Asian Journal January 13, 2012 edition

Make a Wish, Mommy .. p. 19

Ordinary Yet Signifi cant .. p. 11

Malacañang wants all government offi cials to release SALN

Street chase highlights fi rst day of ‘Bourne’ shooting

Visiting British judge supports con-fi scating assets of criminals

Tim Tebow: A Celebrated Quarterback’s Philippine Connection

A production crew unloads equipment for the shooting of the movie ‘The Bourne Legacy’ as residents fi ll the streets, hoping to catch a glimpse of the fi lm’s stars in San Andres, Manila yester-day. JONJON VICENCIO | Zoom

Tebow in Sports Illustrated. SI Dec 19, 2011, SI Oct 19, 2009, SI July 27, 2009, SI Jan 21, 2009, Dec 15, 2008, Oct 6, 2008 *

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Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was homeschooled by his parents. “Tim Tebow is a missionary who walks his talk. When the Bible says to visit the hungry, the homeless and those in prison- Tim does not preach those words- he does those words. He ministers to prisoners in prison, he helps with the children living in orphanages in the Philippines and he is kind to those he comes in contact with.” (Bob Tebow took this photo in the Philippines) -- Nestor & Katrina Gasset, activerain.net

As the Bamboos Sway By Rudy D. Liporada | ASIAN JOURNAL, 1/13/2012 -- At the heel of the new Philip-pine Department of Tour-ism (DOT) slogan, motto, or whatever – “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” viral positive and negative comments swirled all over the internet as fast as the deathly waters of Sendong had buried thousands of Filipinos recent-ly. While there were praises to the enticement for tourists to come visit the Islands and

have fun in the archipelago, the criticisms went to the extreme of viciousness.

True, there are a lot to do in the Philippines that could

be fun but, and, I must just be cynical about it, given the tim-ing of its enunciation, I fi nd it really more than funny. First the phrase is a copycat from Switzerland’s 1950s’ “It’s more fun in Switzerland.”

Virtual questions arose like: Couldn’t DOT be more origi-nal? On my part, juxtaposed to recent disasters and govern-ment inadequacy to control mining and logging that cause them, I do not feel the fun. It’s more like it’s more SHAM in the Philippines.

Consider, too, that just as soon as the DOT came out with it, President Noynoy Aquino went on national telecast with his cabinet behind him, announcing that there was a bomb threat that could devastate thousands during the annual Black Nazarene procession. He discouraged people

by Pia Lee Brago, Philippine Star | MANILA, Philippines - A visiting British judge underscored the importance of asset recovery as a tool in fi ghting corruption.

“Restraining, seizing, and confi scating the fruits of a crimi-nal’s crime is not only right and proper, but an important tool in the fi ght against economic crime and corruption,” said Judge Michael Hopmeier in a lecture.

Hopmeier, an international expert on the issue due to his vast experience in anti-corruption

legislation, implementation and prosecution, was the key speaker in the 3rd Haydee Yorac Lecture at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City Wednesday.

He discussed asset recovery as an anti-corruption tool, the effects of corruption and the means of detecting corruption.

He also acquainted the audience with the law, practical procedures and effects of asset recovery and anti-corruption work in the UK, including

Zena BabaoMsgr. Gutierrez Ben MaynigoMiracles in the Sin

City (2) .. p. 4

January 13-20, 2012

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The ‘thief in the night’ gets caught


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By Sandy Araneta (The Philippine Star) | MANILA, Philippines - The shooting for the upcoming action-thriller “The

Bourne Legacy” started yesterday in the busy streets of Manila.

The Manila Police District (MPD) as well as personnel of the Metro Manila Development Au-thority (MMDA) had their hands full containing the thousands of people who waited since early morning for the shooting to start.

Some spectators waited since Tuesday night to see actors Jer-emy Renner (“The Hurt Locker”) and Rachel Weisz (“The Constant Gardener,” “The Mummy,” “Ene-

By Ellen Tordesillas, MalayaFinally, Gloria Arroyo will

be made accountable for the anomalous NBN/ZTE deal.

The Ombudsman yesterday charged Gloria Arroyo, her husband Mike Arroyo, and two other offi cials of her gov-ernment – former Commis-sion on Elections Benjamin Abalos and former Transpor-tation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza, for violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (R.A. 3019).

Arroyo was also accused of violating the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Offi cials and Employ-

ees (R.A 6713).All the three criminal

information fi led included Gloria Arroyo as accused. Mike Arroyo, Abalos and Mendoza are only in the fi rst

Denver Broncos quarterback, Tim Tebow announced that the Tim Tebow Foundation, working with CURE International, will be building a new children’s hospital in the Philippines. The Tebow CURE hospital is the fi rst joint project between the two organizations. When completed, the hospital will feature a 30 bed surgical facility, with a primary focus on orthopedics. The groundbreaking is scheduled for January and the hospital is expected to be completed in 2013.

Philippine Star, MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang pro-posed yesterday that all public offi cials make public their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said he would like to ask all of them to re-veal their SALN when sought for a reaction on the report of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.

“Well, again, we ask every-one, public offi cials, one and all, in the light of transparency and accountability to disclose to the public their SALN and we would like to ask them to be judicious in the use of the SALN,” he said.

Lacierda said no less than President Aquino himself, who was a Tarlac lawmaker and senator prior to his elec-tion as president in May 2010, has consistently fi led his SALN, which only makes imperative that other offi cials – elected or appointed – to do so.

“The number one person who has disclosed his SALN very openly is the President,” he said.

“The highest offi cial of the land has always revealed his SALN and he is a model by which the other branches of government should emulate, including the Chief Justice.”

“What’s wrong with asking every public offi cial who is supposed to be accountable to the Filipino people to release their SALNs?” he said.

“We serve at the behest, we serve at the sufferance of the governed, as what the President would always like to say.”

Tebow, the son of American missionary parents, was born in the Philippines. “I was born in the Philippines and my parents have been missionaries to that area since 1985. The Philippines have always had a special place in my heart,” Tebow said. “I’m excited to be a part of this hospital that will bring healing to thousands of children who would not otherwise have access to care.”

Here is an “OLD” sports article about him when he was still in college. Although the article is old, it will give you a background on his Philippine connection.

Amidst the roaring chants of adoring fans, Tim Tebow towers like a giant in the football fi eld as he directed the offense of his collegiate championship team, the University of Florida Gators. He was the fi rst college sophomore to win the much-coveted Heisman Trophy, given to only the best college football players, he can stand as an equal to such football legends as Mike Ditka, Joe Schmidt, or Joe Montana. But Tim’s personal story goes beyond football. His other greatness lies in walking around as a virtual unknown in the muddy streets, dirty markets and slums of Mindanao where he preaches a message of love to those whose lives are mired in misery and poverty. “My conception and birth were beautiful stories of life. They were not stories about choices. They were stories of my parents’ selfl ess love of life and their unwavering faith in God who knows and sets the bounds and ends

Malacañang Press Secretary Ed-win Lacierda

January 13-20, 2012Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

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(Continued from page 1)

‘Bourne’ ShootingSeveral apartment buildings, four-

or fi ve-storeys high, were reinforced with steel bars and cables where action scenes would be shot.

Residents could not say what the scene was all about as they were told by the production crew to stay inside their homes as cameras rolled.

Catamora said the rooftop sequenc-es are scheduled for February.

The shooting of the movie started yesterday and would last up to Jan. 15, and would resume on Feb. 19 and Feb. 22 to 25.

The other scenes for the movie will be shot on J. Bocobo St. corner Remedios Circle, on Riverside Road, Real and Sta. Lucia streets in Intramuros, on Jones Bridge and on Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard in Sta. Mesa.

Some scenes will be shot along Ayala Avenue in Makati City, at the Marikina City public market, and at the Navotas City Fish Port.

“The Bourne Legacy” will be shown worldwide on Aug. 3.

Traffi c managementThe MMDA, with its 120-strong

Task Force Bourne, has been ordered to control the crowd and direct traffi c rerouting during the 45-day shooting in various parts of Metro Manila.

The Manila District Traffi c Enforcement Unit (MDTEU) said portions of Malate district would be closed to vehicular traffi c during the fi lming.

Though the shooting of some

scenes will be confi ned to Leveriza and San Andres streets, traffi c will be rerouted around the shooting loca-tions, MDTEU chief Superintendent Reynaldo Nava said.

The stretch of Leveriza from Quiri-no to San Andres will be closed from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. today. All vehicles passing Leveriza street will turn right to Quirino Avenue.

Nava said that on Friday and Satur-day “stop and go” or traffi c enforcer intervention shall be implemented along Leveriza from Quirino to San Andres from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“We have to see the situation if closure of the roads will be imple-mented on those days. It might be possible that human intervention or the direction of traffi c enforcers to motorists is simply needed,” Nava said.

Traffi c had to be rerouted to allow the trucks loaded with tons of fi lm-ing equipment to be parked near the areas during the shooting.

An ambulance was also on standby for any accidents that may occur.

MMDA Task Force Bourne commander Senior Superintendent Eduardo Untalan said their primary concern is traffi c management during the fi lming.

“Yesterday (Tuesday), the MMDA escorted the trucks of equipment and the crew to Leveriza Street so there would not be any delay. This is from

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New Proposed Rule Will Prevent Prolonged Separation Of Families By: Dennis E. Chua, Esq.

On January 6, 2012, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced its plan to change the processing of waiver applica-tions who incur unlawful presence in the United States. This proposed change is signifi cant as it will pre-vent families from being separated for a prolonged period of time.

In 1996, the US Congress enacted the Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA). Included in this Act is now what we know as the three (3) year ten (10) year bar which is found in Section 212(a)(9)(B)(i) of the Act.

The law prohibits individuals from returning to the United States if they have been unlawfully present for a certain period of time. If a person was here in the country illegally for more than one hundred eighty (180) days but less than one (1) year and that person leaves the country, he will not be allowed to re-enter the United States for a period of three (3) years. If a person has been here in the country illegally for more than one (1) year then he will be barred from re-entering the country for a period of ten (10) years. The bars will kick in once the person departs the United States. Under the current regulations the person would have to fi le a waiver application at the US Embassy in Manila if he wants to enter the United States earlier

after his initial interview before the consular offi cer. This has resulted in prolonged separation of families due to processing delays.

With the new rule being proposed by DHS, a provisional waiver can be obtained by the applicant prior to his departure from the United States. The applicant must show that he or she is the benefi ciary of an immedi-ate relative petition, and that his or her US citizen spouse or parent will suffer extreme hardship if he or she is not allowed to return to the United States.

Once the provisional waiver is granted, the applicant can schedule a visa interview with the US embassy in Manila and obtain an immigrant visa without having to fi le another waiver application at the US Em-bassy in Manila

People who would benefi t the most from this new proposed rule are those people who entered the country as a crewman or those who entered the country without inspec-tion and they are not covered by Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Atty. Dennis E. Chua is a partner in The Law Firm of Chua Tinsay and Vega (CTV) - a full service law fi rm with offi ces in San Francisco, San Diego and Manila. The information presented in this article is for gen-eral information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice

nor the formation of an attorney-cli-ent relationship. The CTV attorneys will be holding its regular free legal clinic at the Max’s Restaurant in Vallejo, California on January 30, 2012. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to dis-cuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (415) 495-8088; (619) 955-6277; [email protected]

my at the Gates”) to appear on the set as the production crew arrived and started setting up equipment and props for the blockbuster movie.

Weisz plays opposite Renner, who takes the lead role from Matt Damon in the movie about the workings of a shadowy Central Intelligence Agency unit that trains super spies.

The shooting was centered at Leveriza street in San Andres district where the supposed chase scene stretched to Quirino Avenue up to San Andres Street.

The area covering the fi rst day of shooting was literally fi lled with people, not least foreign tourists who wanted to get a glimpse of the stars.

No crewmembers, local or foreign, were allowed to give out information as to the plans or scenes that would be shot in Manila.

The two main actors were also hidden from press photographers and cameramen, as local crewmembers repeatedly said, “No interviews, photos or video are allowed.”

The local production crew also secured the location shoot areas.

Weisz and Renner could also not be seen anywhere from where the members of the media had been waiting since early morning.

But some crewmembers revealed the actors were already in the area shooting.

Some residents said they were awakened when the fi lm crew arrived as early as 2 a.m. and started to set up props for fi lming and stunts.

Barangay offi cials led by Rodrigo Catamora said the production crew had spruced up the area by repairing and reinforcing some of the houses to make them look older.

Catamora said the fi lm’s produc-tion outfi t had started coordinating with them since September.

The roofs of houses where some of the action scenes would be shot were fi nished last month.

Catamora said some 400 people were hired as extras.

He said the production crew explained to him that some scenes would be shot along narrow alleys near the barangay hall.

Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comJanuary 13-20, 2012

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‘Bourne’ Shooting

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The last time I was in Las Vegas was six months ago when the Maynigo-Gal-

lang clan had a family reunion. Fr. Victor Arenas Maynigo, a fi rst cousin Catholic priest of 42 years led the festivities symbolizing that the city was not necessarily a cite just for the “sinner”. The presence of babies, children, and the elderly still looking young was a reminder of a miracle usually taken for granted – the “Miracle of Life”.

Although brought about by fi nite human beings in their not so “cre-ative” ways, this miracle continues to be attributed and credited to some Infi nite and Supreme Being by many. But DNA technology has scien-tifi cally shown the sources, lineage and cause for being of the unique individual. At least we can claim to be principal material witnesses if not Principals by Direct Participation.

Now I am here again in Las Vegas attending, as I have for several years, the International Consumer Elec-tronics Show. As I described in a previous column, I have been a living witness to many of the “miracles” in these modern times. They come in the form of new inventions, products and technologies that were all products of one’s imagination, then innovation, and fi nally, creation.

CES is indeed a show FOR the consumer, OF the consumer and BY the consumer. The digitization or “electronifi cation” of many aspects of the life of the consumer always becomes the focus of the show.

New products are launched to sat-isfy the senses of the consumer.

Sound technologies come in the form of incredibly nice-sounding music players, speakers and ear-phones. Listening to music or your voice played in a special device that includes smartphones or other play-ers; projected on a special speaker de-livered by wire or wireless; or heard from another special earphone/ear buds; and mixed by a special software application is just unbelievable.

Of course, the text to speech tech-nologies are found in all e-readers and now great improvements in voice recognition applications have equally penetrated the communications, sen-sor, mobile and multi-media devices. Just say it and the device will do it.

Vision technologies are even more pronounced. The advances in televi-sion, video, and camera (still and motion) technologies engineered and designed to portray beauty or other-wise, in color and/or pixel-measured formats in rapid or slow motion are all on display in the show. “Super”, “Ultimate” and “Smart”, OLED, Flat and Thin/Light TV sets, screens and monitors with exceptional multi-media, gaming and communications capabilities in HD or 3D formats “miraculously” abound.

Touch has become a sense to reckon with. Using a mouse or a keyboard to create contents or to institute changes are no longer enough. One has to use the sense of touch either indepen-dently, complimentary or supplemen-tary to accomplish a more satisfying content development or to be just plain “contented”.

Now, with these new “miracles” and counting, when the consumer wants something done, he can type it, mouse it, touch it, say it, and even in some cases, gesture or signal it. As my barber said in Taglish, “Pag ganyan

ang situation, ang consumer mahirap maconsumi.” (In situations like that, it would be hard for the consumer to be frustrated.)

How would the consumer be driven in 2012?

As described by Mr. Shawn Dubravac in his “2012 CES Trends to Watch” presentation, in 2011 we saw a battle of the Portable versus the Pocketable; The Intelligence of Things; “Sensor’ization of Consumer Tech and the transition from Amplifi -cation to ‘App’lifi cation.

For 2012, Dubravac says that the “Hottest” trends based on the new products unveiled, some of which I already saw, are: Wireless & Wireless Devices (60%); Lifestyle Electronics (36%); Internet-based Multimedia Services (31%); Connected Home (about 30%); Computer Hardware & Software (29%); Entertainment/Content (28%); Emerging Technology (27.5%); Electronic Gaming (27%); Video (27%).

The CES Buyers say that the “Hot” ones at the 2012 CES are: Apps (for mobile devices), 90%; Tablets, 90%; Devices for streamed content, 82%; Internet-enabled TVs, 81%; Devices

designed to enable sharing content, 74%; Cloud computing, 73%; Smart appliances, 71%; NFC, 69%; Home automation, 68%; Personal cloud, 66%; Electrical vehicles, 62%; Programs designed to personalize content, 61%; Health related technol-ogies, 60%; 3DTV, 57%; eReaders, 45%; Netbooks, 38%.

It would be the year of Superphones

the offi ce of the local production crew in Taguig to San Andres and Leveriza,” Untalan said. “There were about ten trucks.”

Untalan declined to give specif-ics of the plan, as well as who have entered or exited the areas of fi lming, and those involved were instructed not to give out details of the movie.

“They give schedules but not ahead

of time,” Untalan said.He said the production would come

in at 3 a.m. and yesterday it lasted until 12 midnight.

“This is really important for our country because a task force was even made for this particular fi lm-ing. This would really help boost the tourism industry in the country. Other countries are even wanting to have this fi lmed in their own coun-try,” Untalan said.

“We want to ensure that this fi lm ends here without a hitch,” he said.

Untalan said this is the reason why the government is helping out here in order to show the good things in our country.

An offi cial of the Catholic Bish-ops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the government should check on the progress of the shooting of the movie.

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iniguez said he was not certain if the movie would help raise the tourism industry because “it would depend on what kind of fi lm they would produce.”

Pounding on rooftopsResidents said they were excited

that it is the fi rst time that their neighborhood was chosen as location for a Hollywood movie.

No one was complaining about being roused from sleep, as long as they experience seeing the Holly-wood stars right at their doorstep.

The mood among locals was one of excitement, with fans jostling each other to catch a glimpse of Weisz and Renner as they shot scenes in dark, crowded alleys near a sprawl-ing slum.

“This is the fi rst time I’ve seen a Hollywood actor at arm’s length and in person. My heart is still thump-ing hard,” said Elmer Rufi no, 43, a sailor who had returned home for a vacation.

“I’ve followed the Bourne movies, and now I can tell my shipmates this was shot in my neighborhood,” he said.

Ma. Victoria Jacela said the shoot-ing started right in front of her house.

Jacela said they were requested by the production crew not to open their doors and windows as the shoot-ing began, but she and her family



Tim Tebow, Philip-pine Connection


California Groups Launch Anti-Traffi cking Ballot Initiative

Californians Against Sexual Exploitation (CASE) Act: stronger laws against human traffi ckers and online predators

Over 400 people in San Diego gathered on 1/11, International Hu-man Traffi cking Awareness Day, to denounce the crime of traffi cking. In the photo, over a hundred came to the Thomas Jefferson School of Law at 11th and Island Ave., San Diego to see the screening of the fi lm “INDOCTRINATED: The Grooming of Our Children in Prostitu-tion”, a documentary on the perils of child traffi cking. San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco are major hotspots for traffi cking. The fi lm is a collaborative effort between the ACTION Network, Legacy Productions, and the San Diego County Offi ce of Education. To order a copy on DVD, please email Aida Estrella of the San Diego County Offi ce of Education at [email protected].

of our lives” says Tim, in describing the agonizing circumstance and joyful outcome of his birth in the Philippines, where his parents, Bob and Pam Tebow, worked for fi ve years as Baptist Church missionaries in South Cotabato, Min-danao some 24 years ago. Because of the poor sanitation that was and still is a common situation in the rural areas of the Philippines, Tim’s mother contracted dysentery while pregnant with him. She fell into a coma. To combat her infec-tion, her Filipino doctor administered a high dose of antibiotics that triggered the side effect of placental abruption.

The Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country, outlaws abortion ex-cept in cases when the life of the mother is endangered. Thus, the attending physician of Pam Tebow recommended abortion. “But my Christian faith led me to decide otherwise,” says Pam. “I was fl own to Makati, the country’s business capital, to seek the second advice of a medical specialist. With my strong trust in God and in the power of prayers, and encouraged by the care of my new doctor, I carried Tim to term and delivered him a normal infant.” “That baby who was at fi rst handed a stillbirth sentence in the Philippines would later carry a U.S. college football team to two national championships and is marked to go down as one of the greatest play-ers ever to play the game of football,” says Urban Meyer, head coach of the University of Florida Gators, the 2006 and 2008 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) collegiate champion, with whom Tim has played as quarterback.

Twenty years after his birth in the Philippines, Tim grabbed the sports headlines in the U.S. by contributing as a key reserve in the 2006 collegiate football national championship against Ohio State University. In that champion-ship game, he threw for one touchdown and rushed for another, fi nishing with 39 rushing yards, which helped secure the 41-14 victory for his Gators team.

The Filipino Connection

“My parents moved back here in the U.S. when I was three years old,” Tim recollects. “As I was still a toddler when I was there, I have vague memories of my having lived in the Philippines, except perhaps my having been in the care of my Filipina yaya (babysitter). But one thing for sure, I have a deep attachment to the country and its people. I have been joining my dad’s Chris-tian mission to the Philippines every summer these last four years, and these trips have been my eye opener to the things that need to be done for the less fortunate people, especially children, in that part of our world.” What Tim’s dad started in the Philippines some twenty years ago as a young missionary is now a strong and established ministry of 45 Filipino evangelist staff and 13 workers now funded by the Bob Tebow Evangelistic Association of Jackson-

ville, Florida. It’s located in Cotabato in Mindanao—the hotbed of the southern Muslim insurgency. “The mission is about bringing the faith of Jesus and the goodwill of the American people to over 15 million people in the island.

Through our church planting ministry, we have worked with over 10,000 local churches in the Philippines to build new churches. We also work closely with a local seminary to train local pastors. We hold seasonal charity clinics to provide free healthcare services and distribute medicines to poor people who can’t afford to see a doctor, much more, buy medicines,” says Tebow’s dad, Bob. “We also have built an orphanage, the Uncle Dick’s Home, that now houses more than fi fty homeless orphans.” Ev-ery summer, when schools are on break, Tim goes to that barangay (barrio) in the Philippines where his dad had set up his mission. There, as a virtual unknown and away from the media spotlight, he walks the streets of Cotabato and visits the markets of Digos with the Holy Bible in his hand to preach the gospel of Jesus. He saddles homeless kids on his shoulder in the slums of Sarangani and plays kuya (big brother) to them while handing out candies and chocolates. He bathes in cold water just like the natives do, and runs errands for volunteer doc-tors and nurses who perform surgeries on indigent patients in makeshift operat-ing tables.

