Ramos resigns as envoy, says Duterte is 'full of s**t' - FilAm Star

Vol. IX Issue 395 1028 Mission Street, 2/F, San Francisco, CA 94103 Tel. (415) 593-5955 or (650) 278-0692 [email protected] Nov. 3 - 9, 2016

WEEKLY ISSUE 70 CITIES IN 11 STATES ONLINE

ENTERTAINMENT | B7

FAS’ fast guide to NorCal Pinoy candidates

By Daniel Llanto | FilAm Star Correspondent

SPORTS NEWS| A5

Comic unmasked

ENTERTAINMENT | B6

Ramos resigns as envoy,says Duterte is ‘full of s**t’

Beauty resigns title in the wakeof comments caught on video

By Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent

Arum’s prediction

31 Pinoys transported to safety by embassy in Rome after quakes

By Corina Oliquino | FilAm Star Correspondent

Part 2.Here are more Filipino-American candidates running for office in the No-

vember 8 general elections in their own words . . .TO PAGE A4

Sen. Cayetano lashes at former U.S.ambassador for ‘interfering’ with PH politics

Former President Fidel V. Ramos resigned as the country’s special envoy to China after criticizing President Rodrigo Duterte’s repeated diatribes against the United States while cozying up to China. In this context, Ramos

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano shot back at outgoing U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg over the latter’s recent remark that he and Transportation Sec. Arthur Tugade made an “unpublicized” trip to China

said he finds Duterte “full of s…t.”In a television interview, Ramos

tried to act statesman-like by saying he resigned simply because he has done his job and that proper officials have taken over. “I’ve done my job… to

break the ice and help restore the ties of goodwill and friendship (between the Philippines and China),” he added.

But in his op-ed piece in Manila Bulletin, Ramos indicated that he had

TO PAGE A7

Former President Fidel V. Ramos (Photos: www.clubmadrid.org)

prior to President Rodrigo Duterte’s state visit to Beijing.

Cayetano stressed there was noth-ing suspicious about the China trip being “unpublicized” because unlike

TO PAGE A7

From L-R, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Sec. Arthur Tugade, U.S. Amb. Philip Goldberg(Photos: www.pnewscentral.ph / www.manila.coconuts.com / www.alchetron.com)

By William Casis | FilAm Star Correspondent

Thirty-one Filipinos who were affected by Italy’s most powerful earthquake in 36 years are now in the custody of the Philippine Embassy in Rome, said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The embassy’s Officer Hector Cruz assured all Filipinos were accounted

for, loaded on a bus and transported to the nearby Perugia, out of harm’s way.

“The Italian Red Cross helped take care of them, as well,” the embassy wrote.

The DFA said the 31 Filipinos were plucked from the mountainous

TO PAGE A7


After failing to win the Miss Earth title and issuing controversial statements, Filipino-German Imelda Schweighart on Monday voluntarily re-signed as Miss Philippines-Earth 2016.

Schweighart and her mother Annabeth Bautista met with Lorraine Schuck, executive vice- president of Carousel Productions. The organizers of Miss Earth and Miss Philippines-Earth, Carousel Productions, sub-sequently accepted Schweighart’s resignation.

The 21-year old Schweighart failed to make it to the Top 16 in the Miss Earth 2016 competition held last October 29 at SM MOA Arena. Miss

Ecuador Katherine Espin bagged the title in the said international competi-tion.

Soon after, a video posted by a ne-tizen showing Schweighart approach-ing her supporters and criticizing the winner went viral.

The 19-second video clip was posted on YouTube on October 30 and later shared on Pageontology Facebook page, a social media account solely dedicated to beauty pageant updates.

The video clip has been taken down on YouTube but copies of the video are still making rounds on Face-book and Twitter.

TO PAGE A7

Ms. Ecuador-Earth Katherine Espin (left) and Ms. PH-Earth Imelda Schweighart (right)(Photos: www.oliverwillis.com / www.missosology.info)

SFPD stops training with PNP overalleged extra-judiciary killings

After 16 years of exchange train-ing program partnership with the Philippine National Police (PNP), San Francisco Police District (SFPD) is now cutting its training program ties to the country.

In a statement to the local CBS affiliate KPIX, SFPD said that this was due to “…concerns over allegations of civil and human rights violations in the

TO PAGE A7

From L-R, Rob Bonta, Jim Navarro, and Mike Guingona(Photos: www.wikipedia.org / www.wingsofangeltransport.com / www.twitter.com)

Mocha Solution

FilAm StarA2 Nov. 3 - 9, 2016

ph newsCotabato mayor, 9 bodyguards slain in shoot-out with cops

LAPD vet hails Duterte’s & Estrada’swar against illegal drugs

By William Casis | FilAm Star Correspondent

Prosecutors appeal dismissal of Sen. Lito Lapid’s graft case

Hours after President Ro-drigo Duterte threatened to in-tensify his crackdown on crime following his trip to Japan, a mayor accused of drug traffick-ing was killed along with nine bodyguards in a shoot-out with police.

Samsudin Dimaukom, the mayor of Saudi Ampatuan, was one of more than 150 local gov-ernment officials, judges and police identified by Duterte earlier this year as being in-volved in the illegal drug trade.

The deadly crime war has claimed more than 3,800 lives and drawn criticism from the United States, the United Nations and international rights groups who have accused police of summarily executing suspects.

Police Spokesman Supt. Romeo Galgo said that Dimau-


A veteran officer of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has expressed his support to the anti-drug crusades of both President Duterte and Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada, saying that “drastic measures” have to be taken to address the illegal drug situation in the country.

Retired LAPD Officer Scott Gilliam, who is in Manila to train members of the Manila Police Dis-trict MPD to become instructors of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program, described as “commendable” the efforts of Duterte and Estrada to rid the country of drugs.

“Having the same mission, you have to look at that point when things are terrible in the country. And sometimes drastic measures have to be taken to address drastic situations, or when things get beyond the point,” said Gilliam.

“You have to do something different,” he added.Gilliam is the Director for Training of DARE America who, along with fellow DARE mentor Jeffrey

Smith, were welcomed by Estrada at the Manila City Hall. Gilliam was one of

the founders of DARE in 1983 in Cali- fornia while working as police officer of LAPD. Gilliam and Smith led 12 other DARE America instructors in training 72 members of the MPD to become certified instructors of DARE, an international classroom- based instruction that teaches elementary schoolchil-dren to avoid drugs and other harmful vices.

“I know that the President wants to cut down drugs in the Philippines. And I think that is very important. The fact that he has made an effort to stop drugs in the Philippines, I think that is a tremendous effort, “ Smith commented about Du-terte’s anti-drug policies.

Launched in 1983, DARE is a comprehensive education program taught in thousands of schools in the U.S. and 52 other countries, including the Philippines. DARE curricula address drugs, violence, bullying, internet safety, and other high risk circumstances that today are too often a part of students’ lives.

It was Estrada who introduced DARE to the country in 1993 when he was vice-president and head of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC). He now serves as chairman of DARE Philippines.

Estrada thanked DARE America for its support to his administration’s continuing effort to rid the capital city of drugs and save the future of the young generation.

“The people of Manila and I will be forever grateful for your support and active involvement in this crusade to make Manila a city for the future: progressive, peaceful, and drug-free,” Estrada told the team of DARE America instructors.

He said fighting the drug menace “is a fight for survival.” “We must take immediate and effective actions for the sake of our country. As the mayor of Ma-

nila, I want to make Manila the first city in the country to be drug-free,” Estrada pointed out.In inviting DARE America instructors in Manila, Estrada said they are hoping to train more DARE

instructors as part of the city government’s plan to expand the coverage of the program.MPD, he said, only has 14 active DARE instructors since he started implementing the program in

Manila in 2013.Early last month, through Estrada’s initiative, 29 Army soldiers from the Philippine Army-Civil

Military Operations Group graduated from the DARE Officers Training Course, the first batch of mili-tary men to be trained as DARE instructors.

enforcers, which prompted them to fire back,” Galgo said.

Police said they suffered no casualties.

Dimaukom made a name for himself by funding the con-struction of a pink mosque in Saudi Ampatuan in a plea for peace in the town which has been wracked by violence.

Duterte, who swept to power in the May elections on a pledge to eradicate drugs, described his critics as “fools” and said he is not breaking any domestic laws by threatening

to kill criminals.After his state visit to Ja-

pan, Duterte threatened to step up police killings of drug sus-pects. He announced his wish to get rid of illegal drugs in the Philippimes. He also told the public to expect about 20,000 or 30,000 more killings.

Ombudsman prosecutors appealed the Sandiganbayan’s dismissal of the graft case against former actor-turned Sen. Lito Lapid for having taken too much time in the preliminary investigation stage.

In an 11-page motion for reconsideration, the Office of the Special Prosecutor said the court should have looked at the cir-cumstances too, and seen that the time consumed was reasonable. It stressed that “speedy disposition is a relative and flexible concept.”

The former action star of Philippine movies was accused of overpricing the purchase of 3,880 liters of fertilizer by PHP 4.27 million, as well as foregoing the required public bidding during his incumbency as Pampanga governor in 2004.

On September 30, the anti-graft court’s First Division junked the case against Lapid and three

fertilizer suppliers because the preliminary investigation took 37 months, nine of them awaiting Ombudsman approval of the indict-ment prepared by the prosecutors.

The state prosecutors con-tended Lapid and his co-accused had asked the Ombudsman’s prosecutors for several deadline extensions for filing their counter-affidavits, as well as more time to produce certain documents.

“To fault the Office of the Om-budsman and include the period spent for the allowance of exten-sions sought to file their counter-affidavits and several other motions for the production of documents and the like is unfair to the pros-ecution,” read the Ombudsman prosecutors’ motion.

The appeal said the respon-dents just denied the graft allega-tions in the preliminary investiga-tion stage and never moved for an

early resolution of their cases.The prosecutors said “the

respondents’ silence may therefore be interpreted as a waiver of such right” to the speedy disposition of their cases.

The prosecutors said the “baseless imputation of delay and prejudice” should not be enough to prevent the Ombudsman from pursuing the case.

“The unfounded claim of un-due delay is against the rule of law. The state should not be precluded to run after the supposed violators so long as the statute of limitations in instituting the crime and apply-ing the penalty therefore has not been prescribed,” the appeal added.

While the court dismissed the criminal case against Lapid and the suppliers, it clarified that the government could still pursue a civil case to recover damages from them.

Datu Saudi Ampatuan Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom

(photo: www.vismin.politics.com.ph)

kom and his security personnel opened fire after anti-narcotics police stopped their vehicles at a checkpoint on suspicion they were transporting illegal drugs.

Officers returned fire, killing the men in the town of Makilala.

“Suspects (were) heavily armed and fired upon the law


President Rodrigo Duterte (left) and Mayor Joseph Estrada (right)(photo: www.trendingnewsportal.net.ph)

FilAm StarNov. 3 - 9, 2016 A3

ph newsLegislature sees federalismframework in place by 2019

By Daniel Llanto | FilAm Star Correspondent

The House of Representatives is confident of coming up with a draft Constitution that embodies the shift to a federal form of government for the Philippines in 2019, at which time President

Duterte has vowed to resign to give way to a new president. House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said they expect to meet the original target set by Du-

terte to wrap up legislative work on federalism within three years. Once this is done, the draft of the new Charter will be submitted to a plebiscite to coincide with the 2019 midterm elections.

President Duterte himself urged Congress to “hurry up the process” in his expressed wish to step down earlier than his six-year term. This was the same interest the President gave to Congress’ restora-tion of the death penalty that he is passionate about.

“Yes. We’ll do it,” Speaker Alvarez said when asked by reporters if the House was on track to meet its target date.

Alvarez said an Executive Order has yet to be issued seeking to establish a 25-man constitutional commission tasked with writing a draft Charter for subsequent deliberation in Congress. He noted that an EO has been forwarded to the Palace in late August and is pend-ing with the Office of the Executive Secretary.

In a speech in Cotabato City earlier, Duterte said: “When this is completed in three years, I give you my word: When the framework is there, I will resign to give way to a new President. You have nothing more to worry about. Let me be the one to say that I want out. I won’t wait for six years,” he also said.

“Just hurry up the process. Once the federal (system) is in place, the regions will be carved up into federal regions, and there will be more power below and less power in high (office), it’s up to you what you’ll see here),” he added.

The drive toward federalism is in keeping with Duterte’s election-campaign platform to have the country decentralized.

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez(photo: www.conceptnewscentral.com)

Duterte turns to Russia for riflesPresident Duterte has be-

littled the decision of the US state department to halt the planned sale of more than 27,000 assault rifles to the Philippine National Police, saying the Philippines could just turn to Russia for firearms.

“Susmaryosep! Is that all?” the President told reporters after visiting the tombs of his parents in Davao City on Tuesday night.

“Is that all they can say to threaten me? That they will not sell firearms to us? We have many air rifles here,” he said in jest.

The US state department stopped the planned sale of 27,304 M4 assault rifles to the PNP on Monday after Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin said he would oppose the transaction.

The state department informs the US Congress when international weapons sales are in the works. Aides said Senate for-eign relations committee staff in-formed the state department that Cardin, the most senior Democrat on the committee, would oppose the deal with the Philippines dur-ing the department’s prenotifica-tion process for the sale of M4s, stopping the deal.Rights violations

Aides said Cardin was reluc-tant for the United States to pro-vide weapons to the Philippines given concerns about human rights violations in the country.

More than 3,700 people have been killed in police operations or by suspected vigilantes since Mr. Duterte took office and launched a brutal war on illegal drugs on June 30.

US criticism of Mr. Du-terte’s violent campaign against drugs has angered the Philippine leader, who almost daily spews profanity-laced tirades against the United States, complicating relations between Washington

and Manila.Last month, during a state

visit to Beijing, Mr. Duterte declared “separation” from the United States and realignment to China and Russia.

Before his trip to Beijing, Mr. Duterte said the United States had refused to sell some weapons to the Philippines, but he did not care because Russia and China were willing suppliers.

In Davao City on Tuesday night, Mr. Duterte said his ad-ministration may turn to Russia for arming PNP personnel.

“Remember what the Rus-sian diplomat said? ‘Come to Russia. We have everything you need,’” Mr. Duterte said, recount-ing his meeting in Davao with Russian Ambassador Igor Kho-vaev before the elections in May. Russian light arms

The Russians have nothing like the short, light M4 assault rifle that fires the popular 5.56-millimeter cartridge.

But standard issue for Rus-sian police forces is the Vityas-SN submachine gun, chambered for the 9×19-mm Parabellum round, and PP-2000, a police subma-chine gun that also fires the 9×19-mm Parabellum cartridge.

For police pistols, the Rus-sians have the Yarygin PYa Grach chambered for the 9×19-mm Parabellum round and looks like a variant of the 9-mm Czech-made CZ SPO1.

Still standard issue for Rus-sian police forces is the Makarov pistol, chambered for the 9×18-mm Makarov cartridge, which is little known in the Philippines.

For rifles, the Russians can offer the PNP, and maybe the Philippine Army and the Marines, various versions of the AK-47, the latest of which is the AKM-47, which is chambered for the heavy 7.62×39-mm cartridge.

PNP still wants M4sEven so, the PNP is not yet

giving up hope that it could get M4s.

The national police chief told reporters on Wednesday that the US supplier, SIG Sauer, had told the PNP that as of Nov. 1, the export license for the M4 sale was still “undergoing the normal pro-cess” in the US state department.

“We will continue to monitor the status of this license and ad-vice of any meaningful changes,” said PNP Director General Ron-ald dela Rosa.

“We don’t yet have an official notice confirming the alleged halting of the procurement. For now, the delivery will push through,” he said.

Dela Rosa said the M4s were intended for the PNP campaign against private armed groups, not for Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs.

In a radio interview earlier on Wednesday, Dela Rosa said his men could use pistols

or even their fists in fighting drug suspects.

Dela Rosa said his only regret should the M4 deal fall through would be “the time lost,” as the government would have to conduct another competitive bid-ding for a new contract for M4s from another source.

In a news briefing at Malaca-ñang on Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella, commenting on Cardin’s concern about the human rights situation in the Philippines, said President Duterte had invited the United Nations to investigate.

