Night Mass”) will occur each morning for 9 straight days, starting December 16 to 25, with Mass starting at 5:30am. Everyone is welcome to celebrate the joyful upcoming birth of Jesus Christ! Light breakfast will be provided after each mass at the Maher Hall of St. Paul the Apostle Church (14085 Peyton Dr, Chino Hills, CA 91709). We are currently in need of volunteers to help serve breakfast or assist us in serving at the Mass as ushers or Eucharistic ministers. We gladly accept and encourage individual or group volun-teers. Please spread the news and invite your friends to this joyous community gathering. If you are interested in helping please call any of the following; Tara Villavicencio - (909) 210-4891, Emily Jiao - (909) 248-8791, or Rick Jiao (909) 248-8790.

The Filipino-American & ethnic parishioners of the Church of the Good Shepherd of Beverly Hills will celebrate “Simbang Gabi 2015” on Tuesday, December 22, at 7:00 pm. Everyone is invited to come and celebrate the special Advent Mass in the parish, in conso-nance with the observance of the tradition by the Filipino Ministry of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The theme of this year’s Simbang Gabi is “Jesus our Savior, empower our families to be better stewards of your creation” –translated in Pilipino as “Jesus aming Tagapaglig-tas, bigyan mo ng kapangyarihan ang aming Pamilya na maging mas mahusay na tagapanga-laga ng iyong nilikha.” Most Reverend Bishop Oscar A. Solis, the first Filipino Bishop in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and currently the Head of the San Pedro Pastoral Region, will be the main celebrant, with other priests including Fr. Ed Benioff to concelebrate with the Bishop. Special guests include the Philippine Consul General of Los Angeles, Leo Herrera-Lim, and his wife, with music from the Philippine Chamber Singers of Los Angeles. A catered and potluck reception follows after the Mass at the Church Hall.

The Class of 1965 of the Pampanga High School will hold “TULA ampong SAYA,” its 50th Anniversary Reunion, this coming December 29-30, in San Fernando Pampanga, Philippines. All 1965 graduates of the Pampanga High School (PHS), formerly the Jose Abad Santos High School (JASHS), and their spouses are welcome to all scheduled events. Admission is free. The celebration will begin with BISPERAS on December 29 from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, enjoying fun games, old music, and togetherness at the DIASPORA FARM RESORT in Santa Barbara, Bacolor, Pampanga. On December 30, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, join us for KAPI-YESTAN, a provincial fiesta luncheon featuring familiar Kapampangan dishes, at the Mulang Galang orchard in San Antonio, Mexico, Pampanga. The evening of Dec. 30 will conclude with TERAKAN, a gala dinner-dance from 6:30 pm to 12 midnight, at the Fortune Hongkong Seafood Restaurant in the San Fernando, Pampanga. Enjoy a fun evening of dancing to the retro music of Decadas and the mellow songs of folksinger Jerry. Class ‘65ers, please join us in celebrating our 50th Golden Anniversary! Full details on preparations, events and venues can be found on “TULA ampong SAYA,” on Facebook. For donations, interest in the 50th Anniversary Reunion souvenir memory book, highlighting the successes of individual Class ‘65ers and the accomplishments of the PHS Class ’65 Foundation, Inc., please contact the ju-bilee reunion organizing committee in the Philippines: Joseph Deang (0927-228-8588); Erlie Aquino Estandarte (0929-219-0248); Corazon Cunanan (0939-118-2888; 0926-660-35540); Cecille Morales Bernas (0932-509-2646); and Marcial Morales (0918-915-9095); and Dan Galang 0929-427-9308; 045-966-0764). In the US and Canada, please contact Dan Galang at (510) 487-5551 or at (510) 648-1047.