A world away from their home in Jacksonville, Florida, that faces the Atlantic, Tim fi nds himself in a dif-ferent playing fi eld in the island of Mindanao that is nestled in the Pacifi c. “It is a much different ballgame,” he says. “There, I hear no roaring chants from fans rooting for a touchdown, but deafening silence as people desire to receive the words of Jesus that I preach about. I see none of those eyes of adula-tion when we win games, but eyes of faith of people searching for Jesus who I talk about,” Tim relates. “You kind of fi nd out from the get-go, what sets faith apart and what a game is just about.” With all his outstanding achievements in football, Tim will defi nitely emerge as the top NFL draft pick of his 2010 class as soon he steps out of college. But he has set his sight and his heart on other things, too—that little orphanage of more than fi fty children in Mindanao that his father had founded. “Those kids make me more grounded and help me put things in proper perspective,” he says. “At the end of the day, what matters may not only be about scoring a touchdown, but also winning the future of those kids who do not get the oppor-tunity to receive that touch of hope and love that you and I may have the means of giving.”

California Against Slavery is gath-ering signatures for a ballot initiative (for the November 2012 election) to increase penalties for human traf-fi ckers, fund victims services and mandate law enforcement training. Volunteers, including victims of hu-man traffi cking, are now gathering signatures from registered voters.

According to Kath Rogers, San Diego coordinator of CASE, there are many ways people can get involved in this issue in San Diego. Please visit www.caseact.org to sign the online petition or email [email protected] to learn more.

Read CASE Ballot Initiative on page 14.


ASIAN JOURNALThe fi rst Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern California

An award-winning newspaper, it is San Diego’s most widely circulated Asian-Filipino newspaper!

Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

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

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

Dr. Rizalino “Riz” Oades, (1935-2009)

The Asian Journal is published weekly and distrib-uted in all Asian communties in San Diego County. Publication date is every Friday of the month. Adver-tising deadline is Thursday prior to publication date at 5 p.m. For advertising rates, rate cards, or information, call (619) 474-0588. Subscription by mail is available for $50 per year (56 issues). The Asian Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and photo-graphs but welcomes submissions. Entire content is © 2011 copyrighted material by Asian Journal. Materi-als in this publication may not be reproduced without specifi c permission from the publisher.

Genevieve SilverioManaging Editor

Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Miles BeauchampAssociate Editor

Santi SilverioAssociate Publisher

At Large...

Miles is Assistant to the Dean and Assistant Professor in the Shirley Hufstedler School of Education at Alliant International University where he teaches new media and diverse writing courses. He has been with the Asian Journal since the 1990’s.

by Miles Beauchamp

by Dr. Ofelia Dirige Founder, President & CEO Kalusugan

Community Services. www.fi lamwellness.org

Contemporary Asian American Issues

Perspectives

Missing a print edition of the Asian Journal? Read the digital edition at

www.asianjournalusa.com/digital884,618 reads on scribd.com/

asianjournal

After focus-ing on the class lecture on Racial and Ethnic Identity, I still identify myself as being Fili-pino and being American, but not being Filipino-American. On state surveys, I label myself “Filipino” since apparently it is separate from the “Asian” and “Pacifi c Islander” categories. But do I act like a Filipino? That depends on how I’m feeling at the moment. People consider me “whitewashed” but I don’t act just like a white person. I’m Americanized, but I am a mix of many things in the way I act, think, and speak. Am I patriotic? I don’t consider myself to be it. Do I watch TFC or any of the other Filipino channels on extended cable? No, not at all, though my family does. Can I speak any of the Filipino dialects? No, but I know a few words here and there.

Racially, I know I’m Filipino. I don’t think I’m a mestizo. I don’t have light skin, and nobody in my family has ever mentioned being born of any other race besides Filipino. I don’t know anything about my biological father’s side, and I don’t bother to ask because I don’t know him (he lives in the Philip-pines). But my family was born and raised in the Philippines. I was born and raised here in the United States. My skin is medium-tan (I don’t want to get dark), my eyes are very Asian (and my friend has referred to them

as ‘beady’ in sixth grade) and they aren’t wide. My eyes are brown, but that hap-pens to be a common eye color among any race – and biologically it’s dominant

because brown is dark. As for my hair color, people keep saying it’s black, and it might be, but under the sun it looks dark brown to me.

Ethnically, I don’t identify with the Filipino culture. It’s just not something I’m interested in joining – like a Fili-pino youth club, culture or dance club, anything like that. I’ve never felt the need to do so. Like I’ve stated before, I don’t watch “The Filipino Channel” or any of the shows that go along with it.

However, I’ve watched the movie The Debut by Gene Cajayon, starring Dante Basco and his brothers, and I own the soundtrack because I fi nd it in-teresting. It is about a Filipino-Amer-ican teenager (Basco) who is trying to identify who he is, and his character is actually more whitewashed than I am in real life. But when he is obligated to attend his sister’s debut birthday party, he fi nds that he’s missing out on his own family’s culture and that it might actually be interesting to look into. His two best friends who are presumably white (one is Mexican-American but he looks white) tag along for the party and when they’re introduced to the Filipino

culture, they are suddenly curious and willing to learn things that are going on.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I can fi nd a parallel between that movie and my own life. I do have the typi-cal Filipino family – a mom who is a nurse, a close-knit family with relatives that annoy me but I love them anyway, and I call my cousins “manong” and “manang.” My aunts and uncles are just “auntie” and “uncle” – I don’t give them the names Tito and Tita. I know the food, but I’m picky as to what I eat – lechon, lumpia, adobo, and pansit being the things I eat if it’s available. Bagoong, dinuguan, and anything else that looks unidentifi able, I just don’t touch. My stepdad is a contractor, and my biological father is a forester. We never had anyone in our family be in the Navy, but we do have a lot of people as nurses.

I have friends from various races – White, Iranian, Lao, Irish, Filipino. My other best friend is Filipino-Irish-American. Her dad (the Irish-Amer-ican) is a retired military man, and her mom is Filipino. I think you can probably guess how the two of them met up and got married. My white best friend (the one with the Navy parents) has an older brother who married a Filipina and they still live with her family. Because we’re best friends, she is exposed to my family and therefore my culture, and she accepts me for who I am. So what I’m saying here is that my family makes up my race, but the culture I live in and the friends I have create my ethnicity. I can act Filipino when I choose, and I can act American just the same.

As for Kevin Nadal’s writing, there are six statuses of identity develop-ment. I won’t list them here, but I will say which status of identity develop-ment fi ts me and explain why. It is Status 2: Assimilation to Dominant Culture. I don’t fi t the other ones because I’m not exposed to only Filipinos, I don’t view White people negatively, and I don’t feel a sense of community with other Asian-Ameri-cans. Let me tell you why. In middle school, I was highly rejected by the other Filipinos and Asian-Americans in my school for having white friends. I was told by them that I was a “dis-grace to Filipinos and Asians” and so,

besides the few Asian friends that I do have, I never wanted to be a part of that “Asian-American” group. Did it hurt to be insulted by people who I thought I should be connecting with? Yes, of course it did. Did I solve the problem? I did – I stuck with my close circle of friends and moved on. Do I have any new Filipino/Asian friends? A few, but they are more acquaintances than close friends, especially in this class.

For the “mental healthiness” of the six statuses of identity development, at fi rst glance I don’t know what to iden-tify as good or bad. I live in America, so I assimilated myself with American culture growing up. Perhaps the “best” is Status 6: Introspection, in which Asian-Americans accept who they are in America. But does that make us able to move up in the world and become billionaires like the dominant white people of America? Probably not, unless you got really lucky inventing something that people didn’t know they wanted and selling it made you rich. As for the “worst,” it is probably the one I identify myself with – and it may be considered “whitewashed” in a negative sense. I’ve said before that I don’t consider myself fully white-washed, but I fi t in with American culture which is supposed to be a mix of many cultures, especially here in San Diego. But to view the dominant culture of whites as the best? I know that they seem the most popular and the most successful. In the media, like fashion magazines, who are the top models? Whites are, aside from the “exotic” blacks, mixed-race, or the Kardashians. Who are the rich people? Steve Jobs (even though he’s dead), Bill Gates, Paris Hilton, Lady Gaga and many other famous whites who “made it” in America.

I know I’m Filipino and American, and that isn’t going to change. I’ve tried skin bleaching products (of the Philippines) to see if I could get lighter, but they don’t work. I shop at Seafood City and I grew up in Mira Mesa, among hundreds of Filipino-Ameri-cans, people who rejected me because of my choice in lifestyle. I have friends that accept me for who I am. I have a family that never taught me their dialect (Ilocano) and they expect me to know it anyway. The question is, where do I fi t in?

Racial/Ethnic Identityby Clarene Isabelle Nunez

Were your gifts on the list?Recently Amazon.com, one of the

top retailers in the world, “released its ‘Best of 2011’ lists, which include the best-selling, most gifted, and most loved products as determined by Amazon.com customers in 2011.” How could I not share that with you?

Best-selling products of 2011The following were the best-selling

products on Amazon.com in 2011 (based on total units sold):

• Electronics: Kindle Fire

• Toys: Rory’s Story Cubes • Video Games: Call of Duty: Mod-

ern Warfare 3 • Sports & Outdoors: Zumba Fitness

Total Body Transformation System DVD Set

• Home & Kitchen: Cuisinart SmartStick 200-Watt Immersion Hand Blender

• Books: “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson

• Kindle Books: “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett

• CD: “21” by Adele

• Amazon MP3: “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga

• DVD: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1”

•Amazon Instant Video: “The Help” •Watches: Timex T5J151 1440

Sports Digital Watch • Jewelry: Designer Inspired Silver

Heart Charm Toggle Bracelet • Clothing: Levi’s Men’s 501 Jean • Shoes: Crocs Classic Clog • Beauty: Olay Pro-X Advanced

Cleansing System • Health & Personal Care: Philips

7310 Norelco Men’s Shaving System • Tools & Home Improvement: Ray-

ovac Sportsman Xtreme 300-Lumen LED Lantern

• Automotive: Battery Tender Junior 12V Battery Charger

• Baby: Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether

• AmazonWireless: Samsung Gal-axy S II (Verizon Wireless)

• Amazon Appstore for Android: Angry Birds Rio (Ad-Free)

Most Gifted Products of 2011The following are popular products

ordered as gifts by Amazon.com customers in 2011 (based on total units sold):

• Electronics: Kindle Fire • Toys: Rory’s Story Cubes • Video Games: Just Dance 3 • Sports & Outdoors: Zumba Fitness

Total Body Transformation System DVD Set

• Home & Kitchen: KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixer

• Books: “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson

• Kindle Books: “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson

• CD: “21” by Adele • Amazon MP3: “Born This Way”

by Lady Gaga • DVD: “Harry Potter and the

Deathly Hallows, Part 2” •Watches: LEGO Kids’ Star Wars

Darth Vader Mini-Figure Alarm Clock • Jewelry: 14k Yellow Gold Plated

“A Mother Holds Her Child’s Hand For A Short While And Their Hearts Forever” Open Heart Pendant

• Clothing: Gerber 5-Pack Onesies Brand One Piece Underwear

Amazon.com announces “Best of 2011” list

• Shoes: Crocs Classic Clog • Beauty: Olay Pro-X Advanced

Cleansing System • Health & Personal Care: Philips

7310 Norelco Men’s Shaving System • Tools & Home Improvement:

Smith’s PP1 Pocket Pal Multifunction Sharpener

• Automotive: Wagan 12-Volt Heated Seat Cushion

• Baby: Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether

Most Loved Products of 2011The following are products that

were reviewed most positively by Amazon.com customers in 2011:

• Electronics: Kindle • Toys: Syma R/C Helicopter • Video Games: Portal 2 • Sports & Outdoors: Black Moun-

tain Products Resistance Band Set • Home & Kitchen: EatSmart Preci-

sion Pro Digital Kitchen Scale • Books: “Unbroken: A World War

II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption” by Laura Hillenbrand

• Kindle Books: “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins

• CD: “Il Volo” by Il Volo • Amazon MP3: “Born this Way”

(Special Edition) by Lady Gaga

Amazon CEO Beezos presents crowd pleaser Kindle Fire

Building on the success in State redistricting, SCAPAL together with COPAO will be collaborating on a new project called Civic Education & Policy Advocacy Network (CEPA Net). More information on the vi-sion, mission and objectives of this nonpartisan project is attached.

We will be presenting a series of CEPA Net workshops this year to increase voter participation and to promote leadership in public service. The fi rst of these workshops with discuss voting data in the Filipino American community, the largest Asian group in San Diego County, and strategies to empower the com-munity.

We invite you to participate in this important discussion at the work-

SCAPAL Workshop Sat., Jan. 28thshop on Saturday, January 28th, from 9:30 am to noon at COPAO’s offi ces and to learn more about CEPA Net’s upcoming workshops. A fl yer is attached with more informa-tion.

Best regards,

Palma (Pam) HooperPresident, SCAPALSOUTHWEST CENTER FOR

ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN LAW

[email protected]@qhlawyers.com

• DVD: “Soul Surfer” •Amazon Instant Video: “Fat, Sick,

& Nearly Dead” •Watches: Casio AWG100-1A

G-Shock Multi-Band Solar Atomic Analog Watch

• Jewelry: Tungsten Carbide Com-fort Fit Flat Wedding Band Ring

• Clothing: Men’s Air Force A-2 Flight Leather Bomber Jacket

• Shoes: ASICS Men’s GEL-Nim-bus 12 Running Shoe

• Beauty: NARS Orgasm Blush • Health & Personal Care: Finger

Pulse Oximeter • Tools & Home Improvement: Ray-

ovac Sportsman Xtreme 300-Lumen LED Lantern

• Automotive: 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System

• Baby: Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo

• AmazonWireless: Droid Razr 4G by Motorola (Verizon Wireless)

• Amazon Appstore for Android: Quell

Source: Amazon.com, Inc.


How To Avoid A Finding Of Sham Or Fraudulent Marriage

IMMIGRATION 911 by Atty. Susan V. Perez | SAN DIEGO, 01/13/2012 --

A couple came to my office a couple of weeks ago asking if I could represent them at their second interview for the wife’s adjustment of status based on marriage. Ac-cording to the couple, they presented documents to prove they are living together and have commingled their funds and properties such as joint bank account, joint contract of lease, joint car insurance, joint utility bills,

and pictures. The adjudication of-ficer (AO), however, did not even look at those documents. The AO focused his interview on the previ-ous relationship of the U.S. citizen husband, which was a same-sex re-lationship. Apparently, the U.S. citi-zen husband filed documents with the county or federal agency stating that he was in a same-sex domestic relationship and the AO was able to get hold of those documents.

There is no magic formula to determine what and how much evidence is necessary to prove a bona fide marriage. Some AOs are not much interested in documenta-tion and instead rely on questioning ---usually about how the couple met and how the relationship developed – to reach a judgment about the mar-riage. In the example given, how would they prove that the marriage is bona fide considering the husband was in a previous same-sex domestic relationship. The couple has every document to prove they are living together and have commingled their funds and properties. I personally know people from my hometown who were gays and lesbians during their younger years, but are now happily married to the opposite sexes and have children. The chal-lenge is how to convince the AO that a gay or lesbian can decide later in life to be “straight”.

Unconventional or nontraditional marriage will typically raise the suspicion of the AO. The USCIS Adjudicator’s Field Manual lists ten red flags that the officer should look for, to wit: large disparity of age, in-ability of petitioner and beneficiary to speak each other’s language, vast difference in cultural and ethnic backgrounds, family and/or friends unaware of the marriage, marriage arranged by a third party, marriage contracted immediately follow-ing the beneficiary’s apprehension

or receipt of notification to depart the United States, discrepancies in answers to questions of which a hus-band and wife should have common knowledge, no cohabitation since marriage, beneficiary is a friend of the family, and petitioner has filed previous petitions on behalf of aliens especially prior foreign spouses.

Regarding large disparity of age, I’ve noticed that it’s more acceptable when it’s the man who is much older. I’ve seen cases that were approved when the man

was ten to twenty years older than the woman. But many cases were disapproved when it’s the other way around. Same is true with physical appearance. It’s acceptable when the man is much taller than the woman, but not the other way around.

Additional factors not listed about that may raise red flags are divorces and marriages done in Las Vegas. Unless one of the parties in the divorce proceedings can prove that he or she actually lived and worked in Las Vegas before the divorce was filed, the AO is most likely to deny the adjustment of status based on a finding that the marriage was not valid because the divorce in Las Ve-gas was not valid. When the couple is called back for a second interview, it is highly likely that they will undergo a marriage fraud interview. It is important they prepare thor-oughly before the interview. If the AO asked something that was not taken during the preparation, do not be nervous. Answer the questions truthfully. It is better to answer “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember” than to guess or fabricate an answer. Pay attention to activities and events the weekend and days before the interview. Refrain from talking about or proving details beyond what is asked. Also, try to avoid making it appear that the marriage is perfect. The AO expects the couple to remember important events and dates such as: wedding date, date of proposal, and where and how the proposal was done, how did the cou-ple celebrate Christmas, birthdays, New Year’s day, Thanksgiving, etc. The AO asks about work schedule. The couple is expected to know each other’s work schedule, salary and other details of the job such as name of employer, location and nature. The key to a successful interview is preparation. But no matter how hard you prepare, if you’re lying about

by Atty. Susan V. Perez

Immigration 911

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

Work Visas/Green Cards thru Employment• Family Visas• Student, Trainee, Tourist, Investors, Visas • Reinstatement of Petition • Deportation Defense• International Adoption• Appeals, Motions to Reopen/Reconsider• Battered/Abused Spouse• I-601 Waivers (Hardship)• Consular Support in Manila•

IMMIGRATION (619) 819-8648Speak directly with an Attorney

The Law Offi ces of SUSAN V. PEREZ offer the following services:

We also handle ALL PHILIPPINE cases and have an offi ce in Manila to service your needs there.

*Susan Perez is a licensed attorney both in the State of California and the Philippines. She has eighteen (18) years of combined experience in both jurisdictions in the areas of Immigration, Family, Appellate, Juvenile Dependency, Civil, Criminal, Labor, Contracts, Tax, and Business Law. She is also admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit of the Court of Appeals, and the District Courts of Southern California and Central District of California.

Nagsasalita ng Tagalog asin Bicol.

By Appointment only from 9:00 to 5:30, Monday thru Friday.

San Diego Offi ce: Manila Offi ce:625 Broadway, Suite 1015 Suite 2502-A East TowerSan Diego CA 92101 Philippine Stock Exchange CentreTel. No. (619) 819-8648 Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig CityFax No. (619) 923-9555 Tel. Nos.: (632) 687-2565 / 687-9851 Email: [email protected] Fax No.: (632) 687-2565

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Visit our website: www.law-usimmigration.com

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something it will likely come up. We welcome your feedback. If you

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Ben Maynigo(Continued from page 4)

‘Bourne’(Continued from page 4)

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Road & Travel Magazine Reveals 2012 International Car of the Year Award Winners for Most Emotionally Compelling New Vehicles of the Year

DETROIT, Jan. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Car of the Year Award's (ICOTY) jury announced today its 2012 ICOTY car and truck of the year award winners.

The 2012 International Car of the Year was awarded to the Audi A7. Accepting the prestigious award was Johan de Nysschen, president, Audi of America.

International Truck of the Year went to the 2012 Range Rover Evoque. Andy Goss, president, Jaguar Land Rover NA accepted the award on behalf of Land Rover.

Additional winners:2012 Ford Focus - International

Compact Car of the Year: Most Spirited

2012 Hyundai Veloster - Inter-national Sporty Coupe of the Year: Most Personality

2012 Porsche 911 – International Sports Car of the Year: Most Sex Appeal

2012 Toyota Camry – International Sedan of the Year: Most Dependable

Courtney Caldwell, who founded the themed awards in 1996, recog-nized the strong emotional attach-ment people have with their cars.

"The ICOTY Awards are not about power and performance but rather personality, passion and personal lifestyle," said Caldwell.

In other news, jurors also pre-sented the 4th annual Earth, Wind & Power Award to the Volkswa-gen Passat TDI as the Most Earth Friendly Car of the Year. Ford Motor Company earned the coveted 5th annual Earth Angel Award for Most Earth Friendly automaker for their signifi cant environmental contribu-tions to the planet overall.

Bridgestone, longtime lead spon-sor and supporter of the ICOTY

NAPERVILLE, Ill. and LON-DON, Jan. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Calamos Investments, a global in-vestment management fi rm, released its Global Economic Review and Outlook. Calamos' Co-Chief Invest-ment Offi cers, John P. Calamos, Sr. and Nick P. Calamos provide their views on the current economic envi-ronment and discuss factors which may affect the global markets and investing opportunities and risks. Calamos invites you to read the entire Global Economic Review and Outlook at Calamos.com/Outlook. Topics include the following:

GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUT-LOOK

Two steps forwardOver these past quarters, it's felt

as if the global economy moves for-ward, only to move back. It should be "more of the same" in 2012 and 2013, with quarters that feel like recovery followed by quarters that feel like slowdown.

A long road backEconomies going through debt de-

leveraging cycles should continue to bounce around zero growth, maybe plus or minus 2%, until a reasonable amount of debt clearing is achieved. This debt clearing will take years, not months.

The U.S. economy is on a two-tier track

We anticipate muted growth or continued contraction in the fi nan-cials, housing and construction industries overall. Meanwhile, the other side of the U.S. economy is growing with expansion in the in-formation technology, energy, health care and industrial sectors and some retail areas.

Emerging markets, especially China, will continue to assert themselves on the global stage

China still has plenty of ammuni-tion and fl exibility to manage its economic growth, including a soft landing in its real estate market. We expect an easy monetary stance this year from China as it responds to slower growth.

Global politics are a potential game-changer

2012 is a pivotal year for global politics and leadership changes in the U.S., China, Europe and many countries in the developing world. This creates opportunity and risks.

The debt bubble presents a persis-tent threat to growth and recovery

Many developed nations are reaching a point of no return, where even slight increases in interest rates could have dire implications. Politicians and developed market governments must stop playing kick-the-can.

High volatility will remain the norm

We expect that global fi nancial markets will remain very volatile and hypersensitive to both gov-ernment policy initiatives and the unwinding of private and public sector debt.

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNI-TIES

Equities provide the most attrac-tive opportunities

The equity markets should respond to a combination of monetary refl a-tion and fi scal restraint as long as pro-growth fi scal policies are part of the mix. In our view, the equity mar-kets provide the best way to access global growth opportunities, with far better risk/ reward characteristics than most countries' government bonds.

Strength in emerging marketsWhile we believe a broad-based

expansion in price-to-earnings multiples in the developed world is unlikely in 2012, we would not be surprised to see a rally in emerging market equities, including a strong advance in Chinese equities.

Refl ation, a catalyst for growthGreater coordination among cen-

tral banks and global manufactur-ing data point to increased refl ation activities. We intend to stay the course and only reduce our risk-asset and refl ation-asset exposure into strength.

Corporate bonds are also com-pelling, on a selective basis

High-grade and mid-grade corpo-rate bonds may still offer the most dependable source of low-risk-but-still-positive real return. Investors must balance credit risk and duration risk as global recession risk is likely once again higher than infl ation risk.