“However, the invitation itself does not preclude a care-ful process on procedures to be agreed upon between the Philip-pine government and the [United Nations],” Abella said. (Allan Nawal, Jerome Aning, Marlon Ramos / inquirer.net)

Quote of the Day

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend”Martin Luther King Jr.

ph newsFilAm StarA4 Nov. 3 - 9, 2016

FAS’ FAST GUIDE... FROM PAGE A1

Candidate running for Status Target issues impacting

Fil-Ams On Immigration Trump or Clinton Why vote for candidate

Rob Bonta re-elect for California State Assembly -- Democrat

In office since November 2012

Universal access to quality early education regardless of zip codes, affordable housing, jobs, strong social services safety net, language access to services, and recognition of Filipino historical contributions

Trump’s call to restrict immigration and tourism from the Philippines doesn’t represent the America my mother believed in. If Trump should win I will continue to fight for fair and just immigration reforms within CA. I supported driver’s licenses for the undocumented, just this year Gov. Brown signed my bill to protect the undocumented from deportation.

We have a clear and unequivocal choice . . . I am honored to endorse and vote for Sec. Hillary Clinton for President of the U.S.

The first and only Filipino-American to serve in the CA State Legislature. Will continue to raise profile and values of Fil-Am community. Also first FilAm Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus.

Mike Guingona for San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, District 5

Daly City Council, lawyer Awareness and prevention programs for Pinoys who have highest incidence of Type 2 diabetes, public health, affordable housing, and fair access to county services

Vocal in my objection against Trump’s anti-immigration statements. If he wins in November, I will support him. I would be against any attempts to dismantle benefits to undocumented aliens.

Clinton is the best candidate. I will vote for her.

The only Filipino candidate and the most experienced and qualified person running. 5th District is Asian-majority and birth place of district elections.

Jim Navarro for Union City Mayor

Union City Council since 2004 Affordable housing for near- and nuclear-families, traffic safety and management, efficient and expeditious city permit and licensing, tax holiday for new businesses,

Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is the voice of the racist communities. But the real problem is a congress that is dysfunctional and unwilling to compromise for the best interest of the country. We need to fix Congress first and foremost.

Voting for Clinton not only because I’m Democrat but a realist and humanist. Her vision of America, Stronger Together is my mantra as a community leader in one of the best cities in America.

Believe in equality and open government. Opened many doors for those who seek to place their mark under the American dream banner, “study hard, work hard and treat your neighbor with dignity and respect.”

President Rodrigo Du-terte last Monday night said the use of nuclear energy would not happen during his presidency.

“Maybe someday [but] not during my presidency,” Duterte said in an interview at the Roman Catholic Cem-etery in Davao City.

Duterte rejects use of nuclear energy in PHThe President said the

use of nuclear energy must be studied carefully and the government must come up with safeguards in case of nuclear explosions.

“Huwag muna ngayon kasi (I guess now is not a good time because) we have to come up with safeguards.

Really, really tight safe-guards to assure that there will be no disasters if there is a nuclear leak or explosion somewhere in the nuclear reactors that we will build in,” he said.

“It has to be studied carefully by Congress and by the Filipino people. For

after all, pag may leak ‘yan, pag mag ano, lahat tayo tatamaan diyan (if there is a nuclear leak, we would all be affected) and it’s our country, remember that,” he added.

Duterte said the Philip-pines still has enough power supply.

“Wala pa talaga tayo (We

are not yet in) danger zone that we will die if there’s no energy,” he said.

In September, senators visited the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) to ex-amine whether the 40-year-old could still be used or the government needs to build a new nuclear power plant.

Energy Secratry Alfonso Cusi earlier said that nuclear power is “a good option” for the Philippines.

Cusi said Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated a study on the possible util-ity of the mothballed BNPP. (Nestor Corales / inquirer.net)


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Jericho de Guzman stands at 6-foot-11, but he was never the one to standout in a basketball crowd.

During the team’s championship run in the PBA Governors’ Cup, his only chance to step into the parquet floor was when the confetti started to fall inside Smart Araneta Coliseum.

De Guzman was no fan. He was the team’s practice player, but with the anonymity surrounding him he can be easily mistaken for a spectator.

Until Sunday night at Robinsons Place Manila when he took the stage as the 10th pick in the regular draft by Ginebra.

“Right now sobrang saya ko ngayon, dream come true, pinagtra-bahuhan ko ng five months nag pay off na, officially ka-Barangay na

ako,” said de Guzman.“Ito na start and ibibgay ko best ko. Pagsisikapan ko na tumaas level ng laro ko para sa barangay.”De Guzman is already 27 years old, a little old for someone who’s just starting a professional bas-

ketball career. But age is not an issue for the former College of St. Benilde center who admitted he once doubted

if he could ever become a PBA talent.“Dati before I graduated naisip ko pero, di ako nag give up sa dream ko kasi alam ko through hard

work and dasal sa Diyos makakarating ka sa pangarap mo,” said de Guzman. “Hindi ako nag give up and naghanap ako ng ways. (Bong Lozada / inquirer.net)

Jericho De Guzman(photo: www.spin.ph)

Arum: “Vargas can knock out Pacquiao”Top Rank CEO predicts KOs in Pacquiao-Vargas, Donaire-Magdaleno bouts on November 5

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, Oc-tober 31, 2016 – There has been a cauldron of activity bubbling in Nevada not only because it is a hotly contested swing state in the 2016 U.S. elections; it’s also because it’s five days to go before Philippine boxing legend and Senator Manny Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KOs) –- coming out of retirement – goes up against World Boxing Organization (WBO) Welterweight Champion Jessie Vargas (27-1,10 KOs).

Joining a Pacquiao-headlined fight for the first time on November 5 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas is Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire (37-3, 24 KOs) who will defend his WBO Super Bantamweight title against the undefeated Jessie Magdaleno

(23-0, 17 KOs). The fight – billed as The

Legend vs The Champ -- will be shown on November 6 at 4 a.m. in KSA and 5 a.m. in Dubai, live (with replays) via TFC.tv PPV subscription is at 80 SAR. The Legend vs. The Champ is also available via OSN, ELife and Mozaic TV Powered by Ooredoo. In the U.S., it will be shown on November 5 live, distributed by Top Rank PPV.

In a recent interview with Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman on First Take on ESPN, Top Rank Founder and CEO Bob Arum claimed that far from being an easy fight for Pacquiao, Vargas could end up knocking out the legendary Filipino fighter.

“Jessie Vargas has become

a terrific fighter,” said Arum. “He has a trainer – Dewey Coo-per – that has turned him from being a defensive fighter into an offensive force. And when he won the world title, he knocked out Sadam Ali who is a terrific fighter, who was a member of the U.S. Olympic team, and he (Vargas) knocked out Ali cold. Let me tell you something: the way Manny fights and the way Vargas fights, if Vargas hits him – which he is capable of doing – he could knock Pacquiao out. Remember, Vargas had Bradley out in the last round. The referee stopped the fight by mistake because he thought the 10th second was the bell.”

Arum also told ABS-CBN in another interview: “I think you will see, one way or an-

other, a knockout in this fight. And it’s a lot because Jessie will be fearless, and some people say reckless, and he will be going after Manny, to try and knock Manny out.”

Vargas, who is 10 years younger than Pacquiao, said in an interview with ABS-CBN that “It’s my time to shine. I’m going for a knockout. The min-ute that he (Pacquiao) gives me that opening, I’m taking it. The 8th round sounds very, very good to me.”

Vargas almost knocking down Bradley in the 12th round of their controversial fight in June 2015. (Photo from ABS-CBN News)

The bold predictions don’t end with Vargas; Magdaleno also had daring words to say against Donaire in an ABS-CBN interview.

“He (Donaire) is past his prime. He will be strong for about five rounds. Then he will fade and we will take over,” Magdaleno claimed. Come fight night, Donaire will be 9 years older than his challenger. “Maybe I’ll be the real Flash come November 5th,” added Magdaleno.

“I’m proud of that fight (Donaire vs Magdaleno),” Arum added. “I think it’s going to be a terrific fight. I think every one of these fights is going to be evenly matched, but I can see where people are saying that Donaire and Magdaleno will be a barn burner.” Arum also noted that while Donaire is an experienced warrior, Magdale-no is “training like a beast”.

Of course, Pacquiao and Donaire are aware of all the ma-cho boasting by their respective opponents.

Senator Manny Pacquiao

continues to have the support of ce-lebrity boxing aficionados like Sylvester Stallone and Mario Lopez. (From Sen. Emmanuel Pacquiao’s Instagram)

In an interview with Michelle Joy Phelps of Behind The Gloves, a very relaxed Pacquiao said, “I know him (Vargas) well. He fought in my undercard before so, I know him. I know what I’m going to do in the ring.”

It is interesting to note that the only defeat of Vargas came in the hands of Timothy Bradley who Pacquaio has beaten twice, the last time in April 9 of this year. How-ever, Bradley’s unanimous decision win over Vargas was questioned after what many people thought was the prema-ture halting of the fight when Vargas almost put Bradley out with a devastating punch in the dying seconds of the 12th round on June 27, 2015.

Meanwhile, Donaire is so

confident against Magdaleno that he is already looking at career plans beyond November 5 which includes leaving the

122-pound super bantamweight class to return to featherweight category.

“The truth is that if I win

on November 5th, the next thing I want to do is going against Leo Santa Cruz or Carl Frampton. I’m a warrior and I want the big fights. Expect me in big fights at 126 pounds,” Donaire told Boxing Scene.

In the Middle East, for

more information on The Leg-end vs The Champ, visit emea.kapamilya.com or facebook.com/TFCMiddleEast or follow TFC Middle East on IG and Twitter @KapamilyaTFC.

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When President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte announced his “separa-tion” from the United States during his state visit to China, it shook the world. Not that it would have changed the balance of power in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, but

it was because of the abrupt – “strange,” I might say – way of which it was announced. But what is surreally baffling is his retraction the next day. Is it a case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde syndrome or it’s just plain grandstanding?

One personality wants to maintain the status quo on U.S.-Philippine relations while the other personality wants to sever all ties with the U.S. and align with the “ideological flow” of China and Russia. And in a moment of Napoleonic illusion, he saw himself as part of an alliance – China, Philip-pines, and Russia -- against the world! Why didn’t he include North Korea?

The problem is: Duterte (also known as Du30) seems to live in his own little world totally detached from the geopolitical realities that dictate how nations – and their leaders -- interact with one another. He seems to think of the Philippines as an island onto itself that can provide security for her people without help from anybody. And, worst, dismantling the Philippines’ military ties with the U.S. would strip the Philippines of the capability to defend her sovereignty and territorial integrity. Digong’s brand of geopolitics

Evidently, Duterte’s brand of geopolitics di-gresses from established norms and conventions in international relations. His handling of the Philip-pines’ West Philippine Sea/South China Sea claims vis-à-vis the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s (PCA) ruling, which is overwhelmingly favorable to the Philippines, has bungled the country’s strong case against China. Had Duterte stayed on course in pursuing the Philippines’ claims, the other claimant-countries could have used the PCA ruling to pursue their own maritime claims against China.

It’s interesting to note that with all the geopo-litical mishaps and diplomatic faux pas that Duterte did, he had the temerity to claim that he was a Foreign Service graduate. At a press conference last October 19 during his state visit to China, Filipino journalist Ellen Tordesillas quoted him in her column as saying: “Now that I am the President, by the grace of God, I read a lot; I’m a lawyer and I studied geopolitics and all, and also I am a gradu-ate of the Foreign Service so I get to know how to balance this contending (forces).”

But what Digong did was break one of the rules of geopolitics, which is: “Geopolitics is not a zero-sum game.” Indeed, in today’s globalized economy, the object of geopolitics is to arrive at a win-win situation where players need to compro-mise. Gone are the days when nations go to war to settle territorial disputes. The Cold War is over and we are now living in a multipolar world order where all nations are interdependent with one another. The world is shrinking too; and everybody is just a “click” away.

Digong’s attempted maneuver to “separate” from the U.S. -- militarily and economically -- and threatened to form an alliance with China and Rus-sia, did not only fail to materialize but it also made a “village clown” of himself. And while he made all these geopolitical and diplomatic boo-boos, his Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had the thankless job of straightening out the knots and kinks of his “inde-pendent foreign policy,” which has been causing a lot of embarrassment for him. It’s all drama

With all the “Du30 drama” he staged in

Beijing, Duterte was able to attract $24 billion in investments and loans from China. It must have made Chinese President Xi Jinping feel triumphant that the Philippines -- under Duterte’s leadership – is now in his pocket, totally detached from the U.S. And it would certainly have given him a firm grip on the vast South China Sea. Wrong!

The day Digong returned to the Philippines, he clarified that he’s not cutting ties with the U.S. He said he was just pursuing a “separation of foreign policy” from the U.S., which was quite different in meaning and purpose to what he proclaimed in China, which was “separation from the U.S.” He said that he didn’t want it to affect local jobs in American-owned companies in the Philippines and the large number of Filipinos in the U.S. He also said that it is in the best interest of the Philippines to maintain diplomatic relations with the U.S.Volte face

An article on the Nikkei Asian Review titled, “Duterte’s ‘about-face’ unsettles Xi,” published last October 28, talked about Duterte’s volte face [an act of turning around so as to face in the opposite direction] upon his return to the Philippines. The report said: “The Internet was not slow to react to Duterte’s volte face, and the word ‘fraud’ has gone viral. One social media post read, ‘Duterte changed his face as soon as he returned to the Philippines after securing money from China.’

“The reference was to the traditional Chinese art of ‘face changing,’ where performers go from one character to the next by swapping masks in a Beijing opera or during a banquet. Many feel it was not the mask that was changed so much as a complete change of heart.

“Other online posts put it in less uncertain terms, ‘China got dumped. China was deceived,’ read one. Another said, ‘It is a divorce in disguise [from the U.S.] for the sake of borrowing [from China]. That’s not uncommon in China.’ ” Damage control

It must have occurred to Duterte that he didn’t have to let go of the U.S. now that he had secured a huge economic package from China. During his subsequent visit to Japan following the China trip, he appointed Philippine Star columnist Babe Ro-mualdez as special envoy to the U.S., reportedly as part of a “rebooting” of relationship with the U.S.

The Philippine Star report said: “Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. informed Romualdez of his appointment yesterday at the Imperial Tower Hotel in Tokyo, on the sidelines of Duterte’s three-day official visit.

“ ‘We are trying on how we can work with the changes… especially with the upcoming elections in the US so we will see how we can (establish)… let’s call it as rebooting our relationship with the US,’ said a member of the President’s official delegation here.

“ ‘We’d like to communicate the message of how we will have a rebooting of our relationship,’ the official, who declined to be named, added. ‘Yes, of course we will continue our relationship with the US.’

“As special envoy, Romualdez’s ‘special mis-sion’ is to put back on track Philippine-US rela-tions,” the report concluded, which begs the ques-tion: Can Romualdez fix the damage Digong made?Geopolitics is addition

Now that Digong has his cake, he wants to eat it, too. But while a zero-sum game might produce intermediate success in the short term, just like what Digong did on his China visit; he should – nay, must! -- realize that in the long term, good geopolitics produces better results if it weren’t played as a zero-sum game. It reminds me of the late legendary political leader Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez whose mantra was “Politics is addition.” And so is Geopolitics.

At the end of the day, Digong’s flip-flop diplo-macy may have worked in his favor at this time, but he must be careful because it could boomerang the next time he flip-flops. ([email protected])

It’s just unfortunate that Philippine Presi-dent Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte, the president I admired for pursuing his campaign promise to solve the country’s drug problem in one year (originally it was six months, but he requested

for another six months after seeing the magni-tude of the problem may not be able to be fixed in six months), made the comment that “The Filipi-nos in America are not Filipinos anymore, they’re Americans. Their attitude is American…” Just for the record, we are Filipinos at heart and we think as Filipinos too… without jeopardizing of course our US citizenships. In fact, most of us here are dual citizens, thus counting us as Filipinos… citizens of the Philippines.

True, I am an American citizen, but I trace my roots in the Philippines and I treasure that! As the saying goes, “Ang hindi marunong lumin-gon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan”. It might sound corny but all of us Filipinos here in the US live by it.

During Philippine Independence Day, we gather together and celebrate our freedom. We raise the Philippine flag in front of the city hall during a flag raising ceremony attended by city officials and FilAms. When boxing icon and Phil-ippine Senator Manny Pacquiao fights here, we take day offs at work and watch the fight… then celebrate with him, win or loss.

The first FilAm California State Legislator Rob Bonta filed many bills related to Filipinos which became laws of the state. His first bill (AB 123) became a law, duly signed by California Governor Jerry Brown incorporating the farm labor contributions of our Filipino farm workers, the 1,500 Delano Manongs, led by Larry Dulay Itliong. The Milpitas City Council led by FilAm Mayor Jose Esteves declared October 25 (Larry’s birthday) as Larry Dulay Itliong Day.