All are cordially invited to the Feast of Santo Niño de Cebu on Saturday, January 9, 2016, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at St. Bernard Catholic Church in Bellflower, California, organized and sponsored by the Santo Niño de Cebu Association of Southern California, Inc., a non-profit religious organization. The Eucharistic Celebration will be presided by the Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, His Excellency Bishop Oscar A. Solis at 10:00 am followed by the traditional procession of the image of Santo Niño de Cebu, fiesta lunch and Sinulog presentations. Food and financial donations are welcome, and all donations are tax deduct-ible. For further information, you may contact the association President, Danny C. Diluvio at (323) 252-4991 or email at: dannydiluvio1@gmail.com.

Santo Niño Cruzada USA, with the participation of the Cathedral Knights of Columbus and a Sinulog group, is inviting everyone for a holy mass to celebrate the 29th anniversary of the Feast of Santo Niño, the Divine Infant Jesus, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles (555 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90012) on Sunday, January 17, at 3:30pm. The main celebrant is Monsignor Kevin Kostelnik, with Father David Gallardo as concelebrant. For more information, please contact any of the following officers: Romy & Tess Esturas (213-387-9682), Rey & Tess Edpao (818-469-7292), Lilia Figuracion (626-394-2661, Carmen Estrada (213-413-2881), Fe Montana (323-218-1587), Ester Paredes (213-864-1149), Fe Reyes (213-413-5286), Laurie Dolorfino (213-407-0097), and Cherry Guerrero (213-632-2096).

Fr. Jose Joseph Parathanal of Holy Trinity Parish, San Pedro District, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, invites all to join Fr. Joseph Parathanal’s Pilgrimages to EASTERN EUROPE, OL-GUADALUPE/Colonial Mexico, and INDIA. During the journey, pilgrims will pray to God for healing of body, mind and spirit especially for healing of the world from violence, terrorism and climate changes. Trip dates are: Divine Mercy/Infant Jesus of Prague/Austria/Hungary/Medjugorje (Eastern Europe) April 17- April 30; OLGuadalupe and Colonial Mexico - June 20 - June 27; and Mother Teresa/St. Thomas/St. Alphonsa/St. Euprasia/St. Chavarra (India) - Sept. 15 - Sept. 29, 2016. For more details and pilgrimage information, please contact Bernadette at bcorp1114@hotmail.com or call 323-344-1548 & 323-547-6618.

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

For more information, please contact any of the following: Loi Herrera at 562-544-8210 or loiherrera@yahoo.com; Monette Santillan-Rivera at 818-970-8317 or Monette_santillan@yahoo.com; Rose Mejia at 323-997-3838 or Rosemariemejia@kw.com; Marissa Sugay-Palanca at 818-281-7460 ormarispalanca@yahoo.com; Rose Maghari at 661-794-8906 or rmaghari@gmail.com; Sally Mendoza at 323-695-0235 or sally.mendoza616@yahoo.com; Honeylette De Leon at 562-480-5743 or honey@worldclassfreight.com; Virginia Herbito at virginiaherbito@gmail.com; Connie Acosta at 323-854-5303 or connieacosta1@att.net; Violeta D. Cristobal at 310-880-5808 or vee@cristobalcpa.com; Jun Mapoy at 323-627-5326 or jcmapoy@yahoo.com.

From Page 3

diagnosed with it: Less than half of ovarian cancer patients remain alive within �ve years of their diagnosis.

This year in the United States, more than 21,000 new cases and more than 114,000 deaths from ovarian cancer are expected, according to the American Cancer Society.

Experts not associated with the recent study agreed the study was not ready for routine use and expressed varying optimism about it, the Times reported.

“It is good news because ovarian cancer is a serious problem,” said Robert Smith, vice president for cancer screening

Study: Screening for ovarian...at the American Cancer Society, according to The New York Times. “The incidence is not high, but it has a high mortality rate and we’ve not been able to o�er women much with respect to early detection. This has the potential to change that.”

Dr. Fiona Reddington, head of population research at Cancer Research UK, said the trial has signi�cantly contributed in understanding ovarian cancer.