About Calamos

Calamos Investments is a globally diversifi ed investment fi rm serving the needs of institutional and indi-vidual investors for over 30 years. The company's clients include public and private pensions, foundations, endowments, corporations, fi nancial advisors, families and individuals from around the world who have entrusted the fi rm with $33.7 billion in assets under management as of 11/30/2011.

Calamos offers a range of global investment solutions - equity, fi xed-income, convertible and alternatives - to work with clients' multi-asset al-location frameworks and achieve the goals of their investment programs.

Calamos serves professional/sophisticated investors around the world through Calamos Global Funds PLC (UCITS), distributed by Calamos International LLP, London, United Kingdom.

For more information, please visit www.calamos.com.

Calamos Releases Quarterly Global Economic Review and

Outlook 2012


with the Windows Phone, quad-core and 4G (LTE) championed by NV-DIA, Qualcomm, Samsung and HTC. The next BIG drive in computing according to Dubravac is intercon-nectivity. He says, “As technology becomes more omnipresent and ubiquitous, the evolutionary pressures push yesterday’s innovation to the background – providing room for an increasingly natural interaction.” This makes 2012 as also the Year of the Interface.

This is not only an industry and show OF and FOR the consumer; it is also BY the consumer. That’s why “Device use-case scenarios are increasingly defi ned by the end-user and OEMs are supporting this by delivering increasingly customizable hardware and services.”

Mostly the consumers themselves have developed software applications and contents.

The consumers will give awards to exceptional and innovative products both in gadgets or devices and ap-plications as judged. I will most likely join and participate in many of the events not in the judging but in the partying as well.:)

There are new exceptionally good products for the kids, for the Mommy, for the home, for the family, for road, for the offi ce, for the school includ-ing Higher Ed Tech, and many others. Digital Health and Fitness is given greater prominence this year. Going

managed to get a glimpse of Weisz and Renner as they peeped through window curtains.

“Mukhang suplada si Rachel. Hindi siya ngumingiti (She seemed like a snob. She wasn’t smiling),” said Jacela of Weisz, as the actress gamely sat outside the door of their house before shooting started.

According to Jacela, in the scene Weisz was shot while buying some-thing at the pharmacy. A group of extras dressed as Manila policemen then arrived and a chase in the alley began.

The scene ended with the arrival of Renner riding a motorcycle. Jacela said she personally saw Renner after he removed his crash helmet.

Ulalo, a resident who rents out her two bedroom apartment to ten young female students, said this is the fi rst time she witnessed in their neighbor-hood the fi lming of a movie.

The girls also took out their cam-eras and started taking photos of the

Awards, recognizes the consumer-product relationship as critical to vehicle success. "Bridgestone is proud to support the ICOTY awards, and applauds the efforts of each winning automaker that like our company demonstrates a strong commitment to innovative technol-ogy," said Michael Martini, presi-dent, Consumer OE, Bridgestone Americas. "Through the combined efforts of everyone in the auto industry, and led by automakers like those recognized in the 2012 ICOTY Awards, we will continue to meet and exceed the demands of the motoring public."

green is also being pushed.I will be more specifi c on these

products in my next article. I still have to see many of them in the remaining days.

This is one show where the best of mankind has to offer are displayed. This is where war is fi erce and ex-pensive but conducted in peace and ends in cooperation, interconnectivity, and interface. This is where intellec-tual and spiritual that are seemingly infi nite and creative capabilities are translated and demonstrated in mate-rial and fi nite, sensuous but sensible way..

This is why I attend it every year! This is where I witness “miracles” happen!

production crew while setting up equipment.

Ulalo said some of the crew rented out some of the apartments near her unit to be used in the fi lming.

“It was very loud. Like pounding of hammers and walking on the roof-top, right on top of our apartment. We were disturbed. But it’s okay. We are very excited,” she said.

“This is the fi rst time we experi-enced this. We were advised as early as October that Matt Damon was coming, but this was changed to Jeremy Renner. He’s the star of the movie, we read in the newspapers,” she said.

Ulalo said Renner himself checked out her place.

Indian tourist Cyrus Singh said he heard that the movie Bourne Legacy was being shot in Leveriza, so he visited the place.

“I have some friends here anyway, so I also wanted to see the shooting,” Singh said.

One resident, 44-year old fruit vendor Giose Valdenor, was hired to be an extra for the fi lm.

Valdenor said he would be paid P500 for a bit scene of him pushing a cart laden with watermelons before being hit by speeding car. He said this would be risky but it’s worth it. - Nestor Etolle, Mike Frialde, Evelyn Macairan


“I was inspired to start an effort to send a Medical Mission Team to Cagayan de Oro in the aftermath of Typhoon Sendong,” said Eric Vil-lanueva, Couples for Christ (CFC)

USA National Director and Board Member, ANCOP USA.

As a personal crusade timed on his forthcoming birthday on Feb. 26, and in order to raise the needed $10,000 to fund a medical mission to Mindanao, Villanueva opened a

fundraising page online at: http://www.fi rstgiving.com/fund-

raiser/ericvillanueva/ericvillanuevas-fundraisingpage .

In his appeal for monetary dona-tions, the CFC leader said, “We have an opportunity at this time to join charitable people around the Philip-pines and across the U.S. to send a Medical Mission team to Cagayan De Oro for the continued rebuilding of lives.“

He added, “For my birthday this year, my wish is to be able to send a Surgical Team for the continued treatment of those who are ill…I feel very fortunate to be able to initiate a mission such as this. Thank you in advance for your support and for being God’s healing hands…”.

Those who wish to respond to Vil-lanueva’s appeal may visit:

http://www.fi rstgiving.com/fund-raiser/ericvillanueva/ericvillanuevas-fundraisingpage

Eric Villanueva, CFC USA National Director

San Diego Winner Achieves Nearly 50 Percent Energy

Savings SAN DIEGO, January 5, 2012

– An energy effi ciency program

piloted by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) succeeded in more than doubling energy savings among participating residential customers during a three-month period. Erica Faunce of Lakeside, California, was declared the Biggest Energy Sav-

SDG&E Celebrates San Diego’s Biggest Energy SaverserSM contest winner in San Diego after achieving a 46.5 percent energy savings, equal to 1,356 kilowatt hours for her family of three, and won a new laptop computer.

From Sept. 1 to Nov. 30, ap-proximately 200 participants were selected to pit their energy-effi ciency skills against one another, sharing their results daily online through a social gaming application developed by Simple Energy and monitoring their savings in real-time through in-home energy management devices developed by Tendril Networks and provided by SDG&E.

The Biggest Energy Saver cam-paign was kicked off in June 2011 by Grid 21, a nonprofi t organization committed to engaging electricity customers in using a new generation of tools and technologies to better manage their electricity consump-tion.

Grid 21 developed the campaign based on a call to action by United States Chief Technology Offi cer Aneesh Chopra, who urged the public to engage in a national White House initiative to empower cus-tomers to benefi t from smart meter technology and move the smart grid forward.

The contest included participa-tion from two Texas utilities, with SDG&E as the only California utility tapped to participate because of its advanced smart meter deployment and energy effi ciency programs.

The average savings of the San Diego participants who used the social gaming app integrated with the automated control device was 20 percent, compared with 9 percent for those who used the devices alone. Random drawings for tablet comput-ers and gift cards to local restaurants were used to reward participation, and the winner received the distinc-tion of the Biggest Energy Saver title and a top-of-the-line laptop com-puter. The competition’s prizes were sponsored by both Simple Energy and Tendril Networks.

“We didn’t win any of the three drawings for an iPad,” said Faunce, “but now that I think about it, we

saved more than enough money to buy a brand new iPad!”

SDG&E has more than 30 years of experience in implementing success-ful energy effi ciency programs, and with our smart meter rollout largely complete, we are now turning the corner with tools to provide mean-ingful energy usage data and value for our customers,” said Ted Reguly, director of customer programs and assistance at SDG&E.

“The Biggest Energy Saver campaign is a great example of the creative ways that we can facilitate a higher level of engagement with customers and demonstrate how technology can leverage smart meter data, providing real benefi ts.”

Many customers have said they want access to their energy usage information online. Smart meters – one of the foundational elements of the smart grid – allow access to this data. They provide customers with greater choice, convenience and control in how they access and use the information

Tips that people can put to use today to reduce their energy use just like San Diego’s Biggest Energy Savers include: switching to compact fl uorescent lighting, lowering water heater temperature, using the mini-mal amount of lighting needed for a task, washing and drying dishes and clothing by hand, using smart power strips, and turning off computers and monitors when they aren’t in use.

To learn more about the Big-gest Energy Saver campaign, visit www.biggestenergysaver.com. To participate in future SDG&E energy effi ciency and other pilot programs, contact [email protected].

SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reliable energy service to 3.5 million con-sumers through 1.4 million electric meters and more than 850,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The util-ity’s area spans 4,100 square miles. SDG&E is committed to creating ways to help our customers save en-ergy and money every day. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy

Community

Beauty Pageant for a Cause. Philippine American Senior Citizens of San Diego County (PASSCO) was established in 1976 as non-profi t 501 C-3 organization with a vision, “to improve the quality of life of Filipino American Seniors and other disadvantaged Seniors.” (See story in Lifestyles by Joe Son on page 17)

Philippine American Senior Citizens of San Diego County

ANCOP USA Appeal To Fund Medical Mission To Cagayan De Oro

(NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego.



Bill’s Corner

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

by Bill Labestre, MBA

The holiday season can be over-whelming and stressful to some of us. Maybe we were expecting too much or we tend to overlook the main reason for the celebration. Besides being exploited and commercialized, the season should be enjoyed and the good memories be reminisced someday.

This is a good time for family reunions and to bond one more time. This is a nice break from the daily routine of our busy lives. It’s a good excuse for some to overindulge on food and drinks. There’s a tendency to overdo what was done a year ago but, is it necessary? Sometimes a simple but thoughtful gift can mean more. Unless you have plenty of extra money, practicality should be the key.

Parents may have made mistakes of spoiling their children in the past and thus making their expectations higher every year. Happiness can come from other sources aside from expensive toys and other gadgets. Hol-idays should be remembered as great time spent together as families.

It’s amazing how people shop like there is no tomorrow days before Christmas. We already have so much unnecessary junks in our homes. More merchandize sold is good for the economy but being buried in debt is not healthy. We are not starving in this country of plenty. Lots of us are already overweight or obese.

At least we slowed down on office parties during holidays. Most com-panies are trimming expenses to ride and survive the current financial crisis. Employees should appreciate that they still have jobs.

Our family was complete this holi-

day season. Our son and daughter in law spent Christmas and New Year’s Day with us. It’s been a while since we last saw them and also a good break for them weather wise. It’s quite cold this time of the year at their home in Fairbanks, Alaska.

My wife and I were very happy that our family was together again

even for a short time. When our oldest son BJ got married over a year ago, we thought we lost a son but, instead we gained a thoughtful daughter Jes-sica. We hope that when it’s time for them to raise a family they’ll move closer to us in California.

Anyway, I’m always positive that the economy will get better this year. We are still a better country than most in the world. Why do you think so many people want to come and live here? There will always be groups of people that will complain about any-thing. Who is stopping them if they decide to live somewhere else?

We have great expectations for our lives and that of our children. Sometimes things happen in differ-ent ways and we have to accept the results or make adjustments. We have responsibilities as parents and hope-fully our children will do the same to their offspring. We will be there when they need us. We don’t really expect it but, we hope they will be there when we need them someday.

We should not compare our lives to our children who were born here. Most of our parents have different expectations for us. Life was really hard back then and we were always reminded about it. That was then and this is now.

Expectations




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Asia-Pacific Journalists sign ‘Manila Declaration’

The Thief in the Night ..



Read previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-journalusa.com

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

Phil - Am Law 101 by Alexis Romero, Philippine Star

| MANILA, Philippines, 10/17/2011 - Media from the Asia Pacific have renewed their commitment to prac-tice responsible journalism during times of emergency and violence and to provide voice to the sectors vulnerable to these occurrences.

About 50 journalists signed the “Manila Declaration” during the Regional Media Conference for Southeast and East Asia last Friday in Pasay.

The forum was organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and was attended by senior journalists and editors from Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines. The signing of declaration was led by Veronica Pedrosa, correspondent of Al Jazeera English. It was wit-nessed by Palace Communications Group Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. and Philippine Red Cross chair-man Richard Gordon.

The journalists, who called them-selves “The Manila Club,” vowed to promote the principles of the International Humanitarian Law in reporting violence and emergencies.

“We encourage collaboration between media and humanitarian and other organizations for better access and understanding of conflict and violence, complex emergencies and disaster situations to give voice to the most vulnerable,” the declara-tion read.

The journalists cited the need to

exercise responsible use of social networking sites, which have be-come sources of information during emergency situations.

The Manila Club stressed that ethical reporting, independence and transparency are important in ensur-ing their safety.

“Journalist organizations (should) initiate education programs on training and sharing knowledge and experience on operating in traumatic and dangerous situations and set up formal peer support programs,” the declaration read.

Signatories of the declaration also cited the need for journalists to work together with non-government orga-nizations to persuade governments and parties involved in conflict to fulfill their legal and moral obliga-tions.

The media members also promised to support the ICRC in distributing a small laminated card that contains the rights of journalists under inter-national law.

The pledges would be undertaken by setting up an online forum that would enable the sharing of informa-tion among media practitioners.

“We agree to continue our discus-sion on the challenges and oppor-tunities presented by contemporary conflicts and the complex fast-changing information environment,” the declaration read.

“The Manila Club aims to encour-age the growth of a community of media practitioners who share our concerns,” it added.

information.The first information cited three

reasons why the five accused violat-ed the ant-graft and corrupt practices act when they entered into a contract for a national broadband network with the Zhong Xing Telecommu-nications Equipment International Investment Limited (ZTE) on April 21, 2007:

1. The actual cost of the ZTE proposal for the NBN project was only US$130 million but was finally pegged and overpriced at US$329 million.

2. ZTE’s NBN project covered only 30 percent of the country com-pared to the proposal of Amsterdam Holdings Inc. which would cover 80 percent of the country at a much lesser cost.

3. It was to be financed by a loan from the Eximbank of China, pay-ment of which was to be guaranteed by the government of the Philip-pines, compared to the AHI proposal of implementing the project under the Build Operate and Transfer scheme which would actually entail no cost to the government of the Philippines.

The second information cited Arroyo’s knowledge of the irregu-larities and anomalies that attended the approval of the deal including the P200 million offer of Abalos to former Economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri yet, she approved the contract.

The third information accused her of violating R.A 6713 for accepting the invitation of ZTE for a round of golf and lunch in Shenzhen while a contract involving the host was be-ing deliberated.

I remember the press release the April 21, 2007 of Malacañang when Arroyo left the bedside of her ailing husband in St Luke’s hospital and flew to Boao, China to witness the signing of the agreement for the Chinese jumbo loans including that for the NBN project.

The title was “So much invest-ments, so little time for PGMA in China” and it aptly likened Arroyo to “a thief in the night.”

The press release enthused: “Nearly a billion dollars worth of new investments in 12 hours.

“That’s the way things looked like for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her brief stay in this picturesque coastal town Saturday as she ‘came and went like a thief in the night,’ bringing with her an avalanche of Chinese investments to the tune of $904.38 million.”

If your own propagandist called you a thief, what does that make of you?

The graft charges filed by the Ombudsman are bailable but since Arroyo is under detention for the un-bailable crime of electoral sabotage,

Dear Atty. Karagdag,

I was petitioned by my father as an unmarried adult child. I have re-mained single until now, although I have a five-year old daughter with a previous girlfriend. My ex-girlfriend and I broke up. She went on to marry another man and left our baby with me. I do not know where she is right now. Recently, I was notified by the National Visa Center to pay the Af-fidavit of Support and Immigration Visa fees and to submit documents. I did as told. At the last minute, however, I decided to bring my child with me, so I asked the NVC to include her in the petition. NVC replied and asked me to pay another visa fee and to submit my daughter’s birth certificate, 2x2 pictures and passport copy. My problem is that I could not get a passport for my child unless I get a clearance from the DSWD, but the DSWD does not want to give me the clearance unless I get my ex-girlfriend’s consent or a court order. I am at a loss now on what to. I do not want to delay my petition because my father is very sickly.

Respectfully,

Gordon

Dear Gordon,

The law always considers the best interests of the child. As is typical in most families, especially among Filipinos, it is the mother who cares for the child during his formative years, while the father takes a sup-porting role. In the case of legitimate children, Article 213 of the Family Code of the Philippines provides that “No child under seven years of age shall be separated from the mother, unless the court finds compelling reasons to order otherwise”. On the other hand, in the case of illegiti-mate children, Article 176 gives the mother the parental authority over the child until the child reaches 21 years of age (the age of majority un-der Philippine law). The discrepancy may be due to the idea that illegiti-mate fathers take flight and abandon their love child, which is of course proven wrong in your case and in many other instances.

At any rate, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) requires the personal appearance of the mother and the corresponding clearance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DWSD). This seems to be an overkill, be-cause why the need for a DSWD clearance when the mother would be appearing before the DFA anyway? A quick call to the DFA confirms

the redundancy – no need for the mother’s personal appearance; a DSWD clearance would suffice. But we advise our readers to always take the side of caution. If the mother is available, then it is better if she tags along.

Now, let us go to your case. You

said that you cannot locate the mother anymore. However, we have this feeling that you have not exerted your best efforts yet. Surely, there are ways to locate her – through her relatives, friends, facebook, etc. We are saying this because the alterna-tive to her consent and personal appearance is tedious and costly.

If despite all efforts you are not able to locate your ex-girlfriend or get her cooperation, then you will need to go to court and ask for exclusive custody of the child. Based on what you said in your letter, you will be able to prove that your ex-girlfriend neglected and abandoned your daughter, which is a good ground for the court to deprive her of parental authority. But, as I said, the court case will be quite tedious and costly. Firstly, you will have to engage an attorney’s services to file the petition. Secondly, since your ex-girlfriend’s whereabouts are unknown, you will need to publish the petition. Thirdly, you will need to appear in court and testify on why you should be granted custody. Of course, you may opt to immigrate first to the U.S., since you said that your father is very sickly. If some-thing happens to him, unless you get humanitarian reinstatement, your petition will be revoked.

Finally, a word of caution. Do not even think of smuggling your child into the United States, if for some reasons you are able to get her a passport without her mother’s consent or the DSWD clearance. We have heard of stories where for a certain amount, you can bribe someone to escort your child to go pass immigration. We do not know if this story is true, but if it is, be fore-warned that it may constitute child abduction which is a very serious offense under United States law and international laws, for which you will face both jail term and deporta-tion.

Sincerely,

Atty. Karagdag

***

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

Do I Need My Ex-Girlfriend’s Consent To Bring Our Love

Child to the U.S.?


Hiniling kong Siya’y palaging nasa tabi mosa lahat ng panahon umulan o bumagyosa pagsikat ng araw, paglubog sa ibayonariyan lang Siyang lagi malapit sa iyo.

Walang anumang sakit ang sa iyo’y gumalawsa tuwina mabuti ang iyong kalusuganlaging masaya sa bawat tunog ng orasankapiling silang nagmamahal mong kaibigan.

Mga biyaya ng Diyos nawa’y sumaiyoat kahit sino pa man na makakapiling momagagandang ala-ala ang laging damhin mogunita ng kahapon makakatulong ito.

Ang higit sa lahat na aking ipinagdasalhuwag kang hiwalayan ng kanyang pagmamahalat sa lahat ng sandali nasaan man ikaway gabayan ka Niya ng walang katapusan.

Ang Dalangin Ko Para sa Iyo (2)


Spiritual Life

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

by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez

Lower Your Nets Balintataw

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

by Virginia H. Ferrer

©2011 Virginia H. Ferrer. All rights reserved.

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

January 15, First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Joke of the week: Two men went to the train station with a friend. The train was late, so they sat down for a cup of coffee. They talked and drank and forgot about the train. Suddenly they heard the last announcement about the departing train. They all got up and started running. They ran down the tracks as the train was pulling out of the station. Two of the men just made it to the last car and the third man was not quite fast enough. The third man slowed to a stop and started laughing. An onlooker went up to the laughing man and said, “What are you laugh-ing for? You just missed your train.” “You’re right,” was the reply. “I did miss my train. What’s funny is that those two men came to see me off.”

Scriptures: First Reading: 1 Samuel 3: 3b-10, 19. This passage is fi lled with so much symbolism. Israel longed for its God as Han-nah also desired a son. In both cases, God acted and remedied the situation. The image of Eli sleeping and going almost blind symbolizes Israel’s state of affairs in relation to the Lord. Due to scandalous ac-tivities of the offi ciating priests, the lamp, God’s word, is nearing extinc-tion. Eli’s resignation signifi es God’s sovereignty and justice. Samuel’s opening the temple door to let in the morning light is another sign of a new day breaking forth for Israel. Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 6: 13c-15a, 17-20. Paul compared the former pagan life of the baptized with the new life in Christ. Freedom from one master makes the person

subjective to another. If we don’t live freely for God, we run the risks of returning to the old life of sin. Paul’s use of marriage to describe the union between Christ and the baptized reveals the perfect relation-ship between the two. He then enu-merates fornication and other evil sexual acts as defi lements of God’s temples (the baptized). Gospel: John 1: 35-42. Like actors in a play, the participants were informed ahead of time who and what Jesus is. This passage lists a number of people who one by one identifi es who Jesus is the sake of John and his disciples

Refl ections: Today is the beginning of the Sundays of the Ordinary Time of the liturgical year. Even though this term, “Ordinary Time” was already in use before the Second Vatican Council, after the Council it came to designate specifi cally the period between Epiphany and Lent, as well as the time between Pentecost and Advent. Ordinary came from “Ordinal,” (numbered) because these Sundays of the Ordinary Time are counted “numerically” and fall, according to The General Norms for the Liturgi-cal Year and the Calendar, outside the time when the specifi c myster-ies of Christ are observed. This time can run from 33 to 34 weeks and is “devoted to the mystery of Christ in all its aspects.” Thus, this Ordinary Time covers that sea-son of the Christian calendar that does not fall within the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. Though the word “Ordinary” may

Ordinary yet Signifi cant

be misleading, yet it does not mean that Christians go on recess or hiatus from the practice and observance of Christian faith. Important liturgical celebrations, such as the Feast of the Trinity, Corpus Christi, All Saints, Assumption, and Christ the King, occur during the Ordinary Time.

