Asian Journal May 29 2009

The liberal bashing is starting

(Continued on page 17)

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A celebratory gathering of hometown friends, relatives, general membership of the Asingan Association of California/San Diego, and guests welcomed General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. (ret) last

Wednesday at the residence of Mr. & Mrs. James C. Esperon. Presents were mostly military retirees and their families:.

By Conrad I. Reloj, Jr.See page 2

San Diego welcomes retired Philippine General Hermogenes C. Esperon

Retired Philippine General Hermogenes C. Esperon (center, in yellow shirt) with friends and townmates during the welcome gathering held in his honor.

Anybody who has heard Joe Cabrera

play the piano would understand the com-

munity’s behavior. He is very good. In fact, he has accumulated a sizable number of fol-lowers during the short time he’s been in San Diego. Some of his

fans are Filipinos. A lot are American million-aires in La Jolla. This makes the Filipinos proud whenever Joe

Cabrera plays before an American audience. Joe makes Americans real-ize that the Filipinos, after all, are talented

people.

See page 5

A Memorial Day SeriesRemembering Joe Cabrera

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE -- ACTRESS and former beauty queen Ruffa Gutierrez-Bektas has asked the Quezon City Regional Trial Court to award to her the custody of her two minor daughters.

Gutier-rez-Bek- tas, whose real name is Shar-maine

Ruffa: Give me my daughters

Ruffa Gutierrez-Bektas and her children.

Gutierrez, filed a petition for custody wherein the defen-dant is her estranged hus-band, Turkish businessman Yilmaz Bektas.

The case docketed as Civil Case No. Q-09-64795 is now assigned at the sala of QCRTC Branch 107 Presid-ing Judge Jose Bautista Jr.

The contents of the petition, however, were not revealed since the case falls under the jurisdiction of a family court.

But it was learned from the sala of Judge Bautista that summon has already been sent to Bektas in his address in Istanbul,

Turkey informing him of the petition filed against him.

The estranged couple got married in The Fort, Taguig on March 25, 2003. They had two daugh-ters ages Lorin, 5 and


May 29 - June 4, 2009

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PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE -- The National Bureau of Investigation has uncovered a new modus of an illegal recruiter using Internet and electronic money transfer in the illegal operation with the arrest of a registered nurse who allegedly duped a num-ber of nurses applying for jobs in London.

NBI Director Nestor Man-taring identified the arrested suspect as Wilfredo Almira Isaac, 35, of Shihanok Vil-lage, Coral Bells, Las Piñas City.

In a press conference yesterday, Mantaring said the modus operandi of Isaac was uncovered by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLaC) out of several transactions he made through an electronic cash service provided.

Atty. Vicente de Guzman III, head of the NBI-Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division (AFCCD), said the suspect enticed nurses using Internet through electronic mail to apply for work abroad or by “phishing.”

“Phishing,” according to authorities, is carried out by e-mail or instant messaging and often directs users to enter d

etails at a fake website

Illegal recruitment via Internet uncovered

FVR Talks to San Diego’s Fil-Am Youth Groups - Author Joe Son (standing at the back) was caught on camera for a souvenir pose with Consul General Mary Jo Bernardo-Aragon, FVR, COPAO President Merly Ferrer and Vice Consul John Reyes; seated, left to right.

The recent visit of Former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos in San Diego to meet and greet local Fil-Am student leaders and scholars, created an overwhelming impact. Our youth leaders are once again looking back on our family values, tradition and cultural heritage. FVR gave an inspiring talk to these leaders based on the theme: “The Youth’s Leadership Role in this Changing Economy,” last May 20, 2009 at the National Public Library, hosted by the Council of Pilipino American Organizations (COPAO), represented by no less than President Merly Ferrer and Board Members, coordinated by Glenn Barroga, representing the business sector and facilitated by Ditas Yamane, Executive Director of COPAO.

See page16

Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos talks to San

Diego’s Fil-Am Youth Groups

History can mean any event or episode that happened in the past or

things that happened to people. It is everything

that has happened

subsequent to “right

now.” It is what people think they have

done. Every day, history influences

our lives. Issues and circumstances create turbulence and conflict, “as well as unexpected

opportunities for change in our world.”

By Riz A. OadesSee page 6

Why I quit law school and opted for history

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Around TownRead Conrad Reloj’s previous articles by visiting our website at

www.asianjournalusa.com. Email: [email protected]

by Conrad I. Reloj, Jr.


A celebratory gathering of hometown friends, rela-tives, general membership

of the Asingan Association of California/San Diego, and guests to welcome General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. (ret) last Wednesday was held at the residence of Mr. & Mrs. James C. Esperon. Pres-ent were mostly military retirees and their families: Vadm Virgilio Marcelo AFP (Ret.), Capt Chuck Pierce, USN (Ret.), Frank & Vicky Lagula, Henry & Gloria Aspiras, Tito & Aida Similin, Gil & Pat Santila, Gil Ong, Noli Sarabia; also Ted Delgado, Aida Hidalgo, Lily Badua, Planeta Canaveral, Susan Antonio, Cora Balat, Cecilia Manipon and oth-ers guests.

Genral Esperon along with the group attended last Saturday the First Grand Reunion Dinner Dance in North Hol-lywood of the Asinganians in the United States and Canada who are now residing in North America. The following day, (Sunday) the One Asingan Unity & Coordinating Council (OAUCC) was a picnic at Lake Balboa Park in Encino; a change of pace, a brief respite from his hectic schedule in Manila where he currently is the Chief of the Presidential Management Staff.

I found him to be a scholar and a gentleman with a great sense of humor. Prior to his latest appointment, Secretary Jun Esperon was the Presidential Ad-viser on the Peace Process after retiring from his military career as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in 2008. He brought a wide range of senior leadership skills and experi-ence in crisis action, strategic planning, problem solving, communal relations and resources management.

I gathered that after graduating as valedictorian of Philippine Science High School Class of 1970, he im-mediately enrolled at the Philippine

San Diego welcomes retired General

Hermogenes C. EsperonMilitary Academy graduating in 1974 as a commissioned officer in the Philippine Army. Early on he was combat-tested as a Platoon Leader of Bravo Company, 23 Infantry Battalion in Lamitan, Basilan in 1974. He later on commanded the Bravo Company of 36th Infantry Bat-talion from l975-76, operating as strike force of the Southwestern Command in Sulu-Basilan-Zamboanga.

Since then has served in numerous operational and staff positions through-out his career to include involvement in battles against he Mulim rebels in Min-danao. In 1992, as Commander of the 30th Infantry Battalion in Tungao, Agu-san Del Norte, he dismantled established New People’s Army (NPA) guerilla fronts. He volunteered as Intelligence Officer of the Southern Command in 1995 following the attack on Ipil, Zam-boanga del Sur. In 1996, he was chosen to serve former President Fidel V. Ramos as the Deputy Commander of the Presidential Security Group, wherein he was also given the crucial task of ensur-ing the peaceful conduct of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in the Philippines as the Commander of the Task Force APEC. In June 2001, Esperon was sent to Basilan to command the 103rd Infantry Brigade in order to recover a group of Western guests and Filipino employees who had been kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf from Dos Palmas Resort in Palawan. He was able to rescue a number of the kidnap victims. He eventually became the PSG Commander and promoted Brigadier General. in 2002 during the early years of the presidency of Her Excellency President Gloria –Macapagal Arroyo.

The challenges and difficulties of fighting in the frontlines have inspired him to come up with policies and programs promoting peace and security when he became the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, J3 in 2003. He supervised the completion of MNLF integration as part of the implementation of the 1996 Final Peach Agreement, and drafted the directive to operating troops to uphold the primacy of the GRP-MILF Peach Process. In July 2004, he assumed command of the 7th Infantry

(KAUGNAY), Division based in Nueva Ecija and later on led the Special Opera-tions Command (SOCOM), Philippine Army, the First Echelon National Ma-neuver Force of the AFP.

In August 2005 he moved on to take the helm of the Philippine Army as its 47th Commanding General. In 2006, he was named as the 37th AFP Chief of Staff, and in that capacity, he continued with his earlier advocacies that were realized with the establishment of the AFP National Development Support command (NDSC) and the AFP Human rights Office (HRO). Tasked to promote development in the countryside, the AFP NDSC was envisioned to become a part-ner in peace and development. Mean-while the AFP HRO was activated to strengthen existing internal mechanisms to protect human rights in the APF. Also under his term as AFP Chief of Staff, the growth of CPP-NPA guerilla fronts was halted and the number of fronts was re-duced from a peak of 107 to 83 through a strategy of combining combat opera-tions with developmental activates. He also oversaw unit-ASG operations that led to the demise of Khadaffy Janjalani and other top ASG commanders.

General Esperon’s Army award include Presidential Merit Medal, distinguished Service Stars, Gold Cross medals and other military awards, he also earned the PMA Cavalier Award, the Lagablab Award as an Outstand-ing Alumnus of the Philippine Science High School, the PMA Achievement Award, the Philippine Legion of Honor Award Degree of Commander given by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. His valor did not go unnoticed by other for-eign leaders, including the President of Indonesia and the King of Malaysia who gave him grand military awards for his meritorious service and achievements.

While Esperon’s military exploits are legendary, he keeps to himself the little known personal tragedy in his life that left him scarred. He was just 39 years old when he lost his wife in a tragic car accident in 1991 which left him a wid-ower with five children to raise by him-self. They were going to Baguio City for the PMA reunion and his wife took

a separate car with a friend. In Capas, Tarlac–where his wife was born–the car she was in slid into a ditch. She died on the spot while her friend was seriously injured but later died in the hospital. Only the driver survived the crash. Years later, Esperon happened to meet him, and took him on again as his driver.

He had very little memory of those tragic moments but what kept him sane was remembering and playing in his mind their theme song “Never my love”. Days later when he reported back for duty, his men, who were used to enter-ing his office without knocking, found him in tears. He went back to combat duty in Mindanao to keep him from

self-pity. After three years in the field, he thought he had gotten over the loss of his beloved wife. But one day after a field operation in Basilan, Esperon hosted a feast for his men at an eatery when a re-run of the movie Ghost was shown on TV and the song Unchained Melody was playing in the background, he found himself reduced to tears again–and one by one, his embarrassed men got up from the table to leave him alone.

In time, he came to terms with his loss and even started to joke about his pros-pects of remarriage. He used to tell any-one who would care to listen that any woman who becomes his wife will have a “buy one, take five” instant family. It is a story he now tells with no more tears, especially after re-marrying nine years later. The lucky lady is Dr. Lorna Hermenegilda Valenzuela, 13 years his junior. Their love story started during their stint together at the PSG where she was assigned to the medical service. Of course, when they got married they had President Ramos and then very popular Senator and vice presidential candidate Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as their wed-ding sponsors.

The couple now have two daughters of their own, aged five and three and a half. His new family plus five of his children from his late wife, the eldest of whom is a 31-year-old daughter taking up her doctorate in education in Japan, is a favorite joke he cracks about his “viril-ity”. He says with a wide grin, “I have children from 3 to 31, from kindergarten to doctorate.”

President Arroyo expressed con-fidence on her choice of Esperon to replace AFP chief of staff Gen.Generoso Senga who retired from military service that day on his 56th birthday. President Arroyo cited Esperon’s previous stint as deputy chief of the PSG during her pre-decessor’s term. Mrs.Arroyo noted, “It was throughout Esperon’s tour of duty at the PSG where he showed his mettle as a professional soldier. Although there was no military restiveness during the Ramos watch, the PSG have been in the forefront of the many presidential activities that took their Commander-in-chief to the most dangerous parts of the country while trying to win the war against communist insurgents, Muslim secessionist and military putchists by government’s engaging the rebels in peace negotiations.

“And I believe President Ramos will join me in attesting that his (Esperon) only partisan interest is the people,” President Arroyo averred.

The 54-year old Esperon will remain as AFP chief of staff until February 9, 2008 when he reaches the manda-tory retirement age. Esperon has taken squarely upon his shoulders the task to wage the government’s war against communist terrorists following the breakdown of peace talks.

Esperon, of Philippine Military Academy Class 1974, had turned over his post as Philippine Army commander to Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino. “His

Gen. Esperon, fourth from left, with friends and townmates

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The Philippines is set to become the “wedding destina-tion in Asia.” The Department of Tourism revealed the Asso-ciation of Wedding Planners in the United States will bring in 10,000 couples in order to get married here.

“The association said they can easily bring in 10,000 couples this year. This is partly the reason why despite the global economic downturn, U-S arriv-als in the first two months of this year is up by seven percent,” the DoT said.

The Tourism department lauded the new development, saying the US-based wedding planners association coordinated with the DoT for the necessary arrangements including wed-ding ceremonies and reception venues, among others.

“It’s not only going to be the couples that are coming but also their friends and relatives. Imag-ine what it can greatly contribute to the visitor arrivals from the US this year,” the DoT Secretary Ace Durano said.

The Philippines, being a tropi-cal country, is a viable destina-tion mostly for beach wedding ceremonies. Durano said Cebu, Bohol, Boracay, and Palawan may top the couples’ list for beach wedding sites.

However, Durano said Cebu has been targeted to lead the Philippines in marketing the country as the premier wedding capital of Asia because of the accessibility of the international airport from the world-class resort-hotels in the province.

“Cebu to the foreign market is famous for its beaches and resorts. It’s mainly for leisure

Wedding couple

10,000 foreign couples to marry in RP

travelers. It will soon become the wedding and honeymoon center of the Philippines. Even besting Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singa-pore,” Durano said.

He cited resort-hotels here that have already established their market in beach wedding cer-emonies and reception such as in

Philippine Beach

Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort and Spa, Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa, and Plantation Bay Resort and Spa.

Shangri-La Mactan has built a wedding chapel, called “Ocean Pavilion,” primarily catering to the increasing number of foreign and local guests, while holding the wedding reception also in the resort.

In addition, Plantation Bay Resort and Spa hosted an under-water wedding ceremony two years ago.

City-based hotels in the Metro Cebu like Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, Waterfront Cebu City Hotels, and Casino, and Cebu City Marriott Hotel, are also pro-viding facilities for city-garden wedding ceremonies for both local and foreign couples.

Durano is encouraging local wedding coordinators to now capitalize on this new tourism development by partnering with travel operators and tour guides.

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE -- MALACAÑANG yesterday defended the entry of the younger sister of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo as the fourth Arroyo to join the House of Representatives in this Congress after the Supreme Court raised the number of party-list repre-sentatives.

Ma. Lourdes Arroyo, representing the Kasangga party, was among the 13 of the 32 new party-list members who paid Speaker Prospero Nograles a courtesy call yesterday, but were yet to be sworn in as official mem-bers of the chamber.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Anthony Golez Jr. said that Arroyo is qualified for the position, point-ing out that their mandate must be followed.

Malacañang earlier welcomed the

FG sister’s entry in House backed

First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo

possible assumption of controversial ret. Brig. Gen. Jovito Palparan as one of the solons to fill up the 32 new party-list members approved by the High Tribunal, stressing on his

experience in the military and con-tribution to our counter insurgence campaign.

The other Arroyos in the House are Ignacio Arroyo of Negros Occiden-tal and two of the President’s sons, Juan Miguel Macapagal-Arroyo of Pampanga and Diosdado Arroyo of Camarines Sur.

Nograles said they would await the formal notice from the Commission on Elections and for the names of the new representatives to be enrolled as House membe rs.

Palparan of Bantay party, however, did not show up for the courtesy call.

