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DATELINEUSAFROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

December 19-22, 2015

Volume 25 - No. 99 • 4 Sections – 36 Pages

FORMER President Fidel V. Ramos said that if Mar Roxas and Rodrigo Duterte want to be President, they should act like one.

The 87-year-old Ramos, whose term ended 17 years ago, said that Roxas and Duterte should realize that they would not only be compared to past Philippine Presidents but they would also be compared with other world leaders on the global stage.

“My advice, simple: Act like a Philippine President who must be competitive nationally because you will be compared with other Philippine Presidents. But this is now the 21st century, and the Philippine President must be world-class. We are not anymore in the period of Antonio Luna, Emilio Aguinaldo and Andres Boni-facio. Our countrymen should not kill each other, they should unite to develop our nation,” Ramos said.

The presidential candidates should realize that they would serve as a national model when they appear in

FVR: PH president must be ‘world-class’

by GIL C. CABCAUNGANInquirer.net

Foreign policy dominates �fth Republican debate

IN the fifth and final Repub-lican debate of the year on Tuesday, Dec. 15, candidates largely tackled issues of na-tional security and terrorism, following the mass shootings in Paris and San Bernardino, California.

Outside the Venetian hotel-casino in Las Vegas, protes-tors gathered hours before the two debates to criticize

the GOP candidates for their “hateful” rhetoric. Many car-ried signs calling for topics, such as union rights and the Black Lives Matter movement, to be discussed. Ultimately, do-mestic policies received little attention, as both sessions fo-cused on foreign policy.

During the two-hour prime-time debate on CNN, the nine White House hopefuls— real es-tate mogul Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, retired neurosur-geon Ben Carson, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Florida

governor Jeb Bush, New Jer-sey Gov. Chris Christie, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and Ohio Gov. John Ka-sich — sought to improve their standings in the polls, as the first caucus in Iowa is less than two months away.

Trump went in still at the forefront of the polls, despite his controversial proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. Bush, whose poll numbers have dipped to

IT may be all systems go for Rodrigo Duterte, who vows “to act presidentiable” from now on, but it doesn’t mean he’s off the hook.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday, Dec. 17 accepted the certificate of can-didacy (COC) filed by the con-troversial Davao City mayor as a

Comelec: It’s go for Duterte runBut Davao mayor still not off the hook

substitute presidential candidate of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) for anticrime activist Martin Diño.

Comelec Chair Andres Bau-tista said the agency, sitting as a full body, had agreed “to ac-knowledge and accept” Duterte’s COC, saying this was simply a “ministerial function of the com-mission.”

“What this means is that he is now on our list of candidates.

THE Supreme Court (SC) de-ferred anew the voting on the constitutionality of the Philip-pines-United States Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca), with deliberations ex-

Still no SC vote on EDCA

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

labor leaders Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz.

Alvarado Middle School is now officially Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School, and is be-

Union City middle school renamed in honor of Fil-Am labor leaders

First Filipino to get Pearl Harbor attack news dies in California

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Deliberations to continue in 2016--source

by CHRISTINA M. ORIEL AND AGNES CONSTANTE

AJPress

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by JEROME ANINGAND NANCY CARVAJAL

Inquirer.net

PRESIDENT Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle visited San Bernardino, California on Friday, Dec. 18, to meet privately with families of the victims of the mass

shooting in the city that killed 14 and injured more than 20 others.

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

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

“As a father to two young daughters who are the most pre-

Friend of shooters arrested and chargedby AGNES CONSTANTE

AND ALLYSON ESCOBARAJPress

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CARSON, Calif. – The first Filipino to receive the ca-blegram message about the Japanese Imperial Forces’ at-tack on the US Na-val Base on Pearl Harbor on Decem-ber 7, 1941 has died of a lingering illness here, according to a report by Guerrero Coloma of North-

by TARRA QUISMUNDOInquirer.net

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

international meetings such as with the United Nations, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Ramos said in a breakfast forum at Kamuning Bakery in Quezon City.

Ramos also weighed in on the possibility that two front-run-ners in the tight presidential race would be disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Com-elec). “Let us give the benefit of the doubt to the people directly concerned. Let the people de-cide,” he said.

Ramos warned that that the public may be left with only one choice for President if “this pro-cess of elimination” would con-tinue, referring to the disqualifi-cation cases against Duterte and Sen. Grace Poe.

“We may end up with only one candidate for President if we fol-low this process of elimination, which is not [how] the people want it,” he said.

Ramos, a former military chief and a health buff, did not find it funny that Roxas and Duterte’s political exchanges would re-volve around slapping, fistfights,

FVR: PH…t

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

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Red-lands), who represents the area,

said he is pleased of the presi-dent’s visit to families.

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

Obama has previously at-tended memorial services for the victims of mass shootings across

the country, including in Tuscon, Arizona, Newton, Connecticut, Charleston, South Carolina, Fort Hood, Texas and the Washington Navy Yard.

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

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

Friend of San Bernardino shooters arrested and charged with terror plot

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

Enrique Marquez, 25, pur-chased the assault rifles used by

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the low single-digits, took some swipes at Trump.

The former Florida governor called Trump “a chaos candidate” who would be “a chaos presi-dent” and has portrayed him as one who is more concerned with scaring Americans rather than devising actual war solutions against the Islamic State (IS).

“Donald, you’re not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency – that’s not going to happen,” Bush said. “Leadership is not about attacking people and disparaging people. Leadership is about creating a serious strat-egy.”

“Banning all Muslims will make it harder for us to do ex-actly what we need to do, which is to destroy ISIS,” Bush added.

Trump dismissed Bush’s at-tacks, saying they were made due to his not-so-successful cam-paign.

“Jeb doesn’t really believe I’m unhinged,” Trump said. “He said that very simply because he has failed in this campaign. It’s been a total disaster. Nobody cares.”

Since entering the race in June, Trump has belittled Bush’s strength and said during the de-bate that his opponent is simply too nice.

“I think Jeb is a very nice per-son, very nice person. But we need toughness,” Trump said.

Exchanges between Rubio and

Cruz, who have seen their popu-larity in the polls rise and are now seeking the second-place spot af-ter Trump, were also heated on Tuesday night. The two reflected on issues that the GOP is most divided on: immigration, foreign intervention and intelligence gathering.

Cruz — a Tea Party favorite — questioned Rubio’s conserva-tive credentials and his judgment on national security and immi-gration.

“One of the problems with Marco’s foreign policy is he has far too often supported Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama un-dermining governments in the Middle East that have helped radical Islamic terrorists,” Cruz said. “We need to focus on killing the bad guys, not getting stuck in Middle Eastern civil wars that don’t keep America safe.”

The Texas senator accused Rubio of working with Demo-crats to give President Barack Obama a “blanket authority” to accept refugees, CNN reported. However, Rubio struck back by saying Cruz is in support of legal-izing undocumented immigrants in the United States and pointed out that his colleague supported a contentious H-1B visa program that supports immigration of highly-skilled foreign workers.

Rubio also brought up Cruz’s vote to end the National Security Agency’s ability to collect bulk

phone data, saying the Texas senator gave away “a valuable tool” to fight terrorism.

“I promise you, the next time there is an attack on this country, the first thing people are going to want to know is, why didn’t we know about it and why didn’t we stop it?” Rubio said. “And the an-swer better not be, ‘Because we didn’t have access to records or information that would have al-lowed us to identify these killers before they attack.’”

In the closing statements, most of the candidates reiterated their commitment to improving the state of the country and keep-ing it safe in the face of terror-ism; meanwhile, Paul brought attention to the national debt and Kasich stressed the importance of winning Ohio in the national election.

WinnersReports from CNN and The

Hill put Jeb Bush as a winner of Tuesday’s debate. Despite polls indicating he has 4 percent of national support, the ex-gover-nor of Florida gave his strongest performance to date.

Cruz and Rubio were also deemed top performers by both outlets, with Rubio demonstrat-ing his in-depth understanding of foreign policy and Cruz hold-ing his ground.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also gave a strong performance,

Foreign policy dominates �fth Republican…t

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That was an administrative deci-sion the Comelec en banc made,” Bautista said, adding that accep-tance of Duterte’s COC was made as an exercise of the Comelec’s “administrative function.”

He said the disqualification case filed against Duterte by broadcaster Ruben Castor pend-ing in the Comelec’s First Divi-sion would still have to be re-solved, as part of the poll body’s “quasijudicial function.”

Six of the seven commission-ers voted in favor of Duterte. The lone dissenter, Rowena Guan-zon, said the matter should not have been tackled by the Com-elec since Castor’s case against Duterte—which questioned the validity of his substitution of Diño—was still pending.

“I will now act presidentiable,” Duterte replied when asked for comment. He said he would henceforth ignore his rival Mar Roxas, the administration Liberal Party standard-bearer, whom he had engaged in a slapping, box-ing and gun duels tit-for-tat on Roxas’ Wharton credentials and Duterte’s claims of a peaceful Davao City.

“I will not reply to his state-ments anymore. I will just snub him because he did not really graduate from Wharton. Be-sides, he is desperate to improve his ratings because he is last at number four, he is doing every-thing to be talked about because he knows he will never be Presi-dent,” he said.

“I will tour the country and ex-plain to the people what I intend to do with the peace process, law and order, the problems on illegal drugs, government reor-ganization and economic plans to improve the lives of Filipinos,” Duterte said in a telephone inter-view.

In her dissent to Thursday’s Comelec ruling, Guanzon said Castor maintained that Duterte’s COC was void because it con-tained “untruthful acts or mis-representation.”

Division hearing“There is also the issue regard-

ing his notarized documents, the truth or falsity of which must be determined before his COC is accepted,” Guanzon, a member of the First Division, said in her handwritten dissent.

The hearing for the case in the First Division is scheduled on Fri-day. The notaries public who au-thenticated Duterte’s COC have been invited to give facts about the document.

Acceptance of Duterte’s COC was similar to the acknowledg-ment of Sen. Grace Poe’s COC for President when she went to the Comelec to file it in October.

Twists and turnsTwo divisions of the Comelec

have rejected Poe’s candidacy on the grounds that she lacked the 10-year residency requirement and, as a foundling, she is not a natural-born citizen explicitly re-quired by the Constitution.

Poe has appealed the two cas-es to the Comelec en banc and

plans to go to the Supreme Court if her plea is rejected.

Bautista said substitution was allowed under the election laws but subject to the approval of the Comelec en banc.

He said the Comelec consulted its law department regarding the COC on whether the procedure of substitution was complied with.

He said the Comelec was aware of the “twists and turns” of the “road taken by Duterte” regard-ing his candidacy. The Davao mayor had hemmed and hawed before finally agreeing to run for President in the May elections as a substitute.

Commissioner Christian Rob-ert Lim, chair of the First Divi-sion, said the “intrinsic validity” of the substitution was the sub-ject of the Castor case.

Potential disasterThe Comelec’s administrative

function is that of an “election manager,” Lim said, and this includes making sure the COC form is properly filled out and has the required documentary attachments.

There is still a “potential” that Duterte could be disqualified based on Castor’s case but what-ever the decision of the division may still be appealed to the en banc by the parties to the case later on, Bautista added.

Castor, in his petition on Nov. 27, asked the Comelec to nullify Duterte’s COC. Diño, president of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, was initially the

Comelec: It’s go for Duterte…

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pected to resume next month.The high court did not make

any official announcement on the case at a press conference Wednesday morning, but sourc-es privy to what transpired dur-ing the special en banc session said deliberations would contin-ue early January.

Militant group Bagong Alyan-sang Makabayan (Bayan), among petitioners against the deal, held a rally outside the Supreme Court amid rains as deliberations went on, keeping watch of the results. They later dispersed upon get-ting word that there was no of-ficial update.

The high court’s ruling has been highly anticipated as it would seal the fate of the conten-tious defense pact, signed as an executive agreement between Defense Secretary Voltaire Gaz-

min and US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg in April last year, just before US President Barack Obama’s over-night state visit in Manila.

The pact would allow increased rotational presence of US troops in the Philippines, an accommo-dation that Bayan said would lead to de facto permanent basing.

But government has been defending Edca’s status as an agreement and not a treaty that would need Senate concurrence as it serves as an implementing pact of the1999 PH-US Visiting Forces Agreement and the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

The agreement, according to government, would give more opportunities for joint military exercises between Filipino and American troops both in the ar-eas of mutual defense and disas-ter response. ■

Still no SC vote on…t

highlighting his executive expe-rience as a governor and how he prosecuted terrorism cases as a US attorney. Christie also poked at his senator rivals, who he said were “people who’ve never had to make a consequential decision in an executive position” and dis-paraged them as talkers rather than people who take action.

Trump, who was positioned center stage, avoided tangling with his opponents and gave a

safe performance that wouldn’t impact his standing as the GOP front-runner, CNN said. Mean-while, The Hill had him in a “mixed” category, noting his shortcomings in facts and de-tails.

Trump also said that he would not run for president as a third-party candidate if he fails to se-cure the Republican nomination.

“I am totally committed to the Republican Party,” he said. “I am very honored to be the front-run-

ner. I think I’ll do very well if I’m chosen.”

Carson, Fiorina Kasich were all categorized as losers in the debate by CNN and The Hill.

Carson, who was once a seri-ous challenger to Trump’s lead-ing status, has since declined in popularity after botching de-tails of his personal history and national security experience. Tuesday was a chance for him to prove himself, yet he failed to


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gunfights and mudslinging.“Slapping, fighting, killing each

other will not solve the problem. The real problem of the world to-day and the Philippines is fighting poverty, fighting natural calami-ties, or preparing for them if we cannot fight them; to mitigate cli-mate change,” Ramos said.

Ramos, who was perceived as supporting Duterte, advised

the Davao City mayor to watch his mouth. “He should brush his teeth not with Colgate but with toilet paper,” he said.

He said, however, that vot-ers should not look for a perfect President because no candidate would fit the position perfectly.

What was important, Ramos said, was for the elected Presi-dent to “transform” himself in of-fice to be a better person. ■

FVR: PH president must be…t

step up to the task. “I have a lot of experience

building things, organizing things – a national scholarship program,” the retired neurosur-geon said of the false narrative that has emerged about him. “Some people say, ‘You’re weak because you’re not loud and you’re not boisterous and you’re not rude.’ But the fact of the matter is, look and see what I’ve done, and that speaks volumes about strength.”

Undercard debateDuring most of the under-

card debate, the four candidates with lower poll numbers – South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former New York Gov. George Pataki and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee – agreed on American intervention against ISIS and also criticized Trump for his proposal to ban all Muslims.

Graham said Trump did not speak for all Americans when he suggested the ban, and said that declaring war on an entire reli-gion plays into the hands of IS terrorists.

“Donald Trump has done the one single thing you cannot do: declare war on Islam itself. ISIL would be dancing in the streets, they just don’t believe in danc-ing,” Graham said. “This is a coup for them and to all of our Muslim friends throughout the world.”

The South Carolina senator also noted that at least 3,500 American-Muslims serve in the armed forces, and thanked them for their service.

“You are not the enemy. Your religion is not the enemy,” he said.

“To target a religion and say that regardless of whether you’re an American soldier who has fought on our side or allies we have overseas simply because of your religion we’ll ban you is un-American. It is unconstitutional and it is wrong,” Pataki said.

Despite Graham and Pataki’s statements, Huckabee and San-torum called for surveillance on American Muslims at mosques.

“I hear people act like that there’s something that terrible about going in and listening to sermons in the mosque,” Hucka-bee said. But, he said, aren’t the mosques open to the public? And don’t Muslims claim to be peace-ful? “Shouldn’t they be begging us to go and come and listen to these peaceful sermons.”

Santorum went on to call Islam not just a religion, but a “politi-cal governing structure…that is a big problem.”

Reactions Following the debate, Repub-

lican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus went on to highlight the differences between the Republican candi-dates and the Democrats.

“It’s clear from tonight’s de-bate that our Republican field understands the threats we face from radical Islamic terrorism and that we must change course from the failed Clinton-Obama foreign policy to destroy it. As President Obama’s Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton was [the] chief architect of an agenda that has left our country facing a more chaotic world and our homeland

at a greater risk of attack. Our candidates understand we must defeat radical Islamic terrorism, while Hillary Clinton refuses to acknowledge we’re at war with ISIS or even call the enemy by its name. The fundamental dif-ferences between our exception-ally qualified candidates and the Democrat field couldn’t be more clear, which is why the Ameri-can people will elect a Republi-can president next November,” Priebus said in a statement.

With the 2016 election less than a year to go, the RNC reaf-firmed its commitment to secure minority votes.

“Filipino-American voters across the country saw another robust debate among the most qualified and diverse candidates our country has ever seen. As voters continue to hear from our candidates, the RNC will contin-ue to fight for the Filipino-Ameri-can vote in Nevada and across the country,” Ninio Fetalvo, APA Press Secretary at the RNC said.

On the other side, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz called the debate a “complete di-saster for the Republican Party.”

“It was clear that not a single one of their candidates has what it takes to keep our country safe. From suggestions to shut down the Internet, to calling for

punching Russians in the nose, to confusion about how to target ISIL -- or even where they are -- there were no serious proposals presented tonight. From Donald Trump on down, the Republican Party’s candidates have allowed their dangerous rhetoric to get them in way over their heads on national security,” Wasserman Schultz said, adding that “We need to keep America moving forward. Our country just can’t afford to take a risk on any of these reckless Republican candi-dates.”

Democratic presidential con-tender Bernie Sanders took to Twitter to criticize what the nine candidates discussed.

Sanders said the GOP pro-

posals to handle ISIS would “undermin[e] our civil liberties and religious freedoms,” while pointing out the effects that a ground war would have on American troops — “PTSD and traumatic brain injury” — which none of the candidates men-tioned. The democratic candidate again showed his support for ac-cepting refugees into the US.

“Like the first [debate], not one word about income inequal-ity, climate change, or racial jus-tice,” he wrote. “The Rs are out of touch.”

Sanders, along with Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley, will participate in a third debate in New Hampshire on Saturday, Dec. 19. ■


presidential candidate of PDP-Laban. He later withdrew in favor of Duterte.

Castor claimed that Duterte could not validly substitute for Diño since the COC filed by the latter contained errors. For in-stance, Diño indicated in the COC that he was running for mayor of Pasay City.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Duterte’s independent running mate, welcomed the Comelec’s decision. “It has affirmed the right of Mayor Duterte to run. This now provides our people with clear choices on who can really bring about dramatic and real change in our country,” Cay-etano said.

“We hope that the Comelec First Division will also be fair as it settles the disqualification is-sue against Mayor Duterte. This is a simple open and shut case and we are clearly on the side of the law and jurisprudence,” Cay-etano said.

The more the merrierValenzuela City Mayor Rex

Gatchalian, Poe’s spokesperson,

said the voters should have a free hand in selecting the country’s leaders and that those who want to serve the people should be given a chance “in a true democ-racy.”

“With this positive decision, we are hopeful that the Comelec en banc applies consistency in rendering a decision on the (mo-tion for reconsideration) of Sena-tor Poe,” he said.

Vice President Jejomar Binay expressed hope that Duterte would overcome his legal prob-lems. “Hopefully he could run,” he said in Tupi, South Cotabato province, during a campaign sor-tie. “Mayor Duterte is very quali-fied.”

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., an independent vice presidential candidate, said in a statement that the people were waiting for Duterte to “present his plat-form and style of governance in words and discourse more color-ful than the usual.” (With reports from Marlon Ramos, Christine O. Avendaño and Eldie Aguirre and Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao)

Comelec: It’s go for Duterte…t

lieved to be the first school in the nation named for Filipino Ameri-cans.

“We’re very honored,” Johnny Itliong, the son of Itliong, told the Asian Journal on behalf of his family. “We’re also honored to have Philip Vera Cruz’s name alongside Larry’s even though they didn’t see eye to eye on many occasions. But they both stood up for the rights of peo-ple, first and foremost of their Filipino brothers and sisters, the manongs, and then for all oth-ers.”

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

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

Although the renaming of the school gives recognition to Itliong and Vera Cruz, Johnny ac-knowledged that there were oth-ers who helped them.

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

were many others,” he said.Talks of naming a Union City

school in honor of Filipino-Amer-icans date back to 1992, said Joe Angeles, who is part of a coali-tion that urged the school to be renamed, according to the Con-tra Costa Times.

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

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

Approval for renaming the school came from a split 3-2 de-cision in 2013 by the New Haven

Union City middle school renamed in honor…

the shooters, US law enforcement officials said Thursday, Dec. 17. The weapons were purchased in 2011 and 2012, authorities said.

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

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

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

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

“Farook introduced Marquez to radical Islamic ideology,” FBI agent Joel Anderson wrote in the affidavit filed with the charges,

which also discussed the time Marquez spent at his neighbor’s house, reading articles and watching videos involving radical Islamic content. Marquez con-verted to Islam later that year.

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

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

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

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

In a report from The New

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

Rodriguez said the remarks were taken as a joke.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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ing their reporters about the Japanese surprise military attack. Dumlao said a series of press re-leases addressed to other press offices in Manila followed.