We send money to our relatives there, we invest, we bring honor and glory to the Philip-pines, and we look at the Philippines as our coun-try of origin. Hence, the word FilAms, short for Filipino-Americans, as we associate the country and its people all the time, reminding us here in the US that we are Filipinos.

Majority of Filipinos are somehow satisfied with the President’s performance for the past 100 days, since they saw some improvements in the peace and order situation, but for Filipino-Amer-icans, they have mixed emotions on the matter, especially now that you are not counting us. They may have approved of his good intentions for the country but the way he is implementing it, it’s where the disagreement is.

Nestor Punzalan, a FilAm from San Jose, California said, “I like his intention, good inten-tion…That’s what we need – an iron hand – in dealing with the drug problem. But I don’t agree with his style in carrying out his goals. I just hope that he will change his style and not waiver in his campaign, especially now that he has created a lot of enemies in the process”.

The same observation was registered by Ruel Manipis, also from San Jose, California. “What he is doing is very dangerous but good for the country. Well, my only concern is that, maybe, if he can tone down his words so it will not invite international criticism… that will be great!” Ma-nipis said.

For the first 100 days of Duterte’s admin-


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Duterte’s flip-flop diplomacyPerryScope

Prez Digong: FilAms count,they are Pinoys at heart

As I See It

ELPIDIO R. ESTIOKOistration, he became controversial with many international bodies like the United Nations, the European Union, and with US President Barrack Obama, criticizing his unconventional crackdown against drugs leaving more than 3,600 suspects dead, including more than 1,300 suspects killed in gun battles with police. This is an average of 36 killings a day since the took his office in June.

“The scale of the crackdown has been un-precedented,” according to the Inquirer article a look at the 1st 100 days of Duterte’s phenomenal rule, “launching more than 23,500 raids so far and arresting 22,500 suspected drug dealers and addicts. More than 1.6 million houses of drug sus-pects have been visited by police to invite them to surrender and stop using drugs or disengage from the drug trade. About 732,000 addicts and dealers have surrendered, apparently for fear of being killed…”

Also, FilAm Avelino Ocampo said, “President Duterte is okay on drugs but on other aspects… I think he needs more refinement in dealing with them to be more acceptable and more presiden-tial…”

The same sentiment goes to Dolores Misa. She said, “I like what he is doing being true to his campaign promise to rid off drug lords and reduce drug-related crimes, but I just hope he will do it in a humane manner”.

In the same article, Duterte’s public threats to kill criminals, especially drug dealers, have helped considerably reduce the crime rate, ac-cording to police. A poll by the independent Social Weather Stations last month showed 84 percent of adult Filipinos are satisfied with his war on drugs.

In a separate article from the Inquirer titled Bato-PNP winning war on drugs in Duterte administration’s first-100-days, the “Philippine National Police (PNP) is, so far, winning the war against drugs”, PNP chief Dir. Gen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said Monday.

Asked to give an assessment of the first 100 days of the government’s intensive campaign against illegal drugs, Dela Rosa, in a press brief-ing at Camp Crame, said: “One sentence. We are winning the war on drugs. We are winning.”

Latest statistics from the PNP showed that at least 3,441 individuals died—1,375 in legiti-mate police operations, 2,066 “deaths under investigation”—since President Duterte assumed office up to October.

Records show a total of 22,387 drug person-alities who have been arrested in 23,474 opera-tions under “Oplan Double Barrel” conducted from July 1. Under the “Oplan Tokhang,” the police visited 1,601,691 houses of drug users and pushers. This led to the surrender of 732,115 drug personalities, 52,812 pushers and 679,303 users.

My good friend Gen. Isidro Lapena, Director General of Philippine Drug Enforcement Admin-istration (PDEA) with the rank of a cabinet mem-ber, is doing well in his role as the President’s drug zsar. He was with President Digong in China and signed the RP-China Protocol on Coopera-tion on drug suppression in both countries. From China, he went to Colombo, Shri Lanka to attend a Southeast Asia Conference on drugs and drug prevention.

All these developments are good develop-ments, we from the US recognize. We are with you but please don’t alienate us. We should be counted… we are Filipinos, thinking Filipinos and Filipinos at heart!

(For feedbacks, comments… please email the author @ [email protected]).

ALICE BULOS and the rise of Fil-Am political empowermentTelltale Signs

RODEL RODIS

It was ironic that the Filipino American community leader with the biggest heart of all should die of heart failure at age 86 at the Seton Medical Center in Daly City on October 21. Or perhaps because it was so big, it eventu-

ally had to fail. The heart of Alice Bulos was the subject of tributes by federal and state officials who knew her and by the community she loved and empowered at the memorial service for her on October 29-30 at the Duggan’s Chapel n Daly City.

Among the dignitaries who came and spoke highly of Alice were former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom and US Rep. Anna Eshoo. They joined virtually every Filipino American elected official in the San Francisco Bay Area to pay their final respects to Alice.

They came to honor the one everyone simply called “Alice”, the one San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee called “the Grand Dame of Filipino American Politics”.

“She unified Filipino-American politics, understanding how powerful the collective voice could be in advocating for the community. She made raising that voice easier through the Filipino American Grassroots Movement, a voter registration drive to bring more Filipinos into the political process. To ensure her legacy did not end

with her, she mentored young leaders to continue advocating for those who could not advocate for themselves,” Mayor Lee said.They started from scratch in 1972

Alice Bulos and her husband, Donnie, to-gether with their daughter, Elizabeth, immigrated to the US in 1972 when Alice was 42 years old. By then, she had already carved a distinguished career for herself in her home country as chair of the Department of Sociology of the University of Santo Tomas where she obtained her Master’s Degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Her husband was a lawyer who graduated from the University of the Philippines.

But they chose to uproot themselves from a respectable and comfortable life to accept the daunting challenge of starting from scratch in a new land. They held firmly to the Thomasian ideal that as you go up the ladder in life, you bring every one up with you.

When it was my turn to speak at the memo-rial service on Sunday, I introduced myself as the first Filipino American elected to public office in San Francisco when I won a seat on the San Francisco Community College Board in 1992. I was reelected in 1996, 2000 and 2004 serving three terms as Board president of the largest community college system in California. In all my campaigns, from the first to the last, Alice was always there for me, making phone calls, handing out flyers, and helping me raise funds.

As we worked to unite and empower our Filipino American community, we met with other Fil-Am leaders from all over the US who were embraced a similar goal. One of them was David Valderrama, the first Filipino American elected to

the Maryland State Legislature in 1991.When David visited us in San Francisco, he

shared this joke that illustrated the difficulty of uniting the Fil-Am community.David’s joke

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez and Larry Itliong all died and went to heaven where they were warmly welcomed by God who thanked them for their work on earth, for con-stantly working to improve the lives of the people.

God noticed that the three men wanted to ask questions and he knew what they were.

“Martin, my son, you want to know when your people will finally get united. I am sorry to tell you that it will take another 100 years for that to happen,” God said.

Rev. King started crying in shock that it would take much longer than he had thought. As he was comforted by the angels, God turned to Cesar and told him that he was sorry but it would take his community another 200 years to achieve unity.

Cesar Chavez broke down in tears and was assisted by the angels.

Then God turned to the Filipino leader and heaved a sigh.

If God could only look up to heaven he would have but he was already in heaven so he couldn’t. Instead he lowered his eyes to look at Larry Itliong. After a thoughtful silence, the Lord broke down and cried.

Alice and I laughed heartily at David’s joke. “Yes, David. It’s impossible to unite our commu-nity, that’s why God cried!” we agreed.

But then, Alice became serious. “No matterTO PAGE A7

FilAm StarNov. 3 - 9, 2016 A7RAMOS RESIGNS... FROM PAGE A1

had enough of Duterte when the latter topped off his anti-U.S. policy stand with a strong opposi-tion to the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Ramos said President Duterte “is unwittingly shooting himself in the mouth, and also all of us 101.5 million Filipinos” for refusing to “move the Paris Agreement forward.” Duterte earlier called the Paris Agreement “stupid and absurd.”

This stand of Duterte alongside “his con-sistently frequent insulting diatribes against the U.S., the European Union… is obviously wrong, and full of s.... t,” Ramos declared.

It was Ramos who called out Duterte to run for president in 2015 when the latter was saying he did not have the means to do so. This support was properly acknowledged by Duterte who then appointed Ramos as special envoy to China as a reward of sorts.

But while he was the special envoy, Ramos started lambasting Duterte publicly, first making a case against the President’s first 100 days in of-fice as a “huge disappointment and let-down.”

Ramos said under Duterte, the government is “losing badly” by prioritizing the war on drugs at the expense of issues such as poverty, living costs, foreign investment and jobs.

Reports said Duterte actually canceled Ra-mos’ first trip to China trip after the latter advised the President not to push through with the trip to China if they do not comply with certain condi-tions.

Instead of heeding Ramos’ advice, sources said, Duterte canceled Ramos’ China trip and personally took control of talks with Chinese officials. A week later, Ramos compared the

SEN. CAYETANO LASHES... FROM PAGE A1

the President, public officials are not obligated to issue departure and arrival statements every time they leave the country.

“First of all, Sec. Tugade and myself, we’re not the President. We don’t have departure or arrival statements so what does he mean by unpublicized trips? The reality is that it is only the President’s trips that are publicized,” said Cayetano.

“I’m a senator. I don’t need the President to tell me to do something. If he tells me to do something, I will follow. But as a senator, I can meet my counterparts, I can travel. There is such a thing as inter-parliamentary relations,” insisted Cayetano.

Cayetano further questioned the U.S. Ambas-sador’s business in monitoring his and Tugade’s affairs. He also scolded Goldberg for “rumor-mongering” and giving false information when he made an unverified remark about Tugade’s visit to China.

“Sec. Tugade had a lot of invitations. Any DOTr (Department of Transportation) secretary is invited by China and Japan, automatically. But Sec. Tugade... I heard him a lot of times saying, ‘I will not go abroad until I form my team. And my priority is forming the DOTr team’,” Cayetano said.

“That’s why he didn’t join the trips until he’s done with his team. And he has his own plan because Sec. Tugade doesn’t want to be supply-driven... He wanted to study first what the country needs,” he added.

The Senator also echoed the remarks of foreign relations personalities whom he talked to and claimed that Goldberg’s action was consid-ered as a breach of protocol, as it was something that “a professional diplomat would not do unless you want to do something with that country.”

“It was a surprise to us because (the U.S. was) angry a few years ago and they put some people in jail and they took U.S. visas (away)

31 PINOYS TRANSPORTED... FROM PAGE A1

region that was hit by two earthquakes, first on August 24 and then again on October 30.

The quake struck at 7:40 a.m. (0640 GMT) near the small mountain town of Norcia, un-leashing a shock felt in the capital Rome, where the metro was partially shut down, and even in Venice, 300 kilometers away.

It measured 6.6 on the so-called moment magnitude scale, according to U.S. geologists, while Italian monitors estimated it at 6.5.

So far, Italy’s national civil protection agency said there were extensive damage to many historic buildings but no fatalities had been registered some five hours after the quake.

This was in contrast to the earthquake that struck the same region August 24, when nearly 300 people died.

“I can confirm that there are no victims. Around 20 people are injured. As far as people are concerned, the situation is positive but many buildings are in a critical state in historic centers and there are problems with electricity and water supplies,” the agency’s chief, Fabrizio Curcio, said in an update on Sunday.

Cruz was part of a Philippine Embassy team that had just visited Norcia last Oct. 27 to check on the status of Filipinos there, who were affected by the August 24 earthquake in Central Italy.

The exact same place was hit by a magnitude 6.6 quake at 7:40 a.m. on October 30, send-ing the Filipinos scrambling to safety like other locals.

Many ended up stranded outside their homes, worried about being trapped in rubble as the quake toppled edifices, and caused an already damaged 14th century church — the Basilica of St. Benedict -- to collapse unto itself.

“Now took over from the Italian Red Cross...Traveling with 31 Filipinos to Rome. They are now under the care of the Philippine Embassy,” Cruz said.

The embassy team finally reached Rome at half past 10 Monday morning (Manila time) and Cruz confirmed the 31 Filipinos are all safe.

BEAUTY RESIGNS TITLE... FROM PAGE A1

But Schweighart apologized for her state-ment, saying what she said was “unmindful.”

Schweighart stressed she only meant to say the newly-crowned Miss Earth 2016 had had cos-metic procedures done on parts of her body.

The Philippine candidate, in the video, could be seen telling fans after the competition: “The winner has a fake nose, fake chin, fake breasts. Miss Earth, should be natural.”

In a televised phone patch interview with CNN, Schweighart stressed she does not mean to humiliate and offend Espin.

“Actually, (Espin) said it herself that she underwent surgery but how I said it... I was so un-mindful while I was saying it,” Schweighart spoke of Espin who she has not known long enough “but she was my roommate.”

“And if it’s a crime to tell the truth I’m sorry,” added Schweighart who explained that she was talking to her supporters, with whom she is com-fortable. She said a bystander took the video from afar and posted it online.

She hastily denied perceptions that she felt bitter for not winning the pageant. She was eyeing an unprecedented third straight Miss Earth crown for the Philippines after Miss Earth 2015 Angela Ong and 2014 titleholder Jamie Herrell.

While Schweighart failed to make it past the 16th round, Sweden’s Cloie Syquia Skarne, the half-sister of actress and television host KC Con-cepcion, finished in the Top 8.

The other winners in the competition are Miss Earth Air Michelle Gomez of Colombia, Miss Earth Water Stephanie De Zorzi of Venezuela and Miss Earth Fire, Bruna Zanardo of Brazil.

“Honestly, I’m not bitter I’m just offended. Why? Because the gown I was supposed to wear was given to Ecuador. I fitted the gown,” said the beauty from Palawan province.

“That time, I’m still in the heat of the mo-ment, the gown that was placed in Miss Philip-pines’ cubicle was taken. That box, my gown named after me… I wasn’t able to wear it. Even Miss Guam made me borrow her gown… because I have nothing to wear,” she defended herself from making nasty remarks.

Schweighart said the yellow gown worn by Espin was taken from the Philippines’ cubicle since the designer failed to finish the gown of the new Miss Earth 2016.

“It wasn’t explained to me at that time. It was just taken away from me, I have nothing to wear,” she said.

A video of Schweighart wearing the contro-versial gown was also posted on her Facebook page.

On her Instagram, the controversial beauty queen made another remark on Espin’s gown worn during the finals night. She said in her cap-tion: “Philippines didn’t make it but here’s the gown I was supposed to wear. Made for me by Leo Almodal.”

Schweighart lamented that she was being bashed by internet users for her comments.

“Seriously, I wouldn’t be here in this industry if I have a bad attitude because I wouldn’t endure the pain if I am what they say I am,” she said.

Schweighart recently drew flak on social media after she compared President Rodrigo Duterte to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in a Facebook live video.

In a video still making rounds, Schweighart asked fellow Miss Earth Austria titlist Kimberly Budinsky if Hitler was from her country.

“Okay, that’s a bad question because we normally don’t talk about Hitler. But, yeah, he is,” Budinsky answered.

“Oh my God! Our President is doing Hitler stuff here in the Philippines,” exclaimed Sch-weighart.

“That’s crazy,” Budinsky quipped, before ask-ing which platform the live video was being aired.

Schweighart, who immediately deleted the video, apologized for her “soft joke,” saying she made the remark out of excitement.

SFPD STOPS TRAINING... FROM PAGE A1

Philippines.”In their report, KPIX called this new devel-

opment in the US-PH ties as “another casualty” of the Philippines’ war on drugs.

KPIX noted that since June 30th, the start of President Duterte’s term, there have been 2,300 people killed and the PNP admits that they’ve” killed more than 1,500 people” while the other figure represents those killed by suspected vigi-lante and armed groups.

In KPIX’s interview with a Filipino-American and also a San Francisco Police District officer involved with the exchange training program, it was revealed that Fil-Americans in the U.S. are “torn.”

“Our nation is in turmoil and it just gets worse and worse. Economically, because of this controversy, it affects every segment of making us a better nation and a better people so it’s disap-pointing to me,” Retired Filipino American Police Lieutenant Eric Quema said.

The KPIX report also included an interview with PNP Chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa who said that he and President Duterte “promised to clean up the drug problem by next summer.”

However, when asked if he thinks that death is an “appropriate punishment” for people involved in the war on drugs, dela Rosa said: “It depends, if we cannot get them in the regular manner or in the legal way, there are some other ways, there are some other options and I did not discuss it with you.”