The other party-list members who attended were Leonardo Montemayor of Aba-Ako, Teodoro Lim of UNI-Mad, Domingo Espina of Cocofed, Ranulfo Canonigo of Kakusa, Pastor Alcover of Alliance for Nationalist Advancement and Democracy, Cat-alina Pizzaro of ABS party, Lorenzo Cadsawan and Roger Federezo of FPJPM, Salvador Britanico of Banat party, Godofredo Arquiza represent-ing the senior citizens party, Darly Grace Abayon of Angat Tayo, and Jonathan Dela Cruz of Abakada.


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San Diego Welcomes Gen. Hermogenes C.

Esperon, AFP (Ret)(Continued from page 2)(Esperon) grit and audacity are legend,” the President said.

The Commander-in-chief in particular singled out Esperon’s combat exploits in the battle against Muslim secession-ists in Mindanao and dubbed him “the hero of Camp Rajamuddah.” This was in reference to the all out campaign imple-mented by deposed President Joseph Estrada against the secessionist rebels from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) when Esperon commanded the 602nd Infantry Brigade. He led his troops based in Carmen, Cotabato in many victorious but bloody skirmishes in dismantling of the MILF camp in Rajamuddah at the Liguasan marsh complex in 1999.

In the wake of the Dos Palmas raid by Abu Sayaff bandits who kidnapped several Western nationals and Filipino workers of that resort in Palawan, Esperon was pulled out from Cotabato in June, 2001 to command the 103rd In-fantry Brigade in Basilan, the stronghold of this kidnap-for-ransom group. He was

responsible for the recovery of most of the Dos Palmas hostages.

She got Esperon in 2002 to serve her as commander of the PSG and promoted him to Brigadier General. Fresh from his combat victories in Mindanao, Esperon applied the same military principle of “use of overwhelming force” in dealing with troublemakers and keeping anti-Ar-royo protesters from getting anywhere near the Palace. Esperon chalked up an outstanding career record that started when he enrolled at the PMA in 1970, right after he graduated valedictorian at the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) where he was a state scholar.

He fondly recalls that his late father, who was a teacher/farmer in their hometown in Asingan, Pangasinan, had entered in his application form at the PSHS his supposed ambition to become a “horticulturist”.

It was during his high school days at the PSHS that he found the origin of Es-peron. He learned in his French classes, which he took as an elective, that their family surname comes from “esperer”, which means “to wait” or “to hope.”

Team AFP

Esperon vowed to sustain and con-tinue Senga’s actions against military adventurists as he expressed confi dence

they were only a miniscule segment and greatly outnumbered by the professional military men and women of the AFP.

On the eve of his retirement, Senga approved the formal investigation of military offi cers led by Army Scout Ranger Danilo Lim who were impli-cated in the botched Feb.24, 2006 coup plot.

“We just have to enforce the military justice system against those who break the chain of command. No quarter will be given,” Esperon said, adding, “Kung ayaw mo, umalis ka (If you don’t like it anymore, leave).”

Esperon sticks to the principles they have been trained in military tactics: not to govern, but to obey and follow the constitutional tenets of civilian supremacy over military.

“If they (mutineers) want reforms, as they claim, do it within the chain of command,” he stressed.

Despite his tough talk, Esperon cuts a father fi gure among the offi cers and men of the armed forces. In his speech at the command turn-over rites, he vowed to lead the “Team AFP” in the frontlines.

“I therefore call upon all the men and women of the Armed Forces to join me and work as members of ‘Team AFP’–solid and united under the chain of command, working together in an environment of mutual trust and confi -dence, defeating all forces that attempt to undermine our solidarity,” Esperon exhorted.

“I shall lead that charge! And I shall be with you in the frontlines as often as possible,” he vowed.

Esperon demonstrated his sincerity in the case of several of the Magdalo offi cers behind the July, 2003 mutiny in Oakwood who have re-joined the AFP ranks and turned their backs on military adventurism. Army offi cers among the Magdalo leaders in the Oakwood siege–Capt. Milo Maestrecampo, Capt.Gerardo Gambala and most recently Lt. Lawrence San Juan–have returned like prodigal sons of Esperon. Many others are expected to follow now that Esperon is at the helm of the “Team AFP.”

“Never My Love”

But while Esperon’s military exploits are legendary, he keeps to himself the little known personal tragedy in his life that left him scarred. He was just 39 years old when he lost his wife in a tragic car accident in 1991 which left him a widower with fi ve children to raise by himself. They were going to Baguio City for the PMA reunion and his wife took a separate car with a friend. In Capas, Tarlac–where his wife was born–the car she was in slid into a ditch. She died on the spot while her friend was seriously injured but later died in the hospital. Only the driver survived the crash.Years later, Esperon happened to meet him, and took him on again as his driver.

He had very little memory of those tragic moments but what kept him sane

was remembering and playing in his mind their theme song “Never my love”. Days later when he reported back for duty, his men, who were used to enter-ing his offi ce without knocking, found him in tears. He went back to combat duty in Mindanao to keep him from self-pity. After three years in the fi eld, he thought he had gotten over the loss of his beloved wife. But one day after a fi eld operation in Basilan, Esperon hosted a feast for his men at an eatery when a re-run of the movie Ghost was shown on TV and the song Unchained Melody was playing in the background, he found himself reduced to tears again–and one by one, his embarrassed men got up from the table to leave him alone.

In time, he came to terms with his loss and even started to joke about his pros-pects of remarriage. He used to tell any-one who would care to listen that any woman who becomes his wife will have a “buy one, take fi ve” instant family. It is a story he now tells with no more tears, especially after re-marrying nine years later. The lucky lady is Dr. Lorna Hermenegilda Valenzuela, 13 years his junior. Their love story started during their stint together at the PSG where she was assigned to the medical service. Of course, when they got married they had President Ramos and then very popular Senator and vice presidential candidate Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as their wed-ding sponsors.

The couple now have two daughters of their own, aged fi ve and three and a half. His new family plus fi ve of his children from his late wife, the eldest of whom is a 31-year-old daughter taking up her doctorate in education in Japan, is a favorite joke he cracks about his “viril-ity”. He says with a wide grin, “I have children from 3 to 31, from kindergarten to doctorate.”

All of them were proud guests at his recent installation even as his unseen enemies make hay over the infamous “Hello Garci” tapes. I don’t know Garci from Adam!” The woes of the new AFP chief stem from Garcillano’s wiretapped telephone conversations with a woman, supposedly President Arroyo, where he mentioned the name of Esperon as allegedly taking care of the election returns in Mindanao in her favor. When the Comelec deputized the AFP in Task Force HOPE (Honest, Orderly Peace-ful Elections), Esperon recalled, he was designated in January, 2004 as the Task Force commander in charge of the AFP-J-3 operations to help facilitate and secure the conduct of the 2004 elections all over the country

“I need moral authority to lead my men–it’s a matter of clear conscience,” Esperon told STARweek in exclusive in-terview on the eve of his assumption as chief of staff. “As I said, my conscience is clear. Ano ba ang kasalanan ko? My name was mentioned by a guy whom I’ve never met,” Esperon pointed out. “Why did he (Garcillano) mention me? Only he can answer that.”

The only fl y in the ointment, so to

speak, is the non-closure of the so-called “Hello Garci” scandal where Esperon was among the military generals impli-cated in alleged involvement in cheating during the May, 2004

In congressional hearings on the tapes last year, Garcillano failed to shed light on many of these questions during his testimony when he invoked his constitu-tional right against self-incrimination.

Esperon said he himself recommended to Senga to create an ad hoc fact-fi nding committee within the AFP to look into these allegations against him. To this end, Senga convened an internal probe body and designated Philippine Navy fl ag-offi cer-in-command Vice Adm. Mateo Mayuga as head. Several months later, the Mayuga body came out with its report and recommendations, one of which cleared Esperon of any culpabil-ity in the allegations against him.

“I was really cleared there (the Ma-yuga Report),” Esperon stressed.

The Defense Department and the Palace, however, have tossed back and forth the Mayuga Report amid calls by

opposition senators for a full public disclosure of the Mayuga Report.

“I have not seen it (Mayuga Report). I did not have a hand in it. I was cleared. What more can I ask? But who am I to tell our chief of staff to release it?” he pointed out. “In due time, it (Mayuga Report) will come out.”

Esperon has been going all over the country talking with his Army troopers about these charges hanging over him even after the Mayuga Report already cleared him.

“I recognized these issues against me but they tell me I should not mind it and I don’t need to explain because it’s not an issue to them. Probably, they believe me,” Esperon said.

Garcillano claimed during the wiretapped conversations that Esperon supposedly took care of the problem involving Brig. Francisco Gudani, who was then the commander of the 1st Philippine Marine Brigade in Marawi City. In those same tapes, the contro-


Our life and times

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

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

The San Diego, CaliforniaMay 29, 2009

In commemoration with the Me-morial Day observation last week-end, we decided to come out with a series of two articles remembering two of our departed colleagues, the cartoonist Eugenio “Ego” Osin and the prolifi c vernacular poet, humorist and celebrated pianist, Joe Cabrera. Below is our tribute to Joe as published in the January 1991 issue of the San Diego Asian Journal which was also reprinted in his book, “Isang Laksang Tula ng Mga Piling Katatawanan”, also published by the Journal.

Joe Cabrera is a “Community Treasure”

San Diego, CaliforniaJanuary 1991

A few years ago, some Filipi-nos in San Diego were about to organize a musical extravaganza in honor of our columnist and Tagalog poet, Joe Cabrera. It was supposed to be the show of shows, highlight-ed by fi rst class talents perform-ing in a fi rst class theater, the San Diego’s Symphony Hall.

The proposed project was prompted by the desire of Joe Cabrera’s friends to bestow to the Filipino piano virtuoso the ultimate honor that they feel he very much deserved. It was supposed to be their token of appreciation for his great talent, for they feel that with his skill as a pianist, Joe Cabrera has become the San Diego Filipi-nos’ “community treasure”.

But as fate would have it, the plan fell apart. Modest as he is, Joe Cabrera scuttled the project himself as soon as he learned about it. But this, however, cannot stop us from bestowing upon him a “tribute” of our own. After all, how can he af-ford to get mad at his editor?

A Memorial Day SeriesRemembering Joe Cabrera

Who is Joe Cabrera? Why are the Filipinos of San Diego organizing appreciation parties in his honor?

Anybody who has heard Joe Cabrera play the piano would un-derstand the community’s behavior. He is very good. In fact, he has ac-cumulated a sizable number of followers during the short time he’s been in San Diego. Some of his fans are Filipi-nos. A lot are Amer-ican millionaires in La Jolla. This makes the Filipinos proud whenever Joe Cabrera plays before an American audience. They feel that he makes the Americans realize that the Filipinos, after all, are tal-ented people.

Early part of the century

Born during the early part of the 20th Century when the United States had just occupied the Philippines, Joe Cabrera got a solid English education from American teachers called “The Thomasites”. Because the country had just been liberated from Spanish rule, Cabrera and his family spoke good Spanish, a skill he uses to his advantage when deal-ing with Mexicans in San Diego and nearby Tijuana.

When he was seven years old, his parents bought his elder sisters a piano. The sisters eventually tired of it, but “little Peping” (his pet name), who could barely reach the keys, got the hang of it and eventu-ally learned to play it by himself. He was already a very good piano player when he was a teenager, earning a high salary playing in radio stations while attending ac-

counting classes at the Far Eastern University in Manila. Before he became an accountant, he took some music courses to gain some knowledge he could not learn from experience.

His talent at the piano took him not only all over the Philippines but also around the world. He was one of the pioneers in Philippine radio and television. For years, he was the chief musical accompanist in the popular television talent show, “Tawag Ng Tanghalan”. He was the guy the hostess of the show, the late comedienne Patsy would call on the air whenever a contestant was ready to sing: “O, Mang Peping, umpisahan nyo na (Mr. Peping, start it now)”.

His position, however, did not en-dear him to some of the contestants because he would sound the bell whenever they sang off key. Among “Tawag Ng Tanghalan’s” success-

ful contestants were Diomedes Maturan, Armando Ramos, Cenon Lagman and of course, Nora Aunor, who eventually became the Philip-pines’ fi rst superstar.

Joe Cabrera was also the favorite pianist of Philippine presidents. He was often invited to perform for them at the Malacanang Palace, the president’s offi cial residence. One time, President Carlos P. Garcia called him to play with his guest, the visiting king of a neighboring Asian country. The King, a Harvard graduate, played a mean sax and clarinet and he had a great time “jamming” with Joe Cabrera on the piano. Because of their common musical interests, Joe Cabrera and the King became fast friends. The King asked Joe to accompany him around Manila incognito. The two of them would walk in Escolta and Luneta with the bodyguards in the

background.“You know Joe,” the King told

him. “I envy you.”Joe was taken aback. How could

a king envy a commoner like him?“You can walk around in the city

and do as you please, with nobody bothering you,” the King explained. “In our country, I could not do this.”

“Why,” Joe asked. “Are you afraid of the people?”

“Not so,” replied the King. “In my country, people look up to me as a God. And I have to behave like one.”

Somehow, Joe Cabrera realized that the King was a prisoner in his own kingdom.

The Action Star

Because of his job, Joe Cabrera was known to a lot of Filipino show biz personalities.

“There was this action star who be-came a politician,” Joe recalls. “He is very good when he was sober, but when he’s drunk, hell would break loose.”

The action star would listen to Joe play the piano in a night club and then ask him to accom-pany him club-hopping, showing off Joe’s piano talent to the girls they met. Some-times, the action star’s bodyguards would ask Joe to hide from their

boss so that they would not end up staying up late till the wee hours in the morning and get in trouble with other customers because of their troublesome boss.

One of Joe Cabrera’s lucrative sidelines while he was in the Phil-ippines was composing jingles for radio commercial. He was the com-poser of popular Mayon Cooking Oil commercial that goes like this:

“Announcer: Mayon cooking oil, sadyang maginhawang gamitin! Butasin ng dalawa ang lata (tut!). At padaluyin ang langis Mayon.

“Jingle: Mayon Cooking Oil ay ginhawang gamitin! Langis na masarap sa anumang pagkain. Ito’y nababagay sa ano mang pagkain. Mayon Cooking Oil ang laging bilhin.”

Joe was paid P18,000 for this commercial, which at that time was a small fortune. It was translated

into English language, Bicolano, Ilocano, Pampango, Waray and other Philippine dialects.

One day, Carlos Palanca, Jr., one of his fans and the president of the biggest distillery in the Philip-pines, La Tondena, Inc., told him: “Joe, I’ll give you P25,000 if you can make me a jingle for my new product, Manila Rhum.”

Because the amount was quite big for a commercial, Joe wanted to come out with a really good one. It took him months thinking of a good jingle. One day, his wife asked him to go to Baclaran Church with her for a Wednesday novena. “Why don’t you come with me to the church for a change?”

Joe went along with the jingle still in his mind. At the church, he listened intently to the people singing:

“Immaculate Mother/ We come at thy call/ And lo, at the altar, before thee we fall./ Ave/ Ave/ Ave Maria”

The song was still in his mind when he arrived home. He thought: “Could he use a religious song as a jingle for a wine commercial?”

Why not? He went to the piano and played the tune. He played it faster. He increased the tempo fur-ther. And then he sang the lyric:

“When people get together/ they drink Manila Rhum (Immaculate other/ We come at they call)!

“The toast in every party/ the pick of everyone (And lo at the altar/ before thee we fall)!

“Manila Rhum/ Manila Rhum/ Manila Rhum for me (Ave/Ave/Ave Mariaaa!)”