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

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

grams, to and from international points.

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

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

First Filipino to get Pearl Harbor attack news…t

Unified School District board. Some wished for the school’s name to remain Alvarado, which was in honor of 19th-century Mexican governor Juan Bau-tista Alvarado. Others said he was already well-represented in Union City, with an elementary school, two streets, a park and a neighborhood bear his name, according to the Times. The is-sue resulted in staged demon-strations and full school board meetings.

In the neighborhood sur-rounding the middle school, 38 percent of residents are Filipino-American, said Joe Angeles, who is part of a coalition that urged for the renaming of the school, according to the Times.

Renaming the school is esti-mated to cost $60,000. The bulk of the price tag, $57,440, will be covered by Alameda County Su-pervisor Richard Valle, state Sen. Bob Wieckowski, Assemblyman Bill Quirk, and Bonta.

Separately, an overpass in San Diego that intersects State Route 54, which is known as the Filipi-no-American Highway, was also set to be renamed in honor of the labor leaders to the Itliong-Vera Cruz Memorial Bridge. The cel-ebration was scheduled to take place on Friday.

“These [renamings] are huge strides for our Filipino commu-nity to be recognized in Ameri-can history, and we are basically indebted to the manong genera-

tion, [which] has made our lives much better,” Johnny said.

In June of this year, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill desig-nating an October 25 -- Itliong’s

birthday -- as a day dedicated to recognizing the late labor lead-er’s contributions to the state of California. (Agnes Constante / AJPress)

Union City middle school renamed in honor…t

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boundAsia.com.Simeon Marcos Dumlao, 93, of

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

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

Dumlao was on the night shift on December 8 (Philippine time) when he received the cablegram at about 3:00 in the morning, when more than 100 Japanese airplanes bombed the US Navy installations at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, starting the war with the United States.

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

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

The message was addressed to the Associated Press, inform-

JERSEY CITY—A dozen firefighters – includ-ing Filipino-American Jonathan Gamutan – were promoted to fire captain last week during a sim-ple ceremony at the City Hall. Two others rose to the rank of battalion chief.

Mayor Steven Fulop, who led the list of elected officials and guests who witnessed the event, ex-tolled the firefighters in short speech.

“I have seen first hand how our firefighters work – the work that they do, the intensity that they show, the teamwork that they exude. It’s something,” Mayor Fulop said.

Also among those promoted was James Woods, a 44-year-old firefighter who died a day after Christmas last year.

An 18-year veteran with Jersey City’s Fire De-partment, Gamutan became the first fire captain of Filipino descent in the department’s 144-year history.

“I’m proud of my background and at the same time, I’m a proud American as well,” the 51-year-old firefighter told the Asian Journal moments before the ceremony started.

Gamutan’s relatives - parents – Paul and Charito, wife Jane, brother Anthony and children Sabrina, Jonathan, Jr., Brandon and Derek – all came to witness the event. His parents migrated to the United States in 1969 when Jonathan was only five years old.

“Ang sarap ng pakiramdam. Masaya kami,” said Charito Gamutan, Jonathan’s mother. “We supported him all the way when he told us he wanted to become a firefighter.”

“Congratulations and thank you to our brave firefighters who were promoted today -- 2 to battalion chief and 11 to the rank of fire captain, including Jonathan Gamutan, the first Filipino American who enlisted to the JCFD and now

its first Filipino fire captain after nearly two de-cades of service,” said Council President Rolan-do Lavarro. “Our deepest thanks to the family of firefighter James Woods, who passed away last year, and promoted posthumously today to the rank of Fire Captain.”

Promoted to battalion chief today were Stephan Drennan and Michael Nickerson. Promoted to captain were Jeffrey Batt; Robert Baykowski; Michael Budinick; Gerald Drennan; Gamutan; Daniel Healy; Vincent Manchisi; O’Keefe; Miguel Rios; Joseph Shastay; and Todd Tarrant. ■

Fil-Am �re�ghter promoted as captain in Jersey City

by MOMAR G. VISAYAAJPress

THE United States and Cuba reached an agreement to restore commercial flights between both countries for the first time in more than 50 years, the State Department announced Thurs-day, Dec. 17.

The historic achievement takes place exactly one year after the US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced they would restore full relations. BBC reported the deal could jumpstart economic relations between the two nations.

Under the agreement, both countries will continue allowing charter flights, which have been the only means for people to fly directly from the US to Cuba. However, airlines will now be able to set regularly scheduled flights the way they do for other destinations, according to the State Department and Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“This arrangement will con-tinue to allow charter opera-tions and establish scheduled

US, Cuba reach deal to resume commercial �ightsair service, which will facilitate an increase in authorized travel, enhance traveler choices and promote people-to-people links between the two countries,” ac-cording to the announcement.

Officials say the pact could mean more than a dozen flights arriving into Cuba from the US, according to BBC.

US airlines praised the new deal. New York-based airlines JetBlue, which has operated charter flights to Cuba from New York, Fort Lauderdale and Tam-pa since 2011, said officials will submit an application for new routes established by the new agreements, according to USA Today.

“Interest in Cuba has reached levels not seen for a genera-tion,” Scott Laurence, senior vice president of airline planning for JetBlue, said in a statement. “We will review the terms of the agreement to understand how JetBlue can expand from charter service to regularly scheduled service.”

As the United States and Cuba have worked toward normalizing relations, both re-opened em-

bassies in each other’s capitals in the summer. They also estab-lished medical, communication and tourism deals.

Despite the agreement, tour-istic travel to Cuba, however, remains in place, the State De-partment said. Travel to Cuba from the US is only approved for 12 categories, including close relatives of Cubans, journalists, individuals participating in edu-cational programs, and people on humanitarian or religious missions, among others.

Since Obama eased restric-tions on traveling to Cuba, US visits to the island nation have spiked by more than 70 percent, with 138,000 arrivals having oc-curred in the first 11 months of 2015, Reuters reported.

The US still has an economic embargo on Cuba, which can only be lifted by Congress. Obama on Thursday renewed his call for the legislature to end the embargo, but the Republicans who dominate Congress say they will not end or change it unless significant changes are made in Cuba’s communist-run govern-ment. ■

by AGNES CONSTANTEAJPress

CONGRESS approved a $1.1 trillion year-end spending pack-age on Friday, Dec. 18 that will fund federal agencies through next fall, avoiding a government shutdown in time for Congress members to return home for the holidays.

With strong bipartisan sup-port, the House overwhelmingly approved the measure in a 316-113 vote, with a $622 billion tax section of the agreement in a 818 to 109 vote. The Senate lat-er backed the bill 65-33, sending it straight to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it into law, reported CNN.

There was concern until earli-er this morning that there would not be enough support for the spending bill in the House, but last-minute lobbying efforts by leadership secured far more than the needed votes, said The Washington Post.

The lopsided House vote was a major victory for new Speak-er Paul Ryan, who secured the votes of the majority (150 Re-publicans) of the House GOP conference.

Obama called Ryan after the vote to thank him “for helping government work,” he said. The president also invited Ryan to join him for a meal at the White House in the new year.

“He’s going to be our chief

Congress passes budget dealby ALLYSON ESCOBAR

AJPress

Avoids shutdown in time for the holidaysnegotiator, we’re going to have other deals,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a member of the whip team and the Appropriations Committee. “Divided govern-ment dictates that so we want him to have as strong a hand as he possibly can.”

Some conservatives in the House were unhappy to see the tax deals go to passage. The vote is not “a function of the spend-ing bill but ... a courtesy to the new speaker,” said Kansas GOP Rep. Tim Huelskamp, who voted against the bill.

Huelskamp warned that Re-publicans who supported the measure will get grief from con-stituents when they go home, and also argued the bill is “an early Christmas present to Don-ald Trump, because it represents another example of the Republi-can establishment cutting deals with Democrats.”

“If anyone needed more evi-dence of why the American peo-ple are suffering at the hands of their own government, look no further than the budget deal announced by Speaker Ryan,” Trump, the GOP front-runner, said in a statement. “In order to avoid a government shutdown, a cowardly threat from an incom-petent President, the elected Re-publicans in Congress threw in the towel and showed absolutely no budget discipline.”

On the other hand, House Democrats were wary of the

$1.1 trillion appropriations package because it would lift a ban on crude oil exports that has been in place for 40 years, while many Republicans said it allows for too much spending and not enough focus on key issues such as immigration and abortion.

The spending bill’s passage was a win for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who as-suaged liberals in her caucus threatening to torpedo the bill over concerns about lifting the ban on exporting oil in the bill, and the lack of a bankruptcy provision in the bill to help a fis-cally strained Puerto Rico.

Pelosi told reporters that adding the oil export ban to the spending bill made it “very dif-ficult” to convince some Demo-crats to vote for the legislation, but also said that by allowing it to be included, Democrats were able to extract concessions of their own, including an exten-sion of renewable energy tax credits.

Votes from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congres-sional Black Caucus were “key, because it was believed the GOP could provide only about 100 votes for the deal so Democrats would need to provide the rest to make it to the necessary 218 vote threshold.”

“Absent big oil we could not have had many of these other successes,” Pelosi said before the vote. “[Republicans] wanted big oil so much that they gave away the store.”

Some conservatives com-plained that Ryan’s deal did not include some items they vouched for, such as new re-strictions on Syrian refugees coming into the US, or funding limits for Planned Parenthood. But Ryan argued that in divided government, there was “a limit to what Democrats could ac-cept,” and the deal contained “some big wins for the country, whether it’s lifting the oil export ban, increasing military spend-ing or renewing health care for the 9/11 first responders.”

The House Speaker repeated-ly stressed that he does not like rolling up all the spending bills and complicated policy provi-sions into one measure. He also believes the House is simply fin-ishing the work left by Boehner.

“We inherited a process, a cake that was pretty much more than half-baked,” Ryan said. ■

PRESIDENT Obama showed clemency for the holiday season, shortening the sentences of 95 federal prisoners under mandatory minimum prison terms. He also issued pardons to two others, the White House announced. Obama has now commuted the prison sentences of 184 people, more than any president since Lyndon B. Johnson (226 prisoners). Most of the commutations to those with shorter sentences dealt with drug offenses, but also included gun crimes, an armed bank rob-bery, crack cocaine and marijuana deals. 40 people serving life sentences will also be released in April. “The power to grant pardons and clemency is one of the most profound authorities granted to the president of the United States,” Obama wrote in a letter to each of the clemency recipients. “It embodies the basic belief in our democracy that people deserve a second chance after having made a mistake in their lives that led to a conviction under our laws.”

ON Friday, Dec. 18, the Vatican announced the approval of canonization for Blessed Mother Te-resa, starting the process of making the tiny nun, who cared for the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta, a saint. Pope Francis approved a decree attributing a miracle to Mother Teresa’s intercession in front of an audience on Dec. 17, the Pope’s 79th birthday. The Vatican attributed the miracle to the wondrous cure of a man suffering from a viral brain infection in 2008, completely healed from the fervent prayers to Mother Teresa’s intercession by the man’s wife. No date was set for the canonization, but several Italian media have speculated that the ceremony will take place in the first week of September of next year--to coincide with the anniversary of Blessed Teresa’s death. Mother Teresa, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, died on Sept. 5, 1997, at 87. Her Missionaries of Charity order had nearly 4,000 nuns and ran roughly 600 orphanages, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and clinics around the world.

LESS than half the states in the United States score a five or higher on 10 indicators experts say are key to detecting, diagnosing and responding to outbreaks, according to a new report by Trust for America’s Health. The latest report found 28 states and Washington D.C., are not ready to handle health threats from superbugs, hospital-borne infections, the flu, food-borne illnesses and epidemic diseases including the Middle East respiratory syndrome. Researchers found investments in infec-tious disease only ramp up when a clear threat emerges, but overall preparedness falls back when situations appear to be contained. A lack of emphasis on vaccinations or vaccine laws in several states have contributed to readiness. “We cannot afford to continue to be complacent,” said Dr. Jef-frey Levi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health.

WITH the recent terror attacks in neighboring San Bernardino and threats against Los Angeles schools, Disney announced its plans to start using metal detectors at its theme parks. Only randomly selected guests will go through the metal detectors. Other changes to Disneyland’s security policy include a greater law enforcement presence, discontinuing the sale of toy guns at parks and resorts, and not allowing anyone over the age of 14 to wear costumes into the parks. Even specially trained dogs are to be used in several procedures. “We continually review our comprehensive approach to security, and are implementing additional security measures, as appropriate,” a Disneyland spokes-woman said. The Happiest Place on Earth began screening guests on Thursday, Dec 17.

IF you’re looking to upgrade your phone, there’s no better time than during the holidays. Tech giant retailer Best Buy announced its promotion for Apple’s latest model, the iPhone 6s with 16GB of storage space, for just $1. The offer stands with a two-year contract with Sprint or Verizon, but the normal handset price, according to PCMag.com, is around $200. The iPhone 6s, launched in Sep-tember, looks nearly identical to the iPhone 6, with high-end features including HD Retina display, ultimate carrier speed /LTE modem, 3D touch, and a new iSight camera with Live Photos. The phone comes in rose gold, gold, space gray, and silver.

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

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

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

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

A total of 1,282 were diag-nosed with the cancer, and by the end of the study, 649 had died. More women from the con-trol group died than those who were screened every year.

The trial, led by University College London, was the world’s largest screening test for ovar-ian cancer and was designed to compare the outcomes of regu-

Study: Screening for ovarian cancer could reduce related deaths

by AGNES CONSTANTEAJPress

lar blood tests versus alternate screening methods or no screen-ing at all, The Guardian report-ed.

Dr. Usha Menon, a co-author of the article in The Lance and head of the gynecological can-cer center at University College London said follow-up is needed to confirm that the findings are significant throughout.

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

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

Menon said the apparent ben-efits of screening may have been due to chance, according to The New York Times, adding that monitoring the participants for a few more years will clear up the issue.

Dr. Clare Mckenzie, consultant gynecological oncologist and vice president for the Royal Col-lege of Obstetricians and Gynae-cologists in the UK, agreed, ac-cording to The Telegraph.

“Women who are worried about ovarian cancer should talk to their doctor who can explain

the risk of cancer and available tests,” she said.

With a poor prognosis for ovarian cancer, the results of the trial, the biggest of its kind, have been long-awaited. Scientists have been seeking a method for decades that would detect the disease in time to save lives, ac-cording to The New York Times. In the early stages of the cancer, there are no symptoms and it can progress quickly. As a result, most cases of the condition are advanced by the time women are diagnosed with it: Less than half of ovarian cancer patients remain alive within five years of their diagnosis.

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

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

“It is good news because ovar-ian cancer is a serious problem,” said Robert Smith, vice president for cancer screening at the Amer-ican Cancer Society, according to The New York Times. “The incidence is not high, but it has a high mortality rate and we’ve not been able to offer women much with respect to early detection.

This has the potential to change that.”

Dr. Fiona Reddington, head of population research at Cancer Research UK, said the trial has significantly contributed in un-derstanding ovarian cancer.

“Detecting it early is vital to make sure that patients have the best treatment options and that more women can survive the dis-ease,” she said, adding that the

organization would not suggest such screenings on a national level.

“While this is an important step in ovarian cancer research, we would not recommend a na-tional screening program at this point.”

Dr. Saundra Buys, a profes-sor of medicine and medical director of the high-risk breast cancer clinic at the University

of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer In-stitute, told the Times that the amount of screening is “a lot” for the amount of resulting ben-efit. Still, she said the study was “an amazing accomplishment,” but noted that the issue with screening for ovarian cancer is the disease is difficult to screen due to its lack of symptoms and aggressive growth, the Times reported. ■

Yesterday the high tribunal not only lifted the TRO but also gave the green light for the program, which requires all voters to have their biometric data taken. The Comelec embarked on a nationwide information campaign for over a year, warning that voters could be disenfranchised in 2016 if they failed to have their biometrics tak-en. Only those living in a cave, or who suffered se-vere physical impairment throughout the year, or who deliberately rejected the program could have failed to have their biometric data recorded.

The biometrics program was mandated under the election law and the Comelec simply imple-mented it. No law is perfect and the biometrics program has always had its critics. But the law has been passed after public deliberations, and

the right of suffrage has certain requirements that must be met before it can be exercised. The majority of voters complied with

those requirements and want the elections to pro-ceed as scheduled.

The petitioners may seek a reconsideration of the SC ruling, although the tribunal is unlikely to reverse its unanimous decision. The Comelec can proceed with its preparations for the 2016 general elections, which have already been set back by questions on the voting machines to be used and which company would supply them. Yesterday’s SC ruling meant one less hurdle for the Comelec. There’s still too much work ahead to ensure that the general elections will be orderly, clean and credible. (Philstar.com)

OPINION FEATURES

Guest Editorial

THE Commission on Elections was accused of trying to blackmail the Supreme Court. But Comelec officials had valid reason to worry about the temporary restraining order issued by the SC on the imple-mentation of the “no bio, no boto” voter biometrics program of the poll body. Comelec officials warned that the TRO, if not lifted soon, could lead to the suspension of the May 2016 vote.

One less hurdle

“OPINION is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no un-derstanding. The highest form of knowledge… is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world. It requires profound purpose larger than the self kind of understand-ing.” –Bill Bullard

“Exposure to the art of writing – or rather, arts, there are many forms of writing – increases our ability to empathize…that art of feeling connected to the narrative fate of a character on a flat page, if you can empathize with that, it can wake up a dormant ability to empathize with others in the world around you, even when they look, behave or believe differently from you.” –Fred D’Aguiar, in Jessica Wolf’s UCLA College Report’s article.

Do you remember Kim Phuc, known as “Girl in the Picture,” who became a symbol of the Viet-nam War? Her back was severely burned from an accidental napalm bomb, dropped by the South Vietnamese military in the Trang Bang, Tay Ninh province in Vietnam on June 8, 1972. She was just 9 years old.

Kim was running naked from black smoke and mayhem, as captured by Nick Ut, an Associated Press photographer.

In an interview with KABC 7, Ut described this experience: “I keep shooting, shooting pictures of Kim running. Then when she passed my camera, I saw her body burned so badly, I said, ‘Oh my God, I don’t want no more pictures.’ She was screaming and crying. She just said, ‘I’m dying, I’m dying, I’m dying,’ and, ‘I need some water, bring water.’ Right away, [I] run and put water on her body. I want to help her. I say no more pictures, I want to help Kim Phuc right away.” She was treated at a hospital; today, five decades later, her scars, known as keloids, are still being treated by lasers to reduce her pain from them.

Empathy flowedI met Kim Phuc in West Los Angeles at a tony

place in a hillside, decades ago. The hosts orga-

nized a fundraiser to finance Kim’s cosmetic surgeries. Dressed elegantly in white linen, she talked to us, in an amiable manner, while sharing objectively what happened to her, without bitterness, rancor or anger.

Candles illuminated the back-yard, with lights reflected from the poolside, and a majestic view of the hillsides. It was as if our hearts melted, much like the pe-rimeter candles, formed and linked as one source of light.

After Kim Phuc spoke, in less than 30 minutes, checks were written to underwrite her healing sur-geries from her burns. When asked to show her scars, she discreetly moved into a private room, and to each person who wanted to see her burns, including myself, she gently peeled off the back-side of her Haute couture blouse, designed to al-low her arm movements, given her limited range of motions. Her back revealed a keloidal scarring, resembling variegated lace-like, interconnected roots of a tree, but with burnt flesh and swollen tissue.

The Associated Press described her decades-long suffering: “Triggered by scarred nerve end-ings that misfire at random, her pain is especially acute when the seasons change in Canada, where Phuc defected with her husband in early 1990s. The couple lives outside Toronto with her two sons, ages 21 and 18.

“Phuc says her Christian faith brought her phys-ical and emotional peace “in the midst of hatred, bitterness, pain, loss, hopelessness,” when the pain seemed insurmountable. ‘No operation, no medication, no doctor can help to heal my heart. The only one is a miracle, [that] God loves me,’ she says. ‘I just wish one day I am free from pain.’”

In an interview with NPR, Kim Phuc spoke of forgiveness as freeing her from hatred. She told

us that while her body might be in pain, her heart has been cleansed.

“If that little girl in the picture can do it, ask yourself: Can you?” NPR continues.

That question is also what I ask myself: can I be that forgiving?

“Napalm is very powerful, but faith, forgiveness and love are

much more powerful. We would not have war at all if everyone could learn how to live with true love, hope, and forgiveness,” Kim Phuc added.

She is now receiving laser treatment from Dr. Jill Waibel in Florida, free of charge, to reduce her aches and pain, “almost all of her back.”

Syrian Refugee drowned: an opportunity for empathy

On September 3, 2015, 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi drowned. His body – clad in red shirt and blue pants – was washed ashore in a Turkish beach re-sort of Bodrum. “The boy’s family came from Ko-bani, where fierce fighting between Islamic state insurgents and Kurdish forces earlier this year,” The Guardian reported.