“Come and see,” Jesus said to John’s disciples who inquired whether he is the Messiah or should they be looking for another Messiah

somewhere else. John the Baptist in the Gospel and Eli in the fi rst reading played well their role: both pointed to the Real Focus of every evangelization - Jesus Christ and God Himself. They did not stand on the periphery, but used their position to interpret to their constituents, the disciples and Samuel, the real One whom they should be looking for or listening to. Eli helped Samuel interpret and respond to the Lord’s call, “Speak, Lord, for your servant

is listening.” Referring to Christ, John the Baptist said it well, “He must increase and I must decrease.” Nobody and nothing should hinder a person from encountering Christ. It is sad that many preachers used the Gospel, not to point to Jesus Christ, but to serve their own vested inter-ests, such as fi nancially enriching themselves or presenting their teach-

ings as the ultimate solutions to the world’s problems. Like the wicked prophets of old, these ministers feed themselves, not the fl ock entrusted to their care.

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Destinations


by Delon Porcalla, Philippine Star, 1/9/2012 -- MANILA, Philippines - The scheduled shooting of the movie “Bourne Legacy” in Manila will put the Philippines back on the map, and this time the country’s tourist spots will be given prominence to make them more attractive to tourists, a Palace offi cial said yesterday.

“We are already on the map but this will also give them an opportu-nity to see our country in a different setting. I understand that they will

‘Bourne’ to further boost Phl tourismalso be shooting on location in Pala-wan,” deputy presidential spokesper-son Abigail Valte said in an inter-view over state-run radio dzRB.

She said this will also be a good time to prove to the world that the Philippines is not just home to great talents such as boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, the Filipino-Americans in “American Idol,” and the whiz kids.

The popular sunset along Manila Bay will also be featured as part of

Rachel Weisz recently arrived in Manila for the fi lming of the movie “Bourne Legacy.”

the Bourne shooting, along with the iconic Jones Bridge in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

Another good thing the shooting will bring is that the Philippines will be mentioned in the fi lm.

“Part of the script is that the hero will go to the Philippines. So this time it will really draw an interna-tional audience. From what I under-stand in the movie – the Philippines will really be mentioned,” Valte said.

Valte said all government agencies concerned from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority up to the local government units have al-ready coordinated properly to make the shooting a success.

WWF Travel (www.worldwildlife.org) has added a truly spectacular new snorkeling itinerary to our 2011 lineup: Snorkeling the Palawan Islands of the Philippines. This land-based trip runs February 26 – March 13, 2011.

Untouched beaches lined with soaring marble cliffs make up many of the islands throughout Bacuit Bay in the Philippines. Its marine reserve is speckled with islets, sparkling-blue water and a variety of marine life. In addition to coral reefs and the fi sh they attract, the protected bay is home to manta rays, sharks and sea turtles.

Head out on daily excursions with a knowledgeable guide who specializes in coral reefs. Scheduled excursions include swimming at shallow grassy beds to see dugong populations and an exhilarating night snorkel in search of sharks and octopuses.

But fi rst things fi rst: Before you ar-rive at Palawan Island, you’ll go to a different spot for a rare opportunity to swim with whale sharks. The Bay of Donsol is often considered the whale shark capital of the world, and late February is an ideal time to see them there.

About WWFFor 50 years, WWF has been

protecting the future of nature. The world’s leading conservation organi-zation, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by 1.2 million members in the United States and close to 5 million globally. WWF’s unique way of working combines global reach with a foundation in science, involves action at every level from local to global, and

World Wildlife Foundation Travel Lists a Philippine Attraction: Snorkeling the Palawan Islands

A glimpse of an Amampulo, Palawan attraction. Picnic in calm waters

Snorkeling the Philippines' Bacuit Bay

ensures the delivery of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature.

Call 888-WWF-TOUR to sign up

***

WWF Tour Details: February 26 – March 13, 2011$7,795 per person, based on

double occupancy. Single supple-ment: $1,200

Trip OverviewUntouched beaches lined with

soaring marble cliffs make up many of the islands throughout Bacuit Bay in the Philippines. But what lies just offshore makes a visit more than just a scenic week at the beach.

The Bacuit Bay Marine Reserve at the northern tip of Palawan Island is speckled with islets, sparkling-blue water and a variety of marine life. In addition to coral reefs and the fi sh they attract, the protected bay is home to manta rays, sharks and sea turtles. On the newest snorkeling adventure from WWF, head out on daily excursions with a knowledge-able guide who specializes in coral reefs. Scheduled excursions include swimming at shallow, grassy beds to see dugong populations and an exhilarating night snorkel in search of sharks and octopuses.

But fi rst things fi rst: Before you ar-rive at Palawan Island, you’ll go to a different spot for a rare opportunity to swim with whale sharks. The Bay of Donsol is often considered the whale shark capital of the world, and early March is an ideal time to see them there.

Trip ItinerarySaturday – Monday, February 26 –

28: US / Manila, PhilippinesDepart the United States on the

recommended group fl ight. You’ll cross the International Date Line and “lose a day,” arriving in Manila on Monday afternoon. Spend time exploring Manila and gather for a welcome dinner. Sofi tel Philippine Plaza (D)

Tuesday, March 1: Manila / Donsol

A morning fl ight takes you to Lu-zon Island. Drive a short distance to the coastal fi shing village of Donsol, where we’ll launch a search for whale sharks. The waters off Donsol have the largest numbers of recorded sightings of whale sharks on the planet, with the highest concentra-tions occurring in the spring. WWF researchers conduct studies and con-servation on the whale shark, which locally is known as butanding.

Aboard bancas – Filipino outrigger canoes – head in the bay in search of whale sharks. Your guide will brief you on the rules in place that ensure the whale sharks’ safety, and all travelers will have an opportunity to be in the water with harmless whale sharks.

Later, snorkel at a nearby reef teeming with tropical fi sh and learn more about the biology and behavior of whale sharks. Enjoy beach bar-becue dinner. Elysia Beach Resort (B,L,D)

Wednesday, March 2: Donsol / Legaspi

Morning is prime time to encoun-ter whale sharks, as they cruise the bay, mouths wide open, fi lter-feeding on plankton. Rise early for another whale shark snorkeling opportunity.

In the late afternoon, visit two locales that offer stunning views of one of the world’s most perfect strato-volcanoes, Mt. Mayon. Stop at the ruins of Cagsawa, a town buried by a violent eruption nearly two centuries ago. Then go to the summit of Lignon Hill for panoramic views. Hotel Venezia (B,L,D)

Every fi rst week of March | Donsol, Sor-sogon, Philippines

To welcome the return of the Butand-ings (whale sharks), which usually come in droves during this time of the year, and to offi cially signal the opening of another high adventure season of Butanding Interaction, the Butanding Arribada Festival is held every fi rst week of March in Donsol town.

The peak Butanding Interaction season is March, April and May each year. This means, it is again open season for eager visitors or tourists to go Whale Shark/Butanding watching or, for the more intrepid and adventurous, who want to cavort with these biggest fi shes in the world up close, swimming with the awesome, but gentle Butandings of Donsol.

A long fl uvial procession just at the mouth of the long and winding Donsol River where a large pod of Butandings usually converge at this time of the year, highlights the Festi-val. -- Source: SorsogonTourism.com

Butanding Festival

growwe

To learn more, visit ucsd.edu.

Sierra magazine ranks us the third greenest school in the nation.

Students plant trees as part of the campus’ green initiative.


EntertainmentShowbiz Watcher

Read Ogie Cruz’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Ogie Cruz

IW Group80518

80518_L1012.19.11

Newsprint85

RG

Tv Show ni Kris Tatapatan ni Sharon !!!

Claudine Barretto

SHOWBIZ WATCHER by Ogie Cruz | SAN DIEGO, 1/13/2012 --

Habang umaarangkada ang ‘Kris Tv’ ni Kris Aquino sa Kapamilya Network eto at magbabalik na si Sharon Cuneta sa Tv via Kapatid Network .

Isang pang-araw-araw na show ang ga-gawin ng Megastar at isang Talent Search show pero hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin sinasabi ng pamunuan ng channel 5 kung anung oras eto.

Pero ayon sa aming source,isang ev-eryday morning show ang inihahanda ng kapatid network sa Megastar at takenote talagang tatapatan ang show ni Kris Aquino.Aba magandang laban ito,Sharon vs Kris tiyak pag-uusapan eto.

For the meantime,may twitter na rin pala si Sharon at eto ngayon ang pinag-mamalaki ng Megastar .Ang account name niya ay Sharon_cuneta 12 at may 18,000 ng followers ito,sabi pa nga ng megastar totoong siya raw ang talaga ang

gumagawa at sumasagot sa account na ito. Kaya kung may tanong man ang mga tagahanga niya tungkol sa kanya, wel-come raw at tiyak sasagutin niya ito.Last Jan 6, nagsimulang mag-tweet si Sharon.

Samantalang, ang hula tungkol kay Kris Aquino na mabubuntis daw eto sa taong ito 2012 at si Coco Martin ang lalaki raw ay simple lang ang naging sagot ng kap-atid ni Pres. Noynoy Aquino “Maghanda ka na Coco”.

Pero ayon kay Coco Martin, nagbibiro lang marahil si kris kaya nasabi niyang ‘Maghanda ka na’. Naging close pala siya sa pamilyang Aquino nung ginawa niya ang movie na “Noy” kaya imposibleng mangyari ang hula na ito, at takenote parang ate na ang tingin ni Coco kay Kris.

Kapag tinatawag nga daw siya nito,lumalayo siya hindi para isnabin si Kris kundi nahihiya siya sa Queen of All Media dahil malaki ang respeto niya sa Aquino Family.

Open naman ang Prince of Indi Films, kung sakaling magkakasama sila sa isang movie.Basta hindi naniniwala si Coco Martin sa hula na siya ang makakabuntis sa taong it okay Kris Aquino.

POKWANG, MOTHER OF ALL FLOPS !!! Matunog na matunog ang balitang maganda at nakakaiyak raw ang launching movie ni Pokwang na “Mother’s Story”. Katunayan pa, sa pre-miere night ng nasabing movie sinamahan pa ito ni Marian Rivera para suporta sa movie ng komedyante along with other celebrities.

Pero anu itong nababalitaan namin, mahina raw ang movie at talaga raw nakakaiyak ang resulta sa takilya.Tiyak iiyak daw si Pokwang, sabi pa ni Cristy Fermin.Pinagsisigawan pa nga ni Ms. Cristy na si Pokwang daw talaga ang Mother of All Flops, hindi raw eto sinuwerte sa launching movie .Kwento pa

nga ni Ate Cristy,isang professor raw ang dapat manonood pero nang makita niyang tatlong ticket pa lang ang nahuhulog sa takilyera hindi na raw tumuloy ito dahil baka pang-apat lang siya na manonood

Maricel, Chris, and Sharon Pokwang

doon.Maaaring hindi tama ang tiempo ng

pagpapalabas ng nasabing movie dahil katatapos pa lang ang MMFF, kaya hindi masyadong pinansin ito.Actually hindi pa namin napapanood ang naturang pelikula, pero hindi lahat ng magandang movies pinipilahan, minsan pa nga kung anu yung basura yun ang pinipilahan.

BALITANG SHOWBIZ RATSADA.Kung si Pokwang raw ang bagong “Moth-er of All Flops” si Maricel Soriano naman daw ang bagong “Floptsina Queen” dahil 6 million lang ang kinita ng movie niya sa MMFF, at kulelat pa.

Nakarma raw ang Diamond Star dahil sa pang-aapi nito sa kanyang mga kasam-bahay na nireklamo siya kaya hindi gaano sinuportahan ito ng mga manonood?Ayon eto sa isang analysis ng isang katoto nam-ing movie reporter na nasa Phils.

Claudine Barretto babalik na raw sa Kapamilya Network, dahil natapos na raw ang contract nito sa GMA 7.Pero hanggang ngayon wala pang malinaw sa balitang ito. Pero anu naman ang sabi ni Gladys Reyes, “Bakit may babalikan pa ba siya”, depensa ni Gladys nagtatanong lang siya dahil marami ng artista roon na pino-promote ng channel 2.Intrigera si Gladys Reyes, anu kaya ang say ni Clau-dine na pumirma na kay Vic Del Rosario ng Viva Films bilang manager niya?

TATLONG NGITI NG TATLONG PERSONALIDAD NG NATIONAL CITY.Dumalaw kamakailan si Pastor Jon Mejica ng Harbor Life Ministries sa of-fice ng Asian Journal, siempre kinamusta namin siya.Habang kausap naming si Pas-tor isang ngiti ng pag-asa nakita namin

sa kanya.Marami siya ikinuwento about sa

kanyang paniniwala sa Diyos, siempre marami rin kaming tanong about sa kanilang paniniwala.Puede rin pala siyang maging guest speaker sa ibang born again Christian na organization o catholic , basta na invited siya at wala namang masama raw roon.

Ikinuwento naman ni Ma’am Noemi Mangosing na may taga Temecula na nakakita sa kanyang ad sa Asian Journal mga dati niyang kaibigan, isang ngiti sa labi ang nakita namin sa kanya.

Actually sabi nga ni Ma’am Mangos-ing sa amin, marami na siyang clients sa kanyang insurance business hindi na niya kailangan pa magpa-ad kaya lang natutuwa raw siya kapag may tumatawag sa kanya sa telepono dahil nakita ang ad niya ng kanyang mga dating kaibigan.Sana tuloy-tuloy na ang ad sa amin ni Ma’am Mangosing.

Kamaikailan naman nakausap namin ang manager ng Little Dimsum na si Wanda Chu na may ngiti rin sa labi dahil masaya niyang binalita sa amin na ang Little Dimsum ay may bagong pakulo . Puede na raw mag-party roon ang 10 tao, at takenote mga more than100 lang daw ang magagastos.

Very affordable party menu para sa anumang okasyon, malaki naman ang place nila kaya maganda at malinis kaya maganda sa bonding moments ng mga magkakaibigan.Sabi pa nga ni Wanda “No tips on any party”, kung anu lang ang halaga yun lang ang babayaran so mag-party na sa Little Dimsum sa E. Plaza National City.

John Mejica of Harbor Life Ministries, Noemi Mangosing, and Wanda Chu




Fantasy Land, a novel

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.Read the series by Sim Silverio on www.asianjournalusa.

com

Fantasy Land, Chapter 19

A Game of Chicken

Lower Your Nets


THE NOVENA FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE UNBORN COMMENCES ON JANUARY 15 AND ENDS ON JANUARY 23. The General Instruction for the Roman Missal decrees that a particular day of prayer and penance be observed for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and for violations to the dignity of the hu-man person committed through acts of abortion

THE WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY runs from January 18-25.. Christian differences and divisions will not be settled un-less all are gathered around Christ. The late Holy Father, John Paul 11 said, “If Christians, despite their divisions, can grow ever more united in common prayer around Christ, they will grow in the awareness of how little divides them in com-parison to what unites them.” (That They May Be One, 22).

Quotation of the week: “The voca-tion of each person merges, up to a certain point, with his very being: it can be said that vocation and person become just one thing. This means that in God’s creative initiative there enters a particular act of love for those called not only to salvation, but also to the ministry of salvation.” John Paul 11.

JAN. 15: PHILIPPINES FEAST OF STO. NIÑO

Vulnerable and Strong

Joke of the week: It was at

the end of the school year, and a kindergarten teacher was re-ceiving gifts from her pupils.

The florist’s son handed her a gift. She shook it, held it overhead, and said, “I bet I know what it is. Some flowers.” “That’s right” the boy said, “but how did you know?”

“Oh, just a wild guess,” she said. The next pupil was the can-dy shop owner’s daughter. The teacher held her gift overhead, shook it, and said, “I bet I can guess what it is. A box of sweets.” “That’s right, but how did you know?” asked the girl. “Oh, just a wild guess,” said the teacher.

The next gift was from the son of the liquor store owner. The teacher held the package overhead, but it was leaking. She touched a drop of the leakage with her finger and touched it to her tongue. “Is it wine?” she asked. “No,” the boy replied, with some excitement.

The teacher repeated the process, taking a larger drop of the leakage to her tongue. “Is it champagne?” she asked. “No,” the boy replied, with more excite-ment.

The teacher took one more taste before declar-ing, “I give up, what is it?” With great glee, the boy replied, “It’s a puppy!”

Reflections: Writer Nick Joaquin in his 1980 paper delivered before the Cebuanos talked about those years after the Magellan men left and before the next Spanish ex-pedition came under Miguel Lopez de Legazpi – all 44 unaccounted years. After Magellan was killed by Lapu-Lapu in the Battle of Mactan, not much was heard about the im-age of Santo. Niño, except that the Cebuanos worshipped it as a rain god. Joaquin said that “during that strange interlude… the wondrous miracle happened: we accepted the Santo Niño as part of our land, part of our culture, part of our history. During those 44 years when the Cross had vanished from our land, the Sto. Niño kept us faithful to him”. It is such a symbol of Philip-pine history “because it came with Magellan, became a native pagan idol, was reestablished as a Christian icon by Legazpi, and has become so Filipino that native legends annul its European origin by declaring it to have arisen in this land and to have been of this land since time imme-morial. Thus, the unaccounted 44 years of the stay of the image in the hands of the natives is part of Philip-pine history. The Sto. Niño, as writer Joaquin put it, connected, linked, joined together our pagan and our Christian culture; while belonging to both.

Nowadays when there are so many kids who grow up without a father or mother, the Fatherhood of God is an excellent model how “dead-beat dads” should act toward their children. A missed father or mother means a lost intimacy and an opportunity for normal growth. St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exer-cises emphasize two directives, “... The first is that love ought to mani-fest itself in deeds rather in words. The second is that love consists in a mutual sharing of goods, for example, the lover gives and shares with the beloved what he or she pos-sesses ... and vice versa, the beloved with the lover.” True fatherhood is not only fathering a child, but also sharing one’s well-being and total love with him/her.

No matter what’s the kind and size, such as extended, traditional, modern, single, dysfunctional, of our family, important elements play a distinct role in determining the quality of a family. Permanency and examples of loving parents are crucial. It is not enough to bring children into the world and shower them with material things. There’s something that money can’t buy and be replaced by gifts: LOVE.

When children don’t experi-ence permanency and don’t feel that they are loved in the family, they will look for these elements somewhere else. This is one of the reasons why so many teenagers got pregnant at an early age, why they got hooked up on drugs and alcohol-ic drinks, why they become recruits of cults, and become young crimi-nals. It is said that criminals and those in prisons are getting younger and younger as years go by.

Jesus is God, but as Man he experienced the travails that chal-lenged a person of his age. Through God’s grace and the exemplary vir-tues and holy life of his mother, the Virgin Mary, and his foster father, Joseph, he grew in age and wisdom.

Quotation of the week:” Kids go where there is excitement. They stay where there is love.” Zig Ziglar

A Novena is nine consecutive days of prayer for a special intention, and may be prayed privately or with others. This Novena has been used by many parish pro-life groups and for 40 hour devotions. It is also highly suitable for use in families.

The first day of this Novena could be recited by a group and the days following said privately. Scripture translations of the Magnificat and Psalm 139 are from the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edi-tion, an accurate translation modern English approved for liturgical use in the Catholic Church. (The Psalm and Canticle are followed by the Gloria Patri.)

WFF (Women for Faith & Family ) gladly grants permission to reproduce this No-vena for private use.

Novena for the Protection of

the Unborn

Novena for the Protection of the Unborn

Prayers to the Holy Trinity, The Blessed Virgin Mary, All the Angels and Saints

O Heavenly Father, Creator and Giver of all life, Author of justice, Source of love and mercy: Although it is deserving of thine anger and punishment, look with mercy on our nation, which has offended thee by condoning the killing of millions of innocent children, thy precious sons and daughters, who, like all of us, were created in thine image and likeness, but whose only offense was their very existence. Amen.

O Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, Our Redeemer, whose inestimable gift of self-sacrificing love provided the means of Salvation for all mankind through the shedding of thine inno-cent blood: grant that all may come to know thee, serve thee and love thee, and thus may know the mean-ing of true freedom and true liberty, which never destroys, but always serves and protects life. amen.

O Holy Spirit, source of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety and holy fear: inspire us with these gifts. Fill the hearts of Follow @asianjournal

on Twitter

CASE Act brings together survi-vors, political leaders, and law enforcement to begin signature

gathering effortSan Francisco, CA – Advocates, politi-

cal leaders and survivors gathered in San Francisco today to formally kickoff the campaign to gather the 800,000 signa-tures needed to put the CASE Act on the ballot this November. The Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act (CASE Act) will increase penalties and fines for those who engage in human traffick-ing, provide new restrictions for those convicted of these crimes, and mandate new law enforcement training to ensure proper enforcement and sensitivity for victims across the justice system. Com-prehensive information can be found at www.caseact.org.

California is a hot spot for domestic and international human trafficking because of its large population, interna-tional borders, large economy, extensive ports, and metropolitan regions. At the same time, California received an “F” grade in a recent national report on laws to protect children against sex trafficking.

The announcement was timed to coincide with National Human Traffick-ing Awareness Day on January 11th and featured Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Chris Kelly of the Safer California Foundation, advocates from California Against Slavery, law enforcement leaders and trafficking survivors.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier, a long-time supporter of efforts to reduce human trafficking and sexual slavery, endorsed the measure today saying, “Human trafficking knows no borders. Califor-nia needs to lead the way for the nation and the world. This initiative will raise awareness and harness the outrage of 17 million Californians to say once and for all that we won’t stand for the trafficking of 12 year old girls and we won’t give pimps and exploiters an easy way out of the justice system. I’m fighting for en-hanced policies at the national level but

the meat of this fight is at the local level. I am proud to support the CASE Act in California.”

“Victims need to know that every California voter is standing with them,” said Chris Kelly, Founder of the Safer California Foundation and a Silicon Valley attorney and philanthropist who formerly oversaw online privacy, safety, and security efforts as Chief Privacy Officer at Facebook. “Anonymity on the internet has driven the ability of those who seek to exploit others. By not hav-ing electronic information as part of the sex offender registry, we are missing out on critical data that could protect kids online more effectively. We are reaching out to every Californian who believes that children and women deserve a life free of exploitation and enslavement. The CASE Act is our opportunity to protect the people of this state against sexual exploitation on our streets and on the Internet.”

In November, California Against Slavery and the Safer California Founda-tion submitted the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act (“CASE Act”) to the California Attorney General to strengthen laws against human traffickers and improve Megan’s Law against online predators. The ballot initiative that is now circulating for signatures across the state would:

Increase prison terms for human traf-fickers

Increase fines for human traffickers, up to $1.5M to fund victim services

Remove the need to prove force to prosecute sex trafficking of a minor

Mandate human trafficking training for law enforcement

Make sex traffickers register as sex offenders

Require that all sex offenders disclose internet accounts

Prohibit use of sexual history to impeach or prove criminal liability of

Effort to Combat Human Traf-ficking Seeks Place on Novem-

ber Ballot in California

President Lino Majeras realized his campaign against corruption was

easier said than done. He thought before all he needed to do was keep his nose clean, not commit any form of cor-ruption, prosecute those who had committed them so people would not follow their ex-ample and his administration would become successful in its anti-corruption campaign.

He would have then lived up to the people’s expectation as the son of a

martyred hero of a father and an icon of democracy of a mother. He would have made his parents proud.