“Detecting it early is vital to make sure that patients have the best treatment options and that more women can survive the disease,” she said, adding that the organization would not suggest such screenings on a national

level.“While this is an important

step in ovarian cancer research, we would not recommend a national screening program at this point.”

Dr. Saundra Buys, a professor of medicine and medical director of the high-risk breast cancer clinic at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute, told the Times that the amount of screening is “a lot” for the amount of resulting bene�t. Still, she said the study was “an amazing accomplishment,” but noted that the issue with screening for ovarian cancer is the disease is di�cult to screen due to its lack of symptoms and aggressive growth, the Times reported.

Miss Universe judge: Pia Wurtzbach deserved to win, Miss Colombia didn’t

HOLLYWOOD gossip blogger Perez Hilton, who served as one of the judges in the 2015 Miss Universe, has broken his silence on the controversy which has plagued the annual pageant.

Perez on Tuesday, Dec. 22 said that he refused interviews so that he would be able to talk about the contest in his podcast hosted on his own website. In the podcast, he compared Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach with �rst runner-up Ariadna Gutierrez of Colombia, saying that the Filipina delegate deserved the title unlike the latter.

Miss Colombia was the most beautiful contestant, but I don’t think she deserves to win the title, and she didn’t win the title for a variety of reasons,” Hilton told his co-host Chris Booker.

“Here’s the di�erence between Miss Philippines and Miss Colombia. Miss Philippines came to win. Miss Colombia came to lose. Colombia came there as if she had already won. And that’s sexy also and intoxicating that con�dence. But I think that she came there thinking she would really win. Whereas Miss Philippines came with something to prove,” he further said.

He explained that while Gutierrez was considered as among the frontrunners, Wurtzbach surprised him during the competition.

“She really surprised me. I wasn’t expecting her to be �erce and fabulous,” the blogger said about the Filipina beauty during the swimsuit round.

He also revealed that he liked Colombia’s performance in the evening gown competition better.

Major turno�

The outspoken blogger, however, called out Gutierrez for her snarky attitude during the question and answer portion.

“I don’t know if the people at home could see this. But Miss Colombia was being straight-out diva-bitch rude to her translator…She was giving the most awful side-eye, throwing major shade because Colombia was not happy with the pace or the way the translator was translating…I was drying. She’s Continued on Page 6

being cunty right now,” he said.“It was a major turno�,” he said

of Colombia’s attitude.“It wasn’t just that she

(Colombia) didn’t give the best answer. And it wasn’t just that she came across not just me, but several of the other judges (as) bitchy and arrogant. It was that Miss Philippines gave a better answer,” he further said.

During the �nal round of the

by JOYCE JIMENEZPhilstar

James, Nadine thankful for sold-out concert in February 2016

MANILA—James Reid and Nadine Lustre still cannot believe that the tickets for their concert in February 2016 were sold out in one day.

“Ako hindi pa rin makapaniwala until now, isang araw?” Nadine said in awe when asked to react about their sold-out concert, in an interview on Thursday after their Jollibee concert in Kia Theater in Cubao, Quezon City.

Since many of their fans were not able to buy tickets for their concert on February 20 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum the two are willing to have a second night

of concert.“Kasi ang daming nagsabi na

wala pa silang ticket, para naman din makapanood sila,” Nadine said. James also added that “some of our fans are coming from abroad, so they’ll �y in just to watch the concert.”

Aside from more “kilig” performances from the JaDine love team, joining them that night are other cast members of “On the Wings of Love.”

The two are also excited for the upcoming 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival Parade of Stars. It will be the �rst time that they’ll join the �oat parade.

They’re part of the Star Cinema

and Viva Films entry “Beauty and the Bestie” which stars Vice Ganda and Coco Martin, under the direction of Wenn Deramas.

Kris bares why President’s romance with Wurtzbach failed“I DON’T think she liked Noy,”

said Presidential sister Kris Aquino when asked why her brother’s relationship with Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach didn’t prosper.