The family escaped Syria and by way of Tur-key, tried to reach Canada. Their refugee applica-tions were denied for incompleteness. Netizens on social media expressed their outrage through commentaries for about a week or so, using the hashtag #KiyiyaVuranInsanlik (humanity washed ashore).

In Canada, the newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau personally welcomed 160 Syr-ian refugees this December. He said, “welcome to your new home,” shortly after they landed in Toronto. His treatment of Syrian refugees reso-nated with the world, as well as the Arabic world, reversing a nascent attitude of hostility from so-lidifying.

Unlike those preaching fears, Fred D’Aguiar is a former psychiatric nurse and his work is fu-

eled by a creative practice and teaching aesthetic deeply imbued with a commitment to empathy. As D’Aguiar spoke to UCLA Today’s Jessica Wolf: “I am excited about the diverse demographic mix of Los Angeles, how it looks as a visual map of cul-ture. If a course at UCLA can resemble that map, it’s very exciting.”

The next time we meet someone different, a for-eigner, remember that his or her story is Jesus’ story. Perhaps, allow ourselves to walk more than a mile in their shoes and include them in our con-sciousness, to be part of our families, in thoughts, in deeds.

Barbara Kingsolver tells us that “Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It’s the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else’s pain is as mean-ingful as your own.”

In 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

One who preaches fear is similarly not made perfect in love, whether clothed in priestly vest-ments, corporate business suits appearing on tele-vision, uniformed armed police or a teacher.

Much like a billboard, on the way to Glendale says, “Love is greater than fear. Fear is a liar. God is Love.”

* * *

Let’s �ll up our empathy tanks

PROSY ABARQUEZ-DELACRUZ, J.D.

Rhizomes

THE CNN weather-man said Typhoon Nona shouldn’t be happening at this time of the year and there could be an-other on the way. He explained the waters off the Philippines is a de-gree or so warmer than it should be and that makes typhoons possible.

According to basic atmospheric science, warm water is the fuel of ty-phoons. The faster evaporation means greater condensation and greater pre-cipitation, or rain. Thus, we can expect intense rainfall and more flooding.

The warming of sea water around the Philippines also expands water to cause a rise in sea level. This puts our coastal towns and cities at risk.

We have 832 municipalities and 25 cities classified as coastal areas. We can see even now the adverse economics of climate change on our archipelagic country in terms of extreme flooding, decrease in fish catch, and weakening tourism opportunities.

Typhoons in December are consid-ered a rarity. But these typhoons seem to be happening more and more in re-cent years. There was a time when by October or November we can be more or less certain of good weather. Not anymore.

This is something we can blame on

climate change. We are supposed to be on ground zero for climate change ca-lamities. The sea-sonal typhoons will be stronger and we have to be prepared to deal with the devastating conse-

quences in this new normal.It is providential that Sen. Loren Le-

garda, the tireless advocate of climate change mitigation efforts, ended up as chair of the Senate Finance Commit-tee at just this crucial time. Under her leadership, Sen. Legarda made sure the 2016 national budget will allow us to ensure greater disaster and climate change resilience.

For instance, she made sure there is sufficient budget to re-design criti-cal public infrastructure and build new ones that are resilient to strong earth-quakes, typhoons, flood and other ex-treme weather events. In retrofitting bridges and other public infrastructure, the government shall give priority to ar-eas considered to be highly vulnerable to seismic activity.

Sen. Legarda also designed the bud-gets for DILG and DPWH to enable these two agencies to construct green and re-silient evacuation centers in every region in the country. I guess using schools as evacuation centers is not always tenable.

During Yolanda, many evacuees per-ished because the school buildings were not built strong enough to withstand the strong winds and flash floods.

There are many skeptics about the science of climate change, but whatever one might think, it makes a lot of sense to take care of the environment we live in. For example, it is horrible how we treat the air we breathe and the land that supplies our food as trash bins.

We are even now, breathing lethal garbage into our lungs causing many chronic and deadly illnesses. And the poison we throw to the ground end up polluting the food we eat.

Just looking at pictures of Beijing a few weeks ago with almost zero vis-ibility, thanks to carbon emissions of power plants and factories, should con-vince anyone something is very wrong. It may not seem as hopeless in Metro Manila, but EDSA or C5 on a normal day is probably as lethal.

If you live in the hills of Antipolo, the gray smog that envelops the metro area below is very alarming. I got really wor-ried when I saw that myself one morn-ing after an overnight stay at a confer-ence center on Sumulong Highway. I can’t be breathing all that dirt, I thought to myself, but indeed I sure am, day af-ter day. That explains a resurgence of childhood asthma in addition to chronic sinusitis.

The observation had been made that

our country might have committed too much in the Paris Climate Change Treaty by pledging to reduce our pol-lution levels 70 percent by 2030, even if we only contribute 0.3 percent of the global CO2 emissions.

Well, our government may have promised too much and maybe that could impact on our economic growth prospects. It is true that outside of Met-ro Manila, Metro Cebu and other highly urbanized cities, the Philippines is rath-er clean. We aren’t developed enough to abuse the environment with extreme volumes of carbon emissions.

Maybe, having made the commit-ment, our government will be forced to cut our CO2 emissions where these are most problematic – Metro Manila and Metro Cebu. Maybe, we will get LTO and the PNP to more seriously imple-ment anti-smoke belching laws with no exceptions.

Maybe, government officials will have the political balls to more quickly phase out transport vehicles powered by old diesel engines that are responsible for a big part of our emission problem. The attempt last week to do that forced LT-FRB to beat a hasty retreat after jeepney drivers threatened to strike.

Our big problem is power genera-tion. Coal is the fuel of choice by private sector power generators because of its economic advantage over other power sources. At present, coal dominates the

country‘s energy mix and accounts for 42.5 percent of power generated.

A study by US consultancy firm IHS projects a rise to 56 percent by 2020 in light of the 23 new coal-fired power plants lined up for commercial opera-tions in the next five years. Barring any intervention, this will further increase to 75 percent by 2030 – the highest share of coal among countries in Asia.

If we are doomed to this reality at risk of suffering the consequences of inadequate power, government must make sure the coal power plants put in enough of today’s cutting edge tech-nology to clean the emissions of coal plants. The private sector power com-panies must invest in these mitigation technologies or government must force them to.

The per kilowatt hour cost of coal generated electricity must include the cost of making sure it does not add to our pollution problem. The cost of elec-tricity generated by Semirara coal must include as well that very obvious dam-age to the environment in Semirara Is-land and its rehabilitation.

In any case, the Paris accord signals the end of fossil fuels and it is best that we recognize this fact early and actively prepare for it. Luckily, the technology for alternative and renewable energy has also advanced significantly, bring-ing down cost to power consumers at

Typhoon in December

BOO CHANCO

Demandand Supply

u

DATELINE PHILIPPINES

or near grid parity with fossil fuels.Our Department of Energy has realized all these

developments and recently unveiled its targeted 30-30-30 rule for the country‘s energy mix. This means, natural gas, coal and renewables will have the same 30 percent share in our energy mix with the remaining 10 percent going towards alterna-tive technologies. A Shell study shows a 30-30-30 mix will not cost more to consumers.

Inevitably, it is about reducing one’s carbon footprint. Sen. Legarda said it best: “The solutions to climate change are technical and complex, but one of the fundamental solutions is to change our collective consciousness, specifically consumer-ism and our throwaway culture.

“Saving on electricity, using low carbon technol-ogies, conserving water, eating local food, plant-ing more trees, among others, are just some of the simple ways by which we can significantly contrib-ute to protecting our planet,” the senator said.

In other words, there are things governments must do. There are also things private industry, specially the power companies, must do. Then there are things we as individuals can do.

It is difficult to break old habits or to veer away

from quick short term profits using fossil fuels. But in the end, there is a price to pay in terms of our health, our safety and eventually our survival in this planet.

Typhoons in December may be seen as a warn-ing of sorts from Mother Nature that things can only get worse, if we continue with our environ-mentally damaging ways. The Paris accord on Climate Change may seem too ambitious or not ambitious enough. The important thing is it got approved at all to serve as a measuring stick in our attempt to modify our behavior for our sake.

Being responsible for only 0.3 percent of the global CO2 emissions is not a good excuse to be complacent and do nothing. Let us think EDSA… we must clean up the air in Metro Manila starting at EDSA…

Pity the traffic enforcers and the commuters breathing all that noxious air. And if you think you are safe in your air conditioned car, you aren’t. We are breathing this noxious brew of pollutants to-gether, shortening our life expectancy. We all need to do something because every little bit counts.

* * *

Typhoon in…t

MANILA – Beijing on Wednes-day, Dec. 16 denied reports that its construction activities on islands and reefs in the South China Sea damage marine eco-logical environment.

This follows the report from BBC News that Chinese fisher-men are destroying coral reefs in the South China Sea.

“The relevant report is severe-ly biased and misleading. The Nansha Islands are China’s terri-tory. China cares about ecologi-cal protection of relevant islands, reefs and waters more than any-one,” Chinese Foreign Minsitry Spokesperson Hong Lei said in a press conference.

Hong stressed that China un-derwent scientific evaluation and argumentation before starting construction in the islands and reefs.

“Placing equal emphasis on construction and protection, Chi-na has taken into full account is-sues like ecological environment and fishery protection, strictly followed environmental stan-dards and requirements during construction, and adopted many effective measures to protect ecological environment,” Hong said.

On the other hand, BBC News

China denies damaging reefs in disputed sea

correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reported how hundreds of white coral branches in the in the Spratly or Nansha Islands have been damaged because of Chi-nese fishing activities.

Wingfield-Hayes narrated how he went underwater and saw that the sea floor was covered in a thick layer of broken fragments of coral.

“I swam on and on. In every di-rection the destruction stretched for hundreds of meters, piles and piles of shattered white coral branches. It seemed so illogi-cal. Why would fishermen, even

poachers, destroy a whole coral system like this?” Wingfield Hayes said in his report.

The BBC News correspondent described the situation of the sea “complete devastation.”

During the hearing on the mer-its case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, the Philippines hit China for interfering with fishing activities in the disputed South China Sea.

The Philippine delegation ar-gued that China’s construction activities in the region destroy the sea bed. ■

by PATRICIA LOURDES VIRAYPhilstar.com

MANILA – The United States Millennium Challenge Corpo-ration (MCC) has unanimously re-selected the Philippines for a second grant package for devel-opment assistance.

The US aid agency, estab-lished by the US Congress in

JUST days before Christmas, an overseas Filipino worker in Saudi Arabia who is currently on death row is seeking financial help from the public to be spared from execution.

Joselito Zapanta, who worked as tile-setter in Saudi Arabia in 2007, was arrested and sen-tenced to death for the murder of his Sudanese landlord after a heated altercation over rent in June 2009.

His landlord’s widow sought blood money amounting to 5 mil-lion Saudi Riyal or equivalent to P50 million, which was later re-duced to P48 million. With the help of the government, Zapan-ta’s family was able to raise P23 million, still P25-million short of

Filipino on Saudi Arabia death row appeals P25 M to spare lifeby YUJI VINCENT GONZALES

Inquirer.netthe demand.

Senatorial aspirant Susan Ople, president of the Blas F. Ople Poli-cy Center, said Zapanta’s mother and sister sought the help of the organization to publicize their appeal to the media.

“Unfortunately, the Sudanese family has refused any amount lower than their demand of P48 million. This means that the Za-panta family needs to raise P25 million in a span of two weeks, or maybe less, considering that a royal decree had already been issued for the implementation of

the sentence,” Ople said.“Joselito called me up yester-

day to seek help and gave per-mission for the family to make the necessary media rounds with the hope that some good Samaritans would be able to help them. The amount is so huge and the family is really cash-strapped and extremely poor,” she added.

Ople said she was able to con-firm the urgency of Zapanta’s case herself through the Philip-pine Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

“Last Monday, I was in Riyadh

PH to get second Millennium Challenge package from US

by PIA LEE-BRAGOPhilstar.com

2004, is independent from the State Department that ad-ministers the USAID. It aims to deliver long-term economic im-provements to developing coun-tries.

The formal re-selection of the Philippines by the MCC Board of Directors on Dec. 16 was an-nounced yesterday by the MCC.

Philippine Ambassador to the

US Jose Cuisia Jr. said “the re-selection of the Philippines for a second compact is a recogni-tion of President Aquino’s firm and continuing commitment to good governance.”

The re-selection, a recogni-tion of the country’s continu-ing efforts to improve its per-formance on MCC’s scorecard which measures countries’ commitment to ruling justly, ensuring economic freedom and genuinely investing in their people, followed the board’s decision last year that the Phil-ippines was eligible for a sec-ond compact.

The second compact is ex-pected to succeed the first that expires at the end of May 2016.

Approved in 2010, the first compact provided the Philip-pines with $262 million for the Secondary National Roads Development Project to im-prove access to markets and services for farmers, fishermen and small businessmen; $120 million for Kalahi-CIDSS that empowers communities by en-couraging their participation in poverty reducing activities; and $54.3 million for the computer-ization and streamlining of busi-ness processes of the Bureau of Internal Revenue to bolster tax collection and reduce corrup-tion under the Revenue Admin-istration Reform Project. ■

to meet with Philippine Ambas-sador to Riyadh Ezzedin Tago. He confirmed that Joselito’s case has become extremely urgent. We are talking about weeks here, hence the need for the family to go public in order to seek every-one’s help,” she said.

Those who wish to contribute to the blood money to be given to the Sudanese family may deposit or remit any amount to the Phil-ippine Embassy account at Saudi Hollandi Bank, 037-040-790-022, or contact the Ople Center for more information. ■

MANILA — The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday, Dec. 17 summoned thirty mem-bers of the police Special Action Force to appear at the hearing on the Mamasapano encounter that claimed the lives of 44 SAF troopers in January.

The SAF commandos asked to attend the DOJ hearing failed to appear before the preliminary hearing on Thursday.

Senior Assistant State Pros-ecutor Rose Anne Balauag failed to send the subpoena for the 30 troopers to subscribe to their sworn affidavits.

Only four SAF officials, headed by Chief Superintendent Noli Talino, were able to appear be-fore the hearing and execute their affidavits.

Talino then suggested to pros-ecutors to issue a subpoena through the Philippine National Police (PNP) Directorate for per-sonnel and records.

DOJ summons 30 SAF commandos for probe

The 30 PNP-SAF members were earlier probed by the PNP Board of Inquiry.

Meanwhile, only three of the more then 90 respondents in the case of complex crime of direct assault with murder and theft have filed their respective counter-affi-davits through their lawyers.

The case was only intended for

the death of 35 PNP-SAF com-mandos killed in a cornfield in a Tucanalipao, Mamasapano, Ma-guindanao on January 25.

The case for the death of the nine other PNP-SAF members killed in the nipa hut where terror suspect Zulkifli Abdhir alias Mar-wan was killed was not filed for lack of witnesses at the scene. ■

by ROSETTE ADELPhilstar.com

THE Philippine Red Cross (PRC) is asking the public for donations to help close to 1.3 million people affected by the onslaught of Typhoon “Nona” (international name: Melor).

PRC Chair Richard Gordon on Friday, Dec. 18 said the drive was in response to the reports of “extensive damage” to infra-structure, agriculture and homes in the provinces of Samar, Orien-tal Mindoro, Romblon, Palawan, Marinduque, Nueva Ecija, Au-rora and the Bicol region.

PH Red Cross seeks donations for ‘Nona’ victims“With Christmas just a week

away, we want to reach out to more people in Typhoon Nona-affected areas to bring a bit of holiday cheer. The typhoon left many homeless or with dam-aged homes and livelihood, and Christmas may not be celebrated at all in the affected areas,” Gor-don said in a statement.

The PRC said 1,289,405 peo-ple in 83 municipalities had been affected by the typhoon.

In Nueva Ecija, PRC respond-ers were still conducting rescue operations, Gordon said.

He said 11 people had been res-cued from their flooded homes.

The PRC has also started dis-tributing relief goods in the prov-ince.

Cash donations, which will be used to purchase additional goods, as well as tents, can be deposited in the PRC’s bank ac-counts: BDO peso account (00-453190938); BDO dollar account (10-4530039482); Metrobank peso account (151-7-1552434-2) and Metrobank dollar account (151-2-15100218).

Donations can also be dropped off at PRC Tower, 37 Edsa and Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City, or at any PRC chapter office in the country. ■

by JOVIC YEEInquirer.net

DATELINE PHILIPPINES

FUGITIVE Dalia Guerrero Pastor is in Indonesia using fake IDs under the name Amanda Cruz, according to documents obtained by the family of slain car racer Enzo Pastor.

Dalia, who is charged with par-ricide and wanted for the killing of her husband Enzo, married an Indonesian national and is now using the name Amanda Mar-agit, Enzo’s father Tomas Pastor told the Inquirer on Wednesday, Dec. 16.

“She bought a driver’s license from Recto using the name Amanda Cruz. After marrying an Indonesian, she’s now Amanda Maragit,” Tom Pastor said.

Recto refers to Recto Avenue in Manila, where fake docu-ments like IDs, diplomas, pass-ports, land titles and what-have-yous could be re-produced for a fee.

The Indonesian family card and resident card were given by an informant from Indonesia’s immigration office, he said.

The Indonesian documents put into question the notarized motion filed by Dalia’s lawyer in the Court of Appeals to quash her arrest warrant.

Dalia Guerrero Pastor in Indonesia using fake IDs, say documents

“With this information, alam na natin kung nasaan sya. Alam na natin kung anong ID gina-gamit nya, hindi Dalia Guerrero. At yung notary sa Davao, im-posible. Kung papasok sya dito para magpanotary, hindi nya gagawin yun, kasi cancelled na passport nya,” Tomas said.

(We know where she is now. We know what kind of ID she is using, not Dalia Guerrero. And the notary in Davao is impos-sible. If she’s entered [the coun-try] for notary, she won’t be able to do that because of her can-celled passport.)

The CA petition was filed

by Dalia’s lawyer Ruy Alberto Rondain and notarized by Char-maine Valentin in Davao City.

Dalia is accused of conspiring with her rumored lover Sandy de Guzman in the ambush of Enzo Pastor last year. De Guzman and alleged gunman PO2 Edgar An-gel are both detained. ■

A MAGNITUDE 5.2 earth-quake jolted Ilocos Sur on Thurs-day, Dec. 17, state seismologists said.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the quake oc-curred three kilometers north of Lapog in San Juan, Ilocos Sur at 8:44pm.

Phivolcs said the quake was tectonic in origin with a depth of 10 kilometers.

Intensity V was felt in Sinait, Ilocos Sur while Intensity III was felt in Santa Maria town.

The quake was also felt in var-ious areas in Ilocos Norte.

Phivolcs said there was no immediate damage reported but warned the public for after-shocks. ■

5.2-quake jolts Ilocos Sur

by NESTOR CORRALESInquirer.net

by ERIKA SAULERInquirer.net

AFTER pronouncing the death of the Bangsamoro bill, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. now says there may be a slim chance to approve it.

Marcos, chair of the local gov-ernment committee, said one way a Bangsamoro bill could be passed is if the House of Repre-sentatives adopts the Senate’s revised version of it during the bicameral conference commit-tee hearings.

Marcos is the sponsor of the revised Senate bill which is still the subject of interpellations from Senators.

Earlier this week, Marcos said Congress ran out of time to ap-prove it, citing the difficulties of reconciling the House version and the revised Senate version of the bill granting an expanded autonomous homeland to Mus-lims in Mindanao.

Senate versionBut Marcos said he could

speed up the Senate interpella-tion period.

“In our version, if we finish the period of interpellation I think we can find a compromise so we no longer have to debate on the proposed amendments in the plenary,” Marcos said in a statement.

Senators could send him their proposed amendments, agree on what could be made, and let the committee propose these in order to accelerate the process, he added.

Nevertheless, he pointed out that the fate of the bill also hinged on the actions of the House of Representatives.

“But I don’t know how things will go in the House of Represen-tatives. The House terminated the debates on their own version of the bill before adjourning for the Christmas break,” he said.

He also continued to point out obstacles to the measure. He said that even if both houses of Congress approve their versions of the bill, the Bicameral Con-ference Committee could find it difficult to reconcile the conflict-ing provisions of the measures given the limited time.

But the process could be speeded up if the House adopts the Senate version of the bill, he suggested. ■

BBL still alive, but barely

by LEILA SALAVERRIAAND NIKKO DIZON

Inquirer.net

SEAFOOD CITYREGULAR AD

FP

SHOWBIZ&STYLEJOURNALOliver Tolentino comes to Miss Universe-Philippines’ rescue

by ALEX Y. VERGARAInquirer.net

THEY had almost a year to prepare a make-or-break gown for Miss Universe-Philippines Pia Wurtzbach, but for some reason the off-the-rack gown allegedly bought by people behind Binibin-ing Pilipinas Charities, Inc. (BPCI) didn’t fit the voluptuous Filipino-German beauty queen.