But as it turned out, he needed the support of his political allies not only to make his corruption cam-paign successful, but more impor-tantly to politically survive. For if he were to follow the dictum of his avid and enthusiastic anti-corruption czar, Pablo Nolasco, his chief prosecutor, everyone who came his way would be prosecuted. It did not matter whether one supported the president or not, so long as Nolasco had un-covered evidence of his corruption practices, he would be prosecuted. There was no “sacred cow” in his vocabulary.

But a democratic form of govern-ment did not work that way. One needed the consensus and support of the other elected officials of the gov-ernment. It’s majority rule, as they say. But not everyone in the majority act in the best interest of the people. Many act in their own selfish inter-est. This was because not all of those elected were good people. Those with a lot of money were elected and they were not necessarily good.

Faced with this dilemma, Presi-dent Lino Majeras didn’t know what to do. His political allies had been burning the telephone lines, angrily demanding the president to order Nolasco, who was hot on their trails, to back off.

“If you do not tell your attack dog to stop hounding us, we will muster enough support to impeach you. Remember, your power might rest on the Constitution, but the power to remove you from office would be on us,” said the latest warnings he received.

When he did a random count, Majeras realized there were enough legislators whom Nolasco was run-ning after, to gather the necessary votes to impeach him. Once he was impeached, he would be tried in the Senate, and even among the sena-tors who would rule as judges, there were a majority who were targets of Nolasco’s anti-corruption campaign.

“Take the matter to the people,” one of his advisers told him. “Let the Senate try you and hopefully, the public opinion would be strong enough to prevent them from con-victing you.”

It was clear to Majeras’s men their boss would not be tried based on evidence. Otherwise, he would have been acquitted as there clearly were no evidence of corruption against him. Instead, the senators would rule

based on their self interest, on how they could save themselves from the corruption prosecution by Majeras’ men. If they got rid of the president, the charges against them would also go away as there would not be an spirited soul who would dare to quixotically push them through. Even Nolasco would be removed from his post once Majeras was out. Public opinion? For sure, the people would get angry. For they would re-move a saintly president from power merely because he wanted to get rid of corruption. But for the legislators who would rule on an impeachment case, it did not matter. It was a mat-ter of survival for them. If they did not get rid of Majeras, they would be

prosecuted and their fate would be worse. They might all land in jail.

It was therefore a game of chicken between President Lino Majeras and his political allies. The first one to blink had to lose. They had reached a point of no return. The political al-lies were like cornered dogs, caught in a trap. They had no recourse but to fight back or die.

Lino Majeras, however, was not in a suicidal mood. His own father had opted to become a martyr, offered his own life, to initiate the return of democracy in Fantasy Land. Lino Majeras knew too well the high cost of such a sacrifice. He lived through it. He experience being without a fa-ther for himself and his sisters at the age of fourteen. He always longed for his dad. He wanted to turn back the clock and tell his father not to play martyr for the country. He was not the one to follow his example.

After consulting his sisters and close advisers of his family, he was told to lay off, be practical.

“We do not need a impotent hero,” they told him. “You have to be practical. You have to compromise. If you doggedly pursue your anti corruption campaign, you would surely be impeached, according to the Constitution since there would be enough votes, including from your allies, to convict you. “

The best case scenario? They all agreed that hopefully, the people would get so mad they would launch another People Power Revolt. Then Lino Majeras could rule as a be-nevolent dictator, with all the power in his hands. He could remove those who were against him from office and he could do whatever he wished. For he would have the blessings of the people.

But then again, it would still be a dream, a fantasy. It would be very difficult to achieve. Even with the support of the people, he still had the army to contend with. There were a lot of corruption in the military and he could not simply turn a blind eye on them. He would have to pros-ecute anyone who had sinned, no matter what. – AJ

(To be continued)(Editor’s Note: To read the previ-

ous and weekly installments of this series, visit www.asianjournalusa.com. Once there, click the “Editori-als” heading, then click “Fantasy Land by Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.” title to see the list of all previous chapters of the series. Click the title of the chapter you want to read and the article will appear.)

FANTASY LAND | Chapter 19, A Game of Chicken -- By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr., Publisher & Editor, Asian Journal San Diego, The Original and First Asian Journal in America

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Health and Wellness

Joyce Benavides Medina, O.D.Doctor of Optometry

Clinic located inside Walmart1200 Highland AvenueNational City, CA 91950

Open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday 9:30 A.M. to 6:30 P.M.Saturday 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

Most insurances accepted.

Call for an appointment: (619) 477-9621

Complete Eye Exams $58* additional charge for contact lens �tting

Walk-Ins Are Welcome

CDPH, SACRA-MENTO, 1/9/2012 -- As part of “Folic Acid Awareness Week,” January 8-14, 2012, Dr. Ron Chapman, direc-tor of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), un-derscores how women, particularly Hispanic women, can easily and signifi cantly reduce severe birth defects by simply adding 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid to their diet every day.

“Prevention is the key strategy to reducing one of the most common birth defects,” said Dr. Chapman. “Consum-ing a B vitamin called folic acid is an inexpensive and effective way to achieve this and is at the forefront of our efforts to improve birth outcomes.”

CDPH, the U.S. Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention recommend that all women of childbearing age take 400 mcg of folic acid daily, even if they have no immediate plans to become pregnant. This is because approximately 45 percent of births in California are unplanned, and seri-ous birth defects of the brain or spinal cord called neural tube defects (NTDs) develop before many women know that they are pregnant and begin prenatal

CDPH Kicks Off Folic Acid Awareness Week

What is Folic Acid?Folic acid is a "B" vitamin your

body needs every day to be healthy. It can reduce your risk of heart disease, colon cancer and stroke. You need folic acid for the growth and repair of every cell in your body. Since hair, skin, and nails grow every day, you need folic acid every day. And, if you get pregnant, it can help prevent birth defects of the brain and spine in the baby, but only if you start taking it several months before you get pregnant. That’s why health experts say that all women should take folic acid every day. Then, if they get pregnant they will lower their chances of having a baby with a birth defect.

How does Folic Acid prevent birth defects?

Folic acid helps the unborn baby’s neural tube—the part that becomes the brain and spinal cord—develop properly. Certain birth defects of the brain and spine are called neural tube defects, or NTDs. One of the most common NTDs is spina bifi da, which is a leading cause of children being paralyzed. Another NTD is an-encephaly, which causes death in the baby. Folic acid may also lower your chances of having a baby with birth defects of the heart, lip or mouth. All of these birth defects happen very early in pregnancy, before you may know you are pregnant. Doctors recommend that all women who could become pregnant take at least 400 micrograms (400 mcg.) of folic acid per day to help prevent birth defects in any future pregnancies.

Where can I get Folic Acid?Folic acid is in many foods, but it

can be hard to get the amount you need from diet alone. To be sure you get what you need, take a multivi-tamin every day with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid. You don’t need a prescription; your pharmacist can help you select one that doesn’t cost much. Or you can get the 400 micrograms of folic acid you need by eating a ready-to-eat breakfast ce-real every day that has this amount. Check the Nutrition Facts label to see which cereals have 100% of the daily value of the Folic Acid or Folate you need.

Folic acid is good for you now, and it can help prevent birth defects if you get pregnant later.

Visit http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/index.html

Folic Acid 101

care. NTDs develop during the fi rst months of pregnancy, range in severity and can result in serious physical and learning disabilities as well as death. NTDs are the most common birth defect in California, found in about 1 in 1,480 pregnancies, about 400 infants per year.

“A woman may reduce her risk of having a child born with serious de-fects by 50 to 70 percent just by taking folic acid daily,” said Dr. Chapman. “Women of childbearing age (15 years to 44 years) need to take 400 micro-grams (mcg) of folic acid every day.”

In California, Hispanic women have the lowest rates of folic acid consump-tion and the highest risk of having a pregnancy with NTDs. While only 49.6 percent of non-pregnant women ages 18-44 reported consuming folic acid at least once per week in the statewide California Women’s Health Survey, consumption was lowest for Hispanic women (38.1 percent) and highest for White women (57.8 percent) and African-American women (53 percent).

Folic acid is needed for the growth and repair of every cell in the body. Since hair, skin and nails grow every day; folic acid is good for overall health for men and women of all ages. Women can obtain the recommended allowance either by eating one serving of a fortifi ed cereal or daily taking a vitamin that contains 400 mcg of folic acid. Folic acid supplements can be purchased over the counter for around $3 for a 90-day supply.

As part of Folic Acid Awareness Week activities, CDPH has partnered with Raley’s® and SaveMart® stores in California to display educational posters and distribute consumer pam-phlets about folic acid in English and Spanish.

California girls and women are en-couraged to visit the statewide precon-ception health website to learn more about folic acid and sign up to receive text messages and updates through social media. Resources are available in Spanish. -- www.cdph.ca.gov

Pure Beeswax is one of nature's perfect products. Prized since ancient times, fragrant beeswax candles burn longer and cleaner than ordinary wax candles. In fact, pure beeswax has the highest melt-ing point of any known wax. Their slow, smokeless fl ames gives off more light and heat than other waxes and are virtually drip less "if kept away from drafts and fans". Made by industrious honey bees from the nectar of fl owers, beeswax has a sweet, natural fragrance all its own. Initially beeswax candles may seem to be more expensive than paraffi n candles, yet this is not so. Paraf-fi n wax burns away much quicker than beeswax nullifying any price disparity.

Negative Ion Emitter

Beeswax is the only fuel to emit (Negative Ions) when burning. Dust, hair, odors and other things fl oating in the air are doing so because the particles are positively charged. Al-lergens and toxins become positively charged through static electricity created by heating systems and fric-tion caused by normal activity (such as when you walk across the carpet). Pure beeswax candles help rid your home of toxins by emitting negative-ly, charged ions, as well as, burning away positively charged particles that fl oat toward the burning halo fl ame. This process cleans the air of positive ions such as dust, odors, toxins, pollen, mold, dust mites feces, and viruses. This is benefi cial for people who have allergies, and environmental sensitivities.

Beeswax candles will create a beautiful ambiance with their warm glow, sweet honey scent, and they clean the air. They do not release toxins into your environment as beeswax candles are naturally de-rived from nature. Beeswax candles bring eloquence to your home. Bees-wax candles make a memorable gift for someone you cherish. -- www.beelitecandles.com

Beeswax Can-dles for Health

by Shona Botes, (NaturalNews), 9/8/2011 -- For centuries, Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) has been used to treat a number of medical and skin conditions. This miracle plant is also known as the ‘harmonious remedy’ by the Chinese people, the ‘elixir of youth’ by the Russians and the ‘herb of immortality’ by the ancient Egyptians. It originated in North Africa and can now be found almost anywhere which has a mild climate.

Vitamins present in Aloe Vera include Vitamin B, A, C, E and folic acid. It also contains calcium, se-lenium, zinc, magnesium, chromium and mag-nesium. 20 out of 22 essential amino acids are present in this wonder plant. Peptides found in Aloe Vera help strengthen the immune system.

This plant can be used to heal and treat a large number of medical conditions, such as skin wounds, blisters, jaundice, sunburn, acne, frostbite, constipation, fungal infec-tions, asthma, heartburn,

expelling intestinal worms, conjunctivitis, herpes, skin rashes, hepatitis, cirrhosis, insect bites and eczema. It is also able to help protect the body against radiation received through x-rays. Aloe Vera can rejuvenate dry skin, heal fungal and vaginal infections, heal psoriasis and urticaria, reduce the appearance of warts and reduce rosacea. Those suffering from shingles can also benefi t a great deal from using this wonder plant.

The compounds found in Aloe Vera are also able to activate the

white blood cells necessary to fi ght against the growth of cancer cells. When used as a paste or lotion, Aloe Vera helps to speed up the healing of cuts, bruises and wounds on the body. It enhances the growth of new skin cells and is also able to reduce the appearance of blemishes or scars on the skin. It has been used as a general health tonic and even as an aphrodisiac. Aloe Vera is able to re-

duce the appear-ance of fi ne lines and skin wrin-kles, as well as to help heal sores and lesions found in the mouth.

Aloe Vera is an easy plant to grow and take care of. All it re-quires is plenty of sunlight each day, along with a little water during the winter season.

There are very few side-effects reported with the use of Aloe Vera

products. However, it may lead to cramps or abdominal pain. The use of Aloe Vera is not recommended for children and those with IBS (Ir-ritable Bowel Syndrome), appendi-citis, diverticulitis, haemorrhoids or ulcers. Excessive use may result in the loss of essential electrolytes in the body. Pregnant women should avoid using Aloe Vera as it may cause premature uterine contractions which could lead to miscarriage.

Always ensure that your Aloe Vera products are purchased from reputable sources, as there are many different variants of the Aloe plant, but only the Aloe Vera is used in the preparation of medicinal treatments and tonics.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033522_aloe_vera_medicine.html#ixzz1j8rgYKRT

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033522_aloe_vera_medicine.html#ixzz1j8rdvkzf

Aloe Vera: Discover the most versatile medicine in nature

traffi cked victims“Imagine being 11 years old and

having your body used and abused for the sake of someone else’s monetary gain. No one should have to endure this brutality, especially not a child,” said Leah Albright-Byrd, Executive Director of Bridget’s Dream and a survivor. “The CASE Act wages war against the atrocity of human traffi cking in California.”

“Each day thousands of women and children in California are at risk,” said Daphne Phung, Founder of California Against Slavery, a sponsor of the initia-tive. “California harbors three of the FBI’s High Intensity Child Prostitution Areas in the nation: Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. However, women and children are sexually ex-ploited every day in every county of the state. This is not a political issue nor is it a debatable issue. It’s a human rights issue. We don’t have to stand by and let it happen. It’s our duty to stop it. We have a big problem, but it’s one we can address with smart laws, tough enforcement, and greater public awareness,” she added.

“Human traffi cking is the most egregious and under-recognized human rights abuse in the United States today and we can do something about it here in California,” said Brian Marvel, President of the San Diego Police Offi cers As-sociation. “This initiative will give law enforcement the tools we need to prevent this horrible crime and save lives. When approved by California voters, this initiative puts the fi rst nail in the coffi n of human traffi cking for our state and the rest of the nation.”

About CASE Act (CASEAct.org)The CASE Act is a joint partnership

of California Against Slavery and the Safer California Foundation. Slated for the November 2012 California Ballot, the CASE Act will deter traffi ckers with higher penalties and fi nes, use fi nes to fund victim services, remove barriers to prosecute child sex traffi ckers, mandate training for law enforcement offi cers, re-quire convicted sex traffi ckers to register as sex offenders, require all sex offenders to disclose Internet accounts, and protect victims in court proceedings.

About California Against SlaveryCalifornia Against Slavery (CAS) is a

non-partisan human rights organization dedicated to ending human traffi cking, starting where we live. The organiza-tion’s mission is to defend the freedom of every child, woman and man by empow-ering the people of California to fulfi ll our obligation to stop human traffi cking.

Human traffi cking is a criminal busi-ness that profi ts from enslaving people for forced labor and sexual servitude. This criminal enterprise victimizes United States residents, many of them children, who are traffi cked for sexual purposes, and foreigners brought into the country, often under fraudulent pretenses, who are coerced into forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. For more information, please visit http://www.CaliforniaAgainstSlavery.org

About Safer California FoundationThe Safer California Foundation is

dedicated to supporting efforts to protect Californians from all forms of criminal exploitation. Created by Chris Kelly, former Facebook Chief Privacy Offi cer and a Silicon Valley attorney and philan-thropist, the Safer California Foundation looks forward to the day when every neighborhood in California is as safe as our most secure neighborhoods today.

Traffi cking(Continued from page 14)



WWF: Snorkel-ing the Palawan

IslandsStreet Poetry

Read about Michael’s upcoming book of poems “Crushed Violets” by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Michael R. Tagudin

©2012 Michael R. Tagudin. All rights reserved. About the Author: Michael R. Tagudin Educated as an engineer in the Philippines, the City of Los Angeles employee hopes his legacy of poems will provoke a dialogue about the human condition. He is donating the proceeds from the book “Crushed Violets” to the “Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST)”, a non-profit that provides public awareness and advocacy efforts against human trafficking in the City of Angels. To learn more, visit www.castla.org. To help, call the CAST 24 hour hotline 888.KEY.2.FRE(EDOM) or 888.539.2373. Contact [email protected] for more information about ordering the book “Crushed Violets.”

Mga Tula ng BayanRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-

journalusa.com

ni Audele

Ang sabi ng iba ay weder-weder langNoon, sila’y bida’t makapangyarihanLahat nagagawa balang maibiganAng kaligayaha’y walang katapusan. Habang nasa poder ganap na nawiliSa pagmamalabis ay nangahiratiSalapi ng bayan ay ipinamiliHindi na nangiming iba’y mamulubi. Ang mga mahistradong itinalagaPawang bayad-utang ang mga pasiyaBaka mapintasan ng unanong reynaDiniyos ng mga mapagsamantala. Sa dami ng kasalanang hindi mabilangKarmang maliwanag ang nararanasanUloy’y di maibiling kundi bangkatanParang isputnik na byaheng kalawakan. Sa nangyayari’y sino’ng di malulumbayHinadlangan ang pobreng makapaglakbayLeeg na may suhay banta ay lumaylayPinaninipuan na ng munting sungay. Sino ba naman ang hindi magdududaSa ikinikilos at ‘pinupusturaHora en punto itong korte supremaInilabas ang TRO kapagdaka? Aba’y inapurang bayaran ang pyansaNang makalikas sa bansang iba’t ibaWalang ekstradisyon triti ang puntiryaGud bay na Pilipins, anya’y paalam na. Ay nakuryente at hindi nga natuloyBininbin, hinarang ng ImigreysyonNakalipad ang eroplano puntang SingaporeNaiwan ang superstar na nagmamaktol. Abawt feys pabalik na maluha-luhaItong si haf lamang na lukot ang mukhaUmalma si haf pig di na raw naawaWala nang hustisya iyan ang winika. Nakapagtataka salungat sa layonMagpapagamot raw iyan ang rasonIto nga kaya ang tunay na intensyonO por gud manirahan sa ibang nasyon? Aba ang hirit pa’y pang humanitarianAy sino ba ang tinutukoy na humanAng babae ba na isang KapampanganNa hayok sa salapi’t kapangyarihan?

Dapat alalahaning ayon kay NeriEvil ang boss niya iyan nga ang sabiSusog nii Salceda evil na maswerteKaunaunahang pekeng presidente. Ang mga kaalyado’y putak nang putakPiho ang pagbalik kapag nakalayasKanyang abogado ay payag na payagKapag di umuwi bols ay ipapigtas. Baka nga makapon kapag nagkataonSalita niya’y peligrosong malulonDi niya naisip ‘yang anak ni DadongSa kasinungalinga’y da bes ang dunong. At itong suprim kort espesyal ang tratoSa hiling na TRO ng dating amoHindi na dininig yaong argumentoNang matanto panig ng ehekutibo. Ang kanilang aksyon banta nito’y krisisSangay ng gobyerno ay magkakahirisMaanghang na salita ang maririnigSa bawa’t kampo na kapwa naiinis. Ang malditang mapalad sama ay sagadSa panahon niya’y nabili ang lahatKaya hanggang ngayo’y maraming kalasagAng kapangyarihan ay hindi malansag. Taglay pa ang koronang nakasusukaMay kabig pang mahusay magmaneobraAng saligang batas kahit di mag cha chaAy napapalitang pabor sa kanila. Ay weder-weder lang o panapanahonBakit nakapangyayari hanggang sa ngayonUgat ng kasamaa’y kay lalim ang baonSa kahirapan ay hindi makaahon? Weder-weder lang ang tanong ay kalianDarating ba, weder ng kaginhawahanPaalis na ba weder ng kasamaanDulot ng nakalipas na pamahaaan? Ika-17 ng Nobyembre, 2011

Weder –weder lang!Thursday, March 3: Palawan /

Miniloc IslandIn the morning, fly to Manila,

where you’ll connect with a short flight to Palawan and a transfer to Miniloc Island. In the afternoon, snorkel at the main reef of El Nido Marine Reserve, where enormous schools of snapper and giant treval-lies are often seen; groupers, ser-geant majors, damsels and fusiliers are among other tropical fish here. With luck, you could see green, hawksbill and olive ridley turtles, too. Your home for the next two nights is a coastal village-style resort set in a cove and against a backdrop of sheer limestone cliffs. Miniloc Island Resort (B,L,D)

Friday, March 4 Matinloc & Tapiutan Islands

Travel by boat to Tapuitan, an outer island on Bacuit Bay. Encoun-ter colorful reefs surrounded by white sand beaches and towering marble cliffs. In the afternoon, visit Tapuitan Straight and several unique environments, including a marine lake with its own “secret” beach and an underwater current-swept coral outcropping where thousands of reef fish gather. Miniloc Island Resort (B,L,D)

Saturday & Sunday, March 5 & 6: Miniloc Island

Miniloc Island offers a wonderful variety of snorkeling sites, including hidden lagoons and shallow marine lakes. More than 400 species of coral and 800 species of fish inhabit its reefs. Spend two days explor-ing during kayaking and snorkeling outings at such locales as Big, Small and Cadlao lagoons and Helicopter Island. At Simizu Island, snorkel among a variety of habitats, includ-ing steep drop-offs, shallow reef flats with coral “micro-atolls” and shallow sand channels with large reef fish communities. Look for butterflyfish, parrotfish, wrasse, triggerfish, angelfish, surgeonfish, damselfish and rabbitfish. This reef also boasts Bacuit Bay’s largest table corals. Lagen Island Resort (B,L,D daily)

Monday, March 7: Pinasil and Cudugnon Caves / Snake and Pangulasian Islands

After an early breakfast, kayak and snorkel in the cathedral-like Pinasil Cave. Then head by boat to Cudugnon Cave, which archaeolo-gists believe was a burial site during Neolithic times. In the afternoon, visit Vigan Island (“Snake Island”), with a long, meandering sand bar

that “snakes” off its shores and remains exposed even during high tide. Finish the day by snorkeling the shallow reefs off Pangulasian Island. Lagen Island Resort (B,L,D)

Tuesday, March 8: Lagen Island / Manila

The morning is flexible, for your choice of options. Go snorkeling at the reef just offshore from the resort. Or hike along the nearby Lagen Trail to look for a high diversity of birds, including species endemic to Palawan. Later, fly to Manila. Sofitel Philippine Plaza (B,L,D)

Wednesday, March 9: Busuanga / Dimakya Island

A short flight takes you to Busuan-ga, then to Dimakya. Thanks to strict fishing regulations, huge populations of fish, healthy coral, sea sponges and giant clams thrive here. Spend the afternoon snorkeling at the reefs right off shore from the resort.