When he gave the jingle to Carlos Palanca, the business magnate was very pleased. To this day, he never learned that it was a religious song sang in a faster tempo. Needless to say, it was a hit.

Any ordinary jingle composer could not come up with a good jingle for a watch named Colorado, then very popular in the late fi fties. But Joe Cabrera managed to some-how make an award-winning jingle for it. Joe hired a baritone to spell out the word C-O-L-O-R-A-D-O to the tune of “do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do”. And then, in a reversed tune, the baritone-voiced singer sang: “Colorado is the watch for you!”

Joe wrote hundreds of other commercials and jingles, making good use of his musical and writing talents. He could have stayed in the Philippines, enjoyed his popularity and “well placed connections” in the government and entertainment industry and retired in grand style. But like many Filipino parents who are forced to endure their lonely, homesick existence in the United States, he migrated here to be able



Perspectives

ASIAN JOURNALThe first Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern California

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In Pursuit of Excellence

Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

Eugenio “Ego” Osin, (1946 - 1994)Joe Cabrera, (1924 - 1996)

Soledad Bautista (1917-2009)

The Asian Journal is published weekly and distributed in all Asian communties in San Diego County. Publication date is every Friday of the month. Advertising deadline is Thursday prior to publication date at 5 p.m. For advertising rates, rate cards, or information, call (619) 474-0588. Subscription by mail is available for $50 per year (56 issues). The Asian Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and photographs but welcomes submissions. Entire content is © 2008 copyrighted material by Asian Journal. Materials in this publication may not be reproduced without specific permission from the publisher.

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A Little Reminder (To The Young)Emphysema is an ugly thingFear not, just don’t start smokingGod gave you a healthy liverDon’t let alcohol ruin it everThe euphoria of drugs is exhilaratingThe unfulfilled craving is excruciatingDon’t ever pamper that sweet toothDiabetes is hard to sootheSodas, salty, spicy foodsFor your kidneys are not goodYou can be slim but not skinnyBy all means avoid gluttonyWorries about blackheads and pimples?Keep your skin clean, it’s that simplePlus fresh fruit and vegetableAnd healthy food on the tableLearn to protect and save your eyesThey’ll stay, and not bid you goodbyeProtect your body as you are toldIt’ll take care of you when you are old.

©2008 copyright by Soledad O. Bautista. All rights reserved.


They’re at it again. It seems that with Presi-dent Obama’s recent

nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who would be the first Hispanic and third female high court justice if con-firmed, we’re starting to see some Republican members of the Senate get all worked up.

The liberal bashing is starting

We have a new Supreme Court nominee – can the Senate be civil?

Don’t you just love it when they do that?

This is to be expected, of course. They could tolerate her being a woman, I’m sure. After all, they did nominate that less than quali-fied governor of Alaska to run for the vice-presidency. They might be able to tolerate her being Hispanic (well…), but what if she is (gasp!) a liberal?

Watch out everyone, the claws are

coming out.But this is pretty much normal.

Everywhere I turn anymore it seems that liberal bashing has become the sport of the day. I wonder why? Is it because we dislike being fair? We dislike being just? We dislike giving opportunities to our fellow citizens? Why are we engaged in liberal bashing?

Here is an interesting thought: The conservative pundits do the vast majority of their liberal bash-ing over the media, the very same media that they accuse of having an extreme liberal bias. How is that possible? If the media had a real liberal bias would they allow the conservatives the opportunity to bash them? Could it be that the “liberal media” are not the ogre that they are made out to be? The pun-dits wouldn’t agree of course, but that probably proves it. The bashing hasn’t begun and I’m already sorry for Judge Sotomayor.

Two sides

There are at least two sides to every argument (some people say there are three sides – your side, my side, and the correct side). Why is it not possible to have a reasoned, in-telligent, fact-based argument when it comes to liberal and conservative issues?

Of the things that I have noticed in life, one is this: The less sure some-one is about their argument, the less sure they are about their evidence, and the less sure they are about be-ing right, the louder they will yell. If they are yelling the loudest, the other side will not have the oppor-tunity to express their own views. It reminds me of two children on a playground.

So someday do this. At home or in the car, listen to as many talk radio stations as you can find. I can pretty much guarantee one thing, the liberal bashers are yelling the loudest, are being the rudest, are working the hardest at not letting the other side discuss their opinions.

What are they afraid of?Are they afraid of looking silly?Are they afraid of looking stupid?Are they afraid of looking unedu-

cated?Are they afraid of being wrong?That last one is probably closest

to the truth. No one wants to be wrong. But even more than that, no one wants to be proven wrong. So if you yell the loudest you do not have to hear any evidence that might, just might, prove you wrong. Ah, well.

Enemies are so useful

There is nothing handier than an enemy when you want to do some-thing and need people to go along with you. Hitler needed an enemy for his insane plans to work so he targeted Jews. Racists have always needed enemies for their own selfish reasons so they’ve targeted every-one – Asians, Africans, Latinos, well, the list is endless.

Certain politicians need their own enemies so they can rant and rave, make people afraid, and then, hopefully, get elected. The favorite enemy right now of some conserva-tives is liberals. That word “liberal” has become almost profane the way some radio announcers pronounce it.

You have to love it – take some-thing like the tern “liberal” which means, “Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry; favor-ing proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded,” according to the dictionary.com website.

Did you get that? Go back and have another look at that definition again – it says “free from bigotry; favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others and broadminded”. What’s so bad, evil, and horrific about that? It all sounds pretty terrific to me.

The horrible, evil liberal beliefs

So just what on earth makes those disgustingly evil liberals so terrible? Let us examine some of the core liberal beliefs:

Equality in educationEquality in justiceA nation rid of racism, sexism,

ageism, and all the other “isms” that separate us

The right to hold their own beliefs in safety

The right to let you have your beliefs

The right to be human beings, in all of the different shapes, colors, orientations, and differences that ex-ist in this grand world of ours

The right for you to be a conserva-tive, moderate, liberal, or anything else you want to be

The right to worship – or not wor-ship – as your spirit moves you

The right to not be afraid in your home, or anywhere else, of be-ing arrested, seized, roughed up, or detained by a government for a

belief (this doesn’t mean you can do anything, it means you can believe anything and there’s a big differ-ence)

The right to be the human being you want to be, as long as it doesn’t infringe on the rights of other hu-man beings

Being a liberal means many things to many individuals, however, one thing is pretty much standard, and that is the belief that humans should

be treated with respect, with dignity, with compassion, with honor (even if they disagree with you). Now this doesn’t mean that liberals are saints, or are perfect – they most certainly are not. It just means that liberals would like to live in a world that doesn’t bash them or make them the scapegoat for problems that require the help of all to solve. Sounds like a pretty good world to me. What do you think?

Having graduated with Pre-law de-gree with high-

est honors, Rosel Aquino Zobel went to Law School in mid-1950s. But he found law school not nearly as much fun as the Institute of Arts & Sciences; in fact, it required some work every day, not just before exams; and he still worked full-time.

Rosel found law school is not easy. While he still maintained a good GPA and Dean List status, he had lost 10 lbs. of his 137-lb. frame the first 2 school quarters and another 8 lbs. in the subsequent one. And worse, he got sick with pleurisy at the end of that session. Such illness caused Rosel to con-sider other options.

“Perhaps the thing that one can do during his first undergraduate years,” says Rosel “is to investigate whether the study of law is right for him. He should not view law school as an extension of his liberal arts education; for the study of law is rigorous and technical.”

Transition (pt. 2)11th of a Series

IN SEARCH OF THE GOOD LIFE:Poignant Memories – Why I quit law school and opted for history

Some students just aren’t going to make it. Either they are not going to make it through law school, or if they do, they will face unimaginable difficulties. But who knows?

It is perhaps well worth the effort in the long run.

Teaching at a prestigious university at age 22 is one extraordinary opportunity that provides inspiration for students in search of the good life. It’s also self-fulfilling to the professor himself.

He surmised that working for a law firm and public interest group, for example, can help one begin to differentiate between the many facets of the law profession. Internships and work experi-ence can also help to refine numer-ous qualities that will be relevant to law school, such as your orga-nizational ability, communication skills, and determination. “Frankly, any experiential education will be beneficial,” he said.

Rosel then decided to closely examine his academic transcript of records, as well as the univer-sity catalog for major and minor subjects. He considered literature, psychology, political science, soci-ology, and history.

Rosel’s goal was to finish a bach-elor’s degree with an eye to teach-ing at the university. He planned to resign his hospital position and only work few hours on a higher salary scale; and then back to law school. The latter never materialized.

Rosel focused on history courses. Part of his fascination with a teaching job was generated by his political science professor, an ordinary man but one who dressed fine, articulated well, and behaved gentlemanly. And co-eds and some

faculty members swoon over him. His lifestyle and good fortune inspired him much.

But other reasons motivated Rosel to major in History, well reflected in the talk he gave in early 1990s at Sierra High School in Tierransanta, San Diego, CA, which this writer is reproducing here almost in its entirety.

Some years back, Rosel gave a talk to Sierra High Ad vanced Eng-lish class, un der Ms. Janice Gabay, a Filipino American who won the “National Teacher of the Year Award” in 1992.

His youngest son, Krizpin, was a member of that class. It has been a practice in that school to invite parents, who are professionals, as speakers. The purpose is to expose students to possible “role models” and to introduce them to career op-tions in education, business, health, and government.

Krizpin shyly introduced his dad to his class saying in part: “My dad is a history teacher... He travels a lot, writes for the newspapers, coaches kids basketball at Tierras-anta Rec Center, and sport fishes often with my brother Kahuku.”

Rosel then stood up in front of the class to speak. He felt nervous. “For how do you explain to 14-15-years-old students what a professional histo rian does and how do you inspire them to become one? he asked. “Perhaps, the more challeng-ing question is how you keep their attention or interest for longer than 25 minutes.”

Rosel cautiously began his talk

by ask ing the class a series of questions — an old trick he uses whenever he has butterfly in his stomach or doesn’t really know the topic well enough. What follows is a reconstructed talk he gave to these 9th-graders.

Career Choice

“How many of you know,” I asked, ‘’what you’re going to do or wish to be to earn some money for a living? How many haven’t de cided it yet? If you haven’t, that’s okay. You still have plenty of time. If you already have certain preference, that’s fine, although some of you may change your mind later.”

“How many of you think that parents or other people around you are likely to influence you in your career choice?” (Just a note, I think I influenced all my kids, except Kriz who wanted to be a chef.).

“Are teachers likely to influence you? About the place where you live? About books you read? Do news media or TV influence youths to pursue certain professions, like an astronaut, a computer analyst, a firefighter or a police man?”

“How many of you wish to travel because you read some books? (I loved to read books and had long dreamt of going to his torical places in Asia, Europe, and America — which I eventually did.) Can personal experience, like winning in essay contests on heroes, influence your future ca reer?”

I asked because answers to those questions may likely corre spond to

Dr. Jose Rizal, Teddy Roosevelt, Võ Nguyên Giáp, John F. Kennedy

my personal experiences that led me to become a history professor.

“How do you like to engage in an activity that you enjoy doing even without getting paid? Is that pos-sible?”

In my teenage years, all I wanted was to read and play chess, bas-ketball, and other contact sports. I dreamed of playing basket ball like those players in the Phil ippines’ PBA or NBA here.

Un fortunately, I had a height disad vantage as you can see. This shortcoming at 5’4”, however, did not stop me from playing college basketball as a guard, carrying my team to the playoff. Had I been a British subject, I might have made it in the Asian Olympic Selection team.

I also tried to be a concert pianist at age 14, but according to my uncle at UP Conservatory of Music I absolutely have no talent. “Find another vocation,” he said unkindly.

I had better luck with my fas-

cination with history as an under-graduate at Far Eastern University (FEU) for I did well in his tory sub-jects and won some little awards.

Once you have learned a little of history in college, you can pass it on. You can be a history school teacher. If you are particularly good at it and are willing to spend several more years pick ing up MA and Ph.D. degrees, these would qualify you as a trained professional histo-rian. You can then teach in college, do research and publish articles and books.

Learning history also pre pares you for many other jobs or voca-tions.

Looking Back

I chose to ma jor in history, after a fling in the College of Law, because of three or four influences. First, I grew up in a town, not too far from the birth-places of our top two Filipino heroes: Dr. Jose Rizal and Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo -- the counterparts of Thomas Jefferson and Gen. George Washington in the Philippines.

Secondly, I had for history profes-sors and famous authors, Dr. Grego-rio F. Zaide and Conrado Benitez. The other professor I had was Narciso Ramos, then a Minister of Philippine Foreign Affairs, and the

father of former Philippine Presi-dent Fidel Ramos. He taught U.S. Diplomatic History in my university in Manila. These mentors lived very well and were greatly respected. They inspired me to become a “man of leisure.”

I have always been intrigued with history, for as long as I remem-ber. History is a process of making sense out of the evidence of the past, just as much as it is a body of knowl edge already learned. The past is a strange and mysterious place; and is the site of many cul-tural and in stitutional changes.

I learned early that our present values and attitudes were rooted in our recent past.

The third influence grew out of my job burnout. I worked 40 hours a week as statistician and head of the FEU Hospital Records Dept. Af-ter three years, I found the job bor-ing. So, in my junior year, I decided to graduate with a BA in history and teach. The career switch made

me a happier, more relaxed, young professional. At age 23, 1 thought the whole world was in front of me to be explored and ap preciated.

Before long, scholarships and job opportunities enabled me to travel the four corners of the globe. And I have never looked back since.

Why History?

History can mean any event or episode that happened in the past or things that happened to people. It is everything that has happened sub-sequent to “right now.” It is what people think they have done.

Every day, history influences our lives. Issues and circumstances cre-ate turbulence and conflict, “as well as unexpected opportunities for change in our world.”

As I immersed myself in his tory, I discovered early that the his tory of any nation is the story of people very much like us. They were at least as intelligent as we are, using many of the same insti tutions that we use to try to solve the same sort of problems.

Civilization has scarcely changed in outline in five thousand years: families living in large groups, governed by law codes, subsisting from farming, recording in writ-ing at least some of the events they

Sol Poetry

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By Julius Alejandro

Suicide. It is an uncomfortable subject that is not openly dis-cussed in the Filipino American community, even among the family. But UCSD Kaibigang Pilipino (KP) addressed the issue by making it a theme of their 18th annual Pilipino Cultural Celebra-tion (PCC), entitled A Prayer Adrift in Free Verse. It was held on May 16th & 17th in Sherwood Auditorium in downtown La Jolla.

The theatrical play doesn’t follow a traditional linear model; the story would jump from dif-ferent scenes, from attempted suicide to a mischievous spirit trapped in limbo for taking his

Kaibigang Pilipino’s 18th Annual Pilipino Cultural Celebration

life. Different characters weave in and out of the play, but ultimately the story follows the main character, Trista. The play follows Trista’s journey after a failed suicide attempt, represent-ing a growing concern for the struggles of pinays from familial and social pressures.

Unlike other universities’ cul-ture nights that boast mixed and modernized folk dances, PCC’s cultural dances stay true to the traditional performances from the Philippines. The dance pieces are incorporated in the scene, at times interacting with the actors and actresses.

The student members of KP drove the entire PCC production, from script writing to acting to dancing, and even raised appro-priate funds for the production through various sponsorships and fundraisings.