With less than a day to go before last the evening’s Miss Universe 2015 preliminary contest on Wednesday, Dec. 16 in Las Vegas, Wurtzbach’s supporters, presumably led by mentor Jonas Gaffud of Aces and Queens, were frantic as they made a last-ditch effort to call Los Angeles-based

Filipino designer Oliver Tolentino for a decent alternative.

Tolentino, who was then on a skiing vacation in Aspen, Colorado, shared this story with Inquirer Lifestyle. He took the call and promised Wurtzbach’s camp to do “whatever I could to help the Phil-ippines.” He didn’t say who made or where Wurtzbach’s original gown was bought.

Wurtzbach, who’s currently competing with 80 other women for the Miss Universe crown, needed to impress judges if she were to advance to the top 16 on coronation night this Sunday, December 20 (Monday morning in Manila), also in Las Vegas. Wear-ing an ill-fitting gown would have

likely ruined her chances.“I had nine gowns from my Bev-

erly Hills boutique sent to Las Ve-gas that very afternoon,” Tolentino said. “I wanted Pia to have as many choices as possible. I also wanted to make sure something fits.”

In the end, Wurtzbach chose a red sleeveless crepe de chine gown with Swarovski-encrusted bodice and thigh-high slit to wear to the preliminaries.

The two-hour show at Planet Hollywood Hotel was live-streamed and seen by millions the world over on YouTube. Like her rivals, Wurtz-bach also paraded earlier in the show in a two-piece swimsuit.

“They said she loved the gown and felt good in it,” said Tolentino.

“She was finally able to relax, which was so important for a candidate the night before the contest.”

Tolentino, who’s one of a hand-ful of Filipino designers to have dressed Oscar, Emmy and Grammy winners and nominees, had no idea why everything was “so last minute.”

“Even though I wasn’t there, I was happy to have helped Pia and the Philippines,” said Tolentino, whose celebrity clients include Jes-sica Alba, Emmy Rossum, Sophia Bush, Ceelo Green, Tara Lipinski Maria Menounos and Carrie Un-derwood.

Wurtzbach and Gaffud have yet

Alden Richards turns emotional over Yaya Dub on ‘monthsary’

MANILA—Alden Richards be-came teary-eyed and emotional during the December 16 episode of GMA-7’s noontime show “Eat Bulaga.”

The episode is tagged as the fifth “monthsary” of Alden and Yaya Dub (played by Maine Mendoza), as it has been five months since the two were first featured together in the “Kalyeserye” segment.

Unlike the usual Kalyeserye seg-ments where the two are outside the “Eat Bulaga” studio, Alden and Maine were the Broadway Centrum in Quezon City.

The two were even positioned at the studio in the exact same place where Alden was the first time she saw Yaya Dub via split screen.

“Kasi, ang tagal ko na sa in-dustry. Four years. Ang dami nang naging challenges. Alam mo naniniwala talaga ako na kapag madasalin kang tao at mabuti kang tao, yung ibibigay sa’yo ng Diyos is kabutihan din,” Alden said when asked by a studio audience to give a message to Maine.

“And ang nakakatuwa kasi, nabigyan ako ng chance to be part

of ‘Eat Bulaga’,” Alden added, at which point he turned teary-eyed.

He continued, “Sobrang thankful ako na dumating ka sa buhay ko, na nakilala kita. Kasi, sobrang laking blessing.”

“Alam mo, naging blessing ka sa akin at sa maraming tao. And for that, nagpapasalamat kaming lahat.”

Meanwhile, Maine told Alden: “Thank you. Thank you sa lahat. Thank you sa lahat ng sakripisyo na ginawa mo para sa Kalyeserye.”

“As in, totoo, ha, thankful talaga ako na dumating ka sa life ko. Kahit kailan, hindi ko makakalimutan ‘yun, sinabi ko naman na sa iyo. Talagang itse-cherish ko siya buong buhay ko, kahit anumang mang-yari,” she added.

Alden and Maine are currently among showbiz’s top love teams thanks to their AlDub love team.

On Wednesday, Google an-nounced that AlDub is the most-searched term in the Philippines for 2015. (Philstar.com)

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

MOONLIGHTING

by MYLAH DE LEON

My Christmas box

IN both fiction and reportage, I’ve always made known that the winding down of autumn and ush-ering of winter put me in a heavy and philosophical mood. I’m thinking about the deep and very private personal needs of people -- a need that when met, gives us a sense of well-being, one of them the best Christmas gift we could give, or perhaps receive.

Once it was just an ordinary Christmas box, decorated and giv-en to me by my eldest daughter. But soon, it became the repository of other relics, sacred and outra-geous given to me by the other three. It became my treasure box which I kept inside my camphor hope chest. Its components were standard: four coloring papers (orange, red, blue and green); wrappers of Toblerone, some little crooked white hearts with scribbles on it; four crayons, short, fat, thin and thick. This white box was held together by a lot of white paste, smeared with choco-late and wrapped in a Christmas wrapper. It also contained a handmade rosary that glowed in the dark, a match, a golf ball and a dried up frog!

Anyway, my Christmas Box isn’t looking too good now. It is a little shriveled and moldy where the chocolate and chewing gum (called and used as hairclip by the youngest) run together.

If you lift the cover, however, anyone will realize why I kept it and took it with me to every place I’ve ever lived. On folded, faded, and fragile pieces of large lined school papers were words, “hello, Mami”, “Hapi Valemstimes” and

a whole lot of “I love you” and “Meri Christmas.” It had snap-shots of their first splash on the deep waters of Hong Kong Shek O beach as I gasped from a nearby yacht, clutching the loving hands of their grandmother.

As they grew older, when over-come by feelings of joy, anger or neglect or whenever emotions ran high, someone was apt to put pen to paper and vent! “Why can’t I bring Papa’s horse to school as my pet?” Please don’t forget to come to my Christmas party or I’ll be “ulila” (orphan) was a note safety pinned on the Christmas Baby’s chest, as I looked in one night coming from a late press conference dinner. “Ate stayed on the phone for 19 minutes, please don’t tell anybody, even

papa” “Mamatay and mauna sa peanut butter! (death to the first one, who gets to the peanut but-ter.) “Thank you for letting me wear your red taffeta but forgive me for sleeping on Porgy and Bess” was a note tied with four (4) tickets from Radio City. Cut out menus from Broadway tickets, playbills, an autographed pic-ture of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and a handmade Niagara falls postcard. I have counted them more than once. Also, scrawled in several places were names they called themselves: Wonder Woman, Sleeping Beauty, Cockroach, Mus-Mus. The treasures of the Pirates of the Caribbean are noth-ing compared to this.

Does anyone have that magic of unexplained joy that envelopes you when you need it most? Like an evidence of love in its most uncomplicated and trustworthy state? One can live a whole life-time, you may receive Christmas gifts of the greatest value and beauty and experience tremen-dous love, but you will never be-lieve in it quite as much as when I look inside that Christmas Box. It makes this world -- with so much pain, stress and mess -- worth all the trouble.

The four girls are all grown up now. They still love me, though it is harder at times to get direct

Chair and CEO of TLC Beatrice, LLCPhilanthropist

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

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

Oliver Tolentino comes to Miss Universe...

to respond to Inquirer Lifestyle’s questions as of press time. It’s also unclear if she would be wear-ing the same Tolentino gown on Sunday.

Gowns worn by Filipino beauty queens to international pageants have been a contentious issue among pageant fans since Stella Marquez-Araneta, chair of BPCI, insisted that winners should only wear gowns bought or commis-sioned for them by BPCI.

She was also quoted as saying in a news report earlier this year that Filipino designers “can’t deliver.”

Surprisingly, a number of for-eign beauty queens have started wearing creations by Filipino designers. Indonesia’s bet to this year’s Miss Universe, for instance, reportedly wore a nude gown with white floral beadwork by Leo Almodal.

The Colombian-born Araneta, a former beauty queen herself, was openly criticized by pageant-crazy Filipinos when Philippine bet to Miss Universe Mary Jean Lasti-mosa failed to make it to the top 5 earlier this year.

It ended the Philippines’ streak of breaking into the world’s most watched pageant’s finals begin-ning with Venus Raj in 2010.

Netizens blamed Lastimosa’s white, fully beaded mermaid gown designed by Colombian designer Alfredo Barraza for ruining her chances. Colombian beauty queen

Paulina Vega, who also wore Bar-raza, ended up winning the title.

Perhaps as a concession, Ara-neta allowed this year’s batch of Binibining Pilipinas winners to wear national costumes designed by Filipinos.

Wurtzbach wore a fully beaded and embroidered ecru terno with tiered hemline and traditional pan-uelo by Albert Andrada. But unlike the important swimsuit and gown competitions, Miss Universe’s national costume portion has no bearing on a contestant’s final scores.

Have a healthy heart for the holidaysContrary to common belief, Christmas is the most stressful time of the year

by CORY QUIRINOInquirer.net

THE general notion is that the holidays mean feasting and merrymaking, plus the unwanted calories, added weight, and heart or high blood sugar problems.

Let’s focus on your heart, because if you keep it strong, ev-erything else will follow. A point of reference: the No. 1 cause of death in the Philippines is heart attack, and the greatest predispos-ing factor is stress.

Unless and until it is urgently needed, most would-be heart patients fear having heart by-pass surgery. There have been many cases of successful heart surgeries but many people also experience side effects like changes in mood and personality, partial memory loss and disorientation.

Contrary to common belief, Christmas is the most stressful time of the year. According to Dr. Chris Enriquez, a cardiologist from the Yale School of Medicine and head of the Philippine-based Rapha Health, a lot of people are not merry, and instead are depressed.

The alarming revelation is that depression is the top cause of suicide worldwide. Medical emer-gencies during this season include heart attack, stroke, bleeding (from physical injuries caused by accidents), and allergic reactions to food or drugs.

So, how does one manage to celebrate Christmas minus the downside?

Balanced meal1) Family and friends—bond-

ing time is important, especially being surrounded by those who love you.

2) Eat right—don’t forget your

“greens.” You may eat your favor-ite dishes, whether they are drip-ping in fat or not—but always have a balanced meal. Never have one kind of dish more than the other.

Whole foods—go for natural and unadulterated. This means fresh greens and fruits. If a certain food is available, for example, an apple, don’t go for the canned ver-sion. Or, instead of french fries, eat baked potato instead.

Complex carbohydrates—they can help you lose weight. Include the following in your diet: salad, vegetables, onions, carrots, garlic, fruits, rice (brown, red, purple, black), and beans.

Protein—keep it lean, and not too frequent. Eat one low-protein meal a day, if you cannot be a vegetarian once a day.

Give your heart a breakHeart food—nutrition is the

single most important component for heart disease prevention. Julian Whitaker, M.D., author of “Is Heart Surgery Necessary?” strongly emphasizes this fact.

If you go vegetarian twice a week, your kidneys will be less burdened. In short, you are giving them a break.

Water flush—drink 10-15 glasses of water daily. The best would be two glasses upon waking up, one glass between meals, two glasses 30 minutes before lunch, three glasses between lunch and dinner, one glass 30 minutes be-fore dinner, and one to two glasses one hour after dinner.

Butter—while it is high in cholesterol and saturated fats, it is better than margarine. Why? Because margarine is hydroge-nated, raises your LDL (bad cho-lesterol) and lowers HDL (good cholesterol). Hydrogenation is the

process of converting a vegetable oil into solid form by introducing a hydrogen atom, which changes the fat molecule. Use cooking oil sparingly.

Best oil—flaxseed oils rank highest in omega 3 at 57 per-cent.

Go fish—make the fatty fish from the sea your main meal. Supplement with omega 3 or flax oil capsules to ensure heart protection. Include coenzyme Q10 in your daily multi-vitamins and minerals regimen.

3) Stay calm—maintain an at-titude of calmness in every way despite the stress of rush shop-ping, drawing up gift lists, the chaos of delivering these gifts, kitchen preparations—all these while having to appear in charge and in control.

4) Quiet time—give yourself adequate “me” time. Sitting qui-etly in a corner to reflect on the blessings of your life is enough to lift your spirits.

5) Give—if you give with no expectations of receiving, your pleasant surprises will grow a thousandfold. Give, if only to see a smile on the face of the recipi-ent.

6) Drink moderately—what is moderate to one could be lethal to another. Use your common sense. Drink to feel good but not up to the point of drunkenness.

7) Exercise—if you don’t have time to hit the gym, brisk walk for 24 minutes or jump 100 times on a rebounder. Go biking, you can enjoy it as a group or lone sport.

8) Change your scenery—ex-change the asphalt jungle for a real forest or seashore. A change of surroundings guarantees clean-er air and a more relaxed you.

My Christmas boxevidence. You see, it is a love that is complicated by age and knowl-edge, confusing values and the men daughters marry (creatures called sons-in-law.). To be sure, it is still love, but it is no longer simple. “The love of grown-up children is not something you can put inside that magic Christmas box.”

That magic box is now nestled in my favorite suitcase. Nobody knows it is there, except me. It is a talisman: a kind of cairn to memory and I think about it each

morning as I dress. This Christ-mas box was what flashed in my mind one sad day in the spring, when like some horror movie in slow motion, my piercing, help-less wail ripped the night as I saw the huge and heavy ceiling-length entertainment center, crashing down on me, shattering my leg, but not my spirit.

Once in a while, I take the box out and open it, and nothing can match the joy and bliss it gives me. And it makes me lift my eyes heavenward in praise of the wonders of the Lord. It is some-

thing I can touch and hold and believe in, especially when love gets difficult and there are no longer the small hands around my neck.

My gentle reader will perhaps find this piece as the worst kind of simple-minded heart ranting mothers drivel about what is the best Christmas gift one could hope for.

But the truth is: no mood rings or mantra can soothe me more than gazing at the box’s contents. It stands for my kind of glorious peace like no one else could.

REVISED_AARP_15_Taguba_Testimonial_HP_FIL_AJ_final.indd 1 11/4/15 9:37 AM

BY MONET LU

G. TÖNGI

The Global Kababayan

Subaru of Glendale o�ers chance to win the Ultimate LA Basketball Experience

‘Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas’

Programming of Kababayan Today, December 21 - 25, 2015

With the holiday season in full swing, Subaru of Glendale will be hosting a special event on Satur-day, Dec. 19, to give kababayans the chance to win the ultimate LA Basketball Experience!

In collaboration with ESPN LA, Subaru of Glendale will of-fer an opportunity for one lucky person to win two tickets to any basketball game in Los Angeles, limo transportation to and from the game, dinner for two, and an autographed game ball or jersey. The event will take place from 11am to 2pm.

The dealership will also extend its generosity during this season of giving during its Share the Love event by donating $250 to charity for every new Subaru vehicle sold or leased from Nov. 19, 2015 to Jan. 2, 2016. Among organiza-tions it has partnered with include the National Wildlife Federation,

Geological Society of America, Meals on Wheels, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Alzheimer’s As-sociation.

At Subaru of Glendale, the team, which includes Filipino fi-nance manager Christian Marilla, takes extra steps to give custom-ers the best experience.

“When I am at work, my team is like my family and my cus-tomers are like my friends. My team of professionals and I work hard to make your experience at Subaru of Glendale a delight,” said Jobe Atashi, general manager at Subaru of Glendale.

Among the ways it does this is by maintaining a large inven-tory of quality and competitively-priced used and new cars. This holiday season, new lease car specials include the 2016 Forester 2.5i and 2016 Legacy 2.5i for $199 per month + tax, the 2016 Outback

2.5i for $239 per month + tax, and the 2016 WRX for $279 per month + tax.* It is also stocked with all the latest Impreza, STI and XV Crosstrek.

The dealership also strives to give customers convenience and comfort by offering free shuttle service, as well as a big screen TV, free coffee and free Wi-Fi on site, while vehicles are being serviced.

Apart from vehicle specials, the dealership is also offering free installation on wiper blades purchased there; discounts on genuine accessories, gears and car parts; oil changes starting at $29.99; a sale on tires with the purchase of four; 20 percent off on a timing belt replacement pack-age; $99.95 on a four-wheel align-ment; a $500 credit on a trade in with a test drive, and more!

Dec. 21 - Executive Director Bicbic Chua talks to G in Manila and shares the work of her NGO, Catholics for RH, an organization for faithful and devout Catholics that choose to spread the mes-sage of awareness on reproduc-tive health.

Both guests on Kababayan Today, 10-year-old Sophia Franka and Gender Bender Serafin Ong take center stage at the Pershing Square Ice Rink to show some basic skills and highlights of their passion for figure skating.

Dec. 22 - New research and statistics show that 24 cases of HIV and Aids are diagnosed every day in the Philippines. Infection rates continue to rise and now one Filipino per hour is tested posi-tive. Pinoy Plus is an organiza-tion of kababayans all living with HIV in the Philippines. Learn the inspiring work of Pinoy Plus with 57-year-old Elena Felix!

Noche Buena is never com-plete without the traditional Fili-pino delicacies we all know and love. Get to know what is available at Goldilocks Cerritos this holiday season.

Dec. 23 - Midweek News Up-dates from the Asian Journal.

BB-8 ANA jet model aircraft on the red carpet at the world premiere of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

THE cast of Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” hit the red carpet for the film’s global pre-miere on Monday, Dec. 14 in Hol-

lywood. The cast and crew pose with one of the most talked about stars of the movie, BB-8—in the form of a jet plane. The aircraft is

a scale model of the real BB-8 ANA JET that was announced earlier in the year alongside an R2-D2 ANA JET and Star Wars ANA JET.

Former host and actress, turned artist and advocate for women, Kat Alano speaks up about the stigma of rape in the Philippines.

Caroline Kennedy, honorary

WHEN malls start playing Christmas songs all day long, you know: Christmas is knock-ing at your door. One of the

holiday anthems often played is the song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Judy Garland. But not everyone knows the story behind this song. Time Magazine Contributor, Wook Kim wrote: “The original lyrics for this lovely holiday song—written for the 1944 musical ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’—were too depressing for the movie’s famous star and director. ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ tells the story of a close-knit fam-ily living in St. Louis in the early 1900s. The family is devastated when the father announces that they will soon be moving to New York City—the news hitting his daughters especially hard. In a memorable scene towards the end of the film, Esther (played by Judy Garland, five years after ‘The Wizard of Oz’) tries to console her younger sister Tootie (Mar-garet O’Brien) with a song. ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ was supposed to paint a picture of fragile hope and optimism.”

I am no “Grinch” but learning about the surprising twist behind this lovely Christmas song gave me some form of relief that I am normal. After all, there could be a reason that I somehow turn mel-ancholic when I hear that song. The same is true for some people whose loved ones have passed on, and those who will be celebrating Christmas alone (they usually call themselves ‘loveless’ or in our native language, ‘samahan ng malalamig lang pasko’). Whatever their reasons are for not ‘having a merry little Christmas,’ it does not stop me from sharing some of the little ways other people can ignite that holiday cheer.

While many people find it hard to be excited about Christ-mas, many are full of reasons to celebrate and be filled with the Christmas Spirit. And you can sense it in them the moment you step into their homes or get in the car. They seem to have

Clothing for Dignity and Success Projectbene�ts Pangasinan State University

PROFESSOR Issam Ghazzawi, Ph.D. of the University of La Verne travels often to Asia and around the world. As a Rotarian and an Enactus Advisor, he saw a great opportunity to serve the needy entrepreneurs and college graduates in Asia. One such op-portunity is to provide books and pamphlets on resume writing and job hunting and business clothing to college graduates for their use. Books on business plans and en-trepreneurial ideas are also to be provided. His original vision was to help the needy new graduates from a university in India. How-ever, because Hindus wear saris instead of the western clothing, he turned his eyes to the Philippines. He, with Dr. Clive Houston-Brown, Vice-President of the University of La Verne, CA. then approached Emma Hilario of the Rotary Club of La Verne if she would initiate La Verne Rotary Club to partner with the University of La Verne and Enactus in the program. Miss Hilario looked at the local universities in Lingayen, Panga-sinan. Knowing that Pangasinan State University offers “TESDA” program, which offers short term programs teaching students job skills in a few months to 2 years for the graduates to land in a meaningful job or business, Miss Hilario recommended that the program beneficiary is the Panga-sinan State University. After the Pangasinan State University was selected, the project got bigger and other Rotary Clubs and other organizations joined in.

In mid-November, several large bins were placed in differ-ent parts of the University of La Verne campus. By the end of the

month, all the bins were full, and donations from the other Rotary Clubs and other organizations were collected. On December 4, 2015 starting at 9:00 am, Enac-tus students and other students

from the College of Business, Professor Issam Ghazzawi, PhD and Emma Hilario sorted and boxed more than 6,000 pieces of clothing and clothing acces-sories. Other items sent were books on resume writing and job hunting. Also included, were books on business planning and entrepreneurial skills. The boxes were picked up that afternoon for shipping to the Pangasinan State University, through the Rotary Club of Lingayen, Pangasinan, Philippines.