Then prepare for another tour highlight – a nighttime snorkel. Your guide will brief you about night snorkeling and some of the creatures that you may encounter, including octopuses and two-foot-long cat sharks. Enter the water just after sunset. Club Paradise Resort (B,L,D)

Thursday, March 10: Dimakya Island

The dugong population at Di-makya is one of the largest and most protected in Southeast Asia. The seabed provides vast grasses that are ideal feeding areas for the vulner-able sea cow. Researchers based here work with WWF scientists on dugong studies and conservation ef-forts. After a short discussion on the biology of dugongs, head out for an all-day trip to view and swim with these amazing mammals.

Following dinner, learn more about the Coral Triangle, the world’s most biologically diverse marine region and a WWF priority place for protection. At sunset, watch as thousands of fruit bats roosting in trees take flight to feed offshore for the evening. Club Paradise Resort (B,L,D)

Friday, March 11: Dimakya Island

After breakfast, snorkel at West House Reef and its deep surge chan-nels. Later, take in the breathtaking views from the highest point on the island, Eagle Point, and at the inner lagoon, which is a good birding spot. Gather for a farewell dinner. Club Paradise Resort (B,L,D)

Saturday, March 12: Dimakya Island / Manila

Take an optional last snorkel before returning to Manila. Explore the city, with dinner on your own. Sofitel Philippine Plaza (B,L)

Sunday, March 13: DepartAfter breakfast, transfer to the

airport for flights home. Re-cross the International Date Line, arriving in the United States the same day. (B)

by Michael R. Tagudin

an awareness of the now...is that when every thing stops!can’t do nothing at all but wonder...really...really wander...between the present...the past...basically how every thing did happenand it did representing NOW!our awareness looking for answers to the WHY’S...the WHY’S of our lives...as individuals...as a Nation...As a specie...HUMAN!fragments of history of here and thereincorporated how it blends to our pattern of thinkingand it does to the commonest of our sense...when it make senseit blends to our pattern of thinkingsuch as the repetition of historydoes it really...really repeat in cyclesand maybe it doeswithin the regimes of the ancient and not so...distant past!for instance...let me ask you this...what is the longest cemetery on this planetfrom space you can see it like a scar on the face of the earthreplicating the fall of the dragonwith its twist and turn...serpentinial spinals where it felland how and why is this...because it did happen...compliment of a super tyrantwhose name is burnt upon a face of a nationlike a brand of some sorthaving a covenant on the memory of the fallto establish such kingdom here on eartha perfect society of some sortmade up of vassals and mastersemptying inhabitants from cities...towns...municipalities...for some justifiable projectsto unite...to protect the kingdom...millions suffer...buried in memory oh these...these projects replicating the honor of the downfall...the downfall of the dragoncirca seventies...in another place...another time...in another regime...a client state in modern times did the UNTHINKABLE!the here and now started in year ZERO!replicating the KILLING FIELDS of ancient times!history does repeat it self!in another place...in another time...and this year 2012...is the year...year of DRAGONS!as promise by the grand serpent...your descendants will as vast and multipleas the grains of the sands of the seas!

c2012 by Michael R. Tagudin. All rights reserved.

support the www.unodc.com/bluecampaign

It is estimated that California is amongst the top 3 states in the nation for human trafficking. By its very nature, human trafficking, in all of its forms, is largely hidden from view. This is due in part to the large im-migrant communities, within California, which provide for good conceal-ment of a trafficking operation - in many cases, these persons can be hidden in plain sight. Many of these communities are not trusting of law enforcement and tend to maintain cultural norms – some which dictate maintaining silence in the face of illegal enterprise.

The state’s extensive international border, its major harbors and air-ports, its powerful economy and accelerating population, its large immi-grant population and its industries make it a prime target for traffickers. Apart from the harm that this crime causes its victims, the infrastructure that is necessary to support this heinous crime can serve the needs of ter-rorist wishing to smuggle themselves and/or dangerous weapons into the country.

If you would like to help, please call:Trafficking in Persons Information and Referral Hotline (US HHS) 1-888-373-7888Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force Hotline (US DOJ) 1-888-428-7581Source: California Office of Emergency Services (OES)

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month

Enter the Dragon


Dining GuideRestaurant Directory

Amerasian Cuisine 14897 Pomerado Road Poway CA 92064 (858) 679-0644 Andiamol Ristorante 5950 Center Road San Diego CA 92124 (858) 277-3501 Asti Restaurant728 5th AvenueSan Diego CA 92101 (619) 232-8844 BANGKOK BBQ936 BROADWAY CIRCLE, SAN DIEGO CA 92101 (619) 231-4124 Beijing Restaurant 8993 Mira Mesa Blvd. San Diego CA 92126 (858) 549-3032 Ben’s Restaurant 1615 Sweetwater Rd., National City CA 91950 (619) 474-9811 Benihana Japanese Restaurant 477 Camino del Rio South San Diego CA 92108 (619) 298-4666 Bento-Sushi 10606 Camino Ruiz Suite #06 San Diego CA 92126 (858) 586-0606 Blumbergis 8861 Villa La Jolla (858) 455-1461 Boat House 2040 Harbor Island Dr. San diego CA (619) 291-8011 Bob’s on the Bay 570 Marina Parkway Chula Vista CA (619) 476-0400 Bollicine 8008 Girard Ave. La Jolla (858) 454-2222 Bolsa Vietnamese Restaurant 9225 Miramesa Blvd. Suite #118 San Diego CA 92126

(858) 693-3663 Bombay Exotic Cuisine of India 3975 Fifth Avenue, Ste. 100 San Diego CA 92103 (619) 298-3155 Bongiovanni’s Pizza 15244 Old Hwy. 80 El Cajon CA 92026 Brian’s 1451 Washington St. San Diego CA (619) 296-8268 Brian’s American Eatery 7949 Balboa Ave. Kearney Mesa CA (858) 565-4244 Cafe China 12664 Poway Road Poway CA 92064 (858) 486-8228 Cafe La Maze l441 Highland Avenue National City CA 91950 (619) 474-3222 California Club Sushi Bar 5522 El Cajon Blvd. San Diego CA92115 (619) 287-1593 California Thai Cafe 9550 Black Mountain Road San Diego CA 92126 (858) 566-5023 Chang Cuisine of Chine 8670 Genesee Ave. San Diego CA92122 (858) 558-2288 Chef Wok 350 University Avenue San Diego CA 92103 (619) 294-8688 Chef’s Wok 350 University Ave., HIllcrest CA 92103 (619) 294-8688 China Camp 2137 Pacific Highway San Diego CA 92101 (619) 232-1972

Now Available:

TAWA’T TULA NG MGA PILING KATATAWANAN

By Joe Cabrera

A Collection of Jokes Written in Pilipino Verse

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Read Joe Son’s past articles on www.asianjournalusa.com

by Joe Son

Vangie’s Hairstyles3114 E Plaza Blvd., National City CA 91950Call for Appointment: 619.471.5261

Call Asian Journal at 619.474.0588 for great ad rates! Ask for Ogie Cruz

December 30, 2011 is a special day, not just because it was the commemoration of the execution of our foremost hero, Jose Rizal at age 35, and a day before we close

2011 PASSCO Queens’ Coronation

the calendar year 2011, with bad memories in the Philippines stroke by several natural calamities which caused thousands of accidents and deaths, and billions of pesos both in

agricultural and structural damages, but because this will also mark the new beginning of 2012 PASSCO leadership operating one of the old-est senior hang-out, the Samahan Senior Center, under the reign of the three newly crowned Queens: Mrs. Senior PASSCO Etsuko Medina, Mrs. PASSCO Ting Hermosa and Miss PASSCO Aida Mateo.

Philippine American Senior Citi-

zens of San Diego County (PASS-CO) was established in 1976 as non-profit 501 C-3 organization with a vision, “to improve the quality of life of Filipino American Seniors and other disadvantaged Seniors.” Since 2009 PASSCO is a 100% volunteer organization that provides a safe haven for Filipino American Seniorswith activities that include ballroom dancing, aerobics, bingo, arts and crafts adn meals that are critical to the social, emotional, mental and physical well-being of our senior citizens. Every friday you can find Fil-Am Seniors enjoy a great day of socializing, dancing and healthy meals at FAVA Hall, 2929 Market Street. San Diego, CA 92102.

PASSCO officers are: President-

Cora Balat, Vice-President- Nita Barrion, Secretary- Lita Clark, Treasurer- Flor Jimenea, Project Coordinator- Pol Carpio; volunteers are: Alice Bailey, Nita Balauro, Ping Calumna, fermin Caparas, Fely Embalsado, Aida Fabian, Lucy Her-nandez, Al Igancio, Linda Ignacio, Frank Lagula, Vicky Lagula, Marlyn Lammer, Lily Libed, Terry Knudsen, Lita Martin, Joe Nicolas, Val Palaci, Auring Palaci, Blanca Paloma, Car-rie Quinto, Ruth Roasa, Josie Rob-les, Rollie Santos, Raquel Tolentino and Joe Son.

2011 PASSCO/Samahan Senior

Center Queen Coronation was held last Friday, December 3, 2011, at the FAVA Hall in Market St., San Diego, which started at about 10:00 a.m, hosted by Joe Son and Carlos Balmaceda, with a US and Philip-pine Flag Ceremonies and National Anthems played and sang by the Harana Band who also provided live music and intermission numbers, followed by the blessings of food by Angie Fabian and a sumptuous nutri-tious lunch, invocation by Blanca Paloma, and welcome address by PASSCO President Cora Balat, acknowledgements of guests by PASSCO V-P Nita Barrion and the coronation of three queens.

Presentation of PASSCO Queens

was preceded by the entrance of Ladies in Waiting who were: Naty Sparks, Carrie Gold, Vicky Ibana, Fely Tercenio, Fely Embalsado, Lorry Dilema, Flor Sunga, Nita Balauro, Tess Vergara, Elena Mc Comb, Perlita Bautista, Susan Albano, Emily Rodriguez, Josie Maraya, Judy Abad, Vicky Hundo, Susie Saragoza, Lydia Perez, Lumie Clamos, and Rizza Fernandez. Miss PASSCO Aida Mateo was escorted by Melvin Zaragoza, Mrs. PASSCO Ting Hermosa with escort Johnny Hermosa and Mrs. Senior PASSCO Etsuko Medina escorted by Kelly Medina.

Miss PASSCO Aida Mateo was

presented with sash by Christmas Queen 2011 Ludy Vargas escorted by George Abalos, crowned by Gloria Panado and Ernie Pas-

cual, bouquet was presented by Loreen Bernas and Jun Mataban; Mrs. PASSCO Ting Hermosa was presented with sash by Gigi Santos escorted by Carry Gold and crowned by Mrs. PASSCO Queen 2010 Lita Martin escorted by Pol Carpio, bouquet by Ruth Roasa and Gloria Supnet; and Mrs. Senior PASSCO Etsuko Medina was presented a sash by Al and Lita Ignacio, crowned by grand’daughter Jorden Johnson and Passco President Cora Balat, bou-quet by Josie Robles and Pol Carpio.

After the presentation of sash,

crowning and bouquet, Nita barrion serenaded the PASSCO Queens, while Kelly Medina played his organ with My Heart Will Go On and Granada and Himig Ng Pasko Dance Troops performed a special dance number, followed by the exit of the Flower Ladies and the entourage of Queens and the Royal Dance, cul-minated by raffles draws and dance socials until 4:00 p.m. -- (Photos courtesy of Joanne Fields)

Joe [email protected] Diego, CA

BY E. Enriquez | SAN DIEGO - A special engagement on January 26, 2012, Thursday at 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. will be the highlight to meet San Di-ego Republican candidates. It will be the first notable collaboration in San Diego County for the Hispanic American Republicans and the Asian American Republicans to meet and greet candidates. The event will be held at the Sunrise Buffet on 3860 Convoy Street, #121.

The candidates will have the chance to speak briefly for three minutes. The organizers will allow questions and answers from the audience if time permits but will have the moderator check viable questions pertinent to the Hispanic American and Asian American com-munities.

After the joint meeting, an endorsement process for a GOP candidate will take place and for those who are running alone in their political races.

The following candidates for 2012: Ray Ellis, San Diego City Coun-cil, District 1; Mark Kersey, San Diego City Council, District 5; Scott Sherman, San Diego City Council, District 7; Steve Danon, San Diego County Board of Supervisors, District 3; Marie Waldron, State Assembly District, District 75th; David Berry, Superior Court Judge, Seat 24; Andrew Valencia, South Bay Water District, Seat 5; Rocky Chavez, State Assembly, District 76th.

The buffet dinner is $11.99 per person. RSVP suggested but en-trance to the event can be purchased at the door.

For further info contact: Delores Chavez at [email protected], Randy Rodriguez at [email protected], Julio de Guzman at [email protected] or Joe Long at [email protected].

SD GOP Candidates Invited By A Joint Ven-ture Of Asian and His-

panic Republicans



Novena for the Protec-tion of the Unborn


ISRAEL TAMAYOLEADERSHIP, COUNSELING & MISSIONS PASTOR

951 | 294 | 4013

JON MEJICAHEAD PASTOR

858 | 776 | 2221

www.harborofl ife.org9625 BLACKMOUNTAIN RD. SUITE 209/211 SD CA 92126 | PHONE: 858.578.0952

SUNDAY SERVICE: 9:30 -11AM

KIDS MINISTRY: SUNDAY 9:30 -11AM

CELL MINISTRY: SUNDAY 11:15AM

But seek fi rst his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things

will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

EAD PEOPLE TO KNOW CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOUR

NCOURAGE THEM TO GROW IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

CKNOWLEDGE THEIR SPIRITUAL GIFTS AND TALENTS EVELOP THEM TO BECOME LEADERS AND WORKERS FOR GOD

L

E

A

D

OUR MISSION

the leaders of this nation, especially those who have the temporal power and the grave responsibility to make and interpret and execute laws, with the desire to do God’s will, to restore justice and to establish laws that govern the people of this land in conformity with the Divine Law — laws that will preserve, protect and defend the lives of all sons and daughters of God, from their earliest beginnings until death. Amen.

O Mary, Mother of Jesus, entrusted to be the mother of God’s only begotten Son, Our Savior, through thine obedient consent to God’s will, and who thus became for all people and all time the model of faith and of the self-giving love and devo-tion of Motherhood: take into thy motherly arms all the babies who are victims of abortion, that they may receive eternally the comfort of a mother’s love. May thine example and intercession open the hearts of all who reject God and His holy laws, comfort all those who suffer remorse because of abortion, and re-store to hope in Christ those mothers and fathers who grieve and repent the killing of their children. Amen.

All Angels and Saints: may thy guidance and example show fallen humanity the way to perfect joy and freedom and peace found only in unity with God in obedience to His will through salvation in Christ Jesus; and may thy constant prayers be joined by those of all the little children — the “slaughtered inno-cents” — as a “cloud of witnesses” interceding for sinful man. Amen.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Novena: Day 1 Above prayers Psalm 139 Gloria Patri (Glory be) Rosary: Sorrowful Mys-teries Magnificat: Luke 1:46-55 Glo-ria Patri

Novena: Days 2-9 Our Fa-ther... Above prayers Three Hail Marys Gloria Patri

Psalm 139 [RSV-CE]Antiphonal (Responsive):1. O Lord, thou hast searched me,

and known me!2. Thou knowest when I sit down

and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar.

3. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

4. Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.

5. Thou dost beset me behind and before, and layest thy hand upon me.

6. Such knowledge is too wonder-ful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.

7. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

8. If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!

9. If I take the wings of the morn-ing, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

10. Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

11. If I say, “Let only darkness cover me, and the light about me be night,”

12. Even the darkness is not dark to thee, the night is as bright as the day; for darkness is as light with thee.

13. For thou didst form my inward parts: thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14. I praise thee; for thou art fear-ful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well;

15. My frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.

16. Thine eyes beheld my un-formed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

17. How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

18. If I would count them, they are more than the sand. When I awake, I am still with thee.

19. O that thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God, and that men of blood would depart from me,

20. Men who maliciously defy thee, who lift themselves up against thee for evil!

21. Do I not hate them that hate thee, O Lord? And do I not loathe them that rise up against thee?

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit, You who made me see everything and showed me the way to reach my ideals, You, who gave me the divine gift to forgive and forget the wrong that is done to me and You who are in all instances of my life with me, I want to thank You for everything and confirm once more that I never want to be separated from You no matter how great the mate-rial desire may be. I want to be with You and my beloved ones in Your perpetual glory. Thank You for favors granted. Amen.

Mention your request while making the request, please promise to publish the prayer or circulate the favor.

This prayer should be said for 3 consecutive days and after the 3rd day, expect your prayer to be answered.

From: David Family

Prayer to St. Jude

O Holy St Jude! Apostle and Martyr, great

in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor for all who invoke you, special patron in time of need; to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart, and humbly beg you, to whom God has given such great power, to come to my assistance; help me now in my urgent need and grant my earnest petition.

I will never forget thy graces and favors you obtain for me and I will do my utmost to spread devotion to you.Amen.

St. Jude, pray for us and all who honor thee and invoke thy aid.

(Say 3 Our Father’s, 3 Hail Mary’s, and 3 Glory Be’s after this.)

From: David Family

PCI leading a consortium of international and national organizations to improve

family health and sanitation in northern India

San Diego, CA (January 9, 2012) –

PCI (Project Concern International) announced today it has received a $15 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its Project Parivartan (the Hindi word for “transformation”), to improve key family health and sanitation behaviors in the state of Bihar in northern India. The grant is an investment by the Gates Foundation in a region of India and among the most marginalized populations – the

neglected castes of the Mahadal-its – that until recently have been largely ignored. The PCI project will contribute to reducing maternal and child deaths, and improve nutri-tion, health and sanitation among the estimated 103 million people of Bihar by 2016.

Parivartan is part of the Ananya

program, which is a portfolio of complementary investments valued at over $100 million being made in India’s third most populous state by the Gates Foundation in partner-ship with the Government of Bihar (GOB). Bihar has been known for decades as one of India’s most undeveloped states, with low literacy rates, insufficient infrastructure, and the second highest rate of maternal

deaths in India. Through Project Parivartan, PCI will implement the “community mobilization” com-ponent of Ananya, which aims to complement the other supply side and demand side investments to improve family health outcomes by strengthening community action.

“We are excited to partner with

Project Concern International in Bi-har, India to catalyze community ac-tion to improve health and save lives of mothers, newborns and infants,” said Usha Kiran Tarigopula, Deputy Director-India Country Programs at the Gates Foundation.

In Bihar, the Mahadalits and others

who are among the most marginal-ized members of society have the right to publically-funded health care; however, for various rea-sons-- including lack of awareness, distance to facilities, and discrimina-tion-- they are deprived of such ser-vices. The goal of the PCI Project Parivartan is to help these vulnerable communities organize themselves to increase uptake of family health and sanitation practices, and use data and community support to hold the government accountable for quality and equity in family health and sanitation services. This will result in improved health of moth-ers and newborns and improve survival rates. Parivartan will start in 8 districts, and facilitate the scale up of the project interventions and approaches to the entire state.

To accomplish its goals, PCI is

leading a powerful consortium of three experienced and capable international and Indian partner or-ganizations, including PATH, based in Seattle, WA, the Foundation of Research in Health Systems (FRHS) and Nidan, both of which are based in India. PCI has also secured the commitment of 16 other NGOs in Bihar to leverage local knowledge and networks for rapid implementa-

tion. PCI brings 50 years of exten-sive relevant expertise in the design, implementation and scaling up of similar programs globally and in India, where PCI has been operating for the past 14 years.

“PCI is thrilled to reach these

vulnerable populations,” comments George Guimaraes, PCI’s CEO. “Receiving this grant will allow PCI to continue to implement large-scale community programs in the world’s

poorest regions. We are eager to bring our training and resources to the Bihar region to build sustainable, long-term impact.”

About PCI:Celebrating its 50th anniversary in

2011, PCI (Project Concern Inter-national) is an international health, development and humanitarian assistance organization, operating in 16 countries worldwide. PCI is dedicated to saving lives and build-

ing healthy communities around the globe, benefitting over 5 million people annually in Asia, Africa and the Americas. Funded by federal grants and private support, PCI’s headquarters are located in San Diego, CA and the organization also has an office in Washington, DC and a Seattle, WA representative. PCI’s current annual budget is $41 million and the organization has over 600 employees worldwide.

PCI Receives $15M Grant For Family Health Program In India



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

Mga Tulang Tagalog

by Romeo Nicolas

Pasanin sa Bansa

Light &Shadows

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

by Zena Sultana Babao

50% O� Consultation fee until April 15, 2012 and 20% O� Income Tax Preparation on each paid consultation

By Zena Sultana Babao

How privileged we are to be human – to cre-ate and to share the

exquisite gift of a story. The uniquely human gift of story has guided and comforted us for time immemorial. It is with the miracle of a story that our ancestors passed along humanity’s empowering truths and history’s most powerful lessons.

From time to time I will share with

you stories that would warm your heart, lift your spirit, and enrich your life. These stories were written by people just like you and me – stories that would take you through some of life’s most special moments and make you feel a renewed sense of fulfi llment at the joy present in everyday life.

Today’s story is entitled “Make a Wish, Mommy” by Susan Farr-Fahncke of Utah, a writer, wife, and mother of four. Her story was one of the many stories in the Adams Media Corporation’s book, “A Cup of Comfort” edited by Colleen Sell. “Make a Wish, Mommy” is touch-ingly moving. It would make you cry, it would make you laugh, and touch your heart deeply.

* * * It was my 28th birthday, and I

was seriously depressed. My whole world looked

dark, my future dim. I was a newly divorced mom, raising two small

children on my own. My six-year-old son, Nicholas, was in kindergar-ten, and I was a junior at the local university. I had taken the quarter off, because my fi ve-month-old daughter, Maya, had been very ill.

Alone at home with two young children most of the time, I had little social interaction that winter. Even the weather seemed to be working against me. I hadn’t lived in Utah long and I was still adjusting to the cold and snow. That January was one of the most brutal in years. The snow was liter-ally thigh-high, which made leaving the house a daily struggle and added to my sense of isolation. It had been a winter of unbearable loneliness, struggle, and despair. Feeling sorry for myself had become comfort-able for me. Depression had become so second-nature I no longer remembered the happy person I used to be – or the last time I’d laughed.

The day before my birthday, I was a grouch. I felt the painful absence of the friends I’d moved away from, with whom I’d always celebrated my birthday. There’d be no party, no gifts, no birthday cake – not even a birthday phone call. I was too poor to afford a telephone.

A cloud of hopelessness hung over me as I tucked the children into bed that night. My little Nick wrapped his chubby arms around my neck and said, “Tomorrow’s your birth-day, Mommy! I can’t wait!” His blue eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Unable to return my son’s enthusi-asm, I kissed his sweet rosy checks. I hoped he didn’t expect a birthday party to magically appear, like it did

on his birthday. Life is so simple when you’re six.

The next morning I awoke before the children and began to make breakfast. I heard noise in our tiny living room and, assuming Nick was up, waited for him to come in and eat. Then I heard him talking to Maya, sternly telling his baby sister to “make Mommy smile today.”