The actors, actresses, and danc-ers are the usual college stu-dents, juggling countless respon-sibilities from attending class,

to studying for their exams, to working part- and full-time to support themselves. Within their hectic schedule that are essen-tial for their future careers, the students make time on week-nights and weekends, away from spending time with family and love ones, to rehearse their lines

or remember dance steps so that they can be in sync with their partners. Each actor, dancer, and stage crew member make these sacrifices because they are aware of the importance of PCC. For Filipino Ameri-can college student organi-zations, culture night is an opportunity to tackle and

addresse issues that affect the Filipino American community. This year, the topic of suicide is not a comfortable subject, but A Prayer Adrift in Free Verse has done an excellent work in enlightening the audience in this taboo subject with very dramatic performances from students who are at the forefront of our com-munity and youth issues.


San Diego News

EL CAJON, CA (Tuesday, May 26, 2008) – The Gateway Marina project in National City is almost complete. It will feature a Best Western Hotel, Buster’s Beach House & Longboard Bar, and thou-sands of square feet of commercial space.

Hundreds of people will be needed to operate the new estab-lishments.

Some employees have been hired, but there is a need for many more. That’s why Sycuan is help-ing organize a two-day job fair, to be held on Wednesday and Thurs-day, May 27th and 28th. On both days, employers will be accepting applications and screening job can-didates from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The job fair will be held in National City’s Recreation Center, located at 148 E. 12th Street in National City.

Please call if you need any as-sistance.

About The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation

Members of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation have resided in and around the foothills of the Dehesa Valley for nearly 12,000 years. Today they are a modern government providing public ser-vices to their members, employees and neighbors. The Sycuan Tribal Government operates one of the

Job Fair set to offer desperately needed jobs

Sycuan development in National City ready to hire unemployed San Diegans

region’s premier Indian gaming and resort facilities, the Sycuan Resort and Casino. The Sycuan Tribe demonstrates its strong com-mitment to the San Diego region by providing fire protection and emergency medical services to the community surrounding the Sycuan Reservation, and through its support of civic and charitable organizations. The Tribe, through the Sycuan Tribal Development Corporation (STDC), also seeks to participate in the

economic life of the San Di-ego region through a progressive business development effort that to date, has included purchasing and operating the former Singing Hills Country Club and the historic U.S. GRANT Hotel, participating in development of Hotel Solamar near Petco Park, and owning and developing the Marina Gateway Hotel and Conference Center in National City. The Tribe also owns and operates Sycuan Ringside Pro-motions; the country’s first tribally owned boxing promotion company and Sycuan Funds, a publicly traded and professionally managed mutual fund. Combined, these en-terprises now employ nearly 4,000 San Diegans. For more information about Sycuan visit www.sycuan.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 21, 2009) – The U.S. Census Bureau announced today its part-nership with the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC) for the upcoming 2010 Census.

AAJC, a leading national human and civil rights organization, will

Asian American Justice Center becomes 2010 Census partnerOrganization to Provide Resources and Information

to Asian-American and Pacific Islander Communitiesassist the Census Bureau in its outreach efforts to educate Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders about the importance of participat-ing in the 2010 Census by working with regional and local partner organizations.

“AAJC is pleased to support

By Marrissa Acierto

SAN DIEGO-In National City, a non-partisan Political Action Commit-tee has endured for the first three years under the leadership of Past President Alfonso “Al” Villamora. A retired Filipino American military officer who was one of the Co-Founders of the Filipino American Community Empowerment (FACE) has recently posted his replacement to have another individual take over the realm of the political organization due to his recent acquired post to go to Naples, Italy for three years.

The outcome was an election through a 9 vote ratio for Ms. Lee, 2 vote abstained and 1 vote for Ms. Cudal. FACE Members who voted for Ms. Lee: Aster Santelices, Nita Barrion (Co-Founder); Vina Phelps, Marissa Acierto (Co-Founder); Honorable Larry Breitfelder (Otay Water Board Member); Honorable

Mitz Lee (Co-Founder); Veronica Garcia; Lydia Loristo (Co-Founder/Auditor); Nedy Lao (Treasurer); Eddie Enriquez (Co-Founder); Oscar Garcia (President, Military Officer Associa-tion of America “MOAA” -Sweetwater Chapter. The first Filipino American to be elected in San Diego County 2009).

A previous member who was an on-looker, Retired Attorney Denny Mil-ligan (Co-Founder and a recent author of a book called, “Real Estate in the Philippines”) who came to the meeting to say his last farewell to President Al Villamora. Vince Bumanglag and Jaime Loristo a guest attendee wit-nessed the election. Ralph Dimaracut became a new member but did not stay too long for the meeting.

Before the election process, it took approximately two hours of delibera-tion like a simile of a filibusters of just one vacancy to fill...questions were emerging from all members as to the process of the election, mem-bers not available, members replied non-availablity in the other meeting scheduled meeting (May 13) which was posted and through their response email was unable to attend, another set meeting (May 20), same response as to (May 13) but this time no reply and/or cancellation. A whirlwind of questions and answers were being defined.

Through popular majority it was then finally agreed upon to have an election that evening due to the immediate transfer of the current president to go

FACE elects new Presidentto another country by May 24.

Congratulation’s to Honorable Mitz Lee who became our transitional FACE President starting in the end of 8:45PM, May 20, 2009 on Wednesday. Ms. Lee was inducted by President Al Villamora. Mitz Lee is a Co-Founder of FACE, and in 2006 encouraged Bill Flores another Co-Founder, to help her start it up. Ms. Lee was the first Filipina American at the time to be elected as a San Diego Unified School Board Member of San Diego County.

Another member of FACE, Mi-chelle Krug from Paradise Hills area nominated Aurora Cudal’s name as a contender for President. Although Ms. Cudal was not available to accept the nomination, it went out for voting purposes. One vote was cast for Ms. Cudal which came from the nominee, Ms. Krug.

Meanwhile, current President Al Villamora and Pat Washington (VP of Search and Selection) abstained from any votation.

The FACE members not available at the Special Meeting was Aurora Cudal (VP of Membership, and Co-Founder on the second meeting presentation) she indicated on a personal email that she has resigned her post and no longer will be an Officer starting as of May 24 but she will continue to be a member. She had indicated that they would be available to attend the meeting (May 20) and gave consent on her part if an election process was to take over that she would respect and support the outcome (May 13). Winlove Cudal usually attends when Ms. Cudal at-tends FACE. Unfortunately Kathleen Macleod (Secretary) is on a three week vacation; Alicia de Leon Torres (VP of Media and Communications) was ill the following week but did not confirm for May 20. So, the only expected current members to attend at that point and time were Aurora Cudal and Winlove Cudal who unfortunately, did not show up.

New members who joined in the month of May 2009 were Ed Herrera from Chula Vista and Manny Ca-bildo from Spring Valley who did not confirm attending. They had however indicated during a conversation that they would support the leadership of Mitz Lee.

At the end of the meeting, Pat Wash-ington, Ph.D. gave a piece of paper to Ms. Lee, indicating that she will resign her post as Vice President of Search

and Selection and continue member-ship only.

Meanwhile, Past Member Maxine Sherard, Ph.D. a retired University Professor and Interim Executive Direc-tor for the Girls Club Association of San Diego County express interest in returning to FACE and wanted to wish our past President Al Villamora a safe travel and farewell.

Ms. Sherard a prominent African American community leader has sup-ported the Filipino American com-munity. She has expressed herself by stating during a phone conversation, “I am glad that Honorable Mitz Lee got elected. I support her wholeheart-edly. I hope that the Filipino American Community will fulfill the mission statement of the organization and outreaching to voters throughout is a good start.”

Ms. Lee commented during her time to speak regarding her candidacy, “I would like to lead the organization to fulfill more voter’s registration and possibly concentrate on high pro-pensity areas such as Mira Mesa and Paradise Hills.”

Meanwhile, Bill Flores (previous FACE member and Co-Founder) was interested in returning to FACE a month ago indicated, “I am happy to see the organization move forward and congratulate Mitz Lee on her upcom-ing position.”

As for Lydia Loristo she conveyed, “A need for a Filipino American who will serve the community with integrity and would like to concentrate on voter registration in National City which comprised of 18-19%. In any future elections, I definitely will sup-port Mitz Lee.”

As for a recent member of FACE, a senior from Morgan Towers in Na-tional City.

Aster Santelices, “Our past President Al Villamora has been a great leader in our Filipino American Community. He will be a great loss to us. My friend,

Vina Phelps feels the same way too.”Another Fil-Am community member,

Oscar Garcia said, “I am here to sup-port the Filipino American program, and my colleagues along with Manny Cabildo highly support Mitz Lee.”

To support and join the non-parti-san Filipino American Community Empowerment (FACE) membership group, please contact [email protected]

Annual membership is ten dollars and monetary donations are appreci-ated to support the Filipino American Community Empowerment.

the upcoming 2010 Census,” stated Karen Narasaki, president and executive director of AAJC. “We will work closely with the Census Bureau, our local and regional partners and Asian media to encourage all individuals and families to fill out and mail back the 2010 Census questionnaire next year.”

“We are proud to partner with the Asian American Justice Center for this upcoming census. AAJC will play an important role in raising awareness about the 2010 Census and ensuring that all Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders are counted,” said Tom Mesenbourg, acting director of the Census Bureau.

As part of the partnership, AAJC plans to provide communities with culturally and language-appro-priate information to supplement those developed by the Census Bureau.

In order to reach younger AAPIs with 2010 Census messages and information, AAJC is adding a creative viral platform for indi-viduals to chat about census issues through online social networks, blogs and discussion groups.

“It is imperative that our com-munities understand that the information collected in the 2010 Census determines congres-sional representation and how more than $300 billion a year in federal funds is distributed,” said Narasaki. “We look forward to doing our part in conveying this to all Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities.”

For more information about the Asian American Justice Center and the 2010 Census, please visit www.advancingequality.org/cen-sus and www.2010.census.gov.

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

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Maggie was excited about her forthcoming oath-taking as an American citizen. After all, it would be the culmination of a very long process which began when her sister petitioned her to be an immigrant. It took more than twenty years for her to come here, and then another five years to apply for citizenship. She has practically spent half her life waiting for this moment to come.

There is a special reason why Maggie wants to be a citizen right away. It is the fastest way for her to petition her youngest child who was left behind in the Philippines. The child was not able to come with her for some reasons, and the law requires her to file a new petition to bring him in. The child will be able to come to the United States much quicker if Maggie were already a citizen.

So imagine our surprise when she called us up yesterday with one very strange request – to accompany her to this morning’s ceremony, not for the purpose of taking the oath, but to postpone it. What? We asked her. Why would you want to do that? Then, she sobbed. Her mother suddenly passed away dur-ing the weekend. She needs to take the next available flight home. You see, if Maggie swears in as a U.S. citizen, she cannot anymore use her Philippine passport and green card. She will no longer be a Filipino and an immigrant, so she will need a United States passport to travel. Problem is, it takes some time to get a blue passport.

We came to the USCIS Chula Vista office an hour before the ceremony and immediately sought out the supervisor. We explained Maggie’s case to her. The supervi-sor, a very nice lady, agreed with our assessment that Maggie needs to postpone her oath taking. She mentioned that there is a one-day passport processing in Los Angeles, but it will be too much of a hassle for Maggie. As it is, she is already stressed out. The oath taking can wait, but Maggie’s trip cannot. She has to leave by tomorrow.

When we arrived in our office,

“Postponing Your Oathtaking”we got another call. By strange coincidence, it involved the same question. George is scheduled to take his oath next month. Origi-nally, he wanted to be naturalized, and then later on apply for dual citizenship. He is soon retiring and plans to practice his profession as a CPA-lawyer in the Philippines. There is even a chance that he will run for public office there, as he is well-liked by his town mates. But after reading our article about the restrictions imposed by the Dual Citizenship Act on politicians (Poli-ticians and Dual Citizenship, March 13, 2009), George is having second thoughts about pursuing his natu-ralization. He thinks that he will be better off remaining an immigrant for the time being. He asks for our opinion on what he should do.

We warned George that his situ-ation is difficult. While he can ask to postpone his oath-taking, he cannot just delay and delay it. At some point in the near future, he has to take the oath. But George needs more time to decide. He then asked, can he still withdraw his citizen-ship application? Technically, we told him, his citizenship application is not complete until he takes his oath. Until then, he remains to be an immigrant. This is the reason why right before the ceremony, the USCIS asks you if there has been a change in your situation, since the time that you were interviewed, that may disqualify you from being a U.S. citizen. On that premise, we told him, he can perhaps still withdraw his N-400 application. However, we advised him against doing that. If he will go back to the Philippines as an immigrant and practice his profession there, the U.S. government might interpret that as an abandonment of his U.S. residence and revoke his immi-grant status. More so if he runs for public office in the Philippines. So, George might end up losing both his prospective U.S. citizenship and immigrant status. Difficult as it may be, he has to make a choice.

Atty. Rogelio Karagdag, Jr. is licensed to practice law in both

California and the Philippines. He practices immigration law in San Diego and has continuously been a trial and appellate attorney in the Philippines since 1989. He travels between San Diego and Manila. His office address is located at 16486 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite 228, San Diego, CA 92128. He also holds office in National City inside the S&S Travel Agency at 2409 E. Plaza Blvd. Please call (858)348-7475 & (619) 475-3262 for your free consul-tation. We also encourage readers to write us questions about both U.S. immigration and Philippine laws to be future topics in this column. Our email is [email protected]. Articles written in this column are not legal advice but are hypotheticals intended as general, non-specific legal information.

A Memorial Day SeriesRemembering

Joe Cabrerato petition his remaining unmarried children.

Imperial Beach

Petitioned by his son who is with the Navy, he and his wife settled in an apartment in Imperial Beach. Nobody knew then that he was the “toast of the town” in Manila as a piano player. After several months, Joe’s talent was appreciated all over the Filipino community in San Diego.

For years, Joe played at the lobby of the prestigious and historic Grant Hotel, Hotel San Diego, Abby’s Restaurant, and Via Veneto Italian Restaurant in downtown San Diego as well as the lobby of the La Jolla Village Square and Bucharest Res-taurant in La Jolla, among others.

Aside from being a good pia-nist, Joe is also a versatile writer. He writes English commentaries, jokes, Pilipino poems and cross-word puzzles in English, Tagalog and Spanish that are published in the San Diego Asian Journal every week.

Among Joe Cabrera’s ardent fans as a pianist is the family of the famous baseball player, Steve Garvey. Garvey’s parents , especial-ly Joe Garvey, the father, his broth-ers and other relatives would listen to Joe Cabrera for hours as the lat-ter played the piano at the lobby of the La Jolla Village Square. While playing at the Bucharest Restaurant (a hangout of La Jolla millionaires),

one senior citizen asked Joe Ca-brera to play several old American songs. He was astounded when Joe played all of them beautifully. Then he remembered an old song he used to sing as a kid, “Scarlet Ribbon”. Joe played it as well. With voice quivering, the old man stood up and asked for everybody’s attention.

“This guy,” he said in a very loud voice, “this Filipino guy is the only true-blooded American in this room because he knows a lot of old American songs not all of us know!”

Humble Guy

A very humble guy, Joe always describes the way he impressed Americans: “Whenever I start playing the piano, I always shock a lot of Americans because they never realize that a monkey could be taught how to play the piano and speak English and Spanish as well!”

One summer afternoon in 1984, Joe was playing at the lobby of the La Jolla Village Square when he

noticed a group of affluent-looking matrons intently listening to his music. When he was done for the day, one matron approached him and gave him a $50-tip.

“I am very much impressed by your talent,” the lady said.

“Thank you, m’am,” Joe replied.“Could I invite you to play in our

house?”Joe agreed and gave her his

phone number.When the lady left, her compan-

ions approached Joe and asked him: “Do you know the lady who just talked to you?”