In behalf of the University of La Verne, Enactus, Rotary Inter-national and the recipient Pan-gasinan State University, special thanks are given to the University of La Verne Enactus Club, Rotary Club of Pomona, Waste Manage-ment and to all who in one way or another supported the program. 36 boxes were shipped.

transformed their homes into a mini Christmas concert, and their cars into a Christmas-themed party van. In light of that, as my first tip, I suggest you listen to good Christmas songs – and there are a ton of them! Among my all-time favorites are Nat King Cole’s Christmas music, “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney, “White Christ-mas” by Bing Crosby, “Happy Christmas (War is Over)” by John Lennon, “Frosty the Snowman”, All I Want For Christmas is You by Mariah Carey, “Jingle Bells”, “Christmas Lights” by Coldplay, and of course, Michael Buble’s Christmas medley. Also, if you have satellite TV, watch the music channels as they play Christmas songs.

Some people love to have a Christmas songs playing in the background while they do other things, while some watch some great classic Christmas movies. Whatever tickles your Christmas-fancy – go for it. Christmas is also a great time to get in touch

Programming of Kababayan Today...Pilipina talks about the CD project called Not in Our Name to spread the message of PEACE to the World. This is an an anti-Iraq war, anti-Blair CD for Christmas 2015. Watch for details.

Dec. 24 - Likhaan Womens Health Center is a NGO that G Tongi has worked with for several years that organizes grass roots movement to provide women and family accesss to reproductive health. Learn about Likhaan for our Noche Buena episode.

Kurius, the new show from Cirque De Soleil is in Los Angeles at the Dodger Stadium. G Tongi gets a one on one exclusive with the Fil-Am who has been part of the production, int he kitchen and the pride of raising our flag to be represented among the many nationalities of the company.

Dec. 25 - Dawn Zulueta is an icon in the Philippine landscape of entertainment. Kababayan Today features her for the first time with an exclusive interview about her family life, career and holiday

greetings to Kababaayna living abroad. Paskong handog namin sa inyong lahat!

***

‘Have yourself a Merry Little...with family and friends. Call or email friends whom you have not talked to in a while – you have a reason to now because, well, “It’s Christmas!’

If you have time and some hidden creativity that is waiting to be unleashed, decorate as much as you can with ornaments, Christmas cards, strings, ribbons, candy canes and more. You may also send out Christmas cards! Visit your neighborhood craft store and indulge yourself in making personalized Christmas cards. I speak from experience when I say these are the most effective stress relievers you can treat yourself to on the holidays. Speaking of stress, one very effec-tive way to de-stress this holiday and make a “merry-little-happy-Christmas home” is by de-clut-tering. Make sure everything is clean and uncluttered. By doing so, you feel more at peace and homey. Partner that moment with a white peppermint mocha latte and you feel like sitting on Santa’s lap with a wish list in hand.

The best way to feel the Christ-

mas spirit is by giving. Donate your time and/or money to those in need. Think of your less fortu-nate relatives or that homeless person you often see across the street. Try to do something good for another person -- it can be from holding the door to taping some quarters on to a vending machine with a note. And of course, give gifts! It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it would be a lot more special if you person-alize it.

In closing, everyone can have a ‘merry little Christmas’ espe-cially when you can help them have one.

‘Heneral Luna’ fails to make Golden Globes cut

JERROLD Tarog’s highly ac-claimed historical film “Heneral Luna” failed to be selected as one of the nominees in the foreign language film catego-ry of the 73rd Golden Globe Awards.

Golden Globes announced that the films that will be competing for the awards are “The Brand New Testament” from Belgium, “The Club” from Chile, “The Fencer” from Finland, “Mus-tang” from France, and “Son of

by YUJI VINCENT GONZALESInquirer.net

Saul” from Hungary.“Heneral Luna” was among

the 71 foreign films from 46 countries initially vying for the award.

The winner will be announced during the awards ceremony on January 10, 2016, which will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and will be hosted by Ricky Gervais.

Dubbed as the “highest-gross-ing Filipino historical film of all time,” “Heneral Luna” is also the Philippines’ bet to the 88th Acad-emy Awards for the Best Foreign Language film category.

SEAFOOD CITY ADVERFPFC

Jonalyn Viray singing a new tuneby JERRY DONATO

Philstar.com

MANILA—Jonalyn Viray has started a new chapter in her show-biz life by forging a partnership with Creative Media Entertainment after spending 10 fruitful years at GMA 7. She and her new management are looking for new platforms to showcase further Jonalyn’s vocal chops and versatility.

“While I was working with GMA, Creative Media Entertainment was there to back me up and it produced concerts and albums for me,” Jona-lyn said. “They (the people behind the company) have been there with me for many years.”

With this latest development in her career, Jonalyn clarified that “I’m not totally leaving GMA. I’m still open to appear in any of its shows and, at the same time, I’m open to work with other networks, like ABS-CBN and TV5.”

Toying with the idea of becom-ing a freelance talent started when Jonalyn’s Sunday concert musical variety show Sunday All Stars bade goodbye on air. Although she was offered to appear in Sunday Pina-saya, Jonalyn begged off.

“(Sunday Pinasaya) is more fo-cused on comedy,” she said. “I had to be honest with the management. (I told them) that (comedy) is not my forte or the direction (and path) I want to tread. We had meetings. Alam po nila na wala na akong con-tract ngayon and I’m now freelance. Actually, there was a negotiation, yun nga lang di nagtagpo (dun) sa path na gusto kong puntahan.” This is perhaps part of how she has envisioned herself to be in the coming years — that of a singer who

explores varied musical genres and collaborates with different artists.

Jonalyn’s upcoming album set to be released next year is the first step to it. Her latest single titled Heart Of Glass is a sneak peek into this musi-cal venture and can be downloaded from digital stores.

“I want to focus on the music scene and the concert scene,” she said. “I want to release new songs and new albums. (As for the album,) hindi naman talaga lalayo o hihiwa-lay (sa mga kanta na nagawa ko na). (I’m not totally veering away from the songs I’ve done before). The sound will be updated. I’m sure, yun pa rin yung gusto ng tao, kung saan sila na sanay sa sound ko. I’m sure yun pa rin ang hahanap-hanapin sa akin pag naglabas ako ng mate-rial. It’s just that the materials I’m releasing soon offer a new and updated sound. There is a touch of pop-urban. I have upbeat songs in the album. It has like a classic, disco feel with EDM sound. The themes like love, however, remain the same.” Although she is now into these new songs, Jonalyn said she still considers Mariah Carey and Beyoncé her ultimate influences and appreciates the music of Sam Smith.

In her recent pocket interview, Jonalyn exuded the aura of happi-ness and her voice was definitely full of excitement.

“I’m very happy that I’m under Creative Media Entertainment,” she said. “I’m also given the cre-ative freedom to choose the songs and to work with my songwriter Edmund Perlas. (I’m also consulted about) the arrangement of songs. I have really dedicated myself to

this. I’m glad that Creative Media Entertainment is there to guide me.”

“My show (Journey Into My Heart), which was mounted last November, will have a repeat,” Jonalyn answered. It will be fol-lowed by the release of more songs, and music videos. So far, Jonalyn and her team wrapped up shooting three MTVs and the power belter was thankful to Ian Celis Productions “for helping us create astig music videos.” The song Somebody Like You and its music video will see Jonalyn performing with guest artist Den-nis Trillo, a rock singer in his own right. Jonalyn said that Dennis fits the pop-alternative leaning of the song, reminding one of One Republic.

For this latest outing, Jonalyn has worked with songwriter Ed-mund and Swedish and American songwriters. The launch of her five-track EP is in the pipeline. It is an addition to Jonalyn’s full-length On My Own and self-titled albums, which spawned such hits as Nakita Kang Muli and Help Me Get Over You, the soundtrack of My Husband’s Lover.

With that, Jonalyn is welcoming the New Year with new manage-ment and new music.

Vice Ganda on MMFF competition: You have to handle threat positively

MANILA—Vice Ganda admit-ted that there is “pressure” in the upcoming 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival.

The comedian will be facing stiff competition in this year’s MMFF from Vic Sotto and Ai Ai delas Alas’s “My Bebe Love: #KiligPaMore” and Kris Aquino’s “All You Need is Pag-Ibig,” among others.

“Lagi naman may pressure, dapat ay pressure, kailangan i-entertain mo ang threat,” he said in a recent interview.

However, he pointed out that this shouldn’t affect how he per-forms in the movie.

“You have to handle threat posi-tively,” he explained. “Dapat ‘yong threat na ‘yon maging reason para galingan mo, paghusayan mo lalo, para panindigan mo ang dapat mo panindigan. Hindi ‘yon dapat maging dahilan pavra matakot ka, lamunin ka ng nerbyos lamang.”

T h e d i r e c t o r o f t h e film, Wenn Deramas, promised the viewers that “hindi kami

nag-ulit o [hindi] luma ang com-edy na makikita dito, ‘yong action may tight shot, may wide shot na makikita ninyong sila talaga ‘yong winawasiwas sa helicopter, at ‘yong talon ni Vice mula sa he-

Michael V: ‘Bubble Gang’ a re�ection of societyEven if TV audiences are

quite fickle, GMA 7’s gag show, “Bubble Gang (BG),” continues to tickle. As it celebrates its 20th anniversary, the show promises not to burst the bubble.

The brains behind the long-running comedy show, Michael V aka Bitoy has “bottomless creative juices.” Kudos to Bitoy and the rest of the “BG” team for keeping Pinoys’ sense of humor alive amid the nonsensical po-litical circus. Thank you, “Bubble Gang,” for the gift of laughter.

Here’s my one-on-one with Bitoy:

What is the secret of “BG’s” staying power?

We always have to be two or three or four steps ahead of our competition. Passion has been developed in the core of our creative group, and I’m working hard to extend that to the whole cast. That’s what “BG” has, which other shows don’t. If you look at your show as a source of income, that’s when it becomes “just another show.” But if you treat it like family…We had no plans of lasting this long, but the show went on and on. The audience liked it! “BG” is a reflection of so-ciety. Maybe that’s why we click, because viewers see themselves in our show!

Tell us about the process of conceptualizing the show’s segments.

I believe the creative process can be broken down in four steps: 1) Members of the creative staff bring their ideas to every meet-ing. 2) We discuss each idea to improve or drop it. 3) Approved idea is assigned to a writer, who will write a script. 4) Actors are given a free hand to do their own take, or add a twist to the script to make it unique.

When “BG” started, all writ-ers wanted to be unique. But sometimes, uniqueness borders on being “weird” which, often

translates to “not being funny.” We then agreed that every gag or sketch should have this tradi-tional formula for a joke: setup + punchline = funny.

We agreed to just stick to original material. A lot of them may have been influenced by an existing joke, but we made sure we changed either the setup or the punchline.

Of all the characters you’ve portrayed, which one is your favorite?

Junie Lee is the one that is closest to me. He is the side of me that I don’t want others to see—shy, awkward and unpre-pared. Just like in Jerry Lewis’ “The Nutty Proffesor” movie, Junie Lee is Professor Julius Kelp while I play Buddy Love. Junie Lee is the real deal!

How did Ogie Alcasid’s ab-sence change “BG” and the cast?

I had no choice. Ogie needed to transfer. It was more of an obligation for him to help some people. Instead of moping about it, I chose to be professional and go on with what Ogie and I started. I thought of it as a new beginning. I had an epiphany that it’s my mission to train new talents and make something out of them.

How do you and the team handle artistic differences?

By being open to just about anything regarding the show.

How do you want “Bubble Gang” to be remembered?

A lot of people from differ-ent parts of our society look at “Bubble Gang” differently. Some people will remember it as the worst comedy show while some, the best.

What I don’t want people to forget is that “Bubble Gang” was created not to earn money, not to gain ratings and most especially not to promote hate.

At its heart, the show was cre-

ated to promote and generate laughter. Personally, the only regret I’ll probably ever have is when I can’t make anyone smile anymore.

When I’m gone, I just want the laughter to continue, one way or another. I know it sounds noble, but we all need a good laugh all the time. (Inquirer.net)

licopter walang daya.”“Ayaw namin dayain ‘yong tao

dahil hindi rin naman daya ‘yong bayad nila sa amin,” he added.

Vice also said that if there’s any competition for his upcoming film that will be his last film, “The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin” which was also an entry for MMFF last year.

“Kampante po ako,” he said when asked if he’s confident about the success of his upcoming film. “Kasi record ko rin naman ang kalaban ko.”

“Tsaka unang-una I really claim it na bobongga ito, malaki ang kikitain nito, na nagkakatotoo naman,” he added. “Kasi mag-kakkilalang-magkakilala kami ni Lord. Hindi iya ako pine-fail, hindi niya ako pinapahiya. Sobra ang trust ko sa kanya kaya sobra kong kampante.”

“Beauty and the Bestie” also stars Coco Martin, James Reid, Na-dine Lustre, Marco Masa, Alonzo Muhlach, MC Calaquian and Lassy. (Philstar.com)

SEAFOOD CITYFOOD SERVICE

FPFC

COMMUNITYJ O U R N A L

ATTY. ROBERT REEVES DEVIN M. CONNOLLYAND NANCY MILLER

Your ImmigrationSolution

A COMMON way to be grant-ed permanent resident status (“Green Card”) in the US is through employment. Tempo-rary work visas receive a lot of attention and publicity, but it is also possible for employers to sponsor foreign workers for green cards. This method has become increasingly common in recent years since many peo-ple do not have family members that can petition them.

The route to a green card through employment is a multi-step process, and can take any-where from 6 months to 6 years or longer to complete. When seeking permanent resident status through employment, it is obviously required that a for-eign-born person have an em-ployer or prospective employer who is willing to file a petition for them. The petitioner then begins the process by filing a labor certification request with US Department of Labor (“DOL”). This filing is a com-plex, multi-step process.

The first part of having a la-bor certification request ap-proved is to obtain a prevail-ing wage determination from the DOL. The determination is based on the job’s duties and responsibilities, the mini-mum qualifications necessary to adequately perform the job, and the worksite location. The purpose of the prevailing wage determination is to protect the labor market. By requiring that the salary offered is the “mar-ket” salary, foreign-born work-ers are protected from exploi-tation and the US workers are protected from losing their jobs to immigrants that are being paid only a fraction of a reason-able salary.

The next step is for the em-ployer to conduct proper re-cruitment for the position by placing advertisements, post-ing notice of the opportunity, etc. This step is essentially the

Obtaining a green card through employment

point of the labor certification process – to demonstrate to the DOL that there are no willing, able, qualified, and available US workers for the position. As part of the process, DOL examines the job duties and education requirements to de-termine that they are truly nec-essary for the job offered and that the foreign-born worker is qualified to perform the job. DOL also looks to whether the job is truly open to US work-ers. As part of that examina-tion DOL compares the job-requirements as stated in the application with the foreign-born worker’s background to determine that the job duties are not tailored to the alien. DOL also investigates whether there is a family relationship between the employer and the jobseeker.

Following the approval of the labor certification request, the employer applies for an Im-migrant Petition with the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”). The USCIS will review the petition in con-junction with the employer’s required financial documents and the applicable documents regarding the alien’s qualifica-tions for the offered position. One major concern is the em-ployer’s ability to pay the pre-vailing wage. The documen-tation submitted in support of the petition must be persuasive and convincing. If the support-ing documentation does not satisfy CIS’ concerns, it is not

required to ask for more or bet-ter evidence. It can just deny the request.

If an alien is able to success-fully navigate the foregoing steps, then they are well on their way to acquiring lawful permanent residence status in the US. However, if they are residing in the US, it is critical that they remember that they are only eligible for an adjust-ment to permanent resident status if they are maintaining lawful immigration status at the time their priority date becomes current, or if they are protected by Section 245(i) of the Immi-gration and Nationality Act. A person is protected by Section 245(i) if a qualifying petition or labor certification was filed for them prior to April 30, 2001. Also, in some instances, a per-son may be protected based on a qualifying petition or labor certification that was filed for their parents prior to April 30, 2001.

Throughout the US’ history, foreign workers have made significant contributions. The present time is no different as foreign born citizens comprise a large part of the workforce. Despite the large number of immigrants, though, obtaining a green card through employ-ment is one of the most com-plex areas of US immigration law. There are many proce-dural steps that must be closely followed to successfully immi-grate to the US, and even the

u

ATTY. RAYMOND BULAON

Minding Your Finances

VICTOR SY, CPA, MBA ANDARLENE AL-OS,CPA, MBA

Tax Tips

ATTY. KENNETH URSUA REYES

Barrister’s Corner

IT is very common for ben-eficiaries of family based petition to wait many years before their petition’s priority date becomes current. This is usually the case with US Citizen parent petitions to adult son or daughter. This is also common among petition’s between Siblings. What happens when the Petitioner dies? Are all those years of waiting wasted? Not quite. Normally, the Petition is automatically revoked once the Petitioner dies.

However, all is not lost by the death of the Petitioner. The beneficiary has a couple of op-tions depending on whether they are inside the US or outside the US. The beneficiary may either avail of the INA § 204(l) which was signed into law in 2009 if

Reinstating a deceased petitioner’s family-based petitionthe beneficiary is inside the US at the time the petitioner’s death and continues to reside inside the US.

Alternatively, if the benefi-ciary is outside the US, benefi-ciary may seek to reinstate the petition based on humanitar-ian grounds. The DHS (Dept. of Homeland Security) may ex-ercise discretion “for humani-tarian reasons” to reinstate the petition and to allow the Affi-davit of Support requirements to be satisfied by the qualify-ing I-864 of a spouse, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild or legal guardian of the beneficia-ry, as long as the petition was “approved” prior to the Peti-tioner’s death.

If the beneficiary is inside the US either in legal status or grandfathered by INA §245(i) and the priority date on the pe-tition is current, the beneficiary may apply for adjustment of sta-tus. The beneficiary may also apply for an employment autho-rization card.

DHS discretion does not mean “guaranteed” approval. The case will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Some of the factors that the DHS may consider are 1) disruption of an established family unit; 2) hardship to US citizens or law-ful permanent residents; 3) beneficiary is elderly or in poor health; 4) beneficiary has had lengthy residence in the US; 4) beneficiary has no home to go

A SHORT sale is a transaction in which the value of a prop-erty is less than the balance of a loan (also referred to as “upside down”). Funds derived from the sale fall “short” of what is owed; hence, the term “short sale.”

There are three major financial consequences of a short sale:

• Deficiency issue - can re-course lenders pursue borrowers for the shortage (deficiency)?

• Tax issue 1 - Do you have capital gain or loss from the sale?

• Tax issue 2 - Do you have income from debt relief (also termed COD for cancellation of debt)?

For example:• You bought a property for

$400,000.• Refinanced the loan to

$500,000 when value appreci-ated.

• Sold the property (with bank approval) for $350,000 when val-ue dropped.

Here are the consequences:• Deficiency of $150,000

($500,000 loan minus $350,000 sales price).

• Capital loss of $50,000 (sales price of $350,000 minus basis of $400,000).

• Debt relief income of $150,000 ($500,000 minus

Can California banks come after you after a short sale de�ciency?

$350,000).This example is simplified to

demonstrate basic computa-tions. It does not include typical components that complicate the equation - depreciation, refi-nance, or adjustment of basis.

Forgiven debt is generally tax-able unless:

• Debt was discharged in bankruptcy.

• You were insolvent (assets less than liabilities). Insolvency is good for both acquisition and equity debt relief.

• Debt discharged is for your principal residence (limited to acquisition debt).

• Debt discharged is for busi-ness real property (limited to lesser of acquisition debt and ba-sis of property).

Forgiven debts would not be taxable under these scenarios.

Here are more rules:• Refinance proceeds used to

improve the property are exclud-able (meaning not taxable).

• Refinance proceeds used for travel, buy car, or payoff credit cards are not excludable (and therefore taxable).

• Accumulated depreciation on rental property must be de-ducted to reduce your basis (and increase your gain).

If you unload your property via short sale or foreclosure, get help from your realtor and con-

sult a lawyer to:• Understand complex statutes

governing short sales.• Review short-sale legal doc-

uments.• Improve your chances of ap-

proval.* * *

A DEBT-free life is something that a lot of people aspire to have. And yet it is a known fact that sadly, many will never attain it because of their unwillingness to make the necessary adjust-ments in their lifestyle to make it possible. I am talking about peo-ple who continue to accumulate debt for immediate gratification (i.e., the “I want it, and I want it now” mentality) instead of mak-ing temporary sacrifices for long-term gain. The truth is that most of the good things in life take time, not overnight.

Of course, not all debt is bad debt. For example, if you are bor-rowing money to start a business or purchase a home with the in-tention of making a profit, there is an expected return on your investment that may justify the loan. But if you are borrowing money to purchase a rapidly de-preciating asset, you may end up paying the debt back for the rest of your life way after the item you purchased has become worth-less. So there is a difference be-tween a “good debt” and a “bad debt”. Or how about those peo-ple who have no money to go on

Do you dream of having a debt-free life?vacation so they end up charging everything on their credit cards? And then they dread getting their credit card statement the follow-ing month because they know that they’ve spent more than they can afford.