In his departure speech for the ASEAN Sum-mit last September 5, President Duterte stressed that he is not “beholden to anybody.”

“The campaign against drugs will continue. Many will die there, plenty will be killed, until the last pusher is out of of the streets. We will con-tinue and I will continue. And I don’t give a s*** about anybody observing my behavior,” President Duterte said.

The report also included a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) data which showed that there are 3 million Filipino drug addicts – and most of them are addicted to Shabu or the Philippine’s version of Crystal Meth.

“This is someone else’s country maybe you should live in there and see how it is and doesn’t justify it on that but maybe it will give you a better perspective, but, why they’re coming on so hard? Try to get some diplomatic talking and

TELLTALE SIGNS... FROM PAGE A6

what else we do in life, Rodel” she told me, “we must make sure that we don’t make God cry.” That was what we resolved to do.

After Alice worked on my election to the College Board in San Francisco in 1992, we worked on getting Mike Guingona elected to the City Council in Daly City. It was a formidable task as Filipinos had been running for a seat on the 5-member City Council for 20 years with no success.

How could this be possible when about 35% of the total population of Daly City was Filipino? The reason was the Filipino crab mentality at work. Whenever a Filipino is about to get out of the basket, other Filipino crabs will pull him down.Mike Guingona

Alice was excited about Mike’s chances because of his deep roots in the city. Although he was born in San Francisco in 1963, moved to Daly City in 1965 and attended local schools. He graduated from the University of San Francisco Law School and passed the California bar in 1989.

When Mike’s mother bought a home in the Westlake District of Daly City in 1965, the deed of trust to her home contained a “Covenants, Condi-tions and Restrictions” (CC&R) docu-ment that prohibited homeowners from selling, renting or living with anyone “not of the white or Caucasian race.” Mike’s mother bought her home pre-sumably because of her fair complexion.

This racial restriction was included in the single-family homes built and sold by developer Henry Doelger between 1947 and 1964 and comprising nearly a third of Daly City. Under the terms of the sales contract, homeowners who vio-lated this provision would be obligated to pay $2,000 to each of their eight closest neighbors to pay for the assumed decline in the value of their property values.

Mike lost his initial run for the City Council seat in 1992 but the following year, he won a special election to the council and has been elected five times since then. At the age of 33, Mike was elected mayor of Daly City. One of his first resolutions he sponsored was to eliminate the racial restrictions (CC&Rs) in Daly City trust deeds.

With Mike on the City Council, Fili-pinos began to be regularly appointed to various city commissions. In 2006, when Mike was mayor, the City Council unanimously appointed Rose Zimmer-man as City Attorney, the first female and the first Fil-Am to hold that post.

In 2011, Mike successfully lobbied for the appointment of Ray Buenaventu-ra to a vacancy on his City Council. Only one councilman voted against Ray and it was a white member of the council, David Canepa, who was then the field di-rector of California State Senator Leland Yee (now serving a 5 year federal prison term for corruption).

Mike’s victory in Daly City in 1993 inspired other Filipino Americans to run for public office in San Mateo county winning council seats in Colma and San Bruno. But Alice and others in the Fili-pino American Grassroots Movement

she founded to register Filipino voters had their sights higher than Daly City.Breaking the glass ceiling in San Mateo

San Mateo County has been gov-erned by an all-white 5-member Board of Supervisors who have all been elected at large in a county that has a majority white population. It was an anomaly, the only county (out of 58 in the state) to not hold district elections.

In April 2011, Latino and Asian American voters led by Fil-Am Guy Guerrero filed a civil rights lawsuit against San Mateo county to compel the county to hold district elections to improve the chances of minorities to win a seat on the San Mateo Board of Supervisors. The plaintiffs prevailed in the suit and the county was compelled to hold a referendum on district elections which was held in November of 2014 when District Elections won 59% of the vote.

With district elections, Filipinos in the northernmost district 5 will now have a better chance of electing a Filipino to the county Board of Super-visors. A Fil-Am candidate would not need to raise campaign funds to reach the nearly 400,000 registered voters in the entire county, he would just need to reach the 57,964 registered voters in District 5. With about a third of the voters to be Filipino or a member of a minority group, it would appear to be a slam dunk for a qualified Fil-Am like Mike Guingona to break the glass ceiling in San Mateo county politics.

But God will cry when he learns that the Filipinos in Daly City are not united. The man who stands in the way

of Filipino empowerment in San Mateo county is Councilman David Canepa who shrewdly formed a political alliance with Ray Buenaventura whom he op-posed when Mike Guingona nominated him to the City Council.

In exchange for supporting his run for County Superior Court Judge in the June 2014 county elections, Buenaven-tura pledged his support to Canepa against Mike Guingona. That’s politics. If Canepa is elected to the San Mateo county board, then it will remain an all-white board in a county that is now 58% people of color.

There are two open seats in the City Council of Daly City and the two lead-ing contenders are Filipino Americans, Glenn Sylvester and Juslyn Manalo. If they both win, there will be four of the five members of City Council of Daly City, the largest of the 20 cities in San Mateo county. They will have the votes to change the city’s name to Adobo City. They may be able to change the name of a city park or school after Alice Bulos.

When Alice Bulos goes to heaven and is welcomed by God, he will surely tell her: “You did not make me cry, Alice Bulos. I am so proud of you.”

We love you Alice.(Vote Marjan Philhour for SF

Supervisor D-1, Maggie de Guzman SF Supervisor D-11, Jim Navarro Mayor Union City, Mae Cendana Torlakson Assembly Contra Costa. Send comments to [email protected] or mail them to the Law Offices of Rodel Rodis at 2429 Ocean Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127 or call 415.334.7800).

Philippines under “skipper” Duterte to a leaky and slow-moving ship due to internal strife and disunity.

On another occasion, Ramos urged Duterte to refrain from trying to impress by saying too much. The latest FVR tirade came after Duterte cussed the Paris Agreement which, Ramos said, was like the President “shooting himself in the mouth.”

His fourth and latest shout-out called on Duterte to approve the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and said the President’s dia-tribes were like “shooting himself in the mouth.”

From the reaction of Malacanang on Ramos’ resignation, it seemed the services of Ramos are still needed. Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said Ramos still had a role to play in Duterte’s pivot to China.

“We have not received the resignation. More-over, it is not true that the former president can no longer have any role in our engagement with China,” Andanar said in a statement.

“His stature and expertise are needed now, more than ever, to follow up and build on what President Duterte accomplished during his recent visit to China,” he added.

“If we are saying that we have an indepen-dent foreign policy, it doesn’t mean that you’re not going to do business with other countries. This only means that we are not depending on the United States or any other ally to tell us what to do,” Andanar said, reacting to criticism on the loosening of Philippine-U.S. relations.

Andanar’s statement added: “We have an independent foreign policy. This only means that no one interferes and no one even tells us what to do. It is going to be a foreign policy that is made in the Philippines.”

from a lot of Filipinos because we were spying on them. So is this an admission now that they are spying on us?” Cayetano asked.

He noted that “one of the problems is the refusal of Goldberg to admit that he is part of the problem,” Cayetano said as he described how the Philippines’ relationship with the U.S., its long-time ally, is significantly being affected by the United States’ interference in the country’s policies and political affairs.

The Senator revealed that during the na-tional elections last May, Goldberg took the time to personally meet the candidates and reported updates to the U.S. government afterwards. But Goldberg was not able to meet with Duterte be-cause the Ambassador apparently kept on chang-ing the schedule.

The Senator also pointed out how Goldberg interfered with the country’s national polls by making a comment about a highly politically charged issue, which could have affected the discretion of the 3.5 million Filipino-American voters in the U.S.

“(Ambassador Goldberg) continued to treat Malacañang as if he can tell the Philippine Presi-dent what to do... The messenger was part of the problem... He’s interfering with our local politics, with how things are being run here,” he stressed.

Cayetano said he plans to issue a full report regarding the issue at the right time and that he would write a letter to Foreign Affairs Sec. Per-fecto Yasay to complain and protest Goldberg’s actions.

Duterte blamed Goldberg for the strained relations with Washington. “Goldberg? He did not know that he started this trouble. He made comments during the campaign period that were not supposed to be made by an ambassador,” noted Duterte.

“I don’t want to insult him. He didn’t know that he started all this trouble,” he added.

Goldberg has ended his stint in Manila, returning to Washington last Octobrr 28. He is expected to be assigned to another country soon.

communication going on because fighting back and forth drags everybody down, breaks ties that have been historically there for years,” Lt. Quema told KPIX.

In a report by Rappler, the exchange training program between SFPD and PNP began and was organized by the Filipino-American Law Enforce-ment Officers Association (FALEO) and has since provided charity work in schools, training PNP to better fight criminality, donating police equip-ment as well as lectures, dialogues and turn-over of new and second-hand equipment.

The report also noted that in 2010, members of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Police, the Califor-nia Department of Justice/Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and the San Francisco District Attorney’s Investigation Bureau also joined the exchange training program with the PNP.

According to Rappler’s data, there are about 1.5 million Filipino immigrants and Filipino Americans living in California with 380,000 of them residing in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Another data from Rappler showed that in the last May 2016 (absentee voting) elections, Duterte won 45 percent from the 14,000 votes cast at the San Francisco Consulate, “which cov-ers overseas absentee voters living in the western United States.”

In a report by The Philippine Star, Dela Rosa said that the SFPD’s decision to cut off its training program with the PNP will “impact the country’s police capability build-up.”

“Yes (there) will (be an) impact in the sense that we are losing the opportunity to train with them, but not really that much,” Dela Rosa said in a statement and noted that the SFPD’s decision was brought about by a “suspicion” on the PNP’s alleged involvement in the summary killings of suspected drug lords, users without trials and, consequently violates human and civil rights.

Just in time for Hallow-een, Philippines based Altitude Games announced the world-wide launch of Dream Defense for free on Google Play. In Dream Defense, Gamers play as a gun-slinging teddy bear who comes to life at night to defend his playmate Robin from creatures that attack her as she sleeps.

Did you ever stay awake at night as a kid, worried about the monsters that could come out in the dark? We’ve just launched a mobile game that lets you fight back: Dream Defense, a cute action shooter where you get to play a toy-gun-toting teddy bear!

The key to winning in Dream Defense is simple: always bring in the correct arsenal. Not all weapons are

created equal, so choose the weapon that best suits the enemies you’re facing. Do they have bubble shields? Bring the Dart Bow to pop those in one shot.

Are they slow and tough? The Acid Goo Shooter deals damage over time, doing much

of your work for you even be-fore they reach the bed. Don’t be afraid to mix and match weapons every level to see which combination works best.

Equipped with exciting weapons and fortify Robin’s bed with all sorts of awesome toy defenses.


business &tech news

McDonald’s reaches $3.75M settlement in labor case

Itama po natin! BEN LOU

Q: I received a letter from the plaintiff’s attorney to adjourn the hearing that was scheduled. I did not show it to anyone since I really did not want

to attend the hearing. I was surprised that I received a judgment after a month and now a wage garnishment order. Is that my fault?

A: A client who was enrolled in the program called me to voice out his complaint that the program really did not help him. He started to complain that he was never given the information in order to get through the account he enrolled which was already in legal status.

The summons was for a repossessed ve-hicle. He could not make the payments due to reduced income and the car was repossessed. He was served with a summons and he en-rolled in my program. We filed an answer to the summons for him. Shortly he received a hearing date. We gave him a script to say to the judge in court. A week before the hearing date he received a letter from the plaintiff’s attorney requesting the court to adjourn the hearing because they could not attend. Hav-ing read this letter, he decided that he should not attend the hearing without checking with the program attorney nor with us. A month later, he received a judgment. He was so confused as to why he received the judgment. He then complained to me. I then asked him

did you receive a letter from the court telling you that the hearing date was moved? He said no and I asked him if it occurred to him that that request may not have been sent to the court and was only sent to him? He answered that he never thought of that. Had you asked anyone if you should attend, we would have told you to attend. If you showed up and they did not, then the case would have been dismissed. He then became quiet and figured that he’s been had.

I always tell clients that if you can solve your problems on your own and know how, by all means, please do so. But if you do not and ask for our help, do not start making your own decisions. That’s when the process breaks down.

I am Ben Lou, President and CEO of Debt Aid Consulting. My company has A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau in the US and Canada. This record speaks for itself. We are here to help.

We are the only Filipino Debt company which is legal in the US and Canada. I have a new US program which will beat everyone’s pricing. Also we protect you against lawsuits, phone harassments and letters. Call Debt Aid Consulting!

Reminder, debt companies using Manila office call centers will soon be banned. It would be very hard to get back your pay-ments from the Philippines. If testimonials are paid for, then it is fake.

Tawag na po sa 1-888-341-5234 at tutu-lungan po namin kayo.

Itama po natin ang mali!

Altitude games launched Dream Defense worldwide on Google Play

World markets lower as U.S. presidential race tightens

Gains in world stocks on upbeat Chinese data fizzled Tuesday as companies turned in mixed results and uncer-tainty mounted over the US presidential race.

Hong Kong led most ma-jor Asian markets higher after China’s closely watched pur-chasing managers’ index hit its highest level in more than two years, Beijing said, indicating that the important manufac-turing sector -- and the world’s number two economy -- is levelling out.

A separate private index also beat expectations to hit its highest mark since July 2014.

The figures come weeks after official data showed economic growth stabilising and putting the government on track to achieve its annual target, while another reading showed a first increase in fac-tory gate prices for four years.

But European equities failed to hold onto early gains and Wall Street quickly headed lower after a new poll showed that just a week before voting day, the US presidential candi-dates are neck-and-neck.

“An initial boost from positive Chinese economic data fizzled out on Tuesday as attention turned to the rising possibility of a Trump presi-dency,” said CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler.

London closed down 0.5 percent, while Paris dropped 0.9 percent and Frankfurt lost 1.3 percent.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4 percent in midday trading.

An ABC News/Wash-ington Post tracking poll out Tuesday found Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump edging ahead of Demo-cratic rival Hillary Clinton by

one point for the first time since May.

Trump’s 46-45 percent lead in the four-way race for the White House, while well within the margin of error, possibly reflected the renewed controversy over Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state.

Globally, investor con-fidence remains fragile after Friday’s bombshell news that the FBI was investigating ad-ditional emails connected to Clinton, Wall Street’s preferred candidate.Gold glitters on uncer-tainty

Lawler said the weakness in the US dollar and Trump rising in the polls propelled gold to a three-week high of $1,290.92.

“Gold appears to be be-ing accumulated as a hedge against equity market declines before the US election,” he said.

Better-than-expected eco-nomic data from China buoyed the mining sector because the Asian powerhouse is a leading consumer of many metals.

“The commodity space remains supported by rising metals prices and positive China data,” said Mike van Dulken, head of research at trading firm Accendo Markets.

Shares in Antofagasta climbed 1.8 percent, while Fresnillo jumped 4.8 percent.

In the energy sector, Brit-ish energy giant BP shed 4.5 percent after it revealed under-lying replacement cost profit tumbled 49 percent to $933 million (851 million euros) in the third quarter from a year earlier.

However, rival Royal Dutch Shell said its profit -- excluding one-off items and stripping out the chang-

ing value of oil inventories -- advanced 17 percent to $2.79 billion.

That eclipsed forecasts of $1.79 billion and sent Shell’s ‘B’ share price 4.0 percent higher in London.

Meanwhile, shares in Pfizer dropped 2.2 percent in New York after the US phar-maceutical giant said its net profit slid 38 percent in the third quarter to $1.3 billion due to the hit from lost patent exclusivity on some key drugs and one-time costs on a pend-ing divestment.Key figures around 1630 GMT

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 6,917.14 points (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 1.3 percent at 10,526.16 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 4,470.28 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,021.27

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 18,067.44

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.6 percent at 2,113.84

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.6 percent at 5,160.48

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 17,442.40 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.9 percent at 23,147.07 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,122.20 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1044 from $1.0981 Monday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 104.28 from 104.82

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2232 from $1.2242

Euro/pound: UP at 90.34 pence from 89.70 pence

Oil - West Texas Interme-diate: UP 03 cents at $46.89 per barrel

Oil - Brent North Sea: UP 12 cents at $48.73 (AFP)

U.S. fast-food giant McDonald’s has agreed to pay $3.75 million to settle a labor dispute with workers at a California franchise, according to court documents seen Tuesday by AFP.

If approved by a federal judge, the agreement is the first time McDonald’s has reached a deal with employees of a franchise.

The deal would resolve a class action lawsuit filed in San Francisco two years ago. Under the plan, McDonald’s Corporation will pay $1.75 million to the employees and $2 million in court costs.