Joe said he had no idea.“That’s Joan Kroc, the widow of

Ray Kroc and the owner of Mc-Donald’s chain of restaurants!”

After a few days, Joe got an invitation to play for Joan Kroc’s dinner guests. Her driver picked him up in a Rolls Royce Limou-sine and brought him to one of her mansions in La Jolla. Joan Kroc impressed Joe as a friendly, humble and down-to-earth lady. She said she used to play the piano in a restaurant where she met Ray

Kroc, who was already a successful restaurateur at that time.

“But I could never be as good a pianist as you are,” she admitted to Joe. She told Joe to feel at home and comfortable and play his kind of music when the guests arrived. As expected, Joe impressed the guests as well.

When asked about the fee for his services, Joe, just like any typical Filipino, refused to accept payment.

Joan Kroc said: “That’s not right. You gave us your time and share with us your talent, you must be compensated just like any profes-sional. If you don’t accept this pay-ment, I won’t call on you again.”

The amount she gave was more than Joe’s two-week pay.

And of course, she called Joe whenever she had small parties at home.

Community Treasure

Early in this article, I called Joe Cabrera a “community treasure”.

When I was editing an Asian

(Continued on page 10)(Continued from page 5)


business publication in the Philip-pines, I wrote a cover story about Dante Santos, now the president of Philippine Airlines, but at that time, the founder and president of Philip-pine Appliance Corp. (Philacor), the leading appliance manufacturer in the Philippines then. Santos was the sole reason why Philacor was successful. The company’s board of directors insured him for P2-M, then the total asset of the company, knowing that the business would collapse if Santos passes away. Danto Santos was then called “the company treasure”.

When Carlos P. Romulo’s career was at its peak after becoming a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, a publisher, aide to General Douglas McArthur, president of the United Nations, ambassador and president of the University of the Philippines and Foreign Affairs Secretary, he was called a Philippine’ “national treasure”.

After what Joe Cabrera has done to give the Americans in San Diego a positive impression of the Filipi-nos, I would like to bestow on him the honor of being our “community treasure”.

As the publisher and editor of the San Diego Asian Journal, I feel

A Memorial Day SeriesRemembering

Joe Cabrera(Continued from page 9)

that by publishing his collection of jokes in Tagalog verse, we can preserve our “community treasure” and share his talents with the next generations of Filipino Americans. – AJ

(Postscript: I was in the Philip-pines to observe the first death anniversary of my father when Joe Cabrera passed away. By some twist of fate, he died on December 11, 1996, the same date that my dad died a year before. Months before his death, Joe contracted emphy-sema and was in and out of the hospital. He got the ailment despite the fact that he never smoked. He contracted second-hand smoke during the years he played in the smoky nightclubs in Olongapo City and Manila. He would have lived longer, but Joe never went to see a doctor until the very end. One time, he would call me to watch him play the piano in a small cafe in Bonita, At the end of his performance, he would ask me to take him back to his hospital room in Chula Vista, from where he “escaped” earlier in the day. In another time, the nurses and medical personnel in his hos-pital ward got to enjoy his perfor-mance. One of his visitors sneaked in a portable keyboard and his concert lasted the whole afternoon. To this day, more than a decade since Joe Cabrera passed away, his poems, jokes written in Tagalog po-etry, are continually enjoyed by the San Diego Asian Journal readers. He is still sadly missed.)

Who says only the beaches are fun places. Local residents in Pandan, Antique beats the summer heat frolicking around the waters of Malumpati Springs of the municipality while also enjoying the shades of its forest cover. PINOY GONZALES/ PNS

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE -- The minority bloc in the Sen-ate has decried the alleged obses-sion” by some members of the majority on the ethics complaint against Sen. Manuel Villar, say-ing it is “playing into the cards” of Malacañang.

In a talk with Senate reporters yesterday after another pro-longed session of the

Upper Chamber sitting as the ‘committee of the whole,’ Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said the majority members led by ethics committee chairman, Sen. Pan-filo Lacson and Sen. Jamby Mad-rigal, the complainant against Villar, has already stretched the scope of the investigation to in-clude Villar’s alleged shortcom-ings even before he entered the Senate after the 2007 elections.

“Both Senators Lacson and Madrigal were earlier complain-ing that some investigations have stalled --North Rail, South Rail, etc., but how come the focus today is only on Sen. Villar. In their obsession…they are (now) trying to ‘tailor-fit’ the accusa-tions against Sen. Villar for an extended political hearing. They are now using the Senate to ful-fill their obsession against Sen. Villar.

“I hope the people are watching because this (probe) has shown the true characters of the other presidentiables,” Cayetano said.

At the end of yesterday’s session,20the lawmakers finally agree to start the investigation against Villar on Monday under the full glare of the media, which is an unprecedented develop-ment that is expected to impact on future probes by the senators against their colleagues.

Under the agreement, the mi-nority would be given the chance to submit their recommendations on the rules to be adopted for the inquiry, using as a starting point, the rules of the ethics committee.

Cayetano said they would no

Hop on, hop off bus

Tourists in Subic free port will now find it easier to visit various attractions, thanks to the so-called “hop-on, hop-off” trans-portation mode, a system touted to be the first of its kind in the country.

The transport scheme orga-nized by the Subic Bay Met-ropolitan Authority together WoWCard, a business locator engaged in tourism promotion and marketing, Subic visitors can buy a one-day-pass ticket from

Hop-on, Hop-off bus for

Subic Tourists

WoWCard kiosks then enjoy one whole day of unlimited rides aboard any of the “Wow Subic” buses.

“Like eat-all-you-can, Subic’s hop-on, hop-off transportation system is ride-all-you-can,” said SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza. “And it also comes at a minimal price of P200.”

Arreza said that Subic’s hop-on, hop-off (Ho-Ho) buses took after Metro Manila’s Wow Sakay Na! vans that ferry tourists to various attractions around the metropolis.

“But in Subic, instead of vans we have commissioned double-deck buses so that visitors can see the area better and thus make their visit worthwhile,” he said.

“With this system, visitors can just leave their cars at their ho-

tels, and then hop on for a day of hassle-free sightseeing,” Arreza also said.

Raul Marcelo, SBMA deputy administrator for tourism, said the Ho-Ho bus system was conceptualized for tourists who usually end up having problems in going around the vast expanse of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

“How would they be able to visit all the Subic sites in just one day? What would they ride from Zoobic Safari to Ocean

Adventure? How much gasoline would they need if they use their car? These are things that always bothered tourists. So, we thought of having a hop-on, hop-off transport service for their convenience,” Marcelo said.

The hop-on, hop-off tourism transport service, in particular, would be ideal for

families and other big tourist groups, since they could stay together in one vehicle while touring the area, Marcelo added.

The buses start from Subic’s Boardwalk area, then go around the Central Business District — stopping at shopping centers and some shops, then travel all the way to the Naval Magazine area where most of Subic’s tourism attractions are located. After completing the circuit, the buses head back to Boardwalk.

Marcelo said that after famil-iarizing themselves with the bus schedule, tourists with one-day Ho-Ho passes could visit various destinations at their convenience.

“If a tourist wakes up at 9:00 in the morning and decides to go shopping at the Royal Duty Free Store, for instance, he can take a

Ho-Ho bus and return to his ho-tel using another one later. Then, if he decides after lunch to go to Zoobic Safari, he can also take that trip with his one-day pass, then ride back to his hotel after,”

Marcelo explained.Marcelo said that the Ho-Ho

buses would provide the usual discounts to senior citizens and students.

Obsession with Villar’s case hit

longer block Monday’s probe but expressed the hope that their recommendations would also ac-commodated.

In a separate interview, Madri-gal minced no words in accusing Villar as the “king” of corruption and Nacionalista Party spokes-man, former Cong. Gilbert Re-mulla, as the “corruption king” of Cavite, his home province.

Remulla has issued a state-ment describing as a “fantastic tale” the claim on Monday by Madrigal that Villar went out of the country to purposely meet with Mrs. Arroyo in Spain and seek the president’s help over his legal woes in the Senate.

But as it turned out, Mrs. Ar-royo was on official visit to Syria and Egypt and nowhere near the Iberian Peninsula.

Cayetano further warned that aside from downplaying other “vital” issues pending in the Senate, the ‘obsession’ of Vil-lar’s political nemesis against him is “wittingly or unwittingly” playing into the hidden political agenda of Malacañang, especial-ly its push for Charter change.

“If they think they are hurting Sen. Villar, they are mistaken… they are hurting the Senate and the Filipino people.

“This ongoing brouhaha in the ranks of the opposition is only benefitting Malacañang and the pro-Charter change advocates,” Cayetano added.

Sen. Manuel Villar


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*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. She is a Certifi ed Public Accountant and pursuing Master’s of Law at the University of San Diego.

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

journalusa.com

As most of you probably know, when a non-citizen marries a U.S. citizen, he or she immediately be-comes a legal permanent resident or greencard holder. What you prob-ably don’t know is a provision that’s known as the “widow penalty”. If the U.S. citizen spouse dies within two (2) years of the marriage, the non-citizen surviving spouse imme-diately loses resident status and can be deported. The situation becomes more complicated when there are children involved. Children born in the United States are American citizens and may stay in the U.S. So the non-citizen parent is faced with the dilemma of leaving her children in the U.S. or taking them to her home country. The death of a spouse should be a penalty enough. To ask a parent to choose between leaving or taking the children is even harsher. While Congress has passed exceptions for the widows of 911 victims and surviving spouses of military killed in combat, there is no reason that a more general exception could not be enacted to eliminate the harsh consequences of the “widow penalty”.

Fortunately, there is some good news. In January 2009, the Sec-retary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced that certain policies will be reviewed and the directives include the widows and widowers of U.S. citizens. Accord-ing to Secretary Napolitano:

“Recent media accounts have highlighted the cases of widows and widowers of U.S. citizens who had petitioned for the alien spouse’s im-migration, but whose petitions were not adjudicated before the citizen spouse’s death. Because of the death of the petitioning spouse, the petitions were denied. What are the regulatory, legislative, and litigation options that could be considered to immediately address the situation of these widows and widowers?”

It seems that the Obama Admin-istration and Secretary Napolitano take the widow penalty seriously. Let’s hope that the Administration Officials will move the issue in a

The Widow Penaltymuch needed positive direction.

Currently, if the U.S. citizen spouse dies without filing an I-130 Petition, the widow may file the petition provided they have been married for at least two years and they remain married at the time of death.

We welcome your feedback. If you have any immigration ques-tions, please feel welcome to email me at [email protected] or call 619 819 -8648 to arrange for a telephone consultation.

versial Comelec commissioner alleged that Esperon relieved Gudani whom Garcillano accused of supporting the candidacy of the late actor, Fernando Poe Jr., the presidential standard-bearer of the opposition.

Esperon argued that there was no truth at all in the allegations of Garcillano since he had no power nor authority to relieve Gudani or any military official for that matter.

The Mayuga Report showed Gudani was not relieved but was called back to headquarters by then Philippine Navy chief Adm.Ernesto De Leon who was his commanding general. This was in connection with a strafing incident on the eve of the May 10 elections in Marawi where a young girl was killed allegedly by a Philippine Marine trooper. The Marines were subsequently cleared in that shooting incident.

As Comelec deputies, Esperon point-ed out, Gudani’s relief was approved

San Diego Welcomes Gen. Hermogenes C.

Esperon, AFP (Ret)(Continued from page 4)

by the poll body. Further, he explained, the relief of any AFP commander has the “blessings” of the Board of Generals headed by the incumbent AFP chief of staff and it goes all the way up to the President as Commander-in-chief of the AFP. Would he release to the public the full content of the Mayuga Report now that he is AFP chief?

“Do I really have to release it?” Espe-ron riposted. Esperon said the President already authorized the AFP to reveal the contents but not to release the full report because there are certain things there that do not need to be made public.

He expressed dismay that the non-release of the Mayuga Report may again prevent his speedy confirmation at the congressional Commission on Appoint-ments. “You must give us a break and allow us to do our job. Are we the bad guys here? We are not the bad guys here. Our intention is to be of service to our people,” Esperon sighed.

“We can do more if there are not to many obstructions. Hindi matatawaran ang hangarin namin na magbuwis ng buhay,” he stressed.

1. Never, under any circum-stances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. Don’t worry about what people think, they don’t do it very often.

3. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.

4. Artificial intel-ligence is no match for natural stupidity.

5. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you’ve

Words of wisdom, part 1never tried before.

6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.

7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is

serious.8. It is easier to

get forgiveness than permission.

9. For every ac-tion, there is an equal and opposite government pro-

gram.10. If you look like your pass-

port picture, you probably need the trip.


Venice, 4.But on May 8, 2007, the

couple announced their mu-tual decision to end their four-year marriage wherein Ruffa returned to the country with her two daughters in tow.

Ruffa: Give me my daughters

(Continued from page 1)

by Vic Albornoz Lactaoen and Photos by Howard Kiewe

The rice terraces of Banaue are one of the great icons of the Philippines, tilled from the land 2000 years ago by Ifugao tribesmen using primitive tools, an achievement in engineer-ing terms that ranks alongside the building of the pyramids of Egypt. Called the “Stairway to Heaven” by the Ifugaos, the terraces would stretch 20,000 kilometers, if laid out end to end. Not only are they an awesome sight, but also an object lesson in sustainability. These vast layered paddies demonstrate that nature need not be destroyed to satisfy man’s needs. It is a rugged but spectacular trip from Manila to Banaue all the way to Batad,

Banaue’s Stairway to

Heaven

Banaue dancers

Banaue Village

along a winding road that leads up into the misty Cordillera and across a mountaintop pass.

It may only be 300 kilometers north of Manila, but Banaue might as well be a world away, 13000 above sea level and far removed in spirit and topogra-phy from the beaches and palm trees of the southern Visayas and Mindanao. This is the heart of rice terraces country: the ter-races in Banaue itself are some of the most impressive and well known, although there are hundreds of others in valleys and gorges throughout the area, most of which can be reached on foot.

Some of the best “landscaped” rice paddies are at nearby Batad, where there is also rustic accommo-dation so you can stay overnight and hike back the next morn-ing. Banaue itself is a small, unimpressive town centered on a marketplace where there are a few guest-houses and some sou-venir shops. Terraced fields with spiral beds of pine trees grown to perfection and mountain berries (black and blue) wildly grows along the trail with mountain or-chids make fascinating sidelights for travelers. Banaue and the sur-rounding barrangays remain the best sight in the Cordilleras. The massive expanse of rice terraces covering entire mountainsides is bound to awe even the most jaded traveler.

Banaue sits in the heart of Ifugao country. In a way, it is the soul of these proud people. The word Ifugao simply means hill – and for the Ifugao people the “hill” means everything. “An extensive social system exists here,” says Harriet Poligon, one of the many local guides in Batad. “Before, those who own the lower, larger terraces are the wealthy elite, The peasant farmers till the upper, narrower terraces, as Roland Na-od of Banga-an, Banaue puts it.

For a glimpse of their local culture, catch the one hour en-tertainment presentation at The Banaue Hotel’s reception lounge area. It is the only hotel that reg-ularly offers cultural dance per-formances in the evenings for a modest fee, as well as accommo-dations with a spectacular view. And while you’re in the subject of culture, be sure to check out the small museum (open on request or a minimal fee of Pesos 50) at the Banaue View Inn, run

by the family of H. Ottley Beyer, an American Yale anthropolo-gist containing an impressive collection of Ifugao, Bontoc and Kalinga artifacts.