His words stopped me cold, and it suddenly hit me: I’d been so wrapped up in my misery I hadn’t realized it was affecting my children. Sensing my unhappiness, my little boy was doing his best to do some-thing about it. His thoughtfulness and my selfi shness brought tears to my eyes. I knelt down in our small kitchen and asked for the strength to somehow fi nd happiness again. I asked God to show me some beauty in my life, to help me see, to really see – to really feel what blessings I had.

Putting a smile on my face, I marched into the living room to hug my children – and was again stopped in my tracks. There sat Nick on the fl oor, Maya on her blanket next to him, and in front of them was a pile

of presents. A birthday party for three!

I looked wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the pile of presents, then back to my son. “Happy Birthday!” he said, smiling his adorable, tooth-less grin. His animated face beamed with delight at the shock on my face. “I surprised you, Mommy, didn’t I?”

Stunned, I knelt down next to him and asked how in the world he’d managed to get me the pres-ents. He reminded me of our trip to All-a-Dollar store, I immediately

recalled him telling me he was going to spend the allowance he’d been saving for ages. I had laughed at his bulging pockets and remem-bered thinking he walked like John Wayne, his pants loaded with his life savings. I had almost chided him for spending everything he had so carefully saved, but thinking better of it, had done my shopping while he did his. I remembered his gleeful smile and giggles as he clutched his bag to his chest. I’d assumed he’d bought something for himself; I would never have imagined that the surprises tucked inside were for me.

Looking at the beautiful pile of presents in front of me, I blinked my eyes in disbelief that my darling son had emptied his crayon bank for me.

“There.” I heard the voice in heart. “These are your blessings. How could you ever doubt them?”

My prayers had been answered. I suddenly saw the beauty in my life. The sadness lifted from my heart, and gratitude for the many blessings I’d been given fi lled it.

I hugged my son and daughter and told them how lucky I was to have them in my life. At Nick’s eager prompting, I carefully opened each present. A bracelet, a necklace, another bracelet, nail polish, another bracelet, my favorite candy bars, and another bracelet. The thoughtful gifts, each wrapped in gift bags and wrapping paper purchased with a kindergartner’s allowance, were the most cherished I’ve ever received.

The fi nal gift was Nick’s personal favorite: a wax birthday cake with the words “I love you” painted in fake frosting across the top.

“You have a birthday cake, Mom,” my oh-so-wise little one informed me.

“It’s the most beautiful cake I’ve ever seen,” I told him, choking back tears. And it was.

Then he sang “Happy Birthday” to me in his sweet little-boy voice.

“Make a wish, Mommy,” he insisted.

I gazed into my little boy’s shining blue eyes and couldn’t think of a single thing to wish for.

“I already got my wish,” I whis-pered, “You.”

XXX

Make a Wish, Mommy Alaga ng bansa sa ikauunlad ang matagal na sakit,Kung kaya ang bansa ay paused-usad, hirap makatawid.Panahon ng Hapon, laon ng lumipas, higpit pa ng kapit, Sa masamang bisyo nitong ating bansa na paulit-ulit.

Tignan mo na lamang ang panahon ng HUK, kasaysayan na lang,Ngunit kakaiba nang biglang pumalit ay NPA naman.Laban sa palakad ng ating gobyerno ang isinisigaw,Walang pinag iba sa lumang panahong HUK ang kaaway.

Sadya bang disenyo nitong ating bansa ang ganitong buhay?Na may lumalaban habang itong bansa nais ay tagumpay.Paano na ngayon na ito’y patuloy, lumagong kalaban?Gugustuhin pa ba kung panay perwisyo ang dulot sa bayan?

Gising! Gising kayo, mga kababayan, tayo ay magbago,Nagiging kaaway sa mga digmaan, kapwa Pilipino.‘Di ba nyo naisip, papaano kaya, kung biglang magbago,Kalapit na bansa’y biglang sumalakay, nakatanga tayo.

Ngayon ay dumagdag itong MILF sa ating problema,Na nadidiktahan, kalapit na bansa at intresado na.Pikit mata pa bang ating tatanggapin yaong gusto nila?Na itong Mindanao ay maging SUB STATE at maging kanila. ‘Wag magpakatanga, magbulag-bulagan itong ating bansa,Kapag nagkagayon, ano pa ang silbi ng mga DAKILA?Nagbuwis ng buhay upang itong bansa ay maging malaya,Ngayo’y kabalat din at kapwa natin Pinoy ang siyang sisira.

Panahon na bayan na ang ating isip ay maging matalas,Huwag padadaig sa paniniwalang gaganda ang bukas.May kapatid tayong syang naguudyuk baguhin ang batas,Sila ang kaaway na maituturing at ito ay TIYAK.

Sana’y malinawan nitong ating bansa itong kalagayan,Huwag na susulong na tayo’y matulad, kaso ng PALESTINE.Tatag ng ISRAEL ay nananatili at laging matibay,Kasaysayan itong nasulat sa BIBLIA at hindi bibigay. Kaya kababayan tayo’y magisip, ‘wag padalos-dalos,Huwag palalason itong ating isip sa may UTAK LAMOK.Kapagka nakinig, tayo’y napatangay sa kanilang himok,Darating ang araw itong ating bansa, lunod sa himutok.

Kinakitaan ba nyo ng kapayapaan itong MILF?Ang mga NPA, sila ba’y tumulong sa maraming panig?Katulad ng BAHA na dulot ng PEDRING sa bandang CALUMPIT,PAMPANGA at TARLAC na pawang salanta’t sobrang hinagupit.

Batikos ko ngayon ang mga NPA ng sila’y MANUNOG,Pribadong kumpanyang ayaw na tumulong, hinasik ay TAKOT.


from joining the ritual. For those going, he advised for them not to bring their cell phones as improvised explosive devises (IED) could be detonated through them. The effect? The American consular office advised American tourists not to go near the tourist attraction ritual.

There goes a fun missed activity. The other funny part? Cell phones

are not the only detonators of IEDs. The worst funny part? The people did not believe the Leader of the Land. Thousands of devotees, in hordes, still fulfilled their devotion to the Black Nazarene, minus, I guess, the fun loving tourists. It’s really funny that the Leader of the Land could countermand one of his dollar induc-ing Departments by such baseless announcements.

True, he might have been being proactive, protecting the masses based on a tip. Or maybe, he could just be covering up his inadequacies to be proactive or being immediately there when he was needed like in the Sen-dong or the Chinese massacre cases. This is really funny.

Maybe what is also fun in the Philip-pines is to observe the funny political circuses that are going on. There is the case of the so called ‘Butcher’ Retired Major General Jovito Palparan who is now being hunted for the murder of activists. This after he was praised and richly rewarded by the then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Funny that he is now in hiding, presumably, because his patron, Arroyo, is now also in jail facing election fraud and plunder of funds cases. Funny that Erap who Arroyo helped overthrow during his reign, full of gambling, womanizing, and other issues, is now offering to help Arroyo.

There are also many circumstances about the Philippines that to me are funny. Consider that only lately did we consider the Philippine Eagle as our national bird. Initially, it was dictated, through the educational system developed by the United States in the early 1900s that our national bird should be the Maya, our tiniest bird. Did the United States not want to consider the Philippine Eagle because it is the largest eagle in the world and dwarfed the American eagle? How about Lapu-Lapu, the first hero of the Philippines who stood against foreign invaders? He was merely placed in a one centavo coin which amounted to nothing. There are more but they would be for another article. Suffice to say that, to me, these are funny.

Then there is the Korean chorale now singing “Ang Bayan Kong Pilipinas…” and Filipinos applaud, which to me is acknowledging that the Koreans now, in bespeak, actually owning the Philippines. Camp John Hay in Baguio City is now dubbed as Kam Jung Hee.

More than everything else, to me, is how much some of my Facebook and chat friends, sometimes heatedly, point out that I should not be cyni-cal and point the negatives about the Philippines. I also find this beyond funny because this is one thing I find obnoxious. The reason, to me, why the Philippines have not evolved to prog-ress is we are afraid to confront the truth. We do not call a spade a spade. And even the sentence before this is not original.

I know that the DOT slogan had al-ready gone viral. It could, perhaps at-tract more tourist money and boost the Philippine economy. The fact remains that there are many funny things about the Philippines.

And the fundamental question is who is having fun in the archipelago anyway? Better question yet, for whom, primarily, should fun be in the Islands?


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*Member, California State BarLicensed to practice before the US Federal District CourtSouthern California and California Supreme Court

*Author,”How to Apply for the US Tourist Visa” as listed by worldwide bookseller Amazon.com Bookstores

*Former San Diego Regional Coordinator for U.S. Immi-gration Amnesty for Catholic Community Services, Catholic Diocese of San Diego

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

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

*Born in the Philippines (Cavite)

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

journalusa.com

Its more funny(Continued from page 1)


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by Rudy D. Liporada

Pusoy, A Russian Poker -- Chapter 25continuation

The Lieutenant

JESUS’ DEATH - 60 SECONDS ~~~

60 seconds with God... For The next 60 seconds, set aside

whatever You’re doing and take this op-

portunity! Let’s see if Satan can stop this... THE (SCIENTIFIC) DEATH OF

JESUS At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned to the death

penalty.

At the time crucifixion was the “worst” death. Only the worst crimi-nals condemned to be crucified. Yet it was

Even more dreadful for Jesus, for

unlike other criminals condemned to death by crucifixion, Jesus was nailed to the cross by His hands and feet, rather than tied...

Each nail Was 6 to 8 inches long.

The nails Were driven Into His palms as is commonly Portrayed.

Both of His feet Were nailed together. Thus He was

forced to Support Himself on the single nail

that Impaled His feet to the cross. Jesus

could Not support himself with His legs

for long because of the pain, so He was forced to alternate between arching His

Back and using his legs just to continue to

Breath. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the

Suffering, the courage.

Jesus endured this Reality for over 3 hours.

Yes, Over 3 hours! Can you imagine

this kind of Suffering? A few minutes before

He died, Jesus stopped bleeding. He was

simply pouring water From his wounds.

From common images we see wounds to His hands and feet and even the spear wound to His side...

But do we remember the many wounds

Made to his body. A hammer Driving large nails through the ,

palms, the feet overlapped And a nail hammered through the

arches, then a Roman guard piercing His side

with a spear. And... Before the nails and the spear,

Jesus was whipped and Beaten. The whipping was so

severe that it tore the Flesh from His body. The beating

so horrific that His Face was torn and his beard ripped

from His face. The Crown of thorns (two to three inch

thorns) cut deeply into His scalp. Most men

Would not have survived this torture.

He had no more blood To bleed out, only water poured

from His Wounds. The Human adult body contains about

3.5 liters (just less than a gallon) of blood.

Jesus poured all 3.5 liters of his blood;

He had three nails hammered into His

Members; a crown of thorns on

His head and, beyond That, a Roman soldier who

stabbed a spear into His Chest..

All these without Mentioning the humiliation He

passed after carrying His own Cross for almost 2 kilometers,

while the crowd spat in his Face and threw stones (the cross

beam was almost 30 kg of weight, to which His hands were nailed).

Jesus had to endure this experi-ence,

So that you may have free access to God.

So that your sins can be “washed” away.

All of them, with no exception!Don’t ignore this.

JESUS CHRIST DIED...FOR YOU!

For you, who now read this e-mail. Do not believe that He only died

for others (those who go to church or for pas-

tors, bishops, etc).

He died for you!It is easy to e-mail jokes or silly

photos, But when it comes to God, Sometimes we feel ashamed to

forward a message about Him on To others. We are worried of what they may

think.

Accept the reality, the truth, that JESUS IS THE ONLY SALVA-

TION FOR THE WORLD.

God has special plans for YOU! Share this with all your friends...About what He went through to

save you.Really think about it!

May God bless you!

For the next 60 seconds, Set aside what you’re doing and

take This opportunity! Please don’t al-

low Satan to stop this.

All you have to do Is:

1.Pray for the person who sent this message to you.

2. Send this message to people...3.That way, people will pray for

you and you will encourage many people to pray to God for others.

4. Take a moment to appreciate the power of God in your life, as you do what pleases Him.

If you are not ashamed to do this, please, follow Jesus’ instructions.

He said (Matthew 10:32 & 33):”Everyone therefore

who acknowledges me before oth-ers, I also will acknowledge

before My Father in heaven; but whosoever denies Me

before others, I also will deny before My

Father in heaven”.

The Scientific Death of Jesus

Pusoy, A Russian Poker by Rudy D. Liporada | Chapter 25 – Contin-ued…

“Okay, Edward or whatever you name is,” the lieutenant said after the sergeant snarled out of the room, “I believe you know what the situation is. Sooner or later, you will tell us what we want to know anyway. So, why prolong your agony and make it hard on yourself?

“We know that you are one of the hijackers. Based on the bag you have with you, however, we do not know if you are now a political or a medi-cal officer…”

The pamphlet on the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, the booklet On Armed Struggle by Mao Tse Tung, acupunctures needles, bottles of Micro-chrome and bandages I had with me in my bag flashed into my mind. “I am not one of the hijack-ers.”

“We know that you are but if you would cooperate with us, we could ask the president to spare you from the death penalty.”

“I am not one of them.”“If you are not, then what are you?

Who are you?”“My name is Edward Sandico.”The lieutenant sighed and left the

room.

I tried to sum up in my mind what had just happened. They were trying to establish who I was, how I am placed in the overall organizational scheme of the movement if they know anything at all. They are now marking me as one of the hijackers so I would be forced to tell them who I really am. They are now play-ing the good and bad cop tandem. They will exert all their efforts to ex-tract information. They will dangle

death without necessarily having me die. Dead, I would be of no use to them.

I did not worry about those in the mountains. Even if I break down, comrades there are ever fluid in their movements. At the time that I break down, if ever I break down, those comrades in the mountains will be gone from the spots I would know they would be at.

I worried about those in the cities and towns. I knew the exact loca-tions of the underground houses. The reorganized cadres were vital for the revitalized movement in the North after the earlier one was disturbed by that turncoat politburo member. These vital links to the countryside should not be disturbed.

But what if I break down like that former Central Committee member?

Sketchy reports said that Nolan Doliente got caught with his wife in Manila right after Martial Law was declared. Aside from torturing him, the interrogators threatened to rape his wife. He broke down and led the enemy to thirty three underground houses in which the revolutionary movement suffered a conflagration. Many comrades died from tortures. Others also weakened and more underground houses were identified and trails of more captivity, torture, and death of comrades followed, the trail of which I had no idea where it ended if it already ended.

I committed to myself that I would not break down and the trail on my end will end.

But, what about Cynthia? How

would she know what could happen to me?

“So, you won’t talk, huh!” said the sergeant as he barged into the room.

He had two other soldiers with him.In a quick maneuver, they blind-

folded me again.“Stand up.” Only half-way up with my chains

clanking, they hustled me by my arms. They dragged me out of the door. After a while, I felt the cold-ness of the night from the mist that struck my nose. At a little more dis-tance, I heard a door open and they shoved me inside a vehicle with its engine on its idle. Two individuals sat at my sides and doors slammed around. I guessed that I must be in a car.

“Let’s go,” the sergeant said. The engine went full throttle and

continued on a smooth hum. Help-less, I contented myself with the thought that they blindfolded me because they did not want me to know where they were coming from and going. That means if kept alive, I would not know where I had been.

Yes, they might torture me but they will keep me alive.

Maybe?Yes, they would bring me close

to death, but they would not kill me unless I break down and tell them everything I know. Or won’t they?

They dragged me out of the ve-

hicle and shortly, we passed several doors which banged behind me. Finally, they slammed me down at what I felt to be cold cement. I heard dripping on some kind of container already with water.

Without warning, someone grappled at my hair and yanked my head up and abruptly down. I felt the coldness of water and I could not breathe. I blew bubbles out but the comfort was short. I heard myself mumbling inside my soul, plead-ing for a bit of air for my depleting consciousness. I entered a swirl of darkness before brightness flashed within my mind. I gasped as air tun-neled to my lungs.

“So, Edward, what’s your real name?”

“It’s Edward,” I said, gawking and spluttering.

Again, I could not breathe. My brain swam closer to darkness for what seem to be eternity. Then I was spluttering again, gasping.

“Your name?”“Edward.”This time, my brain swam to

oblivion.

I did not know how long I spent

in the realm of nothingness. When I regained consciousness, I did not even know where I was or why I was anywhere. I did not even know who I was or why I existed at all. In the darkness of the blindfold, it took sometime for me to realize that shackles bounded me and the chains were now much colder and I was shivering. It took sometime for me to realize that I was sitting down and that I was totally naked.

“Edward, are you okay?” It was the lieutenant’s voice. “I am so sorry that I came late. I told them not to be that harsh on you, but…are you okay?”

I tried to nod but my neck hurt. I managed to mumble a hoarse “yes.”

“Look, I know you are protecting your friends. That is natural for you to do. But will they be protecting you if they were in your place? Do


Today’s Lifestyle

Psychologists warn of a rising public health dilemma, espe-

cially for high-risk groupsWASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2012 /

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Psychological Associa-tion's (APA) newly released report, Stress in America™: Our Health at Risk, paints a troubling picture of the impact stress has on the health of the country, especially caregivers and people living with a chronic ill-ness such as obesity or depression.

The Stress in America survey, which was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of APA among 1,226 U.S. residents in August and September, showed that many Americans consistently report high levels of stress (22 percent reported extreme stress, an 8, 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale where 1 is little or no stress and 10 is a great deal of stress). While reported average stress levels have dipped slightly since the last survey (5.2 on a 10-point scale vs. 5.4 in 2010) many Americans continue to report that their stress has actually increased over time (39 percent report their stress has increased over the past year and 44 percent say their stress has increased over the past 5 years). Yet stress levels exceed people's own defi nition of what is healthy, with the mean rating for stress of 5.2 on a 10-point scale— 1.6 points higher than the stress level Ameri-cans reported as healthy.

While 9 in 10 adults believe that stress can contribute to the devel-opment of major illnesses, such as heart disease, depression and obe-sity, a sizeable minority still think that stress has only a slight or no impact on their own physical health (31 percent) and mental health (36 percent). When considered alongside the fi nding that only 29 percent of adults believe they are doing an ex-cellent or very good job at managing or reducing stress, APA warns that this disconnect is cause for concern.

"America has a choice. We can continue down a well-worn path where stress signifi cantly impacts our physical and mental health, causes undue suffering and drives up health care costs. Or we can get seri-ous about this major public health issue and provide better access to behavioral health care services to help people more effectively manage their stress and prevent and manage chronic disease," says psychologist Norman B. Anderson, Ph.D., APA's CEO and executive vice president. "Various studies have shown that chronic stress is a major driver of chronic illness, which in turn is a major driver of escalating health care costs in this country. It is criti-cal that the entire health community and policymakers recognize the role of stress and unhealthy behaviors in causing and exacerbating chronic health conditions, and support mod-els of care that help people make positive changes."

Caregivers Under FireMillions of Americans provide

care for aging or chronically ill family members at home, and that number is expected to grow as the number of older Americans is likely to double by the year 2030, accord-ing to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Findings from the Stress in America survey suggest that we may want to pay particular attention to the impact of these responsibilities on caregivers, who report higher levels of stress, poorer health and a greater tendency to engage in unhealthy behaviors to alleviate their stress than the general public.

Caregivers are not only more like-ly to report stress than other Ameri-cans, they also report it at higher levels. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is little or no stress and 10 is a great deal of stress, the mean level of stress reported by caregivers was 6.5 as compared to 5.2 by the general public. Fifty-fi ve percent of care-givers say they feel overwhelmed by the amount of care their aging or chronically ill family member requires. Caregivers are more likely than those in the general population to say they're doing a poor/fair job practicing healthy behaviors, includ-ing managing stress (45 percent vs. 39 percent) and getting enough sleep

Latest APA Survey Reveals Deepening Concerns about Connection between Chron-

ic Disease and Stress


by Stacy Trasancos, PhD

You become a parent, so full of hopes and dreams for your child. Those fat little baby hands reaching for you, the awkward toddling steps that seek you out, the insatiable cu-riosity of the growing student that so trustingly soaks up your answers and advice – you wonder what you ever did without that precious child. Then somewhere around age 14 you wonder who that strange person is that kind of resembles your son or daughter.

It’s…your teenager!Gone are the days of you being

so wonderfully wise and amazingly beautiful. Gone are the days of hugs and kisses and strolls in the park. They’ve been traded for head bobs, attitudes and even sometimes, “I hate you’s,” which are quickly fol-lowed by entitled demands for you to drop everything you are doing and drive her to the mall. Oh, and hurry up, you need to go pick up Britney! The little boy who prayed his prayers with you each night suddenly looks more like a praying mantis tapping away on his mobile phone, the one you pay for which is never cool enough and always seems to be off when you call and would like him to actually, incredulously, answer it and talk to you.

OK, even if it’s not exactly like that, parents of teenagers struggle. You want to be their hero, but be-cause they are growing and learning to naturally be more independent, they change and turn outward to learn about the big world. What do you do? How do you stay con-nected? Where do you draw the line? Well, look to the example of

the Holy Mother Church. Here are fi ve reminders that will keep you grounded during confusing times.

1Be a parent, not a buddy. Imag-

ine if the Church tried to be every-body’s buddy, and a life of faith was all about feel-good undeserved praise and uncritical acceptance of anything people did. Don’t risk hurt-ing any feelings, just let people do what they want to do, and tell them they are all wonderful no matter what. Right? No, the pews would be empty and souls would be lost. Just like we crave guidance and authori-ty, so do teenagers even if they don’t show it. They need mothers and fathers more than ever. They can get their own buddies, and they’ll learn soon enough that buddies come and go – but family is forever.

2Be a rock in any storm. The

Church guards 2,000 years of Truth and it is there for anyone to access. She proposes, not imposes, but for anyone seeking truth there is abun-dant instruction. And that truth does not waiver, does not change with the times or styles, it is objective. People need this, teens need this especially. It’s so tempting today in our culture to compromise what we know is right. Primetime television and social media often promotes the idea that truth is subjective, that whatever makes us happy in the moment is right. But actors on TV don’t care for your children the way you do. Whatever it is – drugs, sex, music, clothing, food – tell them the truth without compromise and in love. If they don’t seem like they are listening or if they act like you have

lost your mind, don’t worry and be a nag. Someday they’ll be glad they heard it over and over again.

3Never let them forget where

they came from. The Holy Mother Church teaches that we are all in communion, with the past, pres-ent and future of the entire Church when we pray. We belong, and the desire to belong is innate in us because we are made in the image of God, an internal life between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, distinct and real relations of one substance, the utter repose of the Three dwelling within one another. A parent remembers the origin of the teenager. A parent remembers things the child cannot. A parent has stood beside the sleeping body and prayed the humble prayers of gratitude and resolve. Every once in a while, look your teen in the eyes and tell her you still see your baby. When he’s strapped in the car beside you, tell him a story about himself.