The employees claimed the restaurant franchise withheld wages and overtime pay, as well as reimbursement for the upkeep of uniforms, and denied them legally-required breaks.

McDonald’s had previously avoided involvement in such labor disputes, saying franchises were independent of the parent company. Attorneys for the workers said the settlement would be “historic” and could open the way for other legal cases.

McDonald’s told AFP, however, that it agreed to the settlement to end costly litigation.“With this agreement, McDonald’s reconfirms that it is not the employer of, or responsible for,

employees of its independent franchisees,” company spokesperson Terry Hickey said in an email. (AFP)

(Photo: www.apklevel.com)

Media-entertainment group 21st Century Fox said Wednes-day profits in the past quarter rose with its Fox News Channel helped by a busy US election campaign.

The group controlled by magnate Rupert Murdoch and his family said profit grew 22 percent to $821 million, with no-table increases in revenue from cable and its Fox Hollywood studios.

Total revenue in the first fiscal quarter rose seven percent to $6.5 billion.

The Fox News Channel maintained viewership and growth in revenue despite the ouster of its top executive Roger Ailes earlier this year in the wake of a sexual harassment lawsuit from former news host

Gretchen Carlson.The news channel kept atop

the ratings and was part of the cable division showing nearly 10 percent revenue growth from a year ago.

While revenues from broadcast television operations were roughly flat, the group said a boost for its filmed entertain-ment division led by the science fiction sequel “Independence Day: Resurgence” and the home entertainment release of “Dead-pool.”

“We delivered a strong quarter, growing our earnings by double digits on solid revenue gains,” said a statement from Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, the father-son team holding the title of executive chairmen.

“Whether it was Fox News

rating number one in basic cable, the 27 primetime Emmy Awards between FX Networks and Fox Broadcasting, produc-ing three of the top five scripted shows on television, or our robust international growth, we demonstrated strong operational momentum across our global businesses.”

Rupert Murdoch last year moved to step away from key management of his media-entertainment empire as he appointed his sons Lachlan and James to top posts.

But the 85-year-old re-turned as acting chief executive at Fox News after his longtime ally Ailes quit. Fox paid a re-ported $20 million to settle the Carlson lawsuit in September. (AFP)

Murdoch’s Fox lifted by news channel, films


world newsItaly PM vows to rebuild quake region

Italian Prime Minister Mat-teo Renzi on Tuesday vowed to rebuild the entire region flattened by Sunday’s earthquake as the country’s main farming union called for help.

Speaking from Preci in the mountainous central region of Italy that has been devastated by three powerful tremors in just over two months, Renzi warned it would take time.

“I’m here to say that it won’t be easy, it will take a long time... but little by little everything will be rebuilt,” Renzi told villagers in Preci.

He had already pledged to rebuild every affected home while Culture Minister Dario Franceschini has promised every damaged fresco would be pieced back together.

Sunday’s 6.6-magnitude earthquake, whose epicentre was near the mediaeval town of Norcia, which is famed for its ham and salami, was the most powerful to strike the country in 36 years.

Although it did not cause any deaths, it left more than 15,000 people homeless and thousands of homes in ruins, with many villages and small towns rendered unsafe.

It also damaged a number of architectural landmarks, includ-ing the Abbey of Sant’Eutizio, one of the oldest monastic sites in

Italy, which was reduced to ruins. And it left around 3,000

farms in the region in urgent need of help, Italy’s main farming union Coldiretti said on Tuesday.100,000 animals may starve

Farming is the primary in-dustry in the mountainous region, which relies heavily on agricul-ture and agritourism, with the quake leaving 100,000 animals -- mostly cows, pigs and sheep -- now in danger of starving.

“The earthquake has hit hard in an area dominated by agribusi-ness with a significant amount of livestock farming which must receive concrete help so as not to be abandoned and depopulated,” said Coldiretti president Roberto Moncalvo.

Many farmers are refus-ing to leave their farms because they don’t want to abandon their livestock.

Significant numbers of farm-ers are struggling to find food and water for their herds, the union said, while damage to roads in remote areas is preventing them from delivering goods, including dairy products.

Coldiretti has provided cara-vans to some of those forced to leave their farms to enable them to stay close to their livestock.

Norcia itself has been left almost abandoned, barring a few stubborn and hardy souls, as thousands of residents sought

refuge with friends and family or were bused to hotels on the Adri-atic coast or on the inland Lake Trasimeno.

Overnight, a dog was pulled alive from the rubble of one of the houses in the village, which was just six kilometres (3.7 miles) from the epicentre of Sunday’s quake.Earth moved by 70cm

On Monday, Renzi said ship-ping containers would be used as temporary housing.

Meanwhile, Italian scientists said that areas hit by Sunday’s temblor displaced the ground by up to 70 centimetres (27.5 inches).

Satellite images showed that the quake had deformed the land-scape over an area covering some 130 square kilometres (50 square miles), Italy’s National Research Council said in a statement.

The biggest displacement was in the Castelluccio region, near Norcia, where the ground was pushed up or sank by up to 70cm.

The quake struck at a very shallow depth and was followed by around 1,100 after-shocks, including 19 quakes registering between four and five magnitude and 240 of between three and four magnitude, the National Institute of Geophysics and Vol-canology said.(AFP)

Cities, towns and territory retaken from ISIraqi forces fought their

way into jihadist-held Mosul on Tuesday, the military said, as a top commander declared the “true liberation” of the city from the Islamic State group had begun.

Since IS seized swathes of Syria and Iraq in mid-2014, it has been pushed back by armed groups including US-backed Kurdish fighters, Iraqi and Syr-ian government forces.

Here is a recap of key cities, towns and territory IS has lost in recent months:Syria

KOBANE: A Kurdish town in northern Syria, Kobane became a symbol of the fight against IS. The jihadists were driven out by US-backed Kurd-ish forces in January 2015 after more than four months of fierce fighting.

TAL ABYAD: Another town on the Turkish border, Tal Abyad was captured by Kurdish and Arab rebels in June 2015. The town was the gateway to a key supply route between Turkey and IS’s Syrian strong-hold, Raqa. Jihadist fighters and weapons regularly passed through the town before its recapture.

PALMYRA: IS seized the ancient town of Palmyra in May 2015. It blew up UNESCO-listed Roman-era temples and looted ancient relics. Syrian regime forces backed by Russian war-planes and allied militia ousted

the jihadists in March this year.MANBIJ: On August 6, a

coalition of Arab and Kurdish fighters backed by US air strikes recaptured Manbij following a two-month battle. IS had seized the town in 2014 and used it as a hub for moving jihadists to and from Europe. It also controlled a key supply route for the group.

JARABULUS: Turkish troops and Syrian rebels swept

almost unopposed into the border town of Jarabulus on August 24 during Operation Euphrates Shield, which also targets Kurdish militia.

SYRIAN/TURKEY BOR-DER: On September 4, Turkish troops and allied rebel fighters drove IS from its last positions along the border, making it harder for foreign jihadists to reach the group’s Syrian and Iraqi strongholds.

DABIQ: Syrian rebels backed by Turkish warplanes and artillery captured Dabiq on Sunday. The town, under IS control since August 2014, has crucial ideological significance for the jihadists because of a prophecy that Christian and Muslim forces will wage battle there at the end of times. Iraq

TIKRIT: The hometown of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hus-sein north of Baghdad, it fell to IS in June 2014, soon after Mo-sul. It was declared liberated in March 2015 in an operation by Iraqi troops, police and Shiite-

dominated paramilitaries.SINJAR: Iraqi Kurd-

ish forces backed by US-led coalition air strikes recaptured Sinjar, northwest of Baghdad, in November 2015. That cut a key supply line linking areas held by the jihadists in Iraq and Syria. IS had captured Sinjar in August 2014 and pursued a brutal campaign of massacres, enslavement and rape against its Yazidi minority.

RAMADI: The capital of Anbar, Iraq’s largest province that stretches from the bor-ders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the western approach to Baghdad. Ramadi was declared fully recaptured in February, about nine months after IS seized it.

FALLUJAH: Anbar province’s second city and an emblematic bastion for IS, close to the capital. It fell to anti-gov-ernment fighters in 2014 and became a key IS stronghold. Iraqi forces recaptured it in June this year.

QAYYARAH: Iraqi forces backed by coalition aircraft retook Qayyarah from IS in August, providing Baghdad with a platform for its assault on Mosul, Iraq’s second city.

SHARQAT: Iraqi forces an-nounced on September 22 that they had recaptured Sharqat, an IS-held town south of Mosul. The town is near key supply lines the army needs for the battle to retake Mosul.

QARAQOSH: On October 18 hundreds of displaced Iraqi Christians danced and sang to celebrate the Iraqi military’s retaking of Qaraqosh, 15 kilo-metres (10 miles) southeast of Mosul.

MOSUL: Just over two weeks into the massive offen-sive to retake Mosul -- IS’s last major stronghold in Iraq -- the Iraqi army said on November 1 that its forces had managed to push within city limits, enter-ing the Judaidat Al-Mufti area. (AFP)

(Photo: www.al-monitor.com)

The emotional journey of the band Eagles of Death Metal since last year’s bloodbath in Paris will be the subject of a new HBO documentary, the network announced Wednesday.

The film “Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends)” will start with the November 13 attack on the group’s show, which left 90 people dead as part of a coordinated assault on Paris claimed by the Islamic State group.

The documentary, which will debut on the US cable network in February 2017, will follow the California rockers over the three months until they return to the

stage in Paris.The film “spotlights the

group’s deep bonds with each other and with their fans, which inspired them to return to Paris to perform once again,” HBO said in a statement.

Eagles of Death Metal initially enjoyed wide sympathy in the wake of the attacks but statements critical of Muslims by frontman Jesse Hughes have tarnished the image of the band, whose appearances were cancelled by prominent French festivals.

Hughes has alleged that the attack was an inside job by employees of Arab origin at the

Bataclan club, charges strongly rejected by the venue.

The frontman, a rare right-wing rocker and supporter of Republican presidential candi-date Donald Trump, has also said without evidence that Muslims were celebrating outside during the siege.

It was not clear to what extent the documentary would explore the controversies.

The film, the first work of new Live Nation Productions of concert promotion giant Live Na-tion, was directed by actor Colin Hanks, a longtime friend of band members and son of superstar actor Tom Hanks. (AFP)

Documentary to trace band in Paris attacks

California voters have opportunity toenact needed criminal justice reforms

California voters have many choices on the ballot this November. A historic presi-dential election, a senate race, numerous congressional and state legislative contests, local city council and mayoral cam-paigns, and of course the long list of local, county, and state ballot initiatives. The election guides are thick and dense.

One of the 17 state bal-lot initiatives is particularly important. Proposition 57 continues a trend of progres-sive and incremental steps to reform the ineffective, harmful, and extremely expensive crimi-nal justice system in California.

Though of-ten described as complex, Prop 57 would achieve three simple reforms: shift responsibility for the decision to charge and incarcerate youth as adults from elected prosecutors to neutral judges; allow people convicted of non-violent offenses to earn their release from prison after serving their full terms but without the addi-tional time added by sentence enhancements; and enable the prison system to provide “good time” credits to a limited num-ber of inmates who participate in rehabilitation and treatment programs.

In truth, the reforms are benign. Charging decisions move from prosecutors to judg-es, defendants serve their full terms on the offenses they were charged with, and the prison system incentivizes inmates to complete rehabilitation pro-grams. Not very controversial.

Sponsored by Governor Jerry Brown, the state Chief Probation Officers Association endorses the measure as does a handful of District Attorneys and the state Sheriff’s As-sociation does not oppose it. Then there are the numerous

judges, advocates, families, and directly impacted individu-als who strongly encourage a vote of Yes on Prop 57! Even crime victims are endorsing the initiative.

One of the most important provisions of Prop 57 per-tains to youth. Under current California law, prosecutors can charge children as young as 14 in adult court and those children can then be sentenced to 20, 40, 70 years or longer in adult prisons.

Several recent studies have confirmed what we have always intuitively known – that the

brains and decision-making process of youth are different than adults. Young people’s brains do not fully develop until about age 25. One report states “adolescents are more likely to act impulsively, more susceptible to peer influence, and are prone to risky ex-perimentation as a part of their identity formation.” This and other reports also conclude that the vast majority of young adults simply age out of crimi-nal behavior by age 25.

Another study finds that “though the developing minds and identities of young people leads to risky and sometimes criminal behavior, youth are especially capable of learning, growing, and changing when placed in positive, age-appro-priate settings that are respon-sive to their needs.”

Recent state and federal

court rulings have relied on this research to strike down practices that fail to account for the differences between children and adults. In the United States Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in Miller v. Alabama, Justice Kagan wrote, “[Children] are constitution-ally different from adults for purposes of sentencing . . . Juveniles have diminished cul-pability and greater prospects for reform.” Applying this rea-soning, the Court invalidated mandatory life without parole sentences for youth under the age of eighteen at the time of

their crimes.Most of the youth

sent to the adult system in California have been charged with armed robber-ies where no one was physically injured. While these youth could still be charged as adults after the passage of Prop 57, they could also be sent to more appropriate juvenile facilities to

receive education and rehabilitation services. They could even be sent to a state juvenile facility until they turn 23 years old.

Proposition 57 would enact commonsense, safe, and effective reforms to our crimi-nal justice system. Children would be more likely to receive appropriate accountability for delinquent behavior, unneces-sarily long prison sentences would be reduced for people convicted of non-violent of-fenses, and inmates would have incentives to participate in education and rehabilitation services. Vote Yes on Prop 57. (David Muhammad / NAM) David Muhammad is a nation-al criminal justice expert. He is the former Chief Probation Officer of Alameda County, CA, and the former Deputy Commissioner of Probation in New York City.

(Photo: www.rightoncrime.com)


FilAm StarNov. 3 - 9, 2016 B1

Community

San Diegan brings passion back to planning

Asian American and Pacific Islander caregivers share their stories

It pays to have a pleasing, aesthetically-soothing Instagram account. From make-up to fitness routines, advertisers sponsor users with thousands of followers to pro-mote their products. One account though, with calming calligraphy, poised photography and a modern mindset – a millennial’s dream – is racking up the numbers for a pas-sion to prioritize life.

San Diegan and CEO Angelia Trinidad came up with the Passion Planner in 2013, after college with a feeling of “directionless floating.”

“Passion Planner is a tactile, intimate thing that is so rare nowa-days, especially in this technological age,” said Trinidad. “It’s something you can vent to without being judged and it’s something tangible that grows as you grow, which people need by their side through any type of transition in their lives.”

The Planner is not just for reminders and a journal of every-

By Anna Ven Sobreninas

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 2, 2016 – AARP and NextDayBetter are celebrating National Family Caregivers Month during November by sharing stories of Asian American and Pacific Island-ers (AAPIs) who are caring for their loved ones. Visit facebook.com/AARPAAPI to read the caregiving stories, tell your own caregiving experience, or share advice with other caregivers using the hashtag #AAPIshareyourcare.

“Nearly 40 million Americans—almost 1 in 5 adults—help care for a relative or friend over age 50,” said Daphne Kwok, AARP Vice President of Multicultural Leadership, Asian American and Pacific Islander Audience Strategy. “We know that in AAPI families it is not easy to discuss difficult issues such as caregiving which encompasses so many taboo topics like health, end-of-life, long-term needs, and financial issues. We either avoid or tiptoe around these uncomfortable topics, but it’s important for caregivers to share their experiences so they know they’re not alone.”

NBC and MSNBC news anchor Richard Lui believes it’s important to share personal caregiving stories. When his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he decided to juggle living in two cities—New York for work and San Francisco, so that he could be a help his parents. He became an AARP Caregiv-ing Champion in order to help foster a larger discussion around caregiving.

Other AAPI caregivers who shared their personal experiences caring for loved ones include author Veronica Li, poet Frances Kakugawa, inventor Kenneth Shinozuka, (Ret.) Maj. Gen. Tony Taguba, and more.

“The collaboration between AARP and NextDayBetter is a natural fit,” said Ryan Letada, CEO of NextDayBetter, a storytelling platform for diaspora communities. “Drawing on our community of AAPI influencers, creatives, strategists, and technologists, we’re working with AARP to rethink caregiving in honest, powerful ways that amplify AARP’s work to encourage AAPI caregivers to share their stories.”

According to a nationwide AARP study, AAPIs are almost twice as likely to care for their elders than the general population. AARP found that the vast majority of AAPIs (73%), more than any racial or ethnic group, believe that caring for parents is expected of them. AAPIs are more likely to take charge of caregiving for their elders: they are more likely to talk to doctors (54% vs. 36%), contribute financially (51% vs. 27%), and handle paper work or bills (41% vs. 33%) than the total population of the same age or compared to other Americans.