In an interview on Monday, Dec. 21 the younger Aquino said she and her sisters liked Wurtzbach since the time she was rumored to have been dating President Benigno Aquino III.

“All of us kaming mga sisters, from before pa, we liked her, noong naru-rumor that they were dating. Because one, she could have easily denied [that they were dating] because that was the time na ‘yung SAF big deal, and Noy was being hit left and right. But she spoke up for him. Kaya sabi ko ay matapang itong girl na ito,” she said.

Kris was referring to the Mamasapano clash that left 44 members of the elite Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police, 23 Moro rebels

and several civilians.“But I don’t think she liked

Noy,” she added, drawing laughter from the media.

The younger Aquino believed that Wurtzbach treated her brother well but the beauty queen was focused on her preparation for the Miss Philippines and Miss Universe.

“I think she entertained him but the thing is, you can tell from her character na single-minded. Kinailangan na ito ang focus ko muna,” she said.

The actress-host congratulated Wurtzbach, admitting that she was impressed with how she answered during the question-and-answer portion.

“She answered so well,” Kris said, referring to Wurtzbach’s answer on her stand on the reestablishment of US military bases in the country.

Citing the shared history of the Philippines and the US, Wurtzbach

said that the Philippines is “very welcoming” to the Americans.

“I don’t see any problem with that at all,” she said.

The TV-host said she agreed with Wurtzbach’s answer.

“I agree with her. Because in a world where China is so strong we need them. Let’s be honest. Kailangan natin sila and let’s be friendly with them, di ba?” she said.

During �nal question-and-answer portion, all the candidates answered the question: “Why should you be the next Miss Universe?”

Wurtzbach said that she wants to lend her voice to certain causes such as HIV/AIDS awareness and youth issues.

“I want to show the universe that I am con�dently beautiful with a heart,” she said.

Aquino said she was inspired by Wurtzbach’s answer.

“Ang galing niya, gusto ko siya,” she said. (Inquirer.net)

An Asian Journal Magazine

by BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.Inquirer

From Page 2

point in entertainment where people are going to be colorblind.”

Deedee continued, “I’ve been so blessed to be able to play roles where it didn’t matter what I looked like—I could be the Wicked Witch of the East, Captain Walker’s wife, or Princess Jasmine. For most of the roles I’ve done, the color of my skin was not an issue.”

“I hope my own kids experience that same diversity in this industry. There are so many issues and stories to tell, and so many resources to share them. If you don’t see those stories being played out, then maybe it’s your destiny to write them, act upon them, and put them out there for yourself.”

Act III: Finding love on and o�stage

Deedee’s �rst major role in “Miss Saigon” was not only a turning point in her onstage career, but also a real-life opportunity for romance.

“It was also my �rst experi-ence to do a love scene in front of people…and little did I know, it was where I would meet my husband,” she smiled.

In 1995, during the 2nd national touring company of “Miss Saigon,” Deedee met a Filipino-Japanese-Caucasian actor from Hawaii named Cli�ton Hall, who just so happened to be playing her love interest (Chris, an American GI soldier). They were both 19 years old.

“I always thought he was so cute and nice, and we were such good friends,” she shared. “I fell in love with my leading man. You put two people together onstage and they fall in love every night; it was inevitable.”

The two reunited several years later, after Deedee re- joined the Broadway company of “Miss Saigon.” Cli�ton was also in New York, star-ring as Marius in a revival of “Les Misérables.”

“We were, �rst and foremost, al-ways good friends, and then things just kind of happened. We were initially scared of destroying our friendship, but it always felt right in the end, like it was honestly meant

Deedee Magno Hall On a passionate...to be,” Deedee said.

As a couple, Deedee and Cli�ton worked brie�y together as Kim and Chris in “Miss Saigon” on Broadway, then later joined the international tour for six months in Singapore and Hong Kong. They also starred oppo-site one another in the �rst national tour of “Wicked,” playing Nessa Rose and �yero.