In this article I would like to talk about how it may be possible to live a life that is free from the stress caused by excessive in-debtedness. If you are currently stuck in too much debt, perhaps you should ask yourself the fol-lowing questions: What led me to this difficult financial situa-tion? Could I have done things a little differently and put more thought into my financial de-cisions? These are important questions to ask because unless we learn from our mistakes, we are bound to repeat them again.

Large debts start from small debts. Oftentimes, people are caught in the vicious cycle of borrowing because it is too easy to get credit these days. They fall into the trap of thinking that they can make small minimum payments, anyway, so what’s the big deal? Before they know it, they can’t even afford to make the minimum payments on their credit cards. That’s when the problem starts. Unless credit

card borrowing is controlled, it often leads to bankruptcy. I know because as a bankruptcy attor-ney, I know that credit cards are the main reason people end up in bankruptcy court.

Borrowing more money than you can pay back is not only ir-responsible but will have serious implications for you. All actions have consequences and if you are not careful, you are likely to regret what you’ve done. You need to stay on top of your debt balances at all times and know exactly how much you owe, how much you’re paying in inter-est charges and how long it will take you to pay the debt back. It’s a good thing that credit card companies are now required by law to print this on your monthly statement. Is it working? I don’t know. Apparently, some people don’t even read what’s there. Many times I’m shocked to hear from people that they don’t even know how much they owe be-cause they’ve lost track. If this is you, you have a financial disaster waiting to happen. It’s just a mat-ter of time.

Another thing that gets most people in financial trouble is spending more than they make.

THE recent San Bernardino attack at the Inland Regional Center in CA brought to light the issue of visas for foreign fiancées of US citizen and like-wise the review of social media of foreign applicants by the USCIS under the Department of Homeland Security. It ap-pears the one of the killers in the San Bernardino attack en-tered the US through the K-1 visa process (foreign fiancées of US citizen). She allegedly posted her allegiance to an ex-treme terrorist group in Face-book on the day of the shooting and sent private messages in Facebook in 2012 and 2014 wherein she pledged support to her ex-tremist cause.

Thus, questions have been raised recently as to DHS review of social media accounts of visa appli-cants as part of background checks of all foreign-ers seeking entry to the US. A lot of people had

opined that the USCIS could have stopped the killers in the San Ber-nardino attack if it only reviewed their social medial postings prior to the incident. In fact, there have been calls from lawmak-ers for legislation on the matter, although whether a new law is needed to allow the government to check on social media during a visa application review.

In an article by ABC News, the DHS has confirmed that it does social media reviews – “(t)he Homeland Security Department said three pilot programs to spe-cifically incorporate ‘appropriate’

social media reviews into its vetting process were launched in the last year and the department is looking at other ways to use social media posts.”

While the article did not identify what these pi-lot programs are, the DHS issued a “DHS Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for the Fraud Detection

Social media and visa review

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ATTY. C. JOE SAYAS, JR.

Protecting Employee & Consumer Rights

WE have all heard the popular saying, “Timing is everything.” Unfortunately, this saying often adversely applies to those persons who have found an avenue from which to obtain a green card, only to be prohibited from doing so because he/she has a prior removal/deportation order. A typical scenario involves a person who en-tered the US years ago on a B-2 tourist visa, overstayed, and was ordered removed by the Immigration Court. Fast forward to today, that person who was ordered removed finds true love and mar-ries a US Citizen. Seemingly close to finally obtaining permanent resident status, he/she is precluded from doing so because of the prior removal/deportation order. What options does one have in such a case?

A motion to reopen the removal/deportation proceedings and rescind the removal/deportation order can be filed in Immigration Court. If the motion to reopen the proceedings and rescind the re-moval/deportation order is successful, the alien can pursue whatev-er relief from removal/deportation that is available to him/her. For the scenario cited in the first paragraph, the relief would be adjust-ment of status to permanent resident via marriage to a US citizen spouse. The relief would be presented in Immigration Court, with the Immigration Judge to decide the merits of the adjustment of status application. Alternatively, if an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can be obtained to terminate the proceedings, a decision on the adjustment of status application can be made outside Immigration Court, by the USCIS.

Generally, a motion to reopen removal/deportation proceedings must be filed within 90 days of the date of entry of the removal/deportation order. However, several bases upon which a motion to reopen may be filed past 90 days exist, and are discussed below.

Under 8 CFR § 1003.23(b)(4), a motion to reopen can be filed at any time if notice of the pro-ceedings was not received by the person subject to the removal/deportation order, and a removal/deportation order was entered in his absence. Written notice of the time and place of removal proceedings must be given in person to the alien, or shall be given by certified mail to the alien or to the alien’s counsel of record. INA §242B(a)(2)(A). Further, written notice of the proceedings, if provided by certified mail, must be provided at the most recent address reported by the alien. Mat-ter of Grijalva, Interim Decision 3246 (BIA 1995). The requirements for notice of removal/deporta-tion proceedings are strict, and careful analysis of a person’s immigration court file often results in finding evidence that DHS did not comply with required procedure, which can be the basis for reopening the removal/deportation proceeding.

Further, the Immigration Judge has discretionary authority to reopen or reconsider cases on his or her own motion (“sua sponte”) at any time providing a valid basis can be shown. 8 CFR § 1003.23(b)(1). Careful analysis of not only the immigration court file, but also the specific facts and circumstances of the case is necessary to put forward a valid basis on which the Immigration Judge can rely to reopen the proceedings. Some bases upon which cases I have been able to reopen cases include improper section cited by the DHS attorney in the charging document, insufficient evidence presented by the DHS attorney in proving up the case against the alien, and hardship and humani-tarian concerns.

If you have a prior removal/deportation order which is preventing you from adjusting status, it is recommended that you consult with an experienced attorney to ascertain the bases upon which a motion to reopen can be filed.

* * *Darrick V. Tan, Esq. is admitted to practice law in California and Nevada. Mr. Tan is a grad-

uate of UCLA and Southwestern University School of Law. He is a member of the Consumers Attorney Association of Los Angeles and is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Philippine American Bar Association.

Rescinding removal/deportation order to allow for adjustment of status

Q: EVERY pay period, I receive a check from my employer for my wages. Recently, there is news at work that our company will be requiring employees to receive our wages through a payroll deb-it card. Is this a legal way to be paid our wages?

A: Generally, employers are allowed to fulfill their wage pay-ment obligations to their em-ployees by using “payroll debit cards” or “payroll cards.” How-ever, the use of such cards must comply with California laws on the form of payment of wages to employees.

One such law states that em-ployers must pay their employ-ees in a form that is negotiable and payable in cash. A check, for example, can be taken to a bank and cashed. A check then is a method of payment that is payable in cash. Employers, however, must not issue a form of payment that would cause the employee to incur fees or penal-ties when they cash it. Therefore, employers cannot issue a check from a bank that will charge a fee for cashing the check.

The same law applies to payroll cards. The payroll cards must be payable in cash, and employees should not incur fees or penalties if they withdraw their wages us-ing the card (at least not during the first transaction).

In addition, employees should not be required to use the payroll

Payroll debit cards: What employees should know

card method. They should have a choice of whether to be paid by direct deposit at their own bank or by an actual check instead. Therefore, going back to the in-quiry above, if the employer will require its employee to use pay-roll cards and give the employee no other choices, then this may be a violation of the law.

Finally, the deposit for wages should be made in a bank, sav-ings and loan association or credit union with a place of busi-ness in California, and which al-lows for at least one transaction per pay period without a fee.

And even though employees are paid via payroll cards or di-rect deposit, they must still re-ceive an itemized paystub with their payment.

A case reported by various news media illustrates what hap-pens when employers do not fol-low the law in the use of payroll cards.

Jeffrey Lapan and his fellow employees sued their employer, PVH Retail Stores LLC (reported-ly the parent company of Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Izod and G.H. Bass) in a class action on be-half of themselves and other cur-rent and former employees. The employees claimed that their em-ployer paid them through a pay-roll card program that charged fees when they tried to withdraw their wages. This resulted in the employees not receiving their full wages. Additionally, the em-ployees claimed that because of this, their wages were subjected to unlawful deductions. Some of

the employees ended up not be-ing paid the required minimum wage.

The employer denied any wrongdoing, and claimed that its payroll card program was legal but that employees may not have used the payroll card program correctly and that is why they incurred fees. However, rather than continue to litigate the case, parties agreed to settle the class action for $725,000.

Aside from being liable for civil damages, employers or their managers and agents, who vio-late the form-of-payment law in California may be found guilty of a misdemeanor.

For employees who do not have a bank account, the thought of being paid with a payroll debit card may be a welcome conve-nience. However, they should be mindful that such convenience may come at a cost – a cost that should have been paid by the employer, and not the employee.

FOR individuals who are seek-ing to obtain lawful permanent residency, any past fraud or mis-representation renders the indi-vidual inadmissible and ineligi-ble to legalize status unless they are granted a fraud waiver. This includes all individuals who have committed fraud, even those who are married to a United States citizen.

Immigration fraud occurs when an individual willfully and know-ingly provides material informa-

AMERICAN DREAM

ALLISON AQUINO-SILVA, ESQ

Waiving fraud due to extreme hardship

tion and/or documentation that is false for an immigration ben-efit. An individual commits fraud if, for example, they entered the US under a false name, date of birth, or marital status. Another example is if they file an appli-cation with the US Embassy or Department of Homeland Secu-rity based on invalid information, such as a LULAC legalization ap-plication that falsely claimed en-try before the required date. Yet another example of fraud, in cer-tain situations, are false claims made on a Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form.

A fraud waiver under section 212(i) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act can be granted if an individual can show that his US citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent (i.e. qualifying relative) would expe-rience extreme hardship if he is denied permanent residency. Individuals should note that the fraud waiver does not allow a showing of extreme hardship to children. So, unless an indi-vidual has a US citizen parent or spouse, they would not qualify to apply for a fraud waiver.

slightest mistake can force you to start the process all over from the beginning. For this reason, it is always advisable for aspir-ing immigrants and their peti-tioning employers to retain the services of an experienced and knowledgeable attorney who is

dedicated solely to the practice of immigration law.

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Obtaining a green card through…t

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People and Events

REVERENDRODEL G. BALAGTAS

To Live With Faith

THUS the total number of gen-erations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian Exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generation. Matthew 1:17

Where are you from? What’s your last name? Are you related to somebody I know? These are questions we ask or hear from people we meet along the road of life, questions that seek our iden-tities and connections.

It may not hurt to tell people where we come from or who our relatives are. As a matter of fact, this has become a hobby for some people, especially here in the United States. There are people who engage in geneal-ogy—they spend time tracing their ancestral roots to rebuild their past from oral tradition, written records, and artifacts, such as family photographs. In the end, this exercise becomes a path to discovery of myriad of things about their ancestors that have some bearing on their pres-ent status in life.

I’ve always been interested to do this exercise. I often wonder about the origin of my family name, Balagtas, or who my an-cestors are.

In the Gospel reading of the second day of Simbang Gabi, Matthew presents to us the ge-nealogy of Jesus. Matthew traces the origin of Jesus from Abra-ham to David, from David to the Babylonian Exile, and from the Babylonian Exile to Christ, each period consisting of fourteen generations. Matthew’s motive in presenting this genealogy is to prove to his listeners and read-ers that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah because of his lineage to Abraham and David. Jesus comes from the root of Jesse; he is the son of Abraham and the son of David.

For the Jewish Christians, this discovery is important. The mes-

The genealogy of Jesus Christ: A journey to amazing discoveriessiah must come from the lineage of David.

Matthew’s genealogy, there-fore, is a journey to amazing dis-coveries.

First, it is a discovery of the truth of the person of Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God, who came to redeem the world by his life, death, and resurrection. He is not only the truth. He is also the way and the life.

It is important for us today to claim this truth of Jesus Christ, especially during these times when Christians in many parts of the world are persecuted. In the midst of continuing threat of violence and terrorism through the radical religious belief of kill-ing innocent people, including children, in the name of God, we must keep on raising the banner of Christian faith that promotes love, mercy, and respect for life and dignity of every person.

This leads us to the second point. Matthew’s genealogy is a discovery of the opportune time for the reign of God to come. In Tagalog, this is the “tamang pa-nahon” of the inbreaking of God’s Kingdom here on earth. Indeed, during this time of many world problems, it is fitting to say that it is more the “tamang panahon” to shine as Christians, to lead in the building of peace, justice, love and mercy in this world

Third, Mathew’s genealogy of Jesus is a discovery of self—that each of us, Christians, has be-come a member of the family of God by virtue of Christian bap-tism. Through water and the Spirit we have become brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, called to build up a Kingdom of love, justice and peace in this world.

Again, it is important to re-member our Christian identity, especially during these times when the Church—its leaders and members—is being chal-lenged to greater authenticity of faith. The world is tired of see-ing hypocritical and half-hearted Christians.

Finally, Matthew’s genealogy is a discovery of God’s mercy—that in spite of human imperfections, God decided to dwell among us. God entered into our human bro-kenness.

We see this well in genealogy of Jesus, which is not so clean and perfect. For example, Tam-ar was a liar and a deceiver. She dressed up as a harlot to make Judah bear her twin sons, Perez and Zerah. Rahab, the mother of Boaz by Salmon was another harlot in Jericho. King David was a wife-stealer. He had Uriah, the Hittite, killed to take Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, for himself.

Matthew’s genealogy urges us to be compassionate to the hu-man condition. Thus the theme of the Jubilee of Mercy: Miseri-cordes sicut pater! Be merciful as your Father is! We cannot succumb to cynicism and disgust over our human frailties. We need to understand one another, to find ways to dialogue, and to receive another in love and mer-cy.

As we prepare for Christmas, let us come to these amazing discoveries of the truth of Jesus Christ; of the “tamang panahon” for God’s intervention to bring the much needed peace and justice into our broken world; of our deep relationship with one another as a universal family of God, as brothers and sisters in Christ; and of the God’s profound mercy to dwell among us despite our human frailties.

* * *

Their expenses are simply out of control and they are paying for a lot of things that they don’t even need or can afford. They have huge mortgage and car pay-ments that are way too high for what they make and they are liv-ing a high-consumption lifestyle that makes them look good on the outside but unknown to their friend and family, they are finan-cially broke and they have zero savings. They are living a life-style financed by the banks and credit card companies and once they lose their income, they lose everything overnight. Why be-cause they own nothing. They’ve mortgaged everything they own to the greedy banks and finan-

cial institutions who are happy to loan them money in exchange for blood.

If you wish to live a debt-free life, you need to develop the per-sonal discipline of spending less than what you earn. Did you hear that? I know it sounds simple but that is the only way that you can ever save. If you think you may be over-extended in debt, make it your priority to repay your debts so that you are not wasting money paying interest charges. This is money you should be sav-ing, not giving away to the credit card companies.

Don’t get me wrong. Being in debt doesn’t make you a bad person. If you’ve made some mistakes in handling your per-

sonal finances, acknowledge responsibility for where you are and find a way to change course if you are going in the wrong direction. Yes, a debt-free life is possible but it takes work, dedi-cation and prudence in making financial decisions For a free consultation, call my office at 866-477-7772. I have offices in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Cerritos and Valencia.

* * *

Do you dream of having a debt-free…t

to; 5)undue delay by USCIS or consular officer in processing petition and visa; 6) and Ben-eficiary has strong family ties in the United States.

The beneficiary must be pre-pared to show proof of the origi-nal I-130 that was filed, proof of I-130 approval if approved, a copy of the Petitioner’s death certificate, proof of substitute sponsor’s relationship to the beneficiary, and meet all the I-

864 requirements.*** ***

Reinstating a deceased petitioner’s…t

and National Security Directorate” dated Decem-ber 16, 2014. In the PIA, the DHS stated that a Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) Directorate was created as the unit responsible for detecting, deterring, and combating immigra-tion benefit fraud. As part of its responsibilities, the FDNS perform “checks in USCIS, DHS, and federal databases, as well as public information to verify information provided on, and in support of, applications and petitions.” Public information as defined in the PIA “includes any open source information legally accessible by anyone such as records of tax liens, court documents, and infor-mation drawn from the Internet.” Thus, the FDNS will and can perform internet searches of open source information and searches of social media sites, among others.

While there may be questions on the practice of social media review based on individual privacy right concerns, it appears that the USCIS does indeed background check of social media during the visa review process. In fact, some immigration officers have questioned alien applicants during their visa interview regarding matters the alien ap-

plicant has posted in their social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

In summary, if you are or will be applying for a visa application with the USCIS in the future, one should be prudent regarding his posts in his social accounts because the USCIS, not just his social media friends, might just be interested to check on the posts as well. If you are contemplating of filing any immigrant or non-immigration applica-tion, it is advisable to seek the counsel of an im-migration lawyer to guide you on the intricacies of filing for such a petition.

Social media and visa…t

The laws do not specifically define what qualifies as “extreme hardship.” Rather, the definition has been developed over time on a case-by-case basis. As well, the DHS and US Embassies have es-tablished various criteria that they consider in assessing whether extreme hardship has been dem-onstrated. There are no specific requirements as to what must be shown; rather, the DHS and Em-bassies take a look at the totality of the circumstances to determine extreme hardship. The following are some criteria used in evaluat-ing extreme hardship:

Health: Ongoing or special-ized treatment requirements for a physical or mental condition; availability and quality of such treatment in the applicant’s home country, anticipated du-ration of treatment; whether a condition is chronic or acute, or long-or-short term.

Financial Considerations: Fu-ture employability; loss due to sale of home or business or ter-mination of a professional prac-tice; decline in standard of living; ability to recoup short-term loss-es; cost of extraordinary needs such as special education or

training for children; cost of care for family members (i.e. elderly and infirm parents).

Education: Loss of opportunity for higher education; lower qual-ity or limited scope of education options; disruption of current program; requirement to be ed-ucated in a foreign language or culture with ensuing loss of time for grade; availability of special requirements, such as training programs or internships in spe-cific fields.

Personal Considerations: Close relatives in the US and/or the individual’s own country; separation from spouse/children; ages of involved parties; length of residence and community ties in the US.

Special Factors: Cultural, lan-guage, religious, and ethnic ob-stacles; valid fears of persecution, physical harm or injury; social ostracism or stigma; access to social institutions or structures.

With respect to these factors, it is reminded that the key term in the law is “extreme” hard-ship and therefore only in cases of real, actual or prospective injury to the qualifying relative will a fraud waiver be granted. Applications must therefore

clearly address the reasons why extreme hardship would be en-countered by the qualifying rela-tive and supporting documenta-tion evidencing the hardship claims are essential.

The fraud waiver is a viable solution for those who have made a prior mistake of commit-ting fraud or misrepresentation. Unfortunately, some individu-als are unethically counseled to commit further fraud to try to handle a prior incident of fraud. This approach should never be taken as the DHS is highly un-likely to thereafter grant a fraud waiver when an individual has repeatedly committed fraud. The road may not be easy, but peace of mind can be attained when handling matters legally and appropriately.

* * *

Waiving fraud due to extreme…t

ATTY. LAWRENCE YANG

Debt Relief

NO one has anything good to say about the IRS. Tax collectors were much hated even during the time of Jesus two thousand years ago. Jesus was walking along the street when He saw Matthew sit-ting in his tax collector booth, then Jesus called Matthew to be His disciple. Client had a con-firmed Chapter 13 plan since 2013. The plan paid for her 2013 income tax owed of $10K, and $50K arrears in her mortgage. These are the only creditors that she owed. She had a 2nd trust deed of $100K, which was fully forgiven by Bank of America af-ter we filed her motion to avoid the 2nd trust deed. She had $60K credit card debt which all got discharged in her Chapter 7 case the year before. This was re-ally an extreme reorganization of her financial affairs that we were doing. Phase 1, she discharged all unsecured debt. Phase 2, was to handle the IRS and the $50K arrears on the mortgage. Things had gone quite well. The $100K second trust deed had com-pletely disappeared in an instant right after we filed the LAM mo-tion. We really did not expect that Bank of America would just forgive the entire 2nd mortgage. Our strategy was to argue that client did not have to pay Bank of America anything as unsecured debt upon approval of the motion to avoid lien because the previ-ous chapter 7 discharge wiped out the promissory note, so there was nothing to pay even as the lien was stripped. I wasn’t sure that the court would buy this argument but it was logical and legally correct.

IRS seeks to dismiss client’s chapter 13Client with good income wants chapter 7

to discharge $70K credit cardsThe next step we took was to

work on a loan modification for the first mortgage. This worked out really well too. Not only did Nationstar reduce payment by $800 a month, it updated the loan such that there were no more ar-rears. Therefore, the loan modi-fication cured the $50K arrears. With the LM in place, client was now completely current on her mortgage. Nationstar wrote a letter to the trustee saying that the LM cured the default and no more payments in the plan to Na-tionstar were needed!