An Evening of Arts Celebration and Fun

LIGHT UP OUR WORLD Daly City Arts and Culture Commission 5 PM – 9:30 PM I Saturday, November 19, 2016 I Daly City’s City Hall, 333 90th Street Free parking at nearby lots and streets l Take SamTrans 121 from Daly Bart Station FREE ADMISSION Come early to pick up your candle for the 6 pm lighting ceremony! MUSIC & DANCE • ART & POETRY • STORYTELLING • DALY CITY FIREFIGHTERS’ FIRE LIGHT PERFORMANCE • LANTERN MAKING & OTHER ART ACTIVITIES • SNAP FIESTA PHOTOBOOTH • WISHING TREE • LED HULA HOOPING • CONTEST FOR BEST COSTUME WITH LIGHTS • Purchase food and beverages from your favorite food trucks.

LIGHT symbolizes enlightenment, creativity, joy, hope, and unity - which inspires the artist in all of us. Enjoy an evening of creativity that will light up our lives: hear music that gets us to our feet, take home your favorite fun poses from the SNAP FIESTA Photo Booth, see art that will delight our hearts, make lanterns to take home and light up our world! IMAGINE a world lit by creativity, joy, and unity. A 1,000 LED votive candles will be given out for a community art performance. The lights will be illuminated together in the shape of a heart - symbolizing the love for our city and arts and culture in our community. Come early! Lighting ceremony starts at 6 pm. RSVPs are encouraged to help us plan supplies, but not required. Votive candles will be distributed upon arrival on a first-come, first-served basis.

Info & rsvp: dalycityarts.org Email: [email protected]

Thank you to the San Mateo County Arts Commission for making LIGHT UP OUR WORLD possible through funding from the San Mateo County Arts Grant Program. We thank our partners for their commitment to arts excellence: Aiqin Zhou Calligrapher & Painter l Daly City City Council l Daly City Fire Fighters’ Union LU 1879 l Daly City Library and Recreation l Daly City Public Library Associates l DeLue Clubhouse Daly City Boys and Girls Clubs l Holy Angels School l Jefferson Elementary School District l Jefferson High School I JUMP Into Writing l Mission Fusion I Nining Muir l San Francisco State Afro-Cuban Ensemble l SnapFiesta Photobooth l ViBO Music School l ViBO Simfani We also thank our donors: San Francisco Examiner and SFWeekly l Republic Services l Alex Herreria l MB Financial & Insurance Services l CitiScape Property Management l Energy Upgrade California + Conxión to Community l Green Development Sustainable Technologies Alliance (GDSTA, LLC) l Molloy’s Tavern l Moonstar l Anna Mostella

Daly City Arts and Culture Commission presents

A Festival to Support Arts and Culture in Daly City

5 PM – 9:30 PM I Saturday, November 19, 2016 I Daly City’s City Hall I 333 90th Street

FREE ADMISSION

Come early to pick up your candle for the

6 pm lighting ceremony!

We thank the following partners for their commitment to arts excellence: Aiqin Zhou Calligrapher & Painter, Daly City City Council, Daly City Fire Fighters’ Union LU 1879, Daly City Library and Recreation, Daly City Public Library Associates, DeLue Clubhouse Daly City Boys and Girls Clubs, Green Development Sustainable Technologies Alliance (GDSTA, LLC), Holy Angels School, Jefferson Elementary School District, Jefferson High School, JUMP Into Writing, Mission Fusion, Nining Muir, San Francisco State Afro-Cuban Ensemble, SnapFiesta Photobooth, ViBO Music School, and ViBO Simfani.

Thank you to the San Mateo County Arts Commission for making LIGHT UP OUR WORLD possible through funding from the San Mateo County Arts Grant Program.

We also thank our generous donors: San Francisco Examiner and SFWeekly, Republic Services, Alex Herre-ria, MB Financial & Insurance Services, CitiScape Property Management, Energy Upgrade California + Conxión to Community, Green Development Sustainable Technologies Alliance (GDSTA LLC) Molloy’s Tavern, Moonstar, and Anna Mostella.

day activities but it’s dedicated to decluttering the mind, staying goal-oriented and managing time. It has a passion roadmap to detail monthly, yearly and lifetime goals.

Trinidad and the Planner have been featured on various lifestyle and business websites such as The Washington Post, NPR and Entre-preneur.

As for Filipinos in San Diego, the self-made millionaire believes there’s a lack of start-up entre-preneurs, or its visibility thereof, despite the huge Pinoy community in the county.

“If you’re a first-generation Filipino, there’s probably a lot of external pressure from your family to find a more stable and traditional job, like nursing or military,” she said.“I think a lot of the parents’ fears are imposed onto the Filipino youth, which prevents them from pursuing ‘riskier’ things, like start-ing a business.”

Reminiscent of Tom’s shoes, Passion Planner also donates plan-ners to those in need through its “Get One, Give One” philosophy.

“We keep up by being smart with our money and by prioritizing helping people over having a huge profit margin,” she said.“The heart of the company is being able to give people this tool that can change their lives.”

It sure can be hard to slow down nowadays, with techno-logical advances such as wireless earphones and catching Pokémons confounding our heads that we cannot even sleep. For Trinidad, it’s about taking everything one step at a time.

“Make sure you know what your ‘why’ is and that it’s so strong that no one can steer you away from what you want to accomplish,” she said. “Just know that even a small, positive change is important.”

FilAm StarB2 Nov. 3 - 9, 2016

With the family and friends who helped with the ALICE PENA BULOS funeral services, a luncheon was provided at the Doelger Center after the burial of the former Federal Commissioner, Alice Bulos at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Happy birthday ! Donna Aquino celebrated her 83rd Birthday and Retirement day last Saturday, October 29 at Hil-ton Hotel in Burlingame. Party was attended by her families, relatives and friends. In photo the birthday celebrant

Donna, her lovely daughter Vicky Rivera Martin, Donna’s brother Vic Hermoso and wife.

Photo shows PPC USA Charter Members: L to R Bernard Valdez, Chris Torres, Damaso Prestoza, Bob Baltazar, Marita Padilla, Fred Almeron, Jose Pepe Rosario, Alvin Padilla, Romulo Arenas, Ernie Abalos and Mayor Jose

Esteves. Not in photo are Ben Bibat and Rod Andres

The Pangasinan Presidents Club USA will celebrate their Inaugural Banquet and Ball onSaturday, November 19. It will be held at the South San Francisco Conference Center, 255 So.

Airport Blvd., South San Francisco. For more information please contact Marita Padilla at (415) 519- 3279; Emma Torres at (650) 291-5398; Fred Almeron at (707) 567- 4135; or Jose Pepe Rosario

at (408) 888- 5080.

Above photo: SF Mayor Ed Lee and Philippine ConGen Henry S Bensurto Below photo: Bay area Community Leaders

San Francisco City celebrates Filipino History Month” celebrating SoMA Pilipinas and proclaiming October as Filipino

Heritage Month by Mayor Ed Lee. at SF City Hall.

Calling all Kabalen, Ka-pampangan communities, and Marian Devotees of the Bay Area!

Join us in this Fifth Annual Canonical Coronation of our Virgen Del Los Remedios on Nov. 13, 2016, 2:30PM at the All Saints Church in Hayward. Address is 22824 Second Street, Hayward, CA 94541. The most Reverend Paciano B. Aniceto, DD, Archbishop Emeritus of Pampanga will be officiating.

Visit us at: http//www.facebook.com/VirgendelosRe-mediosinNorCal

Happy Birthday ”Nanay”! Francisca Ochoa celebrated her 70th birthday on October 24. In photo L-R, her beautiful daughter in-law, Quennie , Nanay

Francisca, son Marcel and grandson Melchizedek

Cancer Survivor A celebration for this fa-

BOOB-lous lady, Cynthia De Guzman on her 7th year of be-ing cancer free! Prayers changes everything!

Double big bash bdaycelebration !

Kaycee and Kim along with their parents Ruth &Eric had a double bash last October 30 when they celebrated their re-spective birthdays at Via Mare Restaurant in Daly City.

Way to go Kaycee and Kim !

(not in photo: Grandma Flor and Grandpa Felix)

Nguyen, District 7; Pattie Cortese – BOD, East Side Union School District representing Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese; Lenine Umali representing Rep. Mike Honda, District 17; Thelma Batilo, Lions Club Vice-governor, Silicon Valley; Cindy Smith, Lions Club Vice- governor, San Francisco; Anthony Phan, presi-dential appointee and candidate for Milpitas City Council; Commissioner Erlinda Fortes Reyes, Santa Clara County; Commissioner An-gela Boricua Tirado, City of San Jose; Joshua Barrouse, Field Representative for California State Senate; Aaron Resendez, International Representative of United Automobile Workers (UAW); Alex Flores, Director of Catering, Hil-ton Hotels; Daisy Chu, wife of Assemblyman Kansen Chu; Delia Ventura Estioko, wife of Elpidio Estioko, and Milpitas City Commissioner and FilAm Star Columnist Elpidio Estioko.

In an impressive power point presentation, after seven or eight solemn songs by the 37-mem-ber INC Choir (including a pianist) and welcome/opening prayer by the ministers, INC outlined its shelter and livelihood programs, medical and dental missions, relief operations, and outreach

programs with various tribes since 2012 to date worldwide, indicating that the Church of Christ is concerned not only with its members but the whole humanity, regardless of culture and origin.

Since its founding in July 27, 1914 in the Philippines by its founder, believed to be the last Christ Minister Felix Manalo, INC has been playing a vital role in the global commu-nity especially in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, Guam, Athens, United Kingdom, Canada, the U.S., and of course in the Philippines.

Whenever there is a calamity, typhoon, hurricane, earthquake, and floods where a lot of people die and thousands of people become

homeless and starving, INC is always there to help, according to the presentation. In Leyte for instance where Typhoon Yolanda pummeled the area in 2013 rendering 6,100 people killed, they sent relief goods to victims and made Leyte a self-sustaining community by providing shelter and livelihood programs.

They were also in Kumamoto and Fukuoka, Japan helping earthquake victims and in Bundab-erg, Australia as part of their outreach program to people victimized by typhoon. They fed some 25,000 calamity victims in Johannesburg, South Africa as part of their outreach and humani-tarian project. They were in Tacloban, Leyte; Tondo, Manila; Paracale, Camarines Norte; and other areas in the Philippines needing help and assistance due to various calamities.

All these humanitarian activities and giving back to the community efforts by INC were rec-ognized by the Philippine government through the National Historical Commission on July 24, 2014 in Proclamation Number 815 declaring 2014 as the Iglesia Centennial Year, 100th year of INC existence in the Philippines.


communityINC reaches out to the community

PG&E announces applicationsfor at least 170 scholarships

SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced today that schol-arship applications are now being accepted for college-bound high school as well as current college and continuing students. The awards from the company’s employee resource groups (ERGs) will mean that at least 170 students in PG&E’s Northern and Central California service area will receive from $1,000 to $10,000 next year for ex-emplary scholastic achievement and community leadership.

PG&E’s 10 ERGs—each representing the company’s diverse 20,000-plus workforce—award scholarships annually to help offset the cost of higher education. Scholarship informa-tion, including criteria and applications, is avail-able on PG&E’s website. To be considered for a scholarship, all applications must be submitted by Feb. 1, 2017.

In 2016, PG&E’s ERGs awarded a record $430,000 in scholarships to 176 deserving students. Many recipients are the first in their families to attend college.

Since 1989, $4.5 million in scholarships have been awarded to thousands of recipients. The funds come from employee donations, fund-raising events and Campaign for the Community, the company’s employee giving program.

“The cost of attending college continues to rise. The ERG scholarships help offset the cost of higher education while recognizing the positive

accomplishments by students in their schools and communities,” said PG&E Director of Perfor-mance and Inclusion Joyce Ibardolasa, who’s also the board president of the Employee Community Fund, the umbrella charitable organization that provides governance for the ERG scholarships.

More than 5,000 PG&E employees belong to the ERGs. Each group helps contribute to the company’s commitment to serving its communi-ties and growing employee engagement.

PG&E’s 10 ERGs include:Access Network (individuals with disabili-ties)AsianBlackLatinoLegacy (tenured employees)NuEnergy (new employees)PrideNetwork (LGBT employees)Samahan (Filipino)VeteransWomen’s Network

In addition to the ERG scholarships, PG&E provides engineering and information technol-ogy (IT) scholarships to need-based high school and college students through its Better Together STEM Scholarships. The Pacific Service Em-ployees Association (PSEA), a non-profit mutual benefit organization serving employees and retirees of PG&E, also provides scholarships for dependents of company employees.

By Elpidio Estioko

SAN JOSE - The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) held it’s Meet & Greet annual activity with city officials and community leaders of adjoining cities in Santa Clara County and pre-sented to the attendees its role and relevance to humanity last October 30 at its main chapel in San Jose.

Among those who attended, according to INC’s Don Orozco, are Assembly member Kansen Chu, 25th Assembly District; Consul Carlyn Monasterial representing Consul Gener-al Henry Bensurto of the Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco; Santa Clara County Sheriff Deputy Rick Sung and Sgt. Michelle Asban representing Sheriff Laurie Smith; San Jose Council member Johnny Khamis, District 10; San Jose City Council member Ash Kalra, District 2; San Jose City Council member Tam

(LtoR) James Salazar, Resident Minister, Mountain View; Estioko; Assembly member, District 25 Kansen

Chu; Head Deacon, MountainView Erne VargasCabanera (not photo is INCDistrict Minister for

Northwest, CA Pete Dela Cruz).

This is a Paid Advertisement


legal & lawPreparing for deposition in personal injury case

ATTY. CRISPIN CADAY LOZANO

If you have a per-sonal injury case, one of the process you will undergo is to respond to a deposition. A deposi-tion is a question and answer session with the

other side’s attorney. The other attorney will ask you questions. You will give answers. Your attor-ney will be there with you during the deposition. A court reporter will also be there, taking down everything that is said. The court reporter is also called a stenographer

Once you file a lawsuit in a personal injury case, the other side has a right to find out what information you have about the accident and your injuries so they can be prepared for trial, if the case doesn’t settle. They are entitled to discover these facts, your recollections and impressions through the use of things like interrogatories (written questions), requests for production (for-mal requests that you send them documents) and depositions (oral questions and answers).

Q. What are the questions the attorney will ask?

The defense attorney in a personal injury case will generally ask questions of the Plaintiff that cover the following areas:1. General background information such as name, address, date of birth, who is in your family, edu-cation, work history, etc.2. Information about your physical condition before the injury occurred. For example, in a slip and fall case where you broke your left arm, the defense lawyer is going to want to know if you are left handed or right handed, and he or she will want to know if you had any problems using that arm before the accident.3. Information about the accident – how did it happen? Who were the witnesses? Did you talk to anyone after the accident? What did they say?4. Information about your medical treatment

and physical condition after the injury occurred. For example, What injuries did you sustain in the accident? Who treated you? Did you go to the hospital? Did you see your family doctor? What did the orthopedic doctor do? How long did you have to stay home from work after your surgery?5. Information about the impact of the injuries on your life. What are you no longer able to do? What are you able to do but only with difficulty?

Q. How is a deposition conducted? The first thing that happens is the court

reporter swears you in. If you don’t want to swear to God, tell your attorney or the court reporter so they can ask you to “affirm” instead. Then the other attorney will usually ask you to follow his or her rules. Ninety percent of the time, these rules are a) don’t talk over his questions because the court reporter can’t get down two people talking at once, b) if you don’t understand the question please ask for clarification, and c) if you need a break ask for one. Then the questions and an-swers begin. Once the deposition starts, you can-not talk to your attorney about your testimony. Your attorney is only there to protect you from improper questions. If your attorney objects, stop talking. Let the attorney get the objection out and then he will tell you whether to answer or not. Most of the time, objections are “for the record” only, because there is no judge present. So a lot of times, attorneys object to questions and then tell their clients to go ahead and answer. This hap-pens frequently.Note: This is not a legal advice.