“We didn’t have any scenes together, but we were always sneak-ing kisses backstage. And at the end of the show at curtain call, I got to hold his hand!” she shared excitedly.

She and Cli�ton were married in 2003. Their �rst son, Kaeden, was born in 2005—around when Deedee was playing the original Princess Jasmine in “Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular,” and Cli�ton was departing for the “Wicked” tour. Brycen, 4, was born in 2011.

“During shows, the hardest thing about [our jobs] sometimes is having to leave our sons at home. Luckily, my family has always been so gracious, helping me take care of them while Cli�ton and I are out every night onstage,” she said.

“Now we’re getting ready to start homeschooling them on the road, so that we can stay together while we travel. We’re very excited for our family adventure.”

Act IV: Telling her storyOver the years of building her

life around her family and passion, Deedee has kept herself quite busy.

Recently, she has been voice acting in a new animated Cartoon Network series, “Steven Universe,” as the fun-loving alien crystal compan-ion, Pearl.

“It is so, so fun!” she exclaimed. “I’ve always wanted to be a cartoon character, or at least the voice of one. And this show is a perfect com-bination of music and voice acting, where we’re de�nitely acting out even though we’re not on camera. Our cheeks are always hurting when we record in the studio.”

Her two sons and their Universe-loving friends think “Mrs. Pearl” is a hit.

“I think I gained some cool points with my kids,” she laughed.

“The series has a wonderfully fast-growing following, and I look forward to a long run!”

Deedee also shared news of an upcoming project for her and Cli�-ton: both are joining the 1st national tour of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s “If/Then” in the fall, as understudies/members of the ensemble. Deedee, who brie�y joined the company earlier on Broadway, said the part is “exciting and an amazing opportu-nity.”

For aspiring actors, artists, and musicians in the industry, Deedee has one simple advice: don’t limit yourself.

“Nowadays, we have vehicles like YouTube and the Internet, where you can virally share your God-given gifts and talents. Go out and per-form. Be seen and be heard. There is so much talent out there. If you choose to put it out, you just never know who’s watching. Maybe even the right person who can change your life in a positive way.”

To those struggling to �nd their voice, Deedee said, “No matter where they are from, human stories are stories. They’re your story. And now, more than ever, those narra-tives are being written by people from all di�erent backgrounds. There are so many resources out there; make yourself known.”

“You make your life what it is. You play a very big part in this world, so choose the right one.”

competition, �nalists Philippines, Colombia and Miss USA Olivia Jordan were asked why they should win Miss Universe.

Wurtzbach answered, “To be a Miss Universe is both an honor and a responsibility. If I were to be Miss Universe, I will use my voice to in�uence the youth and I will raise awareness to certain causes like HIV awareness that is timely and relevant to my country, which is the Philippines. I want to show the world, the universe, rather, that I am con�dently beautiful with a heart.”

Hilton said he was impressed by Wurtzbach’s performance in both question and answer portions.

“It was the second time that she (Pia) gave a great answer, actually a better answer, and by that point, I felt like wow, she really brought her A-game, was super competitive, but also like, she deserved it. Like she deserves it. To me, there’s a real beauty, and grace, and elegance (in Pia). She is Miss Universe.”

He then proceeded to compare Gutierrez to her fellow Colombian, Hollywood actress So�a Vergara.

“Miss Colombia, you’re So�a Vergara. You’re not Miss Universe. You look so much like So�a Vergara. It’s spooky how much she looks like

From Page 5

Miss Universe judge: Pia Wurtzbach...So�a Vergara. Whereas this other girl, she was just being herself and not trying to emulate anybody else. I felt like she earned it and won it fair and square,” he said.

UnanimousHe said that up until the last

round, he was not sure whom he was going to select as Miss Universe.