So, the only debt left unpaid was the IRS of $10K. However, client failed to pay IRS her 2014 tax liability, which was $14K. This created a big problem be-cause non-payment of the 2014 tax liability is a violation of the terms of the confirmed plan. A violation of the terms of the plan is legal ground to dismiss the case. Thus, the IRS filed a motion to dismiss case. To set things right, we had to oppose the IRS motion to dismiss on the ground that if Nationstar withdrew its prepetition proof of claim which showed a $50K default which no longer exists, the plan could be modified to pay the IRS in full over the rest of the life of the plan. We also filed an objection to the proof of claim of Nationstar because the loan modification wiped out the arrears of $50K. Hopefully, these will all combine to prevent the case from being dismissed.

Second client is 57 years old. He had a good paying job for 20 years. He cleared $150K a year every year for the last 20 years

working 18 hours a day because he was so dedicated to his work. Although he was paid well, the kind of work he did was very stressful and it affected his mind. He would have nightmares in-volving what he saw at work. A lot of gore and blood, and he saw the evil that men do. He decided that it was time to start again in life without too much stress. Any-way, he had already qualified for a good pension. He said the mon-ey wasn’t worth the stress that he had to go through every day. The guy was a nervous wreck. He still owed $70K of credit cards. He owned a house with a reasonable mortgage payment of $1800 and two-car payments total of $1,000. He takes it easy nowadays. Does a little part time work here and there. His wife still works. With his pension and part time income, there’s enough to cover monthly expenses, but there is no money left to make minimum payments of $2K on his $70K credit cards. These have to go. With his fresh start in life, he will have no more $70K of credit card debt. This is what he wants, and it makes a whole lot of sense.

“Come to Me, all of you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28

THE Asian American Profes-sional Association (AAPA), a non-profit organization dedicated to inspire, develop and promote the professional community to maximize their leadership poten-tial, celebrated the Achievement Awardees and the class of 2015 AAPA mentees at the Achieve-ment Awards & Graduation Gala on Dec. 3. The event attracted nearly 300 guests, including cor-porate, community and business leaders, and professionals from numerous industries. SCE Presi-dent Pedro Pizarro (shown in photo above) delivered the Key-note address, and Achievement Awardees included Asian Pacific Community Fund for the Com-munity Achievement Award (ac-cepted by Debra Fong, Executive Director), Bill Imada, Chairman and Chief Collaboration Officer IW for the Executive Achieve-ment Award, MUFG Union Bank for the Diversity and Inclusion Award (accepted by Tisa Jackson Vice President, Diversity & Inclu-sion), and Northrop Grumman for the Corporate Achievement Award (accepted by Chris Yama-da, Vice President and General Manager, Aerospace Systems).

AAPA is dedicated to inspire, develop and promote the pro-fessional community to maxi-mize their career and leadership potential. Our vision is to foster a national network of diverse pro-fessionals in management and

2015 AAPA Achievement Awards & Graduation Galaexecutive pipelines who will be-come future leaders and inspire others in their community.

For 15 years, over 60 pas-sionate AAPA volunteer Men-tors provided the award winning AAPA Mentoring Program to over 850 Mentees in Southern California. The AAPA Mentoring Program is a year-long program providing an opportunity to build trusting mentoring relationship and

leadership skills throughout the year. Its one-on-one mentor-ing, led by dedicated and quali-fied executives and managers, has produced highly-motivated and confident career-mind-ed professionals. Proceeds from the Achievement Awards gala goes directly help to support the AAPA mentees in the program. www.aapamentoring.com. ■

&MARKETPLACESHOWROOM

Business Quote of the Week“Creating a better world requires teamwork,

partnerships, and collaboration, as we need an entire army of companies to work together to

build a better world within the next few decades. This means corporations must embrace the benefits of cooperating with one another.”

- Simon Mainwaring, branding consultant, advertising creative director

and social media specialist

ATTY. MICHAELGURFINKEL, ESQ

ImmigrationCorner

Some issues and pitfalls in pursuing US citizenship

FOR many people, attaining US citizenship is the final step in achieving their “American Dream.” After getting a green card, they eagerly count off the years until they are finally eli-gible to apply for naturalization. However, for some people, ap-plying for citizenship could cause problems, issues, and even being stripped of their green card and deported/removed. Applying for citizenship is not always a simple, straightforward task that a per-son should handle on their own. Instead, they may want to seek the advice or guidance of an at-torney.

Here are just some of the many issues or problems a person must consider before filing for natural-ization:

• Did the person obtain his or her green card lawfully? In some situations, people were able to ob-tain their green card, even though they were not legally entitled to it. For example, a person was peti-tioned by a parent as “single,” but

they were already “secretly” mar-ried. They were able to get their green card, and now attempt to file for citizenship. In many cases, USCIS digs deep into their case, and can discover the secret mar-riage in connection with their nat-uralization application. Not only is their naturalization application denied, but they may be put in re-moval/deportation because they obtained their green card through fraud or misrepresentation.

• If a person obtained a green card through an employer’s pe-tition, did the person work for that employer at the prevailing wage? Many people obtain their green cards through an employ-er’s sponsorship (PERM or labor certification). One requirement is a person must work for the em-ployer for a reasonable time after obtaining their green card. Some people never really worked for the employer who petitioned them, or they quit working for the employ-er before they adjusted status or get the green card. If a person is applying for naturalization based on an employment – based green card, one of the first questions they will be asked is whether they ever work for the employer. If they did not, or quit before adjusting sta-tus, their green card could also be

in jeopardy. Similarly, if they were being petitioned at a certain wage (the prevailing wage), but were never paid that wage, it could also result in problems, as they may be asked to produce their tax returns and pay stubs, documenting they were paid the wage specified in the petition.

• Did the person commit any crime while a green card holder? After obtaining a green card, a person may have been arrested or convicted of a crime, such as shoplifting, domestic violence, DUI, etc. They may have even pled guilty, as some form of plea deal and later had the convic-tion expunged. However, certain crimes could make a person in-eligible for citizenship, and may even affect their status as a lawful permanent resident. There have been many cases where a green card holder committed a crime, which “woke up” DHS when they filed for naturalization, resulting in them being placed in removal/deportation proceedings. If a per-son was ever convicted of certain crimes or pled guilty to those crimes, they are still considered convicted, even if they later had the conviction expunged.

As you can see, there are so many issues that could come up

in connection with a person’s eligibility for naturalization. In my next article, I will discuss more issues and pitfalls that one may encounter in pursuing his or her US Citizenship.

If you have any questions about your past, or eligibility for natural-ization, you should definitely seek the advice of an attorney before filing for naturalization. This is because once you file, and USCIS starts digging into your past, you may have dug a hole for yourself.

* * *

Pacquiao 2nd top taxpayer in PHby PATRICIA LOURDES VIRAY

Philstar.com

MANILA—Businessman Jacinto Ng and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquaio are the top individual tax-payers for 2014, according to a list released by the Bureau of Internal Revenue on Friday, Dec. 18.

Ng, owner and founder of Rebisco Biscuit Corp., paid an estimated P289.1 million regular income tax for the previous year. According to Forbes magazine, Ng is the 36th richest man in the Philippines in 2015.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao paid P210.3 regular income taxes in 2014. The boxing icon is the second highest paid athlete in the world in 2015 with total earnings of $62 million.

Presidential sister Kris Aquino is also among the top ten high-est taxpayers in 2014 with P54.5 million worth of regular income taxes paid.

San Miguel Corporation Chief Executive Officer Ramon Ang ranked ninth with P51 million.

Among the top ten individual taxpayers are:

• Mercury Drug President Viv-ian Azcona (P153.6 million)

• Columbia Motors Corpora-tion President Jose Alvarez (P73 million)

• Rebisco’s Jacinto Ng Jr. (P66.9 million)

• Developer Ronaldo Soliman (53.5 million)

• Coca-Cola President and CEO William Schultz (P51.3 million)

• Finance executive Lauro Baja III (P50.7 million)

Your smartphone can help you achieve your �nancial resolutions

SIXTY-four percent of Ameri-can adults have a smartphone, according to Pew Research Cen-ter, and that number is growing. Savvy smartphone users are do-ing a lot more with their devices than selfies. At the forefront of a smartphone’s benefits is on-the-go money management, which per-sonal finance experts say can be a key tool to helping you achieve your New Year resolutions.

“Technology advances are giv-ing banks an opportunity to further

Carlo Katigbak appointed President and CEO of ABS-CBN Corporation

enhance their customers’ ability to manage their money,” says Brett Pitts, Head of Digital for Wells Fargo Virtual Channels.

Want to get a better handle on your money in 2016? Pitts offers some tips for making your smartphone your own personal banker:

• Go mobile: You may have used your phone to log into your account via your bank’s website. Check your bank’s mobile appli-

ABS-CBN Corporation an-nounced the appointment of Carlo L. Katigbak as its new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective January 1, 2016.

Charo Santos-Concio will con-tinue to serve the company as Chief Content Officer, President of ABS-CBN University, and Executive Adviser to the Chair-man. Eugenio Lopez III remains the Chairman of the Board of ABS-CBN.

Katigbak has 20 years com-bined experience in financial management and business op-erations, corporate planning, and general management.

Prior to his appointment as Chief Operating Officer (COO) in March 2015, Katigbak was the Head of Access. He helped pave the company’s forays into prom-ising technologies and ventures and managed the operations of Sky Cable, ABS-CBNmobile, and ABS-CBN TVplus.

He began his career at Sky in 1994, handling various key posi-tions which culminated with his appointment as VP for Provincial Operations of Sky in 1998.

Katigbak was then assigned to establish the internet business of ABS-CBN in 1999. He served as Managing Director of ABS-CBN Interactive, which ventured into online and mobile businesses.

He returned to Sky Cable and served as its COO from 2005 to 2012, and then its president in

2013. Under his leadership, Sky launched the Digibox, which eventually staunched the number of illegal connections and allowed customers greater flexibility in customizing their subscriptions. Sky also re-launched its broad-band products, which are now the fastest growing segment of its business.

Katigbak completed an Ad-vanced Management Program from Harvard Business School in 2009. He graduated from Ateneo de Manila University with a de-gree in Management Engineering in 1991. (Kane Choa/ABS-CBN Integrated Corporate Communi-cation)

PH credit ratings likely to get upgrade, says Fitch

Cebu airport among fastest growing in Southeast Asiaby LOUISE MAUREEN SIMEON

Philstar.com

Remittance growth slows down to 3.7%

MANILA—Mactan-Cebu Inter-national Airport has emerged as one of the fastest-growing airports in the Southeast Asian region as the continued congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila diverted passen-gers to the Southern gateway.

The latest industry report from the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said the second largest airport in the country is well-positioned for long-term growth as infrastructure constraints in Manila prompt local carriers to base additional aircraft at second-ary hubs.

“Cebu offers a sizeable local market. With its position in the middle of the country, Cebu has the geography to emerge as a large hub linking secondary cit-ies throughout the Philippines, as well as international destina-

tions within the region and afar,” CAPA said.

Mactan-Cebu is set to face rapid growth next year as flag car-rier Philippine Airlines (PAL) pur-sues domestic expansion and the launch of its Los Angeles service, Cebu’s first long-haul route.

CAPA noted Mactan-Cebu is confident other long-haul routes, particularly Middle East destina-tions, will follow.

“Emirates or Etihad could be enticed to serve Cebu following a new air services agreement between the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates which authorized additional flights to Manila for UAE-based carriers,” it added.

PAL has the most international seats at Cebu with 12,300 weekly seats and will expand to almost 14,000 following the Los Angeles route. Budget carriers Cebu Pa-cific and Philippines AirAsia have

9,600 and 2,500, respectively.Records showed Cebu handled

6.4 million passengers for the January-October period, 13.4 percent higher than in the same period last year.

Mactan-Cebu is expected to end 2015 with almost eight mil-lion passengers, pushing it to the 11th or 12th spot in Southeast Asia based on passenger traffic for this year.

“Cebu is also currently operat-ing above its designed capacity of 4.5 million annual passengers, but unlike Manila it has space, and a commitment to expand. Given the steady six to seven percent per annum economic growth in the Philippines, options besides Manila are needed,” it said.

The construction of a new ter-minal is also poised to increase annual capacity to 12.5 million passengers when it opens in 2018.

by LAWRENCE AGCAOILI Philstar.com

MANILA—The Philippines could receive another upgrade from Fitch Ratings if the reforms undertaken under the leadership of President Benigno Aquino III would be sustained in the next administration.

Fitch said the sovereign credit rating of the Philippines could be upgraded after its outlook was raised to positive from stable last September due to the steady strengthening in the country’s structural fundamentals, improve-ments captured in international measures of governance stan-dards and international competi-tiveness and reflected in the Phil-ippines’ strong macroeconomic performance.

Fitch said the strong growth, a structural current account surplus and ongoing fiscal policy disci-pline are driving a steady improve-ment in the sovereign’s balance sheet of the Philippines.

“Increased confidence that

these trends will be sustained under the next administration after the 2016 presidential elec-tions would support the case for an upgrade,” Fitch said.

Last September, Fitch raised the country’s outlook to posi-tive from stable as it affirmed the credit rating at ‘BBB-“ or minimum investment grade on the back of the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals as well as the improved government standards and competitiveness indicators under the Aquino ad-ministration.

“The outlook on Philippines’ ‘BBB−’ rating was revised to positive from stable in September on a steady strengthening in the sovereign balance sheet and in governance indicators,” the rating agency said.

Fitch pointed out the country’s global competitiveness in the World Economic Forum (WEF) has risen to a level comparable to ‘BBB’-rated peers.

Fitch likewise cited that indica-

tors for corruption, transparency and economic freedom have also improved substantially.

With the upgrade, Fitch could raise the country’s sovereign cred-it rating over the next 18 months especially if the improvement in governance standards over the Aquino administration would be sustained following a change in government.

Likewise, the country’s credit rating would be upgraded if the strong gross domestic product (GDP) growth without the emer-gence of imbalances would be sustained and if the general gov-ernment revenue base that lends greater stability to the government finances would be broadened.

Fitch upgraded the country’s credit rating to ‘BBB-‘ equivalent to minimum investment grade in March last year.

The debt watcher sees the country’s GDP growing 5.6 per-cent this year as domestic demand remains robust even as external demand weakens.

MANILA—The amount of cash sent home by Filipinos abroad was flat in October amid the continued weakness of other cur-rencies against the US dollar, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilpinas (BSP) reported.

BSP Governor Amando Tet-angco Jr. said the amount of cash remitted by overseas Filipinos was almost unchanged at $2.232 bil-lion in October from $2.228 billion in the same month last year.

Tetangco reported the growth of cash remittances slowed down to 3.7 percent to $20.64 billion from January to October this year compared to $19.91 billion in the same period last year amid the continued strong demand for skilled Filipino workers abroad.

Data showed remittances from land-based Filipino workers grew 3.9 percent to $15.8 billion in the first 10 months of the year while cash sent home by sea-based workers went up by 2.9 percent to $4.8 billion.

The BSP has set a five percent growth target in cash remittances from overseas Filipinos. The amount of money sent home by Filipinos abroad grew 5.9 percent to $24.35 billion in 2014 from $22.98 billion in 2013.

However, currencies in coun-tries where Filipinos have been deployed have been weakening the US dollar due to uncertainties brought about by the impending interest rate hike in the US and the economic slowdown in China.

This translates to lower US dol-lar value of the amount of money sent home by overseas Filipinos to their loved ones in the Philip-pines.

The BSP chief said preliminary reports form the Philippine Over-seas Employment Administration (POEA) showed total job orders for the first 10 months of the year reached 717,182.

He added about 44.1 percent of the total job orders from January to October for service, produc-tion, and professional, technical and related workers needed in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Tai-wan, and Hong Kong have been processed.

“Remittance inflows were sup-ported by the steady deployment of skilled manpower, as well as the continued efforts of banks and non-bank remittance service providers to expand their interna-tional and domestic market cover-age through tie-ups abroad as well as the introduction of innovations in their remittance products,” he said.

Tetangco explained bulk of the remittances in the first 10 months of the year came from the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Hong Kong.

On the other hand, the growth of personal remittances was also flat at $2.47 billion in October this year from $2.46 billion in the same period last year. (Philstar.com)

PH poll uncertainties to deter investorsby BEN DE VERA

Inquirer.net

ROBUST consumer and election spending would bring about a slight uptick in economic growth next year, but uncertainties brought by the national elections—especially the most recent developments on two presidential candidates—might deter the entry of more investors, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) said on Monday.

“With private consumption ex-

pected to stay strong throughout the election cycle, we forecast growth to increase slightly in 2016,” HSBC economist Joseph Incalcaterra said in a note titled “Wake me up when 2015 ends.” The government had projected gross domestic product or GDP growth of 7 to 8 percent in 2016, faster than the “realistic” 6 to 6.5 percent expansion expected this year.

But while the upcoming elec-tion would bolster both govern-ment and private expenditures, it is also seen to push investors on the sidelines as they adopt a wait-and-see stance.

“[T]he large degree of election uncertainty, particularly concerning the disqualification of former lead-ing candidate Grace Poe—a deci-sion that she is appealing—and the rise of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, a candidate who has yet to elaborate an economic agenda, may result in more subdued private investment over the next two quar-ters,” Incalcaterra said.

“[O]ur analysis of past electoral cycles shows that this is almost al-ways the case,” he pointed out.

Also, Philippine monetary au-thorities will unlikely tweak policy rates during its last meeting for the year this Thursday as inflation would likely settle below target by yearend.

Incalcaterra said that despite the scheduled Monetary Board meet-ing on monetary policy following the US Federal Reserve’s meeting that is expected to jack up interest rates, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipi-nas “is unsurprisingly constrained in terms of its course of action.”

“[T]here is little need to tweak policy at this point. The BSP has clearly indicated that it is comfort-able with its current stance and we think it is unlikely to make any tweaks until the operational changes pencilled in for the second

quarter of 2016 (interest rate cor-ridor),” Incalcaterra explained.

“Moreover, activity and inflation data out over the past month sug-gest no need for policy changes, while liquidity is more than suffi-cient to fuel growth,” he added.

Incalcaterra noted that inflation or the rate of increase in the prices of basic goods rose to 1.1 percent last November from the record-low of 0.4 percent posted in the two preceding months.

“As we mentioned last month, inflation likely troughed in October but will stay contained despite some upside risks to food CPI (consumer price index) from El Niño. Indeed, food prices jolted 1 percent month-on-month in October,” he said.

Last month, the faster jumps in the prices of corn, fish, meat and vegetables offset the slower increases in the prices of cheese, eggs, milk, non-alcoholic beverages and rice, the National Economic and Development Authority had noted.

The Department of Finance at-tributed the pickup in November inflation to the “sharp rise in veg-etable prices as a result of Typhoon ‘Lando,’” which hit many parts of Luzon island, including farms and plantations, last October.

The HSBC economist nonethe-less sees higher food prices tem-pered by cheaper fuel in the CPI. “[T]he most recent leg down in oil prices should help keep a lid on things for the foreseeable future,” Incalcaterra said.

According to Incalcaterra, “[h]eadline CPI is set to undershoot the 2 to 4 percent target in 2015 and should stay comfortably within range for 2016,” citing that the BSP last month lowered its projections to 1.4 percent for 2015 and 2.3 percent for 2016. In end-November, the year-to-date headline inflation rate stood at 1.4 percent.

WIN Hyundai and WIN Chevrolet: Three giant locations to serve you

THERE’S no better place for kababayans to shop for Hyundai vehicles than WIN Hyundai in Carson, Calif.

Established in 2011, the young dealership started with the goal of becoming the premiere Hyundai dealership. Since then, it has lived up to its aim by consistently ranked among the top five dealers in the district. In 2012, the dealership, which is also Equus Certified, was also ranked No. 1 in district sales.

WIN is proud to carry Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power and Associates ranked the automaker No. 2 among non-premium automakers in the 2015 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study.

“Finishing among the top two non-premium brands in this year’s J.D. Power, the APEAL Study shows Hyundai takes design, technology, features, and performance seriously across the entire lineup. Having the best-selling Sonata ranking among the top two in its class is a remarkable accomplishment and we are committed to delivering the highest customer experience possible to our owners,” said Mike O’Brien, vice president of corporate and product planning at Hyundai.

WIN Hyundai offers a wide selection of quality Hyundai vehicles and extends its offerings across the Los Angeles area with its two locations: one in Carson and another in El Monte. On both sites, customers can find new and certified pre-owned vehicles – including the Santa Fe, Sonata, Elantra and Genesis Coupe – to meet a variety of budgets and preferences. Because the Carson and ElMonte locations serve just about anyone and everyone in Southern California, its experienced sales representatives are prepared and eager to help customers find the cars that best fit their preferences and needs.

When it comes to purchasing a Hyundai, WIN specializes in working with all types of credit, good or bad, and has the ability to refinance current loans.