Crispin Caday Lozano, Esq. is an active member of the State Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, Consumers Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, and the National Association of Consumers Bankruptcy Attorneys. He specializes in immigration law, personal injury and taxes and bankruptcy law. He is also a CPA and a licensed Real Estate Bro-ker. For free consultation email or call ([email protected]/ 1-877-456-9266)

Answers to this week’s Krosword on NEXT WEEK’S issue

As California debates Prop 58, multilingualeducation thrives in San Francisco

Aries(Mar. 21- April 20) Someone you live with will be quite unreason able this week. A residential move may be in order. Travel will be favorable. Rely on the one you love for support and affection. Your lucky day this week will be Friday. Taurus(Apr. 21- may 21) Enlist coworkers in order to get the job done on time. Be careful not to get involved in other people’s personal affairs. Don’t push your mate if you want to keep this union going. Entertainment should include your whole family. Your lucky day this week will be Sunday.

Gemini(May 22-June 21) You need to distance yourself from the situation for a little while first. Don’t hesitate to present your unique ideas. Concentrate on home improvement. Small de tails will make a difference. Your business sense will be leading you in a direction that indicates more travel and communication.Your lucky day this week will be Wednesday.

Cancer(June 22-July 22) Driving too fast or double parking will result in difficulties with officials. You will be relentless when it comes to getting yourself back into shape. You may experience financial loss if you don’t use good judgment. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Your lucky day this week will be Friday.

Leo(July 23-Aug 22) Your charisma will no doubt attract a lot of attention. Deception may cause disputes you can do without. Others may want to steal your thunder when they realize your ideas are pretty solid. Depression may put a damper on your day. Your lucky day this week will be Tuesday.

Virgo(Aug. 23 -Sept. 23) Do your job and don’t ask for favors. Problems with your mate will develop if you don’t let them have their way. Visitors may drop by unexpectedly, resulting in tension with your lover. You can come into money; however, perhaps not under the best circumstances.Your lucky day this week will be Tuesday.

Libra(Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) It’s time you let your true feelings out. You could have trouble persuading others to accept your ideas and opinions. Accommodate others but not before you do your own thing. Do the proper safety checks before you go out. Limitation could set in if you’ve been spending too much. Your lucky day this week will be Wednesday.

Scorpio(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) Those close to your heart may be difficult to reason with. If you can’t trust someone, question the connection. Problems with relatives and friends could surface. You can make money, but try not to let it slip through your fingers. Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.

Sagittarius(Nov. 23 -Dec. 21) You can help them with difficult projects. Ignore colleagues who appear to be going in circles. You will learn a great deal about yourself if you go somewhere secluded. Don’t give out any personal information that you don’t want spread around.Your lucky day this week will be Wednesday.

Capricorn(Dec 22.- Jan. 20) Overindulgent people will cause disruptions in your life. You can make wonderful contributions to any organization that you join. Try not to be too harsh with your mate. You can take advantage of opportunities if you are quick to make a move.Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.

Aquarius(Jan. 21.- Feb. 19) If you want to make your mark, try to get involved in projects that will bring you some glory. Avoid any erratic behavior or it could cause isolation at home. Problems with peers is apparent. Don’t put limitations on yourself. Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.

Pisces(Feb. 20-Mar. 20) Opportunities for travel and communication are evident. Don’t be critical or overly opinionated with dislikes; it could cause disapproval and unwanted opposition. Spend some time with people who can shed some light on your personal situation. Positive connections can be made if you get involved in environmental organizations. Your lucky day this week will be Tuesday.

http://www.starlightastrology.comHOROSCOPE

Answers to LAST WEEK’S Krosword

KrosWord(Source: Classic Pilipino Krosword, as edited by Ramon S. Lorenzo)

1510111213151718212224273032333537383940

1234678914

SoloPasawayIluto sa kaunting mantikaSumpaTawag sa kapatid na babaeAbangMarka ng sugatEsposaHalimuyak

161819202325262829

SabiParaan ng paglulutoTableta: daglatOil of ___BanaagHapayKupkopIwastoPag-iisang dibdib

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Malakas na pagsasalitaDiwataAlyas

UtakKontratoHiwaPagbaba sa sasakyanNatinIdarangBituka ng manokHalakhakMaliit na pingganMr. LucioHinuhaTuyoPamaypayMarahilSiguroBigyan ng taningBendaKagyatAbaTangisanLibot

PABABA

SAN FRANCISCO -- Should California em-brace multilingualism as a goal for its children — or recommit itself to an English-only policy that goes back almost two decades? That is the question at the heart of Proposition 58, called the “Multilingual Education Act” by supporters, which goes to the vot-ers on Nov. 8.

There is at least one city in California where the measure is not controversial: San Francisco. In August, the city’s Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution supporting 58, with no one from the public speaking against it.

If it passes, as seems likely, according to a September Field Poll, Proposition 58 would reverse a measure that voters in 1998 approved overwhelm-ingly. The older measure, Proposition 227, mandat-ed that the state’s schools focus on making immi-grant children proficient in English at the expense of their home languages, pushing them into English-only classes after no more than one year.

“What Prop 227 said was that it’s not important for you to maintain your heritage language,” said Christina Mei-Yue Wong, who oversees the district’s language pathways. “Prop 58 really releases all of that and breaks down all those barriers.”

When Proposition 227 passed, said Wong, many districts in California stopped offering dual-language immersion and support to English-learn-ers. That was not the case in San Francisco, where the district grappled with the new law by simply changing the names of its programs — from “bilin-gual” to “biliterate” or “dual-language immersion.”

Today, the timing of Proposition 58 could not be better for San Francisco Unified, because demand for language education is rising. Not because of increased immigration — in fact, the number of English-learners is slightly lower than it was when 227 passed. It’s because so many American-born parents want their children to learn another language. There are now 27 dual-language immer-sion programs in San Francisco, which also has a similar number of schools that offer “bilit-eracy pathways” targeted only at English-learners.

Diana Vasquez left Mexico in 2005. Now both her children are enrolled at Fairmount Elementary, a dual-language-immersion school in Glen Park. Photo by Nadia Mishkin / San Francisco Public Press “Know-ing another language is really going to give students an edge in the world,” Wong said. “It’s a necessity and a pleasure. It’s something that they can be really proud of.”Parents push for dual-language immersion

Ron Unz, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Republican activist who bankrolled Proposition 227, said that his measure was never intended to be anti-immigrant — and that he adamantly opposes 58.

“My views haven’t changed at all,” he said. Programs that provide instruction to immigrants in their first languages discourage English acquisition and cultural assimilation, Unz said, adding that it is immigrants who are hurt the most when schools try to preserve their home language and culture.

“The problem with these programs is that they don’t really help the Latino students learn English,” he said.

Unz is critical how most programs start with primarily the immigrant language and then gradu-ally introduces more English. This, he said, is actu-ally to the benefit of the native-born.

“Anglo parents want more dual-immersion programs, but I think what’s probably happen-ing is that they want a copious supply of unpaid Spanish-language tutors to help their children learn Spanish,” Unz said, equating Latino children with “unpaid tutors.”

Diana Vasquez does not see it that way. She left Mexico in 2005 hoping that her children would have more educational opportunities, and at Fairmount Elementary — a dual-language immersion school in Glen Park — her two boys have already achieved

fluency in English.To her, English-language fluency is one of her

children’s “great accomplishments.” But she also values the formal instruction they receive in Spanish grammar, vocabulary and writing. “It’s better than what they would have gotten in Mexico,” she said. “This is the best thing that could have happened for them.”

For Alex Wise and Moira deNike, whose daugh-ter is a fourth-grader at Fairmount Elementary, Vasquez’s two boys do indeed have a lot to teach her daughter.

“We looked at the data that showed some real benefits to having a bilingual education at a young age,” Wise said. One 2012 study, for example, found that bilinguals are better at solving both word and math problems.

“Part of what we hoped for was that putting our daughter in a school like Fairmount might teach her some cultural humility,” deNike said. “We are very happy that our child has a chance to learn another language in a public school setting, yes. But we are equally happy that it affords her the opportunity to meet peers with different experiences, and to rec-ognize that the world is a lot bigger than our single country.”The impact of dual-language education

In 2014, two Stanford University researchers worked with San Francisco Unified to evaluate the impact of all its language pathways on immigrants. Using 12 years of data, Ilana Umansky and Sean F. Reardon found that immigrant students in San Francisco’s dual-language immersion and biliteracy programs were slower to be reclassified as fluent in English than students in English-only programs. This would seem to bolster the case against bilingual education.

However, the researchers found that over time, English fluency balanced out for the students. In fact, they found that Spanish-speaking students en-rolled in dual-language programs ultimately achieved a higher level of English proficiency and academic success by end of high school than kids in other programs, including English-only

immersion.In addition, district

data suggest that those who went through dual-language programs were better able to retain their home language.

To succeed, Umansky said, districts need to offer a wide range of language pathways to stu-dents. “Opponents of bilingual education tend to lump them all together, but there’s a huge range of multilingual programs,” said Umansky, who is now at the University of Oregon. “One of the reasons why diversity exists is that programs should reflect the communities that they serve, and they should be responsive to the interests and values of families in the community.”

Wong said it is crucial for districts to track student outcomes carefully and never stop learn-ing about what works and what does not. “There’s not just one magic bullet and things are going to be fine,” Wong said. “People’s needs are always chang-ing.”

Wong and Umansky agree that the most important thing a district can do is treat the home languages of immigrant students as a strength, not a weakness.

“We have kids entering education systems with enormous assets,” Umansky said. “But rather than cherish that asset, and strengthen it, and promote it, our schools devalue it, shame students for it, and take it away from them.”

To Umansky, that’s not just harmful to stu-dents.

“It’s harmful to our country. Bilingualism is beneficial for all of us — economically and political-ly,” she said. “We need to see bilingualism as a gem that we are protecting and cultivating.” (NAM)

(Photo: www.kcet.org)


health &lifestyleAlcohol’s cancer toll revealed

What are the causes of cancer?

In a past column, we defined what cancer was and discussed its etiologies (causes) and other specific questions on cancer. The most striking information we

revealed then was that more than 75 percent (3 out of 4) of all cancers in humans were caused by only three things: diet, tobacco, and alcohol. That is still true today. Therefore, one does not have to be a physician, much less a rocket scientist, to know that majority of cancers are preventable, and that it is within our power to prevent this deadly malady. The genetic factor could also be positively influenced and changed by a healthy lifestyle to one’s advan-tage.So why the “epidemic” of cancer?

The problem is the lack of discipline on our part. We continue to eat red meat and a lot of high cholesterol or fatty foods knowing these are bad for our heart and also increase our chances of having cancer of the colon, breast and uterus, etc. This is especially true with eating charred (burned) barbequed meats and other food items. Smokers know tobacco cause cancer of the throat, lungs, kidney, uri-nary bladder, pancreas, among others, and still fume away with gusto. Moderate to heavy alco-hol drinkers are aware that ethanol causes not only liver cirrhosis but cancer of the digestive tract, liver and breast, and are not scared to bend their elbow and say “cheers!” unabated. It is no longer the lack of awareness or knowl-edge that is leading many of us to self-destruct. It is the lack of wisdom and discipline, the lack of inner strength and resolve.Is it, therefore, hopeless?

No. We, humans, have a mind that con-trols us, but at the same time, it is a mind that we can also control, either by ourselves (supra-tentorial brain control), or by friendly exter-nal support and persuasion, or even by peer pressure. We must utilize everything within our power to “reason out” with our own selves, motivate ourselves, or even scare ourselves, until we see the truth and the light. Cancer is debilitating and deadly. And the process and

PHILIP S. CHUA,MD, FACS, FPCS

Will I get cancer?Health@Heart

stages of a protracted illness, intractable pains, hopelessness, helplessness, mounting expens-es, the prospect of leaving our loved ones, and dying should be convincing and motivating enough for us to be obsessed with preventing any serious health problems, especially cancer. Do tomatoes prevent cancer?

Yes, they help. According to a Harvard study of 47,000 men, those who had 10 or more servings of tomato-based products per week, were 45% less likely to develop prostate cancer. There are also compelling evidences, considered statistically significant, that suggest links between tomatoes and lower risks in the development of cancer of the colon, rectum, esophagus, pancreas, mouth, breast and cervix, besides prostate. The amazing antioxidant in tomatoes is called lycopene, which is more abundant in cooked or processed tomatoes (like ketchup) than in raw tomatoes. Spices (garlic, onion, pepper curry, tumeric, etc.), are all good for boosting our immune system.Any other natural foods which prevent cancer?

Fruits and vegetables in general have pow-erful antioxidants in them that reduce the risk of cancer. Broccoli, beans, lettuce, bokchoy, strawberry, oranges, papaya, pineapple, kiwi, watermelon, langka, and all the other leafy vegetables and fruits (high-fiber diet) are anti-cancer to a great extent. But unless we eat them daily, they won’t work. Looking at them or even smelling and touching them in the fruit stores won’t do it. We must eat them every day. Soft drinks are all toxic to the body. Of course, strict moderation for carbohydrates (rice, bread, sweets) and animal fats, tobacco, and alcohol are essential. And so with avoidance of chemical pollutants, radiation exposure and UV rays from sunlight.Does exercise reduce cancer risk?

Yes. Physical exercises does not only con-trol body weight and lower cholesterol but also reduces the risk of cancer. One does not have to jog for half an hour a day to get the benefit. Walking 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes after dinner are vigorous enough to do the job. Brisk walking for those who can toler-ate it is even better. How about those “anti-cancer” pills and juices?

Pills and juices being marketed as anti-cancer are as effective as tap water from your faucet. And tap water is even safer…and free!

The manufacturer’s claims have no scientific basis whatsoever. Those being items marketed as “anti-cancer” are fraudulent and dangerous.What is a sound anti-cancer strategy?

There are several behavioral and lifestyle changes we can do to lower or prevent cancer, and at the same time lower our risks for other major diseases as well. Many of these changes are common sense and practical measures. But, as I stated earlier, first, we must have the discipline, determination and resolve. Then, we must religiously implement our strategy.

One incentive to stay healthy and well are our loved ones. If our self-gratifying bad habits and lifestyle should kill us, it will be a tragedy for us, but it will be an even greater tragedy for our family and loved ones. The emotional, psychological, social and financial devastation that will befall our loved ones when we die is horrendous, to say the least. So, we cannot afford to be so selfish and so self-centered as to allow this to happen. Let us take good care of our body and mind. Let us grow old and happy with our loved ones.

A safe and sound cancer prevention strategy, which we discussed in our book, Let’s Stop “Killing” our Children (www.philipSchua.com), includes all of the following regimen: (1) abstinence from tobacco (2) eating fish and a high-fiber, low fat, diet (with a lot of fruits, vegetables, whole-grain, bran, etc.) instead of red meat; (3) taking multivitamins (optional if you eat well); (4) doing regular physical exer-cises for an hour at least four times a week; (5) avoidance of exposure to too much sunlight, polluted air, agents like asbestos, household chemicals in our home environment or work-place; and, (6) limiting alcohol ingestion to one or two drinks a day. In short, stay away from carcinogens and live a healthy life-style through self-discipline.

So, if you are serious about reducing your risk for cancer, do not look for a miracle pill or juice, lotion or potion. Starting today, make some simple changes in your lifestyle as we have suggested above. You’ll be amazed how this could change your life and those of your loved ones, for the better. You may even live to appreciate the benefits from your sacrifices of today on your 108th birthday.

The answer to the question is in your hands.For more data, please visit philipSchua.com Email: [email protected]

Alcohol consumption caused more than 700,000 new cancer cases and around 366,000 cancer deaths in 2012, mainly in rich countries, ac-cording to data reported Wednesday to the World Cancer Congress in Paris.

Comparing the cancer risk of people who drink, to that of people who do not, researchers calculated that alcohol was responsible for an esti-mated five percent of all new cancer cases, and 4.5 percent of deaths per year.

“A large part of the population is unaware that cancer can be caused by alcohol,” study co-author Kevin Shield of the International Agency for Re-search on Cancer (IARC), told AFP of the prelimi-nary report, not yet published.

Alcohol was most strongly linked to new breast cancer diagnoses -- more than one in four of all alcohol-attributable cancer cases, the research-ers found, followed by colorectal cancer at 23 percent.

For breast cancer, particularly, it was clear that “the risk increases with the dose” of alcohol, said Shield.

Measuring alcohol’s contribution to cancer deaths, the researchers found it was most strongly linked to oesophagus cancer fatalities, followed by colorectal cancer.

The IARC, the cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), lists alcohol as a “group 1 carcinogen”, which means it is considered cancer-causing, though Shield said the mechanism was “not exactly known”.

Globally, the burden was highest in north America, Australia and Europe, particularly east-ern Europe, but this was slowly changing as people in developing nations start imbibing more, the researchers said. (AFP)

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entertainmentComic unmasked—behind the happy facade of Vic Sotto

Paolo B. suffers in the name of beauty

They say that comedians can be some of the most serious people. Vic Sotto, at least in the eyes of an outsider, appears to be a textbook example.