Of late however, the Banaue Rice Terraces have been official-ly added to the UNESCO World Heritage list, a sign that they will not last forever, if they are not preserved and protected. The walls that link the paddies are beginning to crumble, and there is a shortage of young people to help carry out repairs. What’s more, rice farming has little interest for the young people of the Cordillera. They are tired of the subsistence livelihood their parents inherited from the land and are packing their bags for the city. The resulting labor shortage means the terrace are producing a mere 35% of the area’s rice re-

quirements when they should be producing a hundred percent regularly.

On my last day of visit to Banaue, I took the 15 kilometer trek from the central market to the remote little barrangay of Batad, which has be-come something of a pilgrimage for visitors like me looking for a

rural isolation and unforgettable rice terrace scenery. They are at their best one or two months before harvest, becoming bright green then gradually turning gold. Around planting time, the terraces take on a barren naked look that is also appealing. When timing a visit to the terraces, one needs to take into account both the harvest cycle and the type of terrace you are visiting, mud walled or stone walled. You should hire a passenger jeepney (Pesos 1,800 roundtrip) from the market in Banaue for another 15 kilometer trip before starting a strenuous walk up a steep trail.

Bataad nestles in a natural am-phitheater, close to the glorious Tappia Waterfall, which is 21me-ter high and has a dipping pool for swimming. Here, tattooed men and women, work the paddy fields. For a truly memorable

Mountain View

journey, one can spend the night in Cambulo at Rita’s Mountain View, where you can cool off in its nearby natural swimming basin.

How to get there: Auto Bus has a direct bus trip from Sampaloc, Manila to Banaue departing Manila at 10 pm) Accommo-dations can be had at Banaue Hotel (c/o Philippine Tour-ism Authority, Manila 02-524 2808 or www.philtourism.com) standard room@P2860/nite with breakfast) Jeepney hire(Doming

Abluyen 09063173653) to Batad is P1860 roundtrip; Meals at Greenview Lodge Restaurant at the Public Market 2 dish meals with rice plus a bottle of beer at 450 for two. Look for Harriet Poligon as your guide in Batad (09197641954). Its best to hire a guide for a day’s tour of the terraces to avoid time-consuming mistakes. They usually charge Pesos 500/day inclusive of snacks and drinks. Stay over-night in Batad at Rita’s Moun-tain View Inn (care of Harriet Poligon) Best buys for souvenirs, ie wood carvings & textiles at Franisca Liwongan’s store near the town hall of the Poblacion market.

Banaue Rice Terraces

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE -- THE Nationalist People’s Coalition’s presidential standard bearer in the 2010 elections will either be Sen. Loren Legar da or Sen. Francis Escudero.

This was disclosed by Pan-gasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, a high-ranking officer of NPC, who added that the two contend-ers will decide between them who will run for president and who will be the running mate.

“We only have two candidates. It’s Chiz-Loren or Loren-Chiz. They would settle among them-selves,” Cojuangco said.

“They will run whether or not Malacañang supports them, one of them will definitely run,” he added.

According to Cojuangco, it was already final for the party to support the candidacy of the two senators, because the members believe that they are the most capable to lead the country.

Cojuangco’s cousin Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Te-

Toss-up between Loren, Chiz

odoro has already made known his intention to join the presiden-tial race.

The NPC official said they only recently learned from media reports that Teodoro had left the party and joined Lakas, the administration party.

“Nabalitaan na lang namin na umalis na siya sa NPC. Hindi naman siya nagpaalam. Nalu-lungkot kami because Gilbert is

a very capable person, he’s an asset to the party,” Cojuangco told reporters in Usaping Balita media forum.

He said th ey would take back Teodoro if he had a change of heart but the defense chief would no longer be among the contenders for the NPC presi-dential candidate.

“I think our party is already giving two good choices, that is Loren and Chiz, to the Filipino people. Kung babalik siya (Te-odoro), hindi na siya presidential candidate,” the solon stressed.

Sen. Loren Legarda


33324

FI

04/28/09 IW Group

01 100 JL

X CS3 CS3

Movies to Watch(Following are movies now showing or

soon to be shown in San Diego.)

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

Entertainment

Tyson is acclaimed indie director James Toback’s stylistically inven-tive portrait of a mesmerizing Mike Tyson. Toback allows Tyson to reveal himself without inhibition and with eloquence and a pervasive vulnerability. Through a mixture of original interviews and archival footage and photographs, a startlingly complex, fully-rounded human being emerges. The film ranges from Tyson’s earliest memories of growing up on the mean streets of Brooklyn through his entry into the world of boxing, to his rollercoaster ride in the funhouse of worldwide fame and fortunes won and lost. It is the story of a legendary and uniquely controversial international athletic icon, a figure conjuring radical questions of race and class. In its depiction of a man rising from the most debased circumstances to unlimited heights, destroyed by his own hubris, Tyson emerges as a modern day version of classic Greek tragedy. www.sonyclassics.com/tyson/

This film is Rated R by the MPAA. Running time 90 minutes.Exclusive Engagement Opens Friday, May 08th

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PNS -- ACTRESS Katrina Halili sought the help of Sen. Ramon Revilla, Jr. and the National Bureau of Investigation in filing a case against celebrity doctor Hayden Kho for allegedly circulating their “sex video” on the internet.

Revilla accompanied Halili to the NBI which immediately started its investigation into the case filed by the actress. The agency said it would summon Kho for questioning.

Halili, accompanied by her lawyers Mamyrlito Tan and Ray-mond Palad, went to Revilla’s of-fice at around 2 p.m. She started to cry the moment mediamen were asked to leave the room.

Dressed in a green halter and gray skinny jeans, Halili merely shook her head when asked for any statement regarding her intention to file charges against Kho.

Behind closed doors, Revilla and Halili briefly discussed the circumstances that the actress would encounter regarding her impending le gal action against Kho. The senator later accompa-nied the actress to the NBI to file charges against the doctor.

“Sinimulan ko ito, tatapusin ko,” he said. Asked what specific case they will file against Kho, Revilla said: “Titingnan pa natin. Abangan n’yo na lang kung ano ang maaari nating isampang kaso laban kay Dr.Kho at sa mga kasabwat niya. Sisikapin natin na mapigilan ang pagkalat nito (sex video).”

The alleged victims of Kho can either file charges of “unjust vexation” or violation of right to privacy against the doctor for al-legedly videotaping their sexual acts without their knowledge.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago stressed this point when asked

Katrina files raps vs celebrity Doc over explicit

video on internet

Katrina Halili

about the possible cases that Kho’s victims can file against him for making the lewd videos and for uploading these on the internet.

“At the very least unjust vexation. But you can make it a higher or bigger crime because the right to privacy is protected by the Constitution. So what he has done is anti-culture. That is basically the definition of las-civiousness or lewdness in law. You have to accept community standards,” she =2 0 said.

“Even if she (Halili) volun-tarily cooperated with the video, still she has her own right of action there. Just because she consented, it doesn’t mean that you can broadcast it. That would be the analogy,” said Santiago.

Sen. Pia Cayetano called on women victims of “sex scan-dal videos” circulating on the internet and being peddled like pirated DVD movies in public, to file court cases against their violators for causing them emo-tional and psychological anguish and violating their privacy.

Cayetano, chairperson of the Senate committee on social jus-tice, said the victims who with-out their knowledge and consent were videotaped by their partners while performing a sexual act, usually refuse to file charges to avoid further public humiliation.

Revilla assured Halili that he will help her get justice over Kho’s “wicked” videotaping and presumed dissemination of their intimately private activity. “I will make sure that Halili will get justice,” he said.

“The case would be an eye-opener to the country on the proliferation of the so-called sex-scandal videos that is already alarming and not entertaining at all,” said Revilla.

In a privilege speech Tues-

day, the senator demanded the revocation of the medical license of Kho.

He cited Section 24 of Repub-lic Act No. 2382 or the Medical Act of 1959 whereby immoral or dishonorable conduct and even insanity are among the grounds for reprimand, suspension or re-vocation of a doctor’s certificate of registration.

Revilla also pushed for the passage of his Anti Pornography Bill which seeks to slap stiffer penalties against those who publish, broadcast and exhibit pornographic materials through the use of traditional media, internet, the “cyberspace,” cel-lular phones and other forms of media.

PNS -- IT’S Holy Week but the conflict between “Showbiz Cen-tral” hosts Rufa Mae Quinto and DJ Mo has yet to be settled. It’s ob-vious that they do want to bury the hatchet, but on each other’s back. And we don’t expect this to end soon now that DJ Mo has decided to answer back after Ruffa Mae called him “bastos” for asking Dr. Vicki Belo in the show about Rufa Mae’s alleged affair with Hayden Kho.

DJ Mo said Rufa Mae called him bastos because he asked a question about an issue where she’s in-volved. “But what is more bastos, asking that question, or guesting in our rival program (The Buzz)?

Rufa Mae, Mo conflict far from over

Rufa Mae Quinto

DJ Mo

Host siya sa ‘Showbiz Central’, but she guested in our competitor. It’s unfair to GMA7 and to our audi-ence also.”

We’re sure Rufa Mae will also make a rebuttal. Unless someone from “Showbiz Central” or the GMA management intervenes and tell them to stop acting like kids, shut up, and just concentrate on their hosting jobs every Sunday afternoon. It’s Easter on Sunday, hope they’ll finally come to their senses and smoke the peace pipe.


Spiritual Life

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

by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez

Lower Your Nets

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Drop-Off Pick-Up Metro Manila $35 $40LUZON 1 & 2 $40 $45VISAYAS $45 $50MINDANAO $50 $55

“Boxes available for sale”(Promo ends May 30, 2009)

Contact: CAROL

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IngayIngay ng musika ang tuwina ay aking kasamana siyang umaaliw sa akin mula sa umagapalagi kong naririnig saan man ako pumuntaingay rin ang siyang dulot ng mga sayaw at kanta.

Iba’t-ibang ingay ng tunog saan man pumalaotsa malalim na dagat, sa lupa’t mataas na bundokmga batang naglalaro ingay din ang bumabalot sa kanilang kasayahan ay di-kilala ang lungkot.

Maging araw man o gabi ingay pa rin ang maririnigmay mga pagtatalo, pag-aaway man o pag-ibigtakpan man ang tainga, gustuhin mo man ang tahimik ingay pa rin ang mayroon dito sa ating daigdig

Joke of the Week: A woman telephoned a fl o-rist for an arrangement

of fl owers. She asked that it be festooned with ribbon. “The ribbon must be extra wide,” she instructed with ‘Rest in Peace’ on both sides, and if there’s enough room, ‘We shall meet in Heaven.’” When the fl owers arrived at the funeral home, the ribbon was wide as requested and on it was the inscription, as ordered: “Rest in Peace on Both Sides”, and “If there’s Room Enough We Shall Meet in Heaven.”

Scriptures: First Reading: Acts

Pentecost Sunday: Gentle Father of the Poor

2: 1-11. The Christian Pentecost revives the scenario when the Decalogue was given on Mount Sinai: there was trembling of the earth, a strong wind and fi re. Luke’s Pentecost that took place fi fty days after the Resurrection is situated within the different post- resurrection appearances of the Lord. This time, God’s theo-phany, is in the form of “a strong driving wind” and “tongues of fi re,” reminiscent of the Genesis account of creation. Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-7, 12-13. St. Paul addresses the community’s confusion on the link between the one Spirit who gives gifts and glossolalia or speaking in tongues, and be-

tween the divinity and humanity of Christ. A group of Corinthian Christians considered those who did not speak in tongues as second-class members. St. Paul instructs the community that its union in the one Spirit, one baptism, and one Lord makes all differences and diversity of gifts trivial and relative. All divine gifts are given to serve this unity. Gospel: John 20: 19-23. The disciples fear for their own safety. For the disciples to feel that way was understandable, because there is for one thing the impending departure of the Lord. It is also possible that they would be indicted for not telling the truth that “they stole” the body of the Lord. The disciples did not fully know what to do with the situation. With his appear-ance, Jesus assures the disciples that they do not have to worry and fear about anything because they already have his peace. To confi rm this gift of peace, Jesus breathed on them the Spirit.

Refl ections: We are faced with different kinds of power. There is the power of politics, econom-ics, and media. There is also the power of evil, tyranny, violence, hatred, envy, and deceit. Amidst these diverse forms of power, there is a gentle, but persuasive, mighty, yet soothing, forceful, and also peaceful form of power. This is the power of the Holy Spirit. This power of the Holy Spirit when unleashed from within man’s soul can guide politics, economics, and media to become a formidable force to rid the world of evil, violence, hatred, envy, and deceit. The power of the Holy Spirit can once more renew and re-create the face of the earth. As He had done before: hovering over the deep and breathing life not only to man but also to the whole of creation, so the Spirit of God can once again bring forth “newness” and “revival” to life.

On the book, The Da Vinci Code: truth or fi ction: Francis Eugene Cardinal George of the Archdiocese of Chicago com-mented that The Da Vinci Code plays on ever-popular biases against the Catholic Church and

advances an esoteric form of feminism. I believe that there at least two reasons why The Code has gained such a wide popu-larity. Part of its appeal is its ability to play on pop culture’s relativistic attitude towards truth, authority, establishment, and organized religion. The book has a large following especially among those who trivialize religious truths and rebel against religious authority. Another reason for The Code’s success is its distortion and manipulation of historical facts to accommo-date the author’s fi ctional and imaginative interpretation of history. “All descriptions of art-work, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate” (The Da Vinci Code, page 1). The historical and factual assertions of The Code captivate the interest and curios-ity of the not so historically scru-pulous minds. As a result, some Christians, especially Catholics, have expressed their doubts, con-fusions, loss of faith and trust in their church and religion. Faith in Jesus is undermined and the Catholic Church is regarded as a lying chauvinist.

Is it true that Emperor Con-stantine had asked the bishops at the Council of Nicea to make Jesus God? How true is The Code’s assertion, “The Bible is a product of man …”? Was Mary Magdalene a “companion”

(wife) of Jesus and who was in-tended by him to be the head of the Church, but through the con-spiracy of the male-dominated Church was dethroned by Peter? Is the “Q” (from quelle, the Ger-man word for “source”) docu-ment secretly kept by the Vati-can? Did the Merovingian royal family, “the descendant of Mary

Magdalene and Jesus’ offspring,” found Paris? These and other questions, myths and theological errors will be discussed in my forthcoming columns.

Quotation of the Week: “Every man has a right to his opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.” Bernard M. Baruch

BalintatawRead Virginia Ferrer’s previous articles by visiting our website

at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Virginia H. Ferrer


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Community

Everyone is cordially invited to a night showcasing the Philippine Culture

There will be Filipino food, music, dances, display of Philippine artifacts, etc.

Saturday, 18 July 2009 at 6:00 p.m.Saint Rita’s Parish - School Auditorium

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Sponsored by the Filipino American Community of St. Rita’s

Prepaid Tickets: $10.00 (Dinner included)Tickets at the Door: $12.00 (Dinner included)

For more information or to purchase tickets, call:Vangie Molina (619) 475-4767

Josie Sangalang (619) 479-2186Nene Tuazon (619) 470-6281Malou Toledo (619) 267-3665

San Diego, CA. -- Romy Vallar, a resident of Sacramento, California turned over his 8-seater Ford Van to the Samahan Senior Center to sup-port the latter’s transportation pro-gram for seniors. Romy is the son of Lucy Vallar a long-time program participant of the Adult Day Care and Nutrition Program of Samahan Senior Center.