“I went with my gut and voted for Miss Philippines. And actually, I found out afterwards it was unanimous. Every single judge on that panel, all four of us, voted for Miss Philippines to be number 1,” he revealed.

Aside from Hilton, the other judges were former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo; actress-comedian Niecy Nash; and former American football player Emmitt Smith. The global audience and the 77 eliminated contestants were also asked to vote during di�erent segments of the competition.

With their votes unanimous, he said he and the other judges were surprised when host Steve Harvey announced that it was Colombia who won and not the Philippines.

“My initial thought when Steve Harvey announced that Colombia won was ‘this is rigged,’” Hilton said.

He later backtracked, saying

that he thought the mix-up was just a publicity stunt for more people to talk about the pageant.

“I still �nd it hard that he could have messed up that badly,” Hilton continued.

The media personality closed the podcast by saying that amid the ga�e and that furor it had caused, it was important to know that the Philippine delegate won the competition “fair and square.”

“It’s important to know that Miss Philippines won it fair and square. All of the judges thought so. She deserved to win. It’s not just a physical beauty contest,” he said.

He said that he, however, believes that Gutierrez would have a successful career after the competition.

“I think that she could have a more successful career after Miss Universe than Miss Philippines will,” the gossip blogger said.

“Miss Philippines is perfect for being a Miss Universe, but I think that Colombia can go on like So�a Vergara and be a crossover success in the US, and be a Spanish-language personality or if her language improves, an English-language personality. She is smoking,” he closed. (Inquirer.net)

Jose, Wally and Paolo’s Christmas wishlistWhat would you like to give to,

or receive from, your loved ones this year?

Comedian Jose Manalo, aka Lola Tinidora, told the Inquirer: “I can’t ask for anything more this Christmas. All I want to give my family is happiness all year round.”

Comedian Wally Bayola, aka Lola Nidora, told Inquirer: “I want to give my family a travel package abroad. A trip to Hong Kong would be nice. It’s too expensive to tour Japan (laughs)! As for my Christmas wish? I want to receive a GC (gift certi�cate) for an executive checkup at Saint Luke’s Medical Center.”

Actor and TV host Paolo Ballesteros aka Lola Tidora told the Inquirer: “I want to receive God’s

love forever, and share or give it to the ones who need it.”

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by NESTOR U. TORREInquirer.net

US Northeast Fil-Am community embraces Simbang Gabi sa Konsulado

NEW YORK—Forty seven Filipino community organizations came together for the celebration of a Filipino Christmas in a nine-day evening mass or Simbang Gabi held at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center in Manhattan from Dec. 7 to 15.

Now on its 28th year, Simbang Gabi sa Konsulado (SGK) rea�rmed the Filipino-American community’s re-connection with its culture and heritage through this unique Filipino Christmas tradition.

As practised by the community in the past years, each evening commenced with a recitation of the rosary, a re�ection through a 2-minute video of the Panunuluyan, another Filipino Christmas tradition narrating the search of Mother Mary and St Joseph for a place to prepare for Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem, and the celebration of the Holy Mass. A group of second generation Filipino-Americans and their children dramatized the Panunuluyan on the last day.

The Simbang Gabi also gave an opportunity for Filipino-American community organizations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania to coordinate, work and bond together to organize the masses, salu-salo and the program. The program each evening demonstrated common Filipino rituals during the festive season of gift giving, community Christmas caroling and dancing.

In his closing remarks on the 9th day, Consul General Mario L. de Leon, Jr. highlighted that the Simbang Gabi has become an institution that is embraced and honored by the community. He also acknowledged the community’s faith at work in bringing back the Simbang Gabi in 2014 after a 2-year hiatus. With this year’s theme “Isapuso ang Pasko”, he asked the community to “pray to take the spirit of Christmas to heart.”

“May our unity in faith always bind us together, in triumph and trials. May this spirit be carried throughout the new year 2016 as we, Filipinos represent solidly in America as an emerging community

that is very much welcomed in our second home,” the Consul General concluded.