On “Eat Bulaga!,” the longest-running local noontime variety show, Vic is a wisecrack-ing host, teasing his colleagues and poking fun at guests and contestants with one-liners and silly retorts. On the silver screen, he is best known for playing simpleton Enteng Kabisote, whose adventures are peppered with wacky, slapstick humor.

In person, however, Vic is reserved, a man of few words. To some people, the 62-year-old star comes off as aloof or even suplado. His wife, Pauleen Luna, was among those who thought he was unapproachable.

“That was my initial impression,” she admitted in an interview with the Inquirer. “But the truth is that Vic is really just a shy and quiet person. Talking to other people can be tough for him, because of his shyness.”

While Vic is not comfort-able expressing his feelings in public, Pauleen said her hus-band is a completely different person among loved ones.

“He is physical and vocal in showing his love. He loves to hug and kiss his children, especially his grandkids,” said Pauleen, who tied the knot with Vic at the St. James the Great Parish in Muntinlupa City in January.

And when there were just the two of them, Pauleen swore that Vic became more animated. “He is makulit when he is with me, more than what people see on “Eat Bulaga!,” she said. “I guess it is because there are no more walls between us; he knows he can be at ease. He loves making me laugh.”

In June, the show biz cou-ple moved into their new home in Laguna, where Vic spends most of his free time. Despite

his stature, the seasoned actor and television host appreciates life’s simplest things, according to Pauleen.

“We call him masipag na tamad,” she said, laughing. “He is very hardworking when it comes to his job. But when he’s at home, he just lounges around,

watching television all day. And as his wife, I really take care of him.”

On Sunday, his only free day, Vic likes to wake up early to play golf with friends. “But every so often, we go on road trips; we both love traveling. For him, it is a way of escaping from all the noise of show biz,” said the 27-year-old bride. “But if we do not have a planned vacation, we prefer staying in, simply enjoy-ing each other’s company.”

As a father, Vic, Pauleen ob-served, is a wonderful provider. “You can see that all his kids grew up to be good people,” she said. Vic has four children from previous relationships: Danica and Oyo Boy (with actress Dina Bonnevie), Vico (with actress Coney Reyes) and Paulina (with former commercial model An-gela Luz).

Vic and Pauleen’s relation-ship was difficult and contro-

versial, primarily because of their 34-year age gap. Pauleen is roughly the same age as Vic’s children and some of them had misgivings about the May-De-cember romance. But Vic made the effort to get their blessing.

“He always makes time for his children. He invites them to dinner almost every week—and everyone has to be there. Vic wants to see [the family] complete,” Pauleen said. “These gatherings are always fun… They talk about everything under the sun, but mostly about Vic’s apos (grandchildren) and sports, like basketball.”

Pauleen first met Vic in 1995, as a hopeful in the “Little Miss Philippines” pageant of “Eat Bulaga!” In 2005, she joined the show as a co-host. In 2013, they admitted they had been dating for quite some time. Two years later, they got engaged. Throughout those times, it was clear to Pauleen that Vic was a “good person.” But it wasn’t until after their marriage that she found out just how much.

“We are virtually insepa-rable. We go to work and go home together. If there’s one thing that I want people to know about Vic, it’s the fact that he is a kind person, a genuinely kind man… We do not fight. If there is a misunderstanding, he makes sure we talk it over in a calm manner,” Pauleen said, adding that, as a husband, Vic is very thoughtful.

He never ends phone conversations with his wife without saying, “I love you.” When he wakes Pauleen up, he does it “very sweetly,” because he knows she tends to have topak (bad mood) in the morn-ing. There were times, she said, when she caught him just star-ing at her.

“I see the happiness in his eyes,” she said. “I am grateful.” (Allan Policarpio / inquireer.net)

Pauleen Luna and Vic Sotto(Photo: www.getitfromboy.blogspot.com)

TOKYO —At a party for Asian filmmakers and program-mers on Wednesday, a guest told Filipino actor Paolo Ballesteros: “I heard Angelina Jolie was on the red carpet at the opening yesterday.”

Paolo almost didn’t have the heart to confess: “That was me!”

The actor-TV host-makeup wiz graced the 29th Tokyo In-ternational Film Festival for his latest movie, Jun Robles Lana’s “Die Beautiful,” which is an entry in the main section.

He was the one who came up with the bright idea: “An-gelina in a Filipiniana gown! Ang taray (fierce)!” So, designer Rau Uson-Ablaza whipped up a black velvet terno that’s a cross between La Imeldific and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.

Paolo’s Tokyo transforma-tion will go down in Philippine cinema history as among the top kabogera moments on the red carpet, along with Hilda Koronel for “Insiang” at Cannes 1978 and Maria Isabel Lopez for “Ma’ Rosa” at Cannes 2016.

“I felt so sosyal (classy),” Paolo told the Inquirer in an interview in Roppongi Hills. “I couldn’t believe it actually hap-pened!”

At an earlier party, a critic from Finland approached Paolo and asked for a hug.

“It feels great when people show their appreciation for my work,” he admitted.

Especially since makeup transformations can be a lone-some and long (as in tedious) undertaking. “I’m alone for three to four hours,” he explained. “For Angelina, I started at 9:30 a.m. and finished at 3 p.m. And I couldn’t eat and pee, because everything was taped down!”

And he meant everything! During the interview, Paolo showed the Inquirer the welts and blisters on his torso—a result of the body contour-ing achieved via packing tape. Direk Jun recalled that Paolo’s fingernails looked as if they would come off with the falsies, because Mighty Bond was used

as adhesive.Paolo suffered tremendous-

ly in the name of beauty.Paolo’s talent for makeovers

was certainly put to good use in the film. To clarify, though, Direk Jun didn’t hire Paolo just because of his cosmetic skills.

“When he read for the part, I immediately knew he was Trisha and didn’t meet with oth-ers,” the filmmaker said.Going viral

When Jun and his team started working on the film in 2014, Paolo’s makeup transfor-mations were only starting to go viral. “We had been developing this script for two years,” the director recounted.

“Which means I’ve been dieting for two years,” Paolo exclaimed. “I really wanted to do it, but I couldn’t squeeze it in.”

Jun explained: “Paolo was busy—hosting [the noontime show] ‘Eat Bulaga.’ Then, he became busier when the AlDub kalyeserye became a hit.”

In a twist of fate, Paolo got suspended from the program—freeing him to do the movie. “In a way, [the suspension] helped this project,” Paolo quipped.

Popular celebYoshi Yatabe, competition

program director of the Tokyo fest, told the Inquirer:

“Paolo is amazing. Prior to this film, I didn’t know that he was a popular celebrity in Philippine show business. I am

afraid the jurors will have a hard time and will be torn whether to nominate him as best actor or best actress.”

“Why not both,” Paolo said in jest. “The more categories, the more chances of winning!”

Although he constantly goes on concert tours with his Dabarkads, Paolo is attending an international film festival for the first time. “Ang lakas maka-celebrity,” he asserted. “Exciting!”

Beyond the glamour, how-ever, this film gave Paolo valu-able insights on the struggles of the LGBTQ community. “Trisha’s dream to be a beauty queen seems impossible,” he conceded. She needs to go to great lengths—including painful surgeries—to alter her appear-ance and attain her idea of per-fection, he pointed out. “Then, she has to cope with discrimina-tion in her search for true love.”

Paolo owned up that he dreaded shooting the dramatic scenes. “Direk Jun had a hard time making me cry. It’s because I’m a very positive and cheer-ful person. I always look at the bright side when I have prob-lems.”

Those were precisely the traits that made him perfect for the part of Trisha—a willfully optimistic transgender who doesn’t let life’s curve balls throw her off.

Initially, he couldn’t relate with Trisha’s melodramatic travails. “Wala akong hugot.

I couldn’t rely on my memories, so I based everything on the script.”

What he could identify with was Trisha’s maternal, nurtur-ing instinct. Paolo is father to 7-year-old Keira Claire. “I am fond of children. On the set, I call the kids ‘anak,’” he volun-teered.

After the film’s premiere last Thursday, Paolo couldn’t help turning on the waterworks, big-time. Recounted producer Perci Intalan: “Paolo cried, be-cause it was his first time to see the film. (Bayani San Diego Jr. / inquirer.net)

Paolo Ballesteros(Photo: www.chisms.net)

Christian Bautista: Mocha has the right to express her opinions on her website. The people who created the petition also have the right to express theirs. This is what democracy is about.Joey Reyes

Joey Reyes: We may have different ideas and opinions. But let us agree to disagree and respect one another. That is the whole point of democracy: the free market of ideas, the open arena to exchange our thoughts and acknowledge diversity in our interests. There are those who vehemently disagree and react to Ms Uson’s statements, but that is her option, and her right to express what she thinks and feels. To shut down her platform by accusing her of disinformation is a violation of her rights.

The Kapamilya network bagged two Stevie Awards at the 2016 International Business Awards for its product, ABS-CBN TVplus. It won a Silver International Stevie Award for Best in New Product—Media and Entertainment Category, and a Bronze International Stevie Award for Best in Mar-keting Campaign. (Dolly Anne Carvajal / inquirer.net)

entertainmentFilAm StarNov. 3 - 9, 2016 B7

United colors of Filipinos How do you solve a ‘problem’ like MochaWhat struck young

filmmaker Ivan An-drew Payawal about the Amerasians he had interviewed for his Cinemalaya 2016 entry, “I America,” was how diverse they were.

Despite their dif-ferences in skin, hair and eye color, they were somehow united by a common bond, he explained.

The Amerasians he had met in Olongapo had a strong sense of community, he ob-served.

“Although they grew up not know-ing their fathers, they have a solid concept of family,” he pointed out. “Different faces and points of view, but when they’re all together, you get a sense of equality—that race and gender don’t separate them.”

He first stumbled upon the Amerasian issue in an online article and quickly realized that their story was a “journey of self-discov-ery.”

He wanted to show that everyone goes through the same problems. He remarked, “We are not alone in this struggle. If we make peace with who we truly are, life would be so much easier to endure.”

“I America,” which recently had a commercial run in the Philippines, is competing in the Asian Future section of the 29th Tokyo International Film Festival, which is ongoing until Nov. 3. (It is vying for top hon-ors with another Filipino film, Mikhail Red’s “Birdshot.”)

“Being selected is such a big honor,” he told the In-quirer. “I admit that we all want to bring home an award for our country, but that’s just a bonus.”

Icing on the cake, so to speak. “We already feel like

winners, just to be screened alongside other amazing films from all over Asia and the world.”Blessed

He feels “blessed” that he gets to attend an A-list festival like Tokyo with his sophomore movie. (His directorial debut was “The Comeback,” an entry in the Cinema One Originals fest last year.)

Making the Tokyo fest more meaningful for Payawal is the fact that his teacher Jun Robles Lana has a film, “Die Beautiful,” in the main tilt, as well.

“He’s an inspiration to me,” Payawal said of Lana. “Sharing this experience with my mentor and friend is a full-circle mo-ment for me.”

He feels certain that for-eign audiences will be able to relate with “I America” because of its universal themes: “The search for identity, family and acceptance.”

“We may have dif-ferent journeys in life, but our destination is the same. We all want the same thing in the end. We all want to be loved and accepted, but we should learn to love and accept ourselves first,” he said. “I hope this mes-sage will resonate with foreigners, despite the differences in language and culture.”

He feels it’s important to share the Amerasians’ story not just in Japan but in other parts of the world.Stories

“Every filmmaker dreams of sharing his or her story all over the world,” he noted. “I make movies to tell stories and hopefully connect with other people. Stories need to

be told and shared.”He is raring to join

other international film festivals after Tokyo.

“We were lucky that we got to share our story with Filipi-nos before joining a festival abroad,” he quipped.

His film’s commercial run taught him the importance of “marketing.”

“It’s hard to make a film, but it’s even harder to market it,” he owned up. “You need to be financially prepared for it. It takes a lot of money to promote a movie.”

If you don’t have the bud-get for a massive promotional campaign, then you have to be “innovative,” he said.

Fortunately, his film top-bills a mainstream star, Bela Padilla, who’s active in social media, and he had the support of a major firm, Viva Films, which distributed “I America” in local cinemas. “We were able to reach audiences outside of Cinemalaya.” (inquirer.net)

(Photo: www.cinemalaya.org)

Mocha Uson has never had it so good. As a member of Mocha Girls, her career was steady. But now that she’s a self-proclaimed spokesperson for the masses on her Face-book political blog, the sultry performer has gained over four million followers.

Since she’s a rabid sup-porter of President Duterte, the Mocha Uson blog’s popularity is mob culture at work.

She has caused quite a commotion to the point that there’s a petition to have her blog taken down. Political strife rages on even online.

If “mocha” is not your favorite flavor, then choose another one. Considering how controversial her blog is, I won-der if an ice cream company will get Mocha to be its endorser

with the tagline:“I scream,

You scram!”Go, girl—

milk it for all its worth.

We asked celebs to weigh in on the Mocha brouhaha:

Isay Alva-rez: I admit I did not like Mocha’s image or choices before. I disliked her over-the-

top sexy outfits and the words that came out of her mouth. I thought then, “She’s no good for the next generation—she’s no role model at all. Then, by God’s grace, she turned over a new leaf—she became a “daughter of God.” Now she’s being perse-cuted for her bad choices in the past.Isay Alvarez

I checked out her blog and saw a new Mocha. She reports the good things she has observed and suggests what else can be done. No character assassination. She has the right to be her own person.

Think before you clickRobert Seña: I haven’t read

it yet, but she has the right to write whatever she wants on her own blog. It’s the internet, for crying out loud. It’s up to you what you want to read or post. But think first before you click that button.Bo Cerrudo

Bo Cerrudo: I sometimes read her posts. I see nothing wrong with it because it’s a free country. Everyone will always have an opinion. At least, she stands for what she believes in.

Noel Cabangon: I saw the petition [to take down her blog] but I ignored it, because it wasn’t right to curtail someone else’s right to [free] speech. If you do that, you’ll be doing the same thing as this government is doing, which is curtailing the right to due process of all the victims of extrajudicial killings.

Isay Alvarez(Photo: www.broadwayworld.com)

Joey Reyes(Photo: www.phileduconference.com)

Mocha Uson(Photo: www.pinoytrendingnews.net)

season.He said two brand-new

Boeing 777-300 ERs will be delivered to PAL by the

end of the year to cope with strong demand. He said the new airplanes would be used to increase flight frequencies to Los Angeles, San Fran-cisco and New York.

Starting December, he noted that PAL would double its flights to Los Angeles to twice from once a day and the flights to San Francisco to 14 flights from 11 times a week.

With the delivery of these airplanes, Bautista said PAL will be operating twice daily to Los Angeles starting December in time for the Christmas season.

He said a brand new Boeing 777-300 ER will replace the Airbus A340 aircraft used three times a week for the Manila to San


2 new 777s, more seats, PAL flights to LA, SF, NY for ChristmasBy Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent

The country’s flag car-rier Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) President and Chief Operating Officer Jaime

Bautista said they will add more flights to the United States starting December in time for the Christmas

Francisco route.

“We will also replace the air-craft A340 flights in San Francisco with these Boeing 777-300 ERs,” he added.

He said the aircraft change would raise PAL’s seating capacity by 15 to 20 percent as a Boeing 777-300 ER could accom-modate as many as 376 passengers compared to the Airbus A340 that could only seat 254.

The 777-300ER is equipped with the world’s most powerful GE90-115B commercial jet engine, and can seat up to 386 pas-sengers in a three-class configuration with a maxi-mum range of 7,825 nauti-cal miles. The 777 is the

world’s most successful twin-engine, long haul airplane.

The PAL official also disclosed that the airline company owned by tycoon Lucio Tan also plans to raise its frequency to New York via Vancouver to five from four times a week early next year.

“The market con-tinues to grow. We have the advantage because we are the non-stop carrier from the Philip-pines to the U.S.,” he said.

PAL’s load factor in Los Angeles and San Francisco is more than 80 percent but only ac-counts for 40 percent of the market.

“There is more business and there are more tourists. What we want to achieve is also to carry not only Filipi-nos but also the main-stream market,” further stated Bautista.

He likewise said PAL expects the deliv-ery of three Airbus A321 NEOs next year as well as three to four A321s and four A350s in 2018.

PAL CEO Jaime Bautista(photo: www.luxurymanila.com)

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Ramos resigns as envoy, says Duterte is 'full of s**t' - FilAm Star