An engineer by profession, Romy’s generosity was spawned by his mother’s devotion and commit-ment to the Center. As he turned over the certifi cate of ownership to Samahan Senior Center’s Executive Director, Dr. Aurora S. Cudal, Romy said, “My mother’s life revolves around the Center. You have taken good care of her. I could not even convince her to live with me and my family in Sacramento because we do not have a Samahan Senior Center there”. .

Dr. Cudal was appointed last Feb-ruary 4, 2009 to fi ll the vacancy cre-ated by the demise of Cecilia Lopez, Samahan Senior Center’s Executive Director since its inception in 1976.

. The Center is supported by its main sponsor, Pilipino Ameri-can Senior Citizens of San Diego County Corporation (PASCCO), headed by Virginia C. Gomez. It is

The Philippine American Com-munity of San Diego County, Inc (PACSDC), a non profi t, civic

organization, will be celebrat-ing its golden anniversary at the Golden Ballroom at the Town &

Country Resort and Conven-tion Center, 500 Hotel Circle, San Diego, CA 92108 on Saturday, September 19, 2009 at 6:00 pm.

Organized in 1959 and incorpo-rated in 1960, PACSDC’s activi-ties have been the focal point of volunteerism among Filipinos of goodwill, including young citizens who participate

most actively and with com-mendable enthusiasm in its various activities particularly the annual San Diego County Miss Philippines Pageant.

The yearly contest to select a Filipino American heir worthy of the demure and highly intelligent Maria Clara of Jose Rizal fame has been a much anticipated event within the Filipino Community since its modest beginnings two generations ago.

To win, the rules of the contest, given high marks for hard work, good education, pleasing personal-ity, wit, intelligence and apprecia-tion of the arts, including dance, song and instrument playing.

Scholarships have been awarded annually, and without fail, from the proceeds of the Income-generating activities like the Miss Philippines Pageant and through dependable donations from companies like the Wells Fargo Clientele Services.

To keep in close touch with the Filipino Community, PACSDC interacts closely and continuously with various community orga-nizations which always respond dependably by sending candidates to the annual contest, attending relevant receptions and generating ticket sales for the Miss Philip-pines Pageant show and the souve-nir program.

In addition, PACSDC always participates in the yearly Philip-

PACSDCI Golden Anniversary & 2009 Miss Philippine Pageant

pine Independence Day Parade and the annual tributes to its native national hero, Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal.

Incumbent President, Mrs. Lulu Penetrante and its board members,cordially invite all com-munity organizations to share our Golden anniversary festivity and Miss Philippines Pageant. We are also requesting most co rdially for the participation of all past PRESI-DENTS, Ofi cers and Members of the board, and all WINNERS and participants of the Miss Philip-pines Pageant for the past decades to share our joy in this important milestone.

For tickets and reservations, please give a call to Mrs. Lulu Penetrante at (858)538-4339, Josie Isibido at (760) 436-3900, Norma Caramat at (760) 295-0962, Frank Docog at (619) 428-8271, Lily Sipin at (619) 264-1576, Beth Udan at (619) 934-2824, Linda Hidalgo at (858) 693-8037, Sookie Camilon at (858) 538-6170 and Edith Hernandez at (619) 244-1629.

The Samahan Senior Centerthe only existing non-profi t center for Filipino American seniors that is in contractual relationship with the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services, Agency of Aging and Independence.

PASCCO is fortunate to have civic-spirited and dedicated volun-teers as members of the Board of Directors. Nita Barrion is the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee; Boodgie Arce is the Chair of the Program Committee, and Josie Rob-les is the Treasurer and in-charge of Food and Nutrition Service. They have accomplished so much in such a short period of time, such as refur-bishing the kitchen, setting up of the Senior’s Boutique and introduction of new programs and services.

The traditional programs funded by the County of San Diego are the nutrition program – congregate meals and home delivered meals and the Adult Day Care. The latter has been enriched with the introduc-tion of additional activities on top of the usual Bingo and card games. These are the Current Events and reading of local Filipino Ameri-can newspapers, such as the Asian Journal and the Filipino Press every

Monday morning; Aerobics led by Alicia Bautista, staff-volunteer of Kalusugan Community Services, Spiritual Enrichment Sessions led by Bro. Gil Toribio of the Inter-national Baptist Church. Health Screening provided by the Filipino American Women’s Club and the Philippine Nurses Association of San Diego County, and Health Edu-cation/Information, Counseling and Referral Services with the support of Kaplan College and the San Di-ego Community College. Plans are underway to set up a Legal Clinic with the Filipino American Lawyers Association.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, May 28, a computer literacy class for seniors will be provided by MAAC in partnership with the Broadband Al-liance. There initial project involves the training of seniors and low income individuals on the use of the computer. After the six-hour training the participants will go home with the computer that they used, for them to own and to keep at home, free of charge.

College students recently spent a day to paint the hall of the Filipino American Veterans Association Hall, the site of the Center.

One challenge that remains to be resolved is the need to set up

an emergency operational fund to keep the Center going while awaiting reimbursements from the County of San Diego. Presently, the Center lives from check-to-check, a situation that is not acceptable to the funding agency. Once this is resolved, the Samahan Senior Cen-ter will be removed from the Alert List of endangered centers subject to closure. It is for this reason that PASCCO and its Ways and Means Committee are seeking dona-tions from friends and community members to come up with at least $60,000 before the end of the fi scal year (June 30, 2009).

Nonetheless, the Social Dancing every Friday from 10:00 to 2:30 PM has drawn increased attendance. Good food at low cost, well-coor-dinated music and good company has attracted dancing afi cionados and community leaders to Samahan Senior Center. Defi nitely, SSC is the place to be at every Friday for fun, relaxation, and fellowship.

The Samahan Nutrition Center is staffed by Aurora S. Cudal, Execu-tive Director, Christopher Paul Va-len, Senior Social Worker, Leopoldo Carpio, Site and Program Manager and Gloria Supnet, Site and Program Manager of the Mira Mesa Senior Center.


Light &Shadows

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

by Zena Sultana Babao

LifestyleRead J’Son’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.

asianjournalusa.com

by J’Son

The recent visit of Former Philip-pine President Fidel V. Ramos in San Diego to meet and greet local Fil-Am student leaders and scholars, created an overwhelming impact. Our youth leaders are once again looking back on our family values, tradition and cultural heritage.

FVR gave an inspiring talk to these leaders based on the theme: “The Youth’s Leadership Role in this Changing Economy,” last May 20, 2009 at the National Public Library, hosted by the Council of Pilipino American Organizations (COPAO), represented by no less than President Merly Ferrer and Board Members, coordinated by Glenn Barroga, representing the business sector and facilitated by Ditas Yamane, Executive Director of COPAO.

The youth leadership forum was supported by the Philippine Consul General of Los Angeles represented by Consul General Mary Jo Bernar-do-Aragon and Vice Consul John Reyes, and several Fil-Am groups

FVR Talks to San Diego’s Fil-Am Youth Groups

catering youth development and leadership on the likes of Philip-pine American Youth Organization (PAYO), Kuya Ate Mentorship Program (KAMP), Andres Bonifa-cio Samahan, SDSU, Kabayanihan at UCSD, Filipio Ugnayan Student Organization (FUSO-USD) and CO-PAO Super 8 Scholarship Program Finalists.

The former president entered the room unexpectedly on a casual look, met by student participants, parents and guests mostly in business at-tire. With his usual brand of humor and peculiar smile, he was apolo-getic for his late arrival due to flight constraint from Texas but quickly bring the conference room at ease when he asked everyone to take off jackets and be comfortable. FVR stressed his legacy to the youth lead-ers on his career as a military man rather than a statesman by donating books about his accomplishments on public libraries in National City and Chula Vista.

It is a fact, that not only our Phil-ippine leaders of past and present generations, but all nations agree that the youths of today are the backbone and future leaders of the nation. Admiral Virgilio Marcelo stressed, “The youth of today are the hope of the Motherland, go for it and achieve it!” When he was acknowledged and asked to briefly gave a message to the forum. .

Youth development is a process that prepares a young person to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood and achieve his or her full potential. Youth development is promoted through activities and experiences that help youth develop social, emotional, ethical, physical and cognitive competences. While Youth leadership is part of the youth development process and supports the young person in developing the ability to analyze his or her own strengths and weaknesses to set mo-tivational goals and self-esteem.

Providing the conditions for posi-tive youth development and leader-ship is a responsibility shared by families, schools and communities. The conditions for healthy youth leadership and development should be supported by local government through youth programs and activi-ties. Noticeably, a growing number of organizations include the youths either as an executive officers or board of directors.

Research on factors promoting re-silience on youth at risk has shown that the consistent presence of a caring adult can have a significant positive impact on a young person’s growth and development. Well designed programs promote positive relationships with both peers and adults.

considered worth remembering. We are still asking the same ques-

tions people have probably been asking since they first developed language. “How can I get enough food for my family and myself? How can we keep ourselves safe from our enemies?”

“How can we set up and enforce rules of conduct so that no one takes unfair advantage of any one else? Why are we all here in the first place and where do we go next?” The details of the place now are certainly different, but the underly-ing concerns have hardly changed.

Bios Are Intriguing

I love to write and read biog-raphies. It’s fun, for example, to turn to a page and see Ralph Waldo Emerson and his son try ing to get a rebellious calf to a barn. Ralph pushes and his son pulls but the calf stubbornly stiffens its legs.

Along comes an Irish serving maid who giggles at their di lemma, then puts a maternal fin ger into the

IN SEARCH OF THE GOOD LIFE:

Poignant Memories – Why I quit law school and opted for history

calf’s mouth and leads it gently to the barn,

That night Emerson writes in his journal,” I like people who do things.”

But biographies offer more than the fun of anecdote and inci dent. You also discover the inner man, the soul that hides behind the facts, why he wanted to do what he did and where he got his power.

The greatest of all the joys in reading biographies is the joy of discovering courage — courage in action. That is why I often asked my students the following sample questions:

“Are men and women able to force change upon history by their skills and wits, their nerve and cour-age? Are they capable of changing its course by their ac tions? Or are they hopelessly caught up in the difficult process of great forces over

which they have no real control?”Historians study all aspects of past

human life — social and cul tural conditions as well as politi cal and economic events. Some of us study the past simply to under stand better how people of other times acted and thought.

Other historians seek to draw lessons from those actions and thoughts as a guide for decisions and policies today. However, historians disagree about the lessons of history, and so there are many different interpretations of the past.

Benefits & Challenge

Why study history? We can approach this question

in two different ways. One is the sense of “how can it help me make a living?” The second is in the sense of “how can it help me become a

better person?”

“What can I do with a degree in history?”

Well, apart from teaching, the study of history prepares a person for many vocations or careers. There are, for example, many posi-tions in Federal government that require research skill and familiar-ity with American institutions. A diplomatic profession in the Foreign Service of the U.S. is an exciting job. History fares at least equally with political science and econom-ics.

Studying history can prepare one to become a lawyer, or a profes-sional librarian, or an archivist who works in state, private, federal, or university archives. I had a chance to work in the Library of Congress with very good salary, but decided


In a 6-1, 136-page majority rul-ing, the California Supreme Court upheld Tuesday morning (May 26, 2009) the voter-approved ban on same sex marriage in this state. However, the California high court also decided that the estimated 18,000 gay couples who tied the knot before the law took effect will stay married.

The Supreme Court decision sparked a new wave of debates be-tween supporters of traditional mar-riage and supporters of the same sex marriage. Hundreds of gay activists gathered and demonstrated in front of the Supreme Court building in Sacramento, and also in Hollywood in Los Angeles.

The debate is raging on right now, and the same sex marriage supporters vowed to continue the fight and wanted to put up another proposition on the ballot as early as next year to be voted on by Califor-nians. If all else fails, they said they will take their cause to the highest court of the land, the United States Supreme Court.

Last Tuesday afternoon, at the Larry King live show over CNN, four people discussed both sides of the issue. Speaking in support of traditional marriage were Dr. Jim Garlow, senior pastor of the Skyline Church here in La Mesa, and Den-nis Prager, a radio talk show host. Speaking for same sex marriage were Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopalian priest, and James Van Praagh, who has a 15-year old relationship with another man.

The four guests advanced their reasons why they supported or op-posed Proposition 8, which states that in California, a legal marriage is between a man and a woman. Dr. Garlow and Mr. Prager talked about the overwhelming support of Propo-sition 8 in 30 cities in California with a 52-48 majority vote, as well as the prevailing traditional mar-riage practice in the last 5,000 years or so. The Rev. Robinson and Van Praagh, on the other hand, talked about civil rights and separation of church and state.

Proposition 8 passed in the No-vember 4, 2008 general election, and it changed the state Constitution to restrict the definition of mar-riage to opposite-sex couples and eliminated same-sex couples’ right to marry. The measure added a new section (7.5) to Article I, which reads: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recog-nized in California.”

After the passage of Prop 8, dem-onstrations and protests occurred across the state and nation. Numer-ous lawsuits were filed with the

California Supreme Court Upholds Gay Marriage Ban

California Supreme Court by same-sex couples and government enti-ties, challenging the proposition’s validity and effect on previously administered same-sex marriage. The court heard oral arguments on March 5, 2009 and announced its ruling on May 26, 2009, which upheld Proposition 8, but allowed existing same-sex marriages to stand.

It looks like another protracted fight is brewing in the horizon because supporters of the same sex marriage cannot or would not want to accept the California’s high court’s decision. They are gearing for another fight, and they said they will never give up.

For sure, all over the California, people from both sides of the spec-trum (the liberals and the conserva-tives) will be on the move again to bring this much debated and controversial issue to the forefront. This issue even affected a Miss USA contestant, Miss California Carrie Prejean, who in answer to a question posed by openly gay contest judge Perez Hilton, answered: “We live in a land where you can choose same sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman.”

The court ruling Tuesday uphold-ing Proposition 8 said: “In a sense, petitioners’ and the attorney gen-eral’s complaints is that it is just too easy to amend the California consti-tution through the initiative process. But it is not a proper function of this court to curtail that process; we are constitutionally bound to uphold it.

Last Tuesday, immediately after the court ruling, I emailed some leaders of our Filipino-American community for their comments. I received five comments before the 12:00 Wednesday deadline, and all are for traditional marriage. Three choose not to be identified, two al-lowed me to use their names.

Here they are: “I believe mar-riage should be between a man and a woman, just as we were taught at home, at church, and most espe-cially by the Holy Bible. God is the answer to all Truth.”

“The Judeo-Christian religion is based on the Holy Bible. If God had in mind gay marriages, He should have said, “It is not good for a man to live alone,” and then sent another man.”

“I respect the sanctity of mar-riage between a man and a woman. Because that’s what God meant it to be, based on my faith values! Although I have gay friends with partners, and I like them as persons, but somehow I can’t accept same

sex marriage.”“Both the Bible and the diction-

ary defines marriage as between man and woman. As a Christian, I uphold the sanctity of marriage as it should be.”- McKing Alanis.

“The California Supreme Court made the right decision and upheld the voice of the people. Those who claim that the civil rights of same sex couples were violated in this decision are putting up a false argu-ment. This is because under Cali-fornia’s Civil Union laws, same sex couples enjoy the same rights and protections as married heterosexual couples. Some say that consent-ing adults should have the right to marry whomever they want. This again is a false argument because government has always restricted certain kinds of marriages. For ex-ample, one can not marry his or her own parent, brother or sister, even if the parties involved are consenting adults.