Additionally, although it sells Hyundai cars, the dealership services vehicles of all makes and models and currently has an oil change special of $19.95

For Chevrolet owners and

shoppers in Los Angeles, you may check out WIN’s third location at WIN Chevrolet, which will make sure to handle everything from helping you purchase a new or used Chevy. Schedule an appointment or just stop on by to take any of our 2015 Chevrolet models for a test drive including the 2015 Chevrolet Camaro, 2015 Chevrolet Impala, and 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe.

Beyond the highly-praised brand WIN offers Southern California residents, it has departments dedicated diverse groups found throughout the Los Angeles region, including Chinese, Korean, Hispanic and Filipino communities.

“We want to make the buying process as easy as possible, so we understand communicating in your native language can be important to completely understanding the purchasing and financing of your vehicle,” said Munir Younis, general sales manager of the dealership.

Younis, who is of Middle Eastern descent, grew up in the Philippines and can speak Tagalog fluently, just as the Filipino sales representatives at the dealership.

“We have a dedicated team that serves the largest Filipino community in the U.S. We believe in giving back to the community and have participated in multiple sponsorship opportunities with multiple Filipino groups and organizations, including the Philippine Independence Day Foundation,” he said.

Among Filipino members of the WIN Hyundai Carson team include long-time car industry veterans Jun Milan and Jay Trinidad.

“WIN is a great dealership and customer service is the best it can be,” Milan said.

Also on the Filipino team is Franklin Magarro, the dealership’s internet sales manager.

In addition to its on-location offerings, those shopping for Hyundai cars can browse WIN’s inventory online with user-friendly filters. Whether you know specifically what make and model you’re looking for, are trying to shop based on a budget, or simply want to browse through what is available, the dealership website makes it easy to shop around from home. Live chat is also available and sales representatives are happy to assist customers via phone.

WIN Hyundai Carson2205 E 223rd StreetCarson, CA 90810(877) 354-4253Monday through Saturday: 9am

to 9pmSunday: 10am to 8pmWIN Hyundai El Monte3462 N Peck RoadEl Monte, CA 91731(877) 290-2164Monday through Sunday: 9am

to 9pmwww.winhyundai.comWin Chevrolet2201 E. 223rd Street Carson,

CA 90810(818) 639-1216www.winchevrolet.com

Manila toughest city to navigate in the worldby FRANCES MANGOSING

Inquirer.net

MANILA was voted the tough-est city to navigate in the world, a recent survey from automobile technology company Drivemode showed.

The research revealed that more half (58 percent) of drivers in Manila used navigation apps such as Waze and Google Maps while driving. Riyadh followed as the second toughest city to navi-gate with 54 percent and New Delhi was third with 52 percent.

The study also showed that

Manila drivers were some of the least distracted drivers in the world.

Only 15 per cent of drivers in Manila used call and text functions while driving, said the study, compared to two-fifths (40 per cent) of drivers from Toronto and 39 per cent of New York and LA drivers.

“Drivers across the seven Western cities studied—Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, London, New York, Philadelphia and Toronto—were found to be per-petual multitaskers while driving, juggling up to five apps during

their trips. Western drivers used music apps most often (34 per-cent), followed by navigation (24 percent), phone (22 percent), and texting or messaging apps (16 percent),” it added.

The survey also noted that Manila drivers preferred silence while driving and tied with Mum-bai in listening to music for at least seven minutes during their journey. Those in Chicago, in contrast, listen to music for about 22 minutes.

The Drivemode survey gath-ered responses from 25,000 driv-ers around the world.

Drunk driving and your motor car insurance policyIT’S Christmas party season

once again!If you go home late at night

after these merry making events, you will notice cars that swerve from one lane to another, lurch forward suddenly or worse, wan-der off and clip railings or even other cars on the road.

These are sure signs that the driver is in a bad state of intoxica-tion from alcohol or even prohib-ited drugs.

Unfortunately, Filipinos do not bother to read the legal clauses of their comprehensive motor insurance policy. They only pay attention when an accident has already happened.

One of the more important provisions of the comprehensive motor insurance policy is a state-ment on drunk driving. If you meet an accident that causes death or destruction of property, your insurance policy will NOT pay a cent to you.

Compounding your hangover the following day are the penalties associated with being caught driv-ing under the influence (DUI).

Another worrisome statistic is the growing number of new cars on the road.

One can only surmise that a lot of these new car owners are neophyte drivers.

This combination of new driv-ers and drinking sprees during Christmas parties can quickly turn your merry making into a nightmare.

So limit your alcohol intake when attending Christmas par-ties and drive more carefully at night during this merry-making season.

by JOE FERRERIAManilaTimes.net

Eye on safety, Calif. sets rules for self-driving carsa steering wheel, and a licensed driver must be ready to take over if the machine fails.

Google, which is pushing to get cars without a steering wheel or pedals to consumers, expressed “grave disappointment” with the rules, which the tech giant said would slow deployment of technology with huge life-saving potential.

Though no manufacturer has said it thinks the cars are ready just yet, at least a dozen are de-veloping the technology. Google has suggested a model could be ready for limited use sooner than the public expects. In September, the safety chief of its self-driving car project, Ron Medford, said the technology is “close to working pretty damn well.”

California’s go-slow approach could benefit Texas, which this summer emerged as a competitor in the deployment of self-driving cars when officials in the capital city of Austin welcomed Google prototypes for company-spon-sored testing.

“Given the potential risks as-sociated with deployment of such

Seattle becomes �rst city to let Uber drivers unionizeSEATTLE—Seattle on Monday,

Dec. 14 became the first city in the nation to allow drivers of ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft to unionize over pay and working conditions.

Supporters erupted into cheers after the City Council voted 8-0 in favor of the legislation, which is seen as a test case for the chang-ing 21st century workforce. The companies strongly oppose it, and several council members ac-knowledged there would be legal challenges ahead but said it was worth doing.

The measure requires compa-nies that hire or contract with driv-ers of taxis, for-hire transportation companies and app-based ride-hailing services to bargain with their drivers, if a majority shows they want to be represented. Drivers would be represented by nonprofit organizations certified by the city.

Seattle has been a national

leader on workers’ rights, such as gradually raising the minimum wage to $15 and requiring most employers to provide paid sick leave.

“My intent is to make sure that the people, the drivers, the work-ers in our community continue to have access to good wage jobs,” Councilmember Mike O’Brien said. He added innovation can continue to happen, but it shouldn’t be done at the expense of workers.

Many drivers in Seattle are im-migrants who depend on full-time work, but some make less than minimum wage and lack basic worker rights, such as sick leave and protection from retaliation, he said.

The National Labor Relations Act does not extend collective bargaining rights to independent contractors.

San Francisco-based Uber and others say federal labor law prevents cities from regulating

collective bargaining, and the ordinance would violate federal antitrust laws. Opponents also argue it would be costly for the city to implement, it would violate driv-ers’ privacy since their information would be given to the organiza-tion, and it would stifle the growth of the on-demand economy.

In a response to a request for a comment on the legislation, Uber said in a statement Monday it is “creating new opportunities for many people to earn a better living on their own time and their own terms.”

San Francisco-based Lyft urged the mayor and council to reconsid-er the measure and listen to those who seek the flexible economic opportunity the company offers.

“Unfortunately, the ordinance passed today threatens the privacy of drivers, imposes substantial costs on passengers and the city, and conflicts with longstanding

Your smartphone can help you achieve...cation offerings and download its mobile app instead. Using an app designed for device readability will make transactions easier and more efficient. When downloading an app to your smartphone, make sure you’re using a trusted source. Make sure you download directly from your phone’s app store or your bank’s website.

• Review functionality: Mobile applications are always evolv-ing and improving. Review your bank’s app functionality periodi-cally to ensure you’re up-to-date. For example, Wells Fargo just added several new features to its already robust mobile banking suite. Once enabled, customers can view balance information with its FastLook swipe feature, as well as be notified of transactions via opt-in push notifications (without having to log in with a username

and password).• Manage your money on-the-

go: Use your bank’s free money management services like online bill pay, mobile check deposit and mobile funds transfer. Get peace of mind before heading out for holi-day shopping. Before purchases, use your phone to check account balances and make transfers as needed in order to avoid overdraft fees.

• Add automatic account alerts: Preset limits for transac-tions and purchases, so you can be immediately notified when those limits have been exceeded. This will help you track your spending and prevent you from breaking your budget. You may also wish to sign up for other notifications, such as when your card is declined, your balance drops below a certain threshold or a direct deposit posts to your account.

• Get reminded: Make late fees a thing of the past. Set up calendar reminders for credit card payments, mortgages and other bill due dates. Your bank’s app may also have a built-in reminder feature to help you streamline payments.

• Keep contact details up-to-date: Make sure your bank knows how to reach you. For example, some banks notify customers of possible suspicious card trans-actions through text messages -- which allow customers to reply quickly to confirm whether the transaction is legitimate or not.

More banking tech tips and re-sources can be found at wellsfargo.com/mobile.

Thanks to new user-friendly technologies, being responsible with your money is easier than ever. Be smart with your smart-phone and use it to help meet your 2016 financial goals.

Makati still investors’ preferred addressby CATHERINE TALAVERA

ManilaTimes.net

AS the country’s prime financial district, Makati’s shine has not worn off yet, according to online property listing firm Lamudi Phil-ippines.

It said multinational corpora-tions and prestigious local com-panies still prefer to locate their businesses in Makati.

Despite being the most expen-sive city to be based in the country, Makati is still more affordable than other major cities in Southeast Asia, Lamudi said, which is why foreign-based investors still prefer to locate in the city.

Citing a report from Colliers International, the property listing site said land values in the Makati central business district have risen by 2.43 percent, hitting an average of P463,700 per square meter.

“Rental rates for office and commercial spaces have only slightly lowered,” Lamudi noted, “but are still among the highest in the country, with premium space commanding between P1,100 and P1,400 per square meter.”

The online property portal said Makati’s continued growth and presence of numerous commer-cial establishments, offices, and embassies make the city a still preferred investment destination in Metro Manila.

It said Makati has been consid-ered as the Philippines’ leading financial center since the 1970’s and is currently one of the most

prominent cities in Southeast Asia, making it self-sustaining.

“The city is also one of the most highly developed in the Philippines, with its comprehen-sive urban amenities a significant draw for home-seekers,” Lamudi said. “Makati is a coveted address, with many reasons as to why it continues to lead Metro Manila’s business districts.”

According to Lamudi, aside from being known as the country’s central business district for the longest time, Makati remains to be attractive to investors, as it houses “everything that one needs” from retail centers to life-style places, schools, hospitals, places of worship, and residential communities.

Lamudi said Makati is now home for over 60,000 commercial and retail establishments,

which are mainly responsible for the city’s 2014 income of Php12.79 billion.

The city also has 160 schools,

14 hospitals, 10 places of worship, and nine premiere residential com-munities, Lamudi noted.

These are on top of 54 foreign embassies and 34 consulates that are located in the city, which also hosts 19 international organiza-tions, including the United Na-tions, the United

Nations Children’s’ Educational Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Developmental Program (UNDP).

The 24 Business Process Out-sourcing and Information Tech-nology firms in Makati are also major drivers of the city’s growth, Lamudi noted.

“The presence of numerous commercial establishments, con-sulates and embassies, schools, offices, and medical institutions continues to encourage property investment in the city,” Lamudi observed. “These, in part, help with the city’s continued overall growth, resulting in significantly high returns.”

LOS ANGELES—California regulators have unveiled a road-map that would let consumers be-gin using self-driving cars, though manufacturers would have to prove the emerging technology is safe before a licensed driver could get chauffeured around town.

The approach California’s De-

partment of Motor Vehicles of-fered Wednesday, Dec. 18 in precedent-setting draft regula-tions is cautious, though it does allow that Californians could be behind the wheel of a self-driving car by 2017.

Among other safety-related requirements, the cars must have

Seattle becomes �rst US city to...federal law,” Lyft’s statement said.

Charlotte Garden, an assistant law professor at Seattle University, said it’s a “virtual certainty” that the ordinance will be challenged in court if it’s enacted.

“I anticipate that other cities will consider similar measures, but they may wait to see whether the ordinance survives review by a federal court,” she said.

Mayor Ed Murray told the council in a letter Monday he supports the right of workers to unionize but has concerns about the bill. Murray worried about the unknown costs of administering the measure.

Murray said after the vote that he wouldn’t sign the legislation but under the City Charter it will still become law.

Uber has about 400,000 driv-ers nationwide with about 10,000 in Seattle. Its rival, Lyft, also has thousands of drivers in Seattle

but declined to give a specific number.

READ: QC Court stands by TRO on Uber, GrabCar permits

Legal experts have been mixed on how the bill would be chal-lenged in court, including whether the ordinance violates antitrust laws because it would allow driv-ers to get together and set rates.

Uber is facing a class-action lawsuit in federal court in Cali-fornia over worker classification. The plaintiffs named in the suit say they are Uber employees, not independent contractors, and have been shortchanged on expenses and tips.

Uber and Lyft say drivers have flexibility in deciding when they work and how many hours, and many chose to drive to supplement their income. But drivers don’t have a say in rate changes, can be deactivated at will and don’t have access to worker protections such as sick leave and minimum wage laws, Dawn Gearhart, a represen-

tative with Teamsters Local 117.Under the proposed ordinance,

the city will give certified nonprofit organizations a list of eligible drivers at each company, and the groups must show that a majority of drivers of each company want representation. The organizations would then bargain on behalf of those drivers.

“This is amazing,” said Saad Melouchi, 30, who drives for Uber. “I’m so happy for myself and for other drivers.”

He said he would like to bargain over safety, living wage and other issues.

Some for-hire drivers who spoke at the public hearing urged the council to hold off on the leg-islation, saying they didn’t have a voice in the process.

The Teamsters Union Local 117 also celebrated the vote, while the National Right To Work Legal Foundation criticized it as a viola-tion of drivers’ rights. (Inquirer.net)

Longo Lexus o�ers the ultimate conveniences in customer amenities

WE all know that the process of buying a car is not just as sim-ple as buying a new pair of shoes at the mall. It is a long process that involves careful comparison between vehicle models, review-ing the car’s specifications with regards to the needs of the buy-er, and of course, the negotia-tions for the financing packages and promos.

As such, it is very important for Longo Lexus that its custom-ers are supremely comfortable and well-pampered if they are going to make that important decision of which Lexus they will drive home.

As a car dealership, there are many reasons why Longo Lexus has been an Elite of Lexus dealer since 1992. One of those reasons includes the ultimate conve-niences that they offer in cus-tomer amenities. As one of the leading Lexus car dealerships, Longo Lexus provides not only pre-sales conveniences, but also noteworthy post-sales services.

Longo Lexus is known for the unique amenities that they offer to dealership customers.

One of those unique amenities include an on-site Auto Club of Southern California (AAA) cen-ter. The AAA branch offers DMV services, airline, car, and hotel reservations, discounted movie and local attraction tickets, AAA membership application process-ing, OnBoard Teen Safe Driver Program, auto and home insur-ance, and more. Sign up at our AAA branch in Longo, and you’ll receive a special $13 discount off the original membership price.

Aside from from the on-site AAA branch, Longo is also the first dealership in the US to of-fer Verizon Wireless and Verizon Wireless Neighborhood services on-site. Offering the latest tech-nologies in telecommunications, mobile accessories, and services, Longo’s on-site Verizon branch makes it even more convenient for customers to stay connected with the world. Our Verizon Wireless Premium Retailer is open from Monday to Friday, 7am-7pm; Saturday, from 7am to 5:30pm; and Sunday, from 8am to 4pm. Please call (888) 811-5201.

While waiting for your car to come out of our premium car-care service lines or while you’re going through our wide inven-tory of luxurious Lexus vehicles, you can enjoy a quick bite at Sub-

way or a nice re-freshing drink at Starbucks.

If you want to pamper your car, you can also shop at the Lon-go Lexus Parts Boutique, which carries a wide selection of gen-uine Lexus parts and accessories for your vehicle. With over 31,000 parts and acces-sories in stock, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for.

The after-sales services of a dealership is just as important as the pre-sales amenities. And it these after-sales services that make buying a vehicle at Longo Lexus a truly rewarding experience.

We offer complimentary loaner vehicles for your use while your car is in our service center. For inquiries, on our loaners, please call our coordinators at 1-800-597-0813.

For your convenience, we also offer complimentary shuttle ser-vice to take you to your office, home, or even the mall—basically anywhere within a 15-mile ra-dius—while your vehicle is being serviced.

If you don’t have time to make the drive to our dealership, our Longo Lexus Mobile Service Van and Truck can provide routine maintenance services, such as oil changes and tire rotations, right at your home or office. Appoint-ments can be made up to 6 months in advance.

Similarly, if your service require-ments need the car to be physi-cally present at our Longo service center, we offer complimentary flatbed truck pick-up and delivery of your vehicle to and from our dealership. Our Longo Lexus Mo-bile Service Van and Truck, and our complimentary flatbed truch pick-up and delivery service are exclusively for cars that are pur-chased from Longo Lexus, and are located within 60mile radius from Longo.

Please call 1-800-597-0813 to schedule your appointment.

Also, for every service appoint-ment, each vehicle receives a com-plimentary car wash in our Longo Lexus Car Spa.

For our clients who wish to use other cars, aside from those among our fleet of loaner Lexus cars, they can avail of the services of our Enterprise Rent-A-Car offices.

With two branches on the Longo Premises, Enterprise is ready to address all your car rental needs. Please call (800) 969-6519 for more information.

We understand that life’s daily grind requires our customers to be always on top of everything while keeping up with an on-the-go lifestyle. Which is they are more than welcome to work at our Longo Business Center where they can work on our com-puter terminals, free of charge. We also offer complimentary Wireless Internet Access (Wi-Fi) to our customers throughout the facility. This is particularly useful for our customers with mobile devices, laptops, and tablets.

While you wait for your car to come out of our service center, your kids can enjoy and have a good time at our Children Play Area, where we offer video games and other activities for the young ones.

Longo Lexus customers will also be offered complimentary use of our iPads while they are waiting for their vehicle.

For more information on our Longo Lexus Guest Services, please log on to www.longolex-us.com/GuestAmenities or call (626) 539-2956.

Longo Lexus is located at 3530 North Peck Road, El Monte, CA 91731.

Eye on safety, Calif. sets rules for self-driving carsa new technology, DMV believes that manufacturers need to obtain more experience in testing driver-less vehicles on public roads prior to making this technology avail-able to the general public,” the agency said in a written summary of its draft regulations.

Those draft rules set out how the DMV wants to move beyond the current small-scale testing of prototypes on public roads. The DMV can change the rules over the coming months before they are finalized, and the industry is sure to lobby for significant changes.

There are no comprehensive federal rules addressing the technology, and as the largest auto market in the US, rules in California are a landmark in the development of self-driving technology.

Under California’s framework, manufacturers would receive a permit for three years, during which time consumers could lease the cars but manufacturers would be required to keep tabs on how safely they are driving and report that performance to the state.

Before the DMV grants that three-year permit, an indepen-dent certifier would need to verify a manufacturer’s safety as-surances. Google and traditional automakers advocated for manu-

facturer self-certification of safety, the standard for other cars.

Drivers would need special, manufacturer-provided training, then get a special certification on their licenses. If a car breaks the law, the driver would be re-sponsible.

Though the timeline for public access is squishy, in principle the DMV could finalize the rules and a manufacturer could satisfy the safety requirements as early as 2017.

That said, the draft rules surely will postpone the technology’s rollout in California.

“This points to a very long slog ahead for not just Google, but really other automakers as well,” said Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina who studies self-driving car regulation. He added: “California’s proposed rules are fantastic news for Texas.”

Austin’s mayoral spokesman Jason Stanford said his city’s government already believes self-driving cars are “legal and safe” and is “thrilled to host innovative ideas like this.”

California’s DMV has said it wanted regulations to protect public safety, but not be so oner-ous that they would stifle develop-ment of a technology that could prove safer than human drivers.

After all, cars that can safely drive themselves under all con-

ditions wouldn’t rely on drivers who may be drowsy, distracted, buzzed—or unable to drive be-cause of their age or a disability. Boosters say the technology could prevent many of the more than 32,000 deaths on US roads each year.

The cars use a suite of sen-sors—including radar, lasers and cameras—and onboard comput-ers to drive.

Eleven companies already have permission to test on California’s public roads, with Ford the latest addition. There have been scat-tered collisions, nearly all involv-ing Google cars. Those collisions have been minor, and the tech giants says each has been caused by drivers of other cars.

Google spokesman Johnny Luu said the company was “gravely disappointed” by the draft regu-lations.

“Safety is our highest priority and primary motivator as we do this,” he said in a written state-ment.

Meanwhile, a consumer group applauded the draft rules as ap-propriately cautious.

The DMV “did exactly what they should do, which is put the public safety first — and then take steps that promote the technology in a safe way,” said John Simpson, privacy project director at Con-sumer Watchdog and frequent Google critic. (Inquirer.net)

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LA Weekend Edition -- December 19 -- 22, 2015

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