4Pray. Pray for the grace to know

what to say when you need to say it. Pray for your teen’s future, for her future spouse, for his future voca-tion, for future health, for abundance of grace in his or her life too. There is no guarantee that a young adult will remain faithful to the Church or even to your family. There could be discord for a time. They will certainly make mistakes and need to experience the pain that teaches. Cover it in prayer. Don’t hesitate to enter the room of the teen, sprinkle the electronic devices with holy water (enough to silence them if necessary), and make a giant sign of the Cross as you pray for protec-tion from evil. It lurks, and it lurks heavy for teenagers. They need your constant prayers, and have faith because God loves them even more than you do.

5Speak of the Trinity during

hard times. Proclaiming unity heals relationships. It lifts you above the pain and allows you to turn your gaze to what is true and good. Proclaiming unity is to affi rm faith and hope. Don’t just think it; say it out loud and with conviction. “This is your family. It will always be your family. I will always be your mother. You are you, I am me, but we are one. Life will never be perfect, but no amount of imperfec-tion will ever destroy the love that I have for you child. I am not perfect. You are not perfect. But by, through and in the grace of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we are united permanently. If there is anything of this created world you can rely on without fail, it is my love for you, on good days and on bad days. It will never end.”

FinallyDuring it all, keep a sense of

humor. Teenagers can be wonderful companions and insightful conver-sationalists. They will, God-willing, someday reach their mid-twenties and suddenly realize, as Mark Twain once remarked, that you have become quite wise indeed in the last seven years. Remember, the foundations that you lay will truly allow your family to endure the tests of time and to be (2B) best friends forever (BFF) eternally in Heaven.

I speak from experience, having made all the mistakes, but get back to me in ten years and I’ll let you know how it is going.

About the Stacy Trasancos, PhD

Stacy Trasancos, Ph.D. is a scien-tist turned homemaker raising seven children with her husband in the Northeast. She is pursuing a MA in Theology at Holy Apostles College and Seminary and she is a Chief Editor at Ignitum Today. She writes about all that she is learning at Ac-cepting Abundance.

Link: http://www.catholicsistas.com/2012/01/07/how-2b-your-teen-agers-bff/

How 2B Your Teenager’s BFF




AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY ('TRY', BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY START-ING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY ..

Cancer Update from Johns Hop-kins :

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has nutritional defi ciencies. These could be due to genetic, but also to environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutri-tional defi ciencies, changing diet to eat more adequately and healthy, 4-5 times/day and by including supple-ments will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poison-ing the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kid-neys, heart, lungs, etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemo-therapy and radiation will often re-duce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruc-tion.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and com-plications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and diffi cult to de-stroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

*CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar substitutes like NutraS-weet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color a better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intes-tinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fi sh, and a little other meat, like chicken. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vege-tables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of

healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C)..

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer fi ghting properties. Water is best to drink, purifi ed if possible or at least fi ltered. This helps to remove known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is diffi cult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remain-ing in the intestines becomes putre-fi ed and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Florescence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals,EFAs etc.) to enable the body’s own killer cells to destroy cancer cells.. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apop-tosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proac-tive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

1. No plastic containers in micro.2. No water bottles in freezer.3. No plastic wrap in microwave..

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This infor-mation is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well.

Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This espe-cially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the di-oxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else.

Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam contain-ers to paper The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Please share this with your whole email list.........................Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poison-ous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life. -- sent via iPhone by Marissa Acierto

Johns Hopkins Cancer UpdateIn the Mail -- Lifestyle Check: True or False?


(42 percent vs. 32 percent).The latest data also demonstrate

that caregivers are more likely than people in the general public to have a chronic illness (82 percent vs. 61 percent), rate their health as fair or poor (34 percent vs. 20 percent), and point to personal health concerns as a signifi cant source of stress (66 percent vs. 53 percent). In addition, caregivers appear to manage stress in less healthy ways than the general population; for example, caregivers are twice as likely to report smoking to manage their stress (20 percent vs. 10 percent).

Stress Linked to Obesity and Depression

The rate of obesity in the United States remains at epidemic propor-tions. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 10 American adults suffers from depression. Findings from Stress in America show that many people who suffer from these conditions say that they are unable to take the necessary steps to reduce their stress and therefore engage in unhealthy behaviors.

On a scale of 1 to 10, people living with depression (6.3) or obesity (6.0) report signifi cantly higher average stress levels than the rest of the pop-ulation (5.2). Those with depression (33 percent) or who are obese (28 percent) are signifi cantly more likely than the general public (21 percent) to say they do not think they are doing enough to manage their stress. As compared to the general public (11 percent), more people who are obese (34 percent) or depressed (22 percent) report that their disabilities or health issues prevent them from making healthy lifestyle changes.

"The Stress in America sur-vey continues to show a nation at a crossroads when it comes to stress and health. We are caught in a vicious cycle where our stress exceeds our own defi nition of what is healthy, and those who are already living with a chronic illness report even higher levels of stress. Yet we're ill-equipped to make changes to better manage that stress," says Dr. Anderson. "Given the persistent nature of our stress and the serious physical health consequences associ-ated with it, stress has the potential to become the country's next public health crisis."

To read the full report, view the Stress in America: Our Health at Risk town hall event or to download graphics, visit www.stressinamerica.org.

For additional information on stress and lifestyle and behavior, vis-it www.apa.org/helpcenter and read APA's Mind/Body Health campaign blog www.yourmindyourbody.org. Join the conversation about stress on Twitter by following @apahelpcen-ter and #stressAPA.

MethodologyThe Stress in America survey

was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of the American Psycho-logical Association between August 11 and September 6, 2011, among 1,226 adults aged 18 and older who reside in the U.S. In addition to the 1,226 interviews among the general population, oversamples of 300 caregivers and 1,221 people living with chronic illnesses were also in-cluded in the 2011 research. For the purposes of this report, caregivers are defi ned as adults currently caring for an aging or chronically ill family member. Chronically ill adults are defi ned as those with at least one of the following conditions: depression, type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart disease. In the report, the adults comprising this group are labeled as "Chronic Illness." To read the full methodology; visit www.stressina-merica.org

The American Psychological As-sociation, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientifi c and professional organization representing psychol-ogy in the United States and is the world's largest association of psy-chologists. APA's membership in-cludes more than 154,000 research-ers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfi elds of psychology and af-fi liations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, educa-tion and human welfare.

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research fi rms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into ac-tionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including health-care, technology, public affairs, en-ergy, telecommunications, fi nancial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offi ces and a network of independent market research fi rms, Harris specializes in delivering re-search solutions that help us — and our clients — stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

Latest APA Survey Reveals Deepening Concerns about Connection between Chron-

ic Disease and Stress

the UK Bribery Act 2010 and mutual cooperation under the United Nations and European Union Conventions.

“Depriving perpetrators of the benefi ts of the crime is important so the government needs to provide the tools and resources needed for asset recovery,” he said.

He proposed that authorities be given suffi cient powers to confi scate assets for this to be achieved.

Lawyer Vicente Aquino, executive director of the Anti-Money Launder-ing Council (AMLC), agreed, saying that the AMLC asset recovery should not just be a tool but a primordial objective.

The AMLC is currently seeking the amendment of the Anti-Money Laundering Act’s provisions on the inquiry and freeze of suspicious bank accounts.

Aquino criticized a Supreme Court ruling in 2008, which required govern-ment prosecutors to give advance notice to the accused before they can investigate the suspect’s bank account as this gives an opportunity to the suspect to hide assets.

Hopmeier pointed out that cor-ruption and money laundering are intrinsically linked.

“Stop money laundering and you may stop corruption,” he said.

He said there is also need for active cooperation between countries to ad-dress economic crime.

British Ambassador Stephen Lillie said corruption is an international problem that requires an international solution, citing greater international partnership as a necessary step in tack-ling corruption.

He expressed hopes that the Senate would ratify the Extradition Treaty and Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the UK and the Philippines, which were ratifi ed in the UK last year.

Hopmeier commended the “great work” of the Presidential Commission on Good Government under the lead-ership of chairman Andres Bautista, which has recovered some $2 billion of ill-gotten wealth, an achievement of “no mean feat by anyone’s standards.”

“Corruption destroys the rule of law and democratic institutions,” Hop-meier said.

The World Bank (WB) estimates that between $20 billion to $40 billion are stolen annually from develop-ing countries and hidden in fi nancial centers.

The WB suggests that the value of bribes in the world represents a staggering three percent of the world economy.

Hopmeier pointed out that there is no single solution in fi ghting corrup-tion.


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Badillo, Dr. Florabel F. Oliver10717 Camino Ruiz, # 122 San Diego, CA 92126 Tel. (858) 566-6099

Chan, Andrew 925 East Pennsylvania Ave. # D Escondido, CA 92025 Tel. (858) 527-0365

Lazaga, Dr, Myrna 914 East 8th Street, #208 National City, CA 91950 Tel (619) 477-0570

Largoza, Dr. Nita1040 Tierra Del ReyChula Vista, CA 91910Tel. (619) 482-1992

New Image DentistryDr. Rossana T. Alfonso2340 E. 8th StreetNational City, CA 91950Tel. (619) 470-2558 Palaganas, Aleli 1311 E. 8th Street, Suite D National City, CA 91950Tel. (619.474.8441

Salazar, Evelyn1339 Third AvenueChula Vista, CA 91911Tel. (619) 426-2040 Saldana, Ronaldo 665 H Street, Suite E Chula Vista, CA 91910 Tel. (619) 422-7252

DRIVING SCHOOLS Aguilar Driving School 2371 Forest Meadow Court Chula Vista, CA 91915 Tel. (619) 482-1488 Perez, Gerry 6985 Westleigh Place San Diego, CA 92126 Tel. (619) 571-9159

COMMUNITIES, NEW HOMES

Amber Woods Homes1104 Woodcrest LaneVista, CA 92081Tel. (760) 727-2945www.amberwoods-homes.com3-4 BR 2-story homes

Sentinels Del Sur by Davidson CommunitiesPaseo del Sur, Poway, CATel. (858) 756-4283www.sentinelsdelsur.comLuxury 2- to 3-story homes HOUSING DEVELOPERS Canyon Woods TagaytayCondos, Tagaytay, Philippines Tel. (619) 746-3416 Presidio at Britanny BayCondos, Lakefront @ Laguna Bay Sucat, Metro ManilaTel. (619) 746-3416 SM Properties Condo units @ SM Malls in the Philippines Tel. (619) 746-3416

Megaworld InternationalSan Diego North - Katrina Benfer12307 Oak Knoll Rd., Suite DPoway, CA 92064Tel. (858) 842-4327 INSURANCE

Jerry Salcedo AgencyNationwide Insurance 162 S. Rancho Sante Fe,Ste E100 Encinitas, CA 92024Te. (877) 260-7104

SECURITY CAMERAS-ALARMS POINT OF SALE SYSTEMS

Dynamix Technology4660 El Cajon Blvd., #105San Diego, CA 92115Tel. 619) 788-6981

“The souls that say this chaplet will be embraced by My mercy during their lifetime and especially at the hour of their death (754).” -- Words of Jesus in the Diary of St. Faustinaespecially at the hour of their death (754).” -- Words of Jesus in the Diary of St. Faustina

CHAPLET OF THE DIVINE MERCYUsing the rosary beads, recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one I Believe in God.

On the Our Father beads say this prayer, which was given by Our Lord to St. Faustina (1905-1938).

Eternal Father, I o�er You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

On the Hail Mary beads say:

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

In conclusion say three times:

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

The Hour of Great Mercy

At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion,

particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great

mercy. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in

virtue of My Passion (Diary, 1320). -- Divine Mercy in My Soul: Diary of Saint Faustina

Kowalska

You expired, O Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls and an ocean of mercy

opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable

Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us. O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the

Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You. Amen.

Free Divine Mercy Posters for Families (9”x15”) while supplies last. Call 619.851.9547

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

journalusa.com

Novena(Continued from page 18)


Pasanin Sa Bansa


22. I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.

23. Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me, and know my thoughts!

24. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.


The Magnifi cat: Luke 1:46-55Unison:My soul doth magnify the

Lord And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For He hath regard-ed the low estate of His handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all gen-erations will call me blessed; for He who is mighty hath done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on them that fear Him throughout all generations. He hath shown strength with His arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts; He hath put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the humble and meek; He hath fi lled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spake to our forefathers, to Abraham and his seed forever.


Sa isang ospital pagkatapos ng operasyon.

Pasyente: Dok, bakit ganito ang operasyon sa ulo?

Halos kita na ang utak ko.Dok: Okey yan..... at least open-

minded ka na ngayon.

***

Inday: Sir, karamihan pala ng nakalibing sa sementeryo ginahasa.

Sir: Paano mo nalaman?Inday: kasi nakalagay sa lapida

nila ....RIP!

***

Sa airport canteen, umorder ang isang Amerikano.

Kano : Miss, will you please give me one few two..

Tindera: What sir?Kano : I said one few two.Tindera: oh, puto.Kano : yeah, that’s right.Tindera: (sa loob-loob, tanga.

puto lang,pino-few two, few two pa, gagantihan ko nga).

Tindera: okey sir, what color do you want? Few la or few ti?

***

Ano ang mas maraming sakay,

jeepney or ambulansya?SAGOT: siyempre ambulansya.

kasi ang jeepney, 10-10 lang bawat side.Samantalang sa ambulansya,

madalas na 50-50 ang sakay.

Open Minded

Paano na nga ba na ang ibang bansa’y ating mahihimok,Tumulong sa PINAS na ito’y umunlad sa paraang BULOK.

Sige, sige kayo, inyo ng aminin, PALPAK ANG LAYUNIN,HUWAD NA PANGARAP ng mga KAPATID, pangsariling angkin.Ni walang liwanag na mababakas ng liban sa SAKIM,Sa pagsasarili, bahala ka bayang magtiis ng LAGIM.

Batikos ni:Romeo Nicolas10/6/2011

British Judge(Continued from page 1)


Missing a print edition of the Asian Journal? Read the digital edition at www.asianjournalusa.com/digital

Pusoy, A Russian Poker


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The Thief in the Night(Continued from page 10)

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Anybody who knows the whereabouts

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To:

From: GEN SILVERIO

Herewith is proof of your classified ad for publication in the Asian Journal. Please proofread i t and fax back the correction if any or call us for your approval. The ad is tentatively scheduled to be published in the

issue of the Asian Journal if we receive your approval on time. At $4 per line

lines, it costs

$______.00 to be paid upon your receipt of the invoice and tear sheet. Thank you.

Fax #

If approved please sign and fax back to

(619) 474-0373

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Asian JournalFirst Asian Weekly Newspaper in Southern California & San Diego’s Most Widely Circulated Asian-Filipino Newspaper

550 East 8th Street, Suite 6, National City CA 91950 • Tel. (619) 474-0588 • Fax (619) 474-0373

AJ-CA_01.06.2012

Toni Thompson

5x4x10

200

NOTICE TO BIDDERS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of San Diego will receive bids for work at the Purchasing and Con-tracting Department, Contracts Division, 1200 Third Avenue, Suite 200, San Diego, California, where bids are to be submitted prior to time specified. Plans and specifications can be obtained from The City of San Diego’s website: http://www.sandiego.gov/bids-contracts. A pre-bid meeting and/or pre-bid visit to the work site will be held, if indicated, at the time and place specified in the contract documents. Prospective bidders are encouraged to attend these sessions.It is the policy of the City of San Diego to encourage equal opportunity in its construction, consultant, material and supply contracts. Bids/proposals from small businesses, minority-owned, disabled, veteran-owned businesses, women-owned businesses and local firms are strongly encouraged. Contractors are encouraged to subcontract and/or participate in joint ventures with these firms. The City is committed to equal opportunity and will not discriminate with regard to race, religion, color, ancestry, age, gender, disability, medical condition or place of birth and will not do business with any firm that discriminates on any basis.Contractors interested in bidding projects over $50,000 must be pre-qualified. Please contact DAVE STUCKY of the City’s Pre-Qualification Program at (619) 533-3474 or [email protected] to obtain an application.Sign language or oral interpreting services are available at pre-bid meetings and bid openings with a 5 business day notice to the Contracting Division at 236-6000. 1. HARBOR DRIVE PIPELINES REPLACEMENT PROJECTBid No. K-5423-DBB-3-C. WBS No. S-12028, S-10055. MANDATORY Pre-Bid Date: January 26, 2012 @ 10:00 a.m. Pre-Bid Location: Conference Room, 2nd Floor, 1200 Third Avenue, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92101. Bid Opening Date: February 9, 2012 @ 2:00 p.m. Construction Estimate: $12,836,095. License Requirement: A.PREVAILING WAGE RATES: STATE & FEDERAL.FEDERAL EQUAL OPPORTUNITY CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.THIS CONTRACT IS FUNDED THROUGH THE SAFE DRINKING WATER STATE REVOLVING FUND PROGRAM TROUGH THE CALIFORNIA, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH. Al RechanyJanuary 5, 2012

DATE OF PUBLICATION: JANUARY 13, 2012

COST: $200.00

To:

From: GEN SILVERIO

Herewith is proof of your classified ad for publication in the Asian Journal. Please proofread i t and fax back the correction if any or call us for your approval. The ad is tentatively scheduled to be published in the

issue of the Asian Journal if we receive your approval on time. At $4 per line

lines, it costs

$______.00 to be paid upon your receipt of the invoice and tear sheet. Thank you.

Fax #

If approved please sign and fax back to

(619) 474-0373

__________________

Asian JournalFirst Asian Weekly Newspaper in Southern California & San Diego’s Most Widely Circulated Asian-Filipino Newspaper

550 East 8th Street, Suite 6, National City CA 91950 • Tel. (619) 474-0588 • Fax (619) 474-0373

AJ-CA_01.13.2012

Toni Thompson

5x4x10

200

NOTICE TO BIDDERS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of San Diego will receive bids for work at the Purchasing and Con-tracting Department, Contracts Division, 1200 Third Avenue, Suite 200, San Diego, California, where bids are to be submitted prior to time specified. Plans and specifications can be obtained from The City of San Diego’s website: http://www.sandiego.gov/bids-contracts. A pre-bid meeting and/or pre-bid visit to the work site will be held, if indicated, at the time and place specified in the contract documents. Prospective bidders are encouraged to attend these sessions.It is the policy of the City of San Diego to encourage equal opportunity in its construction, consultant, material and supply contracts. Bids/proposals from small businesses, minority-owned, disabled, veteran-owned businesses, women-owned businesses and local firms are strongly encouraged. Contractors are encouraged to subcontract and/or participate in joint ventures with these firms. The City is committed to equal opportunity and will not discriminate with regard to race, religion, color, ancestry, age, gender, disability, medical condition or place of birth and will not do business with any firm that discriminates on any basis.Contractors interested in bidding projects over $50,000 must be pre-qualified. Please contact DAVE STUCKY of the City’s Pre-Qualification Program at (619) 533-3474 or [email protected] to obtain an application.Sign language or oral interpreting services are available at pre-bid meetings and bid openings with a 5 business day notice to the Contracting Division at 236-6000. 1. SKYLINE DRIVE CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTSBid No. K-5057-DBB-3-C. WBS No. S-00912, S-10055. MANDATORY Pre-Bid Date: January 25, 2012 @ 10:00 a.m. Pre-Bid Location: Conference Room, 2nd Floor, 1200 Third Avenue, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92101. Bid Opening Date: February 14, 2012 @ 2:00 p.m. Construction Estimate: $1,687,250. License Requirement: A.PREVAILING WAGE RATES: FEDERAL.FEDERAL EQUAL OPPORTUNITY CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.APPRENTICE REQUIREMENTS.THIS IS A FHWA FUNDED CONTRACT TROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. Al RechanyJanuary 12, 2012

DATE OF PUBLICATION: JANUARY 13, 2012

COST: $200.00

REF: SKYLINE DR CORRIDOR

you know Nolan Doliente?” I kept the answer to himself. Yes,

that traitor.“Assuming that you do or even if

you don’t, Nolan was one of your ranking leaders, with the Central Committee even, and he cooperated with us. Now he is enjoying freedom with his wife. I am assuming that you, too, have a wife or maybe just a girlfriend? Don’t you just want to be with your family right now?”

Cynthia fl ashed into my mind. She is pregnant.

“Is it not unfair for you to suffer when leaders like Nolan are now free? I know how hard life is in the underground or in the countryside. By cooperating with us, many of your former comrades are now also enjoying the life of being free, of be-ing with their love ones. All I need is some information from you and you could be with your love ones right now. How about it, Edward?”

“I do not know anything. I am just a mere activist.”

“Well, that’s a good start. Where are you an activist from? From what school?

I realized that I just committed a mistake. I had given an answer to which they would now start to grill me. I had given them a white lie. They will now force me to blanket the white with colors of truth.

“Hmmm! So, from what school? UP? Adamson?”

“I told you. I do not know any-thing.”

I heard the whirring sound. I had heard of the whirring sound. I had heard of the dreaded whirring sound.

I felt someone grapple at my balls. A cold metal pinched upon my loins. Another cold metal pinched on my right nipple. Then the whirring sound came again, I convulsed. My eyes popped out of their sockets and my tongue shortened as ions and ions of deathly million darts invaded and short circuited my whole being.

When the whirring stopped, I limped into almost nothingness. I realized I was weeping. I wept for mercy. In an afterthought, I had asked them to stop.

“All we need is your name.”“Ro…Ro...del, Rodel Morato,

Rodel Romualdez Morato.”“Romualdez?”“Yes.”Hurried steps moved to and fro.

Papers fl ipped. “Where is Simon now?”“I don’t know.”“Jenny?”“I don’t know.”

The whirring sound came again and again.

When I awoke, I found myself in a windowless room, fully clothed, ly-ing on a cot bed with blindfold gone, and left hand chained to the bed. I wondered where I was and what had happened.

I thought, did I just have a dream? Did I see the face of Nolan in front of me? Did he say “that’s him?” Did he ask me questions?

I could not be sure of what had happened. I did not even know if it was day or night or how long it had been. I totally lost time and space. Has it been a week? A month?

What is coming up next?

The sergeant barged into the room.

To be continued…

(Publisher’s Note: Pusoy is Rudy D. Liporada’s second novel and third book being serialized in Asian Journal. One can get a copy of the book through Amazon.com – A Russian Poker - or by calling the author at 858-722-1465.)

she still won’t be released even if she posted bail in these cases.

That’s a good one from Ombuds-man Conchita Carpio-Morales.

I understand the Ombudsman is preparing more charges against Ar-royo. Possibly plunder.

What I want to see is for Gloria Arroyo to be charged for her cheat-ing in the 2004 election. That’s her original sin against the Filipino people.

Asian Journal January 13, 2012 edition

Documents

Transcript of Asian Journal January 13, 2012 edition