Redefining marriage to include same sex couples has far reach-ing negative consequences. In places where same sex marriages have been legalized, religious, free speech, and parental rights have been violated. Priests, pastors, and preachers were fined for speaking in favor of traditional marriage in Canada. Parental rights were vio-lated in Massachusetts who wanted to opt their child out of the gay marriage lesson were told that they could not do this. A photographer was fined for refusing to photograph a gay wedding for religious reasons. The latest victim is Miss California, Carrie Prejean, who was unfairly smeared and persecuted in the media because she dared to express her opinion about gay marriage. While same sex couples don’t lose any rights from the passage of Prop 8, the rest of California has a lot to lose if gay marriage is legalized.” – Nedy & Jaime Lao.


PHILIPPINE NEWS SER-VICE -- PINOY cops are march-ing with pride as they form the core of international peacekeep-ers from the United Nations (UN) being regularly sent to strife-torn countries.

“The Philippine National Police remains honored of this recognition and high regard of the UN for Filipino police officers who have proven their professionalism and compe-tence in the various UN field missions,” PNP chief Director General Jesus A. Verzosa said.

Three weeks ago, the PNP chief sent off the PNP contin-gent to East Timor and said that the deployment of PNP contingents to various UN missions is “our country’s positive response to the calls of the UN for member-states to contribute personnel in view of the unprecedented surge in the demand for peacekeepers worldwide.”

A total of 133 police officers, 80 of them police commissioned officers -- three of them women -- and the rest non-commis-sioned officers, form part of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor Leste (UNMIT).

According to PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Nicanor A. Barto-lome, there are currently 236 in-dividual personnel from the PNP deployed in five UN peacekeep-ing missions around the world, particularly in Liberia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Haiti and Georgia.

RP cops now UN’s pride“This is the third PNP con-

tingent that we have sent to the UNMIT as the Philippines con-tinue to be the leading provider of police officers to UN peace-keeping operations around the

world. This only goes to show that the

competency and professionalism of our officers are indeed given a high regard in the international community,” Bartolome said.

The latest PNP delegation to Timor Leste is led by Superin-tendent Ulpiano Lopez, a former regional officer of the PNP Maritime Group’s regional office in Mindanao.

Verzosa asked the PNP delega-tion to “be proud holding and wearing the Philippine flag in their uniforms.”

“You are expected to carry on holding the flag of the Philip-pines. Wear your uniform as

snappy as we see you now; talk civilly to civilians,” Gen. Verzo-sa told the UNMIT officers and members as he urged them to show the “best the Filipinos can offer” particularly when it comes to social interactions and inter-faith advocacies as they have to deal with people with mixed

religious beliefs and tradition. Members of the PNP dele-

gation passed a battery of ex-aminations, both written and actual tests, including tough courses to test their firing and driving skills supervised by the PNP Directorate for Plans and UN representatives in the country.

Gen. Verzosa said the PNP contingent to Tim or Leste will help establish peace and order and “help rebuild and rehabilitate the country ravaged by war and other disturbances.”

Some Filipino policemen have been wounded in their foreign missions particularly in Timor Leste where they have come un-der attack from stone-throwing and machete-wielding residents in the past.

PNP officers and men chosen to form part of UN contingents abroad receive as much as US$100 a day in salary while keeping their government salaries and other benefits intact. Majority of them have been able to build modest houses out of their earning from their UN missions and try to have a return trip, if luck will come their way.


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

journalusa.com

ugaw: Sir, Chicks P1,500 Studi-ante!

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Wife: Ulol ka! Dahil lasing ka, katabi mo kagabi si mama!

Pamboboso

Anak: Inay, sinisilip ng kaklase ko ‘yung panty ko!

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mo?Anak: Inalis ko at itinago ko ‘yung

panty, para ‘di n’ya makita!

Promotion

Judge: Ikaw na naman! Sampung taon ka nang dito humaharap sa korte ko, ha?

Swindler: Your honor, hindi ko kasalanan kung hindi po kayo ma-promote.

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The Law that Matters

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

by Atty. A. Erwin Bautista

Question: I petitioned my wife and I was surprised to learn that the U.S. Consulate referred back to U.S. Citizenship and Immigra-tion Services (USCIS) my petition for revocation because they do not believe our marriage was for real, what can I do to bring my wife to the U.S.?

Answer: You need to prove your marriage was entered into in good faith and not for immigration purposes only.

There’s an alarming rate of referral back to USCIS by U.S. Consulates, how do you avoid it?

Often times when a U.S. Citizen files a petition in behalf of their spouse they just let their spouses show up at the U.S. Embassy for interview without providing any documents that will help the alien spouse sail through the interview. Anyway their marriage is for real. Wrong. You have the burden of proof because you are the one applying for a benefit. They don’t watch your everyday life so prove it with documents.

Sometimes they do not discuss their personal circumstances, fam-ily background or in short there’s not enough time for them to really know each other before they got married and it reflects on the inter-view that they do not know each other and they might not really be married in good faith.

It is imperative that any shared life documents that will support to establish a good faith marriage be given to your spouse and be presented at the time of the inter-view. Do not take the interview for granted. There might not be a second chance.

Two suspicious cases in point?

Case 1. The wife of a U.S. Citizen showed up for interview for the immigrant petition and was asked when’s the last time they

How to avoid a Notice-of-Intent-to- Revoke on your spousal petition

had been intimate with each other. In reality the question might be a shocker to the alien spouse be-cause the question might be as di-rect as, have you ever had sex with your spouse. The alien spouse did not have sex with the U.S. Citizen spouse because at the time of the wedding the husband suffered from respiratory illness that pre-vented them from having sex even up to the time the husband left for the U.S. for treatment. A marriage is not complete until the marriage is consummated. Consummated means the husband and spouse had sex. So it appears to be a legiti-mate concern of the Consulate.

The prospective wife and husband actually had sex before they got married. Right after the prospective husband arrived in the Philippines they started their honeymoon but the wife was so embarrassed to admit because it was sex before marriage which is frowned upon in Philippine soci-ety even though they were set to be married in a matter of days. It’s better to remain chaste than prove good faith marriage.

The beneficiary alien spouse denied ever having sex with her husband because she would have to disclose that it happened before the wedding. That answer trig-gered the Consul to refer her for an interview with an investigator. The overzealous investigator was so convincing that she signed an alleged confession that she mar-ried her husband so she can come to the U.S.

The result, her case was returned to the USCIS with a recommen-dation to revoke the approved petition.

Case 2. A beneficiary spouse was interviewed for the green card and it came out in the interview that she will stay with her aunt in San Diego instead of her hus-band when she arrives in the U.S. based on her husband’s petition. It triggered again the referral to

the overzealous investigator who came up with another fraud mar-riage finding.

How to avoid making it worse for your case?

Inform your spouse not to sign any statement prepared by the investigator if that is not what they said. Request an interpreter or translator of your own dialect dur-ing the interview to avoid confu-sion in translation. Do not assume you will be understood or that you will understand how the consul speaks.

Case 1 beneficiary vehemently denied to me ever admitting that she married her husband for im-migration purposes and yet she signed the prepared statement which is the result of two days of intense questioning admitting to a fraudulent marriage.

Case 2 beneficiary did not sign any statement, but nevertheless the finding was adverse.

Let’s examine the side of the petitioners if they can prove their good faith marriage.

On Case 1 the husband showed me a Trust document indicating a 25% share of his bounty to his wife of half a million dollars, in-come tax joint filing with the wife filed to the I.R.S., lease agreement of where he was staying indicating his wife as an occupant, receipts of money remittances to the wife on a monthly basis.

Case 2 had regular joint tax returns filed for the last 3 years, pictures of their second honey-moon in Singapore, stamps on his U.S. passport showing his visits to his wife in the Philippines and receipts of money remittances to his wife.

The only thing missing in both instances are the presence of children. If they could produce offspring in the middle of this petition processing waiting time, then it would be a lot convincing on the part of the spouses to prove their good faith marriage.

Now as a reader, is the above enough to convince you of the good faith marriage of the appli-cants? If not, what more if their spouses don’t have them at the interview.

What can you do or what should you do?

Do not keep the documents that will prove your good faith mar-riage to yourself. Share it with your spouse and have her bring it to the interview. Bring photos

of your wedding, reception and pictures where you went on your honeymoon. I did not say bring pictures of your honeymoon. I hope we’re clear on that. Do not sign any statement you do not agree with. Hopefully this will avoid a Notice of Intent to Re-voke.

Consult an attorney to assist you in bringing your spouse to the U.S. Your marriage maybe in good faith but if you do not show any documents to prove it, the Consulate might find it fraudulent. They don’t see you everyday of your life so you need to bring those documents to the interview to prove your marriage is in good faith. You are the one applying for the benefit, so the burden of proof is on you. The Immigration or the U.S. Consulate does not have to do anything; you have to do everything to prove your good faith marriage.

[We invite readers to call Atty. A.Erwin Bautista to set up their initial consultation. Atty. Bautista obtained his law degree from Western State University Col-lege of Law, Fullerton, CA and his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of the Philippines. Atty. Bautista practices Immigra-tion, Bankruptcy, Family, and Personal Injury Law and Tax Audit Representation/Income Tax Preparation. Call (619) 474 7755 in San Diego at 550 E. 8th St., #11, National City, Ca 91950 and at (213) 365 7690 in Los Angeles at 3435 Wilshire Bl., Ste. 2700, Los Angeles, CA 90010.]

with a legitimate look and feel.“Even when using server

authentication, it may require tremendous skill to detect that the website is fake. It is an ex-ample=2 0of social engineering techniques used to fool users, and exploits the poor usability of current web security technolo-gies,” De Guzman explained.

The official added that the suspect usually informs prospec-tive victims that they must attend a British Language seminar allegedly sponsored by seem-ingly legitimate organizations and asks for seminar fees ranging from P2,500 to P6,000 to be paid through automated teller machine (ATM) cards or electronic cash service providers.

Illegal recruitment via Internet uncovered

It was also learned that the suspect used several fictitious names registering under different mobile phone numbers. Among the names Isaac used were: Paul Almanza Sauer and Cyrus Ramos Villanueva, which were discovered among the identifica-tion cards confiscated from him on his arrest.

Mantaring said an arrest war-rant was issued against Isaac by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 30 for illegal recruitment and estafa in 2004 but it was

only now that he was arrested by agents of the NBI-AFCCD on FB Harrison S. while attempting to claim money sent by one of his victims.

Charges of violation of Repub-lic Act 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, estafa, using a fict itious name and concealing true name, and falsi-fication by a private individual are now being readied against the suspect before the Manila prosecutor’s office.


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The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is seeking volunteers to serve on the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project Working Group. The Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project is the proposed extension of transit service from the Old Town Transit Center to University City, UTC and UCSD, and downtown San Diego. The Working Group will coordinate with SANDAG during the supplemental environmental review phase of the project with the possibility of continuing through future project development phases. It will serve as a forum for a diverse group of stakeholders to learn about the project and provide input to SANDAG as this important expansion of San Diego’s regional transit system is developed.

To apply, please visit the project Web site at www.sandag.org/Midcoast or call Anne Steinberger, SANDAG Marketing Manager, at (619) 699-1937 to obtain an application. Applications will be accepted until June 22, 2009.

Get involved in the future of San dieGo’S tranSit SyStem

to fi nish my graduate de gree at the University of Hawaii. I subsequent-ly worked at the Newberry Library in Chicago while I did research for my dissertation.

The National Park Service em-ploys people with various levels of preparation in history in its work of locating and preserving the coun-try’s historic sites and monuments.

History and politics have tra-ditionally been closely connected.

Although the majority of poli-ticians have been lawyers fi rst, others (e.g., Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, who wrote historical works) have entered poli-tics with an academic background consisting of a college major in history.

In the Third World countries, the physician Jose Rizal was a bud ding Filipino historian; Gen. Vo Nguyen

IN SEARCH OF THE GOOD LIFE:

Poignant Memories – Why I quit law school and opted for history


Giap, a military genius of the Viet-nam War, was a former school history teacher.

The business world, while it prefers accounting or engineering students for many of its jobs, looks for liberal arts (including history) majors for others, such as person nel and public relations positions.

The advertising industry em-ploys many former history majors because of their writing skills, familiarity with Asian or American culture and skills in social research.

Newspapers and periodical journals employ a lot of people who studied history in college as a writer, editor, or publishers’ agents. (For example, I write for newspa-pers too.) What about TV? History then can help you make a living in many ways.

Knowing YourselfWhat about the other question —

the more practical one: “How can history help you become a better person?”

There is a saying, “To know the past and that of other people is to know you.”

History is the collective experi-ence of people, and as such it

teaches us lessons that may help us avoid in the future some of the mistakes we have made in the past

History shares or relates with the other liberal arts, such as literature, philosophy, or mathematics, the virtue of being able to train us to think. It trains our “noodles” (i.e., brains) to be fl exible, perceptive, and analytical.

Another reason for studying his-tory is that no other subject pulls together all of human experience so broadly and no other subject relates the many parts of this experience to each other. Hence, you increase your knowledge on almost every-thing including arts, literature, and sciences.

As a college student, I had that nice feeling of possessing more “knowledge” than anyone of my peers. Indeed, my friends (includ-ing girls) thought I was “magaling” and “cool.” Apart from good looks (so they said), they considered me very “smart.” All I can tell you are: I never run out of friends, who con-stantly inspire me to do better; and I enjoy the accolades.

The purpose of history is the

rediscovery of people, their institu-tions, values, ways of life, and ideas. It gives us a description of how, under certain circumstances, people have behaved.

It also tells us how they reacted to problems of war, how they attempt-ed to achieve peace, what they felt was valuable and worthwhile, what they felt was evil or decadent.

University education is a key to success in life. And for good reason – bachelor’s degree holders earn almost twice as much per year compared to those with only a high school diploma. For people with advanced credentials, the rewards are even greater.

My fascination with history has given me not only self-confi dence and extraordinary opportunities, but also the ability to think logically and take pride of my rich Filipino heritage.” – Riz

(To be continued)

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(619) 656-0409PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE

-- HAD Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. approved with reasonable dispatch the anti-pornography bill passed by the House of Representatives, Dr. Hayden Kho could be facing a serious offense with a maximum penalty of 12 years imprisonment and a fi ne of P1 million over the sex-video scandal with actress Katrina Halili.

During yesterday’s Usaping Balita News Forum at Serye Restaurant in Quezon City, Manila Rep. Bienveni-do Abante, chairman of the House committee on public information, scored Revilla, the former chairman of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, for sit-ting down on the measure which was passed by the House of Representa-tives on third and fi nal reading since last year.

“Kung hindi ito inupuan ni Sen. Revilla, hindi na sana tayo nahihi-rapan kung ano ang ikakaso diyan (Kho). Ang problema hindi siya kumilos. Hindi nga siguro siya kai-langang mag-privilege speech kung naipasa ito,” said Abante, principal author of the bill, adding “there is no amount of money could return the dignity tarnished by Kho.”

It will be recalled that Revilla de-livered a privilege speech on the sex scandal but refused to be interpellated

Solon blames Revilla for failure to pass porno bill

Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.

by his fellow senators as he extended assistance to Halili’s quest for justice.

Under the House Bill (HB) 3307 or the “Anti-Obscenity and Pornography Act,” violators will face one to 12 years imprisonment or P100,000 to P1 million fi ne or both depending on the court decision.

The legislative measure seeks to prohibit and penalize the production, printing, publication, importation, sale, distribution and exhibition of obscene and pornographic materials.

Asian Journal May 29 2009

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Transcript of Asian Journal May 29 2009