Leaders and members of the Filpino-American organizations,

who enthusiastically o�ered their time and resources, looked forward to next year’s preparation of this joyous celebration during the holiday season.

Jennylyn Mercado on love, career: Maghintay ka lang!MANILA—Jennylyn Mercado

said waiting for the right time is the most important lesson she has learned from her career and love life.

“Maghintay ka lang, maghintay ka lang sa tamang panahon, tamang tao,” she said in an interview in the ABS-CBN late-night talk show “Tonight with Boy Abunda,” aired on Monday, Dec. 21.

The Kapuso actress, however, admitted the “waiting game” will really test one’s patience.

“Mahirap maghintay,” she said. “Ang tagal ko ng naghihintay. Minsan nakakainggit kapag nakakakita ka ng gano’n, ‘ang sweet nila, kalian kaya ako?’”

Despite that, Jennylyn said that the state of her heart is “happy.”

During the fast talk segment of the show, she was asked: “Naniniwala ka ba sa forever?”

The actress-host replied: “No.

Kasi wala naman forever, e. May pang-lifetime, pero walang forever.”

She’s currently linked to her ex-boyfriend Dennis Trillio after some reports claimed that they have reconciled, an issue both have

denied.Jennylyn stars in the 2015

Metro Manila Film Festival entry “Walang Forever” together with Jericho Rosales and directed by Dan Villegas. (Philstar.com)

Timely reminder of Gerald’s thespic edgeRECENTLY on Maalaala Mo Kaya,

Gerald Anderson was given a plum opportunity to remind viewers of his thespic talent, when he was assigned to play a dedicated teacher whose bright career was tragically abridged by his being stricken with a rather rare form of Parkinson’s disease.

At �rst sight, Gerald looked too old to play a college student—but, after his character had become a teacher, that dubious piece of casting was rendered moot, and we could more pertinently appreciate the actor’s depiction of his ethically and physically contorted character.

Gerald’s new portrayal was reminiscent of his acclaimed performance in Budoy years ago. To his credit, he went beyond early career achievement—his recent MMK characterization was more mature not just on point of chronological age, but also in thespic insight.

Also scoring thespic points in the episode was Snooky Serna in the role of the teacher’s mother, who felt spasms of guilt when she was told that her line of the family

had given her son the dreaded and debilitating disease.

Gerald and Snooky did well, but the younger actors who played his character’s siblings were less focused in their roles, which came o� more like an “ensemble blur.”

Still, the episode was ultimately an inspiring and instructive viewing experience, even if it ended in a question mark rather than with a clear denouement and resolution of its harrowing central problem.

That “hanging” ending gave the telecast an element of uniqueness, because it concluded with an invitation to viewers to assist in giving the drama a happy ending—by actually contributing money to defray the cost of the expensive operation that would gift its real-life protagonist with the prospect of living a more “normal” life.

Unusual turnThis is an unusual turn of events

in a local TV drama because it breaks down the separation between acted drama and the real-life issue or medical problem it’s been based on.

How will viewers respond to this unusual invitation to participate in solving or salving an actual problem

or need? Some of the people we were watching the telecast with said it was worth a try—but suggested that the show’s sta�ers and cast members should start with their own donations. What do you think?

Finally, back to Gerald: His convincing portrayal in the MMK drama came right in the nick of time for him, because his acting career has been faring rather poorly these days, and viewers need to be reminded of how good he can be.

Perhaps, to further strengthen his stellar prospects, Gerald should objectively see that he looks too big and chunky these days, which makes him come o� as older and thus less of an exciting lead with something dynamically new to o�er.

He de�nitely isn’t stout or �abby, but his added heft makes him look not just older but also less sensitive, a projection that dramatic leads should have, in order to convince the viewing public that they’re deeply troubled and emotionally exposed and vulnerable, thus needing and descending to its concern and empathy.

An Asian Journal Magazine